Page 67 of Dark Chains: First Link
That didn't change the tactical reality, though, and every minute past the scheduled drop time increased the probability of detection. The sky was already showing the first pale gray along the horizon, the stars fading as dawn crept toward them. Within thirty minutes, the night-vision goggles would become useless, and the darkness that currently concealed their presence would dissolve. Seven soldiers spread across a rocky coastline at sunrise would need an explanation far more creative than a routine perimeter inspection to justify their presence.
They didn't see the drone land, but at zero five twelve hours, Number Four caught a faint pulse at three-second intervals, barely visible even with his goggles. Eighty meters south of the center of the coordinates, which was within the expected accuracy range but far enough from the primary search area that it would have taken much longer to find without the infrared signature.
The other six converged on Number Four's location.
The casing had landed in a crevice between two volcanic rocks, wedged at an angle that would have made it almost invisible even in daylight. As one, they removed their night-vision goggles, and Number Four crouched to carefully work it free, then turned it over in his hands. It was indeed matte black, and it felt warm from the beacon's heat output. It was roughly the dimensions of a cigarette lighter, exactly as Onegus had described.
He opened it while the others watched.
Inside, nestled in foam padding that had absorbed the impact, were two components. The receiver was astonishingly small, a curved sliver barely larger than a fingernail, designed to sit inside the ear canal. The transmitter disc was flat and round, about the size of a coin, with an adhesive backing protected by a peel-away cover.
Both intact. No visible damage.
Number Four closed the casing, and the seven of them headed back to the Humvee. The sky was lighter now, the gray deepening into the first hints of blue, and the urgency of departure registered in the collective's awareness.
They were about fifty meters from the outcropping when headlights appeared on the service road above the ridge.
The seven kept walking because stopping would look even more suspicious than their being there, but eight minds snapped into tactical assessment.
A patrol vehicle, light utility, open-topped, carrying four soldiers. Descending the slope, it was on a track that would bring it within a hundred meters of the Humvee.
This stretch of coast was not on any standard patrol route. Which meant either a random sweep or someone had noticed the Humvee and reported it.
Through the collective awareness, Number Seven was informed about the approaching vehicle even though he couldn't see it yet.
We need to intercept them before they reach the Humvee, Number Three thought.
Number Seven stepped out and leaned against the driver's side door with his arms crossed, assuming the casual pose of a soldier waiting for his unit to return.
The patrol vehicle stopped. Its headlights illuminated Number Seven and the Humvee in harsh white light, and a figure climbed out of the passenger seat.
The commander was a mid-ranking officer. Not senior enough to be in Kolhood's inner circle, but experienced enough to recognize that this vehicle and the soldier leaning against it had no business on the southeastern cliffs at zero five fifteen hours.
As he walked toward Number Seven, he pulled out his radio.
The collective reacted instantly, but not fast enough.
"This is patrol seven-twelve," the commander said into the radio as he closed the distance. "Reporting contact with an unauthorized unit. Grid reference four-seven-niner. Time zero five sixteen hours. Over."
The radio crackled. "Copy, seven-twelve. Logged. Over."
The report was transmitted, received, and logged before the Eight could do anything to prevent it. The duty station operator had the information.
It was in the system.
Their background processing immediately began calculating damage. Who monitored the duty station logs? How quickly were they reviewed? Did Kolhood have people scanning for anomalies in Dave's movements?
The commander clipped his radio back to his belt and stopped three meters from Number Seven, his posture neitherhostile nor deferential. But as he glanced at the other seven approaching from the rocky terrain, the widening of his eyes and the tightening of his shoulders indicated that he recognized them as the eight enhanced soldiers who had been making rounds, conducting inspections, and reporting their findings to Losham.
"What's your unit doing out here at this hour?" he asked.
By then the seven had reached the Humvee, and the commander's eyes shifted to Number One because everyone on the island knew that he was the spokesman for the Eight.
"Perimeter inspection," Number One said. "We've noticed that this section of coastline has inadequate patrol coverage. We added it to our rotation to assess and report."
"Since when?"
"Since now."
