Chapter 77

I walked out of my office and headed for the sidewalk going around the other side of the house toward the cottage and Farley. When I got in view of the guard's shack, I saw a late model car sitting at the gate. The security guard looked like he was arguing with the driver, so out of curiosity I walked over. Just as I reached the shack, the driver stuck a pistol out of the window and shot the guard. He went down, bleeding from the shoulder. I pulled my forty and shot the driver as he started to get out of the car. The sound of the shot must have reached the cottage, because in a minute or so Farley came running from the back of the house.

"Intruders, Farley, get everyone in the main house until I get it checked out," I yelled at him.

"Will do, Jon!"

I helped the security guard up and into the shack which I knew was almost attack proof. His animal followed us in and I closed the door.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes sir. I think it's just a flesh wound. Will you hand me the first aid kit above your head?"

I handed it to him and flipped the rotator control on the property cameras. I saw one of the dogs down at the barn and switched to the hidden camera in the barn. When it came up I saw five men hiding inside the door and they were arguing about something. The one I took as the leader was shouting and shaking his fist in one of the men's faces. One of them was bleeding heavily from the shoulder and arm and was trying to wrap it to stop the bleeding. I got on the intercom and told Farley to look in the cupboard above the stove and to lock the back door. I told him to have Jubal make sure the porch door was locked but watch for me until I could get inside. Kat was trying to say something when I shut the intercom off. I was watching the other cameras and saw another car pull up at the back fence. Four men piled out and one was using a cell phone. I looked back at the guard and reached to help him tie the bandage around his shoulder. When I got it tied he stood up and hit three different buttons. They all turned green and he smiled when they did.

"They haven't cut communications sir. We have backup on the way from your office, as well as state and county, sir. You go join your family. I will be safe here and will let them in when they arrive. Sir, thank you."

"You're welcome, officer. Don't take any chances and stay in the shack. I'll have my family covered."

I went out running for the front door. I was met by Jubal with one of the AK47's pointing at me. I smiled at his surprise and quickly locked the door behind me.

"Come on!"

We ran for the kitchen and into a man's worse nightmare. Women were yelling and asking questions, one after another, not even waiting for an answer.

"Shut the hell up, all of you! We have intruders on the property so everyone listen to me. Farley, Jubal, and I know what we are doing, so the rest of you just shut up for now!"

I got a dirty look from Kat for that one, but I smiled at her before telling everyone to follow me. I took them back into the little alcove where Myrna used to sit to trade her penny stocks during the day. In reality it was a canned goods storage area, but she had set up a card table there. I went to the big shelf at the back and reached behind it, pulling a small lever. I heard the click as I swung the shelves out away from the wall. I turned the light on and I looked down the hand carved steps. They had been carved out of the granite that the house sat on and they dated back to the Civil War. My grandfather had given me the tour of his wine cellars when I first came over here from France. The rest of what he showed me was a complete surprise as well as a secret that my family had shared for generations. I motioned for the women to go ahead and they did, with Timmy looking back at me with scared eyes.

"What about the house, Jon? Shouldn't one of us stay up here to make sure they don't burn it or something?"

"Don't worry about the house burning, Jubal. The whole place is so heavily coated with fire retardant that the only thing they could burn would be the furniture and it's treated too. Besides, it's insured, but we aren't. Our lives are more important than any house or belongings."

"What about the dogs, Gampa?"

"Timmy, they are guard dogs and trained to protect us."

"I just don't want them to get hurt either, Gampa."

I told him they would be fine, even though one was already down. I pulled the shelves closed and heard the lock click. I knew then that unless they knew about the door, they would have no idea where we had gone. When I got to the bottom, Kat was standing with her hand on her hips, and once again I could have sworn her hair was alive, the way it kept moving, seemingly on its own.

"Ok, Jon, are we safe for now?"

"Yes, no one knows about this but me and Myrna. Even Sally didn't know this was here. This dates back to the Civil War days when my family was a leader in the Underground Railroad for slaves escaping to the north."

"Then suppose you tell us what is going on."

"In a minute, dear. We need to go a little deeper and into another room where we can all sit down for a little while 'till help gets here. Now, follow me and I will explain everything."

I led them into and then through the wine cellar.

"Man, I could stay drunk for years with all this wine, Jon. How much is all of this worth?"

"Well, Farley, it's insured for six million, but it's due to be reinsured and it will be worth even more. Some of these wines are now considered one of a kind vintages. There are bottles of wine, whiskey and cognac that are over a hundred years old. Some of the original wines are left over from the 1700s when my family had them brought in from other countries on sailing ships. I have a complete list somewhere. There are rums, brandies, and other stuff here from all over the world. Somewhere on the shelves are several bottles of sake that are over four hundred years old and would sell at auction for over a quarter million per bottle."

"Wow!"

I didn't mention the wooden kegs of rum and other vintage liqueurs that were in another room still in their original wooden kegs. When we went through the wine cellar, I turned left and we went down the side passage to another large room with furniture and several handmade bunk beds. I told everyone to come in after I flipped the lights on. From the looks on their faces, I think all of them were a little startled by the opulence of the large room before them. After I pulled the covers off the couch and chairs, everyone sat down with a stunned look on their faces.