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“She’s bringing help so we can evacuate more people. Please watch for Reiko Hara. She’s coming with some Marines.”

The officer scoffed quietly. “Miss? We’ve got first responders moving house to house to evacuate residents.”

Mari nodded and her smile tightened. “Please, Officer. You’re going to want to let them in.”

Officer Machado turned to look at him and Buck hoped that his expression was as neutral as he was trying to make it.

“And you?” The officer smiled. “Are you a Marine, too?”

“Yeah. I am.”

Before the officer said another word, Buck reached for his wallet on the console beside him. “Here’s my ID.” He pulled out his Military ID and handed it over to the officer.

The other officer who’d moved the barrier came to stand beside the window as well. They both looked at the ID and the second officer reached out his hand. “Marine?”

“How do you know?” Buck shook his hand and then took the ID from Machado’s fingers.

The second officer grinned. “You have the look.”

Buck chose not to question it. “I can assure both of you that we’re well trained for things like this.”

Officer Machado looked like he wanted to make an issue of it, but the other officer leaned in and said something so quietly that Buck couldn’t hear him.

With a shake of his head, Officer Machado took a step back from the SUV and waved them through.

MARI

Getting past the first barricade was just that, the first one.

While they’d talked their way past the officers, Mother Nature had other plans.

There was a dip in the road a few streets past the barricade and the depression in the road was filled with water with more water flowing into it and down the cross street.

It was a little crazy, like a man-made river coursing between houses. A canal of sorts.

When they reached that barrier, they had to wait and reconsider how they were going to go in.

Minutes later as Mari was trying to get her neighbors on the phone to see if they’d evacuated to a safe place, she heard two engines approaching.

Big trucks from the sound of it. They certainly didn’t sound like sedans or SUVs.

“Babe,” Heath put his hand on her shoulder. “Help’s here.”

She turned in time to see a bunch of familiar faces in the windows of the newly arrived trucks.

Mari focused on the faces that turned toward her as they stepped onto the street.

Even with the deluge of rain falling down on and around her, she felt hopeful.

The group assembled around her as her phone pinged with an incoming message.

ANUHEA: leaving UH and heading in your direction

Heath leaned against her arm. “Anuhea? That’s the woman we met the other night?”

She nodded. “She’ll be a big help if the water’s high where we’re going.”

Riptide came up beside her holding a drone in one hand and the controller in the other. “I brought this with me.” He lifted his chin toward the water filling up the depression in the road. “The trucks might be able to get through now, but I doubt they’ll be able to get through as more water comes down. The drone can find us a low spot to cross.”