Petrichor

by R J Johnson

  Alex exhaled sharply and sighed. He moved closer to his friend and sat down next to him underneath the tree.

  “Buddy, you think I don’t know what a mistake feels like? The last six years of my life were filled with ‘em.”

  “This isn’t about you Alex!” Scott shouted. “This is about my mistakes and the fact I got her killed.”

  “You sure did,” Alex agreed. “I don’t know how you live with yourself.”

  Scott looked shocked at his friend’s statement, “What…?”

  “That’s what you wanted me to say isn’t it?” Alex asked him. “That it was your fault?”

  “But… it wasn’t really my…” Scott said weakly, “fault… It was an accident.” His eyes narrowed as he thought about JT confronting him after Molly died. “Or at least that’s what JT Halprin said.”

  “Of course it wasn’t your fault…” Alex said softly. “That’s what mistakes are my friend. They teach us what we’re doing wrong so we can get it right next time.”

  “But, this mistake took her from me Alex,” Scott said. He turned away from Alex, hoping to hide the shame he was feeling. Alex sighed and stepped closer to his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder.

  “Then why all the drama? Why break into that lab?” Alex wanted to know.

  “Because I don’t believe I made any mistake. I know I secured everything before leaving that night, which means I was lied to. I need to know who really killed her,” Scott finished.

  “I thought you said it was an accident.” Alex said, confused.

  “Halprin said it was an accident, but I never bought his explanation. In order for the accident that he claimed to occur, someone had to have royally screwed up safety proceedures with the gas canisters. Molly wouldn’t have done that in a million years. I knew what could happen and checked it every chance I got, including the night she died! And hell, Molly was the one who wrote the safety protocols for all of it.”

  “And you think Halprin is the one who did it?” Alex asked.

  Scott set his jaw, “I hacked into the security logs and saw his keycard was the only other one that accessed our lab that night.”

  “What did he say when you confronted him with that?”

  “Nothing.” Scott said, hanging his head. “I didn’t get a chance to confront him before I was busted for trying to break back into the lab. After the accident, Halprin suspended me, and banned me from the complex. I got the idea that if I could break in and get the video logs of that night, I could take the evidence to the cops. But security caught me and was sent to jail. After that, I had no leverage, and the proof from the security logs was gone.”

  “And now?”

  “They wouldn’t delete the video,” Scott said. “They taped everything as a record of our procedures and as a backup to how we accomplished our work. If we died, or were removed from the job for whatever reason, the new guys would have a complete step-by-step record of what we’ve done that they could just watch. My thinking was I could shapeshift into one of the security IT guys and maybe steal that night’s video. Plus, delete any info on the camouflage program.”

  Alex was stroking his chin as he thought about Scott’s plan. “I have to admit, that’s not the worst idea in the world.”

  “Exactly,” Scott said nodding. “It was just bad luck that Halprin happened to be at the lab on the same day I was.”

  Alex sighed. He couldn’t blame his friend for what he had done. He only wished that Scott had told him about the situation instead of just taking the stone for himself.

  “What?” Scott said, sounding angry. “That’s not enough to convince you?”

  “It’s enough,” Alex said. “I just wonder if you’re ready for what revenge like this does to guys like us.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Scott demanded. “You heard what I found. You’re telling me Halprin isn’t up to something here?”

  “I think that revenge is one of the most satisfying corrosive drinks a man downs in his spare time,” Alex said.

  “Please,” Scott scoffed. “What the hell do you know about revenge?”

  Alex chuckled and turned away from his friend, staring back down across the Los Angeles basin. He nodded, looked back at his friend.

  “I know more about what revenge does to a man than anyone has any right to,” Alex started softly. “Revenge was just about all that I had left there for a while.”

  “What are you talking about?” Scott demanded.

  Alex chuckled, “That’s right, you didn’t get to hear the rest.”

  “The rest of what?” Scott asked, his eyes narrow.

  Alex indicated that Scott should take a seat. This might take a while.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Ash was shouting at Alex as their jeep roared down the dusty Pakistani road, but Alex couldn’t hear him over the roar of the car’s engine. They weren’t supposed to be on this side of the border, but here they were chasing after their suspect’s car. Ash was busy shouting something at him that he couldn’t hear over the engine.

  “What?” Alex screamed over to his friend. “I can’t hear you!”

  “I said that this is the most gawdawful idea you’ve ever had!” Ash screamed at him. He held on for dear life as they went around another hairpin turn, the wheels fishtailing on the dusty road.

  Alex ignored his friend and concentrated on driving the treacherous mountain roads as fast as he could. “You’re going to get us all killed!”

  Alex wrenched the wheel to the left as the rear skidded out, the jeep fishtailing around the hairpin turn. Ahead, they could see the expensive BMW racing its way up the dusty trail as the militants were trying to get away.

  “You said, this man financed half the IEDs in Iraq right?” Alex asked Ash, as he pushed the gas pedal. “We take him down, we can stop a lot of good men and women from getting hurt.”

  “Right now, I’m not so concerned about them!” Ash screamed, as Alex swerved to avoid hitting a large boulder than had tumbled down the slope in front of them.

  Ash reached back and began rummaging through the jeep’s backseat for something.

  “What are you looking for?” Alex shouted.

  “This.” Ash withdrew a rocket launcher, pulling it out of the back of the jeep. “Keep us steady, wouldn’t want to accidentally set it off in here.”

  “Jesus, Ash!” Alex screamed. “Don’t you think that’s a little overkill?”

  “If you’re dragging us over on this side of the border, then I’m ending this chase as soon as I can. So keep us steady!”

  Ash leaned out of the jeep’s open window and drew a bead on the fleeing BMW as they raced up the mountain road.

  “Steady, steady…” Ash whispered. Alex pushed the pedal down hoping to close the distance and make the shot easier for his friend.

  Unfortunately, one of the militants in the car ahead spotted Ash and leaned out, holding an automatic rifle of his own. Firing at their jeep, Ash swore and ducked back inside the car, narrowly avoiding being turned into Swiss cheese.

  “Get us closer!” Ash ordered. Alex grit his teeth, saying nothing as he swerved to avoid being hit by the rounds flashing out of the enemy’s rifle. One false move and that was it for them. The militant ducked back inside the car, presumably to reload.

  Ash leaned back out the window, precariously holding on to the rocket launcher, aiming it at their target. Alex held the steering wheel as tightly as he could, willing the man shooting at them to drop his clip, run out of bullets - anything that might give them the edge they needed for Ash to finish their mission.

  For his part, Ash appeared to remain as cool as a cucumber. He aimed the rocket launcher with precision, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to take his shot.

  Just as the militant leaned back out the BMW to fire on them, Ash pushed the button on the rocket launcher. With seconds the bright orange tail of the missile had flown from their jeep into the rear of the fleeing BMW.

  The BMW flipped end o
ver end as the round exploded on the right rear tire. Ash pumped his fist in victory and leaned back into the truck.

  Alex slammed on the brakes and whirled the wheel to the side and the jeep went into a slide, stopping only a few feet away from the ruined car.

  Ash jumped out of their jeep before it came to a stop, his pistol withdrawn and held out in front of him as he searched for their target.

  Alex jumped out and took out his own pistol aiming it at the car as well. Backing Ash up, he examined the car for any more hostiles that might have another gun.

  “Clear!” Alex called out.

  “Clear over here too…” Ash said sadly. “Alex, come take a look…”

  Curious, Alex looked over at his friend and moved to join him on the right side of the car. There, a Pakistani businessman was laying in the road, bleeding out from a massive wound torn out from his chest.

  “That’s Reyhan Al Abadi.” Alex said, sounding satisfied. “That means McElroy’s close. Where’d he go?”

  Coughing sounded from the other side of the car and they moved, seeing a man lying on his stomach attempting to crawl away from his busted BMW. Alex felt his body go numb as he looked at the man who had wanted him to take the blame for the stolen money.

  “McElroy,” Ash said to the man crawling away, “You’re a long way from Nebula’s offices in New York.”

  The white man lying on the ground, turned over painfully and looked over at Ash with pure contempt in his eyes.

  “You’re a dead man Nathaniel,” he hissed at him. “You think you’ve got her protected. Guess again!”

  “Shut your mouth,” Ash said, kicking the prone CEO. The CEO groaned and began laughing.

  “Where’s Heidi?” Alex asked the man lying on the ground. “Where is she?”

  The CEO shook his head and only laughed at him. Ash’s face had gone pale. He’d sent several of his friends after his sister and they’d reported to him they had her. He moved his hands to his belt pulling off the Sat phone. He dialed a number and let it ring for several moments.

  “No answer…” Ash said, his voice shaking. He turned to look down at McElroy. “What have you done?”

  The CEO only laughed again, “You thought all those people were working for you? Please… all I had to do was promise them a few billion dollars that wasn’t even mine to begin with. You may have derailed my plans with that money in Iraq, but it doesn’t matter now. Your people, rather I should say, my people, have already killed your sister. Your parents. Everyone you know and love are now dead because you couldn’t follow a simple order. Remember this moment Nathan. When they ask you why your sister is dead, remember this moment!”

  “SHUT UP!” Ash roared and aimed his rifle at the man’s head, ready to pull the trigger.

  “You thought you had her protected.” The CEO whispered. “But I got to them. I know their weaknesses. I know their needs. I used them to get close to you. Just like how I used you. Can’t you see that now?”

  “Shut up!” Ash said, hitting the man with the butt of his rifle. The man cried out in pain, but continued to laugh through the tears.

  “I’m a dead man…” he said spitefully. “You and I both know it. You’re just prolonging the inevitable.”

  He hadn’t even realize what he’d done at first. It all over so quickly. One second the man was there, taunting Ash, and the next, Alex had withdrawn his pistol and pulled the trigger, killing McElroy instantly.

  This was the man who had been the one who ordered he take the fall for the stolen money. This CEO, so sure of himself and his position in the world, had killed a sweet, young woman for no other reason other than he could.

  It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t just.

  It was the first person Alex had ever killed in his life.

  And it was the beginning of the most hellish two years in his life.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Alex didn’t know what to say, so he just sat there in silence with his friend for a moment.

  “Then how did you end up with the money?”

  Alex’s eyes went wide and he stood, his face going red with rage. He loomed over Scott, shaking in anger. How could he be so blind? Was it really so difficult for Scott to see the lessons from his example? Why couldn’t he help his friend avoid the mistakes he’d made in his life? He wanted, no, that wasn’t right. He needed to save his friend from the same kind of hell he’d gone through. But here he was, concerned about the least important part of the story.

  “This isn’t about the money you idiot. It’s about what getting revenge does to you,” Alex said, the cold fury in his voice evident. “It’s also about making the types of choices that turn you into a good, or bad person. Wanting revenge isn’t a bad thing. After being hurt by someone, it’s natural to want to see them hurt as much as you. But wasting all that energy on something that helped you become the man you were does nothing to change the past.”

  Scott looked at him in disbelief. Alex had never spoken to him like this before. He knew he would be mad about stealing the shapeshifting stone, but Alex didn’t sound mad. He sounded disappointed.

  Somehow, that was so much worse.

  After a few minutes of silence, Scott spoke up.

  “She died because of me Alex, and this is my chance to find justice…”

  “Justice…” Alex snorted. “What does that even mean in a world like ours today? What’s justice? The fact that most teachers can barely pay their rent? The fact that firefighters, police and medics all go out there trying to do good in the world and can only barely keep up with the filth who rob, cheat and murder each other? What sort of justice is all that?”

  “You don’t understand Alex!” Scott yelled back at him. “I know killing someone isn’t a decision you take lightly, but this is someone who deserves to die just as much as that CEO who forced you into stealing that money.”

  “I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Alex replied, “But I’ve been running away from something like that for the last six years. How much do you think that helped me?”

  “Emily didn’t die because of you Alex!” Scott said.

  “Not yet…” Alex said softly.

  Scott swallowed and suddenly he remembered just why he had a stone in the first place. Kline’s face swam before him and a particularly gruesome image of Collier’s dead body in his jaws flash in front of his face.

  Scott looked down at the stone in horror and let it fall from his palm. It clinked softly on the dirt, bouncing gently against a few smaller rocks before coming to a rest at Alex’s feet.

  He sank down and looked around in horror as he suddenly realized he hadn’t seen Emily or Christina around at all.

  “Where’s Emily? Christina? Are they okay?”

  Alex leaned down and picked up the stone, feeling the power return to him. He pocketed it absentmindedly and moved over to his friend, squatting down next to him.

  “They’re okay. They’ll be happy you asked. They went to Hawaii to see if they can find that star that’s supposed to explode.”

  Relief flooded over Scott’s face and he hung his head in between his knees looking sad. Alex smiled and sat down next to him, looking back out at the basin together.

  After watching the world pass by for a few moments, Alex gently spoke up, hoping to steer the conversation back to his friend.

  “So, that’s why you were working on the Hypertruck when I showed up…” Alex said.

  Scott looked up, and realized what his friend was doing. A smile traced the sides of his lips and he nodded.

  “And I stole it when I realized what you could do.” Scott shrugged. “It seemed a good bet to stick close to someone that had a magical stone that healed any wound.”

  “Scott, why didn’t you say something about Molly? I would’ve absolutely understood if…” Alex started to ask, but Scott waved him off.

  “What was I supposed to say?” Scott asked. “You were dead. And then you were alive. And then we started getting shot at and I’ll be
honest, finding out what happened to her fell a few notches on my list of priorities.”

  “Still…” Alex said, feeling horrible. “You were dealing with so much and leapt to help me without a second’s thought.”

  Scott shrugged again and looked up at his friend, a sad look in his eye. “My buddy asked for help. What else was I supposed to do?”

  Alex watched his friend look back over the city below. He thought about what Emily and Scott had gone through while he’d been “dead.” His running away hadn’t just hurt his own life and chance to make things right, but also his friend’s lives had been devastated. And all because he’d been too selfish to consider their feelings.

  That stopped now. His friend needed help and Emily and Christina were safe in Maui. They hadn’t heard a peep out of Kline since their confrontation at San Ellijo, and the man had no idea where any of them were. All things considered, this might be the only chance to help Scott find out what happened before it was too late.

  If Scott wanted to see what was on that night’s security tape, then he would help him do exactly that.

  After all, he’d asked so much from his friend already. It was the least he could do.

  “What do we do next?” Alex asked.

  Scott’s face brightened up and he nodded, acknowledging his friend’s effort.

  “Like I said, my idea was to get into the server room and find the footage for the night she died.” Scott said, his face determined. “Halprin was the only other person who had access to our lab that night and with the footage, I can prove that Halprin was there and he was the one who murdered Molly.”

  Alex shook his head, “Sucks that we missed our chance earlier. By now they’ll have the whole place on lockdown. We could use the shape shifting stone to get in there, but I’m betting they’re not letting anyone in after your little doppelganger trick back there.”

  “Maybe…” Scott said slowly. “But, there might be another way…”

  Alex cocked his head, “What do you have in mind?”