Chapter 73

Present – Masha – Outside the FBI office

A blaring alarm disturbs the interrogation and we quickly exit the building to stand in a specified area of the parking lot. I am secretly laughing internally as one of the FBI technicians comes over to SA Hotchner and complains, "That damn phone you gave us blew the hell up, injured one of our best men and set the building on fire."

SA Hotchner glares at me and demands, "Ms. Reynolds, would you care to explain how the hell that happened?"

I allow my façade to display surprise and surmise, "SA Hotchner, it must have been the aftermarket battery my husband installed..."

He rudely interrupts, "Don't give me that bullsh..."

His mouth drops open as he looks past me. Curious to ascertain what has so affected SA Hotchner, I partially rotate to the side so I can continue to watch the agent and also see that Todd is approaching.

Todd walks up to me, smiles and begins to sign...

Present – Todd – Outside the FBI office

I am shocked! The FBI office is fully ablaze. Thankfully, I find Masha and SA Hotchner outside of the building. If she had perished in the fire, I would hate to think what Jack would do. I hear SA Hotchner swearing at Masha but he abruptly stops when I walk up. I sign to her and she translates, "SA Hotchner, under whose authority did you take this woman into custody?"

I watch as he squirms and admits, "Under my own. I wanted to get to the bottom of what happened at Ms. Donaldson's cabin."

I was pissed off and signed so quickly Masha interrupted, "Todd, I can not translate if you sign too quickly."

I slow down but add emphasis, "SA Hotchner, once again you have made a serious blunder! This woman is an exceptional mother, the wife of a personal friend of mine and is expecting another child. What you have done exposes the Bureau to a multitude of lawsuits and investigations. I am taking her back with me to the Ms. Donaldson's cabin and reporting this to your superiors."

I take her hand, we walk toward my car as SA Hotchner whines, "Well, find out why in the hell she had a rigged cell phone. That's what caused the fire."

That question I did not need to ask her because I already knew why she had an exploding cell phone - for the same reason I and the Terrible Triumvirate have exactly the same type of phone.

Masha says, "Todd, thank you for coming to my aid, I was about ready to..."

I interrupt and sign, "Masha, I know what you are capable of and I'm thankful you practiced such restraint. But do not mention such a thing where many unfriendly ears are present."

She questions, "Todd, might I use your mobile phone to call my husband?"

I take out my burner cell phone, hand to her and sign, "You may keep this until you get a replacement."

She answers, "Thank you." Then she dials her husband...

Present – Jack – At the cabin

My cell phone rings and wakes me out of a troubled dream. I look, don't recognize the number but answer it anyway and hear, "Jack my love!"

It's Masha! I sit up in bed and interrupt, "My love where are you and how are you?"

She's crying and answers, "Jack, SA Hotchner came to the hospital and took me to the FBI headquarters. Todd came to rescue me. I am released and I'm proceeding back to the cabin."

Ivan wakes up and yells, "Mama, mama!"

I hold the phone up to his ear, he begins to giggle, then I take the phone away. He lies back down and promptly goes to sleep. I begin to say something when I hear gunfire outside and say, "Shit Masha, something else is going on here and I need to go."

I bail out of bed, toss on my clothes, grab a rifle and head for the door...

Present – Masha – Outside the FBI office

I look at Todd and plead, "Todd, something bad is happening at the cabin again. Is there some way we can get to the cabin post haste?"

He signs, "I think I might be able to acquire a helicopter for us."

He does acquire a helicopter with a pilot and we proceed to the cabin with utmost urgency!

Present – Mira, Ira and Alexi – At the cabin

My tympanic units detect the sound of rifle fire - 5.56 rifle fire to be exact. I sit upright in my bed and state, "Ms. Donaldson is experiencing additional difficulties outside the cabin."

My warning applies flaming matter to Ira's and Alexi's posteriors. We are out of bed in an instant, seize our weapons and charge for the front door.

My sister Mira is correct, there are multiple weapon discharges which we need to investigate. However we must also be prudent so I order, "We must follow proper procedure when exiting this domicile."

We arrive at the front door, are met by Mr. Reynolds and I caution, "Procedure everyone."

Neglecting to check the security system, we carefully open the front door which triggers a devastating tympanic klaxon and we then slice the doorway into situational awareness pie.

Present – Jens – Standing watch

How the hell did a bear (not just the normal black bears we have in Colorado but a fucking grizzly bear) get onto the property, let alone this close to the cabin, without triggering the alarm system? I will figure this the hell out later. Right now I have my hands more than full!

The bear is aggressive as hell and begins running toward me while I'm firing like hell at him with this damn mouse rifle – and it's not fucking stopping him! In fact, it seems like it's only pissing him off more.

Then I see a flash come in from the side: It's Anastasia the fox! I make sure not to shoot her (Ben would never forgive me if I did) as she leaps on top of the damn bear and her action fires Sharik up! He charges the bear, the bear takes a swipe at him but misses and Sharik bites the hell out of him. The bear bellows, the house klaxon goes off (thank God, someone must have heard my shots), the security lights come on and illuminate everything. Then the bear shakes and tosses both Anastasia and Sharik off of him and begins to head toward me again. I begin to fire again as the twins, Alexi and Jack show up. I yell, "Be careful where you're shooting! Anastasia the fox and Sharik are here somewhere!"