“Shades of Justice” Chapter Sixty-three
Shadow was already looking for the release signal so he could check out the area. Kelly let him go. He ran to the end of the cover, stopped, and looked over the scene with eyes and nose. Then he moved quietly and slowly to the stream bank. He didn’t drink until Sally filled the canteens and started back.
They were almost in the clearing before they smelled the faint smoke and coffee. Jack had a small fire of dry wood that gave off little smoke. When they were sitting around the fire as darkness fell, Jack said, “There is much to teach you if you’re going to follow this line of work. So I’ll be telling you bits and pieces of lore that you may already know and telling you more often than you might like. Neither one of you has anything in your pack to cut wood. On a short trip like this you could get by. Most people will pack a hatchet or ax. A fine tool for chopping. But chopping makes a lot of noise and leaves many marks. A small saw like this one is quiet. Leaves marks easy to conceal. Is lighter and packs better than a clumsy ax and won’t need frequent sharpening. In a forest, dry wood for starting fires is not found on the ground. Note that on tall pine trees, the lower branches die and dry when the larger overhead ones cut off the sunlight. This wood came from within 20 feet of where you are sitting. Few other details. We all need a good rest tonight. Shadow will keep watch. When we leave this campsite, I want it to look like no one was here, especially recently. Okay, let’s get supper going.”
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First light came as Jack had coffee on the fire and Shadow’s favorite kibble on a flat stone. The girls awoke slowly. Jack handed each of them a cup of hot black coffee and said, “Good morning ladies, I hope you enjoyed your beauty sleep. It will probably be your last long one for a while. Here, take this trench shovel out to your latrine area. We’ll have some hot oatmeal and honey and get on the trail. Sally, take the point for a bit. Kelly can give you some pointers. Even a girl raised in this state can learn a few things about walking point. The closer we get, the slower and more carefully we move. For the first hour we can move fast. A good foot check before we start. You too, Shadow.”
For the first hour Kelly walked behind Sally giving her Jack’s way of walking point. She said, “Sally, walk like no one else is here. It is up to you to see and hear everything in front of you. You are in charge. When you stop, we stop. If you step off the trail, we all do. Speed up or slow down, we follow. Think like the bad guys. What would they do to kill us? Check out the likely ambush sites. Making good time is not the total goal. Staying alive is. Now you know everything Jack taught me about walking point. I’m dropping back. You got it.”
After four hours Jack passed the word for Sally to find a safe place for a rest stop. Sally took them 20 paces off the trail behind a clump of boulders. After packs off and a foot check, Jack said, “We’re within a couple of miles of the camp. Lunch is trail mix and chocolate bars. Empty your bladders and hydrate. From here on we move slowly and quietly off trail. I want to approach from the south. Begin to camouflage your clothes, especially the hats. All we need to do is break up the lines of the body and provide coloration to blend into the environment. Check your pockets and packs for any thing rattling or making noise when you move. Rifles locked, loaded, and safed. Carry them across the front of your body or in your right hand. Nothing shiny on clothes. I’ve enough camo stuff for your hands and face. Use it. Skin can glisten and reflect. Okay! Get ready. Inspect yourselves and each other, including me. I’ll take the point from here. Nice job, both of you. Good team work. I like it.”
Jack swung his team to the southeast for nearly an hour then straight north to the Marshalls’ shooting camp and prison for kidnapped young women. Jack still had a hard time believing that Jim Marshall’s character flaws had been so well hidden from him and his father. Well, Jim, now it has caught up with you. These young women with me are deadly and smart. That’s a good combination. You are probably in the last day of your life. Jack smelled smoke and heard the sound of gunfire. He figured they must be within a quarter mile of the camp. On the current compass azimuth they should come out slightly to the east of the camp on the high ridge overlooking the complex. Jack decided late this afternoon or early tomorrow morning they would make the rescue.
Kelly and Sally had first picked up the scent of smoke and then the sound of gunfire in the rhythm of a firing range. The going got steeper and Sally could feel she needed more conditioning. She was looking forward to resting in a sniper hide. She looked to her left and saw Shadow keeping pace with her. Sally reached down and held Shadow’s loose-fitting collar. Shadow dug in and Sally felt herself being dragged up the slope. She thought, How can so much power be packed into a 120-pound body? Kelly moved up close behind her and said, “Keep going, you can breathe later.”
