Roxanne shrugged. "Can you imagine dealing with all that on top of coming from such a dirty place?"
This last made Magda raise her downcast eyes and break her silence. She looked at Roxanne with honest curiosity. "Do you mean the Warren? Or Vietnam?" Magda asked.
"I suppose you could take your pick," replied Roxanne with a smile.
The other girls in the group cackled, and Roxanne took a step closer. She placed her hand on Magda's shoulder in a comforting gesture. Magda suppressed a shiver of revulsion and forced herself to stand still.
"How hard this must be for you. You really are a stranger in a strange land, with no friends except your books. People need friends in the Caliber, Magda. My family is lucky enough to be close with the Rakash's. You know them?"
Magda started at the name but didn't answer. Roxanne nodded her head and continued. "Oh my god, Shira is so amazing! I want to be just like her when I grow up."
Roxanne's grip on Magda's shoulder tightened. The trapped girl inwardly winced but didn't pull away. She couldn't do anything about the other girl, but she'd be damned if she gave Roxanne the satisfaction of seeing her discomfort.
"Without allies you don't have anyone to help when you need it. When things go missing—" Roxanne gave a meaningful look. "—or when, god forbid, people get hurt, who can you turn to for help?"
She released Magda's shoulder and stepped back into her pack of friends. They reminded Magda of laughing jackals.
"Really, Magda," Roxanne continued. "You need friends more than most. You don't even have a mother or father. Just an old woman. I'm surprised she even knows what day it is."
Magda took a lot of pride in reading at a level beyond her age. The book she'd been enjoying was much thicker than most of her classmates could handle. So, when she swung it in a wide arc and connected with Roxanne's face, it delivered an impressive and soul satisfying thump. The struck girl fell back with a shocked squawk. Enraged, and understanding she was past the point of return, Magda jumped on top of the screaming Roxanne.
While the other girls looked on with their fancy nails held up to their mouths, aghast and frozen with shock at the speed and ferocity of her attack, Magda pounded fist after fist into Roxanne's face, punctuating each blow by screaming "Don't … ever … talk … about my family!"
On that last one, Magda reared back and threw a strong right cross. It slammed into Roxanne's face, an audible crack came from the girl's nose and blood flew free. Magda was about to bring her fist down again when she was grabbed from behind by a teacher and hauled off, still kicking and screaming.
Moments later, the same teacher ran out the front of the school to where Jebediah was waiting. His eyes widened and mouth dropped when he heard what she said.
"She broke whose nose?" he yelled, then ran into the school.
Jebediah and Magda rode in silence back home. He looked at her in the back seat through the rear-view mirror. Tears had streaked dirt down the side of her face, her hair hung limp and disheveled, and her head hung down as if unable to look anywhere except the hands curled in her lap. All in all, this was one pretty miserable little girl.
"Guess you're not in the mood for a joke, huh?" he asked her in a light tone. She shook her head slowly and without looking up. Jebediah pursed his lips and shook his head. It was a pretty dumb thing to ask.
He really had no idea what to say, though. Boys got into fights. That's just how they were built. If this had been two boys fighting, he'd have known exactly what to do. Girls, though? He shook his head again. From what he'd been told, girls weren't so much physically threatening, but used taunts and group gang up tactics. And they could be pretty vicious in their own right, especially to other girls.
But Magda was one of the sweetest kids he'd ever met. For her to get mad enough to hit someone it must have been pretty bad. He looked around for a moment, assessed the possibility of danger hanging out on the off chance they'd stop, then made an executive decision.
He turned off the road and stopped in front of a takeout stand that was shaped like a fat boy.
"One small chocolate shake and—" he looked in the back. "—a double scoop vanilla cone. With rainbow sprinkles."
Magda's head came up, and she met his eyes. He shrugged his shoulders and quirked a smile. "It was your first fight ever," he said. "And you won."
"… and then Ms. Kate pulled me off Roxanne."
Magda took another lick from her cone. She'd climbed into the front seat to sit next to Jebediah. Some gentle nudging combined with hand-mixed vanilla ice cream had eventually coaxed the story from the girl. He sat quiet and listening, sipping thoughtfully at his shake until the cup rattled empty.
"Are those girls always like that?" he asked.
"They're always really mean. They're really pretty and always have the newest clothes. They walk around like they own everything. Even the teachers are scared of them. And I don't do anything to them!"
"And they pick on you?" he asked.
She hesitated before answering. "Sometimes they just ignore me. Other times they'll say mean stuff. Today was the first time they really got in my face."
Jebediah gave a thoughtful nod. "You think they're just mean girls acting mean?"
"I guess," she said with a shrug.
Magda looked at Jebediah. "Do you think Mei's going to be mad at me?"
"You got in a fight at school, so, yeah, probably. But tell her what happened and she might give you a pass."
"Do you think I did okay, Jed?" she asked him.
The seriousness in her face and tone made him stop and really think. He took a deep breath before answering.
"No. You didn't," he replied.
Magda's mouth opened large and shock and tears began to brim in her eyes. But before she could say anything, Jebediah reached out, grabbed her right hand, then turned it over so her knuckles faced up. She winced and gave a small cry. He touched the two smallest knuckles on her hand.
"These hurt bad, don't they?" he asked. She nodded yes. "That's because the smaller knuckles are too weak to hold a punch. A monkey punches with those. You're lucky you didn't break your hand."
He pointed to her two larger knuckles. "Next time, use those to hit. Then you'll be doing it right."
Magda laughed aloud in the high-pitched, delighted way girls do when someone tells them a really juicy secret. Jebediah smiled and turned the car back on.
This is a good girl, he thought. Too bad she had to get into a fight, but what choice was she given? This was one group of girls who'd think twice before screwing with her again.
They left the ice cream shoppe's parking lot and got back on the road headed toward her house. He gave a small chuckle out loud. Kids being kids. He supposed some things never changed.
"Unacceptable!" Dipak raged at Raja from his broad-backed throne. His voice echoed throughout the chamber and amplified his anger. The large, central room of the house was long with vaulted ceilings and paved with natural stone.
Shira stood next to her father and glared down at him. Raja's mother stood further back behind the throne. She looked at Raja with a fearful glance, then dipped her head in submissive silence.
Raja tried to slow his breathing. He gripped his belt with both hands to mask his sweating palms. His father didn't just get angry. His fury would build and build until he lashed out with an irrational and oftentimes horrifying result. To be the focus of his anger was to have a blowtorch aimed while you held a plastic bag filled with gasoline.
Dipak slammed his hand down on the throne's armrest.
"How long?" he yelled. "How long has this old woman thrown her defiance in my face? A day would have been too long, an hour even! But this?" he seethed.
"And you, what do you do?" Dipak stood up and speared a finger down at Raja. "You sneak into her house and steal a picture? You have her daughter threatened by another child? I had to sit there and listen to that girl's father whine about his precious daughter being hit with a book!"
Dipak r
eached behind him, grabbed a house ornament sitting nearby and hurled it towards Raja. It missed him broadly, but he still flinched. Dipak spun towards Raja's mother. She shrunk away, but he grabbed her arm and dragged her forward.
"Your son, your precious little mother's boy, he fails me again and again. You hold him and coddle him and turn him into this!" Dipak's hand lashed out and struck her full across the face. She cried out, stumbled and fell to her knees, cradling her face.
Raja took a step forward but stopped when his father's glare struck him. Soldiers next to the throne leveled their weapons at him.
"You stand there, boy," Dipak ordered through clenched lips, his voice was low and filled with dangerous intent. Raja froze.
Dipak sat back down and took a breath. Then he looked over at Shira.
Raja's sister had stayed silent and relaxed during the exchange. She rarely had anything to fear. His father looked to her but spoke to the entire room.
"The time for failure is over. The time for ridiculous messages is done. It is time for direct, decisive action. You know what to do," said Dipak.
Shira glanced at her mother and Raja, then smiled.
"Yes, Father," she replied. "I'll take care of everything."
Chapter 12
"So Ray's had a crush on this girl for forever …"
The Marines standing around the barracks and listening to Lee's story were already grinning. Jebediah watched from further away with a look of amusement.
"Really not appropriate," Ray muttered from the side.
"I want hear, too," insisted Mei, walking in from the side door.
The big soldiers smiled and made room for the small woman in their midst.
"Well, finally, Ray gets up the nerve to go dance with her," continued Lee. "So they're all grinding up on each other and gyrating around. But suddenly, he starts to move around like really weird. Like he's trying to get away from her."
"Oh, boy," commented Sergeant Rob.
"Man, don't listen to him," said Ray.
"Exactly!" Lee replied, ignoring Ray. "And trying to get away was exactly what he was doing! All the sudden, there's this smell from Ray like the devil-hisself and the girl just runs off, screaming with her hands in the air like someone shot a gun. Well, it turns out, the strip club sushi Ray got earlier, the stuff he kept telling everyone was the best ever, did a number on his insides. Ray had shat himself and the girl!"
The barracks erupted with the soldier's laughter. The men roared loud much to Ray's discomfort.
Mei clapped a hand over her mouth and tried to laugh like the lady she was, then gave up and guffawed with the rest of them.
"Hey man, you don't gotta tell everyone that story," Ray complained.
"C'mon now, brother, least there was a happy ending to it all," said Lee.
"What the hell do you mean? She wouldn't come near me after that!"
"True, but I got her number and we hung out for a minute," smiled Lee. "I mean, since you and her weren't getting together anytime soon."
Laughter sounded roundly again.
Ray started to blurt a profane response, but looked at Mei and caught himself. Instead, he pointed a finger at Lee. "That's fine. I got you now. You ain't gonna see it coming, but I got you."
Ara strode into the barracks holding a phone. She passed it over to Mei who put it to her ear.
All the soldiers began filing out of the barracks to relieve the current shift of guards. But Mei caught Jebediah's arm before he left. Her expression had him immediately concerned.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You go now," she whispered back.
"Go where? What's going on?"
"Your son, Jebediah. He awake."
She handed him the phone. He stared at it for a moment, like he didn't recognize what it was. Then he put it to his ear.
"Jebediah?" said Dr. Gaal through the line. "Come quick. I don't know how long this will last."
Ara had left to get Lt. Riley. He came into the barracks with two of his men.
"You take him," Mei said to Lt. Riley. "Go in car, take him now. Hurry!"
Jebediah ran from the room to the waiting car. The soldiers raced behind him.
Jebediah was outside his son's room, looking through the open door at what must have been heaven.
His son was sitting up in his bed slurping soup. David had to grab the spoon with his entire hand, not just the fingers, and when he brought it to his mouth, it was shaky and unsteady. But the spoon made it there, and he drank the soup with his eyes slightly closed, as if savoring the most incredible meal in the world.
Sugar the dog sat on the bed and watched the spoon closely for any signs of dropped food.
Oh my god he's awake. My son's going to be okay he's sitting up and eating thank you thank you whoever thank you, he thought.
Jebediah felt a sting of tears in his eyes and fought to hold them back, worried they might scare David. He was going to talk to his son, and it was the most amazing thing in the world.
But his feet wouldn't move. He stood frozen in place, breathing an uneasy, almost hitching breath, and coated with a thin layer of nervous perspiration.
If he walked into the room, it might all stop. It might make his son no longer able to speak or be awake and eating and able to hear his daddy. Every part of him wanted to be in that room, and every part of him was too scared to take a step forward.
"Hi, Jeb."
He turned. Doctor Gaal was walking toward him. She had a small smile on her face, and the comforting presence that cloaks doctors when they know their patients aren't the only ones they have to care for. Jebediah looked at his son, then back to the doctor and cocked his head as if to say, "look at this." She smiled and nodded.
"He was a little scared when he woke up, but Sugar calmed him down. We told him you were coming and that really helped, too," she said.
"Yeah. Okay," he nodded as if in violent agreement.
In a shaky voice, he said "If I … if I walk in …"
"Nothing you do will change what's happening," she reassured him. "Whatever made him wake up could last minutes or days or forever. We don't know. But certainly nothing you do will make it worse. And what if it helps?"
Jebediah took a deep breath. "Okay," he whispered, then paused, still struggling to step forward. He felt a hand at the small of his back and a gentle push moved him forward.
"Go on, Jeb. It's okay," the doctor said.
Jebediah moved forward as if in a haze. His son looked up from his soup and beamed a smile.
"Dad!" David yelled with glee.
"Hey, kiddo," Jebediah replied in a faltering voice choked with emotion.
He stepped over and ever so slowly, with a touch as light as a breeze, placed his arms around David and hugged him close. He put his face to his son's cheek, then pressed his lips to the top of the boy's head.
"I missed you, kiddo. I missed you so much."
"Was I sleeping?" David asked.
"Yeah. You were sleeping for a long time. A really long time. I'm so happy you're awake now."
Jebediah dragged a chair over and sat down. He reached over, intending to take the soupspoon from his son's hand and feed him. But David gave him an odd look and he stopped.
"I'm not a baby, Dad. I can feed myself."
Jebediah laughed and with a look of chagrin said, "Okay, yeah, you're not a baby. Sorry. My bad."
"It's okay," said David, bringing another spoonful to his mouth.
"Son, do you know where you are?"
"Doctor Gaal said I was in a hospital."
"That's right. She's helping you get better."
"Sugar's helping too," added David, setting aside his soup, and petting the dog. The dog chuffed in response and licked the boy's hand.
"I guess he did," said Jebediah, still a little choked up.
"Dad, you want to hear a joke?"
"Yeah," Jebediah exclaimed and wiped his eyes clear. "Absolutely. I'd love to hear a joke."
"What's t
he difference between a guitar and a fish?" David asked. "You can't tuna fish!"
The boy and his father roared laughter.
"What do lawyers wear to court?" asked Jedediah. "Lawsuits!"
"How do you make a tissue dance?" asked David.
Jebediah knew this one, and they both yelled out the answer at the same time.
"Put a little boogey in it!"
Both of them laughed, enjoying the warmth of each other's company.
David's laughing slowed after a while and a confused look appeared on his face.
"Dad, where's Mom?" he asked.
Jebediah sat quietly for a minute, uncertain how to answer.
"Son, what's the last thing you remember?" he finally asked.
His son looked down. "You and Mom were fighting. I was a little scared. Then you left. I was calling for you, but you weren't there."
David's face scrunched up in concentration. "That's all I can remember."
His father stared at him in silence for a moment. "I'm so sorry, son. I swear the last thing I ever wanted to do was scare you. I was being so stupid, and I never should have left."
David nodded with acceptance. The boy took a breath, then spoke.
"I have to tell you something, Dad."
"Of course, kiddo. You can always tell me anything you want."
"You and Mom have to be friends."
Jebediah stared back.
"I'm not trying to be mean to you, Dad. I want to be your friend and Mom's friend. And I want you to be each other's friends. You both think you're right all the time."
Jebediah looked down and said nothing.
"Sometimes you're not right, Dad."
"Believe me, I know," Jebediah replied.
"I'm just trying to help cause I love you and Mom," he emphasized. "I don't like it when you guys are sad. I don't like it when you guys are hurt."
"I don't like it when you guys get hurt either," said Jebediah.
"Then you and Mom need to smile and be happy. Like this," David stretched his face out into a gap-toothed grin. It broke his father's heart.
Jebediah's Crime: A Heroic Supernatural Thriller (The Hinge Series Book 1) Page 12