The road continued south for some distance before an intersection was visible ahead. The road continued to the southwest, and another road fed into it from the northeast.
Salem covered his ears as Tinker spoke more audible then she thinks, his face twists as Tinker continues her sentence. Salem tried to gesture his words to Tinker but fell to the floor, as Tinker was too busy driving.
Salem,[color=#0000BF]"Are you alright? Do you need my coat?"[/color] [b]Salem[/b] forgetful about [b]Tinker's[/b] condition and the bullet wound bleeding into his coat, as [b]Tinker's[/b] nude presence leaves [b]Salem[/b] more uncomfortable than the bullet in his back.
Tinker grimaced at the new intersection for a moment. "Oh, of course!! Valerie and Elliot drove this to the writer's house. I doubt they memorized the directions."
Tinker slowed to a stop at the intersection. "Quick, look around for some maps. They might have even marked it."
Tinker groaned. "Two cars and one set of maps. This whole operation has been a complete boondoggle."
She turns to Salem and smiles "Well, since we are both in charge do you have any suggestions? I am up for a coon flip for where to go. But I really need access to some machine parts or electronics so we can make an actual secure call back to base...also a gun. Boy would guns make this so much easier." She pauses for a moment and laughes "Write it down if you could. I still can't hear. Let's make it snappy though. Don't wanna get caught out in the open."
Crossing his legs, Salem wasn't sure if this was the backup he had requested in such short notice. With most of his gear lost, Salem began looking around the interior of the antique car, looking for anything useful.
Salem found a toolbox that contained basic tools such as a jack and a spanner, the sort of things one would need to change a tire or fix the engine, but nothing more sophisticated and no maps.
Salem wasn't sure where Virgil Soames's cottage would be, he had an idea that it might be tucked away from civilization perhaps, so he tapped Tinker's shoulder and kept pointing southwest.
Past the intersection was a dirt track heading south towards a few fenced-off, isolated buildings, and the paved road continued southwest around an S-curve. It intersected with another dirt road with a sign that read "High Street" that headed east, while Westleton Road continued west. More buildings were visible in both directions. Another dirt track headed south off of High Street, leading to still more buildings. There was no way to tell what the buildings were at a glance, however. To the south, west, and east, woods started to surround the roads.
Salem patted Tinker's bare shoulder and pointed towards the back of the cottage, intending they should park behind or beside the cottages. Salem felt a little lost, but perhaps they could regain their bearings if they found a map inside one of the cottages. Also they could find some clothes for Tinker and take the time to diagnose her deafness.
The road did not extend behind the cottages, and the Model T wasn't so good off-road, so Tinker parked as close as she dared on the side of the row of cottages.
Salem steps out of the vehicle and surveys his surroundings. Scratching his head, he turns back towards Tinker and thinks about offering his bloodied coat to her.
The door to the first cottage was unlocked, and Salem and Tinker went inside. There were no electronics more complicated than a television set, but there were women's clothes in one of the bedrooms. Tinker gratefully put on a bra and a blouse.
OOC,[b]Salem[/b], you may roll Psychoanalysis if you want to try to suppress [b]Tinker[/b]'s temporary insanity.
As they entered the cottage, Salem closes up all the blinds in the house, peering through them to make sure nobody has followed them even though their novelty Model T was parked by the house. After a brief moment, maybe he could let his guard down just this once and catch a break. Salem returned back to Tinker, and motioned her to sit down as he pulled out his otoscope from his messenger bag, even though he knew Tinker was under some form of psychological trauma.
After a while, Tinker felt a sort of popping in her ears, and a rush of sound poured in. "Thank you!" she said. "I don't know what you did, but I can hear again!"