JC: William Redman Carter Noble Savage Chapter 25 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2005 Spreading margarine on the slice of toast with long smooth motions, William was getting ready to enjoy breakfast. Lucy watched him, waiting for him to cut his slice of toast along the diagonal. Rich enough to afford butter, it always amazed her that he actually enjoyed margarine more. William looked up from his toast and winked at her. Rock, the nighttime bodyguard, was watching him with narrowed eyes. The other three bodyguards were seated at the far end of the table eating their eggs. Taking a seat at the table, Ling asked, “What time did he get home last night?” “Two in the morning,” answered Rock. “He was missing for ten hours and sits here with without any remorse for all the worry that he caused,” Ling observed. “Of course not,” William said winking a Lucy. Watching William like a hawk, Rock said, “It appears that our young charge was out last night playing games with Missy. They took her to the hospital. From what I understand, she had a major nervous breakdown.” Lucy looked at William in surprise at the idea that he would harm someone. Shrugging her shoulders as if it was exactly what she expected, Ling said, “It doesn’t surprise me. He’s been driving me crazy for years.” The comment brought a few chuckles around the table. While cutting his toast across the diagonal, William asked, “Did I miss anything?” Deciding that she would talk with him later about what he had done, Lucy said, “Kelly and I took Jan out to buy some new clothes. She’s moved in with us to stay.” “Good. I was going to suggest doing that,” said William. Breaking the yoke of his fried egg with the corner of his toast, he said, “I assume Cole came over and dealt with everyone.” No one answered as he ate his breakfast and William decided that was what had happened. Looking up from his empty plate, William said, “I told Fat Fred we were going to have a picnic around four this afternoon. Ken, I’d appreciate it if you could arrange for enough food to feed fifty from the Barbeque Barn. I think that ribs, chicken, brisket, potato salad, Cole slaw, baked beans, and rolls should be appropriate. Colt and I will stop by the store and fill an ice chest with ice and soft drinks.” In all of the excitement created by his absence the previous night, Lucy had forgotten that William had suggested they host a picnic in the park. She was pleased that he had remembered it and that he had scheduled it for after her last class of the day. She said, “I’ll be there. Can I arrange for dessert?” “That would be great,” answered William. “How about you and I put together some Peach Cobbler,” suggested Lisa wanting to get in on the picnic. “Oh, that sounds good,” Lucy said. Feeling energetic, William said, “Let’s get to it.” Everyone left the table except William and Colt. Before the bodyguard could say a word, William said, “Don’t quit.” Colt glared at the young man. William smiled and said, “Things will be a lot quieter around here for a while. I’m going away to write my Dissertation. You’ll like it there. Lots of fishing and outdoors activities with very few people around. Lucy will be here, but the major threat against her is gone.” The fact that the kid knew what he was going to ask was one of the reasons that Colt wanted out. Frowning, he said, “I don’t mind the excitement, but you’re one scary guy.” “Why? Because I can see a little of the future?” asked William. “Yes,” Colt answered. It was that and the reports that he’d heard about what William had done the previous night. The Chief of Police had mentioned the little episode with the pistol. The story had sent chills up and down his spine. “You do it, too. In fact, everyone does it.” “No I don’t.” “You don’t get nervous and irritable just before something bad happens? You don’t get this feeling along your spine when things are just about to spin out of control?” “Well, yeah,” Colt answered while shifting uncomfortably in his chair. “So you do see a little of the future,” William said taking a sip of his coffee. Smiling, he looked at Colt in the eye as he said, “You’ve come to trust and rely upon those feelings.” Slumping back in his chair, Colt said, “Yes, I have. It’s why I’m as good at my job as I am.” “I know. You just haven’t figured out how to develop that little talent even further,” William said. “Did you enjoy what you did last night?” Colt asked. He wasn’t going to work for a sadist who could and would destroy the mind of another. “Yes and no,” answered William. Colt raised an eyebrow in response to the answer. It wasn’t what he was expecting. William explained, “Last night, the skills and talents of my red blood and my white blood worked in concert with each other. I could ghost through my enemies like a warrior of old. I could see the future like the Druids of the past. It was an amazing feeling and I enjoyed it. Even though it was the best course of events for her, I didn’t enjoy what I was doing to that poor young woman.” “What do you think about the whole thing?” A bitter laugh escaped William at the question. He answered, “I can’t use my gift to protect Lucy, but I can use it to create the best future possible for the woman who tired to kill her. Ironic, isn’t it?” Their discussion was interrupted with the arrival of Jan. After a good night’s sleep on a real bed, the woman looked twenty years younger. Taking a seat at the table, Jan could see that she was the last to wake. Gesturing to the remains of breakfast, she said, “I guess I overslept.” “Overslept? I wouldn’t say that. I’d say that for the first time in a long time you slept as long as your body required,” answered William. The transformation that had come over the woman was amazing. Lines that had appeared to be permanently etched in her face had smoothed out. Her speech, rough and broken, had become more formal. Her posture and manner had become more confident. “Thank you,” Jan replied picking up the last piece of toast on the platter in the center of the table. “That piece of toast is stone cold and hard as a rock. Let me fix you something for breakfast,” William said. “Don’t put yourself out for me.” “No problem. What would you like?” William asked as he rose out of his chair. Colt watched his employer surprised that the young man was willing to prepare a meal for a woman who had been homeless only the day before. “Cereals would be nice. I haven’t had cereals in years,” Jan answered. “That’s easy enough,” William said. It took him a minute to get a bowl, the milk, and three boxes of different cereals. Looking over the boxes, Jan poured a bowl of the cereal that Tim liked. Looking sheepish, she said, “It’s been a long time, but I remember this one.” William nodded his head in understanding and smiled. He could understand her choice. As she prepared her cereal, he said, “By the way, welcome to the household.” Smiling in appreciation for the welcome, Jan replied, “Thank you. It is very nice of you to take me in.” “Did you and Lisa work out acceptable arrangements for you?” “Not really. We discussed sleeping arrangements last night. I mentioned that I wanted to keep a little distance from the rest of the household. I’m not used to be around a lot of people all of the time.” “I can understand why you might want to live by yourself for a while. I can see where being surrounded by people and living in a place where lots of strangers drop in for visits would be stressful. How about we pick up an RV this morning? We can park it to the side of the house and it can be your private place.” Looking at William in amazement that he would do that for her, Jan said, “That would be perfect.” Colt shook his head at the contradiction between William’s actions the previous night and those of the morning. He had tortured that woman last night and now he treated a homeless woman like a queen. He hoped that he never angered William because he didn’t think there was a chance for him to escape the young man’s wrath. The RV lot had a lot of the low-end models parked along the front. These were the kinds of RV appropriate for a weekend trip to the local lake and were on display with a boat trailer, motorcycle trailer, or snow mobile trailer attached. With the invention of fusion motors, power was not a concern. Gone were the days of propane tanks, manual levelers, and cloth awnings. Instead, even the low-end RVs were loaded with electrical appliances and features that made them homes on wheels. The dealer watched as William walked past all of the low and medium priced RVs before heading directly towards the most expensive item on the lot. Although he had seen William get out of the Hugger, he didn’t think there was much chance of making a sale. After all, he had other two people with him. The middle aged woman with him was old enough to be his mother. The man with him was probably his brother. Taking a sip from his cup of coffee, he decided that the young man was window shopping with his mother. With a sigh, the man levered his body out of the chair and made his way across the lot. Giving voice to a line that his coworkers often thought ironic considering his business, he said, “God, I hate tourists.” He reached the RV and examined the trio looking at the RV. William was actively examining the RV. Colt was not concerned with the RV, but was watching everyone else on the lot. Jan was looking at the RV with an expression of wonder on her face. Turning to her, he asked, “What can I help you with today?” “You need to talk to William,” Jan answered pointing to the young man who was walking around the outside of the RV. “What can I do for you, young man?” “Do you have this in double width?” William asked without even bothering to greet the salesman. He stuck his head in a storage container built into the back of the RV. “Yes,” answered the man raising an eyebrow. The double width version was basically the same as the single width version except that one side could extend out to provide for a living room. That particular model had come out several years earlier and was the best selling model on the lot. Rumor had it that a Druid had designed it. “Good, I’ll take it,” William said as he held out his debit card to pay for it. “Don’t you need to look at it?” asked the salesman. “No, my brother-in-law designed it as his senior project,” William answered. The man looked at the card with a raised eyebrow and accepted it. Glancing at the name on it, he recognized the Carter last name. Rather than act foolish, he said, “We’ve got two of the doublewides over there. After you pick out the one you want, I’ll take care of running this through the bank. We’ll have a crew get it ready for you. It shouldn’t take more than about three hours. You can wait or I can have someone deliver it.” William was impressed that the man didn’t make an issue out of his age. Nodding, he said, “That would be excellent. I’ll have Jan pick it out. I’m sure that she’d like to stay here while they prepare it for her.” Nodding her head, Jan said, “That would be nice. You don’t need to stay here.” “I wasn’t planning on it. We’ve got to get ready for the picnic,” William said. “What picnic?” Jan asked. “Ah, we are having a picnic at the park for all of the folks who helped Lucy yesterday,” William answered. He said, “Of course, you are invited. In fact, I’d say that you are the guest of honor.” “Thank you,” Jan said wondering what the people at the park would say about her changed situation. She hoped that they would be happy for her. She rubbed her head in memory of the blow to it knowing that she had risked everything for Lucy without understanding why she had done it. Turning back to the salesman, William asked, “Will there be any problem with your person delivering it to the house with Jan as a passenger?” Having dealt with many rich people in the past, the answer was automatic, “No problem at all.” “Why don’t you go with …” William said to Jan before turning to the salesman and saying, “I’m afraid that I didn’t catch your name.” “George Jones.” “Thank you,” William said before turning back to Jan. He said, “Why don’t you go with Mr. Jones and pick out which RV you want? Please, don’t worry about the cost. I’ve got it more than covered. Just make sure that it is the one you want since you will be living in it.” Lucy had warned Jan that she was to ask for what she wanted without regard to the cost. William would be more upset to know that Jan had settled for something less than she wanted than over spending more money. When Lucy had said that Jan should only start to worry if he was talking more than ten million dollars, Jan hadn’t believed her. She nodded and said, “Thanking you for doing this for me. I really appreciate it.” “You’re quite welcome.” William and Colt watched Jan go off with the salesman to check out the RVs. Turning to Colt, William said, “Put appropriate security gear in the RV. She risked her life for Lucy and I don’t want anything or anyone hurting her.” “I understand,” Colt said fully realizing how much William would reward anyone who helped him. Frowning for a second at the amount of work facing him, William added, “I’d like to find someone to teach her how to drive.” “Let Natalie do that. She’s one of the best drivers that I know,” Colt said. Seeing the question on William’s face, he added, “She’ll enjoy teaching Jan how to drive.” “Okay,” William said. He watched Jan enter one of the RVs amazed at the difference that a single day made in her. She was suddenly much more comfortable. Rather than acting as if she didn’t deserve what she received, she had learned to accept gifts graciously. He said, “We’ll be leaving in a couple of weeks for Arkansas.” Colt didn’t know why William was skipping from topic to topic. He asked, “What’s on your mind?” William’s sight seemed to turn inwards for almost a full fifteen seconds. His attention returned to the here and now. He answered, “I just have so much to do over the next few weeks. We need to get Jan settled. I’ve got to pack up my research material. I’d like to give the four of you a quick vacation. Cole needs to finish up and get out of the house. The e-clones will be coming for a visit.” “The e-clones?” “Ed and Eddie,” William said. There was a large crowd of people loitering around the picnic area in the park. The majority of the people were homeless, but a few police stopped by when word of the picnic had spread to the police department. With the Carter household present, the number of attendees just reached fifty people. Two tables that had been loaded with food still attracted significant attention. The aluminum trays that had been piled high ribs, brisket, and chicken were now empty except for a few scraps of meat. The containers that had held potato salad, Cole slaw, and baked beans were empty. Richie the Roach had grabbed the container that had held the potato salad and worked over it until it appeared that it had never held any food. All that was left were the two huge pans of Peach Cobbler and the line for that assured there wouldn’t be any left. William knelt beside one of the coolers. Fishing through the water filled with ice, his hand was turning numb from searching for a ginger ale. He knew that was Fat Fred’s favorite soft drink and had bought a six pack of them. Looking up at the big man, he asked, “How many have you had?” “One,” answered the big man. He held up the nearly empty can in his hand and added, “and this one.” William looked at Fat Fred and noticed that his coat pockets were bulging. He judged that the man had four more cans stuck in his pockets. Raising an eyebrow, William said, “And you have four in your coat.” “I guess I forgot about those,” the big man answered with a grin. He held a plateful of food that William had saved him in his left hand. “So why am I looking for a can of ginger ale if you’ve got them all?” “I just like watching you freeze your hand off.” William laughed and pulled his hand out of the ice chest. Shaking his head, he stood and said, “You’ve got a sick sense of humor.” “It’s half your fault,” Fat Fred said while he made his way to an empty space on one of the picnic tables. “Why?” William asked. “You and Happy Harry taught me how to laugh.” The big man grinned and burst out laughing at the look on William’s face. He put the plate down and sat straddling the bench of the table. He was too fat to sit in it in the normal fashion. A very well dressed Jan came over to the pair and asked, “Is Fat Fred giving you a hard time?” “No. He’s just reminding me that the best intentions often have horrible consequences,” William said. Fat Fred looked at Jan for a moment with a puzzled expression on his face. Waving a chicken leg around in the air, he asked, “Have we met?” “I’m Jan. Don’t you recognize me?” asked the woman. She had been asked that question several times during the picnic. “Just Jan?” “Now, I’m just Jan.” The difference in how she spoke the word ‘just’ was enough to convey the difference in meaning. Fat Fred stared at the woman barely able to believe his eyes. The previous day he had seen her and she was just an old bag woman. It wasn’t that she looked like a bag woman; she had been a bag woman. She’d had the posture, manners, appearance, and sound of a woman who had been beaten down by life. Twenty-four hours later she looked like a middle class housewife who was ready to take the kids off to soccer practice. Shaking his head, he said, “Damn, you are a fine looking woman. I didn’t recognize you at all.” Blushing at the complement, Jan said, “Thank you.” “So what’s going on with you?” Amused, William watched Jan and Fat Fred talk. Fat Fred was paying more attention to Jan than he was to his food. He stepped back and found that Lucy was standing next to him. In a soft voice, he said, “I think Fat Fred is impressed with Jan.” “He should be,” replied Lucy. Lisa had spent a lot of time with Jan to make sure that she looked good for this picnic. William sighed as he led her away. In an even softer voice, he said, “Her life changed in a big way yesterday. It may have changed even more than she realizes.” “What do you mean?” Frowning, William considered Jan for a moment and then said, “She has been living with a chemical imbalance in her brain for years. Yesterday she was kicked in the head and healed by a Druid. I think there is a good chance that the part of her brain responsible the chemical imbalance was damaged and then repaired. It’s hard to tell the full extent to which the healing was made.” “Are you suggesting that she may not need her medication any more?” “Yes. Watch over her very carefully for the next few days. You might want to go to the Fusion Foundation Clinic with her to see what would be the consequences of her taking medications that she doesn’t need,” William answered. Lucy examined William with a puzzled expression and then asked, “Don’t you know?” “Pardon?” “Don’t you know if she’s healed?” Lucy asked. There were times when he knew things that should have been impossible for him to know and other times he didn’t know the obvious. “No. I suspect she is, but it is nothing more than a suspicion.” “Why don’t you know?” Lucy asked. She hadn’t come to the realization that he hadn’t known that she was being attacked the previous day. Pointing at Jan, William answered, “The fact that she’s walking around today rather than lying in a hospital bed is the result of an act by the Goddess. I’d never try to place limits or expectations on the Gods and Goddesses.” “I guess that makes sense,” Lucy said. She grinned at William and said, “Since I’m your human Goddess, remember those words.” Seeing that the homeless had nearly polished off the Peach Cobbler, William said, “Time to thank everyone for their help yesterday. Would you like to do it or would you like me to say a few words?” “Both of us,” Lucy answered. “I knew you were going to say that,” William said with a wink. William went over to the crowd of homeless men and women. He shouted, “Everyone, Lucy Diamonds has something she would like to tell you.” All eyes turned to look at Lucy. Nervous at speaking in public, Lucy said, “I’d like to thank everyone here for their help yesterday. I’m overwhelmed that so many of you came to my defense. I’m humbled that all of you, and especially Jan, were willing to risk serious injury on my behalf. Thank you.” William knew from the tears welling up in her eyes that she wasn’t going to be able to say much more than that. William put an arm around her and looked at the faces in front of him. In a surprisingly gentle voice that carried across the park, William said, “It is said that a friend during a time of need is a friend indeed. Yes, there is something about knowing that when help was needed that a friend was there to provide it. I stand here and it is with a heart filled with emotion that I look upon my friends knowing that they risked everything to save my true love from certain harm.” When William had called them friends, everyone in the crowd held their breath. He continued, “It is also said that a man measures his wealth by the company he keeps. It is humbling to know that I have friends such as you in my life. I know I’m the richest man alive.” One of the men, trying to hide his emotions, kicked the ground in front of him with a toe. Looking down at the ground, he said, “Damn, Half Feather. You can do better than us.” “No I can’t. No man can ask for better friends than the men and women gathered here,” William replied. His words affected the gathered people. One of the homeless men turned to Ling and said, “He means it, you know. He doesn’t say things that he doesn’t mean.” “I know.” One of the homeless women, tears running down her cheeks, nudged Ling and said, “He’s done right by Jan. She looks happy.” “You can say that again,” said the man who had first spoken to Ling. He added, “William takes care of all of us according to our needs. It doesn’t matter to him that we’re just bums.” Ling looked at the faces of the people around her. They were staring at William with undisguised awe and affection. There were no doubts in her mind that they would die for William or Lucy if that was necessary to protect them. For half a second, she wondered what manner of man he was to inspire such emotions in the people around him. She knew the answer almost as soon as the question had entered her mind. He was his father’s son.