tains, casting long, bleeding

t men with wooden baseball bats flanked him. O

ive hunting knife, slowly whittling a thick tree branch. The met

four goons spread out, trying

on the left is standing on th

anding in the mud. The other three scrambled away in

the porch steps and slammed a thick stac

waiver for your old house, Combs. I'll get you a job

goon, his eyes glued to the h

ched for several agonizing minutes as his eyes meticulously tracked over the den

pretend you can read th

the hunting knife down. The blade pierced straight

ted exactly on a hidden

flat, devoid of any emotion. "If I sign this, I

deep suspicion. He snatched the document back, his fat fingers trembling as he squinted at the tiny print

counter-offer. I will permanently sign

in relief. He

tus, "I want the permanent deed to this cabin. And the fi

The shale land was toxic. Nothing grew there. It was a massive negat

s, searching Alton's de

out a ragged breath. "I just want a place where

ve ego. He grinned. He believed the pris

t Orville. "Change the contract ri

el. Alton didn't have a pen. He brought his thumb to hi

mbprint onto the signatur

hysterically. "You just traded a gold

limbed into the truck. The convoy sped

he porch. He looked at

d out a heavy, encrypted Nokia satel

shifting instantly into precise military

nt replied through the static. "Understood. Offshor

. He looked t

f the largest undiscovered rare-earth minera

ing knife back into its sheath. He had just won the fir