Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
Dana
She had to admit, they’d certainly worked in worse places in the world.
The two-and-a-half-hour drive from Missoula Airport had made it clear how different this area was from their previous assignment in South America. This was high alpine country, the landscape bright and gorgeous, the early fall air crisp. The temperature at the airport had been in the sixties, but when they stopped at a small roadside turnout about halfway to Rawhide Ranch, Dana had dug out a sweater because it had dropped down into the low fifties. She was glad she hadn’t only brought the gear she’d taken on other trips lately; the long-sleeved shirts and jacket and sweats she’d packed were clearly going to come in handy.
“Whoa.”
Dana looked to where Kurt was. Whoa, indeed. They’d crested a ridge, and now a valley spread out below them. Nestled, almost dead center, was a cluster of buildings bisected by fences, a smattering of corrals, all surrounded by lush green fields.
“Rawhide Ranch,” she murmured.
“Yeah,” Kurt agreed softly. “Rawhide Ranch.”
They continued down the road until they came to a large black iron gate blocking their way. A pair of oval emblems hung off each side of the gate; double Rs intertwined with a pair of horseshoes embossed in wrought iron.
As they drew to a stop, Kurt lowered his window. A stocky young man wearing a cowboy hat stepped out of a small shack and crossed the road to them. As he came closer Dana could see the same emblem that adorned the front gate was embroidered on the left breast of his windbreaker, with SECURITY printed on the right.
“Howdy, folks, can I help you?”
“Uh, yeah, we’re looking for Rawhide Ranch.”
“Then you’re in luck; you found it,” he replied with a grin. “Names?”
“Dana Aziz and Kurt Ellery.”
“Gimmie a sec and I’ll be right back.”
“They take security here pretty seriously,” Dana murmured as the man walked away.
“Obviously.”
The guard returned a moment later. “Alright, Mr. Ellery, Ms. Aziz, welcome to Rawhide Ranch.” He pointed ahead of them. “Just stay on this road until you come to the main building. You won’t be able to miss it. Check in at the front desk, and you’ll be all set.”
“Thank you,” Kurt replied.
“My pleasure, folks. Enjoy your stay!” With that the man turned away, and a moment later, the gates swung open.
Following the road, they eventually found their way to the ranch’s main building where Kurt pulled to a stop outside.
He turned to Dana. “Is it just me, or is this place bigger than expected?”
She nodded. “It’s not just you.” As they’d been driving, Dana had taken in what they could see of Rawhide, and it had become abundantly clear this wasn’t just a dude ranch. There were buildings here—big buildings—that clearly went beyond what would be required to run a tourist attraction, even if it did cater to clientele in the lifestyle. There was something more here than just a resort, BDSM adjacent or not.
“Did you see those buildings back there?” She pointed beyond the main building to a pair of larger structures nearby.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Those,” she said emphatically, “do not look like resort buildings.”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “They don’t.”
She looked over with raised eyebrows, and he shrugged in silent reply.
The lobby of the main building was huge, with vaulted ceilings of exposed log beams that soared above the room. The walls were warm with wood paneling, enormous windows set into several of them that looked out onto pastures and mountains in the distance. Passing a massive, double-sided stone fireplace, she and Kurt approached the front desk.
“Afternoon, folks, I’m Yasmin. Checking in?” a young, dark-haired woman with bright eyes and a bouncy, cheerful demeanor greeted them.
“Yes. Dana Aziz and Kurt Ellery,” Kurt answered as Dana continued scanning the room.
The check-in clerk bent to her computer screen, tapping at her keyboard. “Ah, there we are. You’re staying with us for a week?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kurt nodded.
“Well, I see this is your first time visiting us, so let me go over a few rules and give you an overview of where everything is.” She gestured around her. “You’re in the main resort building right now, and this is probably where you’ll spend most of your stay here. The wing to your right is for our Littles, and your rooms will be to the left in the guest wing.” She went on to describe all the amenities in the main building which included two specialty restaurants, a cafeteria, and a café. She pointed to the large glass wall behind her, explaining it was the Ranch store. As she described what could be found inside, both Kurt and Dana’s gazes roamed over the rather eclectic items they could see on display: snack items, toiletries, western wear, and a rather large assortment of implements and toys for all ages.
“Downstairs… well,” she grinned broadly. “That’s where you’ll find the fun stuff. Gym, indoor pool, lounge and bar…” She paused for a second. “Those last two will be in the Dungeon.”
“Dungeon.” Kurt’s eyebrow ticked up a notch.
The woman giggled. “Yes, sir.”
“Good to know,” he murmured, and Dana shot him a warning glare.
“The rest of the Ranch has a lot to offer too. We’ve got riding stables, hiking paths, two lakes…” She continued with a list that seemed to go on and on. “For our longer-term guests, there are dorms they can take residence in if needed, and then we have the university?—”
“Wait,” Dana stopped her. “Did you just say… university?”
“Yes, ma’am. Fully accredited by the State of Montana and the Council for Higher Education.”
“Would that be the large buildings we saw beyond this one?” She gestured toward the edifices she’d pointed out to Kurt earlier. The ones she’d emphasized did “ not look like resort buildings ”. Because they hadn’t, and they weren’t.
“Yes, ma’am, those house our university.”
“Wow.” A… university. What the hell was up with this place?
“Yep. We’re pretty proud of it ourselves.”
By the time she finished, both Dana and Kurt stood in silent astonishment .
“That pretty much covers everything,” the woman said brightly. “Do you have any questions?”
“About a billion, honestly,” Dana replied, “but for now I think I’ll hold off until I’ve had a chance to absorb everything.”
The young woman laughed. “Yeah, lotta folks who first come here seem surprised about all we offer. People have the impression we’re just a… special resort,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
A few more details were given and questions answered, and then the young woman passed over a pair of scan card keys, giving them directions on where their rooms could be found. As Kurt and Dan crossed the lobby toward the guest wing, Dana leaned close.
“Dude ranch, with a little bit of kink, my ass.”
“I don’t know… that dude there sure looks like a cowboy to me.” He cocked his head, drawing her attention to a couple walking across the lobby. The man was dressed in jeans, wore cowboy boots, and had a loop of rope in his hands. Those things by themselves wouldn’t have looked out of place on a ranch, even if it was a dude one. However, in this case, the rope led to a ring fitted to a collar that wrapped the throat of the woman walking slightly ahead of him. As she strode forward, she lifted her knees high with each step, the clomp of what appeared to be hooves on her feet clacking against the floor.
Dana came to a stop, staring for a second. There was play, and then there was… play , and this was definitely the latter. Pulling her gaze away from the couple, she directed her attention back to Kurt. “A cowboy hat and boots do not make one a ranch hand. Plus,” she added, “I don’t think cowboys generally parade their… um horses around a hotel’s lobby, do you? ”
Kurt spread his hands. “You know what they say, ‘Save a horse and ride a cowboy,’ though in this case, I suppose it should be a cowgirl.” He glanced over at Dana with an ill-concealed smirk and drawled, “Yippie kay yay.”
Dana rolled her eyes. “Cute. Don’t get any ideas, though. I told you on the plane I’m not going to put my hair in pigtails and call you Daddy just because Rawhide Ranch caters to”—she gestured toward where the couple had walked off to—“people with kinks.”
Kurt grinned. “I’m just saying, when in Rome…”
“No,” she replied with a grimace. For a moment she stood in silence, then began walking again. “Seriously, how did Gary get us invites?”
“I honestly have no fucking clue.”
They continued until they reached the edge of the lobby. As they entered the hallway, Dana grabbed Kurt’s forearm, stopping him again. “Kurt… do you think… could Gary be…”
Kurt looked back in confusion until recognition wiped it from his face. “Dana, c’mon. This is Gary we’re talking about. There’s no fucking way he could’ve kept something like being in the lifestyle a secret all these years.”
Ugh. Sure, Kurt might be right, but…
“Okay, maybe so, but do you think he—or someone else—found out about us?” She searched his face to see if he was following where she was going. “You know, that we’ve been sleeping together? Or some of the places we’ve been to while on assignment?” She looked for a reaction, waiting to see if he was putting two and two together and coming up with the same big fat suspicious four she was .
“I… I don’t know. If he has…” Kurt ran a hand over his head. “Jesus, why wouldn’t he have said something?”
Exactly.
“Because he’s a good boss? Because he doesn’t want to interfere in our personal lives, especially since we’ve been so careful not to let it affect our work.”
Kurt shrugged. “Maybe?”
Maybe? Maybe?
“Well, something’s going on, because it’s clear we didn’t get in here because of info he got from the Missoula Chamber of Commerce. At some level he—or somebody working for him—knew what Rawhide Ranch really was.”
“And he sent us here because he knew we’d fit in.”
“Yeah, but is that the only reason?”
Kurt grimaced, then blew out a ragged sigh. “Okay, listen, we could spend the rest of our time here trying to figure this out, but we can’t afford that. Let’s drop our stuff off in our rooms and then get to the mine and see what we can find out.”
Dana nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. We can deal with this later.”
Once they’d left their bags in their rooms, they met back up in the lobby. From there, they left the main building behind, heading along one of the gravel paths in the direction of the mine from what the young woman had described earlier. Additional directions from another staff member and a few discreet signs later, they stood in a quaint gift shop, staring at the trinkets and memorabilia surrounding them.
“You folks need any help?” A tall, chisel-jawed man with dark hair smiled at them as they stood gazing.
“We were told there was a place here you could try and find sapphires?” Kurt replied .
“There sure is! ‘C’mon!” The man beckoned them to follow as he crossed the shop. They came to a brightly colored archway with lettering that proclaimed EXPLORATION ZONE. Dana stepped through into a room containing a series of displays depicting various forms of sapphires, large historical photos of what was clearly the original sapphire mine, interspersed with a multitude of old tools hung as decoration on the walls. The centerpiece, however, was a large waterwheel that fed a long sluicing table which took up the bulk of the center of the room.
“My name’s Roman.” The man extended his hand.
Kurt took his hand. “Kurt. And this is Dana.”
“Pleasure to meet you both,” he said with a warm smile. “Ever done any mining before?”
Kurt glanced at Dana. “Umm… sorta, once or twice?”
“Okay, awesome, that’ll make things easier.” Roman turned to flick a switch on the wall, and the wheel began to rotate with a soft clatter, water gently sloshing down its length.
“What you’re going to be doing is called sluicing, or sometimes referred to as hydraulicking . You’ll take one of these”—he unhooked a bucket filled with dirt from the side of the sluice—“then scoop the dirt from the bucket into the sluice. You’ll let the water wash through the dirt on the sifting screen and carry it away, then sort through what’s left.” He gave them a quick smile. “If you keep working patiently, eventually you’ll discover a sapphire.”
“Really.”
“Absolutely. Well, most folks do.”
“Okay.” Dana scanned the room. “Where’d the dirt come from?” She pointed to the bucket .
“From the mine.” Roman indicated the opposite wall.
Dana and Kurt both looked in that direction. There, set neatly into the far wall, were two old, heavy wooden posts holding up an equally large crossbeam. Nailed to the beam was a sign that looked newer than the wooden entrance but mimicked it in style: SAPPHIRE MINE.
“That’s the mine?” Dana asked.
“That was the original entrance, yes.” Roman nodded.
The timbering over the opening was worn but well maintained, and it was clear the Exploration Zone had been built in such a way to mask the original mine entrance. A large metal gate covered the opening, but beyond the barrier the original mine tunnel appeared to head back into the mountain behind the gift shop, the passage fading into darkness.
“The diggings in these buckets”—Roman gestured toward a cabinet where several dirt-filled buckets waited to be chosen before bringing their attention back to him—“were taken from the sapphire mine a long time ago. We have a large accumulation of what we call tailings we fill the buckets from. When you let the water in the sluice wash over the dirt, you’ll end up with some small rocks and gravel.” He shook his finger. “Don’t throw those out! You gotta look at them really close, because a sapphire that’s been in the ground as long as these have will be dirty, and you’d probably mistake it for a pebble.”
Dana suppressed a snort. Yeah, right. ‘In the ground as long as these have…’ She snapped a glance at Kurt, and to his credit he was managing to keep his face completely blank too even as Dana struggled not to giggle.
“You want to clean them all off. If you do that and look carefully, I’m positive you’ll find yourself a beautiful sapphire.” Roman glanced between the two of them with a broad smile. “So, any questions?”
“Nope. Seems simple enough,” Kurt replied.
“Good deal.” Roman wiped his hands. “I have to head back and watch the shop, but if you need any help, just shout and I’ll come right back.”
“Thank you,” Dana said politely.
“My pleasure.” He turned, and a moment later she and Kurt stood alone in the room.
“Make sure you don’t throw any rocks away,” she warned Kurt in a serious, low tone. “You never know which ones may have been planted here the day before,” she continued, managing to keep a straight face.
He chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
They studied the slowly revolving waterwheel and sluice for a moment, then turned their attention to what they’d come for.
“Steel,” Dana said, running her fingers over the metal frame that barred the entrance to the mine tunnel. A string of lights above illuminated the front ten feet or so back into the bore, but beyond that everything became shrouded in darkness.
“Pretty simple set-up,” Kurt murmured, pointing toward the lock and hasp fitted into the center of the gate. “I’m guessing they aren’t too concerned about guests trying to sneak past this point.”
“Obviously.” Dana reached for the lock, looking it over. “Old, and not exactly high-tech.”
“Well, he didn’t seem nervous about leaving us back here alone, so it’s pretty clear this security”—he gestured to the barrier—“is more than sufficient for their needs.”
“Which’ll make our job easier.”
Kurt frowned. “Dana. We’re not breaking in. We’re going to get permission . ”
“I know, I know,” Dana grumbled. “I’m just… noting it.”
She and Kurt continued their examination until there was nothing left to see. The gate was anchored on each side to the main posts of the entrance, secured with heavy bolts and hardware that, while old, were clearly still in good condition. Dana used the flashlight on her cellphone to look beyond the obstacle, but there wasn’t much to see. The tunnel extended back, but where the light faded into black, nothing could be discerned. The only detail that struck her was that the dirt and dust on the tunnel floor hadn’t been disturbed by boot or shoe prints, which suggested no one had been beyond the gate in some time.
“Well?” Kurt asked quietly after several minutes’ inspection.
“I’ve seen what I came for. You?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, let’s go talk to Mr. Zenturio and convince him we need to look for our sapphires on the other side.”
They walked the short distance back into the gift shop, approaching Roman where he sat behind the counter.
“You found your sapphire already?” he asked looking up, sounding surprised.
“So, about that…” Dana splayed her hands on the countertop.
“Aww, you’re not giving up, are you?” Roman frowned.
“See, here’s the thing.” Reaching into her pocket, she came out with a business card. “We weren’t entirely truthful with you when we first came in. We’re not just guests. We’re from a company called McKerr-Dennison, and we represent a prospective client who’s looking to increase their footprint in the precious gems market.” She laid the card down on the counter in front of him.
Roman glanced at it, his brow furrowing. “Uh… okay?”
“Specifically, sapphires,” Kurt added.
Roman looked up slowly, recognition pulling his eyes wide. “Oh.”
“Yes, sir.” Dana smiled warmly. “Are you familiar with the gem market?”
“No, ma’am,” he replied. “Honestly, I just run the operation here. I’m betting both of you are probably aware this isn’t a real mine. This is simply for the guests to have a little fun and come away with something nice to remember it by. I’m not a trained gemologist or lapidarist.”
Dana snapped a glance at Kurt. “The fact you know both those words, Mr. Zenturio,” she said looking back at Roman, “suggests you’re a bit more knowledgeable than you’re letting on.”
He laughed. “Just enough to be dangerous, ma’am.”
“Fair enough.” Dana took a deep breath. “I’m going to lay my cards on the table here. We were sent to ascertain whether there might still be a viable deposit of sapphires in the mine. I’m sure you realize we’re aware how you run this attraction”—she waved her hand back toward the Exploration Zone—“but we need to find out if there’s a chance there might still be a lode of commercial-grade gems inside. To do that we need to get deeper into the mine. To do a survey.”
“A survey?”
“Yes, sir. What we call a walk-over assessment.”
Roman blew out a long breath. “So…. you want me to let you into the mine? The actual mine. ”
“Yes. Beyond that security gate you’ve got back there.” Dana pointed back into the other room.
“Umm…” Roman ran a hand along the side of his head. “Listen, this all sounds very intriguing, and I’d love to help, but I’m not the right person to ask for permission. A decision like that would have to come from Master Derek.”
“Master Derek?” Kurt said.
“Yeah, Derek Hawkins,” Roman replied. “The owner of Rawhide Ranch.”
“Can you put us in touch with Mr. Hawkins?” Dana asked quietly.
Roman nodded. “I can try. Hold on.”
He moved to a phone behind the counter and picked up the receiver. After punching a button, he waited for a moment before saying, “Hey, Erika? It’s Roman. Listen, uh… I’ve got two guests here and… and they’d like to speak with Master Derek.”
There was a short pause.
“No, no, there’s not really a problem, it’s… more of an opportunity, actually. Yeah, I know, but I really think he should talk to these folks. I’m pretty sure he’s gonna want to hear what they have to say.”
Dana glanced at Kurt, but his gaze was fixed on the shopkeeper.
“Sure. Yeah, sure, no problem. Okay, thanks. Bye.” Roman hung up the phone and turned back to them.
“That was Erika, Master Derek’s executive assistant. She made arrangements for you to meet him this afternoon at three-thirty. His office is at the main building, where you first came in. Just go to the front desk and ask for her. She’ll be expecting you.”
“Thank you,” Dana said, smiling .
“No problem. I mean”—he pointed to both Dana and Kurt—“you guys are legit, right?”
“Yeah, we’re legit, I swear,” Dana answered with a grin.
“Man, it’d be crazy to see the mine opened up again,” he murmured.
“Well, you never know…” Dana replied with a chuckle.
“Stranger things have happened.”