Chapter Fifty
The smoke was thick, but didn’t seem quite as bad. The haze hung over and surrounded Maya and Juniper. There was some filtered
sun, but the day was stifling hot. Maya knew she didn’t have backup so she and Juniper had to be careful. Once Juniper had
spotted the man, Maya had praised her by whispering a good girl and petting her. Then she’d pulled her off the track and they’d
stayed back in the trees. She needed to figure out how they were going to arrest Agent Ross.
Normally Maya would announce herself, tell someone to put their hands up, drop all weapons and cooperate or she’d send Juniper.
But she knew that as soon as she announced herself in this situation, Ross would shoot. Anyone who partnered with Abigail
didn’t play by the rules. He wouldn’t comply and he was obviously a good shot. Maybe he’d been through the FBI sniper school.
Maya didn’t know anything about him other than he’d taught Kessler at Quantico. You never truly knew anyone and it fit that
his expertise was kidnappings.
Ross was still jogging, although he was getting slower. Maya wondered where he’d parked. She might be able to send Juniper as he was getting into his vehicle. But she needed to somehow close the distance so the timing would be right.
Juniper had been trained to apprehend a person in a vehicle. She would jump through an open window or nail a person with the
car door open. The car door open scenario was better because then Juniper could drag him out and Maya could help get some
control over him.
Maya and Juniper continued pursuing at a distance. Juniper picked up on Maya being quiet and stayed silent herself. Once again,
Maya was proud of her dog and the partnership they’d developed. She thought she’d never have that again after losing Zinger.
Now she trusted Juniper with her life. And Maya thought Juniper felt the same.
They kept up with Ross, gaining some ground, but trying to stay back in the trees. There was a parking area for a campground
and some trails not far from here. Maya was guessing that’s where he was parked. Luckily there were trees lining the meadow
that Ross was speed walking through. He kept looking over his shoulder as if he sensed Maya and Juniper. They stayed in the
shadows, Juniper’s tan-and-black coat providing some camouflage for her. Maya’s uniform being tan and dark green also helped
her blend in.
They came up to an area where the landscape changed and went uphill. There was less grass and more dirt mixed with rocks.
Maya slipped, creating a scraping noise. She and Juniper stopped moving in unison. Maya held her breath as she watched Ross
stop and turn around.
He stared straight in their direction and Maya thought that maybe he’d seen them.
She and Juniper stayed quiet. Juniper had her triangular ears pointed straight up and golden eyes locked on her target.
When Maya was ready to give Juniper the command, she had no doubt that her dog was going to nail Ross. Hard.
As he surveyed the tree line, Maya was able to get a better view of him. You deserve everything Juniper is going to give you and more. I hope you need a lot of stitches when Juniper is done with
you.
Ross must have decided that there wasn’t anyone there as he turned around and continued down the path to the parking lot.
Now Maya was certain about which parking lot he was headed to. If they kept up their pace, she and Juniper could get ahead
of them and stay hidden back in the trees. Then they could give him a taste of his own medicine and ambush him at the parking
lot.
Maya ran through the trees, Juniper loping out ahead of her. They came around to the other side of the parking lot and the
nice thing about the fire and everyone evacuating was that there was only one vehicle in the lot. This is perfect. I just need to get Juniper in the right spot, then we’ll give him a surprise.
Juniper trembled by Maya’s side in anticipation.
Her eyes were locked on the man as he came from the trail and walked over to his car.
Maya had her hand on Juniper’s leash. She waited for the man to put the rifle away.
She was hoping he’d put it into the back seat, but instead he set up on the passenger seat.
At least he wasn’t holding it. Maya had no doubt that there were other guns and weapons in the SUV.
The man came around the vehicle and started opening the door. Now. Maya released Juniper and yelled, “Go get ’em, girl!”
The dog lunged forward, springing into high gear and quickly covering ground. The man heard Maya and turned around, surprise
registering as he saw a fur missile launching his way.
“Forest Service law enforcement! Put your hands up!” Maya was yelling. She didn’t care that Juniper was going to get Ross
before he’d be able to put his hands up. He’d already shot Abigail in cold blood. She was grateful that she and Hope were
still alive. But he was going to pay for his crimes. He could have turned Abigail in. He could have stopped this. Instead,
he joined her and only added to her death toll.
Ross tried to scramble into the front seat and close the door, but Juniper was too fast. She hit him like a rocket, knocking
him off balance, and latched onto his arm. Maya could tell she had a great grip with her back teeth. Juniper’s tail wagged
as she enjoyed every minute of doing her job. She yanked back and pulled him out of the vehicle.
Maya rushed over as Ross was trying to pull a small gun out of an ankle holster. Luckily, Juniper was shaking him so hard
he couldn’t get a good hold of the weapon. “You’re under arrest. Comply and I’ll get my dog off you.”
She heard some choice words coming her way.
Instead of complying, Ross started hitting Juniper, trying to get her off the bite.
His strikes had the opposite effect and Juniper clamped down harder, continuing to shake him.
Maya managed to get control over his other arm and twisted it back into a wrist lock.
He tried to pull away. Maya intensified the twist on his arm, adding in some additional pressure points. She was able to roll
him over in a way that Juniper didn’t have to release her bite yet. She had to give Ross credit—he had a dog hanging off one
arm and she was twisting back the other and he was still managing to almost get out of Maya’s grip.
He stopped struggling for a second and Maya was able to get full control. She pulled out her cuffs and slapped them on tight
around his wrist. Then she timed asking Juniper to release with putting a knee on his back and pulling the other arm around.
Maya secured the cuffs as tight as she could. Sweat poured down her face.
Juniper stood nearby, appearing quite pleased with herself, but panting. Maya knew the fact that she was panting and released
the bite meant her dog was tired, but proud of her work.
“Atta girl,” Maya said to her. Then to Ross, “You’re never getting away. You’re going to rot in prison and think about everything
you and Abigail did. Do you have any other weapons on you?”