Sheriff Calliope Mori's pickup truck zipped through the night, driving away from the frantic flashing red beacon lights and wailing sirens at the Florida-Georgia state border.
Slowly but surely, the lights and the cacophony grew distant, but Ina still stayed absolutely still. Curled up like a ball, she kept her head under the tarpaulin cover. All the while, Sana embraced Ina in the darkness and helped keep her still. Her embrace held Ina firm and shielded her from the tiny bumps and potholes on the road.
But suddenly…
BRRA-BAM! BGAK!
Calliope's pickup truck rattled loudly, shaking the whole vehicle up.
"Ah, fuck…! They never fixed that one, huh?" Calliope cursed. She whipped her head back and hollered, "You gals alright back there? The freeway's a little rough in these parts."
Ina looked up from her perch.
"Y-yeah…" Ina stammered. Then, she lowered her eyes, "It's just that Kaela…"
"I know, kid. I know." Calliope sighed, facing the road once more, "But Kaela's got a good head on her shoulders. I'm sure she knows what she's doing." She eyed Ina through the rear-view this time, "You know her better than I do. You went to college with her. Heh - you know what she's capable of."
Ina's frown mellowed somewhat.
"I-I guess you're right." Ina replied with a shaky voice.
Suddenly, Sana hugged Ina tighter. Ina finally managed to smile just a little bit. Calliope watched that exchange for a moment then turned her eyes back to the road.
"You gals are gonna be alright too." Calliope reassured, "Vesper and I will make sure of it."
Vesper nodded as well. He elbowed Calliope and chimed, "Chief, our exit's coming up."
"Right, right." Calliope answered.
The sheriff turned the steering wheel and eased the pickup into a highway interchange. Despite this, Sana's warm, firm embrace kept Ina in place.
"Mm…" Ina hummed. After a short pause, she turned to Calliope once more, "Why are you helping us?"
Calliope paused for a moment. Then, she glanced at Ina again.
"Because it's the right thing to do." Calliope answered firmly at first. Moments later, she chuckled, "That's what my fiancée would say if she was here - but I believe that too."
Fiancée ?
Ina poked her head out from the tarpaulin cover more and looked at Calliope's hands on the steering wheel. There, she saw a ring on the Sheriff's finger shimmering under the highway road lights. Calliope saw Ina's gaze and flashed her a small smile.
"We'll be there soon, gals." Calliope spoke once more, "Quitman, Georgia. Smalltown U.S.A." She rubbed the ring on her finger with her thumb fondly, "Home."
…
Half an hour later, the pickup pulled into the driveway of a two-storey house. Calliope shut off the engine. Then, she and Vesper helped their passengers out of the back of the truck.
Calliope took Ina by the hand and grunted, "Heave, ho~!"
On Ina's way down, though, she kept her eyes on the moonlit house.
"A Cape Cod." Ina muttered, "Oh, and the second floor's new."
If it wasn't for the sign on the lawn that read ' Brooks County Sheriff. Quitman, Georgia ', and the two flagpoles that flanked it, Ina could have sworn that it was just another suburban house.
"You know your stuff. " Calliope praised.
"Ah…!" Ina straightened up, startled by the sheriff, "Oh, I…"
Calliope shook her head and smiled. She stood beside Ina and looked at the house-slash-sheriff's office
"It'll look even prettier in the sunlight." The sheriff remarked, "My fiancée and I finished the second floor this Spring, see." She pointed her thumb at her deputy and added, "Vesper helped. Quite a bit, actually."
Vesper adjusted his glasses under the moonlight and gave Ina a thumbs up.
"Humu humu." Ina hummed.
"They teach you that at NASA?" Calliope asked, "About Cape Cods?"
Ina shook her head, "No, but I wish they did."
"Heh." Calliope chuckled.
"If I didn't make it to NASA, I would have gone to art school." Ina answered. Then, she frowned, "Too late for that now, though."
Calliope's expression grew complex. Her mouth opened slightly, but no words escaped her lips. Instead, she heaved a sigh and patted Ina's shoulder.
"C'mon. Let's get you gals inside." Calliope urged, "Vesper can handle your things."
Ina nodded. She took Sana by the hand and looked up to her.
"Let's go, Sana." Ina asked.
Sana smiled.
The two of them followed the sheriff into the house. Calliope switched on the lights, illuminating the peculiar foyer furnished like a rural police station: two sofas, two desks with a rotary telephone each and two more small flags - one American and one Georgian state.
"We've got everything here. Even our own television." Calliope commented, patting the television set by the sofas. Suddenly, she folded her arms, "But not a jail cell. I ain't keeping ne'er do wells in my house." She clapped her hands, "Oh, but you and Sana are exceptions I guess. You ain't troublemakers, I hear - and Kaela vouched for you."
"R-right…" Ina laughed uncomfortably.
"But it's the Sheriff's house." Vesper chimed in as he entered the foyer, "It's her rules, so keep that in mind."
"Of course." Ina swore. Her eyes turned to Sana.
The tall space alien nodded, following Ina's lead.
"Much appreciated." Calliope smiled at her two new guests.
"I'll get your room upstairs ready in a jiffy." Vesper excused himself, climbing up the staircase with Ina's suitcase in tow.
In the meantime, Calli showed Ina and Sana the rest of the ground floor.
The guests walked through the sheriff's office and peered through the doorless frames to the other rooms. They found the kitchen, the washroom and a small study lined with filing cabinets. When Ina walked by the two flags, though, she paused. Her face went pale. Then she yelped and clung onto Sana.
"Eep!"
Sana promptly shielded Ina. Heavy footsteps echoed from upstairs.
TOK-TOK-TOK-TOK-TOK!
Vesper came running down the staircase, armed with a baton. Calli, too, drew her own baton and rushed to Ina's side. Then, the sheriff and her deputy saw what startled Ina and laughed.
"That's the official portrait of the President of the United States, you dolt!" Calliope struggled to catch her breath from laughing. She took a deep breath and regarded the presidential portrait between the flags with sympathy, "Lyndon Johnson's pretty stern-looking though, so I don't blame you. JFK's portrait, bless his soul, was much, much nicer. But what can you do?"
Ina frowned.
"JFK?" Sana tilted her head, "The man on the TV earlier?"
"Yeah." Ina nodded.
Calliope and Vesper put their batons away. The silver-haired deputy pointed upwards, "Your room's ready."
"You heard my deputy." Calliope smiled, "I'll show you your room."
With that, the sheriff brought her guests upstairs. There, Ina and Sana were greeted by a homier scene filled with softer furniture, books that had nothing to do with law enforcement, potted plants and fragrant ornamental flowers - a sharp contrast with the sterile air downstairs.
It was almost as if the staircase brought Ina and Sana to an entirely new world: a world where the portrait of a smiling Calliope and a pretty girl with fiery orange hair greeted them.
"That's my fiancée." Calliope spoke, puffing up her chest with pride, "Kiara Takanashi. The nicest gal in Quitman - in all of Georgia, even!"
"She's pretty." Ina commented.
Sana, too, regarded Kiara's portrait with sparkling eyes.
"I hope she doesn't mind us barging in." Ina muttered, stealing glances at Kiara.
"She would have loved having you, don't worry." Calliope reassured, "Like I told you - she would have said that helping you guys out's the right thing to do."
"Would have…?" Ina thought out loud, "So, she's not here?"
Calliope paused. Then, she shook her head.
"She's serving our country as we speak." Calliope explained, glancing at Kiara's photograph, "Air Force medical corps. Rotates between Manila, Kadena and Saigon." She held her hand and felt the ring around her finger, "We're getting married after her tour ends."
"I see." Ina noted.
"Anyways, where was I?" Calliope interjected, "Oh right!" She clapped her hands and pointed to the door at the end of the hall, "That's the guestroom that you'll be using. My room's across the hall in case you need anything."
"Thank you." Ina gave the sheriff a small bow.
"No problem!" Calliope beamed.
Right on cue, the sizzle of ground beef reached the second floor hallway from below.
HISSSS~!
The aroma of tomatoes, beans and spices soon followed.
"When you're all settled in, come on downstairs." Calliope added, "I asked Vesper to make that chili of his."
"Chili!" Sana remarked, her eyes shining like stars.
"Heh. It's great stuff." Calliope smiled, "Kiara loves that stuff - and if she loves it, then you know it's good!"
On that note, Calliope watched Ina and Sana retreat into the guest room prepared for them. That left the sheriff alone in the hall with the portrait of herself and her smiling fiancee.
"Chili for breakfast." Calliope snorted and turned to Kiara's portrait, "I wonder what you're eating out there, Kiara." She laid her left hand and her plain ring on the frame and whispered, "Come home soon, won't ya?"
Calliope turned away. She reached into her coat and brought out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes.
Looking out a window to the cloud-shrouded moon, she started to smoke.
…
Close Encounters
Home Front
…
To Be Continued