by Dale Mayer
“No. I’m waiting for a signal that they’ve taken out the sniper, or at least that it’s safe to get up and move.”
She snorted. “We need to get Nate down to the cabin fast.” She motioned at the others. “We all need to get inside where it’s warm.”
“That might be, but we’re not taking Nate anywhere and getting you shot in the meantime.”
“Speaking of which, why the hell are you here?”
“Your father.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want anything to do with him.”
“You don’t have a choice,” Anders said tiredly. “Somebody is trying to use you to get at him, possibly to kidnap you for leverage over your father. If a bullet hole in your friend here isn’t enough proof that you’re in danger, what is? I highly suggest you stop fighting me on this.”
“Why the hell would I do that?” she asked with spirit. “If anything, I’m even less likely to take orders from you.”
“I thought you’d have seen what we had,” he said, his voice low. “But apparently you can’t see past your own nose.”
A hawk’s cry ripped through the air.
Finally the signal. Anders stood, packed Nate’s wound tight with a bandage from his pack. He then hefted Nate high on his shoulder, staggering under his weight, then set out. The other three crowded around him.
“What the hell happened?” Hannah cried out.
He glanced at her, recognizing her face from the conference where he’d met Angelica. “It’s Hannah, isn’t it?”
She shot him a hard look. “Yes, it is, but I sure as hell don’t know you.”
“Meet one of our fine American military officers,” Angelica said, “always out to protect and to serve. Naval Officer Anders Renau.”
“No longer in the military, thank you very much.” He swore as his foot came down, reaching the crust and breaking through. This was treacherous footing. It would help a lot if somebody broke the trail for him, but he wouldn’t ask any of these guys. Once his own men joined them, it would be easier going. Anders kept up the silent march, packing Nate, who had to be at least 180 pounds himself. But, with all his gear, he topped the two hundred mark. “Keep an eye out for a blood trail behind us,” he said. “If you see it, make sure you bury it. We don’t want anyone or anything able to follow us.”
One of the other men stepped forward and said, “I’m Steve. Let me break trail for you.” He traipsed in front and moved ahead.
“Thanks,” Anders said. “I’m not sure how many miles we have to travel, but we need to get there as fast as we can.”
“I don’t even know where the hell you came from, let alone that bullet,” Steve said. “It all happened so fast. Next thing I know, Nate was down, and you were tackling Angelica.”
“He does that a lot,” Angelica said. “Apparently Carlo is in trouble again, and they’ve come to retrieve me.”
She had said it with such disdain that Anders groaned. “You know we’re trying to keep you safe …” And something more was going on with Angel and her father for her to resort to calling him by his first name.
“Sure. I wish you’d kept Nate safe instead,” she said bitterly. “If he’s been shot because of something Carlo has done, … I’ll never forgive him.”
“Your father is a member of parliament. He makes enemies,” Anders said, “but this is less about him and more about the danger you are in. As such, why not let us keep you safe?” He walked a moment. “I didn’t know who you were, you know?”
At that, he could hear her tone of disbelief with a single huff.
“Okay, fine. I knew your name, but I didn’t realize you were the daughter of a member of parliament.”
“That’s because I deliberately don’t advertise that,” she said. “You know what it’s like growing up with a political figure as a parent?”
“It would have been a different lifestyle for sure,” he said.
The going was treacherous with a slight decline, and his boots were slipping. The last thing he wanted was to drop Nate.
At the end of the line, Hannah said urgently, “Somebody’s behind us.”
He slowed his footsteps, opened his throat and sent out a wild cry. When the answer came back, he said, “Not to worry. It’s one of my men.”
“One of your men?” Hannah asked. “How many are here?”
“Four of us good guys. As for the assholes who shot Nate, I have no idea, but it definitely won’t be just one.”
“Did your friends take out the shooter?” Hannah asked.
“Not sure. None of us are safe here.” Anders’s tone was hard. “Somebody went to a lot of effort to come up here after you.”
“Here? Why? What have we done?” Steve asked. “And I get that you and Angelica have a history, but what kind of history? Details please,” he added with a big grin.
“The only history we have,” she said in exasperation, “was a moment of friendship.”
“Only so far as a friendship can go when you’re engaged to be married,” he said. “And that guy was a plain asshole anyway. If you’d listened to me, it would’ve saved you a lot of heartache.”
“Maybe I don’t like know-it-all men,” she snapped. “And you telling me to ditch my fiancé because you’d be a much better man for me wasn’t helpful.”
“Yeah. How about now?”
Steve, still breaking the path in front of him, started laughing. “You two are hilarious. If you were like this before, you must have ruffled her feathers plenty.”
“Angel definitely wasn’t an ice queen back then,” he said with a sigh. “There was plenty of heat. Which is why I knew she had no business marrying that idiot. Especially when he sat at the bar surrounded by women.”
“It was a business networking session,” she said defensively.
“Yeah, he was networking all right,” Anders said. “Body language doesn’t lie. He was networking into anybody’s bed he could get into.”
Angelica remained silent.
He realized that airing their dirty laundry in front of her research team was not a smart idea. “At least all is well that ends well,” he said in a conciliatory tone. “He’s out of your life. And you’re much better off.”
She groaned. “Okay. Can we change the subject from my personal life please?”
“Do we have to?” Hannah asked in an attempt at lightness. “It’s the most fascinating conversation we’ve had in the last week.”
It was a good way to keep people’s minds off the harsh pace Anders had set.
“And why is your friend following us anyway?” Hannah asked.
“He’s removing our tracks to make it harder to follow us.”
At Steve’s quick twist to look at Anders and then to immediately pivot back, walking a little faster, Anders realized the others understood.
“How much longer?” Hannah’s panic rode the edge of her voice.
“I’d say about fifteen minutes,” Anders said. He refused to keep checking the time. The hike would end when the hike would end.
He was accustomed to marching, but the differing terrain, the snow and the hills made this trek a little bit more dangerous. The fact they were out in the open made it that much more dangerous. He could have gone to the tree line and stayed hidden for a little longer, but the end result was, they would still have to march out in the open at this point. The cabin was below them. Nate was still tied up with the connecting rope to the others, and, since Anders carried Nate, Anders was part of the rope chain. But, if one of them went down, … that wouldn’t be a good idea, considering Nate and Anders. And he couldn’t slide the next couple hundred feet either. Although they would move much faster, it could also cause them a lot more injuries.
Just then Steve tripped and went down. He rolled until his rope grew taut. Anders hit the brakes, knowing the rope around Nate would soon pull on them both. Anders grabbed it with his free hand and pulled backward to stop Steve’s stumble. The two women were caught up in the rope behind Nate. Wi
th Steve in the lead and now on the ground, the ropes were even more important.
Slowly Steve made it to his knees. He stopped and took a deep breath, looked around him and said, “Well, that wasn’t much fun.”
“Let me break the trail,” Angelica said.
“No,” Anders said. “You stay right at my side.”
“That won’t help us much,” she said in exasperation. “We have to get Nate to safety. And fast.”
“That’s fine,” Anders said, “but what I don’t want is anybody else falling. If we have to slow it down a little bit, then we will.”
“You’re the one carrying Nate. Aren’t you tired?” Steve slowly made his way to his feet. “I can’t say this is a pace I’m terribly comfortable with. My legs are already killing me and so are my lungs.”
“The cabin is up ahead,” Angelica said reassuringly. “This has ended up being quite the nightmare.”
Steve shot her a look. “You’re not kidding. If Nate doesn’t make it …”
“Nate has brand new twin sons at home,” she said firmly. “We’ll do everything possible to get him back to them once again.”
Chapter 4
“That’s got to be tough,” Anders said to Angelica.
“It is,” she admitted. “He said this is likely his last field assignment. He wants to stay home and spend time with them. Because it’s twins, and they’re only having these kids, and he doesn’t want to miss anything in their lives.”
“Nice to see a father who cares so much,” Anders said.
She kept glancing around, hating that sense of having a target on her back. Every once in a while she did a quick twist to look behind them, but it was almost impossible to see whoever followed them. “Hannah, can you see Anders’s men behind us?”
Hannah turned and then pivoted toward Angelica. “No, I can’t. And I’ve been looking.”
“They’re tracking the bad guys,” Anders explained, “but one of them has eyes on us at all times.”
“Let’s just stay focused and get to the cabin as fast as we can.” Angelica’s voice was grim.
“And we’re staying inside the cabin,” Anders said firmly. “Don’t let any other thought enter into your mind.”
“I was hoping for clear skies, but this is a half-gray windy mess,” Angelica said.
“We’ve got a helicopter on standby in town,” he said. “If the weather permits, we have to get down one more level, and we should be able to get Nate airlifted out.”
She stared at him in surprise. “I forgot what money can do,” she muttered.
“In this case it could be money that saves your friend,” he said. The cabin was just ahead. “We’re another five minutes. Any idea if any sleds are there?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “I know there are skis.”
“Okay,” he said.
She watched his brain turn over as if figuring it out. “What are you thinking?”
“Do any of you ski?”
Steve nodded. “I do.”
Angelica nodded. “I can, but mostly cross-country. I don’t know about downhill.”
“Well, I can’t,” Hannah said flatly. “Snowshoe, yes, but I wasn’t meant to have boards attached to my feet.”
“Of course,” Anders said. “It’s never that easy.”
And Angelica realized he was trying to find a faster way to get Nate down to the second cabin. “If you can take him faster, then you go without us,” she said.
He shot her a look. “I’m not leaving your side.” His words had been sharp, harsh. He was tired of repeating this.
She raised both hands in frustration. “It’s not about me at this point,” she snapped. “This is about keeping Nate alive.”
“It’s about both,” he said quietly. “Let me think about it.”
They trudged ever closer to the cabin. When they got there, the door opened, and a man stepped out. They all froze except for Anders, who marched forward. “That’s Harrison. He’s one of us.”
Harrison came out and shifted Nate off Anders’s shoulder. Harrison took the injured researcher inside, and the others followed.
Stomping the snow off her feet, Angelica walked inside and asked Harrison, “How is Nate?”
“His temperature is not too bad,” he said as he checked the wound. “We do have clearance for the helicopter one line down, and I did find a stretcher up here, which is interesting.”
“Also skis apparently,” Anders said.
“But how many pairs and how many parties here ski?”
“I don’t ski very well, and Hannah doesn’t ski at all,” Angelica said. “Steve is a skier.”
While Harrison checked Nate over, Anders loosened up his shoulder muscles as he scouted out the gear found in the cabin. There was, indeed, a stretcher, and that was perfect for Nate, but getting the others down to the next level was a different story. And there were only two pairs of skis. He and Harrison could ski, but they weren’t leaving the others behind.
She stood beside him. “I know what you’re thinking.”
He shrugged. “How to get all of us down there as fast as possible.”
“I know that,” she said, “but it’s still a treacherous downhill climb.”
“Anytime you’re dealing with Mother Nature like this, it’s a treacherous climb.” He pointed to the icepacks among the medical supplies. “We need to make sure we grab a couple of those for our next leg of the journey.”
“They’re actually ours,” she said. “We usually bring up and leave behind gear, so it’s here in case the next person needs it.”
“Of course.” He walked back outside.
She followed. “What are you looking for?”
“A second stretcher would be good,” he said. “We could put Hannah in it and tow her down.”
“There are still not enough skis.”
He nodded. “But some of you are better able to travel in this snow than others.” He did an in-depth search inside and out. He found no more equipment.
Inside she accepted a cup of tea from Hannah and sat down, staring worriedly at Nate. “Surely this is just a quick stop until we can keep going.”
“Yes, except clouds are moving in. It’s a good four hours to the next cabin.”
“I know that,” she said. “But, if we’re going downhill, we can usually do it in a good three, three and a half.”
“We can probably do it in under three,” Harrison said. “And, if we’re skiing, we can get down much faster. I’ll take Nate on the stretcher with skis. Anders will come with you guys.”
“He said two more men were with you,” Hannah noted. “Where are they?”
“Hunting,” Harrison said succinctly. “They’ll show up when they show up.”
“Isn’t it dangerous out there for them?” Angelica asked. “And how will you let them know what’s happened?”
“They’re already keeping an eye on the cabin. The last thing we want is to get pinned in here by a sniper outside.”
Silence fell in the small room as everyone thought about that.
Angelica shook her head. “This is ridiculous.” She threw back the rest of her tea and put her boots on again. “Nothing good can happen by sitting here, waiting. Better we go and get this done.”
“Whether or not we got the original shooter from their first attack, it still won’t change things. We don’t know how many are left, how many are sharpshooters,” Harrison said. “So I’m taking Nate down first in the stretcher, and then you’re going down with Anders on foot.”
“That’s fine,” Angelica said. “It’ll be much easier on Anders if he’s not carrying Nate this trip.”
“But,” Anders considered out loud, “the attackers could be down to a two-man team. Which may be why they haven’t attacked again on this last trek, what with us more vulnerable—carrying Nate who’s been shot and slowing down to prevent any accidental falls. Still, … if their sniper is alive, they could have raced ahead of us to set up closer to town. Everyb
ody stay alert to your surroundings.”
She watched as the two men bundled Nate up with blankets and strapped him into the snow carrier. They carefully protected his face and head, and, with Harrison now buckled into skis, he was out the door, heading down the mountain before they even had the rest of their outer clothing on.
Anders stood watch over the group, making sure they were buckled and tied up to each other, ready to take the trail on foot. Then he tested the ropes on all four of them and said, “Let’s go.”
With one last look at the cabin, the fires out, they raced into the cold. Only now some of the sun had gone behind the clouds, and the breeze had picked up. Icy wind bit into their cheeks.
Angelica leaned into the wind as Anders, stalwart and steady, broke the path, following Harrison’s ski tracks all the way down. She didn’t know how long the ski tracks would remain once the snow came again. But then she had no time to worry about it. It was hard enough putting one foot after the other. She was also worried about Hannah.
Downhill hiking in the snow and subfreezing temps wasn’t Hannah’s style—especially having already done one hike to one lower level—and, though Hannah was fit and incredibly strong, this was still a nightmare trip for anybody, no matter what their fitness level. An hour in, Angelica could feel the cold biting at her.
Steve stepped out trying to walk beside her. He was trying to keep her attitude up with his bright grin. She appreciated it but it had to be making his efforts that much harder.
Woosh.
Steve fell down.
Instantly Anders was there at her side. He knelt down beside Steve. “Are you okay?”
Steve nodded but his grim face told a different story. Still he reached up a hand and Anders helped him back out. Then he leaned over and studied the hollow Steve had fallen into.
“This is manmade.” He glanced around at the others. “Remember—single file. No going off on your own. Now let’s go.”
“Steve needs some rest,” Hannah protested.
But Anders wouldn’t give an inch. He struck out strong, repeatedly calling back to them, telling them to keep going, keep putting one foot in front of the other, and they’d be there soon. By her count, soon was still a long way off. She thought they could make it in three and a half hours, but, by two and a half, she wasn’t sure any of them would make it at all.
