Lucas stood instantly, setting a hand on his son's shoulder rather than yelling at him to pay attention. I had to give him that; if he wasn't a fighter, his patience certainly rivalled a saint. It was little wonder the children in kindergarden missed him so much, a shame he had only one son to look after.
- "Marcus, what's wrong?"
- "I was kicked out of the supermarket."
I stood so fast that my feet caught themselves in the chair. A hand suddenly shot up to grasp my arm, and I sent a grateful smile to Lucas for stabilising me.
- "What happened?", I asked, bristling.
- "The owner came to me. He said he didn't want our kind in his shop."
Hot red anger suddenly took hold of my nerves, and I caught my hand bag with a swift move.
- "This is illegal. I'm going there immediately."
Marcus nodded.
- "OK, I'm in."
- "No!" his father shouted.
Jaw agape, I watched the teenage boy accuse his own father.
- "If you won't stand up for yourself, I'll do it for you. You coming, Elena?"
The use of my first name seemed to shake Lucas, for he turned to me.
- "Do you know each other?"
- "I dropped him at your place three days ago after I interrogated Kirsten."
At once, Fanny started barking again and I kicked myself ! Damn. Many emotions flickered across Lucas's face, one of them being gratitude, and the other would have been undefinable if not for my gift. But I knew; he didn't want me to drag his son into this, but he was intelligent enough to realise harm was done already. So I made my point with all the calm I could muster, as a police agent.
- "Mr Jensen. The director and his employees need to understand that no prejudice can bypass the law. And I'll be the one enforcing it, just like I did in Marcus' school."
- "Oh thanks, by the way. It was so cool, they're all afraid of you now" Marcus chimed in.
I smiled at the teen, relieved to hear that my little fit had not worsened the issue, and ignoring Lucas' shocked look.
- "You're welcome."
- "As grateful as I am for your intervention, Mrs Torsø, high school teens are not the same as grown men. Perhaps we should just lay low until the case is closed, Marcus."
Marcus scoffed.
- "No way, Dad! Didn't you hear Elena, it is illegal! Do you know how it feels to be kicked out of the place because they don't want your kind? What fucking kind am I, uh?"
The wave of anguish that oozed out of the teen struck both of us, and I watched Lucas' features morph into desolation. He was beating himself up for the situation, but something was missing. A major piece of information that escaped my grasp; the need for acceptance. The teen saw himself as different ? That was weird.
Anyway, Marcus needed support, and this event had only pushed the right buttons. My ignorance of his history left me hanging, but I could literally feel what he needed from me. So I turned to Lucas, and braced myself.
- "Your son is being bullied, Mr Jensen. I will not stand by and let the matter rest. This is my job. Since you have authority over Marcus, I'll give you five minutes to sort it out."
- "What?" the teenager exclaimed.
I turned to the teen, and grasped his arm to level him with a very serious gaze.
- "It's true, Marcus. This is a potentially dangerous situation. It's up to your father to decide whether he wants to expose you."
There was a message there, one I was trying to scream with my eyes. Put your father in front of his responsibilities, let him realise that you need him to stand up for you. I just didn't know how to convey it, so I nodded, and stepped outside.
While Marcus and Lucas discussed the issue at hand, I texted Denise to report it. And took a deep, long breath. This wasn't going to be funny, and I needed to muster my best "I'm a police officer" persona to put those people in their place. Marcus and Lucas' presence could be a hindrance, or a strength, depending on … too many parameters.
The house behind me was silent; if Lucas and his son were arguing, they had the good sense to be quiet about it. At last, the teenager emerged from the main door and my face fell. Then … his father stepped through, and locked it. His face was stern, his jaw set. Anger … slowly replacing sadness, indignation pushing resignation away. And even if I didn't like being in its way, I was still satisfied by the outcome.
Was Lucas Jensen ready to face adversity for the sake of his only son? Perhaps, for he started walking briskly in the village's direction. I followed, my heels clicking on the pavement, side by side with Marcus. We didn't get much time to talk; I found that Lucas possessed insanely long legs. By the time we made it into the village, I was winded, and so was Marcus.
Jensen dove headfirst into the shop, leaving us both stunned. Then, Marcus and I regained our bearings and ran behind. The shop was in an uproar, evil looks thrown Lucas' way. But he was past caring; his whole body bristled in anger as he called for the shop's owner to come out and meet him. Like a man. His words, not mine. Good words.
And despite the lingering violence, I found myself immensely proud of him. Standing tall, Lucas Jensen was unleashing the full potential of his character. No longer bending, no longer hunching his shoulders to let the storm pass. He was meeting it head on, and damn, it was an impressive sight! I heard Marcus swear by my side, mesmerised by his father's display. I smiled at him, and the teenager grinned, his blue eyes shining.
The butcher, with his white apron, called out to Lucas.
- "Hey Lucas, she's good-looking. Why don't you go and fuck her rather than harass our children?"
Lucas's eyes lost two shades of warmth, and I reached for his arm to let him know I would handle it before he exploded altogether. Was there any harsher treatment, for a man like him, to imply he would assault a child? I watched his jaw flex right before his distress hit me, and I wanted nothing more than fold him in my arms to shield him for their words. There was a strange flutter in my heart at this moment, confusion replacing indignation. What would a man like Lucas feel like, after so many years of celibacy?
Mr Jensen didn't turn to me; his eyes were set upon his enemies, like a warrior about to be attacked in every direction. Damn, he was tense, but his nod told me he'd heard my plea. Fishing my badge, I stuck it below the bald man's nose.
- "Insult to an agent of the law. Would you like to add 'assault' to the list, or will it be enough?"
The guy paled two notches, and took a step back.
- "What's going on, Lars? And what is he doing here?"
That "he" dripped with disgust. That "he" meant Lucas Jensen. I cocked my head aside to level the newly arrived manager with a glare.
- "I heard a customer was kicked out of here with the sorry excuse of being of 'one's kind'. Is that true?", I asked.
The man nodded without shame, and I felt Lucas bristle by my side.
- "Yes. We don't want him, or his son here."
I smirked; he was even more stupid than I thought. Rather than denying it, he was repeating the same mistake in front of a law officer. I watched the employees around me, and raised my voice to cover the whole shop.
- "Aside from being illegal, an action to which I might file a report, your reaction is pretty retarded," I sternly scolded. "If you are lucky, Mr Jensen, here, will not press charges and you will only have to pay a fine. If not… I'll be glad to handle the case myself."
This was as good a threat as I could muster, and apparently, I had no lost my touch for the director changed colour.
- "But…"
- "But what?", I retorted. "You thought that going on a witch hunt is authorised in Denmark?"
I couldn't keep my anger at bay; the director didn't seem ashamed at all. So I nailed it, hard, into his little skull.
- "As the director, you are responsible for all things that happen here. Refusing to serve a customer is illegal. Insulting, another offence."
Then I turned to the others, and glared. Several employees lowered their gazes to the ground while I raged on.
- "What you are doing is called bullying, do you even realise that?"
By my side, I could feel Lucas' resolve ebb away, the injustice sapping his reserves as his adrenalin crashed down. I knew the feeling well; he'd mustered so much energy to get to this point. I needed to finish this now.
- "Aren't you supposed to protect the victims?" the director's voice called to me.
I whirled around and marched to the despicable, narrow-minded man, finding myself face to face with him.
- "I'm protecting everyone. In this case, they are the victims, and you are the assailants. This is my job, and I will not accept bullying on my watch, understood?"
- "We have every reason…"
Fuck it, he still found the gall to complain!
- "No you don't !" Marcus suddenly shouted.
- "I am innocent!"
Lucas' voice thundered over the assistance. No more a plea, but a truth. Seeing that he had stunned them for a moment, I stuck my badge in front of the director's face with anger.
- "Are you more informed than the police? If you want to join, you're welcome to cross the street. If not, do not substitute yourself to the law. You have, so far, no reason to shun this family. Is that clear?"
Then I turned on my heels, and gave one last look to the employees.
- "Follow the law to the letter, or there will be consequences. My colleagues will make sure of it. I can assure you there will be repercussions if I hear of discourtesy again."
And I walked out like a queen, anger and indignation raging war inside my chest. Lucas and his son flanked me, and I had to admit that we three made an impressive trio as we literally marched on the main square. Too bad we weren't dressed in black…
I stopped a few hundred metres away, simmering from the confrontation. I couldn't believe the gall of those people. They reacted like a twelfth-century community. Hugh! To think I was about to face the kindergarden's parents this evening… Bloody fantastic.
- "You were impressive in there, Mrs Torsø."
I accepted the compliment with a dip of my head, observing the man that stood by my side.
- "So were you," I responded.
The man's eyes filled with doubt, but Marcus put an end to it efficiently.
- "Yeah, Dad, I really thought you were going to rip them apart."
The image caused my lips to quirk, and I swore I saw a blush spread over Lucas's cheeks.
- "Ah, no. I abhor violence."
- "And it would have defeated the whole 'I'm a police officer' speech, Marcus."
The teenager laughed, and I swore.
- "I need a stiff drink. My day is not over."
Lucas sent me a knowing look; he wouldn't spit on a little alcohol either.
- "I've got some stuff stored. You can even have one more hedgehog cake."
Marcus' squeak caused me to burst out laughing.
- "Hedgehog cake dad? Really?" he asked, aghast.
Lucas gave his son a smile, a true one, so dazzling that my heart sped up. What was it, with this man, that I found so mesmerising? His full lips had retreated, exposing sharp canines in a boyish expression.
- "Yeah, really. You have to see them to believe it. They're very cute"
His fondness for my daughter's gesture was so genuine that my heart melted; I could feel it in my bones for it radiated from him with a filter.
- "Eeew. I could never eat a hedgehog," Marcus said.
- "Never say never," Lucas retorted playfully.
Seeing him alive, and heartened by his own strength was a revelation.
We retreated along the road, father and son bantering while I walked behind. I hoped the parent's meeting would be easier on my nerves, because my energy levels were close to depletion. Confrontation cost me a lot of energy. Just like Lucas; I wasn't born for fighting, even if heeded its call when necessity arose.
For the moment, I just wanted a glass of something, and my beloved Sophie's cake.