The Victim and I Pt. 01

I chose to enroll in college at the university very near my home town as a part time student at first as it had a well-known and respected computer department there so why go elsewhere to learn? I applied myself and excelled in my undergraduate studies and graduated with honors in two years and a little over a year later I graduated with my master's degree and was now ready to start my own business and had, in fact, already developed several software programs that I thought would be good sellers and money makers.

I had kept a detailed journal of the events that happened to me and my team while in Afghanistan and after letting one of my professors read it he was awed at not only the content but also the composition and depth of feelings and details in the journal. He persuaded me to allow him to show it to a friend of his in the publishing industry saying it could be a best seller with just a little editing and name changing. I agreed after some serious thought about it all and decided to go ahead with it. I retained the right to edit out or modify certain things if the journal was ever published.

It was published and was a runaway best seller and was picked by a major motion picture studio and made into a very successful film that was nominated for and won several awards. A major TV studio also bought it to made it into a documentary and a miniseries about special operations operators and what their duties can be and what can happen to them afterwards.

Overall, it had been a very lucrative series of events and my investment portfolio was growing by leaps and bounds it seemed, especially since I had been living solely on my GI benefits, wages from the reserves, part time jobs, and the occasional computer work for someone. Every dine of my book and movie earnings went into my investments and now these investments were about to finance my new business endeavor and see the business start and survive without going into dept.

I opened an office in a rented suite in a high-rise office building that I could get fairly inexpensively due to the market downturn. I hired a secretary/receptionist, and a personal assistant to man the office while I worked to develop and market my software designs.

As often happens, a couple of my programs were ill-received or just kind of flopped, but a couple of others took off like a rocket and the money poured in. The Money often came with requests for all sorts of software programs people wanted designed and marketed. So much so that I was almost at my wits end with the pressure on my body and mind and the huge demands on my time. It looked like I needed to forget sleep and rest or free time. I also needed to figure out how to squeeze another 3 or 4 hours into each 24-hour day. Therein lies the problem with becoming a huge 'overnight' success when you are not prepared or staffed for it.

This major problem solved itself when a lawyer visited me one morning saying he represented a huge software developer in Seattle and that they were interested in acquiring my business and software ideas. They would pay handsomely for them, but I could never enter into a competitive business against them again. I could continue to develop software but had to offer it to the new owners and would be paid accordingly for each marketable idea. I took the money and decided to go to my grandfather's, now my, mountain cabin and spend the rest of the winter resting and perhaps working on another book or two I had ideas for and possibly think of another business venture. I laid off my two employees after giving them glowing reviews and handsome bonus checks. We parted friends with no hard feelings whatsoever.

I had bought a nice all-wheel drive SUV for some reason even though I had not needed it but now it would become a necessity due to the monumental snows that sometimes happened in the area where the cabin was located.

I did a little research and made a plan and then bought everything I thought I might need and started packing the SUV with almost everything you could think of that a person might need in the middle of a hard winter. I had a mountain of dried and nonperishable foods to include vegetables, coffee, flour, sugar, and other spices. A multitude of cased canned goods was on the floor of the back of my SUV with everything else on top of them. Quite a bit of fresh and frozen meat was packed in coolers to stay fresh or frozen. I also had to get a winters worth of toilet tissue, personal items and reading material and a stack of CDs, DVDs, and flash drives for my two laptops, one a spare, for "just in case". I knew I might very well be going overboard, but I had no idea if and when I might be able to get out of the cabin area and into one of the nearby towns or villages. I had never wintered up there but knew from what my grandfather had told me that the area did get lots of snow each year.

Power would not be a problem as my grandfather had outfitted the house with solar panels, a wind generator, and a water turbine generator that was powered by a small but fast moving stream that came down the mountain close to the cabin. There was also a propane powered generator that could supply power to the whole property in time of need, so there was really no worry in that area. There was a huge propane tank behind the cabin that could hold a year's supply of propane, but was filled each spring and late fall to ensure there was always plenty on hand. My only worry would be a fear that boredom and/or loneliness might develop during the long winter if I could not get out and into town from time to time. The possibility of depression also entered my mind from time to time.

As I mentioned earlier, it was snowing like crazy, well over an inch an hour when suddenly, a few miles from my turnoff onto the road up the mountain to the cabin, a black SUV passed me like I was sitting still and disappeared into the snow ahead of me. "Damn Fool!" I said aloud to myself thinking that the driver would be lucky to make it another few miles before running off the road. This was to be a prophetic thought as about two miles further down the highway I rounded a curve and saw the SUV had slid off the road and rolled 360 degrees and had come to rest back on its wheels but was now wrapped around a pine tree. It did not look at all good for the occupants.

I stopped as far off the main road as possible and turned on my flashers to go along with the headlights that were already on while driving in the storm and got out to see what the condition of the occupants were. I grabbed a flashlight just in case and after putting on my winter coat and gloves I got out to investigate.

The impact with everything had twisted the SUV badly and if one door had not been forced open I would never have been able to get one open to gain entry into the vehicle. I did a quick survey and noticed that there were three of the biggest and ugliest men I had ever seen and a beautiful young woman inside. I checked the closest man first and could not find a pulse and figured he had been killed on impact, probably from internal injuries. The driver had a tree limb that had come through the side window and impaled into his chest so he was gone also. Looking into the back seat, the man back there had not had his seat belt fastened or it had broken as he was in a strange positon and appeared to have a broken neck.

The young woman was belted in tightly and I discovered a faint pulse in her neck and quickly started to work to free her from the seat belt and to get her out of the car before it burst into flames as so many wrecks do sometimes. It was a real chore as she was unconscious in the back seat and I had a body in the front seat to work around and over to deal with to free her. I was able to loosen her seat belt and then after a quick check to make sure nothing was broken and dangling I put my hands under her arms and slowly lifted her up and towards the front seat where I would try to pull her over the seat back and then get her out of the car and someplace safe. I did not know if I would be able to get medical help for her as the snow was really starting to pile up and I did not know if I would even have a signal on my cell phone or not as even during clear weather the reception was spotty down in some of these valleys.

I was finally able to get her head and shoulders over the back of the seat and rested just a second as I thought about how to do this and finally just reached over the seat and put my hand between her legs and grabbed her upper leg rather ungentlemanly and lifted for all I was worth. Despite some difficulty, I was able to get her over the seat back and then drug her over the body in the passenger seat and out of the wrecked SUV. I then picked her up and carried her to my SUV and got her into the passenger seat. I would have liked to have been able to lay her down but I had the whole back end of the SUV packed so that was impossible.

Leaving the car on as fast a run as I could muster in the snow, I went back to the wrecked SUV and checked for her purse to see if she had any identification but did not find it anywhere. Checking the men, I found that each of them had at least one pistol and a whole wad of hundred dollar bills, which made them look like mob goons to me. I left them as they were and went back to my SUV and decided that I had best try to get to the cabin before the road got totally covered up with snow and became hidden as well as impassable.

While no one had stopped while I was at the wreck site, it appeared from the tracks in the deepening snow as if a couple of cars had passed by the area. Perhaps they were afraid to stop and not be able to resume their trip. Who knows. When I restarted my trip, I became worried that I might have to chain up to get to the cabin. Luckily, I had had the smarts to put the chains in the front floorboard for just such an emergency so I would not have to dig them out of the back someplace, but I was hoping that I could make it to the cabin on just my all-wheel drive and all terrain tires. It took a while but I did make it to the cabin without having to put on those blasted chains. I hate doing that, especially in the snow, but chains are mandated by law in certain areas of the state at times so I always have them with me in the winter.

Once I had parked as near the front door of the cabin as possible I jumped out to unlock the door and quickly make a place for her to lay on the couch while I examined her and did whatever I could for her, which would be minimal I feared due to my lack of medical supplies right then. There was wood stacked in the fireplace ready to make a fire so I quickly lit it to start warming the quite cool cabin.

I went to my SUV and picked her up and carried her into the house and carefully placed her on the couch and covered her with a quilt that had been on the back of the couch. Checking her pulse and respiration, I found both were now stronger than they had been at the site of the wreck. Her color was also better also. I did a quick but thorough exam looking for broken bones and signs of broken ribs or internal injuries but found none.

All Special Forces members are well trained in first aid so I pretty well knew what I was doing. She seemed fine to me except for the large bump on the left side of her forehead where she had smacked something. I gave that some thought and decided that as she was strapped in tightly it was more than likely that the guy with the broken neck had bounced around and his head had hit hers knocking her out and probably giving her a mild to moderate concussion. She also had a dark bruise on her left cheek about the size of one of those gorilla's fists like she had been hit and then put into the SUV. Time would tell about this and all I could do was wait and try to keep her as comfortable as possible.

I took a good look at the woman and quickly decided that she was one of the most attractive women I had ever seen anywhere, even on TV or in the movies. About 25 or 26 I thought, 5 foot 8 inches and slender but not skinny, athletic and toned from what he could tell, dirty blond shoulder length hair and a graceful neck and a medium bust. An unbelievable beauty if I was ever asked for an opinion.

I went ahead and unloaded the SUV and stored things away in their proper places. I then fixed a pot of coffee and while it was brewing, I checked the condition of the fire in the fireplace. Looking at the fire made me realize that I needed to check on the dry wood and kindling supply kept on the back porch. I had been to the cabin several times since my grandfather passed away, but never in winter so the quantity of the wood supply kept on the porch had not registered with my mind. I feared I might have to get my coat and boots on again and go to the woodshed out back for more wood but found Granddad had a large amount stored on the porch, protected from the weather. I moved several armloads into the living room and then after checking the girl once more I did put my boots on and went to turn on the valve at the propane tank. With propane flowing, I could use the central heating unit, kitchen stove, and the hot water heater after I lit it, which I did right then as it would take close to an hour to have hot water.

I checked my cell phone and laptop, finding neither had a usable signal due to the amount of snow falling. I had a thought that perhaps the snow had covered the satellite dash and was blocking the signal so I once more put on my boots and coat and went out to check. The dish was covered with several inches of snow stuck to it so I took a broom and swept it clean and went to recheck my internet. There was a signal but it was weak and kept falling out as the snow falling changed levels periodically. Local news said nothing about a car wreck with fatalities out on the highway but did have a story about a local restaurant owner that was found in the office of his restaurant murdered, and one of his employees, a Beverly Thomas, was missing. Her purse and coat was found at the restaurant so the fear was that whoever had killed the man had taken the woman for some reason, unless she was involved in the murder somehow.

The authorities had no clue to where the woman might be and asked for anyone knowing her whereabouts to contact them. The man had been beaten to death evidently as he had died from what appeared to be blunt force trauma "at the hands of a person or persons unknown" as they called it. Could my patient be the missing woman? It looked quite likely at this point, but somehow I did not see her involved with the murder of her boss, rather thinking of her as a victim in this drama. She had to be innocent as she was just too damn pretty to be guilty of being involved in a murder or anything else sinister.

An hour or so and two cups of coffee later I heard a stirring on the couch and jumped up to check on my patient and found that while she had moved some and tried to roll over she had not regained consciousness. The body movement was a good sign, I thought, so perhaps it might not be too long before she woke up and be able to tell me what happened.

As it was getting late in the day, I decided to go ahead and fix some supper, figuring to just open a couple of cans of soup for tonight, thinking that she sure did not need anything heavy on her stomach today. Perhaps tomorrow, if she feels like eating.

I did not know when I might be able to get a usable cell phone signal, or even if I could get one as we were in a very sparsely populated area that was quite mountainous, so there was little urgency on the part of the phone companies to upgrade the local service. I had thought about getting a satellite phone but the cost was atrocious, not that I could not afford it but I just hated to do it. However, it was now looking like I might need to get one in order to have communications with the outside world whenever I wanted it instead of whenever Mother Nature decided she would allow me to have it. Perhaps even a land line would work if I was going to be using the cabin much in the future, especially if I could get high speed internet with the service. Grandfather had had a phone years ago, but after he died his lawyer had it turned off but did keep the electricity on and paid the monthly bill so the house would not feel so closed up if anyone went in for any reason. There were a couple of lamps on timers set to come on at different times of the day and night to indicate that someone was in the house, hopefully discouraging intruders. All gates were chained and padlocked.

As the soup was starting to heat I heard a noise coming from the living room and when I got in there my patient was awake but looking quite confused. When I said "Hi" to her I guess I startled her and she almost freaked out on me for a second until I soothingly told her she was safe and in good health and that she was in fairly good hands. I told her that she was as safe as safe could be and that I would help and protect her until she was completely well so she should not worry about anything but getting better.

She looked at me and understandably asked who I was, where she was, how did she get here, and what had happened to the men that had kidnapped her.

"My name is James Cameron Burns, but please call me James. You are at my cabin way up in the mountains and I brought you here after I found you in that wrecked SUV. Your three companions are all dead from the accident and it really is a wonder that you aren't also. Thank goodness for you being tightly buckled in. You were knocked unconscious in the wreck and it also looks like you have a bruise about the size of a fist on you jaw.

You are fine now, I think, and I can't tell you enough that you are as safe as safe can be here with me for as long as need be. I am a former Green Beret or US Army Special Forces member, now a captain in the reserves. Can you tell me what you remember? Can you tell me what happened? I think I know but would like to hear it from you if that is alright. Can I get you anything to drink?? Coffee, soft drink, water, beer, or a glass of wine? Although I really don't think alcohol would be good for you, at least not until tomorrow."

"A glass of water and then a can of Diet Coke if you have it, please, but first I guess I should thank you for saving me and bringing me here, where ever this is. Are you sure we are safe here?"

"Like I said, as safe as safe can be. It would take a small army to get to us and by the time they did they might not be so anxious to pursue any further dealings with me or us, so please relax."

"Okay, if you say so, I think. My name is Beverly Thomas, and I am, or rather was, I guess, the head hostess and unofficially the assistant manager for Lowell Andrews, who owned the restaurant and club where I worked. It is, or was the premier place in town for all the young and affluent types to congregate and eat and dance and socialize and party some. Those mob guys worked for Tony Steflano and his gang that wanted Lowell to sell them 60 percent of the club for pennies on the dollar so they could supply and sell drugs and also have the alcohol concessions there. We have never had a drug problem as Lowell hates drugs and drug users with a passion as his youngest daughter died in college from taking tainted drugs.

"Lowell kept telling them no and they kept after him and then this last time this big monster started to beat Lowell to make him agree and he beat him something awful and he killed him. I think it was an accident but Lowell wasn't in the best of health so it probably didn't take much to kill him. I was in the storeroom and heard the commotion and came out and saw what was happening just as Lowell took the last hit and I screamed and tried to run but was caught and one of them hit me and the next thing I knew I was in an SUV with three of the mob guys and heading out to someplace they knew of where they could kill me and hide my body where it would not be found.