The Fault With The Spy

by Linda Mackay

  “Run!” Frank yelled.

  We sprinted at a right angle to the chopper. The gunfire ceased. The only noise was the rotors of the helicopter flying directly into the ground. It crashed across the river in a small pond and marshy area. There were almost no flames as the water of the pond enveloped the helicopter as it slipped into a final resting place deep in the mud.

  Frank was the first to move toward the wreckage. “Mac crashed a fucking Sikorsky.”

  “That was insane,” Todd said. “I’ll give you each a hundred dollars not to tell I screamed like a little girl.”

  “Can’t buy your way out of this one.” I said running to catch up with them.

  We reached the banks of the river and looked across at the carnage. Inside the helicopter we could see the body of the pilot. “I’ll assume he was dead before he hit the ground.”

  Frank whistled for Junior. He burst out of the trees at a full run and stopped in a flurry of dust and flying debris directly in front of Frank who didn’t move a step.

  “Scares the crap out of me every time he pulls that stunt.” Todd said holding a hand over his heart.

  Frank pulled his binoculars out of the saddlebag. “Pilot was definitely shot before he crashed. I don’t see anyone else in the helicopter.”

  “He’s in the meadow.” Amanda said sitting Blue like she was Queen of the rodeo. “Hit the ground like an anvil.”

  “Nice aim,” I said.

  Amanda laughed hooking her leg over the pommel of her saddle. “Mac will never complain again about my make-up routine.”

  “Todd screamed like a teenage girl.” I ratted him out.

  “And you call me Princess!” Amanda pointed at Todd.

  “In my defense, I had no idea what you had planned and that helicopter was headed straight for us.”

  “Did anyone else scream?” Amanda asked.

  Frank also turned on Todd. “Nope.”

  “Insulting the cook isn’t smart,” Todd said.

  Amanda threw her hands in the air and mimicked Todd’s scream.

  “I’ll knock your butt off that horse and…”

  “We’ve had enough violence for one day.” Mac interrupted Todd as he and Dad rode to the river’s edge.

  “Nice shooting, Special Forces.”

  “Thanks ma’am. But the real credit goes to the lady and her mirrors.” Mac bowed over his saddle at Amanda.

  “Thank you, sir. I couldn’t have done it without my friend the sun providing her light to reflect into the bad guys’ eyes.”

  Mac looked at Dad. “Thanks also to the man with the plan.”

  “Ah, shucks it was nothin’.”

  Mac dismounted Chimayo and walked over to Frank. “How’s it look?”

  “Like a lot of money down the drain.” Frank said handing the bino’s to Mac.

  “I didn’t intend to crash it. I was trying to hit the guy shooting at us and hoped the pilot would retreat.”

  “Better hope they don’t take the cost of that out of your pension.” Todd said.

  “I think the time has come for no one to know we were here.” Mac walked back to his horse.

  “Little late, they know who we are,” Amanda said.

  “I don’t think so.” Mac mounted up. “If they knew exactly who we are they would’ve taken the easy way out and met us at the ranch.”

  “You don’t think Marty told them our names?” I asked.

  “I did in the beginning. And assumed they were trying to eliminate us where we’d be lost to the backcountry. I think who they really wanted to eliminate was Marty. They didn’t want him to break and tell us anything. Once he was gone they pulled back and regrouped. If they knew who we were, they wouldn’t waste time tracking us; they’d have a welcome home party at the ranch. When they kept chasing us, I suspected they didn’t know our identities and had to keep following us.”

  “Now what?” Todd asked.

  “We get home as fast as we can, and never mention any of this to anyone,” Mac said.

  “We’re going to let this disappear to history?” I asked mounting Arikira.

  “No, just our involvement. I have ways to get this information to the right people while keeping our identities secret.”

  “Let’s make hay while the sun shines.” Frank clicked at Junior and the two of them started down the trail. “First we get Joe to Turpin and on a chopper.”

  “What do we say happened to him?” Amanda asked.

  “Horse freaked in a thunderstorm and stepped on his foot,” Mac said.

  “Everyone remember,” Frank said, “the people at Turpin will want to talk about what’s happened. We were in the Thorofare and know just the basics.”

  “We listen and don’t talk,” Mac said.

  “Why is everyone looking at me?” Todd said.

  “Son, sometimes you just have to own it,” Dad said.

  “Let’s get out of here before they send in the posse.” Mac mounted Chimayo. “I want to be home in my own bed in 24 hours.”

  I pulled my phone out of the saddle pack, turned it on and took several photos of the crash site. Mac nodded at me, and pulled into line behind Dad. I brought up the rear. Mac rode with one hand on his thigh and the other lightly holding the reins. His back was slightly arched and relaxed, his head straight ahead. I took his cue and relaxed in my saddle for the first time in days.

  Frank set a brisk pace. No one spoke until Mac signaled for us to pull off the trail. “I don’t think we should all go to Turpin with Joe.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Frank said.

  “I defer to you, Frank.”

  “Todd and I will go with Joe,” Frank said. “If we have to offer more info than I want, I can explain Todd’s and my presence with Joe as helping with field work. I also want someone I trust with a gun to stay with the women.”

  I wasn’t taking offense at being singled out as incapable of handling any thugs we met, and I could see neither was Amanda. It’s also a well-known fact I’m not good with people, so putting me in that situation at Turpin Meadows was not a bright idea.

  “Jorie, take the forest roads and head east toward Angle Mountain, cross the highway and keep on the forest road to Lily Lake. Todd and I will hopefully join you tonight. If we get held up we’ll camp overnight, ride out early and meet up with you first thing in the morning at Lily Lake.” Frank looked at Amanda. “If you are stopped and questioned by anyone I want you to tell them you’re looking for your pack horse that got away. I want you to cry and make them uncomfortable with how upset you are.”

  “Got it!” Amanda said.

  “The packhorse is where your permit was. If anyone is still giving you trouble, Mac will know what to do.”

  I wasn’t going to think about what Mac knew. I would put my money on Amanda’s whiny-girl routine. It was a sure-fire winner to make any man, woman or child completely uncomfortable and begging to get away from her.

  Time came to split up. I rode Arikira next to Alfalfa and reached over to give Dad a hug. “Once they airlift you to Dubois. Make them fly you to Casper. I don’t want to have to chase your sorry butt to Billings.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I want old Doc Smith to take care of this foot.”

  “Love you, Dad.”

  “Love you too, sugar.”

  We turned easterly as the other three kept south to Turpin Meadows. I wanted to go with Dad in the helicopter to the hospital, but I knew Frank’s reasoning was correct. I never worked in the field with Dad, and my being there would’ve been out of place. I hated losing our cook, however. We took a pan, freeze-dried food and coffee. We’d be cooking over an open fire tonight. We took one tent and two sleeping bags. We were traveling light so it appeared we’d lost a packhorse, but none of us was willing to give up all the comforts of the trail.

  If stopped by anyone we could say the packhorse got away while we were loading. That would explain how we still had some gear. The big selling point was going to be Amanda’s ability to be
upset over losing a packhorse we’d borrowed from a friend. If the question of what friend came up, I was hoping she had an Oscar winning performance in her.

  No one trusted me to pull it off; I had a track record of being intimidated by anyone in authority. I was going to be lucky to keep my eyes focused on the person talking. Mac warned me if my eyes were on the ground like I was hiding something, we were screwed. Todd wanted to take bets we were screwed, but Mac wouldn’t let them bet on me this time.

  I suggested I put a bandana over one eye so it looked like I’d been injured, but Mac felt we were suspect enough without dragging a pirate into the mix. Spoil sport, I thought it was a brilliant strategy. Argh!

  I woke to the morning sun forcing her way through my eyelids as she lit the side of the tent. Amanda and I were back-to-back sharing one bag opened like a blanket. Mac slept in the other bag in the tent vestibule. Luckily, it hadn’t been wet like the night before or we’d have all three been squeezed in the two-person tent tighter than olives in a jar. It was still freezing cold without the cocoon of a sleeping bag. Both Amanda and I slept in our coats since warmth and a bodyguard in the tent vestibule won out over food smells attracting animals. It may be July, but at night the mountains held onto their winter feel. It was a jacket they wore well and never gave up.

  I could hear Mac talking to Todd and Frank. They’d either arrived early this morning or sometime long after I’d fallen asleep. I poked Amanda and was surprised to find she was already awake. “Did anyone ever tell you that you kick in your sleep?”

  “No. Was I dreaming?”

  “Didn’t appear to be. You just randomly kicked me like fifty times.”

  “You’re full of it,” I said.

  “No she’s not.” Mac yelled from outside the tent. “You kicked me through the tent wall dozens of times.”

  Amanda laughed. “Next time she sleeps outside in a bag all her own. It’ll keep her feet nice and wrapped up like a tamale.”

  “Coffee!” I stuck my head out of the tent just as Todd stuck a coffee mug in my face. “Thanks.”

  “Let’s go home ladies,” Mac said.

  Todd and Frank rode out of camp.

  Mac held his hand out. “Don’t need to get in a hurry, Jorie. We’re riding separate today. This way no one can report seeing a group our size if they’re asked.”

  “We’re still being followed?”

  “In a manner.” Mac poured coffee for Amanda. “Frank learned at Turpin that the Feds were looking for a group of six people who had damaged a patrol cabin.”

  “What a crock of shit,” I said.

  “That’s the best cover story they have?” Amanda asked.

  “It does the job,” Mac said. “I suspect they’ve concentrated their efforts on cleaning up the Sikorsky and are letting local law enforcement attempt to locate us.”

  “No one at Turpin questioned Dad’s injury?” I asked.

  “Not a hint of suspicion. As Todd said, Cowboy Frank is further above suspicion than the Pope.”

  “Thank goodness, for Cowboy Frank.” I said holding my cup out for more coffee.

  “We’ll give them an hour head start. We have radios if there’s a problem.”

  “Nuts!” Amanda said. “That means Todd will be in the hot tub before us.”

  And he was. We rode down the hill and into the open, catching our first view of the ranch. I gave Arikira her head and held on as she ran across the road and up the gravel lane to the ranch house. I reined in at the side of the house, next to the hot tub. “Move over, I’m coming in.” I threw off my flannel shirt, kicked out of my boots, peeled off my jeans and fell head first into the bubbling water.

  “Dammit, you’re gumming up my hot tub with your stinking body,” Grampa Nus said. “At least Todd showered first.”

  “Howdy, Gramps! Miss me?”

  “I’d have missed you more if you’d shower first.”

  “Don’t give me that. I know you’ve let my dogs in here.” I wiped dog hairs off the side of the tub.

  “They’re a darn sight cleaner than you. Now get over here and give me a hug.” I stepped over Todd to hug Gramps when the water splashed out of the hot tub and over my head.

  “Manny, no cannonballing in my hot tub.” Gramps wiped water off his face as I refused to let go of him.

  “Then you shouldn’t have bought a big party tub! This feels so good.”

  “You people are fucking crazy!” Mac said still sitting on Chimayo.

  “Hey, Jorie,” Todd said. “A week spent with you and you’ve got him saying the “F” word.”

  Chapter 25

  Little more to the left.” I said as Mac tilted the picture. “Perfect.”

  “Are you sure it isn’t too low.” Mac tipped his head up and down judging the height.

  “Absolutely not. The others hurt my neck to look at them.”

  “Okay, you’re the boss.”

  “Is hanging pictures the only job you have for me to pay off my bet?” I picked up the next picture he had stored behind his couch.

  “Unless you want to put a new coat of stain on the cabin before winter?” Mac stirred a pot on the stove.

  “Pass. I haven’t even done mine. What smells so good?”

  “My grandmother’s recipe for Bar-b-que Beans.”

  I held up the picture against the wall. “This okay?”

  “Looks good.”

  I hammered in a nail and hung the picture of Mac, his grandfather and what I assumed were his parents, standing in front of a white fence with an endless pasture of grass behind them. I missed his grandfather. Not just because he kept Grampa Nus occupied and out of some trouble, but because he had the best stories from his youth in Scotland. I looked closer at the picture and realized Mac had the same captivating smile as his grandfather.

  “Did you talk to Marty’s son today?” Mac asked handing me a beer.

  “Yeah, he’s a nice guy.” After the news of Marty’s death hit the paper Mac and Frank felt it was safe for me to make a personal call. The park listed the cause of Marty’s death as a fall from his horse while working alone in the Thorofare. The cover-up had begun and Mac wanted to be careful in case Marty’s son’s phones were tapped.

  Amanda and I searched the Internet for information on his son. Turns out he’d been paralyzed in a car accident three years ago. He had a wife, and four kids under the age of eight. Disability wasn’t enough to keep his family fed and warm, and his medical bills were overwhelming the family. “I offered my condolences and asked if we could do anything to help. He said after his mom died last year, Marty took it upon himself to find a charity that would take over helping him so his wife could work part-time and still take care of the kids. Apparently, the charity provided quite well for him recently. And after Marty died, an attorney visited him and said Marty left a large life insurance policy.”

  Mac took a drink of his beer. “Seems Marty thought of everything.”

  “He certainly wasn’t gullible enough to believe the people paying him were trustworthy.” I sat on the couch and drank the cold beer. I definitely didn’t agree with Marty’s solution to his problems, but two weeks after returning home I’d come to terms with his desperation.

  “Do you think his son had any idea where the money came from?”

  “No. He seemed unassuming and grateful help arrived so his wife wouldn’t worry about him or the kids so much.”

  Mac walked to the fridge and pulled out two thick rib-eyes. “How do you like your steak?”

  “Medium rare, please. Did your contact get the evidence we sent?”

  “He messaged me with a secure code it arrived.”

  “Do you think it will be enough to start an investigation?”

  “Should be. If the assassins had left us alone, all of this would have disappeared to history. You were right it was basically a flawless plan. It was the panic during the aftermath that made the idea of an assassination plausible.”

  “In the end they didn’t trust
the science to cover their tracks.” I followed Mac out on the porch while he put the steaks on the grill. “Dad said Kendrick was alive and well.”

  “He may not have been “The Brain” Marty referred to, but he’s still a suspect in my estimation.”

  When we returned home we learned all 139 people at Mary Bay were killed. Another 11 were injured near roadblocks temporarily set up for the President’s visit. Three backpackers were entombed in a landslide in the Tetons, Cascade Canyon, caused by the 7.1 earthquake that rocked Grand Teton and the town of Jackson. There were some injuries in the Jackson valley, and it would take months to repair and rebuild the area, but the Jackson Lake dam held and was now being stabilized and repaired. The power was still out in some remote areas, but work was underway to repair power lines, and the water and septic lines that were damaged.

  The Grand Teton was now over three feet taller as the mountains on one side of the fault rose, while the valley floor sank on the other side. With roads and the airport runway heavily damaged it would be months before any tourists had an opportunity to view the new landscape of The Tetons.

  While we were gone the cowboys had mended fences and corrals, and helped clear the road to the main highway from landslides across it. A structural engineer had inspected the ranch buildings and repairs were underway. I’d bought a new TV when I picked up Dad in Casper. His foot was healing, but he would be out of commission well into the fall. Grampa Nus was thrilled to have a captive audience to play cards with.

  The Jackson area had moved forward and dealt with the earthquake. Once we returned we had to face the time lapse in dealing with the disaster, and the ordeal we had endured. Todd refused to leave the house and cooked day and night, sleeping very little. Amanda went back to her apartment in Jackson several days after we returned. She said the sight of us gave her nightmares. Everyone else seemed to meld back into daily life. Including me, because denial is a wonderful thing.

  “Darn pictures, won’t stay straight.” I said looking back through the front door.

  “The ranch hands are going to jack-up the cabin next week and reinforce where the ground subsided.” Mac laughed at me as I straightened another picture.