Where Angel Fears to Tread

Chapter 20

Paved with Good Intentions

The sandal swung limply as Cobra clenched the frayed end of the strap. The mud road would lead him all the way back to the town, of that he was certain. But in the gray light of the dawn that comes before the sun really takes hold of the sky, Cobra realized he had lost track of the distance he had covered. Exhaustion had reared its head, and the sandal had swung with less and less vigor the longer and longer he walked.

"I have to get off this island…" he muttered repeatedly, the mantra willing his body to continue. When his eyelids grew heavy, he remembered the flash of light, the wave of heat, and the blast of force. He remembered jumping on the precipice, screaming into the night sky as the shadowy creatures completed their abduction. He remembered the oath he had tried to swear to the little girl.

I will keep them safe.

The Kaua`i sun had been high in the sky when he had found her and the blue one nestled into the beach, laughing at the antics of several tourists. It had been some time since the clone army had been defeated, and they had all settled into their new roles. Cobra's was one of constant bickering — with the government to keep funds flowing, with numerous genetic experiments to keep them in line, and with the little girl sitting in the sand to keep her out of harm's way.

He had broken out the Aloha shirt again — "blending in," as the pale noodle alien would spout. It was an unusually hot and bright day, a perfect time for the sunglasses to take residence upon the bridge of his nose. His sandals left divots in the soft sand as he made his way to her. She had been hiding from the world for a few days — he was elated to see her loafing about on the beach now.

She had noticed him, too, and she shouted out in a surprisingly mature voice, "Hey Cobra! Over here!" Lilo had stood up, and he caught his breath once he saw how tall she was. Where's the seven year old, who could barely climb into my car? He smirked and returned the greeting.

The blue one hopped up, too. He looked exactly the same as the day he crashed into Cobra's life — and Lilo's. The wide dark eyes shimmered, almost bashfully. The ears were flopping around in the light breeze kicking up granules of sand. Cobra wondered what could have been vexing the furball, who was typically so vibrant and energized. He soon had his answer.

"We heard you were…."

Cobra was aghast, but as usual, he blanketed it under the trained stoicism. "Who told you?"

"Does it matter?" The clear voice wavered. "Please…please don't leave us!"

Even in her taller body and with her duskier voice, Cobra still heard the seven year old, pleading with him to keep their broken family intact. Like before, a passionate fury had now been let loose, overtaking the sun's heat and intensity. Cobra was glad his eyes were sheathed behind darkened lenses — there was a fair chance he would have broken down without the sunglasses to hide behind. "I don't want to, you must believe that. But my role here on the island, without the potential threats looming anymore…it's been more than a year—nearly two—since the Leroy thing, and the investment now, it's just not popular with mainland bureaucrats. They're pinching pennies, and I'm one that needs to be pinched."

The words felt cruel as they slithered from his mouth. They cut deeply into the little girl whom he had come to save that day so long ago. She had been tough then, raucous and rowdy and unyielding. Surely, she would understand now — that she would be just as tough and raucous and rowdy and unyielding when he really needed her to be.

She would prove to be tough, just not how Cobra had planned. "B-but there are still threats out there! These guys—"she gestured at the blue one, who drooped his ears on cue. "They aren't safe yet! There're still others out there who wanna hurt them!"

"Like who?" Cobra was steadfast in stance, but inside, he was begging for a good answer. Give me something to take back to them. Give me a reason to stay.

"I! I…." She was trying. Cobra could plainly see it. She wanted to give him an answer as badly as he wanted to have one. She had always been cleverer than most, and Cobra was willing to bet she had caught on to his drift. Though Cobra was officially charged with handling alien affairs on the island, Lilo had really been his guide these many years. She had befriended some strong galactic sources, and the blue one and his kind had buddied up with others across star systems. Were there truly a galaxy-level, clear and present danger to her `ohana and, by proxy, to the Earth, she would think of it.

Waves crashed along the beach, nearing the trio's feet as the tides shifted. Rivulets of seawater were pooling behind her, in much the same way as the tears were pooling in her eyes while her mouth twitched in noncompliance. Cobra sighed and tugged at the seams of his Aloha shirt. The corners were fluttering in the ocean breeze, directing the air to cool his torso. A bead of sweat rolled down past his eye, and with a short burst of wind, the droplet splattered on the darkened lens of his sunglasses. Cobra moved a hand to pull down the glasses and wipe them clean.

"Meega know."

Cobra paused and trained his shaded gaze to the blue one. There remained a bashful aura around him, but when he spoke, it resonated with a surprising confidence. "…`ohana supposed to be good now, ih?"

"That's right," Cobra indulged the experiment.

"What if…if `ohana not good?"

"What! Stitch, don't say tha—"

He cut off Lilo with a sharp wave. "Ih. Cousins are good. Isa truth. But Cobra…can tell them we are still…dangerous."

Maybe it was how those wide dark eyes glistened in the sunlight, or maybe it was how those ears flopped in the breeze, but Cobra was constantly made to forget how intelligent the blue one actually was. A gifted strategist lay beneath the cute and fluffy exterior. The young idea held some merit, Cobra believed. It still needs some shaping, but it may just be enough….

Still, Cobra's core morality offered its objection. "So you want to lie about it? To the government?"

Lilo seemed to comprehend her partner's larger objective, and jumped to Stitch's aid. "It's not a lie, so much as…a little bending of the truth."

"It's a lie all the same."

She planted her feet in the sand and huffed. Cobra twitched as a near perfect, albeit shorter, facsimile of Nani argued with him. "But—we mean well! It's for the right reasons, Cobra. To take care of his cousins — that's good enough, right?"

Yes! Cobra's head yelped. It was a brilliant ploy. Distrust of the Kaua`i visitors always ran rampant through Langley. The Leroy Incident had riled the bureaucrats to action — as much as they could managed to be riled, at least — but that energy had been expended quickly. Now, Cobra was only there because it was taking an excruciatingly long while to reassign him.

With the blue one's idea, though, he could remain on the island to ensure the Experiments' compliance with the terms of their stay and maintain order, spinning his bosses' trepidations to his advantage. The vast majority of Cobra's mind was settled on the plan. Yet, a small but vocal bit pushed back. "Lilo, I appreciate it, really. But that's a dangerous game to play, and even if we're doing it for the right reasons, who knows where it could lead? After all, the road to hell is—"

"—paved with good intentions. Yes, I know that." The little dunes of sand forming behind her sandaled heel shifted. As her stance softened, so did her tone. "But all that you do here on the island…it's definitely not about making bureaucrats happy. It's about keeping Stitch and his cousins safe. You've done so much for us already and…whether or not they know it now, those cousins still need you. We all still need you. Please…for us."

The mendacity did not bother Cobra. He was more than happy to keep his superiors uninformed on their progress with the visitors — Cobra always reminded them of his former agent status when they grew impatient or churlish, which had been happening with greater frequency. The kernel of fear he held deep within, then, was not for himself, but rather for them, the family he was charged to keep safe. Inviting more suspicion on the Experiments could hold unintended consequences, ones that Cobra was not sure he was ready to discover, or that the blue one and his kin would be prepared to handle.

But as the blue one stood, slouched but sturdy, Cobra found himself sighing and nodding. Cobra had little other recourse, and he loathed to be transferred to some backwater office without such a scenic view. Plus, she was right.

"…I'll try." It was the best he could offer. It appeared satisfactory.

"Thank you." She scratched the blue one's wild tuft of fur, and he purred gratefully. "No matter how it turns out Cobra…please keep them safe."

Say it. Cobra readjusted the frames on the bridge of his nose. Tell her you will. The rivulets were spilling over their shallow pools. They split through the dry sand and surrounded his sandaled feet. He watched the smile break out across the blue one's face. The mendacity did not bother Cobra. The kernel of fear was not for him. I hope he's ready.

"First things first," Cobra offered instead, "I'll have to get us a budget to work with."

And Cobra had done it — half the old budget, but he had secured a budget nonetheless. And he did it again, and it was halved again, next year. And Cobra had fulfilled his duty. I had kept them safe. He passed a charred trunk, granules of ash drifting away in the breeze. The road, the jungle, even the sky was graying as he walked. He would soon crest the hill and arrive back in the remains of the town.

After he tucked away the swinging sandal into a cavernous pants pocket, he reached a meaty hand into his jacket and extricated his cell phone. "Five percent left…plenty," he mumbled to himself. "So long as no one—"

The ringtone was grating. He had half a mind to chuck it over the ledge and watch it tumble down into the glassy oblivion of boiled sea below. The other half, however, had already swiped its acceptance.

"Sir?"

He let the irate voice rattle his speaker for a little bit. "No sir, but I may have found one…no, taken by…no, they weren't responsible for any of this…because I know!"

Cobra did not mean to lose his temper, but the short burst was enough for the irate voice to kick up again. He waited for the appropriate moment. "No sir, I didn't mean—no, we didn't make a mistake…if they hadn't been here? We can't know what would've…maybe something else would've…fine, of course sir. I'll keep looking."

He clutched the phone in a tight grip. He had been walking at a much faster and more furious pace as the terse conversation with Langley had unfolded, and then fallen apart. Ahead and below lay the jutting bits of rubble that comprised the once-vibrant town. Waves lapped anemically over glassed beaches and powdered remains. The teams were still working, but with a much reduced expediency. Many a hazmat-clad worker were sitting on chipped cinder blocks or a pile of someone's home, gesturing wildly, their laughs carrying surprisingly well through the chilly air.

The phone buzzed, and Cobra watched as one percent dropped to zero, and the phone shut down. Disgust and anger finally overwhelmed him. In one smooth motion, the phone took flight, soaring over the edge of the precipice and tumbling down into the choppy glass-filled waters below. Cobra tugged on the sleeves of his jacket, dusting off the lapels, and replaced the darkened lenses atop the bridge of his nose right as the sun finally broke over the horizon.

I will keep them safe, Lilo.

"I have to get off this island." He was walking toward the center of town, which the rising sun illuminated with a lazy light. He glared past the dejected clusters of humanity to a small inlet nestled in the trees. He knew what lay beyond. "I just hope it's still there."

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