Hunting Lodge a teaser chapter from WHAT IF....

HUNTING LODGE

CHAPTER SIX

The dodge drove at speed down the track bouncing over ruts swiping branches as James fought with the steering wheel to keep on the overgrown road, his eyes now adjusted to the darkness James could drive with confidence.

“Wish I had my laptop” Sarah said studying the CD’s grooves from data being burned into the plastic as it glinted.

“I have one in the trunk; as long as we’re not connected to the internet they can’t trace it” James informed her. “Hang on” He said as he took a sharp corner the rear end sliding as he corrected his line and then floored the gas pedal as he drove up a steep incline into an open clearing before coming to a full stop. “We’re here” He said pointing to a dark shaped structure through the windshield.

Sarah looked ahead of them to see a one story building with a barn off to the left in an area fifty yards in diameter with overgrown grass and weeds all around. The porch looked rickety and left to ruin, to the side was a stone chimney looking like a sentinel in the pitch black of the night. All around them was thick forestry of spruce, fur and oak trees with brush and ferns adorning the forest floor.

“Are you sure it’s safe here?” Sarah asked.

James looked at Sarah with a smile. “I haven’t been up here in years; not since Da passed away. No one’s been up here since, there should be gas in the barn and the generator should still be working; it’ll be alright until we can come up with a plan of action” He reassured Sarah then he climbed out of the car stretching his aching body  reaching his arms skyward. “Are you coming?” He asked as Sarah took a deep breath then opened the passenger door to a loud grating sound.

“Must have strained the door when I ripped out the radio, it’s OK I’m going to put the car in the barn. Go right in and make yourself comfy; doors open” James said as Sarah began to walk towards the hunters lodge.

“Here catch!” James exclaimed tossing a small flashlight to Sarah as she caught it then switched it on lighting her way to the porch. James fired up the dodge then drove it slowly towards the barn as Sarah watched in alarm as the tail lights lit up as he braked lighting up the clearing in an eerie red glow then plunging it back into darkness again when he took his foot off the brake.

Sarah stepped on the first step leading to the porch when it creaked under her weight her foot crunching through the rotting wood. “Shit” She muttered as she carefully stepped over the second step onto the porch that seemed to be more firm. After stepping gingerly across the porch she convinced herself that the rest of the wooden planks were secure.

Sarah shon the flashlight on the door knob lighting up years of spiders webs glistening in the light, she brushed away the silky strands with her hand then firmly grasped the door knob turning it slowly until the door popped open with a creak. Gently she pushed the door as it creaked on its hinges from years of neglect then shon the flashlight into the room lighting up dust covered furniture and a table and chairs then she entered. 

Looking all about her the cabin style lodge had timber walls, floor and ceiling; there was a couch in front of a stone mantle with an old musket mounted on the wall. The kitchen was a sink with a couple of cupboards and a damp patch in the corner of the ceiling where an unattended leak had stained the rotten wood of the ceiling, Sarah heard the barn doors open and looked through the grimy window to see the headlights of the dodge vanish into the barn then she saw James appear at the doors then he vanished again as he closed them behind him.

Sarah glanced around the room then she noticed two doors along the back wall one slightly ajar, She shon the flash light into the gap lighting up the porcelain of a sink glinting back at her. “Bathroom” She muttered. “Got to pee” She made her way into the bathroom noticing a musky smell as she closed the door the flash light lit up the room revealing an unsanitary washroom with a shower, a sink and a toilet. She raised the seat cover slowly then retched at the stench.

“I gotta go” She said quickly relieving herself then she turned the facet on the sink but no water was forthcoming. “Oh great” Sarah exited the bathroom then heard the rumble of a gasoline generator as it burst into life, the lights began to flicker in the room then they lit the whole room revealing a warming although dusty living room with sheets draped over the couch and chairs. “It’s not so bad in the light” She thought to herself then the door creaked open as James appeared with grease all over his bloody hands with a dirty rag trying to clean them as he held the lap top under his armpit.

“There’s no water” Sarah informed him as she took the lap top from under his armpit.

“Yeah it was turned off at the stop tap just give me a moment; I’ll switch it on” James said as he made his way to the sink reaching under turning on the water, he made his way into the bathroom and switched the taps on then he turned the facet on the sink to a dirty drip of rust colored water, He turned the facet on full with a gurgle the tap spat and spluttered until there was a continuous flow of clean water. “We now have running water” He called out as he began to wash the blood and grease off of his hands.

James exited the bathroom and opened the second door switching the light on revealing a single bed and a dresser covered with a sheet and a wardrobe to the left. “You can have the bed I’ll take the couch”

Sarah pulled the sheet off of the couch filling the air with dust making her cough then sneeze as she nodded to James.

“We should have some coffee here somewhere” He said walking to the kitchen opening a cupboard door to reveal a sickly smell of rotten food. “Awww Jesus” James retched then grabbed an old coffee can closing the cupboard door quickly his eyes watering as Sarah began to giggle to herself.

Sarah sat down on the couch then opened the lap top switching it on as the screen came to life she opened the CD tray then inserted the CD closing it again. Sarah could feel the vibration on her lap as the CD began to whirl then the screen came to life with the CD icon, she pressed to open but a user and password drop bar came on the screen. “Shit we need a user ID and password” Sarah called out frustrated as James was banging the coffee can to try to loosen the congealed coffee to no avail.

“Try Ram223@ ffpd.com” James suggested.

“And the password?” Sarah asked as James thought for a moment.

“Lauren\meg5jules8 all lower case except for the L in Lauren, uppercase” James concluded.

Sarah entered the user name and password then clicked enter as she watched the screen with abated breath. ”it’s thinking” She said then the screen opened revealing files. “It’s open there’s a file for finances, let’s see what we have” She said clicking on the file icon opening it then the screen flashed as the file opened.

“Bank transfer of funds report” She called out as she began to study the report. “Six million rubles from a bank in east Germany through a Swiss bank account in the name of Mr. Denison Hawkeye” Sarah looked at the next report. “Another one for three million dollars through the same account from a bank in Russia”

James rushed over to the couch sitting next to Sarah looking transfixed at the screen. 

“This is huge Sarah what’s that?” James pointed to a manifest on the screen as Sarah clicked on the icon an arms manifest appeared on the screen.

“It’s an arms shipment manifest, say’s it was delivered through Belarus; destination South Carolina; holy fuck!” Sarah’s eyes widened as she opened the list of arms. “These are not firearms they are armoured personnel carriers, tanks, attack helicopters and all other hardware” Sarah sat back in disbelief as James leant forward with his hand on his mouth scanning the manifest.

“What I want to know is who Hawkeye and Falcon are more so when the next shipment is arriving?” Sarah said.

“What’s operation afterglow?” James interrupted. “If we can find out what afterglow is we may be able to find the key to this plot”

Sarah went quiet in thought. “I think we may have opened a can of worms; we have the whole of Frankfort PD looking for us and no doubt elements of the FBI” She took her sidearm from its holster and laid it down beside her on the cushion. “Two side arms against god knows what’s coming at us James” Sarah had a look of concern in her eyes as James looked at her.

“Don’t worry” He said as he looked back at the lap top screen. “These arrived in the country last month look it’s dated March 17^th 2018” He said.  “We can’t trust anyone in the Frankfort PD or the FBI; can you get in touch with special agent what’s his name?” James asked.

“Stevens Tom Stevens, I think so but if he was already on the case why did he put me on to this?” Sarah said confused. “How do we know he’s not a part of all this?”

“Maybe because he knew you were new to the FBI that he felt he could trust you” James replied.

“James this is big I don’t know how we’re going to get this to the President” Sarah said feeling overwhelmed.

“First thing we gotta do is get over the state line out of Kentucky, we’re considered fugitives remember” James reminded Sarah. “There’s an ATV in the barn we can use that to get over the mountain but first we need to get some different clothes on” He said standing up then he looked down at Sarah. “Give me a hand” He motioned her to stand up then he took the end of the couch and slid it across the wooden floor dragging an old dusty rug with it revealing a trap door. James took the handle and pulled open the door revealing a wooden ladder leading down into a dark area under the lodge. ”Follow me” He said as he made his way down the ladder switching on a light switch plunging the dark hole into light.

“What the hell” Sarah’s eyes widened in disbelief as she followed James down the ladder in to a room five feet wide by twelve feet in length with brick walls and a dirt floor, from floor to ceiling was racking with M16’S , M60’s ,grenades, laws rockets and every caliber of  fire arm. “Is this legal?” She asked.

“Sure well not entirely you see Da was in Nam and never trusted the government or anyone else for that matter. He thought that if we ever got into a war he would rather have the means to fight a guerrilla war rather than surrender” James went quiet in deep thought. “Guess he was right” He paused then looked at Sarah. “You think you can handle these?” He said taking an M16 from the rack handing it to Sarah. “I know they’re dated compared to the latest weapons but they do the same job” He said with a grin.

Sarah took the weapon in her hands almost dropping it through the weight but catching it then she swung the M16 around firmly embedding the stock into her right shoulder looking down the barrel through the back and front sights. She then took a magazine off the rack checking it was fully loaded then she inserted it into the weapon slamming it into place. She then cocked the weapon applying the safety catch. She looked at James obviously impressed then she gave him a cocky smile.

“I wasn’t always a city girl; my Dad taught me to hunt when I was five”

“I’m impressed” James said as he took an army green ammo can from the corner of the rack opening it to reveal a bottle of Tennessee whisky. “We aint got coffee but we have the good stuff” He said with a grin.

“Hell yes” Sarah smiled with glee.

They took the weapons and ammunition up the ladder into the living room putting them on the table then James went outside as Sarah found two cups in the kitchen, she then washed them out. She picked up the bottle of whisky by the neck unscrewing the cap then she began pouring the golden nectar into each cup.

James came walking back in to the lodge with a pile of logs in his arms, he walked over to the fire place and crouched down dropping the logs in front of the fire place, he put them into place taking an old newspaper from a cast iron bucket to the side of the fire place scrunching the news print into balls and inserting them between the logs, He struck a match as it fizzled into life then lit the paper, he blew as the smoke and flames began to take a hold. The flames began to lick at the bark as it began to crackle. “That’s better” He said as he watched the smoke vanish up the chimney the fire beginning to give heat into the room.

James stood up and walked over to the trap door lifting it and letting it drop to a close, he pulled the couch back over the trap door then he walked over to the table picking up an M16 pulling back the cocking slide looking into the breach to make sure it was clean.

Sarah walked over to the table handing James a cup of whisky, he put the M16 back down on the table taking the cup from her then Sarah went and sat down on the couch. James released his magazine from his Beretta checking the mag was full then he reinserted the mag placing the Beretta on the table, he picked up his cup of whisky then joined Sarah on the couch.

“So you were in the military?” Sarah asked.

“Yep Seal team 5” James paused. “So what outfit was your brother with?”

“Marines” Sarah paused as James looked at the fire place. “All he ever wanted to do since he was a kid; the marines that is, my dad was a marine and so was grandpa. I guess I was the one that broke tradition besides being a girl …so I wanted to go into law enforcement and here I am” Sarah went quiet. “And now I’m a fugitive that’s the irony of it” She said in a sad tone taking a sip of the liquor as it warmed her throat making her cough. “Jesus this is strong stuff where the hell did you get it?” Sarah cried out spluttering.

“Hahaha its moonshine, Da always made his own; you OK?” James patted Sarah in the middle of her back.

“Yeeeah, wow that’s really good stuff” Sarah cried out loud.

“Well go easy on it the last thing we need is you drunk as a skunk” James cautioned. “Come on into the bedroom we need to change clothes”

Sarah had a look of alarm on her face causing James to laugh out loud.

 “To something more suitable for the mountains, we’re going to have to go at dawn” He said grinning as Sarah realizing her folly of thought turned crimson then James led the way into the bedroom.

James opened the wardrobe to reveal camo jackets and pants hung up on wire coat hangers and three pairs of combat boots at the foot of the wardrobe. James looked at Sarah from head to foot.

“My eyes are up here detective” Sarah said.

“Sizing you up agent Sampson” James replied with a smirk. “You’re not much smaller than Da was” He reached into the wardrobe and took a jacket and pants off the hangers handing them to Sarah. “These should fit what size shoe are you?”

“6” Sarah replied.

“Da was an 8 they may be a little roomy but you can stuff a sock in the toes; gotta be better than those city shoes” James said reaching down into the bottom of the wardrobe and handing a pair of boots to Sarah. He then took his combat jacket and pants off another hanger then grabbed his boots in his left hand. “I’ll let you change in here” He said glancing back at Sarah as he closed the door behind him. James walked into the bathroom then commenced to change his clothes.

Sarah opened the bedroom door looking down at the over sized boots on her feet with the baggy legs of the camo pants to see James sat at the kitchen table looking at her with a grin. “They almost fit” He quipped.

“Yeah” She replied sniffing the jacket collar. “Where these ever laundered?” She asked her nostrils flailed at the smell.

“Nope Da always said if you use detergent the game would smell you a mile away” James grinned.

“I see where you got your personal hygiene from” Sarah laughed. “Sorry couldn’t resist” She added.

“No worries; listen if we can get over the mountain range by tomorrow evening we’ll hit highway 405, we should be able to hitch a ride from there to the state line if not I have a plan B; a buddy of mine lives twenty miles from here, he has an old pickup truck we can use” James said.

“Sounds like a plan but we have to get out of here and try to contact Stevens” Sarah replied. “If we can get to a phone I can call his cell from a land line”

“It’ll have to be a quick call I figure you’ll have around 90 seconds before they can trace the call” James cautioned. “Make it quick and short” He added.

“We better get some sleep, we have a long trek tomorrow” Sarah said as she headed back to the bedroom.

“Sarah” James called out as she stopped and looked back at him from the doorway. “Better sleep in your clothes just in case we have to move quickly; It’ll be alright trust me” He reassured her as she closed the bedroom door with a smile. James then thought for a moment, he picked up his Beretta off the table and walked over to the light switch and turned off the lights plunging the living room into the glow of the embers in the fire place. He made his way over to the couch fluffing up the pillow then he laid down putting the Beretta within easy reach closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep.

Sarah switched on the bedside lamp then switched off the bedroom light, she climbed onto the bed pulling back the musky duvet then laid on her back looking up at the ceiling listening to the soothing sound of crickets outside, she closed her eyes then drifted off to sleep.