Part 8. Crimes

Part 8. Crimes

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    Jack didn’t understand how he found himself in front of a little house surrounded by trees and bushes. Impossible! It’s Lainie’s house. Jack had wanted to visit the Kelverins many times, but for some reason Lainie had always refused. Only once she pointed at her house from a rather large distance – Jack saw almost nothing and in addition he promised that he would never approach it without permission. And now he is here, near the gates. But how could he enter?

-    Jack, dear, what’s happened? – he heard the trembling voice near him, - It’s your father, right? He didn’t allow you to marry a girl from the mad family, did he? - Jack nodded.

-    Lainie, I’ll marry you without his permission, - he assured the girl.

-    But it’s not right when the parents don’t give their blessing for marriage, we should… - Lainie suddenly stopped talking and grasped Jack’s arms. Her face grew pale as she whispered, - Something is wrong with your father. I can feel it through your soul connection.

-    What?! What’s wrong? – Jack turned white.

-    I can’t understand. I don’t have psychological contact with him.

-    I can help you, - Dam suddenly appeared in front of them, - I feel his emotional wave – it opened to me when he kicked me out in front of all his employees.

-    Did he fire you?! – Jack was shocked.

-    Yes, he did. But it doesn’t matter now as he is in danger. Lainie, give one hand to me and the other one to Jack.

The boy looked amazed at the father and the daughter beginning to whisper, “It was a burglary…No, look attentively, the criminals didn’t take anything…I see, they tell Sandra Thompson to sit still. Relax, Jack. Your mother’s safe…They just took him into their car and then…oh, my God!”

-    What? – Jack had never cried louder.

-    Nothing. Your father had sudden pain in his chest and he fainted. We can’t trace him anymore.

Oh, no! One more heart attack, the doctor had warned them about it, what if this is the one his father doesn’t get over? Jack felt cold because everything came true – everything he had predicted during his hard talk with his father before going to college. George didn’t understand what his true business was, and now he is on the verge of death.

-    Wonders, wonders world, - Lainie suddenly began to whisper again, then she frowned, - are these words somehow connected with George?

A sudden idea flashed through Jack’s mind. Of course, “A world of wonders” – a little publishing company which was completely destroyed by George’s take-over. Daniel Smith, its former president, went bankrupt and soon died in a car crash. His two sons dropped out of school and since then they started committing muggings, forgeries, thefts, shoplifting and other sorts of petty crimes. Soon they were arrested and during the trial said that some day they would have revenge on George Thompson. George laughed when he heard it. The trial ended with a suspended sentence for the boys being underage and everybody forgot about them.

-    You are right about the Smiths, - Lainie suddenly interrupted his thoughts. - We felt almost at once that two criminals are young and frightened, but the other two are dangerous.

-    The other two? – asked Jack.

-    Yes, they are professional murderers. The boys will never commit any serious crime, they just had a childish desire to hold George as hostage for a while, but they joined a bad company – and those men intend to blackmail your father, take all the money from his bank accounts and then kill him.
Failie suddenly came out of the gates.  - And that’s their location. We have just trased the rout there with the trio.

-    Mother, do you mean that we should take a… - Lainie suddenly stopped talking.

-    Gravi-cycle? Of course! Did you want to go there by this human c-car?

-    But in this case Jack will know everything! – the girl looked a little worried.

-    He has the right, he is your future husband. Besides, I can’t understand how he hasn’t guessed yet.

-    Guess what? Come on, explain what you mean. – Jack spoke very quickly. –Why should I believe you anyway? How do you know where my father is? What have you been doing for the last 10 minutes? And what is gravi-cycle?

-    Your father has just recovered, so we could trace him again. He is very weak, but we can feel where he is. Failie and my sons made the pattern of the shortest route for this vehicle. – With these words Dam opened the garage and pointed at something - a big motorcycle covered with flashing lights, with wings and a computer keyboard in the front panel.

- What’s this? – Jack gasped.

- A gravi-cycle, a common vehicle on our planet. Yes, Jack, - Lainie continued, - I thought it would be better for you – for humans – not to know that we are… from up there. -she pointed at the sky - Our planet collapsed and we came here. When you proposed, I decided to tell you everything so that you could have the right to choose if you wanted to marry a girl from another galaxy.

Jack’s eyes grew round. For several minutes he couldn’t say a word, but at last he smiled, “I should have guessed. It explains all your strange behavior. Well, it doesn’t change the way I feel about you, Lainie…”.

-    There’s no time for that, we have to hurry, - Dam interrupted them and started the gravi-cycle. 
In two minutes they stopped in front of the small grey house with a locked door which opened when Dam and Lainie muttered some words, and Jack saw his father sitting on the floor with his hands tied behind his back. Two men with guns were in front of him and two boys stood in the corner crying with fear, “We didn’t mean it”.

-    Father! – Jack rushed to him.

-    Jack, what are you doing here? – asked George.

-    Silence! - cried one of the criminals. – How dare you

-    You should come here, - Dam began to speak in a low rhythmical voice while Lainie was passing her hands over George’s chest. Both criminals approached immediately. – Now you should go to the police and confess to kidnapping a human and trying to commit violence.

-    We will! – answered the two in chorus.

-    And you, boys – you should return to your school and never think about any revenge. Now you see clearly that it won’t do you any good.

-    Yes, sir! – confirmed the boys and went out.

Dam turned to George who began to breathe freely after Lainie’s treatment. They remained silent for a while.

-    How did you do all that? - asked George at last.

-    Father, - answered Jack, - they are not crazy, you see, they are just…from another planet…

A century seemed to pass before George understood the meaning of Jack’s words.

- So, - he began very slowly, - so everything you said and wrote in your books was true?

- Yes, it was. – confirmed Dam.

- Then, - George paused, his eyes were dimmed with tears, - then I am very sorry for all that I have said and done to you. Jack, - he continued, - do you remember how you asked me to save my business? While I was here I was constantly thinking about our conversation and now I know what my true business is. Oh, son, I can’t express in words how sorry I am for having been so wrong, so cruel and unfair to all of you. If only I could hope for your forgiveness!

- It’s OK, - said Dam.

Two weeks later a great wedding ceremony took place in a local church.

-    Do you Jack Thompson take Lainie Kelverin to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or for poorer…

Jack could hardly catch the words: his soul was filled with happiness as he look at Lainie near him covered with a long veil. At the end of the ceremony the newly-weds exchanged the rings. At that moment Jack looked around, he saw happy faces of Sandra and Failie and…George standing near Dam and clasping his hand.

- Now you can kiss the bride.


Speaking Minimum Words:
burglary - крадіжка зі зломом
criminal - злочинець
mugging - грабіж
theft - крадіжка
shoplifting - крамничні крадіжки
petty crime - дрібний злочин
trial - суд
suspended sentence - умовний вирок
murderer - вбивця
serious crime - серйозний злочин
to blackmail - шантажувати
to confess to - зізнаватися у чомусь
kidnapping - викрадення людини
to commit - скоїти (злочин)

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