Orozco watched them go, a dark heaviness settling in around his heart. Of all the people in their sorry little community, Kyle and Star were the ones who should have gone with Barnes’ group.
They were the ones who could have been of the most value to the Resistance’s war against Skynet.
But Barnes was gone, and Orozco didn’t have the faintest idea where to go looking for him.
Even if he had, he didn’t think he would appreciate having someone trying to chase him down, what with Skynet and the whole world right there watching.
Still, the universe was a crazy place. Maybe Kyle and Star would have another chance someday.
Kyle was swapping out the Remington for the M16 when Orozco spotted movement across the lobby. It was Nguyen, heading toward him, his expression ominously rigid.
Orozco winced. Nguyen and his fellow traders had been conspicuous by their absence during Tunney’s big sales pitch and Grimaldi’s botched attempt to show him up, but Orozco had no doubt they’d been listening closely to the proceedings. From the look on his face, it was a safe bet that the man had some piquant things to say about the whole fiasco.
Things Kyle and Star probably didn’t need to hear.
“Thanks,” Orozco said as Kyle handed him the M16. “You and Star never got breakfast this morning, did you?”
“Not really,” Kyle said.
“Neither did I,” Orozco said. “Why don’t you go see what Bessie’s got going in the kitchen. And bring me some back, too.”
Kyle glanced over his shoulder at Nguyen.
“Okay,” the teen said. Nodding to Star, he headed across the lobby toward the kitchen.
Nguyen watched them go, and it seemed to Orozco that he perhaps slowed down his pace a bit.
Maybe he didn’t want the kids hearing this, either.
“Morning,” Orozco said, nodding politely at Nguyen as he came into conversational range.
“And to you,” Nguyen replied. “Interesting morning it’s been, too. May I ask what in the name of hell and all its little demons you and Chief Grimaldi thought you were
“Actually, that was all Chief Grimaldi’s idea,” Orozco said, eyeing Nguyen closely as an odd thought suddenly struck him. If Kyle and Star couldn’t go with Barnes and Kate Connor…
“In that case, it would appear that Chief Grimaldi has lost his mind,” Nguyen said. “You’ll excuse us if we don’t bother to make our formal farewells before we go.” He lifted a hand, and across the lobby the rest of the traders appeared, Nguyen’s second-in-command Vuong in the lead, with the group’s harnessed burros trailing closely behind them.
“I understand completely,” Orozco said. “But before you go, I have one last deal to offer.”
“We don’t deal with madmen, Orozco,” Nguyen said bluntly. “Anyone who pulls weapons on a Resistance group—”
“You won’t be dealing with madmen,” Orozco cut him off. “This is my deal, not Grimaldi’s. All I want is for you to take a couple of our kids back to the farm with you.”
Nguyen shook his head.
“Impossible. We can barely grow enough for ourselves and for necessary trade.”
“They could work,” Orozco offered. “Both of them.”
“We already have as many people as we have work for them to do,” Nguyen said. “There’s no more farmable land in our area.”
“But there will be someday,” Orozco persisted. “The soil is detoxifying as the short-life radioactives disintegrate. It’s happening here—it must be happening out there, too.”
“The radioactivity may be fading, but the soil is still contaminated with dangerous levels of heavy metals,” Nguyen said. “We have some techniques for clearing them out, but they’re slow.
We’re still years away from more arable soil.”
“What if I paid their room and board until you had work for them to do?”
Nguyen snorted. “With what?”
Orozco braced himself. “Gasoline.”
Nguyen seemed to draw back, his expression changing subtly.
“I thought Chief Grimaldi made all gasoline deals personally.”
“I’m making this one,” Orozco said. “You interested? Yes or no?”
Nguyen glanced around the lobby.
“How much are we talking about?”
“All of it,” Orozco said, feeling his pulse thudding in his neck, the words
“No one can promise safety,” Nguyen said. “Not these days.”
“Then you promise to keep them as safe as you can,” Orozco said. “And you pledge Randall to do the same.”
Nguyen hissed thoughtfully between his teeth.
“You know I can’t make a pledge for another,” he reminded Orozco. “But for gasoline, I think he’ll be willing.” He paused.
“They can be ready very quickly,” Orozco said. “Unfortunately, I still have some preparations to make for them, and I’ll need a couple of hours for that.”
“Which I presume you can’t do while you’re on guard duty.”
“Correct,” Orozco said. “Still, everything should be ready by mid-afternoon.”
Nguyen pursed his lips, studying Orozco’s face. Doubtless wondering whether the promise of free gasoline was worth the price of staying within Grimaldi’s reach for all those extra hours.
“I doubt the early afternoon will be nearly as interesting as the morning has been,” he said at last. “Very well, we’ll stay.”
“Thank you,” Orozco said. “I’ll get it done as quickly as I can.”
“Yes,” Nguyen said. “In the meantime, I trust you won’t mind if we do a little trading elsewhere in the neighborhood?”
Mentally, Orozco threw the man a salute. How to stay out of Grimaldi’s reach while still making the deal with Orozco, in one easy lesson.
“Not at all,” he assured the trader. “Just be back by mid-afternoon.”
The traders were gone by the time Kyle and Star returned with a small bowl of something.
“Breakfast was all gone,” Kyle said as he handed over the bowl. “But she said we could have some of the soup she was working on for dinner.”
“Thanks,” Orozco said, sniffing at the bowl. The soup looked thin, but it smelled pretty good.
“And now you two need to get some sleep. I’m going to have a special assignment for you later this afternoon.”
“What kind of assignment?” Kyle asked.
“The kind that you’ll need to be rested for,” Orozco said evasively. Eventually, of course, he would have to give them the whole truth. But not yet. Not yet. “So get going.”
“Okay.” Touching Star’s arm, Kyle turned and headed toward their sleeping mats.
Orozco lowered himself to the floor against his favorite pillar, settling himself into guard position, already feeling the fresh hole in his life. Kyle and Star were the best and the brightest Moldering Lost Ashes had to offer. They were also the closest thing to friends he still had. A few hundred gallons of gasoline was a small price to pay to buy their safety.
And it wasn’t like the gasoline was going to do anyone in Moldering Lost Ashes any good. Not once the Terminators came through.
Cradling his M16 across his arms, Orozco settled down to watch. And to think.
The building David had found was decrepit, drafty, and made largely from discarded drywall, which meant the place would be pretty uncomfortable in a serious rainstorm.
