“Look, kid, you’ve done a great job. Above and beyond the call of, I dunno, duty or whatever. You’re good company too. But I’ve got a half-dozen satellite’s worth of sensory equipment in my brain and hundreds of wee-bitty microscopic robots floating around the air feeding me news. There’s really not much for you to do here. Chill out. Find whatever passes for relaxation here and do it. I’ll get you when it’s time to go.”

Manny started to protest. But then he thought, What the hell? He’s right. I’m useless. I’ve earned a cup of flavorless gringo coffee. So he thanked Roland and headed off in the direction of one of the strip’s functioning coffee houses, the Cafe Clement. It looked like it was less crowded than the others. As he reached for the door, someone slammed into him.

She was a young blonde. Younger than Manny, at any rate. She wore baggy surgical scrubs. Her jaw was tight and clenched. Her brown eyes were wide with fear and there were deep bags under them.

“Oh– oh my,” she said. “I’m so sorry, sir. Please let me–”

“It’s OK,” Manny said. “No damage done. Are you alright? You look terrified.”

“I’m just… Just. Trying to avoid someone. It’s nothing serious.”

Manny wasn’t sure why, but he pulled the ration cards he’d been given out of his pocket and offered one to the stranger.

“Here. If you want, we can grab a table together and I’ll sit with my back to the door. You’re not big. I can block you.”

She looked surprised, and a little hesitant. But after a few blinks she nodded and said, “I’d actually appreciate that a lot. Thank God for you, sir.”

“Uh, yeah,” Manny agreed. “Praise him.”

They sat and ordered coffee. The young woman kept craning her neck around Manny to peek at the door behind them.

“Look, I’m not gonna ask what’s up with you. But can I get your name, at least? That might make this less awkward. I’m Mann– uh, Emmanuel. Manny for short.”

“Sasha,” she said. “I, uh, I just got here a few days ago. You?”

“This is my second day.”

She looked surprised.

“I wouldn’t have guessed, what with the uniform.”

He laughed. “It turns out they just hand these to anyone who’ll hold a gun. I didn’t even really have a choice.”

“Well, if that’s where you wound up I’m sure it’s where the Lord wants you. Praise God for that.”