CHAPTER THREE ON THE TRAIL
CHAPTER THREE
ON THE TRAIL
“We will be known forever
by the tracks we leave.”
Dakota Proverb
3:30 PM
June 12th
Eagle Talon Campground
Gilbert Two Dogs climbed out of his patrol SUV and looked around. He reached into the seat and retrieved his patrol rifle, a Ruger AR-556 chambered in .300 Blackout with a Primary Arms SLx 1-6x24 Gen IV LPVO optic. He placed it on the hood of the SUV while he slipped on his plate carrier.
Next, he added six magazines to the pouches on the front of the carrier, along with an IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit) and a secondary pistol. He clipped those to the MOLLE tabs. Then he slung the rifle over his neck, pulled the charging handle, and checked the safety.
He glanced around the empty campground and frowned. He’d expected Greyeagle and the others to be here already, but it looked as if they hadn’t made it yet. The debris from the campsite was still scattered around the clearing, and he could clearly see the two bodies still hanging from the trees.
David Walks Far’s truck was still parked where he’d left it. Gilbert walked over and checked the truck, but it was empty. No guns, no equipment, no gear bag. Gilbert knew that David kept a shotgun, a patrol rifle, and a bag of gear in his truck.
“That’s odd,” Gilbert said under his breath.
When he finished checking the truck, he made his way towards the destroyed campsite. He walked slowly and deliberately, careful to avoid stepping on evidence. Chief Red Thunder was already convinced this was a bear, but Gilbert’s training still wouldn’t allow him to contaminate the scene.
Now that he was here, he began observing the details of the scene. The two campers’ provisions bag was still tied high in a treetop a short distance from the camp. Then there was the fact that both men were hanging from a tree, as if they’d been field dressed like deer.
“Bear, my ass,” muttered Gilbert. “Show me a bear on this planet that hangs its kills like that. Only an idiot would believe a bear did this. Fortunately, Red Thunder is an idiot.”
A twig snapped behind him, and he swung around, bringing up his rifle in one fluid motion. There was nothing there. He slowly scanned the area, sweeping his rifle as he moved. He froze when a blade was pressed to his throat from behind.
“What have we got here?” purred a sultry female voice. “A tribal policeman. You’re a long way from home, tribal police-man.”
“That’s enough, Leah,” called a deeper voice.
She slowly lowered the knife and stepped away. Gilbert lowered the rifle and turned to find two people there.
“Damn it, Leah,” said Gilbert, “you scared the shit out of me.”
“I thought you said they were coming?” demanded the man who bore a shocking resemblance to William Greyeagle.
The face was the same, and the eyes were the same color, but felt different. There was a darkness in his eyes that was missing in Greyeagle’s. His hair was longer, as well, pulled back in a warrior’s braid that fell to his waist.
“Kade,” said Gilbert, nodding respectfully. “I figured he’d beat me here. I offered to guide them, but they declined.”
“It’s of no consequence,” said Kade. “He will come.”
“And when he does?” asked another female.
She slipped up next to Kade and leaned her head against his chest.
“He’s my brother, Raven,” said Kade. “I want him to join us.”
“And if he won’t?” asked Raven.
“We’ll figure that out when it happens,” Kade said. “His Hotamétaneo’o are strong. If we can bring them to our side, nothing will stop us. Tell me, Two Dogs, did he mention me?”
“No,” replied Gilbert. “He stuck to the bear story. Only an idiot would believe a bear did this.”
“My brother is many things,” Kade said, his voice dangerously low, “but he’s no idiot. He’s sticking to the cover story. That means he doesn’t trust you or the police. That’s good. I wouldn’t trust you either. Distrust is something I can build on.”
“Why do you want to turn them instead of just destroying them?” asked Raven.
“Greyeagle isn’t just my brother,” explained Kade. “He’s my identical twin. He merely followed a different path. The path of the Hotamétaneo’o. One that’s not so different than our own.”
“And you think he can be turned to our ways?” asked Raven.
“We share more than just blood,” Kade said.
“We grew up together. We learned the same lessons. I just saw the futility of doing things the way grandfather wanted us to. There’s no reason to fight with honor against a foe who doesn’t understand the meaning of the word.
The enemies of our people deserve neither mercy nor peace.
Together, the sons of Black Fox will kill until we cleanse this land of their influence. ”
“And what of our people?” asked Gilbert.
“Soon enough, they will see that our path is righteous,” Kade said, “and they will rise up with us to push them from our lands. We will reclaim our birthright and return to the old ways.”
“So, what do we do next?” asked Leah.
“I want this area cleared,” Kade said. “Leave no trace that anyone was ever here. That includes the two Wa?í?u[1] bodies and their gear. I want this place scrubbed. Leave no tracks, no trash, no clues. If he’s as good as me, he’ll find us anyway.
But there’s no need to make it easy. In fact, if it hadn’t been for David Walks Far showing up, we would have cleaned it all up last night. ”
The pack sprang into action and began clearing everything from the area.
“What about me?” asked Gilbert.
“He has no reason to suspect you are loyal to me,” Kade said. “Unless he smells it on you, but that is unlikely if you’ve taken precautions.”
“I did as you instructed,” Gilbert said.
“Good,” Kade replied. “Now, go. Get out of here. If you meet him on the way out, tell him that you just left here and everything was gone. No tracks, no evidence, no bodies. Buy us time to finish and leave the area. I fully intend to face my brother, just not today. Understood?”
“Of course,” Gilbert said.
“Go,” Kade said. “And if you need to contact me, use the burner phone and leave a message. I will check messages every two hours, but I will not leave it on. Once they discover how we’re communicating, they can track it. I intend to make it as difficult as possible for them.”
Gilbert returned to his truck and headed out of the campground. Kade watched him go with a mixture of unease and concern. Gilbert was one of his followers, but Kade didn’t fully trust him. In fact, he didn’t fully trust anyone.
After a few minutes, he glanced around and saw that every trace of the campers, the camp, and the pack had been wiped out.
Not so much as a tiny bit of trash could be found.
Even their tracks had been obliterated by brushing them out with thick cedar branches.
This also helped to disrupt and destroy their scents. Cedar was good for masking scents.
“Find us if you can, brother,” Kade whispered, then turned and vanished back into the woods as if he’d never been there.
Back on the road, Gilbert drove cautiously and kept an eye out for other vehicles. When he reached the highway, he smiled. Greyeagle hadn’t arrived yet, so there would be nothing to explain. He turned left and headed back toward the police station.
Thirty minutes later, a caravan of vehicles approached from the opposite direction. Greyeagle and the other Hotamétaneo’o turned onto the gravel road. They were riding in four different vehicles, the Bison in the lead. Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the campground.
“Something’s different,” Greyeagle said as they slowed down.
“There’s David’s truck,” said Mika. “But where’s the campsite. It was right over there.”
They pulled in and stopped. Everyone climbed out of their vehicles and gathered up near David’s truck.
“Where’s the camp?” asked Kodiak. “It was right over there?”
“It’s gone,” Greyeagle said. “All of it. Even the bodies were taken.”
“You smell that?” asked Mika.
“All I smell is sage and cedar,” Greyeagle replied.
“Exactly,” Mika said. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to completely sanitize this place.”
“The question is, why?” asked Sarah. “Why would they go to all the trouble?”
“Without the bodies, the tribal police will have no choice but to call this investigation off,” Greyeagle said. “Even the attack on David will be labeled a bear.”
“Only we know better,” Mika said.
“But we’re the ones who told Red Thunder that it was a bear,” Greyeagle replied. “We can’t go back on that now. So, unless David wakes up and says otherwise, we’ve got nothing to go on.”
“Does this mean what I think it means?” asked Mika.
“It means Kade knew we were coming,” Greyeagle explained. “In fact, they were probably watching when we found David.”
“Why didn’t they attack us then?” asked Mika. “I mean, it was just me, you, and Big Bear. They easily outnumbered us.”
“I don’t know,” Greyeagle replied. “Nothing about this makes sense.”
“Kade does not do anything without a reason,” said Black Fox. “We just do not know what that is yet.”
“I agree,” Greyeagle said, nodding. “Kade is nothing if not meticulous. I’d be willing to bet he’s been planning this for a while.”
“Planning what?” asked Mika. “Lure us into the middle of nowhere to scratch our butts and shake our heads. If he wanted you to find him, why’d he cover his tracks?”
“Maybe that’s the point,” Greyeagle said. “He’s testing us. He wants to know how good we are. Studying our strengths and weaknesses.”
“What do we do now?” asked Black Fox.
“We fan out and look for tracks,” answered Greyeagle. “See if we can pick up their trail.”
“And if we can’t?” asked Mika.
“Then we go back to the camp and plan our next move,” Greyeagle said.
“But we do this by the numbers. Mika, you take half the team with you and circle the perimeter to the north. I’ll take the other half and go south.
We’ll spiral outward for about a hundred yards.
If we can’t find a trail, we’ll fall back here. ”
“Alright,” Mika said. “I’ll take the Moron Twins and Cassie with me.”
“Mohawk,” corrected Robert Alok.
“That’s what I said,” Mika replied, grinning.