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| HOT PURSUIT
VOL 2 EPISODE 2
THE MURPHY TOWNHOUSE RESIDENCE:
As he opens the door, you hear TV voices, turned down low. The room is smelling like freshly made popcorn.
Momma sits in her cushy armchair, the glow from the television lightenin’ up her face. When she hears him coming, she turns her head toward him and narrows her eyes. She gives him a stern look.
Before she says anything, she glances toward the couch where Ginny sleeps, curled up on the couch with her 2 children, Binki and Princetta.
"Dey come over to see you hours ago when you wasn’t here. I toll’ em dey could stay an’ wait.” Then she’s glancin’ at her watch. "Where you been, boy? You KNOW it ain’t safe on dese streets at night!”
Ever since the hurricane, Momma’s gotten even more protective. But before he can decide on how to answer her, a name on the news catches your attention. And when he sees the image of Corona, flying over New York’s skyline, it’s enough to spark the anger deep within his soul.
While he fought to protect his family from death in New Orleans, one man was focused only on destroying the city. That man was Corona. Course, he didn’t know that at the time. He only heard the reports afterward. Now, according to the latest reports, he’s been doing the same thing in New York City. Burning up all of Chinatown with suspicious fires! Last one, according to reports was 2 nights ago.
The more he thinks about it, the more his rage flares. An then suddenly, he knows what he's got to do. Of course! Someone’s got to make him PAY for his crimes. And that someone might as well be him. He still has the old COSTUME hidden in his drawer.
"WELL?” Momma’s sharp tone pulls him out of his thoughts. He realizes that she’s still waitin’ for him to answer to her question.
Strike sighs softly, "You know me, momma... just had to get my head right..." He makes sure to not look at her but to keep his eyes on the tv.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees momma cocks her head to one side as she studies his face.
"Boy, what 're you HIDIN'. You're not tellin me somethin'. LOOK at me!” his momma says with slight anger in her voice.
Strike moves over to tenderly stroke Ginny's hair and turns to look at his mother before speaking softly, "Just doing wha' I do... nothing more, nothing less."
Momma's eyes narrow even more and her mouth falls open. She says "You better not be meanin' what I think you meanin' t' say!” Her voice lowers to a harsh whisper. "An’ you better not be doin’ none o dat hero stuff, usin’ dose POWERS o’ yours. You can’ be drawin’ all da wrong kinds of attention to us now!
Strike shrugs, "Well... that depends on what you are thinking, Ma."
"Is THAT what you're DOIN'?”, she asks.
Ginny stirs in her sleep as he plays with her hair and mumbles something in her sleep.
"I can't stop being me, Ma... no more than a tiger can change his stripes." Once again, his eyes flicker to the tv. What's on it may have changed but in his mind, he is still seeing Corona on there.
"Dose powers are not YOU. An' you have a CHOICE.. ta USE dem or NOT!” she lectures to Strike.
Strike draws himself up a bit and speaks softly and calmly, "You are right, they aren't me but I made a choice to use them to do good. I can't stand around and just watch bad things happen when I can stop them... not like..." He paused as his voice caught in this throat, "Not like back home."
"Well I can't just be standin' by while YOU put your life at risk," she continues." ESPECIALLY not in THIS town wit' all da CRAZIES out dere runnin' around. You my only son," she tells you, as she has time and again. "You all I got left. An I won't ALLOW dis FOOLISHNESS!"
"Momma, it's not foolishness... it's what I HAVE to do. I will do what I can to make this place... this city... this world better for you... and for them." His eyes moves over to Ginny and the kids.
Ginny stirs again, and wipes her face. He stops stroking Ginny's hair, and quiets down, hoping she will go back to sleep. "I know how you feel momma, but I'm askin' you to just please trust and respect my decision... you know I am not jus rushing into this."
"You don' make da rules in dis house Dwayne," Momma warns. "An I don't want to hear no more lip about dis. Now I'm goin' to be gettin' some SLEEP. I got a HEADACHE from arguin' wit' you."
Strike just smiles and shakes his head, he knows his mother is strong willed but she should know she passed it along to him, "Alright momma." He goes over and kisses her on the forehead, "Good night." She kisses him. Of course, momma's always got to have th' last word... "An you KNOW I be tellin' you all dis stuff because I LOVE you."
Strike smiles, "I know you do momma... and I love you too."
"Good night Dwayne," she says, walking into the other room. "an don't you be stayin' up too late."
Ginny, ever more restless finally wakes up, as mama exits into the hallway leading into her small bedroom.
With a sigh, he watches his mother go into the bedroom and turns then notices Ginny awake. He smiles and moves over and kneels down beside her to speak softly, "Sorry about that... didn't mean to wake you."
Her children, by contrast, are still sleepin' soundly. "Oh, Dwayne," she reaches out to touch his hand. "I'm was HOPIN' you'd be comin' back home soon." She touches his hand lightly, and slightly withdraws. Ginny has always been on the shy side.
Strike smiles and takes her hand in his, "I'm sorry.. had I known you were here, I'd have come home sooner." Ginny returns the smile, her small hand resting in his.
"Did momma go to bed?" Ever since the hurricane, after everythin' momma had done for Ginny, looking after herself and the kids, Ginny has started calling her momma.
His eyes goes to the kids and then back to her and he nods, "Yea, she jus' went." He smiled, "Is everything alright?"
Strike always grappled with his secret. How would Ginny react if she knew about him? On the one hand, she was strong, and had lived through so much. The death of her mother, her father's murder in a bar room brawl, poverty, 2 failed relationships with men that were unwilling to commit. But still... something about her is so fragile... you're not sure how she would handle KNOWING your secret.... maybe that's part of the reason he's been ignoring his powers and his responsibility to use them...because in these past months, she and he have grown ever closer...
"Wrong?" Ginny echoes, your question. "No. I just-" She hesitates, and falters. "Well maybe it's not PROPER-LIKE to say."
He smiled and shook his head, she would never stop being Ginny... at least he hoped that she wouldn't. "It's ok, I'm glad to see you.. I'm glad y'all are here. I missed you.. y'all..."
She smiles back, and breathes a a sigh of relief. "I don't know how you do it, Dwayne Murphy," she chuckles.
Dwayne laughs softly, "Do what?"
"You always seem ta know just what I'm thinkin'. You got some kind of secret POWER I don't know 'bout?" She laughs.
Dwayne laughs softly to keep from waking the kids, "Me? Power? Yeah... The power to keep you in suspense!" He wiggles his fingers at her mystic like and grins. **
She laughs again, "Oh, an' I be forgettin' the power to make me LAUGH."
"Anyway," she sighs, "we best be gittin' ourself's back home now. It's gettin' late.
Her brown eyes meet his."I am glad I got to SEE you tonight, though. You ALWAYS put a smile on my face."
Dwayne smiles at her, "And you do the same... it wouldn't be the same around here without you."
Ginny says softly "An' Binky an Princetta too! Dey be feelin' da same WAY 'bout you, you know."
She stretches and rises from the couch.
Dwayne looks over at them, "I care for them alot. They do make this place feel alot like home.. but..." He looks at Ginny, "Not as much as their mother does." At that she seems startled, but not unpleasantly so. Where she had been straightening out her blouse, she now pauses, and looks at him, not sure of what she should say next...
He stands, "Come on.. let's get you guys ready and tgets these two into bed."
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