A Family Affair
Disclaimer: I don't own the Witchblade characters, much to my regret. I'm just borrowing them.
Author's Note: I know I promised to up the action quotient in my last note. I guess I'm just a tease! But don't get your panties in a twist! It's coming! I swear! Who's writing this story anyway? Sometimes, I think it's the characters and not me! Enjoy!
Chapter 33.
Abruptly, all of the fight went out of Sara, leaving her drained and appalled at her atrocious behavior. "What have I done?" she whispered, tears filling her eyes as she stared at the now empty alley.
"I'd say you had a bit of a stress-induced meltdown, Chief," Gabriel said, realizing that it was now safe to let go of her arm.
"I drove Nottingham away. I said some god-awful things to him, and now he's gone." She shook her head numbly. "Oh my God! Jake and Danny are right: I'm the PMS bitch from hell! Why didn't you stop me, Gabriel?"
"Hey, I tried! Far be it for me to stop a force of nature like PMS," he said, raising his hands defensively. "If it's any consolation, Nottingham hasn't gone far. He can't abandon you, no matter how much he'd like to right now. The Twitchblade won't allow it."
"Gee, that's comforting," Sara muttered, wiping her tear-streaked face with cold, trembling hands. "My Protector can't stand me, but he'll still catch a bullet for me."
Gabriel shrugged. "An apology might help. Call him."
Sara's mouth thinned stubbornly. "Maybe later. I've got to get back to my desk."
"Um, he's half out of his mind with fever and thinks you hate him. I'm thinking you should make that call right now, Chief. You might not get another chance."
Sara glanced sharply at him. "Are you trying to scare me, Gabriel? 'Cause you're doing a pretty good job of it," she said, taking out her cell phone.
"I'm just saying cut the guy some slack."
"Oh, all right. Geez!" She dialed Nottingham's number.
"Yes?"
Sara winced at the curtness of his tone. "Um, sorry I yelled at you, Nottingham," she mumbled. Gabriel nodded and gave her the thumbs up sign. "But you really shouldn't have lied to me." Gabriel frowned, shaking his head, and made the thumbs down gesture.
"Apology not accepted!" Nottingham snarled, and hung up.
"What the --?" Sara gaped at the phone in her hand in disbelief. "The little shit hung up on me!" She scowled. "Oh, no, that won't do at all!" Furiously, she started to press redial, but Gabriel grabbed the phone from her.
"Give it back, Gabriel!" she said through her teeth.
"Now, just simmer down there, Missy PMS," he said. "You were about to flame out again."
"He hung up on me!"
"He's feverish, exhausted, and feeling more than a little underappreciated. You could have just said you're sorry and left it at that, but, noooo, you had to bust his balls again. Can you honestly blame him?"
"Well, I guess not," she grudgingly admitted. "Give me my phone back." But the young man shook his head, putting it behind his back. "Come on, Gabriel! I've really got to get back to my desk. I'll call Nottingham later and make nice. I promise."
"Okay, but would it have killed you to apologize for that remark about only caring for your 'real' friends? That was just plain cruel, Chief."
Sara felt a twinge of guilt, and her temper flared defensively. "Oh for Christ's sake, what are you, his mother?" she exclaimed, snatching her phone out of his hand. "Ohhh, poor Nottingham! The big, bad Wielder hurt his feelings! Give me a freakin' break! He'll get over it!"
"He might not, Sara," Gabriel said, completely serious, his dark eyes reproachful.
"Again with the scare tactics? Oh, all right, but he better not hang up on me again," Sara grumbled. She dialed Nottingham's number once more.
"Yes?" His voice sounded so distant and flat, she suddenly became desperate to make things right between them.
"I am genuinely sorry for the hurtful things I said, Nottingham. I didn't mean any of them. Could you please find it in your heart to forgive me?" she asked softly. Gabriel nodded approvingly.
"Very well," he said after a long pause, "I accept your apology. And I apologize for calling you an ungrateful brat."
"That's okay. I deserved it," Sara said, a vast sense of relief filling her at his softly spoken words. "Hopefully, we'll speak again soon, after Alonzo contacts you. And then you'll meet me after the bust goes down, right?"
"Yes. I will take you to young Joseph's home."
"No. We're heading straight to Westchester and getting you that antidote. No ifs, ands, or buts, Nottingham. You're running out of time."
"As you wish. Please be careful, my Lady."
"I will, but I feel much safer knowing my Protector is watching my back."
"Always." There was a pause. Then, hesitantly, "Sara?"
"Yeah?"
"I know I said you could never learn to care for someone like me, but do you? Care for me, I mean. Even just a little?" The yearning mixed with fear so clearly discernible in his soft voice melted her tender heart, and Sara realized that it had taken a tremendous act of bravery for him to ask this question of her. She also became conscious of the fact that her answer was terribly important, and that it marked a change in their relationship from which there was no turning back.
"Yes," she said. "I care for all of my friends. And not just a little."
"I am very glad to hear you say that, my Lady," he breathed, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "It means the world to me."
"I'll speak to you later, Nottingham. Just try to take it easy until then, okay?"
"I will try. Goodbye, Sara."
"Bye." She hung up and pocketed her phone, grinning like a fool.
"See? Now don't you feel better? And you've given him something to live for," Gabriel said.
"Yeah, and it scares the shit out of me," she murmured, her grin fading. "He's in love with me, Gabriel. My Protector is in love with me."
"I know."
"You do?" Sara looked at her friend in surprise.
"Yeah. So does Danny. That's what Nottingham told him in Cantonese."
"Oh shit! What the hell am I gonna do?" She buried her face in her hands, then shook her head a little as if to clear it. "I don't have time to think about this now. I've been gone way too long as it is." They started walking toward the entrance of the alley. "Call me as soon as you contact Joey, Gabriel. And please be careful. If anybody figures out that you're not who you say you are, me and Danny are gonna be in big trouble and so is Tommy Fuller."
"No pressure, hunh?" Gabriel murmured. "I promise to do my very best Johnny Depp impression. You know, 21 Jump Street?" he said at Sara's blank look.
"Uh, sorry, I was never really into that show," she shrugged. "I guess I was too busy training to be a real cop."
"Well, keep your fingers crossed. I'm a little out of my league here playing The Man. But if you ever need somebody to pose as an antiquities expert, I'm your guy."
"Like Danny said, you'll do fine, Gabe. Thanks again, buddy. I owe you big time for this!"
"Speak to you in a little while, Chief."
They walked out of the alley together and then went their separate ways.
****
Almost exactly an hour later, Sara was back in her captain's office along with Dante, Sheldon Phillips, Agent Atherton, and detectives Mike Morgan, Jake McCartey, Frank Orlinsky, and Danny Woo.
"Okay, Detective Pezzini, we're gonna patch the call through. It will come up as a Brooklyn number on Tommy's cell phone. Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Sara said, taking a deep breath in a fruitless effort to calm her nerves.
"Just refer to the script if you forget something," Agent Atherton said, indicating the paper in front of her. Sara was sitting at Dante's desk, using his phone. "Remember, try not to speak too fast."
"Okay, let's do this," Captain Phillips said. "Go ahead, put the call through," he said into his headset. The other men also had on headsets so they could listen in on the call.
"It's ringing," Sara whispered.
"Hello?" a man's voice answered after the third ring.
"Hey, baby, it's me, Janine."
"Janine, it's not a good time. I'll call you back later."
"No! Tommy, I must of left 50 voicemail messages for you, and you never called me back! I haven't heard from you in more than three days, and I was really starting to get worried! What's going on? Where the fuck are you?"
"Baby, look, I'm sorry, but I been busy. You know, making that money."
"To buy me that ring you keep saying you're gonna get me?" Sara ignored the alarmed look Atherton gave her as she deviated from the script. "Listen, baby, do you remember my friend, Ian, who works in the Diamond District?"
"Yeah. What about him?"
"He says he can get you a really great deal on an engagement ring. A nice one."
Agent Atherton was motioning frantically toward the script.
"Awww, baby, you know I don't got the money to buy you a ring yet. But I will soon, I promise."
"You better. I miss you, baby."
"I miss you, too, Janine. Now, I gotta go."
"Wait, baby! Before I let you go I gotta tell you about my nephew, Johnny. You hafta talk to him. He's driving my sister crazy."
"What's the kid done this time?" Tommy said, injecting just the right amount of impatience into his tone.
"Carla actually caught him doin' the nasty with his girlfriend in his bedroom. Can you believe that? And he wasn't using protection! The girl's only 14 and she could be pregnant! Johnny could be a daddy at age 15!"
"No shit? Carla must really be freaking out that she might be a grandmother at what, 35?"
"Yeah, you gotta talk to him when you get home, Tommy. He'll listen to you. You gotta tell him about using protection. God knows his own dad could give a shit. All he cares about is his next bottle and chasing tail."
"It's a little late for the facts of life talk, don'tcha think, Janine? The kid's already, uh, sexually active. I'll bet he even has protection but didn't use it."
"Yeah, but if he didn't have any before, he does now. Carla ran right out and bought him some condoms. But she figures it'll be better coming from another guy about how he's gotta use them. Tommy, if you talk to him, I know he'll listen. He looks up to you. Please say you'll do it, baby? I would be really, really grateful, if you know what I mean," Sara lowered her voice to a throaty purr.
"Okay, okay, I'll talk to him. You know I'd do anything for you, baby. Now, I really gotta go. I should be home tomorrow, or maybe the day after."
"Okay, baby. I love you and I can't wait to see you."
"I love you, too, baby. Bye."
Sara hung up, heaving a huge sigh of relief.
"Good job, Detective Pezzini," Captain Phillips said, patting her on the back. "I think he got the message."
"Yeah, but what was that stuff about a ring, Detective?" Atherton asked, wiping beads of perspiration from his brow.
"What? Doesn't every girl want an engagement ring? I thought it would be more realistic if I busted his balls about getting me one," Sara said.
"It sure brought back fond memories for me," Danny said, smiling. "Lee actually made me open a savings account just for her ring. And she checked the deposit slips every month to make sure I was contributing to it."
"Tell me about it, Woo," Mike Morgan said. "Angie went down to the Diamond District with a couple of her girlfriends, picked out the ring, and took a freakin' Polaroid of it. Which she then gave me. I guess she wasn't taking any chances on me getting the message."
"My wife slipped a Tiffany's catalog into my newspaper after we'd only been dating for three months," Sheldon Phillips said wryly. "She'd already decided I was 'the one,' and felt I needed a little help making up my mind about her. And it had to be a Tiffany's ring with a rock no smaller than a carat, thank you very much -- on a detective's salary, no less. I'm pretty sure I'm still paying it off."
The three happily married men grinned goofily at each other. The divorced Dante scratched his balding head indifferently, Orlinsky looked bored, and McCartey and Atherton chuckled a little uneasily.
"There you go," Sara smirked, standing. "So, now I guess we wait to hear if Tommy makes the hit, right? Then what?"
"And then we hope your informant comes through about Angel needing him for lookout duties. Otherwise, we'll be flying blind. Given the storm that's coming, we have make a move tonight," Captain Phillips said. "We have no other choice."
"Anyone know what the latest forecast says? Still a blizzard?" Jake asked.
"Yeah, a big one. Maybe 30 inches when it's all said and done," Orlinsky said, grinning nastily at the young, native Californian.
"Great," the rookie muttered gloomily, shoving his fingers through his spiky blond hair.
Sara moved toward the door. "I'll be waiting in my office to hear whether the decoy worked, Captain Phillips. School should be letting out in about an hour. Joey is really hot to see his girl, so I don't expect him to wait around very long when I don't show up, which means it should go down around 5:00 or so."
"You'll be the first to hear how it went, Detective. Thanks for all your cooperation. If everything works out, there will probably be a commendation in it for you," Captain Phillips said.
Sara saw Dante frown, and she had to struggle to keep a smug grin off her face. Danny followed her from their disgruntled captain's office into their own, closing the door behind him.
"I made the call to Stuyvesant High's principal, Pez. He's told school security to expect Detective Bowman's visit."
"'Detective Bowman,' eh? There's something you don't hear everyday," Sara said, sinking wearily into her chair. "God, Danny, I'm scared shitless for Joey. I hate feeling so helpless. And they wouldn't even let me go to the rehab facility."
"They didn't want to chance tipping off the insider who told Angel that Joey would be there today. It'll all be over soon, partner. The bad guys will be off the street, and Joey will be safe. Plus, we'll be able to have snowball fights and make snowmen tomorrow!" Danny grinned.
"Or sleep for 12 hours. Make that 24 hours. I'm so tired I can't think straight." Her own words made her think of her feverish Protector, and the Witchblade swirled warmly on her wrist, as if to let her know he was close by.
"You've been going pretty much nonstop since Monday, Pez. You deserve a break, and Mother Nature looks like she's gonna be happy to oblige."
"Yeah, and to think, you'll soon have a driveway to shovel! When's the closing?"
"In two weeks. We'll be in the house by Christmas. Hard to believe, hunh?"
"Yeah. And if you provide beer and pizza, you won't even have to hire a moving company."
"Right, like Lee would let a bunch of ham-fisted detectives handle her china and furniture. No, we're getting professional movers." Her partner eyed her tired face speculatively for a moment. "So, just how friendly are you with Stalker Guy?"
Sara threw him a dismayed look. "Our relationship is strictly platonic, Danny. I swear. He just, uh, watches out for me."
"Yeah, I got that. But I also got the feeling he'd like for you to be a lot more than just friends, Pez. He's a pretty intense guy, isn't he?"
"Major understatement. How'd you figure out he had a background in Special Forces?" she asked curiously.
Danny tucked a strand of his shiny, black, shoulder-length hair behind his ear before answering. "Something about his stance and those combat boots. Plus, the black-on-black attire. But I must admit the long, girly-ass hair kinda threw me for a minute."
Sara smiled. "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, partner."
"Hey, I'm more than manly enough to pull it off!"
She raised her eyebrows at him. "I dare you to tell Nottingham to his face that he has 'girly-ass' hair."
"Um, my mama didn't raise no fool. Guy looks like he could snatch my still-beating heart from my chest in an eye-blink with a pleasant smile on his face."
"You're right," Sara agreed equably, "except for the smile part. Nottingham doesn't do smiles." 'At least not nearly often enough,' she thought to herself. 'I'm gonna have to do something about that.'
"So, why haven't you jumped his bones yet?"
"Excuse me?" she sputtered, nearly choking on the sip of water she'd just taken.
"Come on, Pez," Danny murmured. "He's so your type it's not funny. Brooding bad boy with a mysterious past."
"I told you. We're just friends. I d-don't think of him that way."
"Aha! You stuttered."
"I did not!" Sara denied, flushing.
"Uh-hunh, you sure did, Cleo."
"Cleo?"
"Yeah, as in Cleopatra, the Queen of Denial."
"Okay, can we just drop this subject?" Sara gritted, remembering that Gabriel had called her the exact same thing just last night.
"Touched a horny nerve, did I?"
"I'm serious, Danny. I really don't feel like discussing my sex life with you."
"Don't you mean lack of a sex life, Pez? Hey, you and I both know it's been a long dry spell."
"Gee, Danny, I didn't know you kept such close track of my sexual activity," Sara grumbled, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.
"More like inactivity. And you didn't answer my question: Why the hands-off approach with Nottingham? I get the feeling he'd be more than willing."
"Geez, five minutes in an alley with the guy and you picked up on that?"
"The eyes are the windows to the soul, Pez."
"Oh, really? I'm pretty sure his girly-ass hair hid his 'soul' from you, Danny. Could it be what he said in Cantonese that tipped you off? By the way, what exactly did he say to you?"
"Welcome to Sherwood Forrest," Danny smirked.
"Yeah, uh-hunh. Besides, I'm pretty sure it was Robin Hood who said that."
"Let's just say I know why he watches out for you, partner."
"You think so, do you?" Sara murmured. She glanced at the clock. "Gabriel should be calling any minute now."
Five minutes later, her cell phone rang. "Pezzini, go."
"Hey, Chief. I got someone here who wants to talk to you," Gabriel said.
"Hi, Aunt Sara."
Sara felt her eyes tear up at the sound of her nephew's voice. "Hey, Joey. Listen, kiddo, I need to make this quick, so I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay?"
"Yeah. I'm listening."
More to come. Thanks again for the feedback. It's very encouraging and, as an added bonus, amusing! Keep it coming!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Witchblade characters, much to my regret. I'm just borrowing them.
Author's Note: I know I promised to up the action quotient in my last note. I guess I'm just a tease! But don't get your panties in a twist! It's coming! I swear! Who's writing this story anyway? Sometimes, I think it's the characters and not me! Enjoy!
Chapter 33.
Abruptly, all of the fight went out of Sara, leaving her drained and appalled at her atrocious behavior. "What have I done?" she whispered, tears filling her eyes as she stared at the now empty alley.
"I'd say you had a bit of a stress-induced meltdown, Chief," Gabriel said, realizing that it was now safe to let go of her arm.
"I drove Nottingham away. I said some god-awful things to him, and now he's gone." She shook her head numbly. "Oh my God! Jake and Danny are right: I'm the PMS bitch from hell! Why didn't you stop me, Gabriel?"
"Hey, I tried! Far be it for me to stop a force of nature like PMS," he said, raising his hands defensively. "If it's any consolation, Nottingham hasn't gone far. He can't abandon you, no matter how much he'd like to right now. The Twitchblade won't allow it."
"Gee, that's comforting," Sara muttered, wiping her tear-streaked face with cold, trembling hands. "My Protector can't stand me, but he'll still catch a bullet for me."
Gabriel shrugged. "An apology might help. Call him."
Sara's mouth thinned stubbornly. "Maybe later. I've got to get back to my desk."
"Um, he's half out of his mind with fever and thinks you hate him. I'm thinking you should make that call right now, Chief. You might not get another chance."
Sara glanced sharply at him. "Are you trying to scare me, Gabriel? 'Cause you're doing a pretty good job of it," she said, taking out her cell phone.
"I'm just saying cut the guy some slack."
"Oh, all right. Geez!" She dialed Nottingham's number.
"Yes?"
Sara winced at the curtness of his tone. "Um, sorry I yelled at you, Nottingham," she mumbled. Gabriel nodded and gave her the thumbs up sign. "But you really shouldn't have lied to me." Gabriel frowned, shaking his head, and made the thumbs down gesture.
"Apology not accepted!" Nottingham snarled, and hung up.
"What the --?" Sara gaped at the phone in her hand in disbelief. "The little shit hung up on me!" She scowled. "Oh, no, that won't do at all!" Furiously, she started to press redial, but Gabriel grabbed the phone from her.
"Give it back, Gabriel!" she said through her teeth.
"Now, just simmer down there, Missy PMS," he said. "You were about to flame out again."
"He hung up on me!"
"He's feverish, exhausted, and feeling more than a little underappreciated. You could have just said you're sorry and left it at that, but, noooo, you had to bust his balls again. Can you honestly blame him?"
"Well, I guess not," she grudgingly admitted. "Give me my phone back." But the young man shook his head, putting it behind his back. "Come on, Gabriel! I've really got to get back to my desk. I'll call Nottingham later and make nice. I promise."
"Okay, but would it have killed you to apologize for that remark about only caring for your 'real' friends? That was just plain cruel, Chief."
Sara felt a twinge of guilt, and her temper flared defensively. "Oh for Christ's sake, what are you, his mother?" she exclaimed, snatching her phone out of his hand. "Ohhh, poor Nottingham! The big, bad Wielder hurt his feelings! Give me a freakin' break! He'll get over it!"
"He might not, Sara," Gabriel said, completely serious, his dark eyes reproachful.
"Again with the scare tactics? Oh, all right, but he better not hang up on me again," Sara grumbled. She dialed Nottingham's number once more.
"Yes?" His voice sounded so distant and flat, she suddenly became desperate to make things right between them.
"I am genuinely sorry for the hurtful things I said, Nottingham. I didn't mean any of them. Could you please find it in your heart to forgive me?" she asked softly. Gabriel nodded approvingly.
"Very well," he said after a long pause, "I accept your apology. And I apologize for calling you an ungrateful brat."
"That's okay. I deserved it," Sara said, a vast sense of relief filling her at his softly spoken words. "Hopefully, we'll speak again soon, after Alonzo contacts you. And then you'll meet me after the bust goes down, right?"
"Yes. I will take you to young Joseph's home."
"No. We're heading straight to Westchester and getting you that antidote. No ifs, ands, or buts, Nottingham. You're running out of time."
"As you wish. Please be careful, my Lady."
"I will, but I feel much safer knowing my Protector is watching my back."
"Always." There was a pause. Then, hesitantly, "Sara?"
"Yeah?"
"I know I said you could never learn to care for someone like me, but do you? Care for me, I mean. Even just a little?" The yearning mixed with fear so clearly discernible in his soft voice melted her tender heart, and Sara realized that it had taken a tremendous act of bravery for him to ask this question of her. She also became conscious of the fact that her answer was terribly important, and that it marked a change in their relationship from which there was no turning back.
"Yes," she said. "I care for all of my friends. And not just a little."
"I am very glad to hear you say that, my Lady," he breathed, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "It means the world to me."
"I'll speak to you later, Nottingham. Just try to take it easy until then, okay?"
"I will try. Goodbye, Sara."
"Bye." She hung up and pocketed her phone, grinning like a fool.
"See? Now don't you feel better? And you've given him something to live for," Gabriel said.
"Yeah, and it scares the shit out of me," she murmured, her grin fading. "He's in love with me, Gabriel. My Protector is in love with me."
"I know."
"You do?" Sara looked at her friend in surprise.
"Yeah. So does Danny. That's what Nottingham told him in Cantonese."
"Oh shit! What the hell am I gonna do?" She buried her face in her hands, then shook her head a little as if to clear it. "I don't have time to think about this now. I've been gone way too long as it is." They started walking toward the entrance of the alley. "Call me as soon as you contact Joey, Gabriel. And please be careful. If anybody figures out that you're not who you say you are, me and Danny are gonna be in big trouble and so is Tommy Fuller."
"No pressure, hunh?" Gabriel murmured. "I promise to do my very best Johnny Depp impression. You know, 21 Jump Street?" he said at Sara's blank look.
"Uh, sorry, I was never really into that show," she shrugged. "I guess I was too busy training to be a real cop."
"Well, keep your fingers crossed. I'm a little out of my league here playing The Man. But if you ever need somebody to pose as an antiquities expert, I'm your guy."
"Like Danny said, you'll do fine, Gabe. Thanks again, buddy. I owe you big time for this!"
"Speak to you in a little while, Chief."
They walked out of the alley together and then went their separate ways.
****
Almost exactly an hour later, Sara was back in her captain's office along with Dante, Sheldon Phillips, Agent Atherton, and detectives Mike Morgan, Jake McCartey, Frank Orlinsky, and Danny Woo.
"Okay, Detective Pezzini, we're gonna patch the call through. It will come up as a Brooklyn number on Tommy's cell phone. Are you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Sara said, taking a deep breath in a fruitless effort to calm her nerves.
"Just refer to the script if you forget something," Agent Atherton said, indicating the paper in front of her. Sara was sitting at Dante's desk, using his phone. "Remember, try not to speak too fast."
"Okay, let's do this," Captain Phillips said. "Go ahead, put the call through," he said into his headset. The other men also had on headsets so they could listen in on the call.
"It's ringing," Sara whispered.
"Hello?" a man's voice answered after the third ring.
"Hey, baby, it's me, Janine."
"Janine, it's not a good time. I'll call you back later."
"No! Tommy, I must of left 50 voicemail messages for you, and you never called me back! I haven't heard from you in more than three days, and I was really starting to get worried! What's going on? Where the fuck are you?"
"Baby, look, I'm sorry, but I been busy. You know, making that money."
"To buy me that ring you keep saying you're gonna get me?" Sara ignored the alarmed look Atherton gave her as she deviated from the script. "Listen, baby, do you remember my friend, Ian, who works in the Diamond District?"
"Yeah. What about him?"
"He says he can get you a really great deal on an engagement ring. A nice one."
Agent Atherton was motioning frantically toward the script.
"Awww, baby, you know I don't got the money to buy you a ring yet. But I will soon, I promise."
"You better. I miss you, baby."
"I miss you, too, Janine. Now, I gotta go."
"Wait, baby! Before I let you go I gotta tell you about my nephew, Johnny. You hafta talk to him. He's driving my sister crazy."
"What's the kid done this time?" Tommy said, injecting just the right amount of impatience into his tone.
"Carla actually caught him doin' the nasty with his girlfriend in his bedroom. Can you believe that? And he wasn't using protection! The girl's only 14 and she could be pregnant! Johnny could be a daddy at age 15!"
"No shit? Carla must really be freaking out that she might be a grandmother at what, 35?"
"Yeah, you gotta talk to him when you get home, Tommy. He'll listen to you. You gotta tell him about using protection. God knows his own dad could give a shit. All he cares about is his next bottle and chasing tail."
"It's a little late for the facts of life talk, don'tcha think, Janine? The kid's already, uh, sexually active. I'll bet he even has protection but didn't use it."
"Yeah, but if he didn't have any before, he does now. Carla ran right out and bought him some condoms. But she figures it'll be better coming from another guy about how he's gotta use them. Tommy, if you talk to him, I know he'll listen. He looks up to you. Please say you'll do it, baby? I would be really, really grateful, if you know what I mean," Sara lowered her voice to a throaty purr.
"Okay, okay, I'll talk to him. You know I'd do anything for you, baby. Now, I really gotta go. I should be home tomorrow, or maybe the day after."
"Okay, baby. I love you and I can't wait to see you."
"I love you, too, baby. Bye."
Sara hung up, heaving a huge sigh of relief.
"Good job, Detective Pezzini," Captain Phillips said, patting her on the back. "I think he got the message."
"Yeah, but what was that stuff about a ring, Detective?" Atherton asked, wiping beads of perspiration from his brow.
"What? Doesn't every girl want an engagement ring? I thought it would be more realistic if I busted his balls about getting me one," Sara said.
"It sure brought back fond memories for me," Danny said, smiling. "Lee actually made me open a savings account just for her ring. And she checked the deposit slips every month to make sure I was contributing to it."
"Tell me about it, Woo," Mike Morgan said. "Angie went down to the Diamond District with a couple of her girlfriends, picked out the ring, and took a freakin' Polaroid of it. Which she then gave me. I guess she wasn't taking any chances on me getting the message."
"My wife slipped a Tiffany's catalog into my newspaper after we'd only been dating for three months," Sheldon Phillips said wryly. "She'd already decided I was 'the one,' and felt I needed a little help making up my mind about her. And it had to be a Tiffany's ring with a rock no smaller than a carat, thank you very much -- on a detective's salary, no less. I'm pretty sure I'm still paying it off."
The three happily married men grinned goofily at each other. The divorced Dante scratched his balding head indifferently, Orlinsky looked bored, and McCartey and Atherton chuckled a little uneasily.
"There you go," Sara smirked, standing. "So, now I guess we wait to hear if Tommy makes the hit, right? Then what?"
"And then we hope your informant comes through about Angel needing him for lookout duties. Otherwise, we'll be flying blind. Given the storm that's coming, we have make a move tonight," Captain Phillips said. "We have no other choice."
"Anyone know what the latest forecast says? Still a blizzard?" Jake asked.
"Yeah, a big one. Maybe 30 inches when it's all said and done," Orlinsky said, grinning nastily at the young, native Californian.
"Great," the rookie muttered gloomily, shoving his fingers through his spiky blond hair.
Sara moved toward the door. "I'll be waiting in my office to hear whether the decoy worked, Captain Phillips. School should be letting out in about an hour. Joey is really hot to see his girl, so I don't expect him to wait around very long when I don't show up, which means it should go down around 5:00 or so."
"You'll be the first to hear how it went, Detective. Thanks for all your cooperation. If everything works out, there will probably be a commendation in it for you," Captain Phillips said.
Sara saw Dante frown, and she had to struggle to keep a smug grin off her face. Danny followed her from their disgruntled captain's office into their own, closing the door behind him.
"I made the call to Stuyvesant High's principal, Pez. He's told school security to expect Detective Bowman's visit."
"'Detective Bowman,' eh? There's something you don't hear everyday," Sara said, sinking wearily into her chair. "God, Danny, I'm scared shitless for Joey. I hate feeling so helpless. And they wouldn't even let me go to the rehab facility."
"They didn't want to chance tipping off the insider who told Angel that Joey would be there today. It'll all be over soon, partner. The bad guys will be off the street, and Joey will be safe. Plus, we'll be able to have snowball fights and make snowmen tomorrow!" Danny grinned.
"Or sleep for 12 hours. Make that 24 hours. I'm so tired I can't think straight." Her own words made her think of her feverish Protector, and the Witchblade swirled warmly on her wrist, as if to let her know he was close by.
"You've been going pretty much nonstop since Monday, Pez. You deserve a break, and Mother Nature looks like she's gonna be happy to oblige."
"Yeah, and to think, you'll soon have a driveway to shovel! When's the closing?"
"In two weeks. We'll be in the house by Christmas. Hard to believe, hunh?"
"Yeah. And if you provide beer and pizza, you won't even have to hire a moving company."
"Right, like Lee would let a bunch of ham-fisted detectives handle her china and furniture. No, we're getting professional movers." Her partner eyed her tired face speculatively for a moment. "So, just how friendly are you with Stalker Guy?"
Sara threw him a dismayed look. "Our relationship is strictly platonic, Danny. I swear. He just, uh, watches out for me."
"Yeah, I got that. But I also got the feeling he'd like for you to be a lot more than just friends, Pez. He's a pretty intense guy, isn't he?"
"Major understatement. How'd you figure out he had a background in Special Forces?" she asked curiously.
Danny tucked a strand of his shiny, black, shoulder-length hair behind his ear before answering. "Something about his stance and those combat boots. Plus, the black-on-black attire. But I must admit the long, girly-ass hair kinda threw me for a minute."
Sara smiled. "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, partner."
"Hey, I'm more than manly enough to pull it off!"
She raised her eyebrows at him. "I dare you to tell Nottingham to his face that he has 'girly-ass' hair."
"Um, my mama didn't raise no fool. Guy looks like he could snatch my still-beating heart from my chest in an eye-blink with a pleasant smile on his face."
"You're right," Sara agreed equably, "except for the smile part. Nottingham doesn't do smiles." 'At least not nearly often enough,' she thought to herself. 'I'm gonna have to do something about that.'
"So, why haven't you jumped his bones yet?"
"Excuse me?" she sputtered, nearly choking on the sip of water she'd just taken.
"Come on, Pez," Danny murmured. "He's so your type it's not funny. Brooding bad boy with a mysterious past."
"I told you. We're just friends. I d-don't think of him that way."
"Aha! You stuttered."
"I did not!" Sara denied, flushing.
"Uh-hunh, you sure did, Cleo."
"Cleo?"
"Yeah, as in Cleopatra, the Queen of Denial."
"Okay, can we just drop this subject?" Sara gritted, remembering that Gabriel had called her the exact same thing just last night.
"Touched a horny nerve, did I?"
"I'm serious, Danny. I really don't feel like discussing my sex life with you."
"Don't you mean lack of a sex life, Pez? Hey, you and I both know it's been a long dry spell."
"Gee, Danny, I didn't know you kept such close track of my sexual activity," Sara grumbled, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.
"More like inactivity. And you didn't answer my question: Why the hands-off approach with Nottingham? I get the feeling he'd be more than willing."
"Geez, five minutes in an alley with the guy and you picked up on that?"
"The eyes are the windows to the soul, Pez."
"Oh, really? I'm pretty sure his girly-ass hair hid his 'soul' from you, Danny. Could it be what he said in Cantonese that tipped you off? By the way, what exactly did he say to you?"
"Welcome to Sherwood Forrest," Danny smirked.
"Yeah, uh-hunh. Besides, I'm pretty sure it was Robin Hood who said that."
"Let's just say I know why he watches out for you, partner."
"You think so, do you?" Sara murmured. She glanced at the clock. "Gabriel should be calling any minute now."
Five minutes later, her cell phone rang. "Pezzini, go."
"Hey, Chief. I got someone here who wants to talk to you," Gabriel said.
"Hi, Aunt Sara."
Sara felt her eyes tear up at the sound of her nephew's voice. "Hey, Joey. Listen, kiddo, I need to make this quick, so I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay?"
"Yeah. I'm listening."
More to come. Thanks again for the feedback. It's very encouraging and, as an added bonus, amusing! Keep it coming!