From: Ina-chan May 2, 1999 Disclaimer: JQ and JQ characters belong to HB & Turner Productions. Used without permission of the owners. No cash is made from this. Category: Angst-scented. Past. Family. Archivers: Okay, as long as you tell me where. Summary: Another interpretation of "how Jonny got Bandit" ***SHATTERED MIRROR*** "That's the big plan?" "Uh-huh." "No seriously. THAT is your big plan?" "Yup." "So, what exactly are the chances of your idea being chosen over Kissinger's with this plan of yours?" "0.25 %" "Wow, that's a noticeable increase from zero." "Thank you." "You do know that I'm being sarcastic, right?" "Yup." " What exactly makes you think that we'll actually get away with this?" "As long as our chances are not zero or negative." - exerpt from a conversation ******************************************************************** The Shard of Renewal by Ina-chan [Anger... fury... they are familiar companions. I've also learned to recognize them as bothersome emotions. Clouds the mind and blinds reason. Thus, from a young age, I learned to take every frustration as a challenge to overcome. With every challenge, I pledged victory... and with every victory, I conquered anger. That was until the challenges started to become more and more difficult to overpower... and after my ultimate failure... even the simplest of ventures seemed arduous to surmount.] His voice was faint and distant against the thunderous rumble of fire. "I don't see any harm..." "You don't see any harm?" I echoed quietly with great effort "No sir. I don't see any harm in it," The man assigned to protect my son repeated his words with great conviction, "I believe it would do Jonny some good to have a dog for a companion." "The dog that the two of you sneaked into the hotel with." "Yes sir." "Do you even know where that dog came from?" "In a box, sir." "What?" "It came from a box at an alley along 34th Street." There is always a mocking quality in Race Bannon's manner of speaking. That is when he clearly makes it known how much he disagrees with you. All I could do was stare at the grown man in front at me, only to meet his serious and determined features. In another situation, I would probably have been rolling on the floor with hilarity... in ANOTHER situation. "Agent Bannon, I find your use of logic even more perplexing than my son's." "Well, one of us has to make sense." I closed my eyes and silently tried to calm the waves of turmoil threatening to spill out of my chest. I took a deep breath before starting again, "You and my son found an abandoned dog in a box at an alley along 34th Street and brought it back to here." "Yes sir." "Against the hotel's policies." "If this is about that, I assume all responsibi---" "Agent Bannon, you've seen the dog." "Yes sir. It's a fine dog." "You spent some time of your childhood in a farm, didn't you Agent Bannon? How old do you think the dog is, Agent Bannon?" "It's a puppy." "How old do you think the dog is, Agent Bannon?" The other man stared at me silently before answering, "A few days." "Two? Three days old?" "Jonny has taken a liking to it." "Precisely my reason, Agent Bannon. Do you know how much the chances of survival a puppy that young has without its mother?" The white haired man averted his gaze to a spot behind me. "Three percent." "I'm sure the great Dr. Quest will be able to perform nothing short of a miracle on something so simple." I felt the sharpness of sarcasm in his voice. How many times have I heard those words from different mouths? How I've grown to detest it. Words once meant to be joking phrases, now cold, hard and sharp as nails driven through wood. A miracle? Yes, Benton Quest... you performed so many miracles for that left the world breathless in awe. Why can't you perform a miracle for yourself? Un-nail yourself... [There is so much strength a single man can give to restrain a raging tempest. And I'm tired...] "Damn it Agent Bannon? What if the dog dies? What are YOU going to do if the dog dies? What are you going to SAY to him if the dog dies? 'I assume responsibility'?" Agent Race Bannon simply stared at me in silence. "Do you understand now, Agent Bannon?" I continue in a calmer manner, "I will not allow my son to have to go through that pain again." "With all due respect, sir," His voice, surprisingly quiet now. All trace of his usual cockiness, gone... "Are you sure its really Jonny's feelings you're trying to protect?" *** [They say that flames of rage can only be quenched by unselfish acts of kindness... and unconditional expressions of love... ] "He's very greedy, isn't he Dad," Jonny's cheerful voice broke into the fog, "He's almost finished an entire 1/8 cup of milk!" He demonstrated by offering the medicine dropper to the tiny dog's mouth. It didn't even look like a dog. It looked a lot more like a oversized newborn white lab rat with strange black markings around its fused eyes. Nevertheless, sensing the presence of food, it clumsily suckled at the awkward apparatus. I suppose I saw a little bit why Agent Bannon was so adamant with the dog's defense. Tiny and fragile as it is, it was a fighter as well. But it was just so young... "Don't overfeed him then. Or he'll have a really bad stomachache." With the last drop of milk, Jonny put the medicine dropper away, and almost immediately the dog started making unhappy whining sounds. My son cradled the puppy gently in the palms of his hands, making soothing hushing sounds as he stroked the small animal's head with his fingers. The dog blindly nudged the boy's hand before latching on contentedly to a finger. [There are also legends of heroes blinded by the flames of rage are often times only saved from burning in their personal hells through the guiding hands of their guardian angels. Not long ago, an angel flew down from heaven and guided me.] "Well, it looks like he thinks you're his mother," I commented in amusement Jonny made a small smile before facing me with a more serious expression, "Do you think he'll miss his real Mom." "Not now. But he'll definitely let you know at night." "I miss Mom too." "So do I, Jonny." [I was proven not worthy to keep my angel... thus the struggle against anger and fury became a lonely never-ending battle.] "Dad... Don't be mad at Race, okay? I really want to take care of him." "Jonny... its not that simple." [A lonely, never-ending, tiring battle.] "Dad... when Mom... Dad, I had you and Aunt Catherine taking care of me. Then Race... He doesn't have a mom anymore too. But doesn't have anyone either. I want to take care of him." [But then again...] "Dad?" [...angels do come in many forms...] "Please?" [...and such battles need not be fought alone... ] "Please Dad?" [...if you choose it.] "We'll see, Son. We'll see..." *** "I'm holding you partly responsible for this, Agent Bannon. That dog needs to be fed at least every two hours until it is able to drink milk on its own." "Even with a three percent chance of survival?" The triumphant amused tone in that voice really annoys the hell out of me, "The chances are not zero or negative." Race Bannon simply smiled. "I simply will not allow my son to loose sleep over this." "Yes sir." Author's squawk: This one came to me in "flashes" of sequences rather than a complete storyline. So I strung them together in as much logical "flash" sequences as possible. I hope it makes sense. 'Sides, I've always wanted to make a "serious" Bandit centered storyline. ^_^. As usual, comments, criticisms, bricks at inachan2@ican.net Ja! Ina-chan **************************************************************************** Quote of the moment: "I'm NOT opinionated. I'm just ALWAYS right." -seen from a rubber beer holder thingy ~@@@~ Ina-chan inachan2@ican.net main: http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/psycho/66 W.A.R.: http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/1986 ICQ:13667820 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Did you know that we add over 1,000 new e-mail communities every day? http://www.ONElist.com Explore a new hobby, discover a new friend, laugh at a new joke!