{"id":943,"date":"2017-04-08T13:44:51","date_gmt":"2017-04-08T17:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takethepatience.com\/?p=943"},"modified":"2017-04-08T13:45:30","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T17:45:30","slug":"943","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/takethepatience.com\/?p=943","title":{"rendered":"95 America Street, Chapter 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 7th<\/sup>, 2012<\/em><\/p>\n

Without my request, Terrence contacted Danny via The Geek.\u00a0 There\u2019s no one else you would have called in this heated moment.\u00a0 Danny picked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cDanny!\u00a0 Where are you?!\u201d I blurted out.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross the street, training with God\u2019s creatures in the wilderness of Franklin Park.\u00a0 Why are you so emotional?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet over to the community center.\u00a0 Ripps just saw video footage of the handyman destroying Linda and is on his way to seek revenge.\u00a0 But he doesn\u2019t realize he\u2019s walking into a much bigger fight than he bargained for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh I\u2019ll make sure this fight is real big\u2026big enough to be seen from space.\u00a0 And it won\u2019t be no bargain. \u00a0It will incur a great debt on our enemies.\u00a0 I\u2019m on my way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks Danny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terrence ended the call.\u00a0 I turned my head to him, \u201cFind Future Queer, I mean Fred.\u00a0 Tell him to meet us at the community center.\u00a0 I\u2019m heading over there now.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Despite running in loosely tied work boots, Ripps made it down to the center in impressive time.\u00a0 Although the moment was full of serious anger and intensity, there was a thin layer of humor with Ripps\u2019 entrance.\u00a0 Too impatient with the automatic door\u2019s pace of opening, he plowed through the doorway before the door fully opened, causing the door to comically jerk back and awkwardly turning him sideways against his furious will.\u00a0 Ripps looked at the door and screamed \u201cFUCK YOU!!!\u201d and then shoved it with both hands as if he were shoving an impudent geek into the lockers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This bombastic entrance caught the attention of the woman at the receptionist window. \u00a0She yelled something that was meant to detain Ripps but it had no effect.\u00a0 Ripps sprinted across the foyer area and ripped open a door.\u00a0 Standing in front of him was Lily.\u00a0 It took her little time to turn into a raving lunatic when she saw Ripps.\u00a0 She probably felt her plans cracking apart and would do anything to prevent total disintegration.\u00a0 With surprising strength in both body and voice, she screamed, \u201cYOU\u2019RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!\u201d and grabbed RIpps\u2019 neck so hard, her nails drew blood from his neck.\u00a0 Ripps was authentically amazed as he gasped for air and felt blood run down his neck.<\/p>\n

His amazement turned back to an even greater anger.\u00a0 He grabbed Lily\u2019s wrists and quickly pried her hands from his neck and threw her arms back, causing them to hit the wall behind her.\u00a0 Ripps grabbed her neck, slammed her against the wall, lifted her from the ground, and demonically shouted, \u201cHOW DO YOU LIKE IT?!!\u201d\u00a0 Lily\u2019s face only expressed shock.\u00a0 This quickly turned to fear and then relief as Ripps dropped her.\u00a0 Ripps stormed off and after a few moments of regaining her composure, Lily ran off in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

After a couple minutes of a frustrating search, Ripps found the source of his fury.\u00a0 In the far side of the same large room where the children were to have their play, was Carl the handyman.\u00a0 He was standing in front of the curtains on the stage.\u00a0 Ripps\u2019 anger still burned bright but it was now accompanied by a certain degree of focus.\u00a0 He stared at his recently discovered enemy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to sleep with the geeks, bro.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Ripps\u2019 focus was not enough to allow him to see how odd it was that his enemy, a handyman, should be standing alone on a stage in front of some curtains with no tools.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t too tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Ripps started to walk towards the stage, he stopped.\u00a0 Someone was pulling the curtains apart.\u00a0 As the curtains separated, six elderly-looking people were revealed.\u00a0 Ripps said, \u201cOld geeks don\u2019t scare Ripps.\u201d<\/p>\n

One by one, the elders removed their disguises, revealing they were youthfully dangerous.\u00a0 It would be a lie to say that Ripps was not disappointed at this turn of events.\u00a0 As he stood pondering his next move, the door behind him opened.\u00a0 In walked Danny with the War Doll in tow, carrying a large radio (although since the War Doll was resting on Danny\u2019s chest underneath his jacket, perhaps this statement should be reversed).\u00a0 Danny was used to working alone and being outnumbered so the combat odds before him caused no monumental alarm.\u00a0 Danny let the door slam behind him before he spoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Ripps.\u00a0 Mind if I dance with your dates?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure thing, Danny, but they ain\u2019t my dates.\u00a0 I would never bring a geek to the prom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danny unzipped his jacket and as he did, the folded body of the War Doll fell down so the War Doll, in all of his standing glory, faced people he would soon surely have the pleasure of injuring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell I\u2019d still like to dance with them anyways. \u00a0But we can\u2019t dance without music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without removing his eyes from his adversaries onstage, he pressed play and placed the radio on the floor while it played loud, almost thunderous, soulful music that was clearly engineered for aggressive dancing, music that was adorned with what seemed like an infinite number of wonderful little beats and syncopations that gave a combat dancer so many opportunities to punch and kick in an equally infinite number of combinations.<\/p>\n

Perhaps under normal circumstances, Danny\u2019s entrance would have created an undeniable pause in his adversaries but having just removed grey wigs and cardigan sweaters, the young punks had already accepted a less than conventional confrontation.\u00a0 Being more emotional and bull-headed, Ripps charged in.\u00a0 He went for Carl.\u00a0 During his approach, for good measure, Ripps clotheslined one of the punks that had already ran off the stage.\u00a0 Carl slowly jumped off the stage and soon found himself locked in with Ripps, causing them to look like a two competitors in a WWF match.<\/p>\n

Danny walked in at a leisurely pace.\u00a0 He preferred to not make the first move.\u00a0 The odd, agitated, sometimes nervous energy of his foes is something he welcomed.\u00a0 He liked to look at them and learn.\u00a0 This was \u201ccombat foreplay\u201d and he indulged in it, especially when outnumbered.\u00a0 There was something to be said, as in Danny\u2019s case, for being outnumbered but showing no remorse or fear in such a situation.\u00a0 Such a cool response would often conquer his enemies before the fight began.\u00a0 With one of the punks being semi-unconscious on the floor thanks to Ripps brutal blow, there were five others that circled around Danny.\u00a0 Danny was impressed with how steady and confident most of them were.\u00a0 He then locked eyes with one that seemed not to have the heart for this encounter.\u00a0 Danny looked at him with such horrifying purpose that the young man\u2019s face trembled.\u00a0 With great authority, Danny spoke and stepped toward him, \u201cPain is forever!\u201d\u00a0 The young punk became so afraid that he sprinted away in the opposite direction without looking and ended up running into a wall at close to full speed.\u00a0 Danny was not above disposing of one of his enemies in such ways.\u00a0 Of the four that remained, one seemed a little affected by the display while the other three were unmoved.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Ripps\u2019s battle was setting up to be less elegant, a battle more about strength than finesse.\u00a0 Although fat, Carl quickly proved to be quite strong.\u00a0 In fact, both were surprised at how strong the other was.\u00a0 They kept hold of each other as they circled.\u00a0 The look of their encounter was one of an angry dance.\u00a0 Suddenly, with brilliant power, Carl twisted Ripps\u2019 body against the direction they were circling and slammed him to the floor.\u00a0 Before Ripps could recover, Carl threw himself on top of Ripps who was now laying on the floor stomach first.\u00a0 The fat and strength of Carl was crushing and nearly caused Ripps to black out.<\/p>\n

Carl began to laugh at Ripps as he drove his knee into Ripps\u2019 back.\u00a0 The humiliation stung Ripps and defeat felt close at hand.\u00a0 But then Ripps began to see saw dust lightly fall from Carl\u2019s hair as he laughed.\u00a0 Ripps convinced himself this was the dust of Linda which helped him access a brand new, industrial-strength rage.\u00a0 Ripps managed to get his hands to either side of his chest with palms facing down.\u00a0 He then closed his eyes and pretended he was bench pressing a large pull-out sofa (something he had done multiple times).\u00a0 Slowly but undeniably, Carl felt himself rise from the Earth.\u00a0 When Ripps\u2019 arms were extended, he expeditiously brought his legs underneath him and then pushed up and back, causing Carl to slide off his back.\u00a0 Ripps was sure to give a healthy backwards kick like a horse to Carl\u2019s face upon his descent. \u00a0This blow was a comical affair but physically and psychologically damaging.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The music playing on Danny\u2019s radio was just getting good.\u00a0 The song playing was \u201cLiving in America\u201d by James Brown.\u00a0 It was one of those rare songs that never grew old or stale for Danny.\u00a0 It really made him excited to be kicking someone\u2019s ass in America.\u00a0 Anytime he became distraught by American politics or dumb American drivers or a long line at the Post Office, Danny would play that song to remind himself of the simple pleasures that made America a wonderful thing (like black coffee and a hard roll).\u00a0 Danny could be down on the ground getting kicked in the ribs but when that glorious horn section made their presence known, Danny would feel like a million dollars after taxes.\u00a0 The song\u2019s affiliation with Rocky IV also elevated the song\u2019s status for him and made it even more fitting in the arena of combat dancing.<\/p>\n

Right around the time James started singing about super highways that run coast to coast, two of the punks rushed at Danny from opposite sides.\u00a0 With the elegance of Fred Astaire, Danny simultaneously spun and moved himself a half step backwards.\u00a0 When his body was nearing 270 degrees of rotation, he reached out in opposite directions, grabbed an arm of each invader and guided them into a violent introduction with one another.\u00a0 While those two fell to the floor, Danny took a moment or two to shake his hips and punch to the beat.\u00a0 With the lightness of a bird filled with helium, his feet slid and stepped to the beat and towards the more aggressive-looking chap of the two that remained on their feet.\u00a0 Danny allowed the young man to swing away, half-connecting a couple punches that stung but only strengthened Danny\u2019s resolve.\u00a0 Danny knew exactly where he was within the song.\u00a0 He felt the great series of beats approaching, \u201c\u2026and somewhere on the way, you might<\/em>…\u201d\u00a0 Here they were and Danny had put his enemy right where he wanted him: \u201c\u2026FIND-OUT-WHO-YOU-ARE!<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 Each word matched a heavy beat which in turn matched a quick potent punch to his enemy\u2019s face.\u00a0 And right as James Brown let out one of his trademark screams, Danny kicked the fourth and final fool in the stomach just as he mustered up the courage to approach Danny.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Ripps walked towards Carl who was on the floor and feeling foggy from Ripps\u2019 horse kick.\u00a0 Remaining on the floor, he scrambled back towards the stage in a way that made Ripps think he was trying to retrieve something.\u00a0 Carl brushed aside a pile of newspapers that were on the floor, grabbed something underneath and swung around to face Ripps.\u00a0 Ripps stopped his pursuit and was staring at the distasteful end of a nail gun.\u00a0 Carl held back the catch release trigger with his free hand and fired off two three-inch nails.\u00a0 One passed through the edge of his neck, creating a nasty gash and the other caught him in the shoulder.\u00a0 It went deep enough that he felt it make severe contact with his bone underneath.\u00a0 Ripps screamed in pain. \u00a0Carl smiled and took aim at Ripps face.\u00a0 He fired once.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The first two that Danny welcomed to the floor moments earlier were back on their feet.\u00a0 Understanding they would have little chance of eclipsing Danny in a hand-to-hand encounter, they chose now to use knives.\u00a0 They approached Danny cautiously.\u00a0 Right at that moment, Danny and his attackers were blinded by a light so bright it could only be described as other worldly.\u00a0 This light was paired with strange electrical sounds.\u00a0 One of the vandals took advantage of the confusion and lunged at Danny with his blade.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Ripps thought the bright light was his death.\u00a0 But when he heard the distinct sound of a nail entering wood, he became confused.\u00a0 The light subsided and inches from his face was Linda.\u00a0 Although he could not see it, stuck into the opposite side of his beloved piece of lumber was a nail whose destructive destiny was frustrated by one of the hardiest wood products known to man.\u00a0 Holding Linda to his right was Fred.\u00a0 He was smiling although his eyes remained quite serious.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cFuture\u2026Queer?\u201d was all Ripps could utter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Ripps\u2026and a friend I happened to pick up during my travels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ripps gingerly grabbed Linda.\u00a0 He turned her over to find a nail stuck into her.<\/p>\n

Whether Carl crapped his pants or not will thankfully never be known but his expression would lead one to believe he did.\u00a0 He dropped his nail gun and ran for the door as fast as his girth allowed.\u00a0 Fred was gone in literally a flash.\u00a0 Ripps grabbed Linda with two hands and threw her with all his might.\u00a0 She sailed furiously through the air, end over end, like a propeller.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Fred reappeared next to the War Doll, picked him up, and left again in a flash.\u00a0 Expecting to feel Danny\u2019s flesh with his knife, the vandal\u2019s knife came into contact with a different material.\u00a0 It felt like an armored pillow.\u00a0 Whatever it was, it stopped the knife completely.\u00a0 When the light evaporated, the attacker could not believe what he saw.\u00a0 The War Doll was being held by two hands that belonged to a body that stood behind Danny.\u00a0 Another flash and the mysterious figure behind Danny was gone.\u00a0 The War Doll was pinned against Danny\u2019s chest by the knife.\u00a0 Danny struck each side of his attacker\u2019s neck with the sides of his hands.\u00a0 The knife fell to the ground and Danny kicked him in the chest so hard that he left the ground for one delightful moment.\u00a0 The other knife bearer soon found himself the sufferer of an instant migraine as the War Doll\u2019s head crashed into his head.\u00a0 Danny heard the doors opening.\u00a0 He looked over.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

As I opened the door, I saw Carl running towards me.\u00a0 Before I could even react, I heard the sound of wood hitting bone.\u00a0 Carl\u2019s head shook and his eyeballs went on vacation.\u00a0 He fell to the floor, revealing Linda on the floor behind him and further in the distance, Ripps stood with blood coming out of his neck and shoulder.\u00a0 He grimaced as he pulled the nail out of his shoulder.\u00a0 A large number of police officers flooded in behind me and began \u201csecuring the scene\u201d or whatever you call it when they handcuff and arrest people.<\/p>\n

Detective Sean Mitchells walked into the gym as Danny and Ripps briefed me on their experiences.\u00a0 Sean was a black man in his mid-40\u2019s.\u00a0 A little over six feet, the detective work allowed him to gain a little weight and grow some character-adding patches of grey in his temples.\u00a0 He informed us that Lily had been arrested.\u00a0 Although we practically served this case to him on a silver platter, he showed no bitterness or pride issues.\u00a0 He was grateful and so were we to have the freedom to do what one great man thought we should do.\u00a0 I had known Detective Mitchells for several years and he was one of the first people I approached when assembling my team.\u00a0 He was happy to work with us as long as we played by certain rules.\u00a0 This mission was our first one and both of us agreed it was a success.<\/p>\n

During the course of all the action, Terrence incredibly provided Detective Mitchells and I with invaluable information.\u00a0 In an absurdly short amount of time, pulling data that was and was not for public consumption, and with Terence\u2019s pristine guidance, \u201cThe Geek\u201d almost immediately constructed an undeniable pattern within the Jopman organization.\u00a0 On numerous occasions, they had built factories on land that was purchased for little money, in situations that seemed to reek of \u201cdistressed sales\u201d.\u00a0 In a handful of them, there were corruption cases surrounding Jopman\u2019s property acquisitions but there never seemed to be enough evidence or the desire of pursuit.\u00a0 One of the things that made this case different was that Sean was armed in advance with this knowledge and instantly applied the precise pressure points of knowledge, truth and guilt upon Lily at her most vulnerable point (that point being right when Sean stormed through the front doors, flanked by so many officers) and coaxed a whopper of a confession out of her almost immediately.<\/p>\n

We more or less figured it out by the time the wench opened her mouth but Lily gracefully filled in a few details.\u00a0 The short of it is that Jopman wanted to construct a factory where the center now stood.\u00a0 As they had done previously, a shadowy figure somehow connected to Jopman decided to approach someone of importance in the community center and made a proposal: do whatever you must to close down this center, we will buy it for a low price, and you will be rewarded financially for your efforts.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, unsuccessful attempts were made to carry this investigation to the very core of Jopman but as is often the case, such a large powerful organization is protected by thick walls consisting of money, powerful people, brilliant lawyers, and genius sinister minds.\u00a0 Jopman was able to contain this loss and had no problem writing it off.\u00a0 The bastards probably figured out a way to turn it into a desirable tax write-off.\u00a0 It would have been wonderful to simply send Fred through time to gain advantageous knowledge of Jopman that could help undo the firm but the Time Travel Code of Ethics would not allow it.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Fred, he was nowhere to be seen.\u00a0 This is exactly how we needed it to be.\u00a0 The lower our profile was the better.\u00a0\u00a0 After assisting Danny, Fred vanished.\u00a0 The only one that really caught a good glimpse of him was Carl.\u00a0 Watching Carl trying to explain Fred to his arresting officers was more entertainment than I could bear.<\/p>\n

Fred took an enormous risk in doing what he did.\u00a0 It showed how incredibly talented of a time traveler he really is.\u00a0 Popping in an out of certain point of time with lots of moving targets is more dangerous than cave diving.\u00a0 And jumping in right next to a living, mobile thing is more dangerous than hang gliding in the stormy atmosphere of Jupiter.\u00a0 And to make matters more complex, he had to override Juan, his supercomputer, to even gain access to such a jump.\u00a0 Of course, there\u2019s also the grilling he is sure to receive from his superiors for such actions.\u00a0 This caused great concern for me but Fred assured me he would be able to \u201cwin the day\u201d as it relates to this matter.\u00a0 Danny did not need to be told of how large of a sacrifice this was.\u00a0 He is quite in tune with the warrior code and can sense great sacrifice practically before it happens.<\/p>\n

Ripps also acknowledges sacrifice but I had a talk with him to make sure he realized just how special this sacrifice was since Fred clearly knew of Ripps\u2019 homophobic tendencies.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think Ripps was ready to hang out at gay bars but he at the very least became more accepting and friendly towards Fred which was a positive start. \u00a0Maybe Ripps would have lived if he got shot in the face with a nail but he was most appreciative he did not have to find out.\u00a0 He was even more appreciative to have his favorite inanimate object returned to him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 7th, 2012 Without my request, Terrence contacted Danny via The Geek.\u00a0 There\u2019s no one else you would have called in this heated moment.\u00a0 Danny picked up. \u201cDanny!\u00a0 Where are you?!\u201d I blurted out. \u201cAcross the street, training with God\u2019s creatures in the wilderness of Franklin Park.\u00a0 Why are you so emotional?\u201d \u201cGet over to … <\/p>\n

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