The Archangel Drones (3 page)

Manny had remained fascinated by it all, the upscale atmosphere and mood lighting triggering a twinkle as her eyes bounced around the lavish steakhouse. Despite the nearly constant stream of food leaving his plate, his girlfriend’s reaction wasn’t lost on Jacob.

“You know if I make it into the pros, I’ll be able to take you to places like this all the time,” Jacob offered, wanting to be part of her experience.

Manny smiled at her boyfriend’s ever-present optimism. “That would be great, but you promised your parents and me that making good grades would come first. I don’t need places like this to be happy, Jacob. It’s really great, but I’ll be just as proud of you earning a good degree as a basketball contract.”

“I can do both,” he replied, a slight defensive tone entering his voice. “But I guess you’re right… and Dad keeps reminding me that not many guys make it into the pros. I should always keep that in mind, I suppose.”

Manny covered his hand with hers, a knowing smile brightening her face. “I’m sorry, Jay. I don’t mean to rain on your parade. What you’ve accomplished so far is amazing, and I don’t want you to lose sight of that. But I like you just the way you are, and I worry sometimes that all this fame is going to fatten that cute head of yours. Yes, going places like this is super-cool, but we were just fine before. I can live without it.”

“I dunno,” he responded. “Being here… in a place like this… is just so exciting… I feel like we’re important or something.”

“We are important,” she responded with a perky tilt of her head. Then, leaning in closer to whisper in his ear, she added, “Don’t tell anybody, but I would have been just as happy with our usual Saturday night popcorn and three-star movie.”

As usual, Manny’s perspective on life confused Jacob. She always seemed so… so grounded and mature, seldom reacting in any way he could predict. All the while, she was constantly cutting jokes and acting like nothing really mattered all that much. Her behavior bewildered and intrigued him.

Jacob had approached his father with the dilemma, finally coming to the conclusion that he wasn’t going to figure it out on his own.

“Welcome to the real world, son,” had come his pop’s response, complete with a knowing smirk. “Men are from Mars, and women from some other galaxy. We’re wired differently, use completely opposite methods of logic, and have biological differences that would make you question our sharing of the same DNA. The term, ‘opposite sex,’ wasn’t an accident.”

Frowning, Jacob wasn’t satisfied with the answer. “Then why do people date… and marry… and have kids and stuff? Why do I want to be around Manny so much? And why does she confuse me with the way she acts?”

“Well, son, because sharing your life with someone is often like that. Each sex provides a balance for the opposite. Your mother bolsters my weaknesses, and hopefully I shore up hers. Life is difficult, a constant string of challenges, problems, and issues that never stop popping up in front of you. Having someone at your side who looks at things from another perspective can make all the difference in the world. And then you have the biological attraction, but that’s a conversation we should probably hold off on.”

Waving off his father’s conservative attitude, Jacob said, “Oh, I know all about the birds and the bees, Dad. They teach you that stuff in school before you’re even interested. You don’t have to worry about having the ‘the talk,’ with me. Still, beyond any physical attraction, I want to be around her… yet she drives me crazy sometimes with how she looks at things.”

Nodding sagely, Gabe said, “Like I said, welcome to the real world. You’ll never completely understand this mystery, so take my advice and don’t even try. Just enjoy it and make each other happy. That’s all you need to know.”

Looking deep into Manny’s eyes, Jacob concluded that she was indeed happy, and that his father had been right. He would just run with that.

Finally, the adults were pushing back from the table. As the valets hustled off to retrieve the Honda, Gabe took his son aside and issued a warning, “Drive carefully, and get that young lady home safely.” He added that at such an hour, drunks would be leaving the bars and to watch out for the other guy on the road.

As they left the lot, Manny called her father for the third time. After their short conversation, Jacob threw her an inquiring look. “Are you in trouble for being so late?”

“Naw, Dad’s fine. He knows this was a special occasion. Even he’s excited over your good news.”

Despite the wee hour, Jacob didn’t have any problem staying awake on the drive home. His mind was still busy, reviewing and processing the events of the last few days. Truth be told, he probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep, even if he’d been home and in bed by his usual eleven o’clock curfew.

Glancing over at his attractive companion, he gushed, “I still can’t believe all of this is happening to me. Only three days ago, I was just another kid about to graduate… worried about keeping my grades up and getting into a reputable university. I’m still a little dizzy over everything happening so quickly. It’s almost like a high from some drug.”

Through a genuine, warm smile, Manny replied from the passenger seat, “You earned it Jacob. You worked harder than anybody else on the team. You spent more hours in the weight room, jogged halfway across town at 5 AM every morning, and stayed after practice almost every day to perfect your game. An insecure person could’ve easily thought you were trying to avoid them.”

He laughed, slowing for a traffic light about to turn red. “Now you know better than that, Manny. In the off-season, you were complaining I wouldn’t leave you alone… that I was being a pest. You can’t have it both ways, you know.”

“Sure I can,” she teased. “I’m a girl, and it’s my God-given right to have my cake and eat it, too. Besides, you asked me out four times before I finally gave in. Apparently, you find me attractive for some reason, so I’m going to take advantage of that every chance I get.”

Jacob breathed deeply and exhaled a smooth sigh of satisfaction with his life. His eyes shifted briefly from the traffic signal to the petite sweetheart seated beside him… the contact just long enough for his companion to notice his adoring gaze. Manny made him laugh, and that’s what he liked about her the most. “I suppose,” he breathed. “Well,
that
… and the fact that you
are
the hottest girl in the entire school.”

She reached across and playfully smacked his arm, “Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Jacob Chase, especially at 1 AM in the morning. Now stop this shameless flirting, and get me home. I’ve got a big biology final tomorrow, and with only a few hours’ sleep, I’ll be lucky to prop my eyelids open long enough to finish the exam. If I mess up my GPA, you’re going to be in trouble, Mister. Not everybody gets a free ride to college, you know.”

Nodding without comment, he carefully accelerated through the now-green light.

His cautious driving wasn’t due to road congestion, their headlights the only pair visible on the entire street at the late hour. Nor was the smitten lad trying to extend their time together.

Jacob was driving like an old man, exercising great caution with his “new baby.” Earlier in the evening, he’d asked the valet if he could straddle two parking spots at the restaurant, wanting to avoid dings from the doors of neighboring cars. While the conservative Honda sedan was three years old, it was the most magnificent gift the young basketball star could have imagined.

Manny’s yawn increased his urgency, but he didn’t dare exceed the speed limit. According to his mother, insurance for a teenage driver was outrageous. “If you get a ticket, we’re going to have to get a second mortgage,” she had warned.

“It won’t be long now,” he informed Manny. “Just a few more miles, and you’ll be snug in your bed. Promise you won’t hate me when the alarm goes off?”

“No,” she giggled. “No promises,” she added with a defiant look.

The radar gun’s digits read “34,” one mile per hour below the posted speed limit. “I wonder what they’re doing wrong,” Jim speculated as he watched the headlights approach. A seasoned veteran, he realized that folks who made incredible efforts to stay within the rules of the road in the wee hours of the morning often had something to hide.
Even law-abiding citizens who see empty pavement ahead of them take a few liberties,
he told himself. He quickly dismissed the thought, returning to a combination of boredom and apprehension as he deliberated over the entire graveyard shift being a snoozer.

As he watched the vehicle’s low beams approach his hidden position, a wave of frustration began to build, his thoughts returning to Junior’s basketball game. In order to attend the contest, the only taker he could find was a trade for the midnight shift. Despite being a weekend night, it was slow as hell. The game obviously hadn’t been worth the price he was paying now.

More than two hours had passed since he’d signed in, and now the streets were nearly deserted. The small car heading his way carried the first citizen he’d seen in almost ten minutes.

Marwick watched as the non-speeder passed by his position, a streetlight’s pool of illumination making the driver’s profile surprisingly clear.

Big Jim did a double take, something familiar about the kid passing by. His eyes immediately spotted the license plate, a temporary paper tag indicating the operator hadn’t owned the recent model two-door very long.

Inhaling sharply, Big Jim realized who the driver was. His hand immediately reached for the gearshift.

He pulled out behind the little sedan, not entirely sure why. The operator was the player who had bested Junior during the game, and now the little shit was driving around in a recently acquired vehicle. That just rubbed the cop in a wrong way.

“Let’s see how cool you are off the basketball court,” he whispered. “Bet you aren’t as calm with
my
full court press,” he added.

He accelerated rapidly, taking his squad car up to 50 mph, quickly closing the gap. Just when it appeared that the front bumper’s safety cage was going to slam directly into the temporary tag, he braked hard.

He could see the outline of two heads through the back glass, the shorter figure in the passenger side appearing to be female. “You’ve had your girlfriend out awfully late, young man. I wonder if there’s a date rape involved. A party to celebrate your new trophy? Underage drinking?”

But the three-year old Honda Civic didn’t flinch or react, the driver’s only response being to slow down.

In a way, Jim was disappointed, but not discouraged. He keyed the cruiser’s microphone, “Edward 40.”

The female dispatcher’s voice acknowledged immediately, “Go Edward 40.”

“Traffic, temporary tag, 17 Adam 7331 George 1,” Jim reported, “Suspicious vehicle. Cypress Road, one mile west of Jester.”

It was less than a minute before the dispatcher responded, “No WW, no reports. Registered to one Gabriel William Chase, Green Forest Avenue, Houston.”

Marwick hadn’t expected any “wants” or “warrants,” satisfied that little Mr. Goodie Two Shoes and his Barbie and Ken family wouldn’t dare put an illegal car on the road.

“Clear,” Big Jim replied, his eyes never leaving the taillights ahead.

After another half mile, the Honda slowed even further and then signaled a right-hand turn. Jim followed, entering a residential neighborhood of middle-class homes. He noted the speed limit dropped to 20 mph.

But the kid kept his foot off the pedal, the large red digits of the laser gun never topping 19. “You know I’m back here, you little shit,” Jim hissed. “No matter.”