Page 75 of Protecting the Flame

Chapter 6

“You’ve got the key?”Talbot was inspecting the locked panel where she’d found the drugs and cash.

“Yes.” No point in lying about it. They knew she had it because Scott knew. Scott must’ve pried the information from Mattie somehow, or maybe he’d overhead the girl talking to her mother.

Think. Pulling the key from a pocket, she fiddled with detaching it from the watch chain. She could’ve handed the chain to Talbot, but she needed every second she could manage to figure out what to do. “How did you find us, Agent Talbot? We’ve been stuck up here for days. Was that your drone we saw? We heard it a couple days ago, but boy, it really took you guys—”

“You need help with that?’ It was the younger guy. “Why don’t you—”

“No, no, I got it.” Slipping the key from the chain, she offered it to Talbot. “Sorry, a little shaky. I haven’t had anything to—” She dropped the key as Talbot extended his hand. “Oh God, I’ so sorry. I…”

“It’s fine.” Pulling off a glove, Talbot scooped the key from the snow. He wiped it and his hand dry on his snow pants.

“So how did you find us?” she asked, pocketing the chain and fob again. Instead of shoving on her gloves, she stuffed them into a pocket then slipped her hands into her hip pockets. The right was a tight fit, what with the flare. She took a step back, mindful where she put her feet, then wondered if that would even matter.

“They found us first,” Scott said before Talbot could respond. “Will was checking, you know, dialing through the frequencies, and then these guys came on.”

“Oh.” What had happened to Will and the others?

Talbot was playing with the lock. “We’d picked up an extraneous signal we’d seen before. It was a band of a known smuggling ring. We were finally able to pinpoint your location, but it took a while to mobilize people. We had to coordinate with the Canadians. You’re actually straddling the border here.”

“Yeah, we wondered about that.” This story was plausible enough to be true. Maybe something had happened to Will or Scott had overheard Will talking to the agents and then volunteered to lead them here. Will would want to stay with Rachel. But wait, if they really have been rescued, those people would have doctors, right? Or medics? Will would have no reason to stay with Rachel. He would be itching to get back to her and Hunter.

“I’m surprised Will didn’t tell you about checking the frequency and letting me know. We had a signal worked out.”

“Yeah?” Scott frowned. “You did?”

“Yes.” Oh, Will. She had to do something.

“Damn this thing.” Straightening, Talbot let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s frozen.”

“Yeah, it does that. I had to use a lighter the first time around. Sorry, it must’ve gotten blocked up with ice.” She made a show of patting pockets then pulled out a lighter. “Here. Try this.”

“Thanks.” Flicking the striker wheel, Talbot got a flame going then held it to the lock. “That’s got it…ah.” Socking in the key, Talbot gave it a twist. “There we go.”

“Holy shit.” Scott crowded in on Talbot’s right as the younger guy, snow boots splishing, came up on Talbot’s left. Reaching in, Scott came out with a wad of banded cash. “How much are we talking here? A million?”

“Try more like three,” Talbot said, handing a brick to the younger guy. “Check that.”

“No sweat, but why the fuck is it wet? Is that—” The younger guy gave the packet a sniff. “Is that Scotch?”

“Yeah, there were broken bottles in there.” Her right hand found what she was looking for, and now she carefully twisted. “Careful. Don’t want to cut yourself.”

“I’ll watch myself,” the younger guy said, “ though it’s not like there isn’t plenty here to kill the pain.” Digging out a small knife, he cut a small slit, dipped in the tip of his knife, gave the white powder a sniff then flicked out the tip of his tongue and made a face. “It’s good.”

“So is that heroin? Or cocaine? What’s that taste like anyway?” Snagging the cap, she jammed that back in her hip pocket before it could fall to the snow. The loop was exactly where Will said it would be. “You know, in movies, they’re always tasting and rubbing stuff on their gums.”

“That’s for cocaine.” Talbot was looking at the younger guy. “Well?”

“Bitter as shit.” Turning to Scott, who was jamming wads of cash into his jacket, the young guy hooked a thumb. “Hey, not like that. Evidence, man. Bags are back with the Snowgos. Go grab a couple.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Scott slipped in a brick, though. “And one to grow on,” he said and jogged in the direction of the woods where Will and the others had gone.

“What an asshole,” the young guy said.

“Well.” Talbot was hauling out bricks and setting them on the snow. “You won’t have to suffer with him much longer.” As if catching the innuendo, Talbot flashed her a grin. “In a manner of speaking. You neither.”

“Great,” she said.

---