Frustrated rage blanketed Denkins’ features as a tittering of amusement from the onlookers seeped into Nate’s hearing. The impulse to smash out at Rawlins nearly eclipsed the stolid look of promised violence radiating from Mike’s features – but not quite. Denkins stepped back, inching away.
The darkness washed over Mike at Denkins’ retreat. The crowd around them distorted into a grainy perimeter within Mike’s vision. Sound faded to a whispering hum. Mike started forward, his face disintegrating into single minded purpose. Denkins lost all pretense, seeing something beyond pain reflected in Mike’s eyes. He turned in a panic trying to slip into the crowd. Joanie jumped onto Mike’s back with a yelp.
“Mike… don’t! You’ll get expelled!”
Denny hurried in front of Mike, his hands held up palms outward. “Please, Mike, listen to Joanie! It’s nothing! Let him go, buddy.”
Denny’s worried face, coupled with Joanie’s yanking on his neck seeped through the black fury coursing through him. Mike patted Joanie’s arms. “I’m okay. Jump down, Sis.”
Joanie slid down doubtfully, still clutching one of Mike’s arms. “C’mon into lunch with us, Mike. Denny and I were waiting for you.”
The aftermath of what had happened still engendered a flowing wave of approval from the dispersing crowd. Mike put an arm around Joanie’s shoulders. “Thanks, Sis. That would have been bad. I just promised Principal Franz I’d be a good boy.”
“It’s my fault, Mike,” Denny said. “I aced the damn surprise quiz we got in Physics. You should have seen the looks I got. Maybe-”
“That’s great, Denny! I’m serious. Don’t you apologize for being the best. If Denkins knows what’s good for him he’ll start studying instead of bullying. I heard our video made it to YouTube via Janice. I’m going to owe Tom an apology.”
“It’s been all good feedback so far,” Denny replied, following Mike and Joanie into the cafeteria. “We’re heroes. In answer to your caution about not letting anything get into the way of my scholastic achievement – not to worry. I’m not dumbing down for anyone. I don’t want you getting expelled or Joanie hurt because of it though.”
Mike stopped, facing Denny. “I’ve got your back, Denny. We clear?”
Denny met Mike’s stern look with a smile. “Of course, big guy. Did I tell you, Joanie wants me all to herself.”
“What!” Joanie cried out as Mike laughed while urging the two onward to a table in the back. Noticing the lightening of mood, Joanie relaxed. “Good one, worm.”
“I texted Officer Huang the moment I found out about Janice uploading it,” Denny said as they sat down together. “He texted back not to worry.”
“Great. He’s one of the good guys we don’t want pissed off at us. Last night put everything we’ve been doing in a bright light. Except for our dust up out front just now today has been a very good day.”
“I was telling Joanie how good it had been bathing in the afterglow of last night’s adventure. You work out for the MMA stuff, right?”
“Most of my workouts are on the weekends because I still do a couple hours on cars over at my Dad’s shop every night. He gave me off yesterday afternoon because it was the first day. There’s a bunch of guys that train Tuesday and Thursday nights along with Saturday mornings. Why, you want to get into MMA, Denny?”
“Nope, but I was wondering if I could go with you sometimes.”
“Sounds okay to me. Want to go over with me tonight? We usually work out from 7:30 to 10 PM.”
“What about your tutoring duties, worm?”
“I didn’t know you wanted me for longer than a couple hours after school,” Dennie replied. “We’ll be done long before 7:30 won’t we?”
“I guess so.” Joanie looked pointedly at Mike. “You don’t plan on the worm getting his face rearranged do you?”
Mike chuckled. “Denny can pick up some pointers without any actual matchups. A lot of the training is grappling. The striking and kicking is done mostly on the equipment rather than each other. So, what’s this about tutoring, Sis?”
“The curve killer has deigned to help me and some of my friends with any subjects we want help in.”
“Very nice, Den. So, that’s what the comment about Joanie wanting exclusivity was about.”
“She was upset about her friend Mandy expressing an interest,” Denny replied quickly, barely ducking Joanie’s head slap. “Hey, no hitting.”
“I get it.” Mike watched Joanie glare at Denny with amusement. “I’ll drop you two off at the house and then I’ll come back and get Denny after I finish work at the shop. I’m wondering how Dad did with taking Demon into the shop with him, especially since we know last night’s caper made it to YouTube. Are you planning on doing any more tonsillectomy’s on Denny during your tutoring session, Sis?”
“Mike!” A look of horror washed over Joanie, as it finally dawned on her that she had not been alone when she had kissed Denny.
Mike grinned, seeing Denny turning away with his shoulders heaving along with snorts of laughter he had trouble muffling. “No use getting all outraged at me. That was you this morning in a lip lock with my friend Denny was it not?”
This time Joanie pleaded while blushing crimson. “Please Mike? Don’t do this.”
“Okay… okay… calm down,” Mike replied. “I’m sure Mandy will be glad to take over for you.”
“Mike!”
* * *
Thursday night Mike drove Denny toward his house with Demon perched on the backseat of his Chevy. With problems quieting at school due to his and Denny’s new hero status and YouTube celebrity, their friends and family had only to deal with the waning media circus. The initial workouts at the gym with Mike’s acquaintances learning Mixed Martial Arts had been a brutal wakeup call for Denny. Overseen by two MMA veterans, Derek Patterson and Carl Jenkins, who volunteered their time, the basics of stamina and striking at the beginning of each session made Denny realize how different Mike was. At home Mike showed Denny numerous YouTube videos breaking down each fighting submission hold. Then Mike had started Denny off to illustrate quickness by having the younger teen in full top position only to be in a triangle choke or arm-bar within seconds of Mike moving. Denny witnessed Mike grapple his fellow MMA enthusiasts into submission holds nearly as easily as he had Denny. The volunteer coaches used Mike to illustrate nearly every form perfect move, hold, or strike.
Denny looked over at Mike’s profile in the Chevy’s dark interior tiredly. He noticed his friend was sitting straight up, showing no sign of having went to school, worked at the shop, and then did over two hours of MMA training. “Thanks for letting me sleep over tonight. How come you’re still sitting upright after tonight’s torture session? Are you trying to depress me?”
Mike chuckled, glancing toward Denny for a moment. “You don’t have to do this, Denny. I can still show you stuff at my house and you can work my heavy bag.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sticking with it. My folks think I’ve been replaced by an alien, but school is ten times better since hooking up with you and Demon.”
“And Joanie.”
Denny sighed dramatically, eliciting a laugh from Mike. “She even got real quiet with that icy look she gets when Mandy sat real close to me at the table tonight and patted my leg when I’d make a point. Her other two friends, Melissa and Danielle stopped by my locker this morning at school to make small talk. I’m living the dream, Mike. I’m not changing anything until the wave hits the rocks.”
“I can’t fault your logic. About the workouts though, your stamina will improve. The guys are already treating you like our mascot.”
“Wow, Demon was sure a hit tonight. He displaced me on the mascot list.”
“Arf!”
“Yeah, Coach Patterson’s been trying to get me to bring Demon along for a while now. D did just enough to impress without screwing up his secret identity as wonder dog.”
“Grrumph!”
Denny reached back to pet
Demon. “Our adventure on video getting Jimmy back went viral in hours. I talked with Mr. Corbett. He liked my editing so much he wants me in on creating our official stuff from now on.”
“I heard from Gail her Dad loved your edited version so much he made up a new trailer for our website without changing anything. The advertising money coming in from the Demon video hits on YouTube is paying big dividends. According to Gail, we’re going to be taking on cases starting next week.”
“Man, that’s great! I’m working on our Demon Inc proton packs. I test fired my prototype yesterday evening.”
“Is this a joke? You haven’t really been working on some kind of ghost buster gear for real, have you?
“Yep, and it worked, Mike,” Denny replied. “It’s accurate to thirty feet. I incorporated super-soaker technology with laser and stun-gun elements. It fires the holy water with laser beam mixed in the stream. A split second after the flow, my stun-gun capacitive discharge lights up the stream. We need to make sure D is nowhere near or it could turn him into a haunt.”
“Arf!” Demon nosed in next to Denny, showing his interest.
“Our crew will go mental when you introduce the new fire power. Do you really think it’ll work?”
“There won’t be anything left of the ghosts but ectoplasmic goop. I think with a couple shotguns loaded with blessed rock salt and we’ll be like ghost kryptonite.”
“I like it, Den!” Mike slowed as they approached his house. “Look at all the cars. The whole crew must be over at the house waiting for us. I wonder what’s up. Even Gail’s Dad’s car is there.”
“Think positive, Mike. Good news… good news.”
“Yeah, that always works so well for me.” Mike parked in the driveway spot left for him. “No one’s running out to meet us so it can’t be anything major.”
Mike heard laughter and loud voices inside as he and Denny walked up to the front door. “Sounds good so far, Ace. Maybe it is good news for a change.”
When Mike led Denny inside, he noted the voices originated in the living room. Call outs of greetings from his friends prompted a bounding Demon to shoot past them into the midst of company. The teens entered the living room a few seconds behind their canine herald.
Mike noticed everyone was there except Laura. “Did we win the lottery or something?”
Steve Corbett approached him with a check held up between his hands. “Fifty thousand dollars, Mike. The rescue of Jimmy Manjetti sold the backers on my pitch for doing the USS Hornet documentary. This is just to cover expenses, my friend.”
“Oh my God,” Denny mumbled, peering around Mike at the check.
“You and the newbie here cemented us into a contract, Dempsey,” Janis said, walking over to hug Mike. “Sorry about uploading to YouTube before conferring with you.”
“It turned out okay, Jan. I was only worried about our San Leandro police connection getting into trouble. He was cool with it so we’re good.”
Stan and Jerry circled Denny like sharks with blood in the water. Denny eyed the two teens towering over him with a grin and wave. “Hi guys. I’m Denny Stossle.”
“What’s the deal with you going solo with Big Mike, kid?”
Denny held out his hand to Stan. “You’re Stan, right? I’ve heard all the stories about everything since the haunted house where D appeared. It’s great to meet you finally.”
Stan looked over at Jerry as Connie, Janis, Gail and Joanie joined them. “What do you think, Jer?”
Jerry draped an arm over Denny’s shoulders, staring grimly into his eyes as Denny’s ignored hand lowered slowly to his side. “I don’t know, Stan. Should we reserve his ticket on the island until he grows up?”
“Denny just built a prototype ghost killer that shoots a laser lighted stream of holy water, ignited by capacitive discharge stun-gun electrodes,” Mike announced. “He tested it yesterday. Denny says it will turn a ghost into a goop puddle.”
Stan immediately embraced Denny. “I love you, man. Group hug!”
Denny grinned happily amidst the crowding teen bodies and arms, while Steve, Dan, and Jenny laughed in the background. “I…I’ll have four of them made by next week.”
As the group hug broke up, Steve shook hands with his production protégé. “Impressive work on the Manjetti video. Do you really have a ghost weapon?”
“Yes Sir.” Denny smiled at Joanie who had moved up next to him. “When I tested it in the dark last night, the video I took of the firing came out perfectly. Want to see it?”
“Oh hell yeah,” Jerry answered for Steve. “Break it out Dr. Venkman.”
It took Denny only minutes to unpack his notebook. He then started his computer, and cued up the film of his test firing on the living room coffee table. Silence reigned as the group watched Denny take aim with the weapon, which incorporated a backpack storage tank with hose attached to a streamlined aluminum and plastic rifle. Denny paused the video, pointing out the section carrying the laser housed behind where the stream jettisons into the barrel for discharge.
“The water is propelled from the tank with CO2 cartridges which give it the range and accuracy. The laser beam, protected and sealed behind the stream entry point, blasts out the barrel simultaneously amidst the stream. The capacitors and electrodes mounted around the barrel fire off the second the beam and stream exit the barrel.” Denny restarted the video, smiling at the gasps of amazement as the lighted arc of water crackled out of the barrel smashing over the plastic blow up Santa nearly thirty feet away. Joanie gripped his hand.
Janis clucked expressively. “What I wouldn’t have given for that sucker at Alcatraz. Is there anything you can’t do, newbie?”
“Well, until I met Mike, I couldn’t avoid getting daily wedgies.”
Laughter over Denny’s quip was loud enough to scare Patches the cat off the couch.
Stan put his arm around Denny’s shoulders. “That ain’t happenin’ ever again, kid. You’re in with us now. Anyone messes with you messes with us. Welcome aboard, Dr. Venkman.”
When things quieted down Mike turned to his sister. “Joanie, where’s Laura?”
“She’s over at Demon Inc,” Steve answered for Joanie. “I gave her the last of the data for building up our company on Quickbooks. She was excited about finally getting it ready and tracking all expenses, along with income, so she decided to input it on our server over at Demon Inc. I figured she’d be back by now.”
Mike took out his iPad and fingered Laura from his contact list. “Maybe she decided to stay over at Demon Inc. It’s all set up. I… that’s funny… it’s going directly to message. I better go over there and check on her.”
“Wait, Mike, let me see your iPad. Laura told me all your iPads are cloned together. That’s right, isn’t it, Mr. Corbett.
“Yes. They’re all synched for conference calls and instant messaging.”
Denny nodded and used a cable from his backpack to hook the iPad to his notebook computer. His fingers danced over the keyboard and in moments the group could see the room where Demon Inc’s mainframe server and computer were housed. “I turned her camera on. She has her iPad in its mounting near the computer. Everything looks-”
Loud angry voices came through, clearly arguing in a foreign language from another room. Denny looked around at the grim faces surrounding him. “Is Laura in trouble?”
“That sounds like Laura’s ex, Mahmoud, and his Father,” Mike explained in a whisper of tight lipped sound. “How in hell could they have gotten in there?”
“Birdbrain may have been dopey enough to let them in,” Connie said. “Laura told us she’s been talking with Moomoo because her parents don’t want to go to court.”
Janis held her hands up in a placating motion at Mike. “Before you go postal, it was only negotiating over the phone. She told us yesterday she thought Moomoo was listening to reason, and yes, we tried to get her to tell you and your folks about talking to him.”
“This isn’t anyone here’s fault,” Mike ackn
owledged. “They won’t hurt her. She’s having Moomoo’s baby, and Moomoo’s Father won’t let anything happen to his grandchild. Let me think.”
Mike walked away from the group with Demon padding after him. Scenarios cascaded through his head where Laura could be killed or maimed in some way with him blundering onto a situation he had no control over. His friends and family watched him in a gray area of helplessness and shock - the good news feeling fading faster than ice on a hot August night. The voices in Arabic began again, a quieter tone threading through their conversation. Mike turned suddenly, striding over to grab Denny’s arm.
“How good are you at hacking, Denny?”
A shadow passed over Denny’s features. “I’m better than I’d like to say, Mike. What do you need?”
“Can you find out what vehicles have been rented by Farris or Mahmoud Jamil through credit card usages or local area rental car records?”
Denny looked around at the faces staring at him, remembering it was Mike who turned his life at Arroyo High School around. He immediately resized the window with Demon Inc, and he opened a program where myriad windows shot over his screen nearly as fast as his fingers moved. Suddenly, Denny froze and widened a window. He pointed at it.
“They turned in a vehicle and rented a 2011 GMC Denali.”
“Damn!” Janis exclaimed. “You are one scary dude, Kid. Is he cool, D?”
“Arf!” Demon sat next to Denny.
“That’s good enough for all of us,” Dan said. “What next, Mike?”
“Can you-” Mike began but Denny held up his hand and hit another key. A GPS map with headings logged in came up on screen.
“I’ve hacked into the OnStar system and we’ll know where the Jamils go in the GMC. In fact, they have a route programmed already heading East. I downloaded it into my laptop. They just left Demon Inc. Their GMC is on the move.”
“Dude…” Stan whispered in reverent tone.
“Loan me your iPad, Jan,” Mike said, and took the quickly offered device. She already had Tom Huang on her contact list shared with everyone at Demon Inc. Mike listened to the recording he got with his features tightening into an unconscious grimace.
Demon (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 1) Page 24