Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Mysterious Hidden Cabin. Chapter 12. Lauren Wins.
I was a very worried about how things were going out at the cabin, but I was even more worried now because of how we treated Chantelle, making it look like she was guilty before we had enough proof. So I decided to call her myself, even though I had told Rock to deal with it. ”Hi Chantelle,” I said, “how do you feel?”
“Hey Steve, okay I guess,” she said, “but I am worried about what the others will think about me now.” ”If anyone gives you a hard time, call me and tell me about it,” I said, “do not just go to Rock. This was my responsibility and I acted too hastily. Please accept my apology, I was wrong.” ”You do not need to apologize to me Steve,” she said, “you were following protocol.”
“Hmm, okay, perhaps when you get home,” I said. ”What?” she asked. ”Just please look after the girls the best you can,” I said, “I know it is not easy and you are doing a great job. Please look after my Sky too.” ”Of course I will Steve,” she said. We talked a bit more then hung up. Little did everyone know that would be the last time they would hear from me.
Rock knew he could trust Aari and Dawn for sure, so they would take turns watching through the night, along with the cats. Everything depended on them watching. The cats understood this too and were extra diligent in watching that night. But the day went on, still snowing, though not as much now, but the wind was blowing strong and the temperature was really dropping.
It was a good thing they had a lot of firewood and Rock had made a good path to the woodpile, plus he and the guys hauled a lot of wood inside during the day. Plus they broke up some of the wood from the part of the house that had collapsed which gave them more wood to use.
Everyone was trying to figure out where the not so friendly ‘ghost’ was living, he must be in the house somewhere, unless he was living in that small cabin, wherever it was. But, why did they not see any footprints around in the snow? Storm came in right around lunch time covered in snow and shivering from the cold.
He was a tropical cat, not a cold weather cat. He also had something in his mouth. ”That is part of a drone,” said Miles. Meowr.=That what me shoot at before. Me not just pretend or shoot at nothing. ”Sorry Storm,” said Rock, “I should not have doubted you.”
“That is why we could not shoot that ghost before,” said Clarence, “probably this drone, or one like it, just projecting an image for us. Then it dropped some explosives on our snowmobile.” ”Good going Storm,” said Dawn, “you showed them.” Storm sat up nice and tall, still shivering.
“Hey, come here you,” said Chantelle, “it is not good for you to be cold like that, sit by the heater for a while and I will get you some food.” He certainly enjoyed that heat, and food, he was hungry after all that digging through the snow. After lunch the girls finally remembered about that secret door in the large fireplace on the side of the house that collapsed.
The guys went over to take a look. It was still there and just inside the door was a hole in the floor with a ladder going down to a room below. John, Miles, Clarence and Alfred went down to take a look. The girls wanted at least 2 of the guys to stay behind, so Rock and Aari did so. At the bottom of the ladder was a large wood door with a sign on it that said “The Cabin”.
No wonder they had not been able to find that cabin, it was right underneath them, not out back somewhere. The door appeared to be locked on the inside, so Rock went down and smashed the door right off it’s hinges and they all went charging in. There was no one present so Rock came back upstairs. It did look like someone had been, or still was, living in there.
They did find more drones of various sizes, plus explosives, which they brought back up with them. They also found a large steel door with a combination lock on it, possibly a safe. John and Miles tried to open it, but without success. ”Maybe I should try,” said Clarence, “I was good with these things at one time.”
“How come you did not say something sooner?” asked John. ”You never asked me.” he said. Just then they heard Rock calling so they went upstairs quickly. ”Just got a call from Mr. B,” he said, “Steve, Aasta, Kat, Muffin, Snow and Rusty are gone.” Aari was sitting on a chair with his head in his hands. ”Lauren has got them for sure,” he said…
To Be Continued.
©2024 Steve McLeod.
The Investigators, Inc. The Mysterious Hidden Cabin. Chapter 11. The Colonel.
Back home with Matt, Mac and the girls, there had been a knock at the door. ”Now you 4 will get what is coming to you,” sneered Layne, “those are my friends out there.” ”You are a fool,” said Matt, then he opened the door, standing behind it. ”Say the wrong thing and I will shoot you through that fat neck of yours,” said Aoife to Layne. ”Come in,” said Cinnamon nicely.
“What is this?” asked the man. Matt shut the door and Cinnamon put her gun to the man’s head. Then Mac searched him, relieving him of 2 guns and a knife. ”Who are you?” asked Matt. ”Who wants to know?” asked the man sarcastically. Mac punched him in the stomach, then Cinnamon kicked him on the side of his head, knocking the man against the wall.
Mac picked him up and tossed him onto a chair. ”Wrong answer,” said Mac. ”We have a rather fun game going,” said Matt, “I ask questions, you men answer correctly, or you feel pain. And the pain keeps getting worse as we go along.” Then Cinnamon handed a note to Matt. ”So, it seems you have been trying to lie,” said Matt, “no one lies to Colonel Kuznetsova! Now, I want truth, or you all die!”
Mac went over to Layne and tied him to his wood chair, then he pulled his head back and held his eyelids open. ”Is that brandy in that glass?” asked Matt. ”Yep, it sure is,” said Aoife. ”Good, it will sting the eyes for a bit,” he said, ”but I have heard it can also leave a man blind afterward. We shall see if that is true.” ”No, no!” yelled Layne, “I never lied about anything.”
“Then why is there no little cabin when you said there is one?” asked Matt. ”That was Lance that told about the cabin, not me!” he pleaded. ”Oh, yes, that is true,” said Matt, “move over to Lance.” Mac went over and did the same thing to Lance. Cinnamon whispered in Lance’s ear, “do as you are told and I promise you will not get hurt.”
“Look, I was never out there,” pleaded Lance, “Layne was there last year, he told me about that other cabin. And Lauren was there at that time too, I think Layne is just trying to save his skin and get me killed so I will be out of the way. He wants the inheritance all to himself.” ”Now we are to play your game, going back and forth?” asked Matt, “I am out of patience with you two.
But wait, perhaps we should allow our new visitor to play our game too, maybe he will like to live by telling us true stories. Where is Lauren staying in Paris?” ”I have no idea,” he said, “I do not work for her, I work for these two. But Layne did mention a small cabin he was at last summer, I do not know where it is though. He said Lauren told him not to tell anyone or he would be killed. Lauren is a killer with no conscience.”
“What part do you play with these two fools?” asked Matt. ”I am setting things up to attack those PI’s outside of town tonight,” he said, “they want their sister Macie who works with them, apparently she is worth a lot to Lauren.” ”This Macie must be very beautiful then,” said Matt, “or Lauren would not be interested.” ”Yeah, she sure is a beauty!” said the man.
“If I tell you where to find Lauren,” said Lance, “will you let me go?” ”Yes,” replied Cinnamon, “I will promise you that.” So he gave the address, which was transmitted directly to Mandar who then took his Teams 3 and 4 to that address. Matt and his team left quickly, taking the other men’s phones and disconnecting the hotel phone so they could not call Lauren.
They left but did not notice another car in the dark with 2 men in it. There was a shot inside, then Layne and the other man came out and went to the car. He borrowed one of their phones and called Lauren right away to warn her. ”So, these Russians killed your brother because he talked,” she said, “and they let you go because you did not talk, am I right?”
“Yeah, right,” said Layne, “they never got a thing from me.” ”Let me talk with Viper,” she said, “Viper, kill them both.” There were two more shots, then the men in the car left. Meanwhile, Rock had called me to tell me more about Chantelle.
“I was talking with Kerstina,” I said, “we need Chantelle to look after our injured girls, and I have had second thoughts, I cannot believe that she is betraying us, but someone is making it look like she is. Put her back on active duty, but watch her somewhat.
Someone must be a traitor though, or the cats would have noticed an intruder.” Rock agreed, which meant watching everyone. Rock told me they had found no evidence of a cabin out back anywhere. I let him know the brothers had been dealt with, so Aari should be relieved with that news.
What we did not know was that the coordinated attack against us would happen anyway. Lauren wants Aasta, she is worth millions to her, in more ways than one. I did take extra precautions though and took Muffin and Snow into the bedroom with Aasta and myself…
To Be Continued.
©2024 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 