Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Zero.
Although it looked as if Hugo and Chance had managed to form a truce due to the black Lab’s deferential play bow and rolling onto his back and displaying his balls to the Belgian Malinois, who’d been suitably unimpressed.
Sebastian ran his finger around the neck of his T-shirt. “Can someone crack a window, please?”
“Crack them all.” Meghan fanned herself. “I feel like I just hit perimenopause.”
“It’s a good look on you.” Ryan grinned. “All sweaty and rosy cheeked.”
She gave him the finger while Shane Livingstone and Will Griffin cracked all the windows that could be opened and someone else wedged the door ajar.
Sebastian turned back to the map they’d pinned to the wall as everyone stood around it.
Three squads were staying here in the cabin tonight.
The other team members were in town ready to swap out or rapidly deploy anywhere should the weather allow and the need arise.
He was glad to have his fellow operators with him.
It took his mind off Nora and how thoroughly he’d fucked everything up.
Novak was on the satphone, listening in, but Sebastian had strategic command of this aspect of the search.
“We suspect that Eastman and Summer were in that mine on at least the first night.”
“They had to be there last night too.” Nora stepped forward.
She still wore the same clothes she’d been wearing this whole time, but she looked different to him somehow. Not a stranger anymore. Part of the team. Someone he valued, cared for. Someone who wanted nothing to do with him.
He glanced at Max Pasdeckie. The two of them had a lot in common now, both being rejected by Nora, but Sebastian had no one to blame but himself.
“With that blizzard last night, I don’t believe the scent would have lingered for too long.” Nora’s posture was rigid. Voice tight and defensive.
“Are you really sure Chance was following a scent trail? Or were you subconsciously guiding him?” Max questioned her in front of everyone, and Sebastian noticed her stiffen.
“If I expected him to go anywhere, it was back in the direction we came from, but he didn’t.” Her gaze hit Sebastian briefly and glanced away. She was all professional distance, and he hated it. “He very definitely led us in the direction that Operator Black marked.”
“I may not be a K9 expert, but he seemed to be following something, and it wasn’t the cougar we’d spotted earlier. Ranger Deacon and I were trailing after the dog, not the other way around.”
Nora rolled her shoulders, obviously grateful for his support.
Christ. He wished she’d have a little faith in him. Let him in a little. Forgiveness seemed like a stretch, but he wouldn’t give up hope. He hadn’t gotten into HRT by being a quitter.
“Rapid DNA came in and confirms the hair tie belonged to Summer,” Novak spoke over the satphone.
Relief washed over Nora’s features, the first crack in her armor since she’d woken from her nightmare that morning.
“You and Chance did a great job, Ranger Deacon,” Novak said.
“It was a team effort.” She leaned down and gave her sleek Lab a stomach rub.
“Any other explosives found?” This from Aaron Nash—the Professor.
Sebastian shook his head. “Not in the mine, but according to some of Eastman’s former clients, he often carried a couple of hand grenades on their hunts—for fishing purposes, or so he claimed.
HQ is tracking where he might have gotten them from.
The explosives in the mine were old and probably left behind from various mining activities.
The bomb squad and Evidence Response Team are almost finished.
FBI is bringing in a team of caving experts from the military and some mine engineers to confirm no unexpected surprises in those shafts. ”
“Let’s hope they don’t upset the ghost,” Nora said with dry humor.
Sebastian hid his relief at the fact she’d made a joke. This was the Nora he was used to, fiercely determined, yes, but always with a wry comment or self-deprecating wit.
“Those people will be ferried out from the ranch to the mine each day for as long as the weather allows,” Novak told them. “I think we can safely assume Eastman knows the FBI is searching for him now.”
“I think he spotted me when I fell in the river. Pretty sure I screamed.”
“I would have squawked like a castrated pig if I’d fallen through the ice.” Ryan shuddered.
Nora didn’t return Ryan’s smile. Instead, her eyes narrowed at him.
Ryan shot Sebastian a what-the-fuck look.
He pulled a face.
“He could easily have smelled the smoke from the fire I built—but I wasn’t going to let you die of hypothermia, Nora, and we needed that fire once the blizzard set in.
Or Eastman moving positions might have had nothing to do with us.
He might have seen that mountain lion and decided to get the hell out of his territory.
” Sebastian pushed on because he didn’t want to think about last night.
“He knew we’d search that mine eventually, and he wanted to incapacitate anyone who did. ”
Anger surged inside him, and he saw it reflected in the eyes of every operator and SAR volunteer here.
“He wants to delay us and put up obstacles. Obfuscate his movements and contaminate evidence,” Nash said thoughtfully. “Do we think he’s making a run for the border?”
“Most likely scenario,” Sebastian answered. “HQ sent us some photos his clients took during their guided hunts. Can you locals see if you can figure out where they might be?” He looked at Nora.
She frowned. “No location data?”
“Paranoid sonofabitch insisted his clients turn off all tracking data on their phones before they headed into the hills because he was protective of his turf. Made them sign a contract.”
“He may also have been hunting in regions he shouldn’t,” Nora said.
Sebastian turned back to the map, which showed an expanded view of the mountains.
“If he was there last night…” He stuck a pin in the location of the mines.
“And we trailed him to this spot…” He added another pin.
“Then we have a direction of travel that appears more or less north toward Canada. Any thoughts on the topography, Ranger Deacon, and how that might affect his route?”
Nora stepped forward. “This whole range here”—she swept her hand along the mountains to the east of them, which ran at about a seventy-degree angle to the equator.
Sebastian tried not to stare at her long, tapered fingers which had trailed down his bare chest last night all the way to—“is close to seven-and-a-half to eight thousand feet high, so he’s not likely to go over the top, especially not with a child in tow.
There are a couple of passes that I suggest we monitor, though they’re likely to be impassable with snow right now. Here and here.”
Sebastian read out the coordinates to Novak.
“He could cut west, but given he could only travel—what, ten miles a day, tops? More like six realistically with this heavy snow.” She marked off the distance with her fingers.
“He’s still gotta be southeast of our current location.
If we have teams working south, east, and north, we should be able to box him in and maybe pinpoint his exact location sometime tomorrow. ”
Sebastian nodded. “I believe he’ll travel at night.”
“Then so should we.” Nora looked ready to go, even though Sebastian knew she had to be exhausted.
“As much as I want to find Summer, we’re all going to rest up tonight.”
Nora’s jaw flexed with annoyance.
“I don’t get it. We have night vision capabilities. Why not go when we have the advantage?” Nash asked.
“We’re not the only ones with night vision goggles. Agents found evidence he has bought at least two pairs—and the pilots have stressed to me the dangers of flying in this mountain range in darkness.”
The pilots both nodded agreement.
“My plan is to only use the helos for the team coming up from the south, which will be Beta Squad led by Livingstone, and hope that drives Eastman north with urgency and a false sense of security. I want Omega working their way parallel on the west side of the valley in case he crosses the valley floor. Alpha Squad will head east and re-check the two shelters we already cleared in the event he arrived there after we cleared them. Somewhere along the way, one of us is going to spot Eastman or his tracks—or the dogs will alert. When that happens, we corral him toward the valley floor and out into the open. Each squad has a pair of snipers should it come to that. K9s are to be kept on leashes at all times. Cadell stays here until we have any visual on the target. Then we bring out Hugo.”
“Is that safe for the kid?” Max Pasdeckie eyed Gold Team’s dog.
“Hugo is a well-trained law enforcement K9. He won’t go for a child.” Ford Cadell sounded pissed by the suggestion.
Sebastian hoped it was true. “Let’s not forget our target is Summer. Her safety is our priority, but obviously we apprehend Eastman, alive if possible.” Everyone was quiet for a long drawn-out moment as the weight of responsibility fell around their shoulders.
Nora’s expression closed down again as if he’d said something wrong.
“I’m concerned that Eastman will set up more booby traps, which is another reason not to travel at night. We need to be sharp—especially whoever is following him from the south.” Sebastian glanced over his shoulder.
“Roger that.” Shane Livingstone crossed his arms. “After what happened to Scotty, we won’t take unnecessary risks.”
The mood of the group dropped at the mention of their fallen teammate. Scotty had been a good operator. His wife was expecting their third child in the not-too-distant future. Kurt Montana and the newly engaged Jordan Krychek had both promised to be on call in case she needed anything.
Novak’s crackly voice interrupted the silence. “Romano just landed three drones outside your position.”
Sebastian nodded to Cas and Birdman who were already out the door. “Charge up the batteries and put the machines somewhere cool and dry until morning.”