“Thanks for having our backs,” Deputy Marcs said. “You’re one hell of a good shot with that rifle.”
Marc opened his mouth to respond, but Darcangelo cut him off.
“He was an Army sniper. How many confirmed kills, Hunter? Eighty-five?”
“Eighty-six.”
“For a time, he held the record for long-distance kill, too. He took out a Taliban leader from three-quarters of a mile away.”
Deputy Marcs gave a low whistle. “Wow.”
McBride looked back at Darcangelo, grinning. “Don’t feed the ego, remember?”
Marc didn’t have an ego—not when it came to his job. “Can I say something?”
“No.” McBride and Darcangelo said in unison.
“You know these two, sir?” Ahmad fell in beside McBride, a grin on his face.
“Only too well.” McBride chuckled. “Once upon a time, they put their lives on the line to save my wife, Natalie, and me.”
Ahmad nodded as if a mystery had been solved. “That’s why you put up with their bullshit.”
“Yeah. That’s it.”
Back at the row of vehicles, Marc dug into his pack for his water bottle and took a deep drink. It was easy to get dehydrated at altitude.
“A couple of hand crews can hook this thing and have it out in a matter of hours,” said the older firefighter with a clipboard in his hand.
A younger firefighter stood his ground, looking furious. “If this thing isn’t out before the wind hits, it will race up the slopes and make a run along the drainages that lead into town. Initial attackhasto succeed. We need aircraft.”
“We don’t—”
“Enough!” Sheriff Pella looked like he could use a drink. “I’ve got to go with Eric on this one, Terry. I’m going to request a helo or SEAT and a team of smokejumpers, but I can’t guarantee we’ll get anything. You know how it goes. Establish a lookout, and get your hand crews up there. I want reports frombothof you every thirty minutes.”
Sometimes it sucked to be the one in charge.
The younger one turned to face them and gave Marc and the other LEOs the once-over, his gaze landing on Deputy Marcs. “Hey, Julia. What are you doing up here? Did something happen at Joe’s mine?”
“It’s a training day. We’re playing a serious game of paintball.” Deputy Marcs pointed at Marc with a nod of her head. “This guy just saved my ass.”
“Nice.” Eric shook Marc’s hand, then Darcangelo’s and Ahmad’s. “Eric Hawke, fire chief for Scarlet Springs.”
No wonder the man had stood his ground when it came to that helicopter. If that fire took off, it might well make a run for his town.
Marc didn’t have firefighter training, but he could use a chainsaw and dig. “If there’s anything we can do…”
Hawke met Marc’s gaze, worry making his jaw hard. “I appreciate the offer, but you’d better hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Kenzie Morgan Conradwalked the block to Aspen Wildlife Sanctuary for a quick meeting with her friend Winona Belcourt, a wildlife vet. The two of them were Team members and had volunteered to help with this year’s Team fundraiser. It was their job to find restaurants to act as food sponsors for the event, which would be held in Boulder. The Team, an all-volunteer rescue organization, got all of its money through grants and donations, and the fundraiser brought in a substantial amount of their annual operating budget.
Kenzie walked through the front door and toward the back, where she found Winona taking care of a golden eagle, her eyes protected by goggles, heavy gloves on her hands to keep her safe from the raptor’s talons. But the beautiful bird wasn’t putting up a fight.
Kenzie stood outside the treatment room, waiting.
“Poison.” Winona wiped blood from its beak with a gauze pad. “It probably picked up a rodent that had ingested an anti-coagulant and got poisoned second hand. The only thing I can do for it is euthanize it, end its suffering.”
How awful.