Travel advisories had been out regarding the rain. Too many cars lacked the tires for dealing with weather like this, with supply being short, and there weren’t any trucks to salt the ice, no work trucks clearing the roads. If last year was any indicator, the paralysis of winter would affect most people more than the lack of food supplies.

Tristan or Byron had at least looked after their tires. Once he found his course, fishtailing a bit as he turned one corner, correcting for the swerve, it seemed we were good to go.

Master–stranger protocols. PRT and the organization under its umbrella had it in handbooks, and it was one of the things people got quizzed on. Some of the largest departments had scenarios and surprise drills.

Thinking about the paperwork helped. Black text on white. Strict rules to be followed.

With a strong master–stranger of this type, we were supposed to implement eyes-on protocols. Once someone left our sight, they were to be assumed to be compromised. Didn’t matter, it didn’t apply here, until Byron started talking to people and tried to get them on his side against Goddess.

Flying through the dark with the Wretch active and the rain coming down had my heart pounding. When the streetlights illuminated the raindrops, the Wretch was made briefly visible, the direction they were facing made ambiguous by the fact that only the surface was being seen. Hands reaching, faces neutral.

Black text on white, I thought, turning my attention away from the images in my peripheral vision and toward the car. Byron was doing fine, but the roads were clear of vehicles. What had I been thinking about? I had to remind myself. The eyes-on protocol shouldn’t matter in this case.

What did matter was the system for when people were compromised. Being rushed, agitated or otherwise reckless when everything was fucked up was a good way to make mistakes, so the first step was to get to a position where decisions could be made with care and deliberation. Not so different from my warrior monk approach.

Chain of command automatically passed down the chain as though people were dead or out of action. If discussions of the chain of command took more than a set amount of time or if the affected individuals couldn’t be trusted or detained, it meant a mission abort to a safe location with self-isolation once there. A good team with the right organization would see the leader step down the moment he might be compromised, the next person taking up the mantle.

The wind was more intense as we got closer to the Norwalk portal breach. On the upside, the sky on the far side was clear and bright, a slice of blue at the horizon, and the weather that extended out around it was rain-free. The precipitation wasn’t as bad, here.