I
Washington D.C. – Racing over the Potomac River on the Jefferson Davis Highway is a red Honda motorcycle. Riding the supped up street bike is Agent Michael Stone of Omega Sector. The motorcycle, codenamed the Viper and modified by Omega's Research and Development department is Stone's primary choice when patrolling the capitol city.
Currently Stone is returning to headquarters from a routine check on a surveillance operation that a detachment of his team was assigned. Stone and his partner William Hudson head the agency's best field team, codenamed Shadow. Two of his men, Gage Anderson and Kyle Watts were assigned the local mission and after a recent development Stone decided to check in with them personally.
"Nothing new since yesterday, it's possible the target made our boys and split." Stone says into the radio encased within the Viper helmet.
"That's impossible, I gave Watts and Anderson strict orders not to leave their position until the mark makes his move." Replies Hudson from headquarters.
"Well I'll guess we'll find out, anyway I'm heading back. See you in a few." Stone replies as he turns off the radio via the helmet's voice controls.
Back at headquarters Stone is trying to wrap up some loose ends before leaving tomorrow on his vacation.
"Excited about your trip?" says Hudson as he takes a seat at his desk across from Stone's.
"You bet, I can't wait to see those mountains. Go skiing, do some hiking, maybe even a little rock climbing; it'll be nice to get away from everything for awhile." Stone says. "I just hope I can get everything finished up here before I leave."
"Yeah I noticed that stack of paperwork on your desk but this is your first vacation in three years. I hardly doubt they won't let you go due to some late reports." Hudson says reassuring his friend. "So where is this cabin you're staying at?"
"Northern Colorado, in the Medicine Bow Mountains. Amberly's grandfather owns it and he's letting the four of us use it for the week."
"So it's a double date trip huh?" Hudson says jokingly.
"Yup, I kind of wish it was just me and Robin but it was kind of hard to turn down free lodging. It will still be a good time, at least it's a break from work." Stone adds.
Just then Stone hears his name being called on the PA system paging him to Deputy Director Hayes' office.
"Ah great, let's see if my luck holds out." Stone says to his friend hoping his vacation hasn't just been cancelled.
"She probably just wants to debrief you before you leave." Hudson replies.
With the demands of his work Stone simply gives Hudson a look questioning that likelihood. Hudson suppresses a laugh then holds up his right hand with his fingers crossed.
"Ready for your big trip Michael?" Kim Hayes asks as Stone reports to her office as requested.
"Big? Big is flying halfway across the world to five different places all in a week's time. This is a small trip, small simple and that's what I'm looking forward too." Stone says smiling.
Stone has recently been on a string of back-to-back missions in the last few months. Several times not even making it home before being assigned his next mission. His vacation was long overdue as it was but after being out of the country for more than a month straight Director Grant approved his short notice request for the time off. As it turns out Hayes did summon him for a final debriefing before he left for the week.
In his absence Hudson will head up team operations and receive all mission reports. They discuss a few other things before Hayes dismisses him.
"Have a good time." Hayes adds.
"Copy that."
Before leaving for the week Stone heads down to R&D to see Jack Weiss, head of research and development.
"Hey Weiss, you got my gear ready?"
Currently occupied by some new piece of equipment Weiss simply points to the equipment locker behind him without turning his head.
"What gear?" Hudson asks having followed Stone downstairs.
"Climbing, I don't know if I'll even have a chance to use this stuff. I'm the only one with experience going on this trip." Stone says checking the contents of the duffel bag.
"Cool, what's the code on your tracker and I'll make sure it's pinging in." Hudson adds.
Every O.S. field operative has a tracker hidden on their person somewhere, even when not on duty the trackers are kept active in case of emergencies.
"I'm not taking one." Stone replies.
"Really, you?" Hudson says half joking, half serious.
"I'm on vacation, no tracker."
"Copy that, are you taking a gun?" Hudson asks.
"I'm not going to carry it but yeah."
"Alright well have a good trip."
"Thanks Will, I'll see you in a week. I gotta get home and finish packing." Stone says excitedly.
Calais, France – Overlooking the Strait of Dover from a dockyard warehouse, a group of French militants are awaiting the arrival of a recently acquired business contact. The second in command of the group quickly becomes agitated at the contact's tardiness.
"What's taking him so long?" he says in French.
"Calm yourself Phillipe, he'll be here." Replies the leader.
"We should have gone through my cousin Rene for the weapons." Phillipe says.
"Your cousin in an imbecile, besides his face is posted in every police station from here to Austria." The leader adds.
At that moment a white utility van pulls up in front of the warehouse. The driver, a man of medium height and muscular build, steps out of the van wearing a dark blue blazer over a gray t-shirt. He shuts the door then walks over to the leader.
"Are you Fenn'ish, Erick Fenn'ish?" the man says in French.
"We, I am Erick." Fenn'ish says pulling out a cigarette. "Can I trouble you for a light?" He says speaking in English now.
The man pulls out a silver Zippo with an engraved insignia on it. He shows the insignia to Fenn'ish that displays the crest of a falcon's head. He then lights the cigarette as well as one of his own.
"You have the weapons?" Fenn'ish asks.
"In the van." The man says as he gestures them to follow him.
They walk around to the rear of the van and the man opens the doors to reveal four long metal cases. With the help of his henchmen they unload the crates onto the ground, the man opens all four to let Fenn'ish and his men inspect the contents.
"Fifteen Valmet M76 rifles, 5.56mm with thirty round magazines. Top effective range, four hundred thirty seven yards and a compliment of three extra magazines per rifle." The man explains. "And then we've got five French FA MAS rifle-grenade launchers. I'm sure you guys have some experience with these; also 5.56mm with a twenty-five round box magazine. It fires an assortment of four types of grenades however all I've supplied you with is the anti-armor per your request. Not my preferred choices but to each his own."
"Well everything looks satisfactory." Fenn'ish says. "Bring the money!"
Per his order one of his men walks over carrying a metal attaché case, he opens the case to display its contents to the driver.
"Thirty-five thousand American dollars, as agreed." Fenn'ish says to the man.
The man puts out his cigarette then shuts the case and takes it from the young Frenchman.
"It's been a pleasure." He says as he shuts the rear doors on his van.
Fenn'ish orders his men to move the crates into the warehouse as he walks over to the driver side of the van just as the man is starting up the vehicle.
"Monsieur, could I possibly trouble you for another light?"
The driver looks at him curiously for a second but retrieves the lighter. However before he can light it Fenn'ish snatches it from his hand.
"Hey!" the driver is about to get out of the van when Fenn'ish holds up his hand in a defensive gesture. He examines the lighter closer for a moment before he looks back up at the man.
"I don't know who you are but this does not belong to you, how did you get it?"
"None of your damn business; give me the lighter."
A moment of silence passes then the driver pulls out a .45 Colt and points it at Fenn'ish.
"Give me the lighter, now!"
Fenn'ish coolly hands over the Zippo. "You are a mystery my friend but you are not the Falcon."
"You're right, I'm not." The driver says as he puts the van in gear and drives away.
The man drives to the far end of the dockyard where a speedboat is awaiting him. He boards the boat and crosses the Strait of Dover to England. When he comes ashore there is a car waiting for him. Before stepping off the boat he grabs his black leather bag stored aboard and shoves the attaché case holding his payment inside. He walks over to the car where the chauffer is awaiting him at the passenger door.
"London." He says.
"Yes sir." The chauffer closes the door then takes his seat behind the wheel.
As the car begins moving the man pulls out his laptop from within the leather bag. Once it powers up the insignia of the Falcon's Crest appears on his homepage. He brings up a spreadsheet of dates, times, locations and other pertinent information. He finds the listing for the Calais job and enters in the amount of payment received then marks the job complete. The next job on his list reads Miles City, Montana United States.
Denver, Colorado – After a long plane ride Stone and his companions acquire their rental car and begin the drive to the Medicine Bow Mountains. A little over an hour later they drive through the town of Estes Park and then into the base of the mountains. Shortly thereafter they arrive at their cabin retreat entrenched within the snow.
"It's so beautiful!" Amberly says as she steps out of the back seat of the rental car.
"And it's nice and secluded, this is exactly what I need." Stone adds.
While Stone helps Jason unload the trunk Amberly and Robin walk up to the door of the cabin. Amberly searches through her purse finding the appropriate keys then opens he door.
"It looks cozy." Robin says responding to the warm and inviting interior of the mountain retreat.
"I can't believe how private this is, I didn't realize it was twelve miles outside of Estes Park." Amberly says.
"So which room is ours?" Robin asks.
"It doesn't matter, they're both the same size." Amberly says as she gives Robin a quick tour of the cabin.
Seconds later Stone and Jason enter the cabin bringing in the luggage, Stone sets down the bags and looks around the cabin.
"Oh yeah this will do just fine." He says.
He then spots Robin and Amberly emerging from one of the bedrooms and notices a huge grin on Robin's face.
"There's a hot tub in the bathroom big enough for two!"
"No way." Stone says excited.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Robin says looking directly at Stone but having momentarily forgotten they are not alone.
"Yeah but that's kind of weird that you mentioned it right in front of my cousin." Stone says subtly.
Amberly looks at Robin who cannot help but blush from embarrassment. Robin tries to come up with a response but can't help but laugh at herself. In his best attempt to keep from laughing Stone suggests to Jason that they finish unloading the car.
"Agh, I can't believe I said that out loud." Robin says kicking herself. "I swear we won't . . "
"Hey I don't mind as long as you scrub the tub afterwards." Amberly says as she begins taking her and Jason's bags to one of the rooms.
"Deal." Robin says taking a look around the cabin. "I notice there's not a television or a phone in the cabin." Robin says moving her bags into the adjacent room.
"Yeah isn't it great. I brought my cell phone just in case but with the weather this time of year I think the reception will be horrible. We'd probably have to get closer into town if we need to use it." Amberly replies.
"What if we have an emergency or someone gets hurt or something." Robin asks.
"There should be a short wave radio somewhere in the cabin." Jason says walking into the foyer with the last of the bags. "The antenna is on the roof."
"Yeah I noticed it too, I was gonna ask you about that." Stone adds walking in behind him.
"Is that everything out of the car?" Amberly asks.
"Yup." Jason replies.
"Okay well we need to go back into town so we can go to the grocery store, do we need to pick up some firewood too?" Amberly asks her husband.
"No there's a fully stocked rack outside, we're good there."
"Looks like we need matches though, unless they're hidden somewhere." Stone says looking around the fireplace.
After a few moments of searching they find a box of long matches on a shelf.
"Okay I guess we just need food then." Amberly says grabbing her keys.
The four pile back into the rental SUV and head back into Estes Park in order to get food for the week.
Later that night while eating dinner Amberly is the first to initiate plans for the week.
"So there's a ton of things to do out here, we could go skiing tomorrow if that's good with everyone." Amberly offers. "There's hiking, horseback riding and helicopter tours Back in Estes Park, there's ice skating, plenty of shopping and who knows what else."
"Whoa wait a sec, horseback riding?" Jason says taking a sip of his wine.
"I mentioned that to you before sweetie." Amberly says. "I thought it would be fun, ride some of the mountain trails, get some pictures."
"I bet the scenery is beautiful." Robin says.
"I'm game, I haven't ridden in a long time but there's something rustic and nostalgic about it." Stone adds.
Jason looks at Stone like he's lost his mind.
"What?" He simply says.
"Don't mind him Michael, he's afraid of horses." Amberly states.
"I'm not afraid of horses I just don't get what the big idea is, plus I've never done it before." Jason replies.
"Dude, you're a huge Indiana Jones fan right?" Stone asks.
"Yeah."
"You've seen him riding a horse before." Stone replies. "It doesn't get any cooler then that. Man up dude."
"What if the thing kicks me in the head?" Jason asks taking a bite of his baked potato.
"Well there's an easy way to prevent that." Stone pauses for effect.
"Yeah?"
"Don't stand behind it."
The girls admire the simplicity of Stone's response while still making fun of Jason. Jason begins his rebuttal but Stone cuts him off.
"Dude if you can run a hospital you can ride a horse." As the words escape his mouth Stone realizes how lousy they are. "Okay granted that's not a very good analogy but you get the point."
"Wow, dude alert." Amberly says now teasing her cousin.
Stone simply laughs as he takes a bite of his steak.
"Well anyway I vote we go skiing tomorrow, I've been dying to get on the slopes." Jason adds.
"I'm up for that." Stone replies.
"Sounds good." Robin adds.
"Are you a good skier Robin?" Jason asks.
"Yeah I'd say I'm more than experienced, every other year my family would go to Aspen when I was growing up. However the last time I went was about two years ago while I was in Geneva." Robin explains.
"Really, were you out there on vacation?" Jason asks.
"Believe it or not I was out there for work." Robin replies.
"How did that happen?" Amberly asks curiously.
"Yeah I don't even know this story." Stone adds.
Robin smiles at him then begins to tell the story. "Well it was kind of a Christmas bonus one year. I was flying international at the time and got stuck working the holiday shifts. Anyway once my shift was over our boss put us up in a nice hotel for two days and me and the other girls went skiing."
"Sweet deal." Jason says.
"Yeah, our boss paid for everything, except for some Christmas shopping I did while I was there. I finally got home two days after Christmas and had the next week off to spend with my family." Robin adds.
After a moment or two Stone realizes a shocking coincidence. "You know what's really freaky, two years ago at Christmas I was in Switzerland on assignment."
"What, you're just saying that." Robin says playfully.
"No wait, I can vouch for that." Amberly interjects. "He wasn't home for that Christmas, I remember because that was the first Christmas I brought Jason home to meet mom and dad and Michael wasn't there."
"That's right, I was Geneva too." Stone says remembering.
"That's just too weird, I wonder if we happened to pass by each other at some point." Robin says curiously.
Stone simply flashes a smile at the intriguing thought.
After dinner Jason helps clean up while Stone gets a fire started. The four empty a bottle of wine and relax by the fire. They chat for a while then watch as Stone and Jason play a few games of chess having found a board sitting on the coffee table.
"You'll have to tell your grandfather I like his chess set." Stone says admiring the marble set as he moves his rook.
"Isn't he your grandfather too?" Robin says confused about the family line.
"No, we're talking about Uncle Jeff's father. I mean I've met the guy on more than one occasion but he's not related to me directly." Stone explains.
"Oh, well if we're hitting the slopes tomorrow I think I'll turn in a little early." Robin says. "Goodnight guys."
"Goodnight." Amberly replies.
"I'll be in shortly, I'm almost done here." Stone says.
"We'll see about that." Jason says looking over the board.
"Honey, he's beaten you two outta three times already." Amberly says.
Jason takes another moment to ponder the board then makes his move, confident in his decision.
Stone smiles then moves his Queen into position. "Check mate!"
"Crap." Jason says subtly.
"You were close that time, you had a chance to take my Queen like four moves ago." Stone says as he looks towards the bedroom door.
"Rematch tomorrow night?"
"You bet, well I guess I'll see you two in the morning." Stone says.
Stone walks into the bedroom and shuts the door behind him. He looks into the bathroom to find Robin already soaking in the hot tub wearing nothing but her hair up in a ponytail! Stone whistles as he steps towards the hot tub.
"So how long does a girl have to wait for some company?" Robin says.
Unsure what he was waiting for Stone immediately begins stripping off his clothes and slides into the bubbling hot water.
The next morning Stone is the first one up and around so he decides to start breakfast for everyone. Amberly is next to enter the living room and she immediately spots her cousin cracking some eggs into a bowl.
"Coffee?" he asks as he begins whisking the eggs.
"Yes thank you, so I guess you two tested out your hot tub last night." She says taking a seat at the bar. Stone blushes as he pours the cup of coffee for his cousin.
"How did you know?"
"Are you kidding, I heard that thing go on the instant Robin walked into the bedroom." She says smiling as she takes the cup from him.
"I'm surprised your grandfather put one in each bathroom." Stone says as he returns to his eggs.
"Well he had both bathrooms redone about five years ago because they were in such horrible shape. I guess he figured once they were renovated the family would want to spend more time up here. It's hard to turn down free lodging in this part of the state, especially if you're up here during the winter months." Amberly explains.
"Too true." Stone says as he pours the eggs into a frying pan.
"Can I help?" Amberly asks after taking a sip of her coffee.
"Yeah, the bacon is just about ready."
After breakfast the four pick one of the nearby ski resorts and head for the slopes. They spend the better part of the morning skiing several of the courses throughout the resort. Stone being the most experience skier finds a few sweet spots where he can pull off a few flips or other tricks. Around noon they stop and have a light lunch at the resort then head back out. An hour or so later Stone and Jason decide to run the resort's most dangerous course. Already fairly tired from the day Amberly and Robin pass on the opportunity. As the guys make their way up the mountain on the ski lift the girls head towards the upper deck of the resort and find a few coin operated sets of binoculars so they can watch the guys' descent down the mountain.
"Hey I see them." Robin says spotting them through the binoculars.
"Where?" Amberly says still searching.
"Go left from the ski lift."
"Got 'em. Holy crap, I can't believe they're going down that thing!" Amberly says marveling the near vertical angle of the mountain.
They watch in awe as they drop off the ledge onto the side of the mountain. The trip down takes the guys nearly ten minutes. When Amberly and Robin meet up with the guys at the base of the mountain they find them both utterly exhausted.
"Maybe we should have run that course first." Jason says catching his breath.
"How was it?" Robin asks.
"Awesome." Stone replies.
"I noticed you fell down at one point." Amberly says to her husband.
"You saw us?" Jason asks.
"Yeah they have those coin operated binoculars up on the deck." Robin adds.
"Sweet." Stone replies.
Later that evening when they return to the cabin and have a chance to rest the guys offer to make dinner since the ladies cooked the night before. Stone decides to grill up some chicken, shrimp and steak kabobs over the fire as Jason puts together a salad and some rice. After dinner while the girls look through some magazines they bought at the airport they guys setup the chess set for another game.
"I never thought I'd enjoy not being able to watch TV this much." Jason says making a move.
"I love it." Stone adds. "Although a little music wouldn't hurt."
"I can take care of that." Amberly says walking over to the small radio on the desk. She turns it on then returns to the kitchen for another glass of wine. "Anyone else need a refill?"
Robin is the only one to accept the offer and walks over handing her glass to Amberly.
"You know what would be good right now is a brandy." Stone says eyeing Jason's last move.
Jason snaps his fingers in response and rises from his seat. He goes to the kitchen and finds the bottle of brandy he'd picked up when they were in town yesterday. He grabs two glasses and returns to the table. "I totally forgot about it last night." He says pouring Stone a glass.
Stone gives the glass a whiff then takes a sip of the aged liquor. "Oh yeah that's the stuff."
"Oh hey while we were at the ski lodge I picked up some more info on the horseback trails. On one of the trails there is a huge fire pit halfway through the tour and we can stop and cook our lunch there if we want to have a picnic." Amberly explains taking her seat on the sofa.
"A picnic in the snow huh?" Stone says with a curious smile.
"It's actually a neat idea." Jason adds. "We have those burgers we bought at the store, we could take those."
"Yeah, we can pack up everything in a backpack in the morning." Amberly adds.
"What about fire utensils? Are they provided there at the pit?" Stone asks.
"I doubt it but we can just take the ones from here along." Jason adds.
"That sounds like a plan, then tomorrow night why don't we eat out back in town and we can go ice skating." Robin suggests.
"Good with me." Stone says.
The next morning before leaving for the stables the girls pack everything they need for lunch into Stone's backpack then they pile into the SUV for the short drive. After a brief set of instructions from the stable master the four friends begin to mount their steeds. Stone secures the backpack carrying their lunch around his chest and waist then mounts his horse.
"Just be gentle with her Jason." Stone says noticing his cousin-in-law's trepidation while atop the horse.
"That mare is the calmest horse I've got, she won't throw ya." The stable master says to Jason.
"Oh that's comforting." Jason replies.
"Everyone ready?" Amberly asks.
"Yup." Robin replies securing her earmuffs and winter cap on her head.
"Then let's go!" Amberly says as she races out of the stables on her horse.
Stone simply smiles, puts on his shades then gives the horse a gentle kick.
They ride for over two hours stopping on occasion to get some pictures, just after noon they arrive at the halfway point and spot the fire pit ahead with a blazing fire within. As they stop a stable hand ties up and waters the horses for them as they walk over to the fire pit. They cook their burgers individually over the pit then after lunch they ask a fellow rider to take some pictures of the four of them. They set back off on the trail at a quarter past one and complete the trek around three thirty.
"I'm gonna get a shower and take a short nap before we go out tonight." Robin says as they pull up to the cabin around four.
"That sounds like a good idea, especially the shower." Amberly adds.
Stone volunteers to unload and clean up while Robin is in the shower. Once she's done he hops in himself and when he exits the bathroom he spots her already sound asleep on top of the bed wearing her sweats. He puts a clean pair of jeans on and a t-shirt then lies down next to her pulling her close to him. About an hour and a half later he wakes up and decides to get ready to go out for the night. He quietly closes the door to their bedroom as he steps into the living room. He finds Amberly sitting on the sofa looking through a magazine.
"Hey, did you guys get any sleep?" Stone asks.
"Jason's asleep right now but hasn't been for long. We were playing hide the soap in the hot tub."
"No details please." Stone says taking a seat next to his cousin on the sofa.
"So how are things going with you and Robin?" she asks.
"Great why do you ask?"
"I get the sense you wish that it was just the two of you on this vacation." Amberly says with a smile.
"Well maybe a little bit." Stone says reluctantly.
"It's okay that's only natural, to be honest Jason and I thought about coming up here by ourselves but then I heard you finally had some time off and I thought it would be fun." Amberly explains.
"Well it is, I mean yeah I wish Robin and I had some alone time but we're having a great time. And so far this week has been exactly what I needed."
"Good, I don't get to see my cousin enough myself so I'm glad." Amberly says giving him a hug.
"Thanks kiddo, I'll just have to wait 'til next time to take Robin away for the weekend." Stone says.
Jason walks out a few minutes later seeing the two cousins sitting together on the sofa chatting. "I don't know about you guys but I'm starving."
The cousins turn to see Jason and realize they share his opinion.
"Yeah it's almost six thirty, if we're gonna go eat let's get to it." Amberly says.
"I'll go wake up Robin." Stone says.
When he walks into their bedroom he finds Robin isn't asleep and the bathroom door closed.
"Hey you hungry?" he says through the bathroom door.
"Famished. I'll be ready in a few minutes." Robin replies.
"Sounds good." Stone replies.
Before the hour is up the four make the short drive into Estes Park and decide on an Italian restaurant for dinner. Afterwards they make the short walk over to the ice rink and lace up some blades for skating. Robin skates up behind Stone and interlocks her arm in his as they continue gliding on the ice.
"What are you thinking about?" she asks.
"Oh nothing."
"C'mon you're thinking about work aren't you." Robin says.
"Actually not at all." Stone says with a smile. "It's somewhat surprising, I've got this feeling that I've never really experienced before. Or at least since I've been with O.S."
"Which is?" Robin asks.
"Well this is the first vacation I've been on in awhile and definitely the first one where I've been able to get away aside from going home. And I'm not thinking or worrying about what's going on at work with me not there. It's peaceful." Stone explains as best he can.
"Well good, you needed a real break, time to relax and get yourself centered." Robin adds.
"Yeah, I guess I'm just glad to be here." Stone halts his motion on this ice and using Robin's momentum spins her around to face him. "Especially with you."
She smiles in return and kisses him passionately.
"Hey get a room you guys." Jason says as he and Amberly pass them doing the tango on ice.
"Don't lean too far forward or you'll. . . . " Stone says noticing them just as they both go tumbling down onto the ice. ". . fall over."
"That looked like it hurt." Robin adds.
"You guys okay?" Stone asks as Jason helps his wife up to their feet.
"Yeah." Amberly replies.
Stone and Robin continue onward along the ice together as they're friends take a break.
"Promise me something." Robin asks.
"What's that?"
"The next time we have some time off we go somewhere just the two of us. I'm having a great time this week but I was just thinking we've never been away just the two of us."
"I was just telling Amberly that same thing earlier. Absolutely, how about a cruise?" Stone says.
"That sounds great." Robin replies.
Almost an hour later they decide to head back to the cabin for the night. Stone volunteers to drive this time and as they leave the outskirts of town Robin and Amberly voice a suggestion to come back tomorrow to go shopping.
"You guys don't have to come if you don't want too." Amberly suggests.
"I was actually hoping to do a little climbing this week, maybe Jason and I can take a hike and look for a good rock face." Stone adds.
"I'm game, for the hiking part anyway. Never done any climbing." Jason adds.
"That's cool, you can get some pictures for me. Of course I'll also need you to hold my support line but I'll show you everything you need to know." Stone says.
"So then I guess Amberly and I will plan to have lunch in town and we can meet up for dinner back at the cabin?" Robin suggests.
"Sounds good." Jason adds.
LaGuardia Airport New York – having arrived by way of England with a stop in Nova Scotia the arms dealer steps in line to pass through customs. He gets through security with no problems, collects his luggage then hails a taxi outside the main terminal.
"Where to?" the cab driver asks.
The dealer puts a cigarette in his mouth lighting it with the Falcon emblazoned Zippo.
"Newark bus station." He says.
During the drive he pulls out his laptop and searches online for a business acquaintance. He links up with the contact and begins to type in a message.
Headed westbound by bus, meet at the following coordinates in Pittsburgh. One o'clock sharp tomorrow afternoon with my client's order.
Next he types in the encoded coordinates into the message. "How much longer?" He asks the cab driver.
"Oh bout ten minutes."
"Good, I've got a bus to catch." Replies the arms dealer.
The next morning after a breakfast of pancakes and sausage the girls prepare to head into town to go shopping. Stone grabs his climbing pack and goes through his gear one last time as he begins dressing for the hike. Robin walks in and gives him a kiss before she and Amberly leave.
"Be careful okay." She says.
"You bet." He says kissing her back. "Have fun."
About a half hour after the girls leave Stone and Jason finally set off on foot towards the base of Clark Peak. Realizing they probably won't make it back to the cabin for lunch they decide to take along a couple of sandwiches. They hike for about an hour when Stone finally finds a rock face that piques his interest. When they get closer he takes a better look at it and decides this will be a good start.
"That cliff must be four stories high, are you sure about this?" Jason asks.
"Oh yeah!" Stone says removing his heavy jacket as he gears up.
"So are you doing this free hand or what?"
"Well let me show you." Stone says pulling out a compressed air grapple gun from his pack.
"Is that what I think it is?" Jason asks.
"Yup, five hundred Psi." Stone says as he attaches a rope to the end of the grapple. He aims for the top of the rock face and fires the grapple with a loud whoosh. It hits just near the top embedding itself within the rock. He tugs on the rope with all his weight and Jason's to ensure that it is secure.
"I'm climbing free hand but I'll have my support line to keep me from falling. That's where you come in."
Stone hands Jason a harness and tells him to put it on. Once on he attaches the rope through his own harness then Jason's instructing him how to take up slack as he ascends and how to hold his weight in the event that he falls. Once Jason feels comfortable with his responsibility Stone begins his ascent. Jason grabs his camera a few times getting pictures here and there. Once at the top Stone rests for a few minutes enjoying the view. He pulls out his own camera and takes a few more pictures and even one of poor Jason waiting below.
"You should see the view from up here!" Stone yells before repelling back down a few minutes later.
"I got some good pictures of you." Jason says when he lands next to him.
"Thanks, man that was awesome." Stone says.
After another climb they decide to take another hike this time higher up Clark Peak. However to avoid having to carry his climbing gear along they stop back at the cabin to drop off Stone's pack and have their lunch.
"How high is Clark Peak?" Jason asks later that afternoon.
"At least twelve thousand feet." Stone replies.
"What do you think our current altitude is now?"
Not having an altimeter on him Stone takes an educated guess at five thousand.
"We could probably make it up to nine thousand and still avoid having to actually climb the mountain." Stone adds.
A short while later they decide to stop and rest for a few minutes and take in the view.
Meanwhile back in town Robin and Amberly happen to hear a weather report from a nearby shopper.
"Did you hear that, about a storm coming in?" Robin says.
"Yeah, I'm gonna try calling the guys to let them know." Amberly replies. After getting no answer on her husband's cell she tries Michael's. "He's not answering either."
"Well they are in the mountains, they probably don't have a signal." Robin adds.
Amberly asks the man they overheard the report from for more details. The gentleman explains that the storm is coming in from the west and due to hit Estes Park late this afternoon. Being that the cabin is twelve miles west of town they realize they guys could be in trouble before they know it.
"We'd better get back to the cabin to see if they've made it back yet." Robin suggests.
Unaware of the approaching storm Stone and Jason decide to start their way back towards the cabin. Before they descend even fifty feet they run into another hiker, a man in his late forties to early fifties with graying hair who appears to be lost and alone. Stone notices a shocked expression on his face once he sees them.
"How's it going, I didn't think anyone else was out here." The man says. "You boys headed back down?"
"Yeah, are you okay you look kinda lost." Jason asks.
The man hesitates, looks around for a moment then pulls out a map. "Well actually I'm looking for a shack."
"A shack?" Jason says curiously.
"Yeah there's supposed to be an old shack located on this slope at around six thousand feet. I'm supposed to meet my party there if we got separated and I can't seem to find it." The man says.
Stone offers to take a look at the map not knowing of the shack's existence, however he finds it on the map and points the gentleman in the right direction.
"You should find it in about ten minutes or so." Stone says.
"Thanks a lot." The man says shaking both of their hands. "I sure hope I don't get lost again, that's the second time today I've read this map wrong."
Stone and Jason look at each other for a moment then offer to escort him to it seeing as it's not too far out of their way.
"Oh thanks, that would be great. My name is A.J. by the way, A.J. Croft."
Stone and Jason introduce themselves then start back down the mountain towards the shack.
"So what is this shack doing on a mountain?" Jason asks.
"Mountain shelter, in case of bad weather or what not." Stone adds. "There's no telling how old it is though."
"Well let me tell you if it's called a shack it's probably pretty old." Jason adds.
Croft laughs at the remark.
"So you guys buddies or related or what?"
"He's married to my cousin." Stone replies.
A few minutes later they finally spot the shack twenty yards down hill nestled in a snow bank.
"There it is, you're home free." Jason says. "Enjoy the rest of your day, nice meeting you."
"Why don't you guys come in and get warm before you head back out again." Croft offers.
Stone looks at his watch reading three-thirty and then at Jason. They decide it's not a bad idea since they still have a long hike back to the cabin.
"Okay but just for a few minutes, it'll be five by the time we make it back to the cabin if we're lucky. And the girls might be back and starting dinner by then." Stone replies.
Amberly and Robin arrive back at the cabin shortly after three-thirty but find no sign of the guys.
"They're not back yet." Amberly states.
"Well they were here at some point, Michael's duffel bag is here. They must have gone back out hiking." Robin replies.
"I hope they get back before the storm hits."
"I'm sure they'll be fine, they're probably on their way back now and it hasn't even started snowing yet." Robin adds.
Croft gets to the shack door first and opens it for the guys. "C'mon in, I'm sure it's nice and warm inside."
Stone and Jason walk in to find it completely dark inside. Just as Croft shuts the door three men emerge from the shadows each aiming a hi-tech weapon at the two hikers!