The Makings of a Hero

1. In Shining Armor
The dragon spewed fire upon the village. The knight looked on in outrage as he saw helpless men, women, and children scrambling for cover. He charged forth. The dragon roared. The sound of metal clashing claw echoed in the air.
Fire, sweat, teeth, sword, fire, until death came with a crunch. And as the knight drew his sword from the dragon’s heart he knew that the people were saved.

2. Into the Fire
Francis was faced with a literal inferno. A woman ran towards him.
“My daughter! She’s still in there!”
Francis ran towards the blaze ignoring the objections of his captain.
He could hear the girl’s crying as soon as he broke down the door.
“Don’t worry. I’m a fireman.”
He picked up the girl and held her close. The fire blazed on as he handed the girl to her mother.

3. The Contract
It wouldn’t mess with you if you didn’t mess with it. That’s the way city life worked. It would have been a breach of that contract if Rick responded to the “Help!” that echoed above the heads of the people on the sidewalk. They kept their heads down and quickened their pace when they passed the woman being mugged in the alley.
“Help me!”
Rick ran towards the alley.

The Arphasian Seeing Stone

“What’s the prognosis, doctor?” Tiffany joked.

“Your u-bend is free and clear,” the plumber said.

“How much do I owe you?”

“Well,” the plumber began as he swung his bag over his shoulder, accidentally dropping most of its contents.

“Oh, let me help you,” Tiffany offered, rushing towards the mess.

“No!” the plumber exclaimed. “I’ve got it.”

He scrambled to sweep the pile of papers, tools, and trinkets back into his bag. He reached for a translucent grey stone, but was blocked by Tiffany’s hand. She snatched it up.

“You were going to steal from me?” Tiffany seethed.

The plumber stood up.

“Get out of my house!” Tiffany roared.

“No. Give me the seeing stone first,” the plumber said.

Tiffany raised an eyebrow in disbelief as she rose to her feet.

“Are you serious?! Get out of my house before I call the cops!”

“I’m not leaving without that stone.”

Tiffany stormed over to an end table that held her cell phone.

“I’m calling the police,” she said as she flipped the phone open.

The plumber whipped out a gun from his pocket and shot her through the heart. Tiffany collapsed, the seeing stone rolling from her hand. The plumber walked over to it, bent down and picked it up. He pulled out his own cell phone.

“Hey Harper?”

“Yeah?”

“I need Mac.”

“Did you get the Arphasian seeing stone?” Harper asked.

“Yeah.”

“And Tiffany Brown? Did she suspect anything?”

“That’s why I need Mac. I screwed up.”

“Mac’s out on assignment. What happened?”

“I shot her.”

“Jesus. Well you know what’s at stake if we don’t get that stone. It was a small price to pay.”

“Not small enough,” the plumber said as he gazed upon Tiffany’s body and tossed the Arphasian seeing stone lightly in his hand.

“I’ll send Parker,” Harper said.

“I’ll be here.”