The Fire Triangle -- Part II, Oxidizer

The Fire Triangle: Book II - Chapter 13

"Nice to meet you Detective Wilde," Lisa said, offering a paw and a smile that revealed a set of braces. It seemed that any member of her mother's former profession was okay with her as well.

"Call me Nick," he replied, deciding at once that he liked this kid.

"Uh, Mom," Lisa had turned an uneasy look in her mother's direction. "We were gonna go..."

"Lisa, hurry up!" someone called from behind her.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Hold on!" the young red panda called back over her shoulder, and then turned to her mother again, "We were gonna go get pizza, and..."

"Yes, you can have some money for the air-hockey table." Claudia took out her wallet and extracted a bill, which she held out between her index and middle fingers. But when the young red panda tried to reach for it, it was pulled back out of her reach and replaced by the face of her mother.

"But NO betting, do I make myself clear?"

"Mommmmmmm!" Lisa's voice was a painful groan, "You know I don't bet on stuff!"

"And you know I want to keep it that way." Claudia smiled and held out the money again; this time, she allowed her daughter to take it. "Okay, have fun."

"Thanks Mom," Lisa leaped up and gave her a hug and peck on the cheek, and then hurried off to join her friends, "Hey guys, wait up!"

"Nice kid," Nick observed, watching her go, "How old is she, twelve?"

"Eleven, she's tall for her age," Claudia answered, and then she said. "Nick, I saw you looking around earlier, so let's get something out of the way...her father and I split up back when I was with the ZYPD. He works for Zoogle now; pays his child support and sends Lisa a prepaid debit card for her birthday and for Christmas. That's pretty much all the contact I have with him—and it's all the contact I want."

"Ah, I see," Nick nodded, wondering why his collar suddenly felt tighter. Yes he'd been wondering where Lisa's father was; who wouldn't have, after all? But oh-kayyy, he could show some prescience, too. "Let me guess," he said "Lisa doesn't like to bet on air-hockey—or pretty much anything else—but some of her friends do. And lately they've been pestering her about it because they can't understand why she doesn't like to gamble; am I right?"

"That's about the size of it, Nick," Claudia answered with a sigh and a lopsided smile, "Not all stereotypes are based on species, y'know."

"Right," the red fox nodded dryly, and watched as she hefted her cane

"But...I didn't ask you to meet me here to talk about my daughter. Come on, let's take a walk. I need to keep this knee of mine moving if I don't want it to lock up on me later."

She led him along a pathway that skirted the edge of the park.

"So...who's Bogo got you reporting to?" she asked, opening the conversation.

"Lieutenant Saw," the fox replied, "He thought that since the diamond courier was working for The Company, the Organized Crime division should handle it."

Claudia looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Seriously? I'd have thought that with a possible gang-war coming down, he'd have put you somewhere else,"

Nick only shrugged. "Ask him, not me."

"I intend to, next time I see him," his companion replied. "Anyway, Saw's good; has kind of a broomstick up his tail and carries a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, but other than that, he's okay."

"Well, what I like about him is, he's a paws-off kind of boss," Nick offered her a foxy grin. "Doesn't ride your back all the time; as long as you get results, he's happy."