So the men in black really did come looking for me.
Liam thought to himself.
Ever since reaching adulthood and devoting more and more of his time to investigating mysterious incidents, he had often noticed strange men in black lurking near wherever he lived.
His instincts told him they were there because of him.
Strangely enough, they never confronted him directly.
They only watched from a distance.
But Liam never took that as a sign that he was safe.
Every time he noticed them, he moved somewhere else.
With that in mind, Liam patted the landlord on the shoulder and warned him.
“If anyone asks about me, don’t tell them I ever lived here. It’ll be better for both you and your grandson.”
The landlord looked puzzled.
“Who exactly are you? What kind of trouble did you get yourself into?”
Liam smiled but didn’t answer directly.
“Watch more TV with your grandson. You’ll find out soon enough.”
With that, he said no more.
He lifted his bag with one hand, braced the other against the windowsill, and smoothly climbed out.
The landlord was left standing alone in the apartment, staring at the window in stunned silence.
“What a strange guy.”
…
Under the moonlight, Liam drove excitedly through the streets of Boston, with Watson sitting in the passenger seat and sticking his head out the window.
He was without a home again, but this time he had a bear keeping him company.
It wasn’t so bad.
The more mysterious incidents he uncovered, the more things he had to deal with.
He simply didn’t have the energy to worry about food, clothing, housing, and all the other details of daily life.
So he drove straight back to the TV station.
James was working late, preparing footage for the next day’s broadcast, and didn’t seem surprised at all when Liam showed up.
“What are you doing here this late? I’m not paying you overtime.”
“My landlord kicked me out, that’s all. I’m going to crash here for a couple of days.”
“Hahaha! I knew this day would come.”
James laughed at his expense, then made a suggestion.
“Since you don’t have anywhere to stay and you’re built like that, why not work part-time as night security? I just fired old Anthony for falling asleep on the job.”
“Forget it. That job means a lot to old Anthony.”
James didn’t mind being turned down.
The suggestion had only been a joke.
“Fine. Find yourself a quiet corner and get some sleep. I’m heading home to spend some quality time with my wife.”
Just before leaving, James remembered something and called back to him.
“Actually, there is a part-time job.
Liam had just been wondering how he was going to pay for climbing gear and food, so his interest immediately perked up.
“Of course. What kind of job?”
James handed him a slip of paper with an address written on it.
“A family is throwing a birthday party and wants someone to host it and keep the atmosphere lively.”
“Don’t people usually hire a clown for that?”
“They did. A clown named Binky. But the idiot got thrown in a holding cell last night for drunk driving and overloading his vehicle. You’ve been pretty popular with kids lately, so you might as well give it a shot.”
“No problem.”
…
The next day, Liam followed the address and drove the TV station’s small van to a house in the suburbs.
As soon as he arrived, the woman who owned the house hurried out to greet him.
“Thank goodness you’re finally here. That damn clown picked the worst possible time to screw things up.”
Liam stepped out of the van and greeted her.
“Happy to help with the kids, Ms. Meg. Where’s Mr. Kent?”
“Kent managed to get hold of a clown costume. He’s planning to dress up himself and surprise our son,” Meg explained.
“He must really love his kid. Clown makeup isn’t exactly easy to do.”
Liam nodded, then turned and unloaded streamers, balloons, decorations, and several children’s costumes from the van.
They were all supplies for setting up the birthday party.
The Kent family was paying generously, so naturally the TV station had to provide proper service.
They had even included a full video recording of the event.
Just then, Watson jumped down from the passenger seat.
Meg let out a startled cry.
“A bear! There’s a bear here!”
Liam was busy setting things up on the front lawn and answered without even turning around.
“Don’t worry. This is my assistant, Watson. Watson, say hello to the lady.”
“Rrrowf!”
Watson dipped his head toward Meg and let out a low growl in greeting.
“Oh. Thank you.”
Meg answered automatically, then suddenly realized what she was doing and hurried behind Liam.
“It’s a bear! Are you sure it won’t attack me?”
Liam stopped what he was doing and casually rubbed Watson’s head.
“See? He’s fine. I knew his mother. You are reading on g.com, the official source. He was raised well.”
For a moment, Meg was too confused to respond.
Her first instinct was to point out that bears didn’t have manners.
Then she remembered that this particular bear had appeared on television.
It was probably fine.
“But he’s still a bear. You need to watch him the entire time!”
In the end, she gave in.
After one final warning, she went back inside to prepare food for the party.
Liam immediately leaned closer to Watson and whispered.
“This family is loaded. Once the party starts, eat as much as you can while you’re playing with the kids. As much as they’ll give you. We can save a fortune on food.”
Watson shook his head knowingly.
The setup went smoothly.
Binky had left behind a detailed schedule, so Liam only had to follow it.
By the end of the morning, the lawn had been completely transformed.
Two long tables covered with colorful tablecloths were loaded with snacks, soda, and a huge birthday cake, all things children loved.
A massive inflatable castle stood beside the house beneath a “Happy Birthday” banner, while a piñata stuffed with candy hung from a nearby tree.
Everything was ready.
Before long, school let out for the afternoon.
A school bus pulled up, and the children came pouring out.
“Whoa! Snacks and a bouncy castle! Jack, your birthday party is awesome!”
“Wait, there’s a bear! Look, isn’t that Liam from Exploring the Truth? And that’s Watson! I watched yesterday’s episode!”
Seeing that the children recognized him, Liam happily spread his arms wide.
“I heard it was Jack’s birthday today, so I came to celebrate with him. All right, kids, come get your balloons!”
“Yeah!”
The children swarmed him and snatched up every balloon he had just inflated.
Watson was even more popular.
The children crowded around the bear cub so tightly that they completely surrounded him, constantly feeding him all kinds of snacks.
Once the initial excitement died down, Liam finally had a chance to catch his breath.
Then he noticed that the birthday boy himself looked unhappy.
Liam walked over and sat beside him.
“Jack, it’s your birthday. Why the long face?”
Jack lowered his head and answered quietly.
“My dad’s working late again. He said he’d make it back, but he still isn’t here.”
Liam was just about to say something to comfort him when a car came speeding toward the house and swerved into a parking spot near the entrance.
A figure in a clown costume practically fell out of the car and stumbled toward them.