Maelstrom

by Susanna Strom

  “Yes, we will.” Sahdev nodded, his expression resolute.

  Even Hector barked his approval.

  Kyle glanced at his watch. “It’s almost five. We got a couple of hours of daylight left. I’m going to get Uncle Mel’s maps out of the jeep. I think he has one of the Mt. Hood National Forest. We need to figure out the most likely place that Pastor Bill would’ve taken Kenzie.”

  “Do that.” A hundred ideas rushed through my head at the same time. “My Shovelhead’s busted to shit, so I’m gonna make sure Chimney’s bike runs. The more ground the three of us can cover, the better.”

  Could drive Nicole’s car, I supposed. Saw the keys hanging on a hook in the kitchen. But whenever we found Mac and took off, I didn’t want to be behind the wheels of a sensible Japanese import.

  Chimney’s green-and-black 2014 CVO Road King was a beauty. I’ll take my Shovelhead over a bagger any day, but riding any Harley was better than being caged in a four-door family sedan. Need be, Sahdev or Kyle could take Nicole’s car.

  I quickly confirmed that the Road King ran just fine, then joined Kyle and Sahdev in the cabin.

  Kyle had spread a map of the national forest across the coffee table, and he and Sahdev were studying it.

  Sahdev looked up when I entered. “Do we have any idea how many members there are in Pastor Bill’s church? I know of the pastor, his four deacons, Nicole and that teenage girl who came to help Nicole. That makes seven.”

  “Bill mentioned his wife Rebecca.” Kyle counted on his fingers. “And a couple of men who weren’t deacons stopped by the cabin to speak to the pastor. That’s at least ten.”

  “Remember, he said he was responsible for thirty souls. Could have been a lie, but we should probably count on at least that number if we wanna play it safe. What are you thinking, Sahdev?”

  “If the pastor has thirty members in his church, rather than having them scattered across the area, I suspect that he’d gather them together in one location. Or at the very least, that he’d create a central hub, where people could assemble for meetings and religious services.”

  “Makes sense.” I blew out a frustrated breath. “Lots of places like that around here. Big ski lodges. Resorts. Campgrounds. Hotels. We’ll check ’em all until we find his headquarters.

  “We’re ignoring the obvious,” Kyle said.

  “Yeah? What’s that?”

  “Pastor Bill claims that they’re all members of his congregation. What does a congregation need?” He answered his own question. “A place to worship. A church.”

  I was skeptical. “You think twenty people could live at a church? Where would they sleep? Where would they eat?”

  “No, man, not a church.”

  He leaned forward.

  “Listen, when I was a kid, my sister and I went to church camp every summer. It was on a lake in the woods so we could do outdoor stuff. Hiking. Canoeing. Swimming. The camp had a chapel. Most church camps have sleeping cabins, a big kitchen, a dining hall, and a chapel. Everything Bill would need for his little cult.”

  Sahdev was already studying the map. “I see a half dozen church camps in the area. If Kyle’s correct, those would be the most likely places for the pastor to set up shop.”

  A whole lot of maybes, like Kyle said earlier, but his theory made sense.

  “All right. Six camps. We’ll each take two. I’ll ride Chimney’s bike. Kyle, take my jeep, and Sahdev can drive Nicole’s car. You brought Miles’s walkie-talkies, right?”

  Kyle nodded and hopped to his feet. “Yeah. I’ll get ’em out of the jeep.”

  Like everything Miles had purchased for his doomsday retreat, the walkie-talkies were top-of-the-line, military-grade devices that used encryption to prevent anybody—like Pastor Bill’s henchmen—from eavesdropping.

  “If we find Bill’s hideaway, we’ll need to get the lay of the land. Should be prepared to stand watch overnight. We’ll need jackets, some food, a couple of bottles of water. Weapons, of course.”

  I turned to Sahdev. “You ever handle a gun?”

  “Yes. I doubt I’m as proficient as a former soldier, but I’ve been trained.”

  Got to admit, his response surprised me. Surprised Kyle too, from the way his brows shot up.

  Don’t know why I’d assumed the soft-spoken doctor was unfamiliar with weapons. Even though they swore to do no harm, there was no real reason why a healer wouldn’t want to protect himself or defend others. I might have known him for only a few days, but in that time Sahdev always stepped up, was always willing to do the hard thing. Guess it made sense that such a man would be willing to do violence in the name of the greater good.

  “All right. Gimme a minute.”

  On a hunch, I walked into Chimney and Nicole’s bedroom and opened the closet. Groped along the top shelf until my hand touched a metal box. I pulled it down, set it on the bed, slid the latch, and found myself staring at Chimney’s Walther P99 AS pistol.

  Shit, man, what were you thinking?

  Back in Portland, Chim kept the Walther in a gun safe, far away from his two curious boys. Nicole would have skinned him alive if she knew my friend kept a weapon in an unlocked box in the closet. A dumb move on his part that paid off for me.

  I checked the closet shelf again and found a shoulder holster. Grabbed the pistol and a couple of 15-round magazines, then headed back to the front room. Sahdev slipped the holster over his shoulders and handled the Walther with enough confidence to set my mind at ease.

  Kyle took the shotgun.

  Tied Hector to the porch rail and left him bowls of food and water.

  We loaded up and went our separate ways, each following directions to two church camps.

  Didn’t want the engine noise to give me away, so I stopped a quarter mile from the first camp and hid the bike behind a tree. I kept to the tree line as I made my way toward the camp’s perimeter.

  I struck out. The place was a morgue. No signs of life, other than the busted windows that showed that somebody had ransacked the buildings. I retraced my steps back to the Road King and headed toward the second camp, almost an hour away.

  Stowed the bike again and made my way on foot toward The Golden Rule Church Camp, sticking to the shadows beneath the trees. My caution paid off. Had to duck behind a fallen log when a pickup drove past me, heading in the direction of the camp.

  I approached cautiously and spied two men standing guard at the gated entrance to the camp. A tall, chain-link fence surrounded the property—probably intended to keep animals away from the campers—but now a line of defense for Bill’s cult.

  Camp Golden Rule. I snorted. Do unto others, huh, Bill?

  If anybody had failed to live up to the golden rule, it was the phony pastor. The lying, scheming, son of a bitch thought he could steal Mac away from me. Just wait. I’d give the fucker what he deserved, do unto him the way he did unto me.

  I crouched down behind a bush and pulled a small pair of binoculars from a pocket. Couldn’t see many people milling about the property. They were probably at dinner, since it was past 7 p.m. Didn’t need to spot Bill or Nicole or any of his deacons to know that this was the right spot.

  I radioed Kyle and Sahdev to tell them what I found. We decided that they would meet up at the cabin, then drive the jeep toward the church camp, parking out of sight on a small service road I’d spotted half a mile from the place.

  They emerged from the forest just before sunset. After a quick consultation, we separated and took up positions along the perimeter of the property. Unless something inside the camp spurred us into action—catching sight of Mac—we’d meet up in the morning to compare what we learned during our reconnaissance of the place.

  I settled in for a long night of watching and waiting. The temperature dropped as soon as the sun set. Didn’t mind. The chill air kept me alert.

  The moon played peekaboo behind a thin blanket of clouds. Every fifteen minutes, a guard inside the fence walked past my location.

  About an
hour before dawn, a dark figure slunk from the trees twenty yards to my left and dashed toward the fence. The man dropped to his knees and took what looked like a camp shovel from a backpack. Working quickly, he dug a hole, placed something I couldn’t identify in it, then refilled the cavity and tamped the soil flat. He took a handful of leaves from his pack and scattered them over the spot, concealing his handiwork.

  When he turned and sprinted back toward the woods, a break in the clouds allowed me to get a better look at him. He was tall and lanky, wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled tight over his head. Moonlight glinted off the night-vision goggles strapped to his face.

  Damn. Why hadn’t I brought mine? The goggles gave him an advantage running through the woods in the dark. I’d half a mind to give chase anyway—find out what he was up to—but quashed the impulse. Couldn’t risk breaking my ankle stepping into a hole or tripping over a tree root. Not when Mac needed me at one hundred percent.

  Contacted my friends to tell them what I saw. We decided to stay put, hunkered down in our hiding places. I sucked down half a bottle of water and ate a bag of peanuts.

  The sun rose and the camp came alive, men and women bustling back and forth. The women all wore long skirts, like something out of an old western movie. The men dressed in modern clothes, wearing mostly jeans and buttoned down shirts. Didn’t recognize a soul, but my gut told me that Mac was somewhere inside the camp among these people.

  Past noon, Sahdev’s voice crackled over the radio. “I saw Nicole. She was carrying what looked like a heavy bucket of steaming water.”

  Little more than an hour later, Kyle radioed in. “I saw Nicole. She was walking fast across the campground. Had a girl with her. It looked like the same girl who came to the cabin to help her out. Hannah, I think her name was.”

  “Do you think Nicole knows where Kenzie is?” Sahdev asked.

  “Maybe. She’s tight with the pastor. Gimme a few minutes to think. Over.”

  I sat back on my haunches, considering my options. Guards walked past my position every fifteen minutes. I could probably make it over the fence without being seen, but then what? Dumb luck would determine what happened next. I’d have to search the camp without being spotted by any member of the congregation who might be walking by, and then track Nicole down when she could be anywhere on the property.

  Don’t like plans where the critical elements are dependent on luck. Chewed it over for a while, but couldn’t come up with a better plan.

  I radioed Kyle and Sahdev. “I might need to hop the fence and find Nicole. See if she knows anything about Mac.”

  “If it comes to that, Kyle and I—”

  An explosion rent the air, and I fell back onto my ass. Billows of smoke and dirt erupted from the spot in front of me where the mystery man had buried the bomb.

  Were explosives the new weapon of choice in the post-pandemic world? First the dam, then the cabin, and now this. The man in the hoodie had been busy.

  Smoke tickled my throat, and I buried my mouth in the crook of my elbow to stifle a cough. I heard men shout and the sound of running feet as the congregation descended on the location. The bomb blew a hole ten feet wide in the chainlink fence.

  Dropping onto my stomach, I wriggled backward, deeper into the woods, ready to jump up and run if they decided to search the forest.

  At the blast site, confusion reigned. Men were shouting and pointing, waving their arms, but nobody looked to be in charge. Pastor Bill, Deacon Gary, and Deacon Morris strode toward the breach in the fence. Looked like all the men in the congregation had gathered in one spot.

  In one spot. Huh. Was that the mystery man’s goal?

  My walkie-talkie crackled, and I had to hold it close to my ear to hear Sahdev’s voice. “Nicole and Hannah are at the back of the camp. Nicole is helping the girl climb over the fence.”

  Yeah. Just what I suspected. The bomb was a diversion.

  I retreated into the cover of the forest, then began to sprint toward the back of the property, planning to intercept the pair. Spied them up ahead, running away from the camp.

  Hannah held her long skirt up with one hand and clung to the bomber’s hand with the other.

  How the hell did a teenage girl get mixed up with a bomber? And why was Nicole helping her?

  When I drew closer to the pair the man stopped, shoved some branches out of the way, and pulled a dirt bike out from behind a tree. He mounted the bike and the girl climbed on behind him. She balled her long skirt up and tucked it between their bodies, then wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his back. She was trembling so hard I figured she might fall off the bike.

  The man turned his head to say something to her and spotted me running toward them. He pushed the hood back from his face and scowled, his expression angry and defiant.

  I was looking into the face of a pissed off teenager. Kid couldn’t have been more than seventeen, maybe eighteen.

  “Tell Pastor Bill he can go fuck himself,” he shouted.

  Wait. The kid thought I was one of Pastor’s Bill’s men?

  After a split-second hesitation, I closed the distance between us.

  Had a lot of questions for the kid.

  With one swift kick, he cold-started the dirt bike and tore away from me, racing up a forest path. I could never catch up with a bike on foot, so I gave up the chase.

  What the ever-loving fuck was going on?

  TWENTY

  Ripper

  The dirt bike disappeared from view.

  I stared after it. A kid. How could a kid possess the wherewithal to blow up a dam?

  Don’t be a dumb shit. He blew a hole in a fence. Doesn’t mean he knows how to blow up a dam.

  Voices rang out behind me. Pastor Bill’s men spilled into the forest, hunting for either the bomber or the runaway teenage girl.

  I took off, heading in the direction of the Road King. Yanked the walkie-talkie out of my pocket and called Kyle.

  “You and Sahdev meet me at the service road where you parked. The forest is crawling with the pastor’s men, chasing after either Hannah or the bomber. Be careful. Over.”

  I stuffed the radio back in my pocket so I could focus on the uneven landscape. Didn’t wanna trip over a branch and face-plant on the forest floor.

  If any of the pastor’s men were trigger happy, sprinting away from the explosion painted a target on my back. Kept out of sight and ahead of any pursuers as I ran. The dumb luck I despised favored me this time. Found the bike without attracting attention and raced toward the rendezvous point.

  Kyle and Sahdev jogged through the trees a few minutes later.

  “The kids got away on a dirt bike.”

  “Kids?” Kyle frowned. “What kids?”

  “Hannah and the bomber. He couldn’t have been more than eighteen. From the way he and Hannah were hanging onto each other, I bet he’s her boyfriend. Probably set the bomb to create a diversion so she could escape.”

  “This way,” a man’s voice called out from nearby.

  Too close. I scanned the trees for any sign of the pastor’s men. “We’ll talk back at Nicole’s cabin.”

  Sahdev and Kyle nodded and jumped into their vehicles. Waited for them to safely pull away before I followed. Half an hour later we met up at Nicole’s cabin.

  We marched into the cabin and took places around the small kitchen table, the most improbable war council ever. An outlaw biker, a spoiled college boy, and an idealistic doctor. Improbable, yeah, but we were all more than our archetypes, and we were going to take down an armed cult.

  “Tell us what you saw.” Sahdev opened our deliberations.

  “Last night I watched a tall man wearing a hoodie bury something by the fence. I assumed he was an adult. After it exploded, I figured he was probably the man who blew up The Dalles Dam. I mean, how many men are running around setting explosives right now?”

  “One’s more than enough,” Kyle muttered.

  “Long story short, the same guy met
Hannah after she went over the fence. He’d stashed a dirt bike nearby, so they were able to get away clean. Before they rode off, he pushed back his hood so I could see his face. Shocked the hell outta me. He was a kid. Yelled ‘Tell Pastor Bill he can go fuck himself.’ Then they took off.”

  A pause while they mulled over my words, then Sahdev broke the silence. “Because you were chasing him, he presumed that you were one of the pastor’s men.”

  “Yeah, insulting as fuck, but guess I can’t blame him. If Hannah had turned around and looked, she would have recognized me, but she kept her face buried in his back.”

  “So, what do we know for sure?” Kyle held up one finger. “First, Nicole helped Hannah escape from the camp.” He held up a second finger. “Second, a teenage boy planted a bomb and blew a hole in the fence. Everything else is conjecture.”

  “You’re right. There’s more that we don’t know than we do.” Following Kyle’s lead, Sahdev raised one finger. “Why did Nicole help Hannah flee from the camp, and why did the girl want to run?” Another finger. “Assuming the teenage boy planted a bomb in order to help his girlfriend escape, did the same boy blow up the cabin and the dam? And if he did, what was his motivation?” He raised a third finger. “And most importantly, is Kenzie being held in that camp? And if so, how can we rescue her?”

  Sahdev and I were on the same page with that last one. That was the most important question, although I suspected that everything was bound together in one not-so-tidy little bundle.

  “We need information. We gotta find Hannah and her boyfriend before the pastor’s men do. Find out if she knows where Mac is. Find out what’s going on with Nicole—if she’s still Team Bill or if she’s flipped. Find out what the boyfriend’s deal is, if he’s just a new and improved version of Caleb going for bigger targets, or if something else is going on.”

  Both men nodded.

  “Here’s my plan. We track down the kids. Make them talk. We’ll have to avoid being seen by Bill’s men, and we have to get to the kids before they do. If Hannah and her boyfriend don’t have any useful information—or if we can’t find them—we approach Nicole. We’ll position ourselves around the camp after dark tonight. If anybody sees Nicole, radio me and I’ll go in after her. Nobody sees her, I’ll have to go over the fence looking for her.”