Kenzie turned back toward the Team, pointed at the cave, and found herself shrieking and jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas morning. “They’re here! They’re up here!”
The rest of the Team ran toward her.
Chaska peered out from behind Gabe. “Hey, Kenzie.”
Harrison was the first to reach her. He stared up at the cliff wall, stunned. “What the hell? How did you get up there?”
“We climbed.”
Creed, Jesse, Marc, Julian, Bahir, and the hotshots were there now, too. Creed and Jesse whooped. The Hotshots stood together in a group, laughing.
“Hau, kola!” Tall Bull called up the Chaska, who looked astonished.
Hello, friend.
“Tall Bull?”
Marc glared up at Gabe. “You son of a bitch! I’m going to kick your ass!”
Gabe apparently thought all of this was funny. “Hey, Hunter, you’re here, too? Darcangelo, hey, man. Good to see you!”
Julian stared. “You have more lives than a fucking cat!”
Naomi, Kat and the kids—are they safe?” Gabe asked.
“Yes!” Kenzie shouted back. “They all made it out.”
Creed walked up to the rock, studied it, clearly trying to figure out how Gabe and the others had done it. “How did you pull this off, man? There’s not much here.”
“We had a lot of incentive.”
Jesse looked back at the burned forest. “I bet they did.”
Gabe grinned, waved. “Hey, Sasha, Nicole, Megs.”
Sasha and Nicole did what Kenzie had done, jumping up and down, hugging each other, and shrieking. But it was the relief on Megs’ face that brought tears to Kenzie’s eyes.
She bent double as if to catch her breath, then stood upright, and called up to Gabe. “I see you did what you do best!”
“Old habits die hard!” he called back.
Then Megs reached for her hand mic. “Scarlet Command, sixteen-oh-one, we have seven survivors.”
Her voice quavered. She released the mic.
Was Megs crying?
“Damned smoke.” She blinked, wiped her eyes, cleared her throat, and then took hold of the mic again. “Yes, seven survivors. They sheltered in a freaking cave about a hundred feet off the forest floor. Make sure someone notifies their families.”
Chaska stuck his head out again. “So, I’ve got a plan for getting us out of here. Anyone want to hear it?”
“Sure,” Jesse answered. “Hit me.”
Kenzie’s work as part of the Team was done. While the others talked through the rescue, she knelt next to Gizmo and gave him a whole handful of treats. She’d sent him to find bodies, and he’d found living people instead.
She rubbed his silky chest, ash and soot on his fur. “Good job, Gizmo. Good job.”
Chaska wasthe last to set foot on the ground. He was greeted with cheers, slaps on the back, hugs, and a kiss on the cheek from Sasha. Then someone shoved a cold bottle of water in his hands. “Thanks.”