Free Castroville: Countdown to Armageddon: Book 7 by Darrell Maloney Page A

own.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    -15-
     
         From their vantage point just inside the tree line, they could see two men leaning against the fence talking perhaps fifty yards away.
         The south side of the property was separated from the road by a section of range fencing perhaps eight hundred yards or so in length.
         That only two men stood guard over such a long section of fence would work to their advantage.
         So would the fact that the sky was overcast. There would be no moon or stars to shine light on Randy and Sara’s activities.
         Randy and Sara both had excellent night vision, so there was that.
         So far, their luck was holding.
         There was that too.
         “Now what?” Sara whispered.
         “Now we wait.”
         “For what?”
         “Shift change.”
         It was roughly a quarter of ten. Randy was capable of estimating the time by gazing up at the stars on most nights. But since the stars were hidden on this particular night, he was glad he brought his wind-up wristwatch. He’d always preferred windups, even before the blackout, because he hated having to replace the batteries. He figured a windup was good enough for his father and his father’s father. It was good enough for Randy as well.
         The men on guard duty before them might have similar watches. But if they didn’t, it didn’t matter. There would be running clocks in the ranch house. And someone would dispatch their relief at the appointed time.
         Randy knew that shift change would be either ten p.m. or midnight. For some reason, men disliked doing things on odd hours. Perhaps because it was easier to keep track of, counting an eight hour shift from an already even number. Or perhaps it was just a habit. But Randy would bet that shift change would occur either at ten or at midnight, as opposed to nine or eleven.
         While they waited, they watched as one of the two men left the other and walked east along the fence line.
         Randy assumed this was standard procedure.
         To make sure no intruders were outflanking them, they would walk both sides of their allotted area occasionally.
         It was also possible there was no requirement to do so. That the man merely took a walk out of boredom, or perhaps went to take a leak.
         Randy kept track of the time the man was gone. It was right at twenty minutes.
         Just a few seconds after he returned, the other man left, walking west alongside the fence.
         Randy checked his watch, then checked it again when the man returned. It was right at twenty minutes.
         “They have watches,” he whispered. “And they have set procedures to follow the fence line for a certain distance on a regular basis. Probably every hour. We can use that.”
         Sara nodded, although he couldn’t see it in the dark.
         “In case you haven’t noticed,” she said, “Ten o’clock came and went.”
         “Right. That means get comfortable. Shift change is at midnight. We’ll go in tonight, but we’ll wait until after shift change to put our plans in motion.”
         They hunkered down and waited, watching the men pace the fence line at the eleven o’clock hour. A few minutes after midnight two new men rode out of the darkness and dismounted. The four men exchanged some words, but were too far away for Randy to make anything out.
         After a couple of minutes, the first two mounted up and rode off toward the ranch house.
         “How long do we wait until we go?”
         Sara was getting a bit antsy.
         “I’m heading out now. You wait here until I get back.”
         “How come I knew you were going to say that?”
         “Because you’re a very intelligent young lady. And kinda cute too, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
         It was false flattery and she knew it, but she