Something is waiting in the blasted sands on the US-Mexico border. Depravity sleeps while Delta Green agents meddle.

Introduction from Nathan and Lex from RPG Reanimators.

Theme song by Chris Hamje.

Vocals by Kimmy from Black Flare.

Produced and written by Nick Sayers.

Cast

Jimmy from Hand on the Door

Ryan

Jordan

Patrick

Nick Sayers

Additional Cast

Bill

Charlie from the Null Project.

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/576NbWAEm1uOBDxlW1F4Os?si=c7228e49ddb94035

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Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this podcast are ©Nick Sayers, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

What do we got?

2

that Jerome stuff you wanted me to look at, it's it's all done.

3

Same crew as my Oklahoma file, right?

4

Same.

5

Gave a few of those NRO meatheads a run for their money out there.

6

It looks that way.

7

They were in a firefight in a hotel, then took off out of the town.

8

Oddly enough, the locals dead ended the investigation into an executed bellboy even before

we started looking.

9

Local sheriff was tight lipped, even with us.

10

Interesting.

11

Keeping an eye on the sheriff?

12

You bet.

13

The guy Finch they were looking for?

14

Gone.

15

We have echoes of we have echoes of being at a black site in Arizona, but upon

confirmation it looks like he's just gone.

16

His website was pulled down from the IP address in the hotel just before engagement.

17

Looks like they succeeded there.

18

This is why we talk.

19

This is Finch in a Toka with Ross's guy, well after the hotel shooting.

20

Oh look, it's your old friend.

21

Mm, butterfield.

22

Yep, real piece of work.

23

Well, he'd put together the dumbest group of fuck ups I've seen this side of the

Mississippi.

24

Hey, those fuck ups killed some NRO boys, burned acres of swampland, and two of them

disappeared without a trace.

25

You think they stumbled through all that and still were able to evade us?

26

Uh Ryan Dwyer and Del Sidusky, I mean look at this fucking idiot.

27

He took pictures with a group during a ghost tour right before his room was filled with a

dead bellboy and your NRO assholes.

28

The other guy, Del, probably was homeschooled out in the woods and failed every psyche

valve he's encountered.

29

You think it's four D chess?

30

Maybe.

31

Sandusky and Dwyer are both gone.

32

We're here holding our dicks, wondering where they went.

33

Butterfield is in Mexico.

34

No, Ross would have figured that out.

35

Well, we have the other two at least.

36

Sure, the uh mechanic and the girl.

37

Think they'll go back out?

38

Well, Barone has been flagged by some pencil pusher and RD, so I'm sure some field testing

is in order.

39

You know I can't tell you that, just like you can't tell me why the hell Butterfield keeps

evading everyone.

40

He's a hot headed Neanderthal, not James Bond.

41

watchin' her?

42

One of ours, one of theirs?

43

or something else?

44

A little bit of this and a little bit of that, Bruno.

45

Mm.

46

Mm.

47

Well, with the interloper, the girl the woman she's a common criminal.

48

Looks like she successfully blackmailed people before, and there have been some strange

deaths in her wake.

49

Most recently her mother.

50

You think she killed her own mom?

51

Sounds just like Butterfield to get another brute involved.

52

Ah, I couldn't care less, but I do know that she is trouble.

53

Look at this file.

54

After that, bury all of this.

55

Every one of these needs to go.

56

Which one wants it all buried?

57

Hell if I know.

58

I just know it needs to go.

59

Uh the old damnation of memory.

60

For the old greater good.

61

Alright, I'm hungry.

62

You want a taco?

63

Something in the desert sky lost time, and I don't know why it can conspirate.

64

Pai.

65

Mm

66

D

67

Caroline and Barone, would you fly in?

68

Would you drive in?

69

You both got your recorded messages saying to be here at the El Paso airport.

70

Well if it's an airport, then plane seems like the uh Occams razor of this situation.

71

I think I'd be flying.

72

First class if we can help it.

73

You can't help it, yeah.

74

Barone, what about you?

75

Your kid at so

76

Yeah, that that was my that was my first thought.

77

I think uh Barone will never turn down a chance to get behind the wheel.

78

I mean, for for West Virginia on down, I mean, that's one hell of a drive, but at the same

time, it's one hell of a drive.

79

Like she gets to drive.

80

Um, and she, you know, has that that shotgun and that not suspicious, suspicious rod on

her that she's, you know, not willing to to part with either, especially to jump on a

81

plane and

82

Her GP one hundred's her best friend, so she tosses her gear, throws it in her truck, and

m makes the several day journey on down.

83

Maybe two days.

84

You know, she doesn't go straight through, but she also doesn't really dawdle at the same

time.

85

Caroline, you've never been to El Paso, I'm guessing.

86

You're coming in and the descent drops you below the clouds, more haze than clouds down

here.

87

And it's like you're flying into a furnace, and you can see from the plane the border.

88

There's some fencing and you see lights as you get closer along the border.

89

It's this jagged scar between El Paso and Jorez.

90

And

91

The heat distortion makes the city look like it's kind of wavy and trembling and there's a

massive slab of concrete and asphalt right in front of you as you land.

92

And you know that sun above you is unforgiving.

93

Yeah, I think there is a a handkerchief coming out to dab a forehead ever so gently so as

not to smudge the makeup.

94

And then there is um a mista that comes out of my clutch and just a spritz every now and

again.

95

Keep a woman smelling fresh, feeling fresh too.

96

You get to your gate, exit, barone, what are you driving up in?

97

She's driving up in her trusty Ford Bronco, man.

98

That she uh just changed up some bits and bobbles on it and wants to test it out and make

sure her wrenches hit the right spots at the right torque and make sure nothing's falling

99

apart.

100

So, you know, she uh brings an up extra a couple bits and her tools along um for the ride

to make sure just in case something does go wrong.

101

But it's it's a test drive just as much as anything else.

102

Mash, you're rolling into the airport.

103

Two around the same time, what are you driving in?

104

Yeah, Mash is driving a very practical uh nineteen ninety-five Subaru Outback with his

gear in the back.

105

Yeah.

106

Again, he he's a simple practical kind of guy.

107

And it's like blue, right?

108

Oh, of course.

109

Yeah.

110

Yeah.

111

Did you get to the airport parking area?

112

There was no other instructions.

113

You just wander into the terminal.

114

This is before the TSA, there's no security line.

115

There is security checkpoints, but they're just kind of haphazard guys standing there

watching people walk by into the airport with their bags.

116

And each of you independently hear a dung with the passenger Caroline Velichek, please

report to security checkpoint three.

117

Same with Baron.

118

Passenger Morgan Barone report to security checkpoint three.

119

All different times, right?

120

Mash Rainy, report to security checkpoint three.

121

And if you don't hurry, it cycles through a few more times.

122

I think I absolutely am hurrying you can hear the clack of my shoes uh above everyone

else's um across the tile in those long hallways on a kinda I'm not inclined to advertise

123

that I am needed of interest out associate my name with the public any more than I have

to.

124

He is yeah, Mash does the same.

125

He's got his bag over his shoulder with all of his stuff in it.

126

Um and he hears his name, he knows he's here for something but not sure what, and he's

still pretty cautious about all of this, so he makes his way, you know, slowly there, but

127

he's looking out for any signs of anything.

128

Who is this?

129

You know, is this any kind of alphabet agency that he's worked with before, familiar with,

but he makes his way steadily and alertly there.

130

Yeah.

131

You arrive, um, Barone, you hear yours.

132

Any approach that's specific for you?

133

No, not necessarily.

134

I think um she's just making her way having um heard Caroline's name though.

135

I think on the way she looks for um one of those like restock carts, um, grabs like a a

moist towelette off of it um on on her way over to the security.

136

Yeah.

137

Easily findable.

138

You get to the security checkpoint.

139

Caroline was there first, sitting there waiting.

140

This guard is uninterested as of yet.

141

And Caroline, the camera's following Barone and over Car or over Baron's shoulder we see

you.

142

What do you what do you look like?

143

Yeah.

144

Well, in this moment I am uh posted up, um, legs neatly folded, uh in a long flowed skirt.

145

it is subtly matching my floral luggage that is obviously newly procured.

146

It has uh gentle tan leather um straps and edges.

147

It is predominantly white with you know gentle embroidery of blues and yellows and pinks.

148

and you know, similar to a fine china set.

149

Um her outfit is um echoing the same.

150

Her hair is delightfully manicured.

151

It is a summer blonde that has been pulled up under a a slight kerchief um to keep it up

and out of her her way as she is gently fanning herself waiting for others approach.

152

You see Baron across the terminal walking fast towards you.

153

Barone, what does Caroline see as she meets your gaze?

154

the slightly uh dirty under the nails, slightly disheveled, um, decidedly tacky with

sweat.

155

Uh Morgan Barone with that same thick ponytail over her shoulder.

156

And sh man, it's it's sure as heck hard to tell if it's the same clothes that she was or

was not wearing the last time she saw a Caroline, because she's a creature of habit

157

sometimes, that's for sure, and has her favorites.

158

So who knows?

159

Did she even wash them?

160

Giant question mark.

161

You didn't know each other for long, right?

162

But it is it's nice to see a friendly face, right?

163

You n you guys know the game.

164

You know why you're here, right?

165

I mean you don't know why, but you you have an a general idea and yes.

166

No, no, go ahead.

167

And yeah, it's nice to see her.

168

Yeah, no, a absolutely.

169

And I think she gets a a small smirk on her face and as Barone approaches Caroline, she

stands up super straight in in her uh a little m mocking stance and pulls out a little

170

moistilette and she says, Madame, now that you have landed on our verdant soil, would you

c care for a a moist to let for your your for your buttocks or or your face perhaps to be

171

the freshest you can be?

172

And she just smiles and holds out the moist toilette for

173

Caroline.

174

Yeah, I think that d I will daintily grab it from you.

175

I will um feign as though I am using it to dab the sweat on my neck, but it is not

touching any part of me as I go to give you an air kiss and I will do do the same like the

176

the uh emulation of a hug and embrace like friends but not too close on account of I I

know how you smell before I smelled ya.

177

As you guys are having this interaction mash, you see these two women um in a strange like

power play embrace.

178

Maybe you don't pick up on that.

179

I don't know what your humant is.

180

But you walk up to the security checkpoint, see them, and see a uninterested guard.

181

Yeah, Mash walks up.

182

He's I don't remember sorry, if I gave a physical description before, just insert that

here.

183

But I I think he's like tall-ish, maybe five, eleven, six foot.

184

Short brown hair, uh, you know, kinda military crew cut almost, like just practical.

185

He's wearing like olive green t-shirt, you know, kinda desert brown, you know, outdoor

khaki pants with the or cargo pants.

186

He's got his desert boots on, he's got his big olive

187

colored uh duffel bag over his shoulder.

188

He stands there for a minute and looks around and he looks at these two women and thinks

okay, well I guess I'm supposed to meet someone here, but it's definitely not them.

189

And I think I walk over to the security guard and I'm like, hey, um I got called for

something here.

190

Is it am I supposed to do you know anything about that?

191

Oh yeah.

192

oh there's three of you.

193

Okay.

194

And he points to a door ajar and like an office.

195

Okay.

196

You approach this guard, mash, and he's like, Oh, there are three of you.

197

Okay.

198

Um and he points to a door that's ajar.

199

Looks like some sort of security office where they would pull somebody aside if they

needed to.

200

And um he's like, in there.

201

Yeah, Mash looks over his shoulder, looking for the other two people, and then dawning

realization comes over his face, he's like, Oh, okay, I I guess I don't know what I'm here

202

for.

203

Uh so yeah, I guess this yeah, I'm here for something with people like these.

204

And he walks

205

Was sorry, was the guard's announcement loud enough for us to hear or was that just a

mash?

206

It was loud enough for everybody.

207

He like looked down and just kinda said it Yeah.

208

Loud

209

We'll start I'll s you know, start gathering bags, piling this one on top of that one so

they can all wheel in together.

210

Uh I'll invite Morgan to to throw hers on top.

211

Um I'll make my way over to, you know, this um upstanding looking gentleman.

212

I'll offer my hand, I'll say, Caroline Valichek, pleased to meet you.

213

Are you security?

214

Uh I'm not quite sure why I'm here.

215

Ma'am, Mash Rainey, nice to meet ya, ma'am.

216

and I reach out and shake your the dainty end of your hand that you're offering.

217

Yeah, I think um like as you extend a a proper handshake, she will meet yours and there is

a you know, uh a delicate nature to her.

218

Her skin is perfumed and and soft to the touch, but there is like a a steel backing to it.

219

You understand that you are receiving a a hand that means business.

220

Yeah, I sense that and I think, hm, I really wanna ask her what's going on, but um I know

enough to know that d standing in the middle of an airport is probably not the place to

221

discuss things like this.

222

So I just kinda nod and I say, After you, ma'am.

223

I will wheel on through that threshold.

224

Um at the at the the same time uh you look over and Morgan Barone has a a uh small wave of

consternation coming over over her.

225

She figured maybe if she were to ever see Agent Ryan again, this would probably be the

time and the fact that somebody else has has shown up is decidedly unexpected and maybe a

226

thought of of terror or uncertainty comes over her her with what may have happened there.

227

She tries to not let it show, but in stark contrast to last time she met a bunch of new

people in a situation like this, where she was super huggy and, you know, kind of all

228

bubble.

229

She's just a a a flat face.

230

Um and she sticks out her her slightly oily hand.

231

You don't know if it's lotion or car oil, for a handshake for mash.

232

Ma'am, nice to meet ya.

233

I say as I shake your hand that you you all right?

234

You seem a little bit seem like you were having some fun there at your friend's expense,

but now you're uh you wanna go in the room and I I'm still not sure why I'm I'm here, but

235

maybe we can figure this all out.

236

Yeah, no, I'm yeah, I'm I'm fine.

237

Uh thank you.

238

Uh Mor Morgan Baron, feel free to to call me Barone and we're uh kind of all in the same

boat here and and not really knowing, but uh I have a feeling we're about to find out.

239

She gives you a wink and starts walking through the door.

240

Think we are, I muttered to myself, and then walked through the door.

241

You enter and there's a small conference room table, just a one page sheet of paper, and

sitting behind it is a woman cross legged with a white button up shirt on, a pants or uh

242

slacks on as well.

243

Looks hot under all of under that white shirt, is actually fanning herself off a little

bit with her hand and looks tired, bags under her eyes, and when you enter, she stands up

244

briefly and

245

Says Caroline, Morgan, and Mash.

246

Did I get you right?

247

Yep.

248

Yep.

249

Great.

250

Please, please have a seat.

251

I I'm Agent Freya, and you're invited here for an interesting opera, I w I would think.

252

I understand that well you two he she points to the girls.

253

You worked with us a little bit before, and you did you work with us, Mash?

254

I don't know.

255

I met a man in the desert.

256

I think he might work with you.

257

I have no idea what's happening right now.

258

I'm gonna shut up and I'll I'll I'll just let you explain things, ma'am.

259

Well I heard you had an interesting handler last time and was a bit of a cowboy and did

things a little differently than most of us do.

260

Um and you have no cell designation, as it were, I believe.

261

I don't even know what that means, ma'am.

262

Great.

263

Yeah.

264

You're in the right place.

265

You phrase that as though is an abnormality, does that carry any sort of weight?

266

We're all extra legal, so we just are extra legal in different ways, I would say, and um

your last handler, again, I've never met the guy, but he was a little loose.

267

Looser than I like to play things, which is why I'm d designating you R Cell.

268

Well funny story, I would actually say he was pretty uptight.

269

uh

270

Yeah, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting with him since he's well, anyway, he or you

are here because we need to sell to look into something and Mash might have encountered

271

what we are looking for at some point.

272

Mash Afghanistan a few months ago anything strange happened?

273

Yeah, that's one way to put it.

274

I that was about fifty pounds of strange in a three pound bag, ma'am.

275

I still don't really know what what that was.

276

I haven't been purview to any of the intel that you gathered, but what I do know is that

there has been some items moving across the globe, and we had somebody on it, and that

277

somebody triggered a GPS signal outside of El Paso a few days ago, and we want to see why.

278

Now, we've been hunting down a well, it's not really Soviet, but it's classified and as a

Soviet artifact.

279

It's a BBK classification, which is like the Soviet version of us, I would say.

280

and it's called 86.29, 6.1, and then a bunch of Russian characters that I don't understand

what they mean.

281

But essentially, when we ran it by the nerds and the Cold War nuts, s still living in the

past, they said that this classification was

282

Other esoteric and occult teachings.

283

So we have a German artifact clu stolen by the Soviets at some point, moving from

Afghanistan to Iran, and then South America, we think Brazil, maybe even Argentina, we're

284

not quite sure.

285

And then that's when we get involved.

286

You know anything about the Fourth Reich?

287

Uh I know a lot of got out wait, wh oh, I'm sorry, you said fourth.

288

Yeah, it's a bit of a yeah.

289

Uh it is self explanatory, isn't it?

290

Well, you had a bunch of old Nazi assholes hiding in South America, Boys of Brazil type

shit.

291

You've seen I've probably seen the book.

292

It's not fiction, some of it's real.

293

And they like to try to c collect artifacts and we had somebody on the inside.

294

But the curious thing is usually they collect it and keep it there.

295

But this was flagged by our person on the inside as coming north to us.

296

So going from from South to South America, up through North America to here in Texas.

297

Yes.

298

Yeah.

299

And I don't know go ahead.

300

Mash, sorry, excuse.

301

so in Afghanistan I I had a guy the guy that walked out of the desert, got a weird call.

302

I was supposed to find something in a village there, and I'm pretty sure what I was

looking for was already taken by someone, maybe.

303

Do you think that thing is this thing?

304

Okay.

305

But

306

I mean, that's why we need you to go look into it.

307

Now, there are rumors.

308

Okay, you know, we had somebody feeding us a little bit of intel along the way on a drip

feed, but these are people connected to some of the nastiest folk you could even think of

309

or imagine.

310

So it's a little hard to get word out.

311

In the art world, there has been a myth of this tape.

312

The Nazi depravity that happened toward the end of Hitler's reign in Germany.

313

Some people called it the Eva tape.

314

I would say that well, people a little more crude call it the Hitler sex tape.

315

Apparently, this film reel has uh a documented um copulation between Hitler, Eva, and some

other people in one of the bunkers.

316

And it's been in the art world.

317

as a rumor for years and years and years and people want to get their grubby hands on this

thing for reasons obvious, um, if this were um Hitler copulating in his last days in

318

Germany.

319

And those are just the rumors.

320

Sorry.

321

I'm sorry, I'm maybe just a little lost.

322

Mash, were you saying you're in Afghanistan hunting down a copulation tape of Hitler or am

I conflating two different things here?

323

was hunting down an artifact.

324

I I found a bunch of tapes of Nazi stuff.

325

Uh no one said anything about a secret Hitler sex tape though.

326

That is news to me.

327

m Well Mash, your intel, at least the byline that I got from it was that this village

reacted in a strange way.

328

And I don't want to assume it's whatever's on that film reel or tape or whatever we want

to call it, but to be sure we need to retrieve that artifact.

329

Yeah, I guess now that I think about it, all the women in the village were pregnant at

roughly the same gestational age.

330

So if this was some kind of weird sex fertility thing, I I'm sorry, I don't understand the

words that are coming out of my mouth right now.

331

This is all really weird.

332

I I'm just gonna shut up and listen.

333

And if you have specific questions, I'll I'll be happy to give a debrief.

334

I'm struggling to process what I'm what I'm saying right now.

335

Ma'ams.

336

Yeah.

337

Caroline and Barone, are you adapted to helplessness?

338

Okay.

339

Baron, are you adapted to helplessness?

340

Probably not.

341

No.

342

Yeah.

343

Can you roll sanity?

344

Actually both of you need to roll sanity even if you're adapted.

345

Yeah, sure.

346

No, you're fine.

347

Okay.

348

Um looking for fifty five.

349

I got a nine.

350

Double O nine.

351

We're good.

352

Yep, it was a zero one, so you do not lose any from hearing him talking about pregnant

women at the same gestational age.

353

Well okay.

354

So let me back up.

355

We're getting too into the weeds here.

356

Uh she rubs her eyes, and you do notice the paper in front of her is extremely small.

357

People with high bureaucracy would realize that the when you have that little information,

it usually means some really bad shit is happening.

358

okay.

359

A few nights ago, around when you probably got a communique, so four days ago, we the guy

on the inside triggered a GPS transponder that was given f to him just in case anything

360

insane happens or anything we would look into happens, and that was triggered.

361

Triggered outside of a place called Wallace Town, which is some old ghost town outside of

El Paso.

362

I don't know shit about this land, and I hate it here 'cause it's hot.

363

We found a friendly name.

364

Sheriff Miller.

365

He hasn't done direct work with us or seen anything like Mash has seen, but he's a good

man and he knows this country like the back of his hand from what I'm told.

366

And he is gonna meet you at a diner outside of the city and take you out to where this was

triggered.

367

He's been briefed lightly, so keep details to yourself, just not to implicate him in

anything uh strange.

368

Alright, so get out there, meet him, go to the diner and keep it quiet.

369

I think that's simple enough.

370

Um there she looks around a little bit.

371

There's not is this is the team.

372

This is the team, right?

373

There's not uh anybody anybody else join joining us by chance, is there?

374

Just us three?

375

I don't like to pussyfoot around it, so I will tell you that all of this is not legal and

if you are captured in any way or implicated in anything, you will be disavowed and

376

somebody will probably come and kill you.

377

So this is the team that we have thrown together.

378

Mash, we believe has encountered something like this, and you two, well, um, you guys are

the best we could get in the timeline we needed it.

379

You are instilling a high sense of covenance.

380

Thank you so much for that pep talk.

381

That's well understood.

382

What she said, yes.

383

Well, I have nothing but confidence for you and of you.

384

Um, you all seem very capable.

385

You are R Cell.

386

And so when if you are approached by somebody you think might be involved in this program,

then you tell them that you are R Cell.

387

You are designated the R Cell.

388

If they don't know what that means, then they are not with us.

389

Noted, right.

390

And then if we tell the wrong person that we're our cell and then we have revealed who we

are, we're gonna get shot in the back of the head in the middle of a field.

391

So you best be sure you know who you're talking to.

392

Absolutely, unless they don't know who they're talking to and then you need to tell them

that you're our cell and then they'll know that you're our cell and then but if it's the

393

ra and then I'm spiraling.

394

I'm spiritually.

395

Keep your information to yourself.

396

What I'm trying to say is R Cell is the best way to identify if they are friendly or not.

397

You can say R Cell all you want.

398

You can run out through this lobby screaming R Cell if they're just gonna think you're

crazy.

399

Okay.

400

It as s like a a code word.

401

You say it and they give a counter sign or something.

402

That's that's what you're getting at.

403

And and if I just say, You got any of them R cell batteries?

404

and they look at me like, What the fuck are you talking about?

405

There's no R cell batteries and I I no, it's not one of our people.

406

I I I still don't understand what this actually means, but I guess that's our designation,

so

407

That is your designation.

408

Now, Mash, I would appreciate I mean, you understand the seriousness of what you're

looking for out here.

409

And this is not a matter of like, oh, you know, I don't really want to do this, so I'm

gonna go back home.

410

Like the consequences of something like Mash reported on from Afghanistan getting out and

spreading is catastrophic.

411

So please, please do a good job.

412

Yes, ma'am.

413

Yeah, uh the things I saw, if something like that's here yeah, that could be really bad.

414

Again, I I don't know what else to say about what the hell is going on here.

415

okay, yeah.

416

yeah.

417

I I'm having flashbacks.

418

Do we know of of any other cells uh working in the area that we might um run into or

should just know of their whereabouts or functions or activities?

419

Bro.

420

The cell structure is set up this way, so we don't know who's operating where, because we

can't then we can't rat each other out.

421

But I am with F Cell and I will be in the area.

422

And she points over to a duffel.

423

There are cellular phones and walkie-talkies for you there.

424

You can give me a call anytime.

425

My number is the only number on those things.

426

great, yeah, no.

427

Uh all right.

428

Understood F Cell Freya.

429

Thank you.

430

And then she'll um w walk over and s start collecting the things and waiting for any more

of the prepper information as she starts to get to work.

431

Any other questions before I find a cooler place to

432

Don't know what they would be, ma'am.

433

Well, I'm not gonna hold your dick while you piss, so you guys have at it and report back

when you have the artifact.

434

Simple as that.

435

You heard the lady.

436

Come on now.

437

Yep.

438

Well, time to move out.

439

Did you guys drive here, fly?

440

Yeah, no, sorry.

441

I have a unhealthy affinity for things with four wheels, so we could we could take mine.

442

I have a Bronco, it's it's right out front.

443

do you you go by Mash or Rainy?

444

I kind of lost my train of thought there and said my name without listening for a uh a

name a name back.

445

You can call me Mash, ma'am.

446

That's it's my name.

447

I guess if we're R Cell, I I d I don't I just we call ourselves that.

448

I it sh her she said her she was F Cell, her name's Freya.

449

Is that like that's a code name?

450

We could we could be Rainy Cell.

451

That that's what the R stands for.

452

We're Rainy Cell now.

453

I would have thought it shouldn't be my name.

454

That's usually kinda the point of code names, but I you guys are the experts here.

455

I Ms Ms.

456

Volichek, y you seem to be a little bit more put together and and thinking properly than

either of us at the moment.

457

I have never showed up to an airport after getting a a weird uh tape in a post office box

and then had a woman tell me to go look for a Hitler sex tape.

458

But you know this is new territory for all of

459

Okay.

460

Alright.

461

But with that being said, it seems like we ought to maybe find a place to set our things

down and uh go talk with Sheriff Miller.

462

That's what I was thinking.

463

no point getting bogged down, just move forward, and that's the next point of contact.

464

So I agree, let's do it.

465

Yeah, all right.

466

Well look, if our cell is meant to be uh an umbrella to cover our human personas, then

perhaps best to have a name in your back pocket just in case you don't want to put your

467

whole self out there.

468

Think on it, would you?

469

Well ma.

470

Mm make our way out of the airport and up up and towards um the Bronco kind of out front.

471

And as we get kind of close, um I'll toss the bag to Mash and be like, Hey Mash, if could

you throw this in the back for me uh really quick?

472

I I'll grab some stuff out of the front.

473

I kinda brought something along to bolster the spirits.

474

And then

475

it with my left hand and put it in the back.

476

As Mash um goes to to let the the tailgate down, um, I kind of like look over at Caroline

and um pull over just a little bit.

477

And uh Morgan looks at Caroline as like, All right, so this is I think the next time that

I thought I would we would be seeing Agent Ryan again.

478

And the fact that he's not here doesn't make me feel nice and fuzzy inside.

479

Um

480

I th guess I expected dis to see him at least again sometime.

481

Yeah.

482

she will casually pull her kerchief off her head, start fluffing her fingers through her

hair and just say, I have to assume he's on to bigger and better things.

483

Morgan uh smiles just a little bit and uh gives a huh, yeah.

484

No, yeah, yeah, something like that.

485

And she uh pats Carolyn uh softly on the shoulder.

486

I really do have something um for every for everybody though.

487

And she turns around and she she opens up the passenger side door and pulls out a cooler.

488

And in the cooler, she pulls out uh three glass bottles full of uh Mexican Coca-Cola, and

she's like

489

I thought it would uh I thought it'd be nice to uh start it off with a little kick and she

goes and hands mash one and hands caroline one and pops the top and she's like uh Bonapet

490

and she holds it out for cheers.

491

Yeah, right on theme, Barone.

492

I like where your head's at.

493

Caroline will pull open her clutch and inside there is a tiny little ampule filled with o

a white powder and she will snap the top off and she will t t t in each of those three

494

just a little bump to get the thing moving.

495

No

496

Win in Rome Win in Rome.

497

You let me know when you arrive.

498

Yeah.

499

Morgan knocks it back.

500

Yeah, mash you drinking?

501

I don't wanna be rude.

502

Uh I I like take a sip and I'm like, mm, yep, that's Coca Cola.

503

Uh I I I'm a allergic to caramel coloring.

504

So uh y'all can have the rest.

505

If I take too much it'll it'll give me tummy issues.

506

I I still don't know what's happening here.

507

Uh okay.

508

Well just

509

To simplify it, that means two for me and none for you, but also, uh, we're just getting

in the car.

510

And she grabs the bottle from his hand, scoffs at him, and then walks around to the to the

driver's side and opens the door and starts up that big old V6.

511

Womp boom, don't uh

512

The giddy up.

513

Yeah.

514

No, I I I get ya.

515

It's m maybe I'll get there.

516

I you know, new situation, I kinda wanna uh keep systems running clean until I I I get my

feet on the ground, ma'am.

517

Keep your wits about you, I like that.

518

You keep yours your way and I'll keep mine mine.

519

I like that.

520

I think we'll get along well.

521

Yeah, you have advantage on all willpower checks now, Caroline.

522

As long as you're doing Coke, so Yeah.

523

Yeah, you driving out to the diner straight away?

524

Yeah, I think car packed up, uh the whole team in tow, we have clear marching orders.

525

I think we're we're headed straight on over.

526

Um I think probably route right around this time, it's snack time anyways, and she's

looking forward to some food.

527

So unless anybody has anything else to say, I think I'm driving on over.

528

Yeah, you get to the new clock, which is a staple in El Paso, but you see the sign that

says New Clock.

529

New is really small.

530

It just says simple things, pancakes, coffee shop, and the windows reflect back the sun.

531

They are there are curtains down in them and it's pretty busy and bustling.

532

Guys just roll in.

533

Yeah, I think we'll slide on into a booth, um, pick up the menu, see what's looking good.

534

You get in and in the far back there is a one of those uh rounded booths and there is a

sheriff sitting back there, just sitting there with a cup of coffee and looking at a

535

newspaper.

536

Well, there's our boy.

537

Let's go say hello.

538

Yeah, please lead the way.

539

You walk past a busy hostess and she squeezes by you with a tray of food.

540

And you the sheriff puts down the paper and you see he's got a badge.

541

He's a little old.

542

He's a big man.

543

He's got you know the tendons in his bones probably have dust from the border in them.

544

His skin is the texture of getting to be the texture of old leather.

545

It's not there yet, but you can see it's on that verge.

546

And

547

He looks up at you and gives you a strange kind of smile.

548

He's like, Ooh, howdy.

549

Howdy right back at you, sir.

550

Yeah, he stands up s excuse me, ma'am, and he pulls off his cowboy hat, a white one, and

sets it in the back of the booth, messy hair s matted with sweat, holds out a hand to

551

shake.

552

Yeah, I'll take it with both and class the back of it.

553

Yeah.

554

Yeah.

555

Which is a nice little shake.

556

Pleasure to be in your town.

557

Yeah, the the top of his hand is much softer than his grip.

558

His grip is almost like sandpaper.

559

And as he shakes your hand, his eyes meet your eyes, and he has like a a depth to them.

560

They're sharp and blue.

561

He looks quick as a fox and he gives you a little smile.

562

Um, but you also see the exhaustion back there.

563

And he says, Well, ma'am, I do appreciate making your acquaintance.

564

Oh you're uh

565

Awful pretty to be um wrapped up with whatever's going on here.

566

Um and he turns to Barone and he's like, Ma'am, um, hello?

567

Hello, yes, we are here too.

568

And I I stick out my hand for a handshake.

569

Yeah, same deal.

570

Shakes hand, holds it tight.

571

It's like you got a grip on you, don't you girl?

572

uh

573

Stronger than you would believe, absolutely.

574

And then I l let go almost as as quick as I possibly can after that.

575

Yeah.

576

Mash, same thing.

577

Howdy, I'm Sheriff Miller.

578

Pleased to meet you too.

579

Pleased to meet you, sir.

580

I hear you might have some information for us.

581

Yeah.

582

I got some information.

583

You guys hungry?

584

Yes sir.

585

Yeah.

586

Yep, I could go for some coffee as well.

587

Um, I sit on down and open up a menu.

588

Yeah.

589

You sit down, there's one menu, that's his.

590

You know, the hostess brings more, and there's just typical diner fair with a southwest

flare.

591

And oh yeah, yeah, um your people gave me a a map and told me to get you here.

592

And he pulls out a map, puts it on the table, points to in the middle of the desert.

593

Um this this area, well, it's uh

594

It's not the most hospitable land.

595

Um and yeah, as he as he's done this, you do notice that he has a gold cross and he's got

a bunch of rings.

596

Does anybody ha have any like history, occult, anthropology?

597

I think the best

598

Mm.

599

Same across the board for occult nothing anthropology.

600

Yeah.

601

Yeah.

602

He seems like a good Christian, right?

603

And it's real tough land out here.

604

And he points to a access road.

605

This from here to here is about twenty miles of bush.

606

Um so we're we'd have to be going off-road.

607

Usually you'd take a horse for something like this, but got a four wheel drive.

608

And look from when I see the vehicle that you got out of, y'all got a four-wheel drive

too.

609

Yeah.

610

No yeah, big old big old tires on that bad boy too.

611

I think it'll do just fine.

612

Are you um are you pointing us just to where it is, or are you gonna come with us as well?

613

uh I can't let y'all go out there alone, so um I'll be with you every step of the way.

614

Um this area is uh well, it's the cartel usually does their handoffs around here and it's

pretty nasty out there.

615

So yeah, it's no man's land.

616

But I'll accompany you and um we'll get to whatever this is that your people want to look

at and um I can also um wait around and

617

See what there's to see too.

618

I think that will probably generally be unnecessary.

619

I think us uh team of three can generally handle ourselves, but I think any guide out

there would be much appreciated.

620

Well, you get caught up in one of them handoffs and the cartel sees you, something like

that, like you're sure as shit gonna get killed.

621

So I'll watch your back.

622

We wouldn't we wouldn't turn down the help, but we wouldn't want you getting in deeper

than you need to, neither.

623

sorry, Mash, you were gonna say.

624

I

625

Just uh you know, Sheriff, uh you said the area is inhospitable.

626

people don't usually build access roads to places that don't need access.

627

Are you aware of anything out there that someone would want to get to?

628

It's a good question.

629

And some well, there's a lot of ghost stories around here, but that access road used to

lead up to a town named Wallastown.

630

And Wallistown uh was a ghost town.

631

And you're still going from that access road 20 miles into the bush.

632

So and he points to the map.

633

So um yeah, it used to be a place where um from tearers and people would come and

634

get a little taste of the Texas sun on the border and head on down to Mexico to get cattle

and trade horses.

635

But um that industry's long since dead, so the town's long since dead.

636

So it wasn't a a mining town, it was more of a cattle town that got um dried up with that

industry.

637

You're not aware of any kind of underground stuff, you know, potential places to store

things out of sight, cartels using it for anything.

638

Well, I mean I can tell you the cartels do tend to use tunnels.

639

but this this is a little further in than we've seen that happen.

640

But um I don't know of any mining in that area.

641

Um, but you know, hey, uh I usually work this county, that's a county over.

642

All right.

643

Hey, I have to imagine that you keep a pretty good pulse on goins ons in your town.

644

Um now your eyes are beautiful, but they have a little worry in them.

645

Have you seen anything that has given you pause lately or perhaps heard any rumblings of

strange characters moving about?

646

Perhaps anybody who's not especially accustomed to this uh this area, someone with perhaps

Aryan markings, anything of that nature.

647

Well shit.

648

I mean this all used to be KKK area.

649

So like the KKK used to protect the border down here in Texas and they would run off any

Mexicans that they saw, um, and do terrible things.

650

So yeah, there's boys out here with area markings and it's kind of a part of our tapestry

that we've got down here on in El Paso.

651

Um it's a sorted past, if you've ever um

652

been to any place where there are two countries that scrape up on against each other.

653

What a weave it is.

654

Okay, but nothing that is exactly out of the ordinary.

655

I mean, I don't know how much you know about any of the old timers, but we didn't even

used to have carried guns around here.

656

Like you just sheriff, people just listen to you.

657

The type of violence that's bleeding over now is almost for me sometimes incomprehensible.

658

So yeah, things are out of the ordinary.

659

It just keeps getting worse and worse and worse and worse.

660

Telling me times are changing.

661

Mm.

662

Any of that uh any of that violence ever look like it was done by something not human?

663

But you are in El Paso, there's a lot of a lot of UFO stories here.

664

Um we have had cattle mutilations, we've had people disappearing.

665

You know NAFTA.

666

Yes.

667

Y'all ever heard of NAFTA, North American trade.

668

Yeah.

669

Yeah.

670

Yeah.

671

I mean, ever since NAFTA we got lots of Mexican women coming on up and working at the Coke

factory.

672

Pepsi Coke, they all got factories here and they employ the there and and women

673

Constantly going missing on the roadway on their way up.

674

The company don't give them any transportation, so they beat feet on hoof it up here,

work, and then go back, and a lot of times they don't make it back home.

675

It's uh full of ghost stories about why they were disappeared.

676

But I mean, I'm the sheriff.

677

I know what type of darkness boils in people's homes.

678

So, um, I don't think it's anything unnatural.

679

I think they

680

Just getting taken on the side of the road and easy prey, especially south of the border.

681

Sometimes to reckon with the fact that it's your neighbours that you ought to fear.

682

Yeah.

683

Well uh our neighbors and our own appetites here, so

684

Yes, sir.

685

Well I say my appetite is something fierce right now.

686

Do they have a slice of blueberry pie?

687

You saw it when you walked in, glass case and everything.

688

Yeah.

689

We do so many diner scenes and we're like, what food are you getting?

690

What food are you getting?

691

So I just skipped it as I

692

Yeah, I was like, man, another diner.

693

Mmash could really go for just some eggs, hash brown, bacon, black coffee.

694

Yeah, yeah no problem, right?

695

Baron, what are we going in for?

696

Man, you know you know that hot bean water is number one.

697

She she gets that in even as they're pouring that real water.

698

She's like, no, no, no, where's the good stuff?

699

Who's the brown?

700

Give me the brown brown.

701

Um, and then orders up a a big healthy potato chorizo burrito that she's been thinking on

that entire drive over.

702

She's like, fuck yeah, we're going to Texas.

703

This is gonna be dope.

704

Yeah.

705

E before Chipotle, it's like Chipotle size, so yeah.

706

Yeah.

707

The waitress reminds you that the quak is extra.

708

Two dollars that's a fucking ripoff.

709

That's it that's insane.

710

Avocado.

711

Yeah, you get your meals.

712

Um Sheriff Miller eats quietly, solemnly.

713

Uh he has almost the same thing that Mash has.

714

Um some hash browns, eggs, bacon.

715

His eggs are over easy and he's dipping his toast in He put his hat back on to Well, well

I mean I I don't really want to ask what brings y'all here, but guys from anywhere

716

interesting.

717

Okay, figured that.

718

Yeah, Mash was about to open his mouth and then looks at Barone and then it just puts his

head back down and keeps eating.

719

It's like being stateside's got him a little soft.

720

He uh's not used to keeping his mouth quite so shut here.

721

Yeah, we're born as the bark on them trees, but I'm sure you've heard uh, you know, plenty

of interesting tales.

722

Where you come from, would you mind gracin with a few?

723

Yeah.

724

Well you y'all go to church and he notes everybody else's silence.

725

Well yeah.

726

And he recounts a church barbecue and all the kids running around and curious about his

gun.

727

And some of the older boys like really wanting to have that gun.

728

And then he takes them out in the desert a few days later and lets them shoot and it like

makes their day.

729

Just simple stories like that.

730

This is a simple church going Sunday potluck guy.

731

And then yeah, he even he has a little satchel and he pulls out a like a little knitted

figurine.

732

It's like, yeah, my my wife, she she knits these.

733

And um, you know, when she's bored at home, so she'll knit anything.

734

Like you ask her for a blanket and we can get it to you in a few days.

735

So and he like passes it around like.

736

Very proud of like her work.

737

Yeah, Barone takes it and uh and uh turns it turns it over in her hand.

738

Really, it doesn't matter what the craft is, if your hands are used to do it and you're

good at it, um, you know, Barone would would generally take notice.

739

So she turns it over back and forth and she's like, Well I'll be damned, that's uh one

hell of a one hell of a job there.

740

Look at that.

741

That's uh that's pretty great.

742

Yeah, it's a llama, so mm it's nice.

743

Yeah, uh how how much?

744

Oh she uh some no one I mean you can just take it.

745

She makes these like all the time, so

746

Really?

747

All right, yeah.

748

I've been looking for something for for the rearview mirror for like weeks, but you know

nothing's really uh struck my fancy.

749

But this looks uh this looks great and she holds it up and dangles it like three inches in

front of her face, just elated over the moon with this tiny little thing that's so well

750

made by by somebody's hands.

751

Yeah.

752

Well, yeah, I mean, if anybody ever asks you about it, tell them that Darla from El Paso,

Texas, made that.

753

And she'd get a kick out of that.

754

Darla.

755

Well do.

756

Well uh also tell her thanks and tell her uh tell her good work.

757

This is uh this is great.

758

And she uh tucks it in her in her pocket in her button up shirt and st starts going to

town on that burrito.

759

Yeah, you eat.

760

Um

761

Yeah, I think Caroline was originally asking just to keep the commo f conversation flowing

and to keep the spotlight off of us.

762

But there is something that she finds pleasantly simple about the good natured way this

man talks about the people close to him.

763

I think she is perhaps used to people using things for their own to their own ends for

their own means.

764

And there is a very charming quality.

765

Um that does put her at ease.

766

Keon him talk.

767

Yeah, and you once you've turned on the spigot, it's talk and talk and talk and so

768

That's really all I wanted.

769

I'll give a little wink to the others.

770

We don't need to say much.

771

Yeah.

772

I think Mash is sitting there and he's listening, he hears about the story about the

sheriff uh taking the boys out shooting and he starts thinking about him and his own

773

brother learning to shoot growing up, hunting, you know, in southern rural Missouri in the

Ozarks.

774

And he just kinda gets lost in that for a little bit and then kinda comes back to Barone,

uh, holding this llama in front of her face and he's uh thoroughly confused.

775

He's like, mm, whatever, seems harmless and then just kinda listens to the stories and

keeps eating.

776

You are full.

777

By the end of the meal, the sheriff does a big old stretch.

778

Well, I suppose we should get on the road.

779

Um

780

Yeah, just how long do you think we'll be on the road for?

781

As far as provisions, precautions, all that go, do we need overnight supplies?

782

Oh, I don't think anything like that unless and you y'all can camp, but um it's easy

camping out there, there's plenty flat, but it's just a pain in the ass to get around the

783

scrub brush and rocks.

784

I'd rather not carry more than we have to.

785

Um, but I'll leave that up to you, Mash.

786

I imagine you spent a fair bit more time in the wilderness than I ever have.

787

Yeah, I mean I'm no stranger to to desert mountain desert.

788

Um I've got a couple of things in my pack, you know, that I can bring.

789

I got my larger bag with all my stuff, but I also got my uh you know, my go bag so to

speak.

790

Limited provisions, couple of light, space blankets, small radio, flint, tinder, water.

791

Yes, sir, it sounds like we can make do if we have to.

792

Yeah, no, most definitely.

793

I have three or four tents in the back of that beast and you know, a couple sleep sacks

and a number of other things.

794

I don't think I really ever leave home without it.

795

Uh at least not not when I don't have to.

796

We're we're set.

797

Now I don't have like a a hotel room or a concierge or anything for you though, Caroline.

798

I think you'll have to make do with just a measly four pillows for yourself instead of

twenty three.

799

That's very funny.

800

I don't know if you remember where you found me, but I am at home amongst the woods.

801

I don't just much care sleeping in

802

yes, no we got that.

803

You wanted to get the fuck out of there as soon as humanly possible, so I just figured you

hated the place.

804

Well that place in particular, but it does feel a little like home in the best way.

805

You're sitting there and there's a TV with the news playing and it's CNN and there's a

huge fire in Idaho and everybody's kinda like watching that.

806

He gets up, stretches again, kinda pushes his back and says, Well, y'all follow me or you

wanna take your crack at it and he looks at you, Barone.

807

I good good one.

808

Uh no, yes, no, we'll play we could play follow the leader.

809

I'm more than happy just to follow you.

810

Great.

811

Uh anybody want to keep me company?

812

Yeah.

813

uh

814

Ride with Barone, two and two, even split.

815

Deal, more Coca-Cola for me.

816

Great.

817

You get out into the car, he's got a Ford Explorer, and you get in and head on the road.

818

You're both driving.

819

You are on Black Top for a long, long time.

820

And Black Top now turns into desert floor.

821

And the sun beats down on the earth.

822

There's scrub brush that is in twists and scrambles everywhere.

823

You see shale coming out of the ground.

824

It's like kind of looks like Arth.

825

Arthritic bone that's dried, just sitting up and hunched over, cracked.

826

And yeah, the sheriff Miller navigates it with ease, buzzes around.

827

It's almost like second nature to him.

828

He's not slamming on his brakes.

829

He doesn't even put it into four-wheel drive as he's going out.

830

He just keeps it in to rear-wheel drive and buzzes out.

831

And as you're driving, yeah, there is conversation to be had.

832

Yeah, so Barone, it seems like you and uh Voluchek?

833

Is that a what's her name?

834

Uh you guys have some kind of dynamic.

835

I feel like I'm new here and I'm stepping into something that seems friendly but maybe

slightly antagonistic.

836

Am I am I reading that right?

837

you mean Caroline?

838

Uh She's great.

839

Uh if if you go through hell together, sometimes you come out the other side a bit more

connected than you went in, um, and other times you're just fucking happy to be alive.

840

Yeah.

841

I yeah, I've been in those situations.

842

Absolutely.

843

Um Have you?

844

Uh yeah.

845

I uh you know, I was in the CIA, I was an intelligence officer uh in Afghanistan for about

twenty years.

846

Uh did a lot of work with the military, working with local tribes, uh mainly feeding them

weapons to kinda help destabilize regimes that we did not want to come to power.

847

don't necessarily agree with everything we did, but that was the job.

848

So, you know, trying to sabotage Soviet stuff and all that.

849

Well I'll be damned Mash.

850

I I guess there's uh there's definitely a reason why we're here.

851

I didn't really expect it to be that.

852

I mean all I do is fix cars and beat on tools and stuff, and they kinda brought me along,

so uh great.

853

Qu qualified.

854

Green check mark for Mash.

855

I I I guess I still don't know what this is.

856

I I thought you guys were like FBI or something.

857

well I mean s CIA and you know maybe other stuffs in our real life, but I've learned

really kind of none of that matters and nobody knows what's happening, is what I've

858

learned up until this point.

859

Hell our last situation was in a swamp with a a mutant man and a church with dust that

makes you crazy and death, lots of death and stuff in the skies, so it's kind of all over

860

the place, my guy.

861

yeah yeah, I wasn't thinking anything quite that big, although maybe I still don't

understand the scope of what I have uh stepped into.

862

I guess everyone has their moment.

863

Uh I I saw a bunch of pregnant women staring at a mountain and then I went into an

underground Nazi lab where a giant or not giant, like a a half little torso baby with

864

mouths or something tried to kill a guy, and a man who I'm pretty sure

865

Had a Terminator jaw, took a bunch of heroin and we found some Nazi tapes, no sex tapes,

just like Hitler and Himmler showing off artifacts.

866

And then when we left the village, a bunch of tiny little baby claw creatures attacked us.

867

I don't know what the fuck any of that was.

868

I is that real?

869

Is that what you guys do?

870

I have no idea what's going on here.

871

And that's been bugging me for like six months.

872

And bugging is is is putting it lightly.

873

I'm not there but I do feel like I chose the right car.

874

Y you know what, Mash?

875

I'm I'm gonna be your sanity check and tell you, you know what brother?

876

No, fucking none of that is normal in any capacity whatsoever.

877

Something just as weird is probably gonna happen again, and I've learned that too.

878

After coming up in a swamp with infectious diseases and metal stuff and a dude who

summoned shit out of the sky and having to burn down a whole fucking swamp and just

879

getting out of there and the bugs, mash!

880

There's so many bugs, I hated it.

881

I fucking hated it and no, none of that was normal.

882

And it's not gonna be normal, and we need to understand that.

883

You and I together, man.

884

I think I I reach down and pick up the two open cokes out of the console, just clink them

together, hand her one, and then I just down half of the other.

885

Absolutely.

886

She's driving with one hand and just does that spinny thing.

887

She p turns it upside down and spins it to make it a whirlpool and just down all in one

gulp.

888

Oh man.

889

I sorry about that.

890

I got lost for a second.

891

I d I didn't I didn't know I needed to let that out.

892

Yeah, no, that's th that's alright.

893

I mean that's kind of the same thing I just did.

894

So yeah, yeah, I guess when Frey was talking about needing to keep things contained, I was

worried that those little like tiny baby critters were like gonna get loose in town.

895

But it sounds like there's other things too, like insect swarms and magic.

896

I I'm just gonna stop talking now and then I just chug the rest of the coke.

897

I reach up and turn up the radio.

898

What do we got in here?

899

You got any tapes?

900

This has been nice, but it's time for silence.

901

Yeah, I mean it's kinda the tape's stuck on a boarded fetus right now, so we're just kinda

listening to that on loop.

902

I'll take it.

903

Actually no, the baby thing is a little bit too close.

904

Radio.

905

Oldies.

906

I need four tops.

907

Four seasons.

908

Frankie Valley.

909

Something calm.

910

Yeah, there's no reception out here.

911

You get some AM preachers, but that's about it.

912

Yeah, alright, aborted fetus it is.

913

Caroline, any conversation to be had with sheriff?

914

Well, you know, I suppose um he seems a bit like a sentimental man and that perhaps he got

into this line of work for good reasons, and there aren't that many good reasons to be had

915

there anymore.

916

So I I suppose I'd like to ask him about how he sees himself getting out of this mess.

917

His line of work to be particular.

918

Well, sh shit.

919

I always said I'd retire, but I keep pushing it off and I'm almost there.

920

I don't I don't know why I keep doing it.

921

Hmm.

922

Guess it gets harder every year.

923

On my body.

924

on my mind too, suppose, with a amount of violence.

925

See here and there.

926

Staters and feds usually handle most of that stuff, but you know uh comes by my desk too.

927

Yeah, it's it's exhausting.

928

So but I mean, if I were home all day and my wife would get annoyed with me and she'd push

me out of the house anyway, so I don't know how I'm getting out.

929

But I guess I do have this dream.

930

Just being able to get up in the morning and ride to the afternoon, have a picnic out

somewhere under the sun, and get back up on the horse and ride on back and just do that

931

every day until you know, it's my time.

932

It sounds like Darla is a good woman.

933

I imagine she would pack your lunch dutifully, see you off, and back with a tired smile at

the end of the day.

934

That sounds right nice.

935

Yeah.

936

Yeah.

937

I was, you know, n war in Vietnam and when I came back, you know, I was like looking for

something and that's when I found Jesus and you know, Jesus led me to service and that

938

service is protecting and that's what I what I do, what I'm called to, and without that, I

don't know how how much I am or what I am beyond that.

939

Yeah, almost feels like it's never the right time.

940

I understand.

941

I understand.

942

And this generation coming up, let me tell you, this is something else.

943

I just like can't listen to instructions, they're all over the place.

944

I can't trust them with a goddamn thing.

945

I got plenty of deputies and it's a huge pain in the ass to manage and handing this off to

one of them is that's a real hard chore for me to do.

946

I understand, but look, it's hard to see it fall into hands sometimes less capable than

our own, but they have to be allowed to make their own mistakes and mistakes they shall

947

make.

948

You're telling me I made plenty of mistakes.

949

Right, but it took a good man, seeing your potential, to let you do that and keep loving

you anyway.

950

Yeah.

951

Suppose you're right.

952

Suppose you're right about that.

953

You get through the shale and there is a a little hill and the sheriff crests it and stops

and points out and you see down over the other side of this hill, almost into a basin, a

954

few trucks, and you can make out bodies.

955

He says, Well, um, this is around where that spot is, and I think we found what

956

Y'all might be looking for.

957

yeah.

958

Caroline will like just to be clear, the bodies look like freshly deceased people.

959

Hard to tell from this distance.

960

There's some smoke.

961

I'm maybe your window's down, you smell gasoline and fire, almost like a tire burning.

962

Well okay.

963

Caroline reaches into her large satchel, um riding on her hip, and she produces a sizable

handgun, considerably bigger than the last time that she felt the need to be armed.

964

It is ivory white with a baby blue ceramic grip and little gold inlays.

965

Um and she holds it as though she has just been freshly trained.

966

Um

967

down by her side as she gets out of the sheriff's vehicle.

968

Sheriff steps out, leans over the hood, and pulls out some binoculars.

969

Barone, you pull up beside the sheriff.

970

Yep.

971

Yep.

972

I think we we fall in line and uh as soon as we park, start start getting out, grabbing a

a light satchel, um that's packed with some some supplies and get ready, start looking

973

around.

974

Yeah.

975

Are you gonna survey with any sights from the hill?

976

Yeah, I think yeah, one hundred percent.

977

I don't I think we don't take another step forward without kind of being giving the okay

type stuff, you know, crime scene stuff, don't step where you're not supposed to, listen

978

to directions, common sense, things like that.

979

So if he doesn't move forward, uh she doesn't move forward also.

980

And I think looking through those binoculars is the the way to go.

981

Yeah.

982

Same for Mash.

983

He's still, you know, out of his element.

984

He's not quite sure.

985

He's he's not gonna make any aggressive moves unless he's told to, or it's demanded

because of safety reasons.

986

Yeah.

987

Yeah, anybody trying to survey it, give me a search roll or military science land if you

have it.

988

Okay.

989

Um I'll go first.

990

I'm looking for a fifty seven.

991

I rolled a twenty seven success.

992

Yeah, go ahead.

993

Anybody else wants to roll?

994

I failed with the sixty seven over thirty.

995

Okay.

996

Yeah, for our failure and let me roll for Miller sixty-seven fail.

997

So you are looking out and you do see that there is a lot of carnage down there.

998

You see bodies, you see a vehicles that have been peppered with bullet holes, and it's a

tableau of violence, right?

999

And that's what you pick up from it.

01:06:01,004 --> 01:06:05,496

There's fire still smoldering somewhere and some black smoke.

01:06:05,496 --> 01:06:06,126

Coming up.

01:06:06,126 --> 01:06:22,770

Um, Baron, you're looking around and you notice that there is almost like factionally two

different people you're surveying, and you see some flannels with a like with uh cutoff

01:06:22,770 --> 01:06:26,233

vests on them, and they're hodgepodge, right?

01:06:26,233 --> 01:06:29,306

These guys are like almost like a biker gang, it looks like.

01:06:29,306 --> 01:06:34,530

And you see a few bodies like that, and then you see other ones which are

01:06:34,976 --> 01:06:45,678

in cowboy boots, also in different types of flannels and tucked in white pearl shirts and

they're all Hispanic or Mexican.

01:06:45,678 --> 01:06:49,001

It looks like you had two different factions here.

01:06:49,041 --> 01:06:53,666

And that's what you can glean from this distance, but it does look like hell.

01:06:53,962 --> 01:06:54,822

Mm.

01:07:18,712 --> 01:07:19,342

T