Realization hurts(Darcy,cont.)

[hugodouglass]

"Yeah. I just hope my child didn't rip Casey's apartment up." Speaking Casey's name reminded him that he needed to transfer money to Casey's account. He would do that once they got back to the apartment. For now...
"Come on honey." He extended his arm for hers to take, giving her a grin as he did so.

Yeah. He was in love.

Lisa nodded vigorously, saying:
"Dad is soooo cool! He gives me all these holo's with princesses and then I make the princesses and the frogs, because there are frogs in the holos, I make the frogs and the princesses go fight the villains and POW! Villain is goooone." Lisa's face then saddened slightly, saying:
"But he isn't happy sometimes. Sometimes...he just sits in his room and stares at the ceiling...sometimes, he misses mom. I miss mom too."

[darcyneumann]

"Believe me, Casey would not let that happen," Darcy chuckled, knowing her girl well. If she had to pretend they were playing a game where they were kidnapped or something just to keep her down, she would.
She took his arm gladly, grinning across at him, her eyes shining.
This was how it was supposed to be.

Casey giggled as Lisa waffled, talking about princesses, frogs and villians. She certainly had a vivid imagination.
"Awww honey," she said, reaching across and squeezing her hand, "it's okay for you guys to miss your Mom. I'm sure she's still watching over you, loving you, missing you too."

[hugodouglass]

"I gueeess." Lisa was obviously not convinced(who could blame her?) about her mother's corporeal nature, but she was sure about how cool Casey was. She rolled over to Casey and poked her belly, asking:
"Are you ticklish? I am! Dad chases me around the house sometimes."

The walk back was peaceful to say the least(well, except for a wino or two who were stumbling across the sidewalks in a dazed stupor), Hugo having let go of Darcy's arm and took the liberty of putting an arm around her waist as they walked. As they got on campus, Hugo could see that there was less of a student presence and police officers patrolling. Probably a safety measure to make the kids feel safer.

Hugo knocked on the door, expecting to hear giggles and loud music. No loud music, but he could hear giggling. A lot of it.

[darcyneumann]

Casey let out a snort and a giggle when Lisa poked her, "no, no, of course not," she fibbed, poking her tongue out at Lisa, "but now that I know you are.." a wide grin spread across her face and she reached out to tickle the girl's ribs mercilessly.
That was when there was a knock at the door. Lifting Lisa up under her arm - never underestimate the strength of a chef, no matter how short, they work with their arms one hell of a lot - still tickling her with her free hand as she answered the door, glad to see Hugo and Dee standing there, both looking a lot happier than when they had left.
"Hello!" she said enthusiastically, letting Lisa go, "did you guys have a good time?"
"It was great," Darcy said with a smile that just couldn't and wouldn't be hidden, wrapping an arm around Casey's shoulders, "how about you girlies? Did you have fun?"

[hugodouglass]

Lisa tried to squirm away, giggling profusely as the attack continued all the way to the door.
"L..leeggooo!!!" Lisa said playfully, the child laughing extremely hard as she was put down. Hugo smiled as he hugged his daughter, who now responded to Darcy's question:
"Yeah! Yeah! Casey's the beeeest. Can she come home with us? Pleeeeeeeeeeease?" Hugo laughed at his daughter's willingness to take Casey home(whenever she met someone she liked, she would always plead to take the person home.) Hugo walked to the table, picking up his comm unit, which vibrated, indicating there was a message. He strolled inside his room, commanding the unit to play the message back.

He wouldn't like what he heard.

[darcyneumann]

"I dunno about coming home with us," Darcy laughed, "but I will certainly make sure she visits more often, even if I have to bribe her."
"Bribery, pffffft, it'll never work," Casey turned her nose up at the both of them.
Darcy ushered the two girls into the living area again as Hugo disappeared off to check his messages. It didn't worry her so much, she was still feeling all warm inside from that kiss earlier.

That was until there was a loud banging at the door. No one had time to answer it before a team came bursting in, dressed from head to toe in black and armed.

"HUGO DOUGLASS?" one of them yelled, like he'd been standing too close to a sound system for too long. "WHERE IS HE?"

[hugodouglass]

Before the brass team of Special Forces crashed through the door, Hugo had been preparing for a potential attack, thanks in part to the not so subtle message he received from UGAP, saying that he was wanted for questioning concerning a matter "from his time as a detective for the Boston Police Department." In other words, they thought he was a rat. He knew that they didn't have much time, so the detective had taken the liberty of sprinkling a few marble balls(miniature balls that send electric shocks when activated) in the entrance hall just a few minutes ago. When Hugo heard the charge, he quickly hit a switch on his private console, sending electric shocks through the squadron's system. When he heard multiple thunks, he knew it was clear. Hugo already had his gun loaded and ready, so he strode outside, looking down at the bodies. UGAP special forces alright.
"DAAAADDDY!!!" Lisa cried out, whimpering as she nearly tackled her father. She was scared alright. First things first though: he needed to get them OUT of here.
"Darcy, take Lisa and Casey on the first transport to Los Angeles. Once you get there, I'll contact you. Get your things, we're moving now." Hugo went over to the bodies, checking them for weapons...

Hello.

Each was carrying a miniature carbine repeater. They meant business. He took one of the carbines, taking as much ammunition as he could.
"Daaaadddy!"
"Lisa, listen to me, you need to be a big girl and just listen to what I tell you to do."
"But I don't want you to go away!"

Not now.

[darcyneumann]

Darcy tried not jump out of her skin when the whole team went clattering to the ground. The next thing she knew, Hugo was coming out of the bedroom, demanding that they all get the hell out of there and leave for LA.
What?!
Despite the rational part of her brain telling her to just do it, the indignant part did something else instead. "Not until you tell me what the hell is going on."
He couldn't just order her around all the time, he was going to have to learn that.
Casey was standing frozen to the spot, not sure how to react to all that had happened in any way other than freaking out.

[hugodouglass]

Hugo grimaced, responding:
"Darcy, there isn't time right now. Just trust me. There could be another one of these attack teams coming up the elevator right now and I'm not going to leave you guys here like sitting ducks." Lisa was now hugging Hugo tightly, tears quietly coming down her face.
"Casey, I don't want you on campus. They know where you are and if they came after me, they're going to come after anyone who might know where I might be. Pack your things and lets get moving." His gaze went from Casey to Darcy, telling her:
"Please. Just trust me."

[darcyneumann]

Frowning, and with Casey tugging at her hand, scared, Darcy said, "fine, but you're not going anywhere alone, you're coming with us." She'd just told the man that she cared for him so much that she wanted to be his for ... well, however long she lived really. She wasn't letting him out of her sight.
"Don't go anywhere."
Pulling Casey into the bedroom, she threw a handful of both of their clothes haphazardly into a bag. "I'm so sorry about this, babe."
"I'm freaking out right now," Casey admitted.
"I know, just stick with me, okay? We'll be fine. All of us."
They emerged from the room again. "We're ready."

[hugodouglass]

Hugo nodded, then beckoned them to follow, saying:
"From here on in, silence."

The night was eerily quiet, the police officers having already abandoned their stations on campus for some crime fighting elsewhere, leaving the four of them alone on route to the train station a few blocks away. Every few steps, Hugo ensured that he had all of his angles covered in case of an ambush. They were out in the open, too exposed...but no snipers, no shimmer of cloaking devices...just silence. The train station had a few passengers standing on a platform not too far away from the foursome had stopped. Hugo knew that he couldn't use his own alias to get on board...but he wasn't the best detective in the LAPD for three straight years for no reason. They would get out of San Fran and hook up at a safe house in Los Angeles...hopefully.

Hugo's hopes were granted: he was able to secure four seats using an alias he had never used in the service(Jim Barnes) and were now zipping along the rails. ETA was three hours. So they had some time. Lisa was already conked out on the seat across from Hugo. He looked over at Casey, saying:
"I know this has been tough, but hold it together. I need you steady." He gave Casey a small smile before adding:
"At least you get to see LA now right?"

[darcyneumann]

Casey nodded, trying to settle her nerves with steady breathing, but truth be told, she wasn't sure she'd be fine again until this was all over, and even after that... she really didn't know
Exhausted from all the drama, it wasn't long before she was out too, asleep on Darcy's shoulder, leaving the two adults free to talk.

"What happened back there?" Darcy asked quietly, getting right down to business. She'd been through so much crap over the past few days, she was getting tired of it. She just wanted to know what was going on and why. "Who were those guys and why are we running for our lives?"

[hugodouglass]

Hugo leaned back in his seat, knowing that what he was going to tell Darcy wasn't exactly the most positive concerning his character, but he had to tell her. If he was going to love her, he needed to disclose all the details, something he failed to do with Lisa on a daily basis(his late wife hated him for it). He then told her:
"I was in Boston for a few months before I got transferred to the Venia. There was a case that came up: serial killer was going around murdering people by attaching explosives to them. The explosives were high tech stuff, only accessible to Special Forces and higher, so I figured that the guy doing this was linked to law enforcement. A few more murders came up, but I was taken off the case after that. Turned out that DNA scans revealed traces of my DNA all over the place. They thought I involved somehow. Labs couldn't determine if the DNA was fabricated by someone else or not, so I was put on hold for a while, monitored constantly. It wasn't too long after my 'indefinite leave' that the UGAP stepped in and recruited me, looking over the controversy as somewhat of an afterthought. Guess someone changed their opinion." It didn't make any sense; why was this coming up now after the last few months had been perfectly quiet?

[darcyneumann]

Darcy appreciated his explanation. She had learned in her lifetime that honesty was important to her. Her father certainly hadn't been honest. He'd been a drunk and had rarely shared anything with her other than knowledge. That was all he believed was important - increasing her knowledge and imposing his high expectations on her.
"Why now?" she asked, "if they were satisfied enough to let it slide before, even let you join the crew that is considered their greatest achievement, then why suddenly turn on you? What changed?"
Casey shifted to the other side of her seat, continuing to sleep with her head squashed against the wall of the carriage. This allowed Darcy to slide forward in her seat, her hands falling into her lap. It was like a non-stop rollercoast ride being with Hugo. It was certainly going to make life interesting.

[hugodouglass]

"That's what I'm going to find out." Hugo looked over at his new lover with a slight twinge of pity, knowing that she shouldn't have been here. She could have been back on the Venia, patching up injuries and actually doing something productive, not running around with some crazy detective and his eight year old daughter(who was now drooling in her sleep). Hugo took both of Darcy's hands in his own, kissing them gently and giving them a squeeze before saying:
"We're going to get through this. I just know it."

"You do, do you?"
"With all due respect Senator, I think it's safe to say as your adviser that I have a better understanding of what's going on out there. I know that Douglass boy has the answers to those murders."
Senator Paul Goodwin stared outside the window of his office, looking down on the swirling traffic that made up New York's landscape(nothing had really changed over the past four hundred years in terms of traffic) with thoughts running through his mind at lightspeed. Douglass could solve everything, make the crime go away, have the detective have a 'fall from grace'. All those law boys had one fall or another in their career, why not those murders? He would be tried, locked away, and Paul wouldn't have to worry about this surfacing. That's it. Simplicity refined. The UGAP wouldn't even dare link Paul to the murders that had been committed...no, no they couldn't.

And he would make sure they wouldn't.
"Urias, make sure Douglass gets apprehended immediately."
"He will be in your hands soon enough."
"Talk is cheap, Urias. I want results."