The LZ had been a soft target. Whole city was soft -- what was left of it. Perez stepped off the UH-90 and took a bearing as debris and refuse swirled in the vortex of the thin, toxic atmosphere. He immediately moved off in the direction of the Processing Facility. There was no goodbye. No nod, no wave. No indication that anything behind him even existed. There was only what lay ahead. 

At the outer checkpoint, Perez did not wait for the sec officer to instruct him. He had been briefed. Stepping to the scanner, let it do its intended work. "[i]Clear[/i]," said the officer, following this with "[i]...please proceed to intake.[/i]" #3468 paused only to get the measure of this man, immediately identifying his weakness, understanding in a heartbeat how he would neutralize his threat, should he be deemed hostile. Stepping into the atrium, Perez caught the sound of the woman's footfalls long before he saw her, adopting a neutral-ready stance as she approached. She did not identify herself as within his chain of command, but she spoke with practiced authority. 

"[i]three-four-six-eight, stand easy. You will accompany Sec to holding. Understood?[/i]" He could see, it was a practiced instruction, but even so, he appreciated her attempt at what passed for normalcy for him. He nodded, almost imperceptibly, and caught the motion of the Sec officer out of his left peripheral, falling in behind the Security personnel without further instruction or discussion. She called out after him, her voice strained in a way he didn't understand. 

"[i]Perez -- you can remove your 'breather. You're on our side of the wire here...[/i]" He regarded her briefly, neither acknowledging her suggestion, nor acting on it. 

The walk was quick, a short march to the holding area, where the door was opened, and he was instructed to enter. Inside, civvies. Lots of civvies. At a quick count, eighteen. He moved far enough into the room to determine that there was no secondary exit. Moving quickly and efficiently, careful not to interfere with anyone's business, #3468 stood poised just inside the arc of the door into the room, awaiting instruction or the arrival of trouble. Meanwhile, he began his mental tally of individuals present, their characteristics, flaws, weaknesses, threat level and potential MOS. He would not leave his position.