Bass and Miles were standing around the kitchen table looking at a map, trying to figure out their next move. Bass couldn't concentrate, he had a feeling that something was wrong. And he hadn't lived this long by ignoring his gut.

Miles smacked him on the back of the head. "Focus."

Bass just glared at him. "They should be back by now."

Miles rolled his eyes. "When did you turn into a mother hen?"

Before Bass could answer the back door was kicked in and Jason dragged in a bloody and wounded Conner.

"What the hell happened?" Miles asked.

"We were attacked." Jason answered.

Bass looked beyond him to the door. "Where's Charlie?"

"They took her." Conner grunted in pain.

"Who took her?" Miles asked.

"I don't know, but I do know they weren't Patriots. They knocked her out and loaded her into a wagon and headed north." Jason informed them.

Bass couldn't control his anger. He grabbed Jason by the shirt and shoved him against the wall. "And you just let them? Did you even try to help her?"

Jason glared back at him. "There was nothing I could do. Besides I figured you'd want me to bring your son back before he bled to death."

Bass turned his attention to Conner and noticed the blood seeping through his shirt. Gene was already looking him over.

"Is he going to be okay?" Bass asked.

"It's just a graze. He'll need some stitches and some rest, but other than that he'll be fine." Gene stated.

"I'm sorry dad. I tried, but there were too many of them." Conner said through gritted teeth.

Bass looked over at Miles and was sure his murderous expression matched his own. Silently the nodded to each other and began packing their bags. God have mercy on the men who took her, because he knew with every fiber of his being that he and Miles wouldn't be showing any.

Charlie woke on the hard ground. As she opened her eyes a set of metal bars came into focus. "I'm in a cage, must be a Tuesday," she mumbled to herself. She sensed someone leaning over her and she instantly came alert, swinging her arm. A large male hand caught her wrist.

"Easy there little one. I'm not going to hurt you."

Charlie gave him a skeptical look. She looked down at his wrist and noticed the Militia brand.

He let go of her arm, sat back on his heels and raised both of his hands to show he was no threat.

"My name is Jake." He said as he grabbed a towel and handed it to her. "It looks like you took quite a blow to the head, I was just trying to wipe off the blood."

Charlie raised her hand to her head and her fingers came away bloody. She took the towel and pressed it to her wound.

Jake put two fingers in front of her face, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"What are you a doctor?"

"Something like that, I was a medic in the Militia. What did you do in the Militia?" Jake asked.

Charlie looked at him, confusion plain on her face.

"No need to deny it, I saw your brand." Jake gestured around to the other men in their cage and to the adjacent cages. "We're all Militia."

Charlie's head had finally cleared enough to notice her surroundings. She and about ten other men were in one cage and there were five or six other cages joined together. Each of the men she saw looked like hell. They were beaten, bloody and broken.

"I was with two others, where they brought in with me?" she asked.

"No you were it."

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. Conner and Jason had gotten away. Hopefully they were able to get to Miles and Sebastian.

"Where the am I?" Charlie asked.

"In a word, hell."

"Been there done that, you're going to have to be more specific."

"We're in a holding camp of some sort. These bastards have been rounding up all the Militia soldiers they can find. Every so often some of those Patriot bastards show up and take some of us away. I've heard talk that they're using us as training dummies for their soldiers, or ginny pigs for some sort of experiments. While we wait to be taken away, these bastards use us for entertainment, making us fight each other."

"Why are they just rounding up Militia?" Charlie asked.

"They're punishing us for what General Monroe did." Another man spoke up from the corner.

"Shut up Andrew." Jake growled.

"Make me Jake," Andrew bit back. "We're being punished because General Monroe finally went crazy and nuked the coast."

"He didn't go crazy and drop the bombs." Charlie shot back. She knew they probably wouldn't believe her but she couldn't help but defend Sebastian.

"How the hell would you know?" Andrew asked.

Charlie looked him right in the eye. She knew couldn't show any weakness, not among these men who had been through so much. They deserved the truth. "Because I was there."

The two men and the others who were listening in couldn't hide their surprise. Charlie continued. "It wasn't Monroe, or Foster, it was the Patriots. They are the ones who dropped the bombs."

She could see the disbelief in their eyes. "There's more," she continued. "They are purposely infecting people, killing all those who they think are undesirable and I have a feeling they aren't going to stop there."

"How do you know all of this?" Jake asked.

How much should she tell him? Miles first rule was not to trust anyone. And truthfully she didn't trust them, but she needed them to trust her. It was a gamble, one she was willing to take.

"A group of us have started a resistance. We've been able to take a bite out of these Patriots, but we need more men to really push them back."

"A resistance huh, who is it you and a bunch of other kids?"

Oh if they only knew, Charlie thought to herself, but she wasn't ready to let go of that piece of information yet. Before she could continue one of their captors came into the cage. Two other men followed him and pointed their weapons at the other prisoners, keeping them away from her. The man walked up to her, pulled her to her feet and slammed her against the bars. Then he pulled out a piece of paper, looked at it then at her and smiled a crooked rotten smile.

"Hot damn, it is her. These Patriot boys are going to pay top dollar for this one." He sneered.

"Maybe we should question her boss," one of the others spoke up. "She might have some useful information for them that they'll pay even more for.

"Good idea Jansen. Come on girly, let have a little chat." He said as he grabbed Charlie's arm and started to drag her out of the cage. His other hand headed south and grabbed her rear end.

Charlie jerked away and turned to face him. "You want to talk, let's talk." She said as he laughed. Then she reared her head back and head butted him. He let go of her instantly, when he did she rounded on Jansen and knocked him to the ground. Mr. Handsy's head finally cleared and he looked at Charlie with murder in his eyes. Charlie just smirked at him, arms raised in a fighting stance. She opened up her hand and motioned for him to come and get it and he didn't disappoint. They traded blows till more men rushed the cage and pulled them apart.

Charlie wiped some blood from her lip and stared him down. "I hope you enjoyed our conversation, I know I sure did."

Mr. Handsy glared at her as his men helped him from the cage.

"Who the hell are you?" Jake asked

Charlie turned to the men gathered in her cage. "I'm Charlie Matheson, General Miles Matheson's daughter and a founding member of the resistance."