Author's Note: Hey guys! It's time for the next chapter, and I hope you're still interested enough to read and find out what's happening next, so I'm gonna stop talking so you all can get on with the story and read!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, any of its characters, or any of its series. The main idea for this story came from a 2009-2010 storyline of Days of our Lives so the entire plot doesn't belong to me. But, all of the made up character names, places, and details in this story all belong to me!
Penguins
Kimberly gasped and awed at the television set. Tommy looked up from the sports magazine he'd been looking at to stare at her.
"What?" he asked.
Kimberly pointed at the television at a commercial that was on. The colors were very bright and colorful, so it was obviously for children. There was a jingle in the background to a really catchy tune and there were two children on the screen playing excitedly with two stuffed penguins. The penguins laughed every time the children would hug them.
"Aren't those the cutest little things? She smiled as she leaned back and ran a hand over her stomach.
"I dunno. They're too childish for me."
"That's the point! They're children's toys! My son would absolutely love it!"
Kimberly's happiness suddenly faded quickly as a frown came onto her face.
"What's the matter?" Tommy asked. "You okay?"
"No. I'm not okay. I'm still here in this witness protection program four hours away from my son and Christmas is three days away! I love Christmas shopping and this year… it will be Jacob's first Christmas… and I'm gonna miss it all because that stupid killer is still after me."
Tommy instantly remembered his phone call with Adam from the other day. He still hadn't told Kimberly that Zeke was within limits of the church.
"Hey, everything will be alright Kim. Don't worry."
"No. Everything won't be alright. It's already bad enough that I have to miss Christmas with my son… now… he's not even gonna get a single present from me."
Tears began to fill Kimberly's eyes, making Tommy's heart wrench in pain. He hated seeing her cry. Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind as he looked back at the television.
"Say, what if I told you that there was a way I could get a Christmas present to you son?"
Kimberly sat upright as she stared at him curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Do you think you can handle being here alone for a little while?"
"I don't think I want to be alone, and why would I have to be alone in the first place?"
"I'm gonna get one of those laughing penguins for Jacob."
Kimberly's face lit up with happiness. "Are you serious?"
Tommy nodded, beaming with pride. "Of course. The commercial said they're selling them at the local toy store. It's five minutes from here, so I can go and get the penguins and come right back."
"Tommy! That's a wonderful idea!"
Kimberly laughed happily as she threw her arms around him in a big hug. Tommy smiled as he patted her gently on her back. The minute she'd let go, he was on his feet preparing to head out into the cold.
"Here." He said after he was fully dressed. Kimberly's eyes widened when she saw the handgun he was holding out to her.
"Why are you giving me this?"
"For protection of course. If I'm not around her to protect you, you're gonna need something that will."
"This is… nice and all, but can't I just stay in the convent with Sister Teressa or one of the other nuns? I'm not too fond of guns or any weapons of that matter."
Tommy shrugged. "Sure thing. Let's go."
Kimberly stood up from the couch slowly. "Can you turn the TV off?" she asked. "I really can't bend over and get the remote."
Tommy laughed as he did what he was asked. The two of them, then left for the church.
Ten Minutes Later
Tommy cut the engine of his car off right outside the toy store. He hopped out quickly and made his way into the store. Just as he prepared to search for the penguins, his cell phone rang.
"Hello?" he said quickly.
"Agent Oliver? This is Officer Park from the Angel Grove P.D. I spoke to you the other day about Zeke."
"Yes." Tommy said recalling the conversation. "I remember you. To what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call? No more bad news I hope?"
"Well, it can be considered both bad and good."
"Explain." Tommy said as his eyebrows narrowed.
"We've gotten a mug shot of Zeke, the guy who's after Kimberly. His real name is"
"Charles Zuthord?" the cashier suddenly said.
Tommy froze at the sound of the name. The name that just left the cashier's mouth was the same name Adam had just said. Tommy looked over at the man cautiously as the cashier continued entering his purchase information.
"Officer Park? I'm gonna have to call you back."
Tommy began to slowly creep towards the man as he took in every detail he could. Caucasian male around five foot eight with dirty blonde hair and stubble. He had on a baggy pair of jeans and a large black t-shirt along with a very nice pair of Nikes. Tommy remembered Kimberly's description of Zeke and this Charles guy matched her description perfectly. It was him. It was Zeke.
Tommy stiffened suddenly as Zeke slowly turned around to look at him. His eyes looked Tommy over from head to toe. He smirked evilly at him before taking his bag of purchases and leaving the store. Tommy dashed towards the window and watched as Zeke got into a beat-up, blue Chevy and peeled out of the parking lot. Thankfully, he headed in the opposite direction of the church.
Sighing with relief, Tommy turned from the window. He smiled when he spotted a shelf right behind him. There was one box left on the shelf with one laughing penguin inside.
"Well, this must be my lucky day."
After heading to the register and paying for Kimberly's desired gift, Tommy exited the store. He was surprised to find that it had started snowing heavily within the five minutes he'd been inside. Suddenly worrying about Kimberly and Zeke, he quickly got into his car and started the engine up. He pulled onto the road slowly and began to make his drive back to the church. Suddenly, he spotted a familiar flash of blue in his rearview mirror. A beat up Chevy. It was Zeke and he had his gas pedal floored.
"Shit."Tommy cursed as he looked ahead at the road. Had there not been ice everywhere, he would've gunned it, but that obviously wasn't an option at the moment. Speeding up to the best of his ability, Tommy quickly turned to the left, earning a lot of complaints from honking cars. Tommy looked in the mirror once more and growled as the Chevy appeared behind him. Zeke obviously knew who he was and he knew that if he followed him, he'd get to Kimberly.
"I've gotta find a way to get rid of this guy!" he shouted in frustration.
Tommy gave his engine a little more gas and made a sharp turn. His car skidded violently on the ice of the street, causing his car to turn in an insane manner. After straightening the wheel, he'd managed to do a u-turn and passed Zeke up. Checking for any oncoming traffic, Tommy sped through an intersection without stopping. He looked in the mirror and saw Zeke making a U-turn several blocks back. If he could get to a stoplight intersection, he might be able to lose him. Tommy turned left at the next set of stop signs and smiled as two stoplights came into view. However, just as soon as the stoplights came into view, Zeke's Chevy appeared in the mirror. He was gaining on him. Tommy slammed his foot on the gas pedal and sped through the first green light. He smiled when he saw the second light ahead. There was a cross walk light that was counting down how many seconds were left until the light would be changing to red. There were seven seconds left. That was just enough time for him to make it through. As soon as the countdown reached one, the light turned yellow and Tommy floored it. His car flew through the intersection just in time. He laughed as Zeke's car skidded to a stop. As he continued to speed away from the light, he could see Zeke hopping out of the driver's side shaking his fist at him. Tommy smiled gratefully. He'd lost him.
After arriving at the church, Tommy made sure to park his car away from the street, just in case Zeke decided to go looking around for his car. He parked around back near the rear entrance of the church and the side entrance to a hall that led to the stairwell of the underground hall to the safe house. Tommy jumped out of the car with the toy store bag in hand and ran in through the door. The minute he'd reached Sister Teressa's office, he didn't bother knocking. He pushed the door open as quickly as possible, earning a disapproving gasp from the nun and a surprised look from Kimberly.
"Tommy?" she asked. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
"Everything's… just fine." He said trying to catch his breath.
"Are you sure? You look rather pale, like you've just seen a ghost or something."
"Believe me Kimberly, I'm okay. It's just really cold outside. It's snowing."
Kimberly was about to ask another question until she spotted the toy store bag in Tommy's hand. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked hopefully.
Tommy nodded as he pulled the bag open and grabbed the stuffed penguin. It laughed as he pulled it out. Kimberly squealed as she slowly pushed herself up and waddled over to Tommy.
"You got the penguin!" she exclaimed. "Oh, it was really hard to find. Is that why it took you so long?"
Tommy looked at Kimberly's face. She'd obviously been worried. "No. They weren't too hard to find. Let's just say, it was a little icy on the way back here."
Kimberly smiled before kissing him politely on the cheek. Tommy's cheeks burned from the sudden contact of her warm lips. A mad blush spread across his cheeks quickly.
"What was that for?" he asked nervously.
"For risking so much to go and get my son a Christmas present. Thank you so much."
"Anytime."
Kimberly grabbed the bag and placed the penguin back inside as she said goodbye to sister Teressa. She and Tommy then made their way back to the safe house.
The whole walk there seemed so long to Tommy. He couldn't believe what he'd just been through. Zeke really was in Reefside, and he'd made it quite evident that he wanted to find Kimberly, by any means necessary.
Author's Note: And so ends another chapter! This one is shorter than the others, but it was just as good! Tommy's a pretty good driver huh? Lol Anyways, leave me a nice review and I'll get the next chapter posted soon! Till next time guys!
