Man Of Steel

Chapter 7

The boys were already mounted up and waiting when I rode up to our designated meeting place. With just a slight nod of acknowledgment, I went to the head of the crew and waited until they formed in line behind me and we headed out of town under cover of night.

In the next town over was a little nine year old girl who'd barely survived the barbaric attentions of a two hundred and fifty pound pedophilic piece a s**t who'd raped, battered, slit her throat and left her for dead. As an ex-cop I understood that the powers that be frowned on vigilante justice, as a father, if I'd caught the motherfucker before the law did he would be dead already.

Stephanie was now one of us; anyone who could survive that s**t had to have steel running under their skin with a healthy rod of it in their spine. Her mother had sounded the alarm a few weeks ago when it was coming on time for the trial. Our little warrior was having nightmares about her personal boogieman coming to get her in the dark. Can't have that s**t, can't let him take not so much as another second away from that precious child, so every night for the past two weeks we've been standing guard outside her home.

One crew took up night duty and another relieves us in the morning to escort her to school. Until the trial is over, she won't be alone, and if she still needs us after that, well that's what the f**k we do, we don't leave until the job's done.

We pulled up outside the ranch style house in the little cul de sac. Every light in the house was on and I could see someone peeping through the curtains at the window. My heart hitched in my chest that one so young could know such fear. There was no justice in that, nothing good at all about this f****d up situation. No matter what anyone does or says from now on, this will be a part of her. It's my job and my crew's job to see it doesn't become what defines her.

As a cop my job would've already been done, unless the D.A. chose to call me to give evidence or something, I wouldn't be involved in this side of things. I wouldn't know of her fears in the night, or see her mom's worry. I liked this way better, this way I get to see the job through from beginning to end.

There were twelve of us who alighted from our bikes and removed helmets before heading towards the front door. We had a routine worked out by now. Each case is different; each woman or child has his or her own unique needs. Whatever it takes to make them feel secure is what we offer.

Stephanie's mother Donna opened the door just as we reached it and ushered us in. “How is she tonight?" We stood around the living room, which is where we usually started our nightly ritual. After getting a rundown of the day's events from Donna I headed back to the room where Stephanie slept with her mom these days, too afraid to be in her own bed alone.

She was sitting up in the middle of the bed, wide-eyed and alert. There were still some faded bruises around her face and the sight of the dark ugly puckered flesh around her neck where the monster had cut into her made me see red. The only draw back to having a conscience is that it keeps me from exacting vengeance the way I see fit.

I have no qualms about bashing a motherfucker's head in, but I won't cross the line into murder. That's a stand that I've been battling with for the longest time. Sometimes it seems that might be the only answer. But I know if I ever went down that road that I would be f*****g up a lot of people's lives. So I won't be that selfish, no matter the satisfaction I might derive from ending one of these fuckers.

“Good evening Ms. Stephanie how're we doing this evening?" I kept my distance so as not to scare her. She was still a little skittish around men though she'd come a long way with the guys and I in the last few weeks. Still I knew to wait for a sign from her that it was okay to move closer. She must always feel like she's in control, that she was the one calling the shots. That was part of rebuilding her confidence and her general sense of safety, something that was going to take years to achieve.

“Evening Blade." She gave me one of her shy smiles as she plucked at the comforter that covered her tiny frame. Nothing chokes me up faster than seeing a female in distress, especially one so young. I can't help but to see my little Holly, my lil bit, in her place. What would that do to me as a man? To see my little girl so hurt and broken and damn near destroyed?

The sad part about this particular situation is that Stephanie's dad had passed not long before she'd been attacked, adding insult to injury. She'd been struggling with the loss of a man who by all accounts had done everything in his power to shield and protect his little girl.

No sooner than he'd been put in the ground than this asshole had struck. It was almost as if the sick bastard had been waiting for just such an opportunity. From what I'd learned Kevin, the father, had been a hands on dad. He took his kid to and from school everyday and kept an eagle eye on her and her mom.

He was another one that had understood what the world was really like and knew the need to go that extra mile to protect the ones he loved. A drunk going the wrong way had put an end to a decent man who'd been out getting balloons for his kid's birthday party. Two weeks later she was taken on her way home from school.

The mother was wracked with guilt because she couldn't pick up the slack from where her husband had left off. But with the man of the house gone she'd had to go back out to work and her hours didn't allow her to be home until at least an hour after Stephanie came home in the evenings.

It should've been safe enough to walk the few blocks home from the schoolyard, but somewhere between there and here the monster had struck, and their lives were changed forever. Her little eyes scanned the room like a cornered rat and I could feel the fear coming off her in waves. It was approaching full dark now, the time when her fear became paramount. It would take a few minutes for her to quell the fear the way we'd taught her to.

Soon she'd climb down off the bed and take my hand and I'll lead her out to the living room where the others were waiting. After the hellos were exchanged we'd walk her around the house to show her where everything was secure, then I'd point out to her where each team was going to be. I'll check her walkie talkie to make sure it was working as well as the panic button we'd gotten her.

When she was assured that all was in order we'd take our places around the perimeter of the house and settle in for the night. Tonight was no different than the ones that came before and we went through our paces, each man patient and attentive to the little girl that we'd sworn to protect.

When she was breathing easy and laughing shyly at our silly attempts to make her smile we knew it was time for her to call it a night. Donna said her goodnights and walked her daughter into the bedroom they now shared and we turned to leave the confines of the house as the little nightlight came on.

“Stryder, any word on the brother yet?"

“Nope, fucker's in the wind."

“That's cool he won't get close anyhow." The perp's brother was rumored to be picking up where his brother left off, since the law had decided it was easier to keep the f**k safe behind bars than it was out here in the open. After we'd gotten involved, life for Dwayne hadn't exactly been going too good.

“What about that other thing I told you to do, where are we on that?"

“It's being taken care of as we speak; chill Blade everything's being handled." There was a slight pause as he looked back at the house.

“You think she'll be able to sleep tonight?"

Sometimes I forget how young some of my guys were. They tended to be such hard asses that it was easy, and it wasn't often that you got to see the soft side of any one of them. But to a man, each and every one of these cases we've worked so far, they've given a hundred and ten percent. I've seen more heart in these ex cons and delinquents than in all the do gooder politicians who're always running around spouting air out their ass.

“She'll be fine Stryde, our girl is tough." I could hear the soft timbre of the others as they patrolled the perimeters of the house. Not that we expected anyone to actually show up here. Dwayne was in the pen for his own protection and we had our guys in the surrounding counties on the lookout for his brother Sid.