“Well,” said Lisa, “He could be mad at me like I said. Anyway, I don’t know. Him on customer service? I don’t trust him.”
“What do you think he’s trying to do?” asked Bonnie.
“I don’t know,” said Lisa, “But you know, a few good workers have been fired lately without explanation. I think he has something to do with it. I could swear it.”
“Tell you what,” said Bonnie, “I’ll do it myself.”
“I don’t know Bonnie. I really don’t want to get in trouble.”
“But you can’t trust him over here. I sure don’t!”
“Be very careful!”
Bonnie pushed the wagon into the elevator. As she left, one of the stock boys came up to Denny. “Hey, why did I just bring those up if you’re sending them…”
“Shut up!” whispered Denny furiously. He immediately ran down the stairs after Bonnie. Meanwhile, Hal returned to his register. Two of the loiterers quietly slipped out of the front door. Derrick got on Hal’s line.
When Bonnie reached the basement, she pushed the wagon off the elevator. She began toward a swinging door behind a downward ramp that she assumed led to the storeroom. She was surprised when Denny ran over from the stairs.
“I wanted both of you to do this job!”
“Does it matter?” said Bonnie, “It’s getting done either way.”
“Get over here!”
Bonnie left the wagon leaning against the door and started to run away, down the corridor to the left. She didn’t notice the wagon falling through the door, nor did she know that it would continue down the ramp, across the loading dock, over the edge and into the parking lot. Neither did Denny, for the time being.
“Where did she go?” sneered Denny, running after Bonnie.
The corridor ahead was narrow and winding, meant for small cargo taken by hand trucks. It seemed odd that she disappeared through there so fast. He could not have possibly known that an invisible young woman was watching from the ceiling. Using her telekinetic powers, she caused the carpet to rise slightly in front of him, causing him to trip and fall.
Bonnie was about to fly back to the elevator and reappear, but then a strange thing happened. Bobbi, another customer service associate, ran up. She wasn’t even working that day.
“There you are!” she called.
“Forget it,” said Denny as he picked himself up. Then both of them left.
Bonnie floated away as fast as she could. They took the stairs, so she decided to slip invisibly onto the elevator. But then the elevator did not immediately come when she pressed the button, so she looked frantically for another exit. She slipped through the swinging door, and became visible just as she exited the basement into the garage. There was little thought about the revelation of where the door actually led.
Bonnie might well have thought to go upstairs, for it was at that very moment that Derrick came up to Hal, and suddenly pulled a gun.
3. Rescue From the Roof
Hal tried his best to be calm, but with a gun pointed at him, he could only just hold back panic. “What do you want?” he asked nervously.
“Don’t worry, handsome,” whispered Derrick, “Just open that register. Give me the money nice and quick and everything will be alright.”
“I can’t open it without a sale. Want me to ask for a key?”
Derrick took a pack of gum out from the racks. “Just scan that,” he said.
Hal scanned the gum. Then he closed the sale and opened the register. Not noticing what was going on, Ahmed called, “Hal, you didn’t say, ‘From the world to your block at The Big Box.’”
“Just ignore him,” muttered Derrick.
Hal began to empty the register. He hoped for calm, but Ahmed kept calling, “You’re gonna get in trouble. Don’t forget next time.”
Hal was cringing, sweat pouring from his brow, hoping this ordeal would end soon. Then suddenly Jorge the security guard noticed what was going on, and began running over. “Hey! Put the gun down!”
Derrick responded by putting the gun against Hal’s head. “You don’t want this pretty face damaged, do you? Just everyone calm down, and let me leave. It will be OK.”
“Please, sir,” said Jorge, “This will be over soon if you just give me the gun…”
Still pointing the gun at Hal, Derrick leapt over the island and grabbed him by the collar. “This is my friend here. He’s just going to finish emptying that register. Nice and easy…”
Just then he looked out the window and saw his group’s car driving away. Apparently they had seen the commotion inside, and were now presenting an apt picture of what love really meant in his group. Now panicking, Derrick took Hal by the collar. “Alright, pretty boy,” he shouted, “You’re coming with me.”
Derrick led Hal, gun to his head, out through the door to the parking garage, then up the steps to the roof. After they left, Jorge hit his panic button. Lisa quietly sent a text.
Meanwhile, Bonnie had just entered the lower level of the parking lot. She heard the commotion with her super hearing. She peered through the walls and floors, and saw Hal being led with a gun.
She ducked behind a car where she could not be seen. She said the words to herself, “Infinite Power!” In a quick puff of smoke, Bonnie Boring transformed herself into the mighty Ms. Infinity. She failed to notice the handbags, now a mess occupying several parking spots, blowing about in a powerful breeze.
Hal stood against the edge of the roof. Before him was Queens in the April sunset, rooftops of factories, restaurants, and car dealerships, and the Manhattan skyline beyond. Some four stories down was Northern Boulevard, its usual evening rush, and a crowd on the sidewalk gathering to see the spectacle. Police cars were beginning to pull up.
“Don’t worry man,” said Derrick, “You’re my ticket out of here. Once they let me go, you’ll be free.”
Hal wasn’t feeling too sure of the situation. The man’s plans had not exactly worked out before. “What if they don’t let you go?”
“Then you’re out of luck.”
Hal was beginning to wonder if bluffing might be his best bet. “Listen, man,” he said, “You don’t know what you’re dealing with here. I know Ms. Infinity.”
Derrick laughed, “Ms. Infinity? That’s funny. She’s coming here just for you?”
“I know it,” insisted Hal, “She’ll be here any….”
Suddenly there was a flash of lightning, and there was Ms. Infinity.
“…second,” finished Hal, eyes wide open in surprise and relief.
There she stood, a figure of myth, larger than life. She looked like she did on TV, but somehow even greater. She was tall, with dark, flowing hair. Her full-bodied costume was a deep dark blue with the infinity symbol both on her belt and her tiara, both in gold, and a cape of gold that flowed behind her. She stood tall with arms akimbo and spoke with a powerful voice, “Sir, I believe it is time that you kindly release this man.”
“Gladly!” shouted Derrick, Suddenly Hal was being flung over the bar, into the air. But an instant later he was in the arms of Ms. Infinity.
“You’re safe now.” said Ms. Infinity, looking into his eyes. Hal stared back as if enchanted.
Indeed Hal was so excited he could barely speak. He almost forgot to breathe. It almost seemed as if time had frozen in this one, perfect moment. Ms. Infinity seemed even more powerful, more beautiful, altogether more awesome in person than he had ever dreamed. She seemed to glow as he looked at her. “Wow,’ he beamed, “It’s you. It’s really you.”
“So I’ve been led to believe,” she replied with a smile.
As Ms. Infinity descended with Hal, she smiled at him warmly. She landed with him, and gently put him down on the sidewalk in front of the store. Putting her arm on his shoulder, she spoke.
“You have handled a frightening situation with dignity and grace. I sense a man with kindness and decency, and much to admire. Never forget the power you have inside you.”
Hal’s hear
t was beating so fast, he almost forgot how to talk. “Thank you so much,” he said.
“If you understand now, I have a criminal to deal with.”
As Ms. Infinity flew away, Hal watched in complete awe. As he stood there watching her disappear, a police officer approached and asked to interview him. “Sir? Can we ask you a few questions?”
Hal did not answer; it seemed hard to rouse him from his near trance-like state. “Sir?” asked the officer a second time.
“Oh!” he shouted, “I’m sorry, officer.”
Down in the basement, Denny tried to open the door to the parking lot, but it was held closed with a powerful wind. He waited until it stopped, then pushed the door open. He immediately noticed the handbags sprawled out on the pavement.
“I knew it!” he shouted, “That little dippy just ran off to play on her phone. I’ll show her.” He went back inside, teeth clenched, thinking of revenge.
Ms. Infinity flew after the assailant as he ran away.
“Nice!” she shouted, “A minute ago you looked like someone a person might be scared of. You know, not me, but some people. Anyway here you are running away like a little insect.”
As Ms. Infinity approached, Derrick shot at her three times, only to see the bullets bounce off her. He then dropped the gun suddenly, as if something had struck him on the hand.
She shook her head. “If you humans don’t stop with the dangerous toys, you’re going to hurt yourselves. The police are one their way. I just need to wrap up my little gift for them.” She flew around him at super speed. When she was done, he was tied up. The cops were then arriving on the roof.
Looking at Derrick in the eye, she asked urgently, “There were others, right? Who were they and where did they go?”
Derrick did not speak, but Ms. Infinity continued to probe him. She possessed the power to read minds, human minds anyway; this could not be done nearly so easily with one of her native world, possessing powers nearly equal to her own. In fact, she almost never used her telepathy, feeling that reading another person’s mind was invasive and dangerous. But this time she felt there was an emergency. After she probed his mind for a few seconds, she suddenly stood up, as if in shock. “Wow!” she cried.
Turning to one of the officers, she said, “Please be gentle. The bonds should break with a simple knife or scissors. He is not the mastermind behind this crime. In fact, please. I ask you to be merciful.”
“Miss, this is a crime scene. We have other things to worry about.”
“I know. Just please don’t harm him.”
She looked at Derrick with compassion. “You are certain to be arrested now. I will catch the two men who betrayed you. But then the justice system will have to make the decisions beyond this, and I do not know how well this will go. You have made some wrong choices, indeed very foolish and reckless ones, but then you have had far fewer choices than most others. I wish that I could help you more. But do not think that your life is always fated to be cruel and hopeless. I hope one day you will have the full opportunity to embrace freedom and see a more hopeful future. I fear it will never be fair, but it need not always be as bleak as this.”
Derrick looked back at her, quite surprised. “Thank you.”
“Good luck,” she replied, “If you’ll excuse me, I have two more criminals to catch. Never forget the power you have inside you.”
Ms. Infinity took off like lightning. Over the urban landscape she flew, flashing past parking lots, train tracks, and apartment buildings. She carefully scoured every street to find the car she was looking for. It was on the speeding mass of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that she found it, skidding into the shoulder just before she approached it from the back. She grabbed it with her left hand and forced it to a stop. Looking inside, she recognized the other two loiterers from the store. She tore the car in two pieces, from the back to the front, easily as paper. Before them she stood as they fell onto the roadway, an omnipotent figure passing judgment.
“Well, you certainly have an unusual definition of love and friendship, using a vulnerable boy to stand in the way of danger for you. If he has to pay a debt to society, then so do you.”
Both men turned and attempted to run, but they had nowhere to go but the highway. Before they could go far, both had been scooped up by Ms. Infinity. With one under each arm, she disappeared from the highway in a blur, returning to the scene of the crime as quickly as walking across a room. She placed them down in front of the store in front a line of police officers.
“These men were the real masterminds of the operation, though that word might be putting it a little too kindly.”
Ms. Infinity flew up into the air. From on high, she looked back down at the store. Her friends were gathered just inside the store, watching the commotion, with Lisa looking on particularly intently. Ms. Infinity flew behind a wall, where she changed into Bonnie Boring and quietly reemerged. She snuck into the store, and quietly took her place beside Lisa.
“Wow,” said Lisa, “That was amazing.”
“Of course,” said Bonnie, “I saw it. We all did. So, you know, so did I, cause, you know, I was here.”
Lisa rolled her eyes and shook her head. She looked directly at Bonnie. “Well, I sure can’t wait to see what Hal has to say. He got to meet Ms. Infinity. That was like his dream come true. You know he’s totally in love with her.”
Bonnie tried to keep from blushing. She didn’t have time to notice the penetrating glance on Lisa’s face, for only a second later, Denny came up behind her.
“Hey Bonnie,” he said, “I have a question for you.”
“What?”
“A few minutes ago you were down in the basement with that shipment of handbags. So what happened to the handbags? I just saw an entire cart full of them in the parking garage.
She tried to think, but she was truly at a loss. All that emerged from her mouth was a pathetic “ummm…”
“Yeah, ummm…is right. Too bad for you. You can’t laugh off this one. Stupid ass girls think you’re working. Yeah right! I know you don’t care, like all girls. You can just go to the mall with daddy’s credit card, and you just think this whole job is a joke. Well, guess what? You screwed up, and you have to face the consequences. You’re punching out now and going home. Consider this your first write up. You get three of these before you get suspended. If things don’t get better after that, you’re fired. Are you clear on that?”
“Uh…yes.”
He then turned to Lisa, and shot her a look of contempt. “And you, Lisa,” he sneered, “You’re in just as much trouble. You were both supposed to be down there. You disobeyed a direct order, so you’re also written up.”
“You gotta be kidding me!”
“Don’t take that tone with me or there will be more trouble. Both of you can now punch out and go home.”
Bonnie was now visibly crying. “Come on, Bonnie,” said Lisa, “I’ll walk home with you.”
As they left, Hal was returning from being interviewed by the police, and also the press. He seemed like the hero of the minute. Everyone around him was asking him questions.
“Guys,” he called, “Take it easy! I was with her for maybe a minute.”
“Yeah Hal,” laughed Teddy from the electronics department, “That was the best sixty seconds of your life, if you know what I mean!”
“Mind out of the gutter,” replied Hal.
“What did she say to you?” asked Ahmed
“Very little. Now I’m trying to remember…”
“Oh I know,” said Nadine, “You’re trying to keep it a secret. She told you some nice sweet nothings and you just don’t want to share it.”
“I wish,” said Hal, “Wow! That would be something. To have some real time with her, what must that be like? I mean, imagine what it would be like to be with her for a while. Not just… you know, not just that, but to get to know her. Go on one of her adventures. That must be something! I wish I could.”
“Ah,” laughed Nadine,
“Hal wants to get close to Ms. Infinity!”
“Yeah, I really do. I mean, where is she now? What amazing things must she be doing? What awesome, cosmic thoughts must she be having?”
4. Friends and Mothers
“Denny’s a doodyhead!” Shouted Bonnie at the top of her lungs.
“Maybe not so loud,” said Lisa, “Or I don’t know. Maybe they can’t quite hear you in The Bronx.”
The two friends were walking together on Roosevelt Avenue, headed home. The elevated “7” subway line was above them, the squeaks and roars of the frequent trains periodically dominating the soundtrack of Woodside. The activity of the street provided the rest of the cacophony. All around were shops and eateries of every culture. Crowds of people circulated the sidewalks; passerby seemed to be abutting them every second, some nearly bumping into them as they exited the local businesses. Even as Bonnie shouted, she was scarcely noticed amidst the bustle.
“I know I’m loud!” shouted Bonnie, “Sorry, but I’m mad. That idiot! I really hate that guy.”
“I know,” said Lisa, “Vent it out if you must. I’m no great fan of his either.”
“Whatever. It’s not as much fun if you can’t argue.”
“Well okay. Sorry to be too agreeable.”
They turned off Roosevelt Avenue and onto their street. Before them was a mix of apartment buildings and attached houses. The street was busy with many pedestrians winding their way around each other, and crossing amidst the double-parked cars. As they reached Bonnie’s home, a brick townhouse, Lisa looked at her friend. “Bonnie, can we talk a second?”
“Oh no. This never ends well. Now it’s my butt, right? Look I know my personal hygiene isn’t up to your standards but…”
“Bonnie, Stop!”
“Sorry.”
“Can I please ask you something? What exactly happened when you went down to the basement?”
“Lisa, I’d really rather not…”
“Listen Bonnie, can’t you at least tell me what Denny did down there?”
Ms. Infinity (Book 1): Earth's Greatest Hero Page 4
