Killer Z Read Free Page B

the
reputation of being a good player.
    “Tom, are you heading out?”
    “Yeah, I’m hungry.”
    “Have you seen Riley?”
    “Nope. How’s your favorite chess
buddy been doing?”
    “Riley hasn’t been around for over
a week.”
    Harry resets the pawns with his
right hand. The left arm and hand has been missing since the Forgotten War.
    “Burger Baron is training newbies.
We could steal grub when they aren’t looking.”
    Tom was once a banker but lost his
family and career to booze. Harry tried helping him but man is dedicated to
mooching.
    “Nah, you go on. I want to reel in
a few suckers.”
    “Have a good one, Harry.”
    Tom leaves and Harry places thirty
two chess pieces neatly on the board. His 80 th birthday is steadily
approaching. A guy dressed in slacks, a black dress shirt, and white shoes sits
down. Harry looks him over - a college student, probably an intern of some
sort. An easy target for sure.
    “Twenty dollars a game, if you
lose I win twenty, but if you win, I give you twenty.”
    “Wassup, I’m Greg,”
    “Nice to meet you Greg, I’m Harry.
How would you like it? Fast and hard, or long and drawn out?”
    Greg places two tens under the
chess clock timer and says, “Neither, how about I win.”
    “You can try. What’s with the
flashy white shoes?”
    “They’re comfortable.”
    Harry shrugs as Greg concentrates
on the board. He’s good but makes a fatal error mid-game. Fifteen moves later
and Harry tucks another twenty into his pocket. As the college kid leaves he
wonders where Riley is. He recalls their last game.
    “Morning, Harry.”
    Riley, a tall, lanky African
American hospital maintenance worker sits down across from him. He’d been
coming to the park ever since his wife passed a year ago. He loses every game
but still comes to play.
    “How was your weekend, Riley?”
    “Oh, quiet,” Riley says as he
moves a black pawn forward two squares. “Kiddo was with her friends all
weekend, gaming again. I wish she would go to college.”
    The “kiddo” is Riley’s twenty year
old daughter, Juliet.
    “Your daughter, hell, this whole
country just needs to get outside more often. You want to lose in ten moves or
five?”
    The janitor laughs and says,
“Ten.”
    Riley creates a solid defense with
his white pawns but makes a foolish move and loses a bishop.
    “I think she’s just sticking
around to look after me.”
    “That’s not bad is it?” Harry says
and takes a rook.
    Riley shrugs, not really considering
the idea.
    “I don’t know what to do with
her,” he continues, his moves becoming careless. “Her mother was the most
beautiful, elegant woman I’ve ever seen but Juliet’s a mess.”
    His voice lowers as he says, “I
need to tell you a secret.”
    “What’s that?” Harry asks, not
wanting to be distracted and takes the queen with his knight. “It’s your turn.”
    “Something bad is happening at the
hospital.”
    A competitor impatiently stands
behind Riley. The janitor absently moves a pawn and leans in closer to Harry.
    “People are getting hurt. I worry
something might happen to me…”
     Harry checkmates Riley.
    “Checkmate. Look, I’m sure
everything will be fine, man. Don’t worry so much.” Harry resets the chess
pieces as Riley rises. “Sorry, but I need to keep playing to pay the bills.”
    “I pray to Jesus if something
where to happen to me someone would watch over my little girl.”
    Harry looks at him. “If something
happens to you, I’ll help her. But nothing is going to happen, so don’t worry.”
    Harry looks over the empty park
and stomach growls. Burger Baron doesn’t sound bad.

 
     

    6
     
     
    “Rebecca, I don’t feel like a
burger,” Michael says.
    “You promised it was my turn to
pick.”
    “But of all the varied and quality
cuisines in the metro D.C. area you have to pick Burger Baron?”
    “I like burgers,” she says
petulantly.
    “Fine, order and I’ll find
somewhere to sit.”
    Several homeless loiter around