The Hero Without A Cool Name

by Stan Hendriks

  Tom then starts to laugh and as he pads Henry on his shoulder, he replies, “I’m just kidding, a friend of Roy is a friend of mine. Now please, come in! Your sister is already waiting.”

  Henry takes a deep relieving breath and as they walk inside, Roy chuckles and Henry says, silently, “Yeah, very funny. He could have killed me with one single push if he wanted to and you know it.”

  “Relax, he’s not going to do anything. He’s actually the nicest guy in the world.”

  “You could have told me that before we came here!”

  They then walk into the living room where Nathalie is seated. She immediately jumps up and with a concerned expression on her face, she walks up to Roy and asks what happened. With a wink, Roy tells her the same thing he told Tom. Nathalie shakes her head and says, “I told you to be more careful. You could have ended up dead.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m going to teach him some of my signature moves next week,” Tom replies.

  “You’re going to teach him how to fight?”

  “Yes, why not? He should at least know how to defend himself properly.”

  “I agree with that, but please take it easy on him, okay?” Nathalie says, as she then gives Roy a hug. “He’s very tender.”

  Henry starts laughing and Roy replies, “I’m not tender and I’m fine, I really am.”

  “I know, and I’m glad about that. But tell me, where is your other friend?”

  “He is… I actually don’t know where he is. He said he was going to take a walk, but he hasn’t returned yet. But if he does decide that he wants to come then he knows where we are.”

  “Yes, he’s a bit strange you know,” Henry says.

  “Oh, trust me, I know that,” Nathalie replies. “Anyway, our food should be ready soon, so, why don’t we take a seat at the kitchen table?”

  Roy and Henry nod but then they all notice that, on the television, the news is talking about the incident that happened at the warehouse. Attentively, they watch the news and the news reporter is saying, “After many attempts, the police have finally arrested notorious drug dealer Sam Davis. But this wasn’t a usual arrest. After the police received a phone call from a concerned person that lives nearby that gunshots were heard in the warehouse, they immediately rushed towards the warehouse. But to their surprise, they found Sam, who they have been looking for, for over a year, lying unconscious on the floor while the other gang members, three of them to be exact, were lying unconscious on the ground in front of the warehouse. The police are not exactly sure what happened to Sam and the other gang members, but none of the less, they are happy that they were finally able to arrest him.”

  As the news reporter continues to talk about it, Tom says, “I heard that a homeless man said that two people were responsible for it. One knocked out the gang members that were standing outside while the other one came limping out of the warehouse all beaten up.”

  “Where did you hear that?” Roy asks.

  “On another news channel earlier. They even talked about that the homeless man saw that the person who came out of the warehouse was holding a blue ski mask in his hand. And after that, they talked about that person with the blue ski mask was also seen at the bank and some even claim that he did some magic tricks and changed the guns of the robbers into cucumbers. And now, of course, they’re speculating who this man might be, what his motives to be a vigilante are, if it’s really the same man, and blah, blah, blah.”

  “Vigilante? Well, if it’s true that this man is helping in the war against crime, then I wouldn’t call him a vigilante. I would call him a hero,” Henry replies.

  “Hero? Don’t make me laugh. This man should just use his magic tricks for the sake of entertaining people only and leave it at that. Let the professionals fight this war against crime. At least, that’s how I see it.”

  Roy wants to reply to that, but before he can, Nathalie says, “Alright, let’s get some food in us, okay? I don’t know about you guys but I’m starving.”

  “Me too, let’s see what my gorgeous wife has made for us,” Tom replies with a smile, as he puts his arm around her. They then walk into the kitchen and as Roy, Henry, and Tom take a seat and while Nathalie takes a look in all of the pans that are on the stove, Tom continues, “Oh, darling, by the way, someone delivered a package for you today. I put it down next to the television.”

  “A package, from who? I haven’t ordered anything, at least, I don’t remember ordering anything.”

  “I don’t know, wait, let me grab it,” Tom says, as he gets up. But right before he enters the living room again, the package next to the television explodes! With a loud bang and an enormous fireball, Roy and Henry are blown out of the kitchen, through the windows behind them, and into the backyard while Nathalie and Tom are still inside!

  A couple of minutes earlier, Julian is standing in the crystal room with his head slightly bowed down. As he rubs his hands together, he says, “Master Joauura, you told me that my intelligence would not fail me but yet, it has. Twice I have almost made a serve mistake that could have cost Roy his life. I don’t know why and for what reason I let him try to be a hero while I haven’t even taught him everything I know yet. In the bank, everything went alright, but as with the warehouse, they could have beaten him up rather good since he doesn’t even know how to fight yet. Nor does he know how to truly use his powers to defend himself. And that is on me, that is my fault. I should have known not to send him in there alone, on both occasions, without him having the knowledge that he needs. I should have taught him everything before I even allowed him to be the hero he wants to be. My old mentor would have never made the same mistake with me, in fact, it took a full year of training of both my powers and my fighting skills before she even allowed me to go back into the public again and I should have done the same with Roy. How could I have been so stupid, Master? What is wrong with me? Why is my mind so cloudy at the moment?”

  “Julian, yes you may have failed and made decisions that weren’t practical and even dangerous, but we all fail at one point. You may have become too close to Roy, and his dream that you once used to share as well, that you forgot to be his mentor. Your sole reason to be around Roy is to teach him everything he needs to know in order for him to become what he is destined to be, you cannot forget that. You are not friends with Roy, you are his mentor and his teacher. And I can understand that, because you see so many similarities between you and Roy, that you find it hard not to become too attached to him, but you have to remember that you have a duty to fulfill, and you cannot let anything distract you from that. As I told you before, your intelligence will not fail you, Julian, as long as you stay focused on your duty than everything will be fine. Don’t make impulsive decisions based on your feelings, make them by using logic. You know… wait… I… I sense that something is wrong.”

  “What… what do you mean, Master?”

  “Where is Roy Tabby located at this moment?”

  “At his sister’s house I believe, why? Is something wrong with him?”

  “Something is wrong with him indeed, although not critically, you need to go to him right now, as fast as you possibly can.”

  “I will go immediately! Thank you once again for your wisdom, Master Joauura,” Julian says, as he then grabs his ring out of the bowl and runs out of the room with a concerned expression on his face.

  Back in the present, there are a lot of police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks standing in front of what’s left of Nathalie’s villa! While the police are busy clearing the area and while the firefighters are trying their best to put the flames out, the ambulance personnel carries Nathalie, whose body is covered with a blanket, on a stretcher to one of the ambulances and Roy, who is running beside them and holding Nathalie’s hand, says, “Everything’s going to be alright, okay?! I love you! Everything is going to be fine!”

  As the tears are rolling down Nathalie’s cheeks, she replies, “Where is Tom?! Where is Tom?!”

  The ambulance person
nel then put Nathalie in the ambulance and as they close the doors of the ambulance, Roy asks, “Is she going to be alright?! Please tell me she’s going to be alright.”

  “Her wounds are not critical; she is going to be fine. But please, sir, give us the room.”

  “And what about her husband, Tom?”

  “He is being brought to the intensive care as we speak, and I promise you that we will do everything we can to keep him alive. But, my apologies, sir, we have to leave immediately.”

  Henry gently holds Roy back as the rest of the ambulance personnel then get in the ambulance as well and drive off with the sirens on. “This is terrible, I… I can’t believe what just happened. Who would do such a thing?” Henry asks.

  Roy shakes his head and replies, “I… I have no idea.”

  Right at that moment, Julian comes running up to them and says, “Oh thank God you two are okay! What happened?!”

  “Apparently there was a bomb inside of a package my sister received earlier today. I… I don’t know why or who would do this, but this… I don’t have any words for it.”

  “You guys got lucky you only got a couple of scratches,” a police officer says to Roy and Henry. “My name is David Wood. Now, this may be the wrong time to ask you this, but do you have any idea as to who would have done this?”

  “No, officer, I have absolutely no idea,” Roy replies.

  As Roy and Henry continue to talk to the officer and explain what happened, Julian looks to his left and at the very end of the street, he sees Toogaan standing! They lock eyes and while Julian is in complete shock, Toogaan seems to be incredibly surprised! Lost for words, Julian keeps staring into Toogaan’s eyes. But then, Roy taps Julian on his shoulder and for a split-second, Julian looks at Roy, but when he looks back, Toogaan is gone! “Mr. Herrick? Are you alright?” Henry asks.

  Julian looks at the officer and as he grabs Roy and Henry by their arms, he says, “Sorry, officer, but we have to leave, now!” He then drags Roy and Henry with him down the street to a taxi that is still waiting, while the police officer shouts that they weren’t done talking yet. “What… what are you doing?!” Roy asks.

  “We are in danger, Roy, you have to believe me! Now is not the time for questions! We have to get out of here, now!” With concerned expressions on their faces, Roy and Henry are pushed into the taxi by Julian and as Julian gets into the taxi as well, he shouts, “Drive off, now! Please! Go, go!” The taxi driver doesn’t hesitate and immediately puts his foot down on the gas pedal and they race off!

  About half an hour later in the hotel, Lexi is standing behind the front desk using the phone while there is an older couple patiently waiting in front of it while there is some calm and peaceful music playing in the background. But the peacefulness isn’t going to last long, as Toogaan walks into the lobby and immediately goes up to Lexi with a terribly angry expression on his face. Lexi sees him and immediately hangs up, but before she can say anything, Toogaan pushes the old people aside, grabs a shiny looking knife from behind his belt, grabs Lexi by her throat, drags her over the front desk, and then presses the knife against her throat! As some blood is starting to drip over the sharp blade of the knife, Lexi asks, while struggling to breathe, “What are you doing?!”

  Out of panic and fear, the old couple runs off while Toogaan replies, “You nearly ruined Toogaan’s chances to fulfill his destiny, I should kill you for that!”

  “What are you talking about?!”

  Toogaan then let’s go of her throat and replies, “You nearly murdered the one I’m destined to kill!”

  “I… I only tried to murder the only family he has left, I swear! But are you telling me that he was there at the moment the bomb exploded?”

  “That’s correct,” Toogaan replies, as he hides his knife away. “If you ever do something like this again, then know that I will not stop hunting you down before your head becomes my pillow and your blood my morning coffee.” Lexi, with fear in her eyes, swallows and doesn’t say a word. “Don’t ever interfere with my destiny again, is that understood?” Lexi nods rapidly and then Toogaan walks off to the elevator. Lexi waits until the doors of the elevator close and until it goes up and then without hesitation and with tears in her eyes, she runs out of the hotel as fast as she can!

  Chapter Six It May Already Be Over

  While Julian quickly pushes Roy and Henry inside of Roy’s apartment, he says, “Get a suitcase and pack your stuff immediately!”

  “But… I don’t have my stuff here,” Henry replies.

  “Then run home, now!”

  Henry doesn’t hesitate and wants to leave Roy’s apartment again, but Roy stops him and says, “No, hold up! What are you talking about, what’s going on?!”

  “Right now, is not the time for an explanation. All you need to know is that I saw Toogaan, the man who wants both our heads on sticks, standing close to your sister’s villa.”

  “Wait, what?! Is he the guy who put a bomb inside of the package?!”

  “I don’t think he would do that, that is not his style. He only goes after us and does not bring harm to others, at least, as long as they don’t get in his way. But through his eyes, we are the parasites of this earth and it is his destiny to exterminate us. That is all you need to know, both of you. Now, I want no more questions and I want both of you to pack your stuff, immediately!”

  “To go where?” Roy asks.

  “To a country far from this one.”

  “What?! No, I can’t go, not when my sister is still in the hospital!”

  “Yes, he’s right.”

  “Shut it, melodramatic soul! Roy, you have to listen to me, we have little time. For all we know, Toogaan might already be on his way over here and we need to go as soon as we can.”

  “So, let him come, I’m not afraid of him.”

  “You really don’t understand it, do you?! Toogaan is responsible for the deaths of all those who came before me! And believe me, those deaths weren’t pretty!”

  “But how come you’re still alive then?” Henry asks.

  “Yeah, I would like to know that as well.”

  “Am I dealing with deaf morons here or what?! Do you two not know what the word murder means?!” Julian then takes a deep breath and continues, “Years ago he came after me as well. I recalled my mentor telling me about him, but like you, I didn’t think he was that much of a threat. Until one night, when I woke up after a peaceful hour of sleep and saw him standing by my bed with my mentor’s head in his hand and in the other a huge knife. With a blank and empty looking expression on his face, he stared at me while I was lost for words. I couldn’t move out of fear and didn’t know what to do. As he sensed my fear, a smile appeared on his face and he told me that he was going to give me twenty-four hours to run away from him. Basically, in other words, he first wanted to play with his prey before he was going to slaughter it. But after that, he just dropped the head of my mentor near my feet and casually walked away, as nothing happened. Of course, I was afraid and in total shock, but I wasn’t going to take my chances. I didn’t hesitate for a single moment and decided to take the first plane, from Washington to France. I can’t remember the city anymore but that is irrelevant anyway. What is relevant though is that no matter where I went, he always found me. So, after a couple of weeks of running away, I decided to give up and to face him. Toogaan and I were standing face to face on an enormous dam and long story short, I put up a good fight, using my powers against his swords and daggers, but eventually, he managed to pierce a dagger right into my chest. His eyes became filled with satisfaction as he stared at me and told me that he once again fulfilled his destiny and that his ancestors were going to be proud of him. After he said that, he kicked me, while his dagger was still inside of my chest, off the dam and I made, what seemed to be, a forever lasting fall down before I finally hit the water. He must have thought I was dead, but little did he know that by some miracle, I survived and with the wounds I had, I managed to swim out of the water and g
et myself to safety. And well, after all of that, I decided to hide and keep a low profile until I was told to observe you and to be your mentor. And for Toogaan, I guess he went back to wherever he came from to wait until you got a hold of your powers. And before you ask how he was able to know who you are or when you got a hold of your powers, I have absolutely no clue. But my best guess is that he isn’t alone. Anyway, Roy, please, I cannot let you die, nor do I want to put my own life at stake again if I may be honest. Because please believe me, Roy, even if we face him together, the outcome will always be the same, the death of both of us.”

  With a concerned expression on his face, Henry looks at Roy and says, “Maybe you should listen to him. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m all about fighting bad guys together, or at least, assist you kind of in fighting bad guys, but by the sound of it, this guy seems really strong and dangerous. And since he’s only going to come after you and Mr. Herrick, I could stay here and keep an eye out on your sister while she’s in the hospital.”

  “I appreciate that, Henry, I really do, but I can’t leave. I have to stay here, and I have to be here for my sister. She needs me now more than ever and I can’t let her down, not again. And if this guy, Toogaan, wants me dead then, well, let him try. Sorry, but I have to go see my sister now. And, by the way, you basically just said that Toogaan will find us anywhere no matter where we go so, what’s the point of running away? I’m not going to become his prey,” Roy replies, as he then walks out of the apartment.

  Julian closes his eyes and as he lets out a deep sigh, he says, “Melodramatic soul, please do me a favor and go after him and convince him to leave Detroit with me. Please talk some sense into him.”

  “I… uhm, I would love to, Mr. Herrick, but I think we both know that in a situation like this, there is no one that will be able to talk sense into him. Now, again, I would love to, since it’s very important that he listens to you of course, but I don’t think I will be able to.”