Brady stopped and waited for the soldier to approach. The soldier looked over his subdued rank then at Dan and Elise.
"Welcome, sir," he said. "May I escort you to our commander?"
"Please," Brady replied. "This place is incredible."
The soldier flashed a smile as he started down the narrow pathway lining the canal.
"Did I see regular army-types with PMF?" Dan asked.
"Yes, sir. We are all that's holding the world together along the river. We combined our headquarters in Arkansas, too. The surge of refugees created a problem and we heard … well, we heard the rest of the country was destroyed," the soldier answered.
"Not destroyed. Everything west of the river is fine. Everything east of here is a disaster," Elise said.
"No one who went west returned," the soldier said with a curious look at her. "We assumed the worst."
Brady's eyes took in the occupants of the underground world. The strain was visible in the faces of many, though those he saw were in good health and fed. The city seemed to be over capacity, with people seated outside the buildings and even more packed inside.
The soldier led them up a set of stairs winding around smaller buildings and into a building apart from the rest. He knocked on the door briskly and opened the door, motioning Brady in.
"Charlie," Brady said as he took in the familiar commander seated at a table. The quarters were small, with nothing more than a table, a few trunks, and a cot.
"Brade!" the barrel-chested man replied, rising. "What a surprise to see you here! Shouldn't you be back east, blowing up stuff?"
"Things went crazy," Brady said and grunted as the large man squeezed him in a bear hug. "This is my team. You remember Dan. Elise is one of the fed's special security types."
Charlie greeted Dan and Elise then motioned for them to sit. Brady lifted his chin to the rest of their team, and they obediently left the commander's small quarters.
"What brings you here?" Charlie asked, sitting on one of the trunks.
"We're looking for someone," Elise said and handed him her micro, which displayed Lana's picture.
"This little girl again," Charlie said, studying it.
"What do you mean again?" Brady asked, exchanging a look with Dan.
"The feds and PMF headquarters both issued a priority one lookout for her. Neither said why. It'd be nice to know if she's dangerous. There's a hefty reward out for her, too."