Proving Ground

by Stanalei Fletcher

  An epiphany about that last assignment burst through her mind like a bottle rocket on the Fourth of July. She came to a halt.

  Maybe fate was what she made it. Instead of some uncontrollable monster destined to overrun her life, she should be looking for the little things fate put in her path. Caitlin grinned to herself. Like right now. Here was an opportunity staring her in the face.

  Observe without being observed.

  Disregarding the urge to alert Dunn’s brother-in-law to be more careful, she stepped off the trail and slipped behind the trunk of a pine. From her place of concealment, she watched the man round a bend in the trail and disappear from view. With a steadying breath, she felt all her training rush to the fore. Practicing her surveillance skills certainly couldn’t hurt, especially if she wanted a second chance with Northstar.

  Caitlin stepped away from the tree. Leaving the trail, she chose a route that headed straight up the hillside, carefully placing her feet for stability and silence. Fortunately, her muscles didn’t protest too much. She was in shape from all the workouts required to keep agents conditioned for any type of assignment. However, two years on the East coast had reduced her ability to breathe in the higher altitude as well as she used to. No matter how quiet her approach, she struggled to keep her heavy breathing from giving her away.

  Had she been in Western Oregon, where the forest grew thick and the ground soft with moisture, this shadowing exercise might have been easier. As it was, she had to watch every step and avoid thick cushions of dry pine needles and pinecones around any tree she used for cover. Concealment meant keeping her distance. She moved from tree to tree or crouched behind bushes whenever the man happened to glance behind him. She hoped the deepening shadows, caused by the setting sun, would keep her hidden.

  She was within twenty yards of the man when she realized he wasn’t alone. Voices carried toward her on the breeze. Someone else was on the trail. Flashes of the dual threat from Atlanta gave her pause. The similarities were disconcerting. Continuing forward could be tempting fate.

  Stop it, Caitlin. It’s an exercise. These guys were Jack’s friends. Bikers. Not terrorists. The worst that could happen was they’d get pissed at her for sneaking around. Dealing with pissed-off men was becoming her specialty.

  She started after them, taking the same precautions as before. They continued up the trail, but spoke too quietly for her to hear their discussion. When she reached the same elevation as the men, the incline no longer aided concealment. Extreme stealth was called for if she wanted to remain undetected. Luck was with her as she was downwind. Any noise she made would carry away from their location.

  Glancing around a tree, she looked up the trail. Both men were clearly visible. She recognized the second man as Dunn. He and his brother-in-law had stopped for a breather. Caitlin frowned. These two made an unlikely pair of hikers. Especially since Dunn seemed to be huffing from his effort, while his brother-in-law ascended the trail as nimbly as a mountain goat.

  Caitlin crept closer, staying more within earshot than sight. By now, she didn’t worry too much about losing sight of the two men. She knew exactly where they headed. The same place she’d wanted to go. The only destination this particular trail led to.

  The cabin.

  Even though it was no more than a single-room shack, she and Mac had always called it a cabin. Hunters sometimes used it during the season and had kept it in good repair. The moment she’d learned Madeline Creek was the rally location, she knew nothing would stop her from hiking to the cabin.

  When she was a teenager, the cabin had become her special hideaway. Whenever life’s problems became too much to handle, this was the place she came. Alone.

  The first time, she’d had no choice but to come alone. Mac wouldn’t have understood the hurt she’d experienced when she spied him kissing his date after his senior prom. How could he know how she felt? She had only been fourteen and he’d thought of her like a sister. He hadn’t known about her teenage crush then—the one that had grown into a love she couldn’t deny.

  He might’ve understood her need to get away when Grandma Mac died. The generation gap had never been an issue between Caitlin and Sara MacAlistair. The loneliness, the emptiness at losing her confidant had been almost unbearable. However, Mac would have thought her a coward to hide out for almost twenty-four hours after the fight with her father regarding her decision to join Northstar.

  Now, like a homing pigeon, she was once again searching for solace in the place she’d always run to, instead of mounting a frontal assault on her problems.

  The shrill warning of a grouse startled her. She froze and peeked around a tree to see little wings lift a chubby feathered body from its hiding place about ten feet away. She had taken advantage of the denser pine and moved quickly from tree to tree. The pines shielded her from the men but also blocked her view of them. Another glance around the tree showed the men closer than she thought they’d be, and looking in her direction. Spinning quickly, she ducked behind a trunk and held her breath.

  Had they seen her?

  Her heart hammered so hard the ground seemed to tremble under her feet. Any moment, the men would hear her. Five seconds stretched to ten, then twenty. She strained to hear the crunch of dry pine needles under boots. Or worse, the echo of a ricocheted bullet with her name on it, like O’Neal had predicted. Her lungs burned before she remembered to take a breath.

  Nothing. Only the wind, sounding like a rushing river through the tree tops before it died to a gentle whisper.

  The air went completely still. A bird squawked. A squirrel scampered along a limb, scolding the intruding hikers. Even the men seemed to stop talking for a moment. The tension in her shoulders relaxed. There was no reason for her to be afraid of these men. They were simply two guys out for a hike. She was the one making this tracking game into something more sinister.

  Caitlin ventured another glance around the tree. The men had moved on.

  Using more caution this time, she headed toward the cabin. The hillside leveled out. The underbrush thinned, leaving tall Douglas firs to stand like sentinels guarding the cabin. Careful to avoid crushing dry twigs, she crept closer, moving from tree to tree, keeping a thick trunk between her and the cabin at all times. The men had disappeared from view, although she heard their voices again.

  All around her, the forest shadows had deepened. The slower pace of tailing the men had chewed up more of her hour than she’d planned. Without looking at her watch, she knew it was time to return to camp. Despite almost getting caught at her game, the exercise was a success. Dunn and his brother-in-law had no idea they’d been followed. The training skills Northstar had drilled into her, worked. Little tricks Mac had shared about walking silently in the forest had made a difference, too.

  The breeze picked up and cut through her shirt, cooling sweat-dampened skin, and reminding her night was descending. She supposed there wasn’t any real issue in revealing her presence, but now it had become a matter of pride to remain undetected. She could do this. She would complete her tracking exercise and the men would be none the wiser.

  She had an overwhelming urge to rush to the side of the cabin and peer through the small window on the south side to see what the men were doing up here. Caitlin hesitated. Giving in to that weakness on her last assignment had been her downfall. Instead, she forced herself to relax. To focus.

  Continuing to use the pines for concealment, she looped around to the other side of the cabin and inspected the area. Dry grass crowded along the outside walls. The roof, in horrible disrepair, had a patchwork of lichen and looked in danger of falling in. Obviously, the hunters had abandoned upkeep on the cabin, or maybe the forest service no longer allowed hunting so close to campgrounds.

  Even through the shadows, she saw recent footprints on the ground around the cabin, as though the men had circled it a couple of times. However, they were nowhere in sight and must have gone inside. Caitlin took the opportunity to move closer. Stepping lightl
y, she hurried to the north wall, which was solid and wouldn’t give away her presence. As she neared, she crouched low and leaned next to the cabin.

  The men were talking in low voices, but she could finally make out their words.

  “You’re sure we have to do this?” Dunn asked. “It seems too extreme.”

  “It was your idea, Dunn.” The other man seemed angry. “We can head back down the canyon and do it my way.”

  There was a long pause before Dunn spoke again. “No. You’re right. This is the only way it’ll work without drawing suspicion. It’s just…so final. I grew up in Rockton and love these forests.”

  Caitlin frowned. What were they talking about?

  “And you’re fond of your wife too?”

  She sucked in her breath. What an odd question for a brother-in-law to ask. She’d seen the expression on Dunn’s face when Jack asked how his wife was doing. Through the cabin wall and forest sounds, she heard Dunn growl. “Don’t ever question my feelings for Lacey.”

  “Then stop stalling,” the other man said. “The fuse is set for thirty minutes. That will give us plenty of time to get back to camp.”

  “You’re sure, starting the fire this way, no one can trace it back to me?”

  “When the device ignites, you and I will be with the others. No one will suspect anything.”

  Device? Fire? What the hell? Caitlin stood up quickly. Her backpack scraped the cabin wall.

  “What was that noise?” Dunn asked.

  “It sounds like someone’s out there,” the other man said.

  Someone was out here. She had to stop these men before they did something really stupid. Like burn down her forest.

  She rounded the corner to confront them and met Dunn and the other man coming out of the cabin. Dunn looked startled, but the other man seemed unsurprised by her presence.

  She stood her ground, fury filling every part of her being. “What the hell are you guys doing?”

  “Grab her.” The smaller man commanded, pointing a finger at Caitlin.

  “Wait. What are you talking about?” She wanted to get to the bottom of this.

  Dunn hesitated and looked at the other man.

  “Now,” the other man shouted. “Before she gets away.”

  Caitlin suddenly realized the risk she’d taken, barreling head-on into a situation she knew nothing about. Once again, she’d acted on impulse and failed to think things through. Clearly, the men intended to stop her from telling anyone what she’d overheard. Well, not if she could help it. She turned and ran.

  For a big man, Dunn was fast. Before she’d gone five feet, his beefy arms lifted her off the ground like a load of firewood.

  “Put me down,” Caitlin demanded, struggling against Dunn’s hold.

  “Bring her.” The other man headed back into the cabin.

  Dunn followed, carrying Caitlin as though she weighed nothing at all. “What are we going to do with her?”

  The other man didn’t answer right away.

  “Come on, Smith,” Dunn prodded. “She overheard us. She knows our plans.”

  “Kill her,” Smith said.

  Caitlin stopped struggling and stared at Smith. “What?”

  “What?” Dunn asked at the same time.

  “Like you said. She knows our plans.” Smith clicked on a flashlight. “Do you want to risk everything—your freedom—Lacey’s life?”

  “No. But you promised no one would get hurt.” Dunn’s protest seemed to land on deaf ears.

  Smith played the light around the inside of the cabin.

  The sudden brightness split the gloom, and Caitlin saw a deadly determination in Smith’s eyes. She again tried to free herself. Dunn’s grip tightened, with her feet still dangling a good six inches off the ground.

  Smith gathered up his pack and headed for the door. He turned and shined the light directly in Dunn’s face. “You’re being paid to do a job. Now, do it. No witnesses.” He walked out, taking the light and leaving Caitlin alone with Dunn in the gloomy cabin.

  “Put me down.” She flailed as best she could with her arms pinned to her sides.

  “Shut up,” Dunn growled. “Why couldn’t you’ve stayed at the camp with Jacko? Then I wouldn’t have to do this.”

  “You don’t. Just let me go.” Caitlin sensed hesitation within the big man. Remembering the conversation she’d overheard, she hoped that Dunn was having second thoughts. “Why are you starting a fire? What’s to gain by burning down the forest?” she asked, hoping for an advantage by getting him to talk.

  “It’s a distraction.”

  “For what?”

  “None of your business.”

  “You’re going to kill me.” Caitlin tried to get through to him. “What difference does it make if you tell me?”

  “Stop yammering.” Dunn swung her around and dumped her on the ground in a corner. The air whooshed out of her lungs as she landed on her shoulder and hip. Her right elbow connected with a rock. Shooting pain raced to her fingertips followed by a numbing buzz. Ignoring the tingles, she reached for her gun at the small of her back. It wasn’t there. Then she remembered stowing it in her backpack, which made quick accessibility impossible. That wasn’t her first stupid mistake in the last sixty minutes, but it could be her last.

  Dunn loomed over her, blocking her escape. Without taking his eyes off her, he slipped his hand into a pocket and pulled out a black, eight-inch cylinder.

  At first, Caitlin thought it was a flashlight, but then a spine-arching heat raced up her back. The same feeling she’d had earlier. Only this time it was a hundred times worse. “What is that?” She didn’t really need him to answer. She knew. She’d seen similar incendiary devices during her training at Northstar.

  Galvanized into action for her very survival, Caitlin scrambled on the dirt floor for the exit.

  Dunn swung his foot when she got close, catching her in the ribs with the toe of his boot. “Stay put,” he growled.

  Caitlin collapsed, clutching her middle and wheezed. “You can’t do this.” She gathered her knees to her and tried to sit up. “Think of the devastation. The loss!”

  He reached into another pocket, fished out a flashlight and turned it on. “I’ve got no choice.” His tone seemed more certain—more determined than it had been when he’d argued with Smith.

  “There’s always a choice.”

  “You don’t know.” Desperation was clear in his wavering voice. “You don’t know what’s it’s like to love someone so much that you’ll sacrifice anything for them.”

  Caitlin thought of Mac. Thought about how she’d left him and her father to spare them both the embarrassment of her feelings. “Yes. I do.”

  Dunn shook his head. “I know about you. I’ve seen you with Jacko, sometimes. You’re Sean Malone’s daughter. You’re so spoiled, you couldn’t be troubled to help him when he got sick.”

  She wanted to deny his accusation, but words failed her. She loved her father, but Dunn’s observation was accurate. Her actions painted a different picture. How ironic that she would die doing the very thing everyone accused of her. Running away.

  Dunn unwrapped one end of the cylinder.

  She stared in morbid fascination at the instrument that would cause her death. “What’s the device made of? Napalm? Phosphorous?”

  Dunn spared her a glance. “I didn’t make it.”

  “Then how do you know you’ll have time to get away? What if the fire starts too soon?”

  Dunn looked at the cylinder then back to Caitlin. “Don’t worry about it. You won’t be around to know the difference.” He twisted the cap and she heard the device engage. As gently as laying a sleeping baby in its cradle, Dunn placed the cylinder atop a pile of dry timber and red pine needles, fuel prepped and ready to flame as soon as the fuse ignited.

  Ignoring the pain in her ribs, Caitlin scrambled to her feet. She tried to slip the backpack off her shoulders to get her gun. At the same time, she bolted for the doorway.


  Dunn met her, his bulk blocking her escape. “Can’t let you leave.”

  “You’re not a killer.” She hoped she hadn’t misread his earlier hesitation. “That other man. Smith.” Caitlin jerked her head toward the door, while her fingers worked the zipper open. “He’s gone. He won’t know. And I sure as hell won’t tell anyone. You have my word.”

  Dunn stiffened when she spoke Smith’s name. He frowned at her, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. “Believe me. He’ll know.” His face changed to one of regret. Before she could duck, a fist the size of a ham connected with the side of her head.

  Fireworks rocketed behind her eyes and she stumbled backward. Oh God. He’s going to kill me. She fought to stay on her feet, but lost her balance from the force of his blow. She tripped and tumbled against the wall. The backpack flew from her hand. The side of her head caught the jagged edge of a broken board.

  Caitlin battled for consciousness, searching for the beam of Dunn’s small flashlight to focus on. Something. Anything to keep her world from going black. But it was too late. Night crowded the sides of her vision as her eyes closed in weary defeat.

  I’m going to die.

  She felt Dunn lean over her and touch her head. A fingertip slid down her cheek. It felt as though he wiped his hand on her shirt. Then there was nothing. She listened for his breathing, his footsteps.

  Silence.

  She willed her body to move. It refused.

  How much time do I have? Will I die before the fire reaches me?

  Mac’s face drifted through her mind. Her heart ached for the loss. She thought of her father, their last words at the hospital yesterday. She should have taken the opportunity to tell him she loved him.

  “I’ve failed, Grandma Mac,” Caitlin muttered through labored breaths. “I failed Mac. I failed Dad. And I failed myself.”

  A whisper tickled her ear. “You’ve only failed…” Grandma Mac’s voice said from afar. “…if you give up.”

  Caitlin tried to respond, but she couldn’t. Her voice wouldn’t work.

  I’m going to die.