Spy High (13 page)

After another ten minutes of walking, I
still couldn’t bring myself to talk on the phone. What if I’d been
followed? I had been vigilant, but it wouldn’t take much woodcraft
for someone to remain concealed in this dense undergrowth. Orion
could be only a stone’s throw away, easily able to hear my voice in
the silence of the forest.

I blew out a breath and sank down to
sit on a fallen log. Moss squished and icy wetness soaked my ass. I
sprang up and twisted to survey the dark stain spreading on my
faded denim.

“Sure, fine,” I muttered. “So now I
look like I peed my pants. Perfect.”

Well, I wasn’t going to get any wetter.
I blew out a breath of resignation and resumed my soggy seat.

Unslinging my backpack, I cast another
glance around me. No threats appeared, so I plugged a phone into my
laptop and fired up Stemp’s communication system.

As usual, he was right on top of it.
The cursor zipped across the screen. “Report.”

I typed, “Sorry I can’t call in.
Someone might be listening. Orion is carrying nylon hand
restraints. He tried to hide them and I pretended I didn’t see
them, but I’ll need more equipment. Has the courier gone yet?”

“No. What do you need?”

“A trank gun, the silent kind. Some
hand restraints. And do you have any locator/transmitter devices?
I’d like to plant one on Orion so I can keep tabs on him.”

His reply came back instantly. “What
range do you need?”

Calculating, I stared up at the slivers
of putty-coloured sky visible through the forest canopy before
typing, “Probably no more than a mile. How big is the
transmitter?”

“Only a few millimetres in diameter.
It’s self-adhesive, so you can stick it onto something he carries
with him.”

“Great. I’ll look for the package at
the depot tomorrow.”

“No. Stand by.”

I frowned at the blinking cursor. No?
Dammit, I needed that stuff now. Hell, yesterday would have been
nice.

After a short wait, the cursor moved
again. “I can’t send classified technology via common carrier. A
courier agent will bring it. I can have someone in Port Renfrew by
four o’clock this afternoon. Where do you want the dead drop?”

I blinked at the screen. Holy shit, he
wasn’t messing around. As far as I knew my ‘mission’ out here was
completely unofficial, and I’d been surprised when he had provided
me with secured phones in the first place. Now I was getting
classified technology via courier agent? If Stemp was using
Department resources for personal reasons, it was a risky move for
him.

Well, whatever. He was covering my ass
and I appreciated it.

I returned my fingers to the keyboard.
“I’ll bring the commune’s station wagon. It’s a rusted-out brown
1978 Ford wagon with fake wood panelling. I’ll park at the internet
café and leave the rear door unlocked so the courier can drop the
package while I’m inside the café.”

“Confirmed.” The cursor blinked briefly
before he added, “If you believe there is any danger to my parents,
you are authorized to use deadly force if necessary.”

Gulp.

My shaking fingers typed ‘Acknowledged’
and the text window vanished, leaving me staring at the blank
screen as though it might reach out and bite me.

I had no doubt that Stemp would stand
behind that command even if he didn’t have the authority to issue
it. If anything happened and I actually had to shoot somebody, he
would take the fall, not me.

Several months ago, I had wondered
exactly how far he’d go to protect his family. Now I knew.

I shivered and repacked my laptop in
the backpack. Suddenly I was very glad Stemp considered me an
ally.

My trip back to the commune was
uneventful and considerably more pleasant in broad daylight. As I
drew closer, I scanned the bluff near Skidmark’s empire and finally
spotted the bench. Nobody was sitting on it, and I relaxed
fractionally even though I knew there were probably more
observation points near it where a person could stand completely
concealed.

Speaking of which…

My steps slowed in thought.

Time to pay a visit to Skidmark.

But first I had to make sure Moonbeam
and Karma were all right. Stemp would kill me if something happened
to them while I was messing around in the forest.

I turned my steps toward the
encampment, wondering whether that was only a figure of speech. He
would never lose control and kill me in a fit of rage, but I
already knew he wouldn’t hesitate to dispassionately execute anyone
who posed a threat to his family. And I would definitely be a
threat if he decided he couldn’t trust me.

I picked up the pace.

When I strode back through the gates I
accosted the first person I saw, a short grey-haired woman with a
face like tanned leather. I couldn’t remember whether she was
called Primrose or Meadowlark, so I settled for a generic ‘Good
morning’ before asking after Moonbeam’s and Karma’s
whereabouts.

She shook her head regretfully. “Sorry,
sweetie, I didn’t set eyes on them at the Calling. I don’t know
where they’d be at. Might be they’re in their tent or having a
snack in the kitchen.”

I hurried on, asking whomever I met and
receiving similar replies. At Moonbeam and Karma’s tent I scratched
at the flap without getting a response, and turned toward the main
building with my heart thumping a little faster.

The commune sprawled across at least
eighty acres. They could be anywhere. It didn’t necessarily bode
ill that nobody had seen them, but after practically shadowing me
for the past few days Orion was nowhere to be found either.

Dammit, I didn’t like that combination
one bit.

A rapid search of the main building and
kitchen did nothing but make my stomach growl and raise my anxiety
level. No sign of Moonbeam, Karma, or Orion.

Turning away from the building, I
pretended it was only hunger causing the hollow shaky feeling in
the pit of my stomach. Shit, maybe I should have been following
Orion instead of rushing off to report to Stemp.

What should I do now? How long should I
search fruitlessly before sounding the alarm, and if I did need to
sound an alarm, how could I do it in a way that wouldn’t blow my
cover with the other commune members?

I turned resolutely in the direction of
the garage. One last possibility before I allowed myself to
panic…

I drew a sudden breath of relief
tempered with nervousness as I rounded a bend in the path and
spotted Orion, Karma, and Moonbeam coming toward me. Thank God. I’d
feel a lot better if Orion wasn’t with them, but I’d take what I
could get.

“Did you have a nice walk, dear?”
Moonbeam inquired as they drew abreast. She eyed my backpack and
survival knife. “Merciful Spirit, you look as though you’re going
to hike for a week.”

“I did have a nice walk, thanks.” I
avoided looking at Orion. “And the backpack is only because I’m
carrying my laptop with me. I thought I’d head into town and get
some time at the internet café.”

“Oh, I don’t know if you’ll be able
to.” Moonbeam’s brow furrowed. “I think the truck has quit again,
and the car hasn’t been running for a couple of weeks now.”

“But I just fixed the truck yesterday,”
I argued. “It was working fine at three o’clock.”

“Oh, well, maybe I’m wrong,” she said.
“I don’t know a thing about cars. Don’t forget to write your
departure time on the board in case anyone else wants to ride with
you.” She gave me her beatific smile. “We mustn’t squander our
gasoline or pollute the planet any more than necessary.”

I nodded and was beginning to edge past
when she laid a hand on my arm. “Actually, dear, I’m glad we ran
into you. I was hoping we could have a talk.”

“Come on, Orion, let’s get some
breakfast,” Karma said in a slightly heartier voice than usual. He
shot a significant look at Orion and the two of them headed down
the path toward the main building.

I braced myself.

Moonbeam’s china-blue gaze looked
through to my soul and I fought the urge to confess every sin I’d
ever committed. Damn, no wonder Stemp had such rigid self-control.
If he’d learned to withstand that look as a child, even the most
insistent interrogator wouldn’t be able to crack him.

“You told Orion Moonjava a little fib
this morning,” she said at last. Her tone wasn’t accusing, but
shame heated my cheeks nonetheless.

“Um, yeah. I, um…” I let out a sigh, my
shoulders slumping. “Yeah.”

“Why, dear?” She gave me a searching
look. “If you were trying to deter him sexually, it would have been
better to simply be honest. ‘Thanks but no thanks’ is a much more
respectful way to communicate your feelings, and in any case,
having your period isn’t a deterrent to a partner who-”

“No!” I barely resisted the urge to
clamp my hands over my ears before she could enlighten me further.
“No, it wasn’t that, I, um…” Backed into a corner, I scrambled for
an explanation. Heat rose in my face until I was sure my eyebrows
were beginning to smoulder.

“Just be honest, dear,” Moonbeam chided
gently. “Your poor aura is almost completely subsumed by that ugly
grayness.”

“I was avoiding the Calling!” The words
burst out before I could stop them. “I’m sorry, but I don’t…
believe…” The words stuck in my throat as I looked into those soft
blue eyes. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders. “I don’t
believe in the Earth Spirit the way you do, and the Callings are,
um…” I stopped myself from saying ‘a complete waste of time’.

“…not really meaningful to me,” I
finished instead.

“Oh.” The single word was infused with
such sadness that guilt twisted my heart.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

“There’s no need to apologize for your
beliefs, Storm Cloud Dancer,” she said, but disappointment vibrated
in her words. Her gaze looked through me again, and she reached up
to lay a gentle palm against my cheek. “You’re still not being
completely honest,” she said. “And I see fear in your aura that
wasn’t there before. Please tell me what’s wrong. Did Orion
Moonjava frighten you in some way?”

Goddamn it. I had enough trouble
keeping a poker face without any creepy aura-reading.

“No, of course not,” I said, struggling
to keep my aura under control, however the hell one might do
that.

“Oh, Storm Cloud Dancer, don’t be
afraid.” Moonbeam pulled me into her arms, rocking me and stroking
my hair as if comforting a small child. “You’re safe here. No one
will harm you. Whatever evil touched you before, it can’t reach you
within our lands.” She took my hand to touch the wooden beads of my
bracelet with reverence. “Remember, dear, as long as you wear this,
you’re under the protection of the Earth Spirit whether you believe
in it or not.”

The sweetness of her concern touched my
heart and I hugged her in return, her fine bones birdlike in my
arms.

If Orion harmed her, I would kill
him.

The matter-of-factness of that
knowledge sent a shiver down my spine, and I manufactured a smile
and put it on before releasing Moonbeam from the hug.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll see you
later. And…” I touched her shoulder lightly, trying to find a way
to warn her without blowing my cover. “… stay close to Karma, okay?
You’re hardly more than a mouthful for that cougar.”

She chuckled. “You worry too much,
dear. None of the Earth Spirit’s creatures would ever harm me.”

Successfully resisting the urge to tear
my hair out, I smiled, nodded, and strode on down the path.

How the hell could I keep them safe
when they trusted everybody? Even if I warned them, they wouldn’t
take me seriously. They had their wooden bracelets and their Earth
Spirit to protect them.

I groaned and walked faster, welcoming
the burn in my leg muscles while I powered up the hill to the
garage. Next stop, Skidmark’s lookout.

A few minutes later I sank down on the
bench and stretched my legs out as though resting. Scrutinizing the
view below me, I panned slowly from one side to the other, trying
to memorize every detail.

Across the river, tiny figures marched
in formation. Little glints from the marchers caught my eye and I
sincerely hoped they were musical instruments for a marching
band.

I snorted cynicism. Yeah, right.

Ratboy’s army-style boots and
misogynistic attitude likely indicated some wacko paramilitary
group. They were probably over there marching with bayonets,
pretending to be real men while true heroes like Kane and Hellhound
quietly put their lives on the line without ever expecting thanks
or recognition.

Straining my eyes, I squinted through
the misty air but I couldn’t see any structures other than a large
tent in a clearing near their marching field. There had to be
sleeping tents and latrines, but I couldn’t spot them under the
trees. Another long slash in the forest looked like some sort of
target range. From my own target-shooting days, I recognized the
foot-worn trails in the grass, widening around small structures
that were probably backstops. I had never heard gunfire coming from
over there, though, and I couldn’t imagine Moonbeam and Karma
willingly renting their land to that kind of group.

I hissed air out between my teeth.
Maybe I was just too paranoid. That layout could be anything.

Shit, I should have asked Stemp to send
binoculars. Too late now. The courier would already be getting on a
plane.

Knotting my fists in my hair, I
scrubbed my knuckles against my scalp in an attempt to rub away a
tension headache that was starting too early in the day.

On our side of the river, small figures
meandered along the commune’s network of paths between the main
building, garden, and encampment area. Tracing the pale lines of
gravel, I identified Moonbeam and Karma’s tent and rubbed a fist
over the frown lines in my forehead.