Disclaimer: It was asked for, here is my version of a Worm fic. Never got too far into the source material so I expect that there will be several errors.
Bargain, Don't Beg
Danny stared at his daughter for several uncomfortable moments, it was a negotiating tactic, stay silent until the other party gets uncomfortable and broke. He sighed. "Honey." She jumped. "I have a lawyer waiting outside."
Her wince broke his heart.
"The union has a prepaid legal service for members so don't worry about the money," he continued. "It's one of the benefits I hoped never to have to use again, but here we are." He stared at her for a few more seconds, gathering his thoughts. "What happened to you is completely unacceptable and you're going to need to talk about it." She seemed to shrink in on herself. "I understand that we haven't had the best relationship since your mother died and none of that is your fault, I've failed you." That hadn't been an easy thing to admit, Annette would have been disgusted. "I'm sorry for that. If you want, I can leave and you can just speak with the lawyer. If-" his breath caught. "If you want, she has some paperwork that will make her your guardian and I can be cut completely out of things if that will make you more comfortable."
"No!" she said fearfully. It was the first word she'd spoken to him since she'd woken up. It was heartening to know that his little girl still held him in some regard.
"Alright." He gave her a reassuring smile and patted her on the hand. "Do you want me to stay while you speak with the lawyer? It can still be just the two of you if you want."
"I want you to stay."
"Okay, if that's what you want," he agreed. "I promise you, Taylor, I won't fail you again."
Between sobs, she told them everything. The bullying, the escalation, the parties involved, the indifference of the school administration. Through it all, her father didn't say a word, didn't even change his expression.
"This is potentially huge," her lawyer, call me Carrie, said. "Don't worry, Taylor, Mr. Hebert, I promise that I'll do my best to resolve things in your favor."
IIIIIIIIII
Principal Blackwell cursed when she got into work the next morning. The Heat hadn't come on again, she was going to have to call the district maintenance office to get someone down to restart the boiler meaning her office wouldn't be comfortable until just before lunch.
With a sigh of frustration, she dialed the number from memory. "It's Blackwell, we need someone to start our boilers up again." Her frown deepened. "What do you mean you won't be able to get anyone here this morning? We don't have any heat." Her teeth ground together. "It absolutely is your problem, get someone down here right now or I'm complaining to your manager. Hello? Is anyone still there? Hello?" She stared at the handset in disbelief, shocked that they'd dare hang up on her.
Surprisingly, escalating to the district maintenance manager didn't solve the issue. A nasty smile appeared on the woman's face, which meant she'd have to use the nuclear option. The tradesmen would soon learn how badly they'd stepped in it when they decided to cross her.
"Hello? Yes, this is Principal Blackwell. I need to speak with the superintendent." If calling their manager wouldn't solve the issue, she'd call hers.
IIIIIIIIII
The mayor was just settling in for the day when he heard a commotion in his outer office. From the sound of things, his secretary was trying desperately to keep someone out. The door flung open
"We've got a problem, Roy."
"Good morning, Bob," he greeted the superintendent of schools. "You couldn't make an appointment?"
"It's an emergency, Roy."
"Alright." He looked past the man. "It's alright, Cheryl."
"I tried to stop him, sir."
"I know you did, Cheryl, thank you."
"Yes, sir."
He surreptitiously hit the intercom button so she could listen in on the meeting. "What seems to be the problem, Bob?"
"City maintenance refuses to come into the schools."
"They say why?"
"They say they're too busy."
"So call in a contractor," Roy said with a shrug. "If they're really busy, they won't like it but they'll live. If they're playing games, then we'll whisper that maybe we can replace them with contractors and they'll back down."
"Contractors say they're busy too. You know Bill Watts, Watts construction?"
"We've met."
"He says he'd love to take my money but that none of his workers will come in for me."
"I see."
"It gets worse. All of the janitors and most of the lunch staff have called in sick."
"Let me make a couple calls." Roy's first call was to the city maintenance supervisor who filled him in on what he knew. His second was to the Dockworkers Union. "Put me through to Danny Hebert please. Tell him it's the mayor and that I want to talk."
"What do Dockworkers have to do with my schools?" the superintendent demanded.
Roy motioned for him to be silent. "I'm putting you on speaker, Danny. I'm with the superintendent right now."
"Can you hear me, Roy?"
"I hear you, Danny," the mayor agreed. "Bob, have you met Danny Hebert?"
"I don't believe so," the superintendent replied.
"Danny is quite annoyed with you right now, Bob, this is his way of letting you know that. Danny, would you mind telling Bob what's got you upset?"
"Three girls have been bullying my daughter for almost two years. She went to the teachers and they did nothing. Last week they locked her in a locker filled with biological waste and the bitch in charge of Winslow is saying that she did it to herself for attention. My daughter almost died, Roy, she's all I have left in the world. Do you know what I would do if I didn't have anything to live for, Roy?"
"What do you want, Danny?"
"I want the students who tried to murder my daughter punished to the fullest extent of the law and I want to destroy the teachers who let it happen. All of them."
The superintendent started to speak up and Roy furiously motioned for him to be quiet.
"Laws have been broken, Danny, I'll make sure the police know that this case is a priority."
"Glad to hear it, Roy. Make sure the school board knows that things will get worse next week if they don't play ball."
"So you're going to back off a bit so we can handle things?" the superintendent asked hopefully.
"So things will get worse next week if they don't play ball," Danny replied coldly. "For them and for the city. I'm glad we had this talk, Roy."
The phone went dead.
"What do you know about this, Bob?"
"Just that a student was taken to the hospital," the superintendent replied. "I didn't hear a thing about a locker or a murder attempt."
"We need to come down on this hard, Bob. This is Hebert politely informing us that he's unhappy, do you want to see what he does if he's angry?"
"How can a Dockworker have this much power? I mean, in the old days sure, but now?"
"Unions have gotten closer since things started going bad. Mess with one of them and you mess with them all." Roy let out a breath. "I'm calling the commissioner and telling him that I want this case given priority, I would suggest you land on the school staff with both boots."
"I can't afford to lose the principal of Winslow or any of the teachers, Roy, no one else will take the job."
The mayor shrugged. "Worst case scenario here is that we end up closing down one school for a while. This keeps up and Hebert will close every school in the city. Your choice, Bob."
"Christ!"
The mayor waited until he was alone then calmly rose to his feet, turned around, and punched the headrest on his chair several times. "Damn it!"
"Sir?" the intercom cracked.
"I'm alright, Cheryl. I'm sorry, I forgot you were listening in."
"Yes, sir."
"What do you think?"
"I think that I would burn the school down if my daughter had been locked in a locker filled with biological waste."
"I feel the same, thank you Cheryl, let me know if you hear anything more about this through the grapevine."
"I will, sir."
IIIIIIIIII
Call me Carrie smiled as Danny and Taylor took their seats. It wasn't a good smile, it was one that conveyed that bad news was about to be conveyed.
"What is it?" Danny asked.
"The PRT has asserted jurisdiction and pushed the BBPD completely out of the investigation," Carrie stated. "That's the bad news. The good news is that the BBPD gave us copies of everything they had before turning anything over the the PRT, even the stuff they normally try to hold back."
"That's something, I suppose," Danny muttered.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to give up lead on this one, I'm going to call in one of the partners. This case just got a lot bigger than anyone thought it would be."
"What does this mean? Calling in a partner?" Taylor asked.
"Taylor," Carrie began. "Brockton Bay is a small pond and I'm a medium sized fish. I'm one of the senior attorneys at the Brockton Bay office and that makes me a medium sized fish in a small pond. My law firm, Powell and Boothe, is a big firm in Boston. Boston is an ocean compared to Brockton Bay and we're going to be dropping a great white shark on the locals." Carrie's smile was full of teeth. "They're not going to know what hit them."
"When are we going to get a chance to meet with our new attorney?" Danny asked.
"They should be getting here any minute now, it's why I scheduled the meeting for when I did. And I'll still be your attorney, if you want, I just won't be the one in charge anymore."
There was a faint knock on the door.
"That must be them," Carrie said brightly. "Come in."
A white haired gentleman in an immaculate english cut grey suit walked in trailed by a much younger man in an equally expensive looking suit.
"Mr. Boothe?" Carrie said, eyes widening in shock. "I didn't expect you to come here personally." She'd expected a great white and they'd given her a megalodon, no a giant kraken eating whale.
"I have chosen to take a personal interest in this case," the old man replied. He walked over to Taylor and stooped down to look her in the eye. "Do I have the honor of meeting Taylor Hebert?"
"You do, Mr. Boothe," Taylor replied.
"Ms. Hebert, I have a granddaughter a bit older than you and I can't help but imagine her being subjected to the same horror you were. That makes me angry, Ms. Hebert, it makes me nearly incoherent with rage. That alone would not be enough to make me take a personal interest, it's a relatively simple matter, one that could be handled by any of the attorneys in my firm."
"Why did you come here, Mr. Boothe?"
"I came because of the heavy handed way the PRT chose to involve themselves. It speaks of possibilities, very unpleasant possibilities. If I am wrong, so much the better. If I am correct." The old man frowned. "I despise corruption, Ms. Hebert, nothing gives me greater pleasure than exposing corruption and seeing it stamped out."
The old man straightened to his feet and glanced at Carrie who scrambled out of her chair and offered it to him. He took it with a nod of thanks.
"First of all." He turned to look at Danny. "What do you want, Mr. Hebert?"
"I want my daughter to be safe and I want everyone involved in the obscenity that happened to her to be punished."
"Ms. Hebert?"
"I want what my dad wants," Taylor said.
The old man nodded his head. "I will do what I can, but I do not have the power to punish people and I can not keep you safe."
"But?" Danny prompted, knowing that there was more.
"But I do have a number of contacts I can call upon that may be able to get you what you want," the old man continued. "Would you like me to call upon those contacts?"
Danny glanced at his daughter and gave a slight nod.
"We would," Taylor stated.
"I was hoping you would say that. Let me assure you, Ms. Hebert, that I will do all I can to give you what you wish."
"Thank you, Mr. Boothe."
The old man pulled out his phone and thumbed one of his contacts. "Jerry? It's Paul. I've run across something that I feel needs to be brought to your attention." He gave the man on the other end of the call enough details to outline the situation. "Good, how soon can you get someone here?"
IIIIIIIIII
Danny arrived at the PRT building the next week with Carrie and a fit young man in a cheap suit in tow. They were immediately shown in and dumped into a waiting room.
"I don't understand what's taking so long," Carrie whispered. "We made an appointment, they should have seen us by now."
"They've either got an emergency or they're making us wait to assert dominance or they're hoping we'll get bored and leave," Danny explained calmly.
"But, but you don't do that sort of thing," Carrie said, sounding scandalized. "It's unproductive, all they're doing is hurting their position if we end up in court."
"I didn't say it was smart," Danny agreed.
The young man in the cheap suit didn't say a word. In the end, it was nearly two hours past their scheduled time before they were shown in to meet someone.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hebert," the PRT employee said. "I'm sorry it took so long for our meeting, the person originally assigned to speak with you is unavailable for some reason."
"Oh?"
"Yes, no one realized until a few minutes ago. It was unconscionable and I promise that the matter will be referred to her supervisor." She waved for them to sit down. "May I ask who your associates are?"
"My attorney and an associate," Danny replied. "I'm here to ask why you took my daughter's case away from the BBPD," Danny said calmly.
"As I'm sure you're aware, we can not comment on an ongoing investigation."
"Alright," he agreed, rising to his feet, the two beside him doing the same. "I'll let the press know about the cold and callous way you're treating the victim." He and his companions turned to go.
"Wait!" the PRT agent shouted. "That's not what I meant, I misspoke. What I meant to say is that I would of course be happy to update you on how the investigation is going, in general terms, but that we'll need you to sign an NDA first."
"Let me see it." Danny carefully read the document before handing it to Carrie who snorted in derision before handing it to the man in the cheap suit who put it in his briefcase without comment. "No."
"What?"
"Overly broad, only an idiot would sign this."
"I didn't want to waste anymore of your time than I already had," the agent said with a smile. "It'll take me a bit to get a more focused one for you."
"I'll wait."
"If you'll come back next week-"
"Then the story will have been in the papers for seven days," Danny interrupted. "You have until I get bored and decide to leave.I'm going straight to the press if I do. Pity you wasted so much time making me wait or we wouldn't be in such a hurry."
"Just a moment, sir." The agent pulled up the template and began checking boxes. Five minutes later and the document was being printed.
To the agent's displeasure, it was rejected again. "Still overly broad, narrow it as much as you can or I'll walk."
"Fine." The agent clicked three boxes and threw the completed document across his desk. "This is the best I can do."
Danny carefully read the document twice before taking a picture of it with his new phone and sending it to another box, it took three seconds before he got a return email acknowledging receipt. He then passed it to Carrie who smiled broadly and passed it to the man in the cheap suit.
"Well?" the agent prompted.
"Not a chance in hell."
"But you said you'd sign?"
"And make it easier for you to cover things up?" Danny snorted. "Not a chance in hell. I believe we're done here, I'm not willing to waste any more of my time today."
IIIIIIIIII
Victoria had a frown on her face when she landed, something that was noticed and remarked on by her her cousin.
"What's up, Vicky?" Crystal asked.
"You notice anything strange going on around town?" Victoria asked her cousin and fellow flier.
"Strange how?"
"I've been seeing a lot of strange white boxes in people's back yards. Usually only one or two, but there are sometimes a couple more stacked on top of the first one so you have stack of two of two or three white boxes. I haven't been able to figure out what they are."
"Strange. I'll keep an eye out."
"Thanks. I'll let you know if I figure it out."
"I'll do the same."
IIIIIIIIII
Emily Piggot's morning was not going well. Every road around PRT headquarters was blocked off by road construction. Her teeth ground together as she dialed the number for dispatch.
"What's going on with the roadwork?"
"Roadwork?" the dispatcher asked, sounding confused. "Who is this?"
"Piggot, delta five fifteen. All the roads outside HQ are blocked off, what's going on?"
"I don't know, ma'am, I haven't had a chance to look outside. We've been dealing with power outages all night. None of them more than fifteen or twenty minutes at a time but they're playing hell on our systems."
Emily almost dropped her phone when she heard a tap on her window. Her situational awareness had gone to shit since she'd been put behind a desk. An unsmiling police officer was staring at her.
She rolled down the window. "What?"
"License and registration," he replied calmly.
"Do you know who I am?"
"The person who's about to get a ticket for distracted driving," the cop replied calmly.
"Traffic isn't moving, we're stuck here."
"So it's not and so you are," the officer observed. "License and registration."
"I'm the regional director of the PRT."
"Good, that means you'll have no problem paying the fine," the cop said cheerfully. "License and registration or we can do this the hard way."
"One moment," she growled. After she handed the paperwork to him, she glanced up and saw half a dozen police officers walking up and down the line of cars, tapping on the occasional window. Oddly, the only cars the seemed to stop at were the ones that belonged to PRT employees. Things suddenly became much clearer. The director vowed that she was going to find out who'd pissed off the locals and when she did she was going to kill them.
"Quick question," she said with a nasty smile when the officer returned. "Which one of mine is responsible for this?"
"Couldn't say, ma'am, I just know that you and yours pissed off the wrong man."
"Do you mind if I pull into the other lane? I need to make a couple calls and I don't want another ticket."
"We'll block oncoming traffic so you can get into your parking garage," the officer agreed. "Have a nice day, hopefully we won't have to be here tomorrow."
Emily was seething as she stormed into her office. "You!" she fixed her secretary with a glare. "See if you can find out who's responsible for this! Start with Armsmaster and then move on if it wasn't something stupid he did."
"Yes, Director."
"Hold all calls that don't have anything to do with this or an emergency," Piggot added as she slammed the door to her inner office closed. Heads would roll.
Piggot took two deep breaths to calm down before slowly dialing the number to the Mayor's office.
"This is Direcot Piggot of the PRT ENE, I need to speak with the Mayor as soon as he is available." To her surprise, she was connected straight away. She'd expected to be put on hold long enough tor the mayor to show exactly how displeased he was with her agency.
She hit the speaker button as soon as the mayor got on the line. "What the fuck, Roy?!" Emily demanded. "I thought we'd built up enough trust that you'd come to me before pulling something like this."
"Wasn't me," the mayor sighed. "And it's not just you."
"What's going on?"
"You know Danny Hebert?"
"Should I?"
"He's the once and future head of the Dockworkers. Ran the place till his wife died, officially stepped down to be the head of hiring after that but, well, the current head gives an order and everyone there, including the current head, looks at Danny for the nod before they carry it out."
"So?"
"So everyone in this town has a connection to the Dockworkers, unions especially. You know what happens when you get on the wrong side of Brockton Bay's blue collar king? You get on the wrong side of everyone who owes him a favor or wants him to owe them a favor. It was my turn last week, forgive me for being glad he's moved on to someone else this week."
"What happened?"
"What happened is that someone tried to murder his daughter and her school tried to cover it up."
"What's that got to do with me?"
"Your people swooped in and claimed jurisdiction and pushed my people out. That pissed off my police department by the way, the'd have been happy to back up the Dockworkers anyway but you made it personal."
"Christ." She rubbed her eyes. "I'm not familiar with the investigation, he angry we're going slow?"
"He's angry that you stonewalled him when he asked for an update, then gave him the runaround and tried to get him to sign an NDA."
"Who?"
"Don't know, but it gets worse, Emily."
"How?"
"Whatever idiot you had talk to him gave him a very specific NDA, just covered the identities of Wards and PRT personnel. As he put it, there's only one reason for you to get involved in the first place and he can't think of more than one reason for you to try a coverup."
"He thinks one of my people was involved in the attack on his daughter?"
"He's sure of it."
"Can you get me in touch with him?"
"I can get you in touch with his lawyers," the mayor offered.
"I'll take it," Emily sighed. "Give my staff attorney something to do aside from look useless. Thanks, Roy."
"Powell and Boothe," the mayor replied. "Boothe Sr. is in from Boston, he's taking personal charge of the case."
"I have their number," Piggot stated. "Can you do anything to reign in your people in the mean time?"
"You ever hear the maxim about not giving orders you know won't be followed?"
Her intercom buzzed. "I gotta take this."
"Good luck, Emily." The phone went dead.
"What is it?"
"Two people from the OIG here to see you, ma'am," her secretary said, sounding nervous. "They say they're here to investigate allegations of unprofessional behavior."
Shit!
"Any luck finding out who's responsible for all this?"
"Not yet, ma'am."
Emily forced her jaw to relax. "Send them in."
"Yes, ma'am."
Her intercom chirped again. "What?"
"Rig called, ma'am. Coast Guard is there to do a safety inspection."
"We're government, we're exempt," she snapped.
"They disagree, ma'am."
"Christ." She spared the OIG investigators a glance as she tried to think of a solution. "Send Renick if he's available . . . no, dump this in his lap, tell him to send someone senior as a representative, and that he's in charge while I'm meeting with OIG."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Don't disturb me unless there's an emergency."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good." She gestured for the two OIG investigators to take seats. "What can I do for you?"
"We have credible information that some of yours aren't quite as professional as one might wish someone in their position to be," the agent on the left stated. "We're here to determine the truth of those allegations."
"Protectorate or PRT?"
"We are not at liberty to discuss an ongoing investigation."
"Of course you're not," she sighed. "What do you need?"
IIIIIIIIII
Miss Militia didn't say a word until all the wards were present and had settled into their seats. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she silently vowed to do all that she could to protect the children from any fall out. God knows she couldn't trust their official leader to do it.
"Have any of you noticed anything odd at school lately?"
The children glanced at each other. "It's been dirtier than normal," Carlos ventured. "Like the trash isn't getting taken out and there's a layer of grime building up on everything. I don't think the janitors have been doing much lately."
"Lunches have gotten worse," Chris volunteered.
The other wards nodded. "Vista?"
"What they said," the girl replied.
"I see." Miss Militia turned to her newest ward. "Shadow Stalker?"
"Winslow's as big a shithole as it always is. Boiler went out last week and school closed and hasn't opened since."
"Thank you." Miss Militia considered what she'd been told. "I'm not sure if it's related, but there are a couple agents here from the DOJ for an investigation of some sort. If one of them tells you that they want to interview you, tell them that you need to speak with me or one of the other adult heroes first. If no adult heroes are available, tell them that you want to wait until we are or ask for your handler."
"Is this related to the Coast Guard safety inspection on the rig?"
"I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if it was."
"What's going on?"
"I'm not sure," the apex gun bunny admitted. "But something has stirred the director up, I've never seen her this angry before."
IIIIIIIIII
It was Amy that figured out what they were while on their way to the hospital.
"Beehives," her sister had said confidently.
"You sure?"
"Can't think of anything else they'd be."
"Wonder why half the city has suddenly decided to get bees, is there a honey shortage or something?"
"Maybe it's a new fad?" her sister offered. "I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that bees are disappearing."
"That's probably it," Victoria agreed, happy to have an answer for the question that had been bothering her for days. "Thanks, Amy."
IIIIIIIIII
It wasn't till late in the day that Emily was able to spare the time to follow up on the incident that had put her on the wrong side of the city's unions. She was nearly incoherent with rage when she got to the end of the file.
Her hand came down on the intercom button with bone cracking force.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"I want Shadow Stalker in Master Stranger limbo until I say otherwise, I want her handler in cuffs and in one of the holding cells, and I want the Director of the Boston Branch or his deputy on the phone as soon as you can get them. Tell them I need to borrow a couple of theirs for an investigation"
"Yes, ma'am."
Piggot took a deep breath. "Get me the BBPD duty officer after that, tell them that I would like to apologize for how heavy handed my people were when we assumed jurisdiction and that I would like to make this a joint investigation."
"Understood, ma'am."
"Chief Director's office after that, tell them I have OIG sniffing around."
"Yes, ma'am."
IIIIIIIIII
Emily checked the time, it was just after three when her phone woke her up that morning. Only a few hours after she'd gotten home.
"Piggot."
"I'm sorry to wake you up, ma'am," the night duty officer said.
"What is it?"
"Calvert's been shot, ma'am," the night duty officer explained. "Along with three officers on his team. He's not expected to make it."
"What?" She was suddenly awake. "I wasn't aware of any operations tonight?"
"They were shot while resisting arrest, ma'am," the night duty officer clarified. "There are about fifty FBI agents here, ma'am."
"I'm coming in."
"Don't bother, ma'am, we've been locked down."
"Then why in the hell are you calling me?" she growled. "I appreciate the loyalty, but I don't want anyone getting in trouble for violating orders."
"The SAC is standing right next to me, ma'am, she's the one who suggested I call."
"Put her on." Piggot glanced around, contemplating what outfit would make her look her best in a mug shot.
"This is Special Agent in Charge Henderson."
"Do I have time to get dressed or are they already at my door?" Least she avoided the perjury trap phone call.
"You are not a target of my investigation at this time," the woman replied. "This is a courtesy call to let you know what's happening."
"How bad is it?" she asked, bracing herself.
"Terrible. We've arrested three moles from the gangs in addition to every member of one of your tactical teams."
"Calvert," she spat. "What'd he do?"
"I'm not at liberty to discuss that at the moment," the other woman replied. "Suffice to say, he's been a very bad boy. I have every HRT team on the eastern seaboard here dealing with his messes. We launched simultaneous raids on your building, his home, and a third location."
"Can you tell me what put him on your radar?"
"We had a walk in, someone that was working for him against their will that was more than happy to spill everything in exchange for immunity and protection."
Piggot sighed. "I'll start composing my letter of resignation."
"You may wish to hold off on that, we've developed intelligence that may explain some of your office's shortcomings."
"I suppose that's something."
"It's not much, but it's what I have. I also wanted to let you know that my people will be taking over the Hebert case."
"Just don't cut the locals out, they're feeling prickly at the moment."
"Thank you for the advice."
"Do you still want the two investigators I'm bringing in from Boston?"
"I believe they'll be helpful, thank you."
"They're yours along with anything else you want."
"I was hoping that would be your response. There is just one more thing we need."
"Name it."
"Your tinker is reluctant to let anyone into his lab."
"Tell him that he can let you in or he can be arrested and we'll bring in a bunch of tinkers from other branches, we'll tear his lab to pieces, and that we'll let them take home souvenirs. That doesn't work, call me back and I'll start calling other PRT directors to borrow some of their tinkers to make good my threat."
"Wonderful, thank you so much."
"That all?"
"That's all," the other woman agreed. "I believe we'll be ready to take the building out of lockdown a bit after noon tomorrow. No sense waking up early."
"Thank you."
"Good night, Director Piggot."
"Good night, Special Agent Henderson."
IIIIIIIIII
Emily woke up late the next morning to half a dozen missed calls, all from the Chief Director. Knowing that her career was likely over, that did not cause the same stress it might have the day before.
She had a long leisurely breakfast, silencing three more calls from the Chief Director, and savored her coffee before finally deigning to answer.
"Where in the hell have you been?"
"Good morning, Chief Director. I've been better but I guess I can't complain too much, yourself?"
"What did you do that got the FBI poking around my office?" the woman demanded.
Emily's smile deepened, couldn't happen to a nicer woman. "Thomas Calvert, you remember how you assigned him to me over my objections?"
"Experience trumps personal feelings, Piggot."
"True, but you'll forgive me for not wanting someone experienced in shooting their leaders in the back in my office."
"Allegedly."
"He bragged about it."
"Your allegations were investigate and the investigation was unable to substantiate them."
"And you saddled him with me anyway. Did the other directors have the juice to say no?"
"Why is the FBI tossing my office?"
"I don't know," she said honestly. "I didn't think to point them at you when they called last night, must have found something in Calvert's home or office."
"What?"
"The SAC called me last night as a courtesy. They executed three raids last night: one on the PRT, one on his home, one on an undisclosed third location."
"Where is Calvert now? I'm sure this is a mistake or a misunderstanding we can clear up."
"Dead."
"What?" The woman's early bluster was gone.
Emily smiled at the change in the Chief Director's tone of voice. "Shot while resisting arrest along with three of his cronies."
"There has to be some mistake," the woman said, sounding lost and confused. "He can't have been shot, that doesn't make sense, it must have been someone else."
"Now you know what I know. Was there anything else, Chief Director?"
"Calvert brought the FBI down on us and now he's dead?" the Chief Director stated, sounding like she was talking to herself.
"Correct," Emily agreed, enjoying the moment. With any luck, hers wouldn't be the only career destroyed today. "Will that be all, Chief Director?" The phone went dead.
Emily took her time getting into the office, not wanting to get stuck outside while it was still locked down. To her pleasure, the road construction had been halted and the barriers removed and the parking garage appeared to be open and accepting vehicles.
The guards were all unfamiliar, unsurprising as they all appeared to be FBI agents. Emily wondered how deep Calvert's rot had sunk and hoped that they'd be able to cut it all out before it spread.
"You're clear to go in, Director Piggot," the unsmiling agent stated.
"Am I going to find that my office has been tossed when I go in?"
"No, ma'am. We've been specifically told that there are no grounds to hold you in suspicion."
"Thank you."
Her secretary bolted to her feet and ran to her side the moment she entered her outer office.
"Miss Militia says that she needs to speak with you on an urgent matter and the New York Protectorate has requested you contact them at your earliest convenience, ma'am," her secretary said the moment she walked into the office.
"New York say who wants to speak with me or why?"
"No, ma'am."
Armsmaster had likely complained to Legend about the fact that she'd permitted people to defile his lab, she mused to herself. It could wait. "Inform Miss Militia that I am available right now."
"Yes, ma'am." Her secretary hesitated. "Do you know what this is all about, ma'am?"
"Washington screwed us. FBI is bailing us out."
"They're here to help us?" her secretary sighed in relief. "I should have known you were on top of things, ma'am."
"Have you been able to learn anything?"
"Just rumors, ma'am."
"Let's hear them."
"They've arrested a dozen moles and one of our tactical teams. Conflicting rumors about you, ma'am. One said you weren't here cause you'd been arrested, the other that you arranged all this and brought in outsiders because you didn't know who you could trust at the PRT, not when Calvert and a whole tactical team had been compromised."
"Good rumors."
"Never doubted that it was the second one for a minute, ma'am."
"Thank you. Try to take it easy today, let the FBI do all the heavy lifting."
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am."
Miss Militia arrived five minutes later, looked like the woman had been waiting for her to arrive.
"Shadow Stalker's been arrested," the hero announced the second the door closed. "Attempted murder."
"Who?"
"One of her classmates, a girl named Taylor Hebert."
"I am aware of the allegations," she said dryly. "One moment, I need to make a quick call."
Emily dialed the mayor's personal number from memory. "Roy? Please inform Danny Hebert that an arrest has been made. FBI, add that my office is going to cooperate fully. Wouldn't be surprised if some of the other arrests were connected to that, but I'm afraid I don't have any details. Thank you." She hung up the phone.
"What was that about?" Miss Militia asked.
"Shadow Stalker picked the wrong victim," Emily said simply. "Someone in this office tried to cover it up and her father had the power to take exception to that."
"Is this why the rig is getting a safety inspection from the Coast Guard?"
"Still?"
"Afraid so, they've already written us up for more violations than I can count. Did you know that we were required to have whistles or other noise making equipment available?"
"I do now," Emily said blandly. "How are the other wards taking it?"
"None of them know, Shadow Stalker was only here because her school's been closed."
"Alright. Do you have any thoughts on how we should tell them?"
"Not at this time, Director."
"Why don't we both think about it and meet again in, say an hour?"
"That would be fine, Director."
"Dismissed if that's all."
"It is, Director. I'll see you in one hour."
She thumbed the intercom. "Inform the New York office that I am available to take a call, but that my schedule is uncertain today so we do not know how long I will remain available."
"Yes, ma'am"
"And add a meeting with Miss Militia in one hour."
"Yes, ma'am."
Her phone rang two minutes later, she put it on speaker.
"Piggot."
"Legend, Director Piggot."
"What can I do for you, Legend?"
"I received a call this morning from one of your heroes expressing some concerns about what's happening in your branch of the Protectorate, I thought I'd touch bases with you to find out from you directly."
"The two people Washington forced me to take screwed up so bad that it got the attention of the FBI, I've got agents poking into every corner of my building and the rig looking for evidence."
"I am aware of the investigation."
"Then what was the concern?"
"The concern was that overzealous agents may enter areas outside the scope of their investigation," Legend said diplomatically.
"Did you explain that the rig and almost everything in it is government property? As such no one can prohibit federal law enforcement from inspecting anything the care to."
"I did not," Legend admitted. "Perhaps I should have."
"Perhaps you should also explain to Armsmaster the next time he calls you to whine about my leadership that he is free to request a transfer to another office to serve under another director."
"I did not say who called in the complaint," Legend said after a short pause.
"You didn't have to."
"There's also the fact that I don't currently have any leadership positions available."
"Good. I don't know what idiot thought he'd make a good leader, but I suspect it's the same one that thought Shadow Stalker could be salvaged or possibly the one that thought it would be a good idea to force me to take Thomas Calvert, the man who murdered his squad leader at Ellisburg."
There was a deep heavy sigh. "I nominated him to be the head of the Brockton Bay Protectorate," Legend admitted.
"I know. Not one of your shining moments, was it?" Emily laughed, knowing that she didn't have long before being forced to resign in disgrace was liberating. She didn't have to hold anything back anymore. "Feel free to complain to the Chief Director if you don't like how I put that, I'm sure she'd be happy to have another thing to worry about at the moment."
"That will not be necessary," Legend stated. "Thank you for listening to my concerns, Director Piggot."
She hung up the phone and brought the daily reports up on her computer. The Brockton Bay PRT had been a mess when she inherited it, she wasn't going to dump the same mess on her replacement.
IIIIIIIIII
Danny's grin was wide enough to split his face when he hung up the phone.
"Taylor!"
"Yeah, dad."
"That was the mayor, the FBI has made an arrest."
"Yeah, three of them," the girl agreed.
"He confirmed that one of them was at the PRT and that the Director wanted me to pass on that they expect more arrests connected to what happened to you."
"Oh." The girl smiled. "Mr. Boothe is a really good lawyer, isn't he?"
"One with very good connections," her father corrected. "Sometimes it's not what you know, but who you know, kiddo."
"What if you don't know anyone?"
"In that case it's knowing who to go to," Danny replied. "Worked for us, didn't it?"
"Yeah," she agreed.
"Ready to go back to school or do you need some more time?"
"I don't know," the girl admitted. "I know that Acadia isn't Winslow, but what if it's the same? What if some other group of girls decides to go after me?"
"Then you'll tell me and I'll show them the error of their ways," Danny replied. "I wasn't there for you before, I regret that and will not stop regretting that for as long as I live, but I'm here for you now and will be for as long as I live." He suddenly found his arms full of crying girl.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, honey?"
"Should I join the wards?"
"Why don't we see how the investigation goes before making any decisions," he suggested. "In the mean time, isn't silk weaving taking up enough of your time? Don't forget that we'll be putting bees in those hives in a couple months."
"Yeah, I just, I have powers so shouldn't I use them to make the world better?"
"You use your powers to make your life better and let other people worry about the world. If being a ward sounds like something you think you'd enjoy, then we'll look into it after the investigation is over. If it doesn't sound like something you'd enjoy, then we'll forget about it. Okay?"
"Okay."
IIIIIIIIII
Emily wasn't sure how she managed to keep her position, likely had something to do with the rumors that she'd called down the FBI on herself to clean the office. Another possibility was that the Chief Director was too busy fighting to retain her own position to have time to spare a thought to one of her branch directors.
In any case, four months after she'd been woken in the middle of the night with the information that one of hers had been shot while resisting arrest, things were looking up.
"Uh, ma'am," her intercom chirped.
"What is it?"
"A Danny Hebert here to see you, ma'am."
Emily sighed, things had been looking up. "Send him in."
Danny Hebert was not what she expected. Rather than a Brockton Bay Jimmy Hoffa, he looked more like a confused accountant. She braced herself for the worst when he reached into a bag and pulled out a jar filled with a golden substance. Things were going better than she'd feared they would so far, she permitted herself to relax a hair.
"Honey," he explained.
"Excuse me?"
"My daughter's started keeping bees so I've got loads of the stuff. Some of it gets sold, some of it gets given away. She insisted that I bring a jar in for you."
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Hebert." She took the jar from him and placed it on her desk. "What can I do for you?"
"Would have come in earlier, but my lawyers told me to stay away till your agency settled."
"I hadn't heard about that, congratulations."
"Thanks, your Chief Director is going to be putting out a statement in the next day or so."
"Oh?"
"My lawyers insisted on approving on the wording before she did. Rejected thirty drafts before she threw up her hands and told them to write it themselves."
"Bet she's regretting that," Emily snorted.
"I assume so." The man took a deep breath. "Hypothetically, do you think your branch would be interested in purchasing spider silk fabric? Stronger and more comfortable than steel and very cut proof."
"Maybe. It's not tinkertech is it?"
"No, all natural."
"I'd certainly like some samples to test," she said. "How did you get it?"
"That's the other matter I came here to discuss. I'm here representing a young parahuman with the power to control bugs, this parahuman is interested in joining the Protectorate but is unsure if it would be a good fit."
Emily's eyebrows went up. "We always welcome new members. What were this anonymous parahuman's concerns?"
Danny left a few minutes later with a stack of paperwork, a strange expression on his face, and the promise to return in a couple days for the first round of contract negotiations. It wasn't the oddest recruitment she'd been involved in, but it was certainly in the top three.
IIIIIIIIII
Taylor smiled as the wards entered the room. "Hello, I'm Entomon. I'll be doing some training sessions with you in the future."
"Just training?"
"For now," the girl agreed. "My dad's still working out the contract." She nodded to the coffee table where they noticed a stack of papers. "In the mean time, we've agreed that I would come in a few times a week to train. I figure that'd be a good opportunity to talk to all of you about the benefits of joining a union, we just need thirty percent of the workers to sign one of those cards and we can start one."
"Why would we do that?"
"Don't you have things about the job that you don't like?" Taylor asked. "The Union can negotiate on your behalf to change them. We can't promise results, but we will promise to try and you can always quit if you don't think we're doing a good job."
"So." Vista held up her hand. "If I didn't like my costume?"
"We'd try to get you one that you did like," Taylor replied. "What don't you like about your costume?"
The girl's answer was both long and extremely comprehensive.
"Off the top of my head, I think we could claim that the lack of armor was a safety concern," Taylor said slowly. "I'd have to talk with my dad about it but we might even be able to file a complaint with OSHA because you're being denied PPE."
One of the forms was suddenly in the young hero's hands. "Where do I sign?" she asked intently.
When Danny arrived to pick his daughter up a few hours later, he found her with a stack of signed forms and a nervous looking hero.
"This him?" the hero asked.
"Yup," Taylor agreed. "That's my dad."
"Velocity," the hero introduced himself. "Your daughter said you might be able to find a way to let me join he Navy Reserve?"
"Why don't we have a seat," Danny suggested.
"So, the local reserve unit is a military intelligence unit and the recruiter says they need linguists and my DLAB score is high enough to be sent to language school and they'll guarantee me a slot in my contract, but the Protectorate won't allow members to join the armed forces."
"I might be able to help you," Danny said thoughtfully. "I can't promise anything."
"Of course," Velocity agreed.
"But my understanding is that capes are hired as PRT employees and consultants in their secret identities and, officially anyway, their cape identities are unpaid servants of the people."
"Yeah, I think so. Something to do with taxes."
"I also understand that your cape identity and your secret identity are considered legally distinct, in effect you're two people in the same body?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know if the prohibition on heroes joining the armed forces is a policy or the law?"
"I think it's a department policy," Velocity replied after a moment of thought.
"Might be illegal then," Danny said. "Failing that, I think we can make the argument that your cape identity didn't join anything. Again, that's just off the top of my head, I'll have to run it by the lawyers. I might be completely wrong so don't get your hopes up."
"What if they refuse to give me time off?"
"Likely illegal unless the PRT or Protectorate has an exemption carved out of the law."
"Really?" the man perked up.
"I can't promise anything, but I'll do my best."
"That's all I can ask for and more than I had before," Velocity said brightly. "Hand me one of those forms."
"Recruiting go well, honey?"
"I think every ward and hero except Armsmaster signed," Taylor replied happily.
"Good, I'll contact the NRLB tomorrow morning."
IIIIIIIIII
Piggot's mind went completely blank and it took several second for it to reboot, there was no way she could have heard what she thought she did.
"Repeat that," she barked.
"The capes have unionized, ma'am," the ENE staff council stated.
"They can't do that," she blurted. "Can they?"
"Afraid they can, ma'am."
"Don't tell me we're going to have a strike on our hands."
"No chance of that," the staff council said, easing her mind. "Forbidden by law, we'd be able to fire them automatically if they did."
"Which would hurt us more than it hurt them so it remains a valid threat," Piggot sighed. "How's Armsmaster taking it?"
"Outraged, ma'am. First by the perceived threat to his authority and then by the fact that he's not permitted to join since he's a manager."
She snorted in amusement. "Do they have a list of demands or anything?"
"Not yet, ma'am, well, not exactly."
"What do they want?"
"They say they're demanding we clarify our official position in regards to USERRA and threatening a lawsuit if they don't like our official position and they're threatening an OSHA inspection."
"What's USERRA?"
"The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, ma'am. Some of them would like to join the reserves or the National Guard."
"Take care of it if you can, dump it on Washington if you can't," she sighed. "What grounds are they threatening an OSHA inspection on?"
"Failure to provide adequate personal protective equipment and a general prohibition on wearing personal protective equipment."
"Who and what do they want?"
"Vista and she wants a different uniform."
"She have a case?"
"Maybe. PR is terrified at the thought of how the public will react either way, they say that we'll lose in the court of public opinion even if we win in the court of law."
"Our official position is that PPE is authorized and encouraged and that any prohibition was a misunderstanding that will not happen again. Add that I would like to thank the Union for bringing this matter to my attention yadda yadda yadda."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Tell PR and costuming that too and remind everyone that I have final approval on any costume designs."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Was that all?"
"For now, ma'am. They say they're composing a list of grievances and demands which they intend to go over with you in the future."
"Fine." She paused as a horrible thought occurred. "Who is organizing all this?"
"Danny Hebert and his daughter Taylor, ma'am."
"Of course. Silly question."
IIIIIIIIII
Danny let his gaze sweep over the assembled reporters, completely comfortable in his costume which consisted of work pants, a blue work shirt, steel toed boots, safety glasses, a reflective vest, a yellow hardhat, and a P100 mask sans filters which had been replaced by a microphone system tinkered up by one of his younger members.
"Good afternoon everyone, I would like to thank you all for coming here to the official announcement of the Union of Heroes which is aligned with the Brockton Bay Dockworkers Association. I trust you've all received the press packets so let me open the floor up for questions."
"Sara O'Leary, Boston Globe. Sir, could you explain your costume please. Are you a cape?"
"Let me answer that in reverse order, Sarah. I do not have any powers at all. I am in a costume because one of or members suggested that I wear one to fit in better with everyone else."
"Follow up, do you have a cape name?"
"I go by Blue Collar when I'm in costume," Danny replied. "Actually, anytime a union rep is needed by one of our members in the Protectorate, they will be wearing a similar costume and will be going by the same codename."
"Is that to protect the identities of any heroes that are also union reps?"
Danny smiled. "No comment."
"Sir, Martin White, Brockton Telegraph. Could you give us an example of some of the things you've done for your members?"
"We haven't been around very long so we've only been able to do a few small things. Brockton's youngest hero was suddenly beside him. I trust you all know Vista?" The assembled reporters murmured in agreement. "Then you can all see how her uniform has been upgraded." It was similar to her old uniform but changed the skirt out for a par of thick looking pants and added a helmet. "Her old uniform was made out of a synthetic fabric that would have melted to her skin if exposed to extreme heat and provided almost no protection. Her new uniform will take a shotgun blast at point blank range, will not melt, and is extraordinarily cut resistant. It also includes a helmet which is just common sense for a girl that spends as much time as she does on rooftops."
"And my new visor is ANSI rated," the girl chirped. "And my new boots have safety toes."
"Follow up," the reporter said. "How does this comply with the Youth Guard's mandate that wards are not to be placed into dangerous situations? Couldn't someone argue that giving them costumes that can, as you put it, take a shotgun blast be violating that?"
"Let me begin by stating that I completely agree with the Youth Guard's position that children should not intentionally be placed in dangerous situations. It is our duty as adults do do everything in our power to keep our children safe, regardless of what powers they may have. That said, I'm a realist meaning I realize that bad things happen despite hoping they won't. Sometimes children will get caught up in bad situations despite everyones best efforts to avoid it, despite everyone doing everything possible to keep them out of danger. Cars have seatbelts and airbags, every house should have a fire extinguisher, and it is my belief that it is completely immoral to deny anyone personal protective equipment." He signaled to Vista.
"Last week I had a mugger pull a knife on me on the boardwalk," Vista volunteered. "We were just there to sign autographs and he grabbed a purse and ran towards me with a knife. My old costume wouldn't have protected me at all. Two months ago, Gallant got burned when he helped pull a man out of a burning car. He was on his way to an appearance at a shopping mall and they stopped to help when they saw the accident."
"Something every good citizen would do regardless of weather they have powers or not," Danny interjected.
"Right," Vista agreed. "If I'd have been there, my old costume would have melted to my skin. Like Blue Collar says, we're not looking for trouble but sometimes trouble finds us."
"Part of our duty to the children is to do our utmost to prepare them for every foreseeable danger, Vista's new costume is part of that."
Danny answered a dozen more questions before holding up his hand.
"I apologize everyone, there is nothing I would rather do than to stay here and answer all your questions but if I did then I would be late for my first meeting with Director Piggot as the head negotiator of the union. Wish me luck."
Danny removed his safety vest, his mask, and his hardhat in the Director's outer office and popped the side shields out of his glasses as he took a seat in her inner office.
"Decided you hadn't had your pound of flesh so you unionized my capes to make me suffer more?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Virtue is its own reward," Danny answered piously.
"Let's get on with it. What's your first demand?"
"To start with, your use of force policy is completely unacceptable. It's more restrictive than any police force or the laws that apply to private citizens."
Emily sighed. "I agree, unfortunately that comes straight from Washington so there's not much I can do about it."
"Really?"
"You think I like sending my people out to face murderers with foam, tasers, and beanbags?"
"I think it'll be novel to be on the same side as a manager for once," Danny replied with a grin. "Even if you can't be on our side officially."
"What did you have in mind?"
"How do you feel about getting ambushed on live television? No one can blame you if you word things differently from how you might if I hand't been a bastard and sprung things on you."
Emily grinned. "So long as we agree ahead of time on what subjects you'll ambush me on."
"Broadly, sure," he laughed. "We get too specific and you won't have plausible deniability."
"I'm thinking I'll lose my temper and blame Washington," she mused. "Then I'll belatedly say that I officially back every one of the Chief Director's policies. They want to force me into retirement for that then fine, I'll make sure they know that they won't like my first interview as a free woman."
"Union might be hiring if that happens," Danny mused. "Hypothetically."
"Shove it up your ass."
AN: Someone on the group asked what a Worm fic by me would look like, I posted a couple scenes, then a couple more, then I ended up writing this over the weekend.
Pacing is off, in a full fic this would be several months to a couple years of story time. Fic goes from a union boss flexing his muscles, to federal law enforcement getting involved, to capes forming a union. Not a clue where I'd take it next.
Omake: Eidolon
Danny's eyebrows rose when a member of the Triumvirate stepped into his office. Hopefully it wasn't another complaint about how the union was ruining heroics or something like that.
"You got Velocity into the Navy Reserve?" the hero said flatly.
"I did," Danny agreed, bracing himself for the explosion he knew was about to happen.
"Can you get me into the military too?"
"What?"
"I always wanted to join the Army," the hero admitted.
"Active might be difficult, not impossible mind, I'm working on it, but reserve and national guard are no problem," Danny said with a grin. "I normally wouldn't be able to help you since you're a manager, but we make an exception for people wanting to join the military."
The man perked up. "Is it common?"
"Very. A lot of heroes like the idea of getting more training. Especially training that doesn't have to be cleared by PR before they're approved to take it."
"Good for them."
"Have a seat." Danny waved the man towards the chair across from his desk. "Now, have you given any thought to what you'd like to do in the Army?"
"Infantry. Failing that some other branch of combat arms."
"National Guard unless you want to go to Hawaii," Danny noted. "You want to do it in your home state or here? I've got connections with the local recruiters, which makes it a little easier, but I've got a packet you can take to a recruiter in another state with my number in it in case they have any questions. Tell them I'm happy to spend as much time as they need helping one of our nation's heroes become one of our nation's heroes."
"Will basic training be a problem? I can take the time off, but I need to be available for Endbringer fights."
"They've got a system worked out, the alarm sounds and every recruit gets a three day pass. Turns out the military put it in place for PRT agents, rogues, and independents in the reserves and National Guard."
"Maybe the odd villain too," Eidolon mused.
"Maybe," Danny agreed. "If so the only capes not involved were the ones in the Protectorate."
The man paused for a moment then unmasked. "David."
"Danny," he held out his hand across the desk to shake it. "Let me be the first to congratulate you on your decision to enlist, I did three years in the Navy and they changed my life."
AN: Suppose it's possible that achieving his dream will take care of some of his inferiority complex.
One thing I missed in the above that was pointed out by Ed Becerra is the possibility of the Texas State Guard, a unit answerable to the governor and not subject to federal activation. I'm sure the state government would jump at the possibility of having Eidolon on tap.
Omake: 53
Danny smiled as what appeared to be an ent straight out of one of Tolkien's novels stepped into his office.
"Good afternoon, my name is Danny Hebert. How can I help you?"
"You're the guy that gets capes into the military?" the being's voice sounded like rustling leaves.
"That's one of the things I help with, yes," Danny agreed.
"My name is Foliage. They say I can't join because I'm a Case 53 so the two identities in one body thing doesn't work for me."
"Have you spoken with a recruiter about this?" Danny asked mildly. "Just want to get all the facts before I start thinking about solutions."
"I was able to pass almost all the requirements and the recruiters were able to get me wavers for a the ones I couldn't
"Well," Danny sighed. "This one isn't going to be easy, but I think I might have a couple ideas. First thing, you ever heard of the state defense forces?"
"But I want to join the Marines."
"That's the goal, but we can't just jump to it. We need to take a few steps first. Big thing about the state defense forces is that they are not subject to federal orders, they're directly under the state governor."
"Okay?" Foliage agreed.
"So we start you off in one of those and we bring in a few tame reporters. You're happy to serve in any capacity you can, of course, you're not going to say a single negative thing about the state defense force, but we'll make it clear that your heart is set on being a Marine."
"Okay?"
"Let people with powers be heroes. I think we'll be able to put enough pressure on to make it happen. Don't get your hopes up too high, I can't promise anything but my best effort."
AN: Cue future Omake in which Foliage, a recent graduate of Marine Sniper School, pops Jack Slash's melon from just over 2000 meters. Blame Ed for this one, would not have been written if not for a comment of his.
Omake: Dock
"Mr Hebert," Piggot said tightly.
"Director," he replied with a grin. "What's this I hear about you docking some of my members' pay as punishment for one of my member's actions?"
Omake: Pocket Money
Danny smiled as he slid into the chair across from the Director's desk.
"Emily, to what do I owe the pleasure of this summons?"
"You know your daughter has been working a side job as an exterminator?"
"That's not how I would put it, but yes I do know that she's been helping exterminators out on some of their jobs."
"It's illegal to use your powers for profit outside some very narrow exceptions."
"Who's using their powers for profit?" Danny asked. "She pays them a finders fee for every job and doesn't take a cent for herself."
"How much does she pay them?"
"One dollar and usually a jar or two of honey."
"And she doesn't get anything?"
"She gets more bugs for her swarm," Danny replied. "Course, if the exterminators are so impressed by her demeanor that they decide to deposit a portion of the profit they got from the job into her bank account by their own free wills to help with transport costs and the like then that's no one's business but theirs."
Omake: No one better
There was a light, hesitant knock on the door to Danny's office.
"Enter," he called out.
Danny's jaw dropped when he saw who came in. "Roy? To what do I owe the pleasure."
"You help negotiate contracts for capes wanting to join the wards, right?"
"I'm so sorry, Roy."
"Second generation so not as bad as it could have been," the mayor said tightly.
"That's a relief. Come in, have a seat. Tell me what you what your preferred outcome is and I'll do my best to help you achieve it."
Omake: Clarification
"I find myself wondering why you asked to meet with me, Mr. Hebert?" Max asked smoothly. "Surely it's not another attempt to bring the union into my company? I assure you that the vote to reject the union the last time the matter came up was overwhelming."
"Different union," Danny waved it off. "Had a question occur to me and I thought, man, this is a difficult one. Why, it'd take a genius to answer it and you know who I thought of when I wondered to myself who the smartest man in the city was?"
"Me?"
"Who else, Mr. Anders," Danny agreed. "Have you ever heard of the so called unwritten rules?"
"I'm passably familiar with them," Max agreed.
"Good, you see there was a bit of an altercation with one of the Empire capes down at the docks. Usual thing, he was threatening my workers and their families. Naturally, I pointed out the fact that his threats violated the unwritten rules and you know what he said?"
"Enlighten me, Mr. Hebert."
"He said they only applied to capes," Danny laughed. "And a few other things about only being worth the paper. I won't bore you with the details."
Danny shook his head and continued. "So me and the boys were discussing it, and they figure that if the unwritten rules don't cover us, then we don't have to follow them either. They asked me and I had to honestly say that I didn't know, that's when I thought of you, Mr. Anders, the smartest man in town. What do you think?"
"I think that as your union counts capes as members, that the rules absolutely cover you, your men, and your families."
"Like I said," Danny's voice was flat. "A genius. That still leaves the matter of the other unions, some of them don't have capes as members."
"But they do have ties to your union so I believe they'd also be covered."
"That sounds reasonable," Danny agreed. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Anders, I trust that I won't have to bother you with this subject again, now that you've settled the matter for us."
"Of course, Mr. Hebert, I am always happy to help. Out of curiosity, which one of the Empire's capes was giving you trouble?"
"I believe he calls himself Hookwolf."
"Thank you, Mr. Hebert. Was that all you needed?"
"It was, thank you for your time, Mr. Anders."
Max kept the smile on his face until he was alone in his office. "Brenda," he said, thumbing his intercom button. "Inform Brad that I require his presence immediately."
"Yes, Mr. Anders."
AN: Thought about writing a follow up Omake about the IRS arriving to audit Max Anders, ran out of motivation.
Omake: I'm self employed and my manager is a jerk
Taylor blinked in surprise when the country's most notorious independent hero appeared on the couch next to her.
"It is I, protector of mice, defender of puns, ravisher of cheese!" Mouse Protector announced. "I am here to join the, dramatic pause, UNION!"
"Aren't you an independent hero?"
"I am," Mouse Protector agreed.
"So doesn't that mean that you're your own boss?"
"Are you saying that my manager can't be horrible and exploitative just because she's me?" Mouse Protector demanded. "Are you saying that I deserve less protections as a worker just because I work for myself?"
"I'm saying that it'll be easier to do the paperwork if we say your secret identity is your evil boss while your hero identity is the downtrodden worker," Taylor explained. "That work for you?"
"That sounds perfect!" the independent hero cheered.
"Welcome to the union, Mouse Protector," Taylor said, sticking out her hand.
"Glad to be in it," Mouse protector replied, wiping an imaginary tear off her cheek. "I've always wanted to be part of something greater than myself, that's why I left the Protectorate."
"Too long have they been allowed to exploit the common worker," Taylor agreed. "Come on, I want to hear all about your time in the Protectorate. Don't spare a single detail, we might be able to find something we can sue them for."
"Even after all this time?"
"I'll do my best," Taylor promised.
Mouse Protector wrapped the girl in a hug and gave her a wet kiss on the cheek. "You're the bestest union rep ever!"