Ripped Apart
Part 1
By Princess Alexandria
Princess_alex24@hotmail.com
********
Brenna sat back against the couch while watching the show. It was almost strange being out in the living room at night. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Dominqi… no, her night name was Demona, sat down in a chair to actually watch a show with her. The woman never did that.
She'd known about Dominique's night form for a few days now, and a few other things. Dominique wasn't going to ever die on her. Brenna still remembered the relief she felt once she really believed what Dominique was telling her. She wasn't going to lose her like she lost her mother, ever. Dominique hadn't looked overly thrilled with her immortality when she told Brenna, but Brenna couldn't have been happier. One thing that did upset Brenna a bit was that Dominique was truly alone. The clan in the city had been hers, but there had been some sort of disagreement and they didn't get along. Dominique hadn't wanted to go into details about that, so Brenna didn't push it. Brenna also found out that the stone thing was real for other gargoyles, but magic made Dominique human during the day. Magic was real. Somehow that was something that Brenna had never even considered, but if Dominique said it was she'd believe her.
"What are you watching?" Demona asked as the show started.
"Friends." Brenna answered. They watched in silence for a while and Brenna could tell that Demona wasn't really paying attention to the show.
Once commercials came on Brenna scooted across the floor to sit closer to Demona. "Are you alright?" She asked while looking up at the woman. Demona wasn't acting like she normally did, she was a bit quiet and was watching a show that normally Brenna was pretty sure she'd hate.
"You have to talk with Rachel tomorrow. They apparently interview before awarding custody." Demona reached out and took the remote from Brenna's hand to turn the TV off. "She said that there is no way around it. They will also be planning a home visit to make sure this is a suitable home. I managed to arrange for everything to happen in the middle of the day."
Brenna felt nervous. Something in Demona's attitude said there was trouble. The gargoyle studied Brenna quietly, "I requested to adopt you, rather than deal with the foster care system and their requirements to keep custody. We need to convince the social workers that you belong with me."
"You mean they could say no?" Brenna felt terrified of that possibility.
"Not as long as you are convincing." Demona sounded strict. "This has to sound like a normal home. You have to be able to be believable. My money and power will do the rest, but if you can't pull off the interview it won't be enough."
Brenna swallowed nervously and nodded. She understood. She had to keep the secrets without looking like she was hiding anything. "I'll be okay."
"Good, see that you are." Demona stared at Brenna as if she was measuring her up. "We'll go to her office after you get out of school. Dress more professionally than you have been doing lately." Demona moved to pet the very short hair coming in on the sides of Brenna's head. Brenna hadn't shaved it yet. "Maybe you could let it grow in? Just until the judge finally hears the motion for adoption? This process could take months, it would be enough time for your hair to grow out a bit."
"You want me to look a little more normal." Brenna spoke quietly, a little hurt by that.
"I don't want their human prejudice to jeopardize this. They might judge you just by looking at you, and think that I'm not suitable as a guardian." Demona's voice got a bit softer, "They'll assume you are a problem child, and that I'm letting you be one. If they can't get past appearances, and humans aren't too good about doing that, it could be a problem."
"It's gonna look pretty stupid for a while." Brenna sighed as she realized that Demona was right. Hopefully it grew fast enough.
********
Demona sat back to think while Brenna started watching the show again. She wasn't happy about having to prove herself to humans. She was willing to take the girl in, and with her money and power that shouldn't be an issue at all, but she had to apply for it and these humans were going to decide whether she was worthy of the child.
She watched Brenna absently caress the side of her own head. She was probably thinking about how she was going to have to change. Demona didn't like catering to the human concepts of proper appearance any more than Brenna did, but she wore the dress suits to work and kept her hair tied back. Humans judged by appearance all the time, and Demona used that to her advantage to be more intimidating even in her weaker human form. She'd seen people stare at the girl when they didn't think Brenna could see. She'd seen old ladies hold tighter to their purses just because Brenna's hair was different. She wasn't going to risk losing this girl if those in charge of approving her custody weren't able to see the gentle girl behind the hair.
********
"Bye." Brenna said absently while leaping out of the limo. It was going to be hard to concentrate today, Brenna could already tell. All she could think about was the interview she had to go to after school, and how if she messed it up she'd mess up her whole life. It just wasn't fair, she wanted to be with Dominique, she should just be able to tell them that and get to stay.
Dominique actually wanted to adopt her. Brenna felt a bit stunned about that still. Did that mean she had to change her last name? Brenna Destine? Did that sound better than Brenna McCullen? It just sounded strange.
"Allaine, wait up." Brenna started to walk faster once she saw someone she knew was actually at school this early. Dominique had to be at work earlier to prepare for a meeting and since the school was opened she thought Brenna could study in the library or something. That was another thing, Brenna's grades were gonna be really important now and it wasn't as easy to get good grades at this school. She'd have to keep up the work so that it didn't look like her grades dropped when she switched schools, just in case the judge didn't understand about how hard Cordova High really was.
Allaine stopped and turned to wait for her. "What you doing here so early?"
"My ride needed to be early." Brenna started to walk beside him. "And you?"
Allaine sighed and looked a bit exasperated. "Career week is coming up fast, so we have even more meetings. We're trying to line up the specific speakers and we want a variety of careers represented." He sounded like he was reading off a memo. "Ya wanna come see what we do? That way you know what to avoid next year." He sounded teasing. He never really complained that much about what his committee was, or not nearly as often as Gencie complained about her position.
"So you spend all year planning this Career Week?"
"No, we plan all sorts of events, maybe two or three a semester, all career related." Allaine held the door opened for her as they walked into the school. "It's not all so crazy as this one. It's just is the big yearly deal and more people, like parents get involved. We have booths from employers all along the halls and we have a speaker each day." Allaine grinned at her while he worked on his locker combo. "I told you being a Cordova kid was prestigious, wait till you see the employers, you'll know. I don't think other high schools have so many calling to request a booth. We barely have to sell it."
Brenna sat in a chair off to the side while Allaine and several other people sat around a table as big as the NightStone meeting table. There were several parents, obviously dressed for work. That was why Allaine had to go to this early today. The parents wanted to be involved, but couldn't get afternoons off as easily sometimes. The committee's head teacher, Ms. Leonhart, smiled at Brenna before getting them all to work.
This was the first meeting Brenna had ever seen. She'd heard a few voices through the boardroom door at work a few times, but she'd never actually been in one.
"Well, right now it looks like the Monday Public Services day will work out. We're getting enough calls about booths that it won't look deserted." A girl with blonde hair was glancing at her notes as she reported on this. It was apparently her responsibility to worry about the people on that day. "I have the fire department signed up, and they plan to send their fire investigators. I also have some medics and Captain Chavez from the 23rd Police Department told me she'd be able to send a few people. She's going to get back to me on who." The girl grinned as she glanced up from her notes. "I set the Police Department as the ones to give us the speaker. I just figured they'd be more interesting, so the Captain is gonna find someone she thinks she thinks can do a good job."
Reports like this continued, as a different student talked about the day they had responsibility for. Tuesday was Technology, and apparently the boy in charge of that day had traded with someone so that his day would have two T's in it. He claimed it was for marketing. Wednesday was now Science, and Thursday was Medicine, but it included things like Psychologists too.
And Friday was Allaine's day, Business. Brenna started to pay a little more attention, because he was her friend. "Well…" He smiled at them. "I have almost filled all the booths for my day already with companies like Cyberbiotics, and Xanatos Enterprises as well as some smaller businesses. I'm currently working on trying to find a speaker."
"Wow, both Cyberbiotics and Xanatos Enterprises." One of the parents in a business suit looked a bit impressed at that. "Too bad you don't have NightStone, then you'd have all of the big three in the city."
Allaine looked a little deflated. "I'm still trying with Nightstone, but the person I've been talking to isn't sure they can make it."
Before Brenna could even think about it she was talking, "Who are you talking to, because I'm sure Ms. Destine would send someone." When all eyes traveled to her she realized that she wasn't a part of this meeting and should have probably waited until after to bring this up with Allaine.
Allaine sounded just a little confused. "I'm talking to Mr. Wood in Human Resources." Brenna tried to remember who that guy was. She just didn't have that much to do with that office, she couldn't.
"You know Ms. Destine?" The man who'd mentioned their inability to get NightStone sounded just a hint excited.
"I work at NightStone." Brenna wasn't wanting to point out that Dominique was her guardian, they might expect her to be able to deliver, and she wasn't sure she could. She just didn't think that Dominique would miss the chance to recruit at this school now that she knew what it was.
After the meeting, Allaine and Brenna left for class. "Can you ask Ms. Destine for me? Or do you think I should call her?"
Brenna thought about it for a moment. She really wanted to be able to deliver for Allaine. He'd look really good if he had all three. "Give me the paperwork and I'll see what I can do. It can be anyone that comes right?"
"Oh yeah. For businesses they usually send a recruiter or someone from Human Resources."
"You really think you'll be able to get David Xanatos as a speaker that day?"
"I'm hoping." Allaine spoke more quietly as other people from the meeting walked past them to leave for their jobs. "It should be one of the bigger companies, and I talked with Mr. Renard on the phone. He… he was a bit boring. He promised to send someone for the booth, but I didn't ask him to be a speaker when I had the chance. I really want my day to be perfect and he'd put people to sleep with his talks about integrity in business. I've seen David Xanatos on T.V. and he seems like he'd be a good speaker."
"Well, good luck." Brenna then had to turn into her first class.
********
Brenna looked positively terrified. Demona watched the girl and Brenna didn't seem to be able to sit still either. Perhaps impressing how important this interview was to them hadn't been the best way to deal with it. "Gregory, pull over." They were almost there and she couldn't arrive with Brenna looking this scared. The social workers might think she'd been hurting the girl. Demona put the divider up between the driver and them.
"You're going to be alright." She spoke softly, soothingly. Brenna needed to be calmer or mistakes would happen. Demona had seen warriors go into battle looking like this, and those warriors often didn't make it back. Fear clouded judgment. She had to remind herself that Brenna was a child, because this terror in the face of a mere interview disappointed her. "I've had you for over a month, you now go to Cordova High School, you look healthy and well fed. You are smart, you work hard, and you are respectful. You've never been in trouble with the law, don't do drugs, and don't act out. You are exactly what thousands of families in this city wish they had, and you have your pick of homes. You just need to let them know what your choice is." She needed to empower the girl. It would help Brenna through this. It seemed to be working, Brenna was blushing and not looking as nervous. Demona dropped her voice quieter and leaned closer, "You must be the best human child out there, and I want to keep you. You can do this."
"I'm not a child." Brenna finally spoke, and it sounded more like her normal voice, without the nervous shake. Demona just grinned at her. They were ready for battle.
She got out of the limo after Brenna and ignored the slight grin her driver was giving her as she marched with Brenna into the building. If this didn't go well she'd have to come up with a backup plan, but she wasn't letting anyone take Brenna from her. She glanced at the girl while they waited for the elevator. For a human, Brenna really was exceptional. The image of Brenna's fear of Demona dying on that night Brenna took care of her still stuck with Demona. The door opened and they got inside. "This will be easy." She comforted once again. Brenna was hers now, and if these humans didn't recognize her claim she'd make them pay.
If this were a hundred years ago she wouldn't have to go through this examination. Her wealth and power alone would have guaranteed her any orphan she wanted. If they decided that Brenna was better off in some impersonal group home or with some idiot foster family where she's exposed to horrible things… Demona's hands clenched into a fist. It wouldn't happen.
********
"Hello Brenna." Rachel greeted Brenna with a fake smile that someone would give much younger kids. Brenna just gave a fake smile back. This wasn't going to be fun at all. Ms. Destine was instructed to wait in the waiting room while Brenna talked to Rachel and some other guy alone in an office. Brenna gave Dominique a glance as she went with them, wishing the woman could be with her.
"Well, Dominique Destine has decided to apply to adopt you. How do you feel about that?" Rachel asked once they were all seated.
Brenna glanced at the quiet man for a second before focusing her attention on Rachel, since she was doing the talking. "I'd like that." When there was more silence she realized that she was supposed to say more. "We get along really well, I like her."
"How is she with you?" The man spoke finally. "I hear she has a bit of a temper." Brenna grimaced a little. Dominique must have yelled at Rachel at some point.
"Not with me. She can be a bit loud at work, but never with me." Brenna had to make them understand this. "Even before she had me she never was like that with me, even if I messed up at work." She didn't add that being late with the woman's lunch used to be considered messing up. A blush started to cover her cheeks, but she decided to add it. "Once a man was hitting on me, and she fired him. She doesn't let anyone hurt me."
Rachel and the man exchanged glances at that and Brenna didn't like that she didn't know what they were after. "So, I heard you go to a new school now. Can you tell me about it?"
Brenna wondered why they'd ask things they knew the answers to. "I'm at Cordova High now. I got an invitation to it the end of my eighth grade, but Mom couldn't afford it. Dominique is paying for me to go. She said that I was too smart to be wasting away in those public schools. She said that no matter what happens here she'd always make sure I could go to any school I wanted."
"You have friends?"
"yes." Brenna answered quickly, glad that she finally did. It seemed important to these people. The rest of the interview went like that, and while it got boring at times Brenna didn't let herself relax. It was too important to not take everything very seriously.
Once they were done with questions, Brenna stopped before leaving the room and turned to face them. "She's like my family now. Please don't mess this up." Rachel gave her a comforting smile.
"I'll show you to a place where you can watch T.V. in a moment, so that we can talk with her." Brenna just nodded and went out of the room. She could hear the two in the room talking but couldn't make out the words as she walked down the hall and back to Dominique.
********
Demona wanted to ask Brenna how it had gone and what was asked, but they were still in the waiting room. It had taken too long. When Rachel came out they walked past a room with a T.V. in it and a couple younger children. Brenna was told to wait there while Rachel talked to Demona.
"Well, I want you to know that I won't hold our past conversations against the ruling." Rachel started as soon as they were in the room alone. "In spite of your rude behavior, it was always in your effort to make sure Brenna had the best possible care." Demona barely managed to not try and put the woman in her place, but she just stood silently waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I'm going to recommend she's placed with you, but I'm not the only person to make the decision. I'll be honest with you. The fact that you are single, and would be a single parent might become an issue. Some people think that children need both a mother and a father."
"She never had a father before." Demona couldn't help but snap. "And she's been fine."
"I don't disagree with you." Rachel quickly added. "I'm just saying we can't guarantee anything yet. Also if you have anyone that could testify about your character it could help." Demona just stared at the woman blankly. Actually it wouldn't help.
Rachel's voice became a tad less formal. "She loves you. It's clear to anyone that's been around kids a lot, and I do a lot of placements. It does count for something." Demona tore her eyes away from Rachel at that moment.
"You didn't know?" The hint of surprise and tenderness in the woman's voice irritated Demona and she glared openly. Rachel's lack of fear only irritated her further. "Brenna loves you and I think that if you care about her as well, this might actually be one of my better placements."
Demona ground her teeth for a moment. "I don't want to lose Brenna." That was the closest she could come to saying it. She shouldn't have to, it was obvious that she cared or she would have left the child alone in that apartment after Candace died.
"Okay. Well there will be paperwork sent to your house every once in a while and you need to fill it all out quickly. Brenna will be required to meet with a psychologist a few times, and there will be more than one home visit. The court date will be set probably for some time in the summer, it's a bit backlogged." Rachel was rattling things off quickly, as if she said this several times a day. "If you have character witnesses, let me know about them and I'll interview them." Demona didn't respond to the questioning stare, until Rachel just sighed and opened the door. "I'll see you two later."
********
"I got David Xanatos!" Allaine was almost yelling as he came over for lunch. Lily gave him a puzzled glance but Brenna knew what he was talking about.
"That's great!" Brenna scooted over so that he could sit down and tell his story.
"Yeah, I finally was able to get in touch with his Personal Assistant and he called me back last night. He says Mr. Xanatos will be here. I got one of the big three to talk at Career Week." He was laughing. Brenna gave a small smile, feeling a strange feeling of pride to know that her… Dominique was one of those three. Still she couldn't see Dominique talking at a high school.
********
Elisa felt tired enough to pass out as soon as she got home to her bed. The problem being that she wasn't even on the way there yet. Instead she was sitting in front of Captain Chavez's desk waiting for the woman to round up the other people she wanted to talk to. Elisa didn't think there was a big case going on at the moment.
Officer Morgan came in along with two other people, one of which Elisa swore was from forensics. Trailing after them was the captain and Elisa's partner. "What is this about captain?" Matt was asking before the meeting even started.
Captain Chavez gave them a mysterious smile and sat down in her chair while clasping her hands in front of her. "You five have been drafted for a special mission." The officers behind Elisa seemed to shuffle a little bit, and Elisa could understand why. Special missions were for detectives and none of them were. "There's a small high school that some of you might have heard about. Cordova?"
"Isn't that the private school that only takes the students at the top of their classes?" Matt miraculously had the answer. Elisa figured that man must spend more time studying than anything else.
"Yes it is." The captain's smile was a bit disconcerting. "They have some of the brightest kids in the city attending there. I'm sure you can imagine how much the department would like to encourage such bright young minds to consider a career in policework. They'd be a real asset to the city."
"So what exactly is this mission Captain?" Elisa finally asked, she had a feeling it wasn't the typical job.
The Captain's smile grew. "They asked us to send people over for their Career week. You all will be attending and I hope you represent our precinct well." Elisa just blinked a few times as that registered. "Oh, and Elisa…" The captain smiled at her again and Elisa began to really regret pissing the woman off with that last unofficial case. "You'll be speaking to the school about detective work. They requested a detective for their main speaker."
"But Captain, isn't Matt more…"
"No, Matt's the head of the Gargoyles' Task Force. If he became the main speaker it would turn into a talk about Gargoyles and we want the focus on good old fashioned detective work." Maria smiled at her, "But don't worry, your partner will be there to back you up." Maria glanced at everyone else, "You're all dismissed. I'll get the details to you tomorrow, but this is going to be next Monday."
Once they were out of the room Matt fell in step beside Elisa, "Boy what did you do to piss her off?" Elisa just glared at him for a moment and he gave her a boyish shrug in apology. "Well, it isn't a big school… so the turnout shouldn't be too huge."
"Thanks." Elisa turned left to leave while he continued down the hall.
********
"Can I see you transform?" Brenna asked and Demona just stared at her in shock. She'd been making sure the girl never saw that. It was so painful she couldn't hide that fact from her and she knew Brenna wouldn't like to know it hurt. Brenna was actually pretty protective herself, even though she wasn't a gargoyle. She would often ask how Demona was if she felt something was wrong. Brenna cared. There was no need to frighten or worry the child.
"No, just get out your homework, and I'll be back in a little while." She answered shortly and left to change her clothes and in a few more minutes, her form.
When she came back Brenna had set out the paper she wanted Demona's opinion on. Brenna was becoming a better writer. This new school was worth the money. Demona could see the girl easily outshining her other employees as soon as she was old enough to qualify for a higher position. Whatever Brenna decided she wanted to do, she'd probably do very well, but Demona was starting to really hope the girl became interested in business.
"This looks better than your first draft." She set the paper down. "I didn't see anything that really needed work."
"Good." Brenna sighed. "That means I'm done with homework for the weekend and it's only Friday."
"Well, what would you like to do this weekend then?" Demona smiled at the girl. It was one thing she liked about having Brenna in the house. No more lonely weekends without much to do other than study spells.
"Umm…" Brenna went quiet as she thought. "Do you want to do Coney Island? We could ride the… what?" Brenna finished with a soft question and moved closer, resting a hand over Demona's. Demona had absolutely no desire to ever go back to that place. He'd betrayed her there. He'd humiliated her in front of the clan and tried to kill her daughter. No, she had no desire to wander through the place and see the rebuilt roller coaster. "Or we could do something else." One thing Demona could say was that Brenna had gotten very good at reading her emotions. Demona wasn't sure how she felt about that.
"Something else." She spoke quietly, but the command was clear.
Brenna was quiet for a while longer this time. "We could go see a movie." Demona could hear the question in the girls voice, trying to see if this option would upset her. "Maybe we could see Titanic?" Demona just sighed. Well it could have been worse.
"Yes, a movie and then we can see about your clothes. You need more that are suitable for work." The girl wore a total of five different outfits, because that was all she had that fit the dress code. They could take care of that. Brenna seemed to like that idea.
********
They left the theater in mid afternoon. Brenna was trying to keep her disappointment off her face. That was a lousy ending. He died. Brenna had gone into the movie knowing people would die, but… they'd just found each other. It was so sad.
Gregory had the weekend off, so they got into Dominique's car. "That was actually more true to life than I thought it would be." Dominique started to talk as they waited to pull out of the parking lot. "Humans trapped their own so that others could get away since there wasn't enough lifeboats."
Brenna was surprised the woman said anything out in public, but they were in the car. It wasn't like anyone could overhear them. "The rich have often thought they could just use those with less, or that their lives weren't worth as much." Brenna started to agree a little, but then blushed as she realized Dominique might become insulted. Working with Dominique made it clear that the woman wasn't above using others herself.
"It isn't just the rich and the poor Brenna." Dominique didn't seem to notice the slip so Brenna relaxed. After some obvious silent thinking on Dominique's part the redhead ended that conversation. "So, the mall. You need almost an entire new wardrobe."
Brenna nibbled on her lip, suddenly worried about what kind of clothes Dominique had in mind. "I still need to go to school dressed like that." She spoke a bit hesitantly. Dress suits might be appropriate at NightStone, but it sure wouldn't be at school. "And I don't wear skirts or dresses, ever, and I tried wearing high heels once and I swear I almost broke my ankle."
"So you don't want some clothes that are perhaps a bit more… .feminine?" Dominique asked. Brenna glanced down at her jeans and her t-shirt. She looked fine, she didn't need dresses to look like a girl.
"I have to move around a lot to file. Dresses would slow me down." Brenna tried a new tactic. "I'd fall behind at work and men might stare at me." Both things that Dominique wouldn't like.
********
Dominique had to hide her smirk at Brenna's tactics. The girl was getting good. Brenna was also nervous, but she didn't need to be. Dominique had done her homework. She'd watched what the girls at Brenna's school wore and she wasn't going to make the mistake of making the girl stand out. Humans weren't accepting of difference, and teenagers apparently even more so. Still there were outfits that would be more appropriate and would look better on Brenna than the girls normal outfit of dark colored slacks and a long sleeve button up cotton shirt.
Dominique parked the car and decided to scare the girl a little bit before letting her know she didn't need to worry. "I always get my dress suits from there." She pointed to a store near the entrance to the mall. "Let's see if there's anything there that works." Demona could swear she saw the girl's eye twitch.
********
"Well that's a different hairstyle for you." Dominique noticed as soon as Brenna came downstairs. Brenna just sighed. She'd parted it down the middle and pulled her hair down over the peach fuzz on the side of her head because it really didn't look good right now. Her black hair wasn't long enough to cover it entirely, but she had to make an effort. Brenna suddenly empathized with those poor bald men that did those horrible comb overs.
She just took the plate offered and sat down. Dominique always made breakfast, because she woke up earlier. "My hair looks like crap." Brenna felt like a paper hat that covered her head might be called for.
"No it doesn't." Dominique was staring at her now. Great. "It's just different than you're used to, but it looks fine."
"Too bad magic can't make my hair grow faster." Brenna muttered and then her eyes went wide as she quickly glanced up at an amused looking redhead.
"No, I don't know any hair growing spells."
"How about a spell to make me a little taller?"
Dominique smirked at her, "No."
Brenna grinned, "How about one that makes science actually sound interesting and Math fun?"
Dominique laughed. "Eat your breakfast. We don't want to be late."
********
Demona watched Brenna leap out of the limo once they got to her school. The place was decorated with some posters and Demona recognized Brenna's handwriting on some of them. It was Career Week.
"I might be a little late to work." Brenna looked a bit worried after admitting that.
"School needs to come first right now." Demona answered her, and watched Brenna relax a little as she stood in front of the open limo door. "But don't misunderstand. Your job is still important. You are just lucky that there is a lack of filing to be done right now." She didn't bother mentioning that she'd been forcing Jane to do extra filing while Brenna was in school so that the girl could go to these Career Week things. The girl needed to figure out what she wanted to be when she grew up, and the sooner Brenna figured it out the sooner Demona could use her money and power to help Brenna get there. Brenna's counselor had said it wasn't too soon to think about college and to be doing extracurricular things that would help with her career goals.
"Okay." Brenna stood a little straighter. "Thank you."
"You call Gregory when you're ready to come to work." Demona had decided that if at all possible she didn't want Brenna to be taking cabs or wandering around alone in the city. It was just too dangerous. Her scare when Brenna had skipped school had forced her to think about that. Brenna was no warrior, she hadn't spent much of her life learning to fight like gargoyle hatchlings did. She was defenseless, without any talons or wings. "You Will Call Him." Demona glared at her.
"I.. ah, sure." Brenna's eyes widened.
"Good, get to class." Demona sat back after Brenna closed the door and took the stairs two at a time.
"She really is a good girl." Gregory spoke quietly.
"Yes, she is." Demona almost took the opportunity to tell him that his job wasn't to keep reminding her of that, but she just watched Brenna slip into the school doors while Gregory pulled away. Maybe she should arrange an internship at NightStone during the summer since the law wouldn't let Brenna work full time during her time off of school. Learning more about what business was about, and what Dominique Destine did daily might help her decide on a career.
********
Elisa stared at the building she'd driven by and walked past a million times. "This is a school?" She whispered to Matt as they got out of her car. It was far too small. They could fit five of these inside the school that Elisa had attended.
"They don't have many students. It's invite only."
"I still can't believe the Captain's making me be the public speaker." Elisa muttered while locking her car door. Matt just grinned at her as if amused.
"Molding bright young minds. Consider this an adventure."
Elisa almost commented on his gloating but Officer Morgan got there with the two other lucky draftees. "Well, lets do this." She didn't wait for him as she climbed the stairs. One thing she was grateful for was the fact that this didn't start until two. If it had been a morning one she wouldn't have gotten any sleep.
Once they were inside it seemed distinctly more school like. There were banners celebrating their Career week and several tables were set along the wide hallway.
"Hello, I'm Kimberly Towel." A young blonde girl walked up to them. "I'm with the Career week committee. Can I help you find where you need to be?"
They dropped off the forensic guy at a table next to someone from the fire department. He wanted to set out his pictures and other things. He was more than eager to be helpful. Probably didn't get to leave his lab too often.
"We'll have the students mill about and checking out the tables after your talk." Kimberly was playing a good hostess. Elisa's heart skipped a beat as she noticed the number of seats in the cafeteria, where they'd set up a small stage with a podium. This was one thing that she rarely had to deal with. She was fine in front of groups telling them to get back for police business, but she didn't really enjoy public speaking.
"Don't worry. You'll be alright partner." Matt smiled at her with that damned teasing glint in his eyes. He had to do speeches all the time with his position.
When the doors opened and students started to file in Elisa took a deep breath. She could do this. They were just kids. Nothing to worry about here.
********
Brenna noticed Allaine talking with Ms. Leonhart in the corner of the room and moved out of line to head towards him. Her hand reached into her bookbag and she pulled out the forms he'd sent her home with. Brenna had been right, Ms. Destine was going to make sure someone was here on Friday.
"Well, Detective Maza is ready. We just need to get everyone seated." Kimberly was walking up from another direction at the same time that Brenna got there. When Allaine gave her a questioning glance she handed him the completed form.
"You got it." His grin grew very wide. "NightStone's coming?"
Brenna felt a little proud at that moment. "Yep."
"Wow, from what I hear NightStone doesn't go to a lot of these things." Allaine stared at the form Dominique had signed as if he'd just won something. "My days gonna be the best." He stepped away from Kimberly and Ms. Leonhart. The girl was almost boastful about how things were going so smoothly. "Kimberly's been acting like no one could do as well as she did. She got more public services here than anyone in the schools history." He folded the form up and put it in his pocket. "But I got all three of the biggest businesses in the city. Thanks."
"Can we get everyone seated please?" Ms. Leonhart raised her voice to be heard over the students talking. Brenna moved to find a place to sit near Lily. Allaine and Gencie were working right now. Brenna glanced around while Lily talked to a friend on the other side of her that Brenna didn't really know. Allaine was leaving to probably help out any late arriving employers. The speaker had them for a little while and then they were free to check out the employer booths. Gencie was setting up her camera so that she could get some shots of the detective while she spoke, and Brenna could see the reporter assigned to this day sitting by the busily working Gencie.
"Hi, I'm Detective Elisa Maza with the 23rd Precinct." A woman spoke. Well, that was a surprise. Somehow Brenna had assumed the Detective they'd send would be a man. Detective Maza smiled at the crowd and started to speak.
********
Elisa noticed Matt give her a nod of encouragement and a smile. After telling all the students about being a detective and the sort of work she did, she found herself the center of a lot of intelligent questions. The doors to the cafeteria were opened and students could go out to check out the tables, but a group of them were hovering around Elisa wanting to know more.
"You know I'm not the only detective here." Elisa grinned at her partner, who had been enjoying holding up the wall. "Matt over there was also with the CIA, and I'm sure he'd love to answer questions."
After another ten minutes the crowd died down. Elisa smiled at the way Matt seemed to talk so easily with the kids around him.
"You did really well Detective." Officer Morgan spoke as he got closer. "I wouldn't be surprised if we see a few of these kids applying for your job in a few years." Elisa just smiled at him and took the cup of coffee he was offering. Since she was watching him it wasn't hard to see the look of disbelief cross his face. Elisa followed his gaze to see he was staring at the girl taking apart her camera stand while talking to another girl. Elisa looked at him again. No, it was the other girl that had his attention.
"I had no idea she went here." Officer Morgan spoke quietly. "That poor girl."
"What is it?" Elisa didn't see Morgan get like this often. He glanced at her for a moment before turning to watch the girl laugh at something.
"I had a call a couple months ago." Morgan's jaw jutted out a little. "I'd never had to tell a child her mother was dead before. God, it was the worst thing I'd ever had to do for the job."
Elisa nodded in sympathy, grateful that her fan club had moved off right now to give them a little privacy. "Who is she?"
"She's Brenna McCullen." Elisa had expected he'd know. She still remembered the name of the first person whose heart she had to break like that too. Still, she'd been spared telling kids bad news like that. "Girl had no other family. She called her boss to come and get her."
"You let her go off with an employer?" Elisa glanced at him. If there weren't friends or family it was supposed to be social services.
"I thought she was a friend of the family. It was later that I found that out." He stared at Brenna for another moment. "Should I go over there?"
"No." Elisa shook her head, certain in this one thing. "After something like that, you become nothing but the bearer of bad news. I know you want to talk to her, but trust me. Just leave it be, she won't thank you and it'll just open up her wounds. Just stick to the table and try to stay out of her way. It's the best thing you can do for her."
********
"It was so much better than I thought it would be." Brenna smiled as she shared about her day during dinner. "They had this detective and she told a few stories about cases she'd been on. Police work is way more interesting than I would have thought it would be." Brenna speared a piece of asparagus on her fork. "And Detective Maza told everyone about this time that she was undercover and had to pretend to be a criminal. Man, that would be so scary to be surrounded by people and knowing that if they found out you were a cop…"
"Do we need to talk about this now." Dominique's angry clip startled Brenna. She looked up and was surprised at the clear anger she saw on the redhead's face.
"No I guess not. I'm sorry." Brenna had no idea what she was apologizing for. Dinner was relatively quiet after that.
********
Demona glared out the window as she sipped at her wine. Maza. Maza had managed to get close enough to Brenna to enchant the girl with ideas of policework and protecting. It was bad enough that pathetic weak… Maza had Angela, she didn't need to take Brenna from her as well. Brenna was not ever going into policework. NEVER.
When the phone rang Demona grabbed it quickly. "What?!" She demanded, thinking it must be Jane from work. The woman was having to work late to keep up with the filing that Brenna couldn't do, but Brenna would never find out about that.
"Um… is Brenna there?" A young male's voice surprised Demona a little. Brenna was already getting young male's calling her? That didn't sit well with Demona.
"I'll get her." Demona spoke with a controlled anger as she set her glass down on the counter. "Who may I say is calling?" Not that she needed to know that for Brenna's sake. Demona really didn't like the idea of some young male thinking he could… no, Brenna was too young and humans were fertile all the time. She'd seen specials on the news about teenage pregnancy. A problem that gargoyles didn't have, and Brenna wasn't going to have it either.
"Allaine."
"Alright, just a moment." She filled that name away in her mind. It was unusual enough that she should be able to hunt him down if she ever needed to.
She found Brenna doing her homework at her desk. "There is a young man on the phone for you." The puzzled expression that got made Demona feel a little better. "Allaine."
"I didn't think he had my number." Brenna got up from her seat. No, he would wait a little longer, Demona had some questions.
"Who is he?"
Brenna obviously wanted to just answer the phone, but she stood still. "He's my friend from school."
"Just a friend?"
Brenna blushed. "Yes, just a friend. It isn't like that with him."
"Is there anyone it is like that with?" Demona demanded coldly. She took in one child, but she wasn't willing to raise another if Brenna did something foolish. Humans were disgustingly fertile.
"No, there isn't." Brenna's blush grew in intensity. "Can I just answer the phone?" Demona nodded and moved to leave. The girl had a phone in her bedroom, but it wasn't used often. She wasn't like the teenagers on T.V. that always had one attached to their ear. In fact this was the first phone call that Demona knew Brenna had gotten.
It was a weird feeling to have someone call her home to talk to someone else. Demona walked back downstairs and moved towards the phone she'd left on the counter.
"Detective Maza was so good." The boy was sounding upset with that. "And now I don't even have David Xanatos. He cancelled on me. How can I beat Kimberly's detective? I don't have a business speaker. I have to go to school tomorrow and tell them that Mr. Xanatos had to cancel."
"It isn't like you could control that." Brenna spoke softly, but it wasn't a lover's voice. "No one will blame you."
"But what do I do about a speaker? I can't call Halcyon Renard, I'd rather poke my eardrums out than have him come. He's that boring." The boy stammered. "I… I need help. I was thinking that maybe you could ask Ms. Destine? I mean you live with her and everything. Do you think she'd do it?"
"I.. I don't know." Brenna sounded a bit surprised at the boy's request. "I don't know if she's any good as a speaker either." Demona frowned at that.
"She doesn't need to be as good as Detective Maza was today. She just needs to be better than Renard." Demona glared at the phone in her hand that she hadn't moved to hang up yet.
"I don't like to ask her for things Allaine." Brenna spoke very clearly.
"Couldn't you just do it for me? What's the worst that can happen? She could say no."
"No, she could do more than that. If I'm too much trouble why would she want to keep me?" Demona pulled the phone up to her ear while being very quiet. She had no idea that Brenna was feeling that insecure.
Not having to be better than Maza? Those words rang in her head as she put the phone down. They'd talked about the Detective and the respect in Brenna's voice grated on Demona's nerves.
When she heard Brenna coming down the hall she moved further away from the phone, not wanting Brenna to realize she'd been eavesdropping.
"Dominique." Brenna was going to ask, she could hear it in the girl's voice. Demona sat down at the kitchen island and watched her young ward. Was she really so insecure that she didn't think she could even ask for something like this? "Allaine has a problem and he wanted me to ask you something, but you don't have to say yes. I mean your busy and…"
"Just spit it out!" Demona snapped at her. Courage, the girl really needed to work on her courage lately. She used to be much more courageous.
"David Xanatos was supposed to be the Friday speaker, but he cancelled. Allaine needs another business speaker, and he was hoping…"
"I'll do it." Demona stared into Brenna's shocked eyes. She was going to show Brenna that detective work wasn't the only good career. Maza… not have to be as good as Maza? Demona was ten times better than Maza at anything. She'd send half of that school out to get business degrees.
"Really?" The hint of happy surprise in Brenna's voice made Demona smile. "Oh, I've got to call him back. I told him you probably wouldn't." That was another reason that Demona did. Not good to be too predictable.
********
"Detective Maza." Xanatos greeted her while she waited for the sun to set.
"Xanatos." Elisa replied a bit flatly. It was still hard to accept that he wasn't the enemy, even after everything that he did for the clan.
"I heard you were a speaker at Cordova High School a few days ago." That was a strange conversation opener. Elisa glanced at him again. "I was going to be speaking there this Friday, but I had to cancel for a business meeting."
"And this is important why? Don't play games today, I'm not in the mood."
"Well, it seems that they have managed to replace me." Xanatos stared out with her at the slowly lowering sun. "Demona decided to go in my place."
"Demona's speaking at a High School?" Elisa had to ask, even though she was pretty sure she'd heard it right the first time.
"Yes, it appears that she is."
"Oh, she's got to be up to something." Elisa didn't like it when Demona came into the scene. It never went well. "I need to find out what."
"Somehow I thought you'd say that." Xanatos gave her a small smirk, the one that she often wanted to wipe of his face when she saw it. "If we can be of any help let us know. I still have to be out of town, but…"
"Thanks." Elisa spoke quickly. The sound of cracking stone filled the night air. They needed to figure out what Demona was up to, because the idea that she was anywhere near so many kids made Elisa's skin crawl with the possibilities.