The Thief
Okay, now that was weird. First he'd been practically lifted from the streets within like five minutes of his arrival in LA, and then he'd been interrogated for hours. As if he'd say anything to some cops. Dawn might have been a bit creepy, but she had convinced her boss to help him out when he was in a jam. No way was he gonna rat on someone who did that for him.
Of course, he should have known better than to return this soon, but he'd been missing his friends and in a fit of stupidity he'd believed the worst would have blown over by now. It hadn't, and so he'd ended up in a nice interrogation room with a pair of cops playing good cop, bad cop.
Once again he racked his brain to figure out what he could have possibly told them. There was simply no way they'd let him go like this. Not after first saying they'd try again tomorrow.
Nope. No way. No sirree. This was a trap. Considering they already had him, the trap could only be for three people: Dawn, her boss, or his boss. Which was another thing he wondered about: where did they get the ridiculous idea that he worked for someone? Everybody knew he worked on his own.
And what made them think either Dawn or her boss would actually be stupid enough to let him lead the cops to them? From what he'd gathered during the interrogation she hadn't exactly shown herself in LA since she'd saved him. So why was he standing here now? In front of a police station that had more or less kicked him out. This couldn't be good for his reputation: people would think he'd given something up and every arrest during the next couple of weeks - months - would be seen as to be caused by him.
Wrapping himself a bit tighter in his coat, Dave peered into both dark sides of the street. One direction would take him closer to home, if you could call it that, and the other would let him get out of town again. One might cause him to lead the cops to Dawn and her boss; the other would make people think he'd betrayed them. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't.
Letting out a deep sigh of frustration he kicked the curb. Why was life this difficult? Why did life suck so much?
Oh well, life sucks and then you die. Wasn't that the attitude you were supposed to have with stuff like this? And no matter how much he told himself he had to make a choice he'd known what it was going to be since before he'd been standing here. Leaving would ruin his life: even if he managed to pick it up in another city, sooner or later someone would find him and confront him.
Nope. Time to face the angry people and possibly spell doom for his favorite little arsonist. Now that was something that had given him nightmares for weeks. What kind of little girl could so easily set a building with people in it on fire? Even if they were already dead?
Stop! He shouldn't think about that.
Once again he sighed, but this time it was followed by turning left and starting to make his way home. He was leading the cops to Dawn! Ah, who was he kidding? No doubt Dawn and her boss had left LA by now and taken their business elsewhere. And what did he care? Just because Dawn was an interesting kid - even though she was still so very young - didn't mean he should get involved with people like that. They were killers, and he hated killing.
Looking behind him to see if he could spot the people following him, Dave didn't notice the other kid until they bumped into each other. "Ow! Watch it man."
"Sorry dude, didn't see you there," the other said with what Dave figured to be an unrepentant grin.
"Yeah well..." Dave started before realizing he'd been as much in the wrong as the other could possibly be. "Ah, never mind."
"Sure thing dude, here let me help you with your coat." And before Dave could even think of protesting, the other was straightening his coat. He could only stand there in confusion until the boy was done and with a jaunty salute was on his way again. Crazy guy.
Of course, the moment the other's back was to him, Dave's hand moved to his inner pocket to check the money that was there. Yes, it seemed to be all there still. This was what he'd had left of Dawn's gift before Christmas, and he was damned if he allowed anyone to take it from him. He was happy enough that the cops had returned it to him. They could have just as easily kept it to check if it was stolen from somewhere.
No use in worrying about all that now. Sticking his hands in his pockets he was about to continue on his way when he felt a piece of paper there. So, the other one had actually given something instead of taken it. Not an accident then, but who would send him a note this way?
Not letting the people following him notice that something was off, Dave continued on his way. He was patient and contained his curiosity. Only after rounding corner did he quickly take out and read it. It was a short note in a handwriting he didn't recognize.
Normally he might have ignored it, seen it as a way for someone to get rid of him, but it was signed with a single letter. The letter D.
Dawn. Dawn had written this note.
The note itself was pretty clear. The meaning of the word taxi was pretty hard to miss, and The Golden Dragon, out through the back was rather obvious as well. Especially as the address for the restaurant was mentioned below the name. Wondering what he should do with the note was another problem though, and he decided to solve it the way they did in movies.
Rolling the piece of paper in a tiny ball, he swallowed it. Luckily it was so small he barely noticed it as it went down his throat. Okay, taxi. In this part of town? Damn, to get one he had to turn around and walk in the other direction. Most taxis didn't come to his part of town if they didn't have to, especially during the night.
Turning around he quickly walked back past the station. Somehow it didn't really surprise him that he didn't spot any of the cops tailing him: obviously they knew that he knew they were following him and so they made it easier for him to forget about it. He really hoped Dawn knew what she was doing though, because this couldn't go as well as she'd planned.
It wasn't long before he could hail a taxi, and told the driver where to go. The man looked him over for a moment before demanding part of the fee in advance. Obviously he didn't think he was good for the money. Dave wasn't happy about it, but gave the man the money he demanded, while consoling himself by the fact that the driver's behavior at least meant he had a good excuse not to give a tip.
During the drive Dave looked through the back window a couple of times, and wasn't at all surprised when several cars kept showing up. Sure, some of them were probably only going in the same direction, but there had to be some cops among them as well. After a drive of about ten minutes the taxi came to a stop in front of a Chinese restaurant: he had arrived.
Casting one last look behind him to see if he could spot the car that had been tailing them - which he couldn't - he paid the driver the remainder of his money and got out to make his way to the entrance. Time to do this.
All right, he should go inside now.
Moving slightly forward, Dave hesitated again. How could he be sure it was Dawn who'd written the note? Maybe it was someone who thought he'd betrayed them?
No, it was way too soon for that. It would've meant they'd had someone hanging around the station all this time, and that didn't make any sense. Except... Dawn had done so as well. Why was he making himself so nervous? He could do this. Forcing himself to take another step he suddenly stood in the door opening. Man, this smelled good!
An impatient cough from behind him showed there were other people waiting to get in and he was holding them up. It was a big group, and he no doubt could join their group without raising the suspicions of the- What did you call them again? The guy who took your name and told you where to sit? It was something French, but he couldn't remember what it was exactly. Natter Dee? No, but something like it.
Mentally shrugging he stepped aside, and smiled at the guy who could now step inside. "Sorry, it just smells so good."
Luckily the guy responded with a smile, and said something the name-taking-guy would probably see as something you said to someone you knew. "Yeah it does, doesn't it. I'm glad we decided on this one."
"True," Dave nodded with a smile while extending his hand in the direction of the name-taking guy. "After you."
"Why thank you," the man said a bit surprised, but he didn't hesitate and stepped forward. "Hi, the Blake party please."
The name-taking guy had a quick look in his book and his smile broadened even more. "Of course sir, please follow me."
With the whole group walking after the man, it wasn't hard for Dave to follow them without being noticed. Man, this place really smelled good. Licking his lips he was really disappointed that he didn't have time to eat something here; the food the cops gave him wasn't nearly as good as this smelled.
Looking around it wasn't long before Dave spotted the restrooms, and the emergency exit with it. Nobody was paying any special attention to him, so he calmly walked in that direction: just a normal customer going about his business. The only thing that might draw any attention was his closed coat, but opening it would show he wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion.
He couldn't immediately go for the exit, that would draw far too much attention, so he first went into the men's room to relieve himself. Washing up he was suddenly distracted by a whisper from the tiny window. "Hey! You Dave?"
"Yeah, who're you?" Dave replied, before silently cursing himself for so easily betraying his identity.
"I've got something for you," the voice said, obviously ignoring the question. See? That's how keeping your identity secret was supposed to be done.
"What do you have?" Dave asked, hoping it wasn't a bullet or anything else lethal.
There was no need to fear though. "Here," the voice indicated while shoving something through the tiny window. Another note fluttered to the ground, and when he picked it up Dave wasn't at all surprised to see it contained more directions. This time he was ordered that as soon as he got out of the restaurant he should go to the subway two blocks away and take the first line headed north. Oh, come on! This was simply getting ridiculous. Who did Dawn think he was? James Bond?
Nevertheless, he did as he was told. Drying off his hands and flushing the note through a toilet was the work of moments. Trying not to draw too much attention to himself he then went to stand in front of the emergency exit. Restaurant people always seemed to pay attention to anyone lingering there. At least they always did when he came to a place like this: they were probably afraid he might slip out without paying.
Which, admittedly, was how Dave had learned the best way to force a door like this open. Of course, he usually had more tools with him, but those hadn't been returned by the cops as they were supposedly criminal tools or something. He really had to ask around if the cops were allowed to keep any of his stuff like that. Or he might not: they might suddenly decide to arrest him for carrying them.
Putting his attention back to the task at hand, Dave was relieved to find there was no need for him to force the lock. Somebody else had already taken care of that. Probably Dawn, although he had no idea how she'd managed to get in and do this without being noticed. Opening the door Dave didn't look around to face the waiter who'd suddenly shouted, but instead ran out of the building.
He ended up in an alley, and looking to one side he could see someone standing at the entrance: the messenger or a cop? Not intending to waste any time on figuring that out, he headed the other way and turned the first corner he encountered. A dead end.
Not too far behind Dave could hear the sound of the angry waiter, a sound he could recognize anywhere, and he joined in with the man's curses. Remembering that cursing wasn't much use he started climbing up the wooden fence blocking his path. He barely made it in time: a moment or two after throwing himself over the top he heard the waiter turn into this alley as well.
"Okay kid, I know you're here. Show yourself and pay your bill like you're supposed to."
For a moment Dave was tempted to say he hadn't actually done anything at the restaurant that required paying a bill, but knew that would only reveal his location. It wasn't like the waiter would believe him anyway, and if he was forced to come along his chance of getting away from the cops was gone.
A look around was in order, he doubted the waiter would climb over the fence, but you never knew with his kind. Alright, he had ended up in some kind of small garden type thingie. It looked pretty ridiculous to him, but if someone wanted to spend money on it, who was he to judge? The fence on the other side of the garden was after all a good way of getting out of here.
Once he'd climbed that fence, Dave ended up in another alley. This time the coast seemed clear, and he was able to walk calmly. After all, walking wouldn't draw nearly as much attention as running around would. Not that there was anyone around to pay attention to him, but that didn't matter: he was getting in the whole James Bond thing now. So, where was this subway station?
It took almost an hour, and three more of the silly letters, before Dave finally came face to face with Dawn. An hour during which he'd lost his interest in playing super spy, and had given him time to build up his anger about the hoops Dawn had made him jump. He had become so pissed off about the ridiculous journey that the moment he saw Dawn Dave opened his mouth to tell her exactly what he thought of it. Dawn was faster though: "How could you be so incredibly stupid!"
"What?"
"I told you to stay away for at least two months, were you lonely or something?"
Yes, but that didn't matter. Besides, he had his own anger to take out on her, and her behavior only served to fuel that anger. She was like twelve or something! How dare she chew him out as if she were his mother! "Hey! Hold on a damn minute! Who do you think you are? You can't tell me what to do!"
"Well, someone has to because you obviously aren't capable of keeping your head out of trouble!"
As she shouted this at him, Dave took his first good at his surroundings. While he wasn't entirely sure where he was, he had gotten too far out of his normal haunts, it was obviously a well-to-do neighborhood. Was this where Dawn stayed? The park here was pretty quiet, undoubtedly because of the time, but still looked pretty nice. He really should try to get back here during the day: any information he could get about Dawn was welcome. Maybe she was some kind of rich kid used to getting her way.
Even thinking that deflated his anger a bit, and in an attempt to be the mature one he decided to swallow the rest of it. Taking a deep, calming, breath Dave tried to explain that neither she, nor her boss, would have been in any danger. "They wouldn't have gotten anything out of me."
"Says you. I'm sorry if I don't believe you," Dawn bit back, before muttering a string of words he figured were curses. Not that he could understand even a word of them, but they sounded like curses and he'd always been good at recognizing those.
"They're cops, they had nothing to charge me with and would have let me go tomorrow or maybe in a couple of days. They're only allowed to keep me for so long without charging me, you know."
"Somehow I'm not as certain as you seem to be that you would've been able to resist them so long," the girl told him.
Dave sighed, didn't she understand? "Look, I know what they can, and can't, do to me. I could have resisted anything they're allowed to do."
"I still couldn't take the risk."
"And I'm grateful for that, I don't know how you got me out, but it beats the shit out of sitting in a cell," Dave acknowledged, figuring that's what she wanted to hear.
Girls. If they weren't so nice to look at he would've wondered why they even existed.
"I'm not," Dawn stated in a cold voice that made his heart skip a beat.
Turning back to face her, Dave asked the question he didn't really want to be answered."What?"
"I should have let you rot in that cell, or carried out the second plan instead."
Why did he have a bad feeling about this? "Second plan?"
"Ensure you wouldn't be able to talk."
"You mean kill me?" Dave forced the words passed a suddenly parched throat. Well, at least that explained the bad feeling.
"Yes, finding a replacement might have been preferable to this."
Replacement? For him? And hey! What was so bad about this anyway? What had happened to make her this angry? "Why?"
"Why?" She asked him incredulously, "what do you think? The guy who arrested you was competent, and I underestimated him! That's what happens when you spend too much time in a place where the cops are scared of their own shadow. Stupid, stupid, stupid."
Those last three words had been whispered, and Dave had a feeling he hadn't been meant to hear the part before it either. It gave too much away of who she really was, and even from what little he'd learned about Dawn since he met her he figured that wasn't something she usually did. She was really flustered about this situation, and he doubted that was a good thing. Nope, not a good thing at all. What if she'd decide it would be easier to silence him after all? Maybe her boss was looking at him through the scope of a rifle right now.
Trying to dispel the lump in his throat, and doing his best not to notice the way sweat was suddenly pouring off of him, Dave looked around. Could he be on that rooftop over there? Or maybe he was hiding behind that tree over there. Wait! Wasn't that a shiny reflection there on that roof top? Could a sniper rifle reach that far?
"Don't worry," Dawn stopped his anxious looking with her curt words, "if we wanted you dead we wouldn't be talking right now. From now on though, you will listen to me when I tell you to do something. You were lucky I was around, but I doubt you'll feel that way once the cops start hounding you again."
Well, that was a relieve. Not! "What do you mean start hounding me again?"
The pitying look she gave him wasn't something he liked to see on anyone's face. "They think you will be able to lead them to me. From now on you should believe your every move is shadowed: that nobody will be safe around you."
"Oh great, yeah that'll do my reputation a load of good."
"It is a consequence of your own actions, had you listened to me-"
"Yeah, yeah," Dave interrupted her before she could nag some more. Sheesh, didn't the girl ever stop? "I was bad, I was stupid, and I should have suffered more for what I did. Please forgive me, oh great fountain of wisdom, and lead me to a path of redemption."
"Cute, not funny, but cute," Dawn said in a bored tone. "No matter how much it pains me though, there is a kernel of truth in what you said: if you're to be of any use in the near future you'll have to learn how to get rid of the officers following you."
Raising his eyebrows, Dave mentally scoffed at her words. "And you're gonna teach me that? No offence, but aside from the whole spy-kids things what do you think I'll be able to learn from you?"
For a moment Dawn seemed to be about to say something, but even while she had her mouth open she shook her head and closed it again. "No, you won't need to hear examples. I don't have time for it anyway, so you'll be on your own unless you find someone willing to teach you. Although I have a feeling that's not going to be easy with the police following you everywhere."
"Great, so you're not even going to try to help me? I thought you were my friend or something," Dave bitterly said. He was curious though: what kind of example had she been about to give?
The twisted little smile appearing on Dawn's face was the closest thing to an emotion, aside from anger, he'd seen her display during this conversation and it was one that made him feel slightly sick in his stomach. "Friends are weaknesses."
The importance of her words didn't immediately penetrate, but once it did he was surprised: that couldn't be real, could it? "You mean you don't have any friends? That's not healthy you know. Everybody needs friends."
Dawn had wearied of the conversation however, and with a sudden wave to his right she pointed at an apartment building just barely visible above the trees. "Apartment 23 is free at the moment, and I believe somebody has accidentally opened it and left a sleeping bag. Be back here at eight, and we'll see what we can do." Having said that, Dawn turned around and calmly walked away from him.
For a moment Dave stood still in surprise. She'd dismissed him! He couldn't let a little girl trample all over him. It took a couple of seconds to gather his wits, by which time Dawn had already started on a shaded path through the surrounding trees, but once he did Dave started after her. Not that it was any use as he quickly lost sight of her when she walked around a bend in the path.
How did she do that?
Standing still he frustratingly asked himself where she could have gone, even going so far as to continue to where he last saw her and start looking for her. Stepping of the path he even looked behind some of the bushes. Of course, the only bushes he couldn't see clearly, but decided to move aside anyway, had thorns. Sucking the hand, that was now full of scratches, Dave decided to actually look up - something the idiots in movies always forgot - but there was nothing there either.
Great. Just great. So she did actually know something about losing a tail. Well of course she did, who was he kidding? Wasn't Dawn some kind of assassin in training or something? She wouldn't be very good if she couldn't even lose him, would she?
But she was such a little kid, when she'd been angry earlier he'd almost believed she might start stamping her feet in anger. Just like Cassie used to do. No, pressing his eyes tightly shut Dave tried to put that thought out of his head. He wouldn't cry. He wouldn't cry. He wouldn't cry.
Repeating the mantra over and over to himself, Dave started to make his way to the building Dawn had pointed out. He was tired, and maybe tomorrow would look better. He'd had to live with this long enough to know he wouldn't be good for anything until he'd slept anyway.
Getting into the building was pretty easy, and within minutes Dave had found apartment 23. Dawn had been right about the door - like that was a surprise - but she might have mentioned the way it smelled. The musty smell hanging in the room indicated nobody had lived there for months, if not years, and in the meantime nobody had bothered to actually open a window to let some clean air inside.
Great, he mentally sighed. Finding the sleeping bag wasn't exactly difficult, what with the whole apartment being completely empty and all, but he was surprised to find a battery-powered alarm-clock there as well. Checking the thing, it was immediately clear who'd put it there as the alarm was set for seven o'clock. Obviously she didn't want him to be late. For a moment he debated switching it off, but eventually decided that angering Dawn even more wouldn't be anything close to a good idea.
Hurriedly undressing - it was a bit cold - it wasn't long before Dave could slip into the comfortable sleeping bag and closed his eyes. Doing his very best to empty his mind he tried to fall asleep immediately, but failed when memories of Cassie returned to him. Eventually he gave up his attempt to sleep and surrendered himself to those bittersweet memories.
When the alarm woke him up the next morning it wasn't the thing he became the most aware off. Oh, it was there, bleating in his ears, but the first thing his mind made him actually aware of were his eyes: his sticky, puffy, swollen, eyes.
The memories of those good times - and how they'd ended - had done what they always did: caused him to cry himself to sleep. It wasn't something he was proud of, and he really didn't want anyone to find out, but he'd learned to live with it over time. Unfortunately the alarm suddenly decided to become even louder and with a slap he shut the annoying thing off.
"I'm awake," he muttered before starting to look for somewhere he could wash his face.
Turning the taps in the bathroom he quickly decided they were no good. He should have realized it of course, but the shock of finding out that there was no water available was far from pleasant. In his own building, well the one where he slept at least, somebody had long ago taken care of the water supply. Admittedly he didn't have a private bathroom there either, but somehow he didn't think that the inhabitants of this building would appreciate it if he came by to ask them for water.
Great, the thinking about water had informed him of another pressing need, and he was damned if he were to pee in a corner somewhere. He had his standards after all. He still had about an hour before he was to meet Dawn, as well as money, so he could easily slip by a coffeeshop to get something to eat. Swallowing his pride he therefore walked out of the building with his tear-streaked face and made for a place he'd noticed on his way to the apartment the night before.
Beyond all hope, they hadn't actually kicked him out as soon as he set a foot inside the door, he had been able to not only eat his fill at the coffeeshop, but had been allowed to wash up as well. His story about having only just arrived in LA after a rough night in the bus had been believed. Okay, maybe not actually believed but the woman behind the counter hadn't pushed him about anything either.
And now, having eaten his fill of delicious sandwiches, he was standing once again in the middle of the park. Dawn should arrive at any time now, and he wondered what today would bring. She hadn't expected him, that was obvious, so he wasn't sure what she thought they should do. On the other hand, if he judged her boss well enough there was probably a plan that involved him leading Dawn somewhere.
"Hey," Dawn said from behind him, and as he turned around he had his first good look at her since the month before. Yesterday everything was dark and he hadn't noticed the differences, but now they were pretty clear to him. She looked... different. Well yeah, that's the whole point of differences, but it was difficult to say what exactly was so diffirent about her. It was almost as if she was more at peace with herself, that she knew better who and what she was.
Considering she killed people he wasn't sure whether that was such a good thing though. Having learned on the streets that every little thing about people was important, he peered a bit deeper and what he saw there wasn't as good. It was well hidden, and it might actually be a ruse, but it seemed there was a bit of strain about her. Almost as if there was something going on she didn't like, but couldn't interfere with. He just hoped it didn't concern him in any way.
Oh, of course. Now he remembered, last time she had long hair, but it had been cut short now. Well, it wasn't as if he claimed to always remember that kind of stuff. Besides, their first meeting hadn't exactly been optimal for remembering minor things like what her hair looked like. Anyway, now that he'd solved the great mystery, it was time to get back to business.
"Hey, so are we gonna talk here, or somewhere else?" he returned the greeting. Here was pretty comfortable, and there weren't many people around, but it was rather exposed as well.
"There's no need for us to talk for long. I need you to take me to a forger, someone competent when it comes to setting up an identity and delivering the necessary Id's."
To the point as usual, and guess what? He'd been right about everything. "What would you have done if I hadn't been around, asked someone else?"
"Maybe, maybe it could have waited. In any case, you're here so it doesn't matter."
Wonderful, one of those useful answers. "Okay, I might know someone who's into that sort of stuff," or maybe even a couple. "Aren't you afraid we'll encounter cops though? You were so pissed off about that last night..."
Dawn shook her head at his words. "No, they'll try to follow you, but we'll be careful today. And most of the anger from yesterday was at myself, for making such a big mistake."
What kind of mistake? No matter, he didn't even want to know. "It doesn't really matter anyway, the best one I know doesn't live anywhere near me. She is expensive though: can you afford it?"
"Everything is expensive. After we're done at the forger it might be a good idea if we'd go look for a new job though."
Oh happy, happy, joy, joy. First of all, what was with the we? Dave sure hoped she meant her boss and her, because the alternative wasn't exactly to his liking. And second, why was it that he didn't even have to guess who would be appointed to help her in finding that new job.
Still, she had helped him when he was in trouble as well: twice even. That reminded him, and while they started walking he asked his question: "How did you find out I'd been arrested anyway?"
"By accident," Dawn started to explain, carefully choosing her words as the chances of meeting people increased. "I was buying something from that friend of yours you introduced me to last time I was here."
"Friend?"
"The one with the rules about children." Oh, Tony. So, she'd bought more guns. Dave wasn't quite sure whether he was happy she hadn't involved him in that, or disappointed. Not that there had been any choice on her part with him being away and all, but Tony was his friend.
That didn't tell him how she found out though. "Did he tell you or something?"
Dawn shook her head to deny that. "No, some kid came running and shouting you were back, and how you were met by some people upon your arrival."
"Kyle," Dave smiled. His friend was still as predictable as ever. Still, kid? Kyle was older than Dawn and she called him kid. Was that how she thought about him?
"Could be," Dawn shrugged, "in any case I got enough information out of him to find out what had happened and now we're walking here on our way to this other friend of yours."
Impressive, she'd managed to explain the situation to him without mentioning anything that could be used against her. The streets around here were still pretty quiet, but once in a while they did meet some people. Strangely enough these people greeted them, causing him to reflexively greet them back. It wasn't until they met yet another smiling woman he realized how they must look to these people.
Just another brother walking around with his little sister.
Whether Dawn had realized the same thing, or if she knew he knew as well now, didn't matter as she suddenly took hold of his hand and started swinging it back and forth. Just a playful pair of siblings walking the streets.
He snatched his hand away as if it had been burned. No. There were limits to what he would endure, and this was well beyond them. He hadn't walked like that with anyone since Ca-. No! He wouldn't think about that either. Focus on the mission; focus on the goal.
All he had to do today was take Dawn to Victoria and he'd be able to go back home. Okay, he probably had to take her to someone who would help her find a target for her boss as well, but Dave still held some hope he would be able to wiggle out of that one.
"What's wrong?" Dawn suddenly asked him in a chirpy tone. Now that was creepy. Dave knew she must be capable of sounding like that, but to actually hear it... no that really didn't suit what he knew about her.
"Nothing," was his simple answer. He did stop cradling his hand though, and let it rest between them again. Unlike a real sister, Dawn was smart enough to leave it alone this time.
The two of them walked together in a slightly uncomfortable silence for a while, and he noted there weren't nearly as many people who greeted them. So, the greetings had something to do with the happy thing. He should remember that. Eventually he guided Dawn towards the subway station he'd arrived at the night before and got on.
Being a Sunday there was more than enough space at this time of day, so the two of them took seats. Something he didn't mind in the least. He hadn't rested all that well during the night after all, and while these seats weren't exactly something to write home about they did allow him to catch up on that rest a bit.
Unfortunately Dawn didn't seem to want to remain quiet.
"Dave?" Dawn asked in that sickeningly sweet and chirpy voice again.
"Yes?" he answered cautiously. What was she after?
"I saw this movie the other day, about someone who forged passports and stuff. Do you know which movie I'm talking about?"
For a moment Dave stared at the girl uncomprehending. What was she talking about? When realization hit, it wasn't something he was happy about. Not a movie at all, but simply a way to speak about Victoria without anyone knowing what they were talking about. He couldn't resist a sigh, and rested his head against the cool window as he suddenly got a lot more tired. "Yeah, I know what you're talking about."
"Great. I think I missed a bit though, as I can't remember her background. You've seen it as well, so could you maybe tell me? Pleeeeaaaase?"
The almost begging expression on her face came close to making him physically ill. This girl before him looked and acted like a normal twelve-year old might be, but he knew she was far from normal. "Alright, what do you want to know?"
"Yay!" Dawn cheered raising her arms in obvious happiness, an action that earned her a smile from a woman seated a couple of chairs away. "Where did she come from, how did she get to be so good, and why did everybody trust her like that?"
In other words, who the hell are you taking me to?
"Victoria is a professional who's done this kind of thing for years, is extremely good at it, and is under the protection of a number of big players. She only accepts new clients that are recommended by people she trusts, and even then she does an extensive background check."
"Background check?" Dawn interrupted. "Wouldn't that leave her with a lot of blackmail material?"
"Victoria is trusted more than most priests when it comes to keeping secrets. She works for everybody, and doesn't tell anybody anything she knows about her clients. It also means all her clients make sure she doesn't show up on the radar of the police at all. After all, if she's ever arrested they will have a problem." It also meant Victoria would know more about Dawn and her boss than he did. Which he still had mixed feelings about.
"I take it if anything happens to her everybody will be unhappy?"
"Of course, the key to a long and happy life in her case is that her lawyers know what to do when she dies. And her clients know what that is."
"That shows why everybody trusts her, but is there anything more known about her? Where she came from for example?"
"Only what it says on her ID, and you can't trust the ID of a forger."
Dawn nodded at this in understanding. Not that she was finished with her questions, but at least it seemed like she accepted this. "So, what about the kid?"
"The kid?" Dave had to think what she meant by that, but he didn't quite get what she meant by it.
"Yeah, the boy, Dave." Oh, she was talking about him.
"What about him?" Not that he didn't suspect, but he didn't really want to tell her about that.
"How did he meet her? And became one of those people she trusts."
Sometimes using movie metaphors made life easier, and Dave had to suppress a smile at what he was about to tell her. "It was never explained in the movie, but there was that scene where he said he knew everyone."