Hero Haters by Ken MacQueen

Author:Ken MacQueen [MacQueen, Ken]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Abduction; Abuse; survivor; Alpha female; Athlete; Rowing; Black;Broken reputation; Damaged hero ;Death; Doctor ;Detective/Police; Crime ;Fire ;Firefig
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2022-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Six

Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, August

“Blaze made me write a letter yesterday,” Lyla said, “when she hauled me out for a shower.”

Although their close quarters and shared fears imposed an unaccustomed intimacy on the two people, Lyla had held back this latest bad news. But he seemed stronger today.

Anderson looked up, didn’t seem surprised. “And?”

“And…I think I signed my death warrant.”

“Why did you do it then?”

“She didn’t give me much choice.”

“Let me guess,” he said, biting his lip. “If you didn’t, they’d tie me to their van and drag me down the gravel lane. Guess I owe you one.”

She gave a start. “How did you know?”

“The professor made me write one, too. With the same threat.”

“Bastards.” She gave her pillow a vicious punch, sending dust mites flying. “Thanks for sparing me the exfoliation. They’re malicious, in a smart sort of way. Instead of playing us against each other, they gambled we’d have each other’s backs.”

“Mine’s not much of a prize these days.”

He gave a painful stretch. “They played me, that’s for sure. He’d visited me a couple of months ago, that professor guy.” He shifted uncomfortably on his cot. “Flew out to Spokane to interview me for his ‘research.’ Even took me to dinner. I was flattered at first, but it got weird.”

“Weird how?” Lyla Watkins hiked up his sweatshirt to change the dressings on his gravel-shredded left side. “As weird as this?”

“No, this is evil. Back then, he was fixated on analyzing my motives. Like did I stop that school shooter to increase my potential for sexual gratification? Kept talking about ‘the subconscious calculous of risk-reward ratio.’ Bullshit like that.”

Lyla peeled off a soiled bandage. “Well?”

Anderson jerked. “Ow! Fuckin’ hell.”

“Sorry. Got to get an antibiotic cream on this mess, the last thing you need is an infection. Focus on my question, or was ‘fuckin’ hell’ your answer?”

“Ah, jeeze, my ribs. Don’t make me laugh. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t amply rewarded by the ladies of Spokane. Too much, really. Started seeing myself as a total fraud. But it wasn’t some grand plan.”

“Who had the time?”

“Exactly. You just act, right? That’s what bugged him the most, my ‘lack of analysis and self-awareness’ as he put it. I’m not putting myself out there as some comic-book hero, but he used a lot of big words to suggest I was too stupid to be brave. Got up my nose.”

Lyla opened the pack of bandages Blaze provided. “I got the same thing during my interrogation. Said I was a useful addition to his latest research paper. The title was something like, um…”

She searched her memory. “ ‘Selfless or Selfish? The False Narrative of the Heroic Act.’ Something like that. I told him he was a pretentious jerk.”

“Nice.” He stiffened as Lyla applied the new dressings but didn’t cry out. “I asked why the subject interested him so much.”

“I wondered about that, too. Why study a subject you think is bogus?”

“That night I told you about started at Sharkey’s, my favorite bar. Then cocktails and wine at a fancy restaurant.

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