Just a sec. Tessa withdrew sunglasses and a hat from her bag and shoved them both on. Now I am.
George pushed the boat off the sand. Soon they were floating. Jeff used the oars to turn the boat so they headed away from the dock. His well-defined biceps drew her attention. The guy obviously worked out. She appreciated when a man took care of himself.
She forced herself to look away. That he was fit aided in what they were doing. That was the only reason shed even noted his athleticism.
They rowed from location to location along the lakes surface while she collected and tested samples. The dead fish floating around the boat saddened her.
Can you row that way? She pointed to a sandy stretch of the shore. Theres something weird with the sand over there.
Jeff dug the oars into the water, propelling the boat in the direction shed indicated. When the Zodiac slid firmly onto the sandy shore, Tessa scrambled out of the boat to inspect what at first appeared to be a dark stain in the sand.
But on closer inspection, the dark line was some kind of moisture slowly flowing into the lake from the trees. The putrid stench of decay coming from the liquid assaulted her senses.
Heart racing, she ran back to the boat to grab her testing supplies. Jeff walked toward the trees while she returned to the mystery fluid and tested it.
As the results presented themselves, her stomach twisted in dread and triumph.
With a blue and a red vial in hand, she called to Jeff, This is the source of the contamination.
* * *
With Tessas words echoing in his head, Jeff stopped at the tree line and stared into the thick ancient forest, where the nasty runoff seemed to originate.
This area was unpopulated and rugged with dense underbrush, towering evergreens, maples and alders, making the woods dark and forbidding.
What was causing the lethal runoff? Had someone been using the forest for chemical waste? Was the noxious substance caused by an accident, or had someone purposely released it? To what end?
The questions spun in his head, making his temples pound.
His first inclination was to charge into the woods to find the cause and put a stop to the polluted flow. They were on American soil. His jurisdiction. His hand rested on the butt of his holstered gun. But he couldnt do that part of his job, not while he was responsible for Tessa.
He spun around to look at the woman heading back to the boat. She may know her business around fish, but her domain was the lab, not the wilderness. Despite her bag of essentials, she wouldnt last more than a few hours in this terrain.
He blew out a breath. He couldnt leave her here by herself. Besides, there was no way shed agree to being left behind, anyway.
The best course of action was to report what theyd found and let the sheriff and the professionals who knew how to deal with toxic waste handle this situation. He slipped his cell phone out of his pocket. No signal. Great.
The roar of an outboard motor revved through the air. A speedboat, carrying two men dressed in camouflage, zipped along the waters surface heading in their direction.
Jeff clenched his jaw. Probably hunters. Ranger Harris and Sheriff Larkin had shut down the lake. These two jokers were going to be in big trouble. Hed report the boats bow number to the sheriff when he returned to the ranger station.
Shaking his head with frustration, Jeff stalked back toward Tessa. She sat in the boat fiddling with a walkie-talkie. Resourceful woman.
She glanced up and yelled, I cant get this thing to work!
The engine on the speedboat cut to an idle and diverted Jeffs attention away from Tessa. Both men pulled bandannas over the lower half of their faces, and one of the men hefted a rifle to his shoulder, aiming the weapon at Tessa.
Horror flooded Jeffs system. He grabbed his sidearm. Tessa! Get down!
TWO
A startling bang followed by an even louder pop jolted through Tessa. One side of the Zodiac deflated like a balloon pricked by a needle. She was being shot at!
She dived to the floor of the boat. More gunfire erupted. The shocking sound vibrated through her, making her heart pound so hard she thought it would explode out of her chest.
Jeff jumped over the still-inflated side of the Zodiac, landing with a thump beside her. He log-rolled onto his back, his gun in front of him, aimed toward the lake. You okay?
Yes. You?
He fired off two rounds. The deafening noise reverberated inside her head. She reached beneath the bench seat for the Zodiacs emergency kit, grabbed the flare gun and clutched it to her chest.
Please, God...help. The whispered prayer slipped out, dredged up from a suppressed place deep within her soul.
She flipped onto her back and aimed toward the boat, preparing to fire.
Jeff shook his head. No. We may need that.
The speedboat roared away. They were leaving. Relief made her melt into the floor.
Jeff jumped to his feet and tugged on her arm. Theyre circling back. Get up. We have to run for the trees.
Galvanized by fear and adrenaline, she scrambled out of the boat. Her ears rang, and her temples throbbed. Jeff grabbed her duffel bag and tugged her along.
Wait! The walkie-talkie! Shed dropped it on the bottom of the boat. It was the only way of reaching help. She turned to run back.
The speedboat raced toward the shore.
Bullets slammed into the ground, spitting up pieces of sand that bit her flesh through her pant leg. She let out a yelp as she skidded in the loose soil, her arms windmilling as she fought to keep her balance. Her mind screamed, Run for your life! while her practical side yelled, Get the walkie-talkie! It could be the only way they survived.
Leave it! Jeffs shouted command overrode her inner conflict. He captured her by the waist, hauling her off her feet, and ran with her in one arm and her duffel gripped in the other hand.
More bullets whizzed past, hitting the earth, the trees. Tessa gripped Jeffs arm with a fresh wave of panic. What if he was hit trying to protect her? She hated the thought of someone being hurt on her account.
Once they reached the shelter of the forest, he set her on her feet. Go! he urged, giving her a slight push.
She ran, charging through the underbrush, not caring that branches snagged at her clothes and twigs snapped beneath her heels. They were running for their lives. But at least they were alive to run.
Finally, Jeff tugged her behind the huge trunk of a Douglas fir. Dropping the bag on the ground, he pressed close to her, his six-foot frame crowding her personal bubble. Normally, she didnt like when anyone invaded her space, but she found comfort in the protection he so easily and willingly extended. That it was part of his job didnt matter. Shed take it.
Her breathing came in ragged gasps. She willed her heart rate to slow. Blinking up at him, she asked, What do we do now?
He leaned sideways to peer around the tree toward the lake, then straightened to meet her gaze. Pray. And thank God for the forest.
Was he being glib?
Looking into the depths of his blue eyes, she saw sincerity. Prayings good.
Holding her gaze, he said, Lord, we ask for Your protection. We ask that You would guide us out of these woods safely. In Your Sons name, amen.
Quick and painless. But would the words be effective? Shed had so many unanswered prayers in her life, she wasnt sure God really listened. At least not to her. Amen.
Jeff stepped back and surveyed their surroundings. We cant go back the way we came. Obviously, someone isnt happy were investigating the contamination.
Tessa dropped to her knees and dug through her bag. Ranger Harris gave me a map of the area. She tugged the folded map out of the pocket shed stuffed it in.
Jeff knelt down beside her to help unfold the map. He pointed to a spot along the lakeshore. This is where our boat is. He moved his finger in a straight line through the forest section and stopped. Were probably about here.
Theyd gone approximately three hundred feet. She studied the map. Look. Theres a fire road here.
Thats about twenty miles west.
She glanced to her right to where the nasty substance marred the forest floor. The same direction the toxins flowing from.
He nodded. Well either come across the source of the pollutant first or the fire road.
She had an awful suspicion that finding the source would be detrimental to their well-being. And when we get to the road, then what?
We follow it back to civilization.
And help. She was glad shed worn her older, broken-in boots, though she hadnt counted on a trek in the woods. Remembering she had a compass in her duffel, she dug the small device out to verify the direction they needed to travel.
He stood, his body tense as he looked from her to their surroundings. We have to pay attention to signs of life, human and animal. We dont want to go tramping into a cougar habitat or come upon a pack of gray wolves unawares.
This isnt my first foray into the woods, you know. Shed been trained in wilderness survival techniques. Not that shed ever had to use them.
He cocked an eyebrow. Im sure those situations werent like this.
She folded the map and stowed it away in the pocket of her duffel. No, they werent. Most of the fieldwork I do is with teams responsible for the protection and restoration of fish habitat management. I rarely venture far from the waters edge. And Ive never been shot at. She quaked, recalling how close those bullets had come. After tucking the flare gun inside the bag, she zipped it up and stood.
Here, let me take that. He reached for her bag.
She hesitated. Part of her wanted to let him carry her load. But that wouldnt be fair. Shed brought the duffel; she should be responsible to carry her bag. Ive got it.
His expression hardened. We need to move quickly. Its only going to slow you down.
Accepting his rationale was easier than accepting his help. She relinquished her hold on the duffel. Youre right. Thank you.
He settled the strap across his body. Why didnt you bring a team with you to the lake?
She shrugged, trying to downplay the truth. I felt a strong urging that I needed to get to Glen Lake quickly.
For expediences sake, shed advocated traveling to Glen Lake alone to assess the damage and then decide if a full team would be required to make the trek to Washington State. Shed hoped the fish kill was something simple, something that could be easily contained.
Unfortunately, that clearly wasnt the case. Once they returned to the ranger station, shed report in. By then the team would have been assembled and ready to move.
You listened to your gut feeling. He sounded approving. In my line of work, that could make the difference between life and death.
If what happened earlier was any indication of the type of situations he alluded to, she was glad she worked with fish, not criminals. She admired and respected men and women who put their lives at risk for others. It took courage and commitment. And apparently faith.
Has it? she asked. I mean, has your gut feeling saved your life?
He held her gaze. Yes. Though I prefer to think that God was prompting me rather than it having anything to do with me.
Interesting. She wasnt sure what she thought about his statement. Had God ever prompted her? Until today it had be a long time since shed thought about faith. She couldnt honestly say where she stood with God.
Needing to put them back on track, she said, We should go.
After a heartbeat, he looked away, releasing his hold on her. She filled her lungs with deep breaths as if shed been deprived of oxygen. Shaking off his effect, she put one foot in front of the other and moved forward.
Jeff gestured to the trees. See the patterns of the woods? The areas of light that seep through the canopy of tree branches? The dark places are where an animal would be most likely to hide. If we pay attention, the forest can tell us a lot about the creatures that live here.
Apparently, hed had some wilderness training, too. She glanced around. Though she still saw the ecological environment that could be broken down into fascinating individual pieces, she also saw the complex system of living organisms and an ecosystem that held dangers as well as secrets. So in addition to running for our lives and keeping an eye out for more bad guys, what should we be looking for?
The obvious is footprints. The ground closer to the runoff will be softer and will show more, but we cant rely on just the obvious.
A cold knot formed in Tessas stomach. If an animal drank from this liquid...
We might come across a sick or dead animal.
She shuddered at the images that rose in her mind. A sick animal could be more dangerous than a frightened one. The beast wouldnt have the good sense to avoid them. Most wild animals preferred to steer clear of humans unless provoked. An injured or sick creature might feel threatened and attack. Danger lurked in every direction. She moved closer to Jeff. What other signs?
Feeding signs, like clipped vegetation or buried carcasses. Sleeping places. Some animals, like the fox, sleep curled beneath a bush, which would flatten the ground cover.
They moved deeper into the forest. Keeping her gaze alert, Tessa had to double her steps to keep up with his longer stride.
He brushed back the branches of a bush for her to pass through a thicket. Rub spots, hair or feathers. Scat. Travel routes, places where the vegetation is packed down and bruised, or spots where the leaves have been disturbed or berries of a bush have been stripped or twigs broken or grass bent.
On the plane over from Utah, shed read up on the national park. Thered been numerous sightings of cougars this past spring. As well as black bears and wolves. One report sighted a grizzly bear roaming the forest.
These woods covered thousands and thousands of acres across two countries. The likelihood that theyd run into a wild beast was slim. But not impossible.
Tension tightened the muscles between her shoulders. How do you know so much about this stuff?
Through the U.S. Search and Rescue Task Force training.
Is that normal for a border agent?
He shrugged. Not mandatory. But essential when covering acres of forestland. My job requires I know how to track humans through the woods.
Shed heard stories of people trying to enter the country illegally through the forests that separated the U.S. from Canada. Jeffs obvious commitment to his job, to his country, was admirable.