For disclaimers, please see Chapter 1.
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He ducked behind the rocks himself, and then materialized more rocks to hide them. He just hoped the dogs wouldn't pick up their scent as well as the body's.
"Sandy's got the scent again, alright."
Jack scrambled over the trunk of a fallen tree, trying to keep up with his own dog, let alone Bob and Sandy. Gunner pulled at his lead, desperate to keep up with the shepherd. "Gunner's just following Sand on this, Jack. You know what that means."
Bob looked back over his shoulder briefly at his fellow officer and said "She's got a body," and then turned his attention back to his dog and the forest floor beneath his feet.
Gunner had just come out of basic training and hadn't learned the more advanced techniques for which older search and rescue dogs might receive additional training. Two years older than Gunner, Sandy had received specialized training on finding cadavers. Sandy had taken to the training like a duck to water, as one of the best teams out there, Bob and Sandy had flown into many nasty situations, from major disasters to murder scenes.
New to the canine unit himself, Jack had picked up Gunner and gone through training with him at the same time. They had graduated the training program only last week. Though they didn't have the training to be out doing this type of work, when the call had come in requesting all units, they didn't have much choice.
Sandy had lost the scent at one point, milling around and sniffing the air trying to recapture it. Then, only minutes ago, she caught it again and took off like a shot, dragging Bob behind her. Gunner picked up on her excitement and tore after her, Jack in tow.
"I really hope it's not a body," Jack whispered to Gunner, his words lost under the barking of both dogs.
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Jesse heard the barking volume increase, and knew the dogs would arrive any second. He quickly scanned the rocks and sealed up a few cracks, trying to further dampen their scent. He left the top of the rocks open for fresh air, not knowing how long they would have to wait this out.
Brennan sat on the ground, leaning up against a rock. Shalimar and Emma sat on either side of him, Emma rubbing warmth into Brennan's arms. He pushed her hands away weakly. "I'm fine," he whispered.
"You're freezing," Emma whispered back.
Jesse hushed both of them, but formed a blanket to drape across the three of them. With sunset approaching, the temperature had already started to drop. Emma eyed him with gratitude and then stifled a gasp as a cushion suddenly arose from the ground beneath them, lifting them up. The rock behind them morphed as well, suddenly soft and much more comfortable. Brennan smiled and settled back.
Happy with the change, Jesse added one more touch – a steaming cup of coffee for each of them to help keep the cold at bay, and then he settled in next to them. They might be trapped, but at least they had the comforts of home.
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The dogs bounded into the clearing and Sandy immediately indicated the body by lying down directly in front of it, even her head down on the ground, her nose pointing to the body.
"Good girl, Sandy," Bob praised, spying a leg sticking out from under some rocks. He reached down and rubbed her head softly.
He reached to his belt and grabbed his radio and his GPS, just as Jack and Gunner entered the clearing. He reported back to the command center, informing them of the body and their coordinates.
Gunner bounded around the clearing, barking furiously, pulling at his lead. "Gunner! Sit!" Gunner immediately sat down, but a whine escaped his throat.
Jack ignored him and stared at the body instead. "Shouldn't we, you know, do something?"
Bob shook his head. "Nope, we let the investigators handle that. The chopper will be here shortly. Trust me, with the Feds in on this one, you don't want to touch a damn thing."
"Why's that?"
Bob kneeled down next to Sandy and scratched her back. "Let's say you touch something, doesn't affect anything. But the Feds arrive on scene and do their investigation. They can't solve it, or the case goes bad – who's it all come down on? The guy who 'contaminated' the crime scene."
Jack took a few involuntary steps back from the body, bumping into Gunner. Gunner jumped and seeing his chance at freedom, charged towards the rocks. He had just enough slack lead to reach them and scratch at the rocks and howl, before thrusting out his tail behind him and sticking his nose forward, straight at the rocks.
Jack frowned. "What the hell? Why are you indicating?" He moved over to the rocks and looked around.
"Hey Bob?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you smell coffee?"
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Panicking, Jesse vanished the coffee mugs. How could I have been that stupid?, he berated himself.
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"Coffee?"
"Yeah, I smell…" Jack broke off and then turned his face in different directions, trying to scent the air himself. "Strange – now it's gone."
"Must be your caffeine addiction kicking in," Bob jested.
Jack looked at Gunner, standing absolutely still, never having stopped indicating the rocks. Jack scrutinized the rock face, wondering what could have trigger Gunner.
"Gunner's got something," he called over to Bob. "I'm gonna look around these rocks."
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Jesse's heart pounded in his chest. Warning them with the clever waving of his hands, he dissolved the cushions and blanket, just in case. Coming up with a plausible explanation for a plush rock chamber to an officer of the law would prove difficult.
They heard scrambling from outside the rock chamber, in a different position as the officer moved around it.
Jesse raised his hand in the direction of the office, and Brennan grabbed it and mouthed an emphatic "No!"
Jesse had wanted only to strengthen his hastily constructed wall, but suddenly understood that Brennan thought he intended to dematerialize the officer. Once again, something itched in the back of his mind, stronger this time, but he didn't have the time to spare to puzzle it out.
Not able to explain his intentions for fear of alerting the officer, Jesse just nodded. He instead turned to Shalimar and motioned for her to get down on all fours.
Shalimar's look back at him just screamed "Excuse me?
Jesse rolled his eyes and instead stuck his fingers out in the air as if they were claws and scratched the air.
Shalimar's eyes widened as she got his intention and she smiled sheepishly. It's not my fault I immediately went to a naughty place - after seeing them all into each other. A girl has needs too, you know, Shal justified to herself.
She pulled off her top, smiling as Brennan tried to stop her, not understanding. See, I'm not the only one who went to a naughty place. She turned her back to them as she removed her bra and panties, and Jesse put a hand over Brennan's mouth to stifle his gasp as Shal morphed into a mountain lion.
She quickly scrambled up the rocks on the back wall and jumped through the hole at the top.
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"Bob, you think there may be a body up on top of this rock face? Gunner's got something, but I'll be damned if I know what it is."
"Investigators will search the area soon enough – just leave it alone."
"But Gunner doesn't indicate on cadavers. What if it is somebody's who's hurt and needs help?" Jack moved closer to the rock face and raised his hand to grab onto a rock, trying to figure out if it would hold his weight.
The snarl of an angry mountain lion sent him scuttling back in terror.
Sandy and Gunner jumped up and surged forward, barking fiercely.
Shalimar snarled again and threw in a hiss for good measure. With a flick of her tail, she bounded down the far side of the rocks and took off into the forest.
The dogs chased after her, pulling their leads free of their handlers.
"Gunner! Stay!" Jack yelled, dashing off after them.
"Sandy! Come!" Bob called for his own dog, and then ran after all of them, worried that a pissed off mountain lion could make quick work of both dogs.
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Jesse breathed a sigh of relief. Shalimar had bought them some time.
"Now what?" Emma asked.
"Don't know – they could be back at any time, and Brennan still can't walk." Jesse appraised Brennan's condition and noting his drooping head, realized that Brennan wouldn't be able to do much of anything. Exhaustion had nearly claimed his conscious thought already.
"Tunnel," Brennan whispered.
"What?"
"Make a tunnel – go under 'em."
Jesse thought about it. He could do it, he realized, with a little help.
"Em, I think that could work. But I need you to help me. I don't know where the Helix is. I don't want to tunnel in the wrong direction."
Emma closed her eyes and stretched out with her increased senses. She found the Helix easily. "That way," she pointed. "A little over a mile down the mountain," she added, before opening her eyes.
Jesse concentrated on the ground beneath them and opened his awareness to the matter field. The ground lowered beneath their feet, dematerializing in thin layers.
Emma looked around and saw the cavern around them seemed to move up slowly, stretching up above them. She flashed back to the Haunted House at Disneyland, thinking of how the walls seemed to stretch as the whole floor, really a big elevator, took them down a level. As they dropped, the fading light from sunset grew even dimmer. Emma launched a psi orb in front of them to provide light.
Jesse dropped them about 30 feet below the ground before they settled to a stop, and then the ground, or rather wall, in front of them opened up and stretched into a dark hole.
Brennan tried to lift himself off the ground, but fell back, too weak to get up. "No worries," Jesse whispered. A wheelchair appeared next to Brennan.
"Fuck, no," Brennan argued, "you aren't going to get me in that. You're not my damn nurse."
Jesse chuckled. "I could make myself a hot nurse outfit if it would help."
Brennan was not amused.
Jesse reached down and grabbed Brennan around the chest, helping him off the ground and into the chair. "You're gonna pay for this, you know?"
"So you keep promising."
Jesse moved behind the chair and pushed him towards the tunnel, noting that Brennan had already fallen asleep. Emma lead the way, lighting the tunnel with her psi orb.
After they had moved into the tunnel, Jesse paused and closed the shaft behind them, restoring it back to the surface.
"What about air, Jesse?"
"I'll make more if we need it." Jesse suddenly smacked his hand against his forehead. "Why didn't I think of that before? I could have totally cocooned us up there – could have been solid rock around us and no smell getting out. I just didn't think and…."
"Jesse, stop it. Just stop it."
Jesse stopped talking.
"Give yourself a break, okay? You just find out you can do just about anything and your beating yourself up because you missed one thing? That you didn't throw out every instinct you have, like needing oxygen – a frickin' airhole, and come up with the perfect solution immediately? How silly is that?"
Jesse nodded, but she could see that he still blamed himself. Emma closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. "Shal is fine. She's having fun, in fact. And she'll meet us at the Helix soon."
"Okay. I'm okay."
Emma walked over to him and cupped his face gently. "No, you're not okay. You're amazing, truly amazing."
Jesse smiled in response, warmed by her words.
"Now, start acting like it," she challenged with a smirk, and turned and walked further into the tunnel.
"Man, a guy just can't get a break around here," Jesse complained.
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Shalimar loped out in front of the dogs, but not letting them get too far behind her. She snarled occasionally, ensuring their interest and hot pursuit. Stupid dogs!
She slowed down and decided to have a little fun with them. The dogs charged straight at her, and as they neared, she did an easy leap above them, jumping over the heads and landing behind them. She swatted one, an English pointer by the look of him, on the butt just for fun. She had pulled back her claws, of course.
The dog yelped in surprise and twisted around, his rear legs entangling with his front ones and he went for a spin, taking out the golden retriever next to him as well.
The golden retriever got to her feet first, and barked at Shalimar, baring her teeth in a growl.
Oh, think you're the big bad bitch, do you girl? You ain't got nothing on me.
The other dog gained his footing and joined in on the growling.
Shalimar backed up, as if she feared them, and then took off running towards a tree, the dogs following her. Shal took a leap up onto the trunk and then somersaulted back over them, once again landing behind them. She swiped the same dog on the ass again.
I could do this all day.
Shal sped off, the two dogs trailing once again. As she neared a large rock, she jumped up on it and then flipped back, this time each one of her rear paws landing on a dog's head, pushing each one into the dirt.
"Did you see that?" Jack asked, just having burst out of the trees, out of breath.
Shalimar jumped easily out of the tangle of dog limbs and landed atop the rock again. She snarled at the officer and then took off in a run.
"See what?" Bob had just gotten through the trees and saw the two dogs rising on wobbling legs, shaking their heads to clear them.
"That mountain lion? It pulled some weird sort of martial arts move and landed on the dogs. "Strangest thing I've ever seen."
Bob walked over and grabbed the leads for both dogs from the ground, while Jack stood their stupefied. "I'm worried about you, Jack. Maybe this search with finding the body has been too much for you. You're smelling things, seeing things… talking about kung fu kitties…"
Jack rubbed his eyes. He was never going to hear the end of this. He should have just kept his mouth closed.
"Let's get back to that body before the Feds show up. Maybe they'll have some coffee and that'll set you right again."
Jack groaned.
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05/06/06