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Stiles hit the accelerator, holding his breath as Roscoe shimmied over the ruts in the dirt road. He was lucky that he had made it to a section of the Preserve where he knew this road like the back of his hand.
Just a little further...
The SUV that was chasing him fell behind a little. Stiles had to hope it was far enough for him to do what he needed to do.
Earlier, a shot from the Hunters had taken out his rear window and embedded itself in the passenger seat. He had heard another ding of a shot hitting metal but since everything seemed to still work, he'd have to worry about it later. If there was a later.
Okay. There! Stiles got ready. He killed the lights so that he was working in the dark but his followers wouldn't be able to see what he was about to do. He used the clutch to slow down the Jeep as he spun the wheel to take the blind turn into the woods.
It was more path than road but the opening was wide enough to allow the Jeep to get completely off the road and out of sight. The turn itself was more than ninety degrees, so the Jeep was mostly facing the way he had just come. The underbrush helped slow the vehicle and Stiles stalled the engine so that he wouldn't have to use the brakes. The Jeep shuddered to a stop.
He flipped the switch that controlled the inside lights so it would stay dark and then slipped out of his seat and into the woods. He didn't have time to grab anything from the Jeep, he would only have what was on him. But that was enough for now.
The SUV had slowed to a crawl and Stiles could hear the men in the vehicle swearing.
"Where the fuck did he go?" the man in the passenger seat growled.
"He can't have gone far," the driver replied.
"You should have had the spot lights in the car, not in the back!" the passenger argued.
"I wasn't expecting him to just show up!" the driver protested.
Stiles snickered to himself. He and Peter had suspected there was something fishy about the meeting Scott had asked him and Liam to attend. Stiles was supposedly representing Scott's pack to negotiate a mutual assistance treaty with the McInnis pack. The meeting was with two 'wolves and two humans but Scott had given him no specific goals and anything Stiles suggested to be in the treaty was immediately shot down by the McInnis'.
Liam seemed clueless about what he was supposed to do and why he was even there. He had taken a long weekend from his college classes and met Stiles at the hotel where the negotiations were to take place.
"I guess you can look bored and let me do all the talking," Stiles told Liam.
"That's all I can do, I guess," Liam shrugged.
"Contact Scott and see if he wants you to do anything," Stiles suggested.
"I did that." Liam sounded frustrated. "He's not answering his phone. So I left a message and asked him to get back to me."
"Anyone else you can call?"
"No one that can give me any information," Liam replied. "And I need to be back to class on Tuesday. I have a mid-term that I can't miss. Scott knows that."
"I'll make sure to get you out of here," Stiles promised.
There was one last meeting scheduled, supposedly to 'tie up loose ends' with the other pack. Ten minutes before the meeting, Stiles texted Liam.
Don't go to that last meeting. Stiles wrote. I don't trust them. I'm leaving town now. I suggest you do the same.
But what about the treaty? Liam wrote back.
Fuck it. Stiles had written back. Go back to your classes and blame me for sending you home.
Scott was unlikely to take the failure of this plan off out on Liam, especially since Scott had bit Liam. It was the best Stiles could do for the 'wolf.
Stiles had identified the SUV tailing him out of town and texted Peter that he was being followed. He had lost the vehicle for a while but, since he was going back to Beacon Hills, he had regained a different tail as he neared the city line. There must be watchers on all of the routes into Beacon Hills. His suspicions were confirmed when someone had jumped the gun and taken shots at him as he drove down a deserted stretch of road.
Stiles watched as the SUV drove down the road a short distance past his location before stopping. He saw the two men get out of the vehicle and open the rear and bring out what he assumed were the spotlights the passenger had referred to.
Knowing the Jeep would be spotted once they started to look with their bright lights, Stiles moved away from the Jeep and deeper into the woods. He had planned ahead by wearing dark clothes so he would blend into the woods.
He texted a quick cabin to Peter as he started moving and put the phone into a secure pocket without waiting for a reply. The uptick in noise told Stiles when the hunters found the Jeep. He flitted quietly toward his goal.
There was a low light inside the cabin, just enough to be seen once anyone got closer to the cabin. Stiles skirted around the cabin to their meet-up.
He reached the tree that was his goal. He reached up to grab the rope that would help him climb to higher branches.
Peter was there waiting for him. Stiles took Peter's hand to haul him up the last bit and drew up the rope after himself.
It wasn't long before the hunters came into the area. They flashed their spotlights around and stopped as they identified the cabin. They held the spotlights on the cabin.
"Come out, little boy!" A voice taunted.
Stiles rolled his eyes but didn't move. They were up high enough that they shouldn't be spotted. They had scouted the area thoroughly and the branches below them hid them from all but the closest search.
"Come out now!" This time it was a demand.
A moment of silence. Then the hunters used their weapons to shoot up the cabin. The hunters waited a few minutes and moved cautiously forward to check it out.
Stiles grinned at the swearing when the men realized the cabin was empty. They swept their spotlights around.
"Fuck it. He's gone. If he was even here."
"Someone's not going to be happy that we lost him."
"He's probably headed home. The others will pick him up there."
Stiles stiffened. His dad!
Peter put a reassuring hand on Stiles' shoulder and squeezed. Stiles took a quiet breath, held it for a moment, then let it out.
Stiles lay his head on Peter's hand and breathed. They waited until Peter couldn't hear the men anymore before they moved.
"Is dad okay?" Stiles asked.
"Derek is with him," Peter said calmly. "And Jordon. He'll be fine."
"So, it was all a trap," Stiles admitted sadly. Fucking Scott. He wanted to demand answers but it wasn't worth the risk. "What now?"
"You know what I think," Peter said calmly. "It's up to you."
Stiles was torn. He suspected -- hoped -- that once they confirmed there was a trap, that if he left town with Peter his dad would stay safe. Scott had no reason to be jealous of the Sheriff and would likely call off whatever deal he and Deaton had made with the hunters.
Stiles sighed. "We should leave town. It's the best of the bad options."
"You sure?" Peter asked.
Stiles nodded. "Dad and I talked. He knows I'll be with you and he has Derek and Jordan. And he knows we're going only because of Scott. And fucking Deaton."
"We'll reach out once we land somewhere," Peter promised.
"I had him get a couple of burner phones," Stiles admitted. "So we can call once we pick up something for us to use."
"Good," Peter said. "They've driven off and I can't hear anything in the area. It's safe to go."
Stiles knew that leaving his Jeep was the only choice he had. He had to hope Derek or Jordan would come looking for it and hide it. If Scott saw it, well, Scott would never understand the implications if he saw the vehicle parked anywhere but Deaton would make some intelligent guesses if he knew someone was taking care of the Jeep for Stiles.
Stiles used the rope to help climb down the tree. Peter drew it up so it wouldn't be found. He easily climbed down the tree to join Stiles on the ground.
"Sorry," Peter said softly.
"Not your fault," Stiles shrugged.
"You had hoped."
"It was a faint hope," Stiles admitted. "But we have time on our side."
"We do."
"We can be a pack of two. That will do." Stiles took a breath. "For now."