Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Hometown Mystery. Chapter 9. Mandar and Drake.
Mandar knew he had a good man for getting information from in Brink. Mandar can talk well and can be very persuasive when he wants to be. “Well, well, Mr. Brink,” said Mandar, “you are a wealth of information. Now, perhaps you would be kind enough to call Mr. Drake and ask him to join us here for a little talk.”
“You think he is stupid?” asked Brink, “he is safe down there, that is a reinforced steel door, you will never get at him, and he will never come up here.” “Well, maybe you just do not know how to talk to him,” said Mandar, “now, you have problems with a man called The Fox, and he will never let you open this casino again, and you just might lose your lives in the process.
Would it not be better to talk things over with me? I can take care of The Fox for you.” Brink looked at Mandar for a moment, then he called Drake. Soon Drake and two bodyguards, well armed, came up to where everyone was standing around. “Good day to you Mr. Drake,” said Mandar cheerfully, “there is no need of guns, this is a friendly visit, unless you would prefer to fight. But I must say, in a fight we would win quite easily.”
Drake told his men to put their guns on a nearby table. “What is this about you taking care of The Fox for me?” he asked, “Maybe I do not need your help.” “Oh, you do need our help,” said Mandar, “you do not have the resources, or training, to go up against The Fox. But we do, and our price is very reasonable too.” “Yeah? What do you call reasonable?” he asked.
“You have kidnapped our man and a lady as well,” said Mandar, “give them back, unharmed, and we will take care of The Fox for you. That seems like a price that is more than fair, do you not agree?” He thought for a moment. “How do I know that I can trust you?” he asked. Just then Tandi, Mandar’s cat, jumped up into his arms.
“I hate cats,” said Drake. Tandi growled at him. Then Muffin, Storm and Rusty jumped up onto different tables close by, all of them growling. “Hey, what is this?” he asked. “It would seem these cats do not like you much either Mr. Drake,” said Mandar, “they are a good judge of character. I do not trust you Mr. Drake, and I am sure you do not trust me. But for the moment, let us pretend that we do trust each other and conclude our business.”
Drake then called one of his men. “What do you mean?” he yelled, “you dropped them off, you must know where they are!” Then there was silence. “Well, get out there and find them, and fast!” Drake yelled again, “or you better go hide yourself somewhere!” Then he turned to Mandar, “not to worry, he will find them, he just did not pay attention to the exact spot, but he knows the area. I will have them for you tomorrow.”
“I sincerely hope so, for your sake,” said Mandar, then he and the team left. Meanwhile, off to Kat and I. “Kat, wake up!” I said. “What is the matter Steve?” she asked. “Well, this might seem like a crazy question, but, where are we?” “I have no idea,” she said, “they just dropped us off here and left. They were nice enough to give us each a knife though.”
“Um, who are they?” I asked again. Kat looked at me and frowned a bit. “Do you not remember what happened?” she asked. “No,” I said, “all I remember is is that we were on our honeymoon and then I woke up on the ground here.” Kat got up quickly when I said that and felt my forehead. “Hmm, you seem to be fine,” she said, “what do you remember?”
“Just what I said, we were going on our honeymoon, our second attempt and then we end up here, wherever here is,” I replied. Kat was concerned now, it seemed like the ‘nowhere’ disease was working again. “Do you remember getting the ‘nowhere’ disease?” she asked. “Yeah, I do, that was the work of John,” I said, “and I will get him for that.”
“Steve, I helped him with that too,” she began, “but changed, do you remember?” “Um, yes, I do remember that,” I said frowning a bit. “Well, John changed too and is now working with us and he is one of your best friends now.” I really frowned this time, that was something I could not remember.
We talked some more, but Kat did not tell me she had been killed and I was now married to Sky. She figured that might be too much for me to handle right now. She was probably right. She did explain that the ‘nowhere’ disease must be working again, even though I am up to date with my shots for that. It all seemed reasonable, but…
To Be Continued.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
The Investigators, Inc. The Hometown Mystery. Chapter 8. Mangy Rat.
Back to our team now. A call came to Sky. “They got Steve and Kat,” said the voice. Sky began to cry, then she got angry at the same time, but after a few minutes she settled down and called Rock. “They got Steve and Kat,” she said. “How are you doing Sky?” he said, “can you handle things okay?” “I think so, but,” she began, “perhaps it would be better for Crystal to take over our end.”
“Okay, Crystal, are you on too?” he asked. “Yes Rock, I am here,” she said, “and I can handle things, though I think Sky could do it too. But I will take over for now if you want.” “Good, do that,” he said, “and you have Team 4 with you, so do not worry about anything. And if you need help, just call me, anytime.” “Okay, it is Operation Information,” she said.
Meanwhile, back at the casino. “All ready to open again tonight Mike”, said Brink, “I doubt that Fox guy will come back here right away, he already took everything we had.” “Drake brought a lot more with him last night,” said Mike, “we need to make sure we keep it this time. Good thing we had that extra safe in the basement.”
“Yeah, that was a good idea,” said Brink, “now they figure they busted our safe and we will not keep anything here for a while.” “Exactly, that was the idea,” said Mike. He then looked up and saw some people standing at the doors. “Those doors should be locked,” said Mike.
“They were locked,” said Crystal, “but we unlocked them. We want to have a little visit with our ‘friends’. And this is a nice private place to talk.” “And what do you wish to talk about, little girl?” asked Mike. “Perhaps we should start with your life expectancy Mike,” she said. Just then several others came walking in, and included with the group was Mandar.
He was not part of this case, but ‘just happened’ to be in the area, and decided to stop by and see how Sky and I were enjoying our honeymoon. He also brought some extra ‘help’ with him too, since he does not travel alone. “I think you better listen to this young woman,” said Mandar, “your life is not worth much at the moment. I detest a man who will hire some mangy rat to kill his wife.”
“Come over here and say that old man,” yelled Blade. “I hear you are a very courageous man Blade,” he answered, “you carry 4 knives at all times, one up each sleeve, one down your back, oh, and one in your boot. And you prefer killing women, young girls and even babies, anyone who cannot take care of themselves in a fight.
That makes you a mangy rat, not a human being. I would not waste my time with you. But why do we not see how courageous you are fighting a woman that can take care of herself, or are you afraid?” “I am not afraid of nothing and nobody,” he growled, “send her over here.” One knife fell into his hand as he said that.
Sky started to walk over to him and the others with Blade moved away. “So, the pretty wife thinks she can take the Blade,” he laughed, “I will cut you to pieces little girl.” Sky said nothing and remained remarkably calm. She just kept walking until she was close enough, then she stopped, staring at him. Then she attacked!
Her hands and feet were flying fast, only missing a couple of times. Blade cut her left arm once, but then she moved in, kicking him hard 3 times, then one final kick to his head and he was down, and dead. “Now gentlemen, tell those other men over there to put their weapons on that table,” said Mandar, “or all of you will be killed. And do not try my patience, I have very little.”
Mike told them to put their guns down, he, Brink and Chuck did so too. Sky went back to the doors and Crystal came forward. “Now, which of you will tell us where Drake took Steve and Kat?” she asked calmly. Not a word from any of them. Then without warning she kicked Mike twice and he was on the floor groaning. Then Tracy came up next and went to Chuck.
“Remember me, the little girl?” she asked him, then she kicked him twice and he likewise was on the floor groaning. While this was going on, one of the other men had inched his way to the table where the guns had been set down. Suddenly he grabbed one and there was just one shot. The man fell down dead, shot by Mandar with his cane gun.
“Very stupid men in this casino,” he said, “and what about you Brink?” By this time Sigurbjorn had walked up. “No, wait,” he said nervously, “I do not know where Drake took your man, but Drake is still here, in the basement. Talk to him, and he brought a lot more money and drugs with him, they are in the safe in the basement too. We have a second safe there!” “Well, well, a wealth of information from this man,” said Mandar…
To Be Continued.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 