Nic and Carter took up the far rear of the group of men, staying close to the front entrance as the SWAT team wove their way in and out of the rows of soldiers, using the statues as cover as they approached the front desk of the hotel and ultimately the elevators and stairs that would take them to their target.

Nic watched as the FBI team moved in unison. They reminded him of one of the Chinese dragons, one flesh, a curling snake of power and mighty force, not separate men but connected in mind and body. For a SWAT team leader, it was a thing of beauty and elegance, and even in this brief glimpse, he could see how these men were superior to his Henderson PD team. It was more than discipline and training. It was unity. A group of men who thought and moved as one.

That beauty was shattered when the sound of a high-caliber machine gun burst to life and the point men of the FBI group were cut down by a string of lead and fire.

The team leader screamed, “Cover!”

Each member of the team, including Nic and Carter, crouched low behind one of the terra-cotta soldiers, which would provide little protection against what Nic guessed to be the work of an M60 machine gun, firing 7.62x51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. The machine gun was likely fed by boxes of armor piercing rounds that wouldn’t run out anytime soon. They had walked into a trap.

Nic could hear the groaning of the three wounded point men. Two of the others tried to help their teammates, but they were also cut down by automatic fire, joining their comrades in agony.

This time, however, Nic watched for the muzzle flashes and caught a brief glimpse of the shooter.

“Is it Black Dog mercs?” Carter asked.

“I don’t think so,” Nic replied, pulling out his night vision scope. He scanned the balcony above their destination and saw the two sentries. Not men, but technological enemies. A pair of M60s, one on each side, mounted on swiveling tripods. Sophisticated technology, but not really a surprise coming from an experienced and resourceful mercenary like Kruger.

The sentries were automated protection, machine guns controlled by a computer program and a motion detector and connected to what was likely a virtually endless supply of ammunition.

Nic keyed his radio and said, “Commander, I spot two automated sentry guns on the balcony. M60s. Probably armor piercing.”

“My men are dying up there. We have to try to pull them back.”

“Hold that order. I have an idea.”

“I can’t do that. My men are dying!”

Carter keyed his own mic and said, “Listen to Nic, commander. That’s an order.”

Carter looked at Nic. “You better have a damn good idea,” he said.

“We’re outside the range of the motion sensors where we are. We can pull back safely. Most units like that are going to being using active infrared scanners. And I have an idea on how we can bypass infrared.”