“There's a gatehouse at the entrance, with two guards. One of them was asleep. There's a large pile of rocks about twenty-five yards from the gatehouse, I watched them for about fifteen minutes with the binoculars, and the only activity I saw was when the guard who was awake stepped out to pee. They have a vehicle, it's a military Hummer. I couldn't tell what kind of condition it's in. The best part is that they have power and I could hear a small generator running.”

Bud was more excited than he'd been in a long time by this news. Generators were always in short supply and bringing another one back to camp would elevate him to hero status with the other raiders.

“Did you see any weapons?” Owen asked.

“I couldn't see inside the gatehouse, but the one who stepped out appeared to be carrying an M-16, or maybe an M-4. The light wasn't good; I only got a glimpse of it. I think we should be able to get close enough to take them both out without shooting and waking the rest of their people.”

“All right,” Bud said. “We'll move back up. Tam will lead us to the rocks she hid behind. From there, we'll try to take them quick and quiet. Any questions?”

It took the raiders over twenty minutes to move back into position. The first half of the journey was easy, everyone moving at a crouched run, but the rest of the way the raiders crawled on their bellies through the wet dirt and mud.

Once they reached the rocks, Bud lifted the binoculars he carried and studied the scene in front of him. The only difference that Bud could see from what Tam had said was that there was no sign of the guards. The guards' vehicle was just as Tam described, but they were nowhere in sight.

They waited another ten minutes, but nothing changed. While they waited, Bud listened to the sound of the generator, certain he could hear another mechanical noise coming from much further up. If that was another generator, this was already the most significant find for the raiders in a very long time.

Bud decided he'd had enough; the two guards must be in the gatehouse, sleeping and out of view. He signaled his men and he and Owen led their squads toward the gatehouse. As they approached, Bud was aware that the sound of the second, distant generator almost seemed to be getting louder.

He and four of his men burst through the entrance to the ten foot by ten foot gatehouse with their weapons ready and quickly swept the room. It was empty. No sooner had this registered in Bud's mind, than the generator quit and all the lights went out.