Mirrored Man: The Rob Tyler Chronicles Book 1 (35 page)

In the blink of an eye, Covington aimed and
fired two rounds into his reluctant helper’s chest. Ignoring the
pain in his shoulder, he dragged the man's body just past the wood
line and then turned to discover that his new ride was a bright
yellow Hummer H2. He looked back at the dead man. “Could you have
possibly been driving a
more
conspicuous car?” He climbed in
and wheeled the big vehicle around, speeding in the direction of
the fleeing couple.

Miles up the road, Covington came to the
scene of an accident. A black SUV was lying upside down in the
front yard of a man who’d had the unfortunate experience of being
shot by the driver of the wrecked GMC, the thanks he had received
for trying to help the victims.

Martin Rigby was still dazed from a blow to
his head and bleeding from a gash on the left side of his nose that
he had suffered when the SUV flipped. Covington found him wandering
down the road, a gun in his hand, having just shot the homeowner
whose yard he had landed in. When Rigby finally came to his senses,
he was grateful for being picked up by the sergeant, but unable
even to secure himself in the vehicle without Covington's
assistance. After settling Rigby in the Hummer, Covington did a
cursory inspection of the wreck and found that its other occupant
was wedged between the passenger seat and the doorframe, dead and
impossible to move.

“Always wear your seat belt, my friend,” he
scolded the dead man as he collected his weapon and spare
magazines. Turning his attention to the man who was laying in the
wet grass, he checked for a pulse. “Lucky you,” he said when he
found one, not sure if he felt relieved or threatened by the
revelation. But he was unconscious, so Covington was satisfied that
the man would have few tales to tell to the police when he awoke.
He considered checking to see if anyone else was in the house, but
the sirens in the distance told him it was time to leave. He jumped
back in the Hummer, sped off down the dark road, and told his new
partner, “Get Toni on the line.”

* * * * *

ROB HAD BEEN DRIVING
south on
Interstate 75 for nearly an hour and a half, stopping only long
enough for them to choose which direction they should go. By the
time he wheeled into a truck stop in Tifton, Georgia, the volume of
questions floating around in his head had become innumerable.

The parking lot was large and, thankfully,
sparsely populated. He maneuvered the SUV around its entirety to
make a mental note of all the exits, and then proceeded to a
secluded spot under a couple of trees on the side closest to the
interstate and away from the semis parked in rear of the
building.

He checked the clock. It was 4:17 a.m.

Earlier, Rob had instructed June to use the
car’s navigation system to plot out a course to Apalachicola,
Florida. She hadn’t understood his choice of destinations, but she
had done as he asked and had found what looked like the most direct
route. Rob couldn't explain why he was compelled to go to the small
town on the Gulf coast, but he’d remained adamant.

When she had finished, he had pulled off the
road, disabled the GPS, and searched the Toyota for any other
devices that they could be tracked with. It hadn’t taken long to
find the magnetic gadget hidden under the rear bumper. He’d
considered placing it on another vehicle, but had decided to smash
it instead. No need to drag anyone else into this mess.

He sat for a long time, staring through the
cracked windshield as the occasional early bird stopped in for
fuel. All the while, June watched him. He was trying to make sense
of his compulsion to go to Florida. He didn’t remember ever going
there, but he had fleeting thoughts and disconnected images
flashing through his mind. It was like trying to remember a dream.
There was something in Apalachicola that he needed desperately. But
he had no idea what that something was. The only thing he was sure
of was that the feeling was centered in the pit of his stomach and
growing stronger as time passed. That, and a foreboding sense that
they were still in danger. Nearly an hour had passed when he looked
over at June and found her quietly studying him. “We'll stay here
and get some rest until we can find another car, an older one that
they can't track. Why don't you climb in back and stretch out.”

June looked at him incredulously. “Don't you
have questions about what I told you?”

He chuckled. “You have no idea.”

“Well?”

“Now's not the time.” He began rummaging
under his seat, hoping to find an atlas or anything that might help
them on their journey.

June was dumbfounded. “Less than two hours
ago, I told you that you lost nine years of your memory, that
there's an exact copy of you out there somewhere, and that we’re
running from who knows who trying to kill us … and you don't wanna
talk about it? What else are we gonna do?”

Rob didn’t find anything of any real use
except a tidy stash of money in the glove compartment. “I don’t
know. Sleep?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Try.”

“Tell me about your wife.” She wasn’t that
interested in Carol at the moment. She just wanted to get an idea
of what he could remember.

With an exaggerated sigh, he accepted the
fact that she wasn’t going to give up. After a moment, he smiled
his first genuine smile since the chaos started. “Okay … June, what
is it you want to know?”

“Your wife. Tell me about her.”

“He who finds a wife finds what is good and
receives favor from the Lord.”

June smiled slightly. “From Proverbs.”

Rob nodded. “Proverbs 18:22. I read that at
our wedding, after we took our vows.”

“Did she read anything?”

“Something out of the book of Job as I
recall.”

June laughed. “My parents are missionaries
in Africa.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Where do they serve?”

“In Ethiopia. In fact, that's where I was
born. A little town called Arba Minch.”

“So it was your daddy who taught you how to
drive like a maniac?”

She gave him a superior look. “Now, why
wouldn't you assume my mama taught me?”

“Your mom, then?” he asked
apologetically.

June smiled. “Neither, actually. It was the
chief of a
Tuareg Imashaghen
clan who was friends with the
people in the village.”

“How old were you?”

“Eight.”

Rob looked at her skeptically. “Eight?”

“Yup,” she replied proudly and then added,
“I've had a few refreshers since then.”

“So, what makes Tuaregs such good
drivers?”

“Well, they're nomads. They get harassed and
robbed by a lot by people claiming to be Sunni Muslims. Either
convert to Islam or pay a road tax. Chief
Taderfit
didn't
want to convert to Islam. He didn't want to be a Christian either,”
she added, smiling. “But believe me, Mom and Dad tried.
Imashaghen
means ‘the free people.’”

“Free, but lost,” Rob said.

June shrugged. “So, you’re a religious
man.”

“Religious, no. I was born Catholic, but I
got baptized by a Methodist preacher in a non-denominational base
chapel last month, right before Christmas.” Then he made a face,
something between a revelation and amusement.

“What is it?”

“Well, if what you're tellin' me is true,
then that was nine years ago now. I wonder how I turned out.”

June thought the question profound.
What
would anyone think of a future self, given the opportunity to see
it?
What would I have thought of my life to this
point
?

She was less than thrilled with her
conclusion.

They stared silently at each other for some
time after that. Rob noticed a quality in her eyes that made him
feel uncomfortable. Clearing his throat, he leaned back against the
door. He held up his left hand and said, “Happily.”

June blushed. “You said those very words to
me a week ago,
Commander
Tyler,” she said. And then, she
noticed that his wedding ring was missing.

Seeing her confused look, he suddenly saw
that the most important piece of jewelry he possessed was gone.
“Where is it?” He turned on the overhead light. “I gotta find
it.”

June stayed silent.
How could he have
lost his ring? Did I make a mistake? Is this the real Rob? Have I
been imagining—?
June’s thoughts were interrupted when she saw
the stitches on his thumb again, exactly as she remembered.
Relieved, she said, “You must've lost it in all the confusion.”

“Carol is gonna kill me,” he lamented.

June smiled and attempted to comfort him.
“Oh, honey, under these circumstances, I'm sure she’ll
understand.”

Rob's willingness to talk ended with the
revelation of his lost ring, so June decided it best to take his
suggestion and try to get some sleep.

She woke with a start when Rob touched her
on the shoulder. Her body ached from sleeping in the cramped
confines of the back of the Toyota, having used a headrest from one
of the seats for a pillow. She realized her thirst as she sat up
and brushed her hair, damp from the heat, from the side of her
face. She didn't remember falling asleep or even lying down as she
rubbed the kink in her neck and sat up. Her stomach growled. She
needed a serious shower and change of clothes. The sun was low in
the sky as she saw Rob sitting in the driver’s seat looking back at
her. “Wakie, wakie. Our new ride’s here,” he said. He looked again
at their prize.

Following his gaze, all she saw a young man
she guessed to be no more than eighteen with stringy,
shoulder-length blond hair, dressed in a pair of worn out cut-off
cargo shorts and a dirty white tee shirt, pumping gas into a
seventies model Ford barely fifty feet away. His car looked like a
wreck. It was covered with gray primer with hints of pale yellow
peeking through here and there. It rested on tires with huge chrome
wheels that, in June’s opinion, made the car look hideous. Surely
Rob didn’t mean
that
car. Close by were a couple of kids
skateboarding among the parked cars.

June was climbing up to join Rob in the
front when he opened the door and shouted, “Hey, kid!”

One of the teenagers stopped skating to look
over at them.

“Come 'ere.”

The young man walked to the bumper-less
front end. “Yeah?”

Rob opened the door wider. “Here's fifteen
bucks. Go in there and buy me a map of Florida. You can keep the
change and I've got another ten for ya when you come back.”

The kid looked doubtful. “Seriously?”

“And some crackers,” added June.

Rob fanned the bills out.

Seeing the cash, the teen said, “I'll do it
for fifty.”

“Fifty!” Rob and June exclaimed in
unison.

“Take it or leave it,” the kid said with a
straight face.

Rob narrowed his eyes as he counted out the
total he was holding. “I'll give ya forty. No more.”

“Done.” He held out his hand.

“Oh no,” Rob shook his head. “Fifteen now.
The rest when you come back.”

The teenager accepted the down payment.
Dropping his skateboard to the ground, he turned and skated towards
the store, ignoring the calls of his friend.

Rob shook his head. “Greedy kid.”

June settled herself in the passenger seat.
“What time is it?”

“It's almost seven thirty.”

“How long was I asleep?”

“All day.”

“What? Seven thirty p.m.?”

“See that car?” he said, ignoring her
outburst.

“Yeah?” she said doubtfully.

“That's our ride.”

June smiled “You have
got
to be
kidding me.”

Rob smiled. “Nope. That's the one. When he
got out, he didn't have the keys in his hand. They must still be in
the ignition. All we need is for him to go into the store to
pay.”

June's smile faded. “You're not serious.
That thing won't get us fifty miles.”

“When he drove in, it was purring like a
kitten. It looks like crap, but I'm betting that it'll get us
there,” he assured her.

June was still skeptical. “It'll stick out
like a sore thumb.”

Rob gave her a doubtful look. “Would you
report that thing stolen?”

“If it was mine and someone stole it, I
would.”

Rob scoffed.

They watched as he continued to pump
gas.

“That thing must have a huge tank,” June
commented.

“Twenty-two gallons,” Rob said. “My dad had
one like it. A Gran Torino.”

“Is
that
why you want this wreck?
Because your dad had one?”

Rob only smiled.

Finally, the young man with the stringy hair
finished pumping the gas and hung up the nozzle. When he started
toward the store to pay, he was moving slowly and coyly,
methodically attempting to impress a car full of young girls who
had pulled in front of the store and taken notice of him. At the
same time, the skater was returning with what Rot sincerely hoped
was a map of Florida.

“Now we need some godly timing.” Rob handed
the kid the balance of his promised payment and then waving him
away. “Don't forget to share.”

“Hey, where’s my crackers?” June called
after the kid, who kept on walking. June then turned and stared at
Rob.
Godly timing, huh?
I wonder if Catholics have a
patron saint of car thieves.

“Get ready.” Rob closed the door. They
watched as the driver of the Ford flirted with the girls, every now
and then looking back at and gesturing to the Torino.

“That boy loves his car.”

“Oh, for Pete's sake! Go and flirt somewhere
else, why don'tcha?” June said.

“Be patient,” Rob said. Minutes later, the
kid resumed his course into the store with one of the girls in
tow.

June opened her door, but Rob grabbed her
arm. “Wait.” The young man took one last admiring look at the old
car and then disappeared inside.