Walking an Endless Path Pt. 01

Joe looked towards the audience seating and saw that most of the seats were filled. That meant he needed to walk Frank back to the trailer. He indicated to Laurence that he had to leave and politely let Alicia know that he would join her soon.

Frank was ready when he got there. It was another capacity crowd, so there would be a big deposit tonight. Joe's unease returned. Once Frank was safely secured in the trailer, Joe made his way to the stage and took up his position on the audience side of the guest box.

Joe thought about what Alicia had said about natural plays, so while he kept an eye on the crowd, he also allowed the current performance to filter in as well. He noticed Wallace was just slightly stiff when delivering his lines, and Gwendolyn was a little more exuberant than usual. Amy? Well, Amy wasn't acting. She was just having fun, in character, delivering her lines as if they were her own words. Flawless. Joe heard Alicia gasp once while watching Amy. He just smiled and kept his eyes on the crowd. A brother couldn't be much prouder of his sister.

Once the show was over, Alicia rushed over to congratulate the cast and gave Laurence a big hug. She then took Amy's hands in hers and led her aside for a moment. They spoke quietly together for a few minutes, and when they returned, Amy's smile threatened to split her face in two. Laurence announced that the cast and crew would join him and Alicia at the pub across the street from the park entrance to celebrate a great season. While they still had a few more weeks to go before they closed, there was no questioning it had been a successful summer!

Joe had to do the deposit run with Frank, so he waved to his sister and headed over to the trailer. The last of the concession money had been included, so three envelopes were to be taken to the bank tonight. Frank was limping slightly and explained to Joe that he'd stubbed his toe moving around in the cramped trailer. While the walk to the bank was pretty short, he asked Joe if they might drive so they could return quicker to join in the festivities at the pub. Joe didn't mind at all; the pattern change was probably a smart move. He picked up the envelopes in one hand and helped Frank down the steps. They usually left out the back gate walked across the park, and took the path which led to the main street in town. The bank was just a few doors down from there. Tonight, they went to the parking lot and got into Joe's truck. The drive would just take a few minutes.

Joe saw a spot right in front of the bank, so he rolled up to the curb next to the deposit slot. He turned to Frank to point out how easy he'd made it for him and saw a split second of horror on Frank's face before the tow truck slammed into his car door. Joe felt the impact and was thrown against the steering wheel. Glass shattered into a million little pieces, and the noise of grinding metal was deafening.

Then it was over. Frank was gasping for breath, his eyes huge. Joe felt agony all down his left side. The side that hit the crushed door. He was a little dazed as well. He glanced over at Frank, who seemed okay despite looking terrified. Then he glanced at the tow truck, which remained wedged against his door. He could make out the passenger who had just begun to move. He was wearing a mask. Not good. He tried moving, but the crushed door completely pinned his left leg. It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch as well.

"Frank! Can you move?" Joe whispered.

"What?" Frank said.

"Can you move? Are you okay?" Joe repeated.

"Uh, yeah. I'm okay."

"I want you to open your door and run for it. Don't stop until you get to the pub. Do it now!" Joe hissed. He tossed one of the envelopes onto the dash in front of him and pushed the other two onto the floor.

Frank didn't question him. He popped his seatbelt, threw open the door, and ran as fast as his sore foot would carry him.

Joe dropped his head forward like he was unconscious. Considering the pain he was in, that wasn't much of a stretch. He left his eyes open just a crack and listened. He was starting to hear their voices.

"You crazy fucking asshole! Are you trying to kill us? You probably killed the big guy!"

"Fuck you! I had to improvise! They weren't supposed to drive here! Better if there are no witnesses anyway. Hurry up and get the fucking money!"

Joe heard their car doors open and footsteps rushing to both sides of his truck.

"Shit, where's the old man?"

"Doesn't fucking matter. Just get the bags!"

Passenger side guy got right into the cab and reached down for the bags on the floor. Driver's side guy reached his right arm in the window past Joe for the bag on the dash.

Joe grabbed the intruding arm and yanked very hard. Bones cracked, tendons ripped, and the man's neck caught the roof's edge with a hard thump cutting off his scream mid-shriek. Joe kept his grip on the arm, pinning the man.

Passenger side guy had excellent reflexes and yanked himself backward with a bank pouch in his fist. Joe caught the edge of the bag between his finger and thumb, stopping his exit. Out of the corner of his eye, Joe saw something coming in his window. The injured man was trying to point a gun at Joe with his left hand but couldn't see inside the cab with his chin pulled up against the cab's roof.

When he saw the gun turning towards him, Joe reacted. He desperately yanked the arm further into the cab making the man's body twist away. The gun went off, then tumbled into the foot well between Joe's legs. In shock, Joe released the arm.

The explosion of the gun in the cab was completely deafening. Joe was stunned, and everything hurt. There was red spray all over the shattered glass and bits of grey goo all over the right side of Joe's face, neck, and leg. He'd been hit! "Should I be able to think that? How am I thinking at all?" he thought.

He sat there wondering about being able to wonder until he realized he was seeing flashing lights. They were really pretty. He followed them with his eyes until he was looking at the passenger door at the headless body leaning into his truck. He thought he heard someone scream, but he wasn't sure because the loud, ringing noise was still screeching through his head, the head that wasn't blown open. There was a gun in the hand of the headless body. That was another odd thing.

Then he saw Officer Kowalski standing behind the headless body, looking in at him. She looked awful. What a terrible expression she had on her face. She seemed to be yelling something at someone, but he couldn't tell what or who. Suddenly Officers Rogers and Blake were there, and they took the body away after carefully removing the gun from its hand. Then Officer Kowalski was in the cab kneeling in the blood and goo touching his head carefully, looking for injuries. She was talking to him, but he couldn't hear her over the ringing that went on and on.

She was so close to him that he could see how pretty her eyes really were. And he really liked her nose. Somehow it was incredibly important that he tell her that.

"I really like your nose, and you have the prettiest brown eyes," Joe blurted.

Did he say it? He hoped he did because it was so important! He couldn't tell if he'd said anything. Except those lovely eyes got really big and teary, and that terrible expression disappeared. In its place was a blush and a BIG smile. She was still talking to him.

"Sorry, I can't hear anything, and my leg is stuck."

Comprehension showed in her eyes, and she patted his shoulder. He winced. That hurt. Suddenly everything hurt. A lot. He gritted his teeth, and they started to chatter. After a brief worried look, Kowalski slid back out of the cab, and he could see her yelling to someone. His teeth chattered, and he shook, but that hurt so much that he did his best to hold still.

Then he saw Frank and Mr. Ashworth staring in the passenger door. Frank looked like he would be sick, and Laurence's normally pale complexion was pasty white. Officer Blake arrived and ushered them away.

A fireman leaned in the driver's side window and gently touched Joe's left shoulder. Joe screamed in agony. God! He'd never felt such pain before. The fireman backed away, and a second one crawled in the passenger side with a flashlight and started checking out Joe's pinned leg. When he saw the gun on the floor, he crawled back out, and Kowalski crawled in wearing rubber gloves. She smiled at him weakly and carefully reached down between his legs and picked up the gun. She took it out and smelled the barrel. Her eyes went to Joe's face momentarily.

"His," Joe said through his gritted teeth, tipping his head towards the driver's side window. She nodded and left, allowing the firefighter to continue his inspection. Once they seemed to have a plan, they put a large sheet over Joe and used a cutting tool to take the roof of his truck off. Then they used the Jaws of Life to pry the door loose and pulled it away. The relief Joe felt when he could move his leg was overwhelming, and he finally passed out. That was a relief too.

Chapter 26

"How do I help the boy if you won't tell me what made him this way?" Doc Watson vented at Karl.

"He'll be fine. Just sign him into my care, and I'll take him home."

"He's unconscious! I can't sign him out of the hospital until he's awake and no longer showing signs of dangerous conditions. I don't make these policies up."

Karl just glared back at the doctor. As much as he liked the old man, he was a scientist at heart and was already too curious about his son's... differences.

"I can't take an x-ray of Joe without burning the machines out. I can't use an echo scan as they don't show any detail at all for him. Hell, I can't even give him an intravenous drip of saline to hydrate the boy because the bloody needles won't penetrate his skin!"

When Karl made sounds like he would protest the need, Doc Watson looked at him in frustration. "It's what we do here, Karl, OKAY? All incoming patients are given fluids to keep them hydrated and healthy, and the nurses administer them. Except when your boy comes in, I must sign the forms indicating a medical exception. The only reason I do this at all is because of what I owe your father."

Karl knew that his father had arranged for Doc Watson to take up practice in Glennville as a second chance to be a doctor. He didn't know the details beyond that and respected the man enough not to pry.

"I'm sorry," was all Karl could say.

The doctor sighed and rubbed his hand over his scalp. He left his office with Karl following, and they returned to Joe's room. He was just leaning over Joe when he came to.

Joe noticed his Dad was there as well. They both looked angry, and he could see they avoided looking at each other. It seemed like they'd been arguing.

"Hi, Dad. What's wrong?"

"Hi, Joe. Nothing's wrong. You're going to be fine."

The doctor's lips tightened when he heard that. Joe knew he was very upset about something.

"Doc, what isn't Dad telling me?"

Doc Watson barked an involuntary laugh at that, turned his bushy brows at Karl, then sighed. "Actually, Joe, he's right. As far as I can tell, you'll be fine. Nothing feels broken. You took an enormous impact when your truck was hit, but there wasn't a scratch on you. Definitely bruising, though, and you'll be sore for a few weeks if we use your previous recovery as a yardstick. The police want to speak with you the moment you're awake, so if you feel up to it, I'll bring them in." Joe looked at his father, who just looked back, so Joe nodded at the doctor. With a final frustrated glance at Karl, Doc Watson left.

"How long have I been out?" Joe asked his father.

"Two days. What do you remember?"

"Everything," Joe croaked.

Just then, Officer Kowalski entered the room and nodded to Karl. "Mr. Neumann, would you mind terribly if I spoke with your son privately? I need to take his statement regarding his involvement in the capture of Mr. Rowe Ghana and the events of the attempted robbery."

"That's fine. I'll be right outside, Joe," Karl said and left.

"How are you feeling, Joe?" Karen said with a smile.

"Really sore, but everything is still attached and moving, so I guess I'll be all right."

"Good. I just have some routine questions about the events two nights ago. Would you mind if I recorded this interview?"

"Sure. No problem."

Officer Kowalski asked him to describe his encounter with Rowe Ghana in as much detail as he could. Then she peppered him with a series of questions to fill in as much background on the event as he knew. Then she snuck in a question.

"I understand Talia kissed you?"

"Yes—what?" Joe jolted out of interview mode. His face blushed.

Karen smiled mischievously. "Moving on to the attempted robbery."

She asked him to describe as best he could about the events that took place leading up to and during the robbery.

Joe explained in exacting detail the entire evening, from when they decided to drive to the bank until the moment he passed out. Karen had no questions for Joe once he was done. She was very impressed by how thorough he'd been, but then she saw the haunted look in his eyes. He'd been reliving it as he described it, which was unpleasant.

"Thank you, Joe." She turned the recorder off. "You did leave out one detail, though. You like my nose, and you think I have pretty eyes." She grinned at him.

Joe smiled back. "Yes, I remember thinking that it was really important for me to tell you that. I think I thought I was dying at the time. Or maybe I was just really grateful to be alive. That part's a little vague." Suddenly Joe's reserves were running dry, and he started to feel very weary. His exhaustion lent him bravery. "I think your lovely nose... makes your beautiful face... very... sexy." And he was out.

Karen sat there watching Joe sleep with a blush burning on her cheeks. No one had ever complimented her nose. She'd finally come to terms with having the damn thing and living in its shadow, and now someone tells her it makes her face sexy?

If he was awake, and she wasn't on duty, she'd kiss his stupid sexy face.

She gathered her wits and strode from the room. She told Karl that his son finished the interview and was now asleep. If he noticed the extra heat on her face, he kindly ignored it.

Chapter 27

Joe needed a week on his back before his muscles allowed him to sit up independently and another week before they allowed him to stand. While no bones had broken, he'd taken the impact across the left side of his body, and there had been damage. Karl got Joe a cane to take some of the weight off his left leg when he walked, but the wood wasn't strong enough to support him, and Joe snapped the handle in his grip. So, Karl had a custom cane made from a one-inch diameter solid steel rod with a handle welded on top. The craftsman got such a kick out of making the cane he pressed a knurled pattern into the shaft, then buffed the peaks to a bright shine. The contrast of the grooves against the shiny diamond shapes made the cane look like it was embedded with gems. Even though it was too heavy to be practical for anyone else, Joe loved it.

Karen Kowalski dropped by the house to bring Joe and his family up to speed. She told them that Joe's security duties were being managed by several off-duty police officers. Then she let them know the second robber had succumbed to his injuries and died in the hospital. During the robbery, he'd been pinned to the car door by Joe's grip on his arm, and the jagged edge of the bent door frame had been pressed against his neck. When he pointed his gun inside the truck's cab, Joe pulled his arm so hard the bones ripped free from his shoulder socket, and his throat was badly punctured by a shard of metal from the door edge. The gun went off, and he dropped it as he fell unconscious. His gun killed his partner, but Joe would likely be dead if that hadn't happened, as the partner had been preparing to shoot Joe when his head was blown off. The paramedics managed to stem the shooter's bleeding, but the injured man slipped into a coma and never woke up.

Karen gave Joe some contacts for a counselor he could speak with to deal with the trauma he'd undergone. Joe was badly shaken by his experience and the news that he was responsible for another death. He thanked her, and she left with a sad look as she saw Joe's troubled expression.

A few days later, he was mobile enough to attend the theatre troop's final performance of the season, and they gave him the seat of honor in the guest box with his parents. Before the show, each actor stopped by to give him a flower to show their appreciation for his efforts over the summer. Lastly, Laurence Ashworth stood before Joe with a small bouquet of wildflowers with a purple Hyacinth in the center.

"Joseph, please know I'm truly sorry for placing you in harm's way. I should not have assumed your formidable stature would be sufficient protection from these criminals. Please accept my most profound apologies." He bowed deeply toward Joe.

Joe struggled to his feet and leaned heavily on his cane. He held his hand out to Laurence and shook the man's hand. "Mr. Ashworth, I don't hold you responsible for the actions of those men. They are... or were. I'm twenty-one years old. That may not be all that old, but it's old enough to know I have to take responsibility for my actions and decisions. I'm healing, and I'll get better. I've learned so much this summer, and Amy gained so much under your direction. We'll always remember this experience with the fondest of memories. Thank you!"

Laurence had tears in his eyes but a smile on his face. "Joseph, Glennville was supposed to be where I made my quiet exit from theatre directing after too many years in a business that had lost its luster for me. Instead, I was surrounded by good, decent people with spirit, passion, and genuine talent! This has been one of the most fulfilling years in my career, and instead of retiring, I've been called back to head up a company in New York City. It is I who should be thanking you and your sister for reminding me why I fell in love with theatre."

"That would have been Amy."

"No, Joseph. Please don't sell yourself short. While we in the theatre thrive on the drama and high energy of make-believe, your strength of character and genuine good nature served as a perfect counterbalance to ground us. I was never more aware of this than the night you helped those two men come to terms with the loss of their brother. That moment will live in my heart forever. It has given me hope and strength and made me a better man for witnessing it. That is the heart of theatre!"

With another nod and smile, Laurence left the stage to take his position. Joe sat with his parents amongst the flowers and watched an amazing final performance. Joe joined the audience to give the actors a standing ovation at the end and hooted and whistled when each took their bows.

The after-party was held at a nice Italian restaurant downtown within walking distance of the park, but Karl and Clara drove Joe over after the show. The entire restaurant had been reserved for the theatre troop and crew for the evening. The rest of the team slowly trickled in as they were able to shut down their sections of the theatre. Soon the restaurant was filled with happy voices, smiling faces, and a few tears as friends announced their plans to move on. It was a time for goodbyes and congratulations, but after their immensely successful run, each was leaving with a great sense of satisfaction and a juicy bonus cheque in their pocket!

Speeches were made, and toasts were raised. Laurence announced he would be returning to New York City to take over a troop there.

Frank was retiring to Florida, as he'd skip the North Dakota winter, thank you very much.