Images of the Brothers

I have been working creating images of the Brothers. As I complete one I will post it to the blog. Work was all done in Photoshop CS2. Images I selected were taken of different actors I felt partly embodied the coontail brother's personality and look.

Utah Blaine Coontail



Barett Coontail




Rick Coontail



Dave Coontail

Paris

This was the most action that Rick had ever gotten in his life, and that was saying a lot. What worried Rick was that he guessed that Maria was the type of woman who could just up and leave him one day without a second thought. Of course he was the same way. She had been around a lot of men and she knew how to use their weakness. He guessed she was doing it to him now but it was so hard not to give in. He was sure he would lose her fast if he wasn’t careful. This hot, fast, and dirty relationship was the sure fire way of her getting board with him. He knew he couldn’t be clumsy and assume that she liked it like a man liked it, even though she was the one instigating it fast and frequently. Rick was sure she was doing a lot of this to please him. But was it a game to her? Well, he decided, it didn’t really matter if it was or not. He had time now and he also knew how to put on the moves. It was his turn to see if he could make her melt.

The train bounced sideways as it flew over a slightly uneven section of the track. Rick took the moment to take control. He grabbed her roaming hand and pinned it against her body. Then in a blur of movement that years of martial arts training had given him, he grabbed her whole body, pulled her in close and did a leaping-spinning-thing with her, pinning her under him against the wall of the train and the bed. He smiled wickedly down at her and began a lengthy make-out session. It developed aggressively but playfully, kissing intermingled with some nibbling and soft biting on her lower lip and earlobes. It was at least a 30-mile tease. Then he moved to her collarbone and kissed her slowly, working his way from her left should to the middle. He mimicked the movement with his fingertips on her right shoulder then stopped just short of the “hot zone” in the middle. Rick continued to tease her slowly by touching and kissing her everywhere but the place he suspected she wanted it to the most. This was his battle to test his skill in the art of seduction and love making. He kissed her neck again, moved right and nibbled her ear and then engaged in deep, wet kissing while he ran his hands all through her dark red hair.

He could tell he was having the desired effect as she shuttered again in his embrace. The foundation he was going for was to force some mischievous stress on her and then begin to telegraph anticipation while taking the stress away a bit at a time until she was relaxed and enjoying the experience. Now that he had built up the moment, he rolled away and waited. It didn’t take long. Maria, the exotic Spanish beauty that she was, pounced. He let her do whatever she needed, but it was impossible for him to not enjoy it too. Afterwards they slept well for a two hours.
Maria woke to find Rick sitting on the floor with his shirt still off, his back to the cabin door, his gun in pieces, and a dopey smile on his face.

“Good morning beautiful.”

“Good evening to you too.” Rick said as he moved his attention away from the gun barrel. “It’s not morning anymore. It’s almost seven o’clock at night.”

“I know; it’s just something I like to say when I wake up.”

“You sleep well?”

“Fabulously! You?”

“Like a baby.”

“Um, why do you do that?”

“Do what?’

“You know, clean your gun all the time. Is it like an obsession for you or something?” There was a hint of criticism in her voice.

Rick looked quizzically back at Maria with one eyebrow raised, not able to tell if she was talking about him actually stripping down and cleaning the components of his guns or if she was making reference and teasing him about something else.

“No, you dork!” She said after a few seconds of Rick staring back at her. She reached back and threw her pillow at him. “You know what I am talking about,” she said as she pointed to the gun parts scattered at his feet.

“Oh. Well, in that case it is something that my ‘Pa’ taught us when we were young and is a habit I always do. He would always say, ‘Having a good firearm carries a number of responsibilities with it. One of the most important is to care for it. If you don’t properly care for your gun it gets damaged and ultimately performs no better than a giant paperweight at the moment you need it.' Anyway, guns are simple to clean and it only takes a few minutes so there is really no excuse not to doing it.”

“Will you teach me how then?”

“Sure thing; come sit down here.”

“Is that Xochi?”

“Is this what?”

“You know, Xochi, my gun you bought for me. I call her Xochi.”

“You named your gun?”

“Sure, it gives her personality.”

“OK then. ? No this one is mine.” Rick said as he wondered about her sanity while he reached into his bag and pulled out her H&K P30 9mm. “Here’s Xochi.”

“Great, what’s first?”

“Well, the first thing you need to do when you take down a firearm is to make sure it is clear and safetied. You need to automatically drop the magazine before you go any further. So if there are live rounds in there you are assuring there are no more to be feed into the weapon. From there, we retract and release the slide with enough force so if there is a round in the chamber it will come out. When it comes back you use the take down lever to lock the slide to the rear. Then you always do a physical and visual check to make sure it is clear.”

“You always check it both with your finger and your eyes? It seems a bit redundant.”

“I can’t tell you how many times my uncle Floyd would ramp me on the head when I didn’t. But now I am in such a habit that I just do it without thinking. It’s a good practice.”

“I can see why. You don’t want to go and shot yourself.”

Rick gave her a wink. “Or your buddy sitting next to you. Bad things happen when you combined lazy with thoughtlessness. Anyway, when you are done with clearing and safety-ing your gun you are ready to break it down. See that lever on the front above your trigger. That is the takedown lever. You turn it to the vertical position and then retract the slide back and then forward, sliding it all the way off. Inside you can see the recoil spring and guide. Take these out and put them to the side. Now you grasp this unlocking lug on the bottom of the barrel and lift it up and out thereby taking the whole barrel out of the slide. The last thing you do is separate the recoil spring and guide and the gun is done. But it isn’t considered field stripped until you also strip the magazine too.”

Maria followed Rick’s directions as he demonstrated with his own gun. They reassemble the guns and practiced a few more time until she found she could do it quit easily.

“What’s next then?”

“The magazine. After taking all the shells out, you hold the magazine upside down with your thumb on the back. Taking a tool like this, you press the depression down and then slip out the floor plate and use your thumb to hold and control the spring tension inside. You take out the insert, remove the spring and then flip it over and let the follower slip out. Easy, right? Now your weapon is totally field stripped.”

“You make it look so easy.”

“Well, it takes some practice to be able to do it fast but there isn’t much to it.”
The train’s PA system chimed into the cabin followed by a friendly female voice that announced: “Mesdames et messieurs, nous arriverons bientôt à la station de Gare de Lyon.” (Ladies and gentlemen, we will soon be arriving at the Gare de Lyon train station.)

“We are here already? Wow these trains are fast.” Maria said. “A trip like this back in Bolivia would have taken at least two days.

Rick stood and raised the shutter on the cabin window. Early twilight was upon the old gray stone buildings of Paris. A few lights were one in the district the train was passing. Narrow cobblestone streets raced past the window revealing the densely populated area. They were clearly in the heart of the city.

“Looks like it is time to clean up.”

Maria just stared out the window in amazement. Rick could tell she was excited. He cleaned up the guns quickly by himself and put them in his secure bag. Then kicking the other bag they had used to get through customs back in Sete to the door, he turned to see Maria still staring in amazement at the city as the train pulled into Gare de Lyon station.

“Come on cuttie,” he extended his hand to her as the train came to a stop. “Let’s go have some fun.”

“What are we going to do first?”



She was almost like a little girl in a toy shop. This was her first time to be in a large modern city. They had only skirted London when they came in from South American and never really saw any of it. Malta and Sete had seemed big to her but this was Paris, “the city of lights!” Even though her home back in Bolivia had almost a half million people in it, it was a poor place that had been through too many wars and revolutions to have anything of a history or infrastructure that presented itself as these old European cities did. Paris was solid and stable. It was Europe that allowed animals to be co-equal to humans and here they were living together side by side without the enmity from the empire hanging over them.
“Well, I am thinking you want to do some shopping. Then we can get dinner somewhere nice and then hit the clubs. What do you think?” He asked as they walked down the train’s narrow hallway to the exit.

“Wonderful. I know just what I am looking for!”

They stepped off the train onto the huge station platform. Purplish pink twilight filtered in through the massive metal trusses and giant glass skylights. The architecture of the station was early 19th century, the same as the Eifel Tower. Masses of people milled about the place. Maria tugged at Ricks arm.

“Rick, I really need to use the restroom. Will you wait here for a minute?”

Rick looked over to the side of the building at the small line of women waiting to do their business. “You know that is why men rule the world don’t you? We can hold it longer and are built more efficiency than women in dealing these types of delays.” He joked.

“Oh, really? And you want to debate that?”

“No.”

“Besides, I need to clean up and it is your fault anyway.”

“Moi?” Rick fake acted as innocently as he could but Maria was already ignoring him and jogged off to stand in line.



But this was a good distraction for him. He wandered around for a few minutes acting like an ogling tourist as he scoped out the station. Satisfied with what he found he sat down on a bench near the restrooms and waited. It was longer still before Maria returned. He figured the station was an excellent place to see if they were being trailed. He took the bag that had been searched by customs, there wasn’t anything of real value and it anyway, and subtly slid it behind the bench, hiding it out of sight. With the bait set, he commenced to pretend a cat-nap. The five more minutes he waited seemed more like fifteen.

“Hey, you ready?” Maria prodded him with her foot.

“Très bien, Mesdame.” Rick smiled.

He grabbed his one bag he knew was clean and then headed for the exit with Maria’s arm linked in his. But just before they took the escalators down, Rick surreptitiously stirred Maria to the left and guided her over to the heart of the station. There up a staircase and facing the rails was a fancy restaurant called “Le Train Bleu”. The windows from the restaurant had a commanding overview of the train platform. The restaurant, like the train station, was also built in 19th century flamboyance and grandeur.
The place was busy but with an expensive tip, Rick and Maria were seated next to a window looking over the platform.







“Rick, I recognize this place.” Maria said in a hushed excitement that one usually reserves for religious fervor.

“Really, where?”

“This is the same restaurant in the movie “La Femme Nikita” where she shot the Asian tourist and then ran to the back into the men’s room to get out the little window. I’ve seen that movie a dozen times and I am sure this is the same place.”



“Huh. I never saw it but I guess it could be.”

“Esto es tan maravilloso.”

“I am glad you are having a good time.”

Rick enjoyed Maria’s exuberance as she turned into a Spanish chatterbox of joy, talking how exciting it was to be in the same place that she had only experience vicariously through the television and movies from back home. There were a hundred and one things she wanted to see and do. The dinner was pricy but the atmosphere and the food were well worth the expense. But it wasn’t all fun and games. Rick continued to run surveillance out onto the train platform, watching the bag he had left hidden under the bench. Maria was too much in her excitement of the place to realize what Rick was doing. It was something she would have to learn if she was going to be successful in the business but for now, he let her have her fun. He was glad she was having the chance to loosen up and enjoy herself.



Besides, maybe things were OK and he was just being paranoid.

The City of Sete

The City of Sete lay off in the gorgeous morning in the horizon. It was late morning now and the Mediterranean Sea simmered in the glowing sun light. Sun glasses were a must.

With his large gray duffel bag full of goodies at his side (including a special silver briefcase that need to delivered by Monday morning in London) and the camera case swung over his neck and shoulder, Rick turned the boat around, pointing it back towards the open blue turquoise sea. He lovingly stroke the boat’s controls one last time. Then with a punch of the figure on the computer screen, he activated a timer. Sad really, it sure was a beauty of a boat and he wasn’t past stealing it. But he was busy and didn’t have time to figure out how he could pull off the job scot free.

A timer began flashing on the monitor as it started to count down from five minutes. He had programmed the boat’s auto-pilot to take the craft south, south-west after the timer reach zero. The timer would reset for five hours and then the controls would lock into 10 degree turn. The yacht would go in circle until it ran out of gas or someone found it. He had also left behind a nasty little computer batch file designed to delete everything on all the boats computers after 7 hours. What happened to the multi-million dollar yacht after that was anyone’s guess? More than likely some coastal guard patrol would pick it up and trace it back to Sir Norton Larrs. Not that Rick thought he deserved a boat this grand. He was hoping the illegal drugs would get Larrs busted.

Rick left everything on board as was, minus the clothing Maria took, the food they ate, and the money he used for fuel back at Secca Grande, Italy. Oh, and minus one inflatable raft with an outboard motor. With Maria’s help, the two had pulled the raft out of storage and prepped it for the short ride into Sete.

With a final check to make sure everything was clean and working, Rick grabbed his bag and headed down to the back of the yacht, sliding down the railing with exuberance that is usually displayed only by those with youthful innocence.

But Rick had good reason to be happy. All had gone well yesterday in St. Paul’s bay, last night through the lonely dark of the Mediterranean Sea and now this cloudless Saturday morning off the coast of France. Yacht or not, Rick had one smoking-hot bombshell of a girl to share company with and a job, with said ‘hottie’, pulled off without a tag-a-long ride with Mr. Murphy.

He was happy, more than the fact that the job had gone well but happy with the reality that Maria had been an equal partner. Rick liked that about her because most the girls he knew would end up being an extra burden, liability, and ultimately a problem if he took them along. But Maria was not only beautiful but as Rick had learned, she was a handy companion to have with him. She was tough, a quick learner, and unafraid to get her hands dirty.

Dropping down to the back of the yacht, Rick tossed his duffel bag into the waiting raft. Without a second thought he abandoned the ultra expensive yacht. Rick cut the mooring rope with his tanto and Maria started up the outboard motor.

The ride into Sete took less than twenty minutes. Maria drove as Rick kept his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. Arriving at the port, they took the small raft around the sea wall and towering light house and then headed up into the harbor. Sète, sometimes called "the little Venice of the France," due to its numerous canals and quaint neighborhoods, had seemed like a great place to come inland onto the continent. Rick wasn’t disappointed with his choice. There was no security of any kind that he could see as they moved up past the large industrial docks at the edge of the city. They were moving against a steady flow of the fishing vessels heading out to sea.

Passing the harbor where the larger ships are moored, the two worked their way up
the waterfront until they passed under the first bridge and entered the city's canal system. Colors from the buildings reflect brightly in hues of red, orange, yellow, and slate in the blue morning water of the canals.

It took passing under three more bridges until Rick finally spotted a empty space for Maria to dock the raft on the right side of the canal. Small brightly painted boats choked all sides of the canal. There were so many of these "Venice-type" boats that Rick was beginning to wonder if they needed to turn around and head back to the industrial docks.

Beyond the wall of boats were narrow roads running the length of the canals. The roads were only a foot or two higher than the waterline. Just on the other side of the narrow one-way roads were the cities historic buildings all five to six floors tall covering every inch of the waterfront. It reminded Rick of floating down a river in the narrows back when he was a boy. The buildings were squeezed so close together that the only hint of one building ending and the next beginning was the difference of paint color. Sete really was a lovely city and Rick found he was beginning to like the place.

That was until Maria brought the raft up to wall. Rick noticed some late morning café patrons watching them a little too closely. He stared back as he jumped out and secured the raft to the short wall. The patrons continue to gaze in their direction.

Wondering why they were drawing attention, Rick looked back at Maria as she grabbed her bag and jumped out to join him. Realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

“Damn, you’re too good looking, Maria.”

“Why thank you my water prince. You’re not bad yourself.” She said as she mischievously slapped him with her tail.

Rick cocked his head in a gesture to point towards the people at the café.

“Oh.”

All eyes were looking at the two.

It was obvious that the people of Sete had a dark complexion while both he and Maria were much fairer in comparison. This alone made them stand out. But Rick also assumed they were getting the eye because both he and Maria were attractive. He often found women ogling at him and he had the bad habit of sticking in their minds at times he wished he could blend better into the crowd. Maria was the same if not so much more! She was too damn attractive. And that was the problem. "Attraction" attacks attention. She really stuck out in a crowd! It is like a movie star walking into a room full of ‘mere mortals’. People tend to notice things like that, just as these people were noticing them right now.

“You think we should do anything?”

Rick thought about making a scene of it by having Maria go over to the group of breakfasters while he took pictures. But then he thought better of the idea.

“Just smiled and wave at the nice people”.

The two waved and called out a greeting in Spanish knowing it was the wrong language. They turned quickly and headed up north along the canal road.

“Let’s not make a scene if we can help it. I would like to get rid of this package as soon as possible.”

Fortunately, the street they were on was somewhat busy. A number of European compact cars with their wimpy engines and low gears raced noisily up the one way street. Rick looked back a few times to see if they were still being watched. He looked back at Maria. Maria’s jeans and white tank top she was wearing weren’t helping any. And the perfect roundness of her breast were awfully distracting. He slapped himself mentally and looked around again. He could see other people along the road seemed notice them too. Maybe there was something else he missed?

“I wish we would have come in during the night; Fewer eyes to hide from.”

“I think you worry too much Rick. What are they going to do? Call security because they saw two foreigners get out of a boat and walk up the road?”

“I hope you’re right. I just get a little tense when I am doing a job. I think I have been around Barett too long. He sees daggers in every shadow.”

Ten minutes later, walking along the canal side of the road, Rick and Maria crossed over to the west side and then turned down a small side street named Rue Colbert. At the end of the street they found a quaint little park and adjacent hotel. This was close to the main road circling Sete and seemed a good place as any to try to contact Barett and Bridget.

Maria went into the hotel to order some foot while Rick crossed over an intersection to use a public phone. All he had to do now was call Barett and let him know where to find them so he could pick up the package and start his leg of the mission.

What could go wrong?

L. in A.d. ( The confrontation )

Barett's plan, at least the version he could come up with in 30 seconds, is to get out of here and find Utah. He is trying to pressure these locals to let him move out of the building, he needs room to move, get a sense for what is going on. From what he can deduce from the elephant and others is that there is a rivalry going on in town. The two groups argue and fight over things and have divided the town in half. They are afraid to leave the village because of the Predators at night, and are fighting among themselves in the village during the day. No real blood has been spilt yet.
Barett moves out in to the small plaza in the center of the village, right next to the odd church. Trying to excite the villagers and make a lot of noise, in the attempt to find Utah. He brings the group right to the edge but they won't go further, stopping just at the halfway mark. From across the town the other group has assembled, two large crocadile bipedals are at the center, one holds a large caliber revolver, the only gun he has seen so far, the rest hold tribal swords and the like. Out of the big building on the southside, steps Utah, surrounded by six others. Barett is a little surprised to see him in the opposite camp, but it looks like from the way they are acting that they hired Utah for the same purpose as Barett, to control the whole village. Shouting insults at Utah, he tries to incite a riot, so that he can escape. No luck on that, just as things start heating up a large hippo bipedal steps out from a small hut, his priest like robes wrapped hastily around him. He starts calming the villagers down, " My brothers, my brothers. " he says. " Please calm yourselves, there is no need for violence, please stop." His large presence and charisma calm the crowd, he speaks in tones of love and the like, very convincing like. If Barett wasn't such a hardened solider he may have believed some of it. The elephant drags him away from picking a fight with the Hippo, and back to the large distillary. The building is really a series of interconnected structures, maze like in its configuration, one addition connected to another. He stills thinks that burning this whole place down may have been the right idea. The elephant leads him upstairs to a large, well decorated room where an old man sits, surrounded by lackies. This is the real leader, he questions Barett about a few things then summons a strange old women from the shadows. He didn't notice her before and gets a strange vibe that she is all trouble for him. The old man asks her to read the future about Barett and the other stranger. Before she even pulls out her bag of magic crap, he butts in.
" Look I'm trouble and death for everyone around me." He says with as much grit and menace that he can muster. " That other mans my brother, my twin brother. I can take him, and you.." pointing at the old man. " Will rule this village, is that not what you wanted ? " The old man nods at Barett then waves his hand at the Witch. She throws some bones with writing on them on the ground, and spits in her hands, mumbling something to herself. She looks up at Barett and then to the old man. " He will betray you, he is dangerous. " she snarls between her rotting, black teeth.
" I told you that I'm trouble, but I will do my part, I will shoot this man." says Barett.
The old man looks him over and the old witch, then over to the elephant.
" We can't do anything till dawn as long as the priest is here, we will wait till then, find him a comfortable room to rest till then." and motions for Barett to leave.
On his walk to the room Barett finds out that the village makes a alcohol that is picked up from men that come in trucks about once a month, another 3 weeks away. The other group on Utah's side of town grow the grain they use to make the alcohol, there has been some problems in the past. Then the Hippo priest came in, then things settled down, but the old tensions are still there. The Priest is an outsider, someone they think was sent by the people who buy the alcohol. But none of these things really matter to Barett, right now he is going to get some needed rest, at lest for three hours.
In the morning, having slept with his hand on his gun, he marches right out to the plaza. " Hey you ignorant, slob come out and fight me. " He screams at the top of his lungs, towards the other big house. Utah steps out not long afterwards with a Girl Barett recognizes, Tsai Lee, the swordwomen. The two crocs are with him also. Barett keeps yelling at Utah and pointing to his chest where the armor plate is, signalling him to shoot him there. Just to get things started Barett shoots the croc with the pistol in the head. It was a clean shot and he drops where he stood, this agrivates the other croc and he lunges at Barett. Utah commands him to step back, but he still goes forward. Hitting Barett in the shoulder with a tribal sword ( well more like a machete ). Utah fires at the same time hitting the croc and killing him. Barett falls back and lets the body of the croc fall on top of him, faking death.
This event causes the whole crowd on both sides to go wild, and a massive riot rolls out through the whole village. Seeing an oppertunity to leave Utah grabs Barett, swings him over this shoulder. " He is one of mine, I will do what I want with him. " He yells, as they approach to tear Barett's body limb from limb. The Hippo priest is trying desperately to restore order but the whole thing has turned into one big bar brawl. Being ignored for now Utah starts walking out of town, Barett over his shoulder and the girl in tow. Barett whispers," Lets get some food and water before we go, maybe start some fires on the way out." Utah agrees and sends Tsai lee to start some homes on fire, as they grab some food at the little shop by the gate.
Barett learns from Utah that they had Tsai Lee tied up in the basement, naked and tortured. She had been sent on a mission almost 4 weeks ago that had gone wrong, and she was left here. They gave her to Utah to work for them. Clothed and with a tribal sword she walked with them out into the desert. Barett knew she was trouble, he was just hoping it was the good kind of trouble.

L.in A.D..The village

It was right out of some 1970's National Geographic magazine, right down to the fuzzy lens shot, there sat the small village. The red mud walls about ten feet tall, small one man look out towers unevenly spaced along it, the out line less a geometric shape and more a exageration of the natural roll and twist of the small valley it was sprawled in. Larger than it looked from the distance, the village contained several large buildings, multiple entrances and one large church like complex in the center. On the west side were several large fields and stock yards, and a large gap between the towers along that wall. The strange thing to Barett was that this village did not show up on any of the intel maps he had seen, or even a hint of one on the map he now carried. By now it was almost 2:30 in the morning, things were pretty quiet, almost dead in the village.
" There are no incandescant lights in this place." whispers Utah to Barett, " That just ain't right, all the lights we saw are lanterns and fires, best to not disturb the locals. I say we sneak in on the west side into the gardens, check the place out."
Barett agrees, the plan being to throw rocks at opposite sides to distract the guards and jump over the wall in the middle at the darkest spot. Barett goes first, swinging over the wall and into the gardens quietly. Utah makes the jump good but catches his foot on a wooden grape vine support, breaking the wood, the shaking grapes, making a loud noise. Running through the garden to the church like building, they hear the beating of metal drums, a warning cry goes up through the whole village. Managing to sneak into the large church building and climb the small tower, Barett can see dozens of people gathering along the wall. Strangly they stay on either side of what would be considered the middle of the village. After some cursory searching the two parties start arguing with each other. Deciding that this distraction would work well for cover, the brothers start to sneak over to the largest building on the north end. They leave the church, at least thats what they called it, more like a cross between a buddist temple and a country cathedral, with a large fat hippo statue at the head, behind a podium. They make thier way almost two hundred feet before popping around a corner, only to scare a small child. Instantly it screams, that high pitched, nails on chalkboard, but higher decibel level, death scream. As he is running towards the large building, people start streaming from the small huts along the way, Barett thinks, ' where did all these people come from and why do they even have metal drums at all, this kid is better than a air raid siren ? '
Diving through the makeshift window on the wall closest to him,in to the largest building in the village, as two seperate groups converge on him. Barett finds himself in what appears to be a large, medevil design but operating, distillery. Large wooden barells, charcoal stoked fires, tubes and vats. Thinking that his last flash/boom grenade in here would make a great distraction, he contemplates blowing the whole thing up. Looking around he notices that Utah did not come through the window with him, he is no where to be found. 'Where the hell is Utah' thinks Barett. Heading for the door on the east side he is confronted by villagers with farm tools, spinning to the west he can see a large elephant at the head of another group. Slowing down enough to realize that killing all these people is a bad idea, he waits for them to make the next move, slowly lowering his rifle and waiting on them.
The large bipedal Elephant speaks in a think south african accent, difficult to understand when added with his bad lisp. " How did you get past the predators, how did you get in ?" Barett finally makes out after the third time. Seeing that none of them are carrying guns, but tribal swords and spears mixed with farm tools , he relaxes a little more. " I killed it with my big boom stick. " Says Barett loudly, shaking his rifle in front of him. " Nasty little bugger, quick as hell."
"You killeddd de Predetor, You kiillleddd de nasssty ?" Spits out the Elephant surprised.
"Yea, I killed it." says Barett throwing down the metal dart he took from it.
The whole crowd goes hush, as they look back at Barett then the dart.
"You work for me, do job. " says the Elephant, all excited now, Barett can tell he is not all with it, a bit slow. " Be big man, much good, Silver bars in it for you, food, women, what you want?"
" Sure " says Barett, " lets do it now, who do I need to kill?.....where is the target ?"

Lost in African Desert

The cool night air moving across Barett's arm, lazily draped out the open window of the beat-up 68' camero, was the most comfortable thing that had touched his body in the last 48 hours. The open desert was dark and quiet, the dirt road, if that is what you wanted to call it, more of a rut through the red dirt and low weeds, meandered mostly straight ahead, to the south. Utah Blaine sat next to him, almost unseen, all decked out in black combat gear, a subdued skull in camo painted on his face. Utah kept tapping the fuel gauge on the dash and swearing, the needle dropping faster than even this lead sled should comsume. Barett eased back in the seat, inhaling deeply, the stench of stale tobacco and spilled coffee invaded his nostrils, the stolen camero had done it's job, gotten them away from the complete cluster failure of the mission drop zone. But now they were heading south, instead of north to the pick up landing, gas slowly leaking out of the old car, lost temporarily somewhere in the desert.
That would not be so bad, if it wasn't for the fact the radio's were toast, so much for high impact plastics. Ammo was low, lest than 80 rounds between them and seperated from the rest of the team. The twin brothers sat silently in the dark, waiting for the last drops of gas to push the camero as far as it could. Utah pulled it to the side off into the sand and weeds, the ground was flat and open with no real cover, letting it roll to a stop. Stepping out onto the sandy ground they stared at each other. "Lets keep moving south, most roads go somewhere, or past something. Perhaps we can find a radio or phone to get an extraction point out of here." Barett says, nodding towards the south. " I agree, nothing left to do but look for a place to hold up and get a line out." Says Utah Blaine, weary with the only option being to walk through the desert in the dark.
The walk goes with out excitement for almost two hours, the night sky not lending much light to the road they are following. Soon the dim lights of a small settlement shimmer in the distance, not very bright they seem more like fires than incadesant lights. Barett guesses that it could be 10 miles or more away, and suggests they keep an eye out, about two miles later they hear a scream in the distance. The scream and the unknown village, not on the intel maps, make them very cautious. After some time they come across the bloody mess of a gut pile. Searching the organs they appear to have been humanoid, and the large paw prints show that something came this way not long ago. Following the prints they come to a small ravine hidden by the shadows and rocks. Down at the bottom they see the remains of a goatman shepard, local sandals and robes lay bloodied around the pile of torn flesh.
They are just setting up to follow the tracks when two figures race toward them, one on each side of the ravine. Moving quickly on all fours the first throws a small, metal dart at Barett the second one at Utah. The twins duck and seperate, Barett to the left Utah to the right. The first tango ( unknown figure ) jumps at Barett. Swinging his rifle stock up to block the blown, and knock him down he makes a lucky strike right across the bridge of the nose, cracking the skull and killing him. The second tango moves away as Utah strikes at it missing. Barett takes a couple of shots with the rifle but he has moved to far away in the dark for any more shots to be taken. After some discussion they decide to heads towards the small village.

Coontail mystery ( the post log )

From the files Barett had taken from the Navy ops. center he learns that the Rich Rat, is a very powerful man. He does a lot of Business with the Pacific City states Navy, and the government, and has his hands into lots of things, but appears to be above board. The folder does contain a psych.evaluation that provides a lot of light on why things happened the way they did. According to the eval. the guy was obsesive about his reputation, that he was always clean. It seems that the whole event and problems with Barett at the college, was in a home owned by the Rich Rat. When things went down, he was called in and questioned by the police. He blamed Barett for the whole incident and felt it damaged his reputation, a blemish that he didn't deserve. He had invented things in his head and was hearing voices he thought were from old statues that he kept in his personal museum. The norns, or the three fates of Norse mythology, were some statues that he thought were telling him what to do. That is to kill Barett, problem that he was having was that Barett's alias had no history, the Rat just thought he was some punk college professor. When things proved more diffucult and Barett made the rush on his house ( though not sucessful by Barett's standards ), he ran scared. Now there is a lot of dead people spread across the northwest because one paranoid rich guy got burned by accident.
Barett is cleaning up the whole mess now, covering his trail and looking to make sure his cover is still good. If it looks bad, or things don't settle down he will need to go under deep cover and hunt down this Rich Rat. Some things that Barett did learn was that his training as a sniper saved his life, but his lack of a large edged weapon and training with one, was a major problem. He is looking into taking some classes on sword fighting. He is also setting up some other safe houses all along the coast.

Coontail mystery V (the house )

Barett looks himself over as he sits in the SUV at the bottom of the hill. The large house on the top smells of money and excess, an exotic design of Korean and domestic woods, it lays on a tactically superior position. Having took more damage than he first thought, he wraps his multiple wounds, and plans his approach to the house. Sneaking in the undergrowth, he can see through the large windows a Beautiful women with a sword walking around. Even at 2 am. there is still some activity in the house. Swinging around to the side he jumps the high wall and sneaks around to the back. The house is a series of connected buildings, interlaced with bridges and paths from one to the next. He can faintly make out conversation on the far side of the complex. Tripping an alarm he dives under one of the bridges for cover, shooting at the guard that comes looking for him. The return fire of a shotgun catches his leg, stinging the flesh, leaving the guard in his hiding spot around the corner of the building wounded. Barett busts into the back room attempting to make his way towards the front door and out, only to be intercepted by two guards with swords, striking one with the butt of his gun as he runs by. The other slices him across the shoulder with his sword. Deciding that this doesn't look so good for him, Barett makes a quick dash for the front, shooting out the large glass window and diving through. Running off into the dark forest, dodging and weaving. Scrambling into the SUV he heads into town, licking his wounds and rethinking his options, realizing that the farmhouse that was being shown on the screens in the operation room was his, he heads to his backup safehouse, a storage unit in town, loaded with ammo and guns, medical equipment and a motorbike.
After a few days of rest and some Stiching, he scouts out a small island for an meeting/ ambush. Sending a note to the Rat on the hill to meet him there in a few hours, Barett sets the trap. On the beach he plans a funnel trap, a series of booby trapped positions leading back into the forest with a truck at the back for a quick escape if needed, with a boat on the far side of the island. Just as he is setting the final traps up, a helicopter sweeps the island. Pulling out his .50 cal sniper rifle he shoots out the motor with several well placed shots just above the cockpit. The copter shudders, then smoke pours from the back, it limps down just north of him and bounces down on another small island. Heading back to the truck with a small boat in tow, Barett plans to head over to the copter, when he sees a navy troop boat speeding right at his position. Slapping some armour piercing rounds into the .50 cal, he places several rounds right into the pilots windshield. Taking cover behind the large dodge truck, he shoots at the attackers on the boat, as it crashes into the beach. The front opens and a dozen heavily armed black ops guys jump out. Looking for the one giving signals, and dodging behind the truck, Barett places two called shots to the leader, dropping him. Then picks off the closest guy to him, in the next volley of gun play.
Looking for the second in command, Barett focuses his fire on him and drops him, as he dodges behind the truck for cover. The return fire swiss cheeses the truck, leaving it useless for cover. Laying a volley of surpressing fire down, he heads back into the forest, hoping to lead them into his trap. It looks like a full team of sixteen was sent after him, only twelve remain on the beach now, one having escaped over to the right, trying for a ambush. Falling back to his first postion in the trees behind a log, he knocks down two more before needing to reload. Ditching the empty .50 cal, he brings up the .308 H&K, loading in more armor rnds spots out of the corner of his eye the large guy on the left moving in for a ambush. Dropping several rounds his direction, thinking he may have winged him with one, he goes back to concentrating on the now ten guys moving towards him. Bullets bite into the log and buzz all around him, but none manage to hit. Looking for the next guy giving directions he starts snapping off shots his directions, hoping to draw them closer to him, into the first claymores, just ten feet into the forest undergrowth. The black ops guys are good, but were caught off guard by the bad landing and death of thier leader, scrambling to regroup and form a good line, they concentrate fire at his position and move forward. Several shoots nick him as they blast his superior cover away. Diving back and sneaking through the forest he scans for the guy on his left, trying to backdoor him. Catching sight of him he fires repeatedly at him, after a small firefight the would be ambusher goes down. Sneaking over to his second line, Barett sets up his fire lane and picks off the point guy making his way into the trees, then ducks back down.
Letting them make the final few feet in, while he ducks for cover behind a large tree. Not expecting him to have laid a ambush of this level they walk right into it. When the smoke and dirt clear only five guys remain alive. Using his best trust and intimidate voice Barett yells at them. " Look, my beef is not with you, leave now and I'll spare your lives, other wise me and my men will ' lay you waste' Now go."
Having decided this mission was suicide, they make a quick tactical retreat and drive thier boat off the beach. Barett quickly makes his way to his boat on the far side and heads to the helicopter.
Beaching on the far side he sneaks over to the copter, engaging in a fire fight with a deadly operative, taking a few shots himself he backs him down into a thick jungle. Hearing him move and sensing a trap Barett throws a well placed frag grenade right at him. Killing a worthy opponent. Searching the island and not finding the Rich Rat, Barett makes his way back to the safe house, contemplating his next move.
Sitting in the storage unit, reviewing the stolen files and having just got back from the hospital and finding Mel and Tom in good shape and recovering, Barett thinks its time to end this game. When there is a knock on the door, approaching with gun drawn Barett she the snow leopard woman from the house, she tells him that her boss wants to end this and has called off the troops. Barett agrees to not kill him so that he can get back to his life.

Coontail mystery V ( the final chapter )

After all the crazy poems and insanity Barett finally gets to do some real shoot and scoot. After pulling in a favor from a pilot buddy of his, Barett is falling quickly from the helicopter, into the darkness below. Its just before complete dark, with the last rays of light filtering across the bay. His parachute strapped to his back, and gear stored all over his body, he plans on hitting the water just outside the naval base and swimming over to the building he figures is hiding the secrets that he needs. The water is bitterly cold as he splashes down a mere 300 yrds from his target. Ditching the parachute and donning his Scuba gear, he swims to the west side of the building, only to find no cover. Swiming to the other side of the pennisula, by the boat dock, he finds a little more cover but lots of cameras. Setting some explosives on nearby sailboats, he creates a large diversion. Having sunk his Scuba gear and changed into some black BDU's, he waits for the cameras to switch, holding onto his supressed H&K mp5 with night sights. Two figures exit the building and the cameras swing to them. Hitting the first figure and dropping him, the second dives for cover, after a small firefight the second drops. Rushing the buildings middle entrance he quickly climbs up to the roof, sneeking across to the skylights on the west side. Cutting a hole in the plexiglass bubble and letting himself down a rope into a massive warehouse, he scans the interior, pallet racks of navy crates fill the space and one lone light shines out on the far west wall. Making his way across the large space Barett sees two figures run down a hallway on the eastside, not having noticed him hiding in the shadows. The west side has a 2-story office set up, with exterior stairs to the top floor, High security doors and windows run along the side. Deciding to take one of the forklifts an run it into the window with a light on, he hopes to rush the door surprising the people inside. The noise of the forklift brings two guards from the hiall behind him first, shooting and catching the first with a shot to the head the second ducks for cover and is only grazed. By now the high security door opens and two mp's with M-16A4's pop out, he opens up the MP5 on them, starting a small firefight. A shot from behind grazes him across the thigh as bullets fly from both directions. Dropping both the MP's with the Mp5 he tosses a flash grenade into the room just as two more MP's rush at him, the bang and flash giving him the advantage as he ducks behind the concrete outerwall. Cracking the first guy out with the butt of his gun, he swings his leg out to knock the other over, only to miss. Engaging in hand to hand combat, he repeatedly smashes his gun butt into the two MP's till they go down. Swinging out of the range of the guy behind him in the dark warehouse, He jumps into the room spraying the entire room with a full clip from the MP5, an amazingly accurate burst combined with the grenade has left no one standing in the room. Shutting the door and bracing it with a chair, Barett finds himself in a covert operations room, with live feed of a operation, the video feeds show a small farm house, " This is a total goatf**k" he thinks, looking for another way out Barett grabs a laptop and a dead Admirals ID off the ground and heads out the only other door in the room on the west side. ( He hopes that he can make it out to the parking lot on the northwest side. ) Using the security card he comes to a room full of topsecret files, finding his and the man responsible for this whole thing. Making his way out dressed as a MP he took out, Barett makes it to the parking lot only to be confronted by another, he sucker punches him, knocking him out with one punch. Stealling a suv he makes his way to the House on the hill.

Tsai Lee

Tsai Lee comes from the Pearl River Delta of southern China, the city of Guangzhou, China (Canton). She is a daughter of the Heilong (Black Dragon) Triad Boss.

Her mother and father both come from the area of Lake Baikal Russia but moved to the highlands of Eastern Tibet and the mountains of Laos and China. Her parents then became immigrants after a forgotten war of the area and forced to move one more time to the low land cities of southern China. There they found it a hard go of things and lived a difficult living. Finally the family turned to the only thing they could get into; the secret societies of Gaungzhou. Tsia Lee's mother died a violent death shortly thereafter. Tsai Lee's father was left alone to take care of her, a younger sister, and a baby brother. He was not a good father but because of his skill in people management he rose quickly in the ranks of the triad. Tsai Lee and her siblings were raised by the gang members and had a special place of honor as pretty daughters and son of the second boss of the Triad. Tsai Lee shared an inner part of the Triad circle and learned about society, morality, relationships, honor and such through the gang's rigid hierarchical order. Her father wished Tsai Lee and her sister to be elegant courtesans; flowers of the Triad. But Tsai Lee found she was more skilled in the martial arts than her sister and that she had a more aggressive side to her that led to her causing troubles offending many powerful individuals. Tsai Lee is now a very beautiful Asian women with a scary hard-edge to her personality. She is assertive in her action but reserved in her demeanor. Her best skill is in the sword, in fact a master swordfighter and yet to meet an equal. Tsai Lee is about 5' 5" tall, has long black hair with faint snow leopard markings, gray-yellowish eyes and a distinct dragon/phoenix tattoo on her back.

Just for fun

Here is an image of Maria taken by Rick while the two were in Malta down at St. Paul's Bay




Here is an image the the yacht the two are planning on using


The yacht specifications:
Length: 73 ft (22 m)
Beam: 19 ft (5.9 m)
Draft: 2.11 ft (0.9 m)

Guests: 6
Cabins: 3

(One double & two twins)

Engine: Twin
Fuel: Diesel

Cruising Speed: 35 Knots or about 42 mph

Rick's trip ( Heading home )

Rick and Maria are hanging out at the Boat dock, sipping Daquiries and enjoying the sun when the perfect ride comes in. A long narrow yacht with twin turbo jets, piloted by a young blond guy, who is bullying his way down the marina going a little to fast, as he pulls up he revs the engine in reverse and slides up to a dock, splashing water all over the place. A short stocky black gila monster with orange hands and mouth and human features, jumps over and quickly ties the boat up. The Blond human and three girls in bikinis walk off the boat and over to the club house.

From Ricks vantage point he can see down on to part of the deck, there are two of these guys on the boat right now, wearing white shorts and blue t-shirts with some logo on them, they are cleaning things up on the topside and preping the Yacht for fuel and supplies. You can see the dock master heading their way, with a very irrate look on his face.

what does Rick want to do ?

Coontail Myster IV

The rain has stopped but everything was still damp. Barett sat alone on a chair overlooking the lawn of Lake Quinault Lodge. He needed a moment to think things through. If someone had walked by, they would have seen what looked like a man with the weight of the world pressing down on a stooped figure. His left hand hung over the edge of the chair hanging low, holding a single piece of paper that looks as if he had flushed down a toilet bowl.
Old man Bob had been jumping up and down screaming for everyone to get off his property and threatening to sue the next SOB that came on his land. He had recovered from his original shock of events and turned back to his old eccentric self. Barett had had to jail him to calm him down. But that was least of his worries. Someone was operating here with an agenda and Barett hadn’t figured out what that was yet. Whoever it was was coming at the whole thing sideways. There was no rhyme or reason to these violent acts except that for the one fact that Barett somehow the connecting person at the center and that reoccurring theme of Peter Pan.
Barett wasn’t sure if Thomas Ramsden or Melissa would make it. They were both in bad shape.
“Puer Aeternus.” The word kept coming into his mind. Puer Aternus, the Peter Pan syndrome, what was meant by putting it on the sign on the cross? First there was Luz Roque identified as Windy, ending up dead, then Thomas with the name of John Darling written on him. Then they went after Melissa. Was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time or was there another connection he was missing. Both Melissa and Tome were in serious condition.
What the hell was going on?

He picked up the paper that had been salvaged from the wrecked Toyota and read it again.

Twas night in the dwelling,
and Norns there came,
Who shaped the life
of the lofty one;
They bade him most famed
of fighters all
And best of princes
ever to be.

‘Seek the Pan
And rip out his wings.’
They bade him most.

‘Seek the Puer Aeternus child.’

“Tis the Pan’s arrogance”,
We three weird Sisters seek.
“His pages of vanity
His narcissism and refusal
To see
We control the fates
The Norns!
Not pan the enemy.”

The script was hand written in a neat hand, signed with the name of Mr. Crochet.

Rick and Maria's trip III ( The casino )

Rick pockets the picture and looks over the briefcase. A metallic silver samsonite with black trim it looks like any other out there. When opened it reveals a black cloth liner with dark gray foam block, three cutouts reveal cylinder containers that hold used depleated Uranium shot. ( they are the leftover shots from anti-tank 30mm rounds) the cylinders have a lead look and feel to them, and lock down with four clasps on the lid. The General shows you the door and Rick slips out in to the hall, the door shuts then locks after you.
Back in your room you shoot some pictures of the stolen photo, and hand it over to Barett, and head out to get some food in the dining room. Shelia meets you at the kitchen doorway at shoots you a look that says, be more careful. Then shows you to the food, the rest of the gang has already dug into the cheese and crackers and olives. Barett comes wandering in a few minutes later, smiling big. After a quick meal Shelia tells you to relax for a little bit then you will head down to the port and catch the last ferry from Gozo to Malta, this one will take you direct to the Oracle Casino where your rooms are at.
Maria looks around and says " lets take a stroll thru the gardens before we go". Rick grabs the camera and does some digital scans and the like, with some nice shots of Maria.
The ferry ride is short but boring, you learn from "spanky" that the General is well known in the spook world, and has held several cabinet positions in the past over security. It turns out that Spanky was a transfer over from the "Royal Green Jackets" because he wanted more action, although he never served under Wineburg, he knows about his history.
Shelia on the other hand is not his daughter, that is her cover. She is working as a spook keeping a eye on drug traffic coming out of the middle east, opium and the like. She was made on her last bust and is laying low, and doing background analysis on intel.
The hotel you have is very nice, they take your bags, and show you to the rooms. Large suites with connecting doors at the sitting rooms ( each suite consists of a large sitting room, a large bathroom with jetted tub, and bedroom with king size bed. There are three rooms, one for each couple. It's just before midnight now and Barett suggests using up the complimentary game chips downstairs in the casino, before turning in for the night.

What does Rick do ?

Just some different looks by different artists, The top one is mine the middle by Dave, the Bottom is by sang. This might be the only picture that I have of Sang, I really like Barett's mullet. I almost forgot about the bike chain he carried around.

Rocking the suburbs.......

Just a few images from old sketch books that I found. I like the one of Barett with the lighter, He looks like he is planning to burn something down. On the other hand, he may be planning on hurting someone...or he is just lighting a simple mavatav cocktail.

Rick and Maria's trip II

Rick should have better things to do, he should be a good guest. But alas he is a Coontail Brother. Rick looks things over, and quietly sneaks back into his room, climbs out the window on to the porch, and waits for a minute, letting his eyes adjust. Looking around to make sure he is alone, and seeing that the coast is clear, he spider crawls along the edge of the building under the windows of the kitchen, where the light, throws square blocks of illumination onto the ground. He can hear the muffled sounds of Shelia talking to the help about food and towels, and the clinking of dishes. The rain has let up and the wind has calmed down, the fast moving storm has just about passed over and the stars are peeking through the clouds in spots. Rick can see a strip of light coming thru a window about 25 feet ahead, right in the room at the end of the hall. He prowls up to the window and sneaks a quick peek in before pulling himself tight againest the wall. The curtains are pulled tight but a thin triangle is left open at the bottom. From this limited postion he makes out a T.v. on, a large desk in one corner, tall bookcases line the far wall. The room is richly decorated with animal heads and antiques. The window is cracked slightly and could be opened from the outside. He waits and listens carefully, not hearing anything but the drone of the news on the tv, Rick figures he could enter the room unnoticed. Having scoped out the room as best he could he figures that no one is in there right now. What does he do ?

Coontail Myster Part III

“You never cease to change do you? Once a paranoid always a paranoid I guess.” Melissa joked to no one in particular as the sheriff's truck disappearing down the road.
“That must be why I love you.” She said to herself.
She waited for ten minutes and then followed.

It started to rain again. Barett’s mind traced back and forth through the clues he had so far as the gray rain thudded against the windshield. After a thirty minute drive up Highway 101 he came to the exit that lead to Old WA 9 road and a minute later he arrived at Bob’s house that sat at the edge of the lake. There were a few more cars around than there should be.
Bob was a strange duck. His house was small but very upscale. It was tucked away into the towering green trees on the shore of Lake Quinault. Barett had never figured out where or how Bob had made his money, but you could always find the guy hanging around the one and only town bar/restaurant early every morning gathering stories and gossip like a fly the never fails to show up for a picnic. Bob was in everything but never did a thing. Strange how he always seemed to have a lot of cash stashed somewhere.
Looking around as he drove up Bob’s driveway, Barett easily spotted the small group of people gathered together.
"Just like flies." He thought.
They were standing outside the big five bay garage/barn-like building Bob used to meticulously store all of his ‘toys’. His backhoe was out in the rain and muddy which Barett instantly thought was odd. Bob was selfish with his stuff. He never brought it out because he never did any work but that wasn’t the point. He drove around in a beat up Chevy while the nice cars and other large equipment just sat inside the bays with diapers wrapped around the oil pans like they were plaited with gold. The only way Bob would have his precious backhoe out in the rain was because he was dead.
But he wasn’t. It wasn’t Bob because he was sitting in a puddle crying like a two year boy who had lost his mommy. The small crowd parted for the town sheriff to reveal the gruesome scene.
He wasn't expecting this. He was speechless and taken by total surprise.
Someone, by the looks of it had used the backhoe to plant a telephone pole in front of the barn and then had taken someone and crucified them in a St. Peter’s cross style.
Barett just stared dumbfounded with everyone else. What the hell was this!
The body looked like it was a part tiger. It was big and shirtless and hung upside down, the head about 2 feet off the ground. Words were written clearly across the chest of the body for everyone to see, in the same blue marker that as was found on Luz, the girl that got sandwiched between the bus and Cadillac. The words were “John Darling”. Here was another dam Peter Pan reference. He know this because he had been reading it. But there was more this time. Above the man’s feet was a wooden plaque with writing on it just like what Pontus Pilot had done when he ordered one to be placed above the Christ when he was crucified. The writing on this sign here was also in three different languages. Two of them Barett could only guess what language they were but the third appeared to be Latin. It read Puer Aeternus.
The morbid crowd followed three steps behind as Barett moved closer to get a better look. The man’s face was bloody mess and Barett's fear was confirmed as he looked closely at him. Again it was someone he knew from the University. It was Thomas Ramsden. Big Tom, as he called him, was a fellow grease monkey professor and boxing partner Barett had worked out with back in Everett. They had gotten along marviously.
It looked like someone had beaten him pretty good before hanging him up. No an easy task mind you.
As Barett continued to examine and look for clues, the body moved.
“Holy dog fart! He’s still alive you idiots!”
Barett moved quickly to start removing his friend from the make-shift cross when an all too familiar sting slammed into him, biting hard into his back. It was followed by a sound in the distance of a sharp crack in the woods.
The caliber was big but his armor had stopped it.
Barett was pissed! Someone was playing with him and trying to finish Tom off in front of his eyes. The crowd of people wisely remembered that they had some better place to be at that minute and scattered. Barett was along as a human shield. He spun, pulled his .45 and scanned the forest. He heard shots, but this time they weren’t aimed at him. Then Melissa’s voice cracked over the radio.
“ Barett! I have a problem here!”
More shots. Two? No three different guns were firing.
“BARETT, GET YOUR . . .”
Boom echoed a shotgun.
Then silence of the falling rain was all he heard.

What does Barett do?

Coontail Myster Part II

It rained like it was the end of the world for three days straight. Then it just rained like it normally did in the winter on the Washington coast, always. Little could be done other than interview witnesses, checking out both vehicles involved in the accident and filling out reports. The whole thing was a big stinking pile of nonsense. No one knew anything. No one had seen anything. And he had only a few disjoined clues.
Barett sat at his old oak desk in the little sheriff’s office, his head bowed down in his propped up hands, thinking. The one of the two florescent lights flickered incessantly on the papers Barett had been reviewing and writing up. A cup of now cold coffee was used as a book propped, which lay half open and forgotten at the side. He wasn’t finding any answers there other than the guess that someone was playing the role of ‘Captain Hook.’ The girl, Luz Millican was her name, had died from two puncher wounds found just bellow her sternum. It wasn’t a knife that had punched her because the path had curved upward into her heart. Curved like a hook. She had killed in her nightgown and had some bloodied flowers, posies to be exact, found in her pockets.

Ring a-ring o' roses,
A pocketful of posies.
a-tishoo!, a-tishoo!.
We all fall down

Or the other way he knew it,

Ring around the rosies,
A pocketful of posies.
ashes, ashes.
We all fall down!.

He had liked her. She was a smart girl with potential. She was good looking too. Give her one more year and if he cared enough he would seriously have thought about pursuing a relationship. But he had left and really didn’t care if he would have seen her again or not. She was just another girl. But now she had shown up dead 200 miles away from Everett to a town no one should know about and no one should know he was here. Maybe it was coincident but he didn’t believe that. It felt like someone was after him.
The front door slammed open. Barett looked up from his desk to watch the familiar figure of Melissa, cloaked in her dark green poncho come in, dripping wet but happy.
“Here is your toxicology report.”
She pulling off the poncho and hung it on the hat & coat rack next to the door, adding to the abundant puddle of water that was dripping from a leak in the roof. She walked over and dropped the open packaged like a bombardier on his desk and then took the seat opposite him. Melissa leaned back on the wooden chair like she always did and banged her feet up on the desk while Barett took the report.
The data didn’t tell him anything. There was nothing unusually in her. He had expected drugs or something but she was clean. This was frustrating.
He looked up.
Melissa was smiling at him.
“What?”
“You.”
“What do you mean me?”
“Look at you. Barett Coontail the local sheriff all serious and up in a huff about some death.” She smiled big. “You are full of surprises.”
He had opened his mouth to say something back when the phone, a black rotary model of all things, rang.
“Hello”
“Sheriff, come quick!” a shaky male voice replied.
“What is it Jed?” Barett had recognized the mailman’s voice.
“Some uns been all hunged up and killed.”
“Where are you at.”
“Out here on Old Wa 9 at Bob’s place on the lake.”
Barett knew the place. It is a real nice house just east of the Amanda Park.

What does he do and what does he take? Does Melissa come with him?

The Trip Equipment wish list

Rick, from his brother’s recommendation, is testing out two new guns types he hasn’t used much. The first is the MP5K-PDW with suppressor and 4x30 tri-ring scope with strobe flashlight and weaver base laser sight with 10, 30 round clips of frangible round. Rick is bringing two H&K P30 9mm guns, one for himself and the other for Maria. He will have 20 extra magazines also using frangible shells.




He is also bringing some equipment for Reconnaissance but this equipment will easily pass as tourist toys. He is bringing a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 21.1MP Digital SLR Camera. He is taking the high-end high resolution camera for later recon evaluation. But Rick and Brett are also planning to have some fun with the camera with the girls in documenting the trip and getting some sexy shots.

Camera:
Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 21.1MP SLR



Lens:
Zoom - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM w/ Canon EF 1.4X II Extender ($4,400.00)


EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM ($1,190.00)


Wide - EF 24mm f/1.4L USM ($1,170.00)



He also has the following:
Wire cutters, Victorinox Swiss Army Oxodized SwissTool, duct tape, black electrician’s tape, and small briefcase that houses a compact computer Rick designed and built.