Author's Note:
'West Ridge' refers to the home of Dave and Mindy as that is the part of Chicago where they live.
'Morton Grove' refers to Chloe's home as that is the part of Chicago where she lives.
Four days later...
Friday, July 11th
Morning
West Ridge
The day was going to be really crappy, Mindy figured.
She could not believe it; she had fucked up, big time!
"You missing something?" Dave asked as he came in from the garage, lugging several large bags.
"Yeah...," Mindy replied, slightly distracted.
"Might these help?" Dave asked, throwing a small packet at Mindy and reading off of an identical packet. "'The Perfect Tampon for: A teen looking for high performance protection to help keep her in the game'!"
"Fucking asshole! But thanks, I forgot to get any," Mindy replied and felt herself blushing. Okay maybe the day wasn't going to be so bad, she considered.
"I really hope I didn't just hear Dave reading from the back of a tampon packet," Chloe said, following Dave in from the garage.
"Hi Chloe! Unfortunately, you did," Mindy admitted with a grimace.
"Ugh!"
"Well, Little Miss Bleeds-a-lot forgot to get any," Dave said happily. "I have the dates marked on my calendar in scarlet."
"You need any?" Mindy asked Chloe, ignoring Dave.
"No thanks, I have plenty," Chloe replied, blushing a little.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot, you two are in sync," Dave said. "Bloody nightmare!"
"You wanna kill him?" Mindy asked Chloe. "I really can't be bothered."
"Nah! Today sucks enough," Chloe replied and Mindy scowled as he evil asshole just started laughing.
"You hungry, girl?" Mindy asked.
"Definitely!"
Mindy proceeded to cook some bacon and eggs for them all. Dave had commented that she was actually getting quite good at it and the eggs were actually edible. 'Asshole!' had been Mindy's response to that comment. At least Dave knew not to antagonise his girl when she was cooking with a knife close to hand.
Mindy dumped a full plate in front of Chloe and served up another two plates for herself and Dave.
"Hey, asshole!" Mindy called. "Breakfast is ready!"
..._...
Once breakfast was completed, they settled down for a peaceful morning as Chloe and Mindy both felt sore.
Dave, of course, had no sympathy for either of them as usual.
There were times, Mindy conceded, that being a teenager and being a woman sucked big time!
That same time
Morton Grove
"Hey, where's Chloe?" Commander Ryan Bennett asked his wife.
"With friends," Dr Cathy Bennett replied. "She took Curtis, reluctantly."
"Oh, okay. I thought I might spend some time with her today," Ryan replied.
"You'll have plenty of time. Anyway, I need to talk to you about something, Ryan"
"Oh, am I going to like it?"
"Probably not, to be honest. You remember what happened to us, all those years ago?"
"I'm not likely to forget it, Cathy! Why?"
"You've seen that vigilante video that's been going around, recently?" Cathy asked delicately.
"Oh, the Chicago bank thing? Spread around the ship, like wildfire. Everybody loves those guys and seeing them in action, well...," Ryan responded excitedly.
"What did you think of them?" Cathy asked innocently.
"The two young women were really good. That Shadow is something else, though; most of the crew think that she's really hot. And that Hit Girl, wow!" Ryan replied enthusiastically.
"Shadow didn't seem just a little bit familiar?" Cathy prompted.
"Not really, why should... No... You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Ryan exclaimed as comprehension dawned. "You telling me that Shadow is..."
"...our daughter; our thirteen-year-old daughter," Cathy confirmed. "Chloe is Shadow."
"Fuck me!"
Cathy frowned at Ryan.
"I mean... I... Part of me says: 'Fuck!' and another part of me says: 'My daughter is being trained, by the best!', but I keep coming back to: 'Fuck!'. I am completely astounded!" Ryan admitted finally.
"Tell me about it!" Cathy admitted.
"Screen grabs have been printed out, by the tens of dozens, and are probably in every rack onboard. I don't even want to think about what those young kids are doing with that picture at night. Damn, I can't exactly order them taken down, can I? I can't exactly say that it's my own daughter they're in love with; she'd be behind bars in seconds."
"Talk about a problem child," Cathy said.
"The young vigilante that I have been cheering on and saw kill a man, was my own daughter," Ryan muttered incredulously.
That same afternoon
West Ridge
Chloe and Mindy were sparring.
They were being cheered on by Abby and Curtis. Marty was out and Dave was upstairs.
"You're getting slow, Mindy," Chloe goaded.
"In your fucking dreams, short ass!"
"Come on down, guys," Mindy heard Dave say and she looked up.
"Hi, Commander, Dr Bennett," Mindy said with a wave.
"Hello Mindy," Dr Bennett said.
"Hi, Mindy, kids," Commander Bennett said. "Just thought I'd pop over to see how my little girl was doing, er, with her Aikido."
"She's doing very well, Commander," Mindy replied.
"Well, I thought I'd try her out," Commander Bennett challenged.
"You can try, Commander," Chloe replied, and Mindy left the mat as the Commander dropped his jacket and kicked off his training shoes.
"Give me your best shot, Chloe," Commander Bennett said.
..._...
A little over five minutes later, Commander Bennett was flat on his back with Chloe's knee in his chest, pinning him in place.
"You had enough, Daddy?" Chloe asked sarcastically.
Commander Bennett nodded, and Chloe let him stand up.
"Okay, let's see what you can do now...," Commander Bennett said, with a smile. "...Shadow!"
"Okay... What...! What did you say?" Chloe blurted out after a short hesitation when the penny had dropped.
Mindy grinned. 'Oh! Dr Bennett has told the Commander...,' she thought. 'This should be good.' She looked over at Dave who just shrugged.
"I've seen you in action, Shadow... I will admit, you are very good."
"You're not gonna let me go out again, are you?" Chloe said angrily, glaring at her father who did not flinch.
"I know you think I'm too hard on you Chloe, but I just don't want you to make the same mistakes your ,om and I made," Commander Bennett replied.
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before, Commander!" Chloe shot back insolently, before she turned away from her father.
"Chloe, look at me," the commander ordered.
Chloe turned on reflex and glared at her father.
"Chloe, when I heard about your, er, extra-curricular activities, I was a little shocked."
"To put it mildly!" Dr Bennett confirmed as she received a glare from her husband.
"Looking again at the bank footage, I was proud of you, very proud," Commander Bennett said as he looked directly at Chloe.
Chloe just blinked. Mindy did not think she had ever heard something like that from her father. Up until that moment, Mindy had had the distinct impression that they did not get on, not like a father and daughter should.
"Thank you, Daddy," Chloe said happily, giving her father a big hug and Mindy could see tears in her eyes.
"I love you, Chloe, and I always am very proud of you. You really have improved, and I suppose I have you to thank for that. Hit Girl..."
Mindy did not miss a beat; she had expected the commander to join the dots.
"You said you wanted Chloe to learn some new skills."
"I did, didn't I, and I suppose I can't complain; she is learning from the best."
"Mindy actually felt herself blushing.
"Daddy, do you want to... Mindy can we?" Chloe asked excitedly.
Mindy smiled. "Commander let's go for a drive," she said.
Safehouse A
Forty minutes later they pulled into Safehouse A.
"Commander, welcome to Safehouse A," Mindy said, getting out of the SUV.
Chloe and her father got out of the SUV and the Commander was looking around, wide eyed. He really liked the Fat Boy and the Ducati.
"I prefer the Fat Boy; sorry Mindy," Chloe stated.
"Not a problem. I can go faster on my own," Mindy grinned.
"So, this is where you train properly?"
"Yes, Daddy. Come on..." Chloe replied, pulling her father towards the armoury.
"Oh wow!" Commander Bennett said as he examined the weapons and blades.
"This is mine," Chloe said and dragged her father over to her combat suit.
"Wow, that is very neat, love the aikidogi and the hakama. Surprised it's not dumped on the floor, like normal."
"Oh, she used to, until I explained to her how much the damn thing cost," Mindy growled, making Chloe blush with embarrassment.
"That is my bō-staff and my Jō, plus my firearms," Chloe said proudly, showing her father the FN Five-SeveN and FN P90 to change the subject.
"You have a P90?"
"I have a P90."
"She has a P90," Mindy confirmed. "Chloe is a crack shot with it, too."
"You look after your team, Mindy," The Commander acknowledged as they headed upstairs.
"Each member of the team has weapons and equipment selected to suit their individual skills and capabilities. Dave has a Glock 17, as he has bulk and strength, he has also had cause to use the H&K 121 that you saw downstairs. Chloe has her FN Five-SeveN, as it is small enough for her hands and has a reduced recoil, that suits her arms and body. The P90 was selected for the same reason. Dave and I use the H&K G36C, when required," I explained, over a coffee. "Kick-Ass' combat suit has heavier armour than ours, mainly because Dave can handle the extra weight, but our combat suits must be flexible enough for Martial Arts, which limits the armour that we can carry. We also have shields that can stop a fifty-calibre round, if called upon."
"Chloe mentioned that you were partners, how does that work?"
"All of us in Fusion are partners; Dave, Marty, Chloe and myself, so far. We look after each other and Chloe has proved herself, on many an occasion. We all trust Chloe with our lives and have done so. Yes, Dave and I are the senior partners and I have been doing this for many years, since I was six. Chloe is also part of our 'inner circle', of which there are only five people, so far. Chloe is now, the third most senior member of Fusion. Operators rank over the Technical Support guys, so to speak. Marty has been with us much longer than Chloe, but with her combat experience, Chloe ranks higher. She may be young, but she can think on her feet as she proved at the bank! I'd complain about her language and complete lack of shame, but I'm not any better," Mindy explained, blushing a bit at the end.
"I am genuinely in awe of your accomplishments here, Mindy. I suppose now might be the best time to tell Chloe that she is now the favourite pin-up girl, in every rack, onboard my destroyer," Commander Bennett said, casually.
"What...! I suppose I should be flattered!" Chloe said, blushing.
"Look, Mindy. Tomorrow night, the whole team, come over for dinner, at our place," the commander offered.
Mindy looked at Chloe, who nodded excitedly.
"Yeah, no problem... Oh, hang on, Marcus arrives tonight; he's my guardian," Mindy said, before adding, "Marcus, he knows all about Fusion."
"Bring him along. We'll have something in common and it'll be nice to be able to discuss my vigilante daughter, with another parent, who has a vigilante daughter," the commander suggested, smiling.
Chloe and Mindy looked at each other and they both cringed at the thought of Marcus and Commander Bennett discussing them.
Updated: June 2024