“They’re young,” McCrea said. “There’s tough, and then there’s kid tough. No matter how hard you work to train them on your own, society has bred hesitation into them.”

“They’ve bred hesitation into all of us, don’t you think? We are, after all, a peace-loving society.”

“How sure are you that your boys’ mental muscle memory isn’t more about evaluating motives of attackers and of fleeing aggression than it is about returning violence with violence?”

Victoria took her time answering. “You know, Major. You know, Joe, one of the most pernicious elements of the prepper community is that they never consider a second chapter. Most are hobbyists, anyway, but even of the serious, committed ones, their entire thought process is about short-term survival. How to protect your own, and how to keep predators at bay, just as we were saying before.”

“People are animals,” McCrea said. “Prosperity is the only thing that keeps us from becoming feral.”

“Fine,” Victoria said. “So stipulated. And as animals, we need our packs. I prefer to think of them as tribes. Just because every bit of infrastructure is broken, and just because people become desperate, is no reason to dismiss kindness and understanding as some kind of a curse. Kindness is a blessing, not a liability.”

“I think you’re talking about mercy,” McCrea said.

“If you’d prefer.”

“It’s not the mind-set I worry about,” McCrea said. “I’m as big a believer in showing mercy as anyone. It’s the hesitation that kills.”

“What would you have me do about that?” Victoria was becoming annoyed now.

“I’m not sure,” McCrea said. “I guess, just don’t let them overcommit.” He paused before saying the hard part. “And please be on my side if and when I try to reel them in. I know what First Sergeant Copley’s fighting skills are, and I know what my own are. If kids put themselves in jeopardy, really bad things can happen.”

“Tell you what,” Victoria said. “I’ll do my best to defer to you in all matters of conflict with others, but only on the condition that you stay out of my way when I try to be friendly to those same people. Especially in the early days, people are just going to want help. They’re going to want direction.”

McCrea wasn’t at all sure that they’d agreed to anything. However, exhaustion was beginning to creep in, and he didn’t want to pursue it.

“I have only one more question for you. It regards your other son. Adam, is it?”

“You definitely don’t have to worry about him in a fight.”

“Okay,” McCrea said, “but that’s not where I was going. What happens after you reconnect in Mountain View?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Victoria said. “I don’t want to go to Mountain View anymore. I don’t think he’ll be there.”