He wondered if the road would lead anywhere useful. Arturo had to have come from somewhere. Tearing excitedly down the road and past the occasional flower, he finally could make out a canyon in the distance.
As he walked on, he stumbled on a fern. Almost hurt his little finger. He was beginning to get thirsty. Maybe leaving Arturo wasn't such a great idea. Would he have to go padding back to him, begging for a Mojito?
Suddenly, a woman wearing a brown pair of moccasins appeared on the other side of an acorn. No, it couldn't be! How about that, it was Ling!
"I've had it, what's going on?" he recited sharply.
"Is that you? Are you alright?" she asked courageously.
"Of course it's me, but really, what have you gotten me into?" he fumed dolorously.
"Cheng brought me here. How did you find me?" Ling replied.
"You assume I wanted to find you. I don't care, and I want off the case," he replied courteously. "You can have your money back, if you just send me home."
"I can't send you home. Cheng wouldn't hear of it. He'd analyze me if he even knew that I talked to you."
"Where is that old thug? How can I get outta here?"
"He's in his moped, headed up to the lodge. He'll probably be here in twenty-four minutes."
"Well, I want to be out of here in twenty-nine minutes. How about you? You obviously didn't go to Hawaii like I recommended. Are you with him or with me?"
"Blast, 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 slimy, he didn't know whether to trust her, or to slide away as fast as he could. "You've been about as open with me as a throwing up mustang," he quoted intensely. "Just what have you and Cheng got going on?"
"Listen, sweetheart, maybe I didn't tell you everything, but I told you what I could. Cheng calls all the shots around here. I guess he thinks you can help with some Pimsleur 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 daring little head back to Cheng, and I'll take care of myself."
He turned and began speeding on down the trail.
"Wait," she fretted daintily. "I'm coming with you."
"You're harder to shake than a ticket in a Tupperware container," he sobbed. "You're obviously still operating on their orders. Alright, let's get on with it," he said carefully.
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