Free King of the Dark Mountain by Galili Black Page A

were up here and got there just fine.”
    “But that was several weeks ago and there’s some debris ahead. It’s probably okay, but it’s better if we check to make sure.” Aleister had the portable GSP device out. He was squinting down at it. After a moment, he nodded at them. “Okay let’s go ahead, then.” The four of them kept closer together, so Ellie did not question Ted any further about their companions.
    She was beginning to feel hungry. She would have liked to stop and search the backpack for food, but she didn’t want to slow them down. They managed to get around the rocks in the road in front of them, afterwards it seemed to her the trail got rougher and harder to discern as a trail at all. It was also getting steeper.
    She held onto Ted’s sleeve to help stay balanced. She noticed a hawk circling in the sky above them; soon it was joined by another. Hawks were a good sign. Her old boyfriend had once told her that if you saw one, you should remember to take a look at things from a wider perspective. What a mystic that future Wall Street maven had been. The wider perspective now was difficult to obtain.
    The mountain seemed to be closing in around them and that was the way her future felt, closed off from view. Unsettling as that was, it was good to be able to spend time with Ted again, at any rate. Their old rapport seemed completely restored. In her undergraduate days, she had thought he might be a great man, a visionary even. When she became his employee, her esteem had diminished somewhat, but that had more to do with her own need to feel like an adult who could not be easily impressed perhaps. Now she thought her first impression regarding him might be right.
    It would be wonderful if he and the foreign guys in front of her really were onto some brand new thing that would transform the world. If it were the case, it would be an honor to have even a small part to play. It might even be the case that she would have a sizeable part to play, the way they were all behaving. With that cheerful thought she once again put her misgivings aside and quickened her pace.
     
    *
     
    Hez was driving along, thinking of the probable price of soybeans that year when he got the unpleasant surprise of blue lights in his rear view mirror. He glanced down at the speedometer which registered 60, five miles over the speed limit. These New Englanders knew that 55 really meant 60 didn’t they? He pulled over and took a deep breath. The cop pulled in after him and bounded out of the car.  “Please exit the vehicle,” he said.
    Hez got out, “What’s the problem, officer?”
    “Place your hands on top of the vehicle,” he replied. Another officer joined him and he proceeded to frisk him. He stepped away and the first cop said, “Turn around,”
    Hez took a deep breath, “What’s this all about?” he asked, straining to sound calm.
    “We have to take you in to answer some questions.”
    “About what?” Hez demanded.
    “All of that will be explained once we get to the station. Please follow us.” They took him by the arms and led him to the police car. 
    “I need to lock the vehicle,” he said as they were about to pull out. The car stopped.
    “Can you lock it remotely?” The driver asked.
    “No, it’s old fashioned. I have to go and do it in person,” he answered. One of them, Officer Perez from his name badge got out and opened the door. They walked over to the vehicle. Hez thrust his key into the driver’s side lock and turned it. He threw a regretful glance at the plant sitting on the floor board on the passenger side. He hoped it wouldn’t die before he got to return for it. “Will you be towing my truck?” he asked, but he didn’t get an answer. 
    When they got to the station, he was kept waiting for forty-five minutes before being led into a room with a stenographer and someone who must be some kind of detective. “Mr. McCane is that right?” he asked, motioning for him to have a seat.
    Hez