information, “How is the clerk who was hurt?”
Detective Rice looked serious, “The clerk suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder, but is stable. This ups the charges from robbery to armed robbery, assault, and possibly attempted murder.”
The reporter thanked the detective and signed off.
Adam raced upstairs to find out the possible locations of tonight’s crimes. He knew that it was impossible for the police to cover all of the locations that could be hit because St. Louis was such a big city. But Adam broke down the city into sections and grouped several possible locations into each section. Once he had a complete plan for the night, he called Detective Rice again.
It was picked up on the second ring, “Rice.”
“I predicted that robbery would happen based on all of the county’s statistics for the past ten years.”
“The only way you could have predicted that would happen is if you planned that robbery yourself, in which case, we’ll get your name from the young man we caught last night.”
Adam sighed, “Officer, if you offered that suggestion to that guy, he would be completely surprised, then try to pawn it off on me without having the slightest notion of who I was. If he thought he could blame someone else, he already would have since he’s been in your custody for several hours now.”
Detective Rice was quiet.
Adam continued, “Listen, I know where tonight’s hits are going to be based on several variable including time of year, predicted weather, police surveillance routes, and the unemployment rate. I am going to give you specific locations where crimes may occur. I know you don’t have the manpower to cover all of them, so I have analyzed all of the possible driving routes and mapped out which routes your guys should drive to put them in proximity of several targets at once. Their routes will overlap slightly which will allow for backup if more than one target is hit at once. You will have to add two officers for this to be possible tonight.”
“I don’t have the budget for overtime based on somebody’s whim,” Detective Rice broke in angrily.
“That isn’t my problem. If you want to have a record night tonight, then stay by the phone and I will call you directly if any of my predicted targets are hit.”
“Which will prove you’ve set this thing up.”
“Later, I will prove to you there is no possible way I could be behind this. But for right now, I want to help clean up our city’s streets. Stay close to the phone, the first robbery will occur starting around ten p.m.”
Adam hung up as he heard Detective Rice sigh.
At about 10:20, Adam’s surveillance cameras picked up the first robbery. He phoned Rice and told him the location and description of the bad guy.
In almost fifteen minute intervals, Adam phoned Rice with a new location to check out. Only one or two robberies occurred per quadrant Adam had mapped out for Detective Rice. Only one quadrant in Adam’s predictions did not have any robberies occur. Adam called Rice one last time for the night.
“How did things go?” Adam asked with a yawn.
Rice stated, “I have never seen anything like this in all my years as a cop. I can’t help but believe that you have to have inside knowledge to call this many. Are you someone inside a crime ring who wants to get out?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. But I am someone who wants to help. We all have our mistakes to make up for,” Adam said.
“Well, whenever you’re ready to let me know who you are, I’ll be there.” Rice sounded sincere.
“Thanks. But for now, we both need some sleep.” Adam hung up and slept better for four hours than he had in a long, long time.
Preview of Episode 3: School, Sports, and…Superpowers?
At the end of the game, Adam didn’t notice the other team looking at their feet as he shook their hands at mid-court. He went to the locker room and grabbed his duffel bag to hurry to a football game. As he ran out, he realized he’d left his laptop behind and turned around and went back into the locker room to get it. As he came around the lockers, Adam heard some of the boys talking.
“Boy, Adam sure is a ballhog.”
“Yeah, what a show-off. If we weren’t winning all of our games, I definitely wouldn’t want him on our team.”
Adam couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“I didn’t sign up to watch somebody else on the team do everything. I’m thinking about quitting if he doesn’t start sharing the ball more.”
Adam slammed the door and all the talking stopped. He quickly grabbed his laptop and headed to his football game.
Dear Brothers and Sisters of Adam:
Don’t forget to email me your suggestions and thoughts about Adam at [email protected].
Thanks,
Kevin T. Goddard
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About the Author
Kevin T. Goddard was born in Springfield, Missouri in 1975. He grew up watching shows and movies like Transformers, G.I. Joe, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dukes of Hazzard, A-Team, and much more action/adventure/science fiction. Kevin is currently a school administrator in Missouri. His family consists of a wife, 8 kids, and a chihuahua. Kevin earned a Doctorate of Education, Ed. D., in Educational Leadership in 2010. He started writing when he was a kid, but as he worked on his advanced degrees in the field of education, his writing turned academic.
About 9 years ago, Kevin wrote a short book entitled Adam Powerhouse: Birth of the Double Zero. After finishing it, he didn't know what to do, so Kevin saved it on his computer and forgot about it. When he reopened the file in 2010, Kevin was surprised to find that many of the things Adam invented in 2001 were now a part of reality...cell phones that connected to the internet, skateboards that work more like a snowboard, video games that allow you to be a rockstar, and more! So, he's had to update Adam's world. It continues to evolve and Kevin hopes Adam lives for a long, long time and you enjoy every adventure Adam has.
Kevin plans on starting more characters with the help of his two oldest daughters and chronicling those characters lives through episodes as he has Adam's.
Connect with Kevin T. Goddard online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_192520634101730
Email: [email protected]
Adam Powerhouse Episode Two: Zero to Hero Page 3