Chapter Ten of A Reporters Nightmare

By the time morning rolled around all the crates and all the spilled diamonds had been recovered and taken to the police station. Officer Hardly looked over the damage to Aragon’s pickup. “The man that was behind this all will pay for the damage to your pickup.” He said.

     Aragon shrugged. “He’ll have to replace the ignition to. Smoky lost my keys.”

     Officer Hardly looked into the pickup and saw something that appeared to catch his interest. “They left blanks all over.” He said. “Along with the pistol, but not a single bullet with live ammunition.”

     Aragon looked over his pickup and came up with the same thing. Officer Hardly gestured at his police cruiser. “I’ll give you a ride back to Salina until we can get your pickup fixed.”

     Aragon was relieved. “Thanks.” He said. “But don’t ask me for my ID or anything, I forgot my wallet at my house.”

     “Good thing you didn’t get pulled over then.” Officer Hardly said.

     By the time Aragon was back at his house the word had spread to Salina that he had been kidnapped and helped the police recover stolen diamonds.

     By the end of the week Aragon had been interviewed by a dozen different reporters and he began to have a better understanding of why so many people veered away from cameras and microphones.

     His pickup was returned along with his keys and a new window and paint job. The robber was caught and put in prison before anyone caught wind of it and Officer Hardly offered Aragon the job of being bait for other robbers that were avoiding the police.

     Aragon politely declined.  

Chapter Nine of A Reporters Nightmare

Aragon helped the officer open the doors, one of the bicycles fell over and a table leg broke. The officer cast an inquisitive glance Aragon’s way.

     Aragon grabbed one of the shovels that had been left and moved a table and bike out of the way and dug some dirt away. In the dark it was hard to make much out but Aragon soon found a crate and pulled it out.

     The officer came over and tugged his flashlight free. Aragon pried the top free and both of the men stared. At least a hundred packets of hundred dollar bills carefully wrapped in plastic stared back at them.

     The officer pulled a radio out of his pouch and rattled off the discovery to whomever he was calling.

     When he was done he sat back. “I can’t believe it, after all this time of searching and we couldn’t find a thing an actor finds everything.”

     “I’m not an actor.” Aragon said. “I’m a reporter from Salina.”

     The officer extended his hand. “I’m sure glad to meet you. I’m Officer Hardly.”

     Aragon shook his hand. “Aragon Gates.”

     Officer Hardly scratched his head. “I’ve got a question.” He said. “If you’re from Salina, how did you find those men and all these crates?”

     Aragon told Officer Hardly everything since he had been looking for a story. “I needed a story.” He said. “I followed everyone of interest, even two girls arguing over what they were going to buy at the mall, but until I saw Smoky and Baxter I didn’t have a story.”

     Officer Hardly shook his head in wonder. “I couldn’t have done a half of what you did.” He said and pulled a notebook out. “But I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you, I don’t think you’ll ever get a chance to write a real story on this, I think everyone will be to busy writing a story about you.”

     A thought occurred to Aragon. “But what about the man that’s behind it all?”

     “The three men that are headed to jail seem very talkative, they really don’t want to go to jail, I’m sure they’ll tell us everything we want to know.”

     Aragon nodded, relieved. “How did you know to come here?” He asked.

     “The man that’s behind it all happens to own these storage units, we found out that he started the fire to hold us off. It took us a little bit but we figured out what was going on.” Officer Hardly stretched one arm from his side. “We got over here as fast as we could to find you surrounded by those three men.”

     Aragon wanted to ask more but just then several more police cruisers pulled in and six officers came into the unit, armed with shovels. Without saying anything they began to dig at where the crates had been buried.

Chapter Eight of A Reporters Nightmare

Smoky stared at Aragon; finally he broke out of his stupor and pointed at Aragon. “Get him!”  Baxter ignored the command but Tate charged Aragon.

     Aragon played the pitiful part he had done in the pickup. He scrambled backwards and tripped over an unseen rock. He pushed himself up against a unit and raised his hands to protect himself.

     “Please don’t hit me.” He cried. “I never used to be a model and I don’t want to ruin my non existent reputation of never getting hit.”

     It didn’t help, Tate continued to charge him.

     Aragon began to shake. “Please!” he wailed loudly. “I don’t have kids that’ll never know or care what happened to me!”

     Just as Tate was in range and getting ready to throw a kick his way, Aragon leapt up and kicked the man in his shin. The kick didn’t slow Tate down but did make him stumble. Aragon jabbed two fingers stiffly into Tate’s throat.

     Tate’s eyes bulged and he wheezed. Smoky ran up to help him out but was to slow.

     A police car tore into the parking lot and two officers jumped out, running to overtake the three men.

     Smoky saw the officers and veered away from Aragon, running to a gap between the units. Aragon fell to the side, landing hard on the ground, but his plan worked. Smoky tripped over him and fell down.

     Aragon scrambled over to him and held him down. The officers caught Baxter, which wasn’t hard with his injured foot, they tased Tate and cuffed both of them.

     An officer came over to where Aragon was holding Smoky down and slapped cuffs on Smoky. Once all three men were in the police car one of the officers came over to Aragon.

     “Good job with the shouting.” He said. “If you hadn’t been making all that noise we would’ve locked you up to.”

     Aragon shrugged. “Do you have warrants out for their arrest?” he asked.

     The officer shrugged. “Not really, just some grounds that might be something in court.”

     Aragon stuffed his hands into his pocket. “Are you looking for any stolen diamonds?”

     The officer rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Now that it’s been mentioned again, yes. A man broke into several houses and stole a lot of jewels, later the same man robbed four banks, but we never caught him or recovered the money and jewels.”

     Aragon pointed at the unit behind him. “Those three men were burying a bunch of crates and one of them had diamonds in it.”

     The officer looked interested and walked over to the unit. He jiggled the lock, the rust that Aragon had thought been fake crumbled and fell off, taking the lock with it.

Chapter IX of Lands Beyond

     Later that evening, Sialkot summoned me to his office. With trepidation dogging my steps, I obeyed. Inviting me to sit down, he leaned back in his chair and studied me. “Tell me, Miss Von Schonhausen, everything that you have been doing in my absence, particularly everything that has to do with my daughter. And please, leave nothing out.”

     Taking a deep breath, I did so, speaking as calmly as I could. At the end of my narrative, I went silent, waiting for him to speak. He did not say anything immediately. Instead, he ran a finger in circles on his desktop, deep in thought. I fidgeted slightly, but remained silent.

     At last he looked up. “It seems that I owe you a debt of gratitude. Is there anything that I can do to repay you?”

     “No sire. I have done nothing that would merit being repaid. Please think nothing of it.”

     “On the contrary, my dear. You have done much for me.”

     Ducking my head, I ran my hands down my skirt, drying my palms, which had begun to sweat a little. “Actually, there is something. If it pleases you, I would like to take my shuttle and leave Adena. I wish to try and find my way back home.”

     “Is this place so awful that you no longer wish to stay?”

     “No, it is not that. I am afraid that I would cause discord and strife if I remained.”

     “Would you care to explain yourself?”

     “Commander Makkedah seems to think that I am throwing myself at him. I do not know why he believes this. I think it would be best if I removed myself from the picture, for everyone’s sake.”

     Sialkot steepled his hands together and peered at me thoughtfully. “I assume that you are unaware of our relationship to each other.”

     At my nod, he continued. “My first wife was a princess among her people. Very few people know this, and even fewer know that we had a son together. Those few who do know are ignorant of his identity. Only I, my son, and my daughter know the truth.

     “Commander Leuven Rhys Makkedah is all that a man could wish for in a son, and I am proud of him, but there are times when he is mistaken about something and does not wish to admit it. At these times, he becomes rather hardheaded and opinionated.”

     Stunned by this revelation, I could only stare. At last, I found my voice. “I am afraid that this only strengthens my resolve to leave. I respect both of you too much to be the cause of what would only be trouble between you.”

     “Very well, if that is your wish, I won’t stop you. I do have one request though. Take Daniela with you.”

     “What? I cannot take her with me. There might be danger along the way, and I would not risk her safety for anything. Besides, if I got lost, she would be lost along with me and you may never see her again.”

     “Brunhilda, I have considered my request carefully and I have talked to Daniela about it. I am convinced that it would be best if she went with you. She knows several languages that would benefit you. You are a good influence on her and I want her to learn as much as she can from you.”

     I was dumbfounded by his request. I thought about trying to dissuade him from it, but I knew that it would be virtually impossible and foolhardy. And so I stood and gave my best curtsy. “It shall be as you say, Your Majesty.”

     Preparations for our departure began immediately, although we did not leave until the next morning. Sialkot came out to see us off. He was the only one, for Leuven had not been informed of our plans. At the bottom of the ramp, Daniela paused to hug her father. He held tightly to her, and then gave her a kiss on the forehead and released her.

     She darted up the ramp and I pushed the button to raise it. Moving up to the cockpit, I settled into the pilot seat and engaged the engine. Slowly lifting off, I spun the craft around to face Sialkot. I raised my hand in a final salute, as did he. Turning to face the empty sky, I engaged the thrusters and we shot forward, leaving Adena behind us.

Chapter Seven of A Reporters Nightmare

      The man called Baxter took the shovel and began digging. Smoky stepped past the wall Aragon was hiding behind and walked stiffly to the pickup. Baxter slammed the shovel towards the ground and hit his foot instead. He yelled and started hopping on one foot while holding the other in his hand.

     The other man jumped at the sudden sound and dropped the crate he was toting. It split open and diamonds spilled out. A shout came from the pickup and Smoky came running back. “Gates is gone!”

     The other men didn’t notice and Smoky gaped at the scene in front of him. And then his phone rang. He snapped it open and answered sharply. His eyes grew wide as he listened and his hand began to shake. When he hung up his face was white.

     “Get those crates buried!” he shouted. “The fire isn’t doing the trick; the police are on their way!”

     Baxter, Smoky and Tate flew to their jobs, Baxter limping due to his foot injury. The hole was big enough to bury at least three men side by side and stacked up by three.

     The men dropped the crates into the hole and hurriedly dropped the spilled diamonds around the crates; there was no time to put them back in an extra crate.

     Aragon watched as they threw dirt over the crates. It was then that he noticed that there were several trunks lining the edges of the unit and a truck load of antique junk, old wheelbarrows, tricycles, chairs, tables and other antique junk.

     Finally Baxter and Tate finished covering the hole and began lining the storage unit with the junk. By the time they had finished Aragon could hear the sirens and see the lights. The men ran out of the unit and slid the door down, locking it with an antique lock that was probably brand new.

     Just as they began to run to his pickup Aragon called to them. “Hey, over here!” he called.

     The men turned to look at him and he snapped a picture on his phone. The picture was slightly fuzzy but clear enough that the police would be able to identify them.

Chapter VIII of Lands Beyond

     My glorified imprisonment might have lasted indefinitely if not for an unusual occurrence that earned the gratitude of the ruler, whose name was Sialkot. It seemed that he had a daughter who was always running away and throwing tantrums. Leuven was the only one who could reason with her, but he was not always successful.

     On this particular day, he had been sent on a short mission and I was confined to the palace grounds. I had never met the young princess, only heard about her, so I did not recognize the little brat when I saw her.

     She was dressed plainly and even had dirt on her face. I would not have paid any attention to her if she had not been bullying two little children. She was laughing at their fright and was waving a stick to frighten them even more.

     I might have let it be and gone on my way if she had not involved me. I was passing rather close by and she moved quickly. Hitting me squarely on the back with her stick, she began to yell and scream, berating me for ignoring her.

     I continued on my way, but she jammed the stick between my legs, tripping me. I landed hard, for it was unexpected. The ensuing attack was also unexpected.

     Raising my arms to protect my head, I shoved off of my knees, ramming her in the middle. I can only describe what happened next as a cat fight. She used her teeth and nails and had no inhibitions about fighting dirty.

     With my face and shoulders scratched up and several places sore where she had hit me with rocks, I decided that enough was enough. She was not going to get away with this!

     Pinning her arms to her sides, I picked her up and sat down on a barrel, where I laid her across my knees and removed my belt. She was still screaming angrily, unaware of what was about to happen. She found that out with no further delay.

     After giving her ten solid whacks, I set her on her feet and stood up. She immediately ran to three guards who had just come up, demanding shrilly that they arrest me. One of them I knew, for I had whipped him aboard ship. He took one look at me and backed up a step.

     With a start, I realized that I was still holding my belt, and that I was tapping my leg with it. Knowing me as he did, he knew that I was mad clear through, and that I could hold my own in an altercation. He wisely decided that he wanted no part of it.

     Turning to the girl, he said, “I think that you will not get your way this time. If I were you, I would leave this lady alone. You are no match for her, and you know it.”

      Astonished at this blunt refusal, the girl stared at him, and then at me. I gave the belt a little shake and her eyes grew round. Without another word, she turned and ran. Without really meaning to, I laughed. The guard stared at me. I shook my head and slipped the belt back around my waist.

     It happened that Leuven was delayed in getting back by several days and Sialkot left suddenly on urgent business. Therefore, neither of them knew about the fight. The girl involved me in several more such fights, and she always came out on the losing end, with a solid spanking to top it off.

     With a healthy dose of newfound fear after the last one, she obeyed me promptly when I ordered her to clean herself up. She presented herself to me an hour later wearing a clean and neat dress, her hair combed, and her face and hands scrubbed. Realizing that I could now influence her, I praised her for cleaning up and complimented her on her choice of dress.

     Deciding to test her, I invited her to eat with me. I was pleasantly surprised to find that she had good table manners. Finding that I was not completely overbearing, she pushed it a little to find out how much she could get away with. I promptly put her in her place with a move towards my belt.

     By the time Sialkot and Leuven returned, I had the girl acting like a perfect lady. She still tried to act like her old self whenever she was away from me, but since I had nothing else to do, I trailed her. Consequently, I knew whenever she did something and confronted her about it later. She found that she could hide nothing from me and gave in to my leadership.

     Her name was Daniela, and she had just turned thirteen. Leuven arrived home before Sialkot did. He noticed the difference in Daniela, and was surprised, but made no comment. By this time, I had learned of her relation to Sialkot, but I did not let that change my behavior towards her. Both Daniela and Leuven noticed this fact, although it seemed to irritate him for some reason. Maybe I wasn’t showing her enough respect or something. I don’t know, but I ignored it.

     The day that Sialkot returned, Leuven was teaching us to dance. Their style of dancing was much different than the basic waltz that I knew. It included several leaps and spins that required careful timing. As a result, I found myself tripping and falling into Leuven on more than one occasion.

     He was not amused with my lack of coordination and ordered me to sit on the sidelines while he taught Daniela. She was not much better at it than I was. He did not seem to mind this however, and kept on patiently explaining the steps to her. To my surprise, it was Daniela who scolded him for being more patient with her than he was with me.

     Unbeknownst to all of us, Sialkot had been watching us the entire time. He now strode forward, a stern line slashed across his mouth. “What is this?” He demanded. “What have you done to my daughter?”

     Daniela, her eyes wide, grabbed my hand and pressed close to me. “Please father, do not be angry with her.”

     Sialkot stopped, shock flitting across his face briefly before he smiled gently at her. “Of course not, darling. Whatever she has done has improved you greatly. I dare not be angry about that.”

     After dismissing Leuven and I, Sialkot led his daughter away, speaking quietly and listening intently to whatever she had to say. Once they were out of earshot, Leuven whirled around and glared at me, his golden brown eyes flashing.

     Growling angrily, he said, “Do not think that you can get away with throwing yourself at me. It won’t work.”

     This accusation astonished and confused me. “What do you mean? Why would I want to throw myself at you?”

     “Don’t play innocent with me, Brunhilda. I know better than that.”

     Giving me no time to reply, he stalked away, his back rigid. I stared after him. I had begun to like him, and even considered him a friend, the first and only one that I had ever had. Now however, I began to think that I had made a very poor choice.

Chapter Six of A Reporters Nightmare

    

     Aragon woke up to find that his pickup was empty and that he had been tied to everything that couldn’t move. When he had fallen forward he had cracked his head and knocked himself out.

     He tried to wiggle himself free of the ropes but they were tied to tightly. Aragon saw that some of the glass from the broken window had fallen onto the seat, only a few small chips but hopefully enough to cut the rope.

     Moving carefully he grabbed a shard of glass and winced as it sliced his hand. He maneuvered the sharp end to the rope and began sawing. The rope was very thick and it was strong. Unfortunately, it had come from the back of his pickup and he preferred only the best of ropes.

     Finally he cut through the rope and yanked his hands apart. The rope loosened enough for him to slip his hands out. He started to open his door but it was locked and if he opened it the lights would turn on.

     The hole in the back window was rather large and it had been enlarged with the bumps on the road. Aragon carefully removed the glass shards until he was able to crawl out.

     A dim light shown from somewhere and muted voices echoed. Aragon knew the best thing to do would be to start his pickup and get away, but Smoky had his keys.

     So Aragon moved to the danger.

     He heard the men saying stuff and yelping in pain. Aragon moved quietly until he was just outside the unit. He saw Smoky was shoveling dirt at a frantic pace while the other two men carried crates to the edge of the hole. Aragon wondered why the floor to the storage unit was dirt.

     Smoky stopped and stretched. “Baxter you take over the shovel, I’ll go check on Gates.”