06 Uncovering Hidden Treasure (13 page)

The first pass the group makes over the
targeted area reveals nothing. Sam is very disappointed but when
she thinks about it, she is not really surprised. They obviously
have worked very hard at hiding the location of the mine. After
all, it has remained hidden for months, maybe even years. When they
make the second pass over the area Sam excitedly says,

"Look, right below that bare cliff. The
vegetation looks different than the other in the area. That is
going to be the location of the mine."

Pinky replies, "She's right. You can see a
slight difference in the color and texture of the foliage."

Scoot comments, "We're going to have to put
the area under surveillance for a while. We don't have any idea
what or who we're dealing with. We need to know how many men are in
that mine at any given time. This operation is evidently well
financed so they probably have guards or some type of security
system we need to check out as well."

Bear says, "Well, Terrence Wilbanks was not
one of the two guys that I saw taking the building materials last
night. I was specifically looking for him."

Sam shakes her head and says, "I don't know
what they think they have found, but I guarantee the lost cave is
not here. I don't see any signs of anything being shifted by an
earthquake, at least not any I can see from here. Plus, that cliff
looks very unstable to me. It obviously was created by a rock
slide."

Bear suggests, "Maybe they think the rock
slide hid the lost cave."

Sam replies, "I suppose it's possible they
think that, but I seriously doubt that it hid the cave. However,
the slide would give them cover for anything they removed. They can
just deposit it on top of the debris already there."

They head back to the ranch to plan their
next steps. As they pass over the small cave where she and Stump
spent their day and night together, tears cloud Samantha's eyes and
she angrily brushes them away. Damn Rance Kincaid anyway!

Bear is watching Samantha and he sees her
wipe away the tears. Stump has hurt this girl very badly. He hopes
that somehow they find their way back to each other. They make a
perfect match.

******

After his third day of testimony before the
congressional committee, Stump is very frustrated. He calls Scoot
to give him a report. He explains to him how the committee seems to
be focused on why it became necessary for the three members of
Drake Security to leave the area before the objectives of their
original mission were accomplished.

Stump has tried to explain to them every way
he can think of, how when Scoot was taken prisoner and tortured for
six weeks the focus of their mission changed to rescuing him and
the four other American men who were being held by the drug cartel.
No one even knew the other four men were captives until Scoot was
taken. Once they secured the rescue they had to escort the men back
to the states for medical treatment.

He has shown them pictures of Scoot and the
other four men whose identities are classified and hidden in the
photographs that were taken shortly after their rescue. He explains
that when the committee asked why Scoot was not present to testify
he had told them he was heavily involved in the current operation
for the government and would be happy to testify as soon as the
operation is complete.

He then tells Scoot that he expects to be
released to return to the ranch at the end of the next day's
testimony which should be around noon Washington DC time.

Scoot tells Stump what they have found out
about the search for the mine. He tells him how Pinky and Bear
managed to put a locator on the truck and then traced it to a
location that Samantha identified as the area where she thinks the
mine is located and how he and the other guys are going to be
staking out the area. Once Stump returns, he will be immediately
rotated into the stakeout schedule.

******

The morning after Scoot spoke with Stump he
tells the other guys and Samantha, "Well, Stump thinks he will be
back by some time tonight. We'll work him into the rotation either
tomorrow or the following day."

Bear looks over at Sam and sees her drop her
eyes to her lap and sees the color drain from her face. He is
concerned about Samantha. He can tell that she cares deeply about
Rance and is terribly hurt by his recent attitude. Sometime later
when Samantha stands and heads for the door, Bear follows her down
the stairs.

He calls, "Samantha, are you all right?"

Samantha takes a deep breath and turns to
face Bear. She replies with tears in her eyes, "No, but I will be.
I've survived worse and I'll survive this."

Bear responds, "Sam, Rance is a good man.
He's just very confused right now. Don't give up on him,
please?"

She nods, turns, and walks back to the house.
Oh God, Bear knows. He knows she and Stump had sex. She is not sure
how she knows, but she knows. She is so embarrassed.

******

When Stump arrives back in Cody just before
dark and heads to the ranch he is literally shaking with
nervousness. How is Samantha going to react when they see each
other? What is he going to do about this obsession he has for her?
He has got to find another way to deal with it besides whiskey. He
is sure to become an alcoholic if he doesn't stop drinking soon. He
can't go through the rest of his life in a perpetual state of
arousal either, but he doesn't know what he can do about it. Even
sex with the woman doesn't help. The more he has her the more he
wants her. What's worse, he ran into a female friend from DC that
he has enjoyed many nights with over the years and he couldn't even
stir up the least interest in her. Samantha Wells has ruined his
sex life!

When he walks into the office at the ranch he
is relieved to find Sam is not there. He breathes a sigh of relief
and greets the guys, "Hey, what's the latest?"

Bear says, "Hey Rance, I understand you had a
rough go in DC. Were you able to convince those Congressmen you
guys did what was best at the time?"

Stump shakes his head and says, "I don't know
for sure but I hope so. Those guys can be relentless. Not being
able to reveal the identities of the other captives doesn't help
matters. I think they would have been much more understanding if
they had known how lucky we were to find them at all and how
important they are to the country's security. I still can't believe
the CIA never reported them as missing. The whole mess really
didn't' reflect well on Drake Security. Those guys didn't like
being told I wasn't at liberty to release those names. It's a good
thing we have expanded the business to include more private
companies and be less dependent on the government. So tell me
what's going on here?"

Bear says, "Well, Sam pinpointed the area
where she believes the mine is located the day before we traced the
truck from the construction site. She believes they are trying to
dig a new shaft to the lost cave, not mining for new gold and it's
beginning to look like she is right. We've only been watching the
place for a couple of days but we have seen as many as ten
different guys coming and going from inside the mountain at all
hours of the day and night. The mine itself is evidently a very
large, very sophisticated place because they don't leave for meals
or bathroom breaks so we think they must have cooking, sleeping,
and bathroom facilities inside the mountain. The most confusing
part is we have been unable to identify any mining noises coming
out of that mountain."

"How have they gotten away with this for so
long? It's evidently been years in the making," surmises Stump.

Bear says, "We think they may have
connections to the very top of the park service. Jeffry Whitmore
has only been here a year and he has been looking into this almost
since the time he arrived. The operation is very well financed too
because this is not cheap."

Stump asks, "How is it that Jeffrey Whitmore
is not in danger? You would think they would want to get rid of him
if he is jeopardizing their operation."

Scoot says, "I wondered the same thing myself
so I checked him out. He is former CIA and so is Jim Bradley at
Mel's Bar and Grill. They were sent here specifically to
investigate this operation."

Stump says, "That may be, but it doesn't
explain why they aren't in danger. Who sent them here? Who did they
replace and where did those guys go from here?"

Scoot says, "Those are good questions and I
don't have the answers yet. I should hear back from my contact
sometime in the next couple of days with the answers. I am playing
this close to the vest. I haven't told Jeffrey Whitmore that we
have located the mine yet. We are still staking out the
construction site from the lodge so we are spread very thin. I told
him we weren't able to get the locator on that last truck. I'll
have to tell him after the next time though. Oh, Stump, Sam doesn't
know all this either."

Stump turns bright red with embarrassment and
says, "That's not a problem, I'm not going to tell her anything. So
are Goose and Pinky doing surveillance?"

Scoot says, "Goose is at the mine and Pinky
is at the lodge. You are going to need to be in the rotation
tomorrow so get some rest. Barry is going to use his disguise and
take a turn at the lodge if we need him. Bud has offered to join
the rotation too. I'm headed home. Bear, are you coming?"

Bear says, "Yeah, I'm right behind you."

Stump says, "Okay then. I'm going to turn in.
See you tomorrow."

Long after the guys left the office Stump is
sitting by the window sipping on a whiskey on the rocks and staring
at the wooden swing hoping to get a glimpse of Samantha but she
doesn't come. Finally, he gives up and goes to bed.

******

Samantha is sitting by the window of her
bedroom staring at the office. She saw Stump when he arrived back
at the ranch. She watched him as he climbed the stairs to the
office and her heart broke when he never even glanced her way. She
has got to decide what to do. Living here on the ranch with him is
just unbearable. She is considering requesting a transfer back to
Tennessee. Maybe if she puts hundreds of miles between them she
will be able to forget him.

If nothing else, she can always access her
inheritance. Maybe she will take a trip around the world or
something. Samantha was very surprised to learn when her
grandfather died that he had over twenty million dollars in the
bank. He and her grandmother certainly never lived like they had
money and they raised Samantha to pinch pennies and to work hard
too.

After a restless night, Samantha has decided
to call Jeffrey Whitmore and ask about transferring back to
Tennessee. She dials her cell phone.

"Jeffrey Whitmore"

"Hello, Jeffrey, this is Samantha Wells. How
are you?"

Smiling, Jeffrey Whitmore says, "Samantha! It
is so good to hear from you! I'm doing just fine. How are you
handling being in seclusion?"

Samantha says, "Well, that's why I called
you. I was wondering about maybe transferring back to Tennessee. I
really hate not being active and involved."

Jeffrey says, "Oh Samantha, please don't. We
want you to stay here with us. I know this is difficult but it is
for your own safety."

Samantha says, "I know, but I really would
like to go back or at least go somewhere else."

Jeffrey asks, "Is something else going on
Samantha that I'm not aware of?"

Samantha says, "Well, I am having some
personal problems and would really like to get away from the area,
at least for a little while. Please Jeffrey?"

Jeffrey thinks for a minute then suggests,
"I'll tell you what. I got a request from Glacier National Park for
some assistance on a temporary basis. Would you consider a few
months in Montana?"

Excited Samantha says, "Yes, that would be
great! Thank you Jeffrey!"

"I'll get the paperwork together and send it
to the ranch for you to sign. You should be able to leave tomorrow.
Is that soon enough?" asks Jeffrey.

"That will be perfect. Thank you so much!"
replies Sam as relief flows through her body.

******

Sam watches Stump as he leaves the ranch for
his first twenty-four hour shift monitoring the activity at the
mine. Once she is sure he is gone she heads over to the office to
tell Scoot about her plans.

As she walks in the office she says,
"Scoot?"

"Hey Sam, we haven't seen you since yesterday
morning. You haven't been sick have you?" asks Scoot.

"No, I have just been studying the maps of
the area. Listen, I came over to let you know that I am taking a
temporary assignment at Glacier National Park. I'll be leaving
early tomorrow morning."

Surprised, Scoot asks, "Really? How long are
you going to be gone?"

Sam responds, "Jeffrey said a few months.
Hopefully by the time it ends I'll be able to get back to work
here."

Scoot says, "All right Sam. Just be careful
and let us know if you need anything." He hesitates for a moment
and then says, "Samantha, you do know we are all your friends don't
you? Whatever has happened between you and Stump, we are still your
friends and you can depend on us."

Blushing Sam says with tears in her eyes,
"Thank you Scoot. That means a lot to me but I'll be fine
eventually."

******

That night during Scoot's shift monitoring
the construction site from the lodge a pickup backs into the
parking lot to load more building materials. Scoot calls Stump to
let him know he will be headed to the parking lot to place the
locator on the truck. When he arrives at the parking lot he watches
from the woods until the two men head back to the site to get more
materials, then he slips the locator into place on the truck and
silently slips away.

He watches the path of the truck on the
laptop as it makes its way back to the mine on the mountain past
the cabin where Samantha was held prisoner. He notifies Stump that
it is on the way and to pay close attention as to how they enter
the mine with a truck.