Chapter 7

A rescue team was dispatched, and was finally able to make their way up to Dusty's Peak. Michael followed behind them in Star, along with Amy and Pete in her truck, and Jerry in his limousine. The head ranger got out of his own truck, and assessed the situation. A helicopter flew overhead, letting him know how things looked from above.

Michael got out and walked over to him. "Well, what do you think?"

He looked the mountainside over quickly. "Looks like a good chunk of it came off. You say you last saw your daughter over here?" he asked, pointing.

"Yeah."

The ranger shook his head for a moment. "Pete's right. Those boulders look like they're about ready to come down."

"So would you say it's too dangerous to mount a rescue?" asked Jerry. Michael glared back at him.

"Probably is, Jerry." the ranger responded. "Don't worry, that's not going to stop us from trying." He called to his men and they started setting up equipment. Jerry grumbled heading towards his warm limo.

Michael walked back over to Amy and Pete.

"Oh, Michael. I'm sorry that Cara and Eric got trapped up there." Amy said. "I feel like this is my fault. If I had known that Dusty's Peak was this dangerous, I would have sold the resort earlier."

Pete rested a hand on her shoulder. "Now don't go blamin' yourself, Amy. This mountain here is real old. Dates back to my ancestors. From the Yakama tribe. Age probably had a hand in the snow coming down."

"Not really." came a female voice over the comlink. "I don't think the elements had anything to do with this avalanche, Mr. Higley." Amy and Pete gave Michael a confused look as he walked back over to his car.

"What do you have, Star?"

"There's traces of explosive material, and a newly made crater near the peak of the mountain. It looks like there was some kind of blast before the avalanche happened, Michael."

"So someone would start one on purpose?" asked Pete.

Amy looked Michael. "But who? And why?"

"Hey, chief!" called one of the rangers. "Someone's coming down the trail." Everyone came over and saw Griffin walking up. He was carrying a shot gun in one hand, and trying to keep warm with the other.

Amy ran over. "Griff! You're okay! Did you find Eric or anyone else?"

"Sorry to say I didn't, Amy." He turned to Jerry. "I looked all over for that boy. Couldn't find hide nor hair of him."

Jerry did his best to stay calm, after all, there was big money at stake. "Well, I reckon that settles it. Better to call the search off right now."

Michael turned around. "Now hold on a minute! They could all still be alive up there for all we know. Don't you think we should keep looking?"

Griffin turned to him. "Mr. Knight, I've covered almost every inch of that mountain. They've been buried in that snow for nearly a day now. Their chances of survival ain't good."

"I'm not giving up until we find them."

"Neither are we." The head ranger turned back to his men. "Alright. Get the transmitter over here. Let's see if we can find them using the beacon." Jerry and Griffin headed out of the way to talk privately.

Pete watched them. "Something don't seem right here. I think Jerry would be more worried about his boy than he is."

"Yeah, you're right." They walked back over to the silver Trans Am. "Star, did you find anything on Jerry O'Rourke?"

A few documents came up on her monitor. "A few things actually. He's been sued several times over fraud and other financial crimes. But they were all settled out of court."

Amy scoffed. "He would often ask our father for a loan to help him settle out of court."

Michael smirked. "Coming from a car salesman like that, it doesn't seem too surprising. Anything else?"

"Yes, I went and checked his phone records. He's been calling and receiving calls from I..A.G.S."

"I.A.G.S.?"

"What's that?"

"The International Association of Geological Study. They deal mainly with rare geological formations, how they relate to the life of early man."

Pete went quiet at that.

Michael thought a moment. "Star, check Griffin's records. See if they've been calling him too."

She went through them. "He's been placing calls to them, Michael. As well as quite a few to Mr. O'Rourke himself."

Amy shook her head. "Michael, I don't understand. Why would Jerry be interested in an organization like that?"

He looked over at the men. "I don't know. But we better keep a close eye on those two."

Cara continued to drive through Dusty's Peak. She looked around. "I thought we'd be at the other side of the mountain by now."

"My engine is still drying out." Kitt scanned what he could. "This tunnel is quite unusual. Definitely man-made, several centuries ago."

"We'll take a more relaxed tour later." Cara shivered. "Right now, I'd give anything to be sitting in front of a warm fire."

"How about if I treat you to some hot chocolate after we get out of here?"

She made a small laugh. "Sounds good. And I'll have Bonnie treat you to a tune up, and a hot wash and a wax."

"I can't wait. It'll be nice to finally be rid of all this muck."

She chuckled and pat his wheel, then looked up. "Something's moving up there." She got out and shut the door, starting to walk ahead.

"I hope it isn't anymore bats."

Cara squinted her eyes. "I don't…think so. Kitt, turn your headlights on as bright as you can."

He did and slowly rolled behind her. His scanner tried to see what it was. "I'm not able to tell, but it could very well be a human form."

Cara walked ahead a few more feet. "Hello? Is someone there?" She heard the sound of someone coughing, and ran ahead. She stopped just in front of the form. "Hello?" When Kitt finally pulled up, his lights flashed, allowing her to make out who it was.

"Eric?"

"Cara?" He coughed again, and was favoring his shoulder. "Thank God you're alright." He took a couple steps towards her.

"Stay away from me."

"I saw you and your car get trapped in here, so I came looking for ya."

"Yeah, right. Like you care what happens to the guests at the resort."

"What are you talking about?"

"I followed you the other night, Eric. I know you and Griffin are behind the accidents. How could you do that to your aunt?"

"I didn't want to. My dad told me it would pay off in the end if the resort was sold. That we'd all be rich."

"So your dad wants her to sell the resort to share in the profits, is that it?"

"No. Not exactly. He wants the mountain, not the resort."

Kitt then spoke. "Cara, on our way up here, I scanned the premises."

Eric looked over Cara's shoulder. "Who was that?"

She ignored him. "What did you find, Kitt?"

"There is no oil in the general area. Nor are there any precious metals or minerals out of the ordinary that would require the resort to be shut down in order to be collected."

"We weren't looking for oil."

"What then?" asked Cara.

Eric sighed. "There's a natural water reserve back there." He pointed in the direction she had just come from. "My dad found out and told Griffin. They've been trying to get Aunt Amy to sell the resort ever since."

"Just for water?"

"Not just any water. Water reserves like that are rare, and some big organization's been offering money to my dad so they can study it. He said it's probably the only one like it in North America."

"And would be worth a lot of money to those who deal in anthropology. So you're all behind the accidents at the resort?"

"Just when your cabin got trashed. Griffin's been setting Peter up for the rest of it. He stole one of his bricks from his property to smash the cabin window. Even stealing Pete's keys to break the lift."

"I suppose you three were behind the avalanche as well." said Kitt.

He nodded. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. Just to scare my aunt so she would give up the resort. I just got caught up in this."

"Well," said Cara, "We're still going to have to go to the authorities and let them know about this."

"I'll go to jail."

"Not if you cooperate. I'm sure we can work something out."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "You a cop too?"

"Maybe. But first we'll have to get that shoulder of yours looked at."

Just then, there was another rumble and the earth underneath them began to shake. Rocks were falling down. Both of them nearly stumbled.

Kitt opened his doors. "Cara. Eric. Get in, quickly."

They both made their way over and got inside. "What's going on?"

"The ground here is highly unstable. Part of this mountainside is starting to cave in."

"We'll have to go back." said Eric.

"No good." Cara told him. "We just came from there yesterday. The lake's too dangerous and deep to cross. Especially for Kitt."

"Who?"

"Kitt, you have any ideas?"

"Might I suggest straight ahead?"

"I don't see any other way out."

"Whoa." Eric grabbed her arm. "We can't go in that direction. I fell in through a hole on that side, and the mountain caved in after me. There's no chance we'll get out that way."

"Don't be too sure of that." They drove forward, going up and down, picking up speed.

"Cara, we should be nearing the end of the tunnel any second now." Kitt informed her.

"Alright." she said, hitting the gas as hard as she could. "I hope at least two of your functions came back online!" She pressed a button, and the trajectory guide appeared on the monitor. They were suddenly going up a steep incline, nearing the other side of the cave wall.

"Kitt, you said there was nothing on the other side of this mountain that would be in danger?"

"That's right, Cara. We should have a smooth landing."

"Okay. I'm going to hold ya to that. But Eric? Just in case? You might want to hang on!"

He held on to what he could, as Cara reached over to press turbo boost.

Outside, Jerry pulled Griffin aside. "So you couldn't find Eric?"

"Nope. Followed his tracks the best I could until it got dark. He could have met up with a cougar for all I know."

Jerry got an irritated look on his face. "That boy should've stayed put. And we still got to find a way to get Amy to give up this land." He lifted up his cowboy hat to wipe the sweat from his bald head.

"I still got something we can use." said Griffin. They went to the back of his truck. He looked around before pulling a tarp from on top of a box.

Jerry looked at the crate of dynamite. "Good thinkin', Grif. This'll come in handy."

"We'll wait until everyone leaves. They're bound to stop lookin' soon. When Amy, Pete, and Knight are back at the resort, we'll cause an even bigger avalanche from the north. We can't miss it from that side. Then they'll all be outta the way."

"I like the way you think, Griffin." He patted him on the back.

Michael looked on, wondering why the two men looked so amused. "Star, scan the back of Griffin's truck. I want to know what they're up to."

Star was about to scan, when a large rumbling noise was heard.

Amy grabbed onto the side of a nearby vehicle. "Is it an earthquake?"

"Or another avalanche." Pete said.

Star did a scan of the area. "No, it's coming from the west of the peak." Everyone turned in that direction, and mouths dropped as a black Trans Am blasted its way out from the mountainside.

"Keep it steady, Kitt!"

"Somehow I didn't think I would be the one skiing on this vacation." He did a quick analysis. "Cara, I'm starting to lose traction."

"Activate traction spikes!"

They shot out of his tyres, allowing him to navigate through the snow and ice. The three managed to slide down without hitting any trees or cliffs. Cara drove down one last steep incline before reaching the road and racing towards the others. There, she came to a stop. Everyone hurried over, except for Jerry and Griffin who stayed at the back of the small crowd.

Michael was instantly at their side. "Cara?" He opened the door and she went into his arms, hugging him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm glad to be out of there."

"Kitt?"

"Most of my functions are returning, but I'll need Bonnie."

"I'll have Star get in touch with her."

"Eric!" Amy ran over as he got out of the car. "Thank goodness. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Aunt Amy. I'm fine. Just my shoulder."

Pete walked over. "Alright. I wanna know. What were you all doing up there?"

"Ask Jerry O'Rourke and Griffin Thompson." said Cara. "They've been trying to sabotage the resort from the beginning."

"What?" asked Amy.

"Hogwash." Jerry said. "Must be the altitude gettin' to her."

"No. Eric told me everything. You've been using Griffin and your son to scare Amy into so you can get your hands on the land, and sell it to the highest bidder."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh no?" asked Michael. "Does the organization I.A.G.S. ring a bell?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been in contact with them quite a lot these past few weeks, haven't ya? Must be something on this land that would be of interest to them."

Jerry started to sweat. "What do ya mean? There's no gold up here."

"No." said Cara. "But there is a natural water preserve inside the cave."

"There's no such thing."

"Oh? Kitt and I took a swim in it last night."

"Not a pleasant experience." Kitt added. "But there most definitely is a subterranean lake up there."

"That's just a myth." said Griffin.

"It's no myth." Pete shouted. He came closer. "That water has been a secret of my ancestors for centuries. The Yakama dug the tunnels and used it to help see them through the hot summer months. They called it…"

"The Giver of Life." Cara finished for him.

He nodded. "The only person outside the tribe that was ever told about it, was Dusty O'Rourke. He kept a record of it along with the rest of his documents in his office."

"Which…Jerry went through after our father died." said Amy.

"And since Dusty O'Rourke left the land to his daughter," concluded Michael, "Jerry, Griffin, and Eric decided to sabotage the resort so Amy would sell it to him, and they could share in the profits."

Amy turned to her nephew. "Is this true, Eric?"

He looked to his father, who was staring at him. "Yeah. It's true. We tried to ruin your business. I'm sorry, Aunt Amy." Jerry and Griffin started walk away.

The head ranger turned around. "Well, Jerry. I'm afraid I'm going to have to place ya under…hey!" Both men were starting to run away. Jerry hopped into the cabin of a truck while Griffin dove into the bed. Michael jumped inside of Star, racing ahead, with Cara and Kitt following after.

Griffin removed the lid from the crate and took out a lighter.

Michael was following behind. "Star, what's he got there?"

She scanned the item. "Dynamite, Michael. Several sticks from the looks of it."

"Did you hear that, Cara?" Michael called back.

"Yeah, we did."

"Be careful."

Griffin took out a stick and lit it. He threw it from the truck. Both Star and Kitt swerved to either side. It exploded, just barely missing the van belonging to the head ranger who was following them. He pulled over. Griffin lit another stick and tossed it. Both cars swerved again in the opposite directions.

"They're heading towards the resort." said Kitt.

"We have to stop them before they hurt somebody." Cara stepped on the gas, racing ahead. She made a sharp turn to try and block the road. That caught Jerry off guard. The truck grazed the side of the car and went up into the air. It turned over and landed on its roof, catching on fire.

Both cars came to a stop. Jerry fell out of the cabin. Michael jumped out and grabbed hold of him. Cara parked nearby. She saw Griffin pull himself out from under the fiery wreckage. He started to run.

Cara went after him, with Kitt following her. He drove ahead, swinging his back end around, causing Griffin to fall down. Cara ran up to grab a hold of him and he tried to get away. "Oh no you don't." and with that, she punched him. A few seconds later, the truck exploded.

"Come on." Cara dragged Griffin back over to where Michael and Jerry where. Star was using her CO2 to put out the blaze.

"Star, when you're done, call the other rangers. Let them know we're bringing these guys in. And try to get a hold of Bonnie."

"Okay, Michael."

He turned around as Cara and Kitt came up to them, bringing Griffin. "Not bad, Cara. Not bad at all."

"Thanks. I don't think these two will be making any business deals anytime soon." Both suspects looked tired and defeated as they were held to be taken away.