"What are they doing?"

  She wiped the lick of mud off his face with a tissue. 

  "Just 'cuz you get to pick which story doesn't mean you can just takeover MINE." 

  "Did you just raise your voice at me?" 

  "No ma'am."  

  She gave everyone who came over little wrapped chocolates. 

  A thwap on the coverall'd arm and chocolate-y grunt.  "Start talking." 

  "Well, since the hurricane and all," one girl started saying.  But she held a hand up.  Took a tape recorder from her greencoat pocket and asked, "You mean to tell me you people have been out here since the hurricane?" 

  People looked around. 

  "Not exactly." 

  "Most of us." 

  "Why?" 

  It really was complicated.  Between the layoffs and housing shortages and people with sick relatives the personal whys went on until she clicked the tape recorder off.  "Now what's the reason for this story?" 

  Nobody said anything. 

  She clicked the recorder back on after checking to see if and how much tape was left.  "This is," stated her name, rank, and serial number, "In a Godforsaken swamp, near some damn dams, and..." Click.  "Okay.  Have a good day.  Good time.  Doing whatever it is you all are doing." She pocketed the tape recorder and started to walk back to the little car.  When she got there she opened the door and shut it.  Then said, "Just know you all are on surveillance." 

  A person hiding out from being a writer went towards the car.  "Her wheel is stuck n the mud guys!" Other people also moved towards the vehicle.  When there were seven or eight people someone said, "We've uncovered peat moss." Hand gestures had people surround the car, pick it up, and move it out of the mud hole.  She ignored that.  "So?" 

  Hand gestures also told, another person in the car, but people had started to go back to dregging the river.  Person sat up and got out.  "We can do the story or I can make a phone call and have you all arrested." 

  "There no signal," someone said. 

  The second person flipped open a phone.  "Did you pay your bill?  Mine's fine." 

  A man rested his butt on the hood of the car.  "Don't get it dirty," the first woman said.  He wiped a finger down a gaiter and scooped mud onto it, then wiggled a muddy line across the hood. "I guess I might could give you some details for your story.  What I won't do is get arrested again because everybody's got their PC panties on too tight." 

  "Okay.  You guys have fun talking.  We're outtah here!" One woman shot a hand into the air and two-snapped.  Some of the people literally formed a line behind her and they started walking towards the main road.  "What about our stuff?" One was heard asking.  "Just donations.  We'll get more." 

  "See this muddy line," the man said.  "This is the river."  He rubbed his temples.  "Got a map?" 

  "Somebody check in the glove box." 

  "Officially Army Corps of Engineers needs to know why some water flowed outwards from this area even before getting to the dam zone."