Two weeks later
Wednesday

Mindy was mad.

Like, I did not already know that!

"Hey asshole – I am not mad!"

"Did I say that out loud? Sorry!"

By 'mad', I meant pissed off, rather than crazy.

It was a week until Christmas and Mindy was excited – apparently, she loved Christmas, although it would just be us, as Dad thought it still unsafe for us to leave the place. Mindy was getting impatient for action and I knew that Mindy was not grieving properly.

"You still complaining?"

"It fucking itches!" Mindy complained.

"Well, you needed one; so stop being such a Hit Pansy!"

Mindy had her first bra; but she was not happy about wearing it. However, Mindy was growing up and turning into a young woman – not that I had the faintest idea about any of that stuff, but I was doing what I could to help.

"Puberty sucks!"

"Well according to this book, you've got a whole lot more to worry about!" I quipped and Mindy glared dangerously.

"Give me that!" Mindy growled and seized the book from me.

"Why are you reading a book about puberty in girls?" Mindy demanded looking at the cover.

"Well – I wanted to know what I was in for, I suppose."

"I may be getting boobs and other stuff, but I'm still Mindy!"

"Yeah, but you will be a hormonal Mindy, which makes you a little scarier than normal."

"Not funny."

"Wait till you read pages twenty-two to twenty-eight – now that really sucks!"

I saw Mindy flicking through the pages, then she paused and her face turned pink. Then I saw her grimace and close the book.

"I am not looking forward to any of that shit!"

Dad came by that afternoon.

He had been shopping. First, there was a small tree and some Christmas decorations and then lots of food for the fridge and freezer. Dad said he would come over on Christmas morning, if we did not mind – we said that we did not and would be glad of the company.

Mindy was now in a much happier mood as she started decorating the tree and hanging up decorations.

There had been no more news about the shooting, although it was rumoured that there were still some dirty cops about, in the employ of Ralph D'Amico. We had decided to go out, as Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, the night after Christmas and then we would take a week off and enjoy ourselves before maybe going out again on New Year's Eve.

I wanted this Christmas to be special for Mindy, as she had lost a lot over the past few weeks.

Dave was worried about me.

I was not so devoid of emotions and feelings that I could not work that one out. I owed him big time, without Dave... Well, I did not want to think about that. It actually surprised me that he had not run off as soon as Marcus had been murdered. He had made the perfectly valid point that I was not going to be the best person to live with over the next few years! Yes, I found talking about my body changing, embarrassing – especially in front of Dave, but who else did I have? He had even taken the trouble to find a book on the subject!

I owed him I really did. However, what could I do to reward him? What did the average fifteen-year-old boy want?

Time to go visit the internet!

Okay!

The internet was a very freaky place; I found many cool and interesting things. However, some of the sites were most definitely, not suitable for a twelve-year-old girl – even me! I had seen many gory things in my life and inflicted many gruesome injuries, but some of what I saw was just wrong!

Nevertheless, I had placed some orders at some reputable sites, and one or two that were not very reputable and never mind, what I bought!

I already had a large gift for him, ordered a month before, at the beginning of November – with Mr Lizewski's help. In hindsight, the gift now seemed most appropriate, but just a few refinements were required. I had spent some time with Mr L, without Dave's knowledge, finding out some more about my partner.

That afternoon

I was fed up with sitting about doing nothing, so I decided to do some investigating.

Dave would kill me, but I had to do something. So, while he was in the shower, I stuffed my hair up into a ball-cap and hid a Balisong in my right training shoe. It was still daylight, so a young girl would not stand out all that much. I grabbed a well-worn 'Hello Kitty' backpack that I had used until the previous year. It would add to my disguise.

I left the Safehouse and headed towards Manhattan.

The shower felt good; we had had a two-hour sparring session and I was hungry.

"Mindy – you hungry?"

There was no answer, so I went upstairs and pushed open the door to Mindy's bedroom.

"Mindy?"

I double-checked everywhere – nothing.

"I am going to skin her alive!"

Eastern Manhattan

I found something straight away.

Due to us hiding out, I had not been able to attend Marcus' funeral. Mr Lizewski had said that anybody looking for me, would scope out that location. He was right – as usual.

Knowing about surveillance and counter-surveillance allowed me to identify the watchers, before they identified me. They seemed to by NYPD, but I knew that they must have been crooked cops. I actually heard them discussing the situation. It seemed that they were fans of Gigante and not Marcus!

I took some photos with my cell and then headed across Manhattan towards Central Park. I decided that I would be safe there, as surveillance would be difficult. For extra security, my cell was turned off – Dave and I had ditched our original ones after leaving Marcus and had acquired new, clean ones.

..._...

I was being followed!

Obviously, I had not been as careful as I had hoped! I was on East 72nd Street heading northwest towards Central Park. I saw the reflection of two men in a passing cab; they were Cops, plain clothed, but still Cops! I had been seen them both at the cemetery stakeout. How could I have been so fucking stupid! I turned left down Madison Avenue, just across from the Ralph Lauren store.

I walked faster as I passed St James' Church, heading southwest, parallel to Central Park. As I crossed East 71st Street, the two men were still with me and I clocked an unmarked car, cheap bodywork, the man in it was watching me.

I was in danger!

I stayed in character and looked in windows, ignoring the Cops, as if I had never seen them. The windows allowed me to see my followers, without tipping them off that I knew they were there. I crossed the road opposite the Gucci store and then stopped outside the Cartier store. I paused for a minute gazing at some rather nice, but fucking extortionately priced jewellery!

I refocused on the reflections in the glass. The two Cops had stopped on the other side of the street and were casually looking around, never staring at me. The Cop in the car had pulled over twenty yards down the street. The net was tightening.

I took a deep breath and steadied my hands, which were sweating badly and shaking slightly. I was conscious of the Balisong in my shoe; would I need it? Could I get to it in time? Could I stab a Cop?

I continued walking and turned right at East 66th Street, heading towards Central Park. I crossed 5th Avenue and entered Central Park, up 65th Street. The Cops were a ways back, having not crossed 5th Avenue. I waited until a truck blocked their view of me and dived over a wall and rolled down a grass bank.

I quickly ran towards a pathway that ran under 65th Street and then ran along the path, heading south towards the Arsenal. I headed towards Central Park East Drive. I knew the park well, having spent many days there exercising with Daddy. It was already getting dark and very cold. I could hear the Cops shouting at each other as they searched for me.

"There she is!"

I turned in horror and saw a uniformed Cop pointing at me. I ran; I ran as fast as I could. I was out of options.

This was it; I stopped and reached down to my shoe.

A hand came across my mouth and I was dragged backwards into the undergrowth.

Oh fucking great; I am about to be fucking raped!

I attempted to fight, but my arms were pinned to my sides and whoever it was kept his face away from the back of my head.

"Keep still, you stupid girl!" A voice growled in my ear.

I stopped struggling as soon as I recognised the voice of Mr Lizewski.

If he was here, looking for me, then I had fucked up, badly!

Later that night

Safehouse C

Dave looked like he was going to blow a gasket.

I considered making a joke of it, but thought better of it!

"You trying to get yourself killed?" Dave asked and then he surprised me.

Dave pushed me roughly, onto the mat, but I tripped and fell backwards. For a fleeting moment, I thought that Dave was going to hit me; from my perspective, he looked pissed and somewhat scary.

"I needed to get information..." I said weakly.

"Mindy, you may not think that there is anybody left that cares about you; but you are wrong," Mr Lizewski said and made me feel very guilty. "It is not often that I get my son on the phone, in a panic, worried about somebody so bad, he couldn't form words."

The guilt was increasing, word by word; I felt so fucking small.

"Mindy – I don't want to lose you – I really don't. Please don't do that again," Dave said quietly before nodding to his father and heading upstairs to bed.

"Goodnight, Mindy," Mr Lizewski said heading downstairs.

I could not move; I just sat there on the mat.

It was well after eleven by the time I finally got up and left the mat.

I was seething.

Who did they think they were? I was Hit Girl; nobody talked down to me, nobody! I stormed upstairs.

"Dave!" I shouted.

"What do you want?" A tired, but annoyed sounding Dave, demanded.

"I am not going to stand for you treating me like a child; I am Hit Girl dammit!

Dave swung his legs out of bed and rubbed his eyes before looking at me.

"You finished?"

"For now..."

"Well Hit Girl, when you start acting like Hit Girl then I might start treating you like Hit Girl."

"What?" I yelled back.

"Damon died; you almost got yourself killed. Marcus died; you almost get yourself killed. You seeing a pattern here?"

"Go fuck yourself!"

"You need to grow the fuck up, Mindy," Dave said angrily and then I snapped.

I slapped him, hard, around the face. Dave just looked at me and shook his head sadly. Then he grabbed his clothes and shoes and headed downstairs. I was furious, with both Dave and myself.

Then I heard the door click shut, downstairs...

..._...

Oh God!

What had I done?

As I stared around the darkened Safehouse, it all seemed to close in on me. I started hyperventilating.

I was alone.

I sat on the stairs and pulled on my shoes, having already pulled on my trousers and a shirt.

I needed some fresh air.

I had only got part way down the stairs to the outside door when I heard a scream.

"Dave!"

It was a loud, panicked scream. Like that which I had inly heard twice before. Once when Damon was burning and then again, when Marcus had been shot. It did not sound like Hit Girl; it sounded like a scared twelve-year-old girl.

..._...

Well, you learn something new every day. In this case I had learnt that Mindy had abandonment issues. Which was understandable considering her past.

She had been abandoned by her Mother.

She had been abandoned by her Father.

She had been abandoned by her Guardian.

Now she thought that I was abandoning her. She was panicking about being left alone. Not exactly the 'I've got three million dollars in a suitcase' girl!

I bolted back up the stairs and found Mindy on the mat, tears streaming down her face. As soon as she saw me, she jumped up and ran over to me, then hugged me tightly. She was sobbing; it looked like her grief had finally caught up with her.

..._...

Then she punched me.

"What was that for?"

"Because you left me and because I'm furious that you made me cry!"

"I never left you, Mindy; I just needed some fresh air. Crying is not a weakness, Mindy; it is a necessity."

"I'd say that I was sorry, but that would be a sign of weakness."

"Just promise me that you won't go out alone again and we'll move on."

"I promise."