“Uh … ” I realized that I hadn’t really thought through a good, convincing explanation. Other than the straight truth, which come to think of it would probably net me an appointment for a psych eval. Dad knew at least part of the story by this point, but the chief, not so much.

“Short answer—really short answer—the mercenaries work for a group that’s in direct competition with the group we’re working with. The stakes are a lot higher than we realized, and it’s way, way beyond simple corporate espionage.” That was almost not a lie, and it was mostly for the chief’s benefit. I felt both proud and ashamed.

“There were some people in business suits,” my dad replied. “Did you see where they ended up?”

And there was my chance. “Over the hill.” I pointed in the general direction of Nat’s ex-employer. “I don’t think they expected a firefight. Or for the cops to show up so fast. They may be based in the Tate Industrial Park.”

Rogers nodded slowly. “All right. We’ll bring in a chopper and do an aerial search. Thanks, Jack.”

During this exchange, the other cops had been bundling up the mercs for transport and collecting weapons. Rogers started to turn away, then stopped. “Herman, we’ll send around units to remove these vehicles from your front yard. ‘Fraid I can’t do much about the bullet holes in your porch, though.”

“I’m more concerned about cleaning up the idiot who tried to kick in my door. No way I want Janice having to deal with that.”

Rogers nodded. “I’ll have Forensics take care of it. You take her out for dinner or something.”

The two men parted with something more than a nod but less than a salute. I saw my opportunity. “I’m going to check that nothing in the barn was disturbed. You should take the chief’s advice. I’ll watch the fort.”

Dad cocked his head and gave me an appraising stare for a moment, then smiled. “Okay. But call me if there’s any kind of issue.” He turned and started to leave, then stopped. “Oh, by the way, there’s a letter for you from MIT. Might be important. It’s on the kitchen counter.”

I was just coming out of the house when a set of stairs descended from midair and people began trooping down. They appeared to be human, all male, and seemed to come in two sizes: more or less normal height and basketball-player height. One of the basketball players walked directly to me. “I am Senior Tactical Officer San-Joh, representing Commander Nond and leading this cleanup operation. You are one of the representatives from the Halo Mahste?”