Voyager Shadows: Poor little rich girl

Chapter 6: Plans in motion

Phineas found it hard to sleep since Michelle contacted him with Councilor Garth's terrible news. He was sorry to be in the bungalow away from Natalie, but he kept a keen watch on her whenever he could. Natalie's demeanor changed for the better toward everyone, and Kevin was amazed. Barbara however, stared at both Phineas and Natalie as if she had something devious up her sleeve. She kept icily cordial since the bungalow incident.

The rain subsided after two days and Natalie went back to all her school activities and outings with friends. They got used to 'Mr. B' hanging around the premises and sometimes invited him to join their group in the malt shop to eat and dance. Phineas tried to bow out when conversations turned to shopping, boys, and tawdry gossip. However, he gave them valuable insight into a boy's brain. He educated them on urban legends when they raved at Patty Lyndon's beehive. She apparently cut it because a spider laid its eggs inside. But he couldn't refute the rumor that Gary Stewart never bathed or changed his underwear when the kid walked past and nearly knocked them out from the odor. Phineas even struck up a slight flirtation with an attractive, platinum haired waitress, but decided not pursue it despite Natalie and her friends egging him on. He had very little time left until tragedy struck the Powers family.

Natalie drew closer to him, but Phineas sensed a fear in her. He assumed it was Barbara and her boarding school threats, but he noticed a lot of the kids in school with the jitters. Natalie and her circle of friends huddled around before cheerleading, as if plotting something big.

Phineas approached a football jock and was told that the Hot Devils were coming to Spring Creek for fun and trouble. The rumor kept all the guys on edge and they formed their own groups to discuss protecting the town and their girlfriends. Phineas offered them a boatload of sage advice on how to lay siege and defend the territory but they didn't really want the old guy hanging around.

After dinner, Phineas spoke with Kevin in his den.

"Phineas, I saw this coming. I put extra overnight guards at all my factories and had new locks and security systems installed. I'm not taking any chances of them coming around trashing the place. The Sheriff is aware and will have lookouts posted in neighboring counties. I'll have to go to my Wine factory, that's the one I'm most concerned about. What teenage boy is gonna get a buzz off cheese and brie?"

"That's true. And what about Natalie? Do you think there's a chance she'll join up with them or something?" Phineas asked. "You were afraid of that."

Kevin smiled appreciatively. "That's why I have you." He rummaged through his desk drawer and pulled out an envelope with one thousand dollars cash. He handed it to him. "And that's for all the extra time and attention you've given her and hopefully will continue to do until this blows over. I don't know what you said to her recently, but it's made a world of difference. I love how music fills this house again…" He stared at a small photo frame on his desk.

"Natalie used to sing while Mary played the piano. Those were fun times." Kevin took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. He philosophized that men should never cry in front of other men. "We're actually on speaking terms again. It's been so long since my little girl even looked me in the eye. And I have you to thank for all that. Certainly not Babs."

Phineas clutched the envelope, but then slid it over. "I can't take the money Kevin, we agreed on this part of the job description when I started."

He looked at Phineas shocked. "Why not?"

"I consider Natalie a friend, like a niece. All I did was talk with her. I listened to her concerns without judgment and tried to give her some advice. She really appreciated it."

Kevin refused the envelope. "Then consider it an early bonus. I told you from the beginning you were a quality worker, and you've gone above and beyond. And I consider you a good friend too. Please don't refuse it, it's the only way I can show my appreciation short of kissing you!" He laughed.

Phineas wagged his hands. "Nooooo, that's oookayyyyyy." He pocketed the envelope. "Alright, I'll take it, but it has nothing to do with Natalie." Phineas planned at some point leave it on his desk with a note to donate it to the orphanage.

They shook on that arrangement. As Phineas rose, Kevin looked at him soberly. "Phineas, wait. What you said about just listening to Natalie, I've neglected to do that for a long time. Believe it or not we used to be very close. We shared secrets and took long walks and trips and talked about anything and everything. I miss those days. I feel like they're gone forever."

"Kevin, you can get them back in different ways. She still loves you, but she has a lot of unresolved anger over her mother's death, your marriage, and just regular growing pains into womanhood. If you could sit with her and hear her concerns, at least you can begin to understand how she views the changes. I know how hard it is dealing with family." Phineas laughed. "You know each other so well, it's the faults that are the first to get pointed out…badly."

Kevin leaned back comfortably in his chair. "For a swinging playboy you sure have a lot of excellent family advice, how come you never got married and had kids?"

Phineas debated what to tell him. "Well, I was a traveler, Kevin. I loved the open road. I don't know, maybe I read too much Jack Kerouac or something but the far beyond always appealed to me. But as for family, I do have one."

"Really? You mean you had some great love affairs and left your mark?"

"No, nothing like that. When I was twenty-four I adopted an orphan, an eleven-year-old boy who tragically lost his parents. He kinda fell into my lap I guess. It was a big adjustment, but it didn't take me long to realize how much we needed each other. I raised him the best I could and he's a fine grown man now."

Kevin grinned. "You never cease to amaze me, Bogg. You have a heart of gold. Where is this young man?"

"Thanks. Well, since we've hit the road so many times he picked up the lifestyle. Right now he's…back home in New York." Phineas stretched the truth.

"One day I hope to meet him."

"Yeah, that would be great."

~Oo~

Natalie rolled around her bed with the phone in the crook of her neck and listened half-hearted. Her best friend Jill talked incessantly about the Hot Devils. It was like Elvis Presley rolled into town the way she went on and on. Natalie's foolish ideas about the gang lifestyle changed after overhearing her father's concerns and then talking to Phineas, but she couldn't convince her friend.

"No, I don't think I want to do that, Jill. Those guys are trouble, that's all I've been hearing for weeks, haven't you read the papers or listened to the news? They set fire to that poor man in Deerville!…What do you mean he probably deserved it? Nobody deserves that!…Oh that's real nice Jill, because the guy is a derelict they were doing the town a favor?…Of course the police out there can prove it was them. I mean jeesh, who really does that?"

Natalie sat up fast and knocked over her nail polish and make-up kit. "You can't be serious! Didn't you hear that Oak ridge evacuated this morning? The whole town's been washed out. I can't believe you're even suggesting it…No, dad's not gonna be home tonight, he's too busy baby-sitting the wine and cheese. I don't know, Bogg is…Jill, that guy has eyes in the back of his head, I'd never get past him."

Nor did she think she wanted to. Natalie peeked out her back window. Phineas paced around in front of his bungalow and looked as if he were talking to himself. He held something that emitted a strange red light, but when he caught her staring he quickly shut it and waved. She waved back and drew the curtains.

"Weird. Maybe it's a Swiss Watch." She thought and went back to her phone call.

"What did you say? That's not cool, Jill. Don't call him that! He's perfect! He cares about me, and I love him." Natalie looked in the mirror and blew air frustrated. Her bangs flew up. "No, it's not like that at all, he's like…like a second father to me. An uncle. It's hard to explain so forget it."

Jill sometimes pushed so hard she had to say yes or else she would never heard the end of it. Natalie dug out a pair of jeans and a yellow cashmere top from the closet. "Well, if a bunch of you are going then I guess it's not so bad. I mean, the town's empty, so no one will get hurt, right?…But that's like breaking and entering and stealing!…Alright. No, don't come for me, they'll know something's up. I'll meet you all there in about an hour."

Natalie hung up and looked in the mirror a final time, excitement and apprehension coursed through her. She and her friends planned a meeting like this for weeks; now she wanted to back down. She consoled her nerves and reasoned that sometimes news reports lied about teenagers to make them look like a bunch of rotten Juvenile delinquents. She combed out her hair and changed her clothes, then put the plan of escape into action.

~Oo~

Natalie didn't hear the phone click on the other end of the line. Barbara licked her lips and ran to her bedroom. Keeping the lights off she turned a flashlight on and off twice at a small black car that sat in the darkness out front. The car's headlights went on and off once. Barbara ran out and knocked on the car window. The person inside rolled it down a few inches.

"She's leaving within the hour. I'll have to tell her friend she changed her mind. I'll just say she came down with a fever or something and asked not to be disturbed."

"Good. And you'll call Kevin at the factory, won't you?" An ominous male voice replied.

"Of course. I know how to play that man like a fiddle. I tell him that Natalie went out and Bogg chased her. And I'm afraid for her life after what happened between them in the bungalow. Now he'll understand why she's suddenly so giddy and friendly now. By the time Kevin and I get there Natalie is nowhere to be found, but Bogg is left stranded."

"You have a very cunning mind, Barbara."

"Oh but I have you to thank for that, Immortal Drake. I wouldn't have guessed Bogg was a Voyager if I hadn't searched his room and found the omni and communicator device you said to look for. I knew he was bound to leave it down some time. Like when he was in the shower." Barbara sighed at the image, then fell serious again when Drake glared at her. "So once Natalie is out of the way, I stand to inherit millions. It will be a shame about Kevin though."

"Yes. But consider that your reward. If you don't kill him, think of how depressed he'll be. There will be nothing you can do to console him and your life will be miserable. We couldn't be rid of her mother before the Voyagers plucked her, but we must be rid of her."

"Anything you wish." She replied feverishly.

Drake reached his hand out and stroked her cheek. He wore a silver and black ring on his right pinky. In the center lay an ivory oval and a book with the letter 'S' on top. Drake drew his hand back and shooed her away.

"This is to be our final meeting, Barbara. You have paid your dues to The Seeker Society by giving us Natalie Powers and Voyager Phineas Bogg as an added bonus. Your name will be revered among the Seekers for generations."

"That is such an honor!"

Drake clipped a cigar and struck a match on the steering wheel. "Go back in the house, wait ten minutes and then call her friend. Bogg will discover Natalie is missing sooner or later. I've learned never to underestimate him, so count on sooner. Do not interfere with his discovery; he is highly suspicious of your motives by now."

Barbara hung her head embarrassed. Drake never told her to get hot and feisty with Bogg, but she couldn't help herself. In the Seeker book of Knowledge, Phineas Bogg was considered a god among Voyagers by his looks alone. But he was also a legendary hero to their realm along with Voyagers Garth, Isaac Wolfstein, Susan, and Olivia Dunn. Bogg's adopted son Jeffrey Jones was a legend in the making. Voyagers Bogg and Jones were the real forces to be reckoned with and Drake made sure the Seekers knew that.

"I'm sorry, Immortal Drake. I let my emotions get the best of me."

"Never mind that now. Women always fall prey to him. As soon as Bogg goes after Natalie, you call Kevin and tell him the 'sordid' details. Wait for him to come home, then lead him and the police to the location I gave you. Can you do that?"

"Yes, but how will Bogg know where to find Natalie?"

"Trust me, with that advanced technology he will. Goodbye, Barbara."

Drake started the car and casually drove off. Barbara ran back into the house to set the plan in full motion.

~Oo~

"Hey Bogg,

I've had to say this too often through the years because of my bad temper and big mouth, but I'm very sorry. I understand more than ever now that nobody could have talked you out of raising me, because we only had each other. Remember when we almost got stranded on the Sam Houston Voyage? That's exactly what I told you back then, and that is still all that matters. We'll always be a family whether we're here or in the dark ages. Because we want to be. Everything worked out for the best with Jaiden, he needed Pamela and I couldn't snatch him away from her. You were right as always dude. Gotta walk Jaiden to his first class now. I can't believe he's 18 now. He took your room, but you'll get it back, promise. Be careful out there.

Love, Jeff.

~Oo~

"Dear Kid, I hoped that stubborn nature of yours would have disappeared by now, but alas. I know you never mean it when I hear stuff like that, even if it stings. I know your heart, and the pain you carry. It never goes away, but I'm always here to help you deal with it. Even if it means I have to be a punching bag…since you destroyed that ugly clown one the last time. I understand. Don't trash the place with little J. Will see you soon, Love, Bogg."

~Oo~

Phineas was touched by the message from Jeffrey. He tried to contact him on the voice communicator, but couldn't get through. He wanted to do a quick check of the mansion. Disaster was averted for today, but the omni was still red. As he passed under Natalie's window he saw all her lights out.

"That girl never goes to bed without the night light." He muttered.

A gut instinct kicked him. He hurried to Natalie's room and knocked. There was no answer. "Natalie? You asleep?"

He opened the door. A still figure lay in bed. It was possible Natalie finally stopped fearing dark. But the lumps and indents under the blankets clued him in to one of the oldest tricks in the book.

"Damn! Pillows! She's gone!"

Phineas raced out and almost knocked Barbara down the stairs.

"Babs, where's Natalie?"

She yawned loudly. "Natalie? How should I know? You're her baby sitter. I was napping. Did something happen, Bogg? Did she run away? What did you do to her?" She gaped at him. "You didn't, Bogg!"

Phineas shoved past her. "Don't even try it! I don't have time for your games!"

He raced to the garage and Natalie's car was gone. Phineas jumped into his car and quickly punched Natalie's license plate into his communicator. A GPS locator map sprang up – her vehicle was still on the move. He sent a quick message to Michelle that now was his real call to duty and sped away.