“Five?” Agent Cueto crouched next to Franks. Even under Myers he had been the Strike Team’s operational leader, but he had never been the kind of commander content with staying in the rear and giving orders. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

Franks nodded. This place was way too big for that few people. “Archer. What size is the facility?”

“Ground penetrating radar is still doing its sweep. There are at least two floors below you. It covers a lot of ground. I haven’t even gotten to the back of it yet.”

“We’ve got us a bug hunt,” Cueto said. “All the STFU people are going to be hiding and we’re going to have to dig them out like ticks. That’s always fun.”

“Worse. More exits.” Franks wasn’t happy. His force and his time were limited. He had agents above, including some on sniper overwatch, but if this place was that large, then Stricken and Kurst could have potential escape routes he couldn’t even see. Unless they were stupid enough to stick their heads out right in front of his snipers, the odds of them escaping had just increased exponentially.

Franks hadn’t noticed Gutterres approach. The Secret Guard was extremely good at moving quietly. “Leave a squad on this door.” Franks nodded toward the ladders to the right. “Have the Swiss clear the right.” Gutterres started giving orders. Then Franks looked to Cueto. “Send a squad of MCB to clear left.”

“You heard the man, Bravo Team, move out!” Cueto shouted. “The rest of us take that factory. If that’s where he’s built Nemesis, that’s our proof.”

“I’m on point,” Franks stated. Nobody argued.

They moved out. The bunker was enormous. There was an open space down the center large enough to accommodate trucks. As inviting as that was, they stuck to whatever cover was available. Despite being underground, so many lights were suspended from the tall ceiling that it was actually extremely bright. Most of the surfaces were stainless steel or painted white so that it seemed rather sterile.

“Have your flashlights ready,” Cueto ordered on the radio, “in case they blow the lights when they counterattack.”

“That’s what I would do,” Franks said. He could only assume Nemesis could see in the dark as well as he could. Better probably, since only one of Franks’ eyeballs was properly treated, and the other one had come from one of MHI’s cadavers and that donor had been nearsighted.

The overhead lights clicked off, plunging the huge room into darkness. The MCB and the Swiss Guard turned on their weapon-mounted lights and hunkered down, waiting for an attack. “Told you so,” Cueto said. Franks waited to the count of twenty and then signaled the nervous men to keep moving.