"It's sanctioned-by a group of us tired of fighting a reactive battle, on the wrong front. Too many in my organization have become so focused on secession that they're missing the bigger picture. Secession won't solve the problem. In fact, it'll probably make it worse. Water liberates California . . . and Arizona . . . and Nevada. This is bigger than California. It has to be."

"f.u.c.k," said David, his hand slinking toward the pistol hidden behind his chest plate. "This is a splinter group? Rogue CLM? We'll take our chances on the streets."

"I wouldn't advise that," said Jose.

"One group hunting us down is enough," David said. "We don't need the CLM after us, too." He shook his head. "I knew this was f.u.c.ked from the start."

"You did?" said Nathan. "When were you going to mention it?"

"Once we got our bearings-and our weapons. And I wanted some coffee," he said, slowly squaring his body toward Jeremy.

"David," said Jose. "No need to draw your pistol. This is not a prisoner situation."

"Good. Then you won't mind if we depart p.r.o.nto, like, before Mexicali starts to get really crowded with people looking for this place."

"The rest of CLM has no idea what we have in mind. All they know is that the cartel situation in Mexicali has destabilized to the point that we need to seek a more stable base of operations north of the border. Leaving here was inevitable. No eyebrows will be raised for quite a while. I evacuated personnel not affiliated with my splinter group when we learned you'd travel by convoy to Yuma. My original plan involved meeting you on the road soon after you left the base. To have this talk and offer our protection.

"When our aerial surveillance a.s.sets detected the Cerberus ambush, I scrambled to get those paratroopers airborne. The Mexicans would not jump until the convoy was attacked. Not my rules. We brought you reinforcements as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, not soon enough."

David's eyes moistened. He swallowed hard, then took a deep breath. Nathan reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but David shook his head.

"I appreciate what you did, but we're done here," said David, pausing for a few moments before gesturing toward the map. "This is insane, by the way. You'll either get killed or sent to prison for the rest of your lives if you try it."

"That's why we need Nathan's help," said Jose. "And yours."

"How about this: supply us with a get-out-of-Mexicali-free card and a working vehicle. Once we link up with our parents, as far away from here as humanly possible, Nathan will be glad to get in touch with you to fine-tune your suicide mission."

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to-" Nathan began.

"Negative," said David. "We need to put some distance between this place and your family. You're still my responsibility. And I wouldn't mind seeing the only family I have left before Cerberus takes that away, too."

"We've all lost people to this cycle of greed and corruption," said Jose. "Seeking revenge won't bring them back, but it does occasionally ease the pain. This plan is the most effective way to break a cycle that has ruined millions of lives."

"I need to take care of my own before I even consider diving into something like what you're planning. Nathan needs to do the same."

"Nathan?" said Jose.

He had to tread carefully here. Jose had sounded genuine when he'd said they were not prisoners, but he couldn't imagine him letting them go without making a stronger pitch. Nathan had been through higher-pressure time-share presentations than this. If Jose truly thought he held the key to taking down the dams, he couldn't outright reject the notion of helping in some way.

"Well," he said, "once I get my family somewhere permanently safe-"

"Such a place doesn't exist," said Jose. "Not for long, anyway."

"We have something worked out," said Nathan. "Once we get situated, I'll start by giving a sworn deposition about what I saw at the beach and what's happened over the past three days."

Jose sighed, meeting his stare for a brief moment. "A sworn deposition from a cop killer is meaningless."

"I didn't kill anyone," blurted Nathan.

"We know that. But we're apparently the only ones. Publicly, we can't afford to voluntarily connect with you in any way at this point. That's why Cerberus went the extra mile to frame you for killing a detective. Even David's testimony would be worthless. Trotting him out will only serve to identify him as Pendleton's mystery accomplice, and an accomplice to a cop killer is equally worthless to us in the public relations realm."

"Motherf.u.c.kers," said Nathan.

"That's more or less been my personal mantra for the past several years," said Jose.

"I'm not sure how I can help you beyond validating this plan. You have the right targets. You just need to figure out a way to take down both dams."

"We've been stuck at that point for far too long," stated Jose. "And time is running out."

"When I get to safety, I'll try to figure something out."

Nathan knew that sounded terribly weak, if not worthless, but what the f.u.c.k did the guy expect? Beyond the fact that Nathan could see no feasible way for Jose's crew to destroy even one of the dams, the thought of compounding his own criminal status by engaging in a blatant act of terrorism gave him serious pause. He couldn't afford to upgrade his fugitive status. Not if he wanted any chance at a normal life for his family. He had to protect Keira and Owen, both short and long term.

"Can I at least provide you with a security escort north through the Wastelands?" Jose said. "I'm not going to pretend this is a selfless offer. I'd like to get you to your destination in one piece."

Nathan was about to accept the offer when David interjected.

"We won't need an escort."

"We won't?" said Nathan.

"No. Too many cars on the road will draw the wrong kind of attention on the ground and in the air. I don't need some disgruntled Border Patrol drone pilot looking to meet his monthly kill quota with the car I'm driving. If you can get us out of Mexicali quietly, we can cross into Arizona farther east along the border. It's more or less quiet at the Nogales crossing, right? That's what our intelligence summary reports indicated."

"Quiet is a relative term in Mexico. You could probably get through Nogales without trouble, even at night. Tucson is where it all goes to s.h.i.t."

"I know Tucson," said Nathan. "We lived there for close to six years."

"It's a little different now."

"We'll be fine," said David.

"All right," Jose said, almost too quickly. "But n.o.body leaves until dark. We'll work on a way to slip you past the cartel lookouts."

"That's it?" said Nathan.

"That's it. It's in G.o.d's hands now," said Jose. "All we can do is pray."

"I didn't take you for the religious type," said David.

"I'm not. But where you're going, I'll make an exception."

Nathan left the room wondering if they hadn't overestimated their chances of successfully navigating Arizona. He'd heard crazy rumors about the Wastelands.

CHAPTER 14.

When Jose was certain that Nathan and David had not lingered outside the operations center, he moved a chair next to Jeremy Baker. He took one more look around before nodding. Baker clicked the wireless computer mouse, reactivating the security feed window. The top left-most digital images showed Nathan and David returning to their respective bunk rooms.

"They went their separate ways," said Baker. "Interesting."

"David didn't appear to be in the mood for conversation," said Jose.

"He's a Marine. They don't talk much."

"Or he suspects they're under surveillance."

"Neither of them acted like it earlier. Sorry my people missed the pistol. He's a cautious little f.u.c.ker, isn't he?"

"Resourceful might be a better description. He'd make a great addition to our team, but he isn't close to being receptive. Listen carefully to Nathan's conversation with his wife," said Jose. "He's an open book one minute, totally closed the next. I want to get a better feel for where he stands. I got the distinct impression that he was placating me toward the end of our conversation."

"Are you really letting them head to Nogales alone?" said Baker.

"Alone in a sense. We'll keep them under surveillance. Close enough to respond to an attack."

"Kind of hard to respond to a rocket-propelled grenade attack or a roadside bomb when you're not right on top of it."

"What other choice do we have?"

"It depends upon how important you think this guy might be."

"I honestly don't know yet. I've read his thesis paper backward and forward, but I'm not finding what I really need. He's either purposefully holding back key information we can use, or he doesn't understand the importance of what he has locked up in his head. The guy's still in shock, so getting him to safety and letting him decompress may be our best strategy."

"As long as we can still find him," said Baker.

"Yeah. I have no intention of losing track of Nathan Fisher, or letting any harm come to him."

"Easier said than done. We might have to break a few eggs to get them out anonymously," said Baker.

"We're done here, so break as many as you see fit. But break them quietly. We can't rush our departure."

A message appeared in the bottom corner of the computer monitor screen, grabbing Jose's attention.

"That doesn't look good," he said.

Baker navigated to the messaging application that handled the encrypted reports sent by CLM's network of informants. The system supported direct messages, a function enabled only for the few highly trusted, key contacts in the government, military, or cartel. Only one member of the cartel had been granted this level of access, and he'd just sent a message.

Spydr520: New faces in town with $$$$ and ?'s. Gringos. Want them gone?

The idea was tempting.

"What do you think?" said Jose.

"Disappearing them would buy us the time in the very immediate future, but it could trigger an overwhelming, targeted response. They don't know anything for sure. Mexicali is a logical destination from the ambush point, but it's not the only destination. For all they know, we swapped the dune buggies for SUVs in Ciudad Morelos. We could be halfway to Cabo by now. I say let this play out. There's no reason to prematurely draw more of them to Mexicali."

"Sounds good," Jose said, typing on the station's keyboard.

HoseA: No need to take out the trash yet. Keep a close eye on new faces. Expect more visitors. Will pay extra $$$$ plus unlimited tunnel access to keep our secret.

"We're not blowing the tunnel?"

"They can have it," said Jose. "Without access to our drone feeds, California Border Division will shut his a.s.s down within the week. He has to know there's more to the crossings than meets the eye. He's greedy, not stupid. He won't sell us out unless the Russians get to him. I'm just hoping to buy a buffer until tomorrow morning."

Spydr520: Consider it done. Anyone who talks is a dead man.

"A lot of good that does us," said Baker. "We need them dead before they talk."

Jose nodded.

HoseA: Much appreciated. Keeping these gringos away keeps business and $$$$ flowing. Keep me posted.

Spydr520: I'm on it.

"I bet he is," Baker said. "I'll brief the external security team again, and triple our offer to the few independent contacts we have floating around the city."

"Keep an eye and ear on our guests. Their true long-term intentions will determine how we proceed."

CHAPTER 15.

Keira tensed when the doork.n.o.b clicked, looking instinctively for a weapon. She had the choice between a foldable aluminum shovel taken from her rucksack and a foldable serrated knife she had carried in her back pocket since they'd fled her house in San Diego. She could barely open the knife without cutting herself, so she grabbed the shovel off the dirt floor. It extended her reach and felt heavy enough to hurt badly if smashed down on someone's skull.

Even as she gripped the hollow metal handle, she couldn't believe her thought process had defaulted to cracking someone's head open with shovel. "Welcome to your new life," she muttered to herself as she lifted it high behind her and squared off against the wall beside the door.

When Nathan stepped through it, she lowered the shovel and tried to conceal it behind her leg, but his eyes had already widened.

"Planning on digging your way out?" he said, quickly shutting the door behind him.

"Funny," she said, dropping the shovel.

"Dad!" yelled Owen, shooting past her to hug Nathan.

"Hey, buddy, you're awake!"

"We've been feasting on MREs," Keira said. "I'm developing an unusual fondness for chili mac."

"I thought you liked the brisket?" Nathan said over Owen's head.

"I'm addicted to the jalapeo cheese in the chili mac."