If it was darker I’d say the night swallowed it up,
but it’s still twilight. Damned if I can figure it out.”
Dan sighed. “Okay. If it shows up again we need to find a
way to trap it and call animal control. See you in the morning.”
He hung up the phone and scratched his head.
“Maybe it’s just a stray looking for a home,” Tina ventured.
“I’ll tell you, I’m an animal lover but there’s something
about this one. I wouldn’t give it house room. Not for a minute.”
“Maybe it won’t show up again. How about an after-dinner
drink? You look like you could use one.”
“Now that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” He chuckled
and put his arm around her. “I knew there was a reason I liked having you
around.”
Chapter Five
Everyone on the team was visibly exhausted. Mental
gymnastics were often more tiring than physical labor. Ric had put Reed’s
diagrams and codes up on all the screens so they could each study them. Even to
Regan they were so much gibberish, but somewhere in there was the key to why
Reed and Lisa had been at Wolf Mountain on that particular day, and they were
determined to find it.
But despite using every program Ric had, they still couldn’t
figure it out.
“Bedtime,” he finally told everyone. “We need fresh eyes on
this. Tomorrow I’m going to write a couple of new programs and we’ll see if
that helps.”
“I feel as if it’s right there in front of us,” Mark said,
“and we’re just missing it.”
“That’s why we need to look at it after a good night’s
sleep.” Ric leaned back in his chair and stretched. “There’s something else I
want to do, also.”
“What’s that?” Dante asked.
“I know Craig tried to get the authorities to buy in, coming
at it from the top down by using his contacts. But tomorrow I’m going to call
my old Ranger captain. We had a good relationship. I want to try talking to
him. See if he’ll agree to let us work together.”
“I can understand they don’t want to start a panic,” Logan
said. “But we have resources they don’t. We can help them predict what areas
the beast might invade next and suggest ways to track it.”
“Some of you talked about the beast being able to change
shapes,” Regan said. “You saw in Reed’s notes that he thought so too. Would
that have anything to do with why he thought the mountain would be the
location?”
“I can’t really tell until I actually write a program that
takes all his information,” Ric answered, “sorts it and produces the same
conclusions he did. Let’s let it simmer overnight. We’ll get some rest and hit
it again tomorrow.”
Regan cleared her throat. “I really didn’t think about this
when Dante brought me here, but I have no wheels. Is there some way I can get
home without disrupting anyone?”
“I think you should stay here,” Dante said. “That way we won’t
have to go get you before working on this in the morning.”
”So what, then?”
“He has such class.” Sophia laughed. “We have plenty of
space here, Regan. We’ll fix you up so you’re very comfortable.”
He could tell the offer made her feel somewhat awkward.
After all, she hardly knew anyone except him and they barely knew each
other. Except for that explosive moment of intimacy, of course. And he didn’t
intend to stash her at the opposite end of the ever-expanding ranch house
either.
“I’ll help you get settled,” he said, giving her a tiny
squeeze.
He saw a few team members exchange glances. He needed to
figure out how to help Regan relax a little in this situation, and he guessed
he wasn’t doing a great job.
But damn it, he…
He what?
He’d better figure it out in a fucking big hurry.
“The suite next to yours is empty,” Sophia told him, trying
not to grin. “Rebecca’s already moved her stuff into Logan’s.”
“And there’s almost everything you’ll need,” Chloe added.
“We keep the place stocked for when we add new team
but it’s still twilight. Damned if I can figure it out.”
Dan sighed. “Okay. If it shows up again we need to find a
way to trap it and call animal control. See you in the morning.”
He hung up the phone and scratched his head.
“Maybe it’s just a stray looking for a home,” Tina ventured.
“I’ll tell you, I’m an animal lover but there’s something
about this one. I wouldn’t give it house room. Not for a minute.”
“Maybe it won’t show up again. How about an after-dinner
drink? You look like you could use one.”
“Now that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” He chuckled
and put his arm around her. “I knew there was a reason I liked having you
around.”
Chapter Five
Everyone on the team was visibly exhausted. Mental
gymnastics were often more tiring than physical labor. Ric had put Reed’s
diagrams and codes up on all the screens so they could each study them. Even to
Regan they were so much gibberish, but somewhere in there was the key to why
Reed and Lisa had been at Wolf Mountain on that particular day, and they were
determined to find it.
But despite using every program Ric had, they still couldn’t
figure it out.
“Bedtime,” he finally told everyone. “We need fresh eyes on
this. Tomorrow I’m going to write a couple of new programs and we’ll see if
that helps.”
“I feel as if it’s right there in front of us,” Mark said,
“and we’re just missing it.”
“That’s why we need to look at it after a good night’s
sleep.” Ric leaned back in his chair and stretched. “There’s something else I
want to do, also.”
“What’s that?” Dante asked.
“I know Craig tried to get the authorities to buy in, coming
at it from the top down by using his contacts. But tomorrow I’m going to call
my old Ranger captain. We had a good relationship. I want to try talking to
him. See if he’ll agree to let us work together.”
“I can understand they don’t want to start a panic,” Logan
said. “But we have resources they don’t. We can help them predict what areas
the beast might invade next and suggest ways to track it.”
“Some of you talked about the beast being able to change
shapes,” Regan said. “You saw in Reed’s notes that he thought so too. Would
that have anything to do with why he thought the mountain would be the
location?”
“I can’t really tell until I actually write a program that
takes all his information,” Ric answered, “sorts it and produces the same
conclusions he did. Let’s let it simmer overnight. We’ll get some rest and hit
it again tomorrow.”
Regan cleared her throat. “I really didn’t think about this
when Dante brought me here, but I have no wheels. Is there some way I can get
home without disrupting anyone?”
“I think you should stay here,” Dante said. “That way we won’t
have to go get you before working on this in the morning.”
”So what, then?”
“He has such class.” Sophia laughed. “We have plenty of
space here, Regan. We’ll fix you up so you’re very comfortable.”
He could tell the offer made her feel somewhat awkward.
After all, she hardly knew anyone except him and they barely knew each
other. Except for that explosive moment of intimacy, of course. And he didn’t
intend to stash her at the opposite end of the ever-expanding ranch house
either.
“I’ll help you get settled,” he said, giving her a tiny
squeeze.
He saw a few team members exchange glances. He needed to
figure out how to help Regan relax a little in this situation, and he guessed
he wasn’t doing a great job.
But damn it, he…
He what?
He’d better figure it out in a fucking big hurry.
“The suite next to yours is empty,” Sophia told him, trying
not to grin. “Rebecca’s already moved her stuff into Logan’s.”
“And there’s almost everything you’ll need,” Chloe added.
“We keep the place stocked for when we add new team
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