"All right, let's slow it down. We're getting close."

Achison held up his hand.

"I'm going to move in for a look. Wait here."

He slipped into the trees, making a wide arc to his left. Ahead, he could see the glow of the lighting at the main gate. The next ten minutes were critical. They were so close. He didn't want a mistake now. Worming his way through the trees, he cursed as snow, dislodged by his passage, cascaded down his open collar.

Fifty yards from the access road, he could see the guard station. The main gate appeared to be closed but unlocked.

All six men on duty were present. It was best to know where everyone was. Achison had seen perfectly ordinary missions fall apart because someone had gone off and returned at an inopportune moment. That would not happen tonight.

Achison returned to the rest of his team and filled them in. His intention was to vault the fence and come on the gate from the inside. It would be easier to control the guards and reduce the possibility of a confrontation.

"Look, the next patrol is due in four minutes. When they pass, we'll wait another five. That will give us plenty of time before the next unit comes in. Remember the TV cameras. Louis, I want you to take one out. But just one. Anything more than that will attract attention. Get it now, but keep your eye out for the Jeep."

Louis moved away and headed toward the fence. An electronics specialist, the surveillance camera posed no problem for him. He was back in three minutes, grinning.

"Man, this is gonna be a piece of cake." He rubbed his hands together in satisfaction. "I'm almost disappointed, man. I thought we were gonna have some excitement."

"You want some excitement, just screw up. I'll show you more than you can handle," Achison warned.

"No sweat, man." Louis laughed.

So far everything was going like clockwork. Achison checked his watch. Eli should be in place now, he thought. He hoped his second-in-command didn't have to hit the back door.

A rumble in the trees alerted the men. The next patrol Jeep was making its pass.

"Quiet everybody," Achison whispered. "As soon as they're gone, get ready. We hit the fence in five minutes." The men sat quietly on the snowy ground as the Jeep rumbled past. It was so close, they could hear snatches of conversation from its occupants. Thirty seconds later, it was gone. It was time to go to work. Achison stood and gestured to the others. "Let's go." They checked their weapons and moved toward the fence.

The chain link was topped with coils of concertina wire. Getting over would be tricky.

"Louis," Achison whispered, "is that wire hot?"

"Nope. And I already cut it over by the camera. Just left it in place so the patrol wouldn't notice anything."

"Nice work." Achison thought the guy was too cocky by half, but he did good work.

"Like I said, man. No sweat." Louis tossed a grapple over the fence, letting it catch on the inside of the chain link, then hoisted himself up to pull the concertina wire aside. He continued on up and over, landing with a thud on the inside of the compound. The others followed, their Kalashnikovs slung over their shoulders. Twice, a rifle rattled against the fence. When the five-man team was inside, Achison gave the sign. Swiftly they moved toward the guardhouse at the main gate. All six men on duty were inside. Approaching from the windowless backside, the assault team lined up against the rear of the guardhouse and split in two.

Two men moved to the side away from the gate where they could cover the guards through a window. The remaining two moved to the opposite side, ready to force the door.

Achison stayed in the middle where both teams could see him. When the cover team was in place, he signaled the others. The guards were caught napping.

Four men were seated at a table, playing cards. One was making coffee. The sixth man was lying on a cot, watching the card game.

The guardhouse door burst open with a slam, breaking two panes of glass.

"Nobody move. I mean nobody, understand? Hands up. Now! And don't even think about that alarm button, pal."

Louis was in his glory. He wasn't even sure there was an alarm button, but that's what they said in all the movies. How could it hurt?

Without warning, one of the men at the table pulled his .38 revolver. He got to his feet carefully, backing toward the nearest wall. Partially concealed behind another member of his team, Louis raised his Kalashnikov. The guard reached back with his hand to find the wall. It was a standoff, until Louis fired a burst. The rifle hammered, its noise deafening in the small room. Louis had aimed high.

The burst slammed the guard into the paneled wall behind him. The man grabbed his throat as if to prevent the bullets from striking it. He was too late.

Blood spurted from behind his fingers, staining his shirt and spattering the wall behind him.

No one moved, as if they were all waiting for the echo to die. Then Louis said, "I hope one of you guys has a spare shirt. We were counting on those uniforms." He laughed once, a brittle bark from deep within his throat. "Come on, guys, get their guns. We're on a tight schedule here."

Quickly the other guards were disarmed. Forced to strip off their uniforms, they were then herded into the bathroom of the guardhouse where they were bound and gagged.

The antinuke raiders quickly put on the discarded uniforms. Achison grabbed a large ring of keys and tossed it to Louis.

"You and David get out to the rear gate. Eli's waiting. Take the Jeep outside. Make it fast."

"Right, chief." Louis snapped off a sardonic salute. He was beginning to get on Achison's nerves. Either he didn't realize just how serious this was or he didn't care. Either way, he could be a liability. Well, there were ways to handle that, too, Achison thought. He watched the clown hustle out to the Jeep, relieved not to have to listen to him for a while. And he had work to do. They would have to clean the bloody mess to preserve the appearance of order.

The next obstacle would be the Jeep patrols.

There were four of them, and each had to be captured and replaced. The best place to handle the switch would be at the back gate. Eli would handle it. Anything, an employee going home sick, an unexpected delivery, hell, even a routine late shift arrival, could upset their plans.

Achison checked his watch again. Glinkov would be here any minute. And Parsons. Wait until the bastard found out what was in store for him. Louis roared off to let Cohen and his men in. At the rear entrance he hopped from the Jeep, fumbled with the keys and finally unlocked the gate. Cohen waited in the trees until the gate swung open. The next patrol was due any minute.

"Louis, you and David stay with the Jeep. Put the hood up, like you're having trouble. We'll be in the trees. When the patrol gets here, get the drop on them. We'll back you up. We'll take all the guards out the same way. As soon as that's done, bring the rest of the men to the guardhouse."

"Right."

It worked to perfection. The surprised guards were stripped, bound and gagged, then dragged into the trees.

Two of Cohen's men replaced them in the Jeep and moved off. Cohen thought it ironic that, having taken control of the power station, they had also taken on the responsibility to protect it.

"Louis," Cohen said, "I'm leaving you in charge. I have to talk to Peter. Handle the rest of the teams the same way. When you've nailed them all, meet me at the guardhouse. Got it?"

"Sure thing."

Cohen sprinted off toward the guardhouse, keeping toward the trees to avoid the next patrol. He reached the gate just as a car pulled through. It was Glinkov and Parsons, but where the hell was Rachel?

Glinkov got out of the car as Achison locked the gate. It would not open again. "Peter, I see everything is under control. Mr. Parsons ought to watch you carefully. He might learn a few things."