“I think he would’ve changed,” says Rudy. “Even if he had lived, I think he might have come back different somehow. A man cannot go through an experience like that and not be changed.”
“No,” I say back to him. “Papa was different. He loved Mama. They had been in love with each other since elementary school. They were childhood sweethearts. I know he wouldn’t have changed. He had no right to die.”
Rudy interrupts, “I am not saying he didn’t love her. I said he was going to be changed, different. That’s the way of the world. You’ve have changed because of his death. The whole family has been changed. Nothing stays the same.”
With that, Grandmother walks back into the kitchen. She’s wearing the nightgown she’s always worn as long as I have known her. It’s too baggy, too long, and it’s covered with flowers. “I always get thirsty this time of night. It’s always an hour after I go to sleep, and I wake up thirsty. I should drink a glass of water before I go to bed, but I never do.” She takes her favorite glass out of the cupboard and fills it from the tap.
“If we woke you, I’m sorry,” says Rudy. “Valentine and I are too loud sometimes.”
“No, it isn’t the two of you. It happens to me every night, and it doesn’t matter how quiet the house is or how loud,” says Grandmother. “It’s good to see the two of you here in my kitchen and talking. All of my grandchildren are under my roof tonight. An old lady should sleep soundly knowing everything is well in her home, but thirst doesn’t care about my peace of mind. Thirst only cares about water. That’s why thirst will never have any children of its own.”
Grandmother is starting to sound like the Old Hippie. I never knew what he was talking about most of the time, and now I’m not sure what she is saying either.
“We’ll go to bed in a little while,” I say to her. I knew Anna had to get up and go work at the market on Saturday morning even if America and Rudy didn’t have school the next day. It isn’t fair to Grandmother or Anna if Rudy and I stay awake. Grandmother’s house is an old house, and all these people in it didn’t keep it any quieter.
“So did Rudy tell you his good news?” asks Grandmother. She’s finished drinking the water and turned the glass over and placed it into the bottom of the sink.
I don’t say anything, and wait for her to continue.
“Your brother Rudy is going to be a hero also,” she says with a look. She’s very proud of him.
“Yes, he told me,” I say. “He told me the story of him and Gustavo at the recruiting office.”
“Yes, but did he tell you they are going to start training him next week?” she asks. I didn’t think her face could become any more proud than it had been, but it is. I’m not sure if she saw the worry in mine because I suddenly realize that my little brother could end up like Daphnia or Hippie, dead, and I knew know if something were to happen to him, she wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t keep him safe and something were to happen to him.
Book Two Chapter Two
From the Midnight Show on KLN 890 Talk Radio
Host Garrett Pyre: Welcome to tonight’s show. It’s a sad day for us all. The superhero, the Old Hippie, has died in a violent attack by an evil villain plaguing our city. I am not saying it isn’t a surprise but it is still a tragedy for our city.
Co-Host Marty Radius: The Hippie had it coming. I am not saying I want to see anyone dead. But hey, the Hippie was old. What is the world coming to when a hero as old as him is still out there trying to fight?
Pyre: You are just not going to let me finish are you? I can’t even finish my opening and you’re already cutting me off.
Radius: I apologize. I was only trying to be a little rude, but I couldn’t wait for you to finish. It’s a crying shame, and I had to get it off of my chest. Those heroes think they can go on as long as they can still draw a breath. But that isn’t true; they should have had a mandatory retirement age for guys like the Old Hippie.
Pyre: Wait, Radius…the villains don’t have a retirement age. So And yet you want the heroes to have one imposed on them? That makes no sense.
Radius: Villains aren’t going to listen to anyone, but heroes have a code, laws, and morals. If we make the law, they’ll hold to it. They have to because they’re a hero for Christ’s sake. They’ll sacrifice themselves if we let them. A villain knows they don’t have to.
Pyre: That’s the definition of a hero. Radius, you’re not making any sense. Heroes sacrifice themselves for us. That’s who they are. That’s what they do.
Radius: This isn’t making sense? Well, that tie you are wearing doesn’t make sense. Speaking of ties, hey Pyre, what did the necktie say to the hat?
Pyre: I am not going to play along. I want to get back to our topic. Don’t you want to get back to our topic?
Radius: Don’t be a pain. Now all of our listeners will want to hear the punch line, and you won’t let me get to it. It’s a good thing I’m here. Let’s lighten things up first. I’m not waiting any longer.
Pyre: You are bipolar…you need some serious medication.
Radius: (silence)
Pyre: I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I can’t believe I am giving in. What did the necktie say to the hat?
Radius: That’s okay, I am getting better. And my mental health isn’t funny. Let me finish the joke.
Pyre: I can’t believe I am giving in. What did the necktie say to the hat?
Radius: The tie said, ‘You go ahead, I’ll just hang around.’ Get it? The tie said, hang around. With that, let’s go to our first caller on line one.
Caller: Hi guys. I say good riddance; the Auxiliary Corps doesn’t belong around anymore. That guy the Old Hippie was way past his prime, and I know for a fact he was a freeloader on the public dime.
I have always found it doesn’t take long for the world to catch up with me even when I’m trying to hide from it. I had been called back to work earlier than I thought I would be, and now I sat across from Smokey at the Templeton. A month earlier, I had returned to my apartment. I had returned to my life away from my family, and now I am alone again and only have Spike for company during the day. After a month of it being just Smokey and me out on patrol, I’d gotten used to it being just the two of us.
“Eat. Eat a pancake,” says Smokey to me. “They’re really full of blueberry flavor. I don’t know what the cook has done to them tonight, but they’re delicious.”
Maybe Smokey is right, and I need to eat something. So far the Corps hadn’t hasn’t replaced Hippie or Daphnia, and it would only be the two of us on tonight’s patrol again.
I have always had a hard time eating at the Templeton Diner. It’s not because the food is horrible, but I don’t like eating in front of people I work with, and it shouldn’t have included Smokey, but it did. The Templeton is really old. The people who work there and its customers look like they’ve been around since the place was built. L, which from looking around, it must have been built in the late fifties. It’s the kind of restaurant that collects pictures and autographs of all the famous people that have ever eaten there. There are weathermen, hockey and baseball players from our city, and the odd assortment of local politicians and city officials. For some reason, none of the pictures are from after 1975. Maybe they got tired of hanging them up.
‘Best Burgers in Town,’ one of the signed photos said.
‘I would drive all day for one of your milkshakes,’ signed so and so. Leisure suits were a common style in many of the photos. Many more decorated the walls and my eyes couldn’t focus on all of them and now my stomach doesn’t want anything to eat.
It is just my observation, but the Templeton seems to have fallen out of favor with the local celebrities of our city over the years, or maybe their eating habits have simply changed. Whatever the case, the metro’s well-to-do had abandoned the restaurant. Some evenings, when Smokey and I are here, I wonder if the diner’s employees ever want to leave and go work someplace else, but so far they haven’t.
“I
’m going to order the pancakes,” I say to Smokey, despite what my stomach is saying.
“Good for you, you old cheapskate,” says Smokey. “You’re finally going to set free that moth you’ve kept in your wallet for so long. Maybe if you’d tattoo money on your skin instead of other stuff you’d never run out of it.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” I say. I order the pancakes, but I don’t order bacon or sausage to go along with them. I’ve been avoiding meat lately. I don’t know why, but I don’t have the appetite for it any longer.
When the food finally comes out, I have to ask the waitress for more syrup because Smokey used it all. I swear when I’m not looking he freebases sugar. I can’t imagine how many calories he eats in a day. When the waitress comes back with the syrup, she also brings back another pot of coffee, making sure we’re topped off so she can go do something else before we need any more attention.
“It doesn’t seem right that they let us go out there on patrol again since we’re on our own. I would have thought they’d send a replacement because we are so shorthanded. My brother is almost finished with his training, and I know he’ll get assigned to a patrol soon. When I texted him this morning, he texted me back that he had no idea what was going on. I know he passed the level one training, but that’s as much as I know.”
Smokey grunts. I don’t know if he’s responding to me or if he’s just full.
I say to him, trying to make a joke, “Are you okay? You don’t seem very hungry tonight.”
“I know,” he says, moving his plate away to the edge of the table. He gives the plate one more look, but I know there’s something else on his mind. With Smokey on a good night, he would keep me and Daphnia waiting for the longest time while he ordered second helpings of food. Sometimes I wondered if the Templeton could keep itself open on Smokey’s business alone.
“Headquarters has let me know that we’ll be getting two new people tonight. I don’t know why they’re not here yet, but I’m expecting them to show up anytime. One of them is going to be your brother Rudy; he probably didn’t know he was going out with us tonight. He probably thought he would be out with another patrol instead.”
“Good, he’ll be excited, but I didn’t think they’d put him with the two of us. His talent won’t help either one of us, will it?” I ask. I’m lying to Smokey. I didn’t want my brother in the Corps, and I really didn’t want him going on patrol with us. What if I couldn’t protect him?
“I looked over his profile, and he got good marks in level one training,” he says.
I lie to Smokey again, “I’m sure everything will be okay with him here. Who else is joining us besides my brother?”
“Well,” he says, “I know they didn’t give us another rookie. They gave us somebody with a little more experience. She’s a veteran from the Hero Corps, and they’ve sent her to work with us. She is going to take command for the time being. You’ve might have heard of her, The Lady Jane.”
I hadn’t finished my pancakes, but suddenly I was no longer hungry. I stare at my plate, and then I look up at Smokey. I repeat her name, “The Lady Jane. Are you sure? I thought they demoted her when she had the incident on the Canal Street Bridge Bridge last year.”
“Yeah, they demoted her after the incident—if you want to call it that—and now they’re giving her to us. She’s going to take command for the time being. I guess between the Hero Corps and the Auxiliary Corps, they don’t know what to do with her either.”
I look at Smokey, not believing what he’s saying. First he tells me that my brother will be joining us. Then he tells me the Lady Jane is replacing him.
“They’ve replaced you?” I ask, losing my focus on what Smokey just said. “Why did they replace you?” I hate not knowing what is going on. I know I should feel bad for Smokey.
He nods. “The Lady Jane is going to replace me. I guess I have messed up things really bad,” says Smokey. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen out of favor. But you’ll see Jane isn’t all that bad.”
“She’s a real superhero,” I say, unable to hide a hint of awe in my voice. “Heck, I remember her being on trading cards and everything. I’ve always wondered what happened to her after the bridge. I haven’t heard anything about her in a long time. She hasn’t been a part of any real news in so long. I don’t even remember the last time I heard her name.”
“I’m sure you remember how she got into trouble before the bridge. The Lady Jane was also a part of the kickback scandal involving the metropolitan police. It was a few years ago. A grand jury investigated her and about a half dozen members of the Hero Corps. They thought they were on the take from the local mobsters, but there was never enough evidence to convict her or anyone else,” he says as casually as if he were reading it from the newspaper he’d brought with him.
“The Hero Corps was receiving bribes?” I ask.
“No, and neither was she. She’s a real hero. After the lies were all sorted out, they found she never took a penny.” Smokey looks at me with a look someplace in between surprise and disgust. After a moment he says, “Sometimes I forget how little time you’ve been in the Corps. With all that’s happened I still need to remind myself that you are still a rookie. They may not have been taking bribes, but I wouldn’t blame them if some did. With all of their fame, there doesn’t come very much money. You’d think the pay would be better; that they would make more money in the Hero Corps, but it just isn’t the case. They have more expectations and more risks; it’s not all that great. In any case, she’s not a crook. But after the night the Canal Street Bridge collapsed, those in charge wouldn’t support her any longer.”
I look at Smokey, not believing what he’s saying. First he tells me that my brother would be joining us. Then he tells me the Lady Jane is replacing him.
I think tonight is going to be interesting, but not in a good way.
Smokey moves on to a different topic. “And speaking of pay, the Feds say they want to pass legislation to upgrade our earnings, but with the way the economy is, there’s no way they’re going to give a bunch of freaks like us a pay raise. At least, that’s what the public thinks we are freaks. I have even heard from the politicians that if they could, they’d eliminate the Hero Corps and the Auxiliary Hero Corps altogether. But if they got rid of the two branches, then what would they do with a group of unemployed heroes? That would make them lose sleep, don’t you think?
My world is falling apart and Smokey’s words are the cause of its destruction this evening. “Have you and Lady Jane ever worked together?” I ask. My nerves are not going to be the same after all that Smokey has told me tonight.”
It doesn’t take long for our first surprise of the evening to show while Smokey and I were waiting at our booth. While my plate didn’t hold as much food as Smokey’s, I considered it a large meal, and I know I won’t want to eat anything else for the rest of the evening.
“Hello, Valentine,” my brother says to me. Smokey doesn’t even look up. “You look surprised to see me.”
I’m not surprised, and I don’t answer my brother for the longest second. This It doesn’t make sense to me why my brother is here, and my slow reaction must show on my face. I lie to my brother, “I’m really happy to see you. I knew you were coming.”
“You don’t look happy. Does he look happy to you, Smokey?” asks Rudy.
“No, he doesn’t. I think your brother looks more confused than he normally is,” says Smokey. He is finished eating, and he wants to pay his check.
“Isn’t anyone going to let me sit down?” says Rudy, and I move over. Now he has to sit with me because there is no room on the other side of the table where Smokey sits. “I think I can really help.”
“What do you know?” I ask, turning my head towards Rudy. Not waiting for him to answer my question, I continue, “We are going up against stone cold killers. If he catches you he’s going to take pleasure in seeing you die. You don’t know how exposed you are, and you’re going to be in the thick of the fi
ght. You’re too green to know when you are in real danger.” I pause and I wait a second to continue, “Sometimes when you fight someone like the Beat or the Black Shirt you don’t know what kind of surprises they might have in store. I don’t know if I can protect you or not.”
“I don’t need your protection,” says Rudy, looking someplace else.
“That just tells me how stupid naive you really are. We are a team, and we have to look out for each other and sometimes no matter what you do, we get hurt, or even worse,” I say, turning and making sure I’m looking at him. I’m mad, and I don’t know if I’m more angry that the Corps has placed my brother in my patrol or that nobody told me about it until a few minutes ago. I know I was the lowest ranking member of our patrol, but I think even with the short time I’ve spent in the Corps, they might have included me. Then again, the top tier of the Corps has a habit of not letting anyone know what’s going on. “Smokey,” I say, turning my attention to my longtime friend. “You should’ve told me something. Anything? You knew about all this and you didn’t say something to me?”
“I’m surprised they even let me in on this information. But you’re right, I didn’t tell you, I should’ve. It’s just with Lady Jane replacing me as our patrol leader; I think I wanted it to be her job to let you know. I messed up, and I’m sorry,” he says, and he’s sort of sad when he says it to me.
I’m just as stupid as my brother sometimes. I hadn’t realized that with Lady Jane joining our patrol, Smokey is not only being replaced, he’s being demoted. It didn’t make him right, but the poor bear must have been sad about it. “I’m sorry, I’m being a jerk. I should’ve realized what was happening when you told me. I’m foolish sometimes, and I can’t see what is going on.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t realize what the Corps had in mind right away, but too often I’m only worried about myself,” says Smokey, who might be trying to make a joke. “We work for the Corps, and when they say someone else is in charge, there’s nothing that two sods like me and you can do about it.”
Auxiliary Hero Corps: Collection of books one, two, and three in the Auxiliary Hero Corps series. (Superheroes Of The Hero Union Corps) Page 6
