FSE

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~ With the sun's winding fall to the horizon and her luggage being a bulky mass of a week's supplies, Detective Clip had exceptionally short patience for the attendant at the vehicle rental facility.

~ "I just got off of a twelve hour flight, I don't care if the luxury radio package isn't in there. You've got it on the lot, and nothing else in my size.", the jackalope motioning down to her somewhat more diminutive frame, "I just need a car."

~ The attendant tapped away at the screen of his terminal, "Well.. usually people want all the whizbangs, you know. I didn't expect that we'd be doing anything but shipping that thing off to the depot, now that it was finally returned. But it's on the inventory, so I...", pausing to navigate a menu for a bit, "...can rent it to you." The tiger glanced up to Detective Clip, "It's no problem, just wanted to be sure you really wanted it."

~ The jackalope was sufficiently tired already that she provided no further comment or disagreement, silently accepting the keys so she could lug her duffel bag out and toss it into the passenger floorboards of the hatchback. She gave a wave to the attendant, "Thanks.", before settling in for the drive out to the facility.

~ Night settling down over the horizon and sky, the wobbling hum of the loop induction reactor kept the jackalope company while she listened to one of the audiobooks saved to her phone. After a few hours, the combination of hunger and opportunity for pulling a charging station made for a very tempting rest stop.

~ Getting the car properly aligned in the charging dock was a straightforward enough matter; the deeper challenge came from the matter of payment.

~ "Oh. Of course they'll only take cash.", leaning over to heft her duffel bag up into the passenger seat to get access to the side pouch. "Well, at least I knew to bring some."

~ Inside, the rather disinterested ferret regarded Detective Clip for a long moment before replying to her question. "Yeah, but none of them are hot. Coffee is, though.", pointing first to the cooler stocked with premade sandwiches wrapped in transparent sheets, and then to the coffee jig. "Coffee's free with the charging; sandwiches'll be a couple nids depending on which one you want."

~ While she quietly tended to the cold sandwich and nursed the hot coffee, Detective Clip watched the cashier inexpertly mop an aisle of spilled crispo-quenches. The report laid out before her was a great deal less comprehensible than the sandwich.

~ Softly muttering to herself, "Damn report's so vague about anything like a detail, I can only figure that some local Prosecutor has some reckoning of smuggling something somewhere to someone by someone.", before groaning. She called out to the ferret, "This is really nice coffee, thank you."

~ With a belly of cold funk and a tall glass of hot coffee in the cup holder, Detective Clip resumed her trek into the night. The car's loop induction reactor seemed to run a bit better with the full charge, and it wasn't very long before the dashboard began to complain about an unbuckled seat belt. With a groan and only one arm not needed for the wheel, the jackalope couldn't quite muster enough force to shove her duffel bag back down to the floorboards. She compromised with the car's oversight by buckling the bag in place.

~ "...now my underwear is safe."

~ Two chapters of the audiobook later, Clip noticed an indicator on the dashboard.

~ "Passenger Airbag: OFF", glowing softly into the night.

~ A pullover into the next unattended rest stop and some tools from the medkit later, and Detective Clip's suspicions were confirmed. She smiled, tiredly, up to the moon and stars.

~ "This'll earn me a nap."

~ The jackalope waved to the moon, before getting back up onto the road to resume her drive out to the remote mining town. The sun was just struggling to peek over the horizon as she pulled into the parking lot of the Prosecutor's office, rummaging a bottle of cold coffee flavored water while she waited for him to arrive for his day's paperwork.

~ With another couple chapters of her book heard and a number of anxious glances ignored, Clip smiled at the arrival of the coyote. She waved the Prosecutor over.

~ "I could barely make sense of your report, but I believe I've pinned down the what and how of the smuggling. Look.", guiding him over to the passenger side of the car. She leaned in the window, and applied the medkit's screwdriver to the corner of the airbag panel, popping it free.

~ The bag of tightly packed tendrel crystals glistened in the spot where airbag mechanisms should have been. The Prosecutor was somewhat dumbfounded.

~ Detective Clip declined to disclose how much luck had been required, "So, I'll touch base with you about the who and why, this afternoon?", hefting her duffel bag to a shoulder before she strode out towards her hotel reservation.