State of Pursuit Read Free

alive.
    “Are you
sure
?” Manny presses.
    Uriah flicks his darkest, most menacing glare at him.
    “I’m
positive
.”
    I glance back at Colonel Rivera.
    “We have to go after them,” I say. “I’ll take a platoon up the interstate and we’ll stop the trucks.”
    “We’re not stopping anything,” Colonel Rivera snaps. “Our forces are in bad shape. We need to regroup and reorganize.”
    “Chris Young has been taken
captive
!” I reply firmly. “We don’t have time to reorganize. We need to act
now
.”
    “I will not compromise any more lives for the life of one Commander,” Rivera answers, a sour expression onhis face. “Regardless of whether or not it’s Young or any other officer.”
    “We need Chris,” Manny interjects, keeping his hand on my shoulder. “There’s an enormous amount of loyalty to him in the militias, and he’s a damned good friend of mine.”
    “The answer is no,” Rivera says.
    “You can’t sentence him to death!” I yell.
    I am furious. Once again, Rivera is denying us help when we need it most.
    “We are
all
at risk,” he answers gravely. “This is a war.”
    “We’re fighters. We can’t just give up.”
    “I am preserving the men we have left.”
    “You’re
hiding!
We have to go
after
those trucks!”
    “We will not.” Rivera slams his cigar on the table, color bleeding into his cheeks. “We will regroup and pull back.”
    Pull back? God, is he insane?
    “But we pushed them out!” I counter. “Omega is on the defensive. We’ve got the initiative, and we should keep pressing.”
    “Our mission is done.” Rivera folds the biggest map. “This discussion is over.”
    “I won’t leave him to die,” I say, placing my fists on the table.
    “He’s probably already dead.”
    I press my lips together, burning with cold anger.
    “You don’t want to do this,” I warn quietly.
    Vera leans forward, frowning. Angela is frozen.
    “It’s done,” Rivera answers.
    There is no regret in his voice.
    I say nothing. I glare at him, and as he continues folding the maps, I turn around and look at Manny. His expression is difficult to read – then again, my eyes are full of tears, so it’s hard to see straight. I push my way through the crowd inside the restaurant – all of them, and me - full of resentment, disappointment and frustration. When I step outside, the cold air is sharp against my cheeks.
    I inhale slowly.
    Keep it together. Don’t let them see you cry
.
    So I don’t.
    The old
Jack in the Box
that we’ve been using as a medical center is packed. Soldiers are crammed into every square inch of space, and the medical staff is working overtime. The building stinks of blood and sweat and pain. I sit on the curb outside the front door, listening to the moans and tortured screams of injured men.
    It’s horrible. I want to run away and be free of it, but there is nowhere to go.
    “I’m sorry, Cassidy.”
    I raise my head slightly. Uriah is exiting the building. His hand has been bandaged and his wounds have been cleaned. He looks better.
    “Sorry for
what
?” I say quietly.
    “For what happened to Chris. And Jeff.” He swallows. “And Max.”
    “What happened to Max is your fault,” I say simply.
    “I didn’t leave him behind on purpose,” he answers.
    “You ran
away
.” I stand up. “You abandoned him. All of us.”
    “I was doing what I had to do to stay alive,” he counters.
    “This isn’t about individual survival, Uriah,” I say. “This is about keeping the team alive. We’re all a part of the team. Or did you miss one of the three million times Chris pointed this out to us?”
    “It was a mistake,” Uriah replies, his jaw tight. Dark eyes flashing. “I said I was sorry, and I’m not going to apologize again.”
    “Good. Don’t.”
    He sighs heavily.
    “Look, Cassidy-”
    “-That’s Lieutenant Hart to you,” I snap. “Go get some rest, soldier. You need it.” I shove my hands in my pockets and begin to walk away. Uriah