The Edge Of Justice

The Edge Of Justice Chapter 7

Well, here it is, a new chapter! This one is dedicated to NerdyNinja1, who has become a good friend of mine in recent weeks. Remember to vote and comment, and I'll upload when this reaches 20 votes, or in two weeks whichever happens first. Enjoy!!!!

Haley had stayed quiet in the backseat until we reached the warehouse, probably in shock. I opened the door to let her out once we arrived, and she reached out a hand for me to grab. My heart broke right then, and I grasped her small hand in mine, hauling her to me and squeezing her in a tight hug. Her arms encircled my neck and she whispered in a shaky voice. “Will Mr. Tomlinson be alright, Dad?”

I was done lying to her, and I contemplated my answer before giving it. “I’m not sure, honey.”

I picked her up and walked toward the back door of the warehouse, fishing in my pocket for the key with one hand. “Who was that man in the woods?” Haley asked.

“I’m not sure about that either, baby girl. I’ll explain a little more when mom gets here,” I answered, opening the lock and pushing the door open.

The smell of must assaulted my nose, and Haley sneezed once into my shoulder. She lifted her head and looked around, her eyes slowly playing over the inside of the building that held so much history for me, one that I had not entered in almost ten years. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust, and muted light from the rapidly setting sun filtered through the skylights, illuminating the dust circling in the air. I let Haley down and turned for the office, making sure she was following. The old leather chair had cracked in numerous places and the desk was covered in the same thick layer of dust, but nothing else had changed. I looked in the locker to make sure it was still intact, and breathed a small sigh of relief when I saw it.

“Do I get to know what happened, Dad? Where are we?” Haley asked, her voice quivering the way it did when she was on the verge of tears. I turned from the locker to see her standing in the middle of the office, her eyes welling up as she scuffed the toe of her shoe around in the dust on the floor.

I made my way back to her and kneeled down to meet her eye. “I promise, Haley, I’ll explain when your mom gets here.”  

 The sound of an engine reached through the walls, dying down a second later, and I knew my wife had arrived. Being myself however, I dashed to the window to make sure, fingering the knife in my pocket all the while. I could see my wife climbing out of her car wearing her work clothes, a dark grey pants suit and heels. She strode directly for the door, coming into the main room.

Haley turned at the sound of her entrance and ran to her, leaping into her arms. Melissa hugged her tightly, then set her down and gave her a once over for damage. Once she could see that she was fine she turned to me, her eyes speaking volumes. We had both known this day was coming, but in the last few years we’d begun to hope he would leave us alone. That was no longer the case, and we could both see that our worst nightmare was coming true. Neal was targeting Haley, which he knew would hurt us more than anything.

I hugged my wife, breathing in her perfume. “We have to tell her now,” I whispered.

“I know,” she breathed back. “You tell her.”

I sighed and released Melissa, then turned to Haley. “Come here, baby girl.”

She shuffled over to me, and I sat behind the desk with my small daughter in my lap. “You know the scars on my stomach and shoulder?” I asked, looking directly into her eyes.

She nodded and I continued. “I didn’t get mugged, darlin. This scar was given to me by someone sent to kill me when I was younger.”

Her eyes widened a bit. “You lied to me?”

A rock settled in my stomach, but I kept going. “Yes, I did. You see honey; it started when I was a little boy, a little younger than you are now. There was man who taught me how to fight, a lot like how I teach you. When I got older, that man decided to give me a job. A job fighting bad guys.”

“Like a superhero?” she asked, and I chuckled. “Kind of. Instead of superpowers I used my knives and swords.”

“Which swords, Dad?”

I set her on the ground and walked over to the locker, throwing it wide open so she could see inside. “These swords,” I said, pulling in the leftmost coat hanger. A dull metallic sound echoed, and the back wall slid open to reveal my old D-23 and Ninjato, both free of the dust that plagued everything else in the warehouse. I reached into the empty air to grasp the Ninjato and a piece of my soul fell back into place as soon as my fingertips brushed the sheaths. I had oiled them before placing them in the hidden space ten years ago, and I thumbed the hand guard, popping the ten year old seal on the blade. It slid from the sheath almost soundlessly, the whisper of the blade leaving its home pulling on my heart as the inscription came into view. Live By Honor, it said, and I nodded once as my old promise came rushing back to my mind. I had vowed to myself that I would do just that, and I believed I fulfilled that oath in the last ten years. I turned to my daughter and wife, showing the younger of the two the very same objects that I had used to both take and save lives.

Haley reached out for the sword, and I gingerly placed it in her tiny hand. “These swords were my trademark back then,” I explained as she studied the black blade. “When people would see these, they knew who I was, and why I was there.”

Haley handed the sword back and I re-sheathed it carefully, placing it on the desk. “Why did you stop?” my daughter asked, and I sighed deeply. “It turned out the man I was working for, was not very good after all.”

He tried to do some horrible things, and I had to stop him. He didn’t like that and tried to fight me, but I won and he ran away. It’s been ten years now, and now he’s back, trying to hurt both Mom and me. And because we love you so much, he knows that if he hurts you, it will hurt our hearts more than he could ever hurt our bodies.”

“So what do we do now?” both Melissa and Haley said at the same time.

I smiled and turned back for the other object in the locker. “We, do nothing. I, go back to the house once it gets dark.”

Melissa shot up from her chair, her arms crossing in front of her. “Like hell you’re going alone.”

I turned to her, D-23 in hand, with a sad smile. “And who will keep an eye on Haley?”

She saw my logic immediately, and sank down into her chair. “You know they’re there, Christian. That’s why you’re going, isn’t it?”

I headed for the door, for the bathroom, so I could change. “Of course. You know me too well.”