The desert stretched endlessly beneath the moon. Pale sand. Dark rocks. A landscape that had witnessed centuries of silence and would witness centuries more. The compound sat in the center of a basin, surrounded by barbed wire fences and watchtowers. Lights blazed from the windows. Armed figures patrolled the perimeter.
Ethan lay on a ridge overlooking the compound. Binoculars pressed to his eyes. The night vision showed everything. The guard rotations. The entry points. The weaknesses.
Sonya was beside him. "We've identified twelve guards on the perimeter. More inside. Hard to count with the walls."
"Any sign of Ezekiel?"
"Not yet. But he's in there. The informant confirmed it."
Ethan lowered the binoculars. "We go in at midnight. Quiet. Fast. We take out the perimeter guards first.
