"It’s been eventful," I say. "Thank you for meeting me."
"What've you got?"
I hand him the printed stills—eight of them, each one showing groups of armed men at access points along the lower forest roads, the posted boundary signs visible in frame, timestamps running along the bottom edge. He takes them and flips through the stack, his lips twitch.
"These are from your motion cameras?" he asks.
"I repositioned them on the access roads."
"Where exactly were these access points?" He taps the third photo.
"The south boundary access road, lower logging road junction, and the fire trail off County Route 9." I pull up the GPS coordinates on my phone and show him the map. "All three are within clearly posted no-trespass zones. The signs are visible in the photos."
Graves studies the coordinates. "Armed individuals on private posted land." He looks up. "With weapons?"
"Long rifles in most frames. One vehicle with a mounted spotlight rig." I meet his narrowed eyes. "This isn't a few individuals going too far on a hunt. It's organized."
"Organized coordinated trespass."
"Yeah, and they are armed. This is a disaster waiting to happen," I say.
Graves tucks the photos into his jacket. "I'll get two deputies on the boundary roads before dark. If we find armed individuals past the posted markers, we detain and process." He gives me a direct look. "You understand I can't act on anything unless they cross the property line.”
"That's all I'm asking," I say. "Keep the roads clear tonight."
He nods once, the decisive nod of someone who has already decided and is confirming it out loud. "Stay out of the way while we work the roads. We don’t want any mistakes."
"Understood," I say. "Thank you, Sheriff."
He heads back to his cruiser without ceremony, and I turn and walk back to where Ciaran is waiting at the truck. He's leaning against the driver's side with his arms folded, watching the road.
"Fourteen minutes," he says.
"Graves is deploying deputies to the boundary roads before dark," I tell him. "Armed trespass on posted private land. He'll detain anyone who crosses."
Ciaran's nods with a huff. "That handles the hunter threat without pack engagement."
"That was the point." I open the truck door. "Now let's get those crates to the clearing before anyone decides to move them."
The ritual clearingis already filling when we arrive.
Torches lined the outer ring, the council assembled under the stone arch, wolves in the full crescent formation getting ready for the main event. Ciaran and I carry the ammunition crates to the center of the space without stopping, and I set mine down in front of Brynn.
"Ammunition crates recovered from the hunting cabin," I say. "Stenciled with a supplier designation—Vantage Ridge Supply Co.—that appears in Gideon Rourke's documented financial dealings going back two years." I hand her the camera. "Forty-three photographs, timestamped, complete chain of custody from recovery to transport."
Brynn takes the camera and examines the first several images with the careful attention she gives everything. She passes it to Marek, who examines it and passes it down the council arc. Gideon, standing at the far end, accepts the camera when it reaches him and looks at the screen for a moment before returning it to Ciaran.
"A supplier I've used for outfitting equipment," Gideon says. "That's not unusual."
"The crates were recovered from a cache used to stage armed trespass on Blackmoore land," I say.
"Allegedly," he replies.
Brynn holds up one hand to stop us. "We will examine the physical evidence." She nods to two council members, who move to inspect the crates directly—reading the stamps, examining the contents, making notes. Brynn watches without rushing them. Then she looks toward the holding room door, and two guards bring Kieran forward.
He looks worse than he did when I hit him with the dart. The grogginess still hasn't fully cleared, and he stumbles over his own feet, bags under his eyes. Evidence of what an elephant tranquilizer feels like hours later.
The guards position him under the council arch, and Brynn faces him with the same steady authority she gives everything.
