Bryce didn’t like the woods, didn’t like the cold and he didn’t like the snow. And because he didn’t like snow, he didn’t like winter sports and that included hockey. He had been accused of being un-Canadian from time to time, and he didn’t take offence to it, because liking hockey doesn’t make someone Canadian and besides, what was he supposed to do? Start liking the cold? Start liking the snow? Pick up a stick and start skating? No thanks. To hell with that noise. Give him a beach, sand, sun and someone to bring him drinks, colourful ones with the stupid umbrellas in them because, why the hell not? That was his ideal vacation. But here he was, freezing in the snow because he was here to do a job and even though he hated the environment, he’d do the job. And he’d do it well. Bryce sent two of his six-member team back to the nearest detachment to get snowmobiles and the sled suits and helmets to go with the machines. Bryce just bet those sled suits were warm. Warmer than what he was wearing anyway. The rest of his team was spread out around where they thought Graham’s place was. They didn’t know because they hadn’t seen it, not with their own eyes at least. They were operating blind. What was that line from the Naked Gun film? Like a blind man at an orgy, they’d have to feel their way around? Bryce smiled and then frowned. He hated the cold. His teeth chattered and he closed his mouth tight to stop his teeth from clacking. He wondered what happened to the drone that was supposed to be on the way. The drone might have done reconnaissance, but Bryce had no idea. No one told him if it had spotted a home or a base or a freaking tree-house and he didn’t hear the damn thing buzzing nearby so who knew?
What he did know was that he was stuck in a trifecta of misery. He had to leave his car on the side of the road and approach on foot through the cold woods coated in snow. He expected to be sitting in his car waiting for someone to move so he and his team could follow them because that’s what they normally did. In his car, he’d be warm and he could talk to his team on the radio. They’d yap at and make fun of each other over their encrypted radios and attempt to decide the veracity about the newest interdepartmental gossip. Fun shit that passed the time. He did not expect to be out in the snow and the cold, and because he didn’t think of that possibility he hadn’t dressed for it. Instead of winter boots, hat, mitts, insulated pants and a heavy coat, he was in running shoes, no hat, thin gloves, jeans and a parka. He was dressed for an afternoon at the pub, flirting with a waitress and sipping on pints of imported beer. His lack of foresight left him freezing and unhappy.
Leaving his car and trekking through the snow to his spot in the cold, wet nowhere with the snow getting into the tops of his shoes having no idea what or who he was supposed to be looking for other than a creepy man and a little girl. Even if he did see something, what would he call out to his team to pinpoint his location? I’m by a tree with snow at the base? There were a gazillion trees out here, all with snow at their damn bases. At best, Bryce guessed he was south of the target’s house. That’s it. But even that was a guess because no one had seen the house. Bryce shivered as cold air slid down his back. Bryce wished he had worn his kevlar vest. Not only would it protect him from bullets, it would have kept him warmer. His teeth clattered again. He didn’t hear the steps approaching from behind him. He didn’t know he wasn’t alone. Not until he heard the voice behind him.
“Hello.”
Bryce jumped, and his one foot slipped as running shoes weren’t the best for this terrain, and at the same time he clicked his radio as his hands and body tensed. Over the air, his team and Jodie and all the other officers in the command vehicle who had been listening on that channel heard him squawk “Ahhhh!”
Bryce scrambled to this feet while keeping the man who had appeared out of nowhere in front of him. Bryce had a gun on his hip in a holster but his coat was covering it. Seeing the man’s hands covered in giant mitts, Bryce thought he would have enough time to get his own gun out if the man shucked off his mittens to open his heavy coat to grab a gun of his own, or even a knife. The man wore a heavy coat with a fur-lined hood shadowing his face.
From the radio in his hand, “Bryce! Are you okay? You need help”
He clicked the portable button, eyeing the man in front of him and said, “Give me a minute.”
To the man, Bryce said, “Can I help you?”
Slow and deliberate the man said, “I was wondering if I could help you. You’re looking for that little girl, right?”
The hair on Bryce’s body stood. And this time, it wasn’t because of the cold.
. . . . .
After they heard Bryce’s yelp, everyone in the RV stared at the portable radio tuned to the surveillance teams frequency. All chatter in the RV stopped and brows furrowed. Jodie touched the gun on her hip and Reggie hugged his elbows. Then Jodie said to Reggie, “Call the dispatcher and find out who is assigned to that portable. Then have them call everyone on the surveillance team on their cell phones to check in.”
Eddie, sitting at his chair put his coffee down and said, “I’m on it, boss.”
Jodie heard Eddie on the phone getting the information. Over his shoulder, he said, “That’s Bryce’s portable,” and he continued to chat on the phone to dispatch. Jodie picked up the radio, asked Bryce if he was okay and he told her to wait and once more the group stood around looking at the portable, waiting for Bryce to speak.
Eddie hung up the phone and spun around in his chair. He said, “The rest of the surveillance team is accounted for and they are fine. They think Bryce is south of Graham’s property.”
Jodie frowned and said, “Think?”
“Yeah. That’s the best they can do. They’re in the woods, no line of sight to each other so they set up in a general way to cover the compass points without going on Graham’s property. Not effective but it’s the best they could do.”
The radio chirped, “Jodie? I’m going to call you.”
Jodie picked up the portable and said, “10-4.”
She pulled the phone out of her pocket, waiting for it to ring. Everyone around her quieted. It buzzed in her hand. She answered it and said, “Bryce?”