He wondered if the road would lead anywhere useful. Tyler had to have come from somewhere. Careening recklessly down the road and past the occasional egg shell, he finally could make out a bog in the distance.
As he walked on, he stumbled on a poison ivy plant. Almost hurt his midriff. He was beginning to get thirsty. Maybe leaving Tyler wasn't such a great idea. Would he have to go strolling back to him, begging for a bottle of Gatorade?
Suddenly, a woman wearing a turquoise balaclava appeared on the other side of a dead tree. No, it couldn't be! Yikes, it was Sophia!
"Alrighty, what's going on?" he stuttered nonchalantly.
"Is that you? Are you alright?" she asked lamely.
"Of course it's me, but rats, what have you gotten me into?" he pleaded vigorously.
"Rocket brought me here. How did you find me?" Sophia replied.
"You assume I wanted to find you. I don't care, and I want off the case," he replied hastily. "You can have your money back, if you just send me home."
"I can't send you home. Rocket wouldn't hear of it. He'd frown at me if he even knew that I talked to you."
"Where is that old blackguard? How can I get outta here?"
"He's in his GMC pickup, headed up to the lodge. He'll probably be here in fourteen minutes."
"Well, I want to be out of here in fifty-three minutes. How about you? You obviously didn't go to Oslo like I recommended. Are you with him or with me?"
"Jumpin’ Jehosaphat, I don't know what's going on. Maybe we'd just better do what they say and get it out of the way."
She was so haughty, he didn't know whether to trust her, or to canter away as fast as he could. "You've been about as open with me as an itching shark," he bragged vigorously. "Just what have you and Rocket got going on?"
"Listen, mon chéri, maybe I didn't tell you everything, but I told you what I could. Rocket calls all the shots around here. I guess he thinks you can help with some Hanson business. As for me, I already told you, I want nothing to do with it."
"You think I want to be involved? Why don't you just take your exuberant little rib back to Rocket, and I'll take care of myself."
He turned and began sallying forth on down the trail.
"Wait," she amended dolefully. "I'm coming with you."
"You're harder to shake than a paperclip in a bowl," he begged. "You're obviously still operating on their orders. Alright, let's get on with it," he said dreamily.
Next Chapter