Isolation by Dan Wells Page A

heart where the enemy can pierce it, you should at least protect it with armor. The Zuoquan library has deep catacombs below it, defensible and firm. We should move our headquarters there and, when the time comes, defend it far more securely than here.”
    “We would be forced to defend it with our lives,” said Wu, “for there would be no retreat from it.” He pointed at the lower left quadrant of the map. “The contours of the city would lead the devil army around us, cutting us off from safety long before they would ever have need to confront us directly. It seems there is only one place left to make our foolish stand.”
    Mei had known the answer long before either general; she had suspected, in fact, that the Partial advance might be an attempt to drive them to their one and only safe place of retreat.
    “The munitions factory,” Bao mumbled, staring at the map with deep concern. “I do not like it. The devils will know where we are, and with a single stroke could eliminate both us and the factory. It is the most valuable objective in the city, and we cannot afford to make it more so.”
    Wu shook his head. “It is valuable because they need to use it, not because they wish it destroyed. Their press into the rest of China will fail without the supplies that factory will provide them, and as such it is the one place in the city they will refuse to obliterate outright. We will be safe from air strikes there, and our ground forces are still strong enough to defend it.”
    Bao considered a moment, but Mei knew that he had no other recourse. It was truly the best and only place to retreat, and while that made it seem to her like a trap, the generals would have little choice but to walk into it. Bao nodded, though his eyes made it clear that he did not like it. “The factory, then.”
    “Mobilize your forces,” said Wu, brushing Mei away from the satbox. “I will mobilize mine and update our maps accordingly. Do you have us connected?”
    “Yes, sir,” said Mei. Wu sat down and activated the touch screen, calling up the map of Zuoquan and adjusting the layout of their forces on it, moving them here and there like pieces on a game board. The changes would be relayed through their network both to the subcommanders, who would align their forces in more detail based on the general’s commands, and to the superior commanders overseeing the defense of all of China. The entire war could be coordinated seamlessly through a network so secure it could never be spied on . . . unless you had access to the satbox. Mei kept it close at all times.
    An alarm sounded, and the generals’ phones both chirped an alert in unison with it. Bao cursed and finished his orders to his men, glancing quickly at the incoming message. “The devils are here,” he said. “We must leave now.” Wu finished his work on the satbox and rose to his feet, accepting his coat as Mei held it up to his shoulders. Soldiers were streaming in to defend the leaders and escort them to safety; Mei could already hear gunfire in the street outside. Wu bustled out of the room, leaving her to close up the satbox herself. Bao, more gallant, stayed until she was ready. “My men will bring us to the Rotors, miss.”
    “Thank you,” she said, being sure to favor him with a grateful smile. She had been cultivating in him a subtle attraction, should she ever need it, manipulating him as surely as Wu had moved his forces on the satbox. Now that attraction was manifesting as a desire to protect her—a typical response for a man in authority, and one that worked to her advantage. Not that she was in any real danger from the “devil army”; already she could sense the Partials below, linking with them as they entered the first floor of the building. They were winning handily, and she relayed her location back to them, warning them away. Her orders had been specific: Do not let the generals be taken yet. Do not let yourself be exposed. The order made no sense,