The next morning at our new hideaway was beautiful as the sun rose above the treetops. After breakfast we walked around the yard and into the trees a bit to see if we could see any signs of human activity around. But, if any people had been around the place it must have been a long time ago. The last time Mandar was out here was 20 months ago, but he has caretakers who look after the place, however, they will not come out while we are here.

They come in from one of his companies and are thoroughly checked for security reasons before letting them work in one of his hideaway locations. Mandar keeps a close watch on his security details, so that made me feel good about coming here. He also said there was a way to contact him in case of emergency, but he forgot to tell me how to do that.

We will just be careful that no one gets hurt badly and needs hospital care. I should have brought one of our nurses along I guess. Too late now. Well, it is now day 3 and nothing exciting happening our way. I wonder how our team is doing? Mandar and Aari are looking after the details on their end, I just hope it does not take them long to get things done.

Sitting out here not knowing what is happening, that is not easy. Plus there is not much to do out here, though I am mowing the lawn, it certainly needed it. Dawn and Ginnifer helped out with that too, it is a sizable lawn. There are garden areas for flowers, but no flowers have been planted for a long time it seems, guess that is not a priority for this place.

Meanwhile, back with Carole Ann. “There is one of the girls heading off in a helicopter,” said Jeremy. “Is she one that we want?” asked Carole Ann. “Nope, but she is nice looking though,” he answered. “If she is not one we want, then do not tell me about it!” she yelled, “And I am not interested in one that is ‘nice looking’!” “Okay, just sayin’,” he mumbled, “I still think any of those dames would be good to get, certainly better than the ones you got right now.”

“Shut up and just do your job!” she growled. “Have not seen Sky or that Aasta gal since the first day we began watching,” said Freddy. “They must be keeping them indoors,” grumbled Carole Ann, “and there is no way to get into that fortress of theirs.” “Every fortress has a weak spot,” said Jud, “I just need to find it.” “Well, you are certainly taking your time!” she complained, “We are not on vacation.”

“It takes time to do things right,” he answered, “and when I find that weak spot, it will make our job much easier.” “He knows what he is doing,” remarked Jacob, “he will find it.” “How come all you brothers have names starting with J?” asked Carole Ann. “Pa said it was what ma wanted,” he answered, “and pa hated thinking of names so he stayed out of it.” Carole Ann shook her head and left the room.

She went down to the hotel lobby to get some coffee and snacks. While there she overheard a phone call with the manager and someone named Steve. He was coming with his wife Sky and two other girls named Aasta and Amber who would need a different room. She quickly returned to her room. “I just heard Steve making a reservation for tomorrow night,” she said excitedly, “for himself, Sky, Aasta and another girl named Amber. They will have 2 separate rooms.”

“Wow, talk about it being easy pickings,” said Jon, “we just need to find out which rooms.” “I will get that information myself,” said Carole Ann. “Why bother?” said Jud, “I will just check things out here. There it is, ninth floor, rooms 907 and 909. They are arriving at 7pm.” “And we will visit them right after they get settled in,” she said, “one of you can watch the door and let us know exactly when they arrive. I doubt they will arrive promptly, that would be too obvious.”

Day 5 arrives, Jud is in the lobby waiting to see us come in, but he saw no one, so he went to the man behind the desk and asked about us saying he was a good friend. The man said we were there already, we had come in the back door, something Carole Ann had not thought of oddly enough. She was furious and sent her men to the rooms to get us.

They burst their way in, smashing the door, but Rock and Astrid were waiting inside. Rock had a great time tossing those guys around, finally smashing their heads on the corner of the big wood desk in the room. In the other room Engla and Cinnamon were waiting and they took no chances, just shooting the two that came into their room.

Then Rock and his team left and on the way out telling the manager there were too many bodies in those rooms. The police showed up and then went to see Carole Ann since it was known they worked for her. She was furious again at being outsmarted! Day 5 was nice and sunny so we just sat outside in the afternoon enjoying the beauty of the area. Then Jennifer got up, came to me and said that someone was nearby…

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.