Ranger Drew (Shifter Nation: Werebears Of Acadia Book 4)

by Meg Ripley

  The bill for this safety plan racked up quickly. In fact, I was sure the bill for everything totaled nearly two million dollars. I wasn’t sure how the administrator found it in the park’s budget, but the following day, the supplies were delivered. Ironic that the government was paying for our safety measures against its own plan for destruction.

  As soon as all the supplies arrived on park grounds, I put everyone to work.

  The plan was to set up the sand bags and station three people in each area on the day that the fire was supposed to break out. They would start their watches at 12:01am on Monday and remain on duty until the last of any fires had been completely put out.

  Whoever caught sight of the fire first would send out a mass telepathic message to the clan as an alert, and everyone would move to act. Each area would have a water tank with three hoses and its perimeter outlined with sand bags. After the alert, each person would grab a hose, open the valve enough to wet the sand bags, then kill the water and wait. If fire broke into the area, he or she would use the hoses to fight it off with the remainder of the water in the tank. The sand bags, however, would prevent the fire from entering their domain. If it somehow encroached, the sand bags would prevent the fire from spreading further and any flames that escaped would be weaker with each wall of sand they hit. It would take two days to set up the sand bags alone and another two days to set up the water tanks and hoses.

  As an added precaution, I planned to have trenches dug around the sand bags. It would take three days to do all that digging, but the trenches would significantly slow down the fire and buy more time for us to put it out.

  I didn’t know how the NCPD-CID was going to initiate the fire, but I had to be prepared for the worst. Forest fires have killed hundreds of people and eliminated millions of acres of land, but if I did my job correctly and everyone payed close attention to my directions, we would lose several trees, but nothing that couldn’t be replanted and regrown in ten or so years. Depending on how quickly everyone responded, and if the fire could be contained to one area, we could probably save all but a few trees.

  My crew and I got to work on the plan, starting with the sand bags. After a full day’s work, I decided I would go visit Kathleen; it was hard to concentrate, and I needed to talk to her. I needed to know if there was any truth to everything she and I shared, and unfortunately, she was the only one who could tell me.

  Chapter 6 – Kathleen

  I was sitting in the holding cell, clutching my knees to my chest, while Trent sat at his desk, rifling through some papers.

  I took this job to escape jail, yet here I am.

  Life sure knew how to lay the irony on thick. I had hoped Drew would come see me and bail me out; the sting of his absence was something I couldn’t ignore. Even though I knew bear shifters were killers based on the footage I saw, a little voice in my head kept telling me Drew was different. He couldn’t be a killer. Maybe he was one of the nice ones. But still, it had been almost two days and he hadn’t shown his face.

  How could I blame him, though? The government had chosen to use fire to eliminate the bear shifters of Acadia National Park, and he was their lead firefighter. It was like fate had separated us.

  However, there was something about the way the clan of bear shifters had banded together that resonated with me. I had never seen a group of people with such camaraderie, that they were willing to die to protect each other. It was a kind of bravery that was rare, and it touched me. When I first uttered the message I had been sent to deliver, I thought I would have been mauled and torn to shreds. They were indeed angry, but no one had physically attacked me whatsoever. Trent was a little rough while detaining me, but I would have probably reacted the same way. He wasn’t growling or snarling at me like a wild animal. In fact, I had seen no shifting; not one person had turned into a bear.

  I hadn’t understood this at first. From the videos I’d been sent, it seemed like they were these ravenous monsters housed in human bodies. But, all the bear shifters I had encountered had been kind and welcoming, even though they knew I was a human. And even when I had told them their entire clan and home was in danger, they had behaved civilly; instead of killing me for working with the government, they had just locked me up.

  Something didn’t fit in this story. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something was wrong. There was no way these people were the hideous beasts the government tried to make them out to be. I had been so terrified by the videos, I was ready to believe anything.

  I needed Drew. I needed him to come and tell me the truth about the clan. Only he could tell me what was really going on.

  But I couldn’t blame him if he felt betrayed. I was sure he must have thought I was a pathological liar or a con artist. He was probably thinking nothing was real between us. But if that was what he thought, he was so wrong.

  I wished he would visit me so I could let him know. I would tell him everything, anything he wanted to know. I closed my eyes as they pooled with tears, but I fought them back; I didn’t want anyone to see me cry.

  “I hope you’re thinking about all the trouble you’re causing us.”

  I knew that voice all too well. My eyes snapped open to see that Trent was gone; I had been so deep in thought, I hadn’t heard him leave. To my surprise, Drew was sitting on the floor on the other side of the bars. My eyes widened at the sight of him and I scrambled on my knees toward the bars, holding onto them.

  “You’re here! You came!”

  “You wanted me to?”

  “Of course I did. I need to talk to you!” I pleaded. “No one will listen to me, but I know you will.”

  “Are you going to tell me how you got into this mess?” I nodded. “How do I know I can trust you? You’ve already lied so much.”

  “I know, but I had to! I was advised that if I told anyone about the reason I was sent here, I would be killed instantly. They have people watching me, but I don’t think they have an insider in the park because they needed me to infiltrate.”

  “Well, I guess their work here wasn’t finished after all.”

  I was completely caught off guard. “Wait, this isn’t their first time attacking you guys?”

  “A couple months ago, they sent my friend Ramon’s girlfriend, Min, here to infect us with a mutated rabies virus hidden in genetically-engineered ticks. Ramon got infected by a stray one, but Min was able to spot it. They’re both scientists, so they were able to work on a cure just in time to prevent Ramon from succumbing to the virus. The ticks were destroyed before they could infect anyone else and an antidote is still kept here, just in case someone else happens to go rabid. Two trials were run here prior to that incident, and that’s when the virus first reared its ugly head around these parts to begin with. The first time, an alpha and his pack killed two of our staff members. Knox killed the alpha himself, but the others got away. We later found out that the government eradicated them and considered it a failed experiment. The second time resulted in the death of Danielle Peterson. The rogue bear who attacked her died in the holding cell to your right.”

  “Wait, so it was a rogue bear with rabies who killed Danielle Peterson? Not one of you guys?”

  “Did you really think we did that?” Drew seemed a bit hurt.

  “No, I mean, the government tried to make me believe that, and I was so afraid.”

  I sank onto my heels and sat back on the floor. I knew the government had played me. They had tried to convince me that these bear shifters were monsters, but they weren’t.

  I decided that I wanted to help the clan. But how?

  I wasn’t Drew. I couldn’t put out fires and I didn’t exactly know how to prevent them, either. I couldn’t even give them a heads up about the NCPD-CID’s plans, other than what they already told me.

  But I could find out…

  “Hey, do you have a laptop at home?”

  “Yeah, I have one. What for?”

  “I’m going to hack into the NCPD-CID’s communication signal and list
en for their plans.”

  “Wait, you’re a hacker?”

  “Oh yeah, we haven’t gotten into that…”

  “Yeah, so before I get anything, you’re going to tell me exactly who you are and how you got involved in this.” Drew did not move from his sitting position and had his eyes fixed on me.

  I was feeling antsy; I wanted the computer as quickly as possible. The longer we weren’t listening to their conversations, the less information we would have. But he was right. He had been honest with me, and to build back our trust, I had to come clean.

  I sighed.

  “Kathleen Boland is my real name—and I really do hate being called Kathy. I’m Irish, and the story I told you about my parents is true. I did move here when I was thirteen. I was in a foster home and it’s true that I moved out when I turned eighteen. I really do couch surf every three days throughout West Virginia. While I was in foster care, I had parents who were hardly home, and the older kids looked after the younger ones. I found their computer one night and found my way into a hacker chatroom, where the members taught me everything I know. I learned enough to be able to complete jobs successfully without being caught. I started by doing good. The hacker chat room I was a member of dealt with taking down sex trafficking auction sites, and I had been happy to help with the cause. I wasn’t paid for my work, but it was rewarding. The job never ended, though, because when one site went down, another five would pop up. I used that to gain experience, and when I turned eighteen, a fellow hacker referred me to a site where people would post jobs for individuals, organizations and websites they want hacked.

  If you are caught, you don’t get paid. If you don’t complete the hack, you don’t get paid. When I moved out, hacking was my only source of income and the money always got transferred to me through PayPal with made up names and emails. I wouldn’t be surprised if even the accounts were made up or prepaid to avoid tracking.” I snickered.

  “As for how I got involved in this particular clusterfuck, one day, I noticed a posting for a government hacking of the NCPD-CID. The client was looking for a hacker to infiltrate their private encrypted files and look for anything strange. The person just wanted the findings reported back, and he or she was willing to pay a thousand dollars, which is pretty low for encrypted private government files. I really needed the money, though, so I decided to go for it.

  I usually take extra precautions when hacking into government files, but for some reason, I was cocky that night—too cocky because I got caught and erased the info a couple of seconds too late. They were able to trace me and caught me. But instead of being brought to jail, I was brought to the NCPD-CID, where they gave me this job. I just had to infiltrate Acadia, scope you guys out, and report back to them. Then, they showed some surveillance videos of Danielle Peterson’s death and your clan shifting under a full moon.”

  “They were trying to make you think we killed Danielle Peterson.”

  “Yeah, I realize that now. Then, they gave me the message to deliver to you. So, no, I am not here on vacation, and the name of the Couchsurfer host I gave you is actually the woman who’s home I got arrested in.” I laughed.

  “Well, I bet you got a good review for that, huh?” Drew chuckled. “So, that’s it? That’s your story? The full truth?”

  I nodded and gave him a half smile, hoping my honesty would help win back his respect for me. He paused for a moment, but then returned the gesture.

  “You know, I was fully prepared for more lies. It would have made it so much easier to just let you rot in here.” I winced at his harshness, but I understood where he was coming from. “Now, I just want to bust you out of here.”

  “And risk getting yourself in trouble? I’ve caused you enough headache.” I shook my head.

  “If only there was a way to get you in Knox and Trent’s good graces…” Drew was thinking and so was I.

  “Wait! The hacking; we can have them here when it happens! You would have to set it all up, but as long as your computer has speakers, they’ll be able to hear the information, too, and verify that it’s genuine.” I immediately perked up. That was my way out.

  “That won’t be as easy as it sounds. Knox all but told me to just let you go. He really believes you betrayed us, and he is not one who forgives easily. It will take some convincing to get him and Trent here, but I’ll do my best.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve caused you guys so much trouble. I was just doing as I was told; they threatened to kill me if I didn’t cooperate.”

  “I know.” Drew reached through bars and stroked the side of my face. I melted into his hand, rubbing my cheek against it.

  “How are the fire preparations going?”

  “They’re coming along. All the supplies have been ordered and we are putting everything into place. But enough chit chat; I’m going to go grab my laptop and then I’m going to have Knox and Trent meet me just outside the holding lodge so I can talk them into coming.”

  I nodded again, and Drew finally rose from his sitting position. With one last look at me, he ran towards the door and disappeared.

  Chapter 7 – Drew

  I was at my house in minutes and I raced up the stairs to grab my laptop, which I kept in my nightstand. I hardly ever used it, and because it was a newer model, I was hoping it could handle the hacking Kathleen was planning on.

  I briefly wondered if the porn I had watched on it not too long ago was still up on it, but decided not to think too much about it. Besides, there was no time to go in and delete the evidence.

  Whatever, everyone watches porn. I’m pretty sure if I looked through her internet history, it would show some freaky stuff, too. Unless she’s worried like I am and deletes her history after every time. I chuckled to myself. It would be hilarious to see her reaction if I had forgotten to erase my history after the last time I used it. Sometimes I got lazy, but I would just have to hope that I remembered and could save myself from some serious embarrassment.

  I rushed back to the car, and as I drove back to the holding lodge, I reached out to both Knox and Trent with my mind.

  Guys. I need you both to meet me at the holding lodge.

  What? You need supervision while you go visit your traitor girlfriend? I could hear the snark in Trent’s tone when he answered.

  She’s not a traitor, man.

  Did she spout off more lies to you? She already admitted she’s working for the government. What more is there to it?

  Easy, Trent. What is this all about, Drew? Knox’s voice was calm.

  I’ll explain everything; just get here.

  I had arrived at the holding lodge and raced inside. Kathleen had been looking down when I entered, but her head shot up when she heard me approaching the cell.

  “Did you get it?”

  I nodded and held up the thin, black laptop and then slipped it to her through the bars.

  “Ooooh, a Lenovo. Not bad.” She raised her eyebrows at me as she opened the laptop.

  I shrugged. “The guys at Best Buy picked it out for me, so I can’t really take any credit for picking it out.”

  “Where are Knox and Trent?” she asked, her eyes scanning the room.

  “They’re on their way.” Or at least, I hoped they were.

  “Good, I’ll set everything up. I doubt you have any hacking software on your laptop, so I’ll have to download a couple of things. But, first things first.” She closed the laptop and seemed to give it a thorough look over. She checked all the ports and the keyboard when she opened it. “Does Trent have any tape over there?”

  I walked over to Trent’s desk and spotted some masking tape. I grabbed it and slid it through the bars of the cell to her, watching her rip off a few thin strips, which she used to cover the webcam.

  “If I am intercepted, which I doubt I will be, they’ll only be able to track me if I don’t power down the laptop fast enough, just like before. It only takes a couple of seconds for them to locate the source of the hack, but even if I’m not that fast, yo
u’ll have nothing to worry about. What are they going to do to you? Take away your laptop?” Kathleen rolled her eyes and asked for the password to log in. “Let me guess, is it something to do with fire?”

  “Yeah, it’s inferno.” I rubbed the back of my head and looked away.

  “You are so predictable; I could’ve hacked that in seconds.” Kathleen chuckled and, moments later, asked for the password to Trent’s office. “I bet it’s something dumb like trent69.”

  “That’s exactly what it is,” I winced.

  “I bet a lot of people get free Wi-Fi around here,” she joked.

  Please no porn…please no porn…please no porn… I waited a couple of seconds, and if there had been porn on the screen when she loaded it, she hid it well. There was no reaction, so I breathed a sigh of relief.

  While she downloaded the software she needed, I stood against the cell in silence, wondering what this meant. So what if she hacked into the NCPD-CID’s communication line and got Trent and Knox to believe she was with us now. Would they let her go? Would the NCPD-CID try to get her out in time for the fire, or would they just leave her there? I wasn’t sure of the answers to any of these questions, but I hoped she’d be off the hook after all this. If Kathleen was really on our side now, she didn’t need to be locked up.

  “Alright, I’m all set up, just waiting for—”

  “You interrupted my meal, so this had better be good.” Trent walked into the office, with Knox right after him. Neither looked pleased to be there.

  “What’s going on?” Knox’s eyes were on the laptop in Kathleen’s hands.

  “Long story short, Kathleen’s a hacker who tried breaking into the government’s files, but they caught her and made her work for them; that’s why she had to deliver that message. But now, she’s going to work for us and is going to hack into the NCPD-CID’s communication line to see if we can get any information on their plans against us.”