because he had a quirky fixation
on the number 3! He had to have three of everything! Three identical pieces of
wire, three stoves, three windows, three light-bulbs hanging from his ceiling
... With three screwdrivers always in his back pocket, he would circle the
building three times on his raft before entering it…. His apartment was on what
was now considered the thirty-third floor… and, of course, three doors to the
left of the elevator shaft. Yes, Mr. Kowalski was a strange man indeed…. But he
was also a very nice man. A decent and kind man, Flynn thought, and he liked him
a lot… and his amazing tool belt! As far as Flynn was concerned, Mr. Kowalski
owned the coolest tool belt on the Lower Side ... if not on the whole
Archipelago.
“Flynn!” Alan
Perry said, folding his arms across his chest. “What time do you call this?”
“Dad...”
“You should've
been home hours ago, young man!”
“Traffic was bad
... there was an accident...”
“No, no! Don't
give me any of that stuck-in-traffic stuff! I've heard it all before.” Flynn's
father had now gone red in the face. “That's it… No diving tomorrow! You're
coming with me to the Watch Tower!”
“Go easy on him,
Alan!” Mr. Kowalski said softly. “You were young once, too. He's a good lad!”
“I know Walter,”
Alan Perry said. “But ... I come back from my shift… the stove wire blows up…
Flynn’s nowhere to be found! If it wasn't for Mr. Kowalski, we might’ve had a
fire on our hands.”
Flynn shuddered at
the thought...It brought memories of not so long ago when a fire had ripped
through one of the towers across from their building. It had burned down in
minutes. Flynn still remembered the faces of the terrified occupants, their
clothes ablaze, leaping out of windows and falling in the water below. No one
had survived.
“Ah, but we fixed the
problem, didn't we, Alan!” Mr. Kowalski grinned and waved the copper wire disk.
“All we need now ...,” he said as he leaned over the kitchen counter, his
fingers dancing around the stove and doing their magic, “...is to connect this
wire… then tie a few loose ends, and ... there you are! You’ve got yourself a new
stove!”
“I don't know how
to repay you for this Walter…”
“Oh, no worries,
Alan. You owe me nothing.” Mr. Kowalski started to gather his tools. “I know
it's hard to find copper down here… Like everything else, it all goes to the
Upper Side … and nowadays, it's never enough even there!”
“Are you serious?”
Flynn's father cocked an eyebrow. “Shortages on the Upper Side? I've heard
rumors, but...”
“It's the truth,
Alan! Things don’t look good!” Mr. Kowalski sighed, lowering his voice. “The
Scavenger Crews are bringing up less and less copper… we'll run out sooner,
rather than later… I've been saying this for a few years now, but Van Zandt
doesn't want to hear any bad news...”
“Hey, I can find
you wire!” said Flynn. “No sweat!”
They both looked
at him.
“There must be
tons of it down in the Subway system,” Flynn told them. “Next time I go there,
I can ...”
“You’ll do no such
thing, young man!” Alan Perry's firm voice cut him off. “That's way too deep of
a dive! Even the best Free Scavs haven’t tried to go down there! And for a very
good reason, too.”
“But...” Flynn
tried to argue, “I’ve already been there…”
“Your dad’s right,
Flynn.” Mr. Kowalski patted him on the shoulder. “It's good to be brave, but
being reckless is another thing.”
Alan Perry nodded
his head in agreement.
“We just have to
find other solutions,” said Mr. Kowalski solemnly, “otherwise, this place is
doomed!”
Alan Perry gave
his son a hard stare then turned back to Mr. Kowalski. “Well, at least stay and
have dinner with us, won’t you?”
“Perhaps another
time, Alan,” said Mr. Kowalski. “I've cooked myself a nice little stew of red
peppers tonight. I was fixing the wires at one of the rooftop
on the number 3! He had to have three of everything! Three identical pieces of
wire, three stoves, three windows, three light-bulbs hanging from his ceiling
... With three screwdrivers always in his back pocket, he would circle the
building three times on his raft before entering it…. His apartment was on what
was now considered the thirty-third floor… and, of course, three doors to the
left of the elevator shaft. Yes, Mr. Kowalski was a strange man indeed…. But he
was also a very nice man. A decent and kind man, Flynn thought, and he liked him
a lot… and his amazing tool belt! As far as Flynn was concerned, Mr. Kowalski
owned the coolest tool belt on the Lower Side ... if not on the whole
Archipelago.
“Flynn!” Alan
Perry said, folding his arms across his chest. “What time do you call this?”
“Dad...”
“You should've
been home hours ago, young man!”
“Traffic was bad
... there was an accident...”
“No, no! Don't
give me any of that stuck-in-traffic stuff! I've heard it all before.” Flynn's
father had now gone red in the face. “That's it… No diving tomorrow! You're
coming with me to the Watch Tower!”
“Go easy on him,
Alan!” Mr. Kowalski said softly. “You were young once, too. He's a good lad!”
“I know Walter,”
Alan Perry said. “But ... I come back from my shift… the stove wire blows up…
Flynn’s nowhere to be found! If it wasn't for Mr. Kowalski, we might’ve had a
fire on our hands.”
Flynn shuddered at
the thought...It brought memories of not so long ago when a fire had ripped
through one of the towers across from their building. It had burned down in
minutes. Flynn still remembered the faces of the terrified occupants, their
clothes ablaze, leaping out of windows and falling in the water below. No one
had survived.
“Ah, but we fixed the
problem, didn't we, Alan!” Mr. Kowalski grinned and waved the copper wire disk.
“All we need now ...,” he said as he leaned over the kitchen counter, his
fingers dancing around the stove and doing their magic, “...is to connect this
wire… then tie a few loose ends, and ... there you are! You’ve got yourself a new
stove!”
“I don't know how
to repay you for this Walter…”
“Oh, no worries,
Alan. You owe me nothing.” Mr. Kowalski started to gather his tools. “I know
it's hard to find copper down here… Like everything else, it all goes to the
Upper Side … and nowadays, it's never enough even there!”
“Are you serious?”
Flynn's father cocked an eyebrow. “Shortages on the Upper Side? I've heard
rumors, but...”
“It's the truth,
Alan! Things don’t look good!” Mr. Kowalski sighed, lowering his voice. “The
Scavenger Crews are bringing up less and less copper… we'll run out sooner,
rather than later… I've been saying this for a few years now, but Van Zandt
doesn't want to hear any bad news...”
“Hey, I can find
you wire!” said Flynn. “No sweat!”
They both looked
at him.
“There must be
tons of it down in the Subway system,” Flynn told them. “Next time I go there,
I can ...”
“You’ll do no such
thing, young man!” Alan Perry's firm voice cut him off. “That's way too deep of
a dive! Even the best Free Scavs haven’t tried to go down there! And for a very
good reason, too.”
“But...” Flynn
tried to argue, “I’ve already been there…”
“Your dad’s right,
Flynn.” Mr. Kowalski patted him on the shoulder. “It's good to be brave, but
being reckless is another thing.”
Alan Perry nodded
his head in agreement.
“We just have to
find other solutions,” said Mr. Kowalski solemnly, “otherwise, this place is
doomed!”
Alan Perry gave
his son a hard stare then turned back to Mr. Kowalski. “Well, at least stay and
have dinner with us, won’t you?”
“Perhaps another
time, Alan,” said Mr. Kowalski. “I've cooked myself a nice little stew of red
peppers tonight. I was fixing the wires at one of the rooftop
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