perimeter, making sure that no-one else was lurking in the brush, in the vicinity trying to follow me when I went into the wilderness."
He seemed to be pondering what I had said. "As a police officer if you wanted to follow someone would that be enough?"
"No but we have specialized equipment and professionals, I even took the precaution both times of walking upstream in a creek for several hundred yards soon after I started hiking in case they had decided to use dogs to track me."
"I agree this is a good idea when pursued by men with dogs although most dogs fear our scent and will not continue once they realize they are on our trail. Sometimes they will because their dogs are brave or sometimes because the dogs are stupid, either way we call them by the same name." He ran a large tongue over his lips, "Dinner."
I was glad to know that he had eaten his fill from the stew pot as he sat there listening to the wind and other things.
"I need to consider, so what steps did you take to ensure that no-one would follow the car they arranged for you? You realize that most rental cars have GPS."
"Well that was easy, I brought a portable bug detector with me I checked that car from top to bottom, before I signed for it and when I asked how to turn off the GPS the agent at the counter of the rental agency went out to the car and showed me that he could turn it off."
"So you think that the car company which wants to be able to find it's vehicles in case they are mislaid by a renter will allow a rental agent to casually disable the tracking capacity of the vehicle, is it not more likely that they allow them to turn off the display if the driver finds it distracting."
His simple deduction was chilling. I work with bright people who understand technology many of them would not draw that conclusion as quickly.
He continued." Then of course if the people who arranged the rental and who are responsible for the charges want to be informed as to where it is traveling." He raised one eyebrow.
There was nothing for me to add, "Yes I could have been tracked into where my vehicle was parked."
"So how then did they know to contact you?"
"That is why it had to be the council, I would have told them of having met with your people on occasion years ago, but no-one else."
"What? You have never told the story to others across a camp fire when they tell tall tales? Or of an evening to a lover when you fear your caresses have grown tired and cold?"
"If you tell a story like that of meeting across a campfire they would not believe you. No it would have to be the council, and they would not interfere with you."
"Would they feel that seeing you were engaged in an errand on their behalf that they should be prepared to come to your assistance if there was a problem?"
"I can look after myself; they didn't even offer me anything else except a phone number."
"So your council which is always trying to meddle in things that are not your concern, they do not meet with you in person? This is most strange." He nodded and then continued.
"I will tell you something that you do not appear to know. You spent three days burning the parlay fires in the area near the border of Tennessee. When you left that meeting place, it was approached by three men. They had come in from the direction furthest away, from where you had parked your car. You had been gone for several hours but they spent some time taking samples of the ash and other materials. Then having accomplished their tasks the three men walked back in the direction they had approached and were picked up by a helicopter. They were carrying much surveillance gear but also large calibre hunting rifles. Two other men waited near the road and they followed you to the airport. They had never gotten out of their vehicle near yours and so they would likely leave no scent except the exhaust fumes of a passing vehicle." His hand lay there near the hand grip of his club and his eyes peered steadily into mine. The sun was dropping and the shadows would lengthen, it seemed cooler but I had little desire to move closer to the wash of fire.
The pursed his lips slightly which covered those sharp incisors but did not make him look more accepting, then he continued.
"It is possible that they were only attracted by the large fire you built and the fragrant smoke you sent to the winds, but are you sure there is no reason why your council would send men to hunt us?" He took another couple of bites of the meal but he had only the look of a man who was killing time while he waited for something to happen. When he set it down he did so carefully and he seemed to spend some attention as he positioned the spoon so that it would stand upright against one side of the pot.
He continued, "As you will note we were aware of the reward and so when a man begins burning a signal that he wants to meet with one of us we are curious but we will not blithely walk into a clearing and sit down to talk."
"That is why I went fishing for several hours so that if you wanted you could approach and confirm that I was alone and that there were no traps or other things to trouble you if you wanted to meet with me."
"So the place you went to fish was up wind from the camp fire so we would be able to find the direction you had travelled with ease?"
"Yes I wanted to make it easy for you."
"This was good and as stories go we have learned that you know much of hunting and stalking having greater skills than most, even comparing you with men who hunted to feed their family. It seems you have allowed yourself to become too confident in your skills, there were men observing you from a distance and we were not able to tell if you were aware."
"I did not know, clearly they were very good, I have only met a few men who have the kinds of skills to follow me."
"Their conversation touched on using among other things what they called a surveillance platform."
"You could hear them."
His ear turned to the side on its own as some other predators can. I consider my hearing sharp but possibly less sharp than his.
"At the site of the first campfire you lit, we saw them follow you to the airport and one even made it onto the same flight as you. So you then followed the same pattern once again, but this time they have not approached within striking distance so I have come to talk."
"If you are in danger then you could have just sent me a message and I could have returned home."
I saw a red dot appear on his vest highlighting the brilliant yellow designed to warn hunters that they were not pointing a gun at an animal. "Gun." I yelled as I lunged forward across the fire. I wasn't sure whether I could push him back over the log, into cover, I had to try. His one hand smashed me sideways rolling and he had stood facing towards me, his back now exposed to whatever weapon was behind the laser sight.
He looked down at me and nodded again, "So you would risk your life to save mine?"
"Get down," I yelled, wishing I had my long gun to hand. I had my .45 but that was a poor weapon for the wilderness and my bow was with me as much for nostalgia as for utility.
"There is no actual… threat. One of my people, holds the aiming point you saw."
"That's a stupid thing to do." I was angry.
"I wanted to know your real intentions, so you tried to save me?"
"Yes but I was also protecting myself."
"Really, you leap at me putting your body in place of where the bullet would strike."
"The laser's sight only shows where the laser is pointed, at any distance the bullet falls as it travels and the wind carries it, why would I be safe on the other side of the fire? What are the chances that they would only injure you? Then I would be here and you would be wounded or perhaps I would be shot myself? I thank you for putting a heroic face on my actions."
He sat again, "We see, what we see. This confirms what we have learned from other observations. They have chosen to use you as their pawn. This has placed your life at risk do you feel and you o
we such people any shred of mercy?"
A voice as low as his is easy to call cold, but at this moment it seemed weighed with ice.
My response was instinctive the idea that someone had used me as bait and that they might have killed him due to my actions raised a flood of anger. "Yes I will help you hunt them out."
"Think first Bowman, it is not so easy to just say words that might end in pain and blood."
I tried again. "The council has known of your existence for generations and they have the contacts with organizations that deal with conservation, and endangered species, for all I know if necessary they could speak with those who are active in the defense of human rights."
Slowly his head shook a no, "We prefer to remain apart, there has been debate by some of becoming known in some official status with mankind or at least of joining with your council where some honor old treaties and respect the skills of our forefathers. I will mention it again with those who make the decisions. For now let us assume that they will not agree."
"I am only one man, and your skills I am sure are formidable, here in this place, but you tell me that there are men with modern weapons and technology who would possibly stop at nothing to seize a prize like that. As you said you have another partner who is likely as capable as you, skilled at hunting and when necessary battle, but the odds do not favor this. It would be better by far that you disappear and be cautious for a time,