by Kathi Daley
“You must enjoy what you do or you wouldn’t do it, but it sounds lonely. Do you have to relocate often?”
“More often than I’d like.”
“Have you ever thought about doing something else? Something a bit more structured, where you wouldn’t have to travel so much?”
Shredder shrugged. “Sometimes. In the end, I’d be bored with a nine-to-five gig. I may not have chosen the life I have, but it suits me. How about you? Do you ever think of leaving Rescue and seeing the world?”
“No. Not at all. I love it here. My friends and animals are here. I can’t imagine ever wanting to leave, no matter what the reason.”
I was about to ask Shredder about hobbies when my house phone rang. I got up, walked across the room, and answered it.
“Is this Harmony Carson?” a deep voice asked.
“Who is this?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m looking for something Tim Maverick had before he died. I wonder if he might have left it with you.”
I made eye contact with Shredder, trying to relay that the call I was on could be an important one. “I barely knew Tim. There’s no reason for him to have left anything with me.”
“You’ve been asking around about his activities before his death. That doesn’t sound like something a woman who barely knew someone would do.”
“I was helping a friend find some answers, but we came up empty. I need to go.” I hung up before the man could reply.
“What was that all about?” Shredder asked.
I explained about the call Justine had taken while I was away, as well as this one. “He had a deep, strange voice. Like he was calling from a tunnel. There was a distinct echo.”
Shredder frowned. “I’m not liking this one bit. I have some equipment in my vehicle. I’m going to get it in case he calls back. If the phone rings before I get back, don’t answer it.”
“Okay.” The look on Shredder’s face had me concerned. I consider myself to be a brave person generally. I don’t mean spy brave, but I’m not easily intimidated. Still, with everything that was going on, I felt my stomach churn and my mouth grow dry.
Shredder hooked my phone up to his equipment, then had a conversation with whoever he was always checking in with. I listened while he explained about the phone tap and what he was trying to accomplish. Once everything was hooked up, he turned to look at me. “The phone now has both a tap and a tracer. What that means is that any conversation you have will be recorded, so you may want to use your cell for personal calls. If the man calls back, we’ll try to trace the call to its source.”
“Do you think I’m in danger?”
“If it’s Pickard and he believes you have the drive or know where it is, yes.”
“Should we call the police?”
“No. I’ll stay with you tonight. I don’t suppose you have any sort of alarm system?”
“Does seven barking dogs count?”
Shredder lifted an eyebrow. “Actually, yes. If you need to go out to the barn or take the dogs out, I’ll go with you. Do you still have that shotgun you pulled on me?”
“I do.”
“Is it loaded?”
“Always.”
Shredder looked around, then glanced at the computer he’d set up on my dining table. “We’ve done what we can. Now, let’s see if we can get the drive decrypted. The sooner we know what’s on it, the sooner we can leak the fact that we have it and the sooner you’ll no longer be in danger.”
I’ll admit I’m not a whiz on the computer, and Shredder seemed like he knew what he was doing, so I sat back and watched him work. If he ended up needing help, we could call Landon, who was a genius when it came to anything cyber. I wasn’t only amazed at the look of complete focus and concentration on Shredder’s face but the speed with which his tanned fingers flew over the keyboard. I could navigate cyberspace all right, but I’d never had much of an interest in learning how to go beyond the basics. I did, however, admire people with the intelligence and patience to do so.
It looked like Shredder was settled in for the long haul, so I decided to let Honey out and then give the pups their last meal of the day. Shredder didn’t want me going out alone, but all I intended to do was stand on the back porch while the dog did her business and then come right back in. The rest of my pack would need a bit longer in the yard, so once I fed the pups, Shredder could come out with me if he really felt he needed to.
Once she was outside, Honey looked toward the denseness of the woods and growled.
“What is it, girl? Do you see something?”
She didn’t move toward the woods, but she didn’t return to me either.
“Maybe we should go inside. Your babies need their dinner.”
Honey glanced at me, then back toward the woods. She barked loudly several times before coming in my direction. It was possible there was a bear in the woods. Although most would be in hibernation by now, there were a few stragglers every year. And it wouldn’t be unheard of to have a moose or even a wolf in the yard. I had to be extra careful to keep the barn locked so wolves couldn’t get in and make a meal of Homer, who had no way to defend himself.
Back in the house, I mixed up the formula and prepared four bottles. A quick peek in the living area confirmed Shredder was still bent over his computer. I had two guest rooms, but neither had been cleaned in a while, so I’d need to prepare one for him when I’d finished with the pups if he really did plan to stay over.
Other than Jake, I’d never had a man spend the night in my house. Of course, it wasn’t like Shredder was actually spending the night. I did feel better, though, knowing he’d be close by if the goon from the phone call was in the area and posed a threat to me.
I’d just finished feeding puppy number two when the phone rang. I set the pup down next to Honey and went into the living room. Shredder motioned for me to pick up the phone.
“Hello.”
“It seems we may have been cut off the last time I called,” the man with the deep voice said.
“Yes,” I answered. “I’m afraid that’s what happened. I didn’t have much to add to what I’d already said, however. I barely knew Tim and he absolutely didn’t leave anything with me.”
“Don’t lie to me,” the deep, garbled voice shouted. “I’d hate to get blood all over your pretty blue sweater.”
I paled. I was wearing a blue sweater.
“I’m not lying,” I answered. “Tim didn’t give me anything. I really can’t help you.”
“You have a guest. Who is it?”
I glanced at Shredder. He shook his head.
“My boyfriend,” I answered. “We’re having dinner.”
“Does your boyfriend know anything about the item Tim left?”
“No,” I assured the man. “My boyfriend is new to town. He never even met Tim. Have you tried looking at Tim’s cabin for whatever it is you’re after?”
“It’s not there. I need to go now, but remember, I’m watching you.” He hung up.
“Can you trace it?” I asked.
“He hung up too soon. The guy must suspect we were tracing the call.”
I glanced at the window. The drape was open, but I had a sudden urge to close it, and all the other ones in the house too. “He knows you’re here. Do you think he knows who you are?”
Shredder glanced at the window himself, then got up and closed the drape himself. “I don’t think so. I operate under deep cover. If he can see us, he must be nearby. I doubt it’s Pickard, but it could be one of his thugs. Go around and make sure all the doors and windows are locked and the drapes are closed.”
“The dogs will need to go out again.”
Shredder pulled a gun out of the pocket of the jacket hanging on the peg at the front door. “I’ll take them. Lock the door behind me and only open it if I knock three times, followed by a pause, and then a single rap.”
“Okay.”
“Even if I say, ‘Hey, it’s me, let me in,’ don’t open up without the
knock.”
“Okay.”
“Promise me.”
“I promise.”
“Are the animals in the barn okay?”
I nodded. “I saw to them already.”
Shredder called all the dogs except for Honey and headed to the door. I locked it behind him. It was awfully cold tonight. If there was someone lingering in the woods, I didn’t think they’d be able to stay there for long.
The phone rang again, but I let it go to the answering machine. Whoever it was didn’t leave a message. Every minute Shredder was outdoors seemed like an hour. I needed to finish feeding the pups, but there was no way I could take my eyes off the door until Shredder returned. I almost jumped out of my skin when my cell rang. I ignored that too. Whoever it was could wait.
After what seemed like an eternity, Shredder knocked and I let him in. He checked all the locks, then went back to the computer. I went into the bedroom to feed the last two pups. I was just finishing up when I heard Shredder yell, “Got it.” I joined him in the living room to see he was frowning at the computer.
“Did you get in?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“And…?”
“And it’s not good. It looks like Pickard planned to sell a list with the aliases and current locations of more than a dozen CIA operatives.”
“But we stopped it, right? Or, more precisely, Tim stopped it?”
“It’s more like Tim delayed it. Pickard stole the information once. He can steal it again. We need to find him and put an end to his reign of terror once and for all. In the meantime, the CIA will recall the operatives at risk.”
Shredder turned back to his computer. He began typing in commands, so I assumed our conversation was over. I wasn’t sure what would come next, but I hadn’t been much more than a passenger for this entire ride.
“Who do you think has been calling? The person who was supposed to receive the drive?”
“Probably. It should be assumed he’s armed and dangerous. And that he’ll stop at nothing to get the drive. The sooner we can get the word out that it’s decrypted, the better. Once everyone involved knows it’s worthless, whoever is after it will move on.”
It sounded like we just needed to stay holed up in the house until the person who wanted the drive realized the CIA had been notified of the contents and had acted to neutralize it. I was a little surprised that if there really was someone in the woods behind the house, they didn’t just storm the place. It could be Honey had simply been growling at an animal and whoever was watching us was doing so remotely. The other dogs hadn’t gone crazy when Shredder had taken them out, and if there’d been someone nearby, Denali, especially, would have had him for dinner.
Shredder was busy, so I picked up my cell and checked for messages. There was one from Jake, letting me know they had a rescue underway and could really use my help.
“I need to go,” I said aloud.
“Go? Go where?”
“Jake needs me. There’s a rescue.”
Shredder paused, then said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave the house.”
“I can’t just ignore a person in need.”
“It could be a trap.”
“A trap? What sort of trap?”
“Maybe your caller wants to smoke us out so we’ll leave the house. We’ll be more vulnerable when we’re on the road. The dogs will alert us if anyone approaches the house, and we have guns and ammunition. I say we stay here.”
“But…”
“No buts,” Shredder said. “If Jake knew the situation, he’d agree.”
Shredder was right. If Jake did know what was going on, he would agree.
“You were able to connect to the girl whose family was in the accident while we were on the road. That means you don’t have to be at the bar or with the team to help them. Get whoever’s in charge on the phone. Tell them you’re sick, but you’re happy to help. Get the information you need and try to do it from here.”
I supposed that might work. I could get a connection, if I was meant to, from anywhere. I called Jake, who told me the victims were two missing kids, aged twelve and thirteen, both boys. He didn’t have a lot of information other than that he’d received a call from a man who said the boys had gone shooting earlier in the day and weren’t back at the house at the time they’d arranged.
“What are their names?” I asked.
“Peter and Kevin,” Jake informed me. “Wyatt, Landon, and I are going to take a look around on the snowmobiles. We have no idea where to begin looking, though, so unless you’re able to connect, I don’t know what we can do. Sarge will monitor you on the phone.”
“Okay. I’ll do what I can.”
I sat down and closed my eyes. I tried to focus my energy on the names Jake had given me, but I was coming up empty. “Do you have any other information?” I asked Sarge.
“No. Just the names and ages. The man hung up before Jake could get more. He tried to call him back, but he didn’t answer.”
I relaxed my body and focused on the names. I tried to see the boys in my head, but there was nothing. After ten minutes, I picked up the phone again. “I’m sorry. I’ve got nothing.”
“It was kind of a strange call,” Sarge admitted. “When Jake filled me in on the specifics, I almost wondered if it was a prank.”
I hesitated. We’d received prank calls in the past, and it very well could be my caller, trying to smoke me out. “Do you have the number the call was made from?”
“Should have it. Hang on.” Sarge came back on the line a minute later. “The number’s blocked.”
“Call Jake and the others back in. I’ve gotten a couple of prank calls at the house tonight as well. It seems someone with a very unfunny sense of humor is trying to pull my leg.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. When I tried to connect, there was nothing at all. Not an image just out of reach, or a sense that I was close. There was simply nothing. That’s never happened before. If you do get additional information that leads you to believe the rescue is real, call me back. I’ll keep the phone nearby.”
“Okay, Harm. Let’s hope you’re right.”
Yeah, I thought to myself, let’s hope I am. I glanced at Shredder, who was staring at me. “It looks like you were right. Someone just wanted us out of the house.” I took a deep breath. “Are we going to be okay?”
“We’ll be okay. Trust me; I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I trusted Shredder, but it was very unnerving to know there was someone out there who might very well threaten my life. Shredder sat back down at the computer and I went into a guest room to change the bedding and clean up a bit. Denali, who I sensed was picking up on my tension, followed me into the room. All my dogs were protective of me to a certain degree, but I knew if I was ever really threatened by a madman with a gun, Denali wouldn’t hesitate to attack. I just hoped he wasn’t injured in the crossfire.
Once I was satisfied the guest room was as clean as it was going to be, I wandered into my own room. I had just opened the closet to hang up the sweater I’d worn that day when I heard a sound outside my window. Denali launched into attack mode and ran to the window. He put his front paws on the sill and barked aggressively at whoever or whatever was outside.
Shredder came running into the room with Riptide and the other dogs on his heels. “What is it?”
“I don’t know. I heard a noise, a thunking sort of sound, and then Denali went berserk.”
Shredder grabbed the gun he’d tucked into the back of his belt. “Stay here and away from the window. I’ll check it out.”
“No! Don’t go outside. If it’s the caller, he probably has a gun. It’s safer in here.”
“I’ll sneak out the front and circle around to the back. I’ll be fine. Wait here for me.”
My heart literally skipped a beat when Shredder left the room. I hadn’t been quite this scared since the night Val had gone missing. Riptide was standing at the d
oor, Denali was still looking out the window, where Shia had joined him, and Honey and Lucky were sitting at my feet. I was too scared to breathe as I waited for whatever was going to happen.
“Get a grip,” I whispered to myself.
I took several deep breaths, then refocused my fear on survival. I knew Shredder had told me to wait, but waiting wasn’t my strong suit. I scratched Honey and Lucky behind the ears in an offer of comfort, then went for my rifle. I pulled on my black parka and tucked my hair up under a black ski cap. I motioned for the dogs to be quiet as I snuck out the front door. I suspected Shredder had already circled around to the back, so I went in that direction.
When I got there, I saw Shredder standing with his pistol drawn at the edge of the clearing. He was looking in to the woods, although I couldn’t figure out how he could see anything. It was totally dark and he didn’t have a flashlight. I was about to step toward him when I noticed a movement on the rocky ledge behind where he was standing. I barely had a chance to get off a shot before the shadow leaped from the height of the ledge in preparation to attack Shredder from behind.
“What the hell?” He spun around and looked at me when he heard the shot.
“Cougar.”
Shredder looked behind him and then started walking in my direction. “Cougar?”
“He was stalking you from behind. Lesson number one when walking around in the dark in Alaska: watch your back. Living all the way out here, I get a lot of wildlife.”
“Is he dead?”
I shook my head. “I shot over his head. It scared him away, but he’s still probably nearby. Let’s get inside.”
“I guess I understand why you carry that rifle everywhere you go.”
“I rarely leave the house without it.”
Shredder started back toward the house and I fell in beside him. “I thought I told you to stay inside.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful you probably just saved my life, but I’m not used to having my orders ignored.”
“I’m not on your team and I’m not one of your men, so I don’t need to obey you,” I pointed out. “Besides, I’m famous for rarely doing as I’m told.”
