the empty road - 29. the officer

by bofa xesjum

part twenty-nine of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

great. great guy. everybody said so. about officer buddy smith. he was a great guy. and would do anything for anybody. especially other great people, just like himself. but he was polite and helpful to everybody. officer buddy had taken note of poor jordan morris. and had warned jordan about walking along the main highway. always in a helpful and sincere manner, as was his way. strangely, jordan was more afraid of buddy than of the other officers. the other officers who had not nearly so courteous a manner as buddy. it so happened that buddy was first in the area when the call came .. about a pedestrian hit outside the entrance to the wellington mall - buddy suspected right away. poor jordan - buddy had been so sure he was just about to turn his life around. an ambulance got to the scene of the accident at the same time as buddy’s patrol car. jordan was alive, but most likely not for long , and the emt's did what they had to do. the driver of the car looked seriously annoyed, but did not seem at all shaken up by the incident. at least, though buddy, he was not complaining out loud about damage to his vehicle - maybe that would come later. next

the empty road - 28. the cat

by bofa xesjum

part twenty-eight of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

remember. the cat. the director remembered. the cat he killed. he was six years old. already regarded as a nasty child. he killed the cat on an impulse. there were people - grownups - in the next room. with luck, he could have gotten away with it. he pushed the cat’s face into a fat sofa pillow. and it hardly made a sound - hardly being the operative word. but aunt cynthia, who heard and saw everything, heard the cat whimper. what is that dreadful child doing to that animal, aunt cynthia exclaimed testilly. that was the way of it - people just could not mind their own business. and then even when they did, you could count on bad luck to step in. so now, more than fifty years later, bad luck and busybodies were doing their worst again. he had been branded with the mark of cain ever since the death of the wretched cat. he would never know peace, and be hounded to the ends of the earth by the righteous ones. dragged before the laughing shouting world, and exhibited as the model of eternal perfidy, as if he were unique. he closed his eyes - when he opened them he hoped to be sitting in the chair by the family pool. next

the empty road - 27. the car

by bofa xesjum

part twenty-seven of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

people. so many. so many people. all over the earth. hurtling toward their fate. hurtling toward their uncertain fate. a car suddenly hurtles into jordan morris. the car driven by daggett, exiting the mall. poor jordan is thrown ten feet onto the highway. two cars scream to a stop, one in each lane. at least two witnesses - no escape for daggett and the director. two more cars stop on the highway - and another exiting the mall . daggett gets out of his car, and walks over to jordan morris’s body. a man gets out of the first car that had stopped in the road. let's move him off the road, daggett tells the man with an air of authority should we not wait for an ambulance? the man asks bewlderedly, looking around in every direction. do you want to cause a pileup? daggett replies sharply, i am a medical professional, trust me. he looks dead anyway, don't you think, the director, who has gotten out of the car, adds tentatively. remenber, the body of the unfortunate redhaired messenger is still in the trunk of daggett's and the director's car. the man who stopped first does not answer daggett or the director, but takes his phone out of his pocket. next

the empty road - 26. the bum

by bofa xesjum

part twenty-six of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

one foot. then another foot. along the endless highway. no highway patrol - so far. maybe, maybe his luck will hold. the mall is just around the bend. the man’s name is - or was - jordan morris a respectable sounding name, but do not be fooled. for jordan morris is not, and never has been, respectable. nor does he have any very particularly interesting story to tell. or anybody to tell it to, even if he had had one. that is nothing to be ashamed of - not having a story to tell. most people do not have stories to tell - that would interest anybody but themselves. all jordan morris cares about is making it to the mall, before the highway patrol arrives. as they always do, because they are the rulers of the universe - of jordan morris's universe. why can't they just leave a poor man alone, to walk the earth free as a bird? but here is the mall, at last, and jordan would run the last few steps if he could. he twisted his knee a few miles back, when he thought he saw the highway patrol coming at him. like an idiot, he jumped further to the side of the road, even though there was no place to hide. next

the empty road - 25. the mirror

by bofa xesjum

part twenty-five of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

highway. turn left. no, turn right. back on the road. i could have done better. that was no time to panic. how far will i get like this? being afraid and running from every passing shadow. i have to pull myself together starting right now. john forced himself to look in the rear view mirror. there was one vehicle behind him - it did not look familiar. he wished he had not left his sandwich behind - that was dumb. but there would be other mcdomalds ahead - and other bacon and egg sandwiches.’ and adventures - once he got out on the open road there would be adventures. suddeenly john saw a man walking along the side of the road coming toward him. could this be the start of an adventure? he wondered as the man came into focus. but then he saw the man was just a bum who needed a shave and a haircut. not at all the kind of person with a story to start john on a great righteous adventure. then again - it suddenly hit john like a thunderbolt - maybe the apparent bum was exactly the kind of person - but just as quickly as he had appeared the man was left behind and vanished in the rear view mirror next

the empty road - 24. the thought

by bofa xesjum

part twenty-four of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

gone. men gone. allie felt relieved. was she being silly? she did not think so. but what difference did it make? just as long as she felt better. slow day today, becky said, interrupting allie’s thoughts. allie agreed, starting on another train of unhappy thoughts. if business continued slow, might she actually be laid off? or the store closed - but how could it, it was mcdonalds! thinking about the two scary men was not as depressing as that. allie had been afraid of men all her life, since she could remember. she did not understand how other girls and women were not - could not be. men were like lions and tigers - they could start growling and pounce at any time. boys - even little boys - were almost as bad and it was just a matter of time. what are you thinking about? becky suddenly asked allie with a laugh, sometines i worry about you. nothing, allie answered, almost hating becky when she said things like that, though she knew becky meant well. becky was very old, and had been married twice, one less time than allie's own mother, connie, had been. two customers came in - two women, one real old, one not so old, mother and daughter? - mercifully interrupting the conversation. next

the empty road - 23. the lot

by bofa xesjum

part twenty-three of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

calm. stay calm. do not panic. just stand up slowly. do not look behind you. pretend you do not recognize them. and hope they did not recognize you. john took a deep breath and stood up. he did not look at daggett and the director. he placed one foot in front of the other foot. daggett kept watching john as john headed to the front door. the director realized daggett was watching john, sighed inwardly but said nothing. john opened the door and stepped outside on to the black parking lot. the hot air hit him in the face like the breath of life itself. he walked as quickly as he could without running to where delilah was welcomingly parked. if he had turned around he would have seen daggett watching from behind the glass door. i should have turned delilah around for a quick exit, john thought as he opened her door. daggett continued watching as john now turned delilah around, left the parking lot and hit the westbound highway. daggett had, of course, committed the vehicle's license plate number to his highly trained and merciless steel trap memory. let's go, daggett told the director, picking up the cardboard tray with his two black coffees and three egg mcmuffins. next

the empty road - 22. the menu

by bofa xesjum

part twenty-two of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

men. strange men. always coming in. sometimes they scared allie. this one was really scary. but he had a normal voice. three large black coffees, please, he said. he looked up past allie at the menu. he took his sweet time reading and absorbing it. finally he ordered three egg mcmuffins with cheese and bacon. he did not go and sit down to wait for them. he turned and stared at the man who had come in earlier. the earlier man was sitting with his back turned to the scary man. the early man might see the scary man in the reflection in the window. the scary man's companion was staring into space - he was a little bit scary too. finally the mcmuffins and coffees were ready and the scary man took them to the table. i was getting all nervous for nothing, allie told herself, i know i am always imagining things. i thought i said i didn't want anything , the director said, when he saw the three egg mcmuffins . they are all for me, daggett replied, and picked one up and bit half of one of them off. yes, of course, of course, the director started laughing as if that was the funniest thing he had ever heard. next

the empty road - 21. the moment

by bofa xesjum

part twenty-one of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

daggett. the director. both of them. right outside the window. john thought they looked familiar. faces from a forgotten past life. they had given him his first assignment daggett taught him everything he needed to know. which he had forgotten all those years - until now. suddenly daggett stopped, said something to the director and pointed. daggett stopped , said something to the director, and pointed - at john! john realized that his whole life hd been leading to this moment. but what could they do to him , here, in broad daylight , in mcdonalds? daggett and the director passed out of john's vision, heading for the front door. no, the director said to daggett, he did not look familiar to me at all. the director wondered if daggett was losing his grip and seeing things - that would be unfortunate. the director sat down at an unoccupied table on the other side of the room from john. daggett asked the director what he wanted and he said, just coffee, you know how i like it. john heard the words, you know how i like it, you know how i like it, i like it... behind the counter allie johnson and becky church watched daggett approach them with his long stride and strangely savage countenance. next

the empty road - 20. the malcontent

by bofa xesjum

part twenty of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

the director was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, and a profound sense that he was being cheated. he. grew up in a lot of stately houses, most of them high on hills, others on sandy beaches. he did not take kindly to discipline or education, and was marked by his elders for diplomatic service. he evinced talents for treachery and subterfuge, especially against his peers, and flourished in his assigned environment. despite what others might consider his success and rapid advancement, he was solitary, unsatisfied, and embittered. his chosen companions were horses, and then his lowest minions, whom he treated like dogs. he did not like real dogs, or cats, or children, or women - especially women. he moved steadily down the polished halls of power - with no particular goal. but he was not immune to fate, and fate suddenly struck him. in the person of the messenger from the chairman - the chairman! whom he had never trusted - but who could he trust? the chairman had always been keen to foil him. such was life - he had always known that. it was no less easy to accept. so far daggett had proven faithful. the operative words - so far. they approached the mcdonalds. suddenly daggett stopped. and pointed. where? next

the empty road - 19. the circus

by bofa xesjum

part nineteen of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

daggett was born under a bad sign, and raised in the hills by wolves who were loyal to no man. when he was old enough to walk , he walked into town and was picked up by a traveling circus. he was billed as the world's youngest geek, by the maestro, shady ray meadows, a hardened con man. ray meadows taught young daggett everything he knew about playing chumps for suckers, and suckers for chumps. daggett was a quick learner, especially in the art of the double cross, to ray's cost. there was a hoochie-coochie dancer with the circus, named lily, and she belonged to ray. little willie, as dagget was then known in the circus, began following lily around. lily laughed, as did most of the performers and roustabouts, but ray didn't. ray could not stand to be crossed , even by a little kid. lily was his girl, see, and it was no laughing matter. but daggett had learned a few things from the wolves. they found ray one morning with his throat cut. or maybe torn out - so some folks said. little willie was gone - so was lily. they kept it in the family. ray's brother sam took over. the show went on. town to town. nobody talked. circus! next

the empty road - 18. the ant

by bofa xesjum

part eighteen of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

the rain stopped and the sun suddenly came out, and john blinked and remembered an incident from many years ago. he had somehow escaped from james and eileen and was waking down a cracked sidewalk all alone by himself. a big blade of grass stuck through up one of the cracks - the biggest john had ever seen. he heard a dog bark somewhere but did not see any dog or any other living creature. he realized he was all alone in the universe, and was being watched all the time. that was all very well, but who was watching him, if he was all alone? then he saw an ant , and everything was back to normal, just like before. the ant then crawled away to its own destiny, leaving john to his. john never mentioned his experience to james or eileen or anyone else. now the sun was in his eyes through the mcdonalds window. daggett and the director were walking across the parking lot. the director had his eyes fixed in the ground. the ever vigilant daggett looked left and right. suddenly john saw both of them clearly. just like the blade of grass. so many years long ago. in the bright sunlight. blade of grass. dog barking. grass. next

the empty road - 17. the mall

by bofa xesjum

part seventeen of forty

for previous chapter, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

the morning had been sunny, but it started to rain just as daggett turned the limousine on to highway 66. the director was in the back seat, and the body of the unfortunate redheaded messenger was in the trunk. having escaped, for now, the minions of the directory, the director was pondering what new identity to assume. a wandering minstrel, perhaps, or an old salt shipping out on a tramp steamer. he discounted becoming an assassin again - the commission would be expecting him to do just that. and besides, he told himself, he was tired, so tired, of the whole killing game. a somewhat less violent occupation might, perhaps, be more suitable to his advancing years. his doctors had been telling him for years to reduce his stress level. this reverie was interrupted by daggett, as they approached a roadside mall.. it might be a good idea to get something to eat. i suppose if we must, we must, the director sighed. you can’t go wrong with mcdonalds, daggett assured him. you can go in, i will wait here. you should eat, keep your strength up. yes, you are right as always. so what will it be? get me a sandwich. and black coffee? black coffee. look! next