Queen's Highway

Chapter 8

Brooklyn and Steve were awake, getting ready for the day, when a marked SUV pulled up beside the RV, parking. It was still running, and she watched it through the blinds as she sipped her coffee. Steve was in the bathroom still, claiming he needed a minute, and she had wrinkled her nose at him before he laughed and kissed her, going in and shutting the door.

She watched the SUV run for a moment, frowning, before she sighed and set her coffee down. They must be running the information on the RV. It would come back as a rental, and possibly rented to Pops. That might set up red flags, especially for a state trooper. She walked over to the door, making sure her hoodie was zipped all the way up to her neck, hiding her collar, then taking a deep breath, opening it and went down the stairs, putting a nonthreatening smile on her face.

She stood at the door, and waved. The door opened and a man a little smaller than Steve, his face wrinkled and stern opened the door to the SUV and climbed out.
"Ma'am, is this your vehicle?" He asked, shutting the door, his hand resting casually on is holstered gun. Brooklyn noticed the motion and shifted, but didn't make a move. It was a learned motion, she detected, rather than a threatening one. This was a man who had been doing this a long time, and had trained himself to be ready for anything. Although, what one had to be ready for in rural Montana, Brooklyn was unaware of. Perhaps the local wild animals got too rowdy on a Saturday night?

"Yes. Well, my adopted father rented it. So, I guess that it would be more correct to answer, no, I do not own it, but I am the current user of it. Myself and my husband, at this time." She kept her body loose. This was just a man of the law, doing his job. No need to jump him. No need to remove him. He was not a threat, despite his body being tense, his voice being confrontational.

The man gave a short nod. "And where is your husband, Ma'am?"
"Inside." She shrugged. "Using the bathroom."

"Can you call him out here, please, Ma'am?" The trooper stopped, a good distance from her. Just out of arms length, but close enough that he wasn't forced to shout. She appreciated the self preservation, and even approved of his manner. Whatever he suspected them of doing, he was trying to be ready for the outcomes of their next step of the interaction. "I would just like to verify some things with the two of you."

"Of course. Give me a moment?" She paused. "Would you prefer me to go fully inside and retrieve him, or call to him from here?"

"Here, if you do not mind?" The trooper's hand tightened on his holstered gun, and Brooklyn had a moment of realization. If she went into the RV, she and whoever was inside, could come out and attack him. He was in a pretty indefensible position, and they were in a pretty abandoned area. He was at risk.
"No, I do not mind." She smiled, warmly. "Just... one moment."
Brooklyn turned, going back to the open door of the RV, leaning up into it.
"Steve! Can you get out here, please?" She shouted.

"Just a moment, Babydoll! I'm almost finished!" His muffled voice called back.

"Steve! Now!" She shouted back, now a little irritated with the idiot. "Jesus Christ! I thought you were supposed to be battle ready at a moment's fucking notice! Pinch it off!"

"Alright! Gimme a moment!" He shouted back, and she rolled her eyes, turning back to the trooper.
"He'll be just a moment." She told him, jerking her thumb over her shoulder towards the interior of the RV. "He is currently... to use a rude vernacular, he's taking a shit."

The trooper's face twitched, his mouth twitching, before it settled. "Thank you. Do you mind I ask some questions while we wait?"
"No. Of course not. Feel free." She shifted to lean against the side of the RV, before frowning at the dusty and dirty paint, sighing and giving up on it. Instead, she shifted to a more comfortable position, her arms folding.
"You said that this was rented by your adopted father?" His hand didn't lift from the holstered gun, but his hand was more relaxed.