Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Saturday Stories. #7
Hello everyone! Well, it is time to sit down with a cup of coffee and relax with another story from my past. It can be hard to pick out a story to share sometimes since there are so many and I cannot remember what I have already shared. Even doing a search on my blog does not always help since it will turn up nothing and yet I am sure that I have shared that story before.
Oh well, for today’s story I need to turn the clock back a few years and hopefully I have not shared it before. It was a nice February day and a year we did not have much snow. There was about a foot (about 30cm) of snow on the ground, so I decided snowshoes were not necessary, I would just go for a walk. During a summer walk I had discovered a small lake and I wanted to see what it looked like in winter.
Heading down to the river.
The temperature was 5F (-15C), so not too bad, and the sun was shining. Off I went and as usual I did not tell anyone where I was going. I drove down this small forest road to a certain spot and parked. From here I walk. The first part was all very tall pine trees and not much undergrowth, which made for very easy walking.
The second part was more lowland area covered thickly with spruce trees, mostly black spruce and some balsam fir. After about an hour I finally could see the small lake in the distance. Really, I should call it a pond, not a lake. During the summer I could not get to the shore on this side of the pond because it was too marshy.
I noticed a deer had walked across the pond recently, so I decided to follow in it’s tracks and I was soon on the other side. I walked up onto a hill on that side of the pond and decided to stop for some coffee and a sandwich. The smell of coffee brought some Canada Jays looking for food. It probably was not the coffee that attracted them, but it sounds good for the story.
I shared my sandwich with the 3 of them, each one landing on my hand to get their piece. They each chirped “thanks” as they flew away. Canada Jays always do that. And it seems no matter where I meet them, they are willing to land on my hand to get their food. They were the first birds I had seen on this walk. After finishing my coffee I continued my walk.
Going downhill close to the river.
I intended on walking around this pond and back to my car. Okay, this pond was bigger than it looked at the beginning, maybe I should go back to calling it a small lake. It was already late afternoon by the time I was getting back to the side I started on, but there was still a long walk back to the car. Then I tripped on some roots of a spruce tree and down I went, hitting my knee on a rock and twisting my ankle and my wrist.
How fun. It seems I hurt myself a lot when I am by myself. Guess that is why Krissy always told me I should have someone with me. That did not always work out however. That certainly slowed my walking though. Good thing it was late February when the days are getting longer, or it would have been dark by the time I got back to the car.
Rocky hillside by the river.
As it was, it was dark by the time I got back to my car. Sigh. By that time my knee was incredibly painful and my ankle seemed to be swollen twice its normal size. During that whole walk the only bird life I saw were those 3 Canada Jays and one raven flying high overhead.
Oh well, it was still nice to get out and enjoy the day. Photos today are more recent and from spots along the river here. I hope you all have a great weekend, and if you can, get outside and enjoy the day! God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2024 Steve McLeod.
The Investigators, Inc. The Case of Carole Ann’s Return. Chapter 10.
Well, it has been several more days and everything is still calm and quiet. I do not understand why Carole Ann has disappeared, unless she realized we had gotten away from her so she decided to leave, for now. And she did lose some of her men, plus get the police questioning her about her dead men and their activities, since all were wanted by the police on drug related charges.
But news of her mother’s death will have her furious for revenge. We did learn that Lauren was her mother, Christopher is her cousin and Majori is an aunt. There are also 2 uncles who both have large and powerful organizations. We have not met them before and hopefully we do not.
She also has 2 brothers and a sister, all members of smaller drug gangs, so they would not likely pose a great danger to us. But we will continue to be on guard, I am quite certain that Carole Ann will return and probably will not give us any warning this time. She will just strike quickly to try and take us by surprise. I am back home again and walking, although slowly, but at least there is good improvement.
Dr. Jorgenson is still amazed at my recovery and he still cannot explain how that nerve managed to heal like it did. There is still damage, but nothing like it was. He just shakes his head every time he thinks about it. Today some of the guys were in the city and spotted one of Carole Ann’s men. I then sent the remaining guys and some of the girls to join them and perhaps we can be led right to Carole Ann.
Perhaps we are finally getting a break and we can take her by surprise this time. It was a beautiful day so several of us were outside enjoying the sun and warmth. But then a car and 2 vans drove up and I knew that meant trouble. “Quiet Red Alert Annelie,” I said. Then I told Sky and Aasta to take Honey and Agata inside through the back door.
Kat, Jennifer and Dawn were with me and we went around to the front to greet our ‘guests’. Meanwhile, in the city. “Back home now everyone!” yelled Rock, “It was a trap and big trouble at home!” But even driving fast they would never get home in time to help us. They all knew that but they tried not to think about it. No one said a word on the way, but they were all upset with themselves for letting Carole Ann win so easily.
Now, back to us again. As we walked closer to the vehicles I was quite surprised not to see Carole Ann or her men. It was Christopher and 15 men with him. All of them got out too, I guess Christopher wanted me to know they were ready for a fight. So were we, and we had home turf advantage. He smiled as we got closer.
“Now, how did you manage to clone Jennifer so quickly?” he asked, “I could build a whole army of them and be unstoppable.” “Except for one small difficulty,” I said, “they are with me, not you.” “But I come with a proposition for you Steve,” he said, “and I am sure you will like what you hear.” “Go ahead,” I told him, “but I am sure you will be disappointed.” He laughed.
“You give me the two Jennifers,” he said, “and I will kill Carole Ann and her animals so you never have to worry about her again. I am sure your wife, and some others, would be happy to hear that news.” “I think we would all be happy knowing that Carole Ann is no longer a problem for us,” I said, “but the answer is no. Jennifer and Kat stay with me.”
“You know, with this laser I can destroy them,” he said, “and you as well, before any of your team could touch us.” “Do not be so sure,” I said, “look over there by our pool, you can just see the end of a rifle. It is aimed at your head, and in the tower behind me is another, also aimed at your head. Those girls are trained snipers, they never miss and this short distance is easy for them.
If you even point that laser weapon toward me, you will be dead, and then the fight begins for your men. Now, I will be nice this time and let you go, but do not come back. And if you see Carole Ann, tell her she is finished, I will not be letting her go this time. I will find her and crush her and her organization totally.”
“I do not understand why you want to protect 2 robots,” he said, “just give me those 2 and make more for yourself, you obviously have the expertise, something I do not. One last chance for a good deal.” “The answer is no Christopher,” I said, “now leave while you can.” He started for his car, but one of his men pulled his gun and pointed it at me.
Kat quickly stood in front of me and my 2 snipers fired at the man with the gun, killing him instantly. Christopher turned quickly but Jennifer kicked him twice in the stomach, then once to his head and he dropped to the ground. More gunshots were fired and more men fell to the ground. Seven of them tossed their guns away and surrendered.
To Be Continued.
©2024 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 