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Nashida and Orroye looked down from the Rocky foothill into the wooded grounds. A single set of footprints led from the wreckage into the forest.
"You see that?" Orroye pointed to the tracks.
"Yep."
"Whose do you think they are?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, there's only one set. That means they're either Cassata's or Jericho's. Who do you think they belong to?"
Cassata was a low-level mob thug with no idea on how to survive in the wilderness. Who knows where the hell Jericho came from? He was definitely the smarter of the two though, and least likely to leave a simple set of footprints. Nashida looked back at the crash and then down the mountain. Jericho didn't want to leave a set of tracks, but what other choice did he have out here?
Nature would take care of Cassata. They needed to keep their focus on what was important to the Bureau.
"Jericho's," Nashida finally said.
"You sure?"
"Yep."
Nashida took the first step into the track. Orroye didn’t seem one hundred percent sure these belonged to the elusive man in black, but if he had reservations, he kept them to himself. Before exiting the plane, Orroye packed a bag with as much food as he could find, a shovel, lighter, flares, a few revolvers, and their cellphones. Not that the phones did much out here. Neither would catch a signal.
Both agents slowly crept down the path, making sure they trod lightly. The last thing either of them wanted was to fall through the snow. They carefully slid their feet along the icy ground, trying not to lose their balance. Nashida reached back and grabbed Orroye's hand, securing a tether and making sure neither of them slipped under. When they reached the base of the mountain, Nashida checked the lone footprints and scanned along the ground, trying to follow their path.
Orroye checked his phone. Still no signal, but the clock worked. It was 11:36 in the morning. With sunset around 4: 00pm, they had less than five hours to find Jericho before the cold would become unmanageable.
Nashida followed the steps into the forest, with Orroye just behind him. The woods seemed mostly vacant, save the trees. Even the animals were gone from here, which was a tad eerie. That didn't stop Nashida from drawing his firearm and holding it up like Jericho was hiding behind the next fir. Which would have been lucky, if not unlikely.
"Andrew, what are you doing?"
The agent paused, with an almost annoyed look on his face. "Jericho couldn't've gotten too far. That means he could be anywhere. We need to be ready."
Orroye wished he had Nashida's confidence, but someone needed to be the voice of reason.
"You're right. He could be anywhere. You keep yourself all worked up, you're gonna make mistakes."
Nashida raised an eyebrow. Like he’d ever make a mistake. "Keep up. Clock's ticking."
No kidding.