GOLDEN REICH

by Mark Donahue

  “You certainly deserve a reward for what you have found, but that gold you discovered does not belong to you; it belongs to me.”

  “Really? How do you figure that?”

  “Samantha, while you certainly have the advantage of possession of the gold…”

  “Actually, we don’t have possession of all the bars, just three of them, but that’s, like, a lot of money, you know? Like I said, there were so many of them we left the rest where we found them. The only thing is we don’t know where to sell them, you know?”

  “You mean the gold is just lying there in the open?”

  “Well, we’ve found the bars scattered over about a half mile of desert. Some here some there, you know, but we didn’t know what to do with the three we found, so we thought it was just a good idea to leave the rest of them where they were. Not likely anybody’s going to find them out there in the middle of nowhere.”

  “I understand. Like I said, I am perfectly willing to make you and your boyfriend…”

  “Bruce.”

  “Yes of course, Bruce… very wealthy for finding my gold. But if you don’t cooperate, I am afraid I will be forced to call the sheriff to report my gold stolen, and let the law handle this situation.”

  “It’s our gold—we found it!”

  “Samantha, if I call the sheriff, it is likely that you and Bruce will be arrested for trespassing and possessing stolen property. What you already have will be confiscated, and you will end up with nothing.”

  “You’re a prick.”

  “If you show me where the gold is, I will let you have an additional three bars. If my math is correct at today’s prices that would mean you would have, with the three bars you already possess, over $ 2.5 million dollars tax and aggravation free. That sounds like a nice finder’s fee for you and Bruce.”

  Sam rose and walked around the room in thought for nearly a minute. “Five bars.”

  “I’m afraid three is my best offer, Samantha.”

  “Five, or no deal.”

  Dr. Martin was silent for several moments, pretending to weigh an offer he would not live up to. “You drive a hard bargain, young lady. Okay, we have a deal. You show me where the gold is, and you will get your five additional bars.”

  “Okay, but you have to promise me you won’t ever call the sheriff, and you won’t kill me after I show you where the gold is.”

  “You have a very active imagination, young lady.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise, Samantha.”

  “Okay, do you have flashlights?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Alright, after I pee again, I’ll take you to the gold.”

  In the bathroom, Sam sent another text: “Leaving Jasper, going to Lester’s cache. Meet me one mile south in two hours.” S.

  Chapter 61

  On Top of Jasper Mine

  Sam’s text eased Ben’s mind, for about ten seconds. She was okay, for now. Then the worry began to mount again like a series of lead weights that were being placed on his shoulders one pound at a time.

  After Ben told Jon and Tom about the text, he suggested they sit down and remain patient for another couple hours. Ben went over to the edge of the cliff on which the men were perched and looked out over the western horizon. He saw the yellow lights of Phoenix shimmering in the purple dusk.

  He chastised himself for worrying about Sam yet again. But he always worried. But she always came back to him.

  But Sam knew how much her father loved her and worried about everything. And while she hated putting her dad through such angst with her aggressive risk-taking lifestyle, she also knew he wanted her to live a full, rich life. He wanted her to have complete unobstructed freedom. He wanted her to be happy. Just happy. She was.

  ----------------------

  When Sam came home from the war, she jumped at the chance to go into the aviation business with her dad. Ironically, both of them downplayed the event, yet both were overjoyed at the idea of flying around the world together on the spur of the moment, taking trips to archeological digs, historical sites, hikes in far-off woods, or going to New York to see the latest Broadway show.

  They did actually do chartering work and enjoyed meeting the interesting people who would utilize the air charter services of Apache Aviation, LLC. But the business was secondary to them just being together.

  The thing Sam cherished most about her dad was his humor. He was really funny in a droll sort of way. He would make a comment, and it would take a few seconds for it to sink in, but when it did, Sam would burst out laughing, sometimes at inappropriate times and places. There were times Sam would hear a funny joke, call her dad, and without even saying hello, tell the joke then immediately hang up knowing her dad was laughing his butt off halfway around the world. That would make her smile. His laughter.

  As the purple in the western sky faded to a dark blue then to a star-studded black, Ben knew Sam would be okay. She had to be okay.

  Chapter 62

  Jasper Mine

  After returning from the bathroom, Sam said, “Okay if you want to go now, it’ll be easier to find the site in the dark if we take the road, rather than going cross country.”

  Dr. Martin nodded, ordered Jagr to round up the men still working in the Jasper, tell them to stop what they were doing, grab their equipment, including battery-powered halogens, and form a five-vehicle caravan.

  Sam entered the lead Suburban and sat in the second row seat next to Dr. Martin. Behind them sat Jagr and two armed guards.

  Sam hoped she could see all the landmarks that Lester had put in his diary given the moonless night. As the huge SUV turned right and headed down the dirt road, Sam leaned forward and told the driver, “Let me know when we’ve gone 1.6 miles.”

  The driver nodded and set his odometer.

  “We need to look for a pile of rocks about three feet high on the left side of the road. When we see that, we turn right into the desert in another fifty yards.”

  Dr. Martin said, “Very well.” After almost seventy years, the thought of finally seeing the gold, the German gold he had delivered so long ago made his heart race. He hoped he would not succumb to a heart attack just minutes before seeing what he had so long sought. But he knew fate would not be so cruel to him. He thought of all the years that had passed and of all the dreams to resurrect the visions of the Führer that were now within reach.

  He began thinking ahead about how they would dispose of the stupid girl who was leading them to the fulfillment of a destiny that was over a hundred years old. But given the endless desert that lay outside the windows of the SUV, that wouldn’t be a problem. Of course he would let Jagr amuse himself with the girl and then offer her to the other men for their pleasure before deciding where to bury her.

  “We have gone 1.5 miles,” the driver said.

  “Okay, slow down…there, there are the three rocks. Okay, take it slow now, just a little further, and…there, turn right as soon as you pass those two trees.”

  The caravan of SUVs turned right into the pitch-black desert. “Now just go about another mile or so until you see a big rock formation on your right,” Sam directed.

  The SUV moved in silence over the rock-hard dirt, occasionally passing over small gullies and rises on the desert floor.

  “There, on the right. Those are the rocks I’m talking about,” Sam said excitedly.

  The caravan slowed to a stop, and Stonehenge-type rocks could be seen in the glare of the headlights.

  “It was around here somewhere we found our first bars.”

  Without saying a word, Dr. Martin opened the door of the SUV and stepped onto the desert floor. On cue, fifteen others stepped from their vehicles into the darkness that was within minutes transformed into near daylight. Towers of lights were immediately erected, and blue-white light explode
d onto the rocks, sand, shrubs, and trees.

  Turning to Sam, who had exited the Suburban, Dr. Martin asked, “Where, my dear, did you find your gold bars, exactly?”

  “Well, if I remember we found the first few in that flat spot over by those rocks, and then some more down in that gully over there.”

  Immediately, six men with metal detectors sprang into action in the areas Sam had pointed out. In less than a minute, a distinctive beep was heard from one of the detectors. Then another. Then another. “Dr. Martin, please, over here quickly.” When Dr. Martin arrived at the site, a smiling guard held up a gold bar, and handed it to him. He stroked the bar like it was his lover. He felt its smoothness. He could sense its power. He touched “Property US Government” stamped on the bar. Dr. Martin smiled and said to himself. “Not anymore.”

  “Dr. Martin, here!” Twenty feet away, another guard held up a bar.

  Over the next thirty minutes, the men found more bars and stacked them in front of Dr. Martin’s Suburban. As they did, a look of satisfaction came over his face, and he turned to Jagr. “Go get the rest of the men from the mine along with their equipment.” Jagr nodded.

  A few yards behind Dr. Martin, a man in a white coat dropped nitric and hydrochloric acid onto a half dozen of the bars. After several moments, he smiled broadly and gave two thumbs-up to Dr. Martin, who returned the chemist’s smile.

  Sidling up to Dr. Martin, Sam asked, “When do I get my five bars?”

  “When our task is finished here.”

  “I want my bars now. I want to go home. Bruce will be worried about me.”

  “I said when our task is completed, not before.”

  “If you don’t give me my bars now, I won’t show you where all the other bars are. There’s like twenty spots like this one all around here, especially down in that valley you can’t see in the dark. In fact, this is the smallest one. You should see all the bars buried about four hundred yards from here in that old creek bed.”

  “Show me.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, now.”

  “Okay but watch out for the rattlesnakes. They come out at night.”

  “We will drive.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  After getting back in the SUV, and with Dr. Martin in the back seat with her, Sam directed the driver to the second location. Within minutes, guards and technicians had located a dozen more bars.

  “Did you say there are over twenty more locations like this one?” Dr. Martin asked.

  “We found at least that many, and we didn’t even have metal detectors. Like I said, this whole valley in every direction has tons of those bars either laying on top of the dirt or just under it.”

  “How are you able to find those bars?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “Samantha, we have a deal. You lead me to all the gold you have found, and you will become very rich, and I won’t call the sheriff.”

  “That damn sheriff’s a prick too. We never did what he said we did. Okay, I’ll give you my map.”

  Dr. Martin was incredulous, “You mean you have a map of where you found the gold?”

  “Of course. Think I’m stupid?”

  “Where is the map?”

  “C’mon, you think I’m gonna give you the map before I get my five bars?”

  “Where is the map?” Dr. Martin repeated.

  “Well, I don’t have it on me. I think your men proved that.”

  “Where is the map?”

  “I’ll bring you the map if you give me my five bars.”

  “I will give you your five bars when you produce the map.”

  “Like I said, mister, I don’t have the damn map with me. I’d have to go get it, but I don’t trust you. What if I get the map, bring it here, and you don’t give me my five bars and then you kill me, and keep my bars and my map? That would not be cool.”

  “Perhaps I can offer a solution to our conundrum…”

  “Our what?”

  “Our problem.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’ll send Jagr with you to retrieve the map, and you can bring young Bruce back with you to insure that you will get your five bars and be protected.”

  “I don’t want to ride with that creep. What if I just bring the map back tomorrow?”

  “I’m afraid that is my best offer. Take it or leave it. If you chose to leave it, I will have my men hold you here until the sheriff arrives.”

  “You are a prick. Guess I don’t have much choice.”

  “As soon as Jagr returns with the rest of the men, you can go with him and retrieve your map. Until then, I must insist you remain in the vehicle.”

  “So, I’m like, under arrest?”

  “No, my dear, we just want to make sure you are safe and sound until Jagr arrives. By the way, how long will it take for you to retrieve your map?”

  “About an hour.”

  “Then once you leave, I will expect you to return within the hour. At which time you and Bruce will be a wealthy young couple, and free to go.”

  Dr. Martin opened the back door of the Suburban and exited, then motioned for two armed guards to stand watch over the SUV.

  Within ten minutes, Jagr had returned with the rest of the men from the mine and more equipment. Sam could see Dr. Martin talking to Jagr. As she watched, Sam slipped her cell phone out of her sock, dropped it below her knees and typed out another text. “Meet me one mile south of Lester’s cache area in 20 MINUTES. When you come down road, turn off head lights. At 1 mile past cache area, go ¼ mile west into desert and wait. I may not be alone.” S.

  Sam slid her cell back into her sock and waited. She continued to see Dr. Martin speaking with Jagr.

  “I want you to take the young lady to where her map is. Her boyfriend may be there and insist on coming back with you. Once you return with the map, you will be free to entertain yourself with either or both as you deem appropriate. I am sure you will be creative. When you are sated, dispose of them in a safe spot and return here.”

  “Yes, sir. I look forward to enjoying the charms of the young lady. It will be particularly enjoyable with her young man watching.”

  “As you wish, Jagr, but make sure you bring the map back here first.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Through the windows Sam could hear the beeping of the now dozens of metal detectors as they uncovered scores of bars and stacked them in front of the SUV and under the blue-white halogen bulbs. Dr. Martin stood next to the growing pile, transfixed by what he was seeing.

  “Tom, Jon, c’mon let’s go. Sam just texted me.” The men rose in unison, grabbed the remaining equipment, and jogged to the Jeep.

  “Is she okay?” Tom asked.

  “I think so. But we may have trouble waiting for us when we meet her.” As he spoke, Ben reached under his car seat and pulled out a military style Smith and Wesson .45.

  “Exactly what kind of trouble are you expecting?” Jon asked.

  “Not sure, but I want to be prepared. You know, like the Boy Scouts.”

  “Wish we had that shotgun.” Tom added.

  “Look under the back seat. The shells are in the spare tire well.”

  Tom retrieved the Remington and the twelve-gauge shells.

  “Sam said to turn our lights out going down this hill. So open the windows and let me know if I’m going off the road. I can’t see ten feet in front of me.”

  As the Jeep moved down the road at ten miles per hour, more bars were being discovered. Sam could not see exactly, but it looked like over two hundred had been discovered and stacked in the sand.

  The Jeep, in darkness and silence, moved past the turn-off area where Lester’s cache had been discovered. To their right the three men could see the halogen glare emanating from the site. A mile further down the road, Ben,
as directed, turned right into the desert, but stopped just a few feet off the road. “Tom, take the shotgun and wait here. I think Sam may be heading this way. Jon and I will continue a bit further.”

  “Okay. You guys be careful.”

  “You too, big boy. Can you shoot that thing?” Jon asked.

  “We’ll see.”

  “Watch out for the snakes,” reminded Jon.

  “You and your damn snakes.”

  Jon and Ben drove into the darkness for approximately a quarter mile, turned off the Jeep, and waited in the darkness.

  “You really have a thing about snakes, don’t you?” Ben said.

  “I hate snakes.”

  “You sound like Indiana Jones.”

  “I hate them even worse than he did.”

  “Ever see one? I mean up close and personal,” Ben asked.

  “No, but I’ve seen them in zoos and on TV. I mean, I really hate snakes.”

  Ben shook his head in wonder. “Sam said to wait here for twenty minutes.”

  A mile north of their location, Jagr entered the driver’s seat of the SUV. He looked in the rearview mirror at Sam but didn’t speak.

  “Head out to the main road and turn right,” Sam directed.

  Remaining silent, Jagr maneuvered the SUV and headed east toward the dirt road.

  “You owe me a sweatshirt and some underpants, jerk.”

  “It appears you will be able to afford a new wardrobe.”

  “It just feels weird not wearing underpants.”

  Jagr looked back at Sam again.

  “Back in college, I’d wear these short skirts and no underwear. Made me feel hot all day. Sometimes, I’d sit in class and give the guys a show. Know what I mean?”

  “You did not seem to like it today when one of our men tried to…”

  “No woman likes it if somebody tries to take it. They have to ask for it. You know, say please.”

  “Is that all it takes…someone just has to ‘say please’?”

  “Well, he has to be good-looking, have a good body, and be, you know, sexy.”

  “I’d think a man must also have the equipment and know how to use it, to earn your favors.”