On the way over from Washington, his job had been clarified. He was to insert himself into the Delta Force mission to reconnoiter the ground before they landed. In a case such as this, proper reconnaissance took more than satellite work. Anyway, without Gina, he could not get anything close to the quality of data she had provided.

The few towns he passed through were abandoned, but Langley had identified Gina’s exact location: She was in a spot in Willoughby called the Glade.

He took the long curve that led into the town, finding it as abandoned as the rest of the small communities he had passed through on his way here. Driving down the main street, he saw a badly damaged motel on one side, a coffee shop set amid redwoods, and a shambles called the Glade.

He stopped the car in front and got out. The restaurant door was open but the interior was dark. He stepped onto the wooden porch, into a roaring mass of flies that swarmed around dark, irregular stains on the floorboards.

“Gina?” No response. “Gina, are you in there?” Silence.

He opened his satphone to report to Dick Lamson, who had commandeered Gina’s office. “Dick, I’ve arrived.”

“We see you. This setup of hers is incredible.”

“She’s a damn genius. They both are.”

“What they are remains to be seen.”

“Is there any other activity in town? Because she’s not answering when I call out to her.”

“You’re the only thing moving. Jesus, I’m flying down with a joystick. Man, I can see your face, I’m right in front of you! I didn’t know our satellites could do this.”

“They can’t. It’s her algorithms.”

“Have you communicated about this to the SatCom Unit? Is this being worked on outside of this office?”

It was beside the point, George didn’t care. He wanted to live, not discuss her bullshit.

“Yes,” he lied, to shut Dick up. Of course he’d hidden her work. He’d hidden her not because he knew she was a hybrid, which he did not, not until he read Turner’s notes, but because the whole area was just too sensitive.

“At least that’s something.”

“Look, I passed the area she bombed on the way in. A number of empty official vehicles, two of them burned out. A burned-out farmhouse. A couple of RVs that appeared to be abandoned. The whole region is abandoned. Including this town, and this place.” George gestured toward the Glade.

“Her satphone is on and transponding normally, and it’s in there.”

“Call her, then.”

“You’re right there! Go in!”

The doorway was as dark as the entrance to a cave. The flies clustered in masses.

“Dick, I think they’re all dead in there.”