Fault Line In The Sand

by Linda Mackay

  Liz turned on Mac. “I told you these amateurs didn’t know what they were doing.”

  “Who you calling an amateur?” Todd said.

  “Before we come to blows, I’d like to know why Ed thinks you’re in the wrong area,” Mac said.

  “Because when I arrived at the bay several days ago, I saw exactly where Bull was working. And they were agitated about something. Seems smart to start there.”

  “I agree with Ed,” Mac said.

  The wind was calm and Amanda was easily able to communicate on the radio. “I don’t know what’s going on, but someone do something!”

  “Okay hot pants, we’re going to pull you back a little so be prepared.” Todd responded calmly to Amanda’s demand.

  “10-4.”

  My obsessively ordered mind was tumbling like a tennis ball in a dryer. However, my face was freezing in the fall air and I wanted to go home. I don’t mind being outside in the January twenty-below temperatures when I know I’ll be home sleeping in a warm bed at night. But, when a tent and sleeping bag are my only options for cold days and nights, I get irritable. Okay, I get terribly unpleasant to be around, and completely incapable of polite conversation. If Ed’s location got us out of here faster I wasn’t going to argue the change.

  “Lowering the line. Keep the angle steady, don’t want to scare the fish.” Todd said into the radio. He was gloating that Mac and Liz agreed we should be careful on the radio since anyone in the park with a scanner could hear our conversations.

  “You need a better boat. We can get a boat from Bridge Bay Marina,” Ed yelled over to Mac.

  “Don’t want to log any use of park equipment.” Mac said helping the tether play out.

  Ed walked away from the tent, picked up pebbles from the beach and threw them in the lake. “Life is much easier when you’re uninformed.”

  “Too easy,” Liz said. “The world is one major mistake from total implosion and people are protesting and spewing crap like they know what’s best for the country. If they really knew what was happening, every single one of them would crawl in a hole and never come out.”

  “Maybe that’s what should happen,” Ed said.

  “It just might,” Mac said, “if we don’t all shut up and concentrate on our jobs.”

  “When we’re done, at least move your vehicles and horse trailer down here. You’re visible with or without them,” Ed offered.

  “Good idea. I have extra food stashed in the truck and it means our escape vehicles are close by,” Todd said.

  “They’re not escape vehicles,” Mac said.

  “They’re the only way I’m leaving this park, because I am not riding or walking home. So they absolutely are my escape.”

  Amanda’s voice crackled in my radio earpiece. “You two paying attention to the escaping fish on my line?”

  “Hang on sister. Just a little tangled up.”

  “Oh no.” Amanda yelled.

  Before anyone could react water shot out of the lake and the tiny inflatable boat with Amanda in it disappeared.

  Chapter 17

  Mac dropped the tether line and was at a full run when I grabbed him by the jacket spinning both of us to the ground. “Water’s too cold for you to play hero. You’ll be hypothermic before you reach her.” I stood and brushed the sand and pebbles off my pants. “Todd, reverse course on the ROV.”

  “Already done it, boss,” Todd said. “If you can hear me, Princess, keep your arm wrapped around that tether and let your lifejacket bring you to the surface.”

  “How far out can I safely go?” Mac asked.

  “What part of, stay out of the water, do you not understand?” My frustration level wouldn’t survive another dumb question.

  The expulsion of water ended and the tiny boat appeared upside down in the water.

  Liz was at water’s edge glassing the area. “No sign. Wait! The boat just flipped over and a drowned rat is climbing in.”

  “Does she have hold of the tether?” I asked.

  “Can’t tell.”

  “Todd, is the ROV moving back to shore?” Someone needed to give me an answer I wanted to hear.

  “Yes, slowly. So far we aren’t bogging down.”

  “Liz,” I yelled, “what’s going on out there?”

  “Not sure, but she’s flipping us the bird with one hand.”

  “Sweet, that probably means her other arm has the tether,” Todd said.

  I could see Mac wading into the lake where his foolish heroism was overriding my order. “Last warning. Get out of the water until she’s in range.”

  “Where’s Ed?” Todd said into the radio.

  I looked behind me where Ed had taken up Mac’s job keeping the line taut and secure. “He’s anchoring the tether. Keep her moving, Todd.”

  The inflatable was clearly being pulled toward shore, but Amanda was having trouble keeping her end of the line secure. At one point I was sure Todd was going to pull the tiny boat under the water and dump her back in the lake. Finally, the three working the line and ROV got into a rhythm. I could now see her left arm wrapped around the tether as she flipped us off again with her right.

  The tiny boat caught a small wave as the ROV moved toward shore. The front dipped under the water and flipped Amanda out of the boat. Mac disobeyed my warning again, and swimming as fast as an Olympic athlete, closed the distance to Amanda. She had managed to grab the escaping inflatable and was attempting to climb back in when Mac’s hand grabbed her butt and heaved her into the boat with such force she almost went off the other side and back into the lake.

  Mac pulled himself partway up on the backside of the boat. He began kicking his feet in the water helping move it to shore. I dropped my binoculars and smacked Liz on the shoulder. “Everyone pull on the tether and get that boat to shore immediately.”

  “The ROV will be damaged?” Todd said.

  “I don’t care, get them to shore now!”

  In the short time it took us to pull them in, both had collapsed into the boat and were shivering uncontrollably as we dragged the boat onto shore. Because Mac ignored my warnings we now had two seriously hypothermic people to deal with.

  Amanda sneezed and rolled out of the boat attempting to unzip her coat with shaking fingers.

  “I got this,” Todd said pushing me toward Mac, “Liz strip off her boots and pants.”

  Ed and I rolled Mac out of the inflatable. Ed worked on removing Mac’s wet coat, while I removed his boots and socks. His feet were turning blue. “Mac stay with me.” I unzipped his pants, and while Ed pulled them off, I unzipped my coat and removed my shirt and long underwear top. Unzipping my snow pants I pushed them around my ankles, leaving my boots on. I put the coat back on, and just as Ed removed the last of Mac’s clothes I threw my naked body on his naked form. I shivered as my warm breasts fell across his cold chest. I saw Ed and Liz running to the tents.

  “Don’t die on me, because I want to kill you for being a damn fool.” I rubbed my body against Mac’s willing his to respond. Ed and Liz quickly returned with sleeping bags. Ed wrapped Mac and I in them, while Liz did the same to Todd and Amanda. Ed stretched out next to Mac and pulled us both into his body.

  Mac’s uncontrolled shivering slowed. “Special Forces, open your eyes. How dare you insult me by laying there unresponsive while I rub my naked body against yours.”

  “Amanda’s warming up and smiling at me,” Todd said.

  Ed looked at me, his eyes showing worry that Mac still wasn’t responding. “I know he’s breathing, and his shivering has stopped so why is he still out cold, if you’ll pardon my bad pun.”

  I had no idea. “I reached down and massaged his thigh with my hand.”

  “Move your hand to left and I’ll respond,” Mac mumbled.

  I relaxed onto Mac’s chest.

  “Jorie’s speechless, guess this was really serious.” Mac voice stuttered from the cold.

  Ed laughed. “That would be an understatement.”

  “Get o
ff me.” Amanda said cocooned with Todd and Liz. “This is like being naked with my brother and it’s creeping me out. Next time, at least let Liz be the naked one.”

  “Ingrate.” Todd said kissing her on the nose. “And there better not be a next time.”

  Ed rolled away from Mac and stood up. “Since they can talk, lets get them up, into dry clothes and wrapped up around the fire.”

  “Take these.” Liz handed two pills to Amanda.

  “What are they?”

  “Antibiotics. Just getting a head start on kicking whatever bacteria develops after your little swim.”

  “What a ride. Guess we know one thing Bull’s crew was worked up about?” Amanda swallowed the pills as she stood to get more coffee.

  Todd tried to take hold of her right arm. “I’m fine.” Amanda dropped to the ground. “Holy hell!”

  Liz tapped Todd’s shoulder. “Let me get in here and check her arm.”

  “I’ll get her coffee,” Todd said.

  “Can we name it Amanda Geyser?” Amanda grimaced trying to focus on something other than the pain. “Bet I’m the first person in history to take a ride on one of those things.”

  “I wouldn’t say you rode it, more like you got caught in its wake,” I said.

  “Her arm’s not broken, but that bicep is going to be really sore. You can see the bruising already,” Liz said. “What happened out there?”

  “I felt a rumble under me, next thing I knew I was under the boat and rocking like the north shore of Hawaii. Decided to stay under and use it like a helmet till the event subsided.”

  “You lost an expensive radio, princess, Uncle Sam’s going to take that out of your paycheck.” Todd knelt handing a mug of coffee to Amanda.

  “Jorie destroyed the ROV, so her paycheck will be non-existent,” Amanda added.

  “You three worry too much,” Liz said. “The government expects to shoulder these kind of mishaps.”

  “They may not actually take it out of our paychecks, but they do hold it against us on performance reviews,” Amanda said.

  “You work for the wrong branch of the government,” Liz said.

  “They can take my whole salary. Only thing that matters is everyone is safe,” I said.

  “It would be nice if our data is salvageable,” Mac said.

  “I pulled the card, and will attempt to upload it after we’re all settled and warm.” Todd stirred the fire with a stick. “Speaking of warmth; I call for a vote to move to the cabins at Lake Hotel.”

  “I second that motion,” Amanda sneezed.

  “Ed, can we do that without sending up red flags to the NPS supervisors?” I asked.

  Liz put her hands in front of the fire to warm them. “I’ll be happy to shut down any complainers.”

  “I think that kind of in-your-face attitude is what we’re trying to avoid.” Mac said sticking his head out of the sleeping bag he was wrapped in.

  Ed zipped his coat tight around his neck against the cold. “You people really do worry too much. It’s shoulder season, that time between cars and snow machines. We can go weeks without hearing from the supervisors in Mammoth. The summer workers are gone, and the rest of Lake winter employees don’t arrive till December. It’s me, the maintenance foreman and a lodge keeper right now.”

  “Sometimes, less is more, Piranha,” I said.

  “Whatever,” Liz said, “I just want to be warm.”

  “Awesome, if the two mermaids have reheated their body temperatures let’s blow this popsicle stand,” Todd said.

  “I’ll have my gear packed and ready in five.” Amanda jumped up, dumping her thermal mug of coffee.

  “Now we know how to get her moving faster than a tortoise,” Liz said.

  “That worked better than hot guys on the trail,” Mac laughed.

  “Never underestimate the power of hot guys,” Amanda yelled from her tent, “right now a warm cabin just trumps them.”

  “Remember all the mattresses will be gone,” I said.

  “Why?” Liz asked.

  “If you leave mattresses in the cabins over the winter, they’ll be invaded by everything from mice to martens making nice warm homes in them,” Todd said.

  “That’s disgusting.” Liz said dropping the poles on her tent. “Makes some of those sleazy Russian backstreet hotels look good.”

  “I don’t know about that. I’ve slept in a couple hovels in Iraq that make mice in my mattress sound tame,” Mac said.

  “Don’t worry, you tenderfoots,” Ed said. “I’ve got a better idea; if you don’t mind sharing, I’ll open a two-bedroom ranger cabin. It’s already set up with rations for winter ski-patrollers. I’m in the four-plex, end unit. Park your trailers next to my unit. See you soon.”

  “What the…” Todd said arriving first at the trucks.

  “That’s a problem.” Mac slid off Chimayo, his eyes checking the surroundings as his feet hit the ground.

  Liz dismounted, moving to the other side of the trucks, her ever-present firearm drawn and ready. Amanda and I were bringing up the rear with Deli dragging the travois and ROV. “What’s the problem?”

  “Dismount and put yourself between your horse and the trailer,” Mac said.

  “Not again,” Amanda pulled out her Smith and Wesson .44 and loaded the chamber. “Why didn’t I leave for vacation?”

  “Told you this was a bad idea,” I said, pulling my rifle from the scabbard.

  Todd took out the radio and held it like he was talking into it. He then held it in the air and yelled, “I just called this sabotage into the park service and told them the assassins are here. Jig is up assholes!”

  After a minute of silence, Mac started laughing. “You’ve been watching too many spy movies.”

  Liz hugged Todd with one arm. “Stupid, but effective, young man.”

  “What is everyone talking about?” I asked.

  “If anyone was watching they would’ve started shooting,” Liz said.

  “There was a 50-50 chance I could’ve been killed?” Amanda gave Todd the stink eye.

  “If you understand probability configurations the odds were really not even,” I said.

  “I don’t give a flying crap about the math.” Amanda rolled her eyes at me.

  “I’m done with using my horses as shields. We’re going home,” I said.

  Mac walked from in front of the truck, wrapped one arm around my shoulders and pointed at the ground. “I think we can safely say going home right now is not an option, Sugar.”

  Todd kneeled down. “Slashed.”

  Liz stuck her head up from the back of my truck. “Every single tire.”

  “Two trucks, two trailers, kaput,” Amanda said.

  “This was done after the snow.” Liz said looking at how the flat tires had settled on the snow, instead of being buried in it.

  Mac took the radio from Todd. “I don’t want anyone using communications of any kind.”

  “Does that mean we can’t talk to each other?” Amanda smiled at Mac.

  “Hypothermia has made you an even bigger pain in my butt.” Mac kissed Amanda on the cheek.

  “Thanks.” Amanda kissed his cheek. “You can also stop pretending there are hot guys out here.”

  Todd fist bumped Amanda. “I win.”

  “You two working together?” Mac asked.

  “Nope. Just saying no one knows Manny, better than me.”

  “If we’re done collecting on bets, let’s saddle up and ride to Lake,” I said.

  “How far?” Liz asked.

  “Couple miles. I’d like to order tires before the stores close, so let’s get moving.”

  “Where’s the nearest tire store?” Mac asked.

  “For this many vehicles, I’ll try getting them from a guy we know in Bozeman.” I hoped Frank’s friend was at his shop and not out hunting. I also hoped he had a bright idea for getting tires on the wheels of the four vehicles stranded in off-season with the Yellowstone Park garages closed. “The government is gettin
g a huge bill for this, including paying for wasting our time.”

  Mac smiled, “Now you’re getting it. But, I suggest we submit that bill to an agency who will pay for it.”

  “The USGS and park service wouldn’t pay for an extra Band-Aid,” Todd said.

  “Be sure to add our food, lodging, ammo, and care of the horses to the bills,” Liz said.

  “Sounds like the voice of experience.” Amanda looked at me. “I wonder if they’ll pay for cold meds and some new make-up?”

  “Absolutely,” Liz answered. “I’ll help you with that expense report.”

  I shook my head and mumbled. “How about paying for the ROV?”

  “Not a problem. We’ll even get you an upgraded one.”

  I had definitely been working for the wrong government branch.

  Ed walked out his front door as we rode up. “Did you forget something?”

  “Seems that turd-faced presidential aide is still in the area.” Todd dismounted and took the reins of his and Amanda’s horses.

  Mac shook his head. “Someone slashed all, and I do mean all, the tires on the trucks and trailers.”

  I’d dismounted and was standing next to Liz, waiting to help her off Alfalfa. Her eyes watched Ed while Mac talked, her hand once again, close to her firearm. “Where you been, ranger man?” She asked.

  Ed flinched, and then walked up to Liz on Alfalfa stopping just out of range for Liz to kick him. “I’m getting really tired of your bullshit, and am seriously considering punching you in the face. Here’s how this is going down, ma’am. I’m the federal officer in charge. One more word out of you that I consider out of line, I’ll handcuff you to the porch and let you sleep outside. I’d be real careful what you decide, cuz there’s a big griz hanging around.”

  Ed took several steps backwards and continued talking. “I’ll be confiscating that firearm, ma’am…for all our safety.”

  They starred at each other for what seemed like minutes, but was only the few seconds it took the piranha to decide, the shark, wasn’t to be messed with. I stepped away as she dismounted on her own, reached into her holster and with two fingers handed the firearm to Ed. She turned and followed Todd and Amanda who were now headed to the cabin across the road.