For a second, Elizabeth had the strange sense that, at least in the moment, Lana was more a mother or older sister than a daughter to her. Someone strong, her feet firmly planted on a foundation Elizabeth didn’t see.

  The feeling faded, but it left Elizabeth reeling all the same. There was no way to protect Lana. Caleb had trusted Elizabeth and she had to trust her daughter. Maybe it was true that Elizabeth couldn’t do this—not on her own. But with Lana, maybe that changed. Maybe Lana was more competent, more ready, than she’d been able to see.

  “Your father went out on deployment.” Her voice was rough but even. “With this lieutenant that thought he was sabotaging them. He didn’t tell me why, there wasn’t time. But if Derek told you about this… plan, then that must be some part of it. What else did Derek say?”

  Lana squeezed her eyes shut, cursing softly. “He said that after the mountain was secured, they could ‘clean house’. It’s got to mean getting rid of people the general doesn’t trust. It sounds like that could mean Dad, and that probably means us, too. Why did they think Dad was sabotaging them? Which lieutenant was it?”

  Elizabeth spread her hands. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “He didn’t give me a name. Who is Derek deployed with, do you know?”

  “Warren,” Lana murmured as she began to pace. “Okay, so—Dad told you something, right? What else did he say?”

  Elizabeth turned and retrieved the keycard from the pillow. She held it up for Lana to see. “He gave me this. It’s high security. He says it will get us out the back exit, and that we should meet him there at 2100 hours. He says he’ll make sure it’s clear.”

  Lana looked at the clock on the table between the cots. “Almost three hours from now… okay.”

  As Elizabeth watched, wheels turned in Lana’s head. She began to pace, cracking her knuckles. “Back exit… there’s a wastewater disposal site outside there. I’m not due to empty the barrels for another day, but I could say I need to do it early.”

  “Do you think whoever is there would go for it?” Elizabeth asked.

  Lana shrugged. “Depends on who’s there at 2100. It’s off-shift, but I could say I’m bored, and want to get ahead. Of course, if it’s someone who knows about this house-cleaning phase, they might have orders not to let anyone leave. If that were the case…”

  Her daughter almost missed a step, and her face paled slightly as she looked away from Elizabeth.

  “What’s wrong?”

  For several seconds, Lana stared at the door, her eyes twitching back and forth before she swallowed loudly and shivered. She straightened slightly and leveled a hard gaze at Elizabeth. “There’s usually only one guard at the back entrance. On the inside, anyway. If whoever it is won’t let us out, I… I can probably get close.”

  Get close and try to take them out, Elizabeth knew. Her breath came fast and hot. “Absolutely not,” she started, “Lana, you are not going to—“

  But Lana cut her off. “It’s a last resort. But I’ve been learning fast from Derek. Close quarter stuff, grappling, throwing, locks. And anyway, getting close won’t be hard. You must have noticed no one gives the women around here a second glance. We’re basically invisible.”

  “Only metaphorically,” Elizabeth argued. “Not literally. I don’t want you fighting a trained soldier, Lana. That’s… it’s too much, you could be hurt.”

  Lana’s expression soured to petulance in an instant. “I’m better than you think I am, Mom. I take Derek down more than half the time.”

  “Derek is barely older than you,” Elizabeth said, even if she knew it probably had nothing to do with it. Lana had been training hard, she knew that. But this—actual, deadly, potentially armed combat—was very different.

  “Can you just trust me?” Lana demanded. She threw her hands up. “For once, can you just… believe that I’m stronger and better than you think I am?”

  The words cut Elizabeth deep. For a moment, she was back in their old house, hearing Lana scream at her the day she left for college. Now, here they were. And Elizabeth had already seen it in her daughter—this newfound strength. Or, maybe, she finally saw the strength that had always been there.

  It didn’t matter which direction they went, or how they got where they needed to go. It would be dangerous. There wasn’t a safe path for them. And Caleb was counting on her—on both of them—to get to where they needed to be.

  “Okay,” she finally relented. “We have a little less than three hours. How do we play this?”

  Lana relaxed some and held out a hand for the keycard. Elizabeth handed it over, and her daughter turned it thoughtfully in her fingers. “What level of clearance is this?”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t know. High, though, your father said.”

  Lana nodded and tucked it into her pocket. “Okay. Meet me in janitorial supply in… about an hour. Make a mess of the sheets; spill something, throw up on them, whatever you need to do. Then strip the bed and take them with you so no one will question it.”

  “An hour?” Elizabeth asked, suddenly alarmed at the idea of being separated. “What are you going to do until then?”

  Lana went to the door. “I’m going to do my job.” She snorted as she pulled the door open. “And I’m pretty sure no one will even notice.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CALEB

  Horse Creek Base, New United States

  Friday, June 18th, 7:32 pm EST

  Caleb stared up at the clouded sky. No rain. No ash. Clouds hung thick and low, obscuring the evening sun. Darkness coated the mountainside.

  He breathed in the putrid stank of stale breath leftover from whomever previously used the respirator he’d been issued and exhaled in a rush. The filter needed changing. He sucked in another ragged breath, distracted by the lack of adequate air.

  Any kind of tactical operation would be near pointless without night gear, yet here they were. Cold bit his cheeks and ears as distant thunder rumbled somewhere down the mountain. It would storm again soon. Another ominous sign.

  He stood off to the side, waiting as Warren and a corporal he didn’t know checked the last bodies of the Beta unit patrol detail.

  “Three rifles missing,” Warren called out. “Anyone see them?”

  “Nothing here.” Derek scouted an area twenty yards south.

  Another junior enlisted called from the north side. “Might have been some sort of a scuffle over here, can’t be sure. No weapons.”

  Caleb confirmed the same. “Nothing in this area.” Except dead bodies.

  Seven men, all dead. Caleb clenched his jaw as he surveyed the mountain. A pair of outcroppings flanked the dead, about sixty yards apart. Beta unit had likely come in from the west, circling around toward the second half of their route.

  “Ideal spot for an ambush.” Warren approached Caleb with his rifle at the ready. “Wonder how they knew?”

  Caleb ignored the obvious accusation. He didn’t know the terrain well enough to have leaked any information and couldn’t have made contact over the comms without someone in the base knowing about it. If he had to lay all that out for the general later, he would.

  He fit details of the situation together in his mind until a picture formed. “With the storms, fires, and quakes, we haven’t seen much wildlife. But there’s no building, no foot traffic around here for a few miles. My guess is, this was executed by some locals, probably hunters, who know the mountain well enough to pick the best ambush point.”

  Warren snorted out a curse. “Still think all these civvies are harmless innocents?”

  Caleb never said that to Warren. He also hadn’t used those words with the general, even though he’d questioned the policy. But Warren knew his opinion all the same. Thomas and Warren must have talked. Not good.

  Derek entered Caleb’s peripheral vision. “The radio’s missing, sir,” he reported to Warren. “Do we assume comms are compromised?”

  The lieutenant raised an eyebrow at Caleb. “Sergeant?”

  Caleb resisted the urge to correct the man. He hadn’t been an E-5 for years. “They’d need the code for the box. Unless they got the code off one of our boys, they can’t operate the radio at all.”

  He glanced up at the darkening sky. Had six hours passed since he enabled the encryption? Close. The secondary encryption scheme might have triggered by now.

  He hedged. “But we have no idea who these people are, what they’ve got at their disposal. Probably best to assume we’re not entirely secure.”

  Warren muttered something under his breath and spat. “Alright,” he called, loud enough for the unit to hear him, “radio silent for the moment, ladies. Let’s keep moving. Eyes and ears open, obviously these civvies are armed. Shoot on sight.”

  Caleb jerked, eyes snapping to Warren’s face. He was already staring, eyebrow quirked behind the grimy mask in an unspoken challenge.

  “Problem with that, Machert?”

  “Shoot on sight might be a bit premature.”

  The lieutenant stared him down and Caleb calculated his odds. If Warren moved on him at this range, brought his rifle up, tried to take a shot, Caleb could defend himself.

  “Better them than us.” Warren’s stance softened and Caleb let out a trapped breath. “You think they had a conversation with our boys before they put bullets in them?”

  No, they probably hadn’t. Caleb shook his head and kept his mouth shut, and after a moment, Warren gave the order to move out.

  As he fell into line, he caught Derek watching him. Something in the kid’s eyes worried him. He stared a little too long. His Adam’s apple bobbed. Nerves, obviously—but why?

  The kid was close with Lana, but that couldn’t be it. Had he been given the order to execute Caleb? Or at least told he might have to? Or was he worried about what happened when they found this civilian group?

  Caleb shook it off. Don’t break concentration. Keep on your guard.

  They proceeded to one of the first watch points intelligence surmised might afford a glimpse at the group coming through. As they walked, it hit him: they’d heard no gunshots.

  The ambush had taken place before the civilian group could have come this far. Were there others out on the mountain? Had the group sent forward a set of scouts? If so, they might be back with the main group, armed and ready. The possibility set Caleb on edge.

  Twenty minutes into the walk, Private Klein, a kid barely older than Derek and built like a squat brick wall, whistled a warning. Warren held up a fist and the unit stopped. It didn’t take long to spot the movement down the mountain.

  At that distance, and with the gloom growing by the second, they were difficult to count, even with a scope. More than a dozen, Caleb guessed.

  Warren peered through binoculars. “That’s them. Take positions. Let them get a bit closer, then we open up. See how they like it.”

  Caleb lowered his rifle. “Sir,” he kept his voice calm and even, “I don’t see any weapons on them.”

  The lieutenant glanced in his direction. “Good, it’ll go faster.”

  “What I mean is, these can’t be the people who ambushed Beta unit. They’re too far below us.” Caleb pressed on. “We’re down at least seven men who can’t be easily replaced. Shouldn’t we question the civilians, see if there’s anyone the general can use? Former military, specialists, medics?”

  This, at least, Warren seemed to consider for a long moment. The population at the base wasn’t infinite. Some of the men on the ground had been more than infantry or recon. Most everyone on base served multiple roles.

  After a few seconds, Warren spoke up again, waving the unit close so he could keep his voice low. “Alright—Keller and Ramy, you two circle around to their six. Nichols and Warton, flank at three; Barton and Mueller, nine. Machert and Prince, you’re with me on approach. Box ‘em in; anyone runs, you know the drill.”

  Each of the eight members of the unit gave silent acknowledgments, and Warren signaled them to get to it. Three pairs peeled off and headed down the mountain. Caleb and Derek followed along behind Warren.

  After a few steps, the lieutenant slowed, then waved them forward. “Take point. I’ll cover our six.”

  Caleb almost snorted. Leave it to Warren to telegraph the obvious: he didn’t trust Caleb at his back. Fair, given that Caleb didn’t trust Warren on his. And, for that matter, he wasn’t sure he trusted Derek there, either.

  It was a tense creep down the incline because of it, Caleb’s heart pounding in his ears, his breath coming hard through the respirator that refused to accommodate.

  He tried to calm his nerves. Liz and Lana aren’t in immediate danger. It’s too early to tell how this is going to play out. Stay focused.

  They approached the civilians with caution, creeping through the forested mountainside, careful not to snap a branch or rustle a pile of ash-covered leaves. The civilians took shape as they advanced. Caleb counted at least ten adults, a few teenagers at most, and at least three young children. All sported something on their backs, but most of the packs looked flat and empty.

  None appeared armed. Not with the kind of rifles that had made the shots he’d seen in Beta unit or anything else for that matter—no pistols, knives, not even any improvised weapons.

  Before he could advise Warren, the lieutenant called out to the group. “That’s far enough,” he shouted. “Everyone stand where you are, raise your hands over your head, and get on your knees. You are trespassing on an NUS military outpost. You are surrounded, and anyone fleeing will be shot. Compliance is mandatory, no exceptions or questions. Everyone down, now.”

  Caleb’s jaw clenched as a series of questioning and panicked cries rose from the group. Some made to run, but others grabbed them and pulled them down. In a few seconds, all of them, including the young children, were on their knees, their hands above their heads.

  “We’re just trying to get across the mountains,” someone, an older woman Caleb thought, called out to them. “We don’t want any trouble, really. We’re unarmed. We don’t even have much food, we’re—“

  “No exceptions, no questions,” Warren repeated, and nudged Caleb in the shoulder. “Get them lined up, Sergeant. Private, you too.”

  Caleb’s spine stiffened as the cold steel of a rifle barrel nudged his back. Warren had the advantage, and he knew it. Caleb forced a breath and stepped out from cover before moving down the incline toward the bedraggled bunch.

  Eyes wide with terror tracked the three of them as they approached, dirty faces streaked with a mix of ash and tears. Parents huddled close to their children, hands and arms shaking. Caleb swallowed down a wave of guilt. He was a part of this, whether he approved or not.

  None of these people looked well equipped. Maybe there was a doctor among them, but none were former military, or anyone who’d been able to think far enough ahead to prepare properly for a trek across this terrain.

  Still, Caleb worked with Derek to line the group up. Two rows, one of twelve and one of eleven. Twenty-three in all. Behind them, the rear pair closed in, rifles raised.

  Warren stood just behind Caleb and Derek, a few paces back. “Alright,” he said loudly, “if any of you have a weapon, now is your one and only chance to lay them down in front of you. Anyone makes a move, raises a gun, tries to take a shot, everyone will be executed without hesitation. Am I understood?”

  Though there was a chorus of murmured agreement, no one moved to put anything on the ground.

  The lieutenant nodded to the team behind them. “Check ‘em.”

  Two of the privates Caleb didn’t know, a knob-knuckled pair no older than twenty, stepped up to the group and began patting them down and opening packs.

  As they did, Warren spoke up again. “Anyone here have a valuable skill? Doctors, engineers, anyone with US military service?”

  One man’s hand lifted a bit higher. “Here.” He was older, at least in his sixties, faced marked with a scraggly white beard coated in grime. Deep lines etched the corners of his eyes where ash had collected. “I’m an environmental engineer. I worked for the Bureau of Land Management. Thirty years.”

  “WTF?” Warren asked it under his breath, not loud enough for the crowd to hear.

  “Resource management,” Caleb informed him without turning around. “Waste disposal and reclamation. Forest preservation. That kind of thing.”

  The lieutenant clucked his tongue. “Wasn’t asking you, Machert.”

  Caleb gritted his teeth. “Maybe radio it in, sir? He could be useful. They could all be useful. Sir.”

  There was a long, cold silence in which Caleb listened for any evidence that Warren was about to put a bullet in the back of his head. The slightest shuffle of fabric, the shift of ash or the crunch of dry leaves beneath. Even the rattle of the rifle strap where it hooked to his weapon.

  “The general’s orders are clear.” Warren’s response came quiet and laced with venom. “I have a list of potential personnel to look out for, Sergeant. Environmental Engineer isn’t on it.”

  The knot in Caleb’s stomach tightened for a brief moment before a surge of adrenaline kicked in. It flooded his limbs, sharpened his senses, cleared his mind. These civilians were not going to die. Not in front of him. Not at his hands.

  He glanced sideways at Private Prince. Not Derek anymore; not Lana’s friend. Either a target or an ally. Sweat beaded across the private’s forehead.

  If Caleb was wrong, he was about to die.

  “Put them do—“ Warren started.

  He didn’t get the order out. Caleb snapped around, rifle up, and fired. Short burst, three shots. Warren wore the same flak vest as the rest of them, but at least one shot sent a spray of blood bursting from his neck as he toppled backward.

  Caleb swung around, dropping to a knee. As the barrel of his rifle swept past Derek, he caught the young private doing the same, his weapon aimed away, toward the two soldiers directly behind the civilians.