Chapter 8
EIGHT
Raven had been keeping the BW Ranch under surveillance for many weeks.
The unusual activity around the delivery of horse pellets had made him suspicious.
Six armed men had surrounded the previous delivery, and as one was due within the next hour, he wanted to get as much information as possible.
The deliveries came in regular intervals and were easily distinguished by the sacks of horse pellets piled up on a pallet in the back of a flatbed truck.
On all the other deliveries he’d witnessed over the last few weeks, everything that arrived on a pallet had been unloaded using a forklift.
The horse pellets received different attention.
Two men would jump onto the back of the flatbed wearing protective gear and carrying plastic bins.
Horse pellets would be moved with care. From what he could make out, the men on the back of the flatbed would count the bags, so many in and so many down in the pile, before removing the top sacks and dragging out two and placing them on the back of the flatbed.
The next stage of the procedure was precisely the same each time.
The sack of pellets was opened to reveal bags of what resembled rainbow-colored pills.
These bags of pills were placed in the plastic containers, the lids sealed and handed to other men dressed in protective gear.
Using his zoom-lens camera, Raven had taken many shots of the procedure.
After speaking to Special Agent Beth Katz at the Rattlesnake Creek field office, he’d discovered the pills were most likely to be street fentanyl or a concoction of oxycodone, fentanyl, and other opioids mixed with talcum powder or powdered sugar.
The number of pills in each bag could potentially kill thousands of people.
He didn’t need to be reminded that an amount of fentanyl the size of two grains of salt could kill a man.
He headed through the trees to the location where he’d taken all the previous images, but this time, this new camera would give him close-up shots of the men’s faces and a better look at what was hidden in the sacks of horse pellets.
These images would clinch the deal with the judge when they went for a search warrant.
After walking for approximately ten minutes, he found the tree beside a huge boulder.
He removed his backpack, took out his camera, and slung it around his neck. “Stay, Ben.”
The tree was easy to climb. It was an older pine with thick lower branches, which made great footholds.
He climbed easily and made himself comfortable in the Y-shaped trunk.
After attaching the zoom lens to the camera, he waited for the flatbed truck to roll along the driveway of the BW Ranch.
The flatbed turned around and backed into the opening of a large barn.
Men surrounded it in seconds, with their AK-47s slung over their shoulders.
They stood around scanning the area in different directions as if expecting a raid.
Uneasy, Raven frowned at the sight of them.
The money involved in drug distribution was extremely high and these men would be paid a fortune to keep the delivery safe.
They would stop at nothing to protect the man who employed them.
Being up a tree, he had no cover or backup, and if he got into trouble, those men looked the type to shoot first and ask questions later.
He sucked in a deep breath. He had a job to do.
Taking his time, Raven zoomed in on each of the faces of the men as they moved around, taking as many shots per man as possible.
Next, he moved his attention to the truck.
The driver had gotten out and was away talking to the man he knew as Bryce Withers.
Usually, the driver went into the office and then came out a few moments later and climbed back in his truck.
This time, Withers handed him a manila envelope, slapped him on the back, and followed him back to his truck.
Snow piled up on Raven and covered his beard, but intrigued by the new development, he took as many photographs as possible.
He zoomed in on everyone’s face and detailed the complete process of the counting of sacks and removing the bags of rainbow pills.
He’d also captured the license plate of the truck, which was a bonus as the last photographs he’d taken hadn’t been clear enough, but this time when he scanned through the digital photographs on the camera, he could make out the license plate as clear as day.
After removing the lens from the camera and placing it carefully inside his pocket, the branch beside his head exploded and he lost his balance and slid down the tree.
He grabbed at branches as shots rang out all around him.
Bark and twigs pelted him as he descended the tree.
Sliding down the last few feet, he fell flat into the snow.
He needed to get out of here now and find cover.
The thick underbrush all around the clearing would hide his camouflage gear.
Legs stiff from the freezing cold, he grabbed his backpack and belly-crawled into the musty darkness.
Shots cracked in the silence above him. How had they seen him?
Maybe the tree had moved and given away his position, but he could have easily been a bear.
Even this late in the year, some still foraged for food.
He grimaced. Some fools would shoot at anything.
He waited, considering his options. Remain here, and if they sent anyone to check, they’d find him.
He needed to move. He whistled for Ben, who was close by, sniffing under bushes and doing doggy things.
The dog returned with cobwebs and burrs stuck in his fur.
He crawled on his belly beside him, tail wagging.
Keeping the dog calm and not allowing him to alert to danger was a priority, so Raven rubbed Ben’s ears and stood slowly, keeping his back to a large pine tree. “What on earth have you been doing?”
Been sneezed and shook his head, blinking up at him with big brown eyes and a doggy smile that no one could resist. Raven bent to pluck out the burrs and brushed the snow from the dog’s thick fur.
The shooting had stopped and he peeked around the tree, seeing nothing through the dense forest. Cold had crept into Raven’s bones.
In this weather it would be easy to be overcome by exposure.
He sipped from his water bottle. Under his jacket it had taken the heat from his body and water went down his throat in a tepid slide.
“I figure we should jog back to the fire road.”
From high in the tree, he’d noticed an animal track that led in a more direct route than the one he’d taken this afternoon.
He headed in that direction with Ben close on his heels.
They weaved in and out of the trees, trying to avoid the large clumps of snow dropping down all around them.
Raven’s heart raced as loud cracks pierced the silence like gunshot.
Close by, frozen branches broke and tumbled down through the trees leaving great puffs of snow in their wake.
When the temperature dropped this low, the forest became dangerous, not only for the risk of being caught in a snowstorm but also for falling branches that could break a person’s neck.
The next second, a tree branch exploded not far from him, the damage from a high-powered weapon evident. “Go, Ben. Go.”
Having a few spare minutes to get back to his truck, Raven picked up his pace.
Needing to get across a clearing to access the trail back to the fire road, he dashed from the safety of the trees and into the clearing with Ben close on his heels.
A tree branch snagged his backpack, wrenching him off balance, and he staggered into the open.
Without warning, the ground gave out beneath him and he fell into darkness.
A bear trap. Time seemed to slow as he dropped.
He tensed to greet the sharpened stakes set into the bottom.
Above him, Ben whined and tore at the edge of the hole.
The ground was coming up fast. I’m going to die.