Chapter 2: The Blakes and another heated discussion
(Third Person)
Around the same time Shaggy was waking up after another nightmare, over at Daggett Manor several blocks away in the Riverstone neighbourhood of Coolsville, 16-year old Daphne Anne Blake was finished up her brushing her ginger-red hair and is presently adjusting her accessories at her makeup table in her room.
Adjusting her purple hairband, the redhead nodded at her reflection in the mirror before she got up and briefly straightened her green blouse and put on her light purple blouse jacket.
"Daphne, dear, breakfast is ready!" The redhead heard her mother Elizabeth holler from the dining room downstairs.
Finished adjusting her purple skirt, Daphne walked towards the door as she said, "Coming, Mom!"
Upon washing her hands in the washroom and climbing down the stairs, Daphne promptly made her way into the dining room through the living room.
Along the way, she paused briefly in front of a portrait of her late father First Sergeant George Blake, who was in his Marine Corps full service dress uniform.
Beneath the portrait was a case holding a folded American flag, complete with the medals he had earned during his 25 years of service in the Corps.
At the bottom of the portrait was a plaque that read, "First Sergeant George Blake, April 9th, 1956 - November 29th, 1998"
Daphne exhaled briefly as she stared at her father's portrait, then she resumed her walk to the dining room, where her mother Elizabeth was waiting.
Daphne's pause in front of her father's portrait didn't go unnoticed by her mother, who sighed as she remembered the fateful day she received the dreadful news.
FLASHBACK - Eleven Years Ago
December 1, 1998
That late afternoon, five-year old Daphne was playing with her dolls in the living room when her mother walked to her with a plate and cloth in hand.
"Daphne, dear, time to put away your dolls and prepare for supper." Elizabeth said softly as she dried the plate in her hand.
Daphne exhaled as she glanced at her mother briefly. "Just a few more minutes, Mommy."
Elizabeth responded, "What would your father say if he was here, dear?"
Daphne sighed as she turned towards her mother and said, "Daddy will tell me, 'Now don't you get smart with me, young lady.'"
"That's right, dear." Elizabeth nodded with a soft smile. "Daddy will be back stateside in three weeks, so you better start getting used to preparing for dinner on time."
"I will, Mommy." Daphne nodded back and her mother returned to the kitchen.
The young redhead then picked up her dolls and carried them up the stairs to her room, where she placed them in the doll house, which was a Christmas present gifted to her by her father that past Christmas.
She beamed at the memory of her father George rubbing her hair as she squealed in delight upon unwrapping the doll house, and she certainly remembered her father's exact words.
"I have it made for my little pumpkin." George's voice echoed through her mind.
Daphne smiled once more as she hugged her dolls before placing them in the doll house.
"I'll be back after supper." Daphne told the dolls before she hurried off to the washroom.
Upon washing her hands, the young redhead made her way back down the stairs, which is when the doorbell rang.
When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, which overlooks the glass window on the front door, Daphne noticed something and paused.
"Mommy?" Daphne called out innocently. "Are we expecting visitors?"
At her daughter's question, Elizabeth walked over to join her at the bottom of the stairs and looked towards the front door, and the previously-cheerful expression on her face vanished as she saw who were standing at the other side of the front door.
Two Marines in their Blue Dress uniforms, consisting of a captain and a master gunnery sergeant, were standing in front of the front door and they stiffened before the captain raised his gloved right hand up to render a salute.
No words could describe the sudden onslaught of emotions going through Elizabeth's mind as the plate she was holding slipped out of her hands and smashed into pieces upon landing on the floor.
END FLASHBACK
After Daphne arrived at the dining table, she looked at her mother expectedly.
The look on Elizabeth's face was as still as stone. We must wait for your Uncle Barty and grandparents to be seated.
Daphne nodded, which was when Elizabeth's older brother Bartemius "Barty" Daggett, Jr. walked into the dining room.
A few seconds later, Elizabeth and Barty, Jr.'s parents, and thus Daphne's maternal grandparents, Bartemius "Barty" Daggett, Sr. and Nan Daggett, nee DeSantis, joined them.
As always, the looks on both Bartemius' faces were as cold as stone as the Barty, Sr. and Nan went to their seats.
Elizabeth looked at her parents and brother expectantly, then Barty, Sr. nodded before he took his seat, prompting everyone else in the family to follow suit.
Once everyone was seated, the butler proceeded to serve everyone's breakfast.
While everyone dug into their breakfast, Daphne glanced around the room.
One didn't need to be a keen observer to note the awkward tension lingering between Elizabeth and her parents and brother, though whatever the source of said tension was remained unspoken as everyone ate their breakfast.
Eventually, Barty, Jr. broke the silence as he turned towards his niece and said, "So Daphne, how has it been interning at the Coolsville Gazette?"
Daphne paused her lips as her cheeks burned in embarrassment, and she turned towards her mother briefly, who nodded.
"It is alright, Uncle Barty." Daphne responded. "Though it feels like I'm missing something, since all I'm doing so far is writing stories that has already been broken, nothing about the getting the exclusive scoop to breaking stories as of yet."
There was a bit of a light snort from Barty, Sr. as he turned his gaze towards Daphne, during which Barty, Jr. responded.
"That's unfortunate to hear." The younger Barty spoke while the family patriarch remained silent. "Though I don't suppose you've went to Mr. Cooper about the matter and asking for better assignments?"
If Daphne was feeling queasy about the way her maternal grandfather was staring at her, she didn't show it on her face as she nodded at her uncle.
"I did, Uncle Barty." Daphne responded. "He has told me that the major assignments will come."
"For your sake, I hope he does provide you a major assignment." Her uncle said. "Because it speaks volumes that you haven't really taken off much on your chosen career when your five cousins are already achieving a lot in their respective fields."
In mentioning the five cousins, Barty, Jr. was referring to his five daughters who were spoken of as the pride and joy of the Daggett family.
As the oldest of the five cousins, it can be argued that 31-year old Donna Daggett is more of an aunt-like figure to Daphne than cousin, given the 15-year age difference between the two cousins.
At present, Donna, who had recently obtained her doctorate's degree in aerospace engineering from Darrow University, is working at NASA's Joe Shuster Research Center in Metropolis as a project manager.
Donna was then followed by Dr. Daisy Daggett, who is the first born of a set of 28-year old twins.
A physician by training, Donna is currently a general practitioner at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and specializing in infections disease, a field that was the main focus of her medical studies at Columbia University.
Captain Delilah Daggett is the second born of the set of twins. A Marine Corps officer, Delilah earned her commission as a second lieutenant through her enrollment in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Darrow University, where she obtained her bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.
She had also completed Army Ranger School and Scout Sniper Training, and at present, she commands the 9th Force Reconnaissance Company based in Marine Air Base Barnstow.
The twins were subsequently followed by 26-year old Dorothy Daggett, who is presently undergoing her doctorate studies in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after graduating from Darrow University with high honours.
Rounding up the five high-achieving Daggett sisters is 24-year old Dawn Daggett, who has recently begun her masters studies in biomechanical engineering at the California Institute of Technology.
All five sisters were awarded sizable scholarships for their respective post-secondary studies, and given they are her only cousins, there was a great deal of expectation weighing down on Daphne to follow their footsteps and achieve high.
That great deal of expectation, coupled with the awkward tension between her mother and uncle, were weighing down on the redhead as she looked at her uncle, who was staring at her sternly after making his last remark.
"I'll certainly push Mr. Cooper about it first thing." Daphne offered, prompting Barty, Jr. to nod.
"Good, you do that, Daphne." Her uncle said before he turned towards her grandfather, who was maintaining the stare towards her.
The stare continued until the butler arrived with the newspaper, prompting the patriarch to turn away and without a word, he nodded at the butler as he took the paper.
"Well, I suppose we'd better get going with our day." Elizabeth offered. It was the first time she had spoken in the morning, and Barty, Jr. turned towards her as their father flipped open the newspaper.
"Better finish up if you don't wanna be late for school, Daphne." Barty, Jr. said.
Eventually, Daphne was all prepared and ready to go, and at the front door, her mother embraced her and kissed her in the forehead.
"Have yourself a nice day, dear." Elizabeth said.
"I will, Mom." Daphne nodded before her mother broke off the embrace, and she turned towards her uncle and grandparents.
Neither of the trio made any indication of stopping what they were doing to bid her a good day, and the cheerful expression on the redhead's face soured briefly before her mother opened the door and she made her way out.
Barty, Jr. was on the phone when Daphne stepped out and he was saying, "Unbelievable, does the bank really expect that a monkey will accept their half-baked explanations on the losses, Jenkins?"
He glanced towards the window and saw Daphne's departure before he said, "Let them know that if they don't get their acts together and fix this, then they're gonna hear from me!"
As soon as he finished the remark, Barty, Jr. slammed the phone down without any hesitation as he continued, "Pathetically unbelievable."
Barty, Sr. only scoffed and shook his head, though he did not say a word. Instead, he turned towards his son with a hard look that has since mellowed out into one of reassurance of pride.
Something felt amiss.
Captain Samuel Chastain Rogers frowned to himself as he sat in the command centre at the field headquarters of the 7th Force Reconnaissance Company in the air base located adjacent to the San Goret Pedro Medina Garza International Airport, the main international airport of the island country of Borada.
The air was a little too still, like something amiss is happening or is about to happen.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it. After all, all was usual with the air activities at the air base and the adjacent airport, but something felt out of place, like a silence in between the jet engines, as well as the radio communication, that was deafening.
It was a silence that was too deafening to his liking, and he glanced around the room.
At present, he is one of two men in the room that are not wearing their headphones, the other being the company first sergeant, First Sergeant George Robert Nedley Blake, who he has been acquainted with for at least 20 years.
Sam turned towards George, who nodded back at him, then he got up from his seat to head over to the water fountain to fill his canteen.
The first distinction of something going wrong came when his ears picked up what sounded like an explosion in the distance, which prompted him to frown.
And when he turned back towards the room, the mood had become more intense among the occupants that are listening in to an ongoing mission of a squad that is currently in the heart of San Goret.
"Captain." George prompted. He was now wearing his headphones, and judging from the grave look on the first sergeant's face, Sam figured it couldn't be good.
"Yes?" Sam asked as he rejoined the group.
"You're going to want to hear this." George said as Sam put on his headphones.
When he put on his headphones, the captain was immediately overwhelmed by the frantic chatter among the Marines taking part in the mission, and some more explosions and gunfire can be heard in the background.
And soon, it was clear what was going on in the capital.
The Marines in the city reported the presence of Boradian soldiers, tanks, armoured vehicles on the streets, and as the reality of the situation sinks in, it was becoming increasingly clear that the rescue mission was not going to end well unless they pull back.
Glancing around the command centre room, Sam's eyes settled first on the platoon lieutenant, then at First Sergeant Blake, who gave him a firm nod.
Nodding back, Sam whipped up the speakerphone attached to the headphone and issued the order for the squad to abort the mission and return to headquarters.
Right after he issued the order for the squad to pull back, the air base came under red alert and everyone in the company were quick to arm themselves.
It was then that the air base became rocked by several explosions, which knocked some of the men off their feet.
Sam was of no exception, and he gritted his teeth as he got back onto his feet and stumbled for the radio.
"Command, this is Delta-Five, we are under attack." Sam radioed urgently. "Request for transport immediately, over."
"Request acknowledged, Captain." The party at the other end radioed back. "ETA of transport is-"
Before Sam could finish listening to the remainder of the radio call, the connection was interrupted by a sudden explosion in the command center.
With his ears ringing, Sam stumbled to his feet, in time to see debris from the explosion littering the area.
It didn't take long for him to find a familiar face partially buried under the debris, and Sam fell to his knees when he saw who was buried underneath.
"Blake!" Sam exclaimed as he knelt beside George, though he knew that the first sergeant was not going to respond to him, the first sergeant's still eyes confirming that he was dead.
And through the nearby window, Sam's face dropped when he saw a rocket flying fast towards the base.
As the rocket got closer, Sam could only mutter, "Son of a b-"
"Sir?" The voice of Detective Walter Claphammer and the motion of getting his shoulder shaken immediately snapped Sam out of his thoughts, prompting the lieutenant to become alert.
"Wha-?" Sam asked, only for Claphammer's partner, Detective Beau Neville, to cut in.
"You zoned out again, Lieutenant." Neville said.
Sam turned and surveyed his surroundings. Claphammer, Neville and the squad whip were staring at him as they remain seated in their seats in his office, which oversaw the squad room of the unsolved murders unit of the Coolsville Police Department's elite Major Crimes Division.
Glancing first towards the nearby clock, and then to the mug of coffee beside the reports in front of him on his desk, Sam exhaled.
"Right." Sam straightened up. "So you were saying?"
"Based on everything we've discussed about the potential for cross-contamination between the two cases Deacons and Connor have worked, what do we say to them when we take the case off them?" Neville asked. "Better yet, why are we taking over the case from them?"
Sam turned towards the squad whip as he asked, "Larry?"
"They've got a trial coming up." Larry O'Connell, the squad whip, offered as he looked at Sam. "Jury selection starts on Thursday."
Sam nodded. "I'll let them know that I want them cleared for the trial."
"And what if they insist that they can handle the case and would like to keep it?" Claphammer asked.
"Then, I'll set them straight." Sam said. "Any other questions, Detectives?"
"We'll figure out the case, Lieutenant, and see what the h*ll's going on. But I don't investigate other cops." Neville spoke.
"That's okay, all I'm asking is for you to work the case and let me and Larry know how the h*ll did a seven-year old boy came back as the DNA hit for the case." Sam said.
"Sure thing, Lieutenant." Neville nodded as the three detectives got up from their seats.
"Just remember, before you do anything with what you've learned, you run it by me and then we'll see where it goes from there." Sam emphasized.
"You got it." Neville said before O'Connell and Claphammer headed towards the door.
Sam looked on as Neville hesitantly hung back, then the lieutenant asked, "You got something to add, Beau?"
"Are you sure you are alright, Lieutenant?" Neville asked. "This is like the second time you've zoned out on us during a meeting."
Sam exhaled. "I am, Beau. You don't need to worry about me, it's just the lack of sleep all those years seems to be catching up."
Before Neville could further follow up, O'Connell poked his head into the office and said, "Lieutenant, the captain wants to see you."
Sam and Neville exchanged glances with each other before the lieutenant nodded. "I'm on my way."
As O'Connell stepped away, Neville asked, "Wonder what the h*ll the captain wants now."
"Consider yourself fortunate that you don't have to put up with the guy on a daily basis." Sam quipped as they stepped out of his office.
In mentioning the captain, Sam, Neville and O'Connell were referring to Captain Bronson Stone, the commander of the Major Crimes Division, who neither the detectives nor Sam himself particularly liked.
Stone was what many of the detectives at Major Crimes would describe as a bureaucrat, and even though the captain's duties does involve a great deal of administrative work, he often rubbed the detectives the wrong way with his arrogance.
In particular, Stone was placed in charge of the elite Major Crimes Division in spite of his lack of experience working homicides, not to mention the only reason for his vertical movement through the ranks was through him passing promotion tests.
Many in Sam's unit, as well as those in the homicide unit commanded by Lieutenant Charles Chan and the robbery unit commanded by Lieutenant Matilda Vicars, have gathered a lot about Stone's leadership style when he was the lieutenant commanding the detective unit at the Kemper Division.
Specifically, Stone was not well-liked by the detectives under his command, objecting to his micro-managing leadership style and him styling himself as a bureaucrat who hardly stepped out onto the streets.
The captain's leadership style couldn't be any more different than Sam's, who was more proactive in stepping out onto the streets to be with his men while also respecting the boundaries of his men, not to mention having a solid track record in working homicides, on top of his continued service in the Marine Forces Reserves.
Sam exhaled as he made his way towards the captain's office, where he saw Stone reading some figures on the computer.
Seeing Sam's arrival, the captain said, "Please come in, Lieutenant."
As Sam entered, Stone nodded towards the door and said, "Take a seat."
Once Sam closed the door behind him and took his seat, he prompted, "So what's the word from the chief?"
"Well, she's gone through the numbers from Major Crimes, specifically from Open-Unsolved, and while there has been an uptick on numbers for the cases cleared over the past three months, she still finds them woefully inadequate." Stone spoke.
"And?" Sam asked, not liking the direction the conversation was heading.
"It's those hobby cases you've allowed Open-Unsolved to be consumed into, Lieutenant." Stone said sharply. "Hobby cases that takes up a lot of manpower and time, time that could've been better used for working other cases and clear them through the board."
Sam's frown grew deeper as Stone continued, "In particular, Detective Neville is clearly obsessed with the Hyde family case. The murder book has been checked out for at least five months and he's still hasn't gotten anywhere close to solving-"
"Are you suggesting that he give up on the case, Captain?" Sam cut in.
"No, no, that is not what I am suggesting at all, Lieutenant." Stone responded. "It's good he's dedicating himself to that unsolved family murder case, I'm just suggesting that he could use the time he spent obsessing all over the case to clear a few other cases and improve your unit's numbers-"
"Here we go again with the numbers, Captain." Sam snapped. "These cases that we worked, it's all about the numbers and statistics forming the backbone of those PowerPoint presentations you give to the chief, isn't it?"
Stone sighed and drew his palm to his face as Sam continued, "It's all about making yourself look good and getting yourself a pat in the back, is it not?"
"Now Lieutenant, we've had this discussion before." Stone said. "Unless we improve our numbers and efficiency, the city council would only be more happy to cut our overtime budget just like they did last fiscal year when the crash happened, and-"
"Now you sound like a f**king politician, Stone." Sam stood up. "Here you are all raving about the team's case statistics while not bothering at all with the personal aspects of the cases. You should understand that it's not about numbers and statistics, they're about the victims and their families, who are still awaiting closure and cannot be well-served by us rushing through the process for the sake of improving our statistics. If you are truly serious about improving our numbers, you should be pushing for more detectives to be added to our team to reduce the workload expected for each of them."
Then, turning towards the door and opening it, Sam continued, "Though given your obsession with numbers and efficiency, I don't suppose you appreciate the negative impact your half-baked ideas have on our team's continued dedication to the mission."
As Sam stormed out of the office, Stone called after him, "Lieutenant, where do you think you're going? We're not finished here."
"Oh yes we are." Sam said without stopping. "If you don't like how I'm not willing to be a f**king pushover and a**-kisser, Captain, then you're more than welcome to bring it up with the chief, I could hardly care less what she decides."
Watching Sam taking his leave from his office, Stone exhaled before shaking his head and returned to his computer work.
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