For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Jennifer had brought something new that Kat had invented, a new lightweight type of saddle that fits on our lion. That way one of the girls could ride the lion much like a horse, after all, it is big enough. This lion is about the size of a liger, which is a cross between a lion and a tiger and the offspring of such a union can get up around 1,000 pounds.
We weighed our lion and that is exactly what he weighs, plenty large enough to act as a horse in a pinch, like right now. The saddle weighs only 20 pounds and is soft and comfortable to sit on for long periods of time. Natasha is riding the lion since she is the healthiest of the 3 girls. Jennifer also brought some extra strong fabric and the guys cut some poles so they could make nice stretchers for the other 2 girls.
That makes it a lot easier for the guys to carry those girls and they can then walk much faster and stop less to rest. Around noon they did stop, however, and Rock was dreaming of some nice steaks, which of course they didn’t have with them. “Hey, there’s an old farmhouse down the road just a bit,” said Alizea, “maybe we can get some real food from them.” “Doesn’t hurt to ask,” said Kat.
So she, Sapphire and Carine went to see what they could find out. The rest followed along among the trees after crossing the road to the side with the farmhouse. Rock spotted an big, old truck in front of the barn and thought maybe they could borrow, or perhaps buy it, though it doesn’t look like it has moved for a long time.
The girls arrived at the back of the house where an older man and woman were working outside. Sapphire began to speak to them in fluent Russian and the older couple looked across the yard and saw the others among the trees. “You are the people who helped those young girls escape from the penal colony?” asked the woman.
“Yes, we are the ones,” said Sapphire, “but we are not here to hurt you, we were just wondering if you had some food that we could buy.” The woman looked at her husband. “If the police find out we helped,” said the man, “they will arrest us instead.” “So what, old man,” his wife answered him, “those young girls have done nothing and you know it, yet they end up in a penal colony. They are young, they need a chance at a decent life.”
“Okay, we help,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. The woman, plus our three girls, began making sandwiches from fresh baked bread and, real meat! She also gave the girls some cheese and two fresh pies. “I have to keep one for my man,” she said, “or he will grumble all week.” The girls laughed. While this was going on, Rock and Bear were helping the old man outside doing some chores that he was struggling with.
He could barely believe the strength of the two young men and he was so happy and thankful for the help they gave him. Unfortunately, that big truck didn’t have an engine, so that idea was shot down quickly. They were told a town was not too far away down the road and that they should stay away from it or risk getting caught.
Meanwhile, back at home. It was now evening and I haven’t heard yet from our team of rescuers since their noon visit with the older couple. It’s almost completely dark now so they should be stopping for the night soon. I was getting my evening massage but was exceptionally tired this evening. Perhaps too much worrying and not enough sleeping.
“I think we will have to stop so I can get to bed early Beryan,” I said, “I can just barely stay awake.” “Must admit, I’m nearly falling asleep myself Steve,” she replied, “so an early night is a good i..de..a.” She then fell over on top of me, however, I was already asleep and didn’t notice. Everyone in the room was now asleep actually, and that is not good.
“Take everyone, except this one,” said the head man, “I will leave her behind as a warning not to try anything stupid.” He then proceeded to beat her somewhat and left her on the floor. Then they all left with their prize and were long gone when Storm came to the door and meowed. But there was no answer. He then pressed his alarm button and the girls were at the bedroom quickly…but too late.
They found Beryan on the floor and yelled for others to go outside saying that I was gone, plus my bodyguards! Then they called for Samantha to come take a look at Beryan. Bridgette was there too and she came to check on the cats. Only Muffin, Azura and Ginger were in the room at the time this happened. Carolyn came up too and said the kidnappers used some type of gas to put us to sleep.
It didn’t take her long to identify it, something that could be helpful. A little later that evening several vans pulled up to a loading area at the airport, close to where a private jet was waiting. A man got out of the lead van, and others got out of the rest of the vans. “Hello Raven,” said a woman’s voice, “you have been busy tonight.”
“Well, look at this, Jazzy herself,” said Raven, “I heard you were running around again. How did you manage that one?” “I had nothing to do with it,” said Jazzy, “but someone with a lot of influence got all charges dropped, so they let me go. I wasn’t going to argue.” “Maybe the cops just wanted you out so they could follow you around and discover all your other enterprises,” joked Raven.
“If that’s the case, they will be very bored,” she replied, “now Raven, show me what you have there.” “Sorry Jazzy, this is my trip,” he said, and he went over to the back of the lead van. “Don’t move Raven, or you are a dead man,” said Jazzy calmly, “this is my territory and you know it. Now, what is inside?” Just then Raven and his men found themselves being surrounded by Jazzy’s men.
Raven looked around, then nodded to Jazzy. “Well done Jazzy,” he said, “you obviously know what I have in here, but how?” “When I found out you were here Raven,” she said, “I had you followed. I knew you must have something big planned. But I am a little surprised that you got away with it, considering that Steve is so well guarded these days.”
“I was a bit surprised myself that it went so easy,” said Raven, “but I used to own that house and lived in it for a few years before selling it to some guy named Mandar. I had some secret passages built into the place, and that helped out a lot. Plus my very own brand of sleeping gas. Unlike you Jazzy, I see big money in this guy, you just want him dead.”
“You don’t realize something Raven,” said Jazzy, “they don’t pay ransom for any team member, not even for Steve.” “That’s what they say,” said Raven, “but I bet they would pay and pay big to get Steve back.” “Well Raven, you are not going to find out,” she said, “now, since you did help me out before, I will let you go, this time. But don’t come back.
You chose to work for Lauren and she is now dead. If you come back then you will join her.” Raven said nothing in response to this, he and his men left quietly, boarded his jet and left for parts unknown. Before they left, however, Jazzy had her men check to make sure we were actually alive. Jazzy’s men had already loaded the coffins onto their truck and after Raven was gone Jazzy and her men left the airport…
To Be Continued.
©2025 Steve McLeod.
The rescuers seem to be doing as well as expected going on foot. On the other hand there are no ghosts protecting Steve. Raven easily breached the house. Now is Jazzy friend or foe? Guess we Will find out soon.
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Yes, the rescuers are doing very well, considering the difficulties they have to deal with. Having all the ghosts there does help them considerably. We didn’t really expect to be traveling out on foot for them. Yes, Raven got in, but only because he knew about the secret passages that he built into his home. This place is only meant as a temporary place for us and we certainly have enough of our team at home to protect the house, but not knowing of the secret passages left us vulnerable. Fortunately Jazzy was there to help us or it would have been a lot worse. Hard to tell yet if she is truly a friend or still a foe. Yes, we will have to wait and see. I think worse things are coming our way.🤔👩👻🦁😼🕵️♂️
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Nothing is going as planned. Need help!
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Yep, and help is coming, I hope. We find out in tonight’s chapter which is now out.🤔🕵️♂️
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Now Jazzy will be in trouble with the rest of the team! They will think that she took Steve, and they will kill her!😲🫣
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Hopefully the team will stay calm and realize it would make no sense to kidnap me and the girls and then return us the same night, without any demands or requests. Cristy will likely check out her story about Raven owning the house before, that will help. But the sleeping gas might have some bad effects to it which could complicate things. We will find out shortly about that. Did Raven actually leave or did he just pretend to leave and come back again once Jazzy is gone? The cats and ghosts believe Jazzy has changed, I do too. But some people can fake it rather well. Time will tell who’s side she is on.🤔👩😼👻🦁🕵️♂️
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All good questions!🤔 There is only one way to know for sure…. get busy!😠😂😂 ttys
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Yep, things are heating up and so are problems. Now we have a new problem to deal with and it’s an important one, which we will find out soon.
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Is it done yet??🤨😂😂
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Just finished it, so it will be out in a minute!
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See, told you it would be out in a minute. It’s ready now for your reading pleasure!
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Alrighty
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🙃🕵️♂️
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I’ll go and read it now.
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okie and dokie
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It was very good 👍 😉 I’ll comment on it tomorrow. 😁
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Good morning Dusty! You awake yet?
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Does Half awake count?😂😂 Just watching cars go around in circles..🤪
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Aha! There you are, thought I lost you! It is presently 36 and raining!🙃
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Yep! I are right here. What’s doing today?
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Today almost over. I was going to write another chapter but having a little problem with getting my thoughts in order. I know what I want to write but I can’t really get things going for some reason. Sigh. Writer’s blockhead, as they say. Did you fly today? Got my Amazon order today, 2 days early, not bad.😊
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No… no flying today, tomorrow morning I am though. Supposed to be light winds below 10mph all day!🤸♂️🤸♂️🤸♂️ So it might longer than just the morning g but I’ll see. Sorry so late in my reply, I had to shave and shower. I swear my beard grows more now than it ever has in my life!!
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Yeah, my beard does too. That’s because the hair on our head’s falls down and out our face as we get older!😂 Raining out again, it had stopped for a while but the raindrops are hitting the window again.☔
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What did you order from Amazon?
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Dirt. And pillows.🙃
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Nice combo! Are you putting the flowers to bed?😂
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I just wanted a more outdoor experience when I sleep!🙃🪴
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Well… that should do it!!😂
How was your day?
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It was a very busy morning, too much for one day, especially since I was not feeling the best anyway. Right now I can barely walk around I’m so stiff and sore. Then the plumber was in here for nearly 4 hours changing the taps in the bathroom. Apparently he ran across a couple of problems he wasn’t expecting and had to change some pipes in the wall. What a mess! He did clean it up fairly well but tomorrow I will clean the whole bathroom. Got a bit more rain today but now the wind is from the north and the temp has dropped from 36 this morning to just below freezing.😒
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Well, March is nearly here! The days are getting longer and soon the days will be getting warmer also. I’m surprised you didn’t go out for a walk. But with a plummer there, I can understand. I had a flight incident today🙄😬, but I think I can repair it well enough so it will fly again. If not… there’s always new replacement parts.😏
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Much too slippery out there anyway. With the rain on that hard packed snow on the sidewalks, it’s now slippery ice, terrible stuff!☔😒 If it hadn’t rained it would have been fine. But there is a couple more nice days coming, so “maybe” then. It is now 28, so it will be treacherous walking tomorrow! I thought you were supposed to fly those planes, not crash them!🙃
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Well, it was an early morning and busy day so I’m signing off and going to bed early. Talk again tomorrow Dusty!
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I try… but the planes have this irresistible desire to return to the ground, no matter what i do!😏 I’m sorry I wasn’t very timely on my replies. I will do better tomorrow. 😴 💤 🛏 well! Chatter again tomorrow.
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Good morning Dusty! How’s the weather today? Cloudy and should hit 37 here. Terribly slippery outside since it dropped down to 17 overnight.😒
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I’m doing good! I fixed my plane th I s morning, mostly 🙄 I still need to do a little bit of paint touch up where the repairs were, but mostly done. I’m gonna be heading over to the beach this afternoon for a few hours to enjoy the sun 🌞 and warm air!!😎
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Think you can make me jealous with that beach idea huh, well let me tell you, in just a few months I will be able to do the same thing!🙄🌞😂
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That’s right!😠 And don’t forget your parka when you do!!😂😂😂 But 37 in February for you is really nice! Will it be sticking around long?
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Tomorrow is the last day, then we return to more normal temps. Except one day next week might be nice too.🙃🌞
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Hey, did you read last night’s chapter? It’s a goody! The team took your advice and decided to divide themselves so they could conquer the enemy!
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I have not yet, but the beach will provide the perfect opportunity to read it!🤓😂
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Oh, good idea, reading in the sun is always kind of fun! Sun is shining here right now too, looks like it will only be 34 today, slight change. By March 9 we should be back to temps in the 30s.🌞😎
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Back from the beach yet? Did you get burned?🌞 Did you read the chapter 10?🤔🕵️♂️🤨
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Yep, I didn’t make the beach, though. I went to the pool instead. I was running late and by the time I got there i wouldn’t have been able to stay long or I’d have to deal with the port workers getting off work and that traffic is terrible and so are the drivers!! I don’t think they know what a speed limit is….😬 So, the pool it was…😎 How was your afternoon? Did you get outside on the deck in the sun light??
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It was a bit chilly out there, the sun only hits my feet. And it was quite windy so it was too uncomfortable. I cleaned the bathroom, took out the garbage and recyclables, washed a mountain of dishes and had a nap. Not very exciting, but I got something accomplished anyway.🙄
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That was a lot! I feel guilty now 😕 you did all of that while I sat by the pool!!😒 I should try doing all of that stuff someday…🤪
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Yes, it’s quite fulfilling really, especially the nap!😂 Did you read chapter 10 yet?
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Uh oh🙄 um well um I I well I’ll be right back..😬
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🤨🙄😂
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It was a very good chapter! I am wondering where they found the uniforms, though…🤔
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Don’t you remember the extra large overstuffed backpacks that Sky and Angel brought back with them? We had them ready at the beginning, just in case plan A didn’t work. (that was using the jet to fly out)
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Oh… yeah…. that makes sense now!💡 I told you Divide and conquer 💪 Boy, great minds think alike! 🧠 🧠 🧠 😂😂😉
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Now we have one more problem coming up. How will the remaining team get across the border with all those soldiers around? Will they even make it that far? Will I survive that drug I was given? Is Jazzy enjoying her hot chocolate?🤔
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What did they put in Jazzys hot chocolate 🍫 ?
You? You been nowhere more times than I can count! I’m beginning to think you like it there… but the team does need you, so you’d better keep fighting that drug!🤨
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Whatever they normally put into hot chocolate. Hey, Jazzy has changed now, from deadly enemy to good friend, they won’t hurt her. I hope. Well, I know where I am this time, I just can’t get out of where I am. I’m not so sure they need me anymore, they spend more time guarding me than working on cases. Almost. But I’m sure Kat can do something. I hope.🤔🕵️♂️
Well, I must head of to bed, I can barely see what I type and I make more mistakes than non mistakes. Have a good night and I shall squeak tomorrow!
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Alrighty… sleep 💤 🥱 😴 🛏 well! Pleasant Dreams
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Good morning Dusty! You at the beach today? At the pool? Flying around?
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No, none of the above sadly….😒 I’ve dealing with my daughters marital issue today. Kinda took the desire for any fun stuff for today away.
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Oh, sorry to hear that Dusty. Yep, problems can do that sometimes. Election day for us tomorrow, just a provincial election this time. Our federal election isn’t too far away either, since our prime minister finally decided to resign a while back.
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Yes, I’ve heard. It just seems like the blows just keep coming.🥴 What i wouldn’t give for a day or week without bad news. I added it up today. In the last 3 years, I’ve lost 4 family members and my oldest friend. And now my family is coming apart. Oh well, sorry about that… I better sign off for tonight. I’ll ttyt.
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Yeah, sometimes bad news comes in multiples.
Okay, I will wait to talk with you tomorrow, have a good night, try to sleep well.
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Thanks, u2
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Hey Dusty! You awake yet or still sleeping?🤔 Probably on that beach lying in the sun.🌞😂
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Close! Very close, at the pool today. Maybe a walk on the beach on Sunday. Gonna try flying again tomorrow. Is it any warmer today?
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Warmer? We’re back into frigid temps again with a snow storm that whizzed past us overnight drawing in cold north air with 30mph wind, so it was only 8 today and dropping quite cold tonight.🥶 With that wind it felt closer to -15. I’m back now.😊
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Better keep the tea pot and hot water bottle handy!🥶
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Yep, but at least it’s not going to last and Monday it’s supposed to be 40 and sunny!😊🌞
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Yeah! Now that’s what you need! Did the laundry get done this morning?
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Yep, took a little longer than normal though because someone was there before me, so I had to wait a bit. People are up and doing things 24 hours a day around here. Of course, I was up at 1:30, stayed up for half an hour, went back to bed and was up again just shortly after 3. Sigh. And there are so many people who are sick in here right now.
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Is it the flu that’s going around? You need to be careful not to catch it.
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I think half the people in our building have either the flu or Covid, both are big problems in our town right now. Yeah, I don’t want to get either one, but this flu is a real bad one this year. One man I know well in here now ended up in the hospital with it.
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How was flying time today?
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No, no flying today. I got a little to much sun yesterday so I thought a day out of the sun would be a good idea.😬
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Oh oh, gotta remember you still have northern skin! Speaking of, did you read last night’s chapter?😊🕵️♂️
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Sorry, slow reader…😬
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People have asked for more details in the stories. So that means some longer chapters, otherwise it means more chapters and some people didn’t like having more chapters. Some people wanted more details and shorter chapters, something that is impossible. So, all chapters are longer now, with some extra long. However, I’m going to make some changes in that. Tonight’s chapter will be shorter since it’s the last one in this case.😊🕵️♂️
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I should have mentioned before that I had asked for feedback on chapter and story length. Anyway, there is a nice short chapter ready for you to read and the end of this case. I need to sign off and get to bed early if possible so I don’t fall asleep in Church tomorrow!😕🙄 Good night, talk tomorrow!😊🥱
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Okie Doklie 👍 The chapret lengths are fine. I am a slow reader with eye sight that isn’t so good anymore. Anyway, I will read the new chapter tonight. Sleep Well! No one likes a chainsaw in Church!😂😂😂
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I know what you mean about reading, I have slowed down a lot over the years and I’m presently very slow.
Yep, we already have one of those in Church now!😂🙄
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