The morning passed in a blur of paperwork, bad coffee and worse jokes as
Sara and Danny tried to plow their way through the last of the backlogged
files. It was early afternoon as Danny was trying to harass the lab for
another copy of a lost ballistics report that Joe Siri popped his head in
the office and asked Sara to join him. She shrugged at her partner as she
followed the Captain into his office and closed the door behind her.
"Sara, I'm just getting ready to go back over to the Commissioner's office. The press conference worked a lot better than expected. The announcement shook a lot of people up, there are some pretty high ranking people wetting their pants this morning wondering who's next and if they are on the list. Apparently information is flooding in from all kinds of unexpected places." Sara looked startled and Joe smiled at her. "Good work."
"Not me, Joe. It was all Ian," she said, as she sat there grinning. She was absolutely floored by the reaction. Ian had really shaken everything up in the process of helping them out of their little problem.
"Well, I'll be sure to tell him that when I see him. Seriously, Sara, he seems like a nice guy. I'm happy for you. But be careful, Marie is practically ready to send out wedding invitations," Joe said with a laugh.
"I will, and thanks. It means a lot that you like him. I mean, you guys are all the family I really have left." Joe waved her comments off; neither of them was really good with these emotional scenes.
"Now you get back to work before I have to come down on you. I need to get going." Sara nodded and headed through the door, trying to hide the smile that kept trying to creep across her face.
Geez, Pezzini, you go around grinning like an idiot you are never going to live it down, she thought to herself.
When she walked back into her office the first thing that caught her eye was the sight of Jake McCarty sitting at her desk. The Californian rookie had his feet propped up and was reading through one of her files. Of Danny there was no sign. "Hey rookie," she said, smacking him lightly across the back of the head. "Move it. Now. Where's my partner?"
"Hey Pez, sorry. I just needed to find the files from Gorner and his partner. Captain wants me to go over them with the DEA." Sara glared at him, and he got up in a hurry. "Do you still have them? They aren't in the file room."
"Yeah, I think Danny." she started as her partner walked in the door, a cup of coffee in each hand.
"Think I what, Partner?" he asked as he handed her a cup. Sara took one sip and gave him a black look. After the stuff that Ian had bought her, facing what the house laughingly called coffee was a hard transition. She returned to her chair, taking another sip of the so-called coffee with a grimace. Oh, well, better than nothing, she tried to tell herself.
"Jake needs the files from Gorner. He's got the DEA briefing."
"Oh, how did you luck out?" Danny asked as he dropped into his own chair, reaching around to the pile behind him. Sara watched them for a moment, drinking, thinking about everything that had happened since she had encountered the Witchblade. Her reverie was interrupted as the phone on her desk began to ring.
As Danny sorted through the files with Jake, he tried to keep one ear on the one half of the strange conversation Sara was having. "Yes, but about what? How am I supposed to know what to bring.Al right yes, as soon as I can get over there. Fine." she finished, slamming the phone down.
"What's up, Sara?" he asked. Both he and Jake looked at her expectantly as she stood and grabbed her jacket. There was a look of concern and confusion on her face.
"That was someone from Special Investigations. Seems Captain Dante wants to talk to me about something. Have we had any cases that overlap with them lately?"
"Not that I know of. Did they say what it was about?"
"No, just that I needed to get over there now. I'll give you a call and let you know," she said with a shrug as she walked out of the office. Jake looked at Danny but, receiving no response, he gathered his files and left also.
Danny sat down at his desk, wondering why he had a bad feeling about the call. He was pretty sure that nothing they had done recently had any connection to Dante's hand picked squad. The only thing they had been focused on recently was Irons, and everyone seemed interested in him.
He looked at the telephone, trying to make up his mind. If he did this and he was wrong, Sara would be really pissed at him, but if he did nothing and she got herself in trouble... Decision made, he picked a file, found the number he was looking for, and dialed.
Sara caught a ride downtown with one of the couriers from administration. The trip passed in silence as she tried to figure out what Dante could possibly want. She had never really had much contact with the loud-mouthed head of the Special Investigations Section. He had known her father and Joe Siri for years, but every time he looked at her it made her skin crawl. Not that he had ever said anything to her accept in passing, or really been rude to her, but there was a sneer on his face that was just plain irritating.
A vision formed in her mind.her father and Joe Siri standing together in the squad room. "The guy is dirty, I know that," he was saying to Joe. He was pacing angrily, obviously agitated.
"Don't let him get to you. The man's a jerk. Besides, you don't want to piss him off. His rabbi is in line for Deputy Commissioner."
"I don't care, he."
"Jim, Dante is going to climb the ranks and he doesn't care who he has to run over in the process. If you make trouble for him, he will make twice as much for you." Joe shook his head and handed his partner a cup of coffee. "It's just how it is. If you get some proof, then maybe we can do something, but until then, all I am saying is be careful."
Sara was pulled out of her vision at the sound of her name and realized that they had arrived. Slowly, still mulling the vision over in her mind, she stepped out of the car and headed for the doors, nodding a distracted farewell to her ride.
Entering the building, Sara mulled over the vision, memory, whatever it was that she had seen. What did it mean? Obviously her father had suspected Dante of something, but that really couldn't have anything to do with this. Or could it.everything is connected.The 'blade weaves a web.Unbreakable. The voice was strange, but the sentiment.She looked down at the bracelet, sitting more or less quietly on her wrist. What was it that Dante wanted from her? These thoughts occupied her through the lobby and up the elevator to where Special Investigations was housed.
The conference room into which Sara was directed held the usual institutional furniture, featureless and worn, and two men. Captain Bruno Dante was a middle-aged Italian American with strong features and the slicked back hair of an earlier generation. His dark, heavy lidded eyes and coldness of expression gave his face an almost reptilian appearance. These factors, combined with his attitude, gave Sara the sinking feeling that this was not going to be a simple exchange of information. The other officer, identified as Burgess, was young and a bit hard looking, but otherwise unremarkable.
She looked at them both cautiously. While nothing was obviously wrong, something was making her nervous, all her instincts on alert for no discernable reason. She rubbed the Witchblade reflexively under her sleeve, hoping for something, inspiration, a vision, at least a clue as to what she should do. Her interaction with Dante had always been limited, but there was a look about him, like he was searching her face for something, some sign of guilt, like she had done something to him personally. He waved her to the chair and motioned for Burgess to close the door.
"So Detective Pezzini," he began as she dropped into the chair and tried to get comfortable.
"Sir, what is this all about?" Sara asked cautiously.
"Like getting straight to the point, don't you Detective?"
"I try sir."
"Well, then by all means. You've been working on the Vorschlag case, haven't you?" he said. His tone was a bit more aggressive and she knew they were getting closer to the point. Why did everything have to come back to Irons? she thought, and what can I tell him, without causing more trouble? She took a deep breath and reached down, trying to remain calm. She did not want to alarm Ian, or distract him.
"My partner and I." she started.
"This is not about Detective Woo," he said flatly. "This is about you and the visits you have been making both to Vorschlag and to the Irons' mansion in the company of one of the Vorschlag employees.alone."
"I don't know what ..."she interrupted hotly.
"You may have compromised an ongoing investigation by this office into possible illegal activities by Mr. Irons and I want to know what has happened." All semblance of a calm and pleasant conversation disappeared as his voice got louder and colder, anger showing clear with something else, something she could not quite identify.
Ian felt the gamut of emotions rush through him, from irritation to concern to stone cold anger as the phone call proceeded. "Thank you for your help. I will deal with it now. I am already here," he said shortly. He was pretty sure that his caller would understand as he snapped the phone closed with a decisive click. He looked around the room, his eyes gone suddenly as dark and as dangerous as a cornered tiger. "Gentlemen, a problem has arisen that needs to be handled immediately," he said as he stood, threat in every line of his body. The men at the table looked on this sudden transformation with varying degrees of concern and shock. "There seems to be a problem with Detective Pezzini. I believe that we have everything that we need?" he questioned as he negligently swept the papers before him into his briefcase and moved to leave.
The deputy commissioner and Captain Siri looked to their superior for instructions. "Well, you had best go with him. Trouble is the last thing we need at this point." They rose hurriedly, the unspoken concern flooding the room. They had all recognized the change from calm businessman to black clad angel of vengeance, and it sent a chill through the room like the draft from an open window. The commissioner found himself looking around before he remembered that they were on the top floor and the windows didn't open.
"Sara, I'm just getting ready to go back over to the Commissioner's office. The press conference worked a lot better than expected. The announcement shook a lot of people up, there are some pretty high ranking people wetting their pants this morning wondering who's next and if they are on the list. Apparently information is flooding in from all kinds of unexpected places." Sara looked startled and Joe smiled at her. "Good work."
"Not me, Joe. It was all Ian," she said, as she sat there grinning. She was absolutely floored by the reaction. Ian had really shaken everything up in the process of helping them out of their little problem.
"Well, I'll be sure to tell him that when I see him. Seriously, Sara, he seems like a nice guy. I'm happy for you. But be careful, Marie is practically ready to send out wedding invitations," Joe said with a laugh.
"I will, and thanks. It means a lot that you like him. I mean, you guys are all the family I really have left." Joe waved her comments off; neither of them was really good with these emotional scenes.
"Now you get back to work before I have to come down on you. I need to get going." Sara nodded and headed through the door, trying to hide the smile that kept trying to creep across her face.
Geez, Pezzini, you go around grinning like an idiot you are never going to live it down, she thought to herself.
When she walked back into her office the first thing that caught her eye was the sight of Jake McCarty sitting at her desk. The Californian rookie had his feet propped up and was reading through one of her files. Of Danny there was no sign. "Hey rookie," she said, smacking him lightly across the back of the head. "Move it. Now. Where's my partner?"
"Hey Pez, sorry. I just needed to find the files from Gorner and his partner. Captain wants me to go over them with the DEA." Sara glared at him, and he got up in a hurry. "Do you still have them? They aren't in the file room."
"Yeah, I think Danny." she started as her partner walked in the door, a cup of coffee in each hand.
"Think I what, Partner?" he asked as he handed her a cup. Sara took one sip and gave him a black look. After the stuff that Ian had bought her, facing what the house laughingly called coffee was a hard transition. She returned to her chair, taking another sip of the so-called coffee with a grimace. Oh, well, better than nothing, she tried to tell herself.
"Jake needs the files from Gorner. He's got the DEA briefing."
"Oh, how did you luck out?" Danny asked as he dropped into his own chair, reaching around to the pile behind him. Sara watched them for a moment, drinking, thinking about everything that had happened since she had encountered the Witchblade. Her reverie was interrupted as the phone on her desk began to ring.
As Danny sorted through the files with Jake, he tried to keep one ear on the one half of the strange conversation Sara was having. "Yes, but about what? How am I supposed to know what to bring.Al right yes, as soon as I can get over there. Fine." she finished, slamming the phone down.
"What's up, Sara?" he asked. Both he and Jake looked at her expectantly as she stood and grabbed her jacket. There was a look of concern and confusion on her face.
"That was someone from Special Investigations. Seems Captain Dante wants to talk to me about something. Have we had any cases that overlap with them lately?"
"Not that I know of. Did they say what it was about?"
"No, just that I needed to get over there now. I'll give you a call and let you know," she said with a shrug as she walked out of the office. Jake looked at Danny but, receiving no response, he gathered his files and left also.
Danny sat down at his desk, wondering why he had a bad feeling about the call. He was pretty sure that nothing they had done recently had any connection to Dante's hand picked squad. The only thing they had been focused on recently was Irons, and everyone seemed interested in him.
He looked at the telephone, trying to make up his mind. If he did this and he was wrong, Sara would be really pissed at him, but if he did nothing and she got herself in trouble... Decision made, he picked a file, found the number he was looking for, and dialed.
Sara caught a ride downtown with one of the couriers from administration. The trip passed in silence as she tried to figure out what Dante could possibly want. She had never really had much contact with the loud-mouthed head of the Special Investigations Section. He had known her father and Joe Siri for years, but every time he looked at her it made her skin crawl. Not that he had ever said anything to her accept in passing, or really been rude to her, but there was a sneer on his face that was just plain irritating.
A vision formed in her mind.her father and Joe Siri standing together in the squad room. "The guy is dirty, I know that," he was saying to Joe. He was pacing angrily, obviously agitated.
"Don't let him get to you. The man's a jerk. Besides, you don't want to piss him off. His rabbi is in line for Deputy Commissioner."
"I don't care, he."
"Jim, Dante is going to climb the ranks and he doesn't care who he has to run over in the process. If you make trouble for him, he will make twice as much for you." Joe shook his head and handed his partner a cup of coffee. "It's just how it is. If you get some proof, then maybe we can do something, but until then, all I am saying is be careful."
Sara was pulled out of her vision at the sound of her name and realized that they had arrived. Slowly, still mulling the vision over in her mind, she stepped out of the car and headed for the doors, nodding a distracted farewell to her ride.
Entering the building, Sara mulled over the vision, memory, whatever it was that she had seen. What did it mean? Obviously her father had suspected Dante of something, but that really couldn't have anything to do with this. Or could it.everything is connected.The 'blade weaves a web.Unbreakable. The voice was strange, but the sentiment.She looked down at the bracelet, sitting more or less quietly on her wrist. What was it that Dante wanted from her? These thoughts occupied her through the lobby and up the elevator to where Special Investigations was housed.
The conference room into which Sara was directed held the usual institutional furniture, featureless and worn, and two men. Captain Bruno Dante was a middle-aged Italian American with strong features and the slicked back hair of an earlier generation. His dark, heavy lidded eyes and coldness of expression gave his face an almost reptilian appearance. These factors, combined with his attitude, gave Sara the sinking feeling that this was not going to be a simple exchange of information. The other officer, identified as Burgess, was young and a bit hard looking, but otherwise unremarkable.
She looked at them both cautiously. While nothing was obviously wrong, something was making her nervous, all her instincts on alert for no discernable reason. She rubbed the Witchblade reflexively under her sleeve, hoping for something, inspiration, a vision, at least a clue as to what she should do. Her interaction with Dante had always been limited, but there was a look about him, like he was searching her face for something, some sign of guilt, like she had done something to him personally. He waved her to the chair and motioned for Burgess to close the door.
"So Detective Pezzini," he began as she dropped into the chair and tried to get comfortable.
"Sir, what is this all about?" Sara asked cautiously.
"Like getting straight to the point, don't you Detective?"
"I try sir."
"Well, then by all means. You've been working on the Vorschlag case, haven't you?" he said. His tone was a bit more aggressive and she knew they were getting closer to the point. Why did everything have to come back to Irons? she thought, and what can I tell him, without causing more trouble? She took a deep breath and reached down, trying to remain calm. She did not want to alarm Ian, or distract him.
"My partner and I." she started.
"This is not about Detective Woo," he said flatly. "This is about you and the visits you have been making both to Vorschlag and to the Irons' mansion in the company of one of the Vorschlag employees.alone."
"I don't know what ..."she interrupted hotly.
"You may have compromised an ongoing investigation by this office into possible illegal activities by Mr. Irons and I want to know what has happened." All semblance of a calm and pleasant conversation disappeared as his voice got louder and colder, anger showing clear with something else, something she could not quite identify.
Ian felt the gamut of emotions rush through him, from irritation to concern to stone cold anger as the phone call proceeded. "Thank you for your help. I will deal with it now. I am already here," he said shortly. He was pretty sure that his caller would understand as he snapped the phone closed with a decisive click. He looked around the room, his eyes gone suddenly as dark and as dangerous as a cornered tiger. "Gentlemen, a problem has arisen that needs to be handled immediately," he said as he stood, threat in every line of his body. The men at the table looked on this sudden transformation with varying degrees of concern and shock. "There seems to be a problem with Detective Pezzini. I believe that we have everything that we need?" he questioned as he negligently swept the papers before him into his briefcase and moved to leave.
The deputy commissioner and Captain Siri looked to their superior for instructions. "Well, you had best go with him. Trouble is the last thing we need at this point." They rose hurriedly, the unspoken concern flooding the room. They had all recognized the change from calm businessman to black clad angel of vengeance, and it sent a chill through the room like the draft from an open window. The commissioner found himself looking around before he remembered that they were on the top floor and the windows didn't open.