“You know, it’s been a slow week until tonight,” Laren said. Rox could hear commotion in the background.
“Am I interrupting?” Rox asked.
“I can multitask,” Laren said. “Your friends busted Cris out of detention, and now I’m laying down a false trail to distract Paul Gleeson.”
“The guy from Maniac Cop 3?”
“I honestly can’t decide whether to be proud or scandalized by you knowing that.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time on the road. We watch a lot of late night cable in seedy motels.”
“Anyway, while your friends are heading in one direction we’re off in another- getting seen enough to pull focus. If we do get pulled over, I might have to go, abruptly.”
“Sounds like you might not be in a position to help us, then.”
“Why? I’m not driving. I can still make phone calls. While texting. I have multiple burners for just that reason.”
“Well, we found where the boy ended up. And it’s where we didn’t want to find him.”
“In West Virginia?”
“In a certain clandestine military base.”
“That’s what I meant; it’s the West Virginia of Canada.”
“That… was not clear at all.”
“Neither is the continued existence of a West Virginia.”
“It broke away from Virginia proper because it didn’t want to join the Confederacy.”
“Then why is it the racist Virginia now?”
“Uh….”
“It was rhetorical. What can you tell me, by way of intel?” Laren asked.
“I thought I was calling you for intel.”
“Knowing as much as I can helps me ask the right questions, as opposed to trying to read the lint in my own belly button.”
“Definitely governmental, with guards posted. They seem to want to stay off grid- hewing to the idea that flying under the radar is a better defense than building an ostentatious fortress.” “Great. So we’re not just going to find the answers Googling. Look, I’ll make a few phone calls, and call you back. Unless I end up in Gitmo. In which case it could be a little while before I can access a phone.”