Chapter 3- Influence
Micah Delgado was awake. It was early and his father would be up preparing to ride the fields.
Eduardo didn't expect Micah or Angel to join him, but this morning, Micah did. Since his older brothers were not in the house, he had time alone to spend with his father without having to share the spotlight with Yunior or listen to his father deal with Andres’ antics.
Oddly, Micah was the calm one who brought reason to the conversation, and as of late, he'd found his sense of humor refreshing, although dark.
Earlier in the year, while rummaging through one of the old barns, looking for fresh specimens to extract venom for his research on synthetic antivenoms, Micah had found an old-World War II Jeep locals called the Yipao.
These vehicles, although imported for the war efforts, became indispensable for local farmers.
Eduardo said the one in the barn had belonged to his father.
“I forgot that thing was in there,” he told Micah.
“May I have this, Papa?”
“Sure, I see no reason to want it,” he told his son. “You do not have a personal vehicle; did you wish to purchase one for your use?”
“This shall be my personal vehicle as I will restore it and upgrade the features,” he said, looking up, “Papa, would you be willing to assist me if your schedule permits?”
Eduardo, shocked that his very independent son wanted his help, agreed.
For several months, they worked on the vehicle, rebuilding the engine and transmission and replacing rotten seals.
To his surprise, the old clunker ended up running well, and Micah planned to have it painted once he put in a decent sound system.
Fast forward to months later, as he joined his father for the ride through the fields, Micah’s mind went to the wedding festivities for The Cranberry.
He despised social situations, but with the Alita’s help, he'd learned not to blurt out everything in his head.
Although he could be slow to pick up social cues, watching his guard gave him context about how to react in certain situations.
He valued her more than words could say.
In his head, he recounted the weekend, swimming in the hotel pool with the other teens.
Reluctantly, he’d removed his shirt and stood poolside in a loose fitted pair of trunks.
At home in the private pool, he swam in a speedo, but Alita had removed it from the suitcase and put it in the trunks.
He understood, as he joined the other teens at the pool, why she’d made the call.
“Whoa,” Stephen said as he eyeballed the body art. Stephen, The Bad Apple’s ward, arrived poolside in a sparkly robe and false eyelashes, which made his Asian side-eyeing seem cattywampus. “What does that tattoo mean?”
“Don't fuck with me,” Micah replied.
“Oh, sorry. I meant no harm,” Stephen said, backing away.
Micah smiled. “No, it is what the tattoo means, you know, like don't tread on me. Mine means don't fuck with me. It symbolizes I am the son of a powerful man and will also become a powerful man.”
“You are an interesting dude,” Stephen said as Jeffrey arrived.
“In a good way or a bad way?” Micah inquired.
“I dunno, you seem cool talking to me, not bothered that I am flamboyantly gay,” Stephen said. “I kind of expected you to avoid me, I mean, coming from such a macho culture.”
Micah didn't like the insinuation. “Stephen, if I didn't stereotype you, can you offer me the same courtesy?”
“Oh, again, sorry. You are just, you know, so cool about everything,” Stephen said, looking at Jeffrey.
“Can't help it. I was born cool,” Micah said, trying to offer a smile that looked more like he was ready to slowly peel the skin off an enemy's facial cheeks.
Jeffrey, also a ward of Bad Apple, laughed. Alita, spotting Micah getting uncomfortable, appeared at his side. “Boss, you should show them how you can make the art swim.”
“No one wants to see that, Alita,” he replied as Ayana, Bria, and Collette, the cute blonde with blue eyes, arrived at his guard's flanks.
“Yeah, we do,” Bria said, smiling.
“Fine,” Micah said, walking to the deep end of the pool.
Ayana looked at Alita as Micah walked down the side of the pool as if he were wielding the most powerful tool to birth a nation. “Girl, I don't know how you work beside that fine ass man and not drink his bathwater.”
Alita turned to face the girl. “He is my boss. My job is to protect his life. There is no other way for me to look at that man. Please refrain from such commentary in my presence and in his. This is unusual for him to interact with other teens, and he should be allowed to have fun. I ask each of you to afford him the grace to just hang out. We never get to do this.”
They watched as Micah dove into the pool, his body slicing through the water with ease.
He swam the length of the pool, coming up at the shallow end, then flipped to his back.
His body undulated in the water making the tattooed body art appear as if a very large snake were swimming in the pool.
He popped up on the deep end as Cherry entered the pool area with little Naomi, who spotted Micah.
Alita moved with swiftness, grabbing a shirt for her boss to cover the tattoo.
She'd watched his father, The Fer de Lance, keep his body art covered in the presence of small children to prevent scaring them.
As she moved down the pool to hand him the shirt, she blocked the view from Cherry and the child.
“Please give him a moment to don his shirt so it does not frighten your daughter,” Alita said softly. “We do not wish to kill her love for the Bushmaster since he promised to keep a spot in his heart for her.”
Cherry looked at the young woman. “And who are you, his personal assistant or something?”
“No, I am his personal guard and a fully trained assassin,” Alita said, staring the woman directly into her eyes, but Cherry didn't balk or flinch.
“The Fer de Lance covers his tattoo in front of small children so as not to give them nightmares. I would not want your beautiful angel waking up fearful at seeing such an imposing image.”
“Thank you,” Cherry said as the young man came out of the water, wearing a shirt which clearly hid the art on his chest. The scales of the body of serpent were still evident on his leg and foot.
“Hola, Naomi, are you coming for a swim?” Micah asked the child.
“Yes, but I'm scared of the water,” Naomi said. “My Daddy had me in there yesterday, but I was afraid.”
Micah tried to offer a soft smile. “I have a sister your age, and she loves to swim. I taught her a trick. Can I ask your Mommy if I can show it to you?”
His eyes went to Cherry, who reluctantly agreed.
He walked to the four-foot side of the pool and entered the water, his body bent, his back visible.
Micah instructed Cherry to lay Naomi on her back so she would be back-to-back with Micah.
Alita was also in the pool next to him as he floated to the other side of the pool and back.
Naomi's confidence grew in the water as he slowly removed his body from under hers, allowing the child to float.
“Naomi, you're floating,” he said, softly.
“I am! Mommy, I'm floating,” she yelled. Micah showed her how to move her arms and legs while Alita braced her small form, allowing the child to swim across the pool twice, the second time on her own. “Mommy, I can swim!”
“Yes, you can,” Cherry said, watching the young man, who asked Alita to lift the child from the side of the pool and removed himself as well. Cherry noticed he never physically touched Naomi but allowed his guard to manage the child.
Micah spoke to his guard and left the pool. Alita remained behind to be with Ayana and Bria, enjoying having some girl time with young women her age.
Bria asked, “You don't need to go with him?”
“He's going to shower and change,” Alita said.
“Do I need to go with him?” Ayana asked, laughing. “I used to say women were dumb for being baby mamas, but I can see being his.”
Bria spoke up, “yeah, each time he would come for a visit, me and his little dark-haired children would share what we’d learned in his language.”
Collette leaned in whispering to Alita, “I would be like, Ninos share what we learned today with your Papa, go ahead, repeat what we learned. The kiddies will all yell out, ?Dónde está la biblioteca?”
They all burst into laughter. Alita didn't want to, but she laughed as well. The Fer de Lance was at the hotel with them, and she could have a little time off to hang with the girls, whom she was slowly beginning to call her friends.
Micah said little as he watched his guard later that evening, painting her toenails, eating pizza, and laughing with the other teens.
In the hotel room when they met with the other kids after the wedding, Jeffrey ordered a movie she'd wanted to see for the room, and the other teens showed up as well.
Micah interacted with them all, showing Jasir, the ward of One Way, how he threw ninja stars, using a potato chip that lodged between two cushions on the couch.
He spoke with Dexter, the ward of a chemist they called Merge, whom he learned worked closely with The Lemon.
He requested a meeting with the guardian to talk shop.
Mainly, he stayed in the room for Alita. She was smiling and happy.
As he fast-forwarded to a week later, sitting astride his horse fondly named Molecule, his father noticed the tension in his son.
“Micah, what is troubling you?”
“Clothes,” he said softly.
“Clothing?”
“Sí, Papa, I may need to borrow the plane to make a visit to the States,” he said.
“We have no teen clothing. There is the wedding for Tio Carlos, the Regalia at Perona de la Mar, Andres's betrothal and the meeting of the families of the women I shall reject, politely of course, when we host their families. We need clothes.”
“You wish to take my plane so you can go to the States to shop?” Eduardo asked.