"Bikky!"
Dee almost dropped his coffee.
"Eh?" He looked up to see Bikky racing down the corridor towards him, Ryo chasing
after the boy. "Huh?"
Bikky hid behind Dee, just avoiding
Ryo's grab. Ryo glared at him as the young boy grabbed Dee's waist. "Bikky…"
Bikky tightened his grip. Dee sweatdropped.
"What did you steal now?"
"Some money." Brett walked up behind
Ryo, grinning.
Dee sighed. "Bikky, I've told you,
if you're going to steal don't get caught."
Ryo tried to grab Bikky, obviously
so he could drag him off and lecture him, but the boy simply shifted to the
other side of Dee, not letting go. Bikky made a face. "I almost got away with
it!"
"Bikky! You shouldn't be stealing
in the first place. Dee, don't encourage him."
Dee shrugged.
"He was very good." Brett walked
up, grinning. "But he forgot to ask whose money it was."
"You stole from Brett?" Dee was
incredulous.
Bikky squirmed. "Well, I didn't
know it was his."
"Or so he claims." Brett shrugged.
"I figured I'd drag him down here for you two to deal with. Thought you'd be
upset if I beat him myself."
Ryo gave up trying to grab Bikky.
"Dee, hit him."
Dee set his cup down and whacked
Bikky across the back of the head. Bikky let go and glared up at him, looking
wounded and betrayed. Dee looked back over at Ryo. "Need me to hit him again?"
"No. That'll be fine."
"What'd you do now, Bikky?"
They all jumped and turned to face
Danny. Bikky ran over to her, trying to hide again. Josh intercepted him, however.
"Stealing again?"
"I didn't know it was yours!"
Josh blinked. "Mine?"
"Yours, Brett's, whatever."
"You stole from Brett and you're
not black and blue?"
"He brought me down here! He wanted
to hand me over to Ryo…" Bikky risked a look back at Ryo, who was obviously
still upset.
Josh was a bit upset himself. "Hey!
How come this brat gets away with stealing from you? You never even let me off!"
Bikky kicked him in the shin then
fled when Josh let go of him. He'd made it about two feet down the corridor
when Brett grabbed him by the back of the shirt and hauled him into the air.
He winced at the look on the mans face. "Ummm…I was just leaving, I won't do
it again, I promise!"
"Damn right you won't do it again.
You hit my little brother and stole from me." Brett looked back at Josh who
was hopping around on one foot. "And like he said, even he doesn't get away
with that."
"Ahh…Ryo!!"
Ryo sniffed. "Maybe this will teach
you not to steal."
"You wouldn't let him hit me?"
Ryo grabbed Dee's hand, pulling
him back towards the office. "Be back in time for dinner!"
"Ryo!!" Bikky was incredulous.
"You can't be serious? Dee!"
Dee waved. "See you later!"
"Dee, you bastard, get back here!…Danny?"
Danny was busy comforting Josh,
who was being a bit overdramatic about it all. "I can't tell Brett what to do."
Bikky yelped as Brett tucked him
under an arm and looked around. "Isn't anyone going to help me at all? RYO!
Dee, you son of a-"
"Now what did you do?"
"CAROL!" Bikky reached towards
her. "I didn't do nothing. I just stole a little money and kicked Josh. And
now he's going to hit me!"
Carol sniffed. "It's your own fault."
"You're abandoning me too?"
"Doesn't seem to be a good day
for you, Bikky."
"…" Bikky sighed. "I should've
just stayed in bed today."
"Speaking of which, isn't it a
school day?" Danny eyed the kids. "Why're you both running around at noon on
a school day?"
They looked at her, smiled, and
sweatdropped. "Nevermind!"
Brett laughed. "Well, that's something
else you'll have to learn not to do, street rat." He waved to Carol. "See you
later, miss."
"Byebye!"
"HEY! She's skipping too!"
"I don't hit girls." Brett walked
out, carrying the still protesting Bikky with him. Carol turned to Danny. "Do
you really think he'll hit him?"
"Probably. He got Randy mad at
him too."
"Ahhh! He's in so much trouble!"
She laughed, walking off.
"What's all this noise about?"
"Jamie!" Danny pounced JJ, who'd
just walked in looking annoyed. He yelped and caught her, dropping his paperwork.
"Danny!"
"Where have you been? You haven't
come home in a week! I was so worried! I almost sent josh out to look for you."
JJ glared at Josh who simply smirked
and waved. He still wasn't putting any weight on the leg Bikky had kicked, however.
"I was staying with Sean?"
Danny laughed, cat ears sprouting
on her head. "Oh, really?"
He blinked, then made a face. "Danny!!"
"Hmm… It's strange, Sean didn't
tell me about that. And I saw him everyday this past week." She frowned. "He's
hiding things from me again."
"Well… I hadn't really planned
on staying there that long. It's just…" He shrugged. "He's still upset about
everything."
"Well, it's only been a couple
of months. He really liked Laura."
"Yeah…"
She poked him. "Don't look so upset,
Jamie. It doesn't suit you."
"I guess." He still looked worried
though.
She sighed and kneeled to pick
up the papers he'd dropped. "Where is Sean, anyway?"
"Didn't you see him today?"
"Not yet… Josh?"
"He had some errands to run, he
said. He took the day off."
"Oh." Danny made a face. "Why didn't
he tell me?" She handed JJ his papers.
Josh shrugged. "He mentioned something
about your parents and-"
"WHAT?"
Josh covered his ears. "Ow! Did
you both have to scream at me?"
"What're her parents doing coming
here?"
"Why the hell is Sean the one talking
to them?"
"What're they doing outside of
Miami?"
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"Josh!"
"Josh!"
Josh gingerly removed his hands
from his ears as they glared at him. "Promise to stop yelling?"
"I'll start in a minute if you don't tell me!" Danny threatened.
Josh sweatdropped. "Well, it turns
out they have some business up here. Sean wouldn't tell me what but… He said
that he didn't tell you because he was afraid you'd…ah… overreact." Josh finished
lamely.
"What kind of business? They'd
better not be trying to get him involved!"
"What possible business could they
have up here? Everything's centered in Miami and LA. Father makes a point of
not doing anything up here in New York."
"Excuse me…"
"It doesn't make any sense!"
"Umm…Pardon me?"
"That was part of why we moved
here! To get away!"
"…HELLO!"
The trio jumped, turning to face
the angry woman behind them. Diana sniffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"About time." She pointed to JJ. "Where's Dee?"
"Huh?"
"Or Ryo."
JJ sweatdropped. "Umm… Do I know
you?"
Diana sighed. "To be forgotten
to quickly…" She pulled out her badge. "I'm FBI Di-"
"Hey! Diana, what're you doing
here?"
Diana quickly pounced Dee, to Ryo
and JJ's annoyance. "Work, of course." She winked. "Perhaps a bit private too."
"Sorry." Dee winked. "No can do.
Finally got around to making Ryo confess he loves me too."
"You what?" Ryo glared.
Diana pouted. "Oh well." She turned
to JJ, who eyed her suspiciously. "You…" She paused and looked closer. "Aren't
you…"
She turned to look at Danny, who
was still trying to pry details out of Josh. She gasped. Danny finally deigned
to notice the interruption and yelped, pointing at the other girl.
"YOU!" They shouted at the same
time.
Dee sweatdropped. "You two girls
know each other?"
JJ groaned. "Oh god, not this again.
Please, please, please not this again."
"Diana, do you know Danny?" Ryo
asked, as confused as everyone but the girls and JJ seemed to be.
Diana laughed, looking haughty.
"I'd heard you'd taken up with the cops, Daniela. Never expected to find you
here, though."
"Daniela?"
"Daniela Breit."
"That's an…odd name."
Danny sniffed. "I was named after
my mother's best friend."
"Ahh! So, then, your mother is
Spanish and your father's…"
"German."
"That explains it! I always thought
you were at least partly Spanish."
"I look a lot like my mother."
Ryo smiled. "How nice…"
Dee sweatdropped. "Umm…wasn't your
name Danielle Mills?"
"Well…"
"False identity." Diana replied.
Danny made a face at her. "No it
isn't!" She sniffed. "I got it changed nice and legal-like."
Diana glared at her. "That makes
no difference!"
"It makes all the difference!"
"You're still a drug-smuggler!"
"I never dealt in drugs!"
"Only murder?"
"Never committed one."
"So you admit to being a behind-the-scenes
control?"
"Jamie figured that out years ago."
"Jamie?"
Danny pointed at JJ, who blinked. "Jamie." She smirked. "You
can't get me on anything either. I left all that behind. Daddy doesn't work
up here, that's been well known for years."
"You're still a criminal!"
"Would a criminal just walk into
a police station like this."
"Yes." Josh replied. Danny glared
at him. He held up his hands defensively. "Well, we do!"
"Ah-HA! Hanging around with other
criminals, are you?"
"I hang around with cops too? Don't
I Dee." She smiled winningly.
"All the time." He replied.
Diana stared at him in shock. "You
don't really spend time with her do you?"
"Why not?"
"She's a mafia girl!"
"No, she's not."
Diana glared at JJ. "What do you
mean?"
"Danny was never part of the mafia.
She just helped her father out a bit now and then. She never really did anything
illegal."
"Wait a minute!" Ryo cut in. "Danny's
a criminal?"
JJ frowned at him. "Didn't you
just hear me? No, she's not."
"Yes she is!" Diana objected.
"She isn't!"
"She is!"
"She isn't." Dee cut in. "She hasn't
been doing anything since she got here."
"How do you know that?"
"JJ wouldn't put up with it. And
he'd know."
Danny nodded. "If I ever got involved
in any of that again Jamie'd kill me."
"Then why is your father in town?"
"I don't know. Don't you?"
Diana blinked. "You don't know
why he's here?"
Danny made a face. "Until a few
minutes ago I didn't know he was even in the state."
"You didn't even know?" Diana deflated
a bit.
"How could I? I haven't talked
to him in months."
Diana pointed at her. "I'm still
going to be watching you."
"Don't bother, Dee, Randy and Jamie
already are. If more people watch me you'll get in each others way."
Dee patted Diana on the head. "Danny
really isn't a bad kid."
Ryo, who was still confused, spoke
up. "Shouldn't you go tell the commissioner you're here?"
"Ahh, you're right…" She glared
at Danny. "I'll be back for you later." She walked off down the halls. Danny
stuck her tongue out after her. Dee nudged her. "So, what's this all about?"
"Hmph. It's nothing. She's been
trying to get at my family for years and is all upset that she can't get anything
on me. She figures that if she gets me she can use that to take down everyone
else."
"But you're clean?"
"Yep! Have been since I moved out. Just ask JJ."
JJ nodded. "She hasn't done anything."
Ryo hmmed. "Well, that explains
why you were so accepting of the fact Josh was a killer."
She shrugged. "Murderers aren't
really a bad lot. It's only the non-mafia ones that tend to be so creepy."
"Still…wonder why your dad's in
town."
"I'll ask him tonight." She pulled
out her cell phone. "Just hope Sean has his on."
* *
*
Sean shifted uncomfortably as the
man sitting in the chair across from him stared at him with cold gray eyes.
"It would seem my daughter has had a very interesting year."
"Yes sir."
"Laura is dead then?"
"Very dead, sir."
"Good. I'll have to talk to this
Josh boy, of course."
Sean winced. That would be interesting.
"Still uncomfortable, Seannie?"
A woman bustled into the room. She looked to be in her mid-twenties with blond
hair and bright blue eyes. She was dressed in a simple, but elegant, white dress.
"It's been years, you'd think you'd have gotten used to us by now."
"I guess…"
She patted him on the cheek. "You've
gotten used to Danny, I'd think we'd be much easier."
He smiled faintly. "I'd think so."
"Where is my daughter, anyway?"
"Either at work or at the police
station, I'd guess."
"The police station? Why on earth
would Daniela be there?"
"Danny's become friends with some
of the cops there. It's also where Jamie works."
"Jamie?"
"Ahh, sorry. JJ."
Danny stepmother smiled. "So, how
is JJ doing?"
"Much better. It's been rough, the past couple of months. But
everything's working itself out."
"You will say hi to him for me,
won't you?"
"Sure."
With a final enigmatic smile she
swept out of the room.
Danny's father shrugged. "Don't
mind Hilde. She's a natural meddler."
"Like Danny."
He smiled. "Yes, I suppose." He
sighed. "Now, if only those two would get along…"
"If you don't mind me asking, why
are you here? I know-" He jumped as his cell phone began to ring. "Hold on a
second."
Pulling it out of his pocket he
flipped it open. "Hello?"
'SEAN!'
"AHHH! Danny?"
'Where are you?'
"Uh, well…"
'What's daddy doing in New York?'
"What makes you think I'm talking
to your father?"
'I made Josh tell me what he knew.'
"Aw hell…"
'Don't you swear at me!'
"I wasn't really! It's just…"
Her father took the phone from
him. "Danny, leave the boy alone… Yes, I know I hate New York…Yes, I brought
her with me." He held the phone away from his ear for a minute, and then returned
it once the sound dropped to a manageable level. "I'll tell you why later… No,
I'm not recruiting him… What? The FBI? … Shit, I'll get someone to deal with
this… He IS? Since when did you like assassins? … OK…OK…Yes honey, I'll see
you then…" He put his hand over the receiver. "Would you mind taking Hilde out
to dinner later?"
Sean shook his head. "That'll be
fine. Me and JJ were going to go out anyway."
"Oh. Maybe I should have someone
else take her then. Wouldn't want to interrupt."
"It's not like that!" Sean blushed.
He shrugged, then uncovered the
receiver. "… Yes dear, I was plotting something… I'm foisting Hilde off on poor
Sean, since I just know you'll have a fit if I bring her with me… She adores
you, you know, why can't you just get along? … Who the hell taught you that
phrase? Jesus… even I don't curse like that dearie…" He sighed. "All right,
I'll see you there at seven. Bring Josh along…Goodbye sweetie, I love you too."
He turned the phone off and handed
it back to Sean, who put it away. "It is the eternal plight of men, straight
or not, to be dominated by women."
Sean sweatdropped. "I don't think
it's that bad."
"…And most of us don't even mind
it."
"…"
He gestured. "I'll see you again
later, Sean. I had hoped to avoid any unpleasantness with my daughter while
I was here but as long as I'm meeting her I'll have her answer my questions.
Just do me a favor, would you?"
"Sir?"
"Keep my wife and that damned cop
away from us."
Sean sighed. "Yes sir…"
End FI epilogue/teaser
