Average Joe and the Extraordinaires (17 page)

He smiled
sadly. Liandra got up from her bike, walked over to him, gently put her hands
on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

Liandra:
“All of that is in you.  You truly want to do good and to be good.  You
wouldn’t have done what you did otherwise.”

She
smiled at him.
With true honesty and understanding
, he thought, which
put him at ease.

Liandra:
“I believe your life will get better once all this is behind you.  I’ll do my
best to get you to that point.”

Joe:
“Thanks, B—Liandra.  I appreciate that.”

She
nodded and they both waited quietly for Borland’s arrival.  It was eleven o’
three by the time he showed up.  He parked his car next to Joe’s and walked
through the dark alley towards them.

Liandra:
“You’re late.”

Borland:
“I had a tail that I was trying to lose all night.  These guys seem desperate
for something.  I’ve never seen them so relentless.  I take that to mean I’m
doing something right.  Now, without further ado, let’s go get this over with.”

Joe:
“Where to next?”

Borland
looked at Joe like he was crazy.

Borland:
“Ya think I spent all that time losing that tail to leave again?  The meeting’s
here, at your little clubhouse.  Now lead on.  Take us somewhere with a decent
amount of space so I can stretch my legs.”

Joe began
to sweat. 
Oh no, this is bad
, he thought.
I don’t know what to do
. 
He didn’t expect Borland to want to have the meeting here.  He had to think
fast.

Joe:
“This isn’t the best place for a meeting.  For one, there’s no light in there
after dark.”

Borland:
“Well, good thing I thought ahead and brought some candles since I figured this
dump wouldn’t have electricity.”

Borland
lifted his black duffle bag to show Joe.  Joe was getting desperate.

Joe: “I’m
telling you, it’s really bad in there.  It’s cold and dusty and smells like old
dirt.  That smell stays in your clothes.”

Borland
was losing his patience.  Even in the dark Joe could see him scowl.

Borland:
“Listen.  I don’t care about any of that.  We don’t have a lot of time, so take
us inside to a good spot now or I will drag you in there by the neck and find
it myself.”

Joe
swallowed hard, turned, and walked up the stairs to the back door.

Joe:
“Fine, fine.  Just let me look around to make sure the coast is clear.”

Borland:
“Who do you think is in there?”

Joe had nothing
to say.

Borland:
“And what sense would it make to have a kid doing that when we have an armed
ex-cop and a lady that can beat up ten men here?”

Joe
became frantic trying to think of something, anything, to stop Borland from
entering the building.  He looked to Liandra for support.  She simply nodded
her head.

Liandra:
“Just lead us in, Joe.”

Joe
wordlessly walked forward and opened the door, making sure to do so as slowly
as he could.  Inside was nothing but darkness.  He fumbled around a bit, half pretending,
half not.  He kept up the charade until Borland pulled out a flashlight and
illuminated the black iron stairs and the doors.

Borland:
“We goin’ up or what, kid?”

Joe
thought for a minute.  He knew Melissa would most likely be at the top, and figured
that there was no way to really hide the signs that she was up there.  The
pictures, the sleeping bags, the blankets, all of it gave her away.  At least
on this floor he had the chance of Dahlila being somewhere else.  She might
have snuck out again to get more supplies.  Or she was probably waiting inside,
and as soon as he opened the door would probably slam him again.  That would
give her away instantly, unless…

A crazy
idea popped into his head, but he realized he needed to be quick about it for it
to work.  He started coughing loudly.  Borland tried to shush him.

Borland:
“Keep it down, kid.”

Joe:
“Sorry Mr. BORLAND!  It’s just all this dust.  I didn’t know so much of it
could HIDE so well on the walls.”

Borland:
“Alright, keep it down. Stop yelling.”

Joe:
“Okay, MR. BORLAND!”

He hoped
that was enough, as bad as it was.  He saw Liandra shaking her head behind
Borland.  Borland looked at Joe as if he were crazy.

Borland:
“Your parents must not have fed you today.”

Joe
slowly pushed the creaking door open, half expecting to be grabbed and slammed
at any moment.

Borland:
“Bad things are gonna happen if you don’t hurry up with that door and stop
toying with me, kid.”

Joe
quickened his pace.  He opened the door and saw the pale blue light of the moon
keeping much of the room's darkness at bay.  What he didn’t see was any sign of
Dahlila, or her exercise equipment, and what’s more he was still on his feet. 
He let out a huge sigh of relief.  He guessed that she was upstairs with
Melissa.  Hopefully they had heard him.

Joe:
“Well, I guess the benches over there are as good a spot as any for this
meeting.  Shall we begin?”

Borland
appeared to be annoyed.  Liandra however was transfixed on the statue of the
woman at the altar at the front of the room.  She walked up to it and touched
its face, gently, as one might touch a person they’re about to lose.

Joe: “Are
you okay, Liandra?”

Liandra:
“Yes, I’m fine.  This statue ... she’s beautiful is all.”

Chapter
29

The
Deadly Speech

It was
early, school time early, and Joe dreaded every minute of being awake.  Where
was the joy of getting suspended if he couldn’t sleep in?  Mostly Joe just
wanted this day to be over.  Once the day was done he’d be safely in his bed
again and not worrying about some psycho killer out for blood.  He’d be happy
for that.  That worry had left a painful knot in the pit of his stomach.  The
sooner that left, the better off Joe would be.

On this
particular morning, Joe’s brain decided to worry him every which way it could. 
Everything that had recently troubled him came to the forefront of his
thoughts.  He tried his best to push those bad thoughts away but had no such
luck.  His somber mood continued into breakfast.  He tried to focus on
Borland’s plan in order to get his mind out of the dumps.

Borland
had spent the majority of the meeting emphasizing each of their roles.  Joe was
told that he was to strictly watch his small portion of the crowd and report,
to Borland or Liandra, any sign of suspicious activities.  It felt like small-time
grunt work to Joe, but he was fine not sticking his neck out.  He still wasn’t
used to dealing with danger and assassins like the other two.  They seemed to
keep their calm in those situations, where he always panicked.  Borland had
even gone out of his way to make Joe promise to stay out of danger.  Joe
remembered his words.

Borland:
“Don’t try to be a hero, that’s the main thing.  You’re a civilian, and if you
die I’ll be the one to blame.”

To Joe it
had sounded like Borland’s way of trying to communicate that he cared.

Liandra
was outside waiting in the driveway as planned.  She had taken his car last
night and dropped him off.  Joe got into the passenger side and closed the
door.  Now Liandra—in the guise of an older gent in a white dress shirt, blue
crisscross patterned tie, mustard colored slacks, and sporting a gray Caesar
haircut—was trying to hammer the details of the plan into Joe’s memory as she
drove off.  Once she noticed his lack of interest and apparent preoccupation,
she stopped regurgitating facts and asked him a question.

Liandra:
“What’s wrong, Joe?”

He didn’t
immediately answer, not quite sure what to say.  After a moment he found his
voice.

Joe:
“Everything is … all of it.”

Liandra:
“Elaborate please.”

Joe:
“Nothing is right.  If I died today it’ll be for nothing.  I haven’t
accomplished anything in my life.”

He looked
out the window at nothing in particular as he talked, making sure his face was
fully turned away from hers.  She heard a dull THUNK, and then looked down at
Joe’s pants to see the wide splash mark made by what was most likely a tear.

Joe:
“When I look back on it, my whole life is nothing but a failure.”

Liandra
was never a cheerleader or one to mince her words; however, she tried her best
to put him in better spirits.  She transformed back to her normal self for a
moment to make the situation less weird.

Liandra:
“You mean has been.”

Joe:
“What?”

Liandra:
“If you think nothing good has come of your life, then you must remember that
you’re talking about your very short life up to this point.  I promise that I
won’t let you die today.  After that, it’s up to you to decide if the rest of
your life is going to be a failure or not.  You have plenty of time to make
something of yourself.  Don’t waste it on moping around and thinking of a life
that could’ve been.”

He looked
at her sheepishly, his eyes still red and wet.

Joe:
“Thanks.”

She
smiled at him.

Liandra:
“Don’t thank me until we’re done with this mess.”

************

It had
been a pain to park.  There were way more people here than Joe thought there
would be.  Joe didn’t think anybody liked this boring political stuff, but it
seemed he was wrong.  The only person he knew to be openly political year-round
was Kate.  She was always prattling on about women’s rights, gay rights, and voting
rights.  For all her talk of “rights” all of her positions were remarkably to
the “left,” at least that’s what one of Joe’s teachers had said to him in a
joking manner.  Joe couldn’t find the humor in it.

The crowd
was jam-packed.  They had filled the Sunbeam County Fair Courtyard easily
enough, and it wasn’t even anywhere near noon.  Joe and Liandra, the old man,
had split up as soon as they entered the courtyard so no one saw them
together.  She was to keep an eye on the rear of the crowd and he the middle. 
Borland was supposed to watch the front, but he was nowhere in sight.  It was
tough to see through the thickness of the crowd.

Joe waded
through the crowd, not entirely sure what he was looking for.  There were
mainly older folks around his parents’ age and older.  Joe supposed that this
would-be assassin he was looking for would be someone younger, so he looked
around for folks closer to his age than Borland’s.  He saw a few younger folks
scattered about, and one big group of them that was in his middle section. 
They looked only slightly older than him, maybe on some college field trip, if
they had those in college.  Maybe the assassin would come from that group.  They
looked innocent enough and nearly as restless as Joe.  It would be twenty more minutes
until the governor took to the stage.

After a
few minutes Joe felt a vibration against his leg.  He whipped out the cell
phone that Borland had given him and read the message.  “Everyone in position.”

Joe
responded with a “Yes,” as fast as he could type.  He still couldn’t see
Borland, however.  He placed the phone back into his pocket.  It was nearing
time for the speech to begin.

“I didn’t
expect to see you at this event, Joseph.”

Joe
turned towards the familiar voice and saw the small man dressed in brown
slacks, a yellow dress shirt, white vest, and as always those tiny white
tic-tac shoes.  He looked as if he were going to some prom as a bathroom gone
bad.  Today he complemented all that with a pair of silver-framed specs which
caught the sun and reflected it into Joe’s eyes, causing him to squint.

Mr.
Patrias: “I see suspension hasn’t kept you from being a busybody.  Of all
places, what brings you here?”

Joe
didn’t want to talk to Patrias, but felt obligated thanks to Zero Tolerance.

Joe: “I thought
I’d come out here to learn a little about our local politics.”

Patrias
smiled and clasped his hands together.

Mr.
Patrias: “Good answer, and very commendable.  If you keep up this level of
academic excellence, you may get to keep your spot at our school.  Keep up the
good work and enjoy the speech, Joseph.  Good day to you.”

The
principal walked away with a subdued smile, while Joe bared a subdued scowl as
he walked away. 
Of all places
, Joe thought.  A few moments later the
speech started.

There was
a huge commotion and the crowd forcefully moved forward when a celebrity, some
actor named Ace McTavert, took to the stage for the governor’s introduction. 
He started by rattling off a list of the governor’s accomplishments.  It was a
formidable list, but Joe noted that a lot of the supposed achievements sounded
trivial at best.

After all
that, the governor was brought on stage to loud collective applause and
cheers.  He was a round and squat man, bald at the top of his head with a
horseshoe shaped half-ring of brown hair around that.  He was clean shaven and
wore a dark blue suit sans the blazer.  He looked uncomfortable, or constipated,
or both as he smiled and waved around to the crowd.  Shutters snapped
feverishly before he even uttered a word, and when he did talk there was
nothing but bullish confidence in his voice.

“What
kind words from Mr. McTavert.  I’ve always liked his movies, so his endorsement
means a lot.  Thanks, Ace!  Now, to those of you who don’t know me, I am your
friendly neighborhood governor, John Everstone!”

Loud
cheers erupted at the mention of the governor’s name.  The governor paused to
let the clamor die down a bit before he continued.  Joe felt he was the only
one here who didn’t know who this governor really was.  He wasn’t familiar with
the man in the least.

Everstone:
“Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you all!  I couldn’t have done this without
you.  I think of you all every day and in every decision I make.  That’s the
success of my administration and I don’t keep that a secret.  We are for the
people and by the people!”

The crowd
erupted at that.  Hands went up in the air, whistles were blown, flags were
waved that had the governor’s name on them, and the cheers seemed to nearly
rival a Pickers game. 
Nah, on second thought, nothing rivals the loudness
of a Pickers’ game
, Joe thought.

Everstone:
“At your behest, I have put into effect a five point plan.  Now, this very town
was good to me during the election and ol’ John won’t forget it.  That’s why
I’m using this town as a launching point for part three of my five point plan,
rebuilding.  You’ll soon see new construction around some of your favorite
districts in a concerted effort to bring prosperity, opportunity, and fun to
this town.  Our plan to rejuvenate this state starts with you, Orangetown, and
to kick that off we’ve invested countless resources into getting Pickers
stadium up and running so your Pickers have a home to return to.”

More
cheers went up, this time insanely louder than the last.

Everstone:
“We will have the stadium up and running before next season.  That’s a
promise!”

The crowd
went wild, and this time not even Governor Everstone could bring them back.  He
smiled and you could barely hear him talking and laughing over the speakers.

“EH-VER-STONE! 
EH-VER-STONE!  EH-VER-STONE!” went the chant from the crowd.

Everstone:
“Now I’m flattered but we have to—”

They cut
him off with, “FOUR MORE YEARS!  FOUR MORE YEARS!  FOUR MORE YEARS!”

Joe found
himself smiling too, mainly at the thought of more Pickers games here in
Orangetown.  His reverie was interrupted when his pocket vibrated.  He pulled
his phone from his pocket and looked at it.  “STOP GAWKING,” it said.  A second
message came immediately after: “This lousy GOV won’t save himself.”  Joe got
the message in more ways than one, and proceeded to do his part in saving the
governor’s life.  He walked to his left and awkwardly surveyed the men and
women around him.  He honestly felt like the suspicious one.  A few people
around him agreed and eyed him warily as he passed by.  After that, he walked
back through the crowd again, but this time towards the right side.  He didn’t
see any sign of suspicious activity but continued to survey all the same.

On stage,
some man in a black suit walked over to the governor and tapped him on the
shoulder.  Joe thought it was curtains for Everstone until he saw him laughing
after the other man whispered some inaudible joke in his ear.  The man walked
away and Everstone turned his attention back towards the crowd.

Everstone:
“I was just told some very interesting news.  It seems that we have a very
special guest here with us today, and it seems that they’re a secret supporter
of mine.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least say hi.”

The crowd
became hushed with suspense as they waited to learn who this guest was.  Joe
himself didn’t care at all who this guest was, probably just another boring old
guy.  He just wanted the speech to be done for his and the governor’s sake.

Everstone:
“Joe Black, is that you back there?  Joseph Remington Black?”

Joe
stopped in his tracks and froze.  He couldn’t believe it.  The crowd was
stunned too.  Everyone was turning their heads to look for him.  Only a few of
those near him immediately recognized him.  Joe turned towards the stage and
saw that the governor had clearly recognized him as well.  Thanks to
Everstone’s unwavering stare, all eyes were quickly upon him.

Everstone:
“Yes, that is you isn’t it?  My eyes don’t deceive me.”

Joe could
do nothing but stare at the man.  The phone in his pocket vibrated but he
didn’t have the nerve to answer it, not with everyone staring at him.

Everstone:
“Can you join me on stage, young man?”

Joe had
no idea what to do.  More vibrations came from his pocket, but the only thing
on his mind now were the stares.  There were so many faces around him, all
staring, with John Everstone at the center of the parade.  They all waited to
see what he would do next, but even he didn't know what he would do.  The next
thing he knew he was nodding his head very slowly.  His feet did the rest.

Everstone:
“Yes, that’s it!  Come on down!”

The crowd
started booing as Joe made his way to the stage, so much venom in their jeers
that the governor thought it best to send security over to meet Joe and escort
him to the stage.

Everstone:
“Yes, this young man does indeed have a reputation that precedes him, and it is
a rather infamous one.”