I look away from him, unable to shake the feeling that he knows or at least suspects me of breaking into Headquarters. Gabe catches my eye before he reaches into the SUV and pulls out a rifle and knife and hands them to Paxton. He accepts them with a smile and looks back at me.

“I suppose we’re getting a new soldier?” he asks. His smiling eyes turn to Gabe and his eyebrows turn upward almost as if to ask, why didn’t you clear it with me first?

Gabe’s eyes flick away quickly as he busies himself with the duffle bags. I’m not even sure he’s doing anything other than avoiding Paxton’s stare. Perhaps he’s even trying to think of a way to persuade Paxton to stay behind.

“We’ll see how she does,” Mendez says.

I squint my eyes at him as Mendez moves around to the other side of the SUV. Paxton stands next to me as Gabe places extra weapons in the storage space.

“How is Crestwood treating you?” Paxton asks me.

I shuffle in my feet for a moment, still standing at Paxton’s side, but refusing to let my eyes meet his. “Everyone has been very kind to me.”

“Good,” he says. “I didn’t know you had any interest in being a soldier.”

I have to look at him. It would be so weird of me to keep looking away like I have been. My eyes pull up to meet his and my pulse pounds. I shut my eyes for a brief second as if my thoughts of the gun in my bag are revealed in my eyes, playing like two tiny movie screens for Paxton to watch. He looks at me as I bite my lower lip and glance at Skip, Mendez, and Gabe getting the SUV ready. How long does it take for a vehicle to be ready to drive?

“Yep,” I say. “I’m like you, I like to get my hands dirty.” I hate the words as they pour out of my mouth like drool as though I’m brain dead. I shake my head once and try again. “I just like to kill greyskins.” It’s a lie. I mean, I would rather kill greyskins than be killed by them, but I never really want to be outside the walls. It’s not like I can just tell him that I want nothing more than to hold a gun so I don’t go insane. I might as well tell him that I was the one that stole his gun. If my blubbering hasn’t told him already, that is.

“Good,” he says again. “We need people like you out there clearing towns and villages, making room for expansion.”

“Expansion?” I ask.