Outside Forces

by R E Swirsky

CHAPTER 33

  Saturday 07:12 Heart Mountain near Canmore, Alberta, Canada (Lucy goes up the mountain)

  The two vehicles pulled up one behind the other into the Lac Des Arcs parking area where the Heart Mountain trail began. Lucy had driven her own vehicle with the tall man, Barney, from last night sitting in the passenger seat. He didn’t speak a word the entire drive out, and a permanent look of discontent remained embedded on his long, weathered face. He instructed Lucy out of the car and urged her forward towards Slate, who immediately pulled her aside. Slate wrapped his fingers tight around her wrist and waited as Barney led the Russian diplomat across the parking lot to the start of the trail. Once he was comfortable the Russian was out of earshot he repeated the instructions for today’s climb.

  “You keep smiling and you keep him enthused. It’s up to you to see that he makes it up this mountain. Do you understand?”

  Lucy nodded and feigned enthusiasm.

  It seemed to please him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out her cell phone. He saw her eyes light up and remained staring at her until her eyes caught his and locked on. “No calls.” he said. “No texting, either. And no looking through your messages or missed calls until this is over. Remember, these are your father’s instructions and you must follow them. This is very important for everyone involved.”

  She nodded again.

  “You sure you’re clear on this?”

  “I am. No using the phone.”

  “Once on the trail, you will stop every twenty minutes or so and take a photo. Just you and the valley below.” Slate pointed towards the beginning of the trail where the Russian and tall man stood waiting. “You must be absolutely sure that neither of those men are in any of the photos.”

  “I will,” she replied. Whatever was going on was very serious. She desperately wished she could ask her father what this was all about.

  “Talk to the Russian. Keep him smiling, keep him on the trail, and keep him moving. He’s not as fit as the rest of us, so you’ll have to keep an eye on how he’s doing.”

  Slate smiled reassuringly at her.

  “Once you’re on the mountain it’s all up to you. You’ll be handed your phone part way up the mountain.” He slipped her phone back into his pocket and guided her over to where the Russian and the tall man, Barney, waited at the trailhead. He whispered something to Barney while passing her phone over to him. Moments later, the three began the journey into the forest while Slate remained behind, watching them recede into the sea of green.

  Time passed by quickly as Lucy led the group along the trail for the first few kilometres before turning south to ascend the mountain. The climb was arduous, and all chatter ceased as every bit of effort was needed in climbing up the steep incline.

  Lucy grunted as Barney shoved her hard from behind on her backpack. She stumbled, reached out with her hands for balance, and quickly regained her footing.

  “You don’t have to be so rough with her,” the Russian said. “She could have fallen and hurt herself.”

  Lucy was in front, leading them high up the trail on the side of the mountain. She had climbed this mountain multiple times and knew the trail well. It rose steeply from the valley, beginning in the trees and meandered up along the stony ridge towards the top. They were only a quarter of the way up, but her heart pounded ferociously. Part was from the climb and part was from the instructions she was given last night about today’s climb: play the victim, show some fight, and be angry occasionally. Take numerous selfies along the way—neither man must appear in any of the photos.

  “I’ll be as rough as I want. If she slows down again, I may just do more than just give her a small shove forward.”

  The gain in height was rapid and the climb steep.

  “Okay, stop here.”

  Lucy stopped and turned around. They had arrived at the first wide-open space on the ridge’s rocky path as it came out from the trees. The morning sun cast its yellow glow upon the mountains above and around the small lake below. On any other day she would have thought the view was amazing. Not today. She stared at the Russian. He was sweating profusely but seemed unfazed by how difficult this climb was.

  “This…” the Russian puffed heavily, “…is really an amazing view.” He brushed one sleeve across his brow to wipe away the sweat.

  Barney reached into his pocket and pulled out Lucy’s phone. He held it out to her and repeated the instructions while aiming the gun in his other hand at her. “I want you to take a photo here. Just one photo with the valley in the background.”

  Lucy grabbed the phone and looked at it. There were numerous missed calls. Her eyes lit up and her mouth dropped open. All were from Michael.

  “Whoa!” Barney grabbed her wrist and squeezed tight.

  “Ouch! You’re hurting me.”

  She could see the focus and determination in his eyes. “No messaging. No calling.” He continued to squeeze her wrist.

  “Ow. Okay! Okay!” She winced. He was playing his role a little too convincing for her liking.

  He released his grip. She scrolled to the camera option, thinking about Michael as she did. What would he make of all of this? She wished now that he hadn’t been in her apartment under the bed last night. And for the sake of her father, she really hoped Michael had not gone to the police.

  “And I want to see a real smile.”

  Lucy scowled at him.

  “C’mon. You heard me. Smile for the camera.” He lifted the gun and placed it inches away from her head. Lucy reeled and stepped back, one foot slipping on the stones. Barney moved with her, keeping the gun in her face.

  “For God’s sakes, man,” the Russian called out.

  “She only has to take the photo. Then we can continue.”

  The muzzle of the gun in her face terrified Lucy, and she froze in fear. It all seemed too real.

  “Smile, I said!” he shouted.

  Lucy winced and backed away cautiously towards the edge with a forced a half smile.

  “Now the picture.”

  It was a fake pose complete with smile kept steady until she snapped the shot. The click of the camera sounded eerily like a gun firing on an empty cylinder. She had just taken the photo when Barney ripped the phone from her hands. He studied the photo and smiled. “Perfect.” He shoved the phone back into his pocket, lowered the gun, and waved it up the path urging her onward.

  The Russian was unsettled and disturbed. He continued to puff away, using the short break to catch his breath. “That was really unnecessary.”

  “I decide what’s necessary. Just keep moving.”

  “Is it much further?” he asked. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and temples.

  “We have quite a ways to go,” Lucy replied. “And it’s going to get a lot steeper.”

  “Just keep moving,” Barney said.

  The three continued up along the path, stopping every twenty minutes to catch their breath and for Lucy to take another photo. Lucy wondered why they would go to such extremes to bring the Russian diplomat up on a mountainside to deliver punishment. She wasn’t told what the punishment was, but it wasn’t very hard to guess as she looked down the side of the mountain at the sharp, deadly outcropping of rocks below the entire western face. And her father approved this? It didn’t make complete sense to her. Her father was in the business to keep his clients from going to jail, not to help murder them. But then again, what did she really know about her father outside her home and what she saw on TV? He was regarded as one of the best defence lawyers in the country when it came to arguing and articulating procedural law, and his record supported how exceptional he was. But this? Had he done this kind of thing before?

  Lucy cherished her father. Love and affection always flowed with a silky softness from him towards her and her two younger sisters. Work was always kept separate from family time, and she had to admit, he always made her feel like she was the most important thing in his life even though he was not her biological father.
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br />   “Why are you forcing me up this mountain?” She hadn’t asked the question before and thought it wise to ask for the Russian’s sake. “What did I do?”

  Barney stopped. “You didn’t do anything. I thought you were told.”

  Lucy turned around. “No one’s told me anything. You bastards kidnap me and take me up the side of this mountain. What for?”

  He laughed. “Isn’t it obvious? You are paying for your father’s sins.”

  The Russian said nothing. Lucy could see no surprise in his eyes. It was what the Russian believed and the reason it was so easy to lead him up the mountain.

  “What sins?”

  Barney waved the gun, urging her to continue up. “C’mon, let’s go.”

  “What sins?” she asked again.

  “Hush! Keep walking.”

  The three continued up the steep ascent, plodding slowly and with more vigilance as the steepness increased.