Snow Rising (The Great North Woods Pack Book 4)

by Shawn Underhill

  “Try it,” Jason said. “Kraft could be using different lines.”

  “It’s a New Hampshire area code.”

  “Try it. Or else let me.”

  Merrill opened the call and tapped the speaker icon. With his best intimidating voice, he said, “This better not be a telemarketer.”

  “Not exactly,” Joseph Snow replied. “But truthfully … I am someone calling with a proposition.”

  Merrill and his guard looked at one another. Neither recognized the voice.

  “Excuse me?”

  Joseph identified himself as Joseph Ludlow. Merrill stared at Jason for a moment before resuming.

  “How may I help you?”

  “In light of recent events,” Joseph said, “I’d like to begin by proposing an end to the cat and mouse game.”

  “I have not initiated any games, Mr. Ludlow.”

  “That’s a fair statement. But I’d like to ensure that you don’t pick up where your sister left off.”

  “I am not my sister,” Merrill stated.

  “Very well. Then, perhaps we can work together.”

  “Is,” Merrill began, wondering if by ‘working together’ he meant negotiating a ransom price. “Is she alive?”

  “She is.”

  “And how long will that remain the case?”

  “I honestly can’t say.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “She’s out of my hands,” Joseph said.

  Merrill took a deep breath. “Mr. Ludlow, if you’ve called to advance further threats against me, I assure you that such efforts are completely unnecessary at this point. I’ve already lost—”

  “I am not threatening you, sir,” Joseph Snow assured him. “On the contrary, it’s my hope that we might be of help to one another.”

  Merrill hesitated. Was Ludlow mocking him? After dealing with Kraft it was difficult to trust anyone.

  “Merrill.”

  “I’m here. I apologize, Mr. Ludlow. It’s been a very draining night, as you might guess. Now, what sort of help did you have in mind?”

  “I’ll level with you,” Joseph said. “I have in my possession something I assume to be of great value to you.”

  “The heavy case?”

  “Yes. And there’s a smaller one with it.”

  “Yes, that’s an extremely valuable piece of equipment.”

  “I trust that it is. So, am I correct to assume that you’d appreciate its return?”

  “If at all possible,” Merrill said. He had to work to mask the eagerness in his voice. Perhaps Ludlow was only toying with him. Or perhaps he was dead serious. “How much are you asking?”

  “My price is not in dollars,” was the reply.

  Merrill smiled ironically. As if he could afford even a low price. Then his smile faded as his mind raced to envisage what the true price could be. He heard Mr. Ludlow say:

  “I want whoever runs Global. A name is a good start. A general idea of his location will suffice. An exact address will be perfect.”

  Merrill was silent.

  “Sir,” Joseph said.

  “I’m sorry,” Raymond said. “I’m … a little surprised, that’s all.”

  “At?”

  “Your boldness, sir. Your enemy is a very dangerous man. Yet you speak with such surety.”

  “Does he have your phone tapped?”

  “No, no. He can track locations, but tapping is rarely worth the extra effort.”

  “Then let us speak frankly,” Joseph said. “I intend to find the man, or men, and deal with them once and for all. As for the cases, I will gladly turn your property over to you. And once this matter is resolved, I give you my word that that’s the last you’ll hear of me.”

  “If we’re speaking frankly,” Merrill said, “I’ve been threatened by Mr. Brandon Kraft not ten minutes before you called. In truth, he has tasked me with approaching you in order to recover the cases. I was racking my brain before you called.”

  “Interesting,” Joseph replied. As he spoke he saw his daughter begin searching the name.

  “I’m terrified,” Merrill admitted. “I haven’t the resources or faculties to defy a man like Kraft.”

  “You have nothing to fear from me, sir,” Joseph assured him. “If you fear Kraft, it would be in your best interests to tell me all that you know. I do have the faculties to deal with him.”

  “Do you wish to do this by phone?”

  “I’d prefer to iron it out in person with a handshake. But, let’s do what we can now.”

  Merrill twirled his hand to Jason, indicating that they needed to go north as soon as possible.

  “Very well,” he said into the phone. “I’ll have my driver head in your direction.”

  “Is that what Kraft expects from you?”

  “Actually, yes.”

  “Would he expect you to betray his trust?”

  “I’m not sure, honestly,” Merrill answered. “And even at that rate, I’m afraid I can only offer his name and general vicinity. His exact address is a secret to most.”

  “But it’s in Maryland, correct?”

  “It is. Rumor has it that it’s some sort of a fortress. He’s rarely seen in public anymore.”

  “Good enough,” Joseph said. “We can work with that.”

  Merrill silently wondered if the Ludlow’s owned ancient siege equipment.

  “Now,” Joseph resumed, “I expect it will take at least four hours for you to reach Ludlow. Just follow the signs and you should have no problems.”

  “May I call this number when we get near?”

  “Absolutely. Just take care to do your best to convince Kraft that you’re only meeting us to get the cases.”

  “Of course.”

  “Once you have them, I assume he’ll have you meet him somewhere neutral to hand them over.”

  “Most likely.”

  “Even that will be a good start. We can find him if we have someone to follow.”

  Merrill thought for a moment, his mind darting around anxiously.

  “I don’t expect this to clear my sister’s name,” he said. “My concern is for my family right now. I …”

  “Sir, I have no quarrel with you,” Joseph said. “And certainly not with your family. Making threats isn’t my game. I deal with things when I must, and the rest of the time, I prefer peace and quiet. The business with your lab is regrettable. Perhaps we can make things right somehow.”

  Merrill took a long breath. It was almost unbelievable. This was the monster his sister had been obsessed with?

  “The cases will suffice,” he said. “If you’re able to get them back from Kraft once I’ve handed them over, I would be greatly indebted to you.”

  “I think we can make that happen.”

  “My sincere thanks, Mr. Ludlow,” Merrill said. “You’re understanding and your assurances are most appreciated. Brandon Kraft is far from being a decent man. Judging by your confidence, I believe you are well capable of dealing with him. Far more so than I am, certainly. To be free of his influence will be a great relief to me.”

  “His death will be a great relief to my entire family.”

  Merrill nodded to himself in the dark. Ludlow was frightening in a different way than Kraft. It wasn’t the arrogance of a bully. It was confidence, surety. It was almost chilling. He wondered how old the man truly was. In truth, he couldn’t even be sure exactly how old Jason was.

  “Follow the signs north to Ludlow,” Joseph said. “Call this number when you’re close. If the clear weather holds, it should be a beautiful drive for you.”

  “Yes, sir,” Merrill said. “I will. Thank you.”

  The call ended.

  ***

  Merrill called his wife instantly. She answered, sounding annoyed.

  “Don’t go to the condo,” he told her.

  “Why?”

  “Security men will be waiting there. I can no longer trust the man who runs the operation. I need you to take the kids to a hotel. Don’
t tell anyone—even me—until I call and say it’s okay.”

  Debra sighed into the mouthpiece.

  “Just trust me,” Merrill said.

  “Of course,” she replied, sarcastically.

  “Don’t use the phones,” he said next. “Shut them all down so they can’t be tracked. Stop somewhere and purchase a prepaid. Text me sometime tomorrow with the number. Maybe midday. Then I can bring you up to speed.”

  “Anything else?”

  “How are you doing?” he asked, sincerely.

  “Wonderful,” she said, and ended the call.

  Merrill looked to Jason.

  “It’s stress, sir,” he said. “Forget it. Things will get better.”

  Merrill looked out his side window. He wasn’t so sure.

  ***

  Joseph Snow leaned back in his chair. Lars and Janie stood watching him. His wife stood in the doorway.

  “I don’t get a bad feeling from this Merrill,” he said. “Either he’s a very skilled actor, or else he’s speaking genuinely.”

  Lars nodded in agreement. The guy had sounded genuinely relieved after getting over the initial surprise.

  “Maybe it will all be over in a few hours,” Janie said.

  “If all goes to plan,” her father said.

  Yeah, if, Lars was thinking. But the thing about plans is that they don’t work themselves out. They’re only as useful as the people who execute them. We won’t really know this Merrill guy until we get a good look at him. A man’s voice can be controlled easier than a man’s eyes and body language.

  His thoughts shifted quickly away from Merrill. Brandon Kraft, he said to himself. Now I have a name to go with the personality. I knew what you were made of and now I’ve got a name. Now you’ve got a very big problem coming your way.

  Joseph Snow looked at him. There was a question in his expression.

  “I don’t know the name,” Lars said.

  “No?”

  Lars shook his head.

  “We’ll find out what we can about him.”

  “Don’t bother. The most you’ll find is an honorable discharge, sometime long ago. But I doubt he exists officially at all, anywhere.”

  Joseph said nothing.

  “He’s hunkered down in his cozy nest,” Lars said. “A little like yourself. He doesn’t poke his head up unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

  “These cases could be worth tens of millions.”

  “Yeah, he’ll show up for those, all right. I’ll bet anything on that.”

  “You want him?” Joseph said after a moment.

  Lars nodded slowly.

  “Good. That will be a fitting resolution for all involved. He’s yours as soon as we can get you to Maryland.”

  18

  A mile from the state border, two black wolves jumped a small herd of deer. Erupting from the blackness before dawn, they dashed at full speed and soon closed in on a straggler. It was a small doe, apparently lame.

  “Take it quick,” Abel roared between heaving breaths. “You must learn. Sever the spine.”

  Erica moved on one side of the doe while Abel moved on the other. She inched ahead, drawing alongside. She inched closer, closer to its shoulder, took in a great gulp of air, opened her mouth wide, and found her target. For a second its life hovered between the tips of her fangs. Then her jaws closed.

  She slowed when she felt the neck in her grip, cautious to keep from tripping over her own legs and the deer’s legs. She bit down from above and squeezed with all her power, and within seconds came to a halt beside the dying animal. Its delicate head was all but separated from its lean frame. Its lifeblood steamed in the frozen darkness. She felt its spry energy already passing into herself.

  Both wolves stood with heaving sides and throbbing hearts. Both were run ragged, their muscles twitching, their insides aching with hunger after crossing hundreds of miles.

  “If one must kill the beautiful and innocent for sustenance,” Abel said, “one must kill quickly. Well done, young one.”

  She bowed her head in gratitude, first to him and then the doe. She began to lower herself to the ground, and her rubbery legs buckled from exhaustion.

  Abel stood silently, setting aside his authority so that she might feed first. He knew that she would run herself near to death to impress him. She almost had.

  ***

  The elder was still feeding when he sensed the three young pack members approaching from the west. He looked to his young disciple.

  “I know the scents,” she said, taking in the air.

  “Snow blood,” he replied.

  “Yes.”

  “You have been missed. Greet them with equal care, for the love of kin is also of great strength to us.”

  She trotted along to the west until she saw the silver-white swiftly in lead of her brother and David Wilson. Her energy was renewed and at once she bowed and darted in a playful way. She met them in a fury of good will and concern, a rough and tumbling romp of yelps and whines and bushy tail wagging.

  The party settled as Abel joined their midst. He looked at each wolf individually, and finally allowed his raised tail to snap a few quick wags.

  “What news of my brother do you bring?”

  “He has captured the Merrill woman,” the silver-white said eagerly. “For certain she caused the death we suffered in Ludlow by inciting our rivals. Papa has discovered it all—all the plans against us.”

  Abel glanced briefly at David Wilson, sibling to the one who was killed. He saw the repressed hatred at work in his glare, his exertion even now to harness his deep rage.

  “Grandpa keeps her hostage in the barn, in humiliation,” Matthew said. His fluffy gray tail whipped.

  “She is to be yours,” Evie said. “Papa says you will judge her.”

  “Yes,” the elder agreed, growling low. “She was his since the day she was born, because it was he who made her life possible. His responsibility. All Merrill’s have been his since the day he opposed me by letting them share our world. And since she has long proven her wickedness against us, he has done right to capture her. But know that she is not a mere gift of appeasement for me to judge. Rather, she is mine by right of old custom. Mine to condemn.”

  “When will you kill her?” David asked, his darkish face appearing just shy of snarling.

  “When?” Abel said, staring hard at him. “You do not understand, young wolf. The time for swift retribution was the night you joined me in the punishing of the cats. You fought with the strength of grief, and you did well. But now is a different time.”

  “What?” he said. “Are you not meaning to end her soon?”

  “You hate her like no other …”

  “I do.”

  “Then take care to understand a fitting penalty. Quick deaths are granted for warriors or the noble.”

  David glared.

  “Do not look on me as an enemy to justice,” Abel said. “Her suffering under my watch will be long. You may not sink your teeth into her, but you may look upon her anguish for years to come. You may revel in life and vitality before her, while she crawls on her belly as a snake, groveling. My pet, my prisoner. She will wale for mercy but find none. Will suffer hunger, thirst, and all forms of conscious loss. She will be paraded and displayed before all wolves, like a defeated queen of old. And the torment of her mind will be greater than her body. Months, years. Decades, if she is very strong of will. A constant awareness of hopelessness, weighing heavily day and night, through all seasons, will hang over her. Yet she will see the lives of those she scorned move on in comfort, watching from her desperate prison. Shivering in the nights as we howl, cringing in revilement as we look on her by daylight. All the while she will wallow in the depths of her defeat, constantly longing for the escape of death.”

  His throat rumbled as he continued to say, “But death will not come to her until every fragment of her defiant will has been crushed. Only when she has given up all hope will her body at last fail. Then, and on
ly then, will justice have been exhausted.”

  David watched the old Snow. He could not openly question his resolve to stay a course of years, maybe decades. It was foolish to do so in the heat of recent bitterness. The elder had nothing to prove and everything to impart.

  “Horrible,” Evie whined. She was thinking of the story of her Papa’s mother and her untimely death due to the despair of losing her husband of centuries. She knew Abel was giving the Merrill’s back what they had given out long ago.

  Matthew moved close to her. She felt his shoulder touching her shoulder.

  “Can you live with my will?” Abel asked David.

  “I must.”

  “You may resent me now, but you will grow to appreciate it, young wolf. With the decades comes understanding. Revenge burns hot, then passes as the taste of food.”

  “By the second, I appreciate it more,” David said.

  “Live in strength before those who despise you,” Abel told him. “There is no revenge as sweet, no punishment as exhaustive. To continue on is a form of justice.”

  “Justice is more than a moment,” Matthew said. “More than a single action.”

  “Correct, young Snow,” Abel said. “Such understanding makes your heart light. Life is pleasant for you.”

  “Always.”

  David was quiet. Some of the tension was leaving his body. Some, not all. He didn’t think he could ever be as passive as Matthew.

  Abel looked at David and said, “You have grown up under my brother’s supervision, have you not?”

  “I have.”

  “Then surely you have been taught that fools live for the moment, for the quick gains and pleasures referred to as gratifications.”

  “Yes,” David confirmed. “I’ve heard.”

  “Heed the teaching now,” said the old Snow. “Understand that the old and wise endure by seeing ahead. The strongest of wild animals understand this truth, and by it they choose their battles with prudence, and so extend their days. Our humanness is our weakness, young wolf. It is humans in their arrogance—those who claim superiority on the earth—who scoff at such teaching. They rest their fates upon flimsy opinions, governed by feelings, and so direct their lives on blundering courses. Such impatience only hastens their own destruction. Long life is withheld from them due to this lack of perception. Some discover this truth only once it is too late. If you understand me, accept this lesson by word, now, before you bear it by experience later.”