A Family Affair
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Just playing. Enjoy!
Chapter 7.
Ian Nottingham walked along the sidewalk, eyes on the ground directly in front of him as was his habit. Joseph Siri, Jr. walked beside him.
He could feel the boy's curious eyes on him. Ian was used to getting stares whenever he was out and about during daylight hours. His height, head-to-toe black attire, and faint but perceptible air of menace combined to make him stand out. He almost never made eye contact with those he passed on the street. Long ago, Ian had learned that his gaze made most people extremely uncomfortable. That was one of the reasons he rarely ventured out before dusk if he could avoid it.
Only under the cover of darkness, when the shadows were at their inkiest, did Ian really feel comfortable being in public. Then, if he did not wish it, nobody noticed him. He was just another shadow, silent and insubstantial. Unless, of course, you were someone Kenneth Irons wanted dead. In that case, many an unfortunate victim's last thought had been that the shadows had come alive, bringing swift and nearly soundless death with them.
Ian knew that earlier today, in that alley next to the 11th Precinct, the youth presently walking along beside him had come within a hair's breadth of joining those poor souls in oblivion. He doubted that the boy realized just how perilously close he had come to meeting his maker, or else he would not be here, calmly heading toward the subway, accompanied by perhaps the deadliest assassin on Earth.
Normally, Nottingham would have driven to their destination; his car was parked just a few blocks from Stuyvesant High School. However, he sensed that the youngster's trust in him was tenuous at best and probably wouldn't extend to the forced intimacy of a car ride, albeit a brief one. So, the subway it was.
Ian had been surprised when his offer to escort the young man to his girlfriend's home had been accepted. It had been a very long time since anything had truly surprised Ian Nottingham. Actually, that was not entirely accurate. His first real shock of the day had come when the Wielder had scolded him, complete with a finger being shaken in his face. But that paled in comparison to his absolute astonishment when she had touched him.
Unconsciously, he placed his gloved right hand on his chest, precisely where Lady Sara's fist had made contact. He had been certain that she'd noticed his gasp of amazement. But apparently she hadn't. He was enormously grateful Sara had failed to realize just how profoundly her touch had affected him. Even now, thinking back on it, his pulse rate sped up and his heart started pounding. It would never do for the beautiful Wielder to realize just how much power she had over him. Nothing but pain and anguish -- his -- could come from that discovery.
"My Aunt Sara's pretty tough on the outside, but she's a softy on the inside," the boy next to him said suddenly.
"She never shows that side of herself to me," Ian said wistfully, and then immediately wished he hadn't. What the hell was wrong with him? He was supposed to be a ninja tough guy, as Sara had referred to him earlier, yet here he was sounding like a lovesick fool. In front of a teenager no less.
"She's very, um, self-sufficient. You know, the independent type. She likes to think she can take care of herself, that she doesn't need anybody looking out for her," Joey told him.
"I had noticed that aspect of her personality," Ian said dryly.
"So, why do you? Look out for her," the boy clarified at Ian's blank look.
"Because it is what I was born to do," he replied. "I would gladly die for her."
For the first time since that morning in the alley, Ian made eye contact with the teen.
Joseph Siri, Jr. felt mesmerized by the intensity of the tall, black- clad man's gaze. His large eyes were an unusual golden brown with patches of green and smaller flecks of gold throughout the irises. But whereas the boy had glimpsed the promise of death in those eyes earlier that day in that alley next to the 11th Precinct, he now felt as if the man's soul were exposed, and what he was being allowed to see was an ancient and timeless devotion. The object of that undying loyalty was the woman he called his Aunt Sara, and although Joey knew that Nottingham's frank explanation didn't even begin to tell the whole story, he simply nodded, taking his words at face value.
"I'm glad she has you watching her back," Joseph surprised Ian by saying.
'Well, I guess today must be my day for surprises,' Ian thought, a smile briefly quirking his lips. 'That makes four times.'
"Don't get me wrong," the youth hastened to add. "Aunt Sara can handle herself pretty damn good. But she doesn't have eyes in the back of her head. Her dad was a cop, too. He was killed in the line of duty when Sara was younger than me. He was gunned down, shot in the back. That was when she came to live with Grandpa Joe and Grandma Marie. Grandpa used to be best friends with Aunt Sara's dad, and when Sara joined the force, he was her captain, up until he retired a couple of months ago."
"What was Sara like as a girl?" Ian found himself asking the young man.
"Well, I was pretty young when she came to live with my grandparents. But she used to baby-sit me and my little sister from time to time when she was in high school. She moved out of my grandparents' house after she got accepted to the police academy, but she would still come by our house on most weekends. She taught me some Judo and a little boxing, and one summer she even taught me how to ride my bike. We don't see her as much since Grandpa Joe retired," Joey said, and now it was he who sounded wistful.
"She is extremely dedicated to her job and works very long hours," Ian felt compelled to defend his Lady. "You should be very proud of your aunt, young Joseph. She is an excellent role model."
Joey grinned. "You like her a lot, don't you?" It wasn't really a question.
Ian was mortified to feel a blush redden his checks. Hastily, he surreptitiously removed the band that held his hair in its customary neat club at the back of his head, letting the long, sable waves hide his downturned, burning face.
"It's okay, I won't spill your secret," the boy assured him.
For some reason, Ian knew he could trust him to be as good as his word.
They reached the subway and descended into it. Joey used his school pass and Ian used a token to enter the turnstiles.
"I admire your aunt's spirit tremendously," Ian admitted as they stood on the platform waiting for the uptown train. "She is fascinatingly complex and a woman of impeccable honor."
"Yeah, a lot of guys are attracted to her 'spirit,'" Joey smirked.
Ian frowned, darting the boy a sharp look through the curtain of his hair. "Who are these 'guys,' and by 'a lot,' precisely how many do you mean?" he said very softly.
"Oh, um, it was just, uh, a f-figure of speech, M-Mr. Nottingham," Joey stuttered, his heart skipping a beat at the fierce frowning look the older man shot him. "I don't think Aunt Sara is seeing anyone special at the moment."
"Oh." Ian cleared his throat unnecessarily, aware that he'd inadvertently frightened the boy again. "Look, here comes the train!" 'Wow! Gee! Shut up, now, Nottingham.'
The roar of the subway train made conversation impossible for the next couple of minutes, to Ian's profound relief. When the doors opened, they boarded a fairly crowded car.
Immediately, Ian went to stand against the door at one end of the car, somehow threading his way through the other passengers without touching any of them. His piercing gaze swept the car briefly, ensuring that there was no immediate threat present. Joey followed with a lot more difficulty, unable to keep from jostling a few people owing to the swaying motion of the train.
'How the heck did he do that?' the teenager wondered silently. He saw a couple of people do double takes when they became aware of the black- clad man who had seemingly materialized in the corner, having never noticed his passage, so swift and silent had it been. The subway car they were in was brightly lit, but shadows seemed to have gathered in that particular spot.
They traveled for a time in companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
"So, did Sara have a lot of boyfriends while at the police academy?" Ian heard himself ask her surrogate nephew. 'This line of questioning is foolish, Ian,' he instantly mentally chastised himself. 'It makes you appear weak. Besides, it is none of your damned business.'
Joey hid a grin by covering his mouth and pretending to cough. "Well, she was and still is a babe," he said matter-of-factly. "Don't you think?"
Ian felt a betraying flush creep up his neck. "Uh, well, yes, she --- oh, this is our stop!" He was devoutly thankful that this journey was nearing its end as he got the distinct feeling Sara's nephew was enjoying his discomfort. Payback, as the saying went, was a bitch.
They transferred to the cross-town L train, which was just pulling into the 14th Street and Eighth Avenue station.
"Thanks for keeping me company on the way over here, Mr. Nottingham," Joey said sincerely as the train jerked into motion. He had watched in admiration as the peculiar, dark-haired man had done his 'invisible man' thing again. It was just as impressive as the first time, and Joey still couldn't figure out how a person his size (and dressed completely in black to boot) managed to do it.
"You are most welcome, young Joseph. And please, call me Ian."
"Okay, Ian." Joey's face fell as he realized that he would soon have to tell the girl he loved that he was turning her in to the police. "This isn't going to be easy, is it?"
"Few things in life are, Joseph," Ian said quietly.
"But I'm doing the right thing, aren't I?" he asked, desperate for reassurance.
"Undoubtedly. Your Lady is very lucky to have you as a friend. I sincerely hope she can beat her addiction. With someone like you pulling for her, I truly believe she will prevail," Ian told him.
Joey smiled weakly. "Let's not kid ourselves: she's going to hate me for this. But maybe after she gets better, she'll be able to forgive me."
"With all my heart, I wish for it to be so, Joseph Siri, Jr. You are a remarkable and brave young man."
The train pulled into their stop and they got off and exited the station.
Immediately, Ian scanned the street, and in the gathering dusk, he spotted Sara Pezzini leaning against a mailbox on the corner they had agreed to meet on.
The young and achingly vulnerable boy next to him squared his shoulders.
"Let's do this," Joey murmured to himself, but he paused before walking away. "Oh, and Ian, don't let my Aunt Sara's bitchy attitude put you off. She'll never respect you if you give up without a fight."
And for the fifth time that day, Ian was taken by surprise.
"Wise words, young Joseph," he murmured, "wise words. Good luck to you and your Lady."
"Thanks," the boy muttered. "I think we're gonna need it." And with a little wave good-bye, he went to join his aunt.
When he glanced back moments later, Joey wasn't at all surprised to see that Ian Nottingham had vanished without a trace.
More to come. Keep the feedback coming! Muchas gracias!
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Just playing. Enjoy!
Chapter 7.
Ian Nottingham walked along the sidewalk, eyes on the ground directly in front of him as was his habit. Joseph Siri, Jr. walked beside him.
He could feel the boy's curious eyes on him. Ian was used to getting stares whenever he was out and about during daylight hours. His height, head-to-toe black attire, and faint but perceptible air of menace combined to make him stand out. He almost never made eye contact with those he passed on the street. Long ago, Ian had learned that his gaze made most people extremely uncomfortable. That was one of the reasons he rarely ventured out before dusk if he could avoid it.
Only under the cover of darkness, when the shadows were at their inkiest, did Ian really feel comfortable being in public. Then, if he did not wish it, nobody noticed him. He was just another shadow, silent and insubstantial. Unless, of course, you were someone Kenneth Irons wanted dead. In that case, many an unfortunate victim's last thought had been that the shadows had come alive, bringing swift and nearly soundless death with them.
Ian knew that earlier today, in that alley next to the 11th Precinct, the youth presently walking along beside him had come within a hair's breadth of joining those poor souls in oblivion. He doubted that the boy realized just how perilously close he had come to meeting his maker, or else he would not be here, calmly heading toward the subway, accompanied by perhaps the deadliest assassin on Earth.
Normally, Nottingham would have driven to their destination; his car was parked just a few blocks from Stuyvesant High School. However, he sensed that the youngster's trust in him was tenuous at best and probably wouldn't extend to the forced intimacy of a car ride, albeit a brief one. So, the subway it was.
Ian had been surprised when his offer to escort the young man to his girlfriend's home had been accepted. It had been a very long time since anything had truly surprised Ian Nottingham. Actually, that was not entirely accurate. His first real shock of the day had come when the Wielder had scolded him, complete with a finger being shaken in his face. But that paled in comparison to his absolute astonishment when she had touched him.
Unconsciously, he placed his gloved right hand on his chest, precisely where Lady Sara's fist had made contact. He had been certain that she'd noticed his gasp of amazement. But apparently she hadn't. He was enormously grateful Sara had failed to realize just how profoundly her touch had affected him. Even now, thinking back on it, his pulse rate sped up and his heart started pounding. It would never do for the beautiful Wielder to realize just how much power she had over him. Nothing but pain and anguish -- his -- could come from that discovery.
"My Aunt Sara's pretty tough on the outside, but she's a softy on the inside," the boy next to him said suddenly.
"She never shows that side of herself to me," Ian said wistfully, and then immediately wished he hadn't. What the hell was wrong with him? He was supposed to be a ninja tough guy, as Sara had referred to him earlier, yet here he was sounding like a lovesick fool. In front of a teenager no less.
"She's very, um, self-sufficient. You know, the independent type. She likes to think she can take care of herself, that she doesn't need anybody looking out for her," Joey told him.
"I had noticed that aspect of her personality," Ian said dryly.
"So, why do you? Look out for her," the boy clarified at Ian's blank look.
"Because it is what I was born to do," he replied. "I would gladly die for her."
For the first time since that morning in the alley, Ian made eye contact with the teen.
Joseph Siri, Jr. felt mesmerized by the intensity of the tall, black- clad man's gaze. His large eyes were an unusual golden brown with patches of green and smaller flecks of gold throughout the irises. But whereas the boy had glimpsed the promise of death in those eyes earlier that day in that alley next to the 11th Precinct, he now felt as if the man's soul were exposed, and what he was being allowed to see was an ancient and timeless devotion. The object of that undying loyalty was the woman he called his Aunt Sara, and although Joey knew that Nottingham's frank explanation didn't even begin to tell the whole story, he simply nodded, taking his words at face value.
"I'm glad she has you watching her back," Joseph surprised Ian by saying.
'Well, I guess today must be my day for surprises,' Ian thought, a smile briefly quirking his lips. 'That makes four times.'
"Don't get me wrong," the youth hastened to add. "Aunt Sara can handle herself pretty damn good. But she doesn't have eyes in the back of her head. Her dad was a cop, too. He was killed in the line of duty when Sara was younger than me. He was gunned down, shot in the back. That was when she came to live with Grandpa Joe and Grandma Marie. Grandpa used to be best friends with Aunt Sara's dad, and when Sara joined the force, he was her captain, up until he retired a couple of months ago."
"What was Sara like as a girl?" Ian found himself asking the young man.
"Well, I was pretty young when she came to live with my grandparents. But she used to baby-sit me and my little sister from time to time when she was in high school. She moved out of my grandparents' house after she got accepted to the police academy, but she would still come by our house on most weekends. She taught me some Judo and a little boxing, and one summer she even taught me how to ride my bike. We don't see her as much since Grandpa Joe retired," Joey said, and now it was he who sounded wistful.
"She is extremely dedicated to her job and works very long hours," Ian felt compelled to defend his Lady. "You should be very proud of your aunt, young Joseph. She is an excellent role model."
Joey grinned. "You like her a lot, don't you?" It wasn't really a question.
Ian was mortified to feel a blush redden his checks. Hastily, he surreptitiously removed the band that held his hair in its customary neat club at the back of his head, letting the long, sable waves hide his downturned, burning face.
"It's okay, I won't spill your secret," the boy assured him.
For some reason, Ian knew he could trust him to be as good as his word.
They reached the subway and descended into it. Joey used his school pass and Ian used a token to enter the turnstiles.
"I admire your aunt's spirit tremendously," Ian admitted as they stood on the platform waiting for the uptown train. "She is fascinatingly complex and a woman of impeccable honor."
"Yeah, a lot of guys are attracted to her 'spirit,'" Joey smirked.
Ian frowned, darting the boy a sharp look through the curtain of his hair. "Who are these 'guys,' and by 'a lot,' precisely how many do you mean?" he said very softly.
"Oh, um, it was just, uh, a f-figure of speech, M-Mr. Nottingham," Joey stuttered, his heart skipping a beat at the fierce frowning look the older man shot him. "I don't think Aunt Sara is seeing anyone special at the moment."
"Oh." Ian cleared his throat unnecessarily, aware that he'd inadvertently frightened the boy again. "Look, here comes the train!" 'Wow! Gee! Shut up, now, Nottingham.'
The roar of the subway train made conversation impossible for the next couple of minutes, to Ian's profound relief. When the doors opened, they boarded a fairly crowded car.
Immediately, Ian went to stand against the door at one end of the car, somehow threading his way through the other passengers without touching any of them. His piercing gaze swept the car briefly, ensuring that there was no immediate threat present. Joey followed with a lot more difficulty, unable to keep from jostling a few people owing to the swaying motion of the train.
'How the heck did he do that?' the teenager wondered silently. He saw a couple of people do double takes when they became aware of the black- clad man who had seemingly materialized in the corner, having never noticed his passage, so swift and silent had it been. The subway car they were in was brightly lit, but shadows seemed to have gathered in that particular spot.
They traveled for a time in companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
"So, did Sara have a lot of boyfriends while at the police academy?" Ian heard himself ask her surrogate nephew. 'This line of questioning is foolish, Ian,' he instantly mentally chastised himself. 'It makes you appear weak. Besides, it is none of your damned business.'
Joey hid a grin by covering his mouth and pretending to cough. "Well, she was and still is a babe," he said matter-of-factly. "Don't you think?"
Ian felt a betraying flush creep up his neck. "Uh, well, yes, she --- oh, this is our stop!" He was devoutly thankful that this journey was nearing its end as he got the distinct feeling Sara's nephew was enjoying his discomfort. Payback, as the saying went, was a bitch.
They transferred to the cross-town L train, which was just pulling into the 14th Street and Eighth Avenue station.
"Thanks for keeping me company on the way over here, Mr. Nottingham," Joey said sincerely as the train jerked into motion. He had watched in admiration as the peculiar, dark-haired man had done his 'invisible man' thing again. It was just as impressive as the first time, and Joey still couldn't figure out how a person his size (and dressed completely in black to boot) managed to do it.
"You are most welcome, young Joseph. And please, call me Ian."
"Okay, Ian." Joey's face fell as he realized that he would soon have to tell the girl he loved that he was turning her in to the police. "This isn't going to be easy, is it?"
"Few things in life are, Joseph," Ian said quietly.
"But I'm doing the right thing, aren't I?" he asked, desperate for reassurance.
"Undoubtedly. Your Lady is very lucky to have you as a friend. I sincerely hope she can beat her addiction. With someone like you pulling for her, I truly believe she will prevail," Ian told him.
Joey smiled weakly. "Let's not kid ourselves: she's going to hate me for this. But maybe after she gets better, she'll be able to forgive me."
"With all my heart, I wish for it to be so, Joseph Siri, Jr. You are a remarkable and brave young man."
The train pulled into their stop and they got off and exited the station.
Immediately, Ian scanned the street, and in the gathering dusk, he spotted Sara Pezzini leaning against a mailbox on the corner they had agreed to meet on.
The young and achingly vulnerable boy next to him squared his shoulders.
"Let's do this," Joey murmured to himself, but he paused before walking away. "Oh, and Ian, don't let my Aunt Sara's bitchy attitude put you off. She'll never respect you if you give up without a fight."
And for the fifth time that day, Ian was taken by surprise.
"Wise words, young Joseph," he murmured, "wise words. Good luck to you and your Lady."
"Thanks," the boy muttered. "I think we're gonna need it." And with a little wave good-bye, he went to join his aunt.
When he glanced back moments later, Joey wasn't at all surprised to see that Ian Nottingham had vanished without a trace.
More to come. Keep the feedback coming! Muchas gracias!