Writer's Choice - Charlie's Big Day

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

This was originally posted here in Section VII for one of our challenges, although I can't remember which one.  I like it, for its little moral lesson and the scene it conjurs up of playgrounds and little girls still wearing dresses to school instead of shorts and tee shirts.  Call me old fashioned, I think it was a scene worth remembering.
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Two little boys were shouting at each other with threats that should have made their school chums shudder with fear.

"I'm gonna sock you in the stomach and punch your face!" The freckle faced youth sounded more dangerous than he looked, but it earned a retort just the same.

"Oh yeah, well I'm gonna kick your shins so hard they'll … um… " The boy lost his steam as his eyes landed on a man stumbling out from the bushes behind the crowd of jeering children who had gathered for this ultimate show down.

"Hey! Look, over there." The crowd turned as one, including the formerly loud and threatening boy with the shock of red hair. Not sure whether to act brave and approach the faltering man as he fell to the ground or just turn and run, he finally decided his reputation wouldn't survive if he chickened out on this opportunity.

"Go on Charlie,' one girl urged him on. "You're always so brave."

That did it. Swallowing the lump in his throat and looking around to see if anyone was going to join him, he slowly approached the man who was crumpled in a heap, blood now evident on the white shirt he wore and matted in a mop of longish blond hair.

"Is he dead?" Charlie hoped he wasn't as he knelt down next to the prone body. The blood was red, like when he cut his knee last summer and it bled all over his sister's blanket. He thought that might mean it was, um… fresh. His mother had taught him that when she found dried blood on his shirt once, and remarked that it had been there for a while to have turned so brown.

Silently and with no little amount of concern for his own well being, Charlie reached for the man's arm, hoping to move him a little and try to see his face. When he did a hand grabbed his, so quickly that Charlie squealed in terror, prompting several in the crowd behind him to turn and run. Those who remained huddled together, some of them moving in closer in an effort to show some support for the brave boy who was screaming like a girl who just saw a spider.

"Let go, let go!" Charlie was panic stricken. His mother would kill him if she knew about this. Geez, what if this guy killed him first, him and everyone else. Right then and there Charlie Mullins swore off fighting… forever.

"Help, please…" What? The man was talking, but it sounded funny. Charlie calmed down and bent lower to hear the voice.

"He's asking for help. Someone go and get Mr. Nolan, get someone … Call an ambulance I think." Charlie felt a surge of adrenaline course through his body, although he didn't know it was adrenaline. He just suddenly felt like he could do this, could help this man and not throw up or pee his pants out of sheer terror. This must be what it felt like to be a man, he thought proudly to himself.

"Mister, can you hear me? How can I help you?" Illya Kuryakin could hear the voice of a child asking him questions. His own sense of time and place was out of synch, but he managed to find his communicator and handed it to the boy, relaxing his grip on his arm as he did so.

"Remove the top…' Illya could see Charlie doing just that, "… now put it on the other end and talk into it." Charlie looked at the man like he was talking gibberish, but he did what he was told. When a voice came back at him he almost dropped the silver pen.

"This Channel is open, who is speaking to me?" It was a woman's voice, and Charlie sputtered something about a man, and blood and blond hair.

"It's all right young man, you're doing fine. Ask the man his name." The voice gave good instructions and Charlie was starting to get a feel for this.

"Mister, what's your name? The lady wants to know." Illya wheezed out a response, eliciting a puzzled look from the boy.

"Huh? Say it again please, I'm sorry but I just…"

"Eelya Kooriakin', that's what it sounded like, and Charlie wondered who had a name like that.

"Tell her." And then he passed out.

"Eelya Kooriakin he says, but he's fainted now. He's awfully bloody ma'am. What should I do?"

"You just sit tight there.. um,my name is Wanda. What is your name?" Charlie blushed slightly, the lady sounded really nice, and he imagined that she was very pretty as well.

"I'm Charlie Allen Mullins, and I will. I won't move, I promise."

"That's really good, Charlie. Someone is on the way. Does anyone else know, are there others there with you?"

"Yes ma'am, my friends and…' just then the principal, ran up to the crowd of children, making his way through to kneel down next to Charlie. He looked ashen as he took in the sight of the injured man and the boy speaking into a pen. It didn't seem as though much time had passed, but then the excitement had caused Charlie to forget about clocks and classrooms. Nothing else mattered except Mister Kooriakin.

"Mr. Nolan, this is Eelya Kooriakin and I'm talking to Wanda." Mr. Nolan was too alarmed by all of this to take issue with talking pens and young boys handling dire situations. Charlie tried to explain what had happened to the flustered principal while several teachers, summoned in the wake of the alarming announcements made by the students who had run back into the schoolyard began gathering the other children together.

"Oh, um… well, Wanda?"

"Yes Mr. Nolan. You are speaking to a representative of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. Mr. Kuryakin is one of our agents, and we believe he has been in the hands of dangerous criminals. Our people are… they are on the scene sir. I suggest you remove yourself and the children to safety and let us take care of things. We appreciate your help in aiding Mr. Kuryakin."

As Mr. Nolan looked up he was greeted by the appearance of several people, medical and otherwise. One man helped him stand up, introducing himself in the process.

"Mr. Nolan? I am Napoleon Solo, from UNCLE.' He knelt down to check on his partner, observing as the medical team placed the Russian on a gurney, checking vitals and starting the process of dressing his wounds. Within minutes the ambulance was heading to UNCLE Medical, leaving Napoleon to act as the face of UNCLE to a rather large group of innocents.

"Mr. Kuryakin is my partner, I appreciate your help in getting him to safety." Napoleon looked down to see Charlie fully engrossed in the conversation.

"You must be Charlie, the young man who spoke to Wanda. She said you were very helpful. Some really bad men are responsible for what happened to Mr. Kuryakin, but thanks to you he's going to be all right."

Charlie felt like a true hero now, not totally sure what it all meant but very sure that he had ended up on the side of the good guys. No more fights for him, he was going to be an UNCLE agent when he grew up.

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