July 10th 1979

Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

The car bounced violently on the old dirt road that led up into the mountains. It was night and it was cold, especially in the car's trunk.

How am I gonna get out of this one? Stanley Pines wondered gloomily. He tested his handcuffs once again. Zilch. They were fastened tightly, the metal digging painfully into his wrists. Figures these mafiosos wouldn't have given me any wiggle room. Stan's heart sank with an uncharacteristic pessimism. The car went over a particularly nasty pothole that interrupted Stan's train of thought. His head struck the trunk's ceiling and he saw stars in the pitch blackness.

"You had better be telling the truth about this," a muffled voice called back from the driver's seat. Stan could tell it was Mr. Flowers.

"Yeah," another, higher voice added, "if this is bogus you're gonna wish we buried you back on the side of the highway." That had to be Mr. Hatchet. Stan frowned at the darkness around him. Hey, it could be true, he tried and failed to convince himself. I mean just because I learned about the treasure from some drunk pilot in a dive bar down in New Mexico doesn't mean it doesn't exist...well not for sure anyways.

"It's there ya big ape," Stan called back defiantly, "a fortune in gold!" His split lip reopened and he tasted coppery blood. Note to self, Stan mimed a yawn to take some of the soreness from his bruised jaw, keep your big mouth shut. After all, that was what had gotten him into so much trouble in the first place.

Two Hours Earlier

"Where's Big Steve's money?" asked Flowers, the larger of the two mobsters. He cracked his knuckles for effect, his face showing no emotion. Stan was kneeling, the smaller of the duo behind him with a gun trained on his head.

"Boys, boys," Stan said, "if that's all you wanted to ask we could have saved the drive out here! I've got the money, it's back in my hotel room."

"We searched the place up and down," the larger hit man pulled out an envelope, dumping the contents on the dusty ground of the desert. "All we found was this plan ticket and a few hundred in spending cash."

"Ah, right," Stan recovered quickly. It was surprisingly easy for him to come up with excuses with a pistol barrel pressed against his sweat-matted hair. "See, here's the thing about that…" A powerful backhand caught Stan in the side of the head and the force of the blow knocked him to the ground.

"Big Steve doesn't want your excuses," the big mobster said, lifting Stan back to his knees.

"Hey ya big idiot!" Stan shot back spitefully, "if you kill me then Steve's never gonna get a cent!" The heavy man before him paused for a moment, his neutral face turning into a scowl.

"Please," the barrel of the gun came back to rest against Stan's skull, "continue."

"Right, right," Stan took a deep breath, his mind racing, "I don't have the money…" the big goon raised his fist again, "...but I can get it! Two hours from here there's this place I know about. There's treasure there, more than enough for Big Steve."

"What are you talking about?" the fist fell back to the Flowers' side.

"There's an old mine, up the mountains. Rumor says it's been abandoned for so long that nobody even knows it exists."

"Then how do you know, huh?" Hatchet asked from behind Stan.

"Because of this pilot friend of mine. He, uh, runs a lot of cargo up and down this stretch of the border. He says that he saw the mine himself from his plane."

"Then why isn't this millionaire here right now?" the big mobster asked skeptically.

Because even that drunk would have known the mine was bogus. "Because I...I turned him in to the feds. I wanted the money to myself." The two hitmen seemed to ponder this for a moment before the big one nodded ever so slightly. I guess sometimes having a reputation for dishonesty can be pretty helpful, Stan smiled with relief before catching himself. Luckily, nobody noticed.

"What kind of mine is it?" the voice from behind asked.

"Gold," Stan said with his thickest, theatrical reveal, "Spanish gold from way back. They abandoned the mine because the Native Americans thought it was cursed. They buried the entrance so nobody would ever find it and now it's just a legend. But my friends," he was really laying it on now, "I've discovered it again. The treasure of the Sierra Nevada..." He let the words hang heavy in the air between them. You know what they say… He watched with satisfaction as the big goon's mind raced with the possibilities. ...there's a sucker born every minute.

"How much gold?" Flowers asked, a guarded but hungry look in his eyes.

"More than enough to pay my debt to Big Steve," Stan said, barely a whisper, "enough for you two to be set for life." He heard a sharp intake of breath from behind him. Now's the time, don't lose them. Don't give them time to think it over. "Of course, I'll want a finder's fee. Let's say ten percent?"

The big goon's face was a stony mask again and his fist took Stan square in the mouth. Stan fell backwards into the dirt, his lip split and bleeding. He was smiling.

"Okay," he said as they hoisted him back to his feet, "how about five percent? That's only fair, right?"

The car rolled to a stop. Stan had given them the directions before they tossed him in the trunk. They had been following narrow, unkempt roads up into the mountains for the past few hours and Stan was feeling nauseous. The doors opened and slammed shut with a thud as the hit men made their way around the car. Okay, Stan's mind was racing, this is it. Show time. He tried his handcuffs for the hundredth time. No dice. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead despite the chill of the freezing night air.

The trunk opened.

To be continued…

Author's Notes:

I hope you enjoyed reading this first chapter. Grunkle Stan is such a cool character so I decided to write a story about him in his youth. I imagine he would be a lot like he is in the show, only rougher around the edges and more impulsive. Let me know if you think I did a good job getting Stan's character across.

Since this is Gravity Falls, there will be supernatural elements later. After all, a story about an cursed mine with no curse isn't much of a story at all, right?

I would love to hear what you thought, what you liked and disliked about the story so far. I always respond to every review and I try my best to incorporate ideas into my story if I can! :)

Since the chapters will probably be about this length, I should be able to update twice a week until the story's finished.

Thanks for reading!