Codename: TABASCO: MG
(The Awesome Background And Secret Chronicles Of Michael Guerin)
Episode 114
Into The Morning
(Independence Day)
As Michael continues his story, Maria waves her hand to get his attention…
"Michael, Najiyah has a request."
Who?
"You know… the muse."
Oh! I didn't… well, I guess I didn't know muses had names. Sorry. I should have asked.
Najiyah smiled. "You can just call me Naji. All the other muses do. I would like to hear about how you became emancipated."
Emancipated. Okay, well… you see… that was kind of a hard time in my life for me to talk about. Of course, I'm over it now, though, so I guess it's okay. Actually, that happened right about at this time in my story, so I'll have to tell you about it anyway if you're going to understand the rest of the story.
As I said, the period leading up to and right before my emancipation was the hardest time in my life, emotionally, except for when all the children on Antar disappeared and we thought they were all dead. But that happened much later, after we were on Antar. The day I was emancipated… You know, I still get a kind of… I don't know… something… when I remember it. But it's okay! Yeah! I'll talk about it…
You kids don't know how lucky you are to grow up loved and wanted, with real parents, or at least someone who loves you and cares about you. You already know about Max and Isabel and me… how we were sent to Earth and "reborn" there, in a manner of speaking. And you know about Max and Isabel's adoptive parents, the Evanses, because they're some of your grandparents. Max and Isabel were lucky. The Evanses found them and adopted them and were good parents. I was discovered later and was put into the foster kid system. That works sometimes, 'cause not everybody is like
him. But other times you got…
Hank. I can still see him… staggering… drunk… yelling at me to do the wash and cook his dinner. Hank didn't want a child, he wanted a slave, someone he could push around and force to do all the chores for him. Someone he could beat up on all the time and take out his frustrations on. But at the end of the day, he was all I had to go home to, and his dump of an old trailer was where I lived, such as it was…
Until I was emancipated.
We'll get to that in a minute, but let's go back a bit first…
Around the time right before I was emancipated Maria was still trying to get over me. She even got some kind of herbal drops or something from her mother's shop and was taking them as a kind of… what was it you called it, Maria? Grief relief? Yeah, that was it. Grief relief. She gave Liz some, too… to try to get over Max.
(Maria digs down into her bag and pulls out a little bottle. With a smirk, she tosses it to Michael, who looks at it, puzzled.)
What's this?
"My Anti-Michael Grief Relief. It didn't work."
You've still got it? Didn't you say veterinarians used this stuff to calm wild animals?
"Yeah, but you had a way of making my wild heart rip right out of its cage, Michael. It was useless against you."
Why did you keep it?
"I don't know. It's sort of iconic. It reminds me, whenever I need to remember, that no matter how bad things might seem, our love will always pull us through… Our love is indomitable."
Here. Catch. Put it back in your bag.
"Aren't you afraid I'll take some?"
If it brings us another twelve years like the last twelve, I'm all for it… iconically speaking. Besides, your heart and mine are too fierce to be calmed by any common herbal remedy, Maria. The only thing that is good for us is each other.
(Unable to stand any more, Kyle groans. "Let's get on with the story, Michael! Next the two of you will be going on like Romeo and Juliet, saying how much you love each other, and I'll never get to hear the rest of this story!")
I was just getting to that, Kyle… Maria, I love you.
"I love you, too, Michael."
(Amidst a chorus of "Awwwws" from Liz, Isabel, Jeliya, Amy, and the others, Kyle melodramatically drops to the sand and covers his ears, pretending to be in agony. But Jeliya quickly hushes him up… her own way. By the time she is finished, he has momentarily but completely forgotten what Michael was talking about.)
Kyle… you're holding things up, man. I'm telling my story, remember?
"Uh, sorry. What… Um… I mean, uh… Where were you?"
(Michael grins and winks at Maria) Another alien conquest!
Okay everyone, as much as I hate to change the topic here… especially with Maria… I'm going to tell you about my emancipation… if I can take all these ups and downs…
I got home that day… Well, actually, I never liked calling it 'home.' I always called it 'Hank's trailer.' That's what it really was. But like I said before, it was all I had. Anyway, there were some things I had to do on the way back ho-… to Hank's trailer… after school… so I got there later than usual, and Hank was waiting for me. He was drunk. Nothing new there. He wanted to know why I hadn't done the wash, and I told him to do it himself. Then he threw a beer bottle at me, but I dodged it. Bad went to worse, and he became physical, yanking me around and slapping and hitting me like I was a punching bag. I tried to twist loose from him, and the next thing I knew, his fist smashed into my face… hard. I saw stars. But worse than the pain was knowing that I had the means to protect myself and couldn't. I couldn't control my powers, especially when I was upset, so I kept them in check. I couldn't take another life. Not even a lowlife like Hank.
The next morning, Isabel noticed I was avoiding her at school. I didn't want her to see my black eye. I was avoiding Max, too, but Max tricked me by opening the door to the men's room like he was going out and then closing it, and when I came out of the stall he was still standing there. So he saw it. He wasn't very happy about it. I made him promise not to tell anyone, and he healed it so I could go to class.
How did it happen?
He was drunk.
Hank? Has it happened before?
Coupla times. This was the worst though.
Michael…
Don't. I don't want you feeling sorry for me. I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me.
Later that day, I saw Max and Isabel together, and I could tell by the looks on their faces that he had told her. I couldn't really hold it against him, though. Even back then Isabel had ways of picking up on stuff, and I knew she would probably get it out of him. I had just hoped that he would hold out longer than he did.
You told her.
Michael!
What are you gonna do, pretend it didn't happen? You have to do something!
Like what, Isabel?
Tell someone… report him.
Yeah, who? Valenti? Yeah, that'd be a smart idea, wouldn't it?
Max and Isabel didn't know about my "truce" with Valenti, and they were still suspicious of him. I encouraged that, I guess. But the truth is, I didn't tell Jim everything myself, and I certainly wasn't ready to tell him about what Hank was doing to me. I couldn't talk about it. Not to him or anybody. Maybe him most of all. But Isabel wasn't making it easy either…
Max told me this has happened before, Michael.
I'm sorry, but I had to tell her.
Look, you guys, everybody's got problems. If it wasn't this, it'd be another thing. I'm a big boy. I can handle it.
Maybe you could talk to my dad. He's a lawyer. He could help. He once told me about this… this case he had where he helped a minor get permission to live on his own.
Forget it, Iz. The last thing we need is for me to go to the courts and bring all this attention to us.
Well, if he hurts you again, Michael…
He won't.
You could use your powers.
I had to stop myself last night. I can't control my powers like you and Max. You guys know that. Especially in the state of mind I'm in. If I did anything I'd probably kill him.
Well, all I know is you can't go back there. So stay with us… at least until Hank calms down.
Fine… if it's gonna shut you and Max up.
Yeah, I know, it wasn't my finest moment. But I was hurting. Not on the outside… I could handle that. On the inside. That's what I couldn't talk about. I wanted to keep it all… all my emotions, you know… bottled up inside me. Big mistake, but what'd I know? I was just a kid, and I wasn't raised with lots of love and flowery feelings. I grew up with bumps on the head if I wasn't fast enough to duck in time… and then, of course, there was the black eye. Hank used to hit me lots, but he'd never actually left a whole lot of evidence before that, maybe because I always ducked in time. Max and Isabel, see, they grew up loved. I didn't even know what it felt like to be loved… I… What are you doing, Jayyd? You want to sit on my lap? Okay, come on.
(Jayyd crawls over onto Michael's lap and looks up at him adoringly) "
I love you, Daddy."
(After a short break… to recompose himself… Michael resumes his story. But now all three of his and Maria's children and several of the others are in his lap or hanging onto him. And Maria is at his side, her head resting on his shoulder. Michael obviously feels comfortable with them in a way that he never could have felt with anyone when he was living with Hank. And he isn't afraid to admit it…)
See, this life I have now… my family… my friends… they mean everything to me. Everything! But I wouldn't have known how to handle this before, when I lived with Hank. It's something I had to learn… or maybe not so much learn as experience. I had to open myself and my heart up to someone first. That was what Maria taught me. She saved my life. Despite all our fighting, we were alike in so many ways… still are. She's the only one who ever could have saved me. She was the only one I ever truly felt comfortable with… besides Max and Isabel, of course.
Max and Isabel did try to pull me into their world. Their parents even gave me a chance and let me stay with them. It just wasn't working. Hank had too much of a hold on me. I didn't know how to live with real people, people who had manners and everything, and I couldn't see the Evanses' generosity as being just that and nothing more. With Hank, everything had a motive. You always had to look for the motive. But the Evanses… I couldn't find their motive, and it made me crazy. I was suspicious of everything they did, and my behavior drove me out of their house and right back to Hank's trailer.
On the way back, I had the feeling that maybe I was the only person in the world like me. Maybe I deserved Hank. Maybe I was really the bad one. I mean, the Evanses were good people and I couldn't make it with them. Hank was my karma or something. He was what I deserved. Then I saw Amy carrying an armload of pies, and I thought, yeah, I'm the only one. Maria's mom loves her. She bakes pies for her… and sometimes for the sheriff, too. Valenti and Maria have Amy. Max and Isabel have their parents. I have Hank. Yeah. It's me. It must be.
But then I remembered the lowlife scum that Jim had showed me the picture of, the one that killed his daughter. She didn't deserve what happened to her. How could any child deserve that? And if she didn't deserve it, maybe I didn't either. Maybe it was Hank who was the bad one after all. But where did that leave me?
When I got back to the trailer, Hank was waiting… again. And he was furious that I hadn't been there to do his chores.
Where the hell have you been?
I tried to just avoid trouble by going to my room and lying down on my bed quietly, but Hank followed me…
I told you to do the wash.
I'll do it later.
Today!
I'm not your maid.
Oh, you're right! You're good for nothing. Do the wash now!
Go to hell, Hank.
No wonder your parents left you out in the desert! Who'd want you?
Who are you, father of the year? You're a man who keeps me around just to collect a monthly check!
The yelling got louder, and Hank walked out of the room momentarily… probably to find something to throw at me. But as luck would have it, Max and Isabel showed up and heard the ruckus. I wasn't exactly expecting company at that moment…
What are you guys doing here?
We heard some yelling.
What's going on?
I tried to get them to go before Hank saw them, but no such luck.
Well, hello, Dolly!
Shut up Hank, I said, warning him, but he was kind of single minded.
Yeah! Wanna have a drink with me?
She doesn't want a drink!
Who the hell are you, her lawyer?
Leave her alone, Hank, all right?
I asked her a question. I'm waiting for her answer.
I could'a told Hank that you don't mess with Isabel, but it wouldn't'a done any good. Besides, I kind of enjoyed watching her throw his drink in his face… and hearing her tell him off.
If you ever touch Michael again, I will kill you!
Unfortunately, I knew she had ignited a firestorm. Furious, Hank grabbed his gun and pointed it at Max. Max backed up and tried to calm Hank down, but Hank had been humiliated, and now he had to exact a pound of someone's flesh to feel superior again. Something major bad was about to happen. I never really planned it, or even thought it, but my powers just kind of took over and I threw a chair across the room and caused some doors and stuff to slam around. Then I messed with Hank's gun, making it jump around in his hand. That part was intentional. It went off safely, away from Max, and Hank totally freaked…
What the hell! Oh, you little bastard! You're a freak! I always knew it! You're a freak!
Max insisted we go quickly, and Isabel tried to reassure me by saying that Hank was drunk and wouldn't remember anything that had happened in the morning, but I knew I couldn't go back again.
You just don't get it, do ya? I know Hank's a jerk, but that's the only thing I had, and now you guys screwed that up for good.
Look, just come back with us for now.
For how long, Max? I mean… two days… three days? What's that gonna do? I… I don't belong there. I don't belong there, I don't belong here, I don't belong anywhere!
Michael, we understand why…
No, you don't, Isabel! You don't understand!
So you got a raw deal. No one's saying that you didn't. But, God, Michael! You finally have a chance to change it. Would it kill you to ask for help… just once in your life?
Yeah, you know what, it would!
Where are you going?
Doesn't matter.
Michael wait!
I didn't tell Max or Iz, but I had something else on my mind. There wasn't much, really, that I could do to Hank. Technically, all he'd done was be a jerk, a drunk, and a lousy foster father… and he gave me a black eye. But it was me he did it to. I could handle it. There was somebody else who had gotten a much worse deal, someone innocent and helpless, who was dead… and a little boy who still needed to be saved.
At the sheriff's station, Jim was taking it easy, letting all that pie that Amy had baked for him settle on his stomach. Of course, I suspect that the pie wasn't what tired him out. It was what you call the "bait," and the sheriff was the fish. He took the bait… hook, line and sinker, as they say. I know this, because Maria told me later. She took Liz back to her house to study, and the sheriff's hat was sitting there, and Maria accidentally sat on it. Then Liz spotted a half eaten coconut pie, and they put two and two together. Not a hard equation… even for me. But, hey! The sheriff was a free man at the time, and Amy was single, so… I guess they had a right to… eat all the coconut pie they wanted, right?
But what I was going to say is that he was sitting there at his desk, letting his pie settle, when Hansen came in with a bulletin…
"Sheriff, someone's been asking around about that guy you been lookin' for, Brad Deakin… someone by the name of Griff Jackson. Apparently, they were cellmates a while back, and Jackson wants to look him up again… for old times sake. He didn't say much more than that, at least not to my informant. But the word on the street is he really wants Deakin to join him for some kind of big score that's going down soon. Should I find this Jackson guy and bring him in for questioning?"
Jim smiled and shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Let Jackson find him first… if he can. Then we'll see what we want to do."
"Yes, sir."
It didn't take me long to find someone who knew Deakin. Actually, I didn't find him, he found me. Seems news flies fast on the street, and this guy wanted a piece of the action Deakin was supposedly gonna get. I went along with him…
"What's your name?"
"
Big D. That's all you need to know. That's what everybody in the pen called me."
"Why? Never mind! Where do you know Deakin from?"
"Come on, where does anyone know Brad from, man? The big house, where else? But I don't remember ever seeing you."
"I kept a low profile. It helps me survive."
Big D looked me over and grinned. "I can imagine."
I didn't like what he was thinking, but I decided to ignore it. He didn't know what I was capable of.
When were you there… in the big house, D?"
"Four years ago. Burglary. Deakin was in for grand theft auto."
"Ah, well… I knew him several years before that. He was in for assault and battery."
"Yeah. Deakin's been up several times for that. He has a control issue."
"I know. Where can I find him?"
"How would I know?"
"Well, if you don't know, then I don't need you. Deakin and I can pull this job off together, just the two of us, once I find him. Twenty-three million split two ways is better than twenty-three million split three ways anyway."
"Twenty-three…
MILLION?"
"Keep your voice down!"
"Twenty-three million?"
"That I know of. Could be a lot more."
"Look, I don't know where Brad is… exactly. But I could probably… maybe… if I had a good reason… I might could find him."
"What would be a good reason?"
"A cut of twenty-three million… an equal cut. If I find him for you, you've got to let me in on the job. Otherwise, find him yourself. You never will. The terrain in that area is…"
"In what area?"
"Never mind. I was just surmising. I mean, if Deakin was gonna be hiding out somewhere it'd be somewhere hard to find, right?"
"I imagine so."
"Well, it would. That's all I was sayin'."
"Okay, so sayin' I cut you in for a third… and sayin' Deakin goes along with it…"
"He will."
"Pretty sure, huh?"
"Trust me!"
"I'll trust you when I see Brad in front of me."
"Tomorrow. 2 PM. Here. Meet me and I'll take you to him."
"No deal. Take me right now or forget it."
"No way, man! Out of the question! I gotta make some preparations first."
I knew what
Big D meant by "preparations." He would be packing… carrying a gun… in case he found out I wasn't who I said I was. And he was probably going to let Deakin know we were coming. I couldn't let him do that. So I turned and started to walk away.
"Wait! Hey, look, guy, if it's that urgent… Brad's not gonna like it, you understand… but he'd have a bigger fit if he missed out on a cut of twenty-three million. You stay in front of me while we walk, though. I don't trust you."
"I don't trust you either. We'll walk side by side."
With the matter of our mutual distrust settled, we headed off together. I knew
Big D was likely to try to double cross me, so I was watching him closely. But after walking for almost two hours, most of it through the desert, he still hadn't tried anything, and for a moment, I began to think I might have been wrong. Maybe he really had bought my story completely. But I wasn't counting on it. Guys like that… you can't turn your back on them or get too relaxed, ever. They're like a snake. They strike when least expected.
I'm not sure how long we walked. I remember thinking that a couple of hours more and we were going to have to spend the night out here. Then he stopped, on the edge of a high bluff. About twenty-five or thirty feet down, I could see a good-sized ledge. It was another fifty feet past that, at least, to the bottom, though that was only a guess. While I was looking down, D whipped out this long rope from behind some big rocks nearby and holds it up ceremoniously.
"What's that?"
"That, sweetheart, is the second fastest way to get down this bluff."
"What's the first fastest way?"
"I give you a push. Unless pretty boy can sprout wings, I don't recommend it."
"I'll take the second fastest way."
Something about this guy, Big D, was annoying me more and more the longer I was with him. Even when he didn't talk he was just… slimy. And when he did talk… He didn't have a clue what I was capable of. "Pretty Boy!" Right! I could've fried his a- uh… steroid… his asteroid… crispier than CrashDown bacon in a grease fire! With a single fireball, or even a mere touch on the shoulder, I could've turned him into something considerably more likeable… ashes. But I decided that this wasn't the time to go proving that. So anyway, he tied the rope around a big rock and we both tested it to make sure it wasn't going to slip, then he motioned to me to slide down it. I figured I'd rather not have him coming down on top of me, so I started looking for an excuse not to go first…
"I never rappelled before. You better show me how to do it."
Hey, the "show me how to do it" routine worked for Gretel when she pushed the witch into the oven, right? I just hoped Big D would fall for it, too.
He grinned one of his oily grins and nodded. "I'll show ya, all right. I'll show ya lots of things you never knew about."
Yeah, just try it… and I'll show you some things you never knew about, I thought to myself silently.
See how you like all your parts rearranged and… uh… ping pong balls hanging out your ears.
I watched Big D slide down the rope, a few feet at a time, trying to avoid rope burn. Obviously, rappelling wasn't his area of expertise either, but eventually he made it to the ledge, then he motioned to me. I decided he wouldn't know the difference if I used my powers just a little bit, so I held onto the rope and slid down, a bit more quickly than I had intended to. When I got to the bottom I noticed that D was staring at my hands…
"How did you do that without getting rope burns?"
I shrugged. "I'm light, I guess. And I didn't hold on good. I kind of fell."
"Yeah, well, light or not, you're lucky you didn't kill yourself! Try not to fall off the ledge."
I looked around and immediately noticed that there was a cave in the wall behind us.
"Is that where Deakin is hiding?"
"You'll know soon enough. Come on."
D led the way into the cave. He hadn't brought a light, since I had insisted on coming immediately, without "preparations," so it quickly got rather dark, but he seemed to know the way. I think Max and Isabel and I were given improved vision and hearing, 'cause I could make out my surroundings somewhat; but D was having to feel his way around. We didn't have to go very far into the cave. After about two minutes, we rounded a corner and D moved a big rock out of the way, and suddenly there was light… from a large battery-type lantern… and right in front of me, squatting against a wall like a coiled rattlesnake, trying not to be seen, was the man from Sheriff Valenti's mug shot, Brad Deakin. I had found him. I had actually found him. Now the question was… what was I going to do with him? I didn't have to wonder for long…
As soon as he saw me, Deakin reacted, leaping to his feet, with an AK-47 in his hands… aimed right at my head. I put my hands up and glanced over at D and back. D coughed nervously and made an effort to intervene…
"Brad, don't shoot. He's with me."
"I told you not to bring anyone else here, Dudley. I may decide to shoot you both for this."
"Hear what he has to say first, Brad. There's a lot of money involved… millions! Besides, you do know him. His name is Griff Jackson. He was in stir with you once."
"I don't remember any Griff Jackson."
I swallowed hard and shrugged… "You probably wouldn't remember me. I was in solitary most of the time, and when I wasn't, I kept a low profile. Most of the guys in there wouldn't remember me. But I knew you."
"So what! Everybody there knew who I was. I'm memorable. What do you want with me?"
"I'm looking for someone to… Oh hell, I'll just show you…"
Like lightning, I whipped my hand out, and a fireball ripped Deakin's gun out of his hand. It fell to the ground a short distance away, with a heavy metallic thud. If Deakin was surprised, he didn't spend any time showing it. With the speed of a diving hawk, he dove for his gun, but in mid flight he noticed that it was now a melted piece of slag, useless unless he wanted to beat someone to death with it. Somehow, he actually managed to roll over in mid air and fall to the ground three feet from where he had originally intended. He came up quick, shooting, holding a handgun that had been hidden nearby. I deflected the bullets with an energy field, and they flew off in all directions, causing Big D to dive for cover in hysterics. If Deakin wasn't showing an appropriate sense of shock, "Big D" Dudley was making up for it in spades, crouching by the wall, his head covered, howling like a cornered hyena.
I let Deakin empty the gun in his hand, then another one. I suspected he had more, but he was smart enough to see that they weren't having any effect against me. I have to say, he didn't seem shocked at all. I never saw a man more like a block of ice before. No emotions at all, just pure killing instinct. He stopped momentarily and looked me over, obviously wondering what I was.
"I'm asking you again, what do you want with me? Did the state fuzz send you to find me?"
"You killed your daughter. What kind of monster kills his own daughter?"
Deakin was silent for a moment, but then he started talking. In fact, he was almost bragging. This caused warning bells to go off in my head. He must still think that we aren't going to be leaving here alive… at least not me. He has another Ace up his sleeve.
"Yeah, I killed her. So what? She was supposed to obey me. She didn't. A daughter's supposed to obey her father."
"You raped her."
"What's it to you? You some kind of saint or something?"
"Something. Where's the boy… Where's your son?"
Gears seemed to turn in Deakin's head, then he grinned… "You're working for my wife! She hired you to bring Eddie back. Well, you can tell her forget it. She's too late."
"What do you mean, too late?"
"She's too late. You're too late. The boy's dead."
"You killed your own son? Why?"
"I didn't kill him. You're killing him… right now."
"What do you mean, Deakin? Spit it out!"
"I put Eddie in a different place… just in case something like this ever happened. I see him every day and take him food and water. We go out in the desert together and I teach him things. I'm raising him to be a man… a real man… like me. But I'm not going to tell you where he is. Even if you kill me."
"I believe you."
"Then you'll understand. If his old man is going to die, it's better for him to die, too. I don't want my son growing up to be no sissy. He'll have me to raise him… or he'll have the next best thing… death. When I don't show up in the morning… how long do you think he'll last without water… in the desert? I figure about two days, maybe three tops. But the air where he is will turn stale before that. Unless I let him out, he will die. So you see the problem… Kill me, Eddie dies. Take me in -if you can- Eddie dies. It's all the same. But you will be his killer, not me. I will be innocent."
"Like a rattlesnake with blood on its fangs."
I stood there for what seemed like a very long time, thinking. Deakin wasn't going to talk. I could see that. He was serious about the boy being raised by him or no one. He was pure ice… no feelings at all. I doubted even torture would have got anything out of him… and I did consider it. Of course, I couldn't just let him go. But I had to. I didn't have a choice. I was going to have to let this son of a… a slime monster go free to save that innocent little boy's life. It wasn't an acceptable option. It was just the least unacceptable option. I had to let a little girl's killer get away… let him go scott free. I couldn't even bring myself to say it. I stared at him for what seemed like forever. It was Hank all over again. I had this great power but couldn't use it. What good were alien powers anyway? They had never been anything to me but a frustration. What use was I? I couldn't even bring a killer in for justice… or save a little boy from a life of hell. Avenger? I was useless. I was a joke. I remember thinking that maybe Maria should change the "A" she had so proudly sewn on that suit she made for me to a "W…" for "Weenie Man." Maria could have probably handled this guy. She'd have had him so bluffed he'd have told her anything she…
That's when it hit me. I didn't have to let Deakin go… maybe…
"You really think I would be here now, Deakin, if we hadn't already found Eddie, or if I wasn't wired and all this wasn't being recorded? All we needed was your confession that you killed your daughter and that you were the one who put your son in that place. Now that we've got that, I don't need anything from you. The only thing I have to decide now is whether to take you in alive… or dead. You'd be much less trouble dead. And it would save the state a ton of money… and a trial. I'm inclined to go that way myself."
"You're bluffing."
I held my hand out toward Deakin and waited, hoping that he would say something… anything at all… that might give away where the boy was hidden. He had already seen what I was capable of, so I thought he might at least be a little bit intimidated. Big D was still crouched against the wall, his head covered, whimpering. But Deakin was soulless. He either didn't believe a word I had said or he was utterly unmoved by the thought of dying. It wasn't working. I had to take the bluff deeper to get to this guy, and there was only one thing I could think of. It definitely wasn't my first choice, but I was well past first choices at this point.
I let my hand down, just for a moment, and turned toward Big D. I knew Deakin wouldn't miss a chance, and he didn't. Like the snake he was, he struck, and he struck fast. Pulling out a handgun that was tucked inside an inside pocket, he fired five shots at me. One hit me in the arm and the other four in the chest. I fell to the ground, bleeding, and stopped breathing. Deakin rolled me over with his foot, checking me out carefully. After satisfying himself that I was dead, he turned on Big D.
"You brought the fuzz here! Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you, too!"
"Brad… I… I… I didn't know. I swear! He said he was an old cellmate. He was going to pull a big job, worth millions, and he wanted you to help him. I knew you'd want the money."
"And I'll bet you expected to be right there with your hand out to cash in on the haul, too, didn't you, Dud? You brought him here because you could never resist a buck. I trusted you! You helped me burn Julie's body and hide it, and I paid you well for that, didn't I… even though you had her yourself before we killed her. You told me about that old buried army bunker under this bluff and helped me put Eddie in it. And I paid you again. But it wasn't enough, was it, Dud? It was never enough! I trusted you… enough to let you know where I was. And you put me in danger by bringing an outsider here. Lucky for me he got distracted for a moment!"
"Yeah! Lucky!"
"I said for me. Not for you."
There was one more bullet in Deakin's gun, and he fired it point blank. Big D collapsed to the ground, dead, with a bullet in his head.
At this point, I was only partially aware of what was happening, which was a definite disadvantage. If Deakin found out I wasn't dead I would be totally at his mercy, and he had none. On top of everything, the bullets in my body hurt! Seriously! With my powers, I had kept them from going in deep enough to kill me and had slowed my breathing to an imperceptible rate. But I was bleeding rather badly. And my head was starting to spin. I had to struggle not to lose consciousness. I remember thinking, through the growing fog in my head, that this might have been a very bad plan.
I felt Deakin drag me out of the cave and roll me over, then I felt myself falling, and I realized he had pushed me off the cliff. I think pure survival instinct took over, because I had only seconds to react, and I couldn't even think straight. But somehow I managed to create an energy net. It wasn't a very good one. I still hit the ground fifty feet below hard enough to jar my teeth and give me a major headache. As I lay there, wondering if I was still alive, it started to rain. I didn't care. I was getting soaked, and I didn't care. It actually felt kind of good. It was cool, and my body was hot. At least my head was. It hurt. The rain pounding on it took some of the pain away.
I don't know how long I lay there. I don't think it was long. The cold rain on my face revived me enough that I was able to stand up and stumble away in the darkness. I walked as fast as I could, knowing that when morning came, if I was still in the desert, Deakin would follow my tracks and try to finish the job. I wasn't afraid of him. I could easily kill him. But he'd take the secret of the boy's location with him to the grave. I couldn't let that happen.
I hadn't gone far when I saw headlights, and I waved the driver down. It was Max. He was looking for me, and someone had told him they'd seen me walking into the desert with another man.
"My God, Michael! What happened to you?"
I fell across the seat of the jeep and tried to laugh, but it hurt too bad. "I got shot, Max. Hey, don't faint or anything but… I'm asking for something I never asked you for… before. I need… your help."
Max ripped my shirt off and pressed his hands to one of the wounds. After a moment, the bullet disintegrated and the wound closed.
"It's a good thing these didn't go any deeper, Michael. Two of them are less than a centimeter from your heart. What were you thinking?"
For the first time, I seriously wondered that myself. But then it came back to me…
"There's an old army bunker… at the foot of a bluff near here, Max. Deakin has his 6-year-old son locked up in it."
"Who's Deakin?"
"Nobody. Nobody important. A lowlife who raped and killed his own daughter and kidnapped his son."
"I'm not even going to ask how you got involved in this, Michael."
"Good."
Max shook his head, exasperated.
"Look, Max… I need your help."
"I know, Michael. I'm healing the wounds as fast as I can."
"Not that. Well… that, too, but… I need you to get a message to Valenti for me."
"Valenti? Sheriff Valenti?! We can't tell him about this, Michael… not about you getting shot! If he ever got proof that you're different…"
"Max… there are things you don't know. We need to talk. But first… I have somewhere else I have to go. I need you to let Valenti know where I am… and that Deakin's son is in the old army bunker under the bluff. I'm going back to get him out."
"I'll help you."
"No, Max! You need to let Valenti know! Please!"
"Michael!"
"Max, please!"
Max sighed heavily, obviously unhappy. I don't know what made him do what I asked. I actually hadn't expected him to give in. He always had to be the one in charge and always got his way. But I guess he could see that I was serious. The bullet holes may have been a clue. With my energy renewed, I headed back toward the bluff, and Max tore off toward town as fast as his jeep would go. He would be back… I knew that for a fact… after he gave Valenti my message.
When I reached the foot of the bluff I started looking for some sign of a way in, or under, or whatever. If there was a bunker under there, there had to be an entrance. Deakin said that he took food and water to the boy every morning, so the entrance wasn't buried, it was probably just locked from the outside, or blocked with something. It was hard to see much in the dark, so I was doing a lot of feeling, but after twenty or thirty minutes, I still hadn't found a thing that wasn't part of the bluff itself. I was frustrated, but I refused to be defeated. Not now! I stepped back to look at the bluff, and as I did, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. The sound of my own feet on the ground was different here than it had been just a few feet away. I stomped on the ground lightly. There was something hollow beneath my feet. Definitely hollow! Carefully, I swept the sand away, using my powers, and there it was… a trap door! It was locked with a padlock, which I easily took care of. Then I pulled the trap door up.
A concrete stairway led down into the bunker. Carefully, I walked down it into the darkness, using an energy pulse from my hand to give me some light. It was larger inside than I had expected. One could easily have put a whole military detachment in here with sleeping quarters and equipment and still had room to spare. It was going to be a lot of area to search. Then I got a break. The boy moved, and something fell. I looked where the sound had come from…
"Who… who are you?"
"My name is Michael. But I know you. You're Eddie, right?"
The boy nodded. "If my dad catches you here, he'll kill you. He'll hurt me, too."
I shook my head. "Not any more, Eddie. I'm here to make sure of that. Hank can't hurt you any more."
"That's not his name."
I cringed. "I know. I… I meant Brad… your father, Brad Deakin. He can't hurt you any more. I won't let him. Come on. I'll take you home, okay?"
Eddie looked unsure, but the idea of going home won out over his fears. He was terrified. Terrified of his own father. It brought tears to my eyes, and I was glad it was dark enough so that he couldn't see them. Hank was bad, but he wasn't my real father. I could walk away from Hank anytime. I wasn't even sure why I hadn't. That was going to change. I knew that now. I could never go back. Too much had changed. And too much would never change.
I led Eddie up the stairs and carefully closed the hatch back up. Then I turned around and took Eddie by the hand. He smiled. I held my finger up to my lips, and Eddie nodded, glancing up at the ledge fifty feet above us. He was a smart kid. Quietly, in the dark, we started to walk away. But we had gone less than thirty feet when a voice like a cannon boomed out behind us. I whirled around to look, and Deakin's massive form rose up from behind a large rocky outcrop like a dark, smothering, deadly fog. Eddie squeezed my hand tightly, in terror.
"Don't worry, Eddie," I said softly. "He can't hurt you now. I promise."
Deakin had a sawed off shotgun in his right hand and something that looked like an automatic pistol, a foreign military make, in his other hand. He pointed the shotgun at my heart…
"Let's see how you do against this."
That was all he said. The words had an icy certainty to them. Then he pulled the trigger. I was prepared, and a hastily cast energy field sent the shot scattering in all directions; but when the gun went off, Eddie dropped my hand and ran, terrified. I can't blame him. It was totally reasonable to think that I would be killed. He didn't know that I was… different.
Deakin didn't waste any time on words. Seeing that the shotgun blast hadn't killed me, he turned to look for the fleeing boy. I yelled, trying to distract him, but he was incredibly purpose driven. He had said it before… he would raise the boy in his own image, or he would kill him. I had no time to consider options or think about the morality of what I was doing. I couldn't put an energy field around Eddie from where I was. So I did the only thing I could do. As Deakin took aim at his son, I threw a fireball. I guess I used more power than I meant to. I didn't have real good control of my powers back then, and I didn't want to be underpowered. It turned out that wasn't a problem. Deakin disappeared in a blazing explosion of pure white light. In fact, the entire bluff and the bunker below it all disappeared, completely vaporized. Eddie stared, wide-eyed, as desert sand and rocks fell back to the ground all around us like rain. The entire sky was lit up and night was turned into day for several minutes before the light finally began to subside.
I held my hand out to Eddie, and he came to me…
"I… I'm sorry I ran. I didn't know you were an angel."
I smiled. "I've been called a lot of things, Eddie, but an angel… yeah, that's… that's good. I kind of like that."
At that moment, I looked up and saw headlights coming. The sheriff pulled up and jumped out of his vehicle, and Max jumped out on the other side.
Trying to dodge some small rocks that were still falling from the sky, Jim looked at the boy then at me. "We saw an explosion. I figured you'd be nearby. What happened?"
I shrugged, but Eddie answered for me. "It was an angel. An angel did it."
Max smiled. I knew that was going to come back at me, but right now I didn't care.
"Sheriff, what time is it?"
Valenti looked at his watch. "Almost ten. Why?"
"There's still time. Can you give me a ride into town?"
"That's kind of what I was hoping to do, Michael. I'll need you to come by and make a statement. You can remain unidentified."
"Can I do it tomorrow? I've got some other stuff I need to talk to you about tomorrow… about me… and Hank."
Jim nodded. "You look distraught, Michael. Is that because of Hank?"
I shook my head but then shrugged. "Kind of… partly… no, not really. It's me. Hank is what he is. I finally realized that. I can't change him. Nobody can. It hurts, but I'm used to it. This is worse. You saw what I did here, Sheriff. I never did that before. I never wanted to do that."
Valenti raised his eyebrows. "You saved a life."
"And took one."
"Yeah. I've been there, Michael. Remember Hubble? He would've killed Max if I hadn't stopped him. It never feels right, Michael, but it was what had to be. Just remember that. If you need me, Michael, I'll be there for you. You know that. Are you going home tonight?"
"Yeah. But not to Hank. I'll show you where to drop me off. I figured something out tonight, Sheriff. Home is not always a place… where you grow up. It's wherever your heart is. And you have to find it."
"Have you found it, Michael?"
"I think so…"
"And if you're wrong?"
I shook my head and wiped away the tears that kept trying to form. "Then there won't be anything left for me here. Not in Roswell. Maybe not anywhere. I think… my whole existence depends on this, Sheriff."
"Michael, you need help. You're emotionally drained. You're distraught. You're barely hanging on. I can find you a place to stay with someone who's not like Hank. Let me help."
I shook my head. "I don't need Hank. I know that now. I can live on my own, or with Max and Isabel. But my home… my real home… is someone else."
"Not a place."
"Not a place. Someone."
Valenti nodded.
I had the sheriff drop me off a couple of blocks from Maria's house, after saying goodbye to Eddie and assuring him that I would be there for him if he ever needed me, and I walked. It was raining, and the rain was cold. Somehow that felt… appropriate. When I got there I saw that the light was on in Maria's room. I wanted to rush to her window and yell to her to let me in. But I couldn't. I got cold feet. Maybe Maria really didn't want me after all. We hadn't been on the best of terms lately. I mean… she was taking "grief relief" pills to try to forget me. But somehow I felt, I don't know, like she was my last hope, my only hope. No, that sounds wrong. She was my everything! My whole reason for existence! As I got closer, I could see her through the window, combing her hair. I wanted to knock on the window. But I couldn't. Too much depended on what happened. So I stood there… in the rain… and just watched.
After a short time, she glanced out the window and saw me standing there. She grabbed her bottle of grief relief pills and took one, and I walked up to the window. I guess that's when she realized that I wasn't just a figment of her imagination. I was really there, standing in the freezing rain.
I think she uttered some kind of vague objections at first, but when she saw that I was wet and shivering… and saw the agony in my face… she opened the window and helped me in.
God, Michael, you could get pneumonia! Here, take your shirt off. Hold on. You're shivering.
She wiped a tear off of my cheek.
Come here. Shhh, it's okay. You don't have to tell me. It's okay.
She laid me down and held me close to her, and I started to cry. It just all came out. I couldn't hold it in. It was the stress, it was the relief, it was just… everything. Maria didn't have to ask. She understood. She was my home. She has been ever since. And that's how we stayed… all night.
In the morning, Amy came in to wake Maria up for school and saw me in bed with her. It's a good thing Amy didn't have powers, because if she had had any, she would have made my explosion the night before look like a fizzled firecracker.
Oh, Maria, Honey, you're gonna be late… Oh my God!
Oh! Mom!
Get out! Get out of this bed! Out of this bed! Out!
Take it easy!
Get out've my house!
I was getting bonked on the head mercilessly, so I jumped out the window. But after I got a ways down the road and had time to reflect, I had to smile. Maria loved me! She did! She understood my agony. That was all I needed to know. The bops on the head didn't hurt after that.
Of course, Maria had to endure the "talk." You know, the one about sex and all. But somehow she managed to convince her mother that nothing happened…
We just slept.
Yeah, I know that one. I've used that one!
You act like I have no self-control.
Oh, yes, because teenagers are known for self control, especially teenage boys.
Michael isn't like that, okay? Well, sometimes he is, but…
What?!
But not last night, all right? He was upset about something. I don't know what he was upset about, but sex was the last thing on his mind.
Oh thank you! There IS a God!
Later in the morning, Sheriff Valenti sent someone to get me out of class. I figured it was because I told him I needed to talk with him about Hank… and, of course, to give my statement about Eddie's rescue. But Jim had a few unexpected questions… for me.
Neighbors heard gunshots.
I don't know anything about that.
But you were there last night?
Went home to get some stuff.
What time was that?
Um, does it matter?
You were the last person to see him.
What do you mean I was the "last person to see him?"
I called the plant. He never showed up for work.
Well, maybe he's passed out somewhere. I don't keep track of him.
Neighbors also said they heard an argument. And then, later, more sounds. Screaming… crying… tortured sounds. Like an animal. Almost inhuman, they said.
What are you talking about?
Where were you, son?
Out.
That was the thing about Valenti. One moment he could be almost like a… a father. Then the next he could be, well, the sheriff… all business. Then…
"Okay, now… what was it you wanted to tell me about Hank last night, Michael? Oh, and about the interrogation… it's my job. Hank is missing, and like it or not, you are the only suspect I have right now… though I'm sure there must be others out there, knowing Hank. Besides, it was as good a reason as any to give you a ride over here. And I still need a statement from you about the boy, Eddie Deakin. I need you to tell me everything you saw out there. You won't be identified in the report. And about the explosion… I've already accounted for it. There was an old army bunker under you. I'm alleging that abandoned munitions in the bunker, placed there either by the army or by someone else who used the bunker after it was abandoned, maybe even Deakin himself, went off spontaneously, killing Deakin and destroying the bluff. It would be pretty hard for anyone to prove otherwise, given the evidence at the scene."
"Thanks, Sheriff. There was another casualty… a man known on the street as
"Big D." His first name was Dudley. I don't know his last name. He was an ex-con and was in the pen at the same time as Deakin. Deakin was in at the time for grand theft auto. That may help narrow down Dudley's ID for you. Deakin shot him in the head… for bringing me there. His body was undoubtedly vaporized in the explosion, along with Deakin. Oh, and I heard Deakin say that Dudley had helped him burn Julie's body and hide it and that he had found the bunker and helped him hide Eddie in it. He was an accomplice in most of what Deakin did."
I wasn't really upset about the sheriff holding me temporarily. It got me out of school. But when Maria found out he had taken me in as a suspect in Hank's disappearance, she convinced her mother to go down to the station and tell Valenti that I had been with her all night and couldn't have killed Hank. I would've loved to have heard that conversation! Maria's never told me about it. But it must have been good to convince Amy to tell Valenti that her daughter had slept the whole night with his only suspect. Anyway, with Amy vouching for me, Valenti felt compelled to release me. I was no longer a suspect. Well, not officially. I still had to face Max and Isabel, who weren't so sure. But they believed me.
I have to confess that, at this point, I was still confused about my future. I couldn't go back to Hank… if he was even still alive. Valenti promised to find me another foster situation. But he didn't say "home." How could he? Any new foster situation was going to be unacceptable anyway. I had one "home" here, and that was Maria, and one home that I had never seen, Antar. I had no other home on this world. I didn't want to lose Maria, but I was more obsessed now than ever with finding Nasedo and finding out where we came from. So I told Max and Isabel that I was going away… to find Nasedo. They tried to get me to stay and live at their house, but I wouldn't consider it. So they gave me this pouch to take with me, and I hitched a ride out of Roswell with a trucker. On the road, I opened the pouch. It was the stones that River Dog had given us in the cave, the ones Nasedo left behind. I held them in my hands and saw flashes from the healing ceremony. These stones were from our planet. They were all we had of where we came from. But most importantly, they weren't mine; they were ours. It wasn't my heritage; it was our heritage. We belonged together. Max and Isabel tried to tell me that, but it just didn't get through before. I thought about what I told Valenti… about home not being a place but something else, something more important. I had Maria. But I also had Max and Isabel. And they had me. As long as we were together, we had a home wherever we were. I would never stop looking for Nasedo… or Antar. But I couldn't give up the home I had for one I didn't even know how to find. I had to bring us all together… in the proper time.
When Isabel came down to the kitchen in the morning she found me cooking breakfast.
What are you doing?
Making an omelet. What does it look like?
I didn't know you could cook.
Yeah, well, uh, there's a lot you don't know about me.
Yeah. You're full of surprises.
Yup.
Thanks!
Then I saw Mr. Evans coming down…
Good Morning.
Hello Michael.
I thought I'd cook breakfast for the family.
Then Mrs. Evans came down…
Ah! Well, well! What's going on here?
Uh, Michael is making breakfast for everyone.
Hmmm. Looks good!
I thought it was time to pop the question I had on my mind to Mr. Evans…
Uh, there's another thing, sir…
Yeah?
Uh… I was wondering if you could help me, uh… I wanna… I wanna find a way to live on my own, and I was told that it could be done.
It's complicated. You'd have to file a petition for emancipation… go before a judge.
You know, I'll do whatever it takes. I've thought about it, and I want to take control of things. And I think I'm ready to do that now, so…
Why don't you come by my office this afternoon and we'll talk. I'd like to know more about your situation.
Yeah. This afternoon then.
Mr. Evans was good for his word. He got me the hearing…
And does the minor, Michael Guerin, pledge to take charge of his life as an adult from here forward?
I do, your honor.
And do you understand that you will be solely responsible for your financial, educational, and medical decisions as they arise?
I do, sir.
And might I add, young man, that you are fortunate in having these folks here today, who have an interest in your future and have shown a confidence in you that is reflected in my decision. I hope you can live up to that faith.
I'll try, your honor.
I hereby grant your petition for emancipation.
Oh! And as for Hank, well, he showed up in Valenti's office and said he had been down in Carlsbad or somewhere, drinking and hustling the women. He said he was selling his trailer and moving to Las Cruces and wasn't taking me along. Wanted to know if he had to sign any papers to leave me behind. Valenti told him it wouldn't be necessary… just to leave Roswell soon… the sooner the better. We didn't know it then, and we didn't find out until much later, but Nasedo killed Hank and assumed his form and ID, so the person who was in Valenti's office could have been Nasedo. We still don't know for sure if it was him or Hank. We only know that right after that, Nasedo was using Hank's form and ID. He told us himself, much later, that he had killed Hank.
And that's it. That's the whole story of my emancipation. I sometimes refer to those days, especially the thing with Deakin in the desert… and my life with Hank… as the long night. And my emancipation was the morning. Maria understands. It was her love that brought me through that long night… and into the morning.
End of Episode 114
tbc
Here's the next part.