“Well, I guess it won’t take us so long to get to Lebanon now,” she said.
“We still need the car. Where’s Dad gonna ride?”
“You have a point. You can carry the car. Just set it down about a mile away so we can drive in. Don’t want to raise too much of a fuss.”
38
Christy rang the doorbell and an instant later was enveloped in a heartfelt bear hug by Cassandra McCormick.
“It’s so good to see you. We feared the worst,” Cassandra said.
“I had things to do.”
“That’s what Mike said, and that you’re...uh...not from around here.”
“You could say that. I’m a Versk.”
“What is a Versk?”
“We’re from a planet a little ways from here. I’ve been gone a long time and I’m excited to go back home.”
“What’s going to happen to your house, and all the things you have there?” Mike asked.
“Franklin’s going to have the house, and Kendra too, if they’re headed where I think they’re headed.”
“They’re young. They have plenty of time to sort that out.”
“Speaking of them, are they coming or not?” Cassandra asked. “I’ve set them a place at the table.”
“You’d better set one more place. They’re bringing a guest.”
“Nobody told me anything about that.”
“It’s Franklin’s father. He’s getting out of prison today.”
“I will most certainly set another place. When should they be here?”
“Probably not much longer, if they’ve figured everything out.”
“Dude, you gotta got a load of this,” a man said, poking his head in the door, “There’s a car coming from the sky.”
“Come again, John?” Mike said.
“Well, it’s up and landed now, right in your driveway.”
“That would be Franklin,” Christy said, “Right on time.”
Franklin, Kendra, and Henry Jones all walked in the house a minute later. Introductions went all around and then Cassandra showed them all to the tables outside and everyone sat down. She came out a minute later and addressed everyone.
“Food’s on the table in the kitchen. Mike can say grace and then you can just grab a plate and dig in, okay?”
Mike took off his hat, bowed his head, and said, “Lord, we come to you now with thanks, thanks for the victory we had over the forces that came against us, and thanks for all the people who have gathered here today. We thank you for bringing everyone safely here, and we thank you for the food. May you bless this meal and our time together. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
The meal was quite successful as these things go. People were eating their fill and conversation was flowing freely around the table.
“Okay Franklin, we all saw how you arrived. You care to tell us how that happened?” Mike asked.
“The thing Walter used to heal me. Apparently it transferred his power to me as well.”
“And he knew what he was doing?”
“I think he did. He left me a note. He knew he might die, and he didn’t even hesitate.”
“Walter wasn’t the only hero that day,” Moses Williams said, “Franklin here took a bullet for my daughter.”
“It wasn’t really a bullet, more like—“
“Oh, what’s the difference? He would have shot her and you took it, whatever it was.”
“It all happened so fast I didn’t give it much thought, but Walter...he had time to think about it and he still did it.”
“Everyone was a hero that day,” Kendra said, “That’s why we’re all here.”
“Yeah, but it was Walter who inspired us all to do what we could do, or more than we thought we could do,” Franklin said.
“You got that right,” Kendra said, “He was a lot more than just an old guy with powers. He had a heart. He cared for people and he gave himself for them. Remember how happy he would be if he helped someone? Way happier than when he was catching crooks.”
“Yeah, he would come home and be grinning from ear to ear if he helped someone, but he could stop an armed robbery and it was no big deal. Man, I think we all owe a lot to him.”
“You got that right,” Shawna said, raising her glass, “to Walter.”
The others all raised their glasses, an assortment of beverages ranging from soft drinks to beer and everything in between, and said in loud unison, “To Walter.”
39
“We’re back in business,” the man exclaimed as he jumped in the passenger seat and threw the bag in the back, “now get us out of here.”
“I’m stepping on it. How much you got there?”
“Not sure exactly but I think it’s a pretty good haul.”
“We can count it when we get home. Man, this feels good. Walter out of the way and that blonde lady no longer trying to get a cut. This is like the good old days again. A couple more jobs like this and we’ll be set.”
“How you think Walter bought it? I thought the dude was invincible.”
“It was those aliens. It had to be.”
“If they took him out, how the hell did they get beat?”
“Don’t know. Lot of different stories. Some super jets from the Air Force, and some said some other aliens showed up and beat them. Anyway, Walter’s dead, the lady’s gone, and we’re back in business. I say we make the most of it.”
“I’m with you...Whoa, what’s going on?”
The other man uttered a stream of unprintable language as the car lifted off the ground and started flying toward downtown. A young black woman in a skin tight unitard and a mask on her face was flying next to the car and knocking on the window. The driver instinctively lowered the window, and the woman said, “You might want to think again. Walter is gone, but he left replacements.”
“Just who are you?” the man asked.
“Just a couple picking up where he left off and keeping our city safe from the likes of you.”
“Couple? I just see one of you.”
“Oh, my boyfriend’s carrying your car. Enjoy your flight. We’ll be landing soon, so I would recommend keeping your seatbelts fastened and placing your tray tables in the upright and locked
