“Tell me, Dorothy, when you came up with this novel idea, how did you intend to convince the world this wasn’t the last desperate act of TKM? If they found out we were talking about this, my company would be ruined.”
She giggled. “Sir, it’s easy. Can you think of anyone from our meeting who seemed a bit unhinged? Someone who might do absolutely anything to get revenge for what those people did to her husband?”
He steepled his fingers at the edge of the table.
“As a matter of fact, I can…”
Chapter 5
Teton National Park, WY
It took Grace ten minutes to explain each dent and scrape on her truck. Randy stood next to her with a pen and clipboard, dutifully logging her escapades as if she’d failed a driving test.
“And you couldn’t have avoided the plane?” he asked in a mocking voice.
Randy McTavish was a lifer in the park service. He was pushing fifty, his receding hairline carefully hidden by his hat, with tired, flabby skin from too many tans. He also had disturbingly pungent bad breath, borne from years of smoking. When he spoke from nearby, she had to move a few feet to escape his dragon’s breath.
“At the time I was more worried about the man who wanted to kill me.”
“Ah, yes, the man who put the bullet hole in your windshield, too. It does seem you have a lot of—” He noticed sunlight coming into the cargo bed from the fist-sized hole in the roof. “Holy shit on a shingle! What caused that?”
She couldn’t stop herself from laughing. The entire process was a joke. A week ago, when he was sitting in the back row of her first solo campfire talk, she’d been terrified of how he would judge her and critique every mistake. Now, after brushing against the wall of the afterlife for so many days, she had no fear of the man at all. Without fear, she realized she held no respect for him, either. “Yeah, well, here’s something I didn’t know. Military helicopters unleash these big machine gun rounds with fiery tracers. One of them came through my truck, nearly hitting my gas tank. Can you imagine what this vehicle would have looked like if that had happened?”
Some of the gathered rangers laughed with her, but not Randy. He gawked at the hole in the roof, then his eyes followed a line to the cargo floor, where the companion hole was located. Since the windows were busted out, it made it easy to see into the back. “What the hell?”
Grace stood on her tiptoes to look inside, though she was certain what had him enthralled. “Those are the guns we’ve been collecting. The big one is Finnish, from World War II.” She’d forgotten the model number Misha had rattled off.
All the rangers crowded around to see it. Many whistled as if impressed, though some also scoffed with obvious disapproval. It had never crossed her mind while she worked at the park, but not all of them were the type of gun-friendly people she’d been with lately. Unlike before, such a fearful attitude could get them killed out in the world.
Randy struggled for words. “You’re leading some type of rebellion. Having this much firepower isn’t normal. It can’t even be legal!”
“Actually,” she began, “lots of people would say I’ve got a nice starter kit, but not a proper collection. As I said, the TKM jerks have hand grenades, helicopters, machine guns, and who knows what else. It’s the reason I came back. We need everyone in the area to gang up on the dig site and take it out.” She didn’t know the military jargon to describe what she wanted, but her point was made.
He wrote some more things on his clipboard, but soon Randy slid it under his arm. After a brief look to the gathered rangers, he cast his eyes on Grace. “I know this has been the most unusual week in the history of our park, and I do appreciate you helping tourists escape the forest fire, but almost every minute beyond that has been wasted on non-park-related activities. Billings. Crow Agency. Denver. You could have gotten yourself killed a dozen times over.” He pointed to the gaping hole in the roof. “And getting yourself tangled with the military is not proper ranger behavior.”
“It wasn’t the military shooting. It was an assassin.” She kept her voice level and professional, though it was becoming clear Randy didn’t believe her.
“Whatever,” he blurted. “Until we get this figured out, and make amends with whoever you’ve harmed out there, I’m going to put a hold on your probationary period. This is simply too serious to allow to go on without some kind of…of…penalty.”
Grace would have to make a serious effort to care less about his threats today, though she never wanted to be a park ranger more in her entire life. As long as he didn’t threaten to put her in jail, she was fine with whatever he said.
She returned to what she wanted. “We can discuss that all later. Right now, you have to talk to your bosses. Get them to organize a force of park rangers. We’re the perfect people to go to the dig site and keep the peace.” She meant take it over but didn’t think it would sound as polished. Randy was already on edge about all the damage she’d caused.
“Talk about it later?” he huffed. “I don’t even recognize you anymore. You were on the path to being a good addition to our team, but this person you’ve become…” He seemed to search for the right words. “You’re more suitable for the Army!”
She smiled, taking it as a compliment, but spoke without emotion. “I’m sorry we don’t see eye to eye on this. Tell whoever is left in the upper ranks about what’s going on down there. I have people you can call to confirm what I say is true. We have to act!”
Randy walked from the rear of the truck to the front, hammering the side panels with a balled fist as he went. “This truck is a total loss. Park it, get your stuff out, and find one of the temporary camp sites. You’re benched, Miss Anderson.”
“Just freaking ask them!” she screamed, coming unglued.
He stopped to face her. “I’ll tell them all right. You don’t have to worry.”
She was aware of the other rangers. Rather than lose her cool and give him a piece of her mind, she simmered a bit, then relaxed. “Thanks. The sooner we get help to our Wyoming friends to the south, the sooner Yellowstone can get back to normal. That’s my dream after the nation gets on its feet.”
Her boss took off his hat and wiped his brow, showing a rare glimpse of his scalp. It seemed as if his hair had retreated two or three inches since their last meeting. It created a moment of sympathy for the guy. He’d shared in the pain of the forest fire, same as she had. The last week hadn’t been easy on anyone.
When he put his hat back on, the connection disappeared. He furrowed his brows. “That truck better be parked by the time I come back out.”
She nodded. “Oh, it will.”
Green River, WY
“I’ll kill you!” Calvin shouted as he lunged for Ezra. Butch made an effort to block the hit, but the thin Crow man was fast. He landed a blow on the side of Ezra’s face, causing him to fall backward. However, before the man could follow it up with a more punishing barrage, the TKM guard cracked the man on the back of the skull. He fell to the concrete as if turned off.
Butch, to his credit, got a leg under Calvin before he hit the surface.
“Stand back,” the guard said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’ll off these two civvies and we can be on our way.”
Ezra whipped his head toward the girl. She was petrified in place next to the truck.
“No!” he replied. “I know this won’t make sense, but I want to leave them alive. They didn’t know it…” He winked at the girl, hoping she got the message. “But they saved our lives. Now I want to do the same for them.”
“Whatever.” The man picked up Calvin’s dropped rifle and Butch’s pistol, then headed back toward the strip mall. “But a thank you would have been nice.”
There was no way to talk to the girl. A half-dozen TKM men swarmed around them, as if to make sure they left with the prisoners they’d come to free. After a few awkward glances at his friends, he decided the only thing to do was get the mining company men out of there as soon as possible.
He immediately mentally kicked himself for using his real name. The unique nature of it would make it instantly recognizable to anyone looking for him. He held his breath as they walked…
“I’m Christian.”
“Hey,” he replied, making sure Butch and Haley kept up with him. “We’re wondering how the heck you rescued us so fast?” It wasn’t more than fifteen minutes since they’d been plucked from the hotel parking lot. If TKM was that organized, he was going to have a hard time getting close to the rock to meet with Grace.
Christian acknowledged his question by pointing to the rocky hill behind the town. “We were scouting the highway from the ridgeline. Saw you get ambushed by those locals. We came down to put an end to it. Now we’re heading back to base to report in.”
Ezra looked around, searching for a way out. He noticed people at the far edge of the strip mall, as well as cars waiting far down the roadway. Since the shooting had stopped, he expected them to get closer. Medical people would soon run to the injured and dead from the Crow convoy. There was no obvious way for him to get away from Christian’s men, but he took a stab at it. “You mind if we get back to what we were doing? We’ll have to find another truck, of course, but…”
Christian was an imposing figure at six-and-a-half feet. His ripped chest under his blue shirt, along with his swagger on the battlefield, suggested he was ex-military. He was probably an officer based on his age. “I’m the tip of the spear out here. It was lucky we found you guys, but what the hell were you doing here? There shouldn’t be any TKM left this far out. Unless you’re one of the strays coming in from far away?”
Ezra’s expression lit up. “Yes! We’ve been trying to get to the dig site for days. The traffic didn’t help.” He pointed to the nearby highway, which still wasn’t moving a bit. Absently, he wondered how Christian and his men planned to travel if the roads were clogged.
“You three are either stupid or lucky. You should have been told how to get there without waiting for all these vehicles. No wonder you’re late.”
Butch was about to speak, but Ezra stopped him.
“My friends and I were in some tough spots. We didn’t get any memos, but we’re glad we happened to be where you could save us.” He hated himself for buddying up to the guy. Those men and women lying in the street were his real friends and allies, but he was now committed to appearing an asshole, along with all the other TKM people he’d met. “Can we get our gear from our truck?”
Christian waved over two other serious-looking security guys. “Make sure these three get to that truck over there so they can clear it out. Then make sure they make it back to the convoy. We leave in five minutes. Hustle!”
Ezra had to run to make it to the truck. When he got there and saw all his weapons lying in the back, he was worried the guards were going to say they couldn’t take them, but when they didn’t, he and Butch started collecting gear. He snuck a peek at Calvin and the girl still by the first vehicle. The man stirred on the pavement, suggesting he was coming around. That was good news.
One of the guards whistled using two fingers, getting the attention of two more of Christian’s men. “Hey! Look at all these guns! These guys need a hand.”
“No, we’re—” Ezra stopped himself. He’d been wondering if he could pull a fast one and cut down the two guards while they were separated from the others, but he still didn’t know how many TKM men were around. If there were still guards on the hilltop, they might be watching him through a scope. It would suck to die for absolutely nothing. Ezra laughed to sound friendly.
“We’re going to need as much help as we can get.”
They were trapped.
“You got it,” the guard assured him.
Chapter 6
Teton National Park, WY
Before Grace had a chance to digest her not-so-friendly encounter with Randy, the other rangers crowded around her, anxious to know more details about the damage done to her work vehicle.
“You guys believe me?” she asked, confused as to how they could have such a different opinion of her.
A young redheaded woman stepped up. For a ranger, she looked properly dirty. Her green pants were severely discolored below the knees, suggesting she’d been walking in mud or muck recently. The rest of her uniform was sweat-stained and crumpled. “You’re an honest-to-God hero, ma’am. We heard about you from the people you saved going north out of Mammoth a while back. They all called the park service headquarters telling tales about a ranger named Grace who got them out of harm’s way.”
She scratched her head. “I don’t remember making a big deal about myself. I’m not even sure they knew my name.”
“Well, you told someone your name, and they told others in your group. I’m sure everyone knew it by the time you were home free.”
Grace was still confused. “Then why doesn’t Randy know what happened?” She looked at the woman. “What’s your name, by the way?”
She smiled brightly. “I’m Candice O’Reilly, but everyone wants to call me Candy.”
Asher waved to the woman. “Hi.”
“Nice to meet you,” Grace went on. “By the way, I love the red of your hair. It makes me wish I had red hair.”
“Thanks. Sometimes I wish I was a blonde, like you. That’s how it is, right?” Candy addressed her original question. “You know how it is with the brass. They only see dollar signs sitting here on the lot.” She pointed to the Suburban. “And not an instrument of value in your rescue efforts. He probably gets a bonus each year if the trucks don’t need any repairs.”
She shook her head. “It can’t be that simple. Randy isn’t a total jackass.” It was true, she figured, at least before the asteroid fell. He was someone who made her nervous back then, but it was mostly a result of her being new to the job. Now that she had some miles behind her, she recognized how silly it was to be afraid of anyone in the park service.
Candy shrugged. “You told him your story, and deep down he might even believe it. He said he would pass it on, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up about how he’ll phrase it. He’s probably telling his boss, and his boss’s boss, not to blame him for your swath of destruction.”
Grace walked around the side of her truck, intending to get back in. However, she also spoke to the men and women gathered nearby. “You can see what they did to my truck. Did any of you see or hear of TKM doing anything, uh, illegal, out in the wild?”
A lot of heads shook.
“Crap burgers. I was hoping someone could back me up.”
Candice followed her over to the driver’s door as Asher went to the other side. When she put her hand on the handle, the woman spoke quietly. “Your partner seems nice. Does he work with you up in Yellowstone?”
“Yeah, we’re together,” she said without thinking. Then, realizing it sounded too personal, she added, “At the same station up there.”
Candy smirked. “I wish I had someone like him down here. It’s me and a bunch of women most days. I think Yellowstone sucks up all the good-looking dudes.”
As much as she wanted to share some of her thoughts about how she ended up with Asher, both personally and professionally, she didn’t want to do it there, so she changed the topic. “Oh, you work here in the Tetons?”
Candy nodded enthusiastically, shifting gears smoothly with her. “I started last year. Up until everything went to pot, this has been the best time of my life.”
Grace turned reflective. This was supposed to be her best year, too. She had no regrets how things had gone down over the past several days, but it bothered her how much she worried about the man discussing her fate inside the ranger station. If Randy was going to be such a thorn in her side, maybe she should quit. Then her absence would prove how valuable she was.
“I’m not quitting,” Grace blurted, squashin
g her counterproductive inner thoughts. Leaving would serve no one, especially her.
The redhead giggled, then whispered. “Of course not. Us girls have to stick together. If you’re going south, I might—”
Randy came out through the glass doors of the station, catching everyone’s attention. People moved to give him room to walk down to the truck. Whatever flaws he had, Grace recognized he was a leader.
“I called the offices in Denver to confirm with them. They want your vehicle impounded. You’re being suspended, with pay, while we sort this out.”
Her shoulders slumped. “So, you aren’t going to help me go south?”
Randy chuckled. “I told you earlier that’s not the mission of the National Park Service. Whatever is going on down there, the police or National Guard can handle it. If you want to stay a park ranger, I suggest you do exactly as you’re told. Park the truck over there, clean it out as best you can, then wait for whatever comes next.”
The man pointed to the far end of the lot where other NPS Suburbans were lined up, then he turned and walked back into the ranger station.
Candy spoke first. “So, what are you going to do?”
Green River, WY
After being “rescued” from Calvin and his Crow allies, Christian and his band of TKM guards had loaded Ezra, Butch, and Haley and all their gear into the back of yet another pickup truck. They’d avoided the busy highway by traveling up a narrow ravine, then over the ridgeline above the town. Beyond there, they drove into…nothing.
“These must be old mining roads or something,” Ezra said as he coughed on the dust of the gravel and dirt track taking them through the hilly backcountry north of Green River. The landscape was riddled with washed-out canyons and low hills, but it was also dry as bone, which made the dust intolerable. “Only a local would know how to get through.”
Impact Series Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 104