I do not own Mr. Monk or Natalie Teeger, nor Leland Stottlemeyer or Randy Disher. But I do own the ideas, and I need you to kindly review it to say if the ideas are just readable enough.
Mr. Monk Meets the Redeemer.
PROLOGUE I
Monk stepped out of the taxi, shrugging his shoulders and cocking his head to the right, visibly concerned. He stood in front of the airport doors and motioned, indicating he wanted to return to the taxi. The dark night, and the cold wind of Frisco´s autumn evening pleaded with Monk to return to his own home for his pajamas, his bed, and of course, Trudy's pillow.
Leland held Monk's arm tightly and looked seriously at his friend. "Monk, do not even think about it." Monk swallowed with difficultly, and looked at Natalie, his eyes begging for mercy.
"Hey, Mr. Monk! This will be great, I'm telling you!" Natalie held Monk's arm.
"And Dr Bell gave you those magical tablets to help you sleep, right? They are "less harmful" than Dioxinyl. It'll just make you relax and rest. Then, when you awake, you'll be in London! Yeah! " Natalie rattled on, trying to cheer up Monk.
"Y-eah," repeated Monk, discouraged and dreading what was about to come.
Randy followed the three of them, pushing the cart with their luggage in it. He was very excited because his "wallet girlfriend" would be in London for a fashion contest. He chose this as the perfect occasion to officially introduce her to the Captain and Monk. And yes, to Natalie too...
"Isn't this great?" Natalie repeated to Monk, looking animatedly through a sightseeing guide about London. "See, The London Bridge, Tate Gallery, Big Ben ..."
"Natalie, we are going to a Law Enforcement Convention. Your boss might even receive a commendation! We are not on vacation, we are representing the SFPD!" Leland said sternly, as he approached the check-in counter.
"Yes, but we have a whole day free! There are just over 10 hours of flight time, the convention will take place the day after tomorrow, so we will have plenty of time to look around. At least, we can ride a double-deck bus, right, Mr. Monk?" She rubbed Monk's arm excitedly.
"Just over 10 hours ...why not exactly 10 hours? …Ahh...no… why not no hours?? Why not just... not go? No hours at all?" complained Monk.
"C'mon, Mr. Monk. You'll thank me later!" Natalie said, handing their tickets to the attendant.
Monk touched his eyebrow with his index finger, then he wiped some sweat drops from his forehead. "The planes… they are... very big. Very large. Very heavy. How can they leave the ground? " began Monk, pacing back and forth, not realizing he was calling the attention of the airport security to his odd behavior.
"Natalie, I think Monk needs you," Leland spoke quietly while lowering the leaflet Natalie was looking at and indicating with his head to the two security guards that were watching Monk with concern.
"Madam, is everything all right?" The flight commissioner asked, referring to a now almost panicked Monk, who was speaking to himself while struggling with his handkerchief, trying to open it to efficiently dry his forehead.
"Hey, Mr. Monk, don't worry. Everything will be fine". Natalie took the handkerchief and dried Mr. Monk's forehead. He calmed down a bit, and looked at Natalie with terror in his eyes.
Natalie folded the handkerchief and gave it back to him. Then she calmly handed him his ticket and boarding pass. After that she started to look around in her purse for the pill bottle. Together, they headed to the gate.
"Mr. Monk, here, take one," Natalie offered the pills to him along with a bottle of Summit Creek. "One is enough, Dr Bell warned."
Monk, taking the bottle, gave a nervous smile to Natalie. The pair, nervous boss and confident assistant, kept walking just following Leland and Randy through the terminal. Monk went though the metal detector with no problem, as did Natalie, but she stopped a bit to show the contents of her bag to the security officer.
Monk opened the bottle of water and took the pills. Two pills, at once.
Natalie reached for him, putting her hand on his arm and they walked to the gate. Monk gave the bottle back to Natalie, as he finished off the water. Natalie winked at him, taking back the pills.
Ten minutes later, Monk, Natalie and Leland were seated at the gate, waiting for their flight to be called. Leland was relaxing in his chair, with both hands entwined behind his head and his legs stretched in front of him, eyes closed. Natalie was reading a magazine about London, with a lot of pictures and city tours options, while Monk was trying to keep his mind busy counting and re-counting the black spots on the carpet.
It was a light grey carpet, with black round spots on it. As Natalie would not allow him to stand up, he could only see part of the carpet from where he was seated, which made him feel more uncomfortable. There wasn't an even number of spots around them. He counted 159 spots, not including bubble-gum globs and other stains. He dared not imagine what they were.
Bending his head to see more clearly below the row of chairs opposite them, Monk was still counting spots when Randy joined them, carrying a bag full of tax-free stuff and sipping a large cup of Pepsi.
"Hey, duty free shops are the best part of plane travel, don´tcha think, Monk?" He sat down beside Monk.
Monk slowly raised his head until it was level with Randy's cup, then grimaced at Randy and turned to Natalie: "Nat... Natalie, I have to ... to go to the…" Natalie understood what Monk meant when he looked at the empty bottle of Summit Creek in his hands.
"Are you sure? Can't you hold it a bit until we get into the plane?" She interrupted him.
"No, no, you do not understand, Natalie. I took the sedatives...I am afraid of getting way too relaxed, before ….uh….boarding. You know I don't want to go, but I have to..." Monk stood up stumbling a bit.
Natalie stood up also, but Monk told her, "No, no, you stay here. It won't take long. Be right back."
"Be right back? Are you trying to fool me, Mr. Monk? Are you trying to run away, again? C'mon, we don't have cleaning stuff here, It will take too long. It's a public toilet, aren't you…"
"Natalie! You're making it sounds worse then it already is. Told ya, be right back. Trust me, I'll be right back." and Monk walked towards the toilet.
Natalie became a little concerned, because the last words out of Monk's mouth were garbled, as if he was drunk. As the speaker called for boarding passengers, Monk stopped, and without turning to Natalie, he pointed up, showing he was aware of the call. Natalie still looking at him, sighed, and then headed to the boarding gate, together with Leland and Randy.
Inside the plane, Natalie took the window seat, leaving the aisle one for Monk. She looked with concern at her wrist watch. Monk had not returned yet. Leland and Randy were seated two rows ahead of them. Natalie looked again at the clock when the flight attendant began to pass out pillows and blankets to the passengers in their seats.
Monk, hearing the last boarding call, remembered that he should turn around and aim in the direction of the people in airline uniforms over at the counter. How long did he just stand there? Where was he trying to go? He could not remember, so he turned back and walked over to the smiley uniformed people.
Monk handed his ticket to one attendant, who quickly checked it and immediately grabbed Monk's arm. She rushed him through the door and down the boarding corridor. He was late for boarding! She was able to put him on the plane shortly before they started to close the door. Monk thanked the flight attendant, and sat, after stumbling a little, in the first available seat, next to the door. Almost unconsciously, he fastened his seatbelt and heard, far away, the door being locked. He thought briefly about looking for Natalie as his head tilted to one side, and he blanked out.
Natalie stood up quickly and started to rush forward to Leland, as she saw the doors close. However, the flight attendant prevented her from going further forward and with a stern look, sent her back to her seat, reminding her to fasten her seatbelt. In despair, Natalie told her that her boss has not yet embarked, he must still be boarding. But the attendant assured her that all passengers had embarked. She said that she had personally checked the list:
"Your boss could have taken another seat, so as soon as the plane takes off, you can look for him, okay?"
"Uhhohhh," sighed Natalie sitting reluctantly, while stretching her neck to search for Monk.
She calmed down when finally spotted Monk seated a little ways ahead, in the aisle seat next to Leland. Definitely it was Monk, with his dark-brown suit and his short curly black hair. She gave a smile of relief when she saw him grabbing the arm of the seat, as the plane began to move. He moved his hand a little further back then, to hold the seat's arm with more confidence. That's when Natalie realized that something was wrong. Something was missing: the man had no ring finger.
The plane took off.
Author´s note: I had to separate the Prologue in two sections, just because I have a huge problem: I keep writing and writing... Hopefully I have a great friend helping me through this: the intrepid Kathy Hurst, who among cardboard boxes of packed households, whipped cream cans and frozen meatballs found energy and motivation enough to review and edit the story...Thanx, Kathy!
So, that´s pretty much the way the story will be told. Not too many dialogues, and (a bit) long chapters. Please, do review and tell me if this is ok enough for me to go on.