The Investigators, Inc. The Dangerous Prisoner Case. Chapter 4. The Shooter.

That letter which was sent to us and Kristina read to me, did not give much information. Who wants us to stop looking for Acadia? Timothy hired us to find her, so obviously he did not send the letter. Besides, it would never make it through their screening process before it gets mailed. Trapper perhaps? But how would he know that Timothy hired us? One of his two visitors? Now that is something to consider. We need to know who they are and quickly.

The killing starts at noon, the letter said. Which noon? Home noon I would guess. I told Sky to make sure everyone stays indoors the rest of the day, that will mess up the killers schedule. I also told her we would implement our new “hide and seek” plan to keep the children safe. Next I called Mandar and told him what is going on. “That is not good news Steve,” he said, “yes, we will get things moving quickly on our end.” “And tell no one where they will be hidden, not even me,” I reminded him.

“Yes, yes, my good man,” he said, “my memory is still very good, no need to remind me. I have also started up a new team, which I call Team 0, which presently has 12 highly and specially trained women on it and eventually there will be 20. They are specifically to help you and your team and will be sent to guard the children and any of the girls you send to look after them.” “Thanks Mandar, you are a great friend,” I said, “I will be sending some cats along too, they help a lot with the kids to keep them calm.”

“Very good idea,” he said, “and you know, my legs have been getting itchy lately, and since I am in your neighborhood, perhaps I will pop around and look at the situation myself.” “Well, that could be dangerous,” I said, “Trapper is a rather cold, tough individual.” “My good man, he is a criminal, and acts like an animal, because he is,” he said, “but I was not born to sit behind a desk all day every day. I will be there in time for breakfast.” “I am sure that Trapper will be here too,” I said, “he never misses breakfast here apparently.”

Well, Sky, Honey, Carolyn, Engla and Angel will go along with the children, and so will Snow, Red, Squirrel and Chester. Before Trapper and his men went back to their fortress, Matt and his Knight Riders arrived. It was perfect timing as Trapper and men had just come out of yet another store and were filling up their jeeps with stuff. The Riders went directly to them and Matt asked where the best club in town was. “Down the street, but it doesn’t open this early,” said Trapper, barely paying any attention to Matt. The guys got off their bikes and started looking at the jeeps.

“Poor quality,” said Matt, shaking his head. Wee Willie took hold of a door and ripped it right off. “Very badly made,” laughed Willie. “You will be paying for that!” exclaimed Trapper. All the guys laughed when they heard that. “Hey, look, food in this one!” called out Burk. The guys began tossing stuff all over the street and laughing. That was too much for Trapper, so he and his men began to pull out their guns, but Matt’s boys pulled out theirs faster, with some bigger guns too. “Now, you boys put your guns down on the street, right here,” said Matt, “or my boys start shooting. Your choice.

But don’t wait too long, my patience is short.” So they did it. The spot was right next to a sewer. Oskar picked up the cover with one hand and kicked the guns into the sewer. Then they continued to toss everything from the jeeps onto the street and some things into the sewer. That was too much for Trapper though and even though the Knight Riders were big, the fight was on! It was a bad mistake for Trapper and his boys though and they were in rough shape at the end of it all. Oskar picked up Trapper and dropped him into the sewer too, after Matt told Trapper that when the Knight Riders are in town, the Riders rule.

Then they rode down the street and booked into another hotel. As they pulled Trapper out of the sewer I was standing on the sidewalk with 4 of the girls, plus Jennifer. “Best to stay away from Matt,” I said, “they were just having fun today, but don’t get them angry or they will crush you like a bug.” “You know them?” he asked. “He has a large criminal organization in Europe,” I said, “they are a tough bunch.” “They will find out that I’m tough as well,” said Trapper, “they will regret today.”

“I just wonder what they are doing here?” I mused, “Definitely out of their territory. Must be money to be made here somewhere. Oh well, none of our business.” “And what is your business?” asked Trapper. “Just a vacation right now,” I said, and we went back inside. “I don’t trust him,” said Trapper, “but those Knight Riders are the problem right now, I say Timothy hired them.” “Doesn’t matter,” said Tony, “they can’t get in our fortress.”

Meanwhile, back home. Sky, the children and the girls going along were on their way to a new hideaway for a while. Over at the clinic, however, things were basically normal, though they too were on quiet Red Alert. That just means that everyone is on heightened alert, but everything is basically done normally. That meant that Dr. Kerstina went out on the back patio for lunch at noon. There were four guards from Team 5 on the patio at the time. “You really should be staying inside,” said one of the men. “I like to have some fresh air for a bit,” she said.

That was the last thing she said as she suddenly fell over, having been shot right through the heart. There was a helicopter in the air already and it went quickly over to where the shot came from and spotted a man running through the treed area. They tried shooting at him but there were too many trees in the way and finally they could see nothing but spotted a small house among the trees and called the police. The police arrived quickly, but they found no one in the area at all. So the search continued further afield. After everyone was gone, the shooter came out of a small underground hiding spot and flagged down a car driving by.

He claimed his car would not start and needed a ride. The driver said okay and the shooter climbed in, immediately shooting the driver and taking his car. He switched license plates, which would help for a little while and hid the man’s body in that underground hiding spot. Then off he went and came to our chateau. Mariia was talking with two of the guards outside the front door as the car drove up. The shooter rolled down the window and with one shot, Mariia fell, then he drove off fast!

The guards shot several times, but the car kept going. The car was found not too far away and the driver was dead, shot twice. Mariia was not dead, but was in very serious condition, Dr. Jorgenson did not think she would live. Kristina forwarded the information to me. Whoever made the threat did not waste time. Neither will we. At dinner Trapper and some of his men were back at the restaurant. So was another man in dark clothes and two beautiful women accompanying him at his table. Then along came the Wildcats…

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.