“You don’t have to push hard, just steady. Stay out of sight once you get there until you’re sure it’s me,” Cord reminded her once he gathered his wits.
“Don’t worry I’ve got the easy part. I’ll be fine. See you before dawn,” Stacey stood on tiptoe to give him a quick parting kiss then she walked in the direction of the river.
Cord watched her disappear into the trees and the darkness. After checking his watch, he sat against the tree to wait out the hour before he could get moving.
Once she reached the riverbank, Stacey made better time. In an hour and a half she located the game trail they originally followed down to the river. The moon appeared on the horizon and the stars were casting a soft glow or she might have gone past it in the dark. Ducking behind a large tree set back slightly from the river’s edge, she took out a blanket and wrapped up in it. She sat down, snacked on a nutrition bar and thought about kissing Cord. The next few hours would seem like forever.
CHAPTER 7
For forty-five minutes Cord sat patiently, thinking and re-thinking what he needed to do while determined not to think of Stacey. In preparation for the coming mission, he played out different scenarios of what might happen and how he should react.
Rising to his feet at last, he felt relieved the waiting was over and it was time for action. He began a series of stretches to prepare his muscles for the quick movements that might be necessary when he entered the enemy camp. Cord inspected the weapon possibly vital to the survival of himself and the boys.
He checked the time to make sure he had given Stacey a full hour to get safely away before picking up his lightened pack and walking quietly down to the riverbank. Cord found a wet, black patch of soil, smearing it all over his face and hands for camouflage. If he had any chance of getting the boys out without shots being fired, stealth and invisibility would be the keys. Once he specialized in that field, but several years passed since his last covert ops mission. The skills he used lately leaned more toward reconnaissance, information gathering, and the occasional armed raid with backup. I’m getting too old for all this other crap he admitted silently, grimacing at the smell of the mud as it warmed on his skin.
Quietly Cord crept into the edge of the woods below the deep bend in the river. A fire was still visible in the campsite several hundred yards down river. The wind blew softly and the river splashed and gurgled as it swept rapidly by. The sounds provided excellent cover for any noise he made while he moved closer to the camp.
Removing his weapon from its holster, he slipped carefully and watchfully into the woods then circled around the campsite checking it from all angles. Hunkered down behind a large boulder, he scanned the area just outside the light from the fire. As he suspected, one of the men was on guard duty. The criminal patrolled the perimeter of the camp.
Cord watched for several minutes to learn the guard’s pattern before he crept closer. The man carried an automatic weapon, but he handled it carelessly as if he didn’t expect trouble. The sounds of the river covered Cord’s movements as he crept closer. When the guard circled to the other side of the small camp, Cord crawled forward to lay behind a fallen log near the very edge of the campsite.
The light of the fire allowed Cord to search the campsite for the boys. He could see four forms stretched out on the ground. One was very close to the fire and Cord assumed this was the injured man. Two of the figures lay close together partially covered by leaves and pine needles. The last shape lay between the edge of the woods and the two forms huddled together.
Cord jerked his head down and froze as he heard the man on patrol come close to his position. The guard walked to within a few feet of the fallen tree then turned to face the firelight. Stacey was right in her description of the smaller man, Cord saw as he peeked over the log.
Light on his feet, small but wiry, and definitely someone to watch out for, the man’s face showed cold and hard in the glow from the fire. After standing still a few minutes, while Cord held his breath, the man resumed circling the camp.
Time to go in, Cord knew. He located Ricky and Don again, deciding the man stretched out nearer the woods must be the leader. Rising quickly and silently, using undergrowth for cover, Cord worked his way to within a few feet of the leader of the criminals. Waiting once again as the guard moved past his current position, Cord stayed motionless and didn’t breathe. The man walked by and strode down to the riverbank.
Running the last few feet, Cord jammed the muzzle of his nine-millimeter behind the ear of the large man curled on the ground, asleep. “Hold your weapon out carefully or I’ll kill you right now,” Cord whispered menacingly. To make his point he pushed the gun barrel deeper into the criminal’s flesh.
Slowly, the man brought his right hand from under his body and held his gun extended with his thumb and index finger.
Cord took the gun and pushed it into his waistband. “Sit up slowly and put your hands on top of your head. Cross your feet. I don’t want the bonds and I didn’t come to take you back,” Cord explained in a whisper that didn’t disturb the others in the camp. “All I want are the boys and I’ll be on my way. Now, call in your man. If he makes one wrong move, you die first.”
Thompson didn’t like what was happening. He realized when he woke up with a gun stuck to his head he was dealing with a professional. His plans pretty well came apart with the crash. Two of his men died and instead of meeting his contact and getting rich, he was trekking through the wilderness trying to survive. The boys became his insurance in case the authorities caught up with them and they proved to be smart about camping. They helped with Smith and each carried a backpack filled with bonds. He didn’t want to lose them, but he wasn’t ready to die yet, either.
Cord gave him another nudge with the gun and the leader made his decision.
“Brooks,” Thompson called out. “Come to the fire and get warm.”
As the man called Brooks entered the outer circle of the firelight, he saw Thompson with his hands on his head and his legs stretched out crossed at the ankles. Brooks raised the automatic weapon, fell to one knee, and quickly pointed the gun at the man kneeling directly behind his boss. Brooks would have fired, but didn’t have a clear shot.
“Tell him to put it down,” Cord ordered and got ready to pull the trigger of his own weapon.
Thompson felt the tension increase in the gun against his head. “Brooks, put the gun down. Do what he says. He has a gun to my head,” the leader demanded.
“Throw the gun in the river. Then walk slowly over here with your hands on your head, fingers laced.” Cord kept his weapon shoved against the leader’s head.
Brooks tossed his weapon toward the river and put his hands on top of his head. He desperately wanted to go for the knife in his belt. But he decided he didn’t know if there were more men out there with sniper rifles and maybe night scopes trained on him. Moving slowly, he walked to where Thompson sat.
Cord motioned with the nine-millimeter and Brooks dropped to his knees.
The two boys rose and quietly watched what was going on. Ricky had heard Thompson call out to Brooks and knew something happened. He stayed still and put his hand on Don’s mouth to keep him quiet when he also sat up. They both remained silent and unmoving, trying to decide if this new situation was good or bad.
“What about the guy by the fire? Is he armed?” Cord asked the leader.
“Like I’m going to tell you,” Thompson sneered.
“Then I don’t need you, do I?” Cord said simply and pushed the gun barrel painfully into the man’s ear.
Thompson decided to answer after all. “He’s not armed. He’s out of it on pain pills from the first aid kit. He was injured in the crash.”
“Ricky, Don, I’ve come to get you out of here. Get whatever you need and let’s go. Stay out of reach of these guys,” Cord warned as the boys scrambled up and put their feet into their shoes.
“What about the bonds they stole? They’re important aren’t they?” Ricky wanted to
know.
“We’ll let someone else worry about them. Right now, I just want to get you two out of here. When you’re ready to go, move over there by that big rock,” Cord instructed. He knew he should just kill the criminals, but he wasn’t an assassin. With both boys out of harm’s way, Cord shoved the leader down on his stomach then did the same to Brooks. “Lift your feet up, Brooks,” he ordered. Taking the coil of rope from his pack and using his left hand, while keeping the gun pointing at them with his right, Cord made a loop around Brook’s ankles. “Put your right hand back here. Okay, now the left.” He took a loop around each wrist in turn and pulled tight. “Now you, boss-man. Lift your feet.” Cord made a double loop around his ankles then told the criminal to put his hands behind his back. Again making a loop around each wrist, he pulled the rope tight.
The two men were now fastened together back-to-back and unable to move. Cord holstered his weapon and completed hog-tying the two men by knotting the rope securely. Reaching under Brooks he removed the small, but deadly, knife partially concealed under Brooks’ shirt.
Cord then turned his attention to the man near the fire. After checking him over, Cord decided there was no need to tie the injured criminal. A bloody bandage covered a wound on the man’s upper thigh. From the color of his skin and the dark circles under his eyes, he didn’t appear to be doing very well and wouldn’t go anywhere fast.
Walking nearer the water, Cord threw the knife out into the center. Even though he knew the automatic weapon didn’t go into the water when Brooks tossed it away, there wasn’t time to look for it. Cord moved back to the two boys who watched him with suspicious eyes. “Let’s go, boys. We’ll talk once we put some distance between us and these crooks.”
Cord led the way and the teens easily kept up with his brisk pace. After they passed the bend in the river and walked several hundred yards farther, Cord passed them each a power bar. The boys tore into them hungrily and hiked as they ate. When they traveled another half-mile, Cord asked, “How are you doing? Am I going too fast?”
“We’re doing good, considering,” Ricky answered cautiously. “You going to tell us who you are?”
“I’m Cord McConnell. Your grandfather sent me.”
“See, Ricky. I told you Pops would do something,” Don crowed at his older brother.
“Yeah, but I don’t see the National Guard, squirt,” Ricky responded. “What about those bad guys? Are you just gonna’ leave them there?”
“We’ll notify the FBI when we get to a phone. They’ll catch them once we tell them where to look,” Cord assured him.
“Do you know the way out of here or is a chopper gonna’ pick us up?” Don wanted to know.
“Neither. We’re going to meet the tracker who brought me to find you. She’ll lead us out and we’ll signal a rescue chopper if possible.”
“Man. I am so tired of walking. And you brought a girl? What kind of dumb plan is this?” Don grumbled.
“Shut-up, squirt,” Ricky snapped. “He got us away from those creeps. Nobody got shot. It’s not his fault you’re lazy,” the older brother insisted to the younger one.
“Hey guys, take it easy. I’m not crazy about hiking out of here either, but it’s the only thing we’ve got right now. How about some water?” Cord paused and took his canteen out of his pack. He passed it to the boys then drank some before hooking it on the outside of his pack. It wouldn’t matter if it clanked now. “Okay, we have to keep moving. If those guys get loose, they might be mad enough to try to come after us. We have to meet up with Stacey Parker before dawn or she’s supposed to leave without us. Can you make it?” Cord looked each boy in the eyes as he asked the question. They seemed tired and cold. He knew they were also hungry from the way they wolfed down the power bars.
“We made it this far, didn’t we, Ricky?” Don sounded offended.
“Yeah, and we can make it to wherever we have to. Let’s go,” Ricky nodded at Cord and the boys followed as he led the way.
* * * * *
Stacey decided she couldn’t tolerate the waiting. She searched in the pockets of her pack until she found her fishing line. Wound around a piece of cardboard it still had her favorite lure tied on. She amazed many of her hiking clientele with her ability to catch fish this way, but the fish didn’t care about fancy rods and reels or expensive hand-tied flies. All they wanted was something that looked like good food.
Leaving her pack propped against the tree and throwing off her blanket, she slipped quietly down to the river’s edge. Looking around carefully, she moved into the deeper shadows cast by the trees. When she unwound the line from the cardboard, she slid her hand into a loop tied to the cardboard to keep the line from cutting into her skin. With a practiced flip of her hand, the small sinker crimped onto the line a few inches above the lure carried the artificial grub-like worm several feet out into the river.
After her third cast, she pulled in a nice trout. It took a while for her to catch the four she wanted, because she released the smaller ones back into the water. Re-wrapping the line around the cardboard, she tucked it safely in her pocket. Finally, taking out her pocketknife, she cleaned the trout carefully at the river’s edge. Stacey sealed the fish in plastic bags that earlier held nuts and fruit. The night turned colder and once again there was nothing to do but wait.
Propped back against the tree, wrapped in the blanket, she dozed off and on for a few hours. Close to daybreak, Stacey raised her head. The sound came again as she listened. She heard footsteps and a voice from down river. As the sounds drew nearer, she could tell there was more than one person. Remaining still and quiet, she waited to find out if it was Cord and the boys.
“Parker. Parker, you can come out,” Cord called softly from near the water. “I’ve got Ricky and Don with me.” He stood still at the end of the game trail and waited. “Hold on, guys. I know she’s around here somewhere.”
Stacey grabbed up her pack and the blanket and hurried down the trail to meet them. “Is everybody okay? No problems? I was getting worried,” she whispered as she joined them. She wanted to run into Cord’s arms and give him a welcoming kiss, but forced herself not to.
“Everything’s okay, for now. It went well. But these two are cold and hungry. Think you can give them a blanket and find something for them to eat?” Cord was very glad to see her, but he needed to stick to business.
“Here, take this blanket and here’s another one,” Stacey gave Don the blanket she used and pulled another from her bedroll. “There’s a good place to rest out of the wind up here, McConnell. We can let the boys eat and move out when the sun comes up—unless you’re being followed?” The last thought just occurred to her.
“I need to do some scouting to be sure, but I don’t think we were followed.” Cord tried to reassure them all.
“Are you kidding, man? The way you left those creeps trussed up like turkeys. It might take them days to get loose,” Don grinned, remembering how Thompson and Brooks looked.
“Yeah squirt, but don’t forget Smith. If he wakes up, he’ll probably try to untie them,” Ricky reminded Don. Both boys pulled the blankets tightly around their shoulders as they talked. Don’s teeth were chattering now that they weren’t walking.
“Come on. Let’s go up to where Stacey was talking about. This breeze off the river is freezing me,” Cord faked a shiver and reached for the heavy pack before Stacey could get to it.
She led the way to the large tree where she spent most of the night. They all sank down behind it, out of the wind. Stacey searched in the pack for food. She handed the boys an apple each and a large baggy of trail mix to share.
Cord shook his head when she offered him food and began switching the heaviest items back into his pack. He also used the time to take inventory of the supplies they had left. There wasn’t a lot left for four and they would expend a lot of energy climbing back up the mountains. They would need to take advantage of any edibles they came across. Gunshots probably wouldn’t matter now, but a handg
un wasn’t the best hunting weapon. He’d have to discuss it with Stacey away from the boys and find out their options.
“You three rest a while. I need to check our back-trail to make sure we’re not being followed,” Cord ordered when he finished with the packs. “Parker, will you fill the canteens while I’m gone so we can move out when I get back?”
“I’ll take care of it,” she smiled up at him. “I’m glad you’re back, McConnell. I missed your bossiness.”
“I missed your mouthiness, too,” Cord’s eyes smiled at her, even though it failed to reach his lips. “I should be back in an hour, maybe less.”
“Make it less. You should rest a little, too.”
“I’m okay. Be thinking about our best way out of here,” he whispered and glanced pointedly at the boys who were hunched over, dozing now that they were fed and somewhat warmer.
“We’ll make it out, Cord. This is what I do,” she smiled again.
CHAPTER 8
Cord noticed the sky lightening to the east and the birds started their early morning chatter. He stayed in the edge of the trees and watched along the riverbank while going back the way he and the boys recently came. After traveling for twenty minutes, he stopped and watched silently for another ten. Satisfied no one was close enough to catch them, he hiked back to the riverbank and jogged upriver. By the time he reached Stacey and the boys, the sun was fully up. He motioned for Stacey to join him and led her some distance away while the teens continued to sleep.
“There’s no sign of anyone following. What’s our best way out of here?”
“Do you think it’s possible those crooks will try to follow us?” The path she chose would depend on his answer.
“They may try to. They’re going to be upset when they get loose, no doubt about it. They have an injured man with them. If they think we have a quick way out or want to commandeer whatever transport they think is coming to pick us up, they would definitely consider it. Our best bet is to stay ahead of them, keep watch, and take the fastest route out.” Cord explained what he was concerned about. She could make a better decision if she knew everything. He would have to trust her judgment now.
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