Treasure of the Sahara E-Book

Randy Jones

• Herausgeber: Randy Ivy Jones
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

JB became a self-made Billionaire by selling the huge Internet company he started 10 years earlier. He sold his company to the largest Internet search engine company in the world in exchange for $18.8 billion. The initial investment JB made to create his company was less than $7,000, so selling the company was a no brainer. After selling the company, JB increased his wealth to over 24 billion through some very wise investments.
JB's current business is in investments. He buys and sells big time real estate. He also invests in young entrepreneurs and new startup companies.
He is JB McGregor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Specifically, Papaya Island, also known locally as McGregor Island, located in a small cluster of islands just to the north of St. Thomas and St. John. JB also has a cottage in Key West Florida, a multi-million dollar mansion on the waterway in Fort Lauderdale off of Bayview Drive, and a huge ocean-front mansion just outside Honomu, Hawaii. JB will be giving the cottage in Key West Florida to a former employee as a retirement gift as soon as the current cottage remodeling job is complete. JB is recognized in the media as one who helps and shares his wealth without hesitation.
Most of JB's staff travel with him everywhere he goes. They are all paid very well and have excellent benefits. His employees are also extremely loyal to him. JB has provided each staff member with superb medical insurance along with an outstanding 401k plan. The age of most staff members is about 33 years old, the same age as JB. On Papaya Island, they all live in the bungalow's JB had built, which are nestled in the dense vegetation just out of sight of the main house on the island. When JB is in Hawaii, they have a similar setup. When in Fort Lauderdale, JB's staff members usually stay on the yacht where they each have their own cabin. JB and his staff maintain offices in the Papaya mansion, the Honomu mansion, and on his yacht.
Since selling his company, JB has had several thrilling adventures. The adventures magically come his way, thanks to Sam Peters, his business partner and sometimes the adventures come from one of the entrepreneurs JB has invested in. Most of these adventures have paid off very well. Plus, the adventures are usually fun and exciting...
JB McGregor is asked by two of his employees to help a man they had met at a yatch convention in Florida, David Wade. David wants to find some valuables that had been confiscated by dictators in Italy, Germany, and various other countries from families during between 1933 and 1945 World War II. David wants to return the valuables to the rightful owners or descendants. David Wade's father and his grandfather performed years of research and are almost certain that the valuables were being transported on a DC-3 airplane that crashed in the Sahara desert in 1953.
An expedition to the Sahara desert is formed by JB, David Wade, and several of JB's employees to try and find the DC-3 airplane. The airplane crash is assumed to be in the vicinity of the Ahaggar Mountains near Tamanrasset, Algeria because the last radio transmission of the DC-3 was with the Tamanrasset airport.
Unfortunately, a team of known criminals somehow got wind of the treasure and follow JB's expedition throughout the desert.
 

Leseprobe

Randy Ivy Jones

Treasure of the Sahara

A JB McGregor Novel - Book 1

The Billionaire Series

Randy Jones Publishing

www.randyivyjones.com

This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used ficticiously. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Copyright 2018 by Randy Ivy Jones

All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law."

First eBook edition: October 2018

Table of Contents

CoverTitle PageDedicationCharactersIntroductionBook NotesChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35Chapter 36Chapter 37Chapter 38Chapter 39Chapter 40Also by...About me...

Dedication

This is for you Babe...

Thanks for always being there -- not only for me, but also for our three kids and the grandkids. You are a great Wife, Mom and Memebear to all of us.

~ Randy

Main Characters

JB McGregor

    Self-made Multi-Billionaire

Jeri Richards

    JB's Personal Assistant

    (Business and Personal Affairs Manager)

Sam Peters

    JB's Personal Assistant

    (Business Partner)

Charlie Davidson

    JB's Chief Pilot

    (Helicopter and Jet)

John O'Connor

    JB's Pilot

    (Helicopter and Jet)

Scott Johnson

    JB's Yacht Captain

Carla Young

    JB's Chief of Housekeeping

    (Wife of Joe Young)

Joe Young

    JB's Chief Groundskeeper

    (Husband of Carla Young)

Jimmie Donovan

    JB's Head of Vehicle Maintenance, Limo Driver and Primary Bodyguard

Toby Matthews

    JB's Mr. Fixit

    (Household and Grounds)

Bob Travant

    JB's Head Chef

    (House, Yacht and Jet)

Supporting Characters

David Wade

    3rd Generation Wade Searching for DC-3 Aircraft

Jessica Wade

    4th Generation Wade Searching for DC-3 Aircraft

Peter Caraway

    Senior partner of JB's US legal team, Caraway and Caraway Law Firm

Sara Brothers

    Part of JB's US legal team, Caraway and Caraway Law Firm

Samantha Smithers

    Part of JB's US legal team, Caraway and Caraway Law Firm

Tony Caruthers

    Part of JB's US legal team, Caraway and Caraway Law Firm

Eddie Baker

    Vietnam buddy of David Wade, resident of Algeria

Youssef Ayadi

    Eddie Baker's business partner

Mustafa Mokrani

    Mustafa Mokrani, the manager of airport services at Algiers International Airport

Khalil Hamidou

    Eddie's arms and special equipment supplier

Djamel Loucif

    Part of the Rachedi law firm in Algiers

Hamza Ouraghi

    Part of the Rachedi law firm in Algiers

Brahim Kerchouche

    Helicopter Pilot for the Rachedi law firm in Algiers

Abdelaziz Korichi

    Algerian Department of Intelligence

Hakim Lahlali

    Algerian Department of Intelligence

Walid Mabrouki

    Algerian Department of Intelligence

Tayeb Ramdani

    Algerian Department of Intelligence

Steve Lash

    Suspected leader of another caravan of vehicles following JB's team

Oussama Saboundji

    General Manager of Aeroport de Tamanrasset

Fouad Benredjem

    Tamanrasset City Manager

Introduction

A Class Act ...

JB became a self-made Billionaire by selling the huge Internet company he started 10 years earlier. He sold his company to the largest Internet search engine company in the world in exchange for $18.8 billion. The initial investment JB made to create his company was less than $7,000, so selling the company was a no brainer. After selling the company, JB increased his wealth to over 24 billion through some very wise investments.

JB's current business is in investments. He buys and sells big time real estate. He also invests in young entrepreneurs and new startup companies.

He is JB McGregor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Specifically, Papaya Island, also known locally as McGregor Island, located in a small cluster of islands just to the north of St. Thomas and St. John. JB also has a cottage in Key West Florida, a multi-million dollar mansion on the waterway in Fort Lauderdale off of Bayview Drive, and a huge ocean-front mansion just outside Honomu, Hawaii. JB will be giving the cottage in Key West Florida to a former employee as a retirement gift as soon as the current cottage remodeling job is complete. JB is recognized in the media as one who helps and shares his wealth without hesitation.

Most of JB's staff travel with him everywhere he goes. They are all paid very well and have excellent benefits. His employees are also extremely loyal to him. JB has provided each staff member with superb medical insurance along with an outstanding 401k plan. The age of most staff members is about 33 years old, the same age as JB. On Papaya Island, they all live in the bungalow's JB had built, which are nestled in the dense vegetation just out of sight of the main house on the island. When JB is in Hawaii, they have a similar setup. When in Fort Lauderdale, JB's staff members usually stay on the yacht where they each have their own cabin. JB and his staff maintain offices in the Papaya mansion, the Honomu mansion, and on his yacht.

Since selling his company, JB has had several thrilling adventures. The adventures magically come his way, thanks to Sam Peters, his business partner and sometimes the adventures come from one of the entrepreneurs JB has invested in. Most of these adventures have paid off very well. Plus, the adventures are usually fun and exciting...

JB McGregor is asked by two of his employees to help a man they had met at a yatch convention in Florida, David Wade. David wants to find some valuables that had been confiscated by dictators in Italy, Germany, and various other countries from families during between 1933 and 1945 World War II. David wants to return the valuables to the rightful owners or descendants. David Wade's father and his grandfather performed years of research and are almost certain that the valuables were being transported on a DC-3 airplane that crashed in the Sahara desert in 1953.

An expedition to the Sahara desert is formed by JB, David Wade, and several of JB's employees to try and find the DC-3 airplane. The airplane crash is assumed to be in the vicinity of the Ahaggar Mountains near Tamanrasset, Algeria because the last radio transmission of the DC-3 was with the Tamanrasset airport.

Unfortunately, a team of known criminals somehow got wind of the treasure and follow JB's expedition throughout the desert.

Treasure of the Sahara

Randy Ivy Jones (2018)

Book Notes

Coordinates

Curious about the various GPS coordinate locations found throughout Treasure of the Sahara? You can track the travel path by copying a set of coordinates into your favorite map application. For best results, use the aerial (satellite view). Some map applications can also display in 3D which allows you to view the topography of an area. Some of the locations below have wonderful topography...

Our Hangars at Algiers International Airport Houari Boumediene, Dar El Beida, Algiers, Algeria...

36°42'08.7"N 3°13'15.2"E

    alternate form    36.702403, 3.220889

Our 1st Campsite on the North Side of Ghardaia near the old bus station...

32°32'31.6"N 3°40'28.5"E

    alternate form    32.542116, 3.674586

Our 2nd Campsite on the South Side of In Salah...

27°10'38.4"N 2°29'52.1"E

    alternate form    27.177321, 2.497793

Our 3rd Campsite on the North Side of the Trans-Sahara Highway at Tamanrasset...

22°50'10.5"N 5°22'03.1"E

    alternate form    22.836254, 5.367515

Aguemar Airport (TMR) just outside of Tamanrasset...

22°48'40.2"N 5°27'03.0"E

    alternate form    22.811170, 5.450830

1st Search Area... Last Known Coordinates...

(35 miles from camp, 35 mile radius search)...

23°14'56.0"N 5°43'05.8"E

    alternate form    23.248889, 5.718278

2nd Search Area Coordinates...

(85 miles east from Last Known Coordinates, 50 mile radius search)

23°14'56.0"N 7°03'13.3"E

    alternate form    23.248889, 7.053704

3rd Search Area Outer Perimeter Coordinates...

(135 miles east from Last Known Coordinates)

23°14'56.0"N 7°51'14.5"E

    alternate form    23.248889, 7.854014

Suspected Crash Area Coordinates...

23°15'45.6"N 7°44'17.3"E

    alternate form    23.262671, 7.738134

Temporary Cargo Storage Site...

23°16'12.0"N 7°44'13.3"E

    alternate form    23.270003, 7.737020

Half-way between In Ekker and Tit in the Amguel commune area...

(this is where the Trans-Sahara Highway and road to Bordj El Haouas meet)

23°37'32.9"N 5°09'18.8"E

    alternate form    23.625808, 5.155212

Bordj El Haouas, Algeria...

24°52'46.5"N 8°26'29.0"E

    alternate form    24.879594, 8.441385

Turn off Coordinates for off-roading on the way to Bordj El Haouas, Algeria from Tamanrasset...

24°24'45.1"N 8°10'34.0"E

    alternate form    24.412526, 8.176103

Hideout of Other Caravan Camp...

23°48'57.0"N 8°13'17.6"E

    alternate form    23.815831, 8.221558

Location where we learned of the hideout the Other Caravan established...

23°22'34.2"N 8°02'01.7"E

    alternate form    23.376172, 8.033797

Our 4th Campsite Location near the Location where we learned of the hideout the Other Caravan established...

23°26'09.4"N 8°02'31.5"E

    alternate form    23.435942, 8.042083

Cargo Hideout #1...

23°26'11.3"N 8°03'16.3"E

    alternate form    23.436479, 8.054515

Cargo Hideout #2...

23°26'23.7"N 8°03'46.6"E

    alternate form    23.439918, 8.062944

Cargo Hideout #3...

23°25'57.0"N 8°03'35.7"E

    alternate form    23.432494, 8.059908

Actual Hideout for Cargo...

23°16'42.8"N 8°16'24.7"E

    alternate form    23.278561, 8.273531

80 miles due east of Other Caravan Camp...

23°51'07.6"N 9°29'21.2"E

    alternate form    23.852114, 9.489213

Joined Road 15 miles due West of Djanet...

24°31'42.5"N 9°14'58.0"E

    alternate form    24.528465, 9.249431

Where the caravan left the road between the Trans-Sahara Highway and Bordj El Haouas to go camp behind a large hill on way to Trans-Sahara Highway

24°37'31.7"N 7°02'27.1"E

    alternate form    24.625472, 7.040861

Our 5th Campsite out of view from road behind a large hill on way to Trans-Sahara Highway

24°31'39.7"N 7°06'42.3"E

    alternate form    24.527697, 7.111757

In Salah Airport just outside of In Salah...

27°17'26.8"N 2°30'18.9"E

    alternate form    27.290788, 2.505247

Chapter 1

Jeri Richards, my business and personal affairs manager, looked up as I walked into the office and said brightly, "Good morning, Mr. McGregor."

"Morning," I said curtly, and slammed the door of my own office behind me. Once inside I felt a bit ashamed. It's a bad boss who expends his temper on the staff and Jeri didn't deserve it. I snapped down the intercom switch, "Will you come in, Jeri?"

She entered armed with her most needed weapon -- a dictation recorder and notepad. I said, "Sorry about that; I'm not feeling too well this morning."

Her lips twitched in a faint smile. "Having a bad day already?"

"Something like that," I agreed. "What's in store this morning?"

"Charlie Davidson wants to meet with you this afternoon to select the new paint schemes for both choppers and both of the jet. He also wants to set painting dates for each aircraft."

"Anything else?"

"Sam Peters called a few minutes ago. He wants to meet with you this morning."

I grinned, "Is it anything important?"

"All he would tell me is... it is very important, it is very lucrative financially and that time is running out," the expression on Jeri's face told me that she thought my bad mood this morning was getting the better of me. "He said he'd be here in 10 minutes," she said dryly.

"Anything else?"

Wordlessly she pointed to my overflowing in-tray. I looked at the in-tray distastefully and said, "You're a slave-driver. When Sam gets here, I'll be in Charlie's office."

Sam was always coming up with these hare brain ideas. I wonder what he has that is so important. I stepped into Charlie's office and said, "Morning Charlie."

"Good morning, JB."

I said, "Sam will be here shortly and I'd like the three of us to decide on the paint scheme." I noticed Charlie had about eight easels setup in his office. They must be for displaying the different paint schemes. "On second thought, let's also get Jeri's opinion on the paint scheme too."

"Sounds great! We also need to come up with dates for each aircraft to be painted." Charlie pressed his intercom button and said, "Jeri, JB just mentioned he would like you in my office too!"

"We will both be there momentarily Charlie. Sam is standing in front of me now, with coffee and donuts for all," Jeri said.

* * *

By the time everyone assembled in Charlie's office, he had paint scheme examples mounted on each of the easels. Charlie then said, "These are only example paint schemes. Each of the paint schemes can have any color combination or stenciling pattern you can imagine. There is also another option we have. That would-be vinyl wraps. They can do almost anything with vinyl wraps because the wrapping film has the text, images, and color printed on instead of paint. The aircraft wraps can be any pattern you can imagine or have any image or photo applied. Most vinyl wraps I've seen look 3-dimensional. One nice thing about aircraft wraps, they weigh a lot less than paint, so there is a significant savings on fuel cost. I also have a web site where you can customize your own design theme for paint or for wraps. For the paint, you just point and click, for wraps, you can upload images to try out or mess around with the preloaded designs and patterns."

I said, "I think we should go with something simple. Something that fits well with all our aircraft. We each should consider the low fuel cost option. Lower fuel cost means less emission. We all need to address issues with our carbon footprint. We need to decrease that footprint. Before we choose, why don't we all look at the options? Charlie can send us all the web site URL. After we all agree on something, we can then set dates for the work to be done on each aircraft. We might even want to consider something for the yacht, motor boats, jet skis, and the pontoon boats."

Charlie said, "Well JB, that's about all I have to show. I will shortly send each of you the web site."

Jeri spoke up saying, "For the aircraft, I think we should have a solid color, maybe even black or maybe have a carbon fiber look, and on each side of the fuselage a large crest or shield with the letters JB written on it. The shield could have a wooden 3D look that appears kind of like weathered wooden slats. Maybe with rusty nail holes in the slats. The tail of each aircraft could have the same shield, but smaller in scale. For the jet skis, speed boats, and pontoon boat, they could be completely wrapped in the 3D looking wood and have JB written on each side. The yacht should remain the way it is, but simply add a shield to each side."

"Wow Jeri, it's almost as if you've done extensive research on vinyl wraps. I really like your ideas," said Sam.

"Me too!" I said. "Great ideas!"

"I make a motion that we go with Jeri's idea and just fine tune it. Charlie can then get our request to the company to print the film and when they can apply it. I suppose they will need to take measurements," said Sam.

Charlie said, "OK Folks, that's a wrap!"

Sam leaned over to me and asked, "Can we meet now in your office? I've got some very interesting things to discuss. We might want Jeri to be in on this too!"

I said, "Sure, not a problem."

* * *

The three of us were seated in my office near the southern bay window. The bay window overlooks the bay area between St. Thomas and St. John islands. Scott Johnson, the captain of my yacht, walked in. All of us greeted Scott and welcomed him back to the island. I knew Scott and Sam were both itching to tell us their story, so I said, "OK Sam, tell us what you've got."

"Scott and I met an interesting guy by the name of David Wade while attending the Yachting and Boating convention in West Palm Beach. The three of us teamed up each day during the convention and also had dinner and drinks at the hotel each evening. Our first evening at the hotel, David told us a very interesting story that began sometime during World War II. Legend has it that the Nazi officials, along with Benito Mussolini's officials, hid tons of confiscated gold and diamonds in the mountains of Northern Italy. The Nazi's allegedly also hid an entire train load of gold inside a mountain in Poland. There was also the Amber Room, which was a chamber decorated in amber panels that were backed with gold leaf and mirrors. The chamber was located in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg. The Amber Room was looted during World War II by the Army Group North of Nazi Germany, and brought to Konigsberg for reconstruction and display. The dismantled wall panels and furniture never reached its destination in Konigsberg. The current whereabouts of the dismantled pieces of the Amber Room remain a mystery to this day."

Sam continued, "David said his grandfather first learned of these lost treasures in the early 50's and began some extensive research. David's father also became involved with research after he graduated from college. About 1975, out of all of the lost treasures they researched, they chose to find the crash site of a DC-3 airplane. In 1953, the plane was hauling a load of gold and other precious metals from the Witwatersrand Basin in South Africa to the United States. The cargo was believed to be some of the confiscated treasure hidden during the war. The DC-3's flight plan was to have a fuel stop in the town of Lubumbashi located in the southern end of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). From Lubumbashi, they would head for Kinshasha, located in the northwestern region of the DRC to refuel again. From Kinshasha, they would head to Abuja, Nigeria for more fuel, then on to Agadez, Niger. The last leg of the flight through Africa was to land in Algiers, Algeria. In Algiers, they would transfer the load to a ship and then on the states."

After pausing to clearing his throat and to take a sip of his coffee, Sam said, "The big problem was shortly after flying over Abalessa, Algeria, a huge sand storm built up. The storm came about so quickly, making it too late to circumvent the storm. They headed towards Tamanrasset because it looked as though the storm was lighter in that direction. They managed to make contact with the authorities in Tamanrasset and gave them their coordinates. That was the last contact of the aircraft. Authorities searched inside and outside the boundaries of the Parc national culturel de l'Ahaggar, but no trace of the aircraft was found. The search was by air and by ground. That entire region around Tamanrasset, about 212,000 square miles, is extremely rocky and very difficult to travel by foot or camel and next to impossible by motor vehicle. The DC-3 aircraft could be as close as 25 feet away from you, but be completely hidden from view by the enormous boulders."