Page 29 of SEAL the Deal

The voice came from behind them. They turned and found themselves staring into the barrel of a pump-action shotgun. The man that held it wore a denim shirt, dirty jeans and a ten-gallon hat. A fierce scowl adorned his face. “What the hell are you doing in our fields?”

“Look, our raft capsized on the river. We’re hiking out to the track so we can get home.”

The corner of the man’s mouth lifted in a snarl. “Bullshit.”

“Hey, essé we don’t usually go hiking in wetsuits,” snapped Ernie.

His eyes narrowed. “You better come with me.” He used the barrel of the shotgun to direct them through the plantation.

Mike caught Ernie’s eye and the Latino clenched his fist. He shook his head. There were too many variables. They didn’t know if there were other men in the plantation. “Hey bud, we’re not looking for trouble. We just need to find our way out of the woods so I can get to my wedding next week.”

“Yeah, well you’ll have to ask Travis.”

“Who’s Travis?” said Mike as they walked through the marijuana crop.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

The plantation was sizeable. Nothing like the scale of the operations Mike had seen in Afghanistan, but still at least a dozen acres of plants hidden under camouflage netting.

A minute later they arrived at what he guessed was the caretaker’s cabin. It was smaller than TJ’s, run down with a sloping verandah that looked on the verge of collapsing. To one side was a large steel cage with a doghouse inside. He glanced around but couldn’t see any dogs.

“Hold it there,” said their captor. “Travis!” he bellowed.

A thumping sound emanated from the cabin and the door swung open revealing a morbidly obese man wearing coveralls. “Who the fuck are these guys?”

“I found them in the crop.”

Travis scrutinized them through squinted eyes. “They look like cops.”

Mike shook his head. “We’re not cops, we’re rafters who capsized on the river. If you’d point us in the direction of the closest road, we’ll get out of your hair.”

The fat man’s forehead creased as he frowned and pulled a pistol from under his singlet. “Put them in the cage. Carter will know what to do with them.”

“What? Are you kidding me?” Mike took a step forward. “You can’t lock people up–” He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and his legs buckled. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was hitting the ground face first.

* * *

The light was fading fast as Jenny pulled her pickup into the parking lot of the ranger station. Ali rode alongside her. “Is the Malinois yours?” she asked as they left the vehicle and walked into the building.

“He’s Mike’s, my fiancé.”

Jenny held the door open for her. “He’s a beautiful dog. I used to have Shepherds when I was a girl.”

Ali’s phone beeped as they walked through the foyer of the log-walled station into the operations room. A single ranger sat behind a bank of computer screens with his feet on the desk.

The message was an update from Maria who was still at the park. The other girls had returned to the resort with Leonie.

“Jenny, that was Maria. The guys still haven’t arrived.”

“OK.” The ranger turned to her colleague. “Ben have we had any news?”

He lowered his feet and checked a screen. “No, nothing since this morning. Some guy called TJ rang in at 0930 to log his rafting trip. Nothing heard since.”

“OK, I think it might be time to contact the Sheriff’s Department.” She reached for a phone and hit a speed dial button.

Ali waited as Jenny spoke to someone on the line passing on the details of the rafting expedition. She tried to reassure herself that Mike and the others were safe. Something may have happened, but Mike and the team were highly trained professionals. What’s more, Rick was an experienced medic. None of it stopped her from worrying.

Jenny wore a glum expression as she returned the phone to its cradle. “Sheriff’s department won’t take any action until they’ve been missing for at least 48 hours.”

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