Contender: An Everyday Heroes World Book (The Everyday Heroes World)

by Tiffani Lynn

  “I respect you and your profession, sweetie, but you need to respect my authority as his father. When he’s ready to start walking around town again, I’m going to allow it. We’re not going to take away the things that give him joy because of one incident.”

  “One incident? Are you kidding me? He was attacked, Dad! It’s not like someone called him names while he was walking.”

  “We aren’t discussing this. He’s not healed up enough or ready to go anywhere yet, so there is no sense in going over it today with him. Besides, I don’t agree, and you’re not going to win this argument,” he informs me.

  Without another word, I storm out of my dad’s house, spitting mad. Why doesn’t anyone care about Sam’s safety but me? When I get to work, I clock in and make my way to my desk. About five steps down the hall, I hear Stetson’s big mouth. “So, the retard got beat up while I was on vacation?”

  Another voice I don’t quite recognize replies, “Yeah, you should have seen everyone rushing around here over the whole thing. What a waste of manpower. Who cares if the kid gets a fist to the face? Get over it, that’s life.” Their laughter sends shock waves of anger pulsing through me. I march down the hallway and into the office their chatter is coming from, only to find three of my fellow officers laughing their butts off at the misfortune of my family.

  They all stop when I enter, and Stetson gives me a slimy grin. “Well, Sutton, I hear you’ve got your hands full.”

  The two other guys in the room shift uncomfortably. “I heard every word you and your stupid cronies said, Stetson, and I’m sick of your bullshit. One day you’re going to get what you deserve and you’ll be sorry. Don’t discuss me or my family to anyone. If I ever hear that you do again, you’ll be sorry. Mind your own damn business!” I stomp out of the room without waiting to hear what he has to say about it.

  I’m so mad at the whole damn world right now that I don’t even notice when Wade steps in front of me. I crash right into him, and he grips my shoulders and pushes me back a little. “Hey! What’s going on? Why is your face so red?”

  The downfall of getting this mad is the only thing that follows is tears. As soon as the first one falls, Wade grabs me by the arm and pulls me out of the back door and around the side of the building. “What the hell is going on? Is Sam okay?”

  “Sam’s fine, but I’m not.” Then the tears unleash. My face is drenched with them in seconds. Instead of telling me to pull my shit together, Wade pulls me against him and holds me while I cry. Note to self, hugging someone wearing a Kevlar vest is not comfortable for either person.

  When I finally calm down enough, I explain about Keegan blowing things off and my dad saying we’re going to let Sam continue to do what he always does, and finally end by telling him about Stetson and his asshole buddies making fun of Sam’s attack.

  “First of all, we’re going to file a complaint against Stetson. The guy is a prick and he can’t continue to act that way without someone standing up to him. I don’t care if he’s a detective or not. If you won’t do it, then I will. If that doesn’t knock him down a notch, I’ll lay him out myself. Next, your dad and Keegan are both right. I get that you’re angry and feel powerless, but Sam needs to get back to the most normal life possible. He will be more cautious, I’m sure, but for now, you have to let him live his life. I knew your mom, and I’m certain that’s how she would want it.”

  “But—” I try to argue.

  “No, Sutton. Listen to me. Your dad has the legal right to make the decision, and even if he didn’t, I’d still tell you that you’re wrong. When you sit down and think about it, you’ll realize I’m right. Now, go to the bathroom and straighten yourself out so we can get on the road. I got a tip on where those kids might be holed up and I’m ready to check it out.”

  “When did you get this tip?”

  “A few minutes ago. It came in last night and the dispatch sent someone to check the place out. It was obvious people had been there, but they took off. Let’s go take a look.”

  I nod, feeling slightly defeated by all the drama of the morning and a little more optimistic about the possibility that we could pick them up and bring them in for a lineup.

  The location we drive to is an abandoned old house in the poorer section of town. The old wooden front porch has holes in the floor where the boards gave way from rot when someone stepped on them. The paint is peeling and the yard is overgrown. It’s the perfect place to hide out if you don’t want to be found. When we get inside, we find a couple of old pizza boxes, some dirty socks and the remnants from a homemade marijuana pipe. We know they’ve been there recently, or at least some kids who are up to no good have been, but there’s no sign of the ones who hurt Sam. We continue our day, responding to a domestic abuse situation and a lady with dementia who swears her ancestors are trying to break in the back door. We make our way back to the precinct and as we’re turning over to the next shift, Grant comes in the room.

  “Can I talk to you, Sutton?”

  I follow him to the chief’s office and when I arrive, they usher me in. The chief speaks first, “I’ve put a written reprimand in Stetson’s file. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it’s all I could do for this offense. If you hear or see anything else, please let us know. He only gets two more of those before he faces serious consequences.”

  I nod, because I understand. Honestly, I’m glad anything was done, because truth be told, I didn’t think it would be.

  “Now, for what I really called you in for. Malone has brought in five kids for questioning in the incident with your brother.”

  “Where did you find them?”

  “A convenience store not far from where he was attacked. I’ve got them all separated and am about to start questioning. We need Sam to come down and I.D. them in a lineup. Do you think he’s up for it?”

  “I don’t know, to be honest. I’ll talk to my dad. Just call me when you’re ready and we will discuss it before then.”

  I leave work feeling a little better than when I arrived today, but that comes crashing back down when I remember that Keegan and I are fighting and I can’t call him to tell him the news. I did my best to avoid thinking about him today, but didn’t do a great job. Everywhere I turned, something reminded me of him. How, in such a short period of time, did he become so entrenched in my life? I didn’t realize until now how comfortable I’d gotten texting him and seeing him after work almost every day. The loneliness settles in as I ride over to my dad’s house.

  My heart beats a little faster when my dad’s house comes into view, because sitting in front of the house is Keegan’s truck. I take a few deep breaths before I enter, and when I do, I find Keegan sitting next to Sam on the couch, his elbows on his knees, hands hanging loosely between them. As soon as Keegan spots me, he stands and ruffles Sam’s hair.

  “I’ll be by to see you tomorrow after work, pal. Make sure to rest and do what the doctor told you.”

  “Okay, Keegan,” Sam replies, a melancholy look on his face.

  “Hi,” I say quietly as Keegan goes to slip past me.

  “Hey,” he replies, but doesn’t stop his hustle to the front door.

  “Keegan, wait a minute,” I call to him as I follow him out the door. “Why are you leaving?”

  “I have that self-defense class to teach tonight.”

  “Shit, I forgot all about that with everything going on. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay, I can handle it,” he responds, but doesn’t look me in the eye.

  “Are you going to stay mad at me?” I ask.

  “Well, considering there hasn’t been an apology and I didn’t do anything wrong when you handed me my ass and then stormed out the other night, I’m going to say yes.” Without another word, he walks away and climbs in his truck and leaves, as I continue to stand there, wondering how I can fix this.

  Fifteen

  Keegan

  Damn, that woman makes me crazy! Crazy to be with her and crazy mad. Her hot little tem
per scorched me the other night and I’m still not over it. Of course, I wanted to kiss her as much as I wanted to walk away and leave her standing there, but she has to figure out that although I find her strength attractive, I don’t care to take a verbal beating for something I didn’t do. I refuse to be treated like shit. If I learned nothing else from my mom, it was that. She may have run off with a trucker from Des Moines to escape a man who treated her worse than the dirt on his shoe, but at least she didn’t stick around for it.

  When I reach the gym, I find the same five ladies we’ve been working with for a couple of weeks now, waiting patiently for us. Grayson kept the gym open for me and is using the time to work out behind them. As soon as he sees me, he wipes down the equipment he’s using and waves goodbye.

  “I’m sorry I’m a little late, ladies. In case you haven’t heard, Sam was attacked a couple of days ago by some teenagers. I was over visiting him just now and he said to tell you he’ll be back to help soon.” They all exchange concerned looks. “Collins is with him, so it’s just me tonight. What I’m thinking is, having you ladies pair up and work together on the moves we’ve already learned. I want you to become confident in each move so they become second nature. The idea is to train your brain to react for you. Sam used some of these moves and the police think they probably helped save his life. He’s a tough guy, so don’t go feeling sorry for him or he will be very upset.” They all smile at my attempt at a joke.

  The lady that always watches and never joins in the physical stuff raises her hand timidly.

  “Misty, go ahead, what can I do for you?”

  “If he couldn’t fight someone off, what makes you think we can?” Her voice is quiet and concerned.

  “I don’t think you can, I know you can. Besides, Sam is strong but he’s not fast. His element of surprise was that he knew the moves to protect himself. His attackers never expected him to respond at all, much less lay one of the guys out. Yours will be that you know the moves, can execute them and run away. If I didn’t believe you could do this, I certainly wouldn’t waste my time teaching you.”

  Misty nods and seems to think about it for a minute.

  “Okay, ladies, break off into pairs.”

  Misty walks over to me. “Do you think you can work with me tonight? I think I’m ready to try.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want you to do anything you aren’t ready for yet.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. If Sam can do it, so can I.” I smile at that sentiment and think of how proud Sam and Collins will be when they see her actually doing the moves.

  On Saturday afternoon, Grant Malone comes in dressed for his workout. He’s fast and strong and would have made a good professional boxer, so I enjoy training him. Once we get his hands wrapped up and start our workout, he asks me a question. “I remember reading an article once that talked about how you ended up training with Lou. Is it true, were you really a punk kid?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. Although I never shared the full details, I was more than a punk.”

  “You mind telling me about it?”

  “Not much to tell except my dad was an asshole drunk who never knew where I was, much less cared. My mom took off with some truck driver from Des Moines before I was ten years old, so I had no supervision. I rarely went to school and ended up hanging out with this crowd that was smoking pot and cigarettes, stealing stuff from stores, picking on kids around town, vandalizing anything we could get our hands on. It was bad. One night, I tried to steal an El Camino parked out back of the local gym. It was a dare, and with that crowd, you never turned down a dare.

  “The problem was that Lou had cameras on the place and saw me break into the El Camino. When he came out after me, I freaked out and drove right into the building. The damage wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it was still a mess. Not only did it screw up the car, it messed up the back wall of the building. Lou dragged me inside by the back of the neck; he was strong and I knew there was no way for me to get away. I thought for sure he was calling the cops, but he didn’t. Instead he borrowed the keys for one of his fighter’s cars parked out front and drove me home. He grumbled the whole way. I was terrified of the old man. When we got to my house, Lou insisted that he come in and talk to my dad. He thought my dad would whip me into shape and we’d clear it up together. But when we got inside, my dad was in his typical state of being. Passed out drunk, sprawled out in the recliner with an empty bottle of rotgut whiskey in his lap and a twelve pack of beer cans scattered all over him. An overflowing ashtray was half dumped over on the floor next to him. The house was filthy and stunk like trash; it was almost uninhabitable.

  “Lou took one look around at the state of things and asked, ‘Boy, is your daddy always like this?’ I nodded. He looked around again, and said, ‘Go get your clothes and anything that’s yours. Don’t leave nothin’ behind because you ain’t comin’ back to this shithole. No wonder you’re running the streets.’

  “Then I told him, ‘I can’t go with you, you want to kill me.’

  “He came back at me with, ‘If I wanted to kill you, I’d leave you here. Death is the only thing you’ll find in this place.’

  “I figured he was right, so I grabbed the only three things I cared about: a picture of my mother, my sneakers and my favorite T-shirt. We left and I never went back.

  “Lou made me help clean up his gym and work on the repairs. He took his car to the shop and I worked off the cost in labor. I was a moody teenager and needed an outlet, so within six months, he started training me. My body at that time was like most poor teenage boys, gangly, all elbows and knees. I had no meat on my bones and you could see my ribs when my shirt was off. He told me if I worked hard and ate right, I’d grow up to be big and strong. I never had a better friend than Lou, and no one ever cared for me like he did either.”

  Grant pauses. “You miss him.”

  “Yeah, every day.”

  We run through some speed drills and then I leave him jumping rope. When I return, he gets to the point of why he asked about Lou.

  “There are two kids, in the crew of punk kids that went after Sam, who I think just got caught up in something they don’t know how to get out of. I feel like some time spent with you could change their lives. One of them is the kid who stuck around and called 911, and the other is his friend.”

  “You’re asking me to spend some time with the kids who beat up Sam?”

  “Yeah. I know I’m asking a lot, but I also know that someone did something similar for you when you were young and it changed your life. You are a completely different man.”

  “I get it, I really do, but Sam’s my friend and I feel homicidal when I think about finding him lying on the ground. I was afraid he was dead.” I put my hands on my hips and drop my head. “Not to mention, I’ve been seeing Collins and she’s not dealing with this well at all. I can’t imagine what she would say if she heard I was going to help these kids.”

  “Please think about it. I hate to throw them into the system; that is only going to make them worse as they get older. These two have potential and I’m looking to give them the tools and support to get off the road they are traveling.”

  “I’ll think about it, but don’t count on anything from me. I’m just not sure if I can see past the personal relationships I have tied to this.”

  “Fair enough.”

  That night, sleep evades me. My worry for Sam, Fred and Collins, and thoughts of the kids whose lives seem to mirror my own, keeps my mind moving like a hamster on a wheel and it’s maddening. I want to forget about what Grant asked of me and figure things out with Collins, but the ghost of Lou decides to take up residence next to my bed and whisper to me all night.

  “Boy, I hope you didn’t forget where you came from. Do you know how many people said I was crazy for taking you in? Too many to name, but I ignored them. Don’t you remember what I said in the will? I said I want you to use that money to make a difference. Don’t disappoint me. Your life would have been
pure shit if I didn’t take you in. Now you have the chance to pay it forward.”

  By five o’clock, I have a headache and a heavy conscience. There won’t be any sleep for me, so I might as well try to run some of this off. I know the right thing to do, I’m just afraid of what it will cost me. Collins and I might not be talking right now, but I had hopes that things would work out in time. If I do this, I might as well kiss any kind of future I have with her goodbye. She’ll never understand.

  I climb out of bed, brush my teeth and get dressed in my sweats and tennis shoes. I grab my phone and my keys, lock up my apartment and take off for a run. I don’t have any particular route in mind, but somehow, I end up at the site of the attack. I stop and allow the memory of Sam lying there to flow through my mind, and then I process the fear in the eyes of the kid who stuck around to call for help. It’s all fresh in my memory, like it happened yesterday, and it doesn’t make me feel any better. I turn and begin running again. When I reach the gym to open for the day, I also come to the conclusion that I know what the right thing to do is and I need to do it despite what it might cost me.

  I dial Grant’s number and let it ring. It may be a little early to call, but I need to get this over with before I change my mind. His voicemail picks up, so I leave a message. “This is Keegan. I’ve thought about your request. Yes, I will meet with the two kids. I can’t promise you anything, but I’m willing to give it a shot. I’ll be at the gym all day, so give me a call back.”

  Three hours later, my phone rings and it’s Grant. “Hey, man,” I answer, my stomach clenching with stress.

  “Hey. I got your message. Can you meet me here at lunchtime? My dad said he could go sit at the gym for you, if you’re up for it. Gray is on shift at the firehouse and Grady is flying today.”

  “Yeah, I can do that. Are you sure he doesn’t mind? I don’t have any lessons until four today.”