chapter 139

word count: 1418

little did the boys know,, as the climbed thru the piles of junk,, that security had been stepped up since the discovery of that dead body here just a few weeks before.. the owners had been caught with their pants down,, so to speak, when someone dumped that body here awhile back,,  and it was found out that the existing surveillance cameras were just there for show.. so they had installed working cameras,, and hired ‘big bob’ to keep an eye on the monitors during the daylight hours anyway. 

big bob,, as the name might aptly imply,, was a rather rotund man,, late forty’s,, a competent enough guy,, but severely obese.. he really wouldn’t have been of much use to the dump owners should it come down to a race between himself and an unwanted intruder,  but he was astute enough to keep an eye on the monitors,, and after all they had secured his services at the right price.. and very frankly after the installation of the new surveillance equipment,, even that was a little more than the dump owners wanted to shell out.. 

big bob had been enjoying life in the air conditioned trailer,, just keeping one eye on the monitors and helping himself to a little snack, when he spotted the three boys rummaging through the piles of trash.. they didn’t look like they would put up much of a fight if confronted,, so he was pretty secure in the fact he could handle the situation on his own, and there was no need to call in any reinforcement.. 

a bit begrudgingly, he set aside his homemade egg salad and saltines,, and headed out after the boys he had seen on the monitor.. 

“god damn it hot out here!” he mumbled to himself as soon as he made his way sideways down the steps of the trailer,, gripping the hand rail with both hands as he descended.. 

he was sweating profusely before he even made it to the driveway.. 

in the meantime erik had spit shined the ring,, and was just about to share his amazing find with adam and elliot.. surely this would cement his position as a real member of their little group,, since it seemed like both of them were still empty handed.. just about the time he was satisfied that there would be no way that they wouldn’t be impressed,, a loud voice rang out through the catacombs of junk,, you couldn’t really tell where it was coming from since it seemed to reverberate off the mile high piles of trash,,  but it sent all three of the boys instinctively running toward the hole in the fence that had allowed them access in the first place.. 

“hey!! you boys!! what are you doing in here??” the full figured (to put it nicely) rent a cop yelled out as he watched the boys scrambling toward what he knew to be the only tear in the fence line.. 

‘they really ought to fix that thing’ he thought to himself before he yelled out, “you’re not supposed to be here!! that’s right!! run for it!! get out!!” he continued yelling until he was quite sure the three had high tailed it out the rip in the fence and well on their way to anywhere but here.. ..  

“whew!!” he sighed aloud as he pulled a neatly folded red bandana from his back pocket and amply swabbed his brow.. 

“it’s too damn hot for this.” the big man said aloud as he turned tail and headed back toward the air conditioned trailer that housed the newly installed surveillance monitors..  he had had enough fun for one day.. it was time to get back to his little snickity snack and maybe catch a couple of hours of shut eye.. after  all the chances he’d have to run anyone else off the place later on today were highly unlikely,, in fact this had been the first time he had ever had to leave the ice cold trailer since he signed on.. 

the boys didn’t quit running till they reached the vacant lot behind the dairy queen.. once there, sweating and panting they fell into a heap on the grass,, each of them laughing more uncontrollably than the other.. 

elliot was the first to speak up.. “did you see the size of that guy?? there was no way he could have caught us even if he’d tried!!”

“i didn’t stick around long enough to see him.” quipped adam. “when i hear his voice i just took off runnin’!!”

“me too!!” erik chimed in, “i was the hell outta there!!”

secretly,,  erik was a bit dismayed at the timing,, as their having to make a run for it stood a chance of tarnishing the unveiling of his big find.. he decided to wait until the laughing and the panting stopped before he let the guys in on his little secret.. 

as the cool breeze that was blowing through the vacant lot breathed some life back into them,, the boys took turns wiping the dirt encrusted sweat off their faces with the bodices of their respective tee shirts..

“eeeww!!” adam exclaimed as he looked at the accumulated filth he had wiped off his face and on to his tee shirt.. 

“maybe we better go in the dairy queen and clean up a little. you guys got any money?? they're gonna make us buy something if we wanna use the bathroom..”

“i got about three dollars.” elliot answered as he began trying to locate it in his sweaty pants pockets.. 

“i don’t have any money,” erik stated,, “but you guys aren’t gonna believe what i do have!! i was just about to show it to you when that guy started yelling and we had to take off.”

erik stood up to retrieve the ring from the front pocket of his jeans.. he was so sweaty,, it was a bit more of a challenge than it should have been.. before he could drag it out,, both adam and elliot were on their feet as well..

“wadda ya got?” adam asked, his curiosity definitely piqued..

“yeah,, what is it??” elliot chimed in as he continued to struggle with pulling the soggy dollar bills out of his pockets.. 

“you’re not gonna believe this,” said erik trying to keep the momentum building.

“wait for it. wait for it..” erik reeled them in, as he drew out his words until he had the ring securely in hand..

“check this out!!” erik said with a bit of swagger in his voice,, as he pulled the glimmering ring out of his pocket and displayed it in all its brilliance there under the noonday sun..

“oh my god!!” the two boys voices rose up in tandem when they saw the magnitude of erik’s discovery.. 

“do ya think it’s real?” adam asked eyes still glued to the magnificent glimmering ring erik held out in front of him..

“of course it’s real!!” erik stated,, with a distinct air of confidence in his voice.. 

“lemme see it!!” elliot held his hand out eagerly,, and erik placed it carefully in his palm.. 

“yeah!! me too!!” yelped adam..

“no problem.” erik said reassuringly, “after all just cuz i found it doesn’t mean it can’t belong to all of us.. right?? i mean, like, we're a team right?? you know,, like the three musketeers!!

“athos!!” elliot cried out as he carefully handed the ring over to adam for inspection.

“arimis!!” adam chimed in as he accepted the ring from elliot and held it up to the sunlight to get a real good look at the rainbow like effect the sun had on the stone..

“porthos!!” erik shouted out,, thus completing their affinity with the famed trio..  

“all for one!! and one for all!!” erik belted out as he lifted his arm in the air and joined adam,, both of them staring with allegiance at the sparkling ring, as it shone brilliantly..

“and one for all!!” elliot reiterated,, as he too reached his arm into the air.. 

for what seemed like an eternity,, but was really only a less than a minute the boys stood,, arms stretched up in unity,, all eyes trained on the brilliance of the stone that shone like a star in the sunlight..  

erik’s heart beamed with happiness.. it had worked just like he had dreamed it would.. he could really feel it,, the bond that the ring had forged between them.. 

at last they were a trio.. the three musketeers!! brothers through and through..