“Pembroke. Trenton. Guthrie.” Smith taps his index finger against three points on the map. “That'll be it for the first recon. Information gathering and diplomacy only. Excepting special circumstances.” Evan and Diego have already been briefed on what scenarios qualify as ”special circumstances.” “First sign of real trouble, get out and get back,” Smith says, driving the order home with a piercing look for Diego, then Evan. “Yes, sir,” they come back, almost in unison. Just after dawn, Diego and Evan set out with Washington and Jones, and just after sunset they return. Now it's seven around the big oak table. Jones is agitated, and the others bring an air of excitement with them into the room, but they reign themselves in. Tense, quiet, they let Diego make his report. Nothing in Pembroke. Signs of life in Trenton—garbage and human excrement in the streets, houses with furniture free of the accumulation of dust and cobwebs that have turned the interiors of uninhabited buildings dim and gray—but whoever has been eating from those recently-discarded cans and doing their business in the streets kept themselves well-hidden from Diego and the rest of the foursome.
