Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (27 page)

The Chief leaned into him.

“
I know how much she means
to you,” the Chief said. “This is going to be a circus. Her
father’s up for re-election in November. He’s going to have the
press crawling all over this thing.”

Seth ground his teeth with disgust.

“
That very face is the
reason I want you at home. You’re too valuable to me, to this
investigation. I can’t have you thrown out for scowling in the
background of the press conference,” the Chief said. “I’ll see you
Monday morning bright and early, my office. Agreed?”

Seth scanned the Chief’s face and nodded. He
watched them load Ava into the helicopter. He and Jacob walked to
his car.

“
Bugatti Veyron?” Jacob
stroked the leather seats. “Having a mid-life crisis?”

“
My agent made me buy
this,” Seth said. Seeing Jacob’s amused face, he added, “After the
Oscar.”

“
Oscar made me do it,”
Jacob laughed. “That’s what they all say. Did you take high speed
driving classes too?”

“
I am a cop,” Seth said.
“Comes with the badge.”

“
That’s what they all
say,” Jacob repeated.

Laughing at Jacob, Seth pulled out onto the
highway. He put the bubble on the roof. They drove to Denver at a
sedate two hundred miles an hour.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday early morning — 4:35 A.M.

“
How was it?” Aden asked.
He helped a sleepy Noelle down from the helicopter. She raised her
arms and he picked her up. “You’re getting to be a big
girl.”

“
Too big for snuggles?”
Noelle asked. Her round sad eyes ripped at his heart.

“
Never too big,” he
said.

He kissed her head. Noelle rubbed her head
against his shoulder and fell asleep. With his other hand, he
helped Nash and Charlie down from the helicopter. He waved to Zack
and Teddy and followed the exhausted children into the Castle. They
went into the dining room where breakfast was just getting started.
Valerie waved at the children and went back into the kitchen.

“
How did you do?” Delphie
asked.

The kids shook their heads at her.

“
Why don’t we get
something to eat?” Delphie put her arm over Charlie’s shoulder.
“Sandy made some scones and we have eggs. We want to hear all about
your adventure. Where’s Teddy?”

“
He’s staying with his Dad
while his Dad’s in town this week,” Aden said. “He’ll be back this
weekend.”

“
That’s good,” Sam said.
“I was afraid they might have kept him at the prison.”

“
Oh no,” Nash’s face was
horrified at the idea. “No. He’s with his Dad at Mrs. Alex’s house.
We’re supposed to go there for a barbeque tomorrow
night.”

Sissy came running down the stairwell to
them. She hugged her brother Charlie.

“
You’re safe!” Sissy said.
She hugged Nash for good measure. “What happened?”

“
We went to three prisons
and talked to hackers, guys just older than us,” Nash said. “Then
we met with the big guys…”

“
Big guys?” Sissy
asked.

“
Jonathan James,” Charlie
said.

He sat down at the table. Nash sat down
beside him.

“
And the Kevins,” Nash
said.

“
Your hacker heroes?”
Jacob came into the room carrying a pot of coffee. “Minnick and
Poulsen?”

Aden set Noelle down next to the boys.
Valerie came in carrying a plate of scrambled eggs.

“
Is Mike coming?” Delphie
asked.

“
He’s painting,” Valerie
sat down next to her.

“
They aren’t my heroes
anymore,” Nash shook his head. “They’re idiots.”

“
They gave away their life
for something stupid,” Charlie scowled. “Like Razor.”

Charlie jumped up from the table and ran
upstairs. Aden got up to follow him.

“
I’ll go,” Sandy
said.

She kissed Noelle’s head, hugged Nash, and
then followed Charlie up the stairs. Charlie ran the entire way to
the apartment and into his closet room where he threw himself on
his futon. Sandy arrived a few moments later. She sat down on the
floor and touched his back. Knowing nothing she said could ease his
pain, she sat with him while he cried.

“
I’m sorry,” she said
finally. “I wish things were different. I wish Razor was still here
with us. But I can’t make that happen. Nor can you.”

Charlie rolled over to look at her.

“
I sat there listening to
those doofuses talk. ‘I was bored.’ ‘I just wanted to see if I
could do it’,” Charlie said. “And they fucked up their life just
like I did.”

Sandy gave him a soft smile.

“
You don’t understand,”
Charlie said. “I should be the one who’s dead. It’s
my
fault that Jeffy’s
dead.”

Sandy hugged him close. He cried into her
shoulder.

“
Jill told us about the
barn,” Sandy said. “What a terrifying night.”

“
I just keep thinking that
Razor and Jeffy had to deal with that horrible thing. Alone. By
themselves,” Charlie said. “I feel so stupid and…”

“
I can’t really know how
you feel, Charlie,” Sandy said. “But I can tell you that I
understand. When Dad took me from… my life, I felt weak and stupid.
For a long time, I wanted to go back… just because it was what I
knew, what was familiar to me.”

Charlie fell silent. Sandy never talked
about what had happened to her. He knew if he made even one sound,
she’s stop talking.

“
When everything happened,
and… everyone knew about… me,” Sandy sighed. “I felt stupid. I
still feel stupid. Everyone knows who I am. When those mothers at
Noelle’s tea told me I was a prostitute and I’d tricked Aden, I...
I was torn between feeling like they knew the truth about me
and...”

“
Knowing it was a lie,”
Charlie said. “I feel like that.”

Sandy nodded.

“
I have to believe that as
long as I can think and as long as I’m strong, I can restart my
life,” Sandy said. “Razor and Jeffy don’t have that chance. But we
do. You can be whatever you want to be. You can study and go to
college and do all the things Razor and Jeffy missed out on. Or you
can just keep going on like you have been. It’s your
choice.”

“
But how? How can I do
anything but…?”

“
Jill helped me,” Sandy
smiled. “We met Heather and Tanesha on the same day. They helped me
find myself. Seth and Dad, they supported me in becoming me. That’s
what I can do for you. I know Aden and Nash and Noelle and Sissy
and everyone in the house wants to help. Together, we’ll help you
find the real Charlie.”

Sandy touched his chest.

“
And we’ll give him a
chance to become… Charlie,” Sandy shrugged.

Charlie grabbed her in a hug.

“
I love you Charlie,”
Sandy said. “I’m so glad you’re here. I can’t wait to see what you
do with your life. It’s going to be great.”

“
Razor and Jeffy didn’t
even have a chance.”

“
I know,” Sandy said.
“That’s why it’s all the more important that you make good on the
chance you have.”

Charlie hugged her again.

“
Come on,” Sandy said.
“Let’s get you cleaned up. You’re exhausted. Delphie and Jill want
to check each of you to make sure you’re okay after last night’s
adventures.”

Sandy stood up and held out her hand. She
pulled Charlie to standing and hugged him.

“
How did Katy make the
bright light?” Charlie asked. “The light made it possible for that
thing to be captured.”

“
No one seems to know,”
Sandy said.

“
Can I use your bathroom?”
Charlie asked.

“
Sure,” Sandy said. She
followed him down the hall to their bathroom.

“
Jake must have some
idea,” Charlie said.

“
Mr
. Jake said he thinks it was Noelle and Nash,” Sandy said.
“They were uniquely sensitive to the creature and also capable of
destroying it. Go on, now. I’ll wait right here.”

Charlie nodded and went into the bathroom.
Every bit the teenage boy, Charlie took his time with his shower.
Nash and Noelle were already upstairs when Charlie emerged from the
bathroom. Aden clapped and Charlie laughed.

While Charlie went to find Delphie, Sandy
helped Noelle and Nash get ready for bed. She stopped in to see
Charlie before leaving them to sleep.

“
We get chances Charlie,”
Sandy said. “They come up every once in a while. We just have to
figure out what to do with those chances. What are you going to do
with this one?”

Charlie gave a sad shake of his head.

“
Give it time,” she kissed
his cheek. “We’ll get there together.”

She stopped by Noelle and Sissy’s room to
find Noelle sound asleep. Nash was out as well. She gave Sissy her
lunch and sent her on her way to work with Sam.

“
The kids are asleep,”
Aden said. “Rachel is safe and fed.”

“
Sissy’s at work,” Sandy
said.

“
We have an hour, what
would you like to do?” Aden asked.

He laughed at her smile. In one swift
movement, he lifted her from her feet and carried her into their
bedroom.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-NINE

Restart

Wednesday morning — 11:25 A.M.

Making her grocery list, Sandy looked around
the apartment to see if she’d missed anything. Delphie had resumed
overseeing the groceries for everyone. With Rachel in the hospital,
and still recovering from being ill, Sandy was grateful she didn’t
have to shop for her ever expanding tribe. She’d hoped to complete
the list before going back to the hospital to be with Rachel.

Hearing a noise, she looked up to see
Charlie standing in the doorway to the living room. She smiled at
his sleep tussled hair. His eyes were barely open and his pajamas
were twisted. Thinking he must be sleep walking, she walked over to
herd him back to bed.

“
Charlie?” Sandy
asked.

“
I need a tutor for
school.” Charlie’s voice was pressed and anxious. “I can’t afford
one. I’m smart enough. I just never tried. If I’m going to really
try, I have to study. I can only work part time which means I’ll
get behind on my reparations.”

Sandy puzzled at the full thought coming
from her sleeping brother.

“
Charlie?”

“
I can’t sleep until I
figure this out,” Charlie blinked his sleepy eyes.

“
Consider it figured out,”
Sandy said. “Now back to bed. Aden is going to stay here with you
guys. I have to get to the hospital. They’re going to see if Rachel
can make it without oxygen today.”

She touched his shoulder and he jerked
awake.

“
What’s happening?”
Charlie asked.

“
You asked me for a
tutor,” Sandy said. “For school.”

“
I did?” Charlie scratched
his head. “I can’t have a tutor. I have to work to pay off my share
of the punishment, I mean, reparations.”

“
I’ll talk to Aden about
the tutor,” Sandy said. “I bet we can afford one. We’ll meet with
Alex and her team to see if you can have a little more time in
paying off your debt.”

“
We can do
that?”

“
The point of all of this,
even your reparations, is for you to be successful, Charlie,” Sandy
said. “Now back to bed. You still have strep. And you know that
Noelle’s a bear if she doesn’t get at least eight hours of sleep.
If you wake her, you have to deal with her even if you’re
sick.”

Charlie trotted down the hall to his little
room.

“
Charlie?” Sandy
whispered.

He turned to look at her.

“
Don’t worry,” Sandy said.
“We’ll find a tutor.”

He smiled. She heard him drop onto his
futon. She picked up her grocery list.

“
I saw Aden downstairs.
He’s on his way up,” Jill stuck her head in the door. “Today’s the
big day.”

“
If Rachel can do this,
she can come home,” Sandy beamed.

“
Come on,” Jill said.
“I’ll drive.”

“
Let’s walk,” Sandy said.
“I could use the exercise. Baby weight and all.”

Jill shook her head at her fit friend. Aden
passed Jill at the door. With a kiss and a good luck from Aden,
Jill and Sandy headed down the stairwell. Delphie was waiting for
them at the bottom of the stairs. She took Sandy’s marketing list
and wished them good luck. Stepping outside the Castle, they saw
Tanesha and Heather pull up.

“
What’s going on?” Sandy
asked.

“
We didn’t want to miss
watching our Rachel’s first big step,” Heather said.

“
Today is a very big
deal!” Tanesha said.

“
I’ll drive,” Heather
said.

“
No, we’re walking,” Jill
said. “Someone is worried about her baby weight.”

Laughing at Sandy, they began the short walk
to the hospital.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday evening — 6:47 P.M.

Sissy swallowed hard. The head judge on the
three person panel had called her name. Ivan, her old teacher, said
she was at the perfect age to work, work, work and that’s what the
troupe was looking for. Sissy took one last hug from Sandy and
stepped out onto the stage.