Hey guys,
First, thank you all for putting up with me for so long. It fills me with joy and gives me a reason to continue this story series. I will write God of Blood and maybe one last story, then declare the series with Jane, Maura, Katherine, and Elizabeth finished. Thanks to all those who leave a comment and also to all the silent readers.
Thank you very, very much.
Take good care of yourselves.
Until then,
T73.
xxx
Elizabeth stood outside her eldest daughter's room with her head leaning against the doorframe, peeking through the crack in the door, gritting her teeth.
She watched Nikki as the young woman stood proudly in front of the mirror, nervously running her hands over her brand-new BPD uniform. The way Nikki pursed her lips discontentedly and plucked at one spot or another. Elizabeth knew the feeling. The nervousness of the first week at work, the uncertainty of what would happen. The question of whether you had to chase after someone on your very first day or whether your overweight instructor would make you sit in the patrol car while the chase was on, even though you knew your colleagues had a better chance of catching the perpetrator after all.
She took a deep breath and pushed the door open with her fingertips.
Nikki looked at her mother's reflection in the mirror and smiled a little. "I knew you were standing there all along."
Elizabeth chuckled, crossing her arms and hanging her head momentarily before pushing herself away from the doorframe and strolling to her daughter. She stood behind Nikki and placed both hands on her shoulders, looking at herself and Nikki in the mirror. "I feel so old all of a sudden."
Nikki furrowed her eyebrows and wrinkled her nose. "Ma, you're old!"
The older woman smiled wryly. "You seem to have forgotten who beat you in the sprint just yesterday."
Nikki rolled her eyes. "I tripped."
Elizabeth drew her brows together. "Oh yeah?"
"Three times," the young woman replied, wrinkling her nose and holding up three fingers.
Elizabeth chuckled and nodded slowly. "Okay." But then she became serious again as she looked at her reflection. "You've forgotten something very important, Veronica."
Nikki also became serious again and looked down at herself in horror, feeling her uniform. "Oh yeah? And what?" she asked when she couldn't see anything wrong.
Elizabeth took a deep breath and gritted her teeth before pulling something out of a case that her daughter couldn't see. She looked into her daughter's eyes, even if only in the mirror, and placed a necklace with an amulet around her neck. "Yes, the most important thing a cop should always carry with them," she said and closed the clasp on the necklace.
Nikki pulled the corners of her mouth down and looked at the locket. Then she looked at her mother with wide eyes. "Saint Michael."
Elizabeth nodded slowly. "The patron saint of law enforcement," she said slowly. "Always wear him close to your heart."
"Do you wear --"
The older woman pulled a necklace with two medallions from under her T-shirt. "Always," she said, answering her daughter's unasked question.
Nikki turned to her mother and felt the lockets. She furrowed her brow as her fingers held onto the one that flipped open. "What's in there?"
Elizabeth twitched her eyebrows and didn't hesitate to flip the locket open. On the right side was a small, recent picture of Nikki and Ashlyn, and on the left was a photo of Maggie with Benjamin.
"Oh," the young woman sighed.
"I always hold you close to my heart," Elizabeth whispered.
"I always thought they were dog tags, just in case --"
"Oh," laughed the older woman, giving her daughter a shove, "shut up.
Nikki smiled broadly, but then her fingers slid over the locket. "Thank you, ma."
Elizabeth nodded with a sigh and let her daughter's locket disappear under her black T-shirt. She nodded approvingly and took a deep breath. "Now you're ready for your first day as a BPD officer," she said, running her hands over Nikki's shoulders. "I'm proud of you."
Nikki looked into her mother's brown eyes and frowned a little. "Even if you were against my career choice?"
Elizabeth took a profound breath and closed her eyes. "Just stop it!"
Nikki grinned widely and then chuckled.
xxx
The train from New York to Boston rumbled reluctantly along the tracks, the running gear and technology as outdated as the germy compartments inside.
Mia's train had started its journey from New York at 6.36 am.
Mia couldn't say that she liked riding the train. She knew that in the past, railroad cars had carried prisoners to work camps. Even though it was fortunately history, the railroad companies still loved to torture their passengers. At least, that's how it seemed to her.
"Is it still free here?" It wasn't a question; it was a statement.
The men came into the compartment. One, two, three, four ... and then a woman ...
Outside, some dump passed by the windows.
Mia clutched her travel bag tightly as if it contained some mysterious elixir. But there was nothing. No help, no rescue, nothing.
The woman let the door to the compartment slam shut. And drew the curtain close.
"A girl," someone said, as if Mia wasn't even there.
"The girl," said another.
"A neuter," said the third man. "Anything that is a neuter may be abused. The thing, the child, the girl --"
The woman grinned broadly. "What's your name?"
"Mia."
"Mia --," the woman repeated.
Fear boiled up inside Mia. Despite her pounding heart, she breathed as quietly as she could not just because of the ominous silence. When the others heard her breathing loudly, they realized she was afraid. And it was like predators. They could tell which antelope was most fearful because it was the weakest. And, therefore, more manageable prey. She felt a breeze coming from somewhere under her seat. The air was cold and musty as if it came from an underground cave.
"And yours?" she then asked. It could be wise to engage her or the others in conversation. Maybe then everything would be fine. But she sensed that it wouldn't be good. Those who had just entered the compartment wanted something from Mia.
"Me?" She saw the woman's grin. "My name is Death!"