Back Deep Sleep Save as PDF
Chapters (72)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. PROLOGUE
  6. PART I
  7. CHAPTER 1
  8. CHAPTER 2
  9. CHAPTER 3
  10. CHAPTER 4
  11. CHAPTER 5
  12. CHAPTER 6
  13. CHAPTER 7
  14. PART II
  15. CHAPTER 8
  16. CHAPTER 9
  17. CHAPTER 10
  18. CHAPTER 11
  19. CHAPTER 12
  20. CHAPTER 13
  21. CHAPTER 14
  22. CHAPTER 15
  23. CHAPTER 16
  24. CHAPTER 17
  25. CHAPTER 18
  26. PART III
  27. CHAPTER 19
  28. CHAPTER 20
  29. CHAPTER 21
  30. CHAPTER 22
  31. CHAPTER 23
  32. CHAPTER 24
  33. CHAPTER 25
  34. CHAPTER 26
  35. CHAPTER 27
  36. CHAPTER 28
  37. CHAPTER 29
  38. CHAPTER 30
  39. CHAPTER 31
  40. PART IV
  41. CHAPTER 32
  42. CHAPTER 33
  43. CHAPTER 34
  44. CHAPTER 35
  45. CHAPTER 36
  46. CHAPTER 37
  47. CHAPTER 38
  48. CHAPTER 39
  49. CHAPTER 40
  50. CHAPTER 41
  51. PART V
  52. CHAPTER 42
  53. CHAPTER 43
  54. CHAPTER 44
  55. CHAPTER 45
  56. CHAPTER 46
  57. CHAPTER 47
  58. CHAPTER 48
  59. CHAPTER 49
  60. CHAPTER 50
  61. CHAPTER 51
  62. CHAPTER 52
  63. CHAPTER 53
  64. CHAPTER 54
  65. CHAPTER 55
  66. CHAPTER 56
  67. PART VI
  68. CHAPTER 57
  69. CHAPTER 58
  70. CHAPTER 59
  71. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  72. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“RIFFRAFF, this is OVERWATCH. East-to-west surveillance run found the camp, which is shaped like an X. In the middle of the X, we spotted five Olive Garden–size buildings and what looks to be an Olympic-size pool, which is empty. I know the restaurant thing is an odd comparison, but that’s all I could think of. Olive Garden or Applebee’s.”

“We get the picture,” said Rich.

“Copy. The middle space with the buildings and pool is mostly open, in the shape of a square, with a few big trees in between the buildings. The structures look to be one story. The cabins are arranged in three rows along each branch, extending outward from the center square to form the X shape. You’re looking at four branches of cabins. Does that make sense?”

Three rows? How many cabins in each row? The camp sounded significantly larger than what would be necessary to host the seventy-three families his mother had uncovered. Even if the actual number was double.

“Yes. Keep sending,” said Rich.

“We spotted a few dozen human heat signatures in the center, at least half of them gathered around two firepits. S’mores with Stalin. We also have a few people walking around the southwest branch of the X. I suspect that’s the active housing branch, because we got no hits in the other three branches of cabins.”

“How many cabins per row in each branch?” asked Rich, clearly on the same page as Devin.

“It’s really hard to tell. The tree canopy is thick, and they built the cabins right among the trees. Before we make a few more passes, I’d estimate twenty. Minimum.”

Marnie elbowed him again before whispering, “That’s way more than your mother found.”

He nodded. “Two hundred and forty at the low end. More than three times the number, if my math is right.”

The threat was far more extensive and potentially damaging than they had originally thought. The stakes for this mission had just been raised.

“Did I hear you correctly? Twenty?” asked Rich.

“Minimum. It might be bigger. I’m sending you waypoint coordinates for the tip of the northeast branch of the X. Looks like your best bet will be to start there and determine how you want to approach the center. The active housing area is on the opposite side of the X, so you should be able to get fairly close to the larger structures without running the risk of detection. We’ll send updates with every surveillance pass.”

“What is your blind time?” asked Rich.

“Six minutes once we pass the camp. Two for the climb and boogie at max speed. Four on the glide back down. I could climb higher and spiral around the camp, but it’s a nightmare to use the camera manually that way. It would be hard to provide real-time data if you got jammed up down there. It’s your call.”