The decoy

Chapt 12

Chapter Twelve

            Sebastian drove for another fifteen minutes with the other car nearly thirty feet behind him for most of the time. Another car passed them coming from the south but other than that the road was empty.

It was 1:45 in the morning when the car finally pulled up closer. It was right behind him now with a distance of just ten feet between them.

            Sebastian reached for his coffee and realized it had gotten cold. He decided to pull into the next 24 hour rest stop to get gas and a coffee. It would also give him a chance to get his gun from under his seat before he left the truck and see what his fellow traveler did.

There was no doubt in his mind that this car was following him and he was getting a little too tired to deal with it. A shot of caffeine would be a good thing at that time of night and stopping here would prove for certain whether or not he was being followed.

            He remembered seeing a little restaurant and gas stop up around the next curve and so he pulled in to the gas bay and filled his tank before entering the restaurant. The vehicle behind him drove on past. It was a red family van that appeared to be a rental.

            Sebastian watched the van continue on past and then walked inside the diner and found a booth with a view of the highway. It was just him and an elderly lady who was busy preparing hash browns for the morning breakfast rush. She wore a name tag which read Valerie.

            Watching for traffic from the window, he ordered a coffee from Valerie who seemed happy that he didn't want her to prepare something to eat. By the time Valerie returned to the booth with a cup and a pot of coffee, the red van had returned and pulled into the lot outside. It parked in the shadows but Sebastian was able to spot two guys sitting in front and it appeared there were more in the back. It could have been the guys who had come to visit him the other night. Sebastian sipped his coffee and watched Valerie peel potatoes while checking on the red van for movement.

            When Valerie brought the coffee pot over for a refill Sebastian tried to enter into a conversation.

            "You always work so late?"

            He kept his eyes on the van in the parking lot. There was still no movement. He could see the tiny red light of cigarettes dancing in the front seat.

            "I have to work. I got two grand children I am raising. My daughter got into a little trouble with the police and now I have to look after her kids. My husband has a bad heart so he stays home with them after school and I work the night shift.

It's usually pretty quiet like this at night."

            Sebastian was suddenly a little worried that he had picked this spot to wait for trouble. Two grandchildren and a heart patient were depending on Valerie's income. These guys could be trouble and he didn't want anything to happen in here.

            He finished his third cup and dropped a tip on the saucer when he noticed the sliding passenger door of the van opened up. A large silhouette of a man slid out and he marched up to the front of the restaurant.

            The door swung open, catching Valerie by surprise and the large, square body filled the door frame. He looked around, spotted Sebastian in the booth and approached Valerie at the counter.

            "A chocolate milkshake," he said to Valerie. The big guy just stood, waited by the counter and watched her make his milkshake. When she handed it to him he turned and walked towards Sebastian. This wasn't one of the guys from the motel room.