Damien sat in the cramped interrogation room. His head was pounding from the stress and the environment. The interrogation room was cleverly designed in such a way that it would bring subtle discomfort to the suspects being questioned. Bright lights, and hard chairs, as well as being heavily cleaned with bleach and alcohol gave the room an ambiance of a classroom combined with the smell of a hospital. All of this would have been well and good with Damien BUT...considering the severity of the situation he now found himself in, it did nothing but give him a massive migraine, and the bright lights didn't help any.
Damien groaned as he reached down into his trousers and fished out a bottle of perscription medication. He placed two tabs on his tounge and washed it down with the room temperature bottled water that they had set out on the table.
Damien couldn't help but be angry. To be more precise, he was furious but he wouldn't allow his emotions to hinder the investigation. To be truthful, he hadn't seen Elena in a month. She wasn't a bad kid, and usually when she would pull the running away bit, she would just go to the Flemmings Center for troubled teens. It was the only place she found any solace from all the tragedy she had been through. There, she could be around other kids like her. He wanted her to find new friends; To be happy. He had been keeping tabs on her but now he felt so blindsided. 'What a fucking nightmare'. Damien thought as he rested his forehead in his palm shielding his eyes from the stupidly bright lights.
Just then he could hear the familiar "Tap, Tap, Tap" of Yancy's expensive Valentino's. The sound was coupled with two other sets of steps that Damien could only have guessed were his daughter, and the escort. The handle of the door turned and in stepped Detective Yancy followed by....'MY DAUGHTER MINUS 40 POUNDS!!' Damien thought to himself in shock. He looked at her with his eyes wide and his mouth agape.
Never lifting her eyes from the floor, Elena was sat in the corner by Detective Yancy, with Damien directly across from her and Detective Yancy in the seat adjacent. This was also an interrogation tactic. It was a commonly used technique that positioned the suspect to emulate the danger of being cornered, while applying verbal pressure.
He looked at Elena as she sat there with her head down. He knew she was in deep thought, probably trying to come up with some excuse. He wondered how he should start. How could he go about this calmly, while still effectively getting her to give up some names. Suddenly, he had the most devious of thoughts that spurred to action his next words. "It's been a while Lil El, You look good!"
She looked up with a confused expression. 'So easy to read.' He thought. "I've never seen you so fit. It's only been a month! You must have been taking full advantage of Flemmings Gym at the center huh?"
She put her head back down for a momment. It seemed as if Damien had struck a nerve when he mentioning the center causing Elena to flinch. This further confirmed his suspicions of the involvement of teens registered with the center. "Look El, I really want to help you out of this mess, but first you have to help me. Understand?" Damien pleaded. She continued with her silence.
Detective Yancy shifted in his seat while reaching over the table. He grabbed a manilla folder. "I'm going to read you your Miranda Rights, so listen carefully. If you don't understand something, you can stop me and i'll explain it to you. Understand?" Yancy informed with command in his voice.
"Yes sir." she replied reluctantly.
Damien listened as Yancy read Elena her rights. Her head slightly nodding yes at the inquisition of Yancy as to whether or not she understood each paragraph. At the end she signed the paper, and the real interrogation began.
"Listen Elena, It's time to get serious. Your facing some serious charges. Burglary which is a felony. The car that we have you and your buddy getting out of on CCTV was reported stolen from Talini's Diner. Thats Grand Theft Auto, another felony. Not to mention all the other small charges we can pile on you. Criminal Trespass, Criminal Mischief, etcetera. The list goes on, and on. I hope you truly understand how important it is that you comply with the Police to help us catch the real bad guy's here." Yancy finished his monologue. The purpose of his initial statement was to strike fear in Elena's heart at the thought of going to prison with felony charges. This might make her more cooperative and forthcoming during the questioning.
Yancy and Damien sat back in silence. The slience lasted for what seemed like forever before Elena finally spoke. "I know what i did was wrong, but i can't go back now. The guy's i was with; They were gang related, they promised me something more than friendship. They promised me family. Then they left me there to die. I want them to get fucked over but their boss is powerful. I'd rather be a living bitch, than a dead snitch."
"No ones calling you a snitch Elena." Damien said. It had been a while since he had spoke and it had startled her. She crossed her arms and layed her head down on the soft cotton of her black hoodie. "Elena, we got the guy's on video. It wouldn't be you snitching, but if you don't tell us your only delaying the inevitable. We know that these thugs you were hanging around were at the center." Damien finished and she lifted her head up suddenly. "How'd you know?" she said.
I've been keeping tabs on you since you left Elena. I always do. Do you think I'd let my only daughter run around Houston withought knowing where she lays her head at night?
Elena lowered her gaze once again. Another long silence went by before she finally said "Ok, but what about me?"
"What about you?" Yancy said
"What's going to happen to me?" She said worriedly. Yancy knew they were close to getting her to spill the beans. "Honey, we can chalk it up to you Aiding and Abetting by means of coercion. You'll get a much more lenient ruling from the judge. Especially considering that you're still a minor."
"You promise?" Elena said, tears starting to well up.
"El, I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise you babygirl." Damien said as he reached across the table and held her hand.
"Ok." She said finally. "It all started.....
*****
1 Month Ago
Elena walked out onto the balcony from her room. The cold air whipped against her skin instantly causing goosebumps to form. She sat down in the cushioning of the oval shaped chair that was set up against the corner. She pulled her pipe out from if her robe and packed a nice bowl. She had recently started smoking more often because of a few friends she was hanging around at the Flemmings center in the heights. She loved the bud they had sold her, and didn't want to seem like a lightweight around them.
As she pulled Gina (her pipe) close to her mouth and inhaled lighting the end with a match, her lungs filled with the thick plumes of fragrant herb. "Ahhh." She loved the smell of bud in the morning. Her trusted sidekick Gina never let her down. Well...she used Gina to get high so how could Gina let her down.
As she sat in the chair thinking about the most abstract of things, she was startled by her Father who had peered his head around the corner. "Uh, hey Dad. What's up?" She said as she quickly hid the pipe behind her back.
"What's up is you El, i'm not dumb. If you want to smoke that wacko tobacco do it elsewhere. I have a reputation to uphold."
"Sorry." She said apologetically.
"Come downstairs, i want to show you something that might lift your spirits." Her dad said as he turned almost spilling his coffee. She got dressed quickly in a simple White T-shirt and a beige caridigan because it was chilly. She was home schooled most of her life so she didn't care what she looked like. She jostled downstairs and met her father in his study where he was examining a white box about the size of a 4×4 cube. "Take a look at this." He said somberly as he passed her the box.
"What is it?" Elena said as she turned it around in her hands. Then seeing at the bottom, an opening slit around the perimeter. She shook the box a bit and it slid apart giving light to a red velvet ring case. She paused before opening the case to inspect it. Then with her left hand slowly opened the lid to reveal the most beautiful gold ring she had ever seen. It had a hollow heart shaped bezel and a sheen that nearly blinded her. She looked up at her Father.
"What did i do to deserve this?" She asked. "You were born El, Happy birthday. This ring was your mothers. She asked me to give it to you when you turned 17."
"This is from mom?" Elena said with tear welling in her eyes.
"I can't believe this. I've never had anything of hers, this means so much to me." Elena said sobbing.
"Thank you so much dad. I love you." She said while throwing her arms around his neck.
"I love you too babygirl." Damien said returning the hug. "Although thats not all. With this ring comes a story. Will you sit down for this?"
"Yeah, sure." Elena said wiping tears from her eyes."
"I met your mother for the first time 18 years ago. She was quite the famous woman, very beautiful, and had attracted the attentions of men far and wide."
"Yeah, i remember you telling me about how beautiful mom was." Elena said
"But 19 years though dad? You guys hardly knew eachother."
"Well i'm getting to that sweetie. When i met your mother, she was already 3 months pregnant with you."
Elena froze. "So i'm not your real daughter?"
"Of course you're my real daughter. I adopted you at your mothers request. I promised her i would keep you safe."
"Keep me safe from what dad?" Elena felt numb, she felt like she knew nothing about herself.
"Your mother was a world renowned Model. She was reveered from her to Europe. Big agencies coveted her, and those that couldn't have her wanted her gone. She was the personification of "Drop dead gorgeous." Damien said with a solemn tone.
"What does this all mean? What does it have to do with me?" Elena questioned. Her stomach was twisted in knots at every revelation.
"One day your mother dropped of the face the Earth." Damien continued
"No one could find her, so the enlisted me to do what no one else could. That was my specialty, finding people. I finally tracked her down to small city in illinois called Dacoin. She had been holed up there for years. She had fallen in love and she was already pregnant with you. She had abandoned her career and breached her contract. I gave them the location thinking that my job was done. Little did i know that it had just begun. The Agency that she had been involved with was Criminal in nature. I learned this only as she begged me to stay and protect her and you."
Damien stopped for a while. The flashbacks brought with them overwhelming guilt and regret.
"I did my best to protect her for those six months. She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl." Damien said with a smile.
"To you. My babygirl. But your mother always knew that if she stayed, you two would always be on the run. She didn't want that life for you, so she sacrificed her self. No one knew about you yet"
"I tried to save her, but she contracted me to take you far away and hide you as best as i could. To raise you as my own, and to keep you from harm. To teach you how to live.....how to survive. Thats why i've been so hard on you all these years. Training you in Martial Arts, Hacking, and all of those things. It was to teach you to fight back. To keep you safe."
"You have to understand, i couldn't go against the agreement." Damien said with eyes filled with regret and sorrow.
" I just felt like you were old enough to know the truth."
"And what is that Dad, because it seems to me like all you can do is lie!" Elena yelled with tears streaming down her face.
"Your Mother......She was killed." Damien said looking up from the floor. "Elena wait...!"
Elena ran out of the room crying as she clutched the gift. She couldn't beleive how dense and insensitive he was. He kept so many secrets, and for what? At this point she didn't care. All she wanted to do was get away. Get away from it all!
*****
1 week ago
Elena had been hunkered down at the Flemmings Youth Center since she left Katy 3 weeks ago. She left in the dark of night with a duffel bag and a Q card filled to the brim with her allowance money. The bus rides always relaxed Elena and knowing that she would be surrounded by friends comforted her. This time she was riding from Main, back to the heights. The guys had wanted a pizza from Franks, which is only on Fannin so she volunteered to get it and save the delivery fee. She hopped off the bus and walked the 2 blocks back to the center. Nick, Alex, Victor and Jamie were already outside smoking cigerretes under the gazeebo. "Hey, guys. It's still warm so go ahead." Elena offered
"Damn, i half expected you to eat the whole thing and not come back." Jamie sneered.
"Haha, so funny" Elena laughed spuriously. "Lay off her, BBW is a fad now. There are plenty of men who want a piece of dat El, don't kid yaself." Nick said as he waggled his eyebrows. Jamie smacked him on the arm. "You're mine, don't go all Drake on me Romeo."
"Alright guys, enough with the roasting. She just took a bus for 45 minutes to grab us all some food so chill." Victor said as he gave Jamie a cold stare. "I don't need your protection Victor. I'm a big girl."
"You got that right." Jamie said snickering.
"Look Jamie honey, at least i stand out. You over here looking like an off brand Jay Lo with no ass."
"Damnnnnnnnnnn, She cappin!!" Alex said trying to rile things up.
"Bitch don't make me beat yo ass!" Jamie said standing up, Nick holding her back.
"Beat me up, Ha. If you can reach me way up here hun."
"Ok Kittens relax." Nick coaxed. "No need to fight, and plus you started it with the fat jokes babe. Don't dish it out if you can't take it back."
"Whatever!" Jamie said as she pushed Nick out of the way and walked back inside to her dorm room.
"Sorry about her. She just doesn't like you that much since your family has money. I mean, it's different for us. We didn't choose this like you, this is a necessity." Nick explained
"I have been coming here long before you guys even appeared. This place had always helped me, either by finding friends who can relate with me or whatever. I was forced to come to one of the support groups when i was 14 and have been coming ever since."
"Yeah, well being homeless is no joke, if you got one to go back to, you should." Victor chimed in.
"Yeah, well maybe i'm just tired of getting lied to." Elena retorted.
"MEOW!" Victor joked, "Put those kitty claws away hot stuff, Jamie already left."
"Very funny." Elena sassed
After hanging around the gazeebo laughing and eating pizza, the four of them became increasingly bored.
"Damn, this fucking sucks bruh. Why'd D-block have to get in a fight. Now the rest of us can't get into the pool hall." Nick shouted.
"They really are always beefing over there for nons bro." Alex laughed.
"Maybe WE CAN get in there." Elena interrupted
"How?" They all asked almost simultaneouly.
Elena smirked as she reached down into her supreme fanny and pulled out her lock picking set.