They sat with him until the night fell and Mr. Peron finally came to get them. He looked exhausted and somehow broken. His skin was sallow and so pale it was almost yellow. His uniform was soaked with old sweat stains and he had two lit cigarettes in his mouth when he found Manny and Reggie. Manny wasn’t sure he’d ever seen the older man smoke. Mr. Peron noticed his surprise.

“I’ve taken up smoking again,” he said with a hollow laugh, “since I don’t expect to survive to the end of the week.”

“That bad?” Manny asked.

“Worse,” he shook his head and then seemed to notice the Major. “Is that Deshawn Clark?”

“Yes sir,” Manny said.

“Is he…?”

“He’s alive. And he seems to be stable, for now.”

Major Peron looked relieved.

“That’s one spot of mercy, then. Hopefully we’ll get him out in time. On that note: I’ve confirmed that we’ve got a convoy of wounded heading out tomorrow AM, as soon as our scouts clear the route. You’ll both have a seat in that convoy.”

“Thank you so much sir,” Reggie started. Mr. Peron cut him off.

“It’s no problem, son. Do your job and tell people what’s happened here.”

“What are you going to do, sir?” Manny asked.

Mr. Peron looked into his eyes. He’d always had an intense stare. His edge had been evident even when he’d been driving the boys to soccer practice or taking them out for pizza. Now his eyes bored into Manny’s heart so deeply that the fixer finally understood what that phrase meant.

“I’m going to die here, Emmanuel,” he said. “I’m going to die here, like your cousin Alejandro died here, because it’s the only thing I can do that might protect our home.”

Manny felt an intense urge to look away, to cast his eyes down. But he didn’t. He held Mr. Peron’s gaze and braced himself for what came next.

“What about you?” Mr. Peron asked. “What will you do if they reach Austin?”

“Wait, is that on the bloody table?” Reggie interrupted.

Mr. Peron paused for a moment and considered his words. “I don’t know,” he said. “No one does. But the Martyrs just broke through at Lakewood. We won’t hold Dallas for another day.”

He pulled Manny in for a hug and kissed him on the cheek. When he pulled back, he kept his hands on Manny’s shoulders.

“I’ve always been proud of you, Emmanuel. I think that what you do here,” he nodded to Reggie, “has value. But there are times when our homelands require more of us. What are you prepared to give for Austin?”