Alone Again
by Klick
Part Four
Keller was taking aim on his second log when he saw four
people coming down a narrow path that he knew led in the direction of the
clearing where he assumed the helicopter had landed. He stopped his cutting
and watched them approach. One of them was the Chief of Police of
Spalding, Bob Marston, the other three he did not recognize. One was the
female he had seen in the chopper, the other two were men wearing business
suits. "FBI if I ever saw them." He murmured to himself. Zeke growled and
Keller told him to go lay down.
"Howdy Doc." The Chief said as they came within speaking
distance.
"Bob, what the heck got you out of that easy chair in your
office?" Keller asked trying to sound casual. ‘Was that you in that chopper?"
"Doc, this here’s Agent Harris from the FBI. She’s looking for
an escaped prisoner." The woman and Keller shook hands and she introduced
her two companions. "This is Agents Saunders and Farmington. Nice to meet
you. Nice place you have here. You live here long?"
"About three years now, yeah, I like it, serves my purposes just
fine." Zeke had cautiously came to investigate these newest invaders. "So
you got an escapee, huh? Was he seen around these parts?"
"It’s a she, and she was in a plane that went down about three or
four miles from here last night." Harris said, looking suspiciously at the dog.
"Oh don’t mind him, he just isn’t used to strangers. Zeke, go
away. A plane went down you say? A big plane?"
"No a small one, with three people on board. Two died in the
crash but the third, my prisoner, must have walked away. There’s no sign of
her at the crash."
"Walked away, from a plane crash? Now that’s a little hard to
believe. You sure a bear or bobcat didn’t get her. If she was injured the smell
of blood would have attracted some of the more unfriendly residents of this
area." Keller offered just to give the agent food for thought.
Harris looked at the Chief. "Is that right, are there animals
around here that could have seen Croft as a meal?"
Marston nodded," Yep, there’s black bears, brown bears and a
whole shit-pot full of bobcats and coyotes. I’d guess that anyone of them
could have taken her if she was injured and helpless, or even if she wasn’t."
"Well she was helpless alright. She was wearing handcuffs and
leg irons when I put her on that plane in Oregon. If she walked away she
didn’t get too far. Unless... somebody came along and helped her." The agent
looked at Keller again. He looked back with an unwavering stare. "Doctor
Keller is it? Are you a physician? Keller shook his head; "I’m a retired
physicists." He offered. She seemed unimpressed. "You haven’t by chance
seen anyone today have you?"
"Not a soul, except for you folks. Tell you what, I’ve got to do a
bit of hunting tomorrow up Nursery Valley way, if I see anything I’ll be sure
and give you a yell. Where did you say this plane went down?"
"We didn’t say, but since you asked, the crash sight is about
three and a half miles north of here. Near a place called Anvil Rock, is that
right chief?" Harris asked the cop, getting an affirmative reply.
‘That’s right Doc. The planes right at the base of Anvil, in fact it
looks like he hit it before he went down in the valley just at its base. I don’t
see how anyone could have walked away from it though, it’s in a thousand
pieces and burned to boot." Marston said.
" Kelly, would you have any objections if we had a look around,
you know just so we can say we’ve covered all our bases?" Harris asked with
just a little too much sarcasm.
There was a long, uncomfortable pause before Keller responded.
"Well, I’ll tell you Agent Harris." He reached up and scratched his ear, "I
don’t mind at all that you have a look around, what I take objection to is the
fact that by doing so you call me a liar. Now unless you plan to come on my
land and throw your government weight around, I’ll ask that you to be on
your way. No offence Bob," he nodded at the policeman, "It’s just that Agent
Harris here needs to learn some manners. Harris stared steely eyed at Keller
as he continued. "I was a government employee for thirty years Harris and
I’ve had enough of some of your tactics. Now I’ve got wood to cut for the
winter, if you’ll excuse me?"
Harris did not respond for several seconds then spun on her
heels and told her two friends to follow her. She walked toward the cabin and
was putting her foot onto the porch steps then stopped when Keller did not
protest. She turned and looked at the doctor. "Keller, if you see anything that
you think could be of interest could I expect that you’ll let us or the chief here
know?"
"You can be assured that I will call the minute I see anything
that doesn’t look Kosher. And, that’s Doctor Keller." He said with a firm
tone that told Harris that the conversation was over. He picked up his axe and
swung down hard on an oak log waiting its turn for destruction on the stump.
The FBI men followed their boss and turned away from the cabin and headed
back up the trail the way they had come.
"I’ll be in touch Doc, sorry, they made me bring ‘em out here"
Marston said as he turned to follow the federal agents.
"You take care Bob, I’ll see you in town soon." Keller stopped
his chopping and watched the four walk away. When they were out of sight
he picked up a log that he had split earlier and beneath it on the ground was
half of a chrome chain link. He smiled knowing that it had been laying there
all during the recent encounter with the FBI agents.
Ten minutes later, the Huey flew over and as he expected, he
saw Harris again looking down at him as the helicopter disappeared over the
trees. She didn’t see his grin.... or his extended middle finger.
"Melissa!" he called out to her knowing she would be able to
hear him. "It’s alright, they’re gone, you can come out now." He saw the
cabin door open a crack and her pretty face peer out at him.
"Who was it?" she wanted to know.
"An old friend of yours, Agent Harris from the FBI." He told her
and watched as a worried expression came over her face.
"Oh shit, not her, she’s a real bitch. She’s the one that put me in
these." She held her hands up to indicate the hinged cuffs still confining her
wrists. "You asked who put me like this, well, you just met her."
"She’s gone and I don’t think she’ll be back. At least not
anytime soon. You can come outside. If that chopper comes back we’ll hear it
before it gets here." He watched as she took her cautious steps onto the porch
looking up at the sky in nervous apprehension. The prisoner walked onto the
porch and leaned on the railing looking down at Keller.
"Well Richard, I owe you again. You just saved my ass another
time." She said. Keller looked at her still cuffed hands that she was looking
down at too. "It’s too bad you didn’t think to ask of she had some spare
handcuff keys you could borrow." Melissa said with a knowing grin.
"Speaking of your cuffs, I hope you can stand wearing them for
awhile longer. I don’t think there’s enough teeth left on that file to even
scratch them. Can you make do till I can get to town?"
She walked down the steps and toward him taking the chance to
again scan the sky as she did. When she was within a foot or so she raised her
hands over his head and as before, kissed him. He could hear her handcuffs
click behind his head as her lips pressed his. "You’ve got to be the sweetest
man I’ve ever met. Every other guy I’ve ever known wanted nothing more
than to get in my pants. But you, you just seem to care about me."
Keller smiled at her and put his arms around her slender waist.
"I just didn’t want anything to happen to you until I had a chance to find out
the whole story. I’m not a big fan of the FBI’s methods anymore than I am of
the government’s. You want to talk to me now or would you like to get
something to eat first?"
She didn’t answer him but just stood there staring into his eyes.
"So... do you?" she asked, brushing his lips with hers again.
"Do I what?" he asked, confused.
"Want to get in my pants?"
There was a long silence as he looked down at the lovely young
criminal that he had helped elude capture and was now apparently offering
her thanks in the only way she had available. "You don’t have to do that
Melissa, you don’t have to feel obligated." He finally said
"It’s not obligation I’m feeling." She said as she pressed herself
into him and placed one leg between his. "I hid in your bedroom awhile ago
and I saw that huge bed you have. Take me in there, show me what you’d do
with a girl who’s handcuffed and unable to defend herself." Her cuffs pressed
into the back of his neck as she kissed him and the sound and feel of them
was a turn on that he hadn’t expected. The combination of this lovely female
offering herself to him and the eroticism of her being in handcuffs was too
much for Keller to ignore. He reached back, took her hands in his, and
walked with her toward the cabin.
She stood before him and made a move to unbutton her shirt but
the hinged cuffs made the effort more of a challenge than she had anticipated.
"Shit, I can’t even take my own clothes off." She said, as she looked up at
him with a "Help Me" expression on her face.
"That’s ok, I’ll do it, in fact, I prefer it. "He smiled as he began
unbuttoning the denim shirt. With the last button loosened he drew back the
garment to reveal a snow white satin and lace bra that barely contained her
breasts within it’s softness. Keller had been noticing those bulges in that shirt
all day and wondering if it was all her. He inhaled audibly when the creamy
smoothness of her breasts was nearly displayed in front of him. He pulled the
shirt down and off her shoulders which made it a restraint of sorts in it’s own
right, now that it was keeping her from reaching out away from her body
much like the belt had done. The bra was of the front latching kind and he had
little difficulty discovering how the closure worked and was quickly rewarded
for his efforts as those magnificent breasts spilled out for his touch and
approval. Her nipples were hard and pointing at him as he put his hands
gently over them and massaged the twin globes of womanhood so perfectly
displayed for his pleasure. "You’re so beautiful Melissa." He offered as he
stared into those big brown eyes. She responded with an increase in her
breathing.
With her shirt off, or as far off as it would come because of her
cuffs, Keller moved down to the snap and zipper of her jeans. Within
moments, he had them open and she wiggled her hips to assist him lowering
her pants to the floor. Under the denim were white panties that matched the
bra and something Keller never expected to see. Melissa wore a garter belt
and nylons instead of pantyhose that most women wear today. "Oh my Lord
girl, you are something." He said as he knelt in front of her and moved her
jeans away from her feet as she kicked out of them. "Does that mean you
approve?" She asked, breathing hard as he ran his hands up her legs to the
waistband of her panties.
"Approve? That hardly describes what I’m feeling right now
Sweetie." He told her as the wispy material was slid down her legs and over
the leg shackle cuffs still locked around her ankles. As she stepped out of
them the remaining pieces of chain jingled merrily with the movements of her
feet.
"At least I can spread my legs now." She said and demonstrated
her ability for him as he ran his hands back up her inner thighs. "If you hadn’t
cut that chain I couldn’t have even taken my pants off, I just thought of that."
"Sorry about your handcuffs, wish I could have gotten you out of
them too." Actually he lied, for some reason, those cuffs were sexy as hell on
her right then and he was truthfully glad they were still locked around her
wrists. "I’ll make a trip to town soon and get something that will cut them.
She lowered her hands to behind his head and urged his face into
her crotch. "These cuffs are the least of my worries Richard. Right now all I
want is you, inside me." She made a hissing sound as he pressed his mouth
against that part of her that needed his attentions more than any other. "Let
me undress you, that, I think I can do."
Keller stood again in front of her and she was right. Despite her
restraints, she seemed to have little difficulty unfastening his pants and
lowering them to the floor. His shirt came next and finally they stood facing
each other, the only material between them was her shirt that was draped
behind her back and the bra that was tangled in her handcuffs. Keller
wrapped his arms around the girl and drew her to him. They began a kiss that
continued as they stepped to the tall bed and with their lips still together got
on it and within moments she was rewarded with what she said she wanted
most at that time.
Some time later the two lovers lay cuddled together, Melissa on
her side with Keller wrapped around her from the rear. They had not spoken
since the coupling had ended several minutes earlier. Their breathing was
returning to normal and she turned her head and nuzzled his cheek with hers.
"Oh wow, what did you do to me?" she asked in a soft afterglow voice.
"Enjoyed you, that’s what I did. Like I’ve never enjoyed making
love to a woman before." He was being honest.
"Oh yeah, is that what you tell all the girls?" she asked as she
snuggled her bottom against him.
"I’ve never told a woman that. I have never been with any
woman that did for me what you just did, I mean that Melissa." He said
without humor in his voice.
She rolled over and faced him. It was necessary for her to put
her joined hands between them, her arms folded and her hands where he
could easily kiss them. "There was something very special about what we just
did Richard. I’ve been with my share of men, young and old and what you did
to me just now was something I’ve never experienced before. I don’t know if
it is because of how we met, or the circumstances of why I’m here, in your
bed, Hell, maybe it’s these." She said as she moved her cuffs making them
click against each other. "I just know that you made me feel more like a
woman that any man has ever come close to." She put her lips to his and the
fire they had started earlier burned bright again and for the next hour till both
man and woman fell asleep in each others arms.
It was early evening when they climbed off Keller’s huge bed
and walked to the bathroom together. "Ok Missy, now how are we going to
get you bathed?" She looked down at her cuffs, shook her head and grinned
sheepishly up at him. "Well, I could cut this shirt off of you and then we
could take a shower but then you couldn't get dressed again. Not an entirely
bad idea if I do say so." He joked.
"Oh so you’d like me running around your place with my boobs
hanging out?" she playfully poked at him with her finger.
"As I said, not an entirely bad idea. But not too practical if we
want to go for a hike or for a ride on Ned." He teased her in return. I’ll tell
you what, I’ll bathe you, how would that be?"
She looked up at him and smiled. "I’ve never been bathed by a
man. Looks like another first for me in a long line of firsts. My first plane
crash, my first horse ride, the first time I’ve made love locked in handcuffs.
So why not my first bath from a man?"
Keller bathed his houseguest. He stood her in front of him and
gently ran the warm wet cloth over her body. First lovingly soaping her then
rinsing then carefully drying her with a giant soft towel. He even powered her
before drawing her shirt back up her arms and onto her shoulders. She had
shown him how to unfasten the bra straps so it could be removed despite her
cuffs and now she stood before him wearing only the unbuttoned shirt.
"You must be starving by now, how about it if I put a couple of
steaks on the fire and throw a salad together?" he asked as she shook back
her long mane of brunette hair.
"Oooooh, now that sounds like a deal, can I help?" she asked.
‘Sure, if you think you can do it, you can break up the lettuce
and slice some tomatoes. Just be careful with the knife. Would you care for a
glass of wine?"
"I’d love some wine. Hey, Richard, you wouldn’t have a
cigarette around would you?"
"Sorry kiddo, I gave ‘em up about ten years ago.
"That’s ok, this is probably a good time to try to quit anyway."
She responded, as she took the wineglass from him. She held the big goblet
as a person would hold a warm cup of coffee on a cold morning, with both
hands and her fingers wrapped around it. It was the only way she could with
those hinged cuffs dictating their strict confinement. Her eyes met his over the
rim of the glass as she took her first sip.
If there was one thing that Keller was good at, it was cooking a
steak on a charcoal fire. Melissa, normally not a big meat eater had made
short work of the porterhouse and boiled shrimp dinner. Keller did have to
help her cut the meat when after she picked up her knife and fork and made
her first attempt; it was apparent that cutting steak was something her
handcuffs were not going to easily allow. "Here, let me do that." He said,
when he looked over at her and could see that the hinged restraints would not
let her twist her hands into the right position.
"Sorry, you have to help me do everything."
He had smiled at her as he sliced her meat and confessed.
"Actually, I’m kind of enjoying it. It’s nice taking care of you. I’m sort of
glad you’re in those cuffs."
She had looked up at him and grinned. "You’re so sweet."
Afterwards they sat together in the lounger on the porch of the
cabin. Zeke had taken a place at the girl’s side. "I just can’t believe
that dog, the way he’s taken to you. Are you a dog person?" he asked.
"I’ve never been around one for any length of time. My family
always lived in an apartment in the middle of Chicago and we didn’t have
pets. Zeke’s a sweet guy though, I could fall in love with him." She reached
down and toyed with the retriever’s fur. Zeke was learning that for some
reason he had to be close to her to get touched. He just could not figure out
why she always seemed to use both hands whenever she did. He leaned his
head closer, enjoying her fingers gently rubbing his ears.
"I could do a better job Zeke if your master would get me out of
these things." She said, looking at Keller.
"Tomorrow, I’ll try to get ‘em off tomorrow." He smiled at her.
"How? You said you didn’t have anything here to cut them
with." She held her cuffs out in front of her examining the gleaming steel that
had held her prisoner for nearly three days.
"I’m going into town and buy something that will get ‘em
off. But I’m not going to Spalding."
"You’re not? Where are you going then? I thought you said the
next closest town was sixty miles from here.
"Sixty five, actually. I’m going up to Hainsly, it’s a little bigger
than Spalding and no one knows me there.
"You’re going to ride Ned a hundred and thirty miles?" she
sounded incredulous.
He laughed. "No, I’m not riding Ned, I’m driving."
"Driving? I didn’t know you had a car."
"It’s a truck, a 73 Chevy pick-up. That’s what’s in the shed next
to the barn. I don’t drive it much, just a trip into town once a month or so. He
said, watching her run her fingers through her hair.
"So why not Spalding? Isn’t there a hardware store there?" she
asked in an off hand way, clicking her cuffs back and forth against each other,
seemingly exploring the way the hinged link worked.
"Yeah, there’s one there but I’m a little concerned about your
FBI friend."
Her head snapped in his direction. "Why, do you think she’s still
in town?"
"That Harris woman is a smart cookie. She knows that Spalding
is the closest town to the plane crash and she might have feelers out there for
anyone buying tools that could be used to cut your restraints." He reached
over and fingered the steel cuff on her right wrist. "I didn’t have a good feel
for what she thought when she left here today but I know she was suspicious,
but then maybe that’s just her nature. I do know she sure didn’t like me much.
Anyway, it wouldn’t do for her to find out that I was in town buying
hacksaws or boltcutters. She just might decide to come back snoopin’ around.
Like I said, no body knows me in Hainsly and I doubt that Harris would be
blanketing every town within a hundred miles of here."
Melissa turned over to face him. She put her hands over his head
and drew his face close to hers with her cuffs. "You really do care about me
don’t you Richard Keller?"
"I really do care about you, Melissa Croft." His lips met hers
and stayed that way for several minutes.
When she finally let her mouth leave his, she spoke quietly into
his chest as she lay her head on him. "You’ve never asked why I was
arrested. Do you want to know?"
"I figured if you wanted to tell me you would, otherwise, I guess
maybe it’s none of my business. He waited for her to reply.
"I stole some money from the government. I suppose truthfully, I
should say it was from several banks but the FDIC had to make good on the
losses so that made it a federal thing." She began her confession.
"Can I ask how much?" he wanted to know.
"Total, or how much they know about?" She said almost with a
small giggle in her voice.
Keller looked at her and saw the tiny smile on her pretty mouth.
"Let’s start with what they know about." He said, curious.
"One point six." She offered without flinching.
"Million! One point six million dollars?" he sat up looking at
her, eyes wide and mouth agape.
Melissa giggled and nodded. "But they don’t know or will they
ever, about the rest. It’s already laundered and out of the country." She said
with a hint of pride in her voice.
"The rest? And how much is, the rest?"
She lost her smile and rolled her eyes to meet his again,
"Another one point eight. And like I said, they have no way to trace it, or
recover it. It’s safe and all mine, sitting in a bank waiting for me to claim it."
"Holy shit Melissa, I know you’re smart but how in the hell did
you ever get away with that kind of activity long enough to accrue almost
three and a half million dollars?"
She briefly outlined her scheme’s inner workings, explaining
superficially the security systems that are supposedly designed to prevent
such activity and the loop holes she had discovered in them. "It was really
very easy, I could spent an hour on the computer and rake in two or three
hundred thousand. I know now where I made my mistake but of course it’s a
little late." She clicked her handcuffs together to make her point. "If I’d
known three months ago what I know now there’s a good chance that I could
have kept going for as long as I wanted without the slightest worry about
being caught."
"But you were caught, what now?" he asked, obviously very
curious about her immediate plans.
"I’m thinking... and planning, I’m optimistic that things could
still work to my advantage. There’s always the chance that they could catch
me again and if they do, then I’ll have to get used to wearing these," she
jiggled her cuffs again. "And living in a cell somewhere. But I’ll get out
someday and my money will still be there, just waiting, and making interest."
A cool breeze stirred the pines surrounding the cabin and she
shivered although she was curled against him. "Can we go in? I’m getting
chilly."
"Yeah, it’s late and that big bed sure is starting to look good."
He offered as he helped her get up from the lounger.
"Yes it is, in fact, I can suggest some exercises that should warm
me right up." She said, holding his hand as they walked through the door
from the porch. "Come on Zeke, we’re going to bed."
