#elsewhere

"Hold still, and please forgive me for this" she whispers back, and then she spits three times on his arm, a quiet bunk for Balming.

He heals..

FRANK has cops approaching the truck "OUT OF THE TRUCK NOW!"

"Gerd, get everybody out of here, to the Lodge, now," Kerri whispers. "I'm staying."

Gerd says "i'm grown up enough to help now, and that includes realizing sometimes I have to trust someone even older to be right. Da'an be with you, " And she concentrates "Donner, party of 4, Donnor party of 3.. donner part yof.."

and Gerd, the two pooka, and the sluagh all vanished

"GO." Frank orders but only to those in the Rig, and opens the door. He sticks both hands out above his head, empty.

"Coming out, officers!! No weapons!!"

KErri and Frank are alone

"No trouble!!"

"Okay... oh so you ditched the Elvis mask eh?" One says, crackling cold

"Yessir!"

"Can I come out?"

Kerri stays back for the moment, but gets to where she can hear what's going on.

"SLOWLY.. hands up"

"Whee's that little shit that ws with you?"

Frank uses a booted foot to slowly ease the door open and then pivots to show both feet while his hands are outside and above his head.

"IS that all of you in there?"

He slides down the exterior of the cab to the gravel shoulder of the road, keeping his hands up, fingers spread, the whole time.

"Yes, sir!"

Frank can feel the chill.

Kerri sighs, "Dammit, Frank," then she moves forward. "No, it's not! I'm here, too! I'm coming out!"

But the men approach. .then whirl as someone else calls out

"It's just me." he avows even as a voice speaks.

Gun spinnsn, pointing at Kerri

His eyes close prayerfully.

She puts her hands out first and pauses so they can see, and then eases out. "Not his fault! Sorry, he's trying to keep me out of trouble."

"She's.... she.... she's not.... she....."

"Look, I picked her up at my last stop and.... I don't want my wife to know. You guys understand, right?"

"It's not illegal exactly but...."

Kerri GLARES at him, hands still up. A sigh. "Thanks for that," she mutters loud enough for the cops to hear.

She looks around to determine how many cops are there.

Frank ignores her, hands up, fingers spread, feet planted.

Just two cops, one car, but they look pissed ..and.. is that blood on the knuckles ?

"Officers, can I get my info? License, papers?"

"I left 'em on the driver's seat."

Without lowering her hands, Kerri says, in quite a reasonable tone as if talking to the officers, "O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, / Alone and palely loitering? / The sedge has withered from the lake, / And no birds sing. / O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, / So haggard and so woe-begone? / The squirrel’s granary is full, / And the harvest’s done."

And they gasp.. and drop their weapons staring in awe

Frank stays carefully in place.

She lowers her hands slightly in a gesture of bestowing her gracious attention on them. "You have done wonderfully well. But you have made a mistake...this is not the truck you were following. That one is long gone. It is time to leave us in peace and depart...and you shall never tell your compatriots of this, for you know you will lose your jobs if you do." It's a gently convincing, soothing tone...but not admitting argument, either.

"Time to go now," she tells them.

The chill is ..painful from one of hte cops, sharp like hate

But it works

and they return to their car

Do they leave their guns on the ground?

They do

"Get that one," she says to Frank as she reaches for the other.

"Why do we want their guns?" Frank follows, slowly.

She pauses, about to say something...then stops. "Fine. Let's go, quick."

He nods. "Get in." Frank goes back and climbs into the driver's side.