Tolerance Book II

Chapter Eighty-Six: Unwelcome Find

Harpers Bay

The tiny airport at Harpers Bay made Vancouver Airport look colossal in comparison.  There were no sprawling terminals spread across acres of land with multiple runways merely one runway serviced by a single story terminal that was no bigger than a large log cabin.  As the men eyed their new surroundings it became clear they were far away from civilisation.  In fact Adam had purchased a book on the area and had happily informed his friends and colleagues of various pieces of information, the most interesting one being there were only 176 inhabitants of Harpers Bay.  That solidified the reason King chose this place. Isolation clearly suited his agenda, whatever that might be.  A brief discussion had taken place en route about whether some of the Unit should visit the island Jay had been abandoned on but ultimately it was decided to meet up with their missing friend first.  The truth was everyone was anxious to see Jay with their own eyes and no one wanted to miss the first opportunity to do so. Now standing by the small baggage carousel and taking turns lifting off their gear the men could feel the adrenaline building. They were going to have their friend back with them and then they would put an end to Kings' sadistic streak once and for all. Voight and Al moved several feet away from the others as they had all of their bags accounted for.  The Sergeant was just about to say they needed to call Marks when a loud mans' voice called his name.  Turning around Voight eyed the six foot blond newcomer in surprise.  Hell this guy definitely did not look like anything he had expected.  He wore a dark blue denim shirt accompanied with tight Levi jeans and cowboy boots for one thing whereas a suit would have been the norm.  The shoulder length hair was also a surprise but it did match the day old stubble on the mans' face.  He looked like a Model rather than a Law Enforcement Officer and judging by his smirk he was well aware his appearance was being scrutinised in surprise.

"Dan Marks," the blond finally reached the pair and held out a hand to Voight, "good to meet you Sergeant."
"How do you know he's not Voight?" the gruff man enquired gesturing to the moustached Detective at his side even as he returned the firm handshake.
"I did my homework," Marks grinned in depreciation as he shook hands with Al, "so I assume you want to get to the Ranger Station ASAP?"
"You assume correctly."
"Well in that case after one stop we can head out once everyone is good to go. I have three SUVs at our disposal for now ....,"
"What stop?" Voight cut in, he wanted to get going now!
"No offence Sergeant," the younger man spoke evenly before gesturing to the feet of the men now all gathered around him, "but you need proper footwear for hill climbing.  Best to avoid any unnecessary accidents.  I have a shoe store waiting down the street so if you gentlemen will follow me we can get you sorted and then get to work on reuniting you with your friend."

The last part showed the friendly man was not naive and understood their priority.  Voight found himself liking the newcomer and got a good feeling they could work together without being at loggerheads.  Crowley it seemed had chosen wisely and for that he owed her big time.

Pearl Caves

As the three men approached the caves it looked from the outside like they were similar to any other caves and the grandiose title seemed out of place.  Jay had again taken point, much to the other mens' consternation.  He had refused outright to wear a sling and his companions understood without needing to ask why.  A sling would inhibit his movements in a fight.  Jay had however placed his injured hand into his open shirt and held it against his heart to control the blood flow, not to mention the vicious throbbing that had taken up residence in the injured appendage.  He may be injured but he had no intention of letting either man be the first to deal with whatever King had left in the caves.  He had decided it was unlikely King would be waiting patiently for his arrival.  As they had trekked through the woodlands Jack had obligingly furnished more details about the caves.  They consisted of three interconnected caverns each with a separate entrance but joined by man made openings inside.  There was a small hole  carved out of the ceiling of each cave which allowed smoke from fires to escape.  The Hotelier had stated the caves could indeed have been a likely place to hide treasure, as per folklore, due to their proximity to the water and their depth. It transpired that although from the outside the caves gave the misleading impression of being small arising out of the closeness of the three entrances each cave began with a narrow passageway which subsequently opened up into an expansive area.  As they neared their destination Jays' gut had tightened.  He knew what lay within was going to be bad.  The young man had provided more details of Kings' crimes to the two men with him, wanting to ensure there was no quarter given by either on the off chance the Murderer did materialise.  He had warned the pair not to be caught off guard by whatever greeted them.  Now standing in front of the middle entrance the Detective stifled a wince as he carefully removed his bandaged hand from its' place of protection.