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.”