Mike sat in the passenger seat of the taxi, staring out at the stars and chewing the odd Haribo. He didn't sleep much. Whenever he did, his dreams were haunted by repetitions of… That night.
Jack was snoozing beside him and Sara was asleep on the back seat, using Junkyard (the name stuck) as a pillow. They were parked in a lay-by, some way off the quiet main road.
Seth had got out as soon as Sara went to sleep, and was sitting propped against the boot, studying his device intently.
Mike finished his sweet, opened the door silently and went to join him. Seth studiously ignored him.
Not deterred by Seth's frosty attitude, Mike sat down beside him and leaned over to get a better look at the device he held. Seth instinctively pulled away.
Amused, Mike turned and reached into one of his many pockets. He pulled out a device identical to that belonging to Seth and held it in the same way. Seth almost jumped.
Ha. That got his attention.
Now it was Seth's turn to lean over and get a better look. Sure enough, the two devices were indistinguishable.
"How did you come by that?" Inquired Seth, suddenly not so cold.
"It used to be my Dad's. He kept it inside a glass case in his office when he worked for the MOD." Replied Mike.
"MOD?"
"Ministry Of Defence. In England."
"Oh."
Seth continued to stare at the device.
"May I?" He asked quietly.
"Here." Mike handed it to him. Seth placed his index finger on the casing and immediately the face of the thing lit up, a bright blue colour.
"It works!" Exclaimed Mike.
"Of course it works. On my planet, technology is built to last centuries." Returned Seth, almost indignantly.
Mike couldn't suppress a chuckle at the dig against human design. "Your planet must be pretty awesome, huh?"
Seth smiled at the thought of it.
Wow, he can smile. Thought Mike. Then: Hope he can't read minds too.
"It used to be… But unless we get this experiment back, there will not be much left of either of our planets, at least… Not as we know them."
Seth looked up. Dawn was breaking.
"I should wake the others." He offered Mike the device back.
"You keep it – it belongs to your people." Mike declined.
"Thank you." He said, standing up and stretching. "Oh, and one more thing. Hands off my sister."
With that Seth turned and climbed back inside the taxi.
Mike stood a moment and realised Seth was referring to his antics with the taxi door last night. And could Seth have just tried to make a joke?
Maybe he ain't so bad after all.
Jack pressed the horn as a signal it was time to go. Mike moved round to the front and jumped in.
Two hours and a highly disputed pee stop for Junkyard later, they arrived back in Las Vegas and pulled up outside the casino where Jack said Dr Alex Freedman would be.
The four went inside, immediately absorbed by the throng of excited tourists.
"Nutjobs." Jack growled, heading for the elevator with the teens in tow.
"Umm… Shall I wait here and keep watch?" Inquired Mike.
"Yeah, good idea. We'll meet you back here in thirty minutes." Replied Jack, closing the elevator doors.
Good luck finding the doctor!" Called Mike after them, acutely aware that he sounded like his namesake Micky from Doctor Who.