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Now, not long before sunup, the Mississippi Border Checkpoint appeared ahead of thehts in the predawn darkness Even at this hour, the lines were long, o Guards with dogs and Geiger counters and long ast pulled in behind a semi with Yosemite Sam mud flaps and a bumper sticker that read: I MISS MY EX-WIFE, BUT MY AIM IS IMPROVING

Beside hi his eyes He sat up in his seat and looked around "Are we there yet, Dad?"

"It’s just a checkpoint Go back to sleep"

Wolgast pulled the car out of line and drew up to the nearest uniform He rolled down theand held up his credentials

"Federal agents Any way you can wave us through?"

The guard was just a kid, his face soft and spotted with piast could tell he was probably no ast thought, wherever that was, snug in bed and dreahway in Mississippi wearing thirty pounds of Kevlar, holding an assault rifle over his chest

He eyed Wolgast’s credentials with only vague interest, then tipped his head toward a concrete building sitting off the highway

"You’ll have to pull over to the station, sir"

Wolgast sighed with irritation "Son, I don’t have time for this"

"You want to skip the lines, you do"

At that hts He turned his hps to their vehicle and unslung his weapon What the fk, Wolgast thought

"For Pete’s sake Is that really necessary?"

"Hands where we can see the out loud," Doyle said

The first guard turned toward the hts He waved his hand to tell him to lower his weapon "Cool it, Duane They’re feds" The second ed and walked away

"Sorry about that Just pull around They’ll have you out fast"

"They better," Wolgast said

In the station, the OD took their credentials and asked them to hile he phoned in their ID numbers FBI, Homeland Security, even state and local cops; everybody was on a centralized systeast poured hiy coffee from the urn, took a few halfhearted sips, and tossed it in the trash There was a No Sn, but the room reeked like an old ashtray The clock on the wall said it was just past six; in about an hour the sun would be co up

The OD stepped back to the counter with their credentials He was a triray uniforet you on your : the systeht Probably just an error, but I need to log it"

Wolgast had his answer ready "We were We were redirected to Nashville to pick up a federal witness"

The duty officer considered this a minute, then nodded He typed the inforh Raw deal, they didn’t fly you That o where I’m told"