Chapter No.83. Fortunate.

Robert and James were relaxing in the patio near the pool when Baby Jack and Sparky came over. Robert noticed that Baby Jack, although technically a toddler, looked like a young child. He turned to James. "I think he's maturing, but not in the usual manner."

"Yes, he's obviously unique in that respect. Sylvia and I've been spending more time educating him."

Baby Jack came over to Robert and looked up at him. "Grand Dad, do you realize that Sparky can communicate through mental means?"

Robert's right eyebrow rose up. "Really?"

"Yes. He knows many things."

Robert turned to James with a quizzical expression. "Are you aware of this?"

"No, but It'll be on our educational agenda list."

Robert turned back to Baby Jack. "Are you comfortable with our operational practices?"

Yes, Grand Dad. Sparky and I are on board."

"We've decided that school is out of the question for you," Robert said. "We'll handle your home-schooling education."

"Sparky and I are okay with that."

"Hopefully we'll have a period of peace and quiet to complete your education."

"Sparky and I sense that a new problem is arising."

"What sort of a problem?"

"We are not certain but will reveal it when we are."

Robert turned to James. "Did you ever think it would be like this?"

James smiled. "Not really, but It's probably part of the experiment."

Robert smiled. "In other words, God wanted to know if we were openminded enough to trust an infant and a dog to predict the future."

James laughed. "That's a good way to put it."

Robert turned to Baby Jack. "How smart is Sparky?"

"He is a genius, Grand Dad."

Robert didn't know how to react to that statement, so he smiled. "That's nice."

Baby Jack smiled and Sparky added a bark before the two walked away.

Janet, Sylvia and Amy arrived and sat down.

"You guys just wasting time here?" Janet said with a teasing grin.

Robert turned to her without reacting. "Baby Jack told us that Sparky is a genius."

Janet reacted with a mocking smirk. "Baby Jack told you that Sparky is a genius. You're kidding, right?"

"Nope, that's what he said."

"How is that even possible?" Amy asked.

"How is anything about us possible?" Robert replied.

"He might be right," Sylvia said. "Baby Jack is proficient in calculus and theoretical physics."

Robert chuckled. "Who would have thought that it would be like this."

"I think it shows that we're completely out of it," Amy said. "And that might be why we're able to deal with it. We aren't subject to the laws of physics or any other laws for that matter."

"The one exception is God's laws," Robert said. "I truly believe that the fact that we aren't really a threat to the world and we're willing to help save people without demanding anything is the reason we're still on track."

"The truth is, we don't need to demand anything," James said. "And we sure as hell don't want to be running anything. At least we can relax without worrying about whether we'll get reelected."

"The real question is; where is all of this headed?" Robert said.

"We just need to stay focused and have the fortitude to do the right thing," Janet said.

"You know what," James said. "We haven't gone anywhere to have a nice meal in quite some time."

"Where do you suggest we go?" Robert asked him.

"How about Paris. I never got to go there with you and mother,"

"Okay, but we may as well go to a restaurant icon like Maxim's. We'll have to dude up with suits and ties for us men and formal dresses for you ladies."

"I like that idea," Sylvia said. "It'll be like a costume party."

"Definitely," Robert said.

Robert, James, Janet, Sylvia and Amy dressed to the hilt appeared near No.3 rue Royale in the 8th arrondissement.  Fortunately, the Maître d' was kind enough to seat them without a reservation. Robert helped the cause by slipping him a stack of euros. It also helped that he had three really nice-looking women in fashionable clothes with him.

Robert did the honors of ordering, He chose Bisque for the Hors d'oeuvre, Por-au-feu for the Plat principal, Mille-feuille for the patisserie, and Mousse au chocolate for Dessert. He decided to have everyone drink coffee just in case they were needed to save something.

The meal went pleasantly but with some contentious discussion.

"You must realize how stupid this looks," Janet said. "We're not wealthy connoisseurs of French cuisine."

Robert smiled. "True, but it's a good disguise for us."

"I'll bet this is going to cost a good fortune," Amy said.

James turned to her. "Dad can create euros."

"Isn't that considered a crime?" she retorted.

"I doubt it, unless it's money made by counterfeiters. The ones I make are genuine."

"If I had known I could do that, I wouldn't have ended up in prison."

"I don't make money to acquire wealth," Robert said. "I only do it in situations like this. Trying to convert currencies is complicated and involves submitting an ID and bank info. I try to avoid that. We don't really have to create money to maintain our family."

"Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be filthy rich?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, I suppose that everyone dreams of that, but money is the root cause of all evil. Wealthy people bathe in their riches and don't really help others. Some do with charitable funds, but they still don't personally help others. They do it as a tax write off."

"Actually, we have a lot to be thankful for," Janet said. "We have a nice home with plenty of amenities and we're together. That's more than I would ever want."

"Isn't it weird that we have the power to have anything we wish, but we avoid any signs of wealth or power," Amy said.

"That might be the reason that we haven't been identified," Robert said. "Besides, we must not disobey God. Ahab, the seventh king of Israel allowed Jezebel to trick him into unjustly executing Naboth in order to steal his land. It resulted in God's wrath descending on both him and Jezebel."

"Does God really have wrath?" Amy asked.

"We don't know for sure, but I don't think we want to test the idea."

They were all in agreement with that.

After dinner they decided to visit the Eiffel Tower in Champ de mars. They simply went to a secluded area and teleported to the location.

"Wow!" James exclaimed. "That's huge!"

"How do people get up to the top of that?" Janet asked.

"They have lifts for that," Robert said.

They were still a hundred meters away from the tower when it was obvious something was wrong.

"Holy crap!" James cried. "One of the lifts' cables snapped!"

"Okay, let's take care of that before it results in deaths."

They instantly changed into their outfits and flew up to the lift that held forty people who were obviously in stress.

"You, Sylvia and Amy begin repairing the cables. Your mother and I will keep the lift from falling."

The trio flew up to where the cables had snapped and began creating new cables to replace them. What they found was most disturbing.

"That looks like it was deliberate," James said. "It would suggest that this was planned."

"By whom?" Sylvia asked.

"I don't know, but there is evidence that explosives were responsible."

Meanwhile, Robert and his wife were making sure that the lift didn't fall by physically holding it up until the trio repaired the cables.

"I don't think this was an accident," Robert said.

"What? You think it was a deliberate act?"

"Yes. These lifts are constantly inspected and maintained. This could be the result of a criminal act."

"Well, I guess we're at the right place at the right time," Janet said.

"And that's another reason that I believe we are being led to the locations where bad things are happening."

James, Sylvia and Amy appeared. "We repaired the cables," James said. "It should be safe to start it up."

James flew up to the open window of the lift where the operator stood. "Les câbles sont réparés. L'utilisation de l'ascenseur doit être sûre."

The operator nodded and started the lift to begin a descent. The superheroes remained to make sure nothing happened. Once the lift was down to the bottom and the passengers released, Robert approached a police official. "We believe this was a deliberate act of sabotage. The cables were cut and weakened. We repaired them."

"We will look into it," the official said. "We appreciate what you have done."

Robert gave him a salute. He turned to his family members. "Let's go check out the top of this."

He didn't get any arguments. They flew to the top of the tower's highest tourist location, but they decided to climb up on the antennas at the tippy top.

"Great view from here," Robert said. "You can see quite some distance across Paris."

"I think there's a tower in Tokyo higher than this," James said.

"Yeah, it's the old 'Mine is bigger than yours' game," Robert said.

They laughed. Janet took some photos before they teleported back home.