“Seems they’ve managed to save whole families,” he said. “There’s a creek running along the front so they’ve got water. A cleared area over the other side of town, maybe a sports ground, for livestock. A few guards at the front gate, some along the wall. It’s impressive, reasonably wel organized.”

Dan dug at his front teeth with the tip of his tongue. “Wonder what their welcome wagon’s like?”

“Good question.” Finn shoved the binoculars back into his pack.

“Finn, have you still got your badge?” Al enquired. The first words she had spoken since they set out.

He nodded. “I’ll test the waters.”

“No,” she grabbed at his arm, held him in place. Her gray eyes were emphatic, deadly serious. “We go together or not at all.”

Dan shot him a look, and he met it with one of his own. “Al …”

“No. Again,” she growled, “to the both of you.”

“Yeah, ah …” The big guy started, sighed and stopped. “But it is two against one, sweet. We do kind of have the majority here.”

Al let Finn loose but appeared the antithesis of cooperation. Her hands rested on her h*ps and her mouth tightened as she looked between the two of them.

“Don’t make the mistake of believing you make decisions for me, either of you.” Her fingernails tapped against the butt of the gun tucked into her belt.

He knew the safety was on. He had checked it himself. Stil , he wondered if the threat of her finger was real or imagined.

“I wouldn’t appreciate it,” she said quietly. The tapping of her nail grew louder.

Finn stepped forward. “Al, we just want you safe.”

“If we misrepresent ourselves to these people they’re going to mistrust us from the start. There are families in there. You said so, Finn. They’re going to be cautious, not crazy,” she said. It made sense but he hated the thought of taking her into the unknown. He checked out the trail behind them to hide the grimace on his face. Weighing the odds gave no comfort at all. There wouldn’t be anything controlled about this situation. She could get hurt. Or, this could be their ticket back into civilization. What remained of it at least.

“Think about it,” she said. “They might be less likely to send us packing if they see we’re together.”

The big guy nodded slowly, eyes glued to Al. “Like a family. Alright. I happen to agree with you this time. Sending the kid in on his own doesn’t feel right. Shall we walk it? Might seem less aggressive, more open. Show them we come in peace.”

“I hate it. Though I think it would be best.” Finn nodded. “Al, if I tell you to get down at any time, you do it. No hesitation.

Understand?”

She gave a tight, brief smile. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Finn wanted to reach out to touch her, but didn’t. In all likelihood she was right. A group with a woman would seem less of a risk than a lone male. It had already been proven that women were a prized commodity. If anyone was in danger of being shot on sight, it wasn’t her. “I’ll lead. Stay close to Dan.”

Time to go to work.

Al dragged her heels along the dusty road, kicking rocks and looking straight ahead. A recalcitrant school kid would have shown more enthusiasm. Even she, however, couldn’t put off the inevitable. They were going to meet other people.

A big surly guy who most closely resembled Santa with a sniper rifle met them at the gate. The gate being a garbage truck with a few extra sheets of metal welded on. Crude, but effective.

“Weapons on the ground, nice and easy.”

“That leaves us at your mercy,” Finn pointed out, but laid his two pistols on the street just the same.

“You came to me, not the other way round. Therefore, we play by my rules,” Santa grumped, nodding to a couple of others who emerged from the slim gap between dump truck and wall. How Santa squeezed through, Finn didn’t know.

They lay down their assorted guns and knives, leaving Finn feeling na**d and vulnerable in the hot morning sun. His body hummed with adrenalin as he gave them an easy smile. One wrong move in Al’s direction and he would end them. Her safety meant everything.

“Keep your hands out in front of you. Don’t move. Where have you lot come from?” Santa motioned and his juniors came into play.

Two young white males crept out and gathered up the weapons, placing them in a plastic laundry basket. They kept sneaking looks at Al, but it was more curiosity than covet, for now.

“The coast,” Finn said.

Santa grunted. “We had some people come through last week from the east, sent them on their way. They didn’t give me the warm fuzzies. Know what I’m saying?”

“These are dangerous days,” Finn agreed. “I was a cop. I have my badge and ID in my back pocket if you want to check it out.”

A black-haired junior, the one not holding the laundry basket, stepped forward and slipped the leather wallet from the back of Finn’s jeans. Inspected it with care. “Could be legit, Sam.”

Santa canted his head, grimaced. “Maybe. When did you three arrive in our beautiful area?”

“Just now,” said Finn. “We saw smoke earlier, came to investigate.”

“Sure about that? My scouts have seen some movement just outside of town the last few days. The truth would be best, son.”

Finn shook his head. “Not us. We were almost an hour south this morning. First time we’ve been out here.”