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Post by skybright on Jun 6, 2006 23:34:31 GMT -5
It was midafternoon and yellow school busses were dotting the curbs of the Long Island suburbs when Daws reached the Rosenstein's neighborhood. A few mothers collecting their children stared in outright disbelief at the felinoid detective strolling down their sidewalks; Daws merely grinned cheekily and tipped her fedora in reply.
One young boy, backpack dragging dejectedly behind him, nearly collided with Daws. He glanced up, wide-eyed.
"Wow." He blinked. "Hey, lady, are you for real? Like a shamus or somethin'?"
Daws grinned. "Sure, kid. 100% genuine made-in-Manhattan private eye."
"Sweeeeeeet." He grinned back, shouldered his backpack, and exclaimed brightly "Wait'll I tell Manny!" And he bolted.
Daws raised one eyebrow, shrugged good-naturedly, and turned the corner onto Sid's block.
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 6, 2006 23:40:18 GMT -5
Consuela Ramirez was in the act of taking the trash out to the curb when she saw the furred-and-trenchcoated figure of Regina Dawson coming up the sidewalk. The maid muttered a prayer in Spanish.
"What bad news you bring to Mister Rosenstein this time?"
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Post by skybright on Jun 6, 2006 23:42:50 GMT -5
Daws raised her eyebrows and gave a somewhat overexaggerated longsuffering sigh. "Y'know, Consuela, there's always the possibility I might just be dropping by for a friendly visit."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 6, 2006 23:50:09 GMT -5
From Consuela's expression, Daws might have just suggested that she could be Sid's twin sister.
The maid sighed and shrugged broadly. "The children have just come home from school, and Mister Alex is making dinner. He and Mister Rosenstein will be leaving soon for the Paragon Club, so if you want to talk to them, I guess you had better do it now." She stretched out her arm, rather needlessly pointing the way up the front steps.
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Post by skybright on Jun 6, 2006 23:55:45 GMT -5
Daws grinned wryly. "Don't worry, Consuela. I promise nothing catastrophic is going on -- not tonight, anyway."
She bounded up the front steps and opened the door, knocking against the doorframe as she called out "Anybody home?"
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 7, 2006 0:03:37 GMT -5
It was Tara Rosenstein who approached the door, peering somewhat nervously at the detective who had questioned her after her mother's murder.
"Um... hi." She stepped back, allowing Daws inside. Holly and Caleb were both sitting on the floor, propped up against the couch as they watched cartoons, but they looked up in undisguised amazement as Daws walked in.
"Don't stare!" Tara snapped at them in a pre-tantrum tone of voice, planting her hands on her hips. After becoming a mutant with a physical manifestation herself, she took that issue very personally.
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Post by skybright on Jun 7, 2006 0:08:27 GMT -5
"It's okay, Tara," Daws said quickly, "I don't mind it -- not from kids, anyway." She shrugged out of her coat and fedora and waved at the two younger Rosensteins.
"We never exactly got introduced," She said. "I'm Regina Dawson -- Daws. I'm a friend of Alex and your Dad."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 7, 2006 0:22:41 GMT -5
Tara sighed at her siblings, then turned to Daws. "I remember you, Ma'am, so I guess you know me. I'm Tara. This is my sister Holly, and my brother Caleb."
"Hi," Holly said shyly. Caleb simply continued to stare up at Daws, with a seven-year-old's earnestly curious wonder.
"Did I hear somebody..." Sid's voice drifted in from the kitchen, and then he appeared in the doorway, smiling as he saw the detective. "Hiya, Daws. Hey, Foxy, better set another place at the table for dinner!" he called over his shoulder.
Alex appeared behind Sid, looking over the shorter man's shoulder. Seeing Daws, his nose twitched, and he squirmed past Sid to move toward the hallway.
"Be right with you... Allergy meds..."
Sid chuckled grimly and shook his head. "We still haven't got him cured of that. Uh... come on into the kitchen, I guess." He gave his children a stern look. "You three just stay here, okay? I gotta talk to the lady."
They retreated to the kitchen, joined a moment later by a medication-fortified Alex--and by Miriam, who looked as if she had just woken up.
"So what's happenin', Daws?" Sid asked for all of them.
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Post by skybright on Jun 7, 2006 0:29:34 GMT -5
Daws leaned one hip against the kitchen counter and crossed her arms. "What's happening is that Tiernan is royally, royally ticked off." She couldn't help a self-satisfied grin, "And his whole organization's feeling the ripples from what we did. We hit a nerve, but good."
She sobered. "Of course, Tiernan's not takin' it sitting down. And therein lies our problem." Daws glanced worriedly at Miriam.
"Someone delivered a letter to Tiernan this morning, taking credit for the truck job -- and vowing not to stop until Tiernan does.
"They signed the letter 'Miriam Van Linden.'"
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 7, 2006 0:36:12 GMT -5
Miriam gaped. "What?"
"Who'd do something like that?" Alex asked, in a tone of astonished indignance.
Sid leaned against the wall and folded his arms, with a grim, crooked smile that was not at all happy. "Take a guess, Foxy."
"Vance," Miriam breathed. "But... why?"
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Post by skybright on Jun 7, 2006 0:44:50 GMT -5
"I dunno -- but I think I can take a pretty good guess." Daws scowled and lashed her tail.
"When that warehouse first blew up Tiernan said the work reminded him of a former employee -- and by 'former', he meant 'deceased'." Daws scratched absently behind her ear.
"I didn't think much of it at the time -- we were too busy figurin' what we'd do in response -- but I thought it through later, after we'd met the Grenadier. There were gaps in Vance's record, the funny-shaped gaps that can turn up when people go underground.
"That, plus Vance's hatred for Tiernan, got me wondering; so I asked a few more questions of Tiernan this morning, to try and satisfy my curiousity."
Daws shrugged. "The description Tiernan gave of that 'ex'-employee more or less exactly matches what little we know about Vance. I think that's the reason your name ended up on Tiernan's desk this morning, Doc.
"I think our Major Vance is a ghost -- and I think he wants to stay that way."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 7, 2006 0:55:18 GMT -5
"Well, what business does he have dragging Miriam into it?" Alex grumbled. "He's hiding behind a woman. That's just cowardly!"
"It makes sense, though," Miriam said quietly, her weary gaze focused on nothing. "Tiernan's after me already. He knows I'm alive, and that I had something to do with getting my parents out of his way. The more he's focused on me, the less risk there is for the rest of you who are doing the real fighting."
She gave a mirthless, unsteady chuckle and glanced at Daws. "You said I was a symbol. It looks like Vance has decided to make it official." Her voice became faint as she added, "And maybe it's time for me to play the part."
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Post by skybright on Jun 7, 2006 1:00:57 GMT -5
Daws frowned. "I guess I can't argue with that logic, Doc -- so long as you don't try and follow it anyplace where you'll end up getting yourself killed. Tiernan's got all his goons on high alert lookin' for ya -- it's more dangerous for you out there now than it ever has been. Still," she shrugged. "I don't guess it'd hurt the resistance any to have a name they can get behind."
She examined the claws of her left hand and added ominously "Doesn't mean I'm not gonna have some choice words for Major Vance the next time I see him."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 7, 2006 1:07:54 GMT -5
"That goes double for me," Alex remarked, and Sid nodded morosely.
Miriam sighed and perched herself on a barstool. "Maybe this is the only value I've got. I tried to fight last night; I failed. But if my name can have a meaning in all this, at least that's something."
"Don't talk like that, Doc," Sid objected gruffly.
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Post by skybright on Jun 7, 2006 1:13:44 GMT -5
Daws shook her head. "Doc, the resistance would'nt have happened without you. Tiernan'd still be killin' innocent people left and right -- only he'd be getting away with it, with nobody at all standing up against him. And we'd all just be letting him do it -- without you. Besides,"
She hopped up on a barstool herself and touched Miriam's shoulder. "You're my friend, Doc. If that ain't value, I dunno what is."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 7, 2006 1:25:18 GMT -5
Miriam smiled ruefully and patted Daws' hand on her shoulder. "You don't know what that means to me, Daws. Friends are about all I have left to hold onto."
Alex frowned mildly. "Don't worry too much about Miriam, Daws. She's a little punchy. Even with those pills Doc Ollivard gave her, she's only been getting patchy sleep."
"I'm fine," Miriam protested demurely.
Sid scratched his jaw. "We heard from Henry earlier. Looks like Vance got the... you know... over to his place okay. So if they got any families, maybe ya better have 'em go pay their last respects. Anyway, Henry wants ta know... well, what to do with 'em."
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Post by skybright on Jun 7, 2006 1:32:10 GMT -5
Daws winced. "I'll have Father Rick talk to their families. Family, I guess. Karel only had Georgi, and he was there; and Murph Donovan lived alone. I guess that just leaves . . ." She broke off and shook her head. "Padre'll know how to handle it."
She ran a hand through her hair and added "Which kinda brings me to my next point. When I said Tiernan had all his people lookin' for you, Doc, I kind of missed one. He's taken me off your case -- for the time being, anyway. Wants me lookin' into a mayoral candidate named Cole -- so I might be a little scarce for a while."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 7, 2006 1:38:08 GMT -5
Sid frowned. "You mean the Cole who's been preachin' mutant rights when all the other candidates'd be just as happy to put 'em in concentration camps? I'd have figured he'd be the last guy Tiernan'd be worried about."
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Post by skybright on Jun 7, 2006 1:43:47 GMT -5
Daws shrugged. "Tiernan met with him earlier today, to offer his 'support' -- that's lingo for 'buyout', naturally. Said things went swimmingly at first, but then Cole came down with a headache and got . . . less cooperative.
"He wants me to dig a little deeper on Cole, to see if he'll play ball with Tiernan or not." Daws shrugged again and rubbed her neck. "I figure I'll just end up finding a lot of unpleasant stuff that'll cause me to lose my already-shaky faith in politics -- but hey," She half-grinned, "It beats explaining to Tiernan why I still haven't turned up Miriam Van Linden's whereabouts."
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Post by Jordanna on Jun 7, 2006 1:48:15 GMT -5
Miriam winced. "Be careful, Daws. It scares me every time I think of you having to face that monster."
"Amen to that," Sid muttered.
Alex attempted to shake off the vague gloom that had descended. "You'll stay for dinner, won't you, Daws? We're having... um..." The tips of his ears pinkened slightly, and he admitted sheepishly, "Tuna casserole."
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