“Finally!” said Gerry.
“I know, I know. You sound like your mother. At least give me a hug before you attack me any further.”
Gerry obliged happily. Frank took his family into the other room to let Chris and Gerry catch up. Gerry wanted to know everything about his father’s trip and all the bad guys they stopped. It was very much the fantasy that Erik wanted people to believe and Chris’s son wasn’t the exception. Gerry explained the talks at school between other students and how captivated everyone was with the amazing Supers out there protecting the world. His pride in his father would have melted any man’s heart. Even more reason for Chris to go through with his plan. He couldn’t stand lying to his son let alone millions of other kids.
“You’re spending the night and I don’t want to get in the way of you and Simone’s good time. I have to go talk to Frank for a little bit and then get back to your mom,” said Chris.
“Yeah, okay Dad,” said Gerry. He wanted to keep talking even though most of it was just a repeat on the same thing.
Chris walked with Gerry into the other room where Simone was playing a video game and Frank and Gail sat on the couch watching. Frank had his arm around Gail and she had her hand on his knee with a smile that captured every ounce of joy at having her family together again. When Chris stepped into the room she jumped up and hugged him like a brother returning home.
“So good to see you and I’m so glad you kept my Franky safe. I know what kind of trouble he gets into,” said Gail, and kissed Chris on the cheek for reinforcement that every word was sincere.
“Just doing my job,” said Chris.
Frank glared and then got up from the couch too. “Come on you workaholic.” He shoved Chris out of the room and down the hall to an office.
Frank immediately went to his iPod dock and turned the volume up obnoxiously loud. Then he sat down in a heavily worn leather recliner. Chris took his turn on the familiar drummer’s stool repurposed for visitors.
“I don’t know if this even works, but fuck it. We need to talk and I don’t want to write everything out,” said Frank.
“Erik turned off the internet and TV at —“
“I know. You were pretty obvious earlier. This is fucking bullshit.” Frank slammed his fist on the desk and stared at the wall.
Chris wanted to mock Frank’s abuse towards the desk and also say ‘I told you so,’ but resisted. Chris needed to move past the unnecessary taunt and wasted time that came with it. “I have the reports typed on my flash drive. I wanted to use your computer to upload it but that obviously needs a new plan.”
“What? You typed up what?”
“The whole story and my notes from the beginning. It tells how everything was set up and fake.”
“Who gives a shit about a document? That’s not going to get you anywhere. Especially if you just upload to the internet. Are you going to use Reddit? Do you even know?”
“That’s what I came to talk to you about. I don’t know.”
“I guess Reddit. Or Facebook, but everyone will just think it’s a chain letter and a joke. Nobody’s going to read it. At least not first. You need something more.”
“We need a video. We can upload it to YouTube.”
“And let it get buried just like the typed version.”
“Stop telling me what’s not going to work and help me with something that will.” Chris stood up from the stool.
Frank’s first reaction was to stand too and fight, but double checked this move. He swallowed pride, anger, and probably some blood from clamping his teeth down so hard but stayed in his chair and thought of what would work.
Chris eased off and sat down again to think for himself. How could they reach more people? Would it even give him and his family the protection he wanted? He had to do something because there was nothing getting in the way of him quitting come tomorrow.
Frank admitted partial defeat. “I don’t know, but…” He turned down the music and looked around his office at all the little artifacts that Gail helped him accumulate and display. Chris waited on his friend’s deep thinking. It was the longest Chris had ever remembered seeing the cogs turn silently in Frank’s head. But eventually the thoughts had to come out.
“Gail!” said Frank, without moving from his chair. It took a minute but the shout was heard and Gail gently opened the door.
“Yeah, hon’,” she said, only half of her sticking through.
“How do you see me?” asked Frank.
“What do you mean?” Gail smiled, somewhat knowingly but just wanting to be sure before answering.
Frank moved his head in annoyed circles and clasped his hands together tightly. It killed him to explain further. “What kind of person do you think I am? What parts of me do you think are the best? Don’t make me say any more.”
It was exactly what Gail wanted and so she returned the favor. “Well… A loving husband and father first.” Gail entered the room fully now and slowly made her way to her husband. “Then we have just a slight temper.”
“I said the best things,” said Frank.
“It is, when it’s used right. Like when you’re fighting for something you care about or someone you love. You’re a fighter. In a good way. And you know when it’s time to cut something loose and rebuild.”
“Bingo,” said Chris.
“Shut up,” said Frank to Chris.
Gail now had her hands on Frank’s knees and leaned in for a kiss, but before she could plant a soft one on him Frank pulled her in for a hard smothering kiss. Then he pulled her legs out from under her and sat her sideways on his lap. Gail looped her arm around the back of his neck with a flourish and looked back at Chris without any shame. Frank squeezed her hard and pushed out a squeal of laughter.
“Thank you,” said Frank.
“You’re going to do this with me, aren’t you?” said Chris.
“I fuckin’ guess,” said Frank. He looked up at Gail sitting on his lap. “I have to quit, it was all a bunch of special effects and crap. The Supers aren't real.”
Gail smiled and then said, “It’s about time you saved the world.” She kissed her husband and left the room. Frank shook his head again. He still couldn't get past the extreme measures being taken against them or the fact that Chris was leading the way.
Chris and Frank sat in silence for another minute verging on awkward. Then Chris said, “You have to pick me up tomorrow, by the way.”
“Oh do I? Thanks for reminding me of the obvious, ass,” said Frank.
Chris chuckled to himself. “I have to say it – no matter how obvious – but I need to get home to get some lovin’.”
“Get the hell out of here.” Frank stood and waved Chris out of the office.
“I'll have a plan tomorrow.”
“Sure, I'll think on one too.”
“Yeah, but I'll have one. I just want you to know that.”
“God, get out of my house.” Frank slapped Chris on the back as they walked down the hall. “I'll drop Gerry off in the morning too, but you better say goodbye now.”
Chris gave another long hug to his son before heading out the door. The van across the street still sat, as obvious as ever, watching every step they made. At least they're afraid thought Chris. That's something.
He started up the car and made the usual route back home. After about ten minutes of listlessly driving, Chris took notice of the same headlights behind him. The whole time, there had never been a break from their glare in his rearview mirror. He realized the watching lights stayed with him since he left Frank's.
Should he floor it and turn it into a chase? No, get out of your imagination he told himself. They know where you live and you're not going anywhere else tonight. Chris continued on driving, but in a much more languid manner. The least he could do was make it boring for them.
As soon as Chris made the slow turn down his street, his pursuer took off in an irritated rumble. An identical van to the one in front of Frank's was across the stre
et from Chris's house. He didn't remember seeing it there when he left, but it made Chris laugh at how they couldn't or didn't bother to make the two vans look any different from one another.
Chris gave the van a casual glance once he parked and then went inside.
“I guess you don't want any of this,” said Sadie from the couch. She didn't look up from her iPad but opened her eyes as wide as they could to take in Chris's reaction.
Chris just smiled at the familiarity and walked over. He leaned in to kiss his 'still not looking at you' wife. She allowed one and then waved her hand to shoo him away. Chris sat beside her instead.
“How were the kids?” asked Sadie.
“They missed me. I missed them. We talked a little. I only talked to Frank for a little bit too. I swear.”
“Uh-huh.”
“So you ready to do it or what?”
“I think you're a little too late for that mister. It's getting past my bedtime and I don’t see any ice cream in your hands.”
“Yeah, you're right. Plus we're being watched. I’m totally cool with being filmed naked. They can laugh all they want but I wasn’t sure how you felt.”
“What are you talking about? I already told you, you’re being paranoid. Just cause the internet and TV are out doesn't mean we're being watched.”
“What are you doing on the iPad?”
Sadie threw the screen in his face. “Look at how small they were.” Old family pictures. Chris swiped through a couple of them.
“Yeah. So, are you down with getting down while being taped?”
“Ha, ha, so funny. You’re ridiculous.”
“If you don’t trust me, look out the window. It's twin is outside Frank's house. I don't remember if there was one watching Louise at her friend's, but they also had someone follow me back here.”
Sadie thought on it while still moving through the pictures. Finally she looked up at Chris and squinted her eyes to better evaluate the situation. “I still don’t trust you. Maybe you're just trying to trick me into thinking that so I will prove you wrong by having sex with you. Is that what your plan is? Huh!?”
Chris laughed out loud. It was silly. All of this cheap espionage that Erik put around them was silly. Sadie went back to the iPad and swiped over to a video. She pressed play and tilted the screen so Chris could see too. It was Gerry and Chris sitting on the floor playing with action figures. They didn’t know Sadie was filming them and were fully invested in the play time. Gerry had a Hulk figure in his hand and in his deepest voice for a five-year-old kept repeating ‘Hulk smash’ while Chris held a Captain America and made fighting sound effects. The camera tilted up to show Louise in the room too. She was reading on Gerry’s bed, but took a break every few seconds to watch the action on the floor. After a few more minutes of the greatest superhero war ever, Sadie’s voice narrated ‘So adorable.’ Everyone looked up at the unexpected voyeur. Chris switched into his most patriotic Captain America voice, ‘Look a camera. We’ve been tricked by Doctor Doom into fighting a war for a new reality show. We must put an end to this charade once and for all. Avengers assemble!’ Gerry and Chris then leapt at Sadie and the camera with their mighty superheroes leading the charge.
The video ended. Chris couldn't help but comment. “I totally won that war.”
“You guys were so cute,” said Sadie. “I mean Gerry and Louise were so cute.”
“Wow, superhero reality show. I should've seen all of this coming.”
“Yeah Mr. Smarty Pants. It doesn't matter if you saw it coming or not; it's here.” Sadie continued to swipe through the years of their recorded family history while Chris leaned over her shoulder watching and thinking.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A horn honked and echoed against Chris's house at seven sharp. Then a moment later the door opened. The horn combined with the creaking door jolted Chris’s heart. He jumped out of bed, grabbed the baseball bat from the corner, and rushed down the hall.
It was only Gerry half-awake shuffling towards his room. Holy shit, Chris thought then said, “Morning son.”
Gerry put his hand up in greeting and went straight to his room to crash in his bed to make up for what little sleep he always managed to get when spending the night at Simone's.
Chris settled himself down, but Frank decided another blast from his truck's horn was due at that same moment and this truly shook the webs of sleep out of Chris’s head. He moved quickly back to his bedroom where Sadie had pulled the other pillow on top of her head to drown out the noise. Chris grabbed his phone and typed as fast as he could 'I'm coming. Shut it up.'
In five minutes Chris was dressed and out the door. The van was still across the street. He jumped in Frank's truck and they took off. As soon as Frank turned the corner a familiar car pulled out behind them to follow.
Chris pointed to the rearview mirror. “He tailed me home last night. And the van totally ruined my chances with Sadie.”
Frank laughed. “Gail and I still went nuts on each other. Who gives a shit? If they wanted to see my ass so bad let 'em. I can’t believe Erik’s such an asshole that he uses the same vans to spy on us.”
“You ready for today?”
“Sure. Let's just go in and say 'Fuck you Erik, we got all the evidence we need to blackmail your sorry ass. We quit.' Then walk out or run out depending on how pissed he gets.”
“Well you can do the talking, but I have a better plan.”
“Whatever you think might work... I don't know. We gotta bluff him or something.”
“Bluffing’s part of it but we need something more if he calls us on it. And I can’t have Gerry or other little boys running around thinking this is real. Follow my lead on this.” Chris looked at Frank for a sign of agreement. “I have to do it.”
“Fuck it. I’ll follow your lead. But it better go fast. I hate waiting for shit like this.”
They pulled into the parking lot and Frank found the first available spot towards the back. They slammed their doors and moved quickly down the black pavement.
“Oh shit, what are we going to do about your car? I forgot about the fuel pump,” said Frank.
“I’m just going to bite the bullet and get it towed.”
Frank went inside and stopped. Chris moved in front to take the lead. He walked quickly and down a hall to the lounge area.
“Why aren’t we going to Erik’s office?” asked Frank.
“We need Johnykin first. Trust me,” said Chris. He peeked his head in the room but it was empty so they moved on.
The Fun Room was next and inside Johnykin ran on a treadmill at a very normal pace. No more pretenses thought Chris. She saw them come in and smiled politely but didn’t say anything. Chris grabbed a towel and water for Johnykin and came up to the side of the treadmill. He shut it off and handed her both.
“Uh, thanks Chris, but I can tell when my workout is over on my own,” said Johnykin.
“Talk with me in the locker room. Frank’s coming too,” said Chris.
“What?!” said Johnykin. She toweled off and took a drink.
“Now. Please,” said Chris.
Johnykin frowned and looked at Frank for answers. He gave her a blank face. She knew somewhat where this was going, but wanted to hear it first before committing.
“You know why,” said Chris. He gently grabbed her hand and headed for the women’s locker room. Frank was a step behind.
Inside the locker room, Johnykin let go of Chris’s hand and bobbed on her feet while smiling deviously to hide her nervousness. “This better not be a fantasy of yours we’re playing out.”
“Who has access to the video of the Supers?” asked Chris. “The unedited versions.”
“Why?” Johnykin waited for an answer but Chris waited for his and won out. “Umm, Art maybe. He does the special effects. Or Alex, he’s the editor. He puts it on the internet and everything.”
“Okay. Frank you’ll come with me. We’ll check with Alex first. I doubt Art has what we need. Johnykin,
go to Walt and get the Super suits.”
“Stop Chris! I’m not going to do anything if you don’t tell me why. Even then I don’t know if I’ll go along with it.”
“We’re quitting.”
“You’re quitting?” Johnykin pushed out a loud short laugh. “You just assume I’ll come along with you. I told you Erik will practically kill us – or really kill us. I don’t know.”
“I have a plan. We build up this evidence and threaten to leak it, but we need to do this now before he figures it out and destroys it or just makes it impossible for us to obtain. I can’t leave you here either. I’m not going to kick your ass like I did Frank’s, but I can’t leave you behind.”
Johnykin looked up and away from Chris and swiped the bottom of her eye before replying. “How is this a threat? Who are you going to leak this to that will believe or just go along with it? This isn’t a plan; it’s a stupid reaction that’s only going to end in more trouble for us.”
Johnykin’s words echoed in the locker room and in Chris’s head. But it didn’t have much time to stick. A clattering of equipment coming from the Fun Room put them on alert. Then a sardonically loud and deep voice called out, “Johnykin! Chris, Frank!” It was Erik.
“Hang out here. I'll get rid of him. He probably knows you're here, but at least I can give you time to sneak off and talk to Alex,” said Johnykin. She pushed through the door while holding up the towel to give off a casual impression.
Chris and Frank slunk near the door to eaves drop.
“Hey Super J,” said Erik. His obnoxious tone drifted clearly through the door. He was putting on a show whether he knew Chris and Frank were there or not.
“What do you want Erik?” asked Johnykin. “I need to see Carmen and then shower off.”
“Why not shower first? What do you need to talk to her about?”
“Girl stuff. You know...”
“I don’t know. Tell me.” The corners of Erik’s mouth curled up in a similarly devious smile as Johnykin’s had in the locker room but with a horrible creepiness behind it.
Johnykin pushed Erik aside. He looked towards the locker room, but shifted quickly to follow her. She walked as fast as she could to force Erik’s short legs into a small jog to keep up. His normally smooth speech stuttered under the exercise Johnykin forced with her stride, but it didn’t stop Erik from berating her with questions.
Just Another Job Page 21