Becks Takes A Vacation

CHAPTER NINE

Sue had said her goodbye to Becks and reinforced their deadline for their investigations. No more than an hour following, and an hour back here to meet up. Pay attention to the clock.

Sue restarted her bike and after Guy reformed into Coyote they took off, following the tracks left by the ATV that had just passed them. It must have been a route that they had taken before because it was a well-worn trail.

With Coyote running alongside her, Sue kept her eyes focused on the trail in front of her so she wouldn't miss any possible major change of directions. She also knew that Coyote would have his sensitive nose following the slightly different odor that the bigger machine exhausted.

She also kept her ears open for the growl of the other machine as it sped away from them. She was sure that he couldn't outrun her bike even with the extra power because the ATV was heavier and it was pulling a fair sized trailer behind it.

Sue also couldn't help but fret about Becks. She knew that Becks was an intelligent and capable woman. She'd been a homicide detective, and lately worked in Rick Castle's private investigations company. Actually, she was Castle's only investigator.

Sue had seen Kate Beckett and Rick Castle work together years ago and she was duly impressed. Becks was just a younger version of the Kate Beckett she'd known then. Someone who had only just started to work with the Rick Castle of her world. She had already been a decorated detective by that time and had worked her way up to being one of their best lead detectives.

Sue just worried about things.

After about forty five minutes they were able to hear the engine of the machine they were following. With a hand signal Sue motioned them to move a little more into the trees rather than following directly behind. She didn't want to run the risk of being seen.

Five minutes later they seemed to have caught up with him. They could see the back of the trailer a short distance ahead of them. He seemed to be slowing down.

While on their way south following their prey, they had crossed over a couple of local roads. They had only been dirt and gravel, so Sue assumed they weren't nearing any significant city or town.

They slowed down so as not to get too close to their quarry, it was becoming more obvious that the ATV driver was slowing down also. Sue could also see that the trees seemed to thin out a bit up ahead.

Sue slowed down to a crawl when suddenly he turned right on a gravel road and started following the road west. Sue and Coyote took a diagonal path through the trees. Coyote sped up and moved a bit closer. He would be much less likely to be seen or heard than she would.

She was moving slowly between trees and bushes when Coyote appeared in front of her.

"He's pulled off the road onto a parking area that overlooks a lake."

Sue nodded. "It might be a public access point for the lake. It might be a place where he makes his delivery."

Sue hurried her bike up as close as she dared, then shut it down and followed Coyote to the edge of the forest. She could see the driver they had been chasing. He was off of his ATV and leaning against the trailer.

She snuck through the trees, taking pictures with her phone showing the vehicle, the trailer, and the driver. She made sure that she got the license plate numbers from them.

She also jotted down that information in a small note book. She was torn as to what to do. She needed to get some legal authorities out here, but even though every instinct she had screamed that something illegal was going on, she didn't really know what. But she was afraid that if she waited until the other guy showed up and he opened his trailer so she could see what was inside it would be too late. There would be no chance that the state patrol, or local county sheriff would be here in time to stop the delivery.

Suddenly an older model pick-up truck pulled in next to the ATV. The truck had a topper over the bed with blacked out windows. He got out of his truck and greeted the rider as if he knew him.

Sue quickly got the GPS coordinates from her phone, and jotted them down. She began to take pictures of the two men, and kept on snapping as the rider opened the back doors on the trailer.

She couldn't get a good enough look at what was in the trailer because whatever was in there was packaged in cardboard boxes. The pair began to transfer the boxes all the while Sue took pictures.

"I wish I knew what was in those boxes."

Coyote looked at her. "It's cocaine, or heroin. Some poppy derived drug."

Sue looked at him. "How do you know?"

He rolled his eyes and bumped his nose with his front paw. Sue blushed and nodded.

She knew there was no way she could get the police there before they'd finished the transfer and went on their way.

After a moment weighed her options she called Coyote over. "Hey, I need you to go all ferocious on them and chase them away. I've got their pictures, and the license numbers from the vehicles. If we can chase them off, perhaps law enforcement can get here in time to find the evidence."

Watching a coyote the size of a Great Dane smile at you was a bit disconcerting, but it was clear to Sue that Coyote was going to enjoy this.

He moved a bit laterally so he wasn't coming from the same area the Sue was standing. He emitted a low rumbling growl then leaped from the trees and sped across the gravel toward the two miscreants.

They barely had time to scream before they began running toward the lake. Coyote pursued them all the way until the both jumped into the small body of water. He continued to pace along the shoreline watching them. Every so often he'd growl or snarl.

Sue checked another notebook, of phone numbers, and quickly called the Minnesota State Patrol. She told them who she was. Her name meant nothing to the person she was talking to, but she was able to tell her story. That she'd run across some suspicious characters and she'd taken pictures of what looked like a drug delivery of some kind.

She sent the pictures she had taken, and the GPS information. She explained that the two men in the pictures had been run off by some wild animal. She wasn't sure if it was a wolf or a bear.

She told them she wasn't sure she'd be able to stay there to meet with whomever they sent out, but she would be in contact with them in a day or two if they needed her.

After checking the GPS that she sent they were able to find and dispatch the nearest patrolman, and a nearby County Sheriff to the scene. They should be there in about thirty minutes if she could stay.

Knowing that Coyote would be needed to hold them either in the lake, or make sure they swam across the lake and got out on the other side, and would have no means to get back to their vehicles in time. So she told them she would be there.

Sue leaned against a tree and watched as Coyote paced back and forth along the shoreline as she dialed Becks phone. She wanted her to know that they would be delayed.

She had trouble connecting. But she left a text message explaining she'd be late and to just head back to Joseph's place when she got back to their meeting point.

Sue had watched the time and at twenty nine minutes she gave a shrill whistle. It wasn't enough for the two men in the lake to hear, but a certain supernatural Coyote easily could.

He paced back and forth a couple of times, then bounded back toward the vehicles. Just for effect, he leaped on top of the truck and turned back and gave the two guys another hard stare. They decided that they would stay wet for a while.

A couple minutes later, Guy showed up at Sue's shoulder.

"I hear cars coming, he said."

"You should make yourself scarce. I don't want to have to explain why you're here with me without a bike." Guy nodded and quickly disappeared into the forest before the police were able to reach her.

Two vehicles pulled into the parking area and parked behind the ATV and the truck. One was a Minnesota State Patrol, and the other was from the local County Sheriff's Office.

The two law officers talked amongst themselves for a few minutes then separated. The patrolman pulled some crime tape from his trunk and began to cordon off the area around the two vehicles and the trailer.

The woman from the county sheriff's office came over to Sue.

Sue explained how she'd been dirt biking back in the trees, following deer trails. She had reached the edge of the forest and saw some suspicious activity going on with the two men who had parked their vehicles in the parking pull off.

Sue explained, that it looked like something illegal might be going on so she stayed out of sight behind some of the trees. Being a journalist by trade, she began documenting what she was seeing.

"Did you get the photos I forwarded to the State Patrol?" Sue asked.

"Yes we did. Thank you for those." Sheriff Anderson, from her name tag gave Sue a weak smile. "I'm afraid you are going to have to delete those photos from your phone. They are now evidence so you aren't allowed to have them."

Sue nodded and deleted the photos in front of the sheriff. Of course since she had expected that she had already sent the pictures and information to her home computer.

The sheriff nodded her thanks. Sue looked out and saw that the two men who had jumped into the lake when Coyote chased them were no longer there. But Sue went on telling her the story of how the two men had been chased by some wild animal and wound up jumping into the lake. And no, she didn't see which way they went afterward.

Sue then provided a description of each man, even though she had gotten them in some of the photos. They talked more generally while the sheriff was writing down her contact information.

"So," Sue started. "I've been hearing that there has been an increase in ATV joy riding around here lately, is that true?"

Sheriff Anderson shrugged her shoulders. "I have heard that, but not so much around here. It seems to be more of a problem further north."

Sue nodded. "Well, I'm glad I was able to help with whatever this turns out to be."

The sheriff smiled at her. "We've got your contact information if we require anything more from you." She placed her pen in her folder. "We might have to contact you about a possible court proceedings if we capture the two men on the pictures." Sheriff Anderson nodded. "Thank you for your quick thinking, very few are that aware and that willing to be involved."

Sue smirked. "Well I am a journalist."

The sheriff smiled and turned to join the State Patrol officer who was looking into what was in the cardboard boxes.

Sue let herself fade back into the forest behind her. She grabbed her bike and kick started the engine. She made sure her phone was in her pocket, and her folder and notebook where stashed in her carrier. She gave the throttle a couple of twists, then let go the break and she was off.

She hadn't gotten more than a mile up the route they had taken while following the ATV to the meet when she was suddenly being paced by a handsome black Coyote. She gave him a big smile and gunned her bike.

By the time Sue and Coyote got back to the spot where they and Becks had split up it was pretty dark in the forest. The sun had set a short while ago, and the canopy obstructed any view of the stars and a bright three quarter moon.

Sue sat there looking to the north. If Becks got her message than she would have just continued on. Back to Joseph's place.

Sue and Coyote had gotten back to this original meeting spot about forty five minutes after the planned meeting time. The fact that Becks wasn't anywhere around waiting had convinced them that she must have gotten Sue's message and was on her way back to Joseph's and the overgrown puppy who had a crush on her.

Sue sat on her idling bike. She looked at Coyote. "Can you smell or sense Becks having come by here recently?"

Coyote trotted along the trail north a few yards then came back. He shook his head. "She hasn't been by here in a while. Her scent is faint."

Sue nodded. "So, I'll have to assume she got my message and went straight back to Joseph's."

"That's only logical. If she had keep going in that direction she'd be halfway into Canada."

"Yeah, your right. She might have followed the tracks a short way into Canada, but I don't see her extending her time limit all that much unless she came across something unusual, which I doubt, or broke down."

It was almost comical to see the giant Coyote shrug his shoulders. "We'll just have to go with the most likely scenario and head back."

Sue nodded and turned her bike back toward the east and south.

It took a bit longer to get back because of the dark. All Sue had was the one headlight to light her way, and she wasn't all that familiar with the terrain. In fact she came close to dumping her bike on more than one occasion on their way back.

As they passed the Red Lake reservation there was more ambient light about, since there many of the homes and buildings leaked light from indoors, and there were spots that boasted outdoor lighting, like business parking lights and retail buildings that were still open.

What little time Sue gained from that was quickly lost to the deeper darkness as she got closer to the isolated section of the forest around Joseph's cabin.

It was nearly 10 P.M. when Sue and Coyote pulled into the open space that surrounded Joseph Grey Bear's cabin. It was fully dark with the only light coming from the moon. Sue could see a dim illumination leaking from the few windows that were a part of the small house.

Sue knew that Joseph mostly used the fireplace and candles for light after dark, but she also knew he had a couple of camping lanterns that used fuel.

When she parked her bike next to her jeep her worst nightmare became real. There was no other bike parked anywhere in sight. Becks hadn't come back!

Sue ran over to the cabin and got to the front door just as Joseph opened the door. She rushed through the door as her old friend stared at her. Jocko poked his head out into the night as if he was looking for someone.

"What is it? Why are you so late?"

Sue calmed her ragged breathing and placed her hand on Joseph's arm. "Did Becks get back? We split up and were supposed to meet back up in a couple of hours and I was delayed because Coyote and I witnessed a drug hand off and then when the police finally got there and we were finally able to leave I tried to contact Becks but she didn't answer her…"

Joseph grabbed Sue by the shoulders and stopped her rant. "Sue, calm down. Where is Becks?"

Sue took several deep breaths and recounted in a more coherent manner what they had done this day. She got to the part where Becks convinced her to split up and the reason behind it. Joseph's expression betrayed his disagreement with that choice.

Sue continued and explained how she and Coyote had followed the ATV's trail until they caught up with him at a crude parking space by a lake. She went on about how they were there when the other guy showed up with a truck.

She then explained how they had to disrupt the hand off of drugs so law enforcement could be brought in to play.

She had flopped down in one of the table chairs as she finished her narrative. Sue was wringing her hands.

"I tried to text her, since she didn't pick up, to tell her not to wait for us. That she should just head on back to your cabin." Sue stood back up and paced. "She wasn't at the meeting place, but then I didn't expect her to be. I expected her to be back here. And since we didn't see any sign of her on our way back that's what I figured I'd find."

Sue stared up at the old Indian. "But she's not here. What do we do?"

Joseph frowned. "You are sure you didn't miss her on the way back? Maybe she had a tumble, or problems with her dirt bike."

Sue shook her head. "No, Coyote was leading all the way back. He would have sighted or sensed her if she had some sort of accident."

Joseph reached over to the coat rack by the front door and pulled down his jacket.

"We are just going to have to go out and find her." He whistled and Jocko trotted up next to him.

Sue drew another deep breath. "But we never saw her on the trail we took to get back to your cabin, so I'm certain she's not anywhere along that route."

"So, what does that tell you?" He placed his hand on her shoulder.

Sue pursed her lips. "We are going to have to go back and try to follow the route Becks took when we went our separate ways."

Joseph nodded. "Do you remember if there was room for your jeep to navigate where you and Becks split up?"

Sue went back to pacing. "Yeah, I think so. That ATV was a pretty big one, and it seemed to be moving pretty fast which tells me that he wasn't worried about having the space between trees to move forward." Sue shook her head. "But we'll never get the jeep up to that point from here. We had some tight trails to follow before we reached the spot where we saw the ATV."

"That's okay." Joseph patted her on the back. "I know some old logger's roads that will hook up with some half-forgotten county roads that will get us up by the Red Lake res."

Sue nodded as she stared out at the night. "Does the reservation have any sort of gas station?"

Joseph scratched his chin. "I haven't been there in some time, but I seem to remember an all-night mini mart that has a gas pump or two."

Sue started getting energized. "Okay, we get in the jeep and make it to the reservation and gas up. Then we take the jeep northwest until we get to the spot where we split up." She began to move toward the door. "I will have Coyote backtrack along the route we just used to get back here just to make sure we didn't miss her on our way back. Once we all meet up at the spot where we separated, we can go north, and follow the way she went as best we can."

Sue rushed out the door and met with Guy, who was standing next to her jeep. She explained the plan to him and Guy nodded, transformed into Coyote, and sped off back the way they had just come.

Sue wrestled her dirt bike back onto the rack on the back of her jeep. She would fill it and the spare can with gas along with filling up the jeep. Then they would find a way back to the point of divergence. From there they would try to track where Becks ended up.

Once she had everything buttoned down, Joseph took the passenger seat, Jocko hopped into the back seat, and they were ready.

The drive to the reservation felt longer than it really was, mostly due to Sue's constant feeling of apprehension the whole way.

Luckily, Joseph's memory as to how to get around on the old half-forgotten logger roads and county roads that weren't much more than a light layer of sand and gravel proved spot on.

They made it to the western edge of the Red Lake Band Reservation in just over an hour. Sue quickly pulled in to the mini mart that Joseph remembered.

While Sue was busy filling everything she had with her that would contain gas, including her extra gas can and another one she purchased at the store, Joseph pulled out his phone and called his friend who lived there.

Sue had just finished paying the clerk for all the gas, and a candy bar, when a late model Cadillac pulled into the lot. Joseph went over and greeted his friend.

Sue watched Joseph as he talked with his lifelong friend. Grey Bear had known Warren White Wolf since childhood. Warren was just a more gregarious person than Joseph so he liked to live where there were people. Which was just the opposite of Joseph. But they were fast friends anyway.

Joseph came over and pointed north and west. "Warren says that if you skirt the Agassiz Wildlife Refuge to the west, you will find some little used county roads that will take you north. You will be a bit west of Roseau in a very sparsely populated area all the way to the border.

Sue waved a thank you to Warren and got in her car. Joseph followed suit.

It took them another forty five minutes to be in open country. It was a forested area, but it also had been logged heavily decades ago, so you didn't have quite the tight grouping of the pines.

Sue was able to take the jeep, which really wasn't much wider than the ATV they'd chased earlier that day, off road and move carefully northward.

In a few more minutes Sue began to recognize some of the surroundings as area that she had passed in her chase of the drug courier. She was excited that she must be close to her goal.

She almost screamed when something large and black crossed into the beam of her headlights. She recovered herself when she realized that it was Coyote. He stood in the wash of the light from her headlamps, then turned and trotted ahead.

Sue followed Coyote for about ten minutes when came to a stop. She pulled up close to Guy, who had transformed into his human appearance. He leaned against a tree waiting for her. She glanced at Joseph and was amazed how unaffected he was seeing Guy and Coyote exchange forms.

Sue stopped the car and got out. Walking briskly toward Guy she was recognizing the area as the place where she and Becks had decided to go the opposite ways. Her to follow the ATV, and Becks to see if she could get a handle on where he'd come from.

Joseph got out of the car and walked up to the pair. "Are you sure this is where you left each other?"

Guy nodded. Sue stared into the night. "I'm as sure as I can be in the darkness."

Joseph gave her a grandfatherly smile. "Well, I guess we all know what that means."

Sue nodded. "We go north."

Sue looked at the hilly route ahead of them and made a decision.

"Since it's still a few hours until sunrise, I don't expect to come across any new ATV riders making a delivery in the dark. So I think it will be safe to take the jeep as far as the conditions allow."

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A/N: Hmm, no Becks in this chapter… I wonder why?

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