Chapter 10
“Monday, Monday”
The Mamas & the Papas
~~~

 On the Coldest Monday in the History of Atlanta,
Butt Gone Numb on an Icy Metal Park Bench,
Wondering Where His Brand-New Partner Could Be.

FIRST DAY JITTERS. That’s what Jake figured. He was nervous. Dodger was nervous. Their team effort was new to both of them. That had to be the only reason he’d been sitting here more than an hour with no sign of the boy at all, while his fingers ached from the cold and his butt slowly went numb.

Dodger would be feeling his way, taking it slow and easy, so he didn’t scare off the very kids they wanted to help. Yeah. That’s all that was taking so long. Probably.

After breakfast, they’d gone straight to the secondhand stores, and the boy had picked out some faded jeans with ripped knees, a pair of baggy cargo pants, several t-shirts, a pullover sweatshirt, and a black hoodie. He’d gotten some boots and a pair of sneakers, too, both showing wear, but no real damage. Jake looked over Dodger’s selections, adding a few items for beneath it all, which he considered necessary whether Dodger did or not. He threw in several pairs of warm socks, as well. “Frozen feet really mess up your day, if you have to do much sitting around.”

After going back to the room for the boy to change, they’d headed for a large park not too far from their motel, splitting up as soon as Jake showed Dodger the bench where he’d wait. Their plan was for the kid to take a long walk through the park, looking for anyone he might be able to strike up a conversation with. Dodger would have to use his own judgement as to what came after that. If it felt right, he could bring his new friend back to meet Jake, or he could take it slower, build a bit of trust first.

Slower would probably be better. Gaining that trust would definitely help establish a connection Jake could use for his nudging trick. And Dodger was plenty familiar with this game. He’d been finding and pulling in vulnerable kids for four years. The only difference between then and now would be who he delivered them to. Jake was in. Shitheel was out.

As the long, cold minutes ticked by, Jake had second thoughts about this whole thing. Maybe it was just Monday blues, but he couldn’t help asking himself who had maneuvered whom yesterday? Perhaps he’d been the one taken in, at least long enough to provide a couple of hearty meals and some new, warm clothing for the boy. Maybe as soon as he’d disappeared around the perimeter of the park, Dodger had taken off for parts unknown, looking to find a brand new Shitheel and resume his old way of life. The very thought made Jake’s heart race in panic. He’d promised Azrael he wouldn’t lose the boy, but what if he already had?

“So many doubts, Jake? I am surprised.”

This time, Jake slipped halfway off the icy bench. “Damn, Azrael! Do you never get tired of this game?”

The angel smiled. “No. The laughs in my world are few and far between, lately, and your reactions are always worth the effort. Besides, you were getting morose, and I thought my sudden appearance would snap you out of it. From the angry expression on your face, I assume I was correct.”

“If you think angry is better than morose, I guess you were. Frankly, I’d rather not feel either way. Are you about to make my day worse, or better?”

“Oh, worse, I am sure. And then better. That seems to be our pattern thus far.”

Jake scrubbed a hand over his face, then braced himself.  “Let’s just get it over, so I can go back to what I was doing.”

“Which is what, precisely? Wait. Let me work this one out, myself. You managed to save the boy you were in a panic about, but for some reason totally unfathomable to me, instead of letting him continue on his way, you seem to have adopted him. I must admit, I did not see that coming.”

“Hey, you’re the one who told me not to lose him, remember? So, I stayed right there with him for three days, making sure he didn’t take off on his own before I knew he was okay. And waiting to see if there was anything else I was supposed to do for him.”

“Yes. You saved him from dying that day, I have no doubt. But I expected you to send him along after you ‘nudged’ him, as you call it, letting his own free will dictate what his next choices were.”

“I didn’t.”

“I know that.”

“No, I mean I didn’t nudge him. At least, not with my new emissary superpowers.”

“In that case, may I ask why he is still here?”

“I hired him.”

Azrael glared, his eyes definitely getting more glowy by the minute as his voice dropped dangerously low. “Hired him? You might wish to elaborate on that.”

“Oh, don’t get your panti . . . um . . . I mean, don’t worry. I didn’t tell him what I am, or about you, or the angels, or anything like that. He thinks I’m just another well-meaning, but probably misguided, do-gooder, on an anti-drug campaign.”

Somewhat mollified, Azrael considered that. “What exactly did you offer that convinced him he wanted to work for you?”

“Food. Believe it or not, the kid wanted food. And a warm, safe place to sleep. I suspect he thinks he’s getting the best of this deal, and that what I want him to do is easy work, in exchange for a hot shower every night and a full belly.”

“Then why were you sitting here worrying so loudly I heard you in the next world?”

Jake sighed. “Because I expected him back by now, at least with a preliminary report. I’m scared he’s changed his mind and hauled ass out of here.”

“I see. Is he fully recovered from his overdose?”

“Yes. And I thank you for that, on his behalf and mine. He said he couldn’t remember when he felt this good. He admitted he hadn’t been clean in four years, but Azrael, he desperately wanted to be. Turns out that’s why he was hanging around outside the diner where I spotted him. He wanted help from a recovered addict who worked there. I really believe he felt hopeful about being part of something that could keep other runaways from ending up like he almost did—dying in a dirty alley without anyone to rescue them. Or care. Or even notice they were gone. At least . . .”

“Go on.”

“At least I believed that last night. Now I’m worried.”

“And that means we have come full circle, back to where we were when I sat down beside you.”

“In your usual rudely unfunny way.”

“In my usual hilariously amusing way.”

“Oh, for crap’s sake, Azrael. What do you know about hilarity?”

“More than you might think. And you are avoiding the issue. Is this boy—”

“Dodger.”

“Dodger? What kind of name is that?”

“It’s a nickname. I haven’t found out what his real one is yet, so for now, it’s Dodger, please.”

“Very well. Back to the issue. Is Dodger capable of doing this job you have asked of him? Will he be honest with you? Will he be an asset? And most of all, will he stick around long enough to provide answers to those questions?”

Jake ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know. I thought I did, but honestly, it’s a crapshoot. Oh. That’s a gambling term.”

“I know what a crapshoot is, Jake. Gamblers and their desperate prayers are quite familiar to angels everywhere.”

“Okay, then you understand that it could go either way with Dodger. If he comes back with someone I can talk to, then yes. I think he’ll stick around, and I think he’ll be an asset. But right now, I’d just be happy to see him come back, period.”

The angel smiled and as always, it lifted Jake’s heart. “Then you are about to be a very happy man.”

Jake followed Azrael’s gaze and saw Dodger coming around the curve in the path. He was alone, but Jake didn’t care. “Oh, thank God!”

“Indeed. You like him, do you not?”

“I do. He touches something in me I think I would have felt even without you telling me to save him. And about that . . .”

“No point in asking. I cannot tell you why he is important. Just that he is.”

“All these angel secrets aren’t very helpful, you know.”

“This time, it is not a secret. I simply do not know the answer to your question. I saw this boy’s face right before you called for my help, and I knew at once you had to get him out of there, and I had to do whatever it took to be sure he did not die. It may come as a surprise to learn even I will break my rules now and then, if the cause is sufficient—but do not let that give you any ideas. And now I must go before your Dodger decides he is lost.”

The boy was standing in the middle of the path, frowning as he searched this way and that.

“Oh. I forgot. He can’t see us, can he?” But Jake was alone again, with Azrael’s benediction whispering in his ears.

Dodger waved as he spotted him. He trotted up to the bench, and flung himself down, a big, triumphant grin on his face. “Ha! You didn’t think I was comin’ back, didja?” Then he launched into his latest idea.

~~~

TEN MINUTES LATER, Jake shook his head in doubt. “Five? Dodger, I can’t talk to five kids at once.”

“Why not? You ain’t had no trouble talkin’ plenty to me. And this way, you can reach more at a time. Five’s all I found today that might listen, but if I hang out here enough, I betcha we’d get a whole lot more.”

Five runaways to talk to at once. Five different minds to nudge. Five different chances of failure. Jake hated the sound of that—but then he reminded himself he’d also have five different chances for success. He seldom knew if his tricks were going to work, anyway, unless he managed to stop a destructive act actually in progress.

The big question was, did he have enough power behind his nudges to reach that many at a time. He wasn’t sure. But maybe he could talk to them all at once, and then focus his nudges on each one separately. That could work, couldn’t it? Yeah, he thought maybe it could.

Dodger watched closely as Jake considered the idea, and apparently knew the minute Jake reached that conclusion. “Hell, yeah, Jake! We got to do this the smart way if we wanna make any kinda damn dent in the problem. Tacklin’ them one at a time’d take forever.”

Still unsure, Jake considered how it might be done effectively.

“Aw, come on, man,” Dodger begged. “I know you can do this. I mean, sure I’m smarter than some of these dudes, and I was already lookin’ for a way out. But even if you don’t get through to all five of ’em, you’ll get more’n just one.”

How could he argue with logic like that?

“Okay. I’ll give it a try. Once.”

The boy gave an excited fist pump, his grin growing wider than ever. “Yes! And I’ll betcha a second slice of pie, once is all you’re gonna need to see it works. How about it?”

“You’re on, kid. Whaddya say we head back to that diner now? I’m already hungry, and besides, I’m freezing my butt off out here.”

In short order, they were seated in the blissful warmth of the diner, hands cupped around mugs of hot cocoa, while they waited for burgers to arrive. Jake laughed at Dodger’s attempt to lick off his chocolate moustache and then was brought up short by what a normal, ordinary moment it was. He could have been a dad out with his son, laughing over some silly moment they’d shared.

His eyes stung, and he had to fake a cough into his napkin to hide them. He didn’t want to go all sappy on the boy now. Not when things were looking so hopeful. He did, however, want to know more about him.

“Dodger? What’s your real name?”

The boy’s smile was history, replaced by a suspicious scowl. “You ain’t gotta know that.”

“No, I don’t. And if you don’t want to tell me, I’ll respect that. But if we’re going to work together, it would be nice to know each other better, don’t you think?”

Head cocked to one side, Dodger considered that. “Maybe. But if it don’t work out, then you got something on me. It ain’t always good to let people know who you really are.”

“Probably not in some cases, but you work for me now, and I feel like I should know a little bit about you. Is your real name such a big secret?”

“If it ain’t no big deal, you go first.”

“Okay. I was born John Colton Daughtry.”

“Where’d Jake come from?”

“Don’t ask me why, but Jack is a common nickname for John. I didn’t like it much, and over time, it became Jake. That suited me better. Now you.”

“David. I ain’t tellin’ you my last name.”

“Okay. How about Dodger? Where’d that come from?”

“Couldn’t nobody catch me. I was always dodgin’ the cops and the mean kids, an’ finally, just trouble in general. One day, a kid called me Dodger, and by the next, everyone did. It sounded a helluva lot cooler’n Dave.”

Jake agreed. “I don’t know what you were like then, but I suspect Dave would have been far too ordinary. Dodger fits you better. Is it okay to ask how old you are?”

Dodger shrugged. “Don’t guess that can hurt none. I’m twenty.”

Twenty! The kid looked sixteen, but Jake had added a couple of years when he learned Dodger had dropped out of high school, and had spent four years on the streets. He’d still guessed the boy’s age at only eighteen, but then maybe that’s because Dodger was small—about five-foot-eight and one hundred twenty-five pounds—and most of that, skin and bone. He had curly brown hair, big blue eyes, and a deceptively innocent looking face, which he’d probably used to his advantage on many occasions. And any kid who’d run away at sixteen and was still alive at twenty, despite a serious drug addiction, had both determination and brains.

Their dinner arrived, and they continued the conversation around bites of juicy burgers and onion-laced home fries. Watching Dodger’s enthusiasm as he shared some of the ideas he’d come up with on his earlier rambles, Jake knew he’d been in the right place at the right time and had found exactly the right person for his partner.

Happily, this was one Monday that ended up much better than it started. Now, he just needed to be doubly sure nothing happened to this kid, not only because Azrael said Dodger was important, but because the boy filled a spot in Jake’s life that had been empty way too long. At this point, losing Dodger would break Jake’s heart.

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There you have today’s offering.
Stay tuned for Chapter 11 tomorrow!

THE EMISSARY