Survival in Style

  Chapter 6: Plea Bargains

  I wasn’t prepared when the ranger station peeked into view. There were three buildings - one long and narrow and made of concrete, probably for injured animals or winter supplies; one with toilets and showers in men’s and women’s stalls; and one that served as Nelson’s home and office. The log cabin was charming, really, nestled against the bright emerald fir trees with its matching green roof. Its chimney spouted light gray smoke, like in a postcard. A red bird-feeder dangled from a red metal post so the squirrels couldn’t reach it. Dandelions dotted the neatly trimmed lawn, and the scent of firewood and fresh dirt filled my nostrils. It looked like a resort, not a potential prison.

  We crossed the lawn to the log cabin. Nelson opened the door for us, keeping his gun where we could see it, and made us walk through the entryway to the main room. It was a tidy home with a little wooden desk in the corner, a large hand-hewn table, and a kitchenette. Through the door to the adjoining room, I could see his cot-like bed with a bright quilt. On the far end of the room was a giant cage that looked like it could house a grizzly.

  “Get in,” Nelson told us. He shoved us inside and pulled the cage door shut. “And check out the key,” he said, pointing at the opposite wall. “Too far away for bears to reach, even if they knew what to do with it. And too far away for two young and very ugly cubs to reach.” He laughed at his own joke.

  I wrapped my hands around two cold metal bars, glaring at him.

  “Yep,” he said. “If that’ll hold a full-grown bear, you two don’t have a chance. Now excuse me while I make a little phone call.” He disappeared into the second room. I heard the beeping of cell phone buttons, and then his words. “Yeah, it’s me. Look, I got the boy, but there’s a little problem... no, nothing like that... There was another passenger, a little girl, claims she didn’t know him before they flew today... About fourteen or fifteen, I’d say... What? No, pilot’s dead... No, I didn’t have time to find it, but I bet it’s already sunk by now... Don’t worry about that. They’re not going anywhere. Got ‘em locked up good... What? Now wait a minute. I told you I don’t do that kind of work. No blood, remember?”

  I looked at Tony in horror. He put his finger on his lips.

  “Tell Drosnin I said no way! ...Good, glad that’s clear... What if someone shows up looking for them? ...Of course it could happen; didn’t you say the kid had his own care officer at the station?... No, no, you’re right. I’m sorry... Fine, then. But tell him I want extra since there are two of them... Bear cage, I said. Okay, thanks. Bye.”

  He came out looking smug. “That was Mr. Drosnin. Or, should I say, your friend Mike, who speaks for him. He’ll be by tomorrow morning to pick you up.”

  Tony pounded on the bars. “Do you know who Michael Drosnin is? International smuggler, known criminal?”

  Nelson snorted. “Of course. I used to work for him through high school - lawn maintenance with my father. He understood how much I loved nature, so he put me through college so I could become a ranger. I don’t care what he does or how he gets his money. He was good to me. I help when I can.”

  “Sounds like he set you up to be his stooge for the rest of your life,” Tony scoffed. “You’re still doing lawn maintenance for him.”

  Nelson smacked the cage bars. I flinched. He put his face so close to the bars that I could smell the clove gum he chewed. “I’m beyond that now,” he growled. “I have a degree. I make an honest paycheck doing what I do.”

  I couldn’t believe his hypocrisy. “You call this honest?”

  “See? He’s still using you,” Tony pressed.

  “Everyone can use a little extra cash,” he shrugged. “Especially when you’re about to get engaged.”

  “Noble excuse, then,” Tony continued. “It’s fine if it’s for a girl...”

  “Quit it,” I told him. “He’s the one with the gun.” A sudden idea ran through my head. I raised my voice to Nelson. “How much did he offer you? For us, I mean, not for helping with the ginseng.”

  Nelson raised an eyebrow at me. “Enough.”

  “Enough to buy a new car?”

  He shrugged.

  “I can pay more,” I said. “Maybe not in cash, but...” I removed my jeweled brooch from my cloak and passed it to him through the bars.

  He hesitated, then snatched it. “Pretty,” he said, holding it against the window. The sunlight sparkled off the rubies and diamonds, casting a prism of rainbow twinkles on the wooden floor. When he flipped the lid, the lighter ignited.

  “Took me forever to figure that out,” I said, a little jealous.

  “What’s this?” he said. “Some stupid toy?”

  I felt myself blushing. “My father’s a jewelry designer. That’s a piece in his latest line - Wilderness Glamour. It’s a real, working cigarette lighter...” He stared at me like he didn’t understand. “For when a person gets lost in the woods?” I turned to Tony for support, but his expression was just as incredulous. I realized how silly I sounded. My blush grew really hot and spread all the way down my arms.

  “Now, I haven’t heard that before,” Nelson hooted, bursting in the most obnoxious laughter I’d ever heard. “Rich people and their delusions... Well, this little trinket is cute, but I doubt that your daddy would let you run around with real diamonds or rubies.” He started to pass my brooch back to me, but then he added, “Still, my girlfriend is always pestering me to get her stuff like this. Maybe this’ll get her off my case for a while.”

  “It’s real,” I insisted, feeling like a freak. “That piece alone is probably two thousand dollars.”

  “Right,” he smirked. “And your watch has real emeralds.”

  “See for yourself.” Like a fool, I unclasped it and handed it to him.

  He frowned. “Now, this one does look real.” He started poking at it, like I had done. The pulsing blue light stopped blinking. “What’s it supposed to do?”

  “I haven’t figured it out yet.”

  “Hmm. Nice try, kid, but no cookie. I’d rather have cash any day.”

  “But the whole collection is worth thirty thousand or so!” I gestured to my earrings, but Tony pulled me away from the bars so Nelson couldn’t take anything else.

  Nelson just pocketed my brooch and the watch. “So maybe she’ll leave me alone for a really long time,” he said. “Look, do you think I’m stupid? If these are real, someone would ask where I got them from. Besides, I’d have to drive into the city or something to sell them, and I don’t like to leave my cabin. Especially not this time of year, when idiots like you go roaming through my woods and start forest fires with their careless sparks. You’re cute, though. It was a good story; I’ll let you keep your fake earrings.”

  “They’re real,” I mumbled.

  Tony shook his head at me.

  Nelson laughed again. He crossed the room to the kitchenette and filled a big stainless steel bowl with water, plus another bowl with crackers. “Lunch,” he told us, placing both bowls just outside the cage where we could reach them.

  “What are we, dogs?” Tony asked.

  “Hey, I don’t get many opportunities to entertain up here,” Nelson replied. “At least they’re fresh. And I have work to do today. In fact...” He paused and wrinkled his brow. “What is that smell?”

  I sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything.”

  “They don’t call me Smoky for nothing,” he said. “I’ll be back in a bit.” He snatched his binoculars from a hook near the door and ran outside.

  Through the window, I could see him climbing the ladder to a high tower. He went up fast and came down even faster. He came back inside and grabbed his car keys. “Fire,” he grunted by way of explanation. “Gotta run.” I nearly rolled my eyes when he paused and added, “Don’t look so surprised, kids. I am a ranger, after all. I love my job.”

  He gave a tug on the cage door to make sure we were securely locked inside, and then he left. Whistling.

  The ridiculous s
ound echoed as he got into his Jeep and drove away.

  I sat down on the cage floor. “Unbelievable.” I kicked at a bar for emphasis.

  To my surprise, Tony was grinning.

  “You remember when I said I couldn’t see a way out of this? I just found one.” He withdrew a slender black case from his pocket. The dull leather looked worn and old.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “My dad’s a locksmith, remember? And I, of course, am a locksmith in training. Been picking locks since I was three.” He withdrew two flat metal picks and inserted them into the cage lock. After poking around for a few seconds, it clicked open. “You may kiss my feet now.”

  “Gross.” I smiled back at him and stepped out into freedom. I kept an eye on the window, though, afraid that Nelson might come back. “I thought escapes in adventures were supposed to be harder.”

  “I’ll take what I can get. And besides, a Boy Scout is always prepared.”

  A surge of hope ran through me. “You’re a Boy Scout?”

  “Nope, but I always wanted to be one.” He gave me a three-fingered salute.

  “Oh.”

  “Don’t just stand there. Gather what supplies we can find and then let’s make a run for it.” He hurried to the desk and found a leather pouch with broken straps. He tied the straps together; it was long enough to loop over his shoulder and across his chest to the other side of his body. He opened the pouch and found a wrinkled map with markings all over it, like Nelson had crossed off roads or hiking trails.

  Meanwhile, I combed through Nelson’s cupboards and drawers. The man had serious bachelor issues; all I found were three chocolate power bars, two Army-issue meals, and twelve plastic packets of water. “Jackpot,” I said. I loaded them in my arms and joined Tony at the desk. “Hey, can I see your picks?”

  He handed them to me and shoved our rations into the pouch.

  The silver instruments were arranged from tallest to shortest, with some being flat and others rounded or hooked.

  “Help me look for anything else,” he said.

  I put his case on the desk and headed into the bedroom. “At least we won’t have to eat grubs,” I joked.

  He froze. “Do I hear whistling?”

  We both looked at each other at the same time.

  “Quick, back to the cage!” he whispered. He dropped the pouch - now bulging - beside the desk. We dashed back to the cage.

  “Oh, wait,” I said, putting my arm out, but he was too quick. The door slammed shut.

  “What?” he asked.

  I couldn’t say it. I just kept staring at his lock-pick kit sitting on top of the desk.

  His eyes followed mine. “You didn’t,” he gasped.

  Nelson threw open the front door and hustled to his bedroom “Welcome me home,” he sang, wagging his finger at us. “You kids have thrown me off my game. I never forget my cell phone.” He grabbed it and headed toward the exit.

  I couldn’t let him leave. “Wait,” I called. “I... I have to go potty.”

  “So go,” he said. “Pretend you’re a bear. I’ll clean up the mess tomorrow when you’re gone.”

  “Oh, my God!”

  “Have some decency,” Tony growled.

  “Please,” I whimpered. “I promise I won’t try to escape. Even my parents call me Teaspoon when we go on road trips...” I tried to work up some tears - which is never easy for me, because I tend to get angry instead of crying - but I’d been through so much that day that it was easier than I expected. Two tears welled up and splashed down my cheeks.

  Nelson relented. “Be quick. I have to douse a fire.” He got the keys from the far wall and unlocked the door. As it clicked open, he pointed at Tony. “Don’t you get any ideas. My gun is still loaded, you know.”

  Tony stepped to the back of the cage, hands up. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  I eased my way out of the cage, and then walked past the desk as innocently as I could. It was too near the front door for Nelson, and he stepped in front of me.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Outhouse,” I gasped.

  “We have indoor plumbing nowadays, even in the middle of nowhere.” He pointed at the bedroom.

  When he glanced over his shoulder to check on Tony, I snatched the black case and stuffed it my pocket. My heart raced so fast that I could feel my pulse in my neck.

  “Hurry up,” Nelson said, giving me a little push.

  I took the opportunity to really go to the bathroom - I figured it might be the last chance I got to use a real toilet for a while - and then returned to the cage.

  Nelson threw the keys at their hook, but they missed and fell to the floor. Still, he was in such a hurry that he left them there. He didn’t even whistle. He just slammed the Jeep door and sped away.