“I’ll have to see how feral they are.” By the time she finished with Jason, the Team was arriving, Megs and Ahearn first in Rescue One.
Megs’ boots hit the snow. “Hey, Jack, Win, Jason. I should’ve known I’d find the three of you here. Now, will someone tell me what the hell’s going on?”
Chapter 15
Jason climbedonto Jack’s UTV, sitting next to Winona, her gear strapped onto the back with bungee cords together with some of the Team’s rescue gear.
Megs hurried over, handed something to Winona. “Take this.”
A radio.
“Thanks.” Winona clipped the handset to the collar of her parka, slipped the radio into her pocket, and tucked the earpiece in place. “I won’t tranquilize her until you’re there. I don’t want to risk having to drug her twice.”
“Got it.” Megs turned to the Team members. “On the double, people.”
Some wore skis, while others had snowshoes on their feet. Everyone carried heavy backpacks. They all set out up the snowy road.
“Win is riding, but we have to walk?” The exaggerated whiny tone of Herrera’s voice let Jason know that he was joking.
The ride up to the camp seemed to take longer than it had this morning, Jason’s gaze on the forest. Until the bastard who’d shot at them was caught, he wouldn’t let his guard down.
Nate dropped them off at the creek and turned back. “I’ll start bringing up Team members and see if we can’t speed things up.”
Up at the camp, they found Deputy Marcs and a ranger photographing, bagging, and tagging evidence—the porn mags, ammo cans, traps, weapons, tools.
“Look what we found.” Deputy Marcs held out a small plastic bag. “He left us this lovely fake ID. Meet Thomas Jefferson. Does he look familiar to you guys?”
Nate took the evidence, glanced at the photo, then handed it to Jason. “If it isn’t our sovereign citizen. Thomas Jefferson?”
Jason handed it to Jack. “I got a bad vibe off that guy.”
“Always listen to your gut.” Deputy Marcs took the evidence when Jack was done looking at it. “We ran the name on the ID. The name is bogus, too, of course, but we got a ping off the image from the fugitive database. His real name is Thomas Paul Graham. He’s done hard time. It would be easier for me to list the crimes hehasn’tcommitted than the ones he has.”
Winona didn’t want to see the ID. “What’s he doing up here?”
“He walked off a prison work detail in Alabama more than three years ago. Don’t worry, Win. We’ll catch him. He’s a fugitive, so the Marshal Service is involved now.” Then Deputy Marcs led Winona toward the kennel. “Come see our furry friends.”
Winona grabbed her gear and followed Deputy Marcs, a shocked look coming over her face when she saw the wolves. “He’s kept them locked up in this tiny kennel?”
“He chained the other one up here.” Deputy Marcs rested her hand on top of the large doghouse. “I’m sure the wolf loved that.”
While everyone else stayed back, Winona knelt beside the kennel, speaking Lakota in soothing tones. Jason didn’t understand a word, but he recognized the care in her voice.
“She’s not a wolf,” Winona said after a moment. “She’s a wolfdog crossbreed. You can tell by her eyes and how far apart they’re set. That doesn’t change our plans in any way. Her pups are about sixteen weeks old, and they’re all wearing collars. You don’t want us near them, do you, Mama? I understand.”
Winona sat back on her heels in the snow and got her gear ready, preparing the darts, setting out the restraints. Jason could only respect her skill.
“Are those critter handcuffs?” Deputy Marcs leaned closer, trying to get a look. “Aren’t they cute?”
“They’ll ensure that she can’t hurt herself or anyone else if she starts to come out of it early, but I’m usually pretty good at gauging how much to give. The mask is to muzzle her and protect her eyes from drying out.”
“Right.”
While they waited for the Team to arrive, Jason led Jack over to the smokehouse and opened the door. “He’s been smoking your beef and feeding it to his animals.”
Jack glanced inside. “That son of a bitch.”
By the time Team members began to trickle into the camp, Winona was ready. She explained to Jason what the Team members were doing.