Week 17.1 – The Crash

Previously: Digger headed to San Francisco in a rented car, the first step in his bid to reach Mongolia in time to stop Twain’s plan. And now…

One thing that always struck Digger about San Francisco was the clutter of it. Driving into the city, one was confronted with just rows and rows of hills bristling with houses, as far as the eye could see. And every time he came back, the tide of that sea of houses seemed to have come in a little more; they started appearing a little earlier every time. Hitting the outskirts of the city broke him out of the trance he’d been in for who knew how long. When was the last time he had gassed up? Had he even stopped since leaving Phoenix?

He had to have, since the gas gauge was reading half-full. But he couldn’t remember, and that worried him. Could this alternate dimension body he now inhabited have some kind of disease that caused memory loss? Alzheimer’s or something? It was becoming more urgent than ever that he find Twain and use the mask to get back to normal.

Although he still wasn’t sure how he would do that. In the superhero life, you tended to meet people from all over and accumulate favors on both sides. But he didn’t have many contacts left in San Francisco, at least ones who would return his calls. He’d heard that AcroCop had moved out here with his family, but he had quit the hero game. He wouldn’t have the pull needed to get Digger on a plane to China.

And once he was in China, he would really be lost. The closest contacts he had were in Korea, and he hadn’t talked to them in over 10 years. Maybe the U.S. Embassy over there could put him in touch with someone. He would figure it out when he got there.

But first, he figured he might as well call Whiz’s brother and get it out of the way. He didn’t know how much help the guy could be, but if he had been to Mongolia before, he might at least be able to give Digger a map or something. He dialed the number he had programmed into his phone from the card Whiz had given him.

[blockquote type=”blockquote_quotes” align=”right”]“Kevin? Told you to call me?” The voice chuckled. “He must really be desperate…”[/blockquote]“Metalord, go,” said the voice on the other end.

“Is this… Cole?” Digger asked, checking the name on the card. Cole Chen, Metalord.

“Probably,” the voice said. “Who’s asking?”

“My name’s Digger. Whiz told me I should call you when I get to San Francisco.”

“Kevin? Told you to call me?” The voice chuckled. “He must really be desperate. Wait, are you the Digger?”

“Probably,” Digger echoed. “Can I meet you someplace for a few minutes?”

“Well, I was just headed out the door to do a thing,” the voice said, “but hell. Come on out. The more, the merrier. How are you coming in?”

“I know my way around San Francisco,” Digger said. “Just tell me where to meet you.”

“Pier 36, just south of the Bay Bridge,” the voice said. “You’ll know when you’re getting close, You know, because of the explosions.”

Wait, what explosions? Don’t miss tomorrow’s exciting episode!

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