Page 119 of See How They Hide

Tony cleared his throat.

“What? We need to leavenow,” Kara said. “We can’t put Riley, a civilian, into the field.”

“No,” Dean concurred, “but she’s right that she knows more about this community than anyone, and we need to tap her resources.”

Kara hadn’t kept Riley safe for the last few days only to put her head on the chopping block.

“Dean,” Tony continued, “I need to talk to the director and meet with the judge. You’ll have your warrants shortly. You’re in charge of this operation. I expect all of you to give Dean the same respect as Matt.”

He signed off and Kara asked again, “So when do we leave?”

Dean looked uncomfortable. “I think you should be on the team in the staging area.”

“No.”

Catherine cleared her throat.

“No,” she repeated with a glance toward Catherine. She couldn’t read her, but the woman had been a thorn in Kara’s side since they first met. “You’re in charge, Dean, you know how to deal with these people, but Michael and I have been partners for a year. We work well together. I trust him explicitly. You don’t know me or my past, but it’s not easy to earn my trust. And I know you’re going to assign Michael to Havenwood.”

“Riley is most comfortable with you, Kara,” Dean said.

“I’m okay,” Riley said. “I’ll do whatever you tell me to do.”

Dean ran a hand through his hair. “I guess I’m outvoted,” he mumbled. “Okay. Ryder, have the Forest Service identify the best staging area closest to Havenwood, and ensure that the fire road on the north side of the valley is clear, and what vehicles we can take and to what point. That’s how we’re going to get in. Notify FBI SWAT in Denver and get a team together just in case we need them. We need a plane to Durango and transportation to the staging spot, then we’ll split up and find Matt. Let’s do this before they make contact.”

Kara desperately wanted to get going. Ryder sensed her frustration and put his hand on her arm and said to the group, “Our charter flight leaves in fifty minutes, at dawn. The airstrip is ten minutes away. I need to coordinate SWAT and the Forest Service, if you’ll excuse me.”

He left the room and Kara realized she was risking her chance to go on the away team if she showed her impatience. She needed to be calm, professional, and stop thinking about what Matt might be suffering.

The plane wouldn’t leave any faster if she pushed.

Jim’s words about how Thalia had been restrained and malnourished haunted her. Matt had only been gone for twelve hours. He was strong, but he’d been injured during the attack. Was he kept in the same prison that Thalia had been in?

“We know from Riley that two people who left Havenwood returned with ill intent,” Catherine said. “They were shot and killed and since then, Calliope has shunned all strangers and stopped people from leaving. This is going to be a dangerous assignment. The residents have lived in isolation for years, some their entire lives. This life, this place, is all they know. They will feel threatened if the authorities come in, even without a show of force. I don’t know what weapons they have, but we know at least two of them have guns, based on Michael’s statement about what happened yesterday, and they are proficient with knives. You all must be cautious.”

Catherine paused, as she often did when putting her thoughts together. “Calliope will lie to protect herself,” Catherine continued. “She will not leave willingly. You’ll have to make the decision whether to forcibly extract her, and that will be problematic because her people have been trained to defend her as much as Havenwood. If you can find a way to take her quietly, that would be ideal.”

“Our number one goal,” Dean said, “is to retrieve Matt and protect the children. We don’t want bloodshed. Catherine, I know children can be trained from an early age to be violent, so my goal is to restrain and search them, get them out of harm’s way.”

“They’re not violent,” Riley said before Catherine could answer. “My childhood was wonderful.”

“Be that as it may,” Dean said, “you’ve been gone for nearly four years.”

“The people of Havenwood are there because they don’t like the violent and uncertain world. They want something simpler,” Riley said. “Think the Amish, but with generators and marijuana. It’s not an easy life, but it’s comfortable. I can’t see anyone training the kids to behave in a violent fashion. If anything, they have been sheltered—though they know how to skin a rabbit and kill a chicken. Because that’s food, and we thank the earth for providing for our nourishment and health.”

She was emphatic about that, and Kara had to consider she was either clouded in her judgment, or—maybe—she was right.

“But,” Catherine said, speaking mostly to Riley, “your mother instills loyalty, doesn’t she?”

Riley nodded.

“And we believe your mother ordered the murders of everyone who left. The children may not be involved, but they may not think there’s anything wrong with punishing those who are perceived as hurting their community. So go in cautiously, Dean. Be prepared for anything.”

“I need to go,” Riley said.

“You’ll be in the staging area, protected,” Dean said.

“I need to go to Havenwood. When they see me, they’ll listen. They all think I’m dead. Not my mother anymore, but I don’t think she would tell the town that I’m alive. That would undermine their confidence in her. If they see me with their own eyes, I might be able to convince them to turn on Calliope. If she has no one but her inner circle, I think you can resolve this peacefully. At least, as peacefully as possible.”

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