FortyWith his usual slowness, Nathaniel suspected his presence at CFRC was not required when he saw that several Greenpeace members and Scientologists had swelled the ranks at the gate only to be outnumbered by a new contingent of National Guardsmen. When the sentry at the booth gaped at him as if he were a dead man walking, his suspicions hardened, though he managed a friendly gesture for the fellow to raise his jaw. By the time he perceived that CFRC had overnight been turned into an armed camp, where the rooftop of the main building bulged with sandbags and bristled with rifle barrels, his fears had crystallized. Bill Balustradi alone offered a smile, despite the dagger stuck through his head. Anyone he encountered, all strangers now, gawked uncomfortably for an instant, turned away, ga
