For a Hero (26 page)

The fax machine buzzed to life just as the words left Blaine’s lips. 

“This looks like an open and shut case, David. I trust that you have it under control. I need to fly to Croatia for some urgent business. I’ll have my phone on me if you need anything. Good luck.”

His friend’s laconic final statement rolled off David’s ears like water off a duck’s back. He knew what work Blaine did, and nothing was more important this minute than seeing the face of his tormentor.

The clunky, outdated machine finally spit the image out. It was fuzzy, and zoomed many times out of focus, but that bastard Alex had indeed showed his face.

His anger had a target now. It was calming, and tunneling. All fear was gone. David collected the pictures of him and Jenna and slid them in the envelope with the image of Alex. He was collecting the evidence.

He picked the phone up.

Ring. Ring.

“Hello? Who is this? What the fuck are you calling me in the wee hours of the morning on Christmas Fuckin’ Eve?”

“Hey, Alex. It’s David.”

He laughed. “Hey Chief. How’s it hangin?”

“Come on down to the station.”

“What the hell for?”

“I was wrong. I want to give you your job back. None of these guys can do the work like you can. Come on down and talk to me about it. If you don’t come tonight, the deal is off.”

“That’s right. I knew you’d come around. Let me slap this girl’s ass, have a cup of coffee and work my way down there at my own pace. Do wait up.” Alex hung up with a conceited chortle.

David enjoyed it too.

*****

“Ms. Conlon, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know who else to call.”

David’s mom put an arm around the sniffling girl. “Don’t you worry about a thing, Honey. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“David asked me to marry him.”

“You certainly seem happy about it.”

Miss Conlon’s facetiousness carved a little bit of the tension off. A single breath of laughter popped from Jenna’s mouth. “I thought I was ready. I felt like we had worked so hard and done so much for each other. But, David mentioned quitting his job to be with me and it scared me. His best friend came to me several days ago and warned me about it. He said to never let David stop being what he is, and that is exactly what is happening. I feel so selfish for wanting to say yes, but it breaks my heart to say no. I have no idea what to do.”

“His best friend? Do you mean Blaine?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you ever seen him wear a color besides black?”

Jenna laughed a little more. “No.”

“He is a very serious young man. He was probably hurt a long time ago and could find no pleasure except in pursuit of whatever crazy goal he has made for himself. His ethic is good for David; his ambition is good for David, but he is not someone from whom I would take advice about being happy.”

“But David is the hero Blaine says he is. The city feels safe and hopeful because of him.”

“They do. But what David does about that is not up to you. Your choice is only to be with him or not. Nobody can make him quit or keep going if he doesn’t want to. You answer the question with whatever will make you most happy and you leave David’s work to David.”

Jenna sighed tension out of her shoulders and rested her head on Ms. Conlon’s chest. “Thank you. I feel a lot better.”

“It’s my pleasure. I told you to call. Are you hungry? I can microwave something for you. It’s the weirdest thing. My oven hasn’t been working all day. I’ll have to call David to come over and fix it soon. It sure would be nice to have some pie.”

*****

The lights were off when Alex opened the door to the fire hall.

“Hello, Chief?” He dumbly sauntered in. “Embarrassment cause you to run off home? Don’t puss out!”

He took a few more steps in, laughed a little bit and turned around to leave.

David stood at the door. He locked it, the click sounding loud and final. He flicked the lights on. “Hey, Alex.”

A twinge of fear crawled up Alex’s spine. “Hi Chief. What’s with the theatrics? Trying to scare me or something?” He asked as he backed away from him.

“Is it working?”

“Quit joshin’ me, Chief.” He timidly continued, dissuaded by David’s pause. “You said something about a job?”

David took one step toward him, and then another. His fists were clenched into balls of steel. “About that, I heard you’ve been pursuing something else, something in the photography sector.” His voice fell at the end of the sentence. It relayed power and assertion.

Alex’s eyes fell with knowing and terror. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Alex blinked; when he opened his eyes, he was suspended in the air, hanging from David’s grip on his lapel. “You don’t know?”

“No, I don’t.” He choked.

David’s elbows centered at his chest and locked his arms out. Alex was hanging a full two feet off the ground. “That’s funny. I have a picture of you, following Jenna and I in San Antonio that begs to differ.”

“I was just playing around, Chief. I didn’t mean nothing by it.”

David’s arms pulled in and he swung around, pressing Alex against the wall with great force. He was pinned at the neck. “Meant nothing by it?!” David’s voice turned into a scream. “You threatened me, my girlfriend, you stalked us, you blew up cars at a concert, and you meant NOTHING by it?”

Alex slapped at David’s hands, signaling that he couldn’t breathe. David loosened his hold, very slightly. He coughed and answered as quick as he could, fearing for his life. “I took the pictures, I lit the cars up, but I was just following orders. I got paid. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t my idea. I swear!”

David threw him across the room. “Who did? Who was it!?” And stalked after him afterward. “Was it Hank or Scott?”

“I don’t know who it was! Please don’t hurt me!” Alex crawled across the floor away from him, but he couldn’t get away. David stopped him by stepping on his shin and holding him there.

“I have enough evidence to put you in prison for terroristic threats and assault. Tell me everything, right now, or I will beat the hell out of you, call it self-defense and THEN send you to jail for the rest of your life. WHO WAS IT?!”

“Ok. I’ll tell you everything. Please move your foot, you’re hurting me.”

David lifted his leg and crossed his arms, waiting.

“Someone approached me a few weeks ago, right after you saved the girl on TV. He said he had a score to settle and he would pay me to help him. I told him where the cars were. He stole them and told me what to do with them. He told me to keep an eye on you. He said to follow you. He wanted it to look like it was Scott. That was my idea, because the guy is a prick. But the rest was not, I swear.”

“Who was it?!?”

David’s scream caused Alex to curl in fear. From his fetal cocoon, he answered. “I don’t know. He never told me his name. He was an older fella. He had a limp. That’s all I know. I swear.”

David’s eyes opened. “Dammit, Dad.” He said to nobody in particular.

“That’s your dad? Your family is more fucked up than I thought.”

Sirens could be heard in the distance, drawing closer. With a grunt, David lifted Alex off the ground, and dragged him to the door. Before he opened it, he grabbed him around the throat one more time. “What else did you tell him?”

“I just followed you around for a few days. I told him where you went.”

“WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM?”

“Sorry, I told him you and the girl went to your mom’s house. He was really interested in that. I gave him the address. I’m sorry. I had no idea he would try and hurt anyone. It was all harmless, I swear.”

David threw the door open. He was carrying Alex in one of his mighty arms. Just as the police parked in front of him and got out of car, David dropped Alex in front of them. “Here is one of the conspirators, Officer. There is an envelope on my desk with the evidence you need to charge him. I have to stop the other one. After you get this guy to the station, I will need you at 340 Hawthorne Loop in Driftwood. My mother has been targeted.”

“Yes, Sir. Mr. Conlon, we will have someone down there as soon as possible.”

David got in his truck. The panic had returned. Please God let it not be too late.

The engine roared. David put the siren on top of his cab and sped into the night.

*****

Through the window, Jenna and Miss Conlon could be seen on the couch, comforting each other. The old man looked at them with disdain, hatred and maniacal excitement. He pulled out a book of matches. “Goodnight, Ladies.”

He limped toward the house.

Chapter Ten

The house stood silently, forebodingly still when David arrived. It was a horrible contrast to the tumultuous tempest in his heart.

It was more important for him to move fast than it was to be discrete. David slammed the door of his truck and rushed toward the front door. On the way, the smell of cigarette smoke slapped him in the face. He stopped in his tracks.

“Dad.”

“Hey Boy.” The old man leaned up against the corner of the house. “What do they feed you down there at the fire hall? I’ve never seen such a fat fuck in all my life.”

David turned toward him. The anger burned in his back. His lats and deltoids grew with tension, despite how desperately hard he tried to remain in control.

“Easy. The old lady is ok. They don’t know I’m here. No need to get your panties in a bunch.”

David fought with himself to run at him. “Why are you here?”

“Funny story, actually.” The old man hobbled out into the yard, as if he planned this speech. He dressed loosely, comfortably. He had no scent. His body language was fearless. David was dealing with someone that felt like he had nothing to lose. “After you and the old lady got me kicked out, I didn’t really have anywhere to go. I wandered the streets of towns like Bastrop and Johnson City asking strangers for food and work.”

“You mean after you beat her and I stopped you?”

“Shut up, you little prick. I have something to fucking say, and I am going to fucking say it. Keep quiet and let your fucking elder speak.”

“…” David let it go. There was no telling what the lunatic had planned.

“I found a woman who was dying. She was blind and couldn’t see too well. She thought I was her husband, or she just wished I was. Don’t know where she got that idea, and I don’t care. I guess he didn’t come home one day.”

David’s breathing grew faster and faster.

“I lived off of her. I ate; I got a job as a mechanic getting shit pay for dirty, shit work. They fired me eventually though. I guess my health was getting too bad. I couldn’t even lift the batteries to the engines of the cars anymore. I sure do wish I could have been big and strong like you then, Boy. I remembered how, when you were a kid, you would play in the yard with your cousin. There was this rock in the old lady’s garden. She asked me to move it a thousand times. I told her to stop nagging me over and over again. I called her a bitch. I told her I’d move it when I got good and fucking ready. The truth was: I couldn’t. My back was too weak. My legs were too brittle. My hands would bleed when I gripped it; and every fucking day, I wore my knuckles white trying to pick up that motherfucking rock. Anyway, you were out there dicking around with your cousin, playing tag or some kid shit. You couldn’t have been older than like thirteen or fourteen. She pushed you down, precocious little bitch that she was, and you, you strong motherfucker, picked that rock up like it was a goddamn pinecone. You tossed it out of the way, just cause you were mad at her. Later that night, the old lady came to me, and gave me a hug. She thanked me for moving that rock for her, because she could finally put that rose there like she had always wanted. I went to my bedroom and I cried like a little bitch, Boy. I, a grown-ass man, sat in my room and cried. Can you believe that shit?”

“Dad, I had no idea…”

“Shut up, Fucker. I’m not done. Time went by, and my back and legs got worse. One day, when I was in a particularly bad mood because I could barely stand on my own, your cousin came in to visit the old lady. The two of them were talking about how much you’d grown. In passing, she mentioned how she watched you pick up that rock like it was nothing and throw it around. The old lady didn’t say much after that. I guess your cousin got the idea that she was tired so she went on home. The old lady came to me and called me a liar. She said I was a lazy, good-for-nothing liar. She told me to leave. Mind you, I didn’t want to leave; I had nowhere to go. But, what was I supposed to do? Tell her how impotent and broken I am? So I got up to leave, but my fucking back wouldn’t work. I just sat there and hurt. When the old lady saw that I hadn’t gone anywhere, she came back and slapped me. She told me she was gonna call the police. So I hit her. I hit her real fucking hard. I had to make her shut up. I had to make her stop. She treated me like I was nothing. Maybe I was nothing, but shouldn’t a man have a wife that makes him feel like something? I knocked the bitch down and your heroic ass comes in the door. You threw me aside like the nothing that I was and took her away. You just sat while the cops, and the lawyers and the rest of the world fucked me.

Anyway, like I was saying. The auto shop fired me, and I realized why you came into my life, you little shit. You were sent from the devil. You came to make me, and every other man in the world, feel like we are nothing. You never did one thing for me except make me feel like less than a man. After you crawled to us when you let your first family die, I fed your big ass; I clothed you; I sheltered you. I let you grow up under my roof and treat me that way and you did what you do best. You let us down. You made us feel like we’re nothing. I came here today to fix all of that.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“I am going to burn the house down. I want to make you watch this family die in the fire just like you watched the last one. I saw you on the TV when you saved that girl. I knew where you worked. I wasn’t surprised you had spent all your life trying to make up for the stupid mistake you made that cost you your family. You are pathetic, just like the rest of us, riddled with guilt. I went to the fire hall and found that groveling Alex kid. He hates your guts. For a little cash, he gave me everything I needed to fill you with fear and show you the pain that you cause the rest of the world. How appropriate, burning them all down, it’s going to feel so good.”