"What's going to happen at Omega, sir?"
"A lot of work."
"More fighting?"
"I expect. They'll be coming for us, though. We're going to play defense for a while."
"That's good, sir. I've had some experience with that."
"What was it like when you hit the camp? The first time, that is."
"I was scared. I saw their rifle barrels everywhere. I was scared more troops were going to come rolling down the road behind me while I was looking at the camp. When we started toward the wire and the machine gun opened up-I just lost it, sir."
Somewhere behind him Valentine saw the Abica brothers embracing. The younger playfully cuffed his older brother across the back of the head. The green flare was the right decision. ...
"You acted according to your judgment. You were there and I wasn't. A machine gun can kill a lot of men in a few seconds. But remember what was in your head next time you see the enemy coming at you. I know it sounds like they're howling for your blood and nothing can stop them. Remember how you felt; sometimes the noise is just fear let loose. Now that you know their fear you can work it."
"How do you stop from being scared in the first place, sir?"
"Zhao, I asked my old captain in the Wolves that exact question. I'll tell you what he told me: Don't. It'll keep you sharp."
* * * *
"Send a runner ahead to that post," Valentine said to Zhao, pointing into the darkness around the warehouses. "Make sure they're our men."
While Zhao organized that, Beck and Kessey rested their prisoners. Some of them had surreptitiously gorged themselves on food from the Quonset hut and were being quietly sick along the roadside.
"Once we're across the river, we'll be back in our own lines?" Beck asked.
"Captain, you're addressing a fellow captain, you know," Zhao put in, after his messenger moved off.
"Never mind that, Lieutenant. Captain Beck and I go back far enough that the niceties don't matter. In answer to your question, Captain, the only lines in the neighborhood are the ones we're about to draw. This is a deep penetration raid, you might say. My orders are to tie down as many troops as possible."
"Where do we fit in?" Colonel Kessey asked. "Don't worry about my rank, Mr. Valentine, as far as I'm concerned I'm under your orders. This is your op. I'll do as you say."
"Couldn't stand to see friends behind barbed wire, Colonel."
Beck shook his head. "Seems to me I once criticized you for rounding up strays, Va- Captain. Looks a little different to me now. Thanks for getting me out of the frying pan."
"We in the fire are glad to have you. What sort of mix do you have?"
"There's a few Wolves, incognito. They put on militia uniforms in case of capture. The rest are mostly guards. I have infantry, heavy weapons, signals, some engineers and mechanics. Backwash from the big bugout that didn't make it to the mountains."
"And you, sir?" Valentine asked Kessey.
"The usual mix. I've got a first-class gunsmith, you might find work for her. A couple of doctors and a nurse."
A runner interrupted their talk.
"We were hoping to link up with the prison party, sir," the private reported. "Captain Styachowski didn't know you'd be with them. She sent out a scouting party to observe the Kurian Tower, but they came back and said nothing had happened there. I'm to take you to her; she's down by the docks. She's made space for the prisoners on a barge."
"Good. Captain Beck, Lieutenant Colonel Kessey, if you could get them up again, please."
Valentine heard an explosion in the darkness. "What's that?"
"I think it's mortars from the Heights. They're dropping shells around the docks. It's blind fire, sir, they're not hitting anything but rubble."
"When the sun gets up that'll change. Zhao, get them moving. Best pace the prisoners can manage."