Page 43 of SEAL the Deal

“Yeah, sulk while I solve this damn problem.” As he turned his attention back to the radio he spotted movement on the trail that led through the plantation. It was a dog. To be more precise it was Bones, Hank’s dog. Something must have happened. That was why he wasn’t getting a response on the radio.

“Fuck.”

The dog made its way across to Travis and sat at his feet. “Carter, Bones wouldn’t leave Hank.”

“No shit.” He changed the channel on the radio and called his deputies. “Ed, you read me?”

“Yeah, boss,” came through immediately.

“I need you to get to Granite Hut. Is Harold with you?”

“Yeah, we found a truck down at Whistler’s Clearing. It’s one of the rangers.”

“Goddamn Jenny,” he said to himself. He depressed the transmit button. “Immobilize it and then get up to Granite. Something’s happened to Carl and Hank.”

“Yeah boss, you can count on us.”

Carter stepped off the balcony and strode across to the cage where he locked eyes with the grizzled old SEAL, if that’s what he actually was. “If your buddies killed any of my boys I’ll slit your throat.”

The man stared defiantly at him. Carter spat in the sand, turned and tossed his radio to Travis. “Watch them and keep an ear out.” Then he disappeared inside.

A moment later the older guy called out from the cage. “Travis, I don’t think he respects you very much.”

The overweight yokel racked the action of his shotgun. “Shut the hell up.”

“Just an observation. Looks like you do all the work around here and Carter gets to call the shots.”

Travis pried himself from the chair and waddled across to the cage. “I know what you’re trying to do G-man. Divide and conquer and all that stuff. I know exactly how you work, but it ain’t gonna work on me.”

“Hey, I’m just making an observation.”

“Yeah, well keep them to yourself.”

* * *

Ali slowed the buggy and came to a halt at a fork in the track. The GPS was struggling to keep up. She guessed it was because of the dense forest coverage. Idling she waited for the dash mounted device to update.

She didn’t hear the two ATVs that appeared on the opposite track. The noise of her engine masked their approach. They blasted around the corner, nearly collided with her as they shot past. She watched in the mirror as they skidded to a halt in a cloud of dust.

The idea of asking them for help dissipated as quickly as she spotted a weapon in the mirror. One of the ATVs turned toward her. The other zoomed off in the direction of the hut.

Ali dropped her Polaris into gear and floored it. The thousand cc engine roared, wheels spun and she rocketed down the trail. Branches slapped the roll cage as she accelerated, her eyes watering as she hit forty miles an hour. A glance in the mirror confirmed that one of the buggies was in pursuit.

She gritted her teeth and pushed the throttle harder. People were depending on her. Mike depended on her.

Spotting a sandy section ahead she backed off the gas. Then as she entered a corner she put the Polaris into a controlled slide narrowly missing a tree as the road snaked back into the woods.

Gunshots rang out and bullets cracked past her head. One ricocheted off a roll bar punching a hole in the plastic roof.

Ali checked the mirror. Her pursuer was only a few yards behind, close enough for her to see it was one of Carter’s deputies, Ed. “Son of a bitch.” She braced and slammed on the brakes. The other buggy hit hers with a thud.

The driver wasn’t prepared and was flung forward against the steering wheel. Over her shoulder she saw a pistol fly through the air.

She rode the impact, accelerating away. The track was rocky and she tried to check the GPS as the buggy bounced down the ridgeline. A spinning icon told her it was useless.

The track took a hard left and dropped away. She wrenched the wheel and jumped on the brakes, wincing as it jerked her injured arm. Sitting high in the seat she peered over the hood. It was steeper than anything she’d attempted in her dad’s farm buggy.

An engine roared behind her.

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