idioms...sayings understood by native speakers part twenty
Jenny hit the unlock button on her key. Her car appeared like a perdidil.
"What in the world?"
Carl spoke up on the phone. "Jenny? You okay?"
"My baby... " Jenny whispered.
Sal came around and surveyed the damage. "Man. Jenny."
"Jenny?" Carl yelled again. "What is going on?"
"Carl... we are okay. They just killed my lights on my honey." Another call rang in on her phone. "Carl, hold on."
"Hey, Jen... Joey and I are stuck at Legrande and Prospect."
"What? What happened Larry?"
"Someone must have siphoned my gas."
"Stay there. I will call a taxi and send Sal your way."
"Can't you just run and get us some gas?"
"I would but I am down to one headlight right now. If I drive, i just know I will get a ticket."
Sal was on his phone arranging a tow truck.
"Crap." Larry paused. "Hello, Officer."
"It is awful late for you boys to be out."
"Just finished work, sir. and well, we ran out of gas."
"Really? Can I see your license and registration? Proof of insurance... you know, that kinda of thing."
"Sure, Officer. I have it." Larry reached into his back pocket.
"Hold it." The Officer pulled his gun. "do it slowly. and raise that other hand and put it on your head."
Larry spoke quickly in his cell. "Jenny, I will call you later."
Larry hung up. She looked at the phone. "Damn it."
She clicked over to Carl. "I gotta go." and hung up.
"Get in Sal, we gotta get to Larry."
"You know that this is bad."
"Yes, but I can't let him face the police alone."
---
Carl sat there and stared at the phone. He was four hours away from them. What ever was happening, wasn't good. There was only one thing he could do....
---
Rick rolled over, stretched out a hand and tried several times to locate the annoying sound of his cell phone. "Finally" as he pulled it to his ear.
"Carl, this had better be good, waking me up at three thirty in the morning."
"What?"
"Okay. I am getting dressed now. Give me Jenny's number."
"Look, I am about a half an hour away from her myself."
"Fine. I'll call you when i know something."
---
Jenny sped down the two miles to Legrande and Prospect.
A group of people were standing around... as an ambulance closed and headed off.
She parked quickly as she saw Larry's cycle being towed off.
"What happened, Officer?" as she approached an Officer standing directing traffic.
"Not sure. We just found two victims beaten." Seeing the concern on her face, he inquired, "Are you a relative or friend? They have been beaten pretty severely but still able to talk. We sent them to county."
The officer watched as the girl ran towards a car with only one headlight. He yelled out to her.
"Miss, you seem to have a headlight and tail lights missing. You drove that car here?"
"Jenny, let me handle this." Sal interjected, as he got out of the car.
"Officer, that just happened at the stop light on our way here to help out her brother who had ran out of gas. . We would file a complaint, but right now, we have to get to the hospital somehow.." A tow truck showed up. "See? The car is going to be taken to the shop as we speak."
---
Rick kept calling Jenny's phone. As he approached the corner of Legrande and Prospect, an ambulance sped past. Then he saw Jenny standing by a tow truck. He parked quickly. As he walked through the gathered crowd, he heard a woman say, "Jesus, they did not have to beat those two down."
He turned and asked, "What do you mean?"
"I saw it all, I work this corner. A fake Officer Do-right had those two guys up against the wall and patted them down. They did everything he asked them. But he tore up the registration and the proof of insurance, telling them they would be arrested for attempting to steal that motorcycle. He took out his nightstick and started beating them senseless. Then that guy disappeared when I called the real police."
Rick came up to Jenny.
"Come on. We gotta go."
"Mr. Fox man, what are you doing here?"
"Time to fight."
"fight? My brother and his friend are on the way to the hospital."
"And who are you I might ask?" Sal interjected.
"Me? I am Rick Richardson."
"He is a Matthews. Don't lie, Mr. Fox."
"Not any more. And when Carl hears about this, I don't think he will be either."
Jenny turned as she saw Rick take his cell and hit Carl's number. "Carl, they set the dogs on them." The man paused as he drug Jenny to his car. "That is not the thing to do." Opening the passenger door, he put her in the car and slammed the door.
"Calm down. They've drawn first blood, that's all." .
Sal finished with the tow driver and came around to Rick who was leaning on the driver's side door, "Look, Carl, hold on." As he glanced at an elderly lawyer type walking his way.
"Son, I don't know exactly who you are. But Larry is like my son."
"Hop in."
Jenny felt the hot stinging of tears behind her closed eyes, as Rick handed the phone to her.
"Jenny, I am so sorry. Jen?"
"I don't want to talk to you right now."
"Jen, I will make this right."
"Carl, I am not even dating you. Why should my brother and his friend pay this kinda price? God forbid, I don't what would happen if I ever did agree to date you. So, I don't want to see you again." Tears started to flow. She handed the phone back to Rick.
"Rick... they have gone too far"
"I know." He paused as he placed the phone in the holder and put the earpiece in. "Carl, we are on the way to county to see what is going on."
"Don't do anything. I have a plan."
"You know me, Carl. Since when have I never had a plan when it came to dealing with our Uncles and my Dad."
"Well, the competition was just a little set back, but I can work with that. Since when do I make false threats or promises," He paused, listening to the ranting on the phone.
"I know you won't. But get some sleep. You have gotta make this project work." pausing, "I will update you when I find out anything else."
"It is not about making the company richer... Trust me, Carl. I will make sure the Matthews board will come to their knees." As he hung up, he muttered. "I have got them just where I want them."
He hit another button.
"Hal, I know it is early. I have a little recon mission for you.. I am going to send some pictures to you and I need you to go to the corner of Legrande and Prospect, right now. See if you can find any witnesses to a incident that occurred tonight."
"And Hal, I expect to see you at nine am sharp." He hung up.
---
Jenny sat in the surgery waiting room, with Sal and Rick.
A surgeon appeared dressed in his blue scrubs. The OR charge nurse sent him out to talk to the family of the two victims getting prepped for the OR.
"I take it you are the family of our two patients."
Jenny looked up and stated quietly, "I am Mr. Lawrence Wilson's sister."
"What about the other man, Joseph Bonner?"
"He is our friend. He has no family."
Sal looked up at the doubting eye of the doctor.
"Look.. these kids all grew up at the same foster home. They are all the family they've got."
The surgeon sighed.
"Lawrence is going to surgery right now. He suffered a jaw fracture, a left femur fracture, and a liver contusion. The other one is undergoing a splenectomy for a ruptured spleen. He suffered rib fractures that caused bilateral pneumothoraxes. and two fractured arms. From what I can tell, these two tried to fight off whoever did this too them. Both were talking before surgery... and there was no apparent head injury involvement." He paused. "Both of them were pretty lucky actually, Your brother is in guarded condition. Mr.Bonner on the other hand is in critical condition."
Jenny looked at the man and nodded, watching him leave. She stood up and walked to a wall with a picture of flowers. She stared at it, like it was a picasso.
Sal got up and walked over to her.
"Jen? You okay?"
"I want to hurt someone really badly right now."
Rick stood behind her. "Miss Lundstrom?"
"You said you have a plan, Mr. Fox?"
"Yeah."
"Make me part of it."
"Jenny, there is only a sixty percent chance that this will work."
"That's okay, I think I know what it is. You will need me to make that an eighty percent chance."
A nurse showed up and told the group that the men were in recovery room and would be heading up to the PICU on the second floor. "The recovery room nurse will come and get you to take you with them." As she finished, the trio turned and had strange smiles on their faces. The nurse excused herself, grateful to be getting out of there.
---
The next day a sign showed up on The Watering Hole door. Closed for remodeling was all it said.
---
Carl sat in first grade classroom of deaf children. Surprisingly it was filled with noise as the teachers called them to order. One little girl came up to the man who was sitting with a grumpy expression on his face. She mimicked him to a tee. So much so that Carl cracked a smile as one of the teachers touched her shoulder and took her to her seat, Everyone looked up at the main teacher who talked as she signed. "We have a visitor to our classroom. He is a very important man. He is going to be here and see how we play and have fun." she paused and asked, "Questions?"
The same little girl raised her hand. The teacher acknowledged her and she signed, "How come?"
"He wants to make toys you guys like." and then the teacher, asked, "Is that Okay?"
Everyone clapped. Carl, distracted from last night's events, found himself the center of attention.
---
Joe watched a little preschooler struggle to button the shirt on the doll. The teacher came up behind the little girl, telling her she was there and sitting behind her putting her hands under the little one's and telling her to follow her movements, telling her how to button and unbutton. Then she put her hands over the little girl's hand and let the tyke try.
The principal sat beside the man who was observing. "Children are wired to use vision to observe their world. Those who were born blind do not have that advantage. We must learn by our other senses.. touch, hearing, smell. We have to set our mind's eye on that level." She laughed, "I was six before I realized that all dogs were not the same. We owned a great dane. When I met my neighbor's tiny toy poodle, I argued with her that it could not be a dog."
Joe smiled,and said gently, "You were right. A poodle isn't a dog." He teased.
She laughed. "It is important that you know this. Our children are still children... but what they learn here will hellp them from being disabled." She got quiet. "Do you understand?"
Joe asked quietly. "Have you been blind since birth?"
"Yes."
"And you are the principal to this school?"
"Yes."
"Wow. I can see these kids are in good hands."
She smiled, "Mr. Stockram, I think you might be flirting with me."
"Naw." He grimaced. "I wouldn't be that brave. You are too beautiful."
"And?"
"Let's just say, I will admire you from afar. I am no where in your league."
"What are your degrees in?"
"Engineering, computer science, and a masters in Child Development."
"That seems quite a varied background."
"What can I say? When you are a nerd like me, you only have your brains to succeed with."
"Hummnnn. Do you always put yourself down like that?" She paused and whispered, "How disappointing." And got up leaving the man to wonder.
---
After three days, Steve headed back to the office. Rick was pouring over the reports.
"How did it go?" Rick asked as he looked up seeing Steve.
"Interesting.. how is it going here?"
Rick pointed. The countdown showed twenty seven and a bar graph for sales showed down two percent.
"That bad eh?"
"I need you to go with this team today, and tomorrow, this team."
"Sure. What about Hal?'
Rick pulled up another graph on his computer. "He is at the top." Dismissing Steve and looking out the window of the tiny office, remembering the meeting he had with Hal, post incident. "The witness's name is Ginger Jerome. She picked this guy out of the pictures you texted me."
"Thanks, Hal."
"Sir, what is this all about?"
"Remember your training? I have to ask you to trust me."
"fine. As long as it doesn't get Miss Jerome in trouble."
"Miss Jerome?"
"the witness."
"Okay." Rick smiled a little to himself. It must be in the air... noting that spring was definitely here.
---
Jenny stood at the exchange. It had been a while since she played this game. Smiling to herself as she approached her friend for lunch, this will be sweet.
to be continued....
