Both men were silent. Lundquist said, "I think we both know the other."
Isaac looked to the middle distance, speaking to no one in particular. "Or they finally figured out Andie is FBI."
"I'm afraid that's the way I see it too, sir. What do you want to do?"
"Start a dialogue."
"Specifics?"
"I want a negotiation team activated. Set up a mobile unit as our forward command post."
"Problem is, there's no phone service to the farm." "Then get a chopper to drop a cell phone on their fucking heads. If that doesn't work, use a loudspeaker. Just stay out of sniper range."
"What about our own snipers?"
"Advance two of them. Just to observe at this point." Lundquist didn't jump.
"Let's move!" said Isaac.
"Isaac, I'm all for opening up the lines of communication. But let's not forget that somebody on that farm is in all likelihood responsible for the strangulation of at least five people. Six if you count Meredith Borge, seven if you count Shirley. If they know Andie is an FBI agent, talk isn't going to get her out."
They locked eyes, then Isaac said, "Put SWAT on alert. Two teams. If we have to go in, I want them in position." "Will do. Anything else?"
"Yeah," said Isaac, his voice low and serious. "No show of force till I give the word. We negotiate as long as possible. In the meantime, be damn sure that SWAT stays out of sight."
Andie watched from the doorstep outside her barracks, feeling like the only person on the farm who wasn't in high gear. One after another, a stream of men and women hurried past her. They carried nondescript boxes of food and supplies from the barn to the main house. Some of them looked frightened. Others were angry. All of them seemed to know what to do.
"Come on, Willow! Give us a hand!"
A group of women raced by her, but Andie couldn't match the voice to a face. Standing around wasn't the kind of thing Willow would do. But Andie had a growing sense that she wasn't long for the role.
Obviously, something had made the cult leaders feel as though an attack from outside were imminent, but she couldn't say what specifically had triggered the decision to fortify the compound. In her last phone contact, Isaac had promised to set up spot surveillance of the farm. Maybe they had discovered one of the agents. Or perhaps Isaac had decided to increase the pressure without telling her. Some new break in the serial killings could easily have triggered a roadblock or even the deployment of SWAT around the perimeter. Andie needed to get up high where she could see what was going on. *
She ran from her unit to the back of the barn. A ladder led to the hayloft. She climbed quickly and moved to the opening in front, where she hoped she might be able to see out to the main road. Tonight it was too dark to see to the end of the driveway. If law enforcement was out there, it was a furtive effort with no show of force. There were no swirling lights, not even the glowing orange dot of a cigarette in the darkness. From this vantage point, however, she did have a better look at the men on the ladders who were putting the shutters on the main house. They were thirty yards away, but Andie could see the automatic pistols holstered at their sides.
A gunshot cracked through the barn wall. Another pop, another shattered board. Suddenly the walls were exploding from a barrage of gunfire across the face of the barn, the old wood splintering like kindling. Andie dived low as shots whistled over her head. Screams erupted from the main house, where the metal shutters rattled with fully automatic gunfire. Andie looked up just as one of the men on the ladders was hit several times. He tumbled down the rungs and hit the ground with a thud. He didn't move. Dead. Two others lay dead on the roof.
An attack! Why?
The semi-organized human supply line from the barn to the house had now completely scattered, people running scared. "Get inside!" someone shouted from below.
Andie smelled smoke. Flames erupted behind her. A fire was ripping through the barn, devouring the loose and baled hay in the loft. She couldn't go back to the ladder. The flames were out of control behind her, but the front of the barn was still being pelted by gunfire. With no other choice, she jumped from the loft and ran from the flames, keeping low to the ground. Frightened horses raced from their smoke-filled stalls and nearly stampeded her. Another barrage of gunfire cut down a woman just twenty feet ahead of her. Andie ducked behind one of the sleeping barracks. Others screamed and ran for the house or the barracks, any place they could find cover.
A spray of gunfire shattered the windows above Andie's head. She pressed her whole body to the ground, as low as she could get. She was frightened but even more shocked. The FBI had fired first. No warning.
What in the hell are you idiots doing?
Chapter Sixty-Four.