Linda Andrews - The Meltdown

Sally grinned. “Or I can rig a satellite phone to the handheld and run his background from anywhere.”

Mavis waited until the Marines climbed the tailgate and disappeared inside the carrier then made her way to the back of the truck. “Do it and let me know as soon as you find out anything.”

The sooner the wolf was dealt with, the safer they all would be.

Easing in front of Audra, Eddie aimed his shotgun at the restaurant’s dark kitchen. “Come out, or I’ll shoot.”

Audra swallowed the lump of fear wedged in her throat and tiptoed into place behind him. Stupid! How could she have been so stupid? She’d been so busy showing Eddie that she knew her way around the fast food place that she hadn’t even remembered her flashlight. Now, it sat on the drive-thru window and she was defenseless.

Hadn’t her daddy always said pride was a pitfall?

Eddie stepped sideways, sweeping the muzzle of his gun from side to side.

What was he doing? That wall might hide someone but it protected him, too. She tugged on his shirt. “Stop moving.”

He wiggled as if to escape her hold. “I’m giving you to the count of three, then I’ll start firing.”

What! From this range? Was he nuts? The blast wouldn’t go that much farther than the staging area. And didn’t shotguns only hold two shells? “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

What if there were more than two people back there?

“One.” Eddie steadied the gun, pointing it toward the dark aisle leading to the grills.

“Don’t shoot!” A man’s voice echoed off the tiled walls. “We’re not armed.”

“We?” She gathered the fabric of Eddie’s shirt in her trembling hands. Her tongue felt like foam in her mouth. We meant more than one, but how many more? There was only a baker’s dozen adults left in her group and so many children. Were they outnumbered? Evenly matched?

Could she take a chance on either? Using a toilet wasn’t worth the risk and they had enough fuel for a while, at least until they reached the soldiers.

“The mask is over my mouth, not my ears, Princess.” He stepped closer to the kitchen, yanking his shirt out of her grip.

She leaped after him, fisted the camouflage and tried to reel him back. Not one more person would die because of her mistake. Not one. “Maybe we should leave them be. Get out of here while we can.”

While everyone was alive.

God help her, if she lost people like she had in Casa Grande.

“No. We need that oil to reach the soldiers or my brother died for nothing.” Muscles bunched in Eddie’s back.”Come into the light. I want to see you.”

The shadows shifted by the deep fryer near the drive-thru window. “How do I know you won’t just shoot me?”

Her fear ebbed under the warm glow of hope. She’d walked by the fryer. If they’d meant her harm, they could easily have snatched her up while Eddie was locked outside. That had to mean something, didn’t it?

“Why would I do that?” Her would-be protector adjusted his aim a little to the left tracking the sound.

Could she take the chance that they were friendly?

“Others have.” The stranger volleyed back. “For less.”

Audra swallowed despite her dry mouth. They sounded like a bunch of preschoolers arguing. In her limited experience, thugs didn’t argue, they bullied and threatened, occasionally flat out stole. One of them had to be the first to believe in the harmless intentions of the other or the soldiers would depart while they continued this showdown.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out from behind Eddie’s sheltering body. She trailed her fingers over the half wall separating the dining room from the ordering area. If the stranger and his followers did have weapons, perhaps she could dive behind it.

“We mean you no harm. Please come out.” She set her hand on the shotgun’s muzzle, pushing it down slightly.

“What are you doing?” Eddie hissed.

“We’ve heard that before,” Shadowman answered.

So had they. Throbbing started at her temple, she couldn’t live her life like this. Her stomach knotted. Then again, if this was another Casa Grande, she wouldn’t be living much longer.

“Is that why you’re hiding?” Eddie shifted on his feet but didn’t raise his weapon.

“No, we’re hiding from the gang that just came through here.”

She sucked air in through her teeth. People had caused the explosion. People with bad intentions. She glanced over her shoulder. On the other side of the tinted windows, storm clouds dimmed the weak sunlight. Children lined up to use the toilet at the gas station, but she couldn’t see the field or the neighborhood where the explosion occurred.

Were the bad guys already making their way back to them?

Her toes tapped out the seconds. It was time to be all in or cut their losses and leave.

“They’ve been harassing us for the last two days.” The man’s voice broke, “Picking us off. Stealing our food.”

“And what? They just magically didn’t come in here?” Eddie jerked the muzzle free and aimed it at the kitchen again. “The only restaurant that was open during the Redaction was magically bypassed?”

A shadow morphed into a silhouette then a man emerged from the darkness. Pale skin, black Polo shirt, dark slacks and brown hair. Lines bracketed his mouth and fatigue hung on his eyes. “Haven’t you heard the broadcasts?”

He certainly looked like a man being harassed. “What broadcasts?”

Fabric rustled behind him. Just how many people were back there? There was only one way to find out. It was time to cooperate and a Silvestre’s duty was to lead.

“We drove up from Tucson last night and our radio is dead.” Crossing the ordering area, she set her palms on the counter between them, proving she was unarmed. Trustworthy. “What do these broadcasts say?”

“There’s a radio under the counter.” The man took another step toward the serving counter. “I’ll get it and you can hear for yourself.”

“Hell no!” Eddie charged the counter.

Raising his hands, the man backpedalled until he crashed into the staging area. Metal clanged as his heels hit the stainless steel cabinet. “Okay. Okay!”

A muffled cry came from the back.

“That’s enough!” Geez, these two were worse than tweens. “I’ll get the radio.”

“Audra,” Eddie growled. “He could use you as a hostage.”

“I would never!” the stranger protested.

She shoved her bangs out of her eyes. Did he think she was completely naive? “They had plenty of opportunity to do so when I entered and you were locked out.” Still, Eddie had a point. Keeping her eye on the stranger, she rounded the corner of the counter and pushed at the fake wood door cordoning off the area.

“You won’t take it, will you?” His hands dropped from ear-level to shoulder. “We need it to find the soldiers.”

Soldiers. The magic word. Practically the keys to Heaven. “You’re looking for the soldiers, too?”

With the stranger and the kitchen in her peripheral vision, she ran her hands under the stainless steel counter. Nothing sat on this stack of plastic trays. Clearing the first register, she skipped the cup holders. A dark lump sat on the tower of trays.

“Yeah, they’re supposed to be evacuating the city, but no one showed up at our gathering point so we’re heading out along the route as directed.”

“The fires don’t seem so bad here.” Eddie approached the counter. The muzzle dipped a bit.

She snatched up the radio and stabbed the on button. Nothing. Not even static. Please God, can’t they get one break. Was there really a broadcast?

“The fires aren’t the problem.” The stranger reached for the radio before raising his hand again. “With the soldiers gone, some folks have just gone a little… crazy.”