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It had been suggested that Connor take over the old Air Force One, but that was the Admiral’s style, not Connor’s Instead he settled on a sraveyard, and had it towed to the north end of the ru, while the rest of us get nothing but a bedroll"
"Nature of the beast," Trace is always quick to remind him "Respect doesn’t come without a little resentht, but he doesn’t have to like it
The Holy of Whollies arriveOnce inside, they swivel side to side in the plush leather chairs, for no other reason than that they can They enjoy the jet far more than Connor does
Six out of seven are present Risa, who’s the Graveyard’s chief medic, refuses to enter Connor’s jet until she can roll in on her own--and a wheelchair raance
Trace, always the first to arrive, is head of security, as well as Connor’s strategic adviser
Hayden isco the outside world, police frequencies, and all communication with the resistance He also has a radio station for the Whollies, with a signal that barely reaches half a mile He calls it "Radio Free Hayden"
There’s a big bruiser of a girl everyone calls Bae of food services Her real na treated by Risa in the infirmary
There’s Drake, a rural kid who is the Sustainability Boss, which is just a fancy teruy who runs the farm, or the Green Aisle, which was entirely Connor’s idea The food it produces has s when ADR food shipments have been too s kid with a restless leg who’s in charge of ement, and finally Ashley, who claims to be very "person centered" and deals with "issues"--and since just about every kid being tagged for unwinding has issues, she’s probably the busiest of the bunch
"So what’s this about?" Baot stuff to do"
"First off," Connor tells them, "I met with the ADR dude today We can expect more of the same"
"More o’ nothin’ is still nothin’," Drake says
"You got it We’ve pretty much knoe’ve been on our own for a while--now it’s official Deal with it"
"What about supplies and stuff we can’t scavenge fro et cash from the front office to buy it, we’ll have to creatively find it" Creatively finding is Connor’s euphe He’s had to send kids as far as Phoenix to creatively find things the ADR won’t supply Things like hard-to-find ot word that a new jet is being retired here next Tuesday," Hayden tells thes we need Coolant coies, and all that other hardcore e coonna be stuffed full of Whollies?" someone asks
"No plane arrives withouthow h"
"I hope there aren’t any coffins this tihtmares from that?"
"Oh please, coffins are so last s!"
"The bigger issue," says Connor, "is having an escape plan We can’t rely on the ADR to save us if the Juvies decide it’s time for fresh parts"
"Why don’t we just bail now," asks Ashley, "and find a new place to be?"
"It’s not that easy toup a flare to every Juvey-cop in Arizona Hayden’s tea the threat level, so we’ll have at least soy, we’re screwed no lare at Trace, who never says s "What does he think?"
"I think you should do whatever Connor tells you to do," Trace says
Bam snorts "Spoken like a true army boeuf"
"Air force," says Trace "You’d be wise to re between thee about how to kick out of here on a moment’s notice if we have to"
The rest of the ement Connor wonders how the Admiral could stomach conversations about sanitary napkin supply, when the threat of harvest caer every ation," Trace has said--which is the real reason why Connor had called this o," Connor finally tells everyone, "except for Bas to talk about"
Everyone files out, and Connor has John wait outside, while he talks privately to Bam Connor knohat he must do, he just doesn’t want to do it So out bad news, but Connor was never like that He knohat it’s like to be pulled up short, to be told that you’re useless, that you’re better off unwound
Ba attitude "So, what’s up?"