Everyone had trained and worked together on far too many rescues to need to be babysat through procedure. Only one subject still remained as far as Alisha was concerned. “Partners?”
As lead hand, she would be the first to head into any climb, or the first to drop from the chopper into position. Up until the start of summer her partner at the other end of the line had always been Anders. During boot camp week, though, she and Devon had been partnered up, and since then it seemed they were always paired together.
“You and Devon, Anders with Xavier. I’m sticking close to Erin with the chopper in case you find the victims and we can winch them out. Deal?”
“Deal.” Everyone acknowledged their positions and chatter resumed over the headsets.
Alisha went back to mentally prepping for the rescue. Getting into the right frame of mind to crawl down a rock wall into the darkness. To have only a rope and a headlamp as the connection between her and the outside world.
A rope, and the man on the other end of it.
She caught herself staring at Devon’s hands again. Strange. She trusted him completely when it came to belaying her. He held her life in his hands, and she didn’t feel the need to worry one bit.
When it came to her heart? He was simply another man she refused to allow to hurt her.
The chopper banked and she snuggled deeper into her coat. Much more awake, but no further ahead in solving her major dilemma.
Thank God for the distraction of a rescue.
Nothing was wrong, but something wasn’t right.
The equipment was fine, as were the steps they’d taken so far since reaching the rescue site. A sense of foreboding hovered over Devon, though, and he could find nothing to explain why.
It wasn’t some mystical foreknowledge, only he knew not to ignore the sensation, either. It had been the topic of many a late-night drinking session during training school when more experienced recruits would stop to share stories from the field. They’d all had times when they’d felt a warning ahead of time, for whatever reason. It would make sense later, but for now? He kept his guard set higher than usual.
Efficiency built from years of training and working together had Alisha slipping out of sight as the morning sun peeked above the low mountain ridge to their east. Shadows reached crooked fingers toward the rock slide, creating patterns of light and dark emphasized by variations in rock. Pale grey slabs and darker black chunks mixed with clumps of freshly exposed soil and ragged splashes of green pine needles. Devon ignored the strange beauty found even in the middle of the devastation and focused on the changing weight on the rope in his hands.
“Take,” Alisha called from below. “Devon, tie off and descend to meet me. I’ve found something. There’s a tunnel opening to one side. I want you to anchor me from here before I try it.”
“On my way.” Devon signaled Anders to his side. “Alisha’s got a lead. I’m going down.”
Anders nodded. “Xavier’s dealing with the two victims we spotted from the air at the edge of the slide. I’ll take over up here.”
A few quick adjustments switched his ropes from belaying to rappelling. Devon twisted his headlamp to high before leaning back on the ropes and allowing them to support his weight. A ray of sunshine hit him like a spotlight a second before he stepped over the edge.
The walkie-talkie link on his chest allowed him to hear Alisha without her shouting. “You’ve got a thirty-foot path—nice and clear. If you move slightly to the right when I warn you, you’ll find a set of footholds to get you to my ridge.”
“Let me know. What did you find?”
“Jacket shreds and a shoe. Some blood.” Report was clear and precise, but there was a touch of disgust in her voice any time she had to discuss bleeds. “I’m guessing someone got carried along with the rubble for a bit of a ride before they hit the crack. This is a fresh opening—I haven’t found any old growth.”
Devon agreed. He worked his way down the slope rapidly, even as he flipped on his speaker. “You’re not going to believe this. The research team was testing for seismic activity. They have clear records that show when the slide happened, and yeah, there was a bit of underground quiver.”
“Head right. And really? Tell me they’re not expecting any further activity.”
Devon followed her guidance, rock dust hanging in the air between him and the wall, blurring his vision. “Agreed. In a fresh hole while things are still shifting? Not a great idea, but there’s nothing on the equipment. Like zero activity. We’re safer down here than up top where the fall is still shifting and finding its balance.”
He landed beside her, the glow of his headlamp highlighting her cheekbones and making the bits of her hair that were visible under her helmet shine like an angel’s.
Alisha checked him over quickly, then pointed to the left. “This way. I set anchors already, but I’ll need to swing around a gap, then get some lights in place.”
Devon tied off to the wall anchors she’d set. “Nice and bombproof. Well done.”
“Thank you.” Alisha pulled a rope from her shoulder and passed him the loop he needed. “I’ll check the needed length. Hold me tight so I can lean out.”
He motioned for her to wait as he hooked the safety line in place. Once they brought back their target, or if they needed it themselves, the way out would be a matter of grabbing the rope and signaling Anders to haul them to safety.
Devon adjusted his footing and slipped in directly behind Alisha, tightening the ropes to hold himself in place, fine-tuning the ones attaching them together. Then he threaded his fingers into her climbing harness. “Lean away.”
Alisha had grabbed a high-power flashlight, the backup strap leashed around her wrist. She pushed forward, upper body hanging over the inky blackness at their feet. Light reflected from closer protrusions, skipped out into eternity in other spots as the holes ended too far back for the light to reveal the depth.
Dust particles hovered in the air around them. The taste of dirt skidded over his tongue. Peering through the haze caused by the wide dilation of his headlamp didn’t help him see much better. “Anything? Worthwhile going forward?”
Alisha stretched a hand to him, holding out the flashlight. “There’s a part of the wall to the left that’s got . . . skid marks? I need to slide around the corner to be sure.”
That would put this rescue one step further up the danger scale. Devon took the lamp and placed it aside, pulling her to vertical, their bodies tight together as they rearranged gear.
At some point soon he needed them in this position when they weren’t covered from head to toe. Naked. Naked would be marvelous.
He slapped himself mentally, pulling back on track and thinking about the four rules his team had been built on. The first two were opposites, seemingly. Have patience, or move decisively. Was this a time to wait or move? “Do we have what we need to proceed?”
“We do for me to go around the corner. I’ll know more at that point.” Alisha took a deep breath. “On belay.”
He adjusted his hands. “Belay on. Careful, Alisha.”
She glanced over her shoulder, teeth flashing white as she smiled. A second later she was gone, the rope twisting in his hands as she used him as a fulcrum to find footing and scamper deeper into the darkness.
“Give me slack, Devon.”
He let out a foot of rope. Then another. Tension remained on the line, and everything was going well, when his earlier uneasiness returned in a flash.
“Alisha, what’s happening?”
“I found a trail. Correction. I found him.” Excitement rocked her voice, not only over the microphone now but shouted into the darkness. “Hello. Are you okay? I’m coming to help you.”