“The Army has a way of doing things, the same way.”
Pine rushed off to do this.
Roth said to Kettler, “But we can’t climb out of here with the nuke. It’s too heavy to carry all that way. It was hard enough taking it from the other cave to this one.”
“We can do it if we all take turns,” said Kettler. “And use the lifting thing you brought.”
“But what about Agent Pine?” said Roth.
“Hell, she’s probably stronger than both of us put together. Now come on.”
They raced back into the other space, and Kettler helped Roth enclose the nuke in a large camouflage bag Roth had brought down. Kettler took off his go pack and said, “I’ll carry it first. Show me how the lift thing works.”
Roth helped Kettler into the apparatus and then had Kettler back up to the nuke and squat down. Roth strapped in the nuke to the lifting pack.
“Okay, the pack’s pulley and weight redistribution systems and the exoskeleton’s battery-powered features will carry about fifty percent of the load. That makes what you’re carrying about seventy pounds or so. It’s not that bad.”
“My ruck in the Army was eighty pounds. So, no problem.”
Kettler slowly stood and steadied himself. “Okay.”
They moved back out into the main cave area.
“What’s the status?” he called out to Pine, who still stood by the opening.
“It’s starting to make one more pass,” she said. “Hold on.” About thirty seconds elapsed after the sounds of the chopper materialized once more. Then, the engine and prop noise started to filter away.
“Okay, it looks like they’ve moved on.”
Kettler explained the plan to Pine.
She glanced at her watch. “It’s two in the morning. There’s no way we’re going to hike out of here before dawn, especially carrying that thing. And they might be waiting at the top of every trail anyway.”
“Every corridor trail, but probably not every threshold or primitive trail,” said Kettler, using the Park Service’s technical designation terms for trails in the canyon.
“What’s that mean?” said Roth.
Pine looked at him. “They’re not maintained. So they’re a lot more difficult.”
“Harder than the trail I came down on the mule?” he said.
Kettler nodded. “Yes, by quite a factor. And the one closest to us is actually a combination of two trails. The trailhead lets off on the North Rim. Near a Forest Service Road. It’s not a primitive trail, it’s a threshold, but, it’s still very challenging. At least it’s not the Nankoweap Trail. I’ve done that twice and it’s a bitch. A lot of the trail is like inches away from thousand-foot-or-more drops. Definitely not for the fainthearted. But the trail we’ll be going on has some of those, too.”
Pine said, “Do we have the necessary equipment to do that?”
He held up his go pack. “In here I have climbing ropes and D-links. If we rope all three of us together?”
She looked at Roth. “You good with that?”
“I’m good,” he said. “Like I said, I’ve hiked these trails before.”
“Right,” said Kettler. “But not like the one we’re going up.”
Roped together, they hiked east to the trail and started up. Roth was roped in between Pine and Kettler, who knew the trail and was thus in the lead.
“You good with that load?” Pine asked Kettler.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, but we’ll switch out every two hours.”
They followed the contour of the Colorado until they reached a creek flowing directly into the river. Kettler located the first cairn, a stack of stones wired together, marking the entrance to the trail. They had not gone very far before they reached a climb point where the creek was quite high. Pine could see that Roth was struggling with both the pace and the terrain.
She jogged ahead and caught up to Roth.
“Okay, this might get a little dicey, so we’re going to do this the smart way.”
She called out to Kettler, who quickly joined them. Despite Roth’s objections, they used the rope to help him over the ascent and also to make it through part of the creek overflow. Pine grabbed his belt and pulled him over the final hurdle, where he lay wet and breathless at their feet.
“Okay,” said Roth. “I might have overestimated my climbing abilities. I’m not in my twenties anymore. And, to be honest, the hikes I did with Ben kicked my ass.”
Pine said, “Don’t worry, we’re going to get you out of here.”
They started climbing a half hour later, after Roth was sufficiently rested and Pine had taken over carrying the nuke pack. The trail was crumbling in some parts and nonexistent in other parts.
Pine noted the growing anxiety in Roth’s features as the path became steeper and increasingly twisty. She patted him on the shoulder as they finished a particularly vicious part. “You’re doing fine, Mr. Roth.”
“I’m David. With the situation we’re in, I think we’ve earned the right to use first names.”
“I’m Atlee and he’s Sam.”
Roth managed a weak smile, but the anxious look remained on his features.
They made good time. Pine checked her watch. Dawn would be coming soon.
“What’s that sound?” asked Roth anxiously.
“The falls,” replied Kettler. “Coming off the river up here. The river turns south into the creek we crossed, and then it ends at the Colorado. Watch your footing. It gets a little slick up here.”
They made their way across a broad valley. After that, some nasty switchbacks appeared, which they had to traverse.
Pine called out, “Sam, I think we need to stop and rest.”
Kettler looked back at Roth, who was looking exceedingly unsteady on his feet. “Right.”
They made camp, digging into the cliffs as much as they could. They set the nuke pack against the side of the mountain, as far away from the edge as possible.
After they’d eaten and hydrated, Roth fell asleep on a thin sleeping bag that Kettler had laid out for him. They were on the northwestern side of the Canyon, so the dawn would be coming to them more slowly than if they’d been on the eastern end.
The pair sat there with their backs against the rock, the M4s in hand.
“You think he’ll be okay?” asked Kettler.
“I don’t know. I figure he’s about fifteen or maybe even twenty years older than us, and he’s not used to this. And he’s been down here a long time. It takes it out of you, as you well know. But he did carry that pack all the way to the other cave. That was no mean feat.”
“Right.”
“You want to get some shut-eye, I can keep watch,” offered Pine.
Kettler shook his head. “I’m good.”
They fell silent.
“So, the fate of the world hangs on, what, us?” said Kettler.
“Apparently so.”
“Really not what I signed up for, joining the Park Service.”
“Well, it’s what I signed up for,” replied Pine.
He turned to her and smiled. “I’m glad you’re here, Atlee. If it were just me and Roth, I might be freaking out.”
“No, you’d be doing just what you’re doing: what it takes to complete the mission.” She paused. “But if you weren’t here, I think I’d be freaking out.”
Kettler stared out at the rock walls surrounding them. “You know there are five ecological life zones in the Canyon? The same number you’d get going from Mexico all the way to Canada.”
She glanced at him. “You’re just a font of Grand Canyon trivia.”
“I go to a place, I find out about it. Just how I’m wired.”
“Can we try to hike some more before it gets too hot?” she asked.
“Not much shade on this trail. And the day looks like it’s going to get warm really fast. You and I can do it, but I doubt he can. And we go up much farther, there’s really no cover. And it gets steep with a lot of switchbacks.”
; “And if the chopper comes back, we’d be easy targets.”
“So, night then? From here, with Roth in tow, we can make it to the top in about six hours. Before the next dawn.”
They both looked out into the dark once more.
“Sort of feels like we’re sitting in my Jeep,” said Kettler.
“Except no beers.”
He opened his go pack and pulled out a can.
“You’re shitting me,” she said in amazement.
He popped the top and handed it to her.
She gripped the can. “It’s cold. How’d you manage that?”
“Like I told you before, I have my go pack at the ranger station at all times when I’m on duty, just in case of emergencies, or if I want to hike or climb when I’m off duty. One beer is always in there with a battery-powered ‘freeze sleeve.’ Kind of my one indulgence. When I was in the Middle East, the platoon always looked forward to beer night.” He paused, and his smile faded. “It was really the only thing we looked forward to. Except getting shipped home.”
“I’m sure, Sam.” She took a long sip and then handed it back to him. “Damn, now I need a cigarette.”
He grinned, took a swig, and looked down at the can, his features turning first contemplative, and then grim.
She studied him. “Something on your mind?”
He shrugged. “What the hell. Might as well tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
He handed her the beer. “I was leading a foot patrol in this little village, about a hundred clicks outside of Fallujah. Kid, couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven, came out of his house, his mud shack, really. I could’ve knocked it over with a kick. We had some candy. We gave it to him. Had a translator with us. Asked the kid about some Al-Qaeda reported to be in the area. He didn’t know anything, so he said. Then this old woman shows up and she’s angry as hell. Turns out she’s the kid’s granny. She grabbed him, told us to get out. She kept screaming and getting angrier and angrier. Some of the young men in the village started to gather. So we headed out. I took the rear flank.”
He stopped. Beads of sweat had sprouted on his forehead. Pine didn’t think it was from the heat.
She handed him the beer back. “Here, drink this.”
He took a swallow of beer and continued. “When I looked back, the kid had an AK-47. I think Granny had it hidden under her clothing. Damndest thing. And Granny, well, she had a grenade.” He stopped again, the look on his face one of disbelief. “The damn gun was bigger than he was. But he knew how to handle it. I could tell that right away.” He licked his lips. “My guys hadn’t even noticed any of this yet.”
Sensing where this was going, Pine put a hand on his arm. She could feel the heat there.
“I looked at him and then his granny. I’ve never . . . ” He licked his lips again and swallowed with some difficulty. “I’ve never seen hatred like that in my life. Didn’t even know me and hated my guts. Both of them.”
“They hated what you represented and why you were there, Sam.”
“I shot the kid in the leg. I didn’t want to kill him. Just stop him from shooting me and my guys. But the round must have clanged off a bone and caught his femoral. It was a geyser. He was dead just like that. Just fell to the dirt and then . . . ”
“You don’t have to do this,” said Pine, squeezing his arm. “You don’t have to say any more.”
Kettler shook his head, kept going. “Granny looked down at him and then screamed. She looked back up at me, tears streaming down her face. She was getting ready to pull the pin and throw the grenade at us.” He paused but only for a second. “I shot her, too. In the head.” He stopped and looked at her. “You want to know why?”
Pine didn’t say anything, which he apparently took as assent.
“I figured she wouldn’t want to live. So I killed her. I was acting like God, but I wasn’t. I’m not. I didn’t know shit about shit at that moment.”
“You did what you were trained to do. You saved your guys.”
“Yeah, trained to kill kids and grannies. Not what I signed up for, Atlee. Really wasn’t. No way in hell. It’s been over ten years and I still have nightmares about it. I’m pulling the trigger over and over. And they just keep dying.”
“You had no other options, Sam. You were caught in an impossible situation.”
He glanced over at her. “The night I came by with the beers?”
“Yeah?”
“I had that nightmare. Came out of it soaked in sweat. And then . . . I thought about calling you and just . . . seeing you. It . . . helped.”
“I’m glad, Sam.”
They sat in silence for about a minute. The only sounds were the wind and the pounding of water from the river below.
She slipped off her jacket and held up one bare arm, showing her tats. “Mercy was my twin.”
“Was? What happened to her?”
“Somebody came into our bedroom one night and took her when we were six. I never found out what happened to her.”
“God, Atlee. I’m so sorry.”
“I guess that was the reason I joined the Bureau.” She glanced at Kettler. “To make sure other people get justice because . . . because Mercy never did.”
He took her hand and squeezed it. “Can’t think of a better way to spend your life.”
“I don’t really talk about it. Sort of like you.” She looked around. “But now I figured, what the hell, right? Tomorrow seems a long way off, if it ever comes.”
Kettler nodded and said slowly, “I thought I could beat this on my own. But.” He shook his head. “I’m . . . I’m going to get some counseling. The VA has a place not that far off. I’ve got to get this figured out. I came out to this place thinking maybe working here would do the trick, but it hasn’t.”
“Counseling is good, Sam. Really good.”
“Well, we’ll have to see about that.” He sighed and looked away. “You ever think about getting some counseling too? With your sister and all?”
Pine didn’t answer him.
CHAPTER
58
The heat of the day passed with no choppers coming for them. And no teams of uniformed soldiers with M4s scaling the trails after them, either. The reason might have been obvious: The daylight revealed everything.
The rains kicked in while Kettler and Pine had taken turns sleeping. When they rose at ten p.m., the weather system had passed, and the skies had cleared a bit. They woke Roth, and the three of them ate and drank enough to fuel themselves for the final assault to the North Rim.
As they roped up, Kettler put his hand on Roth’s shoulder. “Okay, Dave, here’s the deal. We got some switchbacks coming up and they’re steep. But we’ll get through them. Then it’s long and rough, but doable. Then we get a few miles of fairly flat terrain. After that, we’re going to head east where the trail forks. There are more switchbacks, and it’s a lot more rugged than the trail to the west, but it’s miles shorter. You just watch me and take it slow and easy, and before the light comes, we’re going to be on paved surface roads. Sound good?”
“But what about the pack? It’s my turn to carry it.”
“Atlee and I have decided to divvy up that duty.”
“But it’s not fair to the two of you.”
“You’ve been down in this Canyon a long time. We haven’t. It drains you. Every person has to look at themselves and see what’s best for the team and mission. Same thing you and your team probably do when inspecting WMDs.”
Roth put a hand on Kettler’s shoulder. “It is. And . . . thanks.”
Kettler hoisted the lift pack, and they set off.
Roth struggled at times, and even Pine felt herself having to dig down into extra reserves of strength and endurance. She marveled at Kettler, who just seemed to move like a fluid machine. Even with the lift pack, she could see where he was actually pulling the other two along, making the burden of the climb easier for them, and, correspondingly, harder for himself.
; They turned east at the fork and reached the steep switchbacks.
Kettler glanced back at Roth and put up his hand for them to stop.
“I’m . . . I’m okay,” said Roth breathlessly.
Kettler came back down to him. “Yeah, but I need a breather. My calves are spasming a little. And Atlee can take over the pack.”
“Okay, if you say so,” replied Roth, who collapsed to the ground.
Pine gave Kettler an appreciative look.
Then her features tightened.
Whump-whump-whump.
The sounds of the chopper prop came out of nowhere.
“Headlamps off,” snapped Kettler.
They all switched off their lamps.
Kettler grabbed Roth and pulled him under some scrub pines. Pine quickly joined them.
They all squatted there, frozen, as the searchlight started moving across the steep terrain, like a luminous spider gliding over glass.
Pine found herself holding her breath. The only good thing was there was no place here for the chopper to land.
But then she envisioned a cannon opening up on them from the air if the light found them. She gripped the M4 and thought how best to shoot out the chopper’s tail prop, if need be.
It seemed like the aircraft hovered over them for an eternity. But Pine’s watch showed it was only a couple of minutes. Then it rose, moved to the east, cleared a ridge, and was gone.
They didn’t move for a few more minutes, just to make sure.
Finally, when the sounds didn’t return, they all came out from hiding.
“You ready to go?” said Kettler calmly.
“I’m ready,” said a visibly shaken Roth.
Kettler helped Pine on with the lift pack, and they started climbing once more.
Shortly after, the trail steepened considerably.
And the rain started up again, stinging them in the face. As Roth took a step up on a narrow path that was unnervingly close to the edge of a long fall, the stone gave way and part of the drenched trail crumbled.
With a scream, Roth fell to the side, clawing at the air. And then, with a shriek of terror, he went over the edge.
His plummeting weight immediately pulled hard on Pine, who fell face-first. The full weight of the nuke and the lift pack slammed into her back, smashing her against the dirt and forcing all the air from her lungs.
Long Road to Mercy Page 32