“Our resources are exhausted,” Gaymon said. “We have limited personnel and that personnel has been tied up for the better part of the day. If they go there and stop, we intend to let them. Otherwise, it ends up as one prolonged engagement where both sides get tired and sloppy.”

“This was already sloppy enough,” Bash said. “Unexpected numbers, the violence.”

It was so maddening, that the desire for peace and a stop to conflict would provide the flammable material needed for the fires to spread.

I didn’t let that show on my face.

“You’re still standing,” Capricorn said. “There’s gas in your vehicles. These people are unreasonable, dangerous and desperate. You can’t let this go. Others can’t afford for you to let it go.”

I wished Narwhal was around. I wished Mayday would speak up.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’d had an impression of Marcial almost right away, that she wasn’t on our side. She’d proven it. Gilpatrick—I wanted to imagine he’d tried and failed. In my time with the Patrol block, I’d seen decisions from oversight that had definitely been this dumb.

“Thank you,” I said, as diplomatically as I could. “I understand your hands are tied, if your bosses are saying no.”

Capricorn’s head snapped around.

“They are,” Marcial said. Had it come from anyone else, I might have been more inclined to believe it.

Capricorn was giving me a hard look through the eyeholes of his helmet.

“There’s no changing your mind,” I said, for his benefit. “We’ll figure out what our course of action is in the next while.”

“It was a good collaboration. A good effort, even with everything that went wrong,” Gilpatrick said. “Be safe, take care of yourselves, and let me know if you need anything.”

I nodded.

I left the scene behind, feeling like I might have said something regrettable if I’d stayed a moment longer.

“This is where we part ways, I guess. We’ll meet, talk,” Vista said. “You have my number.”

I nodded. I clasped her hand in mine.

“Kick some ass,” she said.

“We’ll see,” I said.

We were a group as we walked away. Me, Capricorn, Sveta, Chris, Ashley, and Looksee had joined us, coming from New Haven to our powwow.

One more member to get.

We filed into the bus. Rain was awake, a phone that wasn’t his in his lap.

“Cradle?” he asked.

“In custody,” I said. “Which is something we need to talk about, because it’s you that makes the final call.”

Pitch 6.7