Gadgets And Red Roses
It's said, that quantity goes to the detriment of quality; and that might be true of mourning. The gathering at the funeral (friends and colleagues of the family members) found slightly odd the five caskets lined-up; for them, it seemed like an undertaker's exhibit rather. Their mood followed this, it wasn't deeply sad. On the other hand, the only thing that spared the boy's and the little girl's heart bursting, was the fact, that even the loss of one beloved relative is so grievous, that one is unable to be more in mourning for more of them at once. They stood at the grave hand in hand. (The bandages has been removed from the lad's hands, he was wearing a pair of brown gloves. They will be needed for a long time coming, to protect the re-growing skin, and maybe even for the rest of his life to conceal the scars.) Their eyes were dry, they shed most of their tears during the last couple of sleepless nights.
Chief Quimby finished his speech. He praised the detective for his self-sacrificing work, and told a few kind words about all the others. He didn't know well the rest of the family, but did his best to collect something nice about each of them.
One policeman of the squad stepped up to the Gadgets, placed his palm on the top of Penelope's blonde head and tried to console her:
"Don't be sad, little girl, your mommy and daddy had to go on a long trip but they will come back to be with you again."
The girl suddenly burst out sobbing, got away from him and held onto his uncle's leg. The man put down the reaction to distress, little he knew the real ground, that the girl recognized that she was told an impudent lie, due to the fact that she was only a kid. Her intelligence was way beyond that of a 4-year-old, she might not fully perceived the meaning of such 'big' words like forever or eternity, yet she was completely aware of that she will never see her parents again.
"Go-go Gadget-arms!" the boy whispered, sending a dark glance at the man, and his telescopic limbs lifted up the girl.
"What the f…" The policeman recoiled at the sight of the mechanical arms, then, remembering where they are, he completed the sentence: "…a freak."
Brain growled at the man from his master's feet.
The gravediggers began dumping earth on the coffins.
"Go-go Gadget-flowers!" By now, tears were rolling down on the boy's cheeks once again. A bouquet of five red flowers descended into the grave and the falling clods buried them.
The recent incident got the mourners dispersing hurriedly. The Chief was the last one to leave.
"Can I give you a lift?"
"No, thank you! We'll take a walk" the young lad replied. He lifted his crying niece high and seated her upon his shoulders.
They strolled across the still cemetery. The pale sun of early autumn wasn't able to warm up the cool air. Fall's colorful leaves were hanging on the trees around, one or another dropped from time to time, gathering up into heaps on the ground or rustling under Gadget's feet.
"Uncle Gad…" Penny asked between two snivels, "Uncle Gadget, why did that man say that rude thing about you?"
"Maybe he was startled by my gadgets."
"Startled?…" Sob. "Why?"
"People are often alarmed by the unusual. Even your father was afraid of me when he saw my gadgets for the first time."
"Dad?" The idea, that her strong, heroic father was afraid of anything, was surprising enough, but the thought, that it was his own brother, puzzled the girl so much, that she forgot weeping completely. Well, that was the effect of her uncle Gadget: perhaps sometimes by incident, but somehow he always made her forget about her woes, least for a short while. "And what did you do about it?"
"Nothing particular. You can not force anyone to like you, if they don't want. I just remained his loving brother as I always used to be. I think he just grown used to my appearance."
"I'm sure he loved you too, uncle" said the girl. It wasn't just a polite, supporting encouragement; she considered her dad's conduct toward his brother and came to the conclusion, which she just gave voice.
"And what will you do now, uncle?"
The boy had no particular idea for the near future, so he told the only thing he was sure of:
"I will go on to become a detective, like my bro."
"Aren't you scared?"
He wanted to give a rapid reply of 'no', but something held him back. Again, he felt inclined to be honest with his niece and said: "I am. A bit. But one must face his fears. If one runs away from them, they will take possession of him and poison his soul."
The blonde girl gave the words a thorough thinking.
"Have my bro told you why did he become a policeman?"
"Not really. I've asked dad a couple of times, but he was reluctant to answer."
"Yes, I had the same case. But when I was lying in Professor von Slickstein's lab after the incident, I asked him again and he told me."
It was St. Patrick's Day of 1969. The Gadget family had no Irish ancestors, but they went downtown to see the parade. Following their parents, the elder son pushed the carriage of his baby brother. He always insisted on this task and the parents were happy to see how much he cares for his brother. But to tell the truth, – although the boy liked to play with the baby – he rather regarded the newborn as a very interesting and fun little toy.
While trying to force their way through the crowd to see the parade, a group of men grabbed the boy's attention. He saw these guys around the neighborhood often and admired them: they drove big cars, wore elegant, tailor-made suits, ate at fancy restaurants, were surrounded by gorgeous babes and spent lots of money. They rarely mixed among other people in the streets, usually they were untouchable, guarded by their ill-natured gorillas when entering a posh restaurant or getting in their expensive cars; but now they left their vehicles and headed for a temple nearby. Gadget was really interested in taking a closer look at what they are doing, he steered the baby buggy to follow them.
The court of the church was quiet, the milling of the crowd on the streets scarcely filtered through to here, it sounded just a distant hum. A sudden feeling of loneliness alarmed the boy for a moment, only now he realized that he left his parents behind. They were already looking for him, surely. But he knew that he won't have many chances to find out more about his idols, so he decided to stay and observe. He rocked the pram gently, not wanting his baby brother draw the men's attention by crying.
All at once, the eternal stillness of the old church came to life! A machine gun rattled from behind one of the stone pillars and the spiffy guys panicked. The two brothers got in the middle of what went down in criminal history as the St. Patrick's Day Massacre: mobster Spuds Malone's showdown with his competition. His legendary weapon, the tommy-gun, called the Red Rose was spitting death at the other gangleaders.
The boy was frightened and looked for a cover. He accidentally knocked the baby carriage and it went downhill on the cobblestone pathway. It rolled across in the middle of the court, projectiles were whooshing by all around it. Malone was surprised by the appearance of the buggy in the line of fire, but continued to shoot. He was intoxicated by the sight of the fall of his rivals. The baby pried from the pram, shaking his rattle in his small hand. (More than two decades after the event, looking at a photo taken that day, Spuds recalled that the rattle was held by a Gadget-hand, but his memory cheated the old villain: Gadget got his implants many years later.)
The elder Gadget boy saw everything clearly, he was peeking out from behind a column. He was shaking in every limb. He was aware of the danger threatening his baby brother and knew that he should do something to save him, but fear paralyzed him. Red stains were appearing on the suits of the men shot, and he saw them collapsing; he utterly hated himself for it, but didn't dare to move a muscle.
The shooting didn't cease, now Malone wanted to get rid of the witness of his deed, but Lady Luck seemed to love Gadget since the day of his birth: the pram and its passenger crossed the battlefield unhurt.
The sound of sirens surpassed the approaching milling of the crowd, people were arriving to investigate the source of the shots. Spuds Malone decided to postpone the elimination of the witness and get away before the cops arrive. Gadget run across the temple's court to get to the baby carriage, but from the corner of his eyes, he saw his heros' lifeless bodies lying on the ground, their smart suits sullied by red smudges. His heart pounded when he glimpsed inside the buggy and was immensely happy to see his brother playing with his rattle care-free.
He scampered from the spot as fast as he could. Thoughts were swirling around in his mind, he didn't remember how he found his parents in the crowd. Annie and Jules were scared when they noticed their children's absence, but when their son arrived back crying, they solaced him instead of chiding. They believed he was frightened by getting lost, they never found out about the adventure. But as a result of the events, their son realized that his brother – just like every human – is a unique, irreplaceable living being, and that the men he idolized are living their luxurious lifestyle by the suffering of others. By the experience, he resolved to commit his life to jurisdiction.
Listening the story fascinated Penelope, she felt that her father returned somehow for a short time, to tell her one ultimate tale; she was wiping away her tears during it. After a minute, she broke the silence, which set in:
"Weren't you angry with Dad?"
"I was too young to notice anything."
"I mean, after the surgery, when you got your gadgets. Don't you feel that it was Dad's fault?"
"No way. He just did what he believed in. And even if he made mistakes, he saved my life and did what he thought will be the best for me. Why should have I been angry?"
Her father loved uncle Gadget, her mother disliked him obviously. Could have that been the reason for their continuous arguing? Penny felt that this problem requires a careful examination. It was such an intriguing thought, that the rational part of her brain surpassed its emotional side for a moment. Only then the remembrance of her lost parents made crying overcome her again. It was just a couple of seconds, but it was the first tiny step of a long journey. Again: the effect of her uncle…
So, that careful examination had to be postponed. By now, the recent nights spent awake took the better of the little girl, rocked by her uncle's steps, she cried herself into sleep silently. When Gadget felt the weight of the worn-out girl shift on his shoulders, he took her in his lap carefully. He hoped that dreams will bring her the much-needed relief from the sorrows of reality.
"Goo-goo Gha-ghe…" she murmured in her sleep. The teddy bear, that became inseparable of her in the last couple of days, fell from her small hand. Brain caught the airborne toy and carried after his family.