Page 13 of Hidden Ascent

“Who is ‘they’? Is this a government coverup?”

“Government? You really think government employees could pull off something like this? I mean, sure, there’s a few of us involved. Ian and myself, for example.”

“How high does it go?”

“Ranking’s not really relevant here. Most of those in positions of supposed power within the government structure aren’t good at much besides pushing paper around. I, for one, wouldn’t entrust an operation like this to anyone much higher than Ian’s pay grade.”

“But he told me I didn’t know how high up it went.”

“He didn’t mean within the department. There are powerful people at play here. That’s what he meant. You’re in way over your head right now. You can take your moral high ground, but it won’t save you. If you don’t want to die, then you’d better disappear. Because one way or another, they’ll make sure that no one ever sees you again.”

“We’ll see about that.”

An owl hooted nearby, drawing her attention away. Baker swung a large branch at her, but she dropped back out of the way, stumbling into a tree.

She raised the gun to take aim, but Baker had disappeared into the woods. She could hear the crunch of his steps and fired in that direction, but the pace of his running didn’t change.

She didn’t waste any time getting back to the car. Baker would likely circle back around. His mission hadn’t finished just because she got his weapon. He’d do whatever it took to take her out. That’s what she would do.

As she drove Baker’s car back up the road and onto the highway, she filtered through those she could contact about what had happened. But she had no way of telling who else was involved. Baker had said there were others. She had no contacts high enough to ensure she was out of reach of this thing.

She knew of no one she could risk trusting within the federal government. But there was one man she knew she could rely on no matter what. He was the only one she could entrust with her life.

She took the next exit.

* * *

Isla pressed the doorbell twice before she banged on the door. She could barely remember driving to the house, and now that she was standing on the porch, her eyes blurred, and her head reeled.

She propped herself on the door, resting her forehead on it while she hit it with the palm of her hand.

“Peter!” she called out. “Peter Black. Open up.”

She closed her eyes so she could focus on keeping her feet under her. But when the door opened, and she reached for a handhold, she couldn’t find one.

“Hey, whoa,” Peter said when he caught her. “Where’d you come from?”

“Peter. I need help.”

“Isla?”

“I’m in trouble.” The fight inside of her that had helped her hold onto consciousness left her now that she knew she was safe. The black hole that had been threatening her since the forest swallowed her into oblivion.

* * *

When her awareness returned, she kept her eyes closed. She knew something bad had happened, but her mind wasn’t cooperating.

Relying on her other senses, she identified a fire by the crackling sound. That theory was confirmed by the light that flickered on the other side of her eyelids.

A light pressure rested against her head. The coolness suggested it was a cold cloth. Then she remembered.

She opened her eyes and saw Peter’s concerned scowl focusing on her head. His gaze shifted to her eyes.

“You’re back.”

She grunted in response.

“I was tempted to take you to the hospital.”

---