Out of Touch, Out of Time - Chapter Twenty-Six

July 10, 2009

Jonas slid to a halt, stopping just short of tripping over his own feet and landing face-first on the sidewalk.

“You goddamn son of a bitch! You bastard! Why the fuck did you burn down my home?”

Jonas only had a moment to recognize Kaltenback before Cheyenne jumped on the man causing him to land flat on his back. She beat at him with her fists.

Jonas tried to decide if he should stop her, in case the officer got a chance to catch his breath, or just let her beat the shit out him. Which, fortunately was keeping her too busy to notice the distortion, or to fall into it for that matter. Amazingly enough, the distortion seemed to stay behind the wall, taking in only the burning house and the immediate grounds in front and back.

“Back off, for Christ’s sakes lady. I’m a cop, what the hell are you doing?”

“You’re a dirty ass cop, taking money and selling drugs for all I know. You blew up my house!”

“Son of a bitch, lady, get the hell off. I didn’t blow up your fucking house.”

Looking down, Jonas noticed the officer’s gun. He removed it from its holster on the side of the man’s belt and held it toward him.

“Get her off, will you? You do realize you’re holding a gun on a police officer? I can arrest your ass.”

“Nope, don’t think so, but I’ll just stand here and hold your gun for you, just in case you decide to hit the lady or something.” Okay, Jonas knew guns, but this thing he knew nothing about. The only thing he was sure of, the trigger looked the same, but he didn’t touch it, he didn’t want to shoot Cheyenne by accident.

“I didn’t burn down your damn house, lady. It was already on fire when I got here. The explosion must have been caused by those cans you had stored in the basement. Didn’t anyone ever tell you putting flammable containers next to a furnace is dangerous? You have enough paint stripper down there to strip the entire fucking city.” Kaltenback grunted as Cheyenne shifted.

“You lie; you set my house on fire.”

“Why the hell would I do that? I came to look one more time for your flashcard, but I sure as hell had no reason to burn down your house. What good would that have done me?”

“Then you would have destroyed all the evidence.”

“I may be a dirty cop, but I’m not going to set a house on fire this time of year. Sure, it rained a couple of days ago, but it’s dry as a bone out here. One spark and half the city could go up in flames. Besides, I knew about those damn cans, I wouldn’t want to blow up the whole fucking block.”

Jonas had to smile. That had to be one of the most inconsistent things he’d ever heard anyone say. The man would lie and put the entire department at risk by selling information, but he wouldn’t set a house on fire during dry season? If he didn’t start the fire, what did?

“Oh, great, a cop on the take with a conscience. Why don’t I believe that?” Cheyenne said.

“Well, lady, there’s nothing I can say that’s going to make a difference in what you think about me.”

“Damn straight.”

He shifted his hips and Jonas raised the gun a little higher. “Stop.”

“What the fuck, are you planning to shoot me in the head?”

He started to rise. Jonas was wondering if he pointed the gun toward the wall if he’d miss them, or if the ricochet off the wall would get one of them when he saw Cheyenne shift her weight and bring her knee up to land firmly in the man’s groin. The movement was so swift and firm, he winced as the officer groaned and doubled up as much as her weight on his stomach allowed.

Suddenly, ear piercing sounds and red, blue and white flashing lights filled the air and police cars, fire engines and people came from nowhere.

The Chief came up to Jonas “I can take that now, thank you.”

Jonas handed the Chief the gun, then proceeded to help get Cheyenne off the man.

Firemen were rushing toward the blaze and it occurred to him too late he should warn them back; but when he looked, the firemen were moving safely toward the house. The distortion had past.

He was staying.

He gathered Cheyenne close and held on tight. “The distortion has come and gone,” he whispered in her ear. “You’re stuck with me forever.”

Cheyenne pulled back and looked at him, joy written all over her face as she jumped in his arms with a squeal.

"I guess we're going to have to find a new home." Jonas said.

"That will be anywhere you are," Cheyenne said with a laugh.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Epilogue