Hidden Flames (26 page)

“But not all of the people here are completely trustworthy.” Prue reached up and took off her hat, for the first time voluntarily. She was giving him one of those frowns that stated she wasn’t happy with some of the decisions made. Neither was he, but he could see the reasoning behind bringing Rat and his little group into the camp. “I’ll have Henley introduce me, so that way I know what he looks like and I can steer clear of him. He won’t care for me because I’m with you, but it’s better just to avoid conflict all around.”

Prue didn’t have to explain why to Owen. She’d let quite a few customers know what she thought of them a time or two, and he’d had to go soothe the ruffled feathers on more than one occasion in order to keep the patrons’ business. He wouldn’t have her any other way and stole a kiss before they both went to retrieve their bags to stow their personal gear and then left the room in search of Mav and Henley near the main entrance.

“Now that we’ve got our packs stored, could you grab what we have on the back of the bikes when you come back?” Prue handed Owen his gasmask before heading back down the corridor with Henley. She called out over her shoulder, getting in the last word and knowing full well it would rile up Mav. “Let me know if you need help with the heavy stuff.”

“She’s something else,” Mav muttered good-naturedly, slapping Owen on the back as he steered him out the main corridor back to the freight elevator. Henley’s laughter could be heard from the other direction, but Owen ignored them both. “Let me show you the area that’s most vulnerable.”

“What area is that?”

“I believe the same natural springs feed both the lake up top and the well on the bottom level of the mine where we draw the whole compound’s drinking water.”

“What exactly are you saying? Could someone contaminate the spring we draw water from?” Owen asked as they took the elevator down two levels to access the utility tunnel where the natural gas pipes lead into the bunker. Mav tried to explain what his concerns were and why he believed the springs were in fact tied together, making it the most vulnerable point they had. Owen positioned his mask over his face and Mav did the same before they ventured out the concealed back entrance through the NG wellhead utility tunnel that would lead them to an area below where Mav was talking about. “Who’s guarding it now? It is one of our people, right?”

“Technically, no,” Mav offered up, tension radiating off of him in waves. “But Tank and I were working with what we had and I’m up in that area around the lake as much as I can be when I’m not needed here.”

“You’re talking about one of Truman’s team members.” Owen reached the ladder first and climbed the rungs until he was able to open the hatch into the wellhead building. Once they were both outside the security door, Mav secured the heavy metal latch and ensured the lock was engaged. “Why not assign them the front entrance? Those natural springs are what’s going to keep our asses alive.”

“Ann and Dean have the training needed to stop a determined group from invading from the top of the valley. If someone was to gain the high ground above us, they could sweep down through us fairly quickly.” Mav maneuvered the steep incline, his boots gaining solid traction in the ash. “Tank has a damn good security system set up, but it’s impossible to secure the entire mountain slope above and below with our limited resources.”

Mav was following the path they’d taken to come down off of the mountain earlier when Owen stopped him, pointing to another rise that would take them slightly out of their way, making them circle back slightly.

“Your tracks are becoming too deep here,” Owen explained, falling into line now that they were generating another route. “We want multiple sets leading away from the campsite and I’ll start forming various ones away from the springs above so that it’s not easy to find.”

“It’s good to finally have our resident tracker onsite.” Mav signaled with his thumb that he understood the reasoning of Owen’s request. Should the lodge ever try to be taken and someone made it through, it was best to delay them as much as possible. “There’s only so much time available during the day and we try to double up at night since nightfall is most likely the time someone would try to infiltrate the area.”

“There were no signs of anyone in town from what we saw when we came through.” Owen wasn’t used to the forest of trees being so silent. He strained to hear the slightest sound from the various animals that lived off of this land and heard nothing. They still had a ways to go before reaching the natural springs that fed the lake. He’d been there many times, but not on this past visit. “Have you noticed anything unusual?”

“I managed to get ahold of Cody and he said that for every person they allow through the border, three times that are turned away,” Mav said, pointing north to make his point. Cody was one of the Canadian border agents who would request help now and then from Tank if a fugitive managed to cross. He was a good guy and would be an asset during a time like this. “Those people have to be going somewhere. That means they have to cross this range at some point.”

“Let’s hope further east or west of here,” Owen muttered, being careful where he stepped. The last thing he needed was to fall and break a leg. He’d be useless. “I did mention to a couple who helped me after a slight accident that I was coming to Lost Summit. They seem like good people, but I was very careful about the details I gave. I figured we can screen those that arrive before allowing them into camp. I told them to hole up at the diner in town if they made it this far.”

“Give it a month or two and we’ll be able to move everyone back into town, using this land and John Wick’s acreage for growing food.” Mav veered off to the right and Owen followed, observing the ground as they walked. He still had a good couple of hours before it became too dark to really scan the area like he needed to, so he should be able to make some headway by leaving imprints around the springs instead of directly to it. They were lucky in terms of the ash being barely visible this far into the forest. The trees were thick enough to makeshift umbrellas over the surrounding area. “We’ll talk to Lola about opening up the inn for housing those stragglers that come through town and need temporary housing before they’re screened.”

“Lola will want someone there to make sure no one takes advantage of her though.” Owen could just make out the edge of the water, but didn’t catch sight of anyone who might be guarding the region. “Maybe Jeremy?”

“Oh man, you haven’t seen Missy in action, have you?” Mav chuckled at the inside information that Owen wasn’t privy to yet. He’d heard that Missy was also going out on rotation, but he hadn’t given it much thought. “She can shoot better than Dylan and Jason Wicks combined. That girl would have made one hell of a sniper.”

“No, shit?” Owen kept up the conversation as they walked closer to the edge of the spring, the water slowly bubbling into a small brook and tumbling down the boulders into the lake below. The dusting of ash was enough to catch that someone had walked through this area recently and he followed the route with his gaze, finally catching sight of the two trees that either Ann or Dean had passed. That’s when he caught sight of another trail and then another. “Who’s on rotation?”

“Ann.” Mav searched the area and it wasn’t long before the woman of the conversation stepped into the open area near the spring, nowhere near the trails she’d set down. Owen gave her credit. She was good…damn good. Mav spoke under his breath, but Owen was relatively sure she could still hear him even from thirty feet away. “She’s friendlier than Truman. Did I mention that he had personal business with someone in this area? I have a feeling she knows who, but no one is saying shit.”

“Mav, who do you have with you?” Ann called out, making her way over to them as if she didn’t know they were talking about her. She’d taken her gasmask off and it was currently attached to her belt. She was dressed in what he would call almost combat clothes—black boots, black canvas pants, and a matching tight-knit long sleeved black shirt with a utility vest that sported extra sleeves for magazines. She was carrying a Sig Sauer 716 Patrol model. She was the real deal. “A new recruit?”

Owen raised an eyebrow at the insult, but swore he saw a spark of humor in those cat-like green eyes of hers. That’s what she reminded him of too—a sleek black jaguar. She had high cheekbones, a wide mouth that she somehow pulled off in a stunning manner, and short black hair that somehow appeared styled even though it appeared choppy. It was how she carried herself that stood out, and Owen figured she might actually be able to take any of the men at the lodge.

“Owen Quade, this is Ann Moreau.”

“It appears you’ve saved me some time, Ann.” Owen removed his own mask, not needing it here among the protected zone. Mav had even mentioned that they’d divided up the landscape into sectors so that they could be monitored with boundaries in mind. “How many trails were you able to set in the ash in case someone comes too close to this area?”

“Enough that they’ll get confused,” Ann replied, looking back over her shoulder from the way she’d come after they’d shaken hands. He noticed that she wore black gloves as well, although the material appeared thinner than those bought from a typical store. Those were military issued, but not just to anyone. Just what kind of team had Truman been in charge of? “I was able to run some more wires on the reverse slope above the far side of the creek.”

“You know this area well?” Owen asked, getting the reaction he wanted. Ann swung back his way, her eyes narrowing in speculation.

“This is no different than anywhere else in the northwest corner of the country. It reminds me of mountain warfare training in Pickel Meadows. Do you know it? It’s not much territory to cover, considering the places I’ve been since.” Ann switched her gaze to Mav, apparently done talking to Owen. She didn’t appear to harbor any resentment toward him, but she apparently took her post seriously. “Dean’s been in touch and he’ll be coming round the west side, near the drop off of the main road leading into camp.”

“Radio him and tell him to stay there,” Mav instructed, starting that direction. “I want Owen’s opinion on setting up some type of monitoring system so that Jeremy isn’t taken off guard by any surprise visitors.”

Owen nodded his leave as he strolled past Ann, wondering again exactly what kind of team Truman had assembled. They didn’t appear in any way threatening to what Tank had constructed at the lodge and yet whatever personal business Truman had was yet to be resolved.

“You won’t be getting any information from her,” Owen stated, concentrating on the ground in front of them while his mind spun with theories of how Truman had landed in Lost Summit to begin with. “Dean?”

“Not a chance.”

“No wonder Rat isn’t your priority now,” Owen said, easily seeing where Mav’s attention had been held. “I’ll be the first to admit that we’ll be in deep shit if Truman’s personal business is somehow holed up within our camp. They aren’t your regular military and it pains me to say…they have training we only wished we had.”

P
rue walked out
of the game room and into the main sitting area of the lodge. She shook her head, now understanding where Henley was coming from in regards to Rat. He was the type that was all bark and no bite, but could shred apart something very important when not monitored properly…just generally an unruly dog. He certainly wasn’t the smartest in the bunch, but he was devious. She’d run into many people like that and didn’t care for knowing another one of them. Henley had the younger men keeping tabs on his movements and that was good enough for now, considering the demands on their time.

Gage Dorian seemed nice enough and he definitely had items at his garage that would come in handy, as well as Tank having that huge machine shop in the bunker. It had taken Henley over an hour to get Prue out of there, but she’d been right. It was her first day here and she had plenty of time to work. Henley took her through the entire bunker, back outside to meet more of the townsfolk who were pitching in on their tasks, and then back into the lodge a half hour before dinner. Rosa was sitting with Missy and Dylan while Owen and Mav still weren’t back yet. Henley had provided Prue with a two-way radio to communicate with those around the camp. She’d touched base with the men not even fifteen minutes ago and they were headed back this way.

Prue went in search of a restroom to wash up, ignoring the rumbling in her stomach from the delicious scents that were drifting from the kitchen, never having had time to take a shower. The system they had in place to feed everyone at the lodge was genius, allowing for rationing and time for the group to bond. She wasn’t into the whole
connecting with people
, but she understood why it was so vital in this type of setting. Personally, all she wanted right now was to return to the bunker and sleep for a good solid ten hours with Owen by her side.

Prue remembered there being a restroom in the front of the lodge. She finally reached for the pastoral curved brass doorknob that matched the rustic design of the lodge and pulled it open, not expecting anyone to be inside since the lock hadn’t been engaged. An elderly woman was leaning against the sink, clearly struggling to breathe. Her hand was on her chest and the wheezing noises caused Prue to cringe at such desperation. She immediately called out for help and quickly stepped into the small room, reassuring the lady that she would be just fine even though Prue had no idea if that was even true.