She could drop him with a single shot, but without a sound suppressor for her pistol, it would immediately draw the attention of anyone else in the area and she could quickly lose her advantage. Sneaking up and getting the drop on the man would be more difficult, and if it turned into hand-to-hand combat, she was less than enthusiastic about her odds.
She sneaked over to the second camp, hoping that would be better.
While the camp was also lit, the illumination came not from a lamp but a television monitor. Sitting in front of the screen was a man in not nearly as good shape as the other guy. Behind him a woman sat on a box. She was smaller, the wiry type. More of a problem than the man, but Reni felt a good right to the jaw would silence any fight the woman might have in her.
Individually, she could handle either of these two, but together one would raise the alarm while Reni was still taking care of the first.
She was still trying to figure out what to do when the man leaned toward the screen and said, “Do you see that?”
The woman looked over his shoulder. “What is that?”
“Trucks, I think.”
“Which way are we looking?”
“The highway north of us.”
“Is it them?”
“I don’t know.”
The man picked up a radio and communicated the information to someone on the other end. The other camp? She thought it likely, but the trees blocked the first guy from view and it was too far to hear anything from her position.
The important thing, though, was that the man had revealed vehicles were heading this way, headlights off. To Reni that meant only one thing: the Project had figured out something was wrong here and sent reinforcements. If she could get to the road and meet them before—
The woman rose to her feet and leaned over the man, momentarily blocking him from Reni’s view. When she straightened up, the two exchanged a few quiet words and then the woman walked off, leaving the man alone.
Reni carefully circled around to make sure the woman had left and not just stepped away for a moment. When she was certain, she crept closer to the camp. The man was so focused on the monitor that he was completely unaware of her approach.
She made it to within two yards of his back before he suddenly stiffened, as if listening. As he started to turn, she smacked the butt of her rifle into the side of his head.
He fell off his chair, dazed, so she hit him again. This time, his eyes closed. She checked his pulse. Not dead, but definitely out cold.
After tying him up with some of his wires, she grabbed his radio and did a quick search for a sat phone. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to have one. The radio was better than nothing, though. At least she could listen in on what the others were planning. She stuffed the device into her pocket, took a moment to get her bearings, and then headed northwest to where the highway entered the town.
“All right,” Ash told Blake over the radio. “Stand by. They’ll be there soon.”
Harden had finally been able to string a portable antenna up through the shaft and into the hut so they could get a signal inside the Dream Sky control room.
Ash handed the radio back to Harden and turned to Chloe and Powell. “So?” he asked.
“Not a surprise,” Chloe said. “We knew someone would eventually show up.”
Powell nodded.
“I was really hoping we were wrong,” Ash said. He thought for a moment. “Okay, here’s what I’d like to do. Chloe, take about half your team back up the emergency tunnel and guard the entrance in case they try to come that way.”
“Okay.”
Ash looked at Powell “The rest of Chloe’s team will help you guard this entrance, and I’ll take mine out to help Blake. If things go right, our new guests will never make it this far.”
“If things go right,” Chloe said.
“I appreciate the optimism.”
“Just trying to keep it real.”
He smiled. Though there was still a distant look in her eyes, Chloe seemed to be coming back around.
“We should get moving,” he said.
Unexpectedly, Chloe hugged him. “I’m, uh, I’m…” She pulled away and shook her head. “Try not to get killed, okay?”
According to a map of the area, the highway the vehicles were on dumped into Everton near the northwest corner. Ash assumed if the occupants suspected something was wrong here — and why would they come if they didn’t? — they were likely to stop somewhere short of town and work their way through the woods to the north so they could sneak up on the base.
Sticking to plowed streets, he and his team jogged through the predawn darkness until they reached the point where they had to leave the road and slog through the snow. Once they were under the cover of the trees, the depth of the snow reduced dramatically and they were able to pick up speed again.
When they reached the base of the hill, Ash signaled for everyone to get down and then whispered, “Sealy, you’re with me. The rest of you wait here while we scout ahead.”
After reaching the top of the hill, they looked out toward the highway, but their angle was bad so they couldn’t see the road. Ash spotted a shallow pass that ran through the hills just to the north.
“They’ll probably try to go through there. I want to check the road. While I do, get the others into position near the pass. Hopefully we can stop them there.”
“Got it.”
Ash waited until Sealy left, then he climbed over the crest and headed down the other side.
Tamara followed Blake to the highway.
“Maybe the trucks didn’t come this far,” she said as they reached the bottom of the slope.
“I think you’re right,” he said. “I would have thought we’d at least hear them by now.”
Staying just inside the trees that ran next to the highway, they headed to the rendezvous point where they were supposed to meet up with the scouts Blake had sent ahead.
“We should check with Bobby,” she suggested.
Blake pulled out his radio and held it out to her. “Be my guest.”
She took it and pressed the SEND button. “Bobby, it’s Tamara. Can you give us an update on the trucks?” She waited for a response, but after a few seconds she tried again. “Bobby? Are you there?”
Nothing.
“Could the hill be blocking the signal?” she asked Blake.
“Shouldn’t. Not with that radio.”
She frowned and pressed the talk button again. “Bobby, where are you?”
No response.
She was about to try again when someone ahead whispered, “Over here.”
Brad Delgado waved to them from behind an abandoned car sitting on the road. With him was Warren Palmer.
“Where’s Jack?” Blake asked as soon as he and Tamara joined them.
“He went for a look around the bend,” Brad said, pointing ahead at where the highway curved out of sight. “Should be right back.”
“I think something might be wrong with Bobby,” Tamara said to Blake. “He should have answered.”
“Let me try.” Blake took the radio from her. “Bobby, this is Blake. Come in.”
Static.
“Bobby, do you read me?”
Still nothing.
He glanced back at the hill for a second. “Warren, I need you to go check on Bobby.”
Warren nodded and hurried off in a crouch.
Tamara hesitated for a moment before rising and saying, “I’m going with him.”