Dawn of Destruction
Page 75
“I thought you'd be a coward,” Harrison said, standing with the shotgun. He strafed sideways, so that the counter was no longer between them. “That's why I went ahead and unlocked the roll-up door, figuring you'd try to sneak in behind me.”
“Then that makes you the biggest dumbass who ever lived,” the man said, twisting his scarred lip into a smile. “There's still guys behind you that would rip your head off for a bite of creamed corn. How many can you keep back with one gun?”
“Oh, because the door's broken?” Harrison said lightly. “Well....that was my fault. See, a little chewing gum was all it took to hold the diamond from my brother's ex-wife's wedding ring against the door, and a bit of pressure from a fire extinguisher on a timer was enough to shatter it at the right time. I figured a few would stick around, and I took care of them. The rest? They're two blocks away, eating a big pot of chicken and biscuits that they couldn't help but smell. I know, because I put a fan behind it all to blow the scent this way. Take a deep breath. Can't you smell that? It's my brother's recipe.”
The man's smile faltered. His eyes flicked over to Jason, gasping on the floor.
“What's wrong with him?” the man asked. He began to back away.
“You,” Harrison said, and pulled the trigger with a grimace. The man's head blew away. His body thumped to the floor, still gripping the knife.
Harrison spun and lugged the metal street sign up against the front door. He'd grabbed the sign while he was setting up the chicken and biscuits. He screwed bolts into the holes he'd already drilled to keep the sign in place around the doorframe, then turned back to Jason.
Jason's breathing was ragged, but the fact that he was still breathing was as good a sign as any.
“You idiot,” Harrison whispered. “You should have told me you were out of medication.”
“You...would have left,” Jason whispered back.
“Of course I would have,” said Harrison. “You think I want to run this store without you?” He managed a smile. “You're the best part of it.”
“You don't act...like that,” Jason breathed.
“I mean it. You make every morning worth getting up for. Now keep breathing like that. Slow and steady.”
Harrison held him until morning came, then stood up and stretched. The man with the scarred lip was still dead, and nobody had come banging at their door over the night. Jason was asleep, and he had some color back in his cheeks, but he needed his medication. Harrison knew where to get more, but it was in the last place on the planet he wanted to visit.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART II….