Something like respect glinted in his eyes. “Fair enough, but I’d venture to say I have a little more experience with it than you do. I was a professional killer during my life on Earth. I earned my spot in the Wasteland. And in both places, I learned never to lose my awareness of my surroundings.”

“Even when you’re in a safe place?”

Henry laughed, a hollow, husky sound. “No such thing, Captain.”

“So are you sure you want to do this?”

“No wanting about it,” he said firmly. “I’m a convict, Captain. A conscript. It’s all I am, and I got used to that a long time ago. Fighting it does nothing.” He cast a knowing glance over his shoulder at Jim, who answered with stony silence.

I got out of the car, wondering if in fifty years I would be as emptied out and hopeless as Henry. But … Malachi wasn’t like that, and he had been a Guard for a decade before Henry died. He seemed to have a sense of hope. At least, he had until recently. Now I was starting to wonder.

Henry closed his own door quietly and stood facing us. He took his phone out of his pocket. “Malachi got me all charged up this afternoon. He said the battery should last for several days if I’m not talking on it.”

“Text if you have new information.”

Jim stepped forward. “Good luck, man.”

Henry seemed to think that was funny. “Same to you. Happy hunting. You’ll hear from me soon.”

He turned and strode away, looking like a walking scarecrow, scraggly and skinny. But he was strong—strong enough to run for blocks while carrying me, and I wasn’t exactly a waif. He could take care of himself.

“Ready?” Jim asked.

“Yeah.” I twirled my keys around my fingers and got back in the car. Jim joined me in the front seat. “We’ll go downtown tonight.” The air was definitely warmer now that April had caught up with us, and people would be out on the streets. Tonight was also the first night the homeless were without the winter shelters to protect them.

We parked in a narrow alley between buildings, fully expecting to return to a ticket. I lowered the hood of my sweatshirt over my face and took Jim’s hand. We looked like an ordinary young couple, with our weapons nicely concealed under our baggy clothes. This would become more difficult when summer arrived. I had hoped to complete this mission by the time I graduated, but now Henry’s words were echoing in my head, and I realized that even if I did complete the mission, that didn’t mean I was free to live my life. I might spend the rest of my existence as a Guard.

Unless the Mazikin caught me and used my body to house their Queen, of course.