"I could tell you had a homeless heart, from the start," she said "had been beat down in your life and left somewhere for double dead- road-side in some ravine outside Grimy Town...

I sense these things." she said.

He said:

"Not far wrong. Now as to you I feel you been dragged through the mud, yourself experiencin' head-scratching hurts and harms, and your skiff is leeward and now adrift." he said moving a bit closer to her, smelling of diesel, a smell she liked.

'You not far wrong," she said.

"And I can see your trust level dip-stick is very low. for men like me." He said

"Very low." she said.

"So what can man like me then offer a woman like you? And vici versa." he said. "Seems natural for us to powwow and cozy up, nothing carnal you understand, but understanding can come of it."

"I don't know" she said, "hurt and hurt added together seems to me just adds up to more pain."

“Could be,” he said “You could be right. But then I was always taught to believe in miracles, you?”

“I was taught" she said "but never got my fair share of that miracle thing I think.”

“Never too late” he said, “never too late.”

“Yeah maybe” she said, “but I would be dead of boredom waiting on all that and that ain’t enough excitement for me in this life. All my excitements have been slow-killing wounded pride.”

"How do you go by?” she said

“They say my name is Rory, but I am not sure.”

"Not sure? Now that is what I call a bad line and a low level of willingness to engage and commit if I ever heard.”

“Didn't say nothing about commit,” he said.

"Just referring to this here conversation.” She said “What do you want me to give you a name?"

“You can" he said, "and what name would you choose?"

“Don't know” she said. Maybe "Drifter" that seems right. What do you think?"

"Ok by me he said as long as you add to "Mr. Drifter" I got to have my respect since I don’t have my memory anymore."

“Do tell." she said and then took a long look at him sideways.
 "No memory you say?". she said.

"Hit on the head and left in a ravine, true ."

Anne took another long look at him and she could see he was telling the truth.

Chapter Two

And then the voice in her head said "code him again."

She turned to MD (that was short in her mind for Mr. Drifter) and coded him again.

"Double-Dead?" She inquired
"Grimy Town? She asked again.

Drifter only looked at her and said, "Come again?"

Drifter looked at her blankly, and then with puzzlement and then interest.

"I am thinking that you think these words should mean something to me? he said.

"Do they, Anne interrupted "do they bring anything to mind for you?"

Md was silent and then he peered across from the passenger seat staring at the side of Anne's head.

"I don't get anything, but I get the feeling that they should mean something. What do they mean to you he said, slowly leaning closer to her, now his demeanor a mixture of curiosity and rising wariness.

Anne did not speak and concentrated on the road.

Drifter sat back thoughts flashing around in his mind, memory fragments now darting in and out of his consciousness, strange ideas. In one he was looking out upon what looked like the United Nations. In another he was staring up at a bank of monitors one of which had his face on it.

End of Chapter Two.