Chapter 56Twenty miles north, four National Guard helicopters thundered down the coastline looking like a horde of mad dragonflies. There was no need for a GPS reading. Hugging the uneven contour of the coast, they were taking the most direct route toward the besieged power plant. Though the broad shoulder of the coastal mountains kept them from seeing what lay ahead, they could see smoke-clouds on the rise, had heard all the mornings' dispatches, and knew it had to be something serious to have pulled them from their beds so early.
Dawn's light revealed a vacant mountaintop where the Sniper had been. Nothing remained except some cigarette butts and the black tarp, which the wind gradually blew toward the eastern edge. A final gust sent it airborne and it soared down into the deep, sycamor
