Desolate The Complete Trilogy

7



Julie the receptionist looked up, surprised to see Howard stumble through the door. His breath reeked of booze and his words were slurred.

“Hi Julie. I want to talk to Steve. He’s here, right?”

“Howard, what are doing here? Are you crazy? You’re going to get in trouble.”

Howard put his finger to his lips and slowly pulled the gun out. Her eyes widened and she gasped but didn’t scream. Good old Julie, he always liked her. Anybody else probably would have shrieked and dove under the desk.

“You should leave,” he whispered. He couldn’t believe how calm he was. The Colt felt great in his hand and he felt strong and confident. Julie just stared at him.

“Now. Leave now. Go!”

She nodded and headed for the front of the office, picking up speed to almost a run as she crashed through the front door.

Howard slipped the gun back under his belt and quickly walked into the office area. Steve sat at his desk shuffling some papers while Howard stood in the doorway waiting to get noticed. He almost turned around and ran. What was he doing? He just showed his gun to Julie. She was probably sitting in her car talking to the 911 dispatcher on her cell phone right now.

Steve looked up and did a little double take. “Howard?”

“Hi Steve.” Howard entered the office and closed the door. His calmness was back.

“What do you think you’re doing in here? You have no right to just barge in...”

Howard pulled the gun from his pants and held it out in front of him. He didn’t aim it at Steve, just held it pointing at the floor to get his attention.

“Jesus Christ! Of all the stupid…Howard give me that thing. You’re going to shoot yourself in the foot.”

Things were quickly going downhill. Wasn’t Steve supposed to be shitting in his pants about now? Howard pointed the gun at Steve’s head. His hand started to shake.

“You’re not the one in charge here, Steve. I am. So just calm down and don’t do anything stupid.”

“I can see you’re drunk. Why am I not surprised?” Steve stood up, pushing his desk chair off to the side. “And you’re telling me to not do anything stupid?”

“Shut up!” Howard raised his left hand trying to steady the gun. He could hear voices on the other side of the door as the curious cubicle dwellers no doubt saw what was going on through the window.

“This is pathetic, even for you. I know you don’t have the guts to shoot me.” He lifted the handset and dialed 911. “Maybe some time in jail will finally help you get your shit together.”

“Put the phone down,” his voice cracked. “I’m serious, I’ll shoot you!” Howard’s eyes started to water. Why wasn’t this going like he had planned?

“I’ve got a lunatic with a gun in my office,” Steve said into the phone. “His name is Howard Bell.”

Howard swatted the phone out of his hand and Steve went for the gun. They wrestled over the Colt with the desk in between them. Steve easily overpowered Howard and both men lost their balance and crashed to the floor. Steve pinned Howard beneath him but couldn’t pull the gun from Howard’s grip. Several men from the office stood in the doorway, debating if they should help their coworker or run to safety.

The gun fired just inches from Howard’s face, temporarily blinding him from the muzzle flash. The report from the shot in the tiny office felt like hammers hitting his ears. The upper half of Steve’s head evaporated into a red mist of blood, bone fragments, and gray matter. His lifeless body fell onto Howard.

The heroes in the doorway ran the other way with the rest of the screaming office staff. Howard pushed the body off him and slowly got to his feet, looking out the window as two police cruisers screeched to a halt in the parking lot outside. He stumbled out of the office on wobbly legs as the last of horrified workers ran out of the front door. Howard ran to the nearest cubicle and crouched down by the desk. He rubbed his face and his hand came away red from Steve’s blood.

“Oh shit,” he murmured to himself. “Why did he do that? Why wasn’t he scared?”

He slowly stood up and peered over the top of the cubicle. Several cops were already through the front door with their weapons drawn. Howard ducked down and stared at the floor. Adrenaline flooded his system and he fought back the incredible urge to jump up and run for the back door. The only thing he could hear was the pounding of his heart and the ringing in his ears.

Indecision crippled him as the seconds ticked by. Drop the gun and stand up, hoping the cops wouldn’t gun him down or make a run for it?

Someone jumped out from the cubicle in front of him and Howard panicked, reacting with his trigger finger. It was Sal Hernandez from customer service. The bullet hit him in the thigh and he collapsed, screaming on the floor.

Howard stood up and immediately heard a cop yell at him to freeze. He spun around with his gun raised and the cop fired, missing Howard by inches. He yanked wildly at the trigger as he turned to run, still firing blindly at the cops behind him. Howard almost tripped over Sal as he stumbled for the back door.

He sprinted down the alley behind the building as the emergency alarm wailed behind him, reaching the receiving dock just as a Speedee Courier delivery van pulled up. The confused driver got out of the van and froze in place when he spotted the gun in Howard’s hand.

“Get out of the way!” Howard pointed the gun at the terrified driver. He put his hands over his head and kneeled on the ground, mumbling a prayer.

Howard jumped into the running van and yanked it into gear. The van lurched forward and smashed into the fence across the alley. He backed up and got it under control before speeding down the narrow roadway. He glanced into the rear view mirror and made out at least three police cruisers closing in on him.

When the delivery van left the alley and entered Dakota Drive, Howard had it up to over fifty miles an hour. Jessica Anderson was driving a Toyota directly in the path of the van. Jessica had just left Willmar Industries after picking up some cash from Eric Anderson, one of Howard’s ex-coworkers in the shipping department. Jessica thought it would be a nice day to take their two kids to the zoo and Eric left that morning with all the weekly cash in his wallet. Little Brian turned two the previous week and Sophie was only four months old. Brian and Jessica were killed instantly as the delivery van smashed into the tiny hatchback. Baby Sophie would hold out for another three days before passing away in the pediatric intensive care unit with Eric by her side.

Howard was ejected through the windshield on impact and sailed over the mangled car to the other side of the road. He lost consciousness as the sound of wailing sirens grew closer.