Ch. 6

Walt followed Vic into the cabin. He removed his hat and coat and laid them aside. His mind was already trying to put together a plan. Vic disappeared into the bedroom and reappeared minutes later, having changed. She found him sitting on the couch.

"So."

He looked up at her knowing she had as many questions as he did. She had been quiet on the drive home from town. He wondered if she had been as surprised as he had when she turned in her badge.

She sat next to him and met his eyes.

"Do you think I made a mistake?"

Walt shook his head.

"No."

"I'm not mad at Cady, Walt. But, I can't play by those rules. Not about this."

"I know."

"Micah planned this from the beginning."

"Yep."

"He fooled us. All of us."

"Yeah, he did. No point in dwelling on that. We had no real reason not to trust him."

"Right."

There was a knock on the door. Walt rose and answered it.

"Walt, Cady called me."

Henry entered the cabin, his dark eyes settling on Vic.

"She ask you to talk some sense into us?"

Henry nodded.

"Something like that. She means well."

"Yeah, I know."

"So, where are we?"

"We?"

"You will need help. I am not the FBI but I will help where I can."

Vic smiled.

"Thanks, Henry."

"We will find him and we will get him back. This young man who took him?"

"Micah?"

"He worked with you?"

Vic nodded.

"Yeah, and it looks like he planned this all along."

"So it is someone with a grudge."

"Apparently."

He looked to Walt.

"That is not a short list."

Walt grimaced.

"No, it's not. But, kidnapping is pretty serious and not everyone has the stomach for it. That may…"

Vic's phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and shrugged as she answered it.

"Hello."

"Hello, Vic. How are you?"

"Who is this?"

Walt and Henry were both watching her with curious looks.

Vic racked her brain. The voice sounded vaguely familiar but she couldn't quite place it.

"I'm kind of hurt that you don't know. I realize that you are under an incredible amount of stress so I will let it slide."

"Who the fuck is this?"

"Language, Deputy. Who I am is not important right now. We'll get to all of that in due time."

"You have my son?"

"You really need to work on your patience, Vic. Yes, we have your son. As long as you do as you are told, he will not be harmed. Harming a child is not on the list of things I want to have to do. That being said, I will do what I have to do."

"What is it that you want from us?"

She could almost hear the smile in his voice.

"I don't want anything from you. I want you. You and your husband rather. Don't take it the wrong way. You will receive instructions. You will follow them. Except for yourself, I don't want to see anyone else connected with the police. Is that understood?"

"I want proof that my son is okay."

The man was quiet for a long moment before she heard a small voice speak into the phone.

"Mommy?"

"Jude!"

Before he could say anything else the other voice returned.

"Happy? He hasn't been harmed. I already told you that."

Before she could say anything else, the line disconnected.

Vic sighed in frustration. Walt stepped closer to her.

"Well?"

"They have him."

"Who are they?"

"I don't know. He said we'll get instructions and not to involve the police. They want us. You and me."

Walt frowned.

"We need to find out who 'they' are."

Vic nodded in agreement.

"Any ideas?"

Walt ran a hand down the side of his face.

"Maybe."

xxx

Vic found Walt in the barn saddling his horse.

"What are you doing?"

"Going for a ride."

She placed her hands on her hips and stared at him.

"What the hell, Walt?"

He shook his head at her.

"Henry is going to stay here with you just to be safe. I'll be back before morning."

"Where are you going?"

He ceased his motions and looked at her for a long moment, his eyes softening.

"I can't tell you. Not right now."

He could see her jaw tense up.

"Walt…"

He left the horse's side and stepped in close to her, dropping his face so that his mouth was closer to her ear.

"I can't tell you right this minute. I will tell you. I need you to trust me right now."

She met his blue eyes and was quiet for what seemed like an eternity.

"Trust you?"

"Please, Vic."

His words were soft.

"You had better be back here when you say."

"I will. I promise. And then, I may have something."

He returned to the horse. Vic watched him as he prepared the animal. Once he was done, he hoisted himself up and into the saddle. He gave her the most sincere smile he could muster before nudging the horse out of the barn and into a trot.

Vic returned to the house where Henry was waiting.

"Do you know where he's going?"

"No, I do not."

She could tell by his tone, he was being honest.

"I know that if Walt thinks it is important, it is."

"I know, Henry, but how much time do we have really."

Henry placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You should rest, Vic. We do know what lies ahead. We should be ready."

She nodded at him. Rising, she went into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Vic stripped off her clothes and took a shower. Pulling on sweats and a t-shirt, she lay down on the bed. Sleep would not find her. Instead, images of her son played through her mind. She fought the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. It was going to be a long night.

xxx

Henry jerked awake and pulled a rifle up towards the cabin door. He breathed in relief when he realized it was Walt. He set the rifle aside.

"Walt."

Walt removed his hat and hung it up.

"Sorry if I woke you."

Henry smiled.

"It is okay."

Henry sat back down on the couch.

"Vic is in the bedroom."

Walt nodded.

"Try to go back to sleep."

He heard rustling as Henry lay back down. Walt walked softly into the bedroom, pushing the door shut carefully.

"I'm not asleep."

Her voice startled him in the dark room. Walt pulled off his boots and sat down.

"You should be. You need some rest."

"We all need rest, Walt. Are you ready to tell me?"

Walt stretched out on the bed next to her.

"Do you remember Agent Vance?"

She nodded slowly.

"Yeah."

"I uh…I met with him."

"Where?"

"Out. Away from everything. Where no one could follow."

"How did he get way the hell out there?"

"Omar. I didn't want to risk a phone call."

"So, what about him?"

"He was willing to do me a favor, even though I'm not Sheriff anymore. He did a little digging."

Vic rolled over to face him, propping her head up on her hand.

"And?"

"The family of Chance Gilbert is back in the area. There aren't as many but they're in Absaroka."

"You think they have Jude?"

"I think it's a safe bet. It would explain a lot about Micah."

"Where are they?"

"He gave me the location of where he thinks they're holed up."

"That would explain why they want both of us."

"Yep."

"So, the question is…do we wait for them or go after them?"

"Yep."

She studied his face.

"You want to go after them."

He nodded.

"They're not going to let him go. I think we both know that. They'll kill us all."

"Are you going to tell Cady?"

"I'm going to talk to her without giving her the details and see what she says. We need help. There's three of us here. Omar is willing to loan us weapons and a vehicle."

"What if she tells that FBI agent?"

Walt shook his head slightly.

"I don't think we need to involve the FBI. We need to go in as quietly as possible."

"Yes, we do. If they see us coming…"

She didn't put to words what they both knew.

xxx

"Does Ruby Ridge mean anything to you?"

Cady looked at Vic and then back to Walt.

"You're sure this information is accurate?"

"Yes, Punk. It's from a more than reliable source."

She frowned as she sat opposite them in the cabin.

"This could have some pretty serious consequences."

"I know what I'm asking of you, Cady. But if the Feds go blazing in, who knows what's gonna happen to your brother."

She nodded her head slowly in understanding.

"Okay. We will play this your way. What's the plan?"

Walt glanced at Vic and Henry and then back to his daughter.

"The three of us go in alone first. We try to secure Jude and then you come in."

"How many?"

"I don't have a solid number. But, if we surprise them…we should be able to get in and get him."

"That a lot of unknowns."

"Yes, it is. But, we've faced these odds before."

Cady looked thoughtful for a long moment.

"I'll talk to Ferg in private and bring him up to speed. I'm also going to see if Zach will let me deputize him temporarily because we need all the help we can get on this."

She turned her eyes to Vic.

"Do you want your badge back?"

Vic's eyes clouded over. Walt could see her thinking. Finally, she shook her head.

"I may have to do something that I can't do wearing that badge, Cady."

Walt felt his throat constrict at the tone of her voice. Cady nodded in understanding.

"Once this is over, the offer stands, Vic. No hard feelings."

Vic smiled a little.

"Let's get through this and we'll talk about it."

xxx

Walt and Henry had done a thorough sweep around the cabin to try and ensure that they were not being watched by anyone. Henry was satisfied that they were alone in their planning and returned to the cabin to join them. Omar had provided them with quite an array of weaponry. Walt had carefully laid out the arsenal. He ran his hand over his hair, smoothing it down.

"There's no way the three of us can carry all of this."

Vic shook her head.

"No, we're just have to take what we think we need the most."

Walt ran his hands over a rifle with a very expensive scope.

"Everyone needs a sidearm for sure. We should all carry at least two weapons."

He glanced at Vic, who was frowning.

"What?"

"Getting in is one thing but we're going to be carrying a two year old out and through the bush. This location Vance gave you is pretty remote."

"Yep, that's why we're taking the horses."

"Horses?"

"We can't drive all the way and we'll be too slow on foot. The horses can make it out faster. Once we have Jude, we get out and let Cady and whoever she brings have it."

Vic looked to Henry.

"Do you have a horse?"

He nodded his head.

"I have secured one."

There was a soft knock on the door. Henry opened it cautiously to see Cady standing there.

She smiled at him.

"Hey, Henry."

"Cady."

She came in and looked at the guns.

"Wow. Omar?"

Walt smiled a little.

"Yep. Ready on your end?"

"Yes, Ferg and Zach are at the station waiting for the word to move. I'm headed there after I leave here."

Walt looked at the windows.

"Getting dark. We'll need to leave soon."

He glanced at Henry.

"Let's get the horses ready. See you, Punk."

She gave him a brief hug and watched as he and Henry headed out to the barn. She turned her attention to Vic.

"How are you?"

Vic looked at her and shook her head.

"Scared shitless."

"Me too. I think they are, too. They just won't admit it."

"I know Walt is. Henry I can never tell about."

Cady laughed a little.

"I'm gonna head to the station and make sure we're ready to roll when you need us. The FBI is going to be pissed but we'll deal with that later."

Vic smiled at her.

"Thank you, Cady. For everything."

Cady nodded in acceptance and then left.

xxx

Walt pulled the Bronco off the dirt road and parked. Henry slid out and began unloading the horses one by one. Vic rechecked the 9mm holstered at her side and adjusted the knife she had tucked at her back. Pulling herself up onto Blaze, Walt handed her a rifle, which she secured. She watched as he and Henry did the same.

Walt struck out in front, followed by Vic. Henry brought up the rear. They had carefully mapped the location they had been given and had come up with the best place to tie the horses. Beyond that point, they would go on foot.

The night was quiet around then and it felt like every step the horses made, was tremendously loud. They didn't talk. Everything had already been discussed. The horses carefully made their way through the brush in the darkness. Traveling out here at night wasn't ideal. It was however, necessary to maintain the element of surprise.

Vic pulled her jacket tighter around her with one hand. The night was cool. She had dressed in layers and could still feel the chill of the Wyoming night.

Finally, Walt drew to a halt. He looked around and then slid easily from his horse. He nodded towards a stand of trees.

"We'll leave the horses here. There's plenty for them to graze on to keep them quiet and busy."

Vic and Henry dismounted and they secured the horses.

Walt nodded pointed to a small but well-worn path."

"This has to be it."

Vic looked up. The sky was cloudless tonight and stars twinkled everywhere. There was no light pollution out here like there was in the city. The night skies lit up like a neon painting. The moon wasn't full but it was giving off a decent glow.

"Vic?"

Her eyes shifted to Walt.

"I'm ready. Let's do this."

He glanced at Henry, who also nodded his head in agreement.

"I am ready."

Walt took a deep breath.

"Let's go."