healthy. He had evaded the bullet and arrow season after season, learning the habits of those who pursued him. Raife would hunt him alone, on foot, with a weapon that had existed for ten millennia. If one of a million little things didn’t go wrong during the stalk, where the buck had nearly every advantage, Raife would put a handmade spruce arrow through his lungs. The meat would sustain the Hastings family during the brutal Montana winter and provide an all-natural source of nutrition for Annika and her baby. God willing, their child would one day hunt one of the many sons or grandsons that this buck had sired. The cycle would continue, just as it had since the first hunters roamed the earth.
“How old is he?” Reece asked, breaking the silence.
“Eight, maybe ten. He has the face of a really old buck, and I found his sheds from last season. They were a bit bigger than what he’s wearing now, so he’s a little past his prime. He’s a smart one. Look at how open the country is around him. He can sit in that spot and see anyone or anything coming up from below. If anything tries to get him from above, he’ll hear it on the rocks. He has the wind in his face most of the time and he only has to walk a few yards to feed, which he probably does at night.”
“What’s the plan?”
“I’m going to come in above him. I’ll do it barefoot to avoid making noise coming over the rocks.”
“What are the winds like around here?”
“I’ll wait until the middle of the day, when the thermals will make my scent rise. I’ll get as close as I possibly can and wait for him to stand.”
They hiked back down the ridge to where their trucks were parked at a pace that allowed them to talk.
“The ranch has changed a lot since college,” Reece said.
“Thanks. It’s been a lot of work. My dad did most of it while we were deployed. The land was overgrazed and overlogged when we acquired it. There was so much fuel on the ground, a fire would have been catastrophic. There’s no money in getting a bunch of dead trees out but we did it anyway. We did some careful burning and a lot of reforestation. The natural grasses are healthy, and we’ve thinned enough of the timber to let some vegetation grow. We are struggling a bit with the grizzlies and wolves, but that can’t be helped. Overall, our elk herd is coming back from the winter kill a few years back and, as you can see, we have some beautiful deer.”
“I got to experience revitalization similar to that in Africa. When we started really hammering the poachers, the game figured it out and moved back in. I wish I could have stayed longer to see how it all turned out.”
“Uncle Rich has kept it up as much as he can. Dad and Thorn actually started a foundation stateside to help keep up the fight. They wouldn’t be where they are now without you starting it up and showing them how effective antipoaching operations could be with the help of some modern targeting and intelligence practices.”
“That’s one of the ways the Agency found me.”
“Well, that’s what you get for showing off. When is your girlfriend coming out?”
“She’s not my girlfriend… she’s um…”
“It sure is funny to watch you get all flustered whenever her name comes up.”
“If she can get away from work, she’ll be here Labor Day weekend.”
“If we’re lucky, we’ll have the backstrap from this buck for dinner during her visit.”
“I’m sure she’ll be impressed.”
CHAPTER 21
Saint Petersburg, Russia
GREY STUDIED REECE’S HABITS like a chess player would a worthy opponent. He would only get one chance. Once the element of surprise was lost, the hunter would become the hunted. Grey had no intention of becoming Reece’s prey. His strategy would be to lull Reece into the complacency of his tranquil surroundings and then strike fast and hard. He had built an initial plan, and it was time to present it to Zharkov. His boss had been patient with him, but there was very little in it for the organization; he wouldn’t approve using his resources for a reckless venture. The elder Zharkov wanted Grey’s attention back on running counterintelligence operations for the bratva.
Grey gathered his files and put everything into a manila folder. After shutting down his computer and locking it in the safe, he slipped on his