Of Hearts And Stars (Classic Editon) (The Cadet Starship Chronicles) (7 page)

Just as things looked like a fight might break out in the lobby the receptionist spoke up.

“
I could call Miss Sweetwater for you.” she offered.

Zach turned to her “Would that help?”

She nodded and said “If you spoke with her via video conference then she's bound to remember it. She probably just forgot to log your appointment into the database.”

Zach noted the change in her attitude and figured Greg probably got on her nerves too.

“
I think he's lying Alice.” Greg said as he sneered at Zach, who stuck out his tongue.

“
Shut up Greg.” Alice scolded him.

After a few moments of Greg grumbling to seemingly no one in particular about Zach, Miss Sweetwater arrived with a sour expression plastered on her face.

“
Miss Sweetwater!” Zach exclaimed. She's like lemons bobbing in vinegar he thought.

“
Mr. Method...it's a pleasure, I'm sure.” she said.

“
Indeed! It is so very nice to finally meet you! Is Leo packed and ready to go?”

“
About that...”

She had this sophisticated draw that sounded fake, and came across to Zach as overly pretentious.

“
That boy is very troubled, and it is my professional opinion that he stay under our care and observation.”

Zach scratched the stubble on his chin and said “That boy, as you call him, is my nephew and he has a name. I would like to see him at any rate, if that is okay with you?”

“
I see.” Miss Sweetwater said as she adjusted her horn rimmed eyeglasses “Right this way.”

-
20
-

Zach now stood before Swift, who sat lifelessly in his chair as if in a deep trance, his unblinking eyes casting a sightless stare on the floor. Zach cleared his throat and thrust his hands into the air.

“
Leo! I have arrived!” he cheered loudly.

Swift did not look up when his uncle addressed him, nor did he even bat an eyelash. He just sat there, an empty husk, as if his very soul had vanished.

Zach knelt down and craned his head “What ya lookin' at Leo?”

“
He's been catatonic since he first arrived here.” Miss Sweetwater lied with the convincing nature of a silver tongued snake charmer.

Zach looked at her over his shoulder and asked “When exactly was this?”

Miss Sweetwater put on a beguiling look of pity and said “He was brought to us from his place of residence immediately following the death of his mother. It's such a shame. It must have been tragic for Leoric to witness his mother dying.”

Zach fidgeted with the ring on his right hand and said “I've decided, based on what I've learned here today, that I will wake Leo and take him with me.”

He knelt before Swift and slapped a hand on both of his upper arms.

“
Time to go! Wake up! Wake it on up now!” Zach shouted as he shook him vigorously.

Miss Sweetwater shouted “Restrain yourself Mr. Method! I've already explained to you that the child will not respond! Honestly I-”

Miss Sweetwater stopped speaking abruptly. Had that boy's fingers just twitched? That is impossible she thought. Hadn't she had ordered that he be freshly sedated right before the visit started? Then it happened again and her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull.

“
What...how did you?” she asked in a near whisper.

Zach held up his right hand. The silver ring with three black squares etched into the top caught the light in a calm and charming manner, but when he turned his hand around she could see a sharp, needle-like point on the underside.

“
What is that?”

Zach smiled at the confused frustration on her face and said “In the military we called this a coffee shot.”

“
Coffee shot?”

Zach's eyes went cold, making his formerly warm smile seem harsh “A fast acting stimulant that negates the effects of sedatives.”

Miss Sweetwater looked around the room as if searching for a dark spot to crawl into. When her eyes fell back on Zach he was still smiling, but now his eyes were fully round. He looked very much like a hawk watching a field mouse before it struck and inevitably caught it's prey.

“
How did you know?” she hissed.

Zach placed his hands into his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels.

“
The first thing I notice when I look at Leo is that his knuckles are bruised and swollen. As if he's been fighting recently. It's funny then that he'd be striking anything with his fists if he's been catatonic since his arrival. So now the question is why was he fighting in the first place?”

Miss Sweetwater quickly rebounded from his deduction and explained “He has a problem with bullying the other orphans, so we've had to keep him sedated.”

Zach ignored her as he scratched the stubble on his chin.

“
May I speak to Ollie?” he asked.

“
Ollie?”

“
Excuse me. I mean Oliver Poe, one of Leo's young friends here at the orphanage.”

“
We've never had a child here with that name.”

Miss Sweetwater gave him her best poker face as she told this lie, and Zach fixated on her with his hawk-like stare. This time, however, he did not smile.

“
Let me ask you a different question.”

Miss Sweetwater held up her hands as if she had nothing to hide and said “Go right ahead.”

Zach outstretched his arm and pointed his index finger right at her.

“
How many orphans have died here with neither an autopsy or a funeral?”

Miss Sweetwater took a step back from this accusing question and nearly lost her balance. Just who the hell is this guy? He isn't just asking questions, she thought, this is a damn interrogation! He'd been setting traps to make her look like a liar from the moment he came in the room. Curse this evil, sneaky man and his rotten nephew she thought.

Swift had regained consciousness in the middle of the questioning and said in a sleepy voice “Just one that I know of.”

Miss Sweetwater jumped at the sound of Swift's voice. For a moment she had forgotten that Zach used a drug to wake that brat back up. Her eyes bugged out of her skull once more. She had to do something to cover herself.

“
Now wait just a moment! That child-”

Zach folded his arms and said “Miss Sweetwater, I know all about the death of the orphan Oliver Poe. I asked you about it so that I could judge your possible involvement in the cover up of his murder. Calling Leo a liar right now would only serve to further establish your guilt.”

Miss Sweetwater put her palms out in front of her as if to push away the heavy implications facing her.

“
Possible involvement? Guilt? That's insane! When I said that we've never had an orphan by the name of Oliver Poe, I truly believed it! I'm a busy person! I run the entire orphanage, surely no one can expect me to remember every single name of every child in this orphanage!”

“
No one expects you to memorize the name of every single orphan, but it's only natural that you'd be the first to know when one dies.”

“
What? T-that's stupid! You're stupid, you idiot! Who are you anyway? Are you a police officer?”

“
Lady, I'm not with the police. I'll be taking Leo with me today when I leave, but don't think this is the end of it. I hope for your sake that you have a capable legal department, and that you can get your story together. The people I'll be sending don't take bribes...”

Zach looked her up and down.

“
...or 'favors' of any sort. Hop up Leo, we're outta here.”

-
21
-

Zach followed Leo down the hallway. Bird's Nest definitely had an old world feeling to it. Checkered tile flooring and ugly off-white walls. An optimist might call it egg shell white, but to Zach it looked like sour milk. A frown spread across his face when they reached Leo's doorway. He knelt and picked up one the many broken model ships that lay in shambles across the floor and asked “Who smashed up your stuff?”

“
Butch and his goons.” Swift replied as he opened his wardrobe and began to gather what little he owned.

“
They did this?”

“
Just before they beat Ollie to death.”

Zach placed the broken ship gently back onto the floor “I don't usually beat up children, let alone orphans but-”

“
I took care of them.” Swift said as he began to fold cloths and place them into his bag.

“
How many were there?”

“
Three.” Swift said.

“
Well! Did you fight the way your father and I trained you to fight?”

“
Yup.”

“
Impressive. You've grown strong, but you need to remember to never abuse your skills and talents. It's okay to beat up the bullies, but he who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster.” Zach said.

“
And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.” Swift added.

“
Been reading that Nietzsche huh?”

“
The Nietzsche has been reading me.” Swift said in a mystical voice.

“
Okay there Mr. Philosophy, you all packed up?” Zach asked.

“
Mm-hm.”

“
Then let's roll.”

They began making their way up the corridor. As they passed Ollie's room, Butch came to his doorway and began to shout insults at them.

“
What
is that thing?” Zach asked but he had already guessed from the severely trashed mug of this kid.

Swift replied “That is a Butch.”

Zach took a bucket of water that had been used to mop Ollie's room and dropped it, contents and all, on Butch while passing by. They then laughed heartily as they descended the stairs and left Bird's Nest orphanage forever.

Their very first stop after gaining Swift his freedom was a diner for what Zach called power food. He ordered a western omelette with coffee, and a side of pickles. Swift mulled over the menu for a few seconds before ordering a Boston Creme with hot chocolate. Midway through devouring his meal Zach stopped to check on his nephew, who was staring dejectedly at the plate in front of him. Zach swallowed what was in his mouth, choked, and took a mighty gulp of coffee to wash it down.

“
Pahhh!” Zach took a few seconds to breathe before he spoke “You know your parents left you an awesome inheritance. When
you're done eating we can go shopping, and you can buy stuff.
They've got some great new holo-games out...” He rubbed his chin
and thought for a second “We could get your swag to the maximum!
You could become The Based God!”

“
That's okay. I don't really want anything.” Swift said.

Zach persisted “You sure? You can have anything.”

“
Anything?” Swift asked.

“
Anything for you.”

-
22
-

Ollie's funeral had a very small attendance, but it was well put together seeing as Swift requested that Zach spare no expenses. They had located and invited Mr. Taylor, who was quite sad about the passing of his young friend. The also invited Frankie. Swift had objected to this at first, but reluctantly agreed because Zach wanted to invite him. After the service Swift stood in front of the casket. His facial expression was pinched tightly, as if he thought he could stop the tears if he squeezed hard enough.

“
Sorry I was late.” Zach said softly.

Swift wiped the corners of his eyes with his palms “You came as fast as you could...” Swift set a small model ship that had been spared from destruction on the casket and turned away from it “But how did you know? About Ollie I mean?”

“
Frankie told me.”

“
Fra- Frankie told you!?” Swift asked incredulously.

“
Mm-hm. The night after you ran away from the orphanage he approached Ollie to find out what was going on. Ollie trusted him and explained the plan. Frankie gained access to the Orphanage's mail system. There he found my contact information from my failed attempts at trying to reach you at the orphanage. Since then, he has secretly kept me informed about everything that has gone on at the orphanage. Especially the sedatives. He was particularly afraid of these, and urged me to come ASAP before they killed you.”