Under Illusion: Day 6

Word Count: 36,198

Summary of Events:

The day's driving was rather uneventful before Dallis and Trace stopped in Knoxville, where they booked a double room at a motel so that Trace had somewhere more comfortable to sleep than his driver's seat, which would hopefully give him more sleep. The next day Dallis started to feel conflicted, as she'd come to like Trace enough that she didn't really like the fact that she was lying to him, and also began to worry about how she'd be able to successfully keep him from delivering her to her nonexistent family in Charleston; in Columbia over lunch she got an idea, for which she borrowed Trace's cellphone to call her nonexistent family, claiming that she didn't have one of her own…

Excerpt of the Day:

“Okay,” Trace said. He unlocked his cellphone and handed it to her.

“I’ll just do it outside,” Dallis said.

Trace nodded.

Dallis slipped out of the cab and dialled Ratko’s number.

“Hello?” Ratko answered suspiciously.

“It’s me Ratko,” Dallis said.

“What happened to your phone?” Ratko asked. “Why are you calling? Is something wrong?”

“Calm down Ratko,” Dallis urged. “This is part of my plan.”

“But whose phone is this?” Ratko asked.

“It’s Trace’s,” Dallis replied.

“And who’s Trace?” Ratko asked.

“The truck driver,” Dallis replied. “I told him I don’t have a phone as part of my hard luck story.”

“So why are you calling me?” Ratko asked, still sounding tense.

“My plan isn’t fully formed yet,” Dallis admitted. “I don’t entirely know how to form it, and only time will help me, but I’m thinking it would be useful if you had this phone number, because I gave Trace the story that I’m meeting family in Charleston, so then if I text you secretly when to call me, you can call me as my family in Charleston.”

“Okay,” Ratko said. “When would you do that?”

“Sometime between three and six,” Dallis replied. “Probably later versus sooner.”

“And if he answers, what do I say?” Ratko asked.

“Ask to speak with Journey,” Dallis replied. “As that’s my alias.”

“Okay,” Ratko said. “He won’t ask any further questions?”
“Well, if he asks who’s calling you could give him some sort of a false name like Uncle something or other,” Dallis replied.

“When you text me, are you going to give me any further details?” Ratko asked.

“Depending on the reason I come up with for why you’re calling, yes,” Dallis replied.

“Where are you right now?” Ratko asked.

“We just stopped for lunch in Columbia,” Dallis replied. “We’ll be in Charleston in two to two and a half hours.”

“He can’t hear you talking on his phone, though?” Ratko asked.

“He’s in the truck plotting his route,” Dallis replied. “He’s a little meticulous that way, but he’s told me he’s never been lost before, and he wouldn’t really like to be now.”

“And this plan is for you to stay with him instead of being delivered to your family?” Ratko asked.

“Yes,” Dallis replied.

“Be careful,” Ratko said.

“I will be,” Dallis replied. “And stop worrying. I’ll talk to you again in a few hours.”

She heard a reluctant sigh from Ratko as she removed Trace’s phone from her ear and ended the call before shutting off the screen and climbing back into the cab.

“All good?” Trace asked.

“They said I can still just meet them for supper,” Dallis replied. “So maybe we can spend the time before then sightseeing around Charleston.”

Trace nodded. “Sounds like fun.”

Dallis nodded, hopefully she could find something in the drive time that remained, plus the time in Charleston with Trace that would give her a reason to get Ratko to ‘call off’ the dinner she had planned with her nonexistent family.