Chapter 17

Fireside Evolution

Boris had finished his breakfast and left with a truck driver for a ride to Boise when an intercept team arrived at the abandoned tent camp. They were perplexed. That something had uprooted the tent and left it abandoned at the edge of the campground was obvious. That all of the other camp gear was laying about undisturbed was surprising. That two men had disappeared from camp without explanation was unsettling. There was no sign of fighting or a scuffle; nothing had been heard on the portable radios. This was an alarming mystery.

They decided to pack up the camp gear and abandon the site. One man would remain with a vehicle as a roving watch around Silver City. He would keep an eye on the target's SUV. The remaining team members with the other vehicle would take two men down the main road to the base of the mountain near a creek ford. There they could keep watch and intercept the target if he tried to go out that way. The shuttle vehicle would go back up the mountain and down the Jordan Creek road to establish a rough camp at Dewey, a smaller ghost town west of Silver City.

The shuttle vehicle would go around in the evening to relieve the scattered men. It would return for another shift change in the morning. Everyone was told to stay concealed. The men would sleep and eat in shifts. Six remained of the original eight-man intercept team.

Kaz was on his cell phone to their man in Boise:

"Yavinsky, arrange for a charter helicopter to stand by on a continuous basis. We have a serious problem. Two men have disappeared, but we do not know how or why. There was no radio report from them. We've searched and can find no signs of violence. Their camp was abandoned. We found the tent torn away and left laying outside camp, but we can find nothing to tell us what happened. The men have vanished!"

"Yes, Yavinsky, vanished. We are covering the main routes in and out, but we cannot be sure of a capture so we may have to let them go past our spotters. We will use the helicopter to pick us up and fly ahead. We will stop them before they reach a main highway.

"Of course it will be approved. I have authority. We can carry three armed men in the helo plus the pilot. If we set down ahead of them and make an ambush, we can take them quickly. We'll kill the two companions and fly the targeted man out for transport to the remote house. Call me when the helicopter is ready. I'll survey landing and ambush sites after I have the rest of the team in place for today.

"And Yavinsky? Not a word to the charter pilot about our mission. He must suspect nothing. Tell him we expect to rendezvous with a vehicle coming down off the mountain. Our purpose is to load ore samples that must be transported immediately to assay. He must suspect nothing. No, Yavinsky, he won't be returning with the helicopter. I will fly it to our remote house; we can dispose of it there before we leave with our captive.

"Yes, it is necessary to leave the pilot in the desert. The pilot can join our target's two companions in silence. It is necessary and safer that way. We'll be far away before either they or the helicopter are missed. Understood? Good! Call me when it is ready. I won't feel certain until we have air support to intercept these three. I still cannot believe how they evaded and destroyed our first team, but no matter. We will stop them this time."

Kaz folded his cell phone, cursing silently to himself. The cell phone was useless in most places on this accursed mountain, except for the high overlook where he now stood. It occurred to him that he'd have to station another man here, near the overlook, to be in cell phone range to get Yavinsky's call. He would be in place to hear a radio call when their target moved, and would call to summon the helicopter. Damned primitive communications! This will yet blow up in our faces. I cannot be sure we can respond in time if they make a fast break for it. Think, Kaz, think! How can I plug all the holes? And my worst worry is unanswered: what happened to Boris and Demitri?

Kaz forced himself to cool down. He had an impatient temper. He'd already gotten too upset about the disappearances and had overlooked vital limits, like poor communications. He dare not make more mistakes. He waited another moment, ran the plans through his mind, and strode over to his waiting men to select one to remain with a cellphone to intercept calls from their man in Boise.

Other men were on the mountain with them. Eyes watched; ears listened. Word of the reorganized Russian threat reached the elders.

Michael, Steve and Marie ate a simple but satisfying meal around the cabin's kitchen table; then settled for the evening to face a stone fireplace set in the main room's interior wall. Massive stonework rose up through the ceiling. The fireplace held two short logs on a forged fire grate. Flickering firelight and shadows danced on their faces. Mike sat alone in a heavy oak rocker; Steve and Marie sat on an overstuffed love seat in companionable comfort. They stared into the dancing flames, each lost in solitary contemplation.

Michael stretched out his legs, settled his feet on a footrest bench, and pushed, tilting his rocker back. He leaned his head back against the carved headrest. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. Dee'rah appeared to his welcoming mind.

Michael-mine, my heart has never known such joy as these last days. You seem so perfectly at rest, at peace within yourself. Is this not so?

Yes, angel, it is so. Never did I think that my sleep would be so easy, my heart so free, my mind so unburdened. How can I ever repay such a wonderful gift as you have given me?

Oh, Michael-mine, you have, many times over. You enable our rescue and you offer me your love. These are priceless things beyond words, Michael-mine. So much you give us, and so much more you are bringing. You have no way to know, my love, how much you give!"