Page 77 of Easy, Tiger

"How's his positioning?"

"Textbook ambush setup for the old route. Perfect kill zone if anyone actually used that pass anymore." Owen's dry humor comes through despite the choppy reception. "You were right about her deception in the tent. Sent him exactly where we wanted him."

"Distance from the enclave's actual position?"

"Three miles northeast. Completely isolated from our people."

Halsey sits up fully, cinching the wool blanket around her shoulders. "He took the bait."

"Every last sketch you made him." I key the radio again. "Owen, what's the terrain like around his position?"

"Dense pine cover on three sides, steep drop-off to the south. He's got one way in and out unless he wants to rappel down a cliff face."

"Perfect." Swinging my legs over the ridge of the narrow bottom bunk, I'm already reaching for my clothes. "Get everyone in position to surround the area, but stay hidden in the tree line. No one moves until I arrive."

"Copy that. How long until you're mobile?"

I peer over at Halsey, who's already shimmying on her thermal layers quickly. "Twenty minutes to gear up, then however long it takes to reach you through this snow."

"Roads are currently impassable. You'll be on foot the whole way, same as us."

Halsey tugs her boots on, lacing them tight. "What about the rest of the enclave?"

"Sadie's continues to run cover in town, keeping everyone occupied until this is over. Caleb pulled the elders and the youngest ones into the settlement's storm shelter overnight, in case things go sideways up here. Everyone knows this ends today, one way or another."

Tugging my flannel over my head, my muscles protest from yesterday's chase through the mountains. "Any sign he's spotted our people?"

"Negative. He's fixated entirely on the pass, waiting for tigers that aren't coming. Nolan, he's been there all night. He's committed to this position."

"Good. Means he won't be expecting us to come from behind." I shoulder my pack, checking that my emergency supplies are still intact. "Keep everyone dark and quiet. We do this clean."

"He's isolated, but he's also desperate. Cornered animals are unpredictable." Halsey says.

"Which is why we're not giving him any options." Before going back to the radio, I catch her wrists gently, checking the bandages beneath her jacket sleeves. "How are these holding up? I need you steady out there, not favoring your hands if something goes wrong."

"They're sore, not broken." She flexes her fingers to prove it. "I can hold a mirror and stack rocks, Nolan. I promise."

"That's not what I asked."

"I'm okay." The fierce edge in her eyes softens. "Really. Let's finish what he started."

Before I report back to the radio, she produces her sketchbook and flips to a blank page, her pencil already moving. "If we're going through with this, we need a silent line to your crew. Something visual, something fast."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Trail markers. The same kind I used to leave signs for you." She sketches quickly as she explains. "I'll use dark rocks and thick branches that contrast sharply against the white snow. Three stacked stones mean hold position. Crossed branches mean advance. A single upright stick means abort; pull back immediately." She lifts up the page for me to see. "I'll arrange them in an open patch on the log, then use my mirror to flash a single beam of light at the scout's position. That flash will tell them exactly when and where to train their high-powered scopes to read the marker."

"That could work." Analyzing her sketch, I can already picture it laid out across the ridge. "Owen's team needs to know the code before we're in position, or it's useless."

I turn on the radio. "Owen, we're bringing a signal system. Three stacked stones, hold. Crossed branches, advance. Single upright stick, abort. Get that to every scout on the ridge before we arrive."

"Copy that. Relaying now." A harsh hiss spits through as Owen repeats the code to his team on a separate channel. "Everyone's got it memorized. Thirty minutes, Nolan. Nobody moves until then."

"Good, we'll be there soon."

The static cuts to silence, leaving only the sound of wind through the pines and our breathing in the small cabin. Halsey zips her jacket, then grabs a spare canvas rucksack from Owen’s emergency stash, sliding her arms through the straps. “Might need to haul supplies or evidence,” she notes, always thinking three steps ahead. She checks her gear with the same habitual focus she brings to everything else, leaving nothing to chance.

"Ready?" I ask.