CHAPTER 45
Riggs
“Has it been only two months? It feels like two decades.”
“Sixty days as of today, bro.”
I feel bad for Top. He’s done everything he can to make this work. He’s a good guy who knows what he’s doing, but the network keeps sending him shitty people to work with. Most of them last less than five days before quitting, and he still has no say in the hiring process. “What did he say?”
“He said we were fucked the moment management decided they could run things from Los Angeles. I had to agree with him on that.”
“He didn’t call them ‘management,’ did he?”
He laughs. “I think his exact words were, ‘Those fucking cunts with their heads up each other’s asses screwed us when they started sending their friends and relatives instead of people with real experience.’ There were a few more colorful adjectives in there, but that’s the gist of it.”
“He’s not wrong.”
Ash shakes his head. “No, he certainly is not.”
“It’s nice here.” We’ve reached an elevation with plenty of snow.
In a place like this, you’d expect a lot of pine trees, but there aren’t many.
Still, the view is impressive. We find a rock formation coming out of the hill to sit on.
It’s tranquil, and if there’s anything I could use right now, it’s more tranquility.
“Yeah, it is nice.” Ash pulls a long stem of grass from a crack in the rock, pinches off the roots, and starts chewing on the end. “You know we’re never going to see a bull tahr at this rate.”
A bull tahr is a large mountain goat with a heavy coat of long brown hair. We’d hoped to start seeing them a month into the trip, but we still haven’t made it far enough into the mountain range. “I’ve given up on that. I’ve given up on just about everything as far as this trip goes.”
He nods. “Yeah, I think we’re all a little depressed.”
I crack a smile. “Not everyone. Every time I see Rhonda, it’s like she just woke up on Christmas morning.” She seems to love learning from Top. And because he can count on her to be there and not quit like the others, he’s been teaching her everything. “What’s the latest with you two, anyway?”
He picks up a rock and throws it down the gorge. “I don’t know. She’s a wild woman. I think we just need to take a break for a while, maybe a permanent one. I’m not sure.”
That’s takes me by surprise. Trouble in paradise? Do you want to talk about it?”
He looks at me with a curled lip. “Do you want to talk about Maddie?”
I sigh. “Point taken.”
Walking out of that hotel room two months ago was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and a day doesn’t go by that I don’t regret it.
I should have fought harder for her. I’d hoped things would get easier with time, but it hasn’t.
If anything, it’s worse. I can’t stop thinking about her.
And no matter how hard I try, I can’t stop missing her. The pain just won’t go away.
Ash throws another stone. “We should probably get back before they send a search party for us.”
That makes me laugh. “If they thought we were missing, they wouldn’t come looking for us. They’d just quit and go home.”
“I’d say you’re probably right about that, but there’s no probably about it.”
We get back to camp and find Top and Rhonda sitting in our chairs. It’s the same camp we usually set up—a basic dome shelter with a couple of net-beds inside, and two chairs outside in front of a fire. We didn’t bother building our signature coffee table this time.
They’re leaning back, apparently relaxing, which is unexpected considering all of the work that needs to be done, but that’s not the most surprising thing. They’re each holding a can of beer and several crushed cans are scattered on the ground around them.
Ash sighs, shakes his head and walks off.
“Are we having a party?” Unlike Ash, I need to get to the bottom of this.
Top looks up at me. “Why not? Everyone quit… again.” He takes a long drink from his can, then wipes his mouth with his sleeve. “They all just walked off the job, or drove off, if you want to get technical.”
He’s drunk. I look to Rhonda hoping she’s sober enough to tell me what’s going on. “What happened?”
“Don’t look at me. They said it was too hard, then took one of the ATVs and left.”
“How were they able to take an ATV? You know what? It doesn’t matter.”
I look over and see Ash heading down to the creek. I guess there’s not much he could do anyway. I turn back to Top with, “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”
By the time I get to him, Ash is at the water’s edge filling his canteen. Before I can say anything, he looks up with, “Everyone quit again, didn’t they?”
“Yep. You know what this means, right?”
He stands to face me. “Thank God. It’s about time.”
We talked about it several days ago, but I’ve held back, hoping things wouldn’t get worse. Clearly, they’re not getting better, so we might have a chance.
We stop next to the fire and I start first. “Look, Top, this isn’t working.”
He laughs. “You think?”
I ignore his sarcasm. “It’s not you. We know that. But here’s what’s going to happen.”
I explain how we’re going to go back to the way we did things before the network got involved. Top doesn’t say anything, which means he isn’t arguing. Not yet anyway.
“It’ll be just me and Riggs with our GoPros,” Ash adds.
“And to make you guys happy, we’ll even take one of the Canon DSLR cameras with a couple of lenses.
We can do fifteen to twenty miles per day if we pack light and this way we’ll need only one ATV for the rest of the trip.
You two can drive it. You’ll park five days ahead of us and when we get to you, we’ll resupply, give you the footage we have, then keep going. ”
Staring into the fire, Top looks like he’s considering it. After a moment he looks up with, “The network will never go for it.”
“We’re not asking,” I tell him. “If they have a problem with it, you can tell them we didn’t give you a choice. We just did it.”
Ash crouches down and presses his hands to the fire.
“I could make the argument that by not providing a reliable film crew, the network is in breach of contract. Now it’s up to us to save this project and a whole lot of the network’s money.
” He stands and looks Top in the eye. “How far over budget are you?”
Top laughs. “Millions, and it’s their own damn fault.”
“This will stop the bleeding,” I point out. “You can tell them that, and while you’re at it, tell them to take a look at the footage we’ll provide before they try to shoot us down.”
Rhonda comes to her feet, sways, then catches her balance. She’s a little tipsy, maybe a lot tipsy. “This sounds like fun… I’ll get us some more beer.”
Ash shakes his head. “Riggs and I are good.”
She glares at him with narrowed eyes. “You used to be fun.”
Ash ignores her so she gives me a look I don’t understand, like I’m just as bad, before she turns and heads off toward the food trailer. I’m sure there’s plenty of beer still left in it.
Top starts to stand up, then drops back into his chair.
“I don’t think the network will have a problem with it.
” He’s slurring his words, and I almost laugh.
I certainly don’t blame him for taking the night off, especially after his entire crew quit on him.
“In fact,” he continues, “I think they’ll be glad.
Do you mind if I tell them it was my idea?
I need a win right now. Otherwise, I’ll probably never work again. But if it goes well, it’ll—”
His eyes roll back, and he’s out.
I turn to Ash. “Great. We can’t leave him out here like this. Help me get him into a bed.”
I come around to the back of the chair and reach under his arms while Ash wraps his arms around the man’s legs.
“Poor bastard,” Ash says as we lift him. “He’s had a rough go of it.”
After we get him situated on a bunk, Rhonda shows up at the trailer. “Is he okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” I tell her. “He just needs to sleep it off.”
“Keep an eye on him, okay?” Ash adds.
Rhonda nods. “I’ll take good care of him.”
Ash eyes her for a moment, looks over at Top passed out on his tiny bed, then back at Rhonda. “I bet you will.”
Rhonda huffs. “There’s nothing going on between us. We’re just friends.”
Ash quirks an unconvinced grin then turns and walks away.
Rhonda sticks her tongue out at his retreating back before she turns to me. “Have you heard from Maddie?”
That catches me off guard. “No, we haven’t spoken.”
“She still loves you. You know that, right?”
I’m… I don’t know what I am. “You’ve been talking to her?”
“All the time.”
“Tell her… No, don’t tell her anything, not about me. It’ll be easier for her this way.”
Looking a little woozy, she plops down on the vehicle’s oversized bumper and looks up at me with sad eyes. “Don’t you even want to know how she’s doing?”
“You have no idea,” I mutter under my breath as I turn to follow Ash. I take two steps, then pause and look back. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad she has a friend like you.”
She’s staring at the ground deflated. I don’t know what’s going on between her and my brother, and it’s really none of my business, but I hate seeing her down like this. “Hey.”
She looks up.
“I keep hearing good things about you. This next month is going to be a big opportunity to really shine. You’re the whole crew now, and for what it’s worth, I think you’re going to do great.”
A smile paints across her face, but she doesn’t say anything.
I chuckle. “Have a good night, Rhonda.” And with that, I head off to join Ash.