“The good thing is that it’s only been three days. There may not be much sign at all, but what there is will mostly still be there.”
Those three short days were enough to change everything though, and it made Eric sick to think he’d been so close to getting here on time. He’d traveled fast and arrived at the reservation as soon as humanly possible, given the conditions and the business he had to take care of along the way, but then he’d made a big mistake with the way he entered Jicarilla land. His arrest and interrogation had cost him as many days as that, while Megan was already there all along. If not for that unnecessary delay, he might have made it back here sooner, but in hindsight, he realized now he should have simply brought Shauna, Vicky and Jonathan with him. He’d expected to face her fury over that when he arrived here, but now he was facing something far worse: the reality that she was missing and maybe even dead because of what he’d done. Eric didn’t want to think about what might have happened to her since she’d been taken, and the truth was that he might never know. He was grateful for the help he was getting from Luke, but still skeptical they would find much beyond what Vicky had already discovered.
He had a final word with Wolf at dawn before the man left, giving him a message for Jonathan and Vicky, and wishing him luck. Wolf was confident he’d be able to find them and that he’d catch up to them long before they reached the reservation, especially since Vicky was on foot. Wolf took one of the extra horses they’d brought with them so that the three of them could all ride when he found them, and he told Eric and the others that they would be waiting at the reservation until they returned. As he rode away, Luke was already making his way down the creek on the trail of the raiders, and Eric and Nantan followed behind, along with the remaining two men of their party, Tommy and Red.
They worked their way through the forested creek basin on foot, leading their horses and stopping occasionally when Luke found something of interest that he wanted to investigate closer. When they reached the road where Vicky said the men had turned north, Luke and Eric went on ahead while the others brought up the rear from a sufficient distance to react in case they encountered anyone on the road. All was quiet that morning though, at least until they came to the dead-end turn off that Vicky had mapped out in her sketch and heard the noise of a large flock of crows.
“They’ve come for the feast,” Luke said, as they rode down the narrow two track and saw dozens of the black birds flying into the nearby trees, annoyed at the human interruption. Other scavengers had gotten to the dead horses as well, Eric saw, and Luke pointed out large coyote tracks when they dismounted. The tracker’s real interest though, was in the tire tread marks he found around the turnabout and leading to and from the road.
“Can you tell how many vehicles they had?” Eric asked.
“At least three, maybe four. All light trucks or maybe SUVs. Mud-grip or semi-off-road tires. I can’t tell the brand without something to compare them to, but I can remember what they look like if we find more tread marks like this where we’re going next.”
“And where is that?” Eric asked. “How are we supposed to know where in the hell to go next now that we know they left here using roads? There may be some tracks on the gravel, but eventually this road will come out on pavement. And then there’ll be nothing.”
“True, but at least we know they came in on the gravel and went back out the same way. We’ll study the maps we have, and see where it crosses the next road, and then go there and have a look around.”
Eric couldn’t argue with that as a logical step, but it still wasn’t much to go on. After determining from the map that the gravel road came to a T-intersection with a bigger road several miles to the north, they plotted a cross-country route that would take them there directly and with little chance of being seen. When they reached a ridge overlooking this junction, they saw that the other road was indeed paved, and Eric’s doubts were reinforced. But Luke told them to give him a few minutes while he went down alone on foot to see if he could find any clues to tell him which way the trucks had turned. It had to be either east or west, as there were no other options.
“Definitely west,” he said when he rejoined them. One of the trucks cut the corner just enough to make clear marks in the gravel that it came that way either going out or coming in. I didn’t find any sign like that indicating any of them cut to the eastbound side. But they are on pavement now, so this is where the tire tracks end.”
“And there’s nothing we can do, other than maybe follow the paved road west and hope we get lucky? They could be clear across the state by now, or beyond.”
“Yes, they could. But there’s also the possibility that we’ll find another road they turned off on. Or that they’ll come back this way and we’ll see them when they do.”
Eric knew either was a long shot, but what else was he to do? He had to make every effort he could to find Shauna, or else he’d never convince Megan to leave the country with him. Of course, he didn’t want to leave Megan’s mom behind anyway, for any reason. The only way he would even consider doing that was if he knew for a fact she was dead, and he knew he probably wouldn’t know until he found the men who’d taken her away.
“We can follow the edge of this plateau for a few miles,” Nantan said, pointing to the map he’d unfolded again while they talked. “From up there we should be able to see any traffic that passes through the valley on that road.”
“At least until it starts climbing again at this pass,” Eric was looking at a series of switchbacks indicating the route farther west.
“For that part, we’d best wait for dark.”
By midafternoon, they’d gone as far as they could without having to use the road again. They dismounted on the south slope close to where it began climbing out of the valley, and then took a break and rested the horses as they waited for darkness. It was an hour later, while they were quietly eating, before getting ready to move out again, that they heard the sound of approaching vehicles coming through the valley from the east.
Eric watched through his binoculars as a grey crew cab pickup and two identical black SUVs traveling close together approached and finally passed their position. They were all civilian vehicles, the SUVs looking nearly new, with their shiny factory paint and windows tinted so darkly that Eric couldn’t see the drivers or other occupants inside them. Their passage along the road here could be related to the men that took Shauna, or it could mean nothing at all. It was impossible to tell at this point. For several minutes after they disappeared from sight, they could hear the sound of their motors as the vehicles worked their way back and forth up the switchbacks to the top of the pass. When the sounds died away, it was time for them to follow, as it was the way they were going anyway, and Eric could only hope that if anyone else came along while they were up there that there would be a place to leave the road with the horses before they were caught in the headlights.
The temperature plummeted rapidly after dark and the wind at the top of the pass made the cold dangerous, but the Apaches didn’t seem bothered by it and Eric wasn’t about to acknowledge that he was in front of them. Night was the only feasible option for following this road, as the terrain presented no other routes through the pass that the horses could negotiate. They pressed on once they reached the summit and began a long winding descent down the west side through miles of heavy forest that finally gave way to a more open, brushy country with scattered pines and cedars growing at the lower elevations. It was here that they came to another gravel road that turned off the pavement to the north, and Luke dismounted to use his flashlight to study the first fifty feet or so of gravel.
“There’s been a lot of traffic in and out of here,” he said. “Come and see this.”
Eric walked over to see what he was shining his light on in an area of wet silty ground where the gravel was thin, and saw distinct, well-defined tire tread marks.
“This is the same pattern we saw at the place where they killed the horses. It doesn�
�t mean it was them, but it’s the same brand and model tire. Where does this road go? Does the map show it?”
“Yes,” Nantan said, as he joined them, squatting down to lay it out under Luke’s light so he could see it. “It may be outdated, but it shows that this first turn off west of the pass runs north eight miles to a dead end. It shows a forest service work station up there.”
“Which would definitely be closed now, if it wasn’t already,” Eric said.
“Yes, of course, but that doesn’t mean someone’s not using it.”
“Someone is definitely using this road,” Luke said, “and recently too. Look at this; these tracks are fresh. Made tonight.”
“Maybe the truck and the two SUVs we just saw earlier?”
“Maybe. We haven’t seen any other traffic, so it seems likely to me.”
“Then we should follow this road a short distance and find a place to wait for daylight. Then, we can watch for any traffic coming in or out in the morning and maybe one or two of us can recon that work center and see if anything is going on there.”
They found a place where the gravel road crossed a low ridge just a couple miles north of the pavement and then set up on a brushy hill that would afford a view of the road from both directions after sunup. Eric was wired, as he was excited about this new development, so he agreed to take the first watch while the other men got a couple hours of sleep. He would get a brief nap before dawn if possible, but even if he didn’t, Eric was ready and anxious for what the coming day might bring. If those tire tracks really were one and the same as the ones they’d found where he knew the men left with Shauna in their vehicles, then there was hope that he might learn where they took her. Eric was going to make somebody talk if he suspected they had answers. And if he couldn’t think of a way to do it, he was sure the four Apache warriors with him would help him think of something.
Building a fire was out of the question of course, so the only respite from the cold that Eric got was the short hour and a half he spent in his sleeping bag after Red, the quietest and most reserved of the four Apaches, relieved him of his watch. When he crawled back out at dawn, he guessed the temperature was somewhere in the low teens, if not the single digits. His companions still seemed unfazed though, and Eric knew it came from a lifetime of living in the mountains and working outdoors on the range before they joined the military to spend yet more time in harsh conditions as special forces operators. It was good to be in the company of men such as these again, and Eric was beginning to feel like he was part of a team once more, despite getting off on the wrong foot with them in his initial introduction.
Once the sun was up, its warmth brought rapid relief from the chill, and the five of them picked spots on the hillside where they could take advantage of it while still remaining concealed from anyone passing by on the road below. Two hours passed with nothing breaking the silence but the screech of a hawk circling high overhead, and then everything changed when Luke alerted them with a low whistle and Eric looked at where he was pointing to see a plume of dust around the next bend in the road to the north. The more open country here afforded a good view for nearly a mile, and Eric waited as he trained his binoculars on the moving dust until the source of it rounded the bend. The first vehicle was a pickup truck, followed by two SUVs that he thought could well be the same two they’d seen the afternoon before on the other side of the pass. A fourth vehicle was following the SUVs now though, and he saw that like the one in front, it was a four-door pickup truck.
They were moving fairly slow on the rough gravel road, and it was several minutes before they passed by, the occupants unaware that they were being watched. Eric could clearly see the driver and two other men through the windows of the lead pickup. They were wearing camouflage BDUs of some kind, but the truck was an ordinary Ford F250, gray in color with no markings of any kind. He’d caught a glimpse of a driver and front seat passenger through the windshield of one of the SUVs too, but the dark windows blocked any view of the rear seats or cargo areas. The only other thing that stood out about the two SUVs was the absence of license plates on the rear of either one, while the Ford had a plate that was so covered in dust it was impossible to tell which state had issued it. Bringing up the rear was a silver Dodge Ram, and Eric saw two men in the front seat of it as well. That truck was cleaner, and when it went by, he could clearly see it bore Texas plates.
There were places where the road to the south was out of view behind the hills, but the dust the trucks kicked up made it easy to keep track of their progress until they crossed another open area where they were in plain view again, still maintaining their slow, but steady speed. Luke looked back at Eric and the others and signaled that he was going down there to check the sign in the road. As he went on ahead, the rest of them moved closer as well, eager to learn if Luke found a match. It took him a few minutes to find a clean tire track from the pickup that the two SUVs following hadn’t driven over, but when he did, Luke gave a thumbs up.
“This tread from the gray Ford is the same as one of those from the place they killed the horses. It may be a coincidence, but that seems unlikely to me now, especially after seeing those guys dressed like soldiers, the way the girl described them.”
Eric glanced back to where he’d last seen the truck, leading the SUVs south. All were out of sight now, obviously headed to the paved road, where they would leave no trail that could be followed. The only thing left to do was to continue their plan to recon that work station and see what was going on there. He was almost certain they would find more evidence there, and likely more of those men, who were possibly using it as a base of operations. The five of them gathered around the map again to study the terrain in order to decide the best approach, as they obviously didn’t want to use the road. They had decided on a couple of possibilities when Tommy, who had walked back up the hill a bit, called out to get their attention.
“One of those trucks is coming back! I think it’s the Dodge!”
“Just one of them?”
“Yes. That’s all I see. The rest must have turned onto the road.”
Eric knew it was time to make a decision. This was an unexpected opportunity they needed to take advantage of, but in order to do so, they had to act fast. “Keep an eye on it and make sure the others don’t come back too!” he called back to Tommy, before turning to Nantan, Luke and Red: “We need to stop that truck and get some answers. We know the work center is still a few miles to the north, far enough that no one there will know if we act fast.”
“As long as more of them don’t come out the same way,” Nantan said.
“That could happen but cutting these two off in an isolated area like this seems easier than questioning someone at a possible outpost of unknown strength. We need to find out who these people are, and if they were involved in the raid on the cabin.”
“I agree,” Nantan said. “Do you want to block the road? Shoot out their tires when they go by, or what?”
“No, I want to flag them down; alone. I’ll be walking down the road when they get here, apparently unarmed and looking lost and desperate. You and your men will be covering me from up there and across the road too. They’ll probably stop and try to detain me. Then, you’ll have them.”
“Unless they open fire on you without asking questions first.”
“That’s possible, but I trust that you’ll have my back. I’d rather not have any gunplay at all. It’ll be much better if we can do this quickly and quietly, but one way or the other, I think we should take the chance.”
Nantan agreed and after quickly scanning the available nearby cover, called to Tommy to remain on the higher ground and be ready with his rifle. Luke would take a low position on the opposite side of the road, while Nantan and Red crouched behind the nearest concealing bushes they could find next to where Eric would step into the roadway. The horses were still well-hidden from view in the trees higher up the hillside, and Eric stashed his rifle behind a nearby boulder, keeping only his Glock
on him, concealed in his belt under his jacket. Using dirt from the side of the road, he did his best to look the part of a lost and desperate man, smearing it on his face and clothing and into his disheveled hair.
He could hear the truck coming by the time he was ready, the automatic transmission shifting gears as it pulled up the steep grade just to the south. Eric didn’t look back at Nantan or the others. His attention was focused on the sound, and he walked down the middle of the road with a sudden urgency, as a man looking for a second chance at survival might be inclined to do upon hearing the arrival of potential help. When the truck finally rolled into view just fifty yards away, Eric stopped right where he was in the middle of the road and began waving his arms to flag it down, making it obvious he was desperate for help.
The driver hit the brakes at the unexpected sight and skidded on the gravel, causing the truck to fishtail a little and almost go off the steep shoulder before it came to a stop. Then the passenger side door flew open and the other man stepped out with his handgun drawn, pointing it at Eric as he took up position behind the door.
“FREEZE RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE! KEEP THOSE HANDS UP WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!”
“I just need help!” Eric said. “I need water! Do you have any water?”
Now the driver exited the vehicle as well, slamming the door shut behind him. He had drawn his pistol too, and he and his partner advanced in Eric’s direction.
Feral Nation - Convergence (Feral Nation Series Book 6) Page 11
