"Hey kid, c'mere."
Anna turned her head towards the gruff voice. Just beyond the fence, parked by the sidewalk, was a white van with tinted windows, with Bob's Plumbing Co.stamped across. A bald man, who seemed wider than he was tall, leaned casually with his hands behind his back, his eye on a little boy in front of him with mousy black hair, clutching a teddy bear.
"I lahst mah dog, y'see." The man continued, appearing to be a little worried. "And ya look like a smart kid, so ya wanna help? I've go some candy in the van, if ya like a reward for ya services." The man winked at the kid, whose reaction Anna couldn't see, but the teddy bear in his arms trembled.
Anna glanced around. Where the heck are his parents? No one was rushing for the boy or whacking the man with a purse. And didn't this kid know to not talk to strangers? She pushed up from the swing and sprinted for the fence. "Hey kid! Get away from him!" She yelled. The boy turned his head, showing wide, terrified eyes, and the pork-like man froze, before clenching his heavy jaw.
"Hey, beat it." The man growled as Anna climbed over the fence. "This doesn't concern you."
"I'm his sister." She said confidently, shooting the kid a look to agree with her, who stared at her with the same deer-in-the-headlights-look.
The man scoffed. "Yah didn't come with 'im, and yah didn't say hello or nuthin to 'em when he came to play here."
He's been watching him for a while, then. Anna thought wearily.
"Besides, I'm 'is pops." The man continued, snapping his suspenders over his stained white shirt. "So git."
Anna raised her eyebrow. The kid was as skinny as a stick and the man appeared to gain weight just by thinking about food; they looked nothing like each other. What kind of idiot was he?
"Alright," Anna said, starting to play along with his game. It was just them in sight, and if she took and the kid and tried to make a break for it, she was worried that the man might have a weapon and would pursue them; she would have to stall for time. After all, this was playground, though it were nearing twilight, people will—eventually, hopefully—populate the presently deserted premises. "What's your name?" She asked the kid as she knelt next to him, who stared at her. "Tell me quietly." She looked back up at the man. "And if this is your son, what's his name?"
"None of yah business." The man took step towards the boy, who automatically hid behind Anna. "Er, ok, Max, git in the van."
A common name. She half expected Bob.
"It's Todd." The boy's voice was small and meek in her ear. "And he isn't my dad. I don't know who he is."
The man couldn't have heard Todd whispering in Anna's ear, so it was perhaps the disgusted look she gave him that caused him to say: "Ah, that's his middle name."
"His middle name is Tim?"
"Yah." The man nodded, looking relieved.
Anna stood up, ushering Todd to stay behind her. "That's not his name."
"What? E's lyin'." The man started to look a little panicked. "C'mon Max. And yeh," he shook and pudgy finger at Anna. "Yeh respect yehr elders. I'm his father, yeh hear, and if yeh don't—"
He is probably unrelenting because he's already in trouble. Anna thought wearily as the man blubbered on. He wants to make sure there are no witnesses to what he's doing, i.e. Todd and I, so he might be a repeat offender. She glanced at Todd. Gotta be careful with 'Bob', otherwise Todd might get hurt as well.
"Ok, if you are his father,"—the man nodded vigorously—"why would your son lie about you being his father?"
"Because he's a spoiled brat!" The man was getting more irrational. "And if yeh don't—"
"How's this." She interrupted calmly, beginning to end the conversation. "Why don't I call the police, " She took out her cell phone, "and if they identify you as 'Max's' dad," she patted Todd's head, "the I'll go on my merry way."
The look of horror on the man's face was almost priceless. "About that—"
"Mr. Bob. We all know that you are not his dad." Anna said firmly, putting her phone back in her pocket. "We are just going to leave and pretend that this never happened, and no one has to get hurt." Of course she was lying, since that there was no way that she would allow someone like him loose on other little kids, but hopefully he was panicked enough to not discern that. He was slightly irrational already, and hopefully it would be for her advantage.
"No yeh ain't." The man growled, drawing to his full height and edging closer to them, suddenly appearing intimidating. "Do yah think I'm a dumbass? Both of yeh are going to git in the van."
"You're a repeat offender, aren't you?" Anna said coldly as she backed away slowly, Todd letting a squeak of horror while clutching her legs. "That's why you're persistent, because you don't want to be caught again."
Bob shrugged, his hand lifting for the door hand behind him. "Smart one. Well, yeah, if you havta to kn—AARRRGGHH!!!" He barely blinked to see Anna leaping forward and punching him the nose, flecks of blood on her drawn back fist. The man realized his nose was broken before he caught her fist in his palm and grabbed her other arm. She spat in his face while he simultaneously felt a sharp pain in his leg; the boy had his little teeth in his calf. He kicked the boy aside, who doubled over wheezing, and Anna retaliated and kneed the man in the groin.
"AAGGHH!!" The man stooped over, screaming. He felt his brain bang dangerously against his skull as her foot met his head, and he spiraled backward into the van, his head slamming against the white metal doors. All he could see was the gray white clouds above him, before his vision gradually faded into black.
Anna bent over, panting, eyeing the man cautiously. Todd, massaging his stomach, limped for his teddy bear that he threw aside for the fight.
"Ok Shmee, you were right." He muttered to his bear. "Is he dead?" He asked, staring at the girl with the dirty blonde hair.
She started, as if she just noticed him, and then winced as she peered at the man lying in a heap against his van from a safe distance. At first she thought he was—though she didn't intend to kill him—but was relieved when she saw him breathing. "No, he's not." She took out her phone and dialed a number. "We're going to have to stay here 'til the cops show up, since they might want to talk to you as well. Feel free to hide, though…"
"I'll stay here with you." Todd said, holding his bear closer to him.
She gave him a small smile, before her head rose in attention. "Ah, hello? Yes, a guy tired to kidnap a boy—Todd—what's your last name?---and tried to force us in his van; he's an employee of Bobs Plumbing Company I think, that's what the van says, unless he stole it…we're at South Central Playground, near the Concord and Tram intersection…a little bit of scrapes on us, not sure about the guy though, kinda knocked him unconscious…he threatened us so I fought him…"
She seems like a nice lady. Todd thought as Anna continued to tell the operator the situation. Maybe she and Nny might get along…
"And if the guy wakes up?...Ok, will do. Thanks. They dispatched an ambulance and the cops." She said aside to Todd. "They'll stay on the line, but if he starts to wake up, run to a safe place and call the police; I'll give you the phone." She whispered the last sentence, in case the man was faking it.
Todd nodded. "Ok."
Anna smiled again. "Thanks, by the way, for helping me, but next time make a run for it."
Todd smiled back. "Thank you for saving me."
Within several minutes, three vehicles arrived, their red and blue lights in the dim night as bright as strobe lights. Three cops emerged from two of the vehicles while paramedics from the ambulance wheeled out a stretcher. The cops interviewed Anna and Todd while the paramedics looked them over before whisking the man off into the stretcher. Once the cops obtained Todd's name—he didn't know his home phone number—they called his parents, who arrived forty-five minutes later after the ambulance had left with the man, looking annoyed rather than concerned while the police informed them of the situation, and then took Todd to their car, Todd looking back from the backseat of the car and waving with his bear Shmee to Anna, who waved back as his family's car drove away.
"Do you want to press charges?" One of the policemen asked as Anna watched Todd's car drive off.
Anna scoffed, shaking her head. "I attacked him. I'm more worried about him pressing charges against me."
"Which he can do." The young brown-haired policeman said gravely as he escorted her to his car—he had offered her a ride home, which she had accepted. "The most damage you did was a broken nose and a concussion, but it was in self defense."
"Yet a woman can sue McDonalds because their coffee was too hot." Anna muttered as she climbed in the backseat of his car, smiling to herself when she saw the bars separating her and the policeman getting in the driver's seat, who smiled sympathetically.
"I'm sure there are sensible judges that will listen to you. I can recommend some good lawyers if the occasion arises." He said warmly as he started the car.
"Yes, because you have my number and know where I live already." She said, making the policeman chuckle. "Most likely the kid and I will have to show up to court, to be witnesses at least?"
"Afraid so." He glanced at her through his rear view mirror, beginning to drive.
Anna grimaced. "Great."
The policeman grinned. "Not fond of the court much?"
Anna sighed. "I'll do anything to get him back in jail." She said quietly. "Lord knows what he would've done…."
The policeman didn't say anything. Though she had suspected, it was best that he didn't tell her the numerous details when Bob Morton had been charged of being a sexual predator and a child molester twelve years ago. "Not pleasant things, m'am." He replied.
"Anna." She said, looking at him through the rear view mirror.
The policeman cocked his eyebrow at her. "Ms. Anna?"
"Just Anna, Officer Takeshi."
"Reilly, please. I'm still not used to being called that."
Within twenty minutes, Reilly the Policeman had pulled over to a sidewalk in the slightly shady part of the suburbs that led to the wide entrance to a relatively clean building of apartments. The few people that were in the street behind her looked appalled when she stepped out of the cop car, but relaxed when they saw that she and the policeman seemed to be on good terms, both wishing each other a good and safe night.
"Thanks for the ride." Anna said gratefully, casting a look at the people retreating away.
"No problem, Anna." He said good-naturedly. "You know my number." He said jokingly, and they both laughed. With one last wave, he drove away as Anna waved back to him.
Anna sighed and once his car was out of sight, she went for the building. The building itself was very open to the outside; all the apartments were on the sides, while the middle was a wide balcony for the front and the back. She went up a flight of stairs that was located in the back, greeting the view of a forest as the building's 'backyard', and trumped up to the fourth floor, sighing tiredly as she pulled out her keys from her back pocket as she crossed the landing to her door at the end. "What a night." She muttered, fumbling her keys in the mediocre lights provided above her.
"Oh, it'll get better." Whispered a voice in her ear.
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Whoo. It gets longer. I know there's still some things that aren't realistic/logical here, but oh well, and choppy as crap. Hope you enjoyed it!!!