The stairs zigzagged up the cliff, changing lateral direction about every twenty steps.

Not counting the bottom and top, there were three landings in between. When they neared the top, Coleman held up his fist signaling Michael to wait while he checked things out.

He crawled just short of the last step and checked the posts of the railing for a motion sensor. He knew there wasn’t a laser trip wire or it would have showed up on his night-vision goggles. Next, he scanned the large house for movement, and after several minutes of checking everything in and around the house, he waved O’Rourke up. They stayed low

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and scampered along a row of hedges that separated the lawn from the edge of the cliff.

At the end of the hedges they reached a small patio and gazebo. Just on the other side of the gazebo was the ten-foot, brick fence that separated Arthur’s yard from his neighbors’.

Coleman grabbed one of the patio chairs and brought it around the back side of the gazebo. He and O’Rourke slung their weapons over their backs and climbed onto the roof. They lay on their stomachs and looked over the fence. The view from atop the slightly angled, octagonal roof was perfect. Almost all of Arthur’s backyard was visible.

Coleman spoke into his mike, keeping his voice barely above a whisper, “Cyclops, this is

Zeus, are you in position, over?”

“That’s affirmative, Zeus. I found a nice little nest with a bird’s-eye view, over.”

“Have you seen any guards yet, over?”

“That’s affirmative. I count one man and a canine.

They swept the back side of the house about two minutes ago, over.”

“Roger. I’d like you to do a check on my position. We are directly south of you just on the other side of the fence, over.” O’Rourke and Coleman lay perfectly still for about sixty seconds and then Hackett’s voice responded. “I’ve got you. Just barely though, it took me four passes.

Make sure you keep a low profile. The sky is pretty dark behind you, but your silhouettes will still show, over.”

“How high up are you, Cyclops?

Over.”

“I’m a good twenty feet up, over.”

“Roger, let me know if the dog shows up along my fence line. It’s my only blind spot, over.”

“Will do, over.”

“Hermes, this is Zeus, what’s your position, over?” Stroble was standing on the lowest branch of an old oak tree. He hugged the trunk and peered over the fence at the front of

Arthur’s house. “I’ve got a good view of the front of the house, over.”

“What do you see, over?”

“I’ve got two guards by the front door, both are accompanied by a German shepherd, over.”

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“How are they equipped, over?”

“They’re decked out in combat boots, dark jumpsuits, and combat vests.

One of them is carrying a sidearm. check, make that both of them.”

Stroble peered through his goggles and then lifted them up onto his forehead and grabbed his field binoculars out of his breast pocket.

The guards were standing under the light of the front door. The detail was much better with the binoculars.

“They are both carrying Uzis, and it looks like they’re wearing flak jackets, over.”

“How are they set up for communication, over?”

“They are both wearing shoulder mikes, and it … looks … like their radios are mounted on their upper back, left side, over.”

“Is one of them the guard that just finished the sweep of the backyard, over?”

“That’s a roger, over.” Coleman looked at his watch. “All right, you guys know the routine. Announce any movements and mark the intervals.

We should have one more guard at the front gate and one more in the house.

Let’s see how good these guys are, over.” For the next hour they watched the two guards and their dogs patrol the grounds. One of them always stayed by the front door while the other roamed the estate.

There was no rhyme or reason to the intervals. A guard would leave for one lap around the house one time, and the next time he would wander around the estate for ten minutes. To the common observer it looked disorganized, and in a way it was, but by design. Set patterns and predictability were liabilities in this business, not assets. These guards were professionals. Stroble was getting tired of standing, so he sat down on the large branch. He was just barely able to see over the top of the fence and into Arthur’s yard and could still see the two guards and their dogs at the front door. Both guards reached for their shoulder mikes and said something.

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