Weston was staring off into nothing, brow furrowed in thought when Taylor appeared in his office. He made no sign that he noticed her presence, lips pressed together. Beyond his dim room, Taylor spotted a bit of movement.
A police officer with dark skin, model good looks, and a quick smile was directing a struggling man off towards the holding cells. Taylor almost made a comment about officer Diego but caught herself before the words could betray her. Instead, she cleared her throat.
Weston started at the sound, jolted from his reverie. It was the same reaction Taylor always received when she broke into her father's thoughts. It was a similarity Weston would never admit to, but was there, when both father and son were deep in thought nothing else existed. Spinning in his chair, he faced her, lacing his hands over his stomach.
"It's been a couple of days, everything okay?" he asked.
Taylor pressed herself further into the shadow of her corner, feeling his probing gaze.
"Got tied up is all," she said.
Weston arched one eyebrow, a talent as his little sister she always was impressed by.
"Do you mean in the figurative or the literal sense?"
She fought back a smile. "Only in the figurative." Before Weston could worm his way into more information, she went on. "I see you ate your dinner tonight."
Weston glanced at the empty spot on his desk then back at her.
"Actually, I completely forgot."
"When was the last time you ate?"
She knew she sounded like their mother but her brother had the habit of forgetting the necessities of life, like eating. It was a trait they seemed to share. Thinking, Weston scratched at the stubble on his jaw.
"I believe lunchtime, but I can't be sure."
Shaking her head, Taylor pushed herself off the wall and held out a gloved hand.
"Do you have cash?"
Leaning to one side, he pulled out his wallet and retrieved a twenty. He hesitated, the bill hovering above her palm.
"What do you want with it?"
Taylor rolled her eyes, even though he couldn't see the action. For a detective, he was slow on the uptake.
"I'm going to rob you of twenty bucks."
Before he could say anything, she took the money and disappeared. The world came back as a dark alley. Burying her hands in her pockets, she skipped around the puddles of waterlogged trash and out of the dank air.
On the opposite side of the street was a neon sign still glowing in the night, the curly letters of Manny's was a mix of red and white. Taylor scurried across the road and slipped into the restaurant. The aroma of spices that permeated the air, hinted at a different world.
"We're about to close up, you'll have to make it quick."
The round-faced man behind the counter looked up from his task of wiping down the surface. He tensed when he noticed Taylor's all black attire, gloves, and lowered hood.
Taylor nodded. "Okay, I'll have a Baja grilled burrito, medium Coke, and a small churro."
The man relaxed. "That we can do."
He hollered at someone in the back and accepted the twenty from Taylor. The drink and the dessert were pointless additions, she knew Weston didn't drink soda and he only ate sugar when he was at home. She bought them anyway, knowing as Shadow she wouldn't know this.
Taylor leaned against the wall waiting, her head down. Knowing her brother, if he wanted to he could get the footage from the restaurant and try to use it to identify her. So she kept her hood on. Part of her felt it was a rash decision to get him food, but she knew he needed it and would end up skipping the meal altogether if she didn't.
"Here you go," the man said, placing a plastic bag on the counter followed by the soda.
She thanked him and left. Ducking into the alley once more, she flipped the world back to the office. Weston stared wide-eyed at the bag and soda as she placed them on the desk.
"Why?" he asked, as she added the change to the mix.
"'Cause I could."
He waited for more of an answer but she didn't give him one. Deciding that was the end of the topic, he opened the bag and took out the burrito. He paused when he spotted the drink and the churro.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing...I don't usually drink soda or eat sugar," he said.
Taylor leaned her shoulder against the filing cabinet, arms crossed.
"My bad."
Weston waved the mistake away. "You couldn't have known."
As he unwrapped the steaming burrito, Taylor leaned forward and snatched up the churro. She bit into it, filling her mouth with the sweet cinnamon crunch. Weston smiled.
"At least it won't go to waste," he said.
"This is my payment for the fastest food delivery."
Angled back in his chair, Weston studied her. After he swallowed his bit, he spoke.
"Is that what your day job is, delivery person?"
In answer, Taylor continued to eat the churro, letting it say everything.
"You can't blame me for always being curious."
"I don't, I simply don't plan on ever telling you anything."
Weston wiped his mouth with a napkin and set the burrito down.
"I understand." He motioned to her. "You messaged that you had something for me."
"Aren't you going to finish?"
"I will later, I want to know what you learned."
Having to satisfy herself with the fact that he ate part of the burrito, Taylor dug her hand into her pocket and grabbed her phone. She tossed it to him and he caught it.
"On there is a video of Vincent and another member of the crime family meeting with an arms dealer."
Weston straightened, the energy about him sharpening. He found the video and let it play, scrutinizing each moment. When it ended, he swiveled towards his desk and rummaged through the drawers until he found a tiny cable. He plugged it into the phone and connected it to the computer. Taylor was surprised he even had a cable old enough that it worked with the ancient phone.
"How did you get this?" he asked.
"I tailed Vincent to a bar, he waited for about half an hour and then met up with this other guy. Then they both drove to a warehouse and I followed them inside."
Weston looked away from the download.
"You followed them inside?"
"Yeah."
"How did they not spot you?"
A set of cross beams, wet shoes, and avoidance of a near-death plummet.
"I found a place to hide above them," she answered.
Weston looked as if he wanted to say more but the computer beeped, dragging his attention away. On the screen, the video played again, this time the details easier to make out. Nudging his food aside, Weston rested his elbow on the desk, rubbing his chin as he watched. He let out a breath when the gun was extracted from the crate.
"That is a lot of firepower," he murmured. "What are you up to?"
He typed away at the keyboard and Taylor watched as he grabbed shots of the two other men's faces and transferred them to a facial recognition program. As the algorithm worked, Weston went back to the video playing it over again. Placing his laced fingers on his head, he watched the whole thing.
"Do you know how many crates were there? It's not clear in the video."
Taylor dug her nails into her palm hating how that was a key piece of information he would need and she failed to get it. Didn't matter if at the time she was frozen or not.
"No, I'm sorry," she said.
He shook his head as if it were no matter, but they both knew it was. The video looped and Weston studied it, each time focusing on a different area.
"Ammunition like this means they are gearing up for something big. I'm still trying to near down targets they might have in mind. As for kidnapping, a senator is scheduled to visit the city in a month. That could be what they are after but..." He dragged a hand down his face, thoughts taking him off. Coming back to the present, he focused on Taylor. "Where was the warehouse you went to?"
"On the edge of the East side of the city, near Tremont harbor."
Weston nodded, storing the information away. Taylor opened her mouth to ask what spots he thought they would target when a sharp tug in her stomach stole the words. She grimaced at the strength of The Pull, gripping the hard, cold edge of the cabinet.
"I need to go," she said.
Weston snapped himself out of his speculations.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
She nodded, The Pull intensifying with each second. Weston yanked out the cord out of the phone and gave it back to her.
"Call if you need me," he said.
"Will do."
Leaving the words floating in the air, she listened to The Pull and vanished from Weston's sight. The moment the world solidified, the sensation melted away. Taylor spun trying to get her bearings. She was surrounded on both sides by storefronts topped with apartments. The air was tinged with the salty smell of the sea, putting her close to the docks.
The cause for The Pull wasn't apparent so she walked, trying to find what had led her there. The answer came as she was crossing the parking lot of a bar. The door swung open and hit the wall as a pack of people staggered out.
As they hit the open space, five men formed up into a loose circle. At their center were a guy and a girl. The huddle of men was cut from the same mold: thick beards, muscular shoulders, and the beginnings of a beer bellies. Already sensing the fight about to happen, Taylor hurried forward.
A few feet away she stuttered to a halt, recognizing the pinned in pair.
Clint stood with his back pressed against Tori's, holding his hands out, trying to calm the anger that rippled off the men. Tori was doing the opposite, hands on hips, defiance etched into every muscle of her body. She sneered at one of the men that was twice her size.
Taylor stood frozen, trapped with indecision. She only had one set of handcuffs. Taking care of one would only send the entire lot onto her.
Tori waved a hand towards the two men in front of her, as if offering up an invitation.
"Come on princess, let's see you shake that a-"
"Tori!" Clint snapped, eyeing each man in turn. "Don't antagonize them."
Tori spread her arms out.
"How am I antagonizing them? That's what they said to me in the bar, aren't they supposed to be super flattered by such an objectifying comment."
Clint balled his fists, reigning in his frustration.
"Tori, don't make this worse."
The man in front of Tori smirked.
"Listen to the boy. We don't want to have to hurt you, darling."
All the frustration left Clint's face as he breathed out and stared up like he couldn't believe the stupidity of the man. Taylor understood the meaning behind look just as Tori smiled viciously.
"Alright princess, let's dance."
She moved so fast if Taylor had blinked at the wrong time she would have missed it. In a breath, one of the men was clutching his nose, as Tori aimed a swift kick to the second man. All hell broke loose, as the remaining men charged in.
Clint ducked one man's punch while sweeping the legs out from another. Taylor wanted to help but found she was rooted to the ground, she didn't know how to handle the mess of motion.
Tori grabbed one of the men's arms and snapped the limb on her shoulder. Groaning, the man sank to the ground, clutching his shattered elbow. Clint winded another with a shoulder to his stomach. The towering man stumbled back, gasping for air.
As Clint spun to the next one, Tori twirled behind her brother, aiming a foot at a man's head. They were a viper and panther, Tori striking with deadly precision while Clint cut down his opponents with fierce grace. Taylor was mesmerized by the siblings.
Fueled by humiliation and anger, the men kept returning, their actions clumsy in comparison to the fluid pair. Each time they were sent back with another bruise. One of the men grabbed a discarded beer bottle and smashed it against the ground. The glass shattered leaving behind jagged edges.
As he charged towards Clint's turned back, Taylor snapped herself out of her daze and sprinted forward, acting without thinking.
"Clint!" she screamed.
Clint twisted around just as the man slashed down and Taylor teleported right behind the man. Clint dodged the attack, clamped a hand on the man's wrist and clocked him in the face. Blood spurted from the man's nose and the bottle exploded on the ground. Taking a step back, Clint slammed his foot into the man's chest.
The force of it sent him careening backward, right into Taylor.
She let out a cry of surprise as they both crashed to the cement. Pain shuttered down her back on impact and her head cracked against the ground. Lights popped in front of her eyes.
When they retreated, she raised her head, only to feel her hood slide free, leaving her exposed. Head pounding, she blinked trying to focus on the world.
When she did, her stomach lurched. Clint was staring at her in shock.
Before she could think of the consequences, she winked out of existence only to reappear on her bedroom floor. She flopped onto the thick carpet and draped her arm over her eyes.
This was not good.
**********************************************************************
OH MY SUPER-SUIT!!! CLINT NOW KNOWS!!
Let's hear it, where is your head out? Where do you think this is going? Where did I put my cape? Where is the ice cream? Where could this story be going? Where oh where is this twist going to take us??? 🦹🏼🦸🏻♂️🦸🏾♀️
I got to say, this is relief, at least now Clint can being to understand what Taylor is facing. Let's hope he's understanding and doesn't take Weston's overprotective look at things.
Not going to lie, Tori has made it on to the list of side characters I totally love! I mean who would take on a team of grown men like that! So great!
I want to see a superhero team up of Tori, Carter (A Secret Service), Isla (A Pirate's Tale), Louie (Beyond the Barrier) and Liv (It Happened One Night). I feel like it would be the most epic girl power mash up!
Who is your favorite from the mash up?
Tahu tak (Malay): The character of Fandral (the blonde haired member of Thor's posse) was played by three different actors.
Haha I thought it was only two, showed how much of an impact he had.
Vote, comment, follow but only if you stand for girl power!