Sometimes Dreams Come True

"So; I'm not in trouble then?"

"Not at all," Andrews grinned, "But we're gonna need you to come down to the station to make a statement."

"What do you mean," I asked, "What kind of statement?"

"Everything's gonna be alright, Rick," Andrews gently reassured me, "All we want is your side of the story. We've already spoken with several witnesses and they all concur that you acted in self defense. We just want to know what this slime ball said to you...that's all."

"Oh, okay then," I replied, "I'll be down there just as soon as I can get to my truck. Will that be alright?"

"Of course," he smiled, "I'm not trying to imply anything, but for your own safety; I'm going to follow you to the precinct in my car."

"Alright," I grinned, "Let me go up to my dorm room real quick and drop off my books, and then we'll be on our way..."

~~~~~~

Once I got to the police precinct, I was led to an interrogation room and was told to wait. Of course Detective Andrews sat and waited in the interrogation room with me so as not to make me feel like some kind of criminal. We'd been there talking about nothing in particular, when the door to the room opened and two officers dressed in plain clothes entered the room. One of them was Detective Andrews' immediate supervisor, a man named Lieutenant John Sorrels, who, I might add, acted very kind, yet still very professionally toward me.

"Wait a minute, Lieutenant," Andrews asked, before the other man could identify himself, "What the hell is Internal Affairs doing here? They have no jurisdiction in this case."

"Sit down and shut up, Detective," the man angrily snarled, "I'm here by the order of the Police Commissioner so; deal with it. I'm here to personally interrogate this man, and there's nothing that either one of you can do about it."

"Are you going to bring me up on charges?" I asked, standing up, "Because if not, I've got nothing to say to you, Officer. Besides, I know exactly what you assholes with Internal Affairs do. You try to bust honest cops, and if you can't, you make shit up and lie about them...don't you?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he snapped, "You're a material witness in a murder investigation so; you'll sit down and shut up, now."

"Are you going to file charges against me, or not?" I asked, and when nobody said anything, "I told him, "If you want to speak with me, you can contact my attorney. In the mean time; I'm outta here."

"You're not going anywhere, you little punk," he growled through gritted teeth. "I say when you can leave. Do you understand me, boy?"

"Let's get something straight right now," I angrily replied, "I'm not a boy...I'm man enough to whip your butt kissing ass on my worst day. Now, I'm going to ask you one more time. Are you going to file formal charges against me, or not?"

"Not at the present time Mister Parker," Lt. Sorrels replied, "Besides, we have no evidence that indicates anything other than self defense."

"Wait a minute, Lieutenant," the Internal Affairs Officer snapped, "I'm going to interrogate this man, and I don't care what any of you say."

"No, you wait a fucking minute, Officer whatever the fuck your name is," I growled, "If I'm not under arrest than I'm leaving, whether you like it, or not, asshole," and with that said, I looked at Detective Andrews and told him, "Come by my dorm room later. I'll answer any questions you have, sir...okay?"

Grabbing me by the arm, the Internal Affairs Officer, whose name I later learned was David Fowler, nastily growled, "I'm not done with you yet...sit your ass down...NOW!"

"You take your fucking hands off of me this instant," I hatefully replied, jerking my arm free of his grasp, "Otherwise, cop, or no cop, I'll file assault charges against you; and then when you get suspended and lose your badge, I will stomp a mud hole in your stupid ass. Do you understand me?"

"You can't do that," he arrogantly laughed, "You have no witnesses."

"Oh, yes he does," Lt. Sorrels knowingly grinned at me and Detective Andrews, "As a matter of fact, there are two of us...Isn't that right, Detective?"

"That's right," he replied, "And just like Mister Parker said, when you lose your badge, Fowler, I'm going to laugh my butt off when this man beats the ever loving shit out of you so; in the mean time, I suggest you remove your hands from him and leave Mister Parker alone...got it?"

"This isn't over with," Fowler growled, glaring at me as he was leaving the interrogation room, "Your ass is mine, Parker."

"Yeah, right," I laughed, and then looking at Lt. Sorrels and Detective Andrews, I asked, "Did he, or did he not, just threaten me?"

"It sure sounded like it to me," Detective Andrews grinned, "What do you think, Lieutenant?"

"He sure as hell did, Virgil," Sorrels laughed, "You're already treading on thin ice around here, Fowler. You should leave now before the ice breaks and you get swallowed up."

"Is that right," Fowler spat, "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I'll tell you what it means," I boldly replied, "It means, and I quote, don't go away mad; just go the fuck away, asshole."

"You can't talk to me like that," Fowler announced, "I'm a Police Officer."

"No you're not," I spat, "You'll never be anything more than a snitch with a badge, plain and simple. Now get the hell outta here before I do file assault charges on your sniveling ass..."

~~~~~~

"Damn, Rick," Detective Andrews laughed, once Fowler was gone, "Don't you think you were a little hard on Fowler?"

"Fuck him," I growled, "And the horse he rode in on."

"I agree with you, kid," Lt. Sorrels chuckled, "That guy has always been an asshole, ever since he graduated from the Police Academy."

"One thing though," I mindfully said, "I think I might've opened up Pandora's Box with this guy."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Rick," Detective Andrews grinned, "Oh, and for future reference, my first name is Virgil so; feel free to call me by that if you want to."

"The same thing goes for me," Lt. Sorrels chuckled, "My first name is David, or just plain old "Dave" to my friends...and now that you lit Fowler's ass up, I consider you to be my friend, too, okay Rick?"

"Okay," I smiled, "And thanks, you guys..."

~~~~~~

THAT NIGHT

After my "encounter" with not only Bruno, but also the police, I drove to my parent's house so that I could be with my beautiful Kate, and at the same time, look in on Roger and Sandy to make sure that they were still safe.

"Hi, baby," Kate smiled, kissing me the moment I walked through the front door, "Mmm, I've really missed you."

"Hello, my love," I softly replied, returning the kiss, "Is everyone doing alright?"

"Pretty much," Kate knowingly grinned, "But I think that Mister Kazamatsu is really worried about you. He called here four times asking if anyone had heard from you."

"Is that right?" I grinned, "I guess I'd better give him a call then...God knows I don't want him to worry..."

~~~~~~

"You want to tell Kazamatsu what happen, Ricksan?" he asked.

"Of course, Sensei," I replied, as I told him about everything that had taken place, beginning back to when Frank Spicolli had first contacted me, as well as the reason why.

"Kazamatsu very happy that you no fight for money, Ricksan," he proudly smiled, "But you must remember what kind of people these men are...very dangerous."

Maybe so," I replied, "Why is it that I'm not afraid of them, Sensei? I mean, I know that I should be...but I'm not....not in the least."

"Maybe it time for you to be afraid, Ricksan," he wisely replied, "Nothing wrong with being afraid. Sometimes fear give you edge that these men no have. You understand what Kazamatsu trying to say?"

"Of course I do, Sensei," I gently told him, "But I can't find any reason to be afraid of Frank Spicolli; besides, he's a chicken shit asshole who gets others to do his dirty work, because he's nothing more than a bully, not to mention a coward."

"Kazamatsu understand everything you say," he smiled, "But sometimes it help to be a little afraid...besides, you not know what this man is capable of..."

~~~~~~

The next morning we were all sitting around the table eating breakfast and watching the morning news when we were shocked to no end when the reporter explained that Evans's Barbeque Pit had been mysteriously burned to the ground the night before."

~~~~~~

Chapter Thirteen

"Oh, no," Sandy began to cry, "Now what're we going to do, Roger?"

"Relax, baby," Roger gently told her, as he held her in his arms, "We've got great insurance and everything is gonna work out just fine...I promise."

"But we've poured our life's blood into that place," Sandy sadly told her husband, "It'll never be the same again."

"Oh yes it will, Sandy," I quietly soothed her, "I'm going to see to it personally that the men who are responsible for this pay a very dear price. Look at it this way; it could've been a whole lot worse...they could've burnt down your house instead."

"But you don't understand," she continued crying, "We don't have the twenty-five thousand dollar deductible for them to begin new construction. Roger and I had to take a second mortgage on our house just to have enough money to get it built in the first place."

"Why don't you leave the cost of the deductible to us," I smiled winking at my parents, "Isn't that right, Mom and Dad?"

"We've got more than enough money in the bank to get you back on your feet, Sandy," Dad knowingly grinned, "Won't you agree, Rick?"

"Hell yeah," I happily grinned, "And it would be a pleasure."

"No, no, no, no," Roger repeated, shaking his head, "There's no way I'll let you do that, Mark, plus I don't know when I'll be able to pay you back."

"It's not a case of letting me do anything, Roger," Dad smiled, "It's done. Besides, our families will be joined before too much longer, and it's the least I can do for the way that your precious little Kate saved my son. I'm happy to do it...please, my friend, it's Christmas."

"You're such a good man," Sandy began to cry as she hugged Dad, "Now I can see where Rick gets his beautiful heart from. Thank you, Mark and Jennifer."

"I'll do it under one condition," Roger smiled, "And that is that you become my partner, Mark, okay?"

"Jeez, Roger," Dad told him, "I don't know anything about running a restaurant."

"You need not worry about that," Roger warmly smiled, shaking hands with Dad, "You can be my silent partner, my friend."

"He's right; Dad," I happily grinned, "And I can go in and help out, too."

"Oh, no you don't, hot-shot," Roger chuckled, pulling me into his arms and hugging me, "I want you and Katie to finish college."

"Oh, be quiet, Daddy," Kate lovingly smiled, hugging her father and me, "Rick loves you and Mom just as much as I do, and we're going to do it whether you like it or not; and that's final."

"Aw hell," Roger chuckled, "Do I have a say in any of this?"

"NO," we all laughed, Mom and Dad included.

"I don't know what to say," Roger humbly said, his eyes filling with happy tears, "Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mark and Jennifer."

"How about this, Roger?" Mom sweetly replied, winking at me, Kate and Sandy, "You can let us eat for free and that will be more than enough. Besides, you have some wonderful recipes, sweetie."

"Yes, yes, yes," Roger grinned from ear-to-ear, "Happily, gladly, anything you want."

"I wish that Kyle was here for this, "Sandy sniffled, "He would love you as much as we have come to love you."

"Aw, sweetie," Mom tenderly replied, taking Sandy into her arms, "Who's to say that he's not? Besides, I have a feeling that he's watching us right now anyway."

"Thank you, Jennifer; now I see why Rick is the way he is," Sandy sweetly said, "He was born to two of the most beautiful souls I've ever known."

"That's very kind of you to say," Mom smiled, "But the same thing goes for our precious little Kate, too."

"We love you guys so much," Kate began to cry, launching her self into Mom and Dad's arms, "And I can't wait to be your daughter, too."

"No worries, baby girl," Dad softly told her, using his handkerchief to wipe the tears from her beautiful face, "It's a lucky man that can count you and your parents as friends."

"Oh, no," Roger softly said, "You guys are our family, and families stick together."

"That's right, my friend," Dad smiled patting Roger on the shoulder, "Besides, if the situation was reversed, I know in my heart that you and Sandy would do the same thing for us."

"You can count on that, Mark," Roger said, happy tears pouring down his face, "You can always count on that."

Although a tragedy had occurred, from the ashes of the fire was born an everlasting friendship between our two families, making the bond between Kate and I that much stronger. And for me, I came full circle that day, enriching the lives of not only Kate and me, but both of our parents as well.

However, there was still the matter of Frank Spicolli. I knew in my heart that he was responsible for the fire that took out the restaurant; and I vowed to myself right then and there that I was going to make him pay dearly for it, even if it cost him his life and/or mine.

~~~~~~

That afternoon, Mom and Sandy were in the kitchen with Sandy showing my Mom how to make Jamaican style jerk chicken when the phone rang. Because I was nearest to the phone, I answered it.

"Parker residence," I said, "Rick speaking."

"Rick, thank God," said Chance Lawton on the other end, "We all heard about what happened to Kate's parent's restaurant. Is everyone alright?"

"Everyone is perfectly fine," I assured him, "What's up?"

"I've got a surprise for you," he impishly smiled, "But I need you and Kate to meet me and a friend of mine at the dorm. Can you do that?"

"Well, yeah," I suspiciously replied, "But I have to ask you why."

"Are you interested in some payback," he asked, "As well as taking Frank Spicolli's evil ass down once and for all?"

"You bet your ass I am," I immediately replied, "Where do I need to be, and when do I need to be there?"

"I'll meet you at your dorm room in an hour," he replied, "And then we'll go from there to meet my friend."

"Okay, man," I said, "I'll see you soon..."

~~~~~~

"Where are we going, baby?" Kate asked.

"We're going to meet Chance Lawton at the dorms," I told her, "And you'll see why when we get there."

"Oh, no you don't, Markus Richard Parker Junior," she quickly replied, "You're going to turn this truck around and take me back, unless you tell me right now."

"Are you interested in paying back the asshole that set fire to your family's restaurant?" I asked.

"You know I am," she adamantly said, "But how?"

"You know as much as I do at this point," I said, "We'll find out more when we get there..."

~~~~~~

When we got back to the dorm, it seemed like every single male student in the entire athletic department were waiting for us, with Chance Lawton at the head of the group.

"Hi, Rick, Kate," Chance quietly grinned, "It's good to see you that you two are alright."

"What's going on here, Chance?" I asked, "And who are all these people?"

Every person here have each had a run in with Frank Spicolli, and there are at least seventy-five of us," Chance began, "Each of us has lost something because we wouldn't play ball with his criminal ass. Now that you're here, Rick, the time has come to put a stop to him once and for all."

"Wait a minute, you guys," I warned them, "This asshole is dangerous, and he'd just as soon kill us as look at us."

"He already killed Eddie Ross," Chance reminded me, "And while I didn't agree with the way that Eddie acted, he sure as hell didn't deserve to die, especially the way he was killed."

"I agree with you," Kate said, "But the police have no proof that Frank Spicolli was responsible."

"Did he, or did he not send his goon, Bruno, to kill you if you didn't go with him, Rick?" Chance asked, "And yes, everybody around here knows who Bruno was, but the cops couldn't get anything on him either."

"They got him now," I sinisterly replied, "And Frank Spicolli is next."

"Come on, Rick," Chance pleaded, "You don't stand a chance going after him alone...please let us help you."

"No, Rick is right," Kate suddenly replied, pure enlightenment now shining in her eyes, "I don't know how I know this, but you should trust Rick...all of you...you, too, Chance Lawton."

The moment I looked at her I knew that something very mysterious was working within my Kate that I'd never seen before. While it was something I knew not to fear, I felt like it was something very kind, but very strong at the same time. And a distinct feeling of déjà vu suddenly overcame me when she looked at me and said, "I know that you can take care of this, baby...you're the only one that can..."

~~~~~~

I don't know how it happened, but once everyone heard what Kate had said to me, the small crowd of people slowly dispersed, everyone but Chance that is.

"What're you gonna do, Rick?" he impatiently asked, "Whatever it is; I want in on it, too."

"Why," I plainly asked him, "Are you that anxious to die? You've got a very promising career ahead of you playing football. Why take a chance on losing that?"

"Because," he quietly replied, "Eddie Ross was my first cousin, and I want to give his mother, my maternal aunt, justice. You don't hold that against me, do ya, Rick?"

"Not at all," I told him, "But if you truly want justice, then you're going to let me handle this situation; and let me remind you that I've been trained how to handle these types of situations."

"I have to admit that you made an extremely valid point there," he smiled, and then quietly said, "Just be careful...and come back to us in one piece, okay?"

"I have to agree with him, baby," Kate softly told me, 'we've started something, you and me."

"I love you with all of my heart, Miss Kate Evans," I smiled leaning down to kiss her one last time until we were together again; "I want you to take my truck back to my parent's house where you'll be safe, alright?"

"I love you, too, and I trust that you're coming back to me," she said, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "Don't you let me down, Rick Parker...I love you..."

~~~~~~

When I'd brought my weapons from home, I'd also brought my fully custom fitted Ninja Gi, which had full weapons components sown into the web gear that I'd had made especially for my Gi. After donning every thing but my black hood and cowl, I made certain that I had my knives in place.

Then I donned my hood and cowl, waiting until the very last to don my sword, an extension of a true Togakure Ninja Warrior. After I showed respect to not only God in heaven, I prayed for him to guide through the perilous journey I was about to embark upon.

When it came to taking Frank Spicolli down, I knew that the odds were not in my favor. However, I possessed two elements that neither Frank, nor any of his people had any knowledge of. The first element was the fact that I'd gone through twelve years of the strictest, most highly disciplined form of the Martial Arts training there was.

The second element was the element of surprise, because I knew for a fact that Frank would never even dream that I would be crazy enough to attack him on his own turf. In his eyes it would be a suicide mission. However, what he didn't know was that right before I left to go after him, I made certain that I called my acquaintance in Brooklyn who informed me that he was looking forward to working with me...

~~~~~~

I hid in the shadows, hopefully giving my asset time to arrive and get set up, plus, it was still daylight, and I was always at my best under the cover of darkness...

~~~~~~

After patiently waiting for about four and a half hours, I decided that it was finally dark enough to come out in the open and not be seen. I swiftly crept across town, sometimes from rooftop to rooftop, and then sometimes from alley to alley until I finally reached the agreed upon point that I was to draw Frank Spicolli out into the open.