(xiv.)

"Can I see your license and registration, please?"

Midge grumbled, annoyedly. "Uh, yeah... here," she said, handing her Driver's License to the State Trooper. "It's my friend's car... so--"
"I don't suppose you can tell me what your friend did to this car to make sure it wouldn't show up in a Radar trap?"
"I'm sorry, what?"

The State Trooper looked over the matte gray car. "This car absorbs Radar. What did your friend do to it that it does that?"
"Uh, I, uh, I... I... I don't know."

The State Trooper smirked, evilly. "How about we look in the trunk?"
"But--"
"Open. The. Trunk."

He walked around to the back, while Midge fumbled around under the steering column, before finally finding the right switch.

Suddenly, a loud groan came from the trunk. "What the fuck, man? It's bright! It wasn't this bright when we left!"
"Ma'am, are you aware that there's a girl in the trunk?"
"Yes, she asked to be put there."

The State Trooper took Lorelei by the arm. "I'm sorry, miss. Let me help--"
"Don't touch me!"
"I'm here to hel--"
"No! Just close the trunk, and let me go back to sleep!"

Midge opened the door, and stood up. "My friend likes to sleep, while I drive. But we were staying at my brother's house, and she got, like, no sleep at all. She unpacked her stuff into the trunk, and crawled in, and was like, 'don't wake me for another six hours'."

Lorelei sat up, and crossed her legs. "I'll have your job."
"Lor, don't start threatening the man..."
"He's interfering with official business! If it were left entirely up to me, I'd tie him up, gag him, throw him in the trunk, and drop him off the next time we go through a major city."

"...Official business?"
"She's just a little un-hinged... don't mind her..."

The state trooper went looking for his badge. "Hey, aren't you one of Svetlana's friends?"
"...Yeah..."
"You're the burglar, right?
"Yeah, that's me."
"Right, you probably don't remember me, but I'm Steve..."
"Doesn't sound familiar..."
"I got drunk at the last Christmas Party, and pissed on the Ice Sculpture."
"Oh yeah! I remember that! I'm the one that took the picture, and sent it as a memo to everyone in the New York, California, and Ohio offices."

Steve laughed heartilly. "So that was you?"
"Yeah."
"I was wondering about that," he said, as he pulled out his little ticket book.

He scrawled on it, before handing a ticket to Lorelei.

"See you at the company Softball game!" he screamed out, as he walked back to his motorcycle.


[chapter xv]