“Fine, sir, thank you.”

He stepped to the window and peered through. “This is our boy?”

“Yes,” Travis nodded, “that’s him. Eric Lloyd.”

“Good. Let’s go into the conference room and sit down.” He took Nicole’s elbow. “Did Travis tell you I’d like you to monitor this one, Nicole?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Come in with us. I want you to hear Travis’s report.” He guided her out of the room and down the hall to a conference room. He helped her with her chair, motioned Travis toward another, and sat down himself, crossing his legs carefully so as to keep straight the knife-sharp creases in his navy blue, pin-striped business suit. Nicole smiled inwardly. He was, as usual, absolutely immaculate. Not a strand of his short, gray hair was out of place, and his shoes gleamed like polished obsidian. Though in his early fifties, he was as tall and trim as a sixteen-year-old. His pleasant face appeared more solemn because of a perfectly groomed mustache and horn-rimmed glasses that made his pale blue eyes seem larger than they were. He looked more like a banker or an accountant than the most important and powerful man in the Alliance of Four Cities.

“What went wrong?” In his usual blunt way, the Major dismissed further formalities. “How come thirteen Guardians are dead?”

Travis took a deep breath. “Well, let me start at the beginning. As I indicated in my reports, I had no trouble being accepted in the village. After I was let off by the men, I spent three days circling around to come in from the south. I had food enough for only one day, so by the time I stumbled into the valley, I looked pretty authentic.”

“They had no idea where you were from?”

“No. I told them I had been with a small group of families living in northern Utah who had been caught by a group of roaming bandits—the villagers called them the Marauders. I said I was the only survivor.”

“Good, good.”

“I hid the radio transmitter away from the village.” Travis smiled. “It wasn’t always easy to slip away. That’s why I missed a couple of reports.”

“I understand.”

“Anyway, the village accepted me very quickly. In fact,” he added modestly, “normally, Eric would have been left in charge of the village defenses. His father is the accepted leader for the village, but surprisingly, Eric is viewed as the second in command.” He paused. “Well, actually, that isn’t really too surprising once you come to know Eric. He is very much like his father—bright, resourceful, courageous, and personable. I told Nicole that he’s a natural leader, and the villagers see that too.”