Without Virtue

by Trevor Scott

  Robin raised her hands in protest. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I’ll put her in the bow of my canoe,” Max said.

  Donny smiled at Max. “You look strong enough to paddle both of our canoes.”

  “I’m a little rusty,” Max said with deference.

  “Like riding a bike or a horse,” Donny said. Then he turned to Kim and asked, “Do we have permits?”

  “We’re good for a week,” Kim said. Then to Max and Robin she added, “Donny was with us searching for my sister. I really appreciate it.”

  “It’s nothing,” Donny said. “I would do anything for you or your sister. You’re like the daughters I never had.”

  Kim gave the wiry man a hug and then turned to Max and Robin. “He actually has a son and a daughter. But they live in the Twin Cities.”

  “Turning into a couple of cappuccino-drinking yuppies. I can’t complain, though. They’re good kids, and have given me a couple of awesome grandkids.”

  “The wilderness isn’t for everyone,” Max said.

  “That’s right,” Donny said. “Especially in the winter. This place can be a harsh mistress when the snow flies.”

  Kim checked her watch. “We should get moving. I’d like to get to Disappointment and set up camp before dark.”

  Donny looked at his wrist, but he had no watch. Instead, he glanced up at the sun and said, “Shouldn’t be a problem. We’re going in light. I’ve got my gear already loaded into my canoe. Kim can go in the bow with me. I’ll get the second canoe ready.”

  Max, Robin and Kim went back to the truck to gather their gear. Max and Robin only had backpacks usually used for trail hiking, while Kim had a smaller Duluth pack that most used in the BWCA Wilderness. Kim had also filled a second pack with their food and other gear.

  “I can take the second pack,” Max said to Kim.

  She almost protested, but then allowed him to carry their food pack.

  Max hiked down the hill toward the water. He set the packs on the ground next to the canoe and then headed back up to his truck. He needed to make sure everything was set with his truck before leaving. Alone at the truck, he thought about what was inside. Although the bed of his truck was covered and locked down tight, someone could still break in. But they would never be able to crack open his gun safe inside, where he kept his tactical long rifles and hunting guns, along with extra ammo and handguns. He carried a knife on his left hip and 9mm Glock 17 on his right side. In his pack he also brought a second Glock 17 and extra magazines, which he could access quickly. He wasn’t expecting trouble from man or beast, but it was always better to be prepared for the worst.

  Satisfied he had everything he needed, he found a large rock in front of the truck and placed a spare set of keys under it. He would need to tell Robin where he placed the key in case something happened to him.

  Then he hiked back down the hill to the canoes. By now Donny and the women had put the canoes in the lake and set the paddles against the gunnel.

  “Ready folks?” Donny asked.

  “Let’s do this,” Kim said.

  Max gave a thumbs up and Robin simply smiled.

  “First, we must pray for this mission,” Donny said. He closed his eyes and silently prayed.

  Kim and Robin did the same.

  Max kept his eyes open, but he also prayed for the safe return of Pam Joki. He might have stepped away from formal church attendance years ago, but that didn’t mean he didn’t believe in the power of prayer. When bullets and bombs were flying all around him during his years in special forces, he never found one man who was still an atheist.

  They all settled into the two canoes and slowly pushed away from the shoreline. It took Max a short while to remember how to properly J-stroke to keep the canoe gliding in a straight line. Glancing at the canoe in front of them, he noticed that Kim and Donny seemed to have a perfect rhythm already. Either they had canoed together in the past, or they were so experienced that they could quickly pick up on the movements of the other.

  Robin was having some difficulty in the bow.

  “Stick with the right side for a while,” Max said, “and then switch to your left. When you go to your left, I’ll go to the right.”

  She nodded understanding.

  “Look at Kim,” he said. “Between each stroke, twist your hand to glide the paddle over the waves. It cuts down on the wind resistance and saves energy.”

  After a couple of strokes, Robin said, “That’s much better. It also keeps me from hitting the waves with the paddle.”

  “That’s right.”

  He never worried about the strength of his sister. She had been a college athlete and a damn good one. She had the shoulders of a swimmer.

  “It’s all about pacing ourselves,” Max said as they pulled up alongside the other canoe.

  “Looking good,” Donny said. “You two are naturals.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Robin said. “I’m already getting tired.”

  After a while, they crossed between a large island and a point sticking out from the Southern shore. The wind died down now, cutting the waves down considerably.

  Donny pointed his paddle briefly and said, “Do you see that slight opening in the forest across the lake?”

  “Yes,” Robin said.

  “That’s our first portage. The beauty of the Boundary Waters is that when you think you can no longer paddle, you hit a portage. Then you have to carry the canoe and packs across rough terrain to the next lake.”

  “But it gives you a break,” Kim added.

  “We cut some distance,” Donny said. “Back behind us, to the Southwest, is where most people put in to this lake. Those are Entry Points Twenty-Seven and Twenty-Eight.”

  “That’s where my sister and her partner would have put in,” Kim said. “Donny, I think we should take the longer portage directly into Disappointment instead of the two smaller portages through Parent Lake.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that,” Donny said. “Should save us some time.”

  As Max paddled and kept them running straight toward the portage, he couldn’t help wondering how they would even start to find the missing girl. The forest looked dark and thick and unforgiving. It was nothing like the forests he was used to out west. Although there were some thick places along the Coast Range and deep within wilderness areas in the Rockies, most of the terrain was more open.

  They reached the first portage and Max learned that he could carry his backpack and still carry the canoe on his shoulders.

  “The sign said a hundred and forty-four rods,” Max said to Donny in front of him, who was carrying the other canoe. “What is that in real distance?”

  “Almost a half mile,” Donny said.

  Mosquitoes attacked Max on his exposed arms and head, and he had no good way to swat them away. It was like he had stuck his head in a large jar filled with blood sucking bugs. Finally, he set the canoe down and found his bug repellant in an outer pouch on his backpack. He rubbed the repellant on his arms, neck and head before lifting the canoe back to his shoulders.

  Just then, Kim showed up carrying two packs—one on her back and the other across her chest. “I should have told you to put a layer on before doing the portage. My bad.”

  He let Kim pass and couldn’t help checking out her tight butt as she hiked in front of him.

  “I hope I brought enough for this trip,” Max said.

  “I have extra,” Kim said. “You should really worry about the wood ticks.”

  They had some ticks out west, but Max never worried about them.

  Then Kim pulled away and rounded a corner, leaving him behind.

  Soon, Robin came up behind him and said, “I think these mosquitoes are immune to the insect repellant. They’re laughing at me. How does anyone put up with this?”

  Max didn’t have an answer for her.

  They finally got to the end of the portage and put back into the water.

  Disappointment Lake was over three m
iles long, a narrow structure dotted with multiple islands of various sizes. On the map it appeared like an amoeba that had been squashed.

  They paddled along the southern shore before the lake turned to the north and seemed to narrow even more.

  The canoe with Kim and Donny came up alongside them and the two of them stopped paddling for a moment. Max and Robin also stopped.

  Kim pointed her paddle across the lake toward what appeared to be a large island. “That’s where my sister and her partner were camped. It’s closed down now and taped off. But it looks like we’re in luck. The campsite across the lake on the east shore is open. We can set up there. It’s not an island, but it sits on a nice point. The wind should cut across that point and keep the mosquitoes down somewhat.”

  “That sounds awesome,” Robin said. “This is a beautiful place made difficult by those pests.”

  Kim smiled and said, “It keeps out the cidiots.”

  They paddled over to the point and hauled everything onto shore. Then they set up tents and strung up their food into a tree. The campsite had a heavy picnic table and a campfire pit that appeared to be made from thick steel. Max couldn’t help wondering how the Forest Service had hauled these into the wilderness area.

  Once the camp was set up, Max checked his watch and saw that they had a few hours of sunlight left.

  He met Kim at the picnic table and said, “We should head over to your sister’s campsite before dark.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ll stay here,” Donny said, moving toward them with an armful of sticks. “I’ll get the fire going.”

  “If you don’t mind,” Robin said, “I’ll stay here also.”

  “A little sore?” Max asked.

  “Let’s just say I won’t have to worry about missing my gym workout on this trip.”

  Donny laughed. “I haven’t been to a gym since high school. Don’t need one out here.”

  It was settled. Max took the stern and Kim got into the bow. Without the heavy packs, the light canoe cruised much quicker across the water.

  In short order they were across the lake and had pulled into the campsite. They hauled the canoe up onto shore and then wandered up a small hill toward the campsite.

  Kim had been correct. There were yellow crime scene ribbons stretched across the front of the site, along with a sign saying this campsite was closed until further notice.

  She wandered around the campsite pointing out various locations: the tent sites; where she had found her sister’s knife; and where they had found the bear scat.

  “Looks like there’s more scat,” Max said, pointing out a large pile of berry-filled black feces.

  “Damn it.”

  “What?”

  “Donny and that asshole from Milwaukee were both right. Donny thought the bear would come back looking for the dead body. I wasn’t so sure.”

  “They should have the autopsy soon,” Max said. “Then you’ll know for sure what happened to that young man.”

  Kim suddenly broke down and started sobbing. During his days with Air Force OSI, Max had been required to comfort those who had lost loved ones. But this was different. Kim’s sister was missing, and the hardest part was the unknown. What had happened to Pam Joki?

  Without thinking, he simply took Kim in his arms and held her tight as she went through the process of grieving for the uncertain.

  9

  Darkness had seeped across the Boundary Waters like a painful dread, with clouds swirling in from Canada chilling those with exposed skin. The cool down was significant relative to the past week, but was still not cold enough to stave off the attack of the mosquitos.

  The predator had returned with his friends to the camp of young girls. This time he was ready to act. They needed more entertainment in their life, and the leading predator vowed to make this happen.

  This time he had his night eyes that were not impacted by a campfire, which had been doused while they still approached from the water nearly an hour ago. By now, he thought, most would be asleep. Each had his job, much like a pack of wolves, where the leader and another would make a frontal attack, while others waited on the periphery to thwart any escape. The key to this strike would be stealth and uncertainty. There had to be a level of ambiguity. Otherwise they would bring down the forces of evil upon themselves.

  The predator, having landed on the hard surface of land, spoke gently to the others. His voice was controlled and precise, knowing exactly where each member of their pack had to be at any given time.

  One of the pack would be taking the canoe at this moment, quietly and without notice. Another member held tight and waited for the signal that it was time to move out, his own vision set on the tent of the leaders of the other force.

  But the leader and his second in command had the most difficult task. They would move directly to the pre-determined structure and remove their target without warning the others. This could only be accomplished with two important items.

  Even though there could have been some awake at this time, the leader knew it was time to act. He waved for his second in command to move in.

  Without notice, the second slipped into the structure and made sure the younger girl would not wake up. Then he stuck a syringe into the other just as she rose up and was about to scream, dropping her back to her sleeping bag.

  Whispering softly into his headset device, the leader said, “All is well. Moving out.”

  Then the leader and his second zipped the girl into her bag and lifted her with ease out of the tent, zipping it closed behind them.

  Now, the girl in the bag over the shoulder of the leader, they stepped lightly through camp to their canoe. They set her gently into the canoe and pushed off quietly into the night.

  •

  The young woman woke from her induced slumber and glanced around her surroundings. She had been in this same place for days, but her dreams always had her somewhere else in a happy place from her youth.

  She pulled on the ubiquitous restraints, a useless effort. Her hands had been tied together with a padded shackle, which was attached to a thick metal wire cable that led outside the tent. Based on the strength she had used to pull on the cable, the other end must have been attached to a large tree. For the first few days her right leg had been equally restrained with a cable that exited the tent from the other side. And that one must have also been attached to a tree. But when she woke up now, her legs were free. Why?

  The last thing she remembered, the medical man had come in and given her something to make her sleep. Part of her wanted to struggle against this sedative. But she had nearly given up any hope of returning to her former life. Especially after they removed the black cover from her head a few days ago. And specifically, for what each of the four men continued to do to her. She had become so sore from their sexual encounters that she had been bleeding down there. She stopped begging for them to end their assault. It would do no good anyway. These men were animals—like cavemen who had dragged a woman from a rival camp as a breeder.

  She listened carefully for the four men. The heavier man usually snored all night, but she didn’t hear that this evening. Another man, she wasn’t sure which one, talked in his sleep.

  But all she heard was frogs down at the lake.

  Then, in the distance, she heard the distinct sound of a canoe tapping the rocks at the lake. Then a paddle slipped and fell against the gunnel.

  Now she could hear voices coming toward her tent. Would they come for her again? Hopefully not. With her legs free, perhaps she could kick them now.

  Suddenly, the tent zipper opened and two of the men carried a package inside, their headlamps lighting the inside of the tent. It was a sleeping bag. Then, the men set the bag down on the ground and found a pair of arms, which they restrained like hers.

  She pretended to be sleeping as the light swept toward her. Just as quickly as they had entered, the two men left the tent and zipped the door closed.

  Now she heard m
umbling outside. Was it arguing? More than likely. As the time had gone by, the four of them had become much more confrontational—as if the leader was being challenged. A couple of them wanted to go in and take turns on their new subject, but the leader said they needed to wait. She wouldn’t be fully awake until morning.

  That’s when she heard the sobbing from across the tent. By now her eyes had adjusted enough to see the other person to her left.

  “Quiet,” she whispered softly.

  “What’s happening?”

  “You must be quiet or they will come back tonight,” she instructed. Then she shifted her own sleeping bag closer to the other girl. She sounded very young. By now she could feel the other girl with her leg. The girl moved closer now so their torsos touched and they could whisper closely. “What’s your name?” she asked softly.

  “Judy. Judy Walker.”

  “How old are you, Judy?”

  “Sixteen.”

  My God, she thought. She was a baby. “Where are you from?”

  “Bemidji.”

  “Who are you here with?”

  “A youth group.” Then she seemed to reconsider this and added, “A bunch of delinquents.”

  “What?”

  “A group of girls who have gotten into trouble.”

  She had heard about these groups going into the Boundary Waters to try to straighten out young people. Usually it was young men, though.

  “What about your parents?”

  “Not here. Just three leaders. A man and two women.”

  Good. They would report Judy missing, she thought.

  “What’s going on?” Judy asked.

  How could she answer this? She couldn’t. At least not tonight. This young Judy would panic and scream and the men would feel compelled to come.

  “What’s your name?” the girl asked.

  “Pam Joki.”

  “You’re the Forest Service woman they’re searching for. We heard about you. But they said you might have been taken by an animal like the man.”

  This confused Pam. She assumed that they had simply beat up Duane when they took her. “I don’t understand.”