Author's Note: Hope you liked the 'Advance Preview'!
The next morning
Saturday
Glenview
"What the fuck, is 'The Fusion Ultimatum'?"
"Damned if I know, Steph!"
"We going on a trip to Europe, Dave?"
"Sure looks like it..."
"Mindy drives a Police Car – that sounds dangerous!"
"Hey! I'm a good driver..."
"Ooh – somebody gets kidnapped; doesn't say who, though... There's a French vigilante?"
"Don't look at me, Steph – I don't write this shit; probably some British nut!"
"Torture and Abby gets pissed – awesome!"
"Our daughter is a tad violent, Dave!"
"Ha – point proven; you hit high speed and scare the shit out of Anne-Marie..."
"Oh dear, Steph – you seem to be in for a lot of pain!" Mindy retorted with a smirk.
"Unlike you, Hit Wimp, I can take it... Another boat?"
"Yacht, Steph, get it right," Dave corrected his daughter.
"Mega-yacht – get it right - Dave!" Mindy insisted.
"Sorry, Mum! Looks like you sink us, too... On no, somebody dies; maybe more than one... You have a lot of sex – let me be the first to say: ewww!"
"You get revenge..."
"Where?"
"France, I think..."
"No – in the story..."
"Down there, near the end... probably around Chapter 30 or so."
"Cool – I can live with revenge . . . and closure – I like the sound of that."
"Sounds a lot of fun..."
"Sounds expensive, Mindy..."
"Always the voice of defiance, Dave – we've got Stephanie's swear jar..."
"Fucking bitch!"
"Stephanie! Dollar, jar..."
. . . and back to the real story . . .
Saturday morning
Safehouse F
I glared at the three youngsters who stood defiantly before me – two seven-year-olds and a thirteen-year-old.
We were standing in the armoury at the Safehouse. I smiled over at my new trainer before speaking.
"Welcome to Vigilante Elementary School!" I began. "I am going to leave you three in the very capable hands of my new instructor – you will follow all her instructions, to the letter! Any violations and you will not be allowed to train... All three of you will start at the bottom and work your way up, understand?"
"Yes, Mindy," Nightmare replied.
"Yes, Mom," Ravage added.
"Yes, Hit Girl!" The other one offered.
"I'll pass you over to your instructor, then – they are all yours, Foxtail!"
The fourteen-year-old girl was perfect for the task. She had an enormous amount of knowledge stashed away in her head and I had three fresh minds that needed filling. I wanted to show Saoirse that I trusted her and what better way to do that, than placing her in charge of my very own kids!
..._...
"Okay, shitheads – time for some work! Nightmare, Rogue and Ravage – forget any pre-conceptions you may have had about becoming a vigilante, an assassin, or some superhero. I will teach you the easy way and if that doesn't work – then it will be the hard way and you won't like the hard way. Hit Girl says that as long as you can walk and breathe when it is time for you little kiddies to go home, any other injuries are allowed!"
"What?" Rogue exclaimed.
"Rogue – one lap of the Safehouse – I did not say you could talk!"
Rogue did not move.
"Maybe two laps will remind you to keep your big trap shut and to follow orders!"
"Mom!"
I smirked and walked out of the armoury, ignoring Anne-Marie.
"Three laps..." Came Saoirse's Irish lilt.
"Jeez!"
My daughter ran past, throwing a dirty look over her shoulder, directly at me – I stuck out my tongue and laughed.
..._...
"You sure you want people like Saoirse and me training those three?" Stephanie asked as I climbed the steel steps. "Our training methods may be a little severe..."
"You forget, I had you training with real bombs next door and butt naked!" I reminded Stephanie as we both watched Anne-Marie on her second lap around the Safehouse. She was being jeered by those on the mat – Megan, Curtis and Tommy.
"Put that finger away and do a fourth lap!" I called down to my youngest daughter and grinned at the scowl which formed on her face.
"So, how did the first morning go?" I asked the three kids.
"I don't really know – I spent most of the morning doing laps around the goddamn Safehouse!" Rogue growled.
"I know," I replied with an evil smirk. "Sixteen wasn't it?"
"Fifteen!"
"Well, you still have one more to do then..."
Rogue was learning fast, as she said nothing but just turned around dejectedly and began jogging around the Safehouse.
"Ravage managed two laps and Nightmare managed six," Foxtail reported.
"Anybody ready to quit?" I enquired.
"No chance!" Nightmare replied and I could see fire burning in her eyes – good.
"I'll let you know..." Ravage added.
After lunch, they had another session.
Anne-Marie had calmed down and was not misbehaving so much. I was impressed by Saoirse and her teaching; she was very good at it. I took a moment to sit in on the lesson that she was giving in the briefing room.
A not-very-amused Joshua was standing before the three younger kids. Megan and Stephanie were smirking at the back of the room and giggling quietly as Saoirse lectured away, using Joshua for her demonstrations.
"... There are certain points on the body – both male and female – which you can use as targets: the groin..."
Even I laughed when Saoirse smacked her hand against Joshua's crotch – without warning!
"... Works with the girls too... Stand up you damn idiot! The kneecap can be stomped on, or kicked sideways to disable the legs..."
Joshua was kicked, gently, in the side of his left knee, causing him to sink to the carpet. I saw him grimacing, but he gamely continued to play the game. Stephanie and Megan were almost unable to control their laughter, which was also getting louder.
"... Punch here..."
Joshua was struck in the armpit and he yelled out in pain.
"... Hit the nose..."
"Fuck off, bitch!" Joshua growled, fending off the inbound punch.
"You can also slap the ears..." Josh growled, slapping Saoirse around her ears, which then provoked a swift response.
"A quick strike into the adam's apple is debilitating too..." Saoirse added with a grin as Josh coughed gently and rubbed his throat. "Poke out the eyes – very painful... The instep of the foot and toes are also good targets..."
Saoirse grabbed Joshua's left leg, again without warning and he fell to the carpet with a thud and a foul stream of oaths. I was certain that Megan and Stephanie were going to piss themselves by this point, they were laughing so hard.
Mind you, I was a little more concerned with controlling my own bladder as I laughed.
I had not had such a fun day in a long time.
I was grateful to Mindy for giving me the chance and being placed in charge of training her kids had not gone unnoticed. Rogue was just that – rogue! She submitted to her punishments though and I knew from experience that she would always cause trouble, never mind; I had plenty of punishments available. Mindy had told me to be harsh, not soft – they had to learn that what they were getting into was both dangerous and unforgiving.
Stephanie and I had talked about how far we could go – Stephanie had simply suggested no visible bruising!
Joshua was a laugh and he had gamely volunteered to be humiliated by me, but as I understood it, that was what the Brit was like. Were all Brits nuts? Stephanie and Megan had been a minor distraction, pissing themselves with laughter, but I had managed to ignore them – even Mindy had laughed at Joshua's antics!
"I need the bathroom!" Megan yelled out and jumped off the chair before she ran towards the bathroom on the other side of the Safehouse – she giggled most of the way over there!
"Me, too!" Stephanie added and followed Megan.
It was a very different atmosphere than I was used to – even school had been strict. I was able to learn to laugh again, something I had not done much of for many months. They were all friendly towards me, despite knowing what I had almost done to Stephanie and Anne-Marie. After a private conversation with my former enemy, Stephanie had confided in me that she also had been stunned by how welcome she had been made by everybody.
I had a feeling that I would be happy working with Fusion.
"I'm sorry about this – it's kind of tradition in Fusion!"
"What is?" Foxtail enquired, looking up at Dave as he handed her an armoured vest.
"I don't like the look of this..." Nightmare added.
"Mom would never hurt us!" Anne-Marie smiled.
"I don't know about that..." Danny commented. "Why are you grinning, big sister?"
"This is gonna be fun!" Stephanie growled as she helped Danny and Anne-Marie with their armoured vests.
"You're gonna love it!" Mindy growled as she walked out of the armoury, her hands behind her back.
She strode out and faced off against the four kids.
"I'd love to say that I hated doing this, but I would be lying!"
With that, Mindy revealed her hands and the pair of .38-calibre pistols they held. She rattled off four rapid shots, two from each hand and the air was punctuated by four gunshots, followed closely by four screams and then four thuds.
"That was evil!" Saoirse laughed as she rubbed her chest.
"It was fun!" Lauren added.
"I hate you so much right now..." Anne-Marie growled as she sat up, rubbing her own chest.
"Awesome!" Danny said with a smile. "Again!"
That evening
Glenview
"I hate to do this, Stephanie, but it is for the good of everybody, as well as yourself."
"It's not fair; everything was going so well, and I thought you loved me!"
"That is why it must be done... I know it will be hard, very hard, believe me, I know."
"It's fucking child abuse!"
"I'd go so far as to agree that while you are a child, you are not a normal child – believe me, I know, I was nine once – and therefore different rules apply to you."
"That isn't fair... But well-reasoned – damn it..."
"Life is not fair, live with it!" Mindy persisted.
"Okay... I'll do it, if only for a peaceful life..."
"We'll ignore your most recent outbursts... But from now on, it'll cost you a dollar – two for the compound ones..." Dave added.
My life would never be the same, I thought, as I glared at the jar on the kitchen side. Why the cunt-fuck did I need a goddamn mother-fucking swear jar, anyway?
Bollocks to it!
"You know, Dave, what she's thinking right now would probably add twenty bucks to the jar..." Mindy chuckled to Dave.
I was tempted to respond, but I decided that my limited cash flow would not allow it.
"Night, sis!"
"I hate her!" Anne-Marie growled from under her quilt.
You could always tell when she was in a bad mood, because she would hide under her quilt with just a small opening for her eyes.
"She's just teaching you to follow instructions..."
"Maybe, but I still hate her!"
I ignored her and headed for my bedroom.
"Anne-Marie hates you, SD..."
Saoirse chuckled.
The following morning
Sunday
"If nothing else, she's gonna be very fit!"
I did not reply, but chuckled to myself as a certain young girl began yet another lap of the Safehouse. Marty grinned and shook his head as he headed back to the Control Centre. It was Stephanie's turn to take charge and I had to admit, she seemed to know what she was doing...
"Quit the little girl giggling – you are here to learn some serious shit, Rogue. If you're too much of a fucking pussy to cope with that, then you can just fuck off..."
"Hey... You can't talk to me like that!"
Anne-Marie was smirking, which seemed to touch a nerve with Stephanie who strode toward her younger sister, who quickly realised that she may have gone too far... Stephanie grabbed her sister by the t-shirt and lifted her off the mat – Stephanie had strong arms, despite her limited stature.
"I'm trying to keep you alive, you little fuck!" She growled. "If you can't handle it, then being a vigilante ain't for you, kiddie... Six laps."
Stephanie dropped Anne-Marie who began to run around the Safehouse, this time with tears of humiliation streaming down her cheeks.
"Faster!" Stephanie called nastily.
..._...
During the break, I found Stephanie brooding in the galley and I knew why.
"You did nothing wrong, Steph."
"I hated doing it, but I knew that it had to be done, Mindy..."
"I know."
"She hates me..."
"Probably."
"She's avoiding me..."
"Probably – meet me in the Command Centre in a few minutes..."
..._...
I found Anne-Marie sulking over by the shield. I held out a hand to her, but she ignored me.
"Come on – we need to talk..."
"Why?"
"Come with me..."
"I'm not talking to that bitch."
I gave up and just picked the girl up – she struggled furiously, but I pinned her and carried her to the Command Centre where Abby released the door for me.
"What's she doing here?" Anne-Marie spat when she saw Stephanie.
"Go ahead, Stephanie."
"I won't apologise for how I treated you, Anne-Marie – not if it will keep you alive. You know what I was. You know what SD was. I know how the game is played and it is not a game... People die. People get hurt. You want to be a part of what we do – you have to take the good with the bad. Pussy footing around will not keep you alive. I love you and that is why I am being so harsh. You go out there unprepared..."
Stephanie stopped and I could see tears in her eyes. Anne-Marie noticed them too and I saw her expression soften and she looked ashamed by her behaviour.
"Sorry, Steph. Sorry, Mom."
"It's not your fault, Anne-Marie – you're not even eight yet. This is a lot to take in for anybody and you are very young."
"But so were you!"
"So I know what I'm talking about and so does Stephanie."
It had finally struck home.
That afternoon
Glenview
My cell rang – it was Trudy Platt.
"Hi, Trudy!"
There was a pause.
"Mindy, you have a problem..."
Chicago Police Department
District 21
I walked in the main entrance and I saw Sergeant Trudy Platt behind the desk – she nodded to her left, behind me.
I turned to come face to face with two very familiar young girls – both were handcuffed to the bench by their right hands. I turned back to Trudy with a confused expression on my face.
"Assaulting a Police Officer and interfering with an arrest."
"Which one?"
"Both charges, for both of 'em," Trudy replied.
"Mindy! Good of you to come down..."
I turned to come face to face with Hank Voight – he did not look very happy.
"What have Chloe and Megan done, now?" I asked.
"They tried to prevent the arrest of another girl..."
I instantly went on guard...
"Not Stephanie..."
I saw Chloe grimace.
"What's going on? Why wasn't I contacted? Where is she?" I was raging.
"The FBI and ATF are interested in her – it seems she's done something very bad..."
"What could she have done?" I demanded. "She's nine-years-old!"
"We have witnesses that have her purchasing weapons – illegal weapons."
"Can I see her?"
..._...
Hank led me to the holding area where I found Stephanie sitting quietly in a cell. She looked upset, but she was not crying. She jumped up as I came into view.
"Mindy!"
"What's going on, Stephanie?"
"I've been framed – it was not me."
I believed her – I had no reason not to.
"Is this the mother?" A new voice asked.
I turned to see two people walking towards Hank and me. One, a man, wore a trench coat. The other, a woman, wore a smart jacket. They both showed their credentials as they approached.
"Special Agent Fornell, FBI."
"Special Agent Keates, ATF."
"Mindy Lizewski, Mother of Stephanie Lizewski."
"Lieutenant Hank Voight, CPD – now we've all been introduced, let's get down to business and you can tell us why you are chasing a nine-year-old girl!"
"I could ask the same thing, Tobias..."
"Gibbs? What are you doing in Chicago?"