“I…I…I’m sorry…I’ll do…”
He was cut off by the sudden appearance of a hole in the middle of his forehead and he pitched to the floor. Mixon laid the pistol down on a cabinet and looked at Frank, who was visibly nervous.
“Frank, be a dear and get rid of him, will you? And please do a better job than he did. Oh…and see what you can do about the blood. I do so dislike an untidy office.”
Walter headed home, stayed out of sight for a few minutes until the coast was clear, and then entered his apartment. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and went to his recliner. He took a sip of the beer, propped his feet up, and reached over to scratch Otis behind the ears. The dog whined in appreciation and leaned closer. After a few minutes, he noticed the eerie quiet of the apartment. Even if the kid was studying in the bedroom, he should have come out by now. This wasn’t like him.
“Hey kid, you studying?” Walter called out.
No answer.
Walter walked back to the bedroom, and the laptop was there on the bed, but Franklin was nowhere to be seen. It was then that Walter thought to check his phone. Sure enough, there was a text.
Hey. Had to get out for a bit. Already took Otis out and fed him. Be back by dinner time. F
‘Darn kids and their texting,’ Walter thought, ‘Wonder where he went.’
Then he remembered Franklin showing him how they could track each other's cell phones and he opened the app on his phone. It didn’t take long for him to see where he had gone. He went back to his chair, finished his beer, and then left. A minute later, he was over Spring Grove Cemetery. There was Franklin, sitting down on the grass in front of a headstone. He landed and approached on foot, sitting down next to Franklin and putting his arm around his shoulder. He looked at the inscription on the headstone.
Carla Isabella Jones
December 25, 1978-May 13, 2009
“How you doing, kid?”
Franklin sniffled and cleared his throat. “I miss her, Gramps.”
“Yeah…doesn’t get any easier.”
“I done a lot she wouldn’t be proud of.”
“You’re still young, kid. Got time to fix that.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. She’d already be proud of you.”
“For what?”
“The way you’ve helped me.”
“Dude…you done more for me than I’ve done for you.”
“I don’t know, kid. All that’s happened to me. You helped me sort it out. Couldn’t have done it without you. Your mom would be proud.”
“Man, I ain’t even finished school.”
“Sure, kid, you’ve messed up a bit. Who hasn’t? You can fix that, though. I know you can. You still got time to make her proud.”
“Yeah, but she ain’t around to see it.”
“Look, you can’t change that now, but you can live the way she’d want you to. That has to count for something, right?”
“I suppose so.”
“Let me show you something. It’s not far from here.”
They walked to another part of the cemetery, a walk that took them nearly ten minutes since Walter didn’t want to disturb the mood by flying. He stopped and knelt in front of another headstone, pointing it out to Franklin.
Marcy Anne Hicks
Beloved wife and mother
Resting in the arms of Christ
January 20, 1954-May 13, 2009
“Notice anything familiar, kid?”
“Uh…the…the same day?”
“Yep. Ten years ago. We both lost a good woman that day.”
“Man…she wasn’t much…much of a mother…not with the drugs and all…but…but—” He broke into sobs.
“It’s okay kid. Marcy wasn’t a perfect woman. Hell, nobody is, but she was my wife. I didn’t know your mom, but I’m sure she loved you. I don’t know why she ended up like she did, but she was your mom, and there’s nobody loves you like your mom. Be something wrong if you didn’t miss her.”
“Thanks, Pops.”
“I'm not your pops.”
“Closest thing I got to one right now.”
“You hungry?”
“A moment like this, and you’re thinking about food?”
“You know the calories I burn.”
“Well, I guess I could go for some food.”
“Good. They still got that all you can eat thing at IHOP?”
“I think so.”
“Well, hold on then. I’m buying.”
A minute later, they walked into the IHOP and were seated. The server arrived at the table shortly after and recognized Walter immediately.
“Hi…this is great…glad to see you in here. Do you need a moment to look over the menu?”
“I don’t think so. You still got the all you can eat pancakes?”
“If you order a meal.”
“If that’s the case, let the kid here order what he wants and I’ll take the pancakes.”
She took the order and went to the kitchen.
“Is that Walter?” the cook asked.
“Yes, Jeremy, in the flesh.”
“I’d best keep the pancakes coming. Last time he was in here, dude ate for over an hour.”
“He’s been in here before?”
“Yeah, it was before anyone knew him, but after I saw him on TV, I remembered. Came in here one night and just pigged out. Does he have a young guy with him, black kid?”
“Yeah, looks like a teenager.”
“Yep, that’s him. He’s gonna be here for a while.”
Thirty minutes later, Franklin had finished his meal and Walter was into his third plate of pancakes and showing no signs of slowing down.
“Hey, look here,” Franklin said, showing Walter his phone, “Says here I can schedule the test online. They got a slot tomorrow.”
“You think you’re ready?” Walter asked between bites.
“Yeah, I’ve been studying, and reading extra stuff that wasn’t on the website. I’m ready. Just wish mama…oh man.”
“She’ll be proud.” Walter handed him a tissue.
“You think she can see me?”
“Kid…I don’t know. I’m not a theologian. If she’s with the Lord…maybe he can let her know what you’re up to.”
“Maybe…she talked about Jesus…when she wasn’t…without the drugs.”
“Well, we can hope for the best. I know my Marcy’s there. Maybe she’s hanging out with your mom. Maybe they’re having a laugh seeing us.”
“Yeah…that would be cool.”
“Say, slide your plate over here. You want a couple pancakes?”
“Sure, you don’t have to twist my arm.”
“Well, what time is the test?”
Franklin hesitated a moment to swallow a bite. “9:00 in the morning.”
“You’d best get a good night’s sleep then.”
“What are you gonna do tonight?”
“Probably fly around and see what kind of trouble I can find.”
“Just go to OTR…always trouble going down there.”
“If I want to bust potheads and drunks.”
“Lot more goes on down there at night. Trust me.”
“I imagine you could probably point me in the right direction.”
“Possibly. Don’t know many names, just seen a lot of weird crap last few months. Keep your eyes open. The weed smokers are the least of your problems. You want to get the harder stuff off the streets. I can tell you where some of the deals go down.”
“How much do you know?”
“Like I said, I’ve seen some stuff. Kept my eyes open. You live on the streets, you learn to be aware of your surroundings. You see stuff going down, you keep your distance if you know what’s best for you.”
“Man, I have lived a sheltered life.”
“I wish I had your life.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying, kid.”
“I think I do. You’ve been through some…stuff…but you came through
it pretty good. You’re a little cranky sometimes, but I don’t blame you. You act like this grumpy old man, but that ain’t you.”
“You don’t know how grumpy I can be.”
“Whatever dude. You’re hard on the outside and soft on the inside. You can’t fool me.”
“Maybe you bring out the best in me.”
“Nah…you always been that way. You just let things get to you is all.”
“Maybe. You want to let me know which streets I should keep an eye on?”
“I might, but you gotta watch my back.”
“What for?”
“You bust someone that knows me, I don’t want any of them comin’ after me.”
“How many folks know you?”
“Hey…it ain’t like that. I wasn’t into any of the junk…but I was on the streets for a bit. Anyone thinks I ratted ‘em out…” He drew his finger across his throat.
“I gotcha. I think. Nobody likes a snitch.”
“Exactly. I don’t know many names, like I said, but you roll too many dealers up, and any of their people think I had anything to do with it, I’ll have to lie low.”
“You’re already lying low at my place.”
“We’ll just have to be careful, okay?”
“We’ll have to watch when you go in and out, and how often you’re seen with me.”
“Might be too late for that. We’ve been seen all over town. There’s a photo of us in the paper.”
“Might be good for you, help you with the ladies.”
Franklin took another bite and said nothing.
“Man kid, you’d be blushing if you weren’t black. You do have an eye for the ladies, don’t you?”
“Uh…yeah…been a while.”
“A while since what? Since you had a date?”
“Well…yeah…never had a way with them. Get all nervous and everything.”
“Hey, I was that way when I was your age. Hell, I was scared stiff the first time I asked Marcy out.”
“How’d you do it then?”
“Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. This guy on the football team had a thing for her too. I knew if I didn’t make a move, he would. I just did it. Almost wet myself, but I did. We went steady until school was over…well…as steady as school kids do. We got out of school I asked her dad if I could propose to her.”
“You asked her dad?”
“Yeah, kid. Things were like that back then, least with her family. Real old fashioned Baptist family. First thing he asked me was if I knew the Lord. Nobody that didn’t know the Lord was gonna marry his daughter.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I lied. Then I talked to Marcy. A week later it wasn’t a lie. We married the next year, only nineteen and neither of us knew what we were getting into, but it worked. Lord, I miss that woman something fierce. But that’s how it is, kid. Courage isn’t not being scared. It’s being scared and still doing what you have to do. That’s how you overcome fear. You don’t stop being afraid. You just tell the fear to go to hell and you fight through it.”
“Wow,” the server said, “That was real inspirational. Here’s another plate of pancakes.”
“Hey kid,” Walter said as he buttered another pancake, “She’s kinda cute…and probably about your age.”
Franklin stuffed another bite of food into his mouth and looked down at the table.
“You can’t tell me you didn’t notice. If I wasn’t old enough to be her grandfather…”
“Come on Gramps…you wouldn’t.”
“You’re right, I wouldn’t…but you could.”
“Man…what you talkin’ about? I’m just some street kid. She’s got a job and everything.”
“Well, that’s something we’ll have to work on then. First step, tomorrow morning. You can’t tell me you didn’t notice her.”
“Maybe.”
“No maybe about it…hey, is that my phone buzzing or is it yours?”
“It’s yours. Looks like your cop friend.”
10
Walter picked up his phone and walked outside. “Whatcha got, Larry?”
“Got a pretty serious bomb threat.”
“Where?”
“Downtown, Taft Theater. Some comedian performing tonight, packed house.”
“And someone just threatened the place?”
“Worse than that. It’s gonna hit the news pretty soon. Some group claiming they got a bomb in the place already and if they don’t get twenty mil in the next hour, they’re gonna blow it.”
“Nothing you guys can do?”
“They’re saying if they see a cop approach the place they’ll blow it. They see people evacuating, they’ll detonate. Our hands are tied. That’s the ultimatum. We wire the twenty mil or they detonate. It’s a sold out show.”
“What do you think I can do?”
“Exactly how fast are you?”
“Never really timed myself. Went to Africa in a minute or so.”
“That’s pretty darn fast.”
“Yeah, it was pretty cool. What you thinking, Larry?”
“We need to get you in that building. If you can find the bomb, you could get it out of there pretty fast, I’d imagine.”
“Probably, but I’m pretty recognizable.”
“Come by the station. I think we can manage a quick disguise, at least enough to cast a bit of doubt. We also got a ticket to the show.”
“Thought you said it was sold out.”
“StubHub. Got you covered. Just get here as soon as you can. The show starts in a few minutes.”
Walter went back in and dropped some money on the table. “Hey kid, gotta run. Take care of the bill and leave a good tip, okay?”
“What’s up?”
“Emergency. I’ll be back in a bit. Just chill here or go over to Meijer or Target.”
Walter walked into the police station a moment later and was met by Wilkins and another cop.
“Hey Walter, this is Officer Ben Motz. He’ll be accompanying you tonight.”
Motz stuck out his hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”
“Same here,” Walter said, taking his hand.
“Ben is a demolitions expert,” Wilkins added by way of explanation.
“Yeah, we get in there and hopefully I can disarm it. If not, that’s where you come in.”
“Now all we need to do is get you in unnoticed. Add some facial hair, glasses…should do the trick,” Wilkins said.
Twenty minutes later, Walter and Officer Motz presented tickets and walked in the Taft Theater.
“My beard itches,” Walter said.
“Hopefully you can shave soon. I’m gonna head to the restroom and we can make sure these comms are working.”
“Okay.”
Each had a small earpiece in that would allow them to communicate remotely. Motz entered the restroom and said, “Check.”
“Hear you loud and clear.”
“Good deal. The show’s about to start. We should have a few minutes to walk about and look. You don’t have X-ray vision by any chance, like Superman?”
“Don’t think so. Would come in handy. I can smell and hear like a dog. Would the bomb smell funny?”
“It might, depending on what it’s made of. You spot anything, call me over and I’ll see if it can be disarmed. If not, you pick it up and get the hell out of Dodge as fast as you can.”
“Does this show have an intermission?”
“I believe so.”
“That’s good. If we keep walking around after things start, it might look suspicious.”
“Sounds good. Have a quick look around and I’ll see you at the seats.”
“Get you anything else?” the server asked.
“Nah, maybe a Coke. I can get refills on that, right?” Franklin said.
“Sure, where’d your friend go?”
“Off to save the world, or track down some crook. Not sure. He got a call from a cop and flew out of here.”
“So, yo
u’re friends with Walter?”
“It’s complicated.”
“How so?”
“Long story.”
She looked at her watch. “I get off in…three minutes. I’ll bring you a Coke and the bill and you can tell me all about it.”
“So, where were we?” She sat down across from Franklin after settling the check.
“Well…my name’s Franklin. Franklin Jones.”
“I’m Kendra…but you could see that on my name badge. Kendra Williams. What part of town you from, Franklin?”
“I stay down in Clifton right now.”
“You still live at home?”
“Not exactly.”
“You’re on your own then?”
“Not exactly.”
“Where…oh pardon me for being so nosy.”
“No problem. I’m staying with Walter.”
“Oh, how cool is that?”
“I don’t know. He has this huge dog. I feed him and walk him and I get the spare bedroom. I guess it’s cool.”
“I mean…with Walter…you know how many people would be jealous?”
“Guess so. He’s a nice old dude, really. Gets kinda cranky sometimes, but he’s a softy.”
“How’d you end up with him? You been there long?”
“Man, you’re asking a lot of questions.” Franklin looked around nervously to make sure nobody was listening in.
“The place is empty. Just you, me, and Jeremy in the kitchen, and he can’t hear us.”
“That’s good. You can keep a secret?”
“Depends on what kind of secret.”
“Well, you see…Walter didn’t think to get a secret identity, so everyone knows him…but so far nobody knows where he stays. We want to keep it that way.”
“That makes sense. What’s his place like?”
“It ain’t much, really. Run-down apartment close to U.C.”
“Excuse me for being so rude again, but how’s a guy like you end up staying with Walter?”
“I was there when he got his powers…or when he first used them. Funny, he didn’t know it yet. Some dude tried to rob a lady, and he punched him, and I mean punched him good. Dude flew three blocks and landed in a parking lot, dead as a doornail. Same dude that tried to rob the Shell station earlier and shot him. Old man didn’t even know he’d been shot. I picked up the bullets off the floor. Take a look.”
Learning To Fly Page 7
