Hometown Kelly and the Gizmo Team

by Sharon L Reddy

  "Uh, I followed that. I don't follow what you're doing right now."

  "I'm getting ready to take out a big chunk of this side of the van and put in a huge oval mirror."

  "Mirror?!"

  "Mm, hm. See, I know just how good Hulk is as an artist and how fast he did this. That wrought iron is going to become vegetation around a view of a lake. Our mirror came out of the front door of the Carmody place."

  "The window that blinded everyone turning the corner for about three hours on a sunny day."

  "June yelled for help when Alan almost hit Greg with the car. It was a great idea until the tree in the front yard died. It is also a very sturdy piece of glass with a lot more features than just being a mirror one way and window the other. It would take more than a rock to damage it. Going through the windshield would be easier and I plan on doing something about it and the side windows. I'm putting electronic locks on the doors and designing ID bracelets that people won't know are keys."

  "That's a patent in the works."

  "No. There are some things that I'm going to do to this van only the four of us will know about. There are some things only I will know about. I'm going to make this thing as safe a shelter as possible. Amunson won't be able to keep the fact Kelly is recovering and 'seeing the world' quiet much longer. At that point, people will begin to look for him. Most will just be looking because it's a story with a happy ending and we all like them. Some will be looking for much less pleasant reasons and an opportunity. I need Fowler and Alexis."

  "Those two kids do not keep what they do quiet, Gizmo. They drive their parents crazy talking about the tricks they teach their computers."

  "None of those 'tricks' are for the purpose of keeping someone safe and tricks are all they talk about. I need programming skill I don't have to go with the very sophisticated computer-operated system I'm building into the van. They have a computer to play games and such. This one will just operate the van systems and weapons."

  "What?!"

  "Kelly owns Holland Corporation, Leonard. That makes him a target for crazies who have everything from kidnapping for money to changing a government somewhere in mind. The good news is, all of those crazies want him alive. I'm going to build this to make it as difficult as possible for them to get him, then put in as much as I can to help Hulk get him back if someone manages it anyway."

  "You're more scared for Hulk than Kelly."

  "I'm thinking of a suit of armor and a helmet for him to wear full time, but I can't figure out how to make them invisible. I can make the armor in this van invisible. It's got the frame to handle the weight and the power plant to move it fast already. Hmm... "

  "Hmm?"

  "I don't really want to keep them here as long as it would take, but... "

  "As long as what would take?"

  "Putting an entirely new body on it. It doesn't make sense not to, Leonard. Just adding an inner lining will stop a high caliber bullet, but I want something that will stand up to anything less than an armor-piercing shell."

  "You really do expect them to need it."

  "Leonard, what is Hulk?"

  "Too many things to list and some there aren't names for. What specifically do you mean?"

  "He's a hero. Kelly may be more so. They are going to get in trouble. Sooner or later, they're going to see something, yell, 'Wrong!' and wade in."

  "Your childhood penchant for super-hero comic books is showing."

  "Always liked Ironman and wanted to build the Batmobile. I need things I can't get. I'm going to try to get hold of Walter Amunson, Leonard. He can get them for me, I think."

  Walter Amunson checked with Dr. Hoskins and got to work. She said, if "Gizmo" wanted something, it was for Keller's safety and she knew exactly what she was doing. By the time he'd made three calls, he was sure of it. Some of the materials she wanted were still in the testing stages. She'd promised "a couple ideas" to offset the dent he was probably going to put in the budget. He decided the "dent" should be in Calvert-Gorshin Scientific's R and D budget. Dr. Falaskis stopped yelling when he gave him the list of materials Gizmo wanted and asked him if he didn't want the "couple ideas" she planned to trade. Four hours later, six panels of a material that 'couldn't' be purchased were on the way from the west coast by jet. Three items were headed west in a military aircraft. The Air Force was interested in the "couple ideas." They knew who Gizmo was too.

  Jim groaned and helped Gizmo take the body off the van. She'd told him she was building one out of "safer" materials and grinned. He groaned again when she told him they'd be lengthening the frame, but got to work. She gave him a pat and told him the engine and transmission he'd rebuilt were why the van was just getting a new body. He wondered why it made him feel better. When she showed him the design for the body, he grinned and told her to show it to Kelly, then laughed when she headed for the house with it immediately.

  The van wasn't done in four days, but Leonard was needed at his wildlife center. Kelly had enjoyed his company immensely, but he was more than delighted to be put in the seat that was going in the van, to watch what was being done in the workshop. He was also delighted with Fowler and Alexis. Gizmo had told them they could explain everything they did to him, but only him. They explained so well that Kelly actually understood what the van was becoming. Jim had figured it out when it took a surgical laser, borrowed from the county hospital, to cut the thin, flexible, panels and 'windows' for the body of the van.

  The day they finished building the van body, Sonata called with bad news. The only nurse Jim hadn't liked was 'writing a book' about Keller's "struggle" and her part in the beginning of his recovery. Sonata read Kelly the statement she was about to release to the press. He nodded and Jim yelled "Shit!" and ran for the spa with him.

  The nod had been a bit much, but it was only the second time he'd had to do it since they'd implanted what Gizmo had built. Kelly grinned when he stopped grimacing. He was going to be ready for "steak that isn't a puddle" very soon. He was working on learning to chew. That had been what sent them to the spa the last time. He was sure being able to open and close his mouth was worth the cramps. He was sure being able to nod yes was worth it this time. Jim told him he was not sure he agreed. Kelly just grinned. It no longer surprised him Jim knew what he was thinking.

  Sonata took a deep breath and called Bitsy's father. An hour and twenty minutes later, she was in the city park, surrounded by equipment and students from the audio-visual classes at the Community College, sixteen miles away. They were excited and a bit nervous. They looked it. Sonata didn't. She got her 'cue' and read the statement.

  "I'm Sonata Rojinsky, Keller Nathan Holland the Fourth's personal attorney. He has asked this statement be read. For fourteen years, no one realized Mr. Holland was aware of his surroundings. Over a three-year period, one of the men employed as an aide in Mr. Holland's care began to suspect he was not only aware, but recovering. Ten days ago, Mr. Holland began to improve very rapidly, under the personal care of that highly-trained aide. Ms. Jostrin, who proposes to write a book about Mr. Holland's recovery, was a nurse for a very short period of time and did not give any indication she believed Mr. Holland was aware during her employment. He will not attempt to prevent her writing her proposed book. He likes works of fiction with happy endings. Walter Amunson, CEO of Holland Corporation for the last eight years and, as such, executor of the Holland estate, has moved very quickly to aid Mr. Holland and the skilled young man who was sure he was aware. Mr. Holland is expected to decide skiing looks like it would be fun to try in a few months. He's sure running Holland Corporation would not be. He is extremely pleased with the solution Walter Amunson and Martin Fuller found for the people affected by the Frazier acquisition. This statement is to register his full support for their continued efforts to make Holland Corporation a leader, in both consideration of the impact of corporate policy on people's lives and in care for the environment. He says, 'Well done, Gentlemen.' There is no medical explanation for miracle recoveries.
There is also no way to trace the course of Mr. Holland's recovery because it wasn't known he was recovering. He is not available for 'poking, prodding, testing, or questioning.' He's seen too many hospitals. He and the young man, who traded the job of aide for that of best friend, are about to start on a trip to 'see America.' Have a good time, boys."

  "Cut! No wonder Mr. Hoskins didn't say what this was about. Sonata, you look incredible on camera."

  "Thank you, Barry. In this day and age, that's almost as much a prerequisite in areas of my profession as yours. I'm very glad my debut as a television personality was here with you guys. I figured you'd get us all shaking in synch and nobody else would see it."

  "I think you need to talk to somebody who doesn't talk to anybody. JODY! He's from here and has been not talking for days."

  "Yeah, Barry?"

  "She needs to talk, I think."

  "Nah, but she needs to not talk with somebody who has an idea what she's not talking about."

  "You do?"

  "My little brother's name is Fowler."

  "Let's not-talk over there."

  "Fowler wasn't sleeping well and Mom asked me to find out why. I swore an oath of secrecy before he told me, then did something about what was keeping him awake. I called Gizmo. She built him a physical solution to his programming problem and Mom quit worrying about him. What's worrying you?"

  "Oh, kidnappers, ambitious business people, medical researchers who are sure individual rights are of secondary importance... "

  "And you carefully didn't say who the aide was or where we were taping. Sonata, don't worry about this town or them. We can take care of us and Gizmo is making sure Hulk can take care of them."

  "Why is he referred to by his name at times and 'Hulk' others?"

  "Jim's a nice guy. Hulk is impossible. Bitsy's a nice lady. Gizmo is impossible. Fowler and Alexis are called 'Nerds Incorporated' by their friends. They're Nerdo and Nerdette, individually."

  "Oh, that's terrible!"

  "They worked to find something that would make them wince and are watching to see if they beat the record of getting winces for four years, set by Gizmo's friends. Hulk's been Hulk since before he started school."

  "Leonard?"

  "Makes sense that's who dubbed him. Anyone else would have bragged. The first time I saw them, Hulk was running with Leonard on his back and laughing. I was almost five. They were thirteen or fourteen. We'd just moved back to my dad's home town. I told my mother I'd just seen the prince and the dwarf from the story she'd been reading me. Two days later she apologized for not believing me. The librarian had explained who I'd seen. I never did find out how the librarian got involved. It tore this whole town up when Hulk went away. He came back to see his folks pretty often, but he came and went without us seeing him. He came to say good-by, but he didn't come to their funerals. He needed that long to get over what he'd done to all of us. We never doubted it was the right decision."

  "I thought I knew what a small town was like. This is... a lot closer community than I thought."

  "Probably a lot more liberal than most, as well. Some of our grandparents were responsible for attracting an enclave of hippies that became the core of the school board by the time I started. This town isn't shrinking, but it has always grown slowly. The county population is down a bit. Hulk was a hero. Jim was the guy who was pointed out as the role model for us all. He told Leonard and Bitsy it was going to take him about fifteen years to begin to become a doctor on his own and left. We all know Brad slugged him. We all know Mersia took advantage of a situation and Heather planned one. We never stopped loving him."

  "He didn't change. Why would you? But you were all real pissed."

  "I'd have taken a swing at him. I was twelve. My grandmother would have and she was sixty-nine. She was taking karate at the college at the time."

  "You're eighteen?"

  "Yes."

  "Go talk to Kelly. He's never met anyone his own age. He's discovering everything about himself. Jim is incredible, but he can only remember eighteen."

  "He's also Hulk and his adolescence was not typical. That's typical of impossible people."

  "Kelly is going to be a father."

  "Oh, shit. Gizmo."

  "I'm sure it's not intended as a secret."

  "Hell, no. It's notification to man the defenses. So was this thing. That's why you're here. Barry! I am done for the day. It doesn't need editing. My car's here, gas isn't cheap, nothing is going to disappear from it and I'll be in at six anyway."

  "We'll lock it when it's full. Make sure you've got your keys."

  "Keys. Please leave me room to shift into fourth."

  "Ha! Better leave home early. See you at six."

  "I'm obviously being escorted somewhere."

  "To meet my grandmother. She's conducting a yoga class for senior citizens in the lobby of the bank. My father's name of record is Universal Harmony. He had it changed to Harmon. She was a beatnik before she was a hippie. Now she's a Gray Panther, but she's never met anyone who was one, so she never actually joined. She's sort of head of the joint chiefs of staff. I have dreams of working with Gizmo."

  "Do tell."

  "I like optics. They're fun."

  "I'd work on that, but I don't think I really want to. This community has an inordinate amount of genius, Jody."

  "Gizmo's dad bought the radio station and moved here. My dad brought us back. You moved in with our elementary science teacher and his computer. Taxes are high here. Property values are high."

  "Your schools attract those who can afford to live here and you had a rather nice influx of intelligentsia about forty years ago."

  "It was ongoing. Grandmother was always ahead of her time. She was born here. My grandmother is Andrea Stanley. The Stanley farm was a self-discovery commune from nineteen fifty-two to nineteen seventy. At that point, other people started opening them and Grandmother built thirty condos and turned the house into a museum. It was a very successful commune and the reason we have a nice income from flowers. Those were corn fields at one time."

  "They were also fallow often. This area received a lot of 'we'll pay you not to plant it' crop price support."

  "You saw the airport. It's very busy one hour a day. Flowers are moved fast. We ship to six city flower markets daily."

  "I'm sorry. I want to go back to optics and community college in audio-visual editing."

  "It's traditional. Optics are a very large subject. I don't know which part of it interests me most because I don't know enough about some parts of it to decide. I'm learning about the parts I know least about close to home and with a lot fewer people trying to use equipment."

  "Oh, she's terrific! Go visit Kelly. I'll introduce myself."

  "Tell her why I borrowed her car when you do."

  Jody grinned and winked at Jack Collins, the bank manager. Sonata had whipped off the beautiful long skirt and tailored jacket and was seated in the floor among his grandmother's elderly students, dressed as they were. The jade green leotard and dark green tights did not look the same on her.

  Jack nodded and grinned back. He knew exactly who she was. He was working on the deal for the Mearson farm. He was delighted to be audience to her meeting with Andrea Stanley. He quietly called Brad and told him he had banking to do. He should see it too. He was the one who had brought her home.

  Chapter Six

  Jim was pretty surprised when he walked in the house and somebody was doing something to Kelly. Since Leonard was sitting right beside the fellow, he didn't yell.

  "Hello?"

  "Hi, Hulk. I was even shorter last time you saw me. Jody Stanley. I'm testing his eyes and ears. He tells me when he sees a dot or hears something with a tap on my leg. I agree on other kinds of tests, but this is just to make sure he sees and hears all the things you're going to show him clearly. His eye muscles are weak. Focusing is not currently easy to do. He's working on it though. Incredible peripheral vision. Don't rush down the highway. Take back roads an
d drive about thirty a lot of the time. His eye muscles will work to focus if it's not just a blur. It won't take long for you to strengthen them, Kelly. I've got nice pictures of healthy eyes and your hearing is exceptional. We both know that's because it's extremely well-trained. Wear earplugs if you go to concerts. The volume level will cross your eyes. You know, so loud you go like this."

  "Sonata sent him, Jim. He's the same age as Kelly. I think he invented the equipment he's using."

  "I wish. I just put several things together to make it portable. Fowler and Alexis programmed the computer to overcome a lot of the limitations caused by the several things I didn't include. I can't do a glaucoma test, but optical sensors don't get that often and Kelly said he had one of those recently anyway."

  "That's a device to test optical sensors?"

  "It's a device to test sensors period, but human optical is why it about takes a steamer trunk to carry it. I'm going to make you something. I'll need Gizmo to build some of it and Nerds Incorporated to program some of it."

  "Andrea decided his grandfather was the physics professor with the bongos, three years ago."

  "I heard, Leonard. Dad told me she gave up trying to remember his name after awhile."

  "My dad was never worried she'd come up with one. Sonata has figured out our town is rather different. I gave her a brief synopsis of recent history. Kelly gets more in depth and from a different viewpoint. I'm starting with girls our age to dodge and not to dodge as fast. I know exactly who's husband-hunting and how to tell."

  "At eighteen?"

  "I'm currently a prime candidate for the sixteen to twenty-four-year-old group. You dodged it. He won't. Gizmo made sure of it."

  "Word is out."

  "The yell to man the defenses is out. I edited a statement to be released. I said it didn't need any and took Sonata to meet Grandmother. Right after she dropped Daddy Kelly on me. Been to see Heather and Mersia?"

  "No."

  "Take Kelly to meet your girls, Hulk. He'll love them. Oh, tap, tap, tap of agreement on that one. What? Oh, sure I'll teach you to cross your eyes. Hulk, you leave without seeing those little girls and you'll get slugged again."