Awakening - The Last Science #1

Chapter 2 - Rachel DuValle - I

  "It ain't right."

  "Might be, might not, but did you really need to come after the kid?" the sheriff's deputy asked. He was still seated, despite the two angry men with narrowed eye locked to narrowed eye across the thick wood table.

  "This idiot is stealin' my living. Don't I got a right to defend myself?" growled Robert, the elder of the two. He was a grizzled old logger-turned-hunter with a beard as thick as the muscles bulging on his forearms.

  "I didn't take a single step on your land," Nate retorted, his voice rising to match Robert's in volume—though rather less intimidating. "I caught the buck myself. Public property, fair and square."

  "Bullshit. I had cameras, kid."

  Rachel began to take an interest in the conversation. If Robert truly had captured something of note—something that could potentially expose them—she might need to act quickly. She sat up and set aside the book she'd been reading under the table. Her new study of ancient Egyptian culture would have to wait, despite its potential to illuminate a few mysteries surrounding her. She had to make sure the town of Rallsburg didn't slide into chaos first, as usual.

  "Cameras showing what, exactly?" Deputy Bowman chimed in, trying to maintain some semblance of control. They were in a small room at the town hall set aside for meetings and disputes such as these. A few hand-carved chairs and an elegant table, with hand-carved and detailed frames adorning donated paintings of the vast forests surrounding the town hanging on each wall.

  The lumber for which was probably felled by the rough and tumble Robert, determined to undermine the heir to the Price Logging Company fortune, Rachel mused. This isn't neutral ground in the slightest when Robert Harrison is surrounded by the labors of the men he represents.

  "Showin' this spoiled brat decided he'd come on my land, steal my game and rub it in my face," Robert replied with satisfaction. He took his seat and opened the laptop he'd brought with him and opened a video file. Rachel leaned in close to watch, while her hand snaked its way into the bag at her side. Just in case, she reminded herself, though the trepidation churning in her stomach was quite at odds with the calm expression she held affixed to her face.

  The video was choppy and brief—taken with whatever camera Robert could get his hands on in short notice, no doubt—but Nate's distinct mop of floppy blonde hair was clearly visible. He stood near the edge of Robert's land. As he'd claimed, he never took a step even close to the fence marking the boundary. Instead, he looked directly at the camera and gave a small wave.

  Rachel barely suppressed a laugh at the dumb look plastered on his face. Concerned as she might be, Rachel usually enjoyed Nate's genial attitude and his way of getting any particular class (professor included) to burst out in laughter at the drop of a hat. Her brief moment of levity was tempered by the potential danger they still faced in this room. Nate Price wasn't an idiot by any stretch, but he wasn't the quickest to grasp the far-reaching consequences of his actions.

  She clenched her fist tight under the table, fearing the worst. On the screen, Nate turned to face the fence and raised a hand, palm upward. With one small gesture he beckoned to something off camera.

  A few moments later, two huge bucks burst out of the trees and cleared the fence with easy leaps, passing by Nate on either side. Nate gave another lopsided grin to the camera and a solemn bow before vanishing off-camera with the two deer.

  As the video seemed to be over, Rachel felt the weight lift from her chest. Blood flow returned to her fist. This I can deal with. She surreptitiously withdrew her phone and dashed off a quick text message. As they met eyes, Robert seemed flush with victory.