Chapter 6

The next morning as Roger pulled up in front of the school to drop Freya off, he noticed the man he had confronted the day before and a couple of police officers standing outside the school gates, with them was the boy with the now rather impressive black eye.

When Freya got out of his car, the boy pointed her out and the two police officers approached her, along with the boy's father.

Roger quickly called Mrs. Simonds, "Hello?"

"Did you know that there's a couple of cops out here and they're with that Turner idiot?" he said.

"Well, I certainly didn't call them! Let me call the school police and I'll be right out!"

Roger replied grimly, "I figured as much, I'll be standing by!" and he hung up.

Exiting his car, he strolled casually towards the small group.

Turner was being loud, "I told you that you weren't gonna get away with hitting my son...Arrest this...Girl, she hit my son and look at what she did to him!"

Freya was standing there looking uncertain as to how to respond while the boy looked as if he wanted to be somewhere else.

The senior officer asked her, "Is this true? Did you hit him?"

Freya nodded a 'yes' and replied, "Ah was defendin' meself, 'e was wantin' tae put 'is 'ands oan me!"

Roger thought, " They're scaring her, she's reverting to her thick accent!"

The two cops looked at each other and the younger officer demanded, "Where're you from?" Roger spoke up, "She's from Canada and I'm her foster father!"

Turner glared at him and Roger said casually, "Well Turner, we meet again, I see you brought some back up this time!"

The senior officer said to Roger, "I think we need to talk, Mr.?"

"Tate, Roger Tate. Here's my ID."

He handed the officer his ID and waited while the officer briefly looked it over then handed it back to him.

"So, what seems to be the problem here?" asked Roger.

The senior officer motioned for him to follow him a short distance away while the younger officer kept an eye on things.

The officer looked at him for a moment then said, "We got a complaint about your foster daughter, it seems she gave the Turner boy a much needed thumping!"

Hearing that comment, Roger relaxed and said, "So she's not in any trouble then?"

"Not as far as I'm concerned!"

They were interrupted by the near simultaneous arrival of the school police and Mrs. Simonds the school's administrator.

"What is the meaning of this?" She demanded, then she glared at Turner and said, "What are you doing here? Your son is no longer a student here!"

He puffed himself up and declared, "I'm here to get justice for my son, she beat him up and look at his eye!"

He glared at Freya and said hotly, "I'll get you deported, you won't get away with hitting him!"

The senior most school police officer approached Roger and the officer he was talking to, the two shook hands and the school officer said, "Sorry you guys got involved in this. It was a bullying incident that backfired on the boy and his two friends. She thumped all three of them when they tried to grope her and when his dad tried to assault Mrs. Simonds, Mr. Tate here pinned him down. I can give you copies of our report on this incident."

The police officer grinned and replied, "Yes, we'd like a copy for our records if you don't mind."

Mrs. Simonds who was listening in, said cheerfully, "I thought you'd like a copy, I have one right here with me." and she handed over the copies.

During all this, a small crowd of parents children had gathered, listening to the dialogue between them.

The senior police officer turned to them and asked, "Is there something we can help you folks with?"

A heavyset woman stepped forward holding onto her chubby boy's hand, she asked, "Is this about that Turner boy being a bully?"

Gathering herself, she said grimly, "That boy and his friends have made my son's life a living hell, he's not very healthy with his asthma and his coeliac disease, and they tormented him for being fat when he can barely do any exercise."

She gestured around at the other parents and declared, "All of our kids have been bullied by that little monster, and we couldn't get them to say anything because they were too scared to tell!"

She pointed at Mrs. Simonds and said, "We did talk to her, but unless the kids spoke up, we were powerless, and with his friends on the city council, we knew the city wouldn't help!"

A murmuring went through the crowd as she was speaking and a little girl in blonde pigtails came forward and cried, "You took my lunch money, you, you, big, butthead!"

She turned and stalked back to her embarrassed mother.

She looked at her mother and declared stoutly, "Well, he is!"

Seeing that the situation was not in his favor anymore. Turner began mumbling, then he said to his son, "C'mon boy! We're getting out of here!"

The senior school police officer cried "Hold up there, mister!"

Turner stopped and glared at the officer, "What is it, now?" he growled.

The officer said mildly, "Actually, you are under arrest for an attempted assault on a school administrator and trepassing on school property."

"Whaaat?!" roared Mr. Turner, "Whaddaya mean I'm under arrest?! I never touched her, you see any marks on her? Trespassing? What trespassing?" he said defensively.

"It's true you didn't touch me Mr. Turner, but how was I to know you weren't actually going to hit me? As far as trespassing is concerned, your son is no longer a student here and neither of you have any reason to be here, hence trespassing." said Mrs. Simonds.

She gestured at Roger and said, "If Mr. Tate hadn't intervened the way he did, it is possible I would have been assaulted in front of these children." a wave of her hand indicated Freya and the Turner boy standing nearby.

The senior school police officer reached for his handcuffs and began reading him his Miranda rights as he took Mr. Turner by the wrist and slipped on the cuffs.

Turner remained stonily silent the whole time he was being arrested and led away in cuffs to be placed in the squad car.

The was a murmuring of approval as the small crowd dispersed into their cars with their kids in tow.

Turner had been arrested and they were satisfied with that.

His son stood silently with a far away look on his face until Mrs. Simonds asked him, "Have you contacted your mom yet?."

The boy shook his head and muttered, "I don't have a mom, she died when I was little. It's just dad and me."

She frowned and asked him, "Is there anyone at home to come get you?"

The boy shrugged and remarked, "Just my dad's girlfriend, she lives with us."

"Could you call her and have her come get you?" The boy, with an air of resignation, pulled out his cell phone and hit a couple of buttons.

A few moments later he spoke, "Marlena? Yeah, dad got arrested and could you come get me? I'm at school." he paused and then cried in dismay, "What?! You're drunk already? It's not even nine o'clock yet... Never mind, I'll walk home!" and he closed up his phone disgustedly.

His eyes were brimming with held back tears as he said, "I can't get a ride, I can walk home from here." with a slight catch in his voice.

Roger suddenly found himself speaking up, "I can give you a lift home..."

Both the boy and Mrs. Simonds looked at him curiously, then Mrs. Simonds said firmly, "I can't allow that Mr. Tate. First off, you're not his parent or legal guardian and the school board would hang me if I let you take him anywhere without his father's permission, and after yesterday and today? I don't see him giving his consent at all."

Roger just shrugged and said pleasantly, "I was just offering the kid a lift. I get the whole rules and permission thing, it's just that I had a tough upbringing myself and wound up getting the option of the military or juvenile hall until I was 21. Naturally, I went into the Marines."

Mrs. Simonds smiled at him and said gratefully, "I appreciate your offer anyway, even if I can't allow it."

The boy spoke up, "Mr. Tate?" "Yes?"

"How long were you in the marines?" Roger grinned at the boy and replied "Four years, some of the stunts I pulled got me a four year enlistment, preferably overseas!"

He grinned again and said cheerfully, "I discovered I had an affinity for languages and finding lost things. I went to college in my spare time and majored in ancient history and Arabic languages."

That would make you an adventurer-scholar wouldn't it, Mr. Tate?" Asked Mrs. Simonds. "It sure would. The museum I work for sends me around the world looking for ancient legendary creatures and collecting tales of them. Freya is an example of what I do."

"You found her and brought her back here?" Asked the boy with a puzzled look.

Roger laughed and said, "More like she found me and introduced me to her people. Her parents asked me to take her with me so she could learn about the outside world and she could tell the world about her people."

"Just like that? They asked you to take her?" Asked Mrs. Simonds.

"It does seem a little weird, but she likes me and they trust her judgement." Replied Roger. "How long has she been here?"

"About three months, we spent a lot of time cramming basic math and English into her head before enrolling her in school. We also tried to tone down her accent a bit."

He grinned and remarked, "The kid also grew a couple of inches too, she'll get a lot taller, taller than almost anybody in Portland."

"How tall are we talking about?" Asked the boy, Roger grinned at him and replied, "About nine feet tall, her mom is about that height."

The boy gaped and started blurting out, "No Fu...Freaking way!"

Roger grinned and said, "Nice save kiddo, and yes, way!"

Mrs. Simonds glanced at her watch and remarked, "I'll escort Freya to her classroom and make arrangements for Master Turner here to get a ride home."

Freya stepped close to Roger and hugged him briefly before she followed Mrs. Simonds and the Turner boy into the school building.

Roger called out suddenly, "Hey kid! I didn't get your name!" The boy turned around and said, "The name's Peter, dad calls me Pete."

Roger grinned and replied, "Okay, Pete it is. Try putting hot compresses on that eye of yours, it'll help the bruising and swelling go down quicker."

Pete looked at him and asked, "I don't get it, I did a bad thing and caused a bunch of trouble. Why are you being nice to me?"

Roger smiled at him and replied, "Because in you, I see myself about twenty-five years ago and If I can steer you away from that cliff you're headed for. I'll repay the man who helped me pull my head out of my own ass!"