"Sure boss. Last thing we need is our guys upsetting the locals. Lead the way."
Morgan walked out to his vehicle and got in, doing up his seatbelt. "I hope I'm wrong but there is only one person I know who smokes this type of cigarette. You have a legal background and have been in on the whole set up of both mines, so tell me. Am I within my rights to search the men's sleeping quarters or not?"
"Sure you are. It is in their contracts that they are available to any sort of search or medical at anytime while they are in your employ. You can pull them out of bed in the middle of the night and strip search them if you want to."
"I hope it doesn't go that far but this is going to be an example to the men. They are not to mess with the locals." He turned the vehicle into the road toward his brothers mine project. Barreling down road he kept his thoughts to himself until he pulled up outside the mine managers office.
"Breathe Morgan. You can't go in half cocked and put their backs up. Why not let me lead this one?"
"Yeah, good idea. The way I feel right now might not be conductive to the search." He got out of the vehicle and walked up the stairs to the office, holding the door open for Ted.
Mike lifted his head up and a quick smile crossed his face. "Mr. Taylor, how are you? Surprise visit?"
"Yes. Mike, meet Ted one of our legal staff and my manager."
The two men shook hands and Morgan stepped back to allow Ted to take over.
"I wonder if we could go over to the sleeping quarters and do a quick search? Shouldn't take me long."
Mike looked between the two men and paled. "Why? I think I deserve to know what is going on here, don't you think?"
"Just a small matter of security and nothing to get worked up about. Do you have the master key to all of the rooms?" Ted stood in front of Mike, his hands on his hips and a blank expression on his face.
"Um, yeah let me get it." He walked over to a cupboard and opened it. A row of keys lined the inside of the door. He picked one off and walked back to Ted handing it over.
"Right, let's go then." Morgan led the way out of the office.
"Where do you want to start?" Mike asked, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.
"How about we start with the office staff first, yours even." Ted swung the key around on his finger looking at the manager paling more with each minute.
Mike sucked in a big pull of his cigarette. "Whatever. Are you going to tell me what you're looking for?"
"No." Morgan stood at the door with the man he and his brother had trusted to lead the work on their project and wondered if it was true while Ted did a search.
Within minutes he came out holding a dirty cloth wrapped object. Morgan took it from him and unwrapped the huge gold nugget. Holding his temper in was going to be hard.
"Why? Why did you take an old man's life savings for gods sake? You have a good job, well paid and room to advance up the ranks. You realize this has cost you your career with us, don't you?"
"Are you calling the cops in?" Mike listened before he crushed his cigarette butt under his boot in the red dust.
"That depends. Are you going to tell me why you felt it necessary to rob Sid?"
The man laughed bitterly. "Sure you pay me well but not enough to make the little lady happy. Do you have any idea how hard it is to live out here in the desert while your wife and kids are thousands of miles away living in the city? If I could afford it I would be there too. It seemed like it was a godsend when I overheard the boys talking about the crazy old fool with the gold in that dump of a place he lives in. Easy enough to take from somebody so weak."
Morgan scowled and swore. "Grab your bags and leave now. The only reason I'm not calling the police is because I don't want to have to explain to your wife what a low life you are." He wrapped Sid's gold up and tipped his chin at the room. "You have five minutes to pack and leave."
"You can't do that, I have a contract." Mikes face was turning red and he was getting fiery.
"I can call the police if that is what you would prefer."
"Your contract can be voided for theft as I'm sure you would know if you had read it through," Ted said coming to stand beside Morgan. "Be thankful the law is not being called in. As it is you will find it hard getting another job in this industry."
Mike ran inside and pulled a suitcase from the cupboard throwing all of his clothing inside. "How am I supposed to get home then?"
"Drive out, I'm not going to waste another airfare on someone that steals and lies. You can leave the car in the city, I'll let Bran know to expect you."
Both men stood and waited for Mike to finish in his room. Then they led him to the company vehicle, waiting while he got in.
"Drive straight out of here and don't come back. Your paycheck will be deposited in your bank account when the car is returned to the company."
He swore at Morgan before throwing his case in the back of the company vehicle. Then he got in and reversed from the park before heading off down the road in a trail of dust.
"Well, that went better than I expected. He didn't even try to deny it." Ted rubbed his hand over his chin. "Who is going to take over until you find a replacement?"
Morgan lifted an eyebrow
