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CHAPTER 281
"I mean anyone who will not follow a chain of command." Hale rubbed his temple with his free hand. "I did not choose this, Mr. Ferretti. Sentiment has no place in the arithmetic of survival.""Arithmetic." Marco repeated the word slowly, as if tasting it. A bitter smile curved his mouth. "Is that what you call it?""What else would you call it?" Hale frowned."I call it feeding people into a meat grinder and telling yourself it is math." Marco's voice was low and hard. "And I call you the fattest rat in the building."Hale's jaw flexed. The pistol came up again, but the insult had landed. A muscle twitched beneath his left eye."Careful." His voice dropped. "You are in no position to mock me.""What happens to the workers who refuse?" Marco finally lifted his head. His eyes found Hale's and held them. "The ones who put down the tools and say no."Hale shrugged. It was a small, tired movement, careless and cold."They are reassigned." He glanced at the guards, then back to Marco. "To t
CHAPTER 280
He thought about the glowing map and the hundreds of lights. How many of those lights were camps like this one? How many settlements had registered their populations and shared their intelligence, only to vanish from the map?"The register." He breathed the word. "The list of names. That is how they pick them."He backed away from the door slowly, one careful step at a time. He needed to get Okafor and Perry out of the base before anyone noticed. He needed proof, and he needed to count the guards and plan a way out.He was halfway to the stairwell when a voice spoke behind him."Mr. Ferretti." It was soft, almost gentle. "I wish you had stayed in your room."Marco stopped. The cold in his chest turned to ice. He did not need to look to know who it was.He turned his head just enough to see the corridor behind him. Sergeant Hale stood at the foot of the stairs with a pistol held in a steady grip. The barrel was pointed at the middle of Marco's back."You came a long way for this." Hale
CHAPTER 279
That night, Marco could not sleep.The assigned quarters were a cramped concrete room with three metal cots and a single bare bulb. Okafor lay on his back with his boots on and his rifle beside him, breathing slow and even. Perry had curled up under a thin blanket with his notebook pressed to his chest.Marco stared at the ceiling and listened to the hum of the ventilation. Every sound in the base seemed too orderly, like a machine running exactly as designed."You are awake." Okafor's voice came out of the dark, barely above a whisper. His eyes were open, and they gleamed in the faint light from under the door."So are you." Marco sat up and swung his feet to the floor. "I need to look around.""Alone?" Okafor propped himself on one elbow. His tone was low and wary."Someone has to stay with Perry." Marco pulled on his jacket and checked the pistol at his belt. "If I am not back by dawn, take him and drive. Do not wait.""That is a terrible plan." Okafor frowned, but he did not argue
CHAPTER 278
The briefing room was long and narrow, with a wooden table in the center and maps pinned to every wall. A projector hummed on a shelf. There were no windows at all."Please sit." Hale gestured to three chairs on one side of the table. He remained standing and moved to a large map on the far wall. "I will be brief."Marco sat and folded his hands on the table. Okafor took the chair beside him, and Perry settled at the end with his notebook ready."The situation is simple." Hale tapped the map with a pointer. His voice was calm and even. "When the rain began, the regional command lost most of its leadership. Generals, colonels, communications staff. Many died in the first week.""But some of you survived." Marco watched his face."Enough to hold this outpost and two others." Hale nodded. "We retained a working hospital, a motor pool, and a store of supplies. Not enough to rebuild alone, but enough to coordinate those who can."He walked to a second wall and pulled down a chart covered i
CHAPTER 277
The delegation reached the northern outpost after three days of driving through ruined towns and frozen forests.Marco kept the SUV in low gear most of the way. Okafor sat beside him with a rifle between his knees, and Perry rode in the back with his notebook open and his pencil moving."Another burned church." Perry glanced out the window as they rolled past a blackened steeple. "That is the fourth one today.""People pray hardest when nobody answers." Marco kept his eyes on the road. "Then they burn the building down.""That is a cheerful thought." Okafor's mouth twisted into a tired smile. "You should join a choir."The base came into view on the afternoon of the third day. It stood on a ridge above a frozen river, a low fortress of grey concrete wrapped in coils of razor wire. Watchtowers rose at each corner, and the barrel of a heavy gun poked out of the nearest one."That is real." Okafor lowered his binoculars and let out a slow breath. "Real walls, real wire, real vehicles. Lo
CHAPTER 276
"We need trade routes. Real ones." She counted on her fingers. "We need antibiotics, surgical supplies, and fuel. We need people who can fix machines we cannot fix.""And?" Wendy said quietly."A real government presence could provide those." Diane's voice firmed. "Even a small one. We are a few hundred people in a world with millions of empty buildings. We cannot do it alone.""That is the same argument Colton used on the refugees." Okafor snorted."The difference is that we do not have to believe him." Diane met his eyes without blinking. "We can check.""She is right." Giorgia leaned forward. Her voice was thoughtful and even. "We do not need to accept or reject him on a radio call. We need to see it with our own eyes.""Send a small team." She turned to Marco. "Three or four people. They go, look, listen, and come back with the truth.""And if it is a trap?" Okafor asked."Then we will know before it closes." Giorgia held his gaze. "That is what scouts are for."Marco listened to
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