“I have been trying to analyze the movement patterns. Every night except one or two, there has been a short period of time where the pack is sprinting at top speed. Maybe this is when they are tracking the creature. Perhaps if we follow them at a distance, but move in when we see this speed increase, we would find the creature.”
Rook snorted. “And then what? It’ll take more than just a guy with a gun to bring this thing down. Do you have anything more substantial that we can fire from a distance, something at least semi-automatic?”
“We do have one or two things that might be of use. How about an AR-15?”
“Yep, that would probably do it. Semi-automatic.”
“Actually, I have the auto sear for it.”
Rook raised his eyebrows. “You’ve got an AR-15 converted to fully automatic? What do you need that for?”
“I have more than one. We are isolated out here. You never know what sort of threats will come along.”
“Given what I saw last night, I can’t argue with that.”
“Great. So what time do you want to meet to go after it?”
“Whoa. We definitely need your tracking device, but I go out into the field alone.”
Fossen’s voice rose. “You are not in a position to be making that kind of demand.”
“Oh no? Do you want my help or not?”
The older man was silent. Rook said, “I thought so. It’s nothing personal. You just show me how your tracking device works and I’ll do the rest.”
“No, you will not. The device I have is large and needs to stay in one place. I can keep in touch with you by walkie-talkie.”
“Walkie-talkie? I thought you didn’t have any outside communication?”
“These things have a range of about ten miles. They hardly qualify. I can tell you where the wolves are and you can follow at a distance where they will not know you’re there.”
“And you’ll also give me the weapon, right?”
Fossen’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, I will. But you understand that I am trusting you?”
“Sure, like I’m trusting you. For all I know, you’ve poisoned my tea.”
Fossen’s laugh boomed. “You are a funny man. There is one thing I know for certain.”
Fossen looked serious, and Rook couldn’t shake a sense of threat, but he played along. “Yeah, what’s that?”
“The death of a man like you will not be from drinking a cup of poisoned tea.”
7
Rook’s thoughts turned to his team as he drove back up the hill. He wondered what Queen would do about Fossen if she were in Rook’s shoes. Probably threaten to cut his balls off if he didn’t spill everything.
Rook missed her, missed the whole team, but he didn’t quite feel ready to rejoin the real world. Sure, if he had a phone, he’d let them know where he was, but the loss of his team in Russia still weighed on him. He needed to focus on the current mission.
Right now, Fossen was helping him, and he was curious what the town’s leader was up to. Fossen feeding him information via walkie-talkie wouldn’t exactly be like Chess Team’s Deep Blue. Deep Blue had guided most of their missions, his satellite capabilities and worldwide contacts acting like eyes above the battlefield. When they had learned Deep Blue’s identity—the recently resigned President of the United States—it had all made sense. No, Fossen wasn’t Deep Blue, but Rook would take any advantage he could get.
Back at the house, Peder was absent. With darkness almost complete already, Rook retired to the barn for some more rest before Fossen would meet him there at ten that night to deliver the walkie-talkie and the AR-15. He closed his eyes and let sleep take over.
He was awakened by the sound of gravel crunching under car tires. His watch said eight o’clock, so he roused himself, grabbed a flashlight, and poked his head out the door. Peder was slamming the door of another Volvo, which then drove off. Rook shined the flashlight in the old man’s direction.
Peder held his hands to his eyes. “Stanislav? Is that you?”
“Yep. Welcome home.”
Peder approached the barn. “Thank you, son. I understand things did not go as planned with Eirek.”
“You could say that. The man was so damn reasonable; he was like a different person from yesterday.”
Peder nodded. “He can be like that. I do not bother to try to figure out what is going on in his head. He has done great things for this town though.”
“Like what?”
“A ways back, he convinced the Norwegian government to fund a geothermal power plant for us. Before that, the old above-ground lines were always breaking down, leaving us without power for days at a time. Now, we have the most reliable power in the nation. I still do not know how he pulled it off.”
“What about his research? Do you know anything about that?”
Peder’s voice carried caution. “What did he tell you about his research?”
“That he specializes in wolves, how they interact with their environment, how humans can learn things from studying them.”
“That sounds about right. Do not ask me the details, I’m just a farmer.”
“Just a farmer. I’ll bet my pension that you used to be more than just a farmer.”