“So I heard,” Kid said. He looked over Samantha’s shoulder. Behind her, Gears and Roller entered the room. They came in, both with their heads down, unable to look at Samantha. They were intimidated by her and what she might do to them because of the rover’s failure. Samantha turned in her chair and greeted them just as heatedly as they thought she would.
“What the heck happened back there?” Samantha asked harshly, still shaken from the misadventure.
“I, I don’t know, Sam. I’m sorry,” Gears mustered. “The rover just wouldn’t respond. I checked it ten times today alone. Everything was working fine. I don’t know what else to say.”
“I have some blame in this as well,” Roller said. “I checked it with him, Sam, really. I don’t know what to say.”
“Let’s just make sure it doesn’t happen again, all right guys?” Samantha said harshly. Kid tried to bring the focus back on the mission.
“What does a museum want with a small toy store?” Kid asked as he shut down his computer.
“They want to expand the museum,” Samantha said turning back to Kid. “The toy store is in their way. They already have most of the stores surrounding it bought up and are ready to go. It seems that Spring Road Toys is one of the last ones. They want to demolish all of the stores and make room for their new wing.” Samantha paused and looked down at the ground, very upset with herself. “I had it all on film. Only …”
“Only?” Kid questioned.
“Only I lost the camera. I was tackled. It slid out of my hand. There was nothing I could do,” Samantha pleaded.
Filled with disappointment, Kid sat back. It seemed this mission was a huge failure. First the rover failed, even after his two top engineers looked it up and down. Samantha was nearly caught, and now it seemed they had absolutely no evidence.
“Can’t you remember what they look like?” Kid asked a little bit sarcastically. Samantha looked up at Kid with a glare in her eyes. She was not in the mood tonight.
“I took the pictures so I wouldn’t have to remember!” she said in frustration. Kid sensed her tension and backed off.
“Yes. Well, don’t worry Sam. We’ll think of something. Besides, they’ll slip up,” Samantha, still agitated, didn’t agree with Kid’s sentiment.
“Really? And how do you know that Kid Combat?” She said in a nasty tone.
“They always do, Sam. They always do.”
Chapter Three:
Meet the Thompsons
9:00 am
The next morning was Friday. As usual, summer vacation days were full of baseball games in Maple Forest. The boys would gather there before lunch and prepare the field and pick teams for the day. They would then sit with their new team in a circle, eat lunch, and strategize for the day’s games. Meanwhile, the girls would be out walking around the park and talking about different gossip. They would also eat lunch, in their own circles, and talk about the boys.
Before today’s games were supposed to begin, though, the members of SOCKs decided to swing by Spring Road Toys to see if there were any clues to what Alfred E. Scott was planning. From the small amount of intel that Samantha was able to get yesterday, the kids feared that something, sooner rather than later, was going to happen to their favorite shop.
Kid walked with Samantha over to Gears’s house where he and the twins were waiting. The five friends then walked the distance of little over a mile to Spring Road Toys. It was a bright and sunny day in Elmcrest. The kids talked briefly about the case, and even more so about the games that were going to be played that day. They rounded the corner of Madison Street and headed for the intersection of Spring Road.
As they walked down the street, they passed by Lincoln Elementary. The small, brown brick building was quiet during the summer. It almost resembled a ghost town. A few kids played on the playground in front of the school.
“I’m not looking forward to going back there in a couple of weeks,” exclaimed Wedge as the group walked past.
“One more year, guys,” Kid stated. “Then we move to junior high.”
“Yeah, and start all over,” Rocket said very pessimistically, almost under his breath.
“Don’t worry, ’lil brother. I’ll look after ya,” Wedge said to Rocket. He then wrestled his little brother to the ground. Rocket’s legs flailed in every direction trying to break free. He didn’t. “If anyone tries to do this to ya, I’ll give him one of these! And one of those!” Wedge continued, throwing fake punches into the air. The group shared a laugh at Rocket’s expense and Wedge finally let his little brother up.
“Thanks. Can’t wait,” Rocket said as he dusted himself off. The members of SOCKs continued to walk by their school, making their way to Spring Road. They hooked a left and headed straight for Spring Road Toys.
The journey concluded as they walked past the Science Museum—the same one Samantha had escaped from last night. She almost glared at the building as she walked by it. Kid noticed her tension.
“Close one last night, eh?” he said to her.
“Yeah, don’t remind me,” Samantha replied. Her glare heightened. “I’m going to stop them, Kid, if it’s the last thing I do.”
The group of friends continued to a light brown brick building. Two stories tall and long enough to hold four shopping stores, the building was covered in a green ivy. The ivy had just started to bloom in June, and the brown bricks were slowly lost to the maze of green.
Spring Road Toys had a little sign hanging by two rusted old chains that held the three-piece board sign. Each one of the three boards held one word of the title “Spring Road Toys.” The boards were painted white, while the words were painted in blue.
Kid Combat was the first to enter Spring Road Toys. He was followed by Samantha and then the boys. Kid pushed open the screen door and held it open for his friends.
Spring Road Toys on a Friday morning was always busy. Children stopped by throughout the day to pick up supplies for the weekend. They purchased kites, candy, and other items by the gross. Spring Road Toys was known for the “little things” that the other big department stores didn’t carry. You wouldn’t find the latest and greatest toys here, but you would the hard-to-find items. You would also find Mr. and Mrs. Thompson here. They were the owners and only employees of Spring Road Toys. They were both elderly, in their early sixties, and they were very kind to the children and treated them as equals. Maybe that’s why so many kids came here. As soon as the five friends entered the door, they were greeted with warm welcomes from Mrs. Thompson.
“Hello there, children, so nice to see you all again.”
“Hey, Mrs. Thompson,” the twins rang out in unison. They gave a quick wave and were quickly lost in the comic section. Gears headed right for the magazine rack, looking for the latest PC magazine. Kid and Samantha were on the case, though, and walked directly up to the Thompsons and questioned them about the museum and Alfred E. Scott.
“No, no. We haven’t had any problems with him that I can remember,” answered Mrs. Thompson. “Besides his inquiries about if we were going to sell our store to the museum or not.”
“Are you?” rang out Samantha, faster than she wanted to.
“Oh, heavens no, my dear,” Mrs. Thompson said with a small chuckle. “We would never leave this place. It’s been our home for many years.”
Mr. Thompson was hard at work behind his wife, but you could tell he was not as optimistic. He shuffled some dolls back and forth on the shelf and grunted as he worked.
“We have reason to believe that Mr. Scott is planning something against you,” Kyle said to Mrs. Thompson. He questioned her carefully as not to tip off he was Kid Combat, but just a kid curious about his favorite toy store.
“Like what, my child? We know the other businesses on this street have already agreed to sell their land to the museum. We know that we are the only ones stopping that progress, but I can’t just bear to sell this place. I would miss it too much,” Mrs. Thompson responded.
“You be ca
reful. We don’t want anything happening to you,” Samantha said, her anger for the museum starting to show.
“Oh, don’t worry. We will be just fine. We’ve survived worse than this, haven’t we, Charlie?” Mrs. Thompson said to her husband. Mr. Thompson just grunted and walked out from behind the counter. He proceeded into the back stockroom to get more toys for the shelves.
“After all, Kyle,” Mrs. Thompson said. “If something were to go wrong, I’m sure Kid Combat would do something to protect us.”
There was a pause, and then Kyle shot a glance over to Samantha. She looked back at him with a nonchalant look on her face. Kyle was always a bit more paranoid when an outsider mentioned Kid Combat around him. He always felt they knew something. Maybe they knew he was Kid Combat. Kyle then turned his head toward the back room. Mr. Thompson stood in the doorway. He too looked up from what he was doing and looked right at Kyle.
The two exchanged a glance. Mr. Thompson finally looked away and disappeared back into the darkness. His wife, not sensing any of the tension that just happened, managed to change the subject.
“Now, enough of this talk. What can I get you?” she asked of Kyle.
Kyle let out a little smirk, shaking his tension. “Well, is my new slingshot airplane in yet?”
Kyle had ordered the plane a few weeks ago, and it was due in any time now. The slingshot planes were a hot commodity around Spring Road Toys. The small planes, about six inches long and four inches wide, were made of plastic. They came in a variety of colors—red, green, black, and white—but they could be special ordered in blue or gold. Kyle was the first one to order the blue plane and was excited to show it off to his friends. The planes came with a launcher that looked similar to a slingshot. The boys would head off to Maple Forest, shoot the planes up into the sky, and watch them fly.
“I’ll have to check in the back. I’ll be right back,” Mrs. Thompson replied, and she headed toward the rear of the store.
At that moment, Mr. Thompson emerged from the stockroom. He looked very anxious and checked over his shoulder many times to make sure his wife was not within hearing range. He walked up to Kyle and Samantha and spoke.
“Kyle, you’ve always been very loyal to us, and that’s why I’m going to tell you this. I didn’t want to worry Mrs. Thompson, but we have received many threats in the past few weeks.”
“Threats? What kinda threats?” Samantha said.
“All sorts of them. From the other tenants of the building threatening us if we don’t sell, to that curator,” Mr. Thompson said with an obvious dislike for the man. He looked up and out the window. There, in the short distance, stood the museum. Mr. Thompson snarled. “That nasty curator. He stopped by here last week after I closed down the shop and Mrs. Thompson was at home. He went off on how if we don’t sell to him that there was going to be trouble. He’s quite mad, Kyle. I’m afraid for me and especially for my wife. We’re getting up in age and I can’t defend us like I once was able to,” Mr. Thompson said and again looked over his shoulder for his wife. He stood up and shook his head. He was very upset and stricken with sadness. “Maybe it would be best if we just sell this place to the museum.”
“No, you can’t!” Samantha pleaded. “It’s not right what he’s doing to you. You have every right to stay here!” Samantha paused. “Please, Mr. Thompson, don’t give in to them. I’m sure everything will work out soon. Just have faith.”
“Maybe you’re right. I don’t know,” Mr. Thompson said with little conviction. Just then they heard Mrs. Thompson coming back from the stockroom. Mr. Thompson composed himself and started back to work on the shelves. “Not a word to Mrs. Thompson, Kyle. I have your word?” Kyle just stood there and nodded as Mrs. Thompson entered the room carrying a large box in her hands.
“I’m sorry, my dear Kyle, it’s not here yet. We are expecting a large shipment of toys this afternoon. Perhaps check back then?” Mrs. Thompson said with an upset look in her eyes. She hated to disappoint the kids.
“No worries. I’ll stop back tomorrow,” Kyle said without giving it a second thought. The group of friends paid for their purchases and headed out the door. The kids proceeded down the block and walked past the museum once again on their way home.
“That’s just awful what Scott is trying to do to the Thompsons,” Samantha said as she glared at the establishment she had just escaped from the night before.
“Yeah. We need to keep our eyes open for them,” Wedge said.
“We just need to make sure we get to Scott before he gets to the Thompsons,” Gears said.
“I think we officially have our next mission. Don’t you think, Kid?” Rocket said.
“Absolutely, Rocket!” Kid said back to him. He stared up at the museum for a few moments as he walked by it. “Let’s get to our ball games. We’ll have plenty of time to figure out a strategy.”
Chapter Four:
Dinner at the Christensens’
5:30 PM
The fences at Maple Forest were made of wood. The thick supports were made out of old railroad ties sticking straight out of the ground. Each support was three feet tall and eight inches thick. The brown, broad pieces had notches carved out of them in squares to allow the main pieces of the fence to connect into them. These fence pieces were smaller than the supports that held them up. Averaging four inches wide and two inches thick, the fence lined the perimeter of the baseball field and the edge of Maple Forest from the houses and backyards of their owners.
Over the years, the fence had gotten worn down and the pieces of wood that made up the fence had warped and become uneven. Rain worsened the condition, as well as years of neglect.
Maple Forest had no playground of its own. There were no monkey bars, no slides, and no mazes to crawl through. It was bare of any sand diggers, look-out posts, and even swings. In an effort to make up for the lack of amenities, the children of Elmcrest walked the top of the Maple Forest fence. They would take turns in groups walking along the top platform of the fence, seeing who could make it the farthest without falling down. This would go on for hours. The boys and girls really got into it. Sometimes the fence walking competitions would overshadow the baseball games, especially if someone was close to making it all the way around Maple Forest. It never happened, but a few people came close.
It was a long day at Maple Forest. The kids of Elmcrest played their games for hours. It was growing late in the summer, and the kids knew that they only had a few weeks left of summer vacation before they had to go back to school. To counter this, they soaked up every minute of daylight. From lunchtime to dinnertime, packs of kids would be at Maple Forest enjoying their last days of freedom.
A tired Kyle Christensen walked back from the baseball diamond to his house on Sunnydale Drive. His friend Samantha accompanied him on the very short half-block walk.
On the way home, the two talked briefly about the mission from the previous night and the epic failures that surrounded it. Both friends looked frustrated that things went so wrong.
“I just can’t believe how bad things got last night, Sam,” Kid said, walking to Sam’s right. He looked down at the ground almost embarrassed to look at his friend.
“Yeah, I know. And the twins weren’t even there,” Samantha replied. She let out a small smile that was lost on Kid.
“Dude,” was all Kid could get out at first. The two friends stopped walking, and Kid continued. “We rushed through this mission, and it almost cost us.”
“Dude, we didn’t rush through anything. We planned for weeks,” Samantha argued. “The boys checked the rover, like, seventeen times. Stuff just happens. We adjusted and got what we needed,” Samantha said, trying to ease Kid’s mind. It worked a little bit, but also in turn made Samantha feel a bit guilty that her mistake of dropping the camera made her friend feel so bad.
“I guess you’re right,” Kid replied. “I don’t know. I guess we can chalk this one up to bad luck and just work on protecting the Thompsons from that curator guy.”
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“That’s the spirit!” Samantha said back and gave Kid a pat on the chest. “Now, get to dinner before your dad kills you for making him wait.”
The two parted ways at Sam’s driveway, and Kyle proceeded into his house. It was dinnertime at the Christensen household, and that was not a time to be late. He made his way up the driveway and entered the backdoor off the porch.
That door opened into the family’s kitchen area. The modest room was full of action as dinner was in full swing. The Christensen household was ablaze with smells that immediately embraced Kyle as he entered. Kyle’s mom had multiple burners going on the stove as a feast was in store for the family. The steam rose out of the pots and masked the white cabinets with a small hint of moisture.
The countertops were also full of dishes and utensils used to create the artwork that was to become their dinner.
Kyle’s mother was in the center of all the excitement. Glowing from the happiness that surrounded her, she almost danced around the kitchen as she prepared the meal.
Kyle was truly one of the lucky kids left in Elmcrest whose family was not blinded by the greedy, corrupt ways of Jones. They still cared for one another and were by all means happy.
This was true for most of the members of SOCKs families. The core fabric was very important in shaping the kids of the organization into what they were today. They fought back against Jones to preserve that precise thing.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Kyle’s mom said as he entered. “How were your games?”
“Good,” Kyle replied, entering farther into the kitchen. He poked around the dishes on the counter, trying to sneak some dinner in. His mother would have none of it.
“Now, Kyle, go upstairs and clean up for supper! You’ve already made your father wait this long. Now get!” she sparked with a hint of sarcasm wrapped in a package of love. Kyle didn’t answer, but he scurried off to his left and up the sixteen stairs to the second floor of their home. Making his way down the long hallway, Kyle turned left at the first door and entered into his room.
The Adventures of Kid Combat Volume Two: The Heist of Spring Road Toys Page 3
