She directed Reed to drive south toward Wild River Range. The landscape shifted from rolling green hills to rougher mountain ranges rising in the distance and capped with snow.
They turned off the main highway and headed deep into Yosemite National Park, Reed at the wheel, while Siren studied Garrett Cole’s background in the files Jackie had provided for them.
“Tell me more about this guy,” Reed said.
“Garrett Cole is an ex-military contractor. He worked jobs adjacent to black ops for fifteen years before he got out.Apparently, he lives off-grid now and is highly paranoid and heavily armed.”
“He sounds charming,” Reed said.
“Clearly. But Jackie says he has information. And this is our best lead right now.”
“How are we going to handle this?”
“The meeting point is a few miles off a trailhead in the forest. I’ll use the recognition code Jackie gave us. Hopefully he’s there when we arrive. If he accepts the code, we’ll talk. If he doesn’t, we leave. Assuming he lets us.”
Reed was quiet for a moment. “And if he doesn’t let us leave?” he asked.
“Then I handle it.”
She glanced at him. He didn’t seem afraid. But she remembered the last time he’d been panicked. If that happened again with Garrett Cole, the situation could go sideways fast. She considered leaving him with the van and tracking by herself.
Leaving him alone and unprotected was unacceptable. But she needed to be sure he wasn’t going to freak out.
“You don’t speak unless I tell you to. You don’t make any sudden movements. And you don’t wild out no matter what. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” he said in a low voice.
They followed the directions deep into the forest to a trailhead at the end of a Forest Service road. It was a gravel parking lot with a trail map on a wooden post. There were no other vehicles. Reed parked and killed the engine.
“We hike from here. It’s about two miles,” she said, checking her watch. Hopefully they would arrive at exactly the right time.
She went to the back of the van and opened her tactical bag. The Sarah Phillips costume came off, and she changed into cargo pants, a fitted long-sleeve shirt, and hiking boots. She didn’t bother hiding in the bathroom. Reed had already seen her naked. She strapped on her shoulder holster, checked her Glock, and added an ankle piece and a knife to her belt. When she looked up, Reed was watching her.
“What?” she asked.
He shook his head as if he was coming out of a dream. “You just look like yourself again.”
“And?” she said, squinting at him.
“I prefer it.”
She smirked and shoved her Glock into the holster. “Pack your backpack with some water. And bring the field recorder. We may want to play it for Garrett when we get there.”
He nodded and began packing up what she told him to. When they were prepared, they locked up the van and started up the trail.
The terrain was rough. There were rocky outcroppings and dense pine forests with steep switchbacks. Siren watched for surveillance as they climbed. She didn’t see anything, knowing they were still on public land.
Reed kept pace behind her, his shifter endurance showing as they walked up the steep incline.
After about forty minutes, Siren stopped. The coordinates indicated she should leave the public trail and start into the raw forest. Reed stopped beside her. She scanned the tree line, looking for the right place to enter. Finally, she spotted a deer trace and stepped off the public trail.
After another fifteen minutes of carefully plotting through the forest, she came to a clearing, looking for signs of surveillance. She spotted a motion sensor tucked into a tree branch and a trail camera angled to catch their approach. Garrett knew they were here.
“Jackie sent us,” she called out. “The river runs cold in October.”
There was silence. The wind rustled the pines and a bird called in the distance. She checked her watch. She was right on time. Where was he?
Then a voice came from the trees on the far side of the clearing.
