“Let’s go!” Eric shouted, grabbing Nicole by the arm and breaking into a pounding run for the west end of the dam.

Travis fired at them twice, but the shots were wide and high, and Eric knew he was still afraid of hitting Nicole. He risked a quick glance back as they ran, and saw the earlier scene reversing itself. The only cover on the top of the dam was the elevator tower, and the open doorway was sucking men back into it like a concrete vacuum cleaner. Off to his left, up the lake, the clatter of rifle fire split the mountain stillness. One seventy-year-old man had locked battle with two squads of Guardians.

By the time Eric got off the dam and dragged Nicole up to the ridge where Dick Andreason was methodically firing at flashes of orange, both he and Nicole were gasping for breath. As he released her arm, she dropped to the ground and rolled into a ball, holding her stomach.

“We’ve got them pinned down for now,” Andreason said. “But Cliff won’t be able to delay those others for too long. We’ve got to get out of here.”

“I’ve got to go help Cliff,” Eric blurted between breaths. “Watch Nicole.”

But as he got back up to his feet, their radios blared simultaneously. “Eric, this is Rod. Can you hear me?”

He jerked up his radio. “Yes, this is Eric. Go ahead.”

“They’ve brought your family back into the Visitors Center. If you could draw off the troops to your side of the dam, we think we can get to them.”

The surge of exultation that flashed through him was like a jolt of electricity. “Understood. We’ll do our best.”

“We have a stun gun, but right now the men are afraid to go out on the dam when you command the heights. Get them to come to you—it looks like the Major will leave only a man or two with your family. We’ve held our fire so far, and they have no idea we’re here.”

“Good work!” Eric exclaimed. “We’ll draw them to us.” He turned to Dick Andreason. “All right, Cliffs on his own for now. We’ve got to make it look like we’re falling back so they’ll come after us. Shoot once or twice more, then hold your fire. Let them come clear to the edge of the dam, if necessary, before you open fire. Then we’ll engage them long enough for Rod and Chet to get clear.”

Dick stood up. “Eric, you’ve got to get Nicole out of here. Take two of the horses. I’ll cover the dam.”

“No!”

“Eric, don’t be bullheaded.”

Stubbornly he stood his ground. “Not until I know about my family.”