Page 67 of Under Fire in Big Sky

Fury boiled low in Eli’s gut. “The note said it was nonnegotiable.” He paced in the kitchen of the rented house. “I’ve got to find a way to get the Aegis NOC list.”

A list of every covert operative working under nonofficial cover for Aegis.

Autumn poured another cup of coffee. “But why does Shepherd even want the list?”

“I don’t care!” Eli snapped. Then he caught himself. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my voice.” He strained for calm and failed. “I don’t have the bandwidth to focus on that. We just need to get it, all right, so we can trade it for Olivia.”

“What about going to her boss, Hahn?” Bo asked. “Do you think she’d cooperate?”

“No.” Eli shook his head. “Not even if Olivia’s life depended on it.” And it might. There had been no overt threat made, but it was there, nonetheless. “Any response in the chat room?” Eli asked Takoda.

On the back of the card were instructions on how to contact Shepherd once Eli got the list. Send a notification in the Discord app, in a chat room labeled Survivalist: The Hunt.

Tak was attempting to make contact now, without the list, to see if some kind of negotiation was possible.

Even though the note had been clear that it wasn’t.

Takoda looked up from the laptop with a solemn look. “Nothing. I’m sorry. I thought it was worth a try.”

“Trying everything,” Eli said, “is better than doing nothing.”

And Eli was willing to try anything, aside from involving law enforcement.

Taking Tristan and the others to the FBI to get them to talk wasn’t an option. But for two hundred bucks, Tristan had answered their questions. Although they couldn’t be sure whether he was honest.

According to the kid, Shepherd found Tristan and the other teenagers on Discord. The kids all knew each other from a wilderness immersion summer camp called Backcountry Adventure. At the camp, teens explored essential survival techniques, crafting tools, navigating using stars, animal tracking, shooting, and hunting. It was run by instructors from diverse military backgrounds. Marine scout snipers, medical experts, and other combat veterans. The chat room the kids used was for a game: Big Sky Sentinel Skills.

Tristan never met Shepherd in person, or so he claimed, but detailed instructions had been left for him along with cash and a phone in a backpack. Shepherd called him once to rehearse the script he’d been given. The harness was already rigged up on the bridge, set to go when Tristan got there with Olivia.

The team tried to figure out why Tristan had been chosen as the leader of that group. One thing about him stood out as different from the others. In addition to the summer camp, he also had four years of high school JROTC experience. Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. The kid had won a slew of awards for service, leadership, responsibility, and athletic achievement. He knew how to follow orders if nothing else.

“Unless you need me for something, I’m going to drive out to that summer camp, Backcountry Adventure,” Bo said. “Talk to the instructors. Shepherd must’ve known about the camp. There might be a connection between him and one of the instructors.”

“Go ahead,” Chance said, “we’ll update you if anything new pops up.”

“One more thing.” Eli turned to Bo. “There’s probably a connection with the instructions. But you should also focus on Tristan. That kid was so smooth and cocky.” Eli clenched his hand into a fist thinking about it. “Perfect for that woodland distraction. Shepherd didn’t just stumble upon that perfect kid on short notice by chance.”

Nodding, Bo grabbed his car keys. “I’ll see what I can find out,” he said and headed out.

“What do we do about the list?” Takoda asked.

Eli let out a rough sound that was part groan and part growl. “Shepherd must know there isn’t any way for me to get my hands on that list. It’s like he wants me to do the impossible.”

“Maybe it’s not impossible,” Chance said. “Remember that gray hat hacker we’ve worked with before. He might be able to help.”

Leaning back in his chair, Tak folded his arms. “Orson?”

Chance nodded. “Yeah. But he isn’t cheap.”

Eli recalled. The hacker had been instrumental in cracking a previous case. “I don’t care what it costs. I’ll pay. Whatever the price.”

“Let’s say you manage to get the list,” Autumn said. “You can’t give it to Shepherd.”

“But I have to.” Eli stared at her, in utter disbelief over what she was saying. “I don’t have any other choice.”

“There’s always a choice and you usually make the right one, Eli.” She stepped closer to him. “Giving a terrorist the true identities of every cover agent working for Aegis would jeopardize them, compromise them, if not worse.”

“I’ll have to worry about the ramifications of that later. It’s not the priority.”