The Launch

Chapter Seventeen

"What do you mean, he knows?" I say, but I know, too. I just want to hear him say it.

"He knows I'm not at home and that there's something wrong. He has probably canned the launch."

"No." I can't believe what I'm hearing.

Ray finally looks at me. "Yes." He actually looks like he's broken up about this, too.

I lie back on the couch and close the laptop. "So it's over."

"Yes."

"What will they do instead, this late in the game?"

"It doesn't matter. Probably push the old favorites or just review the full roster."

It's all gone. The launch, my job, my marriage. Just like that. Is there anything else I can fuck up?

"I'm sorry, Watson. I was starting to believe you would pull the whole thing off."

"Yeah, so was I."

"So that's it, then."

"Yeah." My phone rings and I look at the display. Home—it's Jess. I almost don't have the energy to answer. But what the hell. "Hello?"

"Watson, the police are here." She's whispering forcefully. "They want to ask you questions about Ray Bennett. And someone is here from the FBI. What's this all about?"

I nod my head. The FBI. Of course. "I'm sorry about everything, Jess. I really am. You are the love of my life and always will be." I hang up and dial JC's phone. Ray is watching me and I think he has a pretty good idea what's going on, but he doesn't say anything.

"Watson. How's it going? Any news on the launch?" says JC in a rush.

"Abort. We're busted."

I hear him thinking it over. "Literally?"

"Yes. See you in ten minutes?"

His breath whistles against the phone. "Fuck me. Okay."

I hang up and walk into the guest room and quickly pack up my duffel bag and kit. There is an envelope in the drawer of the bedside table with $1000 in it. I put this in my duffel bag also. I grab the key from the dresser drawer and head back out to the den and undo Ray's leg chains. He rubs each ankle as the iron clasp comes off. I look him in the eye and find him smiling as I stand up.

"Ray, you are a comics god. I take my hat off to you. I'm sorry for all those things I posted about you on the Internet."

"Watson, it was a pleasure being your prisoner."

"You'll be okay getting home?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Excellent. Gotta run."

"Take care."

"You, too, buddy."

Ray gives me a hug, which is a surprise. I can feel he's lost weight from when I carried him in from the car a lifetime ago. That fat bastard is gone, replaced by this acerbic, hippy militant. He's a guy I'd like to know. Maybe I can correspond with him someday. From prison. I head for the stairs and up towards the front hall with Ray following. I put on my coat, open the door and step out, only to see my parents getting out of their car. My dad is pulling a monster stretch when he sees me, just as Ray emerges, blinking, into the light of day. Perfect.

"Watson? What's going on?" says my Dad.

"Mom! Dad!" I call out. "Welcome home!" Hysterical.

My mother comes around the front of the car and looks at Ray and then me. "What is all this about you moving out of your home? Are you and Jessica having problems?"

My dad looks at Ray. "Marnie, maybe this could wait until we're inside."

Motioning towards him, I say. "Mom, Dad... this is my friend Ray Bennett. Ray, this is George Sinclair and this is Marnie Sinclair."

I smile back and forth and they all look at me like I'm crazy. Then they shake hands and exchange pleasantries while the remnants of my composure and, who knows?, maybe my sanity, collapse inside me. I can feel a cascade of horror beginning in my throat and stiffening the muscle groups all the way down to my stomach, which is twisted in knots. I feel incapable of tears, even. The light is so bright out here, even with the sodden clumps of grass peeking out from here and there in the snow, the wet brick of their house drying in patches. It all seems so hyper-real.

"What's this all about?" says my Dad. All three of them are just standing there, looking at me. Whatever disappointment I've been in the past will soon double and double again.

"Mom, Dad... I love you guys and I'd normally be happy to stay and chat, but I've gotta get the fuck outta Dodge."

"Language, Watson," says my Mom, as if swearing is the worst thing a person could be accused of. It's a kind of innocence which all by itself puts a constriction on my chest. I try to fight through it for a deep breath and walk towards my car with her stern glare still on my back. I throw my duffel in the back seat and close the door. Unthinkingly, I start the car and put it in gear. I wave to them as I pull out of the driveway and poor Mom and Dad are just standing there with their jaws hanging open. Ray waves, which is a nice gesture. I don't envy him all the explanations he'll have to make, but I know I couldn't bear to hear them, even if I weren't being pursued by the police.

And as I am thinking about being caught, I realize that a criminal conviction would mean I would lose my RIBO license, never mind my job. I have lost my livelihood and my freedom in one stupid, stupid act of desperation. I always wondered what my legacy on this earth would be and this is it. A fuck up. A criminal. No comic strip collections preserved for the ages. No wife. No family. Nothing. I feel like puking and then driving my car into a tree, but something makes me keep going.

As I am making the turn on Ridout towards downtown, I see a police car in the distance driving along Commissioners Road towards my parents' house. I'm driving away and I watch in my rearview mirror as the cop passes through the intersection behind me, followed by an ominous looking black sedan. The Feds. It's an international incident! My life is about to become a cautionary tale and a bad Internet rumor all in the same day.

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Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this chapter, I always appreciate a vote and/or comment. I'll be updating weekly on Tuesdays. To read the full novel right now, you can click the link in my profile for info on where to purchase The Launch in e-book or paperback editions. For more Then Comes Marriage comics, click the Levins and Young link in my profile.