Road Trip: Chapter 2

The last few hours of our trip passed in the same vein as most of it except I was more talkative once we arrived in New Orleans. Pointing out various landmarks or bits of history I'd picked up. Sometimes slipping into things I'd done in those areas which got me raised eyebrows or sighs when he wasn't trying to mask other emotions from me.

I was never more happy to see the familiar facade of home than I was as at this moment. Danny had been doing those last few things more often than not for the last half hour.

Following my gaze, Danny looked over to the right at the small shoe store sandwiched between a couple of other stores. "Do you shop there often?"

I shook my head, still smiling as the light turned green. "No. Well, once. Sort of. A nice stranger bought me my first pair of shoes there a couple of years ago."

"Really?" Danny choked.

"Yeah. It really was nice of him. The pair I'd been wearing was a few sizes too big. I'd scavenged them from a dumpster, but they were causing some nasty blisters, and the soles were a little worn. They kept falling off whenever I ran. He noticed when I was running past him and fell."

I sighed as I reminisced a little. That had been one of the happiest days I'd had in a long time. Jess had been gone for about a month by then and I missed them badly. Sometimes I wished I could find that old man and thank him somehow. Probably saved my life. He definitely helped me earn my dinner that night.

It took a few moments for me to realize that Danny was staring at me with a sort of horror that made me feel a little guilty for talking. Was he offended or something?

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

Oblivious to my inner thoughts, Danny awkwardly asked, "You, ah, mentioned before that you worked with some people for a while?"

That was a bad topic. My time as an enforcer was definitely not something I wanted to get into, ever. Looking around the street I noticed a restaurant I liked. "Ever had cajun food?"

Danny blinked, confused. "Ca-Cajun, food? What does that have to do with–?"

I pointed. "I know the waiter who works there. They make the best creoles in this part of the city. He owes me a favor. If you wanted we can go there for lunch."

"Owes you a favor? As in…"

"I helped him pass his algebra exams last month. Why? What did you expect?" I asked, honestly curious. I was used to being judged. I didn't really expect Danny to be any different once he found out who – what – he was really dealing with in me.

"I never know what to expect with you. My… head jumped to places it shouldn't have. Homeless teenagers who don't even remember who they are, aren't usually owed favors for anything… good."

No they weren't, and I knew that better than he did, considering. I didn't say anything though, letting him continue.

"But… I don't care. I wouldn't care no matter what you told me." his voice petered out for a moment. His eyes shined a little oddly. "Where did you learn? I-If you were homeless then how did you…?"

"Jess, taught me," I replied as he faltered.

"Your friend Jess? The... person you stole this jeep from?"

"Yup."

"Is that normal?" Danny asked seemingly confused. "I mean? She…and you repay her by stealing her jeep?"

"It's Jess. I do this to them every time I can get away with it," I replied with a laugh. "If you knew Jess, you'd understand."

He chuckled a little hysterically. I could practically see his mind turning over how easily I could end up stealing his jeep. Car. Whatever. Probably better not to mention that brief time I worked for Car Jack.

Yeah, that would probably be for the best...

He didn't ask about that though. Instead he smiled at me with that damn sheen to his eyes again. "I probably don't want to know, but how many times does this make it?"

"This is my third," I answered, honestly. "But this is the first time I kept it this long. I usually just move it across town and hide it in someone's garage when Jess annoys me."

"Ah, okay, I guess," Danny fumbled before asking, "So, your friend Jess taught you algebra?"

I laughed which seemed to confuse Danny even more. I couldn't get my sentences straight until I turned down the next street.

Shaking the last of my humor I said, "Sorry, but the idea they could possibly think algebra was worth teaching to anyone, it's just funny."

"Oh. Well, what did Jess teach you?"

"To survive," I stated shortly; all humor drained out of me.

He looked horrified again and I winced.

"Shit. That came out wrong," I lied. "Could you just… stop asking? Please? Listen, does Cajun sound good or not? If you don't want creoles I know a place that makes an unbelievable gumbo. Or we could go for something a bit less..."

"Dammit, Renee you have to talk to me! I want to know; I need to know!"

"No you don't," I said flatly.

"Your life was ruined, and that's on me. That's my fault. Please don't shut me out."

"How in the hell is it your fault?" I asked shortly. "We don't even know if we'd ever met before!"

"I do," he insisted. "And I should've… should've–!"

"Dammit!" I cursed, turning into the parking garage. "Would you just stop pushing? So I was homeless! Bad shit happened to me. I did what I had to. What difference does it make? Nothing's going to change any of it. Now you you keep asking me to spill all the horrible little details and then act surprised when they actually are horrible!"

My rant seemed to stop him from saying whatever he was trying to say. I sighed, immediately feeling bad for snapping but…

"This is why I've been trying to avoid telling you about anything," I said sourly, finding a stall and parking.

"I just want to know what happened to you, Renée," Danny whispered.

Shaking my head at his persistence, I asked, "Why?"

"What?" Danny asked confused.

"Why does it matter?" I clarified.

"It matters because it shouldn't have happened!"

"But it did," I countered blandly. "So, why make a big deal out of it?"

"Renée…"

"No," I interrupted. "I understand that think you need to know. That you want to understand. But, Danny, nothing I tell you is going to give you that. I don't remember. Nothing I tell you will make you feel happy or good. And… it won't absolve you of any guilt you're feeling either."

"It matters," Danny growled before I interrupted him again. "It matters because I want to know you."

I couldn't help it. The words left my lips before I could stop them. "I don't want you to know me."

Before he could stiffen I continued. "Not.. not like that! Not. Dammit…I don't want you to know what I had to live through okay? I don't want anyone to know about any of that. I don't want anyones pity. That's not who I am."

It took several calming breaths to get gather my thoughts. "Fine. Yeah, I was dealt a bad hand. I woke up alone with no memories. I didn't have any money, any place to go, and no idea how I was going to take care of myself or what to do."

Next to me, Danny remained still as I stared straight ahead. "But, I was alive and I wasn't someone's plaything either. Okay, that first week was miserable. I was always cold and I can't even describe how hungry I was most of the time. But then Jess found me. Jess took me in and taught me what I needed to know to survive on my own."

"Your friend taught you to steal," Danny muttered disapprovingly, thought without any real heat.

"Yeah, Jess did, and being a thief isn't something I'm ashamed of, Danny," I said, turning to look him in the eye. To his credit, he didn't flinch. "I'm actually rather proud of it. Thanks for making me admit that, before I find out whether or not we're actually related."

Danny's lips twitched but other than that, he was doing a good job of keeping his face passive considering how this conversation had gone. "Trying to hide the real you until you're sure I am or am not your father? To… what… avoid disappointing me?"

"I don't hide who I am, Danny. I'm a thief, one of the best, and everything that entails. So, yeah. Exactly. I was trying to spare your feelings in case I am, in fact, your daughter. I've never had someone whose approval I… I cared about before and even though I have no idea what you're Taylor was like, you obviously think the world of her."

Seeming taken back by my own outburst, I frowned, turning away again. "You're not part of the world I live in, Danny. You are a normal guy. A civilian. And, to be honest, if we didn't have this whole question hanging over us, I'd never had looked twice at you. Not because I don't think you're worth knowing, but because you shouldn't have to be apart of any of this."

"And you think that if I were to find out my daughter is a thief, I would... what? Pretend she didn't exist? Get rid of her!?"

I raised my eyebrow at his heated words. "I think you'd be ashamed of her…or worse, try to change her to fit the little girl you lost."

Danny flinched back as if I'd struck him but he rallied quick, "Maybe it would look like that to her. Another way to look at it would be that I was trying to help her be the person she was meant to be, not the one events forced her to become."

"Dammit. Stop being fucking reasonable. It's annoying as hell," I snorted. My bad joke actually got a short chuckle from Danny before I continued. "What makes you think she would want to change? Or rather, I would?"

"Do you, Taylor?" Danny asked intensely. "Want something more than the life you have right now?"

I didn't ignore the use of his daughter's name, but I didn't counter it either. Much as I hated to admit it, something about it sounded… right. It was making this more difficult.

"Other than this conversation, my life right now is pretty damn good," I smirked. "I would know; I built it that way."

Danny, oddly again, didn't seem to disapprove. Instead he just said, "Then let me have a place in it, okay?"

My eye twitched. He was fucking persistent if nothing else.

"Do you really think you can handle a place in my world, Danny?"

"Yes, I do," he answered confidently.

"How about I let you see what my life is like here before we meet with Bennie," I countered, narrowing my eyes. "Contingent on two things."

"Negotiating? You're really going to negotiate with me?" Danny asked, a slight upturn of his lips showing his amusement at the idea. "Do you even know what I do for a living?"

"The fine art of compromise," I agreed, a small smile of my own joining his. "And I don't need to. So?"

"I feel like this is another meeting with the mayor. Very well, your terms, m'lady thief?" Danny asked, with a little tic at the corner of his mouth and a short bow.

"Three things then. One, you never call me m'lady thief again. Because if you do, I'm going to hurt you. A lot."

Danny laughed at my tone. "No promises."

"Deal breaker," I muttered trying to keep my own amusement down, "Two, no judgments."

"In regard to?"

"Anything you see or hear," I clarified. At his questioning look, I added, "The people I associate with are not your kind of people, Danny. These are not honest labor types. These are people the system forgot. But, they are people who have been good to me."

"So, keep an open mind?"

"To start with."

"Alright, and the last thing?"

"I need to know that no matter what happens, you're not going to tell anyone." At his confused look, I clarified. "Specifically, you won't tell anyone in law enforcement, PRT, or Protectorate the things you may hear, or see."

"Exactly what are you asking me to conceal?"

"Everything," I answered. At his own narrowed eyed look, I explained. "This isn't just about me. I've been playing the game with the various agencies for over a year now. Ever since I decided the direction I that would best suit my needs. But, there are others who don't...have my advantages."

Danny seemed to seriously consider it, "I'm no stranger to hiding secrets from the authorities for the good of everyone involved, but there's a line somewhere. I… I need to know how different my line is from yours."

"Then we're at an impasse," I said evenly.

"Where do you draw the line, Taylor?" Danny asked plainly. "Where in the sand do you say, this far and no farther?"

"Renée," I corrected him this time."And that depends on what you mean."

"I think you know very well what I mean, Renée," Danny stated.

It went against everything Jess taught me, and several of my own rules to even think what I was thinking. Sitting next to Danny though, I could see he wasn't going to budge on his own personal code. I could respect that. I did respect that -I had a code of my own- but his was being a rather inconvenient obstacle at the moment.

In the end, it came down to if I could trust him to be in the loop. And for some reason I couldn't even explain to myself, I did.

I can't believe I'm doing this.

"I have several lines I don't cross," I reluctantly gave. "There's a reason I'm proud of my craft, Danny. It's something I'm good at that doesn't hurt anyone except for insurance companies or some rich guy's pride and wallet. The people who work with me follow my rules and I take care of them. Food, shelter, work. Get them out if they want it, schooling if they need it, get them set up somewhere new if the heat comes down. Get them medical if the heat really comes down."

After several long seconds of staring at Danny's emotionless face, he finally asked, "So let me get this strait. You created a Union...for thieves?"

I wasn't sure what to say to that, but before I could even attempt to respond, he started laughing. Loudly. "And… you somehow think you might not be my Taylor?"

"... Renée," I pouted without any real effort to correct him. "And we prefer the term, Guild."

For some reason my comment only seemed to make him laugh harder.

"Alright then," Danny said smiling as he finally calmed down. "I'll agree to those terms if you let me in. Then when we see your thinker, he can tell us what I already know. Until then, I'll stop pushing. How... how about we get that Cajun, okay?"

I smiled, nodding, my throat dry.

Exiting the jeep, I lead Danny to the restaurant with only one real thought on my mind as I considered the older man.

Taylor Hebert, wherever you are, you were one lucky bitch.