Rosalind
This story and all themes and ideas contained in said story are the sole
ownership of J.L. Scott. Any copyright infringements can be prosecuted in a
court of law.
To borrow a phrase: NYPD Blue no mine......no permission..no money, no sue, please?
John stood alone in the rain. He knew he wasn't really alone, but as he glanced around he was surprised to see that even he couldn't tell where his back up was hiding. A cold breeze blew into his coat and the goose bumps that were alive on his skin started crawling. He was nervous as hell, he admitted to himself. He had been surprised when Grace hadn't insisted on coming with him. For the past two days she'd been almost scary, walking around with a casual look on her face and ice in her usually warm eyes. One or more of her brothers had been around constantly, though some of them would drop in only to exchange a whisper with one of their siblings before dashing off again. The IT teams hadn't thought anything of it, but John was becoming increasingly suspicious of his young but very capable wife. He could see some hidden agenda sparkling in her eyes.
He couldn't worry about that just now. Rain was running down his back and for probably the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, John cursed Renald for adding that menacing "not even an umbrella" in his rendezvous instructions. The wind howled by again and John took a look around. He was standing outside of a corny Italian restaurant called Luigi's. Across the street were a butcher's shop, a book store and an abandoned building. To his right was a seamstress's store and on the left a bike shop. Andy and Connie were in the bookstore, Rita and Jones were in the seamstress's and Metaboy and the Lieutenant were in the bike shop, plus there were snipers and even a bomb squad standing at the ready. Somewhere.
A blue Sedan drove by, and stopped. A tall woman with bouncy blonde hair stepped out in a pair of stilettos and patent leather pants. She tossed him a smile as she jogged past him to the seamstress's. The car rolled away. John put his heart back down in his chest and tried to control his breathing a little better.
"Anything?" John heard Rita's voice in his ear.
"Nothing" he responded quietly, trying not to move his lips too much. They could be watching him talk to the air, a dead give away.
A gray-blue Ford Aerostar pulled up to the curb and stopped, completely blocking Andy and Connie's view. The side door slid aside to reveal a beefy man in his early thirties sitting in the middle seat.
"Get in" he ordered.
"I'd rather not" John answered. A laugh from the unseen back seat chilled John's blood even more. He knew that voice. Had Renald himself come?
"Ah, Detective, how lovely that you're not a moron. I can trust you've been smart enough to get my brother, then" John took a deep breath as a hand curled around the open sliding door and Renald pushed himself out of the vehicle.
"Do you like my transportation, Detective?" he gestured behind himself, "Terribly inconspicuous, isn't it?" Renald was tall, thin, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. There was no trace of ethnicity about him.
"Where's Rosalind?" John asked coldly. Renald smiled and inclined his head. He turned around and two beefy hands placed a small body in his hands. John nearly let a tear slip when he saw that Rosalind wasn't hurt. In fact she was dressed in an outfit he didn't recognize but that was clean and in good repair, her hair was tucked neatly away in a braid falling down her back and although she looked a little nervous she didn't look terrified out of her mind.
"Daddy!" she cried when she saw him and struggled to get out of Renald's arms.
"Ah, not yet little one" Renald tightened his grip on her frail frame and she stopped wiggling.
"Daddy?" her voice quivered.
"It's okay Ros," John gave her a little smile, "Just hold on for a few more minutes, okay?" She nodded, giving Renald a nervous look.
"You're Queen, Detective, for my Knight, I believe was the deal"
"In here" John nodded toward the restaurant. Renald gave him a cold look.
"I do hope you aren't trying to be tricky, Detective" he said snidely and nodded his head. The beefy mad stepped out of the van, drawing a small gun and pointing it right at the back of Ros's head. She couldn't see it, but he could.
"Bring the van!" Renald ordered the driver. There was an alley behind the restaurant, right where John was taking his daughter's captor. By now, his friends on either side would be heading back there and as soon as he and his "party" entered Luigi's, Andy and Connie would follow, cutting off any escape route Renald would have. John turned and led the two men holding his daughter through the smelly restaurant and kitchen, out the back door and into the rain again. The Aerostar was sitting right at the entrance to the alley. Renald took one look around and, seeing that his brother was not there, turned purple. Before he could say a word, the teams that had just been waiting burst out of back doors, guns drawn and pointing at Renald. And before they could say anything, the van came roaring down the alley, making Metaboy and the Lieutenant dive away like bowling pins.
"Get in!" the beefy man ordered, pushing the gun up against Rosalind's head. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers as her father complied, crawling in after Renald. The door slammed shut as they were plummeting down the alley.
"That was stupid, Detective!" Renald growled, "Very stupid." He was still clutching Rosalind who was attempting to curl up into herself. John was breathing hard, not sure what had just happened and how he was going to get out of this one. They took a hard turn and then another and they were in a new alley, still driving like they were on a desert strip.
"Ah...boss?" the driver called for attention as the van began to slow.
"What are you doing?" Renald growled as the van came to a complete stop. They all looked out windshield. There was a line of 3 SUVs blocking their path and one small figure with billowing red hair standing in front of them.
"What the hell is going on?" Renald yelled and pushed Rosalind into John's lap as he scrambled out the door.
"Daddy?" Rosalind asked quietly as he maneuvered her around so he could get out too.
"It's okay, honey" John assured her, "Mommy's here" Another 3 SUVs pulled up behind the van, making John realize just how organized his wife's family was.
"Who the hell are you?" Renald screeched at Grace, who was getting wetter by the minute.
"I believe you have something of mine" she answered and there was ice in her voice. At that exact moment six doors opened and 6 tall, broad, Irish brothers stepped into the rain. Renald and his men turned at the sound of more doors closing behind them and saw the other three of John's brother in laws standing there. Sirens could be heard getting closer to them and Renald seemed to blanche as he realized there was nowhere to go. He was trapped in a doorless alley way, facing 7 mad Irishmen to his front and three to his back, backed up only by his two men.
"Who are you?" he asked more slowly this time, obviously wanting to know who had just outsmarted him. Grace crossed the space between them, Peter and Paul at her back, and stopped right in front of him. Her countenance completely changed and she gave him a cheerful smile.
"I'm Grace" she answered and then brushed past him.
"Grace..." John didn't even know what to say as she rubbed Rosalind's back and kissed her cheek.
"I know" she said, "It's okay. You can thank me later" She gave him a mischievous smile as the cop cars pulled up behind the SUVs and Renald was arrested.
To borrow a phrase: NYPD Blue no mine......no permission..no money, no sue, please?
John stood alone in the rain. He knew he wasn't really alone, but as he glanced around he was surprised to see that even he couldn't tell where his back up was hiding. A cold breeze blew into his coat and the goose bumps that were alive on his skin started crawling. He was nervous as hell, he admitted to himself. He had been surprised when Grace hadn't insisted on coming with him. For the past two days she'd been almost scary, walking around with a casual look on her face and ice in her usually warm eyes. One or more of her brothers had been around constantly, though some of them would drop in only to exchange a whisper with one of their siblings before dashing off again. The IT teams hadn't thought anything of it, but John was becoming increasingly suspicious of his young but very capable wife. He could see some hidden agenda sparkling in her eyes.
He couldn't worry about that just now. Rain was running down his back and for probably the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, John cursed Renald for adding that menacing "not even an umbrella" in his rendezvous instructions. The wind howled by again and John took a look around. He was standing outside of a corny Italian restaurant called Luigi's. Across the street were a butcher's shop, a book store and an abandoned building. To his right was a seamstress's store and on the left a bike shop. Andy and Connie were in the bookstore, Rita and Jones were in the seamstress's and Metaboy and the Lieutenant were in the bike shop, plus there were snipers and even a bomb squad standing at the ready. Somewhere.
A blue Sedan drove by, and stopped. A tall woman with bouncy blonde hair stepped out in a pair of stilettos and patent leather pants. She tossed him a smile as she jogged past him to the seamstress's. The car rolled away. John put his heart back down in his chest and tried to control his breathing a little better.
"Anything?" John heard Rita's voice in his ear.
"Nothing" he responded quietly, trying not to move his lips too much. They could be watching him talk to the air, a dead give away.
A gray-blue Ford Aerostar pulled up to the curb and stopped, completely blocking Andy and Connie's view. The side door slid aside to reveal a beefy man in his early thirties sitting in the middle seat.
"Get in" he ordered.
"I'd rather not" John answered. A laugh from the unseen back seat chilled John's blood even more. He knew that voice. Had Renald himself come?
"Ah, Detective, how lovely that you're not a moron. I can trust you've been smart enough to get my brother, then" John took a deep breath as a hand curled around the open sliding door and Renald pushed himself out of the vehicle.
"Do you like my transportation, Detective?" he gestured behind himself, "Terribly inconspicuous, isn't it?" Renald was tall, thin, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. There was no trace of ethnicity about him.
"Where's Rosalind?" John asked coldly. Renald smiled and inclined his head. He turned around and two beefy hands placed a small body in his hands. John nearly let a tear slip when he saw that Rosalind wasn't hurt. In fact she was dressed in an outfit he didn't recognize but that was clean and in good repair, her hair was tucked neatly away in a braid falling down her back and although she looked a little nervous she didn't look terrified out of her mind.
"Daddy!" she cried when she saw him and struggled to get out of Renald's arms.
"Ah, not yet little one" Renald tightened his grip on her frail frame and she stopped wiggling.
"Daddy?" her voice quivered.
"It's okay Ros," John gave her a little smile, "Just hold on for a few more minutes, okay?" She nodded, giving Renald a nervous look.
"You're Queen, Detective, for my Knight, I believe was the deal"
"In here" John nodded toward the restaurant. Renald gave him a cold look.
"I do hope you aren't trying to be tricky, Detective" he said snidely and nodded his head. The beefy mad stepped out of the van, drawing a small gun and pointing it right at the back of Ros's head. She couldn't see it, but he could.
"Bring the van!" Renald ordered the driver. There was an alley behind the restaurant, right where John was taking his daughter's captor. By now, his friends on either side would be heading back there and as soon as he and his "party" entered Luigi's, Andy and Connie would follow, cutting off any escape route Renald would have. John turned and led the two men holding his daughter through the smelly restaurant and kitchen, out the back door and into the rain again. The Aerostar was sitting right at the entrance to the alley. Renald took one look around and, seeing that his brother was not there, turned purple. Before he could say a word, the teams that had just been waiting burst out of back doors, guns drawn and pointing at Renald. And before they could say anything, the van came roaring down the alley, making Metaboy and the Lieutenant dive away like bowling pins.
"Get in!" the beefy man ordered, pushing the gun up against Rosalind's head. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers as her father complied, crawling in after Renald. The door slammed shut as they were plummeting down the alley.
"That was stupid, Detective!" Renald growled, "Very stupid." He was still clutching Rosalind who was attempting to curl up into herself. John was breathing hard, not sure what had just happened and how he was going to get out of this one. They took a hard turn and then another and they were in a new alley, still driving like they were on a desert strip.
"Ah...boss?" the driver called for attention as the van began to slow.
"What are you doing?" Renald growled as the van came to a complete stop. They all looked out windshield. There was a line of 3 SUVs blocking their path and one small figure with billowing red hair standing in front of them.
"What the hell is going on?" Renald yelled and pushed Rosalind into John's lap as he scrambled out the door.
"Daddy?" Rosalind asked quietly as he maneuvered her around so he could get out too.
"It's okay, honey" John assured her, "Mommy's here" Another 3 SUVs pulled up behind the van, making John realize just how organized his wife's family was.
"Who the hell are you?" Renald screeched at Grace, who was getting wetter by the minute.
"I believe you have something of mine" she answered and there was ice in her voice. At that exact moment six doors opened and 6 tall, broad, Irish brothers stepped into the rain. Renald and his men turned at the sound of more doors closing behind them and saw the other three of John's brother in laws standing there. Sirens could be heard getting closer to them and Renald seemed to blanche as he realized there was nowhere to go. He was trapped in a doorless alley way, facing 7 mad Irishmen to his front and three to his back, backed up only by his two men.
"Who are you?" he asked more slowly this time, obviously wanting to know who had just outsmarted him. Grace crossed the space between them, Peter and Paul at her back, and stopped right in front of him. Her countenance completely changed and she gave him a cheerful smile.
"I'm Grace" she answered and then brushed past him.
"Grace..." John didn't even know what to say as she rubbed Rosalind's back and kissed her cheek.
"I know" she said, "It's okay. You can thank me later" She gave him a mischievous smile as the cop cars pulled up behind the SUVs and Renald was arrested.