[IC] Only Bad Guys Call Their Lawyers

[ClosetMonster]

James laid down the case file on his desk. Inside the file was the week old case of David Vale, father of his client Gwen Vale, and Kara Smith. He exhaled loudly and closed his black eyes as he rubbed them. His right leg he had propped up on the spare chair twinged. The Private Investigator opened one eye to glare at the offending leg. The knee wasn't good anymore. Most of the time it was fine, as long as he didn't run, jump, or twist it. James grimaced as he recalled just what had happened to hand him back in a brace and crutches.
Three Days Ago
James looked down at the address that had been scrawled on a bar napkin. The previous night he had been to Zero's, a local bar that was a popular hang out for a man named Avery Dale Higgins. Avery was an older man, about in his late thirties. He was an average looking man, brown hair, eyes, a little tan. Avery's vice was that he like to drink. And drink he did. A lot. Mainly at Zero's where he often meet with Kara.

James had been following Kara since six days ago when he first accepted Gwen's case. Gwen had come to him, sure that her father was being swindled out of his fortune. Gwen had told him that she suspected her father's new fiance, Kara Smith. Gwen said her father had jumped into Kara's bed only days after his nasty divorce from his last wife Nikky. Gwen asserted that her father had been distraught and Kara was taking advantage of him. James had agreed to look into on that basis. It wasn't often a twenty seven year old went after a seventy eight year old man. Being twenty seven himself James couldn't understand falling in love with anyone that old.

So there he was, sitting in his truck in the morning sun outside of a shabby apartment complex on the north-side of town. James pressed his lips together as he double checked the address. He reached over to the glove box but hesitated. Inside the glove box was a small handgun, a Ruger. He hesitated to bring it out. He wavered over it before withdrawing his hand and leaving the gun where it was.

James popped open the truck's door and stepped out into the sun. It was a warm morning and it promised to be an even warmer day. Having been born and raised here, James like the heat and it didn't bother him. However he was still dressed in a short sleeved shirt that showed off his muscular physique. Just because he kept off his right leg didn't mean he would let himself get out of shape. He was military born and raised, even if he had been discharged.

James carefully walked up the stairs to the second floor. He had just walked past the first door when he heard a small sound that had him driving for the ground. James was a firm believer that you could leave the war but the war never left you. Indeed the small sound he heard had been someone flicking the safety off their gun. James rolled just in time to have the bullet pass harmlessly overhead. The ex-Army man rolled back onto his feet, ignoring the pain in his leg and turned to the door that he had just passed. It was now wide open. A man stood there with a gun pointed at James' chest.

"Don't shoot." James said raising his hands, cursing himself mentally that he didn't being his gun. That he had let his weakness get the better of him. "I'm not here to cause no harm."

The man with the gun didn't say anything but his stance did shift just a little. James having been on the business end of a weapon too many times knew what that mean and he lunged at the man, hoping to get the gun away before he was shot. If James hadn't been pinned in with nowhere to go, he probably would have run, but the only stairs were behind the gunman.

The gunman cursed as James tackled him to the ground. The gun went off, loud in James' ears, and for a long moment he wasn't home he was elsewhere. Then he got a boot in his face and he remembered just where he was. The gunman had gotten the gun away from James' hands and was preparing to shoot again. James punch the guy as hard as he could in the upper thigh, the closest area, and rolled off onto the stairs. A bullet ricocheted off the concrete floor and past James' body. James scrambled down the stairs as another two bullets came in his direction. By the time he was down the stairs the gunman was retreating. James could see other people coming out of their houses.

James sighed in relief as the door slammed shut. His right leg was hurting something fierce, and it was a chore just to get back to his truck. Once he was in he fished out his cell phone and called the cops to report what had just happened.

When all was said and done, the police had came, but that was no one in the apartment. No one at Avery's address either for that matter. James had been sent off to the hospital to get his leg looked at then sent home with firm orders to keep off his leg. James rolled his head backwards and stared at the ceiling. He exhaled heavily again, his mind whirring about the case. Apart from the shooting incident everything pointed towards Gwen's theory. Indeed, as far as James could tell Kara Smith was setting things up to swindle Mr. Vale. It also appeared Avery Higgins was helping her. However Kara wasn't happy about that as was perpetuated by the shouting matches between the two. If the shooting had never happened, James would have called it quits, but now, he wasn't sure. What else was going on and who didn't want him looking into it?

James didn't know how long he stared at the ceiling. He did know he probably would have budged if it wasn't for a knock at his office door.

"Come in." James hollered. "It's unlocked." He reached under his desk for his Ruger. He wasn't going without it now. He watched the door open with a carefully neutral face.

~~

The man behind the desk was watching Harper like a man looks at a snake behind glass. Standing just behind Harper, Venti could get a full look on the private detective as the man at the desk sent his discerning gaze at all of the important bits – waist, crotch, arm, ankle – first. Then he moved to secondary threats, Venti (who he dismissed rather quickly, Venti noticed, no doubt because Venti looked as dangerous as a kitten in the rain), then Harper's stance, his drawn back hair, his clothing. Venti knew what the other man saw. A tall, bookish looking fellow in a tweed jacket who, nevertheless held himself like someone with military training, being trailed by a kid who was probably a dancer or a runner or something athletic. Neither Harper nor Amel could fully dispel their non-verbal signs of training. But neither could Venti impress older men who had just narrowly escaped death, if Mrs. Parks was to be believed. They'd been more than willing to take on a job to set a mother's heart at ease, but mothers also were well known to be overprotective.

Then again, being shot was never a pleasant experience. Repeatedly shot at, even less so.

“You must be James,” Harper said in his smooth voice and ignored the tense set of the detective's shoulders as he pulled up a chair.

Venti quickly scooted into the chair beside, then leaned forward and stared at the man's leg. “She didn't say anything about you getting shot in the leg,” he let drop artlessly.

“I believe that there was some mention of an old war wound?” Harper tilted his head. Beside him, Venti grinned. It was fun to throw guys like this off balance. Just a little. They had a short window to impress on the other man how truly in danger he was and the game he and Harper played was usually enough to do the trick.

~~

James' black eyes narrowed as two men came through his door. They didn't immediately appear to be armed, but James hesitated to release his Ruger. They seemed normal, but that was no indicator. The first through the door was a younger man, probably still in his teens, with a rainbow for hair. He didn't dismiss the youngest because of the next man who walked through the door. He was a blond. Despite being slender and probably about James' own six-two, he held himself like he'd been trained. Possibly military. Never underestimate. James had taken that away from the war and didn't forget it even back home.

James shifted a little in his chair, causing it to creak. The two had just come straight in and made themselves at home. James flexed his fingers on his Ruger to keep them limber as the Blonde spoke. James didn't bother with a reply to the question, not that he could have gotten one in anyways. For the shortest one with the rainbow head opened up his mouth and nonsense fell out. James spared a sideways look at his leg. It didn't look like he had gotten shot. His bluejeans were intact and covering the scars underneath. The only thing visible was the brace that kept him from putting more strain on his leg.

James turned his attention back to the original speaker when the Blonde jumped right in with his own observation. One blackish-brown eyebrow raised up, a direct match to his dark brown buzzed cut hair. James wasn't quite sure who these guys are but they were all over the place. It was almost amusing. Almost.

"How nice." James droned sounding bored. "Done showing off yet?" They could chipper on about how much they knew about him and try to show off. But James wasn't in the mood. Today had been the first day since he messed up his knee again that he was allowed to crawl out of bed for anything more than a bathroom trip. He sure as hell wasn't going to put up with this. Either they got to the point or got out or he could go for the third option which was typically frowned upon: shooting them.

~~

[ClosetMonster]

The tall blond's mouth quirked in humor while beside him, the boy with the red and green and purple hair crinkled his nose in empathy. “Bad mood. I'm Venti, this is my brother, Harper. Here, give him our card,” he jogged the taller, older man with his elbow.

Harper drew out a card which he held across. It was plain white with black lettering. The first letter, a T, was in block with some filigree on it, but everything else was basic font.

Tres Protection Co.
Harper P. Daela
Computer Systems/Records Investigation
(xxx) 777-5348 xt. 10

“A Mrs. Parks has arranged for our services,” Harper stated in a bland manner as he looked the man over again. Their James Parks was a bit green around the gills and still standing. Amel would approve, naturally.

“Something about you being shot at,” Venti lifted a brow. “I'm not on the card. That's Harper's card. I've got my own. We got three of us, so we've arranged with Mrs. P arks that you'll have twenty four hour care. That includes me. I get the mornings, because everyone hates a morning person and I don't mind pissing people off. Harper is our nights guy, since that's when he does most of his work, and Amel will cover you during the afternoon and evening. He's our third. Your mom seems like a really nice lady,” he added and stuffed his hands between his knees.

“However, I find it interesting that you didn't file a police report,” Harper added. “You were shot at, correct?”

~~

James didn't blink as rainbow teen smart mouthed. Was he in a bad mood? Possibly. He had been confined to his bed after being shot at. Stuck with nothing to take his mind off the case nor the past. At least he was getting names. Rainbow Teen was Venti, an odd name. Blondie was Harper, which was a girl's name in James' book. However he refrained from pointing that out as he took the business card that was offered to him. At this point he had loosened his hold on the gun, but didn't release it yet.

Tres Protection Company. James had never heard of it. It would have to be a family thing. In his nearly a year of being a P.I. he had run across a few companies either as a hire or investigator. This wasn't one of them.

James at first didn't register what the Blonde, no Harper said. He was moving forwards mentally on the assumption they were going to hire him for something. He placed the card down on the table and listened as Rainbow Teen rambled off. He stopped listening when the teen said his mother's name again. Parks. Mrs. Parks. There were only a few Parks in the area and somehow James knew that this one in question was his mother since his sister was now Mrs Brown.

"My mom hired you?" James ignored Harper talking about the police report. He did in fact file one, it should have been on record along with the fact he had called the police. It should all be public record. "You work for Darien Parks?"

He didn't wait for a confirmation. James shoved the gun away and pulled out his cell phone in anger. He yanked open another drawer and pulled out a small memo pad. "That meddling old hag." He muttered to himself as he jabbed in a number from the pad and lifted the phone to his ear before tossing the pad away into the trash. How dare she keep trying to run his life. He had gotten away from that eight years ago when he ran off to the Army, he wasn't going to let her start up again.

~~

Venti sniffed and watched as the detective went all focused as realization of Mom and Mrs. Parks became synonymous. Rather than continue talking, Venti reached over and touched the back of Harper's hand and the two went very still.

Harper pulled out a smart phone and withdrew a stylus from his front pocket. Using this, he began to work through some various problems which were Harper specific. Generally it was better to not ask about what exactly he was doing, either for legal purposes or simply because it could lead to a long, rambling, and rather boring explanation of something far beyond anyone else's ability to follow.

Venti, on the other hand, leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees. He had large eyes for someone as old as he was and the result was that he looked a good three years younger than his age. Then again, being underestimated had gotten him places he wasn't sure he could have gotten otherwise. He wasn't sure he wanted this man to underestimate him, however. James Parks looked capable and strong and knowledgeable and stubborn. In fact, he looked very stubborn. It was lucky that there wasn't a single one of the Daela boys who wasn't as dumb as a rock when it came to giving up.

Then again, there was a definite chance that James Parks could be even more bull headed. Venti wriggled slightly in his chair and swallowed a grin of glee. Oh. This was going to be fun. He couldn't wait for their work to begin.

But then, Venti liked the stubborn ones. Harper would get quiet and refuse to talk and Amel? Venti made a silent note to himself to beef up the weight room, remove the mirrors. Amel was due for a rampage if this Parks fellow didn't let them do their job. It would only be a matter of time.

~~

James' phone rang and rang in his ear. He was about to give up when a cool voice came over the speaker.

"James." The older woman's voice spake neutrally.

"You hired body guards? Guards. As in Plural. What were you thinking?" James snapped angrily into the phone. "Why did you even hire them? I can do my job myself thank you very much." Over the phone James could hear his mother take a deep breath and found it flamed his anger even more. She was going to use her 'rational' voice. Like he couldn't live his own life. He was twenty-seven, not an infant.

"Your sister told me what happened. Heavens knows you've been shot at enough while overseas. Do you really need to keep getting yourself shot at?"

"I can take care of myself." James gritted out. He had to concentrate on not throwing the phone across the room or smashing it. "Stay out of my life." James hung up before she could say anything else. He shoved his phone away and turned back to the two bodyguards. This situation was too unbelievable.

"Are you going to go away if I tell you to?" James asked them, trying to ignore smirking rainbow head. His leg was beginning to throb a little, so he had to shift positions, but not yet. Not in front of these two. Even if they had been hired by his mother, didn't mean he trusted them. In fact, his mother's main goal may be to have them spy on him for her. It wouldn't be the first time. No, that was about a year after he left home, he discovered his mother contacted one of his squad mates and paid him to report to her. It still made him angry, even if he had made up with his friend.

~~

Venti tilted his head. Beside him, Harper gave a mirthless smile. “No,” he stated as he stood. “And at that, I shall leave you to it.” He turned to stare at Venti but the boy was merely staring at James.

With a slight shake of his head, Harper gave a shrug to the P.I., reached out and touched the boy's shoulder, and murmured, “Amel will be here at three.”

“And you'll be at his place by midnight. Cool-io!” Venti smiled at James and did not turn to watch his brother leave.

When Harper closed the door, Venti drew a foot up onto his chair and looped his arms around his knees. “So,” he said pleasantly, “I can just stand around and watch, or you can give me a job. I know enough Word Processing to be a menace and I can file if I need to. And I make a mean cup of coffee.” His mouth curved into a friendly grin and eyes dancing, he sat back comfortably and waited for how his new P.I. client was going to act.

~~

[ClosetMonster]

ames could see very quickly that this was probably a loosing argument. The two brothers kind of just ignored him. He had no doubt that would be what they'd continue to do if he kept insisting they leave him alone. Great. Trust his mother to pick out the only honorable people in the world. They probably would even take his money to go away. James mentally swore. He didn't need to be watched over. He could handle himself. He didn't need a babysitter. He was twenty seven for crying out loud.

And you'll be at his place by midnight.

James blinked. "Wait." James said when the blonde stood up and left, but he either didn't hear or ignored him because the door closed. Then rainbow teen word vomited again. James however was still stuck on the earlier statement.

"Wait, wait wait." The former-Sergeant held up a hand to stop the teen if only for a moment. "Just stop for a second."

James took a deep breath. "Who's going where at midnight?" This was all too new. He wasn't used to dealing with this. Getting shot at he could handle, getting ordered around he could handle to an extent. This? This was so far out left field the umpire would have called it out yesterday.

~~

“Harper,” Venti said in confusion. “He'll be at your place at midnight, or wherever you are with Amel. Amel will coordinate the change, because we can't do our jobs if we're not close enough to know where you are and if you're okay. That kind of thing. It's a bodyguard deal,” he brushed his hand over his short hair and grinned at the private investigator.

Venti pulled one leg up until his knee was under his chin, then he grinned at James. “It'll take about three or four days to get used to it. Don't worry. We're used to the whole process. You'll be frustrated, then you'll get annoyed or pissed off. So long as you don't get all teary and start begging us for some private time. That gets weird. We don't get paid to judge your housekeeping skills or who you sleep with. We're just paid to stay close enough that if we're needed to protect you, we can. Make sense?” He tilted his head and looked the other man over.

“And if I can help while we're at it, I will. I mean, just 'cause I'm here and watching over you, doesn't mean I have to be all loomy. Amel is the loomy one. You'll see.”

~~

James found himself relaxing as rainbow teen, God he needed a shorter nickname, allowed that he'd be at home. Which was good because he heard it that he had to be somewhere else, basically where they wanted, at midnight. If that was going to be the case, James was going to have to pitch a fit. Which thankfully wasn't going to have to occur because it wouldn't have been pretty. James shifted a little as his leg started twinging again.

Thanks to rainbow teen, James was beginning to become slightly apprehensive about Amel. However he shrugged it off with his military training. No sense in worrying about what he couldn't change. If the past hour was any indication, he wasn't going to change any of their minds, even if he did throw a fit. Though, that just might make things worse for him. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. When the teen mentioned sex he sighed even more.

"Alright kid, just stop. Stop. You're giving me a headache and I do not need one right now." James dropped his hand a graced rainbow teen with a look that said he had no problem shutting him up physically. He was too peppy and too talkative for a sour mood that James was in. If only he rewind time for a while. While the morning hadn't been the greatest, at least then he didn't have a bunch of bodyguards.

"God." James dropped his head into his hands. He needed to get back to the case. Unfortunately he couldn't do that since his leg still hurt to walk long distances. And his only leads were that someone shot at him, which meant the follow up would involve a lot of walking, but if slouched around for too long, the leads would vanish. He groaned, reached over and grabbed his crutches and wobbled to his feet.

"Are you going to come?" James asked rainbow teen. He needed to find out more about Avery Higgins. He had already wasted two days and sitting looking over the case file obviously wasn't helping.

~~

Either unaware, or perfectly comfortable with his impact on people (and considering the state of duct tape and how quickly it's gone through at their offices, one would think it was comfortable) Venti nodded and stood, brushing his hands down his tattered jeans. He looked everything not like a bodyguard, being small, skinny, and very, very adolescent. The only tells were the slick way he could transfer from one state to another, from sitting to standing, standing to crouching, crouching to hanging from a ceiling (though rarely was there someone around to see that) and the usual sweeping glances when entering a room, as if casing the place for hostiles, exits, entrances, and defensible spots. Common tells for those comfortable with covert ops and growing up as well as surviving on the streets.

“Wherever you go, I go also, boss!” Venti chirped and gave a mock salute with a cocky grin, then went to open the door. “You wanna explain or should I just keep quiet?” He'd cased the other side of the door with a quick, no-nonsense look even as he dug in his pocket and drew out a small, yellow, medicinal bottle. He thumbed the top and then palmed a pill from it, replacing the bottle without once looking at it.

As they stepped out, he turned and held out his hand. “Advil,” he said. “Swear it's not prescription, but the Advil bottles are a bitch to open when you need them. This is one of the adult only caps.” He nodded down at the leg. “It's probably swelling up and I didn't see any over-the-counter pills out on the desk and Advil shouldn't, yanno, get in the way of whatever you're taking. I think?” He almost went on about how he popped Advil whenever he got shot, but the look Mr. Parks had had earlier was looking more dour by the second and in lieu of having to dodge a fist to the back of his head, he chose silence.

~~

James watched the kid spring from the chair. No, spring wasn't the right word. More like teleported. One second he was sitting, then he was standing. The action had James reevaluating the motor mouth teen. It also had the older man wondering what had happened to the Daela family so it could produce a teen like rainbow hair. But he didn't have much time to muse on that because the teen was already on the next action. The kid was quick enough and annoying enough that James decided that he was going to get grey hair trying to keep the kid out of trouble, no nevermind it was supposed to be the opposite way around. Not the kid shut up while opening the door either.

Whatever James was going to say to rainbow's question if he should be quiet dies with the appearance of the pill bottle. The teen was taking drugs? Oh hell no. James wasn't going to be guarded by a drug addict.... He blinked as the kid shoved his hand towards James and offered him the pill.

Advil. Swear it's not prescription, but the Advil bottles are a bitch to open when you need them. This is one of the adult only caps. It's probably swelling up and I didn't see any over-the-counter pills out on the desk and Advil shouldn't, yanno, get in the way of whatever you're taking. I think?

James blinked again. "I'm not taking anything." Not one thing because he was so focused on the case and had totally blanked it. "Thanks." He took the pill, gave it a once over before dry swallowing it. It might actually make hobbling around Higgins' place tolerable. It also might control the kid induced headache. Thankfully his office was on the ground floor, or else he wouldn't be going anywhere. He locked up the place before getting out of the building that housed his office and into the parking lot. His truck sat happily in the handicapped parking space. Heat was coming off it in visible waves and the ex-Sargent mentally grimaced. Still, he pressed on. He opened the door and climbed in before leaning over and popping the lock on the passenger door.

"You're gonna have to yank it hard." James told rainbow hair. "It never wants to open." Not even after being oiled, or having it taken off and jimmied. It was a tick of his old truck and now it kind of amused him.

~~

[ClosetMonster]

Venti, despite having been a chatterbox inside, merely nodded when thanked and stepped to one side. He allowed James to close the door and direct their actions. It wasn't obvious that Venti was doing much more than walking either a half step ahead or behind whenever they went anywhere. He slouched slightly and sucked on his lower lip, looking even more like a teen than he had before.

The heat outside would have melted a popsicle in two minutes flat. Venti didn't seem to notice it much, despite having on jeans and a tee. Still, teens were good at hiding that kind of thing. He shoved a hand into his pocket and surreptitiously turned on the GPS tracker which was broadcast to both Amel and to Harper, then went around the truck and yanked on the door easily. When it popped open, he paused and looked at it for a moment with a slight frown on his face.

He opened his mouth, intending to say something, but at the last moment, chose instead to close his teeth around the words and get inside. With care, he pulled the strap and shoved it into the sun heated receptacle.

“All right,” he looked around them and then gave a grin back at James. “Off we go!”

To where, he didn't ask. It wasn't all that necessary to know where they went, so much as it was to know what things were supposed to look like and Venti's particular skills ran toward how any social setting was supposed to look. He was the “heart” in their triad and as such, was often the first on the scene to gauge the ways of things. Amel would be there when they settled in, just like Amel would probably also be in James' office as soon as the GPS proved to him that they weren't there any longer. It helped Amel not be so... loomy, if he knew he had the technology to back his own self up.

Venti just relied on his senses. He casually looked around them while they backed out of the parking space and hummed to himself, some variant on the latest hip hop song on the Top Forty music program.

~~

James started the car as soon as rainbow teen was inside. He didn't pull out right away, instead he left it idling while the AC kicked on. James had learned if he pressed the truck too fast with the AC, something would give. (And if it was the engine he was going to be out of a truck for the next three years saving desperately.) James shifted the car into gear and slowly backed out of the parking lot, then accelerated onto the road.

"I was surprised." James started slowly. "You can not say something." The older man turned and smiled at the teen before looking back on the road. "And we're going to Avery Higgins' place."

A sudden idea occurred to James that had him rethinking taking along the teen. What if the shooter was back, waiting for James and the kid got stuck in the crossfire. God. He'd never forgive himself if he got a kid killed. Even if said kid was supposed to be a bodyguard. He exhaled heavily and changed his mind. "Right, no. Zero's. We're going to Zero's." The bar wouldn't be open, not during the afternoon, but in his surveillance of Higgins and Kara he had become friends with the bar owner. The owner, a older woman named Alice, would be in her loft above the bar, and hopefully she had heard something about Higgins and why the hell someone had been waiting to shoot...

James drummed his fingers on the wheel. How did he know he was the target? What if it was Higgins, or someone else who lived in the complex. If it had been for Higgins, the man might be long gone. If it had been for him? Well, that was what paranoia was for. All this was thought and over in about three seconds. "We can get some information there about," He pulled a face. "Higgins and the shooting." He didn't bother to state that he was hoping Alice could tell him if he was the intended target or not.

~~

“Higgins,” Venti said with a frown. “That is the case you're working on that got you shot, then? I'm assuming, cause you're still hard at work this soon after getting shot. Well, and you said them both, you know, together and all.” He gave a quick smile over the man driving, then leaned against the window in a casual pose.

“Anyway, I'm okay with being quiet sometimes. It's possible. Not usual,” he snickered, “but it's not unheard of. Maybe more when we got something to do. It'd kinda suck if I was talking and missed something.”

Saying that, and fully unable to hold himself back, he reached down and drew his tee shirt up to his middle, then tapped his side. He was rail thin and as muscled and tan as a Cali swimmer under it all. Still, with the gold of his skin, it was that much more difficult to miss the obvious scar on the side of his stomach. “Got an innie and an outtie,” he grinned, turned his body slightly so that if James were looking, he could see the exit wound.

With a glance at James, he gave a comfortable shrug than let the shirt fall once more. “It only took once for me to figure that running my mouth when I'm not secure is sorta stupid. So I'm not gonna talk if there's work to be done.

“Anyway, you'll figure that out eventually. Amel doesn't talk at all, really. And Harper, he's a doll, but he's so serious all of the time. I gotta talk to keep up with the silence, really. You don't look much like a talker either. But you gotta. I mean, if you want us to know who might be dangerous and all. You'll have to tell one of us about this Higgins character. Well, and your case. We're not investigators and we got a strict confidentiality rule. We can't give anyone your info. Not even the person who hired us. It's up to us when you're safe and we gotta contract that states that. It also says that if we let anything slip to anyone, like even a priest or something, cause Amel's Catholic, then you can sue the pants off of us. But it's sort of our code, you know? We don't talk about work no where but in places we know is secure and over secure lines, so your information remains yours. That's part of being a bodyguard that a lot of folks don't get. The way we gotta keep things confidential. It's important.”

He scratched the side of his nose. “So what's up with Higgins?”

~~

James' eyes flickered over to rainbow head briefly before going back to the road. He sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Same case." Then the kid kept talking and James started to tune the kid out. So far a lot of his babble hadn't been relevant and he kind of wanted to stay sane.

James blinked as the kid lifted his shirt, then he saw the gun shot wound. James' hands tightened on the steering wheel. His mouth went dry and he wondered why the hell his brothers had even let a kid like rainbow head go into the protection business. He also was slightly angry at them too, truth be told. He had seen too many kids die during the war and it wasn't something he wanted to see back home. Ever. The fact the the kid was completely unconcerned by it bothered James even more. It was those who didn't worry that died the quickest. He was going to have to have a talk with the kid's brothers about this. Mainly taking the kid off the case, and if they wouldn't they were going to have a problem. A big one.

"...Higgins?"

James forced his fingers loose with the change of topic. He hadn't really heard much of what the kid was jabbering bout, but he didn't hear Higgins' name. The older man took a deep breath. "Higgins is dating a woman named Kara Smith who's dating a wealthy older man." James didn't say the man's name out of client confidentiality and all. "The guy's daughter came to me thinking Ms. Smith is conning her father out of his money. So far all signs are pretty much pointing in that direction. That Smith and Higgins are behind this."

James stopped talking as he pulled into Zero's parking lot. He turned off the truck before taking a deep breath and continuing. "As I dug into Ms. Smith I saw her most often with with Higgins here. But they weren't friendly, not like they were in public." He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Nine times out of ten they'd end up in a screaming match that left Ms. Smith in tears. Not at all like the happy couple conning an old man out of his fortune. So I decided to pay Higgins a visit and got shot at." James shrugged. "All there is really. Until I was shot at I was willing to agree with the daughter." He shrugged and popped open the door.

~~

Venti cranked open his door on his side, again mentally noted the issue as being significant. He popped his bright head over the top of the hood and grinned across at the P.I. “This is cool!”

Whatever else he might have thought to say was lost as instead of continuing, he quickly made his way to the other side of the vehicle and tucked up near James. He smirked at the older man and sucking on his teeth, turned all the way around in a slow circle, looking a lot like a kid casing out a joint for whomever might have been interested in looking at him. Classic center of the universe.

Harper would have a field day, was enough of a thought without being too distracting. The nuances of the little bit the man had given him spoke to something a bit above and beyond a classic blackmail case. Not that Venti did any detective work, so maybe things like that were par for the course.

Venti skipped ahead with a small hop and jump to the door where he opened it for his “boss” and with a quick look inside, got out of James' way to allow the other man entry. He was rather close to James as they walked in and he did nothing to appear a day over the already too young age he already looked. Again, once the door was closed and he'd given the place a good, hard look, fixed his attention on potential trouble spots, he sucked in breath to let out an entire barrage of questions.

“So... then what is this place? If he's the one you are looking into, why not just go to his place again? You're probably thinking the whole deal will happen again, but it'd probably be a good thing for us to go by there too, just to get a GPS dot on our trackers. Should get you one too,” he paused as the bartender froze and Venti, like a deer sensing a lion, went still and silent.

Bar. Bright, multi-colored hair. The two things inevitably did not mix well. There was something about the man at the bar that screamed red warning lights at Venti in particular. No menace toward James, just a good deal toward a loud-mouthed kid walking into his establishment.

~~end of doc~~

[Blue Demon]

James hobbled out of the car. He was slow enough that rainbow head could whisk around the truck and end up next to him before he rearranged his crutches. It was never getting into a vehicle that was the difficulty. Of course, not that the kid seemed to notice He was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. The Ex-army man shook his head. Everyone had this idea of true detective work. But James was inclined to think that wasn't the case, in this it might be that rainbow teen didn't get out much. His brothers did seem like the protective type. Ha!

"This is a bar." James said with a sigh. Was it not that obvious? He opened his mouth to tell the kid that he had his own reasons for not going to Higgins' place. No way would he tell this cocky rainbow headed teen that the reason he wasn't taking the best route for his investigation because of said teen. Then the teen froze. His eyes went to the bartender who was casually getting everything sorted away. The bar was still closed, but in a few hours it would open.

"Hey. Is Alice in? I was here a couple of nights ago." James watched as the man made a face.

"Just because the bar's not open doesn't mean you can just waltz in here with minors." The bartender said still glaring at the teen.

James sighed. The chances of the kid going back to the car were probably less than the chances of getting struck by lightning. Then again, getting past the zealous bartender was going to be another task in of itself. Perhaps it was time to change tactics.

"Look, I just need to talk to Alice. Maybe you could give her a call or something while we wait." He shifted his body so it was more open and his hands were visible. Hopefully the man would be more receptive. "Tell her Parks wants to continue talking." He smiled slightly. "And the kid wont be any trouble. Honest." He elbowed the kid in the shoulder to let him know that was his cue to chime in with his own promise to behave. Not that it would probably happen. If the kid couldn't even stay quiet for a few minutes, there wouldn't be any chance of staying out of trouble.

[ClosetMonster]

Venti rolled his eyes even as he was jostled to the side. Still – a cue given was a cue followed, in particular when he could get in the guy's way. It wasn't like they were hired to make a mess of everything James Parks was trying to do. He hadn't really gotten to spend more than five minutes total with Darien Parks, but those five minutes had made an indelible impression on his young, male sensibilities. The woman had hired them and she would do far more than fire them if they mucked things up. Rather, if Venti mucked things up.

Internal warning system telling him to keep his mouth shut, he flashed a white grin at the bartender as he raised two fingers in a silent Scouts' salute. His hand got kind of near to a sprig of red which fell into his eye so that it seemed natural to move it out of the way next. The motion though, brought that laser attention back to the colors in his hair and his very apparent youth. With a nervous flick of his fingers, Venti's smile wavered. He widened his eyes and gave a more earnest nod, so as to give off the Good Boy vibes necessary.

Then again, he was never very good at pretending to be something he wasn't. The barman's eyebrows remained tightly drawn down, his eyes narrowed on Venti before, with a grunt, he jerked his head to the side. Giving verbal permission would have broken some sort of old codger law, no doubt.

“Make sure he keeps his hands to hisself,” the man warned as Venti tucked himself to the opposite side of James and followed him toward the back of the bar.

[Blue Demon]

James relaxed as the Bartender gave his seal of approval. At first he thought they were going to be refused just because of rainbow head. Wouldn't that have sucked. Every avenue of possible investigation would have been squelched. All thanks for his interfering mother. James took a deep breath. At least the bartender was too busy staring at the teen to notice his annoyance. Small mercies in an otherwise trying day.

"I will." James promised. He'd make sure rainbow head didn't screw anything up.

At the back of the building was a door. It had a few locks on it and James hesitated. The bartender sighed loudly. "It's unlocked while not in business hours." James thanked the man, opened the door and found himself at the base of a flight of stairs. A few choice cuss words went through his brain even as he heard the man behind the bar start laughing to himself. James glared at the steps then started climbing. As with the car, getting back down would be another ballgame all together. Maybe he'd make the kid carry him. The thought caused a chuckle to escape his lips. Wouldn't that be a sight to see?

[ClosetMonster]

Venti curled in beside his charge, his normal chatter silenced even as the door closed. The stairwell had little light and there were two entrances, two exits, both the same. Little maneuverability and a man with a bum leg made it a situation which he wasn't entirely certain he could be comfortable with.

His mind racing with the various tasks he generally gave it, he almost missed the shift in weight as James stepped and something panged. His balance just slightly off, he caught himself handily and obviously needed no extra help, more than likely would not have accepted help even if offered, and simultaneously alarmed the care-taker part of the boy following him, so that Venti crowded behind him by one step down and braced himself with taking firm hole of the opposite hand holds in the case should James' leg not manage to make it to the top of the steep, rickety stair.

Make it they did, however. Venti could feel the warmth of the older man before him, close enough was he, and he breathed a sigh of relief in counterpoint to James' almost inaudible sigh of relief that he'd no longer have to climb. It had to have pained him enough to annoy, but he'd made no move to complain the entire while. Feeling he had a satisfactory bead on his employer's son, Venti supposed it wasn't so much due to James not feeling much pain, but far more the fact that James wouldn't tell Venti had he felt anything short of something that brought him to the ground.

“Hold on,” Venti's voice cut the quiet at the top landing. “I ask that you just allow me first look.” He hadn't waited for James to accept his offer, but instead had slipped his thin body around James' and popped into the hallway behind before James had an opportunity to do so. The boy did nothing to stop the man from following him, but he did take a few steps further ahead before glancing around his shoulder at where the investigator was, ascertaining that the man truly did not need any help, nor did he seem to want it overly much.

With a grin, Venti carelessly lifted one shoulder. “Habits of the job. I gotta do things first, we all do. Or we're not doing what we're paid to do. Now, which room?” he glanced down the hallway.

[Blue Demon]

James was never happier to make it to the top of a flight of stairs. He was happy that the advil had obviously kicked in. He briefly wondered how long it would be before he could take another. He was also happy that the doctor wasn't around to yell at him. Technically he didn't think this degree of activity was allowed. After all he did just get out of bed confinement today. So, in conclusion, James willingly let rainbow hair go ahead of him. Mainly because he didn't think anyone was going to attack him here. Anyways, it wasn't like the kid gave him much of a choice.

"Sure. Whatever." James said, as he rested, to thin air. He took a few deep breaths before stepping into the hallway. He blinked when the kid asked which room was Alice's. In all honesty James had just assumed that when she had said she lived above the bar, she was the only one. Apparently that was false. James sighed heavily. Well, this would be a good time to let the kid know what James would expect of him in Alice's room.

"I don't know." James said in response to the question. "Hold up a second." He gestured the kid closer to him. When he spoke next his voice was pitched low. "When I talk to Alice I need you to follow my directions okay? Just as I mention them, don't go improvising." He didn't wait for acknowledgement. Either the kid would do it or not. "First, I'm not going to be nice to her. I'm going to blame her. I don't think it was her fault, but I'm going to let her think that. Then, if she really didn't do it, chances are she wont want to talk to me. If she doesn't, you're going to. Be the sweet kid we both know isn't in there." James smirked. "Get her to tell you who might have warned Avery Higgins I was coming, or who didn't want me messing with Higgins. Okay?" Classic good cop, bad cop. Classic, because it worked. After all Alice was an older woman, mid-fifties. She liked kids and rainbow head looked like he could be a charmer if he wanted.

While James just finished talking one of the two doors opened and a woman poked out her head. "Get lost? I assume you're Parks and Brat. Sam said you were coming up and when you didn't show, I was going to come looking." Alice was indeed an older woman. She dyed her hair black, wore little makeup and while she wasn't large, neither was she skinny.

[ClosetMonster]

Suddenly Venti was part of the process and his entire lit up with what could have been easily described as a puppy's level of delight. He all but wriggled in excitement as he nodded. “Kay,” he grinned wild and bright. James would be the meanie and Venti would be the nice kid. He could do that. Actually, considering it was a fairly straightforward game, he could do it really easily.

When the woman came half out of her apartment, Venti visibly restrained himself, his hands in his pockets and glanced nervously over at James. She had already called him Brat, which suited him just fine because Venti wasn't the kind to take much of anything personally, but she'd also said she was on her way to look for Mr. Parks so maybe the game had already changed?