Kylian and Brett: An Urban Fantasy

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

As he walked down Daumier toward Rampart, Brett checked every doorway and accessible courtyard for homeless kids, or adults. He even went down the narrow walk-ways between the buildings to see in any of them might have crashed behind them. He found a couple of guys, but neither of them recognized the kid. Not too surprising, Brett figured, given the size of the homeless population in the city, despite the mayor’s efforts to change that.

When he got to Rampart, he had an idea and immediately called Kylian.

“I’m right across from Louis Armstrong Park. I’m going to check it out.”

“All right. I hadn’t thought about that,” Kylian replied. “Hang on and I’ll join you.” He did, moments later.

The park was dark except for the occasional streetlamp. Not too surprisingly, more than one street person had taken advantage of that to find a place to sleep for the night. They talked with everyone they found. Most had no idea who the kid was. A couple did, but claimed they hadn’t seen him recently. When Brett probed their minds—and he was certain Kylian was doing the same—he learned they were telling the truth.

They were about to leave the park when Brett spotted a guy under a loading dock for one of the park’s buildings. He hunkered down, cautiously shaking the guy’s shoulder. That was met by a gasp of surprise before what turned out to be a teen of maybe sixteen scrambling deeper under the dock.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Brett said softly. “I just want to know if you’ve seen this young man.” He held out the sketch, even though he knew the teen couldn’t see it.

“Why are you looking for him?” came the barely audible reply.

“He’s my nephew. He ran away from…Okay maybe I shouldn’t say this, because she’s my sister, but she has a boyfriend who is very abusive to her and her son.”

“Uh-huh. Not sure I believe you, and if I knew where he was, for sure I wouldn’t tell you.”

“I can understand that. Still, if you’d look at the picture.”

The kid crawled forward. Not close enough for Brett to grab him, but to the point where he could see the picture. “Nope. Don’t know him,” the kid said. His thoughts gave a different story. Brett picked up on a name, Jamie, and a place down by the river. If that’s his normal squat, we might be in luck.

“Thanks for at least looking,” Brett said, standing up. He dug a couple of dollars from his pocket, dropping them on the ground. Then he went to find Kylian who, last seen, had been checking around the Jackson Theater. He found him there, looking frustrated. Kylian’s face lit up when Brett told him what he’d learned.