"What about it?"
"Those in the Pentagon who oppose the new order could use it against us."
Westlake smiled. For some reason, that smile made the Senate Majority Leader uneasy.
"You don't need to worry about Prometheus," Westlake said. "I've already taken steps to ensure that can't happen."
Martinez picked up the heavy menu.
"Try the duck," Westlake said. "It's very good here."
CHAPTER 22
Breakfast the next morning was more cold rations. Nick, Selena and Ronnie set off through the woods. They'd been walking through the trees for about an hour when the sound of a helicopter passing overhead shattered the peace of the forest.
"That can't be Sam," Ronnie said. "He wouldn't show up unless we called him."
The sound of the rotors changed pitch. The helicopter was out of sight but it sounded to Nick as though the pilot was hovering. A moment later the engine shut down.
"They landed," Ronnie said.
"Only one place they could do that around here," Nick said. "Right where we're going. We must be right on top of it. Go slow. Make sure no one sees us."
A few minutes later they reached the tree line bordering the clearing surrounding the installation. A black helicopter was parked on the landing pad. The door to the cabin was open. The pilot sat inside, writing something in his log book.
A large area had been cleared out of the forest. Two low, white buildings connected by a passageway took up the Southwest corner of the lot. There was a big satellite dish on the roof of one of the buildings, painted white. Six rows of tall antenna towers connected by an orderly grid of wires marched across the rest of the lot.
The building was about a hundred feet from where they lay concealed in the trees. Ronnie had his binoculars trained on the site. He kept his voice low.
"Four men with M-16s in civilian clothes. They look like ex-military. There's a fifth guy, looks kind of geeky. He's carrying a box of something. Geeky's going into the building and the others are taking up position outside."
A generator started up. Lights went on in the building.
"Looks like they only use this place when they need to," Nick said.
"Those people are mercenaries or private security," Ronnie said.
"The helicopter looks civilian," Selena said. "If this was a government operation, wouldn't they use a military helicopter?"
"Not necessarily," Nick said. "But Ronnie's right. These sites are part of a top secret military program. Any military security would be in uniform. Something stinks about this."
"Maybe they're getting set for a repeat of Novosibirsk," Ronnie said.
Nick looked at the scene below.
"I don't like it. Those guys look like they know what they're doing."
"I thought this was too easy." Ronnie waved his hand through a cloud of black flies buzzing around his face."
"Party time," Nick said. "Lock and load."
Selena looked grim. They charged their weapons.
"How do you want to do it?" Ronnie said.
Two of the guards were standing by the side of the building, smoking and talking. One man was out of sight. Nick had seen him going toward the rear of the compound. Nick was about to answer when the fourth man began walking toward the tree line. His face looked strained. He reached the trees, zipped down his fly and began to relieve himself. The stream of urine spattered on the pine needles and landed a few feet from where Nick lay concealed in the undergrowth.
A glance passed between Nick and Ronnie. The guard redid his fly and turned to go back to the building. Ronnie stood, silent as a wraith. With one, fast move he wrapped his forearm around the man's throat, covered his mouth and pulled him back before he left the shelter of the trees. The guard struggled and went limp. Ronnie set him down on the ground.
"One down. Gag him and wrap him up," Nick said.
The men at the building were laughing. They hadn't noticed what had happened to their comrade.
"It won't be long before they figure out he's missing," Selena said.
"We'd never make it across that open space," Nick said. His voice was quiet. "We'll work around to the side, get over to the building and then come around the front and get the drop on them. If they're smart, they'll quit. If they don't quit, take them out."
Keeping low, they moved through the branches to the other side of the building. Now the open space they'd have to cover was only about 30 feet. Nick heard someone calling the name of the missing man. They crossed the gap and started down the wall toward the front of the building.
"Hey!"
The shout came from behind them. The fourth security guard, the one who had walked away earlier, stood at the far end of the building. He raised his M-16. The ripping sound of Ronnie's MP-5 cut short his motion. The man collapsed on the ground.
After that, everything seemed to happen at once.
One of the guards came around the side of the building and fired. The bullets punched holes in the building over Selena's head. Nick fired and brought him down.
They heard the door of the building slam shut.
"Sounds like he went inside," Ronnie said. He risked a quick look. There was no one there. He started around the corner. A burst of automatic fire knocked him down onto the ground.
"The helicopter," Selena said.
They reached around the building and opened up with their MP5s. The pilot was leaning out of the cabin, an M-16 in his hand. The spray of bullets peppered the helicopter and starred the glass. The man yelled and twisted back in his seat. His M-16 went flying. Fuel began leaking underneath the machine. There was a brief flicker of flame, then a sound as though someone had struck the earth with a giant hammer. The craft blew up in a brilliant ball of fire. Debris hurtled into the sky and fell back in flaming bits and pieces. The shock wave from the explosion rocked them with a blast of warm air.
"Whoa," Selena said.
"Keep the door covered," Nick said to Selena. He ran to where Ronnie lay gasping for air. He was wearing one of the new vests. It had stopped the bullets but he'd been hit more than once and an M16 packed a lot of punch. Nick figured him for cracked ribs.
"Can you get up?"
"Yeah. Uhh."
Nick helped him to his feet.
"There's one more guard inside," Nick said. "Plus the geek. Selena and I will go in after him. You cover us as best you can."
"I'm good."
"You scared me for a moment there."
"Yeah. Me too."
Selena stood by the closed door into the building, her MP-5 ready. Nick and Ronnie walked over to her. They were safe for the moment. There were no windows in the front of the building, only the one door.
"Are you okay, Ronnie?" she said.
"Yeah. Not going to be able to move fast, though."
"This could get tricky," Nick said. "We don't know what's inside. This building connects to the next one. The two men left could be in either one."
"You can bet your ass they're waiting for us to come through this door," Ronnie said.
"There have to be other ways to get in," Selena said. "Another door."
A sudden noise made them look up.
"What's that?" Ronnie said.
Nick backed away from the building, keeping his eye on the door. On the roof, the big satellite antenna was starting to turn. He hurried back to where the others were waiting.
"The satellite dish is moving," he said. "They're getting ready to do something. We're out of time. I'll open the door. Selena and Ronnie, you cover me."
Nick stood away from the door and put his hand on the knob. "Ready?"
Selena nodded. Her lips were dry, her heart pumping hard. Nick turned the knob and thrust against the door and ducked back. It flew open.
Nothing happened.
Nick stood on the opposite side of the door from Selena. "Can you see anything from where you are?" he asked.