Day 14-2
Despite all hopes we might have had, things didn't look any better, even in broad daylight. We must have turned every leaf and rock in a one mile radius. Without success. Not the slightest hint of our nightly 'adventure'. After wasting the better part of two hours, we decided to call off the search and continue on toward the ridge—without Buck, I might add. He was left behind, tied up inside the cabin. I hated to do this, but knew he could open the latch on the door if he wanted to.
Kelly was unusually quiet this time. He hardly said a word as he led us along the creek-bed and past the little waterfall.
Cut and I exchanged a curious look, considering there had been no kind of interruption yet. Well, that's a first. We've never gotten this far before, I thought but instantly regretted it. A strange feeling, like a cold chill, ran down the back of my neck.
At the same time Chief, who was walking beside me, suddenly stopped and turned.
"Kelly, wait!" Cut hissed low. "What's the matter, Jimmy?" he asked him from behind, placing a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention. "Hey!" Cut waved in front of Chief's face when he got no response. "Yo, buddy, snap out of it!"
Jimmy finally shook his head with a startled motion and turned back around.
"What the hell was that all about?" Cut inquired along with signs.
Chief blinked uneasy, glanced back over his shoulder a couple of times, then shrugged.
"Damn, don't do that! You're gettin' us all freaked out, man," Cut scolded.
"What's going on, guys?" Kelly now queried.
"Hell, who knows. He's seeing things, I guess," I laughed halfheartedly
"No!" Chief answered solemnly, adding a few signs.
Kelly rolled his eyes. "Great!"
"He says, somethin' just felt wrong," Cut enlightened me.
"Felt?" I squinted. "Like what, Chief?"
For a moment it seemed like he thought about answering, then he only shrugged again.
"Wait a minute!" I reached for his arm. "It felt like someone was watching us, right?"
He cast me a quizzical sideways glance and nodded hesitantly.
"Oh no, not you too, Chase," Cut frowned.
"Can't help it, man. After what happened last night, I'm starting to believe in ghosts myself."
"Not ghosts...spirits!" Jimmy corrected me.
"Yeah, well, whatever. But I have a weird feeling anyways."
"It's gone now."
"Seems so, Chief," I agreed, looking around. "Damn, I wish I knew what that was."
"Well, I sure didn't notice anything. Did you, Kelly?" Cut raised an eyebrow.
"Nah! Oh, just come on you guys, let's get this over with. We're almost there already."
"Alright!...Chief," I tapped his shoulder, "you coming?"
He glanced back one more time, then squinted frustrated and fell into step beside me.
#####
The chilling sensation returned as soon as we moved on. A quick look over at Jimmy—obviously he couldn't ignore it either, considering his hand rested on the Bowie and his expression was all but content.
"Cut, don't turn around, just keep walking," I hissed quickly at his back, hoping Kelly, too, would understand. "Listen carefully! Someone's behind us. Kelly don't look!" I snapped low, switching the safety on the MPK to 'F'. "When I say now, both of you hit the ground. Got it?"
Two acknowledging nods, and I was glad that the boy didn't give me away. Chief walked right beside me, and I figured I could pull him down with me since he probably hadn't caught what I said. A few more steps—
"Now!" I spun around, grabbed a hold of Jimmy and dropped, all in one split-second move.
A flurry of movement between the trees—the MPK, still set on automatic, ripped a wide gash into the underbrush as I emptied the whole thirty-round magazine. The metallic click of the breech and Chief's tight grip around my wrist brought me back to my senses.
"Damn, Chase," Kelly muttered, "I think you just killed everything in a one mile stretch."
"Stay down!" I exhaled a sharp breath. "Let go, Jimmy!"
"You are crazy!" he stated impassively, releasing my hand.
"Yeah, well maybe," I answered and loaded a new clip, never taking an eye off the woods in front of us.
There was no more movement, and now it just remained to be seen what I had actually shot at. Damn! I suddenly felt stupid. What the hell are you doing, Chase? But at least the feeling of being watched was gone. Guess it would be, I thought, carefully pushing to my feet.
"Man, watch out!" Cut hissed behind me.
"Just cover my ass! Kelly, stay down!" I held the MPK ready.
There was nothing, however, as I hustled from one tree to the next. Nothing when I reached the ravaged line of brush either. I thoroughly scanned the ground and the surrounding area. No sign of anything or anyone who might possibly have been here. Cursing under my breath, I waved the others over.
"Well? D'you get 'im?"
"See if you can find something," I requested toward Chief, ignoring Kelly's question.
Jimmy cast me a curious look, but started checking around without comment.
"Don't tell me you just shot a bunch of trees," Kelly smarted
"Shut up, will ya?" Cut barked. "Damn, Chase, I saw somethin' move too, right before you fired. You had to hit 'im."
"Yeah, well..."
A subdued whistle from Jimmy cut me off, and he motioned to us.
"Please tell me you found something," I sighed, crouching next to him.
"Gees, what is that?" Cut mumbled, when Chief pointed out a deep impression in the muddy ground.
"His footprint!"
"Whose footprint?" Kelly queried, peeking over my shoulder. "That ain't no foot print. Not unless Bigfoot walked along here," he snickered.
Cut and I exchanged a quick glance. Our mystery creature had never been mentioned in front of the boy yet, but we both knew that was exactly what Chief indicated.
"Jimmy," I placed a hand on his shoulder, "he got away, didn't he?" I questioned when he looked at me, receiving only a quiet nod for an answer.
"Who the hell are you talking about?"
"Never mind, Kelly," I grumbled and pushed to my feet. "Just forget about it. Let's go!"
Chief straightened beside me, a tight expression on his face. "Chase!"
"What!"
"You can not shoot him," he stated seriously.
"Apparently not," I grinned wry, but he shook his head and quickly added some signs.
"Wasn't what he meant," Cut explained. "You can't shoot him, 'cause that would be like killing somethin' sacred."
"Wow!" Kelly gawked. "You guys really are talking 'bout Bigfoot."
"Oh, bull! We're just..."
"Bull yourself," he cut me off. "Look man, don't try to fool me again. It's too obvious. The footprint, your face when I mentioned Bigfoot, and Chief saying you can't shoot 'im 'cause it's a taboo. Hell, what else could it be?"
"Boy," Cut shook his head, "is there anything you don't know somethin' about?"
"Sure there is," Kelly smirked. "Just this Bigfoot thing happens to be one of my specialties."
"Is that so!" I couldn't help but grin, thinking, here we go again.
"Yeah, man," he answered, strangely serious. "You know, most people around here think it's just a bunch of bull...kinda like you, Chase," he added and I flinched. "But I know the Indians believe in it, and I do too. Maybe it's really just an old legend, but it sure does explain a lot of the stuff that's goin' on up here."
"So, why didn't you mention it before?"
"Are you nuts?" he almost yelled. "Goin' around, tellin' everyone I believe in Bigfoot? Man, they'd lock me up faster than I could say shit."
"Ain't that the truth," Cut chuckled with a wink at me, then he quickly turned serious, apparently realizing that Chief didn't seem to consider the matter funny at all.
"Sorry, Jimmy, no offense," I apologized on Cut's behalf.
"Doesn't matter. Believe what you want," Kelly related the signed reply.
"Well, to be honest," I squinted embarrassed, "right now I ain't quite sure anymore what to believe in."
"Good!" Chief smiled wryly at last, and while I failed to see the logic in the remark I wisely chose not to answer this time.
#####
We moved on, knowing that whoever had been watching us before might still be around. There was no further interruption though and—to my relief—the strange feeling never returned. Kelly led us, perhaps another half mile, down a steep slope and into a tight pathway between two large boulders. We hit a hardly visible game-trail, cutting through the almost impenetrable growth of trees and brush on the other side of the opening.
"Ouch, shit, watch what you're doing!" Cut scolded when Kelly let go of a thorny branch he had pushed aside, and it snapped back against his chest.
"Sorry!" the boy mumbled with a not quite suppressed snicker.
"Damn it, Cut!" I cussed since he now let that same nasty switch flip toward me. "Watch out, Jimmy!" I turned, holding the branch, but noticed that was no longer necessary.
Chief's Bowie made quick work of the pesky snag.
"Hey, don't do that," Kelly sounded worried. "They'll find out somebody's been here."
"It's alright," Cut assured him. "We'll take care of it on the way back. Nobody's gonna notice anything. I promise!"
"I sure hope so," Kelly squinted unconvinced. "Well, here we are." He pointed ahead. "Now see if I's lying or not."
"Well, let's have a look," Cut said, squeezing past the boy. "Oh, damn," he added, suddenly real low, "Chase, come here and look at that. Oh, fuck!"
"Told you so!" Kelly smarted, but without humor.
"Oh, man!" I exhaled a long breath as I moved up beside Cut and stared at what I had somehow hoped we would not find.
Kelly had told the truth! There were at least thirty containers. Large, blue 55 gallon drums. I had seen them often enough to be perfectly clear about their contents. And even if there should be a doubt, it was quickly dispersed by some of the still visible markings.
Chief caught Cut's attention with a snap of his fingers.
"Yup!" Cut nodded gravely at the signed question. "Blister-agent, Nerve-agent...all that good stuff."
I turned, having seen more than enough. "Kelly, you got an idea, exactly how much of it is up here?"
"Well," he scratched his head, "goin' by them stats I found, they bring about fifty barrels up a year, drop 'em and cover 'em when there's a bunch together."
"Cover them? How?"
"Just blast a piece of mountain down on it," he shrugged. "That's what I thought the Feds were up here for. They always come to check just before they blow it."
"How many times did that happen before then?" Cut broke in.
"Oh, 'bout four or five times. Guess there's at least two-hundred or so drums up here by now."
"Damn!" Cut cast me an almost desperate look.
"That son-of-a-bitch," I muttered, rather to myself than anyone else.
"Who?"
"Harless...one of the bastards who sent me up here. I had the feeling he was hiding somethin', the whole time I talked to 'im," I answered between gritted teeth. "Damn, Cut, I bet he knows about it."
"Don't make no sense, Chase. Think about it. Why'd he risk sendin' you up here after his boys, and chance you find out somethin' you ain't supposed to know?"
"Good question," Kelly threw in when I didn't answer right away.
"Look, let's face it," I mused, "what would've been the odds of us coming across this shit, if it hadn't been for Kelly?"
"Rather slim," Cut admitted dryly. "Hell, who'd think about somethin' like that bein' up here anyways."
"Right," I nodded. "But it sure adds a whole new side to the story, don't it?"
"Sure does, man. If they get a feelin' we know...damn, Chase..." He didn't need to finish because I thought along the same line.
This whole trip might easily turn into a one-way-ticket for all of us! "We gotta get out of here," I stated urgently. "Kelly, you need to get your butt home, and lay low before anyone starts asking questions."
"What about my old man?" he inquired hesitantly.
"Like I told you before, we'll try to find 'im, okay?"
"Alright," he consented frustrated.
Jimmy had watched our whole conversation without the slightest show of emotion. Whether he realized what was at stake here—I wasn't quite sure, but figured he knew exactly what we were up against. He proved me right, regaining Cut's attention and signing a few words.
Cut merely nodded, then turned back to me. "Chase, Jimmy's got a point," he said seriously. "If they find out we know, they'll make sure we ain't comin' off this fuckin' mountain ever again."
"I know," I answered hard. "Sorry I ever drug you two into this mess."
"Hell, you didn't know. But we better come up with a real good story real quick, and check in before anyone gets all too suspicious."
"Not we...just me. I want you and Chief out of here while you still can. This is getting..."
"Negative, Chase!" he cut me off. "I ain't leavin' you stuck here by yourself. Told you that before..."
"That was a different situation," I interrupted him in turn. "This is not a request, it's an order! Understood?"
"Yeah, just one little problem with that...I ain't your little average snot-nose Private, Sergeant Riggin, so forget about it."
"Excuse me!" Kelly broke in. "Could we please continue the discussion somewhere else? This ain't exactly my favorite picnic area, you know."
"This subject is not open for discussion at all, but you're right. Let's get outa here!"
#####
"Jesus Christ, Sergeant! Where the hell have you been?" the CQ's voice came over the PRC-Radio. "They are in a total uproar down here, because we couldn't get a hold of you."
"Take it easy, man," I answered, waving Kelly to be quiet when he started snickering behind me. "I'm right here where I'm supposed to be. Just been busy, that's all."
"Yeah, well," he came back, "I've had the General breathing down my damn neck for days. He's catching all kinds of hell from the Suits. They want to know what's going on."
"Damn it, what the fuck do they want? Me gettin' out and doing my job, or sittin' by the radio and waitin' for someone to talk to?" I snapped into the receiver.
"I don't know, but you need to hold on. I have strict orders to make sure that General Bradford gets a chance to talk to you. Just stay on."
I could hear him yell something to a Private. "Great, Bradford," I whispered to Cut. "Just what I was trying to avoid."
"Guess that's why the call it prick-radio, 'cause you always end up talkin' to one," he sneered back, signing to Jimmy, apparently explaining what was going on.
"Sergeant Riggin," a slightly unfriendly voice boomed through the handset, "this is General Bradford. I sure hope you have a good explanation."
Oh, shit, I thought but answered, "Yes, Sir!", instead. "I apologize for any inconvenience, General, but we've been pretty busy up here."
"Who the hell is we, Sergeant?"
"Haven't you been informed, Sir?" I recovered quickly. Damn! Gotta be more careful, Chase. They don't need to know just who all is really up here.
"Oh, yes," Bradford came back to my relief, "I was told you brought one of your old Army buddies along. Anyway, Riggin, you better tell me you found something. This clown, what's his name...Micheals...has been on my case ever since the second day."
"Again, I apologize, Sir." I tried to sound convincing, and Cut snickered this time. "And yes, Sir, I can assure you we are making good progress," I continued.
"Progress? That's not good enough, Sergeant!"
"Excuse me?"
"I have orders to call the detail off, should you not have been successful by now."
"General, no offense, but we are too close to give up now," I replied, starting to get suspicious. "A couple more days is probably all we need to wrap this case up," I lied.
"Negative, Sergeant!" Bradford snapped back. "These orders come from higher up. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Understood?"
"Sir, I don't like the thought of leaving a job like this unfinished," I argued nevertheless.
There was quite a long moment of radio-silence, and Cut cast me a worried look.
"Think they suspect somethin'?" Kelly queried.
"Sergeant," the General was on again before I could answer, "two days, under one condition..."
"Yes, Sir?"
"You will check in every eight hours. No excuses, or your ass is in a sling. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Yes, Sir!" I answered between gritted teeth. "Anything else, General?"
"Not at this time, but, Riggin..."
"Yes, Sir?"
"Never mind! Bradford out!"
"Thank you, Sir! Riggin out!" I switched off, and slammed the handset in frustration.
"Well," Cut grinned, "that wasn't so bad now, was it?"
"Worse!" I mumbled. "Somethin' ain't quite right, man. We got orders to call off the mission. Damn, Cut..."
"What you mean, call it off?" he interrupted. "Thought they were hell-bent on findin' their boys?"
"And that's what bothers me. Apparently they now think we been up here just a little too long."
"Damn..."
"Well, Bradford is giving me two more days. That's it," I shrugged.
"And then what?" Cut asked sarcastically. "We'll just go home and forget about it?"
"Don't know yet. Maybe I'n figure a way around it. Sure would like to find out what's really goin' on up here."
"You don't expect to find somethin' we ain't found yet, do ya?"
"Never know," I smarted. "Sure would be interesting to get a closer look at our mystery friend, don't you think?"
"Be careful what you wish for," Kelly threw in.
"Yeah, man," Cut agreed with a wry grin. "He ain't all that pretty to look at, believe me."
"You won't have to anyways. I told you before, you, Chief and Kelly need to get out of here. Now listen," I cut him off before he could argue, "there's a good reason for this."
"Better be," he grumbled.
"First of all, I wanna make sure that Kelly gets home all right."
"I ain't gonna need..."
"Shut up a minute!" I snapped at the boy. "Second, Chief, you better get that leg seen about... don't start, too," I added when he motioned something to Cut. "I been watching you. I know damn well it got worse. Can't take care of it right, up here. And third, Cut, I have another job for you when you get down."
"Like what?" he queried indignantly. "Tell your ol' lady I ran out on ya?"
"No, man," I snapped back. "You ain't runnin' out, asshole. I'm sending you. Someone's gonna have to figure a way to get somethin' done about that shit we found..."
"Are you nuts?" Kelly interrupted. "Damn, I should've never trusted you son-of-a-bitch!"
"God damn it, shut up! What? You think I'll just go telling anyone?" I yelled at him. "Look," I continued calmer, "you said yourself, this place is a ticking time bomb. Damn right it is, and something needs done about it."
"What you got in mind?" Cut squinted.
"Well, try to follow me on this. What do you think Lieutenant Hughes would do with information like this?"
"Hmmm," he mused, "that might not be a bad idea, Chase."
"That's what I figure...Kelly, do you know if he still got connections?"
"Where the hell do you think I got mine from?" the boy smirked. "I just ain't told 'im 'bout this shit, 'cause I's worried it might get him in trouble."
"Nah, he knows how to cover his ass," I assured the boy. "I think he might be real interested in knowing about this, don't you?"
"Probably would, but what can he do about it?"
"Oh, I'm sure he could figure somethin' to put an end to this, before it gets half the population of Washington State killed," Cut answered seriously.
"Right!" I nodded. "That's why I want you to try and get a hold of him."
"Man," Kelly scratched his head, "he's all the way up in Alaska."
"Yeah, so? That's what they make phones for," Cut grinned. "Sure I could get a little inconspicuous message through to 'im."
"On the phone?" the boy's eyes widened. "Man, that's way too dangerous. If anyone..."
"No kinda confidence in us whatsoever, huh?" I sneered. "Look, Kelly, Cut knows what to do, trust me."
"Yeah! There ain't been nobody yet who could figure out a coded message I sent," Cut added, a little conceited.
"Right! Including the person you sent it to."
"Oh, kiss my ass, Chase!"
"King Kong ain't got lips that big," I laughed, then turned serious again. "Anyway, he'll get it through safely, Kelly. Don't worry about it."
#####
Later that night, Cut caught me outside by myself. The rain had stopped, and for some reason it had warmed up considerably. Getting a stuffy feeling inside the cabin, I decided to stretch out in the field-hammock for a while. He came after me a short while later, settling with his sleeping bag on a huge flat rock. I knew he had something on his mind since he kept glancing over, apparently hoping I would start a conversation. It didn't take too long though before he couldn't stand it anymore.
"Chase?" he mumbled low.
"Yeah, man?"
"You know, I don't like the idea of leavin' you stuck up here by yourself."
"I know!"
"Just doin' it more or less 'cause of Jimmy."
"I know!" Same scarce answer.
"He'd never admit to it, but I think his leg's really botherin' him."
"Noticed it too, huh?"
"Yeah!" Cut sounded concerned. "He was limpin' a lot worse today, and if you look at his eyes you'n tell he's startin' to run a fever."
"Yup," I came back, "that's why you need to get him down, before it gets too bad."
"Damn, Chase, this shit wasn't in the plan, was it?"
"Sure wasn't, man. I should've never drug you two into it."
"Let me tell you somethin'," he snapped, clearly angry all of the sudden, "you ain't never drug me into anything I didn't wanna be in, alright? And just so we're clear on it, I'll be back up here, soon as I take care of business down there."
"Don't even think about it," I answered tight, then added softer, "look, Cut, I'll be just fine. Buck's staying with me, and I only got a couple of days left anyways."
"Thought you's gonna do somethin' about that?"
"Like what?"
"Well, knowin' you, I figure you'll just turn the radio off and stay as long as you want," he snickered.
"Yeah, right! And have the MPs waiting when I do get back?" I tried to sound convincing, though he had guessed my exact plan.
"Wouldn't be the first time, now would it?" Cut replied dry.
You just know me too well! I grinned to myself. "Look, Cut..."
"Oh, quit it , Chase," he broke in again. "You ain't much for followin' orders if you got your mind set on somethin', and neither am I. So, just deal with it."
"Guess I'll have to, huh?"
"Yup!"
"Okay, but be careful comin' back up. I'm gonna set up a little security-zone around the camp. Just in case, you know," I informed.
"Like what?"
"Oh, like maybe a few trip-wires, couple of traps..."
"How about settin' up the game-tracker you brought along, so it'll let you know if someone's comin'?" he suggested.
"That's my intention. By the way, explain somethin' to me, will ya?"
"What's that?"
"Last night, when we had that damn bear come around, Chief was already over by the window before I even got up. How did he know?"
"Well," Cut scratched his head, "I ain't quite sure, but that's what I meant when I told you not to underestimate him."
"Guess I owe him another apology, " I mused.
"Nah, just don't say nothin'. He's kinda touchy about that."
" 'Bout what?"
"People not taking him for full. Know what I mean?"
"Yeah," I drawled thoughtfully. "Sorry I been such a jerk about it."
"Ah," Cut grinned, "you's just bein' your usual lovable self."
"Glad you see it that way. Anyways, we better get back inside and get some sleep."
"Yeah!" He yawned and stretched. "You comin', too?"
"Maybe I better," I sighed, rolling out of the hammock when the drizzle started again.