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Michelle paced around Clayton’s car.  She could feel Will staring at her as she made circles.  It wasn’t a creepy kind of stare, but a stare that made her feel safe for his protection and guilty for holding back information.  She looked away and started staring at the rock formations that were all around them.  I might as well enjoy the Badlands while I’m here. Her walking slowed, and she began looking all around at the formations and colors.  She didn’t notice Clayton Iron Horse standing in front of her, and she ran right into him.  He didn’t budge, which caused Michelle to fall back slightly and let out a gasp.

“We need to talk.  Now” the F.B.I. agent said in the sternest tone she had heard from him all day.  Will was sitting on the hood of Clayton’s car, and he was looking at the hole in the safety fence as Clayton ushered Michelle towards him.  “We just got word that your friend Gerrard dr-”

“He’s not my friend” Michelle said.

“Well, you know him.”

“We met.  Less than twelve hours ago.  I’d hardly call that knowing him.”

“Look, we need to know where…”

“Yeah yeah, I know.  You need to know where Phil and Bob are at.  Look, I don’t know.  I thought they’d head East because they’d want to get back to Sioux Falls where this all started.”

“You’re not telling us everything” Clayton said.  He closed the distance between them, but Michelle didn’t back down.

“Why should I tell you any more?  You two haven’t given me a reason to.”

“Fine” Will said.  “We can just follow the lead we have.  One witness has them taking a boat onto the Missouri River.  Granted, we don’t know for sure if it’s really them, but it’s more than you’re giving us.”

“A boat?  That doesn’t even make sense.”

“It’s all we have” Will said.  He opened the passenger door to Clayton’s car.  “Let’s go check it out.  You were right about her.  She’s not going to tell us anything, so when Phil and Bob meet up with those other folks again, there won’t be police around to bail them out.  We’ll just start checking the river.”

“Wait…wait…”  Michelle said.  She looked down at the pavement, and started taking a deep breath.  She could still remember getting angry at Phil, then at Bob.  She could feel the rope holding her to the chair, and she could see a knife sinking into a wall inches from her face.  The spot where the tranquilizer dart hit her back was still sore, and her hands smelled like the metal of the gun she was holding at the Oahe Dam.  Above all those feelings were how she felt when Phil let his defenses down, and how his hand felt in hers at the water treatment plant in Pierre.  We should talk she remembered saying, and she wanted to have that talk more than anything.  “They’re going East, but not to Sioux Falls.”

“Where?”  Will asked.

“Two conditions.  One, you bring me along.  Two, I get to talk with Phil before you haul him off to Gitmo or wherever.”

“Deal” Will said.  Clayton said nothing.

“If I had to guess, I’d say they’ll end up at the EROS Data Center.”

“In the car, both of you” Clayton said.  He looked around suspiciously.