Down below, Roth dropped lower, dangling from the hitched rope around his waist. He was swinging and trying to grab the rope. This just unsettled things more on the trail as his constantly shifting weight pulled Pine ever closer to the edge. She slid across rock and mud and cacti, as she frantically tried to halt her momentum.
At the other end of the rope line, Kettler was struggling mightily to keep from getting pulled over, too.
As Roth continued to windmill below, Pine’s face was now over the edge. She did not want the rest of her to follow. She pressed the palms of her hands into the rocky terrain and pushed hard backward, to keep herself from going over. It was like she was bench-pressing a thousand pounds.
“Shit!” she cried out. She was being stretched to her limit.
The next moment Kettler called out, “Atlee, I’m going to pull back as a counterweight. If I get too close to the edge with you, we’re all going over. Once I get stabilized we’ll work out a solution. Just hold on.”
She gritted her teeth and nodded to show she understood.
Her face peering over the edge, she saw Roth dangling about fifteen feet below her. And after that it was an insanely long drop to certain death.
“David,” she screamed. “Stop moving. We’re figuring this out up here, but your flailing around is not helping.”
Roth, to his credit, instantly became motionless.
Pine tensed every muscle in her body, gripped the jagged rocks embedded into the cliff and tried to lever herself backward some more. But with Roth’s dead weight, it was a stalemate. If she hadn’t been as strong as she was, Pine would have already gone over the precipice. The added weight of the nuke she was carrying was actually helping her, acting as an additional counterweight to Roth’s mass. Yet having the thing pressing down on top of her wasn’t exactly pleasant.
Kettler cried out, “Okay, Atlee, I’m going to toss you a rope with a D-link. Snap it into the one around your waist. Do not wrap the rope around you, just snap it into the link.”
She nodded again and slowly looked to the side where he was.
Kettler had wrapped the rope connecting him to Roth around a massive rock wedged against the side of the trail. This had stabilized and secured Roth’s weight load on his end.
He held up the second rope with the link, so she could see it.
“Here it comes.”
The link landed right next to her left hand. She snapped it into the other link that was connected to the stout climbing rope around her waist.
“Okay, good,” said Kettler, who’d been watching her.
He took the other end of the rope and, as he had his own line, wrapped it several times around the large rock and then tied it off securely.
Pine understood why he hadn’t wanted her to tie the rope around her waist. Roth’s dead weight was already exerting enormous pressure on her frame. Wrapping another rope around her could have, if things went wrong, sufficed to squeeze her like a constrictor had a hold of her. Now if she was pulled over by Roth’s weight, this rope and the other one Kettler had tied around the large rock would hopefully prevent her and Roth from falling to their deaths. The only dilemma now was that she was literally caught between a rock and a hard place.
Kettler raced over with a fresh loop of rope and a D-link.
He touched Pine’s arm. “Are you holding up?”
She nodded, the pain in her features. “But I can’t do this forever.”
“You won’t have to.”
He peered over the edge. “Dave, I’m going to feed this rope down. Snap the D-link into the one you already have on, okay?”
Roth nodded and Kettler fed the rope down.
Roth grabbed it on his second try and clicked the link into place.
Kettler took the other end of the rope, ran back to the large rock, and clipped this line into the one he’d already secured around the rock, making sure that it was taut.
He hustled back to the edge and peered over. “You’re secured to a large rock up here. Now, I’m going to unlink you and Atlee.”
“No!” screamed Roth. “Don’t! I’ll fall.”
“You’re not going to fall. The rock you’re secured to weighs about five thousand pounds. That’s the belt. And the line I just fed down to you will serve as the suspenders, just in case. Now, I need to free Atlee, so she can help me pull you up. Now, when I release the line, you might drop a few inches, but you are not going to fall, okay? I’ve got two lines securing you.”
“Oh, God, oh please, God,” they could hear him moaning.
Pine called out, “David, we are not going to lose you, okay? This is a good plan. And it’s the only one we have, okay?”
Roth finally called up, “O-okay.”
Kettler looked at Pine. “You ready to be unhitched?”
“My back sure as hell is.”
With a mighty struggle, because of Roth’s dead weight pulling on Pine, he managed to release the D-link connecting her to Roth.
Roth cried out as he dropped but quieted when he was held in place by the other ropes.
Pine let out a long, tortured breath.
“I need this frigging bomb off me. Now!”
Kettler released the bindings and, with a struggle, managed to get it off her.
She lay there breathing hard.
“Atlee, I need you to help me pull,” said Kettler, a bit of anxiety creeping into his voice, as the rain continued to pelt them.
She could understand his nervousness. If the chopper came back now, they were all dead.
“I know you do, just give me a sec.” She took several deep breaths. “Okay, I’m ready.”
“Great, but we’re taking no chances.”
In a flash Kettler had linked both of them to the ropes around the large rock.
When he came back over he handed her a pair of gloves he’d had in his pack. He’d already donned a pair.
They stood side by side on the edge of the trail.
Kettler looked at her and grinned encouragingly. “Okay, almost Olympian, let’s see what you got.”
She managed a weak smile in return and then blew on her gloved hands and rubbed them together. “Let’s do it.”
They squatted down and pulled and grunted and slid and lurched backward. The ground was very slick as the rain kept pouring, and a couple times their feet and fingers slipped, with the result that Roth was pulled up and then dropped down a few feet. But Pine was incredibly strong, and so was Kettler. Their combined efforts lifted Roth inch by inch until the top of his head appeared over the edge of the trail.
Kettler quickly tied the rope off so they would not lose this hard-fought gain.
He and Pine went right to the edge and squatted down again. They both put their hands under Roth’s armpits.
“One, two, three, pull,” said Kettler.
Roth’s upper torso landed on the trail.
“Again,” said Kettler.
And the rest of Roth followed. They all collapsed to the dirt and lay there for a few precious minutes, gasping for air, the sweat pouring down their faces, even as the rain drenched them.
They finally stood, undid all the ropes around the rock, linked themselves together once more, and began to set off, with Kettler now carrying the nuke pack.
“Th-thank you,” Roth said to them both as they walked along.
“Don’t thank us yet,” Pine replied. “We’re not to the top.”
About twenty minutes of climbing later, Kettler looked back.
“It levels out in a bit. And after that is the Rim.”
Pine checked the sky and then her watch. “How much longer?” she called ahead to Kettler.
“Couple hours or so.”
“Let’s push through,” she said. At the higher elevations the dawn would not be delayed.
She pulled out her phone and was thrilled to see several bars. She punched in the number, praying the call would go through. The person answered sleepily on the third ring.
“It’s Atlee
. You said if I needed any help, I just had to ask. Well, I’m asking.”
* * *
About two and a half hours later, they reached the North Rim. Kettler put his hand up and the others immediately stopped. Roth collapsed to the ground, breathing hard.
Kettler set the lift pack down, came back to them, and undid the ropes holding them together. He squatted down and surveyed the area up ahead with a practiced gaze.
“So what’s the plan now?” asked Kettler. “I don’t like being exposed up here. That chopper could land anywhere along here.”
Pine looked to the sky, watching out for lights cutting through the dark over the Canyon.
If the chopper did come and land, she told herself she would just open fire, aiming for the fuel tanks.
“I’ve got help coming. They should be here soon.”
“Let’s hope it’s soon enough,” replied Kettler.
Thirty minutes later, a pair of headlights did cut through the darkness, but they were coming along the road, not through the air. Kettler swung his M4 around and took aim at the approaching vehicle.
“Stand down,” said Pine quickly, as the vehicle came close enough for her to see it clearly. “I know them.”
The Chevy Suburban stopped in front of them, and Joe and Jennifer Yazzie climbed out.
Joe Yazzie Sr. was a big, burly man. His dark hair, worn long, was shot through with gray. His skin was leathered from living his whole life in a desert environment, and he walked with a bit of a limp.
Pine knew this stemmed from a shot he’d taken to his thigh that was still healing.
He had on his police uniform and held a pump-action shotgun in his right hand, muzzle down.
“Atlee?” called out Jennifer.
“It’s us,” said Pine as the three of them came out of the shadows.
“Agent Pine? Are you okay?” Carol Blum had climbed out of the rear seat and was hurrying toward them.
“We’re all fine.”
The group met in the middle of the road. Pine introduced Roth and Kettler to the Yazzies and Blum.
Blum gripped Pine’s hand. “I knew you’d find him.”
“Well, I wouldn’t be here without Sam’s help.”
Blum put a hand on Kettler’s shoulder and mouthed the words, Thank you.
Joe Yazzie eyed her severely and said, “You didn’t tell us much, Atlee. In fact, you really didn’t tell us anything.”
“I wish I could tell you everything, and one day I hope to. But right now, I have some things to do. And we don’t have much time.”
“Where do you want us to take you?”
“Tuba City, as fast as you can.”
Joe looked surprised. “Tuba City? Why?”
“Because it’s sovereign. And we have to bring something with us.”
She and Kettler ran over and grabbed the lift pack. Together they brought it over and set it down next to the SUV.
Joe glanced at it suspiciously. “What the hell is that?”
“That,” said Pine, “is our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”
CHAPTER
59
They headed north to Jacob Lake, then hung a right and traveled east to Marble Canyon, finally dipping south to Tuba City. This was the fastest route, and still the trip took nearly three hours along U.S. Route 89A.
By the time they arrived, the sun was well up.
As they reached the outskirts of Tuba City, Joe Yazzie said to Pine, “What now?” She was in the rear seat directly behind him.
“Drive to the police station,” said Pine.
Joe nodded and steered the Suburban in that direction. “Can you tell me anything?” he said as his wife looked on anxiously. “Because I’m not looking to lose my career over crap I don’t even know about.”
“What I can tell you is that there are some in our government planning some really bad things and I’m trying to stop them.”
Joe nodded and then glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Feds screwing people? Okay, I can understand that. What are you doing about it, considering that you’re a fed yourself?”
Pine pointed to Roth. “He found some evidence that is vital to the case.”
Joe appraised Roth in the rearview. “Is the evidence what’s in that big pack in the back of my truck?”
“Partly, yes.”
“And you’re dealing with your people, right, not us?”
“Yes.”
“That’s good to hear,” said Joe. “Because we don’t enjoy a lot of our interactions with your government.”
Jennifer quickly glanced at Pine and said, “Present company excluded.”
“We’re just trying to do the right thing, Joe,” said Pine.
“So you people always say.” He looked at Kettler. “And what’s the Park Service’s role in all this?”
“I’m just doing what Agent Pine is telling me to do,” replied Kettler.
“Smart man,” said Jennifer, with an impish grin aimed at Pine.
Joe did not smile. He said, “While the Navajo reservation is sovereign land, we can’t grant you some kind of asylum, if that’s what you’re after. You’re a federal employee. So is the park ranger. And this guy—” He indicated Roth. “I don’t know what he is, but he’s not Navajo.”
“I’m not asking for asylum, Joe.”
“Then what?”
“Just trust me. You’ll see. I swear.”
Joe was about to say something when his wife put a hand on his shoulder and nodded.
“We trust you, Atlee,” she said.
Joe glanced at his wife for a long moment and then returned his gaze to the windshield.
They drove on.
* * *
The police station was in the middle of flat land. The building was the color of terra cotta, with the round main structure architecturally enhanced by wooden pergola wings.
As they all trooped in, some of the staff and police officers looked at them curiously, and others suspiciously. Joe Yazzie said tersely, “Official business,” and kept walking.
Pine, Roth, and Kettler cleaned up in the restrooms of the station.
Jennifer had hot coffee and some vending machine food ready for them when they came out.
Blum helped her pass out the hot coffee and food. She touched Atlee on the arm. “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you, Agent Pine.”
“We had a few close calls, Carol. But we made it. Now comes the really hard part.”
They ate and sipped the coffee in Joe Yazzie’s little office, while he and his wife looked on.
“I want to know what’s going on,” said Joe when they were done. “Right now. You’re in my country and it’s my rules. So, no more help until you tell me.”
Pine looked from Yazzie to his wife. “I never told you this. Anybody ever asks, you don’t know anything.”
Jennifer glanced nervously at her husband, but Joe kept his gaze resolutely on Pine. “I don’t tell anybody anything ever,” he replied firmly.
Pine drew a long breath and said, “In the back of your truck is a nuclear weapon.”
“Dear God,” said Jennifer as the blood drained from her face.
Roth stepped forward. “It’s not armed. It can’t go off.”
“Says you,” Joe snapped angrily. He looked furiously at Pine. “You had me drive a fucking nuke to Navajo land? To the police station? With my wife in the truck?”
“The weapon can’t detonate,” said Pine firmly. She pointed at Roth. “He does this shit for a living. And would you have preferred that I left it in the Canyon?”
“What are you going to do with it?” demanded Joe heatedly. “Because it’s sure as hell not staying here.”
“I’m actually taking it to my office.”
“Your office!”
“That’s what I said.”
Joe shook his head, a disgusted look on his face. “Nukes. When in the hell will you people stop this crap?”
“I wish I had a good answer for you, Joe,
but I don’t. Now I need a few minutes alone with these folks.”
Joe looked at his wife. “All right. Take all the time that you need. I’m going to go out to my truck. Any black chopper that comes near it, I’m going to shoot down. You cool with that?” he added gruffly.
“Knock yourself out, Joe.”
After he and Jennifer left, Roth turned to Pine.
“You said you’re taking the nuke to your office? Why?”
“Because when you’re negotiating, you need some ammo. I’m betting that nuke has all the bullets I need.”
Roth blanched. “What are you intending to do?”
Blum said, “You can trust Agent Pine, Mr. Roth. She knows what she’s doing.”
“But you have to understand, we’re dealing with Goliath here.”
Blum smiled and said, “Well, then, David, you’re quite aptly named.”
CHAPTER
60
Are you insane?”
Clint Dobbs, the head of the FBI in Arizona, sounded like he was about to suffer a stroke, or have an anxiety attack, or both.
“I don’t think so, sir, no,” replied Pine calmly into the phone.
“Where the hell have you been all this time?” demanded Dobbs.
“On the vacation you told me to take, sir.”
“Damn it, you haven’t answered any calls or emails.”
“There’s no service where I was, sir. I’m just back now.”
“Do you realize how long you’ve been gone?”
“Yes, sir, to the day.”
“And you want to meet at your office in Shattered Rock?”
“Yes, sir, and bring some reinforcements, like I asked. I’m talking Hostage Rescue Team, long guns, body armor, the works.”
“Do not be insubordinate. I’m not coming to Shattered Rock. You can come to Phoenix.”
“I would, sir, but I have something at my office that I can’t really transport.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Just trust me, sir.”
“I don’t see why I should. I’ve already gotten an earful from the DD about you.”
Pine drew a deep breath. “I think the DD might be involved in what’s going on.” Which is the reason I’m calling you and not him, she said to herself.
Long Road to Mercy Page 33