Ventura
Lenore, Socrates, and Brisco all made it to Ventura by train. As soon as they arrived in town, Lenore stated that she was tired and would check the group in at the local hotel before going to her room for a nap. Brisco attempted to protest as he knew that Lenore was feigning her desire to sleep. But when Lenore gave him a warning look, Brisco decided to let it go. It would be best to find Viva first to create a plan and maybe have a deputy assigned to shadow Lenore for her safety.
Socrates and Brisco had only began walking through the town for about ten minutes before Socrates blurted out, “I’m starving!”
“We passed a café on our way in.”
“That’s what I hate about travel,” muttered Socrates. “You have no idea if what you passed is the only place serving food right now, much less if there is actually something better and open on your way to your destination.”
Brisco agreed saying, “It would also be helpful to have information about the restaurants available when you visit a town. Maybe information on what locals think of the place? Maybe even a rating system that you could use to compare different places?”
“How expensive is it? Does it have a view? Is it pet friendly?” Socrates added. As Brisco smiled in agreement, Socrates teased, “Careful! You might just be thinking of a coming thing.”
Brisco said nothing but walked on, wishing that Comet was still alive to distract him from Socrates. When they finally arrived at the sheriff’s office, it looked like the jail was all locked up with no one around. In fact, the streets almost looked like an abandoned ghost town. Luckily, a man began hurrying across the street which enabled Brisco to holler for instructions to the whereabouts of Sherriff Viva. The man continued speedily moving away from the sheriff’s office as he shouted over his shoulder, making it nearly impossible to understand. About all that Brisco could put together is that there was some kind of town competition occurring.
“What could that mean?” asked a baffled Socrates.
“Well, last time I found Viva in a contest, he was winning a pie eating-“ began Brisco but Socrates was off following the stranger’s hurried direction. Brisco watched both men hurry down the street but found himself hanging back and smiling. Maybe it was the humorous way that Socrates ran. Maybe it was the thought of seeing old friends again. But maybe, just maybe, the old thrill of hunting a man down was coming back.
Brisco turned the corner and found a crowd of people sitting around the town library. People were sitting on benches, on chairs clearly dragged from every corner of the town, and a few were sitting in the middle of the street. But what made the situation so unusual, aside from the location, was that everyone was silent. It caught Brisco off guard. He studied the townsfolk but they were all enraptured by a small group of people in front of the library. Brisco looked across ahead at Socrates but it was clear Socrates was more motivated by the thought of finding food rather than noticing the odd behavior of the town.
Brisco looked around at the faces of people as he passed by. He needed to find someone that seemed at least open to explaining what the hell is going on to an outsider, or at the very least point him in the direction of the Sherriff. Finally, he spotted an elderly couple that seemed harmless enough. The man smoked his pipe while the woman sat knitting away. Both were staring ahead as if they were children watching circus performers. Brisco took a chance and knelt between the couple as they swayed in their rocking chairs.
“Ah- excuse me, uh-“ stuttered Brisco, unsure how to start his line of inquiry.
“Sshhhh!” exclaimed a nearby mother holding a child in her lap. She gave Brisco her nastiest look before turning her attention back towards the library.
Brisco tried again but a bit more softly, “Excuse me, ma’am?”
“They’re tallying the final score now,” explained the woman. She smiled and nodded in the direction that the town was facing as though it was common sense.
“What are they scoring for?”
“The trivia challenge.”
“SShhhhh!” repeated the nosey nearby mother.
“Awh, hell Valerie!” the old man erupted at the nosey mother, “They’re crunchin’ numbers! Ain’t a problem if my Else wants to talk to this man!”
“Ah, thanks,” Brisco awkwardly replied before continuing, “Could you explain a bit more? I’m not following.”
“That’s nice, son,” the woman stated in an all too sweet, almost condescending manner.
Brisco decided to give up and just ask where he could find the sheriff, to which the man replied that Viva was the judge. “Well, that at least points me in the right direction.” Brisco began to move through the crowded street and as he got closer to the library, he noticed a stage set up with 2 men standing on either side of the table with Sherriff Viva sitting in the middle with a hound dog resting at his feet. True to form, Viva had a large spread of food laid out in front of him. While normally Brisco would assume that Viva was involved in an eating contest, this time it seemed more like he was absently snacking and more focused on the men in front of him.
“Aright, the tally shows that y’all are still tied so it’s now or never. Final round, men,” yelled out Viva. He shot his gun in the air and Brisco anxiously watched to see if the men were about to eat, race, or complete some other activity. But to Brisco’s surprise, a grey-haired man from the crowd moved around the table to stand at Viva’s right. He held out a sheet of paper and began asking questions. With each question, the final contestants would attempt to ring their bell first and then respond to the question. Brisco squinted to read the name plates in front of the two contestants. One man’s name plate read “Bing” while the other’s read “Google.”
“What a let-down! All of that build up for this? A question and answer session?”
“Can I help you, sir?” a stern whisper behind Brisco asked. As Brisco turned he was surprised to find Whip Morgan, all grown up and wearing a deputy’s badge. As recognition spread across Whip’s face, he gave Brisco a bear hug and laughed.
“Sshhh!!!” several nearby people stated. Whip smiled and held a finger up to his mouth before motioning Brisco away from the crowd. Once they seemed far enough away from the crowd’s listening ears and wrathful shushing, Whip slapped Brisco across the back.
“Brisco County?!? How the hell are you?”
“I’m fine,” began Brisco. He turned his back towards the crowd and attempted to surreptitiously point his thumb over his shoulder before saying, “So, what’s going on up there?”
“We are in a Trivial Fact Challenge. The town is fanatic about it. We do it every year.”
“Wait.. A what?”
“A game where people try to answer the most questions about trivial facts. Once a year, the whole town compiles a list of facts, and the winner is the person who can state the most correct answers.”
“I see,” stated Brisco still trying to figure out the appeal. “Very fancy…”
“Mr. Jeeves and Mr. Yahoo bowed out pretty early on. It’s now just a contest between Bing & Google.”
“Those are some interesting names,” was all that Brisco could think to say. The whole situation just felt surreal. Brisco did not have much time to think on the oddity of the environment before the whole town began to cheer and celebrate. Whip smiled and excitedly shouted at Brisco to follow him back to see who the winner was. Brisco moved back towards the commotion but decided to walk around the crowd, to move up the steps to the library, and lean against one of the columns in front of the old building. From this vantage point, Brisco could see the whole town. With the contest ended, most of the crowd had already started moving towards bars, restaurants, and homes. A small crowd remained encircled around the finalists in an attempt to offer congratulations or to shake the finalists’ hands. Brisco watched as the sun was beginning to set before glancing down to see the crowd finally dispersing away from the sheriff. Brisco had always assumed that the “double takes” in Hollywood comedies were a farce until he watched Sherriff Viva visibly do a double take.
“Lawdy Miss Clawdy!” slurred Sherriff Viva as he motioned Brisco to come down. Brisco slowly descended before shaking Viva’s hand. Viva had just enough time to invite Brisco to dinner before the sound of gunshots were heard. Brisco was ready to run towards the sound, but Viva held up his hand in exasperation. “It’s prolly just Bing. I told him to hit the road with Bob, but sounds like he’s causing some kinda commotion again. Last year I found him cryin’ in the chapel after the competition.”
With the knowledge that it was probably just a disgruntled loser, Brisco, Whip, Aaron, and the hound dog pushed through the crowd to investigate the gunshots. When they passed by a man with tear-stained eyes that Whip pointed out to be Bing, Brisco started to get nervous again. The closer the trio got to the center of the crowd, the easier it was for Brisco to hear that a woman was shouting. Finally, the sheriff, deputy, and former bounty hunter made it into eye of the storm to find a blonde man laying on the ground as though he had been knocked backwards. His unruly blonde curls looked especially unkempt with his disheveled clothes. He held his hands high in surrender with his wide eyes staring down the barrel of a familiar shotgun. His captor was none other than Lenore.
Lenore glanced up to see her friends before shouting, “That’s the man who stole my son!” As soon as the words were out, Whip and Aaron grabbed each arm of the stranger and hoisted him to his feet. The intent was to drag the man to the nearby cell but with all of the excitement, the stranger seemed to faint just as he was brought to his feet.
As Brisco inspected the slumped head of the stranger, he realized that the kid really was out cold and not pretending in an attempt to avoid talking with Lenore or the sheriff. Clearly, this was a man used to monotony and indoor life. Brisco sighed and thought, “how are we supposed to get answers from him now?” To Brisco’s relief, Lenore had uncocked her gun and was in the process of hiding it among the folds of her dress. She smoothed her skirt as though she had just dealt with a gust of wind instead of a rush of motherly adrenaline. “She was always able to keep calm in a crisis,” thought Brisco. He could understand why Bowler admired this woman but at the same time, could not figure out how she had so masterfully hidden the weapon before and after her encounter with the scientist.
Sheriff Viva called out to the crowd which caused Brisco to let go of his musings and focus on the task at hand. “Put your suspicious minds at ease!” he called out. “This boy will be locked up and the matter investigated. There is nothing to see or to worry about here. Move along and enjoy the rest of the party.”
At that, the town went began to move in their respective directions while Viva and Whip hauled the unconscious man towards Viva’s office. Brisco offered a hand to Lenore in case she needed steadying. At first, she shook her head in an effort to maintain the look of strength but after a couple steps, Brisco noticed that she was trembling. Brisco gently took her arm and held her steadily as they slowly followed the sheriff back to the county jail.
- - - - - - - - -
Trace awoke in a small cell. He blinked his eyes slowly while looking at the cold white ceiling above him. His head seemed to feel 3 sizes too big and his lungs seemed to have trouble with the air. The air was so much different than he expected. In fact, all of his senses seemed to have difficulty processing this past world.
Trace closed and opened his eyes again in an attempt to steady his breathing and recall how he arrived in a jail cell. And then the memory flooded back, the widow had hunted him down and had him arrested. Trace could not believe his own stupidity. For all of his IQ points, he had not calculated enough distance to keep this angered mother out of his way. Not that he could blame her for being angry. But Trace did not have time to waste. The longer that he stayed, the more people he would meet. The more people that he met, the greater the possibility of adversely affecting time. He could create time paradoxes, complicate the future, or even bring something into existence sooner than originally intended.
Trace slowly sat up and began to study his surroundings. Trace noticed that he was sitting on a flattened straw mattress in a small jail cell. Luckily, he seemed to be the only prisoner. Outside of his cell 4 men and the mother were talking in hushed tones.
“So much for being inconspicuous,” mumbled a pale man with red hair and glasses. He seemed to be inhaling the food before him and talking between mouthfuls.
“Bubba Ho-Tep, drop it!” came a shout that made Trace jump out of his skin. He watched as a hound dog dropped a piece of paper that Trace recognized was in his own handwriting. They must have searched his clothes for identification and found a couple of papers in his pockets. The commander of the dog was wearing a sheriff’s badge which shined as the man passed by Trace to gently pat the dog’s head before picking up the wet and crinkled paper.
“Uck!” grimaced the sheriff before he continued. “Bubba, you’ve gone from sniffing elderly individuals’ behinds at Shady Rest Home to destroying evidence at the jail.” The dog whined as though hurt by the sheriff’s reproach which caused the man, to scratch the dog’s ears before saying, “I can’t stay mad at you. You’re the cutest jailbird I ever did see.”
Trace was getting nervous. Luckily, the calculations on the paper were incomplete and would not make sense to the most advanced minds of this era. But still, Trace was unsure who to trust but he knew that he needed out of this cell and quickly. All he could do was put his head in his hands and wait for inspiration to strike. And then he heard it in the voice of the red headed man addressing a quiet man in the corner.
“Brisco…”
- - - - - - - - -
Brisco, Whip, and Lenore had been debating how best to approach the man upon his waking while Socrates continued to finish his dinner. Whip, ever impulsive, wanted to beat the man until he confessed what had happened to Bowler’s son. Lenore wanted to interrogate him at gun point. Brisco agreed that he wanted answers and justice, but this man seemed fragile. If the stranger was going to faint easily, how could they keep him conscious long enough to get all of the answers that they wanted? Brisco had seen all kinds of criminals in his life and this man seemed more likely to jump out of his skin in fear rather than have a master plan as a hardened criminal.
“Brisco, what are you thinking? What’s your plan?” Viva asked.
“Brisco?” the stranger from the jail cell questioned. “Brisco County Jr.?”
The room fell silent and all eyes turned to face the cell. “Who’s asking?” Brisco cautiously asked.
“Not here, Mr. County. I am willing to talk with you, but not here.”
“That’s not how this works!” exclaimed Whip through gritted teeth.
“Whatever you say to Brisco, you can say to all of us,” demanded Lenore as she moved closer to the bars.
“Just a minute,” interjected Socrates. At the stranger’s request to speak with Brisco, Socrates forgot all about dinner and moved between the bars and the small group as his attorney persona kicked in. Socrates nodded at Brisco as if to signal that he would take the communication from here. “We don’t negotiate with kidnappers. If you have something to say, you will address the group.”
“It is impossible to talk to everyone here. I’ll only talk to Mr. County,” insisted the prisoner.
“What information do you have? Can you tell us where James is?” inquired Brisco. He lifted his chin as though to mull over the situation. “What danger can this puny kid really be? We’re wasting time by making him talk to the group.”
“I am the only person who can save your son,” came Trace’s response. Even as the words came out confidently, a small voice in the back of Trace’s head wondered if he truly could rescue the kid.
“What does my son need to be saved from?” cried Lenore. Viva took a look between Brisco and Lenore and his years of being a sheriff in small towns and handling domestic disturbances, arresting miscreants, and doing his best to keep peace, kicked in. He gently escorted Lenore outside and told Whip to take her on a walk to calm her down. Lenore protested but Viva was firm and had the firecracker Whip and the terrified mother removed from the room.
“Put your hands through the bars,” commanded Viva. Trace shakily stood but did as ordered and Viva handcuffed his hands together. Assured that Brisco was safe, Viva tipped his hat to Brisco signaling that the two would be left alone. He then took Socrates out the door for some more dinner before whistling for the dog to follow.
The room had barely emptied before Brisco demanded, “You have your wish. Now tell me. What the hell is going on?”
“I can’t tell you the whole story,” Trace began but at Brisco’s angry stare Trace quickly continued, “But here is what I can tell you. I am a scientist from the future. You and a man named Lord Bowler met my colleague Karina probably 20 years ago, your time. She said that the two of you were men that she trusted with her life. Please, as dangerous as the orb technology was, I cannot begin to tell you what is at stake. Please trust me. Let me take you to the room that I have rented and I can better explain what is going on.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“Because I’m one of the few people who knows that you defeated Bly twice to ensure that Lord Bowler survived the encounter.”
- - - - - - - - -
Brisco had to surreptitiously sneak Trace out of the cell and to his hotel. Luckily, most of the townspeople were still giddy and distracted from the trivial fact contest and did not notice Brisco escorting a man at gun point. As Brisco came into Trace’s room, he noticed newspaper clippings all over the floor littered among sheets of paper with various math problems strewn around the room. Trace grinned sheepishly as he looked about the room as if seeing it for the first time as the mess it was. His smile faded however as he noticed Brisco’s unsmiling face.
“Talk Professor.”
“Um – how to begin,” stammered Trace. “I’m from the future. I believe that you have met a fellow scientist from my time, a woman named Karina.”
“You said that part already.”
“Yes, well… She was part of a failed time improvement program.”
“Failed?”
“In that a bureaucrat from my time, Bly, went back in time and corrupted the time stream by searching for the ‘orbs’ as you call them. Anyway, after that failed experiment, we still needed information from this time stream to find a new solution.”
“Solution?” repeated Brisco.
“I can’t get into that and honestly, it’s not important to finding the son. What I can say, is that I was assigned to go back to small sections of history that would not affect my present or your future while enabling me to gather information and research.”
“Research?”
“Essentially, it’s anthropological mission. We needed to watch people and collect data on this time era. The information collected from the past could create a better future for human connection and for our overall existence.”
“Watchers from the future sent to observe key points in history, that science sounds a bit on the fringe for me,” mused Brisco. “What does this have to do with James?”
“James, as in… Lord Bowler’s…?”
“Son. Right. His son,” finished Brisco.
The scientist flinched before continuing, “Right, sorry. Um- as I went to take the inaugural test, another individual came up with a similar device which frankly shouldn’t exist, since this was my design – “ The scientist stopped rambling for a moment, realizing that he had gone off on an unnecessary tangent. Anyway, they weren’t calibrated to be near each other which could have created a potential cataclysmic event based on my calculations.” The scientist paused to point at the math on a handful of pages. Brisco nodded as though he could recognize which scribbles had the math the scientist was discussing in an effort to help the man continue his story. “But instead of causing a rupture in time or an explosion, it sent us both back to this time but different places. I came to Lord Bowler’s house where James put on the bracelet and disappeared. Which honestly, a guy shows up in your house, out of nowhere, and on fire, so you decide to put on a piece of technology that you have never seen before? Who does that? That’s so-” again the scientist cut off his rant, embarrassed for saying too much.
“And then instead of sticking around to explain yourself or to help Lenore, a grieving widow, or to offer a way to find her son, you stole a horse?”
“I apologize for the stolen horse, but I thought I could make it here in enough time to catch James.”
“James was here? When?”
“About 2 days ago. But his timing is off. He is spending a lot shorter of a time here than he should have and by the time I got here, he had already left. So, I stayed here to work on my calculations and to come up with a better plan. I have been tracking both James and the man with the other device.”
“How can you track them? I thought that they can disappear and reappear whenever and wherever. It’s not like they leave tracks.”
“Tracks in the dirt? No. But they do manage to catch attention by appearing and disappearing. So, I have been collecting articles from around the country and it looks like James and the other man are traveling around the area. I am not sure why both of them are locked into this time, why they are locked in only the United States, or why they don’t just take off their time traveling devices.”
Brisco processed the information for a moment before continuing, “So, how do we get ahead of these guys then?”
“I know the various places that James is going. The various places that he has appeared always seems to be within a 50 foot radius of where I programmed the bracelet to go, assuming that it was approved for future jaunts through time. I had programmed the various locations and dates for my future trips already in an effort to save time. The good news is that his time in a single location is increasing. I’m not sure why it was so short originally but it does give us a better chance of finding him and helping him reunite with his mother. Not to mention it will help me get back to my time.”
“His time is increasing?”
“When I originally came to this town, I found out that he was only here for 5 minutes, which was why I missed him. However, in following the rest of the articles, the next town was a 20 minute stay, the next town was 40 minutes, and the last town was an hour. Between the list of locations, what order they should occur in, and an increasing time in each location, we should be able to find him.”
“What about the other man? Is he following the same path as you were supposed to?” asked Brisco as he began studying the articles on the other man.
“I have no idea what his path is set as. He seems more random and he can typically stay at a place for a day or even a week. He seems more controlled and intentional which makes me think that he’s from my time, a competing scientist. Although I have never met him before which means that I have no idea what his intentions are,” Trace paused for a moment before murmuring to himself, “And without the bracelet, I can’t be in 3 places at once.”
“Three?”
“Well, I believe that if James can figure out how to work the bracelet, it will take him home. It is designed to respond to your feelings of panic and it should take the wearer “home” when they experience adrenaline. I had originally hoped that he would panic and his mother would stay home and I could just retrieve it. But based on the fact that you and Lenore are tracking me, he hasn’t gone home yet. The second location is San Francisco. It looks like the unknown man is most commonly spotted in the San Francisco area. I need to figure out who he is in order to discover what motivates him which will enable me to track him down and return him to my time and prevent any damage he might cause.”
“The third being the original path that you were supposed to take throughout the United States?” asked Brisco as he continued to study the walls and notes. Trace nodded.
After a moment’s pause, Brisco turned and looked Trace in his eye before stating, “There is a way to be in 3 places at once, but it means that you will have to trust more people than just me.”
- - - - - - - - -
It seemed almost obvious which party would take each mission. Lenore would head home to Hard Rock with instructions to call Brisco immediately if James appeared. Brisco and the scientist would need to determine how much time is passing for James, to determine why he has not removed the bracelet, and to attempt to reach him and help him get home.
Socrates would go to San Francisco to investigate this man from the future. Brisco didn’t agree with the scientist’s belief that the bearded man with long hair was an instigator of trouble. He was in a hospital gown which to Brisco, seemed more like a potential third victim than a danger. Based on that logic, Socrates would not be in any danger when meeting the mysterious patient. An added bonus of staying in a single location like San Francisco, Socrates could continue to check-in with Hollywood and provide mock status reports of Brisco and his location. Socrates mentioned that the studio had already begun to send angry wires to Socrates inquiring why Brisco had not checked back in with the studio within 24 hours of his departure. While the director didn’t need Brisco, the producer was surprisingly litigious.
Although Brisco agreed to travel with the scientist, he still didn’t fully trust the man. Brisco did not like that it was difficult to pry information from the strange man of the future and that he refused to provide his name. As a last resort, Brisco was forced to nickname the scientist “Doc.” To Brisco’s chagrin, the nomenclature was less out of professional courtesy and more because it seemed to irritate the young man. Of the three missions about to begin, this one seemed most dangerous and he felt the need to keep an eye on the nerdy and disheveled man of the future. Based on Doc’s notes, their first stop would be a town called Santa Barbara.
Shortly after Lenore left on a train towards Hard Rock, Socrates boarded a different train towards San Francisco. As Brisco stood on the platform, Socrates opened his window and motioned Brisco to come close.
“When I checked in with Hollywood, I received some troubling news,” Socrates whispered. “While I was able to negotiate another three days for us, it appears that they will be sending someone to track you down.”
“You make it sound like they’re calling me out like a Bly gang member,” Brisco chuckled.
“May not be that drastic but they still might sue us for breach of contract. Or utilize local police to arrest you.”
“Leave it to Hollywood to make the mundane dramatic,” snorted Brisco sarcastically.
“Remember, don’t bite the hand that feeds,” came the familiar warning from Socrates.
“Relax Soc. I’ll be back before you know it.” The train whistle blew signaling it was about to leave the station. Brisco stepped back and watched on as the train slowly moved away. Socrates offered a weak yet supportive smile to his friend before the train pulled out of sight.
As Brisco headed back to the strange scientist’s room where the Doc packed and Whip stood guard, Brisco’s thoughts were racing. Not about Hollywood but about what his next step might be when they arrived in Santa Barbara. Just as he was turning a corner he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head before the world went black.
- - - - - - - - -
When Brisco awoke, he was sitting in an abandoned alleyway with his hands tied together. The light pierced his eyes and his head hurt like hell. As his vision began to clear, Brisco noticed a figure leaning against a building opposite him. It was Rachel Hawke.
He almost did not recognize her. Gone were the dance hall gowns and fancy hair styles. Gone were the heels and fans. Her was a short woman in boots, jeans, flannel shirt, leather coat, and a gallon hat. She was holding her gun as though she were inspecting it but he could see that she was watching him above the gun. She was making her point clear; Brisco was at her mercy.
“Rachel Hawke…”
She gave a slight and sarcastic bow while grinning. “I told you that I could fight as well as any man.”
“While I never doubted you, I feel like it might not have been a fair fight in that you hit me from behind. The last woman who got the drop on me like that was a bounty hunter named Crystal…”
“Hawke.”
Brisco looked at her surprised and suddenly it made sense. “Why had he not noticed it before?” Rachel indeed looked like Crystal. The same last name. The same strength of character. And the same need to be seen as man’s equal.
“And here I thought it was a stage name.”
“Turns out, I am my mother’s daughter,” she said sweetly.
“So, why do you have me tied up? Is this an equality play? Women’s Rights’ Movement?”
“I actually am making a point. The director knew I had a background in bounty hunting, trained by my mama actually. He sent me to come find you and bring you back…”
“I was told that I had three more – “
Rachel held up her hand to silence him. “No excuses Brisco. And to be frank, I don’t have time for explanations. My actions were to prove a point. I can catch you and drag you back to Hollywood anytime I want. You aren’t as…”
“Watch it,” Brisco warned.
Rachel considered her wording for a moment. “How about ‘sober?’”
Brisco nodded to accept the adjective although he did not like being told that he was a lesser version of himself in anyway.
Rachel continued, “You aren’t as sober as you used to be? Well, let’s just say you have been gone from this life for longer than you might want to admit and you will probably want all of the help that you can get. And while I do want the whole story of what’s going on, I can only buy us so much time. I can probably get us another couple weeks and I am sure that Sophocles-“
“Socrates”
“-is working to continue to buy you time as well. I will work with him to get our stories straight, but this is how your adventure is going to play out. I will come along with you on whatever mission you have decided to take as your last adventure. Whatever you are trying to accomplish, you can have my help to complete it faster. If you fail to include me or don’t complete your promise within the next few weeks, I will drag you back to Hollywood to face their lawyers.”
“What’s in it for you if we do succeed?”
“Consider this my audition. By dragging you back for a failed or accomplished mission, I will have new allies to push for equal screen time, equal action, and maybe even equal pay. Not only from the studio but you personally because you will have seen what I can do and can help advocate for me.”
“Is that all?” asked Brisco, uncomfortable with the thought of having another tagalong to babysit along with the scientist. However, by this point he had managed to cut the rope and tossed it up to her while standing. She had just enough time to catch it and prevent it from hitting her in the face.
“This way, sweetie,” Brisco did his best to pick one of the names Rachel’s mother truly hated. Instead of rattling Rachel, she merely walked beside him with the biggest smile possible.
“My other reason for doing this? Mama said that one of her favorite adventures was working to capture you. She said that all of the future shit was confusing as hell but she never regretted trusting you.”
With that the duo walked briskly back to the hotel to pick up the scientist.