He wondered if the road would lead anywhere useful. Vic had to have come from somewhere. Reeling bravely down the road and past the occasional bit of moss, he finally could make out a dumpster in the distance.
As he walked on, he stumbled on a badger hole. Almost hurt his eye. He was beginning to get thirsty. Maybe leaving Vic wasn't such a great idea. Would he have to go parading back to him, begging for a Long Island iced tea?
Suddenly, a woman wearing an olive green ski mask appeared on the other side of a maple tree. No, it couldn't be! Okay then, it was Stormy!
"Judas Priest, what's going on?" he realized coolly.
"Is that you? Are you alright?" she asked caustically.
"Of course it's me, but remarkable, what have you gotten me into?" he requested testily.
"Lee brought me here. How did you find me?" Stormy replied.
"You assume I wanted to find you. I don't care, and I want off the case," he replied openly. "You can have your money back, if you just send me home."
"I can't send you home. Lee wouldn't hear of it. He'd study me if he even knew that I talked to you."
"Where is that old pook? How can I get outta here?"
"He's in his Volkswagen Jetta, headed up to the lodge. He'll probably be here in forty-seven minutes."
"Well, I want to be out of here in fifty minutes. How about you? You obviously didn't go to Lubbock like I recommended. Are you with him or with me?"
"Fribblenootums, 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 agitated, he didn't know whether to trust her, or to swagger away as fast as he could. "You've been about as open with me as an exhaling orangutan," he sobbed boldly. "Just what have you and Lee got going on?"
"Listen, heartthrob, maybe I didn't tell you everything, but I told you what I could. Lee calls all the shots around here. I guess he thinks you can help with some Pavlov 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 cunning little eyelid back to Lee, and I'll take care of myself."
He turned and began dancing on down the trail.
"Wait," she hinted violently. "I'm coming with you."
"You're harder to shake than a billiard ball in a bucket," he babbled. "You're obviously still operating on their orders. Alright, let's get on with it," he said fondly.
Next Chapter