Redemption (5 page)

“Who’s up to no good?  What’s he talking about, Max?  What’s going on?”

Theodore gave Max a surprised look as if to say
You didn’t tell her?
  Max was still processing the miracle revelation he had just heard and realized the cat had been let out of the bag.  “Elizabeth, run and get Vanessa and James so they can see Theo.”

“First tell me what’s going on.”

“Now is not the time, Elizabeth, Theo has spent a long time away from his wife and son.  Don’t make him wait any longer, please hurry.”

Elizabeth knew her husband was simply trying to get rid of her but also knew he was right.  For Theo’s sake, she did not push the issue any further and headed to the front gate.  Once she was out of earshot, Max held the hand of his friend and looked at him with compassion.  “How long?”

“I should have died two weeks ago.  I’ve been fighting it with every fiber of my being to survive long enough to see you.  I imagine once I’m comfortable in my own bed, I’ll go to sleep and that will be it.”

“Where have you been all this time?  What happened?  Why didn’t you get word to us that you were alive?  We could have sent for you.”

“It’s a very long story my friend that I don’t have time to tell.  None of that matters, Maxwell, what matters is that I’m here now.”

“Theodore, I have to know how you got like this.  You were healthy when you left.”

“Took an ass beating a while back, infection set in, thought I was getting better and caught pneumonia.  I’m an old man and pneumonia is this world we created is a death sentence.  Isaac sent some men to get some antibiotics and they were killed.”

“Tell me about Isaac and his people, do you trust them?”

“I do, completely.  And you’re going to trust them when I’m gone.  You will need them for what’s next.”

“But you didn’t trust Isaac enough to tell him what you just told me.”

“Trust wasn’t the reason I kept him out of the loop.  I simply wanted the first person to hear the news be you and you alone.  You deserve as much.”

“Start from the beginning, tell me everything.”

“When I left here with my team we had one mission – find Dupree at all costs.  I was prepared to go to the gates of hell to bring him back here to you.”

“I had it on good authority that he killed all of you.”

“I’m the only one that survived.  I never thought one man could be a match against two dozen men.  The things he did, Maxwell, he’s nothing more than a psychopath.  He slaughtered us … we never had a chance.  He got us to split up and took us out two or three at a time until it was just me.  Do you know why he did that?”

“He’s done it many times to taunt me, you weren’t the first.”

“Son of a bitch kept me alive to tell you …”

“That he’s not ready to come home yet, yes, I know, I’ve heard it many times.  After what he did the bastard has the nerve to think this is his home.”

“I thought the same thing but turns out we’re both wrong.  He knows this isn’t his home.”

“So what the hell is he talking about, Theo?”

Theo began gasping for air and started wheezing violently.  This made Max nervous.  Theo produced a canteen and sipped some water.   Theo tried his best to calm Max.  “It’s okay, I’m fine, really.”

“Are you sure?  We still have some medical staff here.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“You were saying about his home?”

“Yes, he knows his home is not here.  I knew he would probably end up killing me if he caught me, I knew I couldn’t stop him but I had to at least keep tabs on him in the hopes some crazy opportunity presented itself.”

“Where’d he go?”

“He went to Beck Estates, or what’s left of it.”

“He went to Beck Estates?  You’re serious?  Why?”

Theo was quickly losing his strength and began to whisper. “He found something.”

“We searched every square inch of Beck Estates when the power grid went down for good.  Howard’s lab had a lot of what we needed and we took all of it.  Nothing of value left.”

“There’s more.  He was talking to someone.”

“Who?”

“No idea.  He was alone.  But it wasn't like when you’re alone and you talk to yourself.  You might catch yourself saying something out loud like ‘Well, this is a fine mess you got yourself into’ but it was more than that.  It was like listening to one side of a conversation.”

“Maybe he was talking to the memory of Howard.”  Max had to remind himself that Richard had just as much right to the memory of Howard Beck as he did.  Richard was there when he died and the last words spoken by the most brilliant mind of the twenty-first century were spoken to Richard Dupree.

“No, that wasn’t it.  Dupree wasn’t being sentimental or nostalgic; he was driven by some purpose.”

Max shot his old friend a mischievous grin.  “For a man on death’s door, you’d think you’d get to the point.”

“Hey, you said to tell you everything.”

“My wife will be here soon with your family.”

“I’m surprised at you, Maxwell.  You mean your wife will be here soon. Why on earth are keeping this from her?”

Max was wounded by such a blunt question.  “I have my reasons.”

As if on cue, Vanessa and James Forrest came sprinting down the path to the SUV.  Wife and son exchanged tearful hugs with the patriarch back from the grave.  Isaac Lynwood had four of his men move Theo to a gurney and the dying man was moved into the compound to rest one last time in his own bed.

Elizabeth Harris stared directly at her husband, waiting patiently for an explanation.  Max looked at her briefly and walked toward the front gate.  Elizabeth followed.  “What’s was Theo talking about?  Who’s up to no good?  Who are you supposed to stop?”

“I don’t know.  Theo didn’t get a chance to tell me.”

“Bullshit!  I saw the look on your face; you knew exactly what he was talking about.  Maxwell Harris, you better start talking or so help me …”

“Or what?  You’ll do what, Elizabeth?  Stop letting me fuck you like you always do when you want your way?  You’ve always treated sex like a weapon, so trust me, sweetheart, I’m used to it.”

“Oh, please!  You’re too much of a drunk to even get it up, so gimme a break.”  Max ignored her and kept walking.  “That’s right, Max, just ignore the problem and it’ll go away.  You’re a pathetic drunk with a permanent case of whiskey dick!”  Elizabeth made sure to speak up towards the end to humiliate her husband.

Max gritted his teeth and kept walking.  His wife was more proficient in verbal judo than he was and she had no problem airing their dirty laundry in front of everyone.  He felt terrible for what he said to her but had no intention of apologizing.  He’d rather have another reason to hate himself.  Max could never bring himself to commit suicide, so he would spend the rest of his life punishing himself for making the wrong decision on that day four years ago.

The Forrest residence was similar to the others in the compound.  The RV-Towns that sprouted up prior to the collapse were still prevalent over a decade later.  The difference now was that the RV-Towns had become fortified and the once mobile homes had planted roots.  Max knocked on the door and waited.  Theo’s son opened the door, nodded, and disappeared to the rear of the RV.  Max stepped inside and sat down.  Thirty minutes passed, then an hour.  Vanessa stepped from the rear compartment and slid the door behind her.  Max stood to greet her.

“Vanessa, I …”

Vanessa Forrest slapped Max as hard as she could across the face.  Max just stood there in complete shock, his cheek red and stinging.  Mrs. Forrest was one of the kindest, gentlest people he had ever known.  Not once had he witnessed her losing her temper.

“You son of a bitch.  You told me he was dead.  You told me he died over a year ago!”

“Vanessa, I’m sorry.  I’m just as shocked as you are.  I don’t know how this happened.”

“Just when I finally accepted that my husband was gone, just when I started to fall in love again.  I’ve been having sex with another man in the same bed my husband is going to die in!  Do you have any idea how ashamed I feel right now?”

Max could barely stand to hear himself speak.  “Do you want me to leave?”

“Yes, very much so.  But he’s asking for you.  Have my son come get me when you leave.”  Vanessa stormed out the door and slammed it behind her.

Max stood perfectly still and stared at the bedroom door.  He tried to will himself to move forward but found himself frozen in place.  He knew he had no choice but confront the nightmare he created.  The thought of Theo cutting him in two with a shotgun felt like a fitting end to his miserable existence so he moved forward.

“Max?  Max?  Are you out there?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Well get in here.”

Max slid the door open and stepped in. 
Damn, no shotgun.
  “Theo, I’m sorry.  You don’t deserve this.”

“I deserve to see my wife and son before I go, and I did.  The rest doesn’t matter.  She feels guilty but I keep telling her it’s okay.  She didn’t know.  I want her to be happy after I’m gone and in time she’ll forgive herself.  She needs someone to blame and you’re the most qualified it seems.  Give her time, she’ll get over it.”

“Again, I’m sorry.”

“Stop it.  We don’t have much time and I want my family here for the end.”

“Okay.”

“What was the last thing I told you?”

“Beck Estates.”

“Ah, yes.  He found something.  I don’t know what, but he found something.  Knew exactly where it was.  This invisible person he was talking to seemed to be leading him right to it.”

“Where was it?”

“In what was left of the library.”

“The library?  He didn’t go to the lab?”

“No, straight to the library and straight out.”

“Ghost of Howard need to do some reading?”

“Dupree’s crazy enough to think it.”

“Wait, how did you get close enough to see him go into the library and live to tell about it?”

“I thought I told you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“I can see how you’d be confused.  Let me put it in perspective.  I was hiding at least three hundred yards away.  Right before he walked in the main entrance, he stopped, stood there a few seconds like he was making up his mind, then he turned around and called out to me.”

“What?”

“Yeah, thought I was dead for sure.  He called out my name and said he wanted me to join him.  Promised he wouldn’t kill me, kept saying it was okay.  I don’t know why, but I believed him.  He was as giddy as a schoolboy, never seen him act like that.”

“He really has gone insane.”

“Well, no way I was getting near him.  Kept my distance.  By the time I got to the doorway I saw him running out of the library laughing like a madman.  Told me had finally had the key to put an end to everything.  Wanted me to tell you that you’d be sorry.  Sorry for what, Maxwell?”

“That I didn’t shoot him in the head the last time we saw each other.”

CHAPTER SIX

The elderly assassin was no stranger to clean up.  He’d disposed of many bodies over the previous decades.  Many were done in haste; others were done in the same casual manner that one would spend doing the dishes after a large meal.  Regardless of the timeline, all had been done with an efficiency that guaranteed Charles would not be pursued by either the authorities or interested parties seeking revenge.  The world Charles operated in no longer had a criminal justice system that demanded prosecution for his crimes so that concern didn’t cross his mind.  Had he not planned for every contingency, Charles would have been concerned that the dead man’s partner and lover, Frank, would find out about Willie’s demise and come after him.  The assassin never left the slightest detail up to chance.  Frank would be disposed of before he knew what had happened to Willie.  Charles would deal with the final loose end in short time.

Any rational person standing over their own murder victim would be alarmed by a knock at the door.  Charles was not.  He was not expecting a visitor but was not surprised by one either.   The old man took a handkerchief from his pocket and cleaned Willie’s blood from his hands and forearms.  The odds of having to defend himself from the person behind the door were quite low in Charles’ assessment, but as always, every contingency must be planned for.

The door was cracked ever so slightly.  The bartender was standing in the hall.  He looked over Charles’ shoulder and saw Willie on the floor.  “Holy shit, you really killed him, I can’t believe it.”

“Let’s not discuss this in the hall.  Please, come in.”

The bartender took a few steps into the room and looked at the body.  He gasped and brought his hand to his mouth.  “That’s so disgusting.”

“I envy you, sir; I’ve been doing this far too long.  This sort of thing does not bother me in the slightest.”

The bartender was disturbed by the old man’s honesty.  Only a psychopath could stab someone to death and feel nothing.  Such a statement made him fear for his own safety.  He nervously looked toward the door and thought about darting out.

“Relax, Mr. Curry.”

“What?  I’m, uh, I’m fine.”

“You were just thinking that I might decide to kill you.”

“Me?  Naw, I wasn’t thinking that.”

“Yes you were.  I wouldn’t be proficient in my line of work if I couldn’t read human behavior.  It’s really quite easy, anyone can do it.  All one has to do is pay attention to the little things.  The human body will always betray what the mind is thinking.  I’ve become so talented at it I find most people can be read like a book.”

The bartender laughed nervously, hoping to ease the tension. “You must make a fortune playing poker.”

“Let’s just say I prefer the stakes to be much higher than money.  More fun that way.  You ever play a game with stakes that high?”  The smile left Charles’ face and he glared at the bartender with malice.

The tension in the room was not eased in the slightest.  The bartender was now certain he would join Willie on the floor.  Charles pursed his lips and locked eyes with Mr. Curry.  The assassin found that direct confrontation resulted in a man’s true colors.  His intelligence, character, bravery, and his temperament could be sized up in mere seconds.