The Bear

"Settle down, Nicholas," soothed Max, grateful that the darkness concealed the grin he couldn't hide from his face.  "We're getting close.  I can see a light up ahead."

Grant should have been here instead, the dark-haired agent thought to himself as he trudged through the tall briars and branches behind his rugged companion.  But Grant's technical expertise was needed elsewhere, which left Nicholas riding shotgun and outside of his normal role within the team.

Suddenly, beneath a tall oak tree, Max stopped so abruptly that Nicholas almost ran into the back of him.

"What is it?" Nicholas hissed.

"Look," Max returned, pointing.  As Nicholas' gaze followed his finger, he could see Tim Thompson's cabin in the distance, partially occluded by a thick grove of trees.  But from their current vantage point, the teammates had a near-perfect view of Thompson and his cronies through the open living room window.

"We can keep an eye out from here," the blond advised.

As Nicholas crouched beside his friend and watched the cabin, his keen hearing picked up a slight rustling sound off to the right.

"Do you hear that?"  he asked tensely, his hand gripping Max's shoulder.

Max listened intently for a moment, but the rustling had stopped.  He shrugged.  "All I hear is crickets."

Nicholas shook his head as the rustling began again.  He turned slightly toward the sound and saw a tall, dark shadow approaching the pair.

"Max," Nicholas said urgently, squeezing harder as he slowly got to his feet.  A low-pitched growl confirmed his suspicion as to what was lurking a few yards away.

"Bear!" the dark-haired agent screamed.  A split-second glance revealed no place to hide, and Nicholas knew it was useless to run.  Instinctively, he began to shimmy up the nearby oak tree.

"What are you doing?" Max demanded, with one eye on his teammate and one wary eye on the dark shadow nearby.

"You got a better idea?" Nicholas grunted.

"Yeah," he answered, getting to his feet.  He whipped out his dart gun and aimed at the shadow, which was drawing ever closer.  As he fired, a soft thud and a slight groan from the animal confirmed that the tranquilizer had hit its mark.  However, the bear continued its advance unabated.

"What the hell?" cried Max.

"Max!" Nicholas called down from the oak tree, panic in his voice.

Play dead.  The thought fleeted through Max's mind.  But the bear was so close that Max could almost distinguish its features.  He'd never pull that off.  There was only one thing to do.

Max jumped up and grabbed a tree branch, lifting his long legs out of reach just as the big bear lumbered past the tall oak.

Neither men spoke for several long seconds, as Max scaled half a dozen branches and came to rest on a sturdy one just below and on the other side of his dark-haired teammate.

"You cut it close enough," Nicholas muttered, his concern for his friend disguised as irritation.

"I shot him!" Max retorted, panting heavily.

"Our knockout darts are no match for a grizzly that size," Nicholas said matter-of-factly.   He sighed heavily.  "Well, this is a fine mess we're in.  I'm sure it'll be harder getting down in one piece than it was getting up here."

"Not to mention that our furry friend may still be close by," agreed Max.  He glanced toward the cabin, and his lips curled into a grin.  "But, hey, at least we can still see Thompson from way up here."

Just then, Max saw the light flicker off.  He fumbled in his pocket for his communicator, almost slipping off his precarious perch in the process.

"Grant, Thompson's on the move.  Better make sure you're clear."

"Thanks, Max, will do," came the response.  "I'll see you guys back at headquarters."

"Right," answered Max before clicking off his communicator and shoving it back into his pocket.  He looked over at Nicholas.  "Let's get outta here."

"You first, Max."

The taller man needed no further prompting.  He gingerly descended the oak tree branch by branch until he landed on solid ground with a slight thud.

"I made it, Nicholas.  Come on down."

Not as agile as his blond teammate, the dark-haired man's descent was not as graceful.  A few feet from the bottom, his foot missed a branch and he tumbled toward the ground.

Max, seeing him slip, was able to reach out and partially break his fall.  "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Nicholas said tersely, thumping Max's shoulder gratefully.  "Now, let's go before we're lunch."

Stealthily, the pair crept back through the thick overgrowth until they reached the car.  Luckily, there was no sign of their furry visitor, but neither man drew an easy breath until they were safely in the car and headed back toward the team's headquarters.

The End

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