Disclaimer: I do not own Prodigal Son , or Perfected, for that matter.
"Please, sit down." The glamourous, dark haired woman requested, gesturing to a lush couch farmed by two chairs.
Dani Powell sat down, her face neutral, but her eyes scanning the room. The furniture alone could probably pay the rent for apartment for months. Modern day slave trading must pay well, she guessed, though the man who recommended her mentioned something about old money. Not for the first time since arriving she was starting to think this was mistake.
"You sure I can't offer you anything?" Her host asked, sensing the younger woman's apprehension as she sat down across from her, "Coffee? Tea? I'd offer something stronger, but we're in the middle of business."
"Ah, no thank you, Miss Whitely." Dani replied, just wanting this to be over
"Please, call me Jessica." This time taking no for an answer, Jessica got down to brass tacks as she sat down in the chair to Dani's right. "I was surprised when Gi— Lieutenant Arroyo called to arrange this meeting for you. You don't see a lot of cops…detectives or otherwise, in the market for pets. So, tell me, what does Detective Dani Powell of Vice want with a pet?"
"Undercover assignment." Dani confessed against her better judgement, "I'm not at liberally to discuss the details, I shouldn't have even told you I work undercover, but the suspect's…somewhat elitist. He won't give you the time of day if you don't have a pet. Everyone thinks that my in, including me. Only problem is…budget's not gonna pay for one, I don't make enough to even get on a waiting list for a kennel myself, let alone in the lottery and even if I did there's no guarantee I'd get in any time soon. Detective Arroyo pointed me to you. Says you broker in …'tarnished pets'. Apparently, they're cheaper and I can get one now."
Jessica smiled politely. "They can be." She a paused a minute. "Tell me, what happens to this pet once the case is over?"
"To be honest, I haven't thought that far ahead." Dani admitted. She didn't need a pet. Well, really no one needed one of these things. They were a status symbol. She had heard of about them, but honestly, she never really thought about them until this came up, and quite frankly the whole thing was just twisted. She couldn't really blame Texas for threatening to succeed from the country over the legislation allowing genetic engineering of human beings for pets. "Look, I can give you fifteen hundred up front. I can even pay cash."
Jessica sat there for a moment thoughtful, then spoke. "I do have a pet that would actually be perfect for what you need him for. I'll make you a deal. I'll loan him to you, free of charge, provided you return him to me the minute your case is closed. Unharmed. "
"Wait, he?" Dani repeated, "I thought pets were girls."
"Most pets are girls, yes." Jessica responded, "But there's a small demand for boys, kennels will normally breed one, two a year out of the allotted twenty." After a beat, she got to the point. "So, what do you say, Detective? Do we have a deal?"
"What makes him so prefect?" Dani questioned, accessing the situation. She didn't have a lot of other options, any other option really, but this was all just a bit too easy.
"Ainsley dear!" Jessica called out, "Would you bring Malcolm down here, please?" The sound of footsteps echoed on the stairs somewhere, then Jessica began, "There are some things about Malcolm I should probably warn you about. He's a bright boy with a sweet disposition most of the time, but…he's got a rough background. His last owner was murdered in a business dispute, poor thing saw it happen, and top of that when he was handed over to me…his body was covered with bruises, when I had them examined, there were signs of older healed fractures, it looks like the man at least had the decency to the injuries properly treated, but I think you get the picture. And I don't know who his owners were before that, but he's…skittish around older women. He also has these…nightmares. He'll wake up screaming and crying, waking up the whole house. You just ... might want to prepare yourself."
The more Dani heard, the more she thought this was a bad idea. Not to be callused, but if he had that many issues, how could she expect him to hold it together on the case? What if he exposed her?
Then they would both be good as dead.
However, before she could argue a professionally dressed young woman in her early twenties with long thick honey blonde hair walked in, pulling a young man, a boy really, roughly the same age by the hand.
Dani was surprised by not by how normal he looked. Handsome, yes, nice features with blue eyes like sea glass, but normal. If it weren't for the nice suit, he could be any kid off the street. She also wasn't prepared for him to look so young and so scared. Even though he was clearly trying to hide it, to keep a placid face but the fear was clear in his eyes, the hand the girl Ainsley had a hold of trembling.
"It's okay." The girl, Ainsley presumably, assured him, stepping back and exiting the room, leaving him alone with the two women as he looked back in the direction she was going.
"Malcolm, sweetheart, this is Detective Powell." Jessica introduced them, gesturing to Dani, "I was hopping you could show the…special skills taught at your kennel, if you know what I mean."
Malcolm did. He looked at the scene of the two women, taking in all the details, his mouth going dry at the same time, afraid to articulate what he was seeing.
Dani's countenance softened. "Hey, it's okay, I don't bite. Go ahead."
Working up his courage, Malcolm began rather bluntly, "You and Miss Whitely were talking about some kind of business, but you're not sure about it. Your arms are folded, closed off, your skeptical about whatever she proposed, you're not sure about going through with it. You don't trust her, you're maybe a little nervous….and you're also surprised, and troubled." He paused a moment then continued, "She's weary of you as well, but a little more open to what you have to say." He took a long deep breath before finishing, "And since she had Ainsley bring me down, I would have a assume you're a perspective buyer." He knew this would happen eventually, but he honestly thought he had more time. That Jessica was suppose to wait until the case was closed. His heart felt like was about to pop out of his chest and he had to stop his whole body from shanking as he awaited the woman's response.
Hopping to give the kid some assurance if she could, Dani flashed him a small smile saying, "Well, that was impressive." Then she turned back to Jessica with a questioning look, silently asking, Can you explain what just happened?
"The kennel where Malcolm was bred trained all the pets in body language skills." Jessica explained, "Reading it, using it to better meet their owner's needs. As you can see, he picked up on it rather well. Considering what your…unique situation I thought that was something you might be interested in."
Malcolm stiffed, trying to appear as he just shifting. Unique situation? What did that mean?
Dani's eyes went between Malcolm and Jessica for a minute. "You got yourself a deal, Miss Whitley." After she asked, "I'm sorry, Jessica. So, what happens now?"
"I'm still going to want you to fill out the usual paperwork I have all my clients fill out, and you're still going to need Malcolm's papers." Jessica explained, standing up, "Ainsley, would you take Malcolm back upstairs while me and Detective Powell discuss the specifics?"
"Wait, can't he just stay down here?" Dani suggested, "I mean, it's not like you don't have the room."
"Alright," Jessica agreed, gesturing to the couch beside Dani, "Malcom."
Malcolm's heart dropped as he silently walked over to the chair. He had hoped might have a chance to say goodbye to the girls. Would they tell them where he was? Or would they be left to figure it out on their own?
Realizing what he was thinking, Ainsley spoke up. "Would you like to tell the others goodbye, Malcolm?"
"Others?" Dani repeated, eyes going between the women and Malcolm, who continued to sit down next to her.
"I have two other pets upstairs. " Jessica admitted, "Girls. One was already here when I acquired him, the other shortly after."
"It's fine." Malcolm lied with a smile. He didn't want to make a bad impression with his owner right off the bat by making requests. He wasn't the one in charge and he knew it.
"No, Malcolm, it's okay." Dani assured him, "Go say goodbye to your friends. Like Jessica said, we go some business to take care of before we go." And who knows if they'll be here when you get back.
Malcolm's eyes went over to the woman, carefully reading her micro expressions and found to his surprise she appeared to be completely sincerely. "Thank you, mistress." He beamed, pratically jumping to his feet, "Thank you, thank you!"
"Don't mention it," Dani called out, "Just don't call me…" Her voice trailed off as he hurried from the room, "You know what, we'll talk about it later." It honestly broke her heart, to see the way his face lit up.
"Thank you for letting him do that." Jessica told Dani soberly, sincerely. Before the younger woman could respond, Jessica continued in a sightly more chipper tone. "Well, not that, that's out of the way, I'll be right back with that paperwork. With that she hurried out of the room, leaving Dani by herself.
Upstairs, Malcolm hand his arms wrapped around a teenage girl with thick pale blonde hair who was sobbing into his chest, choking back the tears threatening once again from his own eyes as well.
"There was to be something we can do." The girl protested into his chest, "Maybe we could talk her into taking one of us instead, or, or….
"Eve," Malcolm cut her off firmly, squeezing her, "Eve, I'm sorry, but we always knew this was going to happen." He should have known she would take this hard. At nineteen, Eve was the youngest of the three of them and was still shook from the discovery that the people she loved, that she thought cared about her, would toss her aside like she was nothing.
As they finally broke the embrace he tried to assure. "I'm going to be fine. She—she looked nice."
Eve nodded, whipping her eyes and trying to pull herself together before picking up a broken chain with flat circular pedant, removing it from the chain and placing it in Malcolm's hand with a, "Here. So you don't—so you don't forget either of us." She glanced over at the brunette beside her.
Malcolm looked down at the pedant. It almost looked like the one Ainsley wore around her neck, same flat sliver circle, only this one was plain while Ainsley's was lined with small pearls, simple print writing engraved in the middle while Ainsley's was cursive. Of course presumably the names were different as well. He knew what this meant to his friend.
The tears finally spilled down his cheeks as he pocketed the license. "I could never forget either of you." With that Malcolm turned slightly to the brown-eyed brunette who had been standing next to Eve this whole time.
At twenty-four Sophie was the oldest of them, probably one of the oldest pets in existence , and been around long enough and been through enough to know that Malcom's statement of 'she looked nice,' didn't say much.
"Sophie…" Malcolm gasped, the pain and guilt of the secret they shared, the thing they had never told anyone else, welling up inside him and taking away his ability to speak.
"Sssh, sssh, sssh, sssh. " Sophie soothed, reaching out and taking both of his hands, "There was nothing you could have done. You have nothing to be sorry for, you got that, Bright Eyes?"
Malcolm nodded.
"Now come here." Sophie told him, before pulling him into a hug, her head on his shoulder. Leaning into his ear, she whispered, "If she hurts you, you run, you got me?"
Not expecting that, Malcolm froze a moment, "What?"
Instead of answering his question Sophie went on, "I've told you how to get the microchip out. If it comes down to it, you can run."
"Didn't exactly work out for you, remember?" Malcolm pointed out.
"You got my mistakes to learn from." Sophie countered before pulling back, looking him in the face and speaking in normal voice, "I believe in you, Mal." Then she leaned in again, giving him a kiss on each cheek and forehead.
Ainsley had been watching the whole exchange from the doorway. In her pencil skirt and blazer, a striking contrast to the elegant silk dresses the girls were wearing, casually leaned back, one wouldn't know she was a pet to look at her. One certainly wouldn't guess it by how she acted most of the time.
Someone Malcolm thought she forgot she was one.
She had to stop herself from jumping in surprise when Malcolm threw his arms around her. "Look after them okay?" He knew that she was grooming them for Jessica's buyers, but there were the other things she did, the things she didn't have to do…he wouldn't say he trusted Ainsley, but he trusted her with this.
"Of course." Ainsley said, pulling back and taking a white handkerchief from the inside of her blazer. "Here. You should clean yourself up a bit before we got back down there."
"Yes, sure." Malcolm agreed, taking the handkerchief and blotting at his face.
Meanwhile, back down, Dani was shifting awkwardly in her seat, having some trouble processing everything that had just happened. Did that really just happen? Or did she make up the blue-eyed kid with the Sherlock scan? And was she actually about to rent him, basically?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hills on the hardwood, announcing Jessica's coming before she appeared in the doorway, carrying a stack of papers that have to had killed a whole tree to make. "It took me a minute, but I think I found all of it." She sat down across from Dani and slid a thick stack of stappled papers over to the other women. "Now, this is just the stander contract I make all customers sign, agreeing to sell their pets back to me, should they, um…change their mind about their purchase. Of course, the situation here is a little different, but I think it should still work."
Dani raised an eyebrow. "You make all clients agree to this?"
"Detective," Jessica smiled politely, looking up and leaning back a minute, "The kennels who breed these pets are very choosy about their clientele. There's multiple back ground checks, they have to be from the top one percent. The clientele on the other hand, couldn't care less about who the kennels say they can and can't sell to. I've acquired pets from far worst situations than Malcolm's."
"And your standards are the same as kennels?" Dani guessed where this was going.
"My standards are higher." Jessica told her matter of factly, "If Lieutenant Arroyo hadn't vogued for you, you wouldn't have even gotten in the door. I mean, you're record is fairly disguised actually for your age, but you also seemed to have gone off the grid for two years and your roommate has that one arrest…"
"How'd you even find all that?" Dani cut her off, alarmed for several reasons. The reason she went 'off the grid' as the older woman put it was because she had been undercover so Jessica shouldn't have been able to find anything on that. And Twyla's name wasn't on the lease and neither of them used that much social media!
"I have my ways, Detective." Jessica told her cryptically, "On that note, if Malcolm is mistreated in anyway, I will hear of it." narrowing her eyes she added, "And trust me when I tell you that you and I do not want to be enemies."
That's rich coming from the lady who's renting him out like he's a Redbox DVD. Dani thought, but was too scared to say anything thing out loud, even if she wasn't trying to be civil. She didn't know how, but between the information the woman shouldn't have and the threatening glare she had given Dani, she had a feeling that Jessica Whitley could make good on that threat somehow.
As if flipping the switch, Jessica smiled, changing to a much more pleasant tone ,saying, "Now, most clients do insist on having a lawyer look this over, so—"
"There's no need for that." Dani cut her off with a tight, toothless smile. She just wanted to take Malcolm and get out of this creepy place. "Where do I sign?"
"Print here," Jessica began, putting her finger on the line, "Signature here. And initial this."
Dani complied.
"Then just your signature on the next page." Jessica instructed.
As Dani flipped the page, Ainsley stepped back in, Malcolm's hand in one of hers, a much smaller stack of papers in the others.
"Thank you, Ainsley." Jessica said, taking the forms and handing them for Dani to take. "These are just Malcolm's papers." She told the detective as she took them, "You can look on Remington's website for any questions you have about his care, though I wouldn't call them if you need anything. The kennels don't want to admit that situations like this—resells that is—actually happen, not good for the brand, you know, so best case sanario, they give you the runaround." She pulled out a card and handed to Dani, "This is my business line, if you need anything, just call me."
Next thing you know she'll be telling me to have him registered with the American Kennel Club. Dani thought, watching as Jessica took a pen and scribbled something on a slip of paper.
"In case you don't already have it," Jessica began, handing it to Dani, "This is the lieutenant's business line. Major Crimes was the one who caught Mr. Harker's murder, because really the world is quite small, and they still need access to Malcom , so you'll need to let them know he's with you."
Dani made a silent note to ask the Lieutenant how exactly he knew this crazy lady next time they spoke as she took the slip. "I'll be sure to remember to do that, thanks." She got to her feet. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you. "She lied, before turning to Malcolm. Even with the blotting she could make out red rims around his eyes. He'd been crying. And who could blame him? Walking over to him, she took his hand in what she hopped was a comforting gesture. "Come on, let's get you out of here."
As they headed towards the doorway, Dani told him, "Hey, why don't you go ahead of me, wait by the car. It's right out front, you can't miss it."
"Yes Mistress." Malcolm agreed with a nod before heading to door.
Yep, definitely going to need to talk with him about that. Dani thought, turning back to Jessica. "I just wanted to know…what are your plans for him? After I give him back to you?" She knew she hadn't known him for really any length of time, but what might happen to him once he was out of her care had a knot forming in her stomach.
"Honestly, it all depends on how long the trail takes." Jessica admitted, "The trail of…Mr. Harker's killer. They're not sure if a pet can even legally testify in court, but a judge decides they can…well. Like I told you, he saw everything."
Dani felt a chill run through as she was reminded. As if the poor guy didn't have enough problems. Then another thought occurred to her. "Speaking of which, I don't have to worry about…"
"Oh, no they caught the man that did it and last I heard, he was still in jail…" Jessica began before a said look crossed her features for a moment. Then she shook it off. "Malcolm will be fine, I'll make sure of it. Now, you have a criminal to catch and Malcolm's waiting for you right outside. I won't keep you any longer."
"Right," Dani responded awkwardly, before adding, "See you when I bring him back I guess." With that she fled out the door.
Once she was gone, Jessica let out a sigh walking towards the dinning room. She needed a drink.
"Mom, are you sure that was a good idea?" Ainsley asked, following her, "With…"
"We can't send him with the others until the case is finished." Jessica responded, pouring herself a glass of bourbon and turning around, "We can't risk him letting it slip to the police. I don't think he would intentionally do anything to endanger those girls, but, accidents happen." She put the glass up to her lips, "Even with Gil on our side, we'd be done for."
"Assuming we can even get the girls out right now." Ainsley pointed out.
Jessica lowered the drink. "Yes, well, there's that, too."
Outside, Dani walked towards a nondescript black car outside, Malcolm standing next to waiting patiently. "You doing all right?" She asked, taking out the key fob and unlocking the car.
Malcolm looked up at her. "I'm fine, Mistress, thank you."
"Please, don't call me that." She told him, "Dani is fine." After a beat, she added, "It's unlocked, you can get in."
Malcolm complied, getting in, fastening his seat bleat as he looked around. The car was clean, neat, almost unlived in. The car of a professional of some kind. What kind, he couldn't be sure.
Getting in the car, she glanced over to him. "It's going to be okay." Dani told him, trying to will herself to believe it, "We're going home now."
AN: Okay, I'm worried it might be a bit OOC, but hopefully that will change as character development happens! Hope you all enjoy this. Happy Good Friday and Easter everyone!