Jackknife 21
Chapter 21 On Parade
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Cray headed out of the rest stop slow. He needed to find fuel eventually for the last leg of this trip. It was easier said than done especially with a double trailer to deal with.
A truck stop would be ideal, capable of handling a semi height and length, but something told him that’s precisely where the opposition would be monitoring.
Cray decided to try his luck at gas stations nearby truck stops and if he didn’t find a workable option then he’d risk the truck stop.
The accumulated snow got thinner the further south he went and other vehicles appeared on the road in singles and pairs. It was coming time for the calls. Cray wanted a landline phone but public phone booths were harder to find than gasoline stations that could accommodate a double-trailer semi.
The closer he got to the interstate the more pockets of roadside business he encountered but most looked closed and not a pay phone in sight.
He eventually found a station open for business with enough room to get the rig off the road. If there wasn’t a payphone inside he would resort to begging to use the station’s phone.
Cray pulled over and hustled inside. It was a classic Mom-and-Pop gas station and shop. But not classic enough to have a pay phone.
He grabbed some snacks, took them to the counter and rang the bell. An elderly woman appeared from the back and came to the register.
“Will you be needing gas? I don’t see a vehicle.”
“Actually, I need diesel. It’s a big rig so there aren’t many places I could pull in.”
“We have diesel on a truck for delivery. Sometimes those tractors run low in the field.”
“That’d be perfect. I’m parked off the road up ahead.”
“How much fuel do you need?”
“Probably around three-hundred gallons.”
“Oh my, that must be a big rig. I’ll get Pop to bring the diesel truck around.”
“Thank you kindly. Do you have a pay phone I could use?”
“Oh no, not any more. We had it removed. Most people use cell phones nowadays.”
“Yeah, I usually do too but it hasn’t been working since the storm. Is there a phone I could borrow by any chance?”
“Is it long distance?”
“The area code is different, yes, but I can make it collect.”
“Well, all right, you can use the shop phone in that case. You are buying a lot of fuel.”
The woman pulled an old style phone from under the counter and placed it on top. Then she went to the back “to get Pop moving.”
“Thank you so much.”
Cray wanted to call Marie but suspected his home phone would be monitored and the call would give Silver Label an additional excuse to withhold the bonus. So he gave the operator Ian’s number.
The conversation was compact. Short but complete. It was done before Pop was rolling.
He paid with his own card to keep Silver Label from getting a notice of his location. One more big reason to get paid.
Back in the truck, Cray put in Ken and Bill’s number and hit call. There was a long delay and Cray was about to assume the signal wasn’t getting though when Ken responded.
“Escort One, go ahead.”
“Morning Ken, Bill, how are things?”
“Cray? Are you alright? We’ve been worried.”
“Yes Dad, I’m fine. Just took shelter when the weather hit.”
“Where are you now? Are you mobile?”
“I’m mobile, load is intact, but there’s too much snow on the signs to tell my position.
“So tell me something. Can the parade get back in formation with all good contractually?”
“We’re a bit out of parameters. I can check with headquarters to see where we stand.”
“Please do so. By my watch, there’s time left. Waiting out weather is in the contract so it shouldn’t count against the schedule. But even if it does, I was early out of the gate so I should have a couple days’ grace period.”
“I get the message. Where can we meet?”
“I’ll head toward the delivery location, putting me back on I-90 eventually. Come back with some good news and it could be sooner than later.”
“We would like it to be sooner. There have been some incidents in the past twenty-four hours and we are concerned about you being without protection.”
“What happened?”
“The details are not fully clear yet, but we lost a load on another route.”
“That sounds bad.”
“It is. That why we want to regroup as soon as possible.”
“As long as the contract is still good. I’m doing my best to get on the planned route.”
“I’ll let you know as soon as word comes down. Stay close to the phone.”
“Roger that.”
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