Chapter Text
They’d moved to the office with the broken window, a large room with green carpets and big, mostly-empty bookshelves. It was dusty, and Paige had to flip the switch a couple of times before the lights would actually turn on. Dot let out a low whistle as she looked around the room, once again riding on Kevin’s shoulder. The first time she did it, he’d been somewhat startled, but at this point he expected it every time they walked anywhere. She was remarkably light, barely putting a strain on his forty-three-going-on-eighty year old bones, and he barely had to readjust to keep her from falling, since she was adept at staying balanced on most surfaces.
“Scratchy’s kind of a mess right now, huh?” She asked.
The oldest Warner, Yakko, barked out a short laugh. He turned to look at him and Paige as he hopped up on the desk, Wakko following suit.
“I should warn you, one of us always tells the truth and one of us always lies, and it’s up to you to figure out who’s who.” He said, raising an eyebrow.
Dot just huffed, hopping off to stand behind her brothers.
“Don’t mind him. He just likes being a jerk sometimes.” She said, and Yakko rolled his eyes.
“And you like disappearing into thin air, so maybe we’ve all got flaws.” He snapped, and Dot frowned, moving back a little. Yakko’s face immediately softened, as if he regretted it, but he didn’t say anything more.
Kevin barely remembered the show. He’d watched it briefly, but he had a whole lot more going on in his life during the nineties. Yakko was more immediately familiar than Dot had been, a very similar energy to the rabbit informant they’d had three years before. He was…more subdued in person.
“Can we not?” Wakko requested, half-distracted by looking through his gag bag now that it had been returned. The other two Warners mumbled in agreement, before turning and giving the lawyers their attention.
“Uh, so. Firstly,” Paige pulled out the list Dot had given them, handing it to Yakko “We wanted to know if you two could attest to what Dot’s already said.”
“A test? Without any time to study?” Yakko asked, but he was already looking over the list. It unfurled and spread across their laps, trailing onto the floor. Wakko hummed as he read the very end of it, kicking his feet idly.
“I mean, she pretty much covered it.” Yakko said, shaking the notebook once so it automatically rolled back up “I thought all of it was…legal, though? Studio stewardship and all that.”
“Cartoons being wards of studios is legal. It shouldn’t be, but it is. We want to change that,” Paige explained “Your treatment…isn’t legal.”
Yakko still looked skeptical, eyeing Paige doubtfully “Uh…maybe. But does the government really care? We’ve got, like, one senator, and he’s kind of a pill.”
“We’re trying to make them care.” Kevin said, moving to stand near Paige. Yakko’s eyes snapped to him, and he squinted as he regarded him shrewdly.
“Hey, I thought I knew you…” He started, before pointing at him meaningfully “You’re that ACME guy!”
“I…guess so, yes.” Kevin said. He was honestly surprised a fourteen year old, even a toon one, had even been interested in that.
“You lost.”
“Also true.” Kevin said simply. Can’t argue with that.
“We lost that battle, but the war’s still happening.” Paige said, sitting down in the chair across from them. Kevin was grateful for Paige. She was so much better than him at seeing the silver lining. And she wasn’t wrong. ACME had still taken a significant hit, and they’d made a lot of progress in the past three years.
“You don’t say,” Yakko mused, though he still looked unconvinced. Wakko finally looked up from the list.
“I wanna do it.” He said firmly, “I’m hungry in there,” Wakko pointed at the water tower “My blood’s bad.”
“Your…blood’s bad?” Kevin asked. Yakko put an arm around his brother.
“He gets hypoglycemic.” He clarified, and Wakko nodded.
“I get all…” Wakko waved his sleeves wildly, before letting himself fall back on the desk with a quiet thud. He popped right back up “They don’t wanna help me.”
“They don’t?” Kevin prompted. Paige grabbed her laptop, already typing.
“Norita called me a liar!” Wakko huffed, crossing his arms “I’m not a liar.”
“It’s true,” Dot agreed. “He freezes up.”
“Do you have any other medical conditions that the studio’s neglected?” Paige asked. Yakko looked like he was about to say something, but glanced at his siblings and stopped. Kevin met Paige’s eyes for a brief moment before flicking back to look at the Warners.
“They’ve ignored a lot of injuries.” Dot said, and Wakko nodded.
“We pop back just like any other toon but they’d always try to rush us through it.” Yakko said “They didn’t like to pause filming just to give us a minute. I’m also allergic to dairy and they made me eat it for the original show a whole bunch of times.”
Paige hummed, typing away “Would you say that a lot of the work you did on the show was without adequate breaks? Or rest?”
“How’d you mean?” Wakko asked, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.
“In our work we’ve found that a lot of labor and workplace safety laws don’t apply to toons.” Kevin explained “Were the child labor laws generally applied to human child actors applied to you?”
“Nuh-uh.” Dot said “They had me film that cannonball scene I told you guys about over and over and over again. And we do get tired eventually.”
“Shit, the cannonball scene,” Yakko grumbled “That took forever. They just kept hitting her with it!”
“And it was cold,” Wakko said. He pointed at his siblings “They were both laying in the snow for it.”
“Miss Norita mentioned it back in her office, but can you confirm that your wages from all the work you’ve done for Warner Brothers have been withheld from you?”
“They have.” Yakko said shortly “When we were out they’d give me a card with a limit on it, and the supplies they get us for the tower came from it. They never get everything on my list, though.”
“And then, you know, they stop getting us anything at all.” Dot said.
“So, despite the three of you having your own money, Warner Brothers consistently undersupplies you while you’re confined, triggering medical conditions and causing general prolonged periods of sickness and hunger?” Kevin summarized. He was trying his best to keep his lawyer brain on over his decent human being brain. Everything that had happened was just so horrible, but reacting too much may discourage the kids from sharing even more. Dot had backtracked on him several times throughout the past three days, and he couldn’t be sure how Yakko and Wakko would react to strong displays of anger or concern.
“Are you comfortable sharing more about life inside the water tower?” Paige asked, and before either of her brothers could speak, Dot let out an exaggerated groan.
“Am I ever?” She said “The water is freezing. Sometimes they wouldn’t even fix problems with it when we were working.”
“It’s not safe during earthquakes.” Yakko said “And this is California, so that’s a huge problem. Also, like with the groceries, eventually the utilities just stop.”
“We didn’t even have lights in there for the first sixty years.” Wakko said. “It was cold then, too.”
“We didn’t get any furniture for a while.” Yakko huffed.
“There’s only so much in here.” Wakko said, pointing at his bag.
Everything else Kevin had expected, but Dot had barely spoken about those first sixty years between the thirties and the nineties. He turned to look at her, eyebrows raised, and she just shrugged.
“That’s all kind of a blur to me,” She admitted “I just remember…dark and cold.”
Kevin’s hands twitched. He glanced at Paige again, who had stopped typing, fingers hovering just over the keys. The more they said, the worse it got, and while they certainly didn’t seem happy about their situation, they were more casual about it than most people would be. He blinked, reaching up and squeezing Paige’s shoulder once, before shaking his head. Lawyer first, person second.
“Well,” He said “We’ve already gotten Dot’s individual testimony. Could we get you two as well?”
The three looked at each other, before Wakko looked back at them quickly.
“I will!” He said, nodding. Yakko pointed at Wakko with his thumb.
“Him first.” He said dryly. While he’d spoken plenty, he still eyed the two of them with suspicion. Wakko hopped off the desk, opening the door to a smaller room off to the side, which only contained an old therapy couch and a chair. He gestured for them to follow, and Kevin glanced at Yakko and Dot, who were sitting near each other, but still tense. It was probably something the two of them needed to work out on their own; He had enough experience with sibling conflicts to at least know that.
He and Paige followed Wakko inside, who quickly shut the door, sitting on the short couch.
“Well…what do you want to know?”
Yakko was mad at her. He’d hugged her when she got there, sure, but he’d already snapped at her once, and he had an irritable energy. She watched as Wakko and the lawyers walked away, briefly making eye contact with Paige, who gave her a reassuring smile, before closing the door.
It was quiet for a long time. She couldn’t hear them talking in the other room, and Yakko was more occupied with looking out the window than looking at her. After what felt like forever, but was probably two minutes, he crossed his arms, tipping his head up.
“Ugh!” He shouted, at the ceiling instead of her. He turned to look at her “I really can’t do this.”
“Do what?” She asked, and he furrowed his brow, frustrated.
“The, the…” Yakko snapped his fingers next to his ear “The whole ‘I'm not mad, I’m just disappointed.’”
Dot frowned “Are you mad?”
Yakko pushed himself off the desk, pacing a little “I don’t know. I just…I’m not unhappy that you made a plan, saw an opportunity, and took it. Even if it’s not…not a plan I would make, it’s not bad that you did it.”
He finally stopped, turning to look at her “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Yakko sounded…hurt. Dot couldn’t help but feel guilty. Even though she’d only told Wakko because he caught her, she still told him, and still accepted his help. She should have gone and woken him up. All three of them should have left together.
“I just…you’re not like yourself lately.” She said, and he seemed slightly taken aback “I didn’t want you to try and talk me out of it. I mean, you don’t like the plan, do you?”
Yakko just grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking away “...No. I don’t.” He admitted “We can’t rely on other people to get us out of this, it’s never worked before.”
“You don’t even know them.” She argued, standing up on the desk.
“You don’t know them, Dot!” He grabbed one of his ears, pulling on it before letting it go “It’s only been a couple of days. You don’t know them, but you do know me, and you just vanished! Without saying anything to me!”
Yakko turned away from her, looking out the window. His breathing was slow, measured, like he was trying to calm himself down. It was quiet for a long moment.
“...I’m sorry.” She finally said, and Yakko sighed, turning to look at her again. He just seemed so tired.
“...you scared me.” He finally said. Dot jumped off the desk, walking up to him and hugging his waist from the side. He bent down, wrapping his arms around her torso and lifting her up as he leaned back, before placing her back on the floor. They both sat on the carpet, quiet for a long moment, before Dot spoke up again.
“I trust them,” She said “I really do.”
Yakko just hummed “Even if they have good intentions, and they try their best, we can still lose. And then we’re probably even worse off.”
“Paige said she’ll try again.” Dot mumbled, though the idea of Paige failing was basically inconceivable.
“And if she fails that time?”
“She’ll try again.”
“Hm.” Yakko readjusted, bringing his knee up to prop his elbow on it, tapping his cheek as he thought it through. “Well. They’re not gonna be my friends, even if they’re yours.”
“Sure.” Dot said, laughing a little. Yakko rolled his eyes.
“I’m serious. I don’t trust them.” His eyes traveled across Scratchansniff’s semi-empty office, before returning to Dot “But I do trust you. And if they do what they say they’re gonna do, then I guess we…win? And if they don’t, we beat feet all the way to…I dunno, Iceland? Let’s hide out in Iceland.”
“So you’ll talk to them?” Dot asked. He’d already participated in the group testimony, but he’d not shared anything all that exclusive to himself. It seemed more like he couldn’t stand the idea of not being a part of the conversation than anything else
“I’ll play along,” He agreed “I just don’t need any more of those, uhh, concerned little Scratchansniff smiles.”
Dot snorted “They’re really not like Scratchansniff.” She said,
Yakko’s eyes travelled across the office again.
“...they’d better not be.”
Wakko stared back at the lawyers, the woman sitting in the Scratchansniff’s chair, the computer still perched on her lap, and the man standing behind her. Norita had called them Mr. and Miss Avery, so maybe they were related. They could have been siblings too…though Mr. Avery looked way older than Miss Avery. Maybe all the lawyers were Averys. Just one big family of Averys, doing…law.
They’d gone through a lot of pretty boring questions. They’d really honed in on his blood sugar thing, though Wakko had been under the impression that it wasn’t that big of a deal.
“I dunno.” He shrugged “When I get hungry I just…” He did the same demonstration he did earlier, waving his arms before flopping back. There wasn’t much else to say about it. If he had to wait too long he’d get hot, and sweaty, especially at his hands and feet. His mouth would get dry, and his muscles all numb and shaky, and everyone would get really, really annoying. And for the most part, he was hard to annoy, but if anyone, especially someone who wasn’t Yakko or Dot, approached him without food he felt like biting their head off. Or their arm. Or leg. He wasn’t picky, really.
“How often would you say this happened?” Miss Avery asked. Wakko hummed, rocking back and forth a little and kicking his feet.
“Mm…happens a lot without real food.” He said “And I got to eat a lot for the show, but we also had a lotta times where we didn’t get to eat at all.”
She kept typing. Wakko couldn’t help feeling curious, hopping onto the armrest of the chair, to peer at the screen over her shoulder.
“What’s this for?” He asked, pushing his hat up from where it had fallen over his eyes.
“Both the case and the custody order.” Mr. Avery said. Wakko frowned. They’d mentioned it to Miss Norita, but he didn’t actually know what that really meant.
“What’s a custody order do?” He asked, cocking his head to one side.
“It lets you live somewhere else while the current place you’re living isn’t safe for you.” Mr. Avery explained. Wakko furrowed his brow, thinking hard. Did he feel unsafe? He was really just following Dot’s lead on everything. No, he didn’t like the tower, and he didn’t like being hungry, or bored, or not having lights or the internet or heat. But unsafe? He had a hammer, and his siblings, and a bag full of helpful things. He’d felt sick, and tired, and sad, but for the most part, the three of them could take care of themselves…and each other.
“...Oh.” Wakko said, instead of sharing all of that “...where are we gonna live?”
The two lawyers turned to look at one another, as if having a silent conversation. Maybe they could communicate psychically. That wasn’t fair, he couldn’t do that with his family. They’d tried so many times and it never worked.
Suddenly, they turned to look at him again. “Uh…my place, I think.” Mr. Avery said, and Wakko didn’t miss how Miss Avery looked somewhat surprised. Darn. They weren’t psychic.
“And where do we live after that?” Wakko asked. They looked at each other again. These two really needed to get on the same page.
“Well…hopefully that’ll be up to you three. It’ll depend on how the case ends up. Right now we’re aiming for emancipation, but you and Dot’s ages make that…iffy.” Miss Avery said.
Wakko frowned, tongue sticking out. Maybe they could get a house. He wanted a yard.
He jumped back to the couch, sitting criss-cross-applesauce. Miss Avery smiled at him, as if sensing his hesitance.
“I’m going to be honest with you.” She said “We don’t have all the answers right now. There’s no precedent for a case like this. But what’s happening here is wrong. And we’re going to do everything we can to get you three to where you need to be.”
Dot trusted them. Wakko trusted Dot. They ticked off Norita, which he liked, and they seemed to actually care about what he had to say. He’d already said that he wanted to do it, even if he didn’t really know what would come of it.
“You’re not gonna get tired of us, are you?” He finally asked, “People get tired of us. They say we’re pretty annoying.”
Miss Avery turned serious for a moment “I gave Dot my word. I’m giving it to you now. We’re going to see this through.”
“We’re pretty annoying too.” Mr. Avery said “People like your boss hate us.”
“They hate us.” Miss Avery echoed.
Wakko couldn’t help snickering, covering his mouth with his hand. He suddenly thought of something else.
“D’ya have clowns in Albuquerque?” He asked, and both lawyers briefly looked bewildered.
“...Probably?” Miss Avery ventured “I’ve never seen one there but I can’t guarantee there aren’t any.”
“If there are, we won't make you look at them.” Mr. Avery reassured. Wakko hummed. One day, he’d find a clown-free city.
Or make one.
He looked back at the lawyers. Dot trusted them. She’d gone three states away just to get them. They had half a plan, which was better than the complete lack of a plan he had. Wakko wanted to run, and climb, and go where he pleased without some executive telling him what he could or couldn’t do. He wanted to see Nora Rita Norita’s eye twitch, and he wanted to spend time in any city that wasn’t Burbank.
“...you promise?” He asked, and he wasn’t really still talking about the clowns.
Miss Avery nodded.
“We promise.”
Yakko and Dot were still on the floor when Wakko and the lawyers finally left the side room, and despite what he’d literally just said to Dot, Yakko couldn’t help that he simply just did not want to talk to them.
He couldn’t deny that the two had made some change, even when they’d lost at congress. Kevin and Paige Avery had shown a commitment to the case that he really hadn’t expected. They clearly both tried.
It was just hard to believe trying would be enough for them. Yakko had been trying for ninety-six years, and they’d gotten a decent amount out of it, what with the two TV shows, but they had never gotten enough. What could these two really do? What was the point of bringing them in and becoming indebted to them, just for nothing to really change?
“Ooh, pile!” Wakko exclaimed, tossing himself at them. Yakko heaved a little as the wind was knocked out of him.
“Careful, I’m old.” He said, moving to make room for Wakko in between them. He looked up to see the two lawyers watching him, as if letting him make the first room.
Yakko felt like he could eat them alive if he really wanted to. He let out a slightly melodramatic sigh.
“Well. I suppose you’ll be wanting something from me now, hm?” He asked. Dot looked at him pleadingly, and Yakko just waved a hand, pulling himself to his feet.
“I’m going, I’m going.” He said, stretching exaggeratedly. He walked right in between the lawyers, stepping into the side room and turning on his heel to sit in Dr. Scratchansniff’s chair. Yakko didn’t sit on that couch anymore.
The two lawyers froze for a moment, and Yakko couldn’t help laughing as Dot gestured for them to follow him. Please, he couldn’t be so scary that they needed her to coach them. They finally joined him after a moment, closing the door behind them and sitting awkwardly side by side on the couch. He crossed his legs, resting his elbows on his knee and propping his chin on his hands.
“I really don’t bite.” Yakko said, though he smiled with a mouthful of sharp teeth. To his surprise, though, neither of them flinched. Paige Avery just opened her laptop, and Kevin Avery leaned forward.
“You seemed like you wanted to say something earlier in the other room, but you stopped yourself.” Kevin said, staring straight at him “Do you feel more comfortable saying it now?”
Yakko made a ‘psshh’ sound, waving his hand “Just got a little caught up in the complain-fest back there. I didn’t wanna say anything to you that I wouldn’t say to anyone else.”
“I’m sure.” Kevin said, as if he didn’t believe him.
Who did this guy think he was?
“So, have you got a better plan this time around then you did last time?” Yakko asked, leaning back against the chair and crossing his arms.
“Considering that it revealed evidence that’s largely harmed ACME’s reputation and bottom line, I’m pretty proud of how that case went.” Kevin said, leaning back as if to mirror him.
“We’ve also won several related cases since then. We really do think there’s a shift happening, which makes now a great time to really make a difference.” Paige added, looking up from the screen.
Yakko looked away, drumming his fingers on his elbow. “Well, I wouldn’t know, I stopped getting the news.”
“And that shouldn’t have happened.” Paige said
“I know that.” Yakko huffed. Neither of them seemed particularly provoked. He finally just sighed, slumping over a little. “Either of you two watch Animaniacs? Back in the nineties, I mean.”
“I was born in 2000, so no, but I watched some of it after meeting Dot.” Paige said, and Yakko narrowed his eyes. 2000 could not possibly be a real year adults were born in.
“I did.” Kevin said, and Yakko hummed, shifting to lay down sideways, his legs tossed over the left armrest. He gestured widely.
“Well, then I feel like you know everything you need to know.” He said.
“Maybe, but we want to hear it from you.” Paige said “The more you tell us, the more likely we are to succeed.”
Yakko just stared up at the ceiling. He’d stared at this ceiling tons of times. Sure, he spent most of his sessions screwing with Dr. Scratchansniff, but there had been times where they’d talked, where Scratchy made an observation that actually hit home.
He finally looked back at the lawyers, though he refused to sit up.
“I had some medicine that was helping in the 2020 show that they stopped supplying immediately once we got locked back up.” He said. It wasn’t that he really wanted these two to know all his personal business, but he told Dot he would help, and this information was probably helpful.
“Can we ask what kind?” Paige asked, and Yakko shrugged.
“I don’t remember the name. But they were SSRIs.” He said “I had a prescription from Scratchy and everything.”
Paige perked up at that “Wait, do you still have that? Like, written proof? Signed by your psychiatrist?”
Yakko suddenly sat up. He knew how he could be so helpful that they would stop asking him stupid questions.
He reached into his hammerspace, pulling out the three overfilled files he’d stolen from Scratchy’s desk.
“I, uhh, got curious.” He said “You should probably ask Wakko and Dot if you can use their’s, Dot doesn’t even know I have them.”
“Are these…” Finally, he had caught Paige off guard.
“Psychiatric records from the good doctor himself. He was also the person primarily in charge of dealing with us, so I think there’s other things in there too. I only had time to skim through mine.” He let them thud onto the ground, standing up and leaning forward over them.
“Yakko, this changes everything.” Paige said. Kevin raised an eyebrow, however.
“Did he…give these to you?” He asked. Yakko frowned.
“Technically…no. I broke into his desk.” He shrugged “They're ours, though. And he abandoned everything, like, three years ago, so I don’t think he still has a say.”
“Technically not, but…” Kevin started, and Paige sighed, deflating.
“We’d need to get some kind of statement from him to prove they’re legitimate.” She said, placing her hands on her hips. She looked at Yakko.
“Do you know where he went?” She asked, and he let out a dry, humorless laugh.
“Nope.” He said “Scratchy hightailed it out of here when we got shut down again. I guess the paycheck stopped being any good, or something.” He rolled his eyes.
Paige sat back down, typing furiously on her computer. Yakko went to grab the files again.
“Look, if you can’t use these-”
“No!” She exclaimed, the first time she had moved away from an even and professional tone. “No, this is still the best lead I have, and it’s going to work. If we can get these authorized and to the courthouse quickly we might have you guys off the lot before the week’s over.” She said, and Yakko’s eyes widened slightly.
It almost felt like something was going to happen.
“Well. I’ll leave you to it, then.” He sat back down.
The idea of being off the lot within the week was doubtful. Scratchansniff was gone, possibly to another state, another country, another continent, another planet. He’d made it abundantly clear that there was nothing more he could do for the Warners. And yet.
And yet.
Maybe it would work out. Yakko highly doubted it.
But…maybe.
Paige had been reluctant to just leave the kids there. After finishing all the testimonies, and tucking away the files in a cartoon box that accounted for their comical size, they’d gone to the tower, where Paige and Kevin took pictures of the living conditions with their phones.
She didn’t like what she saw.
It was much too small for three people. Kevin’s theory about the water tower interior on the original show being a set was right. While it did have some cartoon logic-fueled size-changing properties, as a whole it wasn’t the roller-coaster filled fun house it had been depicted as. Dot had made sure to show her just how cold the water was, and Kevin took several photos of just the kids’ empty cupboards.
After the tower had been thoroughly investigated, the guard, Ralph, had climbed up to tell them it was time for she and Kevin to leave. Dot immediately ran up and hugged her leg tightly.
“You’ll come tomorrow, right?” She asked “I’ll break out again if you don’t come tomorrow.”
“We will.” Paige assured her. Dot just nodded, releasing Paige’s leg and scurrying back to her brothers. All three of them were still a little shaken from only three days of separation, constantly bunching together anxiously.
She and Kevin were quiet on the way to the little hotel, quiet as they checked in, and quiet as Paige finally sat on her bed, the exhaustion from the last couple of days really setting in. She leaned back with her feet still hanging over the edge, and turned her head to look at Kevin.
“They’re gonna live with you?” She asked, and he shrugged.
“I’ve got an extra room.”
“Yeah, but-”
“Daffy’s case will be wrapping up soon. It should be an ACME payout. I can make it a little longer. Besides, what are you gonna do, squeeze them under your bed?” He asked, and Paige huffed.
“I don’t know. I just didn’t think you had it in you.”
Kevin took off his jacket, letting it drop on top of Paige. She sat up, knocking it to the ground in annoyance
“You’re a grown man.” She said, and Kevin just shrugged, picking it up and putting it on his bag instead.
“I didn’t drop it. Must have been the wind.”
“I’m your niece, be a good role model.” She said sarcastically, and Kevin rolled his eyes.
“Hm, I think we’re both pretty much lost causes to everyone else.” He said, and Paige…really couldn’t argue with that.
It was only after a moment of quiet unpacking that the hotel phone rang. They both looked at each other for a moment, before Paige rushed to grab it before Kevin could. She was not missing out on anything this time around.
“...Hello?” She prompted. There was only static on the other end for a long time, before someone finally spoke up.
“...Hiya. An old friend told me how I could contact you.” The voice was not the rabbit they’d met three years ago. He’d popped up every now and again, being especially helpful with everything regarding Daffy, but mostly laid low. This voice sounded older, and carried a strong New York accent.
“Listen. I heard you’re trying to contact that old Doctor. I’ve got his number right here, but it’s gonna have to be you that convinces him to get off his lazy ass and actually do something, got it?”
“I…yes. Of course. I’ve got it.” Paige scrambled for a pen, grabbing the hotel notepad. She quickly wrote down the number as the person on the other end recounted it.
“That loser’s real far away right now. Funny as it might be to call him while he’s sleepin’, he probably won’t be any help at all if you do, so wait until it’s daytime in Austria.”
“I will.” Paige said, and the voice sighed.
“Quit being so agreeable.” She snapped, before pausing “Or…do. Whatever. I don’t care. You’re doin’ good work.”
She hung up, and Paige put the phone down, turning to look at Kevin.
“That was…not our usual guy. But, she gave me Scratchansniff’s number.” She said.
“Did her voice sound familiar?” Kevin asked, and Paige shook her head.
“Not at all. But she was helpful, so…”
Kevin looked down at the paper “Well…it worked out last time. So.”
Paige put the paper away with everything else. It was still early, only six PM, but she was just so tired. She was still going to change, and shower, and do everything else a normal, functional adult did, but for now, she just sat on the bed.
She hated the idea of the kids having to spend the night in that tower. She hated that she only felt like she had part of a plan, and then a whole lot of hopes and dreams. She finally had leads, though, and leads were good. Leads would get them somewhere.
Maybe it would be enough.