VIC
The long drive back into Durant gave her a lot of thinking time and she had a basic plan laid out in her head by the time she got back to the office. Only problem was that this needed to be kept on the down low, off the FBI radar. Which meant she would need help.
Before exiting the Charger she sent a quick text to Ferg [Hey is that blue TransAm of yours still around?]
Her phone beeped on the way up the stairs [? yes, its in storage at my place]
[ Can u pick me up tonite, need 2 go somewhere QUIET we can talk]
[Is this about Walt?]
[Yes but we need 2 talk in person]
[Got it, I know a place, will grab pizza]
[OK text me]
[be around 8 probably]
She tromped up the stairs, dutifully swinging by Ruby's desk to pick up the next instalment of postits, Ferg was sitting at her shit it was HIS desk now and he looked up as she walked past. There was a glint in his eye she hadn't seen before, and he gave a quick nod as she walked past.
She was surprised at how good his support made her feel, not just that he was there, but that she didn't have to do this alone. When it felt like she had been so very alone for such a long time...
The blue TransAm was an absurd car for The Ferg, and yet it suited him perfectly. The warm pizza smells were driving her insane and she shifted impatiently in her seat
"I'm fucking starving Ferg, are we far away?"
"God Sheriff... I mean Vic, grab yourself a slice!"
Not waiting on ceremony, she balanced the greasy pizza box on her lap and inhaled the glorious aroma of melted cheese and sausage, before extracting a slice and devouring it so fast it should have been clocked for the Guinness Book of Records. A second slice disappeared nearly as fast and she was wishing for a cold beer to wash down a third when they pulled off the road and rolled to a stop next to a pretty stream lined with scrubby trees in patches down both sides.
She offered Ferg the pizza box but he shook his head "Got another one back there for me" and reaching to the back seat he came back with a flat box in one hand and a plastic bag weighted down in the other "Beer"
Delighted she screwed the tops off two, handing him one and they clinked necks in silent solidarity. Vic soothed her protesting stomach with three more pizza slices and made a start on a second beer while Ferg quietly munched his way through a no doubt well earned dinner.
It was going on for twilight, the birds were settling down for the night and a light breeze rustled the trees on either side of the vehicle. It was a pretty spot and given the narrow winding shingle road and the couple of farm gates, probably fairly remote. Ideal for a private unmonitored conversation.
She dug in her handbag and pulled out a cheap cellphone "This is for you, its a burner. Keep it off except if you need to contact me. I have one too and it will be off as well, so need to keep it to text only? My number is stored in it already"
Ferg tidily wiped his greasy hands and face with the provided paper napkins, disposed of all the trash into the back seat and eyed her for a long moment before taking the phone.
"Vic, what's going on? Why all the secrecy?"
She summarised what John had told her about Walt's theories on Dr Bitchface and the potential ramifications for Walt. The colour drained from Ferg's face and he stared out into the blue twilight for a long time.
His voice was quiet but firm "I'm guessing from all *this*" he waved his hands taking in the isolated position and the phone "that you have a plan?"
She nodded "We can't expect the FBI to work too hard to clear Walt, after Barlow they were gunning for him. I bet they think this is the best thing since Christmas."
"OK what's the plan?"
"Walt thought that she might have had some form of relationship with one of her more disturbed patients. He couldn't figure out why the hell she was working in the VA in the middle of fucking nowhere instead of some cushy gig in the city somewhere?"
"So look into her history? Where she was, what she did, why she moved on, the usual?" Ferg sounded like he was making mental lists already.
Vic heaved a sigh "Yeah talking to patients would be good as well but the whole doctor/patient confidentiality thing is a problem."
He slumped a bit in his seat "Yeah."
"That's why I need you Ferg, your are my secret weapon?"
He perked up, turning to look at her with those puppy dog eyes? "I am?"
She laughed "There! That face! No one is going to question that face being sent to cross I's and dot T's and keep the grumpy Sheriff happy by completing pointless grunt work and paperwork. No one does that better than you Ferg, its your secret weapon."
He grinned at her "Thanks Vic."
She smiled back at him and punched him lightly on the arm "Hey Ferg, you are a good deputy and you have really stepped up. You have all the deputies organised, doing all the rosters and scheduling and all that shit I hate to deal with. The only reason I have managed I have managed to keep all my shit together is because you are taking care of that."
"And now we need to sort Walt's shit out for him. Again!"
Delicious readers, thankyou for the feedback on my last chapter. Yes my brain is all kinds of twisty. Sometimes it even surprises me. That last chapter was one of the main chunks my muse gave me, the next big chunk is the resolution to this story (which isn't going to be the resolution you think - so I hope you can forgive my muse) So now like Ferg and Vic I am having to fill in the missing pieces of the story. This is my first time writing Ferg, how did I do?
