9
I spent a lot of
time with Lisa. We both needed the
support, and it was a comfort just to have somebody to hold on to. Much of it was spent in silence, in each
other's arms. I would stroke her
beautiful hair that cascaded like a golden waterfall down her neck and upper
back. Periodically, out of nowhere, she
would start to shake, as if it were freezing cold. I just held her and caressed her, and
whispered reassuring phrases. "I'm
here." "I know." "We'll get through this." And the biggest lie of all, "It's going
to be okay."
I was with her
because we needed each other's company to support each other in the dark days
after the tunnel collapse. Not only did
we lose two close friends, but it was hard for her to see the agony that Sue
was going through. Whether my Dad would
have allowed it or not, she was set to marry Tom Bodell. And now Tom was gone, killed in the massive
explosion that rocked the tunnels. For
Lisa, the horror of our situation was sinking in with a grim finality. "Lance, I am so sad for Sue, and for all
of us. If that level of commitment and love can be taken away so swiftly and
brutally, what else could we lose in here?
Anything could happen. Could I
lose you too?" I had no answer
except to hold her and stay by her side.
I was also with
her because of my confrontation with Jack Kessler just before the
explosion. The big, threatening football
player, bodyguard for the black marketer David Izzner, blamed us for Izzner's
interrogation and for the discovery of their illicit moonshine stills in Mr. Black's
band office. I was not the one who told
my father, but there would be no convincing Jack of that. He had seen us together near the band office,
where Lisa and I had surreptitiously observed a meeting between David and Mr.
Black. At first, he thought we were
there just for a romantic tryst, but when the hammer started to come down, he
viewed our being there in a different light.
Jack died when after
shocks from the explosion reached even the deserted school auditorium, but not
before he threatened Lisa with the most egregious kind of assault. I had no idea whether Jack was going rogue
with his accusations, or whether he was completely acting as Izzner's agent.
I was constantly
looking over my shoulder, my thoughts divided between the horrible tragedy, and
my fear of retribution from Izzner and his violent associates. I was afraid to leave Lisa's side. I had no idea what they were capable of.
A week after the
tragedy, I still had heard nothing. I
was beginning to feel that maybe it was just Jack's unshared delusion, and
everything was going to be alright.
David had not been arrested, and Mr. Black was stripped of his band duties,
and given job responsibilities at the main office, where he was under constant
surveillance. So maybe the storm would
pass.
That Wednesday, a
week after the tunnel tragedy, I left Lisa's side long enough to go to the
men's restroom. There, at the urinal,
the world went dark as a paper bag was placed over my head, and a voice I
didn't recognize told me to keep my mouth shut.
I was lifted up and placed in a large trash can, which was then carried
somewhere. This could not have been
easy, as although I was not very tall, I was not the lightest son of a gun on
the planet. I had lost a little weight
in the trap, but not enough to make it easy to carry me.
After some
travels, I was lifted out of the trash can, bag over my head, and placed in a
seat. I instantly recognized by the feel
of the chair and the armrests, that I was in the school auditorium, the scene
where Jack Kessler had met his demise.
Someone grabbed
the paper bag, holding it in place, and then the bag was penetrated near my
eyes. The edge of a knife came
perilously close to my eye. I didn't
have enough time to register the fear of it before it was already done. It had opened a slit in the front big enough
for me to see a figure sitting on the edge of the stage.
It was David
Izzner, sitting in all his diminutive glory.
Yes, I was small for a guy, but David was tiny compared to me. He made even Jerry Mack look tall in
comparison. He looked a bit like an elf,
perched on the edge of a fireplace mantle.
He had red hair, in a close neat style, just a bit longer than a
buzzcut, but not long enough to cover his ears, which now that I was staring at
him did seem a bit pointed.
I started to turn
my head to see who else was there.
"Don't turn around!" David cautioned. "Look only at me!"
I instantly
obeyed.
"Did you know? This is where my good friend died. Yes, somehow big old tough Jack just fell
down and broke his crown. Tragic how
stuff like that happens, isn't it?"
All I could do was
croak out, "Y-yes."
"But what am
I telling you for? I men, we all
suffered terrible losses last week, didn't we?
Such a horrible waste. I mean Tom
Bodell alone, such a loss! I really
could have used his mechanical prowess....I mean, of course, we all could have
used it. Any rate, I don't need to tell
you how it is to lose somebody close to you."
"N-no." All articulation had flown from me.
"I don't know
what happened in here. I do know that
Jack was trying to find you just before the accident." David got down from his perch, and moved
closer to me, so that all I could see through the slit was his elfin face. "Did he?"
"D-did he
what?"
"Did he see
you just before the accident?" His
voice and stare grew colder.
What do I
say? What if someone had seen us
together in the auditorium, or knew that we were both there at the same
time? I had to say something. So I took a chance with "N-no."
David sighed and
went back to his perch on the stage.
"Oh, well. I had hoped that
you might know what happened.
Regardless, I have something important to tell you."
My heart
stopped. It was coming. As long as it was just me and not Lisa, I
could live with it. Or not live, as the
case may be.
"I don't
believe you or any of your friends were the ones that snitched to the administration. Furthermore, I don't believe you ever
will. Do I have that right?"
It took a second
to register, and then I nodded my affirmation. "Yes. Absolutely."
"Good. And I trust you completely. I think you know the consequences otherwise."
Oh, yes. I believe that I had absorbed that point.
"In exchange,
you have my solemn promise that I, nor none of the people that work for me and answer
to me, will ever come after you or your friends in any way. And if you appreciate nothing else from me,
please understand this. I pride myself
in being an excellent businessman, and my word is my bond. If I don't have that, what else do I
have?"
I accepted what
David had to say. I knew that he loved
to be profitable, and the best way to do that was by threading the needle
between his potential customers and the authority figures he had to work
around. If I was harmed, or I believed
my friends were harmed by him, he would incur the incalculable wrath of my
father. All his business opportunities would be gone, and potentially his very
freedom. I could see from his
perspective, it was in his best interest to give me a wide path. Jack must have
indeed gone rogue in his attack upon me, and with his ugly threats to Lisa.
Soon I was
transported back to the men's room that they had taken me from. I never got a glimpse of my other
abductors. They had to have been
big. That's all I could figure out.
I came back to
Lisa, who was still in the cafeteria, concerned over how long I had been gone.
"You've been
gone a long time," Lisa said. She had a sight grin on her face, the first
I had seen in the last week. "You
must have had a lot to work out."
"Sweetheart,
you have no idea."
We held each other
for a very long time.
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