IC-Chapter 1-Never Get Old(Rawlings/Yeager/Bill Johns/Jim)

[Mr. Handy]

"No," Jill said. "I've met him a few times, back when he was going out with Mary. But she told me about what he did last night. A guy like that, there's no telling what else he'd do."

Mary put an arm around Jill's shoulders. "I don't think you need to worry, Jill," she said. "If he does come here, it'll be because of me, not you. All the same, I don't ever want to see him again. Anyway, we're safe with the police looking out for us. They're probably keeping an eye on Brian too."

[Philulhu]

"Ah, yeah," said Bill, unable to meet Mary's eye. He sighed heavily. "Look, I'll be straight with you. We don't currently know Brian's whereabouts. The guys we had tailing him managed to lose him." He held up a hand to stifle any protest, "We really don't think that Brian's going to risk turning up here - and Jim and I will be right outside waiting for him if he does."

[Mr. Handy]

So far Jim had said nothing, which was understandable. He had been one of the guys who had lost Brian.

"Well, thank you for letting us know," said Mary. "Brian may be many things, but he's not stupid. I don't think he'll come here either, but I do feel better knowing that you're looking out for us. Is there anything else you need?"

[Philulhu]

"Do you mind if I take a quick look around?" asked Bill, "Make sure everything is secure?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Sure, be my guest," said Mary. Jill just nodded.

Bill looked around the dorm room, which was a pretty standard college girls' room for this time. It contained two twin beds with nightstands, a record player which was still playing "Hey, Jude" - quite a long song, he remembered - with a collection of albums on a shelf beneath it, and a radio. There was no television set, however. There was a closet containing the girls' clothes. There were no kitchen appliances, nor was there anywhere to eat. Students living in the dorms were expected to have their meals at the cafeteria or at the many restaurants and eateries in the neighborhood. The bathroom looked fairly standard too. The dorm room was clean, though not immaculately so. There was no sign of anyone else having been here recently.

Bill Johns,[b]Bill[/b] had a sense of deja vu as he explored [b]Mary[/b]'s dorm room. He vaguely recalled having been here at some point in the past - or, rather, the future. [b]Jill[/b] seemed somewhat familiar too, so he had probably met her at some point.

[zerostate]

Jim asked the girls, "Is there a fire escape?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes," said Mary. "It's at the end of one of the halls up here. If you go back to the intersection and turn right, then follow the hall to the end, you'll find it."

[Philulhu]

"Do you want to check that out, Jim?" asked Bill.

[zerostate]

"It's worth checking that it's secure," Jim answered striding off to take a look.

[Philulhu]

"Thanks, Jim," said Bill as the younger man went to check out the fire escape.

He turned back to Mary and Jill. "I'll take a quick walk around the block and make sure there's no problems. Keep the door locked for now, until I get back, ok? I'm not expecting any problems but better to be safe than sorry." He nodded and turned to go down the corridor, had a thought and looked back. "You don't know if Brian had any other friends in the dorm, do you?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Thanks," said Mary. "I don't know of Brian having any other friends in the dorms here, but there's a lot I didn't know about him before last night. Brian lives in a frat house - Alpha Epsilon Pi. I'm sure he has friends there. His best friend is one of the frat brothers, Gary Brown."

While Bill talked to the girls, Jim went out into the hall and checked out the fire escape. The fire exit was a sturdy metal door. There was a bar that could easily push it open from the inside, but it could not be opened from outside. It led out onto the fire escape, made of wrought iron. A ladder made of the same metal rested in brackets there. It could be lowered to reach the ground in the event of a fire, but it was currently raised.

[Philulhu]

Bill waited for Jim to return then asked him to keep an eye on the girls while he went to make a call. He walked back to the lobby to see if he could find a phone.

[Mr. Handy]

The matron had a telephone at her desk that she let Bill use.

[zerostate]

After checking the fire escape, Jim went to find Bill.

[Philulhu]

Bill pulled the phone towards him and dialled the number for the Police Headquarters. When the operator spoke, he asked to be put through to Yeagar. With the sound of the phone ringing in his ear, he looked around the lobby and through the door as he waited for the phone to be answered.

[Mr. Handy]

Bill had waited for Jim to return from the fire escape before heading downstairs, so Jim saw him leave for the lobby and could easily catch up with him if he chose.

Bill saw nobody enter or leave the lobby as he made his phone call. Only the matron was there with him. John Yeager picked up a moment later. "What can I do for you, Sergeant?" he asked.

[Philulhu]

"We've checked out Mary Walters and there's no sign of Brian Anderson over here,LT," replied Bill, "but Mary did mention that his best friend over at the frat house is a guy called Gary Brown. It might be worth rousting him to ask if he knows about Brian's whereasbouts?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Good thinking," said Yeager. "You and Hendricks are already on campus. Can one of you do this while the other watches over Mary?"

[Philulhu]

"Can do," replied Bill. He signed off then went to find Hendricks.

Catching up with him outside Mary's room, Bill said, "Hey Jim, Yeager wants one of us to go and have a word with Anderson's buddy Brown, see what he knows about him. You want to take it or shall I?"

[zerostate]

"I'll handle it," Jim said, already walking out of the building.