Two days later
Friday, April 18th, 2014
West Ridge
"For fucks sake, Mindy!" Dave implored, for the twentieth time. "Will you calm the fuck down?"
"I can't; I'm too excited!" Mindy exclaimed with an enormous grin on her face.
"Look, Marcus will get here when he gets here and not before," Dave tried.
Mindy had been jumping up to look out of the window for over an hour and it was getting more than a little annoying. Marcus was not actually due to arrive for another half an hour, but Mindy . . . well, she was Mindy. Originally, Marcus was going to fly, but he had called on Thursday to say that he was driving up with a surprise for Mindy. Marcus had refused to elaborate, so Dave was as much in the dark as Mindy. He knew for a fact, that Marcus let slip about the surprise because he knew that Mindy would then behave as though she had ants in her panties.
Marcus liked his little jokes.
..._...
About forty minutes later, Mindy squealed and jumped.
She then threw open the front door and ambushed Marcus as he was about to knock.
"Your fault Marcus; you did wind her up," Dave called out quite reasonably.
"Yeah, good point!" Marcus agreed, grimacing as he staggered in almost carrying Mindy. "Well, I think she's happy to see me."
"It's good to see you, Marcus," Dave said, shaking the outstretched hand and smirking. "Mindy, get down off Marcus."
"Sorry!" Mindy replied, blushing.
"Here, read this," Marcus said, handing me a newspaper article.
I read the article with Mindy peering over my arm. The article concerned the death of one Lieutenant Gigante, in New York, two weeks previously. It detailed how Gigante had been a dirty Cop for many years with links to various members of the D'Amico family.
"That bastard became corrupt when your Father refused D'Amico's offer and he was framed. Gigante deserved to die; we believe he upset Ralph D'Amico and was killed on his orders," Marcus explained. "But his death brought great joy."
We both looked at Marcus, a little confused!
Marcus reached up, removed his NYPD badge from around his neck, and he threw it at Mindy.
..._...
It took Mindy a few seconds to realise that something was different; she had seen Marcus' badge loads of times, but the badge in her hand was very different.
"Fuck me! Lieutenant!" she yelled, and she hugged Marcus.
"Whoa! Congratulations, Marcus," Dave said.
"Thanks! The Captain was very pleased when Gigante died; he knew Gigante was dirty, but there had never been enough evidence. I took the Lieutenant Exam months ago and was just waiting for a slot. Gigante made that slot available," Marcus explained happily.
"That is so cool!" Mindy exclaimed.
"I'll be back in a moment, need to get something from the car," Marcus said rather cryptically.
"Lieutenant, now that is cool," Dave agreed.
Marcus was back in a couple of minutes. Mindy froze, staring down to the right of Marcus. Dave stared, too.
It was a dog.
..._...
The dog, a very beautiful looking German Shepherd, was looking up at Dave with a somewhat curious expression.
His mind went back a few months, to the previous summer. He suddenly had the glorious picture of Chris D'Amico, with a dog on his balls. Dave envisioned the German Shepherd with a mask and he thought back for a minute before the name jumped into his head.
Tentatively, Dave knelt down and he looked directly into the dog's eyes.
"Sophia?" he asked cautiously.
The dog barked, bounded towards Dave and then started licking his face.
"Good to see you, girl!" he said, stroking her happily.
"You know her name?" Marcus asked, curiously.
"We've already met; Sophia is a Super Hero – otherwise known as Eisenhower," Dave explained, and he received another bark as soon as he mentioned her Super Hero identity.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Marcus groaned. "Dogs are Super Heroes now?"
"This dog is special," Dave explained. "Eisenhower is a highly skilled crime fighter, who attacks with just a single word."
"This wouldn't happen to be the mutt who likes chomping on dick?" Mindy asked, with an evil smirk.
"Just like you do," Dave whispered to Mindy, causing her eyes to bug out and her to blush deeply.
Marcus scowled - he must have heard Dave's comment.
"Where did you find her?" I asked, changing the subject, quickly.
"She was handed in, several weeks ago. Nobody wanted her, so she was due to be destroyed. I thought Mindy might like her," Marcus said.
"Well, they're both bitches," Dave agreed, moving away from Mindy very fast.
"I'll give you that one, asshole," Mindy said, pleasantly, which rather surprised Dave.
"Mindy/Hit Girl – meet Sophia/Eisenhower," Dave said, patting Sophia.
Mindy actually looked nervous and she was biting her lip as she knelt down. Sophia looked Mindy up and down and sniffed Mindy's outstretched hand, before she wagged her tail, barked twice, then looked up at Dave as if to say, 'She'll do'. Sophia allowed Mindy to pat her and give her a brief hug. Mindy got a big sloppy 'kiss' in return and she started giggling.
"Thanks, Marcus," Mindy called out from the floor.
"Another Hero, for the Fucked Up Super Hero Club," Marcus exclaimed, putting his head in his hands.
The Safehouse
After a late lunch, they took Marcus to see the Safehouse.
"Wow! It's a totally different place," Marcus exclaimed once they were inside.
Mindy gave him a guided tour of the entire building, including the armoury. Sophia enjoyed the tour, too, and she made herself at home on one of the couches downstairs. Dave had a feeling that they would need a larger vehicle, than Speedy, as they now had three people and a dog to transport. Dave had asked Chloe to meet them at the Safehouse and she arrived during the afternoon.
"Marcus, you remember Chloe?" Mindy asked.
"I do," Marcus said, smiling. "Hello, young lady."
"Hi, Mr Williams," Chloe replied, smiling sweetly.
..._...
Dave and Chloe had spent several hours over the previous week spraying the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy.
They had refused to let Mindy see what they were doing, and Dave had insisted that Mindy wait for the grand unveiling; which was that afternoon. While Marcus and Mindy watched, Chloe and Dave pulled off the motorcycle's cover. Chloe looked very excited; Dave just had his usual dorky grin. What had originally been, a jet-black motorcycle, had changed completely.
The front and rear mudguards were 'Kick-Ass' green on the top, with half-inch wide, 'Kick-Ass' yellow stripes, curving around the vertical surfaces which were black. The teardrop shapes, on the sides of the fuel tank, were now 'Kick-Ass' green, along with a 'Kick-Ass' yellow outline. The licence plate, above the tail light, read 'KICK', and when you saw the Fat Boy, side by side with the Panigale, the two plates read, 'KICK HIT N RUN'!
The paint finish was perfect and looked fucking cool. Dave was in his combat suit and once he was astride the Fat Boy, Mindy could only think of one thing to say.
"Fuck! You Kick-Ass!" she exclaimed.
Not original, she knew.
"It really does suit you, Kick-Ass," Marcus said, with an enormous smile.
"It is very nice," Kick-Ass confirmed. "Thanks for your help, Chloe!"
"It was my pleasure, Kick-Ass," Chloe said, giggling with excitement.
..._...
After the tour, everybody headed back home to put their feet up, dropping Chloe off at home on the way. Marcus was very tired after his long drive, so he was looking forward to the rest. Sophia curled up, happily, on a couch and she soon fell asleep. Marcus had brought some dog food with him and a pair of enormous bowls, one of which was filled with water and was left in the kitchen.
The three of them had a very late dinner and then they all went to bed. Sophia insisted on following Dave and Mindy upstairs and she fell asleep in one corner of their bedroom.
The next day
Saturday, April 19th
West Ridge
They all got up late and had a big breakfast.
Chloe, Kyle, and Curtis were coming over for their weekly training session, that afternoon. Marcus said he wanted to go and see a cop buddy, so he headed out soon after breakfast.
..._...
Around two in the afternoon there was a knock on the door. Sophia appeared from somewhere and she started barking.
"Sophia, quiet! Sit!" Mindy ordered and Sophia sat obediently, in silence.
She opened the door and invited them all in.
"Guys, this is Sophia," Mindy said, pointing at the dog. "Sophia, meet Chloe, Kyle, and Curtis," she said, pointing out each one to Sophia.
Sophia got up and checked out the kids, sniffing each of them. When she got to Curtis, she growled which drew a laugh from Chloe!
"Sophia, no eating Curtis!" Mindy ordered.
Sophia whined, and she started licking Curtis' hand.
"Be good Curtis, or you may be doggie dinner," Chloe said, laughing.
Curtis did not look happy. Chloe thought Sophia was lovely and Kyle agreed. Curtis though was a bit wary of her.
Mindy decided that it was not quite the right moment to show them Sophia's little party trick.
..._...
Curtis was just being kicked down, by Chloe, for about the tenth time when Marcus came down into the basement.
"Hi, Chloe," Marcus said.
"Hi, Mr Williams," Chloe replied.
"Hi, Marcus," Mindy said. "This is Kyle and the little brat on his back is Curtis. Chloe's boyfriend and cousin, respectively."
"Hi, Mr Williams," both boys chipped in.
"Hi, kids," Marcus replied, looking at Mindy questioningly.
"I'm being paid to train these boys in basic Taekwondo and Chloe in advanced Aikido," she explained, quickly.
"I see," Marcus replied, somewhat dubiously, before sitting down to watch.
Mindy finished the days training, forty minutes later. Curtis was a little sore but was not being put off by all the rough treatment. Kyle was progressing very well, and Mindy noticed that Chloe had difficulty keeping her eyes off the boy. The three visitors went home, leaving just Dave, Mindy, and Marcus. Dave had spent the past couple of hours shopping for food.
"The boys don't know about Chloe being Shadow?" Marcus asked.
"No, they don't!" Mindy confirmed.
The following day
Sunday, April 20th
It was Easter Day.
Everybody was up early, and Marcus was starting to cook. Mindy had offered to cook, but Marcus had refused, saying that he wanted to actually eat the food after it had been cooked. Mindy honestly did not have anything to say to that comment, so she just sat down and scowled at Marcus. Dave suggested that Mindy looked adorable which just annoyed the girl even more. There was an enormous ham and loads of other food to go with it. Marcus had Mindy helping to prepare the vegetables – he thought that Mindy was very good with a knife.
While the food was cooking, they chatted about recent events, including the death of Gigante and Marcus' promotion. Marcus wanted to know what Dave and Mindy had been up to with Chloe when they were out being vigilantes. Dave took him through each night and especially enjoyed telling him about the wind up at the beginning of the week, plus the unfortunate discovery the following morning. Mindy insisted on telling her side of the story, too. Dave also got the opportunity to properly thank Marcus for the motorcycle.
Once the food was cooked, they sat down to an enormous meal. Even Sophia got a big chunk of ham, which she was very grateful to receive. Marcus insisted on making another speech.
"It is truly wonderful to be back here again with my family. It gets very lonely in New York. I am very happy to see that you have a life now, both of you, here in Chicago. Admittedly, not a very normal life, but hell, it could be worse," Marcus said. "Mindy could be pregnant!"
Mindy's mouth dropped open in shock and her face went bright red. Dave had to laugh and so did Marcus while Mindy just glowered at them both.
"Sorry, Mindy. I couldn't resist that last comment," Marcus apologised, not very sincerely. "Anyway. Happy Easter to us all."
"Happy Easter!" they all said, raising their glasses.
..._...
It felt really good having Marcus in Chicago and being able to sit down to a proper meal together.
It really gave Mindy a warm feeling inside. She really did miss Marcus; a lot more than she would ever admit to him. Marcus and Dave were her life, all she had, and she would never let either of them go . . . ever. After lunch, they took Sophia for a walk over to the park and Mindy enjoyed running around after the large dog. Dave kept throwing a frisbee for Sophia to fetch. He could throw it a lot further than Mindy could which typically annoyed the girl. She tried to race Sophia, once or twice, but she always lost against the very powerful animal. Marcus also seemed happy to be out with his family and Mindy was really pleased for him that he had got a promotion; it was a long time overdue. By the time they returned to the house, they were all thoroughly exhausted and they just collapsed onto the couches.
Sophia though, she just drank a gallon of water and laid down, staring at Mindy. Mindy thought that she must have dozed off as she awoke with a start and she saw that it was dark outside. Dave and Marcus were snoring and so was Sophia. Mindy looked at the time; it was two in the morning. She decided that she was not comfortable, so she kicked Dave and Marcus awake.
"Come on, you two, it is bedtime," Mindy called out, pulling Dave up the stairs.
Marcus reluctantly followed.
Author's Note: For those who have not seen Eisenhower attack Chris D'Amico, you can view this attack on YouTube: just search for 'Eisenhower Gets It Started'. I believe this extended scene only appears in the British DVD/Blu-ray. It is a cool scene and I personally think it was better than the scene they did use.
Updated: December 2017