Burt and the Mallers

[Cabbage Patch]

One of the big reveals in Chapter 24 was the fact that the RPG that the Mallers were using came from Burt's gun store, Locked & Loaded. Apparently Burt had been selling illegal weapons on the black market! The RPG and its ammo were in his front safe because the buyer was scheduled to come in to get it.

I think this answers the question of how, and why the Mallers hit Burt's store so quickly at the start of the outbreak. My theory is that the buyer for the RPG was someone associated with the Mallers (probably not Scratch since there's no indication that she or Burt recognized one-another). The deal could have been brokered through a middle-man, or someone on the Maller team that we haven't seen. I think that Scratch always planned to steal the RPG and rob the store, and the theft just happened to take place on the day of the outbreak. That explains how it was organized so quickly, and how Scratch just happened to have a safe cracker with her for the raid.

An RPG, a load of guns with ammo, and, maybe, a supply of C4 explosives would be very handy if you wanted to break someone out of prison.

[Cromulent Frog]

I'm thinking the same thing. I can't remember if Bert was at the Tower when Pippen was killed but if he was, then I'm thinking maybe Pippen was going to be the buyer for the RPG. As we learned that Pippen was a part of the Maulers, it would make a good connection...but only if Bert was at the Tower at that time which at the moment escapes me. If that does hold true I'm interested in other thoughts on this.

[nikvoodoo]

Burt wasn't at the tower. He was at LAX with Saul.

[7oddisdead]

While I'm doubtful the "middle man" as it were had much to do with scratch breaking into the safe...the thing to. Consider is how information travels within a prison...particularly info an upper level crime boss may or may not be privy to..

[Osiris]

So who was the middle man?

[ClearSights]

I want to know who the hell needs an RPG in america other then use for terrorism.... (Or a very very prepared fallout person).

[reaper239]

weren't all the mallers in jail? my guess is if the mallers knew about the rpgs it was because someone on the outside was planning a breakout. more likely though, when the mallers escaped, they fanned out in all directions and took whatever wasn't nailed down.

[HorrorHiro]

One of the big reveals in Chapter 24 was the fact that the RPG that the Mallers were using came from Burt's gun store, Locked & Loaded. Apparently Burt had been selling illegal weapons on the black market! The RPG and its ammo were in his front safe because the buyer was scheduled to come in to get it.

I think this answers the question of how, and why the Mallers hit Burt's store so quickly at the start of the outbreak. My theory is that the buyer for the RPG was someone associated with the Mallers (probably not Scratch since there's no indication that she or Burt recognized one-another). The deal could have been brokered through a middle-man, or someone on the Maller team that we haven't seen. I think that Scratch always planned to steal the RPG and rob the store, and the theft just happened to take place on the day of the outbreak. That explains how it was organized so quickly, and how Scratch just happened to have a safe cracker with her for the raid.

An RPG, a load of guns with ammo, and, maybe, a supply of C4 explosives would be very handy if you wanted to break someone out of prison.

You can legally own an RPG-7 (among other things) in this country...

[Zombiephyllic]

I'm not sold on this theory. My guess is that they just got lucky finding it in the safe.

[Cabbage Patch]

You can legally own an RPG-7 (among other things) in this country...

Technically true, in that you can own a demilitarized, non-firing RPG launcher with dummy rounds. It is highly illegal for a civilian to own an actual, working RPG or live RPG rounds in the United States. You can, however, legally own a fully functioning machinegun or a silenced weapon. All you need to do is pass a background check and pay a licensing fee to get a Class 3 federal firearms license.

[nikvoodoo]

Technically true, in that you can own a demilitarized, non-firing RPG launcher with dummy rounds. It is highly illegal for a civilian to own an actual, working RPG or live RPG rounds in the United States. You can, however, legally own a fully functioning machinegun or a silenced weapon. All you need to do is pass a background check and pay a licensing fee to get a Class 3 federal firearms license.

Legality is obviously not something that concerned Burt. He has been shown to have more than a few things he probably shouldn't have in his possession legally (claymore's, C-4 and god only knows what else). It's an interesting aspect of Burt's character that he was, seemingly for all intents and purposes, a black market arms dealer...on a small scale of course.

[HorrorHiro]

Can't private citizens own fully function "destructive devices" i.e. RPG's? I'm not implying that Burt was a private citizen but I am implying that the buyer could have been.

[HorrorHiro]

Legality is obviously not something that concerned Burt. He has been shown to have more than a few things he probably shouldn't have in his possession legally (claymore's, C-4 and god only knows what else). It's an interesting aspect of Burt's character that he was, seemingly for all intents and purposes, a black market arms dealer...on a small scale of course.

That's 1 thing I have in common with Burt as a character not the black market arms dealer thing but the not being concerned with legality thing. It's 1 of my favorite things about Burt just because I can relate so well that and I'm a semi-gun enthusiast, and that I'v never based anything I have or haven't done on the legal system.

[reaper239]

everything but the c4 and claymore are things that any citizen could get with the right licenses, and you may be able to get the claymores, but that's the only thing i'm not sure on. the only thing that you have to be government, police, or gov contractor to have is the c4 so unless he did work for a gc that was the only thing that was def illeagal. the rest may have been but the c4 almost certainly

[archangel]

"Guns don't kill people.. People kill people".. :cool: I've owned guns for years and never had a cause so far to use them or even point them at anyone. Does that mean I should become complacent and rely on the police or military to come save me? If that's your mentality, good luck with that, and look up Katrina stories. Aside from that, in answer to someone's question on here who asked why anyone in America aside from terrorists would ever need an RPG, I say that you don't need to be a terrorist or even be warlike to be prepared to defend yourself and your family from large scale aggression.

I should clarify that I'm not referring to disagreements with your neighbors here, or the small-time crook who breaks into your house for your jewelry. Don't shoot an RPG at them... Also, if you've had no military training, leave the RPG alone. You'll probably forget to disengage it and blow yourself up. :mad::mad: I should also clarify that I'm also not talking about buying a shitload of camo gear, spending your monthly salary on .223 ammo and converting your weekend warrior AR-15 to full-auto, joining a fringe militia bent on overthrowing the government, nor spending your every weekend trudging through the mountains and forests of Idaho on "military-style missions" in expectation of Armageddon. Don't become a nut... just be prepared. :rolleyes:

[archangel]

everything but the c4 and claymore are things that any citizen could get with the right licenses, and you may be able to get the claymores, but that's the only thing i'm not sure on. the only thing that you have to be government, police, or gov contractor to have is the c4 so unless he did work for a gc that was the only thing that was def illeagal. the rest may have been but the c4 almost certainly

What if I want to get rid of that tree stump in my back yard? Shouldn't I be allowed to get about 50lbs of C4, plug 8 or 10 dets into the brick, and stand a few feet away while my tree stump gets vaporized? It's every average citizen's right, especially those that get their military training from The Internet Academy. :cool:

All joking aside though, I think because the show is fiction, any argument can be made about what licenses Burt holds and whether or not he can obtain C4 legally or not..

[Cabbage Patch]

I need to correct myself on a key point, it is legal for American citizens to own anti-tank rocket launchers! Technically.

Class 3 of the National Firearms Act includes a category, in addition to machineguns and silenced weapons, called Destructive Devices. Destructive devices include rocket launchers, grenades, and military grade explosives such as C4. To qualify you have to go through a special background check and explain to the BATF why you need the devices in question, but it is theoretically possible for a private citizen to get the license (1 required per item, cost $1,000 per item per year).

So there was a very small chance that everything that Burt had in his store was there legally. Not likely, but possible.

[nikvoodoo]

I am not well versed in American Gun laws (especially since it varies from state to state.....all I know about weapons laws is if I'm carrying my work knife I need to make sure I unclip it from my pocket before I walk out of the building or I'll get arrested), so I will certainly defer to those who know better than I.

The only reason I make my "Black Market Dealer" claim, which I do so with tongue firmly planted in cheek, on Burt is because he himself said some of the stuff he had wasn't exactly legal.

[archangel]

The only reason I make my "Black Market Dealer" claim, which I do so with tongue firmly planted in cheek, on Burt is because he himself said some of the stuff he had wasn't exactly legal.

Well, that's actually a good point.. haha.. when it comes directly from Burt's mouth, the argument becomes moot.. :)

[dontkillburt]

Law enforcement finds caches of illegal and stolen military weapontry all the time in the U.S. Christ, one idiot stole a tank out of a natl guard installation in San Diego back in the '90s and drove it literally "through" town for almost an hour. If it's out there, it can be had by hook or by crook. I think Burt even had claymore mines. Those things should be illegal even in time of war, but I'm sure there are some stuffed in a box in somebody's garage somewhere.

And Burt certainly had nothing to do with Pippen's death. Like nikvoodoo said, he was with Saul at LAX.

[reaper239]

Class 3 of the National Firearms Act includes a category, in addition to machineguns and silenced weapons, called Destructive Devices. Destructive devices include rocket launchers, grenades, and military grade explosives such as C4.

i did not know the c4 could be obtained with a class three. that is interesting. i don't think burt was really a black market dealer, i think it is more likely that he was selling that to a friend or something like that and the rest of that stuff was because he was a gun nut. heck, i want his toys.

on a side note, who else here thinks Alchohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be a convenience store and not a government agency?

[Conejita]

weren't all the mallers in jail? my guess is if the mallers knew about the rpgs it was because someone on the outside was planning a breakout. more likely though, when the mallers escaped, they fanned out in all directions and took whatever wasn't nailed down.

Wasn't Latch doing time for something Scratch had done? I think I remember her saying she was the one who broke him out of jail.

[nikvoodoo]

Wasn't Latch doing time for something Scratch had done? I think I remember her saying she was the one who broke him out of jail.

I'm pretty sure it was confirmed by kc that scratch was not in jail at the time of the outbreak. At the very least she wasn't at eastern bay.

[archangel]

I think Burt even had claymore mines. Those things should be illegal even in time of war, but I'm sure there are some stuffed in a box in somebody's garage somewhere.

I think you might be confusing Claymores with buried mines that typically kill and maim so many children who find them. Claymores aren't designed to be stepped on as a means of detonation. I believe you're thinking of those movie mines where you see someone step on the button in the middle and then can't step off again without detonating it and then you see his buddy try to pry a knife under his boot to take the pressure off, while they both sweat buckets. Claymores sit above ground, are aimed at approaching enemy lines, and are designed to take out (1) pursuers, and (2) masses of soldiers (or zombies :) )trying to overwhelm your line.

By the way, it's not the mine that kills people.. it's the malevolent person who plants it that kills people. You don't need mines to get the same results. Even if no mines were produced, these people would find other means of maiming people. The Viet Cong rarely had access to mines, so they used other means like Pungi Traps. Look it up.. I'll take a mine any day over tripping and/or falling into a pungi trap.

[reaper239]

I think you might be confusing Claymores with buried mines that typically kill and maim so many children who find them. Claymores aren't designed to be stepped on as a means of detonation. I believe you're thinking of those movie mines where you see someone step on the button in the middle and then can't step off again without detonating it and then you see his buddy try to pry a knife under his boot to take the pressure off, while they both sweat buckets. Claymores sit above ground, are aimed at approaching enemy lines, and are designed to take out (1) pursuers, and (2) masses of soldiers (or zombies :) )trying to overwhelm your line.

By the way, it's not the mine that kills people.. it's the malevolent person who plants it that kills people. You don't need mines to get the same results. Even if no mines were produced, these people would find other means of maiming people. The Viet Cong rarely had access to mines, so they used other means like Pungi Traps. Look it up.. I'll take a mine any day over tripping and/or falling into a pungi trap.

there are few people i've heard make as much sense about weapons as you. i heard some guys talking about gun control and the one guy says "so do you think EVERYONE should have machine guns?" real snotty sounding, and the guy he was talking to, without missing a beat, said "yes. there is nothing a law abiding citizen would do with a machine gun that he would not do with a handgun." the guy looked shocked. i laughed. i think everyone should have a machine gun, like switzerland, then zombies wouldn't stand a chance.

[Osiris]

I think you might be confusing Claymores with buried mines that typically kill and maim so many children who find them. Claymores aren't designed to be stepped on as a means of detonation. I believe you're thinking of those movie mines where you see someone step on the button in the middle and then can't step off again without detonating it and then you see his buddy try to pry a knife under his boot to take the pressure off, while they both sweat buckets. Claymores sit above ground, are aimed at approaching enemy lines, and are designed to take out (1) pursuers, and (2) masses of soldiers (or zombies :) )trying to overwhelm your line.

By the way, it's not the mine that kills people.. it's the malevolent person who plants it that kills people. You don't need mines to get the same results. Even if no mines were produced, these people would find other means of maiming people. The Viet Cong rarely had access to mines, so they used other means like Pungi Traps. Look it up.. I'll take a mine any day over tripping and/or falling into a pungi trap.

Mines and claymores maim more than they kill. They're a wholly malevolent weapon. Sadists use them when they're losing.

[archangel]

there are few people i've heard make as much sense about weapons as you. i heard some guys talking about gun control and the one guy says "so do you think EVERYONE should have machine guns?" real snotty sounding, and the guy he was talking to, without missing a beat, said "yes. there is nothing a law abiding citizen would do with a machine gun that he would not do with a handgun." the guy looked shocked. i laughed. i think everyone should have a machine gun, like switzerland, then zombies wouldn't stand a chance.

Thank you Reaper.. I don't want to turn this thread into a gun rights thing or anything, but I look at it this way: The recent attack in Norway... nobody had a gun except the attacker. Would we have had 85 people killed if those attacked had guns? I'll debate anyone any day that if people (meaning responsible adults) had been armed during the attack, the gunman would have shot a couple of people at most before being shot himself by law abiding gun owning citizens.

If responsible, law abiding citizens were allowed to carry guns, would an average robber still be as ballsy about entering a liquor store or a bank to rob it, or would he consider the fact that he might get shot as soon as he screamed out "This is a robb....!" Obviously not everyone should be allowed to own a gun though. I was at my local gun store buying a quad rail for my AR recently when a clearly mentally ill man walked in and asked to see, then buy a gun. You could tell he was mentally ill because of his comments, his lack of care of himself, and his speech impediment. Don't judge me! :)) Anyway, the shop owner couldn't legally refuse him, so he ran his record, which of course came back red-flagged. Of course he was denied the purchase because he wasn't mentally competent enough to be trusted with the responsibility of owning gun. Being a felon or having committed a violent crime should also be an impediment to gun ownership because these people have already proven to be more than willing and prone to violent actions and/or reactions.

The conversation you heard is true and accurate. A law abiding citizen would not do anything more with a machine gun that he wouldn't do with a handgun, or even a bow and arrow for that matter. Gun control supporters always spout about other countries where guns aren't even allowed, but they never mention the attacks committed with bladed weapons, hammers, nail guns, baseball bats, axes, and tons of blunt objects. "Hammers don't kill people.. people kill people" :))

[archangel]

Mines and claymores maim more than they kill. They're a wholly malevolent weapon. Sadists use them when they're losing.

I absolutely disagree. I think that's an amateur comment coming from a lot of misinformation, and/or information put out by the media in voice against indiscriminate use of mines by governments (or rebel factions) not concerned with the safety of its citizens. These are atrocious acts and worthy of criticism and criminal prosecution. That's one side of the story, but there is another side. There are many legitimate uses for mines and mine fields. In war, claymores are placed around a night (or day) encampment in enemy territory to protect soldiers from being surprised and overwhelmed by enemy combatants. They're also used to cover a retreat, usually under enemy fire. They're not, however, indiscriminately used against civilians.

Mines, when in the hands of legitimate governments who adhere to conventions, are used to protect assets, borders, and personnel. We don't place mines and mine fields without clearly marking and mapping the field. Not all governments follow these rules, but that's when they're knowingly committing a criminal act without fear of repercussion. The Bosnians and Serbians did this.. Uganda did this... many African nations do this. It's criminal, but let's be fair here. These mines are bought illegitimately over the black market from fringe governments and defunct governments surplus (USSR for example (that's Russia for those of you born after 1990)), and from illegal gun runners, etc. Uganda never bought a mine from the US military, neither did any Bosnian or Serbian. Again, I need to clarify that you don't need mines to accomplish the same results. You can make home-made explosives, cocktails (not the type you drink), to maim and kill just as effectively. Many chemicals, when mixed will cause an explosive reaction. Put a small ziploc bag with one chemical in a larger ziploc bag with the reactive chemical, fill it with nails, and when stepped on the bags rip, the chemicals mix, and guess what? Death and destruction. No mine needed. People have always come up with very creative ways to kill one another in the name of stupidity.

In the end, there are many legitimate reasons to use mines (I only addressed a couple), and many illegitimate uses for mines. It's not the mines that need to go, it's the people and the governments that use them illegally that need to go. Outlaw motorcycle gangs use hammers as their weapons of choice because they can legally carry them, but does that mean we should ban hammers? A mine, like a hammer, is an inert object. It's the man behind the hammer (or mine) who's the real danger to society.

[h3half]

Like the saying goes, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."

And if this is going to be a Gun Control debate, than I want to put my 2 cents in. (My perspective is that of a law-abiding US Citizen)

Whether guns are legal or not, crimes will still be committed. Crimes that will involve guns. Some states have "Concealed Carry Licenses" for people to be able to carry a concealed handgun legally. Some states are completely on the Gun Control bandwagon. But if you deny the citizens the "Right to Bear Arms" (as the Constitution says) than it's not a giant leap to start denying standard law enforcement guns. If the police don't have guns, how in the hell are they going to stop the bank robbers running around with AK-47s? I know that denying police the ability to have guns is a very very far stretch, but think of the implications! Whether or not guns are legal, the robbers will have them from the Black Market. Making guns illegal will just cut down on the husband/wife murders we see not-all-that-often.

Summary: Gun control is bad. If I want to own a handgun to protect myself and I am
1: Not mentally impaired
2: Have no criminal record, at all
3: Am over the age of 18 (or possibly 21)
than I should be able to buy one. Legally.

[Ra1th]

Hey guys, let's try and keep this thread on topic. Although it's an interesting debate to have, gun control is not the topic for this particular thread. If you guys want to discuss that further, I'd suggest starting a new thread dedicated to that topic but should you do so, please keep things civilized. We encourage debate but personal attacks will not be tolerated.

So without further ado, Burt's black market dealings for the RPG and how that might lead to a connection with the mallers.

[Grognaurd]

Hmmm....

Could there be more than one special weapon? I have some continuity conflict in my mind.

The outbreak occurs and Burt runs to his store. When he gets there, the safe had been cracked. At this time, I would assume Latch is still in jail. For this to work, Scratch has to fight her way into a Maximum Security Prison, spring Latch and all the others. Reorganize and then go from the prison (West LA, almost at the coast over to Burt's shop which is on the far side of East LA. They must do this by basically going through Ground Zero on the day of the outbreak and have to accomplilsh this task before Burt gets there. Maybe Burt loligags on the day of the outbreak. But, as a survivalist, I think he would have a go-back and get to his shop pretty damn quick.

I can envision Scratch breaking into Burt's safe and getting the RPG. But, I am hard pressed to see how Latch could could do it.

But, then we still have an incongruity because we know Latch got some sort of weapon out of a safe.

[reaper239]

i don't think there are continuty issues because burt never says how long it took him to get to his store. it wasn't until friday (i think, maybe saturday) that saul and angel found him in the bathroom. probably the latest he could've arrived and been trapped was that morning wich gives scratch wednsday night for the jail break, and then all day thursday for the raids. in reality prisons aren't hard to get into, you can walk right into most, what makes it hard is doing it without the guards seeing you. the guards would no doubt have abandoned their posts by early afternon wednsday to go home and tend their families. this would mean that scratch would just have to sneak by any zombies around the prison and then the prison would've been realatively clear.

[cPT.cAPSLOCK]

Listening to the chapters, it's clear it was illegal the way he was selling it. Whether possible or not, he didn't have the required papers.
While the mallers would've been in jail, it's definitely plausible that one of them knew about him as a black-market dealer. That's most likely I guess.

[h3half]

Maybe Scratch went to Locked & Loaded before springing the inmates? It would be a lot of stuff for one person to carry, but if a zombie apocalypse occurs a gun store would be a pretty obvious choice. Maybe Scratch had broke into there before? Burt said that the people "knew what they were doing" so maybe Scratch already had some hands-on time with Burt's security system. If she went to the prison with explosives, that would explain why they didn't just stay there, if she blew a giant hole in the wall.

That being said, a prison would be super easy to get into without guards. You could literally just walk right in, so I don't see why she would blow a hole in the wall. Just putting it out there, though.

[nikvoodoo]

There's also the possibility that the theft of Locked and Loaded was coincidental to the outbreak. A scenario I played out in my head just now makes sense.

Scratch is planning on staging some kind of jail break, so she goes and robs Locked and Loaded in the early A.M. of May 8th. The outbreak occurs rendering Scratch's plan moot. In the meantime, Burt goes to the shop (as you may have noted throughout the series he has sort of a blasé attitude about most things....like when he feels like opening his shop), a little later than his normal time, finds it raided, and only has enough time to investigate the expertly broken into GUN safe (;)) get into the bathroom before he gets eaten.

The basic gist of the situation is I don't think the Mallers as a collective existed when the robbery happened, or else they probably would have found a way into Burt's vault. It seems like the RPG might have targeted for theft specifically....perhaps to punch a hole in the wall of the prison to facilitate the escape of certain convicts.

Not to mention, the Maller territory seems to only be on the Western half of the city or the Tower and the Mallers probably would have encountered each other earlier, especially since the Tower advertised their position with Pegs' sign. If the Mallers (and not just Scratch) found this amazing cache of weapons protected by a huge vault, I think they might have moved their camp closer to Locked and Loaded.

[Eitri]

I wouldnt call them illegal or sold on the black Market, Hes a gun collector and a Marine so he has a good reason

[h3half]

You wouldn't call them illegal?

Well I can't say I have read the giant book of US laws we have at the local public library, but I can guarantee that owning C4, RPGs, assault rifles, SMGs, handguns, Claymore AP mines, straight-up AP mines, etc is illegal.

Gun collectors still have the have the permits and such, but most weapons you CAN get legally. Most.

(Also, Burt came right out and pretty much said most of it was illegal outside of the Maller's mall. He said 10% of his C4 was legal)

[Cabbage Patch]

I don't think we should assume that Scratch was working on her own prior to the breakout from Eastern Bay. Remember that the only person in We're Alive that we know, beyond a doubt, was in prison on the day of the Zombie outbreak was Latch. While I assumed that Durai and the other Mallers were prisoners who were released by Scratch I haven't been able to find anything in the story that actually says that.

What if Durai wasn't a prisoner in Eastern Bay, but rather on the outside, and the mastermind behind a prison break that just happened to come at the same time as the outbreak. Scratch was then his Lieutenant from the outset, along with some extended crew of henchmen and minions. That gives them the manpower to raid Locked and Loaded before the outbreak, and eliminates any problems with timelines or continuity.

[nikvoodoo]

I don't think we should assume that Scratch was working on her own prior to the breakout from Eastern Bay. Remember that the only person in We're Alive that we know, beyond a doubt, was in prison on the day of the Zombie outbreak was Latch. While I assumed that Durai and the other Mallers were prisoners who were released by Scratch I haven't been able to find anything in the story that actually says that.

What if Durai wasn't a prisoner in Eastern Bay, but rather on the outside, and the mastermind behind a prison break that just happened to come at the same time as the outbreak. Scratch was then his Lieutenant from the outset, along with some extended crew of henchmen and minions. That gives them the manpower to raid Locked and Loaded before the outbreak, and eliminates any problems with timelines or continuity.

Durai was in prison. Though not explicitly stated, Latch implies it in his conversation with Scratch (in chapter 6-2 around the 16 minute mark) that Durai was imprisoned and continues to reward Scratch for springing all of them.

[Cabbage Patch]

Durai was in prison. Though not explicitly stated, Latch implies it in his conversation with Scratch (in chapter 6-2 around the 16 minute mark) that Durai was imprisoned and continues to reward Scratch for springing all of them.

Just re-listened to the section, and it really strongly implies that Durai was one of the released prisoners. But it doesn't say that explicitly. And Latch's statement could still work if Durai was the mastermind on the outside, rewarding Scratch for releasing his imprisoned colleagues. I'm not saying that's the case here, just that I haven't found anything that makes it impossible.

And it didn't have to be Durai. The outside mastermind scenario could have been some other person who we've never seen, who might not even have survived the outbreak. That person could have ordered the RPG from Burt, bankrolled Scratch's jailbreak plan and provided the manpower to loot Locked & Loaded.

[Hollomandious]

In the early chapters, Burt said he had collected those weapons because of the whole Y2K thing. He was probably just unloading some of his stuff to make some scratch (no pub intended).

[h3half]

Just re-listened to the section, and it really strongly implies that Durai was one of the released prisoners. But it doesn't say that explicitly. And Latch's statement could still work if Durai was the mastermind on the outside, rewarding Scratch for releasing his imprisoned colleagues. I'm not saying that's the case here, just that I haven't found anything that makes it impossible.

And it didn't have to be Durai. The outside mastermind scenario could have been some other person who we've never seen, who might not even have survived the outbreak. That person could have ordered the RPG from Burt, bankrolled Scratch's jailbreak plan and provided the manpower to loot Locked & Loaded.

That would make a lot of sense. I see two possibilities about how Scratch came to be second-in-command and those are either (A) Durai was the mastermind and Scratch was the one that was going to be doing the springing, or (B) Scratch, Latch, Durai & co were all in a gang. A very, very violent one where everyone got busted. It might be a long shot, but if Scratch sprung everyone - Including Durai, who is assumed to be the gang leader - she would then let Durai keep control of his gang. Then she got second-in-command for saving everyone's life.