The Perimeter and the Pitfall
The Lance ridge was a vast piece of land crossing the Rocky Mountains like an ancient scar. It span thousands of square miles and only had two permanent dwellings. The forests were dense along its slopes and the game was plentiful.
It was wilderness, plain and simple, and it had been home to Marcus Applegate for a little over twenty years now. Marcus had always been a mountain man, growing up in West Virginia, and always surviving by his wits and the things his grandfathers taught him.
When he joined the Marines he excelled and rose through the ranks until he had decided he didn't want to rise anymore. He wanted to be in the thick of it, not directing from basecamp and it earned him respect from most in the corp.
He never imagined he would have such a wondrous home when he pulled a half dead Samuel Lance from a swamp infested valley twenty plus years ago. Damon Sr. and Angelica had sent for him and declared the land his. Marcus had looked at the deed and keys in disbelief for a long time.
In the end he decided to be the caretaker but he built his house with his own two hands - a small wonder of wood and stone with an actual stream running through it.
Still the Lances left it in his name, but he was a man who felt land was not owned, it was worked and taken care of - but could never belong to someone.
He was moving through the fog of the ridge. Words were unnecessary here where nature ruled. He was prepping the cabin and the "secondary" site. He had always been a believer in the old and the new so he set modern-high-tech traps and traps he learned from his grandfathers and from surviving on his own.
Jessica knew him well. She would not allow her sister to enter on her own. Amber would seek him out and wait. So he set traps over the entire property only allowing on maze like entrance and exit.
Marcus stopped at a narrow "pinch point" between two granite boulders. This was the only logical path up from the eastern slope. He knelt, his knees not even creaking despite the damp cold.
He began to set a "Tanglefoot" array—staggered loops of wire hidden in the tall grass. It was designed to catch a man at the mid-shin. To a high-tech predator like Sebastian, who would be looking for laser tripwires and heat signatures, a simple piece of wire was invisible.
"Gravity and friction," Marcus muttered, his voice like grinding stones. "They never run out of batteries."
He looked toward the main cabin. He began to prep a "Deadfall" near the secondary entrance—a heavy oak timber that would drop and block the door from the outside if a specific weight-plate was stepped on.
He wasn't just building a cage; he was building a labyrinth and an area denial. He wanted people to walk where he wanted them to. He wanted one trap or surprise to lead to another.
By the time the sun hit the peaks, Marcus had the ridge "talking" to him. Every wire was a nerve ending. Every raked patch of dirt was an eye. He looked through the trees he knew so well. All was set.
As he melted back into the dense tree line he thought about the stalker. Anger flowed through him. He would not allow a predator into his home. He would protect Amber and her husband and take all ten toes and fingers of the person who wanted to do them harm.
The Lances were family and you didn't hunt his family.
Even as Marcus finished securing the Lance Ridge Dan sat in the vast great room, absent mindedly looking at the holographic ceiling. He was worried. Ever since he saw that his communications system had been synced he had continually checked and rechecked the system.
Now he felt like it was time they left all together.
"You are worried?" He turned with a smile and pulled Amber to him, but he didn't answer her question. She sighed. "What are you keeping from me? I do not want to stress either." Her hand moving protectively to her belly. "But you do not keep things hidden well. I sense you worry and stress." She shrugged. "What had happened?"
He sighed, kissed her neck, and sighed again. "There is really too much to explain, but the heart of the matter is that someone has found us. They synced with the system. They probably didn't get much because Rebecca helped with it. The person would still need to work to get our location, and the sync was severed."
He paused and looked at her again. But she spoke before he could. "We need to leave?"