A Stainless Steel Cat (6 page)

Ray Hammond had hacked into DMV records and the Sunny Side Apartment complex records looking for any leads on this Royce guy that Darnell had a hard-on for concerning something the big man wouldn't talk about.

"Shit, he's probably a fuckin' paparazzi." Darnell sneered. "You sure there's nothin' else on that punk bitch?"

"Well, I can keep looking, and do a statewide and countrywide search, but for all intents and purposes, the guy's a ghost here in L.A." Ray shrugged, knowing that wasn't what Darnell wanted to hear.

Darnell took several deep breaths. "Ok, fine. Just get it done and call me as soon as you find ANYTHING about him!" Darnell said between gritted teeth.

"I'll run the photo he supplied to the Complex and see if I can get any hits on it, but I'm honestly not counting on much. I'll even run facial recognition through Homeland." Ray sighed. "D, I'll do what I can, but I can't promise anything right now."

Darnell felt his anger cooling off. Ray was a good guy for a geek, and D knew that it wasn't his fault. "Ok, Ray. Thanks, man." He said evenly, then turned and left the A/V room.

Ray breathed a sigh of relief and started his searches. He had backdoors cut in Homeland's firewall, as well as public records of all government run and church run institutions and facilities around the country. State, Federal, and Local governments were all within his sphere of influence. The problem was that a comprehensive search could take hours. He set the search engine running and went to get a can of Jolt out of the fridge downstairs.

He was surprised and shocked when he found his search engine had picked up a 100% match by the time he'd returned.

First initial, last name, and face all corresponded to the St. Agatha Orphanage up in Sacramento! He grinned and fished his iPhone out of his pocket to call Darnell.

Tam woke up to see Royce hanging by his feet from the bar in the bedroom doorway. His back was to her, and he was doing twists and inverted sit ups as he twisted his torso. The strange thing was that he was doing it freestyle, and wearing just a pair of boxers. He wasn't wearing the stabilizer boots with the hooks on them, but was just using his feet with his toes curled backward.

He was softly counting to himself, but she distinctly heard the number "107" from his lips. When he got to 120, he threw his legs forward and dropped lithely to the floor, and without opening his eyes, jumped and grabbed the bar with his hands to do pull ups. She watched in fascination as he did 100 pull ups, and then dropped to the floor, fell forward, catching himself on his hands, and did 150 pushups. When he jumped to his feet, he then walked across the room with his eyes still closed, and into the bathroom. He didn't even turn on the light as he went into the shower and washed himself.

Tam followed him in silently, and saw that his eyes were still closed as he showered naked under the hot spray. She smiled slyly and tiptoed across the linoleum floor and got into the shower stall with him. He turned and put his arms around her waist, then lowered his face to hers, kissing her lips passionately. What surprised her the most was that his eyes were still closed.

"Mmhmm!" Tam moaned into his mouth as his tongue invaded, dancing with hers as she slipped her arms up around his neck.

Royce opened his eyes and looked at her as they broke the kiss. "Did you enjoy the show?" He asked with a wink.

The shocked look on her face said it all, and Royce explained. "When you woke up, your breathing pattern shifted, and then your panting when you watched me with the little gasps here and there let me know you liked what you saw." He grinned, and Tam laughed.

"You could tell all that with your eyes closed?" She chuckled.

"Hey, it was dark when I'd sneak out of my third floor dorm room back at the orphanage." He shrugged. "I learned to do it in pitch darkness and the only warning I'd have sometimes was the nuns or priests breathing."

"Shit, baby. You could be a ninja with those skills." Tam smiled again and kissed him lovingly.

"They come in handy in my line of work." He shrugged. "And as much as I'd like to take you here and now against the wall, we need to get ready for court, baby girl." Royce kissed her one more time before starting to rinse off.

They washed each other, stealing kisses and rubbing up against each other sensually. Once clean, they toweled dry and got dressed. Tam put on her business skirt and blouse, while Royce dressed in a gray dress shirt and slacks with a suit jacket over it but no tie.

"I hate ties." He explained to her when she gave him a raised eyebrow.

"Baby, you look like John on 'Person of Interest' only younger." She grinned.

"Hey, Jim Caviezel rules." Royce said with conviction, nodding his head sagely. "Unfortunately, this isn't Armani, though." He shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"Well, you still look good, baby. Bruised jaw and all." She slipped her arms around him again and gave him a quick kiss. She'd left the makeup off her shiner so they could show the judge what Darnell had done to her, even without the photo evidence the cops had taken after the incident itself.

Royce winced as he looked at it. It had been a few days, but it still looked bad. "How's it feel, sweetheart?" He asked with a concerned look.

"Still sore, but not as bad as the other day." She smiled at him reassuringly.

"Good. Ok, let's go." He smiled back.

Darnell read through the file that Ray had dug up on Shiloh Royce. 'What the fuck kind of name is Shiloh, anyway? Fuckin' cracker names.' He thought to himself.

Jared Hartman looked over at his client. "You know that you can't use that in court, right? In fact, I don't know that you have it. Is that clear?" The lawyer asked.

"Clear, man." Darnell said absently, only half listening.

"Here's the thing, Darnell. I've convinced the D.A. to offer you a plea deal. 2 counts of Misdemeanor Battery and 2 years probation. Also, the Judge is going to issue a restraining order against you. You will not be able to come within five hundred feet of Tamara Jenkins, her place of residence, or employment. It's the best you're going to get." Jared advised his client.

"Ok, whatever. Mr. Hartman, I appreciate what you're doing for me." Darnell said. So he was going to have to wait until Royce went somewhere alone. He could do that.

"Hey, Cammie!" Tam waved to her sister after parking her car. Royce got out the passenger side, scanning the surrounding area for threats.

"Hey, sis!" Cammie replied. "Hey, Royce!" She greeted him too, and he smiled and waved back.

"Hey, Cammie. Good to see you again." Royce said as she came up and gave them both hugs.

"You two did fuck, didn't you!" Cammie said, her filter off for the moment, it seemed. She had a grin on her face that caused both Tam and Royce to blush.

"I KNEW IT!" Cammie squealed. She leaned close to Tam and whispered "Details later, sis."

"Whatever, bitch!" Tam rolled her eyes and winked at her as her mouth turned into a grin.

"I saw that, sweetheart." Royce said and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Saw what? I'm innocent. Pure as the driven snow." Tam took on an aloof attitude, which caused Cammie to laugh too.

"Ok, here's the score." Cammie said, getting serious. " Jared convinced the D.A. to offer Darnell 2 years probation for copping to 2 counts of Misdemeanor Battery, and will have a five hundred foot restraining order on him for those same 2 years. He won't be able to come near you without having the cops on his ass."

"Restraining orders aren't worth the paper they're printed on." Royce said coldly. "They don't stop anything. They just threaten harsher punishment in case something happens to the person being 'protected' by said order."

"Well, in this case, if Darnell sets one inch inside that five hundred foot safe zone, he gets slapped with 2 felony counts of Assault and Battery with a Domestic Violence aggravator for the 1 count on Tam here." Cammie said.

"Still, sis. It won't do much good if I'm dead." Tam said, and Royce put his arm around her protectively.

"That's not going to happen, honey." He said and kissed her cheek.

"Royce, I love ya already." Cammie said as she saw the smile on Tam's face as he held her close, in spite of the situation with her ex.

"I think we should get inside and get this over with." Tam said and pinched Royce's butt. He jumped, then laughed and mock glared at her. "You're going to pay for that later." He smirked.

"Oooh, promises, promises." Tam giggled.

"Ok, ok. Come on, you two. I have to meet up with Jared and Darnell, and you two need to meet up with the A.D.A." Cammie said. She led the way into the courthouse, and they followed close behind, arms around each other.

Once inside, they went their separate ways and the A.D.A., Miss Shelby Sumner, led the two to her office. "Did Cammie already explain what was going to happen?" She asked as they sat down in front of her desk.

"Yes, ma'am." Tam replied.

"Yeah." Royce replied, still with that look of resolve on his face. He wanted nothing more than for this to be over so he could get away from all the law enforcement and authority figures that grated on his last nerve.

"Good. Now, when we get in court, Mr. Royce, you will need to address the Judge as 'Your Honor', and use proper respect, sir or ma'am, when dealing with the opposing council. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am. I understand." Royce replied with a grim nod.

"Good." A.D.A Sumner said with a smile. "Let's go." She got up, and they rose with her and walked to the courtroom where they sat behind the Prosecutor's table with Ms. Sumner.

The hearing went off without a hitch, as the Judge found the deal offered by the D.A. workable and fair. When there were no objections from the plaintiffs, the judge banged his gavel and the ruling was passed. The Restraining Order was put into effect, and Darnell accepted the judge's ruling. Royce and Tam weren't even called to the stand, for which Royce breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he had anything to lie about concerning the case, but if his line of work was called into question, he really didn't have references to call upon for verification. He would have to see about changing that at his earliest convenience.

As they filed out of the courtroom, Tam stole a kiss from Royce, and he smiled at her until he noticed Darnell glaring at him from over her shoulder. Royce noted the big black man's distaste and dismissed it. 'If worse comes to worst, I can at least give him some scars to remember me by.' He thought grimly.

His hand went to the belt buckle under his suit jacket, making sure the three ceramic throwing blades were still in place and readily accessible. He'd bought them and a blued steel dagger for protection in case of confrontation with any security guards who might be patrolling where he would be breaking in and stealing something. While he preferred to think that he could avoid all security personnel, he realized that he wasn't perfect, and could indeed end up in a confrontation.

As Darnell went past them, he looked at Royce. "This ain't over, white boy. I got somethin' for you."

The thug's lawyer, Jared Hartman, shushed his client and gave the big man a stern look as he led him away.

"Anytime, asshole." Royce said to Darnell's retreating back.

"Royce! Stop it!" Tam hissed at him. "Trust me, baby. You do NOT want Darnell anymore pissed off than he already is!"

"Actually, if he's going to come after me anyway, I want him extremely pissed off." Royce smiled at her as he said it evenly. "Let's go, and I'll explain later."

"Who the FUCK does that muthafucka think he's dealing with?!" Darnell shouted as he sat in the limo with Jared.

"Calm down, Darnell. If you'd hit him, you would have no defense! In a courthouse! You threatened him in a fucking COURTHOUSE!" Jared shouted. The normally stoic and reserved attorney was shouting at his client.

The change in attitude wasn't lost on Darnell. "Sorry, Jared." He mumbled. "That little punk is fuckin' my woman, and he thinks he can get away with it."

"She's not your woman anymore, Darnell. After listening to the statements they gave the police, it's no wonder she traded up!" Jared was still snarling at Darnell. D might be the Number 1 Enforcer for Mr. Wolfe, but damned if Jared was going to put up with the street thug attitude from him! "What has gotten into you lately? The power going to your head?!"

Darnell was caught off guard by that one. He looked at Jared in shock. Had the power of being Chief Enforcer gone to his head? He'd cheated on Tam constantly since his promotion a few months back, and had enjoyed the white girls who worked at the Club on numerous occasions. He thought about how he'd treated Tam since then. It was a rare moment of self-reflection for him, but it was soon defeated by his true nature.

"Fuck that shit, man!" Darnell yelled. "I don't give a fuck, and as soon as I catch him alone, I'm gonna do what I have to do!"

Jared threw up his hands in exasperation. "I didn't hear that. For the record, I don't care what you do to him, but Mr. Wolfe might. Just letting you know. If you're going on a personal vendetta against that kid, you're going to have to clear it through the Boss."

"Yeah, yeah. Let me worry about Mr. Wolfe. I'm pretty sure I can talk him into lettin' me do what I need to do." Darnell was cooling down, but he wasn't going to give up until this Shiloh Royce was dead and dismembered and someplace where nobody would ever find him. The kid was an orphan, so no family to worry about asking stupid questions. There was Tam, but Darnell could wait two years until his probation was up and the restraining order was lifted. Then she and her bitch ass sister and her little punk ass nephew might just have to disappear too.

Then there was Mr. Wolfe himself. The man had taken Darnell in when he was just a thug on the streets and had shown him respect for his talents. He paid Darnell very well as an Enforcer, and had promoted him accordingly. As Chief Enforcer, he could order the other soldiers into battle, but he wanted to deal with this Royce punk personally. Mr. Wolfe might be a problem, though. Darnell liked his Boss, but he was also ambitious still. He had visions of Mr. Wolfe leaving him the business when he retired. He also had a plan to maybe deal with Mr. Wolfe if or when he was ready to make a move. He never said anything to anybody about that, though.