As soon as Henry called him and invited him over for dinner, Shawn knew something was up.
There was something in his father's voice…something Shawn hadn't heard before…at least not since the night his father had arrested him…
It wasn't anger, exactly.
It was disappointment, even.
It was…cold.
Pure Henry Spencer Deep Freeze.
Shawn could actually see the icicles forming on the phone as they spoke.
"Be there at 6." Henry ordered when Shawn finally agreed to come.
"Okay."
Shawn groaned as he hung up, knowing he was in deep, deep trouble for something.
He sighed in resignation, checking his watch.
It's 4 now…
Just two hours until I find out what the hell I did this time…
That was the one nice thing about a Henry Spencer Deep Freeze…he wasn't going to have to wait long for the explosion.
If there was one thing his father was good at, it was letting Shawn know, often in graphic, boring detail, exactly what he had done wrong.
If I get there at 6…the lecture should start at…oh…6:01…or 6:00:01…
Contrary to every survival instinct he had, Shawn actually showed up on his father's porch at 6:00 on the dot.
Why delay the inevitable?
"Dad." He called, knocking on the door as he walked in without waiting for his father to answer. "I'm here."
"In the kitchen, Shawn." Henry's voice cut through the house.
Obviously, the Deep Freeze hadn't even begun to thaw.
Shawn sighed and pressed on into the kitchen.
"What's for din--" He started to ask, but stopped himself dead when he saw the scene before him.
Henry was sitting behind the table, facing the door as Shawn walked in. His arms were crossed sternly over his chest, and spread out on the table in front of him was a vast array of deadly-looking weapons.
The handgun he had carried on the force.
A large, extremely sharp butcher knife.
A machete.
A rather flimsy looking piece of bungee cord.
And what appeared to be a single stick of dynamite.
"What the hell--?" Shawn started to ask, but before he could even complete a sentence, his father cut him off.
"From what I'm told, you want to kill yourself, Shawn." Henry snapped, standing up.
"So, go ahead. Pick your weapon. I'm not going to stop you anymore."
"What? I don't—"
"I'm done, Kid." Henry cut him off again, picking up the gun and handing it to his son.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Shawn demanded, thrusting it back at his father.
Henry threw it back on the table with a loud bang.
"You've always had a death wish." He snapped, his eyes locking with Shawn's. "I've spent your entire life trying to keep you from getting yourself killed. It wasn't easy, let me tell you. From the moment you could walk, all you've wanted to do is stick your damn fingers in light sockets or jump off the top of jungle gyms and split your head open. I did everything I could to keep you alive, Shawn. I tried to teach you common sense. Well, not anymore. I'm through. There's not a damn thing I can do to keep you alive if you are such a goddamn idiot that you'll set off a damn bomb!"
"The bomb?" Shawn snorted, rolling his eyes as all the pieces finally came together. "This is about the bomb? How do you even know--"
"Karen."
"Figures."
"Are you really that desperate to die, Kid?" Henry demanded, picking up the butcher knife next. "Because if you are, you don't need to take half of Santa Barbara with you! A single shot to the head will do the same thing, and you won't murder innocent bystanders in the process! I won't stop you this time, Shawn. Not this time."
"I don't want to die, Dad." Shawn sighed, sitting down at table.
Henry grunted, tossing the knife aside as he took a seat across from his son.
"What the hell were you thinking?" He demanded. "You weren't just risking your life, Shawn! You risked Gus' life! You risked the life of everyone on that block! What the hell is the matter with you?"
"I knew what I was doing." Shawn insisted. "I knew they made the bomb! I knew they weren't going to stand there and get blown up!"
"No, you didn't!"
"Yes, I did!"
"But what if you were wrong?" Henry snapped, bringing his fist down on the table. "Did that even occur to you, Shawn? The possibility that maybe you were wrong and you were about to get innocent people killed?"
"I wasn't wrong."
"But what if you were?"
This time, Shawn didn't have an answer.
There wasn't one.
"I don't know." He mumbled finally, staring down at the floor so he wouldn't have to look in his father's eyes anymore.
"What the hell is the matter with you?"
"I don't know."
"And that's your problem, Shawn." Henry told him, standing up again. "You don't know half of what you think you know."
Henry stalked to the door, leaving Shawn alone at the table.
"It was stupid." Shawn said, just as his father reached the doorway.
Henry turned back around slowly.
"What?"
Shawn looked up at him.
"It was stupid, Dad. Real stupid…I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought I was in control…I didn't think I could die…"
Henry took a step back into the room.
"Trust me, Kid. You can die." He said quietly.
"I know."
"And you can get people killed."
"I know."
"Then don't do it. Ever again."
The timer on the oven beeped. Henry crossed to it and opened it, pulling out the burgers that were broiling inside.
Shawn stared down at the weapons on the table in front of him. His eyes rested on the stick of dynamite.
He picked it up, grinning.
"Was this really supposed to be dynamite?" He asked.
Henry didn't answer. He pretended to busy himself getting the burgers on their respective buns.
"Dad…" Shawn tried again, his grin only growing. "Was I supposed to think this was dynamite? Because…you know it's a road flare, right? It wouldn't actually kill me. It's a glorified flashlight."
"I know it's a road flare." Henry snapped, his ears starting to turn red. "I wasn't actually going to give you dynamite, Shawn! I was just making a point!"
Shawn laughed and dropped the flare, picking up the bungee cord instead.
"How is this a weapon?" He snorted. "What were you going to do? Tie me to the back of your truck?"
"It was for…bungee jumping." Henry muttered.
"Bungee jumping?"
"Yes, bungee jumping!" Henry snapped. "Another way you've tried to get yourself killed! For God's sake, Shawn, I only had a few hours to set this up! I was trying to make a damn point!"
"That you're not going to stop me from killing myself." Shawn rolled his eyes. "I know."
"No." Henry shook his head. "My point is that you can die, Shawn. You can die."
"But you said you were done stopping me." Shawn pointed out.
Henry shrugged, dropping Shawn's burger on a plate and handing it to him.
"I'm your father, Kid. I'm never done. Ever."