Page 34 of Casualties of War
“I will, if Calli thinks it is how I can help,” Adán replied, although he wasn’t sure what she meant about picking off Insurrectos.
Minnie blew out her breath. She glanced at her cousin. “It would be the same as painting him with a target.”
Calli nodded.
Adán looked from one tothe other of the two women, reassessing them. They spoke like men. Not just men, but older, seasoned men who had seen and experienced much and were judging him based on that wisdom.
“Sending you to the Big Rock would distract the Insurrectosandour men, too,” Calli said.
Adán nodded. “Nick told me as much, months ago. I’m here to serve, Calli. I don’t care what that means. If I must fetch andcarry as the wounded men out there, then I will do it. If it helps, I will do it gladly.”
Calli looked doubtful. “There must be a better use for someone like you. I don’t know what that would be, yet. If you want to serve, then I won’t waste your potential.”
Adán relaxed. “Then I can stay?”
“He might be of better use back in America,” Minnie said. “He knows the President. He could help Olivia.”
Calli’s gaze didn’t shift from Adán. “That’s not the type of help you’re interested in providing, though, is it?”
Adán shook his head. “I’ve played that card already. Nick got five minutes with him. Now, President Collins isn’t returning my calls.”
“Don’t take it personally. He isn’t returning my calls, either,” Calli said, straightening up.
A tap sounded on the other side of the closed door,then it pushed open. The black woman Adán had spotted earlier stepped into the room and held out a scrap of paper to Calli. “Today’s password for the satellite feeds. They’re up now.”
Calli took the paper. “Thank you. Chloe, meet another member of the family. This is Adán—”
“Caballero,” Chloe gasped, her gaze settling on Adán’s face.
Adán shook his head. “Maybe I should change my name whileI’m here.”
Chloe shook her head. “Wouldn’t do you any good,” she replied. “Unless you change your face, too.”
Adán grimaced.
Minnie leaned forward. “Only, no one can see his face on the other side of a computer screen. Chloe, do you need any help with the analysis?”
“All sorts of help,” Chloe said. She considered Adán. “Are you any good with computers?”
“Only if there is a three-year-oldstanding by to help me,” Adán admitted.
Chloe sighed.
Minnie shook her head. “That’s just the medium. Adán, you’ve been staring at photographs your entire life. Movie stills and more, right?”
“It’s part of the job,” he replied. Watching daily rushes and assessing his performance, so he could make adjustments the following day. Coldly measuring the effectiveness of a new batch of publicity headshots and disassociating his emotions while analyzing his own face. Checking makeup shots, continuity shots… “I stare at images all the time.”
Calli raised her brow at Chloe.
Chloe crossed her arms. “Ever seen satellite imagery?”
He sighed. “I could lie and say I’ve seen more than my share, only…”
“He’s an observer of human nature,” Minnie said. “Chloe, you said only yesterday how hard itis to figure out what looks kosher and what doesn’t. Adán can tell.”
“You’re spying on Vistaria?” Adán asked.
“Chloe hacked the feeds of half-a-dozen satellites, both orbital and geo-stationary,” Calli said. “It gives the army invaluable information on Insurrecto deployments and strengths and weaknesses. We give the data to the generals on the Big Rock to use. The feeds also give us thousandsof images of the city and the major towns.” She hesitated, then said, “People are going missing. We’ve been getting reports—most of them from the north of the main island. The satellite images might give us a clue why they’re missing.”
