“I’m positive I’m going to die.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  She would have commented, but found currently she didn’t have the energy to come up with something snappy.

  She followed his every footstep. When they reached the other side, he pulled out a knife and started to cut.

  “You can’t do that! If they try to follow, they’ll fall to their death.”

  He looked at her with a frown so deeply she thought he would stay that way. “You’re kidding, right? They are trying to kill us. They shot at us. They slashed my tires. For all I know they’ve already killed Blake. I won’t cut the entire thing, I don’t have time. But we need a head start. See?”

  He pointed with the butt end of the knife. The men were on the other side and about to climb out of their vehicles.

  The doubts that she’d had about the other agent at the park being on her side and participating in an elaborate ruse to fool Levi, vanished. These men were not here to help her.

  They were going to have to find the reason why someone was after them or they were going to be in even bigger trouble.

  ****

  “Bill?” Ericka pointed at the dark blood littering the ground as soon as they exited the sedan.

  “I see it.” Dead chickens lay scattered about the yard. Several vehicles on the property had slashed tires.

  A gentleman came out from a wood cabin with a firearm clutched in his hand. Ericka and Bill flashed their badges.

  “What can I help you with?”

  Ericka flourished her arm wide.

  Blake told his story while they listened. Ericka pulled out her pad of paper and started taking notes. “So, Mr. Wexell, you came back from town and everything looked like this?”

  “Yup. I went out to the campsite where Levi and that Mae girl were holed up, and they was gone. These tracks here are from my ATV. I think they came back and these guys attacked them.” Blake paused. “What is going on, anyway?”

  “Mr. Wexell, I’m sorry, but we’re not at liberty to say.” Bill rose to his full height, which was around six three. Ericka’s elder partner could be intimidating when necessary.

  “That means you don’t know. I was in the military. I know that kind of speech.”

  “Be that as it may, even if we did know—”

  “You couldn’t tell me. I get it.”

  Bill stepped closer after examining Levi’s truck tires. “Any ideas where they might have gone?”

  Blake pulled out a map and laid it across Levi’s truck hood. “I give these maps to everyone who comes out here for an experience. If I was a betting man, I’d say that Levi led them on a chase until he could get some place and hide. If it was me, I’d take them to the bridge. It would buy them some time if nothing else. Now if the men chasing them were smart, they would drive down the mountain and meet them on the other side, but I’m betting, and I bet Levi is betting, that they are kind of dumb and they’ll follow.”

  “So he’ll cut the bridge.” Ericka’s words came out breathily.

  “It’s what I would do.”

  “Where would he go after that?” Bill was studying the map as if trying to get a mental picture of it.

  They were following crazy people.

  “I’d say he’ll go to the base of the mountain and try to work his way to civilization. Of course, you got to remember he isn’t in as peak shape as he used to be. Oh, he’ll keep going, I know him. But he is going to be tired soon.”

  “I’m sure they’re counting on that. We need to catch them before that happens.” Bill was right.

  Whoever “them” was. Ericka had been trying to figure that out since they found the first dead agent. Their superiors were working on it as well, but so far, no luck.

  Someone better find something soon or she was going to have a dead soldier and a dead agent on her hands. She didn’t want to have to explain to anyone how that had happened.

  ****

  Levi grabbed Mae’s hand and pulled her away from the bridge. Like he’d hoped the men tried to follow instead of driving back down the mountain. They believed they could catch them quicker this way. The shortest distance between two points was a straight line, but not in this case.

  They entered the tree line. Levi immediately found foliage they could use to hide behind. Men were starting to work their way across the bridge. The rope he’d cut began to fray faster and faster. Finally, the bridge tipped to one side.

  Two of the men held on by one hand.

  One fell.

  Two others had conveniently waited on the opposite side.

  The two holding on began to yell for help. They weren’t speaking English, which was interesting.

  “What are they saying?” Mae leaned forward, but he held her back so she couldn’t be seen.

  “I’m not sure. It sounds Russian.”

  Mae frowned. “We should get moving.”

  “Agreed.” They rose from their squatting position, and Levi grabbed his cane. He took a step, careful where he placed his feet. Blake could have placed traps to catch animals on the hillside. He didn’t know.

  “Where are we going?”

  They held to tree trunks as they angled their feet and slid several feet down the mountainside. Pain radiated along his leg and he gritted his teeth. After drawing in a deep breath, he said, “I hope we’re going to the base of the mountain.”

  “You mean the mountain we just drove up.”

  “Yes.”

  “So, they could have driven down and got us?”

  “I think so.”

  “You are unbelievable.”

  “I hope that is a good thing.”

  “Oh, yeah, right now it definitely is.”

  The next few moments passed in silence. The land flattened temporarily revealing a creek. He made his way across the slippery rocks. The pain in his leg increased, and the cane was little help, but he had to keep going.

  After hearing the men speak the foreign language, he knew the people had to be after Mae. He’d never even met a Russian, not in battle or anywhere else. He couldn’t have possibly pissed one off bad enough to try and kill him.

  No matter what, he needed to keep Mae safe until they could reach the authorities. He would do it or die trying.

  His desire to find Opal would just have to wait a while. Max would understand.

  Chapter Eleven

  Russians?

  They must be after OPAL. They must think that Levi had it. All those communiqués going out about Levi had probably alerted other governments as well.

  This was bad.

  Very bad.

  Mae followed Levi’s every carefully placed step. Blake might have placed traps on the mountain. Getting trapped and having to cut off a limb to get free wasn’t something she wanted to be in charge of.

  Screams followed by engines revving echoed off the hillside. Obviously, some had fallen and their comrades in arms near the cars had decided to take another route.

  Levi seemed to notice the noises. His halted, stumbling pace increased in speed. Sweat beaded on his brow and his jaw tensed as if his teeth were clenched. His cane couldn’t be helpful in this situation yet he used it.

  “Do you need to rest?”

  He shook his head no, but didn’t speak.

  She didn’t believe him.

  “I need to rest.”

  Reluctantly, he stopped. He leaned against the trunk of an aged tree; his chest rose and fell quickly, not unlike her own. His cheeks were flushed.

  “Maybe some water?”

  He handed over the canteen. She only took a sip before handing it to him.

  He took a swig then returned it to the pack. “I know what you’re doing.”

  She held her breath. Was he mad?

  “Thank you.”

  She nodded. It felt good to do something right for a change. He didn’t let the praise go for long before he was moving on to something else.

  “Best I can remember once we reach the base of the mountain there is a trail that leads to the main road.”

  “Are you sure that won’t put us too out in the open?” She gnawed her lip. Couldn’t there be another plan?

  “If we can reach a telephone or electric pole maybe I can climb up and look around. If I had the right tools I could tap the phone line, but I don’t see a hardware store anywhere.”

  She would have laughed if their situation wasn’t so dire.

  “Let’s get a move on.”

  They started back down the hill. Levi found a dirt trail that made it easier to walk. Five minutes passed before they saw a road. Fortunately, a tall pole sat on the edge. Could Levi really scale it in his condition? And if so, would he be able to get down?

  ****

  Levi eyed the pole. The last time he’d climbed one he’d been a teenager stealing pay per view channels.

  “Are you sure?”

  “You got a better idea? Running isn’t going to work much longer.” His leg was giving out and the enemy, whoever they were, had vehicles and guns. He had canteens and some beef jerky.

  “Can I have your jacket?”

  She handed it over and he wrapped it around the pole. Shimming up was harder than he’d hoped, but he made it up high enough to survey the area. He could just make out Blake’s roofline. There was a black SUV leaving from that direction.

  A hundred yards away was an RV. It looked ancient. It was covered in mold and brown from rust, but it was plugged into a pole on the ground so it had power.

  He scooted down, careful to avoid splintered pieces of the tarred wood.

  Before his feet touched the ground, she said, “See anything?”

  “I think I found us a place to hide. At least for a little while.”

  He eased toward the edge of the wood. They would be in the open for a good fifty yards. After all the walking and running he wasn’t sure how fast he could make the journey. Perhaps he should send her ahead first, but if someone was going to get shot it was going to be him, not her.

  They reached the open area and he stopped.

  “Are we ready?” She was in a runner’s stance.

  He wasn’t ready, but he had to go sometime.

  They stepped from the tree line and nothing happened. Dust began kicking up from another location.

  “Levi! They’re coming!”

  She was right. They were almost to the base of the mountain. If they made it to the bottom, they would see them running across the large open field.

  He grabbed his cane in his hand and pumped his arms and legs for all he was worth. When they reached the back of the RV and hunkered down behind it, he released a heavy sigh.

  Blood poured into his injured leg and he squeezed the cane hoping that he wouldn’t pass out. Quickly he thanked God, they’d made it, then he lost the battle and passed out anyway.

  ****

  When he woke up, Mae was hovering over him gently tapping his face.

  “Levi! Levi! We got to get in the RV.”

  “Yeah, yeah, you’re right.” He managed to get to his feet with her help. The pain in his leg was almost unbearable. But he had to keep going, he had no choice.

  The RV was mostly hidden by overhanging trees and wild brush. From the air they could be spotted easily, but from the road hopefully not.

  Once inside, Levi walked to the front of the vehicle. The gas needle registered half full.

  Keys. He would need keys.

  He lowered the visor and a single key fell into his lap. “Eureka!”

  He would need to detach the electric from the pole outside. There had been no anchoring equipment that he could see, so he didn’t have to worry about that at least.

  The biggest issue was getting out of the valley they were situated in. From all appearances the RV had been dropped out of the sky into this spot. There were no obvious road or tire marks.

  If he started the engine and it smoked, they might be seen. He needed a route before he even tried.

  He rose from the seat. Mae was running from window to window peaking under the curtains and looking outside. Grunts followed every look.

  “Do you see them?”

  “Not yet.”

  He tapped his foot. Debating with himself on the best thing to do first was something he’d done for a long time. Now it was important that he chose correctly.

  “What’s up?” She looked at him.

  His head almost swiped the top of the RV, but hers was a good foot and a half below it. He hadn’t noticed that she was so short.

  He tried to refocus. “I need to detach the electric and look around for a way to drive out of here.”

  “Do you think we should go now? We could wait until it gets dark. I was looking forward to that rest that you mentioned.”

  There she went, trying to give him what he needed again. And she had a good point. It would be easier to scout out the area if they couldn’t be seen, but after reaching the RV he didn’t think it would remain hidden that long.

  “I think we should do it now.”

  She sighed and pulled the map from her back pocket. He had thought it was lost. He was glad to see that he was wrong.

  Spread across the table, they both leaned over it. She pointed to an area.

  “I think we’re here based on where the bridge was and where it looks like we came down.” She snickered. “Plus, I think that sticker says RV. Blake is thorough.”

  “Indeed, he is.”

  Levi leaned over the map and tried to decipher a nearby road. He saw a few hiking trails, but nothing that looked like he could make a way to the main road. “I’m going to have to go out and look around. This map isn’t helping.”

  She placed her hand on his forearm. “Let me do it. You disengage the electric and get us ready to pull out.”

  She was gone before he could open his mouth to protest. And protest he would have, vehemently.

  No weapon, and from what he could see, very little outdoor skills and she was going to scout out the area?

  He slapped his forehead. “We’re not going to make it.”

  Outside, he went to the electric pole and disengaged the plug. Next, he checked under the RV for anchors that might have been out of his line of vision. Everything seemed to be ready to roll. All the tires were full of air. All the hatches were battened down.

  Carefully, he eased up the hood. Dust and debris were sitting carelessly on the motor. He swiped the old leaves away as best he could and checked all the cables. A quick look at the dipstick revealed that the oil level was satisfactory.

  Everything being equal, they should make it out of there just fine. After that, he had no idea where they would go. At the moment, he was only able to think of one thing at a time.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Oh, let me do it. Oh, I can search out a route, no problem. I’m an Amazon warrior woman. I have mad skills, typing skills, that is. I can do everything!” Mae threw her hands up to the air as she talked and walked around the RV and into the woods.

  The map seemed to be correct. There was no route out of there. No road. No lines in the grass where the RV might have driven in. It was just there. As if someone came in and built it on the spot.

  But Levi was counting on her. She had to find a way out of there. If not, he’d try to come look and he might hurt himself even more.

  No matter what that man said, he was in pain. It was etched all over his scrunched up face. Every time he moved there was an almost silent grunt of agony. But she had heard it. He couldn’t hide it from her.

  A field of tall grass was located on the other side of the tall trees. In two lines almost car width apart there seemed to be an area of shorter grass. Bending down and looking closer, she could tell that there had once been only dirt there. This had to be the road that the RV had come in on.

  She followed the road for a ways. From the angle and trajectory, she could conclude that it must lead to the main road. Now they just needed to hit the paved road at a different time from when the bad guys were coming through. No problem, right?

  She walked back toward the RV.

  Bad guys.

  That’s what she was going to call them now?

  What else could she call them? That’s what they were. They were trying to kill them, so they must be bad.

  If they thought that Levi knew about OPAL it could be any matter of foreign agents. He’d heard Russian, but she’d heard other languages as well.

  Maybe rival governments had decided to work together to steal the secret. First, she needed to get Levi to a secure location. Then she would need to contact her superiors. She’d been left out of the loop on many things. That was why she should have stopped herself from getting too close to Levi, even when the suggestion was made.

  She had no idea what she was doing!

  These people were going to get her killed. Changing jobs was beginning to look really good about now.

  When she returned to the RV site, Levi was leaning over the engine. He rose as she came around the side.

  “What’s the verdict?” He’d not even lifted his head as he asked the question.

  “Am I that noisy?”

  “Knowing my surroundings has helped to keep me alive before. It’s a habit. So, did you find an exit?”

  “I did. It’s through those trees. There is an old dirt road there, but once we get in the field we’ll be exposed.”

  “That’s what I figured.” He dropped down, frowned whether from pain or something else, she didn’t know.

  “Are we still going to do it?”

  “I think we have to. Here we are sitting ducks. No real food, no water, we have shelter but that is about it.”

  She nodded. He was right, again, of course. Not that she liked it. And since the bad guys had big guns, they were in even bigger trouble.

  She needed another word besides big…

  ****

  Levi entered the RV and Mae followed. He instructed her to buckle up; the ride was about to get bumpy. He hoped the road was the only bump they experienced, but after the day they’d had, somehow he doubted it.