Hannibal strode ahead, wishing he felt as confident as he appeared. But it couldn't be too hard to track Face. He just had to get inside Face's head. Had to ask himself what he would do if he wanted to get back to LA as soon as possible. Which way would he head?

For the nearest road of course. And if Face had found a road and then a ride, and was many miles away already? What then?

Then Hannibal and BA would do the same thing - head for LA. After all, even if he didn't know where Face was right now, Hannibal did know exactly where he was going. If they couldn't find him out here they just had to go to the VA and wait.

~o~

"Alvin."

Face stirred and then looked around startled, not knowing where he was for a moment, before he realised he'd fallen asleep sitting up with his back against the wall. He stared up at Fred and Ed, scowling down at him, faces like thunder. For a moment Face felt relieved they were against violence, as he noticed for the first time that they were both quite muscular and strong looking, probably from the farm work they did.

Realising he still had his pistol held loosely in his hand, Face stood up and tucked it in the back of his jeans.

"We asked you not to bring the rifle into the house," Ed said. "Did you think that didn't apply to the handgun too?"

Face shrugged. Didn't matter now.

"We have children here," Ed went on. "And we have rules. As a guest you should -"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay. Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair in a few minutes."

He found his backpack and pulled some clothes from it. Best to get the heck out of here as quickly as possible. Going by the quiet of the house, the rest of the residents weren't up yet. Face wanted to be gone before he had to listen to a lecture on pacifism with that guy Jeffrey smirking at him.

"Alvin," Ed said, "if that's really your name."

"It is," Face said. It isn't. Not any more.

"You're welcome here." Ed continued. "But your weapons aren't."

"Yeah, yeah." Face sighed. Damn idealists; needed to go and get a dose of the real world. See what he'd seen. "Look, I know you people have your ideas about peace and love, and hiding in the –"

"Ideas?" Ed said. "You think we just read a lot of books and get our way of life from them, don't you?"

He turned and strode to the wall and took down a framed photograph.

"Ed..." Fred said, warningly, but Ed ignored him. He marched back over to Face, who stood, still bare-chested, with a shirt in his hands.

"You're a war vet," Ed said, quietly. "Saw that yesterday, the way you carry yourself, the way you take everything in. I can see that just looking at you now."

Face felt abruptly self-conscious about the scars visible on his chest and arms and slipped his shirt on.

Ed held up the framed photograph, of twin boys, in dark suits and yarmulkes. They looked about ten in the picture. An older boy stood between them, with his arms around the twins. Ed pointed at the boy in the middle.

"This is our cousin, Jacob. We were brought up with him; he was our big brother. Jacob didn't come back from Korea. So please, Alvin, get off your high horse and don't patronise us. We're quite aware of what violence and war lead to."

He turned away, to replace the picture on the wall. Face looked at Fred, who was looking down now, arms folded. Face wasn't really sure what to say. It wasn't the same, he wanted to say. But he couldn't deny them the pain of losing someone they loved.

"Um... you guys are Jewish then?" Of all the lame things he could have come out with, that felt like the lamest. But it broke the tension. Fred smiled.

"We're not what you'd call Orthodox."

"I'll say."

As Ed turned back, Face took on a more serious tone.

"Okay, so you've got good reason to feel the way you do, I understand that. But it doesn't change my mind about what I saw last night. You hid from people who attacked you. That's not opposing violence; that's surrendering to it."

"I believe it's your man that preaches turning the other cheek." Ed's quiet words made Face briefly touch the cross he wore.

"Well, there are probably quite a few issues I'll have to discuss with him one day." He picked up his pack. "Thanks for the bed and the food. Can one of you come and unlock the box with my rifle in?"

"Come on, Al, stay and have breakfast," Fred said. "Just put the gun in the lock box and you can stay as long as you need."

Face shook his head. "No, thanks. I have places to go. And I guess you have clearing up to do outside."

~o~

Face was right about the clearing up. The yard was full of broken glass, from bottles and a few un-shuttered windows. Some of the shutters were splintered. Debris was strewn around, fences knocked over.

Fred led Face to one of the barns, and unlocked the padlock securing the door. The bus stood inside, along with a couple of cars, and a big flatbed trailer. While Face waited, Fred retrieved the rifle, and brought it out.

"Sorry about Ed," Fred said, giving Face a weak smile. "He gets upset about this stuff. It's having kids does it. Makes a man too serious."

Face shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"You don't have to go, you know. We don't hate soldiers. A couple of the other guys here are veterans. Maybe you could talk to them..."

"Fred, I'm not claiming violence solves everything. I'm just saying... you have to take a stand. You can't let people walk all over you."

"But how do you stand up against it without fighting?" It was a genuine question Face thought. He wasn't challenging Face's beliefs. He was just asking, because he didn't know. He didn't know how to get rid of these creeps and preserve his principles at the same time.

But Face didn't have an answer for him. Hannibal would know. For all the good that did either of them. So what if Hannibal would know? Hannibal wasn't here.

Face and Fred came out of the barn, to find the rest of the commune's residents starting to work on clearing up.

"Fred, you said these creeps go on a bender when they get paid."

"Yeah."

"In experience a really good bender lasts at least forty-eight hours." He looked at Fred. "They'll be back tonight, won't they?"

Fred nodded. "Sometimes three nights in a row, if it's a weekend."

Face looked at the mess in the yard. Yeah, a weekend bender and three opportunities to come and pick on an easy target. Maybe Face disagreed with a lot of what these folks believed in, but they didn't deserve to be attacked like this. They weren't hurting anyone. That was kind of the point.

They'd made their choice though, to put up with it. To stick to their principles and turn the other cheek. What could Face do about it? All he knew how to do was fight and kill. Hannibal might have the imagination to come up with something different. If he was here.

"Al," Fred said, putting a hand on Face's shoulder. "You sure you don't want to come and have some breakfast?"

"No," Face said.

"Then you want me to drive you some place?"

"No." Face shook his head. "I've got something to do."