Flight of the Hawk (4 page)

“This is impossible. No one could fall from a second-story window onto concrete and then just snap back together.” Andy studied his arms and legs. They were fine; not even a bruise or a cut. He stood up. His legs were a little wobbly, but he quickly regained his balance. What was happening to him?

And then he realized—the elixir. That was it! He had accidentally injected it into his system and somehow it allowed him to heal superfast.

“I’ve got to tell Henry about this.” Andy raced into the house and down the hall. The study door was open and he caught a glimpse of the back of Henry’s head.

“You’ll never believe what just happened,” Andy said, running into the room. “I fell from the—” Andy stopped. Henry wasn’t alone. A tall blond woman with pretty green eyes was sitting across from him, holding a stack of papers.

Henry stood. “Master Hawkes, there is someone
I’d like you to meet. This is Leslie Diamond.”

The young woman flashed him a sparkling smile and extended her hand. “Hello, Andy. I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

Andy shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Diamond.” He turned to Henry. “I’ve got something urgent I need to talk to you about. Could I see you in the kitchen?”

“But, sir, Ms. Diamond is here on business. She’s your—”

“This will only take a minute,” Andy interrupted. “It’s important.”

Henry bowed to the woman. “Will you excuse us please, Ms. Diamond? His grandfather’s funeral was today. It has been difficult for him.”

“Of course. Take your time.”

Andy half dragged Henry to the kitchen. He closed the door and let out his breath. “Okay, here’s the deal. You know that stuff my grandfather was working on to make wrinkles and junk disappear?”

Henry nodded. “Of course, sir. He was having some problems with it, as I recall.”

“It works, Henry. The Fountain of Youth works! Hit me.”

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Go ahead, Henry. Double up your fist and hit me right in the face as hard as you can.”

“I could never do that, sir.” Henry straightened his jacket. “Now, if that is all, we really should get back to our guest.”

Andy sighed. “I guess I’ll have to do it myself.” He opened a drawer and took out a large knife. “Watch this.” Before Henry could stop him, Andy sliced the end of his finger.

Henry grabbed the knife. “Oh, good heavens. What have you done, sir?”

“It’ll be okay. I promise.” Andy held out his bloody finger. In seconds it healed itself. Not even a faint scar was left.

“It’s a miracle!” Henry exclaimed. “How on earth did you do it?”

“It was Grandfather’s potion. During the fight I accidentally injected myself with it. Just now I fell from the terrace outside my bedroom, and I don’t even have a scratch. Don’t you see, Henry? They did shoot me that
day, just like I said. Grandfather’s mixture saved my life.”

Henry lowered himself onto a chair. “He actually did it. If only he could have lived to see it. He would have been so proud.”

There was a soft knock on the kitchen door. Leslie Diamond poked her head in. “I hate to disturb you gentlemen, but I just remembered another appointment. Henry, if you’ll sign those papers we talked about, everything will be legal. I’ll be back to check on Andy in a couple of weeks.”

“Check on me?” Andy asked.

Henry stood and straightened his lapels. “Yes, Master Hawkes. I didn’t get the chance to explain. Ms. Diamond is a social worker for the state. Since you are a minor with no known relatives, she thought it best that you remain here with me for the time being. When I sign the paperwork, I will become your temporary guardian.”

Andy stood looking anxiously over Henry’s shoulder. “What do you mean, he made it a practice never to list the whole set of ingredients?”

Henry punched up the Fountain of Youth formula on the computer. “Mr. Hawkes was very worried about his experiments falling into the wrong hands. He would record only a partial listing and leave out one or two elements known only to himself.”

“Then how are we ever going to figure out what’s in the stuff or what the side effects are?”

“Here’s something.” Henry enlarged the letters on the screen. “Apparently he’d done a small amount of testing. He’s listed a few results.”

Andy read them aloud. “ ‘Gray whiskers turn dark. Older specimens seem to act half their age. Young mice show no signs of aging.’ … Uh-oh.”

“What is it, Master Hawkes?”

Andy sat on a nearby stool. “If my grandfather’s data is correct and we can’t find any way to counteract the potion, it says that I’m never going to grow up. I’ll be fourteen forever.”

Henry frowned. “Oh, dear. That would be a problem.”

“I’ll say. I’ll never get to graduate from high school or take my driver’s test. And who’s going to pay attention to me when I’m supposedly old enough to run Grandfather’s companies? I’ll still look like a kid.”

“Rest assured, Master Hawkes, I’ll stay on this problem day and night until I come up with a solution.”

“Thanks, Henry. But let’s face it. You’re not
a scientist, and we can’t take a chance on involving anyone else. I’m stuck.”

Andy’s shoulders slumped as he walked across the room. “I wish Grandfather was here to get me out of this.”

“You know, Master Hawkes, there is another way of looking at this.”

“Yeah, I’ll get to watch all my friends get old and die.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of how your grandfather viewed his work. He always invented things for the good of humankind. You could use your unique situation to help people.”

“Right. What could I do? Help little old ladies cross the street and not have to worry about getting run over?”

Henry shut down the computer. Then he turned to face Andy. “You are forgetting one thing. You are a Hawkes. I’m sure if you put your mind to it, you’ll come up with something. And remember, I’m here to help you.”

Henry tapped on Andy’s door. “This package just came for you. Would you like me to bring it in?”

Andy yanked the door open. “You didn’t open it, did you?”

Henry’s chin went up. “Certainly not.”

“Good. Wait downstairs. I have something to show you.”

“Is all this secrecy really necessary?”

Andy pushed him out the door. “You told me to think up a way to turn my condition into something useful. Well, I think I have. But you have to wait downstairs to see it.”

“Very well.” Henry turned and marched down the stairs.

Andy shut his bedroom door and tore open the package. He laid the contents out on his bedspread and reached under his bed for the rocket booster.

Moments later he stood in front of his full-length mirror dressed in brown tights and a feather-covered jacket with long golden wings attached to its back. His face was hidden by a mask of a hawk’s face. A wide, flowing cape, with slits cut in it for the wings, hung from his shoulders, and on his feet were shiny brown boots with tiny wings on the sides.

“Not bad.” Andy turned so that he could see his back in the mirror. “Now if I can just get Henry to go for it.” He moved to the door and yelled, “Henry, are you down there?”

“Yes, Master Hawkes. But there’s something you should know.”

Andy touched the button on the harness under his costume and the rocket booster fired into action. He leaped over the stair railing and flapped his wings. He made two passes
across the large entry and then landed gracefully in the middle of the room.

“Well? What do you think?”

Henry blinked. “I must say, you startled me, sir.”

“No, I mean what do you think about my idea?”

“Your idea?”

“You told me to come up with something that would help people. Here it is—the Hawk.”

“I’m sorry for being so dimwitted, sir, but I don’t quite—”

“Come on, Henry. You’ve heard of Super Spiderkid and some of those guys, haven’t you? Well, you’re looking at the latest in a long line of superheroes—the Hawk!”

“I don’t know about Henry, but I’m certainly impressed.”

Andy spun around. Leslie Diamond was standing in the doorway of the study.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Henry said. “I had no idea what you were up to, so I let her in.”

Andy fumbled for his words. “That—That’s perfectly fine, Henry. I mean, you know,
what’s wrong with my social worker seeing, uh, one of my birthday presents?”

“Birthday presents? That’s funny. Your records say that your birthday isn’t until December.” Leslie smiled pleasantly.

“It was an early present.”

“Listen, Andy, I don’t want to pull rank here. But if you and I are going to get along you’re going to have to start leveling with me. What’s going on?”

Andy looked at Henry. “What do you think?”

“The company has had Ms. Diamond thoroughly investigated, and they report that she is single, dedicated to her work, lives with her cat, and has no contact with gangsters of any kind.”

“What!” Leslie stormed. “You have no right—”

“But do you think we can trust her?” Andy asked.

“It appears we have little choice, sir.”

Andy sighed. “All right, Ms. Diamond, I’ll level with you, but I have to warn you it’s a little weird.”

“Ms. Diamond’s all right, Henry. Except for the part when she tried to wrestle the kitchen knife away from me before I could cut my finger. All in all, I thought she took the whole thing pretty well. Didn’t you? You know, for a social worker?”

“Yes, sir, she seems like a very nice person.”

“I’m glad she agreed to file the papers letting you be my permanent guardian until I’m legally of age.”

“It pleases me that you are happy, sir. Now
about this Hawk business. What exactly does one do if one is to become a successful superhero?”

“Lots of stuff. For one thing, a superhero flies around making the world a safer place to live. And maybe as the Hawk I’ll be able to catch the guys who killed my parents and grandfather.”

“I see. And you intend to accomplish this by …?”

“Come on, Henry. I’m new at this. We’ll just have to handle each case as it comes along.”

“Very good, sir. When do we start?”

“How about right now? We could go save someone from being mugged or something.”

“And what will my duties be?”

“You’ll be close by in the car in case my arms get tired from flapping. But don’t worry.” Andy handed Henry a small radio transceiver. “We’ll talk to each other with these. See—I have one strapped to my wrist. If I need you, I’ll call.”

The telephone on the kitchen wall rang and Henry answered it.

“Hello?… Oh, dear … I see … No,
I’ve never heard of him. Mr. Hawkes never mentioned it.” Henry sighed. “Very well, I’ll bring him right down … I suppose. If you say so … Good-bye.”

“What’s wrong, Henry?” Andy asked.

“It’s awful, Master Hawkes. That was Ms. Diamond. She says a man was waiting in her office when she returned. He claims to be your uncle Harvey.”

“My father never talked about having a brother. The guy probably read about Grandfather in the paper and is trying to horn in on his money.”

“I hope you’re right, sir. However, Ms. Diamond says he has a legitimate birth certificate naming Mr. Hawkes as his father.”