The Trade (16 page)

"Oh you know me, I read all those Clancy and
Le Carre books,” Rick said. “And something just didn’t seem right.
Like maybe those guys were going to mug you or kidnap you or
something. It just didn’t look right. It’s probably nothing. But
you’d have done the same thing for me if you’d noticed someone
following me and boxing me in.”

"Right,” Jay answered, not buying it.

Chapter

The four members of the surveillance team
were sitting in a hotel room filled with coffee smells and
cigarette smoke.

"Gentlemen, this is Special Agent Bob
Williams of the Knoxville FBI. He's been loaned to us for the
duration of our stay here. He knows these hills like nobody's
business. He's also in great shape. He's going to help us on our
tail,” the blonde agent explained.

"Hey Bob,” the group greeted him.

"Hey,” he answered.

Though he said nothing, the group
collectively felt his disapproving glances.

Jay Calloway pulled his rusty old truck into
the small lot at the bottom of the black diamond trail at the base
of Mt. Leconte. A sign warned of the dangers of the trail. It read
"For Experienced Hikers and Climbers Only.” Jay's plan was to meet
Rick half way up the trail, ditch the tail and get out of
Gatlinburg unseen for a few days so they could talk.

"You'll say you went camping in the back
woods and got lost if anyone asks. But who is going to ask. No-one
is supposed to know you are here,” Rick had explained when they'd
made the plan. So Jay had his tent and sleeping bag and enough
supplies for three days.

"Three or four days,” he'd told the ranger
after returning from the aborted 11/11 hike. Bob Williams had
overheard. As a temporary and as yet unseen member of the team he
wasn't worried about being seen this morning. He was just another
hiker.

Jay started up the trail alone. Rick was in
position three miles ahead. Rick had picked a dry spot near the
trail from where he could see the trail head and the parking lots
around it. He immediately spotted the two cars that slid in after
Jay. He counted five people instead of four.

Shit. Who's the new guy
?

Looking through his 75X binoculars, Rick
could see that the new guy was different from the other four. More
ready for the hills. For some reason he looked like a local. And he
looked in shape. Rick focused in tight on the stranger's boots.

"Shit. That guy could mess it all up,” Rick
said.

Jay hiked the first two miles in good time,
scrambling over rocks on hands and knees when necessary. The Mt.
LeConte trail is much more rugged than the Clingman's Dome trail.
Also, there is neither a road to the top nor a tourist trap upon
arrival. This is a summit you earn.

Jay sat down for a break. As Rick had taught
him, he took off his boots, took off his socks, let his feet dry
out for a few minutes, and made sure the moleskin was in place over
his blisters.

But Bob Williams had started out only minutes
behind, and had easily been keeping pace with an unsuspecting Jay
Calloway. Rick watched the parade. Jay, then Bob, then the same two
who'd stumbled up the trail yesterday. The two stumblers were even
farther behind today than the day before. Their gate revealed their
blisters. At least today they had day pack and water. Jay's two
minute blister check turned into a ten minute break.

Special Agent Bob Williams, of the Nashville
office of the FBI turned a corner and realized he'd walked right up
on Jay Calloway.

Damn
, Bob muttered.

"Okay. Time to move,” Jay said after a sip
from his canteen. He eyed Bob Williams over the rim of his canteen
and then started to put on his dry socks. Rick had made him pack
six pairs of socks.

"I’m sorry. What did you say?" Bob Williams
asked, trying to cover his mistake.

Jay tried to absorb this new development.
There were supposed to be two agents trailing him, not one. And
Rick had said they were out of shape and easy to lose. This guy
looked like he could climb all day. And like he could shoot the eye
out of a squirrel at fifty yards.

"Nobody. Just talking to myself,” Jay
answered.

"Where you headed?" Bob asked in a friendly
voice. He took a drink from his canteen, offered it to Jay. Jay
refused.

"Nowhere in particular,” Jay equivocated.

"Mind if I hike along with you for a few?"
Bob asked.

"Well. I'm kind of here on the mountain in
November for the solitude after the big city you know?"

"Oh. Sure. Of course,” Bob answered.

He didn't really think Calloway would want
company. His profile had said "loner.” Bob Williams realized he'd
messed up.

I should've laid back
he thought.
Now I'm screwed
.

"Well good luck to you then,” Bob said. He
set off up the trail, quickly leaving Jay behind.

I'll just get ahead and then trail him
from ahead, he’s plenty loud, and then duck off and let him
pass
, Bob thought as he climbed. Jay rested another few minutes
then started up again. After a mile, Jay thought he heard a voice
in the woods beside the trial.

Jay looked but saw no-one.

"Jay, over here,” Rick whispered louder.

"Rick. Did you see that other guy come
past?"

"What guy?"

"The guy who looked like a hick, he had a
brown plaid jacket on.”

"You're the first person to come up the
trail,” Rick said.

"Shit. He must've gotten around behind
me.”

"Okay then. Keep climbing. I'll snag you
another mile up,” Rick instructed.

"Another mile?" Jay moaned.

"Yeah. About a half an hour,” Rick
answered.

"Alright,” Jay said reluctantly. He started
back up the trail. Rick backed into the woods to wait for the new
agent.

I hope he didn't see me
, Rick said to
himself.
For everybody's health
.

"I'm behind him again,” Bob Williams said
into his walkie-talkie. Down below, the blonde agent copied the
transmission and clicked her microphone twice as an indication
she'd heard. Bob carried on up the trail. The other two agents were
almost a mile behind. They copied the transmission as well.

Rick Hewlett spotted Bob Williams before Bob
Williams spotted Rick Hewlett. But it was close, and could have
gone either way. When Rick saw him, he recognized Bob for what he
was. Rick recognized the look of a pro immediately. It was his eyes
that gave him away. Rick recognized the eyes of a man who'd tracked
and killed and could do so again.

"Shit,” Rick mouthed. It was time to rethink
the plan. Rick waited until Bob was safely past then started
quietly up the hill, thinking of ways to ditch the pro, hoping he'd
get to Jay before this guy did.

An hour later Rick Hewlett pulled his friend
to the side of the trail.

"Jay. Listen up. Stay on this trail another
three miles, you'll come to a trail that branches off to the right,
it's right after a big waterfall. Go down that trail for an hour
then look for a Milky Way and these white rocks okay?”

Rick showed Jay some small rocks that he'd
had in his pocket.

"Set up camp there. Start a fire, look like
you're settling in. I'll figure out how to ditch our new friend
during the night. Got it?" Rick asked from just off the trail. Jay
could hardly see him even though he knew where to look.

"Yeah I got it,” Jay answered. Jay's
enthusiasm for the plan was waning as yesterday’s blisters had
reopened and new ones had formed.

"But I don't have to be happy about it. Isn't
there some other way?" Jay asked hopefully.

"There might be. But I can't think of it
right now. You’ve got gear and supplies for three days. He only has
enough for a day hike. If you keep going you can ditch him. Hang in
there buddy.”

"Maybe I ought to just find a blind corner
and drop this guy?" Jay said. "Maybe find out who he is?” Jay's
hand slipped to the utility knife he had purchased for the trip.
There was no answer forthcoming from behind the bushes. Jay looked
into the forest where Rick had been. He saw nothing.

How'd he do that
? Jay wondered.

Jay hiked until he felt his legs would fall
off. The straps from his pack were cutting into his shoulders.
"Where the hell is that Milky Way bar?" he asked several times.
Finally, just when he thought he couldn't hike another yard he saw
the candy bar on the trail, the little white rocks piled on top of
it. A raccoon chose that moment to come rumbling out of the dark
woods to snatch up the candy. The raccoon tossed a defiant look at
Jay, it was almost a challenge, but then instantly it was gone.

"Smallest bear I’ve ever seen!" Jay sat down
on an old stump to think. His eyes and ears were alert for a real
bear. After a good long listen Jay decided the raccoon was alone
and he'd better set up camp according to Rick's plan or else he
might never find him. Then where would he be? Tiredness and
stiffening muscles overcame his fear. Jay carefully hung his food
in a small tree about 25 yards from his base camp. He got a little
fire going and cooked some hot dogs over an open flame. Ten minutes
after he finished eating, Jay was sound asleep in his little tent,
the fire still going.

"He's settled in for the night,” Bob said
into his walkie-talkie. "He'll sleep until noon unless he burns the
forest down. Bring me some food, some water and a sleeping bag.
We'll meet at the waterfall at midnight.

The woman in the car down below made out the
feeble transmission and added ‘batteries’ to Bob's list. Again she
double clicked her mike in response.

Rick looked down at Bob Williams from the
rocks in which he'd concealed himself.

He's gotta do something
, Rick thought.
He'd been watching the agent watch Jay for over an hour.
Sooner
or later he's got to get some food or water or something
, Rick
assured himself.
He can’t stay out all night like that.
He
was getting impatient. It had been a long time since Rick had been
in the field. He remembered a lot of his lessons, recalled his
field craft. But he also realized he was 15 years older than the
last time. And that he hadn’t been humping up and down hills in a
long long time.

"Patience,” Rick counseled himself,
"Patience.”

By midnight his waiting paid off. Rick
watched the agent creep into Jay's camp where he listened to Jay's
tortured snores. Bob went to the smoldering fire and quietly doused
it with sand. Then he turned and left the camp, heading back the
way Jay had come earlier. Rick knew he had to be going for
resupply.

He was freezing and hungry and tired.
There's no way he could've tracked another day without
supplies
. Rick congratulated himself for his patience. Rick
waited five minutes to be sure before he crept into Jay's camp.

"Jay?" Rick called his friends name. No
answer. "Jay?" he said again, this time shaking Jay's shoulder.

"Wha, what?" Jay asked, awakening from a
nightmare about bears. "What's wrong? Where are they?” Jay
stammered.

Rick settled his friend down.

"Come on. We can go somewhere safe to talk
then you can come back here and sleep all day,” Rick said.

"I thought we were going to ditch them and do
something together?"

"No chance.”

"Shit.”

"Yeah, shit. So come on.”

"Can't we just talk here?" Jay asked. The
tiredness of the hike and the chase showed in his voice.

"No. Come on,” Rick ordered. There was no
questioning the tone in his voice now. The pair headed down the
trail for ten minutes until Rick abruptly veered off to the left,
scrambled over a rock and was gone. Jay followed over the rock and
found himself inside Rick's camp. It was a Spartan yet complete
campsite. It was protected on all sides and invisible from the
trail while providing a view in both directions. Jay was impressed.
He was seeing something about Rick he'd didn't know.

"So what the hell is going on?" Rick asked.
"What kind of shit have you got yourself in?"

"I honestly don't know,” Jay started.

"Well think about it!" Rick snapped. "We've
got to know who we're up against if we're going to stand a chance.”
Rick noticed Jay back a little ways away from him into the corner.
He knew he'd hurt him but there was no time for being gentle.

"Stand a chance of what?" Jay asked.

"A chance of keeping you alive long enough so
that we'll be able to laugh about this as old men,” Rick said. He
eased his tone.

"Hey. You're already an old man,” Jay
countered. The tension was broken. Even in the strain of the
dangerous night, the two friends were carried back to their
lighthearted days at college. Rick made some hot food and they ate
quickly.

"So you really have no idea what this is all
about?" Rick asked more patiently.

"Well…,” Jay started. "It could have
something to do with this girl I'm seeing but really, it’s got to
have something to do with the CIA. They called me just a couple of
weeks ago to see if I was still interested in a job. Said they were
going to make up their minds in the next few days."

"What did you tell them?"

"I told them I was pissed it had taken so
long but I didn't turn them down or anything.”

"So what about the girl?" Rick asked.

"What about her?" Jay asked defensively.

"You said it might have something to do with
the girl?" Rick prodded.

"Oh yeah. She's kind of, sort of, well I
mean.”

"She's married?" Rick asked.

"Yeah that's it,” Jay answered.

"To who?"

"What?"

"To whom is she married?" Rick asked.

"To my boss.”

"That shouldn't be a big deal,” Rick
puzzled.

"Well actually to my boss' boss' boss' boss.
Angus MacKenzie of MacKenzie Lazarus.”