“Everything set?” she asked.
“Still working out a few details,” Connor told her. “How about you?”
“I’ve just started, really.” She waved a hand toward the bandages, antiseptics, and painkillers laid neatly out around her. “Since we’re going for speed and maneuverability, I thought I’d try consolidating most of the supplies into one bag per squad, with only small personal packs for each individual soldier.”
“Freeing up more carrying capacity for ammo and munitions,” Connor said, nodding. “I assume you’ll be giving the big bags to the people with the best medical training?”
Kate nodded. “I was thinking Vincennes, Sung, one of the Tantillo brothers—probably Tony—
and Simmons. And of course, I’ll be here as backup.”
“Sounds good,” Connor said. “Now, you want to tell me what has you and Barnes so bothered?”
Kate threw a slightly furtive look at Barnes.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” she hedged.
Which was more or less the answer Connor had expected. Kate never liked questioning his orders or decisions, especially not in front of the others.
“How about you?” Connor asked, turning to Barnes.
Barnes, fortunately or unfortunately, had little of Kate’s reticence and none of her diplomacy.
“I don’t like using all these civilians as bait,” he said flatly. “Especially the people in that last place—Orozco’s group.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing?” Connor asked.
“We’re going to wait until all the T-600s leave and start shooting up the neighborhood before we move in, right?” Barnes countered.
“Would you rather we attack the warehouse with the T-600s still inside?” Connor asked.
Barnes scowled. “No,” he muttered. “But I still don’t like it.”
“There are a lot of children in there,” Kate added quietly.
Connor raised his eyebrows. “Did you offer everyone the chance to come with us?”
Kate sighed. “Yes,” she said. “You saw how many accepted.”
“So we made an offer, and were mostly refused,” Connor said. “We also found them a potential escape route, the drainage tunnel you went in through, which they can use if they want to.”
“Except that Grimaldi’s probably already welded it shut,” Barnes said with a sniff.
“Again, their choice,” Connor said. “There’s really not much else we can do for them.”
“Yeah, but Grimaldi’s the one making all the decisions,” Barnes protested. “The people aren’t.”
“The people made the decision to accept him as their leader,” Connor reminded him.
“I suppose,” Kate said.
Connor looked at Barnes. He grimaced, but gave a reluctant nod.
“Yeah,” he seconded.
“Then let’s get back to work,” Connor said, looking back and forth between them. “Barnes, Tunney’s starting basic with our new recruits. As soon as you’ve finished stowing your gear, I’d like you to give him a hand.”
“Sure,” Barnes said. Nodding to Kate, he headed back across the room.
Connor looked at Kate. “You okay?”
“As okay as I am with anything these days,” she said, her voice a mixture of tension and sadness. “I’m sorry, John—I don’t mean to be questioning your decisions. It was just—all those children—”
“I know,” Connor said quietly. “But you have to try to put them out of your mind, along with all the rest of the misery and injustice that’s out there.” He touched her shoulder. “Focus on the fact that our primary job is to survive long enough to destroy Skynet, so that people won’t ever have to die this way again.”
Kate gave him a faint smile. “I know. Thanks for reminding me.”
Connor smiled back, and turned away. Well, that’s them convinced, he thought as he headed over to join the, group at the maps.
Now, the only one he still had to convince was himself.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
“Kyle?”
The teen started awake, chagrined by the sudden realization that he had, in fact, been asleep.
That hadn’t been his plan, certainly not with Orozco handling guard duty all alone. He must have been more tired than he’d realized.
Way more tired, in fact, he realized as he peered through half-open eyes out into the street.
Nguyen and the other traders were standing outside the archway, and even in the limited sunlight making its way through the overcast sky he could see enough shadow to tell that it was at least a couple of hours past noon. He’d not only slept the morning away, but a good part of the afternoon, too.
He looked over at Star. To his surprise, he saw the same grogginess in her face that he himself was feeling. She must have slept as long and as deeply as he had.
“Come on, Kyle, get it together,” Orozco said.
Kyle looked up at the man kneeling over him. There was a grimness on his face that made Kyle wince even harder. Had he and Star slept straight through the mission Orozco had talked about earlier?
“Sorry,” Kyle apologized as he scrambled to his feet.
“Didn’t mean to sleep so long.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Orozco said, his voice as gruff as his face. “In fact, I’m glad you did.
You’ve got a long day still ahead of you.”
“We’re ready,” Kyle said, checking to make sure the Colt was still riding snugly in his holster.
“What’s the mission?”
“Come over here,” Orozco said. He offered a hand to Star, who ignored it and climbed to her feet without assistance. “You’re going to start by taking Mr. Nguyen and his people to our gasoline supply.”
Kyle felt his eyes widen. The first rule hammered into the skulls of everyone who knew where the gasoline was located was to never, ever take strangers there.
“But—”
“And after that,” Orozco said, “you and Star will be going back to their farm with them. And you won’t come back.”
For a handful of seconds Kyle just stared at him, the words spinning through his brain like moths around a candle.
“What do you mean?” he managed at last. “Are you?—We can’t do that.”
“You have to,” Orozco said, his voice low and earnest and with a pain that Kyle had never heard there before.
“There’s no future for you here. Out there, at least you have a chance.”
And then, abruptly, the circling words fell into place in Kyle’s mind. Into a horrible, terrifying place in a horrible, terrifying reality.
“They’re coming, aren’t they?” he breathed.
“I think so, yes,” Orozco said quietly. “That’s why you and Star need to get out of here.”
“What about the others?” Kyle asked, throwing a look across the empty lobby. “We have to warn them.”
“We will,” Orozco promised. “And we’ll do our best to get them all out. But you and Star are going first.”
Kyle looked at Star. Her eyes were wide, her lower lip trembling. Moldering Lost Ashes was their home, the best and safest they’d ever had. To just throw all that away…
He looked back at Orozco.
“Are you coming with us?” he asked.
“No, but if I can I’ll catch up with you later,” Orozco said. “But whether I do or not, you have to promise me you won’t ever come back here again. Not to look for me, or for anyone else, or to try to collect anything you might leave behind. Once you pass under that archway, you’re gone forever.
Understand?”
Kyle looked again at Star. She was gazing up at Orozco, her face solemn and troubled. Then, lowering her eyes, she silently took Kyle’s hand.
“Yes,” Kyle said for them both.
“Good,” Orozco said. “Then go get anything you have that you want to take. And not a word to anyone else, okay?” He reached down and took Kyle’s Colt from its holster. “Here, I’ll load this for you.”