Seconds passed. Then the light disappeared. Nothing but darkness. Or maybe Decker just couldn’t see anything because he was pressed against the ground and had no line of vision. His heart was flying out of his chest. He knew he was going to survive this one, not for his sake, but for Jacob’s. The boy’s chin had been scraped raw. He was shaken. Other than that, he appeared all right.

Martinez spoke first. “Think he has an infrared scope?”

“Probably,” Decker said. “He’s a survivalist.”

“Then we’re daylight,” Martinez said.

Decker said, “If he can see us, that’s true.”

“Then why isn’t he shooting?” Webster said.

“Because he can’t see us,” Decker answered.

Martinez said, “Brush is thick out here. Loo, if you crawl downward staying inside the woods, you stand a good chance. You go with Jacob and I’ll create a diversion.”

“You do that, you might as well put a bull’s-eye on your forehead,” Decker said.

“So what now?” Webster asked.

Decker pulled out his cell phone. The signal was weak, but 911 was able to hear even through the static. “We stay put and wait for fucking backup.”

Several patrol cars arrived minutes later, tires spitting out dust and gravel. Decker could see the cloud of grit even though the black-and-whites had settled down the road from their inconvenient campsite. The cruisers’ immediate arrival, complete with sirens and lights, did not draw out gunfire, leaving all in a state of limbo. Was the shooter still in the house? Had he or she taken off? Maybe the shooter was just biding time, waiting to pick off someone who came into view. It could be that the cops had parked out of the shooter’s line of view. The trick now was to get everyone down the road and safely inside the cars.

Decker whispered into the mouthpiece. “There are four of us…five hundred feet up, on the right side of the road. How many cruisers do you have down there?”

“Two…a third pulled up. Now we have three.”

“Okay. Right now, don’t do anything until we have more metal. You’ve got to call this in because I want a two-cruiser blockade at either end of the road, standard pattern, cars parked grill to grill. I’ll also need a couple of cars to come pick us up. Hold off on the flying power until you’ve delivered us. When you have more vehicles, I’ll give you further orders.”

Decker cut the line.

Jacob said, “We’re just going to wait here?”

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do. Am I smothering you?”

“Sort of.”

“Good.”

Minutes passed by. Distant plaints became loud wails. The road lightened, as light bars threw blue and red strobic blinks onto the dirt. And while the light gave Decker more visibility, it also made them more vulnerable. The phone rang.

“We’ve got six cruisers.”