When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

59. This damn war

"So you really, trust him, huh?" Cathy asked as she spread the political map of Ardvenia on the dining table. 

"I think it's a bit late to ask that question, Cathy," Lisa said. She was in one of the dining chairs with Ana on her lap. "I mean, the man has brought an entire army to our doorstep. He can either help us big time or shoot us all in our sleep." 

Erik kept his face neutral as he leaned over the table and started marking some circles on the map. "He can't do that," Erik said.

"Why can't he?" Lisa raised an eyebrow. 

"Because that man is a criminal in the eyes of the government already," Erik said. "I had a talk with Watcher about this. About the Vigilant Squad Division's current condition. His spies found out that it really is a sinking ship that Luce said it was. The operational chief, Command, is already arrested and she is being tried for sedition. And Luce is a fugitive by now. That's why he can't shoot us in our sleep. He needs our help just like we need his." 

Lisa frowned. She looked like she wanted to counter Erik's last statement but instead she stopped herself. 

"What if this is all a hoax?" Cathy said. 

"It's not."

"Again, how?" 

"The Vigilant Squad isn't capable of pulling hoaxes. There are too many commoners who get enrolled as operatives. They are just survivors on the government's payroll. They would've arrested Luce in a heartbeat and handed him over to the Clandestines just to save their own hides."

"So why didn't they?" Lisa said. 

"They probably tried to." Erik nodded. "But Luce is too good at talking his way out of a problem. He convinced me to trust him. I'm sure he is more than capable of convincing the people who used to be his subordinates in the past." 

Lisa and Cathy frowned, pondering over all that Erik had said. And then there was a knock at the door. Cathy answered it. Luce, Harper and Dulvers greeted her with a nod. 

She let them in, "Erik, they are here," she called out as she led them into the kitchen where they'd laid down the map. 

"Alright, then," Erik grinned at the guests. "I hope you've all prepared your minds for tomorrow's raid." 

Dulvers was surprised. "The raid is tomorrow?" 

"How do you plan on preparing for a raid with the troops of almost three hundred?" Harper said. 

Erik couldn't stop grinning. "We are up against an enemy who has an army of more than a million and a deadly weapon on their side. We'll have to play dirty to catch them by surprise." 

"Also, the Clandestines are probably gonna be looking for me," Luce said. "A guerrilla attack like this one might be our best bet." 

Lisa nodded. "Unfortunately, I'll have to agree to this too. The truck is down on ammunition. We may be able to restock the incendiary shells and such from your armories and our loot from the Sector 25 prison, but the specialized artillery like cluster bombs and its ground-to-air and ground-to-ground missiles are not in their ideal amounts." 

Harper's eyes went wide as he stared at the woman. "Aren't you Lisa Neville? Everyone thought you were dead!"

Lisa shrugged lazily. "And everyone is full of shit. So what, captain Joe?" 

"I'm not Joe, I'm Harper." 

"I actually died and came back to life." Cathy waved her hand. "And Lisa was pregnant when she almost died. So yeah, dying is really not that big of a scare for us anymore."