Story 11 – Part 1 – Wide Awake

It was nearly four in the morning, and Carmine had given up trying to sleep. Vire kept telling him that he should see a doctor about his insomnia, but he never bothered. He could operate on less sleep than most people so not getting the supposedly healthy eight hours was not a big deal. Besides, there were other things he could do with his awake time. His favorite was jogging.

Carmine stretched out a little as he waited for the light to change. He had been jogging for over an hour and was unconsciously following last year’s marathon course. He had set a personal record the year before and was hoping to do the same. Carmine knew he could probably be as fast as some of the winners, but he preferred stamina and letting his mind wander to actual racing.

The longest light in the world finally changed and Carmine jogged across. He decided to take a change of scenery and detoured away from the course. He let his feet carry him any direction while his mind wandered just as much. By the time Carmine bothered to check his position he was far downtown. Some patrons were finally leaving the clubs, in a manner of speaking, as he passed them by.

With just a quick scan of his eyes he was able to size up everyone around. There was no one who gave him the urge to suddenly cross the street, so Carmine continued on his present course. Sometimes, his so-called ‘extra sense’ was great, while other times it was rather annoying. The annoyance usually came in the form of paranoia, like what was suddenly striking him as he rounded the next corner.

KABOOM!

Two buildings down, the first two floors shattered into the street. The startle of the blast knocked everyone on the block down. Carmine winced as his hands and knees scraped hard on the sidewalk, but he was on his feet long before the dust settled. Any smart person in this part of town would run away from the explosion, Carmine ran right to it. It was his annoying sense that told him someone he knew was nearby.

“Driver?” a voice called out from inside the building. “Dev? Where are you?”

Carmine did not feel too surprised that the government agents were in a building that blew up at four in the morning. Though he did not see them, Carmine confidently began to pick his through the unstable rubble. The building looked like it had been condemned long before anyone had decided to take out half of the structure’s base. Chances were that whatever had been in the building was probably not entirely legal.

“Driver,” Agent Michaels called out louder. “So help me…if you’re dead I will find a way to bring you back to life and kill you myself!”

“He’s unconscious, but alive,” Carmine yelled back.

Agent Driver was unconscious because he had shielded someone else from the explosion. Carmine moved Driver to check on the person and blinked in surprise to find that he recognized the face. The man looked a little dazed, and Carmine doubted the man remembered him. After all, Carmine had been eight years-old when they had last met.

“Are you sure he’s all right?” Agent Michaels asked as he scrambled over. “And are you all right Mr. Gates?”

“I’m all right, boy,” Mr. Gates said with a slight accent.

“Wait a minute,” Michaels said. “When’d you get here Carmine?”

“Just jogging by,” Carmine answered.

Carmine had never gotten the man’s name before, but he highly doubted Gates was the man’s real last name. Since Carmine was only his middle name, he also doubted the man had any idea that Carmine knew who he was. Which was not a problem. Carmine had just never expected to run into the man ever again.

“Am I still in one piece?” Agent Driver mumbled.

“Yes, thank goodness,” Agent Michaels said as he helped Driver sit up. “Don’t worry me like that. How are you feeling?”

“Sore, but good,” Driver responded. “And what are you doing here, Car?”

“Jogging,” Carmine answered with a straight face.