Striking Range

by Margaret Mizushima

  Cole often carried a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver when he rode into the high country. But Mattie could read the alarm on McCoy’s face, and they both knew that firearms might not be useful if you were faced with a trained cop who’d turned rogue. Especially one in disguise.

  “Is Brody on foot?”

  “He’s on the horse I rode earlier.”

  “I’ll try to catch up with him.”

  “He has the sat phone and a radio. He’ll check in when he reaches the cave or when he finds the others. Cole and Garrett only have cell phones.”

  “I’ve got my radio and my cell. I’ll be off, then.”

  “Be careful,” McCoy said, extending a handshake.

  “Always.” They exchanged a tight grip before she turned to leave.

  She picked up her pace to a jog, and Robo trotted ahead. Though she yearned to reach the others at top speed, she knew she had to pace herself. It normally took at least two hours of climbing to reach the cave, though she hoped she could shave off at least a half hour.

  The bottom half of the journey was less steep than the top, so now would be when she could make up some time. The trail wound through ponderosa pines with their sweeping, long-needled boughs. Groves of blue spruce, which bore shorter needles, gleamed brilliant blue in the slanting rays of the setting sun.

  Alternating a fast walk up the steep slope with a sprint on the more level stretches, Mattie grew warm and her breath came in even cycles. This was what she’d trained for in high school, and this was what she excelled at—the cross-country race, one of the most grueling challenges in track. And her dog could run like this all day; she made sure he stayed fit and lean for this type of challenge.

  The words of her high school coach echoed in her mind. “Don’t get in your head. Don’t get distracted. Watch your footing at all times. Push yourself up that hill; your reward is the downhill on the other side.”

  She made it to the midpoint within forty minutes. The flagging tape that marked one of the trees caught her eye as she jogged past. She gave Robo water from her supply and then unhooked the water tube from the strap of her backpack, pressing the bite valve between her teeth as she sucked the welcome fluid from the bladder.

  She keyed on her radio to check in with the sheriff. “Sheriff McCoy. This is Mattie. Over.”

  Immediately her receiver crackled. “Copy. Where’s your location?”

  She pressed her mic. “I’m at the midpoint. No one’s here.”

  “Brody hasn’t checked in. He must be between you and the cave.”

  Mattie assumed Brody hadn’t met up with Garrett or Cole, or he would have notified the sheriff. Worry about the two men made her throat tighten, but she knew she couldn’t lose focus. She needed to stay alert and pay attention. “Tell Brody I’m not far behind him.”

  “Copy that.”

  They both signed off, and Mattie and Robo headed up the trail that led to the cave. The sun had set behind the mountains, though there was still plenty of ambient light. She estimated another hour before twilight and hoped to reach the cave before then.

  The temperature felt like it had dropped at least twenty degrees, and a cold breeze nipped her cheeks as she navigated the rocky uphill path. The higher she went, the colder it would be as she made her way toward the snowy peaks. The terrain became more challenging. The ponderosa gave way to towering lodgepole and groves of aspens, their golden and orange leaves shivering in the waning light as they danced in the icy breeze.

  Mattie’s breath became vaporous clouds, and she pulled her runner’s gloves from her jacket pocket and tugged them on. She kept up the fast pace she’d set for herself on the lower part of the trail, though now there weren’t many spots where the trail leveled off. It led ever upward, but when she reached a switchback, she did something she hated to do—she left the trail to climb directly to the upper level, a practice she would typically avoid to prevent damage to the forest habitat. But she had no time to spare.

  She was sprinting through the last stretch of the living forest toward the burn area when her breath began to hitch. She’d been pushing too hard. Robo was about fifteen feet ahead of her as she faltered. As if he sensed that the distance had grown between them, he stopped, turned to look back, and waited for her to catch up.

  “You’re so good,” she murmured, stroking his head between his ears before shrugging off her backpack. “Let’s get you some water.”

  She partially filled his collapsible bowl, and he lapped the contents greedily. She rehydrated too, and within minutes she felt she’d recovered her breath enough to go on. After repacking his bowl, she slipped on her backpack and took to the trail, this time keeping a moderate pace on the steep parts.

  With Robo in front, they passed into the burn area. A patchwork of snow, dirt, and charred debris covered the terrain. Though the air grew more frigid, its bite stinging her face, she gained more light after leaving the forest. It was a trade-off she welcomed, since she feared she and Robo would be tracking after dark, and she wanted to save the batteries on her head lamp.

  When she reached the granite shelf that led to the cave, she scanned the area for Brody, feeling relief when she spotted a horse tied to a tree. He’d waited for her.

  As she and Robo breached the last uphill stretch, Brody stepped out of the cave. He raised his hand in greeting, and she did the same.

  He came toward her, frowning and carrying a scrap of paper that fluttered in the breeze. “You made good time. I’ve been here less than ten minutes. Garrett left us a note.”

  She bent forward, bracing herself against her thighs as she heaved to catch her breath. “What does it say?”

  “Says he picked up tracks of two horses headed north toward the Balderhouse trail. He’s following them.” Brody pointed. “They’re pretty easy to see against the snow.”

  Mattie scanned where he pointed and could make out the tracks leading away from the cave. “Let’s go.”

  “Have you caught your breath? You can take the horse.”

  “No, I’m ready. I’m better on the ground with Robo.”

  “Garrett can’t be too far ahead.” Brody strode off to untie his horse.

  Garrett was a born woodsman in search of a friend he believed to be in danger. He would travel as fast as he could … but Mattie intended to catch up with him.

  TWENTY-SIX

  The son of a bitch had taken his gun and his cell phone. Cole’s bare hands were bound in front with a zip tie that cut off his circulation. His hands numb, he rode through the trees ahead of Hauck, setting a course for the Balderhouse trail.

  Hauck had demanded that Cole lead him to a trail he could take downhill that would bypass the others and end up in a less public place. Cole had convinced him this was the way to go, but secretly he hoped that someone would become suspicious when he went missing from his post at the cave and when Hauck didn’t return from the high country.

  McCoy, Brody, Garrett, or any one of his buddies on the posse would know his strategy would be to head for the Balderhouse. It was the same trail they’d come down when they’d avoided the fire and found Mattie. And Cole made sure he left tracks in the snow as he rode away from the cave.

  Though he’d reined Mountaineer into every patch of snow he could to leave a trail, drifts were getting harder to find as they angled downhill toward the Balderhouse. He welcomed the waning light, because when it grew dark, he planned to make a move. Hauck had held a gun on him the entire way, so it would be dangerous, but if he didn’t escape soon, he had no hope of getting out of this alive. Hauck couldn’t afford to let him go.

  Cole suspected the bundles Hauck had retrieved from the cave held drugs, cash, or both. He must have found them yesterday and had somehow hidden them from Mattie. Cole didn’t know how that could’ve happened, but the snake had disguised himself well enough to gain everyone’s trust. She might have left him alone while she and Robo searched outside.

  A break in the trees revealed the bare trail, which Cole could har
dly see in the poor light.

  “Is this it?” Hauck said from behind.

  Cole turned to answer so he could see if the gun was still at his back. It was.

  “We’re almost there.” They’d reached the Balderhouse trail, but he lied, hoping to buy just a little bit more time—darkness was his friend. “This will take us to the trail, but the connection is tricky, especially at night.”

  Hauck waved the gun at him. “Keep going.”

  Cole scanned what he could still see of the terrain, looking for a spot that would offer cover and a place to hide. He hoped to use the scumbag’s unfamiliarity with these surroundings against him. After they went about fifty yards down the trail, Hauck told him to stop.

  This is it. Cole tried to breathe through the fear that tightened his gut, expecting a bullet to pierce his back at any second.

  But Hauck dismounted and started fiddling with the ties on his saddlebag. He tugged on a pair of white gloves that shone in the dim light and took out a bag of something. “This will fix that dog if he follows us,” he muttered, bending to shake out a white line of powder on the trail behind Mountaineer.

  This is my chance. Cole fumbled at the saddle horn with his numb hands, unable to grasp it. Changing strategy, he straightened, swung his right leg over Mountaineer’s neck, slid off the saddle, and hit the ground running. If he could make it beyond the range of a bullet, he could disappear into the darkness.

  Hauck uttered curses while Cole sprinted away toward the left side of the trail. A gunshot rang out and a bullet pinged near Cole’s right side, forcing him to dodge left. Dark shadows loomed ahead. Trees, boulders? He couldn’t tell, but he kept his legs churning as Hauck fired another shot.

  Cole tripped on the stony ground, almost losing his balance. Running as fast as he could, he dodged behind a boulder, hoping to use it for shelter. But then the ground tilted suddenly downward and he fell face first, striking his cheek against a rock.

  Stunned, he pushed himself up, bending forward to run, stumbling as he went. Unable to see clearly, he hit an icy patch, slid on some shale, and lost his balance again, gathering momentum as he rolled down a steep incline, rocks striking his face and body.

  He threw up his numb hands, trying as best he could to shelter his head as he fell.

  * * *

  Mattie could barely make out anything as they tried to follow the track. Snowy patches where they’d been able to see hoofprints grew smaller and fewer. The quickening wind blew at their backs. It was time to pull out their ace in the hole—Robo’s nose.

  Brody was in the lead, and Mattie called to him. “Wait up a minute, Brody.”

  He reined to a stop and turned back.

  “It’s time for me to put Robo on Cole’s scent. I have a scent article.”

  “That’s a relief. We’re just about finished with daylight.”

  She felt pressed for time, but it would take only a few added seconds to do things right. She removed Robo’s tracking harness from her utility belt and changed out his equipment before giving him some water to moisten his mucous membranes.

  After he’d quenched his thirst, she patted his sides, thumping a rhythm on his rib cage like a drum. She opened the plastic bag that contained Cole’s T-shirt and lowered it so that Robo could get a whiff. As she sealed the bag and tucked it into a pocket where she could reach it easily, she continued to rev up Robo’s prey drive with chatter.

  He danced beside her until she gave him the direction: “Let’s go. Let’s find Cole.”

  Though her dog had to be tired, it didn’t take much to make him excited. Work was what he lived for. And oddly enough, he’d searched for Cole before during their many practices while training Bruno and Belle for search and rescue.

  Robo lowered his head and gave the ground a brief sweep. Mattie turned on her head lamp and could detect the faint outline of a horseshoe on the damp ground. The scent trail that Robo picked up was off to the side by several feet, where the wind had scattered the skin rafts that Cole had shed as he passed this way, thus leaving his scent on a track parallel to the visual one the horses had made.

  Mattie murmured words of encouragement as she and Robo took the lead. The moist conditions were perfect for tracking scent, and Robo set a fast pace through the blackened area of the forest. Mattie was vaguely familiar with this landscape, since she’d struck out in a similar direction the night she escaped from the cave, trying to beat the fire as the prevailing wind pushed the blaze downhill and toward the east.

  “We’re definitely headed for the Balderhouse trail,” Brody called from behind. “I’m going to contact the sheriff and tell him to set up a perimeter at the base of that trail in case that’s where Cole leads Hauck.”

  Unless Hauck kills him before they reach the base of it. A chill passed through Mattie at the thought. “Sounds like a good plan.”

  She didn’t want to interrupt Robo’s search, so she kept up with him while Brody fell behind to make his call. Her head lamp lit the area at her feet, and she placed her steps carefully to avoid tripping over stones or getting tangled in the new growth that had taken over the burnt mountainside. The lower the altitude, the less snow they had to contend with, but the ground beneath their feet was still treacherous.

  Though Brody had fallen behind, the wind drove the noise his horse made toward her, helping her keep track of his whereabouts. She wondered how Garrett was faring as the darkness deepened. Did he have a flashlight? Was he still able to follow Cole’s track?

  A shout came from a distance, somewhere in front of her but distorted by the wind. It might be closer than it sounded. Her head lamp shone on Robo as he paused with his head up and ears pricked. “Who is it?” she murmured to her dog, afraid to call out, fearing it was Hauck.

  Robo put his head down and continued on the track, and Mattie removed her head lamp and held it away from her body to avoid making herself a target. Boulders and stones were strewn over the ground among the skeletons of trees, and the earth shifted beneath her feet into a steep incline.

  Another shout, and this time Mattie thought she heard her name. Was that Garrett? Cole? Robo paused to listen, and she decided to call back. “I’m here!”

  “Over here, Mattie!”

  She followed the sound while Robo continued to follow Cole’s scent. Both were taking them the same direction. Within minutes, Mattie glimpsed a light shining through the blackened tree trunks. “Who’s there?”

  “Garrett. Watch out for a sudden drop-off.”

  “I see you.” And there he was, behind the flashlight as he directed its beam toward the ground to light her way. She and Robo clattered down a sudden downward pitch while stones rolled beneath their feet. “Thank goodness we caught up with you.”

  “I’m sidelined, Mattie.” His face looked drawn with pain as he gestured toward the horse behind him. “My horse took a fall. Looks like he bowed a tendon, and he’s all bunged up. I hurt my ankle. We’re a sorry pair.”

  He turned his flashlight toward his horse’s legs, which were scraped and bloodied, and it stood with one hoof cocked.

  “Oh no. Are you all right?” Mattie grasped the handle on Robo’s search harness and stroked his back, letting him know she wanted him to wait.

  “I’ll be okay.” He sounded disgusted. “I’ve got something wrong with my ankle. Might be broken. But I can’t ride this guy. He’s got to be led.”

  “Brody’s right behind me.” She turned and called Brody’s name into the wind, and she felt relieved to hear him shout a reply. As he approached, his horse’s metal shoes clanged against the outcropping of stones. She called out a warning to be careful.

  “What happened?” The concern on Brody’s face was evident in the glow of their flashlights as he dismounted and led his horse toward them.

  Garrett briefed him on his status. “But you two have to keep going. I’ll make it to the tree line and set up camp. I didn’t want to leave this trail until I turned it over to you.”

  Gusts of wi
nd buffeted them and howled through the dead trees. Mattie pulled up her collar and shrugged deeper into her coat.

  “We can’t leave you exposed on the mountainside like this,” Brody said. “Let me help you onto my horse.”

  “I have a bad feeling about Cole,” Garrett said. “My horse is lame, and I can’t leave him here by himself. You go on without me. I’ll be all right.”

  Brody handed his horse’s reins to Mattie. “Can’t do that, Garrett. Let’s get you up on this horse.”

  Garrett groaned as Brody helped jostle him into the saddle. He settled into the seat, letting his injured leg hang free of the stirrup while he took the reins from Mattie. He leaned toward his lame horse, trying to grab the reins that dangled just beyond his reach in the howling wind. Brody stepped over to grab them and tucked them into his hand.

  “All right, I’m good,” Garrett said. “You two go now. I’ll find the Balderhouse trail and go downhill from there at my own pace.”

  Mattie worried that they shouldn’t leave Garrett alone under this set of circumstances. A quick check with her head lamp revealed that Brody shared her concern. “Robo and I can go on our own,” she said to him. “We’ll make less noise and have a better chance of catching Hauck unaware.”

  “We need to stay together.”

  This was always Brody’s go-to when they were in the wilderness, and though it made sense most of the time, Mattie couldn’t accept it tonight. “Cole would have taken Hauck back down the Redstone trail unless he was under duress.”

  “She’s right,” Garrett said, his voice a deep rumble. “Going across country like this late in the day wasn’t Cole’s idea.”

  Brody hesitated, obviously thinking things over. “You’ve got your radio, right?” he asked Mattie.

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll stay with Garrett until we find him some shelter. We’ll stay in touch by radio, and I’ll come back you up.”

  Even with the help of the GPS system on their radios, reconnecting with Brody in this wilderness sounded iffy. But Mattie didn’t care. She figured she and Robo could cover more ground by themselves. “Sounds like a good plan. I’ll contact you if I find them and give you my location.”