Notes: The ending twist will launch into a plot point General_Zargon wanted to see in something. I thought I might be able to fit it into this one and have been building up to it for a while.

Chapter Seven

Immediately Amanda snapped to attention. "I'm calling for the ambulance!" she declared. "How could the guards have not found him here?! In fact, where are the guards?!"

"Maybe they're hurt too," Scotch said.

"Or maybe they're part of the problem," Billy said. "Who was guarding?"

"Henry and Jack," Amanda said.

"The ambulance might still be out of commission," Kalin said, remembering its mysterious breakdown the past day. He looked to Radley, who had knelt beside Seluga. "How bad is he?"

"There's some nasty bruises and some untreated cuts," Radley said. "I can't tell if anything's broken."

"And I don't have my phone!" Amanda exclaimed. "I didn't get it when I left last night."

Kalin took out his phone. "I'll call. But if the ambulance still isn't working, we'll have to take him there ourselves in your car or a truck." He started to dial.

Radley occupied himself by trying to communicate with the injured man. "Seluga? Seluga, can you hear me?" He reached out, touching the thick shoulder.

After a moment Seluga stirred. "Ugh. . . . Who's there?" He squinted in the darkness of the room.

"It's Radley," was the reply. "Seluga, what happened?! Do you remember?"

". . . Crashed through the floor," Seluga mumbled. "Was dragged in here. . . ."

"By who?" Radley exclaimed.

"Don't know," Seluga said, his voice slurred. "Couldn't see them. And they laughed and didn't talk."

Kalin hung up the phone. "The ambulance is fixed. They're bringing it out."

"What went wrong with it anyway?" Scotch frowned.

"They still don't know how it happened, but when they brought Rick in, several things broke under the hood," Kalin said.

"The ghost did it!" Biff exclaimed.

"If there really is a ghost," Radley said. "I've gotta say, though, that's pretty weird. There probably wouldn't have been time for a mortal to do anything, unless he was one of the paramedics."

"Why would he want to damage it?" Billy frowned.

"I have no idea," Radley sighed. "Not having an ambulance on hand is dangerous for everyone, and would any of our paramedics really hate Malcolm's Crew to the point that they would endanger all of the other citizens too?"

"I wouldn't think so," Kalin said. "But maybe I should look them up anyway."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "You're suspicious of everyone!" She went into the room and knelt by Seluga. "Seluga, are you alright?"

"I could be better, Ms. Bennett," Seluga mumbled.

Virgil rolled his eyes now. "Just look at him! Of course he's not alright!"

"I need a blanket or something to treat him for shock," Radley said.

Kalin took off his coat. "Use this."

Radley smiled as he took it and covered Seluga as best as he could. "Thanks."

It wasn't long and the ambulance arrived. The paramedics came down the ladder, their eyes flickering in concern. "How will we get him back up?" the younger one exclaimed.

"We'll probably have to bring him completely vertical, strapped to a stretcher or backboard," the older said. "I've had to do a few rescues like that."

"This will be my first," the younger said.

"Why did you want to move here anyway?" his partner grunted.

But then they reached the rest of the group and had to turn their attention to Seluga. The question went unanswered. Kalin said nothing about it, instead letting them focus on the wounded man while he looked up their names and tried to learn something about them via his phone. It took a while to actually get a signal, but finally he was standing in the right spot to connect.

Getting Seluga up through the trapdoor was definitely an adventure. One paramedic had to go up to the top and then try to use the ropes and the pulley they had brought to raise Seluga on the stretcher up through the hole, while the other stood below and monitored the situation. At last he was out and the others all went up.

"How bad is it?" Amanda asked.

"We're not sure yet," one of the paramedics said as he undid the pulley. "He was just left down there for hours after he fell. Do you know how that could have happened?"

"No," Amanda said, looking overwhelmed. "I don't."

She was soon off to the hospital again, instructing Dave to tell everyone about Seluga and to try to find the guards who were supposed to be in the tunnels. Dave, despite not looking pleased, took out his phone to text the other staff.

Radley sighed. "So now what?" he asked Kalin.

"There's nothing strange about the older paramedic, so I'm trying to look up the younger one who recently moved here," Kalin said. "It looks like . . . Jared Adamson is his uncle?!" He stared at the information profile he had loaded.

Radley gawked. "What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure," Kalin said. "Jared really was suspicious. Maybe this guy was trying to help his uncle by making the ambulance break down."

"Or maybe it's a coincidence," Radley said. "But I guess we'll need to talk to Jared about it."

"We will," Kalin said. He looked to Dave. "Let us know if you ever find those guards," he instructed. "We'll need to talk to them too."

"They probably don't know anything," Dave grumped.

"I'd still like to know how no one heard Seluga moaning," Kalin said coolly. "There were so many of you in and out of those tunnels last night."

"He was probably unconscious then," Dave retorted.

Radley had to admit that was plausible. But there was still another problem to think about. "Somebody obviously dragged him to where he was, though," he pointed out. "Ms. Bennett won't believe it's one of you guys and maybe it isn't. But either way, we have to find out who did it."

"I'll look into it," Dave growled as he stormed off.

Radley sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Okay, so we'll need to split up again," he said. "Kalin and I will go talk to Jared. The rest of you, stay here and try to find those guards and what happened to Seluga."

"That's a tall order," Virgil said.

"I know," Radley said with a weary smile. "But I also know I can count on all of you to do your best trying to find out."

"Of course you can," Billy said.

xxxx

Jared was working at the lumber yard when Kalin and Radley pulled up. He looked up with a scowl that only got darker when he saw who it was. "What do you want now?" he asked Kalin.

Kalin sighed. "We're wondering about your nephew. He's a paramedic in town."

"So what?" Jared snapped.

"Why here, of all places?" Radley asked. "He didn't live here before."

"He wanted to come out when he finished his training," Jared said. "He thought he'd be useful here."

"You didn't ask him to come?" Kalin studied him closely. "The ambulance mysteriously broke down yesterday when Rick was being transported to the hospital. They still don't know what caused it."

"And you think maybe he did it on my request?" Jared slammed his clipboard down on the wood. "He's in the business of saving lives! He wouldn't do something like that even if I did ask him!"

"I hope so, Mr. Adamson," Radley said. "I'm sorry, but surely you know we have to ask these questions."

"I expected it from Kalin. Not from you." Jared gave him a dark look.

"Hey, I am chief deputy, you know," Radley said smoothly. "I kinda have to follow the rules."

"You should have stayed a rebel," Jared grumbled.

"This is getting us nowhere," Kalin interrupted in annoyance.

"There's nothing more to say," Jared said. "You came to ask about my nephew and you've asked and I've told!"

"You've been vague," Kalin said. "Did you ask him to help you with a revenge plot?"

"You've never yet got me to admit that there is any such plot," Jared growled. "And you won't get me to."

"Yeah, but don't you realize that the very act of refusing to say makes you look pretty guilty?" Radley replied.

"There's nothing you can do about it," Jared said.

Kalin met his dark look with steel eyes. ". . . Let's go," he said to Radley. "We're not going to learn any more here."

Radley went with him in annoyance and sorrow. "Jared is different," he said. "I really wouldn't put it past him to be mixed up in this. I think he hates Malcolm's Crew more than he even did before."

"Hate festers and gets worse over time," Kalin agreed. "Now we'll need to talk to his nephew. They should have Seluga to the hospital by now."

"Are we still going to try Malcolm too?" Radley asked.

"We might," Kalin said. "Let's see how cooperative Eric Trailer is first."

xxxx

When they arrived at the hospital the paramedics were still there, having a soda break in the cafeteria while waiting for their next assignment. Pleased, Kalin led Radley over to them.

"You must be getting more business than you have in some time," he commented.

Eric looked up. "Things have been pretty busy," he admitted. "But the downside of our jobs is that for us to be in business, people have to be getting hurt."

Kalin nodded. "We've heard Jared Adamson is your uncle."

Eric immediately looked down at the table. "Yeah. . . ."

Radley stepped forward. "Did he ask you to help him get revenge on Malcolm's Crew?"

Jared started and looked up. Now he was ashen. "Why would you ask that?!"

"Mainly because of the ambulance breaking down so mysteriously when Rick was being transported yesterday," Kalin said.

Roger, Eric's partner, looked at him with flashing eyes. "Eric would never agree to do something like that!" he snapped.

Kalin tiredly massaged the bridge of his nose. "Whether he did or not, was he asked?" he said in weary frustration. He had never before had so much grudging understanding for Sector Security.

Eric was clearly struggling with himself. Finally he set down the soda and looked up with a sigh. "Yes," he said. "I was asked, but I said No."

Kalin and Radley exchanged a look. Maybe now they were getting somewhere.

"Is your uncle responsible for everything that's been happening at the ranch?" Kalin demanded.

"I don't know," Eric said, and he sounded sincere. "I don't want to believe that, but I know it looks bad."

"Would he tell you the truth if you asked him?" Radley asked.

". . . Maybe," Eric said. "I'm not sure. I know he hates Malcolm's Crew so much."

"If it's not him, can you think of anyone else mad enough to do it?" Radley asked.

Eric shook his head. "No. I wish I did."

"Did he tell you any details of his revenge idea when he asked you to help him?" Kalin asked.

"He said it would make Malcolm's Crew regret ever sticking around," Eric said. "I told him it wasn't right, that most of them had nothing to do with Carson's death. The only one I wasn't sure about was Seluga, but I didn't want to do anything to him either."

"How did he react when you said you didn't want to help him?" Kalin queried next.

"He was angry," Eric sighed. "He said he was the only one around who cared about seeing justice done. I asked him why he thought it was justice to hurt people who weren't even involved. He said being part of Malcolm's Crew made them involved. I don't know, I . . ." He slumped back in the chair. "I just don't know how to deal with him now. It feels like he's not even rational anymore."

"It sure sounds like he's not," Radley said sadly. "That kind of guilt by association mentality never made sense to me."

"Do you think he'd do something on his own, or would he find someone else to help him?" Kalin wondered.

"He was so determined, he really might do it on his own, or try to," Eric said. "But he might find he needed help."

"Who would help him?" Kalin asked. He wished they could have another lead.

"Anyone at the lumber yard, maybe," Eric said. "And there might be others in town. I'm not sure who, though."

"Okay," Radley sighed. "Thanks."

Kalin was frowning as they walked off. "It looks like he's still our top suspect," he said. "We'll have to have the Bunch take turns trying to keep him under surveillance from a distance."

"Yeah, I guess so," Radley said. "But he'll probably know we're watching him."

Kalin wearily shook his head. "I still don't know what else to do but watch him."

Radley sighed but nodded in agreement and texted the Bunch. ". . . They haven't found out anything at theranch. They'll keep trying, and Scotch and Biff will go try to watch Jared."

"Good," Kalin said.

"While we're here, we should check on the rest of the guys," Radley said. "Clint and Marty are on guard duty now. We didn't get to check on them earlier."

"That's a good point," Kalin said.

Everything was quiet at Rick's room. He, Jake, Clint, and Marty were playing a tag team duel at Rick's bedside. They all looked up at the quiet knock on the door. "Come in," Rick said slowly.

"Hey," Radley smiled as they entered. "What's up?"

"Radley!" Clint beamed. "Hi! Hi, Kalin."

Marty also greeted them, pleased.

Kalin nodded, smiling a bit. "Hello."

"I'm doing pretty well, the doctor says," Rick said. "But I still don't want to go back to the ranch."

Jake nodded. "Clint and Marty told us about the dyne mining and how we were kept out of it," he said bitterly. "Neither of us appreciate that. So now we have another reason not to go back."

"Maybe you should talk to Ms. Bennett before you make any final decisions," Radley said.

"So she can lie to us and treat us like five-year-olds again?" Rick snorted. "No thanks."

Kalin sighed. "I think she truly does care about you. She just isn't very good at dealing with her feelings and interacting with people."

"Maybe," Rick said. "But . . . if we really don't want to go back . . . could we join you?"

Radley blinked in stunned surprise. "If that's what you really want, we'd be happy to have you," he said.

"We're not sure yet," Jake said. "But we've been talking about it."

They visited for a couple more minutes before leaving. Radley still looked amazed by Rick's question. "I don't think anyone from Malcolm's Crew has ever asked to join us before," he said to Kalin as they stepped outside.

"Do they even like motorcycles?" Kalin deadpanned. "That's kind of a requirement."

Radley shrugged. "Maybe they're hoping to learn to like them?" he said. "I guess what they really like the sound of is the trust and camaraderie. You know, Rick might not be able to do heavy ranch work for a long time. If he needs a job where he doesn't have to do so much strenuous stuff, I might be able to find him something at the mine. Klaus often needs help in the office."

"That could be a good idea," Kalin said. "I wonder how much prejudice would be around there, though."

Radley rubbed the back of his neck. "I know Klaus would be accepting, although he might give the poor kid an earful for joining Malcolm in the first place. There might be some cold looks from some of the miners, but you'd think they'd cut him a break when he never hurt anybody." He sighed. "And is it awful of me that I don't feel like offering a job to Seluga? He might be laid up longer than Rick, after being left like that for hours."

"I guess it depends on why you don't feel like it," Kalin said.

"Mostly for lack of trusting him," Radley said. "I can't deny it's pretty hard to trust one of Malcolm's high-ups, and this situation doesn't help. What if he really is trying to get the ranch for Malcolm and someone like Dave found out and tried to kill him?"

"We should go into the City and talk to Malcolm," Kalin said. "The Bunch can hold things down around here." He paused. "And I can't blame you for not trusting Seluga. I don't know how much I trust him myself."

Radley smiled a bit. "Thanks."

They were just putting on their helmets and preparing to leave when West and Nico ran up to them. "Kalin! Mr. Radley! Are you guys okay?!" West exclaimed.

"We heard you were hurt," Nico added, looking to Radley.

He smiled at them. "I'm okay now."

Kalin smiled too. "How are you kids doing?" he asked, leaning on the handlebars of his motorcycle.

"We're okay," Nico said.

"Especially if you guys are okay!" West added.

"We're fine. Just baffled by the mystery of who's causing trouble at Bennett Ranch," Kalin said.

"I thought it was a ghost," West frowned.

"It may be, at least in part," Kalin said, "but there's at least one living person responsible too."

"Do you have any leads?" Nico asked in concern.

"Not really," Kalin said. "Just vague possibilities."

"We're going to check one of them out now," Radley added. "If you two need anything, talk to any of the Bunch. Okay?"

"Sure!" West nodded. "I know you'll bring in the bad guys!"

They said Goodbye and hurried off. Kalin shook his head in touched amusement. "They're putting a lot of faith in us. We'd better not let them down."

"We won't," Radley said. He quickly texted the Bunch about their plans before they started out.

xxxx

Malcolm was not pleased at all to see his visitors. He scowled at them both. "What do you two want?" he grumped. "We've got nothing to say to each other."

"Aww, you didn't even miss us at all?" Radley mockingly quipped.

Kalin smirked slightly before sobering. "Are you interested in the Bennett Ranch?" he point-blank asked.

Malcolm rocked back. "What?" He shrugged and folded his arms. "Sure, it's a nice piece of property. Yeah, I tried to get Amanda Bennett to sell it to me plenty of times, but she always refused."

"She didn't mention that," Radley said. "And if you wanted it so badly, why didn't you just use your tanks and move in on it?"

"I didn't want to get distracted by dividing my forces," Malcolm said. "I knew once I got rid of you, I could take over everything, including that."

"Did you ever stop being interested in it?" Kalin's voice was icy now. He hated hearing about how Malcolm had wanted Radley dead.

"What?!" Malcolm looked genuinely puzzled. "What does that matter? I'm stuck in here!"

"Oh, I'm sure you could find a way if you wanted," Radley said. "Like having one of your old Crewmembers do your dirty work when he got out."

"That never even occurred to me," Malcolm said. "I don't want to go back to Crash Town when I get out!"

"You'll probably never get out," Kalin intoned.

"Look, she can have her blasted ranch!" Malcolm snapped. "I'm not interested now!"

"Well, I'm not so sure," Kalin retorted. "It would all fit perfectly. You could have told Seluga you wanted it and for him to join her staff as a mole. He started setting up 'accidents' to hurt or kill the ranch hands and force Ms. Bennett to foreclose or sell. But when his plot was discovered, one of the hands pulled an 'accident' on him."

"No!" Malcolm boomed. ". . . Wait, Seluga's hurt?" he frowned.

"Yes, he is, and under mysterious circumstances," Kalin said.

Malcolm snorted. "Too bad for him. And too bad for the two of you that I don't know anything about a plot to get the ranch." He sneered at them.

"You'd probably refuse to tell us out of spite alone," Kalin snapped.

"Probably, but that's not the case here," Malcolm said.

Radley sighed. They wouldn't get anything else from him, and maybe it was even true. "Let's go, Kalin," he said, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Still glowering at Malcolm, Kalin finally stepped back and turned around. "You'd better pray if you're lying, Malcolm," he said coldly. "You'll get even more charges added to your sentence."

"As if it could get any worse than it already is!" Malcolm snarled.

"Well," Radley said calmly, "it's your own fault. Bye now." He walked off with Kalin, feeling Malcolm burning a hole in his back with his glare as they went.

Kalin sighed when they got back outside. "I should have stayed professional in there," he said, running a hand into his hair. "Malcolm reminding me of how he wanted you dead was too much."

"You're fine," Radley said. "Sheriffs are only human." He mulled over the problem. "Hey, why don't we go see Yusei while we're here? That might cheer you up."

Kalin smiled a bit. "We need to get back, but yes, let's see Yusei for a few minutes." He headed to his motorcycle. "Do you think Malcolm was telling the truth?"

"Maybe," Radley said. "He's extremely skilled at lying, so I'm not positive. If he is telling the truth, we'll have to go back to Jared Adamson as our top suspect." He checked his phone. "Scotch says he's not doing anything out of the ordinary right now."

"He probably knows he's being watched, like we figured," Kalin said in annoyance.

Soon they were riding off to the main part of the City. Yusei was surprised but happy to see them both and quickly invited them in, where Antinomy was playing with his cat Monkey on the floor. "So what's up, guys?" he asked.

"It's a long story," Kalin said. He sank down on the couch. "We've got another baffling mystery we're trying to solve. We thought maybe Malcolm was involved, so we came out here to talk to him. But we don't know anymore."

"Malcolm?" Yusei raised an eyebrow. "This must be a weird one. Well, I'm definitely willing to listen if you want to talk about it."

Over the next thirty minutes, Kalin and Radley recounted everything that had been happening while Yusei listened. Antinomy came over after a while and held Monkey on his lap. At the conclusion, Yusei leaned back and shook his head in disbelief.

"I really don't know what to think," he admitted. "Malcolm could definitely be lying. He's never trustworthy. But this Jared Adamson sounds dangerous too."

Kalin nodded. "Everything is just a mess. I'd like to get this solved before anyone else gets hurt, but that may not be possible."

Radley's phone rang and he quickly answered. "Hello? . . . Scotch, what is it?! I can hardly understand you!"

"Jordan came by and he's not much calmer than me!" Scotch said, his voice climbing to the point of hysteria. "Nico and West are missing!"