Dwayne stomped down the boarding house stairs and headed for the front door. He’d been told earlier that Millie’s was at full capacity, so he had no idea where he was going to stay the night. If he was lucky, he thought to himself, as he rummaged through his pants pocket and pulled out the keys to his rental car, he’d be able to make his way into Coff’s and find a place to stay there.

As he placed his hand on the door handle to open it, he felt a hand on his shoulder and a man’s voice say, "Wouldn’t go out there if I were you."

Dwayne turned, standing face-to-face with Alex Ross. "Oh yeah?" he said, sarcastically. "Well, you’re not me, are you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to blow this place."

"Suit yourself," Alex grinned, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. After he took a puff and exhaled, he added, "but you won’t get very far."

"And why is that, Mister...?"

He grinned, stuck out a hand, "Ross, Alex Ross. I believe we’ve spoken on the phone?" Dwayne took a deep breath, suddenly realizing who the man standing in front of him was – the guy he’d hired to find Abby for him.

"Dwayne Campbell. Nice to finally meet you in person, Ross," he said, shaking his hand. "Now, what was that you were saying about my leaving here?"

"Sheriff says all the roads are out, flooded. Might as well sit tight and make yourself comfortable, might be here ‘til morning."

Dwayne let out a sigh, looked around. People were milling about all around the place, the tavern was packed. "Great," he huffed, slumping his shoulders and shoving his keys back into his pants pocket. This night was not turning out the way he’d hoped.

"C’mon, you can share a table in the bar with me and my new friend there," Ross told him, motioning towards where Arthur was seated, sipping a VB.

Arthur smiled and waved, clearly feeling the effects of the VB he’d been drinking.

"Perfect," Dwayne replied, sarcastically, following Ross over to the table.

"Arthur, this is Dwayne. Dwayne, this is Arthur," Ross said, introducing the two men.

"G’day," Arthur replied, then hiccupped. A sloppy smiled was plastered on his face, as he took another sip of VB.

Dwayne grinned at Ross – who grinned back, and shook his head.

Yep, this night was certainly not turning out the way he had planned, and by the looks of it, was only gonna get worse.

TBC...