Spider Quinn 05 - The Trip to Freemont - Part 3

 

After some questioning of the bartender and finding that all the people there were similar to Travis, Daria realised it was going to be more difficult than she expected.

 

 

Quinn was annoyed at Daria. They hadn’t gotten anywhere. Once outside of the bar again, she asked; “What was that? He didn't tell us anything.”

 

“I know. These cowboy guys are all alike.”

 

“Daria, all guys are all alike. The secret is knowing how to ask them.”

 

“And how am I supposed to ask them?” Daria asked.

 

“You can't just be all meek and respectful. You have to remember that line about how you catch more flies with money.”

 

“Excuse me, but if it weren't for your total recklessness, it wouldn't matter that I'm meek, because we wouldn't be in this situation.”

 

“Don't worry, I may be reckless but I'm also a problem-solver.”

 

 

After having changed into the outfit Travis had bought for her, Quinn and Daria re-entered the bar. There was one way to gain their attention, climb up on a table.

 

“Attention, guys. We're just two little city gals from Lawndale.”

 

“Lawndale’s a suburb,” one of the men interrupted.

 

“Right. And we know we shouldn't be here, but some friends of ours got pulled over by the sheriff recently. We brought the bail money to get them out, and now some mean old cowboy's stolen it. Now, I'm not saying all cowboys are mean or old or thieves, but it does make me think twice about ever considering a cowboy for a boyfriend.”

 

“Well, heck, little lady, I've been pulled over myself. It's humiliating, and bad for the soul. Here's ten bucks,” one of the men said as he put money on the table.

 

“Doggone it, we're not all bad, little miss. Take 20,” another said.

 

But a third was suspicious. “Now hold on. How do you know we're not the ones being flimflammed here? You fast-talking suburban gals think you can just march in and con some cowboys? Is that your game?”

 

“Um, no. Not at all,” Quinn said nervously.

 

“You think we're a bunch of dumb hicks. What do you know about us?” the suspicious one said.

 

“I don't call 'em cowboys till I see 'em ride,” Daria said.

 

“What?”

 

“Cause a Stetson hat and them fancy boots don't tell me what's inside,” Daria responded.

 

“Hey, that's Conway Twitty. You like Conway Twitty music?”

 

“You bet your lonesome prairie campfire I do, partner.”

 

“All right!” he said as he changed his tune; “Now these are cowgirls. Fellas, step on up here and empty your pockets.”

 

 

They soon arrived back at the Sherrif’s office.

 

“Now, I'm not gonna have to come out and stop you from chasing your husband with a skillet again, am I?” the Deputy Sherrif asked a woman.

 

“Well, that depends. You think you can come out and stop him from saying or doing something stupid first?” the woman responded.

 

“I wish. But I don't have time to ride herd on every stupid man in this county. Especially judges,” the Deputy said as the woman left.

 

“We’re here to pick up our friend, Jane Lane,” Daria said.

 

“Who?” the Deputy asked.

 

“Jane Lane, and Trent Lane. They're with a band.”

 

“Oh, yeah, they're not here anymore. They're with... the sheriff.”

 

 

Daria and Quinn entered the hall.

 

“Finally,” Jane said.

 

“Sorry. It has been a long day,” Daria said as apology.

 

“Tell me about it,” Jane responded.

 

“How’d you get out of jail?” Daria asked.

 

“Well, it was a little dicey with that jerk deputy,” Jane said. She turned to a girl nearby “Oops, sorry, Tina.”

 

“It's okay. When Daddy puts on the uniform, he's a whole different person,” Tina said.

 

“But lucky for me, the sheriff's a big fan of Picasso.”

 

“Not bad,” Daria said.

 

 

While Daria and Jane were talking, Quinn slipped away.

 

 

Fortunately, Travis had told SpiderGirl a lot of details, so she didn’t get lost. Following up on his ‘rumors’ was easy. Of course, she was wary in case it was a trap, or if he had misled her.

 

She found her away to a warehouse on the edge of town. She lowered herself from the roof above some goons guarding an entrance. She realised that she was doing it upside down. ‘Why am I doing it this way?’ she wondered. ‘I’ll figure it out later.’ “Hello! Is the Boss in?” she asked.

 

The goons brandished some guns, but didn’t otherwise respond.

 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” SpiderGirl said before disarming them with webs before webbing them up.

 

 

“Are you the Boss?” the feminine voice asked.

 

“Who are you?” the Boss asked.

 

“I’m the webslinging girl of justice.”

 

“What?”

 

“I’m the protector of a suburban town,” she added.

 

“Which town?”

 

“I am SpiderGirl and Lawndale is under my protection!”

 

“Lawndale? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the Boss said.

 

“I know you’ve been hiring thieves to steal from stores and houses there,” SpiderGirl said.

 

The Boss looked around, trying to figure out where her voice was coming from. He grabbed a gun from a drawer.

 

“Oh no you don’t!” SpiderGirl said and he found himself disarmed by some kind of web.

 

He looked up and saw a feminine figure wearing some kind of red and blue suit hanging upside down from the ceiling.

 

“Great! Those reports are true! Some kind of freak, swinging from rooftops.”

 

“Freak! I’m not a freak!” SpiderGirl said. “I’m a superhero!”

 

 

SpiderGirl then webbed up the Boss and removed him from the premises before she set off the fire alarm. She smirked as the sprinklers went into action, soaking all the documents she had strewn about his office. She placed a note next to him, written in a different style to what she had used in Lawndale so far, and then made herself scarce.

 

 

Quinn returned to the hall as the party was finishing.

 

“There you are,” Daria said with a slight tone of worry.

 

“Sorry, I was looking around the town, you know,” Quinn responded.

 

“There’s not much to see,” Jane said.

 

Quinn shrugged.

 

“Anyway, it appears you Morgendorffer girls can actually get along,” Jane said.

 

“For brief periods, spaced many days apart,” Daria commented.

 

“We did make a pretty good team,” Quinn said.

 

“Maybe you should quit the Fashion Club and we could just go around solving crimes,” Daria suggested.

 

‘You don’t know the half of it,’ Quinn thought. “But that's what the Fashion Club is all about: solving crimes against fashion.”

 

“I hope jail wasn't too bad for you,” Daria said to Trent.

 

“Nah,” Trent said.

 

“We met the guy who invented punk music and introduced rice to the Japanese,” Nick said.

 

Daria rolled her eyes.

 

 

Soon, they were heading back to Lawndale. Quinn thought about what Daria had said.

 

“Maybe you should quit the Fashion Club and we could just go around solving crimes.”

 

‘With the way things are with Sandi, the Fashion Club looks quite rocky,’ she considered. ‘But I don’t think Daria would want to work with SpiderGirl. But I suppose I can work with her as myself.’ But she wasn’t sure.