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Guard duty again. Roger “Race” Bannon sighed and shifted his bag from one hand to the other. This time it was a kid, too, the eleven-year-old son of a world famous scientist who could not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. Race liked kids well enough in a general sort of way, but he hadn't spent enough time around them to know how to deal with one on a day-to-day basis, especially one that had lost his mother only a little over a year ago. But Race had promised the director of Intelligence One that he would do his best. He would keep the kid safe… and beyond that they would have to see how it went.
Squaring his shoulders, he knocked on the door. There were sounds of movement almost immediately and from inside the room a dog began barking raucously. That was good. Dogs and lights were the biggest deterrents when it came to keeping away anyone unsavory. Not that the people who might target Dr. Quest or his son were amateurs to be easily frightened away, but every little bit helped. The more the odds were stacked in his favor, the happier Race was.
The door flew open to reveal a boy dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. At his feet a small white dog with a distinctive black mask growled, protective of his young master. “Hi! I'm Jonny. You're Mr. Bannon right? My dad said you were coming today.” He turned without slowing down for a second. “Dad! Dad! Mr. Bannon's here!” He waited for no more than a second before shrugging; “Come on, he's probably in his lab. That's where he usually is.”
The first lesson would be how much information to give a stranger, Race thought as he stepped into the interior of the house. Outside, the Florida sun had been beating down, but inside it was comfortably cool. Climate control-- that was a big perk over his last job, which had consisted of watching a very important man without letting him know that Race was there. It had meant a lot of time spent in trees, on rooftops and lurking in places that afforded him a good view of the surrounding area; this was better. At least, so far.
Race trailed behind Jonny at a more sedate pace, taking in the lay out of the house. He'd seen blueprints, but they only gave him one part of the overall picture. The soft looking couches, neat but full bookcases and the large color television filled in more. On the kitchen table a half-full glass of milk kept company with a mostly eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and the remnants of a bunch of grapes sat off to the side, picked clean of fruit.
A door off the kitchen led outside and Race blinked, eyes watering as he shielded them from the blast of heat and light. “He's right over here,” Jonny called over his shoulder, not slowing his hurrying gait. Not too far away was another building. This one was made of corrugated metal and had a series of strong locks on the door; as Jonny reached for the knob it turned and the door opened. From the mission briefing he had received Race knew that the man who stepped through was Dr. Benton Quest, Jonny’s father and the world-famous scientist in question.
“Dad! Mr. Bannon is here. Can he teach me judo now? Huh? I finished lunch and did the homework you left for me.” Jonny excitement was barely contained as he bounced on the balls of his feet.
“So I see. Nice to meet you, Mr. Bannon.” Dr. Quest's handshake was firm and Race could feel the strength in it. His eyes were bright with inquisitive intelligence and his smile was genuine if somewhat reserved; it softened and gentled when he turned to look at his son, love and affection etched in every bit of his body language. “Good job, son. Why don't you go put on your trunks and you and Bandit can go swimming? Mr. Bannon and I will go to the beach with you so we can talk.” He turned his attention back to Race who nodded his agreement.
“Yahoo!” Jonny cheered before dashing off to change, Bandit close at his heels.
“He seems like a good boy.” Race nodded in the direction Jonny had gone.
“He is.” Dr. Quest smiled, easing some of the sadness and strain in the lines of his face. “Lots of energy and curiosity like most boys his age. Losing his mother was difficult for both of us, but he seems to be bouncing back.” Dr. Quest looked off across the compound before giving Race his full attention. “The truth is, Mr. Bannon, I travel a great deal due to work and I haven't been there for Jonny nearly as much as I should have; and now with his mother gone I'm not willing to leave him anymore.” He waited for Race's nod before continuing. “The problem is that the places I go aren't always safe, especially for a young boy who wants to see and know everything. I need to know that he is protected and taken care of so I can focus on my work.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, afterwards making a gesture as if to wave away all the things he had said. “More than that, though, Jonny needs a friend: a companion who will teach him the things he needs to know about being a man. Someone who is not his father, but will be a person he can look up to. Do you understand?”
“I think I do, Dr. Quest.” Race opened the door to the kitchen and stepped back to allow the other man to proceed him inside.
“Good.” Dr. Quest flashed him a different kind of smile as he passed, one that held interest and intent. “Welcome to the family, Mr. Bannon.”
Returning the smile with one of his own, Race followed Dr. Quest into the house. “Thank you. Call me Race.”
Ten Years Later:
“That was Jonny.” Dr. Quest hung up the phone before returning to his spot on the sofa. “He and Hadji are going to stop and see some of his mother's family before heading home for the summer. I have no doubt he’ll find some way to get into trouble even though Kokomo, Indiana is a far cry from the Brazilian jungles.”
Race laughed and shifted to lay his arm across the back of the cushion, comfortable with displaying his feelings now that he and Dr. Quest, Benton, had the place mostly to themselves. “The jet is fueled up and ready to go if it comes to that.”
“Hopefully not; Hadji does an amazingly good job of keeping him out of trouble.” Benton leaned back, his head resting on Race's shoulder. “Adopting him was one of the best things I ever did. It gave Hadji a chance to have a family and Jonny got a companion his own age to spend time with.”
“It only seems fair,” Race said with a chuckle. “After all, you stole his other one.”