A Hero's Reward

by Morrel, Amy

  “Will do Ben, thanks.”

  The lead car slowed down as it approached a driveway leading back into the woods. Margaret stopped their car as the unmarked FBI car slowed down. The house wasn't visible from the road so Freddy shouldn't have any warning that he was being set up.

  Margaret sat in the driver's seat, looking nervous and impatient. The tension in the car was thick enough to cut with a knife. Greg reached over and took Margaret's hand, holding it firmly as she gripped his hand hard enough to turn his fingers white.

  It was less than fifteen minutes after Ben had called on the radio when the sound of a car starting up echoed from somewhere in the woods. Two minutes later, the car was coming to an abrupt stop as it found the exit from the driveway blocked. A man who looked as if he might have once been muscular but had let it all go to fat got out of the stopped car and walked towards the car blocking the driveway, spilling a torrent of filth and bluster from his mouth.

  “What the hell do you think you're doing blocking my driveway? Get the hell out of my way or I'll run your fucking car over and tell the insurance company that it was your fault. You hear me asshole? Get your fucking car out of my way!”

  Freddy walked over to the unmarked car and slammed a hand on the roof. Greg could see the passenger window on the FBI car roll down but whatever the agent said to Freddy was too quiet for Greg to hear. Whatever it was that Ben said had Freddy jumping back from the side of the car and all of the sudden appearing quite subdued.

  Ben got out of his car, holding his identification in front of him like a shield. Agent White got out of the driver's side of the car and came around onto the driveway as well. As Agent White engaged Freddy in conversation Ben picked up his radio.

  “Okay, come on in. It looks like he isn't going to be any trouble.”

  As Margaret pulled the car up to the driveway, Ben approached Freddy's car. A minute later he was heading back towards the group of people leading a young boy who was carrying a small gym bag. Margaret and Greg were getting out of the Saturn and when Margaret saw the child, she went running to him.

  “Jack!”

  “Mommy!”

  The two came together in a hug that somehow managed to block out the rest of the world for them for a brief span of time. Their joy at seeing one another was interrupted by Freddy.

  “What are you doing here bitch, I told you he was staying with me!”

  Greg was ready to step in and cold cock the man, FBI agents present or not, but he was amazed to find out that it wasn't necessary.

  Margaret straightened up, put herself between Freddy and Jack, and turned to face Freddy.

  “Really? The courts gave me custody. These gentlemen here are FBI agents. Were you aware that kidnapping and transporting the victim across state lines is a federal offense? I believe that these gentlemen here are all ready to arrest you for that crime. Guess what, that means the county sheriff and judge can't lose the paperwork and get you off again.”

  She marched up to Freddy and glared at him:

  “So, do you still want to try to make him stay here with you?”

  “I don't know what you've been doing to get so uppity bitch, but you better learn your place again.”

  Greg had been moving in closer all this while and was quicker than either FBI agent when Freddy drew his hand back as though to slap Margaret. He grabbed the hand and drew it behind Freddy's back. When Freddy started to try to pull away he applied force upwards. He wasn't very worried about whether he injured the man or not. The FBI agents didn't seem to have any desire to intervene either now that Freddy wasn't threatening Margaret. As Greg drew the arm high enough to draw a cry of pain he whispered in Freddy's ear:

  “Her place is with me, for as long as she wants that to be her place. With an actual human being, not some slob of a religious freak that thinks beating woman and children is his right. If you feel like you want to try some of that beating on me, just let me know and I'll be happy to oblige you.”

  Greg gave another upward push on the arm before letting go. Freddy turned to glare at him and took a step back when he realized that his glare would only be aimed at Greg's neck unless he craned his head up.

  Margaret had evidently heard Greg's soft words because she was simultaneously beaming and glaring at Freddy. Jack came running up from behind Margaret:

  “Dad, this is the guy I told you about. He's the one that saved mom and me from the fire.”

  Freddy turned slightly pale but didn't say a word.

  “He's so cool!” continued Jack, “He made it into the newspapers and the videos of him on Youtube went viral!”

  Freddy glared at his son as though willing him to shut up. In return, Margaret, Greg, and both FBI agents glared back at Freddy. Jack was oblivious to the whole thing, he went over to Greg and grabbed his hand.

  “I was hoping I'd have the chance to thank you in person. Thank you, so much. For both my mom and myself.”

  Jack's words broke the group glare that had been occurring. Greg looked down at Jack as the FBI agents approached Freddy.

  “You're welcome Jack. I came with your mom to come get you. You have a place to live for as long as the two of you need it. I have extra bedrooms and I volunteered them to your mother.”

  “That's so cool! I can go back to my own school? I hate this home schooling stuff they've been doing with me this past week. They keep trying to tell me stuff that I know is wrong because I learned the real thing in science class. Plus my father keeps trying to tell me stuff about how a man should treat a woman that is just totally wrong.” Jack turned his gaze to Freddy and subjected him to yet another glare.

  “I don't like it here at all. It's creepy how my father treats his new wife, and she just accepts it. It's kind of scary sometimes.” Jack continued in a softer voice.

  “You can go back to your own school, starting in a couple of days I'd guess. You don't have to stay here and you wouldn't have been here this long if your dad had obeyed the law.”

  “Awesome! I can't wait to get back to school and out of this place.”

  Meanwhile the FBI agents were having a little chat with Freddy.

  “Well sir, she's right. It's a federal offense to kidnap across a state line. We came down to make sure the child was transferred to his mother since she has custody. We gave your sheriff a little courtesy call to let him know we'd be operating in his jurisdiction but then we made it here a little sooner than we thought we would. Good thing too, or we might have missed you.”

  Freddy was dumb enough that he didn't seem to be reading the message Ben had delivered between the lines.

  “Well, I had to drive all the way up there to get him. Why shouldn't he stay with me.”

  “Because you don't have custody and his mother was discharged from the hospital and is capable of custody again, sir. It's the law and our job is to uphold that law.”

  “That's a bunch of bullshit. That boy needs a strong man around the house to teach him to be a man. He'll never get that with his mouse of a mother.”

  “Well sir, his place of residence will currently be the same residence as the man who rescued him from the fire. If that isn't a strong man to use as a role model, I don't know who would be.” said Agent White.

  “Plus, that mouse of a mother just stood up to you despite being half your weight, sir.” added Ben with a sardonic twist on the 'sir'.

  Freddy just stood there glaring at Margaret. She noticed and glared back for a moment, then she turned her attention to Jack and utterly ignored Freddy. Greg warily placed himself between Freddy and Margaret, returning Freddy's glare with interest. Greg pointed to Freddy's side and when Freddy looked down he realized he had been unconsciously rubbing the arm Greg had abused. When Freddy looked back up Greg just smiled and nodded. Once again Freddy's bluff and bluster left him.

  “Now sir, if you'll just return to your home, Margaret has agreed to not press charges. If you try to make a fuss about this though, you may spend some time in a federal prison.�
�� said Ben.

  Freddy, his bluster gone, shuffled towards his car looking beaten and dejected. Greg kept an eye on him nonetheless. As Freddy started the car and began to reverse up the driveway Greg thought he saw, just for a moment, the beaten and dejected look replaced by a glare of pure hatred directed at Margaret as Freddy drove out of sight.

  * * *

  Chapter 11 – Settling In

  The drive back home was as uneventful as a long drive with an excited six year old boy in the car could be. Jack chattered constantly all the way home. Greg was amazed to see how dealing with Jack changed Margaret's attitude. She was strong at one moment, soft and loving the next. He could see how her thinking that Freddy might cause harm to Jack would have been the one thing to strengthen her spine enough to get her out of that relationship.

  Jack was ecstatic when they stopped at the FBI location to drop off the radio and have a chat with the agents that had helped them.

  “Here you go Ben. Sorry, I should've returned the radio before we headed back. Thank you again, that went more smoothly than I had feared, if less smoothly than I had hoped.” Greg said, returning the radio to Agent Brown.

  “Quite alright, it was a bit of a charged atmosphere down there. I was just happy to get out of the county without any more trouble.”

  “Well, you got the information you needed on the Sheriff also.”

  “Yes we did and we have the two of you to thank for that. I'll let the arson unit investigating the fire know where they can contact you to let you know the results. They don't currently have any contact info for Ms. Chisolm.”

  “Well her phone burned up so if they tried to call shortly after the fire they wouldn't have gotten anything. She has a replacement now though so that number should be good, or they can use my number if they prefer.”

  “We'll let them know that. I should probably mention that based on Freddy's reactions, you may want to keep an eye out for a couple of weeks. I wouldn't put it past him to try something. It seems that he feels he's been deeply wronged somehow. He might be the type to look for revenge. If the arson investigation comes up positive, I'd think that would indicate that he has already been trying to avenge some imagined slight on him by Margaret and that he's willing to do even more to try to get his revenge. Not that I'm saying he did it, of course, since there isn't any proof. But I'd still keep an eye out if I were you.”

  “Thank you for your concern Ben. I'll do that, he looked like he was spoiling for a fight of some sort. He also acted like the type of guy who hates a fair fight and tries to stack the deck.”

  “I'm glad you understand. I've got to be going now. We need to start action to get that Sheriff moved on out of his position.”

  “Thanks again, Ben.”

  “You're welcome.”

  Agent Brown turned and headed for the elevator. Jack was less enthusiastic when he found out that the lobby was the only part of the FBI office that he'd be allowed to see. But his excitement returned when he found out that they'd be heading to Greg's place and he'd get to see the room he'd be staying in for the foreseeable future.

  When they got back to Greg's place and parked the Saturn, Jack was all over Greg's work truck.

  “Cool truck man, can I get a ride in it sometime?”

  “Well Jack, I'm still on some pain medication so I can't drive. Once I'm off of it I'll take you for a ride in it. Your mom isn't quite up to driving something that large so it will have to wait until I can.”

  “Alright, you promise though?”

  “I promise.”

  “Jack,” said Margaret, “you really shouldn't call Greg 'man' or anything like that. Maybe you can call him Uncle Greg or something. What do you think Greg?”

  “He could call me Greg if he wanted to, Uncle Greg works also.”

  “Well, I'd prefer he not call adults by their first names but I think Mister would be too formal here. So Jack, you can call him Uncle Greg, okay?”

  “Alright mom. Is that okay with you Uncle Greg?”

  “That's fine Jack.”

  Greg showed Jack into the house and showed him around. Jack was incredibly excited when he saw Greg's collection of action movies. Greg told him he could watch any of them he wanted as long as he cleared it with his mom first.

  When Greg took Jack upstairs and showed him his room; Jack settled right in. Margaret came in and showed him where the new clothes they had gotten him were. Jack unpacked the small bag of items he had with him into the bureau with the new clothes in it.

  They went back downstairs and Jack was immediately asking to watch a movie. They found one that Margaret approved of and started it. Margaret went into the kitchen to make dinner for the three of them and Greg logged onto his computer.

  The previews on the movie were still running so Jack came over to Greg.

  “Do you have high speed internet Uncle Greg?”

  “Yes I do.”

  “That's great, it took me fifteen minutes to load the Youtube clip of you on my dad's dial-up connection. That sucked. Can I use your computer and internet connection some?”

  “Only if your mom or I are with you while you do. Plus, you'll have to get your mom's okay on that as well.”

  “Well, she used to let me use the computers at the library where she worked. I think she'll be okay with me using this one also but I'll ask first.”

  “Okay Jack, you do that and I'm fine with you using it. Do you want me to skip the previews on the movie for you?”

  “Would you? My mom doesn't like me using the remote. She said I messed it up a couple of times and it took her hours to fix it.”

  “Well, you can use the remote here if you want. I know how to reprogram it in just a few minutes if you mess something up.”

  “That's great, thank you Uncle Greg.”

  Greg wandered into the kitchen to chat with Margaret. Since they had left Freddy's place Jack had been with them nearly constantly and he could tell that Margaret had been wanting to say something to him. She had started to do so several times earlier but then Jack would come back into earshot and she would stop herself.

  “What's for dinner?” he asked.

  “You'll see.” she said, “It's a surprise.”

  “So what were you trying to say earlier on when Jack interrupted us?”

  “You noticed, did you? I can't believe it. I stood up to Freddy and he backed down! I'll admit you and the agents were probably a good portion of why he did, but he actually backed down and we got Jack back. I'm so happy.”

  “Well, the agents also warned me about him. They said there wasn't anything official but that we ought to keep an eye out in case he tries to show up. Is he listed as a guardian with the school or anything? If so you might want to have them remove that so he can't show up there and try to take him back.”

  “No, we were already separated when Jack started school, Freddy was never listed as a guardian or parent with them.”

  “Good, that's one thing we don't have to worry about at least.”

  Greg went back out to his computer and caught up on emails again. Then he surfed a little, trying to catch up on what had been happening in the world over the past few days.

  Within the hour, Margaret had dinner ready. As it cooked, Greg had been drooling on and off at the smells coming out of the kitchen. He had determined that there was definitely beef involved from the smells but beyond that he had no idea what dinner would be, except that it smelled really good.

  Margaret set the table and put dinner out. She came over to get Greg and Jack and noticed Jack with the remote.

  “Jack, you know you aren't supposed to use the remote.”

  “Uncle Greg told me I could.”

  “It's okay” said Greg, “If he messes it up I can reprogram it from scratch in less than five minutes.”

  “You're sure?”

  “Yes, if you still don't want him using it, that's fine. But I figure using a remote is a skill, albeit not the most useful skill, that everyone should know.�
��

  “It's fine as long as it won't be any trouble for you.”

  “Pause the movie Jack, your mom has a delicious smelling dinner on the table.”

  Margaret had made a mock beef stroganoff with a side of peas. Greg was continually amazed by what she could turn out in his kitchen in under an hour. He would never have guessed that you could make something like this out of what was in his kitchen, even after their grocery run.

  “Margaret, this is delicious. You're an incredible cook, did you know that?”

  Margaret blushed:

  “Thank you Greg but it's nothing really.”

  “No, he's right mom. This is great. That's the other thing I missed most besides you and school. Your cooking beats anything dad's new wife managed to turn out. It was mostly instant stuff or stuff you toss in the microwave to cook all this past week.”

  “Well, thank you also Jack. Let's eat though, shall we?”

  They polished off the entire dinner Margaret had cooked, the excitement of the day sharpening their appetites. When Margaret went back into the kitchen and came out with a chocolate cream pie for dessert Greg groaned and loosened his belt a notch. He decided that he either had to start working out or get back to work soon if he didn't want to start gaining weight from Margaret's cooking.

  When dinner was over, Jack was allowed to finish watching his movie before starting to get ready for bed. Margaret was enforcing a strict eight o'clock bedtime for him. She confided to Greg that not only did doctors recommend that a six year old get ten to eleven hours of sleep per night but that she needed the downtime provided by him getting more sleep than she did. She also pointed out that since they normally went to bed around ten o'clock that they'd have a couple of hours together every day once Jack was asleep.

  Once Jack was showered and tucked into bed Margaret came back downstairs.

  “I think he should sleep right through the night, I'm guessing he'll be exhausted from all the excitement. If not though, I'm going to sleep in my own room tonight in case he wakes up and comes looking for me.”