(xlvi.)

"Lor! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Midge screamed, loudly.

Lorelei shrugged.

"Lor, listen to me, you just stole a fucking police car. Do you understand?"

Lorelei nodded.

"Hey, Midge, it's okay. Honest."
"It- It's-- Did you just say it's okay?"
"Yeah."
"What the fuck does that mean? How is it okay?!"

Lorelei smiled, evilly.

"No one will accuse us of anything. Ever. The rest of the world thinks we're dead."
"Lor, I-- Did you just say the rest of the world thinks we're dead?"
"Yeah."
"How do you know that?"
"You remember, this morning, when I wandered off, to try to figure out where we were?"
"...yeah..."
"Well, I found a drunkard, pulled off on the side of the road. Like, he decided he was too drunk to finish driving home, so he pulled over, and slept there all night. Anyway, he had his radio on, and it was on one of the news stations. When I walked up, they were talking about how the 'suspected killers' -- that's us -- had been killed when their Ice Cream Truck exploded."

Midge stared at Lorelei.

"...wait, so... you're saying, that--"
"Yes, Midge. The rest of the world thinks we're dead."
"I don't believe you."

Lorelei motioned toward the radio.

Midge leaned over, and clicked it on.

"It's a beautiful day today, folks, with a high of 59 and a low of 43. Current temperature 52 degrees... Now, onto the headlines -- Omnivion Corporation, and obscure company, who, well, you may have hea--"

She started looking for another station.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Lorelei cried.
"I really don't care about Omni-whatever. I'm looking for--"
"Change it back!" she yelped, turning the dial back to the first station.

"--kruptcy this morning... and, have you heard about this story? This one is pretty surreal. Early one morning, witnesses saw a dead body hanging from the roof of a small roadside motel. The killers took the body, got it into the trunk of their car, and they drove around with him, until they realized the police were following them. Then, this is the good part folks, they stole an Ice Cream Truck, and drove around with the body in the freezer. The truck inexplicably blew up yesterday, killing the killers."

Midge clicked the radio off. "They think we're dead."

Lorelei turned the radio back on, and started skipping through the radio stations.

"--the thing is, John, even though Omnivion is obscure, they're a massive company. The implications of them going under are far-reaching. I think the government should bail them out. Them filing for bankruptcy would have a tremendous impact, both on our economy, and on our international relations--"

She spun the dial. "--as anyone ever actually heard of them? Because these people have made a name for themselves by making cheap transistor radios and flashlights--"

She clicked the radio off.

"What was that about?"
"Apparently, we're dead and penniless."
"Wait, what?"
"Okay, in the glove compartment, I threw my wallet in there. Could you pull it out?"

Midge pulled the glove compartment open, and pulled out the tattered black leather wallet.

"A'right. Inside, how much money do I have?"
"...uh... twenty dollars... and... Who the fuck is this?"
"Who?"

She held up an American Express card.

"This. Who's thi--"
"Oh, yeah. That's Pierpont."
"Not according to this, it says here his name is--"
"Yeah, no, that's his middle name. See? J.P. Brandenbury. That's what the P stands for."
"Okay... so why do you have his credit card?"
"...it's a long story."



[Chapter xlvii.]