Sep 22, 2014: (Do you remember this date? You will.)
Walter sat in the recliner that he'd rented from a rental store as he relaxed in the spare bedroom in the Loft his sister and her family lived in, above the floor of the Garage that Centipede Partners was operating out of. It had been two weeks since his date with Paige and his life simultaneously got better and worse at the same time. It was his second day in their home and he felt out of place. Anthony loved that his uncle was there and he spent as much time as he could with him. Walter's sister was welcoming and cautious as always. Sylvester straight up feared him which was normal. Toby bordered between fear and respect while Mark saw him as an annoyance he had to embrace. Still, it was Happy he was really worried about.
He hadn't wanted to come to stay with them because of her. He didn't want any left over feelings for him to stir sympathy or any desire to take care of him. Happy deserved a better life, with someone who could love her the way she was worthy of. Someone who had never hurt her. She'd swore it wasn't a problem, but she found excuses to come up to his room just to check on him. Even when the nurse Walter hired to help care for him was there.
He felt the concern that Megan and Happy had for him was more over the fact that since that first Saturday Paige hadn't called or come by. She failed to bring Ralph to several of his appointments with Toby now and Walter was really concerned. If the truth about him gave her pause he was okay with that. But Ralph deserved the help he could get from being around like people. Even if the doctor was significantly below him.
"Hey." Happy said from his open door.
Walter sighed silently.
"Hey Happy, something wrong?" Walter asked while trying to be polite but not engaging with her.
"It really is okay to look at me Walter. I didn't think I wanted anything to do with you being here, but I do care about you. And I know you are doing this because you care about me. But I'm over you now, you don't have to worry I'm going to fall for you again." Happy told him.
Walter smiled as he looked over.
"You are probably the only person on the planet that can usually get me that well." Walter told her.
Happy nodded.
"We still have no word from Paige…about Ralph. But we've got a job to go to for Homeland. Apparently a glitch in the software for communications for LAX and most of the west coast is scrambled. We've got to try and fix it or fifty six planes, most of which have passengers aboard, are going to crash. I didn't know if you needed anything before we left." Happy told him.
"Thanks for thinking of me, Happy." Walter smiled. "I'm good, my nurse is still here. Good luck with the job."
"We could really use you on it." Happy said softly. "No one knows software and tech like you do." Happy said as she took a step forward.
"Is this you asking, or?" Walter asked softly.
"Obviously I'm asking, but it was a group consensus." Happy told him.
Walter stared at her for a moment and then slowly nodded as he tried to get up out of the chair.
Happy moved over quickly and helped him by putting his arm around her neck. Together he was able to get up.
"Mr O'Brien, this isn't wise." The nurse said as she came into the room.
"Give it a rest Roselyn." Walter said. "I'll need one of my laptops." Walter told Happy.
"I've actually got your Elite Pro T here. I took the laptop as I didn't want to wait around your house." Happy told him as they moved out of his room and he saw his sister's mobility scooter sitting there.
"She thought it would be easier for you to get to the first floor with." Happy told him.
Walter nodded as he sat down.
"Pajamas, robe, slippers and a laptop, I'll be the prince of the ball." Walter joked.
"Anyone gives you any lip, I'll jerk a knot in their tail." Happy told him.
Walter nodded as he smiled.
"Well the Elite Pro T won't work, the Doomsday protocol would have erased everything, not just those videos." Walter told her as they began moving to the ramp.
"I actually got distracted before I could run it. So it should still be intact." Happy explained.
Walter nodded as they went down the ramp.
"You going to help us kid?" Cabe asked hopefully.
"Sounds like you could use a hand. Whatever I can do to help. Fortunately Happy has one of my laptops so we can go straight to LAX and fix it." Walter told him as he parked the scooter by his sister and slowly got up with Happy's help.
"Walter, are you sure you are up to this?" Megan asked as she watched him. Her hands were itching to reach out to help.
"I'm fine deirfiúr." Walter told her as Cabe stepped up and walked on the other side of him.
Megan transferred to her scooter and rode out to watch them leave.
"Be careful and don't let Walter over do anything!" Megan warned the group.
"Yes Mommy." Toby quipped.
"Great." Cabe complained as they were driving to LAX. "They just relayed that traffic is backed up around LAX and it will take hours to get through."
"Call for a helicopter." Toby told him.
"Air traffic has been shut down until the situation is resolved." Cabe told him.
"No copter? We're down to a 17% chance of success." Sylvester advised them.
"Pipe down, Rain Man." Cabe's partner barked.
"Call him that again, you better hope the Feds have a good dental plan." Happy threatened him.
"This is what we get with a car full of geniuses?" Cabe's partner complained.
"What you'll get is a solution. Get your partner under control, Cabe." Walter told Cabe as his brilliant mind considered all options.
"Everyone, quiet!" Cabe barked.
"We don't need to go to LAX. We just need a reliable wireless signal with no chance of going down." Walter told them. "Fortunately we're just a short distance south of a wifi hotspot that is very strong." Walter went on to give them directions.
Cabe and Sylvester swallowed as they saw where they were going.
Happy's eyes opened as she saw the Mustang in the back parking area.
"Is this where Paige works?" Happy asked.
"Yes, it is the strongest wifi within five miles. We should have just stayed at the Garage." Walter sighed.
Happy leaned over to Toby.
"I don't want to cause any more issues, so you need to help Walter in and out of here." Happy whispered to Toby.
Toby nodded as they all began getting out of the SUV.
Cabe moved in first.
"Owner! Agent Gallo, Homeland Security. We need to commandeer your diner for a national emergency. You can stay. But that's it. Everybody out!" Cabe said as he tossed a packet stuffed with one hundred dollar bills on the counter.
Nemos's eyes went wide seeing the money.
"Come on! Everybody out! Come on, come on! No, no, no, no, no. You-you pay tomorrow. Come on. Come on, out! Out! Out! Come on!" Nemos told his customers.
Paige frowned seeing the people she knew from Megan's business coming in.
"What are you doing?" Cabe asked Sylvester as he was wiping down a counter.
"Any idea, the bacteria on countertops? Just from chicken alone, there are over 20 diseases you can get from exposure. This is wildly upsetting." Sylvester complained.
"No, no, no, no, you stay." Nemos stopped Paige as she turned to get Ralph and leave.
"Uh, Nemos, no customers, no tips, And I cannot leave Ralph here with…" Paige tried telling him.
"Listen, my immigration status makes me not so comfortable around Federal agents. You lock up." Nemos told her and then left with the packet of money.
"Ralph, it's good seeing you." Walter said as he walked in with Toby helping him.
"Wah…" Paige said softly as she turned quickly to face him.
"Hi Walter, are you feeling better?" Ralph asked as he came alive seeing him.
"I'm getting there buddy." Walter smiled as he moved with Toby's help to the far side of the diner. "It's good seeing you too Paige." Walter smiled as they passed by.
After numerous attempts and failures by the geniuses all seemed lost.
"I'm at a loss guys. We've done everything we can." Walter told everyone as he put his face in his hands.
Paige slowly stepped up and ran her hand jerked several times as she reached across his shoulders.
"Walter, I just want to make sure you know this isn't like before. You're doing everything you can." Paige told him gently as her hand moved slowly back and forth on his shoulders.
"But I'm still failing." Walter whispered.
"What about the planes?" Ralph asked as he looked out the windows of the diner.
"Baby, Walter's trying sweetie, he just needs some more time to figure out how to save them." Paige told him.
Walter's head came up sharply.
"No, that isn't what he means. Ralph, you are a genius." Walter grinned. "Cabe, we've got to get to Klemmer Airfield! And we've got to hurry."
Cabe turned and began arguing with Walter for several minutes before Cabe had enough.
"Look, that's going to take some time to shut down roads between here and there, a lot of parts to arrange. Give me a moment to make it happen." Cabe told him as he walked out of the diner.
Walter groaned as he looked at Mark.
"I know he thinks he's helping, but we don't have time for bureaucracy right now. Happy, if I hack you into the DOT, can you manipulate the traffic signals?" Walter asked.
"They're on standard sequencers, don't see why not." Happy nodded.
"So you shut down the roads, we drive fast as hell, we might be able to pull this off. Toby, I need you to check the manifest…For a passenger up there whose phone is still on." Walter told them.
"Walt, I got this. Don't worry. Alright?" Toby told him even as he grabbed a laptop. He was wanting so badly to make up for his mistake with the car speaker.
Walter looked to Mark.
"Don't look at me Walter. My reflexes are greatly diminished. You don't want me trying to drive a car at high speeds in the city like that." Mark told him before he walked over and began working with Toby.
Walter sighed.
"I'm gonna need to upgrade my wireless antenna software to pick up the signal from the plane, so someone's gonna have to drive me there." Walter pondered.
"Um... I don't have my license, but…I'm more of a bus guy…I-I understand the basic mechanics of-of how this works…" Sylvester told him.
Walter smiled at the thought.
"Sylvester. I really need you here, helping Toby. But thank you, pal." Walter told him kindly.
Sylvester smiled and nodded but moved over to help Toby.
Ralph picked up his Mom's keys and held them out to her. Paige stared at him for a moment and then smiled as she realized what he wanted. She reached out and took them from him.
"Uh, driving through LA with nothing but green lights…it's kind of always been a fantasy of mine." Paige told Walter.
"At high speed? No." Walter replied.
"Somebody's gotta drive. Come on." Paige pleaded.
"Your son needs you." Walter told her as he looked at her.
"I've tried really hard, but I've never been able to fully connect with him, not in the way that I've seen him connect with you guys. What my son needs…is to see me help you. Please, Walter." Paige nearly begged.
"You're a good mom." Walter smiled at her and nodded.
Paige helped Walter out the back door and into the passenger side of the mustang. Paige backed up and turned the car around.
"Ever since our date and getting this car, I've wanted to see what it can do." Paige smiled before she shifted into first and took off.
Cabe looked up hearing screaming tires as he talked on his phone and swore as he saw Paige and Walter fly out of the parking lot. He ran over and jumped into his SUV and took off after them.
They were flying down the street through light after light approaching one hundred miles an hour.
"We're passing one hundred. Are the airbags going to protect us?" Paige asked.
"At these speeds they are useless. Go faster." Walter told her as he continued working.
"What?" Paige said in shock even as it brought her vision to the rearview mirror briefly and she saw Cabe's SUV in the outside lane slightly behind them with light and siren blaring. He was coming up fast as he was accelerating faster than what Paige was willing to do.
"I think Cabe's behind us." Paige told him.
Walter looked briefly.
"Keep going." Walter told her.
"Guys, stay frosty. I can't get the light on Barrington to change over." Happy warned them.
In the same split second Paige and Cabe saw a car moving up the side street towards the street they were racing down.
"No, no, Walter... No, no, no, no, no!" Paige cried as she steered further away from that lane of traffic into the oncoming traffic lanes hoping to miss but didn't slow.
Cabe had already floored his SUV as he was already beginning to overtake the mustang. Cabe saw the other driver slam on his brakes so he hit his brakes as well. He made it into the intersection with just moments to spare. There wasn't enough time for both vehicles to slow down enough to avoid a collision and Cabe's SUV slammed into the front corner of the doghouse of the other car.
"No! Oh…Oh, God." Paige cried watching the impact.
"What the hell was that?" Walter demanded through the walkie talkie.
"Greater good theory in practice. Now just get to that airfield and don't make me regret this!" Cabe told him as he climbed out of the SUV to check the damage.
"We're almost there." Walter answered him.
After failing to capture the software from the passing aircraft Walter with Paige helping him exited the air traffic control tower looking at a Ferrari 458. Walter shook his head.
"Happy, how long will it take to hack me into a Ferrari 458?" Walter asked.
"Three minutes." Happy told him.
"We don't have time. Happy, what is the top speed of the Mustang?" Walter asked.
"It can't match your Jag, but one hundred eighty safely, maybe one ninety if you push it…but if you go much higher it will blow the engine by the time it hits two hundred and twenty." Happy told him even as Paige helped him over to it.
"I'll need to drive Paige." Walter told her and Paige was only too happy to let him.
Walter took off even as Sylvester hacked into the airfield's security system so they could watch.
"Paige, hit the roof release." Walter told her.
"What?" Paige looked shocked.
"You're going to have to be able to stand up to do this. Don't worry, I will keep you safe." Walter promised.
Paige hit the release and watched the sunroof flip up and then get ripped off by the high pressure airflow over the car.
"My new car." Paige pouted.
Walter smiled.
"Don't worry, we'll get it fixed. You can use the Jag in the meantime." Walter told her with a smile.
"Oh Gawd." Paige started to freak out as the plane came up behind them and slowly passed overhead as Walter accelerated to two hundred miles per hour to match the plane's speed. The tachometer was registering into the lower half of the redline.
But Paige resolutely stood and climbed up and finally got the cable from the co-pilot and plugged it into the laptop.
"It's downloading." Paige told Walter.
At three quarters done Captain Pike was running out of time as he pushed the throttle increasing speed and started pulling up.
"No, no, no." Paige cried as the laptop started rising up with the cable. Paige started standing up with it and her arms were rising up trying to keep hold of it.
"Paige!" Walter yelled and buried his foot onto the floor and the mustang's engine screamed as the RPM needle was buried at the top of the red line. But the Mustang took off and quickly caught up so Paige could stand once again on her seat firmly.
"Done!" Paige yelled as she hit enter causing the laptop to update the control tower software. Walter pulled against her apron forcing her to sit down onto the seat. The laptop went flipping back even as the software updated the towers. Her eyes went wide seeing the barricade coming up and then the hood of the Mustang was torn to shreds as the engine blew up.
Metal parts went flying off in all directions as smoke and steam billowed out. Walter tried to slam on the brakes and turned the steering wheel. Without the power for the hydraulics the car was barely slowing. With no power for the power steering unit there was little to no assistance. Walter screamed as he felt the bones in his hand break again. He refused to give up and he strained with all he had. The car just made the turn as he forced his hand to assist his other hand to continue turning the wheel. The car tires were screaming on the pavement as the car was now skidding along it towards the barricade. A moment before impact Walter had grabbed Paige and forced her shoulders down onto his lap. His right arm ran down from her right shoulder to her left, hugging her tightly to him. The car's driver side slammed into the barricade with enough force that the passenger side tires left the ground.
Greetings! I hope this finds you well! Well since I have been awake all night, I'll post this early now that the servers are on the new day. Merry Christmas or Happy Sunday!
Railman - Hrmm...not sure why she ran out...doesn't look good though huh? The weather here has been nasty. Thursday evening it shifted from rain to snow and ice while I was having dinner with my Mom and younger brother. Came home and the scooter was having problems getting up the ramp into the apartment. When it finally did it ran into the wall and put a really nice 6"x3" hole in it.
LouBe - Ouch indeed! lol This looks to be painful as well...Hrmm...saying there was 27+ chapters gave you hope? hehe LOL *bwahahahaha* Yep, I am warm and safe! Thankfully I don't live in Texas...once again their power grid died. Thank you! Merry Christmas to you as well! And look at that...you got your standing up in a car under a plane! hehe Just not a Ferrari
JerBr23 - I do love backstory! We'll be getting more in upcoming chapters. Well so far she isn't back...Maybe tomorrow?
Pearliegirl - Hope you enjoyed the present! The question is...how is Paige...and Walter?
To the Adventure! -Tim