Convergence - The Last Science #2.1 - In Plain Sight

B2: Chapter 6 - Over the Border and Through the Woods - III

  When they were within a thousand feet of the GPS marker they'd dropped, Lani pulled off to the side and turned off the engine. They found Jackie's cruiser partially covered in a blanket of branches and leaves. Jeremy approached slowly, gun drawn, while Lani covered him. His shoes crunched through the first fallen leaves. Jeremy watched the car with sweat beading on the back of his neck. It had been years since he'd gone into a situation like this without any idea of what he was going up against. That was a younger Jeremy's move, not his.

  What the fuck am I doing out where with only my partner as backup?

  The windows of the cruiser were all blown out. Even the windshield was totally gone. Jeremy hadn't noticed that in the video footage of the cruiser leaving Washington. The doors were closed and the car was deliberately concealed, so whomever left it hadn't been in a hurry. He had no reason to expect any sort of ambush.

  Jeremy approached the car. He reached out and touched the trunk, spotting the very same bullet hole he'd remembered. He sighed, waving Lani forward to join him.

  There wasn't going to be anything here, good or bad. He already knew it, before they even went over the car. Lani approached just as deliberately, but Jeremy had already lowered his gun and gone for the front door. They spent a good twenty minutes digging through the car looking for anything they could find. Any clue whatsoever that might tell them where Jackie had gone. There was nothing. Jackie had gone over it thoroughly. Jeremy knew it was her car, but that was all they could be sure of.

  "Why'd they ditch it?" Lani asked. They were leaning against the back of the trunk, neither particularly wanting to go home empty-handed.

  "Too easy to follow?"

  "They'd already made it out of the country and into the forest. Why'd they ditch it here?" Lani gestured around them. Not a single sign of civilization in sight. "There's still gas in the tank, and the wheels look fine."

  Jeremy pointed at the rising hill leading further north. "We drove up in a jeep. An old Seattle cruiser ain't gettin' up that."

  Lani frowned. "So you think they went on foot?"

  "If I know Jackie, not a chance in hell. That hike with the rangers was bad enough for me, and Jackie hated exercise." Jeremy walked out into the woods a short distance and examined the ground. "Lani, c'mhere."

  "What's up?"

  "Check this out." Jeremy brushed away the leaves. There was a faint but distinct set of tire tracks in the ground. He plucked a few pieces of rubber out of the dirt. "There was another car."

  "...But they came through months ago. There's no way this could be her."

  "Nope," Jeremy got to his feet and started back for their jeep. "We're not the only ones following her."

  They drove for almost two hours, due north at a slow speed. Every time Jeremy thought they might have lost the trail, Lani managed to find another clue—a thick branch clearly broken off by a passing vehicle through a tight space, skidmarks in the dirt, anything to keep them going. His partner was thorough and relentless, keeping them on the chase.

  "But if we're following the second group," Jeremy wondered aloud, "what the fuck are they following?"

  "I have no idea." Lani flicked the lights on and off to check their positioning. It was still fairly light out, but the tree cover was too thick for it to really feel like daytime. "I didn't see anything else on the ground. What would there be, five months later in the middle of the forest?"