Average Joe and the Extraordinaires (20 page)

Dahlila:
“Exactly.  That bastard Blonsky’s men.  I knocked some of them out clean.  I
could tell they were out, but it’s strange, they kept getting up even after I
beat them bloody.”

Liandra:
“I wonder why they didn’t take you back or kill you for that matter?  You saw
their faces, I imagine.”

Dahlila:
“I don’t know why they didn’t finish me. Maybe they thought I would bleed out
or something.”

Claude:
“There is a simpler explanation.  Your life was spared by this hallowed
edifice.  It shielded you from their malice until the end.  I saw it.”

They were
all looking at him now.

Dahlila:
“What are you talking about?”

Claude:
“This edifice is a great and noble creation.  It is truly one of the world’s
foremost mysteries.  It is a true wonder, and I am honored to serve as keeper
of its grounds.”

Joe:
“Just seemed like an old abandoned building to me.”

Claude
looked offended.

Claude:
“No, not at all, boy.  This edifice is beyond my understanding, truly.  It is
said to be a paradox, both shadow and substance.”

Everyone
looked at him as though he were speaking Greek.  Joe told himself that this
would be his last trip to the tower, since this crazy guy was lurking around.

Joe: “Did
you see Blonsky?  Was he the one the shot you?”

Dahlila:
“No, not Blonsky, but this guy dressed twice as bad as Mr. Fluorescent Shirts. 
And he…”

Joe:
“What?  What is it?”

Dahlila:
“You’re going to think I’m crazy for saying this but he—I mean, I think he knew
magic or something—I don’t know.”

Joe
looked straight at Liandra.

Joe:
“I’ve seen some crazy stuff, so I actually believe you.”

Dahlila:
“Good, cuz I don’t even believe what I’m about to tell you.  I disarmed one of
the men after I knocked him out.  I grabbed his piece, and wasn’t going to use
it at first, but these guys kept getting up and were closing in on me.  I could
see no other way.  When I went to shoot, I felt the gun being tugged away from
me, even though no one was there.  After struggling for a while, the thing flew
out of my hands and across the room as if I had thrown it.  My hands were
shaking, but I know I didn’t throw that gun.  After that, the guy I guessed to
be the ringleader of the whole affair walked up the stairs.  I ran at him once
I saw him carrying Melissa away, with my bloody leg and all, and decked him. 
Next thing I know my feet were being pulled from under me, but again no one was
around.  I fell so hard I saw stars.  When I looked up, the bastard was smiling
and I could swear he had a wand in his hand.  A witch’s wand.  I thought he was
going to kill me, until I woke up with Joe hovering over me.”

They were
all quiet for a few moments.

Claude:
“It is the work of this wondrous structure.  I saw the invader that you spoke
of.  He had some skill in the arcane arts, but not enough to resist the power
contained in this building.  The crafte that had bound his subordinates to him
had looked to be failing.  That loss of control seemed to shake the man and
hasten his retreat.  He ordered all his men outside and tried to finish you
himself, but even then his witchcraft seemed to fail him.  With no other
weapons left to him, he left you, confident that you would bleed to death.  Yet
it seems you have something far more important in store for you, so this great
edifice has kept you alive.”

Liandra:
“You and I have much to talk about, Claude, but for now I’ll just thank you for
helping to save her life.  It looks like we have a busy night ahead of us.”

Joe:
“Yeah, it’s time to get Melissa!  Wait!  Dahlila, where are you going?”

The young
blonde was already on her feet and walking towards the stairs.

Liandra:
“Don’t be a fool.  You can’t find her by searching alone.  Come back here.”

The young
blonde looked back at Liandra with a nasty scowl.

Liandra:
“Neither you or Borland scare me with those nasty faces you make.  Every moment
you stand there is a moment we could be using to find Melissa.  Now get over
here so we can make a plan.”

Dahlila
reluctantly did as she was told.  Liandra pulled a cell phone from her pocket.

Joe:
“That looks like the phone Borland took from me.”

Liandra:
“That’s because it is.  He wanted me to give it back to you.  I’m giving it to
her instead so we can all keep in contact.  I want you both to trade numbers as
well.  You can work alone if you like, Dahlila.  I won’t even tell Borland that
you’re helping us.  The only thing I ask is that you keep in touch.  Your
energy should be fully restored in an hour’s time.”

Dahlila
nodded and took that as her cue to leave.  Joe called her so she could save his
number, and she did the same.

Joe: “I
don’t have Borland’s number in this phone.  You’ll have to call him.”

Liandra:
“We’ll call him once we’re on the move.  We have no more time to waste if we
want to catch up to Melissa.”

Joe:
“Dahlila told me that one of them drove a green Taurus.  It’s small, but it’s a
start.”

Liandra:
“It’s better than nothing.”

Joe
looked down at the floor and saw bloody footprints everywhere. Only a few were
whole.  Joe and Liandra had managed to avoid the blood, and so apparently had
Claude.  Only one pair of bloody footprints had made it to where Dahlila had
sat, and they were small.  He thought they belonged to Melissa, until he saw
that they were in the shape of a men’s dress shoe.  It was all a mess, and Joe
felt personally responsible for bringing this trouble to Claude’s doorstep. 
After all, he had brought the girls here assuming they would be safe.

Joe:
“Sorry about your place, Claude.  I’ll help you clean it up as soon as I get
back, and I’ll stop trespassing here too.”

Claude
smiled fully and shook his head.

Claude:
“Not necessary.  Maintaining this place is my duty, and having you and your friends
here makes this place much more lively.  Continue to come to find solace here,
and good luck with your friend.”

Joe:
“Thanks”

Villain
View 3

Marching
Orders

“We have
the subject.”

The
mannerable man’s voice traveled faintly through the telephone.

“Good,
good.  Did you eliminate the other one?”

The other
man’s voice was also low, yet commanding and curt.

“Yes, of
course.  You issued the order and I followed.”

“Job well
done.  I only wish you had put more effort into ending the tale of the town’s new
hero.”

The
mannerable man expected his old friend to say that.

“I did
the best I could.   I saw the opportunity to take out two birds with one stone
and I took it.  The blame rests with that lackluster cat’s paw you hired.”

“The
shooter or the one that hired him?"

The
commanding man laughed loudly and continued talking.

"You
do make a good point, but it’s all for the best. I realized that shortly after
the whole ordeal.  I can get what I want even with Mr. Five Point Plan in my
way.  His plans may yet coincide with mine.  His reconstruction efforts around
the state are brilliant masks for my construction projects.”

“That’s
good.  So we are not at a loss.”

“Well,
not completely.  I still want you to fulfill your role.  I don’t want that boy
poking his head around my operations anymore.  He’s too high profile, and he’s
seen too much.  He’s also made some powerful friends and I don’t like it.  If
they all collaborate, they could make our lives a lot more difficult.  I need
that girl.”

The
mannerable man went silent, lost in his thoughts.  This whole ordeal was
becoming a pain.  He was frankly sick of shouldering this task.

“I have
done what you asked. I captured the girl, but this other task is beyond me.  I
am not a mercenary, I am a scholar.”

The
commanding man’s voice rose to a bellow.

“Don’t
ever tell me what you are not!  You will be what I need you to be.  Or have you
forgotten all that I have done for you?”

The
mannerable man was sullen.  His thoughts went back to Cynthia and he nearly
cried.

“No.  How
could I ever forget?”

“Good. 
We have gone through a lot together, old friend.  I trust you with my life and
my fate.  That is why it must be you who fulfills this task.  You are perfectly
suited for it.  We need your … finesse.  Anything else would be called into
question, and we don’t need that right now.”

“What of
my future?  If I am caught doing this, it’s over for me.  Why can’t Blon—why
can’t the idiot or one of his cat’s paws do this?”

“Like I
said, we need finesse.  Besides, he’s already proven that he’s not reliable.  I
don’t see him in our operation for too much longer.  Now, I want you to call
that fool to let him know that you’re on your way.  He’s assured me that his
facilities are open and ready for you.  As I said before, I need that girl.”

Click.

The
mannerable man whispered to himself.

“How nice
of him.  I’ll call the idiot.”

He dialed
the numbers and waited for the man he called “the idiot” to pick up.  He picked
up after three long rings.  His voice came through loudly.

“Ah, it’s
you!”

The mannerable
man was instantly annoyed.

“I have
your subject and need a place to put her.”

“Why
thanks!  I hope you didn’t overexert yourself.”

The
mannerable man’s anger was starting to build.  Heat rose to his face.

“I
wouldn’t have to overexert myself at all if I wasn’t stuck doing your work.”

The rough-talking
man on the other line chuckled.

“Oh?  So
it’s my fault?  Maybe you should remember that I wasn’t the one who’s been
failing to take a little boy out of the picture.”

“You
certainly didn’t take him out the other day, now did you?”

“Funny. 
But you should also remember that I wasn’t the one that ordered you to do my
work.  That was your bestie.”

The
mannerable man could hear the smile in the other man’s voice.  He wanted
nothing more than to wipe it away.

“You
didn’t order me to do anything, true, but the gross incompetence of you and
your underlings nearly undermined the whole operation, and did in fact
contribute to my excess workload.”

The rough-talking
man’s voice had lost a small bit of its bravado.

“Well,
what’s done is done.  We both have our orders.”

“Lend me
one of your cat’s paws.”

The rough
talking man laughed, as the other man had expected.

“That’s
beyond my pay grade, Billy Boy.  Why don’t you just use some hocus pocus?”

“I’ve
tried.  It doesn’t work on him.”

“Listen,
I’d love to stand here and listen to you complain about every little thing, but
I have money to make.  I know you don’t want to upset your friend, so figure
something out.  Oh, and, Billy Boy, no more calls like this.”

Click.

“The
nerve of that rude…”

The man
was right about one thing: he needed to think of something and quickly.

Villain
View 4

The Daily
Grind

Buzz,
buzz, buzz
, went the sound of the alarm clock.  It rang out for three
seconds before a quick tap dispelled its buzzing.  It didn’t pay to be a slob,
especially with all he had to do today.

He was up
and out of bed in no time.  He opened the curtains first, then the windows to
let in some sunlight and fresh air.  His shower was brief and cold, which felt
surprisingly good on this warm morning.  He dressed quickly and in colors
befitting today’s dark mood.  He made a quick breakfast of toast, egg whites,
and orange juice supplemented by a little quiet time with his favorite
newspaper,
The Sunshine State Chronicle
.  His mood soured when he saw
the front page.

He read
the caption: Local Hero Readmitted Into School.  His anger started to build. 
Every day there was a new article, when he turned on the T.V. he saw the boy’s
face, at work that was the only subject his coworkers had on their dull
brains.  Ever since the stadium explosion the whole town had been obsessed with
this fraudulent boy and his lucky shaves with death.  It was all the normally
mannerable man could stomach.  He ended his breakfast preemptively by hurling
his plate across the room.  His only satisfaction came when he heard it shatter
against the wall.  He rubbed the rings on his fingers, and now in a calm state
of mind, could only think of cleaning up the mess he had made.

“That was
an expensive plate.  I’d hate to lose it.”

He closed
his eyes whispered a foreign chant under his breath.

By the
time he walked over to the wall, the plate was in one piece again.  He picked
it up, scraped the food into the trash and put it into the dishwasher.  He
double-checked the wall and was delighted to find it picture perfect with no
food or stains in sight.  It was all needless.  His abilities had never failed
him … until recently.

“That boy
is really rattling my confidence.”

He
grabbed a dark pair of shoes to match his somber outfit and mood and slipped
into them.  He grabbed his briefcase and was out the door.

As he
drove to work there was only one thought on his mind. 
Today is the day, it
has to be
.  As always, traffic was a mess in the parking lot, even this
early in the morning.  Luckily, he had his own space, which always saved him
precious time, time that he used to think and plan.

The halls
were mostly clear, as was typical this early in the morning.  He knew that the
bulk of the students would be in the auditorium, library, or lunchroom this
early in the morning.  The mannerable man tried not to look like he was
searching for someone.  He found himself in luck when he turned the corner
towards the front entrance and saw the boy walking with his books tucked neatly
under his arm.  He smiled with glee when he saw him, but quickly hid his
expression.  The boy had been showing up early as of late, surprising the
mannerable man with his showing of initiative.  The mannerable man decided to
approach him.  The boy looked a bit startled at first approach, but it didn’t
take long for that to change to annoyance.

Joe:
“P—Principal … what do you want?”

Patrias:
“Good morning, Joseph!”

The
mannerable man laughed, mainly at the boy’s ignorance and insipidness.

Patrias:
“Don’t look at me so accusingly, Joseph.  I don’t make your life tough because
I want to.  But forget about all that. Today I’ve come to talk to you about the
progress you’ve been making.”

The boy
was clearly confused.

Joe:
“Oooh-kay…”

Patrias:
“Not here.  We’ll have this discussion after school.  Meet me in my office.”

Joe:
“Alright…”

Patrias:
“Cheer up, Joseph!  I’ll have you know that today will be a good day.”

Joe:
“Whatever you say, Mr. Patrias.  Can I go?”

Patrias:
“Yes, back to your studies with you.”

Only when
Joe had turned and walked down the hall did the man allow himself to smile.

“Oh,
today will be a good day indeed.”