For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Inside the casket was John, alive, but barely, and a note for me. The guards quickly took John and our medical team, except Li Jing, back to the hospital. Li Jing will stay here and look after Muffin at home. Snow will stay with Muffin too, but Tiia wants to come with us. She had always admired MC’s backpack, so he had left it to her in his will.
Tiia is full grown now, though still a kitten in age. I think she will grow more yet. And she is a tough fighter too. The team was having a meeting in the library while Baldwin, Mandar and I sat in the kitchen eating donuts. Finally we were called into the library. The team had voted to put me back in leader one position now that my memory is back, and they had voted on something else.
But first, the note. It was a ransom note asking for 25 million dollars in gold, to be paid by 3pm tomorrow. Vince knew we had taken that much in gold from Menton and it is now in The Investigators fund. But we are not allowed to pay ransom for anyone on the team, not even my family. The team had voted to change that rule however, so that would free up the gold to use for the ransom.
“No,” I said, “the team cannot do that, or our enemies will be kidnapping us all the time for ransom. But, I have that much in gold of my own, the gold that Kat and I found in Hermit Pete’s old cabin way back. I can use that, since it is my own.” “That will not work, my good man,” said Mandar, “your enemies will not know the difference and if you pay, then none of you will be safe from future kidnapping.”
“Mandar is right Steve,” said Baldwin, “we simply cannot do it.” “Hmm, I guess you are right,” I said, “so that means we go and free them at once. I will call the Major and get an update.” I did so and he told me that his men had them trapped in a house, but when they went in, Vince and the others were nowhere to be found. Now the people who live there are threatening to call the police and sue them.
Interesting idea. I called Rossana and asked if she had any information about these people. She told me the police have been watching that couple for some time, but have not been able to catch them doing anything yet, but they are believed to be involved in drugs and kidnappings. Major still had Frank and 4 others watching the home from a distance just in case.
I told him we would be there very soon. “Good,” said Crystal, “now they will feel the wrath of the Kat for real!” She was sitting beside me when she said that. I looked at her. Sounded just like Kat talking, so amazing. She looked at me, smiled and put her arm around me. We packed up and left right away, with me in charge once again. We arrived at nightfall and met with Frank.
He pointed out the house and we got in position. Rock and I went to the front door and I knocked. We could hear several voices inside, then all was quiet when a man came to the door. Just as he opened it, Rock smashed his way inside with me right behind. Mac and others came crashing in the back door at the same time. “What is going on around here?” shouted a woman.
“Be quiet” I said, “you know why we are here, now, where are they?” “I will call the police!” she shouted and took out her phone. Crystal kicked it out of her hand, then gave her a hard back handed slap knocking her to the floor. Rock picked up the man and put him against the wall. “Where are they?” I asked again. “I do not know what you are talking about,” he said angrily.
Rock then hit him in the stomach and the man crumpled to the floor, groaning. There was a staircase leading upstairs and it suddenly opened. Vince came out with a gun to Trisha’s head, another man followed with a knife to Sky’s throat. More men followed with knives or guns in the backs of the other girls. “We are leaving and you better not follow Steve,” said Vince, “or you know what will happen.”
“Yes,” I said, “but do you know what will happen right now?” “The wrath of the Kat!” yelled Crystal, which startled Vince and the other men enough and Crystal kicked the gun from Vince’s hand. That was the cue we all needed and the fight began!
After the fight was over, Vince, and the couple who lived in the house were still alive. “Remember me Vince,” said Mac as he stood behind him with a knife. “You cannot do that now Mac,” laughed Vince. But, Vince was wrong and Mac pushed the knife in his back and he fell to the floor. “That is for my little Buddy and Muffin,” he said.
The man of the house suddenly produced a knife and was about to attack Sky, but, “Thwock!”, and he fell dead. Meowi!=That for my bestest friends Muffin and MC! The woman was already bleeding terribly from scratches that Storm had given her on her back and face. We decided to let the police look after her…
To Be Continued.
Β©2023 Steve McLeod.
Yes
Great post! The action and suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. I’m curious, did the team’s decision to change the ransom policy cause any tension or disagreements within the group after the rescue mission?
Nette
https://bestdogsstuff.com/
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Thank you, glad you enjoyed this chapter. No, they were 100% in agreement before and after. More on this will be discussed in tomorrow’s chapter as we review things. Thanks for the follow, I will check your blog tomorrow.
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That’s what I call making quick work of Vince and his crew!! I hope the girls are unharmed!π€¨ Did Sky and Trisha get in on the mele?
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Yep, we were not going to waste time with these guys, they picked the wrong bunch to mess with. No, the kidnap victims were not in shape for helping out, so they stayed on the sidelines watching. Now it’s time for things to settle down for a while hopefully, though nothing will be quite the same anymore.π€π΅οΈββοΈ
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Yes, I agree… it’s very difficult when you lose someone close to you. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be good times again. You need to keep living your life to its fullest, while keeping them in your heart.β€οΈ
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Yes indeed, the series goes on, though admittedly I almost decided to stop it. But that was not the way to go. We now have Tiia there to help out and soon Snow will be ready to join in too.π€πΌπΌπΌπΌπ΅οΈββοΈ
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That’s right thing to do.π It will be difficult for a while. But things will be good again. Just different. π
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Yep, just have to bring the other cats in more and make a few changes to what I had planned to do over the next little while.ππ΅οΈββοΈ
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Yep! They will be thwocking and thumping on no time!ππ
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Yep, it will work out good I’m sure. Sometimes a change can be a good thing for the story.π€π΅οΈββοΈ
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Yes, it can. How are you holding up?
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I will have to change the next story a bit, since Muffin and MC were going to have their turn at being the main cats, but maybe I will use Muffin and Tiia instead.π€π΅οΈββοΈ
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That will work, or even Storm? π€
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Storm has had quite a bit of time lately, though I will likely use him and Muffin most of the time now.π€π΅οΈββοΈ
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It would fit well into the stories theme. He is the next longest cat team member!π
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Yes, that is true, even though he hasn’t been around long, but I guess about a year now.π€π΅οΈββοΈ
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Really? I thought it was much longer…π€
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It’s just my fantastic writing ability that makes you think that story time is real time!ππ΅οΈββοΈ
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It apparently is!π I told you, I get wrapped up in reading them!
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That’s okay, so do I! But I guess I should actually.π€π΅οΈββοΈ
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Well, it all does ruminate from your imagination. I think?π€π€
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Basically it does, though a couple of stories have been loosely based on real stories. Like the Case of Carrie’s Family.π€π΅οΈββοΈ
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Doesn’t every story start in reality? That’s where the ideas are born. π
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Hmm, and here I thought they were born in my brain. What did you think about Crystal using the phrase, “the wrath of the Kat”, more than once now, plus our reactions to each other when she said it.π€π©π©π΅οΈββοΈ
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I did take note of that. I wasn’t sure if she was using it to encourage you or if there was another reason. I was hoping to determine that as the story moves forward.π€ It’s almost as if she has assumed Kats’s personality.π€
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Yes, an interesting observation, perhaps to encourage me, or assumed her personality. Yet why? Or is she Kat? But that can’t be either, we buried Kat and if it was Kat I would be in trouble since I would be married to two women at the same time. That wouldn’t work too well. So, perhaps it is the first or second one that you mentioned. Kind of interesting anyway.π€π©π©π΅οΈββοΈ
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As you know… I’ve always had a feeling that Kat didn’t really die.π€π€¨
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That’s true, but still, it wouldn’t work out too well. I mean, I could get in serious trouble.π€π΅οΈββοΈ
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Well, not really. If you believed she was dead and was declared π dead… then you would be free to remarry. But, it would put you in a moral dilemma π¬π€ Who would you choose to be with?π¬π€π€π€
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That is a good point and that’s another good point. I think maybe I will pick that she was just trying to encourage me, for now. But she sure sounded like Kat. Still, Kat and Sky don’t look alike, but Crystal and Sky are basically twins. And we did a DNA check on them too. Plus we always do background checks and know the life history of everyone. Unless Annelie isn’t telling me something. Oh my…π²π©π©π΅οΈββοΈ
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π²π³ That would be a big surprise and shock!
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Not only that, it would be a big shock and surprise!π²π΅οΈββοΈ
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Yeah!! I know!!π²π³
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Guess we will just have to wait and see what happens.π²π΅οΈββοΈ
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Will you write about it tomorrow?π
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That is a good question to answer. Too bad I can’t answer it.ππ΅οΈββοΈ
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π I figured as much…
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The kittens are proving to be a big help to the team ! πΊπΊβοΈ Maybe Kat is still alive π€ π΅οΈββοΈπ©βπ¦±π©βπ¦°π©π©βοΈ
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Yes, the kittens will now play a bigger role in future stories! Well, if Kat is still alive, then Steve is in trouble! I can’t be married to two women at the same time.π€π©π©πΌπΌπΌπΌπ΅οΈββοΈ
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This was an action packed chapter. You went straight to the house and rescued your family and the team, not wasting time. I think the kidnapped victims will need time to heal. Like the kittens getting into the action although MC is missed. Have to see what happens next!
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Yep, no point in giving these people any chances to make things worse, or perhaps get away again. Yes, a period of healing will be needed, it was certainly a stressful time for everyone. I am sure the kittens will work into the story quite well, it will just be different now and that will take some adjustment for Steve and Muffin. Hopefully a period to relax and get everyone healed and ready for action again. We will have a nice vacation, but at home this time!π€π©π©πΌπΌπΌπΌπ΅οΈββοΈ
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π Home sounds like a better option for rest and recovery.
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Most definitely!π€π΅οΈββοΈ
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