FBI: Chapter 203/204

Chapter 203: That Afternoon

The next day, in Smallville.

Outside Kent Farm.

John straightened his collar, temporarily shedding the downtrodden air he had acquired from years of struggling in the city.

Then he and Teddy walked into the farm.

Kent Farm was not as spacious as his own farm. In fact, it looked a bit cluttered.

Various farm machines were parked everywhere.

This was the biggest difference between actively managing and letting things rot.

"Honestly, can the two of us really handle a farm?" Teddy walked beside John with a hint of exasperation. "One of us is a mechanic, and the other is a street bum. No matter how you look at it, we don't seem suited for the job."

"What else can we do? We can't go back to places like Washington or New York." John shrugged. "You're even unluckier. If the FBI finds you, they'll arrest you and throw you in jail."

"So what if I go to jail? I've been to jail more times since I was a kid than you've wet the bed!"

"…And then, officially sent to jail, but actually transported by the American Government to some research Base." John suddenly lowered his voice. "Then they'll slice and study you, or slice and taste you to see if you're salty or bland. When they discover you're just a Teddy Bear made of cotton, they'll get angry and throw you into the waste shredder…"

Teddy's look of doubt slowly turned into a stare that said, "You're f*cking crazy."

"You watched a few B-movies about scientific anomalies and now you're trying to scare me with that trashy plot."

"Tsk, why aren't you easy to fool anymore?"

"Because before, I was just humoring you, you big baby." Teddy rolled his eyes. "My maturity is beyond your imagination."

"Beyond imagination, like needing to sleep with me whenever there's thunder, and needing me to sing?"

"I suggest you find some shame," Teddy said, utterly contemptuous of John's casual denial. "You're clearly just as afraid of thunder and need songs to bolster your courage."

"Stop. If this conversation continues, it will be impolite."

John's mouth twitched, cutting off Teddy's impending barrage of curses and complaints.

It wasn't that he was scared.

But Jonathan Kent, his nominal neighbor and de facto adoptive father, had just walked out of a warehouse on Kent Farm.

"John? You're here?" Jonathan walked up and patted his shoulders twice. "That's great, much stronger than the skinny little guy you were as a child."

"No matter what, I'm a mechanic about to hit middle age now. I can't still be as scrawny as a high school kid, can I?"

"Hm? You're a mechanic now?" Jonathan's interest was piqued immediately. "Come on, our small tractor just broke down. I just spent a lot of effort getting it back into the warehouse."

John was taken aback, then nodded.

Compared to the detachment and formality of the big city, he preferred his adoptive father's straightforward familiarity.

"Okay, Teddy and I will take a look now." John grabbed Teddy, who was trying to sneak away. "Is the tractor still in the usual spot?"

"That's right, still in the westernmost warehouse, and all the repair tools are in the storage cabinet there."

"I'll say this first, I'm not doing this for free. I want two helpings of Martha's honey-glazed roasted potatoes tonight."

"Hahaha, no problem. I'll make ten portions for you and Teddy if you want."

"Damn it, Jonathan, why did you just assume I'm going with John to fix the tractor?" Teddy slapped John's hand away. "What am I, a Teddy Bear who knows nothing, going to do? Cheer John on? He's not going on a date with a Jewish girl and bringing glory to the country."

"Then do you want to go to the kitchen and help Martha?"

Jonathan looked at Teddy with a half-smile.

Teddy opened his mouth but did not dare continue.

Oh, right. How could he forget Martha's specialty, blowing up the kitchen with anything she cooks, except for honey-glazed roasted potatoes.

"Ahem. I misspoke a page ago. Let me rephrase." Teddy cleared his throat, enunciating carefully. "Ah, Jonathan, I truly love fixing tractors. Thank you for saving my life."

Jonathan looked at the mischievous Teddy and gave a wry smile.

In his family concept, he had three sons.

One was an extraterrestrial, omnipotent, with righteousness that bordered on the extreme.

One was a timid mechanic, but with unshakable inner principles.

And the last son was special.

A Teddy Bear a bit lacking in integrity and bottom line, full of curses and vices, but with a heart that stayed kind.

As parents, generally speaking, they favored the youngest child the most.

"Alright, Teddy, if you don't want to go, then let John work alone." Jonathan shrugged. "I need you to help get Martha out of the kitchen and keep her from going back. Otherwise, aside from the honey-glazed roasted potatoes, we won't be able to eat anything tonight."

Teddy's mouth twitched. "Uh, can I refuse?"

Jonathan didn't argue. He deftly grabbed Teddy by the scruff, like picking up a kitten.

"Alright, John, get to work. I need to go help with dinner."

With that, he headed toward the house.

John held back a laugh and waved at Teddy, then saw Teddy's small, fingerless paw make a gesture at him.

Others might not know what it meant.

But John knew. It was the same as the internationally recognized polite gesture among humans.

Flipping the bird.

After laughing, John didn't stop and headed straight for the western warehouse.

Reaching the door, he paused in a brief reverie.

This used to be his, Teddy's, and Clark's secret Base.

It was also where John and Teddy first discovered Clark's differences.

To be precise, they were the first two people in the entire World to discover the Kryptonian physique.

At that time, Teddy, that troublemaker, used a wooden stick with two pedals to drive the tractor, but he slipped and it flipped.

It came crashing straight toward John.

In that instant, John even forgot to run.

Instead, one thought crossed his mind.

If Teddy, that troublemaker, survived, he would hang him on the barn door to sunbathe for 180 days.

But the expected pain never arrived.

Clark, protecting John, instinctively stepped forward.

A child, not even four feet tall, caught a 1.5-ton tractor.

To this day, John cannot forget that afternoon.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 204: I Also Need to Fly a Few Times to Calm Down

Repairing an old tractor was honestly a bit too simple for John, a seasoned mechanic.

But this kind of work, the feeling of communicating and merging with machinery, made it impossible to put down.

He had even found a beat-up red and blue pickup in the countryside with Teddy, and when they couldn't find the driver, he got the itch to see what was wrong with it...

As a result, he poked around, and a heavily injured Optimus Prime popped out.

Then...

He and Teddy were surrounded by Autobots.

And on impulse, John brought them back to his family's barn.

To be honest, he felt he had been influenced by his adopted brother, Clark.

This kind of meddling when seeing injustice had always been Clark's personality, not his.

"Phew, all done."

John wiped off some sweat, sat on the tractor, and started it.

"Clatter, clatter, putt-putt-putt-putt-putt..."

"Perfect."

Watching the tractor go from completely broken to roaring back to life, even if it was just a simple repair, John was very happy.

He was the kind of person who genuinely loved his work.

He put the wrench back in the storage cabinet, covered the tractor with a tarp, then stretched and walked out of the warehouse door.

Even though he had only been busy for a short while, it was already evening when he and Teddy had arrived.

It was normal for the sky to go from a red sunset to a crescent moon within a few minutes.

It really did get dark all of a sudden.

There were only a few dim lights on the farm, barely enough to see the path home.

John had grown up on Kent Farm, and he was more familiar with it than his own farm.

He could walk back with his eyes closed.

He returned home with ease, pushed open the door, and passed the entryway.

Then he saw Martha and Teddy laughing heartily at the TV.

"Hahaha, this is too funny."

Teddy pointed at Chris Rock on the screen, who looked bewildered but kept an instinctive smile, and the whole bear was practically rolling.

"If I had known Will Smith would throw that punch, I would have found a way to sneak into the Oscars. Even if it meant being a mistress to those Hollywood pedophiles, I would have gritted my teeth and endured it."

"Hey, Teddy, watch your mouth." Martha poked his cotton head, pretending to be angry. "No filthy talk at home."

If anyone else had spoken to Teddy like that, this trash-talking bear would have fired back with even more vulgar and violent lines.

But only with Martha did Teddy behave like an obedient good boy.

This was Teddy's survival rule.

He could anger anyone, except his mother.

Martha also noticed John walking into the living room.

"John, come sit and rest a bit." She looked at her adopted son, who only came home a few times a year, with some heartache. "Jonathan is too much. How can he make his own son work as soon as he's home? Aren't his arms and legs still working?"

"Martha, you know I've liked this stuff since I was a kid." John shrugged. "For me, this isn't work. It's entertainment."

"How did you spend so many years in the big city and turn yourself into a reclusive old man?"

As Martha spoke, her eyes started to redden.

For years, John had a habit of only reporting good news.

But his adoptive mother could see through the hermit shell in one glance.

He didn't want to unpack himself right now, so he chose to change the subject.

"Speaking of Clark, even if he drove from Metropolis, he should be back by now, right?"

"Oh, about Clark." Martha wiped her eyes. "He just called and said he's almost here. Besides his girlfriend, he's also bringing a few mutual friends to stay for a few days."

She pointed toward the kitchen. "So Jonathan went to make a few more dishes."

John was curious.

Although Clark was approachable, bringing out-of-town friends to the farm was a first.

Still, John never doubted Clark's judgment in friends.

His mind was upright and kind, and as a Kryptonian with super hearing, no matter how much he restrained himself, he could hear his friends clearly.

If someone acted one way to his face and another behind his back, Clark would never keep them close.

John's only concern was...

There didn't seem to be enough tables and chairs at home.

"Martha, Teddy and I will head back and bring over some tables and chairs."

"Right, we don't have enough. Go ahead."

John smiled and nodded, then called Teddy and headed back to his own farm.

While gossiping with Teddy about how dramatic this year's Oscars were, he loaded all the tables and chairs onto the old pickup and drove them to Kent Farm.

"Hey, what a coincidence."

After Teddy hopped off the truck, he pointed to the west side of the house, where several expensive-looking cars were parked.

"Looks like while we were moving furniture, Clark and his friends arrived."

So the man and the bear unloaded the tables and chairs at the entrance, planning to move them inside in batches.

Just then, the door opened from the inside.

"Oh, John, Teddy, need a hand?"

"Oh, why would we need a Boy Scout's help? We each have four hands..." Teddy rolled his eyes at Clark. "Nonsense, of course we need help."

Clark didn't hesitate. He smiled, picked up a table with a few chairs on top, and walked in first.

John took the remaining chairs.

What about Teddy?

He wasn't even as heavy as a chair.

As a guy with no cattle, providing emotional value was enough.

As John passed the living room with the chairs, he heard Clark's friends chatting energetically with Martha, men and women crowding the space.

He only had time to glance and saw a black-haired man with his back to him.

The voice, though, sounded familiar.

Very recent, too.

The thought was cut off by Clark.

"John, come on, let me introduce you to my friends."

John put down the chairs and nodded.

Forget it. There are too many similar voices in the world. Maybe he heard someone on TV and felt déjà vu.

Following behind Clark, John walked into the living room.

As soon as he entered, he saw Teddy already sitting next to Martha, frantically winking at him.

John was confused for a moment.

Even with his telepathic sync with Teddy, he could not read that plush face.

He only knew one thing. The bear was so anxious he was about to explode.

Based on experience, Teddy needed to smoke a little to calm down.

"Everyone, this is my adopted brother, John." Clark introduced. "John, these are all my good friends."

The man who had his back turned turned around at the sound and looked at John with a kind, gentle smile.

John instantly knew why Teddy had that expression.

Isn't that Dante, the FBI Agent who caught Teddy?

John took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

He felt he also needed to smoke a little to clear his head.

(To be continued.)