You grabbed elotes on the way to the jail, eating as you walked. There was a comfortable silence between you and Garcia, but you eventually interrupted it with a question.
"So... Do you know why mutually ensured destruction failed?" It may come off as random, but it was relevant. Or, at least, it was to you. If you didn't get your homework done tonight, it wasn't going to get done.
"Mutually assured destruction," Garcia corrected.
"What's the difference?"
"To assure someone is to remove someone's doubts. To ensure something is to make sure it happens, to guarantee it. It didn't happen, so it wasn't a guarantee."
You took another bite of your Mexican street corn, chewing thoughtfully as you processed her words. "Okay, yeah. So why didn't it work?"
"Is this something you're learning in class right now?" She asked with a snort. "Shouldn't you be the one telling me?"
"Mr Stuwart asked us at the end of class," you admitted.
"I'm not doing your homework for you."
"I don't expect you to do it for me! I just could use some help with it."
She smirked like she could see right through your feeble efforts. "Why do you think it failed?"
"I don't know. I mean, the destruction part happened." You could have phrased that better, but you weren't wrong. "The States and Russia are now wastelands. So why did both countries bomb each other?"
"Only in duels do people pull their guns at the same time."
"So one of them had to fire first. But why?"
"Exactly. Why?"
Your face naturally pulled into another scowl. "If I knew, I wouldn't be asking you!"
She shook her head before conceding. This was nothing new. Most serious conversations between the two of you were wars of attrition. "Okay, I'll give you the answer, but you have to put it in your own words.
"Mutually assured destruction only achieves peace when the bearers of the arms have an equal amount of power. A nation will only stop themselves from attacking another nation if they believe the attack will result in their own destruction as well. If there is a power imbalance, such deterrence is not likely."
Your brain was practically buzzing like an electrical wire with how hard you were using it. It took over a minute before something finally clicked. "So there was a power imbalance."
"You got it! Maybe this power imbalance was real, maybe it was imaginary, but whoever fired first thought they had the upper hand."
You knew all about power imbalances. In fact, if you didn't have so much experience with them, you might not be here right now.
You had finished your meal by the time you reached the jail. In the lobby was a man you didn't recognize, looking nervous and antsy. You wondered what charges he was being brought up on.
Garcia gave his shoulder a comforting pat before turning back to you. "Mija, this is Takahashi. He's a traveling merchant that hustled into town this afternoon. Says bad men are after him, he needs somewhere to lie low."
You nodded along, already guessing why you had been brought in. Your time traveling the wastes in a gang meant you were pretty familiar with most raider groups. Garcia wanted to know who they were up against.
You didn't mince words. Fort Valiant, as well as the rest of the county, could be in trouble. "Tell me everything," you told him.
Takahashi glanced anxiously between you and Garcia before his narrow gaze eventually settled on you. "My caravan was heading southwest towards California. I don't know if you heard, but the entirety of the Midwest is raider territory now, so we were trying to skirt them."
"Tried and failed, I'm guessing." You resisted the urge to snort, but your tone was still not very nice.
"Mija," Garcia warned in a low voice.
He let out a little laugh, too high to be natural. "Turns out the ruling gangs are expanding their territories, pressing south. We must have accidentally crossed into their domain, because we got jumped. We put up a good fight, but there were so many of them. My partner... My soulmate..."
Here, he quickly dissolved into sobs. Garcia gently shushed him, rubbed comforting circles into his back.
You watched with barely concealed annoyance. Years of raiding made you largely unsympathetic to the suffering of others. If someone wasn't one of your people, then you couldn't care less about them.
Once his crying had quieted, you continued your line of questioning. "If they got your goods, why are they still after you?"
"I took out a few raiders before I ran," he explained between sniffles.
"Revenge, then."
"That would be my guess," Garcia murmured.
"We want to help you, but you need to answer our questions to the best of your abilities, okay?" He nodded hesitantly. "Okay... What do you remember about the people that attacked you?"
"They pulled up to us in big augmented vehicles, blasting loud music."
That could be any gang, really.
"What did they look like?"
"I didn't get a look at any of their faces. They were wearing animal masks --like tigers, elephants, and the like-- and dressed in neon colors."
Your body broke out into a cold sweat.
A lot of raiders tended to favor neutral colors: army greens, sand beiges, and a variable sea of browns. It made it easier to camouflage the dirt and blood on their clothes.
Only a handful purposely tried to stand out from the pack.
You shuddered.
"Did they wear any symbols on their armor?"
"Yes, a chibi skull, spray-painted in white."
"What the hell is a chibi? Is that some sort of animal I'm not familiar with?" Garcia asked.
"No," Takahashi answered. "It's a big-headed character with exaggerated features. For a skull, it was very rounded and... Cutesy."
You could scarcely hear the two banter over the roar of blood in your ears and the frantic beating of your heart.
You couldn't be positive it was them, though. It could be a copycat gang. That happened sometimes. Smaller groups take on the markings of more established ones until they can get off the ground.
"Did they mention the name of the gang?" You demanded.
"Yeah... They said we were in Final Ghouls territory."
And there it was. The last nail in the coffin.
You never thought this day would come, the one where you needed to face your demons. You'd run so long and so far away. Despite their advantages and past conquests, you honestly didn't think they'd ever expand all the way out from Illinois to Texas.
It took all your willpower to keep your tone strong and steady when you said, "Garcia, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?"
She must have sensed something was off, because she gave you a concerned look. "Yeah, sure."
You led her out of earshot of Takahashi, into the backoffices, the area between the lobby and the actual jail cells.
Even then, you didn't take any risks, speaking in a voice a decibel louder than a whisper. "You're not gonna like what I have to say," you told her, "but I need you to promise me you'll listen. Okay?"
She looked uncertain. "Okay..."
"When the Final Ghouls arrive at Fort Valiant --and I mean when, not if-- we need to give Takahashi up and--"
"No."
That was to be expected. Fort Valiant had a reputation of not negotiating with raiders. But they'd never had a run-in with a gang like the Final Ghouls before.
You latched onto the lapels of her jacket, hauled her close so she could see the fear in your eyes.
"Garcia, listen to me! The Final Ghouls aren't like any other raider gang. They're not only expansive, they're organized. The leaders have their own agenda, and they expect results. Members who don't make their expectations get the chop. And the gang is like a hydra. Cut off one head and two more grow back. We can't win!"
Her mouth twisted into something ugly. "So what? We roll over and play dead?"
"You didn't let me finish! We make a show of power and tell our allied towns to do the same. We need to convince them that we're on equal footing, that ending us would lead to their end as well."
"Mutually assured destruction?"
"Mutually assured destruction," you answered before releasing her. The places where you'd held onto her were crumpled and damp.
"I'll consider what you said."
At the end of the day, she founded this community, so the final decision on what to do was hers. Still...
"I pray you do."