Chapter Fourteen

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the plot.

After scrounging around the house in preparation for their extended stay up the mountains, Lindsay and Noah with determination hugged Evan, Hannah, and Jessie goodbye with a silent promise to bring their parents back safe. A quick stop at a store to pick up extra food rations and other stuff, the sun was just hovering over the horizon, signifying a new day that Friday.

With Noah driving Lindsay's rental car, Lindsay glanced at her cell phone, wondering if anyone had noticed her missing. Besides a single missed call from Hawkes from Wednesday, no one. She sighed, catching her brother's attention.

"You alright?"

She nodded, setting the phone to silent and shoving it into one of the many pockets of the hiking backpack. "Yeah. Just checking my messages, that's all."

Noah studied his sister. "You know, I'm surprised that you came. You're more involved in this than I am and I had a heck of a time convincing my boss. Of course, with my charm and all..."

Lindsay let a small smile slip through. Her brother hadn't changed. "Yeah well, my boss...he's a good guy." She ignored the fact that she hadn't really answered the question and that Noah knew this too.

After the short twenty minute ride, the two Monroe's pulled up at Matoskah Lodge and began taking out their gear. Being from the country and knowing this particular mountain, the two had packed supplies to last over a week. They prayed it wouldn't take longer than that.

An involuntary smile crossed her face as she caught sight of her mentor and head of the Investigative Division in Bozeman, Bill Sorrell, talking with the Chief of Police, Charles 'Charlie' Carter.

"Lindsay?" Chief Carter's eyes widened in incredulity while Bill shook his head in grudging amusement. "Oh no. No," he stated firmly. "You are not going up there, missy. I have a hard enough time letting your bull-headed brother go, but no. Not you. If Katum were to find out you're here..." Noah fixed a mock-hurt look on his face while Lindsay stepped up with grim determination written on her face.

"Charlie, it's not like I'm going to go up there and announce my presence with a bull-horn. None of the search parties have even encountered anything yet, who's to say we will?" she said reasonably, but her tone letting him know that he couldn't stop her. "As of right now, you should treat us as any other search party going up there. My being here could go completely unnoticed for all we know. Noah's trained, I'm trained. We know what we're doing. Those are our parents up there, Charlie, believe me, we're not about to do anything stupid or provoke them. Besides, I disagree with you. Even if we did find Katum, I could very easily be the only one to cause him to make a mistake."

"Or the only one to rile him up into a rage." Chief Carter looked obstinate.

"A rage he would solely focus on me. Seeing my face, knowing I put him away. It would more than likely get his attention off my parents, making a rescue or kill easier. Charlie, I'm going." Lindsay gave her 'uncle' a shrug before putting her pack on and walking off.

"Insubordinate, stubborn..."

Noah grinned, showing off a sparkling set of pearl-white teeth. "Watch your blood pressure there Charlie." He held off laughing as he took one of the many informational packs off the table before following his sister. The pack, really a satchel, held a radio, a map, and other things the search and rescue teams needed to know.

An unflattering remark about the Monroe progeny followed him.

Noah shook his head at Lindsay as he caught up with her near a convoy of pick-up trucks that served to transport the teams to and fro from the base control center to Deer Park Chalet, the other post further up the mountain. "You are unbelievable. Only you." He chuckled at the mulish look on her face, but was secretly hoping that Charlie would leave them alone.

"That was some show back there, you two."

Noah spun around, a broad smile on his face. "Scott! Man! It's great to see you!" Due to the pack he was wearing, Noah clapped a hand on the tall sandy blond-haired man's shoulder, his best friend all through high school and university. "Not in these particular circumstances of course, but..."

Detective Scott Sheridan of the Bozeman Patrol Division looked unchanged, still looking as handsome as ever in that rugged country sense, but looking at him, all Lindsay felt was a pang in her heart. His hair was almost nearly the shade of a certain someone. "Hey Scott."

Bottle-green eyes roved over her. "Hey Linds," he greeted softly. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead cleared his throat. "I'm in your party. Chief Carter thought it would be good to have someone responsible partnering with Noah," the two men shared a slightly mischievous grin, "and I've already been briefed. We're going to be joined by doc Cody and Will Baker, our Bridger mountain expert guide. Both are trained search and rescue volunteers." He looked over his shoulder and beckoned two people over.

Cody Morgan, son of Doctor Morgan, one of several doctors in Bozeman and an upcoming doctor himself was Evan's age, six years older than the trio. Will Baker, their trail guide, appeared to be slightly younger. They jogged over, also dressed in outdoor gear and wearing hiking packs. Their eyebrows rose at the sight of the two Monroes, Lindsay in particular. The trial, obviously, was big in Bozeman. Scott made the introductions and the newly-formed party loaded themselves into a truck. The newly-formed team got acquainted with each other as the truck drove them up the mountain.

"Alright, these gray areas have already been searched and these areas," Scott gestured, "are the ones to be searched today. After that, the search teams will continue to radiate outward and upward. As always, the helicopters will be out in full force, but it's rather hard to spot anything definite on the ground. Our designated area is here." He pointed to one are on the map fifteen minutes later. The team were at the Deer Park Chalet, poring over a map with Scott briefing them and coming up with a proposed plan.

Noah glanced at his sister and gave a mental sigh as he saw the frown on her face. He waited.

"We should start here." She pointed to a completely different low area. "And work our way up from there."

"That's uncharted terrain," Will said confusedly.

"It's exactly what Katum and Dakin are looking for. They'll expect us to search the main area first, so why not skip it and gain more ground? Besides, this area everyone is searching in is the area that is being transformed more and more into ski trails. As a result, lots of trees are being cut and bush cleared to make runs smoother. There aren't a lot of places they could hide effectively as their situation warrants. What they want is a place that's a lot denser, full of undiscovered nooks and crannies that expert mountain guides," she looked at Will, "haven't fully explored yet. Gives them more a surviving chance. We should start on this side of the mountain because it comes out into more rural country with less traffic being seen as opposed to the I-90 on the other side. The less people they encounter, the less chance of being identified. I say we should search this area first."

"Or they could think just the opposite and be heading in this direction. If they make it out of the mountains, then they could potentially steal a car, and make it up to Helena, where they could blend into the crowd," Scott argued, not liking the proposal.

Noah shook his head. "Montana's got one of the lowest populations in the country and because of it, we're more connected than we would be say in California or New York. With all the alerts issued out on them, blending in would be next to impossible. Ordinarily I would agree with you Scott, but in this case, Katum and Dakin would want to ghost across the country with the minimum amount of contact. Montana borders three of Canada's provinces and is 60 percent prairie. It's entirely feasible to make it across the border if you keep close to the landscape and stay away from the cities and towns."

Scott sighed, thinking, before turning to the other two silent members. "What do you think?"

Cody raised his hands. "Don't ask me, I'm just a doctor. You people are the detectives."

Will shrugged. "My job is to help you with the mountain, any part of it." He paused. "But, if you ask me," he pointed to Lindsay, "she's got me convinced."

Sighing again, Scott stared at the map before finally conceding, "All right, fine, let's do it your way." He folded up the map. "I'll tell the chief." He winced and Noah smiled evilly, not enjoying his friend's plight.

Will studied the mountain he had known most of his life. "Before we start though, you should be reminded that our cell phones probably won't work where we're going. Since it's uncharted territory for the most part, there aren't any towers for our signals to bounce off."

Scott stalked off, somewhat peeved, but resigned while the others disbanded for the moment to have this new venture sink in.

Lindsay walked out of the lodge and stood on the grass, looking at the breathtaking sight o the mountains. Somewhere on this same mountain, her parents were waiting for her to rescue them. She took her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. In less than an hour, contact with the outside world would most likely be gone. She checked one more time and her brown eyes widened.

With renewed heartache, but one that was less painful and for which she thanked the distance between them, Lindsay listened to the message...and felt a few tears slip out.

He was still there. And despite everything, she missed him too.