"It's a little different. They never did say what they were."
"I'd say they were probably important. Lana might know."
Brady gave him a look.
"All right. Maybe when she stops crying every time you look at her, you can ask her."
Brady hid a smile. She'd proven how willing she was to become his companion, a surprise considering she really did seem fragile in his world. Every moment he spent with her, he felt like he was getting farther and farther away from his ability to walk away without either of them getting hurt. Eventually, she'd find out who he was. Eventually, things would come to a head. But as a man who lived day-to-day, tomorrow was a concept he wasn't always comfortable with.
They walked parallel to an abandoned highway for a couple of hours until they reached the second fed site. They saw the smoke half an hour before they arrived and approached with caution. Brady's scouts reported nothing, and they emerged from the cover of nearby buildings.
This was a communications facility, heavily guarded. The tower was in pieces, the building at its base a gaping crater. They tested the bio-elim field before passing through. As with the other site, there were pieces of people but nothing else.
"This is creepy," Dan voiced his concerns. "Looks like systematic extermination of an enemy's strongholds."
"Exactly what this is. The start to another civil war. Let's not linger."
They moved on, taking circuitous routes back to the underground entrance in case they were being watched. He dropped his gear in his suite, curious not to find Lana within. Dan met him in the hall, and they went to the cafeteria together.
"Hey, Elise," Dan said, tapping the button behind his hear to access his personal net. "Where you guys at?"
Brady got his food as the two talked, seating himself before he looked to Dan again.
"They're in the gym," Dan said. He was trying hard not to smile.
"Is she crying?" Brady asked.
"Don't think so," Dan said. "I guess she wouldn't play this morning at all but changed her mind this afternoon. She was afraid of Benny until Lon told her to pretend like he was you. Sounds like she lost some of that timid field mousiness."
"Whatever works." He looked up to find Dan studying him closely.
"You're damn cranky today. Wanna spar? Maybe with Benny?" Dan asked. "He can beat this funk out of you."