Page 18 of Lucky Charm

“No, it was my grandfather’s nickname for him. Troublemaker.” Quaid unzipped the bag. A simpleCanon camera with a telephoto lens lay in the bag. He checked the slot. “Memory card gone.”

“Perfect.”

Quaid stood, camera in hand. “He was here.”

“And taking pictures? Part of his mission?”

“Not sure.”

“Possible he got caught?”

“Well, not taking pictures. The camera wouldn’t be here in this bag if that was the case. He was hiding it, and the rock formation told him where it was in this mass of non-descript land.” Quaid looked back into the crevice where the bag had been lodged.

“Anyone looking wouldn’t have known anything was there,” Hunt mused.

Quaid stuffed the camera back into the bag and zipped it. “Question is what was he taking pictures of?”

“That’s one of a few questions that should be asked.” Hunt lifted his weapon, using the scope to help narrow the sight of the dust cloud. Still no definition, but the fact it hadn’t dissipated was bothersome. “Let’s get back.”

“He could be out here.” The man shifted like points on a compass, searching.

Hunt struggled for patience. “Where? This isn’t anywhere anyone with half a brain would hide. There’s no protection. Which is why the camera is here and he isn’t. Quaid, I get it. He’s your friend, but he’s not here.”

“If it were Doogie, Carter, any one of your team, you’d keep looking.” Quaid’s fierce expression impressed him.

Hunt conceded the point but didn’t relent. “I’d hope I could logically sort through what either one would do. He’d have gone north into the mountains if he could. That’s what I’d do. That’s what you’d do.”

“I’m not going to leave him to die.” He looped the bag’s strap over his gear.

Hunt didn’t bother to state the obvious. Bag was here. Reid was not. He might already be dead.

“Let’s go. We’re running out of time. We should go north. Maybe you’ll find something Tommy and Doogie didn’t.”

Quaid gave him a terse nod, and he started back the way they came.

Five minutes into their walk back, Hunt stopped and activated his mic. “Alpha Five.”

“Here.”

“Get high. Check southwest with your scope.”

“What am I looking for?”

“You’ll see it.”

“Copy that. Stand by.”

Quaid finally realized he wasn’t following and stopped too. “What?”

“Dust.” Hunt didn’t offer any other verbal explanation. He pointed and passed Quaid as they entered the village.

“Alpha One. Do you copy?” Scott’s voice from Homeplate came in broken.

“Copy broken. Go ahead.”

“We’ve lost Overwatch. Storm moving in. Communication may be affected. How do you read transmission?”

He got some of the words and guessed on the rest. “Broken, Homeplate. Acknowledge weather and overwatch. Do you copy?”