Fireball Read Online Free

because my dad’s got this enormous respect for the law. He’s a lawyer, after all. I know what most people think about that. They think it means we’re rich, and that my dad’s an asshole. But here’s what they don’t understand. He’s not a typical lawyer. To be a typical lawyer you need to join a firm and work in a giant skyscraper downtown, on the top floor so your clients have to climb about thirty flights of stairs to reach your office. And then, when they finally make it up there, you charge them a grand just for saying hello. But my dad couldn’t do that. He tried it and he hated it. He hated all the other lawyers in the firm, too. So he rented an office above a bakery and started a private practice way the hell out in Ladner, where he does commercial work and land claims for the Natives. He cuts his clients pretty sweet deals, and in exchange they give him tons of smoked cod and sockeye salmon. I’m not complaining – it’s great salmon. But basically, my dad isn’t an asshole. He can act like a bit of an asshole sometimes, but that’s different from being one. And we’re not rich. I mean, we get by. I can’t deny that. But we’re not rich like people in West Van are rich, or like Julian’s family is rich. Jules is crazy rich. His dad’s a sports agent and his mom’s into some kind of pyramid scheme and every time I turn around they’ve got a new car – a Porsche or a Beamer or a Lexus. It’s like they’re planning on starting an auto mall in their garage.

    Occasionally, my dad’s obsession with the law can be a pain – like when he made me turn myself in. I understand now, of course. Doing that was probably the only thing that saved me from going to jail, or juvie, or whatever. I mean, Bates knew us both. We’d been arrested together earlier that week. It was only a matter of time before they came looking for me. When it happened, though, I felt like my dad was selling me out. He’d turned me over to the enemy.
    â€˜Officer Bates claims you attacked him together.’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜Did you hit Officer Bates?’
    I shook my head.
    Two cops took me into this room with metal chairs and a metal desk, and kept me there. Totally alone. My dad warned me ahead of time about what to expect, but all their questions still caught me off guard. I felt like Alice when she comes face to face with those two fat guys. You know – the ones in the bow ties and beanie hats. Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
    â€˜Are you saying Officer Bates is lying?’
    â€˜Is that what you’re saying?’
    I can’t pretend I wasn’t scared. The two of them stood on either side of my chair, looming over me. I kept my arms crossed and my head down. It was obvious how much they hated me. I couldn’t stop shaking – as if I’d suddenly come down with hypothermia.
    â€˜I… didn’t… hit him.’
    â€˜Don’t bullshit us, bud.’
    I gritted my teeth. Their faces blurred in front of me, and I had to sort of wipe at my eyes to keep from crying. I tried to think of what Chris would do. He wouldn’t let these cops push him around. Fuck that. He’d stare them down and tell it to them straight up.
    â€˜Bates made a grab for Chris,’ I said. ‘Chris hit him. He kept hitting him and Bates went down. That’s what happened. I don’t care if you believe me or not.’
    It would have been awesome, but my voice cracked a little when I said, ‘or not’. Still, those cops were surprised. They drew back, blinking like I’d shined a flashlight in their eyes. Up until then they’d been putting words in my mouth, coaxing my story out of me – like they did with Karen and Julian. Now I knew how to handle them. After that, I stuck to my story.
    They can only push you around if you don’t push back.

    6

    The cop stood there, shouting to us from