At sunrise the sky was still clear, but Creed had checked the weather forecast and knew it would be short-lived. Maggie had argued about him coming with them up to the site where the facility was buried. She had argued harder when he told her he’d bring Grace in case the viruses could be sniffed out or the electronic ping was too faint to be registering. Perhaps Grace would be able to hear it.
She told him that she suspected they’d need to trek on foot for a good portion of the way. That he and Grace would only slow them down.
“If that happens you can leave us behind.”
She rolled her eyes at him, then she said, “I would never leave Grace behind.”
He was glad to see she had her sense of humor because the Maggie O’Dell he had witnessed throughout the night made him still concerned about her motives. He had heard the sincerity when she explained about needing to do the right thing, but he also knew she was angry with Logan. He suspected she was even angrier with Ben. From his own experience, anger could be a destructive force.
This morning he, at least, felt clearheaded. The throbbing had eased. His chest ached but he could breathe more deeply. He examined Grace’s pads, pleased with how they looked.
Jason arrived bleary-eyed, bringing Molly with him. They settled in with Bolo.
“Maybe Bolo and me should be going with you.”
He watched Creed prepare his pack with the gear he and Grace would need. Creed was taking along a mesh carrier that he planned on using with Grace. It fit over his head and shoulder and swung down by his side. She weighed only fifteen pounds so it wasn’t any different from carrying his backpack. He had used the carrier before, placing Grace inside so she could ride against him but be comfortable and have access to enough air to still do her job.
He looked around to make sure Maggie was out of earshot when he sat down next to Jason and said, “If we’re not back by nightfall, give this to Vance.”
Jason stared at the tracking device, then asked, “You already think you’re gonna need to be rescued, don’t you?”
“Just a precaution.”
Truth was, he didn’t have a good feeling about this. What Jason didn’t know was that Creed would be tucking the companion to the GPS tracking device into Grace’s vest so at least she would be found.
He saw that Maggie was ready to go and he clapped Jason on the back.
“One other favor,” Creed told him. “Call Hannah. Tell her what’s going on. But wait until I have a head start.”
Jason smiled at the last part. “I’ll call Hannah, but you have to do one thing for me.”
Creed agreed before he realized the kid had something serious in mind. Jason left for the locker room and when he came back he was carrying the one item he wanted Creed to take along. That’s when he knew Jason also thought this trip up the mountain was a bad idea.
—
The three of them climbed into Ross’s SUV. Grace barely got settled before she started to stare at Creed. She was alerting.
How could she already be alerting?
Creed glanced around the vehicle. Maggie sat up front with Ross. He and Grace were in the back. Creed turned his body so he could get a good look at what was in the very back of the SUV. It was possible that the vehicle had carried equipment or there was residue from a previous cargo, but he couldn’t see anything suspicious. Other than Maggie and Creed’s gear in the back, there was only one other backpack. Presumably it belonged to the young guardsman.
Ross was dressed in crisp camouflage fatigues. Creed had noticed that his boots were spit-and-polish clean. Maybe his weapon was tucked away somewhere, but Creed doubted that would set Grace off. Once he caught the dog’s eyes wandering to the back of Ross’s head. Then she immediately looked to Creed again.
Ross told them that he had good news. The trip up to the facility would take less time because of the clear skies. He had a helicopter waiting for them just outside the city limits.
Grace appeared to have settled down. That actually made Creed feel better. Perhaps whatever she was alerting to had been residue in the SUV. He was relieved they wouldn’t have to trudge through the mud. Plus they could get this over with more quickly. Although helicopters reminded Creed too much of Afghanistan, Grace loved the adventure and the roller-coaster ride. Perhaps that would make her relax.
However, Creed took one look at Maggie’s face and knew she did not agree that the helicopter was good news.
67.
Ahelicopter! O’Dell’s jaw clenched and her stomach took a nosedive.
She hated flying, and doing it in a helicopter was a special hell of its own. She put on sunglasses and stared out the window. She’d been hoping to see blue sky for days.
Careful what you wish for.