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“We have eyes on two shifters, General,” Ike Clanton said.

“Wolves?” Eric asked.

“Negative, sir. Looks like a warthog… and possibly a fox or wolverine,” Clanton responded.

Eric studied the feed on the camera being transmitted back to him. He would only have a fifteen-minute window before the satellite was out of range. His focus moved to two additional heat signatures that entered from the southwest.

“Do not engage. You have two additional bogeys incoming at five o’clock. Satellite range is about to pass. Split the team. I want eyes on both bogeys, understood,” he instructed.

“Roger that, sir, split, identify, but do not engage,” Clanton replied.

“I don’t want anyone interfering with the human. I want to know where she is going and what she is after. Do not engage until you are ordered,” he repeated.

“Roger that, sir. What do you want us to do if either of the targets intercepts the human?” Clanton asked.

“Eliminate the warthog and the other shifter. Let’s see how the human does with the wolves,” he responded.

“Roger that. Retrieval team out,” Clanton stated.

Eric kept his eyes on the satellite image. The first two had crossed the river and taken up a position on the far side. Their heat signatures wavered. He suspected it was a combination of the cold water reducing their body heat and possibly where they were sheltering.

His attention focused on the second two-shifter team approaching the river at a rapid pace from the forest. Those would be the two wolves. He thought of the dossier that he had pulled on the two. They were skilled in combat and extremely intelligent. What fascinated him the most was that the private detective he had sent in to learn more about what was going on at the complex had hinted at a bonding between the two wolves and the human female.

“Fascinating,” he murmured.

“Sir?” the tech asked, looking up at him.

“Let me know when the satellite is back over the site,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir,” the tech responded.

He was turning away when the tech cursed. Frowning, he turned back and watched as the young leopard shifter’s fingers flew over the keyboard. His frown deepened when the image on the satellite flickered before going dark.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

The leopard shifter didn’t look up. He was frantically typing lines of code and cursing under his breath. Sweat beaded on the tech’s brow before he reached over and yanked the power cable out of the wall.

“What’s going on?” the General demanded again.

The tech stared at the blank screen, his eyes slightly unfocused. The tech reluctantly swiveled in his chair and looked back at him with a worried expression.

“We’ve been found,” the tech said.

Irritation flared inside Eric. His eyes flashed to the black screen and the dangling plug. He employed the best hackers in the world.

“By whom?”

“I don’t know, but they are good—very good,” the tech said in a quavering voice.

Eric pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and punched in a button. He was already in motion before the call was answered. A calm settled over him.

“Operator,” a pleasant voice answered.

“Initiate Code Red,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir. Code Red has been initiated,” the Operator replied.

“Sir, what do you want me to do?” the tech asked behind him.