It took Ferguson and Rankin nearly three hours to hike out of the waste plant property and down through the nearby park. Guns was leaning against the car near the fence, waiting for them, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Ferguson laughed, then slapped him on the back and told him not to take it so hard.
“I’m sorry I messed up, Ferg.”
“The bug fell off the truck. What are you going to do?”
“I shoulda been closer.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Rankin, tossing his gear in the trunk, couldn’t help thinking that Ferguson would have ridden his butt if it had been him rather than Guns who’d lost the truck.
“I checked the area out. Couldn’t find anything,” said Guns as they got in the car. “I took a picture of the truck coming into the plant. Maybe we can use that.”
“Maybe,” said Ferguson.
“Probably getting around some no-dumping law,” said Rankin.
Ferguson plopped into the front seat of the car. He’d hurt his right knee getting down off the roof, and he grimaced as he pulled it in.
“What’d ja do?” asked Guns.
“Roof was a little higher than I thought it was,” Ferguson told him. “I tried sliding down the ribs, but it didn’t work too well. Nothing a good belt of Irish whiskey wouldn’t cure,” he added.
Rankin snorted from the back.
“They have Irish whiskey in Korea?” asked Guns.
“Guns, they have Irish whiskey everywhere,” said Ferguson. He dug into his pocket and took out the sensors, examining them. Only one had gone red, the one that had been on the barrel. It had been positioned near the tracks to the permanent low-level waste area, right next to the route the truck had taken.
“Gonna be a nice day for a change,” said Rankin, looking out the window. The sun had just started to peek over the horizon.
Ferguson repacked the tags in an envelope, then sealed everything in a large carrying case. He snapped the lock closed, then reset the digital lock.
“Give this to Van and tell him to send it back ASAP,” he told Rankin, handing it back to him. “I’ll let Corrigan know it’s coming.”
“I thought we were all going to shadow Thera,” said Guns.
“This is more interesting,” said Ferguson. “Besides, Skippy likes to be alone with the Delta boys. They stay up late and talk all that blanket-hugger stuff while they roast MREs over the fire.”
“You’re a laugh a minute, Ferg,” said Rankin. “You oughta go on Jay Leno.”
“Keep working on it, Rankin. There’s a comeback in there somewhere,” said Ferguson.