Tim and the Colonel

Edgar needed something quick to eat before catching his connecting flight, due in ninety minutes. The airlines had been cutting back on meals, and he was going to arrive at the last stop in his journey in the dead of night. A burger and chips would hit the spot.

He walked into the Checkers, and there was no line. A young woman stood behind the counter, and took his order. He had not exchanged his money yet, and was gratified when she accepted one pound for the whole meal. That was a good bargain, especially in an airport. Edgar was mesmerized by her. It was not that she was extraordinarily beautiful. However, she was exotic. She wore an odd, short, plain cloak, which covered her arms and reached down to her waist. There was something faintly Arabic or Indian about that item of dress, but everything else was what one would expect from a uniformed clerk. She spoke in a foreign language to someone in the back. Edgar prided himself in being able to make an educated guess as to which language a person was speaking - although he could not carry on a conversation, he could recognize French, German, Polish, and Arabic from the neighborhood he grew up in. The language she spoke was not even close to any of these. Edgar thought, idly, Turkish, Finnish, Indian, some native language? He could not tell. And to make things odder, the woman spoke a perfectly correct and non-descript English, with not even a trace of a regional dialect. Edgar looked for clues. The girl was a bit short, but other than that, she blended in. Yet she did not, really, but he did not know why. He had a flight to catch, and this mystery would not be answered today.

"Mister," said the woman, "you meal is ready. Is there anything wrong?"

"No, Miss," replied Edgar, his attention suddenly focussed. "It is just my first trip across the pond."

Edgar thanked her, and took the tray with the burger and chips to a table that happened to have a good view of the counter. Edgar was both infatuated and mystified. Something was not quite right, but he could not put his finger on it.

Three tables down, there were two men. One was wearing the khaki uniform of some military organization. He did not recognize it as being that of any army unit he had seen on television. The other man, wiry and tanned, was dressed as if he were about to go on an expedition into a forest, with dried mud caking the soles of his boots. Edgar evesdropped on the conversation of the two men while he ate.

"I don't like what our prime minister is doing, Colonel. This is our land, and damned if we are going to share it with them!"

"I reckon that I'd agree," replied the other man in a deep, mumbly voice that Edgar had trouble understanding. "I don't hold with what any of the gov'nuhs is doin' either. Got the same problem down there - the boys in Richmond aren't right up against them, so they tend to make deals too fast. Now the boys in Omaha had the right idea, but they didn't have the firepower to back it up, and we never could smoke 'em out of the mountains. And lettin' 'em settle here - I don't think that's smart. We've gotta face facts, though. They're sharper than we gave 'em credit for. Are ya in or are ya out, Tim?"

"Oh, I am in. We will beat them at their own game, eh? They have been doing it to us for a long time, I think it is only right to do it back to them. They know all aboot us, and we don't know much aboot them. That's why they have been able to resist. Although I will have to stifle the urge to wring their little necks, eh?"

"It is your duty to mankind not to do that! Just observe 'n report. Is yer ticket ready?"

"Yes, Colonel. I'll back home tonight. Then I will go west, and cross into their territory."

"Good. Keep yer head, and ya know how to get in touch if ya find anything significant. 'tis an important post, Tim."

Edgar's mind reeled trying to make sense of this. Was there a war on that he did not know about? Everything else seemed normal. The young woman at the counter looked at him, and smiled, beckoning him to come and talk with her. And the time for Edgar to check in for his connecting flight was approaching.

Edgar decided to

1. follow Tim.
2. talk to the woman at the counter.
3. catch his original flight.
4. Edgar throws a hissy fit about Checkers being Rally's instead

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