Chapter VI
Phil and Nikki watched as bumper cars whizzed by, slamming into one another and them. The ride was nearly over, but they didn't care. They hardly had been paying attention to time since the rain cleared up and they left for the carnival. The cars slowed to a stop and the father and son emerged from their tiny transport, the former staggering a bit trying to regain his composure from the slight headache he had. "C'mon dad!" shouted Nikki as he grabbed Phil's hand and forced him to follow close behind.
"Alright, I'm coming." he reassured the green haired boy. The father-son duo ran towards a large open area surrounded by a series of booths, Phil trying to keep up with his energetic son. The two stopped as they came to a large dining area and Phil motioned them to sit down. "I think we should sit down for a minute, maybe get something warm." An attractive young waitress walked over to them and flipped open her order.
"And what'll you gentlemen be having?" Phil tried to open his mouth, but was cut off as his energetic son opened his. "I want a big piece of cake." he said. Zavey turned and looked at his green haired son.
"Well, what do you say when you want something?"
"Please?"
"That's right. We'll have a piece of cake and ah….one cocoa."
"Alright then." The waitress turned and walked towards a small tent in which was assembled a rather impressive looking kitchen array.
The two didn't stay much longer after their sweets. Nikki and his father wandered about the various curio stands until the green-haired boy spied a rather attractive looking mug that bore the image of the aging Patrick Zala. Phil paid for the item grudgingly, not because he had to buy it, but because he was buying something with Zala's portrait on it. The pair then turned and walked out of the carnival back to the police officer's car.
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When they had arrived back at Zavey's apartment, Nikki insisted he wasn't tired. The colonel wasn't in the mood to negotiate, so he remained awake as long his son did. The two were presently sitting at the inspector's kitchen table, a multitude of magazines strewn about as well as a notepad on which Phil was scratching out a rough draft of the report for the Norton murder. Nikki was somewhat of an intellectual for an 8-year-old, always having his nose in some books or magazines, trying to make sense of the words. It reminded Phil a little of himself at that age. The police officer was engrossed in his work while Nikki had his attention focused on some random news magazine. "Daddy…" Phil looked up from his paper.
"Yes?" he asked. His son turned around the magazine he was reading and showed him a picture of a boy about his age with brace-crutches that extended up onto his arms. He was slightly hunched and the article title on the opposite page read "Demon's of the past. Genetic disorders and how eugenics is helping deal with them."
"Isn't it cruel to let him live?" he asked. Zavey's eyes widened a bit. He was a bit shocked at what his son had said but not exactly surprised. Ever since the institution of Zala's Eugenics program, it was now taught that genetic abnormalities needed to be "dealt with" humanely.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked, trying to get a further insight into his son's comment.
"Isn't it better if they just put him to sleep?" he asked, quite sincerely.
"Put him to sleep? Nikki, who's been teaching you that rubbish?"
"Lot's of people. Mommy, my teacher, even some of my friends." Zavey leaned back in his chair, closing his pen and breathing in heavily.
"Nikki, have I ever told you the story of the old clockmaker?" asked the colonel.
"No."
"Well, I think I should." Phil leaned forward and placed his arms crossed on the table. He undid the strap of his watch and held it up. "You see, once upon time, long ago, there was an old clock maker, and he lived up on an old hill that overlooked a little village. Now, this clockmaker was over a hundred years old, and hespent all of his time working on his clocks, and he was always hunched over. In fact, he had hunched over so much that he had a great big hump on his back."
Nikki's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked rather amazed.
"Yeah. And this hump was so big, that every time he went down to the village, all the villagers would make fun of him. And they would chase him and away, and he would run back to his house." Phil took a breath.
"Then what happened?" asked his son.
"Well, he locked himself away in his house and he continued to work on his clocks until one day, he was walking around and his nose almost touched the ground. The hump had gotten so big, that it actually weighed him down that much."
"Wow."
"But you see, when he looked at himself in the mirror, he saw that there were tiny white feathers coming out of the hump, and after a few days, the hump had become a pair of beautiful white wings. You see Nikki, he had become an angel. Now there was something wrong with him, but they didn't kill him. You can't kill angels, after-all." The father looked down at his son, who wore a look of seeming awe on his face. Phil then pointed to his watch. "It's time for bed."
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Nikki didn't last much longer after the story, eventually falling asleep on the couch in the living room. Phil was slightly relieved that he could now get to work on his report. He sat at the computer in his bedroom, his only illumination being a small desk lamp, typing away.
TO: Chief, Department of Perfunctory Investigations, Section S-2
SUBJECT: Zaccarias Norton Death
FROM: Philip E. Zavey, Military Police Colonel5/21/81
The following is a report of the details of the Zaccarias Norton case and what is currently known at this time.
1. At approximately 10:00 AM, I was called with orders to oversee the examination and exhumation of a body found in Glenn Park. The body was found by two students from the military academy, Ross Jacobsen and Andre Bayern.
2. The body was later identified through DNA analysis as being that of General Zaccarias Norton. I have no background information about him at the present time.
3. Preliminary examination of the body suggests the most likely cause of death is drowning sometime around 7:00 AM that morning.
4. The subject lived in a manor home in the York woods near the Park.
5. The circumstances do not appear suspicious and there are no obvious leads at this time.
6. A full autopsy will undertake in the near future.
Phil paused for a second as he looked over the report, thinking about how he was basically lying to the department. Nowhere on the report was there any mention of the witnesses' testimony that indicted La Kreuze. He debated the implications for only a few brief seconds before printing the report out and signing it, the advice of General Waltfeld still floating in his head.
