by Andrew Weis
“Ready for the show? Popcorn?” I offered, materializing a bag of hot popped buttery kernels. Daniel smiled as he reached for a handful.
“Thank you,” Daniel said.
Nero waved the torch across Tyrone, who screamed under his taped mouth. Nero held the flame inches from Tyrone’s nose.
“Listen up, T,” Nero said. “You ain’t never getting in our lives again, see?”
Tyrone mumbled while shaking his head. Nemo ripped off the tape, along with a few whiskers, from Tyrone’s mouth.
“Do we understand each other, T?” Nero asked.
“I swear to God I’ll get you for this,” Tyrone declared.
Nero fanned the torch across Tyrone’s groin with several quick passes.
“Wrong answer. Now, I got to melt your junk, man,” Nero said with conviction and made the torch flame larger and louder.
Nemo nudged Nero, then handed him a rubber band. Nero smirked as he set down the torch.
I slid my hands across Daniel’s shoulders, then leaned down to rest my cheek against his. A strong closeness to him prospered and other sensations I hadn’t felt with him in a long time flourished.
“What’s with the rubber bands?” Daniel asked.
“Watch,” I said, chuckling.
Tyrone watched Nemo and Nero, unsure of what to make of the change in torture protocol.
“What are you doing?” Tyrone asked.
Nemo snapped Tyrone’s belly. Nero followed suit and snapped various parts of Tyrone’s exposed skin. They snapped Tyrone hard, including his junk, which made Daniel clench his legs together. I cringed as well while containing my laughter. Tyrone, with bulging angry eyes, cursed after each snap.
“What’s that feel like, T? Huh? Does it feel like bees? Uh oh, here comes a big yellow jacket,” Nero said, snapping Tyrone squarely on a nipple.
Nemo and Nero continued their volleys unabated.
“We getting our shop back, T?” Nemo asked.
“Yeah, yeah,” Tyrone said in defeat.
“Do we owe you any green?” Nero asked.
“No, nothing,” Tyrone said with a grimace.
Nemo’s eyes glowed blue while he grabbed Tyrone’s face. “You better believe we don’t owe you, man.”
Nero lowered Tyrone, then Nemo untied him. Nero threw the remnants of Tyrone’s clothes at him.
“Tyrone, don’t you ever bother Daniel or his family again. Got that?” Nero asked, thumping Tyrone’s chest.
With a shattered ego, Tyrone nodded then shuffled toward the garage door opening. If he had a tail, it’d be deep between his legs.
I always felt bad seeing anyone in pain. Being an angel amplified my sense of empathy, which I supposed was a trait my dad saw in me that would work well in my training as a protector. Tyrone’s problems were far from over as cop cars and federal agents swarmed Double N.
“Right on time,” Nemo said.
Agents with held up badges approached Tyrone while support officers stood by with guns drawn prepared for anything.
“Tyrone Marquis?” an agent in a black suit asked with a raised badge.
“Yeah,” Tyrone said, staring at all the activity.
“You’re under arrest for murder, kidnapping and armed robbery of a federal facility.”
“Right on time,” Nemo said.
The agents read Tyrone his Miranda rights while they handcuffed him. Other agents milled around the shop doing whatever agents do at the scene of an arrest. After a time, the police left, and the four of us stood proud of ourselves.
“It’s almost like a Hollywood ending. What do you think?” I asked.
Daniel smiled as we observed Nemo and Nero as they looked over their shop.
“Did any other angels help or was it just us three?” I asked.
“There were others, but they were on the sidelines,” Nero said. “Watchers and archangels are everywhere. Crazy times are going down these days, but we can’t be too careful when guarding the Book.”
“The Book of Ancients,” I said.
“Right,” Nemo said.
“You knew the details about my assignment?”
“Not all of them, only that you were here. Ellis strong-arming you the way he did was outside the realm of your ARV. That’s when we stepped in the picture. Evil doesn't play fair, so we helped level the playing field.”
“Always got a brother’s back,” Nero said.
“True dat,” I said, hugging Nero. “I owe you guys for this.”
“Nah, it was fun for us.”
I looked at Daniel, then at all the beautiful cars in the shop.
“Hey, can I ask a favor?” I asked.
“Name it,” Nero said.
“Do you have a car I can use for a couple days? I need time with Daniel to catch up and whatever.”
“Sure. I like the whatever part,” Nemo said, winking.
Nero looked around and pointed at a gold 1972 Pontiac Firebird.
“You can use the Firebird over there. We bought that a month ago and replaced the rear axle. Should run nice for you.”
“Thanks, guys. I’ll be gentle with it. I never thought I’d say it, but I love these old cars.”
“We know the feeling,” Nemo said.
Chapter 39
THE NEXT MORNING, after waking Daniel from a fourteen-hour slumber, we took a ride in the Firebird. The hot summer sun hung high in the sky and made the humid mugginess of a Chicago summer day unbearable, but today it felt wonderful. I needed to do more than only tell him about my parents. He already met my dad, so now I wanted him to meet my mom.
We drove into Malcom Cemetery, then cruised along the winding roads under the shade of massive oak and maple trees. I remembered my mom’s plot location from the funeral card. We followed the road markers with little signs showing plot and section numbers.
We walked across the grass and found her grave. My stepfather Ken had a nice picture of her laser-cut into the stone. I stood motionless as waves of emotions passed through me. My eyes flooded.
“Daniel, this is my mom. Mom, this is Daniel,” I said. It was strange, but I pictured my mom smiling.
“I wish I got to know her better before, you know,” Daniel said.
“Me too.”
Daniel put his arm around my waist while I raised my arm across his shoulder. I was fortunate that I had the means to see her once I returned to Hali. Still, that didn’t stop the feelings of loss I still suffered.
“Jessa, I think Riley and my aunt are in one of the mausoleums,” Daniel said.
“Okay. Let’s see if they’re here.”
Daniel opened the car door for me. We drove to a parking lot in front of several mausoleum structures. We entered the office and learned Daniel’s family was interred here. A short walk later, we found them. We sat on a bench in front of the crypts. Daniel broke down, and I caressed his shoulders.
Visiting our loved ones was rough, but I was glad we did. We needed to see them, to get needed closure. Now, we needed time for us. I wasn’t sure how long I had before I had to get back to Hali, but I wasn’t about to rush things. We left the cemetery, then drove toward Lake Michigan.
“Where are we going?” Daniel asked.
“Our place.”
Daniel smiled as we made the turn into the side parking lot of the Museum of Science and Industry. We walked around the museum to the steps of the building’s south facade and gazed at the North Pond.
“Remember when we first came here?” Daniel asked.
“Yeah. It was cloudy and cold,” I said with a nostalgic smile.
“Looking back, it wasn’t a smart thing to do. I mean, it’s far from home.”
Daniel squeezed my hand.
“Do you remember when you first knew you liked me?” he asked.
“Yes, the first day I saw you,” I said, smiling.
“Same with me. I knew then I wanted to be with you forever. Is that crazy?”
“Well, we were in sixth grade when we discovered thos
e feelings for the first time. I wouldn’t call it crazy. More like, innocence. We discovered love,” I said.
“Do you think we would’ve lasted had Coz not gotten in the way?”
“I think we would’ve lasted a long time.”
“What about now?” Daniel asked as he pushed aside a lock of my hair behind my ear so he could see my eyes.
“I don’t know how that works since I’m an angel now. All my feelings from when I was alive are still with me, and I still have my, uh, girls, you know?”
Daniel blushed as I let out a chuckle.
“Inside I still feel connected to you. It’s like we still have a future together or something,” I said.
“Yeah. How can I see you once you go back?” Daniel asked. “Do I pray or have to die first?”
I didn’t like the thought of Daniel dying, but since I was already dead, my fears were unfounded.
“Not sure. If you prayed, I wonder if I’d hear you?” I asked.
“What’s it like in Heaven?” he asked.
“It’s more amazing than you can imagine. With any luck, you won’t find out for a long time.”
“I want to find out now.”
I’d love to have Daniel with me, yet I hoped he wasn’t considering suicide as a quick fix for his wish to be with me.
“What? Why? You have your father here. Now you can go anywhere and live out your lives.”
“But I won’t be with you,” he said, looking into my eyes.
His smile dropped but hell if I was ending our relationship. I was selfish, but when I found something I loved, I wanted to hang onto it as long as possible, even if I was an angel.
“Let’s live one day at a time because that’s all we really can do,” I said. “We have a unique relationship, and I doubt it will ever be boring. We’ll still see each other.”
Daniel nodded and seemed to take consolation in that.
“If your father sells the quiet bomb to Harrisburg Munitions, will he want to leave Englewood Rails?”
“I think so,” Daniel said. “Don’t ask me where he’d want to go, but it’d be someplace far from Chicago.”
“Yeah, I don’t blame him.”
I removed my ponytail and finger-brushed my hair free. I missed the joy of my blonde hair as it caught the wind. That was one of my favorite pleasures.
“You know what I wish?” Daniel asked.
“No, what?”
“That we could go back in time and see the fair together. I wonder what it was like to walk on these grounds during that time. There was no internet, smartphones, muscle cars or planes. Only people. They dressed up all the time. You’d have to wear a long dress and a hat,” he said.
Daniel inched closer and put his arm around me. I looked over my black leather skirt and exposed cleavage and realized my outfit wouldn’t fly in 1893 Chicago. Maybe the dream was better than real life. Besides, I loved my outfits too much to give them up, especially these totally kick boots.
“Well, in Heaven you can see it,” I said. “You can see any place in time you want. You can’t interact, but you can feel the experience. That’s the best part.”
“Have you been anywhere else, time-wise?”
“No. I’ve been in protector training since I got there.”
“What about time travel?”
“Nope. That craziness is too confusing for me. I guess I’m too simple-minded to understand how that works.”
“It’s fun to think about,” he said. “After I die, I’m checking out everything, including the Kennedy assassination. I always wondered who killed him.”
I laughed because I always wondered too. Daniel wanting so much to see different places in times made me smile for him. It excited him, like a child. He’d be a perfect fit in Heaven and safe there too. We enjoyed the sun reflecting off the North Pond, which looked unchanged since the fair closed in October 1893.
“Hey, why don’t we go get a drink?” Daniel said.
“That sounds like a great idea,” I said.
We left the steps of the museum and headed for the car.
As we approached the parking lot, I spotted several teens, hooligans in training, circling the Firebird. As we approached the car, the teens took on rough poses. Boys. One boy, a clean-cut black youngster of about fifteen, exuding a little too much machismo for his own good, shifted on his feet.
“This your ride?” the boy asked.
“No, but if you want to buy it, go to Double N Performance. It belongs to them,” I said.
“Don’t know them, so give me the damn keys,” he said, raising a gun to my face.
“Jessa,” Daniel said.
“He can’t hurt anyone with that,” I said.
“What are you saying, white girl? The keys, now, and I won’t cap your suburban ass.”
I crossed my arms and lifted an eyebrow. Inside I laughed, but as an angel, I didn’t want to insult him, but rather teach him. I looked at the boy’s gun, then flashed my eyes blue.
“Cap me with what, a chocolate gun?” I asked, smirking.
The boy pulled the trigger. The gun crumbled in his hand. His jaw dropped as the pieces of chocolate fell to the ground and melted in his hand.
“Look, if you still want the car, buy it. It’s better that way. Trust me,” I said, flashing my eyes at him.
“You should listen to her. She knows how to, uh, do things that can jack you up big-time,” Daniel said, opening the door for me.
The boy stood silent and nodded. Daniel got into the car and we headed back to Englewood Rails.
Chapter 40
WE APPROACHED XTREMES, and the expected lineup of classic muscle cars didn’t disappoint. I parked the Firebird down the block in front of a metallic copper 1960 Chevy El Camino. We checked out the long line of muscle cars parked along the curb as we made our way to Xtremes’s front door. The afternoon heat was the perfect motivator for us to get a cold drink in an air-conditioned room.
All the worries I harbored, the fears I had about the Outer Edge, not to mention the extreme guilt of betraying the man I loved, were now long gone. The air breathed cleaner, the skies shined bluer, and Daniel never looked sexier.
“It’s nothing but an open road for you from now on,” I said. “Tyrone’s in jail, Coz’s out of the picture for good and me kicking serious angel ass.” I noticed Daniel rolling his eyes. “Well anyway, it’s all good now.”
We walked along the busy street, then found ourselves at Xtremes’s front door. Sook moped around the red Chevelle, looking at the damage I caused, yet he still polished the parts left unblemished. I admired how much pride he took in keeping the car looking so spotless, even with a clear plastic sheet duct-taped across the rear window and the sizable dent on the door. I looked at the car and shook my head. He saw me approach and looked away groaning.
“Sook, what are you doing? You don’t have to babysit Coz’s car anymore,” I said.
He scowled.
“This ain’t his ride. Thanks for setting me back, though,” Sook said with disappointment.
“This car isn’t Coz’s?” I asked. My chest squeezed as if a horse sat on it.
“No. Did you want to slash the tires or firebomb the interior this time?”
Daniel glared at me with disapproval while Sook continued wiping the trunk lid.
“Jessa, you did all that damage to Sook’s car?” Daniel asked.
“Hold on a sec,” I said. “Coz always drove this car.”
“Man, that thug treated every car like it was his. He might’ve been the biggest jerk on the planet, but at least he respected the ride.”
“So, this is your car?” I asked.
Sook nodded.
“Yeah, now get lost, girl. I got enough to do already without you knocking me around more.”
“Jessa, the guys around here love their cars more than their women,” Daniel said. “It’s an unwritten law that no matter how much you hate someone; the car is always off limits.”
“Whoa, Daniel,
that ain’t a hundred percent, right?” I asked.
“You know what I mean. Jessa, you owe Sook an explanation,” Daniel said.
“Yeah, girl, you owe me an explanation. It’ll take me years to mint it again,” Sook said with disappointment.
I felt horrible as I watched Sook pine over his damaged pride and joy with sad eyes.
“Hey, Sook, I’m sorry,” I said.
“Beat it, girl. You did enough.”
Daniel looked at me with gritted teeth.
“Jessa, do something,” Daniel said under his breath.
“I’m getting to that. Hey, Sook. I'm not leaving you like this. Let me make it up to you. I did the damage, let me fix it.”
“You don’t look rich. How are you going to fix anything?” Sook asked.
“Hear me out.”
Sook approached me from around the car, then stood right in my face. If it were any other time, I might’ve shoved him back, but he was within his rights to be mad at me.
“Yeah?” Sook asked with a ton of cynicism.
“In my opinion, muscle cars are always better in their original state, fresh from the factory,” I said.
“Parts cost and I can’t afford to take it to Double N,” Sook said.
“Why take it there?”
“They got the best shop in the city. Everyone knows that.”
I looked at Daniel and he nodded. My eyes flashed blue, then returned to normal.
“Who says you have to take it anywhere?” I asked, nodding toward the now restored car as clean as if it came off the assembly line.
Sook stared in disbelief. His jaw hung as he scanned his mint condition Chevelle. He dropped his cleaning cloth as he shuffled up to the car.
“My ride,” Sook mumbled under his breath.
“What do you think? Good, huh?” I asked. Daniel nudged me and furrowed his brow.
“Hey, I own my mistakes. This is the least I could do. I promise I won’t touch it again.”
Sook threw his arms around me. I was shocked at first then a smile emerged on my face as I patted his back. Boy, he had a forgiving spirit.
“Thanks, girl. If it were anyone else, I don’t know,” Sook said, at a loss for words.
“You’re welcome. Keep it humming,” I said as Daniel escorted me into Xtremes.
