Chapter 11

After a few moments of study, Lee determined that there were two men heading his way. It could be rescue but he doubted it. Marcus had gone to the East and this was West, where they had come from. Local hunters? Maybe—but could he take the chance? Lee decided to err on the side of caution.

He watched the men moving for a few more moments. They were making good time but it would be over half an hour before they reached this location. Lee made his way as quickly as possible down the slope, cursing his bum leg all the way.

"Amanda! Wake up!" He prodded her with his makeshift cane and she opened her eyes, frowning up at him. "We might have company and I don't know if they're friendly or not. We need to get out of here."

Unquestioningly, Amanda got up and followed Lee's instructions to try and eradicate as much evidence of their presence as possible. Urgency momentarily eliminated any remaining awkwardness between them as they worked as an efficient team. They covered the fire pit with dirt and scattered leaves and twigs over the area trying to disguise its presence. With regret, Lee pushed over the lean-to and Amanda pulled the branches back to the area of the wreck where Marcus had found them, scattering them about as they might have originally been when the propeller ripped them off.

Amanda used a branch to sweep away as many of their footprints as possible, except those leading down towards the stream. If someone was looking for the agents, let them think that they had left and headed East down the hill. Lee gathered their supplies into the duffel bag and hefted it over his good shoulder, biting back a groan at the added strain it placed on his damaged shoulder and leg.

"Where was the den you found? Can we hide behind it?" he asked. Amanda pointed in the direction they would need to take and Lee set off.

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Amanda followed behind, using the branch to sweep away their retreating footsteps until they were several yards into the woods. A skilled tracker wouldn't be fooled but it was the best she could do. Dropping the branch, she hurried to Lee's side and put her hand on his arm. He stopped and looked at her inquiringly.

"Lee—let me take that." He hesitated and opened his mouth to protest. "Please?" She laid her hand on his chest and stared intently into his eyes, her concern outweighing her earlier embarrassment. Lee gazed back, seeming to study her face, searching for something...She gave a half smile and after a moment he returned it.

"All right." He nodded, slid the duffle bag from his shoulder, and passed it to her. They continued on in companionable silence for several minutes.

"Over there," Amanda indicated the tumble of uprooted trees. They made their way to the far side where they would be hidden from prying eyes. Lee dropped to the ground, obviously exhausted from their rushed exertions. Amanda set the duffel bag down and then settled herself beside him panting. The weight of the bag had been a strain on her side but she was more concerned about Lee. He was usually strong, fit and healthy but his body was losing its battle with infection. "Can I do anything for you?"

"No, I just need to rest a bit. Then I'll crawl back closer to the camp and see who our visitors are."

"Lee, you're in no condition to be crawling across the forest floor. Even if your leg can withstand the strain, you can't crawl with only one good arm. I'll go."

Lee opened his mouth to protest but seemed to realize the truth of what she was saying. Reluctantly he agreed. "All right, but be careful. Don't get too close and no matter what you hear or see, don't make contact, even if they seem friendly. You don't remember what the members of that group look like. Just take a quick peek and then report back to me. If you're seen, I want you to run this way but then keep going. If they give chase, they'll have to pass by me, and I'll distract them with the gun. They're more interested in me than you. You'll have time to escape."

Amanda didn't like the last part of Lee's plan but didn't bother to argue with him. If it came to that, she'd do what she had to do to protect her partner, just as she'd always done. Hmm - another tiny bit of memory. She resolved to investigate it further at a more opportune time. Squeezing Lee's hand, she headed back to the site they had just left.

Once near their abandoned camp, she dropped to her belly and commando crawled as near as she dared. Her bruised side protested her movements but she pushed through the discomfort intent on her mission. Hidden by small shrubs, she could see the camp. She lay there waiting.

As her breathing slowed, she became intensely aware of her surroundings. Strangely enough, there were no sounds. The breeze had died down and the birds were silent. Clouds had obscured the sun and the dull greyish light created a sombre mood. She shifted so that she wasn't putting as much pressure on her bruised side. The sound of leaves and twigs rustling as she moved, seemed loud in the stillness of the woods. An ant crawled over her arm and she absent-mindedly flicked it away.

Staring at the crash site intently, Amanda wondering if they had hidden their presence sufficiently. To her eye, evidence seemed to be everywhere. The stones from the fire pit were too close together, black marks marring their grey surface. Flattened grass screamed that several people had been sitting down and—oh darn! They'd forgotten to scatter the pile of twigs she'd gathered...Amanda bit her lip and debated whether or not she should leave her hiding spot and fix the oversight. The sound of approaching footsteps, made the decision for her. She pressed herself flat to the ground and listened.

"There it is," a voice called out.

"Yeah, Riley was right — they didn't make it far in that storm. Do you see any bodies, Dwayne?"

"Nope," the man called Dwayne answered. "They must have survived. Lots of blood on this door frame and the floor — could be Scarecrow's. I know Frank stabbed him, and I think we might have shot him as well before he got in the chopper. He went down."

"Takes a lot to kill that guy doesn't it?" the other man joked.

"Guess so. Riley really hates his guts. That's why he's paying us those big bucks to come back and look, even when the Boss said to forget about them."

Amanda peered through the branches of the bush she was hiding behind and saw the two men standing near the wreck. The man she assumed to be Dwayne was looking around but not really putting much effort into searching for clues. "You know Bob, I don't think they're here. Why would they hang around? They probably crawled out of the chopper and headed down hill."

"Could be. They can't be travelling too fast, if Scarecrow's injured. The female's probably a bit crippled up too, from where Frank kicked her."

"Man, was he mad when she bit him. He'd really like to get his hands on her again," Dwayne smirked.

"Ahh, Frank never did know how to treat a woman. If she'd stuck around long enough, I'd have shown her what a real man is!"

"Yeah, right!" Dwayne scoffed. "Anyway, Frank was going to use her as a bargaining chip in that poker game. We all wanted in on that one!"

"Don't know why Frank thought she belonged to him, anyway. Riley was really ticked over that. He said they were both his..." Bob shrugged and gave a final glance around the clearing. "Well, let's keep moving. We lost a lot of time waiting for the big boss to leave before we started searching. Riley wants a report from us as soon as possible."

The men left the clearing and headed east down the hill. Amanda waited a few more minutes to ensure that they were far enough away and then slowly got to her knees. She felt sick to her stomach. The way the men had talked about her...she could well imagine the fate that she had escaped. Rubbing her side, she realized that the bruises weren't from the crash as she had assumed but from being kicked by someone named Frank.

Amanda was sure Lee hadn't told her any of this. Why had he lied or, at least omitted this fact? Didn't she have a right to know what had happened to her? He was always trying to protect her... She pondered how she knew that. More memories flooded her mind. An office...being in a car on a stakeout... a white picket fence. Slowly she got to her feet and made her way back to Lee while sorting through a rush of memories.