It seems to be Jordyn.

When your eyes meet, you can’t spot very much emotion. But, you know immediately that there’s something serious on the mind. You ask what the problem is, and she straightens her back.

“Before you go, I need to talk about something. Meet me in my office? Or, uhm, room, I guess?”

A few schoolboy jokes pop into your mind, but your reply is straightforward and mature. Jordyn nods and glances at the girls in your traveling party. “You can drop by whenever you’re available, don’t try to linger for too long, OK?”

“We can talk now,” you say.

“If that’s the case, then follow me.”

You do as you’re told and follow her through the dirt maze of their tunnel system. All the walking is done mostly in silence, but you don’t let that bother you. You didn’t want any small talk. Considering what you did this morning, you figure this is going to be related one way or another.

Once inside the cool confines of Jordyn’s room, you sit on a chair, and she takes a seat at the foot of her bed. She exhaled while you watched her for a few seconds. This is the first time you’ve been alone with Jordyn since Alicen took her form. It’s a little awkward for you personally, but as soon as tension sets in, your mind refreshes, and you wait.

“When you’re going back,” Jordyn begins. “Be very careful. Between the camp we dusted today, and the patrol we killed once you first arrived has chalked up to a lot of bandits suddenly disappearing in the area. It might cause them to dial back their activities or **** them to send out search parties. Especially now that the weather is letting up.”

“You think they’d send out more dudes after losing this many?” You ask. “At this point, they’ve reached the double digits in MIA.”

She shrugs. “Something is different about the bandits here. Russians deserters, local towns gone south. They look out for each other and often search for parties that don’t turn in reports. Now… don’t tell your friends this, but I think it has something to do with the Toymakers.”

Before silence can set in, you wrinkle your face. “How?”

“It isn’t a secret that you trade weapons in local conflicts. You’ve left a mark all over the east coast and southern pre-war states. News travels slowly, but when something sticks to the headlines, it’s like napalm. It’s sticky, hot, and leaves marks that you can’t cover so easily.”

Jordyn cranes her neck. “The bandits we’ve fought since the first snowfall could be small amateur merc groups trying to snuff out your attempts to get Russian or Canadian contracts.”

You aren’t sure what to do, but the gravity is different now. Finally, a question boils from your stomach, and you work out a sly, almost offensive remark at Jordyn. “So, you’re saying that we shouldn’t have dusted those freaks this morning?”

Jordyn blinks, and her mouth becomes lop-sided as her smile fails to form correctly. “What I’m saying is that you need to be careful on your way back. I fully support your choice to leave, but perhaps rushing your attempt to back to your head dealer wouldn’t be such a bad thing if any of those said-search parties are already out there looking for who killed their friends.”

“When do you propose we leave then?”

Jordyn sighs when she falls into thought. “I hate to kick you out in the cold, honestly, but first thing in the morning. If you get out there now, you might get lost and trapped in the dark. It’ll get you killed when the weather is this bad.”

“But,” she continued while reaching for a box under her bed. “Here are some maps you could look over. They’re all refurbished or reprints from older maps, but some towns are listed here that you could look over for alternative routes. I’d suggest going deeper north instead of taking the same path you did before. Negate the chances of running into any hostile freaks out in the snow.”

“Reprints?” You say, unsure if that’s a good idea or not. New prints don’t list every town or city in the area, but that’s usually because they don’t exist anymore. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“I understand your hesitation, but those places that aren’t listed anymore still have roads, well-used or not, that lead you into proper roads that do lead somewhere. I’ve been using these ever since I got up here. My, uh…Husband did too.”

You were going to remind her that he was dead but realized it was information that shouldn’t be recalled. You take the maps and study them, reading the towns and old trails before rolling them tightly. “Thanks, Jordyn.”

She shrugs. “Don’t mention. Just put a good name for me when the reports are due.”

You are about to leave when she stops you. “Wait, Warren.”

“Yes?”

“You’re…you’re better than the others. All the others…”

“Uh, thanks, I guess? I’m just doing my job, though.”

“There’s more to it,” Jordyn says. “Get out of this business as soon as you can. It’ll kill you. Physically or mentally. Back out of it, would you?”

“I’ll pin a note to it. I guess I don’t really need you to do anything that’s the same.”

She works a loose smile and shakes her head. “I’m done after this. We’ve talked about this before, though.”

“Yes,” you say. “It’s been a pleasure working with you and your cubs.”

“TC1 was glad to be with you.”

Once you are back in the central cavity of the tunnel system, you discover you still have time to blow the breeze.