Disclaimer: Jonny Quest and all its characters are the creation of Doug Wildey and the properties of Hanna-Barbera. Everything else in this fanfic are figments of my imagination. Any similarities to name, places, yada yada yada are simply examples of the world's many coincidental mysteries
December 22, 2003
Inasanity Productions proudly presents:
"037"
File 01
by Ina-chan
*****
It almost seemed as if steam was rising from the ground as the hot afternoon sun continued its burning gaze on Calcuttan streets. From the corner of his eye, Hadji caught his brother peering out of the cafe window, watching the people busily bustling about the crowded streetsoutside. They were no strangers to this place. In was a city that the Quests held close to their hearts. After all, it was here where Jonny gained a brother and Hadji gained a family. His own search for the answers regarding his past began in this city as well. So it was quite understandable why two boys were idly waiting in the hotel cafe under the sweltering Calcuttan summer heat while waiting for Dr. Quest to finish with his engagement for the day, instead of staying with more comfortable lodgings with Hadji's biological family in Bangalore. Then again, they were due to go there as soon as they meet up with Dr. Quest later in the evening. So until then, Race and the boys were free to explore Calcutta's urban jungle.
By their standards, this trip seems almost like a vacation. Dr. Quest was invited to speak at a physics conference at the University of Calcutta. And so far, nothing happened that would turn this particular trip into anything but that. Hadji frowned as Jonny rested his chin on his knuckles with a bored sigh. He tapped his pencil idly on an open notebook as he continued to people watch through the window. Even with it's bustling streets, there was really nothing to hold his attention. A few minutes ago, there was a young couple who seemed to be in the middle of a lover's spat. A woman, dressed in full traditional black hijab, stood in a corner in the corner selling small trinkets and wares. There were several amusing tourists, wandering around and looking lost.
Reading the other boy's body language, Hadji could tell that his companion was itching to go out for a small adventure just about now. Jonny glanced at him companion from the corner of his eye and Hadji instantly returned his attention on his book with over emphasized concentration. Jonny tapped his pencil even louder and let out a heavy, attention-grabbing sigh.
"Jonny," Hadji began patiently, without lifting his eyes from the pages of his book, "You're supposed to be working on your homework until Race and Pasha comes back for us."
Jonny made a face,"When Dad said we had free time to do anything we wanted until evening, homework wasn't on the top of my list. It's not fair that we end up here instead of out there with Race and Pasha."
"Well maybe if you kept your part of the deal and did your homework BEFORE, then we would be out there instead of in here," Hadji replied unsympathetically
Jonny flinched at his brother's tone,"Are you still mad?"
The older boy finally looked up from his book and gave the blonde youth a sardonic look,"Mad? About what? You mean instead of using this opportunity to visit my hometown, I end up punished with babysitting duties because a certain someone decided to copy MY homework instead of working on his own."
"Well, you said that I could take a look at it," Jonny protested sheepishly
"Jonny," Hadji sighed as he returned his attention to the book in his hands, "If you are going to copy someone else's work, at least have the creativity to make it look like you tried to put some effort in making it look like it was YOU who worked on it."
"Ah the hell with it!" Jonny exclaimed as he got on his feet and closed his notebook with a loud clap.
Hadji looked up at him with another frown as he watched the other boy start to stuff his books into the black knapsack resting on the seat beside him, "What are you doing?"
"I'm bored to death, and none of this analytical geometry crap is sticking in my head. I'm going out for a short walk," Jonny replied with a grin, "Wanna come?"
"We're supposed to stay here and wait for Race," Hadji reminded him
"We'll be back before he comes back. Besides, we're already in trouble anyway," Jonny reasoned as he put several paper bills on the table before slinging his knapsack on one shoulder and starting to head out of the cafe
Hadji sighed, grabbed his own belongings and started after his brother.
"Where you boys going?" A friendly voice inquired just before they reached the door
Hadji looked back and saw one of the cafe servers whom they've gotten acquainted with looking after them, "A walk, Mujeeb. Can you tell Race if he comes back first?"
"Fine. Fine. Don't get into any trouble now!" The elder man called out as he waved at the boys in acknowledgement
"It's too late for that," Hadji mumbled under his breath before uttering a louder "Thanks" at the cafe staff as he quickly jogged out of the shop before Jonny blended with the the crowd outside.
Jonny put on a cap to shield his face from the afternoon sun before stretching out his arms, "I feel better already! Isn't being out here ten times better than being couped up in there."
"Fifteen minutes," Hadji said firmly as he looked into his watch, "Fifteen minutes then we go back."
"Hadji, don't be such a spoilt sport," Jonny laughed infectiously, "Why don't we find that whatcha thingy that Jessie wanted while we're here. That way, we wouln't have to worry about it later."
Hadji shook his head in disbelief. He knew this tactic all too well. It would normally take a herd of elephants to drag Jonny into doing anything that remotely resembles "shopping". Then again, Jonny has mastered the art of manipulating people into "buying time" since he was ten years old. Despite himself, Hadji couldn't stop the smile that made its way to his lips, "You are something else."
@@@@
"Are you sure that's all that happened, Hadji?"
There was almost a pleading quality in his adoptive father's voice that Hadji couldn't help but feel almost guilty that there was no more information he could offer to give. He chewed on his lower lip as he tried to remember more details about that day two weeks ago... exactly three days before his brother mysteriously disappeared. He bowed his head apologetically, "I'm sorry Dr. Quest. But there's nothing. We walked for a few blocks, looking at random street stalls, then came back to the cafe."
"Did you talk to anyone? Was there anyone who said anything strange or did anything unusual? Did Jonny speak to any particular person?"
Hadji frowned as he wracked his memories, "There was a group of tourists who asked for directions... We talked to a few stall merchants..." His voice trailed as an image suddenly conjured in his mind, "Wait... there was this merchant who tried to sell us some jewelry and told us our fortunes. She was wearing a hijab, so I couldn't see her features. But there was something odd about her."
Dr. Quest leaned forward, "Odd?"
"Maybe it was the way she talked. She spoke in broken English with a thick Urdu accent... but her accent just sounded a little odd. I can't explain it. It was just odd," The boy's frown deepened, "I don't know... to me it sounded like it wasn't real."
The scientist gave the boy an encouraging nod, "What did she say to you?"
"Nothing important. Old proverbs and some things to try to convince us to buy something from her..." Hadji replied quickly, a slight tinge made it's way on the boy's cheeks, before a thoughtful look crossed his features, "Though Jonny's fortune was a little odd. It started with the typical proverb... I think it was something like things not being all that it seemed so one has to search vigilantly for the truth... then she said a something that sounded like a lottery sequence."
Dr. Quest leaned back on his seat and crossed his arms thoughtfully, "Then you went back to the cafe?"
"Race and Pasha got there before us and Race was a little upset that we wandered off without waiting for him," Hadji nodded, as he watched his father's pensive expression, "Do you think that person was there at that time? Whoever it was who took Jonny?"
"I don't know Hadji. I'm willing to look at anything... anything at all that could help us find the answers we're looking for," Dr. Quest replied tiredly as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "How's he doing?"
"He's talking a bit more," Hadji replied, "Though he still won't say anything about what happened that week when he went missing. It's been strange Dr. Quest... I never imagined seeing Jonny like this. He doesn't laugh, or smile... half of the time when he's awake, it's almost like he's not really here."
The scientist gave his son a reassuring smile, "Everything will be all right. Dr. Bryers said that there's nothing wrong with him physically. They didn't do anything with him other than drug him with some kind of hallucinogenic and sedate him. It's just the left over drugs they used on him that's making him act like this. Once it's completely out of his system, he'll be back to normal."
The boy remained silent, returning the older man's smile with a forced and ackward grin. The expression on his eyes obviously showed that he was completely unconvinced by his father's words. Once again, the wave of guilty "whys and what ifs" threatened to overwhelm him. He knew there was something odd about Jonny's behaviour that day his brother disappeared. Why did he decide to grow a 'don't let Jonny have his way again' backbone at that particular day? What if he tagged along with the his brother like he always did? Would it change anything? They always go off to adventures and get into trouble together... but on each and every one of those moments, they always came back home safely together. Would things have been different if he went along? Why did they have that stupid argument the night before? What if he paid more attention to whatever it was that Jonny was trying to tell him? Would he have found out exactly what it was this big mystery that Jonny was trying to solve?
"Jonny's been through a lot worse things," Dr. Quest's voice interrupted his thoughts, "We'll get through this one as well. Jonny will come back to us."
The older man's tone seemed to hold a deeper meaning, that Hadji couldn't help but feel somewhat reassured by his father's words. That was until the door suddenly opened to reveal Race's grim expression. A disturbing frantic aura surrounding him. Suddenly, Hadji felt as if the air in the room became a little chilly.
"Dr. Quest," Race stated calmly, "I think you should come and see this."
The scientist literally flew out of the room with Hadji close at the two older men's heels. His heart started to pound as his brother's bedroom door came in sight. He held his breath as Race opened the door. Nothing could have prepared him from the sight that greeted them.
Paper with numerical scribbles, sketches, and diagrams littered and almost covered the entire floor. Jonny was on the side opposite to them, still in his pj's, oblivious to his surprised family, as he continued to scribble on the already half-filled wall. Hadji looked up at Dr. Quest, who was staring at the wall, completely white-faced.
Almost fearfully, the scientist crossed the room and stood behind the boy, "Son... what are you doing?"
"Homework," Jonny replied, not even looking up from his work
"It's okay Jonny," Benton began, "You don't have to do homework now. Just go back to bed and rest, okay?"
The boy shook his head, his eyes glued to the numbers and characters he was etching on the wall, "I have to finish this."
Dr. Quest reached out to stop the boy's hand, and gently wrenched the pen from the boy's grasp. As if a spell was broken, only then did Jonny peel his eyes from the wall to look at his father, "It's okay Jonny," Dr. Quest repeated again, "You can finish this later. Come and rest first."
"Won't you get in trouble if I stop?" Jonny whispered, a tinge of fear clearly evident in his voice
Benton shook his head and smiled, "You need to rest."
With that he guided the unressisting boy to bed and tucked him in. Almost instantly, Jonny's eyes closed and the boy fell into a deep sleep. An uncomfortable silence descended in the room as Hadji watched his father silently agonize over his brother's puzzling behaviour. Unable to bear the scene anymore, the dark-haired boy averted his eyes and focused on a piece of paper near his foot. Frowning, he bent down to pick it up to take a better look. Confusion instantly replaced the furrow on his face, as the scribbles on the piece of paper registered in his mind. Hadji immediately glanced inquiringly at Race, but automatically held back as he realized that the older man was staring at the vandalized wall with the same shocked reaction as the scientist, "Race?"
"Help me get supper ready," Race simply stated in a tone that sounded more like a command than a request as he gently, but firmly, held Hadji by the shoulder and started to guide the boy out of the room
Hadji had no choice but to let his teacher push him out. His hand unwittingly crumpling the piece of paper it held as it formed into a clenched fist after taking one last glance at the image of Dr. Quest's distraught form watching over Jonny. Blinking the tears threatening to form in his eyes, Hadji gave Race a determined glare, as the older man closed the door behind them, "Race."
"Not now Hadji," The man's tone clearly stating that any discussion about the subject matter was closed.
"Race!" Hadji protested stubbornly as he held out the piece of paper in his hand, "THIS is NOT Analytic Geometry."
"I know," Race replied blandly as he started to make his way down the hallway towards the kitchen
The boy instantly sprang after the man and tried to keep up with his teacher's long brisk strides, "Race, what's is this? What's going on?"
"Not now, Hadji," was the older man's simple answer, "Don't choose to make things even more complicated than they are."
The boy stopped on his tracks and reeled back, stung by the older man's words. It was as if Race had physically slapped him on the face. Though the older man didn't say the words aloud, Hadji heard it in his tone. He heard it many times before. It was the definite "go" signal for Jonny to lead themselves into trouble.
'You boys have no business sticking your nose into things that you shouldn't get involved with.'
"The last time I checked, I was still a part of this family, Race. It's not a matter of choice," Hadji called out after the man, "Anything that involves my family automatically involves me."
The man stopped then turned to face the boy, before crossing his arms impassively, "Well the last time I checked, I believed that you were old enough to understand that there was a time and place for everything. Right now, it's time to get supper ready. So at this moment, you really only have two choices. You will either come to help me, or you won't. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes sir," Hadji whispered almost inaudibly, his shoulders slumping. Race was not going to budge. Not this time.
This time, Hadji didn't try to stop the tears of frustration from spilling down his face. The stern look on the older man's face softened at the sight of the boy's admittance of defeat. Race retraced his steps and reached out to give the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder. But Hadji shrank away, spun on his heels, and strode angrily towards the sanctity of his room... leaving the man to stand alone in the corridor.
"Damn it," Race muttered under his breath before turning around to walk at the opposite direction
Author's Squawk:
Man! The muses are working overtime tonight! ^_^. Well, I know people are confused... I'm not going on a linear narrative here. I'm a sadist at heart so as you can tell, I ain't gonna make things easy by telling the story straight out. To answer people's inquiries... No, this is not a continuation of an old fanfic. This is an entirely new fanfic... which is obviously alternate universe... BUT heavily under the strong influence of the "Quest File 037" idea (hopefully I pull it off). Think of it as an alternate "darker" interpretation for the real reason for the existence of "File 037".
OKAY! I know the next question... So here's a quick CJQ history. What exactly is "File 037"? According to the Classic Jonny Quest series, "File 037" is the Intelligence One "record" of the Quest Family. Dr. Benton C. Quest is a prominent world reknowned scientist who lost his wife through implied foul play caused by a "third party" and Race T. Bannon, Intelligence One Agent, was assigned to protect Dr. Quest's son, Jonathan. Race was supposed to be Jonny's tutor, companion, and all around "watchdog" to ensure that the boy does not fall into the hands of a "third party" that may compromise Dr. Quest's value to science. Of course, we all know that Race don't usually end up doing his job, sometimes for reasons that are not his own fault (those damn kids are so unpredictable...), but that's an entirely different story altogether.
And that has been a quickie CJQ education moment, brought to you by the letter "I". As in "I hope I can write down chapter 3, which is already finished inside my head, before I run out of steam."
BTW, my Microsoft Word was corrupted and I am too lazy to re-install. So right now, I'm using thesaurus-less, spell check-less, and grammar check-less WordPad. So if there are any Good Samaritans who happen to notice any grammar or spelling mistakes that I may have missed, please let me know. Comments, criticisms, and divine offerings, prayers and general praise for my muses are welcome. ^_^.
And listen to my Internet Radio Show, dammit! shameless plug ----- J-MIX, www.mediatalks.com, Mondays 5:00 - 6:30 PM E.S.T. ----- It's Christmas theme this week at J-MIX... and the Japanese cast of Sailor Moon, Digimon Adventures Zero Two, and CCS are singing Christmas carols in my head! ARGH! MAKE THEM STOP!
Ja!
Ina-chan
December 22, 2003
Inasanity Productions proudly presents:
"037"
File 01
by Ina-chan
*****
It almost seemed as if steam was rising from the ground as the hot afternoon sun continued its burning gaze on Calcuttan streets. From the corner of his eye, Hadji caught his brother peering out of the cafe window, watching the people busily bustling about the crowded streetsoutside. They were no strangers to this place. In was a city that the Quests held close to their hearts. After all, it was here where Jonny gained a brother and Hadji gained a family. His own search for the answers regarding his past began in this city as well. So it was quite understandable why two boys were idly waiting in the hotel cafe under the sweltering Calcuttan summer heat while waiting for Dr. Quest to finish with his engagement for the day, instead of staying with more comfortable lodgings with Hadji's biological family in Bangalore. Then again, they were due to go there as soon as they meet up with Dr. Quest later in the evening. So until then, Race and the boys were free to explore Calcutta's urban jungle.
By their standards, this trip seems almost like a vacation. Dr. Quest was invited to speak at a physics conference at the University of Calcutta. And so far, nothing happened that would turn this particular trip into anything but that. Hadji frowned as Jonny rested his chin on his knuckles with a bored sigh. He tapped his pencil idly on an open notebook as he continued to people watch through the window. Even with it's bustling streets, there was really nothing to hold his attention. A few minutes ago, there was a young couple who seemed to be in the middle of a lover's spat. A woman, dressed in full traditional black hijab, stood in a corner in the corner selling small trinkets and wares. There were several amusing tourists, wandering around and looking lost.
Reading the other boy's body language, Hadji could tell that his companion was itching to go out for a small adventure just about now. Jonny glanced at him companion from the corner of his eye and Hadji instantly returned his attention on his book with over emphasized concentration. Jonny tapped his pencil even louder and let out a heavy, attention-grabbing sigh.
"Jonny," Hadji began patiently, without lifting his eyes from the pages of his book, "You're supposed to be working on your homework until Race and Pasha comes back for us."
Jonny made a face,"When Dad said we had free time to do anything we wanted until evening, homework wasn't on the top of my list. It's not fair that we end up here instead of out there with Race and Pasha."
"Well maybe if you kept your part of the deal and did your homework BEFORE, then we would be out there instead of in here," Hadji replied unsympathetically
Jonny flinched at his brother's tone,"Are you still mad?"
The older boy finally looked up from his book and gave the blonde youth a sardonic look,"Mad? About what? You mean instead of using this opportunity to visit my hometown, I end up punished with babysitting duties because a certain someone decided to copy MY homework instead of working on his own."
"Well, you said that I could take a look at it," Jonny protested sheepishly
"Jonny," Hadji sighed as he returned his attention to the book in his hands, "If you are going to copy someone else's work, at least have the creativity to make it look like you tried to put some effort in making it look like it was YOU who worked on it."
"Ah the hell with it!" Jonny exclaimed as he got on his feet and closed his notebook with a loud clap.
Hadji looked up at him with another frown as he watched the other boy start to stuff his books into the black knapsack resting on the seat beside him, "What are you doing?"
"I'm bored to death, and none of this analytical geometry crap is sticking in my head. I'm going out for a short walk," Jonny replied with a grin, "Wanna come?"
"We're supposed to stay here and wait for Race," Hadji reminded him
"We'll be back before he comes back. Besides, we're already in trouble anyway," Jonny reasoned as he put several paper bills on the table before slinging his knapsack on one shoulder and starting to head out of the cafe
Hadji sighed, grabbed his own belongings and started after his brother.
"Where you boys going?" A friendly voice inquired just before they reached the door
Hadji looked back and saw one of the cafe servers whom they've gotten acquainted with looking after them, "A walk, Mujeeb. Can you tell Race if he comes back first?"
"Fine. Fine. Don't get into any trouble now!" The elder man called out as he waved at the boys in acknowledgement
"It's too late for that," Hadji mumbled under his breath before uttering a louder "Thanks" at the cafe staff as he quickly jogged out of the shop before Jonny blended with the the crowd outside.
Jonny put on a cap to shield his face from the afternoon sun before stretching out his arms, "I feel better already! Isn't being out here ten times better than being couped up in there."
"Fifteen minutes," Hadji said firmly as he looked into his watch, "Fifteen minutes then we go back."
"Hadji, don't be such a spoilt sport," Jonny laughed infectiously, "Why don't we find that whatcha thingy that Jessie wanted while we're here. That way, we wouln't have to worry about it later."
Hadji shook his head in disbelief. He knew this tactic all too well. It would normally take a herd of elephants to drag Jonny into doing anything that remotely resembles "shopping". Then again, Jonny has mastered the art of manipulating people into "buying time" since he was ten years old. Despite himself, Hadji couldn't stop the smile that made its way to his lips, "You are something else."
@@@@
"Are you sure that's all that happened, Hadji?"
There was almost a pleading quality in his adoptive father's voice that Hadji couldn't help but feel almost guilty that there was no more information he could offer to give. He chewed on his lower lip as he tried to remember more details about that day two weeks ago... exactly three days before his brother mysteriously disappeared. He bowed his head apologetically, "I'm sorry Dr. Quest. But there's nothing. We walked for a few blocks, looking at random street stalls, then came back to the cafe."
"Did you talk to anyone? Was there anyone who said anything strange or did anything unusual? Did Jonny speak to any particular person?"
Hadji frowned as he wracked his memories, "There was a group of tourists who asked for directions... We talked to a few stall merchants..." His voice trailed as an image suddenly conjured in his mind, "Wait... there was this merchant who tried to sell us some jewelry and told us our fortunes. She was wearing a hijab, so I couldn't see her features. But there was something odd about her."
Dr. Quest leaned forward, "Odd?"
"Maybe it was the way she talked. She spoke in broken English with a thick Urdu accent... but her accent just sounded a little odd. I can't explain it. It was just odd," The boy's frown deepened, "I don't know... to me it sounded like it wasn't real."
The scientist gave the boy an encouraging nod, "What did she say to you?"
"Nothing important. Old proverbs and some things to try to convince us to buy something from her..." Hadji replied quickly, a slight tinge made it's way on the boy's cheeks, before a thoughtful look crossed his features, "Though Jonny's fortune was a little odd. It started with the typical proverb... I think it was something like things not being all that it seemed so one has to search vigilantly for the truth... then she said a something that sounded like a lottery sequence."
Dr. Quest leaned back on his seat and crossed his arms thoughtfully, "Then you went back to the cafe?"
"Race and Pasha got there before us and Race was a little upset that we wandered off without waiting for him," Hadji nodded, as he watched his father's pensive expression, "Do you think that person was there at that time? Whoever it was who took Jonny?"
"I don't know Hadji. I'm willing to look at anything... anything at all that could help us find the answers we're looking for," Dr. Quest replied tiredly as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "How's he doing?"
"He's talking a bit more," Hadji replied, "Though he still won't say anything about what happened that week when he went missing. It's been strange Dr. Quest... I never imagined seeing Jonny like this. He doesn't laugh, or smile... half of the time when he's awake, it's almost like he's not really here."
The scientist gave his son a reassuring smile, "Everything will be all right. Dr. Bryers said that there's nothing wrong with him physically. They didn't do anything with him other than drug him with some kind of hallucinogenic and sedate him. It's just the left over drugs they used on him that's making him act like this. Once it's completely out of his system, he'll be back to normal."
The boy remained silent, returning the older man's smile with a forced and ackward grin. The expression on his eyes obviously showed that he was completely unconvinced by his father's words. Once again, the wave of guilty "whys and what ifs" threatened to overwhelm him. He knew there was something odd about Jonny's behaviour that day his brother disappeared. Why did he decide to grow a 'don't let Jonny have his way again' backbone at that particular day? What if he tagged along with the his brother like he always did? Would it change anything? They always go off to adventures and get into trouble together... but on each and every one of those moments, they always came back home safely together. Would things have been different if he went along? Why did they have that stupid argument the night before? What if he paid more attention to whatever it was that Jonny was trying to tell him? Would he have found out exactly what it was this big mystery that Jonny was trying to solve?
"Jonny's been through a lot worse things," Dr. Quest's voice interrupted his thoughts, "We'll get through this one as well. Jonny will come back to us."
The older man's tone seemed to hold a deeper meaning, that Hadji couldn't help but feel somewhat reassured by his father's words. That was until the door suddenly opened to reveal Race's grim expression. A disturbing frantic aura surrounding him. Suddenly, Hadji felt as if the air in the room became a little chilly.
"Dr. Quest," Race stated calmly, "I think you should come and see this."
The scientist literally flew out of the room with Hadji close at the two older men's heels. His heart started to pound as his brother's bedroom door came in sight. He held his breath as Race opened the door. Nothing could have prepared him from the sight that greeted them.
Paper with numerical scribbles, sketches, and diagrams littered and almost covered the entire floor. Jonny was on the side opposite to them, still in his pj's, oblivious to his surprised family, as he continued to scribble on the already half-filled wall. Hadji looked up at Dr. Quest, who was staring at the wall, completely white-faced.
Almost fearfully, the scientist crossed the room and stood behind the boy, "Son... what are you doing?"
"Homework," Jonny replied, not even looking up from his work
"It's okay Jonny," Benton began, "You don't have to do homework now. Just go back to bed and rest, okay?"
The boy shook his head, his eyes glued to the numbers and characters he was etching on the wall, "I have to finish this."
Dr. Quest reached out to stop the boy's hand, and gently wrenched the pen from the boy's grasp. As if a spell was broken, only then did Jonny peel his eyes from the wall to look at his father, "It's okay Jonny," Dr. Quest repeated again, "You can finish this later. Come and rest first."
"Won't you get in trouble if I stop?" Jonny whispered, a tinge of fear clearly evident in his voice
Benton shook his head and smiled, "You need to rest."
With that he guided the unressisting boy to bed and tucked him in. Almost instantly, Jonny's eyes closed and the boy fell into a deep sleep. An uncomfortable silence descended in the room as Hadji watched his father silently agonize over his brother's puzzling behaviour. Unable to bear the scene anymore, the dark-haired boy averted his eyes and focused on a piece of paper near his foot. Frowning, he bent down to pick it up to take a better look. Confusion instantly replaced the furrow on his face, as the scribbles on the piece of paper registered in his mind. Hadji immediately glanced inquiringly at Race, but automatically held back as he realized that the older man was staring at the vandalized wall with the same shocked reaction as the scientist, "Race?"
"Help me get supper ready," Race simply stated in a tone that sounded more like a command than a request as he gently, but firmly, held Hadji by the shoulder and started to guide the boy out of the room
Hadji had no choice but to let his teacher push him out. His hand unwittingly crumpling the piece of paper it held as it formed into a clenched fist after taking one last glance at the image of Dr. Quest's distraught form watching over Jonny. Blinking the tears threatening to form in his eyes, Hadji gave Race a determined glare, as the older man closed the door behind them, "Race."
"Not now Hadji," The man's tone clearly stating that any discussion about the subject matter was closed.
"Race!" Hadji protested stubbornly as he held out the piece of paper in his hand, "THIS is NOT Analytic Geometry."
"I know," Race replied blandly as he started to make his way down the hallway towards the kitchen
The boy instantly sprang after the man and tried to keep up with his teacher's long brisk strides, "Race, what's is this? What's going on?"
"Not now, Hadji," was the older man's simple answer, "Don't choose to make things even more complicated than they are."
The boy stopped on his tracks and reeled back, stung by the older man's words. It was as if Race had physically slapped him on the face. Though the older man didn't say the words aloud, Hadji heard it in his tone. He heard it many times before. It was the definite "go" signal for Jonny to lead themselves into trouble.
'You boys have no business sticking your nose into things that you shouldn't get involved with.'
"The last time I checked, I was still a part of this family, Race. It's not a matter of choice," Hadji called out after the man, "Anything that involves my family automatically involves me."
The man stopped then turned to face the boy, before crossing his arms impassively, "Well the last time I checked, I believed that you were old enough to understand that there was a time and place for everything. Right now, it's time to get supper ready. So at this moment, you really only have two choices. You will either come to help me, or you won't. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes sir," Hadji whispered almost inaudibly, his shoulders slumping. Race was not going to budge. Not this time.
This time, Hadji didn't try to stop the tears of frustration from spilling down his face. The stern look on the older man's face softened at the sight of the boy's admittance of defeat. Race retraced his steps and reached out to give the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder. But Hadji shrank away, spun on his heels, and strode angrily towards the sanctity of his room... leaving the man to stand alone in the corridor.
"Damn it," Race muttered under his breath before turning around to walk at the opposite direction
Author's Squawk:
Man! The muses are working overtime tonight! ^_^. Well, I know people are confused... I'm not going on a linear narrative here. I'm a sadist at heart so as you can tell, I ain't gonna make things easy by telling the story straight out. To answer people's inquiries... No, this is not a continuation of an old fanfic. This is an entirely new fanfic... which is obviously alternate universe... BUT heavily under the strong influence of the "Quest File 037" idea (hopefully I pull it off). Think of it as an alternate "darker" interpretation for the real reason for the existence of "File 037".
OKAY! I know the next question... So here's a quick CJQ history. What exactly is "File 037"? According to the Classic Jonny Quest series, "File 037" is the Intelligence One "record" of the Quest Family. Dr. Benton C. Quest is a prominent world reknowned scientist who lost his wife through implied foul play caused by a "third party" and Race T. Bannon, Intelligence One Agent, was assigned to protect Dr. Quest's son, Jonathan. Race was supposed to be Jonny's tutor, companion, and all around "watchdog" to ensure that the boy does not fall into the hands of a "third party" that may compromise Dr. Quest's value to science. Of course, we all know that Race don't usually end up doing his job, sometimes for reasons that are not his own fault (those damn kids are so unpredictable...), but that's an entirely different story altogether.
And that has been a quickie CJQ education moment, brought to you by the letter "I". As in "I hope I can write down chapter 3, which is already finished inside my head, before I run out of steam."
BTW, my Microsoft Word was corrupted and I am too lazy to re-install. So right now, I'm using thesaurus-less, spell check-less, and grammar check-less WordPad. So if there are any Good Samaritans who happen to notice any grammar or spelling mistakes that I may have missed, please let me know. Comments, criticisms, and divine offerings, prayers and general praise for my muses are welcome. ^_^.
And listen to my Internet Radio Show, dammit! shameless plug ----- J-MIX, www.mediatalks.com, Mondays 5:00 - 6:30 PM E.S.T. ----- It's Christmas theme this week at J-MIX... and the Japanese cast of Sailor Moon, Digimon Adventures Zero Two, and CCS are singing Christmas carols in my head! ARGH! MAKE THEM STOP!
Ja!
Ina-chan