St. George wrinkled his brow. “Let me think on that one.”
They stepped out into the morning light and took a moment to adjust their sunglasses. Off to their right was the Lemon Grove gate, and St. George reached up to rub the blade-like tooth on his jacket as he looked that way. “I’m going to check in with Zzzap and Stealth. I’ll meet both of you at Melrose in thirty.”
Jarvis nodded and loped away. St. George was about to leap into the air when Billie touched his arm. She gestured down the road.
A thin, shaved-bald man waited there with the little girl who’d cut St. George’s bangs. When the man realized they’d seen him he switched the girl’s fingers to his other hand and gave an awkward salute. He walked forward, still holding his hand up, pulling the little girl behind him. He wore a pair of fingerless gloves.
The hero waited for the salute to drop and then shook the hand. “You were the one who actually won the drawing, right?”
“Yeah,” said the man. He was young, twenty tops, and spoke with an anxious, eager voice. His bare arms were decorated with tattoos, and the hero could see the prominent number on the left shoulder. “Andrea’s my niece. She’s wanted to meet you since we moved up here.”
“You were with the Seventeens?”
“Was in, yeah,” the young man said, “but I’m out now. I’m Cesar. Cesar Mendoza.”
Behind him, St. George heard Billie’s boots shift. “Good to meet you, Cesar,” he said, pumping the hand again. “You’ve got a beautiful niece.”
“Hell-o,” the little girl sang. She waved and ducked behind Cesar, blushing again.
“Yeah, I know,” the young man said. “Look, I was wondering... could I talk to you for a couple of minutes about something?”
“Is it urgent?”
Cesar shrugged. “I mean, it’s not life or death,” he said. “Just wanted to talk about some stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Just... you know.” He shot a glance at Billie. “Stuff. Just something I need to get off my chest, you know?”
“D’you get bitten?”
“What? No!”
“Kill somebody?” asked Billie.
“No!”
“Steal something?”
“No! Well... no, not for like two years. Honest, man, nothin’ like that.”
“Can’t be too pressing, then,” St. George said with a smile. He clapped a hand on Cesar’s shoulder. “I’ve got a few things I need to take care of before we head out, but maybe later. I’ll be around all day tomorrow if nothing comes up.”
The young man nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Yeah, tomorrow’d be cool. Thanks, man.” He hefted the little girl into his arms. “Say bye,” he told her.
“Good-bye,” she sang, waving at them.
“Still don’t trust any of those people,” murmured Billie as they walked away.
“Those people?” echoed the hero.
“Don’t play the PC card,” she said. “Less than a year ago the Seventeens were trying to kill us. Now we’re sharing supplies with them.”
“They’re sharing with us, too, don’t forget. Chickens, eggs, a hell of a lot more fruits and veggies.”
She shrugged. “Okay,” she said, “if you think they’re so trustworthy why aren’t any of them scavengers or walking the wall yet?”
St. George watched the young man and the little girl as they turned the corner. “You know, you’re right,” he said. “We ought to do something about that.”
“I didn’t say I have a problem with it,” she said. “I wouldn’t trust any of them with a weapon. Most people wouldn’t.”
“Well, you’re going to have to,” he said. “None of us are going to survive if we keep up this us-and-them mentality. Rotate someone out and put one of the Seventeens on the team for today.”
“What?”
“There’s a couple decent candidates. Nestor. Hector. Fernando. Who’s the woman with the faux-hawk? Desirea?”
“Just to be clear, I started this by saying leaving them out was a good thing.”
He smiled. “That’s why you’re picking who comes with us. Didn’t they teach you about teambuilding in the Marines?”
“Yeah. They said if someone wasn’t part of the team you should shoot them.”
“Choose wisely,” he said. He focused on a spot between his shoulders, and his feet drifted off the ground. “At Melrose in twenty-five. I expect to see at least one person with a tattoo.”
“I’ve got three,” she called up to him.
“You don’t count.”
“I’ll let you see the third one,” she offered.