06 Uncovering Hidden Treasure (6 page)

Jim says, "Maybe you need to take a few days
off Susie. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll talk to Jeffrey about it. Thanks again
for walking me home," replies Sam. She walks into her apartment and
checks her sidearm to make sure it's loaded and ready. She doesn't
want to be defenseless if they decide to cause trouble.

******

The following morning Goose arrives early to
plant the bugs and two security cameras in Mel's bar. After he
finishes his task he is chatting with Jim Bradley, the owner. "Jim
I think you're all set now. We'll be monitoring them and let you
know if we pick up on anything about the mine."

Jim says, "I'm glad, let me know if you hear
anything concerning my waitress, Susie, too. I wish I could
convince her to take some time off. I think those same two guys may
be planning something concerning her. They were waiting for her
last night when we closed. I walked her home last night, but I
can't always do that. I'm really not comfortable with all of this
stuff."

Goose asks, "You think Sam is in danger?"

"I think it's possible. I don't like those
two guys at all," replies the bar owner.

"We're only twenty minutes away so I'm sure
we could have someone here at closing time every night to make sure
she gets home safely. No one would even have to know unless they
cause trouble, not even Sam."

"That would be great if you could do that. I
certainly would feel a lot better. Those guys are going to get
suspicious if I start walking her home every night."

When Goose gets back to the ranch he tells
the team about Jim's concerns regarding Sam's safety and the two
construction workers. Scoot sets up a schedule for the guys to take
turns being at the bar every night to watch Sam as she walks home
from work. Stump is not on the schedule.

Now Stump has one more thing to feel guilty
about. By saving him, Sam is now in danger. His stomach rolls
painfully at the prospect of Zeke and Jeb getting their slimy hands
on Sam. Anger simmers just below the surface. It must just be
anger, he couldn't possibly be jealous!

The Drake Security team is monitoring the
conversations from Mel's that evening when they hear an exchange
between Susie and the two construction workers. Stump tells the
guys, "That's Susie talking to Zeke and Jeb, the two that drugged
me."

Scoot compliments, "She handled that very
well. I'll give Sam credit, she's very smart."

Pinky nods and says, "You weren't kidding
about a sexy southern drawl. That doesn't sound anything at all
like the Sam we know."

Stump, encouraged that the guys might
understand why he didn't recognize Sam, entreats, "Wait until you
see her, she doesn't look anything like the Sam we know either!
Scoot have you got those cameras up yet?"

Pinky asks curiously, "Have you really been
flirting with her?"

Embarrassed, Stump reluctantly says, "Yeah, I
even asked her out."

Goose says unbelievingly, "She must be good
if she was able to fool you. I wouldn't have thought there would be
any way the two of you could even be in the same room without
arguing."

Scoot says, "That's enough guys, we're
supposed to be listening to their conversations. Here, come look at
the view from the cameras. It's dark in the bar but we have a
fairly good view."

Stump gets up off the sofa and glances at the
picture on the computer screen. He sees Susie and he has his usual
reaction with his member immediately springing to full attention
even though he knows now Susie is really Samantha. She is just so
beautiful. He never realized how beautiful Samantha really is. He
begins pacing around the office thinking to himself, damn, he's not
ever going to live this down, but his Dad must be right, some part
of him must really like Samantha for his body to respond to her the
way it does. Besides, the sex was unbelievable. He can't wait to
have that experience again!

Pinky looks at the computer screen and asks
unbelieving, "Is that really Sam? She certainly looks different all
dolled up like that."

Goose adds, "No kidding. Stump you need to
make up with her, she's absolutely gorgeous."

A wave of relief washes over Stump. The guys
do understand why he didn't recognize that Susie is really
Samantha.

Scoot says, "Goose, you're up first, so hit
the road. Call us if you need help."

******

Zeke and Jeb left the bar early tonight
because they have a special little party planned for Susie. They
followed her home the night she hauled Rance out of the bar to her
apartment and they know exactly where she lives. They hung around
the bar long enough tonight to make sure Rance didn't show up and
now they are waiting inside Susie's apartment for her to come home
from her shift at the bar. They've got a case of beer iced down, a
bottle of tequila, lime, and a full box of condoms. If she can
share that great body with a good for nothing like Rance Kincaid,
she can damn sure share it with them!

******

Goose is parked in the parking lot across
from Mel's Bar at closing time. He watches as a gorgeous looking
Samantha Wells exits the bar in her tight fitting jeans and low cut
t-shirt and heads across the street toward her apartment. Just as
she reaches the opposite side of the street a truck speeds down the
road, stops, grabs her throwing her in the back seat and speeds
away.

Goose jumps out of his truck and yells, "Hey,
stop!" The truck speeds away with Sam inside. Damn! He follows as
quickly as he can speeding after the extended cab truck. He calls
Scoot.

"Scoot."

"Sorry man, but we've got trouble. Someone
just snatched Sam off of the street. It looked like two men. They
are speeding deeper into the park in a dark colored extended cab
truck. It's either dark blue, dark green, or black. I'm trying to
follow but I don't know these roads."

"All right, I'll call the FBI and the local
police. Try to stay with them. We'll be there as soon as we
can."

Scoot disconnects with Goose and calls the
other guys. They all meet at the helipad within minutes. Stump's
heart is pounding with fear. Someone grabbed Sam. He prays it is
not Zeke and Jeb. Please God, keep her safe!

Flying over the park in the helicopter they
zero in on Goose's GPS locator in his truck. They haven't been able
to make contact with him since leaving the ranch. They find his
truck sitting wrecked in a ditch on the side of the road deep in
the park.

Scoot says, "Damn! Pinky get ready, I'm going
to lower you down. Then we'll make a pass around the area and see
if we can locate the other truck."

When Pinky reaches the ground he finds Goose
unconscious in the driver's seat of his truck. Checking him over he
finds a bump on the side of his head where he evidently hit the
side window when he ran off in the ditch. He doesn't see any other
injuries so he uses smelling salts and is able to wake him.

He asks, "Goose, buddy, are you all
right?"

Goose says, "Yeah, I must have hit my head.
Damn, I lost the truck with Sam! Pinky, you should see her. I sure
understand why Stump didn't recognize her, she is absolutely
gorgeous. She has an hour glass figure, beautiful hair ...

Pinky interrupts, "You better hope Evelyn
doesn't hear you talking like that. She'll kick you out of the
house on your sorry ass."

Blushing Goose says, "No, I don't mean it
like that. I love Evelyn more than anything, you know that. Let's
see if we can get this truck out of the ditch." The truck didn't
sustain any obvious damage but was stuck in the deep ditch.

A little later Pinky radios Scoot, "Goose
appears to be all right. He got a bump on his head and was
unconscious when I got to him. We were able to get the truck out of
the ditch so we're going to drive down this road a ways and see if
we can determine where they went. If we don't find anything we'll
head back to the ranch. Have you seen anything from up there?"

Scoot says, "No, everything is too dark. We
did get a hit on the infrared camera about two miles from your
location but we couldn't really tell anything about it before it
disappeared. It looked like three people though. It was there one
minute and gone the next. We're heading back to the ranch. We'll
resume our search in the morning."

Stump's heart is pounding with guilt and
dread. Sam is missing and he is so afraid it was Zeke and Jeb that
kidnapped her. They are some bad dudes and Zeke is obsessed with
her. He can't bear to think about what horrible things they'll do
to her. Please God, protect her! He's got to find her! This is
entirely his fault!

******

Samantha looks down the road both directions
looking for Zeke and Jeb's truck as she is leaving the bar. She
doesn't see it and relieved starts across the road toward home. So
she is completely surprised when a truck speeds up behind her, a
man grabs her and throws her into the back seat. The breath is
knocked out of her and she loses consciousness for a brief time.
Now her hands and feet are tied and a rag is stuffed in her mouth.
She is even more surprised that it is not Zeke and Jeb. She doesn't
think she has ever seen these two men before.

Whoever they are, they are driving like
maniacs and cursing about someone following them. She can't imagine
who would even know she's been kidnapped and this time she doesn't
have her GPS locater. Her jeans are too tight to carry something
like that. She does have her two shot derringer in her ankle
holster. At least she thinks she does, she's not sure if they found
it or not when they tied her feet together.

When Sam was kidnapped by the couple trying
to find Timmy Thompson, she had been able to activate her GPS
locator and the Drake Security team was able to zero in on her
location. The FBI stopped the car and rescued her that time.

After a while her current kidnappers slow
their speed and seem relieved they were able to lose whoever was
following them. When Samantha hears the helicopter flying above
them she is so excited, the Drake Security team is looking for her!
She prays they are able to find them and save her. They drive for a
few more minutes and then the men stop and hurriedly carry Sam into
the opening of what appears to be a mine! It's too dark to tell for
sure.

She is scared to death because she doesn't
know these men. When the interior lights of the truck came on as
they moved her she realized she has seen them in the bar but not
very often, maybe twice since she has worked there. She can't
imagine what they want with her. But then she hears the helicopter
fly away and disappointment flows through her.

Soon after the helicopter flew away, the men
put her back in the truck and drove some more. They were whispering
back in the mine but she couldn't understand anything they were
saying. After what Sam estimates to be about an hour they stop and
carry her into a small cabin and place her on a bed. They leave her
alone in the bedroom while they return to the main room of the
cabin.

******

Zeke and Jeb have been drinking and partying
all night at Susie's apartment. They have looked through all of her
lingerie and decided exactly what they want her to model for them
and it is laid out on the bed. They have gotten so drunk on the
tequila and beer while waiting for Susie to get home from the bar
that they have passed out on her bed.

Several hours later, Zeke wakes up and
realizes Sam never came home. He says, "Wake up Jeb! The bitch
never came home. That Kincaid bastard must have picked her up after
work. We may as well go home."

They walk out of Sam's apartment leaving the
empty beer cans in the floor, her lingerie strewn about the room,
and the condoms lying on the table beside the bed.

Before daylight the next morning, all the
members of the Drake Security team are on the ground near the area
where they spotted the three people on the infrared camera the
previous night. Because they have the exact coordinates they
converge on the location. When they reach the location they find
the entrance to what appears to be a mine carefully concealed by
natural vegetation. They find tire tracks made by an extended cab
pickup with a very unique tire tread but no one is in the mine. In
fact, the mine is only about a hundred feet deep and the timbers in
the support structure appear to be old and weathered.

Scoot says, "My gut is telling me that Sam
was one of the three we saw on the camera last night at this
location. This doesn't look like the mine we are looking for
though. This one hasn't seen any mining activity in years."

Bear says, "I don't think this cave was ever
intended for mining activity. I think it was created to be a
shelter or maybe a decoy. None of the marks on the walls look like
they were made by mining tools. I think they used it last night to
lose us in the helicopter and once we left the area, they did
too."

Stump asks as disappointment flows through
him, "So we're back at square one?"

Scoot says, "It sure looks that way. Goose,
get some pictures of that tire tread so we can match it later.
Stump, can you think of anything you heard that might give an
indication of why they would want Sam? She obviously didn't think
she had any information of importance or she would have told
Jim."

Stump replies, "No, I never heard anything.
Those guys never talked about Susie in any capacity except
sexually. They just wanted to bang her." A cold chill runs down
Stump's spine and a dark rage bubbles beneath the surface when he
thinks about Zeke or Jeb or any man for that matter touching
Sam.

Goose asks as he is snapping pictures, "What
about Sam's background? Maybe she has something in her past that is
of interest to them."

Thinking back over his conversations with
Sam, Stump says, "She told me one time that her grandfather was a
well-known archeologist and she also has a degree in archeology. It
is one of the reasons she wanted to move to Wyoming. She wants to
study the Native American history of the area."