Live, Die, Repeat

Chapter 19

"I really don't like this plan," Ash stated.

"Which part don't you like?" I asked as I took another bite of the pho. We had ordered some Vietnamese food for takeout instead of cooking it so we would have more time to plan, and it was still tasty.

"I don't like the part where you go to see Ben and then think the police are going to do anything."

"So, you don't like the majority of the plan," I pointed out.

"Well, I like the spare phone part, that seems smart. But the local cops are all on my dad's payroll, so counting on them to do anything is risky to say the least," she explained.

"You think they would cover it up if there was a lot of evidence of murder?" I asked her.

"I hope not, but you're still making assumptions about the evidence," she countered.

"That is why I'm going to see Ben."

"We're going to keep going around in circles with this aren't we?" she groaned, her hands cradling her head.

"Okay, new topic. What is the silliest thing anyone could ever ask you?"

"What do you mean?" She was confused by the question.

"So, give me a question that no sane person would ever ask you, like if a stranger came up and asked this you'd be worried about them kidnapping you in a dark alley seconds later," I clarified.

"Well, when you change the subject, you really change the subject!" she exclaimed.

"I thought that was the idea?"

"Well, then I would say that if anyone ever said, 'Can I offer you a liver and banana sandwich with horseradish on rye?' then I would have to question what the hell was happening in their head." she giggled.

"Oh, I like that one. Definitely not your normal flavor combination."

"I can't even imagine the horror that would bring to your taste buds." She shivered.

"You want to hear a weird fact?" I asked, continuing to try and distract her.

"All right, let's hear it," she said, with an arched eyebrow.

"I have seen you every single day since I met you, and all but the first of those nights, we have slept naked together. I might have a better relationship with you than anyone I've ever known." I admitted.

She looked at me oddly. "That is kind of scary, especially given your advanced age, old man!" she chuckled.

"Yeah, well this old man needs to get ready for his date with Ben," I reminded her.

"I really hate this," she muttered as she started to pace back and forth.

"Well, just stick to the plan that we have, worst case we'll alter it as we need. Just remember to text the old phone, and if all is well, I'll reply with the new one."

"You remember the Wi-Fi password?" she confirmed.

"Yep, I got it."

"Then go, quick, I want this over with!" she commanded. "And come back safe!" she added, pulling me into a fierce hug.

"I'll do the best I can," I assured her, with a kiss to the top of her head, and then headed down to the truck.

Considering that the mansion was right behind my apartment, it was still a 10-minute drive to get there because every road had to meander about the various hills in the area. It didn't help that it was still a little icy on the roads, so every time I went up or down a hill it was an adventure. I finally got to the gate though and punched in the code that Ash had given me. The gate swung open slowly, and I took a deep breath. Hopefully, this wasn't a complete shit show.

I drove up the driveway, and around the fountain in front of the house. The fountain wasn't working at the moment, probably to keep the pipes from freezing in the winter. I parked off to the side of the front door and took both phones out. The first was my original phone, and I connected to the Wi-Fi with the password Ash had given me. The second phone was new, but it connected just fine as well. When the second one connected, I stuck it down inside of my left boot.

Our hope was that if he did anything to me and turned off the 'find my phone' feature on my main phone, he wouldn't think to look for the second phone and turn it off on that too. Not quite foolproof, but it was a good bet that Ben wouldn't go looking for a second phone. Once the phone was situated, I got out of the truck, buried the keys under some snow near the fountain, and then went to the front door and rang the bell. It might only slow them down if anything happened, but for a bit they might have a hard time explaining what my truck was doing there.

I stood outside for a few minutes and was about to ring the bell a second time when Ben answered the door. "Hey Ben! How are you?" I asked pleasantly.

"What the hell do you want?" he stood with his arms crossed, he didn't look happy to see me. Obviously, I was crushed.

"I was hoping to come see Anna and Zach. Or talk about the girls you've been killing. Or I guess we could just do all of the above," I smiled.

His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared, it wasn't a good look for him. "Is this a joke?" he finally replied.

"Well, we don't have to talk about the girls, I can just talk to the cops about that. Talk about the pink Converse and where their bodies are. But I was really hoping to get Anna and Zach back," I temporized.

He stood silently in shock "Well why don't you come on in and we can discuss all of this," Ben finally offered.

"Well, aren't you a gracious host. By all means, lead the way," I said with another smile. I felt bad for Ben, he wasn't too smart to begin with, and this was obviously overtaxing his brain. I suppose someone addressing the situation like I was was doing wasn't going to help anyway, I just wanted to see him in a panic. It made him predictable, which worked in my favor. Not that it wasn't dangerous, but he couldn't predict all our moves either. At least one of them could never be predicted.

The mansion was nice. A little over the top, with a lot of dark wood and cushioned chairs seemingly placed randomly in case you just had to take a rest while walking down the hallway. Many portraits, I assumed family, lined the walls, though I didn't see any female family members. You could get a sense of the family history, and it didn't look like they cared too much for the women in it. Must run in the family.

Ben's room was at the far end of one of the wings of the house, kept as far away from other occupants as possible. It was right out of a catalog, with dark wood and more red accents in the curtains and bedding. "Nice place," I pointed out.

"Want a drink?" he asked, striding over to the bar.

"Just a water please."

"No whiskey?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Nope. Had too much of that the other day," I admitted.

He poured himself a tumbler of whiskey, and me one of ice water, then walked over to hand it to me. "Cheers," he muttered as he raised his glass for a drink.

"You get the roofie in mine?" I said as I took my drink. He spit his back into the tumbler as he tried not to choke. I kept drinking.

"Why.... Why would you think that?" he choked.

"Ben, you're out of your depth. The obvious move was to roofie me like one of the girls you've killed and then take me to wherever you have Anna and Zach," I pointed out.

"Then why did you drink it?" he asked, his face screwed up in confusion.

"You really don't know what the right questions are, do you?" I asked, as my vision began to blur. I sat down in one of the ever-present cushioned chairs and let the drug so its work. I just hated falling.

"I might not know the questions, but I think I'll get some answers soon." Ben muttered as he threw me over his shoulders in a fireman's carry.

I just laughed as I tried to keep my eyes open to see where we were going. I felt us going back down the stairs, and then blacked out.