Watching his best friend jog into the street, Tony squeezed the crowbar in his hands until his forearms shook. So focused on Christina, he didn't feel the man behind him growing closer until they were all but pressed together. He might have shivered, if he wasn't so concerned for his safety. At the touch of Cat's finger, Tony seized up. The shaking stopped, but his grip on the crowbar remained tight. He said nothing, holding his breath until Christina came back to them.

Chris split her attention between the archway entrance to the shopping mall and the group converging behind her. In the back of her mind, she noticed the distance Mercy kept from the rest of them. She itched to tell her not to stray far, but she knew why Mercy couldn't stay close by, and kept her mouth shut.

She heard only the key words of each of their comments, enough to make a close enough guess at what they were saying. Supplies, the night, splitting up, rendezvous. Chris rubbed her face with her free hand, smudging her jawline with a dirty thumb.

"Tony, you and Mercy," she said, gesturing to both of them in turn. She spoke softly, yet clear enough for them all to hear the reluctance in her voice. As she gave instructions, she again felt the phantom weight of her old uniform. "You, Dog, go with Mortal Kombat over there. I'll go with [i]you[/i]," she nodded to Cat. She wasn't about to let anyone else alone with the psycho. "Don't go far, look for stuff we can use and carry. Rendezvous in the foyer in ten." Chris gave them all a once-over, then straightened and, throwing her rifle on her shoulder, marched into the mall.

For his part, Tony gave Mercedes his half-hearted smile and inched away from Cat before following Christina through the arch. He waited there for the bowman to move ahead, mimicking Christina's form.

The moment her boots touched the marble floor, she began to step as lightly as her bum knee would allow. Her right foot dragged just so, creating the slightest of sounds. Batton drawn, she motioned for everyone to fan out, then moved to the right side of the foyer. She passed a broken eyeglasses kiosk and carefully avoided the shattered glass spread across the floor. A string of small stores lined the side of the foyer, some windows smashed; video games stores, perfumes, all useless to them. Still, she approached. In the very least, she could clear them of the undead.