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#Post#: 2901--------------------------------------------------
Haunted by the Past - Chapter 10 - Nightmares and Fairy Tales
By: RampageSports Date: February 20, 2016, 7:59 am
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Author's Note: The Spenser, Hawk, Susan Silverman and Tony
Marcus characters belong to mystery novelist Robert B. Parker.
Mr. Parker is one of my favorite authors, and his work is a
major influence on the the way I write. Whether I even come
close to mimicking his style is open to considerable debate, but
I have chosen to use his characters in this story as something
of an homage. My goal is to handle them as lightly as possible
and to maintain them as Mr. Parker created them. Any failure on
that front is completely my own.
[hr]
Haunted by the Past - Chapter 10 - Nightmares and Fairy Tales
Present Day - RSI
Danni had grown progressively more sullen as I told my story.
"This guy Powers sounds like a real piece of work."
"He's a lunatic," I said plainly.
"Wonderful."
I looked directly at her.
"Look, I don't know why Powers pulled you into this, and I would
give anything to get you out. But, until I can make that
happen, I'm not going to sugar coat things. You need to know
what we're dealing with."
She nodded.
"I know," she said softly.
I let my eyes drift to my desk.
This wasn't right, and it wasn't fair. On top of that, it made
no sense. I was the one Powers wanted, and I was right here.
He could have come straight at me, and left Danni alone. Truth
be told, I would probably be dead by now if he had.
I guess there's no understanding a warped mind.
"Fact is, Powers is usually his own worst enemy," I said.
"How's that?"
"I don't know a lot about how organized crime works," I said
with a shrug, "but the name kinda implies some cooperation is
involved, and King Powers is not really a cooperative guy."
"I'm not following."
"It turns out Powers wasn't all that popular with his low-life
peers," I said. "Spenser met with a man named Tony Marcus."
"Who was he?"
"He controlled most of the prostitution trade in Boston," I
said.
Mob bosses, hired guns, private detectives, prostitution... at
this point, I had given up on trying to break all this to Danni
gently, and just kept plowing ahead.
For the most part, she seemed to be rolling with it, while also
recognizing how surreal it all was.
"You're gonna have to write a book about this, at some point,"
she said, without missing a beat.
"Sure," I said. "It could be one of those self-help things.
How to be a Total Imbecile, Without Even Trying, by Richelle
Winterfeld."
"I can vouch for your expertise."
"F*ck you."
"And also for your conversational eloquence."
"I do what I can," I said.
By now, things at RSI were in full swing, and we were
interrupted when Steph McMahon tapped on the door for her usual
morning check-in.
Ever the perceptive one, she sensed something was off right
away.
"Do I need to know?" she asked us.
"No," I answered. "Not yet, anyway."
"Do I want to know?"
I shook my head.
"Probably not."
"Okay," she said, before heading off to the training room.
I looked back to Danni, noticing a little tension had crept back
into her expression.
"We're not going to be able to keep this a secret forever," she
said.
"No," I said. "It won't be long before they know something's
up."
She didn't look too pleased with that thought.
"These are your girls," I said. "Any prying they do will be out
of concern for you. They're not going to judge you about
something like this, but they are going to worry."
I didn't allow myself to dwell on how they might judge me.
"I know," she said quietly.
"I'm actually afraid they'll do something stupid to protect
you," I said.
A dark, serious look overtook her face.
"We can't let them get involved in this."
Typical Danni. She swept her potential embarrassment away at
the mere notion that the others might put themselves in harm's
way.
"We won't," I said, making it sound like I had control over such
things.
She nodded, but her expression didn't change as the real truth
just sort of hung in the air between us.
Deep down we both knew that if the women of RSI got it in their
heads to do something, neither of us would have much chance of
stopping them.
Eventually, we pushed the thought aside. We would cross that
bridge if and when we came to it.
"So, where were we?" I asked.
"The pimp," she said.
I cringed inwardly. The word had no place in her mouth, and I
was instantly ashamed that I was the reason it had ended up
there.
"Marcus and the others were all too eager to be rid of Powers,"
I pressed on. "He was a loose cannon, and that makes people
like them very uncomfortable. Problem was, cutting him out
meant finding a way to fill his role."
"I thought you said you didn't know how organized crime worked."
"Turns out, you can learn a lotta sh*t in a very short period of
time when your life depends on it."
"I'll bet."
"Spenser and Hawk came up with a plan for dividing up Powers'
piece of the action in a way that everyone could live with.
Then, they concentrated on keeping me safe while everything else
worked itself out."
"Did Powers ever come after you?"
"No."
"He just forgot about you?"
"Temporarily, anyway. Without backing from the others, he was
left with nothing. On top of that, he was consumed with getting
even with his former criminal buddies for what they'd done. He
really didn't have the resources to come after me, and Spenser
and Hawk were enough to deter him until the dust settled and he
disappeared. But, clearly he has not forgotten about me."
"This guy, Spenser. He met with these different... crime lords,
or whatever?"
"Yes," I said.
"For you?"
"Yes."
"Why would he do that?"
"You don't think defending my bright smile and winning
personality was enough incentive?"
"No."
I sniffed and acted like I was hurt by the slight. Danni didn't
appear moved by my pain, so I kept going.
"He did it because it was the right thing to do," I said.
For a moment, she looked dazed... like something had physically
hit her in the face.
I knew the feeling. Grappling with the existence of men like
Spenser and Hawk in a world as crazy as this one can do that to
you.
"That something he does often?" she asked.
"What?"
"The right thing," she said.
"Always."
"An honest-to-god knight in shining armor."
"Yes."
"You didn't even have any money."
I nodded.
She really was paying attention. Not only did I not get paid
prior to my unceremonious dismissal from Basement Brawls, but
every penny I'd brought with me ended up left in the dressing
room.
I had nothing but the clothes on my back, and those clothes
weren't very substantial. Plus, they were all stained with
blood and everything.
It wasn't a good situation.
"That didn't stop me from trying to compensate him," I said.
"What?" she asked, momentarily confused.
I pressed my lips into a thin line and watched as the
recognition washed over her.
"You didn't!" she exclaimed.
"I did."
"You slept with him?"
"No, but I tried," I admitted. "It was all I could think of."
"Why would you do that?"
Asked the woman who slept with Dickie Smalls.
"I don't know," I said. "I think I was trying to get some sort
of control."
"What?"
"Think about it," I said. "I was in deep sh*t, far from home,
and dead broke. I was totally dependent on Spenser."
I paused and rubbed at my face in frustration.
It's an awkward feeling to not be able to explain exactly why
you did something.
Awkward, but not necessarily uncommon.
"I think I figured that, if I found some way to pay him, that
would make me less dependent. Like I had hired him by choice,
instead of being desperately reliant on him."
I wasn't sure I was making any sense, but Danni didn't question
my explanation.
"Didn't you say something about a girlfriend?" she asked.
"Yes," I answered. "Susan."
"You two must have been great friends."
"Actually," I said, "we kinda were."
She turned her head slightly and eyed me skeptically.
"Some things you should know about Susan," I said. "First of
all, she's a psychologist. A very good one."
"Ah, so she recognized you as a head case, right away."
"No doubt," I said, "but there was more to it. The fact is, she
never saw me as a threat."
"Why not?"
"Susan is not just Spenser's girlfriend. She's more like his
soul mate."
"Knights. Soul mates. We've gone from nightmares to fairy
tales."
"I know, but that doesn't make it untrue. Susan knew Spenser
would never hurt her that way. It was never a concern for her."
"Are you a mind reader, now?"
"No, but I didn't need to be. It was obvious."
"Obvious, how?"
"Well, for one thing, Spenser was the one who told her what I'd
done."
"Really? But nothing happened, right?"
"Right. He was gentle about it, but he made it clear I was
going about things the wrong way."
"So, then why even mention it to her?"
"Because it was..."
"...the right thing to do," she finished.
I spread my hands out in front of me. Spenser's code of conduct
might seem antiquated and idealistic, but it was what it was.
"And you and Susan were friends?" Danni asked.
"Still are. She's helped me understand some things about
myself. And I think she finds my no-nonsense personality
appealing."
"Of course she does."
I eyed her for a moment.
"You know, I can't always tell when you're being straight with
me and when you're being sarcastic."
"When in doubt, assume sarcastic."
"Yeah... I sorta figured."
[hr]
Character Reference
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Richelle_100x120.jpg
Name: Richelle Winterfeld
Nickname(s):
Background: Owner of the RSI stable, former underground fighter
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Danni_100x120.jpg
Name: Danneel Harris
Nickname(s): Danni
Background: RSI stable leader, reigning DEF welterweight
champion
HTML https://aade768506dacb303a01a361d3dc0d27209a5ec4.googledrive.com/host/0Bz8YsEjMxOhMMXhVcF82aG5SXzA/Stephanie_100x120.jpg
Name: Stephanie McMahon
Nickname(s): Steph
Background: RSI's fighter development coordinator, former SCQ
super heavyweight champion
#Post#: 2902--------------------------------------------------
Re: Haunted by the Past - Chapter 10 - Nightmares and Fairy Tale
s
By: BadAssBunnies Date: February 20, 2016, 2:05 pm
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[quote author=Rampage Sports link=topic=413.msg2901#msg2901
date=1455976783]
"I thought you said you didn't know how organized crime worked."
"Turns out, you can learn a lotta sh*t in a very short period of
time when your life depends on it."
"I'll bet."
[/quote]
Some of my favorite dialogue so far. Another brilliant chapter.
#Post#: 2903--------------------------------------------------
Re: Haunted by the Past - Chapter 10 - Nightmares and Fairy Tale
s
By: RampageSports Date: February 20, 2016, 9:19 pm
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Thanks, Becca. :D
And thanks to all for sticking with me. This was the last of
the pure backstory chapters. The current story line will slowly
start moving forward with the next post. :)
#Post#: 2904--------------------------------------------------
Re: Haunted by the Past - Chapter 10 - Nightmares and Fairy Tale
s
By: Dragons Den Date: February 21, 2016, 6:12 am
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I really enjoyed the backstory! I thought you did it superbly,
and as I have mentioned, I really dig the way you've introduced
Spenser, etc. I've always loved how you handle your characters.
Awesome work. :)
#Post#: 2905--------------------------------------------------
Re: Haunted by the Past - Chapter 10 - Nightmares and Fairy Tale
s
By: RampageSports Date: February 21, 2016, 11:06 am
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Thanks, Dragon. :)
It's funny... as I read through what I wrote, I found an
interesting pattern. Though Spenser and Hawk are involved in
the story throughout, I keep them mostly in the background. I
told myself the real reason for that is that I wanted the story
to focus on Richelle and Danni, and that's definitely true.
But, I can also see I didn't really trust myself to properly
handle such established and well-known characters. :P
I'm OK with that, though. I think a proper amount of fear is a
good thing, in this case. :D
#Post#: 2906--------------------------------------------------
Re: Haunted by the Past - Chapter 10 - Nightmares and Fairy Tale
s
By: Dragons Den Date: February 22, 2016, 12:29 am
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Well, you had no reason to fear handling them, because you did a
wicked good job, but I can surely understand your reasoning. I
write ALL my characters in the background, haha. :P
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