The lights had flickered on with all the movement, illuminating the compound, and Ranger spotted a couple thugs running his direction.

Before he could move, Roy had stopped one of them.

The other ducked behind a tall palm.

“Cover me,” Ranger said, and Roy nodded.

Shots from Roy’s M4A1 peppered the tree and Ranger took off, running for the edge of the house. He ducked under the eaves, sighted, then took out one of the high beam lights that bathed the grounds.

It shattered and blessed darkness dropped over them.

Then he rained down cover for Roy, who followed him. Roy shot out a light over the patio area, and Ranger scooted in, toward the pool house.

More shots to the west, and it started to sound like a real gun battle. “I’m at the pool house,” he said as he reached the door.

Roy had darkened the lights around the perimeter of the pool, then another light, farther away to the west.

Ranger pulled on the mask dangling around his neck and secured it over his nose and mouth. “Breaching Primary.”

He glanced at Roy, who’d also pulled on his respirator, just in case. He’d set up near the door, nodded, and Ranger kicked it open.

Flashed his light over the room. “No joy,” he said, and tried not to let that shut him down. “Moving to Secondary target.”

Pete had figured that the Russians wouldn’t keep the material too close to the house, but still under guard, and— “Where is that other heat source, Base?”

“Twenty feet south of the garage,” Scarlett said.

Roy gestured with his head, and Ranger fell in behind him as they crossed the pool area, back out into the shadows. Roy decimated another light.

“Two more tangos down,” Jake said. “Ham?”

“We’re pinned down,” Ham answered. “Colt is headed around the back. Going to flank them.”

Colt, improvising as usual.

Except, his brother had changed since coming to Florida, had a seriousness about him, something in his eyes that suggested that maybe some of his last few months had impacted him.

Made him taste his own mortality.

Ranger knew the feeling. He sidled up to the edge of a huge three-car garage outbuilding, right behind Roy.

He spotted the target that Scarlett had seen, a man hunkered down at the edge of the house, scanning the driveway.

From here, Ranger could also make out the four men in crouched positions near the house, shooting into the blackness at Ham and his team.

A couple SUVs and a van were parked in the driveway.

Roy pointed to himself, and Ranger nodded as the man rolled out, then hit the door with his foot, breaching. He disappeared inside.

The guard turned at the sound, and Ranger pulled the trigger.

Then he moved into the garage behind Roy.

No lights, but Roy was shining his beam over the contents—a couple trucks, a four-wheeler, some lawn supplies.