Date: Thu, 26 Dec 1996 00:37:43 -6 From: Danny Lloyd Subject: Re: Int: Highway 41 Merideth wrote: ------snip---crash---zap---- > At the crash site, everybody got out of the car to examine what appeared > to be a small golden sphere, about four feet in diameter, with facetting > all over it, suggesting B. Fuller's geodesic dome design. A trap door > opened near the bottom of it, and a small cat emerged. Black with golden > orange flecks of color, and bright yellow eyes, she walked up to Cooper, > and that strange disembodied voice said, "What's the matter sweetheart? > Don't ya remember me, after all this time?" while the cat stared intently > at Cooper. The golden sphere rose from the ground, and without a sound > disappeared, leaving nothing but a scorched indentation where it had > rested. > > Shirley, who was leaning on Cooper's arm, breathed, "Oh, what a lovely > animal," as she snuggled in closer. > > "Watch who yer callin' a animal, toots, and that hu-man yer puttin' yer > hooks into happens to be mine." With that, the cat leapt into Coopers > arms. Squirming around to make herself comfortable, she said, "Din't ya > get my message, Coop? Ya should have known I was in the area. I always > am when things start to get hairy." > > Cooper could feel the vibrations of purring in his arms while he walked > back to his car. A slow smile spread across his face. "Now that you > mention it, I think I did hear something awhile back, but I couldn't make > heads or tails of it. Folks, meet Judy, an old friend. Let's get out of > here, before the crowd arrives to investigate that explosion." ----------- The late-night crew piled into the small, rented Toyota, and headed back down Hwy 41. Cooper noticed the cat, Judy, had fallen asleep at his side. He remembered the feline from years before, a strange visitor from....somewhere, but all of it was a bit fuzzy in his head, although he did know Judy was friend, not foe. And he knew the purring animal would help him, although in what way he wasn't sure. Shirley edged closer to Cooper in the front seat, but found it hard to bypass the cat. Wanda and Mark continued to get to know each other in the back seat, and Margaret merely sat quietly. The G-Man noticed an odd look in her eyes, but figured there was too much odd already about this night to worry about it now. The after-glow of the large explosion hung in the air, providing a ghostly light to guide them back to the diner. Just ahead, in the middle of the road, Cooper noticed something very strange. A large man in a peculiar suit stood alone on the shoulder. The car slowed to a stop and Cooper emerged to check on the strange man, to see if perhaps he needed help. He then saw, as did the others, just who this man was. His mouth hung open as he suddenly remembered something. Today had been Christmas day. How could he so easily forget such a thing. His work had burdened him so much lately, he often felt neither a part of the real or the dream world, but somewhere, hazily in between. His eyes widened as he stared at Old St. Nick. Or, at least, someone dressed as the jolly man. "Ho Ho Ho," the red-suited man laughed. "Thank you for stopping. I have had a long day. And last night was a doozy. I'm afraid I fell asleep at the reins. Have you, by chance, seen a herd of lost reindeer? They must be wandering around here somewhere. Ho Ho Ho." "Hello sir, I'm FBI agent Dale Cooper, currently on a serial-murder case here in the desert. I must tell you, I don't believe in Santa Claus, and consider you are merely dressed in similar garb. Is this not the case?" "Well, dear boy," Santa moved in closer to whisper. "Remember that time you wrote asking for a subscription to Playboy Magazine? You were just nine years old." Santa shook his head. "Remember, I brought you that G.I. Joe set instead?" Cooper had been around the block a few times and didn't easily fall for a con. "Yes, I remember, and I admit you had me going there for a moment, but. . ." "Ho Ho Ho," Santa said. "Ok, I'll just have to really, really prove it, I guess." With that, Santa snapped his fingers and a package of floppy disks appeard in his hand. "The 'As'. All the children in the world whose last name begins with 'A'. I used to keep this on paper you know, but this is the 90s. Now, I'll make it disapper." Zap, it was gone. "Now, I'll make it appear in your coat pocket." Zap, Cooper reached inside his jacket and found it. "Yes, ole Santa knows a bit of magic you know. Well, enough to get me by at cocktail parties. But the real proof, well, I'll just whisper that to you." Santa moved in to Cooper's ear and softly spoke. "My Goodness, you Are Santa," Cooper jumped back. "Wow." The others now gave the FBI man a weird look, as if they believed he had lost his mind. "No, no, people, it really, actually, really, really is Santa. I guarentee it." Cooper gave the jolly ole fellow a hug. "Now, what can we do for you, St. Nick? Reindeer? Yes, by all means, we'll find them for you. Come on, hop into the car." The strange crew jumped back into the car and Cooper wheeled the vehicle back onto the road, made a u-turn and proceded in the direction from which they had come. He made it to the cut-off that led to the dunes and turned. "I have a feeling," Cooper said. "Perhaps your reindeer may have been attracted to the bright light of the explosion. Maybe we'll find them out here." A small toyota now carried an FBI agent, a psychopath named Margaret, a split personality named Morgan/Shirley, two members of a love-hate relationship known as Mark and Wanda, a strange talking cat, and Santa Claus. The sound of "Ho Ho Ho" echoed throughout the moon-lit dunes and across a large portion of the golden desert. ---to be continued---