“Three was patrolling the east perimeter. That’s where the substation transformers and backup generators are located,” Bravo One said.

Sanderson cursed and looked at Vance.

“I’m on it,” Vance said, already heading to the door.

“Take the mule,” Sanderson said, referring to the Kawasaki 4x4 ATV parked behind the guard shack that made getting around the sprawling 120-acre campus more manageable.

Vance nodded, grabbed one of the two Flir Scout III thermal-imaging NV scopes sitting on the table, and disappeared out the door into the rain. Sanderson’s mind was racing at warp speed with all the things he needed to do and for some reason the execution of his list happened at a much slower rate than he needed it to happen. It had been five years since he’d seen real combat and he’d gotten out of practice. The whole thing felt like it was happening to someone else.

“Spotter, Gate—if you haven’t started heading back this way, we’re going to need you,” he said, running down his list of coordinating actions.

“Roger that, I’m hoofing it back now. Gonna set up in flanking position to put those boys in a cross fire,” came the reply.

Sanderson acknowledged the report and then rejiggered the call signs as he stepped out into the driving rain. “Gate is now Alpha Four, Vance is Five, and Spotter is Six. Bravo One, we lost phone comms. You need to let the Center know what is going on and secure the main building.”

“Bravo One, copy,” came the reply, barely audible over the howling wind and rumbling thunder.

What now, what now? . . . Phone it in to HQ, you idiot, he chastised himself as he pulled his mobile phone from his cargo pocket. How could he have forgotten to call it in to Trinity, and how was all this happening without anybody’s knowledge? The Watchers should have seen this coming miles away. I should be the one getting orders and updates, not giving them.

Thanks to the pouring rain, the haptic touch screen on his phone would not react properly to his touch.

“Four, we’ve got incoming,” an operator called in.

Nerves on fire, Sanderson stuffed his phone back into his pocket and raised his night-vision scope, looking down the access road to see three armored INKAS vehicles making the turn onto campus property. One of the APCs turned before the driveway, the second turned onto the driveway, and the third one held back. He understood the strategy immediately. The second APC was going to challenge the barricade and the first was going off road to attempt to circumnavigate the balustrades by driving through the moat and over the berm. In a few minutes, both sides would know which of St. George’s countermeasures could repel a 4x4 Sentry attack vehicle. After they’d stress-tested the defenses, the third APC would charge in and take the path of least resistance.