Work Text
Elwood was aware they were racing against the clock. The police, the FBI, and even scarier, Sister — Mother Mary were all on their tails as they barreled down the interstate. At this point, it was already quite late in the night and he could tell Buster was fighting sleep. He noticed as the kid chatted, his words were getting slower and quieter, and his pauses between sentences kept getting longer. Then, silence filled the ‘90 Crown Victoria. He wanted to turn the radio on, but not if Buster was asleep. Elwood wanted to let him get some rest. It had been such a busy week, and the kid had just put all of his heart into their performance at Queen Mousette’s. Just let him get a little sleep now. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, their biggest yet, and they would have to get there before closing, which would probably be about 5:00. Elwood pushed down on the gas pedal, urging the Bluesmobile onward. “C’mon, girl, you can do it!” He was pleased to see the speedometer going up, up, up, now at a comfortable 100 miles per hour. He looked in the rearview mirror and breathed a sigh of relief. The distance between the Bluesmobile and the cop cars was a little bit wider now. He drove through the dark night, following the expressway north. Buster snored quietly, slumped in the seat next to him. He was clinging to his kid-sized suit jacket like it was a blanket. Elwood smiled to himself. He had no clue how exactly he had gotten himself into this predicament, but that was just how life had always seemed to go for him. But things were looking a little more hopeful now. He had gotten his band back together and they were still just as tight as they were eighteen years ago. He met his long lost stepbrother he didn’t even know existed just last week. He met a guy who bonded with him instantly, and he even took to that guy pretty quick himself! A rarity for this lifelong introvert! And then, there was Buster. When he had met Buster, he was instantly annoyed by the little wise ass he was assigned to mentor. However, over the week, something within him changed. He recognized so much of his younger self in the kid: an orphan watched over by the ruthless nuns, a kid who just stuck to himself, didn’t really fit in anywhere. The only thing was, at least Elwood had Jake when they were growing up. He always fit in with him. And, of course, Curtis, who gave them the music. But Buster never had nobody. No wonder he was always trying so hard to be tough. Without Jake, that was who Elwood felt he was, too. Just somebody who had nobody. But thanks to his newfound little family, he felt comfortable enough to let those protective walls come down. He could tell that had happened for Buster, too, and he noticed the kid’s personality start coming through as they had spent that time together. He was actually a really sharp kid, very observant of the world, always curious and eager to learn. He was a fast learner, picking up the harmonica far quicker than Elwood ever did. He had developed a real soft spot for the kid. And since the law enforcement community had all zeroed in on him for kidnapping Buster, he had to come up with a plan, a really, really quick plan. Or else, like the kid had said, Elwood would be arrested and sent to prison, and Buster would get sent to live in a foster home without people who loved him, and they really would be sad forever. Because it was true. As unlikely as it was, this forty something recidivist and this kid had become a little family, complete with his partner Mack and stepbrother Cab. So, that was how Elwood had concocted this plan on the fly like this. It came to him while they were driving through somewhere through Tennessee? Missouri? The state borders had blended together. But it came to him on the drive, so he didn’t get the chance to even let Mack and Cab know what he was doing. But once everything was taken care of, he’d tell them as soon as he could, as well as all the guys in the band. He knew everyone would want to celebrate this momentous occasion. He smiled again as he thought about his newfound family and what the future might hold for him. The pain of losing Jake would never fully go away, and he would always keep the memory of his brother with him. He swore he could feel Jake looking down at him just now, both happy and proud that his younger brother was continuing their musical legacy, and that he was opening his heart up like this. Elwood had to blink back the sting of tears welling up in his eyes. A snort next to him interrupted his thoughts. Buster stirred and yawned. “What, we’re still driving?” “Yap.” “Hmm, I’m hungry.” Elwood thought about it. Sure, there were plenty of times he and Jake could just drive on for hours at a time, no need for stops. But now he had a kid in tow, and he was quickly learning that kids sometimes just randomly got hungry or thirsty at all hours of the day and night. “Check the glove compartment, we might have a little bit of that Wonder bread left in there.” “Aw man, I don’t want any stupid Wonder bread!” Buster whined. “Hey, don’t you insult the fine American delicacy that is enriched white wheat flour products!” Buster grumbled as he rifled through the glove compartment. “Did you find it?” “No, it’s all gone,” Buster answered. “Well, okay, here.” He reached inside of his jacket pocket and pulled out a couple of pieces. “Snacks to go, voila!” “Ew, gross! I don’t want your sweaty old man bread!” “Don’t be rude, kid. Besides, it’s perfectly fine. See?” He took a bite of it. “Oh, you beautiful, wholesome white bread, whatever did humanity do to deserve you?” He munched the rest of the piece. “I’m gonna puke!” “Okay, well, that takes care of your appetite, then. Problem solved.” Buster whined. “No, I’m hungry. And thirsty. Can’t we stop at like, a 7-eleven like normal people?” Elwood thought it over. He did want to make sure that Buster’s needs were met. But shit! The cops were still there behind them. He was going to have to make sure to do this carefully. “Hold on tight, kid.” He turned off the headlights and drove another couple minutes, then just like after their stop in Indiana on their way down, he whipped the Bluesmobile deftly off the expressway and into the bushes. He and Buster sat in silence, watching the parade of cop cars going by in front of them. Once the coast was clear, Elwood drove through the grassy area to the southbound side of I-55 to the nearest exit. “I’m sure we’ll find a gas station here.” Sure enough, one such establishment was located right at the foot of the exit ramp. Luckily, it even had a blinking fluorescent sign in front of it advertising its 24 hour status. Elwood pulled into a parking spot around the side and reached into the back. “Come on, let’s go! What are you doing, old man?” “Patience, Buster, patience. With all these police around and looking for us, we gotta play this right. Don’t want nobody getting suspicious.” He pulled the bags to the front of the car. “Wait, our disguise outfits?” “Yap. We’re just a father and son out on a road trip.” They strolled into the shop, Buster looking down, clearly uncomfortable in the patterned clothes and white boots. Elwood practically strutted through the doors in his outfit. A bored looking worker sat behind the cash register, playing a GameBoy. Buster made a beeline to the snack aisle, filling his arms with all the chips and Twinkies he could. Elwood noticed the dude working there was not paying an ounce of attention, and as Buster read off the flavors of Pringles, Elwood slipped a few bottles of beer into his black briefcase. It still came in handy all these years later, and nobody ever noticed a single thing. Elwood took a look at all the junk food Buster was holding. “Okay, fine, you can get some snacks, but on one condition.” “Ugh, what?” Elwood held out an apple he had found at the meager looking display of produce. “You also gotta eat something that’s good for you. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Buster rolled his eyes. “Man, that’s stupid!” “Alright, say goodbye to the Bugles, then. And the Pop Tarts.” He grabbed the packages and set them back on the shelf. Buster frowned then snatched the apple out of Elwood’s hand. “Okay, okay, I’ll eat the fucking apple.” “Language, kid. But fair enough. A deal’s a deal.” He picked up the snacks and they went to pay for them and a gas top-off, then headed back on the road. Buster crunched and slurped noisily next to him. If he hadn’t been there, Elwood would have popped open some beer, but he didn’t want to drink and drive in front of the kid. He wanted to set a good example, so instead, he drank some ginger ale. “Yo, old man, I picked up some Doritos for you.” “The pizza ones?” “Duh!” He passed him the open bag. Buster’s nickname for him might have annoyed Elwood, but the fact that the kid picked up the snack he had enjoyed so much the other day tugged on his heart. Yap, this was a crazy decision he had just made, but it was the right one. They really had all become a family. Now it would be official. And maybe, just maybe, get the cops off their asses at the same time. As he drove north, he stuffed his face with Doritos and with the help of their carbonated drinks, had a rousing burping contest with Buster, who insisted he won. They munched on their snacks and jammed out to the different radio stations that the Bluesmobile picked up on their drive. Since Buster had polished off copious amounts of Dr. Pepper, he was wide awake now, and sang along with Elwood, adding air guitar and drum solos as he saw fit. Once they made their way well into Illinois, Elwood knew he would have to be smart. If he continued on the expressway, the cops would surely be waiting for him, so he would have to get into Chicago another way. As they drove down winding country roads, Buster started to nod off again, so Elwood turned off the radio to let him sleep. It wasn’t going to be easy to make it to Daley Plaza on time, but he had done it before. Miraculously, he was having no problems driving through Chicago proper. Elwood fully believed in the truth that the Lord works in mysterious ways. He had no doubts about that, especially when one’s older brother was doing some heavenly tag-teaming with him, which was probably why they had been breezing through the city so easily. However, once they passed into the downtown area, he heard sirens before he even saw a single cop car. Buster woke up and groaned groggily. “This is almost as bad as the wake up call at the hospital.” “Can’t be as bad as the one at the orphanage.” The sound of the sirens followed them, the lights of the cop cars flashing all around. Buster was sitting up and watching outside the window. “Look, they got a Dunkin Donuts!” “Yap. Oh, and there’s Luke’s.” Elwood pointed to the restaurant. “Ooh, I want some Italian beef, can we get some, old man?” “Sure, when we’re done. But first, we got our mission to do.” Elwood gunned the gas as police cars trailed hot on their tail, following right behind them, even coming down side streets. A couple of them drove out right in front of the Bluesmobile, but he hit the gas hard enough that he was able to get some air to glide right over them. Careening through Daley Plaza, he honked at the people milling around. Once more, the Bluesmobile smashed through the building. He maneuvered her onto the sidewalk, and jumped out, pulling Buster and his briefcase with him. And not a moment too soon. As they turned around, he was gutted to see his beloved car fall apart in front of his very eyes once more. But this time, there was no Jake to remind him to keep going. He had to do that himself, making sure that he and Buster got inside before the police got to them first. Turning to Buster, he grabbed the kid up as easily as if he was a football and booked it into the Daley building. A guard sat behind a counter near the entrance. “Sir.” Elwood set Buster down then tipped his hat to the guard. “Would Kathy Epstein happen to still be working at these premises?” “The Honorable Kathy Epstein? Why yes, indeed. She’s up on the seventeenth floor with all the other judges, room 1705.” “Thanks, sir.” Elwood gave a single nod to the guard then picked Buster back up and ran for the bank of elevators. Buster fussed to let him push the buttons, and Elwood made sure that the only ones he pushed were the “door open” and the “17” buttons. Once they started moving up, he set Buster down. As they rode the elevator, a tinny rendition of “Girl From Ipanema” emitted from the speaker. “Wow, the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Buster said something, but Elwood was too lost in thought right now to register what that was. He was busy thinking about the last time he was riding this elevator, and what he was about to do now. It was a big ask, but he knew if there was going to be anyone who could help him with this, it was Kathy. She was always super smart, and now she was a judge, hot damn! Once the elevator doors opened on the seventeenth floor, Elwood asked Buster to hold the door as he whipped out some supplies from his briefcase. He opened up the car operating panel and with a flick of the wrist, held up his lighter to the mechanics inside. The flame and resulting pop sent Buster jumping back with a yelp. “Yap, still got it.” Elwood admired his handiwork, then lifted Buster and ran down the hall. “Okay kid, keep your eyes open for — Buster lifted a small finger toward a door. “1705! There it is!” Knowing the police couldn’t be too far away, Elwood did not want to waste even a second setting Buster down, so he burst through the door, the kid tucked under his arm and his briefcase in his other hand. A bewildered looking young man nearly fell out of his chair behind a desk in the quiet front office space. “Hello, how may — “Kathy Epstein, I need to see Kathy Epstein!” “Just a moment I’ll — Still held up by Elwood, Buster yelled too, “now! He means now!” “No time to waste, see ya real soon, pal!” Elwood called to the young man who was now following him, rambling on about schedules and things. Elwood ran down the hallway, past an empty conference room and noticed the sounds of Sam and Dave coming out of an office room. He peeked inside and set Buster down. She was focused on the computer and bobbing along to the song, and although she now wore reading glasses and had a couple of gray hairs coming in, Elwood recognized her immediately. “Kathy!” He yelled out, smiling. Startled, she knocked over a stack of papers, but once she looked up, she stopped messing with them and smiled warmly at him. “Oh my God, Elwood! It’s so good to see you!” He passed his briefcase on to Buster and held his arms open wide. “How ‘bout a hug?” She jogged around the desk and they embraced. He wished they didn’t have to rush, it was so nice hugging his old friend again. “Wow, has it been a long time!” Kathy exclaimed. “Well, ya see, I was kinda busy for a bit there.” “I know, I’m so sorry you were in for so long. I wanted so badly to help you out then, but with everything with law school and all, and I wasn’t able to practice yet.” He waved his hand. “S’all good, Kath, the way you helped me back in the day, was grateful then, still grateful now.” She hugged him again. “I’m sorry I never visited you. Once you got transferred out of Joliet, nobody would tell me where you were sent. I’ve missed you.” “I missed you, too. But now I’m in a bit of a jam.” She pulled back from their hug. “Dude, what happened?” A loud crash made them both look over at the sound. Buster scrambled for the things that had fallen out of the briefcase. “What happened, kid?” Elwood asked. “Hey, this thing’s heavy, old man,” Buster whined. Kathy asked excitedly, “aw, do you have a son, Elwood? Hey, wait a minute, how the hell did you manage that?” “I’m his associate, Buster.” He stood up, extending a hand to her. He had such a serious look on his face, Elwood had to hold back a chuckle. “Nice to meet you, Buster. I’m an old friend of Elwood’s.” “Yeah, she sure helped me out of a big scrape ages ago. And Kath, he’s actually what I wanted to talk about with you. But first, lemme get my associate all set up.” “Hey Buster, while he’s doing that, I’ll grab you a snack. I have a big time sweet tooth, so I’ve always got some cookies around here. Just a second.” She stepped out of the office and went down the hallway. Elwood put all the things back into his briefcase and handed Buster the copy of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” that they had picked up on their way down south. He smiled to himself as he recalled shopping in the thrift store with Mack and Buster. They had picked up their disguise outfits there, and Buster had found that book there. Elwood just had to buy it for him. It was cheap and the kid was just so interested in it. “Thanks, old man.” Buster sat down on the floor in the corner of the office with the book and started reading. Kathy stepped back in with a pack of Chips Ahoy and a glass of milk. “Here, Buster, enjoy!” “Thanks, Ms. Kathy.” She gestured to Elwood to sit in one of the chairs and pulled up her office chair next to him. “Okay, Elwood, get me all caught up on what’s going on here.” He filled her in on all the events that had transpired over the past week, and how the cops and the FBI and even Mother Mary were hunting him on kidnapping charges. He stressed that they needed to hurry, because they would probably be there soon. Kathy nodded. “I understand. This won’t become official immediately, the full process takes several months, but let’s get the preliminary paperwork all signed today. I’ll put you guys at the top of my schedule for the official signing.” She printed out a stack of papers and put on her reading glasses. She pointed to the places where Elwood needed to sign and added her signatures as well. As she set the papers in a file folder, a big banging sound startled all of them. The same young man from earlier appeared at the doorway, out of breath. “Ms. Epstein? There’s a whole lot of police here, I think even some FBI agents. And a really angry looking nun. What should I tell them?” She stood up resolutely. “I’ll speak to them, Charles. Elwood, Buster, you two come along, too.” Bringing the file folder with her, she strode out. Beads of sweat dotted Elwood’s forehead. He tried to look as confident as he could in front of Buster, who was shaking as he stood up, clutching Elwood around his waist. “What’s gonna happen to us, Elwood?” He asked tearfully. He patted the kid’s back. “Don’t worry, kid, Ms. Kathy’s real smart, she knows exactly what she’s doing.” He had faith in his old friend, really he did. Kathy, who once worked so hard to help clear his name when he was accused of goddamn murder, was a regular old genius. But there were all these people who had hunted him down across state lines, even getting the fucking FBI involved. Would this be enough to get them off their backs? And really, even if there hadn’t been this urgency, he would want to do this eventually. He tried to put on a brave face for Buster. The sight of all the officers crowding around Kathy made Elwood sweat even more, especially with how tight Buster was holding onto him. He could feel how much the kid was shaking now, and he looked down to see him silently crying. Elwood patted Buster’s back again and tried to say some reassuring words, but the kid just kept crying. Hell, it was getting hard for Elwood to not cry, too. But Kathy was at it, showing all the serious looking officers and scowling Mother Mary all the papers they had been signing, and he could hear her explaining to them all sorts of legal mumbo jumbo stuff. Everyone looked so serious, but then Kathy flashed him a big smile and nodded. He smiled and nodded back at her, hugging Buster tighter. The kid looked up at him, his eyes wet and red, his nose all snotty from how much he had been crying. Elwood nodded down at him. “It’s gonna be okay, kid. It’s gonna be okay.” The office quieted down as all the officials filed out, one by one shaking hands with Kathy. Mother Mary smiled and waved to them, “visit often, boys!” Adrenaline still surged through Elwood. Neither he nor Buster could move from where they had been standing, but Kathy strode toward them, grinning widely. “Even though right now it’s just a temporary order of custody, I showed them all the paperwork and that we’ve got the official date set for next month, so they agreed to drop charges.” Elwood was overwhelmed with gratitude. “Th-thank you, Kath, I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you enough for this.” He reached over to hug her, Buster still clinging to him. Still sniffling, Buster mumbled. “Wait, does this mean we won’t be apart?” Elwood ruffled his hair. “Nope, now I’m stuck with you, that’s what all those papers were for. Legal paperwork to stick me with you.” Buster wiped his nose with his jacket sleeve then stepped back and snuggled into a group hug with Elwood and Kathy. “Thanks Ms. Kathy, I didn’t want to be away from the old man.” It was strange, Elwood’s eyes stung with tears, but he wasn’t feeling sad. He was happy. Really happy. But overwhelmed at the same time They all stood in their awkward little group hug until a rumbling drew their attention away. “Uh, hey Elwood?” “Yes, Buster?” “I’m hungry.” He laughed. “Jesus, kid! Are you ever not?” “There’s some great restaurants around here, I’m happy to give you some recommendations,” Kathy said. “Oh no, you’re coming with us, we gotta celebrate this! Plus I owe this little dude an Italian beef.” He pointed to Buster. “Hey, old man, I’m not that little!” He looked down at Buster, raising an eyebrow. “Well, you’re not that tall, either,” eliciting a scowl from the kid, which made Elwood laugh. But before they headed out, Kathy filed away the papers for their next meeting, when everything would be made completely official. It would take him some time to adjust to this new reality. It all felt so surreal. They all filed out of the Daley building and made their way to Luke’s for Italian beef. Well, Italian beef for Buster and Kathy and a nice big hoagie roll for Elwood. He and Buster were excited to see that Mack and Cab and all the guys in the band were there as well. Turns out that they all had decided that it would be a good place for their first meal back in Chicago, not knowing that Elwood and Buster would be coming there, too. Everybody was hugging each other as Elwood filled them in on what they had been doing while Buster settled in with his Italian beef. Tears streaming down his face, Mack grabbed Elwood and Buster up from his chair into a big group hug. “My family!” He exclaimed. Elwood could feel tears pricking his eyes again. Strange. Extricating himself from their hug, Buster returned to his sandwich. Elwood shrugged and chuckled. “Eh, that kid’s just a bottomless pit, don’t mind him.” “This is huge, El. Gosh, wow!” Mack hugged him again. “Yap. Only thing is, everything happened so fast, I didn’t really get a chance to explain it all to him. I don’t know if he really understands what all this means.” Mack gently squeezed Elwood’s shoulder and nodded at him. “Hey, you go tell him. I’ll make sure everyone gives you a few minutes of quiet.” Elwood handed his briefcase to his partner, grateful for him and how in tune they were together. “Here, there’s some beers in there. Enjoy them. It’s on me. Well, technically a 7-Eleven from the middle of nowhere.” He strolled over to Buster’s table and sat across from him. Pointing to the sandwich, he asked, “that good?” Buster nodded. “Yap.” Elwood’s heart filled with a warmth he just could not describe. Buster kept munching the sandwich. “So, listen, kid, I know that everything’s been real crazy, well, from the day we met. And, ya know, we didn’t really get a chance to talk about what just happened.” “Yeah, you signed some papers Ms. Kathy showed the cops that proved you’re gonna keep me.” “You’re right, all those papers do prove I’m gonna keep you. And next month, we’re gonna go back there and I’ll sign papers that show I’ll be keeping you forever.” Buster wordlessly finished the rest of his sandwich and stared at Elwood. He nodded. “You know, you’re a pretty good mentor, old man.” “I ain’t your mentor, kid. I’m your dad.”