“Yes, sir,” Tater said, sounding pained.
“Holy shit.” Sean stuck out his hand and they shook, then the officer looked at me. “There’s another room like this, with beds, just across the way, and we have three injured in there. Can you head over?”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “Any sign of Remy out there?”
Sean shook his head.
“I’ll take Amber,” Josh said. “How many more of the enemy are out there?”
“We’ve got most of them holed up in the big warehouse building,” he told us. “But they’re using voice control to make the humans surround them as shields and fire at anyone who tries to come through the door. We’re going to have to surround the building from all sides and try to cause a skirmish in the front while we break in through the back.”
“Aw, yeah,” Tex said with a dirty chuckle. “I’ll go in from the back side any day.”
Carmen gave him a glare, and he grinned at her with his scruffy beard as Josh snickered.
Sean, always the professional, didn’t react, but what he said next sobered Tex right up. “They’ve got a bunch of kids in there too, man. Armed kids under voice control.”
Silence rose in the room as our horror set in. Using kids was low, and it made the mission much more delicate.
“Fuck the back side,” Tex said. “Let’s get our asses on the roof and pick ’em off from above.”
Sean nodded. “There’s a thought. Let’s see what we can do.”
Before I could ask how the hell they planned to do that, Sean gave a motion for them to follow. Tex left weapons with the humans, along with a handful of ear plugs, and Josh cocked his head for me to follow. Carmen grabbed my hand as she passed and we both squeezed, wishing each other luck.
But before Tater could leave my sight again, I wrapped my arms around his waist for a quick hug.
“It’s good to see you,” he whispered. “You have no idea.”
“I have a pretty good idea,” I told him. “Be safe, okay?”
“Yeah.” He started to pull away when he looked at me, suddenly aware. “Wait . . . was I dreaming or did I hear you say your name was Fite?”
“Tate, come on,” Officer Sean called.
I smiled. “Yeah. Mrs. Fite. Now go on. We’ll talk soon.”
He smiled back, just a small one, but it was enough to boost me with a shot of pure joy before we parted.
