Twenty-four new recruits. Some of them sassy, some of them arrogant, some of them dumb as dirt. Then there were some he rooted for, cheered for silently, like Sam Rainford and Eric Hawkins. A sound of mirth escaped his lips when he thought about how Rainford and her cohorts had taken Donovan. Something he didn’t think was possible. He mentally reviewed her file. Blessed with a phenomenal memory, he had it down pat, all sixteen pages. Right then he thought he knew Samantha Rainford better than she knew herself. The only thing he didn’t understand was her marriage to Douglas Cosmo Rainford, III. That simply didn’t add up. He wondered how she would react to living on the mountain for a whole year. He’d bet this entire mountain she would be included among the one out of three who would adapt. He also knew that, when the year was up, he would have, at best, four agents who made the cut. The others would be set loose to go on their way. None of them would look back. Samantha Rainford would be one of the four. He felt it in his gut. There was a downside to that happening. He would have to ride her hard to make sure she didn’t waffle. He didn’t think that would happen, but when it came to women, he was the first to admit, he knew nothing. Alpha knew more about women than he did.

Pappy blew one last perfect smoke ring before he stubbed out his cigarette. He picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket. Alpha finished his chew at the same moment. They were so in sync, man and dog, that sometimes it boggled Pappy’s mind. He bent over and whispered in the big dog’s ear, “I want you to take care of her, Alpha.” The big dog tossed his head as though to say, I already know that. Pappy grinned in the darkness.

Alpha moved to the center of the compound and waited for his nightly signal. The moment Pappy’s index finger shot forward, Alpha streaked off to release the guard dogs that would patrol the compound until dawn.

This was the moment when Pappy allowed his shoulders to sag as he made his way back to his quarters, the weight of his responsibility heavy on him. Sometimes, he wondered if he’d ever leave the mountain again. It had been his choice to come here, his choice not to leave in the ten years since he’d arrived. Sometimes he missed the world below the mountain, but only sometimes. There was no place for him down there. Not any longer.