Chapter 12: The Gregorio Case
"So, who wants this case?" The man turned away from the television, which screeched it's screams of violence and terror only to face a group of talented young, old, men, women blinking in intimidating. "C'mon, the presentation of the case wasn't that bad, kick up to the challenge and take the bait! Who knows, your name might go down in history for it."
"Yeah, the name and a death certificate." A redheaded woman to the right snorted, fixing the glasses on the bridge of her nose. "I've taken risks with cases, but even I'm not going to accept this one."
The man shrugged, and paced before the seated people. "Every case has its risks. But you do know that you have your protection given to you by law."
As they continued to talk and converse about the case and possibilities of being targeted, they didn't notice a young man in the back brooding, slowly tuning out the loud voices from his mind.
It's been two months since Shane graduated from Harvard. As soon as he did, he joined his father's brother's law firm.
Ever since Feathers confessed of her certain abilities, he placed a bodyguard with her. After her confession, he set up a rendezvous with Damien, who was a third degree black belt in karate, Brazilian jiu jutsu and kickboxing, to spar with Feathers. She failed every single spar. He was peeved at the thought that he believed her little lie and ignored her for the week.
It wasn't until a man trespassed into the McDaniel's mansion that he witnessed those abilities.
She nearly snapped the man's neck when she caught him cornering Patricia. If it weren't for Shane who immediately responded to Patricia's yelling, he would have dealt with Patricia's secret dead boyfriend and a sobbing sister.
For certain, she didn't need protection. The bodyguard wasn't to protect her because he knew she was lethal. The man in black was to make sure Feathers was at her best behavior and to intercept if she were ever to make a mistake when attack a possible citizen or family member.
He also restricted her from many activities and gatherings for his family's protection.
She wasn't allowed into certain parts of the mansion. Though she had no restriction before, Shane couldn't take the chance. With new people and staff continuously moving around the area of the mansion, it was a risk Shane wasn't willing to take. Therefore, Feathers was told that she was only allowed to stay on the second floor of the building, the living room, and kitchen. Other than that, she was allowed nowhere else.
And the most important rule of all: she wasn't allowed outside.
His parents and sister fought against him about the rule, but he placed it firm. They hadn't seen the glint in Feathers' eyes as she was getting ready to put Patricia's dead boyfriend at a permanent loss. Patricia was there, yes, but she was cowering and closing her eyes. She didn't see Feathers pure intention of overdone defense.
It had been weeks since then and Shane hadn't seen much of Feathers.
Shane was full of activities. It was not only time consuming, but also exhausting. He would return home, eat, workout for just a tad and then head to sleep. He woke up each day at the time of the cock's crow and didn't return home until late night.
Emily hadn't said much, but the mother in her had noticed that this wasn't the norm of newly employees at work. When he had declared independence and wished to move out, she firmly placed her foot down and denied him his wishes.
He attempted to move regardless, but after hiding specific highly necessary objects he stopped.
"I'll take it," Shane said, opening his folder and jotted down 'Gregorio case' on a black sheet of paper.
All lawyers presented immediately were placed at a silence.
"Do you know what this case is even about?" The previous redhead asked, turning her voluptuous body to the side to regard the boy.
"It's just a case," Shane responded.
"It's not just a case." The man who was presenting the case arched a brow. "This is a tricky case, a tricky case that is the epitome of a maze. You are aware of the game chess, aren't you?" The man's lips went firm at Shane's nod. "Unlike chess, this case has no rules. It has more players, more rules and no morals. Mr. McDaniel's, I've realized that you are new to the firm, but that doesn't mean you should go head on with any case that gets presented."
The door to the small room opened, revealing a bald man in his sixties with thick-rimmed glasses perched on his face. "Just give him the case, Ronald. Might as well go to McDaniel than anyone else. If anyone can crack it and win it, it'll be him."
"But Mr. Dorris, he's-!"
"Don't matter, Ronald. He's already won five cases in less than a month. I say, give the kid a challenge. He'll figure it out somehow." Mr. Dorris, the head of the firm, glanced at the other elder lawyers. "And you all take a good look at that boy, the boy who's gonna get a raise."
The group went wild at the mention of a raise and couldn't do anything about it as Mr. Dorris left the room.
The redhead, Sharon, shook her head. "I still wouldn't touch that case with my hand. It's too tricky. I'd probably get killed or raped if I tried to go against Gregorio."
"But a raise!" A man to her right moaned, clutching his head depressingly. "I could do some with a raise!"
Shane stood from his desk, grabbing his folder before making his way to the door.
"Shane," the man up front, Austin, tried to stop.
"I want to take the case, Austin. You out of everyone else should be aware that once I claim a case I won't be releasing it anytime too easily." Shane merely said as he walked down the row of cubicles till he reached his small working area.
Austin sighed, "That's not the point, Shane. You don't know…you don't know the Gregorio's. They're ruthless and savage. They won't stop at anything to make sure that their only son-"
"Law works fine the last time I check. If he has done something seriously wrong to my client, then it'll be up to me to make sure that this case wins."
When Austin tried to change his mind, Shane sighed and twirled on his rolling chair towards the elder man who had trained Shane during his first few days at the firm. Austin was acting too much like a paternal figure in Shane's life. Though John had done everything as a father, Austin had done everything John had not.
It didn't sit well with Shane.
"Don't worry about me. I know what to do."
"That's the thing, you don't!" Austin groaned, streaking a hand through his hair before fully assessing Shane with a firm glare. "Shane, this isn't a game. The minute you accepted that case, your name is out. We…" He leaned down closer to Shane to whisper, "we have a mole in this firm, and we can't find him or her. It's your life at stake! And yes, you get money when you win a case, and it's loads. But there are tricky cases, such as this one-"
"I don't remember asking for your opinion." Shane interrupted coldly.
"It doesn't matter! What matters is the case you've accepted-"
"I'm not releasing it."
"Fine, I'm firing you."
"You can't do that either." Shane narrowed his eyes, crossing his legs and placing his clasped hands upon his lap. "What's wrong, Austin? This case can't be all that bad. And if it was," Shane held up a hand when Austin attempted to interrupt him. "If it was that bad than you should know that nobody in this building will take it. Nobody, but me. I've studied every case and even graduated from one of the top law schools, I will be fine. And if there ends up someone who tries to take me out, I'll hire a bodyguard. Until it gets to that exaggerated level, I'm not leaving the case."
Austin took in those words slowly, processing them until he grunted in loss of the argument. "I want you to hire a bodyguard immediately."
"That will be done." Shane said. He leaned over his desk and wrong 'bodyguard ASAP' on a post-it before pinning it up on his wall near his computer screen. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, cut your hair. It's annoying the shit outta me." Austin grumbled before leaving Shane alone.
A small smile threatened to quirk on Shane's lips but he controlled his facial expressions. It was important as a person of his status and name to be as serious as possible. If he were seen smiling, anyone would assume they could take control, manipulate or go against him in more ways than one. If he were serious, cold, and firm, nobody would dare to even think about using Shane McDaniel for their own greed and desires.
Shane McDaniel has grown rather colder than usual since the day Feathers had disappeared from the carnival. His family didn't like it, but they said nothing of it (with the exception of his mother).
But it wouldn't change. Shane wasn't a person to fully give expressions of the norm. He was distant and stern; spoke only when spoken to or necessary, and went to activities that required his presence. Other than that, he studied cases and exercised. He did things that were utmost essential.
Time was precious, and he had no desire to waste a second of it.
For the next few hours, Shane was working on his report of his last few cases. He scribbled a few footnotes, typed and searched for names on the Internet and other evidence to support his case and reasoning before signing the report off at the bottom. A pile of folders soon built up high as six o' clock neared.
The expensive silver Rolex on his wrist chirped at the time.
Shane fiddled with it until it quieted from its little ruckus. He gathered the pile of folders and slid them into his business case, locking it and mixing up the numbers of the small lock before sliding his arm into one of his jackets. As he left the building, Shane thought about his home.
He thought about Feathers. And then he thought about the last time he had seen her.
Shane hadn't seen her for a long, long time now that he thought about it.
The drive back home had him mulling over the gift that was given to him a little less than a year ago. A harsh and irritated sigh escaped from his lips as his eyes narrowed at the thought of it.
Sadly, having Feathers was much like having a dog.
Except Shane hated dogs. He hated pets. They were like furniture of the house that was only there for the entertainment of the masters and owners. There was nothing more to it, but the fact that pets cost a hell of a lot more than a baby. It was probably a tad bit more than a baby due to the overpricing of food, clothes, toys, etc.
And because of his busy schedule, Shane couldn't really interact with the woman or whatnot. Sure, Feathers had Patricia and his parents, including his obnoxious friend, Damien, but it wasn't the same.
Just the thought of it made a part of him guilty.
Shane pursed his lips to a thin line, turning right to enter the entrance of the mansion's huge front yard. He'll check up on her and then go on with his business. He couldn't waste time especially with the new case he has.
"Greetings, Mr. Shane McDaniel," a butler slightly bowed as he exited from his vehicle.
Shane responded with a small nod and placing the keys of his car into the butler's hand to park. "Make sure to keep the car away from Patricia's. That girl has a horrid way of driving. Also, have someone start the fireplace in my study."
The butler nodded and entered his car.
Holding his business case in his right hand, Shane walked towards the glittering mansion, walking up the stairs and through the ridiculously tall doors. As soon as he entered the home, he barely closed the door behind him when a small black streak raced across the room and plowed into him.
A grunt was heard, but Shane refused to move from his spot. He glared down at his sister who was sobbing into his chest and rubbing her tear-filled face and snot-covered nose into his very, very expensive suit.
"She—she…she…oh, god, she—she-!" Patricia attempted to talk but the whole time she would stutter and start from the beginning of her sentence.
Just at the word 'she', Shane felt his stomach drop to his feet. He placed the case by his feet and held his sister by the shoulders. "What's wrong? What happened?" Possibilities and theories raced across his head like a racehorse, circling like vultures waiting to pick for the one that happened.
"She died! She died!" Patricia shrieked.
At that moment, his mother entered from the dining room and gave a glance at the two siblings before rolling her eyes. "Patricia, don't give your brother a heart attack. Go back to your program and leave us alone. I'm tiring of your tears."
"But she died! She wasn't supposed to die! She was supposed to live with Antonio happily ever after!" Patricia roughly shoved her useless brother away from her as she twirled on her feet to the staircase. "Maria was supposed to stay with Antonio, but nooo, she just had to die of cancer!"
When he had heard enough, Shane nearly snarled at his baby sister. "Idiot," he muttered, picking up his business case and walking towards his mother.
She waited before him, head slightly tilted to the side.
The urge to roll his eyes as she had done with Patricia nagged him, but even he himself wouldn't lower to that. He was much better than that.
Shane leaned down and pecked his mother's cheek with a brief kiss. And without a word, he turned and headed towards the stairs of the second floor.
"Hey! Where's my hug?" Emily snapped.
Once that, too, was done, Shane headed back to the stairs until he reached the second floor of the mansion. He continued walking down the hallway, fully ignoring Patricia's sobs behind her bedroom door until he reached a plain, undecorated white door that was much like his own.
His knuckles rapped the door quickly three times before opening it. A frown tugged at his lips at the darkness of the room and reached out blindly for the switch. Once light bled into the room, his green eyes went straight to the motionless figure on the bed. "Feathers?" He called out.
The woman didn't acknowledge him. And he knew that she was not sleeping.
Opening to the door fully, he left his case near the entrance and walked towards Feathers. He sat on the edge of the bed, leaning over to place a hand on her shoulder. Gently but firmly, he tilted her body to the side until she was lying on her back.
Purple met green.
"Long time no see," she said softly before turning on her side and facing the white wall again.
Shane didn't reply. His green eyes were too busy studying her strands of hair. He reached towards it, combing his fingers throughout the softness until he knew for certain that her hair was different. "Haircut?" He merely asked.
"Emily took me. She said my hair was too long."
His eyes flashed with irritation and annoyance that his mother had not followed his rule and had taken Feathers out without notifying him. There were just those times where he itched to scream and yell at his own small, delicate but fiery mother until common sense was embedded into it. But nope, his mother was too much of an iron woman to follow anyone but her own rules.
He didn't reply, but continued to paw at her hair until he caught himself. Shane pulled away from her hair, but placed it on her shoulder and pressed upon it to get her to lie on her back.
His hand met resistance.
"Feathers," he said warningly.
Suddenly, as if his voice or tone of voice was magic, she turned onto her back. But those eyes of hers were moist with tears.
Feathers blinked rapidly, annoyed with the wet liquid clinging onto her eyelashes. But nothing was more painful than the heavy, sorrowful feeling in her chest.
Ever since she had revealed her abilities to Shane, he had placed a barrier all around her. He said it was to protect not only her but also the family. Just to hear those words made a bullet drive deeper into her heart. Did he really believe that she would hurt him and his family?
And it wasn't just that. She had been isolated from the family.
When they had become comforting and accepting, they were now cautious and wary.
It was like a slap of reality of what she really was hit them in the face, and they couldn't deal with it.
So, slowly Feathers extracted herself from the family's main activities, not like she was even allowed to join, and stayed within her room. It was utterly depressing. There was nothing to do in here except reading, watching television or stare out the window at the gardeners tending the front yard and flowers. This room had become her jail and this home had become a prison.
The only time she actually had no choice but to smile was when Kyle and Damien visited. Kyle would bring food and a very suspicious smelling plant, while Damien brought himself and playful sparred with her.
It was…sad.
And it made Feathers fall into something Shane had called 'misery'.
The soft pad of a finger swiping underneath her eye made Feathers come out of her head. She cried harder when it was Shane who was murmuring awkwardly, trying to comfort her. The warm feeling she had felt before in the past with Shane rose up into her chest. It made her cry more.
Shane felt like he was on the verge of panicking, though he did not show it externally. Feathers was now grasping at his hand, which was wiping away her tears, as she continued to cry. When she tried to talk, her sobs would get in the way, making it impossible to articulate. She merely held his hand against her chest as she continued to try and talk.
Once she had calmed down, he used his other hand to pet her head clumsily. "What's wrong?"
Feathers bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. She turned her head away, but looked back at him when a small growl of annoyance left his throat. "I…I feel like an animal," she confessed. "Even back in England, I wasn't ignored as much as this."
That hit the spot right at home.
There was nothing more painful than hearing those words. Shane's face was blank as he stared at her, but the inner workings of his head were like a mechanical device, continuously working despite the need to stop.
Shane had promised to make her living here in America more worthwhile and better than what she had in England. And slowly, ever so slowly, he was turning against those words and making her living here worse than England.
He isolated her from everyone and kept her inside like an animal. And she recognized it herself. It was like a punch to his gut.
Shane cleared his throat and turned his face away from her. He didn't say anything.
His hands retracted from the sobbing woman as he stood. Shane didn't even look at her as he crossed the room to reach the door. When he turned back to Feathers, she was sitting up on her bed, looking at him with the saddest expression he had ever seen. Not even orphans wore that kind of look of abandonment and clear understanding.
"Come on, let's go to my study."
A hesitant smile worked on her face as she leapt from the bed and ran up to him.
Again, he kept his emotions to himself, but that smile had lessened the amount of guilt he had in his chest.
The study room was isolated in the left wing of the mansion. There were many room unused and used in the mansion even if there weren't many people occupying the home, it was nice to have vacant rooms in the area. The room Shane had labeled as his 'study room' three months back was lavished with a grand rosewood desk, three chairs, one long red-brown leather couch, a refrigerator and a small wooden cabinet containing many different liquors.
There was even a fireplace right before the study desk, which was roiling up with fire at Shane's demand earlier.
Feeling the room becoming cozy, Shane moved to his desk and placed the brief case there. He walked towards the bookshelf adjacent to his desk and squinted at the various books before making his decision.
"Here," he said, holding out the nice, thick fat book for her to read.
Feathers was confused but she didn't question him ulterior move. She slowly accepted the book and stared at it. "But…" she started, chewing on her lower lip in nervousness. "I…"
Shane stood there with his hands clasped behind his back as he oh, so patiently waited for Feathers to gather the courage to speak. When she didn't, he studied her frustrated and anxious expressions that were directed at the book. Piecing the two together, Shane hummed and turned away. He went back to the bookshelf, but this time he crouched down and lowered his head as to search for a specific book he had when he was younger.
When he found the book, he dusted it off and blew on it for good measure. Shane held out the picture book to Feathers.
Feathers grabbed the other book and didn't resist when he took away the thick red one that had been laughing at her for her uneducated-self.
"It's a picture book." Shane shelved the philosophical book he tried to make her read back where it belonged.
She hesitantly opened the cover and her eyes grew wide. Without a word or thanks, she lied down upon the Persian rug in front of the fireplace and started looking at the picture book with pure wonderment.
There was no need of thanks. It was enough for him to see curiosity and a small amount of happiness gleaming from her eyes. Especially the way for he had been treating her and practically ostracized her, her glittering eyes made him warm.
Satisfied, Shane turned to his desk and sat upon the very comfortable leather chair perched before it. He stretched his arms before leaning over and bringing his suitcase closer to himself. As soon as he had the Gregorio case folder in front of him, he took in a deep breath and opened it.
Gregory Gregorio was charged with attempted murder on the third degree.
Gregorio stabbed an innocent man seventy three times, put him on fire and even dumped the body into the ocean. The innocent man, Mark Worthing, had ended up surviving and running home for safety. A month later, Mark went to the court (wrapped in guaze and slathered in medicine) to press charges against Gregorio for attempted murder.
Mark and Gregorio had been the best of buddies before an incident back in 2009. The incident led to a massive fire that took down more than half of Gregorio's home and his family. After that, the two friends were no more.
Mark claimed that Gregorio had been after his life for many years. He tried to flee the country once but was stopped by the security of the airport when they noticed a red alert on his name. Technology managed to make him into a serial killer and rapist of more than fifty college girls. Mark had cleared his name after ten dreadfully long hours, but no anvil. Though they acknowledged it as a hack, they wouldn't let him out of the country.
Gregorio was persistent for Mark to meet death. And Mark had evidence and a few masked witnesses (who were under the Witness Protection Program) to help place Gregorio in jail, or worse death.
Everything was in place and could easily put Gregory Gregorio in jail. Apparently, Mark had the names of other victims who were found in the ocean and could connect their murders with Gregorio. And there were more than one hundred victims.
Gregorio's imprisonment could be for life, and perhaps even more than that if wanted.
But there was a catch, as there was to everything that seemed too easy.
Gregorio had connections, connections that ran wide and deep.
He had already placed his court date at a later date than usual. The possibilities of it were because either the judge who had been assigned this case was perhaps too busy or the deadly one…he was shooting out those who were going against him. And if it were that, the judge was siding with him by the greedy influence of money, drugs or whatnot.
There had already been three murders of the men and woman who were to stand trail at court. Sadly, there was no way to connect it to Gregorio who had been on probation at home. The cameras at his home were hard evidence of it.
After that, Mark Worthing had been placed under very strict protection.
And Gregorio had more security and cameras surrounding and studying his every move.
Gregorio had control of not only criminals, but also politicians, police officers and others. It was not proven, but the recent meetings that were captured by the FBI roughly assumed it. Yes, even the FBI was included when asked because of the murders that could possibly be connected with their case. And because of that, the fact that they were forced to share their gathered information with one another was irritating police officers, detectives, and FBI agents.
The more people added onto the case, the more eyes were needed for lookouts.
Austin was right. This was a very tricky case.
But nevertheless, Shane was determined to keep it.
As time passed, the bones of his body stiffened. A deep groan escaped from him as Shane straightened from his hunched posture over the laptop. He twisted to his sides, sighing almost heavenly as his spine cracked.
His green eyes turned to the clock on his desk and realized that two hours have passed since he left the office. They swept over to Feathers and his body stilled.
Feathers had her back facing the fireplace, lying on her side and curled up in a fetal position. Her hands were holding the picture book delicately and softly, gathered in her arms as if it was unspeakably precious. Her eyes were closed, eyelashes sweeping against her high cheekbones. The large shirt that belonged to Shane was huge on her body, making it seem more like a blanket than a shirt.
She looked…very much like a child.
It was almost hard to believe that she was trained to become a killing machine. No, she was a killing machine.
Shane stood up from his chair and crept on over to Feathers. It made him wonder why she wasn't constantly on alert if she was highly trained in detecting danger. But nope, she slept on as he nosily walked towards her. Even when he crouched by her side and swept hair behind her ear, there was nothing.
It was until a trilling sound coming from his pocket awoke her.
Feathers blinked, making a 'huh' sound as she picked herself off the rug. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Shane who was standing over her with a cellphone pressed up against his ear and the other hand in his pocket.
"Hello, Cynthia," his smooth voice said. Feathers stared at him.
"Hey! Wanna go out for dinner?" Feathers heard the woman's chirping voice from where she was and wondered if Cynthia's voice would be able to go any higher.
Shane turned to stare down at Feathers, which in turn made her face blush. She turned away from him, feeling her heart pounding louder and harder in her chest. While he had his conversation with Cynthia, Feathers thought about her reactions to Shane and mulled over it.
Why…why was her heart beating fast? She wasn't exercising, but it was beating as if racing against time itself.
When a hand lie upon her shoulder, she jumped and turned to Shane who though he wasn't smiling, his eyes were kind and opening. "Let's go." He grasped her hand to pull her up.
Feathers stood with help from Shane and cocked her head to the left. "Is Cynthia coming over?" An ugly feeling washed over her, but she didn't have time to study it as she went to follow Shane.
"No," Shane replied and moved to exit the study room. He went to his room, knowing that Feathers was following him and answered her question. "We're going to out."
Feathers stopped midstride. "W…w-we're going out?"
"Yes."
Shane didn't have to face her to see the grin of happiness on her face.
"I-I'll go dress!" Feathers was immediately flying down the hallway and slammed the door as she went inside her room.
In less than fifteen minutes, the two were at an ice cream shop.
Feathers was licking her vanilla ice cream and nibbling on the waffle cone it was upon. The cinnamon taste had her moaning softly and constantly much to Shane's dislike. When she asked why he didn't like it when she did that, he refused to answer and simply commanded her to stop her noises.
The ice cream shop they were at was a small-owned business. The Hispanic woman who owned it created the ice creams herself and even added her own special ingredients that brought customers back.
It was both their first times there and they didn't regret choosing the place.
Shane finished his ice cream and wiped his lips with a napkin. "So, how are you nowadays?"
"Lonely," Feathers replied smoothly as she licked at the melting vanilla stream that dribbled down the back of her hand.
He would've flinched at that if he had not been prepared for it. But he had been, and he promised to make it different. "I'm sorry, Feathers."
Feathers lifted her head up from the ice cream and blinked at the soft apology that came from him. It was unnatural for Shane to apologize, but when he did it was very sincere. It didn't sit well with Feathers since she still had the whole master-slave logic stuck in her head, though she didn't voice it aloud. "Shane-" she started but was interrupted by a different trilling of his cellphone. She watched as an annoyed look covered his face before he answered it.
"Austin, you better have something if you're calling me this late."
"Shane, you need a bodyguard now!" The desperation in Austin's voice was almost too painful to listen to.
"Austin, you need to calm down," Shane demanded as he stepped away from the store to take his conversation outside. "Honestly, this is getting ridiculous-"
"No, you insensitive prick! They already got your name-"
Shane shook his head. "They couldn't have. I've just gotten the case not even six hours ago! I think you're taking this a little too serious about this. Besides, we can have my name hidden if you're that anxious about my safety."
"I told you, we have a mole! We have a mole! A mole! A mole in the building!"
"Austin-"
"Mole!"
"Austin, stop interrupting me or I'll hang up."
"They already got your name!"
"How would you know?"
"I found a post-it on your desk when I returned to the office!"
That made Shane stop. He frowned, toeing the cement with the front of his shoe as he contemplated about this. "What did it say?"
Heavy breathing was heard at the end of the phone line. Austin gulped audibly before speaking.
"It said-"
"Shane!"
Hands roughly pushed him to the ground and not a second later a gunshot rang in the air. Shane fell to the ground, feeling his shoulder hit against a light pole before he went down. He cursed and held his arm against his body tightly as pain literally radiated through every angle of his body. His phone that had miraculously survived next to him was humming with anxious screams from Austin. But he didn't pay any attention to him.
His attention was completely on Feathers.
Feathers went into 'killer mode', as Patricia had called it once, and streaked towards the man holding the gun. When he held it up to her face, she ducked quickly and her leg lashed out. The power of her leg swing knocked the gun from his hand and even placed a fragment to his wrist.
But she didn't stop there.
She twirled around, crouching for a moment before speeding towards him like a bullet. A delicate hand that was powerless a moment ago was now made of iron. It flew straight into the man's face, punched out a few teeth and splitting his lip. The clout of it threw the masked man back a few feet.
"Stupid…awww, stupid bitch!" The man cursed, holding a hand against his face. He ripped the mask away, revealing his identity, which was now embedded in Feathers' memory.
"Feathers, watch out!"
A second man who was in this attacked her from behind. Feathers didn't make a sound as a foot kicked the small of her back, forcing her on the floor. She quickly picked herself up and was about to make a delivering move when she saw Shane running to tackle the man, who had revealed a knife. "No, Shane!" She cried out.
Shane was about to tackle the man who had kicked Feathers when suddenly a small fragile foot planted in his gut and threw him back. He snarled nastily at Feathers who had done that in order to put him to safety and reached for the second man. "Goddammit, Feathers!"
She ignored Shane and cleared her thoughts.
Feathers grasped the second man by the wrist, twisting it cruelly till he released the weapon. Not a second later, his arm was awkwardly bent behind his back. Though he cried out at the pain of it, Feathers was merciless and forced it up ruthlessly. The sound of a bone being dislocated echoed down the street. Even when he was bawling like a babe, Feathers held it up higher until she was sure the tendon and ligaments were beyond repair.
The woman threw him to the ground and kicked him across the face with cute small brown heels Patricia had gotten her the last time she went shopping.
The first man wasn't forgotten.
She soared at him even when he pulled the trigger to the gun pointed at her.
Shane flinched harshly when the shot rang out. He didn't know whether or not it had gotten her, but he knew that the bullet had hit the window of the ice cream shop behind him.
His green eyes reflected off of Feathers who had expertly leapt over the man's head. Immediately they closed when her small hands were specifically at the man's temple and chin. The cry that came from the man's throat cut off and finished with sickening crunch.
Then there was silence.
I can't believe I did it. All my work had been deleted and now I had taken a step and tried to make a chapter. And out came this baby which is waaaay better than it originally was (:
I changed Shane's personality a bit more to make him more stern, firm and cold on the outside, but still a caring side of him hidden in the inside. I tried to make it the same character as it was the last 12 chapters, but couldn't make the connections. I tweaked with his character a bit and love it. Hope you love it as well! (:
Thank you my reviewers who helped me make this story turn around and continue onto the greatness it should be x)) I love you, guys ;D
I don't have the time to put your pennames down here in thanks, but shall do so in the next chapter! I remember all of your reviews you have given me. Much thanks. C: