THE HARVEST

CHAPTER THREE: TWO GHOSTS, PART ONE THE GATHERING STORM         p. 11 

They walked to 4th and Henry Street, which was about a mile. Anderson and Harvison had nothing but the clothes on their backs to begin a mission that was at best impossible. No one spied on the Sons and Daughters of Levi up close; they call themselves the S.D.L. or followers of the VOICE. They were the ultimate cult of cults in secrecy. People speculated, calling them devil worshipers, nudists, naturists, sexual perverts, and/or pedophiles. The rumors are that if an agent goes in, they never come out. The miracles and the prophecies made them even more attractive to those who feel useless or unwelcome, an easy target. What they knew about SDL was via second- or third-hand information or else by drone and satellite footage, but everyone on Earth knew about Levi and his wife Laida's power. Some were calling him the second coming of Christ, and from what the two of them have discovered, they could have been right. However, Wescott expected them to go undercover and discover why Levi's daughter is in Kootenay Valley.

Kittie spoke first. "We aren't coming back, are we?"

Steve replied, "Nope, I don't think we will survive this one. I wonder what it is like being an SDL member. I hear it is sex all day and all night long. No wonder they don't come back, eh?"

"Eh, I don't fuck nobody I don't want to. Eh!" She was too loud, and people on the sidewalk began to stare at them. "And that Wescott, where'd he get off feeling me up?"

"Yeah, I noticed that, but he is too powerful to go against. Besides, you heard him; we are already dead."

Kittie continued. "Why don't we just vanish? We can't be found if we don't want to be, right?"

Steve answered, "He knows we do our job. Besides, all he has to do is call the president and have one of her beasts find us, and then we are dead."

"I don't think she is in on this. Wescott is rogue, and we are rogue. Hey, I see our car, which has to be the black minivan."

"A minivan. Who drives a minivan anymore? They went out of vogue with the SUVs; now everyone drives those expandable cars, you know, the ones that fold up into a mini and expand with a touch of your remote control.

Kittie answered, "Yeah, I've seen them advertised but didn't know they were on the market yet. I think they called them XU cars for expand and unfurl."

"Yeah, either that or it is expanding and unfolding, but is this, it is a hippie reject that looks like someone painted it black with a four-inch brush?"

"Steve, I think it is kind of cute, in an FBI way. I bet it is packed with great stuff. I've never had that spy stuff, you know, like secret agents I hear get. I wanted spy dolls when I was a girl, none of the sissy Barbie doll daydreams for me."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but―what you see in front of you is it."

Kittie put the keys into the door lock and said, "Yep, so it's our 'spy car,' partner. A nine-year-old Dodge Caravan." She opened the door, reached in, and popped the hood. She stared at it for a minute and said, "Well, this will do. It is a 3.6-liter V6. That will get us up and down a few mountains."

"Kittie, I didn't know you were a car person."

"Nah, I'm not. They cleaned the engine for us, and it is written right there. See. I am an investigator."

"Well, see if you can 'investigate' some weapons for this mission. May they leave us something to play with?" Miss Kittie.

"I doubt that they did, but we'll take a look down the road, Steve." She opened the back and saw a queen-size air mattress and a tent. "Well, partner. Looks like we are going to be off the grid."

―――――

Four days later, at the border between the State of Washington and British Columbia, the border patrol guard called the inspector for Division E of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The guard asked, "Inspector, I think I have that Dodge Caravan you're looking for. What do you want me to do with it?"

"Just let them through. That was our order. Hands off, let them pass."

"Sorry, sir, you know how things are after a few days and the shift changes and all. The instructions get distorted. Eh, it won't happen again, Inspector. Send them on through."

Inside the car, Special Agent Kittie Anderson was driving; well, she was sitting at the moment. "What's the holdup? They were just supposed to let us pass."

"Take it easy; it's a big border, and they had no idea when or where we would pass, but Highway 93 out of Montana would've been a good guess. This is a pretty recognizable vehicle with the paint job and all, but they are not going to be perfect, Kit." He didn't usually call her Kit; it was too personal under normal circumstances, because Kit was the name he called her when they were lovers. She just smiled and felt flushed. The guard waved them on through, and they were in British Columbia.

Kittie said, "Steve, you know Radium Hot Spring is a big honeymoon destination. That would fit right in with our cover."

"Why, Miss Kittie, I think you are blushing."

"I'm not blushing, you moron. I am horny. It's been five days since I last had sex, and I thought...oh, never mind."

"Oh...oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, sure, we can do the honeymoon bit; it isn't like we never...you know...did it. What name should we register under?"

Kittie replied, "I was thinking Bonnie and Clyde Barrow or Mia and Woodie."

"I think Mr. and Mrs. Steve Smith would be less likely to draw attention, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess. Then, Steven and Sue Smith it is. I think I still have that ID somewhere in my purse."

―――――

The sergeant major said, "Inspector, did our Americans come to play spy?"

"Yes, and lose the attitude. This is not a game, and we are cooperating with the FBI. I don't like bringing their problems up here, but as long as they don't disturb the K'punaka Nation too much, we can send them back with the information they want, and we can wash our hands of it. So far, this uprising is only an American thing, and that is what the world wants it to be. We share the same continent with them, and this is the only known incursion of the Temple of the Voice into Canada, and I'd like to keep it that way. Give them what they want, and then send them on their way, is the director's order, and I don't want you antagonizing them while they are here. They will be here in a few hours, and I will pull them over. Remember the code words, two ghosts."

"What is it that they want?"

"They want information on Levi's daughter, Ariel. If they want Ariel, she hasn't been seen in some while now. I'm informed by Chief Nuknuk that she is a member of the K'punaka Nation, and as such, she will not be extradited. We will not allow it, and the First Nations will not allow it."

"So, we let them in, give them information, and let them go home. Sounds pretty easy to me, Inspector."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. We are not giving them anything except Canadian hospitality; the information will come from Chief Nuknuk. They will determine what information they will receive."