Summoned Again?

The first transfer truck arrived at almost the same time as the next cargo plane, which was beneficial for me as a great distraction. While the guards checked the truck driver for his credentials, the fork lift driver started to load the pallets of gold into the back. It could only safely hold 25 pallets and the guards finished checking the driver.

Of course, as soon as the manifest was signed to prove that the airport had handed over a shipment of gold, they closed the back doors and I stored all of the pallets. I didn't want to take the chance that it would be diverted from the route to the gold buying business and I would lose track of it. The back of the truck didn't have a movable suspension, so no one noticed that the weight had mysteriously disappeared.

Also, just for the heck of it, I stored a bunch of the pallets from inside the hangar as well. Most people wouldn't realize how many pallets were actually loaded, especially when they weren't paying attention and there were a bunch of pallets. The unloading cargo plane added another dozen pallets to the hangar and then it taxied over to the refuelling station.

The next cargo plane landed and it had three times as much, or 36 pallets. The two of them combined wasn't even close to the first mine's total pallets, though. They had to use the production techniques for a while before implementing them at the other mines. The only mine that some of them couldn't be used was the diamond and gem mine, because it needed different equipment and procedures.

I glanced at the landing schedule and the gems were on the next plane taxiing over to the hangar. I wonder if the gem cutters Cherise employs would enjoy completely uncut gems?

The next plane opened up the cargo area and inside were five half-size cargo containers. I was going to ask what was in them when the woman I had hired to run the diamond mine stepped out from the passenger part of the plane and came down the stairs. She wore a stylish pant suit and carried a small overnight bag.

“Miss Marusya!” I said and waved with my free hand. My other hand held Crystal against my side.

Vika turned to look at me and her face grew a huge smile. “Mr. Smith! You came in person!” She said and strode over to me. “I see a cute little princess in your arms! Is this the famous Crystal you couldn't stop talking about?”

“It sure is.” I said. “Crystal, this is Vika. She's the brilliant woman that I hired to dig up jewels from the dirt.”

“I'm pretty sure a 150% increase in yield of raw uncut gem material proves you wrong.”

Vika gave me a pleased smile. “I told you my geological degree was going to assist in finding better gem deposits.”

“Are you bucking for another raise so soon? I just gave you one!” I said and pretended to be exasperated, which made her and Crystal laugh.

“No, no. I'm very happy with the last bonus you gave me.” Vika said and waved at the first cargo container being unloaded. “Three of them are diamond ore of varying quality, one of ruby, and the last a mix of sapphire and emeralds.”

“If you keep going at this rate, you'll have all the upgrades and things paid off by the end of the year.” I said and she looked very pleased with herself. “You do know I budgeted for a deficit for the first two to five years, don't you?”

“Just for me or for everyone?” Vika asked with a knowing smile.

“Everyone, of course. I knew it was going to be a losing proposition for a couple of years when buying bankrupted or near bankrupted mines. I've seen the loans and the extensions you've all had to do to stay afloat before I swooped in and handled it all.”

Vika reached out and put her hand on my arm. “You don't know how much the people that work for me appreciate what you've done for them.” She said, her voice a bit sultry. “Hiring me to try and get it to a profitable business has made them even more enthusiastic in their efforts.”

“That's what I was hoping for.” I said and saw the pilots step off of the cargo plane with large suitcases. “It looks like you're staying for a while.”

Vika turned to look where I was looking and nodded. “My pilots need an overnight rest and this is the first time they've been here in this country.”

“Not you?” I asked and she shook her head.

“I was here as a teenager for a school trip.” Vika said. “The White House was quite the spectacle and the oval office was so much nicer than the photos can show.”

“I had a great time there myself.” I said. “Did you book a hotel for the night?”

Vika told me what one and I wasn't surprised that it wasn't the same one that I always used when here. Not everyone would be so lucky as to find that particular gem in a city full of hotels.

The second truck arrived and was brought over to the hangar for loading.

“I've got to go and handle this for a while. Are you heading out now or can you stick around for a bit and we can have a nice meal together?”

“I'm sorry. I can't date my boss.” Vika said firmly. “I also don't want you to fire me so we can, either.”

I chuckled. “I have a cute little monkey plastered to my side and a girlfriend at home. If we go eat, it'll be a meal and pleasant talk, nothing more.”

Vika gave Crystal a glance and then nodded.

“Great. I'll see you in a few minutes.” I said and pointed to the terminal. “Why don't you go and get officially logged in as entering the country while I get back to work?”

“Do you have a vehicle to drive us around?” Vika asked. “I have a rental arranged.”

“We'll get a ride with you, if that's okay?”

Vika smiled and nodded, then went to the terminal.

I went over to the hangar and watched the second truck be loaded up with pallets, then did the same thing when it was fully loaded. I stored the pallets when the doors were closed and secured and then instructed both truck drivers to wait for my ride to be ready.

Vika came back ten minutes later without her bag. “My car is out front.”

I told the drivers to follow us and asked Vika to drive us to a specific address. She did so, with two large transfer trucks not far behind us... until we tried to take the off-ramp to go where I asked. The rental car made it just fine, then there was a flurry of activity and two police officers stepped out of the bushes near the off-ramp and placed wooden barricades.

“Vika, pull over.” I said and she did so. “Crystal, I'll be right back.”

“Kay.” Crystal said.

I hopped out of the vehicle and bolted back up the off-ramp while casting Search and Detect to fill out the Map and find the people around. I didn't have to worry about traffic, since they had blocked the ramp off and diverted my trucks. I reached the highway and saw both trucks had been flagged over to the side of the highway and the drivers were being questioned.

I used Detect and found two police cars were concealed, as was another familiar type car, which pissed me off. I stored all three cars and continued to walk up the off-ramp to reach where they had the trucks pulled over. I also found two people hiding at the edge of the woods with a camera. Luckily, they were pointed at the trucks and not the off-ramp, so I reached the top without them seeing me.

“What the hell is going on here?” I asked to distract the two officers and then I dropped a police car at the side of the road with the dash cam pointed right at us. The two people hiding jerked to the side to turn the camera to face me.

“Sir, step back. This doesn't concern you.” One of the officers said and held a hand up to stop me.

“These trucks are under my employ, so it does concern me.” I said, a bit angrily.

“Then you're involved in drug smuggling?” The offer asked with a smile and took out a pair of handcuffs. “Thank you for admitting it. Turn around. You're under arrest.”

“No, I'm not.” I said.

“Are you resisting arrest?”

“An illegal arrest with no proof, yes.” I said.

He looked angry and tried to quickly step close to me, I assumed to handcuff me before I could react. I wasn't surprised by it and stepped to the side to dodge him as I lifted my hands up and avoided the cuffs.

“Now you're trying excessive force when all I asked was a simple question? I hope your dash cam is getting all of this on camera.”

“It's nowhere near here.” The officer said and took out his taser to point it at me. “Stop resisting arrest or I'll be forced to taze you.”

I pointed right at the cop car. “Yeah, good luck explaining that with the evidence right there.”

“What?” The cop turned to look and his face showed shock. “How did my car get here? I parked it down...”

“It doesn't matter, does it?” I asked. “You and your buddy better stop your illegal activities right now.”

“We received a tip these trucks are carrying drugs from outside the country.” The other officer said as he walked over to us.

“Sure you did and the airport doesn't have security or drug dogs to take care of that on their own.” I said with a shake of my head. “I was actually going to feel a bit guilty about what I'm going to do to this country before this. Now? You and the corrupted assholes running this place can go fuck yourselves.”

“That's disorderly conduct and uttering threats against the government.” The second officer said. “The evidence is right there and you can't dispute it.” He smiled and looked happy to repeat my words.

“What evidence?” I asked and stored the car, their handcuffs, and their guns.

“Huh?” Both cops turned to look and the car was gone. “What the hell?”

“Isn't hypnosis great?” I asked and they turned back to me, clearly angry.

“On the ground, now! You're under arrest!” They both exclaimed and the one without the taser went to draw his gun, which was missing. “He has my gun!”

“Good luck proving that, even with the footage those two idiots are taking right now.” I said with a grin and waved at the two hidden people. “You probably left it in your car.”

“I'm taking him down.” The other officer said. “Taser, taser, taser.” He said and pulled the trigger. I switched out one of my rings for Lightning, one of the first rings I had ever enchanted, and twisted my upper body to the side as I caught the wires of the taser before they hit me.

“What happens if you touch the ends together?” I asked and did that as I cast Lightning on the wires. The taser sparked at the returned electricity and then burst apart before going afire.

“AH!” The officer gasped and dropped it.

“So, what else are you going to do illegally?” I asked. “ Come on. The Secret Service, the FBI, and the NSA all want more footage of what I can do.”

Several cars had passed us by and I was apparently providing quite the spectacle, because a bunch of them pulled over and had been filming for several minutes.

My phone beeped at me and I took it out. “Hello?”

“Please tell me that's not you on the news!” Susan's voice exclaimed.

“That depends. What can you see of me?” I asked and she described seeing part of my face and recognizing my clothing. I turned to where the footage was coming from and waved. “That has to be a reporter or something for them to put this on the news so quickly.”

“Damon...”

“No, it's okay. This is even better.” I said. “Can you hear me talking on the television?”

“No.”

“What story are they running?”

“Encounter on the highway right now.” Susan said and that made me sigh.

Now I had to figure out how to get out of this situation.

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