The voice of the communications officer Mauricio Estevez crackled in Sgt. McDivett's ear. "Sir, they've turned back." The Humvee slowed.
"Can we get a bearing?"
"Sir, the coordinates have moved."
"Check them again."
"I have, sir. A thousand meters east-northeast."
The Humvee rolled into a wide valley. The night sky painted the desert with a purplish iridescence.
"Over there."
McDivett aimed his binoculars in the direction of a large dune. The sand was scored with black streaks. Bits of debris were scattered in and about the impact zone. Strangely, the main body of the aircraft was nowhere in sight.
The Humvee pulled up to the crash berm and killed its engine.
"Explosion, sir?"
"Possibly." McDivett had never seen anything like it. A crash site without an aircraft. Something didn't
