"Then I think my 30/06 would do better than that stick." Harry sat up. His leg was numb where the buckshot entered but otherwise felt manageable. He got out of bed, and they both dressed. He wanted to be sure they dressed well, thinking they would be outside for quite a while. But he really did not want to run – not again. He would kill the bastard if things got to it, although the few times he has killed were unpleasant.

"Shit," he said, and said it about four more times. "Why the hell does it have to come down to this?" He ran to the front door and looked out. It was late night, almost ready for a new day. He smelled ozone in the air and sensed more snow on the way. He heard nothing and ran back to the bedroom.

CJ was closing up the backpacks complete with bags, and tent.

"Are you sure you heard motors?"

"Yes,"

"Were they close?"

"How am I supposed to know," she said, and thought a little, and said, "They did seem muffled. You know, like they were off a bit."

"Ah, it's just the snow. They probably want to sneak up and surprise us. I don't think he knows he hit me with that scattergun. But I'm all right now. I feel good. We should sneak out the back window with the shoes and make for the ridge over east. We can keep an eye on the house. He'll think we are still here if there aren't any footprints out front. And then we can pick them off. I'm tired of running.

He opened the window and looked out. It was lightening.

"Nothing." He tossed the bags out one at a time.

"What about the wolves?" she said.

"The sound of the engine will scare them off, don't worry."

"You know how to use them things?"

"What, the snowshoes? A little bit."

Harry had worked in cold climates before and even hiked through the Alps. Snowshoes came in handy during heavy snow. He went out first, walked to both corners of the house to look for movement, and then came back to get her and she slipped out and jumped to the ground.

"I haven't had to do that in a while," she said.

Harry helped her fit the shoes to her feet, and then he put his on.

They ran east to the deep ravine which was hidden from the house and to a point where they could see the front door of the cottage, and as it came into view, he thought he could see movement. Harry stopped and threw himself and CJ to the ground behind the safety of the berm. She fell face first into the snow and came up sputtering.

"Look, did you see that?"

"No," she said a bit annoyed. "I couldn't see anything cause my face was shoved in the snow."

"I think I saw someone go into the cabin. I think it was Skinny and someone else."

"Shithead," she said. "His other bodyguard."

What he saw were two men in winter clothing, one in a ski suit with a Russian sable hat followed by a shorter man with a down suit, and ski cap. Both appeared to carry rifles.

It began snowing. The large heavy flakes came down very thick making it difficult to see too far. Harry took his pack and rifle off his back and set them aside. He checked his rifle and made sure that the safety was off and that it had ammunition. He cocked it and a shell appeared. It only held five bullets, so he checked his pack for more, but couldn't find any. He didn't expect an all-out gunfight, but it would be nice to know he had more.

He kept his eyes on the house, waiting. It seemed like a lifetime. He noticed the chimney was spewing heavier smoke, the lights were on and the windows were steamy.

All of a sudden, the front door opened. He half expected the fat mother in an apron to come out as he had seen before, but it was Shithead. He came out and looked around with a rifle in his hand. He stood for a good five minutes without moving an inch. He was waiting, listening for something. Then he walked around the building.

He must have seen the tracks, because he came running from around the back and into the house. The door closed; he was inside.

"They've found us out," he said to CJ as he turned to her, but she was gone. Her pack was still there, but she was not.

                                                                         .....

CJ sat next to Harry nervously looking towards the house. She was not sure how things would turn out. She knew that Skinny always came out on top, and her confidence in Harry waned.

What was I thinking, she thought. I owe Skinny a lot. And she looked over at Harry who kept his eyes on the cabin. He was checking his rifle, cocking it to bring a bullet into the chamber.

Harry had been good to her and treated her as if she mattered. Assuming that they could get away from Skinny, what then? What chance did they have of making a clean get away? Skinny would eventually catch up to them, not for her but for the gems. Greedy bastard. And if they killed him and Shithead, would Harry turn in the gems? Would he turn her in?

She couldn't take prison. Jail was bad enough. Those fat lesbians in Reno's jail were more than she counted on. It seemed to her that for her whole life she had been the object of someone's sexual desire. After a while, it wasn't rape. She felt like a punching bag. And Harry was the only one who could take her away from that. But she was sure he would dump her after it was over. Without the gems, her life would be shit once again.

She needed to put an end to the tyranny she had lived under for all these years and she did not want Harry to get hurt. Her resentment for Skinny grew, and she no longer felt drawn to that abusive relationship. She wanted to see his balls in the palm of one hand and a knife in the other and him pleading for her to stop. She wanted to hear him beg for mercy, for forgiveness, and then she'd put out his lights for the last time. Let them put her in prison. At least she'd be free of him; she'd be free. Then she could bury her past and start anew. Maybe Harry would wait for her, and they could spend the rest of their lives together traveling to exotic places and digging up bones together.

Slowly, she dug the gems out of her bag and put them inside his. Then, while he was looking at the cabin, she sneaked back. She was going to kill the sonofabitch.

As she headed back to the rear window, she heard them yelling to one another.

"I know you're out there," she heard him say. And she jumped up to the windowsill and pulled herself inside.

                                                                            .....

Harry ran back after her footprints and saw her heading for the back of the house. She crouched by the escape window and waited.

He could now just barely see the front of the house.

She was taking off her snowshoes. She looked back at him, waved, and motioned that she was going to go back inside. Harry motioned wildly with his arms that she should come back.

"That's a really bad idea."

He was going to go back and somehow make a diversion for her sake to distract Skinny.

But that was not necessary. Skinny had come out on the front of the porch and yelled.

Harry hurried back to his original position and watched and aimed the 30/06 at his target.

"I know you're out there," Skinny said. "CJ, honey, why don't you two come on back in and we can talk. Huh? I don't want to hurt no one." He checked his gun and cocked it. He had a long-range scope.

Before Harry could reply, Skinny turned his attention inside the cabin.

Harry could hear CJ screaming from inside and shortly she appeared with Skinny behind her holding onto her arm. He put the tip of the barrel in CJ's face. "I don't like playing games, asshole. Why don't you just come on in and give me the stones."

"What makes you think I have them? Let her go, and we'll talk."

He had her, so he must have the jewels too. Harry couldn't figure it out. Then he saw Shithead crossing the back of the cabin trying to sneak up on him. Harry fired a shot at Shithead and nearly hit him and he stopped and sat behind a tree.

"You just stay right there Shithead." He searched his bag, thinking that he might find the gems, just in case. There, on the top was the bag. They jingled like before. He put them in his pocket and added a bit of rope.

"I'm a pretty good shot with this thing," said Harry. He got up and moved about thirty feet toward Shithead. He knew that Skinny was probably very good, too, and crazy enough to kill her.

Skinny and Shithead were skilled hunters and killers, but Harry was well prepared to hide in the snow for any length of time, and he still had the snowshoes. He continued moving toward the bodyguard, who was moving again to where he thought Harry was.

Harry hid behind a laurel bush until Shithead stepped in front of him. "Don't move. This time I won't miss."

Shithead stopped and dropped the pistol at Harry's command. Harry took the rifle Shithead had slung over his shoulder and he pressed the barrel of his rifle into Shithead's cheek.

He pulled the rope out of his pocket and handed it to the bodyguard and instructed him to tie one end tightly to his wrist. Then he pushed him to the ground face down, kneeled on Shithead, and pulled his hands behind his back and tied them together.

Things were looking up. But for whom?