Long Road to Mercy (Atlee Pine, #1)(110)

Pine let out a long, tortured breath.

“I need this frigging bomb off me. Now!”

Kettler released the bindings and, with a struggle, managed to get it off her.

She lay there breathing hard.

“Atlee, I need you to help me pull,” said Kettler, a bit of anxiety creeping into his voice, as the rain continued to pelt them.

She could understand his nervousness. If the chopper came back now, they were all dead.

“I know you do, just give me a sec.” She took several deep breaths. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Great, but we’re taking no chances.”

In a flash Kettler had linked both of them to the ropes around the large rock.

When he came back over he handed her a pair of gloves he’d had in his pack. He’d already donned a pair.

They stood side by side on the edge of the trail.

Kettler looked at her and grinned encouragingly. “Okay, almost Olympian, let’s see what you got.”

She managed a weak smile in return and then blew on her gloved hands and rubbed them together. “Let’s do it.”

They squatted down and pulled and grunted and slid and lurched backward. The ground was very slick as the rain kept pouring, and a couple times their feet and fingers slipped, with the result that Roth was pulled up and then dropped down a few feet. But Pine was incredibly strong, and so was Kettler. Their combined efforts lifted Roth inch by inch until the top of his head appeared over the edge of the trail.

Kettler quickly tied the rope off so they would not lose this hard-fought gain.

He and Pine went right to the edge and squatted down again. They both put their hands under Roth’s armpits.

“One, two, three, pull,” said Kettler.

Roth’s upper torso landed on the trail.

“Again,” said Kettler.

And the rest of Roth followed. They all collapsed to the dirt and lay there for a few precious minutes, gasping for air, the sweat pouring down their faces, even as the rain drenched them.

They finally stood, undid all the ropes around the rock, linked themselves together once more, and began to set off, with Kettler now carrying the nuke pack.

“Th-thank you,” Roth said to them both as they walked along.

“Don’t thank us yet,” Pine replied. “We’re not to the top.”

About twenty minutes of climbing later, Kettler looked back.

“It levels out in a bit. And after that is the Rim.”

Pine checked the sky and then her watch. “How much longer?” she called ahead to Kettler.

“Couple hours or so.”

“Let’s push through,” she said. At the higher elevations the dawn would not be delayed.

She pulled out her phone and was thrilled to see several bars. She punched in the number, praying the call would go through. The person answered sleepily on the third ring.

“It’s Atlee. You said if I needed any help, I just had to ask. Well, I’m asking.”

*



About two and a half hours later, they reached the North Rim. Kettler put his hand up and the others immediately stopped. Roth collapsed to the ground, breathing hard.

Kettler set the lift pack down, came back to them, and undid the ropes holding them together. He squatted down and surveyed the area up ahead with a practiced gaze.

“So what’s the plan now?” asked Kettler. “I don’t like being exposed up here. That chopper could land anywhere along here.”

Pine looked to the sky, watching out for lights cutting through the dark over the Canyon.

If the chopper did come and land, she told herself she would just open fire, aiming for the fuel tanks.

“I’ve got help coming. They should be here soon.”

“Let’s hope it’s soon enough,” replied Kettler.

Thirty minutes later, a pair of headlights did cut through the darkness, but they were coming along the road, not through the air. Kettler swung his M4 around and took aim at the approaching vehicle.

“Stand down,” said Pine quickly, as the vehicle came close enough for her to see it clearly. “I know them.”

The Chevy Suburban stopped in front of them, and Joe and Jennifer Yazzie climbed out.

Joe Yazzie Sr. was a big, burly man. His dark hair, worn long, was shot through with gray. His skin was leathered from living his whole life in a desert environment, and he walked with a bit of a limp.

Pine knew this stemmed from a shot he’d taken to his thigh that was still healing.

He had on his police uniform and held a pump-action shotgun in his right hand, muzzle down.

“Atlee?” called out Jennifer.

“It’s us,” said Pine as the three of them came out of the shadows.

“Agent Pine? Are you okay?” Carol Blum had climbed out of the rear seat and was hurrying toward them.

“We’re all fine.”

The group met in the middle of the road. Pine introduced Roth and Kettler to the Yazzies and Blum.

Blum gripped Pine’s hand. “I knew you’d find him.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be here without Sam’s help.”

Blum put a hand on Kettler’s shoulder and mouthed the words, Thank you.

Joe Yazzie eyed her severely and said, “You didn’t tell us much, Atlee. In fact, you really didn’t tell us anything.”