“And what do we do after San Antonio, walk?” Keene demanded. The words came out sharper and sounding more sarcastic than he had intended. He realized that his nerves were still on edge.
“Snap out of it, Lan. It’s not like you,” Alicia said. “I don’t know what we do from there. Maybe with everyone coming the other way the roads will be easier between there and the coast.” Her eyes flamed at him. “But you just said yourself that things are going to get worse. How long will sitting down here do any good? There is only one way out now, and that’s off the planet. And the means to do it is down there in Mexico, not here.”
Keene felt himself starting to object; then he checked himself, hunched forward to rest his elbows on the table, and stared at her. She was right. Like a soldier who refuses to leave a foxhole under fire, even though the position must ultimately fall, he wanted to put longer-term considerations from his mind and cling to the respite they had found here after the ordeal of the last few days. The security was an illusion that would last only so long. The more they delayed, the worse, at the end of it all, the odds must become. He shook his head, as if to reawaken the sense of realism that normally resided there.
“Have the others said what they think about it yet?” he asked her.
Alicia shook her head. “You are the first one I’ve told. I assumed they’d think the same way as I did—that there wouldn’t be a problem.”
Keene finished the last of his coffee and stood up. “Then let’s go and find out,” he said.
The upshot was that Cavan knew Alicia well enough not to bother arguing. Colby, in his inimitable way, agreed as casually as if they were planning a weekend vacation trip. Charlie Hu, more than any of them, was under no illusions as to what was in store. He expected there to be a lull of several days as Athena and Earth locked gravitationally to gyrate past each other like two passing skaters momentarily linking hands, during which time the bulk of the tail would be directed away. The train of debris following Athena would then wrap around Earth, causing falls more fearsome than anything that had occurred so far. Then, after actually receding for a distance as it swung by, Athena would be drawn back in for a final close pass before being ejected on a trajectory away from Earth. Charlie’s vote was to go for any chance of getting out if a chance was there. And Cynthia, having committed herself, had little choice but to go along with the rest of them.
The only unresolved question was whether Mitch and his men could be induced to. With conditions deteriorating and violence breaking out, to press ahead without the protection of an armed force would be folly bordering on recklessness. There was only one way to find out. First, they went to talk to Mitch.
* * *
Mitch’s initial reaction was surprise that they were still even contemplating Mexico. He had assumed that they’d tried their best, the fates had come out against them, and the only thing left to consider was whether to stay in El Paso and place themselves under Weyland’s command or head for Colorado. He changed his opinion somewhat when Charlie explained why the worst was far from over yet, but he still seemed uneasy at the thought of deserting his command and taking useful men away from where they might be needed. Cavan tried to set his doubts at rest.
“This is hardly a normal situation, Mitch. Your sentiments are admirable, but I have to be honest here. The figures Weyland and his staff are estimating are wildly unrealistic. They’re doing their best, but they just don’t have any concept of what’s going on. Don’t you understand? A month from now there isn’t going to be any command worth talking about to have deserted.”
Mitch pondered the point, scowling at the wall for a minute or two before turning back to face them. “You’re talking about getting to a place that might no longer exist, for a shuttle that mightn’t fly, and if it does, taking it up through this mess to find a spaceship that mightn’t be there. And I’m supposed to believe that the odds are better than what I’d have if I stay on with this outfit. Is that what you’re telling me?”