Fire Watch (Jack Widow Book 8) by Scott Blade

Author:Scott Blade [Blade, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Black Lion Media
Published: 2018-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

15

Widow woke in the morning to the sound of tires on dirt, a truck motor, and a static voice. He could hear the voice pleading. It sounded almost electronic.

Gordon hadn’t come to wake him up like he had promised. Widow got up and quickly put his clothes on, struggling with the pant legs.

He hopped over to the bathroom and ran cold water out of the tap, splashed his face, slicked back his hair, and sipped water from cupped hands. He turned it off and left the bedroom, walked down the stairs.

The voice he had heard was coming from the CB radio. A radio transmission. A commanding voice blared from its speakers.

“Gordon! Pick up! Gordon!”

Widow looked around—no sign of Gordon. His flask was empty and lying on its side, abandoned on the coffee table. Widow guessed he didn’t care who saw it, since he claimed that last night was his last night.

Widow called out his name.

“Gordon?”

No answer.

“Ranger?”

No answer.

“Hello?”

Nothing.

Widow didn’t bother a fourth time. He figured Gordon was outside waiting for the approaching vehicle. Maybe new rangers.

He stepped farther into the living room and heard the CB radio’s voice go off again. It was a man.

“Gordon! Come in!”

Widow walked into the office and looked around. In the daylight, he noticed the rifle cabinet. He hadn’t noticed it the night before because it stood up against the inner office wall, opposite the CB radio, behind the doorway.

Gordon had left the cabinet unlocked. The glass door was ajar. He walked over to it, professional curiosity, and opened it. There were five slots for rifles or shotguns. But there were only two rifles. Both scoped. Both Henry Long Rangers. Both good for a national park like this. They could defend a person against a bear attack within one hundred yards.

There was a box of shells, closed and stored underneath.

There was also a can of bear mace. Suddenly, Widow realized that there must’ve been black bears roaming around the park. Gordon had already told him that there were gray wolves. He had walked right in off the highway, middle of the night, in the emptiness, and hadn’t even thought that he might run into a bear.

Widow closed the door to the cabinet all the way and walked to the window. He peered out. In the distance, he saw dust kicking up from the dirt drive. He saw a blue Ford Bronco climbing up over the rugged road, on course with the ranger hut.

The CB went off again, called for Gordon.

Widow thought Gordon was out there, waiting to greet the driver of the Bronco, but he saw no sign of him.

Widow turned and decided that he might need to know whatever message they were trying to give Gordon. It might be important. So, he picked up the CB receiver and clicked the button, held it. He was silent at first. It had been a long time since he’d used a CB radio. He tried to think if there was some vernacular that park rangers had different from sailors.

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