Manhattan Mystery (closed)

[DeeperWater]

twelvegaugegirl1989

Erin Clarkson
Age: 21
5'2", 110lbs, shoulder length brown hair (with natural auburn highlights), bright green eyes

http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/files/cat_6173_cd214_country_girl_129.jpg

Anxiety caused Erin's stomach to twist in knots. Her palms were slick with sweat, and her heart was beating rapidly in her chest as she boarded the plane. The plane that would take her away from her beloved wide open spaces of Wyoming and into the heart of New York City.

She had never before been in a city- the largest one she'd ever seen was Salt Lake City- and she hadn't even gone downtown there. She was a simple country girl. Born and raised on the family ranch, never having any desire to leave.

But now, well now she had to. The day before she had received a letter. It was written by a man whom she didn't recognize the name, and it concerned her brother, Jake, who had left the ranch three years before and never returned.

She took it out of her pocket and reread it.

Ms.Clarkson,

Your brother was has been renting an apartment from me for the last two and a half years. I do not have a phone number or anything else for you, otherwise I would be calling. Two days ago, I found his apartment empty, and completely ransacked. I havent seen him since.

I do not know if this is a matter for the police or not, and that is why I have decided to contact you, for you are the only emergency contact he has listed. I do not know if Jake has merely decided to leave town- if so he didn't take his belongings, or if he will be back eventually, but I assumed you would be interested.

Please feel free to contact me whenever you can about what you wish done.
555-5983.
Sincerely,
Tom Hartlove

Erin wasn't sure what was going on but she had the feeling something definitely wasn't right. Sure, Jake had lit out of the ranch years ago and not returned- but he had told them where he was going and why. He hadn't just up and left. Erin had contacted Tom Hartlove and informed him that she would be on a plane the next day to NYC. There she intended to hire a P.I. to get to the bottom of things. She asked him to dig up the name of the best P.I. he could find from New York and have it ready for her when she got there.

Her parents were on an extended vacation in the Bahamas, and she had left them messages on their cell phones, but had decided to take matters into her own hands. Leaving their foreman in charge, Erin had booked a flight, and was on her way.

Laying her head back against the plane's headrest as it bumped down the runway, Erin tried to relax and maybe get a couple of hours sleep. With a sigh she forced her eyes closed, and all thought from her mind, and fell into a deep- if restless, sleep.

 

[DeeperWater]

Dominic Kelly
Age: 25
Height: 5'11", Weight: 180; slightly spiked brown hair and sideburns; a lean, muscular body with more than a few scars in interesting places; brown eyes that have seen to much

http://images1.fanpop.com/images/quiz/28586_1215465687560_266_400.jpg

Prelude:

Seeing as I am a private dick, I hope you will excuse me if I start our story out with a bit of an introduction, in the first person. After all, it is tradition, or at least has been since Marlowe first came on the scene.

My name is Dominic Kelly, and I work for a living, if you can call it work. Mostly what I do is spy on married people shacking up in crappy motels, and snap pictures of them screwing. Sometimes it is a bit more exciting and I am spying on someone to dig up some dirt for a rival, or trying to locate someone's stolen stash. Mostly it is my ass getting sweaty, as I sit on it for hours, waiting for something to happen.

My name is Dominic, after my Mom's old man. He was a butcher in Queens. My last name, Kelly, is Irish, and it belongs to some bum who knocked my mom up, and then ran out on us when I was still sucking down milk the old fashioned way. I ain't seen the bastard since, and would probably shoot, soon as talk with him, if he did show up.

The fact is, I am barely handing on to my crappy apartment and I don't have an office to speak of. I offer my services through an advert in the fucking yellow pages, and meet my clients in a dinner, over a plate of eggs and a cup of joe. When my only sister Lucia's respectable type hubby Tom called me, and said he had work for me, I was fixing a fine dinner of Raman noodles and saltines with peanut butter on them. I hated to put off such a gormet feast, but work if work, and these days safe work is hard to come by.

Rhapsody

Dominic sat on the outside stoop of a crappy brownstone apartment building on a particular crappy street in the Inwood section of Manhattan. The morning sun was harsh on his blood shot eyes, causing him to push his shades up. An old Dominican man, with ebony skin and a quiet shuffle, tipped his hat to Dominic politely, as he past the stoop. Dominic groaned and raised an eyebrow above the frame of his sunglasses. Fucking morning people.

This was a good day for Dominic, at least in terms of attire. He knew that he was supposed to meet a potential client here, so he was pulled out all of the stops. He had clean black jeans, faded wingtips shoes, a cream colored dress shirt (which he had only worn twice since the at wash day, and his brown leather bomber jacket. He fiddled with a New York Giants cap, twirling it around on one finger, as he waited for some dame with a few dimes.

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

Erin was completely awestruck, and lost. Tom had contacted her once again and told that his brother-in-law was a P.I. and willing to see what he could do in order to help her out. He had given her an address where she could meet his brother in law.

Now, she was standing outside of the airport, looking around, completely at a loss for what to do. She saw several people hailing cabs, and tried to study how they did it. She had never had to hail a cab before- had never been in a taxi period.

Finally, an older gentleman must have noticed her having problems and offered to help her out. She was grateful and thanked him profusely once he had flagged one down for her.

She then told the driver the address. He looked in hsi rearview mirror at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You sure you wanna go down to that neighborhood alone? Not much there but broke down houses and broke down people" he said, and Erin's pulse skittered. Where the hell was she going??

"Uhm, yes sir" was her only relpy to the man.

A while later he pulled up in front of a rundown building, and she saw a man sitting on the steps there. He was in black jeans and a cream colored shirt. She couldn't see his eyes for he had sunglasses on, but he had spiky brown hair, as Tom had said his brother-in-law did.

Thanking the cab driver, Erin got out, paid and tipped him and then started to walk over to the guy on the steps. An african-american man, probably no more than 20 years of age let out a cat call.

"Mmm, HEY ma. You wanna come over here and introduce yourself?" he yelled. Erin blushed furiously and quickened her step. She had thought she had dressed appropriately in a pair of dark wash jeans and a form fitting turquoise silk blouse, but not she wondered if it was TOO form fitting.

Ignoring the other man she approached who she thought she was there to meet.

"Umm, excuse me. Are you... uh Dominic Kelly?" she asked him, her voice soft and with a bit of that country accent that Wyoming people had.

 

[DeeperWater]

Dominic looked up from the stoop, into a pair of beautiful green eyes. The dame they belonged to wasn't bad either. Her compact frame was shone to good advantage by a tight greenish top. Dom couldn't remember what that color was called, but he was more interested in the curves behind the color. Still, you couldn't oggle the potential paycheck to much, without scaring her off. He blessed his dark shades as he rose from the stairs, standing almost a head above woman.

As the woman sood nervously waiting for his response, the blush was still fading across her cheeks. She really wasn't from around here. His sister and would have responded to the catcall with a raised middle finger, a shouted suggestion of some anatomically impossible act of self pleasuring, or if the offender was cute, a roll of her eyes and hips.

Her accent wasn't Northern and it wasn't like the Southern accents in the movies. She looked clean scrubbed too. He wondered if she was from Iowa or something. The sort of frails he associated with went in heavily for make up, big hair and chewing gum. They ate pasta dinners on Sundays, after mass, got their nails done on Thursdays at Uncle Wong's and ordered their pastrami sandwhiches on rye with a pickle and chips. This lady looked more like the Baptist church picnic attending, fried chicken eating, quilt sowing sort.

Dominic was sure that this lady was in the wrong state, in the wrong city, on the wrong island and in the wrong neighborhood. She was like a Thanksgiving turkey, all wrapped up for some bangers to haul home with them. In other words, she was trouble. If she did not survive this little tourist trip, then she would not be around to pay his bill. Days like this, he almost wished he had followed his younger brother Vito into the priesthood. Ministry generally did not involve brawls in alleys, paying off informants or roughing up people for information.

Dom looked down at the woman and held out his hand. "Hey ya, Miss Clarkson, right? Ya, I'm Dominic Kelly. My fee is fifty bucks an hour, plus expenses with two hundred up front, if I take the case." He knew he was being abrupt, but he wasn't running a charity, even for a good looking bird like this one. His old Ford sedan was on it's last legs three years ago and the price of gasoline was forcing Dom to hoof it a lot.

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

Erin was startled by his abrupt introduction. Her big green eyes widened a bit, and her pretty mouth formed a tiny "o" but she recovered quickly. Maybe all people were this... abrupt ... in the city.

"I, uh, appreciate you considering the case. I have to admit I'm extremely worried. And don't worry, I have the money to pay you whatever you ask" she replied to him.

In truth, she had plenty of money. Her family owner one of the largest, and richest, ranches in Wyoming. Money was no problem for them, and probably never would be.

Her hands were sweaty and trembling. Closer up, besides not being able to see his eyes, she was struck by how.. handsome he was. In a rugged, rough around the edges sort of way. The kind of way that made a woman want to fall into his arms, and his bed, and never leave.

She mentally shook the thoughts away. She was here to find out what had happened to her brother. Where he was. Why he was gone. She had no clue. She hadn't been able to sleep the night before because of the worry.

"I... uh... I don't know exactly what your brother-in-law has told you about whats going on. To be honest, he probably knows more than I do" she finally said, managing to get her thoughts in line to at least murmur that sentence.

She suddenly felt over her head. She should have waited to hear back from her parents, her Daddy in particular, but she was afraid if she waited too long that it might be too late. She fervently wished that she had some kind of guidance. She was totally out of her realm. From wide open country spaces to the ghetto of NYC? From living a simple ranching life to trying to get a P.I.'s help? She was clueless; completely lost.

 

[DeeperWater]

"At this point, I don't know much more than you sister, and my brother-in-law wasn't much help. He owns this building and was doing a yearly inspection of his property, but he had never met your brother, that I know of. He's got a few buildings down here." The truth was that Tom wasn't a bad sort, as far as landlords go. He took better care of his buildings than most did, down here. People would but up with quite a lot, to get an apartment that they could afford. There were many dishonest owners who took the rent money, but made any repairs or even drove past their properties.

"Here's what I think. Let's go up to the apartment, and poke around, since we're here." He had wanted to met her at the greasy spoon around the corner, but Tom had arranged the meeting without consulting him. "I won't charge you unless I take the case, but we can look over the scene and see if the neighbors know anything. If it looks like a matter for the police, then we call 'em. If not, we go around the corner and talk out the arrangements over a plate of hash. That O.K. with you Miss Clarkson?" Dominic was already kicking himself. She hadn't blinked at his hourly rate, so he probably could have charged her even more.

His own thoughts made him feel like a heel though. Sure, he needed money, and this dame probably had some, but she was also worried. He knew that look in her big green eyes, and it was fear. It was a look that made him want to hold her in his arms, and tell her that it would be O.K.; to make promises that he might not be able to keep.

It was the look he saw in his mother's eyes, the day that they had lost his sister in the King of Prussia Mall, when they went over to Philly to visit his cousin Dillon. It had taken an hour to find her, and she had said that a man had taken her hand and walked away with her, but that he left her standing in the middle of the food court, after buying her a hot dog. To this day, Dominic did not know who the mystery man had been, or why he had walked off with his sister but then left her standing there. What he did know was that the event had torn his mother's heart out. He didn't like that look in a woman's eyes. Watch yourself, he told himself. Things weren't always what they seemed in this business and he had been fool by more than a few gorgeous, deceitful dame.

OCC: I wasn't sure if I should post us going in, or wait for your response. If you want me to post entering the apartment, I am fine for that, but I did not want to assume any actions for your character.

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

A matter for the police. The words rang over and over again in her head. It made her heart thunder in her chest. She knew something wasn't right. Of course it wasn't, if Jake had left his apartment in total disarray as Tom had said he did. Was Jake robbed and then attacked? Or had he fled the apartment for some reason?

The truth was, Erin didnt know what Jake had been doing for the past three years. She had only spoken to him three times since he had left the ranch, and those had been brief. Her mind flashed back to the day Jake had left.

"I'm tired of this bullshit, Dad!"

Erin had heard her brother shout the words from out in the barn. She had been walking out, getting ready to saddle up and go for a ride.

"Just because this empty piece of land is where you and Mom want to spend your life, doesn't mean that I want to.

Her father had tried to calm his son. Erin had walked into the barn to see Jake smacking their father's hand away and storming out the doors on the opposite side. Her father had stormed off as well, and ten minutes later she had heard the house door slam, and Jake's truck start up and speed down the driveway.

When she had went into the house, her Mom was sobbing at the kitchen table. Her brother had left a note on his bed, and taken all of his clothes and shoved them in trash bags.

The note had read:

Mom, Dad & Erin,
I'm sorry. I can't pretend that this is the life that I want anymore. I've been saving up money for some time, and its time for me to light out. I will let you guys know when I get where I'm going.
Love you all,
Jake

And they hadn't heard from him for nearly three months.

Erin's eyes filled with tears as the memory tore at her heart. Her parents had been devastated, wracked with worry, as had Erin. Her heart had torn as she worried for, and missed her older brother fiercely. Three months later he had finally contacted them and told them he was in NYC, and had found a job. He was fine, and not to worry about him.

Forcing the memories from her mind she looked at Dominic, who she realized with embarrassment, was waiting for her answer.

"Uhm, yes, that sounds fair enough I suppose" she said in a quiet voice as she moved to follow Dominic into the building. She forced herself to focus on the matter at hand, and to not think of all of the negative things that could go on with this situation. She had to focus on one step at a time if she was gonna get through it.

 

[DeeperWater]

Tom wanted the matter handled quickly. There were still three months left on the lease and he did not want the apartment sitting empty, with no rent being paid. If his ******t wasn't coming back, or was simply dead, he wanted to start the process over turning over the apartment, so that he could rent it out again. Jake had listed his sister as his emergency contact, so she was the one he had informed of Mr. Clarkson's vanishing act.

Dom pulled his keys out of his pocket and opened the main door. It lead into a dingy little hallway with a flickering bulb overhead. There were six apartment doors along the wide hallway and at the end was a metal staircase, chasing its tail up into the building. He glanced at the door numbers as they passed by. Most simply had a metal number and a peep hole, but held a small wooden welcome sign and another had a Mexican flag painted on it. Dom was sure that painting the doors wasn't allowed, but that was Tom's problem.

He paused at the bottom of the dark stairwell and looked up. There was a lone emergency light and the stair went up for four flights. There probably wasn't and danger, but this wasn't a good section of town and the dark shadows made him nervous. He didn't want anything to happen to the nice meal ticket.

"Look, I am going to head up. Tom says the elevator is out of commission. You sure you don't wanna stay down here? I can go look myself."

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

Erin followed Dominic into the dingy building. She was appalled that this was how Jake had been living for the past few years, and she didn't understand it. They had money. Lots of it. Why wouldn't he ask for some so that he could get a nice place? Because he wanted to make it on his own- thats why. She knew the answer as soon as she thought of the question.

Jake was like her in many ways. Yeah, she had stayed on the ranch with her parents, but she worked her fingers to the bone daily, earning her keep and keeping the ranch working.

You sure you don't wanna stay down here?

Erin raised an eyebrow at the P.I. and shook her head.

"No, I'm coming with you. I wanna see" she said confidently as she eyed the dark staircase. It gave her the creeps. It was dark up there, really dark. She made sure to stay close to Dominic's heels as he headed towards the staircase. She wasn't scared necessarily, just... cautious.

 

[DeeperWater]

The front door of the apartment was taped shut with electrical tape. Dom pulled a pocket knife out and cut it. The lock had been busted and the door kicked in, by the look of it. Someone had to have been a strong boy to do that. Dom did not look forward to meeting such a person, but there wasn't always a choice, when you took a case. His instincts told him, immediately, that this case was bad news. This apartment hadn't been robbed. It had been searched. The flat screen televison was still in place, but all of the DVDs had been open and spilled out on the cheap brown carpet. The Salvation Army couch was missing all of its cushions and the back had been sliced open. He looked back at his potentail client with an unreadible expression, but the horror on her pretty face spoke volumes.

He turned back around and walked over to the kitchenette attatched to the living room. All of the cheap partical board cabinets were open and the few plates, cups and boxes of sugary cereal were sitting on the counter. The cereal boxes had been ripped open and dumped out. The guy sure had the taste buds of a five year old, when it came to breakfast, and made Dom wonder if he had been smoking pot. An empty baggie, next to the cereal, with a few remnants of its former contents, confirmed his suspicions. The refrigerator stood open, revealing nothing more than a few pizza boxes, half a six pack of beer and a half eaten jar of hot peppers. Dom took one of the half warm beers and popped the top, drinking it as he continued to poke around the apartment.

Miss Clarkson almost ran into him as he turned around, or at least he almost ran into her. He hadn't realized that she had come up behind him. A bit of the beer spilled on his only half way decent shirt, causing him to curse slightly. He set the beer on the counter and moved around her, with a grunted apology, while rubbing his hands over the spreading liquid.

Moving into the bed room, he found an empty laptop docking station, a bare matress with a slashed open pillow, a cheap dresser with the clothing emptied from the drawers, and a half lit Cuban cigar laying on a scorched spot on the orange 70s shag carpet. He picked it up with a bit old fast food napkin, still in his pocket and stared at the label. It looked really familiar, and not in a good way. He turned toward the bedroom door, where the dame was standing. "This don't look good Miss Clarkson. Not good at all."

OCC: forgive any mistakes- writrn on my cell during lunch

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

Erin was in shock as she stared at what was, or had been, Jake's apartment. It was in ruins. Everything was destroyed- not that it was all that good to begin with. It looked to her as if someone had robbed the place. But where was Jake? She followed closely to Dominic as he explored the apartment.

She saw the empty baggy next to the cereal, and even she knew what had been in it. Weed. She was shocked. Surely Jake wasn't doing weed. Her parents had always preached how horrible drugs were. An addiction wasn't anything to mess around with. She watched as Dominic raised a new- but hot- beer to his lips and sipped, with a raised eyebrow.

Hey, who was she to judge what he did?

Then he turned and they collided. Erin gasped as beer spilled onto his shirt, and a little on her arm, but she didn't say a word. Dominic seemed to be taking everything in.

They went in his bedroom next where there was a cigar and a burnt spot in the rug. Erin wrinkled her nose. Her daddy smoked cigars, but she hated them. Dominic picked it up and looked it over and then turned to face her.

He said it didn't look good and her heart stuttered in her chest.

"Why would... who would do this?" she asked. "Jake would never mess with drugs... and why would someone want to wreck his house? I don't get it" she said.

There were tears forming in her green eyes, but she fought them back, refusing to give into them. She would remain strong, even though she had a horrible feeling about everything that was going on.

"What do we do, Dominic?" she asked in a small voice, almost a whisper.

 

[DeeperWater]

Dominic could see the girl trying to be brave, and cursed himself, even as he made his decision. He couldn't leave her alone to deal with this. The police would have to be called, because the apartment was definitely trashed. He could loose his license if he did not call it in. Still, he knew that her brother was in the kind of trouble the police could help with. He knew who had taken her brother, but he did not know yet who had hired that individual and why he was taken.

He stared at her intently as he spoke and put his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "I'll take the case, but there is no us. I don't know yet who ordered this done, but whoever it was is seriously bad news. This isn't Pig's Knuckle Arkansas, or where ever your from. There are some seriously dangerous men behind this, and I need to know that your someplace safe, before I try to find your brother. What we're going to do is find you a nice safe motel and get you settled in. I don't want you around when the police show up. I don't want you one the radar of whoever did this, because if they know who you are, your going to be in just as much danger as your brother is. Your safety is job one, and then I'll find the bastards who did this." Without meaning to, he reached up with the back of a knuckle and wiped a tear away from her eyes.

He did not add that her brother could already be dead. He had to continue to be positive, so that she could keep a hold on her emotions. A pissed of sister throwing rocks at bee hives was the last thing this situation needed. He had already decided to take the empty weed bag, before he left. Sometimes being a private detective was protecting your clients interests, even if you had to break the law a little to do it.

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

Erin's hands were trembling, in fact, her whole body was trembling, but she fought hard to control it. She hadn't realized when she came out here that this was such a serious matter. She had thought- hoped- that maybe Jake had just trashed his own apartment looking for something before he left, but that definitely didn't appear to be the case.

Dominic put his hands on her shoulders and she looked up into his brown eyes. He told her what his plan was, reassuring her the best that he could. As hard as she fought, one lone tear managed to slip from her eye, and she was surprised when he brushed it away. She found herself wanting to lean into him for strength and support but knew that she would never do that. She didn't even know him- had only met him mere minutes before.

She could see that there was more in his eyes that he wasn't telling her, but she let it go. She took a deep, steadying breath and released it, before shifting beneath his touch and glancing around the apartment again.

"I will go to a hotel room until the police are done here. But Dominic, I don't want to be left in the cold with this. I want to help. Jake's my bro-ther," her voice cracked on the word brother, "and I wanna do everything I can. I don't want to just sit in a hotel room until you have something to tell me" she insisted. Her eyes were suddenly the color of a fire burning copper, bright and flashing, an intense green that refused to give in. It was obvious that she meant what she said.

She wasn't going to just sit around like a bump on a log waiting for something to happen.

 

[DeeperWater]

Dominic fought not to roll his eyes. Damn, she was stubborn. He was used to stubborn women of course. His mother was stubborn, his sister was stubborn, his aunts were stubborn and almost every Italian woman he knew was stubborn. It seemed to be a trait instilled in them from the womb. Come to think of it, his female Irish relatives weren't all that easy to deal with either. Well, he could be stubborn too, but he had learn long ago to wait for his battles, until he had to fight them.

"Well, come on then. Let's get going." He took the baggie from the kitchen, stuck the cigar piece in it, and put both in his pocket. On the way out, he unhooked the relatively small television and started to carry it. "Your going to keep this safe for your brother, and it will make this look more like a robbery. I know that won't make much sense to you now, but trust me. We need to get out of here quickly, and I will explain later, O.K.?"

He swept past his new client, and started down the stairs, trusting her to follow him. The television was a bit awkward, but he managed it somehow, and arrived in the front hallway of the building. He glanced back over his shoulder, to make sure the client was still with him, and then opened the door onto the street.

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

Erin was actually a bit surprised that Dominic didn't argue with her, but she was thrilled with the results. Her daddy had always told her that she was too stubborn for her own good. She had gotten in trouble many times for not listening to him. "A hard head makes a soft behind" her daddy would tell her when she got her bottom whooped a few times as a child.

Erin was a bit confused as to why Dominic wanted to make the scene look like a robbery, but she trusted his instincts. He was the professional, after all- so she had to trust him. She wasn't sure what it was about him, but he made her truly believe he would do whatever he could to help her get her brother back.

She trailed behind him as he lugged the TV down the stairs. It wasn't a huge TV but she knew it was probably hard to carry down the steps by himself. She couldn't help admiring his body as she followed after him. He was lean, but well built, and he had a damn nice butt, she thought with a smirk, and then mentally chastised herself.

Her brother could be in serious danger and here she was admiring a man's butt. What the hell was wrong with her? Shaking her head softly she stepped out into the sunlight again behind Dominic.

"I guess we need one of those cabs again huh?" she asked. A simple question, but she realized then that it probably sounded pretty silly, here in the city where people took cabs multiple times a day.

 

[DeeperWater]

Dominic stared at her for a moment, as the television dug into his hands. "Just how much did you pay a cab to bring you down here, because I am damn sure that they won't take a call in this neighborhood. Don't worry about it though. My car is in the alley behind the houses." He lead her around the edge of the housing block and down a dark alley. An old, dented Ford Thunderbird on indeterminate color sat waiting. Dom popped the truck and put the television inside. He covered it with an old blanket and secure it with a bungie cord.

His client had followed, but she was slow in entering the alley. At least she showed some sense. As she walked toward him, her steps echoed down the alley. Something made Dominic look behind her, and then he curse himself for not being more cautious. Two rough looking men in cheap suits had rounded the corner and were staring at Erin. They looked German or possibly Slavic, and both had faces that looked like a Mac truck had hit them.

Dominic knew who the cigar belonged to, Tony Torres, and he worked alone, because he did not play well with others. He did not know who these two were, but they weren't bang bangers. He reached into the open truck and calmly lifted out the tire iron. Keeping it close to his side, he walked toward his client. "Miss Clarkson, if you'll get in the car, I'll be right with you." He tried to keep his face calm so as not to alarm her. If she started running, then the goons probably would also. He hoped to get as close as possible, before they made their move on her, and that meant keeping his cool.

As he walked forward down the alley, he kept the iron flat against his leg, but he was sure they had spotted it. These two were professionals. If he was lucky, they could negotiate. If he was unlucky, then he and his client were probably going to be kidnapped and most likely end up dead in a dumpster somewhere in China Town.

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

Erin followed slowly behind Dominic into the alley. It was dark and honestly scared the hell out of her. She wasnt scared of the dark- she had faced the dark countless times at home in order to ward off a fox or some other predator. It was the people she might encounter down the dark alley that scared her.

She saw Dominic turn and face her. She saw his eyes widen slightly and she saw him pull out the tire iron. Then he spoke extremely calmly and asked her to get in the car. He was too calm. Erin glanced over her shoulder and nearly stumbled as she saw the two men standing there. She didn't know them but they definitely didn't seem like good news.

She immediately stepped closer to Dominic, but she hesitated to get into the car... she knew Dominic could surely handle himself but she wasn't the type to back down from a threat. Her daddy always called her stubborn as a lop eared mule.

She stepped behind Dominic's tall body but that was as far as she moved. Her arm brushed against his back as she moved closer, nervous with the situation that was unfolding.

"Who are they, Dominic?" she asked, her voice trembling a bit.

 

[DeeperWater]

"They are, what we call in the bizz, hired muscle. I'm just not sure who hired them. If your not going to get in the fucking car, then at least stay back and run if you have to!" He hissed all of this at Erin, barely noticing her touching his back. Striding forward away from her, he held up his free hand in a wave.

"How youze guys doin'? What can we do for youze? Got a real nice T.V. in my trunk going cheap! I was savin' in for my cousin Vinnie, but I'm sure a couple of fine gentlemen like yourselves could use a flat screen to watch the Giants on, am I right?" He had is best kiss ass grin on his face.

The men didn't say anything, but simply rolled towards him. On pulled a chain from his pocket and extended it between his two meaty palms. The other took a pair of handcuff off of his belt and let them dangle, as he tried to move swiftly around Dominic.

Dom swerve to meet him, and brought his tire iron across his body and up into the stomach of the one with handcuffs. The man huffed a bit, but caught the metal tool and yanked Dominic toward him. His friend went straight at Miss Clarkson, with his arms outstretched, with the chain between them. He looked like he was trying to catch her, not kill her, but it hardly mattered when two hundred and twenty pounds of stupid was bearing down on you in a cheap suit.

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

"Dom!" Erin shrieked as the thug yanked Dominic towards him and the other bastard advanced on her. She was eyeing the chain between the guys hands and her pulse stuttered. Dominic had told her to run but there was no way she would ever leave him here with the men. It was her fault he was in this mess to begin with.

Quickly Erin darted to the other side of the car, keeping it between her and the huge man advancing on her. Her eyes quickly searched the ground, looking for a weapon. She saw a rather large shard of glass. Not ideal but if he got close enough she wouldn't hesitate to stab him with it. She pretended to stumble and grabbed it as she did so. It was barely small enough to fit within her palm but she hid it the best she could.

"What the hell do you want?" Erin asked the man closest to her. He was now standing opposite of her, staring at her over the roof of the car. He didnt answer, only started to move around to her side. She danced along the car, skirting it and always keeping it between her and the man. She was now positioned so she could see Dominic and the other man as well. What the hell was she gonna do??

 

[DeeperWater]

post by phone. sorry for any mistakes

Dominic threw himself into the forward motion and fell under the grasping hands of the thug. He crashed at full speed into the man's stomach, with his shoulder. Releasing his grip on the tire iron, he reached up and managed to throw the man over his shoulder in a rough throw. The thug hit the concrete with a thump. Dominic pulled the tire iron out of the man's grasp and hit him on the side of his head with it. The thug's chain and fallen to the ground

The other thug was still circling the car, trying to catch his client. Suddenly the man lunged over the truck, sliding across it on one shoulder. Dominic ran forward, as he say the other thug manage to grab the front of Miss Clarkson's shirt, though he was still in a prone position on the trunk of the Thunderbird. He swung the tire iron up and over his head, determined to hit the man across his back.

----------------------------------------------

Across town, in a dark room, a slender, good looking man, with short cropped brown hair and green eyes, was tied to a chair. He sat with his arms drawn painfully behind him and there were lashes around his legs as well. There was blood dripping from his mouth and his face was even more pale than his light complexion warranted.

"You better tell me what I want to know son. Just tell me where that envelope is, and you can go free. I'll put you on a bus back home myself." The voice was sincer, but the man in the chair did not believe it. If he gave up the location of the evidence, he was a dead man. He stared into the darkness, outside the pool of the single light over his head.

In the darkness a panther like figure flowed, circling him in a dark suit, taunting him. He knew that any second now, the figure would dart into the light again, and strike him. Suddenly the figure stopped, and there was a scrapping noise. The figure backed into the light, dragging a small stand covered with surgical equipment.

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

Erin watched with frightened eyes as Dominic struggled with the other thug. She couldn't seem to tear her eyes away, and yet she couldn't take her eyes off of the man advancing on her either. She watched Dominic throw the man down and strike him with the tire iron. And then she saw her own thug leap, rather agilely for a large man, across the trunk at her.

She started to back up, but wasn't fast enough and he latched onto her shirt with a meaty fist. Erin screamed and clawed at his hand, trying to break free. She raked her nails down his arm and across his face as hard as she could, drawing blood everywhere she touched, but it wasn't enough.

Suddenly her shirt began to rip at the collar and down along her shoulder. She struggled, and watched Dominic come towards her, her heart in her throat. Her shirt ripped even farther, exposing her entire arm and even an edge of her black, lacy bra.

She screamed and closed her eyes as Dominic swung the tire iron at the man.

 

[DeeperWater]

The second thug turn his head at her scream, and brought free hand up to try to catch Malcolm's arm. If he had both hands free, Malcolm might have been in trouble. The big goon was bigger than him, and moved with surprising speed. As it was though, when he tried to forward to catch Malcolm's swing, his grip on Erin's shirt halted him. The fabric tore free, freeing his target, but he wasn't quick enough to stop the attack. The bar came down across his right shoulder, just beside his neck. Malcolm followed his by kicking the man in the groin a few times, with his wingtips.

Amazingly, the first thug was was actually stirring, despite being hit in the head with an tire iron. He was struggling to sit up and had blood pouring down his face. Malcolm hoped that the man didn't have a cracked skull. He had killed a few men in combat, while in the army, but that was at a distance with an assault rifle. This was more up close and personal. He did not want the man's dirty soul haunting him.

Before the thugs could recover enough to try something else, Malcolm reached into the vest pocket of the man he had been kicking, and found his wallet. He gave the man an extra kick, for good measure, and then grabbed Erin's hand and started pulling her toward the car. "Come on! We need to get away now! They may have backup!"

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

Erin was shaking uncontrollably as she watched Dominic struggle with the man on the car. Much to her dismay the other man was waking and struggling to stand up as well. Dominic kicked the thug a few times and then reached out and practically dragged Erin into the car.

Before she was aware of what was going on, she was in his car and they were speeding off down the alleyway. It was a bright, sunny morning. She couldn't believe what had just happened to them. She sat in the passenger away, trembling violently and no speaking a word. She was extremely scared and really confused.

Who were those men? What of they want? It was obvious they had something to do with Jake, she just didn't know what.

 

[DeeperWater]

Dominic speed through six blocks, making turns and cutting through alleys, before pulling over. He glanced over at his client and realized that half her shirt was ripped away. Forcing himself not to oggle her to much, he leaned forward and pull of his brown leather bomber jacket and put it around her shoulders. He was about to say she could get another shirt from her suitcase, when he realized he had never seen a suitcase. She must already be checked in.

He put pulled the jacket closed in front of her and awkwardly put an arm over her shoulder. "Don't worry Erin. I'll find him. I'm sorry you got a fright back there, but that how these things go. Tell me what hotel you checked into and we'll get you there."

A block away was a rinky dink travel agency owned by his favorite informant, Stevie Knight. It seemed. That events were moving quickly. Dom was sure he would find her brother, but he wasn't sure the guy would be alive when he found him.

 

[twelvegaugegirl1989]

Erin sat in the passenger seat as Dominic drove through the streets. Her mind was racing with everything that had just happened. It seemed like something from a movie- not something that happened in real life. Her pulse was racing and she had a light sheen of sweat covering her body. She was still trembling a bit but she was working hard to keep her emotions under control.

Dominic gently wrapped his leather jacket around her shoulders and placed an arm around her. He asked where she was checked in at and for once she didn't argue, just merely told him where her hotel was. It was a decent hotel in a much better neighborhood than the one they were in.

She leaned into Dominic's embrace and took a deep breath, smelling his scent on the leather bomber and all around her. She turned slightly to look at him.

"Who were those guys? Do you know where my brother is?" she asked in a quiet but steady voice.