Hi chicklets,
this is really a continuation of scene three, but I thought it would be confusing if I added it to the bottom of the previous posts. So lets call it scene 4.

Foreign Body Reaction, Alan McNeill
Chapter 4 Scene 4

Ben shook his head . He just didn't get people, really didn't understand. He made his plans, stuck to them, kept his word, and they did, well they did about whatever random thing they pleased.

The trip through Selma had been somewhat shocking. The town was little more than a bump in the road on the back way to the California coast coming southwest out of Grant's Pass. Today you would have thought it was I-5 itself. Restriction applying to I-5 were not in force here, and people were using the secondary roads to go to the coast and then north and south.

A very slow way to move but the roads were too numerous to block all of them thought Ben, at least so far.

When they passed through town, Mark stopped at the cafe, with Ben protesting the whole way. They sat at the counter and Mark motioned Darlene over and introduced her to Ben.

Mark and his cheap floozies, thought Ben. But he was polite. She was everything Mark said he liked. She looked easy, slightly ditzy and not very sophisticated. No way around it, she looked cheap. He tried not to judge his friend for that, but . . . of course he did.

She said “pleasedtomeetya” smiled and suggested they take their coffees around back to the picnic area in at the rear of the building and she would she would join them in a minute. The diner was packed and she motioned to the table waitress that she was going for a smoke.

“Now!” came the incredulous reply from the other waitress?
Darlene tossed her platinum do back, but of course it didn't toss, being pretty much one piece from the hair spray. “Honey how often do I get two good looking guys who want to go on break with me,” she said, with a throaty laugh. Some of the truckers laughed with her.

“Just take a minute,” Darlene said as she shepherded Ben and Mark out the rear entrance.

Ben was mortified, blushing as they exited the building. Was this low profile like he told Mark. Was Mark fucking insane?

They sat at the table, Darlene waiting for Mark to speak.

“Ben, Darlene's not what she appears.”

“Yes I am silly, I'm a hot woman, looking at mid age with no intention of dying without enjoying myself to the fullest.”

“Maybe all that,” said Mark smiling, but she is also the head of the group called Earth First.”

Ben shook his head. “The radical tree huggers that you hate?”

“Radical yes, tree hugger yes, but whatever she is, she's the most trusted person in the green movement in southern Oregon.”

“Stop honey, you'll make me blush,” said Darlene batting her eyelashes at Mark.

Mark continued. “She has been keeping records of log counts, truck numbers, companies involved and even some of the illegal dumpers. I've done some odd jobs for them. She has the information and the ear of every trucker that passes through here. I'd trust her with my life.”

Darlene tapped the ash off the cigarette she held and watched Ben. Ben stared at both of them.

#

Mark had been very cautious driving to the tower, stopping to look at tire tracks and intersections. There was no active logging going on, and now with the bird flu road closures, it might be a while before there ever was again. Still it was a rare sunny late afternoon when they arrived at the fire lookout tower.

Ben carried the laptop up and one of the cell phones and phone cards Mark had purchased at a DariMart. Signal strength was good and Ben spent twenty minutes activating the phone and card.

“Barone Pipe . . .”

“Shut up.” Ben interrupted.

“Ben, holy fuck – is that you Ben” Jacob exclaimed, “you're alive?”

“Don't speak, just listen,” Ben hissed.

“Write this down.” Ben gave Jacob the GPS coordinates from an intersection of a logging road a mile away. “You need to be there in two hours. Bring Emily.”

“What is this all about Ben? Emily's out shopping, I don't know. . .” Jacob halted realizing the connection was dead. Ben was alive? That's impossible he thought. Two hours, what was Ben thinking. God it was good to hear his voice. Bring Emily, does he think I can make her go anywhere?

Jacob was still in Grant's Pass. After the incident with Homeland Security, he had limped home, explaining to Emily that he had been mugged in town. Emily had stared at him, disbelieving and said, “You better not lose this contract Jacob.”

She had turned on her heel and slammed the thin door to the bedroom in the Provost.

Jacob had showered and used butterfly bandages to hold his split check together. His nose was swollen and yellow and it hurt like hell. He had pulled some ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet, eying the Tylenol Three with codeine that sat next to it. He had taken three of the ibuprofen and put the Tylenol Three back. It was Emily's prescription and she was pretty touchy about things like that.

As Jacob sat with the cell phone still cradled in his hand, he thought about the call from Ben. Emily opened the door and entered carrying several shopping bags from a candle and gift shop on the road over to Ashland.

“Those assholes wouldn't me on to I-5 Jacob. I had to go back and around the back roads. When is this going to stop. They were so rude, I have the worst headache. Would you be a dear and get me some of my pills?”

Jacob thought for a moment. He had known Ben for a long time before the pipeline business. Ben was serious. He needed to get there.

“Yes dear,” Jacob said has he flipped open the computer and brought up his DeLorme mapping program. “Right away.”

As he walked to the bathroom to get Emily's pills, he said, “Oh, you won't believe it, Ben called.”

“So?”

“Remember I told you I thought he was dead, his trailer blew up?”

“Honey this really hurts, get the pills please, you can tell me about Ben later,” said Emily rubbing her temple and sorting out her purchases on hassock.

Jacob returned and handed the two Tylenol Three to Emily. She looked up to say thank you, but stopped. “God your nose looks worse than yesterday.”

“Sorry dear. Anyway I need to go meet Ben, it seems he has some money for us,” lied Jacob.

Emily looked up, the pills still in her hand. “I'd better come with you honey, you know how you are about money.” With that Emily put the pills down, her headache forgotten, and grabbed her coat from the chair. “Let's go.”

#