Darling - K. Ancrum Page 0,18
and kicked her legs up against the train car wall.
“I scampered off, of course. I’m good with hiding and running, but we had some younger boys with us that needed to be watched, protected, and led back home. They were new, you know.”
“Slightly and Curly,” Peter filled in. “Thirteen and fourteen at the time.”
“Indeed,” Tinkerbelle said. “Just babies, really. And this wasn’t your everyday raid; the police had the clubs and gear out in full force. No tear gas, but shields and all of that—who knows why they thought they needed it. None of us are ever armed. Also, this night in particular, the detective was out and heading the raid.”
Peter hummed, eyes twinkling as he listened.
“Detective Hook himself,” Tinkerbelle said the name proudly, like it meant something.
“Detective?” Wendy echoed.
Tinkerbelle nodded. “The worst of the lot of them. Anyway, we needed a distraction to get them away from our boys. Peter, bright as he is, had predicted we might have had trouble. He’d made a few fire starters and tossed them over the top of a few of the train cars to get attention. Then, while they were blazing hot and high, we made a run for it in the dark.
“Now, I’ve only heard this story secondhand, but from what I know, Detective Hook himself ran Peter and the boys down until the little ones couldn’t run anymore. Then he lined them up against a train car and called for backup.”
Tinkerbelle looked up at Peter, but he was gazing steadfastly at Wendy. He seemed amused by the way Tinkerbelle was telling the story. But Wendy was not amused; Wendy was horrified.
“Slightly started crying, so Hook tased him, which infuriated everyone, of course. Then when Hook turned his back for a second, Peter sprinted at him and wrestled him to the ground. He grabbed a rock and knocked the taser out of Hook’s hand and then smashed both of them with the rock until he couldn’t call for backup or use his pistol. Then Peter picked up Slightly, put him on his back, and carried him all the way back home.”
“Oh my God,” Wendy said.
“Yeah. A couple of months later, one of the boys saw Detective Hook coming out of a coffee shop. One of his hands was in a splint, but the other one had been amputated. So, chasing us down is now his personal vendetta.”
Wendy gasped. “Oh my God, that’s fucking crazy.”
“It’s not as bad as you think,” Tinkerbelle said coolly, lowering her eyelids. “We just stay out of their way, and they stay out of ours.”
Wendy didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t.
Tinkerbelle looked very pleased with herself. Wendy could feel the waves of Tinkerbelle’s satisfaction rolling off her, and it pissed Wendy off.
Peter, on the other hand, was looking out the window contentedly, like beating someone with a rock until their entire hand had to be cut off was a completely normal and reasonable thing to do. The train rocked suddenly, and Peter caught himself against the side of the door. Wendy’s eyes snapped to his arms. Arms that had carried her safely down the side of her house, had carried Slightly—whoever that was—all the way home after being tased. When she looked up, Peter was watching her.
“He tased a child, you know,” Peter said quietly. “A little boy who was crying and scared.” He shook his head. “It wasn’t the best way to handle the situation, I know, but I said I would never let anybody hurt him.”
Wendy could hear the unspoken And I would never let anyone hurt you. It was heavy in the air. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder. She could feel the heat of his big hand through her sweater, like a brand.
“THIS IS WILSON. TRANSFER TO PURPLE-LINE TRAINS AT WILSON,” the train blared. Then the speaker crackled and the conductor took over. “THIS TRAIN WILL BE STANDING AT WILSON STATION FOR AT LEAST TWENTY MINUTES DUE TO A DISTURBANCE AT THE STATION. ALL PASSENGERS WHO NEED TO TRANSFER MUST EXIT THE TRAIN. THERE ARE SHUTTLES THAT WILL TAKE YOU TO THE NEXT STOP.”
Wendy looked up, alarmed. “Wh—”
Tinkerbelle shoved her out of the seat and toward the door. “Don’t worry about it; this happens every so often. Just follow the crowd down the stairs. This is our stop, anyway.”
Wendy was carried out of the train car and off to the platform by the people pushing behind her. She stumbled down the stairs and into the lobby, where it was immediately