Authors note: Just to let people know the Booker in this story is the Comstock who escaped to Rapture. The very same Elizabeth goes after just to clarify. Enjoy :)
Mina woke up on a musty cot the next morning and with the mother of all headaches. As the fog began to clear she remembered what happened and that she had been drugged. "That bastard," she muttered to herself. She checked her clothes to see if they were torn and her bag to see if anything was missing. In her bag the sound her forged I.D., a copy of her fake citizenship papers, and an envelope of Rapture dollars. There was also a short note that read, "Sorry for the shot toots. Hope you slept well. Pleasure doing business with you. -R".
She looked around to see where she was and saw she was in a large room surrounded by makeshift bunkbeds with groups of other people. All were men, women and children of different ages and all wearing second handed or patched clothes. Some talking, crying or sleeping. A blond young woman in her late twenties in a worn and faded yellow dressed walked over to Mina's bed. "Excuse me," Mina asked her. "Can you tell me where I am?"
The woman smiled softly at her and replied, "Sweetie, you're at 'Fontaine's Home for the Poor'. A couple of men dropped you off just last night. You were so out of it when they brought you here. But don't worry, me and a few of the other women kept an eye on you. No one bothered you or your things."
"Thank you so much for keeping an eye on me," Mina said.
The young woman smiled. "Us girls gotta stick together. What's your name?"
"Mina. Mina Binetti."
"Well Mina Binetti, I'm Veronica Perkins. Who were those two men who dumped you here?"
"I guess you could say they were helping me," Mina replied, messaging her temple in a vain attempt to relieve her headache.
Veronica just gave her a puzzled look.
"Look I need to ask you something else," Mina said. "I'm looking for my father and I was wondering if you had any clue as to anyone who could possibly help me?"
Veronica thought for a moment then smiled. "Well, I do know of one man. A private eye, he has an office on Market Street. He's really good at what he does. He's helped me out a few times. Gave me food and somewhere to sleep a few times. As you probably know Rapture isn't the best place for charity. He's a decent man but he has his demons, same as us all."
Mina considered the option for a moment and asked, "Can you tell me how to get to Market Street?"
"Yes, there's a tram not too far from here that will take you to a bathysphere to get there. I can show you if you'd like?"
"I'd appreciate that," Mina a smiled and slowly stood up off her cot. "So, what's this gumshoes name?"
Vernonia gave a little smile and answered, "Booker DeWitt."
Booker sat at his desk using a small metal brush to clean the residue from the cylinder of his hand cannon. He only paused a few times to take a drink of whiskey from a nearby bottle. An almost full ashtray rested next to the bottle, still smoking from the fresh cigarette he just snuffed out. His record player behind him on the nightstand next to this bed was softly playing 'Am I Blue' by Annette Hanshaw.
"Shit," he mumbled, accidently dropping the cylinder on the floor. As he bent down to pick it up there was a sharp rap at his door. "Come in," he shouted, putting the cylinder back on his desk.
Mina opened the door and walked in. She took a quick moment to look around and noticed that not only was this his office but it was his home as well. In the right corner behind his desk sat a bed and a stove and dresser sat on the other side of the room. Above the dresser hung a display box of memorabilia for the 5th Calvary.
Booker himself was not quiet what she had expected. His hair was boarder between gray and white but his face looked too young to have hair that color. There could be any number of reasons for it but she put it out of her mind. He wore a dark blue dress shirt, black vest, a shoulder holster and dark blue pinstriped pants.
"I assume you're Booker DeWitt," she asked.
"That's what it says of the door," he sharply replied, standing up to turn off the record player. "What can I do you for Miss…"
"Mina Binetti," she said. "I'm looking for someone and I was wondering if you might could find him for me."
Booker pulled a cigarette from a pack in his shirt pocket, snapped his fingers and ignited it. Mina gasped in fear and surprise at the sight of flames appearing from Booker's finger tips.
"Are you alright Miss Binetti," Booker asked, raising an eyebrow. "You act like you've never seen a plasmid in action before."
Then she remembered the neon sign she saw when she first approached the city in the sub. Plasmids. Do these things give people superpowers or something?"
"Yes…sorry. I-ah-haven't had much sleep lately," she replied trying not to give herself away. "I just haven't seen that one yet."
"Uh huh," Booker mumbled, not buying her answer. "Who is it you need found?"
"Well Mr. DeWitt it's-"
"Booker," he interrupted her.
"Excuse me," she asked.
"You can call me Booker."
"Yes, well, the man I'm looking for is my father."
Booker pulled a pen and note pad out of his desk to take notes. "All right, give me the details," he said.
"His name is Frank Gorland," she said and showed him the faded photo. "His hair is brown and so are his eyes."
Booker took the photo and looked it over. He could sort of make out the mans face. He was young and had short hair parted to the left and a short beard. Something about him seemed oddly familiar.
"Why didn't you bring a recent photo of him," Booker asked.
"Well, my father doesn't really like having his picture taken. My mother was lucky enough to snap this one back when they lived in New York a year before she had me," she lied.
Booker put down his pen and pad, looked her square in the eyes and said, "Look kid, you might as well be honest about everything. I have a strict client confidentiality rule. Anything that is said in this office is between you and me. Now tell me the truth. All of it."
Mina let out a sigh and told Booker about how she came to be in Rapture. He just nodded and followed her story. When she was done Booker picked the pen and pad up again. "You took a big risk getting yourself smuggled in here," he said, putting out his cigarette. "And an even bigger risk trusting Fontaine's men with the job. And all that for a father you've never even met."
"He's the only family I have left," Mina said. "I wanted to find him and I had to get away from New York. I've spent most of my life getting by on the street and I made enemies of the wrong people. I couldn't stay there anymore. I figured coming here would kill two birds with one stone."
"I understand," he replied. "Alright I got his name and an old photo but it's not much to go on. Tell me what your mother told you about him."
"Well, she said he was a bit of a grifter. Not always a nice man. She had told me he said he worked in construction at the time. My mother was a…prostitute when they first met. She said she had trouble finding work when she came over from Italy and so she turned to that. She said her and my father didn't talk much during their meetings at first but he started to come by more after a while and stay with her. My mother began to give up her 'profession' then when they found out she was pregnant he disappeared. Just a year ago a friend of mine and ex business partner of my fathers, Boris Petrov, told me he thought he knew where my father went. So, several dishonest jobs later and after a few deals we both had enough money to get me smuggled here."
"So, you just left your mother behind in New York," Booker asked.
Mina downed her head and said, "She died about five years ago."
"I'm…I'm really sorry Miss Binetti," he quickly apologized.
"It's alright," she said. "You didn't know."
Booker sat back in his chair, looked over his pad and thought for a minute. "This still isn't a lot to go on. You said he was in construction at the time so maybe he was part of the team that helped build Rapture. I have a friend who works in citizen records so that'll be our best bet. If that comes up empty, I'll figure something else out."
"Thank you, Booker, for agreeing to help," she smiled. "How much should I pay you?"
"Well discuss pay after the jobs done," he said. He then began to work on putting the cylinder back into his hand cannon. "So, I'm guessing you don't have any place to stay."
"Well…I could always go back to stay at Fontaine's. A woman named Veronica who lives there was the one who helped me find you actually."
Booker grinned and said, "Veronica's a good kid. Her dad's been working down at the fisheries to get them both out of Fontaine's poor house. Been hard all around." Booker had a pang of conscience. "But look I know someone who may take you in so you don't have to go back there. She's an old friend of mine and owes me a favor. I'll take you to meet her."
Booker pulled a box of cartridges from his desk, loaded his gun and slid it into his shoulder holster.
"Are we expecting trouble," she asked, staring at the gun.
"No," he replied. "But with the odd splicer attacks happening you can never be too careful."
"A splicer," she asked. "What is that?"
"Don't worry kid. We'll get you in the know on what's been happening down here and you'll soon seem like you belong." Booker walked to the door, grabbed his black fedora from its hat rack and headed out the door with Mina right behind.
As the bathysphere approached Athena's Glory, she was in awe at the tall underwater sky scrapper. Once the bathysphere docked, they walked out of the docking area and into a big lobby. The whole place looked extravagant. The whole floor was covered in lavish light blue carpet. The lower half of the walls of the lobby were marble with depictions of owls carves into them and the upper half were made of glass looking out into the ocean. In the center of the room was a large fountain with a statue of the goddess Athena herself.
To their left were four different elevators. Booker led her inside an elevator and pressed the button. The elevator made a soft humming noise as it rose to the eighth floor. After exiting they entered a red-carpet lined hallway and turned to the right. At the fifth door down labeled 805 they stopped. Booker removed his hat and knocked.
Mina could tell Booker seemed slightly nervous for some reason and when the door opened up, she saw why. A beautiful brunette woman in her mid-forties wearing a silk evening gown stood in the doorway smiling at them. "DeWitt, it's good to see you again," she smiled and gave Booker a quick kiss on the cheek.
Booker's face turned a light shade of red. "Hello Evie," Booker said. "It's a…been a while."
"Indeed, it has handsome," she replied then looked at Mina. "So, who's this beautiful young woman."
"That's what I'm here about. I'm coming to call in that favor. This girl needs a place to call home for a while. Her names Mina Binetti."
"Well hello Mina, I'm Evelyn Grey," she said extending her hand. "I'm the proprietor of Eve's Garden in Fort Frolic."
"As in Eve from the bible," Mina asked, giving Evie's hand a light shake.
"Yes," Evie answered. "I thought it was a clever name."
"It's a strip joint," Booker bluntly said to Mina.
Evie frowned and said, "DeWitt I forgot how your brashness could be overbearing sometimes. It is a gentleman's club thank you and one of the finest. You should know as many times as I used to see you there."
Booker downed his head.
Mina was not phased by the fact Evie owned a gentleman's club. After some of the things she's seen on the streets and working with Boris everyone has to make a living someway.
Evie's smiled returned. "But of course the poor girl can stay with me," she said then turned to Mina. "Do you have a job?"
"No, I'm afraid not," she answered. "But I'll find one and pay my own way until I can get on my feet."
"Well, I like a girl with initiative. Look, you can waitress at my place if you want? The pay is decent, the tips are good and no man with lay a hand on you. No undressing required," she chuckled.
"That'd be great," Mina smiled. "Thank you."
"Wonderful. Come in and make yourself at home. I have a spare room down the hall you can use."
Mina stepped inside while Booker revealed quietly to Evie how Mina had gotten to Rapture and why she was there. The living room was large with a red sofa and chair in the center in front of a tv set. To her right was a fully stocked bar and to her left was a large kitchen with all the modern appliances. Photos of Evie in her younger days striking different poses wearing nothing but various lingerie lined the wall to the left of the door. The thing that caught her attention most was the fact that the whole wall behind the bar was just glass with a beautiful view of the city.
"Thanks for doing this," Booker said. "Without help she'd be lost."
"Think nothing of it and don't worry I'll get her up to speed," Evie said. "Her secret will be safe with me."
"I know it will be. If I can dig up any information on her old man I'll call."
Evie gave Booker a kiss on the cheek again. "You're a good man Dewitt," she smiled.
Booker didn't say anything. He just grinned and placed his fedora back on his head and walked away. But in his head his only reply to her was, No I ain't.