His patience was wearing thin.
“I’m not sure you do. This mission is different than any other we’ve been on. Stay focused, okay. No getting off track or off target, and no straying outside mission parameters. You can’t go off-script on this one and expect to get away with it. This time it’s real, and these guys mean business.”
“Abby!” he made her look him in the eyes. She had her defenses up, but when she saw those deep green pools of jeweled passion, she froze. “Abby, what’s wrong? I mean, this mission is dangerous, I’ll confess. But you seem more out of it than normal. What is it?”
“I’m sorry,” she admitted. “There is something bothering me about this mission. Problem is I can’t put my finger on it.”
“ I can. It’s Hatman. He’s one creepy bastard,” he gave her a reassuring wink, though it really didn’t set her mind at ease. What he said next boosted her confidence. “You know what, Abby. Hatman’s about to have a really bad day.”
*****
Rev parked the SUV at the lodge’s south end lot, nearest the main walkway. It was the easiest and closest access to unload their luggage and gear, of which they had copious amounts. Before Rev could turn the engine off, there stood an attendant at the driver’s door. Dressed in heavy blue jeans, a forest green flannel button down, and tan hiking boots, the elderly gentleman looked like he’d stepped off the REI website.
“Howdy! Howdy!” he had the friendly smile of a man who’d seen and heard plenty of happiness in his long life. A thick silver head of hair and matching mustache added to his avuncular appearance. Both Rev and Abby reciprocated his friendliness with giant smiles of their own, though they weren’t buying the guy’s act for one second. The thing they didn’t know was the old man wasn’t buying their act either.
“Is this The Singulate?” Rev feigned ignorance. He scanned the road and noticed the security Suburban was gone.
“Why, you’ve found us,” the gregarious man put up his hands, chuckling. “And you must be the famous CassiX3.”
“You’ve heard of me?” Abby pretended to be slightly aloof while slightly friendly.
“Well, no. But anything will be an upgrade over the musical act they booked last year. They actually had the gall to bring one of them gay bands, the one that plays out at that Indian casino in Warm Springs. I mean, really. I don’t have anything against those Indians, but if the band is a regular at their casinos, I don’t want to hear it, you know what I’m saying?”
The smiles were getting harder for Abby and Rev. The subject matter couldn’t have gotten any more bigoted, so she changed it.
“Is this where we’re staying?”
“Yes, of course,” the old man spat a wad of Copenhagen into the bark dust. “Right here’s the place. The name’s Ed, and if there’s ever anything I can help you with, don’t hesitate.”
“How about a little help with our bags,” Rev said, and as he said it, Ed whistled loudly. In response, a gangly, pimply teenage boy rushed from the lodge pushing a luggage cart.
“This is Stewart,” Ed opened the SUV’s back door and started removing the contents. “He’ll be happy to help.”
Inside the lodge, they found exactly what they’d expected given the rustic and ornate features on the outside. Wrought iron fixtures and old gas lamps and stained lumber from floor to ceiling. The air smelled of alkyd. An entire study on the biological food chain was represented along the walls of the vaulted sitting area, ceilings thirty feet high. A giant open space with leather couches and bearskin rugs and taxidermy busts of just about every animal that roamed the prairie, woods, mountains, or grasslands.
Rev saw the lounge from the reception area. He didn’t want to mention it because of the woman eyeing him from the bar. He made no attempt at catching her attention or encouraging her flirtations. He only walked with Abby, side
“I’m not sure you do. This mission is different than any other we’ve been on. Stay focused, okay. No getting off track or off target, and no straying outside mission parameters. You can’t go off-script on this one and expect to get away with it. This time it’s real, and these guys mean business.”
“Abby!” he made her look him in the eyes. She had her defenses up, but when she saw those deep green pools of jeweled passion, she froze. “Abby, what’s wrong? I mean, this mission is dangerous, I’ll confess. But you seem more out of it than normal. What is it?”
“I’m sorry,” she admitted. “There is something bothering me about this mission. Problem is I can’t put my finger on it.”
“ I can. It’s Hatman. He’s one creepy bastard,” he gave her a reassuring wink, though it really didn’t set her mind at ease. What he said next boosted her confidence. “You know what, Abby. Hatman’s about to have a really bad day.”
*****
Rev parked the SUV at the lodge’s south end lot, nearest the main walkway. It was the easiest and closest access to unload their luggage and gear, of which they had copious amounts. Before Rev could turn the engine off, there stood an attendant at the driver’s door. Dressed in heavy blue jeans, a forest green flannel button down, and tan hiking boots, the elderly gentleman looked like he’d stepped off the REI website.
“Howdy! Howdy!” he had the friendly smile of a man who’d seen and heard plenty of happiness in his long life. A thick silver head of hair and matching mustache added to his avuncular appearance. Both Rev and Abby reciprocated his friendliness with giant smiles of their own, though they weren’t buying the guy’s act for one second. The thing they didn’t know was the old man wasn’t buying their act either.
“Is this The Singulate?” Rev feigned ignorance. He scanned the road and noticed the security Suburban was gone.
“Why, you’ve found us,” the gregarious man put up his hands, chuckling. “And you must be the famous CassiX3.”
“You’ve heard of me?” Abby pretended to be slightly aloof while slightly friendly.
“Well, no. But anything will be an upgrade over the musical act they booked last year. They actually had the gall to bring one of them gay bands, the one that plays out at that Indian casino in Warm Springs. I mean, really. I don’t have anything against those Indians, but if the band is a regular at their casinos, I don’t want to hear it, you know what I’m saying?”
The smiles were getting harder for Abby and Rev. The subject matter couldn’t have gotten any more bigoted, so she changed it.
“Is this where we’re staying?”
“Yes, of course,” the old man spat a wad of Copenhagen into the bark dust. “Right here’s the place. The name’s Ed, and if there’s ever anything I can help you with, don’t hesitate.”
“How about a little help with our bags,” Rev said, and as he said it, Ed whistled loudly. In response, a gangly, pimply teenage boy rushed from the lodge pushing a luggage cart.
“This is Stewart,” Ed opened the SUV’s back door and started removing the contents. “He’ll be happy to help.”
Inside the lodge, they found exactly what they’d expected given the rustic and ornate features on the outside. Wrought iron fixtures and old gas lamps and stained lumber from floor to ceiling. The air smelled of alkyd. An entire study on the biological food chain was represented along the walls of the vaulted sitting area, ceilings thirty feet high. A giant open space with leather couches and bearskin rugs and taxidermy busts of just about every animal that roamed the prairie, woods, mountains, or grasslands.
Rev saw the lounge from the reception area. He didn’t want to mention it because of the woman eyeing him from the bar. He made no attempt at catching her attention or encouraging her flirtations. He only walked with Abby, side
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