The Old Mill

As soon as she left Jonathan was on the phone, calling old contacts in the
NSA and trying to dig up information on the RV program. He learned it had
gone deeply covert, rumored in fact to be out of control. A contract had
been put out on Jennifer, the mere mentioning of her name causing
extreme agitation at all levels. Another old friend advised him to find her
quickly and get her to a safe location in a shielded bunker or tunnel deep
underground. "The Disruptor beam will kill her sure enough unless you
protect her Jonathan! She's the only one who's ever been able to resist it."
"Where are they Jack, where is that damn weapon right now ?" he asked.

"No one knows Jonathan. They're mobile. Only Jennifer can find them!"

"If she found them Jack, how long would it take to get some of your people
there ? To destroy the damn thing ?"

"Jonathan, if she can find them, we can be there in less than two hours!"

"Okay Jack, thanks. I'll be getting back to you."

He was out the door and running for the snowmobiles as fast as he could.

The snow continued to fall as Jonathan worked his way towards Baker City
on his snowmobile. He realized that he'd probably fair much better on the
snowmobile than he would've using a car or truck. The highway was
completely void of any traffic whatsoever, as he kept a lookout for Jenny's
truck and a chance to flag it down.
Suddenly he saw her ! She was heading towards him when the truck began
to weave and slip, the snowy highway providing little or no traction. It
skidded across lanes, headed directly for him, causing him to swerve up
and over the bank ! At the same time the truck slid into a roll, turning over
on its side, and glided past him in quiet slow-motion, coming to rest 100
feet away in the rain gutter.
He ran over to the truck and climbed up to the cab, checking on Jennifer.
The engine was still on, the truck laying on its driver's side door, making
it difficult for him to assess her condition because she was in a heap down
there at the bottom. He yanked the passenger door up and open, crawling
down to reach the ignition, and shut off the engine. Jennifer looked bad !
Her face was bloody, as were her hands. She appeared to be unconscious.
He tried unsuccessfully to get her seatbelt to unlock. Just as he was about
to give up and go for help, the seatbelt lock clicked and she was free.
Slowly and painfully he pulled her up and out of the cab, his strength
increased two-fold by his fear for her life.
He sat beside her in the snowbank until she regained consciousness, her
voice shakey and scared as she talked. "Oh Jonathan, I'm so sorry. I'm
not going to make it this time. It started again ! The pain ! My head feels
like it's going to explode ! They've found me again Jon! They've found me!"
As he got ready to respond, she screamed terribly, and passed out. He
looked around for a place to shelter her but there was nothing. And then
he saw the rain gutter that ran under the highway ! He picked her up and
threw her over his shoulder, then ran like hell for the entrance. Once
there, he put her down, dragging her on into the damp darkness.

She was bleeding again from her nose and ears. As Jonathan rubbed her
forehead she came to, and he immediately began to ask her questions to
see if she was coherent. "Are you any better ? Can you still feel probing ?
How are you physically ?"
Jennifer tried to sit up but she just wasn't ready. She answered his last
question first. "Physically, I'm okay. The blood is just from my nose and
ears." "Jesus Jon, it's really painful !" "Thanks for bringing me in here, I'm
not feeling the probing anymore !"
He looked into her eyes then asked her "Jen, can you do something for me
right now ? I need you to do something very important as soon as you
can, understand ?"
"What do you need me to do Jon ?"
"If you're up to it, I need you to RV our friends here and let me know
where they are. If we can find them, we can stop this insane crap !"

Jennifer took some deep breaths and closed her eyes, concentrating. Her
headache was still there but no where near as painful as it was just
minutes before. She "locked in" on the Disruptor beam. "It's . .they're . . .
they're about 6 miles south of Granite . . on Bull Run Creek road . . .
in an empty storage warehouse . . .!"

Jon was on the phone as soon as she finished.

The government's illegal RV program was shut down hours later and the
Disruptor confiscated by NSA, to be disassembled and destroyed, along
with all pursuant documentation.

Jennifer was rushed to the hospital but never seen again. When Jonathan
showed up to see her hours later, she had officially "checked herself out".

And so it was over.

(But like she said, "What a ride we had together Jon, what a ride we had!")

He spent the next two weeks in and around Granite, hoping maybe to
bump into her again . . . to no avail.


Months went by and he returned to the old mill. Winter turned to spring
and spring to summer. He built living quarters atop the mill with windows
that looked out and down on the beautiful valley, complete with a glass
roof that afforded him a view of the heavens every night. When it rained,
(and it did quite often), he'd sit there looking up, watching the drops and
rivlets form patterns of escape, . . again and again. He felt comfortable
in this old mill, probably because "she" had loved it. He kept it well
maintained and landscaped because he knew she would've wanted it that
way.

Sometimes at dusk he'd go for a brisk walk in the fresh air and think about
her. And when he returned from these walks he'd pour himself a glass of
red wine, and think of her. Sitting there in the dark, sipping, he would
sometimes break out in a hearty laugh, thinking of her.
The old mill took care of him . . . and he took care of the old mill.