Continued from yesterday:
The police were taking his statement and Todd answered while watching Manny’s hands being cuffed behind his back. The man’s eyes were manic and glistening and he looked like he was muttering to himself. He was smiling. That alone scared the living shit out of Todd. But it was over now, he told himself. He was safe. The cops had him.
Todd folded his arms across his chest and wished Sara was next to him. She was, but not close enough. Explaining to the police why she was there would have been too awkward, but Todd knew she hadn’t left.
_She’s near,_ Jean’s voice came in his head while the policeman wrote down what Todd had said. _Waiting right outside for you._
“So I guess the guy’s on drugs or something, on top of it. You’re real lucky the neighbours called the police, kid. So what was your name?"
Todd froze a little. "Kenny,” he hesitated.
“…Kenny Cartman, you said?” The policeman looked unimpressed. “You think only you kids watch South Park, son?"
Shit. ShitshitshitshitshitSHIT.
Todd winced. Manny looked over his shoulder, staring at him. "Can’t you get him out of here first, man?” he hissed to the cop.
“We’re patrol officers. Our car’s downstairs and he looks dangerous enough to try and make a break for it. We’ve already called for backup to move him to the car."
Jesus. Todd knew for a fact that if Manny tried to run he would not get away. Even if they were unarmed and had handcuffed him with plastic soda rings, Manny wouldn’t get more than two feet before he was stopped flat. But he couldn’t say that.
"I can’t tell you my name right now,” he said in an undertone. Manny overheard unfortunately. He stirred from the corner and the other policeman put a hand to his weapon in warning. Manny stayed put, but he stared at Todd.
“Come on kid, he’s not gonna hurt you where he’s going."
Todd looked away, head bent so his hair could obscur part of his face. "Idon'twannatellyouinfrontofhim,” he muttered.
“If you aren’t Kenny…” Manny croaked. It made Todd shudder. The cop’s eyes narrowed.
“This guy come after you before, kid?"
Todd didn’t respond. Manny gave a whoop of laughter and stamped his foot. "It is you! You little son of a whore, you fooled me good!” Todd dared to look between his fingers and saw Manny sitting in the corner laughing as if it was all some horrible misunderstanding.
In the next instant, he slammed into Todd.
The cops lunged, grabbing his arms and pulling him, but Manny had acted fast, biting the side of Todd’s neck viciously enough to draw blood. The cops did little good, Manny had clamped down. Todd’s mind had blown into full panic, but cold blue rage forced his legs to tuck under Manny’s body and kick.
Manny let go with a whoomph of air, jaw snapping open as he sailed into the wall. Todd curled over on his side, hand pressed against his bleeding neck and shaking with anger. With humiliation. One cop wrestled Manny back to the ground, cursing. “We’re sorry,” the other said, trying to lift Todd to his feet.
He felt blood seeping through his fingers and filth. Gagging, Todd broke away from the cop and turned on the water, frantically washing his throat. He didn’t stop, even when the wound stopped bleeding and his shirt became soaked.
“His name’s Todd Tolensky,” Manny said, calmly licking the blood from his mouth. Both cops looked at him icily. “He’s my nephew. My little slut.” Todd hitched, leaning over the edge of the sink, fingers curling around the rim. He was going to attack the man and rip him into little pieces. He had to hold on to something. God, he had to hold on so he didn’t kill him.
Another squad car had arrived, crackled one of the cops belt intercoms. “Great, come and help pick up the trash,” he muttered back. Footsteps outside on the staircase. Todd felt a cop’s hand on his back, a voice trying to be gentle, trying to say he was sorry, so sorry. Todd didn’t hear much, but he didn’t let go of the sink until Manny was downstairs.
~~
Jean had never seen anything like it. Sara, when in a mood to get something done, proved to be a queen of quick-changers. The instant she was in range, she practically jumped into her usual jeans and T-shirt ensemble. Only the shoes really slowed her down, what with the tangle of laces. She didn’t even bother to take the contacts out, just slapped her holowatch on and let it define her humanity.
“Why get dressed at all?” Jean had to wonder.
“The watch doesn’t disguise my clothes - only me.” She shrugged. “That… and it’s freaking *cold* out there.” Then she dashed to the scene.
+
The cops saw her coming and feilded her with neat expertise.
“Ma'am, you can’t go in there, it’s a crime scene,” one intoned.
“But– Haufmann… He’s the evil uncle and he has Todd and that’s his *car*! Is Todd okay?”
“We’re not at liberty to divulge that information as yet,” said the spokescop.
Sara acted the panicked girlfriend to the hilt, screaming Todd’s name at the top of her lungs.
They bought Manny out first. He’d been hurt, and yet he was smiling. How the living spit could he *smile* after the stunt they’d pulled? He was cradling his ribs and having trouble breathing, which was why they loaded him into an ambulance - with an escort, of course - before they took him away.
Sara redoubled her struggles. “That’s him! That’s the bastard that hurt my Todd! Le'meat'im! Goddamn you! Don’t you fucking smile, you fucking dragon shit!” She tried to throw some street debris, but it was too light and fell far short of her target. And the police were starting to restrain her. Sara turned on the waterworks, calling Todd’s name over and over.
At least it was a show for the interesting night people[1].
Todd emerged, grey and harrowed, with a medical pad taped to his neck and a blanket stretched over his shoulders.
The EMT’s checked him over as the cops finally let her go.
“Sweetie,” she breathed, hovering just outside the EMT’s elbow, “What *happened*?”
“Sonofabitch realised who I was. Nosy fuckin’ cops. He bit me.” One hand shot out from the blanket and seized hers in a death grip. “He’s never gonna let me alone.”
Sara regretfully nodded. “I know. The law really sucks in this department.”
“Ma'am, we’re going to have to take your…”
“Boyfriend,” they both supplied.
“…Boyfriend to hospital for observation. Given the circumstances, I think it’d be okay if you rode along.”
Sara kissed Todd’s hand as she tried to pry him off. “Will we be going to the same hospital as that sleaze?”
“No, we’ll make sure we go to a different one.”
Todd relaxed at that point, falling to shivering and tears. “…goddamn it…” he muttered.
“It’s shock, dear,” said Sara, parking herself nearby. “The instant you relax, the aftershocks get you.” She couldn’t help half a smile. “And we both know holding it off can be hazardous to the health, hm?”
“Heh. Yeah…”
[1] In any other neighbourhood, the phrase would be “*interested* night people”. Joke freely liberated from Messirs Pratchett and Gaiman
~
As loath as he was to admit it, Todd probably wouldn’t have lasted one minute riding by himself in the back of an ambulance. He kept his hands to himself so he didn’t hurt Sara, crossing his arms under the blanket, though he leaned against her for support.
He was quiet for a while, wiping his eyes when he couldn’t blink it back.
“I think I really broke his ribs,” Todd said, only loud enough for Sara to hear. He didn’t sound proud of it.
Sara rubbed his back, able to tell there was more. He swallowed harder. “I…” There was no sense being afraid she’d turn away from him at this point. She’d seen it all. She knew it all. And Sara had still come back for him regardless. “Ever been so pissed y-you seriously thought you were gonna kill someone?” he managed. He took a breath. “Right in front of the damn cops?"
Not that he didn’t care about wasting a guy, but he didn’t fancy going to jail either. In Todd’s spinning mind he didn’t know what that made of him.
~
"The instant I saw him smiling,” Sara confessed in a murmur. “Once I’ve finished with someone, smiling should never be an option. He needs more work.”
Todd raised his eyebrows. After the show she’d just been in, he’d have expected Manny to be a gibbering wreck, too. What the fuck was up with that? “Later, eh?” he said. “Survive now. Plot later.”
Sara took a deep breath. “I suppose the Professor would tell us it’s a natural survival instinct. You know - eliminate the threat?”
“Huh,” said Todd. “We both know he’s gonna be out again in a coupla years.”
“Not with attempted murder on the sheet,” said Sara. She pointed to his bandaged neck. “If he bit a little harder…”
“Way t’ gimme nightmares, sweets,” he said. It wasn’t quite a joke.
“Sorry, but it’s true. He tried to kill you. If he gets out, he’ll try again. He’s obsessed and dangerous. Dad could argue him into one institution or another for a very long time. Kidnapping, unlawful restraint, transporting a minor for illegal purposes, attempted murder. If we get a good judge the guy could serve those sentences consecutively.”
Todd snuggled in the blanket. “Yeah,” he said dreamily. But that was a distant future where Manny didn’t escape somehow or some idiot forgot to read him his rights or other shit where the fucktard could legally get off on a technicality. “I hope so.” He didn’t want to crush Sara’s new-found optimism, but he knew slime like Manny got away with it all the time.
Pops got away with it, after all. Until he died.
~
They had settled back into quiet, Sara stroking Todd’s hair and just being as close as she was helped tremendously. The ambulance stopped and one of the EMT’s opened the doors for them. “Okay, if you can step down please,” he said, unfolding the steps. Todd took Sara’s hand and walked down them, clutching the blanket around his shoulders. He was freaking cold and looked around for Manny, despite the EMT’s earlier promise.
There was no sign of the guy, but there were a few cops waiting to question him further. They hung back at the entrance, allowing the EMTs to handle them for now. One of them handed Sara a clipboard. “Family?” he asked her.
“Girlfriend."
"Did you want to get that started for him while we take a look?”
Probably a breach along the lines of privacy somewhere, but it was a mercy breach. Todd didn’t look like he was paperwork capable at the moment. Sara nodded and started filling out what she knew. Todd sat on the stool, clinging to the edges of the blanket like it was a forcefield. The EMT didn’t try to pull it away. He gently peeled the medical tape back and whistled. “Jesus,” he muttered and threw the pad away. The bleeding had stopped but the puncture wounds were there. “I’m gonna have to clean this first.”
~
Sara paused in her jotting. “Please choose a gentle antiseptic?” said Sara. “Todd’s allergic to the harsher ones.”
“How allergic?” said the medic.
“Boils, blisters, sloughing skin if the stuff’s really bad.”
The medic whistled. “We’ll get the chemically inert stuff,” they assured.
Sara went back to the forms. Specifically, next of kin. “Uh,” she said. “What if Todd doesn’t *have* a next of kin?”
“Huh?”
“His parents are dead, and the only relative I know of is going down the river for that bite, at the very least. Todd, dear, is there anyone…?”
Todd murmured a ‘no’.
“Just put in his guardian.”
Sara bit her lip.
“Yo, put in Lance,” said Todd, husky-voiced. “He’s good.”
Oh yes. Eighteen. The official adult of the boarding house. And probably going to be labouring under the medical bills for quite a while. Even *with* Todd’s income helping, it would be a weight.
Maybe she could help.
Sara kissed Todd on the forehead. “I’m'a check my finances, see if I can help with the bills a bit, okay?”
“Come back quick,” said Todd.
Sara ducked outside and activated her mobile, quickly dialling up her bank.
“South Bayville Bank, how may I help you?”
“Hi, my name’s Sara Louise Adrien, I’m just ringing to check my finances.”
Tapping over the phone. “I’m sorry, those accounts have been frozen.”
Yeah, she was checking the mundane accounts. “Could you check the ones under the access-code 'Antoinette’, please?” She obligingly spelled it.
“I’m sorry, all those accounts have been frozen.”
“Who did it?” _Who *knew*?_
“I’m not at liberty to divulge that information, ma'am. We acted under a court order, and that’s all I can say.”
Sara sighed. “Thanks anyway.” She hung up.
Fucking dragons.
She hurried back to Todd. “Looks like I’m going to have to improvise. Again. And prosecute my mother.”
“You *what*?” Todd yawped.
“I suspect she found my Antoinette accounts and froze them. Now I have to start a new account somewhere else. Maybe under a different ID or something… And tell Dad… Shit, this is getting tangled…”
“’S cool babe…” he said. “We make it somehow.”
Sara held his hand. “Somehow.”
~~