Hominid (36 page)

CHAPTER 128

T
ess stepped away from Eric as he read Colonel Adams his Miranda rights. Dev was already doing to the same to the other captured men. Shawn and his friends had disappeared back into the woods. They were looking for any injured and any evidence left behind of the bigfoot.

Not that I think they left any.
Tess stood still, staring at the woods to the north. Had she not just seen the bigfoot depart that way, she’d have no idea they had ever been here. She studied the ground. Nothing there either. Not a trace.

She walked north. She didn’t expect to find any bigfoot still in the area. After all, they had plenty to take care of. She’d seen a few bigfoot carrying the bodies of other bigfoot, and her heart lurched at the memory.

But as soon as she rounded the curve of the path, Mary, Sugar, and Frank were there in front of her. Tess soaked in the sight of them. None of them seemed hurt.
Thank God.

But Tess felt their sadness. Missy’s family may have escaped injury, but they had lost their home, and other members of the tribe had been hurt or killed.

And she had the distinct impression they had been waiting for her. She looked at each of them. “Is everyone accounted for?”

She knew they couldn’t answer her, or even understand her, but she needed to ask. Frank grunted, and Tess looked up at him. A vision of half a dozen bigfoot flew through her mind, vague and indistinct, except for the last one. Kong popped into her mind with perfect clarity.

Tess reared back.
Well, that’s new
. But then she realized Frank was telling her that Kong and some others hadn’t returned. She had no doubt that other bigfoot were out looking for them. But she also knew Frank was asking for her help.

Tess nodded. “I’ll find them.”

CHAPTER 129

T
ess made her way back to Eric and the others, but everyone was busy dealing with the private army. Tess debated speaking with Dev before slipping away after the missing bigfoot, but she knew he would just try to talk her out of going. Kong might not be the friendliest bigfoot, but he had saved her life and Missy’s. She owed him. She’d call in the cavalry if she found someone and needed help.

Without a word, she headed south. She knew there were probably still gunmen somewhere in these trees, but fear for Kong overrode all other considerations. At the same time, she thought she was crazy for even worrying. Kong was ridiculously capable. He could take care of himself. He was a ten-foot hominid, for goodness’ sake—not exactly the stereotypical victim.

But she wasn’t sure how familiar he was with the trickiness of humans.

Blowing out a breath, she checked that Madge’s rifle was loaded—it wasn’t. And she had no extra rounds with her.
Well, this was well thought out.

Tess paused every few feet to listen.
What am I doing? Kong does not need my help.

But maybe the others do.

She moved forward. Gunfire sounded through the forest followed by a scream of pain.

Tess ran forward, knowing that scream hadn’t come from a human. She leapt over downed trees and moved faster than she ever let herself move in the woods.

She sprinted past a boulder and slammed to a stop.
How the hell—

Abe Cascione stood ten feet away, a small bigfoot on the ground next to him. He reared back and kicked it in the side. It let out a whimper.

“Come on, you can scream louder than that.” He kicked it again.

Tess’s anger boiled. This bigfoot was barely a toddler. He didn’t appear injured, but he did look absolutely terrified.

A bellow sounded from farther away, and Abe grinned. “Now that’s more like it.”

Abe pulled his gun into his shoulder and scanned for any movement. Tess quickly ducked behind a boulder.

A crashing sounded from the other side of Abe. Abe whirled around just as Kong stormed out of the woods, a body over his shoulders.

No
. Tess knew Kong was fast, but he wouldn’t outrun a bullet. She slid her rifle off her shoulder. It might not be loaded, but it would still work as a bat.

She adjusted her grip, not believing she was doing this. Was she actually about to take on an armed man with only an unloaded gun?

Abe pulled the trigger, and Kong reared back, the body he was carrying hitting the ground with a thump. The small bigfoot that Abe had been kicking darted into the trees, but Abe didn’t seem to care. He was after the bigger trophy.

Tess raced forward, swinging the rifle for all she was worth.

Hearing her footsteps, Abe turned. “What the—?”

Tess swung, knocking his rifle aside. It clattered to the ground and out of his reach. Tess swung back and caught him in the shoulder. But he recovered quickly and tackled Tess around the waist, slamming her onto her back. Pain radiated through her skull, and her vision went blurry.

Abe held her arms down and stared at her. “You.” He laughed. “Looks like I get to finish what I started.” Abe reared back and aimed a punch at her face.

Tess shifted at the last second. He caught her ear instead of her cheek. But it still hurt like hell.

“Get off me!” Tess yelled. Squirming, she kneed him in the groin. He groaned. Tess managed to sit up, slamming her elbow into his chin. He fell back, and she scrambled out from underneath him.

Tess and Abe both dove for the rifle. But Abe got there first. Pointing the rifle at Tess, he rose to his feet. “Well, guess this didn’t end the way you planned.”

Still on her knees, Tess glared up at him. In her mind, though, she said her goodbyes. Her life flashed before her eyes, dominated by images of Dev, Missy, Shawn, and Pax. She pictured the four of them together.
I love you,
she thought, and then held her breath.

Abe smiled. And then his smile turned to an expression of horror as he was yanked into the air by an angry Kong. The rifle went off. The ground right next to Tess was torn up by the bullet.

Kong roared and slammed Abe into a tree. The tree cracked and bent. Tess cringed at the sickening thud Abe’s body made. Then he flung Abe’s broken body into the trees.

Kong stared down at her, breathing hard, rage coming off him in waves. Then he turned, scooped up the dead bigfoot, and disappeared into the trees.

Tess fell back, her stomach rolling. Her breaths came out in pants. She couldn’t tear her gaze from the spot where Kong had disappeared. Then she turned on her side and threw up.

CHAPTER 130

A
fter the incident with Kong, Tess had made her way slowly back to the group, feeling numb. She’d looked for the toddler on the way back, but she had no doubt Kong had found him and brought him back. And when she’d reappeared at the rendezvous point, it seemed that no one had even noticed she’d been gone. She’d grabbed a blanket and sat on the tailgate of Eric’s pickup.

Now the sun was dipping below the horizon. All the private military individuals had been arrested and taken away, but the tribe and Eric’s ranger friends stayed on. Someone had made a fire, and dinner soon followed. But Tess knew it wasn’t the food that kept everyone here. It had been a once-in-a-lifetime event, and no one was ready to let it end.

The last few rays of sun hit her face. It was going to be a gorgeous sunset.

There had been no sign of the bigfoot since Tess had last spoken with Frank and Mary.
Or since I saw Kong.
Tess knew they wouldn’t come back while all these people were here. But she hoped they’d come back one day. She wanted to see them again. She just hoped they wanted to see her again, too.

Dev came and sat next to her, pulling her into her arms. “You all right?”

“I think so.” She lapsed into silence. “It all seems unreal, now, doesn’t it? Like it was a dream.”

“Yeah. But it was a shared dream.”

Tess nodded to the group around the fire. “Do you think they’ll all keep this a secret?”

“You have nothing to fear from the Hoopa and Klamath,” he said. “My people have respected bigfoot long before you folks were around. They’ll keep the secret. As for everyone else… I don’t know. What do you think?”

Tess looked around. Eric had called in many of his ranger friends, and Shawn had brought in so many SEAL buddies, too. It was amazing. It was a tribe. The bigfoot had needed help, and Tess’s friends, and friends of friends, had jumped in to pitch in. Humans might be violent, but they also could be amazing.

“Well, Shawn trusts his guys, so I do too. As for the rangers, I think they’ll stay quiet. I mean, no one really believes bigfoot exists anyway. That hasn’t changed. And there’s still no proof. And these guys… they respect nature. They know what would happen to these parks if the bigfoot were exposed. So yeah, I think they’re safe for now.”

“Did Shawn make it back to the valley where the chopper crashed?” Dev asked.

“Yeah. He retrieved the camera that was on the chopper and he doesn’t think it was linked. So that should be the only copy. He’s going to oversee the cleanup, and then he’ll head back to the cabin.”

“How many soldiers were killed?”

“Believe it or not, none."

"Not even the pilot?" Tess asked remembering the crash.

Shawn shook his head.  "Nope. Oh, he's in bad shape but he'll make it.  As for the rest, there’s a bunch of broken bones and some concussions, but everybody’s breathing.”

“Well, that’s good news.” Tess shuddered, though, as she remembered Abe’s death. She should probably tell someone, but right now, she was a little too raw for that.

“Hey, you all right?” Dev said. “Do
you
want to head back?”

Tess looked over her shoulder at the trees. She did, but she needed to check and make sure the bigfoot were really gone. “In a little bit. I think I need to go for a walk, clear my head.”

Dev kissed her on the forehead. “Just be careful.”

Tess gave a rueful laugh. “I’m pretty sure the firefight scared off any predators in the area.”

“True, but be careful anyway.”

Tess hopped off the back of the truck. “I will.”

Dev headed over to the group by the fire, where Eric poured him a cup of coffee. Tess watched the camaraderie for a little bit before slipping into the trees.

It felt good to stretch her legs. As she walked, the forest noises returned, and Tess breathed in deep. This is what she needed—a reminder of the peace of the forest, not the violence of today.

She made her way to a little brook and took a seat on a downed tree at its bank. She sat and just watched the water rippling over the rocks. Small fish surfaced and disappeared. The sun pierced through the trees. Tess sat there for a good long while, letting the peacefulness flow over her.

Goodbye, my friends. I hope to see you again.

Tess stood and dusted off her pants. With one last look at the peaceful scene, she turned for the camp.

And went still.

Standing twenty feet away from her was Kong. He had a few scratches but no major wounds. She squinted but couldn’t make out where Abe’s bullet had hit him. She was surprised at the relief she felt. She realized she viewed him like a grumpy uncle: he never had a good word for you, but he was still family.

Kong seemed to be inspecting her as well.

“Hi,” Tess said.

Kong grunted at her, and Tess couldn’t help but smile.

Kong covered the distance between them in three strides. He stared down at her, and a vision of the juvenile in the cage popped into her mind. Tess gasped. “He’s your son.”

Kong didn’t say anything, but he held out his hand to her. An apple lay on his palm.

Tess looked at it in surprise.
They only feed you if they think you’re worthy.
She reached out and took the fruit with a shaky hand. “Thank—”

Kong was already striding away. But then he stopped, paused, and walked back. Tess looked up at him. He patted her twice on the head. Then he turned again, and disappeared into the woods.

A laugh burst from Tess, and she hugged the apple to her, tears springing to her eyes.
I like you too, Kong.

CHAPTER 131

Two Days Later

Queens, New York

D
eloris Cameron sat in the small cramped office of Abe Cascione and Associates. There had never been any “associates,” but Abe had liked the sound of it. The office contained only two rooms: a small reception area and Abe’s office. There was a shared bathroom down the hall that Deloris tried to avoid using at all costs. The whole building reeked of cigarette smoke thanks to the pool hall on the first floor.

She’d been watching TV all morning. The governor of California was in lots of hot water over his decision to let a private army loose in a state park. The Feds were thinking about bringing charges against everyone involved, including the governor.

A few of the soldiers claimed they’d found and even killed bigfoot. They said there’d been a whole group of them. But they didn’t have any proof. The bodies, if there had been any, had disappeared. The public seemed divided over whether or not they were telling the truth.

Carter Hayes had even jumped into the fray, releasing a statement claiming he had a hair sample that was conclusive proof that bigfoot did in fact exist.

Deloris hobbled over to the TV. Her arthritis had been acting up this last month, and she’d forgotten to take her meds this morning. She switched the TV off. The ensuing silence was startling. She realized she’d been playing the footage of “The Assault in Rogue River,” as the media had dubbed it, nonstop for the last day and a half.

She looked at the clock. 10:59. The second hand seemed to echo through the room with each tick. 10:59 and 30 seconds. Then 45. Deloris’s heart began to pound.

11:00.

She closed her eyes and pushed away from her desk with a sigh. She had known this day would come. You didn’t work for a man like Abe Cascione for the job security.

She went to his office and took down the picture of dogs playing poker that hung behind his desk, revealing the office safe. She turned the dial with a shaky hand: 37-23-35. Marilyn Monroe’s measurements. It popped open. Abe had made sure she knew the combination, although she’d never before been allowed to open it.

And she had hoped she would never have to.

Abe wasn’t a nice man. He wasn’t a decent man, or a good man. But he’d taken on an old woman as his receptionist when most people hadn’t even allowed her to interview, and she was grateful for that.

Deloris pulled open the door. In the safe were a few file folders and several stacks of money. But what she was looking for was right on top: three manila envelopes. Deloris wasn’t sure what was in them, but she had been told that if she didn’t hear from Abe in forty-eight hours, she was required to mail them. That had been a running requirement whenever he went out in the field.

She closed up the safe, stopped back at her desk, and picked up the three flash drives she had updated this morning from Abe’s drop box. She dropped one in each envelope, noticing there was already a hefty stack of papers in each.

The first envelope was addressed to the local FBI field office. The other envelopes were addressed to the
New York Times
and
CNN
.

Deloris sealed the packages, hefted them into her arms, and headed for the door. If she hurried, she’d make it in time for the noon mailing. Then she’d come back and clean out her desk. It would be her last day. And right before she locked the office for the last time, she’d be sure to grab all that money from the safe.

She didn’t think Mr. Cascione would mind. In fact, he’d be disappointed if she didn’t.