The ride was a hell of a lot better than the Humvees, the was for sure. It was almost cushy, but Sam could feel the extra weight of the armor could feel the extra weight in the turns. Fortunately it didn't wallow enough that she needed to worry about it bothering Rebecca's stomach... well, inner ear, technically. She was a little concerned about the route back to the armory passing the hospital again, but at least Rebecca was riding in the far seat this time. Still, Sam kept a careful eye on her as they cleared the local neighborhoods and approached the main drag that went past it.

Rebecca noticed when she glanced over and silently mouthed, "I'm okay." She took Sam's hand and looked out the other window quite studiously until they were well past the hospital, seemingly aware of the unpleasant sight but not exposing herself to it further. Not that the ghostly parking lots on the other side were a whole lot better, but there were some nice wooded hills behind them to watch. Sam supposed that was the best she could have hoped for.

The armory had changed a bit since their last visit — the rear entrance had been barricaded with more of those steel shipping containers... and one was suspended over the rear entrance like a teetering 8 foot thick portcullis. Sam was glad to see that it wasn't just dangling from the mobile crane's solitary cable, but was in fact braced on some railroad ties from below. Quickly thinking over the angles, she realized all someone had to do is raise the hanging container and those would drop away, allowing it to be lowered right after. Clever.

Small shaded sandbag redoubts had been added to the rooftop Rebecca had posted up on, and Sam saw at least three sentries up there as they slowed to a halt between the two buildings. The third Humvee pulled out of the line and drove past the lead vehicles, turning into the former EV parking spaces next to the waiting twin black SUV.

While Landry and Epstein were moving gear and supplies from the back of the Humvee to the SUV, several of the other convoy members seemed to take advantage of the stop to stretch their legs. Sam leaned towards the center of the vehicle they were in. "Hey, there's decent bathrooms in the admin lobby, assuming the folks camped out here haven't wrecked them by now."

Chrissie took her feet down from where she'd propped them up on the dashboard. "Hey, never pass up a clean bathroom on a road trip, right?"

When Sam came back out from the administration building, she saw the errant Humvee had already rejoined the column, and the second SUV was pulled up behind theirs. Rebecca was talking to Epstein, Landry, and Garyn around the convoy's midpoint, and gestured her over.

"Hey babe. We're just going over the route and where we turn off."

Garyn didn't seem to give much of a damn, but Landry spoke up. "Hey sister. So about fifteen, sixteen miles along the convoy's route, then we turn off into a little neighborhood to the south, right?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah." Suddenly it was all real. They were going back to the house she spent her teens in, where her parents might be where all those memories were. Bloody hell. Her pulse started to quicken, and suddenly she felt... mildly disassociated, she supposed. Almost that vague feeling of quasi reality that came while she was dreaming.

Rebecca glance at her with a frown — maybe concerned when she didn't say anything more — then nodded to Garyn. "Good luck on your mission. I hope it goes well, for everyone's sake." Then, Rebecca gently took her hand and steered her back towards the end of the convoy.

Landry and Epstein followed, possibly not aware of her sudden discomfort. At their rides, Patrick and Christine had already piled in the back, and Epstein paused alongside the driver door as Rebecca let go of Sam's hand so they could go to their respective seats.

They'd decided earlier that Rebecca would do most of the driving since she knew the route to her uncle's cabin best, and Sam would navigate since she'd always been good at reading maps — and apparently correlating them with aerial photography. Maybe because of all her practice with circuit diagrams. Fortunately, none of that would be required on this leg of the trip, because she'd probably end up leading them to Kansas or something, the state she felt herself starting to slip into.

Christine actually noticed Sam's distress before Rebecca got in when their eyes met in the rear view mirror. Sam heard her seatbelt unbuckle, and then the curly mass of Chrissie's golden hair was right beside her, and the weight of her hand on Sam's shoulder was comforting even through the layers of armor. "Hey, Sammie. Whatever happens, we're all here. You don't have to go in if you don't want to, okay? We'll take care of you no matter what."

**

Rebecca briefly confirmed the street name Sam gave her for their turnoff with Epstein, and took a moment to give him a hard time about the improvised ignition switch.

He held up a hand defensively. "Hey now. Whoever was driving these before took the keys. That's better than having to twist the wires together yourself! Anyway, if you want us to pull up alongside you for something, flash your hazards, ok?"

Rebecca nodded and rapped her knuckles against his, then turned to climb into the car. She saw Chrissie next to Sam as she did and gave her a quick smile of gratitude, then patted Sam on the leg, waiting the moment it took for her to make eye contact.

"Rosie... I have no idea what comes next, but we're in it together, okay?"

Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah. Thank you, all you guys."

Rebecca was still a little concerned, since she would usually expect Sam to make some quip related to Patrick being the only "guy" in the car, but figured all they could do now is be supportive and help her through whatever was about to happen. She squeezed Sam's leg, and reached for the starter switch.

The SUV started with its usual quiet rumble, she tweaked the mirrors briefly, and then dropped into gear. The convoy started rolling within the next minute, heading out the front gate of the armory — not hardened yet, Rebecca noticed, but protected by a rolling chain link gate and some K-rail and sandbag emplacements. A couple of empty Hesco earthworks baskets sat nearby, likely destined to be a proper checkpoint.

The string of vehicles drove the wrong way up the offramp to the causeway, threaded through a gap in the abandoned cars, and across the median to the far side. They had a few miles of weaving along that road to go, so she half-focused on following the vehicles in front of her, but glanced at Sam periodically out of the corner of her eye.

"Y'okay, babe?"

Sam laughed nervously. "Ask me again in a half hour."

"Fair enough. Do you need to talk?"

"I dunno. I guess? I'm just nervous, you know. About to find out one way or the other... after over a year."

"Yeah. I feel you. Or, I will soon, anyway, when it's my turn."

Sam let out a single "Hah" and put her hand on Rebecca's thigh, settling into a pensive silence.