The Atherton Job

This is a follow up to the story Tangled. hope you enjoy reading.

Prologue

Denise McGrath stopped her car at the edge of the forest, near the beginning of a well known trail. She got out and unloaded her camping gear from the trunk, checking it for the third time that day: tent, flashlight, food, book, medical kit, bug spray. She wasn't used to camping, but her counselor said it would be a good chance for her to de-stress and get over her divorce and to relieve the stress her work.

She hefted the pack onto her shoulders and breathed out a sigh, "Well here goes nothing." She locked the car, looked at the forest and then started hiking down the trail. She found some footprints in the dirt, and that made her happy, knowing others were somewhere around. She went about a mile and then decided to look for a good camp site. She soon located a small clearing and dropped her pack and began setting up her tent. Once her gear was in order, she sat down against a tree with her book in hand and began reading away her troubles and worries.

"This might just work," she thought as she listened to the near silence of the forest.

When the sun began to set, she gathered wood and built a small campfire. She ate and then when the fire burned low, she went into the tent and climbed into her sleeping bag for the night. Lying in her bag listening to the sounds of the forest, she thought, "Everything has gone really well, at least so far." She drifted off into a contented slumber.

She awoke to the sound of screams coming from somewhere in the forest. She thought, "What was that?" She listened carefully and heard the screams once again. Her next thought was to call the police, but then she remembered where she was and that she had phone. Her counselor had said that she should leave the world behind for this trip. She decided she'd go find out what was happening and with a curse, grabbed her flashlight and followed the trail toward the sounds.

She eventually found the remains of a campsite; a few torn and slashed tents in a small clearing around a burned out fire pit. She looked at the wrecked tents, and found them stained with a dark smear, which she recognized immediately as blood. Stepping back, she looked around more carefully and found nothing. She stiffened with fear. What the hell had happened here; it looked like something out of a bad slasher flick.

She found a set of footprints leading away from the trail she had followed in and decided to follow those. Every few yards, she came upon a drop of blood, a bit of torn clothing or discarded gear and she assumed she was following a wounded person. She gathered her courage and continued on. The trail continued for several hundred yards, perhaps even a mile and terminated in a large clearing with a small abandoned house. With her light leading the way, she stepped into the clearing and began to move toward the house.

A noise behind her made her jump, and turn, but she was already too late. Someone struck her from behind knocking her flashlight out of her hand and knocking her to the ground. She started to turn, but then felt something sharp pierce her neck and then she felt heavy. The last thing she thought was, "what the fuck," before darkness took her and she knew no more.

Chapter 1

Trees stood silent vigil as far as the eye could see; green landscape unbroken except for a small clearing near its center. Birds chirped and flitted amidst the trees. Sunbeams shined through breaks in the emerald canopy, lighting the red, brown and yellow leaves scattered on the ground.

In the clearing were remnants of a long abandoned lodge. Its grey stone chimney long bereft of fire, stood in stark contrast to the deep greens and browns of its surroundings.

A wide smile formed on Dwight's face as he lowered the camouflaged binoculars, letting them hang loosely at his chest. He grinned, excited about the discovery, and then he turned and ran down the ridge straight to his battered jeep. Dwight jumped in and soon the vehicle sped off down the trail and toward this latest find. The roar of the engine broke the peaceful silence of forest as Dwight sped off.

His excitement made his driving sloppy and on more than one occasion he nearly crashed his jeep into a tree. The jeep continued onwards, flying over an embankment to land hard on the ground beyond and then crashing through a pair of small bushes to emerge in the clearing. Dwight slammed on the breaks, and skidded to a sliding stop. He jumped out of the still running vehicle and landed flat-footed on the remains of what once was the cabin's driveway. His worn grey leather boots crunched dry leaves and small twigs as he made his way toward his find.

His eyes widened upon nearing the building, seeing that it was much larger than expected. The cabin appeared to be two stories with what looked like a small window at the very top which was either the attic or a small room. A large window took up much of the first floor although dust, dirt and cobwebs covered the glass, making it impossible to see through.

Dwight walked around the house, his mind racing with the hope that he could see inside and perhaps see something valuable inside. To his delight, he found a small deck leading to the back door. Dwight went up the three small steps and over to the window by the door. The glass in this window too was marred and obscured by cobwebs and other debris to see inside and he sighed and was just about to turn and go back around when he spotted a small unblemished pane in the corner of the window. He knelt down to look into the cabin. Dwight saw that the place appeared to be abandoned. Cobwebs and dust covered the furniture that he could see. It looked as if no one had been inside for quite awhile. Dwight's heart soared; this was his first big score. He couldn't wait to tell his pals in town about this.

He stood and gave himself a congratulatory fist pump as he started back across the deck but then stopped. If he wanted to really impress his friends he would need proof, not just his word. He would have to steal something and take it back for the others to see before they would believe him and help him steal what remained in the house. He rolled his eyes at the irony but didn't worry overmuch; the task seemed simple: just get inside.

Dwight turned and went to the back door. The door looked like solid oak with old style metal hinges. Apparently the owner had a flair for old fashioned things, Dwight thought. Dwight reached down and turned the doorknob, finding it difficult but amazingly, unlocked.

'Today is definitely my day,' he thought as the door swung open. His joy was short-lived as the door stopped after an inch and refused to move further. He cursed and stepped back from the door. He didn't see a chain on the other side so maybe something was blocking it. Deciding upon this explanation, he put his shoulder to the door and grabbed the knob. He wasn't muscular by any means but at close to 290 pounds, when he pushed, the door moved and he could hear something sliding backwards. He kept pushing until the door was open enough for him to squeeze inside.

Once inside, he noticed what had given him such a hard time. A heavy burgundy cabinet sat against the door. Inside it had glass shelved filled with assorted expensive glasses. The glasses were not what caught and held his eye; on the third shelf sat a tall silver statue of a mounted cavalryman. The statue looked old and from what Dwight could tell, genuine and valuable. His eyes lit up with dollar signs as he stared at the statue. This would make his friends believe him. They would come back for sure.

Dwight didn't bother looking any further and wasted o time before opening the cabinet door and grabbing the statue, careful not to accidentally break it. It weighed at least eight pounds, making him feel that it was genuine silver and reassuring him of its value. Holding the statue with both hands, he moved around the cabinet and back out through the door.

Once outside, he closed the door behind him and made his way down the steps and around the front of the cabin to his jeep. 'Wait until they get a load of this,' he thought as he put the statue on passenger seat and headed back to town.

Chapter 2

"Yer tellin' me you found that out in the woods all by yerself?" Cutter O'Leary asked.

Dwight nodded, quivering in his chair with excitement over what he'd found. Cutter eyed the statue carefully, lifting her lifting her feet the table where she'd sat and listened to his tale of the cabin in the woods. Cutter brushed away a stray lock of red hair from her face, lips pursed in thought, her eyes glancing at the overexcited man and then returning to the silver statue.

She inspected the statue further with her hands, feeling the weight.

"It's not that I don' believe there's a cabin out there, I just don' believe 'twas you that stole it," she remarked.

Dwight's excitement diminished a bit at her comment and a bit of a frown formed on his face. "Honest I went in and took it myself!" he rebuffed Cutter's remark, his voice rising a bit too high and drawing attention from others in the bar.

Cutter scowled and slapped the stout man over the shoulder. "Ack. Pipe down ye baboon. Ye want ever' one to hear and go looking and spoil it?" Her Irish accent flared up in her anger.

Dwight replied in a quiet voice, "No, I don't."

"Then keep yer voice down an' go get me another beer. Make yourself useful while I call in the others."

Dwight winced at her words but he rose from his chair and shuffled over to the bar like a beaten child. Though he was more than twice the size of the woman, he knew better than to argue with her. He as well as every other drunk and low life in Bannon's bar knew of Cutter's reputation with a knife. He knew he'd better just do as she asked and not risk losing his manhood, or worse.

The word around town was that she had cut up three young men to pieces with a hunting knife a few years back, served eight years behind bars. Word was that she had been caught eating the victim's severed ears when the authorities caught her on scene.

When he got back to the table with the beer, she was already putting her cell phone back into her Jean jacket pocket. She scowled at him again and ripped the beer bottle from his hand. "It's good to know I can count on ye for something," she snarled before taking a deep draw of the beer.

Dwight stared in silence, taking her abuse as usual, since she and her crew were the only group of lowlifes that would accept a loser like him. He sat back down at the table and waited for her to say something not wanting to incur more of her wrath.

"Boys will be ere in the hour," she said more to herself than to him. Dwight nodded in acknowledgement though he doubted she noticed or cared.

"So they believe me?" he blurted.

"No they don't. Not yet. We're going out tonight to that cabin an' yer gonna show us this place. If it's there and if it's abandoned like you say, then we'll believe you."

Dwight's spirits lifted despite the contempt in her voice. "It's there. I'll show you and all the boys too."

"It better be or you'll be finding another crew to scavenge with," she threatened.

Dwight's face went white and he shifted in his seat at that, "Don't worry you'll see."

Caleb and Jacob Hannity pushed through the doors and scanned the crowd in the bar. The brothers dressed in black coats, faded dark shirts, jeans and weathered boots. Though that's where the similarities between them ended. Jacob stood a foot taller than his short and more muscular sibling. Jacob's oily black hair curled in the front, while Caleb's hair was a short shorn dirty brown.

The pair made their way through the sea of tables to where Dwight and Cutter sat. Jacob flashed his wide, black-toothed tobacco chewer's grin at Dwight in a way that made Dwight shudder and quickly avert his gaze. Jacob ran a hand through his hair and tugged at his belt while enjoying Dwight's discomfiture. The brothers were quite well established as cutthroats in their own right. Many at the bar knew of their exploits and those with half a mind avoided them unless they had the appropriate cash on hand for a job.

Caleb pulled two empty chairs over to the table and sat in one of them. "So what's this we hear of fatty finding something worth taking?" Caleb asked as his brother sat down beside him.

Cutter smiled, seeing the rest of her band arrive. She pointed to the silver statue sitting in the middle of the table. "Come to me with that and a story of an abandoned house he did."

Jacob looked at the statue a moment, then turned his attention to Dwight and sneered.

Dwight gulped and tried to not look frightened while gathering the nerve to defend his claim. Dwight piped up." I did find the statue. And I know where we can get more things. It's a place off in the woods below the ridge."

Cutter lashed out and struck Dwight with a vicious backhand across the face that snapped the man's head to the side. "Shut up would you? I told them already. Don't need everyone knowing about it," she snarled.

The brothers laughed and grinned while Dwight rubbed his stinging face. No one at the table batted an eye or spoke up in Dwight's defense; as usual he was on his own when faced with Cutter's temper, so he just sat still and tried to rub feeling back into his cheek while the others plotted in hushed tones.

Chapter 3

Just after sundown, they left the table and went out to the Hannity's battered grey van. Jacob and Caleb, took the front seats leaving Dwight and Cutter to sit in the back. With anyone else, Dwight would've argued this as a bit unfair but not with the Hannitys, who kill when it suited them. The brothers were known for smuggling and slitting the throats of people who stood between them and what they wanted. Dwight decided it would be more beneficial to his if he didn't complain about seating. He climbed in and shut the door as the engine rumbled to life. He barely got settled on the floor, before Jacob threw the van in reverse backed out hard.

Ignoring Dwight, Cutter and the brothers discussed what they would do once they got to the place Dwight had described, outlining their plan of attack and what each would do. Dwight sat in silence, bouncing every time the van went over a bump in the road. He didn't need to discuss his role with the rest of them. He knew what it was. It never changed. Cutter, Jacob and Caleb were killers and while they didn't mind doing the dirty deeds they didn't like doing heavy lifting and tried to avoid it if they could. Dwight on the other hand, wasn't opposed to roughing up or breaking an arm to get his point across if need be but he didn't kill anyone and so the others thought him weak compared to them and assigned tasks such as being look out or carrying things like bodies or loot.

The sun had set by the time the dirt road disappeared completely and the ridge came into view. A mixture of browns and dull reds, the ridge was once a mountain that had eroded until all that remained was a jagged cliff that that dropped down to a forest below. From atop of the ridge one could see for miles, making it a favorite spot for hikers and nature photographers as well as hunters.

The van turned to the right, going down into the valley floor. Rocks and dirt crackled under the tires as the vehicle approached the forest edge. The brothers gazed through the windshield at the trees. Each one seemed to grow right next to another preventing taking the van into the forest.

With an annoyed grunt, Jacob put the van in park and turned off the engine. He opened his door and announced, "Everyone out! We're walking the rest of the way!"

Dwight opened the back door and climbed out, followed by Cutter who sneered at him. The brothers gathered their weapons and other gear as they exited the van.

"Looks like you'll be showing us first hand after all," Cutter said.

Dwight shut the doors and walked around the van. Caleb was standing in the open driver's side door, fitting what Dwight could only guess was his assortment of knives. He slammed his door shut after shoving a couple of small flashlights in his coat pockets.

"This place better be there and it better be worth it," Caleb threatened.

Dwight held up his hands defensively. The last thing he wanted was to have one of the brothers mad at him before they had even gotten to where they were going. "It's there... I promise," Dwight reassured the cutthroat.

Jacob and Cutter came around the other side, Jacob with a shotgun over his shoulder and Cutter carrying Gods knew what weapons. The three of them walked into the forest while Dwight wisely followed a few steps behind.

Beneath the thick forest canopy, the evening gloom became gloomier. Leaves and branches crinkled and snapped with each footstep. The group soon came to a large decomposing stump and stopped. Cutter turned to Dwight, "Alright, up in front ye idiot! Show us where this place is or I'll cut yer balls off and leave ye 'ere bleedin'." She licked her lips slowly, savoring that thought.

Dwight blanched with fear but he was determined not to be neutered on the spot. Quickly he led them in the direction he had gone before. Before long they came upon the clearing Dwight had been to earlier. He stopped and tried to make out the outline of the two floor cabin in the darkness while the other three kept walking towards the abandoned house.

"Well what do you know fatty wasn't lying," Caleb remarked.

Dwight rushed over to catch up to them. "Told you it was here!" he replied a bit too confidently.

The other brother shot Dwight a withering look, motioning with the barrel of his gun that promised a new hole to breathe through if he spoke another word. Dwight wisely heeded the warning and went quiet.

Cutter actually smiled in appreciation for once. "Well you were right," the smile disappeared turning into that familiar scowl, "Now get to work getting us in."

Dwight motioned for them to follow as he went around the side of the cabin. Caleb pulled a long hunting knife from his belt and followed, Jacob and Cutter in tow. They found Dwight already on a wooden deck, shoulder pressing into a door. Dwight grunted and with a push, the door opened.

Caleb walked up behind with knife in hand and peered into the dirty window. Dwight took a step, meaning to go in but Caleb stopped him. "Wait. How do you know it's abandoned?" he eyed open door suspiciously.

Jacob and Cutter walked up behind Caleb looking somewhat perturbed at his brother's hesitance. "What's the fucking hold up?" Jacob asked his brother.

"This seems a bit too easy if you ask me. Stinks like that one job we had down in Texas," Caleb replied, "You remember the warehouse we stole those barrels from? Seemed empty when we went in but it wasn't?"

Jacob nodded. "Yeah, I remember that place. There was a squatter in there. He thought he could make us leave and he could keep what was stored there to himself. He thought wrong. Had him strung up by his ankles and his intestines strung out all over the floor we did."

"Yes and we had to leave the state because of that mess if you remember it right," Caleb chided his brother. "Can't do business with a whole state after us. How do we know there ain't squatters in here?"

Caleb pointed at Dwight with his knife. "Yeah, how do we know there's no one home fat ass? Did you bother to check?"

Dwight eyed the knife cautiously but stayed calm. "There wasn't anyone in there when I broke in. I swear. The place looked deserted."

"If it's so deserted," Cutter interrupted, "Then you go in first. See if anyone is home." The brothers nodded their agreement and Caleb handed Dwight one of the three flashlights he had brought with him.

"Fine, I will but I'm telling you no one is here." Dwight said as he turned towards the door.