Temple: A New Journey Begins
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Note: Strong Language
"What's keeping that bitch? She said she could get rid of Caine."
"Did you tell her to meet us here?" Jake asked.
"I gave her every detail."
"Obviously there has been some delay."
Bobby Carson paced the length of the cavern. "I don't like this. I think we should have just let well enough alone. We don't need some meddling woman muscling in on our business. She has no right."
"She'll be taken care of soon enough."
Bobby picked up a chunk of ore and chucked it through the opening in the cave mouth.
"Hey watch where you're tossing that stuff. We've been careful so far not to let anyone know what we've discovered here. They find that and someone might just get curious."
"What do I care about it anymore. It's gotten us nowhere."
"A Swiss bank account large enough to buy a small country is nothing to sneeze at, boy."
"Yeah, but legally it doesn't even belong to us," Bobby grumbled.
"What are you talking about. Of course it belongs to us."
"That's what you think."
Jake eyed his son for a few minutes wondering what he knew. "What makes you think all this doesn't belong to us. Your grandfather claimed it fair and square."
Bobby remained silent for a time. He really never questioned his father's right to the claim. Even his grandfather seemed to think that what they found could be claimed, but ever since Bobby had been a boy of fifteen he never remembered actually seeing anything that made the claim legal. Then ten years ago, a man by the name of Peter Caine arrived on the scene. It was rumored that Caine wanted to rebuild the old ruined temple. In fact he acted as if he owned the place. He claimed he had papers proving that the temple and the land that surrounded it still belonged to the Shaolin. The news somehow disturbed both his father and Kyle Jameson. Bobby didn't understand then why they did not want Caine to rebuild, until they let him in on their little secret.
The fear that Caine would take all that away drove Bobby to do the worst thing imaginable at such a young age. He lured Peter Caine to this very cave under false pretences, and shot him in the back. He was so proud of what he had done, he thought his father would be pleased.
"You what? How could you? Does anyone else know about this?"
"No Dad, I haven't told anyone."
"We're going back to that cave and do something before someone else finds it."
They went back to the cave to bury the body. But when they returned to the cave, Peter Caine's body could not be found.
"I knew I shot him, he fell right here."
"Well the body's gone."
"Dad, you don't suppose someone else found him? Maybe someone else knows about this place."
"You just better pray that no one else does."
Several days went by. Bobby scanned the newspaper every day for news about Peter Caine, but not a single article appeared about the Shaolin priest. When two weeks went by without a word, Bobby began to breathe a sigh of relief. It looked like no one knew anything about the cave or about the disappearance of Peter Caine.
Jake Carson never turned in his own son, explaining away the incident as an accident. No one else ever found out. As far as everyone else was concerned, Peter Caine was just passing through and had left for other parts unknown, but no one figured Peter Caine had a son. Bobby only caught a glimpse of the son when he came to place a marker near the lake where there were other markers. He was no older than Bobby at the time. This disturbed Bobby greatly, but his father reassured him that the son of Peter Caine would never find out.
Now that son had come back, bent on trying to finish what his father had wanted to start. Bobby ground his teeth until his jaw began to ache. The thought of killing Caine caused something deep and primal to stir in the young man, and yet something else was beginning to stir as well, a sense of conscience. He had made a mistake out of fear ten years ago. Today, he was contemplating murder, had in fact, allowed his father to talk him into hiring a woman to do the job. Now that job it would seem had been busted. It would be up to him to set it right.
"Dad, something's wrong. She should have been here by now. I think they may have found out."
"I'll go down and see. You keep an eye out for Caine. He's bound to come snooping around, along with Vance and his friends."
"What should I do if they find this place?"
"You know what to do my boy. You did it before. Kill them."
Continues with Part 25
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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