Page 19 of High Velocity

I immediately slow down my approach and leave the drone hovering to get a better look. What looks like a scrap of green fabric appears stuck in some branches.

“Ball cap?” I ask, trying to identify what it is.

“Looks like it. He was supposed to be wearing one that color,” Jonas refers to the description we were given.

“Yeah, but the likelihood is, he would’ve lost that when he first hit the water,” I point out, playing devil’s advocate. “Just because his hat got hung up here doesn’t mean the rest of him did.”

“Doesn’t mean it didn’t either,” he returns.

“That’s fair.”

Jonas draws circles with his index finger. “Can you get around the pile to where we saw the bear? If there is something she was feeding on, we may be able to see.”

As instructed, I slowly maneuver the drone around the perimeter, keeping the camera focused on the debris.

“There,” he announces, pointing at something poking out from between a couple of tangled branches on the screen.

I carefully inch the drone closer to the spot he’s indicating, but it takes me a few moments to realize what I’m looking at is one side of a torso, still partially covered in camo, protruding from the pile. The arm is missing, clearly ripped off.

Suddenly the feed jerks with erratic movement; the camera spins, showing a slice of sky, fur, some trees, and finally dirt when it comes to rest on the ground.

The last image is of a large snout sniffing at the drone before the feed is cut off.

“We’re gonna need a new bird.”

Jonas’s response is predictable.

“Fucking hell.”

Seven

Jackson

“Tranquilizer darts?”

The tent is crowded. Jonas called the team back and we just finished replaying the video for them to see.

“I don’t think that momma bear is gonna let you get close enough,” I answer Dan’s suggestion. “But even if you’d manage that, the accuracy on those dart rifles is questionable at best, and if you missed you’d have a really angry bear on your ass.”

“Too risky,” Jonas confirms. “Sully is on his way with the spare drone so we can monitor from the sky. We’ll try to avoid a confrontation.”

Unfortunately, the spare drone is cheap and clunky compared to the Matrice and doesn’t hold that long of a charge, but it’s better than nothing.

“Dan…you, Wolff, and JD, you’ll be retrieving the body,” Jonas continues. “Make sure you have all the necessary tools to cut him free from those branches. Bring a body bag, extra rope and, because you’ll have to go through rough terrain both coming and going, you might want to consider bringing another horse to carry the extra weight.”

It makes sense he’s sending in those guys. They’re in better physical shape, which is a good thing; they may need to run. It still sucks though, getting sidelined, especially since this kind of assignment—a challenging one with a sharp edge of danger—would’ve been right up my alley at one point in time.

“Judge is strong, he shouldn’t have a problem carrying the extra load,” Wolff suggests, referring to his horse.

Jonas shrugs. “If you’re sure; you guys may be in a hurry to get out of there.”

“Yeah, he can handle it.”

“Still, it’s going to be a dangerous proposition trying to steal the grizzly’s food source out from under her nose, especially from a mom with?—”

He stops talking abruptly at the sound of a vehicle approaching and pokes his head out of the tent.

“God-fucking-dammit,” he grinds out as he returns his attention to the team, clearly unhappy. “We’ve got company.”

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