# Chapter 4
## Day 7 - Late Afternoon
The late afternoon shadows stretched across the quiet streets of Presidio Heights as their little convoy approached the Korean consulate. The building stood stolid and official-looking among the surrounding residences, its windows dark but intact. As they drove through the SF neighborhoods, they'd seen scattered survivors - mostly women. Most kept their distance, watching the trucks pass with wary curiosity before returning to whatever tasks occupied them in this new world.
Andy pulled up to the front of the consulate, studying the building's facade. The American and Korean flags still hung limply from their poles. The front entrance featured heavy double doors with reinforced glass flanked by simple columns and dotted with CCTV equipment, now nonfunctional.
"Stay in the trucks," Andy instructed over the radio. "Daniela and I will check the entrance first."
They approached the front doors cautiously, Daniela's hand resting near her holstered Glock. Andy tried the handle - locked, as expected. He knocked firmly, the sound echoing through the empty building.
"I don't see any signs of forced entry," Daniela observed, examining the door frame. "Any electronic security would be disabled when the power went out. Probably a pretty heavy deadbolt though."
Andy nodded. "Let's try the back. No point destroying the front entrance if we don't have to." He keyed his radio: "We're going to check the rear access."
The fence around the property's perimeter was tall but manageable. Andy went first, scaling it smoothly before dropping to the other side. Daniela followed with the grace of someone who'd trained for exactly this kind of situation, her feet barely making a sound as she landed.
The back door was similarly secure, but its handle was less robust than the front entrance. Andy retrieved the fire axe from his pack, testing its weight before taking a controlled swing at the handle mechanism. The sound of splintering metal seemed impossibly loud in the quiet neighborhood. Two more precise strikes, and the handle fell away entirely.
A careful push revealed an empty hallway beyond. Andy did a quick sweep before returning to the door. "Clear," he called softly. "We'll open the garage from inside." He radioed. "Gimme a sec."
Minutes later, Andy and Daniela manually hauled the heavy garage door upward, revealing a spacious underground parking area. Sarah and Crystal guided the trucks inside, the engines' echoes filling the concrete space before falling silent. As the door lowered behind them, sealing them into their new sanctuary, Crystal's voice carried a mix of relief and uncertainty. "Home sweet home?"
After securing the trucks, Andy pulled one of the Glock 19s from their equipment and checked the magazine. "We should clear the building together," he said, tucking a couple of flashbangs into his tactical vest. "No splitting up."
Daniela nodded, already holding her father's Mossberg with practiced ease. "Standard sweep pattern?"
"Sure. Let's trade" he said, handing her the pistol and flashlight. "I'll take point."
The basement level revealed its first surprise in a mechanical room - a commercial-grade backup generator system connected to substantial fuel storage. Daniela examined the setup with interest, her usually sober expression breaking into a rare smile.
"Looks like there's about three hundred hours of runtime with the current fuel," she calculated, sweeping her flashlight across the gauge. "If we're careful about power usage, could stretch that a while."
"That would be amazing." Sarah breathed, her eyes lighting up.
"Yeah, let's leave it off for now though." said Andy.
Adjacent to the generator room, they discovered a significant water storage system and septic setup. "Diplomatic buildings always plan for siege scenarios," Andy explained, his own relief evident in his voice.
"Four, maybe five months of water," Daniela estimated. "If we're careful."
"Gosh" Crystal whispered, touching one of the tanks, almost reverently. "I never thought I'd be so happy to see plumbing equipment."
"Me neither" said Sarah. "I need a shower so bad."
They continued their sweep, finding a heavy steel door marked 'SECURITY' that refused to budge. "Probably need specialized tools for that one," Andy noted, making a mental note to return later.
The next door revealed a surprisingly well-equipped gym - free weights, cardio machines, and resistance training equipment. Sarah's eyes lit up immediately.
"Oh thank god," she breathed, running her hand along a rowing machine. "I was terrified of losing this." She gestured winsomely at her meticulously crafted curves. "Do you know how many years it took to get my body like this?"
Crystal watched her uncertainly. "You're worried about that? I'm barely holding it together right now, I couldn't imagine making myself more tired and exhausted on purpose."
"I'd literally rather die than lose this body," Sarah replied firmly, her hand trailing along her flat, gently muscled abs. The seriousness in her voice made it impossible to tell if she was exaggerating.
Andy watched this exchange with raised eyebrows, then noticed something else. "There's a sauna in here too," he noted, pleased. "Would be a real luxury to turn on some day."
The main floor revealed a layout typical of diplomatic buildings - a reception area leading to various offices, with a modest break room and a more formal dining space clearly meant for official functions. The kitchen behind it was industrial-grade, though smaller than what you'd find in a restaurant. The second floor held more offices, their doors standing open to reveal desks still covered in papers and family photos, frozen in time.
They were halfway through clearing the third floor's residential wing when the smell hit them - that too-familiar sweet-sour scent they'd encountered far too many times in the past week. They found him in one of the bedrooms, a middle-aged man in diplomatic attire, Juyeon John Chu, collapsed across his bed as if he'd simply laid down for a moment's rest.
