Achilles Greenburn's Arc

Chapter 9 of 9

The keycard sat in Achilles's pocket all morning, but the yard still had to run. He walked the fence at first light and counted three jobs no one had time to finish. The hatch dig would pull four bodies off the line for a week. Marcus had already said what Achilles knew. They needed more hands, and they needed them today. He cleared a spot behind the equipment shop, near the barrier where the new fence tied into the old rusted panels. He set two crates for chairs and a plank across a drum for a table. Ramos Perez climbed onto the plank and sat like he was part of the panel. Achilles left him there. A cat on the table made men talk straighter. Sinclair came around the corner with a clipboard and the burned officer's pistol tucked behind his belt. "Six showed at the gate," he said. "Two I'd hire on sight. One I'd shoot. The rest, we'll see." He set the clipboard down and pulled up the second crate. "You run the wrench questions. I'll run the rest. If a man lies to me, I'll tap the table twice." They worked through the morning. Achilles asked about bearings, fuel lines, weld patches. Sinclair asked about last jobs, last towns, last bosses. He used the names easy, like he'd known the men years. Two answered clean. One had callused hands but couldn't name a torque range. Sinclair tapped the table twice, and Achilles thanked the man and pointed him back to the gate. The fourth carried a shortwave clipped to his belt tuned to a channel Sinclair recognized from an old relay tower up north. Sinclair let him talk for ten minutes, then stood. "Friend, you're a scout, not a mechanic. Walk back the way you came." The man walked. A surveillance drone in Atomic Cats colors drifted past the barrier and hovered near the last two recruits. Sinclair watched it. "Marcus's eye," he said. "He's checking our work." Achilles nodded. The last two answered every question straight. One had run a diesel shop before it burned. The other had rebuilt a generator from parts he named without looking. Achilles hired both on the spot. Sinclair signed the clipboard and slid it across. "Three hires from six. Not bad for a morning." He tapped the burned pistol. "The scout worries me more than the liar. Someone sent him to look at your gate, not to work in it." Achilles pocketed the sheet. The yard had four new hands counting Andy. The dig could start tomorrow with bodies to spare. He walked the new hires to the shop and showed them the brass plate without explaining it. Ramos Perez followed at his heel. The names on the plate were four now. The men working under them were more. That was the change he needed.