18 The cowboy who loves spy movies

"Okay so this is how we're going to go about this. Sam you should ride up front with me. I'll say you're my sister, visiting from back east. Ethan will be hiding in the bed of the truck under the canvas I have back there. When I whistle for you Sam to stop messing with the horses, will be Ethan's cue that the coast is clear for him to climb out. When I first arrive, they always come out and chat with me for a few minutes. So after that they leave me alone until lunch. During that time, Ethan can enter the house, while they bring me a sandwich. Jim makes them feed me everyday I come over, so I know while they are bringing it to me in the barn, you have some time to get in there and hide."

"Wow, Mark, you have got this planned out already?" Ethan and I both stare at him a little surprised.

Mark shrugs with a bit of a excited smile that he tries to keep under control, tightening his lips and tapping on the table. "You know I like spy and military infiltration movies. The second that your Pa told me that he thinks they're sedating and stealing from him, I was thinking of ways to catch them in the act."

He pushes a bag of items that have been sitting on the table towards us, motioning for us to look through it.

Opening up the bag, we find a bunch of mini cameras and mini mics and receivers.

Ethan looks at the stuff and then looks to me and Mark. "Mark, I think I know a better way for us to get hard evidence on these guys. However, we need Pa to agree to dealing with these fuckers, for just a few more days if possible." Ethan quickly told us what he thought we should do and asked how the mics and cameras worked. After figuring out how we would have to be able to use them.

Our biggest problem was going to be storing the information from the mics. You had to be within range of the receivers which was only thirty yards, and the receivers needed a power source to store them. To top it off they only kept 12 hours of recordings, unless they were able to attach to the internet in the house. Ethan was not sure if the internet was on or not.

The cameras would take a picture every minute, for 12 hours as well, but record video for only six hours. It would record video and sound but only when movement set off the motion sensor. The mics and receivers would be easy to hide, but the cameras would take a bit of finesse to not leave them out where they'd be spotted.

We'd have to figure out how we could put them in places on the fly, focusing on Pa's room, kitchen, living room and also somehow upstairs.

Mark looks at the time and sighs, "Well, we will just have to play it by ear, then. We better get going though. Sam, go put on some boots and a long sleeve, you need to look like a country girl who's ready to help her brother work."

After a quick change of shoes and grabbing one of Ethan's button ups, I quickly comb my hair up into a ponytail. I'm sitting with Mark in his truck, driving fairly quickly on the old dirt road, making me bounce in the seat. I peak over my shoulder and see Ethan bouncing around in the backseat.

"So," I start, "What happens if Pa slips when he sees me?" I had just realized that Pa was not privy to the plan.

"When we first get there, we can just go say hi and introduce you as my sister." Mark says casually.

"They know that Ethan has a girlfriend named Sam, though." I add.

Ethan leans his head and arms on the back of the front seats, "Yes, but they don't know what you look like, since you took your pictures, and they don't know that Mark has a sister named Samira. Who goes by Sam." He says like its merely a matter of fact.

I look to Mark, "You have a sister named Samira?"

Mark laughs, "I do now, sis." He gives me a wink.

I roll my eyes with a light laugh, "Alright bro."

"See you two already act like brother and sister." Ethan bounces back into the backseat and cracking open the wing windows in the back and the slider window to the bed of the truck. He lays back after checking to make sure the receivers and mics are working, using his hotspot and phone to link them.

When we spot the log cabin, Ethan hands me the mics, which are really just tubes with a small wire attached, no longer than the cap of a pen. I stick them in a couple of different pockets, before he hands me the mini cameras. Two look like USB chargers that we can plug in, while the other three are square and flat. Those are the ones that we will have to get creative with.

I fidget with fingers, concerned that if these people are really stealing from Pa, what they might do if they catch us putting a camera or mic somewhere. There's so many possibilities, violence, denial, or worse, they could hurt Pa.

'No, they will not hurt him, I will not let that happen.'

Ethan begins to rub my shoulder, making me break out of my train of thought.

"Hey don't worry, just act naturally, you know Mark and Pa. They are the strangers, not you."

I give him a grateful smile as he lays back down on the floor of the back of the truck, the sunshade for the window, along with a saddle and horse blanket, to cover him. We pull up around by the barn, spotting Rocket and Tucker, Pa's dogs barking and jumping like crazy from inside a kennel next to it.

I turn a questioning eye to Mark, who glares, "Nurse Hubet, is 'allergic to dogs'."

I nod, thinking the same thing that Mark's face says, that Nurse Hubet is probably full of shit.

We climb out of the truck, with Mark heading towards the barn, so I follow his lead. He picks up the a feed bag that are put into the troughs for the cattle, horses, goats, and pigs, tossing it onto the bed of the mule that we used for transporting heavier loads where the truck wouldn't fit.

"Sam, can you grab the shovel and rake and scoop hanging up on the wall?" Mark asks, pointing to where we kept them.

I give a light nod as I walk over, grabbing them and putting them in the mule too.

"Hop in." He grunts, turning the mule on and takes off as soon as I sit.

"This is my routine every morning. I add the feed to the cattle trough, rake up the shit around the hay and troughs, pile it, then take care of the goats, pigs, and horses, before taking care of Tucker and Rocket. Then we will feed the chickens and take care of the coop, then we will go visit grandpa."

"Sounds good." I say as we approach the cattle feed area for the moms and young before they get put to pasture again.

Mark lets me feed the cattle and fill the water tank, while he rakes and shovels the manure. We continue doing the work together, getting done in no time just like when me and Ethan would work together.

We clean up some at the barn sink, brushing our boots off, getting rid of as much dirt and crud as we can. We head over to the log cabin, talking about the animals, before we knock and open the door.

"Hello? It's Mark. I brought my sister to help out and visit with Jim." Mark announces loudly, as he walks inside.