CHAPTER FIFTEEN
When Legs emerged from the washroom and discovered his 'friends' had left, he pressed the buttons on his cell phone, but found someone had removed the batteries. He went over to the counter, took out a twenty dollar bill, and asked for a lithium battery.
"Just a moment," said the salesclerk and reached behind her.
Legs waited, not paying attention to the four men who came from behind him.
"Legs," said one.
He turned. The short man in the blue shirt seemed familiar. Was it Scott? Yes it was.
"Scott it's been a long time since I've seen you. How was it five years?"
"About that long. So what's going on?"
"Some of my buddies played a practical joke on me." He described Torch and Larry and the truck.
"Seems I saw a truck heading towards the main drag," said Scott, "if you hurry, we can catch up with them." He signaled to the other three men, one who took the battery, and picked up Legs' change.
Scott insisted that Legs sit in the front seat with him, while two of the other men sat in the back. The small man chattered about how he had met the others in the army while they started down towards the highway. One of the men offered Legs a cigarette, but he refused. He was trying to quit. The third man got in a separate car, saying something like "I'll look for her later."
They continued for a mile, Legs noticed that at least four other cars were behind, and that one of them held the man who took his battery as well as a woman. At least he thought she was a woman, but could not make out the face. "Why aren't they with you?"
"Oh Paul and her have been like that. Besides she's a good cook," said Scott.
Something is wrong, though Legs, one thing that Scott don't like is marriage and home cooking. He started to grab for the door, and suddenly heard the distinctive sound of a lock. Someone grabbed him from behind and he felt the smell of chlorine as someone pressed a rag into his mouth.
When he awoke, he was in this room with beige walls and a linoleum carpet with a fern pattern. . The doors were shut, the place was bare except he was the only one sitting in a chair and his hands were bound behind his back. The others, (he recognized the three men and his friend) were stranding looking with impassiveness at him. There was a woman with them as well, dark wavy hair with a slight auburn hint, of Spanish blood, who stood a bit behind one of the men the one who had taken his battery. Scott faced him, only he knew now this was not Scott. Sure the man looked enough to be a double, but it was not his former friend.
:"Scott?"
"Your friend Scott is still back in Montana, although I doubt he'd be able to do much now."
"You killed him." Legs tried to get free of his bonds, but it was useless. He felt a cold sweat and actual fear, something he was unused to. These men looked devoid of pity. It was not even the feigned pity of psychopathic killers. It was as if that nature never appeared in their makeup and they were so superior. He was beginning to see what 'Scott' was really like.
The imposter shook his head. "He ran over an embankment after leaving a bar. Certain people should never drink. We just disposed of the body, but didn't tell anyone. Now where's Tom Daniels?"
The question came so suddenly that Legs insisted he did not know who they were talking about. Sure he knew the name of the man his boss had in the cage, and why she had him, but he was not going to tell these monsters. "Tom who?"
Scott slapped him across the face with such force it almost caused Legs's brains to scramble. The questioner was just to give another shot when one of the men stopped him.
"We don't have much time. We have to use another method to persuade him. Perhaps we can use the wire."
Legs shivered, thinking of them half garroting him until he talked, but the imposter had another idea.
He called man who had the battery over. "Paul, do you still have that equipment with you?"
"Yes." Paul nodded to the woman who went out the back door and soon returned with a leather case that she handed to him.
Paul took out a syringe from the case, tested it by sprouting the liquid into the air and with mercilessness injected a needle into Leg's arm. Legs could see the figures in front of him, staring at him, and then they A few minutes later, he heard words coming out of his mouth and no matter how he tried to make his will stop that from happening, he could not.
"Yes you go towards the motel, turn left on the dirt road, continue for two miles until you see an Indian burial mound, you go around it, and turn right when you come to the jagged stone shaped like a mushroom, and then..." He could not stop babbling : "They have this Tom Daniels in a cage. You have to go past the metal door, the combination is—the key to open the cage is located on top, it's covered with a metallic plaster to match it, you just turn it to the left a quarter of a turn, and then right a half a turn..."
"Where about on the top?" asked Paul.
Legs noticed the Mexican woman with distinctively Spanish features start to open her mouth as if to say something and then one of the men grabbed her arm and hustled her out.
"Over the left bar on the right side as you come in the door."
"Thank you," said 'Scott', giving him a pat on his back. Legs slumped back as in a comma.
"I saw the truck, and sensed that one of them is of the New Species," said Paul after learning where they had Tom.
"He could be from the Lost Ship."
"No, he doesn't act like that, nor like us. He's not been hiding or on the run as we have had, keeping ourselves unknown to the humans."
"Then we must welcome him just as we did the Advocate Lambourni. And what of him?" asked Scott, "You are the oldest. It is your right to decide his fate."
"A mere inconvenience. " Paul went over to Legs. "I guess we don't need you anymore." He put his arm around the tall man's neck. There was a distinctive snap.
6/14/2003
When Legs emerged from the washroom and discovered his 'friends' had left, he pressed the buttons on his cell phone, but found someone had removed the batteries. He went over to the counter, took out a twenty dollar bill, and asked for a lithium battery.
"Just a moment," said the salesclerk and reached behind her.
Legs waited, not paying attention to the four men who came from behind him.
"Legs," said one.
He turned. The short man in the blue shirt seemed familiar. Was it Scott? Yes it was.
"Scott it's been a long time since I've seen you. How was it five years?"
"About that long. So what's going on?"
"Some of my buddies played a practical joke on me." He described Torch and Larry and the truck.
"Seems I saw a truck heading towards the main drag," said Scott, "if you hurry, we can catch up with them." He signaled to the other three men, one who took the battery, and picked up Legs' change.
Scott insisted that Legs sit in the front seat with him, while two of the other men sat in the back. The small man chattered about how he had met the others in the army while they started down towards the highway. One of the men offered Legs a cigarette, but he refused. He was trying to quit. The third man got in a separate car, saying something like "I'll look for her later."
They continued for a mile, Legs noticed that at least four other cars were behind, and that one of them held the man who took his battery as well as a woman. At least he thought she was a woman, but could not make out the face. "Why aren't they with you?"
"Oh Paul and her have been like that. Besides she's a good cook," said Scott.
Something is wrong, though Legs, one thing that Scott don't like is marriage and home cooking. He started to grab for the door, and suddenly heard the distinctive sound of a lock. Someone grabbed him from behind and he felt the smell of chlorine as someone pressed a rag into his mouth.
When he awoke, he was in this room with beige walls and a linoleum carpet with a fern pattern. . The doors were shut, the place was bare except he was the only one sitting in a chair and his hands were bound behind his back. The others, (he recognized the three men and his friend) were stranding looking with impassiveness at him. There was a woman with them as well, dark wavy hair with a slight auburn hint, of Spanish blood, who stood a bit behind one of the men the one who had taken his battery. Scott faced him, only he knew now this was not Scott. Sure the man looked enough to be a double, but it was not his former friend.
:"Scott?"
"Your friend Scott is still back in Montana, although I doubt he'd be able to do much now."
"You killed him." Legs tried to get free of his bonds, but it was useless. He felt a cold sweat and actual fear, something he was unused to. These men looked devoid of pity. It was not even the feigned pity of psychopathic killers. It was as if that nature never appeared in their makeup and they were so superior. He was beginning to see what 'Scott' was really like.
The imposter shook his head. "He ran over an embankment after leaving a bar. Certain people should never drink. We just disposed of the body, but didn't tell anyone. Now where's Tom Daniels?"
The question came so suddenly that Legs insisted he did not know who they were talking about. Sure he knew the name of the man his boss had in the cage, and why she had him, but he was not going to tell these monsters. "Tom who?"
Scott slapped him across the face with such force it almost caused Legs's brains to scramble. The questioner was just to give another shot when one of the men stopped him.
"We don't have much time. We have to use another method to persuade him. Perhaps we can use the wire."
Legs shivered, thinking of them half garroting him until he talked, but the imposter had another idea.
He called man who had the battery over. "Paul, do you still have that equipment with you?"
"Yes." Paul nodded to the woman who went out the back door and soon returned with a leather case that she handed to him.
Paul took out a syringe from the case, tested it by sprouting the liquid into the air and with mercilessness injected a needle into Leg's arm. Legs could see the figures in front of him, staring at him, and then they A few minutes later, he heard words coming out of his mouth and no matter how he tried to make his will stop that from happening, he could not.
"Yes you go towards the motel, turn left on the dirt road, continue for two miles until you see an Indian burial mound, you go around it, and turn right when you come to the jagged stone shaped like a mushroom, and then..." He could not stop babbling : "They have this Tom Daniels in a cage. You have to go past the metal door, the combination is—the key to open the cage is located on top, it's covered with a metallic plaster to match it, you just turn it to the left a quarter of a turn, and then right a half a turn..."
"Where about on the top?" asked Paul.
Legs noticed the Mexican woman with distinctively Spanish features start to open her mouth as if to say something and then one of the men grabbed her arm and hustled her out.
"Over the left bar on the right side as you come in the door."
"Thank you," said 'Scott', giving him a pat on his back. Legs slumped back as in a comma.
"I saw the truck, and sensed that one of them is of the New Species," said Paul after learning where they had Tom.
"He could be from the Lost Ship."
"No, he doesn't act like that, nor like us. He's not been hiding or on the run as we have had, keeping ourselves unknown to the humans."
"Then we must welcome him just as we did the Advocate Lambourni. And what of him?" asked Scott, "You are the oldest. It is your right to decide his fate."
"A mere inconvenience. " Paul went over to Legs. "I guess we don't need you anymore." He put his arm around the tall man's neck. There was a distinctive snap.
6/14/2003