By now, darkness had fallen, and he could pick up lights scattered through the trees. He was able to discern where the woods ended and the area opened up. He slowed, stopped, and got down on one knee and just listened. Two different voices could be heard. He smelled cigarette smoke and the odor of food being cooked. He made a quick check of his gear. He always secured it so that it would not move at an inopportune time and make noise, possibly alerting his presence to anyone. Very cautiously, he kept moving. Arriving at the edge of the tree line, he found a tree with a nice V in the trunk and stood behind it. He could now clearly see the eight cabins. He was opposite the sixth building, counting from his left. All the cabins appeared alike — small rectangular structures, each with a nice, covered, full-length porch on the front. A paved driveway ran up to each. Styles realized the entire road system was paved. That cost someone some bucks. Two trucks, a full-size van, and a newer BMW were parked. He decided he wanted to check the back. He slowly made his way around the end unit. Security seemed unusually lax. Probably a hell of a lot different up at the house. Arriving at the rear, the tree line was only fifty feet from the buildings. It was interesting that the tree line followed the curve of the buildings. Or probably the buildings were built to follow the natural curve of the tree line.
In his camo and paint, Styles was virtually invisible. Only with light at his back producing a silhouette would he be seen. There was still no sign of any real security measures. Weird. He watched the cabins for a full half hour. Three were dark; five had lights on. He started with the end cabin on his left. Proceeding in that direction would keep him on track to the main house. Though the cabins had blinds on the windows, none had been pulled. The first two cabins, lit, showed men eating dinner. Two in the first cabin, three in the second. Styles moved on. Cabin number three was dark. Cabin number four was lit. Suddenly, Styles froze. Light spilling out of the window revealed a set of rungs leading to the roof. Guard platform. He studied the roof for ten minutes. He scanned the roofs of the entire complex with his night-vision goggles. No sign of anyone. He waited ten more minutes and then cautiously continued. Cabin number four had a woman sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper. Dressed pretty nice to be reading a newspaper. Cabin number five also had lights on. Styles eased his way over toward it. He froze.
Standing less than twenty feet from him was Rijah Ellhad, former captain in the Iraqi Republican Guard. He was standing in front of a mirror in his bedroom. He was brushing his hair. Getting ready for a date with the girl next door. Styles decided to wait, which wasn't long. Within five minutes, the light switched off. Next, the kitchen light extinguished. Then he heard a door open and shut. Twenty seconds later, a knocking was heard, and then voices, both male and female, and then the sound of a door closing. Seconds later, a vehicle door opened and closed. Styles thought hard. Has to be the dark BMW. Then another door opened and closed, and he heard the sound of a car starting. Definitely the BMW. He heard the car back out of the driveway and then proceed down the long drive that had to have led to, and past, the main house. Styles went to Ellhad's bedroom window. It wasn't even locked. Slowly, he raised it and climbed in. He put on his night-vision goggles and navigated the cabin with ease. He placed a self-stick listening device under the front edge of the kitchen countertop, next to a wall-mounted telephone. He placed another one in Ellhad's bedroom, behind the mirror that Ellhad had just been using. Styles quickly searched the cabin. The only item of real interest was four boxes of nine-millimeter ammunition, but no gun. He thought for a second and then went into the bathroom and retrieved his cell phone. He texted Starr, "Strong possibility Ellhad heading to restaurant with date. Armed. 9 mm. Don't be spotted. Driving new BMW." Replacing his cell phone, he headed back to the window through which he'd entered. Easily slipping back out, he left it as he'd found it. He made his way past the next two cabins, which were dark, coming upon the last building, which was lit. He checked to be sure there was no light behind him to cause a silhouette. Satisfied there was none, he carefully looked inside through the bottom left corner of the kitchen window. He saw four hard Middle Eastern men whom he clearly heard celebrating the death of the American president. It took all Styles's self-control not to shoot the men. Later…
Having checked the cabins, it was on to the main house. Through his earpiece, he could hear a double squelch, the signal that a conversation was desired. He walked past the tree line into the woods.
"Yeah," he said quietly.
"Phillips found something. She thinks there's a strong possibility that Ryyaki Ali may have also been involved with the death of the president. A credit card that tracked back to him was used at that camping store and also at a gas station an hour outside Baltimore," Starr said.
Styles could feel every hair on his body stand on end. "Got it. This is recon only. Out." He paused to think about what he'd just been told. It was obvious this Ryyaki Ali not only had money and connections but one hell of a network. Breaking that would be as important as anything else. Suddenly he found himself thinking about how easy it was when he was just a sniper. At least at that particular moment it seemed easier. He started moving, following the paved road. After ten careful minutes, he started to see lights through the trees.
Another double squelch. Once again, he retreated back into the woods.
"Yeah."
"Phillips has security info on Ali's house. You name it, he has it. Apparently no dogs, though. But figure on everything else," Starr passed along.
"Got it." From here in, he would become a ghost. Throughout his career in the Middle East, Styles had become familiar with the manner in which security measures were employed. He suspected motion detectors, pressure plates, and even lasers. His night goggles would pick any laser beams up; it was the pressure plates that he would have to be careful with. He estimated he was two hundred yards from the house. He figured that the serious security would start about a hundred yards out. He carefully made his way until he was within fifty feet of what he considered no-man's-land. He got down on all fours. From here in, he would crab and crawl. He took out a dimly lit magnetic compass. Every sensor plate he'd seen was comprised of metal. If he approached one, the needle on the compass, being magnetic, would react. Simple but effective.
Ever so slowly, and silent as a cat, he proceeded. He was eighty yards out when the needle on the ever-so-lightly-glowing compass swung counterclockwise to Styles's left. He held it at a ninety-degree angle, and the needle pointed at a severe angle down. Styles estimated the device was possibly two feet to his left. He carefully moved sideways a foot and then continued. He saw the compass needle react as he crawled away. He made a mental note of its location. He came across two more sensor units before he came to the edge of the tree line. Surprisingly, there was no fence. He did see two guards with assault rifles slung from their necks on either side of the drive, one hundred feet from the semicircle that pulled up to and past the massive front doors. The entire area in front of the entrance was covered to protect guests from rain.
He took his binoculars and switched off the night-vision option. He glassed the house carefully. He caught sight of two more guards on platforms on the roof. He carefully flanked the two guards' positions, which brought him behind the one guard who could potentially see him. The second roof guard was now out of his line of sight. He wanted to get close to the house but didn't want to be discovered. That was imperative. He used his binoculars to carefully search for motion detectors and found four under the eaves. He easily spotted the searchlights that the detectors would trigger. He studied the exact positioning of the motion detectors.