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wanted to make this happen fast—before he got cold feet and changed his mind. “Thanks for getting on this.” Spencer finished his coffee and stood to leave. “I have to go see our engineer, but I’ll be back soon.”
    “Bring me some pizza.” Raff winked and clicked on a monitor.
    Spencer found Grace in the community center. He’d never seen her in anything but camouflage pants, but she seemed to have an endless collection of bright T-shirts. Today’s was hot pink. He stood near the door and watched her teach a small group of students about electricity. Only twelve kids lived in Destiny, but three were too young for school, and two others attended high school in Redding. Their mother worked in town and drove them in every day. The rest were all home-schooled by Tina Blackwell, a thirty-something certified teacher, but all the members did their part by instructing in specific subjects.
    After a few minutes, Grace gave the kids a hands-on assignment, turned them back over to Tina, and walked toward him. The engineer moved with muscular smoothness. A striking, mocha-toned woman of forty, she had served two tours in Iraq, was an electrical and mechanical genius, and had deadly combat skills. Spencer admired everything about her. He wished they had sexual chemistry. Grace would have been a terrific partner, but she seemed content to be single. While she’d served in the Middle East, her husband had left her and moved with their son to Texas. Coming home had been a nightmare for her. After two years of medicated, zombie-like days and terror-filled nights, Grace had joined Destiny and soon found peace in their community.
    At the moment, she looked a little worried. “This must be important.”
    “It is. I’m sorry to interrupt your class.”
    Spencer stepped outside and Grace followed. The bright May sun heated the air, and he moved toward the shade of a tree. Keeping his voice low, he said, “We need the generator at full capacity as soon as possible.” He’d wanted to get her going on it days ago, but he’d thought it best to wait until Emma’s disappearance wasn’t at the top of everyone’s mind.
    “Has something happened?”
    “Not specifically. But yesterday, a power grid in Indiana went down, and scientists are tracking another asteroid that could hit the Earth next week.” So far, everything he’d said was true—reinforcing his belief that he was doing the right thing. The next part would be a variation of the truth. “More important, cyber rumors are flying about Morgan Bank being hit by hackers. If one of the major banks has a run on cash withdrawals at the same time an asteroid does damage, people are going to panic. It’s time to get ready to be on our own.”
    “I’m still having trouble with the lithium batteries overheating.” Her eyes sparked, and he could tell she was already thinking ahead. She’d built the generator at the edge of the creek, which supplied the energy. They also had smaller gas-powered units attached to every home, but the gasoline supply was finite, so the micro-hydro generator was essential for the long term.
    He grabbed one of Grace’s hands. “I need you to find a solution. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be fast.”
    “Give me a deadline and I’ll make it happen.”
    “Friday.”

Chapter 5
    Tuesday, May 7, 9:45 a.m.
    Randall Clayton rounded the curve where Emma’s car had gone off the road and nearly hit the sheriff’s cruiser parked along the edge.
Shit!
They’d found it—despite the steep drop-off and camouflage. He and Spencer had covered it with shrubs and dirt, hoping to buy time, but it hadn’t been enough.
    Slowing, Randall glanced over like anyone would and kept driving. A second, empty sheriff’s patrol car sat on a nearby turnout. Randall expected the FBI would soon be at the scene as well. Would they question him again? He didn’t want the distraction, but the last interrogation had challenged and invigorated him in a way