Page 62 of Twilight Tactics

With a shrug, the guy dropped his gaze.

“So, you forgot about the whole ‘if I cooperate, there’s a better chance that I won’t rot in a prison cell’ thing?”

Spencer sighed and looked up. “Dude, I’m at the bottom of the food chain. I do what I’m told, but that’s it.”

Sully held his gaze as if trying to see into the depths of hisbrain. Then there it was. Elena saw a little flicker of something. Like Spencer had a piece of information he could share but was thinking twice about it. Sully must have seen it too. “No, you know something.”

“I don’t.”

“You do. Spill it.”

But the young man leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I can’t.”

“You’re scared.”

“You would be too if you—” His lips snapped together.

“If we what?”

“Nothing.”

Elena walked over. “Is Iris Higgins still in that camp?”

His eyes opened wide and he nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

“And Shorty?”

Now he frowned. “How do you know them?” He straightened. “What do you know? Who are you?”

“Just someone who knows people.” She walked back inside to think. She turned to see Sully standing behind her with his hands planted on his hips. He opened his mouth only to be interrupted by Maya’s return to the kitchen.

Seeing the look on the woman’s face sent concern shooting through her. “What is it?”

“Just concerned. Gideon is joining in the patrolling of the perimeter and I’m worried. Not just about him, but about all of them.”

“They’re being careful,” Sully said. “Especially now that they know someone might have them in the crosshairs.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand. What was the purpose of sending that kid out to shoot at people along the fence line? What are theydoing?”

“It was a diversion,” Elena said, “not the diversion for the reason I thought, but definitely a diversion. Only ... to takeour focus away from ... what? No one made a move on Ollie here at the cabin, so ... what?”

“Maybe they don’t know where she is.” Sully rubbed his chin. “Or it could be so that everyone was distracted, giving a team of them the time to start setting up the signal jammers.”

“They’d have to have a number of them, and they’d have to be powerful units,” Piper said.

Maya rubbed her hands over her thighs. “I know there are battery-powered ones, but seems like for this big of an area they’d need electricity.”

“They have a building that contains a power station,” Elena said. “It’s guarded and most people don’t have access to it, but some of the leaders like to keep up with the news. At least that’s the way it was when I was there.”

“But they’d have to run wire to any battery-powered jammers to keep them charged,” Sully said. “That wouldn’t work.”

“Or they just have extra battery packs to switch out when the jammer gets low,” Ollie said, coming back into the room.

“Or that,” Sully agreed.

“Yes,” Elena said, “they’d use the power station at the compound to keep the backups charged, then when it’s time, change them out to keep the signal strong.”

“Okay, we’re going to find a way to work, should that be the case, but first things first. We need to deliver this guy to the sheriff since we can’t get a call out to him.” He went to the door and stuck his head out. “David, you ready for a ride?”