Page 85 of Freedom Fighters
Nick’s smile faded as he took in the damage.“Josh!” he called.
Joshua Benning, whom Carmen recognized from when she had been living in the big house, moved to the front of the open door of the helicopter. He stepped around the big caterers’ trays of sandwiches and juice boxes sitting in the doorway, then jumped down and walked over to where they were standing by the nose of the helicopter. Josh nodded at Carmen. “It’s good to see you,Ms. Escobedo,” he said formally.
“It’s Carmen,” she told him.
“Josh, I guess this is as good a time as any to give you back your mine,” Nick said and waved toward the concrete pads. “It’s all yours.”
Josh let out a heavy breath. “Jesus wept,” he breathed, looking at it.
“It’s cosmetic damage,” Carmen assured him. “The smelter is still whole. It’ll need a new roof, but that’s all. The heavyequipment is all in the sheds over there. You can’t see the mine head from here, although I remember that the buildings around that were solid, too. It’s just the admin buildings that got flattened and you can probably rebuild them faster than you built them the first time, as the pads are there.”
Josh rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s not that,” he said slowly. “It’s…”
“What?” Nick asked,with a note of sharpness.
“The Insurrectos,” Josh said. “Where did they all go?”
“I guess we’ll find out when the patrols report back,” Garrett said. “Frankly, I don’t give a damn.”
Nick looked at him, his eyes narrowing.
Carmen put out her hand toward Garrett and willed him to take it. He didn’t hesitate. His hand slid into hers.
“Nick, I’d like you to meet Garrett Blackburn,” Carmen continued.“He’s a medical doctor working with WHO and assigned to Vistaria.” She glanced at Garrett. He was watching Nick, sizing him up. “Garrett is also the leader of the Resistance unit I’ve been with for the last couple of months since I escaped from the palace.”
Nick’s eyes widened a tiny fraction. He held out his hand. “Dr. Blackburn,” he said. “I’m glad you were there for Carmen.”
“It’s just Garrett,”he said and shook Nick’s hand. “You’re Nicolás Escobedo. You and Carmen have the same eyes.”
“Hers are prettier,” Nick said flatly. “Why don’t you give a damn about the Insurrectos, Garrett? There’s a good chance you’ll be asked to tend them as a medical doctor in the next little while.”
“And they’ll get the best of my skills and abilities. I abide by my oath,” Garrett said roughly. “Ibarrais flat out crazy, though. He’s the reason the Insurrectos stuck around, trying to hang on to the mine despite the hurricane. If they’re dead, it’s Ibarra’s fault. I hope he perished with them. It’ll be a cleaner war if he did.”
Nick blinked. He studied Garrett with renewed interest.
Carmen looked up as Calli, Nick’s wife, stepped into the doorway of the helicopter from somewhere inside. Shehad a cellphone to her ear, sunglasses pushed up over her head and a notepad and pen in her other hand. She jumped down awkwardly to the wet ground and walked over to them. “Just one moment, Mr. President,” she said in almost flawless Spanish. “The Presidentpro temis right here. I’ll put him on and you can speak to him directly.”
She held the phone out to Nick. “The President of Mexico wouldlike to speak to you,” she told him and pressed her lips together to hold back a smile.
Nick did smile. He took a deep breath and put the phone to his ear. “President Aguirre, it is good to hear from you.” He walked away, the phone to his ear. Calli pressed her notebook to her chest, her smile breaking free.
Behind them, the army was helping itself to the food in an orderly and almost silentprocession. Duardo turned from monitoring them and looked at Calli. “Was that who I think it was on the phone for Nick?” he asked.
Calli nodded.
Duardo looked up at the white sky and let out a gusty sigh. “Yes!”he breathed.
Garrett pulled Carmen closer to him, his arm sliding around her waist from behind. He murmured in her ear. “I’m losing track of your family tree. Is there anyone here rightnow thatisn’ta cousin?”
Carmen looked around the group. Nick was her uncle, Calli was married to him and Josh was Calli’s uncle. He was also Minnie’s father and Minnie had married Duardo… Carmen shook her head. “Nope. We’re all related one way or another.”
Duardo watched them, a twinkle in his eye. He grinned at Garrett. “Welcome to the family, Garrett. I speak from experience when I assureyou that you’ve never met a family like this one.”
“If it has Carmen in it,” Garrett told him, “the family must be as rare as dragon’s breath.”
Silence gripped them as everyone stared at Garrett. Carmen could feel her back straightening defensively.
Then Calli laughed. “Oh, you’re going to fit in perfectly!” she told Garrett.
