The Guardians Read Online Free PDF Page A

discreet password in order to be allowed inside.  He whispered it off to the side so that only he and the sentry could hear it.  Nate after all, was just a guest and did not warrant access on his own accord.  The sentry waved the two men inside and Mark said, "The administration folks are just a few buildings over.  They are set up in one of the dorms where we house the folks assigned to the university.  What's your plan if you can't find your brother?"
    "I haven't thought things that far out," he replied.  "The only thing that I have had to keep me going inside all of this time has been finding my brother.  I've played every scenario out in my head countless times, but never without him."
    "Well Son, I hope things work out and you find him, but even if you don't, we could always use more patriotic prior service types like yourself around here.  You would have a home and a purpose.  You can help us put this country back together, starting with Texas of course," Mark said as they walked towards the administration office.
    "I appreciate that Sir, I really do, but once I find Luke, we'll be off to find our parents.  I could never live with myself, and I'm sure he couldn't either, if we at least didn't try to find them.  I can't live with that dark cloud of uncertainty, not knowing where or how they are," Nate said just looking at his feet as they walked.
    As they approached the administration office, Mark put his hand on Nate's shoulder and led him inside.  They walked down the hall and passed several wounded personnel, some of which were missing limbs and had other serious injuries from the attacks by the cartels.  Mark said, "Most of the folks that work here, who aren't medical personnel, are casualties themselves.  We need just about every able bodied individual to staff sentry locations and checkpoints, as well as our security patrols on the border and throughout all of our towns and cities where we have a presence.  These folks are continuing to serve in any capacity they can and we have a place for every one of them."
    They entered the administration office and an attractive young female in her early twenties immediately caught Nate's eye.  She was dressed in a Texas State Guard uniform and was sitting behind the desk.  When she saw them enter, she looked up, smiled and said, "Good evening Colonel Tucker." 
    This caught Nate off guard as he had been thinking of Mark Tucker as just an ordinary man.  Nate still was not completely up to speed on the whole Texas State Guard versus the Texas Citizen's Guard thing.  After all, he was not wearing any rank insignia and until now, everyone had been calling him Mr. Tucker or Mark.
    "You're a Colonel?" Nate asked with a confused look on his face.
    "Yes," he replied.  "Off premises we keep a pretty low key.  Our folks are all volunteers that could leave anytime, so there is no reason to push the hierarchy thing too hard.  It's also a wise security strategy to keep our positions discrete outside the gates, given the cartel's penchant for kidnapping.  I'd rather miss out on a few salutes and formalities than end up hanging from an overpass with a warning sign around my neck."
    The young woman just grinned at Colonel Tucker's explanation and then said, "How may I help you gentlemen?"
    "Nate here is looking for his brother who was a medical student here at the university when it all went down.  He has traveled a long way to find him, so we are hoping you may have some sort of record on him," said Colonel Tucker.
    "What's his name?" she asked.
    "Luke, well officially Lucas Hoskins, but he always went by Luke Ma'am," Nate replied.
    "Well, let me look," she said as she rolled away from the desk in a wheelchair.  Nate was so taken back by her beautiful smile that he had not even noticed that the chair she was sitting in was a wheelchair.  She was missing both of her legs from just above the knees.  She noticed him staring and he quickly looked away.  She said,