One of the "Top Ten Mysterious,
Ironies of the World" might be how someone's life can
experience BIG changes in a small amount of time. This was true for Darien Fawkes.
A morning which had started out perfect had suddenly turned to a disaster within a few
minutes. Having an ex-girlfriend unexpectedly show up at your work and then chew you
out for some unknown reason was not exactly the highlight of Darien's day. An hour had
gone by since the Invisible Man's meeting with Casey. Those sixty minutes were a blur to
Darien. He had so many questions running through his mind that it was hard to keep
concentrated. Once Casey had left he was unconcerned when the Official had barked at
him for his tardiness in getting to work on time. Any other day Darien would've come
up with a witty remark to match the Fat Man's comments of disapproval. ("Fawkes, it is
absolutely unexceptable to come in three hours late!" "Come on, boss. You know
you're only upset because you missed the new episode of 'All My Children'." ) After the
one sided Official lecture, Darien had spent the remainder of that hour in the Keep.
Claire was insisting on daily check-ups to make sure that Darien was not suffering side
effects from the suicide gene. After several minutes of playing lab rat, Darien was allowed
to leave.
Upon exiting the Keeper's dungeon, Darien was immediately greeted by his partner.
"Hey, buddy," Bobby commented to his tall friend. "How ya doing, kid?"
"Hobbes, you're doing the nickname thing," Darien complained. It was a well known
fact that Robert Hobbes would start to play the 'name game' with his partner whenever
he was about to comment on an uncomfortable topic. Tiger, Pallie, Bud, Stud, Kid.....
these were all common vocabulary words used during the "game".
Hobbes shrugged. "I don't know what your talking about, Fawksie. So....what are
your plans for tonight?"
"I don't know. I was thinking about staying up all evening to watch the James Bond
Marathon on television," Darien sarcastically replied.
"Please, my friend. That's nothing near the truth. You don't think I don't know what your
gonna do as soon as you step into your apartment?"
"Hmm...I'll bite. What will I do as soon as I get inside my apartment, Hobbes?"
"First you'll flop down on your coach as you always do. Then you'll flip on the T.V.
and quickly channel surf through your pathetic non-cable channels. When you've realized
there's nothing good on, you'll finally pick up the phone and dial your ex-girl's number."
It was somewhat an eerie feeling that Hobbes could predict exactly what Darien
would've done in this type of situation. None the less, Fawkes denied his partner and simply
shrugged his shoulders and continued to silently walk down the hallway. After a moments
pause, Bobby jogged after his friend and gently laid a hand on Darien's shoulder to stop him.
"Darien, having Casey suddenly show up has got to have left you with several unanswered
questions -"
"You bet," Darien muttered.
" - but maybe you shouldn't let your curiosity take over. I mean...maybe you shouldn't
be so...so...anxious to call her up and get the answers. Maybe the lady needs some time to...
to....cool off because I mean, she seemed awfully tense and.....know what I'm trying to say
here? Besides, there's that saying about curiosity and the cat being killed."
"A cat being killed?" Darien asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah, the cat being murdered by curiosity."
"Hobbes, you're making this sound like a Friskies' Cat Chow commercial. Man, will you just
get to the point already?"
Robert sighed. After shuffling his feet a bit, he held up his left hand as if it was of
some significance to Darien.
Obviously confused, Fawkes replied, "What? Five words? You want to play charades
now?"
"No, no," Hobbes shook his head. "The ring. She had...a..a wedding ring on Fawkes."
A wave of disappointment immediately cascaded over Darien's face. Several seconds of
silence passed by as Fawkes stared at his partner with a glazed over look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, buddy." Hobbes patted him on the shoulder.
With nothing to say, Darien Fawkes trudged down the hallway and exited the Agency.
Uncertain of what to do, his partner was left standing alone in the middle of the hall. In a way
he felt partly responsible for breaking the news to his pal.
"Why is the truth always so cruel?" he silently wondered.
***
Inside the Agency's main office, The Official leaned back in his large, desk chair and
skimmed through the pages of his "Gardening At Home" magazine. He had just finished reading
an article on care for indoor flowers when he was suddenly startled by a rapid tapping at the
room's door.
Once he had safely shoved the literature under a pile of reports, he bellowed, "Come in!"
The door was cracked open and Eberts's small head peeked into the room.
"Excuse me, sir? I was wondering if now would be a good time?"
The Official sighed, "Come on in, Eberts."
Obeying, Eberts opened the door to reveal a large, green vacuum. He rolled it into
the office, shut the door, and then got down on his hands and knees to search for an outlet.
"I assure you this will only take a few minutes, sir."
The Agency's Official dismissed the comment by silently waving his hand.
"You've got plenty of time. There is, amazingly, nothing left on my agenda. It seems that
crime is at an all-time low today. I even tried to get an assignment from our sponsors to see
if we could assist them with anything, but they didn't have any jobs either. If this keeps up, we'll
be out of a job Eberts," he chuckled.
"Perhaps I could arrange for the Keeper to meet with you since you wanted to speak with
her on the matter of Mr. Fawkes?" Eberts suggested.
"No, not quite yet. After Darien's troubles this morning I think she'll be too sympathetic towards
him. I highly doubt she would favor my proposition." He sighed, "That's the only disadvantage to Claire.
She always becomes so attached to her patients. I thought Darien, having such a rebellious attitude
when we first met, would never gain her friendship."
"And who would have ever imagined that Agent Hobbes would actually last more than two
months with the same partner." Eberts rolled his eyes.
"So true," the Official agreed. "Darien has certainly changed this Agency."
Eberts nodded in agreement, then flicked the vacuum's 'on' switch. The instrument's loud roar
filled the office and ended the conversation.
***
experience BIG changes in a small amount of time. This was true for Darien Fawkes.
A morning which had started out perfect had suddenly turned to a disaster within a few
minutes. Having an ex-girlfriend unexpectedly show up at your work and then chew you
out for some unknown reason was not exactly the highlight of Darien's day. An hour had
gone by since the Invisible Man's meeting with Casey. Those sixty minutes were a blur to
Darien. He had so many questions running through his mind that it was hard to keep
concentrated. Once Casey had left he was unconcerned when the Official had barked at
him for his tardiness in getting to work on time. Any other day Darien would've come
up with a witty remark to match the Fat Man's comments of disapproval. ("Fawkes, it is
absolutely unexceptable to come in three hours late!" "Come on, boss. You know
you're only upset because you missed the new episode of 'All My Children'." ) After the
one sided Official lecture, Darien had spent the remainder of that hour in the Keep.
Claire was insisting on daily check-ups to make sure that Darien was not suffering side
effects from the suicide gene. After several minutes of playing lab rat, Darien was allowed
to leave.
Upon exiting the Keeper's dungeon, Darien was immediately greeted by his partner.
"Hey, buddy," Bobby commented to his tall friend. "How ya doing, kid?"
"Hobbes, you're doing the nickname thing," Darien complained. It was a well known
fact that Robert Hobbes would start to play the 'name game' with his partner whenever
he was about to comment on an uncomfortable topic. Tiger, Pallie, Bud, Stud, Kid.....
these were all common vocabulary words used during the "game".
Hobbes shrugged. "I don't know what your talking about, Fawksie. So....what are
your plans for tonight?"
"I don't know. I was thinking about staying up all evening to watch the James Bond
Marathon on television," Darien sarcastically replied.
"Please, my friend. That's nothing near the truth. You don't think I don't know what your
gonna do as soon as you step into your apartment?"
"Hmm...I'll bite. What will I do as soon as I get inside my apartment, Hobbes?"
"First you'll flop down on your coach as you always do. Then you'll flip on the T.V.
and quickly channel surf through your pathetic non-cable channels. When you've realized
there's nothing good on, you'll finally pick up the phone and dial your ex-girl's number."
It was somewhat an eerie feeling that Hobbes could predict exactly what Darien
would've done in this type of situation. None the less, Fawkes denied his partner and simply
shrugged his shoulders and continued to silently walk down the hallway. After a moments
pause, Bobby jogged after his friend and gently laid a hand on Darien's shoulder to stop him.
"Darien, having Casey suddenly show up has got to have left you with several unanswered
questions -"
"You bet," Darien muttered.
" - but maybe you shouldn't let your curiosity take over. I mean...maybe you shouldn't
be so...so...anxious to call her up and get the answers. Maybe the lady needs some time to...
to....cool off because I mean, she seemed awfully tense and.....know what I'm trying to say
here? Besides, there's that saying about curiosity and the cat being killed."
"A cat being killed?" Darien asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah, the cat being murdered by curiosity."
"Hobbes, you're making this sound like a Friskies' Cat Chow commercial. Man, will you just
get to the point already?"
Robert sighed. After shuffling his feet a bit, he held up his left hand as if it was of
some significance to Darien.
Obviously confused, Fawkes replied, "What? Five words? You want to play charades
now?"
"No, no," Hobbes shook his head. "The ring. She had...a..a wedding ring on Fawkes."
A wave of disappointment immediately cascaded over Darien's face. Several seconds of
silence passed by as Fawkes stared at his partner with a glazed over look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, buddy." Hobbes patted him on the shoulder.
With nothing to say, Darien Fawkes trudged down the hallway and exited the Agency.
Uncertain of what to do, his partner was left standing alone in the middle of the hall. In a way
he felt partly responsible for breaking the news to his pal.
"Why is the truth always so cruel?" he silently wondered.
***
Inside the Agency's main office, The Official leaned back in his large, desk chair and
skimmed through the pages of his "Gardening At Home" magazine. He had just finished reading
an article on care for indoor flowers when he was suddenly startled by a rapid tapping at the
room's door.
Once he had safely shoved the literature under a pile of reports, he bellowed, "Come in!"
The door was cracked open and Eberts's small head peeked into the room.
"Excuse me, sir? I was wondering if now would be a good time?"
The Official sighed, "Come on in, Eberts."
Obeying, Eberts opened the door to reveal a large, green vacuum. He rolled it into
the office, shut the door, and then got down on his hands and knees to search for an outlet.
"I assure you this will only take a few minutes, sir."
The Agency's Official dismissed the comment by silently waving his hand.
"You've got plenty of time. There is, amazingly, nothing left on my agenda. It seems that
crime is at an all-time low today. I even tried to get an assignment from our sponsors to see
if we could assist them with anything, but they didn't have any jobs either. If this keeps up, we'll
be out of a job Eberts," he chuckled.
"Perhaps I could arrange for the Keeper to meet with you since you wanted to speak with
her on the matter of Mr. Fawkes?" Eberts suggested.
"No, not quite yet. After Darien's troubles this morning I think she'll be too sympathetic towards
him. I highly doubt she would favor my proposition." He sighed, "That's the only disadvantage to Claire.
She always becomes so attached to her patients. I thought Darien, having such a rebellious attitude
when we first met, would never gain her friendship."
"And who would have ever imagined that Agent Hobbes would actually last more than two
months with the same partner." Eberts rolled his eyes.
"So true," the Official agreed. "Darien has certainly changed this Agency."
Eberts nodded in agreement, then flicked the vacuum's 'on' switch. The instrument's loud roar
filled the office and ended the conversation.
***
Thanks for the wonderful feedback on Chapter 1!!! I'll try to
keep writing. ~ Img (Iman_girl)