Bystanders

by Phillip Murrell

  Mike gets down to Tina’s level and grabs her shoulders. He tries to get her to acknowledge his presence. “Tina, what’s the problem? What happened?”

  Mike looks at the phone in Tina’s hand. It rings, indicating that the other party has long hung up. Mike takes the phone from her hand and terminates the call from Tina’s end.

  “Tina, who was on that?”

  “I’m sorry, Mike. It’s all my fault.”

  “What’s all your fault? Who was that on the phone?”

  Tina finally looks at Mike. She begins to sob again. “It was Yuri. He’s going to kill us. He’s a psychopath, and he’s going to do horrible things to my family and friends. Anyone I’ve ever met.”

  Mike stares blankly at Tina as she rants.

  “I’m so sorry, Mike.”

  Mike thinks for a moment, then he turns on the television in her office. “That’s going to be pretty hard for him to do because the news is saying that Crippler took him out.”

  Tina looks hopeful as she watches the television.

  Gabe is in the middle of a special report involving Psyops. His audience sees helicopters flying over Yuri’s compound and the chaos left behind. Gabe is already deep in his report on the attack.

  “As you can see, the wreckage that used to be Yuri Osaka’s home is extensive. So is the trail of carnage that spreads over dozens of miles and two residential neighborhoods in Colberton.”

  Gabe is genuinely distressed by what he reports on.

  “We don’t have a total count of the dead, injured, and damaged, but experts expect it to be a high number.”

  Gabe takes a breath and wipes tears from his eyes.

  “There are conflicting reports on what set off this chain of events. Some claim that Psyops attacked Yuri Osaka at the Gala Dining Hall. Others say that Yuri was shot and killed. His people were simply trying to save his life and get him to the hospital. It isn’t known if Yuri Osaka was even alive for any of the chaos that we’ve witnessed tonight. What can be agreed on by many is that Yuri Osaka was a key player in organized crime.”

  Gabe takes another pause as he reflects on the compliments he paid Yuri over the years.

  “It’ll take weeks to figure out everything that took place tonight, but I’ll be here to keep you informed as the information comes in.”

  Julie’s people watch Gabe’s report inside her house. It’s modestly decorated, an indicator that the woman only requires practicality and not vanity.

  Julie bursts into the room without any of her sniper equipment. She’s also in a different outfit. Gone is her tactical vest; instead she wears a form-fitting black unitard, although her people don’t seem to take this as out of the ordinary. She’s out of breath and running on adrenaline.

  She looks at her nearby people and demands an update. “Can we confirm that he was killed?”

  An aide answers, “No, ma’am. We’re still trying to dig into it. We aren’t sure if he died by your bullet, the bomb, or The Opposition. He also could have made it out. His safe house had a lot of key features that could have aided him.”

  Julie dwells on this for a moment as she tries to slow her heart rate. “We need to put all resources on this. I need confirmation. If I missed my chance, I need to know. Because if that’s the case, he’s going to be coming after all of us once he recovers.”

  “Understood, ma’am. We’ll re-double our efforts.”

  “Good. I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. It was a long day, and tomorrow isn’t shaping up to be any shorter.”

  Police sweep through the massive complex that constitutes Yuri’s home. They meticulously search every corner.

  “Has anyone found anyone alive yet?” Sergeant Love asks.

  “Not many,” Carlos answers. “The survivors we’ve found all wish they were dead.”

  “Alright, Towers, keep looking.”

  “You got it, Sergeant.”

  Carlos goes to leave, but Sergeant Love blocks his exit.

  “Towers.”

  Carlos stops in his tracks. He was hoping that he could avoid this. “Yes?”

  “Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you and your crazy ass partner pulled tonight. When we get clear of this place, the three of us are going to have a conversation, and it’s going to be one-sided. Be thankful the two of you saved those two kids a while back.”

  Carlos sinks. “Understood.”

  “Good. Now get out of here and do your job.”

  Benji searches the remains of the safe room door. It’s mangled and smashed.

  Mendez approaches him. “What the hell did that?”

  “What the hell do you think did that?”

  “Okay, stupid question, but he can do that? How are we supposed to stop him?”

  “After tonight, I don’t know if I want to anymore. Have you been looking around this place?”

  Mendez nods. “Yeah, it’s like the criminal underworld’s secret headquarters. I’ve seen so many crimes here tonight that I can’t even believe it’s the same guy who gave us our softball trophy a few weeks ago.”

  “Exactly. Maybe this vigilante is a hero.”

  “I’m starting to consider him one.”

  “I think a lot of guys are now. We’ll have to get the tech guys to look at that community center attack footage again. Maybe we can see what they did to make it look so legit.”

  “Maybe. Come on, let’s clear the rest of this place.”

  Keith stares at his tablet while sitting on his unmade bed. His blog has once again become a popular website. There are so many different videos of the prolonged fight that Keith has started to see numerous redundant efforts.

  “I should feel excited, but this isn’t what I wanted. That guy was just at my house. I let him take my mother out. Was Beatdown protecting me personally?”

  Keith lies in his bed. He’s wide awake and more than a little terrified. He puts his tablet on his end table. His number of followers is now in the tens of thousands and rising at an accelerated rate.

  Father Tom prays in his church. He’s alone. He kneels before the crucifix and signs the cross.

  “Lord, please help this city. Help me, your faithful servant, do what is necessary. I must continue to protect my flock. I need your guidance to show me the way. Am I doing your will? Is there another way? You’ve tested me of late. The community center was especially hard.”

  Father Tom struggles to get the next words out, but he continues.

  “I know it’s all your plan. I’ll stay true. I’ll continue to walk down this path you’ve put in front of me. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

  Father Tom stands and walks away.

  Brianna sits at her desk with her head in her hands and her elbows propped up. She’s at a complete loss for words. She doesn’t know how things could go so bad so fast. If she’s being honest with herself, she’s just happy to be alive.

  There’s a knock at her door.

  “Come in,” Brianna says.

  Henry walks into the room. “Ma’am, the press is growing into a frenzy out there. I don’t think I can hold them off much longer.”

  Brianna looks down at her ruined cocktail dress. She doesn’t care about the press right now. “They can wait.”

  “Ma’am, I think--”

  “They can wait,” Brianna says more firmly.

  “As you wish. I’ll tell them you’re preoccupied.”

  Henry leaves the room and closes the door behind him.

  Brianna looks at her phone. “Ah, to hell with it.”

  Brianna grabs the phone and dials. She waits for someone to pick up on the other end.

  The governor comes through. “I had a feeling I’d be getting this call tonight. I assume that this means you’ve made a decision?”

  Brianna takes a deep breath. “I have, Mr. Governor.”

  “I assume the decision is you want my help?”

  “It is, Mr. Governor.”

  “You know it’l
l take some time to mobilize?”

  “I do.”

  “Do you think your police force can control things until my troops can get down there?”

  Brianna sighs. “I honestly don’t know, Mr. Governor. I hope so, but after all that’s happened tonight, I can’t guarantee anything. All I know is that this city is a war zone. We need an army.”

  There’s a brief pause from the governor.

  “Then you’ll have one. I’ll call them as soon as I hang up with you.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Governor. Goodbye.”

  “Goodbye.”

  Brianna hangs up the phone and puts her head back into her hands.

  Chapter 9

  “No, no, no, no. Please no. Stop!” Alex screams as he frantically runs down the hall of his house.

  His wife shouts at him, “Hurry! I need help!”

  Alex runs a little faster, but it’s too late. There’s pee all over his living room carpet and two laughing potty trainees.

  Alex looks at his twins standing in t-shirts and underwear only, while his wife looks at him flustered. “Thanks, Babe. Way to hustle.”

  “Which one was it?” Alex asks.

  “Take a guess.”

  Alex looks at his two boys. Each child smiles at him. His daughter is quick to blab.

  “It was Jackson,” she says. “He peed everywhere!”

  Alex just laughs. “Thanks, Ava.”

  “You’re welcome, Daddy.”

  Ava goes back to coloring in her book. Alex turns his attention to Kellen.

  “How about you, little man? Do you have to go pee pee?”

  Kellen nods. “Pee pee!”

  Alex is relieved that the potty training is taking with at least one of his children. “Follow me.”

  Alex and Kellen walk into the bathroom conveniently as Kim returns with a spray bottle and paper towels to clean up the carpet.

  “This mess will be waiting for you!” she yells.

  “What was that, Hon?” Alex says as he enters his bathroom. “I can’t hear you. I’m teaching our son to be a big boy.”

  “You have two sons!” Kim shouts back.

  “That’s not possible. I’m only tracking two birthdays for my kids and my oldest is a girl.”

  There’s no response from the living room. Alex looks at Kellen, who’s already pulled down his underwear.

  “Kellen, are you keeping your underwear dry like a big boy?”

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  “Good. Are you ready for the pee pee song?”

  Kellen nods. He can’t go until they sing. Alex shakes his head at the absurdity.

  “Alright, here we go.”

  Alex begins to sing. “Look at all that pee pee. Coming out your wee wee. Put it in the potty. Then you get a smiley. Possibly a cookie. It’ll be so yummy. Put it in your tummy. I’m a big boy, Mommy!”

  Kellen giggles as he pees.

  “Make sure you pop all the bubbles in your potty,” Alex encourages.

  The sound of a urine flow finally ceases. Kellen pulls up his still dry underwear.

  “All done?” Alex asks.

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  “Okay. Time for a sticker to put on the chart.”

  There’s a colorful chart on the wall that has “Kellen” and “Jackson” written with numerous boxes. Some of these boxes have various stickers in them. More Kellen boxes have stickers than Jackson boxes.

  Kellen selects a new sticker of a dinosaur riding a skateboard and puts it on the chart. Alex scoops up Kellen into a big hug and gives him a kiss. Kellen giggles as his father plays with him.

  Alex and Kellen move back to the living room. Kim stands there with the spray bottle and paper towels in her hands.

  “Nice try,” she says.

  Kim quickly hands the cleaning items over to Alex. He begrudgingly accepts them.

  “I hate the first day,” he comments. “This is exhausting.”

  Alex gets onto his hands and knees. He starts to clean up the mess.

  “They’ll pick it up, just like Ava did,” Kim says. “This three day potty training model is gold. Remember when Phil and Jen told us about it?”

  “I’m forever thankful to them. They’re gods, as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Ava had it down in two days. The boys will figure it out, too.”

  Alex looks at the guilty Jackson. “Jackson, you’re going to tell Mommy and Daddy next time you have to go potty, right?”

  Jackson nods.

  “You promise?” Alex presses.

  “Yes, Daddy. I went poop!” Jackson enthusiastically reminds him.

  Jackson dances to emphasize the accomplishment.

  Alex has to laugh. “I know you did. You did a good job this morning. You have to do that every time. Big boys keep their underwear dry, right?”

  “Yes!” Kellen shouts.

  “Yes!” Jackson repeats.

  “Please!” Kim begs.

  Ava laughs at her family.

  Alex gets back to business. “Alright, Jackson, time to get some new underwear on. What’s it going to be this time?”

  “Bowl,” Jackson answers.

  Alex doesn’t quite get the request. He looks at Kim for a translation.

  “He wants his ball underwear. The pair with footballs and soccer balls on it. That’s his ‘bowl’ underwear.”

  “I see. Thanks, Mommy.” Alex stands with the cleaning supplies. “Okay, all clean, Mommy.”

  Kim already changed out Jackson’s underwear. “Okay, Jackson, you’re going to keep this underwear dry, right?”

  “Yes, Mommy.”

  Alex looks at each family member. “Does everyone have dry underwear? Daddy has dry underwear.”

  Kim pats herself. “Mommy has dry underwear.”

  “Me,” Kellen excitedly reports.

  “Yes,” Jackson answers.

  They all look at Ava, who acts like she can’t hear them while she colors.

  “Uh oh, Ava doesn’t have dry underwear,” Alex teases.

  Ava immediately stands from her chair. “Yes, I do. I keep my underwear dry, even when I’m sleeping.”

  They share a family laugh. Alex needed a good laugh.

  “Alright, since everyone has dry underwear, how about some dessert?” Alex suggests.

  All three children respond in unison. “Yay!”

  It’s Sunday morning, and the Catholic church is full of those seeking spiritual guidance. Father Tom is about to give his homily. He looks out at packed pews. He wants to think that it’s for the right reasons.

  “I’m glad to see so many people here today. I know many of you are here searching desperately for answers. Answers to why our city has been victim to so much bizarre violence in the past few months. It’s nearly been a week since our streets were turned into a war zone that left so many people dead.”

  People in the congregation nod along with Father Tom. Father Tom notices Alex listening intently with his family.

  “In today’s Gospel, Matthew addresses violence and how it’s not the answer. In fact, he talks about Jesus’ teachings and how we need to turn the other cheek. ‘But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.’”

  This is a well-known verse, and many people once again nod to show their agreement.

  Father Tom paces in front of the pews as he continues. “Now, we’ve all seen the news and the violent footage of the actions of three men. They have fantastic equipment, the stuff of legends. They seem to have taken the law into their own hands. Many of you, in this very church, may agree with their actions, especially after we discovered that Yuri Osaka was responsible for the attack on our community center. We had a violent couple of weeks in this city, and it practically stopped overnight. After the actions at the Osaka compound. Some of you may fear these men and what they can do. But, we can all agree that they seem to disregard the laws of man. They’re The Misguided. The Misguided, who may claim that the
y’re serving a higher power. The highest of powers, perhaps. I say that they’re not serving any power but their own.”

  Father Tom chokes up a bit. The congregation listens intently. They seem interested in where Father Tom goes with this.

  “After the last round of violence, I came to this room and prayed out loud. I don’t normally do this; I pray internally, but on that night, I felt compelled to say the words out loud beneath the crucifix. Somehow it felt good; it felt better. I asked for guidance and for a sign. Then, I feel, I got it.”

  The congregation leans forward as their interest apparently increases.

  “I was getting up to leave and noticed my Bible was open.” Father Tom laughs to himself. “Coincidentally, it was turned to another passage from Matthew. One of my favorites, in fact, and it put everything back into perspective for me.”

  Father Tom pauses for a moment.

  “I can hear you all thinking ‘which passage?’ Don’t worry, I’ll share.”

  Some polite chuckles come from the congregation.

  “It comes from Matthew 26:52, ‘Then said Jesus unto him, put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.’”

  Father Tom looks around the congregation and attempts to make eye contact with each.

  “Many of you know this passage. It was true centuries ago when Jesus first uttered it. It’s even more true today because today one sword wielder can kill millions at a time. Once that happens, the families of those millions, and the friends, want revenge. The eye for an eye mentality kicks in. Our city is tense right now. A lot of people don’t agree with what the government, at all levels, is doing. They want to just take and settle a personal debt. They know in their hearts . . . we know in our hearts that we should forgive whomever we blame, but it’s hard. Our congregation especially knows this because of what happened to Father Alan and so many of our friends.”

  There are some tears and sniffles after this remark. The emotions assigned to that day are still raw.

  “Today is the day that we start to follow Jesus’ lessons. Today is the day we listen to our hearts and not our anger. Today is the day we start to reset to what things were like a few months ago.”