CHAPTER 2

Two hours later, they were still on the fugitive's trail. Josiah had let them know that the car had been checked and found free of explosives. But it had been loading with firearms. And they found enough evidence in the car to indicate that it was indeed Grissom who had driven it there.

The tracks had begun to ramble. They couldn't be sure if Grissom was lost or if he was aware they were following. The latter seemed likely, since until five minutes ago, there had been two helicopters crisscrossing the sky. Ezra was refueling and would be enroute back shortly. And Nathan and JD were returning to the area also. Once they knew that Vin would be okay, they'd headed back to assist in the search, at Tanner's insistence.

The sharpshooter had been able to relay some information to Nathan about the escaped con on the trip down the hill, and he wanted to be sure that Buck and Chris had all the help they could get. He knew Grissom, knew how he operated, and knew that every man would be needed. It had taken threats of Larabee retaliation to keep Tanner from leaving the hospital and joining them.

There was now a lot of manpower in the area, many officers coming in off duty when they'd heard that Tanner was the victim. Vin was well-known and well-respected by local law enforcement officers. Like Buck, many had seen him work on Search and Rescues. But they also respected him as a bounty hunter, which was unusual since most cops barely tolerated those in that occupation.

Many bounty hunters were arrogant and operated on the fringes of the law, often not restricted by the civil rights that police officers were. But those who knew Vin Tanner knew that he had always taken great care in bringing in his targets with the least amount of danger to innocents. He often waited extra days or weeks in an effort to get his subject alone and took them in with a minimal amount of fuss.

Nathan and JD hooked up with a search team that was on an intercept course with Chris and Buck, who were still following the erratic course that Grissom was on.

"Ground 1 to all units. Give me an update," Chris requested. The units responded in order, as they had every twenty minutes since they'd gotten organized. They now had five teams in the woods. And three men were watching the vehicle in case Grissom returned.

Chris returned the radio to this pocket then started off again, Buck just in front of him, having taken the lead. They had been following the tracks for several miles. But just in the last hour, they'd noticed something new. They were not the only ones following Grissom.

It seems that he'd also picked up a four-legged tail. Chris had noted the wolf tracks when they left Vin's but knew that the canine had run-off into the woods. But a few miles after the two men had begun their trek, they discovered the wolf tracks and Grissom's tracks had come together and it now appeared that the wolf was following behind the killer.

Chris wasn't sure if it was the same wolf they'd seen earlier, but it didn't matter. He was sorely tempted to let the wolf take care of the fugitive, but Vin would never forgive him if it was his wolf and it somehow got injured. They knew that Grissom was armed and Larabee didn't want to chance the animal getting shot. Of course, he also knew that the wolf would more than likely find the man before any of the search teams could. Chris was pulled from his thoughts as he almost ran into Buck, who had stopped suddenly.

"Buck…" he began, irritated.

"Ah, Pard, you best take a look here."

"What is it, Buck?" he asked, stepping around the bigger man. Then he saw it. The wolf, Vin's wolf, was standing in the middle of the woods about twenty feet in front of them, watching them. As Chris got closer, the creature turned and walked away. Chris stopped, not sure what was happening. The wolf looked back over her shoulder and stopped again, staring at Larabee.

Chris started toward him again and the wolf walked away again. "What the…?"

"What is goin' on?" Buck asked.

"No idea. But we might as well follow her. We were heading that way anyway." Chris shrugged and started after the animal. Buck just shook his head and jogged to catch up.

/

Thirty minutes later, they were still following the wolf and they could see the human tracks as well. It was crazy, Chris knew, but he decided to continue to let the wolf lead the way. He felt a little like Timmy following Lassie. But Lassie was usually right, so what the hell.

Buck had the radio and was keeping the others informed of the direction. Ezra and Josiah were coordinating the other teams from the air. They hoped to close the circle around the man.

Suddenly the wolf darted into the woods to their right. Chris stopped, losing visual contact on the animal. He looked around and noticed the boot tracks continued forward. He decided to follow the tracks he could see, not sure what was happening with the wolf. Buck followed behind him.

They were careful, since they knew that Grissom had some experience in the woods. Chris was beginning to think that the man wasn't lost, but had some kind of plan in mind.

The silence was interrupted by a squawk from the radio. "Eagle 2 to Ground 1." Buck reached for the radio and turned the volume down a bit before responding.

"Eagle 2, go ahead."

"Ground 1, we just spotted another vehicle on the northeast fire road, roughly due east from your current location. No one near it, plates come back stolen out of New Mexico."

"Standby, Eagle 2," Buck glanced at Chris who was looking at the trail ahead of them.

"Anybody close who can divert that way?" he asked. Buck relayed the question over the air. One of the ground units was within a mile. They were ordered to check and make sure Grissom wasn't near the vehicle, but not to go through it until the bomb squad arrived, reminded of Grissom's expertise with explosives.

The other units would close ranks and continue in. Chris and Buck took a few moments to listen and watch the forest around them before they headed out again.

"He's close, Buck. I can feel 'im."

"Where you think that wolf went?"

"Don't know. Maybe she ran ahead to detain the bastard for us."

"If so, I hope she rips the asshole's throat out."

"Let's keep going. I want to bag this guy before lunch." Buck check his watch. Noon. But he wasn't about to tell Chris it was already lunchtime. When one of Larabee's men was involved, everything was secondary to getting the job done.

They continued following the tracks for another ten minutes, until they came upon a clearing. About thirty feet across, there was a large boulder in the middle roughly the size of a small car. The two men exchanged glances then separated, going in opposite directions around the edge of the clearing, staying concealed in the surrounding trees.

/

Pete Grissom leaned back against the rock, breathing deeply. He took a drink of water from the canteen he'd been carrying on his belt. He'd seen no sign of the helicopter for twenty minutes or so, but could still hear them off to the east.

"Fuck," he cursed softly. He hoped they hadn't found his back up vehicle. He'd been planning this too damn long and wasn't about to be taken back to prison. How the hell did they get onto him so fast, he thought? He knew it hadn't been Tanner. That bastard hadn't gotten out of the house as far as Grissom had seen. But the explosions might have been heard by someone. He chuckled as he remembered his glee as the roof lifted off of Tanner's pitiful excuse for a home.

From everything he'd heard, Tanner made big bucks as a bounty hunter. He wondered where he stashed it, since he certainly hadn't spent it on that paltry excuse for a mountain cabin. Hell, he probably stuffed it in his mattress. Grissom began thinking that maybe he should have just shot Tanner and searched his place before he blew it up. He could always use more money. Oh, well, it's not like he didn't have access to his family's money. His father may not like the fact that he was going after Tanner, but he wouldn't cut him off. He was too afraid of him to do that. Yes, good old Dad, afraid his own kid would tie him up and burn him. And Grissom would if the old geezer double-crossed him.

Grissom laughed out loud, then suddenly remembered where he was. He quieted down, glancing around him as well as he could. He jumped when he saw someone walking in the woods to his left, darting between the trees. Cursing, he slipped into a crouch and scooted back, taking a gun out of his jacket. He aimed at the figure before he heard another sound behind him. Whirling around, he began to pull the trigger on his weapon, hoping to hit the blond, black clad man who was trying to sneak up on him.

He saw only a quick flash of black before he was slammed to his back, the shot still echoing through the clearing. The two men he'd seen jumped back into the trees. Grissom felt a sharp pain in his wrist, like several knives being embedded there. Curiously calm, he glanced at his wrist and saw a huge jaw clamped around it, the teeth tearing at his skin. The wolf was shaking its head as it growled and chewed at the limb in its mouth. Its heavy body lay cross Grissom's chest.

The gun fell from suddenly numb fingers. The fugitive finally realized what was happening and started screaming and writhing around, trying to dislodge the animal from atop him. Unsuccessful, he reached with his left hand to the knife on his belt. Struggling to pull it out, he rolled onto his right side, almost blacking out from the pain in his arm, the wolf's teeth tearing through the skin and scraping the bone.

He screamed again and yanked the knife clear, immediately plunging it into the wolf's side. The huge animal yelped, releasing Grissom's wrist, and was thrown to the ground as the escapee jerkily got to his feet.

He staggered around the other side of the rock, dropping the knife and pulling out a second gun from the back of his waist.

"Grissom! Give it up!" a voice called. "You can't get out of here. We have all exits covered."

The fugitive took a blind shot in the direction of the voice and was rewarded with a muffled curse.

"Chris!" yelled another voice.

"Stay down, Buck!"

Grissom decided to make a run for it. Taking a deep breath, he took another shot in the direction of the one named Chris, then turned and fired wildly in Buck's direction while running for the woods.

Wilmington fired and saw Grissom stumble but continue into the woods.

"Shit! Chris, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Did you hit him?"

"I don't know," he pulled out the radio. "All units. Grissom just ran west from our location. He is armed and it's possible he's been hit. He has fired on officers. Repeat, he is armed and has fired at us."

"Buck, are you okay?" Nathan's voice came back.

"Yeah, we're okay." Buck looked over at Chris, who was leaning over the wolf. "Is anybody close?"

"Yeah, me, JD and two deputies are coming at you, about ten minutes out," Nathan replied.

"Team Four is coming from the south," another voice said.

"Good, we'll move from here." He broke off the transmission. "Let's go, Chris."

"She's hurt, Buck," Larabee said, still kneeling by the wolf, stroking her head.

"Chris, we gotta get Grissom. We'll come back for her." Chris looked up, torn between backing up his friend and helping this animal that had taken a bullet meant for him.

"She saved my life, Buck," Chris pleaded.

Wilmington walked over and knelt beside the canine, which was panting heavily. "I know, Chris. I saw it. But we have to stop this guy. It won't take long, and then we'll get the wolf to a vet." Chris didn't look up, just continued to rub his hand in the fur.

A short distance away, JD and Nathan, followed by two deputies, veered slightly from their trek, to intersect the fugitive's path. After just a few minutes they heard a muttered curse and stumbling footsteps.

Suddenly a man stumbled out of the trees in front of them. A deputy yelled, "Drop the gun!"

Grissom raised his gun and fired, then ran back into the trees, dragging his right leg. The deputy grunted in pain and fell. Nathan keyed the radio as he ran over to the deputy, calling into the radio.

"Officer down! Officer down! Buck! He's coming back at you! He's limping badly."

Back in the clearing, the two men looked up when they heard the shots, toward the trees where Grissom had run. Lifting their weapons, they started to stand.

Chris lay a hand on the wolf's head. "I'll be right back, girl. Then we'll get you some help. You hang on now."

Larabee and Wilmington split, melding into the woods on either side. It was quiet in the clearing except for the soft panting from the wounded animal. Another barrage of shots sounded, causing the wolf to try lifting its head. The effort was too much, though, and it dropped back into the bloodstained dirt.

Nathan helped the injured officer sit up, checking the wound in his arm. "It's a through-and-through," he remarked, wrapping a cloth around it and tying it off.

"I'm okay," the injured man insisted. "Go after him." He pushed Nathan away with his good arm. "Mike, go!" he yelled at his partner. Mike Mulligan nodded and turned to JD.

"C'mon, kid," he said. After exchanging a look with Jackson, JD followed Mulligan. Nathan finished up the bandaging job, then he and the deputy trailed more slowly behind them.

"Over there!" JD yelled, catching a glimpse of the fugitive through the trees. They could hear the helicopter closing in overhead, the rotor wash ruffling the treetops. JD and Mike saw Grissom run behind a rock outcropping.

"Grissom! Give it up!" JD yelled from behind a tree nearby. "You're surrounded! You won't get out of these woods!"

"Fuck you, cop! I ain't going back to that hellhole. I did what I came to do."

"If you came to kill Vin Tanner, you failed," Dunne informed him. "He's alive and well. He'll be out of the hospital in a couple of days."

"Bullshit! That house went up and that sonuvabitch was inside when it blew!" Grissom laughed. "Oh, what a pretty sight that was!"

"The house blew up, alright! But Vin got out," JD yelled. "And he's ready to send you back to prison where you belong."

"Fuck! Goddamned bastard!" Grissom ranted for several long seconds. "I'll kill him! First I'll kill all of you, then I'll kill him and anyone who gets in my way." Grissom, irrational now in his anger, stepped out from behind the rock firing his gun. JD and Mike ducked behind the trees they were using for cover. After three shots the firing stopped.

"Drop it!" Nathan yelled, having come up. He saw Grissom drop back behind the rock, trying to reload. JD also spotted the man reloading and moved to a better vantage point. From just a few feet away, he called out again. "You got nowhere to go, Grissom."

The fugitive looked up and saw JD behind a tree on a slight rise to his side. Dunne had his weapon trained on his target. A noise to his left caused Grissom to look the other way, only to find two more guns pointing his way.

He lowered his hand, letting the empty weapon fall from his grip. Then he raised both hands and placed them on his head. JD glanced at Nathan, who nodded at him. The younger man holstered his firearm and approached the fugitive, relying on Jackson and Mike Mulligan to cover him. He walked up behind Grissom and reached out to put his hand on Grissom's head, ready to grab his hair like he was taught in the police academy, an easy way of keeping a subject under control.

But before he could get a hold on the convict, Grissom brought down his hands and began to turn. Nathan and Mulligan couldn't fire for fear of hitting JD, since he was only a few steps behind the suspect. But JD again remembered his training. At the first move from Grissom, the former Boston cop ducked into a crouch. Swinging one leg away from his body, he brought it around and knocked Grissom's feet out from under him.

As Grissom fell forward, JD lunged, pinning the man to the ground. He tried to reach for the fugitive's arm in an attempt to cuff him. But the man began squirming around under him. Just when it seemed that he would lose control of his captive, he used one final tactic. Bringing up his knee between the man's legs, JD slammed it into the man's testicles.

The fugitive howled in pain and stopped moving, except to try and soothe his battered balls.

"Nice shot, JD," Nathan said with a smile as he knelt down and handed Dunne a set of cuffs. The young man grinned as he grabbed Grissom's arm and snapped the metal bracelets on his prisoner. It was only then that Nathan noticed the injury that Grissom had sustained.

As JD tightened the cuffs around Grissom's other wrist, Jackson reached for his radio as the injured deputy made his way to them. He was holding his arm, his face pale. "All units, suspect is in custody. We have an officer wounded and the suspect is wounded."

"Nathan, there is a clearing about 100 yards east of your location. It's large enough for Ezra to set this thing down," Josiah informed him.

Chris and Buck met up again in the woods. "Buck, give me the radio." Wilmington handed it over then followed as Chris headed back to the clearing. "Nathan, are either injuries life threatening?"

"Negative, Chris. Officer took a through-and-through to the left arm. Suspect was grazed in the right buttock."

Chris heard Buck mutter, "I hope that was my bullet that hit him in the ass."

"Good. Eagle 1, you'll have another patient on that chopper, so wait for me to get there."

"Buck's hit?" Nathan asked.

"No. We had some help out here and she took a bullet meant for me. She's in bad shape. Grissom also stabbed her."

"I'll be right there."

"Negative. Take too long. I'll carry her." Chris threw the radio at Buck and ran back toward the clearing. Buck juggled the radio a bit to keep from dropping it.

"Chris, what kind of wounds? Chris? You shouldn't move her, Chris."

"Buck here, Nathan. Just have lots of bandages ready. Chris won't have trouble moving her, she's relatively light…considering." Buck knew he was just confusing the issue, but wasn't sure if he should explain or just help Chris. A second later, he chased after his friend.

Larabee ran back into the clearing and knelt down next to the wolf. He could see she was still breathing, but with difficulty.

"You ready, girl?" he asked softly. "This is gonna hurt, and I'm sorry for that, but I've gotta move you." Chris leaned over until he was nose to muzzle. "It'll be okay. I promise we'll take good care of you." The wolf weakly flicked her tongue and licked Chris' face. "Thank you." Chris said. "Thank you for saving my life."

He moved behind the wolf and placed his arms under her body, slowly lifting her up. His chest tightening at the soft whimper. "I'm sorry, girl. I know it hurts." Chris started off, following Buck who was picking out the smoothest path through the trees. They could hear the helicopter hover and then land. Ten minutes later, they entered the clearing, the helicopter on the ground, its rotor blades still spinning.

Chris could see Nathan inside wrapping a bandage around Grissom's forearm just above the handcuffs. He ducked his head and hurried towards the aircraft, careful not to drop the wolf, which was weakly thrashing at all the noise.

Chris stepped into the aircraft with a boost from Buck, who then stepped back, since there wasn't room for him or JD inside. The injured deputy sat on the seat, his left bicep already wrapped. Nathan turned after finishing with Grissom. His eyebrows shot up when he saw Chris' injured victim.

"Chris, that's the wolf!"

"Help her, Nathan." Larabee said, fully expecting Nathan to treat this 'patient'.

"Chris, I'm not a vet," he said as Chris lowered the animal to the floor.

"She saved my life, Nathan! We have to try." A few seconds of silence followed. Chris was reaching for Nathan's medical kit to do it himself when Grissom started yelling.

"That animal mauled me! I can't believe we waited for an injured dog. I want that fucking animal put down, it's a menace!"

Chris stopped his reach for the med kit and lunged at Grissom. The only reason his hands didn't wrap around the bastard's throat was because Josiah stepped in his way.

"Ezra's getting ready to take off, Chris." He said calmly. "Stay down so you don't lose your footing when he gets airborne." Larabee's glare had Grissom crawling away, then grimacing as his injured ass hit the deck. Chris smiled at the look of pain that crossed the man's face, satisfied that he wouldn't be sitting easily for a while. Then he dismissed the man and turned his attention back to the wolf. Nathan was trying to stop the bleeding. Chris slipped on a headset.

"Ezra…"

"Mr. Larabee, Buck tells me we have Vin's injured canine on board?"

"Yeah. We need to find a vet and set down close."

"What about the deputy and that other…gentleman?"

"The wolf's injuries are life threatening. I'm sure the deputy won't mind a detour," Chris said, looking up and getting a nod from the deputy, who was also wearing a headset. "And I don't give a fuck what Grissom wants."

"That's fine with me," the deputy said. "This wolf is a hero. Do you know where the Sheriff's office is located?" he asked Ezra.

"Yes," Ezra replied.

"North of there one mile, west side of the street, there's a large parking lot next to a building with a green roof. There's a vet in that building. Doc Barker's the best in town. He treats the K-9 dogs."

"I'll head that way. I'll contact Ms. Wells to have her call the good doctor and advise him that we are enroute."

"Tell her it's a gunshot wound to the left rear hind quarter and a stab wound to the right side, deep." Chris told him.

/

The vet and two assistants were waiting with a gurney at the edge of the parking lot. Since the lot was full, two Tahoe PD cars had been alerted to stop traffic so that the chopper could land in the street. As soon as it set down, Chris jumped from the aircraft, turning back to take the wolf from Nathan. The animal was unconscious now and her breathing had become very shallow.

Chris carried the wolf over to where the vet waited and gently laid her on the gurney. He followed as they wheeled it back into the animal hospital, not paying attention as the chopper lifted off again enroute to the hospital to drop off Grissom and the deputy. The vet was issuing orders as they rushed into the building.

"Doc," Chris called. The vet turned around. "She saved my life, Doc."

"I'll do my best. If I can save her life, I will." Chris nodded and watched the team go through the doors. He took a couple of deep breaths and rubbed his face with hands that he didn't notice were covered with blood.

"Sir? Sir?" Chris glanced at the young woman standing before him, not sure how long she'd been calling him.

"Sorry."

"No problem. If you'll follow me, I'll show you where you can clean up," she said, pointing to his equally bloody clothing.

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks."

/