Chapter 90 - 91: Miami as Usual

Chapter 90: Chapter 90 - 91: Miami as Usual

Chapter 90 - 91: Miami as Usual

Dr. Seth Brundle leaned around the other side of the battered truck, wiped dust from his face, and stared at the flattened blast zone in the distance. Then he looked at the relatively intact area around their vehicle before finally turning toward Carrie White, his mouth hanging open in genuine amazement. "Jesus, Carrie. You made that shield? That was incredible."

Lionel Cosgrove came over with the same astonishment in his eyes, then quietly leaned toward Axel Vance. "She’s actually afraid of having that kind of power? I don’t know how long I’d have to practice Spirit Binding before I could stop an explosion like that." He glanced toward Carrie, who was still standing nearby with trembling hands and an uncertain expression.

Axel followed his gaze and sighed. "She’s been bullied at school for most of her life, and when she went home, she had to deal with a mother who treated anything unusual about her like evidence of sin. For Carrie, being different has never meant being special. It has always meant being rejected, punished, or frightened."

Lionel slowly nodded. He understood the general feeling better than most people, considering the greatest nightmare of his own life had also involved his mother. The difference was that Vera Cosgrove had eventually become a gigantic supernatural monster and literally tried to eat him, which made ordinary family dysfunction seem almost relaxing by comparison.

Seth overheard part of the conversation while examining the damaged side of his vehicle. "If I’d had Carrie’s abilities in high school, nobody would’ve called me a nerd twice. I might’ve ended up captain of the football team just through intimidation."

Axel walked over and patted him once on the shoulder. "You’re also an adult with years of experience and an ego large enough to survive nuclear fallout. Teenagers don’t process fear or stress the same way, especially after eighteen years of living under constant pressure."

Seth shrugged. "Fair enough. Teenage psychology was never my field anyway." He kicked the badly dented passenger-side panel and added, "Right now I’m much more interested in whether this poor thing can still get us back to Miami."

The utility truck looked like it had barely survived a war. One side had been crushed inward during the highway chase, the rear glass was gone, and the front end was deeply dented from repeated impacts. Several panels hung loose enough that even Lionel looked doubtful when Seth claimed he could keep the vehicle alive.

Seth crouched beside the truck with his toolbox and studied the damage. "Nothing fatal that I can see. Give me a little while and I can make it limp far enough to reach civilization." He pointed toward the interior and added, "You three clear out the broken glass and loose junk. I’d rather not hit the brakes later and have the inside of the truck turn into a blender."

Lionel and Carrie immediately started cleaning debris from the rear passenger and cargo areas. Carrie’s breathing gradually steadied once she had a simple physical task to concentrate on, and the lingering fear from the explosion began fading from her face. Axel remained outside and watched the highway, unwilling to assume the black-eyed operative or his organization had only sent one weapon after them.

Seth worked quickly with the equipment he had left, making only the repairs necessary to keep the battered vehicle moving. He secured several loose panels, stabilized the damaged mirrors and bodywork, and eventually climbed back into the driver’s seat with a satisfied expression. When he turned the key, the engine coughed several times like a dying animal before stubbornly roaring back to life.

Seth slapped the steering wheel. "There we go. Everybody in." He grinned through the missing rear glass and declared, "Miami’s sunshine and tropical scenery are waiting for us."

The four squeezed back into the scarred vehicle and resumed the long drive toward Florida. Through the night, Seth’s truck sounded increasingly like an old man refusing to admit he needed a hospital, with every bump producing a fresh rattle and every acceleration accompanied by an unhealthy mechanical groan. Nobody complained as long as it continued moving.

When the first signs announcing Miami finally appeared, everyone in the truck relaxed. Lionel leaned back with a relieved sigh, Seth looked almost emotional, and even Carrie seemed fascinated by the unfamiliar landscape beyond the windows. After everything they had survived since New Mexico, a normal American city felt almost exotic.

The truck managed to reach Miami proper before finally giving up. As Seth turned onto a quieter street near downtown, the engine produced one final violent bang, followed by a shudder that ran through the entire vehicle. Black smoke curled from beneath the hood, the engine died completely, and one loose section of bodywork dropped onto the pavement with a metallic crash.

Seth stared at the dashboard in silence.

Then he patted the steering wheel gently.

"You did your best."

Axel forced open the battered passenger door and stepped onto the sidewalk. Familiar Florida heat immediately wrapped around him, mixed with humid air and the faint smell of the ocean, while bright Miami sunlight made him squint after spending so long on the road. He stretched his arms and took a long breath.

"Miami, I’m back!"

The words had barely left his mouth when someone rushed out of the nearby alley.

A skinny man wearing dirty clothes came straight toward Axel with a small knife in one hand. "Don’t move! Wallet, cash, everything you’ve got!"

Lionel had just climbed from the truck when he saw the knife. His body immediately tensed, and one hand instinctively moved toward where he normally kept a weapon. Axel’s reaction, however, stopped him.

Axel smiled.

Not a nervous smile.

A genuinely delighted one.

"Yes," Axel said happily. "There it is."

The robber hesitated.

Axel actually laughed. "This is what I missed."

The man stared at him as though reconsidering every decision that had brought him into this alley. He had probably threatened plenty of frightened people before, but he had clearly never encountered someone who reacted to an armed robbery like an old friend had just returned from vacation. Before he could decide whether to run, Axel moved.

Slap!

The robber spun around and collapsed onto the pavement, unconscious before he could understand what happened. His knife clattered several feet away while Axel shook the sting from his hand with obvious satisfaction.

Lionel stared at him.

Carrie stared even harder.

Axel walked to a nearby pay phone, dropped in the necessary change, and dialed 911 with the ease of someone finally returning to familiar territory. "Yeah, attempted armed robbery near Biscayne Boulevard and Seventh. Suspect’s unconscious, knife’s on the ground, nobody else hurt."

He paused.

"Yes, this is Axel Vance."

Another pause.

"No, I wasn’t the victim exactly. He tried to rob me, and I handled it."

Axel listened briefly before answering, "Right. Send somebody to collect him."

He hung up and turned back toward Carrie and Lionel.

Both still looked stunned.

Axel shrugged. "Welcome to Miami. Consider this part of the local experience."

Carrie blinked slowly, apparently unsure whether that was a joke.

Within a few minutes, a patrol car arrived with its lights flashing. Two Miami officers stepped out, and the older one took a single look at Axel, the unconscious robber, the ruined utility truck, and the bloodstained clothes before releasing the exhausted sigh of a man who had seen this exact pattern too many times.

"Axel?"

The officer shook his head.

"Aren’t you supposed to be on vacation?"

Axel grinned. "Trouble found me, Dave. This one’s yours."

Dave glanced down at the unconscious robber. "Naturally."

While the officers secured the knife and dealt with the suspect, Seth walked over carrying the black canvas bag that held the recovered magnetic storage medium from the abandoned New Mexico nuclear facility. Unlike almost everything else they had carried through the trip, the mission data had somehow survived intact.

"I need to turn this in and report what happened," Seth said. "Or at least report the parts anyone will believe without locking me in a psychiatric ward." He lifted the bag slightly and added, "The original mission was retrieving this data, so technically we succeeded."

Axel nodded. "Come by my place tonight. I’ll give you the address." A faint smile appeared as he added, "We’re having a celebration for surviving whatever the hell that trip turned into."

Seth immediately brightened. "Now that is an excellent scientific tradition." He raised one finger and said, "I’ll bring alcohol strong enough to sterilize memories."

"Just bring something drinkable."

"No promises."

Seth hailed a passing cab and disappeared into Miami traffic with the recovered data.

By then, Dave and his partner had finished loading the robber into the patrol car. Before leaving, Dave walked over and gave Axel a friendly pat on the shoulder. "You can’t even take a vacation without somebody ending up unconscious on the sidewalk."

Axel shrugged. "How’s Miami been while I was gone?"

Dave laughed. "Same as always. Robbers, gang crews, burglaries, people doing stupid things after midnight." He opened the patrol-car door and added, "Not everybody joins the department and immediately starts stumbling into cases big enough to make half the city nervous."

"That actually sounds relaxing."

Dave snorted. "Enjoy it while you can. Once the captain hears you’re back, he’ll probably find something for you to do."

Axel watched the patrol car pull away.

Lionel stood nearby examining what remained of Seth’s truck, while Carrie quietly looked around at Miami’s unfamiliar streets. Cars passed through the intersection, people moved along the sidewalks, and nothing about the city resembled the isolated Louisiana town she had spent her entire life in.

Carrie moved a little closer to Axel.

"Where are we going now?"

Axel looked down at her.

"Home."

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