06 Uncovering Hidden Treasure (12 page)

The adjoining bathroom has white marble walls
and floor. A large walk in closet is through a set of double
slatted doors. The white marble shower is huge with multiple shower
heads and a bench seat at one end. A picture of her and Rance
making love on the bench flashes across her mind and she angrily
shakes her head to erase it. Damn! Is she ever going to get past
this obsession with the man?

She walks back out into the family room
peaking behind the other doors opening into the room and finds two
more bedrooms on this floor with adjoining baths and a slightly
smaller room lined with built in bookshelves that is probably a
study or office. Upstairs she finds four more bedrooms all with
adjoining bathrooms and a cozy second living area or playroom in
the center. A second covered staircase leads down the outside of
the house to the ground. This house is perfect for the large family
she hopes to have some day. She loves it!

Samantha forces her mind back to reality
walking back outside and with one last glance back over her
shoulder at the beautiful house she climbs in her car and heads
toward the main ranch house and her task of finding the lost
cave.

When Stump arrives in Washington DC he heads
straight to the capital where the committee investigating their
last mission to Central America is meeting. He spends the rest of
the day being grilled by the Congressmen on the committee. When the
committee finally adjourns for the day it is well past dinnertime
and Stump is exhausted. He heads straight for his hotel where he
orders a sandwich and a fifth of whiskey from room service.

After finishing his sandwich followed by a
good stiff drink and a hot shower he falls into bed where his
dreams are haunted by visions of Samantha. He sees her sitting in
the wooden swing on the patio dressed in the long flowing white
gown with a halo around her head. When he reaches for her, she
disappears and then reappears in another location. Every time he
gets close to her, she disappears and then reappears further away.
His arms are aching to hold her and his heart is pounding with fear
because he can't get to her. He chases her all night and never
manages to catch her. When he wakes the next morning he is still
exhausted and very disturbed by the memory of his dream.

******

Late in the afternoon on the day Stump left
for Washington DC, the other members of the Drake Security team are
comparing notes about the Yellowstone investigation in the office.
Their first night of surveillance of the construction site did not
produce any leads.

Bear asks, "Where's Samantha? I would have
thought she would have been over here at some point today,"

Scoot says, "I don't know, I haven't seen her
at all."

Pinky says, "Jasmine said she was over at the
house early this morning. She talked to Leaf about the legend of
the lost cave but left around nine to come back over here. I
haven't heard anything since."

Scoot says, "Maybe we better find her. She
can be very reckless sometimes and I would hate for her to leave
here without telling any of us."

Barry Farrady walks into the office and asks,
"Hey guys, is the surveillance at the park producing any
leads?"

Scoot asks, "Hey Barry, have you seen
Samantha over at the house today?"

Barry shakes his head, "Other than when she
ran into the kitchen and grabbed a cinnamon roll and a cup of
coffee early this morning, I haven't seen her at all."

Bear says, "I'll go see if she happens to be
in her room. If she's not, we are going to have to find her. I hope
she hasn't gone to the park."

As Bear is headed down the stairs, he sees
Samantha coming out of the house headed toward the office. Relief
flows through him. He's still not sure what's going on between her
and Rance but he is concerned. He says, "Hey Sam, I was just coming
to check on you. Are you all right?"

Surprised Sam replies, "Of course, why
wouldn't I be? I have to show you guys something." She is carrying
her laptop and heads up the stairs toward the office.

When she walks into the office she says
excitedly, "Hey guys, come look at this. I think I know the general
area where the mine is located."

Everybody looks at her with surprise showing
on their faces. Scoot requests, "Well, share your thoughts with us
Sam."

She flips open her laptop revealing a
topography map. She says, "I have spent the entire day looking
through the stack of information that Leaf gathered from the
internet about the lost cave. When I take all of that into
consideration, I believe the lost cave and the mine are in the same
general area and from what I can tell I think they are both in this
area." She points to the map.

Pinky says, "Sam that is the same area where
the cabin is located where you were held after being
kidnapped."

Sam smiles and agrees, "Exactly. I don't
think they are mining for raw gold. I think they are trying to dig
a new shaft to the lost cave."

Scoot asks, "So you think that Jack Dempsey
is part of this?"

Samantha says, "Yes, I do. The night I was
kidnapped I thought it was strange that after they left me in the
bedroom they went back to the front part of the cabin but I never
heard another sound from inside the cabin. I think they left and
went to somewhere else in the surrounding area. My guess is they
are downhill from the cabin because Stump and I went uphill and
never saw anything. I have been studying all of the information
that Leaf pulled off the internet about the lost cave and a lot of
it points to this same area."

Goose says, "One of the things that bothers
me about this whole thing is what are they doing with the rock and
stuff they are removing from this mine, wherever it is?"

Sam says, "Well, the woods are very thick in
that area and they are probably just scattering it in the woods.
You wouldn't be able to see it even from the air because of the
thickness of the natural foliage."

Pinky asks, "Do you think we might be able to
pick something up on the infrared camera after dark?"

Scoot says, "Maybe, but I kind of doubt it.
You can't exactly sneak up on anybody in the helicopter. Besides,
Sam's right, the foliage is extremely thick through that area. It
is completely undeveloped."

Bear says, "Just playing devil's advocate
here, how can they be so sure they are digging in the right area or
in the right direction if they are trying to locate the lost cave?
It seems to me that it is a really big gamble. Also, wouldn't any
hammering or sawing echo really loudly up in the mountains like
that?"

Goose says, "That's a good point Bear. How
are they building the supports for this mine without making a whole
lot of noise that echoes throughout the whole park?"

Sam asks, "If they are doing the hammering
and sawing at the same time the crew is working on the new hotel
wouldn't the noise just blend in with it? No one would think
anything about it during that time, would they?"

Scoot says, "I don't know the answer to those
questions but Pinky and Bear need to hit the road if they are going
to be in place at the lodge before dark. We'll discuss this more
tomorrow."

Sam inquires, "Scoot, I wanted to ask you if
I can still go to my training classes at the park in the mornings.
I don't look anything like Susie when I dress for my ranger
work."

Scoot says, "Sam, until we know for sure
what's going on, I don't think you should leave the ranch. I know
you look really different when you dress up like Susie, but that is
no guarantee that you wouldn't be recognized. If these guys know
you have degrees in archeology and geology, they won't care if you
are a park ranger."

Disappointed, Sam says, "Oh, all right. I
just hate being cooped up here and not able to accomplish anything.
It was bad enough when my leg was broken, now it is unbearable. At
least I don't have to put up with Sump's harassment for a few
days."

Samantha returns to her room in the main
ranch house dreading the long night ahead. She was so exhausted the
previous night she slept very deeply but tonight she is not that
tired and every time she closes her eyes, she sees Rance and her
body aches for his touch. She just doesn't understand what happened
to make him turn off so completely, so quickly. A tear slides
silently from her eyes to the pillow. It is a long time before she
drifts into a restless sleep.

******

Pinky and Bear are alternating two hour
shifts monitoring the cameras at the construction site Around three
in the morning Pinky is watching when he sees a bobtail type box
truck back into the parking lot. He calls to Bear, "It looks like
we're up Bear. A truck just backed into the parking lot."

Bear glances over Pinky's shoulder and says,
"That's really strange. That is not the same truck we caught last
time on the cameras. This must be a really big operation. Do you
think they are planning to take a lot more stuff this time or
what?"

Pinky says, "I don't know but we better get
down there if we are going to put the locator on that truck." He
grabs the laptop and they make their way to their pickup and head
toward the site. Pinky says, "It looks like there are two of them.
At least that is all I am seeing going back and forth to the site
itself. The box on that truck should give us a little cover. If
you'll drive by slowly, I'll jump out and put the locator on. Then
you can come back by and I'll jump in the bed. What do you
think?"

Bear says, "It sounds like it will work. Have
you activated the locator yet?"

Pinky says, "Yeah, it's on. I'm going to put
it in the wheel well on the front passenger side. Stop and let me
climb in the bed of the truck. Watch the cameras and honk if it
looks like I might be in trouble."

As Bear drives slowly by the construction
site parking lot, Pinky jumps out of the bed of the truck and runs
to the front of the box truck. He places the locator and then
squats in front of the truck waiting for Bear to come back by. Bear
turns around and heads back to the parking lot when he sees the men
coming back into the parking lot. He stops and waits. The men drop
their load in the back of the truck and lower the door. Then they
head for the cab. Bear honks the horn for a very short blast as he
drives into the parking lot swerving badly. He rolls down the
window and calls out in an extremely slurred voice, "Say fellows,
is this the bathrooms."

The guy closest to him says, "No, they are
down the road about another half mile."

Bear says in the same slurred manner, "Oh,
okay, thanks." He backs out of the parking lot and proceeds
swerving down the road in the direction they had indicated.

While Bear drew the men's attention, Pinky
slid out from under the truck and disappeared into the woods next
to the parking lot. After the truck leaves, Bear comes back and
picks up Pinky.

Pinky says, "Thanks man. That was quick
thinking drawing their attention that way."

Bear says, "I'm just glad you weren't caught.
That was a close one."

Pinky opens back up the laptop and they watch
as the truck winds its way up the mountain toward the cabin where
Sam was held. Pinky says, "Well, look at that. Sam was right."

Bear says, "If they are using that truck to
do all of the sawing and hammering it would muffle all of the
sounds too. I just can't quite figure out where they are hiding
something that big,"

As they are watching the truck move up the
mountain they see it pass the location of the cabin and then
suddenly, the signal disappears off the screen. Pinky says, "Wow!
It must have pulled inside the mountain or something."

Bear says, "No wonder no one can find this
mine. If they are able to park a truck that big inside the mountain
they may have a whole city in there. Let's go tell the others."

By the end of his second day of testimony
before the congressional committee investigating their mission to
Central America, Stump is about to pull his hair out. These guys do
not know how to listen! They keep asking him the same questions
over and over expecting to get a different answer. What's worse, he
is looking at maybe as many as two more days of this torture before
he will be free to return to the ranch.

He returns to his hotel and follows the same
routine as the previous night. He orders a sandwich from room
service, followed by a stiff drink and a shower. Determined not to
be plagued by those disturbing dreams of Samantha a second night,
he finishes off the fifth of whisky before turning off the
lights.

*****

When Samantha wakes up the next morning, she
is very depressed. She doesn't know what she's going to do to keep
her mind occupied today. She showers and dresses, grabs a cinnamon
roll from the kitchen and heads over to the Drake Security office
to hang out with the guys.

When she walks in the door she is surprised
when Pinky hugs her and says, "Great job Samantha! You called it
right on the nose!"

Bear says patting her on the back, "Good job
Sam! I'm proud of you girl!"

Scoot says, "Sam, we're getting ready to make
a reconnaissance flight over the area, do you want to come with
us?"

Stunned by all of the compliments and the
enthusiasm Sam replies, "I guess, but where are we going?"

Pinky answers excitedly, "A truck showed up
at the construction site last night and Bear and I were able to put
a locator on it. It went straight up the mountain just past the
cabin and then the signal disappeared. We think that means they
drove it right into the mountain just past the cabin. We're going
to fly over and see if we can see anything."

Smiling now, Sam says, "Cool. Let's go!"

******