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stealth was no longer necessary but speed was.
After a few blocks, Liam opened the roof hatch and stood with
Tommy, watching the blighted cityscape fly past. The boy had
obviously been impressed with the armored vehicle and his grin was
more like the one that Liam remembered. They braved the last of the
drizzle, comforted by the flow of warmth from the heater below.
 
    “Is the whole
world gone to the dogs?” the boy asked loudly, when the engine was
at a lower rpm. They swayed as the vehicle swerved around a burning
lorry.
    “No, just
parts of it.” Liam hunched over to make himself easier to hear.
“Erin tells me things are much more stable on Guernsey. Not like
here where everybody is a stranger. There, most people have family,
roots.” They swerved again as they entered the zigzag concrete
barriers at the sector gate, which slid open at their approach.
MacKinnon had made a good impression on the guards.
    “Are you
thinking of sending me to live with Auntie Erin?” They accelerated
away from the gates, heading towards the river. The sky was finally
clearing.
    “Would you
like to live on Guernsey?” he half shouted.
    Tommy craned
his head back to look up at his father. “Well, I’ll miss staying
with Uncle Leo, but I suppose I could do with a change.” His grin
took any sting from his words. It wasn’t a reproach, just his sense
of humor helping him to deal with the turmoil of the last few
months. His grin faded as his eyes drifted to the right, growing
wide in wonder. In the last few blocks, working streetlights had
begun to appear, and now they rolled to a stop as they approached a
traffic jam.
    Two vehicles
had been in a minor collision and the crowds on the sidewalk slowed
as they passed. Cars honked as a uniformed police constable
authoritatively directed the removal of the damaged vehicles. “It’s
just like it used to be!” The boy said in wonder. “I had no idea
the world was still normal, and certainly not so close.”
    I don’t
think I would go so far as to say the world is normal anymore. Liam smiled and activated his headset. “Two, back up and take an
alternate route. This won’t clear up any time soon. We’ll wait it
out since we don’t have any medical cases on board.” Eight vehicles
back, the second Fuchs disgorged three men who began
directing the vehicles behind them. The space behind them cleared
quickly, civilian drivers encouraged to comply by the sight of
assault weapons.
    Tommy’s brow
furrowed as he watched the accident scene. “Will you be coming to
Guernsey?”
    “For a month,”
Liam said, looking up and straining to see the stars beyond the
glare of the street lights. “Then I have to report for training. We
have a job waiting for us out there and I have to see it through.”
Now that the rain had stopped, they climbed up to sit on the roof
of the vehicle, feet dangling down the hatch. He looked over at his
son. “Tommy, I would like to just stay with you but I owe these
men,” he began.
    The boy
nodded, looking down at the air intakes on the roof. “So do I,
after tonight,” he said thoughtfully. “I suppose you’re all I have
to pay them with.” He looked over at Liam. “D’ you really think we
can beat whoever took Mars from us, Dad?”
    Liam watched a
large flatbed back up to one of the damaged cars while he thought
about his answer. “Happen we might,” he said. “They obviously know
more about engines than us, but weapons and tactics?” He shrugged,
looking over at the boy. “One thing I can tell you: If we
don’t give it a shot, we’ll end up in the kermit for sure.”
    Tommy turned
to the loading operation with a smile. The small Peugeot was
winched up the flatbed with a wail of metal-on-metal. “Well, if we
don’t know what the future holds,” he said brightly, nodding at the
ordered chaos, “we should enjoy civilization while it lasts.”
    The Kennedy
boys watched in happy silence as the scene was cleared. A small
scab that would be gone