Fire And Rain
Prologue: Suzanne
For Suzanne Bluestone, it had been a long day at work. She hoped, as she opened the door to her apartment, that Matt had made something to eat. She entered, hung up her coat and checked the kitchen. Mac and cheese was sitting in a pot, half of it scooped out. "Matt?"
"Hey, Suzy, you're home!"
"When did you cook this?"
"An hour ago. When you were supposed to be home." Matt threw his sister a meaningful glance. Suzanne shrugged. "I got tied up with a client. He wants things done in a specific way. And you'll never guess who it is."
"Amaze me."
"David Xanatos."
"Should I know who that is?"
"He's rich, Matt! Really rich, and he's paying me a good sum for doing his accounting." Matt raised an eyebrow. "Are we talking about a lot of money?" Suzy smiled. "You'll be able to go to college if he signs me on. Which I have a feeling he will." Matt broke into a wide grin. "And we'll move out of here and into somewhere nice?"
"Staten Island or Manhattan, take your pick."
"Wow."
"That's what I said. I'm expecting a call from him sometime soon."
"Wow." Suzanne affectionately mussed her brother's hair. "Have you done your homework?"
"I'm workin' on it," Matt replied in an exaggerated New York accent. He shuffled back into his room, mumbling something about disliking trig. Suzy rolled her eyes and spooned out the cold mac and cheese. She had just shoved it into the microwave when someone knocked on the door. She checked the peephole and saw two men in business suits. Figuring that they must be from Xanatos, she opened the door and stepped out. "Are you Suzanne Bluestone?"
"Yes. Who are you? Are you from Mr. Xanatos?" She took a look at both of them, noticing that each wore pins on their lapels. "What do you want?"
"How are you connected to Xanatos?"
"I'm his accountant. Why?" The two men looked at each other with a knowing glance.
Matt had his radio cranked up, trying to study. Even with Def Leppard blaring something from their latest album, he still heard Suzanne's screams. "What?" He shoved the textbook out of his lap and made a mad dash for the door. He got to the door, flung it open and saw his sister being attacked by two guys in suits. "Hey! Get away from her now!" Matt put all his inertia and force into ramming the guy closest to him. He knocked him over into the opposing wall. The other one still had a gun- what seemed like a Saturday Night Special- and was pointing it directly at Matt's center of mass. One good shot and he'd be a goner. Putting his last bits of bravado into motion, he asked, "Who are you?"
"You won't care in a few minutes." Matt's antagonizer lunged out at him and shoved him hard. Matt normally would have rebounded easily- he didn't play basketball for nothing- but he had been standing directly behind a flight of stairs. The stairs were only one flight, but were hard and cement. When he hit the ground, he heard a sharp popping noise, but he wasn't sure if it was the gun or his spine...
Matt woke up, much to his amazement, in the hospital. "Matthew? Can you hear me? This is your neighbor, Ethel Kinney. You've been asleep for five days." Matt opened his eyes to see an older neighbor that lived near him. "Mrs. Kinney? Am I alive?"
"Yes dear, the doctors patched you up."
"Where's my sister?" Mrs. Kinney turned away and began to cry softly. Matt felt his own start to roll down his face. "Where's Suzanne?"
"Buried two days ago." Matt said nothing for a long time. "Who killed her?" he finally asked in a grim tone.
"We don't know. The police said that it was probably some gang with connections to the underworld. They wore suits-"
"-and weird lapel pins." Matt laid his sore head back down. "I'll get them one day. I'll make them pay for what they've done."
"Matt, please, calm down. You're still very ill." Matt tried to relax but questions and a burning need for vengence surged through him. "Who paid for it all?" A blond man near the door stepped forward. "Mr. Xanatos did."
"Who is this 'Xanatos' guy anyway?"
"My employer. Mr. Xanatos has authorized me to give you the deed to your sister's plot, all the paperwork, one million dollars, and his deepest condolences."
"Is this hush-up money? Just in case it's bad PR for him?"
"No, Mr. Bluestone, it is merely a token of Mr. Xanatos' sympathies."
"I don't want his sympathy or his money. I want my sister back."
A week later, Matt stood with the help of a crutch near a small tombstone. He bent down slowly and painfully to sit next to it. He traced the letters with his bandaged finger. "Suzanne Marie Bluestone, May we never forget those gone. March 24th, 1962 to June 9th, 1985." He placed his one offering on the stone- a white lily. "I'll find out who did this, Suzanne," he promised. "And I will get them."
I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again.
