* * * *
Styachowski was in the wheelhouse of the barge, using the radio there. The barge was to be used to get the men across in case of catastrophe at the railroad bridge. She held the microphone in one hand, a cane in the other, her face lit by instrument telltales. She visibly sagged in relief when Valentine appeared in the doorway.
"The train's almost empty now," Valentine heard Post crackle from the radio. "Still no action here. You want me to send it back? Over."
"Yes, send it back. Over and out.
"Thought something had happened to you, sir," Styachowski said.
"Some confusion at the prison yard." Valentine was relieved to see her alive and well.
A soldier ran up the side stairs and entered the cabin.
"Should the people from the work camp be put on board?"
Styachowski looked at Valentine. "You're in charge of the warehouses and docks," he said.
"Yes." The private backed out of the cabin and made a noisy exit down the stairs.
"What's the situation, Styachowski?"
Another mortar shell landed amongst the Ruins.
"The supply train to go north was just waiting there. I figured we could use what was on it as well as the opposition. Here's the juicy part. There were four 155mm guns loaded on flatcars and ready to go, along with a bunch of other goodies. Post had his men ride the rooftops, it was quite a sight."
"Have you heard from Ahn-Kha?"
"They took the bridge, no problem; just a couple of corporal's guards at either end. After securing it he went overland to Omega. Called us on Solon's own transmitter. There was a little shooting. Someone was wounded up there, but he took the Residence intact."
"So where are the Quislings?"
"Sitting tight, waiting to be told what to do. I don't think it's sunk in to anyone what's happening yet, except maybe your Kurian in his tower. The prisoners we took here said they sent everyone with a gun there to guard him."
"How many prisoners?"
"A few dozen. Night watchmen type MPs making sure nobody pilfers, at least without giving them a cut. They're sitting under guard in the canteen here. We hauled Xray-Tango back, he was conscious for a few minutes and cursing you up and down. Seeing his headquarters on fire could have had something to do with that. I've collapsed into a little pocket here. I wasn't sure if I should burn the headquarters; I didn't want to give the mortar guys another reference mark."
Valentine wondered if he could have handled it half as well. "Nice work, Styachowski. I'm-we're lucky to have you with us. Really lucky."
She flushed to the corners of her eyes and wavered a bit in her at-ease pose. "It's been a nail-biter every second."
"What's this about sending the train back? That wasn't part of the plan."
"It was loaded. We couldn't fit everyone without dragging boxcars around. There's still plenty of stuff in the warehouse we can use."
"Do you have the manpower to load it before dawn?"
"We can try."
"Use the men we took out of the camp. Medical supplies, food, ammunition-especially for those guns. In that priority. Forget the rest. After the train pulls out send every pickup you have after it. They can bump their way over the bridge easily enough. We'll need transport to get it all from the station up the hill to the Residence. At first light set everything else on fire."
"Can do, sir. Excuse me, I'd better start giving orders."
* * * *
"I'll give you my standard speech," Valentine said to the thirty-odd men under guard in a corner of one of the warehouses. The warehouses were shells of better-built structures that had survived the blast. Their drafty, burned-out interiors smelled of rat feces and cat urine, but they were space out of the rain. New walls of corrugated aluminum were wired onto the reinforced concrete. Styachowski's soldiers and the liberated POWs were filling hand carts and shuttling goods out the door in a frenzy.
"Anyone who joins us gets a new life in the Free Territory. You'll come with us as civilians. You'll work harder than you did under the Hoods, but you'll be able to do it with a clear conscience. This isn't an 'or else'; we're going to leave you somewhere safe. You might want to think about what'll happen when they start investigating all this. Angry Hoods aren't particular about allocating blame where it belongs. Heads are going to roll for this one. You might think about the chances of it being yours.