Back in the empty hallway, I nod up toward the partly crumbled wall near the doors.
I see Ben’s face change as he realizes what I’m thinking.
“Can you lift me up on your shoulders?” I ask with a twitch of a smile.
I get an answering smile back. “What kinda question is that? Can I lift you on my shoulders?” He kneels down onto the ground and motions. “Climb on up, baby.”
I notice thebaby, but it doesn’t bother me. I’m still half smiling as I make sure my rifle is strapped securely, swing one leg over his right shoulder, and then lift my left over the other. I’m small, but it takes some real strength for Ben to stand up from that position carrying my weight. But he’s tall enough that, on his shoulders, I can see through a large hole in the broken wall.
From this height, I have a perfect angle to shoot the guard on the scaffolding. I aim carefully and fire.
The man jerks and then falls down, his body banging against the metal railings as it tumbles to the floor.
“Still good?” I ask Ben, shifting slightly so I can find another target from this vantage point.
“Always.” He’s holding on to my legs securely. “Get as many of them as you can.”
I do.
I have height on them now, so I shoot one and then another and then another.
I’m aiming at another when I hear someone down the hallway. I haven’t even pulled my rifle out of the wall opening when Ben lets go of one of my legs, pulls hispistol out of its hip holster, and shoots the guard before he can reach us.
My shooting breaks the stalemate. Soon our people are able to advance, and the rest of the guards in the factory are either killed or injured.
Ben and I lead the way out of the back of the building.
When I swing open the back door, I come face-to-face with Robin, who was about to push his way inside.
We blink at each other in surprise for a minute before he chuckles. “Shit. Don’t tell me you’ve already taken the building. We got here as soon as we could, but you’re way too fast. We picked off a bunch of stragglers and a couple of units who must have heard the explosions and come to help, so maybe we offered some minor assistance. But we didn’t even get the chance to dirty our hands.”
“That sounds like a lot of assistance to me. And you can be more help now. We need to empty this building of everything worth having as quickly as possible.”
I haven’t told him any of my plans, but this man is as clever as any I’ve ever known. It takes him exactly three seconds to figure out what’s going to happen now.
“Shit,” he breathes out. “You’re going to blow the whole building, aren’t you?”
“Yes. After this, they won’t be able to keep our rebel activity secret from the cities and villages. They’ll send out an army after us. There’s no way we can hold this building against the force they’ll send. We need to clear it and disappear. But I’m not leaving all this machinery for themto start making more weapons again. They’re going to have to start from scratch.”
“I’m on board. Tell me what needs doing.” He’s still smiling, and what’s left of the setting sun glints against the gold in his hair. “This whole strike was damn impressive. I should have hooked up with you a long time ago.”
After that,I start calling out orders, although all my people already know what to do. We need to take as many of these weapons as we can carry, splitting them between multiple vehicles and groups so we can retreat in all directions.
We can’t stay together right now. A larger group would be found quickly, no matter how we try to hide. But if we disperse into small groups, all of us taking some of the weaponry, they won’t be able to find and track us so easily.
Eventually we will join back up as a group. We already have the time and place decided. But for now we’ll have to separate.
It’s the only way to avoid the sledgehammer the Capitol will try to bring down on us after such a massive loss.
Some of my folks have scattered to retrieve all the vehicles we’ve got hidden, driving them closer to the building so they can be loaded up.
We’re not keeping all these weapons. Any stockpile ofour own we make will become a potential target. Instead, we’ll be traveling through the Central Cities for the next few months and distributing them to a variety of groups and communities that need them.
If we can arm more rebels, we can make much deeper, faster inroads against the government.
Ben and I will be taking a truck and heading into the wilderness to where his family lives.
They can use top-of-the-line weapons out that way too.
