Farrell found them as the light began to go.
She stood in front of the three of them with her radio in one hand and a map in the other.
"Right," she said. "That's done. The junction's ours. The unit up north is connected again and getting its wounded out down the connector as we speak. And the British push through here has stopped. For now."
"For now," said James.
"For now." She did not dress it up. "They still have the ground east of here, and they've got a lot of people. They've got a lot of Challengers. We took one junction. Somebody above me is going to have to decide whether we can hold it, if they come back with more. I don't know the answer to that yet."
She looked at the three of them.
"But you did what I asked," she said. "All three of you. Thank you."
She went off to talk to the officer from the road group.
James sat on the forecourt wall and watched the first vehicles from the north come down the connector, slowly, with their lights on.
