Fight and Flight part I

Raylan sighed as he hung up the phone. He wasn't quite sure what to think, he certainly shouldn't feel happy but he had to admit he did feel a tiny bit of pride rising up. He didn't have long to think about the conversation though as Winona suddenly appeared. "Can you give me a ride, my car won't start."

"Sure, I have to go out anyway. Where am I taking you?"

"The lawyer's office, Gary and I are proceeding with a divorce."

"Well I am sorry about that."

"No you're not," Winona said with a smile.

"Well, no I'm not, but it seemed like the right thing to say. " Raylan said as they headed to the car.

"Beautiful day," she said as they drove through town. "How's Nate doing?"

"Oh, he's been busy."

"It sounds like he's adjusting to life here in Kentucky. He seems like a great kid."

"Oh yeah, he has his moments," Raylan said glancing once again in the rearview mirror.

"What are you doing?"

"I think we're being followed."

"You are such a lawman."

"True but there is nothing wrong with being careful. I'll be right back," he said getting out of the car after they had stopped for a red light. He walked back to the car that was directly behind them. "Hey you have been following us for miles, now that is quite a coincidence. I'm going to go right when the light turns green and I suggest you turn left. Oh and have a nice day." Raylan then returned to his car just as the light changed and was relieved to see the mystery car follow his instructions. "Will you need a ride back?"

"No I'll take a cab," Winona said giving a small wave as she headed towards the law firm.

Raylan watched her go and then pulled away from the curb to pick up his next rider.

He parked in front of the school, locked his door and allowed his long strides to take him to the front entrance. It was hard to believe that it had been several months that he had stood across the street and watched his only child take his first steps into this building. Now he had been summoned, due to that same child's wrongdoing. Nate had apparently embraced his seventh grade year by starting it off with a bang.

He was buzzed inside where he walked down the long hallway following the signs that pointed his way to the office. Memories of his own school days began to emerge as he walked. The smells and noises all seemed to transcend time and take him right back to his own days of yore. He wasn't even clear anymore as to his own experience in school; it didn't ever seem to rate high or low; it was just a part of his history, now his son was starting his own history.

He walked into the front office to find the two secretaries conferring over piece of paper in the far corner. The attention they were giving it made him feel as if he had stumbled into a meeting of the utmost secrecy and importance. They continued to huddle and whisper even after he had thought they had seen him enter. "I'll be right with you," the one finally said.

"That's him, Raylan Givens, the marshal that Joanne said she knew from high school," the shorter one hissed in hushed tones.

"He grew up nice, very tall and cowboy looking. The new kid is his?"

"Yeah, that's what I told you, he apparently moved back to the area."

"They do have the same eyes. I'll help him."

"No, I sit at the front and it is my responsibility."

The small summit broke up and the short one whose name according to her name tag was Mrs. Waggoner. "Hello there and how can I help you?" she asked her smile ratcheted up to high beam.

"Um, Raylan Givens," he said smiling back as best as he could though he could never compete with her clown-like grin. "My son Nate got into a fight and I'm here to pick him up."

"Oh Nate, yes, he is in with Mr. Teller, the Vice Principal of discipline."

"Okay and which way is that?"

"Just follow me," she said though it wasn't far and he could have easily been pointed in the right direction with a single finger. She knocked on a semi-closed door and was waved inside where she presented the marshal and then backed her way out and disappeared back to the main office.

"Mr. Givens," he said standing up and extending his hand while his eyes fell on Raylan's side arm. He was probably around 6'2" and in his mid-thirties, young enough the kids might be able to identify with him but old enough to make them realize he wasn't their pal, buddy or to be called dude. His voice was also deep enough, that without much effort he could capture the attention of a room if need be. They shook hands and he sat back down indicating that Raylan take the chair next to Nate. "We generally don't allow weapons in the school." He said his gaze resting on Raylan's sidearm.

"And that's a great policy, but I don't leave mine anywhere but on my hip," Raylan explained as he showed the man his badge.

"That's for sure," Nate whispered.

Even though it was barely audible Raylan had heard it and gave his son a quick look. Nate looked down at his sneakers and waited for the vice principal to list his misdeeds.

"Nate was caught in a conflict with another student. Now I have spoken to the other boy and he has already gone home with his mother. I also spoke with several other students who witnessed the melee, and they all seem to side with your son. "

"Okay," Raylan said continuing to look at the school administrator.

"Apparently, Dylan Jenkins was teasing a friend of Nate's and wouldn't stop after Nate asked him to and then Dylan shoved your son and…"

"And I hit him in the gut and then a right cross across his chin which landed him on his ass," Nate finished.

"Thank you for your explanation," Mr. Teller said with a tight smile. "That is pretty much all the details. Dylan is a frequent flier and will be suspended for five days for his involvement and instigation, but since Nate threw the first punch I have no choice but to suspend him for three days. His teachers are getting his work together so he can keep up during his absence." He looked at Nate and said; "be sure you do all your work, you won't get extra time unless there are extenuating circumstances. Do you know what that means?"

"Yes I know what it means; I am after all a scholar and apparently now a pugilist as well." Both men's eye brows rose nearly hitting their hairline. "Missy Harrington said I was as a good as a prizefighter so I attached my own word."

"Pugilist?" Raylan asked.

"Yeah, I just read it in a book."

"What books are you reading?" Mr. Teller asked.

"He has been put in a higher reading group this year," Raylan said.

"I can see that, the one that meets at the college?"

"Not yet, maybe next year," Nate commented looking bored.

"He reads a lot," Raylan said standing up. "I've spoken to him about his language, but I figure he'll eventually grow into it. I'll make sure he does his work; we'll also have a talk about proper school etiquette as well."

"Thank you for coming in Marshal and I'm sure we won't be having many more problems with Nate anytime soon. Norma at the front desk should have all of his work."

They gathered up his papers and made a trip to his locker to get the necessary books and headed out to the car. "Pugilist, that's a pretty damn fancy word," Raylan said.

"Yep, I like learning new words."

"Who were you defending?"

"Tommy, he always picks on Tommy. Dylan picks on lots of kids but none of them defend themselves, I couldn't take it anymore. I watched it in sixth grade, and I'm done standing around doing nothing."

"So you clobbered him."

"Yep, and I'd do it again."

"Did you give any thought to what might have happened had he hit you back?"

"I did, I've watched him, and found that at no point has it ever occurred to him that anybody would fight back. I knew a good shot to the solar plexus would knock the wind out of him leaving him wide open for whatever I chose to do next."

"And now that he knows what you're capable of, do you think he'll go so quietly next time?"

"I think he is a typical bully and won't try anything. Besides, I do practice the kicks that you had me learn. I'll be fine." Nate explained as they pulled away from the curb.

"Well I'm glad to hear it," Raylan said focusing on the road.

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the office, where did you think?"

"I don't know, can't you take me home?"

"I don't think so killer. You can work on your homework while I work. Did you eat lunch yet?"

"Nope I have it right here," Nate said patting his backpack. His restricted diet didn't allow him to eat anything the school had to offer. He hated having to bring his own lunch from home, even while everybody else was griping about their sloppy mush filled trays. It's not that he wanted to eat what they had; it's just that he hated standing out. There were always questions as to why he brought his lunch which then led to his health and he felt even more ostracized.

Back at the office Raylan set him up in the conference room where he diligently ate and worked on his homework. He then pulled out a large book and it looked as if the boy practically climbed into it. The tension in his face eased; his body language changed and his eyes seemed to chew up the words as if they were dessert. It was as if he had stepped into a better world. Raylan could only wish that he could lose himself in a book like his son did and had to admit he was somewhat jealous. Raylan watched as Nate scribbled notes onto a piece of paper and every so often would tap away on his phone; lining up words for his next run-in with the principal he imagined.

"What's the boy doing here?" Art asked.

"Fight at school."

"Really? Didn't know he had it in him."

"Yeah, well he did and now he has three days to live with it."

"Well I have no problem with him being here as long as he stays like that, but Raylan three days is a long time in an eleven year olds life. And what will he do if you are out of the office. I can't have you toting him around with you and I know that boys predilection for finding trouble. I'm afraid if you leave him here I'll find him downstairs taking over for the prosecution in one of the courtrooms."

"I know Art, I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet," Raylan sighed.

"I can call my wife; she loved having him over when you were in Los Angeles. Besides that ought to bore him out of his mind and he'll never get suspended again."

Raylan smiled. "You go ahead and ask her for me."

"Besides, maybe he can get all that last minute yard work done so I don't have to do it," Art winked.

As the day wound down and most left Nate came out and plopped down in Tim's empty chair. "When are we leaving?" he asked.

"When I say so," Raylan said. "Since you're here and are not in any position to complain I think I'll finish up a few more things."

"Hey who's sitting in my chair," Tim said in a deep voice as he headed towards his desk.

"Hey Tim," Nate grinned.

"What you doin' boy?"

"Got into a fight today and am suspended for three days."

"No way."

"Way," Nate declared raising his arms and showing off his biceps. "I put him down for picking on my friend."

"Good for you, stand up for your buds. You gonna be here tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure I don't think Art is comfortable with that. I saw my dad talking to him."

"Well I have an empty closet at home I could store you in," Tim said putting his hand on top of Nate's head.

Nate got up out of Tim's chair. Tim sighed and took the opening slumping down into it. "Long day?" Nate asked.

"Not too bad I suppose, so you gonna give me details or what?" Tim asked.

Raylan was back over speaking with Art about tomorrows specifics. He would drop Nate with Art's wife for the day as she had happily agreed to be his chaperone for his time off from school. He looked over to see his son demonstrating the battle that he had taken part in earlier. He seemed to show the same moves he had described to Raylan earlier; no embellishment. Tim smiled and pulled the boy into his lap as they continued to talk. Nate had really taken to Tim and Raylan was glad the two had formed such a close alliance, as Nate could use any and every distraction offered.

"Did you take your afternoon pill?" Raylan asked as he arrived back at his desk.

"Yep, I got them back from the nurse since I won't be there. I need a refill on the white one." Nate knew all the official names of his medications but liked to refer to them by their color as if that would somehow lessen the seriousness of his illness. Nate's reasoning seemed to be that if the pills necessary to rein in his symptoms were simply little yellow circles and white ovals then he couldn't be all that different than everybody else. Conformity is the partner that every middle-schooler wants to take to the dance.

"Any side effects from the latest addition to your menagerie of drugs?" Raylan asked.

"Not so far, well not that I can tell anyway. I do have a harder time waking up though, so maybe that's one. I haven't been on it long enough to determine some of the others."

"Any relief?" Tim chimed in.

"Not having a great day today," he said.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tim said his face concerned.

"Me too," Nate agreed.

"Anything I can do for you?"

"Nope, just find a cure for a disease that doesn't really have a whole lot of sufferers, then world peace," Nate said.

"Hmmm, maybe tomorrow, for now I'm out of here; I think there are a few beers with my name on them someplace." Tim said. He then looked at Nate and amended his statement. "Or I'll just go home and watch TV for a while, I'm sure PBS has some good documentaries on."

Nate snickered. "Right, read a book while you're at too."

"See you when I see you," Tim said as he departed. "I left my computer up if you want to play around but no porn!" he said smiling. Nate saluted him as he sat back down in the marshal's chair. Tim was young, good looking guy who had yet to find his niche in the normal world. He put on a brave face but inside he felt awkward at best outside of the confines of the military. He just didn't feel like a typical model civilian and knew his quiet nature often made others suspicious. But Nate Givens had the ability to notice none of Tim's fears and seemed to embrace him for what he was, and gave no thought to what he wasn't. Tim felt not only human but quite normal when the preteen was around.

"When are we leaving?" Nate asked as the office was quickly emptying out.

"In a bit so find something to do. Search for a new book to read or find a game but do not go into any files. And remember everything you do can be traced back to Tim since he signed on, and he's a good shot so I wouldn't piss him off."

Nate sighed and headed to youtube. For over the next hour Raylan busied himself and even left for a brief time only to return and sink down into his chair and put his feet up on the desk. "Are we leaving yet?" Nate demanded.

"Shortly," Raylan answered without opening his eyes.

"I'm ready now," Nate complained.

"Don't you have somebody you can text or something? Or what about that game with the irate birds?"

"Angry birds?" Nate asked rolling his eyes. "I've already beaten all the levels." He held his phone in his hands and thought for a minute before finally getting up and snapping a picture of Raylan in his quiet repose. His fingers then danced across his keyboard and then fell silent. Raylan shook his head and sighed. Nate's phone clanged in response and the boy was off to the texting races his fingers flying in his reply and so it went for the next fifteen minutes until Winona showed up.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked after she pushed at Raylan's feet to make him aware she was there.

"I did," he said smiling.

"I thought so; all those notes and post-it's leading to the original note was a great tip-off as well."

"Just making sure," Raylan answered getting up.

"Hi Nate how are you?" Winona asked seeing the boy as he furiously tapped away on his phone.

"Ready to go home," he replied.

"And that we will do right now. Go shut down Tim's computer and get your backpack." Nate jumped up and did as he was told while Raylan and Winona talked for a few minutes.

"I'm ready," Nate said standing there watching the two adults look far more comfortable with each other than ex-spouses ought to.

"Okay then, oh I have something for you," Raylan said picking up a bag. He pulled out a navy blue hooded sweatshirt that had the marshal's seal on the front. "I have one for you and one for your buddy," he said tossing them to Nate. "Put one on, it's getting chilly outside," Raylan ordered.

Nate shrugged and set his backpack down and pulled on the smaller of the two over his head. "I'm ready," he said tugging up the sleeves so he could find his hands.

The three trooped down to the parking garage and to where Raylan had left the Lincoln. "How come you aren't driving your car?" Nate asked as he slid into the backseat.

"It wouldn't start earlier today; I had it towed to my mechanic. Hopefully I'll hear something tomorrow." Winona explained. "So you and your dad are kind enough to give me a ride home tonight."

"Okay," Nate said stuffing his head phones from his MP3 player into his ears.

The two adults looked at each other and smiled as they heard musical bits and pieces float their way. "He is officially in his own world," Raylan said.

"Suspended for three days huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, he gets to spend three rousing days with Mrs. Mullen's raking leaves and trimming bushes."

"Sounds great," Winona said glancing back at Nate.

They continued to chat when suddenly the car was no longer moving in its intended direction. Raylan fought to control it as it spun on its own accord after being violently bumped by another car. It finally ran out of momentum and he knew this was no accident; flashes of the fellows he had met earlier in the day assaulted him as he yelled at Winona to stay and down. He opened the back door and waved for Nate to crawl his way. "You okay?"

"It hurts where the seatbelt held me."

"Could be worse, stay down and stay with me," Raylan snapped at both of his passengers. They complied as Raylan fired off a couple of shots over the car. "Move, now," he barked.

They all moved as one unit ending up in some generic building. Raylan was on the phone describing their location and the events that had landed them there while they all moved deeper into the structure, leaving the front office behind and entering the cavernous warehouse. The panic was not the least bit hidden on Winona's face and although Nate was a little distressed, he simply looked to his father for guidance, his face registering nothing but resignation of the situation they were in; cool and calm just like his dad.

Raylan looked around and sat both Winona and Nate down and pulled out his gun as he cradled the shotgun. "Do you remember how to shoot?" he asked his ex-wife.

"Yeah but it's been years."

Raylan hesitated a minute and then handed the gun to Nate. "I took him to the range last week. Listen, stay here unless you get a clear path to the exit, and if they get between me and you, you shoot to kill. Do you understand me?" Nate nodded emphatically as he once again pushed up his too long sleeves. "Where do you aim?" Nate pointed to the chest. "Good boy, breath and squeeze, don't jerk the trigger."

Nate nodded again. "I got it pops."

Raylan raced off to get himself situated mouthing the word 'pops' as he did.

The marshal disappeared into the darkness. They could only hear the scuffle of feet, unsure of whom they belonged to. There wasn't much time to get alarmed as the festivities began instantly. Winona had grabbed onto Nate's arm and held on tightly as she looked around. Nate searched the area for movement as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He would have to be certain of who he was shooting at before he pulled the trigger.

"We should go towards that exit," Winona whispered.

"No, we need to stay here, they'll see us if we move and besides we don't know if that door will even open," Nate hissed back pulling his arm from her grasp. He looked up and saw his father moving around on the other side of the room. He heard a noise nearby and saw a foot with a shoe he didn't recognize. Nate took a deep breath and lay down on his side with his arms supporting the gun. He tracked the shoe as it moved and when it hesitated he exhaled, he thought of his missed opportunity with Coover and squeezed the trigger. The scream was instantaneous and suddenly, as if he possessed super powers Raylan swooped in and finished the man off.

"One down," Nate said crawling back over to where he had been to find Winona was gone. The clatter of feet moving on concrete and metal echoed off the walls. The gun felt heavy in his hand and the smell of gun powder was strong. His heart was pounding but the beat remained even, he wasn't afraid, he knew this intruder didn't stand a chance with Raylan on the prowl. He looked up and saw the remaining hit man look ahead of where Nate was and raise his gun towards Winona. Nate got to his knees and aimed but before he could follow through the man had entered into the past tense falling forward into death. He looked up and saw his father standing there gun in hand a satisfied look on his face.

After the police arrived and secured the scene they drove back to the office for the venerable statements to take place. The mood was super charged and words were flowing in different directions. Nate had shot a man this time and even though it hadn't been the kill shot, there was a lot to explain and deal with.

"Is this your idea of father son time, a shootout?" Art asked with disbelief.

"No of course not," Raylan answered in a loud whisper. "I was on my own time driving a…a friend home and my son was in the car, something that happens every day." Raylan stated. "I gave him a weapon so he could defend himself if necessary and that is what he did. I wasn't going to leave him helpless. I did nothing wrong here and neither did he."

"I had the shot and I took it; these men only wanted to kill us and the only thing that would stop them would be to kill them first. We couldn't hesitate or we'd all be dead. I was glad I could help. Instead of looking into what happened you need to look into why it happened." Nate argued having come up to the conversation. "We don't even know who it was they were after."

Art opened his mouth and closed it again; Nate had raised a good question. Since there had been some trouble with Gary and his business dealings it had originally been assumed that they were going after Winona but now that it had been mentioned, Raylan had shot up to the top of the list.

"Now, that makes more sense," Art said looking over at Raylan. "How many people have you pissed off this week?" he asked the marshal.

Raylan's face reflected the disgust he felt but before he could answer Gary Hawkins walked in and began to shout his unhappiness at the whole ordeal. He railed on, accusing Raylan of putting his wife in danger and being careless. As the fracas headed for a free-for-all Gary noticed Nate standing several feet away. The boy was studying Gary as if he was reading an encyclopedia, taking in every word and its meaning.

"Who is that?" Gary asked.

"That's Nate, Raylan's son," Winona said.

"He was with you?"

"Yes, why would it be so odd for my son to be with me in my car?" Raylan asked.

Gary didn't seem to have an answer. "Come on Winona let's go home."

"Who says I'm going with you," she countered.

"Why don't you two talk about this in the elevator, Rachel you stay with Mrs. Hawkins," Art directed as the group broke up grumbling in their own directions.

"Tim, I want you to stay with Raylan and Nate. Nate I guess I have to tell my wife that your plans are cancelled for now. And you," Art said pointing at Raylan are not to give Tim a hard time."

Tim stood and looked at Raylan's damaged car. "Wow, bummer dude. Nate do you want to ride with me?"

"No he's going to ride with me, I'm his father and he's my responsibility," Raylan snapped.

"Sure, I didn't mean anything by it," Tim replied a bit surprised by the outburst.

"No, I'm sorry, that didn't come out right. It's been a long night." Raylan sighed.

"He's a bit touchy, I think I better calm him down," Nate said smiling at Tim.

"So how's the trigger finger?" Raylan asked.

"Terrific, I can't believe I got to shoot somebody," he said grinning.

"Yeah great aiming Tex, what would you have done if I hadn't been there to put him down?"

"You sound like your slaughtering a cow. I guess I would have shot him in the chest. But I have to be honest and say I'm glad that I didn't kill him. What does it feel like to take a life?"

"That is a loaded question if I ever heard one. First of all I only take a life when I'm in fear for mine or any other innocent person; taking a life is the biggest decision anybody can make and it is often made in a split second and obviously there is no going back. Each person deals with it differently and each shooting has its own set of circumstances."

"Do you ever think about the ethical issues? What this might mean for your after- life?"

"Wow," Raylan said smiling, "you've gone all religious on me. Well I don't think what my future brings has ever been totally up to me; I only hope I have done the best that I can in the situations I found myself in. But you need to go only as far as your conscious allows you to. Sometimes things happen for a reason but you need to be ready for anything and everything to happen and if you can't then things may turn out very differently."

"I just wonder about the big picture sometimes. I'd like to think there is some kind of control in the midst of the chaos."

"Hey why were you staring at Gary back at the office?"

"It's what I do…I study and learn."

"And what did you learn from Gary?"

"He did know you had a kid didn't he?"

"Yeah he's aware of your existence."

"Then why was he so surprised I was with you? If it was such a shock then he must have expected you to be alone with Winona feeding his fantasy that you two are having an affair; a fantasy that would make it okay for him to take a proactive action in getting rid of you."

"Well shit," Raylan said with sigh, "you might be onto something kid."

"Maybe, I'd watch your back. You stepped into his life in a bad way from the beginning and he's probably pretty pissed off at you now. I don't know if hitmen advertise in the paper, but as you already uncovered he has been involved with some unseemly characters."

Tim pulled into the driveway behind the Lincoln. "Your bumper is barely on, every bump you hit I thought it was going to fly off."

"And yet you stayed so close," Raylan replied as he tossed the keys ahead to Nate who unlocked the front door.

"The good news is we have a guest room, but the bad news is it doesn't have any furniture. The couch isn't too bad," Nate explained.

"I have a sleeping bag I generally do better on the floor anyway. I'll get it out of my trunk," he said heading back to his car.

"You get ready for bed," Raylan directed Nate.

"But I'm not tired," he complained.

"Then stare at your ceiling."

Nate headed off for the bedtime ritual leaving Raylan and Tim in the living room. "Since you don't mind sleeping on the floor could you sleep on Nate's floor? I'd feel better if you were in the same room as him."

"No problem, wait does he snore?" Tim asked smiling.

Raylan laughed, "no, but he does usually get up at least once to use the bathroom in the night and tends to get up on the early side."

"Not an issue, I'm an early riser myself."

Nate was in bed reading when Tim came in and unfurled his sleeping bag. "Guess I'm in here with you tonight kid."

"Do you snore?" Nate asked a serious look on his face.

"Don't think so, but why don't you stay awake all night and let me know in the morning," Tim said stuffing the pillow that Raylan had given him under his head. "Don't read too long, you need your beauty sleep."

"Funny," Nate said closing his book and tossing it at Tim. He then reached over and turned his bedside lamp off.

TBC