Later that afternoon, as classes ended for the day, Aidan walked over and gathered her items. She looked at the business card Dylan left, and started thinking. It had been quite a few years since she had really talked to anyone on her Dad's side of the family.
At first, when he arrived Aidan didn't recognize the man. She knew though, whenever anyone called her Micah first, it was probably someone who was from that family. Aidan's parents chose her name because it meant "fire," and felt it fit because she seemed to have a unique fire in her eyes when she was born. Micah was selected as her middle name because it was her paternal grandmother's, first name.
While most people called her Aidan, the Onyxsards always called her Micah. No one on her dad's wanted to call her by her first name because it didn't seem "eloquent" enough to fit the family. Aidan's parents knew this was more because her mom had chosen the name, and her dad approved it to be the first name. In recent years she was tempted to ask for one more name change, to remove Micah as her middle name, but decided against it because it now remained the only tie to her dad's side that her parents chose.
She had never been really welcome to begin with, as her dad's parents never accepted her mom, who was Ralph's sister. After M'Lynn and Austin's deaths in a car crash when she was nine, Aidan moved in with Ralph and Pam per her parents' wishes. When it was read in the will that this was to happen, the Onyxsards completely disowned her, though they never really care about her.
Most of the time, she just was ignored at events and holidays - if not being bullied by the older kids. Christmas was always the hardest for her, especially come time to exchange the gifts. She would have to sit with the family watching her cousins open up many presents, some expensive, but she'd receive things such as socks - if anything. While Aidan would accept them gratefully, she knew little thought was put into them, as though they were given only to show that she wasn't "excluded."
Dinner was also miserable, as the others would push her out of the way when they were getting dinner, and a few times the kids would tip over her plate. When it fell to the ground her cousins, aunts and uncles would blame her and force her to clean up the mess that the other's made. They would also try to deny her refilling her plate, but after her dad would tell them the truth, they reluctantly would do so. She also always sat at the kid's table, which was fine… except most of the cousins got to sit at the family table. One or two might join her briefly, but they didn't speak much with her if at all.
Needless to say, when her family left the Onyxsards, she could only count the miles on the drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles so she could see Ralph, Pam, Nala (or her grandmother, Paula Hinkley), and the rest of her mom's side of the family. Those days seemed to pass by too quickly, especially the day they'd visit Disneyland, but it was those days that made Aidan feel even more loved than she always did visiting her dad's side.
Despite her general feelings about the Onyxsard side of the family, not everyone was cold toward her. Her grandmother on this side of the family, Misha, didn't care about who Aidan's mom was or how much money was earned in a year. Unlike her husband, who was the only one of the two who disapproved of the marriage and had died not too long after Aidan was born, she saw a young girl who was being treated worse than dirt.
Each Christmas before Aidan's family left, Misha gave her a piece of jewelry - the one thing that none of the others received - that would reflect what she had read in letters Aidan sent to her. Some pieces were simple, but others included gemstones, usually in alexandrite, Aidan's birthstone. This continued for many years until Misha went to the nursing home. …
"So, are you going to call him or not?" said a male voice, causing Aidan to jump and start to throw a punch. Fortunately, she pulled her punch midway when she saw who it was. "Hey, don't shoot. You'll knock me through a wall," he said, flipping her the peace sign.
"Sorry, Ralph. … I've been thinking, and I don't know if he's serious or not."
Ralph coughed slightly. "Well, he was serious enough to not sign in and get a visitor's pass from Sarah before going to your room," he said simply. "He told her that this was a surprise visit."
"Some surprise. Don't penalize her though, she didn't know about Dad's family," she said.
"Well, I did have to warn her about making sure to give the visitors ID badges first, but in this case, I think it was good if nothing else to give a reason to make Dylan leave," he said as Aidan finished gathering her supplies and put on her jacket. "But, you didn't answer my question."
"I've thought about calling him this evening, but I don't know. They could decide to disown him too if he's serious about reconciling. If I were him, I wouldn't want to lose my inheritance," she said with a slight cynicism in her voice.
Ralph frowned as the two left the classroom. "Aidan… money's not everything you know. Given some of the stuff that happened back then, I can safely say money doesn't necessarily make a person happier. Maybe Dylan's realized it and wants to resurrect a 'ghost.'"
"True," she said, then changed the subject. "Anyway, the kids aren't happy the gas lines are still bum though."
Ralph chuckled. "Still wanting to play Hephaestus there huh?"
"Well, they are in a way with the hammer and pommels, but I think they feel hammering stuff isn't nearly as exciting as flames and fire scale," she said, laughing briefly.
The two continued talking and headed toward the parking lot. No sooner had they stepped in the parking lot did the two see a car sped down the path toward them. Aidan, forgetting she was in the suit, tackled Ralph and the two dove out of the way a split second before the car could hit them. It continued to careen down the road as though oblivious to what it did.
Aidan, realizing she was lying on top of Ralph - who was groaning slightly in pain - sat up and helped the man sit up. "Ralph, are you OK?" she asked.
"Fine… but a little sore from you pushing me out of the way like you did. I think my ankle's sprained too since I was turning when you decided to be a linebacker," he said, touching the collar of the suit around Aidan's neck. "You really need to be careful of the suit's strength Ade. Can't afford you knocking me out again playing 'save the principal.'"
Aidan rolled her eyes slightly at the inside joke. She had to save him one time after school when some of the football jocks - who were removed from the team for doping - decided to attack Ralph. While between the two they were able to subdue all of them, Aidan inadvertently tapped Ralph into unconsciousness as well in the fight, thinking he too was one of the players. She was so embarrassed it happened, she bought Ralph ice cream at their favorite ice-cream store to make up for it… for the next week.
Seeing Ralph shake his head and chuckle, she knew that he also was remembering that day. "Well, at least I know you're coherent," she said jokingly as she stood up… and noticed a weighted envelope on the ground. Ralph frowned as she walked over picked it up. "Any vibes on it?" he said as Aidan toyed with it.
"Nope, I bet the turkey was wearing gloves. The suit seems to not be able to pick up vibes when they do that," she said as she opened it. She paled as she read the contents.
"What does it say?"
"'Next time ya won't be lucky. You're going to pay,'" she read out loud. "No doubt it wasn't an accident, but why try to mow us down at a school with a bunch of witnesses?"
Ralph frowned, growing concerned not just for his goddaughter but for the students who could've been there instead. "I don't know, unless it was to show they know where you teach. I think we'd better get home as soon as possible."
Aidan nodded and changed into the jammies. "What are you doing?" said Ralph a little panicked at her changing in broad daylight. He stood up and looked around, and sighed in relief that almost everyone had already left for the day.
"Getting us home as soon as possible," said Aidan as she finished stuffing her clothes in her purse and handed it to Ralph. "Now, hop onto my back and I'll give you a lift."
He looked at her skeptically. "I don't know, Aidan…"
"Listen, I know you're leery of flying now as a passenger, but I know what I'm doing. Besides, I don't want to risk there being a bomb on either of our cars at least until Tony and the FBI can check them out. Better safe than sorry," she said. Seeing the man still balk, she continued. "If you're too afraid, I can carry you in my arms. You know I won't drop you that way."
When the man hesitated once more, Aidan shrugged and picked him up in her arms. Ralph, realizing he was going to fight a losing battle with Aidan if he kept arguing, sighed. "OK, I'll hitch a ride, but I think it'd be better if you flew with me on your back," he said, and Aidan set him down. He then straightened up, favoring his left ankle. "At least that way I can bury my face in your back if I get scared."
Aidan only laughed, and after picking up Ralph in a piggyback carry, took three steps and jumped, taking flight. As they flew, the two started talking about the day and wondered what was going on. Aidan had one thought though: someone was out to kill them, and it was someone from their past.
-------------------------------------------
As he continued driving, the driver of the car frowned when he saw that the two Hinkleys had dove to safety before he could hit them. He knew that his boss had placed a hit on one of them, but seeing the other, he figured it'd be a way to kill two birds with one stone.
The man's cell phone rang. "Jackson," said the man.
"Did you do what I wanted," said the voice on the other line. Not hearing Jackson respond, the man grew angry. "Let me guess, you missed them."
"They dove for cover, and I didn't have time to turn around. I could tell they were trying to get the license plate number. I realized if I didn't leave then, the devils would be on my tail."
The man on the other line growled in anger. "Damn it, you better do better next time or I'll see to it you wind up being the one visiting the devil," he shouted before slamming the phone down in Jackson's ear.
Realizing his client wanted nothing less then perfection on the hit, Jackson decided to head back to his hotel room and plan attack two. Though he had to wait for his boss to say where they were going to be next, he wanted to make sure the next time there was no escape from the hit.