Trees were the way to go. Grace and Hunter waited out the night above the ground. They had very carefully hoisted the containers up with them and secured them on sturdy branches.

They could definitely hear shouting in the distance. Apparently, setting a military base on fire was a large enough crime to warrant a bit of an expedition into the California side of the border. But clearly, the soldiers didn't know anything about the terrain they were searching. No one got close to their hiding spot, and as the sun came up, the shouts faded.

"I really want to know what their overall plan was," Grace commented.

"What do you mean?"

"They're a huge military base right out in the open, but they don't want anyone, at least on our side, to know about it? But they won't come after intruders very far, presumably because they know they'll get into the fight with the ruling power over here?" Grace shook her head. "They're either stupid, or just cocky."

"It's not uncommon to find both in the same entity."

"How wise." Grace sighed. "Alright." She stared down at the weapons containers below them. "We need to get moving. I'm supposed to be back in 12 hours, and I really don't want to have to devote extra energy to pretending I think Josh had you and Anna killed."

"Then let's move," Hunter prompted. "I know what to do, you know what to do. Let's finish this."

"You sure you know how to use all of those?" Grace had passed the explosives over to Hunter that night, and he now had them carefully placed in his pack.

He shrugged. "There are instructions written on the outside of the packaging. I can read. It shouldn't be too hard."

"I just really don't want you to blow yourself up. Or me up."

"I won't. We made it this far. I'm not going out because of accidental detonation. And think about it, by the end of today, this will all be over."

Grace nodded and climbed back down the tree, landing on the ground with a soft thump. Hunter carefully lowered the weapons cases down to her before jumping down himself. "You sure you can carry all of that?" he asked.

"Do I have much of a choice?"

Grace hoisted on the one case with straps onto her back and picked up the other two, one in each hand. The weight wasn't ideal, but it was manageable.

"Do you know where you're going, exactly?"

Grace faced west. "That way. No, not exactly," she clarified at Hunter's exasperated expression. "But I am in their territory. If I don't find them, they'll find me."

"I'll see you tonight."

Grace nodded, hoping that she looked confident. "I'll see you tonight."

Hunter would follow her trail, but keep his distance. If the militia did find Grace before she could get back to camp, the last thing they needed was for him to get caught as well.

The journey was slow going. Exhausted and fatigued, carrying the weight of the weapons cases did nothing to improve matters. Grace had to stop probably every 15 minutes to rest. She thought she was going in the right direction, but as the hours dragged on, she doubted herself more and more.

Finally, she came across a set of deeply ingrained tire tracks. They had to lead back to town, so Grace followed them. The sun was setting, but she took her time. Collapsing with a stockpile of weapons and supplies would not be ideal.

After almost another hour of walking, Grace finally saw buildings rise up in the distance. She quickened her pace.

Two guards stood on either side of the road just before it led into the town. She approached them and then dropped the cases she held in her hands. "I'm Grace. I'm here to see Josh."

The guards looked at each other in shock. Grace wondered how many in the town knew of her mission, and whether they had thought she would come back at all. Based on the guards' expression, she doubted many were hopeful.

"Right this way." One of the guards tried to pick up one of the cases, but Grace snatched it away from him. She'd be damned if they thought they could accuse her of not getting everything on the list just because some random guard decided to claim it as his own.

The guard brought her to the same house she had been interrogated in before. That was good. She had told Hunter that was where she would probably be.

Josh stood leaning over a table with his back turned to her as Grace walked in. She set the two cases down with a heavy thunk and then swung the one on her back off of her shoulders and put it down in front of her.

Josh turned around. "Well, well," he said. "I have to admit, I'm impressed. You didn't look like you had enough in you to get to the border, never mind actually complete what I asked of you."

Grace pulled the crumpled and torn list out of her pocket and threw it down on top of one of the cases. "It's all there."

"I don't doubt it."

"Check." Grace figured she had a right to be pissed. "I don't want you accusing me of missing something and then murdering my friends just for kicks."

Josh just gave a small nod and opened up the first case. He went through each of them, item by item, and as he closed the final lid, he wore an annoyingly satisfied look on his face. "This is excellent," he said. "Well done. Guards!"

A few men came into the house.

"Take these cases to storage," he ordered.

Grace took a few steps back as the guards each took a case and lugged them away. Then she turned back to face Josh. "My friends," she said. "They're safe."

"You upheld your part of the bargain," Josh said. "I see no need to order Charlie to kill your friends at the moment."

Yeah, because he already given the order. Grace almost had to admire how he technically didn't lie to her without guaranteeing that he hadn't already had Anna and Hunter killed. Or so he thought. "Great. Well, on that note, I still hate you, so I'm going to go." Grace turned around to head out the way she came.

"Wait."

Grace let a shadow of a smile cross over her face before she adopted a scowl and turned back around. "What?" She was right where she wanted to be, but she couldn't let him know that.

"Don't tell me you didn't see this coming," Josh said. "I mean, you're clearly very good. I need someone with your skills working with me."

"Working with you?" Grace repeated. "I don't think I would call what I just did 'working with you.' You forced me."

"And if I have to continue forcing you, I will," Josh threatened. "But you're intelligent. We both know that. So I don't see why we can't come to some sort of arrangement."

Grace crossed her arms. "I don't want anything to do with you. Or what you're doing here."

"Since when is anything these days about want?" Josh asked. "Everything is about survival. You know that as well as I."

"You don't have to harm other people in order to survive."

"Very naïve. Of course you do."

Grace said nothing. She just stared at him.

"Fine. Option One: I hold you prisoner and will keep Charlie on standby anytime I need you to do something for me, forcing you to do what I want or else your friends will die. Option Two: you agree to work with me and live your life as a free citizen here, which in turn means that I don't have to threaten your friends and they can go on and live their lives. I think we both know which is the better option here, for you and them."

Grace tried to steer the conversation away from Josh's ultimatum. She needed to give Hunter more time. "How much do you know about what's at the border?"

He didn't seem surprised by the question. "I know exactly what's there. That's why I sent you."

"What do you know about what's beyond the border?"

That made him stop in slight astonishment. "Beyond the border?"

"Yes."

"No one knows what's beyond the border. Anyone who's ever tried to cross it hasn't ever come back."

Hunter really really really needed to hurry things up. "You're right," Grace said. "It is about survival." She looked him straight in his eyes. "And surviving here? That's almost impossible."

"What's your point?"

"I will work for you for ten years," Grace bullshitted. "But in that ten years, you figure out how to get me onto the other side of that border, past the military guards, and into whatever is beyond it."

"And what if it's worse?"

"Then I'll deal with the consequences," Grace said coldly. "But I'm willing to bet that it's better."

Josh thought about it for a moment. Grace knew he would say yes, only because in ten years he thought he would be able to double-cross her. "That seems fair," he said. "And a smart trade. It's a dea—"

BOOM!

An explosion coming from within the town and Josh jerked his head toward the direction of the commotion. "What the—"

"That would be your armory."

Josh had been on his way out of the house when Grace spoke and he slowly turned around to face her, fury in his eyes."

"You—"

BOOM!

Another explosion.

"The northern entrance."

BOOM!

"The southern entrance."

BOOM!

"The western entrance."

Silence fell, and Josh stared at her, speechless. Then, in one swift movement, he pulled out a pistol and pointed it straight at her chest. "You."

Grace's heart beat wildly, but she forced herself to stay calm. "I really wouldn't if I were you."

"And why not?" he snarled. "You backstabbing bitch."

"You said it yourself, Josh," Grace sneered. "We both know how good I am. I took five bricks of explosives, not four. So if my friend hears any gunshot come out of his house, he blows you to hell."

Grace had been counting on Josh's pride and vanity, and as his pistol wavered in front of her, she knew she had been right. He wouldn't risk his own life.

"If you ever come after me and my friends again, you're dead." Now Grace was delivering her own ultimatum. "You're going to stand down in this part of the state. You're going to leave the people living here in peace. If not, well, you know exactly what I can do. Don't think for a moment that I'm too good to not come back and kill you." Grace didn't bother getting a response. She turned her back on him and fled from the house.

Outside was pure chaos. People ran in all directions and flames lit up the sky in every direction. It was amazing to see, but Grace didn't bother to stay and watch the show. She had to find Hunter and get out.

But he wasn't far. Grace yelped as someone grabbed her hand, but relaxed when she saw Hunter's grinning face. "I don't think they're going to be able to follow us," he yelled. "Those were some pretty powerful explosives."

"You okay?"

"I'm great!"

As they ran through the town together, Grace saw he was right. The roads were completely destroyed, and the weapons storage was nothing but a flaming hole in the ground. Everyone seemed to be avoiding that catastrophe: who knows what else might go off with all that fire.

"It's a lot more fire than I thought," Grace said, panting.

"I mean, it's not like we even know what's in them," Hunter reasoned. They sprinted past the final piece of destruction, out of the town and heading south. "Plastic explosives with specialty fireworks?"

"Something like that."

They didn't stop until they reached the border. Despite how tired Grace felt, she could sense how close she was to freedom. And this time, she knew it would last.