CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO - Eddie Robinson 1982 - 2006

MIKE - Hard to believe, isn't it - but it's true. While investigatin' a potential lead for this kidnappin' case, me-n-Eddie were suspicious about this curator for an all-gay art gallery bein' the one - seein' as it was one of the last stops AJ made before he was nabbed. Anyways, we were right, but we paid a heavy, heavy price for it. Me-n-Eddie were shot with darts loaded with the subtances used in lethal injections. Once we were rendered incapacitated, we were thrown into a back room and locked in there to die. Eddie - oh Jesus Murphy this is tough to write - Eddie died. That's the way he wanted it - to put his life on the line for our work, our passion, ironically, our reason for livin'. I just kept holdin' 'im. I was still feelin' the effects of the drugs in me, I couldn't move much. Yeah, my arms were hurtin' real bad, but I wanted to hold my partner... my sidekick...my boy...my baby. I lay sobbin', with Eddie's body....that's right. Eddie's body.

"You poor, sweet baby", I remember mumblin'. "Ya had a lotta guts. I loved ya with all my heart, and then some."

I was torn between wantin' to live so I can carry on and wrap this case up, bring AJ back home to his lover - at least somebody out there can be happy, and I can make it happen. I also was hopin' I could die, too. One thing that kept us goin' was that no matter what happened with us - we either had to survive together or go down together. This isn't fair - it wasn't part of our plan. I cursed God out for takin' him, but it's not His fault. I'm sorry I said it and I said so. But that's not gonna bring my boy back. I can cry all I want. I can hold onto his body all I want, I can do any god-awful thing I want, but Eddie's dead now. He's dead. He's dead - I gotta keep sayin' it so it can finally sink in. Eddie's dead. I wanted to yank the dart out of his arm, but I figured the cops would need that as evidence. Strugglin' to reach my phone, I called 9-11.

"There's been a shootin' - one of us is dead. We're at the Roxov Gallery on 23rd Street - we're locked in a back room somewhere. I'm paralyzed and in a lot of pain, my partner is dead - a fatal dart wound."

After I hung up, I fell back - I started feelin' weaker. Breath was still kinda hard to catch. I just kept lookin' up. "He's up there, now", I says to myself. "Hang on, kiddo, don't worry, I might be up there soon. You wait for me, would ya?" I closed my eyes - they were the only part of me that wasn't hurtin', but they were too heavy anymore.


DARKNESS ENVELOPES THE IMMEDIATE AREA. PEACEFUL. QUIET, EXCEPT FOR SOMEONE WALKING AROUND, LOST, NOT SURE OF HIS WHEREABOUTS, IT'S EDDIE. HE MADE IT TO THE OTHER SIDE AND IS SUDDENLY STUNNED BY A BLINDING WHITE LIGHT. HE HOLDS HIS HAND TO HIS FACE TO SHIELD HIS EYES, MUTTERING "HOLY RETINOPATHY". THEN A DISEMBODIED VOICE SPEAKS TO HIM, "No, not quite. Welcome to the aftermath, my child." EDDIE CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT'S GOING ON. "Uh, who are you? And where the heck am I?"

"You've crossed over."

"Ya mean I'm in...Heaven, I hope?"

"Yes, that's right. I'm sorry for the method by which you began your journey, but you're safe now."

"I'm safe. Last thing I remember was..."

"Take your shirt off. Look at your body. Not a scratch. Not a mark."

HE DOES JUST THIS AND SEES ALL HIS WOUNDS ARE HEALED.

"Wow", HE CHUCKLES AND SMILES, "I'm really okay."

"Of course you are, but you may want to dress again. We're pretty far up north, it doesn't get as warm as...the other place."

"Oh, yeah...gotcha. But, am I up here by myself? I mean, did I come up here alone? I'm lookin' for...."

"Your friend."

"Uh, yeah, the Boss-Man. Hey, is he here, too? I gotta see him."

"No, Edward, I'm afraid not. If you'll just look down below, there he is."

"NO WAY! He's not..."

"Most assuredly not. It's just not his time yet. He's still on earth. He's going to recover from his wounds and carry on."

"Without me?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"B-but..gosh...look at 'im - he's miserable, he's cryin'. He's talkin' to me and I can't answer him back - I gotta get back to him."

"I'm terribly sorry, Edward, but this is your time."

"What the heck! I'm only 23 years old. I haven't done anything. I'm too young, I can't..."

"Your fate was determined at the time you were put on this earth."

"Aw wait a second there..."

"Edward, please, it's all for the best."

EDDIE LOOKED PANICKY, LIKE HE RAN OUT OF OPTIONS. HE WAS SCARED.

"What the heck am I supposed to do now?"

"Bask in the glory of enternal life."

"Wait, you're not God, are ya?"

"No, no I'm not, I'm merely one of His servants."

"I gotta see Him - you gotta lemme see Him."

"There are so many millions with that request. But you have all the time in the world. You have enternal life now."

THE FIGURE DISAPPEARS, LEAVING EDDIE ALL BY HIMSELF. HE CAN NO LONGER SEE DOWNWARD, BUT STILL SHOUTS DOWN TO MIKE.

"MIKE! Can ya HEAR ME? MIKE! MI-I-IKE!"

HE CRUMBLES TO THE GROUND AND STARTS CRYING.

"I can't do this. I can't go for the rest of my eternal life without ya. Mike!"

HE FEELS A HAND ON HIS SHOULDER.

"Aw, leave me alone, would ya?"

"Eddie - what the heck are ya doin' here?"

HE LOOKS UP AND SEES A FAMILIAR FACE - BOBBY REED. HE STANDS UP AND HUGS HIM.

"Aw, Bobby - thank God. What's goin' on here - do ya know anything?"

"So whatcha do, off yourself or somethin'?"

"No way! Why d'ya say that?"

"Cuz ya ain't s'posed to be up here yet."

"Whatcha talkin' about?"

"I think they grabbed the wrong guy. Look, come with me, let's check the ledger."

"Uh, sure."

"They made me an assistant record keeper, or somethin'. Kinda bums me out a little, no bad guys to track down."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"Now, let's see here - lookin' under the R's..."

HE SEARCHES DOWN A LIST AND LETS OUT A SIGH.

"Aw, holy crap."

"What is it?"

"They DID grab the wrong guy. You ain't due here for 50 years."

"50 YEARS!"

"Yeah, it's a blue-boy named Richardson, clear across the country. He just got shot in the line of duty - he shoulda passed away earlier tonight, but somehow, they got you instead."

"Aw, man, we gotta tell somebody. I - I gotta get outta here, I gotta get back to Mike."

EDDIE AND BOBBY RUN OVER TO TELL THE POWERS THAT BE ABOUT THE MISTAKE, THEN EDDIE STOPS IN HIS TRACKS. BOBBY RUNS A COUPLE OF PACES AHEAD AND STOPS WHEN HE SEES EDDIE STOPPED.

"Eddie, what's the deal?"

"Bobby - I dunno about this. I mean, sure I'd love to get back to life and be with Mike and I know I got snatched up here by mistake, and all, but...there's a cop down there whose life could be saved if I just..."

BOBBY WALKS OVER AND GRABS EDDIE BY THE ARMS, JUST LIKE MIKE ALWAYS HAS -

"Eddie, look, I like havin' ya up here - you're a good guy, and I've always been grateful I was the one chosen to help Mike get ya back from bein' brainwashed and when I gave my life, it was for a good cause. What those guys did to ya was bad, and I'll always be happy I helped in makin' it right - I couldn't ask for anyone cooler to have up here, but it's a mistake. That cop's not lookin' so good - he took a few rounds in the chest - it's the natural order of things. Ya don't wanna spend eternity goin' 'round as somebody else, do ya? I mean, Holy Identity Theft!"

EDDIE REALIZES WHAT BOBBY WAS TALKING ABOUT AND REALIZES HE WAS RIGHT.

"God's callin' Benny Richardson home, and as soon as you get back to Mike, wake up on that floor, and the two of ya recover, and get AJ back just like I got you back, then Benny won't have to suffer anymore. He'll always be remembered as the good guy he was. He'll be missed, but he won't be in pain anymore. Now, come on, let's get this straight."

AND THEY DO - EDDIE IS CATAPULTED BACK DOWN TO EARTH AND BACK TO LIFE. ON THE WAY DOWN, HE MEETS BENNY RICHARDSON ON THE WAY UP. HE STOPS AND SAYS TO HIM, "Richardson, right? The murdered cop?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Enjoy yourself up there, bud, you've earned it."

BACK ON EARTH, IN HIS BODY, STILL SORE FROM HIS SHOOTING, WHILE MIKE IS PONDERING THE REST OF HIS LIFE WITHOUT HIS DEAR SWEET BOY, MIKE HEARS SOME MOANING. EDDIE RESUMES HIS SPOT, JUST WHERE HE LEFT OFF.

"Aw, Boss-Man, how're we gonna get outta this?"

MIKE - Aw, Jesus Murphy - Eddie's back. I grab him and hug and kiss him, "aw, sweetheart - I thought I lost ya - ya just went limp, I thought ya was dead for sure."

"You're movin' a little."

"Yeah, I yanked it out again, I think it's gonna be okay, but first we gotta get ya back on your feet. Here, now, brace yourself."

"Okay"

MIKE - I wanted this thing outta him, I didn't wanna hurt 'im, but the longer that thing stayed in his shoulder, the worse off he'd be.

"All right on three - One, Two, THREE!"

YANK

"AHHH!"

"(exhale) Aw, man, that was brutal - almost as bad as goin' in."

"Yeah, but it'll wear off - I'm feelin' better - not perfect, but better."

EDDIE - I came back from a near-death experience and tried to sit up a little. It was pretty hard - no, NOT THAT, I mean, it was pretty difficult to try to sit up. Mike started walkin' a little - havin' a bad time at it, but fightin' it just the same.

"allright - now that we're gonna live - how the hell do we get outta here?"

NOW THAT EDDIE'S BACK TO LIFE AND OUR HEROES ARE RECOVERING FROM THEIR WOUNDS, AS ALWAYS, HOW ARE THEY GONNA GET OUT OF THIS ROOM? AND HOW ARE THEY GONNA FIND AJ AND BRING HIM BACK TO JAKE? THE ANSWERS WILL AT LEAST START TO BE ANSWERED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.