Malnourished

Chapter 17 Danger! Danger!

Everyone sat at the small table without saying anything until Devon said "this is kind of silly don't you think?  Look I'm sorry Greg but I didn't get a chance to warn you before you came home.  We had no idea that those agents were going to come to the house.  So if it is okay with everyone can we please just have a good dinner and leave all of the questions until after we have eaten?"  The three women turned to look at Greg "oh, uh right." and that is all he said.

Greg and Julie sat and listened to Devon's strange tale at the crowded table.  No one seemed to notice the wonderful meal the young woman had made.  She had managed to purchase a natural chicken which in itself could have gotten her into a lot of trouble.  It was strange how she managet to obtain it because she wasn't looking for one at the time. 

It was such a beautiful day and one not to be wasted by staying indoors so she decided to pull out the old car and drive out to the country side.  It was rare for Greg or her to take the car anywhere.  They both believed that any place worth going to was within walking or busing distance.  They didn't believe in wasting energy or fuel so it sat in the small garage out back.  Most people would point and laugh at the old jalopy but neither one of them cared.  It had been left to Devon by her Grandfather and she cherished it.  Once a week Greg or her would back it out of the old garage and give her a wash and polish.  The inside was old and worn but it was clean and neat.  Last year a stranger approached her and asked if she would be willing to sell her old car for scrap.  She turned him down  but he came back with another offer.  Again, she turned him down but he kept coming back and each time the offer rose.  It finally got to a point where he offered her more than a brand new air car would have cost them.  She asked him why he wanted it so badly and he finally told her.  He was a broker of some sort and had a customer who was looking for that exact vehicle.  "But why?" inquired Devon "there must be alot of these old clunkers around."  "Actually no, these are very rare.  People sold them off for scrap and they were melted down for other things like your coffee pot.  Besides yours is special.  The interior is blue and only one hundred of those were made.  Apparently someone at the factory used the wrong materials.  They allowed the one hundred to go through and that was it.  So you see Ms. my client is willing to pay a large sum for your car.  He will take care of it and keep it forever if you would just be willing to sell it." He put his hands together as if he was begging but Devon simply shook her head no.  "But I don't understand why not?" he pleaded "what is so important that you would turn down such a great offer?"  Devon pulled out her mini vid screen with a picture of her then very young Grandfather.  He was standing next to his new car with such a wonderful look of pride.  The stranger studied the small vid screen then sighed.  "I see," he muttered then gave it back to her. "I would like to give you my card so if you ever change your mind... well you know."  he handed her a small card which read

Karl Redgrave

Dealer Extrodinare

"You need it we find it!"

It had his vid number and address at the bottom.  Devon didn't know why but she kept it.

On such a beautiful day she put the dogs in the car and drove to the out skirts of the ciry.  If a person went much further you would be followed by a spy bot.  These were small, about three feet long and narrow, no more than one foot across.  They had cameras on the bottom of them which fed back to the main Communicators station.  They can watch over the city or follow any one person they think is suspect.  Once you cross into the country side a watcher follows you where ever you go.  The communicators can pull you in for questioning to find out why you went into the forbidden area.  It wasn't really called forbidden but everyone knew it as that.  A reason for the difference has never been given.  On that particular day Devon went to the edge of the forbidden area and stopped.  She pulled the car over to the side and let the dogs out then grabbed a small blanket that was nearly folded in the back along with a bottle of water.  This was the favorite thing in the world for the two large dogs.  They ran around barking and chasing each other.  Twenty feet away in long gently blowing grass sat an enormous tree.  It's branches stretched out as if it was trying to catch the sun and hang onto it forever.  It was an old tree that had survived the crash so many years ago.  Trees like this were rare and never seen in the cities.  Most had been cut down and destroyed.  As Devonstood under that wonderful feat of nature she thought"Oh what a horrible shame.  Just think what it must have been like so long ago when trees grew everywhere.  What must have that been like?"  Suddenly they heard the familiar hum of a tracker.  Tiberious barked and jumped at the small piece of machinery.  There were two reasons why Devon liked to bring her two four legged companions, first she loved to see them get out for some fun and two the trackers could not get too close for fear the big dogs would grab it and use it as a toy.  Devon secretly hoped she could see that one day.