Atticus says, “You need to make a decision.”
“I can’t just leave them here.”
The woman looks at me strangely, thinking I’m speaking to her.
Atticus says, “You can’t take them with you, either.”
I’m silent, which is all the answer Atticus needs. He hasn’t known me very long, but still he understands my nature.
He sighs.
“Do what you must, but hurry.”
The pickup trucks are closer now. They’ll be here within thirty seconds. Time is running out, so I turn to the woman and the children and I tell them that they need to follow me.
The woman only stares at me. The boy starts sobbing.
I aim the gun at her, shout, “Now!” and that seems to do the trick.
We’re in motion at once. I lead the woman and the children around the corner toward the trail that leads off the bluff and down to the beach. Out here the moon is bright, exposing the dead bodies.
The woman murmurs something that may be a prayer, and the children start sobbing again, and around the corner the sound of the two pickup trucks’ engines growl as they reach the end of the drive and tear through the open gate.
I motion for the woman to start down the trail. It’s narrow, and she needs to grip the girl even tighter to make sure she doesn’t stray.
On the other side of the fence come voices as men pile out of the pickup trucks.
Atticus in my ear: “My eyes are on the men. Are you clear?”
Because this is part of the plan, I know that right now the three remaining quadcopters are hovering near the house, close enough that there won’t be any trace of them come tomorrow.
I check to make sure the woman and children are making good progress, and then I start down the trail after them.
“Do it.”
In my mind, I can see the men from the pickup trucks hurrying into the house. These men are better prepared, so they have flashlights which spotlight all the bodies littering the floor. Maybe a few have even found Ernesto Diaz. What any of those men thinks in this moment is impossible to say, but what’s for certain is that they don’t think long. I’ve set several charges around the house, as well as those I had previously set by the vehicles, and wherever Atticus is in the States, he presses several keys to send the signal that will detonate those charges.
As I hurry down the trail, following the woman and children, the world behind me explodes.
Six
A minute later we’re off the trail and on the beach, and the woman sets the boy down on the sand. But the boy doesn’t like this, and grips fiercely at the woman’s leg, clamps himself like he’ll never let go.
The woman stares up the trail. A fireball had bloomed behind us as we hurried down to the beach, and now black smoke fills the night sky.
She says, “You blew it up.”
I nod, surveying the empty beach.
“Why?”
I look at her but say nothing.
The woman stares back at me, completely stunned. In the moonlight I now see she has a pretty face but her hair is disheveled. She wears no jewelry—no earrings, no necklace, nothing on her fingers. Her place of employment—probably the only thing helping to make ends meet—has just been destroyed and she’s trying to wrap her mind around the reason why.
Both children hold onto her, each taking a leg. The girl has stopped sobbing—maybe she’s run out of tears—but the boy still hasn’t let up.
I motion past them, up the beach.
“Let’s go.”
The woman’s eyes go hard.
“We are not going anywhere with you.”
“Fine. I’d just wanted you away from the blast anyway. I don’t give a shit where you go.”
This isn’t quite true—my heart aches at the thought of leaving the children behind—but the simple fact is I can’t waste any time. Those reinforcements had come pretty quick, and there’s no telling how long before more reinforcements arrive. I’ve used up almost all of my ammo, and besides, I no longer have Atticus in the sky keeping an eye out for surprises. Right now it’s just me, and if I want to stay alive, I have to move.
I step past the woman and the children and start up the beach. I’ve only gone ten paces when the woman calls out.
“Wait.”
I turn back.
The woman says, “Where are you going?”
“I’m leaving.”
“But where?”
Desperation tinges her words. It’s not complete desperation yet, but it’s getting there.
“Up past those rocks and trees is a boat. I’m going to take that boat and head a couple miles up the coast.”
I pause, waiting to see what she’ll say to this.
She doesn’t say anything and just stands there, watching me.
I say, “I don’t have time to mess around. I need to leave.”
“Can I—”
She pauses, swallows.
“Can we come with you?”
Atticus says, “I don’t advise this, Holly.”
“I’ll call you back in a bit.”
I pull the transmitter from my ear and flick the switch to turn it off.
“I can take you a couple miles up the coast, but that’s it.”
The woman stares at me. She doesn’t speak. Doesn’t look like she has any words yet. Maybe shock is starting to set in. If that’s the case, there’s no way I can leave her alone with the children.
“Hey.”
I clap my hands to get her attention.
“Did you hear me?”
She blinks, looks at me again as if seeing me for the first time.
She asks, “How far up the coast?”
“A couple miles. But we need to leave now.”
The woman still doesn’t look convinced.
I say, “If you come with me now, I promise to keep you and the children safe.”
It’s not quite a hollow promise, but it’s not exactly a sincere promise either. I don’t want to leave the children here, but I also can’t
