Once again, many thanks to all who took the time and effort to review, it
was very much appreciated as always!!
My thanks to my beta, Alaidh for slaving over a cold computer!!
Chapter 9
"So what makes you so sure that dog got the right glasses?" There was a strong hint of doubt in Zack's voice, as he looked out the car window, aware of the dog breathing heavily down his neck. They'd stopped a few miles from the logging camp on a side road in the forest to discuss their options.
"I was watchin' him, Zack. As soon as he got near that kitchen, he got all kinda' jumpy, then as soon as the cook came out, he dove in there and headed straight for the bench with those glasses. It was like he knew they were there," finished Max, obviously impressed.
"Why give them to Logan?" he asked, still not convinced.
"Because Logan wears glasses." Holding up the pair the dog had given to Logan she said, "and they're not unlike his, both steel-framed."
"I didn't see any sign of a vigilante training camp," put in Zack again.
"I've been thinking about that," said Logan. "The manager said that everything was portable. I'd imagine they could move buildings around as they needed them."
"Like kitchens," put in Max.
Logan nodded.
"That would make sense," agreed Zack. "Max said the dog didn't get jumpy until it went inside the mess room."
"So," continued Max, taking up on his thought, "there was probably nothing familiar about the area where they are situated now."
"We're gonna have to do some recon on this. We have to find that other site to verify what we suspect," said Logan, thoughtfully.
"Can't you hack into their computers, get the information that way?" asked Max.
Logan looked sceptical, "I'll try that of course, but if this is a covert operation, I'd be very surprised if it was linked to their everyday operations information, and I'm not sure I've got the time up here to crack codes."
"Which leaves us?"
"Which leaves us finding out what we can on site. There must be something here on site that inadvertently or otherwise, points to the location of the camp."
"I say you drop Max and me off here now to do the recon," suggested Zack, keen to do something concrete.
Logan hesitated. "We're dealing with people who'll kill to keep this secret. Do you think daytime recon is safe?"
"It's what we're trained to do," stated Zack. He'd been through this with Logan before.
"What will you do?" asked Max, more worried about any schemes Logan might have in his head.
He hadn't really thought that far ahead. Frowning through the front windshield, he suggested, "I could always stay here and wait for you. I've got my laptop with me."
"We might be hours, Logan," she protested.
Thinking again, he said, "Why don't I go into town, see if I can pick up any information while I'm there, then meet you back here by five. By that time, the loggers will be returning to this site, so you probably wont be able to do much at that time, anyway."
Zack shrugged. He seemed to think he and Max could get back to town with or without Logan.
This time it was Max who hesitated.
"Hey, if it's boring in town I just might have time to cook that ill gotten chicken of yours."
This time Max smiled. "You sure know the way to a genetically engineered killing machine's heart."
Logan jumped slightly as Zack got out and closed the door with enough force to make the dog bark.
Max cast a glance at him as he waited impatiently for her to put Logan's wheelchair where it would be accessible for him to reach, then they both disappeared into the forest.
*******************************
Once Zack and Max had left the car, the black dog took it as his invitation to sit in the front seat next to Logan.
Logan gave it a sideways glance. "I'm not sure about this, Dog. Aren't you meant to wear a seatbelt or something?"
The dog didn't seem to care, but sat on the seat contentedly looking out the front window.
It was a good forty minutes back into town, and well and truly lunchtime by the time they got there.
He'd remembered seeing a diner next to the bar, which he knew he'd be able to access. Looking at the dog again, he wondered what it would eat. Max said she'd fed the dog before he'd got up, but he had no idea if it would be hungry now, and it appeared the only grocery store was on the high side that he was hesitant about navigating.
Once again, as soon as the door opened, the dog jumped out, which wasn't really what Logan had wanted. He didn't know how obedient the animal was, and he was quite sure it wouldn't be welcome in the diner.
Getting to the door, he tried the classic command: "Sit."
To his surprise, the dog responded beautifully, sitting down immediately. Quite pleased with himself, Logan went inside.
It wasn't an exciting menu, but he ordered a sandwich for himself, and two servings of meatloaf for the dog, and some sandwiches to go for Max and Zack, knowing Max would be unhappy missing her lunch.
He sat where he could see the dog outside, but it simply lay there quietly, apparently half asleep.
Logan had just collected the sandwiches he was to take with him, when out of the corner of his eye he saw the dog suddenly jump up as if it had seen a rabbit in a field to chase.
"Damn," muttered Logan, hoping the animal hadn't run off down the street - not that he knew what they were going to do with the dog eventually, anyway.
Getting out the door, he was surprised to find the dog at the door of the bar, barking and growling in a menacing manner that seemed totally incongruous to any behaviour it had displayed before. Two men stood baled up at the door, one in particular looking particularly unhappy about the situation.
The two men tried to bluster their way past, but as they got closer to the dog it became even more vicious, baring it's teeth and attempting to bite them, particularly the man on the left who was closest to Logan.
Logan watched the situation, not sure what to do until the man on the left completely lost his control and started to kick at the dog with a deliberate intent to hurt the animal, not merely scare it away.
"Hey!" called Logan to the man, who looked up briefly only to continue his attempts to kick the dog, who insisted on barking and growling, its manner even more agitated.
Trying a different approach, Logan called to the dog, but got no response there either. It appeared the man would seriously injure the dog unless he could call it off.
Then across the way, he could hear a voice calling, "Bob, Bobbie!"
Logan saw the dog stop for a moment distracted, then turn back to the two men.
By this time, the person who had called him had come across the street. He looked to be a teenager, about seventeen or eighteen, Logan estimated.
Coming up he grabbed 'Bob' by the collar, pulling him away with considerable force, and nearly earning a kick in the face for his efforts as the man coming out of the bar continued to kick at the dog even as it was being pulled off.
Finally, he got the dog to calm down enough so that he could get a reasonable hold on it.
Logan studied the men from the bar with interest. He knew he'd seen them before.
They'd both been in the bar when he had entered with Max yesterday.
Studying them carefully, he knew it was all beginning to fit into place as the words of Brandon came back to him: he'd spoken about two men in the bar offering him money to do their dirty work.
Subconsciously, Logan rubbed his bruised face.
"You can't control that dog, I'll have it shot," warned the man on the right who was an ordinary looking man, barely distinguishable from any of the other lumberjacks.
The man on the left however, had one of those faces you couldn't forget. He looked like he may have been a boxer at some time by the shape of his nose. Logan thought he never wanted to get close enough to the man to find out. He looked just plain mean. With beady eyes that hid under a protruding forehead - the man was never gonna be a male model.
He now turned those beady eyes in Logan's direction, but if he thought to intimidate, he was to be disappointed.
Logan's own green eyes met the other man's cold grey eyes steadily.
"You got a problem with dogs?" asked Logan politely, then with more of an edge he added, "or just that one in particular?"
The lumberjack took a sudden step toward Logan, when the young man with the dog seemingly 'happened' to walk forward with the dog at the same time, thereby blocking his path.
An annoyed look flashed over the man's face, but he said nothing and strode off down the footpath with his companion.
Logan looked up at the young man with an amused look - the kid had guts. For someone so young, he had an impressive physique, being imposingly tall without having the gangling look that often accompanies that age.
Logan held out his hand. "You're a handy young man to have around."
After a little hesitation, the boy put his hand out. "This is Charlie's dog," he said, a note of disquiet in his voice.
Logan nodded his head. "You a friend of Charlie's?"
"Charlie doesn't have many friends. He's kind of a loner."
Logan nodded again. "You wanna come in and have a coffee with me?"
He studied Logan for a moment with his clear blue eyes, then said, "Okay."
****************************
The manager of Carmichael Logging Operations, Morristown, sat down at his computer to finish off his day's work. The final thing he had to do was send a list of all visitors to the board in Seattle. He'd made sure he had the name spelt correctly; they were very pedantic about things like that. Logan Cale, he typed in, then 'journalist', 'Seattle.' Within seconds the email had been received.
*******************************
"Is there anyone in there?" asked Zack, as Max jumped down from his shoulders.
She shook her head, "All clear. I saw the manager leave a few moments ago. He locked the door after him and set the alarms."
"Alarm type?"
"Just basic," Max replied, "You got anything to eat on you? I'm starved."
Zack looked at her. "No," he stated.
"Sure hope Logan gets a chance ta cook that chicken."
"Let's keep our attention on the task at hand."
"Logan's really gonna owe me one for sending me out with no food for the day," she threatened.
Zack made a cutting motion with his hand to signal her to be quiet, then proceeded to open the fuse box to detach the wires to the alarms.
As Max had said, there was nothing hi-tech about it. Obviously, whoever did their system had not thought robbery a very real threat.
They were in within seconds. Max's rumbling stomach giving her even more of an edge. She wanted to make sure she was there to meet Logan at five.
Within seconds, Zack had the alarms deactivated, and they entered through one of the high back windows in the portable office.
Taking it in turns, one would keep a look out, while the other checked through files, invoices, maps, anything that might lead to the whereabouts of the other camp.
"Zack," whispered Max suddenly, "the trucks are returning with the men. The place will be swarming with 'em soon. We gotta go."
"We haven't found a thing," Zack whispered back.
"We'll have to come back tonight, then. Besides, we said we'd meet Logan at five, and I'm hungry!"
Frustrated at their lack of success, nonetheless, Zack pulled out, both making their escape through the window, Zack activating the alarms once more so that no one would be aware of their visit.
*****************************************
"Damn. It's ten after five. Where's Logan?" Max paced up and down where they had planned to meet.
Zack watched her quietly.
"I hear a car," said Zack suddenly.
Max looked up, an expectant look on her face. "That's him; I'm sure that's his car."
Sure enough, in seconds the blue Aztek swept around the corner.
Max was surprised to see someone else in the car with Logan.
"How did it go your end?" Logan asked her, as she came up to his window.
"No good. We only had about ten minutes clear between the manager leaving the office and the workers returning. We'll have to go back tonight," she finished disappointedly.
"You wouldn't be thinking of that chicken would you?"
"Somebody doesn't want me to have it," she admitted.
"Well, I' got some good news for you," and he couldn't help sounding a little pleased with himself, "I think Riley here knows the location of the camp."
"Hey, I might take you on all my jobs, Logan. I'm impressed."
"I do admit to a little help," admitted Logan, tossing his head towards the dog. "Let me introduce you to 'Bob'."
"Bob?" Max considered the dog for a moment. "I guess he looks like a 'Bob'."
"You two wanna get in and I'll fill you in on the details?" suggested Logan.
Max moved both the chair and 'Bob' (who seemed to think if there was a spare seat anywhere, it was his) into the back once more, then climbed into her seat next to Logan, with Riley now next to Zack.
"You got any food?" asked Max, before he could say another thing.
"I got you a sandwich. It's on the back seat."
"Do you mean this?" asked Zack, holding up a paper bag.
Logan did a double take as he looked at the bag. About to say 'yes' he stopped, mouth still open, looking at Max.
"Food Logan," she said dangerously.
Cringing slightly, he bravely admitted, "The dog ate it." Seeing her look he added quickly, "But we can stop in town and get you another."
"If I don't pass out due to starvation before then," she finished bitingly, totally unaware of the effect she was having on the young man studying her profile from his seat next to Zack. He thought he'd never seen a more beautiful woman in his life.
Max looked slightly appeased, then turned her dazzling smile to the young man. "I'm Max, that's Zack." she said.
"I'm Riley."
"So how'd you two meet up?" she asked, with a slight motion of her head towards Logan.
"He saved Bob from the man, who I suspect, killed Charlie," answered Logan for the boy.
"I told Logan he shouldn't mess with him - word is he's a real bad dude, plays dirty."
Max looked at Logan.
"I hardly even talked to the guy," said Logan with some indignation.
"Spill it," said Max.
Reducing his annoyance to a quick sideways glance at her, he gave her a rundown of the events in town.
"Riley here told me Charlie was a real loner, but a great cook. He'd been working at a camp on Mine Road."
"You mean the one we drove past on the way to his shack?" asked Max, frustrated that they'd been so close without realizing it.
"Riley tells me it had been there close on three months. The men kept to themselves, rarely left the site."
At this point Riley put in. "I used to go and visit Charlie sometimes when he was at his place, but once he started workin' with that outfit, it all got really weird, an' they wouldn't let me see him."
"Did you ever get a look inside the camp?" asked Zack intently.
"I can tell you one thing about that camp," said Riley darkly, "there was no logging going on there when I was there."
"Tell them what you saw, Riley," encouraged Logan.
"It was more like somethin' outta the movies - all sorta hi-tech stuff."
Zack's eyes bored into him. "We need details," he stated in his intense way.
Riley seemed a bit taken aback by his manner, but Max smiled at him and said, "Just tell us exactly what you saw."
"The only time I got in there was one night when Charlie was first there; after that they wouldn't let me near the place. Anyway, it was all exercise equipment an' trainin' stuff, an' firin' ranges, things like that."
Logan took up his story. "Riley last saw Charlie the day Zack did. I had to break it to him that Charlie was dead," he finished on a gentler note. "Riley said the day he'd seen Charlie, the camp had been all packed up and replaced with more conventional logging equipment, men moved out, no sign of what it once was."
"There goes our evidence," said Max.
"Only at this end," replied Logan. "What we have got is a lead on the company behind this, and even though we can't prove it, we probably know the man who killed Charlie and paid off Brandon and his friends to pay us a visit."
They were back in town by now, and it was another cold, dark night.
"Will there be anything open this time of night?" asked Logan to Riley suddenly, realizing he'd promised Max her sandwich, and they still hadn't bought any dog food yet either.
Looking at the clock on the dash, Riley said, "Yeah, the bar, diner, drugstore, they'll all be still open. Friday night's always a busy one in town."
***********************************
Riley was right. It appeared every lumberjack in the mountains had turned up in Morristown that night.
As they drove through the town, they could see the bar and other eating- places were filled to overflowing.
Max looked at Logan, making a face, "What happened to sleepy hollow?"
"The weekend," answered Logan.
"You sure you wanna stop?"
"I don't think we've got much food left at the cabin," he frowned.
"Why don't you park somewhere, and Zack and I will go and get what we need, then head back to the cabin to eat. Riley, you wanna eat with us?"
"No thanks. My Mom'll be waitin' for me."
Logan had a sudden thought as they found somewhere at the end of town to park.
"Riley, Bob's gonna be needing a home now that Charlie's gone. You think maybe."
He saw the initial look of pleasure cross the boy's face, to be placed with one of hesitation, "I'm not sure what my Mom'd say. I'm not sure we could afford to keep 'im."
Logan wondered for a moment how to deal with this issue without giving offence. "Riley, we don't want to leave Bob just roaming the streets. If it helps I could give you some money towards his upkeep. Might soften the blow for your Mom a bit," he suggested.
Max turned to Riley with a smile as the young man still hesitated. "Don't worry, he's loaded. Do him good to get rid of some of it, and," she added, "we'd hate to hafta leave Bob on the street. We can't take him back to Seattle."
Seeing he was starting to relent a little, obviously very keen on keeping Bob, Logan peeled a wad of bills out of his wallet and wrote his phone number down on a notebook from his glove compartment. "If you have any problems, you let me know," he made the boy promise with a nod.
"Okay," said Riley with a smile, calling to Bob, who seemed more than happy to follow him, even though he didn't wear glasses.
"What d'you want for dinner?" asked Max to Logan, resting her hands on his open window.
He shrugged, "Whatever you can find."
"Okay."
"You want some money?" he asked her.
"I got it covered," she smiled at him.
He watched her walk away to the other side of the road with Zack. In front of him he could still see the figures of Riley and Bob heading down the road.
There weren't many streetlights in Morristown, anyway, but at the end of town they were almost non-existent.
Logan settled down for a long wait in the dark. He couldn't imagine Max and Zack being back too quickly with the crowds of men everywhere.
It had been a long day, and a short night and as so often happens once you eventually stop, he found his eyelids growing heavy.
Tilting his seat back a little, he thought he'd take advantage of the quiet.
Logan woke, sometime later, from a surprisingly sound sleep, hearing a noise at his door.
Not really wanting to be caught napping, he opened his eyes quickly, just as his door was opened, but not by Max.
Nor was it Zack.
Unfortunately it was the one man in Morristown Logan 'didn't' want to meet.
Even less desirable was the same individual with a gun in his hand.
All vestige of sleep vanished very quickly.
"Twice in two days," he muttered to himself.
"Get out of the car," the man growled.
Logan thought wildly. 'How long had it been since Max and Zack had left?' With the car turned off, it was no longer displaying the time. All around him were dark, unused buildings. There was virtually no one this end of town.
His wheelchair was still in the back.
"Can't do," he said with an apologetic smile. His mother had always taught him to be polite.
The man's eyes narrowed, realizing what he was getting at. "How do you get out then?" he asked him suspiciously.
"If it's in the back, someone has to get it for me."
His eyes took in the hand controls, and Logan could see his rather slow brain slowly ticking over.
"In that case, maybe I'll just get the information I need from you right now."
Logan didn't think this was such a great idea. He was even more convinced it wasn't a great idea when the man reached over and, with his gun in one hand, grabbed him at the throat by his sweater with the other. He sighed resignedly - his jaw still hadn't recovered from last night!
Tensing in readiness for the blow, he was surprised when it didn't come and felt the hand at his throat being pulled away, the ugly face at his open door replaced by a far more attractive one.
Max had pulled the lumberjack away, and he'd fallen into the hands of Zack who took him out in two, hard blows. The man dropped like the trees he felled.
"Timber," ground out Max with satisfaction.
Grabbing his jacket, Logan passed it to Max saying, "Get his gun and wrap it in this, we'll get his prints from it. See if we can I.D. him."
He then returned his seat to the normal position and started the car.
Doing as he said, Max and Zack then quickly jumped in the car, just closing their doors as Logan pulled away.
"That's it," stated Max. "We're outta here."
Logan looked at her.
"We've done all we can here, right?"
Logan nodded.
"Then I say we leave here tonight, or I'm never gonna be able to keep you in one piece long enough to cook my chicken."
TBC
My thanks to my beta, Alaidh for slaving over a cold computer!!
Chapter 9
"So what makes you so sure that dog got the right glasses?" There was a strong hint of doubt in Zack's voice, as he looked out the car window, aware of the dog breathing heavily down his neck. They'd stopped a few miles from the logging camp on a side road in the forest to discuss their options.
"I was watchin' him, Zack. As soon as he got near that kitchen, he got all kinda' jumpy, then as soon as the cook came out, he dove in there and headed straight for the bench with those glasses. It was like he knew they were there," finished Max, obviously impressed.
"Why give them to Logan?" he asked, still not convinced.
"Because Logan wears glasses." Holding up the pair the dog had given to Logan she said, "and they're not unlike his, both steel-framed."
"I didn't see any sign of a vigilante training camp," put in Zack again.
"I've been thinking about that," said Logan. "The manager said that everything was portable. I'd imagine they could move buildings around as they needed them."
"Like kitchens," put in Max.
Logan nodded.
"That would make sense," agreed Zack. "Max said the dog didn't get jumpy until it went inside the mess room."
"So," continued Max, taking up on his thought, "there was probably nothing familiar about the area where they are situated now."
"We're gonna have to do some recon on this. We have to find that other site to verify what we suspect," said Logan, thoughtfully.
"Can't you hack into their computers, get the information that way?" asked Max.
Logan looked sceptical, "I'll try that of course, but if this is a covert operation, I'd be very surprised if it was linked to their everyday operations information, and I'm not sure I've got the time up here to crack codes."
"Which leaves us?"
"Which leaves us finding out what we can on site. There must be something here on site that inadvertently or otherwise, points to the location of the camp."
"I say you drop Max and me off here now to do the recon," suggested Zack, keen to do something concrete.
Logan hesitated. "We're dealing with people who'll kill to keep this secret. Do you think daytime recon is safe?"
"It's what we're trained to do," stated Zack. He'd been through this with Logan before.
"What will you do?" asked Max, more worried about any schemes Logan might have in his head.
He hadn't really thought that far ahead. Frowning through the front windshield, he suggested, "I could always stay here and wait for you. I've got my laptop with me."
"We might be hours, Logan," she protested.
Thinking again, he said, "Why don't I go into town, see if I can pick up any information while I'm there, then meet you back here by five. By that time, the loggers will be returning to this site, so you probably wont be able to do much at that time, anyway."
Zack shrugged. He seemed to think he and Max could get back to town with or without Logan.
This time it was Max who hesitated.
"Hey, if it's boring in town I just might have time to cook that ill gotten chicken of yours."
This time Max smiled. "You sure know the way to a genetically engineered killing machine's heart."
Logan jumped slightly as Zack got out and closed the door with enough force to make the dog bark.
Max cast a glance at him as he waited impatiently for her to put Logan's wheelchair where it would be accessible for him to reach, then they both disappeared into the forest.
*******************************
Once Zack and Max had left the car, the black dog took it as his invitation to sit in the front seat next to Logan.
Logan gave it a sideways glance. "I'm not sure about this, Dog. Aren't you meant to wear a seatbelt or something?"
The dog didn't seem to care, but sat on the seat contentedly looking out the front window.
It was a good forty minutes back into town, and well and truly lunchtime by the time they got there.
He'd remembered seeing a diner next to the bar, which he knew he'd be able to access. Looking at the dog again, he wondered what it would eat. Max said she'd fed the dog before he'd got up, but he had no idea if it would be hungry now, and it appeared the only grocery store was on the high side that he was hesitant about navigating.
Once again, as soon as the door opened, the dog jumped out, which wasn't really what Logan had wanted. He didn't know how obedient the animal was, and he was quite sure it wouldn't be welcome in the diner.
Getting to the door, he tried the classic command: "Sit."
To his surprise, the dog responded beautifully, sitting down immediately. Quite pleased with himself, Logan went inside.
It wasn't an exciting menu, but he ordered a sandwich for himself, and two servings of meatloaf for the dog, and some sandwiches to go for Max and Zack, knowing Max would be unhappy missing her lunch.
He sat where he could see the dog outside, but it simply lay there quietly, apparently half asleep.
Logan had just collected the sandwiches he was to take with him, when out of the corner of his eye he saw the dog suddenly jump up as if it had seen a rabbit in a field to chase.
"Damn," muttered Logan, hoping the animal hadn't run off down the street - not that he knew what they were going to do with the dog eventually, anyway.
Getting out the door, he was surprised to find the dog at the door of the bar, barking and growling in a menacing manner that seemed totally incongruous to any behaviour it had displayed before. Two men stood baled up at the door, one in particular looking particularly unhappy about the situation.
The two men tried to bluster their way past, but as they got closer to the dog it became even more vicious, baring it's teeth and attempting to bite them, particularly the man on the left who was closest to Logan.
Logan watched the situation, not sure what to do until the man on the left completely lost his control and started to kick at the dog with a deliberate intent to hurt the animal, not merely scare it away.
"Hey!" called Logan to the man, who looked up briefly only to continue his attempts to kick the dog, who insisted on barking and growling, its manner even more agitated.
Trying a different approach, Logan called to the dog, but got no response there either. It appeared the man would seriously injure the dog unless he could call it off.
Then across the way, he could hear a voice calling, "Bob, Bobbie!"
Logan saw the dog stop for a moment distracted, then turn back to the two men.
By this time, the person who had called him had come across the street. He looked to be a teenager, about seventeen or eighteen, Logan estimated.
Coming up he grabbed 'Bob' by the collar, pulling him away with considerable force, and nearly earning a kick in the face for his efforts as the man coming out of the bar continued to kick at the dog even as it was being pulled off.
Finally, he got the dog to calm down enough so that he could get a reasonable hold on it.
Logan studied the men from the bar with interest. He knew he'd seen them before.
They'd both been in the bar when he had entered with Max yesterday.
Studying them carefully, he knew it was all beginning to fit into place as the words of Brandon came back to him: he'd spoken about two men in the bar offering him money to do their dirty work.
Subconsciously, Logan rubbed his bruised face.
"You can't control that dog, I'll have it shot," warned the man on the right who was an ordinary looking man, barely distinguishable from any of the other lumberjacks.
The man on the left however, had one of those faces you couldn't forget. He looked like he may have been a boxer at some time by the shape of his nose. Logan thought he never wanted to get close enough to the man to find out. He looked just plain mean. With beady eyes that hid under a protruding forehead - the man was never gonna be a male model.
He now turned those beady eyes in Logan's direction, but if he thought to intimidate, he was to be disappointed.
Logan's own green eyes met the other man's cold grey eyes steadily.
"You got a problem with dogs?" asked Logan politely, then with more of an edge he added, "or just that one in particular?"
The lumberjack took a sudden step toward Logan, when the young man with the dog seemingly 'happened' to walk forward with the dog at the same time, thereby blocking his path.
An annoyed look flashed over the man's face, but he said nothing and strode off down the footpath with his companion.
Logan looked up at the young man with an amused look - the kid had guts. For someone so young, he had an impressive physique, being imposingly tall without having the gangling look that often accompanies that age.
Logan held out his hand. "You're a handy young man to have around."
After a little hesitation, the boy put his hand out. "This is Charlie's dog," he said, a note of disquiet in his voice.
Logan nodded his head. "You a friend of Charlie's?"
"Charlie doesn't have many friends. He's kind of a loner."
Logan nodded again. "You wanna come in and have a coffee with me?"
He studied Logan for a moment with his clear blue eyes, then said, "Okay."
****************************
The manager of Carmichael Logging Operations, Morristown, sat down at his computer to finish off his day's work. The final thing he had to do was send a list of all visitors to the board in Seattle. He'd made sure he had the name spelt correctly; they were very pedantic about things like that. Logan Cale, he typed in, then 'journalist', 'Seattle.' Within seconds the email had been received.
*******************************
"Is there anyone in there?" asked Zack, as Max jumped down from his shoulders.
She shook her head, "All clear. I saw the manager leave a few moments ago. He locked the door after him and set the alarms."
"Alarm type?"
"Just basic," Max replied, "You got anything to eat on you? I'm starved."
Zack looked at her. "No," he stated.
"Sure hope Logan gets a chance ta cook that chicken."
"Let's keep our attention on the task at hand."
"Logan's really gonna owe me one for sending me out with no food for the day," she threatened.
Zack made a cutting motion with his hand to signal her to be quiet, then proceeded to open the fuse box to detach the wires to the alarms.
As Max had said, there was nothing hi-tech about it. Obviously, whoever did their system had not thought robbery a very real threat.
They were in within seconds. Max's rumbling stomach giving her even more of an edge. She wanted to make sure she was there to meet Logan at five.
Within seconds, Zack had the alarms deactivated, and they entered through one of the high back windows in the portable office.
Taking it in turns, one would keep a look out, while the other checked through files, invoices, maps, anything that might lead to the whereabouts of the other camp.
"Zack," whispered Max suddenly, "the trucks are returning with the men. The place will be swarming with 'em soon. We gotta go."
"We haven't found a thing," Zack whispered back.
"We'll have to come back tonight, then. Besides, we said we'd meet Logan at five, and I'm hungry!"
Frustrated at their lack of success, nonetheless, Zack pulled out, both making their escape through the window, Zack activating the alarms once more so that no one would be aware of their visit.
*****************************************
"Damn. It's ten after five. Where's Logan?" Max paced up and down where they had planned to meet.
Zack watched her quietly.
"I hear a car," said Zack suddenly.
Max looked up, an expectant look on her face. "That's him; I'm sure that's his car."
Sure enough, in seconds the blue Aztek swept around the corner.
Max was surprised to see someone else in the car with Logan.
"How did it go your end?" Logan asked her, as she came up to his window.
"No good. We only had about ten minutes clear between the manager leaving the office and the workers returning. We'll have to go back tonight," she finished disappointedly.
"You wouldn't be thinking of that chicken would you?"
"Somebody doesn't want me to have it," she admitted.
"Well, I' got some good news for you," and he couldn't help sounding a little pleased with himself, "I think Riley here knows the location of the camp."
"Hey, I might take you on all my jobs, Logan. I'm impressed."
"I do admit to a little help," admitted Logan, tossing his head towards the dog. "Let me introduce you to 'Bob'."
"Bob?" Max considered the dog for a moment. "I guess he looks like a 'Bob'."
"You two wanna get in and I'll fill you in on the details?" suggested Logan.
Max moved both the chair and 'Bob' (who seemed to think if there was a spare seat anywhere, it was his) into the back once more, then climbed into her seat next to Logan, with Riley now next to Zack.
"You got any food?" asked Max, before he could say another thing.
"I got you a sandwich. It's on the back seat."
"Do you mean this?" asked Zack, holding up a paper bag.
Logan did a double take as he looked at the bag. About to say 'yes' he stopped, mouth still open, looking at Max.
"Food Logan," she said dangerously.
Cringing slightly, he bravely admitted, "The dog ate it." Seeing her look he added quickly, "But we can stop in town and get you another."
"If I don't pass out due to starvation before then," she finished bitingly, totally unaware of the effect she was having on the young man studying her profile from his seat next to Zack. He thought he'd never seen a more beautiful woman in his life.
Max looked slightly appeased, then turned her dazzling smile to the young man. "I'm Max, that's Zack." she said.
"I'm Riley."
"So how'd you two meet up?" she asked, with a slight motion of her head towards Logan.
"He saved Bob from the man, who I suspect, killed Charlie," answered Logan for the boy.
"I told Logan he shouldn't mess with him - word is he's a real bad dude, plays dirty."
Max looked at Logan.
"I hardly even talked to the guy," said Logan with some indignation.
"Spill it," said Max.
Reducing his annoyance to a quick sideways glance at her, he gave her a rundown of the events in town.
"Riley here told me Charlie was a real loner, but a great cook. He'd been working at a camp on Mine Road."
"You mean the one we drove past on the way to his shack?" asked Max, frustrated that they'd been so close without realizing it.
"Riley tells me it had been there close on three months. The men kept to themselves, rarely left the site."
At this point Riley put in. "I used to go and visit Charlie sometimes when he was at his place, but once he started workin' with that outfit, it all got really weird, an' they wouldn't let me see him."
"Did you ever get a look inside the camp?" asked Zack intently.
"I can tell you one thing about that camp," said Riley darkly, "there was no logging going on there when I was there."
"Tell them what you saw, Riley," encouraged Logan.
"It was more like somethin' outta the movies - all sorta hi-tech stuff."
Zack's eyes bored into him. "We need details," he stated in his intense way.
Riley seemed a bit taken aback by his manner, but Max smiled at him and said, "Just tell us exactly what you saw."
"The only time I got in there was one night when Charlie was first there; after that they wouldn't let me near the place. Anyway, it was all exercise equipment an' trainin' stuff, an' firin' ranges, things like that."
Logan took up his story. "Riley last saw Charlie the day Zack did. I had to break it to him that Charlie was dead," he finished on a gentler note. "Riley said the day he'd seen Charlie, the camp had been all packed up and replaced with more conventional logging equipment, men moved out, no sign of what it once was."
"There goes our evidence," said Max.
"Only at this end," replied Logan. "What we have got is a lead on the company behind this, and even though we can't prove it, we probably know the man who killed Charlie and paid off Brandon and his friends to pay us a visit."
They were back in town by now, and it was another cold, dark night.
"Will there be anything open this time of night?" asked Logan to Riley suddenly, realizing he'd promised Max her sandwich, and they still hadn't bought any dog food yet either.
Looking at the clock on the dash, Riley said, "Yeah, the bar, diner, drugstore, they'll all be still open. Friday night's always a busy one in town."
***********************************
Riley was right. It appeared every lumberjack in the mountains had turned up in Morristown that night.
As they drove through the town, they could see the bar and other eating- places were filled to overflowing.
Max looked at Logan, making a face, "What happened to sleepy hollow?"
"The weekend," answered Logan.
"You sure you wanna stop?"
"I don't think we've got much food left at the cabin," he frowned.
"Why don't you park somewhere, and Zack and I will go and get what we need, then head back to the cabin to eat. Riley, you wanna eat with us?"
"No thanks. My Mom'll be waitin' for me."
Logan had a sudden thought as they found somewhere at the end of town to park.
"Riley, Bob's gonna be needing a home now that Charlie's gone. You think maybe."
He saw the initial look of pleasure cross the boy's face, to be placed with one of hesitation, "I'm not sure what my Mom'd say. I'm not sure we could afford to keep 'im."
Logan wondered for a moment how to deal with this issue without giving offence. "Riley, we don't want to leave Bob just roaming the streets. If it helps I could give you some money towards his upkeep. Might soften the blow for your Mom a bit," he suggested.
Max turned to Riley with a smile as the young man still hesitated. "Don't worry, he's loaded. Do him good to get rid of some of it, and," she added, "we'd hate to hafta leave Bob on the street. We can't take him back to Seattle."
Seeing he was starting to relent a little, obviously very keen on keeping Bob, Logan peeled a wad of bills out of his wallet and wrote his phone number down on a notebook from his glove compartment. "If you have any problems, you let me know," he made the boy promise with a nod.
"Okay," said Riley with a smile, calling to Bob, who seemed more than happy to follow him, even though he didn't wear glasses.
"What d'you want for dinner?" asked Max to Logan, resting her hands on his open window.
He shrugged, "Whatever you can find."
"Okay."
"You want some money?" he asked her.
"I got it covered," she smiled at him.
He watched her walk away to the other side of the road with Zack. In front of him he could still see the figures of Riley and Bob heading down the road.
There weren't many streetlights in Morristown, anyway, but at the end of town they were almost non-existent.
Logan settled down for a long wait in the dark. He couldn't imagine Max and Zack being back too quickly with the crowds of men everywhere.
It had been a long day, and a short night and as so often happens once you eventually stop, he found his eyelids growing heavy.
Tilting his seat back a little, he thought he'd take advantage of the quiet.
Logan woke, sometime later, from a surprisingly sound sleep, hearing a noise at his door.
Not really wanting to be caught napping, he opened his eyes quickly, just as his door was opened, but not by Max.
Nor was it Zack.
Unfortunately it was the one man in Morristown Logan 'didn't' want to meet.
Even less desirable was the same individual with a gun in his hand.
All vestige of sleep vanished very quickly.
"Twice in two days," he muttered to himself.
"Get out of the car," the man growled.
Logan thought wildly. 'How long had it been since Max and Zack had left?' With the car turned off, it was no longer displaying the time. All around him were dark, unused buildings. There was virtually no one this end of town.
His wheelchair was still in the back.
"Can't do," he said with an apologetic smile. His mother had always taught him to be polite.
The man's eyes narrowed, realizing what he was getting at. "How do you get out then?" he asked him suspiciously.
"If it's in the back, someone has to get it for me."
His eyes took in the hand controls, and Logan could see his rather slow brain slowly ticking over.
"In that case, maybe I'll just get the information I need from you right now."
Logan didn't think this was such a great idea. He was even more convinced it wasn't a great idea when the man reached over and, with his gun in one hand, grabbed him at the throat by his sweater with the other. He sighed resignedly - his jaw still hadn't recovered from last night!
Tensing in readiness for the blow, he was surprised when it didn't come and felt the hand at his throat being pulled away, the ugly face at his open door replaced by a far more attractive one.
Max had pulled the lumberjack away, and he'd fallen into the hands of Zack who took him out in two, hard blows. The man dropped like the trees he felled.
"Timber," ground out Max with satisfaction.
Grabbing his jacket, Logan passed it to Max saying, "Get his gun and wrap it in this, we'll get his prints from it. See if we can I.D. him."
He then returned his seat to the normal position and started the car.
Doing as he said, Max and Zack then quickly jumped in the car, just closing their doors as Logan pulled away.
"That's it," stated Max. "We're outta here."
Logan looked at her.
"We've done all we can here, right?"
Logan nodded.
"Then I say we leave here tonight, or I'm never gonna be able to keep you in one piece long enough to cook my chicken."
TBC