Free Fire (42 page)

Steamboat Geyser, which Cutler had said was by far the biggest and most unpredictable geyser in the world, was shootingup in a massive white column of water and steam, the eruptionfar above the tops of the trees to their left. Joe didn’t understand at first how big it was until he stopped the truck and realized that the geyser was miles away, that the eruption they could see pulsing white into the night sky was so huge it would drench—and possibly kill—anyone or anything around it.

“All my years up here,” Ashby said, “and I’ve never seen Steamboat go off. Hardly anyone has. My God, just look at it.”

Joe ran his window down. The geyser speared into the sky, blocking out a vertical slice of stars. Its roar rolled across the landscape, a furious, powerful, guttural sound as if the earth itselfwas clearing its throat.

And that wasn’t all, as the truck began to vibrate. A pair of Lars’s sunglasses on a lanyard started to swing back and forth from where they hung on the rearview mirror. Old cigarette butts danced out of the tray. Joe could feel the springs in the truck seat tremble, and ahead of them in the dark trees, snow came tumbling down from branches as the ground shook.

“Earthquake,” Ashby said, his voice thin.

“Big one,” Joe said, watching the snow crash from the trees to the ground like smoke pouring in the wrong direction.

“Jesus,” Ashby said, reaching out to steady himself on the dashboard. “This is huge.”

Out on the sequined meadow, a herd of elk emerged from the trees and ran across the virgin snow, hoofbeats thumping, sets of antlers cracking against one another as the bulls scrambledto separate themselves. The herd, more than eighty of them, thundered across the road in front of the truck, leaving a wake of snow, snatches of hair, and a dusky smell.

“Maybe this is it,” Ashby said.

Joe didn’t want to think that.

“Something really upset the balance,” the ranger said, pointingtoward a sputtering spray of superheated water that was shooting through the snow in the meadow the elk had just vacated.“It’s affecting the whole park. That geyser wasn’t there even two minutes ago. Now look at it.”

Joe had an impulse to call Marybeth, wake her up, tell her that he loved her. Tell her good-bye.

But the trembling stopped.

As did Steamboat Geyser. The new little geyser in the meadow spat out a few more gouts of water, then simply smoked, as if exhausted.

Joe realized he’d been holding his breath, and he slowly let it out. His grip on the steering wheel was so tight his knuckles where white. “I think it’s over,” he said. “I think we’re okay.”

“I hope so,” Ashby said.

Joe inched the truck forward, crossed the trail the elk had made, eased out into the meadow.

“I was just thinking I should start going back to church,” Ashby said. “Or put in my papers for a transfer to Mount Rush-moreor someplace like that. The Washington Monument. Maybe Everglades.”

It took until they could see the lights of Mammoth Village for Joe to fully relax. He wanted to know what had caused the eruptions and the earthquake, what had upset the underground plumbing system.

“We’ll probably never know what caused it,” Joe said.

“That’s the thing about this place,” Ashby said. “It’s so much bigger than us. We’re nothing here.”

Early the next morning, as the sun came up, Joe walked through the still and silent Gardiner cemetery. The snow was untracked until he got there. It took twenty minutes to find the gravestone for Victor Pickett. He couldn’t think of anything to say.

Before driving to Billings to see Judy and his father and return Lars’s pickup and meet Marybeth, who would take him home, Joe called the governor’s office. Rulon took the call and listened without comment as Joe outlined what had happened. Rulon’s only reaction was to curse when Joe told him about Chuck Ward.

“That sneaky son of a bitch,” Rulon said.

“So you had no idea what he was up to?” Joe asked, trying to sound casual.

“Of course not. What are you implying?”

“Nothing, except the last thing he told me,” Joe said, trying to swallow except his mouth was dry, “was that you knew everything.”

There was a long pause. Then the governor said, “Of course he’d say that. And he’ll probably say more and try to implicate me in order to cut a deal with the Feds. But he can’t prove anything,not a damn thing. Why would I send you up there after the fact to investigate if I had a role in anything?”

“Maybe because you thought I would fail,” Joe said.

“Well, I did think there was a pretty good chance you’d screw things up,” the governor said breezily. “That’s what you do. But no, I didn’t know about the microbes, although I’m fascinatedby the possibilities. We’ve got to own them. They belongto us . . .”

Joe could hear the excitement in Rulon’s voice. He listened as the governor speculated about the possibilities of gasification,of transforming the world of energy production.

“Do you realize what you’ve found?” the governor finally asked.

“I think so,” Joe said.

“Can we get those microbes?”

“I have no idea,” Joe said. “The secret will soon be out.”

“Then we have to move fast,” Rulon said, and Joe could picturethe governor gesturing to his underlings to come into his office. “I’ve got to go,” he said.

“I understand,” Joe said, “but there’s something else.”

“What?” Rulon said impatiently.

“My friend Nate Romanowski. The Feds took him.”

“I told you I didn’t want to know about him,” Rulon said. “In fact, I think our connection is going bad.”

“Governor—”

“I’m losing you! Damn! You’re fading away! Good-bye, Joe. And damned good work. Let’s keep in touch!”

“Governor . . .”

Instead of going North into Montana, Joe drove south into the park. It was hard to believe that the night before was the first major snowstorm of the season. By mid-morning, the roads had melted and were merely wet, and the sun blasted off the snow in a white-hot reflection.

He could see the tracks of the snow coach Olig had stolen going in and out of the Sunburst Hot Springs turnout, but Olig was gone. So was Clay McCann, Joe thought, so was Clay McCann.

Sunburst was dry, likely a result of the earthquake the night before. The pink microbes in the runoff stream were flat and turning gray as they died. Joe ran his bare hand over the flamer holes that once expelled natural gas. Nothing. He lit a match and waved it over the holes until it burned down to his finger-tips.

Yellowstone, joe thought, as he drove out of it, was the most beautiful place on earth. It was the beginning and the end of everything he knew. He couldn’t wait to get home.

Since
Free Fire
was written, three things have happened:

Scientists and geological engineers have begun serious research into whether microbes introduced to coal seams can produce natural gas or liquified fuel;

The National Park Services in Yellowstone has begun public hearings regarding the exclusive contractsto research firms for the bio-mining of unique thermafiles;

U.S. Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming has contactedfellow lawmakers with the purpose of future federal legislation to close the Yellowstone “Zone of Death” loophole.

The author would like to thank those who contributed to this novel. First and foremost, Brian C. Kalt, Michigan State University College of Law, for writing “The Perfect Crime,” a Legal Studies Research Paper Series. Those interestedin the official citation (
Georgetown Law Journal
, vol. 93sss, pg. 675) can look it up at
papers.ssrn
.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=691642. Mr. Kalt’s assistancewith technical aspects of the law and his theory were invaluable. Additionally, thanks to U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson in Cheyenne for reviewing the premiseand Wyoming game wardens Mark and Mari Nelson, as always, for reading the manuscript and offering their expertise.

In Yellowstone, I thank those who provided backgroundand documentation, including Cheryl Matthews, Brian S. Smith, Judy M. Jennings, Mike Keller, Bob Olig, and my friend Rick Hoeninghausen. The wonderful book
Old Faithful Inn: Crown Jewel of National Park Lodges
, Karen Wildung Reinhart and Jeff Henry, Roche Jaune Pictures, Inc., 2004, was a helpful resource as well.

My deepest appreciation for the hard work, loyalty, and dedication of Team Putnam: Ivan Held, Michael Barson,Katie Grinch, Tom Colgan, and my new editor Rachel Kahan.

And thanks to Don Hajicek for
www.cjbox.net
and the wonderful Ann Rittenberg for being Ann Rittenberg.

Turn the page for a preview of

Blood Trail

The next Joe Pickett Novel
by C. J. Box

Available in hardcover
from G. P. Putnam’s Sons May 2008

I walk along the edge of the meadow keeping the track of my prey to my right so I can read it with a simple downward glance like a driver checks a road map. But in this case, the route I am following
—
filled with rushes, pauses, and contemplation
—
takes me across the high wooded terrain of the eastern slope of the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. Like my prey, I stop often to listen, to look, to draw the pine and dust scented air deep into my lungs and to taste it, savor it, let it enter me. I become a part of the whole, not a visitor.

In the timber I do my best to control my breathing to keep it soft and rhythmic. I don’t hike and climb too fast or too clumsilyso I don’t get out of breath. In the dawn October chill, my breath is ephemeral, condensating into a cloud from my nose and mouth and whipping away into nothingness. If my prey suspectsI am on it
—
if it hears my labored breathing
—
it might stop in the thick forest to wait and observe. If I blunder into him, I might never get the shot, or get a poor shot that results in a wound. I don’t want that to happen.