Nathan pulled her into a group hug, holding them tight. After several seconds, he eased up and asked Owen how he was feeling.

"Tired."

"Me, too," said Nathan. "I feel like I've been run over."

"A Javelin missile will do that to you," said his son, eliciting a brief round of laughter.

Keira wasn't sure why she laughed. Probably because their situation defied any sort of logic she could muster-and because she'd never heard of a Javelin missile before one hit them.

"So?" she said. "What's the plan?"

"We're leaving after dark. Sounds like Jose will arrange a way to get out of Mexicali."

"Then what?"

"We head for Nogales. Cross into Arizona and make our way north."

"Alone?" she said, c.o.c.king her head.

"No. David's coming along."

"That's not what I meant. Are they going to provide us with an escort?"

"David didn't seem too keen on dragging the CLM along with us. He said we might attract too much attention from Border Patrol drones."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not totally sure, but he made it sound like the drones might fire on a group of vehicles inside Mexico. Probably drug war related."

"I guess," she said, shaking her head. "Do you think we'll be safe on our own?"

"Jose seemed to think so. He said our biggest problem would be Tucson."

"Tucson? I know it's. .h.i.t rough times, but how bad can it be?"

"I wish I knew. I haven't talked to anyone there for a few years."

"Everyone we knew left," she said. "Well, at least we know our way around that area. We can avoid the trouble spots."

"Jose made it sound like the whole place was trouble."

"We should try to get in touch with the Marines in Yuma," said Owen. "I bet they'd take care of us."

"I wish we could, Owen," said Nathan, "but the situation is too complicated right now. Our best bet is to disappear until everything gets sorted out."

"Is Mr. Quinn ever going back to the Marines?" said Owen.

"I imagine he will, but for now he's going with us. We're headed north to find Grandma and Grandpa. David's dad is probably with them already. Everybody is hiding for now."

"He doesn't have a mom?"

"If I remember correctly, she pa.s.sed away a few years ago."

"And now Miss Alison," said Owen, lowering his head.

Keira held her son close, pressing his head into her shoulder. "We're all very sad about what happened," she whispered, squeezing him tighter. "Nothing is going to happen to either of us. We're going to do exactly like your dad said-hide somewhere far away until it's safe. Somewhere with swimming pools."

"Really?" said Owen, pulling his head back a few inches.

"Do you even remember what a swimming pool is like?"

"Not really. Like the ocean?"

"A lot warmer," she said.

"And cleaner," added Nathan. "No trash washing up everywhere."

They hadn't been to the beach for so long, she'd almost forgotten about the continuous flow of plastic refuse a.s.saulting the West Coast. Twice the size of Texas, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch floating between Hawaii and California provided a ceaseless barrage against California's sh.o.r.es, literally covering the beaches after a strong easterly wind or an offsh.o.r.e weather system. Even on a good day, floating debris was visible in small patches beyond the breaking waves of the surf zone, keeping a small army of volunteer beachcombers busy from dawn to dusk.

"Even better," she said. "We'll take you to a lake."

"Have I been to a lake before?" said Owen.

"You have. In Idaho-at Grandma and Grandpa's. You were really little."

"I think I remember that."

She hugged him again, not sure what to say, or if she could say anything without her voice cracking. Her eyes moistened, but they needed to keep Owen as calm and self-confident in this situation as possible. Seeing your parents break down in front of you was not a confidence booster. Nathan looked the same way, rubbing his eyes while Owen's back was to him. The feeling pa.s.sed a few moments later, and she let her son go.

"So," she said. "What do we do between now and then? We have close to three hours to kill."

"I don't know about you," said Nathan, "but I could eat another MRE and take a nap."

"He's not serious," said Keira to their son.

"He looks serious," he replied.

Nathan had started riffling through the pile of sealed meals, holding one up. "Chili mac. I'm judging by its frequent appearance that it's not a big hit."

Keira s.n.a.t.c.hed the MRE away from him. "Hands off my jalapeo cheese."

A knock on the door froze them all in place. Her eye went to the shovel next to the mattress.

"Come in," said Nathan.

The door opened, revealing the woman she'd seen standing guard the night before and a man she didn't recognize. The woman nodded at them without smiling.

"We brought your weapons and gear, plus some general supplies. Fill your hydration bladders from the water jugs we gave you earlier. I set a few more jugs outside the door if you need them. Stuff any remaining MREs in your backpacks, though I highly suggest you finish those off here. You'll be hungry again in an hour or two, and there's no sense carrying extra weight around town. You have a walk ahead of you tonight."

"How far?" said Keira.

"I don't know yet. You'll be taken to one of our vehicle stashes and escorted to the edge of the town. My guess is they'll take you out Route 2 until you hit the Route 20 interchange. We rarely have trouble out there."

"Is that because you have an arrangement with the cartels or because it's a safer area?" said Nathan.

"Both," she said, neglecting to elaborate.

"How much longer will that arrangement remain in place?" he asked. "You know, with your permanent departure imminent."

What was he talking about?

"Long enough to get everyone out of here," said the woman, unslinging a suppressed rifle from her shoulder and holding it out to Nathan.

It looked like the same rifle he'd used in the desert, except it had been fitted with a suppressor. He accepted the weapon, checking the safety before sliding it over his shoulder. A compact MP-20 submachine gun appeared next, which Keira took out of the woman's hands. It felt unnervingly familiar in her hands after all the time she'd spent with it over the past three days. Another thing she could add to her never-in-a-million-years checklist. She verified that the safety was engaged before placing it on the mattress.

She saw Owen's eyes follow the weapon to its resting place. "Don't touch that," she said to him.

"I need to be able to shoot, too," said Owen.

"Just-don't touch the guns. Please."

She wasn't ready for her son to learn how to handle firearms, though she suspected it was inevitable given their circ.u.mstances. In all truth, he probably knew more about guns than she and Nathan combined. He'd acquired quite an education playing video games outside the house. Still, she didn't want him carrying a gun.

"I know how to use one," he pressed. "It's not exactly complicated."

"Listen to your mother, Owen," said Nathan. "And trust me on something. It's far more complicated than you think."

She glanced at her husband and mouthed, "Thank you," receiving a quick wink in return before an unzipped brown duffel bag slid a few feet into the room. Nathan knelt and started digging through the contents.

"You'll find spare mags for your weapons in the bag, along with your helmets. We replaced Ms. Fisher's helmet with one of our own, since we don't have the capability to repair the integrated night-vision system. You'll have to make do with a slightly older-school rig. Still turns night into day, so you'll be fine. We've thrown in some medical kit items and other gear to round out your backpacks. Food and water for your road trip north is already pre-staged in the vehicle. If you can think of anything else, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you," said Keira, getting a curt nod from the woman.

"We arrived with an encrypted satphone?" said Nathan.

Keira had almost forgotten about that.

"Captain Quinn's satphone will be returned outside town," said the woman.

"All right," said Nathan. "Thank you. We really appreciate the help. Were you given an exact time for our departure?"

"Nine. Jose would like all of you geared up and waiting in the operations center at eight fifteen, to go over the route and procedures."

"We'll be there," said Nathan.

When the door shut, Keira turned to her husband. "Are they abandoning this place permanently?"

"I need to bring you up to speed on something. Jose sent most of his people north a few days ago."

"How does that make sense?" she said.

When Nathan finished recounting the details of his recent meeting with Jose and David, Keira had a sinking feeling in a stomach that she hadn't thought could go any lower. Jose had gone rogue? This changed everything.

"I think we need to be as far away from Jose and his plan as possible."

"I didn't make any promises," he said. "Our plan is still intact. Meet up with my parents and hide. Whatever David has planned is his own business. If I can think of anything that might help Jose's crew-"

"You can't afford to get involved with him. Our situation is precarious enough, and I don't see that changing for a long time."

"I know. I know. But if I can help from a distance-"

"With all of the technology out there, distance is irrelevant. We have Cerberus hunting us, not to mention every cop in the country looking for you. There's no margin for error. One slipup, electronically, and they could find us," she said, putting a hand on Owen's shoulder.

"Why are the cops looking for Dad?" said Owen.

Keira wasn't sure what to say. A few hours before leaving Camp Pendleton in David's convoy, they'd learned Nathan was a suspect in two murders that he couldn't possibly have committed. They'd decided to keep this from Owen, since he was dealing with enough stress at the time. Things had moved along pretty much nonstop since then. She gave Nathan a nearly imperceptible nod. It was time Owen truly understood what they were up against.

"I don't have all of the details, buddy, but it looks like this Cerberus group framed me for two murders that took place while we were packing to leave. We have to be very careful wherever we go, until I can clear my name."

"Why would they do that?" Owen said. "Why do they hate you so much?"

"I saw something they didn't want anyone to see."

"Like somebody getting killed?" said Owen.

"No. I saw two military stealth boats pull divers out of the ocean close to Del Mar nuclear triad plant about a half hour before something at the plant went wrong. I think the plant was sabotaged by the divers-they snuck into it and purposefully fouled it up-and Cerberus, the people after us, don't want me telling anyone what I saw. Framing me for murder ruins my credibility and puts every cop in the country on the lookout for me."

"Why can't you just promise you won't tell anyone?"

"I wish it was that easy," said Nathan. "I'd gladly make that promise to keep us safe. I just don't think these are the kind of people who make deals like that."

Keira wasn't sure where her husband would take this conversation, or how much her son could process.

"Why can't we go to the police and tell them what happened?" Owen asked. "We can tell them you couldn't have killed anyone. Mr. Quinn could do that, too."

"We can't afford to show our faces anywhere for now. The police would separate us and throw me in jail. They can't protect us from these people."

Keira needed to redirect the conversation. "Owen, honey, we just need to hide from everyone until the authorities can sort it out on their own."

"What if they never sort it out?"

"These things get sorted out, eventually," she said, giving Nathan a quick glance.

Their son looked sadly doubtful. "It might take a little while, buddy, but we'll figure it out. We have some connections through Grandpa that should help speed it along. For now, we're going off the grid, with people we trust. Family."

"We can always have them meet us somewhere south of here," said Keira.

"I don't see any way for my parents to make that trip without drawing the wrong kind of attention. Same for us. David made a good point about Americans not being very welcome in Mexico or Central America. Outside the established tourist areas, we'd come under scrutiny. Possibly be hara.s.sed."