Read Online The Return of the Titans by James Thompson - Free Book Online

Aaron's teasing
him about his height didn't bother him, since the other boy wasn't
much bigger than he was.
    “You're right there. But
these people aren't stupid. They must know what they are doing.
Besides...”
    The door chime rang out and Justin stopped
talking. He stared at the door for a moment and swallowed noisily.
Aaron took a deep breath. “Come in,” he said loudly.
    The door slid back. Mr. Fitzgerald was
standing there, looking even taller and more intimidating close up
than he had when Justin had seen him from a distance.
    “Good morning, Mr. McLeod,
Mr. Dalton. May I come in?”
    Both Justin and Aaron had stood up when they
saw Mr. Fitzgerald. Now Justin nodded and moved to sit beside
Aaron. The man smiled slightly and entered the room.
    Mr. Fitzgerald was carrying several large
notebooks under his arm. He sat down on the vacant couch and put
them on the table. Then he sat back and glanced around the
room.
    “How are you finding your
accommodations?” he asked.
    “Very nice, sir.
Comfortable,” Justin spoke up. Aaron nodded vigorously.
    “Excellent. I'm glad you
approve. Now,” Mr. Fitzgerald leaned forward, “I'm here to answer
any and all questions you might have regarding Sanctuary, the
Guardians, yourselves or anything else that I can. If I can't
answer something, rest assured that I will find out about it and
get back to you.” He sat back and smiled slightly again. “After
all, you can't make an informed decision on whether to stay or go
unless you have all the facts, can you?”
    Both boys nodded. “So, who wants to go
first?”
Justin and Aaron looked at each other.
    “Well sir.” Justin spoke
up hesitantly, “I'd like to know what happened to my Mom. Is she
okay? Is Wilson, the janitor in my building, okay?”
    “Yeah, me too. All I can
think about is my family,” Aaron added.
    Mr. Fitzgerald nodded. “Of course, perfectly
natural. Let me see here...” He went through the notebooks and
chose one near the bottom of the stack. He opened it and scanned
through it while the boys watched anxiously. Then he frowned and
looked at them.
    “Well, the news isn't all
good, I'm afraid.” Justin felt his stomach clench and he clasped
his hands together. “But it isn't all bad either.” The man sighed.
“Please remember that these are preliminary reports. Our agents are
still gathering data and will know more in a few days.”
    He sat back and looked down at the notebook.
“Now, Mr. Dalton...” Aaron gave a small yelp and Mr. Fitzgerald
smiled at him gently. “Easy, young man. I'm pleased to report that
your father is all right.” Aaron stared at him for a moment and
then let out a huge sigh. Justin reached over and patted his
shoulder as he saw tears standing in Aaron's eyes.
    Aaron looked down so that his long blonde
hair covered his face. “Thank you, sir,” he said in a small
voice.
    “You're welcome. Now, as
for the details. We have a few.” He glanced at the notes. “Your
father has been relocated, for his own protection. We hope this is
only a temporary measure, but we won't take any chances with his
safety.” Aaron looked up at the man and listened intently. Mr.
Fitzgerald's smile widened. “Your father was...less than happy
about having to leave your home. He wanted to stay and face your
enemies.”
    Aaron rolled his eyes and laughed shakily.
“Yeah, that's Dad all right. Never backs down from a fight.”
    “Apparently not. But we
persuaded him that your safety was at stake, so he reluctantly
agreed.” He glanced at the notes again. “It was your cousin who
pushed you into the fountain, wasn't it?”
    The boy frowned. “Yes sir. When those guys
closed in, he just gave me a shove and, bang, I was here.” Then
Aaron looked concerned. “Is he okay?”
    “Happily yes, although he
will be in the hospital for several days.” Aaron sat up abruptly
but Mr. Fitzgerald continued on quickly. “He's fine. Nothing that
bed rest won't cure. He took a few lumps but once they