Solo Ranger

Chapter 14: Beyond the Trees

Daine and Mira had overpowered the guards near the restricted trail that night one had a broken shoulder, another limped heavily, and the third had a shallow gash across the ribs. Minor injuries, enough to keep them subdued.

They didn’t head for the bunkers.

Instead, they took the guards to one of the oldest outpost cabins, built long before modern surveillance systems came into place no power lines, no signal jammers, no security cameras. It had been a communications relay point once, back when the department had used analogue gear. Now it was overgrown, dust ridden, but intact.

They threw open the creaky door and pushed the men inside.

The air smelled of old resin, mildew, and time. Cobwebs hung thick in the corners. An old wooden table still stood under the cracked skylight. There were no electronics just the bare minimum: wood, rusted iron, and silence.

“Sit,” Mira ordered.

The guards obeyed. Their hands were tied at the front, legs restrained but not too tight enough to keep them grounded, not panicked.

Daine placed his flashlight on the table, angling the beam upward. Shadows danced across the ceiling.

“Talk,” he said, no hint of threat in his voice. “You saw what we found.”

None of them responded immediately. Mira crossed her arms, leaning on the doorframe, watching.

“The body buried in your restricted zone,” Daine continued. “Officer’s uniform pants. Official boots. Whoever he was he was one of us.”

Still silence. Then the youngest of the three lean, unshaven, eyes flickering—spoke.

“Ren Kael,” he said hoarsely. “That was his name.”

Daine didn’t move. “Go on.”

“He was a forest officer. Strong field rep. Six years in . Got pulled into this mess when his family his wife and kid were threatened. They said they’d vanish if he didn’t cooperate. So he played along. Took hush money. Guarded activities when told. Looked the other way.”

Mira stepped forward. “And then?”

“Then he changed,” said the second man, the one with the shoulder wound. “Started pulling back. Said he was done. Said he’d report everything. Even prepared a statement. Said he’d confess to save his name... and bring the rest down.”

“And that,” Daine said flatly, “got him killed.”

A nod.

Mira’s voice was low. “Who gave the order?”

The men glanced at each other.

“We don’t know exactly,” said the third, blood caked at his temple. “But the real ones behind it? We know them. Everyone in this network does.”

He started listing.

“Verin Solnix,” he said first. “Owns that conservation NGO. He talks sustainability, runs eco-parks, gets foreign grants. But he's the one coordinating land grabs and moving supplies underground. Real estate and wildlife don’t mix, unless it’s for profit.”

“Rylos Entan,” said the second. “Heavy metal industrialist. Manufactures gold smelting units. Has tunnels and smuggle routes that run through protected lands. Pays good money to officers who look the other way.”

The third added, “Teylor Vance pharma baron. Runs drug trials in villages. Pays locals to disappear. Uses parts of the reserve as controlled zones for illegal trials new compounds, banned tests. Needs remote zones, and someone to keep rangers out.”

Mira wrote as fast as they spoke.

“There are two more in the network,” the youngest said. “Officers. Still in service. One’s senior admin level. The other, always in the field, auditing camps. Not sure of names. Only heard them referred to as Whisper and Torch.”

“Torch?” Daine raised a brow.

“They say he burns evidence. Cleans out entire sites. Never leaves a trace.”

“And Whisper?”

“Man never raises his voice. Never argues. But wherever he visits, someone goes missing. Either bribes or silence. But he’s in deep.”

Mira looked up. “But you don’t know who they really are?”

A shake of the head.

“Not by name. They don’t use their original designations anymore. No badges. Just movement and orders.”

Daine looked at them for a long time, then spoke.

“We’re not here for vendetta. We’re here to bring it all down. You cooperate, you stay breathing. You try to play both sides, and we drop you where we found you.”

The three men nodded, not in fear but in the quiet compliance of people who had seen enough to know what side of history they stood on now.

Mira stepped out into the night. “We’ll stay here tonight. They’re injured. Can’t move much. We’ll rotate shifts.”

Daine stayed behind, staring at the old officer’s report book left on the shelf yellowed and forgotten.

“So much started long before we even arrived,” he muttered.

“But we’ll be the ones to end it.”