Chapter 7

SEVEN

Booth was no expert, but he'd fought enough wildfires to know if the wind kept pushing, they'd be pulling an all-nighter. He'd dropped in with Nova a few hours ago and hadn't stopped working since. Not even when the sun had sunk below the horizon and darkness had settled around them.

With each scrape of his Pulaski, he tried to connect the dots between Earl and Floyd to Crispin and the man who'd shot him. Sophie had texted to let him know that Crispin's gunshot wound didn't need surgery, and they were keeping him overnight for a concussion. At least Booth knew where to find him. Worse case, he still had the burner phone.

His team—Eric, Finn, Vince, and the rookie named Rico—pressed ahead, clearing brush and felling the most dangerous snags so a fire line could be built by the hotshot crews that followed.

Nova was out there somewhere, walking the line, checking on the other smokejumpers and barking orders as acting crew chief. She'd had questions about his witness protection, but they hadn't had time to talk with the crew around. Frankly, he owed her an explanation after she'd stumbled into not one but two assassination attempts.

He scraped flaming debris away from the bottom of a dead tree six feet thick. The massive snag burned red hot clear to the top. Trees like this were called widow makers. Better they cut it down than it fall and crush someone. Booth wouldn't let an assassin or a tree kill him if he could help it.

He paused and leaned on his Pulaski. "Good enough?"

"I think I can get in there." Rico tossed his Pulaski down and picked up the chain saw. Firelight shimmered off his sweaty face. "Watch that hot mama right there. If she breaks off, I'm a goner." With the tip of the chain saw blade, he pointed to a massive tree limb twenty feet overhead. It glowed hot and spat bits of burning bark at them.

Booth stood about ten feet back and acted as lookout while Rico buried the chain saw into the tree. The rookie jumper was an expert sawman from his days on the hotshot crew and had the tree down in minutes. They moved up to the next snag while Eric cranked up his saw and started bucking the log.

They made slow progress, but at least it was progress. One good thing—all this time scraping and digging had given him plenty of opportunity to berate himself for telling Nova he was in WITSEC.

She'd promised to keep it on the low down. Or was it down low? He could never remember.

He was pretty sure his cover was blown anyway, since Walsh had set fire to jump base. Then the man attacking Crispin, whoever that man had been. He'd been hired by Floyd to find something. To beat information out of Crispin.

Floyd had to know Booth and Crispin had been partners.

Which meant Floyd knew about the missing nuke and could tell the world who Booth really was.

If Crispin didn't make it, then it didn't matter who Booth had been. He'd stay here in Ember, unable to return to his job in Homeland, ever.

They were looking for someone to pin things on, and he made a great scapegoat.

"Booth, man. What're you doing?" Rico clinked his Pulaski against Booth's. "You've been breaking the same spot for a while, dude. Get your head outta the clouds."

"Shut up and get on the saw," Booth teased. "Unless it's too hot in there. Maybe your delicate rookie skin can't take the heat."

"Whatever." Rico nudged past Booth. "You just keep to your daydreaming. I'll take care of the rest."

The gall of that newb.

Nova seemed to think them doing their jobs was more important than his case. But she didn't know the risks. The wildfire might destroy one town, but in the wrong hands, a nuke could destroy an entire state.

Crispin only had one partner, and he'd made it clear he'd rather have zero. But now that Crispin was in the hospital, who was going to stop Floyd from finding the missing nuke?

If Nova knew what was at stake, she might realize his skills as a federal agent were more valuable than his skills as a smokejumper.

He shouldn't have come out here. He should've gone to work on his real job.

"Precious cargo coming through," Eric said, coming to stand beside Booth. He lifted his chin at Rico. "Surprised you're still on your feet, Rookie."

"Someone's gotta carry the weight around here. You look like you've been lifting more donuts than dumbbells, old man." Rico brought the tree down. "And that is how it's done."

A headlamp flashed through the smoke, and Nova appeared against a backdrop of burning forest. Somehow, the fire in her eyes sparked brighter than the light of the fire. "We've got a spot fire picking up steam and heading for an abandoned mining claim, so you three are with me."

Booth refilled his water jug and hefted his PG bag. Slung his Pulaski over his shoulder and caught up to Nova. "Can you afford to pull three off the crew for a spot fire?"

"Politics. Historical preservation of the Kootenai National Forest or some such thing," she said.

"Is there anything even left out there to save?"

"Old cabins, mostly."

"Anyone live up there?"

"No, it's administered land. Hikers might stop over, but the area is so remote I doubt it."

"Hey, Nova," Rico called from behind. "You're friends with that pilot Aria, right?"

Nova scrunched up her face and flicked a questioning glance at Booth. "Um, yeah. Why?"

"I was thinkin' about asking her out. Could you put in a good word for me?"

"Sure." She smiled at Booth. "If you carry my pack out when we're done."

"Pfft. No way. Carry your own stuff."

"Rico, you dummy. That was a test," Eric said.

"Well, ain't no girl worth that. I'm already carrying the saw pack and my own junk."

"When will you learn, man?" Eric laughed. "There's always pain involved when it comes to women."

Rico snorted. "Guess I'll be single forever."

Nova shook her head. "Hopeless."

Booth laughed. "No pain, no gain."

Rico and Eric fell back a few yards, talking about the new hire at the Hotline. A blonde bombshell, to hear Rico talk about her. Booth hadn't noticed. He only had eyes for a certain bossy redhead.

The mine was a mile-long hike up a steep slope beyond the head of the fire. It had several structures scattered throughout a flat area. Booth imagined the mine had once housed multiple families, but now it was being reclaimed by nature. Two smaller cabins had collapsed in on themselves, but the main log cabin looked to be in pretty good shape. Well, other than the dilapidated porch, busted glass windows, and overgrown vegetation. Several smaller sheds and outbuildings dotted the landscape.

Nova dropped her pack and chugged about a third of her water. "Okay, guys. I think the waste rock dump will hold the left flank, but we'll need to keep the fire from running up that ridge behind the cabins. With this wind, it'll push the fire right over our heads, and we'll have a blowup on our hands."

Booth had been there, done that. Two years ago, a fifty-five-mile-an-hour wind gust had caused a fire to take off. In less than an hour, the fire had gone from six acres to a thousand, closing off his escape route. He'd been forced into his fire shelter. It'd saved his life, but the whole time he'd felt like the foil-wrapped potatoes he tossed into the campfire.

One of the few times fighting wildfires when he'd really thought he wouldn't make it out alive. He stared at the burning treetops waving in the wind. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us."

Rico and Eric began grumbling and unpacking their gear.

The head of the fire sizzled and snapped. Booth paused. "Shh! You hear that?"

Everyone stared at a section of flames roaring far above the tree line. Black smoke billowed from the spot.

Eric created a visor with his hand. "What the heck is it?"

A rumbling sound rippled from somewhere in the fire followed by a giant crash.

Booth stepped in front of Nova.

The trees cracked and swayed. A booming kathump, kathump shook the ground.

Something was coming for them.

Booth saw it. A great big fiery log the size of a rocket came bouncing down the hill, spraying embers and igniting smaller fires everywhere.

"Nova…" Booth swallowed. "I think we've got a big problem."

Nova watched as the log hurtled down the north side of the hill, hit a boulder, bounced over the waste rock dump, and landed with an earth-pounding boom in a copse of dead spruce.

A fire swooshed to life.

"Yep. Big problem," Nova said.

"Did you see that thing? Ooo-whee," Rico hooted. "Like a log rolled right out of a giant's fireplace!"

"Sure did," Eric said. "What was that thing?"

"A pylon from that old ore bin up the hill." Booth pointed.

The burning log had lit a spot fire that had already spread to the size of a volleyball court. If she didn't get her crew to contain it, Booth's "big trouble" would be the understatement of the year.

"Okay, Booth, Rico. Get on that before it gets out of hand. We need that fire banked." Nova palmed her radio and called headquarters. The reply never came.

She hadn't picked Booth, Eric, and Rico because they'd been goofing off. Quite the opposite. They were the fastest guys on the crew. Rico might be a rookie, but his years as a hotshot gave him more experience in wildland firefighting than Booth. It was why she'd put them together.

Eric was a bit more of a wildcard. Seasoned enough to do the work in half the time, but more likely to take risks. Risks, she had to admit, that he could handle most of the time.

She holstered her walkie and picked up her gear. "Let's get to work. I should have radio signal up on the ridge. I'll call in the water drop."

Rico grabbed his saw pack and headed out, but Booth lingered. He touched her elbow. "Sure you're good?"

"I can handle this." She was aiming for confidence, but the worry lines etched into his forehead gave her pause. After he'd shared about being in WITSEC, she figured she owed him the truth. "It'll be tough, but if the wind eases back, and if you and Rico can contain the new fire, and if we can keep flames from running up the slope?—"

"That's a lot of if s."

"It's what we do." She didn't need to spell it out for him. Things had the potential to go big, especially if the fire on the north and south joined up.

He stepped closer. Brushed his index finger along her hand. "Be thinking about your escape route, okay?"

She pressed her lips into a tight smile and bobbed her head in short, rapid nods. "Always." What was she even agreeing to? Oh, yes. Escape plan. "There's a small cave to the west. Big enough for two of you."

"And you?"

"I'll squeeze in. If not, there's always my fire shelter." She patted her thigh pocket, where she kept the thin foil-like shelter she could deploy to protect herself in a fire. It was still risky, even as a last resort. They could only keep out so much heat, and even the smallest gap could mean death.

"Just remember, ‘The sky, not the grave, is our goal.'"

Nova smiled at the line taken from an old hymn sung by their crew around the campfire.

She was about to respond when Rico yelled, "Booth! Stop playin' kissy-face and let's go!" Rico laughed and revved the chain saw.

"We'll talk after," she said. "Stay safe." She turned and headed off before she could change her mind and say or do something stupid.

Nova hoofed it across the valley and joined Eric. The treetops danced in the wind, waving fiery branches. Historical preservation was important, but not more than the lives of her crew. The fire was coming fast, and Nova wasn't sure they could stop it.

The radio crackled. "Burns, what's going on out there?"

She grabbed her unit. "Tuck, is that you?"

"Yep, I'm manning the command station. And before you ask, I've got my leg elevated and I'm fine."

Nova didn't blame the guy. It'd take a lot more than a broken leg to keep her out of a firefight. Especially one like this where the town was at risk. "It's worse than we thought. The fire's making a run up the slope on the south side. I don't think we can save these structures. The fire is about to blow up."

"Can you hold out another thirty? We can get you a full tanker to knock it down."

"Negative. At this point we don't have five minutes. We're going to backtrack and let the fire connect up on the left flank. Push it toward the river."

"We've got a chopper heading out to scout. Stay on this channel for updates."

"Ten-four." Nova wiped her sweaty cheek on the arm of her shirt. She turned to Eric. "Let's evac before this fire overruns us."

Eric lifted his gear with a bit of an old-man grunt. "Yeah…good idea. The wind's already dropping sparks onto the structures below."

Spot fires littered the dry grass on the hill behind the cabins—some the size of basketballs, others the size of her dining room table.

She saw a flash of movement from the main log cabin. From this distance, she could see a shadowy figure crouching.

A bear?

The figure stood and turned to face the window. Definitely a human.

"Hey! There's someone in there!" Nova took off running.

The fire raced down the hill behind the cabin. That old wooden structure was little more than tinder. Boots thudded the ground behind her, Eric hot on her heels.

"Hey! You there! The fire is coming! Get out now!"

The wind gusted, blowing red-hot debris into the valley. Embers fell on the shake-shingled roof. A burning tree toppled over and crashed through the window opening.

Nova lengthened her strides and hopped up on the front porch.

She dropped her PG bag on the porch and hit the door with her shoulder. The old wood cracked, and a rusted hinge let go.

All the glass in the windows had either deteriorated over time or been busted out. There was nothing to keep the smoke out. Red-orange fog filled the cabin.

Coughing, she dropped to her knees and crawled into the darkness. "Hey! Anyone here? Where are you?" She squinted through the smoke, trying to get her bearings. "Call out!"

The living room was littered with trash but otherwise empty of furnishings. The bedroom doors were straight ahead. Off to the right was a doorway leading to the kitchen with a see-through fireplace.

She heard Eric cough. "Eric! I'm going to the kitchen. Check the bedrooms. Our vic could be unconscious, unable to respond!"

"Affirm—" Eric coughed again.

Outside, the fire roared its hungry growl. Burning embers dropped on her back and neck from the bulging ceiling. Raging heat pressed in all around. She crawled through the kitchen door, splaying her hands and feeling for a body.

Her kneecap pressed down on something hard. It didn't quite register until she'd put all her weight on it. A sharp pain zipped through her knee and down her leg.

She looked down, expecting to see a rusty metal tool that would inevitably mean a tetanus shot. But it wasn't a tool or a can. It was a thick metal ring lying flat against the floor.

"Rico! Wait!" Nova heard Booth shout from outside.

Then a loud crash from behind. Someone cried out in pain.

"Rico! Are you okay?" Booth sounded frantic. "Talk to me, brother."

They needed her help. She crawled out of the kitchen. Where the front door had been was now darkness—the porch roof instead of an open exit. "Booth! What happened?"

"The porch collapsed on Rico. Oh man…" She heard banging and scratching that sounded like Booth digging.

Then he called out, "You and Eric need to get out of there now! The roof is about to come down!"