Worth A Thousand Words

Lara and Nathan made it to Cortez right at daybreak. The city was nestled in a valley canyon between the La Plata Mountain Range, the Ute mountain range and the Mesa Verde Ranges.

Mount Tenabo soared above the smaller ranges, reaching a height of nine thousand feet in the distance and beyond that, in the lightening skies, the haze of smoke spirals dotted the skyline.

His mothers home lay twenty minutes to the southwest and that was where he planned to be, as soon as his business with Agent Halburg was finished.

He needed to get home and grab Yolo; the poor dog was probably fit to be tied after being cooped up for almost three days now.

When they reached the Colorado Geological Research Center, they entered the long driveway that curved up to the stone and glass building and Nathan told Lara to pull around the back where he would enter the building hopefully undetected.
Things seemed quiet here, but he knew in town it would be a different story. Just in case, he unholstered the 9mm and got out. There was only one way in and out of the parking lot which circled behind the building and was bordered by a stone fence in the back where they were. Lara stayed with the Tahoe, and kept it running for sake of safety. Nathan got out, unlocked the door and went in to retrieve his briefcase.

Lara sat in the Tahoe and surveilled the area. It was a beautiful landscape here in Cortez. She was originally from Kansas, the flattest land around but since her career in the NBC she had lived and worked in Colorado Springs. She had no more than thought those thoughts when Nathan appeared and got back in, handing her the briefcase. She opened it and took out the binder that held her operation final. She flipped through some of the pages quickly scanning the contents.

"I can't believe you had this, Nathan. Thumbing through the pages I am seeing one name pop up over and over. This Claira Lottridge. It seems to indicate that she is a doctor. I wonder," Lara mused out loud. "And you have no idea how your mother ended up with this?" Lara asked him incredulously.

"Nope, she never did tell me. My brother told me to burn it when I showed it to him." Nathan confided wryly.

"Damn, I'm so glad you didn't listen to him," Lara murmured. Then on a whim she asked him one more thing. "Nathan, would you be willing to help me find out?" She asked him point blank in that unnervingly blunt fashion of hers that was slightly irritating and refreshing all at the same time.

"Find out what," he found himself asking.

"Who this Claira Lottridge is and where she fits into the scheme of things. I have a feeling she was an important part of the discovery of the virus and apparently she was working with your father at some point."

"I'm not sure of just how I could be of any help," he began.

But Lara had already honed in on key data, he could tell by her expression. "You can help me sort through all of it. I need your help Nathan. Trust me. Can you help me? Will you?"

Nathan found himself nodding even as his mind was screaming no. It went against his instincts and right now all his instincts were telling him to leave her to her own devices. He had a family to get to and they were surely worried sick. He said as much in one simple sentence.

"You'll have to come with me, then.

She was already putting the Tahoe in drive.

"I'll take you around to your Jeep," she stated, all business again. She pulled slowly around to the side of the lot where Nathan had been forced to leave his SUV and he got out and started looking around on the ground for his phone which he knew he had dropped somewhere here, but it was no where to be found.

Lara got out and came around. "Its not safe to stand around here in the open Nathan," she mentioned loosely.

He turned and faced her, and they looked at each other for long uncomfortable moments.

"I'm sorry, I guess," she started, feeling awkward, an emotion she hated, as the memory of their parking lot encounter floated around in her mind. It was a horrid feeling, like the rejected feeling one got from a one night stand the morning after upon realizing you really weren't wanted there anymore. She sighed.

But he shook his head. "Nothing to be sorry for. You were doing your job," he assured her. "I'm more on the thinking your feeling bad about losing Ramiro."

He had no idea why he said that and the look she gave him said she didn't know why either. Her brows, finely sculped over those stormy blue eyes melded together into a frown, but before she could respond to the callous words, a thundering explosion rocked the valley in the distance, echoing off the canyon walls so loudly that Nathan dove to the to the ground taking Lara down beneath him.

He heard Lara's sudden intake of breath as she hit the parking lot. He knew she had landed hard. When he could finally shake off the confusion, he leaned back on his elbow and patted her cheek. "Lara! Lara come on! Wake up!" he hollered.

She lay, semiconscious but groaning in pain. Nathan pulled her up into his arms and struggled to stand up with her. He looked around in a daze wondering what the hell had just happened as he drug her to her Tahoe and shoved her into the back seat. He climbed in, slammed the door shut and sped down the long winding driveway to the road. There he stopped long enough to see a great mushrooming cloud of smoke, ash and dust billowing above the upland table right where highway 491 and interstate 141 would have intersected at the small hamlet of Dove Creek. Nathan was utterly transfixed. If he didn't know better, he'd think someone had just blown up the road between the two connecting highways. It was one point near the border that could block entry or exit to Utah. Lara moaned behind him and he jumped into action, gunning the accelerator. The Tahoe leaped forward with a jerk and Nathan was on the road and out of there.

He looked back at Lara off and on when she moaned or moved. There was a small stream of blood on her forehead where he was sure she had banged her head on the parking lot. Thankfully they weren't far from his house.

Nathan lived thirty minutes from his mother, near Animas-La Plata. A tributary property granted to him by the geological society. Occasionally he collaborated with officials of the Colorado River Storage Project when they had short term research or a task program and from time to time, he worked with college students in geological studies, assignments and field surveys. Otherwise he kept track of watershed levels and other vital statistics for the project on a regular basis.

His bungalow was situated on a large slice of land between two different tributaries and as he pulled into the drive, he was surprised not to hear Yolo bark.

It put him on edge, and he sat there for a long time looking around. There weren't too many people living in the immediate area, but it never hurt to be safe.

Lara stirred in the back seat and Nathan jumped out and went back there to assist her. He helped her to sit up and she asked him what the hell had happened.

"There was an explosion and we ducked but you hit your head. Let me get you inside and bandage it," he said calmly.

She put her arm around his shoulder and he helped her out of the back seat and together they walked up to the house. Nathan eased her down to a rocking chair on the wide veranda and unlocked the front door and helped her inside, and down to the bathroom where he cleaned the small cut and put some ointment on it before closing it with a butterfly bandage. "I guess we're even now," he chuckled looking at her almost adoringly. "Those little head cuts always bleed like a sieve," he said lightly, cupping her face in his hands. "I'll get you a couple of Tylenol and you'll be good to go."

She nodded and followed him to the kitchen.

"Nice place," she commented. "Is it yours?" she asked refusing to acknowledge his little remark.

"I thought you knew all about me Halburg," he answered playfully. "But yes, it's mine, and, it looks like someone has been here and gotten Yolo."

"Yolo?" she questioned idly.

"My dog. Probably Len. He would have been looking for me by now. Len, that is. I'm going to grab a few things and were gonna get out of here, okay?" he asked her.

She nodded.

He handed her a glass of water and gave her the bottle of Tylenol. Lara took advantage of his short absence to look around. It was a storybook setting. A little cluttered, but still nice. True professor style.

From where she stood in the kitchen which was more of a kitchenette, there were large windows around three sides giving one a view from just about anywhere they stood.

Nathan came back with two duffle's, went back to the bathroom and grabbed the first aide kit. "Ready?"

Lara shoved the bottle of Tylenol in her pocket and followed him back outside. He loaded the bags and went around to open the door for her, helped her in and got in the driver's seat. He took off without a word glancing over at her every now and again.

"I'm fine," she conjectured. "But I'm wondering, do you think that explosion was military?'

"I promise, when we get where we're going, we'll find out."

They looped around several back roads, climbing in elevation until from where they were Lara could see the city of Cortez below in the distance.

The area turned rural, and homes were few and far between. Although they passed driveways, the homes, if they were in there, remained hidden from view.

Some, you could just barely glimpse through the forested terrain, but they were only noticeable because they were situated high on a hill, isolated from onlookers purposely.

A light wind blew the tops of the trees and swayed the overhanging branches like a welcoming party. Below, Cortez sat like a silent ghost town in the canyon, a subtle reminder of what they were facing. Lara had a fleeting thought of Ramiro but steeled her emotions as Nathan turned into a short winding drive and pulled up to a sprawling, low-slung adobe and pole style house, more like a fortress to Lara.

She looked at Nathan. "Is this it?"

"Yeah, we're here," he said with a deep breath. "Get ready."

She heard them before she saw them, the two huge Anatolia shepherds tore from a vine enshrouded entry way and came barking to the Tahoe. Nathan got out and both dogs took turns jumping on him and running in circles, tails wagging violently.

They took off full speed back toward the house as one by one people of all ages came pouring around from the back of the house and came running. An older woman, presumably Nathans mother captured him in an embrace and wept openly as the others gathered around. When she finally let go of him, he turned to a younger version of himself and they stood smiling wildly at each other before grabbing each other in a warm hug. Two very young children grabbed his legs and he hoisted them both up on his hips and they hugged his neck and kissed him. He looked back at Lara and swung his head mouthing, "Come on."

Lara opened the door and slid out, and she too was surrounded and greeted with warmth. Nathan put the kids down and introduced her, right as two more vehicles pulled up the drive. Nathan turned, and the dogs ran barking as, yet another group joined the fray of finding out Nathan was alive and well.

An adept looking couple, who Lara would learn were a military husband and wife, and a young man with two young girls one of which was noticeably pregnant.

The military couple, Mark and Sherri, rapidly advised everyone it was important to get inside, relating their recent experience. The men unloaded containers of supplies and a few guns and Nathans mother, introduced as Donelle O'Connor, took Lara by the arm and led her into the compound. And it was indeed, nothing less.