166 (26)

Old man B didn’t say anything as the yellow Pacer rattled up Interstate 29.  Mabel hadn’t said anything since they’d left the gas station’s diner.  She took a deep breath, and finally spoke.  “B, are you all right?”

“I’m good enough” was B’s reply, and it was quieter and more subdued than anything he had said since Mabel found him at the police station.

“B, what’s on your mind?  You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m the only ghost here Mabel.  Just me.”

“You’re not a ghost.”

“I feel like one.”

Mabel frowned, and turned to face the road.  “Is this about what I said?  I’m sorry.”

“You?  Sorry?  What the hell for?”

“I just feel like I set you off.  The way I mentioned the government.”

B didn’t respond right away.  His face didn’t change, but he swallowed hard a few times.  “It’s fine.  It was a long time ago.  I should be over it.  Hell, I doubt anyone else from my unit is still alive.”

“What happened?”

“None of your damn business, that’s what!  I’m not looking for a counselor, a Chaplin, or some shrink to tell me what I’m feeling!”

“I’m not here as those…I’m here to be me.  I’m your friend.”

“Friend?  HA!  Until today the only thing you’d ask me is if my rent was going to be on time, and to remind me about snow restrictions to move my Pacer.  Friend.  I’ve had a lot of friends, and I’ve lost a lot of them.  You’re just someone who takes my rent check every month.”

Mabel turned her body towards B, her eyes starting to burn with emotion.  “For cripes sake B!  I’m trying t help.  Something is on your mind.  You can’t carry it forever.  I know I haven’t been a good friend in the past, but I’m trying now!  I…I’ve just been burned one too many times…I was told not to get too friendly with the people in the apartment…”

“Don’t blame your boss for how you’ve treated me!  Do you want to know what’s on my mind?  How about doing special forces work in Korea?  How about mistaking a child for a soldier?  How about torching a field to smoke out our target, and burning a village down?  How about being behind enemy lines and fighting my way out with no support?  That’s what I’ve had to live with and…and…” B slowly pulled the Pacer to the side of the road and started breathing heavy.  Mabel undid her seat belt and pulled B close.

“Easy B, easy…” she said, as B started to cry softly.

***

The lights of Aberdeen were coming up fast.  Laura had slowed the Jetta to the speed limit, and was watching the blips get massive on her small display.  They disappeared again, as a familiar number popped back up.

“What now?” she asked as she violently put the phone up to her head.

“You’re in Aberdeen.”

“Yes, nothing gets by you.”

“Your motivation gets by me.”

“Jeremiah and Jebediah are my motivation.  I’m sick of their sloppy work.  I’ll take care of it for you.”

“That would be…unwise.  The information they are trying to acquire is too critical.”

In the distance, Laura saw a lightning bolt strike down.  “Can’t talk now…there’s a storm coming.”  She hung up the phone, and went back to watching the road and the blips.

150 (10)

“Hold still” Garrett said as he pulled out his pocket knife.  He started hacking through the zip strips keeping Dale Roberts tied to a mile marker.

Lewis was rapidly buttoning her pantsuit back up all the way, and fixing her hair.  She kept checking the mirror but no matter how she did it, it looked like sex hair.  Finally she just gave up and opened the car door, only to leave it open while she continued to work with her combative hair.

Dale was rubbing his raw wrists, which Garrett had uncuffed right away.  The patrol car was still burning in a few spots, but it had mostly burnt itself out.  Dale felt the last strip give way, and he slowly stood up, with Garrett watching the whole time.  “Are you going to be okay?  You’ve got a few holes in your pants that look like they were burnt in.”

“I’m fine…just some debris from the car” Dale was looking around, and saw his badge, gun, belt and ticket book in a neat pile just a yard behind the sign, just out of his sight.  “I owe you one mister…”

“Garrett.  Agent Raymond Garrett, N.G.A.”  Garrett handed him his ID.

“Pardon me Agent Garrett, but I’ve never heard of the N.G.A.”

“We don’t get a lot of press, and we don’t get to South Dakota too often.”

“So, you guys fight terrorists like Jack Bauer?”

“Not exactly.  N.G.A. stands for National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.”

Dale’s face went blank.  “So…what do you do?”

“We work with the F.B.I. and C.I.A. on geographical data from airplanes and satellites.”

“Oh…what about her?”  Garrett looked over as Lewis walked towards the pair, her hair hurriedly pinned back in several spots.

“She’s N.R.O.  They handle satellite intelligence.  Now, what happened here?”

“I…I was pulling over…I mean…somebody…they tasered me…I woke up a bit ago…”

“So, you were tasered, tied up and somebody set your car on fire, left your badge and gun behind you?”

“More or less…”

“Did you get a good look at them?’

Dale swallowed and looked around at the dark prairie, the smoldering car, then back to the faces of Garrett and Lewis.  “No…I…I don’t remember.  It all happened so fast.”  Dale sunk down and sat back on the ground.

Garrett turned to Lewis.  “Call Aberdeen and tell them to move in.  We’re not leaving the scene until the help gets here.”

***

Risa kept doodling on her notepad, even though she could feel Amber watching her.  “Did you make the eyes big enough?”

“They’re doodle of a Japanese cartoon I like.  The eyes have to be big.”

“They look bigger than normal.”

“I’m trying a chibi style in my doodling today.  How was your shift at Kmart?”

“Mostly boring, but a cute guy came through today.  He said he was looking at one of our big-screen TVs.”

“Amber, do you fall for every guy who’s not butt-ugly and has money to burn?”

“No, just most.  Any cute guys check in today?”

“Just one…Eli Elson.  I should have known though.”

“Known what?”

“He was trouble.  The police have called to ask about him at least three times.  They haven’t called in a while, and now he’s out.”

“Where did he go?”

“I think he and some other g-”  Risa stopped talking as four police officers walked in.

“Ma’am, we have a warrant to search room 133, where one Eli Elson is staying.”

145 (5)

Alison Lewis eased her seat up as Raymond Garrett pulled the car onto I-29. She was mostly dressed, but her hair was a mess and her glasses were somewhere in the backseat. Garrett looked almost exactly the same as before they had taken their brief detour. He had a bit of sweat around his hairline that was being caught by the light of the dashboard. She opened her bottle of water and took a long drink as the car raced up over 100 miles per hour. She began screwing the bottle on tightly as she cleared her throat. “So, are you trying to make up for lost time?”

“This isn’t much faster than I was going before. Besides, we need to get there soon.”

“Do you think the local law enforcement has moved in already?”

“I hope not. Check my cell phone. Maybe somebody called.”

Lewis reached into the compartment between the seats and pulled out a cellphone.  It was blinking steadily, and Lewis flipped it open.  “One missed call from Sioux Falls.”

“Do you want me to call?”  Garrett’s hand reached towards the middle compartment, but Lewis quickly shut the compartment.

“No, I’ll take care of it” Lewis said as she placed the phone by her ear.  After a few rings, a raspy, slightly familiar voice came across.

“Captain Hale speaking.  Is this Garrett?”

“No, this is Lewis.  I’m sorry we were out of range for a bit.  What’s the latest?”

“The Aberdeen police are ready to move in.  They have a car watching the hotel, but they’re waiting until you get there, or give them the word.”

“Hold on a sec” Lewis said as she put the phone against her shoulder blade.  “Raymond, the Aberdeen force has a car outside, should we send them in?”

“No.  They wait until we get there.  We’ll be there soon enough.  Tell them to hold them if they leave the hotel.”

“Captain” Lewis said, almost before she had the phone back to her head.  “are you in touch with Aberdeen right now?”

“No, but Felix has them on the line.”

“Tell them to wait for us, but to bring Anderton and Fulton in for questioning if they leave the hotel.  Is that clear?”

“Crystal” came the dry response from Hale.

“Why don’t you give the Aberdeen police my number…and maybe give me theirs.”

“Sounds good.  Hang on, I’ll page Felix and tell him what you said.”

Lewis had her eyes closed, but she felt the car slowing rapidly.  She opened her eyes and saw a flickering orange light in the distance.  “What is that?”

“It looks like a car fire…or something.”  Garrett pulled to the left lane and kept slowing down as the car got closer to the orange light.  Soon, Garrett was able to make out a burning car, and one that looked like it had been burning for some time.

“Agent Lewis, do you have a pen and paper handy?  I can give you some numbers to connect with the Aberdeen police.”

“Captain Hale, I’m gonna need to call you back” Lewis said, as she spotted a South Dakota Patrolman tied to a mile marker.

142 (2)

Dale closed his eyes as tightly as he could.  He braced himself for the bullet.  He tried to think of everyone he still needed to say ‘I’m sorry’ to.  He thought of his mother, his brother and his cousins.  He wasn’t ready.

CLICK

The sound of the revolver dry firing snapped him from the precipice of a flashback to his entire life.  His eyes opened, his teeth unclenched, and he could feel a few tears running down his cheek.  Laura had a look of whimsical confusion on her face.  She tucked the gun behind her, and shrugged as she smiled at Dale.  She then reached for something in her front pocket.  “Hold this” she said as she tossed a metal ring at Dale’s face.  The ring bounced off his head as Laura threw something at the hole in his car’s windshield.  She began walking towards him.  Dale’s car exploded in a large ball of dancing oranges, reds and yellows.  Laura was past him as a few small pieces of the car landed near or on Dale.  The car lit up the countryside as it burned.  Dale felt a hot wind blow by him, then he felt two arms drape over his shoulders.  He saw a black gloved hand open his shirt pocket and place a bullet in it.  “If you tell them about me, I’ll find you and make sure all six chambers are loaded.”  Dale heard footsteps, and then a car starting.  He heard the tires rolling away.

Then, the tires stopped.  He heard a car door open, and footsteps coming towards him.  Laura crouched in front of him, and put her hands on either sides of his head.  Dale instantly thought she was going to snap his neck.  Instead, she pulled his head forward, and leaned into him.  Her lips met his, and she gave him a long, slow, wet kiss.  Dale’s shock gave way to an unusual calm, and an odd feeling of ease.  Laura pulled her lips from his and rested her forehead on his.  She slid her face against his,  brushing her cheek against his.  He could feel her breath in his hear.  “Dale?”

“Y…yes?”

“I will find you.”  Laura then stood up and walked to her car.  The engine revved and soon Dale was alone on I-29, with only his burning car as his company.

***

“My name is Robert Fulton.  I’m from Spearfish, I live in Sioux Falls, and I sell Volkswagens.  I have a degree in history from USD.  In the last twenty-four or so hours, one of my two best friends on Earth died.  I cried alone, and I cried when I could.  Since then I’ve been threatened at gunpoint.  I’ve been in a high speed chase.  I’ve been shot at and I’ve hid in a smelly old AMC Pacer.  I listened to a crazy old game show addict and hid in a boxcar to avoid the police asking questions.  I pooped in a corner like a guinea pig, and watched my other best friend almost die to help us get off the train, even if it wasn’t where I wanted to go.  I’ve lied to police and almost choked on a cheeseburger.  Worst of all, an error in judgement will probably lead to me losing my other best friend on Earth, and looking back I can’t say that I blame him one bit.  Believe me when I say that if I knew what you wanted, or could say what you wanted to hear, I would.  The only condition would be that you point me to the nearest bar so that I may drink myself into oblivion.”

Jeremiah looked at Bob with amazement.  “Usually nobody responds when we ask if they have anything to say.  That rant was a record.  Sadly, it doesn’t change anything, or answer my questions.”  Jeremiah started to take off his jacket, and Bob hung his head.

141 (1)

Highway Patrolman Dale Roberts blinked rapidly as he snapped back to reality.  Water was dripping down his face, and he was still trying to blink his way back to consciousness.  The last thing he remembered was looking at Laura Dell’s driver’s licence and noticing two wires.  He remembered a sensation akin to being tasered, but stronger and…different.

“Wake up…Dale.”

Dale sputtered water out of his mouth and looked up.  Laura was now out of her car, and she was in a catcher’s crouch in front of him.  She was holding an empty water bottle, and strands of her black hair had broken free of her pony tail holder.  Her stray hair blew in the South Dakota breeze, as she stared at Dale with a look Dale couldn’t even describe.  She slowly stood up, and Dale tried to do the same.  His attempt didn’t even get off the ground, as he realized his legs had been zip stripped, and his hands were cuffed behind him.  He looked up and over his shoulder, realizing his hands were cuffed behind a mile marker he couldn’t quite read.  When he looked forward again, Laura had disappeared.  He saw his squad car about 150 feed away, with all of the lights still on.  Laura walked in front of him again, and walked slowly towards his car.

“Ma’am…you’re in a lot of tr-”

BLAM

Dale’s head lurched back as the shotgun blast rang out across the empty stretch of interestate.  Laura fired several more times at his car, and then hammered at the windshield with the gun’s stock until the bulletproof glass gave-way in one spot, leaving a hole no bigger than a bowling ball.  Laura slowly walked back with a slight smirk, and one finger across her lips.  Dale frantically looked around his body.  His gun and belt were gone, his badge was gone, and so were his keys.  Dale bent his knees and tried to stand, using the mile marker sign as leverage.  His body moved up a few inches and stopped, once he felt the handcuffs snug up.  He sank back down as he heard footsteps.

“I zip stripped the cuffs to the marker.  Those holes in sign posts come in handy.”  Dale took a deep breath as he heard her voice, and approaching footsteps.  She suddenly crouched down right in front of him, and her smile had only grown.  “Now Dale, I need to ask you something, and be honest.  When help comes, and they find you here, are you going to tell them about me?”

“Of course!  You are in big troub-”

Laura placed one finger on his lips.  She used the other hand to pull out a revolver.  Slowly and deliberately, she loaded one bullet.  She looked him in the eye again.  “Are you going to tell them about me?”

“Yes.”

Laura loaded a second bullet into the gun.  “Are you going to tell them about me?”

Dale hesitated for a second.  “No.”

“You’re lying” Laura said.  She loaded a third bullet.  “Are you going to tell them about me?”

Dale looked at the gun, and looked up to Laura’s eyes.  “Maybe.”

Laura slowly loaded a fourth bullet.  She shook her head, then asked again, “Are you going to tell them about me?”  Dale’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.  “That’s a yes.  Oh Dale, I’m running out of chambers here.”  Laura pulled out a fifth bullet, and slowly slid it into the chamber.  She held the gun up and locked her eyes with Dale’s.  “Last time I’m going to ask Dale.  When they find you out here, and they ask you who did this, what are you going to tell them?”

Dale looked at the gun, then at Laura.  She had the gun in one hand, and a single bullet in the other.  Her smile was gone.  “I don’t remember who did this.  It’s all fuzzy” Dale said, almost not believing he was saying it.  He noticed his breathing had accelerated, and he had an overwhelming feeling of doom.  Laura slowly placed the bullet in her pocket.  She stood up and smiled.

“I believe you, but I wish you’d said that earlier.”  She spun the cylinder of the revolver, then with a flick of the wrist she locked one of the chambers in place.  She cocked the hammer and pointed the gun at Dale’s head.

137 (25)

Michelle turned the car and proceeded down Aberdeen’s main street.  She kept glancing in the backseat, but didn’t look Mokoto’s way too often.  She glanced at Mokoto’s face again and frowned.  “Weren’t  you in Herberger’s earlier today?”

“I was.”

“Have you been following me all day?”

“Mostly.  It’s hard to lose somebody in a town this size.”  Mokoto adjusted herself in her seat slightly, and the gun was briefly not fixed on Michelle’s location.

“If I agree to cooperate, will you stop pointing that gun at me?”

“I’ve heard that one a few times” Mokoto said, as she kept the gun pointing towards the car radio.  “Sometimes I believe it.”

“Are you going to kill Phil and Bob?”

Mokoto didn’t answer her question instantly.  She looked ahead to a red light and simply stated “Keep going straight, I’ll tell you when to turn right.”  She lifted up the gun and once again pointed it at Michelle, keeping it lower than the windows.  After glancing at Phil and Bob, she again looked forward and spoke.  “I don’t want to kill them.  I don’t plan to kill them.  I shouldn’t have to kill them.”

“You didn’t answer my question” Michelle said as she shifted to the right lane.

***

Dale Roberts slowly opened his car door, but decided to try his on-board computer one more time.  For the third time, his computer read “ERROR” when he typed in the black Jetta’s plate.  He shook his head and got out of his Highway Patrol cruiser.  The sun had mostly set, and he could see a handful of stars in the sky.  The Jetta’s window slowly came down, revealing a smiling brunette, whose hands were still on the wheel.  Dale flashed his light inside the car, but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, with the exception that the car was unusually messy for a female driver.  “What seems to be the problem officer?” she said, her smile not breaking for a moment.

“Well ma’am, you were speeding just a bit, and by just a bit I mean you were going 113 miles per hour in a 75 mile per hour zone.”

“I’m sorry officer.  I’m meeting some friends up North and I got a bit carried away.  But, I want you to know I’m not trying to talk my way out of a ticket.”

“I need your l-”

“License, registration and insurance?” the woman said, cutting him off in mid sentence.  She slowly lowered her sun visor and handed Dale a license, along with some other folded paper under it.  Dale lowered his flashlight slightly and took the papers.  The name on the license read ‘Laura Dell’ and it indicated she lived in Sioux Falls.  He unfolded what he thought was the registration paperwork, but the paper felt really odd.  He noticed what looked like two threads coming off of it, that almost looked like wires.  His eyes followed the threads and noticed they were really long.  In fact, it looked like they went all the way back to Laura’s front seat.  Laura smiled as Dale heard some kind of click…

135 (23)

“Well?” Michelle was waiting for Phil to say something. She didn’t want Bob to say anything. His voice was liable to send her into a fit of rage. His confession still burned in her ears. She was still trying to clear her mind about Phil, who was the wrong target for her hurt and anger the past few weeks. A strange woman sitting on her Toyota was just a little more than she could take right now. “Well? Who the hell is this Lucy Liu wannabee?”

Bob froze in place. Phil wasn’t moving or speaking, and seemed to be on the verge of screaming. Michelle looked at each of them and then to the woman, who slid her hand out of her jacket. It was holding a handgun with a long silencer. “My name is Mokoto, and I’d appreciate better insults than Lucy Liu wannabee.” Michelle took a step backward. “Michelle, we need to talk, and we need to go, so why don’t you drive us around a bit. Or, I can end all of you right here, right now.” Mokoto’s face was like stone after she spoke. Michelle waited a moment, and finally Phil spoke.

“We…we should do what she says.”

“Good. You two, in the back. Michelle, you drive. Needless to say, I call shotgun.” Phil glared at Bob and walked towards the car. Bob slowly started making his way towards the car as well. Michelle started reaching into her purse. “Call 9-1-1 and I kill you right now” Michelle heard as she held her phone. She let go and pulled her keys out slowly. Her hand was steady, even if her nerves were not. She slowly walked to the car and unlocked the door. She sat in the drivers seat, and considered trying to run while she pressed the unlock button. Mokoto slid into the car once Bob and Phil were inside.

“Where are we going?”

“I’ll tell you when to turn. Get back onto 6th and go West.” Mokoto reached over with her left hand and fastened her seat-belt while keeping the gun on Michelle with her right.

Michelle backed up and pulled the car to edge of the Millstone parking lot. Mokoto finally smiled. “You two are a bigger pain in the neck than I gave you credit for, you know that?  I haven’t slept in a day or so.” Bob looked out the window, while Phil crossed his arms and looked down. Mokoto placed her gun between her knees and locked her legs together. She reached into her jacket and pulled out an envelope. “Phil, I think this is yours.” Bob, Phil and Michelle all looked at what was in her hand, and they all recognized Michelle’s handwriting instantly.

***

The black Jetta roared up Interstate 29. Laura Black kept checking her display. The blip wasn’t moving, but it was still well North, but also now to the West. She didn’t even know what exit she was approaching, but she knew eventually she’d have to pick one. She saw a pair of lights fly by on the left on the Southbound lanes, only to see red brake lights follow. She watched her rear-view mirror as the car took a dirt service road, and started flashing the all-too familiar red and blue lights.

131 (19)

Agent Lewis kept hitting the seek button on the car’s radio.  “My gosh, are there even radio stations out here that aren’t country or oldies or crap?”

Garrett had relaxed enough to let a small smile slip out.  “I doubt you’ll find a smooth jazz station out here.”

“That’s a damn shame Raymond.”  Garrett looked over for a moment, as Lewis started fiddling with some hair pins.  “Relax a bit, we’re in the car, with no one around.  I think we can use first names.”

“If you say so Allison.  We’ve been in agent mode so long lately, it almost feels odd to call you Allison again.”

Lewis’s hair tumbled down to her shoulders.  She took off her glasses and started rubbing her eyes.  “Why did we decide to get to Aberdeen so quickly again?”

“I want to be there and interrogate Anderton and Fulton as quickly as possible.”  Garrett’s eyes were ducking from the road to Lewis, who put her glasses back on.  She went back to playing with the radio.

“Interrogate?  Is that something they train you for at N.G.A. headquarters, after you make your first map?”

“Like you know.  Do you have a satellite that can find all the info we need?”

Lewis pressed the power button on the radio.  She stared at Garrett as she unbuttoned the first few buttons on her pantsuit.  “No, but thanks to satellite imagery I know there are a lot of seldom travelled roads in this state.”

Garrett looked over towards her.  He could see her unbuttoning her pantsuit down to the pants portion.  She arched her back forward and quickly slipped her arms out.  “What if I don’t want to slow down?” he asked.

“Then you’ll have to explain why your partner is naked, because I’m going to keep going until you exit the interstate.”

Garrett knew Lewis wasn’t bluffing.  He flipped his blinker on and exited Interstate 29.

***

“Well, I had rethought the reasons, yes, but not anymore.”

Bob’s leap of logic was spot on, but his triumph would only make what he had to say even harder.  “Did you try to tell Phil this in any way?”

“He knows.”

“Michelle…” Bob stopped for a moment as Abbie popped back up by their table.  She looked as if she was going to ask them to keep it down, while at the same time unsure whether or not it was safe to even approach.  “…hang on.  Abbie, I’ll be paying tonight.  I’ll need some change.”  He handed her two twenty dollar bills, which she cautiously took.  She then turned around, forcing a nervous smile all the way.  Bob turned back to Michelle, who was still staring outside.  “Humor me.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I poured my heard out to Phil in a letter.  A long letter.  It needed two stamps and everything.”

Bob’s heart sank even further.  The true scope of his error in judgment was now becoming apparent.  Phil’s mood suddenly swung upward upon hearing this.  “Wait wait wait” Phil stammered.  “I never got the letter.”

Michelle looked at Phil with a healthy heap of disbelief.  “Really?”

“Really” Bob said.  “I’m the reason Phil didn’t get the letter.”

130 (18)

The black Crown Victoria rocketed across the lane.  Will watched the semi-truck fly by like it was going the other way.  He glanced over to the speedometer, but it was pegged at 125 MPH.  He swallowed for a moment, then cleared his throat.  He was about to speak, when Clayton’s phone went off.  Clayton picked it up and looked at the display.  He quickly frowned and pushed a button on the side.  Soon the car was dark again, save the light from the stars and the headlights of oncoming cars.  “Does this car have airbags?”

“Probably, but I doubt they’d help at this point.”

“I don’t know if they have deer in the Twin Cities, but we have a fair amount of them here.”

“I’m aware of the deer.  We’ll just have to hope to get lucky.”

“Is there a reason you’re trying to break the sound barrier?”

“I want to get to Aberdeen before Garrett and Lewis.”

Will turned more towards Clayton.  “So, I take it not all the governmental agencies are playing nice like they’re supposed to?”

“Something weird is going on.  The N.G.A. and N.R.O. don’t go throwing their weight around like this, or like ever.  I know both of those agents have C.I.A. ties.  Yet they don’ t want me pursuing a lead on two men who might be the key to my investigation into Gerrard Dinkley.”

“Who also might be the key to our murdered officer.”

“You haven’t heard then, ballistics came back with the shell casings found at the scene.”

“So, they know who’s gun?”

“The bullet casings matched a gun owned by one Officer Laura Black.”

“Say what?”

“Exactly.  Isn’t that tidy?  The rogue officer who was impersonating a dead officer is also on the hook for a murder?  An officer who happened to be off the day it happened, and is now missing?”

“So, why aren’t we on I-29?”

“That’s the road Garrett and Lewis are taking.  We need to get there without them knowing we’re going.  We’ll have to hope that we don’t hit any deer once we exit I-90 and go up US-281.”

***

“Sit?  Give me one good reason I should sit right now!”

“Just…please Michelle.  You need to hear this.”  Bob took one last bite of his burger, which he had eaten rather quickly, considering he’d almost choked on it a few minutes ago.  Michelle sat down, but she looked out to the parking lot.  Her arms were folded, and she wasn’t looking at either of them.  Phil’s eyes were bloodshot and on the verge of watering up.  Bob looked over at him, swallowed the rest of his burger, and sighed heavily.  “Phil, you’ve been a friend for almost ten years, right?”

“More or less.”

“Michelle, you and Phil had a good thing once.  Do you know how much it hurt him when you left?”  Michelle didn’t answer.  “I’m sure you thought you had a good reason.”

“I had my reasons.”

Bob had a few options to him, but he decided to take a blind leap.  “Reasons you’ve since rethought, right?”

Michelle looked at Bob, with a mix of confusion and anger.  Phil just looked confused for the moment.

126 (14)

Agent Garrett said nothing.

He hadn’t said anything since they had left the police station.  He spent five minutes yelling back and forth with Clayton Iron-Horse, until the F.B.I. agent finally backed down.  He stormed out of the Sioux Falls police headquarters, and agent Lewis was right behind him.  She had been on the phone since they’d left Sioux Falls, and now they were zipping up Interstate 29 at eighty miles per hour.  He shifted his eyes to her for a moment.  She was leaning back in her seat, and she was drumming her fingers on her laptop over and over.  “Anything” was the first word Garrett had spoken in almost a half hour, and Lewis just started at him for a moment.

“No.”

Garrett looked forward once again.  “What’s the hold up?”

“I’m trying to get in touch with their chief or sheriff.  I get the impression that unless we’re the F.B.I. or C.I.A. we have to wait a bit longer.”

“In their defense, the N.R.O. and N.G.A. aren’t agencies that often work with law enforcement around here.”

Lewis arched her body forward.  Her free hand supported her head as she looked Garrett up and down.  “You of all people are going to cut these people some slack?  After how you treated the Sioux Falls police?”

“I gave them the benefit of the doubt.  They didn’t live up to m-”

“Garrett, they’re a town of less than 200,000.  I think they did very well, all things considered.  The death of one of their own, missing people, a pile up and an explosion is a lot to take in.”

“You’re right.  I’m just…that F.B.I. agent…I don’t know.”

“Relax.  His record indicates he’ll refocus on this Dinkley person and that will be that.  Phil and Bob and whoever else we find isn’t his concern.

Garrett frowned and flipped on his blinker.  “I’m going to exit here.  We have a long way to go, and I need some caffeine.”

***

Phil had thought about this day more times that he could remember.  He’d daydreamed about meeting Michelle by random chance at the mall, at a restaurant, at a bar, and even at the Storybook Land park.  He’d thought about what he’d say if he called her, if she called him, or if one of them was working in a call center and called the other.  Phil even had thought of how to break the ice if they’d wandered into a chat room at the same time.  He had not thought of what to say in the event of running into her while saving Bob from choking.  His only comfort was that she looked as genuinely surprised as he felt and probably looked.

“What are you doing in Aberdeen?”

Phil froze for a moment.  He had looked at her number in Kmart for ten minutes, but he’d never considered that he’d have to come up with a reason that he was in town once he talked to her.  “Uh…we were just…passing through.  I thought about calling…but…number…uh…”

“Michelle, come sit with us” Bob croaked from the floor.