We get caught

“What were you three doing in there?”

A voice, unknown, calls out as Amari is telling you and Flora that you’re done for the day.

You turn and see a short blonde girl wearing a dark navy outfit with a beret with a two-headed bobcat pin. Behind her are three others. They’re men, armed with pistols and batons, dressed similarly as she, but without berets.

“Travelers,” Amari quickly pushes her way back between you and Flora. “Perhaps you can help us with directions.”

The blonde girl narrows her gaze at Amari before they bounce to you. “I haven’t seen any of you before. So what are you doing in Billings?”

“Just passing through,” Amari beams. “Billings is the only place around this area where you can sleep safely. Nowhere is this safe in miles, or so I hear.”

The blonde knits her brows, giving Amari an unsure look. “What did you come from, and when did you get here? I’m familiar with all you co-called travelers this time of year.”

Amari’s eyes light up. “Forgive me, miss…”

“Summer,” The blonde replies.

“Miss Summer, please forgive me, but you must not be as familiar as you claim. My friends and I arrived yesterday through the main gates on horseback. We’re staying at the Billings Inn.”

The cops behind Summer chuckle. She darts back a glare and crosses her arms. “There’s a chance I might have missed a group coming in. I was leading a bust at the train station against some smugglers.”

“Smugglers?” Flora asks.

Summer brings her gaze at Flora and stares at her like she hadn’t noticed her until just then. Then, she takes off her beret and clears her throat. “Yes. I guess I did a good job if you didn’t hear anything about it.”

“What were they smuggling?” Flora continued.

“Weapons,” Summer replies. “One of the crates was stamped with ARS, whatever that means.”

Your throat swells, but you hide your worry.

“Russians?” Amari suddenly asks.

“No. Not this deep in Montana. I think there was a Russian group in Kalispell. The same group that took out Eureka back in ‘68.” Summer gives a solemn sigh. “No one is organized enough up there to rally together to really fight off the Russians.”

Summer laughs. “Not that we’re organized down here either. The greatest example of unity we have in Montana is Roundup and Lewistown, and they’re just a melting pot of-” She stops herself.

“Sorry,” Summer says. “You don’t want to hear about politics.”

Despite Amari’s expression, Flora looked like she did want to hear more about local politics. Summer continued after straightening her uniform. “Sorry for bothering you. Just after last night, we’re a little tense. We can’t be sure we got all the stragglers. Most of the train yard exploded in disarray once the bust started.”

Everyone in your party was silent. How could you reply to that? You’re a little surprised that Amari’s clients didn’t hear about this. You wonder how well her connections to the gun-running business will do once word gets out that one of her shipments got confiscated upon entry. You tried to read her emotions, but it was impossible with the poker-face mask she wore.

When Amari tried to close off your chat, Summer stepped in. “Please. It would be rude of me e not to offer you a meal. Especially after suspecting you of mischief.”

“Oh my! We’re fine! Thank you for the offer, though.” Amari attempts, but Flora butts in.

“I’d like a meal. I would like to hear more about the border situation too. Kalispell is closer to the Canadian border, isn’t it?”

Summer smiled somewhat devilishly when Flora opened her mouth to speak for the group. Amari clears her throat, shooting Flora a sharp stare. “Flora, we really don’t need to-”

“Flora?” Summer cut in with a loud remark. “That’s a cute name. What are your names?”

You and Amari exchanged a look, not at all liking the newfound position you’re now in. You look at Summer first and give a slight tilt of your head. “Warren, a pleasure to meet you.”

“And… I’m Amari.”

“This is Thatcher,” Summer points to the darker-skinned gentlemen behind her with dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. “And that’s Langly.”

Langly was slightly shorter than Thatcher but just as well built, he also had brown hair, but he had hazel eyes. Truth to be told, both of the males were big. Thatcher was native American and looked twice as seasoned as his Caucasian counterpart. He also hasn’t stopped staring at you since this whole situation unfolded. It was hard not to stare back since it was never in your nature to let someone intimidate you.

Summer regards your group and then hers. “I know a good place where we can all eat. It’s a place with plenty of options, so even if any of you are picky.”

…

…

You’re soon seated in the same restaurant as you were the first time you went to Billings with Flora. You thanked God Almighty that the person serving you isn’t the same kid as before. Amari was to your right, and Flora was to your left. Directly in front of you was Summer. To her left was Langly and to her right was Thatcher.

The tension you felt while sitting down felt so heavy it was that you were so harsh it felt like you were moving underwater. Amari had a bad case of restless knee syndrome. You eat everything put in front of you, but you choose to eat lightly, so you didn’t have to fight your stomach if you had to bolt out of Billings. Amari did the same thing, having a caesar salad, but Flora chose to do another steak.

Flora chatted idly with Summer. This friendly banter bothered both you and Amari since it always came to a point where it got to where the subject had to be changed since it had a habit of getting dangerously close to becoming “too personal” with your work.

Luckily, Flora, though it was her own stupidity that got you all stuck here, was wise to keep from spilling all the details. Even though Summer kept interrogating you, she was constantly trying not to seem so obvious about it, which prevented her from being aggressive.

You yourself are distracted. Though you would never admit to either Amari or Flora, you found the girl attractive. It is hard to paint her as a threat. Her voice was also calming. It was very young and feminine, but not fragile or cowardly either. It is hard to explain, but you had a feeling she was capable of defending herself and the locals in Billings.

Without her beret, you noticed that her blonde hair was tied back into two little pigtails with blue ribbons, complimenting her sapphire-like eyes. The was a pink tinge to her vanilla-colored complexion. Her nose was narrow and button-like, and her cheeks were in a deep blush from her makeup. Summer’s lips hard a natural curvature to them that made her look smug, or maybe a little prideful - you couldn’t tell which word described her best as she spoke. Whatever the case, it gave her a permanent smile, no matter what she talked about.

Once your plates were empty, your table spiraled into a regular conversation. However, you could tell by the tone of Summer’s voice and the look she was giving to everyone on your side of the table that she was still digging for information about who you were. Then her eyes fixed on yours. You gave a friendly smile and winked at her. The mentioned smug/prideful description you gave her earlier no longer worked. Summer gave you a 10/10 resting-bitch face.

Summer turned to the other officers. “Would you two walk Amari and Flora out? I would like to talk to Warren alone for a second.”

Before you could even wish you didn’t wink, Flora steps in. “What’s wrong?”

Summer regarded Flora with a tight smile. “Don’t worry. It isn’t anything bad. I promise he’ll be united with you in about 10…15 minutes?”

In your peripheral vision, you saw Amari turn to face you. You had your own poker face, too, so none of your nervousness bled through as you told the others that you would be with them. Amari sighed and looked at Summer. “Can you just walk us back to the hotel then? You can keep Warren as long as you would like.”

This seems to take Summer by surprise. She must’ve been expecting either one of “your” girls to be more protective of you.

“Oh,” Summer blinks and looks at the other officers again. “Uh…Yeah, they can escort you back to your hotel…?”

“Thanks,” Amari says. “And thanks for the meal. I’ll remember this.”

Summer carefully watched your companions as they stood up. “Don’t mention it…”

And then it was just the two of you, staring at each other. You smiled and straightened your back, silently wishing you had met her in better circumstances. "Hi."