Schism

Chapter 12 part 2

Bryan kept the Glock firm in his hands as the robber in the cheap red ski mask backed into its barrel.  The man wavered slightly in place, gently pulled his hands up level with his covered ears.  Bryan sucked in a deep breath.  "Easy.  Turn to face the wall."

Before either Bryan or the robber could move, there was a blur as the man on the other side whipped an overhand punch down onto the robber's jaw.  The red ski mask seemed to ripple with the impact and its wearer crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Bryan looked up at the man across from him.  Worn combat boots, dusty black BDU trousers, a black hoodie and dirt-smudged utility jacket partly covered a t-shirt with a picture of a man swinging a guitar into the ground.  It was The Clash.  He studied the man's face, not nearly as dark or sunken as in the photo.  Miraculously, after several days on the street, he looked healthier.  It was William Adams.

He kept the gun steady.  "Hands on the counter."  No response came for a long moment.  The man's unfocused gaze just seemed to look through his body to someplace else.  Then Bryan watched William turn to the young woman by the wall.  He waited as William nodded blankly at the air, and as the girl drew in a deep, shuddering breath and seemed to relax.  There was something going on between the two of them, but he had no idea what it was.  “It’s okay,” William said.

The girl’s eyes moved all around the room, but Bryan couldn’t tell what she was focusing on.  Slowly, she nodded.

Bryan focused back on William, but kept his distance.  "Come on.  Hands on the counter."  He inched his trigger finger in as William shook his head tightly.  But then the vigilante turned, seemed to see him.  Bryan's finger relaxed as William took a half step back.  "Hands on the counter.  Please."  He watched as William looked at the counter and the carryout bag of food.

"Smells good."  In Bryan's ears, William's voice sounded tired, unused.

Without warning, William turned from Bryan and paced out the front door.  The barrel of the Glock traced William's path, but Bryan's finger eased off.  "Damn it."  He holstered his weapon, snatched a stack of napkins from the counter dispenser and used them to pick up the three guns from the masked robbers.  They went onto an empty table.  "Don't touch those!"

He jumped as the young woman uncurled from her chair and followed William to the door, where she stood watch.  The diner owner's voice sent his heart fluttering again.  "Was that him?"

"Him?"

"The Night Stalker?"

Bryan stopped cold.  "The Night Stalker?  Where the hell did you hear that?"

The diner owner shrugged his thin shoulders.  "That's what they're calling him."

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.  Where do people come up with that crap?"  The diner owner ignored Bryan’s comment and stepped to the front window, beside the woman.  Bryan looked down at the to-go bag on the counter.  "Is this mine?"

The diner owner waved at him without looking.  "On the house."

Bryan snatched it and jogged to the door.  "Call 911 and tell them...just call 911."  He knew that he should have left his name with the owner, or called it in himself, but that would ruin everything.  He couldn't let Cray and Rios, or Hayes for that matter, know that he had left this scene to go find William.  He couldn't let them know that they were all looking for the same man.

But if he could find him, and bring him in on his own, he'd have solved both cases, and Hayes might give him some real work.

He heard the diner owner as he hurried out into the street.  "That was him!  The Night Stalker.  In my restaurant!"  Bryan could only groan.

 *

(Author’s note: Again, thank you all for the votes and comments!  Please keep them coming, and please tell your friends to check Schism out.  All of that helps so much!  And please check out my website, www.bruce-elgin.com for audio, more information about the book and writing tips.  Be sure to check out chapter 13, because there is a ton of action coming up and lots of important changes for both William and Bryan!)