by Ty Patterson
His look of utter amazement makes the others look back too. ‘Well, I’ll be damned,’ Mark exclaims. ‘I never thought I would see Zeb holding anyone’s hand, much less a little boy’s!’
Broker looks at Bear and shrugs. They long ago stopped being amazed by whatever Zeb does.
As they approach the Buck’s Ridge lookout, a couple of rabbits dart across the trail. Two rifles greet them, just a fraction of a second apart.
‘Lunch.’ Broker sighs. He and Bear pick up their kills, stuff them in sacks, and sling them over their shoulders.
‘Holy shit,’ whispers Mark to Anne. ‘That was some shooting. Rifle across back, to hand, and firing before I even noticed the rabbits. I’m glad these guys are on our side.’ He looks back and whispers, ‘Zeb didn’t even unlimber. I’m surprised.’
‘He doesn’t need to when these guys are around,’ Anne replies dryly.
A bird call rings out in the distance. Only Zeb and Bear notice Broker tensing slightly and then relaxing when another call answers.
Bwana and Roger are on either side of them, keeping them in sight but out of sight themselves.
They resume their hike after their lunch. The sheer scale of the wilderness has brought their small talk to a minimum. Anne’s abrasiveness with Zeb has disappeared. Or maybe it’s just a lull before she starts again. Mark has coped very well in the wilderness despite his city-boy ways. Maybe the wilderness is not all that different to the stock market.
It’s late evening by the time they return to camp. A hot dinner revives them, and Connor – after lighting his pipe, which, according to him, keeps the wild animals at bay – recounts stories from his career as a reporter.
Broker, no mean raconteur himself, joins in telling stories of past campaigns.
Lauren, Anne, Rory and Mark have led urban lives and haven’t had any contact with the likes of Zeb and his friends. Their lives are fascinating to them.
‘No, most campaign days are one of endless routine and monotony. The danger, the action, is all over in a few minutes usually,’ replies Broker in response to a question from Anne.
‘Have you guys lost any friends?’ Rory asks.
‘Yup,’ comes the terse response.
Silence descends.
‘What was your most dangerous moment?’ Rory again.
‘Well…’
Bear starts grinning and then guffawing.
Rory is puzzled, and he’s not the only one. ‘What?’
Broker looks sheepish. ‘There was this time we parachuted into bad country. I won’t name the country because the operation is still classified.
‘So we had done a HALO jump very late at night and landed in enemy territory. We were then supposed to march about ten clicks to a specific village, which housed a lot of badasses, photograph those badasses as they were doing their bad stuff, and then apprehend them.’
‘Sounds like a stupid assignment. Why not just finish them?’ mutters Mark.
‘Hey, who said the top brass running the army were the brightest sparks? But ours was not to question why, so like good little soldiers, we marched the ten clicks to the village.
‘We reached it early in the morning, but it was still dark, so we couldn’t make out anything, just lots of foliage and rocks. However, our compasses told us we had arrived, so we stopped.
‘We decided to hunker down for the rest of the night and begin our surveillance in broad daylight. There were five of us in that team.’ He gestures toward Zeb. ‘He was there too.
‘I settled in a small ditch, which was recently dug – I could smell the fresh earth. I cut some brush and pulled it over me and settled down to sleep with one of the others keeping watch.
‘When I woke up, it was raining. It was daylight, and I could feel movement around me. I was still groggy from the previous night…remember I was an intelligence guy and not as battle hardened as these other guys. I opened my eyes a little to have a look at who or what was moving around.’
He pauses to poke a few sticks in the fire, and everyone leans forward in anticipation.
‘I was shocked to find that it was a goat pissing on me!’
He is rewarded with roars of laughter. He waits for it to die down and then lifts his hand to silence them.
‘I heard voices around me, and after listening carefully, I made out that somehow we had stumbled into the middle of a grazing area of the hostiles we were after. I tried to look around for where the rest of my team was but couldn’t see anyone. Occasionally I saw a couple of hostiles walk past my hideout, fully armed. If they had bothered to look down, they would have seen me, and I would have had more holes than a sieve.
‘All day long goats pissed on me, even dumped on me. Then, in the evening, to my horror, one of the goats started munching on the brush covering me like it was dinner at the Carnegie Deli.
‘It was pulling it away and then eating it. I pulled the brush back over me as stealthily as possible, and the goat pulled it right back again. Tug-of-war between goat and Broker, smack in the middle of hostile country.
‘I got desperate because I was practically exposed. I lifted my head a little and looked around. A few hostiles, but none too close to me, and none looking in my direction. I took my rifle and smacked the goat a good one in the breadbasket.
‘The goat jumped up and ran away, but that action got noticed by one of the hostiles, and he approached me. I could see him from the corner of my eyes.
‘This is it. I wrote a long letter to Mama in my head and told her that when we met in heaven, she could smack me all she wanted for kissing seven-year-old Peggy in the kitchen.
‘And by the way, I was seven too when that happened, so stop those dirty thoughts right now!’
Rory is rolling around in laughter by now, and the rest of them are close to following him.
‘But as luck would have it, that damned goat took it in his mind to charge that guy. He just put his head down and butted him, throwing him on his ass. That guy forgot about investigating my ditch and started wrestling with the goat.
‘When night fell and those guys were asleep, I crawled out and crept away. My team was waiting for me not far from these hostiles, and we regrouped.
‘That goat saved my life! From that day, I decided I’ll let any goat pee all over me as much as he wants.’
That sets off Rory laughing again.
When he has calmed down, he asks, ‘Where were Zeb and the rest of your team?’
‘What I asked! Zeb had been sent scouting, so he was nowhere near the camp. The rest of our team was scattered in similar ditches, but I was the only one smack dab in the middle of the hostiles. When they realized where we were, it was too late to warn me.’
A night owl calls in the distance a few times as Broker feeds more wood in the fire.
‘But never drink goat’s piss. Not a pleasant taste.’
Mark chuckles. ‘I guess when you guys have lived in the rough, you have to eat and drink all kinds of stuff, don’t you?’
Before Broker can reply, a, ‘Halloo the camp,’ rings out, and two trappers step into the firelight.
‘Hi, guys, pretty late to be wandering around,’ Connor greets them.
‘Nope, this is the right time for us guys, as we lay our traps and check on them,’ replies the taller of the two, glancing around, adding, ‘Howdy, ma’am,’ in the women’s direction.
‘Care for some coffee?’ Connor offers. He realizes that Bear and Chloe are hanging back, nearly shrouded in darkness, while there is no sign of Zeb. Broker is sitting easy and relaxed by the fire, with Rory next to him.
‘No, sir, thanks for asking. We were tramping across to check our traps when we spotted your fire. There’s a big black bear around here with cubs. Thought we should warn you.’
‘Much appreciated. Bear meat’s not my favorite, but we’ll keep that in mind,’ replies Broker.
Zeb is with Bwana. He slipped away once he heard the owl hoots.
‘Just two trappers, harmless enough. I
was tracking them for some time and overheard some snippets of conversation. There is a bear in the vicinity. I overheard them and also spotted some tracks.’
‘You need any rations? Anything?’
‘We’re good, man. Fishing and having a great time.’
Zeb pats him on the back and returns to camp.
‘There you are,’ Connor says, pointing his pipe at him.
‘All okay?’ Bear murmurs as Zeb walks past him.
Zeb nods imperceptibly.
Rain pours down late that night, waking Lauren up. She pokes her head out of the tent to see the camp silent and lit by the dim light of the lanterns within the tents. As she scans the trees, something catches the corner of her eye.
A figure is standing at the edge of the tents, motionless. She stares hard through the rain, trying to see who it is.
It’s Zeb.
He has his face raised to the rain, standing motionless as it beats down on him. She is about to call out when Connor places his hand on her shoulder.
‘Leave him be.’
She takes one last look at him, a tall solitary figure unmoving, the rain washing down on him.
The ground is soggy the next day, but the water has drained away, something Connor is very proud of since he chose the campsite. Lauren refrains from mentioning that Broker and Bear nudged him to this site.
Bear has returned from scouting and mentions bear tracks not far from their site, and when they set out on a hike, they detour to show Rory the tracks.
Broker whistles when he sees them. He kneels down, motioning Rory to do the same, and points out the bear’s tracks to him, as well as two other sets of tracks a little to the side.
‘Cubs,’ he says.
Zeb is looking over his shoulder at the three sets of tracks. He nudges Broker, who rises and pulls Rory to his feet.
‘Let’s get back to our hike.’ He leads the way back to their trail.
Lauren and Anne catch up with Zeb. ‘What’s the hurry? It would have been great to follow those tracks and show Rory the bears.’
‘It’s better if the bears find us than us go looking for them, ma’am,’ he replies. ‘Besides, mama bear is large – bigger than I’ve seen in a long time.’
They meet the trappers halfway through their trek and stop to have coffee with them.
‘I would be extra careful if I was you.’ The taller of the two looks at Broker. ‘There’s one more bear in the vicinity, a male, who has gone through some camps, ripped some tents, and stolen food. Those cubs might be his.’
‘We’ll keep a watch.’ Broker nods in thanks.
‘We seem to be surrounded by bears,’ Cassandra says once they resume their hike.
‘Yup, and we have one along with us, too!’ Rory guffaws, pointing to Bear.
* * *
It’s close to dusk when they come across it.
They’re in a small clearing surrounded by thick brush and woods, and Broker is doing what he does best, spinning yarns and entertaining them. Zeb is bringing up the rear, and as Rory doubles up in laughter, he spins around, looks at Zeb, and screams.
Lauren and Anne look back too and join the chorus of yells. Zeb has felt its presence long before the others spotted it but didn’t sense any danger radiating from it. He has been subtly falling behind the group to distance himself from them and was planning to lead it away before anyone spotted it.
He turns around slowly and faces the largest bear he has ever seen, nearly ten feet away and close to six hundred and fifty pounds. The bear has crept up on them silently on all fours and is looking directly at Zeb, with its ears back.
‘Broker,’ he calls out softly.
‘Gotcha. Come on, folks. Let’s move away and go back to our site. Zeb will deal with this critter.’
They move slowly with the occasional glance back, and when they’re out of the clearing and back into the woods, they stop to look back.
Zeb moves his eyes away from the bear and takes a step back. The bear shuffles forward, barking as it does so.
Zeb stands still.
And the bear charges.
Over in the woods Connor cups his hand over Rory’s mouth as they all watch the bear rushing at an unbelievable speed, come to a few feet from Zeb, break away at the last moment and go past him.
‘Holy shit, I didn’t think they could move so fast. How the hell is he standing there so calmly?’ Connor says under his breath.
Zeb turns to face the bear, which is now walking slowly around, keeping him in sight. The bear pauses, staring directly at Zeb, popping its jaws, and then charges again, swerves again when it’s just a couple of feet away, and turns around as it goes past. The bear charges again without any warning and comes to a stop a foot away, black muscle and fury staring directly at Zeb.
Connor can hear the bear barking right in Zeb’s face, the rage and spittle washing over him, yet Zeb stands his ground. He can see Zeb’s lips move, but they’re too far away to hear him. The bear continues looking at Zeb directly for long moments, its muscles bunched, and then it rises on its hind legs, sniffing at Zeb. It nudges Zeb with its nose, smelling him all over, falls back to all fours, walks around him, and then ambles into the woods as noiselessly as it had come.
Connor lets out a long breath he didn’t know he had held and looks around to the others.
Broker, Bear and Chloe are laughing quietly at something.
‘You guys weren’t even watching?’
‘Nothing to see. We knew it wouldn’t be hurt. The bear, I mean.’ Broker chuckles.
Rory rushes towards Zeb excitedly and peppers him with questions about the bear. Connor can see that this bear encounter will be the highlight of the trip for Rory.
‘Mom, Zeb says he wasn’t scared when the bear came so close to him. How cool is that?’
Anne replies, ‘We know, dear. And Zeb can walk on water too.’
Broker’s rumbling laugh echoes in the woods as they make their way back to the campsite, while Bear slips off to warn Bwana and Roger about the black bear.
Over the campfire, Anne looks at Zeb. ‘Have you never been scared?’
Zeb shrugs.
Bear answers for him. ‘Everyone gets scared. Everyone. We used to get shit scared on our missions. Still do sometimes. Zeb is different. He hasn’t…’ He breaks off and yelps when Chloe accidentally pours hot coffee over his hand.
Anne forgets her question as she rushes to pour cold water over the injured extremity and misses the warning glances that pass from Broker to Chloe and Bear.
But Connor doesn’t. Hmm, this needs investigating, he thinks and makes a mental note to ask Cassandra what that was all about.
Chapter 14
‘I got them,’ Connor shouts at Zeb on the phone as they are all driving back the next day, back to the city and urban frenzy.
‘Those emails that incriminate Hardinger? They got sent to my office yesterday and are with our expensive lawyers. I haven’t seen them yet, but my editor says they’re explosive, and hence the discussions with the suits. It’s game on now, baby.’
Over Connor’s excitement, Zeb can hear Lauren’s anxious voice, ‘Now the pressure on you and us will really start.’
‘Let it. This is what I do for a living, and I love it,’ replies Connor impatiently.
‘Zeb, can you guys – Broker, Bear, and Chloe – come over in a day or two? I’d like your opinions on what can be done to deal with the threats and nuisance once the story hits.’
‘Okay.’
Broker calls minutes later. ‘Did you get the Connor invite?’
‘Yup.’
‘Should we get involved?’
‘I am involved because they’re Cassandra’s neighbors.’
‘Then we’re involved, too. And Roger and Bwana say they’d like to help kill weeds in this garden.’
* * *
Before departing from the mountains, Broker and Bear met with Bwana and Roger in the woods. Bwana had been his usual subtle self.
&n
bsp; ‘Pond scum belongs in the pond. Tell Zeb I’ll be happy to help.’
‘Behind me,’ Roger had broken in.
‘When are you planning to meet Connor?’ Broker asks Zeb.
‘Whenever he calls. I don’t have anything on my plate right now.’
As Connor drives, he looks at Cassandra in the mirror.
‘Cass, what’s it that Bear was going to say before Chloe burned his hand? I know she did it deliberately.’
Cassandra looks at him and then away. ‘I wouldn’t know.’
Connor lets the silence build, hoping it will get her talking, but she has nothing further to say.
He smiles, remembering that she lived and worked in Washington and knows how to keep a secret.
Zeb checks into a seedy hotel in Harlem, returns his Jeep, and then visits his apartment in Jackson Heights to check it out. His fingerprint, laid across the bottom of the door and jamb is still there, as is a thin film of dust in a specific pattern across the side.
He steps in, moves to the right, and stands still to feel the sound and smell of his apartment, finds nothing out of the ordinary, and goes to his arms cache. It’s time to redistribute it across the city, considering that he’ll be spending a lot of time in hotels till he sorts out the Holt issue.
He’s always used a network of storage boxes in any city he lives in and already has such a network here, but he wants to supplement it.
It’s late in the evening when he heads back to his hotel after topping up his stores. He’s thinking over ways to get Holt to emerge when Connor calls him and suggests they meet the next day.
* * *
‘Wow, this place is bursting at the seams with hard cases,’ Connor jokes, referring to Zeb, Bear, Chloe and Broker at his place.
Connor hands over a sheaf of papers to Zeb. ‘They were delivered here when we got back. The suits have approved publishing, and now it’s down to me to write the mother of all stories.’
The papers were emails between RH and someone named Vince Spadea – several of them over more than a year.
‘RH is the Senator obviously; Spadea was his head of security in Africa at that time, responsible for the security of all Alchemy’s African businesses.’
Zeb reads the emails, passing each page to the others once he’s through with them. In one mail Spadea complains that there isn’t enough labor to staff the mines, to which RH replied, ‘Who said the laborers have to be adults? Pay the natives and get kids, old people, anyone. I don’t care.’