Third story in the C-Set universe
"The authors would like to express our thanks to our beta, Steph -aka Rowan- for her help and advice. You're a doll, sis."
The ground started to rumble. Skiers getting ready to head down the run felt the earth shifting beneath their feet. Farther east, many patrons could see a wall of white slowly slide down the mountain, gaining momentum in its descent. The roar of crashing snow got louder and louder. People scrambled, futilely trying to get out of its way. With the force of a tidal wave, it overtook the straggling skiers trying desperately to outrun the wall of snow. Those unable to clear out of the avalanche's path were swept up, tumbling over and over as snow crashed around them. Finally the snow settled and silence reigned. Less than a minute later, procedures took over in nearby emergency communications departments. The call went out.
Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner were in the middle of lunch. He and Vin had been poking around some of the shops at Incline Village, looking for some artwork for the house. Now they were in one of the Village restaurants, enjoying a hot cup of coffee. Chris' cellphone trilled.
"Larabee ... uh huh ... where? ... I'm less than fifteen minutes away ... I'll get my people started that way and see you in a bit then." He quickly ended the call and dialed another number, while Vin signaled a waitress to box up their lunches.
Casey Wells was lying on her bed, a pillow under her stomach and foot in the air bopping in time to the music coming from her stereo. Her eyes were focused on the book in front of her. She had a major test coming up in her history class this week and she intended to ace it. Suddenly, her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Casey? It's Chris. Listen, there's been an avalanche on Diamond Peak. Alert the team and have them meet you at the office, and then head up here in the vans with our equipment. Vin and I will meet you at Diamond Peak. We're already close by. Also, get the county's incident van up here to use as command central."
"Okay, Chris. See you there." Casey disconnected from Chris and immediately dialed up the succession of numbers that would send an 'all-call' to every member of the team simultaneously through their pagers. Dictating the message that would let them know what had happened and where to meet, she slipped into a heavy sweater and snow boots, and headed out the door.
Ezra Standish looked up as the waitress set his coffee on the table. Smiling slightly, he set a poker chip on her tray as a tip and continued to study his cards. Finally looking at his opponents, he placed several more chips into the center of the table.
"I'll see your $50 and raise you $100 more," he told his companions. Ezra's expression never changed from its stoic mask, even when the pager clipped to his belt went off. Glancing at the message, he looked once more at his opponents. "Gentlemen, do you fold or call?"
Each of the three men sharing his table anted in, then laid down their cards face up on the felt-covered table. Ezra set his cards down, smiling as he reached for the stack of chips in the center. "Four of a kind, sirs. I believe the pot is mine." Scooping up the chips, he took a sip of his coffee and stood up. "Thank you for a very profitable morning, gentlemen."
"Wait a minute," one protested, "you need to give us an opportunity to win that back."
"Unfortunately, sir," Ezra said, indicating his pager. "Duty calls. Some other time." With that, Ezra left the table, cashed in his chips and within minutes was on his way.
Buck Wilmington sat in the darkened theater, contentedly nibbling on the earlobe of his date, Tina. In truth, he had no idea what was happening on screen. He wasn't even sure of the name of this movie.
Suddenly, Buck left out a little yelp as the pager on his belt set off its signal. Several movie patrons turned around and shushed him. He'd forgotten that he'd set the damn thing to 'vibrate' before entering the theater. Reading the message, he leaned over and whispered in Tina's ear. "Darling, I'm real sorry about this, but I gotta go."
"Go where, Buck? The movie isn't over yet," she said.
"Sorry, babe, but my pager just went off. I've got an emergency. I can either drop you off at your place, or give you cab fare home."
"But, Buck, you promised me a late lunch," she pouted.
"Darlin', I swear I'll make it up to you later, but I gotta go. Come on, I'll drop you off on my way."
Josiah Sanchez was at one of the local churches he volunteered at, conducting a bible study class when his pager went off. Signaling to his assistant, he quickly let her take over the class and hurried out to his car.
Nathan Jackson and his girlfriend, Rain, were just leaving the restaurant where they'd had lunch. He heard the summons from his pager and glanced down, reading the message as he opened the car door for Rain, then got into the driver's seat of his station wagon. "Sorry, sweetheart, we've got an emergency. I'll drive straight to the office. You can take the car from there. One of the guys can give me a lift home later."
"Is it serious, Nathan?" she asked.
"Avalanche. Probably have a lot of people trapped. I'm sure the slopes were busy today."
JD Dunne was at a local electronics store checking out TVs, when his pager went off. Reading the message, he apologized to the salesman that had been helping him, promising to come back at a later time. Rushing out the door, he went to his bright yellow VW BeetleTM and drove off.
When Chris and Vin arrived at the lodge, it was bustling with activity. There were dozens of search and rescue people gearing up. Chris took a deep breath, preparing himself for what was to come. This was his team's first search and rescue. The first time he would be coordinating different agencies. This is what his team had been formed for. And it was up to him to make it work. People caught in the avalanche were depending on him to get things organized so the teams could save them. Chris felt a presence beside him and looked into Vin's eyes.
"You okay, cowboy?" his friend asked.
"Yeah, Vin. I'm fine."
Vin clamped a hand on his shoulder, understanding instinctively what his friend was thinking. "You can handle this, Chris. Trust me. Let's do it."
Bob Sherman, a veteran of Diamond Peak's ski patrol, was already at the helm, directing things until Chris arrived. Chris was surprised to see him hobbling around on crutches. "Chris." He held out his hand. "Glad your team could make it."
"Well, Vin and I are here. The rest of the team is on the way up from Tahoe. What happened to you? Have an accident on the slopes?"
Bob looked sheepish. "I wish. No, believe it or not, I tripped at home. My daughter's new puppy decided to play with the garden hose and snaked it across the yard. I didn't see it and tripped."
Chris shook his head. "Puppies and kids. They'll get ya everytime. So what have we got so far?"
"I've got Stage I members already out. Two members of my patrol that escaped the avalanche spotted where four of our missing skiers were standing just before it hit. Right here," he said, pointing to an area on the map. "I've got one four-man team combing that area trying to find them."
Chris nodded, knowing that this meant the team was doing a search by 'probing' or sticking long rods into the snow at regular intervals, trying to find survivors. When a prober hits something besides snow, they yell out and leave the probe in place. A rescuer with a shovel then digs that area, while the prober grabs another rod and continues on. False strikes are not uncommon, but they couldn't afford to overlook anything.
"And the Stage II teams?"
"Gearing up now."
"What about the dogs," Chris asked, knowing that searching an area that could take four or five humans a couple of hours to do, the dogs could do in minutes, greatly increasing the chances of pulling out live people rather than corpses.
"The team that was on duty is heading towards the probe team now. The other dog teams should be here any minute. We got lucky. Jules was doing recertification sessions, so when I called her she had five other teams with her. We can also call in the reserve teams, but they may take a little longer, since they'd be coming from Squaw Valley."
"Who's Jules?" Chris asked.
"Juliet Greywolf. Jules for short. She's the lady that heads the avalanche dog teams. She's also responsible for the training and certification of the dogs and their handlers. Have you met her yet?" Bob asked him.
"No, not yet. Things got so crazy with the attack on Vin, that it got put off." Chris was referring to the escape of a convict from Texas that had a grudge against Vin, the bounty hunter that brought him back to stand trial. The convict had blown up Vin's cabin, injured Vin and another deputy, and was responsible for shooting the half-wolf dog that Vin had befriended.
"Jules has been doing this for over ten years. She and her dog have more saves than any other team in the area."
"I look forward to meeting her, then." Chris said. "Do we have any idea what started the avalanche?"
"We're still checking, but some of my patrol guys said they thought they heard a couple of loud booms just before the avalanche occurred. Think it might have been someone with an M-80 rocket." Bob's disgust was apparent.
"Fireworks, up here? Who would be that stupid?" Chris asked incredulously.
"Somebody with shit for brains."
"Keep me informed on that front. If your guys find any evidence of that, I wanna know. Now, show me where our problem areas are. Then we can get the Stage II units deployed."
Buck was the last to arrive, and found the office a beehive of activity. He could see the rest of the team loading equipment into the vans. As he walked into the office, he found Casey on the phone.
"Wait, hold on Chris. He just walked in." She handed the phone to Buck.
"Hey, pard, where ya at?"
"I'm already up at Diamond Peak, Buck. Vin and I were close by when I got the call. Listen, we've had an avalanche up here and have people unaccounted for. As soon as you guys are loaded, get up here. We're gonna have a staging area at the Diamond Lodge parking lot. That's where we'll be. Casey already has Washoe County's incident command van enroute, so we'll be using that as our base of operations."
"Okay, pard. We'll see ya soon." Buck replied.
Chris and Bob were getting the first Stage II groups ready to head out when a procession of cars pulled in. Their avalanche dog teams had arrived. Chris focused in on the woman that got out of the dark green Ford Expedition. This must be Jules Greywolf. The woman's appearance clearly marked her as being of Native American descent. Bob had told Chris that she was full-blooded Shoshone. Her hair was a rich blue-black color and was pulled into a thick braid that hung down her back. It swayed softly as she walked around to the back of her vehicle to let out her dog. Chris could see that her body, clothed in the ski suits preferred by most search and rescue personnel, was lithe and trim. He judged her height to be just a couple of inches shy of his own 6'1". Chris watched as she crouched down and placed a red harness on the dog, proclaiming the animal to be a working dog. The pants of her ski suit stretched over her backside, giving Chris a very enticing view. Chris was glad that Buck wasn't here yet, because his old friend would be teasing him about the more-than-glancing look Chris was giving her. Once she and the other handlers had their dogs ready, they approached where Chris and Bob were standing.
"Jules, how ya doing?"
"Doing okay, Bob."
"Jules, this is Chris Larabee. He's the head of the new cross-state enforcement team that has been formed. He'll be in charge of the operation."
"Mr. Larabee, it's good to finally meet you."
"You, too. And it's Chris."
"Jules." She made a motion with her hand, and her dog came and sat obediently by her site. "And this is Deoge." The dog barked when he heard his name. Chris crouched down and let the canine sniff his hand.
"Deoge, huh?" he grinned, catching on quickly to the joke.
"Yep."
"Well, let's get everyone assigned to a team. We're just waiting on my guys to get here."
The two vans carrying his team arrived less than thirty minutes later. They quickly unloaded the vans, including the equipment they'd brought for Chris and Vin. Chris smiled as Casey quickly got things organized. She got the civilian volunteers that didn't have search and rescue training busy getting names of those skiers that were around, and getting names of the ones that were up on the slopes when the avalanche occurred. Chris knew she would use this information to keep track of victims found and who might still be unaccounted for. Chris was proud of the way Casey took charge of the volunteers. She was becoming a real asset to his team, and he was glad she had approached him in that diner all those months ago.
"Chris, what's the plan," Buck asked, interrupting Chris musings.
"We've already got most of the teams ready to head out. We're borrowing snowmobiles from one of the rental agencies. We were just waiting on you guys so we could head out ourselves."
"You're going out with us?" Buck said, surprised. Usually, the one in charge stayed at the staging area to coordinate.
"Yeah," Chris said as he started to gear up. "Bob's got a broken leg, so he's gonna have to stay behind. Between him and Casey, I know my instructions will be followed to the letter. Besides," Chris confessed to his oldest friend. "I ... I need to be out doing something, you know. I need to be out in the thick of things." Chris was remembering the loss of his wife and son in an avalanche. Buck nodded in understanding.
"Okay, pard. So where are we headed?" he asked Chris.
"We're taking the eastern most area of the search grid. Jules and her dog will join us. We're lucky that each team will be able to have a dog team with them."
"Well, it'll cut the search time in half," Buck said. "Are you talking about Juliet Greywolf?"
"Yeah. Do you know her?"
"Only by reputation. I've heard she and her dog have made a lot of rescues. Also heard she's damn pretty," he said, waggling his eyebrows up and down.
"She's attractive," Chris agreed, "But try to keep your mind on business today, please." He and Buck walked over to join the others. "Okay, everybody. For those of you that don't already know her, this is Jules Greywolf and her dog Deoge."
Two hours later, the team was feeling pretty good about themselves. They had rescued two skiers that had been buried and another that had been pushed headfirst into a tree by the force of the avalanche. Other than a whopping headache and some minor frostbite, all three were expected to make full recoveries. They had been taken down the mountain with the medic teams while Chris' team continued with their search.
"Girl Friday to Dead Eye," Casey called to Chris. The team snickered at the moniker, and Jules arched an eyebrow.
Chris sighed, shooting a glare at Buck; just the glare that had inspired the ladies man's 'suggestion' for Chris' call sign. "This is Dead Eye, Friday. Go ahead."
"Chris, one of the other teams brought in a victim who says his wife and son were up on the run in your search area. I've checked all the lists, and neither of them has been accounted for. Their names are Donna and Jeremy Packard."
"Any idea where they might have been?" Chris asked.
"He says they were heading to the intermediate slope."
"Copy that, Casey. We'll head over that way. What's the progress report on the other teams?"
"With the two up in your area, we still have six people unaccounted for. Rescue teams have found seventeen others. Your concussion patient is the most seriously injured so far."
"Acknowledged. Keep me informed. Dead Eye out." Chris looked at his team. "Okay, we have a mother and son possibly on the intermediate run. Let's get over there."
"Dead Eye?" Jules whispered, coming up next to him.
"It's a long story," Chris said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, maybe I can pry it out of you over dinner some night?"
"I'd like that," Chris said with a grin. "Friday evening?"
"Sounds like a plan."
Several minutes later, the team was at the run. Heeding the signals from his handler, Deoge started searching. After about five minutes, he suddenly let out a sharp bark and started digging. The team knew this was his way of alerting to a 'scent cloud', that is the smells given off by a person that would filter up, even through snow and ice. They knew Deoge had found someone. They just prayed that the someone was still alive.
The team got to digging where the dog had alerted. Within minutes, Vin gave a yell as he encountered clothing. Digging faster, the team found the woman. She was lying on her side. She was pale and her eyes were closed. Nathan knelt down beside her while the team continued to dig her lower body out of the snow. Chris watched as Nathan took off a glove, placing his hand on her neck, trying to find a pulse. He let out a breath when Nathan grinned.
"She's alive," he called out. "She's hypothermic, but alive."
"All right," Chris said. "Let's get her out and prepped for transport. Keep looking, we've still got a little boy to find."
"No we don't, cowboy," Vin said to his boss. "He's right here. Looks like his mama wrapped herself around him when it hit."
"She's experienced," Josiah said, looking at the depression where mother and son had been buried. "She was able to create an air pocket before the snow fully settled. Gave them enough of an air supply to survive."
After letting Nathan check him out, Vin carefully removed the child from his mother's arms and lifted him toward Larabee. When he saw the look on Chris' face, he halted.
"Cowboy, you okay?" Getting no response, he tried again. "Chris, can you take the boy?" When Chris still didn't answer, Ezra stepped forward.
"I'll take him, Mr. Tanner," he said, reaching for the child.
"No, I got him," Chris said, gathering the young boy, about four or five years old, into his arms. He cradled the child to his chest.
"Mama?"
"Shh. It's okay, little guy. Your mama's just fine," he said, trying to comfort the toddler.
"Is mama okay?"
"She'll be fine," Chris assured the boy. "She's just taking a little nap. You're Jeremy, right?"
The boy's eyes widened and he nodded. "How did you know my name?" he asked Chris in awe.
"Your dad sent us to find you. Do you hurt anywhere?" The boy held out his left arm and Nathan moved closer and took the arm gently to check it out. The boy gave a little whimper of pain when Nathan touched the wrist.
"Well, it's not broken. We'll wrap it up." Nathan said.
Chris felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Buck standing next to him.
"You okay, pard?"
"Yeah, Buck. I'm fine. Can you contact Casey and let her know that we found them both?"
"Sure." Buck headed for his radio. "Romeo to Girl Friday, come in over." Buck radioed to Casey.
"This is Friday, go ahead."
"We found the mother and child. Child is awake and alert, mother is alive, but hypothermic. We'll be transporting, so have an ambulance waiting."
"Acknowledged, Romeo. Teams two and four found our other skiers. That's everyone accounted for."
Everyone grinned at Casey's announcement. Buck swatted JD on the shoulder in celebration. "Well, all right."
"Acknowledged, Friday." He nodded at Chris' instructions and relayed them to Casey. "Tell the other teams to make a last sweep with the dogs, to make sure we didn't miss anything."
"Will do, Romeo. Friday out."
"Chris," Nathan said, "She's starting to wake up."
Chris looked down next to Nathan, watching as the woman opened her eyes. She stared sluggishly at the men surrounding her. Chris knew that the hypothermia was making her thought processes sluggish. He watched as Nathan moved to reassure the woman.
"It's alright. Your son is fine and you'll both be taken down the mountain soon." Josiah and JD were rigging the portable travois they would use to carry the woman down to the staging area. "You're both going to be okay."
"My ... my boy?"
"Mama! You're awake," the boy called out as Chris knelt down with the child so mother and son could see each other.
"Oh, baby. Thank God you're okay." The woman raised a hand to touch her son's face.
"You did a good job, ma'am," Josiah told her. "Creating that air pocket was quick thinking."
"I'm just glad it worked," she said. She focused her attention on Nathan when he began asking her questions while securing a neck brace on her. Once he was satisfied that her hypothermia wasn't severe, he instructed the team to get ready to put her on the travois.
"Okay, ma'am," Nathan instructed. "Just let us do all the work. Once we get you strapped in, we'll move you on down the mountain."
"My husband," she started.
"He's fine, ma'am," Chris told her. "He was found by one of the other rescue teams and has already been taken down to the lodge."
"Thank God," she breathed. She cried silently in relief as Josiah and Buck transferred her onto the travois while Nathan supervised. Ezra came over with two blankets. He handed one to Nathan and the other to Chris.
"Well, my young snow creature," Chris said, tweaking the boy's nose and earning a giggle, "are you ready to go see your dad?" Jeremy nodded. "You wanna ride down with me?"
"Can I, mom?" he asked. She nodded and Chris carried him over to his snowmobile, making sure the boy was warm and secure. Waiting until the travois was attached to Josiah's snowmobile, they headed out, Nathan keeping a careful eye on both his patients.
When they arrived back at the staging area, the woman's husband was waiting for them.
"Donna! Jeremy! Thank God you're all right," he said, hurrying over. Standing back to let the paramedic crew attend to his wife, he gratefully accepted his son from Chris. "Thank you," he said, looking at the team. "All of you. I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost either of them." He kissed his son's head. "You have my eternal gratitude."
"You're very welcome, sir," Josiah answered. "Your wife did a wonderful job herself."
While the team gratefully sipped hot coffee that was being handed out, Chris watched the man head over to the ambulance that would carry his wife to the hospital. Holding his son securely in his arms, the man leaned down to gently kiss his wife. Chris watched with a mixture of pride and envy. Envy that the man still had his wife and son and pride that he and his team were partially responsible for that happening.
"Chris. Chris." Chris came out of his musing to find Jules next to him, holding out a cup of coffee. "Are you okay?" she asked, noticing the pained looked on his face.
Chris nodded his thanks for the coffee. He blinked his eyes and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just daydreaming, I guess. Will you excuse me; I need to go check in with Casey. Thanks for the coffee." He hurried away, leaving the concerned woman behind.
Chris was still feeling unsettled as he stepped up into the command van they had been using as a base of operations. "Casey, report."
"All teams have returned to base. All skiers are accounted for with no fatalities. Frostbite, hypothermia and concussion are the most serious injuries. Full recoveries are expected for everyone."
"Now that's the kind of report I like to hear," Chris said. "Bob, any word on our cause?"
"Maybe. I'm waiting for a call from the Washoe County Sheriff. They may have found something."
"Okay, I'll be outside putting our gear up. Let me know when you hear."
"You got it."
While Chris went to talk to Casey and Bob, the rest of the team had gone to load up their gear. As they dropped their packs next to the van, Vin spotted one of the ski patrol guys walking by with something in his hand. Vin grabbed the man's arm as he was going by. "Tom, where is she?"
Tom smiled. "Down on the other end of the parking lot. Just showed up a few minutes ago."
"I'm gone." Vin said, quickly jogging off. None of his teammates noticed, being busy getting their gear taken care of. It wasn't until Buck tripped over Vin's pack that he realized the younger man had vanished.
"Where the hell did that boy go?" Buck said to the others.
"Who," JD asked.
"Vin," he said, picking up the ex-bounty hunter's pack and stowing it in the van.
"He's right here ... " Josiah trailed off, realizing that Vin was, indeed gone.
"That boy can vanish quicker than a jackrabbit being shadowed by a bobcat," Buck said.
"Who ya talking about, Buck," Vin asked he approached the group.
"Where'd ya go, Junior?" Buck asked.
"And what is that enticing aroma?" Ezra interjected, taking a deep breath.
Vin just grinned, before taking a huge bite out of the burrito in his right hand. He chewed thoughtfully, savoring the taste, before answering his teammates. "It's a burrito," he replied to Ezra's question.
"Inez is here?" Josiah asked. Vin nodded.
"Who's Inez?" JD asked.
"A friend. The last couple of incidents, she's shown up with food and coffee for the rescuers." He finished the burrito in his right hand and gestured with the one in his left hand. "I saw Tom Ramage heading past with one and knew she was here. She's parked over on the other side of the lot."
"Well, how nice. I notice that you didn't tell us about this until after you'd gone to get you some," Buck stated.
Vin laughed. "Of course. I'm not stupid. I wanted to make sure I got my share."
"You are just downright sneaky, you know that, junior."
"Yeah? I know something else too, Bucklin," Vin said with a shit-eating grin.
"What's that?"
"I know if you don't hurry," he said, pointing to the disappearing figures of Ezra, JD, Nathan and Josiah, "you're not gonna get any."
Buck turned to see his teammates disappearing into the milling crowd. "Hey, boys, wait up. Save some for me!" he cried, hurrying off after them.
Vin was standing there laughing when Chris stepped up next to him. The smirk on his friend's face told Tanner that Chris had heard his conversation with Buck. Vin handed Chris his burrito. "Here, cowboy," he told Chris.
"You sure, Vin? I can go get one myself."
"Not a problem. Inez always has more than enough. She's fed this bunch enough times to know. I was just joshing Buck." Chris nodded and bit into the tasty treat. His eyes widened and he almost groaned in pleasure.
"Damn, these are great!"
"Yeah, Inez makes the best burritos this side of Mexico."
"So I take it you know this lady well?"
"Well enough, I reckon. She owns a little bar and grill down in Tahoe. I go in there sometimes to unwind and have dinner. The burritos are easy to do for this crowd, because they can be eaten easily with your hands. But all her cooking is this good. I'll take you in there some night for dinner."
"Um," Chris said, finishing the burrito. "I'll take you up on that. That was delicious. I think I could do with another one."
"Let's go, I'll introduce ya to the lady. She's got hot coffee and cider down there too."
As they got close to the catering van, Chris and Vin could see their teammates, joined by Casey, finishing the remains of their impromptu picnic. "Inez," Vin called.
A lovely brunette woman looked up and smiled at Vin. "Back for more already, amigo?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.
"Always. But first, I wanna introduce you to my boss. Chris Larabee, this is Inez Recillos, the finest cook in Tahoe."
The woman blushed prettily at the compliment and held out a hand to Chris. "Don't believe everything Vin says about my cooking. He exaggerates. It's a pleasure to meet you finally, Senor Larabee. Vin has told me much about you."
"The name's Chris. It's nice to meet you, too. And from the taste of the burrito I got, he wasn't exaggerating."
"Thank you. There is plenty more, if you're still hungry."
"Yes, please. And some coffee."
"Inez, let me introduce you to the rest of the team," Vin said. "You already known Casey and Josiah Sanchez." The tall man nodded at Inez, wiping his mouth. "This here is Nathan Jackson and JD Dunne. That's Ezra Standish daintily dabbing at his mouth." Ezra raised an eyebrow at Vin, but lifted a hand and tipped his hat to the young woman. "And the fool with hot sauce in his mustache is Buck Wilmington."
Buck smiled, not in the least upset about Vin's less than complimentary introduction. Quickly wiping his mouth, Buck took Inez' hand and kissed it. "Such beauty and she can cook. Darling, I do believe you and I could make beautiful music together."
Inez looked at Vin and Chris, both of whom were rolling their eyes. "Is he for real?" she asked.
"Unfortunately," Chris said. "Just ignore him, everyone else does."
"I can see why."
This set the others off laughing, while Buck covered his heart with one hand. "You wound me, darlin'," he said as he threw the other arm around Inez' shoulders.
"Buck, I wouldn't ... " Vin started to warn the man. But he was too late as Buck howled in surprise. Inez had quickly grabbed his hand, ducked under his arm, and executed a move that had Buck on his knees while Inez stretched his thumb back in a direction that nature hadn't intended it to go. She held that position for several seconds. Then she let go and stepped back, looking to Vin for approval. She wasn't disappointed as he smiled at her in appreciation.
"See, I told ya all that practice would pay off," Vin said to the now-beaming woman. "You didn't even have to think about the moves, did ya?"
"No, it just came naturally. Thank you, Senor Wilmington. I've been trying to get that move down for weeks."
Buck stood up, rubbing his thumb to get the feeling back into it. "No problem," he hissed as the blood rushed back into the battered digit. "Glad I could help."
"Alright, Inez. I knew you could do it," Casey clapped in support.
"Thank you, Casey. Now if I can just remember that when we get to class tomorrow."
"Class?" Chris asked Vin. "So this is your 'standing appointment' on Sunday afternoons?"
"Yeah. I teach a self-defense class for some of the ladies. Inez and Casey are two of my best students."
"So what will we work on next session, Vin?" Inez asked.
"Kicks," he replied. "The best places to kick a man to stop him in his tracks." Vin suppressed a grin as all his teammates grimaced and shifted their stances. Inez just looked up at Vin innocently. But the gleam in her eyes told Vin that she knew exactly what each of the men was thinking.
"Bueno. Maybe Senor Wilmington could volunteer to be the practice dummy?" This got a reaction as JD, who was just taking a sip of his cider, suddenly spewed it out as he started laughing.
"Buck don't need to practice for that," JD grinned. He laughed out loud as he ducked the swat Buck aimed at his head. He ran away, Buck chasing him.
"I must compliment you on your culinary expertise, Senorita Recillos," Ezra said. "This is delicious. You should give serious consideration to establishing your own restaurant."
"She already has, Ez," Vin said. "Inez owns The Saloon bar and grill down in town."
"Ah. Well, my dear, if you ever feel the need to expand, please let me know. I'm always looking for sure-fire investments."
"Thank you, Senor, I'll keep that in mind. But I'd have to ask my partner."
"Well, you do that my dear, and let me know."
"Ack." Casey let out a yelp as she was hit in the side of the neck by a snowball. The group turned to find JD and Buck both forming snowballs with their hands.
"Oh," Casey stated. "This means war." Leaning over, the young woman grabbed a handful of snow and started stalking JD with a gleam in her eyes. Soon Josiah, Nathan and Vin were also pulled into the game. Inez had quickly ducked out of the line of fire, since she wasn't dressed for a knock down, drag out snowball fight. Only Chris and Ezra remained on the sidelines, watching as the others played in the snow like a bunch of school kids.
"Such juvenile behavior they're exhibiting, Mr. Lara ... " Ezra broke off abruptly as the snowball thrown by Vin smacked the gambler right in the face. Slowly raising a hand to wipe the frozen missile from his eyes, he ignored the strangled laughter that Chris was trying not to give into. But he couldn't ignore the taunts coming from the rest of his team.
"C'mon, Ezra. Ya gonna let him get away with that?" JD said.
"Hell, JD," Buck joked. "Ez probably couldn't hit the side of a barn at five paces."
"Well, judging by the gleam in Brother Ezra's eyes, he's sure going to give it a try," Josiah said.
"I'd duck, if I were you, Vin," Nathan said.
"Nah," Vin replied. "I'm not worried. Ezra probably throws like a girl."
"Hey, I resent that!" Casey exclaimed. "Being a girl doesn't mean you can't throw. I'll have you know I'm a damn good pitcher."
"Yeah, you are," Vin agreed, "But this is Ezra we're talking about. I bet he can't even make a decent snowball, much less throw one on target."
Seconds later, Vin was wiping snow from his own eyes as Ezra landed a bullseye. Scooping up another handful of snow, Ezra took his time forming the snowball, adding more and more snow as he eyed his tormentors with a satisfied gleam in his eyes. "I'll have you know that I was voted MVP for three years running on my college baseball team."
"Sure you were." Buck taunted. "I'll have to see proof of that."
"Fine. On Monday, I'll bring in the trophy with my name engraved on it. Big as day, it says 'Ezra P. Standish'."
"What's the 'P' stand for Ezra?" Vin asked, eyeing the man warily.
"Pitcher!!" he exclaimed before once again launching a perfect throw, this time nailing Buck right on his mustache. The fight was once again in full swing. Chris just stood on the sidelines laughing, no one being quite daring enough to launch a snowball at him.
"I didn't realize your team was going through their second childhoods, Chris," Jules said, joining him as he watched his friends' antics.
"I don't claim any of them," Chris joked. They watched for a few moments, then Chris turned to Jules. "Listen, I'm sorry if I was a little abrupt earlier. It was just ... watching that family brought back some memories." Jules looked curious, but didn't ask him to clarify. If she had, Chris probably would have clammed up. But because she didn't press, he continued. "My wife and son died in an avalanche three years ago."
"Oh, Chris, I'm so sorry," she said.
"Thanks. Anyway, I didn't mean to take it out on you."
"It's all right."
Chris was about to say something else, when a shout from the command van grabbed his attention. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Bob beckoning to him. He turned to his companion. "Will you excuse me a minute?"
"Sure." With Chris gone, she wandered over to the catering truck. Greeting Inez, she was soon feasting on a burrito and hot coffee. After getting a refill on the coffee, she wrapped her hands around the cup and continued to watch this team as they played in the snow. She noticed Chris come out of the command van and head her way with a purposeful stride. As he got closer, she noticed a feral gleam in his eyes.
"Jules, Bob says your dog is cross-trained to track people?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Would you be interested in a little hunt to try and find the idiots that may have started this today?"
Jules smiled an evil little smile. "Oh, yeah."
"Let's go."
When he had the team gathered around, Chris explained. "A couple of the ski patrol members thought they heard some M-80 rockets go off today right before the avalanche. Bob had the Sheriff's office do some checking. They found a car in one of the lower lots that had a box of M80s in the back seat in plain view. The two men in the car rented a pair of snowmobiles earlier today. They haven't returned yet. They're still up on the mountain. It's possible that they got caught in the avalanche, or they could just be out enjoying the chaos they may have created. In any case, we're going to find them."
"And when we do?" JD asked.
"If they've got more of the fireworks on them, we take their butts to jail," Chris answered matter-of-factly.
"Did they give the rental place an idea of where they were headed?" Vin asked.
"Yeah. And it's close to where the ski patrol heard the explosions, although that could be deceiving considering how sound echoes in the mountains. But it gives us a place to start."
"Chris, I have one condition," Jules said.
"What's that?"
"If we find out that they are the cause of the avalanche, I want twenty-four hours of their time as part of their sentence. I have special plans for people like that."
"I can't promise that, Jules. That would be up to a judge to decide. But I can recommend it once I know what you plan to have them do."
"Trust me, Chris," Josiah said with a grin. "If it's what I think she's talking about, the judge will approve. He has before."
"Okay then. Let's go."
In the end, their suspects made it pathetically easy for the team to find them. Their loud, off-key drunken singing led Deoge right to them. When Chris and Jules appeared behind the dog, the two idiots gave further proof of their lack of intelligence. When one of the inebriated men made a comment about 'offing the blond and having a little fun with his squaw', he failed to realize the meaning of the dangerous expressions that darkened the duo's faces. As moron number two took another swig from his whiskey bottle, moron number one made a move to grab the rifle that was lying on the seat of his snowmobile.
"Before I did that," Chris advised him coldly, "I'd take a look around."
Both men raised bleary eyes to Chris, then glanced around them. At spaced intervals all around them were six men, all with weapons pointed right at them. The one with the bottle immediately dropped it and raised his hands. The first man glanced back down at his rifle, then at the group surrounding him. Chris could see that he was calculating his odds.
"Go ahead," Chris dared, "Try it." The man stared at Chris for a moment, then lowered his eyes and raised his hands. "Step away from the snowmobiles," he ordered them. Once they complied, the other men slowly moved in. Vin took charge of the rifle while Buck and JD quickly frisked the suspects and cuffed them. Chris gleefully read both men their rights. "Do you both understand these rights?" The men nodded sullenly. "Knowing these rights, do either of you wish to talk to me?"
"Hey, cowboy," Vin said from the snowmobiles. Holding up an M80, he said, "Look what I found."
"Well, well. M80s. You boys know those are illegal?" Chris asked. "What are you doing with them?"
"Whaddya usually do with them?" moron number two sneered.
"Shut up, Lou," his partner snarled.
"You shut up, Ray. It wasn't my bright idea to bring the damn things up here, much less set them off. You're the one that wanted to see if they sounded different in the mountains when they went off. I always told mom you had a screw loose."
Chris grinned in satisfaction when Ray groaned, "You idiot."
"Well, that answered that question. You two fools are real lucky that no one died today. Otherwise you'd be facing manslaughter charges on top of charges for possession of the fireworks, reckless endangerment, operating the snowmobiles under the influence, a weapons violation and threatening a federal officer."
"I want my lawyer," Ray stated.
"I hope you've got a good one. You're gonna need it," Chris said.
The handcuffed suspects were placed back on their snowmobiles and towed back down the mountain to the staging area. There the team was met by two Washoe County Sheriffs deputies that were waiting to transport the suspects to jail. After advising the deputies of the charges, Chris walked over to where his team and Jules were waiting.
"Okay, they'll most likely be arraigned on Monday," Chris said. "Jules, what exactly do you want to have those two yahoos do for you?"
"We have a program in Washoe and Douglas counties. Our avalanche dogs always need training and certification. The best way to do that is to bury people in the snow packs and let the dogs find them. Some of our 'victims' are other search and rescue volunteers. Sometimes they're individuals who have been fined for various infractions of mountain safety. Most of the judges will assign them so many hours of community service in addition to their fines and/or jail time. That community service takes the form of acting as our 'victims' in these scenarios."
Josiah continued, "Not only do the dogs and handlers benefit, the defendants get an idea of how it feels to be buried by an avalanche. Most of them experience the same thoughts and feelings as real victims even though they know that one of us knows exactly where they are. Most of those folks are a lot more careful in the future, because they now have an understanding that their actions may cause someone else to find themselves buried. And those people won't be lucky enough to have someone know exactly where they're buried."
"Well, that's one way to get the point across," Chris agreed. "I'll certainly give my approval for tacking that onto the sentences of our two brainless wonders over there." He pointed to the police cruisers that were pulling away. "Although it sounds like the judges around here are already apt to add that condition on their own."
"Well, they usually like to have a thumbs up from the arresting officer," Jules said. "The judge will probably also recommend reimbursement for today's activities."
"What do you mean?" Chris asked.
"If they're convicted of starting this avalanche, they can be billed for everything that was done today in order to rescue victims of their stupidity. Which means all our salaries, rental of the snowmobiles, gas for those and any other vehicles that were used, etc etc. Anything connected with today's search and rescue, they would have to pay for."
"Is that legal?" JD asked.
"Oh, yes." Josiah answered. "It's standard procedure for a lot of ski patrol units if someone knowingly did something negligent. Several years ago, we had a man that got lost up here overnight. It turned out that he knowingly went into one of the out-of-bounds areas and got lost. He ended up getting a bill for more than $12,000. He called up screaming at me. But there wasn't anything he could do. His wife had even told us when she called up to report him missing that he had a habit of going where he wasn't supposed to. He'd been fined several times before when he was discovered in off-limit areas."
"Sounds like he got what he deserved," Buck said.
"He did. And since today's efforts were even more extensive, those two fools will be having a much higher bill to pay."
"Serves the miscreants right, if you ask me," Ezra commented.
"Hey," Vin interjected, "anybody up for dinner? Chasing after idiots always leaves me hungry."
"Sounds good to me," JD chimed. The others nodded in agreement.
"What did you have in mind, Vin?" Nathan asked.
"The Saloon. It's Saturday night. Inez always makes tamales on Saturdays."
"I think I'll call Rain to meet us there." Nathan said.
"Jules, you gonna join us?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, I think I will. I just need to drop Deoge off at home first."
"I'd like to grab a shower myself. What do you say we all meet there in about," Chris checked his watch, "two hours?" Everyone agreed.
Buck ambled over to Jules' vehicle as she got Deoge settled in. "Deoge is an unusual name," he said, giving her his most charming smile. "Is it Shoshone?"
She raised an eyebrow. "No, it's English."
"English?"
"Yeah, Buck," Vin interjected. "Ya know, that language they speak here in the US. And Chris said you were so sharp."
Chris shrugged. "Hey, I can't be right about everything, Vin."
"Wait a minute, what are you talking about? How is 'Deoge' an English name?" The others just looked at Buck and shook their heads. Without answering Buck, they headed toward their vehicles. Only JD stayed behind with Buck watching as Jules' Ford Expedition followed Chris' truck out of the parking lot.
"I don't get it," Buck mumbled to himself as the vehicle disappeared from sight. Finally, JD took pity on him.
"Buck, what kind of animal is Deoge?"
"A dog," Buck replied.
"Spell dog," JD said.
"D-O-Gee ... " Buck trailed off, finally getting the pun. He rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"By George, I think he's got it," JD said in an atrocious British accent.
"Very funny, JD. Ha, ha."
"Hey, I didn't name the dog." JD said. "Don't blame me just because I got the joke before you did. Hell, everybody got the joke before you. They say the mental processes slow down when you get older. Guess they're right." Before Buck could retaliate, Josiah yelled at them to get a move on. They would ride back to the office and each grab their own vehicles.
Two hours later, Chris and Vin pulled into the parking lot. From the cars, they knew several of their teammates had already arrived. Chris whistled at how packed the lot was. "Damn, Vin, I'm glad you called ahead to let her know we were coming."
"Had to. I know how busy she gets on the weekends." Vin just grinned at his friend. "But the food is worth the wait."
"Let's go then, cuz my stomach is already growling."
"Oh, is that what that noise is?" Vin teased his friend. "I thought your truck was about to break a fan belt."
"Very funny. This truck is brand new."
"Yeah, that's the problem. They don't build 'em like they used to. I bet my jeep and Josiah's truck will outlast yours. They were built to last. Some things get better with time," Vin teased, then glanced at Chris. "And some things just get old."
"You calling me old, cowboy?"
"Now what makes you think I was talking about you? I could have meant Buck's pickup lines." Both men laughed and walked toward the front door of the restaurant.
"So how do you know Inez?" Chris asked.
"She and I were in the same foster home back in Texas. I'd told her all about this place and how much I loved living up here. A few months ago, she had a problem with a stalker. The guy tried to attack her and was caught and convicted. When he went to jail, she moved up here. Get a fresh start, ya know."
Chris could see Vin's anger at Inez's attacker. He felt it himself to some degree. He hated men that preyed on women. That this woman was close to his friend only heightened his anger. "How long did he get?"
"Three years."
"Do you know his name and where he's been incarcerated? I'd like to make sure we're notified when he's released."
Vin looked at Chris in surprise. "You ... you'd do that?"
"Yeah, I would. I don't want Inez being caught off guard in case he decides to come after her again. When he gets released, we'll make sure she knows and we'll take precautions. I promise."
"His name is Donald Paolo."
"Okay. I'll check into it first thing Monday morning."
"Thanks, Chris. That means a lot to me. And I know Inez will appreciate it."
The group was seated at a large circular table. They were laughing and joking while they waited for their dinner.
"So, Jules," Buck said. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"You can ask. I don't promise to answer."
"Fair enough. I just wondered why you go by the nickname Jules instead of Juliet."
"I actually did go by Juliet when I was in my first year of high school. But every guy I dated decided to impress me by quoting Shakespeare. I grew so sick of hearing 'it is the east and Juliet, she is the sun' that I wanted to scream. So my sophomore year, I started going by Jules. Never had to deal with another would-be Romeo again."
Just then, Inez approached and said something to Vin in a low voice. The man shook his head. "Inez, I haven't done that in ages." Inez said something else, again too low for anyone else at the table to hear. Again, Vin shook his head. "Inez, come on."
"Vin, it's a special request. Please?" She gazed at him hopefully. He sighed.
"Oh, hell. All right, but you owe me big time!"
"Deal. C'mon."
"I'll be right back." Vin told his friends. He shook his head at Chris' quizzical look, blushing slightly. He followed Inez.
He still hadn't returned a few minutes later when the guys suddenly heard a cry go up from the crowd gathered at the end of the bar. Since the crowd was made up entirely of females, Buck had already been eyeing the group, but couldn't see what had caught their interest. Suddenly, the crowd parted slightly for just a second. But that was long enough for Buck to see something he wasn't expecting.
"What the hell ... " he muttered. He stood up on his chair to get a better look, drawing the attention of his teammates.
"Buck, what are you doing?" Nathan asked.
"Trying to see what Vin's up to over there."
"Over where?" Chris asked, turning to look in the direction that held Buck's attention. Curious, JD and Ezra both mimicked Buck's method of elevation, and Chris watched as JD's eyes got wide and Ezra started grinning. Hearing catcalls coming from the crowd around the bar, he too stood up on his chair and got a shock. There behind the bar, surrounded by a crowd of women, was the tracker. Reminiscent of Tom Cruise's character in "Cocktail" Vin was spinning bottles and pouring liquor with finesse. He poured the liquor into a shaker and set the top on. Holding on to both ends, Vin started gyrating and shaking in time to the drumming being done by the women sitting at the bar. Chris could see by Vin's expression that he had gotten over whatever reservations he had expressed to Inez and was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Brother Tanner seems to have talents he neglected to tell us about." Josiah stated from two chairs down. Now all of them were on their chairs watching the impromptu show. "He certainly seems to have those women enthralled."
"Oh, yeah," Jules drawled in amusement, her eyes glued to Vin. "And I can see why."
"Should I be jealous?" Chris leaned over and whispered in her ear.
"That depends," she whispered back.
"On what?"
"On whether you can move like that when you mix me a martini." She chuckled softly and gave Chris a wink.
"Well, I'll just have to try my best, won't I?" he retorted flirtatiously.
"I look forward to seeing that."
After dinner had been consumed, everyone relaxed with a few drinks. The jukebox in the corner was given a few coins and started to play. Nathan and JD quickly asked Rain and Casey to dance. Chris went up to the bar to fetch another pitcher of beer. Buck stood up.
"Jules, would you like to dance?"
The woman looked up at Buck and smiled. "Why, yes I would." Scooting her chair back from the table, she moved toward Buck ... and then past him to where Chris was approaching. Taking the pitcher from Chris and handing it to Buck, Jules grabbed Chris' hand and led him out to the dance floor. Buck stood there watching them, his jaw on the floor as Chris threw him a smug grin.
"You're catching flies, Senor Wilmington." Inez remarked as she placed a glass of wine on the table in front of Ezra. Buck came out of his stupor and turned his charm on Inez.
"Just got sidetracked, darlin'. I bet a woman like you is real graceful on the dance floor. How about showing ole Buck?"
"Certainly, Senor." Tapping Vin on the shoulder, she and the Texan moved out toward the dance floor.
"But ... I meant with me, Inez," Buck spluttered. "But, Senor, how can you watch if you're out there? You must stay here to be able to see." Walking away, she got to the dance floor and turned into Vin's arms, leaving Buck on the sidelines. Buck flushed as Ezra and Josiah laughed.
Scowling at them, he muttered, "I need a drink."
"You have a drink, Brother.""Huh?" Following Josiah's gaze, Buck realized that he was still holding the beer that Chris had brought back. He proceeded to drink right from the pitcher.
"I can't believe I got snaked out by both of 'em," Buck said, more to himself than Ezra and Josiah. Then his eyes lit up as he spotted a shapely lady coming toward their table, her blond hair bouncing in time to her steps.
"Excuse me, would you like to dance," she asked in a breathless voice.
"I'd love to, darlin," Buck said, jumping up from his seat.
"Um, thanks, but I meant him," she said, indicating Standish. Ezra stood up and bowed to her.
"I'd be honored, my dear," he said, offering her his arm.
Buck slumped back down in this seat, his shoulders drooping. He gazed sorrowfully at Josiah.
"Don't look at me, Buck. I don't want to dance with you either." Josiah stood up. "I'm going to get some more beer, since it looks like you'll be drowning your sorrows in that one." He walked off, leaving Buck alone at the table. Buck sniffed unobtrusively at his armpits, then grimaced.
"That's the last time I use that deodorant."
Josiah had just returned to the table when the jukebox started playing a sexy, upbeat Latin song. Thirty seconds later, the dancers on the floor stopped and formed a semi-circle around two of the couples. Vin and Inez were dancing to the sensuous beat with the ease of familiarity. Their style was fluid and graceful as they performed intricate steps. And although Chris and Jules didn't know each other well, they also danced like well-rehearsed partners, Chris leading Jules into the steps with confidence. At the end of the song, the crowd in the bar cheered both couples as the group returned to their table.
"Whew," Jules said, fanning her face with her hands. "I haven't danced like that in ages."
"Well, you couldn't tell it by looking at you," Casey said enthusiastically. "That was great! You looked like you'd been dancing together for years."
"Well, Inez and I have." Vin said, pulling out a chair for his dance partner. "She taught me how to dance about ten years ago. We entered a Latin Dance Competition down in Austin."
"And how did you do?" Josiah asked.
"Took third place," Inez said proudly.
"Well, it's been a few years since I've done any dancing like that," Chris said, taking a long drink of his beer. "I wasn't sure I was gonna remember all the steps."
"You did just fine," Jules replied. "I knew exactly where you were leading."
"That was so cool." JD said. "You guys think you could teach me to dance like that?"
"I'm not much of a teacher, JD." Chris said. "I learned from a professional. I took lessons at a dancing school."
"I must say, I never envisioned you as being the type to enroll in a dance school, Mr. Larabee." Ezra said.
"Well, it wasn't something I would normally have done. But there was a lady I really liked that was already taking classes there. I figured it would be a way to get to know her."
"And what happened with her, Chris?" Rain asked him.
"He married her," Buck said. "You should have seen the guests at the wedding reception when they two of them did a Latin Rumba for their first dance as husband and wife."
"Yeah, I thought Aunt Gertrude was going to have a stroke, she got so flustered." Chris smiled wistfully. "Sarah and I went dancing a lot before Adam was born. I can honestly say that after I started taking the classes that I really enjoyed it."
"Maybe I ought to try that." JD said.
"Let me know if you need a partner, JD." Casey said with a smile.
It was late and the Saloon had closed thirty minutes before. The members of the team stayed behind. Casey, Rain and Vin were helping Inez in the kitchen, while the rest of the team and Jules set the main area to rights. They turned chairs over onto the tables, swept the floor, wiped down the bar and put away clean glasses. In record time, Inez was ready to leave and thanked them all for their help. Nathan and Rain quickly said goodnight and headed off to their apartment. JD walked Casey to her car and then left himself, waving to the others. Josiah and Ezra also departed. Buck was getting ready to do the same when he saw Jules give Chris a card.
"Here's my home and work phone numbers. Call me so we can set up something for Friday evening." she said.
"I look forward to it. C'mon, I'll see you to your car."
Once Jules had driven off, Buck approached Chris. "Geez, pard. Why didn't you tell me you were interested in her? I'd have laid off."
"Buck, I just met her," Chris explained. "It's no big deal."
"But it's been a while since I saw you move that fast with a lady."
"It's one date, Buck. She's a nice, attractive woman and we have some things in common. That's all."
"Well, all the same, I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds when I asked her to dance."
"Don't be. If she'd wanted to dance with you, that's her choice." Chris smirked. "It just so happens that she's got better taste than that. That seemed to be a theme with you tonight."
"Oh, ha ha." Buck grumped. "Kick a man when he's down, why don't you."
"Don't tempt me, Buck. Sometimes, there's nothing I'd like better than kick your ass."
"Sounds like fun, cowboy," Vin came over after escorting Inez to her apartment over the bar. "Need some help?"
"Very funny, junior," Buck said. "You two are so alike, it's eerie. You're both gonna drive me crazy."
"Short trip," both men chorused.
"Hell and damnation. I'm leaving. I don't need to stand here and take this abuse from the two of you."
"True. It's not like there aren't plenty of other people willing to abuse you," Chris said.
"Yeah, like just about everybody that knows him," Vin remarked.
"I'm outta here. See you both on Monday." Buck said. Climbing into his truck, he drove off in the direction of his apartment. Minutes later, Chris and Vin were ensconced in Chris' truck and started out for the forty-five minute drive home.
THE END
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