Killer Thrillers Box Set: 3 Techno-Thriller, Action/Adventure Science Fiction Thrillers (91 page)

“Mom, we’re going to —”
 

“Harvey, knock it off.” The words were more intense than they had been, and Ben fell silent again. “I don’t care about any of that. I can’t. I’ve got hours to live. You listen to me, okay?”
 

He nodded.

“Harvey, I love you. It’s been over ten years since I’ve even heard from you, and you need to know that I love you.”

A single tear fell down his right cheek. He couldn’t bear to let Julie see him cry, so he kept his eyes glued to the bed and didn’t wipe the tear away.
 

“I love you, and I never stopped loving you. After your — your father…”
 

“Stop it, Mom.” He felt his voice shaking. Was it noticeable? He whispered. “I love you too, okay? I do. I’m sorry.”
 

His mother’s eyes were closed now, and she was trying to breathe peacefully.
 

“I’m sorry for everything.”
 

He stood up from the bed and left the room.
 

Julie caught up to him in the hallway and followed him into the dining room, where he collapsed on an old leather sofa.
 

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked. “I — I’m so… I can’t believe…” she stammered, not finding the right words.
 

“You don’t have to do that,” Ben said. “I’m fine.”
 

He stared blankly toward the flat-screen television that sat on a stand in the corner of the room. “I’ll stay here today, and maybe —”
 

“Ben,” Julie said. She waited for him to look at her. “Ben, I know how this feels, okay? But the longer we stay here —”
 

“I’m staying here.”
 

“Ben, if we stay here, we’re going to die.”
 

“I’m staying here,” he said again.
 

“Ben! Listen to me. You
know
what’s about to happen. If you’re not infected yet, you will be. And then I will be. It’s only a matter of hours, Ben. You don’t
have
hours to wait.”
 

Ben knew she was right, but he didn’t move from the sofa.
 

Julie finally came around the couch and sat next to him. “Do you need anything?” she asked.
 

He shook his head.
 

Julie sighed and retreated into the depths of the couch. “Ben, let’s at least get somewhere we can talk, okay? Somewhere we can figure this out together?”
 

This time, he nodded. She reached over and placed her hand on his.

26

“ANYTHING ELSE?” THE FRAZZLED WOMAN gazed down at the couple in the booth before her.
 

Juliette Richardson shook her head. “We’re good, thanks.” The woman was gone before she could finish.
 

“I thought diners were supposed to have great service,” Julie said to Ben over two plates of waffles and cups of coffee.
 

He shrugged, taking a huge bite of syrup-covered waffle.

The diner was just outside of town, on the state highway they’d taken into Twin Falls. It was called The Family Diner, and Ben and Julie — the only two guests — weren’t sure yet whether the play on words was meant to be taken seriously or not. So far they assumed it was meant as satire. There wasn’t a “family” — or even another person, besides their waitress — in sight.
 

“At least the food’s good,” Julie said, cramming almost half a waffle into her mouth. She guzzled coffee to wash it down, and only then noticed Ben staring at her. “What?”
 

He grinned. “As hard as this is…” he stopped.
 

“Yeah?”
 

“No, just… as hard as this is… I’m glad you’re here.”
 

Julie swallowed. “Me too. I mean, I can’t imagine… I’m sorry, Ben.” She took another bite of waffle, and this time added a forkful of sausage to it. “By the way, what’s up with ‘Harvey?’”

“That’s my name,” Ben said.
 

“Well, yeah, I picked up on that,” she said. “But you don’t go by that anymore. Why?”
 

He shrugged again. “I don’t know. Dropped it after high school. Seemed like sort of a nerdy name, I guess. Ben’s easier.”
 

Julie considered this. “I like Harvey.”
 

Ben stared blankly at her.
 

“I like Ben too,” she added.
 

He looked down again at his plate, comparing his plate to Julie’s.
She can really put it away,
he thought. He was almost embarrassed by how little he’d eaten.
 

“Hey, I have another question. Did Diana — I mean, your mom — did she have any assistants or anything? Anyone we could contact?”
 

“Always working, huh?” Ben’s response was blunt.

“Oh my God, no, Ben… I’m sorry —”

He shook his head. “It’s fine. Really. I’m shaken up, but this is good. Let’s keep moving; figure out what’s next.” He thought for a moment, using the lull in the conversation to take a deep sip of jet-black coffee. He winced.
 

“Too hot?” she asked.
 

“Too crappy.” He swallowed, feigning choking. “Where’d you find this place, anyway?”
 

“Google Maps. Never steered me wrong so far.”
 

“‘Bout time to start using something else. Anyway, uh, I have no idea about her work. I’ve been in the park for over a decade. Man, it’s been a long time.”
 

A solemn look came over his eyes.
 

“Ben, it’s okay. If you need —”

“No, I’m fine. Yeah, I can’t think of anything. Hell, I don’t even really know what she does. I remember she worked for a chemical company when I was a kid, but she took this job not too long ago.”
 

“You spoke with her?”
 

“No, she’d email me quite a bit. I never responded more than once or twice, I think. I kept the email account open, though. Is there any way to figure out who she was working with?”
 

“I tried looking it up in the company directory, but they’re pretty good about keeping their work and employees protected. I might be able to get some help from my tech guy, though.” She took a sip of coffee, this time not using it to wash down her meal. From the expression on her face, she could clearly taste it better this time around. “Wow, you weren’t kidding. This is rough.”
 

Ben smiled, and he caught her gaze. He could almost feel her examining him, exploring the leathery-brown contours of a face that had rarely gone a day without being exposed to the sun and elements.
 

“Hey,” she said quickly. “I have a question.”
 

“Shoot.”
 

“Why’d you leave?”
 

She didn’t need to explain it; he knew what she meant. It was a fair question, but also the forbidden one, and she didn’t dance around it or build it up.

He took a deep breath.
No one asks me that,
he thought. It had been years since he could even remember talking about it.
 

A light flashed in front of the diner. Another visitor had parked and was getting out of their vehicle.
 

Without realizing it, Ben was suddenly engrossed in the newcomer. He watched as the rectangular, boxy headlights flicked off — it was an older sedan — and the driver stepped out.
Tall, thin, can’t see what they’re wearing. No passenger.
 

The visitor walked quickly, heading directly to the entrance. The man — Ben could now see him clearly — pulled the door open and walked inside.
 

“Good evening, go ahead and sit anywhere,” the monotone voice of their waitress called from somewhere in the back of the restaurant.
 

Julie realized Ben wasn’t paying attention to their conversation and turned to see what he was looking at. The man continued walking toward them. Ben locked eyes with him and began to stand up.
 

As he did, the man sped up. Ben’s heart raced. The man was now only fifteen feet from their table and closing the distance fast.
Who is this guy?

He watched the man reach into the pocket of his coat. Ben saw out of the corner of his eye another flash of lights, then another.
Two more cars.
He reached down and grabbed the closest thing he could find.
 

A salt shaker.
 

From the man’s pocket, a gun. Small, compact.
.380. Enough to do some serious damage from this range.
 

Ben didn’t wait. He jumped to the side, throwing the salt shaker. It struck the gunman in the forehead, knocking him backwards a few steps. He dropped the gun, instinctively raising his hands to protect his head from further attack.
 

“Julie! Run!” Ben called out. He’d landed beneath some bar stools set alongside the counter of the diner. He struggled to his feet, feeling the painful throbbing in his hip.
 

Julie was on her feet, running toward the door, but the man was chasing after her. He overtook her at the diner’s second exit, grabbing her waist with one arm. His other hand weaved up and around her left underarm. Julie was helpless, her arm completely pinned away from her body. She tried madly to swing it at him, but the man dodged the blows with ease.
 

Ben rushed forward, aiming for the attacker’s lower back. Just before Ben collided with him, the man turned, exposing Julie’s belly to Ben’s tackle.
 

Ben was moving too fast to stop, and the three of them fell backwards out the diner’s doors. They collapsed in a heap on the concrete sidewalk, but their attacker was on his feet almost immediately. He pulled Ben up and shoved him up against the tall glass window. Ben held onto the man’s wrist, trying to wiggle free, but the man landed a solid punch to his gut.
 

He felt the wind get knocked out of him, and he caught a glimpse of Julie running toward the man before he was released and fell to the sidewalk. The man anticipated the attack, grabbing Julie’s hands just as they fell toward his head. He twisted them sharply, and Ben heard her abrupt cry of pain. The man twisted harder, hugging her body close to his and moving his hands to her neck.
 

She was turned around, her back to his, so her punches had little effect. She danced around, trying to shove her heel onto the top of his foot, but the man was prepared for this line of defense as well.
 

The man’s grip on Julie’s neck grew tighter.
 

Ben blinked a few times, sitting up against the wall.
 

Get up. Come on, move.

He willed his body to work. His hip wasn’t broken, but it was obviously badly bruised.
 

He heard Julie gasping for breath, her arms and legs flailing wildly.
 

Get. Up.

He forced his lungs to accept a deep breath of air. It was painful, as if someone was stabbing him in the chest.
 

Not as painful as getting choked to death,
he thought.

He stood up. Julie’s raspy voice broke through the gasps. “H — Help,” she said.
 

He ran forward. His footsteps were heavy.
 

The man could tell he was coming. He was expecting it.
 

As Ben got within a foot of the man’s back, an elbow caught him directly in the nose. Searing pain shot up his face, tears coming to his eyes. Ben stumbled backwards, nearly losing his balance again.
 

Just then he heard a shout. The lights from the other two vehicles became clearer.

Truckers.

Two men ran toward the trio, one of them shouting. “Hey! What the hell’s going on over here?” One of the truckers saw the man choking Julie. He ran toward them, and the attacker released her neck. She sucked in cold air, falling to her knees on the rocky parking lot ground. Tears fell from her eyes.
 

The attacker was too late to protect himself. The first trucker had reached him and landed a blow across his face. He followed the attacker backwards as he struggled to keep his balance, but before he righted himself the larger truck driver punched him in the side. He doubled over, and the man kneed him as hard as he could.
 

The second truck driver had reached Julie, and he bent down to help her. Ben crawled forward, trying to regain his balance.

He watched as their attacker jumped to his feet and began to run away. He ran toward a field, chased briefly by the larger truck driver. When it was clear to the trucker that he was being outrun, he turned back to the others.
 

“You okay?” he asked Ben. Ben was on his feet now, swaying, still trying to catch his breath.
 

“I’m good. I need to get back to my truck; see if I can find him.”
 

“You won’t find him,” the second trucker said. “He’s fast, and he’s probably got a ride somewhere nearby. Best call the cops and let them handle it from here.”
 

Ben was seething. He walked over to Julie, letting his arm fall to her side. He pulled her close to him, wanting to protect her.
It’s too late for that.

She was sobbing, but she looked at him. “Are you okay?”
 

He realized what he must look like. He could feel blood draining from his nose, and he was having a hard time catching his breath. “I’m fine. What about you?”
 

She swallowed hard. “It hurts, but I’m okay.” She turned to look at the two truck drivers. “I owe you my life. Thank you.”
 

“Don’t mention it. Isn’t my first bar fight, but…” he looked at the now-empty diner. “I guess it is the first one I’ve broken up in a place like this. Why don’t you two get inside, get something to eat?”
 

She shook her head. “We’re fine, really. Thank you, both of you.”
 

The first trucker spoke up. “You two need anything? A phone, a ride?” He paused. “A drink?”