Zod finds another clue and a new direction to head in.

–Chapters 8 and 9

— Chapter 8 —

[THING2] had to be another clue, and more than likely the mystery cigar person was somehow tied into it, Zod thought. However, it wasn’t anything immediately usable unless [THING2] or the cigar were found, so they filed it away for the time being. But at the least, they knew where to find [THING2], even if they didn’t know what it was used for. Perhaps that was another piece to the puzzle.

Unsure of where to go next, Zod decided to head back to Desil’s to figure out whats [THING2] was used for. ​_The trick was getting there in the middle of the day. Waltzing down Third Avenue was a sure-fire way to get caught and asked unaswerable questions. Then they rembered that there was a hidden path that led from the back of the garage that possibly headed towards town. It had to intersect with Main Avenue somehow.

It had to be somewhere North of town or it would have been spotted and mapped years ago. And the best way to get there was walting straight up Main Street instead of going all the way around the walls again. Just act naturally, Zod thought, and hoped that none of the dam workers needed to go to Government House. The bank they could explain, since normally the beavers had to pay for repairs out of pocket and get reimbursed, unless it was an emergency.

— Chapter 9 —

So off Zod went, following South Wall to Main, then turned North with a waltz and an electronic prayer in their head. So far, so good, they thought.

So far, not so good, Zod realized. [NAME2] was in the town square, and there wasn’t an easy way to get past them without being seen. Thinking quickly they decided to just ignore [NAME2], and come up with some plausible deniabilty if necessary.

And it was sadly necessary as [NAME2] had spotted them and with a wave and a “Hey Zod” they were being homed in on like a mouse spotted by a raptor. At least [NAME2] was on the concrete team, who poured out that which was to be whacked. If there were one good thing, they had different shifts so [NAME2] wouldn’t know of Zod were supposedly in for repairs or just had a day off.

Resigned to their fate, Zod responded.

“Hey [NAME2] how’s your day going? It certainly looks like a nice one for the park”

“It really is. I have the day off, so I thought a little R&R at the park would be ideal. Closer to the river than one would like for a day off, but I guess you can’t have everything”. How about you?

“I had to come into town to pick up a few things,” Zod didn’t exactly lie. “I could really use a day off too, so I’m a bit jealous.”

“Do you have any time later?” [NAME2] asked. I was thinking about hitting the power bank once the sun starts to set”

Zod replied, “unfortunately not. I need to get back to my apartment as soon as I can”

“Okay [NAME2] said. “Maybe a rain check?”

“Maybe. I’ve had a full plate and need to keep moving”

“Good luck then”

I really could use it, Zod thought to themselves as they turned back to the street to continue on their way. And they hoped running into [NAME2] wouldn’t cause problems later. But looking ahead they ckiukd see several more coworkers, so it’s time to backtrack and follow the walls after all.

This time of day finds River Avenue at its busiest, which was mostly a good thing after all. Slipping silently into the crush of people doing their afternoon shopping, they were able to blend in by pretending to shop too. That way the could use their plausible deniability again and keep everyone as on the same story.