Brothers, Uncles and Cousins, Oh. My!
"Now, Amanda, Uncle Harry's number is on the fridge. I'll be sure the boys stay with me. I do wish you were going with us, everyone will miss you," said Dotty.
Amanda kissed her mother , then her sons. "You be good and do everything your grandmother says".
"Mom, I still think I'm big enough to go with the guys," stated Phillip without much hope of changing his mother's mind.
"Not this time, next year after you have taken that safe hunting course," declared his mother.
"But I will be twelve," complained her older son.
"So will some of the others. You know the family rule, safety course before hunting," Amanda reminded him.
"I could have taken it this year".
"You were with your father when it was given. Now you behave, have fun, and take lots of pictures ... drive careful, Mother," she concluded waving as her family drove off. She felt his eyes on her as she turned to go back in the house.
Lee drove the agency jeep out of the city limits. "If we find these hot heads in time maybe you can join your family. Where are they again?"
Amanda smiled, "Mother and the boys will be with the aunts, and other non-hunters, at Uncle Harry's farm. The hunters will be out hunting somewhere. When we were kids all the older boys went hunting and the girls and younger boys stayed with the women. Since then anyone with the proper training can do either. Phillip and Jamie were spending time with Joe when the hunting safety class was given so Phillip can't go hunting until next year."
Scarecrow nodded as he only partly listened to her, "... and last year they roped a unicorn and brought it home. The kids were so excited."
"I'm sure they were, after all it is not everyday you catch a ... UNICORN?" Lee's head snapped around to stare at her, she smiled back.
"Ok," He said with a smile at being caught. "Now do you want to know where we are going? We are going to a meeting of the 'Oriole Society'. They are meeting in the rotunda at a state park . We will be staying at a near by motel as Stedman and Keene of International Film Federation ..."
Scarecrow parked the jeep in front of the motel office and ask, "you want to check in first or grab some lunch?"
"Do you mind if we eat first?" she questioned.
He shook his head, "no, I don't mind". With a hand at the back of her waist, he waved her to the small cafe. Opening the door for her, Lee suddenly bumped into her back as she stopped abruptly, "what?"
Amanda whispered, "Susan", then louder she exclaimed, "Susan ... Susan Miller. What are you doing here?"
The waitress turned, "Amanda West? I mean King. Amanda, your mother and boys just left. Aunt Dotty said that you weren't coming this time."
"Actually I'm not here for the reunion. We are working ... Oh, Susan, this is my boss, Lee Stedman. Lee, this is my cousin, Susan Miller."
Lee nodded and shook her hand and said, "I am pleased to meet you, Susan."
A small crowd swarmed around them. "Amanda". "Panda". "It is so good to see you". "I thought you couldn't come". Amanda introduced Lee to all of them.
Scarecrow found an empty table and waited for his partner to join him. Several minutes later she took her seat. They kept the conversation light, touching on the documentary they were working on.
Mrs. King preceded Mr. Stetson into the office to check into their rooms. "Stedman and Keene, here it is. If you will just fill out the cards."
Amanda handed over her card first saying, ""it's King, not Keene. Amanda King".
Lee started to say something, then changed his mind handing over his card. As they left he whispered, "we are supposed to be under cover."
"Well, I couldn't use an alias here when the family knows I'm here. They know my real name and I don't believe that you will want to explain it to them."
Scarecrow agreed, "no, I don't want to explain it, but I need to let the agency know about the change."
During the afternoon Mrs. King chatted with various members of the 'Oriole Society', asking questions and taking notes. Scarecrow canvassed the area under the cover of scouting film sites. After dark they returned to the motel and had supper.
Stetson checked in with the agency while in the room next door Amanda returned a phone call. "Aunt Lucy, I don't know ... I hope to be able to get there for part of it ..."
A tall, overweight man stated, "I don't know how, but I think they are on to us."
The shorter man asked "who?"
"I am not sure which government agency, but I mean the film people. When they first contacted us about a documentary film, we checked them out. The company puts out a few films every year. Both Stedman and Keene are mentioned in some of the credits. Maybe they were replaced. They really should have gotten the names right."
"So we check them out in the morning, if we find anything wrong we get rid of them," said the second man.
A dark skinned woman searched the jeep and reported back, "cameras, camping gear, a CB radio, and a rifle. It could mean nothing but I don't think we can take the chance. I took the rifle just in case."
Mr. Jones requested, "Mr. Stedman, would you come with me, please?" Lee felt the sharp tip of a knife against his ribs. "Your gun, please."
Looking up Scarecrow saw Amanda being escorted to their jeep. He handed over his pistol. They walked over to the jeep. Someone secured Lee's hands behind his back then took the jeep's keys out of his jean pocket and seated him in the front passenger seat. He noticed that his partner's hands were tied in front of her.
"Mrs. King, get in the car."
Two vehicles drove out of the parking lot. The woman did not speak to her prisoner as they proceeded down the road. The prisoner spent her time looking around, watching road signs and pondering how Scarecrow would save them.
The driver of the jeep turned on a fire road followed by the car. Mr. Jones was questioning his prisoner as he drove. He got no answers so he started explaining how he intended to get the information he wanted, "... it is a fairly fast working drug ... and your bodies will probably never be found."
Both cars were parked in a clearing. The woman dragged her prisoner out of the car and over to the jeep. Lee sat uncomfortably in the front seat, the seat belt holding him down and his eyes appeared glazed.
Mr. Jones dropped a syringe onto the floor board as he told the two women, "in fifteen or twenty minutes he will tell us everything we want to know."
Hearing Lee's voice in her head, "run, call Billy, get backup, leave me, go", all the things he usually told her, Amanda looked around. She stumbled and fell, the other woman observed her with distain until she picked up a stick and jabbed it into her captor's leg. She got up and ran into the woods. She jumped over a log and ducked behind a tree. Amanda delved her finger into the watch pocket of her jeans, pulling out a small pen knife.
Mr. Jones ran down the trail she had been on, his breath coming in gasps as he forced his overweight body to go on, pasting her hiding place. Amanda watched him as she opened the sharp blade , slid it under the clothes line cord and quickly freed her self. After looking carefully down the trail and listening for his return, she snuck through the trees back the way she came.
She circled around so she could see the woman standing by the jeep on the passenger side. Picking up several rocks, she threw them into the woods on the other side of the clearing.
Julie ran around the vehicles and scanned the forest. She crept on to the trail and after a glance back at the passenger in the jeep, she continued up the path.
As soon as the woman disappeared between the trees Amanda ran to the car and removed the keys, then tossed them away. Immediately she went to Lee's jeep door and opened it, "Lee, can you hear me? Lee?"
Getting only a moan, she leaned him forward into her shoulder. She reached behind his back and cut the cord. Next she moved his hands in front of him, then leaned him back against the seat and pulled his seat belt tighter.
Noticing that the ignition keys were gone, Amanda pulled the spare set from her back pocket and ran around to the driver's door. Swiftly she got the jeep in motion, racing further down the fire road. In the rear view mirror she saw their captors reach the car.
Amanda turned on the CB radio, selected channel twenty-four and keyed the microphone. With her eyes on the road, her foot holding down the accelerator, she spoke in to the microphone. "Family party, family party, come in." She released the key of the mic to listen. After several moments passed she repeated, "family party, come in. Panda calling family party." She released the mic key again.
"This is family party, go ahead," answered a voice over the airwaves.
"Family party, this is Panda. I am on fire road fifty-two, coming to you. I need help. A car is following us. Coming in fast. Need help. Have Medic on scene. I have an injured man with me," she released the key.
"10-4. Message received, Panda, stay on the air."
Amanda placed the mic on its hook, grasped the steering wheel more firmly and pushed her foot down harder. "Lee, you are going to be just fine. We have back-up. We will be there soon. Do you know what they gave you?"
Lee mumbled something she did not understand.
A male voice was heard over the radio, "family party to Panda, come in."
Her calm voice answered, "go ahead."
"Keep coming, we will be ready. Any idea how far out you are?"
"No, is Flight Deck there?" she asked.
"Affirmative, he's here. Why?"
"Warm up that chopper. Call Mr. Melrose at 202-555-1202; say Stetson to Galilee General."
"10-4. Melrose at 202-555-1202; Stetson to Galilee General." repeated the steady radio voice.
She turned a bend on two wheels and slid before regaining traction. "We are almost there, Scarecrow. Medic will take care of you." The jeep speed into the hunting compound and preformed a perfect bootlegger's turn.
While several people rushed up to the vehicle, others set tent spikes in to the path of the oncoming car to puncture the tires.
"Medic, they injected something into Lee about fifteen minutes before I called. The syringe is on the floor somewhere. I don't know what it was. I think he might ..."
The car had come to an abrupt halt after its tires blew out. Mr. Jones and Julie looked out the windows at all the rifle barrels centered on them. Men and women, adults and teens all looked very serious. They sat very still and raised their hands waiting to be told what to do.
Medic called out, "Jeff, look for a medical vial. We need to know what was used."
"Will do," answered the man called Jeff.
Amanda said, "Lee, do you know what he used?"
"Yeah."
"What was it?" asked Medic.
"Lee answer him. What did Mr. Jones use?" demanded Amanda.
Getting no response, she ordered in a louder voice, "Scarecrow, tell us, now." Lee's quiet voice answered her. She lifted her eyes to her cousin, "Help him!"
Jeff raced over with two vials in hand, "either of these what you need?" as he handed over the small containers.
Jacob Palmer walked up behind Medic and whispered, "did she call him Scarecrow?"
Medic nodded, the two men's eyes met briefly, as he continued checking over Lee Stetson. "Flight Deck, is that chopper ready? ... Jacob, call NEST. Stetson to Galilee General."
As Scarecrow's stretcher was being loaded on to the helicopter by four men, Jacob got on a ham radio. "Eagle One has a bird in the nest. Stetson to Galilee General. ETA forty-five minutes. Vitals to follow."
Medic got in with him. Amanda got in the front seat beside the pilot and the chopper lifted off. Meantime on the ground, Jacob told Uncle George, "hold them for the feds."
Uncle George handcuffed both of the suspects, read them their rights and informed them, "it looks like you are going to spend a little time in my jail."
Jeff joined them and asked, "do you know where Amanda is? I can't find her."
Jacob wrapped an arm around the other man's shoulders and replied, "Don't worry about your sister. She flew off with Flight Deck, Medic, and her friend. They will take care of her."
Mr. Jones blustered, "who are you people? You can't hold us."
Ben Sims stated, "until the feds arrive we can. He's the sheriff. You chased the wrong girl. You see we are her family. Brother and uncles and cousins."
"Oh, my!" whispered Julie looking at the thirty or so people around her still holding rifles.
The helicopter landed at the edge of the hunting compound. Medic got out and then helped his cousin down. She looked so tired after her busy day, but her debriefing had gone well. It never hurt to have an army colonel and an ex-army chopper pilot testify to a job well done.
Family members flocked around her. Jeff hugged her tightly and asked her, "Panda, what happened? You had us scared."
"I don't really know. My boss and I were doing the preliminary for IFF, International Film Federation, you know; a documentary on birds. We arrived yesterday and everything seemed fine. This morning we were working when Julie Day and, oh, what was the short man's name? Anyway, Julie and whats-his -name, tied my hands and forced me into the car. Mr. Jones got Mr. Stedman, tied him up and put him in the company jeep," she said all in one breath.
She continued, "Julie didn't say a word as we drove. I was so relieved when we turned onto that fire road. I just knew that Lee…Mr. Stedman would get us away from them. He was in the army in 'Nam."
"But he didn't. You did!"
"Where did you learn to do the bootlegger's turn?"
"What is a bootlegger's turn?" she asked genuinely puzzled.
"Are you staying?"
"Yes, my boss told me to have a good time, then bring the jeep and stuff back," she answered. "I will spend the night here, but I am going to join the girls in the morning."
As everyone returned to camp she whispered, "Uncle George, did you get Lee's pistol back?"
"I sure did, I will lock it in the glove box for you in the morning," he said with a wink in her direction.
"Thank you, you know how much I hate those things."