Temple: A New Journey Begins
Please see the disclaimer on the Synopsis page.
Kyle Jameson waited until the woman had departed. He watched from the window to see that her car left his premises. That was when he picked up the phone and dialed Jake's number.
"Jake, why in God's hell did you send a crackpot woman over to me?"
Jameson held his anger in check while he listened to his business associate on the other side of the line.
"Who told you that? You saw the man walk into town and head toward the old Lowery place? He does?"
Jameson's face paled as he listened to Jake's description of the man.
"Where did he come from? The temple? What was he doing up there? Well find out man. We can't have anyone snooping around that place, especially now. If they find out, those monks will be on us before we even dig out one more shovel full."
Jameson went silent for a few minutes more.
"I don't care how long we've been at it. So far for the past 50 years no one's suspected a thing. We've been doing it since the temple was destroyed. I'm not stopping now. You find out why he's come back and you let me know."
Silence once again prevailed for another minute.
"I'm not allowing some upstart crackpot female get involved. You know how women like to gossip. I don't care if she's a top-notch assassin. Still, if she can get rid of Caine for us, I won't object. But I don't want her finding out about the rest. If she succeeds in ridding us of that Shaolin pay her off, just enough to keep her quiet. And if she doesn't, you know what to do."
Jameson hung up the phone and opened the folder. His eyes scanned its contents. Had it been that long since he and Vance started this venture? Kyle Jameson recalled the day it happened and Vance's attempt to try to scare the monks from leaving the temple. He remembered the day they got back the report from the metallurgist. It was a day he would never forget . . .
"Vance, are you sure it's all right to be here? What if the monks find out."
"They ain't going to find out. I snatched that piece you're holding when I was hiking here last week. They don't seem to come down here."
"But the temple sits right up on top," Kyle contested. "What if they see us?"
"Jake, you tell him."
"I watched the monks for a whole week. They never come down here at this time. I think because they're doing one of their rituals."
"But they do come down here," Kyle confirmed.
"I saw them come down once to take the kids swimming, but it's too cold for that now. Don't worry, they won't be coming down here."
The three men followed the narrow trail down to the base of the cliff. Vance pulled out a flashlight as they approached the opening to the cave near the water. He shone the light through the opening, then stepped inside.
"Careful. What we're looking for is toward the back. It's not very far. I picked that up from the ground not far from the entrance."
Vance halted for a moment then pulled out three helmets with lights on them from his backpack. "Put these on. It will make it easier when we get where we are going."
"Vance, what's going on?" Kyle asked.
"Shhh. This cave carries sound. I don't want anyone hearing us."
The three men walked in silence for several yards then Vance called a halt.
"Now gentleman, take a look and tell me what you see."
Jake and Kyle looked around. The walls seemed to sparkle, almost like silver.
"Is that what I think it is?" Jake asked, his eyes growing wide.
Vance pulled out a folder. "It gets better. First of all, that's not silver you're seeing. If it was, it still would have been one of the riches silver strikes since the 1890's. There hasn't been a strike like that in this area for over 60 years, but it's not silver."
"If it's not silver what is it?" Kyle asked.
"That's platinum."
"Platinum? I've never heard of it."
"Not too many have heard of it because it's more rare than gold. Only small amounts of it have been found. Pure sources are hard to find. The largest source of platinum, until now, has been in Russia."
"What do you mean "until now." Jake responded.
"That rock ways about three pounds. That's 96 ounces. I learned that the price of platinum per ounce was $700.00. At 96 ounces, you're holding nearly $68,000 dollars, and the metallurgist who tested a piece of that rock wanted to know where I found it. He's never seen such a large single piece before, and one that was nearly pure. Gentleman, we've got ourselves a "gold mine" if you will excuse the term."
"What about the monks in the temple? What if they find out about this place?" Kyle once again stated.
"They're not going to find out," Vance stated.
"How are you going to keep them from finding out?" Jake questioned.
"You just leave that up to me. No one is to tell anyone about this place. Here, I picked up a claim sheet. We're all going to sign it. And if there's any questions about it, we keep our mouths shut, understood?"
Kyle's thoughts returned to the present. Vance was true to his word, but he hadn't succeeded in trying to drive the priests from their temple home. Another had done that, but Vance had been quick to take advantage of the situation several weeks later. The mine had indeed proved to be one of the riches sources of platinum, along with other precious metals as well, ones related to what was called the platinum group. The people in town wondered at the three men's sudden newly found wealth, but they quickly made up whatever story to cover their tracks.
Very few knew about the mine, even today. Bobby Carson, Jake's son was the only one outside the original three who knew only because Jake had nearly died in a car accident. Jake had told his son just so the "family fortune" could remain in the family. Vance, however, never told his son or grandson. And now an unknown woman came into their midst saying she could get rid of a potential problem. He caught her snooping over the maps that he had left out. He had been determining where the next tunnel was going to be dug. Now he was wondering just how much she saw or understood what the maps meant. If she learned about the mine, she might want to be cut into their deal. That didn't set well with Kyle Jameson and he didn't think it would set well with Jake and Bobby as well.
Maybe it was high time they brought Vance Cavanaugh's grandson into this. If he was anything like his father, he might figure a way to get rid of the priest and the woman without anyone else being the wiser.
Continues with Part 18
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2004.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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