MINDCHANGER

the chain (4)

[PARK CITY, KANSAS]

Dennis is in the office of his job. He's staring blankly at the window overlooking the parking lot. He's counting the numbers of white ADT vans. 'What I really could do, is if that little bitch somehow remembers my license plate number, switch vans.' he begins to think. 'Because it's been enough time, though trauma is subjective, by now that fuzzy thought process through handling a traumatizing event must be over. By now, she may remember my face, hair color, or any small details.'

"I'll be taking my lunch now." he tells his co worker.

"Okay Dennis." his co worker responds.

Dennis calmly walks to the door, exiting the office. He runs to his van and opens the door with a wide swing. He jumps in quickly, without caring that he's still on the clock. He drives to a gas station, pulling up to the self-serve vacuum. He shakily reaches in his pocket for fifty cents, then flicks them into the coin slot. He thoroughly vacuums the entire van, floorboards and seats. He opens the compartment on the passenger side of the dashboard, and pulls out his first aid kit. He puts on the gloves, then wipes down every hard surface of the van with an alcohol pad. The dashboard, steering wheel, handles, everything. He throws the pad and gloves away. 'Now that it's clean, how can I make the car need some type of maintenance, long enough to need to drive a different van?' he wonders. He begins scoping out around his van, as he's walking towards the back he trips, then catches himself just in time. 'What the-' his thought process is interrupted when he turns and sees what made him fall. It's a pebble, about the size of a quarter. He slowly bends down to grab it.

He quickly rushes up and opens the hood of the van, taking the oil cap off of the engine. He drops the small stone inside. It makes a faint splash noise, and he screws the cap back on. He gets back into the driver seat of the van, fastening his seat belt, and leaves.

[QUANTICO, VIRGINIA]

Wendy Carr is leaving work, and instantly drives to the bar that Kay is working at. It's still daylight, and feels too early to go there, but she's thinking back on their previous issue. Kay was mad about the way she asked her to move in, and she wants to apologize. However, she is also mad at Kay, for the way she spoke to her ex husband. Kay made Wendy feel unimportant in her life. Just a detail skipped over. But, it's not worth the heartache. She truly cares about her, and enjoys their time together. She doesn't yet know what to say as she is parking her car.

She enters the bar, with Oh, Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison is playing over the speaker system. The smoke from each lit cigarette is visible with the sun peering through each window. The artificial lights are currently shut off, and the natural sunlight gives each shot glass on the back of the bar a nice glow. She sees Kay turned away from the counter, drying a wineglass with a torn rag. "Hello stranger," Wendy greets her.

"Hello," Kay says in a soft tone, without turning around.

"Are you too mad to look at me?" Wendy asks, with a slight laugh for relief. She hears a sniffle from Kay. "What's wrong, babe?"

Kay slowly turns around. She has a black eye. Wendy easily stands up, knowing not to over react. The psychology training helps her avoid triggering people who may already be in fragile states. 

"Who did this to you?"

"Nobody," Kay says. She pauses to come up with a reasonable excuse to cover up the truth behind her injury. "Last night, it was dark in my apartment, and when I opened the freezer door it just-" she motions with her hands that the door smacked her in the eye. "Boom, right in the worst spot."

"You know I'm a certified psychologist-" Wendy begins. "Well, I won't assume you're lying. I'll try to just be here for you. I'm worried now."

"Yes, please just be here." she responds in a shaken voice. "I'm okay, I am so glad to see you. What would you like to drink?"