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When Angela pulls up to the small house, she turns the alert light on and sends the arrival notification, waiting for Eddie Diaz to come out to the front. She wonders where he’s headed off to so late, she’s always curious about people’s lives, and that’s why she loves driving the night shift. People are always more willing to talk at night, and she’s always loved a good story.
Angela keeps her eyes peeled on the front door, but when someone knocks on her driver’s window, she turns in a flash. A kid is standing next to the car, with curly blonde hair and red glasses, and he tilts his head to the side as he waits for her to roll down her window.
“Hi kid,” she says, peering up and down the street to see if she can spot an adult that should be accompanying the kid on crutches, “Can I help you?”
“Are you Angela?” he asks instead, eyes wide and questioning.
“I am…why are you asking?” This is starting to get more and more suspicious, and Angela slides a discreet hand down to her hidden taser, in case this is one of those trafficking tactics her mom keeps warning her about.
The kid smiles then, “Great, you’re the Uber that’s gonna take me to Buck’s house, right?”
Angela blinks, and it takes a minute for her brain to put the pieces together. By that time, the kid has already climbed into the backseat and is clicking his seatbelt closed.
The protocol says that all riders must be over 18, or at least accompanied by someone over 18, but this kid isn’t a day over 10, Angela’s sure. There’s no way she should take him anywhere, not if she doesn’t want to be charged with kidnapping or something worse.
“Look, I’m sorry kid, but I can’t take you alone,” Angela says firmly. “You have to have a parent with you or something, it’s just not safe.” She tries reasoning, but the plan immediately backfires on her as the kid's eyes well with tears.
“But Dad is being unfair, and he’s not listening to me, and I need to go to Buck! Dad said that Buck is the one who’s responsible for me if he’s not there, and Buck promised he would take care of me! I need to go to Buck!” He’s whining now, hands clenching with emotion and Angela doesn’t know what to do.
She’s not sure what’s happening with the dad and if it’s something she should be worried about. There are so many stories about kids from dangerous households getting away and then no one willing to help them. But Angela has also heard horror stories of kids being lured to strange places by strangers online, and she’s not going to risk this kid’s life without knowing.
She’s torn, and she has no idea what to do.
Until the kid freezes suddenly and pulls out a laminated card from his pocket.
“Here,” he sniffles, “Does this work?”
It’s a small photo id, with the kid’s face smiling back up at her, and words printed along the rest of the card.
Hi, I’m Christopher Diaz, I have cerebral palsy. If I am lost, please call my dad Eddie Diaz at this number or Buck at this number.
Two numbers are listed out below that, but Angela has seen enough. The card is signed something that vaguely reads “Diaz” and she’s sure enough that the kid is probably okay to go where he’s trying to be, at this ‘Buck’s’ house. The address is to a residential apartment she’s driven up to before, and she decides then and there to trail the kid up to whoever he’s going to meet so she can confirm he’s in a safe place.
“Okay, kid. I’ll take you.” Angela sends out a little prayer, hoping that she’s making the right decision, and she drives off.
–
The kid is surprisingly silent the whole way there, in a way she hasn’t really seen out of kids this young very often. It might have something to do with the late hour, or maybe it's the sullen mood that he’s in, leaning his head against the window with a small pout on his face she can see when she glances at her side mirrors.
Either way, Angela hasn’t gotten any more information about the scenario.
She pulls up to the front of the building, which the kid recognizes immediately because he unbuckles himself and shifts over to the other side of the car before she’s even pulled to a stop. That’s a good sign.
“Thank you for driving me,” Christopher says politely, and pushes himself out of the car, scooting over the seat and out onto the pavement. The car door shuts behind him with a soft thud, and Angela immediately cranes her head back to watch him go.
There’s no code on the apartment door, so the kid walks right in, and Angela sees him push the button for the elevator and wait for it to come down. Throwing the car into park right there at the entrance, Angela sneaks out, pressing herself against a pillar just in front of the glass doors. The light on the elevator goes off, and the doors open to let the kid in.
Suddenly realizing she has no idea how to tell what floor he’s going to, Angela bursts through the doors just as the elevator closes, and all her efforts are gone to water. But as she stands there, drowning in the guilt of the potential harm the kid could come to, she notices the display next to the button that shows where the elevators are currently going, and the only moving elevator is headed to the third floor.
Without a moment of hesitation, she jumps for the stairs, using every bit of SoulCycle energy she has to race up the steps, crossing over the landings as fast as her sneakers can take her. By the time she makes it up the sixth level of stairs, Angela is exhausted, and she slips through the exit door with the last of her energy.
The elevator doors open just as she makes it out, and she presses herself back into the alcove just in time to watch Christopher make his way out of the elevator and down the hall. He only passes three doors on either side before he stops decisively at one, using his crutch to knock at the wood.
Angela waits with bated breath for a few seconds, before the door is opened by a tall man in a cozy sweater. She inches forward to see shock splash across his face.
“Christopher! What-” The man leans out into the hall, presumably to look for an adult that’s supposed to be with him, and obviously finds none. “What are you doing here? Where’s Eddie?” She turns back into the stairwell, satisfied with the outcome of her work, but then freezes, deciding to take one more step of precaution before she leaves.
If the man is dangerous, she still has her taser tucked into her waistband. If he’s not, then he won’t have any problems with her line of questioning.
Either way, Angela is prepared to do whatever she needs to to make sure the kid is okay.
Walking up to the same door, Angela knocks firmly, one hand behind her back at the ready.
This time, however, the door is opened by a red-haired woman, who raises her eyebrows and asks, “Can I help you?”.
“Yes, you can actually. I’m the Uber driver that brought the kid here, and I just wanted to make sure everything was okay, he seemed a bit worried on the way here.” Angela doesn’t mince her words, staring down at the other woman for answers.
“Um, he should be fine, but uh, Buck! Can you come here for a sec?” She calls back into the apartment, and it takes a while before the man from earlier reappears.
“What’s going on?” The man asks the woman at the door, and now that Angela gets a good look at him, she can see some similarities in the features between him and the kid.
“Sir, I picked up the boy in the Uber and he was very upset when he wasn’t able to immediately leave because it’s against policy to drive minors alone. He said that he was allowed to be with you, but frankly, I’d rather be safe than sorry because I have no idea what’s going on.”
The man breathes out roughly, scrubbing a hand across his face, and looks back into the apartment, and then back at Angela.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t know what’s going on either, but I can promise you, Christopher is completely safe here, and at home as well. I don’t know why he came to me tonight, but I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding, and I will sort it out. But I promise- he is safe.” He makes direct eye contact as he speaks, and Angela takes a moment to scan his face, wondering if she can spot any sign of a lie.
“I can confirm that- he’s a firefighter with the LAFD, so is the kid’s dad, and they’re both good men. I’m Taylor Kelly, with Channel 9 news? I’m telling you the truth.” Recognition hits as the woman confesses their identity, and Angela feels everything is probably okay. The voice at the back of her head isn’t screaming at her anymore, and her usually accurate gut sense is at ease.
“Okay. That’s fine, then. I’m sorry for taking up your time.” She relents finally, nodding and stepping away.
“No, thank you. Not everyone would have done that for any kid, and I really appreciate you watching out for him.” Buck says effusively, and Angela smiles softly at him.
“He reminded me of my grandson. I would’ve wanted someone to do the same for him.” She finally confesses, letting herself admit to her own motivations. “But you should really tell him not to do this again. There’s a lot of people out there who wouldn’t have been so cautious.”
Buck nods, thanking her once again, and finally, Angela heads out, happy that it all looked like it worked out for the best tonight. She may have been left with more questions than answers tonight, but she was content as she pulled back into the street, accepting the next Uber ride, anticipating the next story.