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"But…"

"Not now…" Mia interrupts. "Did you find a place to get in?"

"Mmm, not without security finding out. Most of the doors are alarmed, but there are a few windows in the back… you just have to be ready to move if you set something off."

"You didn't test them?" Eric asks.

"...well, here’s why: I heard a car passing… I maintained cover, but it was a National Guard convoy truck…"

"Oh shit…" Mia starts.

"Wait, was there a yellow plow on the front?" Eric asks.

"Yeah!"

"Okay, that's Moretti's crew."

"…who?"

"Mike Moretti… let's just say maintaining cover was the right choice."

"What's his story?"

"He inherited a local construction firm… got together some of his contractors after Z-Day and seems to think of Newtown Square as his fiefdom."

"Is he dangerous?"

"Our friend Dave ran into him once, wearing camouflage and carrying automatics… he tried to convince Dave's sister to go with them. Moretti kept eyeing up their guns, and Dave's been paranoid ever since."

"I wish you'd told me that sooner…"

"Sorry, wasn't the first thing on my mind… any advice for going in?"

"Go for MHC first… it's undefended and likely to have background intel, and if you're up for hacking COMSEC you should be able to dig up a lot. If you find a locked or protected door to a basement, you can be positive they're hiding something…"

"Why do you say that?"

"People always hide the best stuff in the basement."

"I'll keep that in mind. You sticking around?"

"It's best if we split up… that way if something happens…"

"Gotcha."

"I'm gonna take another shot at the high school while you're inside."

"We did that before, it's nothing but Zs." Mia offers.

"Nevertheless… you still have that falcon transmitter?"

"Never take it off."

"Good. Remember, only put in the batteries if something happens… it's effective up to five miles, so I'll be able to hear if you activate it while I'm at the high school."

"Thanks Chris."

"Don't mention it… keep your head down."

Lequire collects himself, stands up, and slinks away along the shadows. Mia adjusts her toque to cover her ears as she watches Eric lie back on his sleeping bag. "Sorry." He mutters from the darkness. "Don't worry about it." She offers, resting her back against the wall.

"You know…" Eric starts. "I try to remember once a day that some people are just trying to survive."

"Aren't we?"

"We’re looking for answers. No one else knows what's going on… Newtown Square was the perfect place to test a bio-weapon like this, but they got sloppy… between what went on at Brookwood and Mercy Hospital on Z-Day, with IBT and MHC… it's a conspiracy. Maybe population control. We'll probably get interviewed about this some day…"

"Hopefully."

"…everyone's gonna know we did the legwork. Maybe there is no cure, we don't know… but for God's sake… maybe we can get an explanation. Maybe we don't make it out alive… maybe that doesn't matter. The worst thing that can happen is that we're wrong, and this is just some… spontaneous phenomenon…"

"Is that really the worst thing that could happen?"

"We'll never have an answer then… and after everything we've sacrificed…"

Mia wipes a tear out of her eye before it has a chance to freeze.

"…but we're not wrong. And those people trying to survive? They need to hear this. Maybe it's a crass assumption… but sometimes all people need to deal with something is an explanation."

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