Strathmore stepped out of his office onto the landing with hisgun leveled. Susan trailed close behind, wondering if Hale wasstill in Node 3.

The light from Strathmore's monitor behind them threw eerieshadows of their bodies out across the grated platform. Susaninched closer to the commander.

As they moved away from the door, the light faded, and they wereplunged into darkness. The only light on the Crypto floor came fromthe stars above and the faint haze from behind the shattered Node 3window.

Strathmore inched forward, looking for the place where thenarrow staircase began. Switching the Berretta to his left hand, hegroped for the banister with his right. He figured he was probablyjust as bad a shot with his left, and he needed his right forsupport. Falling down this particular set of stairs could cripplesomeone for life, and Strathmore's dreams for his retirementdid not involve a wheelchair.

Susan, blinded by the blackness of the Crypto dome, descendedwith a hand on Strathmore's shoulder. Even at the distance oftwo feet, she could not see the commander's outline. As shestepped onto each metal tread, she shuffled her toes forwardlooking for the edge.

Susan began having second thoughts about risking a visit to Node3 to get Hale's pass-key. The commander insisted Halewouldn't have the guts to touch them, but Susan wasn't sosure. Hale was desperate. He had two options: Escape Crypto or goto jail.

A voice kept telling Susan they should wait for David'scall and use his pass-key, but she knew there was noguarantee he would even find it. She wondered what was taking Davidso long. Susan swallowed her apprehension and kept going.

Strathmore descended silently. There was no need to alert Halethey were coming. As they neared the bottom, Strathmore slowed,feeling for the final step. When he found it, the heel of hisloafer clicked on hard black tile. Susan felt his shoulder tense.They'd entered the danger zone. Hale could be anywhere.

In the distance, now hidden behind TRANSLTR, was theirdestination—Node 3. Susan prayed Hale was still there, lyingon the floor, whimpering in pain like the dog he was.

Strathmore let go of the railing and switched the gun back tohis right hand. Without a word, he moved out into the darkness.Susan held tight to his shoulder. If she lost him, the only wayshe'd find him again was to speak. Hale might hear them. Asthey moved away from the safety of the stairs, Susan recalledlate-night games of tag as a kid—she'd left home base,she was in the open. She was vulnerable.

TRANSLTR was the only island in the vast black sea. Every fewsteps Strathmore stopped, gun poised, and listened. The only soundwas the faint hum from below. Susan wanted to pull him back, backto safety, back to home base. There seemed to be faces in the darkall around her.

Halfway to TRANSLTR, the silence of Crypto was broken. Somewherein the darkness, seemingly right on top of them, a high-pitchedbeeping pierced the night. Strathmore spun, and Susan lost him.Fearful, Susan shot her arm out, groping for him. But the commanderwas gone. The space where his shoulder had been was now just emptyair. She staggered forward into the emptiness.

The beeping noise continued. It was nearby. Susan wheeled in thedarkness. There was a rustle of clothing, and suddenly the beepingstopped. Susan froze. An instant later, as if from one of her worstchildhood nightmares, a vision appeared. A face materializeddirectly in front of her. It was ghostly and green. It was the faceof a demon, sharp shadows jutting upward across deformed features.She jumped back. She turned to run, but it grabbed her arm.

"Don't move!" it commanded.

For an instant, she thought she saw Hale in those two burningeyes. But the voice was not Hale's. And the touch was toosoft. It was Strathmore. He was lit from beneath by a glowingobject that he'd just pulled from his pocket. Her body saggedwith relief. She felt herself start breathing again. The object inStrathmore's hand had some sort of electronic LED that wasgiving off a greenish glow.

"Damn," Strathmore cursed under his breath. "Mynew pager." He stared in disgust at the SkyPager in his palm.He'd forgotten to engage the silent-ring feature. Ironically,he'd gone to a local electronics store to buy the device.He'd paid cash to keep it anonymous; nobody knew better thanStrathmore how closely the NSA watched their own—and thedigital messages sent and received from this pager were somethingStrathmore definitely needed to keep private.

Susan looked around uneasily. If Hale hadn't known theywere coming, he knew now.

Strathmore pressed a few buttons and read the incoming message.He groaned quietly. It was more bad news from Spain—not fromDavid Becker, but from the other party Strathmore had sentto Seville.

Three thousand miles away, a mobile surveillance van sped alongthe darkened Seville streets. It had been commissioned by the NSAunder "Umbra" secrecy from a military base in Rota. Thetwo men inside were tense. It was not the first time they'dreceived emergency orders from Fort Meade, but the ordersdidn't usually come from so high up.

The agent at the wheel called over his shoulder. "Any signof our man?"

The eyes of his partner never left the feed from the wide-anglevideo monitor on the roof. "No. Keep driving."