The radio at the quarry came alive two days later.
You were helping June sort winter medical supplies when a man's voice whispered through the static.
"If this is Rowan's pack, don't say my name."
June stopped counting bandages.
You picked up the receiver. "This is the person who left the note. Are you safe?"
A rough breath. "Not for long."
"Can you come to the lodge?"
"Vale's watching the road. He has two men near the ridge. They're waiting to see who comes for me."
"Then we won't use the road."
"Listen carefully. The debt sheet isn't the only thing he changed."
You pulled a pen from your pocket.
"I'm listening."
"After the flood, he moved the north boundary stakes. He wants the quarry access road. He's told the western packs Rowan is sheltering thieves so no one will challenge him when he takes it."
The voice broke with a cough.
"Why does he need that road?"
"A timber buyer. Payment on delivery. He promised them a winter route. But his own road washed out."
June's eyes narrowed. This made Vale's timing less mysterious and more dangerous. If the quarry road carried trucks through the winter, the fragile slope above the creek could fail again.
"Do you have proof?" you asked.
"Copies. Ledger pages, the original survey, the timber agreement. I took them before I left."
"Where are you?"
"The old pump shed above the quarry."
You remembered it: a square stone building built into the slope, nearly hidden by the firs.
"Stay there. We'll come from the east."
"No." Panic sharpened his voice. "He's got someone watching the eastern path too."
"Then we choose another line."
The radio hissed.
"He's here," the man whispered.
The channel went dead.
You stared at the receiver.
June had already reached for her coat.
"We need Rowan," she said.
"And a route Vale hasn't considered."
On the map, every clear trail led to a watcher. Every sensible path was obvious. Your eye kept returning to the creek and the narrow strip of rock where its water disappeared beneath the quarry wall.
You knew that rock. You had once crawled through a gap there to measure the old drainage tunnel. It was ugly, cold work. It was also a way behind the pump shed that the roads did not reveal.
"You can't send anyone through that tunnel," June said when you showed her. "It's half full of water."
"Last spring. The creek is lower now."
"How much lower?"
You had measured the bank that morning.
"Enough for one person. Maybe two. Not wolves."
Rowan arrived at the map table before you finished explaining. You showed him the route, then the marks that indicated current depth.
"I should go," you said.
"No," he answered at once.
You looked at him.
He closed his eyes briefly. "That came out wrong."
"It did."
"The tunnel is dangerous."
"Yes. Which is why we take ropes, two radios, and a backup team at the outlet. I'm the only one who has been inside."
"Micah is smaller."
"Micah doesn't know where the support beam cracked."
Rowan's gaze went to the map. He was working, you could tell: not surrendering his fear, but making it share the room with the facts.
"You and Micah," he said finally. "June on the near bank. I take the ridge and draw the watchers away. We do not start until you test the current. If it rises, you turn back."
"Agreed."
"If Orren has already been taken, you do not chase."
"Agreed."
"And you check in at every junction."
"There are only two."
"Then you'll have no trouble remembering."
You folded the map. His hand caught yours before you could leave.
"I trust you," he said.
"I know."
"I'm afraid anyway."
"I know that too."
You squeezed once and went to gather the ropes.