Winter Hawk's Legend. Aimee Thurlo

waved goodbye and walked to the front porch.

       Chapter Four

      As the owner of TechTalk Incorporated, Holly was her own boss, but she still had to answer to her clients. Martin Roanhorse wasn’t as difficult as most, but he could be demanding, particularly when things weren’t flowing as smoothly as he wanted. Right now, from the look on his face, she could tell that something had upset him.

      “I heard about the incident last night,” he said as she took the seat he offered. “You shouldn’t have been wandering around alone outside, particularly after what happened here yesterday.”

      Since it was barely eight in the morning, she was surprised to find out he already knew of the attack. “I was on my way to meet someone,” she said calmly. “In case you’re worried, I don’t think it had anything to do with my job.” She paused then added, “How did you find out so quickly?”

      “I spoke to Daniel Hawk this morning.”

      She blinked. “He’s already here?”

      He nodded. “Down the hall. He’s going over a scheduled training op with our security team. The briefing started at daybreak,” he said, then quickly got back to the matter at hand. “Have you heard anything from the Hartley police?”

      “No, not yet.”

      “Your work is important to the tribe, Holly, so I’m authorized to provide you with protection if you think it might be necessary. Just say the word,” he said.

      Martin’s offer caught her off guard. She’d worked all night to convince herself that what had happened was the result of an unlucky set of circumstances, nothing more. Having to once again face the possibility that she might continue to be a target made a cold shiver race up her spine.

      She took a breath, trying to calm herself down. Forcing all doubts and fear from her voice, she answered Martin. “Thank you very much, but that’s not necessary. I really think it was an isolated thing.”

      “But you can’t be sure,” he said, voicing the thought that whispered from the dark corners of her mind. “Let’s keep the offer on the table for now, just in case.”

      She started to argue, then stopped. Creating problems or encouraging needless confrontations wasn’t her style.

      “When you called this meeting, you mentioned that you had a new assignment for me,” she said, bringing him back to the business at hand.

      Martin nodded. “Some of our investors are still concerned that this facility will be vulnerable to sabotage, especially after it became clear that our new exploration and recovery operations are being challenged. So I’d like you to go meet Daniel Hawk and observe today’s special training exercise. A team of ex-police officers acting as terrorists will mount an assault and our own security people will have to counter it. It’s meant to test the effectiveness of the protective measures we have in place. Afterward, I’d like you to present our investors with the results of the exercise, which I believe will be positive. Just don’t give out details of the actual tactics we use here. Those have to remain classified.”

      “Is the exercise going to include this building?” she asked.

      “No, that would disrupt other business. The target is the new building behind this one, which is still just a shell at the moment. Arthur Larrabee will be directing the assault team. Do you know him?”

      “The name sounds familiar…” she said, trying to place it.

      “He’s running for city council over in Hartley.”

      She smiled and nodded. “Now I remember. He started campaigning early. Elections are six months from now.”

      “Larrabee’s an ex-police officer who also teaches police science classes at the college. We needed someone who could seriously challenge Daniel Hawk’s strategies and tactics, and that was tough to find. Most of the top people in that field are already at work in other facilities.”

      “Hawk—he’s that good?”

      “You better believe it,” he said without hesitation. “Larrabee’s his equal, though—at least on paper.”

      “Better at the job?”

      “No, not better,” Roanhorse said slowly. “Their methods are different, that’s all. Larrabee’s strategy is to deploy large, heavily armed security forces. Hawk…” His voice trailed off as he thought about it. “Hawk’s tactics call for small, highly trained teams.”

      “Size doesn’t always matter,” a familiar voice said from behind Holly. As she turned, Daniel smiled and entered the office. “A handful of highly trained experts can block access to the most vulnerable targets and neutralize any intruders.”

      “That sounds logical,” Holly said.

      “Larrabee hasn’t made his move yet, but everything’s in place,” Daniel said.

      “Then take Ms. Gates with you and brief her, Daniel,” Martin said. “Make sure she knows what parts of the operation need to remain secret.”

      “Roger that.”

      Daniel led the way out of Martin’s office and walked with Holly down the hall. “My observation post is at the far end of this building. We’ve got an extensive camera network there that will help me monitor each phase of the exercise.”

      She followed him into a small office and saw a myriad of screens mounted on shelves. He pointed to the only seat, an office chair on casters. “Go ahead, sit. I prefer to stand.”

      She took the chair. “Can you give me a rundown on what you expect to take place?”

      “No time. It’s starting,” he said, pointing to one of the screens as he adjusted his small headset. “Vibration detectors in the ground have picked up footsteps outside the back fence. Those men at the front gate are probably only a diversion meant to misdirect our security officers.” He used the mouse to open a second view of three other, armed men scaling the perimeter fence with a ladder.

      “They have guns. I thought this was only a drill,” Holly said quickly.

      “It is. Everyone’s wearing sensors, and those tubes on the barrels are lasers. They’ll be shooting light, not bullets.”

      “Like laser tag.”

      “Pretty much.” He checked the other screens and saw two men approaching a camera alongside the key building. One stood on the other’s shoulder and placed a piece of tape over the lens. Immediately another camera across the compound focused on the act, covering and recording it. Next, one of the men brought out a handful of keys and began trying them on the lock.

      “The bad guys wouldn’t have keys, would they? Wouldn’t they just blow the door?” Holly asked.

      “Yeah, but we can’t afford to keep buying new doors and locks just for a training op. The amount of time needed to find the right key is a variable, just like the time it takes to place the explosives.”

      There was a tone that came over a speaker, and the man covering the one with the keys turned around, shaking his head.

      Holly saw a small device strapped to his chest, now blinking. “He’s been shot, right?” Holly asked.

      There was another beep. The one with the keys turned around, mouthing an easy to recognize curse. “Yeah, and we just got the other one, too. Snipers are covering the building exteriors and the walkways between structures. Our tactics funnel any assaulting personnel into capture or kill zones.”

      “What about those men out front, creating the diversion?” Holly looked back at the front gate.

      “They’re locked out. Another gate will swing shut if they somehow get past the first team of guards. There’s also a metal plate in the road that’ll keep anyone from crashing through in a vehicle.”

      “What