NANOVISION: What Would You Do With X-ray Vision? (6 page)

“I’d like to know
what happened.”

Glancing across
the room, Ethyl pondered her thoughts before answering. Her response was
somewhat soft and distant.

“My goodness...
it was so long ago. She was killed in a car accident... What?... about sixteen
years ago. Buried in Reno, Nevada. I feel bad; I haven’t been to her grave in
years. You see we grew apart...” 

“Why?” asked
Judy.

Ethyl smiled
weakly. “Helen was eight years younger than me and things were tough when we
were kids. Our dad was killed in a mining accident when she was seven and she
took it really hard. His death forced a lot of changes on us. We lost our home
and our mother had to work different jobs just to keep us fed. Unfortunately,
with the differences in our ages, Helen and I took different paths in our
efforts to survive. I found solace in school work and she, well, she took an easier
route... Oh, she was a free and easy spirit−very pretty too. She liked to
party and got into trouble more than a few times. Mother and her, well they had
their squabbles. And you know, things got turbulent, even crazy between them.
The day she turned eighteen she left and we barely heard from her after that...
until she passed. What is this all about?”

“Did you know
that your sister had a child?”

“A child? No...
The last I heard of her was when the Reno police contacted us about her
unclaimed body in the morgue. I was never privy to her personal life... she had
a child?

“Yes,”
acknowledged Judy.

“Boy or girl?”

“A boy, his name
is Daniel. He’s about to turn seventeen.”

“Oh, my God. This
is unbelievable. Where is he? How is he? Do you have a picture?”

Judy was pleased
by Ethyl’s show of interest. 

“I’m sorry,” she
apologized, “unfortunately I don’t have a picture. However, there’s more to the
story regarding Daniel... you see, he’s in a little trouble. He was involved in
a terrible accident seven months ago and severely injured. He received trauma to
the head and is now blind. Additionally, he has amnesia... we’re hoping that
it’s temporary, but we don’t know for sure.”

“What happened?”

“His father was a
gambler who somehow ran afoul of the mob and for whatever reason was executed
for it. And unfortunately, Daniel got caught in the middle. They think he’s
dead, but we actually have him in a hospital in LA.”

“Oh, my word...”

“Which brings me
to my visit here. You see, Daniel is under FBI protection in our witness
protection program, but he’s due to be released from the hospital soon and we
need to find him a permanent home. The fact is, he’s still a minor and we’d
like to place him with someone who might have a vested interest in his safety
rather than total strangers.”

“I see...”
observed Ethyl. She rose from her desk and walked to the picture window behind
her, and stared out blankly on the rolling terrain.

“And this is why
you’re here?”

“Yes,” answered
Judy, quickly adding, “We would of course see to all his
rehabilitation−training, medical bills, psychiatric analysis and therapy,
as well as a monthly stipend to you for his care.”

With her thoughts
spinning madly, Ethyl idly fingered the drapes next to her.

“I’m not sure,”
she confided, hesitantly. “I’m already caring for my eight year old granddaughter.
I’d be bringing a stranger into the house.”

“I understand
your concern,” noted Judy. She moved to Ethyl’s side at the window. “But Daniel
is still a child, now more than ever... and he’s totally blind, lost and alone.
He was a good student, no trouble according to his teachers and you’re his only
living relative. He’s your nephew... and he needs your help.”

“My Goodness... a
nephew...”

Turning her head,
Ethyl looked Judy squarely in the eye. “I’d like some time to think about it. I
need to discuss this over with my granddaughter. I think that’s only
fair−don’t you?”

Judy smiled.
“Yes, more than fair, Dr. Santini. I wouldn’t expect less. Thank you. Thank you
very much.”

*    *    *    *

On the plane ride
back to L.A., Judy thought about her visit with Ethyl Santini, mulling over the
possibility of placing Daniel with her family. Overall, she was confident that
Ethyl would accept her proposal and take Daniel into her home. That wasn’t the
problem. Ethyl was a nurturer−a person of compassion. Judy saw that
during the tour in the animal bay. No, Ethyl wouldn’t be the problem−it
would be Daniel. The boy still didn’t have a full grasp on what was happening.
How could he? In the last seven months, everything he knew or understood had
been thrown out the window, and now it was about to happen again. Judy made a
couple of notations in her notebook. Daniel’s seventeenth birthday was in four
days and she needed to pick up a gift−it was going to take some fenagling
on her part to convince the boy that he couldn’t go back to Vegas.

*    *    *    *

Daniel sat on his
hospital bed listening as Judy questioned him about the accident. It was
tiresome. Everyone wanted to know what happened−even him, but he had no
answers. What made it even more difficult was Judy. She was so nice to him
normally, but when she questioned him he felt her demeanor change. She became
all business like and he didn’t like it.

“I told you I
don’t remember anything. I don’t even remember taking the bus that day.”

“What about the
name Mickey Boyle, Mick, or Mickey, ‘the Spoon’? Do those names mean anything
to you?”

Daniel shook his
head ‘no’.

“Benny Marcos?”

“Never heard of
him,” responded Daniel.

“That’s okay,”
said Judy, glancing at her watch. “Listen, Daniel, there’s something we need
to...”

Her sentence was
interrupted by a knock on the door. It was followed by Mimi sticking her head
inside the room.

“Hey guys,” she
said aloud. She then signaled to Judy, motioning with her thumb while silently
mouthing the words,
“they’re here”
.

Judy acknowledged
her cue. “Okay, give us a couple of minutes.”

Mimi closed the
door.

“What’s going
on?” asked Daniel, curiously.

Judy sighed and
moved toward the hospital bed where she sat and gazed at Daniel. It was
incomprehensible how much he had gone through over the past seven months.
Though his eyes were still bandaged, he had improved dramatically. His weight
was up and his hair was long and shaggy. It covered all the scars on his head
and the skin grafts to his arms and legs were healing nicely. That had been a
real blessing.

“Your hair’s
getting long,” she noted, brushing several stands from his forehead. “You’re
about due for a haircut.”

“Yeah, I guess,”
he replied.

“Daniel, we need
to discuss something.”

“What?” 

“Daniel, the
reason I was quizzing you was to help you understand the precarious situation
that you are in. You see, whether you remember what happened or not is not
important. The truth is, your Dad got caught in something bad. He got involved
with the wrong people and they took his life. And you, well, you got caught
too. Right now they think you’re dead. And that’s what we want. But it also
means you can’t go back to Pahrump or Las Vegas−ever again.”

“What?... Why
not?”

“Because...
‘A’... you’re blind and everyone thinks you’re dead. ‘B’... there’s no one
there to care for you. And ‘C’... the thugs that killed your dad would kill you
in an instant thinking you could finger them.” 

“But I don’t
remember anything...”

“Daniel, wake up.
They don’t care!”

Daniel sighed
heavily. “This sucks.”

“No shit.”

There was a
moment of silence. 

“So what am I
supposed to do then?” asked Daniel, dejectedly.

“Well, I kinda
have a surprise for you.”

“Huh?”

Rising from the
bed, Judy walked to the door and opened it.

“We’re ready,” he
heard Judy say. Her announcement was followed by footsteps and several
voices−he recognized Mimi’s but not the other two. One sounded young, the
other older−Judy spoke.

“Daniel, I know
that you don’t remember your mother, and I doubt your father ever mentioned it,
but she had a sister... and we managed to track her down.”

“A what?”

“Daniel, I’d like
you to meet your Aunt ... Ethyl Santini.”

Hello, Daniel,”
said a voice.

Daniel was
speechless and though he wanted to see−he couldn’t. His silence filled
the room−suddenly a child’s angel-like voice chimed in.

“Hey, what about
me? Don’t I get introduced?”

“Hush,” said
Ethyl.

“Daniel, this is
Katie−your cousin,” said Judy.

“Holy shit,”
Daniel managed to cough out.

“You look just
like your Mother,” remarked Ethyl.

“Are you really
coming to live with us?” chirped Katie.

There are times
in your life when you lose the capability to understand what is happening
around you. For Daniel this was one of those moments. He had no answers. He had
no questions. He was simply plagued by the overwhelming waves of emotion that
were crashing down on him like a tidal wave. From one hospital bed to another
he had been left alone in total darkness for months upon endless months, his
body wracked in pain and sorrow with only the psychiatrists to help him
navigate the wild and relentless currents. And yet now, there were new voices
churning within, and they sang in new tones, giving new hope, sparks of light
that radiated within his darkened soul, subduing the doubt that breathed in his
thoughts, and quelling the black fear of his nightmares.

“You belong,”
said Hope... “You have not been forgotten,” said Charity... You are not alone,”
was their angelic promise.

To Daniel it was
more than he could bear−he began to shake as tears rolled from underneath
the gauze bandages covering his eyes and down his face. It was all Ethyl
needed. She rushed to his side and embraced him.

“Oh child, it’s
all right. It’s all right. You’re not alone anymore. We’re here to help.”

She held him
firmly in her arms like a mother would do for her child. And Daniel felt
relief−for the first time in months
he felt relief
and he sobbed
as it all came out.

*    *    *    *

Katie was a precocious
child of eight years, whose green eyes revealed the mischievousness that lay
just behind her awkward smile. She was fascinated with Daniel and the prospect
of him coming to live with “Nanna” and her in California. The idea of having a
cousin, another relative, who like her, was alone in the world without parents
was something to behold. Though she didn’t understand all the ramifications or
understand it all on an intellectual level, something told her subconsciously
that this was going to be a unique opportunity. She was wistful about Daniel
being the big brother she had always fantasized about−the person to whom
she could confide and tell secrets. For an eight-year-old she had grandiose
plans.

The next several
days passed quickly as arrangements were made for Daniel to leave the UCLA
Medical Center. Judy coordinated his release and supplied Ethyl with a list of
doctors for Daniel to see once they got settled. Though his physical injuries
had mended well, Daniel was in need of further rehabilitation and
training−at least for another year. His psychiatric requirements would
take even longer as anyone with memory loss can attest to. Daniel was still
plagued by nightmares and occasional fits of anger; something the doctors
indicated was normal. Judy was hopeful that one day Daniel would remember
Mickey and what happened that ill fated day. She wanted desperately to put the
scum bag away for the rest of his life.

For Daniel, all
of this didn’t matter. He was free. He was getting his life back. Being wheeled
out of the hospital and feeling the warm California sun on his face was like
winning the lottery and he was more than ready. Standing up from the wheelchair,
he hugged Judy good-bye as one of the hospital attendants helped him into the
backseat of Ethyl’s car, a Lexus SUV.

From the other
side Katie bounced across the seat toward him. “You want me to help you with
the seatbelt?” she asked eagerly.

Daniel shrugged,
“Sure.” His attention was focused on Judy and Ethyl. The two women were
standing opposite one another next to the car discussing last minute details.
Katie buckled him in.

“You’ve got the
list, and Doctor Curry’s number?” Judy asked Ethyl.

“Yes, right here
with me in my purse. And you needn’t worry. I’ve already spoken with members of
my staff and they’ve agreed to take a look at Daniel when we get back. I
promise you Judy, he’ll be in good hands.”