Hannah remained frozen with horror at what she had done. The next thing she knew, Daniel was dragging her inside the building. She followed numbly, allowing him to guide her back to her own room and lock her inside as if nothing had happened. She prayed Zach would be alright.
***
The tyro could hear men shouting near the front of the compound. He trained his binoculars on the guard tower which was now buzzing with activity. Something had gone wrong. He ducked below the razor wire and immediately sent a call to Erik. Where was he? How fast could he get back to the ladder? Trying to stay out of camera range now was the least of his worries. Zach saw a small object fly over the fence directly above his head. With a sense of dread, he realized it was Erik’s radio. The agent said he’d ditch it if things went wrong. Apparently, things were going very wrong. Raised voices were rapidly approaching the section of the fence where Zach stood on his perch.
A gunshot erupted from somewhere off in the woods. Erik must be trying to draw their attention away from his rendezvous point. Then he would circle around to reach it before the guards realized he was no longer near the back fence.
“Over there,” one of the sentries cried.
Four armed men ran in the direction where the shot had been heard. Without hesitation and without taking aim, they fired wildly into the thicket. Bullets went whizzing everywhere. The noise they made sounded like dull pops instead of explosions. Zach was surprised that the guards were using silencers, but he had no time to ponder why. He covered his head even though he realized that a turf-covered fence offered no protection at all. He couldn’t leave because Erik would need him to throw down the second ladder when he circled back. The tyro had no choice but to stay glued to the spot and hope that a stray bullet wouldn’t strike him.
“We got him, sir!” one of the guards shouted in triumph.
A man who was clearly in charge was striding across the open field from the main building.
Two other guards were dragging a body out of the brush.
With a sickening sense of dread, Zach forced himself to look. He trained his binoculars on the group of men and the object they were hauling between them. There could be no mistake. It was Erik. Even though they stood some distance away, they spoke loudly enough for Zach to catch every word.
“He’s dead, sir,” a fourth guard called proudly to his superior.
“Well, that’s inconvenient,” the man in charge said. “I would have liked to question him.”
“What should we do with the body?” the leader of the night patrol asked.
Zach had heard enough. As silently as he could, he clambered down the ladder, retrieved Erik’s belongings including the two-way radio and ran back to the SUV. He didn’t want to think about how he would break the news to the others.
***
Joshua stared down at the dead intruder, puzzling over his identity. His sentries clustered around, waiting for further orders. He turned to his lieutenant. “Did this disturbance awaken any of the community?”
“No sir,” the lieutenant replied. “As you ordered, all the men on the night watch use weapons fitted with silencers. There was only one shot that might have been heard as far away as the main building. If the brethren are at rest as they should be, no one will know.”
The spymaster nodded. “Very good.”
“Sir, look.” His second-in-command directed his attention to someone emerging from a service door at the side of the building.
It was the diviner. He was wandering aimlessly across the grass like a man who had lost something.
Joshua needed to think quickly. In a low tone, he commanded, “Stay here and say nothing. I’ll handle this.”
The spymaster hastily ran across the field to intercept the diviner. “Father, what are you doing out of bed at this hour?”
Abraham passed a weary hand across his forehead. “I have had a restless night.” His voice sounded thick, almost as if he were in some kind of stupor. “I rose to take another sleeping draught when I thought I heard a commotion outside.” His face bore a baffled expression. “It sounded like gunshots. Has someone tried to escape?” He squinted hazily in the direction of the sentries.
The spymaster immediately stepped into his sightline. “No, Father. Nothing you need to be concerned about. A wild animal was rummaging through the garbage dumpsters, that’s all. My men detected activity around the back fence. It sometimes happens with security equipment as sensitive as ours is. Unfortunately, the guards grew overzealous and began shooting before they’d identified the threat. It was nothing more serious than a raccoon.”
Abraham searched his son’s face.
Joshua tensed. His father could usually tell when a person was lying, but the diviner’s perceptions had been impaired of late. The spymaster didn’t know the reason, but he was grateful for these recent vagaries. He smiled blandly and touched Abraham’s shoulder, gently turning him in the opposite direction. “Father, please go back inside. You need your rest. It was a trivial matter. I’m sorry it disturbed you.”
“A trivial matter,” Abraham echoed dreamily. “Very well. Carry on.” Without protest, he did as he was bidden and tottered back toward the building.
Joshua remained stock-still until he was sure the diviner was safely inside. Then he motioned his lieutenant forward.
The man registered confusion. “Sir, why didn’t you bring your father to view the body? It would surely have pleased our diviner to see the prowler we apprehended.”
“Would it?” the spymaster asked coldly. “If you think that, you don’t know my father very well. It’s far more likely that he would berate us for having allowed anyone to infiltrate our property. Given the sums he has spent on security equipment and training, he might feel that his money was wasted. He might even wish to vent his spleen on
