He got out of the car and went to the trunk. He grabbed the bag containing the M82 sniper rifle and heaved it onto his shoulder. There was a fire escape overlooking the parking lot and he was able to use it to get to the roof of the building.

Once there, he set up the rifle on its bipod, attached the night vision scope and suppressor, and loaded it with .50 caliber armor-piercing rounds. He scanned the compound through the scope, identifying each building from the satellite surveillance Roth had shown him. He could see that the soldiers had concentrated at the two entrances, the one they’d just passed and another on the west perimeter. There wasn’t a lot of patrolling going on inside the compound. It looked like once they were inside, they’d have a clear path to the institute.

While most of the compound was quiet, the institute itself was a hive of activity. Soldiers and scientists were out front, hard at work dismantling the research equipment and loading it into the backs of military transport trucks.

From the data Roth had given him, he knew that only the inner perimeter fence was electrified. There were guard posts stationed periodically along it, each manned by two guards and a pair of attack dogs, but the posts were too far apart to provide adequate coverage.

Lance scanned the inner fence and found what he was looking for, the transformer that served the electrified fence. He took aim at it, adjusted for wind and atmospheric conditions, and pulled the trigger. A clean bang rang out into the night air.

As soon as the shot was fired, he got up, packed the rifle back into its bag, and climbed back down the fire escape. When he got to the car, the two doctors were leaning on the hood, smoking cigarettes.

“I’m sorry, ladies,” he said. “I’m not disturbing your break, am I?”

“What was that sound?” Olga said.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said.

They stubbed out their cigarettes and he opened the trunk. He pulled out a canvas carrying case and loaded it with plastic explosive, charges, and detonators. He also took the bolt cutters. He put the sniper rifle back in the trunk and shut it.

Throwing the bag over his shoulder he said, “You two ready?”

The women nodded and followed him around the building. They stopped at the street and looked up and down carefully. Everything was quiet on both sides of the fence.

“We’re going in through the fence?” Sofia said.

Lance nodded.

She looked at Olga. “I think you’ve come far enough.”

“What are you talking about?”

“If we go in there, there’s no guarantee we’re coming back out.”

“I know that,” Olga said.

“I have to go in, Olga. This is all my fault. You can still get away.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with this guy,” Olga said.

“Olga,” Sofia pled.