The Life We Lead: Ascending (9 page)

“Still weird, man, but whatever.” Edgar
grabbed his food out of the toaster and set off to class.

***

The day was horrible. The seats did not help
James’s side, nor did the note taking in the review sessions for
finals. His injury was killing him, but he knew nothing was broken
and he wasn’t hemorrhaging. He also wasn’t looking forward to that
night and getting hit. The anticipation of more pain made
everything worse. Anticipation always made things worse.

In his second class of the day, James found
Tammy. She had a soft, youthful face with pale green eyes. She was
very quiet and didn’t mix with a lot of people, but she was very
smart. She also had a big heart that her boyfriend sometimes
abused.

“Hi, Tam,” James said, taking the seat to her
right.

“Hey,” she returned.

“Sorry I didn’t call you back last night. I
was beat by the time I got the message, but if you’d still like to
study together for P-Chem, that’s cool,” said James.

“Yeah, sure. I won’t be able to stay too
late. I have to go see ...” Tammy said.

“See Brody, yeah.” James gave her a weak
smile.

She can do so much better than him, dumb
rock that he is.

“He wants to go see a movie tonight,” Tammy
said, opening her bag.

“A movie? Tonight? Doesn’t he know finals are
starting?”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t usually like to go out
too much, and he wants to see this movie. He’s been having a rough
time at work and is stressed,” she said.

“Tammy, you work thirty hours a week, have a
great GPA in a science major, and help with your sick grandma. He
works forty hours a week running a fork lift and that’s it.” James
had other things he wanted to say, but refrained.

“I know, but he really wants to see it,” she
said softly.

James knew it was a pointless argument, so he
dropped it. He liked Tammy and wasn’t happy to see Brody manipulate
her like this.

“Library at 3 o’clock?” James asked.

“Yep, lower floor as usual,” Tammy grinned.
It was their normal spot.

***

“How was the date?” John asked as James
walked into the living room that evening.

“Date?” James inquired.

“Yeah, the date Edgar said you had. For some
physical stuff,” Dylan added with a wink.

Everyone except James laughed, as they
normally made fun of him for things like this. Ignoring the
question, he retrieved a single set of boxing gloves out of a
closet. Now was as good a time as ever.

He tossed the left one to Edgar and put on
the right.

Edgar’s eyes began shining like Christmas
lights, and the others immediately cleared space in the middle of
the room as if this were a scheduled main event. Rarely could they
get James to participate in these types of foolery, mainly because
James didn’t want to over-expose his abilities.

The rules were simple. You could only use the
gloved hand to hit and nothing below the belt. Head shots were to
be controlled so that no one got a broken nose or a tooth knocked
out.

As they squared up, Dylan stepped in like he
was the referee/commentator and turned his hat backwards. He hammed
it up, pretending to grab a microphone from above his head and
speak into it.

“In this corner, wearing the worn jeans and
an ugly ass shirt, we have the leanest wonder of the world,
James.”

Dylan then pointed at Edgar. “Annnnnnnnd in
this corner, we have the monster of monsters, the champ of chimps,
Edgar!”

Dylan pretended to drop the microphone. He
brought his hand down in a swinging motion. “Fight!” he
screamed.

James immediately switched to a southpaw
stance so that his right hand was in front. He threw a few jabs
that Edgar dodged easily before hitting James’s left shoulder.

This wasn’t what James wanted. He needed his
side to be used as the target. He knew Edgar could fight a bit, so
he would just have to bait him.

James and Edgar exchanged a few more jabs as
the guys screamed at them.

James decided to do some flashy worthless
crap and jumped to switch his feet back and forth while throwing a
jab. It worked.

“Ohhh, and the judges have to give that point
to Edgar as his Leanest takes a blow to the ribs,” Dylan’s voice
called out.

A few more of those might sell it. James’s
eyes watered, but he was still on his feet. It had been a solid
punch but nothing too hard. They were just playing, after all.

“How is James going to answer that?
Apparently with a pop right to the forehead of the Monster; this
will make it interesting,” Dylan continued.

Mark and a friend who lived off campus,
Patrick, came in and joined the others.

A few more taps and dancing around, then
Edgar slightly tripped on the carpet.

“Looks like James has the Monster so scared
he can’t stay on his feet!” said Dylan.

“Kiss my ass, Dylan!” Edgar shouted, quickly
looking away, giving James a chance to land a punch to his
chest.

James deliberately stuck the punch out there
a second too long and Edgar cooperated with a shot to the ribs.
This one was true, and James went down on his knees.

“Oh, the Monster says, ‘I ain’t going out
like no bitch’ and catches those ribs again like he’s trying to
break crab legs,” rang out Dylan over the laughter of the
others.

James flipped Dylan and the others off as he
stood up. His side was screaming. It was affecting how he could
move, so he stood still and rotated. Edgar was a big guy and didn’t
like to move too much, so James baited him with a few well placed
jabs before stepping with his left foot. This placed his right hand
behind and in the power position, and Edgar moved accordingly.

They moved as one, Edgar to his left and
James recovering his foot motion to minimize the distance Edgar
would have on the upper cut he was about to throw.

James’s maneuver worked, and the blow hurt
like hell.

He simply dropped and lay there.

“One, two, three …” came the count from
Dylan.

Very quickly, James added, “Five, ten. I’m
done. That last one caught me.”

The room was laughing as James lay there,
screaming inside.

Edgar came over and pulled him up, which
itself hurt. They did the one arm hug to show no hard feelings.

“I’m making a pizza,” James said as an excuse
to leave the room.

“Me,” came five voices, meaning they were
in.

“I’m ordering two pizzas then,” James
said.

“In,” came the five voices. Since James was
ordering and all wanted in, that meant he didn’t have to pay and
the excuse still got him out of the room.

He ordered a plain and a pepperoni before
slipping into the half bathroom downstairs. He was hurting and
could now be less careful about it, but still had to be
semi-careful. This was going to take two weeks to recover from,
they had to move out, and he had work to do.

Knock, knock
.

“Out in a minute,” James said, leaning
against the wall, his butt on the toilet lid.

“You all right?” It was Patrick, their
friend.

“I’ll be okay, thanks,” said James, waiting
for Patrick to walk off.

Patrick was a short, hairy guy who looked
like the quintessential Italian. When he opened his mouth, you
expected him to use slang and shout while waving his hands around,
but that wasn’t his style. He had a pleasant way about him and
often just blended into the background.

Exiting the bathroom, James found Patrick
scooping ice into a bag.

“That hit looked hard; thought you’d want
some ice n’that,” he explained.

“Cool, thanks.” James took the ice and the
two guys sat at the kitchen table.

“Wouldja want to go over some physics n’that
with me before the food comes?” Patrick asked.

“Yeah, cool. Let me grab my … Oh, you brought
my bag in too. Nice!”

They worked until the food came, listening to
the guys fighting in the next room.

After the pizza, they returned to physics,
and Mark joined them. After about an hour, Patrick’s mother called.
He excused himself and came back a few minutes later.

“Gotta run,” he said, packing up his things
without looking at them.

“Everything cool?” asked Mark.

“Mmm,” lied Patrick. He threw his bag to his
shoulder and walked out.

Mark and James exchanged a look. James
gingerly got up and followed Patrick out the door.

“Hey, you okay?” James asked.

“Yeah,” came Patrick’s soft answer. “Look,
man, I know you can see whatever. It’s just my uncle and family
stuff. I’m okay.”

“Cool, no prob,” James said, and they
parted.

James knew that Patrick’s uncle, also named
Patrick, was a piece of work who had ties to the mafia. James
didn’t let Patrick know this of course, because Patrick went to
great lengths to hide it. Besides, Patrick wasn’t involved
directly, but he certainly could be a potential source later for
connections with the drug operation.

“Ugh.” As James turned to go back in, his
side gave him a shot of pain to remind him it was still there.

***

Later that night, James made a secure call to
the group from the science building to see what was up. It turned
out to be something for the police that he’d already taken care of.
The police didn’t have a direct connection to the group, but the
group often fed them information. It was often obvious what they
needed, but it helped having two police officers in the group. The
end goal was to have the police indebted to the group so they could
leverage the relationship when needed.

James also checked on the funding he needed
for Aberdeen and made a few connections to set up a job. On top of
that, he learned Melissa had worked her magic and set up some other
covers for him. Tariq, it turned out, had made the Fishermen call.
James informed Tom how it had gone, and Tom said he’d address
it.

Finals came and went, as did graduation. The
guys made fun of James’s side being hurt the remainder of the
semester and laughed as he moved out, watching him struggle with
loading the truck, though they helped him get the stuff down the
steps.

“One degree done, a lifetime to go,” he said,
waving as he pulled away to start the summer.

During his drive to his parents’ home in
Duncansville, James got a call from Tyler, who was also in the
group. Tom had contacted him about a position for James in oil and
gas.

“Hey, James, how’s it going, buddy?” Tyler
said.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Tyler White.
I’m doing great, how are you, man?” James asked.

“Just getting ready for summer. Did all right
in classes. Tom said I should give you a buzz about a job
connection,” Tyler said.

“Yeah, need something related to oil and gas,
particularly in marketing, if possible, to allow for easier travel.
Trying to find someone who’s a professional with a science
background who also does adjunct teaching in marketing. Figure it
will be an easier path than getting an MBA.”

James gave a dirty look to the idiot who’d
just passed him doing 80 mph. He hoped a cop would pull him
over.

“My Uncle Todd is part owner of a chemical
company that does oil and gas. He’s an adjunct prof at Pitt and has
degrees in biology and a MBA in marketing,” said Tyler,
chuckling.

“No way! He hiring?” James said
excitedly.

“No idea, but he’s always looking for talent.
Probably can get you an internship at least to start,” Tyler
said.

James paused and thought a moment. “Whatever
you think is best.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll call the house tonight,”
Tyler replied.

“I owe you one, man,” said James.

“You’re on crack. I still owe you like ten
for all the stuff you’ve done for me. Hell, five just for the
Epazato thing. Didn’t think I was making it out of that one
alive.”

Amused, James said, “You got yourself out of
that. Anyhow, thanks; let me know what you find out.”

“Will do. Later,” Tyler said, getting off the
phone.

James smiled. Now this was a great start to
the summer. He slowed down slightly when he saw flashing red lights
and laughed out loud. His wish was coming true. The driver who’d
been speeding was getting pulled over. “Ah, what a day,” he said
out loud before turning up the radio.

That night, Tyler called James back to tell
him his uncle had left for Russia that morning and would be back in
two weeks. His aunt Kathy had described in detail a million things
going on at the house, and Tyler hadn’t been able to get a word in.
The discussion sounded painful to endure, but there was a bright
spot.

“She was going on and on about the kitchen
and how she wants a television in there. Then she said as soon as
uncle Todd gets home, she’s taking him shopping because ‘God
forbid’ she buy an electronic for the house without him. Well, that
got me thinking. What if you happened to be the salesperson who
sold them the TV? I mean, what better way to demonstrate sales and
marketing? Plus, you can bring the conversation around to
backgrounds and all that. It allows my uncle to think it’s his
idea. You talk about idea origination as being best from those you
need something from, right?”

“That’s phenomenal. Now I just need to figure
out what store they shop at, and …” James started.

“Easy, I’ll send you the address in an
e-mail. She’s making him go to dinner and he loves this place on
McKnight Road in Pittsburgh in a plaza with an electronics store.
She’ll make him go shopping before dinner, and he’ll want to be
close to home.” Tyler laughed, then gave James a description of
what his aunt and uncle looked like.

“Excellent. Tyler, you’re the best. Thanks,
man.”

***

The set up was easy, since it turned out the
electronics store was a major chain with a lot of turnover.
Melissa, who was a genius with computers and identifications,
arranged for James to be a transfer from a different store and they
used moving for graduate school as the reason for the transfer
paperwork. It was a valid reason that wouldn’t be challenged, even
though James had no plans to attend graduate school.