Free World Walker 1: The World Walker by Ian W. Sainsbury Page B

Angeles

    "His cell's still off. And when I say 'off', I mean completely off the grid. I should be able to find it with this app, but it's not finding anything." Meera put the phone down and searched her bag for rolling papers and hash. Bob moved around Seb's apartment, lifting the lids of cardboard boxes. He picked a book out of one - Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance.
    "Tried three times to read this after a buddy said it was amazing," he said. "Never got past page thirty." He looked over at Mee. "You do too much of that stuff."
    Mee lit up and inhaled, blowing a sweet cloud through her nostrils.
    "So they tell me," she said. She peered at Bob. "If you want to make yourself useful, the coffee's in the tin on your right and the grinder's under the sink.  
    "Yes, Ma'am," said Bob and started rummaging around the worktops for cups.
    "If you really want to know," said Mee, "Reality is sometimes just a bit too real to deal with." She inhaled again. "This helps."
    "Yeah, well I prefer to face reality with all my faculties functioning perfectly," said Bob, emptying the beans into the grinder.
    "OK," said Mee, "and how's that working out for you? Happy?" Bob thought for a second before answering. He poured water into the coffee maker and turned it on.
    "Yeah," he said. Mee said nothing for a long time and when he finally turned, she was looking directly at him, the challenge clear in her dark eyes.
    "Well, mostly. Mostly happy." She still didn't speak.
    "No," he said. "Not happy at all." He poured two cups and brought them to the table.
    "I never expected to be happy," he said. "I just wanted to know that things worked the way they should. Good guys win, bad guys get punished and kids grow up feeling safe."
    "That why you joined the army?" said Mee.
    "The marines," said Bob. "Yep. Pretty much."
    Mee sipped her coffee and sighed appreciatively. She tried Seb's cell phone again - not available.
    "I still say we should call the cops," said Bob.
    "No way," said Mee. " First, you were the one who said those military guys could be working for anyone. How do we know they weren't cops?"
    "Too well trained, for one," said Bob.
    "Second, Seb hates cops. Doesn't really trust anyone in authority - and I'm with him there. He had a pretty bad experience when he was growing up."
    "What happened?" said Bob.
    "He won't talk about it," said Mee. "All I know is a kid died and he blames himself for it."
    "Did he kill this kid?" said Bob.
    "Like I said, he won't talk about it," said Mee. "But he doesn't seem the killing kind to me. Anyway, this isn't helping us find him any faster."
    They'd spent most of the day searching as much of a ten block radius as they could. They'd asked questions but no one had seen Seb leave the apartment. It was as if he had vanished. There had been a pileup on the freeway about ten minutes after they'd spoken on the phone, but calls to local hospitals drew a blank. Finally, tired and dispirited, they had made their way back to Seb's apartment, hoping he might be waiting there.  
    Meera's phone suddenly vibrated and uttered the word, "plectrum".
    "Private joke," said Mee to Bob's silent question, then snatched up the phone excitedly. "It's a message from Seb." Bob got up and came around to her side of the table to read the words on the screen:
    Sorry to panic you. Change of plan. Going to lie low for a few weeks. I need to figure some of this out on my own. Give me some time. Sorry. Seb x KWPTOW
    "KWPT what?" said Bob.
    "Keep Walking Past The Open Windows," said Mee. "It's from a book we both love."
    "So it's from Seb?" said Bob. "I mean, no one else would know that, right?"
    "It's definitely Seb," she said.
    "So what now," said Bob. "Shit, I was ready for a fight. Where the hell's all this adrenaline gonna go?"
    "Well, cowboy," said Mee, standing up and grabbing her jacket, "how about taking it to Union Station for starters?"
    "That where he is?"
    "According to my iPhone," said Mee.
    "But he wants to figure this