72 (16)

Collin heard the snap behind him.  He didn’t even have to look to know what had happened.  His suitcase was laying flat, about a yard away from where he stood.  He lifted his arm and looked a the cheap metal handle that had popped out of his luggage.  He had only been in Sioux Falls for five minutes, and his trip was already careening towards disaster.  He was about to take a step towards the suitcase when he felt the presence of someone standing behind him.  He turned slowly around and looked up at a very large man looking down towards him.  The man was smiling, but it looked very forced.  The fluorescent lights reflected off the lenses of his sunglasses, which were balancing on his forehead. 

“Excuse me sir, it looks like you need some help.”  Collin turned around and watched as another man lifted up his suitcase.  He swung it onto his shoulder and smiled.  “Welcome to Sioux Falls” said the man who was now holding his suitcase.  “I’m going to go on a limb here and say your trip isn’t going as planned.”

“Not exactly.  My wife just bought me that luggage.”  Collin was still a bit nervous, and very confused.  The men had Northwest wings on their jackets, but they weren’t as nicely dressed as most airport workers. 

“Well, we’re here to turn that frown upside down.  Let my associate Jebediah help you with your other bag.  We’ll get you to a cab.  Or, are you renting today?”

“A cab is fine.  I have a hotel downtown.”

“Splendid, right this way.”  The man started walking forward.  Collin was confused, but he also didn’t feel like carrying his own luggage.  He handed Jebediah his laptop bag and his garment bag.  “So, is this your first time in South Dakota?”

“Well, yes.  I’m in town for a meeting with Citigroup on a new ad campaign.”

“You’re from Los Angeles then?”

Collin smirked.  “Actually, San Franscisco, but I grew up in Los Angeles.”

“No kidding?  Same here.  Jeremiah Smith.”  Jeremiah extended his free hand for a handshake.  Collin heartily shook his hand back.

“No kidding?  How did you end up out here?”

“I came out for college, then decided I liked the slower pace and the friendly people.”

Collin looked at Jeremiah and smiled.  “Really?  I can’t imagine living anywhere but a big city.”

Jeremiah started laughing.  “My friend, you are in the largest city in either Dakota.  The town will do all it can to make you feel at home.”  Just as Jeremiah said that, a few of airport security people ran past them.  “Does that help?”

“A little” Collin said.  “I had a layover in Cleveland, and I found the town’s newspaper site.  There was some kind of highway pile up yesterday.  There was also a story about a policeman being gunned down, but the police weren’t releasing a lot of detail about it.  This isn’t a dangerous town, is it?”

Jeremiah smiled wide.  “No sir, you’ll find things like that are very rare.”  The trio walked out into the sunny Saturday afternoon.  Jebediah flagged down a cab within seconds, and soon Collin’s bags were loaded into the trunk. 

“Thanks a bunch guys” Collin quipped as he reached for his wallet.

“We don’t need a tip sir.  Please.  Just have a good day and enjoy your stay.”  Collin looked at Jebediah with some surprise, as Collin had began wondering if Jebediah ever spoke.  Collin shrugged.

“Well, thanks again.”  Collin hopped into the cab and shut the door.  After giving the driver the name of his hotel, he glanced behind him.  He saw Jeremiah and Jebediah walking away from the airport, into the parking lot, where they soon faded away.

71 (15)

 ”I’ve got it, we’ll call a lawyer first.”  Phil said, showing the first signs of a smile that Bob had seen in hours.

“A lawyer?  Why”

“Because, we’re obviously going to need one.  They’ll want somebody to take the fall for a fallen officer.  I’m sure Mojito or whatever her name was is long gone.”

“Mokoto.”

“Again, why are you correcting me?”

“We need to keep our stories straight and consistent.”  Bob looked at the passing scenery.  A grove of trees flew by as he heard Phil start to snicker.

“Admit it Bob, you’ve got a thing for her.”

“EXCUSE ME?  The woman who was stalking us, shot a cop and tried to shoot us.  Yeah, she’s way my type.”

“Hell, I agree, but I can’t argue that she’s well put together, and I’m not big into Asian girls.”

“And I am?”

“Let’s see” said Phil as he folded his legs and started counting on his hand.  “First off, you bought Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon the day it came out, and you kept raving about how great Zhang Ziyi was in it.”

“IT WAS A GOOD MOVIE.”

“Second, every MySpace survey you fill out that has the question ‘favorite actress’ you put Lucy Liu.”

“I like Lucy Liu.  Is that a crime?”

“Finally, the first bookmark on your browser’s bookmarks toolbar is 3DBooru.”

Bob’s face turned red.  “Hey, how did you know that?”

Phil shook his head.  “A guy can only get called into a room for so many funny YouTube clips before he starts noticing things on that computer’s Firefox bar.”

Bob put his head on his hands, slouching in a way that reflected defeat and dejection.  Suddenly, his head popped up and looked at Phil.  “How do you know what 3DBooru is?”

Phil rolled his eyes.  “Maybe it was that time you emailed the link to me and said ‘check this site’ perhaps?”

Bob put his head back on his hands, and returned to his regularly scheduled dejection.

***

The slow creaking of a door was last heard a minute ago.  There was no sound of running water, no noise from the stalls, and no zipping or unzipping.  Geoff was still breathing heavily, but he was keeping it as quiet as he could.  He was in a locked stall, in a catcher’s crouch while he kept dialing numbers in his phone that Jer might pick up.  Geoff dialed number after number, only to hear the familiar “mailbox full” refrain.  Geoff then started focusing on the cell numbers in his list of contacts.  Jer had at least two of those, and a few more Geoff knew he used to have.  His fingers started typing hastily and in all caps:

R U ALIVE?  J AND J KNOW YOU MIGHT BE.  WE NEED 2 TALK.  WHERE TH F R U?

Geoff hit send on the last number, when he heard the door open again.  He froze in place as he heard the footsteps of someone wearing boots walk in.  Geoff waited while he heard the familiar zipping noise.  What heard next was something he hadn’t heard yet.

“TYLER, WHERE ARE YOU, OVER” came the voice from a handset, the kind security kept attached to their shoulder.

“I’m in the bathroom, over”

“YOU CAN’T LEAVE YOUR POST LIKE THAT, OVER.”

“Relax, I have Thompson covering for me.  Besides, Mr. F.B.I. and that prick from the S.F.P.D. can handle things now, over.”

“TYLER, GET BACK TO YOUR POST.  WE HAVE IMAGES OF A PERSON OF INTEREST WHO MIGHT STILL BE AT THE AIRPORT.  ONE GEOFF PRYBLINSKI, OVER.”

“Roger, over and out.”  There was a quick zipping noise and the sounds of those same booted feet running out the door while the auto-flush kicked in.  Geoff knew that the police would be on his trail eventually, but he didn’t know they’d be after him already.  Geoff didn’t want to race both Jeremiah and Jebediah, along with the Sioux Falls police.  Plus, now that he knew the F.B.I. was in town, his margin of error was suddenly a negative number.  I wish I’d studied the airport layout better he thought as he got down from the toilet.  He exited the stall and began washing his hands, ignoring the sound of the door opening.  

70 (14)

********** has signed in

**********: Can you talk?

agent3477: This isn’t a good time.  I’m in the office.

**********: Captain Hale?

agent3477: That’s right.

**********: How is the investigation going?

agent3477: Things would be smoother if one of the local cops hadn’t been shot.

**********: Shot?  Fatal?

agent3477: Twice in the head fatal.

**********: That does complicate matters to some extent.  Was Gerrard’s body recovered?

agent3477: The body hasn’t been located.

**********: Excuse me?  Not located?

agent3477: That is correct.  A death certificate was filed, but the body is missing.

**********: Were the local funeral homes checked?

agent3477: Of course.  The body was signed for by the city’s head medical examiner.

 **********: That seems odd.  Did you check into him?

agent3477: He’s missing and his home was robbed.

**********: Robbed?

agent3477: So far there have been about six robberies with the same M.O.

**********: Missing data storage?

agent3477: That’s correct.

**********: Is anyone in custody?

agent3477:One Bartholomew McGillcuddy, who was caught trespassing at a rail yard.  He knows other people of interest.

**********: By other people of interest, you mean Phillip Anderton and Robert Fulton?

agent3477: Yes.

**********: Is there anything on those two?

agent3477: Neither is answering their cell phones, and they haven’t returned to their apartment.

**********: Their car?

agent3477: Nothing of note.

**********: What about the local investigation?

agent3477: Detective Hetfield is on the case.  He has some hard feelings toward the C.I.A., as you may know…

**********: I am aware of his resentment.

agent3477: It sounds like somebody from the F.B.I. is here as well.

**********: I’m aware that Gerrard was being investigated for an identity theft ring.

agent3477: Is it legit?

**********: Does that really matter?

agent3477: So, is there an agent in town?

**********: Clayton Iron-Horse is his name.  He’s good.  Very good.

agent3477: I think he should be recalled.

**********: Why?

agent3477: He could get in our way.  This is too important and secret for the F.B.I. to get involved in.

**********: I intend on Iron-Horse helping lead us to the data, and possibly our missing people.

agent3477: You mean Anderton and Fulton?

**********: Perhaps Gerrard as well.

agent3477: So, the assumption is that he is alive now?

**********: Assume nothing.

agent3477: I’m not, I just need to know if we’re in search or recovery.

**********: Whatever the good people of Sioux Falls believe, go with it.

agent3477: ?

**********: We don’t want any more attention drawn to you than we need to.  Don’t push them too hard.

agent3477: What about the recovery?  I thought that was more important than anything.

**********: We want to do the recovering.  We don’t want local authorities, the F.B.I., or especially Anderton and Fulton stumbling into what’s missing.

agent3477: I still don’t understand.

**********: Trust me.  Fading into a crowd right now serves us better than running around, flashing badges and flinging acronyms that most people don’t know.

agent3477: You’re in charge.

**********: I’m glad we agree on that.

agent3477: What about Captain Hale?

**********: Keep on him until this afternoon, in hopes we get some news.  After that, do some checking on your own.  Start monitoring for credit card transactions, security feeds, anything.  We need to find Anderton and Fulton and check them out.

agent3477: The credit card tracker is already running.  Hold on.

**********: What is it?

agent3477: The chief medical examiner was just taken to a hospital from the airport.  He’s in bad shape.

**********: Things are happening.  Check it out, and call me when you’re alone.

********** has signed out

 

 

69 (13)

SKREEEEE

Will Hetfield didn’t even know if his car was in park, but he was out of it and running for the door with his badge in hand.  He glanced back for a fleeting second, and he was quite relieved to see his car not moving.  The doors opened up and he ran through the lobby of the airport.  Before he could talk, he saw a medic heading towards the departure gates.  He slowed to a stop and looked all around.  He didn’t see anyone that matched the description of Franklin Richmond, nor of Geoff Pryblinski.  Will ran towards a security officer, who put one arm towards him and one hand to his hip. 

“Relax, I’m with Sioux Falls PD.  I need to stop a flight to Vegas.  There’s a person of interest on that flight.”

“Sir, I can’t let you in right now.  We’ve had an incident and I don’t have any authorization to let S.F.P.D. in right now.”  The security guard didn’t move, and Will took a few breaths before he squinted his eyes.  He looked the guard over, and prepared to give him a dressing down.

“You there.  Agent Iron-Horse, F.B.I.”  Clayton was suddenly standing by will, holding his credentials in the guard’s face.  The guard lowered his hands.

“Go ahead Mr. Iron-Horse.  Your clearance came through a minute ago.”  The guard glared at Will, but moved aside for Clayton. 

“Hetfield is working with me.  I’ll clear him.”

“Very good sir.”

Will stood for a minute looking dumbfounded.  Clayton turned around and gestured towards him.  “What, you didn’t call ahead?  You just ran into an airport waving your badge around?”

“Hey, I don’t get to the airport very often.”  Will’s face was turning a bright red.

“C’mon.  I’ll tell you some more F.B.I. tricks on our way up.”

***

“Sorry…zoned out for a second…what were you saying?”

Phil stood up and slid the door until it was almost closed.  “I said, why don’t you close the door before we get to Aberdeen?  I have a hunch they’ll be looking for freight hoppers at some point.  The Sioux Falls P.D. isn’t some Roscoe P. Coltrane outfit.”

“Right right.  Sorry.”  Bob walked over to the door, and sat at the left of the foot long opening.  “I was just thinking about how hungry I was.”

“Oh, don’t even go there!”  Phil plopped down to the right of the opening.  “I skipped a run through Taco John’s because usually Friday means pizza.”

“I can top that, I didn’t eat lunch on Friday.”  Bob was rocking back and forth, clutching his stomach.

“How much cash to you have?  We should get a motel room, at least to shower and maybe call a lawyer.”

“If we’re going to call a lawyer, we could just as well use a credit card.”

“True.  We should have planned ahead to be outlaws.  We can probably get a motel for one night with our cash, then we’re in trouble.”

“We could hit an ATM before we skipped town.”

Phil started laughing.  “Just how long do you think we’ll be on the lam?”

Bob laughed but didn’t answer.

“Yeah” Phil said, “I don’t know either.”

***

“You’re sure?” Will asked.  The security guard’s face didn’t move.

“I’m positive.  As he collapsed, he seemed to gesture towards those seats, but when I looked, there was no one there.”  Will shook his head and looked around.  The medics were lifting Richmond onto a gurney, and he knew the ambulance was waiting.

“Dammit, we need him alive.  Otherwise it’s a dead end.”

“Maybe not” Clayton remarked as he watched Richmond’s gurney being wheeled away.  “I found something rather peculiar.”

68 (12)

“Warner?”

“Yeah, Warner.  I know where we are, and where we’re going.”  Phil walked away from the door, while Bob stood for a moment at the door, not sure whether or not to close the door.  He walked to the crates where Phil was now sitting.  Phil’s face was expressionless, which told Bob something was on his mind.

“So, where in Dakota is Warner?”

“Warner is a town south of Aberdeen.”

“Aberdeen?  Sweet.  I wonder if the Zoo is still open.  I remember going up there a few times.  Well, barely.  I didn’t know you’d been up this way.”

“I’ve been there once or twice for baseball.  I’ve pitched there once or twice.”

Uh oh. “So, you don’t seem excited to be going to Aberdeen.  You must have gotten knocked around or something.”

Phil looked out the door.  The utility poles were flying by as the train was speeding up slightly.  “Actually, I pitched some pretty good games here, including one of my no-hitters.”

Dammit. “Maybe we could find the old park, or at the very least a few of the guys you struck out.  I have some memories of a decent strip club here.  At least, decent for a town like Aberdeen.”

“Yeah, maybe.  Why not.”  Phil wasn’t really there anymore, and Bob could tell.

“So, why aren’t you excited to be going to Aberdeen?  Do you think they’ll trace the train here?”

“Maybe.  Trains run all over the place.”

No way. “You know, we could just stay on the train.  There’s no reason to get off here.  Sure, we’re hungry, tired and could use a shower, but other than that there’s no reason to disembark here.”

“Well, as long as we’re here, we should take a break.  We can probably get another train.  Heck old man B made it look easy.”

“Phil” Bob said, as he was deciding how far to go, “is there another reason you don’t seem keen on Aberdeen?

Phil took a deep breath.  “I was bored at work a month or so ago.  I did a person search on Yahoo, and it said there was a Michelle Whiteman living in Aberdeen.”

Bob looked out of the door as well.  His mind was racing back to a month ago, when he was home early and checked the mail.  The letter was from Aberdeen, and it was in Michelle’s handwriting.  He didn’t know what it said, but he didn’t care.  He had taped it under the garbage can, not knowing if Phil should ever see it.  He had seen how happy Michelle made Phil, but he also saw Phil in the dark post Michelle days.  The days where Phil had ceased showering and shaving, was unemployed and on the verge of being evicted.  She might have been asking about being friends or getting back together or how his family was doing or who knows what.  All Bob knew is that Phil was stable and happy without her, and he thought he was doing him a favor keeping the letter away.  Bob was now wondering if their run from the law was the least of his worries.  What if they saw Michelle?  What if she asked about the letter?  How hung up was Phil if he was looking for her on the internet?  What if…

“Bob!”  Bob’s mind snapped back to the present.  His head whipped around and looked at Phil, who was still talking.  “Have you heard a word I’ve said?  Are you alright?”

So much for my poker face Bob thought to himself, wondering what to say next.

67 (11)

Mabel sat motionless. Old man B sat and looked all around the bare room. Officer Laura Black tapped her pen on the table, just like she had been for the past few minutes. After a long, heavy sigh, she posed the question again. “Mr. McGillcuddy, I don’t know why you’re covering for Anderton and Fulton. Just tell us where they might be and we’ll drop the charges for trespassing. We have a pretty good idea you put them on a train, so just point us in a direction.”

“I’m not telling you anything. I have my reasons.”

Mabel looked at him, then looked at Laura. “Excuse me, but why am I here? You haven’t asked me anything.”

“Ms. Gravley, we would appreciate anything you offer this investigation. Since you manage the building that Mr. McGillcuddy, Mr. Anderton and Mr. Fulton live in, you’re a person of some interest in this case.”

“Person of interest? I was held at gunpoint and you’re treating me like the criminal.”

“Ms. Gravley, we don’t have any evidence at the apartment of anyone being there besides you last evening.”

“What about all the missing discs?” Old man B asked. “That must seem rather peculiar, since I’m guessing you didn’t find any at Mabel’s.”

“Mr. McGillcuddy, we don’t want to keep either of you any longer than we have to, especially you.”

“Then let us go.”

“Mr. McGillcuddy…we know you were in the rail yard. We have a statement from Julio Perez saying you indicated that you helped one, maybe two or more men onto a freight car. Your record indicates a few citations for freight hopping in the sixties and seventies.” Mabel looked at old man B’s face, which remained stoic. Laura saw that Mabel was conflicted, and now was a time to drive a wedge between them. “Your record is a…colorful read. I’ve seen assault, theft, battery, trespassing, speeding, public intoxication, public urination, and most of those in ample supply. You’ve had quite a busy life since you received your dishonorable discharge from the Army.”

“Excuse me” Mabel said. “Are you telling me that B was in the army?”

“You don’t talk about that, do you Bartholomew?” Laura was pushing ahead, sensing she could isolate B in the interrogation.

“After Korea, there wasn’t much to tell. The war was over and the army didn’t want me anymore. The feeling was mutual.”

“You fought in the Korean war?” Mabel’s attention was now only on old man B.

“It was a long time ago. There isn’t much to tell.”

Laura stood up and walked towards the door. “Excuse me” she said, slamming the door as she left. She had been outplayed for now, but she wasn’t ready to give up.

***

Phil had flattened himself on the wall of the boxcar. He looked out the narrow slot as the trees and houses flew by.

“Anything?” Bob was hanging onto the door, ready to close or open it on a moment’s notice.

Phil was scanning everything. The cars, the trees, the houses, but nothing told him where they were. “I don’t see anything. Wait. Wait a second…” Phil moved to the opening and started to push the door open. Bob slid the door all the way open. The big, blue sky was highlighted by a water tower in the distance, a tower with one word on it: Warner.

66 (10)

I hate to ask again” Jeremiah said dryly.

“Then don’t” Geoff shot back angrily.

Frank Richmond looked around.  The terminal was slowly filling with people.  His flight to Las Vegas was departing within the hour.  The airport, which looked almost abandoned when he arrived this morning, was suddenly lively and bright, with the sounds of intercoms, engines and people.  Frank was thinking about all the circumstances that brought him here today.  He kept thinking of the notes, the deposit, and anything he had written on the fake death certificate.  He felt the gaze of the one Geoff called Jebediah constantly, and it was driving him crazy.  The staring was bad enough to Frank, but he never talked.  The other man, the one Geoff called Jeremiah, kept asking questions.  Geoff kept answering for him.  Part of him was a big fan of Geoff right now, but the other part of him almost wishes Geoff weren’t here.  Without Geoff, maybe it would all be over.

Suddenly, Geoff leaned towards him.  “Frank, I know what you’re thinking.  If I wasn’t here, it would be all over.  They’d have asked their questions and you’d be off to Vegas.  Chances are, they’d have asked their questions, and then you’d end up back at your workplace one last time.”

How the hell did he know what I was thinking?

“Geoff” Jeremiah said, as he took a leisurely posture in his seat, “I take some offense to that.  I don’t know what kind of person you think I am, but I think you’re unnecessarily tainting Mr. Richmond’s view of us.”

“We should go.”  Jebediah said.  Frank noticed that Jebediah wasn’t looking at him.  The opportunity was there, and Frank decided to take it.  He sprang from his seat and moved as fast as his old body could take him towards the nearest security guard.  He was halfway there when he felt his legs weakening.

Oh God, what’s happening? Frank kept moving but his legs getting heavier.  His peripheral vision was fading away, and the security guard was slowly splitting into three guards.  Frank tried to reach out with his hand, but his arm didn’t respond.  He opened his mouth, hoping to get the somebody’s attention…

***

31, 32, 33, 34, 3-

“Phil, what are you doing?”  Bob asked the question as he slid the door open a bit farther.  Phil grimaced.

“Thanks a lot.”

“Were you counting telephone poles again?”

“First off, I highly doubt they still have telephone lines, so no.  I was counting utility poles.”

“I know.  You move your lips when you’re counting in your head.”  Bob sat on the edge of the boxcar.  His eyes were to what had gone by, letting Phil focus on what was coming.

“I do not” Phil angrily stated.  “Or do I?”

“Yep, you do.”

“Well, whatever.”

“So” Bob said, now turning his attention to  Phil.  “Do you want to tell me why you were reaching for your neck when I woke you up?”

“Oh that.”  Phil looked down, then sat.  “I had a weird nightmare kinda thing.  You were there, but you were dead, and there were four of those psycho bitch assassins.”

“Mokoto?”

“Yes Mokoto.  Why the hell do you keep reminding me of her name?”

“Because once we’re ready to go to the police, I don’t think they’ll have an A.P.B. for a P.B.A.”

“Well, you can handle the naming of names.”  Phil stood up and gestured to Bob.  “Let’s make with the door.  Anther town is coming up.”

65 (9)

“Well, that was pointless.” Bob’s voice relayed a healthy dose of frustration and exhaustion. He plopped down on the steel floor of the car. Phil slid the door the rest of the way. Phil rubbed his eyes as he leaned against the door.

“That town was barely there. We have to be getting to some town we’ll know.”

“Hey, why am I doing the looking? You’re an east river guy. This should be your territory.”

“You’re a worldly guy for one, and for two you didn’t ask.” Bob shook his head while Phil chuckled to himself. “Seriously, your guess is as good as mine. I haven’t wandered around the state very much. You’re the one who used to love a good, long, pointless road trip.”

“Yeah, like I remember those.”

“Well, if we find ourselves in Mitchell or Sioux Falls, I’ll be set. Anywhere else, you might as well be the one on lookout.”

“Do you have any idea where we might be?”

“Honestly, I don’t. I don’t know how many train tracks are still in use going northward. Heck, we might be in Minnesota for all we know.”

“Nah, I’ve seen way too many South Dakota plates on the small town cars so far for us to have crossed the border. My guess is that we’ll have to hop off in North Dakota, probably Fargo.”

“Do you think we’re still wanted for questioning like that story I saw on KELO?”

“I’m sure by now they’ve found Stevens’s body.”  Bob’s smile faded as he looked out the window.  Phil looked down, then away towards the back of the car.  After a minute or so, Phil looked back over towards Bob.

“I still can’t believe she shot him, just like that without thinking about it.”

“I’m trying not to think about it” Bob said as he stood up.  “It was…not something I’ll be happy to relay to the police about.”

“I’d never seen someone get shot like that before.  I j-”

“Phil, I don’t want to talk about it, alright?  Just…just keep watch for a while.”  Bob walked away from the door and towards the toppled crates near the roof hatch.  He sat down on one and removed his sunglasses.  As Phil took his spot near the door, he saw Bob bury his head in his hands.  It didn’t look to Phil like Bob was crying, and Bob wasn’t.  It wasn’t for a lack of his body trying not to, but Bob kept his sadness at an arm’s length.  The battle in Bob’s mind was won, but he could feel the emotional war inside him slipping away.

***

Will Hetfield flipped open his phone as his car took a hard right turn towards the airport.  “Hetfield here” he said, with one eye on the road and one on his rear view mirror to make sure Clayton was still behind him.

“Detective, this is Officer Baker at the rail yard.  I was told you’d be here to ask the railroad security some questions.”

“What?  Who said that?”

“Uh…It was the Captain sir.  He said an officer black should have gotten a hold of you?”

Damn, those missed calls this morning were important Will thought to himself.  “I’ll be there shortly, I just got a hot new lead I need to check.  No time.  I’ll call back when I have a second.”  Will closed the phone as he took another hard towards the airport parking lot.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a plane taking off.  “I hope you aren’t Vegas bound” he muttered.

64 (8)

Phil was staring at the countryside flying by. It had been a long time since he’d admired the beauty of South Dakota in the spring. The air coming into the boxcar smelled so sweet and fresh. The prairies were looking great and the sky just rolled onto the horizon for what seemed like infinity.

“Have you heard a word I said?”

Phil’s head slowly turned to Bob. “Sorry. I must have gapped out. What were you saying?”

“I’m saying, we should wait for a bigger town than the last one we saw.” Bob was in a catcher’s crouch on his side of the open door. He didn’t seem as into the countryside as Phil was.

“Well, at the very least, we should find out what the next town is.” Phil pulled out his cell phone and then put it away. “I’d be really frustrated if I’d gotten the GPS phone right now.”

“Tell me about it. Hey, there’s another town coming up.”

“Gotcha.” Phil stood up and closed the door most of the way. He waited in near darkness while Bob kept his head near the opening.

***

“Mabel?” Old man B lifted his head up from the table. Mabel Gravley was now sitting next to him. Her gray hair was tussled about, and her clothes were wrinkled a lot more than usual. She looked quite exhausted, and her eyes indicated she was running on very little sleep. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“That’s an interesting question. I could ask you the same thing, especially since you’re handcuffed and I’m not.” Mabel was amazed that Old man B’s hat was missing, and even more amazed at how much hair he still had, and how messy it was. He looked cranky and tired, or at least more so than usual. His flannel shirt was mostly buttoned, but totally untucked. “Do you know why people keep breaking into Phil and Bob’s place?”

“Keep breaking in? Like more than once?”

“Last night two men held me at gunpoint to get into their apartment. Then, no more than an hour later, someone else broke in. They found a ripped jacket in the tree that was just like the one the men who held me at gunpoint were wearing.”

Old man be started rubbing his chin. “What did the men want? Did Bob and Phil owe them money?”

“I don’t think so. They just took all their CDs, DVDs, and Xbox games.”

“Oh man. They must be from the government. Those guys are in big trouble.”

“Why would the government hold me at gunpoint?”

“Good point. They probably wouldn’t. It must be some other government.”

“But why their Cds and what not?”

Old man B lifted his cuffed hands above the table and started gesturing. “Because, those two yay-hoos probably downloaded some secret government who-knows-what? Maybe they got it by accident. Hell, I don’t know how that internet thing works.”

“Do you think they’re in trouble? Or even alive?”

“Oh, they’re alive” Old man B said, with a large grin. “I think they’ll be safe for a while. How long I don’t know. It’s up to them.”

“No, it is quite up to you.” Mabel and B looked towards the door, which had been opened without them noticing. Officer Laura Black was standing in it, holding a folder and leaning on the door jam. “Let’s talk about why you’re so sure they’re so safe Mr. McGillcuddy.”

63 (7)

Bob’s back hit the wall of the boxcar, and he slowly slid down to a sitting position.  The previous few minutes were a blur of activity.  He remembered hearing the latch rattle, only to find the door was still locked.  He heard a second, smaller rattle, and he had tugged on the door so hard it opened all the way.  He then saw Phil, limp and lifeless and hanging from the roof.  In his mind, it seemed to go a lot faster.  At the time, it had seemed like Phil’s body started to fall in slow motion.  Bob had reached out and grabbed the edges of Phil’s jacket, pulling with all his might.  The next thing Bob knew, he was on his back and an unconscious Phil was lying beside him.  He had stumbled up and closed the train door partway, as the decrease in speed and the increase in the train sounding its horn gave him the impression they were entering a town.  Phil was starting to roll around.  Bob watched as he lifted his left arm to his neck.  Bob sprang up and looked down at Phil’s closed eyes and facial expression that mimicked that of a choking man.  Bob had to act fast, so he grabbed Phil’s shoulders and started shaking him.  “C’mon, wake up.”

Phil’s eyes shot open almost instantly, and his teeth clenched as he reached over and grabbed Bob’s left arm.  “Shoulder…hurts…dumb-ass…” he sputtered out, keeping his teeth together the whole time.  Bob let go of both shoulders and stood up. 

“Are you alright?”

Phil slowly sat up.  “Yeah, I’m fine.  I must have blacked out, and you must have saved my bacon.  The last thing I remember I was hanging from the roof of the car.”

Bob walked over to the door and opened it all the way, letting in a blast of fresh, cool air.  “Yeah, I was at the door when I heard the latch.”  Bob paused a moment and spun around quickly.  “What in the hell were you thinking?  You could have died pulling that stunt off.  I could have handed you crap from the crates…”

“Look, the latch had to be lifted to open the door.  No amount of throwing crap at it would have worked.”

“Next time don’t be such a hero!”

“What, you wanted to do it?”

Bob didn’t reply.  He just looked out the car at the passing scenes of farms, fields and power lines flying by.  He sat at the door of the car, almost dangling his legs out of the opening.  Phil rolled to his left side and started getting up.  His right arm had a dull ache, and his fingers were sore and cut up.  Phil also noticed a large black stain on his pant leg from the grime on the roof of the car.  As he took a step towards the door, he saw Bob’s lucky sunglasses lying on the floor.  He picked them up and sat by Bob. 

“Phil, I’m sorry I yelled” Bob said softly, just over the ambient noise of their boxcar class trip.  “I just feel guilty for getting us into this mess, and the thought of you dying because of some crap at Jer’s I wanted…”  Bob’s voice trailed off and he looked away from Phil totally. 

“Hey” Phil said, at almost a shout.  “We’re alive, and so far I’d say your lucky sunglasses are proving to be indeed lucky.  Here, put ‘em on.  It’s bright out.”

Bob turned around, and looked at the sunglasses.  Part of him wanted to throw them out of the train, but instead he took them and put them on.  “So…I wonder where we’re going, and when we should disembark.”