Tough Love

Part One

The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and people were walking the streets of Columbia as all enjoyed the warm day. It was early July and the McNamara's were preparing themselves to spend a day outside.

Carmen McNamara looked at herself in the large mirror her room. The dress she wore today was iris. It had an Elizabethan neckline with quarter inch sleeves and a floor length skirt. Over top was a black corset, which matched the black choker around her neck. Carmen absentmindedly touched her gloved hands to the necklace.

When she was 13, Carmen had received her first choker. The choker acted as a dampener, something to make the prophetic visions she saw less painful. Now that she was 16, she'd received a new choker to help dampen her growing abilities.

Carmen was pulled from her thoughts by a knock on her bedroom door. She had just finished putting her midnight black hair into its usual large bun when she turned toward the opened door.

"Almost ready kiddo?" Said William McNamara, Carmen's adopted father. He stood in her doorway, his imposing figure intimidating to any teenage boy.

"I'm ready daddy," Carmen said grabbing her matching iris parasol.

"Then let's head out," William said as Carmen clicked downstairs. He closed her bedroom door and followed her out the door.

Once they stepped out into the warm morning, Carmen opened her parasol. The shade it provided, in addition to the light breeze, felt comfortable. She remained close to her father, waving at other citizens as they walked.

William McNamara tipped his hat in greeting to other citizens as he walked. He had purposefully hidden the destination of today's outing from Carmen, as he wanted it to be a surprise. His gaze went to her for a moment as they walked.

William knew his daughter wasn't one for surprises. Every year at Christmas or her birthday, Carmen always searched for her presents. He had learned long ago to shift the location of her gifts.

Soon, Carmen would figure out where William was taking her by the change in scenery. Instead of stately mansions all around them there were hot dog stands, Voxophone advertisements, and so on.

William figured today would be a good day to spend at the fair, as he was leaving on a business trip to the surface soon. Corbyn, Chambers, and Wheelwright had nominated William and a few other employees to represent them when Columbia's businesses all took trips down to the surface. He then led Carmen to one of the games.

The game was quite simple. There were cardboard Vox Populi targets (he didn't care much for the resistance but he didn't hate them either) and balls. The object of the game was to throw a ball at one of the targets and if you were successful, you earned a prize.

William took out his coin purse and handed it to Carmen.

"Have a ball kiddo," He said.

Carmen closed her parasol before taking her father's coin purse and paying the man behind the stand. She held the ball, testing its weight as she measured the distance between herself and the targets. She aimed the ball at one of the Vox Populi targets and knocked it down. Carmen was offered a stuffed angel, teddy bear, and a black dog as a prize. She chose the dog.

"Not bad," William said clapping a hand on Carmen's shoulder.

Carmen beamed proudly as she held her stuffed dog. She watched her father hand the man several more Silver Eagles before grabbing a ball himself.

In the corner of her eye, Carmen saw a familiar brunet haired boy. She half turned to Matthew and gave a friendly wave. She elected not to go over to him, as he was in the midst of his friends and she didn't want to embarrass herself.

Carmen then turned back toward her father as he cocked his arm back in an exaggerated motion and struck the target dead center with a thud. Carmen rolled her eyes at her father's dramatics.

"Looks like your old man has still got it," William said taking his prize of a teddy bear. He then handed the bear to Carmen.

Carmen's ears perked up as, off in the distance, she heard singing. She stiffened as she knew what it signified. She didn't even have to see the white man and black woman being pulled onto the stage to know what was happening. Misinterpreting her body language as a vision, William pulled her aside and peered into her gaze with a concerned expression.

"You alright?" William asked lowering his voice.

Carmen's expression immediately changed and she nodded, "Yes. Can we go to a different part of the fair? I want to check out the Voxophones."

William nodded," You got it kiddo." And with that, they were off. No more raffle, and no more listening to the sounds of people being stoned.

Carmen continued with her father toward the Voxophone display. She twirled her parasol around as she walked. As they continued on their way, Carmen spotted a blonde teenage girl and boy. Both were speaking to themselves until they spotted Carmen. The boy turned toward them and spoke first, his gingerbread eyes charming and boyish even at 16 years old.

"Good morning Mr. McNamara, Carmen," Charles Thompson said as if he now only realized who Carmen was with. Charles gave a nod in Carmen's direction. "Lovely day isn't it?"

"It is, isn't it?" William asked taking some time to administer scrutiny on the teenage boy. "Carmen who is this?" He asked his daughter, not taking his eyes off of Charles.

If Carmen was being honest, she did not view Charles the same way he viewed her. However, Sara had tried to set this meeting up for her twin. And Carmen would do her best to play her part.

"This is Charles Thompson daddy," Carmen said as she noticed Charles fidgeting with his hands. The fearful expression in his eyes made her feel sorry for Charles.

"My sister and I were just admiring the sun weren't we, Sara?" Charles asked turning to his sister for assistance. But just as Sara was about to respond, gunfire could be heard in the distance.

"I believe what my brother meant to say was the warm weather," Sara said hooking her arm through her twin's. "If you'll excuse us. It was nice speaking with you and Carmen." And with that, they fled the fair.

"Likewise," William said hooking an arm through Carmen's. She didn't bother to comment on the situation as he led her away from the sounds of gunfire.

William hurried Carmen back to Emporia. He patted his person in search of his Hand Cannon, which he found on the left side of his ribcage. He turned to look at Carmen as he walked, his expression one of concern and protection.

"Stay close to me," He said winding his way through the crowded streets. They were not the only ones fleeing the scene. William kept his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary.

Throughout the brisk walk, William kept his composure. He was not certain what had been the cause of the gunfire. However, he figured it had something to do with the more sinister part of the raffle that would have been taking place. He felt somewhat better when he saw the pear green paint of their house.

"Tell me everything when you get back," Carmen said as they passed through the gate and reached the front porch.

"I will, stay safe kiddo," William said as she reached up to give him a peck on the cheek. After he heard her close and lock the door, he then hurried back to the fair grounds to discover what had truly happened.

Carmen watched her father's retreating form as he went back to the fair grounds. Part of her hoped nothing bad happened to him, but she knew he could handle himself. Once she could no longer see him, she went upstairs to put away her parasol and stuffed animals.

As Carmen placed her new animals on her bed, she felt a niggling at the back of her skull, accompanied by a headache. Her skull throbbed as images flashed through her mind.

Carmen saw a man. She couldn't distinguish his facial features but she knew he had brunet hair. She saw him among an agency labeled 'Pinkerton' whatever that was. Carmen found she had seen this man before, but still couldn't place who he might be.

And with that, the vision disappeared. Carmen yawned, pushed herself off her bed, and took out her journal from her mahogany desk. She then began to write and as soon as she was done, she placed the journal back in the desk and fell back on her bed. She grabbed her new stuffed animals and closed her eyes. Sleep soon followed.

It wasn't too difficult for William to get back to the fairgrounds again. The streets were nearly empty. As soon as William reached the scene of the shooting, he stopped.

Bodies of people lay strewn in piles everywhere. Bullet holes littered the bodies, ground, and surrounding booths. The curtains on the stage were closed. Four other men, all with stunned expression on their faces, spoke amongst themselves near the stage in hushed tones. Each looked as if they were ready to shoot anything that moved. As soon as William neared them, they pulled out their weapons and aimed them at him.

William held up his hands in surrender, "It's alright fellas, I'm not here to harm you. I just want to know what the hell's going on."

"Then you can start by telling us who you are and what you're doing at the scene of the crime," said one of the men, a blonde.

"My name is none of your concern," William said trying to keep his voice calm. "As for what I'm doing here, I am simply trying to discover who, or what, did this."

"It's alright men, he's telling the truth," said the dark haired man with blue eyes. "I saw him escorting his daughter away from the scene. Let's all try to talk about this like rational men."

"We can do that," William said lowering his hands as the others lowered their weapons.

"I'm Obediah," said the blonde man, jabbing a thumb at his chest. "And this is Clem, Simon, and Drew." Obediah gestured to a redheaded man, a brunet haired man, and a black haired man respectively, "We came as soon as he heard the gunfire."

"Does anyone know what happened here?" Asked Drew.

"All I saw was people shooting at one another," replied Simon, the brunet.

"Where the hell are the cops?" William asked as his gaze went beyond the main pile of bodies near the stage. A small, thin trail of blood led away from the stage.

"What are you looking at?" Obediah asked and William gestured to the trail with his finger.

The other men, who were also inspecting the area around the bodies near the stage, looked up at where William was pointing. With William in front, the rest of the men fell in line. There were trash bins knocked over and more bodies along the trail.

"Does anyone have a place to bunker down? My home is on the other side of town," said Clem from William's peripheral vision.

"I don't know, I'd have to ask the missus," Obediah said.

"I have room, but you're not bringing your weapons into my house," William said, even though he kept his own stash of weapons inside his house.

Clem began to walk ahead of the other men and they soon reached a fork. However, before they could decide which way to take, both nearby buildings floated away. The redhead muttered curses as the others caught up with him.

"Well I guess what means we're not taking that way," William said before his gaze landed on a street connected to the fairgrounds. He noticed there were no shortage of bodies there either. "Let's go over that way. It'll take us to Battleship Bay."

William stopped and his ears perked up when he heard new voices not far off.

"Alright men, search the area and look for any survivors. Detain any witnesses you find," said a feminine voice.

"I hear voices," Drew said voicing William's thoughts.

"Probably the police finally making their appearance," William said. "Everyone have their weapons hidden?"

"What should it matter if we don't? We didn't do anything wrong," Simon said and William shook his head.

"But they don't know that," William said as four men in black uniforms rushed toward the five men.

After her nap, Carmen decided to get something to eat. However, before her foot had even touched the first step, she heard a knock on her front door. She took the stairs two at a time, hoping it was her father. However, when Carmen opened the door the only thing she saw was the telegram boy.

"Telegrams for Miss Carmen McNamara?" Said the boy, holding out a large stack of half sheets of paper.

"Yes, thank you," Carmen said handing the boy a few Silver Eagles before closing the door again.

Carmen then took her telegrams into the dining room. She sat down at the table read through each one. It didn't take her long to discover they were all from boys in the (upcoming) junior class. Half were asking her to some upcoming baseball game. While the other half were asking her to Roy Fink's party that evening. She bit her upper lip upon reading Charles' telegram.

Carmen,

I apologize about the conversation with your father STOP

I hope our earlier conversation did not lessen my chances of asking you to my Cousin Richard's baseball game tomorrow night STOP

Signed,

Charles Thompson

Carmen was about to read through her next telegram when she heard her stomach growl. She pushed her chair away from the table and went to the kitchen. She made an egg sandwich and ate it as she read through the rest of her telegrams. The one from Roy Fink was particularly intriguing.

Carmen,

You are the loveliest girl in all of Columbia STOP

I know thousands of others must have asked you but I was perhaps wondering if you would come to my party with me tonight STOP

I will come around to your house at 3:30 this afternoon for an answer STOP

Sincerely,

Roy Fink

If Carmen was being honest, she wasn't particularly interested in going to Fink's lame ass party. She wasn't especially interested in Roy Fink, quite the opposite. In addition, Matthew Thompson said he wasn't going and so Carmen wasn't the least bit interested. Disrupting her thoughts was someone knocking on, and eventually opening, the front door.

"Ma'am we found witnesses," Said one of the officers. "You five will be coming with us."

"It's alright fellas, we'll go wherever you want," William said raising his hands in a placating manner. The other five men did the same.

"Sirs, we came here to figure out what the hell was going on," Obediah said as the other three officers inspected the scene. "If you'll excuse my language."

One of the officer's eyes went wide as he recognized William, "What are you doing here, Mr. McNamara?"

"Yes, what were you all doing here?" Said another officer pulling out a notepad and pen.

"I was out for the day with my daughter when I heard the shooting," William replied and the officer with the notepad wrote down his statement.

"Same as him," Obediah said and pointed to William. "I was out with my family when I heard the gunshots and came running. I saw dead bodies littered everywhere."

"Clem and I were both at the Handyman Stall when we heard the gunshots. We ran over here as fast as we could and came to find this pile of bodies," Simon said as the officer continued writing.

"Alright, we'll need to corroborate your stories but otherwise you're free to go," The officer with the pen and notepad said.

And with that, the five men split up. William considered extending Clem a place to stay, but didn't when he saw the redhead follow Simon. He shrugged and made his way through several alleyways, trying to find the shortest route home. Once he stood in front of the pear greenhouse he inspected the frame and door itself for anything out of the ordinary. As soon as he knew it was safe, he took his house key out of his breast pocket.

William turned the key and opened the door. He stepped onto the polish hard wood floors of the hall and called out.

"Carmen? You home, kiddo?" William said. He heard heels click from a nearby room and Carmen rushed toward him.

"I'm right here, daddy," Carmen said and William embraced her protectively. He stroked her hair and stopped when she pulled away. "What happened?"

William elected not to leave his daughter in the dark, "Apparently there was a massacre at the raffle. There were a few other men present, in addition to myself, who were trying to figure out what happened. The police arrived shortly thereafter."

"Holy shit," Carmen said covering her hand over her mouth. She then realized what she'd said and looked up at William. "Sorry."

William leveled a slightly admonishing gaze at her before shaking his head, "It's fine I said the same thing."

William followed Carmen into the dining room, feeling puckish. He eyed her numerous telegrams but said nothing as he went to the kitchen.

"Do they know who did it?" Carmen asked as she went to place her dirty dishes into the wash basin.

William shook his head as he assembled a sandwich. He then sat down at his spot at the table, "No, not yet. Say did the morning paper arrive?"

Carmen nodded and handed him the newspaper. She then went upstairs with her telegrams before working on the mountain of dishes. William read the paper for several minutes in silence until he heard the knock on their front door. He hadn't been expecting company, which is what made him suspicious in the first place. He placed the paper on the table and drew out his Hand Cannon before heading to the door. He looked through the peep hole.

William viewed two officers standing on the front porch. Both were holding Billy clubs and looked insistent. One of them knocked on the door again.

"Who is it?" Carmen asked from the kitchen as she dried her hands and finished putting the dishes away.

"The local authorities coming to pay us a visit," William said in a low tone, looking over his shoulder at Carmen. For some reason, he didn't know why, his gut filled with apprehension. "You remember where I told you to go if anything were to happen?"

William was, of course, referring to the attic which had a hidden hatch on the upper floor. He had personally reinforced the entryway in addition to filling the room with supplies Carmen might need.

The officer knocked on the door for a third time, more insistent, "Mr. McNamara are you home? We need to talk to you."

Without another word Carmen hurried upstairs. William watched her go before turning back to the door. He took a deep breath to steady himself as he concealed his Hand Cannon behind his back. He opened the door, hoping they would leave quickly.

"Yes? How may I be of assistance to you gentlemen?" William asked.

The two officers took a moment to look over him before one hit him in the back of the head. William then fell to the ground with a thud, his Hand Cannon skidding across the hard wood floors and landing underneath one of the loveseats. William's eyes closed and his last conscious thoughts were of Carmen.

As soon as Carmen had reached the designated safe room, she locked the door. She then went to the vent in the upper right hand corner of the room. From this vent, one could hear everything happening in the house. She listened as her father opened the door and was immediately hit in the back of the head. She covered her mouth in silent horror as she heard a thud and the sound of a gun sliding across the floor.

Carmen closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks now as the police dragged her father out. She didn't even care, or understand, when what sounded like eight other police officers rushed into her home and began searching it. As soon as they had left, she went to the window.

Carmen watched in silent horror as her father's unconscious form was stuffed into the padded back area of the police carriage. The 10 officers then all got in and rode away.