“I used to be,” Victoria said. “We’re not changing subjects. You say you think I’m imagining things. If that’s the case, let me share those imaginings with you. I think you and your band of soldiers are on a foraging mission.”

Magill made a puffing sound. “Don’t be—”

“I’m speaking,” Victoria said. “I’ll tell you when it’s your turn.”

Magill’s ears turned red.

“In my world, foraging is another word for stealing. You’re not doing that. Not here in Ortho.”

They glared at each other for a few seconds, and then Victoria said, “You may speak if you wish.”

“I don’t know who made you Queen Bitch—”

“Careful.” George Simmons took a half step closer.

Magill stood. “If you really want to have a fight—”

Victoria slammed the table with her hand. “Stop it! Captain Magill, you can sit back down or you can leave. We can continue this chat or you can take your troops elsewhere, downriver.”

Magill planted his fists on his hips and cocked his head again. The head thing clearly was a tell, but Victoria hadn’t yet figured out for what.

“Look, Mrs. Emerson. Are you really so delusional that you can defy a lawful order from the United States Army and that there will be no consequence?”

Victoria stood, taking her time doing it. “That sounded remarkably like a threat, Captain.”

“My troops need stores,” he said.

“So do the citizens of this town,” Victoria said. “If you want your own meat, hunt it. If you want fresh vegetables, you’re screwed till spring. If you want fresh water, pull it out of the river and purify it. What am I missing?”

Magill’s shoulders sagged as some of the bravado bled away. Victoria didn’t believe it. “You’re talking about skills that we don’t have.”

“If you’ve got guns, you can shoot game,” Victoria said. “Boiling water is not an advanced skill.”

“But preparing meat that you’ve hunted is,” Magill said.

“Then learn.”

“Excuse me for interrupting, ma’am,” McCrea said. “Do you have orders, Captain? Or are you just wandering?”

Magill seemed startled. “We’re trying to help people.”

“Bullshit,” McCrea said. “First of all, you’ve just admitted that you have no help to bring. You’re not the Army. There is no Army anymore, at least not in the way we used to think about it. Just as there’s no longer a police force or a Department of Health and Human Services.”

Magill’s jaw set. He was losing his temper again.

“Pretty much everything that was, just isn’t anymore, Captain. You may think you’re on a noble mission—though I don’t believe you do—but what you really are is a roving gang. You’re a team of former military people who are looking to survive, just like everybody else, but you’re not willing to work for it.”