She laughed. “No way!” How would it look for the leaders of the convoy, the highly-prepared park rangers, to go around begging for warm coats? Her body shivered again—it didn’t care about professional image. “Well, I don’t know. Maybe we’ll have to if it keeps getting colder.”
The lights continued to shine on the twisty road up the face of the mountainous terrain, and she tried to get a sense of whether they were on the move, or not. She didn’t know the road that well; at a guess, the people couldn’t be more than a mile or two ahead, and they should be close to the summit.
A breath caught in her throat the instant she focused her eyes back on the road. “Oh no!” She hit the brakes as the dark shape came up fast, her truck slid on the black snow, then clanked bumpers with the parked car.
A second later, a vehicle tapped her rear bumper.
“Crap,” she exclaimed.
“You want me to take pictures for insurance purposes?” he mused, holding up his all-purpose watch.
“I think we’re beyond that now,” she replied.
The impact with the car ahead knocked the snow from it. Grace vaguely recognized the autumn-orange sports car as one of the many vehicles that had passed her near Gardner Canyon. It had been left in the middle of the lane.
“I’ve got to check it out,” she said with disappointment in her voice.
The door creaked on its hinges as she exited the truck. Behind her, other members of her convoy already stood by open doors, trying to figure out why she’d stopped. Their headlights barely provided enough light to see what she was doing.
The wind almost stole her hat as she walked up to the sports car, so she held it tight while peering inside. No one was in the front or rear seats. “Thanks for parking it here,” she complained to the invisible driver.
On the walk back, she noticed her front bumper was pushed down, as if it had tried to get underneath the other car. With the proper force, she could probably break it clean off the truck.
“Why’d they stop?” Asher wondered aloud as she hopped back inside.
“No idea. Maybe they ran out of gas. They also might have jumped into another vehicle when it started to snow. These rear-wheel-drive cars are terrible in slick conditions.” Her dad knew a thing or two about cars; he always told her to buy a front-wheel drive vehicle for that reason. It didn’t snow much in Kentucky, but they did get ice. Her first car was front-wheel drive as a result.
“Should we keep going?” he asked, sounding like he wanted to turn around.
She took off her hat and set it on the center console next to with Asher’s. The fire was far enough behind them it was no longer a threat. The terrain outside was bare and rocky, with nothing to burn. If they stopped in place, they might wait out the snow and the fire. Only a couple thoughts kept her from turning off the motor to wait it out.
If the snow kept falling, the road over the top might become impassable. The strange weather might ensure it didn’t open for days, or even weeks. She didn’t want to risk a long delay in getting back to her parents. Not when she was already so close to the top.
Plus, if she stopped, she’d have to deal with Misha. The blue and red flashing lights of Tessa’s truck seemed far away, obscured by the thick falling snow, but he was almost certainly in her truck.
The decision to proceed was in her head when a bright crack of lightning crossed the sky. Though muted by the low-hanging clouds and oily snow, there was no doubt what it was. A moment later, the thunderclap roared by, amplified by her missing windows. The broken glass in the rear compartment rattled for a few seconds until it was done.
“Thundersnow?” Asher said with wonder. “Think someone is trying to tell us something?”
She put the truck in four-wheel drive, then pretended she wasn’t burdened with doubt about which was the correct path. She had no desire to go back. “We can’t stop now. Onward!”
Land Between the Lakes, KY
The AR hung limply at Ezra’s side as he put up his hands. “We don’t want any trouble. We’re only passing through.”
A twenty-something young man wiped mud from his face with a small dish towel. He’d been one of the men helping get the Jeep out of the soupy quagmire. The others trained black pistols on him and Butch.
“We don’t want any trouble, either. Why are you guys sneaking around in the woods out there?”
“We aren’t sneaking,” Ezra replied. “We saw your biker friends and thought they were out looking for trouble, so we dove into the woods. We had a couple of bicycles and intended to go down the North-South trail, until we realized bikes don’t do so well in deep mud and over fallen timbers.”
“Where you headed?”
“Yellowstone,” Ezra answered without hesitation.
The leader shared a laugh with some of his helpers, then turned back to Ezra. “And we’re headed to the Easter Jeep Safari…” His tone of voice suggested there was a punchline.
Ezra had spent a lifetime working on trucks for the post office, though most of that was dealing with the newer Grumman models, rather than the older Jeeps. He did pick up some of the lingo, including knowing the Jeep Safari was always held in Utah, but he couldn’t fashion a reply before the man went on.
“Bah, it’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand.” The guys chuckled at the stereotypical Jeeper catchphrase, then the lead man got serious. “Good luck, wherever you’re going. We haven’t even been able to leave our campsite, and we’ve been at it since first light.”
The man gave him and Butch an appraising look. “I’m Colby. These people are members of our Jeep club.”
“Jeep stands for just empty every pocket, right?” Ezra bantered. It was a joke he’d been saying since he was a teenager.
“You can say that again,” Colby said, lightening up. He waved to his men and they pocketed their pistols and went back to their tasks.
Ezra held out a hand, which Colby accepted. “Nice to meet you,” Ezra gushed. “We haven’t met anyone friendly out here until you all.”
Colby was soaked to the bone, like his companions. He wore jeans, cowboy boots, and a black T-shirt with a picture of a Jeep Wrangler on the front. His grimy ball cap also had a Jeep on it. After shaking Ezra’s hand, he waved to the motorcyclists, and they roared off. “We’re trying to keep watch of the trails around us. A couple of our people used those bikes to cross the bridge to see if things were better over there. Apparently, they aren’t.”
“We’re from that side of the bridge,” Ezra shared. “Your guys are right. Lots of people died when the meteorite came down. Everyone left is scared, and we confirmed there aren’t going to be any emergency services for a long time. They all went to Paducah and got trapped.”
Colby motioned to the Jeep stuck in the mud. “I guess we shouldn’t bother calling 9-1-1 to help us get out, huh?”
Butch spoke up. “Not unless you want to be disappointed.” He held out his hand. “Name’s Butch.”
Colby shook hands with the ex-soldier and seemed impressed with the big man’s arms. “I guess you two wouldn’t be willing to give us a hand here, would you? We need some brute force like yours to push us out.”
“Why didn’t your bikers help you?” he asked in a joking manner.
“Those are our wives and girlfriends,” Colby answered, seemingly serious.
“Really?” he said, impressed. The white jumpsuits of the riders had been covered in lots of brown mud and appeared sexless. He’d assumed they were all male.
“We race the bikes,” Colby gestured to the men nearby, “but those ladies know how to ride them. A few race in the women’s divisions, too. They take care of each other as they keep an eye out for trouble. Not everyone is as well-behaved as you two.”
“Well, they sure fooled us,” Ezra responded, glancing at Butch. “Though now that we’re here, we can definitely help you out.”
“Good,” Colby replied in a businesslike tone. “When we’re out, we’ll all go back to our main camp and discuss
where you can go next.”
Ezra smiled with acceptance of terms but remained wary.
The man was leaving something out.
Isla Socorro, Mexico
Petteri watched the TKM SUV pull up to the front of his villa, pleased one more piece of his puzzle had come together. When the woman climbed out of the back, she looked lost. Then, when she saw him, there was a flash of recognition.
“Mr. Tikkanen?” she asked with astonishment. “You’re the one who brought me here?”
Petteri walked to the top landing of the entry steps and waited for her to climb to him. Symbolism was everything. “Yes, of course,” he said in an untroubled voice. “Welcome to Isla Socorro, Diedre.”
She came up and stood next to him. “Sir, what’s this all about?” She spoke quieter. “You’re the exact person I needed to talk to. There was a comms blackout between ops and the ship, sir. I think…”
The woman looked around, perhaps checking for spies.
“I think someone sabotaged the mission. I tried to tell my supervisor, but she didn’t know why our link was cut, either. She might have been lying to me.”
Petteri pretended to be concerned. “I’m sure there has to be a reasonable explanation, but thank you for bringing this to my attention. Come inside. We’ll talk about that and much more.”
The woman relaxed, then looked around the tropical entryway as if she realized she was at a luxury villa. “This has all been kind of amazing. Last night, I was in flight operations when someone from HR told me I had to get on a plane at that very second; I was in danger. Now, I’m meeting you.”
He chuckled. “The quick extraction was for your own safety. We didn’t know where the pieces of 586001 Tuonela were going to fall.” The woman was very pretty, with wavy brown hair with hazel-brown eyes. If anyone had to be saved from the flight center, he was glad it was her. Even if it wasn’t altruism that brought her to his remote island.
“Well, uh, sir, thank you for getting me to safety, but I wanted to stick around until the end, you know? Those people up on the Petteri-2 were like family. I would have liked to see where the remains of their ship came down.”
Captain Davis and his crew had detonated their drive reactor to break apart the asteroid. He couldn’t imagine why he would care where the ship debris landed on Earth. Still, he was willing to lead with the carrot. “As I said, I needed to ensure company employees were taken out of the projected impact zone, so you, and the others, were taken to safety. As the boss of the entire operation, it was my first priority. Soon, I’m going to need our team members to go back to Texas and the disaster zone. TKM will be at the forefront of the recovery efforts. We have an obligation to humanity.”
She nodded, appearing to come around. “I’ll do whatever I can. I want to help. While I’m waiting, can I have my phone back? I want to call my brother and let him know I’m all right.”
“Your brother is named Asher, isn’t he?” Petteri asked in an offhand way.
“You know him?” she replied with misgiving.
“I make an effort to know all my high-profile employees. I read up about you and your brother while you were on your way here. Do you know where he is?”
That seemed to satisfy her. “Well, not really. I think he’s in Montana. After last night, though, I’m not even sure Montana is still on the map.”
Petteri smiled, seeing opportunity grace his presence once again. “I’ll make sure you get your phone as soon as the luggage comes over from the airport. Then, I would be forever grateful if you could ensure your brother is still alive. He’s one of my top geologists; I have some important tasks for him to do in the impact zone, assuming he’s already close to it, and safe, of course.”
“I really appreciate your offer to track him down.” Diedre smiled, but her eyes remained distant. Perhaps it was the late-night flight. He also considered there was something else behind that look. She was the leak responsible for getting information to her brother out in the field. She had to know she’d been brought to the island as more than a safety precaution, but the clever woman wasn’t letting on. It didn’t matter to him; she was right where he wanted her.
“You are most welcome. I’m always here to help.”
They stood there for a few moments before he motioned to the driver of the SUV, who had been standing near the vehicle. “Please take Ms. Creighton to one of the guest houses. Make sure she has everything she needs to be comfortable.”
“And my phone,” she added.
“And make sure her belongings all make it to her.” He didn’t mention they were too far from the nearest cell tower to get a signal. Unless she was connected to his private network, she’d have no access of any kind while on the island.
Petteri’s phone rang, giving him the perfect excuse to bid Diedre goodbye. He tapped his screen as she got back in the vehicle. “Hello?”
“This is Howard. I have some news from my man in Yellowstone.”
“Really? That’s perfect timing. I was just talking to Creighton’s sister.”
Howard laughed. “Misha left a report on my voicemail this morning. It came through, with about a hundred other messages, when the nationwide network limped back to life.”
“And?” he said impatiently.
“Sir, he said Asher and the park ranger have been terminated. Lost during the explosion caused by the falling debris.”
A hundred pounds magically lifted off his shoulders. It was a minor thing in the grand scheme of his disaster response plans, but he was saddled with a brain that thrived on doing things in the proper order, one after the other. Having Asher as a constant threat to his version of the truth made all the subsequent steps seem fraught with peril. Now, with the last problem of phase one out of the way, the next phases could proceed free and clear.
“Howard, my good man, I’m going to give both of you a big promotion.”
“Shall I tell him we were only kidding about hurting his family? He mentioned it a bunch of times in his call. I think it really motivated him.”
He’d used the Russian man’s family as a threat to get him to do as instructed, and it seemed to work beyond expectations. Why mess with a good thing? “No, let him sweat it out. Do we even know where his family is?”
“We know,” Howard said dryly on the other end of the line.
Chapter 11
Beartooth Highway, WY
“Don’t look down,” Grace joked as she pointed out her window. The falling snow and black clouds continued to make it seem like night, with just enough light to see over the edge of the cliff. She gripped the wheel with iron clamps as they made a hairpin turn up another switchback. They were near the pass, but as the road neared the top, she was dismayed to find cliff edges and deep valleys on both sides of the route.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t looked at anything except my hands since we passed the stopped car. No pictures, either.” Asher held his hands on the heater vent.
“This road is closed in wintertime,” she said dryly.
“I can see why,” he replied. “Snow and cliffsides are two things that should never go together. Plus, have you noticed there aren’t enough guardrails? Why wouldn’t they have guardrails along every foot of this highway?”
The headlights of the Chevy were barely able to cut through the soot-stained snow. Thankfully, the highway planners had placed tall poles on each side of the road, so she had a guide to follow. There were vague indications of tire tracks, too. Those were made by the vehicles ahead of her; they were probably already over the pass and going down the far side, where she wanted to be.
“We’re almost at the top. I’m going to stop and make sure everyone makes it. We’re getting too strung out.” She looked in the rearview mirror. Tessa’s police lights weren’t visible anymore, though flash bulbs of lightning peppered the dense clouds. Thunder rumbled with each burst.
“Any chance we could ride with Tessa and Chester?” he asked. She assumed their truck was warm and toasty. She didn’t
blame him for asking—she would have preferred to be there, as well. Nevertheless, the park service Chevy was her responsibility. Leaving it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.
“You can ride with them, if you want,” she replied. “I’m going to stay with this one.” Grace guided the truck onto what looked like a broad parking area near the summit of the pass. There was already six inches of snow on the ground, but large rocks lined the edges of the lot, tracing how much room was available.
Asher turned to her. “You know I’m with you, but this ride is murder. I’m going to freeze to death in here.”
“At least we’re safe from lightning in this metal cage, right?”
He laughed. “Yeah. I guess you’re a glass half-full gal, huh?”
She pulled into the lot and went to the far end, so her beat-up truck would remain the first in the line when it was time to go down. The next car in line followed her tire tracks and stopped where she did. The rest of the convoy filled in behind them.
“I’ll be right back,” she said.
“Leave the heater on,” he pleaded.
“Wow, you’ve never been out in the cold, have you?” she teased.
“I’ve been in the cold plenty of times, but I’ve always been dressed for it. This national parks uniform doesn’t do much to stop the biting temps, plus I’m sure you’ve noticed there aren’t windows or a back door on our truck.” He laughed. “That’s why I figured we could jump ship.”
“You still can,” she responded while opening the door. Grace didn’t tell him she hoped he would stay. Driving on the darkened roadway was fraying her nerves as it was. Doing it alone would be unbearable.
As soon as her foot touched the snow, a truck sped by on the road next to the lot.
“Hey, wait!” she shouted, trotting through the deep snow toward the roadway. A few others chased the lead truck, including a small RV with a mess of bicycles lashed to the rear ladder. Watching them drive away, she wondered if they even knew the main convoy had pulled over. By the time she reached the road to flag them down, the group of vehicles had disappeared into the false night.
Impact Series Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 28