These people were professionals. It was easy to see why they were put in charge of planning the attack. All four strode with purpose to the center of the stage and stood in the spotlights.
“Okay, everybody,” Matt called out. He didn’t have to yell. The acoustics in the theater were perfect.
“We knew something like this would happen eventually,” he began. “What can I say? We blew it. The guy slipped through our security. But I want you to know that the kids he came with didn’t know what he was up to. They’re victims as much as we are.”
I felt the heat of a few nasty stares. I don’t think everybody agreed that we were totally innocent, and maybe they were right.
Matt continued, “It is what it is. What’s more important to know is that those planes will be back again tonight. Count on it. When it gets dark, Las Vegas will cease to exist.”
This prompted nervous murmurs from the crowd.
“Our evacuation plan has us going to Los Angeles,” Matt continued. “We can’t do that. We learned from the infiltrator that they’re planning another wave of mass executions, and the first stop will be LA.”
Once again, the crowd broke out with anxious murmurs. Matt had to raise his hands to quiet them down.
“The alternate city for us is San Diego,” he announced. “The corridor between LA and San Diego is a busy one. For those who want to go that route, it will be easy enough to disappear. My suggestion is to stay away from the city itself. Any big city. They’re going to be targeted again.”
A guy stood up in the second row and shouted, “We get it. We gotta get out. But what about the reason we came here?”
Many people shouted their support with “Yeah!” and that got everyone shouting out their opinion.
Matt quieted them down and continued.
“That’s what we’re here to decide,” he said. “We’ve got to leave here. Today. The question is, do we run? Or do we put the plan in motion that brought us here in the first place?”
Most everyone applauded and cheered the second option. These people were ready for action.
Matt beamed.
“Yeah, that’s what I figured. Before we go down that road, you have to understand, it’s going to be more dangerous now. We don’t believe the infiltrator had any specific knowledge of our plans, so he couldn’t pass them along. But the enemy will be on alert now. This mission was never going to be easy, but it just got a hell of a lot more difficult.”
The crowd became instantly quiet.
“So I’m putting it out there, if anybody wants to leave, do it now. Nobody will blame you. Take a car and head out. This is your chance. But if you stay, understand that you’re in till the end. We can’t risk letting any more information get out. If you try to leave after this briefing, you will be shot. I promise you that. I’ll give you a minute to think it over.”
The normally jovial guy had suddenly turned dark. I believed he meant what he said.
Many in the crowd shared conversations, no doubt rolling around the options.
I knew Tori would want to stay. I couldn’t say the same about Kent and Olivia.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“I think I’m scared,” Olivia said. “I’m not a guerilla fighter.”
She got no argument from me.
“Maybe I should take Olivia out of here,” Kent offered. “She won’t make it on her own. We’ll go to Florida like she wanted in the first place.”
Tori said, “So that means you don’t want to fight, Kent?”
“No!” Kent said defensively. “I’m just thinking about Olivia. I don’t know if she can handle this.”
“I can’t,” she said, obviously shaken. “Look at me. I’m only here because I had nowhere else to go. I don’t want any part of a fight. Kent, will you stay with me?”
“You know I will,” Kent said reassuringly. “You just saved my life. I owe you, and I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
I believed he meant it. He really did care about Olivia, and now that she had saved his life he was determined to take care of her. It was out of character for him, which made it all the more noble. Though I respected his feelings, it left me with a huge dilemma. Based on what Captain Granger told me, any one of these three could be Retro infiltrators. I didn’t want to believe it, but it was a definite possibility. If Kent and Olivia walked, they could go right to the Retros and tell them we were getting ready to attack, and that would be the end of the survivors. If they wanted to leave, I would have to tell the Chiefs. I had no doubt that they’d assume the worst… and that could be the end of Kent and Olivia.
But if they were both innocent, then Olivia was absolutely right. There was no way she could fight, no matter what kind of fight it was.
Neither option was a good one, but if she stayed with us, at least she’d have a chance.
And I could keep an eye on her.
“You can’t leave, Olivia,” I said. “Neither of you can.”
“Why not?” she asked, holding back panic. “Matt said—”
“They’re already suspicious of us because we brought Jon in. I don’t care what Matt says, if you try to leave they’ll assume the worst, and who knows what they’ll do. They might just shoot you.”
“What?” Olivia cried. “Why?”
“That’s what they’ve done with Retros who tried to infiltrate. I think if you walk out of that door, you’re dead.”
The two of them looked sick. I was being harsh, but it was the only way I could think of to get them to stay.
Olivia looked to Kent with pleading eyes. “Would they really do that?”
Kent was visibly shaken. “I… I don’t know. I guess it’s possible.”
“If you stay, at least you’ve got a chance,” I said. “If you leave…”
I let them fill in the rest.
“Now is the time,” Matt announced to the crowd. “If you’re leaving, go now, and good luck to you.”
A handful of people got up and jogged for the exits. Their departure was met with absolute silence. There were no cheers and no insults. There was only stone-cold silence.
I looked at Kent and Olivia. Would they leave? Was I going to have to turn them in as possible traitors?
Olivia fidgeted in her seat.
Kent dropped his head into his hands.
Neither stood up.
It was settled. We would all be in it until the end, together.
When the final door slammed, Matt looked over the crowd.
“Is that it?” he called.
There was no response.
“Fine. I want one person on every door. Nobody comes in, nobody leaves.”
A group of men and women scrambled for the exit doors and took up their positions.
“My God,” Olivia whispered under her breath. “This can’t be happening.”
“Are we secure?” Matt called out.
He was answered by the teams at the doors, who each called out, “Secure!”
“All right then,” Matt bellowed. “We’ve been preparing for weeks. We’ve scouted every inch of terrain. We have the plan. We have the will. Today is the day we fight back!”
A roar of approval went up from the crowd.
Kent looked ready to puke.
“Most of you have heard bits and pieces of the plan, but we haven’t shared it all for security reasons. It’s time you heard it all.”
He stepped back, and the Chief with the short blond hair, Harris, stepped into the spotlight. He spoke with the same precision that he carried himself. His words were clipped and to the point.