1 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Chapter four, Manny. Manny woke up needing to piss, and 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: also to the sound of explosions. You couldn't quite tell 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: which was more to blame for his sudden, unwelcome consciousness. 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:16,639 Speaker 1: His lizard brain woke up and shouted, get the funk 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: out of their you asshole. A second later, Manny got 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: to his feet, grabbed his gear bag, and looked around 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: for the journalist. Reggie still seemed asleep, but he stirred 8 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: just as Manny started towards him, and another thundering boom 9 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: shook the world. Christ, who's that, Reggie asked, in a 10 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 1: slurred voice heavy with sleep. Mortars. Manny explained, I think 11 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 1: I heard rockets too. Shit, The brit Ex sailed sharply. 12 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: Is this bad? Many shrugged. Those sound like small mortars, 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 1: very short range, but we're miles behind the line. So 14 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: a deafening explosion shook the world. It was loud enough 15 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: that Manny didn't even properly hear it. He felt it 16 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: hard and hot against his skin. The sheer, impo sucible 17 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: noise of it pulled the air from his lungs and 18 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: the thoughts from his head. The next instant, he was 19 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: flat on the ground. His eyes darted left and right 20 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:11,080 Speaker 1: for cover. He spotted something, an artificial cave built into 21 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: a corner of the main room, perhaps a hundred feet away. 22 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: It looked like some sort of shrine or temple. Many 23 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: could see the walls were thick with melted candles, colorful 24 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,639 Speaker 1: drawings in a variety of brass cymbals. He grabbed Reggie 25 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:25,240 Speaker 1: by the shoulder and shook hard. The other man jerked, 26 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:28,839 Speaker 1: locked eyes with Manny and mouthed what the fixture pointed 27 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: towards the shrine, pulled himself up and sprinted towards it. 28 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: The journalists followed, and soon both men were huddled in 29 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,960 Speaker 1: the little substructure, staring out at the devastation that had 30 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:41,000 Speaker 1: overtaken the Richardson Autonomous Project. They could see two holes 31 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,679 Speaker 1: in the roof. The huge circular kitchen bar looked like 32 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: it had taken a direct hit. Beer spurted from shattered taps, 33 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: and many could see what looked like blood staining the 34 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: white oak of the bar. Counter Flames licked somewhere off 35 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: in the distance on the other side of the vast structure. 36 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: The air smelled of smoke and burning grass. More blasts 37 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: sound it in the distance, including a few that were 38 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: just too loud to be mortar fire. Now that he focused, 39 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: Manny could also hear the chatter of machine guns. It 40 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: was distant, but not nearly as distant as it should 41 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 1: have been. Many dug into his pocket, found where the 42 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:16,760 Speaker 1: deck was clipped inside, and thumbed the power button. Static 43 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: flashed at the edge of his vision as his implants 44 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,119 Speaker 1: started up. He nearly always ran in minimalist mode, which 45 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 1: gave him access to his maps and his communications sweet 46 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,839 Speaker 1: and nothing else. He selected his address book and sub 47 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: vocalized his cousin's name, Alejandro. It dialed and dialed and dialed. Amen. 48 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: Reggie said, his voice oddly, calm, I think we might 49 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: need to get the funk out of here. Reggie looked 50 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: over at the bride and then towards the flames. They 51 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: were bigger now and closer. He could see a dozen 52 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:47,760 Speaker 1: or so men and women fighting the fire with hoses 53 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: and extinguishers. They didn't seem to be winning. Elsewhere, he 54 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,119 Speaker 1: saw small groups breaking cover to run for the exits. 55 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,079 Speaker 1: The sound of alarm bells echoed across the big structure. 56 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 1: Alejandro hadn't responded, which meant he was fighting or dead 57 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:03,799 Speaker 1: either way, Manny and Reggie would need to find their 58 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: own ride out of this mess. It had been a 59 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: while since the last mortar had landed on the complex, 60 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,359 Speaker 1: and the small arms fire still sounded distant. This seemed 61 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: as good a time to make a break for it 62 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 1: as they were likely to get, so they ran until 63 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: they hit the nearest exit doors, shoved them open, and 64 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:23,959 Speaker 1: staggered outside into the balmy Texas night. The asphalt parking 65 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: lot outside was filled with newly minted refugees, perhaps two 66 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: hundred of them, most carried at least to go bag. 67 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: A few had managed to drag out more. They were 68 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: ringed by a widening cordon of armed men and women, 69 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: fifty at the most. The militia clutched antique weapons, mostly 70 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 1: small arms, and stuck like glue to the Hescoe barriers 71 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: that ringed the old parking lot. Here and there, Manny 72 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: caught sight of a man with an RPG or a 73 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: light machine gun. It was a forcement for scaring off bandits. 74 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: The rockets still thudding in the distance told Manny these 75 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: men and women faced considerably more than their match. A 76 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: green blink of light caught his attention. Reggie head and 77 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 1: aged his lapel camera. The brit fixed him with a 78 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: look that said, dude, what did you expect me to do? 79 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: Most of the survivors were probably recording to their decks, too, 80 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: but Reggie's little camera could do considerably more. It scanned 81 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: the world around him in a three hundred and sixty 82 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 1: degree arc. It also recorded the journalist's own physical data, 83 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: his heart rate, his respiration, his adrenal levels. Everything he 84 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,479 Speaker 1: saw and felt was being recorded for later consumption. The 85 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 1: brit was carving out a little slice of the war 86 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:31,120 Speaker 1: for safer parts of the world to Binge Watch. Vehicle 87 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: started to arrive. The project's motor pool included three tracks 88 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:37,160 Speaker 1: built to carry large groups of people in semi armored 89 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: semi safety. The commune's rapid reaction force set to work, 90 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 1: loading children and wounded up first. There was no panic, 91 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:48,799 Speaker 1: no hysteria, just an exhausted efficiency that spoke of long practice. 92 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:52,839 Speaker 1: Manny saw glassy eyes and clenched jaws, but very little 93 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,599 Speaker 1: open rage. They're so very used to it, he realized. 94 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: Scattered throughout the crowd, Manny saw people whose bodies rattled 95 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: with the sort of palsied shock that artillery leaves in 96 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:07,040 Speaker 1: its wake. Reggie just stared out at them, mouth slack. 97 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: His left knee twitched, the foot below it pumped against 98 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: the ground. Many guessed he was caught between the urge 99 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: to step out and talk to some of them and 100 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: the voice of sanity in the back of his head 101 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: that knew how tone deaf that would be. Manny put 102 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: a hand on the journalist's shoulder. We need to get 103 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: the funk out of here, and our ride is off calms, 104 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:26,479 Speaker 1: he said. I'm going to suggest we hitch with the 105 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: R A P where their guests. They'll make room for us, 106 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 1: but if you'd rather drag us, I know a safe 107 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: neighborhood about six miles into the city. We could probably 108 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 1: hire a ride there. It looks like they're a bit 109 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: short of room, as is said the brit Those tracks 110 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:44,039 Speaker 1: can't hold more than people each. Many smiled a little 111 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:46,919 Speaker 1: twenty four, But that's just if you're attached to things 112 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: like seats. Ten minutes later, Reggie and Manny clung to 113 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:53,200 Speaker 1: the hood of the track as it barreled down the 114 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: broken streets of Ciadad de Muerta, bound for a staging 115 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: area in deep Ellum. The fighting sounded much closer by 116 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,600 Speaker 1: the time they left, Manny guessed the small arms fire 117 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: couldn't be more than a couple of blocks away. He 118 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: and the journalist held on with white knuckles and tried 119 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:09,600 Speaker 1: not to linger long on what would happen if they 120 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 1: lost their grip. The martyrs had passed the command post 121 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,160 Speaker 1: the bridge, shouted in sudden realization, his voice strained to 122 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: be audible over the roar of the engines. Holy shit, 123 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,840 Speaker 1: they have to be right. Many thought about the geography 124 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: for a moment. It was possible that the martyrs had 125 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,119 Speaker 1: only broken through in a few chunks of the line, 126 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:28,160 Speaker 1: but that would mean to Shaun and the others were 127 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: alive and surrounded or fleeing. Those were the best case scenarios. 128 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: I think we might be fucked, Manny said, stunned by 129 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,480 Speaker 1: the realization. For the last year, Major Clark had been 130 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: his most reliable source in the SDF. That post had 131 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 1: seemed immovable, impregnable for its significance in his little chunk 132 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,360 Speaker 1: of the world. The tracks slowed to a stop. Parked 133 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,919 Speaker 1: facing them were too smaller armored SDF tracks with swiveling 134 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: cannons on their roofs. Soldiers scurried around them. They pulled 135 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: sections of thin, frosted gray still glass barricades off the 136 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 1: vehicles and started setting them up to form a new 137 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: defensive line. Many watched two militia women wrestle with a 138 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:09,720 Speaker 1: large olive green case covered in boxy cyrillic script. They 139 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,640 Speaker 1: pried it open, and Manny saw a huge metal tube 140 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,400 Speaker 1: and what looked like a lot of antique optical equipment. 141 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,679 Speaker 1: It was probably an old wire guided missile launcher, something 142 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: that had been antique before the revolution. He'd never seen 143 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 1: the stf use anything that old. They had drones half 144 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: this size that carried even more firepower, had them yesterday, 145 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,840 Speaker 1: at least, he thought. The track slowed to a cautious 146 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: stop and honked. Manny glanced back at the driver. She 147 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: had her hands in the air in a universal please 148 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: don't shoot us gesture. Two of the soldiers peeled off 149 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: from their efforts and approached, weapons in hand but not aimed. 150 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: The driver opened her door and shouted something down at them. 151 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: One of the men responded and gestured vaguely downtown. Manny 152 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: couldn't make out exactly what was being said, but the 153 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: driver's face contorted in a fury that was impossible to miss. 154 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: Something's fucked Manny said to the journalist, I think we're 155 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: about to lose our ride. Look. He pointed to the 156 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: makeshift barricade and the dozen or so soldiers who filtered 157 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: past it and towards the track. The driver yelled and 158 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 1: one of the other passengers near the front started to shout. 159 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: The soldier's face remained impassive, but he put a hand 160 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: on his side arm and repeated a command Manny didn't 161 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: even need to hear. A few seconds later, a soldier 162 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: with a megaphone arrived and addressed Manny, Reggie and the 163 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 1: new refugees citizens. Your vehicle has been requisition for medical 164 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: use by the SDF. Please dismount on a wordly fashion. 165 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: Injured in pregnant individuals may stay aboard. The man repeated 166 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:38,200 Speaker 1: the order, this time in Spanish. Reggie's jaw clinched man 167 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: he could see fear in his eyes, but the other 168 00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 1: man just nodded and started to climb down off the track. 169 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,119 Speaker 1: Manny did the same. Not all of the tracks passengers 170 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: were as compliant. There was a lot of shouting and 171 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: even a few shoving matches between the militiamen and the passengers, 172 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,839 Speaker 1: but in the end, the SDF got their way. Manny 173 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 1: gathered fairly quickly that they planned to send the civilians 174 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: a mile or so back to a holding area behind 175 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,120 Speaker 1: in the new line. That was the last fucking place 176 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:05,200 Speaker 1: in the world he wanted to be, so he approached 177 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: the officer who had been arguing with their driver. The 178 00:09:07,960 --> 00:09:10,320 Speaker 1: man had no rank in signiya on his uniform, but 179 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: that wasn't unusual for militia. His fatigues were old U 180 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 1: S Army issue. His arm band identified him as part 181 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:19,400 Speaker 1: of the Citizens Front. Manny found that odd Most of 182 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: the militia at this barricade were with Raza Front or 183 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:24,840 Speaker 1: the p p A. This much intermixing wasn't normal. It 184 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,959 Speaker 1: pointed to a lot of casualties among the stf DI 185 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: scope Signor. Manny started, Chico, no ur remismo. I don't 186 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: have time to debate, no Signor. My cousin Alejandro was 187 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: with Citizens Front ninth Battalion. He was our ride. We 188 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,200 Speaker 1: were taking this journalist. Manny jerked his head towards Reggie, 189 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 1: who stood a few feetback, and we got caught up 190 00:09:43,559 --> 00:09:47,360 Speaker 1: in the attack. The officer nodded, then grunted. Manny studied 191 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: his face for a moment. The man was middle aged, 192 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: with a weak chin and enough extra meat on his 193 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: bones to suggest this was his first front line duty 194 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: in a while. His eyes were bloodshot, his hands clenched, 195 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:03,040 Speaker 1: his attitude softened a bit at Alejandro's name, Alejandro Hernandez. Yeah, 196 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: he's a good man, or was, the officer said darkly. 197 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: All our front line units were wiped out or near enough. 198 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,080 Speaker 1: The whole STF has been pushed all the way back 199 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 1: to Sida de Muerta. If he's alive, he's a prisoner. 200 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 1: The man shook his head. Sorry, Chico, there's not much 201 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 1: I can do for you or your friend. We need 202 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: to get to Waco. I know there's a hospital there 203 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: that must be where you're sending the serious injuries. Right, 204 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: Dallas doesn't have anything left with a fully are the 205 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:31,840 Speaker 1: officer nodded. These tracks are headed to the Field Hospital 206 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 1: in Oak Lawn, But we've got a couple of deuce 207 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 1: and a half sloading up at fire based. Jamenez, if 208 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:38,440 Speaker 1: you can get there on your own, all radio ahead 209 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 1: and ask Major Peron if he's got space. I know Peron. 210 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: Manny almost shouted, I went to school with his nephew, Hector. 211 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: He couldn't stop himself from wincing as he said, if 212 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 1: you'd give him my name, that might help. The other 213 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: man's eye cocked up in a really motherfucker look. But 214 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: then the soldier asked, and your name is Many Sanchez. 215 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: He nodded. Good, then, Manny, all radio ahead. You and 216 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: your friend get to the firebase Rapido Cambrende. Many nodded 217 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:08,880 Speaker 1: and turned to Reggie. We've got a ride, but it's 218 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:18,959 Speaker 1: going to be a bit of a hike. It was 219 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 1: less a hike and more of a panicked jog. The 220 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 1: streets around them were filled with dozens of people carrying 221 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,679 Speaker 1: their possessions and bags and rusted old shopping carts. Manny 222 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: had never seen Dallas this crowded. Less than a million 223 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: people still lived in the old Metroplex, but most of 224 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:35,240 Speaker 1: them seemed to be out in the streets to watch 225 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:38,680 Speaker 1: the world end. Sirens sounded, courtesy of the city's old 226 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:41,960 Speaker 1: civil defense system, mixed every few seconds with the distorted 227 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 1: voice of a woman reminding them that all motor vehicle 228 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 1: use was prohibited. Any civilian vehicles on the road will 229 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: be assumed hostile and targeted. The road traffic was all military. 230 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 1: There was less of it than Manny would have hoped 231 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: to see. In the space of a few seconds, he 232 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:59,440 Speaker 1: watched three pairs of cougar assault vehicles race up towards 233 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: the front, carrying squads of armored troopers in their open beds. 234 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,320 Speaker 1: He also saw one convoy of five anti tank drones. 235 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: Each was the size of a four door sedan, with 236 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:11,240 Speaker 1: two linked chain guns on a turret that scanned the 237 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 1: sky in fast, jerky arcs. There was a troubling amount 238 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:17,079 Speaker 1: of dead space on the road between the two units. 239 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:19,679 Speaker 1: By the sound of it, the fighting had only grown 240 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 1: more intense throughout the morning. The crack of small arms 241 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: fire had been nearly drowned out by the all consuming 242 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,480 Speaker 1: roar of close support drones in the sky above them. 243 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 1: The only noises to rise above that din were the 244 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 1: stippling bangs of mortar fire and the pop pop popping 245 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 1: of cluster bombs fire. Bassiamenez was about two miles back 246 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:40,280 Speaker 1: from the new front. It was mainly a staging area 247 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,680 Speaker 1: for the st f's Autonomous Artillery Division. The a a 248 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:46,280 Speaker 1: D was made up of men and mostly drones from 249 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: all the secular militia groups active in the Dallas area. 250 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 1: The fire base itself wasn't well fortified. The only physical 251 00:12:52,880 --> 00:12:55,080 Speaker 1: defense was a fence topped with razor wire to keep 252 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: civilians out. That wouldn't be much of a barrier for 253 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:01,600 Speaker 1: a determined assault. Untilicup of hours ago, Yumenez had been 254 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: far enough from the front that an assault wasn't considered possible. 255 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,680 Speaker 1: After an hour of mixed jogging and running, Manny and 256 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: Reggie took a left onto park Lane and the fire 257 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,400 Speaker 1: base came into view. It had been built in the 258 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:15,480 Speaker 1: bones of an old apartment complex. Several buildings had been 259 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: converted into offices and the rest left as barracks space. 260 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: The apartments were situated across the road from a tall, 261 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: very thin, parentheses shaped building that looked out over a 262 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: large field dotted with landing pads. The name Top Golf 263 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 1: Driving Range was still visible on the side of the building. 264 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:35,040 Speaker 1: Several hundred militiamen were hard at work throwing up defenses. Still, 265 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:37,080 Speaker 1: glass sheets had been set up to screen a dozen 266 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 1: machine gun nests. Further back, soldiers piled sandbags in front 267 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,800 Speaker 1: of two howitzers. Manny and Reggie weren't the only civilians 268 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: trying to gain entrance. Fifty or so people clustered by 269 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:48,640 Speaker 1: a checkpoint in the middle of the road, a hundred 270 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:52,000 Speaker 1: yards ahead of the construction efforts. The checkpoint was new, 271 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: just a sandbag machine gun emplacement manned by six fighters 272 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: in powered body armor. They were over watched by a 273 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: pair of ancient Abrams tanks because issian on either side 274 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 1: of the road. The soldiers in the middle checked the 275 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: documents and let the occasional civilian through. They turned most 276 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: people back. There were a lot of shouts and violent 277 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,400 Speaker 1: gestures on the part of the civilians. While Manny watched. 278 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: One of the guards raised their rifle up and fired 279 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:16,959 Speaker 1: it just to the left of a screaming man's face. 280 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: He recoiled in pain and fear, clutched his ears, and 281 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:23,840 Speaker 1: staggered away from the checkpoint. The weight was only about 282 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: ten minutes, but with the flooding artillery at their back, 283 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: each of those minutes felt like an hour. But soon 284 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 1: they stood face to face with one of the armored 285 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: militia folks. Reggie went stiff at once, his pupils the 286 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 1: size of dinner plates. He had never seen powered armor 287 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 1: up close before. Many couldn't blame the man for being unnerved. 288 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 1: The reflective, bug eyed, blistic glass of the helmets and 289 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:47,720 Speaker 1: humanly broad shoulder armor made the wearers look like Cronenbergie 290 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 1: and guerrilla mantis hybrids. The shortest armored soldier was well 291 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 1: over seven feet tall and almost as broad as two men. 292 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 1: Their gender was impossible to discern, but a feminine voice 293 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: leapt from the speakers. State your busin this, she said, 294 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: If you're looking for shelter, you'll have to head to 295 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,480 Speaker 1: North Park Center. We don't have room for you. I'm 296 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: Emmanuel Sanchez, Major Perrone. Should have my friend and I 297 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: on your list. The woman was silent for a little while. 298 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 1: As she called up the list, she clucked her tongue 299 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:15,560 Speaker 1: between her teeth, and the high fidelity mike in her 300 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: suit made it sound like she'd done it next to 301 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 1: his ear. Well, hell, there you are. Her helmeted head 302 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: bobbed at them. All right, you're in, come through quick. 303 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,480 Speaker 1: You stop being my fucking problem. As soon as you're inside. 304 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 1: They made their way towards the actual front gate of 305 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 1: the fire base, passing squads of militias struggling with hescoes 306 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: and setting up firing positions behind the still glass palisade. 307 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 1: Manny and Reggie walked past it all and to the 308 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: firebases front gate. They were let in without any fuss, 309 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,280 Speaker 1: which surprised Manny a bit, but he wasn't about to 310 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 1: question it. On the other side of the gate, they 311 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:51,000 Speaker 1: found themselves adrift, unescorted, and surrounded by pure chaos. There 312 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: were other civilians inside the walls, huddled in small groups 313 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: around piles of backpacks. They sat wide eyed and shaking, 314 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 1: and waited for whatever deliverance the STF could provide. Soldiers 315 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:03,200 Speaker 1: rushed through the clots of humanity in groups of two 316 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: or three. Often their arms were filled with machinery or paper, 317 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 1: or even crates of munitions. Everyone's eyes were wide and 318 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: full of fear. For a while, Reggie and Manny milled 319 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,560 Speaker 1: around with no real aim, unable to enter any of 320 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,680 Speaker 1: the buildings. Mannie found them an unclaimed place to sit 321 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 1: that looked like it would be easy for mister perun 322 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 1: to find, and then they just sat there. At one point, 323 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 1: Reggie offered him a protein bar. Mannie tried to eat it, 324 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: but three bites in he accepted that his appetite just 325 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: wasn't there. What do I do if Dallas falls? He 326 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: ran through his finances over and over again, mulling over 327 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 1: which European vises he could afford, and how long he'd 328 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: be able to survive in each country. I could make 329 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 1: it a year, maybe eighteen months. In Croatia, he'd been 330 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 1: studying German for the last year, though I can learn 331 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,800 Speaker 1: Croatian any here, he tried to convince himself. He also 332 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 1: tried to ignore what he'd been leaving behind if he 333 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: hopped the next flight from Austin to the e U. 334 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: He didn't want to think about Oscar's wife and child, 335 00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,680 Speaker 1: how they'd get by without their dad's income. He didn't 336 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:01,600 Speaker 1: want to think about his own father or the rest 337 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:04,040 Speaker 1: of his family and how they'd fair if Austin fell. 338 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,640 Speaker 1: You can only afford to take care of you here, Manny. 339 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: It was two hours before Major Perne found them. The 340 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: older man's skin was a deep sunsharred brown that seemed 341 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,720 Speaker 1: at odds with his narrow face and thin wire glasses. 342 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 1: He had the look of a high school history teacher 343 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,720 Speaker 1: who had been transplanted into a war zone. There was 344 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,439 Speaker 1: something drawn and strained in his expression that spoke of 345 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,840 Speaker 1: deep exhaustion. His eyes were bloodshot, and his nose was 346 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,680 Speaker 1: swollen slightly red. Manny could remember seeing that same face 347 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,000 Speaker 1: a bit younger and wearing a T shirt rather than 348 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:38,680 Speaker 1: digiKam at a hundred different slumber parties. Mister Perrone was 349 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:41,320 Speaker 1: Hector's dad. Mister Perrone made them kettle corn and let 350 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: them watch violent movies on the family projector Major Perone. 351 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,200 Speaker 1: Manny had to remind himself he's Major Perone. The Major 352 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:53,159 Speaker 1: favored Manny with a sad smile. Madre di dio, s Emmanuel, 353 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,520 Speaker 1: It's fucking good to see you. Have you seen your 354 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: cousin Alejandro? He was with us last night, Manny said, 355 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 1: before the attack. Back a pained look cross the Major's face. Okay, 356 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:06,280 Speaker 1: he nodded and forced to smile back across his lips. 357 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,240 Speaker 1: I hear you boys need a ride, yes, Manny said, 358 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:11,960 Speaker 1: if you could get us back to Waco. I have 359 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: enough connections in the area to get him. Manny nodded 360 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:18,840 Speaker 1: back to the journalist. Into Austin and what is your name, sir, 361 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:21,760 Speaker 1: Major Perrone asked the journalist as he extended his hand. 362 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:25,800 Speaker 1: Reggie the brit responded, thank you so much for helping us. 363 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: I'm afraid there's not much I can do right now. 364 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 1: The situation is still very fluid. We've set a new 365 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 1: defensive line running from the Lakewood Crater to love Field. 366 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: With any luck, the martyrs have spent the bulk of 367 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:39,919 Speaker 1: their strength and will hold them there. And if not, 368 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:44,439 Speaker 1: Reggie asked, Mr Perrone laughed and scratched his head. Well, 369 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: if the line breaks, then I'd guess our collective booch 370 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: is screwed. We'll begin the evacuation if it gets much worse, 371 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:53,040 Speaker 1: But right now we're still waiting for convoys of wounded 372 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:55,600 Speaker 1: to get back through the lines. He gestured out at 373 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:58,679 Speaker 1: the considerable amount of fenced off open space in the firebase. 374 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,320 Speaker 1: This whole place is about to be a big, open 375 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:04,760 Speaker 1: air hospital. He gave Reggie a severe look. I won't 376 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: tell you not to record them, because quite frankly, everyone 377 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 1: here is too busy to police that. But I will 378 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: ask that you showed tact in respect in your documentation, 379 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,919 Speaker 1: of course, said Reggie, with enough sincerity that Manny believed him. 380 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:20,400 Speaker 1: All right. He clapped Manny on the shoulder, and, after 381 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:23,600 Speaker 1: a second's pause, embraced him. Hold on out here for 382 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:25,399 Speaker 1: a while. I'll try to send some food in a 383 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: little bit. Manny and Reggie both thanked Major Braun and 384 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 1: he trundled off into the old top golf building to 385 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,679 Speaker 1: do his part in coordinating the defense. So what now, 386 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 1: Reggie asked, We wait, said Manny. Three hours passed. More 387 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:49,879 Speaker 1: and more wounded men streamed into the base, carried on 388 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:53,159 Speaker 1: stretchers and an ambulances, and in several cases stacked like 389 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: firewood on flatbed trucks. The wounded were set up on 390 00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,720 Speaker 1: cots and piles of blankets in the grass and wherever possible, 391 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:03,640 Speaker 1: in paved sections of the driving ranger's old parking lot. Medics, 392 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,600 Speaker 1: far too few medics hustled from soldier to soldier at 393 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 1: a frantic, manic, unsustainable pace. For a while, there was 394 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:12,920 Speaker 1: nothing to do but follow Reggie around while he interviewed 395 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:15,480 Speaker 1: the wounded men and women who were stable enough to talk. 396 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,439 Speaker 1: They all reported shock at the speed and ferocity of 397 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:21,360 Speaker 1: the attack. Their testimonies drove home the fact that this 398 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 1: was something new. Tendrils of fear crept up Manny's spine. 399 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 1: It was all he could do to keep moving with 400 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 1: his journalist Amen. Reggie said, look at that fellow. He 401 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 1: pointed to a soldier with the top half of his 402 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:36,160 Speaker 1: head wrapped in blood soaked bandages. Something about the man's 403 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 1: broad and square chin looked familiar. Isn't that one of 404 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 1: the men we met yesterday, Reggie asked the Major. Holy shit, 405 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 1: Reggie was right. That had to be to Shaun Clark. 406 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: Manny ran over to him. As he drew closer, it 407 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:51,399 Speaker 1: became clear that Deshaun was an even worse shape than 408 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,200 Speaker 1: he looked at a distance. His shirt had been ripped open, 409 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,199 Speaker 1: exposing a muscular chest drenched in blood. Three white plugs 410 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 1: of hardened Seloch's wound spray visible across his abdomen. He'd 411 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: been shot repeatedly and had what looked like a shrapnel 412 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:07,119 Speaker 1: wound on the side of his head. At least he's breathing, 413 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,920 Speaker 1: Manny thought, Major Clark, he said, and to manny surprise, 414 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:15,040 Speaker 1: the warrior poet stirred. Manny, sweet Jesus, is that you 415 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,399 Speaker 1: d Shaun asked in a slared voice. Yes, sir, Manny said, 416 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: You know, I was damn sure you had been killed. 417 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: Haven't had all that much time to think about you 418 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,200 Speaker 1: in the last few hours, of course, what with everyone 419 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 1: dying and all. I'm glad you're alive, Manny said, and 420 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 1: he was. Major Clark had always been good to him. 421 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:36,200 Speaker 1: Do you know what happened to Himid and Colonel Milgram. 422 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:39,320 Speaker 1: Manny asked, before the thought had fully crystallized in his mind. 423 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:42,640 Speaker 1: Major Clark tried to lift his head and almost cried 424 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: out from the sheer agony of the movement. He didn't 425 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,640 Speaker 1: speak for a few seconds. He just took deep, slow breaths, 426 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: but he started to whisper. The last sunbeam lightly falls 427 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 1: from the finished Sabbath on the pavement here and there 428 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,240 Speaker 1: beyond it is looking down a new maid, double grave. 429 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:04,520 Speaker 1: What man he asked, confused, Walt Actually, Major Clark laughed, winced, 430 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:08,440 Speaker 1: and then explained, Walt, Whitman. That is sorry. Imminent death 431 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,160 Speaker 1: makes me go for the deep cuts. So they're dead. 432 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 1: Then Manny asked. Major Clark coughed, and again his lips 433 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,399 Speaker 1: curled up in an agonized cringe. I think, so, he 434 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 1: managed to say. I think everyone from the command post 435 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: is dead. I was out grabbing a smoke when they 436 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:26,680 Speaker 1: hit us. Came out of nowhere, drone artillery, heavy stuff. 437 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,840 Speaker 1: Whole place slit up like Christmas. Two booms sounded in 438 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 1: the distance. Major Clark tensed up. Reggie cringed to Manny. 439 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,879 Speaker 1: The whole situation seemed almost too unreal. To justify a 440 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:42,640 Speaker 1: reaction like that, Major Clark said, after I grabbed who 441 00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:44,399 Speaker 1: I could and tried to save as many men as 442 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,480 Speaker 1: possible fighting retreat. You know, we linked up with as 443 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: many fighters as we could, but every time we'd set 444 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:52,680 Speaker 1: a line, they'd break through. They had so many damn drones. 445 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,159 Speaker 1: I've never seen Martyr's use drones like that. What do 446 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,399 Speaker 1: you mean, Reggie asked, Well, they've always had drones, but 447 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: usually just his defensive aids for when we'd make a push. 448 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:05,600 Speaker 1: We've got enough jammers that their hardware was no use 449 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:09,359 Speaker 1: in our territory since none of their ship goes autonomous. 450 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 1: So what the journalist asked, as he drew in a 451 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,159 Speaker 1: bit closer. Do you think they've changed their minds on 452 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,920 Speaker 1: autonomous drones? Or is this something else? Major Clark rolled 453 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 1: his head just a little. It seemed to be the 454 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 1: only gesture he could make without hurting himself. I don't know, kid, 455 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: he said, Whatever is happening, it's totally new, and it's 456 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 1: totally fucked us. Major Clark was taken by another coughing fit. 457 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:33,679 Speaker 1: This one lasted a long time. Blood bubbled up and 458 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,240 Speaker 1: out from the corners of his mouth. Manny wanted to 459 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: call for a medic, but he couldn't see any of 460 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,680 Speaker 1: them who weren't dealing with patients who were even worse off. Eventually, 461 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,359 Speaker 1: the coughing subsided and Major Clark drifted off into unconsciousness. 462 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: They sat with him until the night fell and Mr 463 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:51,800 Speaker 1: Perrone finally came to get them. He looked exhausted and 464 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,119 Speaker 1: somehow broken. His skin was sallow and so pale it 465 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,560 Speaker 1: was almost yellow. His uniform was soaked with old sweat stains, 466 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:00,680 Speaker 1: and he had two lit cigarettes in his mouth. When 467 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 1: he found Manny and Reggie, Manny wasn't sure he'd ever 468 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,480 Speaker 1: seen the older man's smoke. Mr Perrone noted his surprise. 469 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,639 Speaker 1: I've taken up smoking again, he said, with a hollow 470 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:11,959 Speaker 1: laugh since her tone, expect to survive to the end 471 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:16,679 Speaker 1: of the week that bad, Manny asked worse. He shook 472 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,119 Speaker 1: his head and then seemed to notice the Major Is 473 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:23,400 Speaker 1: that d Shawn Clark? Yes, Sir, Manny said, is he? 474 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,200 Speaker 1: He's alive and he seems to be stable for now. 475 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:30,480 Speaker 1: Major Perrone looked relieved. That's one spot a mercy. Then 476 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,120 Speaker 1: hopefully we'll get him out in time. On that note, 477 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 1: I've confirmed that We've got a convoy of wounded heading 478 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: out tomorrow a m As soon as our scouts clear 479 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: the root. You'll both have a seat in that convoy. 480 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,160 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, sir, Reggie started, Mr Perrone cut 481 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 1: him off. It's no problem, son, do your job and 482 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: tell people what's happened here. What are you going to do, 483 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,880 Speaker 1: Sir Manny asked? Mr Perrone looked into his eyes. He'd 484 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:56,679 Speaker 1: always had an intense stare. His edge had been evident, 485 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:58,960 Speaker 1: even when he'd been driving the boys to soccer practice 486 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,040 Speaker 1: or taking them out for pizza. Now his eyes bored 487 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,199 Speaker 1: into Manny's heart so deeply that the fixer finally understood 488 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,440 Speaker 1: what that phrase meant. I'm going to die here, Emmanuel, 489 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:10,800 Speaker 1: he said, I'm going to die here like your cousin 490 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:13,400 Speaker 1: Alajandro died here, because it's the only thing I can 491 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,960 Speaker 1: do that might protect our home. Manny felt an intense 492 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,159 Speaker 1: urge to look away, to cast his eyes down, but 493 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,439 Speaker 1: he didn't. He held mister Perrone's gaze and braced himself 494 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 1: for what came next. What about you, mister Perrone asked, 495 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:31,320 Speaker 1: What will you do if they reach Austin? Wait? Is 496 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:34,960 Speaker 1: that on the bloody table? Reggie interrupted. Mr Perrone paused 497 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,600 Speaker 1: for a moment and considered his words. I don't know, 498 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,520 Speaker 1: he said, No one does. But the martyrs just broke 499 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,440 Speaker 1: through it Lakewood. We won't hold Dallas for another day. 500 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:46,119 Speaker 1: He pulled Manny into a hug and kissed him on 501 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: the cheek. When he pulled back, he kept his hands 502 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,359 Speaker 1: on Manny's shoulders. I've always been proud of you, Immanuel. 503 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:53,920 Speaker 1: I think that what you do here, he nodded to Reggie, 504 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 1: has value. But there are times when our homelands require 505 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:00,440 Speaker 1: more of us. What are you prepared to give for Austin? 506 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 1: Manny clinched his jaw. I planned to be on a 507 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: plane out of here in the next twelve hours, if possible. 508 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,919 Speaker 1: But I don't know, sir, is all he said. It 509 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 1: was hard to meet mister Perrone's eyes. When he did, 510 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,320 Speaker 1: he was sure the older man saw the guilt in them. 511 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:19,680 Speaker 1: Mr Perrone didn't say anything, though, He just led Manny 512 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 1: and Reggie over to where the convoy was assembling and 513 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:24,119 Speaker 1: slipped them a pair of m R. E's and some 514 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:27,679 Speaker 1: bottled water. The best I can do, he said, apologetically. 515 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:31,600 Speaker 1: He left them at the disembarkation point Manny's last clear 516 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:33,679 Speaker 1: sight of the man who had helped raise him was 517 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 1: of his slumped, sweat stained shoulders trudging back to the 518 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:41,399 Speaker 1: firebase's command center. They sat there for hours, neither of 519 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: them talked much. One by one, the wounded men were 520 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,000 Speaker 1: loaded carefully into the assortment of old half tracks, busses, 521 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: and trailers that made up the convoy. Once they were seated, 522 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:52,200 Speaker 1: there was another two hours of white time before the 523 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:56,159 Speaker 1: convoy got moving. Both Reggie and Manny found time to nap, 524 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,359 Speaker 1: but neither of them were really arrested when the dawn 525 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,400 Speaker 1: broke and the convoy set forward it. By the time 526 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: the ramshackle assortment of trucks and broken soldiers started on 527 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:06,639 Speaker 1: its way to Waco, the sound of mortar fire was 528 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:10,160 Speaker 1: so constant it had almost become white noise. The small 529 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: arms fire wasn't as loud, but it was also clearly 530 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,119 Speaker 1: much closer than it had been when they'd arrived at 531 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:18,439 Speaker 1: fire bas umenz. As the convoy rolled out onto the 532 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 1: old access road that led eventually to Waco, a flight 533 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:24,560 Speaker 1: of drones roared past them and towards the new front line. 534 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,680 Speaker 1: Those aren't SDF drones, are they, Reggie asked, without actually 535 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:31,280 Speaker 1: looking at Manny. His gaze was focused on the two 536 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:33,040 Speaker 1: medics in the back of the truck as they moved 537 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: from soldier to soldier. No, Manny confirmed those are Austin 538 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:42,040 Speaker 1: Civil Defense Forces. The brit whistled through his teeth. So 539 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:44,960 Speaker 1: you think this means the sdf ran through their drones 540 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: could be as all, Manny said. The track and its 541 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: escort lumbered through the cracked remnants of the old highway system. 542 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:56,880 Speaker 1: The accumulated hangers on civilian vehicles piled high with refugees. 543 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,119 Speaker 1: As they rolled along. The civilians stayed back, leary the 544 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:03,600 Speaker 1: convoy's guns, but trusting in its presence for protection. By 545 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,360 Speaker 1: the time the convoy finally left the Dallas Sprawl, their 546 00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:10,200 Speaker 1: tails stretched back to the horizon line. Manny had seen 547 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,440 Speaker 1: similar sights before when his parents had fled the DFW 548 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:17,280 Speaker 1: area for Austin's relative safety. Here and there on and 549 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,879 Speaker 1: in the cars behind them, he saw small figures that 550 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: had to be children, kids like he'd been fleeing the 551 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,960 Speaker 1: same city he'd had to flee for the same basic reason. 552 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 1: Manny's stand out memory from that time wasn't the terror 553 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: of seeing a mortar land for the first time. Or 554 00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:34,400 Speaker 1: anything about their flight out of the city at all. 555 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: It was from the next day at their first refugee camp, 556 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,400 Speaker 1: when he saw his father in line for their daily 557 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:44,120 Speaker 1: ration of food. A journalist had passed by, taking the 558 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:48,440 Speaker 1: sort of pictures Reggie's lapel camera now snapped mindlessly. Manny's 559 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:51,840 Speaker 1: dad had been crying, ashamed that he'd needed charity, and 560 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 1: even more ashamed to have fled the family home. More 561 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:58,360 Speaker 1: than anything about that time, Manny remembered how his father 562 00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 1: had hidden his face from the fataeographer. The gesture had 563 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:04,120 Speaker 1: told Manny more about their new status in the world 564 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:07,760 Speaker 1: than anything an adult had actually said. Behind him now 565 00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 1: were cars full of mothers and fathers and children who 566 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:14,240 Speaker 1: were about to have their own searing experiences. Manny hated 567 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 1: how familiar this felt to him. He hated that for 568 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:20,520 Speaker 1: Reggie it counted as the adventure of a lifetime. Many 569 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:23,360 Speaker 1: looked at the journalist at the awe and innocent excitement 570 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 1: in his eyes, and tried to imagine Reggie's life back home. 571 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 1: None of the individual pieces of that life would be 572 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,000 Speaker 1: new to Manny. His world also had bars and parties 573 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,560 Speaker 1: and apartment leases and term papers. The thing he couldn't 574 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: imagine was the sense of security, living life without the 575 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:44,280 Speaker 1: constant threat of war. He'd been so close to securing 576 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,600 Speaker 1: that life for himself if they only waited six months. 577 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:50,680 Speaker 1: But they hadn't, and now Manny had a choice to 578 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,920 Speaker 1: make stand and fight or run with what he had 579 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:57,280 Speaker 1: and hoped for the best. Manny leaned back as much 580 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:00,480 Speaker 1: as his precarious seat allowed and stared out the burning 581 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:04,840 Speaker 1: city that had once been Dallas. Goddamn, he muttered to himself. 582 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:11,760 Speaker 1: I gotta get the funk out of Texas. Hey, everybody, 583 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 1: Robert Evans here. I hope you just enjoyed the chapter 584 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,480 Speaker 1: you listen to. I hope you enjoyed the chapters to come. 585 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,160 Speaker 1: If you would like to read the text version of 586 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:21,560 Speaker 1: this book either on the web or on your e 587 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 1: reader as an e pub you can find those on 588 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:27,840 Speaker 1: the website a t r book dot com. So again, 589 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 1: the free ad free e pub and the text of 590 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,280 Speaker 1: every chapter will be on a t R book dot com. 591 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 1: Thanks