Prologue:
After leaving Juliette and Nick's house, Josh suggested they find somewhere to sit and plan their next move. Since they were not coming back to Portland for a while, Trubel suggested her favorite breakfast place, the City State Diner and Bakery. On the way, they passed a large parking lot at NE 29th Ave and NE Couch St. Josh thought it would be a perfect spot to get a good look at the truck and see how ready it was for a long drive. After some convincing, Josh dropped Trubel off at the diner, promising to return as soon as possible.
After ordering orange juice for herself and Josh, Trubel stretched her arms and took a big breath. Her nose filled with the delicious smell of bacon. As she was savoring the incredible aroma, her stomach let out a growl so loud that the little girl sitting at the next table looked at her and giggled. Trubel smiled to the girl who smiled back. She turned her attention from the little girl, to the diner and thought of her first time eating there with Juliette. A slight smile formed when she recalled that Juliette had eaten three bacon scrambles that morning, all the while professing that even though she felt sick it was worth it.
While lost in her memories, Josh sat down and consumed his orange juice in three gulps. "Wow, thirsty much?" asked Trubel.
"What? Yeah well the truck really needed to be looked at. Thankfully, Nick's aunt kept the truck in pretty good shape and the tires are in decent condition," said Josh.
"What needs to be done with it?" asked Trubel.
"I'll let you know after I order," replied Josh. "What's good here?"
"Everything."
"Thanks, that helps," chuckled Josh.
Just as Josh finished reading the menu, their waitress arrived. "Hi, my name is Laura and I will be helping you this morning. What can I get for you?" she asked.
"I will have a bacon scramble with house potatoes and can I get extra bacon on the side too?" Trubel asked.
Smiling to Trubel Laura said, "Of course you can" as she wrote down the order. Turning to Josh, "what can I get for you, and would you like another orange juice?"
"Yes I would thank you. I would like a bacon breakfast sandwich on a biscuit," replied Josh.
Laura finished writing Josh's order when she said, "Ok. I will be right back with your orange juice, and your orders will be out as soon as possible."
"Thank you Laura," said Josh. As she walked away, Josh pulled out some papers and put them on the table. The papers contained several of Josh's ideas about the truck.
"Ok. Luckily the truck was stored in a garage so we do not have to worry about rust building up. Mechanically there are a few things. We need to get the oil, transmission fluid and anti-freeze changed. We are going to need new spark plugs and if we want to be safe we should also get a new battery too." Josh paused and then continued, "Legally the insurance, registration and plates have all expired so we will have to do something about that."
Just as Josh finished up his list, Laura returned with his orange juice. Noticing his list of mechanical issues she asked, "Do you need a mechanic?"
Josh and Trubel exchanged looks quickly. "Yes actually we do. Our friend gave us a truck, but it hasn't been started in a few years so we wanted to get things looked at."
"Well this is your lucky day. My husband is a great mechanic. He works at Si's Auto Body on Glisan Street. It's right down the road maybe ten minutes at most," said Laura.
Josh started to talk to Laura about how nice she was to help. Trubel tried to pay attention, but she had a little problem that was quickly becoming a gnarling one. That problem was hunger. Being on the run for a long time, it's a sensation that she had grown accustomed to. Sometimes all she had to eat was whatever she could steal from a store, a protein bar or sometimes an apple. As much as she hated doing it, she had even stolen wallets and purses to get something to eat. Right now, Trubel was feeling the worst kind of hunger: Bacon hunger. She needed her bacon - now.
Luckily, Josh and Laura had just finished talking and she went to see if their food was ready. Trubel took a sip of juice and started to ask, " Josh, how-", but quickly stopped talking when Laura came back and put down their plates. With a quick thank you, Trubel began to devour her food. She was halfway done with her food when Laura returned a minute later with the Cholula hot sauce Josh had asked for. As Josh finished his sandwich, Trubel decided to ask her question again. "Josh, how are we going to pay for the truck to get worked on? How are we even paying for breakfast?"
Putting his empty glass down on the table, Josh began answering her questions. "Before I left Philadelphia I tapped MAC. I was so freaked out by everything I forgot to take care of myself on the way to Portland, so I have a couple thousand dollars left. Trust me, we will have enough for breakfast, getting the truck fixed up and the other supplies I figured we would need."
Processing everything she was told, Trubel nodded. "That will definitely come in handy. Is Mac a friend of yours? Do you think he can wire us some more money if we need it?" asked Trubel.
Chuckling, Josh said "No, MAC isn't a person. Tap MAC is an expression people in Philadelphia use instead of saying 'going to the ATM.' MAC means Money Access Center. It was the type of system we used to have there and the name just stuck." Thinking out loud, "I guess I'll need to change the way I talk to stay off the radar."
"That's probably a good idea. Saying things that can I.D. you will definitely hurt your chances of blending in" said Trubel. Curiosity made her change topics and asked Josh, "when we get the truck fixed, we will definitely need to get some supplies."
"Actually I was thinking about that too," said Josh as he shuffled his papers to show a list of supplies they would need. "Number one is to get the truck looked at/fixed, which we will do very soon. Number two is to get appropriate clothes/winter coats. Number three is to get some weapons and equipment to maintain them. Number four is to get a tablet or netbook to stay on the Internet." At this last suggestion, Trubel gave him a weary look, so Josh quickly continued. "I know that one seems weird, but let me explain. A while ago, my friend Dave gave me his optimum wifi login info. He travels a lot for his job so if anyone tracks his usage it will fit his work pattern. Eventually the money we have will be gone. Every city on Craigslist has a section for temp gigs with different kinds of situations from modeling to security work. Sometimes it is a few hours of work, other times it is a day or two. The more random we stay, the harder we are to track. Did I forget anything?" asked Josh
"No actually. I wasn't sure about the tablet, but that makes a lot of sense," said Trubel.
Laura walked over to the table. "Is there anything else I can help you with today?" she asked.
"Nope. All we need is the check," replied Trubel.
Reaching into her order pad, Laura found their bill and took it out. Giving it to Josh she said "don't forget to ask for Luke when you get to the body shop."
"We won't Laura, thank you for all your help." As Laura walked away, Josh asked Trubel "you've been here for a little while. Where do think we can get our supplies?"
Thinking for a moment she said, "The closest to the auto body shot will be Andy and Bax sporting goods store on SE Grand Avenue. They have a lot of winter coats and good quality clothes in general. You can buy a tablet or netbook at the Best Buy on Cascades Parkway. We should probably get weapons and the rest of our clothes at Dick's Sporting Goods on North Hayden Meadows Drive. It's smarter to spread out purchases like that."
"Ok. Lets get going then." Putting his lists away in his pocket, Josh paid the bill and left Laura a pretty nice tip as a thank you for her help. As they got to the car, Trubel insisted that she drive because of the two of them, she was the one that actually knew where they were going. It turned out that Laura was right, because it took about ten minutes to get to Si's Auto Body. Josh spoke to Luke about their car and explained how Laura was the one who told them to come. Luke told them it would take a few hours to diagnose everything, so he offered them a loaner car to get around for $50. After giving Trubel's phone number to call with an update, they accepted the keys to the 2002 Honda Civic and we're off on their supply run.
They got to Andy and Bax Sporting Goods just as they opened, and decided to check out everything the store had to offer. After walking around for a little while, the two split up to get their clothes, agreeing to meet at the dressing rooms. Trubel had picked out her things and was waiting on Josh for five minutes before he showed up, carrying a pile of clothes, and a pair of black leather timberland pro workboots. She rolled her eyes thinking it surprising that a guy would pick so many clothes. "That's all you picked?" he asked. Josh starred at a pair of pants, and a shirt in her hands.
"Yeah, so what? I don't see the big deal, I don't need that much stuff," she replied nonchalantly shrugging her shoulders.
"The big deal is that it's getting pretty cold out, and you haven't even picked out a coat," he fired back. Trubel groaned aloud and went back to search for more clothes. "Don't worry, I'll be here! " shouted Josh, pointing to the seat she had just vacated. A few minutes later, Trubel returned with two more pants, shirts and some socks and underwear.
"I wanted your opinion on something. I like these two jackets. You have been doing this for a while. Which do you recommend?" asked Josh.
Looking at the coats Trubel suggested the classic wool navy pea coat. "This one will work best with rain and snow. By the way, smart thinking with khaki pants and cargo pants. They dry a lot faster and feel a lot lighter when they're wet, opposed to jeans. Trust me, you don't want to have cold, wet pants clinging to you during the winter," she added, inadvertently shivering as she remembered some unpleasant memories.
"Thanks, I figured the boots too because they are waterproof and they looked pretty sturdy," said Josh. Another thought formed in his mind and he told Trubel, "wait one second, I'll be right back," as he walked off leaving her slightly confused. When he returned he was holding a winter leather jacket that looked about Trubel's size. As she zipped the jacket closed she looked around to see if anyone was watching. She stretched and rolled her arms to start testing how it fit. She started to throw punches into the air in front of her and threw her elbows hard behind her, as if fighting an invisible attacker.
"Thanks Josh, I really like it. It fits well and it has a little room for adding layers and that room can come in handy in a fight," she said smiling to him.
"You're welcome." said Josh. As they waited on the checkout line, Trubel spotted something and quickly walked over to it. When she came back, she handed Josh two thick wool blankets.
"Never know when these can come in handy. Especially since it's getting pretty cold out," she said. Josh recognized his own words and the two shared a small smile. Josh paid for everything and loaded up the car. "Ok, next stop Best Buy!" exclaimed Josh. Smirking to herself and shaking her head, Trubel couldn't help but think: nerd.
At Best Buy, Josh was in command. He told Trubel to go to the computers and to google current images of Montana issued car registrations. He quickly went to the tablet area and he selected an iPad mini 2. "What made you pick that one and am I looking up Montana registrations?" asked Trubel when Josh came over to check on her progress and show her his selection.
He explained, "Apple computers and products are designed to have very difficult operating systems for hackers to be able to break into." "You are looking up this info because I have a plan to help with our truck. Now if you don't mind sliding over," said Josh as he moved in front of the iMac Trubel was using. "Also make sure no service people see what I am doing for the next few minutes. This is kind of, very illegal." With that Josh's hands were a blur on the keyboard. Watching Josh work, Trubel noticed some different things about him. The first was how confident he looked. The second was he seemed happy and almost excited at whatever task he was performing.
Very reluctantly Trubel let Josh take a picture of her with the iMac's built in camera. He took a screen cap of the computer and wiped the Internet history from the computer. "Okay I'm all done here. Now all I need is a printer," said Josh. After finding the manager and giving him $20, Josh sent the images he emailed himself to the manager's printer. A few minutes later, having paid for the iPad mini and a prepaid phone for Josh, the pair was sitting in their truck with Trubel giving Josh a curious look. He finally began, "Ok, I'm sure you're wondering what I was doing in there. I created records for the truck in both Titan Auto Insurance and the Montana DMV. What I printed out were the respective cards for us. The picture is going to help make a Montana drivers license I created that is registered to the truck, which we need to finish at a Kinkos before we leave."
Trubel stared at him in amazement. "Holy crap Josh, how the hell did you know to do all that?" She asked a little louder then she might have intended.
"I went to Temple University for Computer Sciences and Mathematical Behavior of Sciences. I also helped design the website for Titan and I worked for the Pennsylvania DMV for the past ten years," replied Josh. He quickly followed with, "are we heading to Dicks Sporting Goods now or the Kinkos?"
Turning her attention to the fact they haven't left the parking lot yet, "yeah we're heading to the sporting goods store now. The Kinkos is a few minutes away from the body shop so it makes sense doing that last." As she pulled onto the road, her mind was spinning with thoughts of just how smart Josh was and how she had misjudged him.
When they got to Dick's Sporting Goods, Trubel led the way. She picked up some 3 in 1 oil and both Benchmade's Bluelube lubricant and cleaner. She explained that they are good at cleaning and maintaining her machete and the other knives they would be buying. With that she led Josh to the pocketknife area. "Which one do you recommend, the biggest one?" Josh said chuckling as he looked at the selection.
"I say you go with whatever your gut tells you. Going through what I have, I learned to rely on my instincts. You seem to be doing a good job so far. Keep going with your instincts and don't second guess yourself."
Josh nodded to her and took a deep breath before turning back to the knives. He walked past them slowly, looking at each one for a few seconds before moving onto the next. Just as he turned around to look a second time he stopped and one second later said "this one." Trubel curiously walked over to him and saw he picked the Gerber Torch II. It was a black folding knife with a tanto blade and she saw the blade was partially serrated. The knife had a dual thumbstud by the hinge so someone can open it with one hand. The feature Trubel liked the most was the finger flip that could also be used as a finger guard. "I like it Josh, good work," said Trubel.
"Thanks." He said as he picked up the package with the knife inside. He walked around for a few more minutes and picked up a Leatherman Surge multitool. It had adjustable screwdriver heads, foldable scissors and few different blades on it including a file and a small saw blade. It also folded out to show pliers, wire cutters and wrench grips. Trubel again said he made a good choice. On the way out of the knife area Trubel saw a knife that could unfold and be as flat as a credit card. She grabbed one for each of them. Trubel made sure they picked up some fleeces and long sleeve shirts. When Josh looked at the clothes he opened his mouth, but before he could say anything she simply said "instinct." Shrugging his shoulders, Josh turned around and walked to the cashier to ring up the items.
As soon as Josh was in the parking lot he opened the package and held the knife in his right hand. It was a little heavier then a usual pocketknife, but it felt sturdy. He turned the knife over and saw that it had a pocket clip on one side. He opened and closed the knife a few times to get a feel for it, but he knew it wasn't necessary. The second he held the knife open in his hand Josh knew he made the right choice. Giving himself a small smile Josh closed the knife and clipped it to the right back pocket of his pants as they walked to the rental car.
As the pair pulled up to the Kinkos, Josh prepped the printouts, making sure they were pristine. Josh went in by himself leaving Trubel in the car, telling her it would only be a few minutes. True to his word Josh returned about ten minutes later. Handing Trubel her "Montana drivers license" he informed her that everything went well, but he had to slip the girl $50 to not tell anyone what he was doing. Trubel told Josh that Luke had called and the truck needed fluids, the battery and spark plugs replaced. She told Josh that she said to go ahead with the work and the estimated pick up time was three o'clock. Looking at his watch Josh said "No problem. We can grab a bite to eat before we hit the road."
They decided to eat at the City State Diner again because it offered free wifi so Josh could set up the iPad mini. They were both happy to see Laura was their waitress again. After a little idle banter of thanking Laura for her help and saying how nice Luke was, the pair ordered global deluxe burgers, on Trubel's insistence. Josh started programming the iPad mini and started downloading some apps he thought they could use. They passed the time planning their trip out of Portland and seeing where they might spend the night. After eating lunch, which Josh admitted was delicious, they headed over to the body shop.
As they pulled into the parking lot Luke came out to greet them. He informed them the car was all set earlier then expected. After Josh paid Luke for his work and gave him a nice tip for doing everything so quickly, they put all their bags in the car. "How much money is left?" asked Trubel.
Quickly counting the money Josh quietly replied, "we still have two thousand dollars left." Trubel nodded her head in acknowledgment.
After settling into the truck, Trubel looked back at Portland one more time. "You ready to go?" asked Josh sensing her hesitation.
She started the engine took a deep breath and let it out. Turning to Josh, Trubel said "No, for the first time in a really long time, I'm not." She turned back to the wheel and put the truck into drive.
Author Note:
Hello Grimmsters! I have been working on this idea for a long time. The potential for adventure and wise cracks between Trubel and Josh were glimpsed on before they drove off, but here is one way for us to see what became of them. I hope to have new chapters up as my quickly as life allows.