CHAPTER 15
We started walking east. A route 45 bus stop was only a few blocks away, and then it would be just a short ride to the Intergalactic. “I really need to put Martin back together,” she mused.
“Want any help with that?” I asked. I spared a glance over my shoulder to see if Brown or Curly were pursuing. They weren't.
“Sure. You any good with a socket wrench?”
“I know which end to hold,” I assured her. I looked back again. Both gang members were on their feet but were heading the other way. “They were never any real threat to you, were they,” I stated.
“Not really. Well.. they wouldn't have been if I wasn't tripping over my own damn board. I was holding back most of the time. Probably not a good idea I suppose, but I really don't want to start a feud with the Hermanos.”
A siren began to sound in the distance, and I worried that our activities might have attracted police attention. “Maybe we should pick up the pace,” I suggested. Dee nodded, and we hurried to the bus stop, then decided to play it safe and headed north to the next stop. The gods of mass transit smiled on us, and a bus pulled up a minute later. Twenty minutes after that we were sitting in the bean bag room of the Intergalactic, sipping steaming mugs of cold brewed coffee.
“I was lucky you showed up when you did,” I admitted to Dee, “things could have gone... really badly.”
“Yeah, well it wasn't all luck,” she replied, “I got your location from your friend Tilly. That phone app of yours is really cool by the way.”
“So you saw Tilly tonight?”
“Yes. I thought I'd give this neighborhood watch thing a try.”
“You didn't seem very enthusiastic about it when I first mentioned it. You shot it down pretty quick, actually. Come to think of it, I don't even remember mentioning Tilly's name.”
“She wasn't difficult to track down.” Dee grinned at me over her coffee. “In case you hadn't noticed, Barry, I have skills.”
“I've noticed.” My mind replayed the the fight. Dee taking on and defeating two enraged brutes nearly twice her size. “That fighting style of yours. I've never seen anything like it.”
“It's sort of my own thing. A mish-mash of several styles really. Mostly Capoeira but with some Judo, Karate, and Tae Kwon Do mixed in.”
“I don't think I know that first one,” I admitted, “What did you call it? Cap-ware-ah?”
“It's a martial art developed centuries ago by Brazilian slaves. The slaves on the sugarcane plantations weren't allowed to practice fighting, so they disguised their practice as dancing. It developed into a kick ass fighting style and helped the slaves win their freedom.”
“That's wild. I can't believe I've never heard of that.”
“It's been in some movies, and if you've ever played any of the Street Fighter video games, you've seen it.”
“I've never been much in to fighting games,” I admitted.
“It was the first style I learned. My Dad was stationed in Germany for a while, and I saw this guy practicing near the base housing. Turns out he was a friend of my Dad, so I pestered him endlessly until he agreed to teach me. I didn't even realize it was about fighting until I was three lessons in. I was only eight years old I think.”
“So you're some sort of black belt?”
“It's not measured that way... but I'm pretty good I think. I'm sure my Mom has hung a ribbon or plaque or something on The Wall. I've learned a few other fighting styles, but I keep coming back to Capoeira. I just love the rhythm of it.”
“It was wild, that's for certain,” I said.
“Yeah, well, I'm glad I got there when I did, but I'm a bit surprised really. You haven't exactly been the biggest advocate of the hero lifestyle, and yet here I find you taking on drug dealers. What's that about?”
“That wasn't my plan,” I insisted, “I was just observing, but then it sort of went off the rails.”
“It can be difficult,” she suggested, “observing something without influencing it.” She seemed thoughtful for a moment. “I wonder if Heisenberg was ever in a neighborhood watch.”
“Wow... from martial arts to quantum mechanics. You're giving me mental whiplash.” I quipped.
“Yeah, well hang on, the ride's not over. You into table top gaming?”
“Uh, yeah... some. Card games mostly, but some board games too.” This really was a sudden turn in the conversation.
“Cool. Meet me back here tomorrow for game night.”
“Yeah... I think I can do that,” The words were out before I really thought about it. I began mentally reviewing my homework list and considered a retraction. The geo-tracker app had consumed more time than expected, leaving me something of a homework backlog.
“OK, see you here around seven. The Intergalactic lets us bring in snacks, but you still need to pay for beverages.”
“Seven... got it... I think I can make that.” Yes, I could make it, if I blew off my Computer Architecture homework. “I'm not sure how late I can stay, though.”
“Don't worry, we'll start with something short, and you can eject after the first game. Mostly we just need to meet someone.” She leaned in close. “It's mission related,” she whispered.
“I'll be there,” I promised.
My memory rewound through the events of the evening, and I wondered why I kept agreeing to be drawn deeper into Dee's strange hero delusion. But tonight's fiasco wasn't Dee's fault... Tilly's neighborhood watch was its own thing, and I'd made my own decisions in agreeing to help out. I made my own mistakes.
But would I have agreed to help Tilly before I met Dee? Was some part of me actually trying to live up to her hero ideal? I don't know. I like to think I'm a good person, that I would do the right thing regardless, but looking back, I have to admit I've spent a lot of my life just keeping my head down and trying to not get noticed. That seems to have changed lately.
These thoughts meandered through my mind as I sat there, sipping coffee and chatting with Dee. Our cups gradually emptied and the evening wound down. Finally we left. Dee sped off on her skateboard, and I caught a bus back to campus.
I laid awake for another couple hours while my caffeine buzz slowly dissipated. Eventually I drifted off into fitful dreams of being chased. Something dark and frightening was behind me. I ran, but again I stumbled. The shadowy creature loomed. I held up my hands as if to ward off a blow, and suddenly light exploded between us. Shadow melted from the creature, leaving a slender human figure in its place.
It was Dee.
I looked at my hands. A strange bluish-white fire seemed to burn in the palms of my hands. I looked from my hands to Dee. She smiled.
“It's just empathy, Barry. It's your superpower.”