Skewed Slightly to the Left: The first good news

[Originally posted at Slacktivist.]

Dead arm after dead arm.  No watch.

"People just don't wear them as much anymore," Jane said.

Cameron took the cell phone from his pocket and said, "This is your fault," before putting it back.

Jane said, "The up side is that digital watches have gone out of style-"

"I still think they're a pretty neat idea."

"That's an amazingly primitive trait."

"But mostly harmless."

"Indeed.  But my point is that if we do find a watch it's likely to be analog."

"Hands frozen in place rather than blank screen."

"Exactly."

-

They did eventually find a watch, and concluded that Chloe probably took the impassible road before it became impassible, and so worked to get to the other side of the impassible section.

-

Cameron's cell phone rang.  It didn't feel safe to use an arm to talk on it while the motorcycle was in motion.  He asked Jane to stop then answered the phone, "This better be important."

"It is."

"Verna?"

"She's alive, don't know much beyond that."

"That's... that's..." the best thing he heard all day, so good he didn't know how to wrap his mind around it, incredible, exactly what he wanted to hear, and so many other things.  He wasn't able to say any of them.  Finally he did manage, "How do you know?"

"We intercepted a message.  She tried to put in a call to the office, but cut the call when she didn't recognize the voice."

"So the other side-"

"They consider her a low value target, and they want her alive if they get her.  Don't worry."  After a pause Verna added, "The other side has no idea where she is, you do.  You'll find her first."

"Ok.  Gotta go."

"Good luck."

Cameron turned off the phone and turned to Jane, "She's alive."

"Anything beyond that?" Jane asked.

"Not a jot."

"Then we better get going."

They got back on the bike and continued their search, now confident that one of their shouts of, "Chloe!" would get a response beyond their own echo.

---

Rayford sat still, armed guards watching any move he might make.

The plane shuddered as a shockwave passed.  That would be San Francisco.  A city he might have saved if he'd been willing to crash the plain while his wife was still on it, but he had been foolish enough to think he could save both.

Now it was too late for him to do anything.

He wondered how much blood was on his hands now.  Too much to ever wash off.  That was for sure.

-

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