Alex and Johanna stared at the sparkling stones on the low work table next to a rock wall. He crouched low on bent legs to get a better look at the stones as Johanna gaped, open mouthed at them.

Captivated and amazed by the glittery display, Johanna came close and knelt near Alex. She reached a hand toward one of the stones. In a flash, Alex grab her hand with his, pulling it back away from the display then releasing it.

"Don't touch!"

She gave him a hurt and angry look. "Why! There's plenty of stones here so why not take one for ourselves," she argued, again reaching out.

He snatched her hand away again and held it, staring into her eyes grimly. He stood up, pulling her gently to her feet as well. "No. People who make a discovery like this always notice if some of their product is missing. Besides these are blood diamonds. Kara was put in a wheelchair and her son was almost killed because of them.

Her face fell and she turned away. Sighing, she said, "since this was discovered on their land, Kara and her family, are set for life once we get these jokers who are stealing it." She studied the veins of diamonds still held within the rock walls.

"Maybe, maybe not," Alex muttered, crouching low and running his fingers in the dirt where some equipment once stood.

Johanna stared down at him. "What do you mean? These stones have got to be worth fortunes upon fortunes."

"Yes some of them may be but not all, see diamonds are like gold, it all depends on the purity of the stone and the minerals in the carbon. Which means some of these diamonds could be worth a lot while others aren't." Alex picked a stone at random from the ground.

Johanna watched as he brought the stone close to his mouth and breathed on it. He studied it a moment before pocketing it.

"I thought you said we couldn't take any of the stones? And why did you breathe on it?" She demanded.

He stood up again. "We can't take the ones in plain sight. And breathing on it can determine whether or not it's a real diamond. Come on, we've learned all we can here...time to make ourselves scare.

He turned off the generator then the two of the hurried out. As they left the area, Alex did his best to cover their tracks so the miners wouldn't realize anyone had been here. They made for their horses and mounted.

"Where to now?" Johanna asked.

"To town. I need a UV light to test the quality of the stone and there's something else I want to check on," he said, then kicked his horse into a gallop. Johanna did the same still confused by what he was up to.

When they reached the ranch, they unsaddled the horses and brushed them down before putting them into the paddock. Heading from the barn, they made for the truck parked outside and headed to town. Some twenty minutes later, Alex pulled up in front of the general store and parked. The two of them headed inside with Alex keeping guard, on alert for anyone watching them. Picking up what he needed they got back into the truck and drove to the site of the wreck.

Alex parked the truck and got out to look around.

"What are you looking for?" Johanna asked, getting out and watching him.

"The site where the shooter fired from," he grunted, not taking his eyes off the ground and area he was studying.

"Why?" She scanned the tree line looking for clues as well.

"Because if we find the spot, I can determine whether or not it was just dumb luck by someone who was just shooting at targets or it was someone whose a very skilled sniper aiming at us."

At that moment, Johanna spotted something. She touched his shoulder and pointed. He turned to see what had attracted her attention. She was pointing at a spot just above the tree line where a section of mountains could just barely be seen.

"Could that be the place?' she asked.

In his head, Alex calculated the distance then took another quick look around before eyeing the spot again. "It's possible. That section has the only direct line of sight for a clear shot. Let's go check it out."

They headed back to the truck and after a half hours drive, arrived at the spot she'd seen below. They got out and looked down to where the accident had happened.

"So what can you tell by what you've seen so far?" Johanna asked.

"We are definitely dealing with a man. He was laying down on his belly when he fired and the barrel was perched between those two rocks. Also..." His voice faded off when his eye caught something between the rocks. Alex said then faltered when something between the rocks caught his eye.

Johanna was puzzled by his sudden tension as she could see no reason for it. "What's wrong?"

She watched as he picked up a piece of fabric and some dirt. His head came up and looked around quickly. Standing slowly, he began to move, hissing softly to her, "Johanna, act natural and head for the truck at a leisurely pace."

She did as ordered but asked, "what is it?"

"Tell you later," he muttered tightly.

Only when they were back in the car and driving back to the ranch, did Alex relax.

"Okay, what was that all about?"

Alex sighed, glanced her way a moment before returning his attention to road ahead. "We are dealing with a trained sniper."

"You could tell that by a piece of fabric and dirt?"

"It wasn't dirt it was sand," Alex responded as he parked the truck and climbed out.

"Ok, so it was sand but how do you get expert sniper from that?" Johanna asked, putting the bag with the UV light down on the counter in the kitchen.

He leaned against the counter and gave her his full attention. "Because Marine Special Ops and Army Special Forces Snipers, are trained to use these bags of sand. One small squeeze is enough to adjust the hairs of the scope to a target. In fact some people use the same thing for stress relief or hot and cold treatment for sore muscles," he explained.

She blinked at him. "Really, wow! That's cool to now."

He gave her a wane smile as he walked to a cabinet and fetched a glass then the sink to get some water. "Now all I have to do is find out who has that kind of training and lives within a five mile radius.

A thoughtful look passed over Johanna's face a moment. "Beside me!" Alex snorted, annoyed. She shook her head and walked to his side, smiling.

"I wasn't thinking of you."

"You're talking to a walking polygraph, Johanna," he said, archly.

She gave him a sideways look. "Ok, so it crossed my mind, after all it would be the perfect way to cover your tracks, making it look like you were trying to solve what happened."

"And what would I have to gain by showing you the mine?"

"An offer to split it down the middle."

She leaned against him coyly, he shook his head and smiled, putting a light hand on the back of her head. "You should know by now that money means nothing to me." He brought her closer until their lips met.

They separated at the sound of a clearing throat and turned to see Kara staring at them. "Well it's nice to see you're taking good care of him, Johanna." She smirked at the two of them from the doorway.

Alex released Johanna who smiled at Kara while rubbing the back of her head where Alex's touch still lingered.

"Any new leads?" Kara asked Alex who looked down at her as she wheeled into the room.

"A few but I'd rather not say anything until I'm certain," Alex told her gently.

Kara nodded. "You know I never did ask who you worked for," she said eyeing him questioningly.

Alex held her gaze as he said straight faced, "I work for the State Police."

"Okay. That's good to know. Tomorrow is the overnight ride. I want you, Alex, and a few of the other wranglers on it. Is your shoulder up to it?" Kara said, briskly, all business now.

"Sure thing," he agreed but as Kara turned to leave, he called her back, "Kara, wait." She turned to stare at him questioningly.

"I need a favor..." he began. Kara listened then arched her eyebrow in surprise.

Later that night in the spare cabin, he prepared to use the UV light on the raw diamond.

"Is this test really necessary?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes. The fate of this family rests on the results. Someone thinks this is important enough to harm them and mine on their land without permission. I need to find out why by determining what kind diamonds they are."

She nodded and stayed silent as he laid the stone on the faceplate of the light. As soon as the strong, bright light hit the diamond, patterns erupted onto the ceiling and walls as they passed through the stone.

"That's beautiful…" Johanna breathed in awe as Alex examined the patterns closely.

Finally, he groaned in anguish and put his face in his hand.

"What's wrong? Aren't they any good?" Johanna asked anxiously.

Raising his head up again, he gave her a bleak look. "No, they're worthless..."

She erupted instantly in a loud rant of fury. "SO YOU'RE SAYING, THAT SOMEBODY PUT KARA IN A WHEELCHAIR...HER SON IN A COMA... FOR A BUNCH OF…" s

He lunged at her and clapped a hand over her mouth. For a long moment, their was silence, Johanna's eyes wide but not resisting, Alex tense and listening hard. When he could hear nothing, not even the smallest disturbance, he relaxed and removed his hand.

"Yelling like that will let others know what we're up to. This cabin isn't sound proofed you know," he said in warning.

"Sorry," she flushed in embarrassment.

"Fine, now may I please finish?' She nodded. He went on, "As I was saying, these stones are worthless as gems…" he continued and looked back at the stone still on the UV light. "However, I can name several industrial and computer companies who would pay several king's ransoms for them."

Denver National Airport…

Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots walked down the steps of the private jet they'd arrived in. A short distance away, a car was waiting for them.

Broots paused a moment before entering the car to admire the mountain range beyond the airport apron. "Debbie would love this," he murmured more to himself than his companions.

Miss Parker stared at him over the top of her sunglasses. "Broots, we're not here to sightsee," she snapped as she took out her cell phone and dialed.

She put it to her ear. "Daddy?...Yes we've just landed in Colorado...I'll call you if there are any updates...love you too, bye." She closed her cell and climbed into the car as did the others and soon they were heading for their hotel.

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