This chapter operates in parallel with Chapter 62: Sleep of the Vigilante – Day 5 of my other story: Forsaken which should be read first . . .
The next day
Friday, August 1st, 2014
The following takes place between Midnight and 1:00 A.M.
Battery Park, New York City
0:34 A.M.
The thugs came out of nowhere and they started attacking the two police vehicles.
One of the vehicles was unmarked and the Detective driving was chatting with the two uniformed police officers in the marked cruiser. The windscreens of both vehicles were smashed almost immediately, but both of the vehicles managed to accelerate away to safety. The Detective's left arm was hurt from a baseball bat that came through his side window while the two uniformed officers had various cuts and bruises from flying glass.
Once safe, the two vehicles headed towards the nearest hospital for treatment.
The following takes place between 5:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M.
Safehouse C, New York City
5:02 A.M.
She was just getting dressed after a shower when her cell rang.
"Is that Mindy?" the caller asked; it sounded like an older man.
"Who is this?" Mindy asked, in return.
"You are Mindy; you sound just like your mother," the man said.
"You. . . Who are you?" Mindy asked again, confused at the mention of her mother.
"Sorry. My name is Mackenzie, Sergeant Mackenzie, NYPD. I work for Marcus; I used to work with Damon, many years ago. Anyway, I digress. Marcus asked me to call you, if anything happened to him."
"Oh, my God! What . . .?" Mindy interrupted.
"No, don't worry, it's just his arm; it's broken. He should be back home from the hospital in a couple of hours," the man explained. "He was jumped by some D'Amico bastards. Him and two other cops; they're okay, too," Mackenzie explained. "You go see Marcus later; I have work to do."
"Thanks," Mindy said, before the connection was broken.
Then, she just stood there for a few minutes, not moving . . . before she went ballistic.
"You fucking bastard, D'Amico!" she yelled and she started punching the wall, leaving more than one rather large hole.
5:15 A.M.
Chloe came running through to Mindy's bedroom.
"What is it?" Chloe asked, looking horrified.
"Marcus has been injured . . . by D'Amico's bastards," Mindy replied, seething with rage.
"Oh, God! Is he okay?"
"Just a broken arm. But enough is enough; I'm going after that bastard, right the fuck now!" she screamed, and she shoved Chloe, roughly, out of the way.
Mindy stormed through to the mat and she started to get her gear together.
5:21 A.M.
Suddenly, she felt two hands on her shoulders and she was spun around and pushed against a post.
Chloe stood directly in front of Mindy. One hand on her mentor's chest, pushing her back against the post. Chloe looked pissed.
"What do you want?" Mindy demanded, angrily.
"I want you to stop being stupid."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You're not thinking; you're running off in the heat of the moment," Chloe said. "Just like before."
"Before?" she asked, angrily.
"Yeah, the night your Dad died: you left that other Safehouse without proper planning and fucked everything up," Chloe explained, bravely.
Mindy was raging now. Who the fuck did Chloe think she was?
"Look, I promised Dave that I would look after you and that's what I'm gonna do," Chloe yelled. "You don't like that, then you're gonna have to put me the fuck down!"
Mindy was taken aback; Chloe was standing up to her. She was mad, but was she mad enough to want to hurt Chloe?
"Get out of my way, you stupid girl," Mindy ordered. "You don't know what you're doing."
"I don't know what I'm doing, huh? Well, from my side, it looks like you do not know what you are fucking doing. You, the super experienced Hit Girl; what a fucking laugh," Chloe responded, derisively.
Then without knowing what she was doing, Mindy slapped Chloe, hard across the face, sending the younger girl flying backwards. She landed on her backside, in the middle of the mat. The girl stared up at Mindy in shock, but Chloe was seething with rage, just like Mindy was. Mindy could not remember every having seen Chloe like that before.
"I don't fucking care what you do to me, Mindy. You are going fucking nowhere! You've fucked up big time. Remember our partnership? We tell each other if somebody fucks up; now guess what, it's your turn to fuck up, Hit Girl," Chloe growled, menacingly, and she got back to her feet.
Mindy could see tears in her eyes, but Chloe was still raging, and she had a large and very visible hand mark on her left cheek. Mindy started to feel very ashamed of herself.
"If you can't hack it, Mindy, then I'm gonna take charge!" Chloe yelled. Then after a pause. "Well, fucking say something!"
5:25 A.M.
Mindy could not say anything.
She reached out towards Chloe, to try and apologise.
"Don't fucking touch me, or I'll break your fucking wrists!" Chloe spat.
Mindy was shocked.
"Chloe, please, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have hit you. I . . . I lost control for a minute. Marcus getting hurt; it really scared me," Mindy tried to explain.
She took another step towards Chloe, who backed off, away from her mentor. Mindy felt tears, next; she was appalled with herself. What had she done?
"Please, Chloe!" Mindy begged.
"Just . . . leave me alone," Chloe said, turning away and she went into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Mindy was left standing on the mat, alone, feeling really, fucking stupid.
The following takes place between 6:00 A.M. and 7:00 A.M.
Safehouse C, New York City
6:30 A.M.
Mindy was sitting on the mat, still feeling sorry for herself after that bollocking which she had received from Chloe, not to mention the fact that she had hit her.
Chloe came out from her bedroom; her eyes were red and so was her cheek where Mindy had hit her; a bruise was appearing too.
"You sorted yourself out yet?" Chloe asked; not in a very unfriendly way, but still with fire in her eyes.
"Yes," Mindy replied, meekly.
"You gonna hit me again?"
"No," Mindy replied. "I'm sorry . . . I . . ."
"You ready to be back in charge, Hit Girl, or are you just gonna fucking sit there, feeling sorry for yourself, like a fucking pussy."
Mindy was shocked, again. Nevertheless, she deserved it; she was reacting really badly to things. She was really tired, and she was not thinking straight.
"Thank you, Chloe. You're right; absolutely right," Mindy said. "Will you come and sit with me . . . please?"
"Only if you promise not to hit me, again," Chloe said, with a slight smile.
"I promise," Mindy replied.
"Is that a 'money back' guarantee?" Chloe asked laughing as she sat down and gave Mindy a hug.
"Definitely," Mindy replied as she returned the hug.
The following takes place between 7:00 A.M. and 8:00 A.M.
Safehouse C, New York City
7:10 A.M.
They sat down to breakfast and Mindy was still feeling more than a little embarrassed about the whole episode.
"I think I know what Dave meant, about Hit Girl needing a balance to keep her in check," Chloe said, smirking. "Dave's not here, so I'll have to do it."
"Thank you, Chloe, for caring and for being a friend," Mindy replied, going back to her cereal in a vain attempt to hide her embarrassment.
However, Mindy thought that Chloe was enjoying herself.
"I suppose it's a hazard of working with Hit Girl," Chloe said, rubbing her cheek and grimacing.
"I really am sorry," Mindy whined.
"Mindy, do you remember that saying of yours: 'Talk like a bitch. . .'?"
"'. . . Get slapped like a bitch'. Yeah, I know; I hate it when people turn my own words against me," Mindy groaned, and Chloe laughed.
"Plus, I owe you one, remember that," Chloe growled, ominously.
7:18 A.M.
Joshua awoke, and he looked up from the couch.
How the hell the kid had managed to sleep through all the noise which the two girls had both been making earlier, Mindy really did not know.
Joshua turned and looked at Chloe.
"Who the fuck hit you?" he asked, angrily.
Mindy blushed and turned away. Chloe must have looked at her as Joshua figured it out very quickly.
"You slapped Chloe?" Joshua exclaimed. "What the fuck for?"
"It was an accident," Mindy offered lamely.
"It was a misunderstanding, Josh. Just drop it, okay," Chloe said, pointedly.
"Right," Josh said, unconvinced and still looking unhappy.
Chloe explained about what had happened the previous night with Marcus and the call that morning.
The following takes place between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M.
Safehouse A, New York City
8:25 A.M.
The girls got themselves dressed and they gave Joshua some work to do while they were gone.
If he was there, then he could start learning, Mindy had decided.
The following takes place between 9:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M.
Safehouse A, New York City
9:15 A.M.
The girls had only just left.
Joshua was glad that he was not living on his own anymore; but he could look after himself, sort of. Mindy ensured that he was trained correctly and learning to use the weapons which she had provided. He was currently learning to use the Heckler & Koch G36C as well as the MP7. Mindy said that if he did not learn to use them properly, then he would not be involved with taking down Ralph D'Amico. As such, he was working hard; learning to strip them, clean them, and operate them proficiently.
Mindy was a bloody hard taskmaster.
The following takes place between 10:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M.
Marcus' House, New York City
10:05 A.M.
Marcus was in a grumpy mood and not just because of his arm.
"I shouldn't have let somebody creep up on me like that," Marcus ranted. "It was stupid."
"Hey, sh. . . stuff happens," Mindy replied. "You're alive and that's what matters."
"Thanks, Mindy," Marcus replied, calming down slightly.
"I'm glad you're okay Mr Williams," Chloe said with a smile.
"Chloe, call me Marcus: 'Mr Williams' just makes me feel old. Besides, you're almost family. I already have one nut job, for a daughter, why not another." Marcus said, laughing.
"So, I'm a 'nut job' am I?" Mindy replied, indignantly.
"Well, it is kinda accurate," Chloe admitted with a chuckle.
"Thanks for your support . . . partner!"
The following takes place between 11:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M.
Marcus' House, New York City
11:45 A.M.
The two girls spent quite a while with Marcus, which was good as he enjoyed their company and they enjoyed his.
Mindy felt that she and Chloe needed some time to gather their thoughts and to get some fresh air and exercise, so she suggested that Chloe call the brat and get him to meet them in Central Park.
The following takes place between 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M.
Central Park, New York City
12:25 P.M.
The girls parked up the BMW and started to walk around the park.
12:30 P.M.
Chloe received a text from the brat asking where they were so Chloe gave him their exact location.
Within a couple of minutes, a breathless Joshua caught up.
The following takes place between 1:00 P.M. and 2:00 P.M.
Central Park, New York City
1:15 P.M.
They enjoyed a good run around and the fresh air helped Joshua to get the last of the smoke out of his lungs.
It was also good to let off some steam while Mindy thought about their next action. Not to mention the decent hot-dogs which they had for their lunch. Mindy decided that they could not wait for D'Amico to do something even worse than what he had already done so far.
Mindy knew that acting in daylight was not a very good idea; nevertheless, they needed intelligence on D'Amico and soon.
The following takes place between 2:00 P.M. and 3:00 P.M.
Safehouse C, New York City
2:25 P.M.
They spent the next hour keeping an eye on who, and what, was going in and out of the D'Amico building.
One or two of the men were familiar from the video which Chloe had covertly taken, previously. Mindy was hoping that they would be able to seize one of them when he came off shift. The three of them had managed to obtain information concerning shifts within the D'Amico Penthouse, from the phone which Chloe had 'stolen'. They had discovered that at least one guy finished at eight in the evening.
Therefore, Mindy intended to be ready.
The following takes place between 3:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M.
Safehouse C, New York City
3:45 P.M.
The rest of the afternoon was spent training and preparing their equipment.
Joshua was getting very proficient with the weapons; which Mindy was pleased to see. The boy was quite intelligent, and he grasped things very quickly. He was not a bad kid; just way out of his depth. He was actually the first British person that Mindy had ever met, and she found his accent what . . . cute she supposed. It grated a bit that he pronounced things wrongly, but then, to him Mindy presumed that she probably pronounced things wrong, too. Mindy was also pleasantly surprised to find that he reacted to criticism very well, and he did not get mad when she shouted at him for making a mistake. In fact, so far, Mindy had not been able to get him properly riled up; to see what he was really like when he was really pissed.
Mindy asked Chloe about it and she said that she had only ever seen him 'really mad' on one previous occasion and he had been a 'maniac' . . . Chloe's word, not Mindy's.
The following takes place between 4:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M.
Safehouse C, New York City
4:15 P.M.
Chloe and Mindy went for a short nap, to build up some sleep before the night as she was not expecting to get much sleep otherwise.
The following takes place between 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M.
Safehouse C, New York City
5:25 P.M.
Joshua prepared some very nice, but not very tasty; not his fault: microwave meals. The meals at least gave the girl's energy, if absolutely nothing else. Mindy was really missing Dave's cooking by that point.
The following takes place between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M.
Safehouse C, New York City
6:45 P.M.
The girls gathered their equipment together and they started gearing up.
Joshua and Chloe had been spending a lot of time talking, which had also included a lot of giggling from Chloe. Mindy had just left them to it.
The following takes place between 7:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M.
Safehouse C, New York City
7:45 P.M.
They left the Safehouse.
Mindy had suggested, strongly, that Joshua go and stay with Marcus for the night. She had told him that he could come back over the following morning.
Reluctantly, Joshua had agreed.
The following takes place between 8:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M.
D'Amico Penthouse, New York City
8:15 P.M.
Hit Girl and Shadow were on the Ducati, parked up in an alley just across from the D'Amico Penthouse building.
It was barely dark, but it was dark enough. A man walked out of the building, waving to the doorman.
"See ya, tomorrow, Chuck!"
The man went around the corner and towards his car. He got in and fumbled with his keys. He could not have been expecting trouble, because he never expected to find Hit Girl's gauntlet smashing through his side window and grabbing his throat.
The following takes place between 9:00 P.M. and 10:00 P.M.
Another Safehouse, New York City
9:05 P.M.
Hit Girl dragged the unconscious cunt into the office and dumped him in a corner. She then checked his bindings, blindfold, and gag before turning off the light.
9:52 P.M.
Hit Girl drove the guy's car back to the covered Ducati and they headed on to Safehouse C.
The following takes place between 10:00 P.M. and 11:00 P.M.
Safehouse C, New York City
10:45 P.M.
"So, what was that place?" Chloe asked, pulling off her mask and communications.
"My Daddy acquired several Safehouses over the years. You have seen A and C, so far. B . . . Let's not talk about B! That one, where we dumped the cunt, was never configured, so it doesn't have a name. D through to F, are already allocated – just don't ask about them – so, let's call it Safehouse G," Mindy replied, pulling off her own mask and communications. "We'll let the cunt stew for an hour or two, and then I will interrogate him."
"Mind if I shower first?" Chloe asked.
"Go on."
The following takes place between 11:00 P.M. and Midnight
D'Amico Penthouse, New York City
11:01 P.M.
"So, you fucked everything up!" D'Amico bellowed into the video conferencing microphone.
"There was nothing I could do; your plan was doomed to failure," Bartolemeo replied.
"I find your lack of faith disturbing," D'Amico replied, darkly, then he nodded to the man at the other end of the connection who could be seen to be standing behind Bartolemeo.
The man reached around, and he slit Bartolemeo's throat.
"Apology accepted!"
You are advised to read Chapter 62: Sleep of the Vigilante – Day 5 of my other story: Forsaken next . . .
Updated: January 2018