Margaret Daley - Guarding the Witness

* * *

After a couple of hours of walking as fast as they could through dense woods and rugged terrain, Brody spied a place that probably had been used as a campsite in the past. Thankfully it showed no signs of recent use. “Let’s stop and eat something.” He pointed at a crop of rocks. “I’m going up there to scout out our surroundings.” He took out his compass. “And make sure we’re going in the right direction.”

“Did I tell you I don’t cook?” Arianna said with a laugh. “So all you’ll get is something easy. Like peanut butter sandwiches without the jelly, and I’m afraid the bread has been squashed.”

After finding his first foothold, Brody peered at Arianna already digging into her backpack. “Right now anything sounds good. I’m starving.”

“So am I.”

Her gaze linked with his, and he glimpsed the toll the past hours had taken on Arianna. There were many people he guarded in the Witness Protection Program, but some were criminals. The ones like Arianna always got to him. The ones who weren’t trying to cut a deal or avoid the consequences of their actions, but were simply testifying because it was the right thing to do, no matter what the cost. He couldn’t imagine giving up his life and having to start a new one. But she would have to once the trial was over.

He climbed the outcropping of rocks until he reached a perch where he could lie down and scope out the area without being seen. He was most concerned with the terrain between them and the cabin.

The wind whipped against his face, carrying the scent of burning wood. A campfire nearby? Frowning, he focused the binoculars in the direction they’d come. A roiling mushroom of dark smoke billowed into the sky.

Was the cabin burning? The forest around it?

He trained his binoculars on the area, trying to see anything that would give him an idea of what they were up against. He couldn’t tell. After checking all the surroundings, he scrambled down the rocks and hurried to Arianna.

“We need to keep moving.”

She handed him a sandwich. “Take a few minutes to eat.” Studying his face, she pushed to her feet. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a fire behind us and the wind is blowing this way. I’m guessing it’s four miles back, but it has been dry in this part of Alaska, so there’s a lot of dry timber between us and the forest fire.” He took a bite of the sandwich, hefted his duffel bag and then slung his rifle over his shoulder. “Let’s go. We’ll eat and walk.”

“You think Rainwater’s men started a fire at the cabin? Why would they do that?”

“Maybe to cover up any evidence. To cause confusion. They had to know the U.S. Marshals Service would know when something happened at the cabin.”

“The fire means a lot of firefighters will be in this area.”

“Making it harder for us. Rainwater’s men can infiltrate the firefighters, using that as a cover for being here.”

Arianna nodded as she finished the last of her sandwich. “Which way?”

“There’s a river up ahead of us.” He checked the compass then pointed northeast. “We’ll have to cross it. It should be low because of no rainfall in the past month, but we’ll still have to swim.”

Arianna slowed her gait. “Is there a way around the river?”

“It stands between us and Fairbanks. Why?”

“I can’t swim well. Just enough to get by.”

“You can’t?” He’d never considered that. “Why not?”

“I almost drowned as a child. I was caught in a flood. Rushing water scares me. Is this river like that?”

“Yes. At least when it’s low you can see the rocks.” He wished there was another way to get across other than swimming. Arianna had already gone through enough.

She stopped and swept around toward him. The pallor on her face highlighted her fear. “I can do a lot of things. Climb up tall structures. Parachute out of a plane. Snakes, rats, spiders don’t bother me, but rushing water does. I’m only okay in a pool—still water.”

He hated to see the fear in her eyes, but there was nothing he could say to make it better. “We don’t have the time to find a way around the river. We have to cross it and there isn’t a bridge for miles. Besides, those will be watched.”

Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath. “Okay.”

She rotated back around and started forward, her strides long. But Brody had glimpsed how scared she was and wasn’t sure how they would get across the river that was a favorite of those who liked to ride the rapids.

* * *

Brody came down from climbing a tree to check the progress of the fire. His grim expression spoke of their dire situation even before he said, “It’s moving fast. Faster than us. Animals are fleeing the area—an elk herd is off to the right of us. But what is even more alarming is that I saw three dogs with several handlers—all armed. No uniforms on so we need to assume unfriendly.”

Dogs. Tracking dogs were hard to evade. Determined and relentless described the ones she’d worked with in the past in the service. “We’re boxed in then with the river on one side and the fire and dogs on the other.”

“Yes, and they are about two miles ahead of the fire so let’s getting moving.”

Arianna thrust a bottle of water into his hand. “Drink, and eat this protein bar. We’re gonna need to keep our energy up.”

After taking a swig of water, he started out at a fast clip, making his own path through the forest. “We’ve got to eat on the run. No other way.”

As she set into a jog, Arianna wolfed down her food. Her muscles burned from exhaustion and only her strong determination kept her putting one foot in front of the other. She refused to dwell on what she would face at the river. The scent of the fire intensified even as they moved away from it. When she inhaled deep breaths as she ran, she couldn’t fill her lungs with enough oxygen. Pain in her side stabbed her, her breathing grew more labored with each stride she took.

She periodically looked over her shoulder, checking the area behind her. At any second she had to be prepared to encounter people. Whether friend or foe didn’t matter because they couldn’t take a chance on being seen.

Brody came to an abrupt halt, his arm going up to indicate he heard something ahead of them. Arianna nearly collided with him but managed to stop in time.

He pointed to the left then whispered into her ear, “Someone’s coming.”

Arianna glimpsed something orange where he’d indicated. She scanned the forest, saw a place they could hide and tugged on Brody. She just hoped it wasn’t a tracker with a dog or their hiding would be in vain.

As quiet as possible, she crept through the underbrush with Brody at her side. Lying down on the forest floor beneath some dense foliage, she pulled her gun, praying she didn’t have to use it. Brody brought the rifle around and aimed it in the direction where he saw the orange.

Two men dressed as hunters, rifles in their hands, trekked toward the fire. While in Kentucky, Arianna had familiarized herself with every person known to be associated with Joseph Rainwater. She had planned on going back to Alaska as prepared as she could be. The larger of the two that passed within ten yards of their location was Boris Mankiller, an appropriate name for him because he was believed to be one of Rainwater’s most valuable guns for hire.

Mankiller and his comrade halted about twenty feet away. Mankiller made a slow circle, his rifle raised as though he sensed them nearby. Her heartbeat hammered so fast and loud she wondered if he heard it.

Brody signaled he had his rifle pointed at Mankiller. She lifted her Glock and targeted the man’s comrade, her breath bottled in her lungs.

One minute passed. Mankiller pointed at the sky in the direction of the fire. Arianna glimpsed the growing smoke, obscuring the sun and leaving a dimness in the forest as if it were dusk instead of the middle of the day.