Free Deadly Lode (Trace Brandon Book 1) by Randall Reneau

Of course , that ’ s apparent thickness . I ’ ll have to calculate the true thickness, but it ’ s still damn good. ”
    I pulled out my pocket calculator and ran some numbers. Length times width, times thickness , times tons per cubic yard, times 8 percent uranium. It was going to be a very, very , big number.

 
     
     
     
     
    C hapter 8
    T he assay results from core hole number three were published on our website , and t he price of our shares rose to a dollar and a half .
    At 9:00 a.m. , Tuesday morning, I was back in my office in E-Burg , working on ore reserve ‘ what-if ’ s ’ when the phone rang.
    “ Montana Creek Mining, Trace speaking. ”
    “ Trace, this is James Lee with International Uranium Corp ., in Sydney, Australia. ”
    “ Damn, must be awfully late at night down under, sir . ”
    “ You ’ re right, mate. But I am in Los Angeles for meetings. So, no worries. ”
    “ Okay, glad to hear it, ” I said , with a chuckle. “ What can I do for you, sir ? ”
    “ Well, Trace, we ’ re hearing a lot about your uranium discovery in N orth C entral Washington. I ’ d like to come up, meet you , and, if possible, have a look at the operation. And of course, the core s . ”
    “ Your timing is perfect. No snow yet , and we ’ re drilling away. ”
    “ Good, I hate snow, ” James said , with a laugh.
    “ Okay, book a flight into Spokane, let me know when you ’ ll arrive and I ’ ll pick you up . It ’ s about a three - hour run to the mine. ”
    “ Bl o ody good, mate. I look forward to meeting up. How ’ s the beer up your way? ”
    “ We have a very good local micro - brewery . They brew a beer I think you ’ ll like . I t ’ s called Tumbleweed Ale . ”
     
     
    Cyrus and Thorny met at the Mallard Lounge in the historic Ponderosa Hotel in downtown Spokane. They sat at the bar under an inlaid glass ceiling that depict ed a flock of Mallard s , and ordered cocktails.
    “ Cyrus, they ’ re using Mineral Valley L abs over in Co e ur d ’ Alene for their assays . I had an old PI buddy do some checking , and I think we found the perfect insider. ”
    “ Go on, ” Cyrus replied, taking a healthy pull on his C rown and water.
    “ Her name is Mary Johnson, a single mom. Husband ’ s whereabouts unknown. She has an eleven - year - old daughter with brain cancer. It takes every dime she can earn, plus her insurance to keep the kid in treatment. ”
    “ Perfect. We get to help a kid with cancer , and we ’ ll get the info we need. Kind of a win - win, I ’ d say, ” Cyrus declared , with a grin.
    “ Yes, sir . ”
    “ Have you approached her? ”
    “ Yes. I had my PI friend make the contact. He told her all he needed were copies of the assay results , as soon as they were available . He told her one of his client s owned shares in Montana Creek Mining , a nd just wanted to be sure the assays published by Montana Creek Mining matched the actual lab assays. ”
    “ Nice touch . ”
    “ Yeah, m akes it seem quite harmless . Simply an investor trying to protect his investment from all the crooks out there. ”
    Cyrus laughed . “ H ell, I love it. And? ”
    “ And , for ten grand , she ’ s on board. ”
    “ Excellent. Each time Brandon gets core assays, it ’ ll take him a couple of days to prepare a news release for the Vancouver Stock Exchange. We , on the other hand, only need a couple of minutes to evaluate the results. By the time the assays are public, w e ’ ll have already bought or sold short . ”
    “ It ’ s all about information, isn ’ t it, sir ? ”
    “ Information and timing, Thorny. ”
     
     
    I dr ove over to the Spokane airport to meet with James Lee. I knew of his company , but did some online research to get fully up to speed.
    I spotted him easily as I entered the airport lobby. He was wearing k hakis , with a hand lens around his neck and a backpack. The universal geological garb.
    “ Mr. Lee , I presume? ” I said, extending my hand. “ I