Chapter 134

I awoke at my usual 6AM and also as the new usual I went back to sleep. Finally at 7AM I began to stir. I dressed for a run, since I did not have the tricycle. I left the box house at about 7:15 or so. I ran for 45minutes out and almost an hour back. It took a lot more out of me than the trike ride did. I guessed that it was time I stopped living the good life for a while.

I went in and took a quick shower. Then I threw my few clothes into a bag and left for the drive to Stanleyville Tn. It should have been a two hour drive over the mountains but the mountains can fool you. Even on a major highway in the winter shit happens. There had been a heavy fog and a rock slide. It made for a really bad combination. Something a semi driver learned first hand. The state police had the road blocked. At least we had cell service so I called ahead to delay the meeting for a couple of hours.

I finally met Mr. Evans in the parking lot of a convenience store and gas station at the exit from the interstate closest to his cabin. I followed him inside to sit at one of the snack bar's three tables. I didn't like that idea of doing business in a restaurant. I had no idea who the people around us were.

"So why are we meeting here?" I asked.

"Because you are two hours late and insisted no one see you or know about our business. Look just leave me the packet with the instructions," he suggested.

"This is not going to work out I'm sorry," I said standing to leave.

He obviously was not used to being told no. "What the hell do you mean," he said.

"You have no idea what it takes to stay alive working in the dark. You also have no idea what you are dealing with. So let me tell you some things. If you have a million dollar loss that you know about, you have at least double that which you don't know about. For that kind of money there are men who at some point would be willing to torture me to find out how much I have learned.

And you want me to leave fucking papers for your secretary who might be part of it to find. The is where I am coming from so go hire a private security company to tighten the pant down, but you can expect them to have written records possibly covering the workers playing card, and the union taking the government loan money to play the horses, or some such shit. You are hiring a black ops person to hide your shit, as much as to get your losses stopped, so don't fucking play clueless businessman with me." I turned and walked out. I expected him to be on the phone to Martin before I left the parking lot. I also didn't give a hoot in hell that he would.

I climbed into the truck and saw Evans on the phone to god only knew who. I sure as hell didn't care, my mind was made up. I would never work for that man.

I drove back to County Seat in the alloted two hours since the road east bound was open. I went to the pub for dinner then I went back to the box house. I found one last bottle of the Green Dragon in a dry well I had forgotten about. There was also a hundred, $100 bills in the dry well. "Shit I thought. One thing about the dry wells, they could never be found by men with metal detectors. The were a an old five gallon plastic bucket filled with valuables then buried in the ground. You had to either have a map or know where to look.

I recovered the valuables and went inside to use the computer. It was slow on the old dialup service, but that's why it only cost ten dollars a month. I had it just in case I needed to get online from some place with no other service. When I had lived it County Seat, I had cable internet service but I canceled that when I left.

As I expected Martin called me, before bedtime. "I am sorry that fucking guy is a clown. He thinks operatives are stupid. You figured out the car business is a sham and that scared the piss out of him. I always knew you were intuitive boarding on physic. Don't let him worry you, I explained that you would never talk about our business. I also explained what would happen, if he felt you were a threat that needed removing."

"Oh and what did you tell him?" I asked.

"That if he came for you, it would simply be a matter of who killed him. Either way we would make sure it was a long, slow, painful death. The asshole asked if I was threatening him." Martin said.

"How did he ever get to be a CEO," I asked.

"Just a better con man than the politicians, which is not an easy thing to be," he said.

"Do I need to make a preemptive move?" I asked.

"I think he is sufficiently terrified. He is a con man, not a hitman," Martin commented.

"Well it just goes to show that even I can have a wasted day," I said. I laughed to lighten the mood.

"Yeah proves you are human. So what now?" he asked.

"I think it might be time I go prospecting again," I said.

"Well good for you. I always believed there is gold in them there hills," Martin said. "I think I better go now and figure out my next move should Mr. Evans decide to threaten us."

I didn't say anything but the only thing Martin would consider was the who and how, not his next move. Evan was definitely playing outside his league.