“Was that Sid?” Sara asked, rushing to thepatio to check if her husband was there.
“I think so.”
“The stubborn old idiot,” she replied whenshe came back. “He should have waited for morning. Nothing goodever comes from running off halfcocked.”
“What do you think he is going to do?” Iasked nervously.
“Nothing,” she replied after a moment. “He’llgo off and stew somewhere, but he’ll be back.”
I hoped she was right. If not, things wereabout to become ugly.
Chapter 14
Sid: First Interlude
“Idiots,” I muttered to myself as I turnedoff the county road and onto the highway. “They’re all idiots. Theyall think I’m an idiot.” Gunning the engine, I swerved tothe right and waved my fist at the car driving slow in the leftlane. “Idiot,” I shouted out the window as I passed him.
Stupid eggheads actually expect me to believethem. They think I’m too dumb to take a piss without trajectoryinstructions from them. Hatter will know what to do. I can getenough advice from him without telling him the specifics. They makea good show out of their little tricks, but I can see through themnow. There’s no way they could have done some of those things onthe fly.
That’s where they slipped up. It’s obviousthat they know more than they’re willing to ever share, but theywere good. They had me fooled for quite a while. They still haveSara fooled. The way she was sucking up to Linda on the couch wasenough to make me sick.
Let’s see now. It’s too late tonight to visitHatter, so maybe I’ll drive until Charlotte and then head out toFort Bragg in the morning. I should have just spent the night atLinda’s house, but by tomorrow they might have brainwashed me intobelieving them again. Maybe they really can brainwash me, Ithought with chilling fear. I’m glad I got out when I did. There’sno telling what those freaks are capable of.
I drove in silence for a while, letting mytruck eat up the miles on the road to Charlotte. Finally arriving,I turned into the parking lot of the first hotel that I saw with avacancy sign. I grabbed my bag out of the back of the truck andmade sure that it was securely locked. I didn’t want some two bitthief getting hold of my toys from back there.
I sat in my mostly dark hotel room thinking.I would have to be very careful with what I told Matt, and how Isaid it. Why did I give those bastards my word of silence, I cursedmyself. Grimly, I thought that if I hadn’t given my word, theymight have killed me before I got away. Deciding that it might be agood idea to have an insurance policy, I turned on the light abovethe room desk and grabbed pen and paper.
Taking a few minutes, I composed my thoughtsbefore writing my letter. Finished, I reread it carefully anddecided that it was good enough. I got my gun from my bag, stuck itinto the waistband of my pants, and headed down to the front desk.I got an envelope from them and headed back up after making sure mytruck was safe. Folding my letter, I stuck it in the envelope,sealed it, and then wrote on it:
To: Major Matt Hatter, Ft. Bragg, N.C.
To be opened only upon the event of my deathor disappearance
Feeling better that I would be avenged ifthey got to me; I put my gun under the pillow and settled in tosleep.
***
First thing in the morning I was up andchecking out, eager to get moving. I gassed up the truck and pickedup a bag of munchies, figuring it would be safer to eat on theroad. Traffic was light this early, and I made good time down thehighway.
Once I was close to the base, I phoned up myfriend and arranged to meet him at a diner nearby. I should havecalled first thing in the morning, but didn’t think of it untilnow. I arrived a little early and picked a corner booth. Matt wouldhave already eaten, so I had no qualms about ordering up a largebreakfast for myself.
I had just finished eating when I saw himpull up. I waved him over to my booth, and got up to shake his handin welcome. Sitting, he declined the waitress’s offer of a menu,but took a cup of coffee.
“I’m surprised to see you out this way,” hebegan. “How are things going these days, and what brings youaround?”
Not quite knowing how to begin, I stalledwith the inane small talk that is typical of friends reunited. Itwas annoying at first, but I eventually started to enjoy catchingup with him. Feeling marginally better now, I wanted to get to thepoint but had a different problem. Every time I was about to startthe real topic, someone would walk by or the waitress would comecheck on us and I had to stop.
Always observant, Matt eventually took pityon me and asked if I wanted to go back to his place to talk inprivate. Relieved, I gave the waitress a twenty and waved him on tothe door. I followed his jeep down the highway for about thirtyminutes, rehearsing my speech in my head. Arriving, he led me intohis office where he poured us each a drink before waving me towarda chair.
“It’s a bit early for scotch, but you looklike you could use a belt. I can’t remember ever seeing you thisjumpy before,” he said bluntly.
Taking a swig I began. “Well, it’s a ratherunique situation that I’ve found myself in. Not only that, butsince I was sworn to secrecy before I found out, I can’t go intoall the details.”
Understanding, he nodded for me tocontinue.
“Theoretically speaking, what would you do ifyou discovered that someone had a great weapon, but refused toshare it with us?”
“Do you mean us as the two of us, orus as
