The Real Growlerville 19: Way Out
(A first hand account by investigative journalist, Mr. E)
Need A Fast Method of Escape?
Way Out fits the bill to a "T". That's T9........ which I first mentioned in my last post: Noise Thief In The Bottomless Bag. Right now we are in the Moon At Midnight warehouse: T9 section.
Bebe calls us over.
She's studying the hole from the inside. "Look at this! It's a Way Out!" Sal is stunned, "The portable hole. Why not? This is the storeroom for all things T9." I'm not sure how she does it, but Bebe grabs the edge of the hole, pulls on it, and peels it off the wall! In her hands is a black, pizza sized flat object, which she rolls up and puts in a special box that Sal provides. .
There is no longer a hole in the wall. I am blown away and want to try it
"Be careful, use it only on the wall. Imagine what would happen if someone were to place that on the ground? That's why it's so dangerous. That's why they've been recalled. Like the Bottomless, it's made from T9."
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On the floor, Bebe finds something, and carefully places it an evidence container.
"This was an inside job..."
Sal interrupts, "No way! Not a chance..."
"The fact that this Way Out was used from the inside, means that it wasn't used to break in. And there's more than one culprit."
Bebe's hypothesis is that one or more thieves snuck into the storage facility inside a confiscated Bottomless, then helped themselves to the contraband which they carried out through the Way Out.
Since you cannot get out of a Bottomless without help, she suspects an inside connection.
She orders an investigation of all recent deliveries made to the warehouse.
After checking in and filing a report, Bebe requests via dispatch to arrange a briefing with my old buddy, Growler Louise.
Wow! What I would give to get a conversation with her!
Bebe has some questions for her, and the power to get them answered.
Janine calls back almost immediately, and we're off to the Lookout.
On our way, Bebe refuses to answer any questions about Louise's role in all this. The only thing I learn is that she's managing some important secret project, and the government is involved.
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From far away we can see Growler Louise looking through binoculars at something in the valley below. She's on her feet as we approach, and it's obvious that she's in a big hurry to go somewhere - she's not aware of us until we're close.
"Louise, just have a couple of quick questions..."
Bebe is pulling out the Bottomless in her pack.
Louise is just barely tolerating us.
"This is very inconvenient. I told them that this was a good time, but something unavoidable just came up... Look, I know this seems rude, but I have an urgent rendezvous, which I just can't miss it. It's a once in a lifetime kind of thing. Try me later..."
And she's gone.
I'm not even sure she saw me. Bebe is looking down into the meadow below, where Louise was focused, her mouth open. We see a familiar contraption, one shown to us by Dr. Growler.
Then, we hear the amplified cricket songs as the thousands of fake crickets begin to make lifelike movements.
It's all quite surreal.
Louise was watching Dr. Grower setting up his experiment, somehow connected to the TImefish.
Then, glancing at the Bottomless Bag still in Bebe's hand, I notice the initials embroidered under the strap - "GL."