Alien Romance: Fall for a Cyborg (Sci-Fi Futuristic Alien Abduction Fantasy Space Warrior Romance) (Science Fiction Mystery Paranormal Urban Short Stories) (9 page)

“I was told you had transportation for off-road,” said Mr. Ronglin. “Your car will not make it where we are going, and my vehicle only seats one, unless you want to ride on the back.” He grinned slightly, looking me up and down. I mentally cursed the chief for not letting me know what I would need.

“Agent Diamond?” I turned my head and saw a sparkle in the air. I reflexively reached up and caught it. Mr. Goldland had thrown me keys. He pointed to a little high-suspension jeep a few parking spots down that had an emblem, like the statue in his hallway, on the door.

“You may use that if you wish. It will save you a walk and Mr. Ronglin a trip back here as escort. I am sure all of us will appreciate that.” He was all good humor although the sparkle in his eye told of a subtle insult to Ronglin. Goldland did not like having the man on his property. I glanced at Mr. Ronglin. He shrugged.

“Fine with me, let’s just get going. I have other things to take care of today.”

I thanked Goldland and went to my car trunk. I changed out of my regular shoes and put on some sturdy boots. Then I put on an FBI vest over my jacket for visibility in the woods. I made sure I had the tools I might need and an extra clip for my gun. I did not want to have to face any surprises, but if I was not prepared, surprises would happen. Closing the trunk I went to the jeep and climbed in and started it up.

*****

I followed Ronglin about a half hour to the east and then took a logging road to the north east. It was rutted and in bad shape. Ronglin had been right; there was no way I could have driven it in my little rented sedan. From the logging road we took a horse trail that the jeep barely fit onto. We followed the trail down heading directly east again. Finally we came to the edge of a clearing and Ronglin stopped. I parked and got out as he climbed down.

“You drove that well, Agent,” he said. “I did not expect it. At least you know what you are doing so far.”

I ignored his comment and gestured around.

“Is this where the scale was found?”

He nodded in answer and pointed to a deep gash on the other side of the clearing. I walked over, watching the ground for any signs of a reptile or, well, anything suspicious. I went around the edge of the slash in the ground. I saw some fine flakes of something and squatted down to examine them. I got out a small kit I carried, then pulled out my tweezers after putting on gloves. Under a small eye lens I could tell they were similar to the scale I had. Hmm. I dropped them in an evidence bag and sealed, marked, and signed it before straightening up. There was no indication of what may have caused the gash in the ground except a few marks along the edges that might have been from claws of an animal. There was no way I could tell, and according to the wildlife people’s report, they could not either.

“Did you people find out what that scale was from?” Ronglin called out.

I turned back to him.

“No sir. Not all the tests are back though. I am hoping to hear more soon. What is back there?” I said, pointing to an opening in the trees. It could have been where the reptile or whatever it was had come from. Although based on the size of the opening and broken branches, whatever
had
come through would have been enormous.

“A stream at the base of a hill. The forestry people did not even go back there. I poked around a little but the main evidence was here,” he told me. He began walking over to me. “So you are taking this seriously. Thank you.”

I nodded but headed toward the stream. Ronglin followed. There was something about the way he was watching me that I found interesting. He was partially looking me over the way a man does a woman. There was more to it though. Was he expecting a specific reaction to something? He was being very gracious and helpful, but there was more to it. I couldn’t put my finger on it, so I was wary.

The ground had been torn up by something sharp here and there, but it did not make any sense because the size of the cuts in the ground. They were huge and I was not aware of any land animal big enough to make such marks. Machinery perhaps? Then again how did the machinery get back this far in the forest? I also noticed some boot prints. Several different tread patterns and I took photos of them on my phone along with pictures of the torn-up ground and broken branches. As we approached a stream with a grassy hill rising above it I stopped in surprise. I glanced at Ronglin. His eyes were wide.

“This was not here before,” he said.

I moved closer carefully. On either side of the stream crossing the path were two huge clawed footprints. As if a giant creature had stood straddling the little water way. I managed to keep my breathing even as I walked wide around the marks, taking pictures.

“I am going back. I knew he was up to something. I will wait by the vehicles,” said Ronglin as he backed out the way we came in with apparent fear. I was glad he left. He had been eyeing me, still analyzing. He did not seem as scared as he was pretending. I turned back to the job at hand and circled the hill upward toward the top. I found there were four more of the foot prints/claw marks, and I took pictures again. I really wished my phone could get reception out here. It would be nice to be able to show them to someone who would know more.

At the top of the hill I noticed something shining and moved over to it carefully. I crouched down and saw to my surprise there were a few half buried gold coins with an emblem I recognized. It was of a dragon in front of a pond with a cliff rising behind him. I had just put them in an evidence bag when I heard a shout.

I stuffed the bag in my pocket and grabbed my kit, running down the hill as the sound of a motor revving came to my ears. I raced back the way I had come until I reached the vehicles. Ronglin was there, cursing quite creatively. I saw a trail of dust and heard fading engine sounds in the distant. His little four-wheeler had two flats. I went over and checked mine and it appeared fine.

“I caught them damaging my vehicle! They did not have time to get yours. Goldland is going to pay for this! I know he is behind it, I just know it. The vehicle they escaped in was a jeep like the one he loaned you!”

He seemed angry, but it was missing something. There was a flavor of acting to his anger. Whether he was acting or not, he had no way back to his home.

While driving him back to his place I had to reiterate that yes I was going to investigate to the fullest. It was an hour trip back to Goldland’s. I dropped Ronglin off in front of his own luxurious home.

“I will let you know what more I find out.”

He frowned and said, “Be careful Agent Diamond. The size of those tracks is ominous. There is a giant reptile, I’m sure of it! I am not allowing my people to go out alone until this is settled!”

I shook my head to myself at his words.

“I am leaning towards an elaborate hoax Mr. Ronglin,” I told him. “To the best of my knowledge dinosaurs are extinct. I will get to the bottom of it, I assure you.”

He grumbled some more as I pulled away. I had not informed him of the three coins I had found on the hill.

I went over everything in my mind and it was a confusing bit of business. I was confident that there was no giant lizard wandering around the woods, so that meant it had to be a hoax of some kind. Ronglin was shady enough to make that a plausible possibility. Of course the gold coins with a stamp identical to a statue in Goldland’s mansion through a kink into it. I knew that the coin was indeed gold; an excellent quality gold in my professional opinion. So what would it be doing on Ronglin’s property amidst a hoax of a giant monster?

I thought of Goldland and his love of geology as well as his obvious good looks. He was definitely someone I would normally be attracted to but that was completely out of the realm of possibility, especially with the find of the coins. He was not just a victim in whatever it was that was going on. I sighed, thinking it was all for the best.

Thinking about men, I reflected on my own situation. Due to a slimy section chief on a previous job I had a reputation in my file of being flirty and unreliable. I growled in disgust over that whole incident.

Section Chief Alder had hit on me. I had turned him down several times during that case. I ended up having to be quite forcible. His wrist healed fine, but  he filed a complaint against me. Since he was well-regarded and a higher rank I was the one who got the black mark.

I sighed again, trying to let the frustration go. There was nothing I could do about it but maintain a clean, reliable record to prove my abilities.

By the time I was pulling up to Goldland’s mansion it was getting close to dinner time, and I had not eaten since breakfast. I knew I had a long drive to my motel and then another one back out again because I very much wanted to poke around Goldland’s home more thoroughly. There had to be something there that would help me figure this case out. I did not plan on letting him know anything beyond what I absolutely had to.  I pulled up to his house and there was chaos.

Goldland was shouting directions to several people to lock everything up and keep an eye on his borders. As I got out of the car he had a burning anger in his eyes that also seemed to radiate off of him. Even from where I parked it felt like a wave of rage hitting me. As I walked around the jeep I passed my rental and saw three flat tires! What? I thought to myself. Suddenly Goldland’s anger fit right in to mine. He turned to me as I approached.

“Ronglin is about to find out what happens when he screws with me! One of my jeeps has been stolen and the remaining four-wheeler has been damaged. His people just went over those hills. My security is following, chasing them off my land! I am going to see him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!”

He paused in his tirade and his eyes flicked past me and they widened slightly.

“Your car? They got your car too! Ronglin really is an idiot to harass an FBI Agent!”

He reached out and took one of my hands in a firm grip.

“I am sorry you have been drawn into this Crystal, and I will see that the FBI is compensated for any loss. How
dare
he!” I was furious too but his ranting actually helped me keep from raging myself. I tried not to think about the flutter in my stomach when he used my name and held my hand; he was still a suspect despite our shared anger.

“I have to call this in. Do you have a working phone? I have no cell service,” I said with a growl to my voice I could not help. He took a deep breath and the feeling of flaming anger seemed to dissipate, and the fire of his eyes lessened somewhat.

“Of course Agent Diamond, my pardon. I have a satellite up on the mountain for all my communication needs. The phones are secure and you are free to use them and computers if need be. Reginald!” He shouted the last, turning and gesturing to his butler who was standing about fifteen feet away.

“Escort the Agent in and find an office with a secure phone for her to use, if you please.”

Reginald nodded at the request and gestured me ahead of him. As we walked in I could see the activity of several people checking vehicles around the property and in the open garage that had many more cars and trucks. Whatever part Goldland had in this thing, this had surprised him. Or he was a better actor then Ronglin?

*****

“No Jenny, I do not think I need any backup at this time. Even if I did, it would be tomorrow before anyone could get out here from the local office. I will let you know what else I may have found. Goldland may be all bluster, so I am good for now,” I said to my section chief.

“If you say so Crystal, but I do not like how elaborate a hoax this must be, and there is still no reason why they would do it. Or why they would use a hoax to target Goldland? He seems fairly innocent in all this,” I raised an eyebrow in silent surprise. She seemed to be taking Goldland’s side, but his involvement was still unclear. Especially with the gold coins matching an interior decoration of his home. I had a feeling that I may have been wrong and that Goldland was the rich man with a congressman in his pocket. He had to have deep pockets to entice Jenny Albright.

“I will keep digging and get back to you. Don’t worry. I am sure it will be something innocent,” I told her.  She gave a sigh of relief, confirming my belief about where her allegiance on this case lay. We said goodbye and hung up.

There was a knock on the door and then it opened silently. Reginald entered with a hesitant smile.

“Am I interrupting?” he asked. I shook my head no.

“Good,” he said. “I wanted to let you know that Mr. Goldland must take a conference call with some of his overseas investors. It will be at least four hours. He said you are free to continue to use this room as an office if it suits. He also extended an invitation for you to stay the evening here, since it is such a long drive for someone to come and get you. We have spares to replace two of your damaged tires, counting the one that came in the trunk, but not the third. However, if that is too inconvenient Mr. Goldland is happy to loan you a vehicle to get back to your motel.”

I thought about that offer for a second. With Goldland busy I could have the run of the house to poke around. Not to mention I did not want to have to drive out to my motel and back again.

“You and he are very generous Reginald. Perhaps staying the night here would be more expedient for everyone concerned. Thank him for me and thank you,” I said.

Reginald beamed happily and said, “Excellent then. Let me show you to your room and I will have some food sent up from the kitchen. I believe the main course tonight is a halibut dish.”