Chapter 8

The Mountain Pass Café

“Time out!” Derek shouted, sounding exasperated. “Buck, go down there and stay there! Nick, calm down!”

Nick struggled to break free.

“I know, if you really wanted to, you could hurt me and then go hurt Bert, and hurt him very badly. Do you really want to?” Derek asked into Nick’s ear. Nick strained to get away, to get out of the hold Derek had on him. Derek thought about his question and realized it had been the wrong one to ask. “Do you want to hurt me, Nick?”

Nick stopped struggling. “I wanna hurt him.”

“Calm down. You two both suffer from cabin fever. I’ll talk with him. Find out why he did something so childish. If nothing else, I’ll get you an apology.”

Rachel silently held out a handful of paper napkins and, to her credit, she didn’t so much as grin. Derek carefully released the hold on Nick’s arms.

They had been sitting, quietly talking, when uproar had broken out in the kitchen. At Nick’s furious bellow, they’d leaped to their feet. Before they could move, however, Bert had burst into the diner from the passage, squealing that Nick was trying to kill him. Nick had followed possibly two seconds later – at least, they’d assumed it was Nick. They couldn’t quite tell because his face had been a mass of chocolate colored sponge and frosting. The expression in the eyes, however, had confirmed Bert’s words. Nick, or the chocolate covered apparition, was trying to kill him or do him serious damage. Derek had dove on him, pinning Nick’s arms. Bert had taken refuge by hiding behind Alex.

At Derek’s order, Bert retreated to the far end of the diner and sat down in the booth next to the one in which Merlin was sleeping. Maybe he thought Nick wouldn’t try anything so close to his wife and, if he did, maybe she’d be woken by the noise and would defend Bert. Maybe he thought there was safety in numbers. He looked like a terrified spider, crunched up into a ball.

Derek slid in opposite him. “Well?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Bert said in a wild voice. “If he said it was me, he’s lying! I was checking out the freezer. I heard a noise, I came out an’ .. he was .. caked. He wiped it away from his eyes an’ that look ..! He shouted an’ I ran. If he’d caught me, I’d be dead right now.”

“Nick wouldn’t lie.”

“We all lie, Derek. C’mon, be honest. Or has living in the supernatural world altered your perception of how things really are? Here’s a newsflash for you – this isn’t The Twilight Zone an’ The Outer Limits is fiction.” Bert hunched even more. “God, I hate this place. I hate being here. I hate being here with you. I’m just a waste of space. I knew it before, an’ now he wants to make me a dead waste of space. The man’s crazy! He should be locked up.”

“You’ve got cabin fever. Relax. None of us are going anywhere until the morning,” Derek told him. “For now, stay away from Nick – ”

“You really think I’d go anywhere near that psycho? Think again, pal.”

Derek regarded him then took a measured breath. Bert was really terrified. “Rachel said you’re conducting your own investigation because you believe the diner is haunted.”

“I don’t believe it. I just thought .. maybe it could be possible. You haven’t exactly let me play on the team, have you? I’ve carried equipment, an’ that’s about it.”

Derek slowly nodded. “Buck .. did you find anything in the kitchen?”

Bert looked up. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to be looking for! I was looking at all the food in the freezer. I think it’s safe to say that Rachel wasn’t shut in there by a tray of meat patties or a bag of chicken quarters. An’ I don’t think the buns did it. If you ask me, seriously, it was that crazy man. He did it.”

“Nick was trapped elsewhere at the time,” Derek told him.

“Really. You believe that.”

“Yes. Nick doesn’t lie to me.”

“Not ever?” Bert pressed, sounding cynical. “You’re saying the guy isn’t deranged, that he’s some kinda saint?”

“Not about things like that.”

“There’s always a first time,” Bert pointed out. “Okay, let’s assume he told you straight. I was in here, with Alex. Peri’s asleep. That leaves you.”

Derek raised his eyebrows. “I was in here with you and Alex, if you recall.”

“Then who did it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe this diner really is haunted.”

Bert looked away. “Yeah, right. Sure it is. Don’t look for the logical explanation, will you? No, you go for the easy option. Take the easy way out. Who’s gonna say you’re wrong, huh?”

Derek rose and walked the length of the diner to where Nick was simmering as he methodically wiped chocolate cake from his face, his hair, his ears …

“Well? I’ve heard his view of events. Now I’d like to hear yours.”

Nick paused, glaring. “What? You believe him an’ say I’m a liar?”

“Did I say that?” Derek queried. “We all know the truth is important, Nick. It is sometimes harsh to hear and painful to accept but it is always subjective. Often, the truth is not one person’s view at all, it is a consensus. An amalgamation of many individual and biased truths. Now, in an attempt to discern the truth of what happened here, I ask you again to tell me your view of the events.”

Nick still hesitated. “I went into the kitchen to watch what he was doing,” he began eventually. “Rachel told me he was in there, doing his own investigation. I was just gonna watch him, see what he did. Nothing more than that. He began to come out of the storage area but stopped. We exchanged words – ”

“What words?” Derek cut in.

Nick shook his head. “Something about he was sick of people checking up on him but, as there was just the two of us this time, he could do something about it. I figured he was .. I don’t know, maybe gonna try throwing me or swinging a punch. Instead, he moved sideways an’ he had this .. huge chocolate cake which he threw at me. I was blinded. By the time I cleared the stuff outta my eyes, I was mad enough to swing a few punches of my own. I saw him still standing there, staring at me. I shouted an’ he ran. I took off after him.”

“Interesting,” Derek mused softly.

“What is?” Nick demanded in a sour voice.

“He says, quite categorically, that he didn’t do it.”

“He denies he was ever there?”

“No, he says he was in the storage area, looking into the freezer, and he heard a noise. He went to see what it was and .. you had been attacked.”

“It was Bert. I’d swear to it.”

“He would swear that it wasn’t.” Derek eased back. “However, there could be another explanation.”

“Yeah. The guy’s a major league coward an’ he’s lying to save his own neck. Did you see how he hid behind Alex?”

“If I honestly thought that you were trying to kill me, I think I would hide behind Alex as well.”

“It wouldn’t stop me,” Nick said with lethal softness.

“I know, but it would buy me several priceless seconds in which to devise an escape strategy.”

“It worked,” Nick commented, his voice cynical. “He’s sitting down there, using my wife as his shield, the picture of injured innocence while I’m being interrogated as the bad guy.”

“That’s exaggeration, and you know it.”

Nick glowered into silence.

“There have been several instances now of strange phenomena. The cold drafts we’ve felt. You getting shut in a storeroom, Rachel getting trapped in the freezer.” Derek saw Nick’s eyes narrow. “Is there more? Something you’ve kept from me?”

Nick looked away.

“I think it’s time we had a round the table open debate on this. All of us, including Bert. But I will not tolerate any more threatening behavior from you or insulting behavior from him,” Derek warned. “If you think you can control yourself, you’re invited to take part. If not, I will speak with the others and then gain your contribution separately.”

“If you’ll keep him in line, I’ll sit on my hands.”

Derek nodded. “Then let’s go.”

*****

Lassie had wiped the tears from her eyes. Her ribs still ached where she’d laughed so much. The other two were still hooting with hysteria and congratulating each other by doing a dance around the diner.

“Man, that was brilliant! Our Olympic peeing contender would win the sprint gold medal as well. I swear I have never seen a human being run so fast in my entire life! An’ the other one, that Nick .. I was sure we were gonna see a bloody nose an’ a black eye. That was just great! Did you see the look in his eyes just as the cake hit? An’ after ..? Fabulous.”

“The other one shrieked like someone had jabbed his butt with a sharp fork. Yeah, this is more fun than we’ve had in a very long time.”

“Okay, guys,” Lassie called. “Yeah, it was fun an’ funny but I think they’re gonna have a talk now so we should listen in.”

“It’ll be boring. We hear talk every day!”

“This talk will be about us,” she countered. “If we wanna stay ahead in this game, we should listen in. Use their discussion to work out what we do next. Remember, these people aren’t loggers or teamsters or tourists off the beaten track. They’re professional ghost hunters. An’ he’s something to do with TV. As they say, let’s be careful out there.”

“Why do they say that?”

“It comes from that new TV show. You remember, Hill Street Blues? I always liked that Frank Furillo. Seemed a decent type of guy.”

“Yeah .. and it sounds good too. Appropriate, y’know?”

They went closer.

*****

Bert took his place at the table. Derek sat beside him, his presence a physical reminder to watch what he said. On Derek’s other side sat Nick; again, Derek was a physical reminder to watch what he did. Rachel and Alex took the remaining two seats.

“If this is going to be meaningful, we have to be open. Keep nothing back. Having said that, Buck, you will pay attention to how you give your contribution. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Bert murmured. Strangely, he felt happier now. Someone was telling him what to do. This was normal.

“And, Nick, you will pay attention to your reactions. This is difficult for us all. We all want to be elsewhere but the weather prevents that from happening. The time will pass more easily if we try not to antagonize each other. For tonight,” Derek declared, “we are one team. Is that understood?”

They all nodded.

“Very well.”

“Before we start, shall I get us coffee?” Alex asked.

“A civilizing gesture,” Rachel commented.

“Good idea,” Derek agreed, thinking they needed as much civilization as they could get.

Alex rose and, as she walked to the counter, she felt a cold draft again. She glanced round quickly, her brow denting, but there was nothing there. Nothing she could see or hear anyway.

She took five white china mugs to the table and put them down. Derek paused to gather his thoughts.

“Several events have occurred which we all know about. There may be others which have happened to individuals. I want to work thru this in time order, see if we can establish some kind of pattern.”

Bert fidgeted.

“Something you wish to say before we begin?” Derek asked.

“Only that you guys are already working on this,” Bert said, looking round the table. “Right?”

“No,” Derek replied and Bert twisted to stare at him. “The first instance, as far as I am aware, was while we were eating supper. Rachel, Alex and Nick felt a cold draft on two occasions.” He looked at them to check and they were nodding. “After supper, Nick went to establish the layout of the building. Rachel went to fetch Buck’s dessert. Nick became trapped in a storeroom, Rachel was shut in the freezer. At that time, Alex, Buck and myself were in here. Peri was, and is still, asleep so I think we can rule her out. Rachel said that the door simply closed.”

“I realized after, when I was talking to Buck, that I didn’t hear it click,” Rachel remarked. “The door has a button to release the catch. If it closed on its own, it would have clicked. It didn’t. That means someone was .. holding the button. It was deliberate.”

Derek nodded and looked to Nick. “Anything you would like to add about your experience?”

“Yeah. I thought the door had locked accidentally so I tried to pop it. But it wasn’t locked, it just wouldn’t open. I thought maybe someone was outside holding it closed. I shouted. I tried pushing, pulling. Then I just shouted for someone to come get me out. And then someone did.”

Derek’s eyebrows rose. “Who?”

“You did.”

“I didn’t.”

“It was you,” Nick affirmed. “I asked you if Buck was responsible an’ you said yes. You said it was his way of settling the score.”

Bert was staring at Derek in open mouthed horror.

“I pushed past you. I admit, I was pretty mad. Then .. just by the restroom, you came thru that door over there an’ I looked back,” Nick went on, “an’ no one was behind me. I said that I thought we had problems here, that we weren’t alone. You said it was ridiculous.”

“I never said that,” Derek protested.

“Now you know what it feels like!” Bert pointed out, unable to stop himself.

“It wouldn’t have been the first time you’ve just thrown out my ideas so I didn’t take much notice,” Nick confessed. “I pushed past again an’ came in here .. an’ saw you talking with Rachel. I figure you’d only just gotten her outta the freezer.”

“Why did you say nothing at the time?” Derek frowned.

“Yeah, right. How did I know if you were the real one? I still don’t. I knew I was me, but everyone else was suspect.”

Derek nodded slowly. “After that .. you continued your exploration. You checked out the freezer.”

“S’right,” Nick confirmed. “The door’s stable. It doesn’t shut on its own.”

“That corroborates what I said,” Rachel remarked. “It was deliberate.”

“I can also tell you that there are no broken windows anywhere to account for the cold drafts,” Nick added.

Derek made a mental note. “While you were gone, Buck went to the restroom.”

“That’s right. I saw him on my way back from the kitchen,” Nick nodded.

“And you followed me in. You threatened to break my fingers one by one,” Bert accused, causing Alex to swing round and look at him.

“I came in here. I never followed you,” Nick responded, silently admitting he wouldn’t object to doing a little torture.

“Don’t try to deny it! I saw you! I was scared you were gonna beat on me!”

“Nick was in here,” Derek ratified. “We all saw him.”

“This is crazy! We had a long conversation. You said this diner is haunted. You told me you knew about this place and you were doing your own investigation when I wasn’t around. You told me to do my own investigation. You told me about the three kids.”

“What three kids?” Nick frowned.

Bert ran both his hands thru his hair. “The three kids on their way to Hollywood. They had to leave because the place was closing. They were tired. Their car went over the drop just the other side of the pass. You even told me what year – eighty one. They’ve been here ever since! C’mon, you gotta remember telling me all that. How else would I know?”

“It wasn’t me,” Nick repeated, feeling maybe he’d acted a little precipitously in blaming Bert for the cake.

“Buck, we are determining various events,” Derek interrupted. “Once we have all the available facts, we’ll discuss them.”

“Okay, but – ”

“Keep it for later,” Rachel urged with a quick, reassuring smile.

“Derek won’t forget,” Alex added. “He’ll get back to you. He has a memory almost as good as an elephant’s.”

Bert accepted that and fell silent.

“So .. Buck was in the restroom, and then he came back in here,” Derek continued.

“Explains why you winked at me,” Nick remarked.

“You said not to say anything to the others,” Bert commented. “It was our secret.”

“Buck came over and asked me what happened,” Rachel said, picking up the story. “I told him as much as I knew. I thought it would be good for him to do some checking out on his own.”

“Well, thank you, Rachel. It’s nice to know someone has my welfare at heart.”

“Buck,” Derek warned.

“Sorry. I went into the kitchen to check out the freezer, like I already told you,” Bert stated. “I was .. studying the inside – not inside cos I didn’t wanna get trapped too – but looking inside an’ I heard a noise behind me. It could’ve been a voice. The freezer was running so the motor kinda drowned it out. I shut the door, went back to the kitchen and Nick was there, wiping chocolate cake off his face. I didn’t even know there was chocolate cake here! He saw me, shouted, an’ I ran. If I’d stayed, I’d be dead. I know it.”

“Nick?” Derek invited.

“When Buck went out, I asked Rachel what he’d been saying. She told me he was doing his own investigation and I shouldn’t get in his way. I followed him because I wasn’t sure if it was really him. In fact, I was ninety nine percent convinced he wasn’t. I got in there .. and he stepped halfway out of the storage area, said he was sick of people checking up on him and that, as it was only the two of us, he’d do something about it.”

“I never said that! I wouldn’t be so dumb as to say that! I never saw you till .. after,” Bert challenged.

“Then he moved around the wall and threw the cake,” Nick related. His voice was calm now, no evidence of temper to be seen or heard anywhere. He knew something weird was going on and that temper wasn’t going to help fix it. “I lost it. I was ready to hurt someone. When I could see again, Buck was still standing there. You know what happened next.”

“I had to physically restrain you,” Derek nodded. “That brings us up to the present.”

“Not quite,” Alex said. “Just now, when I went to fetch the coffee, I felt a cold draft again.”

Derek lapsed into a thoughtful silence for several moments. “Well,” he then commented, “I think it fair to say that Nick was right – we are not the only ones here. As much as we would love to have a rational explanation, there isn’t one which deals with everything that has happened to us here tonight. Buck, I need you to recall as much of the conversation you had with .. Nick as you can. It seems to be our biggest lead.”

Bert blinked. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“From the beginning? With the threats an’ stuff?”

Derek squashed a small smile. “I think we can leave those. Nick wasn’t really there. He never said those things to you.” But he has thought them. I know he has. We all have at some point over the last four days. Fortunately, Derek reflected, no one can be damned for having thoughts.

“Okay. Well .. let me think a second. He said .. this diner – No, it was before that. He asked me why I didn’t believe in ghosts and I answered as best I could with my own beliefs on the subject. Then he said this diner was supposed to be haunted, and I asked … ”

Bert closed his eyes to better picture the scene. Nick facing him, a menacing presence, Bert with his butt hard against the washbasin. Yeah, it was coming back now.

“I asked why no one had said anything when we talked about stopping here. He told me that this was in your local area an’ you all knew the sites an’ local legends. I asked why weren’t you investigating an’ he said that you were, to which I said I hadn’t seen anyone investigating an’ he said you wouldn’t do that with me around.”

Alex felt embarrassed. And also a little alarmed.

“I had to agree with him,” Bert went on. “That’s when he told me I should do my own investigation. I said I wouldn’t know where to start an’ he said I could ask him what he knew then I was on my own. I was a bit suspicious an’ thought he was leading me round by the nose cos, in all fairness, Nick doesn’t volunteer information. Any information. I kinda pointed that out. He said he was being straight with me. He said what happened to Rachel wasn’t an accident.”

Rachel shivered but said nothing.

“I figured I had nothing to lose so I asked him what he knew. He said three kids, early twenties, two of ’em hitching a ride with the third, heading down the coast to Hollywood. They stopped in here late one evening for coffee an’ the diner was about to close. They were tired but they had to leave. They should’ve slept in the car in the parking lot but they didn’t. Er .. just over the pass, there’s a sheer drop. Their car went off the road. Next thing they knew, they were back here an they’ve been here ever since. I asked how long ago did it happen an’ he told me eighty one. That’s about it. There was the don’t tell the others anything, but no other information.”

“Eighty one,” Alex mused. “Over twenty years.”

“I said the same thing! And he said it was a long time to be stuck here. Seeing the same faces, hearing the same conversations. Watching nothing but sport on TV.”

“There’s nothing wrong with sport on TV,” Nick commented.

“I’m an Associate Producer for drama shows, okay? I like drama shows.”

“In a diner, people wouldn’t watch drama shows. They’d watch sport,” Nick countered.

“Before this turns into another argument, this time on the relative merits of fiction versus fact,” Derek cut in, “can we keep to the subject? I think what we are dealing with here are three earthbound spirits who are not only restless but bored. To relieve the boredom, they have decided to have a little fun with us .. because we are not the same faces and the same conversations. We broke in .. and set ourselves up for a fall.”

“They shut me in the freezer,” Rachel declared. “And Nick in the storeroom.”

“Then they let me out an’ nearly succeeded in starting a fight,” Nick went on. “They threw the cake in a second attempt. It came damn close to working.”

Bert was frowning. “So .. who did I see in the restroom?”

Alex smiled. “Congratulations, Buck. You’ve seen your first ghost.”

Bert fainted.

*****

“This place is starting to resemble a hospital,” Rachel remarked, watching Bert for signs of returning awareness.

He was in the booth next to Merlin, a folded coat under his head, his face still pale with shock.

“Will he be all right?” Derek frowned.

“Oh, sure. He just passed out. Surprise more than anything. His pulse is fine. Strong. He should come round very soon.”

Derek nodded slowly. “The last thing we want is a lawsuit.”

“You believe he’d do that?” Rachel exclaimed. “Sue us?”

“I have learned that, where Mr Burko is concerned,” Derek replied darkly, “just about anything is possible.”

“This is typical,” Nick muttered, his arms folded. “Gets his dearest wish an’ promptly keels over.”

“You can’t blame him,” Alex remarked. “His entire belief system has been challenged. To him, he was so sure that ghosts only exist on TV. Then he finds that, guess what? They’re real. Once he gets his head around that little fact not fiction,” she smiled, “he’ll wake up.”

“Well .. as much as I don’t want to continue the debate without him, we have little choice,” Derek continued, returning to the table. “He deserves to be present because he is as affected as the rest of us. And as trapped here too. He will say we deliberately excluded him. However, we cannot afford to wait. We must decide how to respond to these .. tricks and jokes.”

“Derek, I don’t think we should formulate an action plan as such,” Alex warned. “Not in specific detail. If those cold drafts are these three ghosts, they’re here right now listening to every word we say. They’ve learned a lot about us already, enough to fool Bert with an impersonation of Nick, down to the threats and the look, and, okay, maybe Bert hasn’t been around long enough to know better, but they fooled Nick with an impersonation of you as well. They know what we do, where we’re based – this is our local area, remember? We’ve given them a lot of ammunition to use against us.”

“Hmm.” Derek sat down. “All right. From now on, no one goes anywhere alone. We pair up. When Buck is with us again, he comes with one or other group. Visits to the restroom are included in this. We won’t be tricked again by false images.”

“Okay,” Alex agreed.

“I guess we should try to find out who these kids are,” Rachel suggested, taking Alex’s warning and turning it to their advantage. “Maybe they will leave us some clues. It’d be a big help,” she said.

“Yes, it would.” Derek realized what Rachel was doing. “There again, do they want to be helped?” he inquired. “They may be bored here but they may not want to leave.”

“I think they do,” Alex commented. “If they didn’t, they’d just play jokes on us. They wouldn’t have told Buck as much as they did. Twenty years of same old same old … It’d wear anyone down.”

*****

“Man, she’s gotten that right.”

“Our names ..? They have the biggest aid to finding out with them,” Lassie remarked. “Okay, he’s unconscious right now but, when he wakes up … ”

“Do we want to be free? I mean, really free?”

“You mean .. go over?”

“Yeah. I know I do. I’m tired of being here. I want .. something fresh.”

“Twenty years … I’d be forty one,” Lassie realized on a sigh.

“They say the good die young.”

“No, the stupid die young. We should’ve slept in the car. We knew we were tired. One cup of coffee wasn’t gonna do it.”

“You wanted to get to Hollywood for your big break! You were the one who said we’d stop an’ rest once we were over the mountain an’ next stop fame an’ fortune.”

“C’mon, guys. Let’s not fight. Please?” Lassie begged. She wandered closer to Bert. “I think we really scared him.”

“He’ll be fine. Any guy who can run that fast from danger is gonna live to a ripe old age.”

“An Associate Producer in TV … He’s like .. God, y’know? I wish I’d known that before. I could’ve asked him some questions, find out what it’s really like in TV land.”

Lassie looked at the occupant of the next booth.

“Who is she?”

“That’s the one they call Peri, I think,” Lassie replied.

“Why’s she sleeping?”

“Maybe she’s tired, have you thought of that?”

“Oh, ha ha, very amusing. Look, she’s with them, right? They’re not sleeping. So why is she more tired than they are? Huh? C’mon, Mr Smart Ass who always has all the answers. Tell us, do.”

“I don’t know. An’ I’m getting sick of hearing your voice.”

“Why don’t you try shutting me up then?”

Lassie leaned back over Bert. “I think he’s waking up.”

The other two ignored her. They were too busy trying to strangle each other.

*****

“Oh … ” Bert moaned. “What happened?”

“You fainted,” Rachel replied, rising to go to him.

“Someone said … ” The memory rushed back and Bert swallowed. The blood which was returning to his face wondered if it had made a mistake and he started to sway.

“Sit up,” Rachel ordered quickly. “Now bend forward, head between your knees. Take deep breaths.” She watched him obey and she kept one hand on his shoulder. “You’ll be fine. It was simply surprise, that’s all.”

Cautiously, Bert sat up again. “Alex said I’d seen a ghost. I didn’t imagine her saying that, did I? I didn’t imagine .. seeing Nick in the restroom?”

“It wasn’t Nick,” Rachel emphasized. “It was one of the three kids haunting this diner. He – we assume it was a he – gave you a lot of very useful information.”

“And,” Alex went on, carefully approaching, “now they’ve chosen you .. they could use you again as their channel for communication.”

“Me?” Bert gasped weakly. “But .. why? I’m nothing. Nobody.”

Derek raised an eyebrow. “Buck, we need to bring you up to speed very quickly. If these stranded spirits truly want to be free of this prison, they will need our help. To help them, we need more information. You have to know what to ask.”

“O-Okay,” Bert stammered.

“From now on, no one goes anywhere alone, even to the restroom,” Derek added and made it an order. “No more being tricked by our .. hosts. If they want to speak with us, they can do it directly. Buck, you can go with one group or the other but not on your own.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay right here.”

“If we go out to investigate – ”

“I’ll stay here,” Bert repeated. “Peri’s here. I’ll stay with her. I won’t be on my own.”

Merlin sighed softly and shifted position.

“That’s okay, Nick, isn’t it?” Bert asked. “I figure I’ll sit opposite her an’ I won’t move. If you see me anyplace else, it won’t be me .. an’, if there’s two of me here when you get back, I’ll be the one sitting where I was when you left.”

“Personally, I don’t have a problem with that, but what if something else happens in here?” Nick inquired.

Bert moistened his lips. “I’ll .. wake her up ..?”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Nick cautioned. “Believe me, you don’t wanna do that.”

“You could try shouting,” Alex advised. “The diner isn’t that big that we can’t get back in a hurry.”

“Plus shouting might deter them,” Rachel went on. “I don’t believe for a second they’d hurt you. They’re kids, Buck. People your own age. Remember that.”

He nodded, feeling slightly insulted.

“What I mean is,” Rachel explained, seeing the wounded light in his eye, “you have more in common with them than we do. It’s already been proved, hasn’t it? They chose you, not us.”

Bert nodded again, and felt wretched.

*****

Lassie only half listened to this. It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested, she was. It was the other two making so much noise that they drowned out the words. The fun now would have to be more subtle. One avenue had been closed off, unless they were very smart about how they did it. And Lassie had serious doubts about her companions. One was great at acting cameos and he was good at voices but he did possess an egocentric streak when he wasn’t acting. The other was simply immature. They couldn’t be subtle if they tried. They were demonstrating this right now by grappling on the floor and shouting in each other’s faces.

She sighed as she saw Bert stand up and move into the next booth where he sat down firmly opposite the sleeping woman. He looked like his butt was made of stone and he meant to never move again. She watched the others go out into the passage. She had no idea why, she’d missed that piece of conversation. Lassie finally turned to the other two.

“Stop it!” she shouted. “Stop it right now!”

There was a soft sound, like something ripping. But it grew louder into a roar of pure, unadulterated rage. The two guys on the floor froze. Lassie began to swing back to the booth. Bert was rigid with shock. The roar turned into words.

“Will you three shut the fuck up? Some people are trying to sleep here an’ all I have heard from you is bitching an’ moaning!”

Merlin surged upright, her eyes blazing. “Well, I am awake now an’ I hope to God that you know what’s good for you.” She glanced across the table. “Hi, Bert, how you doing?”

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