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Post by solo on Mar 9, 2022 9:58:09 GMT -6
Hate to say it, but I will be out in the woods until late a week from Friday. Well I don't hate to say it, I will be with my youngest and we we both be taking a little time out. Much needed. My hating to say it is because I may not be able to post much if any... and with such a "cliff" to be overlooking... I know you have many questions and to be truthful, so do I... Why does this woman keep popping up... And now she is actually helping with something? But alas, I do not know what is in store for her... I just hope he remembers to get his backpack he stashed smartly. Wonder what is in that backpack anyway and why wasn't he packing, especially after getting out a large sum of money and buying supplies.
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Post by 9idrr on Mar 9, 2022 18:44:56 GMT -6
Boy, that-there CDR Mike Lowe must be quite the expert, what with him havin' hisself a PhD 'n' all. Maybe he'd be willin' to help me improve my performance up to where I'd almost be considered human. ;^) You grunts do take a lot of work. Grunts probably work harder at avoidin' work than if'n they'd just completed the task in the first place.
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Post by solo on Mar 11, 2022 15:58:59 GMT -6
CHAPTER 14
“Hey, I don’t mean to rub your nose in it, but…. How’s the nose?” Wes looked at the skinny Deputy. Taking the time to read the name tag he saw the name FIFE. You got to be kidding me. He thought, then chuckled.
“What’s so danged funny?” Deputy Fife sneered as he asked looking up from counting the cash.
“How many bullets are you allowed to carry for your gun?” Wes snickered trying to hold it in.
“What do you mean by that? It’s none of your business!”
“I bet it is one bullet and it is kept in your shirt pocket.” Wes was really enjoying himself. He also guessed that this kid had been born sometime in the mid to late ‘90s and spent all his time on video games. He obviously did not spend any time on wholesome vintage TV.
“Shut up! I am trying to finish counting this so I can get you out of here!”
Finally, that accounting was done and the inventory was completed. “There, now you can just get the hell out of here!”
“My, my… Come on Barney, didn’t you enjoy my company?”
“That’s not my name! I liked you better when you were exercising your Mirandas!” The Deputy pouted.
“Yeah, well, son, you are about to like me even less. I need my supplies back.” All the humor was gone from Wes’ face.
“What do you mean, ‘Supplies’.” He asked.
“The supplies I had with me when you needlessly arrested me.” Wes stood there. The matter of fact was written all over his face.
Deputy Fife turned a shade of white before blushing.
“Yeah, I know. You SH’s took all my stuff and used it as personal. Well, guess what. I bought them, they were mine, here is the receipt and my lawyer is getting the footage from the grocery store now. Both from when I bought them and from after I was arrested. Therefore in an hour, I will know who’s door to come knocking on the get my stuff back. And as this was done inside the town limits, I will get the town police to escort me. So, I will give you thirty minutes to have all of my items at my motel, unopened and sealed.” He leaned in toward the deputy, who while he was behind a glass partition, did not believe for a moment it would matter. With that Wes walked out.
He turned and walked down the street toward his motel. He went into the front office and handed them enough cash to catch him up and allow him to check out sometime over the next two days. It was his choice when.
Then he went to his room. As he had guessed, it had been ransacked. He smiled to himself as he could picture the pukes tearing up a perfectly pristine room, he’d left nothing in there but a used washrag, towel and a half gone tube of the shampoo handout. Even the soap was opened and the toilet paper rolls un rolled. He felt bad for the cleaning staff, but he tipped them well.
There was a knock at his door. He walked over and opened it. No use being cautious here, everyone knew where he was. This was the thing he disliked most.
Veronica stood there in a set of Jeans, pullover and a half smile on her face. “It worked.” Was all she said.
He stood there. “How did you know I didn’t kill that guy?”
“Because we did.” She stood there a moment. “Let’s go get a bite to eat.”
He stood there a moment and let that sink in. He was now wondering what level of ‘we’ he was looking at. And from his years of working with alphabet soup lettered corporations, he knew at least what the ‘we’ was about.
He took a step into her space. She wasn’t expecting this, but did not move. They were nose to nose. He reached behind himself and watched her reaction as her pupils dilated, her sympathetic nervous system involuntarily triggered her fight or flight response.
He simply pulled the door closed behind him and for a second held the position. “Good. At least your reflexes are honest.” He then slid around her and headed for the motel café.
She shook her head for a moment, like she was clearing her head, but knew it would be a moment or two longer before the adrenalin that had just been dumped into her system would dissipate. She then followed him to the diner. When she went in she saw he had chosen a booth that pretty much kept his back to the wall where he could watch the door and out the big paned windows, watch the door to his room.
The waitress came and took their orders and brought their drinks, Wes opting for an unsweet tea and Veronica opting for a flavored hot tea with artificial sweetener on the side. Figures. Wes thought to himself. Then when she ordered it was like a repeat of Sally’s diner order from When Harry Met Sally, with all the things on the side for her chef’s salad. Wes opted for the chicken fried steak with extra gravy.
“That crap is going to kill you.” She commented.
“Better than eating rabbit food. Besides, I’ve done my job, I’ve lived to 50, I’ve earn the right to eat what I want.”
“Yeah, but wouldn’t it be a shame to die over something so pedestrian after managing to stay alive all these years.”
“You imagine yourself as having all this wonderful cloak and dagger information about me. Why?”
“You are fascinating.”
“I get that.”
She cut in, “And Narcissistic!”
“So you’ve read my psych evals too, so what? I mean why do you keep turning up? Our business was conclude long ago… Heck, it never really started since you pulled the home wrecking Karen routine. I’m going to cut to the chase. I don’t play games. I am not going to play yours. This is your one shot at being honest.”
“So, not even a little thank you for getting you off?”
He just stared at her. Their food arrived and Wes took great pleasure in pouring all the extra gravy over his steak and roasted potatoes. Having a weakness for Brussel sprouts, especially the way this diner handled them, roasted with olive oil and bacon, he even put some of the gravy over them.
Again, Veronica shook her head. She started to say something but noticed he had perked up and was looking out the window toward his room. She turned slightly and saw that a deputy was dropping off a stack of things in front of Wes’ room. “I guess they are glad you aren’t home right now.”
From his vantage point he ticked off the items in the stack and it looked to be all there. And maybe there was some extra.
“You avoided my question. That is a game. Why do you keep popping up all of a sudden?”
She chewed her lettuce with just the right amount of her ‘on the side’ items then put her fork down. “When you went off the grid, you were not alone. About twenty to twenty five operatives did as well. I guess we wanted to know “WHY”.” She said in air quotes. “It didn’t make sense until we took a deep dive and noted that there are some out of sync indicators around the world. Our analyst noted that any one of these by them self doesn’t really stand out or tell anyone anything. But plugging it into a system, then there is a story there and while we don’t know this story, it seems ominous.”
Wes put his knife and fork down. “That’s a pretty unique story. But why me?”
Veronica sat there a moment than leaned in. “Pay your bill, big boy and let’s go for a walk.”
He knew she wasn’t flirting and it was that they needed to be away from prying ears. So they paid and left, Wes very sated from his meal.
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Post by gipsy on Mar 11, 2022 16:06:11 GMT -6
Now the dirt comes out
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Post by kansasterri on Mar 11, 2022 17:24:50 GMT -6
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Post by 9idrr on Mar 11, 2022 18:33:15 GMT -6
Solo, you ain't lost your touch.
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Post by texican on Mar 11, 2022 19:13:28 GMT -6
Wes very sated from his meal.
Chicken fried stake and potatoes covered with a load of gravy will do that. I know this from nearly 70 plus years eating chicken fried stake and potatoes covered with a load of gray.
Solo, enjoy your trip.
Texican....
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Mar 12, 2022 8:43:10 GMT -6
thanks
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Post by solo on Mar 21, 2022 10:29:53 GMT -6
Chapter 15
As they walked, Veronica laid out the story, or at least her current version of the story as Wes figured.
“You were the easiest to find and you chose to go to ground in plain sight. Right under our noses, so to speak. I had kept up your comings and goings in this area to the various small towns and hamlets. Good effort by the way, making sure you dispersed your purchases and never used cards and such. However, in this case it made you stand out, at least to us. But what we want to know is what all of you know and should we be preparing for something?”
“I’m afraid that you’ve gotten to me under a huge coincidence. I simply retired and decided to live off grid as much as possible. Going to different places is simply habit and I haven’t had normal credit in years. There is nothing cloak or dagger with what I am doing. As for what is coming, I see our economy trending toward the dumpster and I am working to make sure that I don’t feel it.” The held open his hands, indicating that there was nothing more to it.
Veronica stopped and eyed him for almost a full minute. To her frustration, she realized that this tactic simply did not work with Wes. He was essentially immune to this type of manipulation. Or rather, he had decided long ago not to participate in this type of game playing.
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Be that as it may, what you see is what you get.” Wes shrugged.
“What now?” She asked.
“What do you mean what now?” He repeated the loaded question back to her. This tactic had frustrated his higher ups for many years.
“What are you going to do now?”
“What I have been doing. As I said before, I am retired and I am very much enjoying that fact.” He followed up. With that, he turned toward a small game trail she hadn’t noticed before and simply walked away.
She did not follow. She wasn’t dressed for an excursion into the woods. And she knew it was pointless. She just stood there watching his back thinking about his latest exchange. He infuriated her. He also excited her. About the time it hit her that he had absolutely zero reaction to all the other agents going to ground revelation. Which meant that he knew about it and was probably 100% involved. When she came back to the here and now, she saw that he was just gone.
Quickly, she walked back down the street to the motel and sure enough, the small stack of supplies that had been left by the deputies had been gone through and a couple of items were left.
With a deep sigh, she walked closer and sure enough, the bag of sugar had been left. And with that, her latest chance to see where he goes and lays his head each night was over. Upon checking, the tracking device was still in the sugar container. She kicked the bag with all her worth sending sugar into every nook and cranny around the door.
Turning back toward her car, it was between her and the café, she almost ran over Deputy Fife. “Looks like yer boyfriend decided to not stick around.”
She just stood there looking at him. He became visibly uncomfortable after twenty seconds. Most people could not handle a silence in conversation and usually rushed to fill the void. This time was no different. He stumbled, “Well, um, he is, uh, lucky.” He visibly panted a bit under her gaze. “We, don’t, uh, cotton, to ne’er do wells, around here.”
She snorted at this, “Please, he is the most upright man here. And the big problem is you and the rest of you natural born losers know it.” She took a step in. “And he is ALL man. You “cotton” to that?” Again with air quotes. With a smirk, she turned and walked off by herself.
“Oh and Deputy?” She slowed and turned slightly. “The next time I see you, you will keep your eyes off my butt and my breasts. There is definitely nothing for you there in either place. You Cotton?”
The deputy was certainly jumpy, but his face blushed. Still he quickly made his way back to the motel lobby, muttering under his breath, “I will show them!”
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Post by gipsy on Mar 21, 2022 10:33:07 GMT -6
How stupid he is.
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Post by cavsgt on Mar 21, 2022 13:08:25 GMT -6
Good update Thank You
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Post by texican on Mar 21, 2022 14:22:34 GMT -6
“Oh and Deputy?” She slowed and turned slightly. “The next time I see you, you will keep your eyes off my butt and my breasts. There is definitely nothing for you there in either place. You Cotton?”
The deputy was certainly jumpy, but his face blushed. Still he quickly made his way back to the motel lobby, muttering under his breath, “I will show them!”
Me thinks that the deputy is in for more than a little surprise from both.
Thanks S for the story.
Texican....
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Post by udwe on Mar 22, 2022 5:57:35 GMT -6
This story is getting better and better.
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Post by solo on Mar 23, 2022 11:41:38 GMT -6
Chapter 16
Wes had actually hung around long enough to witness this exchange. He felt like Veronica knew he was probably there and put on that little show for him.
His first thought was, ‘Great, now I have to worry about a chicken hawk squawking about like he was important or something.’ Then he settled into thinking about what Veronica had said. What is her angle? Who is she and who is she working for?
These were all questions he worked through while working his way back to his hideaway.
It was late on the third day as he stopped for the evening, he set up his camp. He was still about ten miles from his hideout, but had really slowed down his trip. He had realized that he was being followed on the first morning he was out. On one of his deep turn backs as he laid out a haphazard trail, he saw who he called tweedle dee and tweedle dum on his back trail. It was the same man/woman team who had come out to track the sensors tripping at the old campsite.
Now this was an interesting development. He wished he would have grabbed one or both of them the last time and at the least, gave a more permanent solution to his problem, then. Now they were back and were following him. Were they a third or fourth party to his party, independent of the small town Law Enforcement and whomever Veronica works for? He decided to take even more time to get back and made sure he had enough close encounters to get any information he could.
The first thing he noticed is that they were not without skill. They had some training, but after closer inspection, they were on the younger side and he figured that experience were not their friend, yet. They were tracking him and responding appropriately to the inputs he left for them and they were doing the necessary things, with solid woods skills.
Still, it took them a full two days to realize that Wes was tracking them more than they were tracking him. And Wes got to hear their first disagreement.
“He knows we are on his trail. We should just pack up and go back.” The woman was stating her case. They had stopped for the night and had started a small fire to ward off the cold that evening. One of their first missteps had been their sleep system. It was not designed to be a multi-night system. As it was based on bivvy sacks, and meant more for a “have to” situation then a “want to situation”, they had not even intended to spend the night.
“Hey, you know this guy’s skill. You are the one who wanted to travel light.” The man protested.
Not giving an inch, “You were the one who was spouting off that this would be a simple drop in and grab op. Who is this guy anyway?” She intoned.
They went on like this for a while until they tired of this situation. “I’m tired of sleeping cold. We should come back when it is warmer.” The woman said.
“Well, we have to go back soon anyway. Our food is about out.” He said.
“No, un huh. He is close. I can feel him.”
She did not realize how correct she was. Wes had collected himself in his makeshift camp underneath the lower branches of a nearby fir tree, he was out of the wind and was relatively dry and comfortable. They had no clue he was there and within 50 yards of them. He had plenty of Pemmican and jerky, as well as dried berries, at least enough to outlast these folks. They did not impress him at all. The rain began to fall.
As the sun fully faded, the temperature dropped and the rain that had fallen first began to freeze. Then the rain turned to ice, then snow. The wind picked up. Wes saw what these two newbies didn’t. They were in big time trouble.
Wes had a decision to make.
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Post by cavsgt on Mar 23, 2022 12:38:08 GMT -6
It just keeps getting better. Thank You phill
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Post by texican on Mar 23, 2022 13:36:44 GMT -6
As the sun fully faded, the temperature dropped and the rain that had fallen first began to freeze. Then the rain turned to ice, then snow. The wind picked up. Wes saw what these two newbies didn’t. They were in big time trouble.
Wes had a decision to make.What will Wes decide? Time to take both and find out who they are working for or just the girl? And then send them on their way? Wes needs the info as to whom is trying to track him. Take both, separate them, tie them up, question each and then warn them the next time they follow him inform them that they will not return to their base. Probably better to just question them and then ?. But Wes has a tender heart which can lead to disaster. Solo? Texican....
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Mar 23, 2022 18:58:14 GMT -6
Thanks
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Post by solo on Mar 24, 2022 9:13:56 GMT -6
Chapter 17
Watching the two bumbling around trying to deal with the rapidly changing weather reminded him of a trip he had taken when he was a junior in high school.
It was during spring break and he and his best friend and his best friend’s girlfriend, all of them sixteen years old at the time were on a long hike in the high desert of California outside of China Lake. The area was littered with ghost towns and abandoned mines. They had intended to just be out a couple of nights, and with it being a desert, packed rather lightly.
They had chosen a hiking path that was roughly a long loop from where they parked their car on the side of the road. For this March day, it had warmed up sharply. Not bothering to check on the weather forecast they set out. They made it roughly about eleven miles before they camped for the night.
With the short duration of the hike, and thinking they would have to take a lot of extra water and the added weight that brought, they figured they’d save a little weight by packing lighter. They had two three-seasoned tents, they brought lighter weight sleeping gear and they decided to bring food they didn’t have to cook so they could leave their cooking systems at home, along with the gas.
His best friend’s girlfriend’s family were somewhat very knowledgeable in survival, especially in extreme, austere environments. As such, she was somewhat better prepared, though not in the high priced REI camping domain way, just as a matter of course.
What Wes learned from her, what he later found with his buddies Dave Canterbury and Shawn Kelly at their Pathfinder School, were the ten “C’s” of survival. These were Cutting Tool, Combustion Device, Cover Shelter, Container, Cordage, Candling, Cotton Material, Cargo Tape, Compass, and Canvas Needle. She regularly regaled the two boys. They took up almost no room in a regular small haversack, but covered a grand majority of any situation.
She demonstrated this in the past as on previous trips, there would be problems with matches or finding tender, and she would whip out her secondary combustion devices, in one case the use of flint and steel to ignite a piece of char-cloth she had made in previous fire using pieces she cut form the cotton material and her container. Oh, and they gave her a difficult time about the canvas needle until she used it to lance a boil and sew up a small gash on Wes’ ankle on the same trip.
Still, they were slow learners and she was way ahead of them. She had warned that it would get very cold in the high desert at night. They would not listen, thinking it was desert. It doesn’t get cold there. That night, she made them enjoy what they had brought for warmth, not letting them join her at the small reflected fire she had made next to her expedient camp build with a series of smaller rocks around where they were.
After she made them suffer then promise to stop being so mule headed about this “stuff” she let them join her. Up until then and then after, that was the coldest that Wes ever remembered being. All because, he wasn’t prepared.
Years later, watching these two, those lessons, as well as his BUDs indoc and his Month and a half at the Pathfinder School where Canterbury and Kelly put him and his squad through the ringer, came back strong. He was amused watching these two.
Now, with his options being limited, should he let them be? Or does he take them, friendly like, to his base camp, where they could properly wait out this storm? And maybe, per chance, he could get some answers to why they were following him? Or maybe he could just strongly encourage them to get back to where it was they were from and not come back.
They finally finished setting up and to him, it was woefully inadequate for what was coming. He had carefully and silently repacked what little he had gotten out. So he acted.
“Stay where you are and keep your hands where I can see them.” His voice boomed. They froze in place.
“I am coming out. We need to have a serious chat.” With that, he eased out and moved over to where they were. “The weather is changing for the worse. You can’t be out here in this and I can’t let you.”
“Why would you care?” The woman spoke up.
“Oh I care about as much as the boil on my bum, make no mistake. And I would really like to hear what business you think you have with me, but no, there is little honor in letting you freeze to death because you were stupid.”
“So what do you want?” She asked.
“Against my better judgement, I am going to take you to my camp. But here is how we are going to do it. For my safety mind you.
“You are going to leave all your gear behind. Then I am going to check you both closely for trackers.” The duo said nothing, but the man’s face gave him away. So Wes started with him first.
“Ma’am, I have to put these on.” He pulled out two sets of loops made out of paracord.
She sighed them taking off her outer coat, put it on the ground. She then held out her wrists. He put the loops on them and then on her ankles, then hooked them together. She saw there wasn’t much she could do.
Wes then turned toward the man. “Okay, strip. Everything off.”
The man protested about it being too cold, this was indignant and everything in between. Wes never said a word but leveled a stare on him that was unbearable. The man quickly stripped down, standing on his coat. Wes looked him over, had him turn this way and that and was mostly certain that there was something by the way the man was acting.
Wes looked through his clothing carefully and it wasn’t until he got to the man’s boots that the man subtly tensed. So Wes simply tossed the boots in the fire. The man lunged at Wes yelling. Wes turned and before he realized what he had done, he crushed the man’s windpipe with a well-placed strike. The man was dead before he hit the ground, his body voiding with the loss of signal with his brain.
Wes looked at him strangely. That blow was simply meant to stun, not kill. “He broke his neck about three months ago.” The Lady offered. “He should not have been out here. I am not sure why they sent him.”
“Well. We will cover that in a bit. Let’s get on with it.” He helped her up. She knew that Wes would be professional, so she didn’t even pause once the restraints were removed. In less than five minutes, she was able to redress.
He produced a balaclava and put it on her backwards so that her vision was totally covered. He then led her for an hour to his "Base". He took the most direct route, though with all the switch backs, she had lost her step count and direction by the time they got there.
Along the way, he was kicking himself. His too big heart probably just cost him his base camp. But that was okay. The information he was planning to get would offset any moving he had to do.
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Post by texican on Mar 24, 2022 12:25:47 GMT -6
Solo,
A great chapter that answered most of the unanswered questions except the why about him being chased.
Next chapter?
Thanks for the chapter.
Texican....
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Post by 9idrr on Mar 24, 2022 19:47:40 GMT -6
Thanks.
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ydderf2
Member
"I'm from the government and here to help" hahahaha
Posts: 321
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Post by ydderf2 on Mar 25, 2022 8:30:45 GMT -6
thanks
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Post by solo on Mar 25, 2022 13:14:00 GMT -6
Chapter 18
As they trudged through snow, the woman tried to keep her general step count and sense of direction. She knew this was a golden opportunity to find out where he has been hole’d up. Still, with each step, she got colder and colder. Her feet were more than saturated and she was starting to zone in and out of the here and now.
Finally, the terrain flattened significantly and the ground was harder. It was still slick but definitely harder.
All she could hear was the wind whooshing through the trees and feel the occasional wet cold speck hit her lower face/neck area. She assume this was heavy snow falling. Soon she stopped and she heard a door open. All she could think of was, ‘wait, he has had time to put in a door?’
This thought was soon overshadowed by sudden and comforting warmth. It was undeniably gratifying. She was gently led to sit on something soft. She assumed it was his sleeping platform. She heard the door close and the dead bolt get thrown. She tilted her head sideways.
He walked over to her. She didn’t hear him and flinched when he took the balaclava off. The sudden lights were a little overpowering so she squinted. He took his knife and cut her flexcuffs off of her wrists.
First she looked around and through squinted eyes, realized that this was a motel room. It was a couple of heartbeats before she could get the utter look of disappointment off of her face. It was fleeting but Wes saw it.
“Wasn’t what you were expecting?” He questioned.
She sat there and rubbed her wrists a little. “No. Why here? I thought we’d go back to your base.”
“We did. Of a sorts. No one will know where I live in the natural scheme of things.” Wes said.
She held up her wrists. “What is this?”
“I figured you’d want to take a warm shower and get cleaned up a bit. Hard to do that shackled.”
“No why did you untie me in the first place?”
“You aren’t my prisoner. I would like to talk to you, but that is up to you.” He said.
“What was with the shackles, my partner, our stripping?”
“That was all a lot easier than trying to convince you two that you weren’t going to survive the night. Your partner just took it personally.” He said.
“I don’t get it?” She asked.
“Look I want a shower. But I have home training and am willing to let you go first. Please just do that. We can talk after.”
She sat and just stared at him for a moment. She was in her mid-thirties, a little on the then side, and stood about 5 foot 6 inches tall. Her hair was straight, brown and about shoulder length. Her face, though weather worn wasn’t exactly beauty pageant material. Yet she was far from homely. Her face, her eyes felt…. Comfortable. He’s seen her stripped all the way down and her body screamed average, if not a little too thin. Maybe, wiry would be a better descripts.
She studied him just the same. Probably mid-fifties, multi colored hair and beard. Everything about him screamed average. What she did notice was his eyes. They didn’t seem to miss anything. And a person could get lost in those eyes.
She shook her head slightly then stood up. She walked over to the sink and counter area. She shrugged, and stripped there. It wasn’t anything there he hadn’t already seen. She then grabbed her towel and wash cloth, the tiny motel soap bar and the one shot shampoo and entered the bathroom. She left it open to let the steam escape. She soon lost herself in the heat and it wrapped itself around her.
After more minutes than she would have liked, she turned the water off, dried off and wrapped her hair in a second towel. She stepped out and put on a robe that had been left for her. Her clothes were gone. ‘Convenient, all I have is a robe.’ She thought.
Wes had stripped almost all the way down to his boxer briefs, but took his towel and wash cloth and entered the shower area before he finished stripping. He did not take long and soon stepped out of the shower room wearing a knee length buckskin tunic loosely. It didn’t look like much but it was comfortable.
“Where are my clothes?”
“Getting washed.”
“Sort of keeps me here a bit, huh?” She pointed out.
“You can leave any time you want. I do hope you stay though.”
She sighed. “Okay, whatever.”
“Who are you?”
“Samantha, most call me Sam.”
“Where are you from?” He asked.
“Montana.” She replied.
“You know what I mean. Let me cut to the chase. Why were you two following me and who works for you?” He asked.
She just sat on the bed with her legs crossed.
“Okay. That one’s too hard, I see. Who do you think I am?”
“You are Wesley Müller.” She said then looked away.
“And?” He drew out slowly.
“And you kill people.” She looked him directly in the eyes.
He looked at her and pursed his lips. “Go on.”
“You are a former CIA cleaner.” She said.
He smiled at this one.
“What?” She asked.
“You missed on that one. But go on, what else do you have on me?”
“You did three tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan. You never stayed here in the states for more than a week or two before jumping at the chance to go back to the sand box.”
He nodded his head a little.
“After your last time over there, you were hired out by the CIA to clean up messes.”
“I’ve had zero exposure to that organization. I was a contractor. That is it. But yes, I did solve problems.” He said.
The silence hung a little. “So why would you want to know anything about me?”
She was quiet and looked at him. He was disarming with his gaze and his smile. “I didn’t.” was all she said.
“What do you mean you didn’t?” “We weren’t interested in you at all.” She said.
“Yet you were following me and know a little about my past.” He was getting a little incredulous.
“That was just due diligence.”
“Okay, I am getting a little tired of this. Why were you following me? Now and before?”
“No one was following you before. We followed because we are looking for someone else. Knowing about your first encounter with him, we thought you maybe would lead us to him.” She said.
“To who?”
“To Whom.” She corrected.
“Cut the crap!” He snapped.
“Fredrick Masterson.”
He scrunched up his face. That name meant nothing to him.
“You know, he and Veronica shared your camp?”
“What about him?” Wes asked.
“He’s missing.”
Wes tilted his head. “What does that have to do with me?”
“Have you seen him lately?”
“No. Who do you work with again?” He replied.
“Someone who is very interested in finding him.” She said.
“Why me? Why not follow Veronica?”
“Because, Veronica works for us.” She said.
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Post by cavsgt on Mar 25, 2022 14:04:27 GMT -6
OK Time for me to reboot and start a new train of thought. Thank You phill
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Post by 9idrr on Mar 25, 2022 18:45:11 GMT -6
Okay, I was waitin' for you to throw me a change up... but you gotta make it a knuckle-curve. Now, since she's more like wiry he can feed her a few cheeseburgers to give her that womanly shape.
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Post by solo on Mar 31, 2022 11:48:05 GMT -6
Chapter 19
“That makes zero sense!” Wes snarled. “Why would you be wanting to talk to me to find someone who was a plaything for Veronica?”
“Veronica hasn’t seen him since they went to the camp.”
“So?”
“Don’t you see? You were the only other person who saw him for the last time.” She shrugged, like it was so clear.
“Sorry you wasted your time and your partner’s life. None of this has to do with me. So once we are finished here, you and Veronica can leave me alone.”
Sam just gave him a sad smile.
“What?”
“Since we have been studying you and your background, we have started to see some things that are alarming us.”
“Like?”
“Well, first, the last few months, this is the longest time you have been in the US at any one time. Two, you seem to be getting ready for something. Three, a lot of people in the business who fit your mold has just disappeared.” She ticked off.
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“I mean that they have gone to ground and we have no contact with them.”
“Is there any reason to believe that someone would say that you or whoever you work for had a hand in them disappearing?” He asked.
“No, None.”
Wes paused. He looked down at his hands a little. They were sitting on each bed facing each other in the middle. He could still see her peripherally and watch for any changes in her demeanor. He realized that with her response and body language, she had told him the truth.
She tilted her head and asked him. “What are you preparing for?”
He smiled and stood up, he reached over and helped her to stand. “Everything.”
Though she was a bit shorter she still had presence and he felt as if she took up the room. She leaned into him and he leaned down to her and they shared a light kiss.
He straightened and sighed, “I am fairly certain that this isn’t a good idea.”
“Of that, you will have no argument from me.” She said, the she reached up and pulled his head back down.
A bit later, as she laid next to him with her head in the crook of his arm, she sighed. She was happy, but still. “You know that this changes nothing.”
Wes was quite for a moment or three and finally said, “No, I ‘spect it doesn’t. But for tonight let’s rest. Tomorrow will have worries of its own.”
“Rest, huh? I don’t see that happening!” She smiled and kissed him again.
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