Force didn't have any jurisdiction in the matter per se, even though
they had gotten the warrants and the marshals would be delivering
Morrison to HQ in Quantico. And as the commander of Net Force's
military arm, he shouldn't be out in the field on this kind of errand
anyhow, no job for a general, but it pissed him off being left behind
just the same. It was no more than professional courtesy-he'd have
waited for them.
Howard rented a car and burned the speed limits trying to catch up, but
by the time he got to Gakona, he still hadn't seen any sign of the
marshals. He couldn't believe he had gotten ahead of them, so they
must have already reached the HAARP compound. Probably had already
collected Morrison and were on the way back. Well, if they passed him
going the other way, he'd spot them, there wasn't that much traffic.
He'd seen only a few cars and trucks in the last hour of travel, and
nobody in the last fifteen minutes. Of course, it was almost two in
the morning, and in the middle of the great northwest woods, too, not
exactly the Harbor Freeway in downtown L.A.
The narrow road he was on ran parallel to a tall chain-link fence
topped with razor wire and hung with government warning signs. HAARP
would be on the other side of the fence, somewhere past the thick
forest of evergreens.
The call of nature that had been nagging at him for miles finally
couldn't be denied any longer. If he didn't stop and take a whiz, he
was going to drown.
He pulled the car over, shut off the engine, and killed the headlamps.
He waited for a moment for his night vision to clear, then stepped out
of the car.
He watered the plants nearest the shoulder, felt a lot better, and
zipped up.
It was really dark out here, nothing offering relief save for a clear
sky thick with glittery stars and the glowing face of his watch. It
was cool, but not cold, and the scent of evergreen, car exhaust, and
even urine blended into a not-unpleasant odor. It was also quiet, save
for a few mosquitoes buzzing about. There was something very relaxing
about being out in the middle of nowhere, nobody else around.
From the last road sign he'd seen, he judged that he was almost to the
compound's gate. He started back toward the car when he saw a bright
flash of light over the treetops, almost like distant heat lightning, a
brief strobe against the night. What was that?
But the light was gone, and once again the fierce darkness claimed the
night. And that was odd, because this close, he expected some kind of
glow from the HAARP compound bleeding into the sky. He had been on
night patrols in the outback where you could see the light from a
campfire or a propane lantern for miles. They must keep some lights
on, right?
Almost immediately after the light faded, he heard three shots, a
stacatto pap! pap! pap! followed by two more that resonated with a
louder, sharper crack! crack! The shots echoed, and it was hard to
pinpoint the direction, but it sounded as if they were to his right and
