Note: This is written in collaboration with Arik.
Jeanette still does not how she is to detain a suspect when she is not authorized. Then again, she does not know what to do when an officer is to execute a suspect who poses no threat. "I'm glad you gentlemen showed up. Moro would have been executed if you didn't."
The sheriff did not witness what Jeanette witnessed. He is not going to render a verdict either. "If Moro is a Spirit, she would have disappeared."
"As a mother, she would not have left without her daughter."
"There are two Spirits?"
"No. Elsa is adopted."
"Is Elsa the one kidnapped?"
"Let a judge determine if Elsa is adopted or kidnapped. Until then, the suspect is innocent." Jeanette knows it snows when Elsa is scared. She needs a way to bring Elsa to Moro and do so without it being known Elsa is a mutant. "Oh, shit!" Jeanette takes off to the hotel.
The sheriff follows. "Something wrong?"
"I've been so concerned with keeping a suspect alive," Jeanette opens a door to the hotel lobby, "that I haven't been with a child who needs care."
Hikaru, Chihiro, Danielle, Elsa and Anna are in the hotel lobby.
"Is the child sick?" The sheriff comes in.
"Elsa is hypothermic. We are on our way to a settlement with a good medical facility. It's a long drive and we needed to overnight it in a warm place." Jeanette turns her focus to Chihiro. "Chihiro, I need you to go to the gas Camper and start the heater."
"Okay." Chihiro heads for the gas Camper to start the heater.
"It got cold all of the sudden."
"You're telling me?" The sheriff says.
"We need to get Elsa a coat; the only one we found in your market fits Danielle." Jeanette refers to the one wearing dark glasses.
"You need a blanket."
"That's what I'm thinking."
The sheriff goes to the desk. "Medical situation, we need a blanket."
"I'll talk to the manager."
"We don't have time." Jeanette starts to say to the hotel employee.
The manager walks out of her office with a quilt. "What luck, we just got this in a barter."
"We'll take it." Jeanette takes the nice, hand-sewn quilt. "And it's heavy too, good." Jeanette wraps the large quilt around Elsa and picks her up. "Get the door, someone."
The sheriff opens the door for Jeanette. Anna follows her sister.
The hotel needs gold. The manager dealt with Hikaru, the master negotiator, and the sheriff is there because of a medical situation.
Hikaru is not happy with Fernando being cheated out of five ounces of gold ($5,000). She knows it's not the hotel's fault. She saw the quilt, it looks nice and Jeanette did say it's heavy. Hikaru assumes the hotel needs gold and she's correct. The manager is in a bit of a pickle and Hikaru has the upper hand. However, the manager's comment tells Hikaru how she can get a good deal on the quilt without shorting the hotel. "You said you got the quilt in a barter. Was that for a night's stay?"
"Yes."
"A tenth of an ounce of gold ($100) for the quilt."
"A night's stay in the hotel is an ounce of silver." The sheriff may not be aware that the hotel industry is manipulating the price of silver. The actual value is $10 but the artificial value is up to $133.
"That's quite alright. Given the nature of the situation, we'll accept it."
Chihiro opens the gas Camper door for Jeanette and closes it when she, Jeanette, Elsa and Anna are in.
Jeanette puts Elsa down.
Dropping the quilt on the floor of the Camper, Elsa goes to Moro who's now in chains. "Spirit, I was so worried about you." Elsa removes a glove and grabs the links of the chain to freeze it to the point of shattering.
"Elsa, stop." Moro is firm but she does not raise her voice. "They need to stay on."
Elsa obeys and puts her glove back on.
Jeanette picks up the quilt, folds it and puts it on the bench seat.
The sheriff leaves the hotel and talks to his deputies, telling them where to go and what to do.
"Chihiro," Jeanette says, "we need to get our stuff from the hotel room and our sheets and towels from the laundry room, dry or not. Getting our sheets and towels can be the last thing we do if they are not dry yet."
With Moro, Elsa and Anna in the Camper, the other ladies get all of the stuff out of the bigger hotel room and Hikaru's stuff out of the other one.
"There's a gas station near the gate." Jeanette starts the gas Camper. "Get gas, fill up the water tank and anything else the Camper needs."
"How much gas do we need?"
"Half a tank, just fill it up."
"Specifically how many gallons do we need to buy? We need to pay in advance and they don't accept plastic."
"Ten gallons."
Jeanette pulls up to a pump. She and Hikaru get out.
"How much?" A gas attendant asks.
"Ten gallons." Hikaru answers. "What's the anti-knocking index of your gasoline? Do you prefer Swiss or Texas coins?"
"Eighty-seven and both coins are good. That'll be two tenths of an ounce ($200)."
Hikaru pays the man with two small gold coins.
The attendant looks at the coins before pumping gas.
Jeanette is on the other side of the Camper checking the tires. "Hikaru."
Hikaru walks around to the other side of the Camper. "What is it?"
Jeanette has been paying attention to what Hikaru says and she has done the math. "Twenty dollars for a gallon of gas?"
"I'm glad it's that low."
The gas Camper returns to the hotel as Fernando orders food.
"I'll be glad to get out of this fort." Hikaru states. "This place is ripping Fernando off. I have good news, though. This fort has sodas. Jeanette, care to give me a hand?"
Hikaru and Jeanette walk into Anne's. Hikaru does the talking. "A law enforcement officer, and a member of our party, was charged five ounces of silver for an ounce's worth of food."
"What do you want?"
Hikaru retrieves an ounce of silver and smiles. "How much are your sodas?"
Jeanette and Hikaru walk out, each carrying a case of sodas.
Quote from Fernando on Mar 26th, 2016, 4:30pm:"Good, and thank you." Fernando tells Officer Jackson as he accepts the bags of off. He takes 4 rolls and begins to make the sandwiches of roast beef and swiss cheese with 2 having mustard and the other 2 with mayonnaise for him and Macey, wrapping them up in paper towels and placing them on a plate. Wrapping rest up, he closes up the bag and takes it to Jeanette who with the other girls have been observing him all this time. He hands over the bag to her, "Here's something to munch on. Since you want to not deal with a prisoner, you deal with Moro. If she escapes with Elsa, I'm bringing her dead carcass back and use it as a bumper warmer for the electric camper. And that's me being nice. I would not be nice with you, however. See you in the next town."
Jeanette accepts the bag. "Hikaru and I got some sodas. They're not cold. Do you or Macey want any? Before we leave, we need to get our sheets and towels we had washed and turn in our hotel keys."
Jeanette Isabelle and Arik