CHAPTER 42
The sound came a halfsecond after the flash—a deep, percussivecrackthat rolled through the trees and shook the ground beneath her feet.
The floodlights swayed. Someone shouted.
A second sound followed, lower and longer, like a structural collapse somewhere deep in the forest.
Then everything went completely silent.
Kori’s ears rang.
She spun toward the forest. A thin column of orange light rose above the canopy, maybe a quarter mile in—flickering at its edges, fed by whatever had just ignited.
Wyatt moved past her, his hand on his radio. “Graham!”
Graham was at the command table with another officer, both of them talking over each other. A burst of broken transmission came through the radio. The voice sounded clipped and urgent, the words fragmented by interference.
She looked at Wyatt. His face had gone still.
“They left a welcome behind,” he muttered.
She looked back at the column of fire above the trees. It was already brighter.
These people hadn’t abandoned their location.
They’d prepared it.
“Was anyone hurt?” she asked.
Graham turned. “Unknown. Entry Two was approaching structure three when—” He pressed the headset closer. “Stand by.”
The radio crackled again.
Everyone in the staging area went still, each of them watching Graham’s face and waiting for the answer.
Wyatt was at the command table when the second transmission came through.
“Entry Two, report.” The senior trooper’s voice was clipped and flat. “What is your status?”
Static.
Then, “Two officers down. Non-critical. Concussive blast, possible shrapnel. We need medical.”
“Copy that.” The trooper was already gesturing at the officer beside him. “Get the medics moving. Now.”
Wyatt reached Graham’s side. “How far in were they?”
“Thirty yards past the perimeter of structure three.” Graham’s eyes stayed on the radio. “A trip wire had been set up in the woods behind some of the structures.”
The medics were already pulling equipment from the back of the van, moving fast. Two of them disappeared into the forest with a litter between them.
Wyatt turned and looked back at Kori. She stood behind him, close enough to hear everything. Her face looked pale in the floodlight, but her eyes remained sharp.
She gave him a brief nod that meantI’m fine; keep going.
He turned back to the table.
The state trooper in charge—Galvez—had pulled up a map of the compound layout on a tablet and was marking structure three with a red pin. “Entry One, hold your positions. Do not approach the perimeter. Repeat—do not approach.”
