Chapter 53

Son Of Thunder

/Month Later – Dallas, Texas/

/Night before – C.D's Bar & Grill/

Alex, Walker, Trivette, Carlos and Khandi were sitting at the bar with C.D Parker. This wasn't the first time during the case that she was there. She had gotten to know the Texas Ranger's and friends pretty well. They knew about her family back in Las Vegas, and about how well there were eight people living in the house. Alex smiled, "Our guy, has been put behind bars. For life!"

Khandi returned the smile as C.D handed her a beer, "Thank you guys for helping catch this asshole."

Alex turned to her, as Walker looked at her, "Our pleasure."

C.D looked at them, "To celebrate, we got something real special, partner!"

Khandi laughed, "Sweet."

Trivette smiled, "Emu burgers."

C.D nodded, "Yeah. Emu burgers. They're lean, tasty and healthy for you."

Khandi held up her hands, "Woha! Is this like a Texan thing? Like Water bug biscuits and Tree Frog chili?"

Walker laughed, "Those are easy to make."

"Okay that's it. It is a Texan thing, one of my partner is from Texas." Khandi laughed.

"All you need to think about is investing." Trivette commented, "This is the meat of the future."

Carlos looked confused, "What's an emu?"

Walker just shrugged.

C.D looked at Carlos, "It's a big bird, Carlos."

"Bird burgers," Walker added, Carlos nodded.

Khandi put her arm around Carlos, "Just watch out for feathers." She said then took a swig of beer.

C.D smiled, "My partner and I here just invested quite a little money in it and I like to think we're getting in the ground floor."

Alex frowned, "Ground floor? The emu market peaked a couple of years ago. Where have you guys been?"

"You sure?" Trivette asked.

C.D pulled off his hat and hit Trivette with it, "Dagonit! I swore I'd never listen to you again!"

/Dallas, Texas/

Khandi was all by herself in Dallas, and Walker was about to drive Khandi to the airport when things went south.

Carlos Sandoval drove up to where a car chase was happening and the cops had set up a roadblock, "What have we got?" Carlos asked.

One of the cops answered, "Bank robber. Killed a guard and made off with a half a million in cash. He's heading this way."

"Then let's stop him." Carlos answered.

The cop shook his head, "We may not get a chance. There's a Texas Ranger hot on his ass."

Carlos looked just to see a car head for them with Walker's truck on it's tail. They all drew their guns and Carlos fired, "Jump!" he yelled as the car came at them.

/Hot Air Ballooning/

Katie Malloy looked at Tommy and Thunder, "Oh, I hate when you do this to me."

Tommy smiled, "C'mon, let's go!"

Thunder laughed, "Look at the kids."

Tommy looked at Katie, "C'mon, get in there!"

Katie shook her head, "I don't care, Thunder. I'm not getting into that balloon!"

"Be exciting – a real adventure." Thunder said.

Katie kept shaking her head, "Living with you is adventure enough, thank you very much."

"I promise you it's totally safe. Trust me!" Thunder countered.

As they got Katie into the balloon she spoke, "Oh, whoa! No, no. Wait! Okay, great!"

Thunder told her, "Take my hand."

Just then a robber ran up to them, "C'mon! Get this thing up now!" The robber knocked Thunder down and jumped in.

Katie screamed, "Thunder, Thunder!"

The robber seen Walker and Khandi run up to them and he took a shot at them and screamed, "C'mon! Get this thing moving!"

As Walker went to Thunder, Khandi jumped into another balloon, "Pastor Malloy, are you okay?" Walker asked.

Thunder looked at him, "Don't worry about me. He's got Kate!"

"C'mon Walker!" Khandi screamed, at Walker.

The man who was to man that hot air balloon yelled at walker, "C'mon Ranger, let's go get 'em!" he said as Khandi pulled out her pocket knife and started to cut the ropes as Walker got in, and they started to ascend.

Carlos just then arrived in his car; he jumped out and tried to jump into the balloon, "Ahhh! Get me up!"

Walker leaned over and grabbed Carlos' hand, "I got you. I got you!" he said as he and Khandi helped him in.

As they were helping him in he screamed; "Don't let me go!" and once they got him in, "Thanks a lot. Oh, God. Okay."

Walker looked at the man, "Can you get us about that balloon?"

The man smiled, "I'll do my best."

Khandi looked at Carlos who was slumped down in the basket, "You okay?"

Carlos was panting, "I'm fine. Actually, I'm not fine. I'm vertigo."

"You're afraid of heights?" The man asked.

"Uh-huh." Carlos mumbled.

"Why'd you get into the basket?" Khandi asked.

Carlos shook his head, "I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Wait tell I tell, Jimmy all about this." Khandi sighed.

"Watch out!" The man yelled as the robber shot at them.

Walker looked at the man, "Can I borrow your gloves?"

"What? You're going to… jump?" Carlos asked.

Khandi looked at the man, "Got another pair?"

The man shook his head, Walker looked at Carlos, "You have a better idea? Okay, I'll see you on the ground."

Khandi looked at Walker, "Kick some ass for me okay?"

Walker nodded then jumped onto the other balloon, Carlos looked out, "Ahhh! He landed on the balloon! Oh…" Carlos was hysterical.

The robber looked at the man that was manning the balloon, "C'mon! Get this thing going! Move it!"

Walker swung down and kicked the robber in the face knocking him to the ground. Walker looked at Katie, "You all right, Mrs. Malloy?"

Katie nodded, "Yeah, but he's not." She said pointing at the robber as Walker currently had him in a precarious hold.

"Take us down, will ya?" Walker asked the man.

/On the ground/

Khandi was standing next to Trivette who spoke, "Uh, I guess it's true what they say…"

Khandi looked at him, "What, you can run but you can't fly?" She said as she passed the robber off to another officer.

Katie and her family walked over to Khandi, Trivette and Walker, "Ranger Walker, Trivette, and I don't think I got your name." She said to Khandi.

"Detective Khandi Brass, I work with the Las Vegas Police Department."

Katie smiled, and shook Khandi's hand, "Well we just want to thank you again."

Thunder added, "And to ask you to come to our annual picnic and softball game at the church Sunday."

"We will not take no for an answer." Katie added.

Khandi sighed, but tomorrow was Sunday. Carlos just then walked over to them, "Mr. Malloy, Mrs. Malloy, are you guys okay?"

Katie smiled, "Yes. How are you, Carlos? You look a little peaked."

"Well, I kind of got a little thing about heights." Carlos confessed.

Katie looked at Thunder, "You remember Carlos Sandoval, don't you honey?"

"Of course I do. Trent's friend." Thunder answered.

Walker looked at Thunder, "Oh, by the way, how is Trent, Pastor Malloy?"

"He's fine." Thunder answered.

/On a deserted road/

Officer Williams pulled over a woman alone in a car, "I'm so sorry." She said.

"I'm going to let you go with a warning this time, but please take it easy, all right?" Williams stated.

"I will. Thank you officer." The woman said then drove away.

As she drove away a man drove up and got out of his car, "Easy, easy Mitch. Don't you recognize me?"

Williams nodded, "Yeah, I though you were…" But he didn't get the chance to finish his sentence before the man shot him.

"I was." The man said then shot him again.

/At the apartment/

The same man who shot Officer Williams drove up and got out and went to his room, where he crossed off the picture of Williams. There was a row of pictures on the wall.

/Sunday – Softball game/

Trivette and Khandi were on the same team, but Trivette on the other hand was yelling at Alex, "Don't gloat! No gloating!"

Khandi who was on second looked at Trivette who was on first, "C'mon, Jimmy…" Then it hit her, sure Trivette's name was Jimmy but he wasn't her Jimmy. Man did she miss her husband.

"Please don't gloat, Alex!" Trivette complained.

Khandi couldn't help but think that Trivette at that point reminded her of Cosmo, when her and the rest of the Cavalry would be watching a game on the wide screen and Cosmo's team would be losing. But she also couldn't help but laugh.

Tandy piped up, "That was a good hit, Ms. Cahill!"

Alex smiled, "Thank you, Tandy!"

Tandy handed the bat to Thunder, "Go ahead, Dad, knock Ms. Cahill in!"

The crowd cheered, "Yeah, let's go Thunder! Get a hit!"

Roscoe who was the pitcher smiled, "Thunder Malloy, that's it! I'm not kidding around. This is the end. You have managed to beat us five years in a row, but the fat lady's definitely getting ready to sing now!"

"C'mon just throw!" Khandi yelled.

Thunder looked at Roscoe, "Just throw the ball. Hey, this is a softball game, not a sermon!"

"Amen!" Roscoe said as he pitched the ball and Thunder stepped back.

"Strike one!" Katie said as she pulled her mask up.

Thunder whirled around, "What? Strike? Are you blind?"

"I may have married you, Thunder Malloy. But I'm not blind!" Katie said as she pulled her mask back on, "Let's play ball!"

Tyler who was out in outfield called out, "Way to go mom!"

"Anybody can tell that's a perf – Good call, ump, good call." Thunder mumbled and Walker laughed.

Roscoe pitched and Thunder got a hit, "Damn!"

"Watch out Moses!" Thunder yelled as the dog, Moses chased after him.

Alex was driven home, "Way to go, Thunder!"

"Thanks, Dad!" Tyler called out again.

"Moses, I hit the ball, not you! Now go on, get out of here." Thunder said as he sighed and bent over.

Thunder was on second base, Khandi's base she looked at him, "You okay, Thunder?"

Thunder nodded, "Yeah. I guess I should have passed on that second piece of pie." He said then yelled out, "C'mon, Tommy buddy, bring your old dad in!"

Trivette punched his glove, "Right here, buddy, right here!"

Tommy got up to bat and practiced a swing, "Going right over your head!" he yelled.

"Looking at you, Tommy." Trivette yelled, "Right here!"

Tommy got a long hit, in Khandi's direction; she even tried to jump to get it but landed on her ass. She stood up as Tommy chased after Thunder, "Oh yeah! C'mon, Dad!"

Roscoe threw his glove down, "Man, six years in a row!"

Thunder ran to home and as Tommy was surrounded by people, he went over to the fence and collapsed, Tommy noticed and ran to him, "Dad!"

Roscoe noticed, "Thunder?"

/At a crime scene/

Trivette, Khandi and Walker bailed out of Walker's truck, "So much for home." Khandi mumbled walking up behind Trivette.

"Ever think of becoming a Ranger?" Trivette asked.

Khandi laughed, "No thanks."

Walker looked at the two. They all watched the cops zip up a body bag, "This is the second one in three days."

"Someone is randomly killing cops." Khandi replied.

"Or killing people who happen to be cops." Trivette commented.

"Exactly," Walker nodded then noticed Khandi, "You are actually wearing cowboy boots."

"Now we just need to get her in a cowboy hat." Trivette smiled.

Khandi shook her head, "Enough, boys." She smiled, "Any connections?" she said turning her attention back to the case.

"All right, let me check in the files." Trivette said, "There's no obvious connections so far. Different departments, different ages."

"Why don't you pull the arrest records by officers in the last five years, see if there's a connection." Walker suggested.

Khandi smiled, "Long shot. I'll put a call in to Vegas, let them know I'm staying here till we catch the prick." She said and walked away from Trivette and Walker.

"All right," Walker said and turned to Trivette.

Trivette looked at him, "She's right, it's a long shot."

"Yeah, I know. Only shot we've got."

Khandi called once, no answer on Jim's cell phone. She hung up and then called again, no answer, so she decided to leave a message. "Hey honey, it's me. I thought I would call and say that I don't know how long I am going to be down here. But I just got wrapped up in another case. Hope everything is fine. Call me when you get the chance. Love you."

/At the apartment/

The same man from before crossed off another face on his wall.

/At the church/

Thunder was lying in a casket, Katie spoke, choking back the tears, "I guess this is it, huh? We had a wonderful life together. And I'm really grateful for that. I wish it didn't have to end so soon. I know you're in a better place." She said as Trent showed up, "And don't worry about us, sweetheart; we'll be fine."

"Mom?" Trent asked, standing right behind her.

Katie turned around, "Oh, Trent!" she said hugging him, and she started to cry.

"Okay, mom, it's going to be okay." Trent said hugging her.

Katie pulled away and looked at him, "I'm so glad you're here."

Trent looked at Thunder, and then tried comforting Katie, "It's going to be okay."

/At the house/

Trent was in the kitchen, "Mom, need any help?"

Katie shook her head; "I'm okay in here. Why don't you go in the living room? I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."

Alex smiled, "Starting with me. Hi, Trent."

Trent hugged Alex, "Hi Alex."

A sympathetic look covered Alex's face, "I'm sorry about your loss."

"Thank you." Trent said trying to smile.

C.D who was there too watched them. Alex was who spoke, "Yeah, you go ahead. I'll help your mom."

Trent shook his head, "Two against one. Okay." He said then went into the living room.

"Go on!" Katie pushed.

"Mighty pretty funeral, son." C.D said to Trent, "Old Thunder would have been proud."

"Thank you, Mr. parker." Trent replied.

"Oh, son, you want to stay real close to your momma now. She's going to need you." C.D said. C.D was a wise man. Almost everyone that knew Walker knew C.D.

Trent nodded and went into the study and envisioned Thunder's sermons. Thunder: Blessed are the poor in spirit for there is a kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall…

But Trent's thoughts were interrupted when Millie spoke, "Trenton, Trenton."

Trent turned around and Millie hugged him, "Thank you, Millie. Thank you."

Millie turned around and walked away with a friend, "I've known that family for over thirty years."

Trent was still standing in the study, looking at his trophies when Khandi and Walker walked in, "Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Walker asked.

"It does," Trent answered.

Walker looked at the trophy the Trent was holding, "Hey, I remember this tournament. You were one heck of a competitor."

"You still look like you could kick my ass around the block." Khandi smiled.

Trent smiled, "I had one heck of a teacher."

Khandi placed a hand on Trent's arm, "So how are you holding up?"

Trent shook his head, "I don't know. It's hard. So much to think about, I feel like a caged animal; I'm so antsy."

Khandi sighed, she felt bad, and she knew that even if she couldn't save the world, she could do some good. It seemed like Walker knew what she was thinking, "Well, I think I've got a cure for that."

/At the gym/

Khandi was first to get in the ring with Trent. She had on the gear, and was wearing a black sports bra with black sweat pants, "Are you serious?" Trent asked Khandi.

Khandi smiled, "Look, ask Walker. I've taken on men bigger then you."

"She did." Walker smiled.

They boxed and practiced moves for a while and then Khandi knocked Trent down, Trent tapped. Next Khandi moved to the side and let Walker at him. Once a few moves and such Trent relaxed, "Okay, okay, I feel better. I feel better. Okay?"

Walker looked at him, "Okay, good. So, what are your plans?"

Trent sighed, "To tell you guys the truth, I don't know. I've been giving it a lot of thought though. I'm supposed to be back on the base Monday but then I've got responsibilities to my family and it's kind of tearing me up."

Walker looked at him, "I remember another time when you were kind of torn up. As I recall, you worked through that okay."

"Yeah, with your help." Trent replied.

"Well, I'm always here when you need me." Walker said standing up extending his hand.

Khandi walked over and extended hers, "And I'm just a phone call away."

Trent smiled, "Thanks." He said taking both of there hands and then Walker put his arm around him.

"Okay."

"No more, no more!" Trent said as Walker tightened his grip.

Khandi and the rest laughed.

/At the apartment/

The same man as before was there. And he had a scanner on and was making a bomb. And crossed out another cop's picture.

/At the restaurant/

A cop named Dave looked at another, "I've never heard of anything so ridiculous in my life. All I'm saying is Marco Polo brought back spaghetti from China, right? In my book, it makes this Chinese food."

"In my book, that makes you an idiot," the cop replied.

"My wife has that same book." Dave answered, "Hey, I gotta go see a man about a horse."

"Yeah, and if I see the waitress, I'll tell her to bring Chopsticks, okay?" The cop shook his head.

Dave went into the bathroom. The same man walked in and stood behind Dave. Dave didn't turn around but spoke, "It's all yours, man." He said then turned around, "Hey, aren't you…"

The man shot Dave, "Yeah, Dave, I am." He said then left the restaurant and drove away.

/Next Day – Mall/

Trent had decided to leave the army for good and get a job as a security guard at the mall. A mother with her son Billy was shopping. The mother spoke, "Billy, you think Grandma would like this? Billy?" But the kid was riding a big wheel towards the escalators.

Trent caught him and held on, "Whoa, close call! Where's your mommy, huh? Where's mommy?" The mother ran over to them and thieves ran out of the store, "Evil Knieval, huh?" Trent asked then grabbed them both, "Get down, stay here!"

A man who was robbed yelled, "They robbed my jewelry store!" The robbers shot at Trent and he slickly slid down the side of the escalator, he caught up to the robbers. He used a few spin kicks and fancy moves to knock them out. The man ran up to him, "Thank you! You don't know what this means. These items were brought in for appraisal. I could have lost everything."

Trent smiled, "Just doing my job."

"Just doing your job?" The man asked, "Young man, you did much more than that. And just between you and me, your talents are wasted in a place like this. Mark my words. Thanks."

Khandi walked up with Carlos and Walker, "He's right." Khandi smiled.

Trent looked up as he was unloading the robber's guns, "Who did this?" Carlos asked.

The woman pointed at Trent, "He did."

"I'll be darned." Carlos laughed, along with Khandi and Walker.

TBC…