The Fire Triangle -- Part II, Oxidizer

The Fire Triangle: Book II - Chapter 49

"I haven't lasted this long as a mob attorney without being able to tell when someone's lying to me. You follow what I'M bringing out?"

Conor said nothing for a second, and then took a deep breath...as if preparing to go off a high-dive for the very first time.

And then he nodded, "I getcha," and launched into his story.

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Okay, I need to start from the beginning over here—and I mean the beginning. Sorry, but a lot of what else I have to say isn't going to make any sense unless I do.

Yeah, yeah...roll your eyes all you want, bunny girl; but now listen...

Officially, I'm fourteen years old...but honestly, I don't know how old I am. Heck I'm not even sure about my birth name. I think it's Caden, or...something; begins with an 'C', that's all I know. It's a big reason why I picked Conor as the name I use now. And don't even ask me about my last name; I've been trying to figure that one out since, like forever. Yeah, seriously.

All right, now this shouldn't surprise you; after all, there's only about a zillion other kids in the same boat. I got no idea who my father is. I never met him...and mom only mentioned him once. And believe me, it wasn't a positive review. I don't know what the heck he did, but it must have been something pretty awful.

Yeah...about my mother. I don't remember a whole lot about her either. I was only three when I lost her—I think. I don't know what she did for work, who her friends were...I don't even remember her name; I always just called her 'mom' or sometimes 'mommy.' I know the city we lived in—Hartfurred Connecticat—but I couldn't tell you the name of our street, our apartment building. or anything else.

Uh-huh, yeah...I see that look on your face, Mr. Rodenberg. No, I didn't just happen to forget all that stuff. When I took that beating on my first day in Jersey Juvie, a coupla teeth weren't the only thing I lost.

Ohhhh...yeah, that's right; I told Erin, but never told you. I'll give you the down and dirty later, but on my mother's grave, a whole lot of my memory from that time is like a scrambled egg—and the further back I go, the messier it gets. Heck, I have to keep a picture of mom on my laptop, just so I won't forget what she looked like.

Yeah, sure...you can see it; hold on a sec.

There, that's her.

Uh-huh, yeah...she was really pretty,

Ahhh. yes...there's a few things from back then that I can remember pretty good. Like, there was this margay lady who ran a daycare center in our apartment building; Mom used to leave me with her while she went out to work. Ummm, I think...I'm not sure, but I think it was an unlicensed operation. I remember one time when the cops came by and she made us all hide in the furnace room; her apartment was downstairs in the basement. I didn't know what the heck was going on at the time, but I get the idea now. I also remember that she took really good care of us...though I couldn't say how exactly. The only other kid I remember from that time was a beaver-kid named Bobby-Something. I dunno why; we weren't really friends, but for some reason I remember him...or at least I remember his name.

Another thing I know from back then was that my mom loved me, very, very much. Whenever she'd come to pick me up, she'd always give me a great big hug. No matter what kind of day she had, she was always happy to see me.

But the thing I remember most about her was the way she used to sing me to sleep every night. She'd put me to bed, go grab a guitar, and then come back and sing to me. Ahhh, she had the most amazing voice. And the songs she sang to me weren't the usual bedtime stuff; I remember that too.