by Rita Hestand
She studied him a minute, "If you stay in a low income district for five or six years I forgot which, they pay your student loans off. I may be a Senator's daughter, but he neither supports me nor pulls strings for me. Except…"
"For times like these, huh?"
"I like it that way. We have a deal between us. He lives his life, I live mine. We don't interfere."
"But your father is a Senator, don't tell me he can't afford to pay for your college." Daniel surmised.
She turned up her nose and rolled her eyes. "Why do you people assume you know so much. Look, I support myself. I insist on it. My father doesn't like it, but I told him face to face that this was my life, not his. And he isn't about to lead it for me. Although he does his best trying."
"Well, it was him that wanted you out of this situation, and if what you said is true, then he has no idea what kind of person you really are, does he?"
"Not the slightest."
"Well, I gotta tell you this, it's a good thing he intervened in this because Joe's place is going down and neither you nor the kid need to be there." Daniel told her. "You see Joe isn't a dealer, he's a supplier, which is one of the big guys. He's running with some heavy duty thugs and we want him bad. They've been working on this case for two years and its time we brought him in. But Joe isn't the one we have to worry about. We have to worry about his boss. When Joe goes down, the big bosses will get really messed up and they'll be out for blood. Yours, mine, and Tony's."
"But how would they know me?"
"They won't until they find Tony, then you and I are in trouble too. Right now it's not who we are, it's that we are."
"I see. So what do we do?"
"We lay low, until I have contact with my boss. You'll probably be put in the witness protection program, I'm just guessing."
"Oh now wait. I can't do that. I have a life, a job to get back to." She insisted.
"Maybe even a boyfriend to get back to." He teased.
"Well, sort of…there's this teacher I've been seeing."
"Great. What's his name?"
"Jeffrey Nielson, why?" She questioned.
"We'll have to check him out and you can't let him know where you are, you can't talk to him until this is settled. And I’m sorry, but the minute you took it on yourself to see into Tony's problems, you changed things. And you can't change them back now."
"You've got to be kidding me. This isn't CSI or something is it? I mean, you sound like one of those television cops. I'm a teacher, I don't have anything to do with Joe Beaton and his people."
"No, I'm the real deal, and you are a potential witness."
"Great, just great!" She fumed.
"That reminds me, I better get rid of Tony's phone."
"Get rid of it?"
"They'll be calling him on it, might even have it bugged for all I know. I'll have to destroy it."
"That's not fair!" She frowned.
"Maybe not, but it's a whole lot safer. And the sooner you start taking this more seriously, the better."
Chapter Four
"So how long do we play cops and robbers with you?" She asked later that evening, her tone indulgent.
"As long as it takes, ma'am." He answered as he switched channels to watch the news. So far there was no news on Joe Beaton. He remembered Harry saying it would be close to three weeks before they moved in. But that sure allowed Joe time to deliver his stash, and his guests to grumble about their delays in their life.
"You can go to bed any time you want to, there are TV's in all the rooms."
"Fine, goodnight." She said tightly.
"Night." He followed her down the hallway and checked on Tony. He looked as though he'd had a bath and was curled up on the bed watching TV. At least he was cooperating. He understood the lady's frustration, but since he could do nothing about it, she'd have to learn to cope with the situation, like everyone else. And the sooner she came to terms with the situation, the better. He knew he'd been a little short with her, but perhaps that was the best way to deal with her. Getting involved could be a big mistake.
"Hey Tony, you got free reign of the place as long as you don't try to leave, understand." Daniel told him.
"Okay, fine with me." He muttered. "This is a lot better than home. I'm sure not going anywhere. You know," he paused and sat down for a minute. "She's not so bad. She means well. I felt bad about dad locking her in, but I was locked in too. She shouldn't get so involved."
"Let me ask you something. Have you been through this kind of routine before?" Dan sat back and waited for his answer.
"Yeah, the last time my dad went to prison." Tony's voice wasn't belligerent though. It was as though the kid new the procedure and was onboard with it. Daniel studied him a minute.
"It must be tough, Tony." Daniel told him, realizing the kid had probably been through more than either of them..
Tony shot him a quick glance. "Nah…I feel safer here than at home. I never knew who was gonna come through the door there. Never knew what was going to happen next either. Besides, he can't beat on me here either. So it's no bother to me. This is the best place I've stayed before though." He managed a quick smile. "Everything except electronics."
"I'm sorry about the beatings. I really am. No kid deserves that."
"Not your fault, man." Tony acknowledged.
"Hey, you got a pretty nice teacher there." He remarked. "I hope she settles out, this might take a while, you know."
"Yeah, only I kind of wish she hadn't shown up. Dad didn't like her threatening to call CPS on him. That's when he locked her in." Tony said matter-of-factly. "I think if she hadn't done that, he might've let her go. He usually likes women. But he don't like the CPS people bugging him."
"Well, you are safe now, so don't worry about anything, alright?" But Daniel really liked Tony. He wished he could do something for the kid. He'd obviously been through a lot of bad scrapes and gotten some tough breaks. He seemed a lot older than he was. He guessed you grew up fast in that kind of atmosphere. Daniel knew he couldn't afford to get involved, but that was nonsense, he always got involved, that was his problem. Still, he'd do his best to keep his distance from the pretty little teacher.
"Sure, night."
"Night."
Gabby had gone in the bathroom and drew water for a bath.
Daniel went back to the living room and finished watching the news and weather.
They'd be safe for a while. As long as he got rid of all their contacts and they understood they couldn't let anyone know where they were. That was always the hardest part about this job. The damn cell phones. He went to dig the phone out of his jacket pocket. He'd have to destroy it.
He dumped it in a bowl of water and left it. It wouldn't take long to ruin now.
But just for good measure he smashed it on the counter, causing glass to go everywhere.
Tony came running into the room to see what the noise was and then he saw his phone.
"Oh man, what did you do that for?" Tony griped.
"Well son, we can't make contact with anyone until I tell you. Absolutely no one. Right now the bad guys don't know where we are. Your dad is probably out looking for you and her now. We can't let them know where we are. Understand. A cell phone is dangerous in times like these, but don't worry, the department will reimburse you for it. It will be replaced at no charge to you. But I can't take the chance that your father hasn't already bugged your phone, or put a tracer on it."
"A tracer, on my phone?" He looked surprised. "You think he'd do that?"
"I don't know. Someone else could have done it too. But it's possible and we can't take any chances." He winked. "In his line of business, he might want to keep close tabs of where you are."
Tony eyed him suspiciously now.
"He'll probably think she escaped and took me with her."
"Probably. But I busted the door in, so he'll know someone came in. He's going to be wanting to know who and where we are. I gotta warn you, they will come looking
for us, Tony. And we have to be one step ahead of them."
Tony thought about it a minute. "Yeah, they always do." The kid was so hip to everything it startled Dan a bit.
"Have they ever caught up to you?" Dan asked wondering just how much the kid had been through.
"Pretty much, they traced me and a cop once. They killed the cop that I got away with last time, I managed to sneak out the back window and finally after a few days, I went home. My old man beat the heck out of me. Told me if I ever told anyone he'd turn me into CPS himself."
"Well, let's hope that doesn't happen this time." Daniel told him with a smile.
Tony nodded with a smile, "Yeah. I guess you did have to destroy the phone. Come to think of it, the other cop didn't. Maybe you are right. Maybe he did bug it somehow." Tony stared after him though, as though he might not see him again. Dan almost laughed, but then it wasn't funny.
Tony went to bed, but he was upset about his phone. It dawned on Daniel to check and see if Gabby had one too. She probably did, and he should have already checked it.
"Hey," he called into the bathroom. "You got a phone in there?"
She didn't answer.
He checked her purse, no phone. Desperate to keep things safe, he burst in on her in the bathroom. She was in the tub and she was laying against the back, with her phone on her shoulder.
"Give me that, now!" He barked.
It didn't matter that he saw Christmas when he looked at her, but the damn phone had to go and now.
"Who'd you call?" He growled at her.
"I called my boyfriend." She shouted at him. "Give that back to me."
"Not on your life." He yelled.
"Would you mind getting out of here so I can at least bath?" She bit his head off. "I'm not the bad guy here. I'm a teacher, not a gangster."
"What did you tell him?" He asked as he checked the number.
"I was telling him about Tony…" She began.
"What part of no contact did you not understand?" He frowned at her, and realized he was staring at a beautiful body now.
He turned away.
"Did you give him an address?"
"No, I don't know the address, I didn't see a mailbox, or a house number. How could I?"
"Lady if you botched this up, we are going to have some trouble, and it will be your fault. Now, get this straight, no contact, none, with anyone, until I say so." He ordered her and turned back around in time to see her standing up, reaching for a towel.
She gritted her teeth, "Did you get a super good look!" She cried vehemently.
"More than I wanted to," He lied. "Get dressed, get out of here and get to bed." He muttered and left the room, slamming the door so hard it bounced back open. Then he had an idea. "No, on second thought, come with me."
She waited until he was out of the bathroom then threw on the big fluffy robe she'd found behind the bathroom door.
She came out, drying her face and hair.
He grabbed her arm and drug her with him. He went in Tony's room.
Tony looked shocked to see them. "What's going on, man?"
"Tony, I want you tell her what happened the last time the cops took you."
Tony bowed his head, then looked up at her. Dan hated to put the kid in this position but he had to get it through her thick head. "They were about to bust my dad on drugs. This cop, a lot like him," he nodded toward Dan, "came and took me to a dump of an apartment, where we stayed two weeks. He thought it was safe, but they had caught up to us. They busted the door down, killed the cop and I got out the window just in time, just like the cop told me to do. I went home. But the cop was dead."
Gabby stared at him. "You saw him die?"
"Well, not exactly, but I heard the shot about the time I was crawling out the window. I turned to look, and he was slumped on the couch, all bloody. Later dad said the cop had died. I got to thinking about what Dan told me, and they probably did bug my phone. How else could they find me so easily."
"Oh Tony!" She cried and went to hug him. "I'm so sorry you had to go through something like that."
Dan firmed his lips and looked at her now. "Now do you understand why it's important?" Daniel asked her, his voice going softer at seeing her hug the kid.
"I'm sorry…" She barely glanced at him. "I just didn't realize."
"If you want to stay alive you have to listen to what I tell you. I'm not some comic relief guy. I'm a cop. I'm not into dying yet. So from now on, you are going to do as I say. Got it? All our lives could depend on whether you listen to me or not."
"Okay, you've made your point." She got off the bed and started out the door. "Goodnight, Tony."
"Night ma'am."
Daniel walked off from her his anger festering..
He'd thought he was dealing with some relatively intelligent people, but this girl seemed to completely ignore everything he had just told her. He was so mad it took him half the night to settle down.
It wasn't until morning, when he smelled bacon cooking that he realized he had seen her naked. And was she ever built. He had to somehow ignore that, and that could be his hardest job of all.
He went in the kitchen and she was standing over the stove cooking. Tony was sitting at the bar watching her.
"She's cooking us breakfast," Tony smiled at him.
"I could smell it." Daniel said as nonchalantly as possible.
She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt now. So was Tony.
She turned around to see his huge frown.
He had thrown some old clothes on himself, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.
"I see you haven't gotten over last night's mad. Too bad. Want some breakfast?" She asked in a super cool voice.
"Sure."
"Did you destroy it?" She asked.
"What?"
"My phone, like you did Tony's?"
"Yes, I did."
"You realize how much those things cost?" She frowned now.
"Look, when I tell you something, it is for your own good. And yes, I know what they cost. It will be replaced, I assure you."
"That sounds like something my father might say. We were always butting heads too." She sent him a scowl.
"Well, I'm not your father. And I'm not in the mood to butt heads. You're an adult and I expect you to listen and act like one."
She silently bristled. He could see her hands fisting at her sides. He could see her mouth firming into a tight frown.
"I need to know what you told him?" He tried not to get mad, but she was baiting him for it.
"Just that I had gone to see Tony's dad, and that after I threatened the CPS on him, he locked me in his apartment."
"And did you tell him that someone else came and took you to a new location?"
"Not exactly. I told him the cops had me now." She made a face at him.
Dan swore under his breath. Could the lady do more damage? Why didn't she just call Joe Beaton and tell him where she and Tony were? Dan wanted to turn her over his knee and spank some sense into her, but he tempered his anger. He thought blondes were the bimbo's.
"What's the big deal, no one even knows I date him."
"And you think that kind of information isn't hard to get? Get real. Within one day they can find out all they need to know about you and me." Daniel told her. "Your principle will probably inform them."
"They'd go to her?" Her eyes widened.
"Lady they aren't playing cat and mouse games. Once they know who you are, where you work, you bet they will go to her. And any other person that knows much about you. They could send a kid to find out all they need to know. That's the way these people are. If they need information, they will get it, just like the cops do."
"So?"
"So, if they are on our trail, we'll have to figure out another place, probably not as nice as this to stay in."
"How would you know if they were on our trail?"
"I've told you I'm going to be contacted. From now on, when I tell you something, you better listen. Understoo
d?" He frowned again. "I'm not going to tell you again. This isn't some game we are playing. It could mean yours, his, and my life."
She frowned and turned away.
"Look Gabby," he grabbed her by the elbow and turned her to face him. "As much as this might look like some wild television show, this is for real. And I certainly don't need you doing everything in your power to create problems for me and Tony. So…are you going to keep your mouth shut, or do I need to tape it shut?"
Tony looked at him with a slight grin, "Don't be so rough on her, she's a girl."
Daniel almost laughed, but he nodded, and dusted Tony's head with his hand. "Alright kid. Sorry, but one wrong slip and things could change for the worse. You might just find out how serious they are about finding us."
They sat down to eat and he decided he should give them more instructions before they did something else to screw up the works.
"Look, if anyone comes to the door, you don't answer it. Oh God." He put his hand to his forehead and realized. "Halloween! Well, we just plain play gone. Understand it. No answering the door, or giving out candy. Got that? And no informing anyone what we are doing here or moving outside in any way. You can't even open a window. Understand?"
"Sure, we got it." Tony smiled. "This is kind of like the cops on TV."
"Yeah, except it is serious business. Have you ever met any of your father's business associates, Tony?"
"A couple. Seen even more, but mostly I try not to meet them. The less I know, the better off I am."
"Were they nice people?"
"Kind of reminded me of the Godfather movie."
Daniel rolled his eyes and nodded. "Then please cooperate with me. That's all I ask of either of you."
"I'm sorry I used my phone. Okay. You got an apology, are you satisfied now? I understand, and I won't do it again. I'm not stupid, but I don't like how you manhandle us and make us do everything your way."
"Lady, I've been through this a few times. So has Tony. Assert your independence another time lady. I'm a cop, and this is serious situation. I don't think you realize just how serious. If they catch us, they'll kill me first, if they can, and then it will be up to you to save yourself. Now, I'm not ready to die because you don't want to do things my way. So want to or not, you will, understand?"