Three days later
Friday
West Ridge
Things were changing in Chicago.
Not for the better, either!
I had no idea where things were going, but it was heading back to the bad old days of being a vigilante.
We had new Mayor and he had brought along people who played his tune!
Chicago Police Department
District 21
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!"
"Morning, sir!" The gathered Police Officers called out as a resounding greeting to the new Chicago Police Department Superintendent.
"Good to see you all! I am Superintendent Trevor Howards and I intend to put the Mayor's ideas into practice as far as the Chicago Police Department is concerned."
The new Superintendent prattled on for almost an hour, detailing his history and his view of crime fighting. That was before he went on about how he wanted the Chicago Police Department to be perceived by the public.
..._...
Then he put both feet into his pet hate.
Vigilantism.
"They are not superheroes; they are people with personality disorders. They must be eradicated from this City."
"Hit Girl and Kick-Ass are not our enemies, Sir!" Murphy complained and received a loud murmur of assent from the other assembled Police Officers.
"Ah! You must be Sergeant Murphy and that must be your partner, Sergeant Fellowes – the, so called, 'Fusion Cops'!" The Superintendent said dryly. "Now this Hit Girl and her partner in crime, Kick-Ass, are a scourge on society. They exhibit what is bad about society. They began their criminal acts in the City of New York and then they came here to do the same – that will not be tolerated. They are criminals. Vigilantism is a crime!"
"But, Sir..." Murphy persisted.
"No, Murphy! While some may say that their being here is making the City safer, others know, full well, that they make things worse. Hit Girl is a mass-murderer of immense proportions, hell-bent on revenge. Kick-Ass, while his reasons for being may have been genuine, he ultimately became a menace to society." There was a murmur of anger, which rippled through the Police Officers at those words. "I will clamp down on these vigilantes! Now, why is that you two cannot be like Lieutenant Williams? This Officer is a glowing example of the calibre of Police Officer that we need in this City. He fought against these outrageous vigilantes, in New York City and came here to help us fight them in Chicago."
Marcus looked at the two Sergeants, trying to keep a straight face.
"Lieutenant Williams would never have anything to do with these damn vigilantes – he would never consort with them, like you do. He hates everything about them and everything that they stand for. He would never associate himself with the likes of Hit Girl and Kick-Ass!" The Superintendent said, finally finished.
"I suppose he wouldn't!" Fellowes commented dryly, playing the game.
..._...
The Superintendent studied the two Police Officers as a spider might contemplate a fly caught in her web.
"Lieutenant Williams is standing up the Organised Crime Taskforce – I think that you two should get out of uniform and join him! Maybe you can learn about vigilantism; not to mention why it is such a menace to our City."
"Thank you, Sir – we shall look forward to that!" Fellowes announced.
West Columbia
Marcus was playing this close to his chest.
I almost pissed myself laughing when he told me about the new CPD Superintendent and his view on Hit Girl. Then Marcus wiped the smile off my face – the new Superintendent was coming to visit his star Lieutenant and I was expected to attend.
"What!" I blurted out. "Have you finally lost your fucking marbles?"
"Mindy, it is important – I couldn't exactly say no, could I?" Marcus asked reasonably.
"But he's the top man!" I growled. "And by the sounds of it – the enemy!"
"Well, you and Megan will just have to be perfect little ladies for an hour or so!" Marcus insisted.
"Like Mindy could ever be a perfect little lady!" Megan quipped.
"You enjoy breathing? You want to reach puberty?" I growled back, scowling at the smirking, little bitch.
"Girls!" Marcus said loudly to get our attention.
"Yes, Marcus!" We both responded, smiling innocently.
"Oh dear – I'm having second thoughts, now!" Marcus said, grimacing at Paige, who just laughed at Marcus.
The following evening
Saturday
West Columbia
Marcus answered the door, when Superintendent Trevor Howards arrived.
"Welcome, Sir. This is my fiancée, Paige and her daughter, Megan, while this is my daughter, Mindy."
I smiled uncomfortably and shook hands with the senior Police Officer. We all went through to the living room and sat down – I was glad that this was only a short visit and not a meal. Dave had thought it very funny, when I had told him what was happening. He also suggested packing, as no doubt I would end up killing the Chicago Police Department's new Superintendent! I swore to Dave that I would behave, but I didn't think that he believed me.
..._...
After the usual bullshit covering the first forty minutes, the senior Cop turned to me.
"I hear that your wealth is due to your father's acquittal, of all wrong doing, in New York. A fine example of a real Police Officer, you must be very proud of him. I assume that an upstanding Officer, like your father, would never have anything to do with these vigilantes, such as Hit Girl. He must have been a real inspiration to you, Mindy."
"Oh, he was. He taught me everything that I know," I replied, fighting desperately to keep a straight face. "I would not be the woman I am today, without him."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Megan about to explode as she tried to stop herself laughing. Marcus looked uncomfortable too.
"It is so very good to know that you and your family are so anti-vigilante. Truly a breath of fresh air!" The superintendent commented. "Marcus has told me all about how you teach self-defence to women and children at your training centre. I am impressed, especially as I hear that you give discounts to members of the CPD."
"Not a fucking word!" Marcus breathed as he closed the door.
Paige, Megan and I just all burst out laughing!
"Sam and Paul did the exact same thing when that asshole left the District!" Marcus said. "You should have heard what Voight had to say about him; he was scathing."
"I thought my sides were going to explode!" Megan said when she finally finished laughing.
..._...
I left Marcus and walked home.
"We need to leave town?" Dave asked. "I heard no sirens, so I assume our secrets are safe!"
"Dickhead!" I breathed, pushing past the grinning asshole.
Well I had the measure of the new problem. It looked like we would need to watch our backs from the Chicago PD, now. It shouldn't be too bad, as Marcus was leading the taskforce that was hunting us! However, if Marcus did not accomplish anything – he would be replaced. I had some planning to do; I had to protect my team.
I called everybody in to the Safehouse, for the following morning.
The next morning
Sunday
Safehouse F
I gazed at my team.
Kick-Ass, Shadow, Jackal, Battle Guy, Hawk, Mist, Trojan, Wildcat and Splinter. Not to mention Medic and Lynx.
"Times are changing!" I began. "The City is now against us – we are the enemy, as far as the CPD are concerned. Nevertheless, that does not mean that we hurt Cops – we do not hurt uniforms, period!"
For once, there was no joking; everybody was taking this change of events seriously. I was glad they were, too; the possibilities scared the crap out of me! We would be looking over both shoulders for an enemy we could kill and an annoyance that we could not.
We would come under a lot of scrutiny as we were hunted by friend and foe, alike. Our security would have to be ramped up. Everybody had to be extra careful. I had already spoken with Marty and he was increasing physical and electronic security for all the Safehouses and our homes. We would not be able to cruise around on our motorcycles, as we once could.
Since coming to Chicago, and setting up Fusion; we had moved out of the shadows and were on public view. People felt safe when they saw us. Now, we needed to return to the shadows, where I had learnt my trade. Of everybody in front of me that morning, only Dave knew about keeping to the shadows. The rest were too new to the game, except maybe for Marty – he knew about the seedier side of being a vigilante.
..._...
"Now, you guys need to learn some counter-surveillance techniques. We will be restricting access to the Safehouses, to preserve their anonymity. This place will be stocked up, in case of siege. You will all come under scrutiny, as the CPD hunt us down. You must resist the urge to do anything which might attract attention to yourselves and thus risk your most prized possession – which is?" I asked.
Megan was jumping up and down as if she was on a pogo stick!
"Yes, Wildcat!"
"Our secret identities," Megan said seriously.
"Very good, Wildcat!"
"Your secret identity is yours and yours alone. Nobody must be able to link your vigilante identity to your secret identity. With a group like hours, just one person being identified could lead directly to others," Dave explained. "This also means that changes need to be made to our daily habits. People should never see us all together, in case people start to join the dots. Continue with your daily lives, go to school – do everything that a normal person would do."
"Think about what you do, before you do it. Speak to Dave, Marty or myself, if you are concerned about security in any way! There cannot be any lapses – I don't want any of you to be put away for life – or worse," I continued. "If you are chased by the Cops – evade, do not get into a fight. We cannot risk a Cop being injured – we still have friends in the CPD, but they may be forced to turn against us if we hurt Cops."
"Remember – never use your Fusion identity when out of your combat suits. Conversely, when in your combat suits, never use real names. It is a very good habit to get into; it just takes one slip... We are sorry to scare you like this, but we need to get the message across; especially to our younger and newer members."
That night
West Ridge
"Today really sucked!"
"It had to be done, Mindy."
"I know, Dave, but..."
Everything that we had built was now in danger. All because of some self-righteous asshole! We would survive and Fusion would continue. Hit Girl and Big Daddy had survived for years in the shadows. Kick-ass had also survived our early time in Chicago, with me.
"You have taught them all well, Mindy – as you taught me. We have survived a lot of shit, together. If somebody ever wrote a story about us, this event would be a long way away from the end of Kick-Ass and Hit Girl!"
"If anybody ever did write a story about us – it would have to be 'M' rated!"
"Why? Oh..." Dave tailed off as I dropped the last item of my clothing onto the floor.
"I think we could do better than an 'M' rating!" I teased, my breathing getting heavier as I saw something rising steadily, in my fiancée's shorts.
"I agree!" Dave commented, as his lips met mine and I felt a tingling sensation down being my belly button and then I gasped as a finger found its way into the very warm and very damp region, between my legs.
I gasped, louder than I had expected.
There was a banging on the door.
"Hey! Can't you two fuck quietly?" Josh growled, angrily.
"Noisy cunts!"
"You can talk 'screamer'!" Josh commented with a chuckle as he closed and locked the door.
"Let's out scream them, then!"
Josh shrugged off his shorts and crawled onto the bed before running his fingers down my stomach and between my legs. His other hand massaged my chest, as only he could. Damn, Josh knew where to put his hands and what to do once his hands got there. The tingling turned into electric shocks – Josh said I was sensitive; maybe I was!
"Oh God!" I screamed.
Authors Note: At this point, you are strongly advised to read the story: Knife Edge, for the next events in the Forsaken timeline. You can ignore the story, but events in Knife Edge will be referred to from time to time. Chapter 160 of Forsaken continues three weeks after the end of this chapter (Chapter 159). For those who have already read Knife Edge, changes and updates have been made to that story to bring it into line with Forsaken.