Maxine's New Life Ch. 13a

"The two cover stories I can understand." Martin agreed. "You got any idea on the back end one?" .

"I think we need more information, and to wait for Anya to call before we work on that. My guess is that it is going to have to be some criminal enterprise to get the brothers all worked up."

"Yeah let's see if your buddy with the fibbies can point us in the right direction. In the meantime we can play the front cover story for a while and see what develops," Martin suggested.

"My thinking too. So now lets go meet with Mike and figure out his part in the cover story." I liked the plan better as it developed. There was lots of wiggle room. I still had my papers thanks to the Russian's insistence that I file for a church of the missionary position ordainment. It came from one of those advertisements in the back of the rolling stones magazine. I also had my papers from the state of my residence, entitling me to ask questions. So we should be okay, if we got a casual look see.

"So where do I fit into your plans?" Mike asked.

"We are still working on that. It is going to have to be something that allows you to come and go, because you can never be seen filming. That would be a death sentence for all of us." Martin said.

"How about front man for the ministry. That would get him out and about, so he could slip in and out of town." I suggested.

"That should work. Mike can make up some posters and other shit. While we hit the town for the first time, he can have them printed up. He can leave with town anytime he wants, just tell people he is going to put the posters in a neighboring town."

"Then on the back cover story, he can be a runner or courier." I suggested.

"Good that would fit in with both covers. I like it," Martin said. Then he added, "They were right down in the Swamp. You are quite the little problem solver,"

"Well let's not start patting people on the back, we have a lot of crap to work through. First of all, we need to forget about you and me going into town today. Mike needs to go in and lay his own cover. Get the poster's printed and posted. Then we come in with some of the cover already down."

"Okay, I'll take one of your images and make a quick poster. Since you are the one with the ordainment, you should be the headliner." Mike suggested.

"Works for me," I said. "In the meantime Irish and I can go in quietly and look for a place to rent. If we have to say anything, we will go with the cover story about the ministry."

"Give me a couple of hours and I'll have the posters and be on the ground in Haymarket," Mike said.

"While you do that, we need to find a place to rent," Martin said. "And do it quietly."

"Since we don't know what the back cover will be yet, let's get a place out of town. Something in the country and quiet." I could see his mind working, a place like that would be hard to defend, but great bait for an ambush.

"Now we are moving from an idea to a plan. We can do our riding around while Mike is working on the posters. If we don't find a place today, tomorrow we go into town and make some noise." he suggested.

"Then pay the bill and let's all get moving," I suggested.

"You know I'm going to be in deep shit, for getting involved in this," Mike suggested.

"Yeah, but ain't it just so cool?' I asked.

"Yeah, never a dull moment around you Maxine," he said.

"Do you have a piece?" Martin asked.

"Hell no, I'm a TV producer, not a gangster," Mike said.

"Shit, I don't have an extra," Martin said.

"Oh hell, you want a 9mm or a 10mm," I asked. Both men just smiled. "Listen it's a collector's piece don't lose it."

We walked to Martin's car where I recovered the 9mm Glock from the trunk. "I'm serious, it came from the sell off of cop guns in LA. Their was some information that it was part of that bank shoot out in the streets out there. Don't you lose this thing."

"How many weapons do you have salted away in my trunk?" Martin asked.

"Enough, I hope." I said seriously.

Mike left us to return to his room and work on the posters. Martin and I checked out of the motel. Then we drove toward Haymarket. Ten miles out we began driving down the side roads looking for a house that appeared to be for rent.

We circled Haymarket a couple of times before lunch with no good results. For lunch we drove back to the interstate and found a chrome and glass chain restaurant that specialized in travelers. Martin even called Mike to join us. Mike had been at the printers, so we waited for him before we ordered.

The poster Mike tossed on the table was actually quite good. Especially considering it was conceived and laid out in an hour. "Nice job," I said to mike. "Damn I look old, but it's still a nice job."

"Well I could have made you look younger, but I thought you looked more conservative as an old lady," he said with a laugh.

"Gee thanks, I sure as hell don't look threatening that is for sure." I admitted.

"So did you two find us a place yet?" he asked.

"Not yet, but I think we need to do something else while we are out and about. I need to pick up some burn phones." Martin suggested. Some that can't be traced back to our real lives. This could get rather messy as Maxine said earlier."

"In that case I need to send our raw data files out every night." Mike said.

"Send them by US Mail, not over the net. We don't need them back home fast, but we do need them back home securely." I demanded.

"Fair enough," Mike said.

"So, I'll get the burn phones after lunch and we will keep looking. If you run across anything while you are putting up the posters let us know. Keep your room at the motel and we will meet there after the day's search is over."

"It gets dark early, so I'll be expecting you about six and we can all go to dinner." Mike suggested.

After lunch Martin bought the phones in a convenience store. We decided to wait until we got back to the motel to activate them. My handbag played the theme from The Magnificent Seven again. Martin laughed his ass off again. I shook my head as I pushed the button and said, "Hello Anya what do you have for me."

"Maxine we got nothing on your bothers, but I made a call to the Georgia field office, and they gave me a name for you. Marshall Hall at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation can help you. If he doesn't have what you want now. he will have it tomorrow. Our man in Atlanta gave him the heads up."

"Good deal Anya, I'll give Hall a call." I said.

"Be careful Maxine, these country boys can play rough," she said. Then she read off a phone number for me.

"I will, I promise I won't piss them off," I said.

"Now, I'm really worried. You are either lying to me, or you are delusional." she said. "Now I have to go, but seriously be careful."

"I will, bye." That's how I left it with Anya.

We headed back out into the countryside looking for a house to rent. At mid afternoon we saw a small sign nailed to a tree beside a dirt driveway. It simply said 'house for rent', and gave a phone number.

"Should we drive down that dirt drive?" I asked.

"I have no idea whether the house is down there, but the road looks in pretty good shape," Martin suggested.

"Okay, if it turns bad, you can always back out," I said. I was concerned about getting stuck in the afternoon and having to spend the night in a cold car. I didn't say anything but I was worried.

As my concerns usually do, those proved to be unfounded. It was a long driveway, but well maintained. At the end of the drive sat a small house. It most likely had only four rooms. My guess was that it was some kind of starter home for a young farm family. I dialed the number of the owner, while we sat in the front yard.

"Sir, I'm calling about the small house you have for rent?" It was a question more than an comment.

"Yes that was my son's house. He and his wife built a new house. They have a new baby on the way."

"So you are going to be a grandpa?" I asked trying to be nice.

"Yes, but it won't be our first."

"So cool, so how much is the house rent?" I asked.

"$500 a month with a five hundred dollar deposit," he informed me.

"I would really like to see the inside," I admitted.

"If you are there now, I'll come right down. I only live about a mile away." he said.

"That would be great. We will wait here for you." I suggested.

"So it's small, but that's a good thing," Martin said. "If Mike brought his bag of tricks, we can get a quick surveillance system installed."

"I expect it is the size of my old cabin but with a couple of bedroom on the side." I suggested.

"I never saw your cabin, but I heard about it, so maybe it is." Martin said.

The owner came, we saw the small clean house, and we paid the deposit and the first month's rent. We arranged to move in the next day. The house had propane heat and a cooking stoves which also used the liquid gas. It would be ready to go with just a quick call to the local dealer.

Martin managed to get the call in and arranged for a delivery the next day. Even with Martin's unlimited credit card, the best we could do was to get a morning commitment. I managed to get the power turned on based on my credit record from back home in Aster.

We would be good to go the next day. In the meantime it was back to the motel for one more night.

At breakfast the next morning Martin gave Mike directions to the house we had rented. " You might want to pick up a some food that you can eat room temperature," I suggested. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to dress warmly."

"Nice plan, but I'm not going to be the one who sits there. I am not part of this little band of Mercenaries. I'm the camera man, I don't get involved in the day to day operations." Mike said with a smile. He really was being nice about it.

"So, if you won't stay until they turn the power and heat on, then I will have to. Since the show is about me, you will have to stay there to film me doing nothing. Mike that makes no sense at all." I suggested.

"Yes, but whatever shit you are planning today, I won't miss filming it either," he replied still smiling. "Besides I can get some shots of you there being all domestic." he addded.

"Good luck with that. Alright, I'll do that, if after you drop me at the house, you go buy a Mr. Coffee and a pound of Columbian coffee?" I informed him.

"Done," he replied.

"Here," Martin said as he handed me the burn phone. Put your phones in the box and I'll mail them to Maxine's house."

I knew that I would have to make a trip to the post office to get the package, since there was nowhere for the mailman to leave it at the apartments. It didn't seem like anything worth mentioning to Martin, so I dropped my phone into the box. "Wait, I need to make a call first. I quickly called Cheryl. "When a package for me arrives, please put it in your apartment until I get home. That is if the mailman leaves it. He might or might not leave it." I said into her voice mail I did not give her my burn phone number. It would have been an operational security breech.

Martin dropped me at the house, while he went into the next largest town with a WalMart. There he shopped from a list we worked out the night before. Mostly it was stuff like blankets, those big thick airbeds, folding chairs and a card table finished the furniture options. There were cheap dishes and kitchen knives that kind of stuff as well.

"If we stay more than a week, this is going to be a miserable vacation honey," I said to Martin when he returned at almost noon. "What took you so long?" I asked.

"I asked a few questions the next town over. Hayseed has a really bad reputation around here. I told them I was thinking about opening a restaurant here and everybody I talked to said, "Don't."

"Wonder why they feel that way?" I asked. Of course I knew why. If the Atwood brothers were any indication of how the rest of the town worked, it was like Dodge City in the 1800's. It might be different crimes for different times, but it seemed to be wide open real estate.

"Beats me, I doubt we are going to make much of a difference, but it sure as hell can't Hurt," Martin said.

"Well we can try to put a couple of the outlaws in the poky for a while," I suggested. "Every little bit has to help some." I suggested.

"Not as much as we would like, but I grant you it would be an improvement," Martin replied.

"I had the house pretty much set up as much as it would be half an hour after Martin returned. The electric power was turned on by computer, so it was up and running first. I left Martin in the house while Mike and I went to the store for clothes for me to wear.

I bought two skirts and three sweaters from the same Walmart, where Martin had bought the household items. The skirts and sweaters were for when I needed to be Sister Maxine, the Lords Messenger. I didn't think I would need to be her too often so I bought just the small number of outfits.

I was surprised that I had not gained any weight since my road trip with 'Marty the bike pedaler'. I had been a 10/12 when I arrived in Aster but was down to a size 7/8 when I bought the skirts. My ass was still wide or I might have been even smaller. Of course my top was still small but even so the sweaters were a size 10 so that they wouldn't be sexpot tight.

There was no need to call Martin, since I had to go back to the house to change before we visiting Haymarket. With that in mind I drove straight home. We had time to get to Haymarket before the town shut down for the night. I didn't like that I felt a little shaky about calling Marshal Hall of the GBI. I can always call him later if we get stumped, I decided.

When I got to the house I found that the house was warm and Martin had the coffee made. Life appeared to be good. Since I tried on the skirt and sweater at the store, the outfit fit me as I wanted it to.

"Very conservative," Martin said. "You could pass for a lady, if I didn't know better." I was sure that Mike was eating up that kind of statement. It would make for good TV. Slightly more than a hint that I might not be just an upstanding crime fighter.

"While you were in Haymarket, did you notice a cafe?" I asked Mike.

"There is one just inside town. It looks like an old white house, but there is a big sign out front." Mike explained.

"Good we are going to need a place to eat tonight, and we need to find a place to start pumping the locals for information." I paused a moment. "I have no idea how you are going to film us without getting noticed." I added.

"I'll work out something. I have some new tricks, remember?" he asked.

"Whatever," Martin said with a look of pure contempt.

"Well I'm curious. How are you going to manage it." I asked.

"I'm going to try to plant a small digital high resolution camera in the restaurant when we go in. Then recover it when we leave. Not only is it good resolution, it is also time lapse. It should be a really cool effect."

"This, I am going to have to see to understand," I said.

The restaurant was just as Mike had described it. Mike left about half hour before Martin and I. His chore was to plant his camera. I had no idea how he did it, but he was beaming when Martin and I walked into the restaurant.

"From the look on your face I am going to assume you were successful at your little chore?" It was a question and he knew it.

"Oh yes, piece of cake. It's going to be quite interesting. Do you want to know how it works?" he asked.

At the same time I said, "Sure."

Martin said, "Hell no."

"Go ahead Mike, let's hear how your evil genius mind has worked it out."

"There is a small transmitting lens sticking on the outside of that window over there. Of course you have the audio microphone in your purse. The receiver for both is in my car. I have just that one small lens to recover on my way out. By the way the lens is inside a rubber lizard. It looks like one of those cute little Geico TV things."

"Very ingenious," I said.

"Well, I didn't invent any of it, but I do know how to use it creatively," he said. "The images are not the highest quality, but they will be compelling. They will make great TV, when things start happening." Just then he pulled out what looked like an I-Phone. A second later he handed it to me and I saw a shot of the dining room. It wasn't a closeup of our table, but we were in the shot.

"That is so cool," I handed the phone to Martin. He simply glanced at it, then handed it back.

"What can I get you folks," the waitress wearing a stained blouse and showing bad teeth when she smiled. asked.

"I think I'll have the beef stew with rice," I said.

"What sides? you get two sides?" she asked almost angrily. I put her age at about 19. She was old enough to know better than to treat her customers like that, but she obviously didn't.

"How about the corn and the banana pudding. Are you alright young lady, you seem to be upset," I suggested it as I handed her the menu.

"What?" she asked in a different tone.

"You seem upset is there anything I can do?" I was trying to get into my sister Maxine role.

"No, I'm just fine." She quickly turned to the others and took their orders.

A few minutes later an older lady well into middle age came to our table. "Is everything alright" she asked. Her question was open to all of us.

"Everything is just fine," I answered.

"Oh my, I just this second recognized you. You are the preacher lady. We have the poster that says you are coming. It is so nice to have you here. Most of the churches moved out of town over the last few years. I do hope you will be staying." She was talking so fast at the end I couldn't get a word in.

"Well we are hoping to stay a while at least. I am sister Maxine and these two gentlemen are my associates. Well Martin there is my husband, as well as my good right arm. The younger one is a nephew. It is sort of a family ministry as you can see."

"Where will you be opening your church?" the woman asked.

"We are now looking for a building as a temporary church home. I do hope we can find something soon. I would like to begin services on Sunday." I noticed how uncomfortable all of the conversation was making Martin. So Martin was a heathen, I almost laughed at the thought.

"If you look on main street there are several empty building that would make fine storefront churches," the woman said.

"Thank you Ms." I left it hanging.

"Oh my, where are my manners? I'm Mrs Williams. My husband and I own this restaurant." she said.

"Well Ms Williams, when we get the Lord's house open, I will be sure to let you know." The food came which saved me from an the necessity of slinging any more bullshit.

The food was actually very good. After we finished eating, I gave Mike the heads up and he left the restaurant ahead of us. How he managed to get the lizard cam, without making a scene, I had no idea. Martin paid the bill and we left.

Mike had his own car so we didn't even look for him. Instead Martin and I went looking for The Brothers Grim. There were two beer joints in town, so we began with the one closest to the restaurant. Mike was inside waiting for us. He sat alone in the corner. I was sure that something on his table was also a low light camera.

We looked around and there were no Atwoods to be seen. I had one drink and then left. The night was a bit of a bust except that we accomplished one of our smaller goals. To get into the rumor mill. The two waitresses would spread the word, not to mention the bartender at the beer joint. How often did you get a preacher lady go into a beer joint. Actually it sounded like a joke, a preacher lady, an assassin and a TV producer go into a bar. I just needed to make sure that I wasn't the punch line.

When we got back to the house, I sat drinking reheated coffee, while I waited for Mike to show up. When he did, it was with bad news. "Gwen will be in sometime tonight," he said.