After having traveled such great distances in North America, it's definitely made me re-evaluate Ireland's comparative size. To paraphrase the U.S. author Bill Bryson a bit, Americans will travel further to get a taco from Taco Bell than many Britons or Irish would ever consider traveling on a long bank holiday.
We reached County Sligo in no time in a couple of rentals. Not much longer, we arrived at Loch na Súl, or what was left of it. The whole lake...well, pond is more like it, but anyway...was bone dry, just a shallow indentation in the earth. What looked like a scientific research team was on site. Also, there was a farming family living right up against the (former) lakefront.
It was agreed that the other team members would try to convince the science teams to leave, whilst I would persuade the family to clear out, to keep them safe and to allow us to set up our ambush.
A kindly Irish grandmother answered the door and I pulled out my inspector's badge from GARDA. Strictly speaking, I'm supposed to use my INTERPOL bage but these country folk wouldn't know INTERPOL from the band U2. They greeted me amicably enough but wondered why I'd come all the way from Dublin, and where was the local constable? I explained I needed them to clear out as soon as possible, that we were facing a possible environmental hazard and it was my job to clear civilians out of the area for at least the next 24 hours.
"What took ye so long, anyway? The Loch's been dry for two weeks now?" asked the family matriarch.
"Ach, it's the paperwork, mam, back in Dublin. Feckin' Euro-crats, if you know what I mean, pardon the language...Sorry I couldn't come sooner." I said like a lying dog.
The family protested that surely if they'd been there this long, whatever environmental hazard there was must've run its course, and they could just go to the local hospital if their health took a turn for the worse.
"No, ye don't understand. There's going to be an excavation at the Lake, and that is where the hazard comes, from underground. Once that's opened up to the air, then you could be at risk. I admit, this is all about probabilities and maybe everything will turn out fine. But for the next 24 hours, I needs you to go visit your relations in the larger metro areas. I'm sorry for your troubles, here's my card. Give me the number where you'll be staying and hopefully I can give you the all clear to return in 24 hours, safe and sound. I'll buy the lot of you a round at the neighborhood pub for all the inconvenience...I'm truly sorry about all this."
The family were finally convinced, and loaded up just the bare essentials. From the look of it, the science teams also were clearing out, persuaded both by Laurel, and also by Camilla, who had managed to disguise herself as one of them.
With the civilians out of the area, we set up our ambush round Loch na Súl. I remembered a bit of my field training from my stint in the Irish Ranger Wing and found a good hiding spot in some trees near one edge of Loch na Súl. The others hid in some reeds along the former shore. Nate tracked Caleb's movements with Gunnar's axe. Before long, we could hear the high buzz of a motorcycle engine....
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