With only minor Collateral damage to one Elk and one Bad Guy…  But again, Senator you are but one vote…  as Hudson Mason votes, so moves the Congress?  As Atlas shrugs, so moves the world?  Maybe he is the deciding vote after all…  Maybe congress is all divided and locked up along party lines and the Ol’ Senator is going to “break ranks” and spoil the party…

That’s right Senator, climb back on board your Gulfstream IV and return to the fetid swamp that is our nation’s capital.  Climb aboard the conveyance that relies on the fossil fuel that you refuse to see extracted from any “beautiful area” that is offered up as “exhibit A” in the continuing struggle to balance our wants with our needs…

And Anne Marie, time to get out of that ribbed turtleneck / shirt combo that all Trail women are forced to wear while in the “great outdoors…”  remember Wes ‘n’ Shelley?  She must have stolen that outfit from her…

The only one shedding tears here is Anne Marie, and not for the loss of her “one and only” but for the loss of her innocence and trust.  Clearly the Senator is relieved by the fact that Johnny is at the bottom of a ravine, impaled on tine number 8 of the Bull Elk’s rack…

Ann Marie has been crying the same single tear now for days… is it a tattoo? Like someone in the ‘hood that has either killed or lost someone in a street fight?

But really, the question the senator asks has to be the deepest thought ever to be uttered in the Trail-verse.  Indeed.  How does and father tell his daughter? Or a Mother tell her son???

Let’s get this straight…  JOHNNY forged a name, not his own, on some “receipts,” and that implicates the forgee how?  Sounds like there was ample opportunity to prune this rotten grape off the vine without having to be dragged into his scheme, Senator.  There’s got to be more to this than that…

“So Anne Marie, just park yourself in that overstuffed chair and start setting your sights on a new beau.  Johnny did not have the mettle to last in this rough and tumble political world… and if you want to be a Senator’s daughter, you best learn from this episode,” the Senator seemed to say…

The bluff worked, Mark.  Meanwhile, off camera, Ranger Dusty has ridden a horse with pack mules in tow… one for the forger and one for the Elk… Venison steaks tonight!!  Anyone hungry?!?

Is there a procedure on page 46 of the “Ranger’s Manual” on how to take care of a full grown man who goes hurtling off the side of the mountain to his death?  Is it me or is Dusty’s hand placed on the small of Mark’s back kinda creepy?  Dusty hasn’t had much of a role here, but when duty calls, it calls…

Yeah, Mark, what WAS on that recording, that made Johnny crazy and caused his DEATH?  Clearly not an ounce of guilt or compunction from Mark…  Unless his pose in panel two, peeking over the edge at the mangled Johnny body is driven by more than morbid curiosity…

And OK, one last poke at Anne Marie’s hair.  Clearly the mountain air doesn’t help matters either…  blonde scouring pad anyone??

Well, how’s that for a crescendo?  Yup, I think this might be a first.  The evil guy dies.  How dramatic.  I love the look on Mark’s face as he peers over the ledge.  Not sure how to read that one.  Shock?  Mere interest? Oh well??

Morals in this story abound- and they are just starting to come in… the latest being don’t leave a wounded elk to its own devices… It will become enraged and be your demise!  What do you suppose the Elk and Johnny are saying to each other as the forces of gravity take hold?  They should both hit at about the same time, if the drop is long enough and what I remember about terminal velocity holds.

No you’re not, Mark.  Not only don’t you have feelings, but Johnny embodied the evilest of all evil and you are glad to be rid of him…

Why did he run away? Because he had something to hide, Anne Marie.  As Abe Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”  Johnny apparently didn’t pass that test… Anne Marie, it’s your Father who has some ‘splainin’ to do…

Because I will bet you dollars to doughnuts that Mark did not opt for the extended warranty- the one that covers breakage, theft and dropping it over a cliff… When I suggested that Johnny was running over the hill and into the abyss, I had no idea.  I was speaking euphemistically at that point… not literally…

And yet, there will go Johnny, over the edge.  If he doesn’t then all perspective and every law of motion will be violated.  The only question is what’s below and how far does it go?  Looks like it goes down quite a ways, enough to at least leave a mark, not to mention the broken ribs and internal bleeding that will no doubt be the result of the Elk-blow…  But have we ever seen a bad guy actually die in the Trail-verse, or do they just get their due at the end of a cold-chiseled fist and a shotgun wielding law-man?   I’d like to think that Johnny’s last words won’t be ‘NNOOO!’ But rather some weepy monologue about how he was never loved as a child and needed to prove to his cold and distant father that he, too, was capable of working the system to his advantage…

And where exactly are you running off to?  By running you only admit to the world that you have something to hide.  What is the saying?  When you are in the end zone, at least behave like you have been there before…  When confronted with an accusation, keep your cool, and don’t give your accuser the satisfaction of seeing you overload with cortisol and take flight…

Should have seen this one coming.  The Elk, set on revenge.  Because of course, in the Trail-verse,  the Elk is a sentient creature who knows exactly what “hit him” and “who did it…”  “Aha,” it says to itself, “There’s the little sh*t that winged me with a high caliber round and didn’t have the good sense to track me down and finish me off…  so now I shall have the chance to do to him what he was going to do to me.  Except I don’t have a gun or opposable thumbs, so I shall run him through with my prodigious rack…”  He seemed to say…

And for those of us skeptical as to what an angry Bull Elk will do, here is evidence that they are not afraid to use what nature has provided…

Or Ran Track, or both… Look at the stiff-arm he is offering Anne Marie in Panel one!  “Get out of my way?”  What? Like she was going to stop you?  Johnny grabs the phone/ baton and he is off!  Making great time as he careens off the rocks and trees and over the hill into the abyss…

Well, if not Yale, then Brown.  The sweater vest and Khaki pants give him away… and it could not have been Harvard, since there is way too much insecurity and envy running through him.  Probably Skull and Bones… where young men are taught to be exceptional and garner expectations that all is possible and the ends justify the means…

Poor Anne Marie.  Always the pawn in this story.  Helping Mark lure the Senator and his crooked, blackmailing aid to the woods, she will find herself without companionship and a future, at least in politics, once the whole crooked scheme is revealed and shared with the Senate Ethics Committee…

Yes, you go after him Mark.  Bring him down, beat out a confession before he realizes you have NOTHING…

Oh, Mark, you should be on the Big Stakes Poker Tour…  Your execution is flawless, you have them folding on your pair of deuces…  Johnny snatches the phone/tablet from Mark’s hand with a perfect circular flourish, while the Ol’ Senator is coming clean, on nothing more than a bluff.  They must’ve said a lot more to each other than we know, dear readers, judging by the level of hysteria being generated.

Cover-up?  Wow.  Whatever could that be about??  Mark uses words like “influencing” but it would appear that words like “over a barrel” would be more in order…

Meanwhile, in panel three, Ranger Dusty is at his post, amazed by the whole thing, and yes, confused by it too…

As the Political Elite lounge in overstuffed chairs, highballs in hand, Mark lets loose his trickery!  And they are going for it- hook, line and sinker.  Johnny leans forward in his chair, Anne Marie places her hand over her heart “Scarlet O’Hara Style,” shocked by what may be coming next…  I understand that we need to move this story along, but clearly there is only one thing to talk about- Mark’s plan to sway the Senator’s mind into NOT casting his vote to spoil the refuge and drill for oil…

But one thing’s clear, having watched 60 Minutes last night- it was the Senator’s “Leadership PAC” that paid for the plane that flew them out of DC, and will continue to support Anne Marie well into her life, after his, since putting family members on the “payroll” seems to be all the rage these days…  Small peanuts to Johnny, who has designs on true wealth, but still, one of the perks of office that explains how these people arrive in Washington paupers and leave wealthy…

But really, I think Johnny’s shock and awe isn’t over the fact that he and the senator have been caught red handed, but that Mark (a) knows what a cell phone is and (b) knows that he can use it to record sounds… THAT’s the real shocker here!

Seriously.  Is he going for humor and coming off as a jerk, or is he skipping the middle part and just being an ass??  I have to say, this character sort of plows new ground for “Mark Trail…”  Not physically aggressive or brutish, but mean in a sociopathic kind of way, completely self- absorbed and blatant with his motives, as if only he and they matter…  “Did you get MY elk?” he asks.   And Mark, ever obtuse (returning to form after exhibiting a glimmer of clever in the previous days’ strips) responds cheerfully to Johnny’s question… “No Johnny, but I will try again tomorrow, and every day after that until I find YOUR elk…”

But what on Earth does Johnny have in his hands?  Such awkward gestures, even for the Trail-verse.

And the look on Senator Hudson Mason’s face…  it’s a  look that says ‘I am getting too old for this sh*t…’ There’s going to be a slap-down coming for sure!

The look on Ranger Dusty’s face is priceless.  As in “What the f*ck is THIS thing in my hand???”

Should have been?  How about IS?  Mark is right up there with Mike Hammer!  He just needs to trade in Cherry for the busty blonde and keep a bottle of whiskey in his knapsack and he’s in!  Of course they will over-react!  Oh boy is this great!  Excuse me, may I have 10,000 marbles, please?? But I digress…

Looks like Mr. Chipmunk feels the impending comeuppance… Better get to high ground… Johnny Walker’s going to blow!!

“I am just a simple public employee, Mark, a ‘servant’ I dare say… I am not schooled in the ways of eavesdropping and espionage…  I am not even sure what it is you are talking about.  Recording? Cell Phone?  Battery? Died?  You have lost me, Mark.”

Or maybe Mark, You just don’t know how to use the phone.  Was it turned on??

But oh, Trail, aren’t you the wily one!  Watch Ladies and Gentleman as Mark begins to spin the biggest lie of his life- can he pull it off?  “You see this phone, Johnny? I left it behind set to record when I left you and the Senator alone (whom he had ‘put together’ for that expressed purpose…) and I have captured here, and backed up in the cloud, a very interesting conversation about what you are up to…”

Or something like that.

This is new territory, for you Mark; but really, when does the punching start?

And Dusty!  You’ve been furloughed!  Why are you still at your post??  You should be home with the little ones…  or maybe this place is your home.  I’ve never thought of how many people in the forest service never go to the trouble of actually buying a home…

Thanks goodness Mark has returned to his habit of talking out loud to no one in particular.  All those thought-bubbles were starting to freak me out…

The Senator and Johnny must already be in the cabin enjoying each other’s company, and have already told Dusty lusty tales of Elk scoped and wounded…  Where is Anne Marie, though, and was it Dusty’s “job” to keep her “entertained” and “out of trouble” whilst the men folk went on their little Elk-shooting-spree??

But clearly it’s Mark’s “job” to track down wounded Elk.  He’s gotta be pissed right about now…

And where is the groom?  In the Trailverse, one never sees horses getting tacked and untacked…  they just appear, as if by magic, ready to mount…

Yes, maybe it did, Mark.  Maybe it did.  Maybe this technology you are so at odds with did, in fact, deliver.  Did not fail you.

That look on Marks face in panel three is new, but we keep seeing it over and over again.  It’s sad.  It’s tired.  It’s thoughtful.  As in “What the hell am I doing out here?  Why am I always to one to save the great outdoors?  I picked up this Rusty kid hoping that he might pick up the mantle some day, but he hasn’t shown a predilection for anything other than taking bad pictures and getting locked up in houses, cabins and vans…”

Not seriously wounded?  The “Old buck” said with reverence.  Or maybe you should be taking a clue from the soaring raptor above you.  Circling the downed animal in hopes of finding food enough for the flock!!

OK, maybe I am just jealous.  By the size of the device in Mark’s hand, it would appear that he went all in and picked up a Galaxy by Samsung…while I remain “content” with my Blackberry Curve.  Alas, choices we make in life can continue to haunt.  Like deciding to hang poolside for 4 hours without so much as a dollop of sunscreen.  I fear I shall peel like banana is the coming days, a continued reminder of my bad judgment.  With age comes wisdom, but also the ability to miss the obvious…  Mark, are you in that stage too?  But don’t fear, my friend all will turn out, it always does for you.

I am quite sure that there was a gasp of power left when you set your device in the bushes to capture incriminating words from Johnny… and I am of sure that those words are safe on the memory card nestled in the guts of the phone.

And what will we see when Mark finds the elk?  Will he pull out a pistol and dispatch it?  Shoot it at close range with his rifle?  And then what, pull out his Bowie knife, hang it and gut it?  Where are we going here?

“So, did you get an Elk?,” Mark asks…  “Yea, and it’s invisible, you moron… That’s why you don’t see anything large and hairy down on the ground”

Arms akimbo, Mark says in a scolding tone reserved for those who do not follow the ‘Track and finish off any large herbivores that you only wing with a wild-ass rifle shot’ code, “WTF, Johnny, now we have an Elk bleeding out somewhere on the game preserve… and you aren’t going to go find it?”

Senator Mason Hudson is growing increasingly irritated with Johnny.  Johnny must have some serious goods on him, as he continues to behave in a way that suggests it doesn’t matter how much he pisses anyone off…

The gun makes that annoying “WHAM” sound.  Really?  Front left leg quivering, Mr Elk is going down.  How do you know that he only wounded the elk, Senator, is your distance vision unimpaired? Or did you recently have the cataract surgery that left you with new lenses and super human sight???  Really, they are not that far of, are they?  Not for a high caliber rifle, with scope…  Maybe I watch too many movies where former special forces snipers line up and take shots from over a mile away?

Trail a guide?  His Job?  Where’s it say that Johnny?  Would it be that your silver spoon upbringing took you on hunts fully flanked by servant huntsmen?  Who would do nothing but praise even the wildest of shots, while covering behind just to make sure you didn’t lose face?

Mark isn’t getting much incriminating dialogue on his phone, though, is he?  Just a bland threat of “exposing something…”  C’mon! let’s move this along!

“Honestly Senator… your inability to pull the trigger (literally- ha!) on anything is becoming more tiresome by the day.  Makes me think that Term Limits are a good thing-  Wait What am I saying?  That would mean I would have to “train” and corrupt a new politician every 12 years or so…  and who has time for that?” Johnny seemed to say…

And Mr. Elk seems to be frozen in place…  hasn’t moved a hair!  But then these installments are days apart, while the conversation is going on in real time… I have to continue to remind myself that split second in the Trailverse can equate to days in real time- like when Mark starts throwing punches…

When I first looked at the Elk in the second panel, I thought, “Elk?? No, more like PIG!  With antlers!”  But here’s proof that the artist sort of got it right!

At least the Senator has his powers of observation down, being able to distinguish between a crook and an elk… “Johnny- CROOK!  Large hairy beast with prodigious rack off in the distance- ELK!”

Don’t you love the look of glee on Johnny Walker’s face as he says the word “money?”  or maybe the still caught him as he uttered the final syllable- hard not to smile when you say that word… but the real reason that Johnny is so down with oil is the fact that in a world where there is none left, he would not be able to keep his coiffure in check…