Ransom

"They call me Ransom."

"Not to be overly suspicious, and we're glad you're here, but what brings you to these parts?"

"Trading. Things are getting pretty thin east of here."

The old man grunted, lowered the .45 somewhat. He looked briefly over Ransom's shoulder. "Girls?"

Girls? Plural?

Ransom turned his head. There were now indeed two figures behind him, both armed. They sized him up, glanced at each other.

"I guess so," one said.

"Gotta trust somebody, Daddy Jim," replied the other. With that, Ransom could feel the tension in the room subside.

"I guess you pass their test, son," Jim said, chuckling. When Ransom turned back to face him, the .45 had been tucked into the old man's waistband and his hand was extended. "Welcome to our little spread."

He motioned with his jaw towards the two women.

"This here's my granddaughter, Mandy. The tiny one is her friend Kim. They was doing me the kindness of visiting an old man in his country store when everything went south."

"Um, hi!" was all he could think to say.

Both women were smiling now. Ransom smiled back.

"Mandy, we got any of that instant coffee left?" the man asked.

"Half a jar, Daddy Jim. You said to save it."

"Honey," the old man grinned. "I'm still alive. That much alone calls for a celebration."

.

"How long have they had you cornered in here?" Ransom asked. He was tired, very tired, but the caffeine was waking him up. He dipped his nose into the mug, treasuring the rare aroma.

"About three days," Mandy said. "They kept rotating through, I guess, but couldn't get in here."

Ransom thought about that. "Rotating? How far's that cave?"

"Ain't a cave," the old man said. "It's - it was - a gold mine. My granddaddy told me about watching it start up - and go broke - long time ago. A prospector found good colour and sold his stake, retired back east. The company poured a lot of money into it, but the seam ran out before they got more than a hundred yards in. When the bankers pulled their loans, they sold it to another bunch who went broke driving another couple of hundred yards. They sold it to somebody else who went broke without ever putting hammer to steel. It's been deserted for close to 100 years."

"Ever been in there?" Ransom asked.

"Oh, yeah. Just about every kid hereabouts went in there sometime or other. Nothing special - just a straight tunnel coming to a pile of rubble at the end."

"What shape's it in, inside?"

"I haven't been in there in a while, but the timbers holding everything together looked kinda wobbly, even then."

"So there's no other way out?"

"Nope. Not unless they dug it themselves."

Ransom paused, thought for a minute, sighed. "It's not a good idea to leave them there."

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, opened them again.

"I don't suppose you know what kind of shifts they were keeping? Were they there all night?"

Jim shook his head. "Never went outside once they showed. They kept shootin' like they owned an ammo factory."

Ransom remembered his surprise at that.

"Well," he said, "the longer we sit here, the more chance there is that a new team will show up to spell them off. And that would catch us all in here again.

"Six to one is bad odds, but I'm willing to have a go at them if I can get some help. Either of you know how to shoot?"

He was deliberately looking at the young women and ignoring the frail old man. To his surprise, Jim grinned.

"Son, I'm not up for any quick work," he said, "but my eyes are still pretty good and I figure I can still shoot OK."

"Can you make it as far as the mine?" Ransom asked.

"I figure so. And you're right about waiting. We need to go now."

While the old man said his goodbyes to the two women, Ransom recovered his bow and a rifle.

.

Jim moved slowly and before long was breathing hard, but he never complained. It was obvious that walking caused him discomfort, if not pain; it was equally clear that his pride wouldn't allow him to acknowledge it.

Ransom looked more carefully at the old man. As slow and creaky as he was, there was no denying that he knew how to move silently in a potentially dangerous situation. While remaining cautious and alert, the younger man, dog by his side, was willing to let him take the lead.

Jim led the two of them along the ruins of a narrow dirt road for perhaps 20 minutes. He eventually slowed down, spent more time looking around. Finally, holding up a finger to his lips for silence, he stepped off the path, skirting a huge boulder. From there, five slow minutes up a steep climb opened up to a flat spot with a slight rise on the left.

Jim slowly sank to his knees and, gesturing to Ransom to follow, began crawling up the slope. Ransom motioned to Donnie to stay. The dog sat on its haunches, yawned. Turning, Ransom followed the old man.

Jim eased his head over the crest for a second, pulled it back. And again. He motioned to Ransom to come to him.

"There's three of them just outside of the entrance," he said very softly, "down and to your right. Take a quick peak."

Ransom did so. Sure enough, three scruffy, queued men were sitting in front of a fire, eating something from bowls. The replacements,    Ransom thought to himself. He slid back as silently as he could, brought his mouth to the old man's ear.

"Looks like they're about ready to leave," he whispered. "I think we can thin them out if I can get this lot by surprise. They look pretty dozy and they won't be expecting anything this close to their camp."

The old man nodded in agreement. "Worked in 'Nam," he smiled, almost contentedly. "It oughta work here."

"Can you wait here, maybe catch one if he comes running back?"

The old man nodded, pulled his rifle to his shoulder and checked his sight picture before grinning over his shoulder. "I figure I can."

Without further ado, the younger man started to gently slide back down the ridge. He stopped at a loud whisper from Jim.

"In case I don't get to say this later, son, it's nice to have met you."

Ransom smiled, gave him a thumbs up and moved back down the path. Donnie, sensing his tension, stayed very close.

The trail looped around the house-sized rock where it joined the old road and there seemed to be no need for subtlety or complex plans. Ransom simply sat behind the rock and waited. Sure enough, after a few minutes, the three raiders trudged by, heads down and paying little attention. Stoned, complacent or simply stupid, it made little difference.

Ransom's first arrow took one of them in the kidney. The raider dropped to his knees in agony. The second had time to turn before an arrow took him squarely in the chest. Donnie was on the third a second later.

The man pulled the dog off and praised him before finishing the job with his belt knife. He dragged the three bodies off the path, scuffed dirt over the blood stains.

.

Jim was waiting and smiled at the sight of Ransom coming his way.

"They weren't armed," Ransom said. "I guess the ordnance was being left with the ones by your place."

"Armed, disarmed, unarmed, it's all the same," the old man smiled grimly. "We coulda had a Judge Roy Bean trial, but it would've been the same in the end."

"Life sucks, doesn't it?" Ransom grinned back.

"Oh, I wasn't complaining," Jim smirked. "They had the right not to try and kill me. By my way of thinking, they lost any other rights they mighta had once they started to shoot at me and Mandy. And I always figured that a fair fight was one in which all my boys came home safe.

"Now, what about the ones still in the mine? By what you say, there's three left."

Ransom shrugged. "If the one I talked to was telling the truth. I'm pretty sure he was."

"So, what now? Wait? Parley? Smoke 'em out?"

"I could do with a couple of grenades right now. Just wait, I guess. We've been lucky so far," Ransom said, then, "You're sure about no back entrance?"

Jim's eyes glittered. "Son, that tunnel runs a couple of hundred yards straight into that mountain. If this lot wanted a back door, they'd have had to dig a couple of miles through solid rock."

"Works for me," Ransom said. "I guess we'll have to wait them out then. I don't much feel like going in there to root them out."

"Well, you wait here for a bit," the old man grunted. "I've got an idea."

.

Ransom rubbed the sweat out of his eyes. There'd been no movement below since the old man had left an hour ago. He twisted his head back over his shoulder at Donnie's low 'woof'.

Mandy was crawling towards him, keeping below of the mine's line of sight.

"Here," she said softly, holding out a worn canvas knapsack. "Daddy Jim said to give this to you. He apologizes for not bringing it himself, but his knees..."

"It's OK," he replied, reaching for it.

She pulled it back an inch. "Be careful, he says."

The bag held three sticks of dynamite tied together in a roll.

"Oh, and this." The girl held out a length of fuse with a shiny detonator crimped over one end.

Taking it from her, he gave a low whistle. Explosives were irreplaceable, incredibly precious. On the other hand, he realized, there wasn't much mining going on anymore.

"Thanks," he said softly, "This makes it simpler."

+

Ransom lay back in the tub. Soap was rare; soap with a full bathtub of hot water was an unbelievable luxury. He'd washed himself twice, changing the water each time, before the water remained almost clear. Now he just soaked, feeling the warmth of the water sooth his aches.

There was a soft knock at the door. The man was about to reply when the door opened and Mandy entered. He covered his groin with his hands. "Um, knocking?" he said, embarrassed.

The tall redhead grinned at him.

"I've seen one before," Mandy said, holding something out towards him. "but Daddy Jim said to give this to you."

Ransom took one hand out of the water and almost dropped the can in his surprise.

Beer!    Home-brew was not unknown and whiskey could be and sometimes was produced on improvised stills. Ransom himself had half a bottle of moonshine in his pack as trading merchandise. But pre-Bug beer... The cold Coors in his hand was almost priceless.

"Erm," he said, feeling the chill of the can in his hand. "I don't think..."

The girl cut him off. "Well, Daddy Jim thinks Yes. And I agree. You saved our bacon earlier. It's a small enough way of saying thank you."

Ransom took a second look at the girl as she shifted to put the candle she held on the counter and almost dropped the precious can in surprise.

The battered hoody she'd worn earlier had been replaced with a pale-yellow sundress, which if not precisely new, was clean and free from holes or patches. The dress was perhaps one size too small and the nipples pushing against the fabric from inside made it obvious that there was nothing under it but healthy young woman.

Curly red-brown hair fell half-way down the Mandy's back. From somewhere, she'd somewhere found some basic makeup - attractive but, again, a small fortune seen through Ransom's trader eyes.

He shook his head, tried to accept this new reality.

She smiled at him, moved to kneel behind him.

"Drink your beer, Ransom," Mandy said, very softly. "You've earned it."

He'd forgotten the crisp snapping sound of a can of beer being opened and smiled at the memory.

"Lie back," she said. "I'll get your hair."

Ransom slid down in the tub, let his head rest on the rim behind him. The beer was well past its best-before date, but at the moment, he thought it the most wonderful thing he had ever tasted. He took it slowly, let each sip linger on his tongue like the memory of some distant fine cognac.

Mandy stretched over him for the bar of soap. She too smelled of soap, he realized. His breath caught, just a little, as one of her breasts brushed softly against his ear as she reached past him.

She straightened up, soap in one hand. Dipping it in the water by his head, she began to rub it in her palms, working up a lather.

"Sorry," she said, "no shampoo. We count ourselves lucky that the store had a bunch of hand soap."

"It's OK," he replied, sighing in pleasure as strong fingers began rubbing the lather into his hair. "Very, very OK."

"Kim was a stylist," she said. "If you wanted, I know she'd be happy to trim your hair for you."

Ransom felt himself almost melting under her strong fingers as she rubbed and stroked his head.

"Be nice," he mused. "Been a long time since I had a haircut."

"Looks like it," she giggled.

As if summoned, her friend appeared in the doorway, Donnie at her side. She leaned casually against one side of the doorway. She wore a simple white buttonless blouse and a long linen skirt, both of which went very well with her tanned skin. Her hand rested behind Donnie's ears, casually scratching the dog's head.

Kim was a head shorter than her friend and, while still very feminine, very attractive, she was also very much slimmer. Long brown hair fell down over both shoulders and her chest. Her dark eyes sparkled as if with some suppressed joke.

"Figure you can make this prettier?" Mandy asked from behind him, holding up his tangled, soapy hair.

The girl pushed off the door frame with a shrug and knelt gracefully by the side of the tub. Stretching out a hand, Kim grasped his jaw, turning his head back and forth as she examined him.

He found her smile entrancing, perfect white teeth behind... Yes,    he thought to himself, kissable lips. Lips I want to kiss.

"I'm pretty sure I could do him justice," she smiled. She released his head and sat back on her heels.

Mandy recommenced her scalp massage and Ransom groaned slightly in pleasure as her hands moved through his hair.

Kim leaned forward, rested her elbows on the rim of the tub and looked at the man. "How would monsieur   like his hair?"

"Something easy to take care of," he replied.

"Shaved?" she giggled.

"No. Tried that once or twice. Too easy to sunburn."

"After you get out of the tub, then." She smiled, reached for the soap and worked up a lather on her own hands. Maintaining eye contact with him, Kim began to wash his chest with her hands.

Ransom found the four hands moving over his body pleasing, but also intensely erotic. Unsure of the situation, he tried to relax, simply enjoy the sensations. Tired as he was and uncertain as to the situation, he found himself rapidly becoming aroused.

"Erm..." Ransom began.

A soapy hand came up, a fingertip touched his lips.

"Hush," Kim said.

"Hush," Mandy echoed from behind. Her hand dipped a plastic pitcher into the water and rinsed his head. And again.

Placing the pitcher on the floor, Mandy leaned forward. Ransom smiled as he felt her lips run along his ear. Sharp teeth lightly nipped his earlobe. Even drowsy and relaxed in the hot water, he felt his initial swelling increasing, his sac pulling up towards his body even in the warm water.

Very aware of the old man's presence in the next building and of his protective air towards his granddaughter, Ransom's thoughts returned to the steely look in the old man's eyes at the mine.

"Look," he said eventually, "this is very nice, but your grandfather, Mandy..."

Kim laughed at his hesitation.

"He knows," Mandy said, soft lips brushing his ear. His eyes popped wide open as her tongue-tip traced the rim of his ear.

Kim giggled again at the look on his face.

"Daddy Jim?" the small girl laughed. "Ransom, let me tell you something about him, OK? Just as a fellow guest?"

Her face turned almost serious and her hands paused on his chest.

"Daddy Jim is the nicest, kindest man I've ever met. He took us in when the world ended and he's treated me like I was his own flesh and blood. He's really, really protective of us, but he knew where we were going when we left him next door. He's been around a few blocks, Ransom. He knows... well, he thinks boys and girls belong together."

Here she looked to the taller woman for confirmation.

From behind him, Ransom heard a quiet, "Mmm-hmm," of agreement.

"Anyway," the Asian girl continued, "it's not like there's anybody around here to point fingers."

Her eyes challenged him to disagree.

Ransom tried to sit up. His movement splashed water in the tub, a small wave lapping out onto Kim's chest. She shrieked in surprise, leaned back and tossed her long hair over her shoulders. Even though her hair had caught most of the water, her blouse was soaked; her small dark areolae were clearly visible through it as it clung to her breasts.

"Now look at that!" she giggled. She gave him a mischievous grin and stood up before pulling it off over her head and hanging it up on a hook. She turned around and, dressed only in her skirt, struck a topless pose, holding her hands under breasts as it to push them up. She laughed happily at the look on his face.

Ransom was fully hard now. The tip of his cock emerged from the water, perhaps out of sight from Kim, but not Mandy.

The tall girl giggled, too. She stood and came around where Ransom could see her.

"Given your clumsiness, Ransom," she smiled, "I don't think we should risk getting my new frock all wet, should we?" With that, she reached down for her hem with crossed hands and slowly pulled it up over her body.

Ransom's breath caught as he watched the show the woman was clearly putting on for him, first exposing perfect, endless legs, then a carefully-trimmed patch of dark hair and finally full, firm breasts with soft pink nipples. Her hair dragged out behind her head and she shook it loose, allowing it to settle on her shoulders. When she turned to hang it by Kim's blouse, he smiled at the sight of her buttocks. Perfect!   he thought to himself.

Kim's fingers slid down to her waist. The long skirt floated down her legs, exposing her own sex. She stepped out of the circle of fabric on the floor, hung it carefully on a hook and moved to stand beside Mandy. Arms came up around waists as the two women again stood for his... Inspection?    Ransom thought. No,    he realized. 'Presentation', perhaps.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the two women stepped towards him.

As Mandy helped him out of the tub, Kim reached for towels. Mandy was energetic in drying his hair; Kim much gentler on his body. As she knelt to dry his legs, she bypassed his hardness with the towel, but not her eyes.

Giggling, Mandy knelt beside her and ran her fingers lightly up the inside of his thigh. Kim tossed the towel over her shoulder and mirrored her tall friend's action. The two of them looked up, smiling, at Ransom as their hands slid still higher, coming to rest with his sac resting on the backs of their hands.

"How you doin', Ransom?" Kim whispered.

He was trying to think of something - anything not completely witless - to say when Mandy leaned forward and kissed under his crown, once, lightly. Grinning, she looked up at him and echoed her friend. "How you doin'?"

"Erm, good. Real good." He could hear his pulse in his ears.

"Glad to hear it!" With that, she seized the base of his shaft with one hand, leaned forward again and took him into her mouth. At first, she simply rolled her lips over and around his swollen head while Kim fondled his balls with one hand, running her other over his stomach and thigh. Watching his face intently, Mandy began to bob back and forth over him, his length sliding in and out of her mouth.

After a minute, Kim turned to Mandy. "My turn," she stage-whispered. Keeping the man's shaft in her hand, Mandy leaned towards her and puckered her lips. With a delighted laugh, the smaller girl locked her lips on Mandy's.

Ransom watched from above, running his hands through their hair. As the two women kissed, Mandy's hand stroked and pulled the soft skin over his rigid shaft. He felt a growing fire behind his balls.