A Dubious Race: The Phoenician Stones (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 14)

by Gerald J Kubicki

  “Lyn will be your contact,” Banyon said. This surprised the lawyer and pleased her too.

  “Okay,” Joey said after a hesitation, but he didn’t sign it. He set the document in front of him.

  “This next form gives us the power of attorney to negotiate and sell your property without you being present,” Lyn said.

  “I understand,” Joey responded and added the document to his pile.

  “This document sets up your trust where your money will be deposited,” she explained next. “You will have a checking account and credit cards all in the name of your trust.”

  “Why will I need that?” He asked.

  “Well, the strength of a trust is that it protects your name. No one will know who actually owns the trust. You use it just like you would any checking account or credit card, but no one will know who actually owns it.”

  “But I still would have to sign my name, right?” Joey asked. Kayah just watched in fascination and had no idea what was going on.

  “That’s the next document,” Lyn proceeded and laid out more forms. “These forms are needed to change your name. Once your name is changed, that will be the names you will use to sign things,” Lyn continued. “I’ve provided forms for Kayah as well. All you have to do is pick a new name.”

  “Where is all this going?” Joey suddenly asked with concern. “I mean the NSA agents will be here in a couple of hours to escort me to a mental facility. Why do I need all this?” Joey sat back and folded his arms in disbelief.

  “You need all this because you’re not going to the Denver facility. You and Kayah are going somewhere else,” Banyon interrupted.

  “But I don’t want to run away,” Joey shouted. “You don’t understand. I want to get mental help. My doctor will treat me at the facility. I think I’m going crazy, Colt, and all this isn’t helping.”

  “Your premonitions have gotten much stronger while you are here on this land. You know that,” Banyon reasoned. “That’s because of the rare earth here in the ground. You need to get away from this land and all rare earths, but once you are away we’ll be able to get you the best doctors available to help you control your premonitions. You should look at your premonitions as more of a gift and not as a curse.”

  “But…Dr. Hage…”

  Banyon cut him off. He spoke angrily. “Your doctor actually works for the NSA and has been doing experiments on you for many years while working for them. He wants to be the first researcher to control someone’s premonitions. He doesn’t care about you. I’ve already told you the research center is a prison for people like you. They may never let you out if they can control your premonitions. Is that what you want? Especially since you have rediscovered Kayah?”

  Joey’s stress level now passed the breaking point. The news that his doctor could not be trusted sent him over the edge. His fingers started to tingle and a premonition swept over him. His eyes rolled back into his head. Kayah put her hands to her mouth in fright. Heather rushed to the kitchen to get him water. The rest of the people in the room watched in shock. A few seconds later he opened his eyes and nodded to Banyon.

  “I’ll sign the papers,” he said quickly.

  “What did you see?” Kayah asked as she hugged him tightly — afraid to let him go. She was truly frightened by the premonition.

  “I saw what life will be like in the facility,” he admitted. “I now realize Colt is right about that bastard Dr. Hage.”

  “Don’t worry about him,” Banyon said. “We have a plan to pay him back for what he has been doing to you for all these years.”

  “Please, sign the first two documents with your full name Joey,” Lyn quickly pressed him.

  “But aren’t the NSA agents going to be here in a little while looking for Joey?” Kayah asked with concern.

  “And we are going to give them Joey,” Banyon explained.

  “But how does that help?” she asked in confusion.

  “The Joey that we will let them capture will actually be Bobby, his twin brother. The NSA will bring him to the Denver facility,” Banyon said with a smile. “The NSA won’t know the difference until it is too late.”

  “I can’t allow that,” Joey screamed and threw down the pen he was using to sign his name on the documents. “He’s my brother for God sakes.” The lawyer, Lyn, could sense the deal of a lifetime slipping away. She was not happy.

  “Joey, your brother, is a hardened criminal,” Banyon replied. “He tried to kill both of you just a few hours ago. At the facility, they will think he is delusional and provide him with mental help. It may even turn his life around.”

  “Another option would be to let him go, but then you will always have to watch over your shoulder expecting him to come after you,” Chase explained. “I’ve had to deal with many criminals over the years. They don’t change easily.”

  “Joey, you have spent your life sticking up for your brother and he has never helped you. Not ever. Let him help you, and indirectly, me now,” Kayah pleaded softy into Joey’s ear. “It’s about you and me now.”

  “Or, we could have him charged with attempted murder,” Chase offered as an option. “Of course, you would have to testify against him. If you decide to not do that, he will be back in prison shortly for parole violations anyway. Once a criminal always a criminal,” Chase said from experience.

  Joey thought for a second. “When I had my premonition,” He slowly said. “It was clear I was being given excellent medical and psychiatric help, but at the expense of my freedom. Bobby needs help and a mental ward is better than a prison, you know,” he said philosophically. “Our parents died suddenly when we were young. Bobby got us kicked out of several foster homes. He has always been uncontrollable. This might give him a chance to reconcile all of that hate.”

  “Then you’ll allow it?” Lyn quickly asked as her hopes began to rise.

  “On one condition,” Joey said. “I want to keep track of him and help him if I can.”

  “I can promise you that I will keep tabs on him,” Banyon offered. “All you will have to do is call me and I will get you up to speed no matter where he is located.”

  “What if I want to give him money?” Joey continued.

  “You would be able to send him money from your trust,” Lyn explained. “He would never know where it came from.”

  “I can’t believe it, my brother could finally do something good for me,” Joey uttered. After a few seconds he said, “I’ll allow it.”

  “So what happens to us?” Joey asked and looked at Kayah.

  “I’ll explain that once you sign the first two documents,” Banyon said.

  Chapter Ninety-Two

  Joey signed the first two documents and passed them to Lyn. She smiled like a Cheshire cat as she stuffed them into her briefcase.

  “Can I ask a couple of questions first — before we continue?” Joey inquired.

  “Please do,” Banyon responded.

  “Okay, so now you’re my lawyers and you can sell my land for me. I get that. But how much is this going to cost me?”

  “Good question,” Banyon replied. “The sale of the land will cost you 3 percent plus expenses. We will also have to charge you for setting up the trust. Typically, we charge one percent of the value of the items placed in the trust.” Oh My God, Banyon thought with alarm. I’m being to sound like Bart, my partner.

  “Okay, that sounds reasonable,” Joey offered. “But are there any long term costs involved?”

  “We charge one half of one percent of the value of the trust per year. It also entitles you to free consultations with your trust manager and lawyer. You can always call me as well, as I have already mentioned.

  “Okay,” Joey uttered. “But what do you think you can get for the land?”

  “I have three companies already interested,” Chase informed him. “I talked to all of them this morning. The first bid is for 500 million dollars.” Lyn Chang was immediately upset. She thought that she would be doing the selling and earnin
g the commission.

  “What! Wait did you say 500 million dollars?” Joey asked with a gasp. He wasn’t sure he had heard correctly. He and Kayah exchanged stunned glances.

  “You are going to be a very wealthy young man,” Banyon said with a smile. “Congratulations. Think of all the things that you could do in life.”

  “You mean Kayah and I will be wealthy,” Joey corrected him and looked at her. She sensed something. “Kayah, will you marry me?”

  “Of course,” she replied blushing. “I would marry you even if you were poor,” she laughed and hugged him tightly.

  The two lovers kissed and hugged each other shamelessly as everyone watched. The spell was broken by the Asian lawyer.

  “As your lawyer and trust manager, I need you to complete signing all the forms,” Lyn Chang suddenly spoke out. She had quickly calculated that as the trust manager she would be earning around thirty percent of the yearly one-half percent trust maintenance charge. It was roughly seven hundred thousand dollars per year.

  “Yes, of course,” an embarrassed Joey responded. He let go of Kayah, but a broad smile stayed on his face. “So we have to pick new names?”

  “Let me explain that,” Colton Banyon offered. “I spoke to the head of Homeland Security last night. She agrees that you need to disappear and not be Joey and Kayah anymore. So, you will be issued assumed identities — in essence you’ll be in the witness protection program — but no Marshall will check up on you. We just need you to pick new names and we will use those names for the trust and the identity change. Lyn will fax your new signatures to Homeland Security today and in three days you will be issued all the proper identification in your new names.”

  “You can do that?” Joey exclaimed.

  “Yes,” Banyon said nodding his head. The two young people quickly picked new names and signed the forms. Lyn once again stuffed them into her bag.

  “So that’s it. We are free to go leave?” Kayah asked with anticipation.

  “Well, there are still two issues to discuss,” Banyon explained.

  “Uh-oh, what is the catch?” Joey said with alarm.

  “No catch,” Banyon stated flatly. “But when we leave today, we are going to blow up both entrances to the tunnel. That will prevent anyone from disturbing the Indian burial ground inside even when they dig in the earth.”

  “Wait, the Cherokee stones are in there too,” Kayah suddenly squawked.

  “They will be long gone by then,” Banyon explained.

  “Why do you say that?” Kayah asked.

  “Because you two are going to take them to Oklahoma and turn them over to the Cherokee tribe. That was your mission wasn’t it Kayah?”

  “You’ll let us take the stones?” Kayah repeated.

  “They belong to the Cherokee Indians, only the leaders of the tribe should decide what to do with them and not Lisa, or me, or anyone else,” Banyon told the startled couple.

  “And since you will be on the road for a couple of days before your identifications become valid, and you can’t use your current credit cards, we don’t want you to be without funds,” Chase said. He nodded to Lyn and she reached into her bottomless bag and pulled out a huge envelope. She tossed it to Joey. Inside was ten thousand dollars in small bills.

  “It’s not a gift, you understand,” Banyon quickly said. “It’s a loan from your trust fund. We’ll include it as a line on your itemized statement.” I sound like Bart again, Banyon thought as soon as he said it.

  “I don’t know how we will ever repay you.” Joey croaked as tears filled his eyes. “This is unbelievable. I thought I was going to a mental institution and now I have a wonderful life ahead of me.”

  “Do something that is good for society,” Banyon retorted. “That’s how Loni and I approach life. Also I may call you for help someday.”

  “Inside the envelope are all our cards,” Lyn suggested. “Call me in three days and I will arrange for you to get your new identities. Even if we have to fly wherever you are and deliver them personally.”

  “Of course, we will have to charge for that,” Banyon found himself saying. I wonder if it is the rare earths making me say these things.

  “Colt,” Mandy suddenly yelped. Banyon turned to her and realized that Lisa was coming out of the bathroom. She looked radiant in a summer dress and freshly combed hair. When she looked up she saw everyone was staring at her.

  “What?” she asked and looked down at her clothes to make sure that nothing was hanging out.

  “Joey just proposed to Kayah,” Loni said to cover.

  “That’s wonderful,” she said after a hesitation as she was not sure what that meant to her.

  “Joey, did I mention that I am a duly authorized Justice of the Peace? I can marry you right now if you would like,” Chase Sanborn announced.

  “I can’t think of a better time to get married,” Kayah gushed. “Joey can we get married right now?” She looked at him with pleading eyes.

  “You guys are the best friends that I have ever had,” Joey said emotionally. “Let’s get married right now, Kayah.”

  Chase turned to Lyn, who immediately pulled out the proper forms for them to sign.

  ***

  Joey went to put on his one suit. It was brown. Kayah didn’t have any clothes to wear besides the all-black outfit that she was wearing and that would clash with Joey’s brown suit. She turned to Loni who had the same color clothes as Joey and stared pleadingly at her.

  “I’ll buy you two outfits tomorrow,” Banyon whispered into Loni’s ear.

  “Alright,” Loni reluctantly agreed and the two women went into one of the bedrooms to change. Kayah was a few inches taller than Loni and when she returned she looked absolutely stunning in the sexy Indian dress. Loni wore a man’s robe and nothing under it. She stood next to Banyon.

  Steve and Chase collected Bobby, who was still in his prisoner chair. They placed him next to Joey. He would serve as his best man. Lyn Chang was asked to be the Maid of Honor since she and Kayah would be communicating often.

  Chase performed a short but sweet ceremony. Mandy buzzed around and took pictures with her cell phone and Steve played “Here comes the Bride” on a harmonica. It was a very romantic wedding.

  At the end, Heather came out of the kitchen with Twinkies that were cut in half. “Here is your wedding cake. Everyone grabbed a piece.

  A few minutes later, Banyon walked over to Lisa. “It’s time we talked,” he said. She had fear in her eyes. “Come over to the table and sit down.” Banyon turned and went to Joey and whispered into his ear.

  ***

  Kayah and Joey slipped out through the tunnels as Banyon and Lisa sat down for their talk. They were both giddy with excitement and also determined to complete Kayah’s task. They placed the two Cherokee stones in the little red wagon and began pulling it towards Kayah’s car. Kayah still wore the Indian outfit as Loni had decided to give it to her as a present. Joey couldn’t help but notice how sexy she was walking next to him. Every step caused a sway of her hips and muscles flexed right before his eyes.

  “I’ve just had another premonition,” he said with a smile.

  “Oh!” she replied with a sexy voice.

  “Yeah, I think we need to find a motel right away. You need to get out of those clothes or we’ll have an accident,” he said. She realized it was a compliment, but wanted to torture him a little more.

  “Maybe you will have an accident,” she said with a laugh.

  “You’re a cruel woman,” he shot back.

  When they reached the car, they unloaded the stones and Kayah got behind the wheel to drive. As they drove across Joey’s land, he noticed, in the side mirror, that the sentinels stayed right behind them. When they reached the edge of his property they stopped. He watched them fade in the distance. It would be the last time that he ever saw the four dead Indians.

  Chapter Ninety-Three

  “Loni, why don’t you sit and talk with Lisa for a few minutes,” Banyon said t
o his partner in a whisper.

  “But I’m in a bath robe and haven’t showered yet,” she immediately protested and placed a pout on her small lips. Lisa sat at the table and eyed them whispering. She sensed they were talking about her and fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair.

  “I haven’t showered yet either,” he responded. “We haven’t much time before the NSA people arrive and we need to be prepared. I need you to do this.”

  Loni was always good at reading Colton Banyon. She understood that he had plans to discuss with the other members of the team and Lisa needed to be watched. She turned and looked at the professor. She noticed both a measure of dread and fear in Lisa and wondered what the trepidation was all about. “I’ll try to calm her down,” Loni said and headed over to the table.

  “So, how have you been holding up through all this?” Loni asked as she perched on the edge of the table.

  Meanwhile, Banyon ushered everyone else out onto the front porch and started giving orders.

  “Lyn, why don’t you head back to the office and start processing all the paper work,” he suggested.

  “Gladly,” she replied. “Come on Chase,” she said as she tried to usher him into the vehicle with a wave of her arm.

  “Chase needs to stay with us. Loni and I will drop him off at the office later this morning,” Banyon explained.

  “Oh, okay,” the lawyer quickly said. She shook hands with everyone grabbed the keys from Chase and speed-walked to the jeep. When she climbed into the driver’s seat, her head was barely visible over the steering wheel. She fired up the jeep and sped off towards the office in a semi-controlled rush. The jeep weaved across the desert.

  “Can she handle that big jeep?” Steve asked Chase.

  “I don’t know if she even has a driver’s license,” Chase admitted. “But she is a very determined young woman. If she has to, I believe she would crawl to the office to complete the paperwork.”