"one minute!" i shouted back.

"you go to the hospital now, have lissell and sidney take you home, rest up." pork pie smiled, and finished off his beer. "go on angel, i'll be alright." i hated to leave pork like this, but there was sidney's dad. i grabbed captain zimmerman's hand and we walked out of the pool room.

"i think they've made terry, carlee, we must find out. did you write the number down?"

"it's in my head harry."

"your memory is astounding carlee."

"some say that,"i smiled. when we got to the station, we were informed that a plane had be sent for terry. i decided that it may be wise to call him to confirm things. ed jordan explained to me that the plane was federal, and should arrive in a little over an hour. the agents had orders to travel to the howard johnson's by car and pick terry up for the trip back. i asked the commissioner if there was anyone on board who terry might know, his reply was negative.

"terry? it's carlee."

"are they coming to arrest me carlee?" he asked.

"no terry, you're not under arrest, they're just bringing you home."

"why didn't you come with them carlee?"

"they're not from louisville terry, they flew out of quantico, virginia."

"i ain't going with them."

"what?"

"i ain't going to fly away with no fbi's."

"it's no big deal terry," i said quietly, trying to calm him.

"no, i'll fly with you, and only you, that's final, otherwise i'm leaving." shit!

"hang on terry." i went to commissioner jordan. "he won't leave with the feebies sir."

"and why the hell not?" he huffed.

"i don't know commissioner, he's afraid, i suppose."

"shit, is he still on the line?"

"yes sir, he is." commissioner jordan picked up the phone.

"miss mccord, did he tell you that he would return only with you?"

"he mentioned that."

"i'll go with you, carlee," harry said.

"no!" said the commissioner. "she's to go alone captain. you can drive her to the airport. now get me internal affairs, immediately!" he said to a staff member. "he is frightened, and i am compelled to follow his wishes; this case is quite on hold until we first get mr. sypes back here. there's a lot of things going on here," the commissioner said to no one in particular. "this could prove very embarrasing to the city." the commissioner was called to the phone.

i received my instructions, a map of new mexico with the location of the howard johnsons circled on it. i was quicky deputized, my picture taken by a very dykeish woman who looked me up one side and down the other. she handed me a flight uniform and informed me that i could put it on now, if i liked. i didn't like. i was issued a hand gun and a pair of handcuffs, no key. i changed over in the rest room downstair. the blue flight suit certainly wasn't attractive, but the picture on my name badge looked very nice. i combed my hair and adjusted my pony tail. harry drove me to sandeford field.

"you look beautiful baby," he said.

"flattery will get you anywhere with me harry, you know that." he laughed.

"can we stop at that motel for a moment deputy?" he sweetly asked.

"no," i smiled. "but remember its name for when i get back," i said, and kissed his cheek.

a lear jet awaited us. black as the ace of spades. "it clashes with my uniform harry."

"so do they," he replied. two huge officers stood outside the plane, green flight suits, looking very impatient. "max and humphrey. looks like they were on flight call tonight. they're ok carlee, rumor has it that they're sweet on each other, they're professional and quiet, don't say two words a day."

"great," i said.

with the proper introductions, and harry's careful instructions, i was seated in the back. all alone. harry opened the door and gave me final instructions. "it's 1906 deputy mccord. the trip to new mexico shouldn't take two hours; use your charm, they don't believe that sypes is dangerous, but we didn't believe leroy was either. assure terry that he will be fine, talk about sidney a lot. and please be careful carlee, we have a date, remember?" i remembered.

maxwell learner came back and handed me a doggy bag. "this plane will being very fast deputy mccord, please don't mess up the floor."

"do you have a bed pan as well mr. learner?" i smiled.

"love your flight suit," he said.

fast---i didn't know what fast was! i'll bet the plane was doing two hundred when we became airborne. my ears popped and my stomach turned flip flops. i was kind of glad for the doggy bag. "ready to rock and roll deputy?" humphrey shouted back.

"ready!" i shouted. and the plane picked up another two hundred miles an hour. when it leveled off, i stopped sweating. looking down, everything was quite beautiful. i thought of my dad, and our flight to cuba many years ago, funny, how things change. suddenly, the sky lit up, it was almost blinding. i made a noise, not a scream, but close to it. max, the co-pilot saundered back, and held out his hand. i grabbed it.

"a meteor deputy mccord, best one i've ever seen, heaven's gate maybe."

"that was a comet max." he smiled, and sat down beside me.

"you know about astronomy then?"

"yes, some, i've studied it."

"unusual, for a girl," he quipped.

"i beg your pardon?"

"oh, most girls i know are interested in tanning beds, cell phones and drinking water from a bottle," he replied.

"there are other kinds," i replied. he smiled at me. his eyes were the color of steel, his hair graying around his temple.

"this sypes, is he a bad character?"

"i didn't think so, until all this, i hope he's clean."

"me too deputy, but drugs and money can do strange things to guys, can turn them inside out."

"you're scaring me max."

"you should be deputy, take care of yourself."

"do we have a date."

"huh?"

"oh, never mind."

"max!" humphrey hollared. "headquarters."

we had flown for miles, below was desolate, god, how could anyone live like that. nearest neighbor twenty miles away. then the lay of the land changed. lights were everywhere. "texas!" i shouted.

"no miss, arizona, we bypassed texas," humphrey shouted back. shortly after that, we came in for a landing. the pressure dropped 4 g's and i thought my eardrums were going to explode. the wheels screamed on the runway, and finally it stopped. flight attendants arrived, and they opened the door for me.

"hi, special agent singer, miss mcord, will you please step this way?"

"i thought the fbi had been called off mr. singer."

"officially we have, but since we were already here, we were assig.........asked, to do what you want us to do."

"i want you to get the hell back to quantico, sir, you know that mr. sype didn't want the feds."

"'m off duty miss mccord, i'm your designated driver."

"no sir, you are not. i'll drive, and i'll pick up terry sypes."

"i'm only trying to be friendly and helpful miss."

"fuck friendly, and helpful too, i have a job to do here mr. singer, and by god that's what i'm going to do." i surprised myself.

"you'd make a pretty hostage miss mccord."

"i'll have to take my chances, sir."

"please wait then, i'll have to make a phone call. she's insistant commissioner."

"good, i hoped she would be."

"but sir, she could be in grave danger."

"she'll handle it agent singer, get her a car and give her directions to the motel."

"alright, but don't say that i didn't warn you." he hung up. "ok miss, the show's yours, you need to rent a car."

"with what, I didn't even bring my purse, i don't ever have a damn cigarette." agent singer handed me one of his, and lit his lighter. i inhaled down to my toes. "god, i can breathe again," i said as i shuddered.

"what kind of car can you drive miss mccord?"

"i can drive a truck mr. singer, an eighteen wheeler."

"get her a honda tyler, a big honda," he told another agent. agent singer gave me his pack of dorals and his lighter. a yellow honda was driven up by agant tyler.

"i don't like the color," i said.

"christ, take it back tyler, the color's wrong."

"what?" tyler asked.

"get a powder puff blue one."

i got in the the yellow honda and lit another cigarette. i hoped terry hadn't left the motel. the address was third a f street. i found third and the next street sign said b, i was headed right. i found the hojo's four blocks further, terry hadn't given me a room number, or i wasn't smart enough to have asked for one. the desk clerk was mexican, early thirties maybe. "hi." he said. "need a room?" his smile was bright and his english supurb.

"actually i'm looking for someone, terry sypes." he pressed some keys on his computer.

"sorry miss, no sypes here." i reached down for the paper i had written his number on, of course i had changed clothes.

"ah, would 276-303-897-2423 mean anything?" i asked. he grinned.

"you know that from memory?"

"it's all i have sir," i replied.

"oh, i don't know, i think you have a whole lot more miss. that call would have come from room 423, up there," he pointed.

"would you mind dialing it please?" i asked. the phone rang several times, i was afraid he was gone.

"mr zucker?" the desk clerk said. "a young lady to see you sir."

"yes, about that height, and her hair is very light." he smiled and handed me the phone.

"terry?"

"carlee, are you alone?"

"yes, i am, can i come up?" i pleaded.

"sure, the door's open." i thanked the desk clerk.

"mr. zucker's a lucky man tonight." he said, with a broad smile. i returned it and headed towards the room. terry's door was open. he was sitting in a chair watching the news on tv.

"terry, we've been worried sick over you." he got up and turned the tv off.

"is sidney all right?" he asked.

"sidney's perfect terry, and in good hands."

"who's he with carlee?"

"my friend lissell stacey, probably od'ed on pop corn and watching a 50 inch tv."

"that's a relief, and what about ms. bolin?"

"how'd you know about her?" i asked.

"cnn," he replied.

"she's in the hospital, but doing alright," i said.

"hell of a mess carlee."

"we've got to back terry, get everything straightened out."

"hell, i'm damned if i do and damned if i don't."

"if you were highjacked like you said, you're fine terry."

"yeah, but how do i answer to driving a truck load of dope?"

"did you see the drugs terry, did sysco tell you it was dope?"

"no, but....."

"but nothing, you just did your job, what you were told to do."

"look carlee, i've been doing this for almost a year."

"they're not looking for you on any charges terry, believe me, they're looking at sysco bolin and the people who highjacked your truck, for all you knew the truck was loaded with electronic kitties." terry sat back down.

"maybe you're right, maybe so. i just want to get my son and get the hell out of louisville. carlee, i've driven all over the nation for ms. bolin; usually when i reached my destination i was blindfolded when the load was transferred."

"they didn't want you to see the electronic kitties terry, that's all, think electronic kitties, you don't have to volunteer any information that might incriminate you, even in court."

"do we have a way back deputy?"

"sure, two nice gentlemen from lpd and a lear jet, about ten blocks away."

"policemen?"

"sorry, i couldn't afford to rent a lear on such short notice."

we parked the yellow honda beside a powder puff blue one at avis. "damn," i said.

"what's the matter carlee?"

"oh, nothing terry." max and humphrey were drinking coffee inside the airport waiting room. "ready?" i asked.

"this sypes?" max asked.

"alive and well," i replied.

"he's not cuffed," humphrey said, as he stood up.

"no reason," i said. "he's not wanted." terry looked very nervous. "relax terry, these guys were just on call, they don't know anything. max and humphrey buckled us in and kept quiet.

"are you sure this is the only way carlee?"

"yes terry, the only way, the right way."

we could hear the radio, they were requesting take off instructions. "have you ever flown a lear terry?"

"no, never flown on anything," he replied.

"well, hold onto your hat buster." the plane roared down the runway and exited at an eighty degree angle.

"fuck, are we going to the moon first!" he shouted. i laughed.

"hold on tight terry, very tight."

we arrived at sandeford before we started. well, due to two time changes. talk about jet lag! we landed on runway seven and a herd of cops were waiting nearby. max opened out door and let us out.

"book him!" a cop shouted, and three uniforms grabbed terry and cuffed him.

"what the fuck's going here!" i screamed.