Page 23 of Mountain Security

Shit.

They have no idea how cold the water was.

And even if they could reach the man, he would pull them in without meaning to, long before they could get him out.

Double shit.

This was a bad situation that could easily get worse.

“Yvette,” he said. “I’m going to need your help.”

Yvette’s eyes were wide with fear, but she nodded. “What can I do?” she asked through a sharp intake of breath.

Alex unlocked his phone and handed it to her. “Call Beau. He’ll know what to do,” he said, then shot off towards the man.

8

* * *

Yvette

Call Beau.

Yvette used her teeth to take off her gloves. Her half-frozen fingers struck clumsily at the smart phone. She flicked through Alex’s frequent contacts until she found Beau Fontaine.

She kept her eyes on the spot where the man had disappeared. He’d sunk like a rock, right into the freezing water.

She’d watched enough movies to know how dangerous this was.

Beau picked up on the third ring. The wind roared behind him. “Alex. We’re on our way back down to you. Is everything okay?”

No.

Nothing’s okay.

Yvette took a deep breath. Screaming at Alex’s boss wasn’t going to fix anything.

Below her, Alex had already reached the edge of the reservoir and unclipped his skis. He stopped to say something to the teenagers. Whatever it was, they nodded quickly.

“Alex? I thought you’d be—”

“It’s Yvette. There’s been an accident. A man. At the reservoir, below …” She struggled to remember the name of the run. Some insect. “Libellules.” She gasped. Alex slipped off his helmet, his jacket, his right ski boot. He hopped incongruously on one foot for a moment, before his left boot followed.

Beau barked a command at someone. It was hard to make out his words through the noise of the wind.

“Alex is … I think he’s going into the water. Please help.”

“We’re on our way,” he said. “Yvette, find somewhere safe where you can wait for us.”

Yvette disconnected the call. Fear pulled her heart into a vise as she watched Alex jump into the icy water, right through the hole the man had disappeared into.

Moments later, his head disappeared under the water.

He’s gone.

She counted the seconds, waiting for him to resurface. She could see his things strewn about—his skis, his jacket, his helmet, his boots … but of him, there was no sign. The water had closed in over his head, as if he’d never been there.

No.

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