Crown's Law (45 page)

“You just made it. Only the FBI knew where
you were. Nobody knew I was here—not even Becky. She’s with my
parents in Spain, so I just sent her an email telling her I was
going out of town—not where.”

“Are you crazy? That couldn’t have been the
FBI! That makes no sense at all! What would their purpose be?”

“You tell me, Bo. What are you working on?
There could be a mole in your unit, and somebody doesn’t like
something you’re doing,” replied Sam.

Their bodies were touching and Sam felt Bo’s
body stiffen. Had he hit home?

“Preposterous!” she exclaimed, but her mind
was racing. Sam could be right! “Besides, it could be a
coincidence. We might have been at the wrong place at the wrong
time. How would anyone find our campsite?”

“Your cell phone? It’s a government issue
satellite phone, right? It broadcasts your location at all times so
the Feds know where you are if they need you,” opined Sam.

“Shit! You’re right! I should call my boss
right now and ask him what the hell is going on!” moaned Bo.

“You have it with you?” groaned Sam. “Then
they still know where we are! Shit! We have to get rid of it! And
certainly no calls to anyone until we know who’s after who! Where
is it?”

“In the duffel bag. You’re being too freaking
paranoid, Crown! That phone may be our only way out of this mess!”
hissed Bo. He knew she was pissed at him when she called him
“Crown.”

Sam was already rummaging through the duffel
bag. He found the phone and took it out of the bag.

“Is there a ranger station anywhere around
here that might have a phone?” Sam asked her while he examined her
phone.

“Used to be. About five miles from here—all
uphill. Why?”

“I need to make a phone call, but not on this
phone. I’m going to go toss this into that canyon over there. Maybe
it will throw them off for awhile. Be right back. While I’m gone,
get some warm clothes on and fix those blankets so we can wrap up
in them. We’re gonna be here till first light.”

He slipped out of the cave and disappeared
into the dark. Bo was furious! Sam was being ridiculous! But . . .
if he was right about the phone, she was facing a scary situation.
Was there another mole in the FBI they hadn’t found? One in JTFE?
Was this attack made by whoever was paying for the stolen secrets?
She couldn’t even formulate the thought that it was actually the
FBI. Surely a call to her boss would have been safe, wouldn’t it?
He could send a chopper and a team of agents to pluck them out of
here, and find out who was behind this attack. Too late now! Her
phone was gone. She hoped Sam knew what he was doing.

Damn him!

She pulled on a sweat shirt and exchanged her
shorts for a pair of jeans, then arranged one blanket on the floor
of the cave. She was startled when Sam suddenly appeared next to
her.

“Damn! You’re quiet!” she hissed. “Scared me
half to death!”

“Luckily, my ’Nam skills are coming back
fast. I didn’t see nor hear anyone out there, but that doesn’t mean
anything. Let’s get warm and try and get some rest so we can find
that ranger station as soon as it gets light enough to travel.”

“I guess that’s our only option now. First, I
need a cigarette. Can you kind of block that entrance so your
bogeymen won’t see the flame?” said Bo with a touch of sarcasm.

Sam pulled on a sweat shirt and pants while
Bo puffed on her Benson & Hedges.

“Don’t be mad at me, Bo. Just humor me. If
you still feel strongly about this in the morning, we can work our
way back down to the campsite and talk to the Sheriff’s people. But
I’d still rather know who and what we’re dealing with before we
surface.”

“OK, Sam. Truce for now. Let’s try and get
comfortable—though it will be difficult in this frigging cave.”

They lay down on the blanket in the spoon
position and pulled the other blanket over themselves. Sam threw
their jackets over their legs for extra warmth, then snuggled into
position. Sam cupped one of Bo’s breasts in his hand and pulled her
close against his body.

“How’s that?” he murmured.

“What? This miserable place, or the fact that
you’re feeling me up?” snickered Bo.

“I’m just trying to relax you—take your mind
off our situation.”

“Dream on, buddy! I’m not taking these pants
off tonight! It’s too damned cold!”

***

As the blackness of the cave lightened to
gray, Sam awoke with a start and reached for the Winchester. His
fingers were tingling because he had slept on his arm, cutting off
circulation. He flexed his fingers a few times. For a long beat he
thought he was in ’Nam. He could hear the familiar sound of a
chopper outside his hole. Then he suddenly realized where he
was—still snuggled against Bo. But . . . that was definitely a
chopper out there!

He squeezed Bo’s breast and whispered in her
ear.

“Bo, wake up! Quietly!”

“Mmm,” she replied as she pushed back against
him. “Your horniness knows no end! You’re insatiable!”

He grinned in spite of himself.

“I’ll take a rain check for now. We have
trouble. Hear that chopper?”

“Oh, shit! But . . . maybe it’s a search
party looking for us?”

“Maybe. Not likely. I’ll go sneak a look
while you pack the duffel,” he said as he sat up and rubbed his
eyes. He put on his short hiking boots and his jacket.

“I’ll be right back,” he told her as he
slipped out of the cave with the rifle in his hand.

Bo folded the blankets and packed the duffel
bag, then laced up her short boots. She checked her pistol, donned
her shoulder holster, and slipped on her jacket. She was ready for
whatever was out there.

Ready for what?
she thought.
Who’s out there? Maybe
Dad has the rangers looking for us. They would have discovered our
empty, bullet-riddled tent when they checked that fire. Those other
guys wouldn’t still be hanging around. Would they? Where would they
get another chopper?

***

Sam slipped back into the cave and leaned the
Winchester against the wall.

“Do you know a way to that ranger tower
without us being seen from the air?” he asked.

“Why? What’s out there?” she gasped.

“A big, black Bell chopper. Just like the one
I shot down. It’s down in the canyon where I threw your phone.
They’re obviously homing in on it.”

“Not rangers looking for us? Damn! No FBI
letters on the chopper?”

“Not that I could see. We can’t trust whoever
it is. Get me to the phone and I’ll try and get us out of here
safely. Then we’ll try and find out what the hell is going on!”
exclaimed Sam.

“I hope you’re wrong about who’s out there,
but let’s play it safe. Follow me,” replied Bo as she started for
the cave’s exit.

It took them three hours of climbing,
resting, and hiding to cover the five miles to the ranger tower.
They had heard the chopper only twice during their trek. They
hadn’t heard it for the last hour. When they spotted the tower,
they hunkered down under a pine tree and Bo retrieved the
binoculars from the duffel bag and watched the tower for a long
minute.

“I can’t see anyone there. Here. You take a
look,” said Bo, handing the binoculars to Sam.

He confirmed her opinion.

“I hope the phone up there works,” mused Sam.
“I thought I was in better shape. Every muscle in my body aches!
Maybe I should have made a call before I tossed your phone.”

“I have a few aches of my own. When I was
younger, a climb like that was nothing. Who’re you gonna call?”
asked Bo.

“The only one I can trust right now,” he
responded without really answering her question. “We’ll move to
that copse of trees over there, then I’ll go up to the tower while
you cover me with the Winchester. I’ll give you some hand signals
we can use to communicate with. If something goes wrong and we have
to split up, where’s a good place to meet?”

Bo thought for a moment, then said, “About a
mile to the south there’s a small creek that runs east and west. Go
downstream to the first waterfall—about a mile or so, depending on
where you intersect the stream. There’s good cover there. But . . .
what could go wrong?”

“You never know. Best to plan for everything.
Keeps you alive. Where’s the closest place to set a chopper down?
Or a light plane?”

Bo thought,
What’s he up to?

“About a half-mile south of the waterfall I
told you about, there’s a flat, grassy meadow. I know hunters land
planes there occasionally during hunting season. It’s pretty safe,”
mused Bo.

“Good. Thanks! Let’s do it!”

Bo had a queasy feeling. Was there really a
phone up there? What would they do if there wasn’t one?

Bo watched diligently while Sam made it to
the base of the tower. It rose some 20 feet from the ground on four
legs secured with crisscrossed 2' by 6' wooden ties. A wooden
ladder led to the small cabin on top. Bo signaled to Sam that
everything looked clear and he scurried up the ladder and into the
6' by 6' observation cabin. Wooden shutters on all four sides were
closed and latched from the inside. He opened one set so he could
see Bo. He waved.

There was a small cot against one wall, a
tall stool with a back, and a built-in writing surface. There was a
black phone mounted on a vertical post. He picked up the handset
and listened. No dial tone! Then he spotted the box with the hand
crank on it. It was there obviously to generate power for the
phone—a radio phone.

There was a map of the area on the built-in
table. It was covered with thick, clear plastic. The tower’s
location was marked on the map, so Sam was able to find the meadow
that Bo had mentioned.

Well, here goes!
thought Sam as he started cranking and dialed a number tucked
away in his memory. It was a toll free number that reached his
father’s satellite phone. After three rings, a voice answered,
“Hello?”

“Dad! It’s Sam. Listen closely. I need help!
This is not a secure phone, so we need to be terse. Write down this
lat and long.”

Sam read off the latitude and longitude of
the position of one corner of the meadow from the map, then
continued, “Can you get a plane or a chopper there ASAP to pick up
me and Bo?”

John Crown knew better than to waste time
asking questions about why Sam needed help. He said, “Where is that
location? I don’t have a map handy.”

“A few miles south of Durango, Colorado,”
replied Sam.

“OK. That’s close to New Mexico, isn’t it?
Give me three hours. Be there then, Sam. Password is
‘Excalibur.’”

“One last thing, Dad. Becky could be in
danger. I’ll explain why later. Can you kinda make it hard to be
found for a couple of days? I don’t want to ruin your vacation, but
. . .”

“I can handle that, Sam.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

The line went dead as John disconnected, not
wanting to waste any time chatting—especially on an open line. Sam
gave Bo a thumbs-up sign and closed the shutter doors and began his
climb down the ladder. That was when he heard the familiar sound of
the chopper again. He scurried to the bottom of the ladder and
signaled to Bo to hide and head for their rendezvous point. Then he
dove into some nearby bushes.

A black chopper appeared and took a swing
around the ranger tower, then hovered for a moment. Sam lay
perfectly still.

Damn! Another chopper? Or
the same one I saw earlier?
thought Sam, remembering
that the phone he had used was a radio phone, not a land
line.
Could they have equipment that
detected the use of that phone? Who are these assholes? Did they
hear my conversation? Or just detect the signal? They may put
someone on the ground to check it out! I better hightail it out of
here and meet up with Bo!

He checked his watch. They had to be at the
meadow at 1:13 P.M. The chopper began descending. Sam remembered he
was unarmed. Bo had the rifle and her nine and she was gone. He was
in trouble.

Saturday, July 7, 2001

Colorado Mountains

Bo reached the waterfall meeting place by
10:45 A.M. and concealed herself in a place where she could watch
for Sam. She was familiar with this mountain, but Sam wasn’t. She
hoped he didn’t get lost—then what would she do? She wondered if
the people in the chopper had seen him? She was very nervous. She
had to pee! She looked for a spot where she could safely drop her
pants. What would she do if Sam didn’t show up?

***

Sam got away from the tower without being
seen, but he stopped and watched as a man was lowered to the ground
to check out the tower. He moved slowly south, looking for the
stream Bo had told him about. His old jungle instincts had returned
in full force so he felt more at ease with his environment. He
found the waterfall at 12:35 P.M. and approached it slowly, looking
for signs of Bo. He knew that she would be there before him. He saw
no obvious signs.

Good!
he
thought.
If I can’t spot anything, neither
can anyone else. Where are you, mountain lady?

Bo appeared suddenly and motioned for him to
follow her. He caught up with her and took the duffel as she headed
downstream, walking in the shallow water along the bank. When they
reached a large tree that had fallen across the stream, Bo ran
across it to the other side of the creek. Sam stayed close behind
her. She sat on a log to rest and he joined her. They kissed
briefly.

“They put a man on the ground to check the
tower,” he whispered as Bo lit a cigarette. “They must have
equipment that detects radio signals. We hadn’t heard or seen them
for two hours, then there they are!”

“Who the hell are they, Sam?” wailed Bo as
she exhaled some smoke and batted at it with her hand to disperse
it.