He slid the chamber of his rifle shut with a satisfying snap as she returned, a round loaded and prepared to fire. "If this is a trap," he told her, "then he's going to need a whole hell of a lot more help than I will." He slung the weapon over his shoulder and gave her a nod. "Let's get moving. We've got an hour or so yet, but we can use it to prepare. You can find a good spot to hide, and I can make sure there's no ambush coming our way." He stepped toward the door, then paused and turned to her. He reached out to grab her harness and yanked her in, kissing her deep and hard and brief. "If you aren't careful out there, I'm going to be<i>extremely</i>upset," he said softly, and kissed her again more softly before he let go and led the way back outside.<br/><br/>He made for the main gate, past the hole he'd plugged, where a guard had been posted. He spared the man a brief nod, and at the main gate they opened up without hesitation. One of them gave him a strange look as Malia followed, and he just shrugged without bothering to offer any sort of explanation. The two of them turned to head down the wall to the other side of the breach, and then turned out into the woods, advancing slowly and cautiously through the trees. Carson slowed when they came near the spot--it was largely nondescript, but the space was burned into his mind, like the rest of his failures had been. He turned back to Malia and nodded. "Right, then. This is it. Get yourself hidden, my dear. And be careful."