The Project 04 - Black Harvest

you and I will go inside and set charges. Ronnie, you and Selena outside to cover us with Lamont as backup."
    "What does this stuff look like?"
    "Pepper, Ronnie. Just like pepper."
    "Getting out?" Korov said. "The power will be back on with the fence."
    "Lamont will take out the generators with the .50 when we're ready to leave. No need for quiet by then."
    "When do we go in?"
    "0300 hours. This whole thing depends on getting in without being seen. If they see us we're looking at a heavy firefight with some very pissed off people. But they're rusty. We're not."
    "Forty of them?"
    "Yep."
    "Maybe ten to one odds," Ronnie said. "Makes it an equal fight."

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

    "Be a good crop, this year. Better than last," Bob said.
    Winter wheat laid a fresh green carpet across the Nebraska prairie. Billy Elroy and his brother Bob stood on the edge of the fields. Bob had 2000 acres in wheat and corn, handed down by hard work through five generations. Billy had come to help with the spring corn planting. Disking, fertilizing, getting the machinery ready.
    Billy was in awe of Bob's success. His brother had the gift for growing things. Billy couldn't grow weeds if he tried. He had tried. Everything he planted behind his house died. Finally he'd given it up.
    "You going for the Ethanol thing with the corn?"
    "Nah. Too damn much paperwork. My corn's for people. I got no interest in feeding cars." Bob glanced at the sun. "Getting close to dinner. Mae's got a big salad for you. She knows you like that rabbit food."
    Billy grinned. "Hey, you throw enough stuff in it, it's good. I even brought the pepper." He pulled a glass jar from his pocket.
    "Almost forgot about it. Here 'ya go." He tossed it over to his brother. Bob grabbed and missed. The bottle shattered on a rock. A fine cloud lifted into the air and drifted toward the field.
    "Damn it, Billy." He reached down and picked up the pieces of broken glass. "You're lucky we got plenty. Come on, Mae's waiting."
    The two brothers headed toward the house.
    A gentle breeze blew the contents of the broken jar into the corner of the wheat field.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

    The Texas night was blacker than the inside of the Titanic. Behind them, the flat dirt and rock of the panhandle vanished in darkness. The compound looked like an alien installation on the surface of the moon, all reflections and angles and geometric shapes of metal in the glare of the lights.
    The night was cool. Nick sweated inside the black gear they all wore. Aside from their weapons, Nick and Korov carried backpacks loaded with the explosives and detonators. Everyone wore red goggles against the glare from the lights.
    Their SUVs were invisible, parked beyond the wall of light. Lamont had the Barrett laid across one of the hoods, a scoped M4A beside it. He had a wide view of the compound interior. There was a clear field of fire down the security road between the buildings. He could move right as needed to cover the eastern half of the compound. For the .50 caliber Barrett and scope, distance was no problem. He had plenty of ammo. He'd be fine, as long as he didn't have to pick up the thirty pound rifle and run with it. Nick knew Lamont would do it if he had to, weak arm or not.
    They waited for the substation to blow. Nick glanced at Korov, lying next to him. He seemed relaxed. Nick had to give the guy credit, he was a pro. He knew what he was doing. You could tell. They'd fallen into an uneasy acceptance of each other, masked by needle jabs of humor. Grudgingly, Nick was beginning to like the guy. Too bad he was a Russian.
    "One minute." He spoke softly into his headset. They waited.
    Beyond the compound, a muffled boom. The floodlights died. They pulled off the red lenses.
    "Go."
    They got to their feet and ran to the fence. Ronnie took out the plasma cutter. It was about the size of an electric drill, a masterpiece of military technology. It had a self-contained power supply good for eight minutes. Ronnie pulled welding goggles over his eyes. He fired the torch.
    Plasma cutters used a high voltage circuit to create a small, stable pocket of plasma gas. The main plasma cutting arc ignited when brought into contact with metal. The cutting arc put out 25,000 degrees. It was bright, a necessary risk. They could be spotted, but Nick figured everyone would be busy looking at the fireworks out on the highway.
    In less than a minute and a half, Ronnie had cut a door sized opening in the wire. He dropped the cutter and