Forget about me

Work

Chapter 4

Not as easy as it seems.

I held Viola in a tight embrace, mindful of the baby she held in her arms.

The ambulance was trying to stop the bleeding on her husband. But it was a shot in the solar plexus. There's very few that survive that, too many important organs there. Things are seldom like in movies when all of a sudden the miracle of science takes out the bullet and they get a pretty little scar that shows how cool they are. No tendons and muscles take time to heal, rehabilitation is needed to stretch and increase blood flow in the area if it has´t hit important parts which I would say is very likely since our bodies IS filled with organs ALL of them having an important purpose.

Therefore a wound bleeding like his was deadly.

While they worked  the room had two more policemen and three ambulance workers.

Also two neighbors that were the ones that had called the police and ambulance earlier, when the disturbance started, were here helping out so the police officer that shot at me (and hit his friend behind me) kept giving me angry glances. He never got an opportunity to shoot at me again since the neighbors arrived right afterwards and tried to help stop the bleeding. Shouting that more people was on the way.

I hurried over to Viola and her husband and checked them over, with the other officer in my peripheral sight. 

Now when I looked closer he had light blonde hair, a pretty nice face with a straight nose and blue eyes except for the scowl he was sending my way, Slim body but well toned. A charmer normally I would guess.

It was very chaotic but eventually things calmed down, I took the keys to Viola's home and said I would take the baby and the kids until the family could arrive.

She looked like she was trying to process things, she had tears streaming down her face and a very blank stare. She was in shock.

I took her hand. “Stay with your husband” I´ll take care of your kids.

She focused on me for a moment then nodded. I guess my earlier help made her trust me.

She kissed her baby on the forehead and handed “it” to me (wonder if it's a boy or a girl).

She went with her husband to the hospital. I took the baby in my arms and put up the card I got from the WIP on the closest surface and sent a message to them.

“I´ll do it.”

Things wrapped up pretty quickly after that, one of the officers got a call, his eyes slipped to me and he finished his call quickly and told me I could leave after leaving my contact information. Very grateful but still a bit suspicious about me getting to leave so fast I grabbed a couple of diapers and bottles with formula I found after looking around and headed home.

Dave had left the door open a crack so I easily could slink in and close the door.

The baby that had been whining softly for a while now started to cry really loud.

An angry scream that pierced both my heart and ears.

David hurried to me and grabbed the bottle and formula and started on making something for the baby to eat (thank god for that).

I looked at the two kids sitting in front of the tv, two dark blonde 5 year olds. Both of them looked sad and a little bit scared.

I sat down with the screaming baby in my arms and said “Your mom is with your dad she will come pick you guys up tomorrow(I hope) so you guys get to stay with me until then. I smiled widely. Don't worry I have a LOT of movies on netflix! but maybe you guys can show me how to change a diaper later?” I was sure i could figure that out myself (it´s not rocket science after all) but they could do well with something to think about.

David showed me how to make sure the bottle has good enough temperatures (not easy while the kid is screaming in your ear I tell you) and I just looked at him. Seriously you pour a drop on your hand and see if it's not too hot? Kinda feels like very much trial and error on that one.

But he said it was fine so I trusted that and put the bottle to his mouth.

As soon as I did he immediately tilted it up more, correcting me. “You have to make sure he does´t swallow air so hold the bottle up properly”. I looked at his face, standing close behind me with his head over my shoulder. He looked at the baby with soft eyes. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. He smelled great with his body so close to mine, like pine trees, fresh and free… And THAT is enough of that. I took hasty steps towards the sofa where the kids sat and put on something cheery. Aristocats should do. Cute kitties with cheery songs and three kittens, that should definitely take some of that scared look out of their eyes. I´ve never seen such quiet and still 5 year olds.

After i sat down I looked at the kids and said “Well I'm going to call YOU “Silly” and you “Dally” because I'm really bad at names … and it sounds funny”.

The boy that I just named “Silly” frowned at me. “I'm Jim and she is Judy… we're twins”.

He looked so serious I had to keep from laughing.

“what is the baby's name?” I asked and pointed at the baby.

“She is Rosie, but we call her little girl all the time”.

Judy nodded and scooted closer to her brother.

“Aha, well I'm hungry so maybe David here,  I mostly call HIM tiny, will make us some sandwiches. Do you guys want any?”.

And so the evening went on, we watched aristocats, munching sandwiches then we watched 101 dalmatians with some hot chocolate and continued like that until they had passed out.

We put blankets on them and took turns holding Rosie/little girl in another room so they wouldn't be woken up by her crying. 

Which she did a lot until she finally went to deep sleep (I guess she wanted mommy).

In the early morning Viola knocked on my door, she looked haggard and had dark and swollen circles under her eyes.

I showed her inside, she took a quick look at her kids sleeping on the sofa and then saw little Rosie being fed by David and she rushed forward to look at her. He carefully handed Rosy to her mom and I placed a coffee cup in front of her.

By the looks of her he did´to survive and she was now alone with the kids.

There was nothing to say, no words can express the loss of a loved one. When the kids woke up eventually and all of them went home.

Right before she went out the door with the kids I grabbed her arm “you will call me for babysitting from now on and we'll help you out getting a job ok? “

She nodded and thanked me with a tight one armed hug “I´ll be fine sweetheart, we´ll manage”.

After they were gone I rubbed my eyes and looked at the time 05:45 in the morning.

I turned to David. “Well teddy bear seems like we´re a good team, thanks for the help with the kids. I can do much but that's not one of my skill sets.” 

I Yawned big ”gah beeeeeed bed bed bed”. I went to my bedroom to plop down on the bed face first “OH sweet heaven” I said and then promptly fell asleep with my clothes on. Sometime after that I think David popped down next to me but I never really noticed.

Part 2

Work.

I woke up to “Did they get you to trade, Your heroes for ghosts? Hot ashes for treeeeeeeees? Hot air for a cooooool breeze?” .

“ugh” I felt around my pants pocket and found my phone.

“How I wish  you were heeeeeeere.. beep” “Yea” I answered in a hoarse voice.

“Miss Safier, we expect you to be at the police station at Greenstreet 4 at 8:00. Your badge is there at your office you start today, welcome to the WIP.” He hung up. 

I looked blurrily at my phone. 7:00 that police station was 15min walk away from here so I had time to shower and dress but that was barely it.

I started to roll around when my elbow hit something., “ouff watchit” It said.

I looked at it, “oh hello there….  could you perhaps have your little bearnap somewhere else, I need to go to my new job”. I climbed over him, feeling a bit pink in my cheeks from the intimacy (well this was getting way weird) and headed to the shower to wake up.

Showered, clothed and a sandwich, courtesy of David, in hand we were walking together towards the station. Since it was just a few blocks away it took us almost no time at all to get there.

It was a giant white building with a big sign “Policestation” and it had giant stairs leading up to the entrance.

On the side of the signs and building corners were big giant bulbs of light that would light the building and street up like a christmas tree in december. Probably designed so that no one could hide easily in the shadows close to the building (smart except for the bigger shadows that is across the street where they can see every person going in or out of the building from further away  BECAUSE of the light).

We walked up and entered the big glass double doors. 

Inside was a big lobby with seating against the walls and in the middle right in front were a long desk that housed two secretaries. The sign in front of the secretary to the left read “Bearing Police Department” and the other “Mutant Police Department” I walked up to the right one. She had darker skin color and looked like she had spanish roots, A bit motherly looking with a big body that would fit having an apron and rolling pin in hand and obviously hid more muscles than you might think.

She gave me a stern look. “Name?”

“Eh I´m Safier,” I said tentatively. I gave her my ID.

She looked at my id and then at her papers and suddenly smiled brightly ”OH you´re the one that has been turning this place upside down, welcome! I have your badge here” she slammed two badges on the table, One to clip on a belt and one that fit inside a wallet. “The chief of this place is right beyond this door behind me and then straight forward, He has the fanciest sign in there so he is easiest to see, he´ll tell you what to expect and where to go. you better watch your back since you pissed off some around here yesterday and good luck to you”. 

She made a “run along” motion to hurry me along and I quickly grabbed the badges and hurried forward with David trailing behind me. Feeling a bit off put by not even getting a word in. but i couldn't help it. i Kind of liked her, she had a nice air about her and didn't seem like the type to let someone walk all over her.

We entered the door and I wanted to look around to take in everything but held myself back and only looked forward so I would look at least a little bit professional.

The corridor was narrow for a few meters then it ended up in a big open space with lots of desks in the middle around two printers. Beyond the open desk space was a big office with a door with a big white sign with flowers on it and a name in cursive writing in the middle. Fancy indeed.

there was chaos and bustling all around until i got further in the room. Enough for people to notice me and one by one they stopped what they were doing and just looked at me.

Most of them looked curious but a few looked angry. One pair of eyes in particular looked at me like I was the devil in disguise. I recognised him as the handsome guy that tried to shoot me yesterday. I felt his eyes follow me all the way to the chief's office where I stopped and knocked.

I heard a “enter” and stepped in.

An older guy in his mid 50s was staring at me standing up. “Miss safier I suppose”. I nodded.

“sit down please” he pointed at a chair in front of his desk and he sat down when I had made myself comfortable. He looked at David for a quick moment then quickly looked back at me.

I threw a quick look at David and saw him looking neutral and dangerous behind me in a bodyguard pose.

He sat down in a chair next to me without being offered and without a word.

I sat quiet for a bit then I chose my words carefully.

“…. What exactly is my job here mr Johansen?” I asked.

He paused a moment “I was told from higher up that I was to be sent someone that would act as a liaison between  normals and the mutated…. I'll be honest with you, things are spiraling out of control”. I thought about how out of control things had “become” at Viola's place, policemen almost shooting a woman with a baby and answered. “Quite”.

He gave me a knowing look. “I took a look at the report from yesterday, I got orders to not talk to you about what happened there. But I hope you know the policeman that got shot did not survive...Losing one of our own is putting a strain on our group, a group that has already had to deal with quite a lot.”

I studied him for a bit, he looked tired and worn out. but there was something honest in his face. something that made me want to be honest back. If i was going to give this job a chance to work i probably needed to start out with honesty.

“You do know that most of the unnecessary shootings happen because the police shoot more than necessary, that there's no rules and laws that really protect mutant people leads to people like those two that were by my neighbors place yesterday, they shoot first and think second. They are driven by fear and it only creates more fear leaving a trail of death.”

He stood up “Then it´s time it changed, you will soon see why they act with such force, we really have´t had much of a choice. now you are here and i trust you will work hard to find a way to save my team that's getting fewer every month.” 

He reached out his hand with a phone in it that I took. ”this is your work phone, keep it with you at all times. this was all a little last minute so we have´t had time to empty one of the offices that is meant for you. You will go with the team when we get calls that include mutants. Observe and then make the necessary changes you need for this to work, report EVERYTHING to me. you came highly recommended so I expect you to live up to it.”

With that he said “good luck, miss Safier ”.

And I took it as a dismissal, “I'll do my best Mr Johansen.” is what I said and went out the door. 

David right behind me.  

The next days became a blur of things. I got a crash course in what a tangle of rules the police had to face, what I could and could not do. 

I was in no way learning to be a police officer since that would require a proper education but just enough to understand 

The reason why they had so much trouble with mutants was obvious pretty quickly. They had no proper communications with the mutant people, none of them. They neither seemed inclined to think of them as people or credit most of them with intelligence. To think they could perhaps have a leader they had´t seem to cross their minds until now. The increase in mutants that was not flipping out in a killing spree was increasing at a rate they had not seen before and they don't know what to do. 

And all of a sudden they realised that there WAS a leader, someone that was more dangerous than any other of them.

This is where I come in, I am supposed to be the closest thing to an “middleman” as they could get. Because apparently they refused to talk directly to the police. Any attempts to contact the leader had failed until a call came in from the WIP recommending me.

I came home dead on my feet every evening the first weeks, so much to learn and feeling the pressure of lives counting on me.

Every now and then I knocked on violas door and took the twins home to me for some playing so she could have a calm moment with the baby, she seemed to manage fine but looked miserable.

The funeral would be soon and I promised I would have an eye on the twins then.

Sometimes I shopped some food for them and other times I went home to train a bit with David only to fall asleep early.

Through all of this David was constantly my shadow. He seldom left my side and I came to realise that he was probably ordered to keep me safe. But I felt safe in his presence so I let him stay without even questioning it. I jogged in the mornings alone most of the time but he sometimes joined me. I fell into a routine though and it felt great!

Up in the morning, jog, get to work, get home, train and eat, go (or fall like the half dead) in bed. I felt strong and powerful. 

I had no delusions that I was even half as strong as a mutant but I sure could distract them for enough time to maybe get a knife or a gun up to protect myself.

Now if only not everything would not crumble and go away if I didn't manage to bring some resemblance of peace.

To be continued ..