fuel tank buried next to it, with enough diesel stored for the entire three month stay. Water from the desalination plant ensured a sterile supply, and the food stockpile contained twice what they should need.
“All right,” Garrett said. “But when the equipment is inside, close it up. Tell everyone so there are no stragglers.”
“Yes, sir.”
He put the radio back on his desk. A knock came at his door.
“Come!”
A head peeked in his door. It was his replacement pharmacologist, David Deal.
“What is it, Deal?”
The man came in, stopping at the threshold. He looked nervous.
“I’m sorry to bother you, sir, but…” He hesitated.
“Come on, Deal. We’re busy trying to close up.”
“I know that, sir. That’s why I’m here. They told me I would need your permission.”
“To do what?”
“Well, with all the rush, you know, with my new Level 10 status just the last few days, and then the quick move down here, well, I left some things at the main mansion that I need for my work.”
“What?”
“They’re some critical notebooks. In the rush, I left them behind. I was told that to go back and get them, I would need your approval.”
“How long will it take?”
“Just a few minutes. I think I know where they are.”
“You think?”
“They’re quite important.”
Garrett considered it. To keep his people happy, he needed to make sure they were engaged, and Deal was a last minute addition.
“Very well. But be quick about it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Garrett radioed the guard at the entrance chamber to let Deal out.
FORTY-SEVEN
Night had fallen, giving the assault team the cover of complete darkness. A corporal opened what looked like an elaborate laptop computer. The main difference was the pair of joystick controls at the base of the panel. He would pilot the UAV from this terminal.
Captain Turner nodded, and the soldier who had prepared the UAV backed away. The corporal tapped a button, and the helicopter whirred to life. The sound was no louder than a hair dryer set on low.
“What’s the battery life on this model?” Locke asked.
“Thirty minutes, tops,” the pilot replied. “Depends how much maneuvering I do.”
The UAV rose into the air neatly, and it was soon out of earshot. The pilot kept it ascending until the UAV was higher than any of the trees. The only reason Locke could see it was because it occasionally blotted out a star. As long as it remained high up, no one would notice it.
Locke, Turner, and Grant focused on the video feed coming back from the onboard camera. The Starlight scope showed the helicopter flying past the fence and then over more trees. In two minutes, it passed over the first lights at the outskirts of the compound’s main area.
The UAV flew over the hangar farthest from the main house and then circled it. No activity. Same for the second hangar. Arc lamps like the ones that lined city streets lit up the compound.
At the last hangar, the one closest to the main house and large hotel-type structure, a dozen men could be seen hauling equipment from a truck through a large delivery door. The UAV maneuvered to get a better look inside, but the angle was too high.
“Should I take it lower?” the pilot asked.
“No,” Turner said. “With all those people, we’d never get in unobserved that way. Let’s keep looking.”
Next to the truck, two armed guards, both in black caps and clothes, stood by a Ford SUV, their rifles slung at their sides. Another SUV pulled alongside, and one of the guards went over and spoke to the driver.
The UAV circled the compound to find more guards. Three more SUVs were spotted, as well as five guards on foot. Fifteen so far. There were probably more inside one of the buildings. All of the lights were out at the main house. A few were still on in the hotel. Other than the guards and the men working at the truck, the compound seemed deserted. Locke could only guess that most of the rest of the residents were already in the bunker. They didn’t have much time.
The UAV came back over the central part of the compound, and a lone man could be seen walking out of a different door in the hangar.
“Another guard?” Turner asked.
“I don’t see a weapon,” Grant said. “Or a black cap.”
“And he’s wearing khaki slacks,” Locke said. “It’s one of their civilians.”
“What’s he doing?”
“Heading to the building that looks like a hotel. This may be what we’ve been waiting for.”
“What do you mean?”
“If we try to take any of these guards alive, they’re not going to help us, no matter how much we threaten them. I’ve already had two of them kill themselves right in front of me. But a civilian might be another matter. If we can get to him fast enough, he could be our ticket inside the bunker.”
“Then I guess it’s time to try your idea. You really think this will work?”
“Depends who we get out here. If it’s Cutter, we’re screwed. Someone else, we might catch a break.”
“Very well,” Turner said. “Let’s see that bag of tricks of yours do some magic.”
Justin Harding, an ex-Ranger who had been recruited by Dan Cutter, was leaning against the passenger side of the SUV when he heard a loud crack come from the north end of the compound. It was quickly followed by a crash that reverberated through the woods.
He looked at the driver, Burns, and was about to report it in when he got a radio call from Cutter.
“Echo Patrol, this is Base. We just detected a breach in the north fence. Get out and find out what’s going on. Bravo Patrol will meet you there. Report back. If there are hostiles, report back and engage.”
Cutter gave them the exact location of the breach.
“Affirmative. Echo Patrol out.”
Burns fired up the SUV and screeched out of the central compound. The SUV bounced up and down as Burns weaved through the trees.
When they were within 100 yards, they came to a stop and dismounted. If there were hostiles, Harding didn’t want to barrel right into an ambush.
He and Burns, another ex-Ranger, advanced with classic covering positions. When they reached the tree line, he scanned the fence with his infrared. No bodies, human or animal in the vicinity. He switched on his flashlight and immediately saw the problem. He stood up and lowered his weapon.
“Not another one,” he said to Burns. “And right on the fence this time.”
He radioed to Jones, who was driving the second SUV.
“Bravo Patrol, pull up to the fence and shine your headlights on it.”
The SUV pulled forward, and the fence was brightly illuminated.
“Damn!” Jones said as he got out. “Smashed right through it.”
A huge pine tree had fallen from the tree line outside of the fence and rammed a 20-foot-wide section of the fence into the ground.
“Just what we need tonight.” During the storm two days ago, a tree had fallen in the wind storm, setting off the alarms, but that one had been in the woods and merely caused some noise. This one was a much bigger
