SHIFT EXCHANGE

Chapter 34

The deputy was speeding, at least 15 mph over the limit. The road was pretty windy, but he handled it well. Jake thanked God for the recent nice days that had melted the ice off the roadways. Despite the speed and expert handling of the patrol car, it felt like they were crawling and time was standing still.

He knew Janks County would beat them there, but every moment he didn't have eyes on Kara, couldn't reassure himself she was ok, was killing him.

Jake checked the GPS map again. Six more miles and three sharp s-curves would have them there. Scanning the radio channels he knew the Janks County deputies were coming in from both sides of the county road and planned on parking down the road to approach on foot. There were four of them enroute, with shields and tear gas. Including him and his partner, that would be six men to surround the house and make a plan.

He hadn't been thinking clearly when he'd left Kara's and hadn't wanted to take the time to stop by his apartment. As a result Jake had zero body armor and only his personal .45ACP Springfield XD. Good thing he always carried a spare magazine.

The second s-curve came into sight. After the third they'd need to slow down. According to the map the driveway was the next right turn and appeared to be long.

Jake told dispatch he was moving to Janks County frequency. Once the dispatcher acknowledged he twisted the little knob over to the other bank and called out to the Janks County men.

One of them answered and asked about his ETA. Just as he keyed the mic to advise he spotted the rear end of one of their tan colored SUVs.

"I'm here. I'll face to face with you in 30 seconds." The deputy pulled in behind the cruiser and Jake hopped out.

A salt and pepper mustached, no nonsense looking deputy in a sharply pressed tan uniform approached. "You Sargeant Mahon?"

Jake nodded and confirmed by showing his badge. The deputy reminded him of Sam Elliott, which was made even better when he introduced himself as Deputy Elliott Samson. If Jake hadn't been in the midst of one of the most stressful moments of his entire life he would have surely appreciated the irony more.

Satisfied with the answer, the man got down to business. "Do we know anything about what he has in that cabin or how its laid out?" He asked.

"I wish I could tell you, but we have nothing other than the mother told our dispatcher. The back side of the house that faces the lake is pretty much all windows." Jake didn't like the gaps in their knowledge any more than the other man did.

"So we'll just be real careful coming in from the east and the west and totally avoid the lake front." He radioed the information out to his units. "You two are with me." He waved in the direction of the woods.

Jake's partner positioned his AR-15 for easy access and followed Deputy Samson into the trees. Jake made ready his sidearm and went in after them.

Here, the trees were so dense the snow hadn't been able to accumulate. The pine needles and duff were frozen so that each of the men's footsteps made a light crunch in the otherwise silent forest.

After about a quarter of a mile a cedar shakes, a-frame cabin came into sight. The front side had two picture windows to either side of a cheery red wooden door. Little red painted flower boxes were attached below each, barren in the cold winter afternoon. The metal roof reached all the way to within a foot of the ground on each side of the long, triangular building.

The Janks County man took a knee and motioned Jake forward so they could talk.

Jake shuffled up and knelt beside him.