<P>But he knew that was over now, it was the past, nothing could be done, they had to worry about now, and what to do next. He threw a shirt on, pulled off a quick shave with a bare razor blade, swearing every time he cut himself, and left the grungy bathroom, returning to the others. He stood in the doorway there, staring at them. Watching them talk quietly, sleep, eat from the provisions. One of them walked by and handed him a foil container full of soup, or oatmeal, or whatever it was, something a bit liquidy.
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<P>Their commander said the NSF were not terrorists because their objective was not to fight. But their objective was also not to blow their time in an empty building, feeling sorry for themselves.
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<P>"This is bullshit," he said, loudly, making sure everyone heard him. A dead silence hung in the air after that. Everyone looked at him. One of them, Brian, a small, energetic guy, came from around a corner, eating the same stuff from a similar container.
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<P>"I don't know, it's pretty good to me, Dom."
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<P>Bishop looked down at the soup/oatmeal in his hand. He threw it down onto a table, discarding it. "No. This. Look at us. What are we doing?"
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<P>They looked at each other. There were seven of them, not including himself: Brian, Jake, Albert, Sandra, Mitch, Jess, Geo... they all looked up to him, knowing if there was anybody who knew what he was talking about, it would be Dom... but at the same time, sharing a certain contempt, or curiosity. Dom had not been with them his whole NSF career. He was only with them one mission. The last one. And it failed. So now here he was, their commander telling the squad to put complete trust in him... but how could they do it, after a disaster like that? This mix of their emotion only created something deep and empty in their eyes as they looked at him, unknowing, only hoping.
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<P>Dom shivered, and continued. "We're wasting our time, that's what we're doing. We're not getting anything done."
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<P>"What are we supposed to do?" Al burst out, suddenly irritated. "You're telling us to do something. Right? So what do we do?"