James Grippando - Leapholes

Ryan was eager to see if Hezekiah's personal library was as impressive as the one in the old fort where they'd first met. It wasn't. The prison library had clearly been designed to impress Ryan. This one had just as many books, but they were scattered everywhere. Piles and piles of books stood in random stacks around the room. Some of the stacks were taller than Dr. Coolidge. It was as if Hezekiah had long ago given up hope of building enough bookcases to shelve all his books. Ryan couldn't imagine how anyone could find what he was looking for in this mess, which only confirmed his continuing belief that the key to Hezekiah's leapholes was the computer, not the books.

"This is where Hezekiah does his research," said Jarvis.

Dr. Coolidge walked several paces, then stopped. The look of disapproval on her face was all too familiar to Ryan. It was usually accompanied by the words You call this room clean, young man?

"Show her one of the VLE helmets," said Ryan.

"Sure." Jarvis went to the closet and rummaged through it. He returned with a black helmet with a visor, which he placed on the table.

Ryan said, "That's exactly like the one I wore, Mom. It was the most amazing thing. I put on that helmet, and suddenly Hezekiah and I were racing on thoroughbreds, playing baseball in Wrigley Field, and riding on a bus through Alabama. We even went on a ship that was hit by an iceberg!"

His mother looked at him with concern. "You poor dear."

"No, it's true, Mom. All I had to do was put on this helmet."

"Ryan, I'm sure you think this happened, but-"

"It did happen. Just watch. Jarvis will show you."

Her expression said it all. It was bad enough to think of her son wandering around lost for three days. But his mother seemed even more distressed by the possibility that Ryan may actually have been cooped up with the likes of Hezekiah (who was nowhere to be found) and his flat-faced sidekick.

"If it really happened," she said, "then exactly where is this Hezekiah?"

"That's why we need Ryan's help," said Jarvis. "He disappeared."

"Where did he go?" she asked.

Jarvis shrugged. "I don't know, exactly. But I have a pretty good idea."

"You do?" said Ryan.

"Yeah. Follow me."

They zigzagged through several towering piles of law books. Jarvis took them to a small study area behind an overloaded bookcase. There was only one chair at the rectangular oak table. It was empty. The tabletop was clear, except for a single law book. It lay open.

"This is where he was working when he disappeared," said Jarvis.

Ryan stepped forward and took a closer look. "Eighteen-fifty-seven," he said, reading the date from the case caption. "That's an old case."

"It's not the age that concerns me," said Jarvis. "It's the time period. Eighteen-fifty-seven was one of the darkest years in American legal history. It was near the height of legal conflict over slavery-before that conflict turned into the Civil War. If Hezekiah went there, he could be in some real trouble."

"Why would he go there?" said Ryan.

"No," his mother said sternly. "The better question is how would he go there. I am just about fed up with this nonsense, Ryan."

Jarvis didn't say a word. He simply reached under the oak table, lifted a large jar from the floor, and placed it on the table. "That's how," he said.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Leapholes," said Ryan. "I'm not exactly sure what they are, Mom. But there is something about them that creates the virtual legal environment."

"Right," said Jarvis, smirking. "For people who insist that this is nothing more than an ultra-hi-tech computer, that's what leapholes are. Keys to virtual legal environments."

"Are you suggesting that they're something else?" said Dr. Coolidge.

Jarvis paused, seeming to choose his words carefully. "I'm not the best person to explain it to you, ma'am. All I can tell you is what I think, which is this: I think the best lawyer I've ever known used one of these leapholes to bring himself face-to-face with Legal Evil."

Ryan glanced at the open book on the table. A chill came over him. 4 Are you saying that's where Legal Evil lives? That's where the brood follows the dam?"

Jarvis gave a solemn nod.

"But why would he go there on his own?" said Ryan.

"Because you shamed him. He invited you to be a Legal Eagle, and you rejected him. The only way he can save face is to take on Legal Evil himself."

"Can he do that?"

Jarvis shook his head. "He's too old, Ryan. Way past his prime. He'll be slaughtered."

"What will happen to him then?"

Jarvis lowered his head, as if he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Ryan's mother could hold her tongue no longer. "What in the world are you two talking about? I'm no computer genius, but nobody disappears into a virtual environment."

"That's what I told him," said Ryan.

"Good for you," she said. "I'm glad you haven't completely lost your marbles. And as for you, Jarvis: What have you and this Hezekiah character been doing with my son for the past three days?"

"We haven't done anything," said Jarvis.

"Maybe you should tell that to the police." She took her cell phone from her purse and punched out the number.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

She waved him off and spoke into the telephone. "Yes, Detective Spessard? This is Doctor Sharon Coolidge. I've heard enough. I think it's time for you to come inside."

Almost immediately after she hung up, there was a tremendous pounding on the office door. "Open up! Police!"

Ryan looked at his mother in disbelief. "You told them to follow us here, didn't you?"

"Ryan, this is giving me the creeps. It seems like some kind of cult."

"You had this planned all along. You think Hezekiah abducted me."

"I'm doing this for your own safety, Ryan."

Jarvis's eyes filled with rage. "You double crossed me! Now we'll never find Hezekiah."

The pounding at the door grew louder. "Open up, or we'll bust the door down!"

Ryan said to Jarvis, "Give me the VLE helmet."

"You don't need the helmet."

"Yes, I wore it when I was with Hezekiah."

"The helmet is worthless. It doesn't do anything. It's all in the leapholes, Ryan. When are you going to believe?"

"Ryan!" his mother shouted. "Stop talking to that man!"

The door crashed open. A SWAT team burst into the office. In a matter of seconds, a half dozen men dressed in black combat fatigues, weapons drawn, were approaching the library at full speed. In the stampede, they smashed into a row of bookshelves and knocked it over. The toppling of the first row of shelves created a domino effect. One bookshelf fell onto the next one, and so on. It was like an earthquake in Hezekiah's law library. Thousands of books came smashing to the floor. The advancing SWAT team members were buried in the avalanche of falling books.

Jarvis grabbed a leaphole from Hezekiah's jar. "Let's go now, Ryan!"

Dr. Coolidge snatched it from his hand. "You're not going anywhere."

"Mom, don't touch that!"

Another row of bookshelves toppled, and the domino effect suddenly reached Ryan and his mother. The bookcase crashed onto the table where Hezekiah's research book lay open. The book fell to the floor-and it opened to a different page.

Ryan's mother backed away. Another falling book knocked the leaphole from her grasp. It rolled on its edge and landed on Hezekiah's book.

Ryan dove for the leaphole and grabbed it. He noticed immediately that the old book was open to a different page than the one Hezekiah had been studying. But it was too late. His entire hand was glowing bright orange. The leaphole inside his tightly clenched fist was already doing its work.

"Oh boy," Ryan said nervously. He could feel the pull of the leaphole. For the first time, he realized that maybe Jarvis and Hezekiah had been telling the truth. Maybe he really didn't need the VLE helmet.