Hindmost - Another Word for Chaos

3: On the Trail

The setting was a quaint little diner in a remote section of New Mexico with Discord sitting in a corner booth, sipping a cup of coffee, and trying her damnedest not to draw attention to herself. The bell over the door rang for the thirty-fifth time and finally, he came walking through it. The short spiked hair, a sandy blonde, and an old blue coat covered in dirt stains. He sauntered over, sliding into the booth next to her.

"Been a while huh," he mentioned.

"You need a shave and you smell like you've been letting horses drag you through the mud," she took another sip, "How's Navajo country?"

"Look, if you just came to insult me you could've done that over the phone."

By way of response, she dropped the badge in front of him to his wide eyed shock.

"Figure out why," Discord spoke sternly, "Then decide if you want to help."

With a shuddering hand, he picked up the badge and examined the symbol.

"Where..." he shook his head, "If this is a joke it's not funny."

"You see me laughing?"

"It's hard to tell with you."

"Go fuck yourself Linus," Discord glared, "If this wasn't serious, you think I'd ever volunteer to look at your ugly ass again."

"Now I know you don't mean that," he sneered, "Besides, this can only be..."

"Look closer, the fabric on the band is new, but the symbol is faded, worn, it's been re-stitched and re-inked with care."

"So it's some fanatic, restoring old junk..."

"I found it in the garden!"

"Um...who's garden?"

"Oh Come ON!" Discord smashed her cup against the table, drawing a number of concerned stares, "Okay, I'm done with this, help me or get lost."

"You called me..." Linus stopped, "Why the fuck did you call me?"

"Because, because..." she sighed, "Thule was perhaps the biggest pain in the ass the world ever faced and no one knew them better than you."

"Emphasis on 'was'," he muttered.

"Oh yeah, another thing, who took them down last time?" Discord glared, "Yeah, who was that again? Refresh my memory, some doof, blonde spiky hair, liked to wear blue coats."

"And ruggedly handsome of course."

"And if you fucked up... if you left even a small contingent..."

"Alright I get it!"

"So long as you do, so tell me, in or out?"

He shook his head and busied himself sopping up some of the spilled coffee with a few napkins.

"Hate to say this," he grimaced, "But I don't fool around with celestials anymore, secret societies either, I work for fish and game, I protect wildlife that's it."

"Good to know," Discord rose from the table, "Thanks for the drink, you're paying for the cup too by the way."

"Look, you're deluded if you think..."

"And you're a coward, Goodnight!"

"Wait!"

"Gods! WHAT!" she proclaimed in exasperation.

"If you're going to start looking....ask a guy named Hob, you'll find him down in Paris..."

"France?"