**Superstition, Stevie Wonder**

Alisha stood in front of the truck Cruz had commandeered from the parking garage in the wee hours of the morning. It was already 0700 but the winter sun was just barely beginning to make it bright enough that she could read the road atlas Mason had found under the front seat. By her calculations, they could be in Toledo in less than an hour, Cleveland in about three hours if the roads were clear. If Lieutenant Green was still alive on the other side of the tunnel, he was going to have to get transpo back from Ontario to this side, she figured those were the likely landing spots since they had been on the original itinerary.

The clack-clack of two cans of spray paint drew her attention to the middle of the interstate. "With all due respect Ma'am, but do you really think this will work? I am not sure how comfortable I am with defacing public property." Miller removed the orange cap on the spray can in his hand as he spoke.

Cruz and Wolf exchanged a glance. Alisha was sure that later on there would be a reminder from one of them about not questioning a officer. She supposed she ought to be offended but it was hard to get worked up when she was feeling 50/50 about the idea herself. "Does she have to make it an order? This should be fun. Come on Baby Bird, haven't you ever tagged anything?" Cruz challenged. "I thought you were an artist?"

She had to cover her mouth with one gloved hand. It wouldn't do for the commanding officer of the team to be caught laughing at the horrified look on their most junior member's face. "Of course not! I have always been a law abiding citizen." Miller looked to Mason for help but he got none in that quarter. "Have you?"

Mason shrugged. "Sure, looks like you need to go remedial middle school."

Wolf pointed to the pavement. "Seriously Miller. Sometimes even the most chivalrous knights have to get off their noble steeds and get their hands dirty. It's as cold as a witch's teat out here and I am already hungry for second brekkie. What do you want to do more, spend hours freezing your balls off out here while we have a legal discussion, or get hooked up with the rest of the team? 'Cause I sure as hell don't want to trot on home to Chandler without completing the mission."

Alisha sighed and pushed her hands deeper into her jacket. She probably should have just barked an order at him in an imitation of Slattery, but that just didn't feel right for her. Now she saw why he often gave orders and then turned his back or walked away. That way there was no opportunity for discussion. "Just get painting Miller. We need to get on the road. Mason's waiting for you to outline."

His eyes widened slightly at her forceful tone but at least he stopped arguing. Shoving up the sleeve of his utilities, he bent over to trace out the block letters for the message they had come up with. Mason followed behind and filled in as best he could. It wasn't exactly a secret message, but she was pretty sure that if Green's team either drove this way or came by air they would get it. And she was afraid that if they took too much time to search around for a radio station they might get left behind. Five people on the ground in unknown territory and with only one rifle between them was a situation she wanted to end as fast as possible.

Twenty minutes later they were back on their way to Toledo. Cruz drove, Wolf behind him with rifle, still of dubious use since the only ammo they had may have gotten wet, across his knees. Alisha had the middle seat on account of her short legs. One thing was for sure, she'd never be jealous of the special teams for their time away from the ship again. No siree, it was certainly not like the vacation she'd imagined. Wolf took out a pair of binoculars and passed them up to Miller. Miller looked up from where he had been leaning against the outside window. "My damn head hurts." But he accepted the glasses and put them up to his face.

"Better than the alternative" Cruz chided gently. For a minute they were silent, but Alisha was sure they were thinking of Chan and of course Danny's entire team.

Finally Miller broke the silence. "I'll heal. What should we be looking for? Antennas? Satellite dishes? Airports?"

"Yes, all that, mate. And since it took so long to get off your high horse and paint, maybe lunch."

Cruz laughed. "Yeah, I could go for a nice greasy burger right about now. Oh, and holler if you see any towers or dragons or castles. I'll stop and see if there are any damsels in distress for you to save so that you can restore your honor throughout the kingdom."

Mason covered his mouth but a small laugh escaped anyway. Miller ducked his chin, clenched his jaw, and looked up from behind his lashes to slap the back of Mason's seat. "Ha ha, very funny."

His sheepish face reminded Alisha of how Val had looked in her first days on the ship. She had tried so hard to hold her chin high, all tough as nails and not afraid of anything. But in that moment when the ship lurched beneath her feet and she'd looked to Alisha for help, Alisha had been the one acting out of fear. She'd let her fear of besmirching her own honor keep her from showing compassion to the newcomer. A frisson of shame at how she'd treated the other woman wormed its was up her spine. Perhaps she should offer an olive branch when she got back, maybe take Val out for coffee and see how she was adjusting to St. Louis. She nudged Miller with her elbow. "Hey, just use your best judgment and tell me if you see anything at all that you think might help us."

He didn't turn her way, but he nodded and lifted the field glasses to his eyes. "Will do Ma'am."

Danny scanned the field of ice chunks and debris bobbing down the river with despair. There was no sign of the missing team despite Kara's 0600 call insisting that they were alive. He had never known her to rely on her gut, preferring to let facts and logic rule her decisions, but she had been adamant that they search Detroit and points south for signs of them. "I had a dream that they had survived and Alisha had called me on her phone to tell me where she was. She was near a casino and she wanted someone to come pick up her team. It was so real that I began questioning the assumption that they were in the tunnel when it blew." She had made him promise to accept the possibility that they were alive and at least do a cursory search. He hated to think that she was letting wishful thinking color her judgment but the Canadians had made several passes looking for survivors yesterday and they had come up empty handed. Something about the tone of her voice told him she wasn't telling him the whole story. Still, he wasn't going to make her give him an order. He would do it, just so she knew he'd listened and trusted her.

There had still been several bodies spotted in the swift current by the Canadians on a few flyovers of the downriver Detroit area that morning, but they had all been wearing the royal blue parkas of the separatists, not the aquaflague utilities of the Navy people. Danny figured Dingo team must have been too close to the blasts, either on purpose, or by being chased back into the tunnels by the separatists.

It had taken a while to get the team organized for the return to the US this morning. On top of their dampened spirits, William had wanted to feed them a hearty breakfast and make sure they were well supplied. Yesterday's search teams had reported that the area where their vehicles had been was demolished, so they were truly starting from nothing. William had volunteered food, additional weapons, and equipment so all they needed to do now was pass back to the US side and locate suitable vehicles. Still, he hesitated to call off the search.

He tried to let the vibrations of the Cyclone rumble through him like some kind of bizarre massage machine but it was fruitless, he wasn't going to be able to relax until they were back in St. Louis. His headset crackled to life. "We're going to turn into the suburbs for a ways, check out the highways going out of the city."

"Copy that."

He caught Michener's questioning eye on the seat facing him. "Nothing sighted Mr. President. We're still planning to locate cars and move on."

Behind him, Tex was scanning the horizon with binoculars so Danny let himself lean back into the seat and close his eyes. He hadn't been able to sleep overnight and his eyes felt crusty and tired even though it wasn't even 9 AM. He breathed in deep. Despite Kara's mysterious feeling that they were still alive, so far there was no evidence. He was going to have to force himself to accept it. He clenched a fist, using the tension in his muscles as something to focus on, instead of letting his emotions show on his face.

It felt like just five seconds later that Tex was shaking him by the shoulder. "Wake up Green!" Tex nudged him with the binoculars. "Take a look out the starboard window. That's the second one of those paintings that I've seen along this highway."

Danny scanned the roadway beneath them. In neon orange he could just make out the words. "Come see the dingos at the Toledo Zoo?" He read out loud. "You say there have been more than one of these?" His heart began to pound. Who else would paint something like that?

"It's painted on top of the snow and there's tracks around it. That's fresh alright."

Danny turned on his mic to call the pilot. "Have you seen any activity on the road near here?"

The reply came back immediately. "You think those are messages for you?"

He hoped he wasn't being delusional just because he wanted it to be true so badly. "I sure as heck hope so. How close to Toledo were you planning to set us down?"

There was a pause and he wondered what conversations were going on that he wasn't party to. When the pilot finally returned to reply, he was almost holding his breath. "We got plenty of fuel and we're authorized to take you as far as we can do safely, so if you can help get my NAV a landmark nearby, I can get you to the zoo." There was a scramble of activity to pull out a map and figure out where to go, but 40 minutes later they were landing in the parking lot of a supermarket only a quarter mile from the zoo.

"Burk, you'll stay here with the civies and Mittens. See if you can find a car lot up the road that way. We meet back here in an hour. Simpson-Slattery and his team will accompany me to investigate." Danny waved to Garth and they set off at a quick pace. A faded billboard announcing a new mudhen enclosure pointed the way to the zoo's main entrance.

Toledo appeared completely different from Detroit. Everywhere he looked there were signs of life, from the footpaths worn into the fresh snow on the sidewalks to the shop fronts with signs that said things like "Tired of canned tuna? We have smoked whitefish." As they jogged down the street, Danny saw that several store fronts had been clearing away the snow from their parking spots on a regular basis. They cut through the back parking lot of a subway and he swore he could smell the bread and his mouth watered.

There was one vehicle parked in front of the ticket booth so Danny raised a fist and brought the group to a halt. He signaled to Simpson-Slattery and they split sides, taking cover behind signboards proclaiming a special bird exhibit. Findley crowded in behind him awaiting an order. "You cover me and I'll approach the gate." Findley nodded sharply and began scanning the sides of the driveway as they walked forward between the pine hedges. There was no sign of anyone, but he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched.

Danny cradled his rifle and was about to make a dash for the ticket booth when a familiar accented voice called out. "Tag you're it. Weapons down, hands up!" He stopped short and looked around but he didn't see Wolf anywhere.

Alisha, Cruz, Miller and Mason emerged from behind the building. "Sorry Sir. We didn't recognize the helos so we thought it best not to reveal our location until we were sure it was you." Alisha was smiling, but at the same time he sensed her unease at having had a gun pointed at him as her gaze shied away.

He recalled Kara saying once that she was one of the sharpest people coming up the chain on the Nathan James, but she hadn't had much experience outside of day to day operations. "Actually, I was just going to tell you that it was a good idea. After yesterday, I think your caution is well placed." Although Granderson had a tendency for formality, he couldn't help but give her petite frame a quick hug. He also hugged Cruz for good measure and shook Miller and Mason's hands, slapping them on the back. "You don't know how relieved we are to see you. Until we saw the message on the highway, we thought you all drowned yesterday." As he said it, he peered up into the overhanging branches trying to locate Wolf.

"On your left Mate." He'd already looked there so he was quite surprised when six feet of camo clad man rose up off the roof of the picnic pavilion. "Chimney." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the fieldstone chimney behind him. "Even if you looked closely you would have had trouble seeing more than than the barrel of my gun." Wolf sat down at the edge of the roof and swung himself down to the ground. "So now that we're found, any chance you'd let us stop to get some lunch before we get back on the road again? I know they are probably an endangered species or something, but from up on the roof I could see some fat little duck-chicken things over there that look like they would cook up nice on a spit."

Danny spied Garth craning his neck to look behind the guard shack. He shot a questioning look to Wolf. "You teaching Goodwin and Chan some of your skills?"

Wolf's gaze immediately flew to Alisha's. "You want me to make the report?" Fuck, Danny began to lose his appetite. Taking his first casualty report wasn't exactly a milestone he'd been looking forward to.

Alisha stepped up at attention. "Sir. I can make the CASREP at your convenience."

"Now, better do it now."

"Private First Class John Chan, dead. Shot in action while attempting to shield an officer. Lieutenant Will Mason, minor injury fit for duty, bullet wound sustained in combat. Seaman Eric Miller, minor injury fit for duty, possible concussion sustained in evac." They both looked fine, although now that he looked closer, Miller did have a bruise showing just under his hairline and Mason had a small rip on the sleeve of his jacket. Alisha looked at her hands, clasped at waist level, instead of directly at him and he wondered if she blamed herself for whatever had happened to Chan and Goodwin.

"What about Goodwin?" Alisha winced. Cruz bit his lips. Mason and Miller both looked at the ground. Wolf was the only one to show any emotion and he looked…angry? Confused, Danny looked expectantly at Alisha.

She squared her shoulders. "Specialist Thérèse Goodwin, possible desertion of duty at approximately 1100 hours, yesterday. Missing and presumed dead." Throughout it all, her delicate features were frozen in a stoic mask. There was no doubt that she was her mother's daughter. But when she raised her eyes to his again, he was reminded how much more compassion was behind her every action.

Private Findley broke the stunned silence by shouting. "You're lying!" His brows narrowed and he raised a clenched fist toward Lieutenant Granderson. "I don't believe it. I've served with those two for months without even a hint that they weren't 100% Thérè even intervened in a knife fight to help me once. That's not something someone does if they are planning on crossing you later!"

"Get a hold of yourself Sean." Garth's voice was quiet but the arm he held out to hold Findley back was firm. "Lieutenant Granderson would not make such accusations without good evidence."

Danny raised his hand, palm down. "Calm down everyone. This is very disturbing news for us all." He remembered how hard it had been to even comprehend Frankie's suicide. They were best friends, and even months after the event he still couldn't reconcile it with the man he'd known for 10 years. "We all know that this plague brings out parts of people we never expected." He ran a hand through his hair. "You'd better give me the details."

Granderson filled him in on what had happened while Findley glowered and Simpson-Slattery's shoulders sank as if weighted with the actual body of PFC Chan. Alisha's description of the events confirmed the Canadians' assumption that the attackers were a group that had been dogging William and his men for months. "I don't know how, but Goodwin was in on it. She described herself as a mercenary and the group that cornered us treated her as an outsider, so I don't think she had been working with them long. They were after William and pissed when they found out we were just a small detachment meant to distract from his and the President's escape." Alisha confirmed. "Nothing indicated that Chan was working with them. He submitted when their leader ordered him to hand over the radio controls, but then when the leader got angry at Will for refusing to give him the access code, he threw himself in front of him, undoubtedly to saving his life."

"And that's when you called the retreat into the safe room?"

"Well, I didn't call it exactly. Chief Taylor threw the flashbangs and we all just ran for it. I, uh, I probably should have done something, but I didn't think of it." Alisha blushed modestly.

Wolf interrupted. "You did pretty damn good, considering how far out of your element that was. And no one would fault you for being scared out of your wits when someone had a gun on you."

"You did fine Lieutenant." Danny was quick to reassure her. "When we get back to St. Louis you can submit a formal recounting of the event to the CNO and he will decide how to classify Goodwin. Until then, we need to regroup, get food, and get back on the road."

The reunion lunch was a strange affair. The Subway had bread, cheese, and tuna, but no other meats and very few veggies. No one complained, but the owner's embarrassment at serving the President a cheese and onion sandwich was palpable. Michener, for his part, did his best to reassure the man that they'd all grown used to the uneven food supplies and asked for his suggestions, as a food service professional, about how to not only repair the US distribution system, but make it more resilient than before.

The small restaurant could only accommodate a few of them at once so as soon as they finished, Danny took Burk and Simpson-Slattery outside to organize the next leg of the trip. Afterward, he leaned against the building and watched as people came out and small groups gathered near the cars Burk had collected. Kara thought the mole couldn't be one of the people they'd picked up in Chicago, but suddenly he was seeming potential enemies everywhere. Did Findley or Simpson-Slattery have any connection? They had taken it on their word that the group had spent the fall in West Virginia. He looked over to where Simpson-Slattery was quietly consoling Findley. He had a hard time imagining him as a traitor. If he'd been in on it, why help Michener escape at the other end of the tunnel? He could have just as easily claimed a technical problem with his explosives and trapped them all there. No, he might keep a closer eye on all their people from now on, but he still had no reason to suspect any one in particular could be selling them out.