The small towns surrounding Quantico offered a wide variety of settings for homeowners to choose from. Many of the neighborhoods were conventional, with mailboxes at the curb and homes facing the street—like they were stamped out of the terrain with a cookie cutter.

Some sat along the Potomac River, giving a view of the Maryland border on the other side. Another option was a more rural setting—carved out of the Virginia forest, with homes situated within a densely-wooded oversized lot.

I’d strategically selected my home because it was surrounded by mature trees and sat deep in the two-acre lot, away from the immediate view of anyone passing by. Access to the home by vehicle required one to pass through a gate and drive up a lengthy driveway, giving me ample warning that a visitor was approaching.

The gated entrance didn’t prevent someone who was willing to traipse through the dense vegetation from entering on foot. If they chose to, security lighting illuminated the zone they had entered.

A splinter of moonlight seeped through the window, illuminating the interior of the garage. I flipped the breaker that powered the outside security lighting. Through the window, I watched as the terrain went black.

I suspected whoever had been sent to eliminate us was fitted with a night vision device. The standard military NVD transmits infrared light, which is invisible to the naked eye. Through the device, the user can see no differently than if he were searching through a darkened room with a flashlight. One disadvantage is that all the projected images are various shades of green. One must scan through the sea of green and attempt to identify shapes that pose a threat. That process requires a trained eye and a moments’ time.

A thermal night vision device, on the other hand, allows the user to immediately identify anything that has a temperature different than its surroundings. A human hiding amongst the vegetation in the pitch-black forty-degree fall temperature would be projected as a bright white image against a dark gray background. The process of finding an intruder on my property would take a matter of a few seconds.

I opened the garage’s wall-mounted gun safe and removed a silenced M4 rifle that was fitted with a thermal night vision scope.

I’d purposely removed the trees that were close to the home, giving any potential intruder nowhere to hide. Beyond the grassy area that was stripped of the natural vegetation, a forest remained. I suspected my target was hidden somewhere in that forest.

Through the garage window, I peered into the darkness and scanned the front of the property. Just as I suspected, a white image immediately stood out against the nearly black background.

Partially hidden by the trunk of a tree, the side of the person’s face was in view, as was a portion of his left leg.

I let out a sigh of relief.

Using caution to remain as quiet as possible, I opened the window just enough to slip the barrel through the opening. After bracing the rifle against the windowsill, I fixed the sights on the person’s upper thigh.

200 meters to the tree line. Rifle is zeroed at 100 meters. Bullet drop at 200 meters is 3.11 inches.

I took aim three inches above the center of the right knee, drew a breath, exhaled, and paused.

Squeeze it Briggs.

It took the bullet 219 milliseconds to reach the point of impact.

One fifth of one second.

Through the scope, I watched as the target fell to the ground.

I studied the figure.

His hand reached into his pants pocket. He produced what I suspected to be a phone and began to fumble with it.

Hold still. Hold still. There you go…right there…

I placed the crosshairs on the middle of his forearm and squeezed the trigger.

When the bullet made impact, his right arm slammed onto the ground at his side.

Without the use of one leg and one arm, his only viable option was to crawl to his vehicle—wherever it was. To ensure that he didn’t get to his phone before I got to him, I fixed the crosshairs on his one good knee and squeezed the trigger.

White fragments of flesh and bone exploded into the darkness.

He wasn’t going anywhere. My only concern was getting to him before he bled to death.

I scanned the horizon for intruders. Although I had a little less than a 180-degree field of vision of the front yard, I knew there was no one else hidden in the area I searched. Searching behind me would require that I go around the back side of the house. My interest was currently in the front.

I gingerly opened the garage’s side door and stepped outside. With the rifle shouldered, I peered through the scope and scanned the tree line where he lay, writhing in agony.

Convinced there was no one else, I cautiously approached the fallen intruder. At thirty feet away, I recognized him.

Payne.

I mentally shook my head in opposition of what I was seeing.

Marines don’t kill marines.

I stepped to his side, shouldered the rifle, and grabbed his boots. Fearing that someone might later see him before I had time to get rid of the body, I dragged him away from the clearing and into the thick vegetation fifty yards further away from the home.

“You no good son-of-a-bitch,” I whispered. “Why’d you accept this mission?”

Writhing in pain, he clenched his jaw tight and glared back at me.

I pressed the tip of the M4’s barrel against his forehead with such force that I pinned his head against the damp earth. “Why?”

“We’re just…following…Trevino’s orders,” he said through his teeth.

We?

I expected one intruder, not many. My temples pulsed with every beat of my heart. “We? Who’s with you?”

“Fuck you, Briggs.”

I couldn’t waste another minute. It didn’t matter who was with him. Their fate was sealed the moment they stepped onto my property. All I needed to do was find them before they found Val.

I pulled the trigger.