Chapter 52

Present – Ben – At the bunker

I'm hunting like hell for the rifle that fits this cartridge because if I can find it, it will stop anything with one shot. But I'm also concerned about Stacy. She's been a wreck lately (and rightly so) but when she really sees what that fat fuck dope smoking bastard did to her, I'm concerned it will push her over the edge. I'm sure any minute I'll hear her cry from the bathroom or go in there and she will be cowering in the shower. And to be truthful, I have this feeling we can't afford the time for her to recuperate.

I take care of one thing then I toss all the gun cabinets in the main room (and find one interesting as hell .275 Rigby rifle¹). After my searching I go into the stables, greet Bo and Patches then toss all the gun cabinets in there but still don't find the damn rifle (I put everything back in its proper place, after all I am a Marine). I walk back over to Bo, scratch his neck and I am deep in thought when I'm surprised as hell by the sound I hear behind me. I draw my revolver, turn and discover...

¹ The 7×57mm cartridge, also known as the 7 mm Mauser, 7×57mm Mauser, 7 mm Spanish Mauser in the USA and .275 Rigby in the United Kingdom, was developed by Paul Mauser of the Mauser company in 1892 and adopted as a military cartridge by Spain in 1893. It was subsequently adopted by several other countries as the standard military cartridge. It is recognized as a milestone in modern cartridge design and although now obsolete as a military cartridge, it remains in widespread international use as a sporting round. The 7×57mm has been deservedly described as "a ballistician's delight". Many sporting rifles in this caliber were made by British rifle makers, among whom John Rigby was prominent. In catering to the British preference for calibers to be designated in inches, Rigby called this chambering the .275 Rigby, using the measurement of a 7 mm rifle's bore across the lands.

Present – Stacy – At the bunker

I remove my shirt, pull the bandage off my back and turn my back toward the mirror. When I twist my head around... that son of a bitch! That bastard! Right in the middle of my back in crude, vulgar letters it says G U Y! I slightly cry because I know the only way this is ever going away is if I have plastic surgery performed on it. When I catch him, and I will catch him, I'm going to make him pay!!!

I take off my pants, and I can see right away there are more pads than I thought. I slowly take them off, and I can't believe what I see. I'm a mass of bruises, welts, tears and cuts! No wonder I'm so sore! I crumple to the floor and begin to cry: Oh why, why, why did I ever do what I did...

But the worst thing is Ben had to see all this when he took care of me! I pull myself together, stand up, get in the shower and turn on the hottest water I can stand. Then I scrub the hell out of my skin to rid my body of any residue from that bastard. Yeah it hurts like hell, but for every bit of pain I feel I swear an oath that I will make that bastard experience ten times more pain in reparation!

I don't know how long I'm in the shower, but the hot water finally runs out. I get out and dry myself off. Ben must have come in while I was in the shower and delivered new clothes. It looks like he left me some medical supplies. Thank God I can take care of myself because I sure don't want Ben seeing me like this again since I can barely stand to look at myself. I head out into the main room but don't see Ben so I gear up and head toward the stables.

I see him loving on Bo and slowly walk toward him. I can't believe I get as close as I do then he quickly draws his revolver, turns and says, "Damn Stacy put your weapon away and don't sneak up on me again like that. I almost shot you."

I look down and realize that when Ben moved like he did, I also pulled out my pistol. Wow, I don't remember doing that! I give Ben a serious look and say...

Present – Ben – At the bunker

I am shocked that Stacy did a damn good job of sneaking up on me - better than she had ever done before. When Bo showed me with his eyes and ears that someone was behind me I thought it might be Guy. When I spun around I was shocked to see Stacy and even more shocked when she automatically drew her weapon! That was a first!

I order her to put it away, she complies then explains, "Ben, thanks again for all you've done for me. I know many times I've been a pain and have acted like this is a game. But with what's happened to me, I now know that I need to take more responsibility for my life and protecting it. I want you to teach me everything you know."

I argue, "Stacy, what happened to you was terrible but you're overreacting and you're not ready for the kind of commitment it will take." And I think to myself, 'there's no way in hell I can teach you everything I know'.

She complains, "Dammit Ben, then make me ready. I'm serious about this and somehow I'm going to make you train me."

Suddenly, I can see she's serious about this. I need some way to shut her up so I can continue my search for the rifle. Hey ... that gives me an idea! I hold up the cartridge and say, "Okay Stacy, here's the deal. If you want me to 'teach you everything I know', then you need to find the rifle that fires this round."

She takes the round out of my hand, looks at it and questions, "Can you describe what the rifle looks like?"

I give her my best guess of what I think it looks like, tell her it might even be in a suitcase looking box. She smiles and I get worried when she agrees, "Okay, it's a deal. Follow me."

Oh shit! Don't tell me she actually knows where this damn rifle is. We head toward the kitchen and I hope I didn't screw up again...

Present – Stacy – At the bunker

Ben thinks he's so smart and knows everything. Well I know he never spent as much time in the kitchen as I did. Otherwise he would have known the exact location of the rifle he's looking for. I walk to the pantry, open it and state, "The rifle you're looking for is in here."

Ben peers into the pantry and remarks, "Well I sure as hell don't see it."

I grin at him, reach in the pantry and pull a little lever. Ben jumps as the pantry swings open revealing the hidden room I'd found. I smile at Ben and say, "Well go on in. There's a suitcase like you mentioned in there with the rifle in it. So when do you start teaching me all you know?"

Present – Ben – At the bunker

Damn! I should have known better than to bet Stacy. Women are more curious than a hundred cats. But this time her curiosity paid off. Her find was valuable even if her opening the hidden door startled me because I was sure something was going to blow the hell up.

I'm busy looking at how this guy created this hidden door when Stacy clears her voice, "So Ben, when are you going to start my training?"

I reply, "First I want to make sure the rifle is in here."

I start to carefully walk into the hidden room when Stacy barges past me and says, "Ben stop being such a scaredy cat! I've been in here and this room is just fine. Look, the suitcase is over there and I have already looked and it does have some sort of gun in it that looks like a fancy shotgun. So when do my lessons start?" (Are we there yet????).

I do a quick assessment of the room and smile - it's plain that this was Jon's private man cave! The walls are covered with trophies and I recognize the big three: A damn rhino; a hippo; and a pair of tusks standing in the corner. Then I shudder when I see the one animal that was even more dangerous than those three - the Cape Buffalo ... Damn! I've heard you could shoot one in the head and it would still keep coming and kill you...

Stacy clears her throat and continues to annoy me, "Ben? The lessons?"

I look at her and angrily reply, "Right now! You should have never explored this room by yourself. Did you forget about all the booby traps?"