Chapter 3.d
Thursday April 21st, 2011
Danny Hebert was a busy man.
Administering the largest collective labor force in Brockton Bay would do that, even without a gang war in the streets. When the Teeth made their unfortunate return to the Bay, the Empire had tried to wrangle the few remaining unions under their thumb as a power consolidation tactic as they geared to a war footing, which in turn made outside support all but dissolve. So, those unions had done what they did best — band together for protection and leverage.
The DWU had been the largest of them and owned enough functional buildings in the Docks besides; those older but sturdy buildings made for a fitting HQ. Danny found himself with a sort of promotion by being made head of hiring of the entire conglomerate… at least until Skidmark killed Frank in one of his benders. The loss of their president had left a void, one which the Union voted Danny should fill.
Thankfully, he had men and women he could trust to handle the more mundane affairs, including Kurt who had stepped into his former position as head of hiring quite admirably. That left the perpetually overworked former head of hiring able to focus on the larger scale issues, like ensuring all his people remained employed and free of gang influences.
Oh, and alive — it wasn't like a bunch of tradesmen and laborers coming together had suddenly prompted the city administration or PRT to actually care. At least their indifference extended to not searching the basement that had become the DWU's armory.
Still, ineffectual that they may be, the PRT had a wealth of information on the local threats. That intel leaked out of the PRT like a sieve, of course, courtesy of disgruntled custodial staff and contractors who now nominally reported to Danny and were happy to support a non-cape group in the Bay. The DWU might not currently hold territory, but the ineffectual feds had forced their hand.
Now, Danny was poring over the DWU's collected files on the Teeth. Most of it had been enthusiastically borrowed from the PRT, but there were plenty of guys who had been hauling boxes when the Teeth had been in town the first time. He remembered them marauding about under the first few Butchers, but while he'd been in college at the time and had the good fortune to be beneath their interest, even he had run afoul of their actions a time or two. The capes had changed, of course, except for the cursed madwoman who called herself their 'leader.'
Danny really didn't want to think about the Butcher, and especially that pain blast they tended to be so fond of. Instead, he was worried for Taylor, who was almost certainly hiding something big from him. Oh, she had been honest enough when Danny had asked if she had joined the Teeth, but his instincts — parental and political both — were bugging him something fierce.
Part of that was Taylor's girlfriend, who was very obviously a supervillain herself. Danny thumbed through a few pictures of Vex in the battered manilla folders that served as the DWU's database, and it was obvious to anyone who had met the redhead that Chrissie was a rather well known up-and-coming cape.
That hurt.
Danny wanted to ask them. He wanted to know for certain, but he couldn't shake the image of the two girls cuddled on the couch, Chrissie passed out on Taylor's shoulder. Intellectually he knew that capes had secret identities, but he just couldn't connect his daughter's girlfriend to the hardened killer that had finally ended Skidmark for good.
He would never admit it, but Danny secretly approved of Chrissie getting revenge for Frank and everyone else the Merchants had ruined. Frank had been a friend and fought the good fight for years, making it all the worse when the PRT just shrugged and walked away. It took the goddamn Teeth to get justice for Frank, and the DWU hadn't really forgotten that fact.
Worse, Danny hadn't seen Taylor so at peace since before… everything. Danny shook his head, refusing to go back down that rabbit hole. He wouldn't repay Alan's kindness by falling apart on Taylor now, because secret respect for Vex or no, Danny was worried for his daughter.
Did Taylor know that Chrissie was Vex? That was stupid question — of course Taylor knew, which only served to raise more questions. Was Taylor also a cape? Danny flicked through the less-than-professional dossiers, past Animos, Reaver… He paused on Weaver and shuddered. Jeff's close call two weeks ago was still fresh in everyone's mind, and try as he might, Danny just couldn't imagine Taylor following that madwoman.
At least Jeff had survived whatever murderous intentions Butcher XV had for the area. Shooting her had not been among Jeff's better ideas, but Danny couldn't fault the guy for panicking.
Unfortunately, the Teeth did have new capes. Three of the former Undersiders had been spotted in Teeth costumes, but Regent, Hellhound, and Tattletale had been effectively non-entities up until this point. Grue was known in the area for working as hired muscle, but overheard conversations in the PRT indicated that he may have flipped rather than work for the living plague.
Danny paused at the last, mostly empty page. The PHO wiki was equally barren, as he discovered after a few minutes of navigating the site, with only a few links to Weaver's own PHO posts. Omen may have only been discussed in rumor and hearsay, but their existence gave Danny nightmares featuring his quiet, thoughtful daughter joining the Teeth in a storm of mayhem and murder.
He had not been sleeping very well, recently.
Teenagers would be teenagers, and while Danny had been understandably distressed about Taylor sneaking out at night, he had decided to trust Taylor and reserve judgment. He had been initially relieved when Taylor said she was going to visit Chrissie's family… until it became clear that the supervillain didn't hold a high opinion of parental figures. It was more likely that Chrissie considered the Teeth her family, which Danny knew well from Annette's feelings about Lustrum's crew; in fact, right up until Kimmie —
Oh, fuck. How had he forgotten that particular shitstorm?
Castrating men aside, one of Annette's own girlfriends had also been a member of the Teeth — and become the Butcher, to boot. If there was enough left of the woman who became Fester in that swirling pit of madness to recognize Taylor as Annette's daughter… was that how she had come to the Teeth's attention?
Was it possible that Taylor really was Omen, and had been recruited by the Butcher personally? Could Butcher XV be cognizant enough to talk to Taylor about her mother? The idea was certainly too absurd to be true, but for some reason Danny couldn't dislodge it from his brain. He would need to talk to Alan, because the last thing he wanted to do was drive Taylor away, but the idea of her being drawn into the Butcher's clutches…
The sudden klaxon of an alarm startled him from his thoughts, a moment later his desk phone rang from an internally routed number. "Danny here, sitrep or call back later."
"It's the Empire, sir," the chief of security stated. "Hookwolf is here along with Cricket and a small army. They are asking to speak with you by name."
Danny took a second to process that. Sure, the Empire had been putting pressure on the DWU ever since they banded together, but they had never sent capes to what was admittedly a small section of mostly unwanted territory. It wasn't even that the union had sided with the Teeth, what with the attack two weeks ago.
Why here, and why now? "Have you contacted the Protectorate?"
The response was a mirthless chuckle. "First thing I did when they made contact, and why I hit the alarm. All their capes are wrapped up fighting the Empire and Teeth at the moment, we're on our own here."
"Shit." Danny pinched his eyes shut, doing his best to avoid thinking about how quickly Hookwolf could murder all of them. "Unfortunate, but nothing new. Tell everyone to be ready if negotiations break down, and inform Hookwolf I'll be there in a few minutes."
With a heavy breath, Danny stood and surveyed his office. He wasn't suffering under any illusions about what was to come — the Empire sent an executioner, not a negotiator. People were about to die, but perhaps he could head off the worst of the carnage. It was with tears in his eyes that he pulled a cell phone from his desk and typed a simple message to Taylor's own phone.
Know that I love you, and I'm sorry I won't be there when you need me most.
With what would be his final message sent, Danny made his way to the door, grabbing his chest holster more out of habit than anything else. Ever since the mantle of the DWU passed to him, he knew this day might come. He wasn't prepared to meet his end, but how many truly were? His will was in order, his life insurance was up to date. Taylor would be taken care of after his passing.
She and Emma might have entered a rough patch, but he knew Alan and Zoe would see to it that she made it through high school and beyond. It was the best he could do without being there himself.
The few union members he passed on his march gave him looks that varied from grieved to respectful, the reminder that there were innocent people he could save strengthening his resolve for each person he passed. He did his best to hold his head high as he went to face death.
The edge of the DWU compound was alive with activity. The union members working security had established defensive lines, not that those would do anything against an enraged Hookwolf even if they did outnumber them almost three to one. They only had a handful of black market containment foam grenades on hand, and Hookwolf laughed the substance off in most cases.
No, all he could hope for was that the Empire would be satisfied with his life alone.
Reaching the front of their lines, he was greeted by the sight of a bare chested man wearing a metal wolf mask and a woman with a cage covering her face. Behind them stood the affront to everything that America stood for: their own knock off SS soldiers complete with uniforms to match. It was a show of force if he ever saw one.
"Hookwolf!" Danny yelled, projecting his voice so it carried. "Why have you come here?"
"You already know the answer." A deep, yet calm voice answered him. "Your dyke of a daughter, of course."
His blood turned to ice in his veins as it hit him.
Taylor.
"She has nothing to do with the Docks," he said, but his voice cracked.
"Perhaps… but you do." Hookwolf said with a reverberating chuckle. "Tell me, why have you allowed her to join the Teeth? Why make yourself guilty by extension? You've done good work helping the working man, which is why we never pressed you over hiring the right sorts. Why side against us now in favor of those subhuman vermin?"
White hot fury filled Danny's veins.
"Don't bullshit me, Hookwolf," Danny spat. "You're here because the union has been a thorn in your so-called Empire's side since Allfather tried and failed to pay us to look the other way when he brought contraband through the Docks." The dockworkers in the crowd made vaguely supportive noises. "For every group of hardworking men and women who decide to come together in solidarity, there's a monster like you who wants to crush us back down. It was true before capes, and it's still true now!"
Danny kept a straight face as the union members around him cheered. Accidental inspiring speech or no, Hookwolf had revealed the real reason he was here: Taylor. Connection to the Butcher, dating a cape, or even a cape herself, Danny would do his damnedest to protect her.
Hookwolf's posture turned calculating, and he blatantly assessed Danny for a long moment. "Nice speech. It's a shame a real American like you got involved with the Teeth, because it means I'm going to kill you now. Kaiser wants you for some scheme or whatever, but he didn't specify alive."
Cricket unsheathed her blades and every gun on the union side came up at that same moment, along with Danny's hand.
"Stand down," he ordered his men, then turned back to Hookwolf. "So much for claiming to be a man of honor. I guess all that talk in your pits was just that — you're no better than those that stuffed my daughter into her own locker."
"You would dare compare us to an animal like that?" Hookwolf growled.
Danny gave a spiteful laugh. "You're goddamn right I dare! You call yourselves the champions of the white race, yet couldn't even protect my daughter in your own territory. Do you know how much it galls me that I failed her so completely that it took the fucking Teeth to see to her safety?"
He knew many of the union boys and girls wouldn't take that revelation well, some might even blame themselves anew, much as they had the day the investigation was dropped. In the end however, it was his fault for allowing a divide to form between himself and Taylor in the wake of Annette's death, and burying himself in his work to cope. He didn't even know Taylor was being bullied until she was shut in her locker.
Deep and reverberating laughter silenced all the murmuring, drawing everyone's undivided attention back to the Empire cape. "You have balls Danny, I'll give you that. Unfortunately, I have my orders. I'm a good little Nazi like that, you see."
"You claim to be a man of honor, Hookwolf? Prove it. You came for me, and here I am. No other blood needs to be spilled today."
"You wish to challenge me?" Hookwolf asked incredulously. "To spare your men?"
Danny shrugged, forcing the casual act even as his legs wanted to buckle. "You intend to kill me regardless, and I'd put money on my men dropping most of yours before you even finished blending me. This way none of our men's lives are wasted on pointless conflict."
"Very well," Hookwolf said, cracking his knuckles. "I accept those terms."
"Danny, don't! It's suicide!" Kurt yelled out.
"Better just me than all of us," he answered with a pained smile. "Keep an eye on Taylor for me."
The chest holster came off easily, as it was dead weight against Hookwolf. Danny knew he was a tall man, and not much more, but his opponent had an easy six inches on him. That didn't even factor in the additional person's worth of muscle. Nevermind his ability to spontaneously transform into a bus sized creature of razor filled death… Danny knew he had no chance of winning, much less surviving.
"Bradley Meadows," Hookwolf spoke softly, where only Danny could hear it. There was a wide grin plastered on his face. "Every man should know the name of his killer."
"Daniel Hebert," he responded in kind, bringing his fists up. "I don't intend to make this easy for you."
"I should hope not," Hookwolf chuckled, bringing his own bare knuckles up in classic boxing form. "The opening move is yours."
Danny didn't hesitate, striking Hookwolf's diaphragm with everything he had. It was as if he'd punched a steel door. His fist throbbed as he pulled it back, but he wasn't done, throwing another punch for the cape's throat — only for his wrist to be caught in motion.
Next thing Danny knew, the world was spinning as he looked up to the sky. He felt like someone had taken a crowbar to every part of his body simultaneously, and he could only groan as a blurred figure came to stand between him and the sky. Then the world twisted in vertigo as he was lifted sideways, causing him to retch up his lunch as he fell, his stomach now pure agony.
"You were a brave man. Foolish, but brave," a booming voice said. "I won't prolong your suffering."
Danny felt himself hauled up, and forced to his knees as Hookwolf stood over him. From behind, someone had a vice grip on his thinning hair, then something cold pricked the back of his neck.
"Close your eyes and don't breathe, it will spare you some of the pain," an electronic voice said.
"Thank… you," He wheezed.
Danny closed his eyes and took what he knew to be his final breath, letting it out slowly. People in the distance were screaming, some were crying, but he had done all he could. His only regret was leaving Taylor behind, she'd done nothing to deserve what life had thrown at her, but she was a tough one, she would be alright, even if she never forgave him for dying like this.
Something ripped at Danny's hair, jerking him aside and sending him rolling. He forced his eyes open and saw Cricket standing, but something was wrong. It took him an agonizing moment to understand what his eyes were showing him: Cricket wasn't standing, she was impaled through the shoulder and hip with a spear thick enough to hold her upright.
Danny blinked, trying to clear his eyes of the tears, but there was no mistaking it. Cricket was dead, impaled by a ridiculously oversized projectile. Hookwolf howled in rage, metal cascading as he transformed into the hulking form of his Norse-inspired wolf.
He lunged forward — directly at Danny — only to be sent reeling in a shower of fractured metal as an explosion of flame erupted on the battlefield. A tall, heavily armoured figure decked out in black, gray, and crimson appeared between them, and for all that she adorned with enough weapons to fight a small war, Danny found himself staring at the achingly familiar braided hairstyle. Then his brain registered the seven foot long sword resting on her shoulder; that was not a weapon for mere mortals, and Danny was reminded that he was in the middle of a cape fight.
The Butcher spared a single glance backwards, the crimson 'XV' on her shoulder plate somehow less menacing than the horror that was her insectile mask. She vanished behind a cloud of bugs immediately after, her form hidden by a churning horad of chitin.
"BUTCHER!" Hookwolf yelled, and two of the titans of Brockton Bay began their bloody clash.
Danny distantly felt arms hook underneath him and began to pull him away. As he was dragged past, he found himself staring at Cricket's lifeless form and the blade that nearly ended his own now laying next to her. The sounds of screeching metal and furious roars were all he could hear, even though he knew the people pulling him were saying something.
Hookwolf was sent tumbling like an errant bowling ball by a vicious swing of the Butcher's blade, right into where the Empire goons had taken cover from the union's suppressing fire. The result was that nearly two dozen nazis were now a smear on the pavement amidst shattered concrete and shards of metal.
Steel and flame flashed across the battlefield as an enraged Hookwolf lashed out against the oddly-silent Butcher, and her only response was to hack through his metallic flesh with each perfectly placed swing of what could generously be considered a sword. Rough, unfinished, and tickling some reference in the back of his brain that he must have heard a decade ago, Danny watched in horrified fascination as the Butcher swung the thing like he would a pool noodle. He was at the barricades now, but he couldn't look away from the fight, even as his saviors began to tend to his injuries. The Butcher was living up to her namesake, and he couldn't help but wonder just what had drawn Taylor to join the same gang as that monster.
He watched as Hookwolf knocked the Butcher back with a serrated tail whip, her sword not quite fast enough to block the strike. The impact sent the Butcher flying, leaving behind a cloud of red mist. She vanished in a puff of smoke just before she would have impacted the building, but her arm completed the arc without the rest of her.
Hookwolf's head was on a swivel, looking about for his prey. Movement drew his attention and the chase was back on as he plowed into the Butcher, only for her to vanish yet again. More forms of the Butcher seemed to rise from every shadow, sending the Empire cape into a frenzy as he attempted to ferret out and kill the real one.
Danny couldn't help but notice that Hookwolf seemed to be slowing the longer the fight went on, and soon he was thrashing against nothing, as if trying to free himself. That was when a flicker of light had Danny looking up, revealing the Butcher was falling from the sky. She plummeted with sword in hand, and just before impact, she swung herself into a spin and slammed the sword down like a divine hammer blow that shook the ground all throughout the yard.
As the dust and debris slowly cleared, the end of the carnage was revealed. Hookwolf was nothing but scrap and gore as the Butcher held his metal head aloft in her left — and only — hand, his steel mask floating on a dimly glowing plate of light. For an instant, Danny beheld something primal and powerful, understanding some small part of why capes had captured the world's imagination. Hell, even the cloud of insects had parted just enough to let a ray of sunshine illuminate their master.
Butcher broke the pose soon after, shattering the illusion as she snapped the sword onto her back and started muttering to herself. The assembled dockworkers flinched when her attention turned their way, but the mad cape vanished with muted thunder before anyone could do more than rack their shotguns.
The tension didn't leave the air until long after the last bugs retreated into the cracks and crevices around them.
"Holy shit, I thought we were about to be next," Lacy muttered, and only then did Danny realize she had been one of the people to pull him away from the battle.
"Taylor must have said something," Danny said, though his jaw protested each and every word in fiery agony. "I messaged her before I left the office… to say goodbye."
"Is it true?" Kurt half whispered. "Did she really join the Teeth?"
He tried to nod, but his neck didn't cooperate. "She did, for protection… Her girlfriend —"
Tremors wracked his body, distantly he heard someone yelling what he thought might be his name as the world fell away and nothingness claimed him.
Awareness returned slowly, pinpricks traveling up and down his limbs as the pain receded bit by bit. His eyes flitted open, only as the blinding sun forced him to squint. He then began to make out the white robes bearing a red cross kneeling beside him.
Panacea's hood was down, letting Danny finally recognize the third girl who had accompanied Taylor back home after a date several nights past. Lisa had introduced her girlfriend as Amelia, not Amy Dallon, and they had left before Danny could put it together. He had assumed she was just another member of the Teeth, not one of the most famous heroes on the coast. That Glory Girl was hovering not far behind her, acting as a silent sentry just served to reinforce that image.
If it wasn't for Amelia's friendship with Taylor, Danny might have wondered what warranted a personal visit from the healer. The genuine concern she seemed to be showing him just stabbed all the deeper and made him wonder just how caught up in things his daughter truly was, and Panacea's connection to all of it.
"How are you feeling, Mr. Hebert?" Panacea asked.
"Better, I think," he said softly as she helped him sit up. "Do I want to know how bad it was?"
She snorted. "Probably not. If Lisa hadn't called me you would have died before the ambulance arrived."
Danny froze in momentary horror. He hadn't thought his wounds had been that bad, but clearly he'd been wrong. "Thank you, Amelia."
The healer winced at the name, and Glory Girl's attention snapped to Danny before she narrowed her eyes at her sister.
"Don't thank me yet," Amelia muttered, when she looked up the smirk on her face made his blood run cold. "The Empire was streaming the whole thing, from your arrival all the way up until Weaver threw ol' murder blender through the rank and file. Congratulations, you're the newest legend on PHO."
"The Teeth are getting some good PR out of it too," Glory Girl said with a frown as she browsed something on her phone. "Weaver broke off from a three way fight between the Protectorate, New Wave and the Teeth to come save you. There was a lot of speculation about things until Tattletale gave some information about your daughter being someone important to a past Butcher and the Empire tried to leverage that by targeting you."
Danny winced, his mind drifting back to Kimmie, to Fester. "I have my suspicions, but Taylor hasn't been very open with me about it."
"She'll tell you in her own time, I'm sure," Panacea murmured, a strange edge to her voice. "Just don't do anything… rash until then."
Glory Girl huffed. "Yeah, because he's the one we have to worry about. Butcher going nuts over some girl? Er, no offense, but I wouldn't want to be 'important' to the Butcher." The heroine shivered at some obviously disturbing image.
"You have no idea…" Panacea said, so softly Danny was sure he wasn't supposed to have heard.
A commotion drew everyone's attention — the PRT was finally arriving, and that they looked like hammered shit.
"Remember when I said not to thank me just yet?" Panacea asked. "Congratulations, you now get to be interrogated by the feds. Have fun with that." She glanced pointedly to the side, and seemed deep in thought for a couple of seconds. "Speaking of, I'm taking that."
He followed her finger to the ground nearby, and found a bundle wrapped in the cloudy plastic they used to keep drywall off carpets while working. It was suspiciously arm-shaped, one of the ends dark and red.
"You're fucking with me," one of the dockworkers muttered.
"Remember what we just said?" Amelia snapped. "The only good reason for them to take it is to try and figure out who Weaver is. That seems like the sort of idea that's going to make way too much work for me if I don't nip it now."
"Yeah, but… what are you going to do with it, Ames?" her sister asked.
Amelia's face blanked, a beat passed, and she shrugged. "Hospital biohazard incinerator."
Danny only had an inkling of what she wanted it for, and dearly hoped he was wrong, but she had saved his life. He waved, shooing the thoughts away and getting the group's attention. "Take it and go."
The dockworkers weren't about to argue with his decision, and Amelia may not have been hiding her smile as well as she thought. Glory Girl was by far the least happy about the plan. "Just… keep a good grip on it. Away from me, please."
"Afraid of a few wandering hands?" Amelia retorted, and her sister cringed. "Worried I'll get a bit handsy?" Glory Girl groaned. "Don't worry, it'll all be over in a shake."
"Just shut up, grab that thing, and let's go," Glory Girl mumbled through the hands covering her face.
"That's what he said," Lacy stated with a nod and a knowing smirk.
Amelia snorted out a few chuckles, while her sister shot Lacy a betrayed look. The woman that looked like she could snap the girl like a twig if she didn't have powers gave the pair an innocent smile.
"Come on, they're on their way over. We need to go," Amelia stated, snatching up the arm.
"Fine, but no getting —" Glory Girl stopped herself before the pun could slip out. Amelia grinned and poked her tongue out at her. "Shut up!" She then scooped her sister into her arms and shot into the sky. The agents called out to them, but either they went unheard over Amelia's cackling or were simply ignored.
This day was already long, and as the interrogators introduced themselves, Danny knew it was only just getting started.
Nothing stalled a line of questioning quite like the phrase 'I want to speak to my lawyer.' That said lawyer specialized in divorce law? Well, what the PRT didn't know would only serve to hurt them.
Within ten minutes of Alan arriving at the docks, the pair were departing the PRT cordon in the lawyer's car. It was an impressive feat, one Danny wasn't quite sure how his friend managed, but he wasn't going to look the gift horse in the mouth. It made him immensely thankful that he called Alan rather than the union's own lawyers.
As soon as they were out of the union compound, Danny was on his phone — his issues with the infernal devices be damned, he was calling his daughter. She picked up on the first ring.
"Dad? Oh my god, are you alright? I got your text and saw the video then heard Panacea was there and —"
"Breathe!" Danny interjected, chuckling halfheartedly. "I'm alright Taylor, Panacea gave me a clean bill of health."
"Good… that's good. I was afraid I was too late."
"I take it I have you to thank for the Butcher —"
"Weaver."
Her response had been too quick for it to have been anything but a well practiced correction on her part. "For Weaver's timely arrival?"
Taylor sighed, and he could just see her adjusting her glasses, not that she wore them anymore; when had she switched to contacts? "The right people were informed in time. I can't say much more than that, at least not over the phone."
"Alright." Danny didn't like that, but now wasn't the time to dig into things. "Are you safe? If the Empire was willing to come after me they might —"
Taylor's laughter cut him off with a bone deep chill. "I'm as safe as I can be. I trust you aren't going home until this mess blows over?"
"No, I'm with Alan right now and we're going to his house at the moment. I was planning to stay there for the time being."
"I'm not thrilled with that, but I'll take it. Just because Emma and I had a falling out doesn't mean I want your friendship to suffer."
"That's a very mature outlook, Taylor," Alan cut in.
There was a bit of silence after Alan spoke, as if Taylor was reevaluating how open she could be. "Listen, Weaver's furious right now and is planning to shove Hookwolf's skull up Kaiser's ass."
"Language," he said automatically.
"Hey, they're her words," Taylor said with a chuckle. "Kaiser threw the Rules out the window with this one, trying to use Weaver's civilian connections against her. He lashed out at you because of me, because the Winslow Nazis told him I was a weakness to exploit. I'd rather you stay out of the line of fire for a few days, keep your head down so to speak."
"Will you be safe?"
"Considering I'm looking at the Teeth capes planning a war? This is one of the safest places in the city right now. Look, I need to go, but I'll keep in touch when I'm able to."
"Alright Taylor." Danny hated everything about this, but what could he do right now? "Promise me you'll be careful."
"As careful as I can be. Love you, Dad."
"Love you too, Taylor."
The line went dead.
Alan drove in silence until they reached a red light. Absently Danny took in the city around him and how it was strangely at peace despite the chaos just on the horizon. This time, he feared Taylor would be in the thick of things, fighting the gangs… He wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and take her far away, but he couldn't do that to her.
"Taylor's one of the Teeth capes, isn't she?" Alan asked.
Danny opened his mouth to answer, but paused. If Weaver had saved him as a favor to Taylor because she was one of their capes, was it a good idea to discuss this with Alan at all? Would the Butcher come calling if he did? Would that just serve to alienate Taylor further?
"You said she joined the Teeth," Alan continued, musing in place of his silence. "It isn't much of a stretch to assume she's also one of their capes. You might not even know for sure, and believe me, I get the reluctance to even consider the idea, but is it really a good idea to just leave things as they are? The Teeth are criminals and the longer Taylor stays with them, the more likely a prison sentence becomes, or worse, the Birdcage. Is that what you want for Taylor?"
"No, but at the same time, I don't want to lose her."
"You risk that either way, but one of those options might keep her out of prison, or worse." Alan seemed to hesitate as he considered something, and Danny couldn't help but wonder what tangent his mind was racing down this time. "I represented someone a while back who was looking at prison time. They went on to become a probationary Ward in lieu of time served. It's an option to consider and you know I'd help if you asked."
"What if Taylor runs away? I don't know what I'd do if —"
"At least talk to her, she might surprise you," Alan said softly. "Taylor's a smart girl, she'll do the right thing."
"I hope you're right…"
Danny looked out at the outskirts of Brockton Bay as they pulled into the Barnes' driveway. The city had taken so much from him, did he really want to give it the chance to take the last thing he cared about in the world from him too? Alan had experience with this sort of thing, and he trusted the man implicitly. He just had to consider all his options.
"Alan… What can you tell me about the Wards?"