High Desert Barbecue (16 page)

“
Up there.”

“
On the canyon wall?” Lani asked. She shielded her eyes with a hand and craned her head to spot where the two men were looking.

“
Christ no. Up on top. On the mesa, but further down the canyon. I’m not sure how far.” He paused for a moment, and then shielded his own eyes. “That does look kind of high, doesn’t it?”

S
cott stood in place and contemplated the towering canyon walls. Sycamore Canyon wasn’t the deepest gouge in the Earth that Arizona had to offer, but that was a long way up—and back down.

“
You climbed up that with your gear?”

“
Well … no. I came in over the trail from further up the the canyon.”

“
Screw that.” Scott said. He started walking. “I don’t think this is the week to learn how to fly. We’ll head straight for the canyon mouth.”

L
ani nodded her head vigorously and mouthed her silent agreement. Scott smiled and put his arm around her. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

“
Why don’t you and Rollo walk ahead. I’m going to keep an eye on our back trail just in case our naked friends are after us again.”

L
ani nodded.

“
Half-naked.”

“
What?”

“
Our half-naked friends.”

“
Yep. Them.”

L
ani called for Champ who was clearly torn over who to accompany. He looked at Scott, then at his mistress, and whined. Finally, he padded over to Lani grinning and panting. Dog in tow, she stepped forward and fell in alongside Rollo.

“
Wanna fool around?” Rollo asked after a few paces.

“
What?
”

“
Oh hell. I thought I’d just get all that awkward sexual tension out of the way.

“
Jesus Christ. You are the biggest—”

“
Asshole. Yeah, I know. I’ve learned to live with my limitations. It’s a curse, y’know. Sorta like hemorrhoids.”

T
hey walked in silence for several long minutes. Champ dashed ahead, scrambling over rocks and perching atop boulders for views of the trail down the canyon.

T
he sun was nearly overhead now, and temperatures rose to match the glare and the dropping elevation. Lani stripped down to a T-shirt over her shorts, while Rollo grudgingly pulled off a tattered windbreaker, leaving his trademark plaid shirt in place.

L
ani suddenly giggled.

R
ollo snorted.

“
All right, I’m sorry.”

“
That’s OK. You were trying to get a rise out of me, and you did it.”

R
ollo smiled.

“
Yeah. I did.”

“
Dick.”

“
Sorry.”

“
So, you think we’re going to get out of here.”

R
ollo grunted. He said nothing for a long moment, then answered.

“
Fuck. I hope so. I like Sycamore Canyon, and I don’t especially mind dying here. But I don’t want to be shot by a bunch of psycho rangers who are trying to set me up as a firebug.”

“
You still think they’re rangers? Scott said they slept in a pile, with no sleeping bags and too little clothes. And that scene yesterday was just as weird.”

R
ollo sighed.

“
OK, that’s strange. But they had Woody Mountain Road sealed off. That sounds pretty official to me. And then there’s the business with my cabin. That truck I … umm … liberated was Forest Service. I don’t think a bunch of nutjobs with a pack of matches are behind this.”

“
Maybe.” Lani sounded doubtful. “Anyway, I think Scott’s plan for getting that video out is a good idea.”

R
ollo grunted.

L
ani shot a glance at her traveling companion.

“
You don’t agree?”

“
Scott has more faith in people than me. I’m not convinced that video is going to help us. Even if we get it to some journalists, they’ll probably spin it as hardworking civil servants doing their jobs. We’ll end up the bad guys.”

“
You think Scott has faith in people? He doesn’t even like them! Look at the way he lives his life. I mean, I love him and all, but he does his own thing, in his own way. He’s not exactly a stickler for obeying the law.”

R
ollo stabbed a sharp look at the woman.

“
You have it all wrong, Lani. Scott likes people just fine. It’s groups he can’t stand, and the control freaks that try to run groups. People get tribal when they’re in groups and start slapping around anybody who doesn’t conform. Scott gets along all right with individuals.” He looked back down the canyon. “I sort of agree with him. But I still think he cuts people too much slack.”

“
You are a natural-born hermit.”

“
Damn straight. And I look forward to getting back to hermitting.”

L
ani laughed again. “Well, maybe you’re right. He’s nice enough to my students when he meets them.”

R
ollo glanced out of the corner of his eye.

“
Is it true you let your kids screw-off in the forest instead of going to class?”

“
Is that what Scott told you? I can’t believe— No! I let my students have more leeway than I’m supposed to, and I get them interested in lessons by letting them do things they enjoy—”

“
Whoah. Hold on there.”

“
No, I’m pissed. I take my job seriously-“

S
eeing Rollo laughing so hard that tears streamed from his eyes, Lani stopped.

“
You got me again.”

“
Yeah. Scott approves of what you do with the kids. So do I, by the way. Not that you need my approval.”

“
I just get so much shit for doing things a little differently.”

“
I don’t doubt it. The schools aren’t set up to teach kids. They’re just supposed to keep the little punks docile and get them used to obeying orders.”

L
ani sighed and took a long sip of water. She kicked at a rock and watched Champ go scurrying after it.

“
Is this another Forest Service conspiracy?”

R
ollo looked thoughtful for a moment.

“
Nah. Probably not them.”

“
Rollo, the people I work for aren’t competent enough to plot the corruption of young minds. They’re just time-servers who like to do things by the book so nobody gives them any trouble. And they hate giving kids more freedom or being questioned because that suggests that they’re not experts who should be calling all the shots.”

T
he man scratched at his face and sniffed.

“
Maybe so. It’s all the same in the end.”

L
ani nodded.

“
Yeah. It is.”

B
ack from his pursuit of the wandering pebble and pressing in from the side, Champ leaned up against Lani’s left leg, causing her to stumble. She caught herself before toppling over face first, but as she stepped forward again, the dog stepped back in her path.

“
Damnit Champ. Are you herding me?”

T
he woman gave in and moved in the direction suggested by the animal. Then her thoughts froze in response to a sound like a solo performance by the world’s most enthusiastic maraca player. In the grip of adrenaline and instinct, Lani, Rollo and Champ lurched away from the noise, covering about ten feet in the blink of an eye.

R
ollo kicked a small rock toward the sound’s source—a coiled reptile poised for a quick strike.

“
Shit! Rattler.”

O
ut of reach of the snake, Lani hunched down and stroked her dog’s face.

“
Wow, Champ. Thanks.”

R
ollo eyed the animal thoughtfully.

“
That is one good dog.”

Chapter 35

A
t a safe distance from reptilian threats, but all too close to two-legged dangers, Scott hiked along in the shadows by the canyon’s wall. The route was treacherous with rocks and tangled with thorns, so he moved slowly.

H
e also kept an eye on the trail behind him. The divided attention made him move even
more
slowly, and he began to regret his impulsive decision to play rearguard. He’d intended to be stealthy, hanging in the shadows to see how much of a lead he and his friends had over the pursuers—and to slow them down if he could. Now he feared that he’d end up playing tag in a rocky corridor with a pack of homicidal maniacs.

S
eeking reassurance, Scott reached for his holster. His thumb easily slipped into place, disengaging the snap that held the restraining strap and allowing the pistol grip to fill his hand. He brought the pistol up, simultaneously disengaging the thumb safety.

N
ow he felt armed
and
nervous, which was infinitely better than just being nervous.

S
ound carried far, but unpredictably, between the walls of the canyon, and he heard his pursuers long before he saw them.

“
I’m still stiff from being so fucking cold last night.”

“
Rupert says that discomfort is an artifact of Western materialism. We’re too used to luxuries.”

“
Who the fuck is Rupert?”

“
So people in Massachusetts don’t get cold?”

“
Western means our whole civilization, not just the American West. You know, America, Europe, Australia …”

“
I repeat—who the fuck is Rupert?”

“
That’s Dr. Greenfield.”

“
So people in Tibet don’t get cold?”

“
I’d like to see Dr. Greenfield spend a night in the open under a piece of tin foil.”

“
Oh, he does. Rupert denies himself most pleasures. He thinks we all should so that we’re less of a burden on the Earth.”

“
Especially on the plants.”

“
Of course. Especially on the plants.”

“
All pleasures? Like what?”

“
Oh sure. The people of the developing world know how to live with nature. What we consider discomfort they see as a normal way of life. It’s very spiritual and in tune with the natural rhythm of life.”

“
Well, like heat and air conditioning and new clothes. He’s worn the same clothes for years. He doesn’t wash them, because that consumes resources.”

“
Christ. Why doesn’t he just suck off a shotgun and
really
reduce the burden …”

“
I’m having a hard time believing that people in Tibet don’t get cold.”

L
istening in the shadows, Scott slowly shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m running from these people.”

H
e peered down the canyon. In the distance, people came into view, gesturing wildly at each other. Their movements were slightly out of sync with the echoes from the canyon walls, but sound and vision made it clear that the animated discussion had degenerated into an argument.