"I wanted to remind her that she still has a child worth loving in this world," he said simply. "And I warned her that if she didn't reach out on her own then she stood to risk losing you forever." He looked her in the eye and shrugged. "Being honest, it also sort of pissed me off that she abandoned you, then tried to tell you I'd do the same. I wanted to let her know that she was dead wrong about that. You deserve a better mother than she's been to you, Lia."<br/><br/>As they pressed on Letto kept him appraised of any tracks or signs. There had been a lot of movement in the area, and recently. Either people coming, or going. He couldn't be sure. That troubled Carson. Letto was an expert tracker and his sense of direction, movement, and instinct for danger were unmatched. Half the reason he'd been brought along was to have the advantage on the Huntsmen; a swift and sudden attack, unseen and unprovoked, and a dozen would fall before the rest knew what was happening. He glanced at Malia when she spoke and squeezed her hand gently. "There aren't enough of them. I can promise that much. Once I saw Letto wipe out twenty men on his own, they never knew he was there until it was much too late. As for me, well." He shrugged. Bragging about being an efficient killer wasn't something he was comfortable with. "We'll be okay. Just stay close and stay safe."<br/><br/>He reached back into his pack and pulled out the pistol he'd selected for her, along with the ammo. "Here. Use this only if you have to. Just point it at anyone dangerous coming at you and squeeze the trigger until they stop moving. Keep the barrel down. If you need precision, the sights on the top line up like this, just put the front dot on whatever you want to hit. The safety is here, that's on, that's off. You need to turn it off to fire it, but leave it on otherwise." He glanced over as Letto's hands moved, then turned to her and put a finger to his lips. "We're close, now," he whispered softly, "so stay low, stay quiet, and watch out for anything suspicious. We'll be okay. I promise."<br/><br/>They crept up to what seemed like a perfectly empty and innocuous stand of trees. Letto signed that this was it; through the trees they would come upon the Huntsmen settlement. Carson passed that on to Malia, and the three of them found a gap in the trees wide enough to slip through without alerting anyone. Beyond they found the settlement, a series of houses built up in the trees and designed to blend in unless you were right on top of them.<br/><br/>The silence was intense. Too intense. The hairs on Carson's neck stood up as he began to realize something was wrong. The Huntsmen were quiet, yes, but in their own settlement? No speaking, no movement, nobody eating or pissing or just breathing? Letto glanced his way.<br/><br/><i>Not right.<br/>
</i><br/>Carson nodded, and gestured for Malia to stay back by the treeline. He slid his rifle down his arm to grip it tight, ready for an ambush. The two Striders walked through the shady copse, feet barely causing any sound as they went. Some sort of ripple in the air, a movement he couldn't see but sensed all the same, made Carson stop. Letto did half a second later, hands sliding down to the shotguns on his thighs. Three other shapes appeared, walking through the poles that supported the buildings without care for who saw them.<br/><br/>Each of them were tall, and all wore some sort of armor. One of them held a long rifle, not unlike Carson's but larger. Another held a much smaller gun, but still in both hands. The last had a revolver, but a long blade had been welded to the underside of the barrel. All three of them had black skulls painted over their chests, the paint still dripping down the metal of their armor. Carson felt his blood run cold. Letto tensed at his side. Carson took a deep, slow breath, hands adjusting on his rifle as he prepared to take aim. He caught Letto's eye and nodded subtly.<br/><br/>"MALIA, RUN!" he roared, then lifted and fired. At the same time Letto opened his mouth and screamed. The noise that came out of his mouth was bizarre. To the sides it both rang and buzzed, but the three Vanguards it was directed at staggered backward, grunting and rushing to cover their ears. Carson put three rounds into the one with the handgun, but he heard all three ping off the thick armor. He dove for cover, behind the thick trunk of a tree as one of them leveled their weapon and squeezed off a few shots. Letto broke off, too, vanishing into the gloom like a whisper.<br/><br/>"Goddammit," Carson whispered. What had they missed? What had gone wrong? Why were the Vanguard even here? Had Malia run? He had to find her. He had to keep her safe. He broke cover and fired on the move, pelting for the treeline where he'd left her.