Earth Man (18 page)

Danny was lying of course, defeating the Third had been a fluke
and it had left him weak, exhausted and depressed for months.

“
I want $250,000 dollars.” Danny said flatly.

Dr. Glass stared at
him, his eyes narrowing. Danny wasn’t sure if he was squinting to see him better, or if he was trying to read his mind.

“
That’s possible. In return you tell no one about this arrangement. No media, no police or other government bodies, nobody. Do you understand me?”

Danny was ecstatic. Was it really that simple?

“Half up front.” Danny said, extending his hand. Dr. Glass seemed angry but the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk.

“
Deal.” Glass replied.

Dr. Glass took a chequebook out of his desk and quickly scribbled out a number. As he handed it to Danny the two men shook hands.

“I look forward to working with you.” Dr. Glass said.

“
I look forward to spending this.”

“
You are an interesting man, Mr. Boyle.”

The two men finished their beer and Danny stood up, folding the cheque and placing it in the pocket of his pants.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” Danny said, shaking Dr. Glass’s hand again. The doctor handed him a business card.

“
Call me soon with a contact number and we’ll get to work. We still have the first creature in a secure location so if all else fails you and I will go and pay it a visit. The other one can’t have wandered too far.” 

             
Danny left the Chem-X facility and looked up at the night sky. It would be dawn by the time he got home but he did not mind. He took a moment to make sure the cheque was still in his pocket and then with a wide grin on his face he flew into the air. The wind was cold and he wished he’d worn a hat, but he knew he’d be able to buy himself whatever he wanted with the money Dr. Glass had paid him. If they were willing to pay him for something he was going to do anyway, a duty he was given by the planet itself, of course he’d gladly take it. After all, he was saving their lives too and if they could afford it, what was the harm?

             
Helen was taking groceries out of the car when Danny flew down and swept her off her feet. She let out a shriek and dropped the bags as he spun her around in the air. It was Saturday morning and the kids were still half asleep

“
Danny! Stop! The groceries!” Helen shouted but he was kissing her and smiling. Raymond and Morgan got out of the car and pointed up at their parents.

“
I’ve got a surprise Helen. The best surprise! The kind you like!” Danny shouted.

“
Daddy, bring Mommy back!” Morgan shouted, jumping up and down. Morgan was still wearing a one piece jumper under her thick wool coat.

Danny turned in the ai
r and brought Helen back, putting her down near the kids. He picked up the groceries scattered about the driveway and took all the other bags at once.

“
I got this stuff, you guys go in the house. I’ve got something to show you!”

Helen and the kids gathered
in the kitchen as Danny put the grocery bags on the counter. Danny showed them the cheque, a wide grin on his face.

“
We’re rich!” he shouted.

Helen narrowed her eyebrows and took the cheque from his hand. She flipped it over, reading it front and back. Morgan hopped up and down on her toes trying to see what her Mom was reading.

“Did we win the lottery?” Raymond asked, scratching his head. He wore one of Danny’s old Metallica shirts with a long sleeve white shirt underneath.

“
That says two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.” Raymond reached out his hand to his mother but she shook her head, she was not letting go of it.

“
Yeah, Ray! It’s not the lottery, but it’s still a lot of money!”

“
How much is two hundred?” Morgan asked, trying to be part of the conversation.

“
Who is Chem-X?” Helen asked as she handed the slip of paper back to him.

“
A major U.S. company. I don’t really know what they do.” Danny replied.

“
Chem-X, Dad? There one of the big evil corporations,” Raymond said. “One of those bad, global monsters like Monsanto or Apple.”

“
Apples are bad?” Morgan asked innocently, pulling on her big brother’s hand.

“
It’s a quarter of a million dollars Raymond. That’s all I need to know!”

Danny and Raymond high-fived each other
.

“
What is it for? I’m guessing they want you to do something for it. Nobody gives away that kind of money.” Helen said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“
I just have to do what I was planning on doing already. What I was chosen to do.”

Danny moved his eyes from Helen to the kids, trying not to say any more.

“I don’t like that word,
chosen
.” Helen said.

“
Can you kids go watch TV? Your mother and I need to talk about this. Tomorrow we’ll all go shopping okay?” Danny asked, ushering the kids toward the other room.

The kids cheered and Raymond took his little sister by the hand, leading her out to the living room. Danny hadn
’t seen him do that since he was a little boy. As soon as they heard the TV come on, Helen spoke.

“
Danny that’s a hell of a lot of money.”

“
I know. But they want to help me destroy these alien things.”

“
People don’t usually pay you as a means of help. They pay you because they want something.” Helen said dryly.

“
You’re right.” Danny said, leaning back against the counter.

The happiness he
’d felt withered away under her questioning. Yet he knew she was right, Mr. Glass had seemed nice enough but there were a lot of things Danny didn’t know. He hadn’t even asked for a phone number, he’d simply taken the cheque and flew home with it.

“
They want the bodies,” Danny said quietly.

He opened the fridge and took out a single serving Tupperware bowl of
chilli.

“
We disposed of the thing that killed Dr. Rue. When I find the others, they’ll clean up the mess and get rid of the bodies. It doesn’t change what I have to do, Helen.”

“
How many of those things are out there?” She took the bowl of chilli from Danny before he could eat it cold and tossed it in the microwave behind her.

“
Two. Or so they think. One of them is already in their custody. I just need to track down the other one.” The microwave beeped and Helen took out the chilli, handing it to Danny. He ate in silence while she thought about what he’d said.

“
At least I’m not alone anymore.” He finished the chilli quickly and began washing the container out in the sink.

“
You’re not alone Danny, you have us.”

“
Honestly Helen, I don’t want you and the kids anywhere near these things.”

Th
e very idea of his children becoming one of them, being consumed by them, made his stomach heave. He forced the horrible thought from his head.

“
I guess,” Helen replied.

Danny was still wearing his suit and as he finished washing out the
chili bowl he wiped his wet hands on his jacket. Helen scowled at him and threw him a tea towel.

“
Aliens, government agencies, mega-corporations, super powers. It’s all too much to handle at once Danny. I don’t even know what I am supposed to do.”

“
You should be happy. We can pay off the house now. We own it!” Danny said with a big grin on his face.

Helen however did not see the humour in any of it and she gave him a scowl.

Danny wrapped his arms around Helen and tried to make her smile too. He knew he should be more suspicious of what was going on. What she was saying was right; there was a truth in her words that he could not argue with. Power always came with a price, whether that power was success, wealth or fame, there was always a cost to pay. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he’d been given wealth and power that he had not earned. He’d been running from that thought since he’d first been given his superhuman powers but now with the cheque in his hand he knew it was catching up with him. It made Helen nervous but Danny could not face it, he could not face what the cost might be.  Helen wanted to talk about it, to explain her feelings about it but she knew he was too stubborn, he’d keep running from it as long as he could. Danny simply refused to understand; he was too trusting and naïve to see the larger world around him. If she pushed him or hammered him on it they would end up fighting and she was tired of that. Instead she wrapped her arms around his chest and held him as tight as she could, for as long as she could.

“
I’m going to take a shower, get this monkey suit off. Maybe nap for a couple hours. I was flying all night.”

Helen hugged him tightly one last time before he kissed her
back and then he pulled away.

She
’d watched the video of him fighting the creature over a hundred times in the months he spent recovering, hiding it from the kids as best she could as she obsessed over it. Watching him had filled her with pride but not enough to overcome the fear. As he slid from her arms she had a terrible premonition, a sense of dread that choked the words from her.

“
Get some rest,” she said weakly, holding back her emotions, “I love you.”

Danny yanked his tie and waved bye to her with it as he left the kitchen. She fak
ed a smile in return and it broke her. The second he disappeared the sobs burst out of her, overwhelming her. Helen leaned on the counter, holding her chest, trying her best to breathe calmly again. The kids were waiting for her to make breakfast, so she wiped away the treacherous tears and let anger rush in to fill the void.

“
Raymond! Morgan! Come in here please, help me put this stuff away!”

The next day, a cold Sunday in lat
e November, Danny and Helen took the kids shopping as they’d promised. Thanksgiving in the United States had just ended and the Canadian stores were pushing Black Friday sales and early Christmas offers at the same time. Helen spent most of the time at the expensive spa; she’d walked by it every time she’d been to Orchard Plaza but never went in. It would take weeks for the money to clear from Chem-X, but in the meantime they tapped into their savings to cover their shopping trip.

Helen had peered through
the glazed window of LILYPAD’S many times, smelling the oil and soap smell coming from inside. As soon as Danny gave her the nod of approval, she marched in with her head high like a celebrity, breathing in the cucumber scent while she ordered all the services they had available. This gave Danny and the children free reign to shop as they wished and Raymond made sure they hit the electronics store first. The front entrance to the house was full of bags of clothing and gadgets that had caught their eye. Most of what they bought was stuff they needed but had never gotten around to buying due to money constraints. They spent more money than Helen or Danny had ever spent in one day in their entire lives; even their bills and mortgage payments weren’t as much as what they’d blown at the mall.

Danny bought himself only one thing, but it cost more than everything else they
’d gotten. They’d all agreed that it was a good idea; Danny really needed some kind of protection if he was going to be the protector of the Earth.

“
Come on, Daddy! Stop hiding!” Morgan shouted, bouncing up and down on the couch.

They all fell silent as Danny stepped into the room. The body suit was a standard motorcycle outfit with Kevlar woven in for toughness. It was skin tight an
d all black but Danny wore a leather jacket over it for extra protection. The jacket was black as well, but there were two yellow stripes on the sleeves as well as matching yellow accents.