by Nye, Laine
“All his friends were challenging me to come back and fight one of them, but I kept going. I knew I had won! I found out that a few years later, this creep joined the North Ogden Police force. I could not even imagine someone with his mentality being a cop. I'm sure he's a bad cop.”
“Geez Dad! What was his name?” Brad asked, impressed.
“Sherman Greene. I'll never forget that name. He had a major impact on me.”
Brad smiled. “It sounds like you had one on him too.”
Steve chuckled. “You're probably right. But I wish none of it had ever happened.”
“It's hard to believe anyone ever pushed you around Dad. I mean, here you are an intelligence officer and all. You became something he'll never be.”
“Thanks Son. But it did happen. What I want you to understand Brad, is that I felt guilty for a long time for hitting him so hard. I didn't know how seriously I had injured him. He sure went down like a limp rag. Anytime someone's knocked out by a blow to the head, it can be serious. It took me a long time for it to stop bothering me. I finally came to the conclusion that I had no way out except to do what I did, and he deserved it. He was determined that I would not get a chance to walk away from him without a fight.
“I don't feel guilty anymore, and I don't want you to feel guilty anymore either. These kinds of situations are usually unavoidable. So, let it go Brad.”
Brad nodded, “Okay Dad, I'll try.”
“That's good Son, we'll talk some more another time. By the way, your mom and I have decided to leave Florida. We're going back to our house in Utah. You'll be with your friends again.”
“What! Are you serious? That's really good news Pop. Can we leave tonight?”
His father nodded and smiled as he assured him it would be very soon. Brad did feel better after the talk and especially the good news about moving but he was feeling very reluctant to ever use his ability after the harm it had caused. When Brad saw Albert's tragic life and how kind he still was, Brad knew that this wasn't the kind of outcome Albert meant to happen. He just didn't want Brad to spend the early part of his life being a victim.
Brad had always felt deep respect for his father. Knowing his dad was a trained agent for the clandestine services for the government was very impressive to Brad. His information about his father's overseas assignments was very limited. His father could not tell him about much of it. It was all secret. But the little he did know caused him to swell with pride. My dad is a secret agent. He had always told himself.
He remembered just one time that a young recruit was invited to their home for some dinner and after dinner discussion. Steve had taken the young recruit out to their backyard to show him some defensive techniques that Steve felt was imperative if the young recruit was going to be in close-up personal danger. Steve wanted to make sure that the young agent would have sufficient practice so that his training would be second nature to him. Brad didn't remember everything that his father had taught the guy, but he remembered certain things.
“James, I know that you are receiving first rate training before you go out in the field. There are just a few things that I want to re-emphasize. It will protect you as it did me.” Steve had told the agent. “Maybe they haven't shown you this yet.”
Steve had brought an unloaded revolver out with them and handed it to James. He told James to point it at him. “If you are within arm's reach of a bad guy but he has the jump on you with a gun like this one, you can stop it from firing when he pulls the trigger.” Steve explained.
“Go ahead and aim at me and pull the trigger.”
As soon as James pointed the revolver at Steve, Steve grabbed the gun wrapping his hand around the cylinder and tightening his grip.
“Pull the trigger James.”
“I can't. The cylinder can't turn so the gun won't cock.”
“That's right James. Now I use my training to take the gun from your hand before you ever get a chance to use it on me. Or I shoot you with my gun while still holding yours.”
“Okay,” James said. But what if the gun is already cocked. The cylinder will not have to turn to fire the gun.”
“That's right. So, then the grip on the gun has to be a little different. You have to put the space between your thumb and finger down into the area where the hammer should strike the bullet. The hammer will hit the web, so to speak, of your thumb and finger and the gun will not fire.”
“That would hurt like a bugger.” James said. “You would have a painful injury.”
“Yes, you would. But it would be a lot less painful or debilitating than getting shot.” Steve assured him. “You would not be injured enough to stop you from finishing off the guy.”
“Most bad guys today are using semi-autos. What can you do about that?” James asked.
“That becomes a little trickier. You might end up taking a bullet. But just one. Then you will have to shoot or disable your opponent immediately or you will be in deep trouble. Unless, of course the wound is fatal, then your troubles are over. But with your hand on the gun you should be able to deflect where the gun is pointing enough to avoid a fatal injury before the trigger is pulled. Likely you will be able to cause the bullet to miss you entirely”
“Okay. Show me how.”
Steve had brought a semi-auto .45 caliber gun in a shoulder holster he was wearing. That gun had also been unloaded. He handed it to James and said, “Okay. Just like before. James took the offered weapon and pointed it at Steve. Steve grabbed the gun placing his hand over the ejection hole.
“If you fire the gun now, the spent shell casing will try to be ejected from the gun but with your hand over the ejection port, the shell will jam and the next bullet cannot be rammed into position to continue to fire. You have disabled the gun until the person gets a chance to dig the shell out of the ejection port so that the gun can reload.”
“And he would never have enough time to do that during a confrontation.” James observed.
“Exactly. Now when you grab the gun you not only have to make sure your hand is over the ejection port but at the same moment, you have to jerk the gun sideways as far as you can before he pulls the trigger. You might take a shot to your side or your arm. But not your heart or lungs. If you are quick enough, the gun will be pointed away from you all the way and the round goes somewhere else instead of through you.”
“Can we practice this a few times?” James asked. You hold the guns and I disable them?”
“Sure, but don't expect me to pull the trigger on the revolver when it is cocked while we're practicing. I don't want to injure your hand.”
“No. I'll pass on that one.”
They spent several more minutes going over the techniques repeatedly until James was proficient at it. All the while Brad was watching intently. The defensive maneuvers made a deep impression on him and he was even more in awe of his dad and the unique skill set he possessed. It was that respect for his father that had kept Brad from rebelling against his parents. He looked up to his dad too much to disappoint him.
His parents saw some improvement in Brad, but they remained concerned. They were going to get him out of Florida as soon as they could. With the arrangements made, they began to set in motion the process of leaving Florida. Brad eagerly helped. He was looking forward to seeing his old friends and home.
The Thursday before moving day an incident would take place that would change Brad and his mom in a significant way.
Kate Shaw signed Brad out of school on Wednesday so that he could stay home and help his mom pack for the next three days before the move. They filled and moved boxes that were fairly heavy. Brad could have used his ability to make all of the boxes feather light, but he still felt ill at ease about using his ability at all. His caution came from not knowing his limitations. He thought about the amount of G-force he would have had to use to pull out of the clutches of the tornado and how, instinctively, he had lightened up the G-force that he had put into the building before he struck it. If he had
'fallen' into the building with as much force as he used at first to break away from the tornado, it would have seriously injured him. It seemed that his instinct had protected him. But what if it hadn't?
After many hours of hard work, Brad's mom said, “I just got off the phone with your dad. He'll be working late to put finishing touches on his last project before we leave. How would you like to take one last walk on the beach with me tonight? We only have about one hour before they close Sand Key Park. I'd like to go there.”
“Sure. Let's go,” Brad replied.
Ever since Kate had her cast removed after her broken ankle healed, she had been trying to strengthen her ankle. Her efforts had turned into a full-blown exercise regimen that included walks on the beach. The deep sand was much harder to walk on than the sidewalk so she used that to strengthen and tone her legs. Brad had been with her on a few of those walks.
A few minutes later, they were in the beach parking lot and were walking out to meet the incoming surf. They walked silently for a time, and then Kate asked her son, “Are you happy about moving back to Utah?”
“Yes, I am!” He said emphatically.
Kate smiled and said, “We thought so. We hope it will help you feel better about everything that happened at school. We've been worried about you Brad.”
“I know Mom, but I'll be alright.”
They enjoyed pleasant conversation as the sun set. They laughed and joked. Kate was seeing some of the old Brad returning. It was getting dark, and they knew it was time to head back to the car. Soon the park ranger would come to remove stragglers from the park and lock the gate.
They walked off the beach, turned back towards the parking lot, walked up the boardwalk which led to a sidewalk. Passing a small building that contained showers and restrooms. They turned toward the car, which was about 150 feet away, they heard someone in an agitated voice yelling.
“Hey lady! Get back over here, and give us the keys to your car!”
Looking behind them, they saw three rapidly approaching men dressed in dark clothing, bare chests, with chains and piercings everywhere. To her relief, Kate then saw the park ranger's gas-powered golf cart rolling towards them. But then, with a shock, she realized no one was in the cart. The cart turned in a lazy circle without a driver. Across the way, Kate could see the Park Ranger lying in a heap on the grass.
“I'm talking to you, lady! Stop!” Came the hostile voice from behind.
“Let's go Brad! Run!” she said tersely.
The car was still about one hundred feet away and Brad could hear the footsteps pounding just behind them. He turned and looked back once again. They were gaining on them. It was going to be close.
“Don't look Brad. Just run!” His mom sobbed as she pulled the car keys from her pocket and hit the remote unlock button. Then the unthinkable happened! She dropped the keys! She stopped abruptly, turned and ran back about eight feet for the keys. Bending down, she swept them off the ground and started running again. Brad slowed so that his mom could catch up to him.
“Don't slow down Brad. Run!”
Brad knew they would not make it. Not with the lost time due to the keys falling. Actually, he was much faster than his mom and could make it to the car before the bad guys caught him but he would not leave her behind. Then, it happened almost without thought. He took the gravity out from under the pursuers while his spine tingled! The momentum of their running when they became weightless caused them to fly upwards. They were rolling through the air uncontrollably. Ten feet up. Fifteen. Twenty feet into the air, then Brad released them. He restored the gravity under them, and they fell heavily, tumbling back to the pavement and sliding with bare skin on rough asphalt. Chains and piercings were ripped loose. All three screamed in pain.
Brad was grateful that his mom had seen none of this. She looked back when they screamed, and saw them spilled all over the pavement as she arrived at the driver's side of the car.
“See what happens when you mess with us?” Brad yelled at them. “You don't ever want to mess with us!”
Brad dove into the passenger side of the car, and his mom asked him, “What happened to them?”
He answered her as she started the car. “I guess they tripped and fell over each other,” he responded.
As if to look at them, he turned his head so his mom could not see his face. He was laughing and didn't want her to know. The way that the three would be assaulters had spun in the air with arms and legs grabbing at the air and thrashing wildly had struck him as looking like a cartoon. Skidding to a stop when they landed on the pavement had reminded him of bowling pins tumbling down but the pins made much less noise. Kate backed the car up quickly and sped out of the parking lot. She would have called the police immediately but she had left her cell phone home. Kate was still trembling as they drove out to the road toward their condominium.
“Did you see them smeared all over the blacktop back there?” Brad asked. He could not contain his laughter any longer.
Kate looked at him shocked. “Why are you laughing? That was serious!” She told him.
“It was until they fell, huh Mom? Then it just got funny.” He laughed even harder. “I heard that somewhere. It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. Then it's hilarious.” He laughed harder than ever.
His laugh was infectious. She looked at him then she laughed. They laughed all the way home. It helped to relieve their tension quickly.
When they got back to the condo, she found her cell on the kitchen counter and quickly dialed 911 to let them know what had happened and inform them that the park ranger was injured and on the ground.
It wasn't long before they heard the sirens of the police, paramedics, and ambulance rushing to the park. An hour later the police knocked on their door to interview them. At the conclusion of the interview, the police informed them that all three of the perpetrators were being treated at the hospital and then would be taken to jail. They all had cuts and abrasions and what Brad liked to call, skid marks from the pavement. In addition, one had a broken leg, another had two broken arms.
“Those guys looked like they fell off a three-story building.”
One of the officers told them. “Did either of you make physical contact with them? Does one of you know martial arts?”
Better than martial arts. Brad thought. This thing has protected me three times now better than any karate or kung Fu!
“No, we didn't touch them.” Kate assured them. “It seems they just stumbled and fell all over each other.”
“Their injuries seem to be worse than a normal trip and fall, said the officer.
Yeah, first they had to jump in the air about twenty feet! Brad thought to himself. He started laughing again.
“What is it you find funny about this young man?” The officer asked.
Kate intervened. “Officer, one minute they were about to jump us, the next they were tumbling across the ground. My son is laughing because he is relieved they got hurt instead of us.”
“Well, you two might want to know that the park ranger has a concussion from a blow to the head. Apparently one of them had a gun they hit him with. We recovered it at the scene.”
That sobered Brad up fast. A gun? He had no idea. They were in even more danger than he knew.
“You'll be called as witnesses in court in a few months, I'm sure,” said the officer.
“We're leaving Florida in two days. We won't be able to testify.”
Kate informed them.
“You don't want to see them punished for this?” She was asked.
“I think they were punished pretty good tonight officer. Besides, you still have the park ranger.” Kate responded.
The police had been gone for about twenty minutes when Steve came through the door.
“Boy, do we have a story to tell you!” His wife said...
Chapter Six
All of these memories coursed through Brad's mind while he was still hovering in a prone position as if lying on a bed. The la
wn mower had drifted over a little too close to Brad, so he gave it a small nudge to move it away. He didn't want to push it too far, or it would leave the null gravity field he was in and crash to the ground. He did not want to break the relaxed mood he was in. It felt so good to be back in North Ogden. In a couple more days, he would be returning to school where he used to go before they moved to Florida.
His memories didn’t come back to him in chronological order, but he did remember every event that was associated with his meeting Albert Belasco in Huntsville three years ago. That was when everything changed for him. He had known that since that first night he had floated up to his ceiling. He was still musing over whether or not he should tell his parents any of the incredible stories he had been living. Maybe.
It was an unusually warm spring this year. Usually in April, he would not be laying in the grass. Not in Utah. He'd started out lying on the lawn, and as he grew more relaxed, he had lifted off the ground. He'd been out there for quite some time now. The last thoughts he had before he drifted off to sleep were that he would have to get a Utah driver's license now that they had moved. He hadn't had his first license for more than two months and already a change in store for him. He was also thinking of the new cell phone his mom had bought him when they arrived in Utah. He had never had his own before. Then he slept.
Brad's father, Steve, was becoming increasingly more curious as to where his son was, so he finally got up and looked through the house for him. Not finding him, he looked out front, then went to the back door and stepped outside. He looked across the lawn and didn't see him, but then he noticed some object was about thirty feet in the air half way across the yard. He strained to see in the darkness. No. There were two objects in the air. He slowly walked forward looking up at the spot where the two objects were. Then he recognized that one of them was a lawn mower and the other a person. His mouth came open in surprise. His reaction was minimalized by his training in the DIA where he learned to react to nothing until he knew all the facts, unless he was in danger. He quietly walked forward still staring up intently. It looked like Brad up there! But how could that be?