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Randerran's phone rang. All he said was "good" before putting it away. "Our ride will be here in a few minutes. Get your coats on, and let's go."
I checked the door to make sure it locked when we left. I assumed we'd take the snowmobiles from here, but apparently Randerran had another plan. Cassie just gave me a shrug when I looked her way. We'd have to adjust once we learned what Randerran's plan was.
"Have either of you been to the location before?" he asked once we were in the air.
"Everly and a friend of hers are the only two that have been to the site since Harry and Dutch Munroe," Cassie said.
"It's your lucky day then. We're all going. The helicopter will be landing about a mile from the location."
With Randerran added to the mix and less time in the forest, our odds weren't improving. I knew Jim planned some sort of intervention, but I had no idea what or when. I held out hope Cassie and I would have the chance to deal with some of these guys on our own, but we were going to have to react. We couldn't make a plan. I hated that.
"If you take the helicopter too close, any animals in the area will be scared into hiding," Cassie said. “That includes your bigfoot.”
"I don't think that's really an issue. I didn't expect them to be out holding up a welcome sign."
The chopper landed in a clearing covered in snow. Each of the guards carried a pack and a rifle. Randerran carried only a riffle. "Lead the way, Ms. Mason," Randerran said, when everyone was ready."
"Sorry. I have no idea which direction it is from here. Does someone have GPS?"
Randerran laughed and nodded to Blue to take the lead. We fell into a line with Henson behind Cassie and me behind Henson. We started up an incline with a drop off to the left. Cassie did her part, pretending to slip. Henson grabbed her elbow. "Careful it's slippery." She walked normally but veered a little more to the left with each step. Henson was keeping an eye on her which naturally caused him to follow her path.
I slowed down a little allowing some space to open between Henson and me. As expected, Yellow, who was behind me pushed me to speed up. I hurried up the trail and when I was close enough, I tucked my head and shoulder just in time to run into Henson's back and push him over the edge. As I watched Henson fall, memories of Chance's fall flashed through my mind. Henson screamed and windmilled his arms, one of them hitting a tree limb with a whack I suspected might have broken his arm. I had a nearly irresistible urge to high-five Cassie, but she helped squelch that by acting shocked and dismayed by Henson's fall. He landed against a tree trunk at the bottom of the ravine.
"He slipped," Yellow said.
"Do you have any rope?" I asked. "I might be able to get down there."
"I can get to him," Blue said.
"Henson," Randerran called. I thought I heard a moan in response.
"I think I heard him," Yellow said. "Let's go."
"Stop. Leave him. We'll deal with him after we get the bigfoot," Randerran said. "Get moving."
Our odds were back to what we hoped for. Randerran stepped up beside me on the trail. "Ms. Mason, I know you weren't fond of Mr. Henson. I hope that was just a nasty accident. I'll be keeping a closer eye on you."
I was confident I could take out another one of the men with my knife, but there was no way to make that look like an accident. Once I made that move, Cassie and I would have to run into the woods and hope we could escape the three remaining men. Jim had something planned, but I had no idea what. I had faith, but I would have preferred a plan.
"Get moving," Randerran said.
Everyone got back in line, and we moved forward much more slowly. A little further up the trail, I turned around to talk to Randerran who was walking behind me. "I think we're getting close. There's a clearing in front of a rock wall covered in brush. It's in kind of a bowl." He didn't respond, and we kept walking.
A few minutes later Blue signaled for a stop. We all looked down at the rock face. "According to the coordinates, this is the place," Blue said just above a whisper.
"Do you concur, Ms. Mason?" Randerran asked.
"This is it. What now?"
"Ms. Carter, where do we find the creatures?"
"How would I know?" Cassie said.
"You're supposed to be the best cryptid hunter in the country. Find them."
She looked at me. "Based on what was in Harry's journal, we think they may be living in caves," I said. "We thought the entrance might be in that rock face behind the brush."
"Did you check it out?"
"No. We didn't have a chance."
"Why not?"
"We left as soon as we saw bigfoot."
"Where did you see the creature?"
"Right over there to the left of that pine tree."
"Blue, Yellow. Go with them and see if you can find any evidence of the creatures."
Cassie gave me a look. If I could get Blue far enough into the woods, I could take him out with my knife. Blue and I headed off to the left, Cassie and Yellow went to the right. Once we were out of earshot of the others, I started finding possible evidence of bigfoot. It wasn't real, but I quickly realized Blue knew nothing about bigfoot. I found scratch marks on a tree, then some broken limbs. Following the fake evidence, allowed me to pull Blue further into the woods.
I turned around and put my finger across my lips in the universal sign to be quiet. I pointed off in the distance.
Blue pulled his rifle around so it was ready. I needed to get him in front of me. He leaned in close. "Stay here. I need a clean shot."
As he moved forward, I moved back a couple of paces. I bent down as if to tie my boot, pulling the knife from the sheath. I kept my right hand behind my back as I stood up. I took a deep breath and let the knife fly. It struck Blue in the neck.
"What the f..." he started to ask then keeled over. I ran up and took the gun from him. Shooting would attract attention, so I held on to the barrel and hit Blue over the head with the stock. Two down. Three to go.