Sparrow & Tulip
Copyright© 2025 by Mad Homer
Part 4
May 14, 2041
US 60 Picnic Area, Mile 43
Southern Ohio
Jacob leaned on the fender of the Cadillac, arms crossed and watched as Lon Stedman’s pickup headed back up the dirt road they’d used to get here. The van, along with the corpses of Stedman and his brother-in- law, had been left back at the truck stop when they’d fled the sounds of police sirens. Jacob and Pebbleman had caught up with them, after grabbing a couple of the stragglers who’d taken off across the fields. They’d finally run them down at a small roadside park.
Their bravado ruined, none of the men had a word to say other than they were all going home. Pebbleman had tried to get them riled up for another chase, but they’d ignored him. His own brother-in-law had started to put one of the wounded in the back seat of the Cadillac, but Jacob had kicked the door shut again, nearly catching his hand. Ignoring the glare and clenched fists, Jacob announced that he wasn’t a fair-weather believer, that he’d stick to the job he’d given, like a real American.
But nothing shamed any of them into staying. It was probably for the best, the Pebbleman was getting kind of strange. It wouldn’t have been long before they were all asking questions Jacob didn’t even want to think about let alone answer.
“As I said before, you are the only one I can place my trust in,” Pebbleman said from behind him.
Jacob turned around and looked at the man. He was still wearing jeans that were too big with an equally oversized work shirt. There was black dust around the man’s mouth and nose. As he watched, Pebbleman took another bite of some charcoal he’d found in one of the grills. Jacob winced as Pebbleman chewed it noisily.
“Why are you eating that?”
Pebbleman looked around, as if he had some huge secret.
“Because it tastes good,” he whispered and then giggled like it was the funniest thing he’d heard all week.
Finally, Jacob had had enough. “I put up with a lot today, y’hear? Tell me what’s going on, or I swear to Good Lord that I’ll leave you here and head on home myself!”
Pebbleman stared at him, his black eyes expressionless. Jacob didn’t care. Angel or prophet or whatever, the pale man owed him some answers. As he stared, Pebleman finished chewing. After a few seconds he spit a few black fragments out.
“Since you do not possess a sense of humor, I smell carbon in this. There are ... processes. Processes trying to repair the damage done to my brain. It all requires carbon.”
Jacob frowned. “And are you an angel of the Holy One?”
Pebbleman cocked his head slightly, staring at Jacob with emotionless eyes. The casual murder of McIntyre was very much on Jacob’s mind but he’d never been one to back down.
“There are reasons why I should not answer you,” Pebbleman finally said, as though he was thinking out loud. Then, abruptly, he was screaming. “Strong reasons! So, so strong that I would immediately end your insect life before I’d answer! End it bloody and leave the mess on your blessed porch. Let wifey see what kind of man you are! Inside and out! But those nest-less sshiit- heels closed that door to me!”
Jacob didn’t look away, hardly even blinked. He was very happy he had the hood of a 1972 Fleetwood between them. Pebbleman shook his head and pressed his temples with his fingertips.
“I have startled you,” he said, in a normal voice again. “The control of impulses was damaged, but it will be repaired soon. What I am trying to calmly relate is that I cannot remember why there are things you should not know. That concept is an obscenity, curiosity exists to be satisfied.”
“I’m gonna go ahead and assume you’re not an angel then.”
Pebbleman waved his hand. “Of course not. Those are fairytales for children, put them out of your head.”
Jacob’s eyebrows went up. “And you being a servant of the Holy One and the Good Lord?”
“I remember that. But that phase is secondary to recovering our filthy lamb. Now that they have escaped, I will have to attempt to use the interface of one of the rectum-biting Questions.”
With that, the Pebbleman got into the passenger seat and folded his arms.
“Well, shit,” Jacob said to himself. After a minute he got back behind the wheel. Even with a lunatic, this was still better than hanging around that shit town.
May 15, 2041
Previous site of KOA #302
REDACTED, Southern Ohio
The next morning, Rachel stayed near Theo as the rest of the team continued to search for the transmitter that had given away their position. Despite their surroundings, Theo was delighted. Rachel had explained tablets and showed him how to use hers. He was especially taken with the electronic book application and spent an hour just browsing the books she had in memory. After a lifetime of hiding his curiosity and intelligence, he was finally allowed to set both free. She didn’t try to explain the internet, no one was connected for obvious reasons, but she could imagine Theo’s face when confronted with something like Wikipedia.
Jonesy came over to where they were sitting just before lunch. He’d been closely examining the other cars and piles of gear, including everything from the RV. He waited for Rachel to finish explaining how something worked on the tablet before he spoke.
“Hey guys, we can’t find anything in the cars, so I’m trying something a little different.” He showed them a small box. “This thing looks for all kinds of radio signals. Would you mind if I waved it over you?”
Rachel got up first and held her arms away from her sides. Jonesy waved the box over her, but nothing happened. Theo got up and held up his arms as well.
“Want me to turn out my pockets?”
“Nah,” Jonesy said. “I’m just making sure they didn’t hide anything in your clothes. Be done in just a second.”
As Jonesy moved the device over him there was a small chirping noise. He didn’t say anything, but Theo’s heart was immediately pounding, and his stomach was full of butterflies. He hadn’t done anything wrong, they hadn’t even asked him hardly nothing!
Jonesy had Theo turn around and he repeated the process. Again, there was a high-pitched noise. Theo tried not to flinch, it sounded like the box was accusing him.
“Relax, kid,” Jonesy said. “I think maybe there’s something hidden in your clothes, not your fault at all. Would you mind taking off your shirt so I can look?”
Theo pulled off his shirt and handed it over. Jonesy examined it closely and then waved the box over it. Nothing happened.
“Weird, maybe it picked up a stray signal,” the man muttered.
Theo saw the look on Rachel’s face. She didn’t think it was whatever the man had said. Then he saw Marisol and Nate walking over and Theo’s stomach knotted up. His mouth was as dry as dust and his knees began to tremble. Jonesy was running his hands through his hair, but Theo hardly felt it. Rachel was saying something, but he couldn’t hear over the roaring in his ears. The butterflies in Theo’s stomach turned to acid as a hand captured his shoulder. They weren’t hurting him yet, but it was coming. Then there was a brush over his back and shoulders and then over the back of his head. The box immediately chirped.
Theo’s teeth began to chatter, his whole body shuddering now. They would beat him for this, he knew how it worked. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to tighten the muscles in his belly without throwing up. Any moment now the first punch would land, knocking him to the ground.
“Theo, I’m right here.”
It was Kawehi’s gentle voice, suddenly right beside him but Theo didn’t dare look at her. She was going to hate him now and the thought made him even more miserable.
“Can you talk to me?” she asked. “Everything is fine, I promise.”
He felt more fingers lightly probe his neck and the back of his head. Nobody could know about that! Theo gulped, desperately holding back the sick coming up from his guts.
“Hey buddy, what’s that little scar from?” Jonesy asked from behind him.
Now they all knew! Flickering black dots filled Theo’s vision and he felt himself heave up the food they’d given him. There were distant sounds of alarm as his legs gave out. The last thing he remembered was the smell of sick and a slimy feeling on his face. It wasn’t important now, he couldn’t talk to them. Nothing mattered but hiding the secret. As consciousness faded away, Theo frantically tried to bury everything.
Deidre looked up when Jonesy shouted, just in time to see Theo collapse. She grabbed her med kit and ran over.
“What happened?” she demanded, kneeling beside him.
“Something in the kid’s head pinged back when I scanned it. He was starting to get squirrely. When I asked him what the scar on his head was, he puked and collapsed.”
Deidre gently opened Theo’s mouth, making sure he wouldn’t choke. Satisfied, she looked up to see Rachel crouched by the kid’s feet.
“Grab his legs, we’re going to turn him over,” Deidre told her.
On his back, they could Theo’s eyes twitching back and forth under his eyelids. His lips were moving slightly, it looked almost like he was repeating something over and over and over. Deidre put a blood pressure cuff on him and taped another probe against his chest. Her tablet beeped as it connected to the sensors and showed Theo’s pulse was slowing but was still over 120 BPM. His blood pressure was low but slowly climbing toward normal.
“Where’s the scar?” she asked.
“Back of his head, right below the occipital knob,” Jonesy said. He turned Theo’s head carefully and brushed the hair aside to show her a thin white scar. “It pings a RF when the active scan hits it.”
“For chrissakes, don’t power it up again,” Nate warned, looking over their shoulders.
Deidre ignored him as she looked closer. “It’s a clean cut, too clean to be an accident. Hand me the imager.”
Kawehi handed her an open box with a small cylinder nestled inside. Deidre took it out and made sure it was connected to her tablet as well. A noise began, higher than a mosquito’s whine. Deidre began moving it slowly over Theo’s head and neck. As an image began to form, Nate crowded closer to see it. Deirdre stopped what she was doing and looked up.
“Back off and let me do my job.”
Nate glared at her. “Keeping a Trojan Horse away from the Project is my job.”
Deirdre rolled her eyes and went back to the imager. “Great, now go away, I’ll let you know what I find.”
He didn’t move and Kawehi cleared her throat. When he ignored her, she went over pulled him back.
“Let her work, you’ll know what it is as soon as anyone else.”
They all heard him muttering angrily as he stepped back.
“Deed. there’s something coming up,” Jonesy said, pointing to a tiny white triangular spot on the screen.
“Don’t know what that is. Rachel, can you run the imager?” Deirdre asked.
The other woman took the small cylinder from her and Deirdre zoomed the screen in. The image was getting clearer as Rachel continued moving the imager, constantly feeding data to the tablet. The outline of the shape got clearer, but the device clearly didn’t have the resolution needed to pick our details.
“Well, I can say that it’s not supposed to be there and that it’s definitely artificial. See the shadow here? I think there’s more of it in the bone. And these might be tiny wires, I can’t tell.”
“Why not?” Marisol asked.
Deidre kept working on the screen. “Because this thing is set up to find bullets and shrapnel. Whatever that is, it’s less than half the size of a BB. I need a better rig to get a picture of it.”
“Was that what knocked him out?” Jonesy asked.
Deirdre shrugged. “Maybe? If it’s tech, it’s probably not ours.”
“Is it controlling him?” Marisol asked.
“I think it’s too small for that,” Kawehi said. “We’ve dealt with Commonwealth neurotech before, it’s much larger. Portions of the host’s brain are removed to make space for it.”
“I don’t want to know,” Deidre said. “Whatever this thing is, I’m not touching it. It’s too small to deal with in the field. See this shadow here? That’s where it breaches the occipital plate. He really needs a neural specialist, preferably one from the Project.”
“Kawehi, I have to agree with your Warden, we can’t take him to Echo like this,” Marisol said.
“Can I get a secure datalink?” Kawehi said. “I know a specialist who’d be happy to get away from the office.”
“Kawehi, we’re not taking him anywhere near any Project facility like this,” Nate said immediately.
“Would you dial it down already?” Kawehi snapped back. “Did I say we’re taking Theo to him? Deidre, what can we do for him in the meantime?”
“You think he’s going to wake up again?” Jonesy asked.
Deidre switched screens and then nodded. “Best guess, yeah. It looks like his vitals are moving closer to normal.”
“Could we block the signal for a few hours?”
“Sure, Kay, blocking EM waves is easy,” Jonesy said. “I’ll set up some kind of shielding on him.”
Kawehi looked at Nate. “Is that enough for you?”
“No. You don’t have a clue of what that thing is capable of or what’s going to happen when this little pain in the ass wakes up. Deidre, can you keep him asleep for the rest of the day?”
“With anesthetic? No way. I’d be nervous doing it at a medical facility. The back of an RV? Forget it.”
“I have plenty of happy fun-time pills,” Jonesy said. “Would making him groggy be enough?”
Deidre sighed. “What the hell, Jonesy? What do you have? Do I need to schedule you into a rehab program now?”
“Some opiate painkillers and some more exotic stuff and I’ll happily go to rehab if there’s a pool. But these are yours, you gave Jack and I spares to carry.”
She took a deep breath. “Right. I’m sorry, I totally forgot about that. We’ve been in the weeds way too long,” Deidre said. “Kawehi?”
“Anything that will slow down or interrupt his neural activity, thank you.”
Kawehi turned to Nate and her voice got colder. “Is that enough for you, Warden?”
Nate shrugged. “I guess it’ll have to be. Doc, I want him really, really stoned. One of your team should stay on him. With a weapon. And if...”
Kawehi gave him a warning look.
Nate looked at her and then back to Deidre. “You get the idea.”
She nodded. “We’ll keep him out of trouble.”
Kawehi spun on her heel and grabbed her Warden’s arm as she walked past. She pulled him away from the little crowd. Marisol watched them and it looked like they were arguing.
“Anything to worry about?” Jonesy asked from behind her. “I can always stage a little accident for him.”
Marisol spun and grabbed the neckline of Jonesy’s shirt, locking eyes with him. “It’s a very good thing I know you’re stressed out and just making asshole jokes.”
Jonesy didn’t bat an eye and Marisol let go of his shirt and walked away.
“It’s cute that she thought I was joking,” Jonesy muttered to Deidre.
She gave him a strange look. “Are you hot for Kawehi or something?”
“Not like that. She was my insurgency instructor before they sent her offworld.”
“Come on, Jones. I know that’s an intense course but seriously, offering to frag a Tango agent? In front of a team leader? You gotta get your shit back together.”
He rubbed his eyes. “I really need a day off.”
“We all do. Why don’t you drag Marisol off to the tall grass for a little rumpus? You’d both feel better.”
Even his usual grin looked tired. “Now who’s trying to get people fragged?”
Theo was struggling to open his eyes by the time they’d gotten him cleaned up and into the bed in the back of the camper. Rachel was next to him, sitting at the foot of the bed with her back to the wall.
“How’re you feeling?” she asked when he was awake.
He shook his head, trying to clear the fog. “What happened?”
“You got really sick.”
Theo started to sit up but grabbed the sheet when he realized he only had his underwear on.
“And I’ve got some clean clothes when you want to get up.”
“Did you...”
“No, you can relax. Jonesy and Ian undressed you. I made sure no one peeked.”
He half nodded and rubbed his eyes. “I think I got a fever or something.”
“That’s the medicine Deidre gave you. Are you dizzy?”
“I can’t think straight, can’t remember nothing.”
“You’ll feel better soon. Let’s get you dressed, okay?”
Theo didn’t quite grasp what she was saying but Rachel handed him some clothes and turned her back so he could put them on. Once he was dressed in a t-shirt and loose black pants, Theo sat back down, trying to stop the little room from spinning.
“Did I ask you what happened? I can’t remember. What’s on my neck?”
He reached up to tug at whatever it was, but she caught his hand.
“You’ve got a special bandage around your neck. You’ll be okay but we need to leave it there for now. How about we get you some fresh air?”
He nodded and she helped him sit up. When Theo’s head stopped spinning, Rachel helped him to his feet.
“I need to, uhm, go,” he said, his face red.
She helped him over to the tiny door and opened it for him. “You can manage?”
Theo quickly muttered that he was fine, and she smiled as she closed the door behind him. As he went, he examined his reflection in the mirror. There was some sort of collar around his neck that made it hard to turn his head. It was a dull gray color like aluminum, but it didn’t feel like metal when he tapped it. He didn’t see a way to take it off either and wondered how long he had to wear it. It didn’t hurt but he had to turn his whole body to look around. It felt really weird.
When he emerged, Rachel was sitting at the little table waiting for him.
“Better?”
He nodded, blushing again but she smiled and helped him down the stairs and through the door. The sun was low in the sky and Theo dully wondered if it was setting or if it had just come up. He looked around, trying to remember what this place was but then Rachel took his hand.
He’d never held hands with anyone before. It had been a big deal at home, especially in public but Rachel was very casual about it. And the girls in Watson’s Hole were always putting stuff on their hands and going on about their fingernails. Her hands felt as strong and work weathered as his own.
“There’s a little creek back here. Let’s go sit there,” Rachel said.
He tried to nod but couldn’t. It didn’t matter though, she didn’t wait for him to answer. Theo decided he was happy to follow her, he liked holding hands. For just a second, he had a flash of someone else, holding her hand would have been nice too. He tried to follow the thought, but it disappeared before he could. He didn’t mind, he liked holding hands.
They walked past a big shed with a bunch of old cars parked underneath. There were a couple of old picnic tables and some people were sitting there, talking and playing cards. Theo had a moment of alarm, cards were strictly forbidden. But he wasn’t at home anymore, it was okay here.
If only he could remember why. A couple people smiled and waved. He waved back, feeling absurdly happy. He had known their names before, but he couldn’t remember anything now. Hand in hand, they walked down to a small stream. There were large pieces of stone and broken concrete scattered around and they stepped from piece to piece until they were in the middle of the running water. Rachel picked a spot and sat down on the edge of a big rock, her feet almost in the water. The water splashed and gurgled around them. Rachel helped him to sit down beside her and took his hand again. She slid over until she was sitting so close that their legs were touching.
“Is this okay?” she asked.
Theo couldn’t really turn his head to look at her, but he said that it was great. He liked being here, there was nothing to do, nothing to worry about.
“How are you feeling?” Rachel asked.
“Really good, but kinda weird. Like my head is full of cotton but in a good way.”
She nodded. “That’s the drug for pain. It’ll get better.”
“What’s this thing around my neck?”
“It’s a bandage, remember? You passed out and fell down.”
“I did? It’s hard to think, like I’m in slow motion.”
Theo jumped when she put her arm around him.
“Did I hurt you?”
“No, I’m just not used to people touching me like that.”
“Like what?”
Theo tried to shrug but there was something around his neck that made it uncomfortable. “I dunno how to say it. Soft like that.”
She laughed. “We better get you used to it, your sister likes hugging people.”
He scooted around so he could look at her. “What do you mean? I don’t have a sister.”
Rachel stared at him, feeling a weight form in the pit of her stomach. “You do, Theo. We talked about this yesterday. Her name is Emma and you’re twins.”
He rubbed his head. “A twin sister? No, I woulda remembered that. I think you have me mixed up with someone else. Why’s this thing on my neck anyway?”
Rachel’s discomfort got worse. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
He frowned. “There was yelling and someone shooting a gun. Oh! I got in a wreck too.”
She took a small radio out of a pocket. “Deidre, need you at the stream.”
Theo was watching her, fascinated. “Who is Deidre?”
“A friend of mine,” Rachel said, rubbing his back again. “You’ll like her.”
Theo just nodded and smiled but it was obvious he really didn’t understand what she was saying.
“Hello, you beautiful people,” Deidre said, coming down to the stream bank.
Behind her, Theo saw a couple of people, but they went away again and he immediately forgot they’d been there.
“Theo’s having some trouble with his memory,” Rachel explained.
Deidre hopped down into the water and sloshed over to them.
“Your shoes!” Theo said, pointing.
“I know, they’re all wet, huh?” Deidre said.
She took a little flashlight out of her pocket and shone it into both his eyes.
“What kind of problems?” she asked.
“Theo, do you remember Deidre?” the dark haired woman asked him.
He squinted at the woman and shrugged with a silly grin on his face. “Guess not. Hi, I’m Theo.”
The reddish haired woman smiled and shook hands. “Hi, Theo. My name is Deirdre and I’m happy to meet you. How bad is it, Rachel?”
“Theo, do you remember my name?” she asked.
He turned his whole body to look closely at her. “It’s ... uhm. I already know it, don’t tell me...” They waited but he seemed to forget about them and stared off into space.
“Last thing he can remember sounds like the snatch. He knew me when he woke up but now he can’t seem to keep even that in his head.”
“I’ve never heard of this reaction before. You said you’ve taken hydrocodone before, was it anything like this?”
Rachel shook her head. “Our biology is close enough to human that I’m fine with medication.”
“Excuse me, ma’am,” Theo interrupted said to Deidre. “Can you tell me where I am? I can’t figure out what I’m doing here.”
“It’s getting worse,” Rachel said miserably.
Deidre looked into Theo’s eyes again. “Theo, we’re waiting for a doctor to come and look at you. We want to make sure you didn’t get hurt when you fell. Is the fresh air helping your head any?”
Theo noticed the air, it was cool, and he could smell pine trees. “Yes, I think so. Why did I fall down?”
“It happened when we found something in your ... Theo?”
He had gone pale and reached up to cover the back of his head. They could both see him beginning to shudder.
“No one is supposed to know about that,” Theo whispered. “It’s a secret. I have to keep the secret.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Rachel said, putting her hand on his back again. “We aren’t looking for your secret. Let’s talk about something else.”
Theo had a flash of memory; someone had touched the secret place on his head. “It’s important! No one can know about ... no one can know!”
Deidre gently pulled his arms down. “So, how do you feel, Theo?”
He stopped struggling and smiled at her. “I feel really good.”
Rachel gently rubbed his back while Deidre held his hands. Theo quickly forgot what he was worried about and relaxed, enjoying the attention.
“Oh, your name is Rachel,” he suddenly said. “And your name is Deidre.”
Deidre smiled at him. “Exactly right, my friend. What were you talking about before, Rachel?”
“Oh, uhm, Theo was saying that he’s not used to people touching him.”
He shook his head. “Not soft like this, no.”
“What do you mean by soft?” Deidre asked.
“Well, I get beat sometimes, when I forget my place or I get caught looking in the bad way. This is much nicer.”
“No one is going to hit you here,” Deidre said firmly. “Can I sit with you up there?”
Theo looked down and laughed. “Your shoes are wet, come outta there!”
Deidre hopped up on the rock beside him. “I might have to take your shoes then.”
His smile didn’t falter. “Well of course, that’s what a Christian gentleman would do.”
“The sunset is very pretty,” Rachel said. Theo nodded and smiled at her.
“Yeah, keep everything really light,” Deidre said casually. “I think stress makes it worse.”
She saw Theo smile but there wasn’t any comprehension in his eyes. Deidre leaned against him and Rachel did the same thing on the other side. Theo sighed happily as the sun continued to set.
At first, Rachel wondered what she could do to keep Theo entertained. The last light in the sky was fading and Deidre had left them to go sit with Shep. Rachel took Theo’s hand again and walked him back toward the open shed.
Despite her worrying, Theo seemed perfectly content to stare off into space. She tried to talk to him some more, but he immediately went back to asking why he wasn’t home. She sat down with him at one of the picnic tables and played a movie on her tablet for him to watch. She’d expected him to be amazed, like he’d been at all the other tech they had. He hardly noticed the tablet and just sat quietly looking at nothing. She was watching whatever movie it was without really seeing it either, when someone put a hand on her shoulder.
“How about a break?” Betsy asked when Rachel looked up.
“That’s nice of you, but I’m fine.”
Betsy sat down on the other side of Theo. “Deidre got me up to speed and very strongly suggests you go clear your head for a few. Think of it as an order.”
Despite her dark thoughts, Rachel smiled. “Theo, this is Betsy. She’s going to sit with you for a little while, okay?”
He looked at Betsy and smiled. “My name is Theo.”
“Hi there, Theo. Can I sit by you?”
He agreed enthusiastically and Betsy sat close enough to lean on him a little. Rachel headed for the hidden door to the supply cache. It was thick enough that no one would hear her screaming down there.
Marisol’s tablet chimed with an incoming message just after midnight. She read it and went to tell Deidre to get Shep ready to move. They’d all worked with helicopter support before and it felt a little strange not having to worry about tying anything down.
Five minutes later, they all felt an odd sensation and bits of grass and pebbles hovered a few inches off the ground. The effects of the gravity emitters faded away as the Marmot touched down without a sound. It remained a dark shape until the large side hatches opened, revealing the dim red light inside. Four crew members were already moving, heading over to where Shep was waiting on a stretcher.
“Take care of that kid,” he whispered to Deidre as they picked him up.
“I’ll see you soon,” she promised.
He tried to wave, but Deidre and one of the medevac crew both grabbed his hand to keep it in place. The crew were eerily silent as they walked quickly to the ship and carefully loaded the stretcher inside. The hatches quickly swung down, and the dark shape leapt back into the air, blocking the stars for a moment and then it silently shot across the sky, too fast to follow.
“It is that I am to meet Kawehi Moana,” a quiet, slightly sibilant voice said from the darkness.
“I’m here, Doctor” Kawehi said, stepping forward.
A figure in a wide brimmed hat and black overcoat stepped out of the darkness. “It is being wishes of kind fate and beneficence, other unknown comrades. I am being known as Dr. Aeolus.”
Rachel had gone back to sit with Theo and the pair were waiting at one of the picnic tables as Kawehi and Nate greeted the visitor. Theo had kept the air of vacant agreeability, until he noticed the doctor’s silhouette. Now he was terrified and starting to hyperventilate.
“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked.
“The Good Brother,” Theo hissed. “He’s here.”
Rachel’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
Theo nodded jerkily toward the shape wearing the hat and overcoat. “That’s him. Always dressed like that”
“Kawehi,” Rachel called. “Quick word?”
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