by Captain Sammitch
La Perdita:
A warm breeze swept in from the Caribbean, rustling the palm trees and rippling the grass atop the little hill. Petals of tree blossoms floated on the wind and swirled around Phil Smith as he smoothed over the soil covering the grave overlooking the sea. A small, dark gray marble marker had been placed atop the grave, bearing only the name Gabriela.
The telepath knelt down to scatter some grass seed and place a bouquet of lilies by the marker. Phil sighed. "I wish it hadn't come to this." He brushed a hand over the engraved letters. "I thought I'd lost you back there in New York. But you managed to surprise me again. Now..." Phil paused. "...now look what's happened."
Phil looked out over the harbor, where freighters slipped in and out, ferrying their cargo out onto the Atlantic. "I can't do anything right," he lamented. "I start out trying to do the right thing, and somewhere along the line I screw it up. I started out rescuing that one kidnapped girl in New York, and somehow got around to killing fifteen gangsters and even those MAW agents. I ran from the cops and almost lost you. But I was given a second chance. I came here and felt like I really had a purpose. Sure, I helped some people. But then you came along, and when it really counted I couldn't save you.
"And I'm sure you saw what happened in New Orleans from up there. Yeah, Griss and I saved those two little girls. But I couldn't save their mother. And sure, we brought 'em back to Kit, but I have no idea what'll happen to him once everyone else finds out what he's been up to." Phil sighed. "I'll never get it right. Leslie? No chance of fixing things there. She ran off to find that Turner character, and I seriously doubt she's really interested in keeping in touch. So once again, I tried to get it right, and I blew it." Phil shook his head. "Maybe I just shouldn't try."
"What are you talkin' about, kid?"
Phil turned. "You again?"
The singer chuckled. "Yeah, nice to see you too. Now what's this nonsense I keep hearing about giving up?"
Phil rolled his eyes. "You came all the way down here to talk me out of giving up? Don't they have lounge gigs for you up there?"
Frank shook his head. "You've got a smart-ass reply for everything, don't ya?" The sky darkened for an instant, and there was a faint rumble of thunder. Frank looked up. "Pardon my French."
"So I suppose you have a logical explanation as to why everything's going wrong, and you're about to tell me it's all my fault."
"Actually," Sinatra replied, "it is your fault. You've got it all wrong. Don't you think the Boss put you on this island for a reason?"
Phil shrugged. "I figured it was to help people and do the whole hero thing."
Frank nodded. "Yeah... but not by yourself!"
Phil looked at him, puzzled.
"There's a bunch of folks on this island that are here for the same reason you are. Oh, I'm sure many would say that they had no choice in comin' here, and plenty would claim to be in it for the money. But deep down, they're all here to help people. And they try to do it in a team. That's where you went wrong, kid."
Phil frowned. "You think my best shot is with the team?"
Frank looked around. "Last I checked, kid, you didn't have very much in the way of a family. Those guys are the closest you'll get to one until you figure out who you are. But that's not the point. The reason I'm here is to keep you from throwin' in the towel. You've got some amazing talents that even you don't know about. You're in a position to do a lot of good, and the Boss doesn't want you to throw that away."
"But no matter what I do," Phil objected, "I always manage to hurt the people closest to me."
Sinatra threw up his hands. "What kind of excuse is that? Don't you think everyone in your position goes through the same thing? It's the cost of being a hero, Phil. You do your best to help people, you take your chances. A lot of stuff happens that you can't control, and a lot of it is bad. People close to you get hurt. But no matter how many times you swear you're gonna quit, you can never bring yourself to it. Because there's always that look of gratitude on the face of the person you've helped. There's always the bystanders, cheering you on. And there's always the fact that this is your life.
"You're a hero simply because it's all you know. And you can't just walk around with all those abilities and not use them for something. The choice you have is whether you're gonna use 'em to do what's right or to get what you can for yourself. And that second one pretty much always comes at the expense of somebody else."
"Seems like everything I've done came at the expense of Gabi," Phil said, indicating the grave overlooking the harbor.
Sinatra pulled something out of the pocket of his tuxedo jacket. It was the note Gabi had written Phil and left in her room. "Shut up and read this," Frank said.
Phil unfolded the paper and read carefully.
Phil,
If you get this, it probably means that something's happened, and I'm no longer there with you. I'm sure that you will feel responsible in some way for whatever's happened to me. It's just the way you are. But let me remind you that you left me back in New York with no way of knowing I wasn't dead. You didn't make me come all the way here, and you didn't make me reveal who I really am. I did it all because I love you.
You are the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, and no matter who I have to run from, what I have to fight, where I have to go, or even what it was that ultimately took my life, I have never regretted my choice for an instant, and I never will. So don't blame yourself, no matter what's happened.
And don't be afraid to move on without me. No matter where you go, I'll still be with you, watching from wherever I am now. And I'll be inside you, in your head and in your heart. I love you more than anything.
Love always,
Gabi
P.S.: You might want to give that Leslie girl another chance. Her ass is almost as great as mine!
Phil wiped his eyes absently, then remembered that Frank was still standing there.
"You think she had no choice in the whole thing?" Sinatra asked incredulously. "Now I know you knew her better than that, kid. That woman left everything behind to help you in New York. She could've just left you to die in that river, but she risked her life to save yours. Then she followed you all the way here, when you didn't even know she was still alive! And she came to that building for one reason, and one reason only -- to save you. Now, I've run into a lot of great girls, but I can count on one hand the ones who were as incredible as your Gabi. She loved you more than anything, and to say that you dragged her into all this not only ignores that completely but makes you seem quite a bit more important than you are. I know neither of those are the real you."
Phil nodded. "You're right. But what do I do now?"
"Well," the singer replied, "now you better figure out how to give this team of yours another try. I know for a fact that some pretty tough stuff is comin' your way, and they could use somebody with your skills. And you could use a family. But don't take it from me. Go see for yourself."
Phil smiled. "I will. And Frank?"
"Yeah, kid?" Frank began to fade from existence.
"Thanks again."
The singer grinned. "Anytime. I'll be around if you need me."
Phil turned and headed back down the hill to one of the MBL cars. He slowly drove away from Gabi Riviera's final resting place and headed for the new headquarters.
The team would probably be needing him pretty soon.