[This is a short story I did recently. Started out as a contest entry, but learned the rules didn’t permit violence or even implied violence. Their policy was so overbroad that I knew the story hadn’t a chance of winning. So, I did it anyway, just for fun. I had to follow a couple rules, the hardest being that it was limited to 2000 words or less. Rule also required a little black book be featured and that someone gets $20,000.00. Original version was over 3000 words! Writing short stories is much more difficult than writing a long piece of fiction. Hey, I may turn this into a book one day. Hope you enjoy. It’ll put a grin on your face, at least. At the end, here’s a little fun video I threw in to top it all off.]
THE SASQUACH MISSION- A BIGFOOT EXPERIENCE
His grey eyes stared at the dark-haired woman. Finally, he looked past her and through the window at the majestic snow-capped mountains.
“M’am, You’ve given me something I’m not sure how to handle.”
“Mr. Riley, it’s a simple proposition. Bring it back and we’ll add $50,000.00 to the $20,000.00 in your hand.”
His eyes tightened as he locked into her eyes, struggling to reach past those green eyes and into what was no doubt a maze of dark secrets. She represented perfectly what he disliked most about lawyers. They could double-speak better than any politician and could shade the truth in ways that defied the imagination, all done with a smile.
“I need more info. I’m risking my life for a notebook?” He took a deep breath, stepped behind her chair and stood, looking out at the distant mountains.
Riley said, “You drop me into a remote area the government has declared off-limits to find some notebook your client lost in a helicopter crash.”
Matt Riley folded his arms across his chest and continued, his deep voice lowered now to almost a growl. “And, you tell me that if I’m discovered I could be shot.”
He moved back to the front of the desk, sat in the chair, and leaning forward slightly, said, “M’am,…”
“Burton. Elizabeth Burton, Mr. Riley. Or, if you prefer, Attorney Burton or Miss Burton. I am not a m’am.”
So…she is human. He grinned at the thought.
“Sorry ma…Miss Burton.” He leaned back in the chair. “And, Matt will do.” He grinned, then continued, “To make it worse, you tell me that there are other dangers there which you won’t tell me about unless I accept the mission. I know how to deal with men with weapons. Been at that most of my life. So, what’s this other danger? Land mines? UFO’s, Aliens? Skinwalkers? Martians? What?” His irritation was clear.
Attorney Burton shifted in her chair. Her skirt was uncomfortably tight and she cursed herself for her vanity. She’d wanted to impress this giant of a man with the Clint Walker looks. The thin scar running down the left side of his face only lent to the danger that exuded from the man. His grey eyes were unsettling, as though they had a power to somehow unlock her secrets, which were many. Her sole client, Ax International Security (AIS), provided security around the world for a select group of the rich and powerful and often did “off-the-books” work for several governments.
She cleared her voice and her eyes softened. “Matt, I’m going to tell you this much. I’m not allowed to tell you more than this. In the area that you’re going, there will definitely be some uh…some creatures.”
Matt laughed. “Creatures?”
“I think they call them Sasquatch.”
Matt allowed a slight smile to cross his sun-brown face. “You expect me to believe that?”
“They’re real, Matt. I’ve seen them.” She paused, then added, “On film, of course.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I saw that picture. Some guy dressed up like a giant monkey.” He laughed.
She frowned. “No. These are recent. You’ll see them in your briefing.” She leaned back knowing she had his attention.
They’d made one attempt to retrieve their client’s notebook and failed. The first man sent in was a former CIA agent who’d been in Special Ops. He’d gone in with a sat phone, a tracking device to keep his position under observation, and was well-armed. He’d gotten to 100 yards of the cave and informed AIS the cave was occupied by some kind of huge animal. Later, he’d called, stating that he was about to be taken into custody by “some Army goons who are telling me to surrender or they’ll put a mortar on me.” Eventually, they secured his release.
Burton had studied Matthew Riley’s file with great interest when it had been dropped on her desk with a cryptic, “I think he’s the one to do it, Liz.”
Riley had done a number of missions, two of which so secret that AIS, even with a bought-and-paid-for high-level source within the government, was unable to retrieve them. But, it was his ability to survive in extremely rugged terrain for lengthy periods of time surrounded by dangerous enemies that drew their attention.
She squirmed in her seat, mentally muttering her irritation at herself for not selecting a pair of comfortable slacks. “Matt, these creatures exist and they can be extremely dangerous.” She’d read some of the highly secret data held by the government on these creatures and had been stunned at the fact that not only did the government know about them, but certain parts of the government were actually protective of them. However, she also knew of missions to eliminate them that had been conducted. It was as if the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing.
She smiled and added, “You’ll get a full briefing on them.”
Matt sat in silence. He’d misled Attorney Burton. He knew they existed. He’d even been on a mission to kill one. They’d been unable to locate it, high in the Afghanistan mountains, but a later mission team had succeeded. He’d merely wanted to motivate her to give him more information.
“So, this creature lives in the cave?”
Burton nodded. “Apparently. Our man wasn’t able to determine for sure, but we think so.”
For Matt, the money was a huge lure. Whether he succeeded or not, he was to be given $20,000.00 just for trying. His bank account held less than $1500.00. He had a job lined up as security for an underwater salvage operation of an old wreck containing gold coins and other ancient artifacts. But, it was short term. Here, if he retrieved a small black book, he’d land a payday of an additional $50,000.00.
“I need to know your decision now, Matt.” Burton leaned forward, arms on her desk.
Matt took a deep breath, then replied, “Two hundred thousand more. The twenty up front is fine. But, the price is two hundred more when I return with your little black notebook. I value my life more than you do.” He stood.
“I don’t have author…”
“I figured that. No worry. I’m going back to my room. Let me know.” He turned to leave, stopped, then turned back. “By the way, don’t come back with a counter. This isn’t a garage sale.” He smiled, flipped a salute, and left.
It took less than thirty minutes for approval. The hardest part was getting them to give up the idea of negotiation. They wanted her to start at $75,000. It was a tactic she often used. She finally convinced them of the futility of haggling over the price.
It was wet and cold the morning he’d been dropped off. He was just under 3 miles from where he had to go. The location device he’d planted in Attorney Burton’s pocket as he stepped into the chopper. He knew that device could work as a beacon for whatever agency was guarding the territory and he wasn’t willing to chance it.
Now, he was just a few dozen yards from the entrance of a cave where he was supposed to retrieve a briefcase containing a small black book. He was told 
the client was flying over the area in a chopper and crashed. The pilot died and he’d taken refuge in a nearby cave during a heavy downpour. He’d spoken with his office on his sat phone and they’d dispatched another chopper. The client had left his briefcase in the cave and gone down to a nearby stream for some water. When he returned, he was shocked to see what appeared to him to be a huge gorilla-like creature entering the cave. He’d been forced to leave his briefcase in the cave, Now, he wanted it back.
He was told of two hunters in the area who’d gone missing that same week. The Army showed up and shut the area down. That was several months ago.
Matt made his way about a hundred yards from the cave entrance and eased into a comfortable position. His custom Ghillie Suit, with heat dissipating strands diffusing his body heat signature and scent lock kept him warm. He’d brought jerky and water for 3-5 days.
That evening, he heard a muffled noise and watched with his Trijicon night scope as a huge, hairy shape entered the cave carrying what appeared to be a small deer. Soon, another figure followed.
Yes! Bad guys located. The thought brought a grin to his face. Now, he’d wait for them to leave.
It was nearly noon before one of them emerged. The Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, was a massive, eight foot creature, covered in a dark reddish-brown hair. with a man-like face with two large, dark eyes, long muscular arms and huge feet, Soon, a second figure emerged, smaller than the first, but similar. They stood surveying the forest for a long time. Matt turned his gaze away from the creatures. He wasn’t sure about these creatures and their abilities and he didn’t want it sensing his presence. He laid there watching obliquely, glancing now and then at them.
If their habit were to mirror the day before, they’d not return until evening. He entered the cave ten minutes after they’d left and nearly vomited at the stench of rotting flesh. His light showed animal parts and bones strewn about. One leg bone was clearly human. He saw pieces of what were once pants and a shoe. Pieces of a brief case were on the floor. Seconds later, he spotted the little black book lying against a rock.
Matt stuffed it deep into an inside pocket, turned and was out of the cave in less than two minutes. He angled his course away from the direction taken by the Sasquatch. It would take him at least a day of bushwhacking to get to the pickup point scheduled two days from his date of insertion, then daily at 2 pm until he arrived. He’d taken the sat phone, but kept it turned off. It was strictly for emergency extraction use.
Early afternoon found him less than half a mile from his pickup point. Just as he reached the clearing, he had a strong sense of being watched. It was a familiar feeling and it was a gift that had saved his life more than once. He moved ahead slowly, totally alert.
Suddenly, as he stepped into a clearing, an overwhelming sense of fear and danger flooded his being. Control 
of fear was something he was well trained at controlling. But, this was a mind-numbing, gut wrenching fear, unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He struggled against it, growling deep, shaking his head back and forth as he resisted the fear and the wave of sickness that convulsed his stomach. He cursed the creatures in his mind and voice, shouting threats and vows of total destruction, promising to hunt them, their children, their mothers and sons and daughters, and kill every one of them. He turned slowly in a circle, his M-14 SOG loaded with .308 hollow point rounds at the ready and hungry for a target. The fear dissipated as rage engulfed his mind and adrenaline flooded his body.
And suddenly, it was totally gone, almost like a switch had turned off. So were they. He sensed their absence. The strong feeling of being watched had left him. He was alone and knew it. He headed towards the pickup point at a rapid pace.
Days later, Matt lunched with Attorney Burton. As he sliced into his steak, he said, “So, you going to tell me what this little black book was all about? All I could read in it were numbers and some of what looked like Hieroglyphics.”
She smiled at him and replied, “It was a pass-code book for our client’s Bitcoin accounts. He stood to lose $386,000,000 dollars.”
The End
Copyright 2021 Voyle A. Glover
An Appetizer…. 🙂
https://youtu.be/-zp7e8zKk7A
