Killer Summer

67

Ranches gave way to national forest, and soon there was not a structure in sight. The pale moonlight played off the towering blue-gray boulders to the right, the rolling carpet of evergreens to the left. A pair of amber eyes suddenly glowed at the side of the two-lane road, a black-tailed fox darting across in the glare of the headlights just barely in time to reach the other side.

“Sixteen miles on horseback,” Brandon reported, “four to five hours, if we can stick to the trail. If we’re lucky, we can cross to the east side of the Middle Fork by dawn.”

Jerry checked his watch. He’d been doing so often, far more than necessary. Walt was pushing seventy-five miles an hour with the light rack flashing.

“You understand, it could get ugly,” Jerry said to Brandon in the backseat.

Brandon looked up from the map and the handheld GPS, which he was programming, but didn’t speak. He and Walt met eyes in the rearview mirror.

“There are times to wear the badge and times to put it in the drawer,” Jerry said.

“That’s not the way we do it,” Walt said.

“If anyone survived, if anyone’s holding Kevin, it’s going to get wet. I just want both of you prepared for that.”

“Rescuing the boy and the girl is our first priority,” Brandon said. “I’ve got no problem with that.”

“The FBI gets hold of this…” Jerry cautioned. “I happen to know the SAC out of Salt Lake, personally. He’s a shock-and-awe advocate. Loves the heavy-handed approach. He’ll get them both killed. We’re not setting up comm lines, we’re not negotiating. We get our sights on these guys, we’ll drop them just like that. We’ve got to hit them hard without warning. We’ve got one chance. After that, they take control, and we oblige them. But we’re not going to let it get to that. Kevin is going to walk away from this.”

The whine of tire rubber on road filled Walt’s ears.

“I’m just saying,” Jerry continued, “that that’s the way it’s going to be. I need to hear you say it too, Brandon, or you can stay behind when we switch to the horses. I’ve got no problem with your doing that. It’s either all in or not in at all. An operation like this, it’s just the way it’s got to be.”

“We get it,” Walt said.

“I gotta hear him say it.”

“I’m in,” Brandon said.

“We might face charges,” Jerry said, “Walt and I… That boy’s our blood. It’s not fair to ask that of you, but I’ve got to lay it out the way I see it.”

“I’m in,” Brandon repeated. “And, just for the record, they fired first.”

Jerry turned to face Brandon for the first time.

He was grinning.