Red North!

CHAPTER 12

  I'd scouted out a safe house when I first got into town. I always had a backup plan when on assignment.? This time, my backup plan included a small cabin in the woods that was off the beaten path-one that I'd previously rented remotely through an online realty agent.? As far as the agent knew, I was just a guy looking to be alone in the woods to do God knows what, which is nothing unusual for northern California.? I wanted to blend in.? Be invisible in plain sight, which would be easy to do here in this little backwater community.?

  The house was in an area where there was no cell service. That was intentional on my part and didn't concern me because I traveled with a satellite phone. ?The lack of cell service limited communications by anyone else, though, so I was sure no bad guys would want to be out here.? Should any of them actually stumble upon me, they'd have bigger concerns than just communications. ?Since my run-in with the men in The Tavern, I was on alert now and would not be an easy target.

  When I arrived at the cabin, I got out of the car and took out my weapon, holding it in my left hand and just let it hang low by my side, having decided it would be better to have it in my hand than not.? I looked around to see if there were any signs that anyone had been here since I was a week ago.? The door appeared to still be locked and the ground looked unremarkable, which was reassuring, but only to a point.? I went inside and paused for a moment to listen-another activity that many people don't do.? I just stood still for a moment but didn't hear anything out of the ordinary.?

  I crossed over to a closet, locked with my own padlock.?Seeing it intact and nothing else being out of place, I put my weapon away and opened the closet to look for the small, secure gang-box I'd left there. ?I pulled it out and put it on the kitchen table, opened it, and spread out the contents, including an assortment of communications gear, a computer loaded with programs you can't get at Best Buy, a satellite up-link, my satellite phone, additional weapons and ammunition, some 'traveling money' as I call it, several passports, and a few other items.?

  I took the satellite phone outside to access the communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit high above the Earth.? The first call I made was to Pete Sturtevant, a member of my team who'd been with me from the beginning. Pete's the guy you want to have your back because you know nobody does it better.? Pete was a little older and a little bigger than I am, something he liked to remind me of often.? He'd spent time in a Ranger battalion before being selected for Special Forces, which was where we'd met.? While Special Forces emphasized physical conditioning, along with language training, prisoner-of-war training (known as SERE, short for Survival, Escape, Resistance and Evasion), land navigation, parachuting, and other specialty skills, Rangers believe physical strength is key to their success.? Pete was no exception, with large biceps, broad shoulders, and well-muscled legs.?

  "Sturtevant," was all he said when he answered his phone.

  "Hey . . . we have a situation here that needs your attention ASAP.? How soon can you get our team up here?"

  Pete knew exactly where I was and that the call was coming in over a secure satellite phone.? That, and the fact that I called at all and asked for a team, gave Pete enough information to know that I couldn't, or wouldn't, tell him a lot over the phone.? Something had happened and reinforcements were needed.? Every time I went out in the field, an ops team was put on standby.? It didn't happen often, but Pete knew that if he got a call-this call-he needed to be prepared to go.? True to form, he had plans already in place.? Despite that, he fully intended to give me grief about it . . . good-natured bantering between guys who have shared time.

  "Creating hate and discontent again?? This was supposed to be a no-brainer.? I had plans for the weekend."

  "Get over it and get your ass out here."

  "I guess I can squeeze you in.? We'll get a hop into Travis Air Force Base in Sacramento, then helo to Mendocino and drive down.? Be there in a few hours."

  I smiled at his state of preparation.? "Copy that.? Call me when you land.? I'm at the safe house."

  "Will do."

  I went back inside, got out an apple I'd brought with me, and took a big bite out of it.? I wasn't particularly hungry but I wanted to keep my caloric intake up while I could.? I kept the lights in the cabin off just in case the area wasn't as secure as I thought it was.? It wasn't likely that anyone was out there, but it was a dark night and I wanted my eyes to adjust to it so I could more easily see if someone was approaching the cabin.?

  After I finished the apple, I decided to get some rest.? Rules of survival:? eat and sleep when you can.? I could get a few hours of sleep in before Pete and the team arrived.? I found the bedroom, took off all my clothes, and crawled under the blankets.? I closed my eyes and immediately dropped off to sleep.? I'm not one of those people who could sleep late in the morning or for long periods, especially since my tour ended.? I tended to sleep lightly and for short periods, but I had the ability to fall asleep literally within a minute of closing my eyes.? On occasion, I'd take some meds to keep me asleep for a while-but never when I was on a job.?