Shanahan never called, but that didn't seem to make a difference. Wyndham showed up wherever he happened to be and told him to get in the car she was driving. She told him that she rented the cars because she didn't have a car of her own. The client got billed the expense.

Shanahan closed his eyes and tried not think about how things felt as she drove through the city. She drove too fast and used the horn way too much for his comfort.

She mostly didn't need him. She had a gift for picking up the kids when they were alone. Occasionally the adult they were taking the kids from would be on the scene. That was when Shanahan had to earn his ten percent by glaring at the parent hard. Sometimes he had to do more than glare. When that happened, he tried not to let his temper get the best of him so he stabbed the kidnapper to death instead of a small slice to back him or her out of the way.

The last recovery they worked before he lost her was one of the violent ones.

Wyndham pulled to the curb in a rented Focus. She stepped out of the door to wave him down. He walked up to the car and got in the passenger seat. She got behind the wheel and pulled away into the light traffic.

“This is the girl,” said Wyndham. She handed over a picture of a ten year old with missing teeth and a bright look in her eye. “Her name is Olivia Sanchez. The mother took her from her father and fled. I finally tracked her down a couple of miles away. The mother has a new boyfriend. I'm hoping for a quick pick-up, and drop-off.”

Shanahan memorized the face. He handed the picture back. It didn't matter to him what the personal effect happened to be. Wyndham wanted him along to keep trouble down when they moved in.

He had no doubt the new boyfriend was some kind of trouble. They would see what kind when they arrived at the address. They might be able to just take the girl without problems.

Wyndham pulled into a slot in front of a rundown apartment building. She got out and looked around. Shanahan did the same. His eyes fell on the locals on the street. None of them said anything about his glare as he looked around.

“We have to go up to five E,” said Wyndham.

Shanahan nodded. He waited for her to lead the way. She walked up to the entrance door. He followed, hands in his pockets. She frowned as she spotted the central stairs. She headed upstairs. He clumped along behind her.

When they reached the fifth floor, Wyndham paused to look at the doors. She shook her head.

“She's not alone,” Wyndham said.

Shanahan stood next to the door, but in front of her. He knocked on the door. He didn't know how Wyndham knew the kid wasn't alone. He didn't care unless he had to do something.

He hoped he could just collect his money by looking mean. He almost had enough to get a real place, or rent an apartment to get easier access to his bolt hole.

The guy that opened the door didn't look like he was going to be easygoing. He wore a stained t-shirt, and shorts, and flip flops. He glared at Shanahan glaring at him. He turned his watery gaze on Wyndham.

“What do you want?,” he asked. Anger filled his tone. He didn't get many visitors from the sound of it.

“We're here about Olivia,” said Wyndham. “We have a court order to return her to her guardian.”

“Screw your court order,” said the boyfriend. He went to close the door. The door stopped against Shanahan's shoulder. “What do you think you're doing?”

“Give us the girl,” said Shanahan in his normally inflectionless voice. It was the kind of tone that could belong to an electronic book reader.

“What if I don't want to, midget?,” said the boyfriend.

Shanahan changed his stance and kicked as hard as he could. His expression didn't change as the boyfriend's knee bent the wrong way. The bigger man stumbled out of the way, falling to the floor. Combat boots danced on his face as hard as they could.

Shanahan forced the door open wider against the bulk blocking it. He kicked some more to get the slug to move in the direction he wanted the man to move.

“I think that's enough, Mister Shanahan,” said Wyndham. She squeezed into the apartment. She stepped over the crying victim of violence at her feet. “Olivia, are you here?”

Stolen novel; please report.

The girl peered from another room. She hid behind the door. Her hair and face was covered with dirt. A nightshirt was all she wore. Seera's expression hardened into something to match Shanahan's own.

“We're going to get you dressed, and then we're going to talk to your father,” said Wyndham. “Would you like that?”

The girl nodded her head. She didn't smile like she had in her picture.

“All right,” said Wyndham. “Let's see what we have to work with. You might want to grab anything you want so we can take it with us.”

She stepped into the room.

She stuck her head out of the room. She looked at the bulk on the floor. Anger lit her eyes.

“Do you think you can throw him down the stairs, Mister Shanahan?,” she asked.

“No,” said Shanahan. It would take three of him to lift that mass.

“It was just a thought,” said Wyndham. She vanished into the room.

Shanahan hunkered down next to the boyfriend. He slapped the man's face to get his attention. The man tried to match his glare, but pain dulled that.

“If I have to come back here, I will kill you and the woman,” said Shanahan. “If anything happens to the girl, you will regret it. Understand me?”

The boyfriend didn't respond.

Shanahan punched him in the face.

“Do you understand the words that I am speaking to you?,” Shanahan asked.

The boyfriend whispered a yes.

“Good,” said Shanahan. He stood. He wanted to do more damage to the man. He decided that would quickly lead to him committing a murder. He didn't need the hassle since he was keeping on the right side of the law for the moment.

He didn't have any objection to killing another human, but wanted to keep his freedom as long it existed for him. Killing everyone he hated on sight would have the police looking for him like he was a mad dog that needed to be put down.

On the other hand, there were some unexplained killings that he knew what had happened to lead up to them that he would never explain to the city's finest. Some people just deserved to die.

And helping gravity didn't bother him as much as it should.

He had quit wondering when he had decided to do things his way. It just led to having to explain it to people who didn't have to make those choices.

“I think we're ready to go, Mister Shanahan,” said Wyndham. She held Olivia's hand in one hand, her bag of belongings in the other.

“Go ahead,” said Shanahan. He stepped out of the way so they could start down the stairs. He pulled the door closed behind them as he left the apartment.

“Your father will be glad to have you home, Olivia,” said Wyndham. Shanahan kept back. What did he know about kids?

“Mom said he hated me,” said Olivia.

“If he hated you, he wouldn't have paid me to find you,” said Wyndham. “He is waiting for you as soon as we can drop you off with him. Is there anywhere else you would like to go first?”

“Could we get something to eat?,” asked Olivia. “I would like a hamburger.”

“That sounds good,” said Wyndham. “What about you, Mister Shanahan?”

Shanahan looked at the two females. He tried to keep the hardened shell he wore for a face. He felt his expression soften some around the edges. He shrugged.

“A hamburger should be okay,” he said. He closed his eyes so he didn't jump at every random obstacle that Wyndham just missed at the last moment on the way to the burger drivethru.

“As soon as we eat, we'll talk to your father,” said Wyndham. “Then we'll drive over so you can see him in person. Sound okay?”

“That would be great,” said Olivia. “Mom's new boyfriend is horrible. I'm glad that I don't have to stay with him anymore.”

“Remember not to go anywhere with your mom until you're older,” said Wyndham. “As long as you're a minor, she can claim anything to hide you from your father and anyone else looking for you.”

“I understand,” said Olivia. “She's been crazy the last few days. I don't know what's wrong with her.”

“Don't worry about that,” said Wyndham. “Your father is going to have to take the next steps with you so you can both be happy.”

The car slowed to get through the drivethru. Wyndham ordered for all three of them. Shanahan took his and put it between his seat and the door. He wasn't eating while Wyndham was driving.

That was asking too much of him in his opinion.

Wyndham pulled the car up in front of a house outside the city. Shanahan had no idea where they were, and didn't care. He waited for her and Olivia to walk up to the door. He grabbed his bag and wolfed the food down while he watched them.

He wasn't about to eat while she was driving, and he didn't want to still be eating when she came back. That would lead to a heaving stomach in his opinion.

He sipped the drink that came with the bag as he dropped the trash to the car floor. Drinks were better under Wyndham's driving prowess, but he was okay with leaving it until they were done moving.

He only had ice left by the time Wyndham returned to the car. She sat down behind the wheel and closed her eyes.

Shanahan said nothing. He had done what he was supposed to do, so he was not as let down as she seemed to be. She seemed tougher than she looked, but he saw things floating around her that said she wasn't as tough as she liked others to think.

“Can I pay you tomorrow?,” she asked. “I am worn out by all the fighting.”

“As long as I get paid,” said Shanahan. “I don't have a problem when.”

Shanahan didn't mention he had done most of the fighting.

“All right,” said Wyndham. “I'm going to drop you off in the neighborhood. I'll come by with your money tomorrow.”

“All right,” said Shanahan. She started the car and he closed his eyes. He would be glad to open them when the car stopped.

“I'll have to return the car tomorrow,” said Wyndham. “I'll let you know if I have another job lined up for us tomorrow when I see you.”

“Okay,” said Shanahan. He didn't really care about that. He should have given the boyfriend something bigger to worry about so he knew they meant business.

He couldn't go back to change it now. The next time he would have to consider the implications and roll with it.

The car rolled to a stop.