Read Online The Diabolical Conspiracy by Bryan Smith - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Bryan Smith
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things. Some serious time on a toilet likely awaited him in his near future. It was only a matter of time before his body rebelled and started shooting it out one orifice or another. Yet another reason to make fucking haste.
Finding his clothes was the next order of business. He couldn’t very well go running out to his car stark naked. Well, perhaps as a last resort. No way was he sticking around if anyone displayed signs of imminent wakefulness. In that event, he would say fuck this shit, grab his keys from the kitchen, and go. What was the worst that could happen? A citation for indecent exposure, maybe, but even that was unlikely if he moved fast enough.
Still, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. There were discarded garments seemingly everywhere. However, a frantic scan of the floor quickly turned up his jeans and shirt. He threaded his way through the naked bodies, snatched his clothes up, and hurriedly pulled them on, followed by his shoes. Another look around confirmed everyone else was still asleep. He was very close to pulling this thing off. Retrieving his keys from the kitchen was the only thing left to do.
The kitchen was a disaster area. Empty bottles and cans everywhere. Spilled food on the floor, the last remnants of that crazy Frankenstein meal. He nearly slipped in a puddle of milk-- milk? --on his way to the counter. He pinwheeled his arms for a scary, vertigo-inducing moment before managing to right himself. Then he grabbed his keys from the counter and got out of the house as fast as he could. His plan was to drive somewhere far away. Far enough that he could sit somewhere in peace, with no expectation of being disturbed by anyone he knew and think about how to handle what had happened--and about what to do next. But as soon as he stepped out onto the porch out front he knew he wouldn’t be doing that.
Marnie craned her head around and smiled up at him from the top step as he came through the front door. “Hi, Mike.”
“ Hi.”
So he had been wrong about being the first one up. Marnie looked surprisingly bright-eyed and perky for someone who had been up partying all night. She was dressed and had even had time to fix her hair and makeup. He cursed himself for his shortsightedness. He hadn’t even noted her absence in the living room. If he had just taken an extra moment or two to get a better lay of the land…
Well…then what?
Nothing, probably.
He would have been just as trapped as he was now.
“ Shut the door, Mike, and have a seat.”
She patted the step beside her.
He thought about making a run for his car anyway, but dropped the idea when he saw she was holding a partially concealed gun between her legs. He doubted Marnie would shoot him right out here in broad daylight, at least he didn’t think she would. But it was hard to tell about anything anymore, especially where she was concerned. He figured the gun was just there to encourage him to listen to her and do as she said. And at that it fulfilled its purpose.
He eased the door shut and lowered himself onto the step next to her. “Nice day.”
She grunted. “Yeah.”
The sky was clear and the air was alive with the usual sounds of a weekend in the suburbs. From somewhere nearby came the sound of a lawnmower. Dogs were barking and kids were playing. A minivan drove by in the street and turned into a driveway a few houses down, disgorging even more noisome kids. It was all so grotesquely normal. The things that had happened in the house behind him last night shouldn’t happen in this kind of setting. It was an offense against all that was right and good in the world.
Marnie looked at him. “Trying to slip away, eh?”
Mike didn’t deny it. Why bother with an obvious lie? He nodded at the gun. “Would you really shoot me?”
She didn’t answer that question. Didn’t say anything at all to him for a few moments as she watched the minivan mom down the street get her rambunctious kids together and hustle them inside
Finding his clothes was the next order of business. He couldn’t very well go running out to his car stark naked. Well, perhaps as a last resort. No way was he sticking around if anyone displayed signs of imminent wakefulness. In that event, he would say fuck this shit, grab his keys from the kitchen, and go. What was the worst that could happen? A citation for indecent exposure, maybe, but even that was unlikely if he moved fast enough.
Still, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. There were discarded garments seemingly everywhere. However, a frantic scan of the floor quickly turned up his jeans and shirt. He threaded his way through the naked bodies, snatched his clothes up, and hurriedly pulled them on, followed by his shoes. Another look around confirmed everyone else was still asleep. He was very close to pulling this thing off. Retrieving his keys from the kitchen was the only thing left to do.
The kitchen was a disaster area. Empty bottles and cans everywhere. Spilled food on the floor, the last remnants of that crazy Frankenstein meal. He nearly slipped in a puddle of milk-- milk? --on his way to the counter. He pinwheeled his arms for a scary, vertigo-inducing moment before managing to right himself. Then he grabbed his keys from the counter and got out of the house as fast as he could. His plan was to drive somewhere far away. Far enough that he could sit somewhere in peace, with no expectation of being disturbed by anyone he knew and think about how to handle what had happened--and about what to do next. But as soon as he stepped out onto the porch out front he knew he wouldn’t be doing that.
Marnie craned her head around and smiled up at him from the top step as he came through the front door. “Hi, Mike.”
“ Hi.”
So he had been wrong about being the first one up. Marnie looked surprisingly bright-eyed and perky for someone who had been up partying all night. She was dressed and had even had time to fix her hair and makeup. He cursed himself for his shortsightedness. He hadn’t even noted her absence in the living room. If he had just taken an extra moment or two to get a better lay of the land…
Well…then what?
Nothing, probably.
He would have been just as trapped as he was now.
“ Shut the door, Mike, and have a seat.”
She patted the step beside her.
He thought about making a run for his car anyway, but dropped the idea when he saw she was holding a partially concealed gun between her legs. He doubted Marnie would shoot him right out here in broad daylight, at least he didn’t think she would. But it was hard to tell about anything anymore, especially where she was concerned. He figured the gun was just there to encourage him to listen to her and do as she said. And at that it fulfilled its purpose.
He eased the door shut and lowered himself onto the step next to her. “Nice day.”
She grunted. “Yeah.”
The sky was clear and the air was alive with the usual sounds of a weekend in the suburbs. From somewhere nearby came the sound of a lawnmower. Dogs were barking and kids were playing. A minivan drove by in the street and turned into a driveway a few houses down, disgorging even more noisome kids. It was all so grotesquely normal. The things that had happened in the house behind him last night shouldn’t happen in this kind of setting. It was an offense against all that was right and good in the world.
Marnie looked at him. “Trying to slip away, eh?”
Mike didn’t deny it. Why bother with an obvious lie? He nodded at the gun. “Would you really shoot me?”
She didn’t answer that question. Didn’t say anything at all to him for a few moments as she watched the minivan mom down the street get her rambunctious kids together and hustle them inside
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