Author's Note: This idea has been floating around in my head for a while now, and I finally got around to writing it. If people enjoy this chapter, I will keep writing…so here we go!
Looking back on that case now, I realize it changed my life. She changed my life, and this is how it all started…
He caught me just as I was leaving the loft, "Are you Michael Westen?" He asked in a panicked voice. I took in his receding hair line, sweaty clothes, and desperate face. I sighed. How do these people always find me? I prepared to tell him off, but at my hesitation, he added, "You are, aren't you? Well I…I heard you help people out with problems they don't want to go to the police with, is that right?"
I sighed, "Look, I don't know who told you that but – "
He cut me off and grabbed my arm in a surprisingly firm grip. I looked at his hand on my arm and then back at him, hoping to convey that I wanted him to back the hell off. He let go of me and took a step back. "I just…I need your help. Please. I have a serious problem here! Yes or no, because I really don't have time to waste."
I sighed again and looked at him. The least I could do was hear him out, he sounded desperate. "It depends on your problem, what's your name?" I asked, starting with the basics.
"It's Frank, Frank Samuels," He stuttered.
I took a deep breath, preparing for the story, "Ok Frank, what's the problem?"
He sat down on the steps and wiped his forehead before he started, "It's my daughter Katie. She ran away from her mom's house about a week ago, but I haven't been able to find her. I'm divorced and Katie lives with her mom and her…stepdad." I sat down next to Frank, I sensed where this story was going, "I had no idea, but her stepdad Larry was abusive. She didn't tell anyone until the day she ran away. She called me from a pay phone, and I tried to persuade her to come to me but she said it wasn't safe. Larry is a cop; there is no way the police department would side with a seventeen year old girl against one of their own. Please, she's just a kid, and I don't know where she is. She could be hurt out there. Just help me find her and I'll go hide somewhere with her, I'll give you anything." He finished, stumbling over the last words.
Frank stared at me with a desperate look while I considered his situation. This is just the sort of job I am an absolute sucker for. How could I possibly refuse? This was a simple case of find the girl, deliver her home safely, and move on. I had done this many times before, and I could do it again for this man and his daughter. I gave Frank a reassuring smile and said, "I'll see what I can do."
After Frank's repeated thank yous, I finally got him to tell me some useful information. Frank gave me a picture of Katie, saying that it was a little dated, but was all he had. He said the last call she made to him was from a pay phone in Little Havana, but he had failed to find her in the busy neighborhood. I told him I would call him when I found her, and got to work.