This was the third time she had passed the house. She finally stopped walking around the block to stand in front of one of the greenest lawns she'd ever seen in her life. She would've kept circling the block, thinking and procrastinating, except that she noticed a neighborhood patrol car also circling the block. The guard riding shotgun kept eyeballing her through his shiny shades. They were playing it cool but she had the feeling that they'd be stopping her at any moment. She didn't need any of that right now. She had no ID on her and she didn't want them to send the real cops to arrest her. She knew she looked like she didn't belong there, with her slightly stretched out sleeveless t-shirt and her faded black jeans. Her black and white canvas high-top sneakers were ratty, a small hole in near the right pinky toe, the once white rubber now grey and scuffed something awful. She had on dark shades, cheap, a pair she once shoplifted from Target. Her hair was what one could be considered wild, but she knew it was clean.

So there she stood, in front of a big pretty house, all brick and white columns and tall windows. It seemed big yet warm. And she wondered about the people inside. She wondered who they were, or if they would call the police themselves when she rang their doorbell.

Behind her, the patrol car made a short whoop sound and pulled to a stop. "Hey," Shiny Shades called out to her, "What's your business 'round here?" He was chewing gum in a way that pissed her off, all hard and tight with his jaw, like there were things he wanted to say and wanted to do but was too chickenshit to do it. He was taking it out on his gum.

"Fake cop,"she thought as she turned on her heels.

"I'm here to see relatives."

His partner, the driver finally spoke, "Who do you know here?"

"The Greenes'," she answered, knowing it was a test.

"What are they to you?" Shiny Shades questioned. They were playing this song and dance that could spin on and on for hours. Back in her 'hood, the real cops got straight to the point. Shiny Shades wanted to be a real cop, she could see it by the way he chewed the hell out of his gum. "Who exactly are you here to see?"

She paused for a minute and then said, "My father."

They stared at her disbelievingly.

"Jeff. Jeff Greene."

A look of confusion clouded their faces, they didn't know whether to believe her or not. "How old are you?" the driver asked studying her closely. The girl he questioned was short and compact with a young looking face and a curly cap of what he considered to be childlike ringlets. In the cop's mind her clear caramel brown complexion was at odds with the way her hips flared slightly from her long torso, and the thickness of her thighs. He couldn't tell exactly how much of a woman she really was.

"She's probably a runaway come back," Shiny Shades responded in a soft voice, but it was still loud enough for her to hear him.

"I thought his daughters were really young."

"Whatever. Leave her ass be before they start talking about profiling this, profiling that. You know how Greene is. Damn Commish of the real PD lives to wipe his ass. She's just some kid trying real hard."

"Yeah I know the type. Spoiled punk Brady's kid swears he's some type of gang banger. Got kicked out of the prep school. She's probably run out of money."

She cleared her throat, "Are we good?"

"Long as you're going to see Greene like you say you are. Otherwise, you've got to come with us."

She sighed, turned toward the house and began walking up the stone path that led to the front door. Halfway up she heard the car speed off. She scoffed, they were really afraid of dealing with Jeffrey Greene. They didn't even want to be seen seeming like they were harassing her.

As she took the remaining steps to the front door, she thought about that "punk Brady kid" and how she got put into the same category as he. As bad as they made it sound, it wasn't as bad as the other categories she'd been put in. It was almost prestigious. Just a regular spoiled kid too bored with his pampered existence to follow the status quo. If only it were that simple.

She sighed and then finally rang the doorbell. The bell made a cheesy tune she didn't recognize. A woman answered the door. She was tall, lean and had a striking face with dark features, she seemed like a Latina. Her hair was almost jet black and she had large almond shaped eyes that pointed up toward her temples. She was a very pretty woman, dressed neatly and professionally still way after working hours in a pencil skirt and a button down blouse.

"May I help you?" the woman tried hard to be polite, but it was apparent that she did not exactly like what she saw.

"I'm here to see Jeffrey. Jeffrey Greene?" She said like a question though she didn't mean to.

"Who may I ask is calling on him?"

"Leese," she answered not exactly knowing what to say, "People call me Leese."

The woman stood staring at her for a moment, her face betraying her confusion and amusement. Leese could tell that the woman didn't exactly know how she should proceed, but she could also tell that she didn't want to provide this strange girl direct access to her husband. "How does he know you may I ask?"

She gave a half shrug and said, "He doesn't. But I need to talk to him directly."

The beautiful woman narrowed her eyes a bit and excused herself. A few minutes later a tall almond colored man showed up at the door. He was even taller than his tall wife. He had to be six-foot five or six-foot six. His hair was cut low and he had strong features that made him seem scary and very serious. Leese couldn't quite tell where he was from or what ethnicity he was. He was brown yes, but he didn't seem to be black or black as she knew it and classified herself as. His facial features were uniquely his own, something she'd never seen before. He had large dark eyes, a narrow nose, thin yet wide lips and high cheekbones. His body was muscular, but he was still lean and long. His fists were clenched at his side, and he seemed like he was ready for some type of battle. It threw Leese off guard and she remembered the fear that she had before she rang his doorbell. She gulped and said nothing though she didn't mean for it to be that way. She meant to be more confident and ready to hear things she didn't want to hear, ready to be treated in a way in which though she was used to, a way which didn't feel nice. She had prepared herself to be seen as an unwanted problem, and in his eyes, she could see this was definitely the case. She wasn't prepared enough.

"Who are you?" His voice was cool, deep and masculine. Its hard edge put her off even more.

"Leese. Leese Harmond." As she said this she'd stuck out her hand but he didn't shake it. Instead his face changed slightly. She wondered if this was a spark of recognition.

"Once again, 'Leese'.who in the hell are you?"

She stood there for a moment, too scared to say anything, but too proud to out rightly show it. "Well.I'm your daughter." His naturally narrow eyes widened some though he tried to keep a cool façade. "What?"

His wife had been standing next to him, hidden from Leese's view, but she decided to show herself and say, "What are you trying to pull?" She'd squeezed in front of him as if to protect him.

"Nothing." Leese said to her and then turned to Jeffrey. "I just want to talk to you for a minute. That's all."

"About what?" his wife's voice bit at the air. It was getting dark and cool and the woman's breath was nearly visible. Leese was freezing. She hadn't expected it to get this cool this fast today. Days or nights never got too cold out on the west coast, but summer was surely ending even though the day had started out warmly. She tried her best to act as if the goose bumps forming on her bare arms didn't bother her.

"What kind of bullshit is this?" the tall woman barked.

"I don't want trouble," Leese said holding up her hands, "I just wanna talk to Mr. Greene is all."

"You want me to let you into my home? I don't know you from Adam." It was the first words he'd spoken since he'd let his wife take over. Those words were slow, hard and deliberate. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You don't wanna start trouble?" his wife scoffed, "trouble?"

"Calm down Rita," he said to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. His voice was gentler with her, gentle in a way that almost made Leese envious. Why? She had no idea, but she tried to shake the feeling.

"I just wanna talk to you. I need like ten minutes of your time Mr. Greene. I don't ever have to see you again," Leese begged.

Rita said, "You got ten minutes but anything you say to him, you say to me." She turned to her husband, "I'm going to go check on the girls, bring her in before the neighbors start talking." she disappeared from the doorway, and then it was just Leese and Greene.

He sighed, "Well, you heard her, come on in. Let's straighten this out."

He led her into the house through a foyer and then to what appeared to be a family room. The room was decorated in warm colors, browns, beiges, splashes of crimson and red. There was a fire going in the fire place. He told her to sit and so she did, on an overstuffed couch looking around thinking, "Ridiculous." The place was the kind she'd always wanted to live in: sitcom style. It was clean as if no one really lived there, as if someone yelled cut at the end of a ten hour day and everyone went home. However, it wasn't sterile. There were traces of life around. She spotted coloring books and Barbie dolls, a tiny little kid cardigan strewn upon a reclining chair. She smelled food. Meat, spices, the subtle odor of steam. These smells must've been coming from the kitchen. It was almost dinner time. She tried to ignore the sounds coming from her belly reminding her that she hadn't eaten that day. Jeffrey excused himself. She heard faint voices, including the excited one of Rita, who she could tell was trying to keep her cool perhaps for the children's' sake. Leese didn't mind that, in fact she'd wish the woman would just shut up and calm down. She didn't want to make this harder than it had to be.

She looked up and saw large pictures on the mantle. His daughters were in every one of them. They were both young, maybe three or four years apart. The older one seemed very serious and smart to Leese. She had her mother's coloring and her long straight almost black hair. The smaller one was browner, her coloring a little less translucent. She looked a little more like Jeffrey. Her hair only came down to her chin, but it was big in frizzy loose waves and curls. The girls both hard dark eyes and long lashes. Pretty, they both didn't seem to look much like herself in her opinion.

"My sisters." She almost smiled. But then let it disappear when Jeffrey came back into the room. She had to remember not to show any emotion. And she couldn't let them intimidate her. She knew they thought they were already better than her, but she decided that she wouldn't care.

He sat down across from her and her heart had begun to pound fast. She tried to figure him out: who he was, what he really came from. His wife seemed Latina. He seemed mixed, maybe black like her, but with something else she couldn't quite place her finger on. His coloring was brown but seemed a little translucent, as if he were really just extremely tanned. He was definitely handsome, but it was not something that impressed her. It was something that she had expected. Mr. Perfect. It almost made her sick to her stomach.

"The only reason you're in here, is 'cause of your name.or the name you gave me." Jeffrey explained.

At that moment Rita came into the room. Her face was serious as she sat down next to her husband. She said to him, "The girls are doing homework, I told them to stay upstairs, but dinner is in fifteen, so can we just straighten this con out so we can send her on her way?"

"Miss, what are you talking about, I ain't no con. Why would I lie?"

"People do it all the time honey. Do you want money? How much?"

Jeffrey placed a hand on his wife's knee, "Baby."

"No, I'm just trying to get to the bottom line here.people pretend to be other people's kids all the time. Especially when those people are high profile detectives like you sweety. You and I know this."

"I'm not pretending!" She almost yelled but then dwarfed her voice, "I'm not."

"There is no way my husband could've fathered a child honey. We've been together for seventeen years and we've been married for eleven of those. I know that he wouldn't have cheated on me. And I know that if he did, or if he had a child, he wouldn't have kept it from me. So if you think you're going to shake my faith in this man."

"How old do you think I am?"

"Can't be any older than seventeen." she answered looking at Leese from head to toe.

"I'm twenty three years old."

They both stared at her as if they were trying to gauge the truth.

"I know I look young," she said. Her eyes were big and round and dark brown, her skin clear, her face full, almost cherubic. She could've passed for even a little younger than seventeen. "But I'm twenty three. And I don't have my ID on me but I would show you. And I know you're thinking I'm bullshitting but I'm not. Believe me, if your husband wouldn't have thought I could be telling the truth, he wouldn't have let me in here. He's a hotshot detective right?"

Rita took a deep breath; her body relaxed some as she looked at Jeffrey. "Actually he's a Detective Lieutenant."

"Tell her what you said to me," Leese said to him, ignoring her, "You let me in because of the name."

"Harmond? Yeah. It's what you say your name is right?"

Rita scoffed, "How convenient, she doesn't have any identification."

"Look," she said directly to Jeff, "you knew Tiffany Harmond right? 'Cause if you say you didn't I'll just leave without a problem. I'm not trying to con you."

"I knew a Tiffany." He admitted.

"She's my mom. Was my mom. Died when I was thirteen."

"Tiffany.died?"

Rita frowned at him, "Who's Tiffany?"

"My mom and he knew each other growing up. When she was fifteen, same age as him, she got pregnant. She never wanted to tell me who my daddy was, but I found out it was you."

"How?" he asked suspiciously.

"Your name was on the birth certificate. I could show you but I don't have it with me."

Rita scoffed.

Leese reached into her back pocket and pulled out some papers, "I know you're thinking I'm here for some type of money, or I'm doing some type of con, but I ain't here for that. I'm not even here to be apart of your family. But I do need something."

She handed him the papers. He unfolded them and read them.

"You used to be a Navy SEAL right? Hot shot there too? My social worker thinks that if you sign that letter, you're the only one who can get me into that program."

Jeff read the letter and said, "You've done time?"

"A few years. Drug related charges. Trafficking. But I'm smart, really. And I'm strong. And I think that I could do the Second Chance program and get into the Mil-Ar-Tel.I just need a good reference and if you say."

"Hold on," he said, "you know about Mil-Ar-Tel?" What he spoke of was a new branch of the military being developed that not many people knew about yet.

"It's not a big deal I guess. I mean, they aren't going to be as hardcore as the Marines or the Navy SEALS so I think I have a shot."

"How do you know about Mil-Ar-Tel?"

She shrugged, "My social worker says if you sign this, I have a shot."

He smirked, "So you think, you have a shot?" She shrugged, "I need this shot. But I ain't got a chance in hell unless you sign that letter."

He shifted his weight and breathed deeply, "I don't know you Leese. You say you're my daughter but I don't know you. How am I going to just sign my name on a recommendation for a person I don't know? Plus, you've been in jail haven't you?"

"I'm not asking for much Greene." Her eyes connected with his, and a familiarity took place that neither could deny. "I know I'm your blood, but I know you don't owe me shit. I don't want anything from you. Like I said earlier, I'd be glad just to walk out of here and never look back. All you have to do is this one thing."

"Yes, but this one thing could wreck my reputation."

They all stared at each other quietly for awhile, Leese fidgeting with her hands and saying, "I can't believe this," her throat began to tighten, but she tried to keep her composure. "Beautiful."

"Leese," he stood up and his wife followed suit. "I don't believe that you're my daughter, and even if I did, I don't know you. So I'm sorry, I can't help you."

She stood up too, stared at the couple one more time, and trudged her way to the door. They followed behind her as she gripped the door handle and flung the door open to face cool dusk air. Before she walked away from them without so much as a goodbye, Jeffrey said, "Hey."

She turned around; he could see that her eyes were red and watering.

"You don't have a jacket or anything?"

Her brow crumpled and she gave him a look of disbelief, "I don't have shit Mr. Greene. I thought you already knew that." She'd jammed her hands in her pockets and walked away.

He watched her not realizing that her letter was still in his hand. Rita said, "That was bizarre," She touched his back, "You okay baby?"

He nodded.

"Some guy did that with this councilman I knew. Claimed to be his son. It was a con. It happens everyday." She patted his shoulder, "Well, dinner time." She closed the front door though he still stood there.



"Chrissy, Izzy, it's time for bed." Jeff walked into the girls' room and they immediately stopped all the jumping and giggling they were prone to right before bed time.

"Come on Izz," He said grabbing the littlest one and gently mimicking a body slam down on her bed. She squealed with delight, "One day I'm gonna body slam you Daddy!"

"Sure you are. Under the covers now."

"Dad," Chrissy said as she got into the bed, "don't forget we have to get Tina tomorrow for school."

"Won't forget," he kissed Izzy on the forehead, and then Chrissy. "Love you guys."

"Love you Daddy!" They said in energetic unison. As he turned out their light he was more sentimental than usual. Having some woman show up and claim to be his daughter made him think about the ones he already had. He loved them so much it made his heart hurt. He wondered if they really knew all that he would do for them. One thing was for sure: he would do more than just sign a letter for them.

As he walked to his bedroom it all hit him. Hard. He wasn't a cruel man, or one without feelings, just hard to read and much too composed at times. He was cool and mechanical on the surface, but beneath, his thoughts and feelings swirled and churned against each other until often he couldn't decide what to think about what he felt, or what he felt about what he thought. He didn't mean to treat Leese so matter of factly, so coldly. Whoever she was, she had lost a lot in life, and it made him feel badly because he met people like her on the job everyday. They were young people who had no apparent family or role models; they were lost in the system and had given up on life. But Leese seemed different. She wanted Mil-Ar-Tel badly, he could tell. It wasn't as great and prestigious or as elite of an opportunity as people may have led her to believe (there was a reason they were letting ex-cons have a shot at coming in) but she was trying. If she were a con artist would this be all that she wanted? Or was this just the bait?

He entered his bedroom where his wife lay in bed waiting for him seductively. She wore some sort of red see through nighty, the pinks of her raspberry colored nipples peeking through. She lay on her side supporting her head with one hand and caressing the curve of her hips with the other. He could see that the hair on her mound was neat and trimmed tonight into one neat little racing stripe. Her hair fell down over her bare shoulders as she said, "Are the girls asleep?"

He smiled sitting on the edge of the bed and taking off his shoes, "They probably are."

"Some detective you are," She teased. "What about the facts?"

"The facts?" He asked.

"The hard, cold facts." She tapped him lightly with her toe and he laughed.

"Is tonight my birthday?"

"Might as well be." She got up and crawled over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his ears, nibbling at them knowing it would turn him on. Usually his wife was asleep before he even hit the bed. They did make love often enough though, but he couldn't help but question why tonight?

"Rita, baby?"

"Hmmm?" she asked as she nuzzled his neck.

"What if she is mine?"

Rita giggled, "What? Are you serious?" she continued to kiss his neck, "Don't even worry about it baby, we went over this."

"Yeah as a matter of fact I am serious." he said, his tone hardening some. She let go of him and he could feel a soft impact on the space behind him where she dropped her weight and sat.

They were both quiet when she said, "I really don't need this right now. You don't need this right now."

"I remember Tiffany." He said solemnly. "I was with her. In that way."

"You were with a lot of girls in that way. You were out there doing the whole knuckleheaded thug thing. You were gangbanging."

"Literally and figuratively," he laughed.

"It's not funny." She said. Now it was her tone that caught his attention.

He turned around to face her and she was staring dead into his eyes coldly. "You're up for the Commish. We're not talking a little promotion baby, you're going to be skipping ahead past the other positions, moving up in just a few months for what others wait years for." It was true. Jeffrey had the opportunity of a lifetime to become commissioner. He wouldn't of believed it himself except for the fact that he knew everyone was rooting for him, even the people who he knew were jealous of his position and status as is. The current Commish was battling cancer and there would have to be someone to take his place since he was going to retire early. Since Jeffrey had a long and stellar career as a brilliant detective, cracking the most elusive of cases people believed in his abilities. He was also known for being honest and likeable with the right "family man" image. His strikingly beautiful wife was a lawyer who worked for the city, a fine District Attorney whose record was nothing to sneeze at, and his lovely daughters went to school at the most exclusive Ellington Academy. Most important of all, Jeffrey had a good relationship with the Mayor. The detective found the Mayor's kidnapped daughter several years ago, also finding her captor.

"We have a good life Rita."

"I know, I love our life baby," She said as she crawled into a kneeling position in front of him and took his hand, "but this could mean so much more."

"What does Leese have to do with that?"

"She could be a blackmailer, an extortionist.a liar. To me, she doesn't even look like you. Does she look like Tiffany even?"

He thought about it, "I can't really remember.like I said, we did mess around but her name is about the only thing I can remember."

"I just don't want this to mess up our groove right now.I just started as a DA and the girls just got into Ellington this year. This could be bad press if Leese is looking to hurt us. Think about this baby, it happens all of the time. They do the research, pick a prominent target and even if it doesn't turn out to be true, they extort you for money so that the whole mess never even gets out in the first place."

"But if she's my daughter, what am I supposed to do?"

Rita scoffed, "I don't know about you, but I have all of the daughters I can handle right now. I'm not in the mood or position to take on any more. Especially ones only twelve years younger than me."

"Sarita." he said, beginning to get frustrated.

"What are we gonna do? Play dad and step mom? She's a grown assed woman! She's been in jail Jeff. Come on. There's nothing you can do for her even if she is your daughter."

"But."

"But nothing. I am your family. I and my daughters. Our daughters. Tiffany Harmond's daughter, I mean even if that is her daughter, she is not your family. We don't need this kind of bad press right now."

He shook his head and said, "Hold on, Sarita. If she is mine, why should we feel ashamed? If she is mine it was because of a mistake I made twenty-three years ago when I was just a kid. What if it did get out? Would that be so bad? Everyone knows about how I used to be and how I turned my life around so what's the big deal if they find out about this? I mean think about it. She seems like she's been alone for a long time. She's been locked up. She messed up and made a mistake herself. She says she has nothing, and I believe her. Why would she.w"

"Hold on Jeff," She knew her husband, his heart was softening, and he had a penchant for rooting for the underdog. She did not want this woman in her or her husband's life, point blank. "she didn't even have any ID on her."

"First thing you do when you get out of jail is not replace the ID you may have lost during a police bust."

She was getting scared. He was taking this woman's side. She had to make some sort of compromise in the situation that wouldn't cause her to sacrifice too much. "Okay," she said in a very soft voice, "I think I understand. Maybe you should sign that letter."

He frowned, "What?"

"That's all she wants right?"

"But I don't know."

"Well if you aren't sure about even signing the letter, then what's this whole conversation about anyway? We're obviously not going to adopt her or anything."

He sighed, "You say you're worried about our reputation. What if she fucks up and it sullies my name?"

Rita flicked her long hair off of her shoulders, ready with a rapid fire response, "You go to her and you scare the daylights out of her baby. You tell her that if she fucks up, it's all over for her. And that if she doesn't do right then she'll be back on the street stuffing coke in her snatch. She'll buy it."

Jeffrey didn't care much for his wife's frank language, but he ignored it.

She lifted up and kissed him on the forehead, "All she wants is this and then she'll stay away from us right? I mean, you sounded as if you didn't believe she could con you.if she's not a con then I suppose it's okay to help her out. She doesn't need much more than that."

"Yeah," he nodded looking away from his wife's face, "I understand."

"So," she began to slide her hand across his muscular thigh, "where were we?" He rolled his neck around and said, "You mind if we just sleep tonight babe? I'm really exhausted from all of this stuff."

She mock gasped, "You're turning down sex? My sex?" she laughed, "You must be tired." She joked but in the back of her mind she was worried. As he began to take off his clothes and get into the bed she said, "Trust me, this kid, probably isn't yours. But if you sign the letter, you do your good deed regardless right?"

"I suppose." He said, his voice betraying his exhaustion.

"So great. It's settled." She clapped her hands together. "Find her and give her what she wants. Then everything will be fine."



Leese stepped off of the bus and walked swiftly down the dark block. It had to be close to midnight but people were still outside. Young men stood conspicuously on corners, women in short skirts and high heels walked over to cars, and career winos crouched into doorways or nodded off on benches. She looked around, cold, freezing in fact for some reason. She hadn't expected the ride on over air conditioned buses to be so long. Three transfers from Greene's almost bucolic suburb to where she was now had left her even more tired, cold and hungry than ever. She told her social worker that she had a place to stay just so she wouldn't get referred to one of those women's shelters she heard so much about. It seemed too much like jail to her. She wanted to be alone and away from other women as much as possible.

Her plan was to get her letter signed and then go from there. But she couldn't even do that. She realized that she'd left the letter with him but she didn't care at this point because he wasn't going to sign it anyway. She brimmed with anger at the way his bitchy wife talked to her. He himself didn't seem like a bad guy, and she was counting on that to get through to him but obviously it didn't work. He was the same as any other big shot politico or crime fighter in this city. Just because they got all these accolades for being good at what they did didn't mean that they actually cared about anything other than their own little world. "Fuck him," she thought to herself as she sped walk with her shoulders hunched trying to keep the damp cold from creeping into her bones. She was going to try to head over to Nino's apartment. Maybe he'd let her in. Nino was almost like a stepbrother. No, scratch that, he was her brother, or at least in Leese's mind he was. Their mothers were friends, "special" friends until they ended whatever relationship they'd had in a fistfight. Leese and Nino had both kept in touch since they'd taken to each other during that time.

Nino lived in the projects a couple blocks from where she walked. She would head over there and hoped that his girlfriend would allow him to let her stay.

She walked along briskly, no less than a block away from his building when someone grabbed her from behind. Her yelp was muffled by a calloused hand over her mouth as she was dragged away to her right. She could see she was now in an alley. It was dark but she still managed to see someone else waiting for her though she couldn't see his face clearly. He told the guy who restrained her to, "shut that bitch up man, I don't have all night." Leese bit against his hand and he dropped it way from her mouth grunting, "Shit!" He grabbed one arm and twisted it behind her back forcefully. Pain threaded up to her shoulder blade as she groaned in pain. . "I'll pull this shit right out of the socket bitch," he said as he twisted harder. She began to settle still.

"Good," the other guy said, "The car's still running."

"Go ahead," the guy holding Leese ordered. The other guy left as he said to Leese, "Be a good girl and come with us and you won't get hurt."

She nodded in agreement and he loosened his grip on her arm and steered her around to leave the alley. Facing the entrance of the alley she could see that the other guy was waiting in a dark sedan with the back door open. Fear washed over her. She had no idea what was going on but she knew it was going to be bad.

Leese stopped cold in her tracks and threw a hard elbow upward into her captor's shoulder and kicked at his shin as hard as she could. "Shit!" she heard him say. This didn't hurt him much but it shocked him and his grip loosened. She ripped herself out of his grips and ran as fast as she could out of the alley.

As she swung the corner past the guy in the car she heard him cursing and her captor yelling behind her, "Bitch! You're gonna fucking get it!"

As he ran to catch up to her they both didn't realize how fast she could run. She ran past all of the people who hung around on the street realizing that none of them would help her anyway. So she hung a right onto an abandoned side street to see if she could find a hiding space behind one of the dumpsters behind her old middle school. Before she could bank the corner she felt something hit her hard and fast. She felt a body land hard on top of hers as her chin scraped the sidewalk. All of her captor's weight was on top of her. He turned her over and she saw his angry scowling face, "Didn't I tell you you wouldn't get hurt you dumb ho?" She struggled against him scratching at his face feeling where she caught skin under her nails. Screaming, he straddled her and put his hands on her throat squeezing tightly. She heard herself wheezing, feeling disconnected from her body.

"This is it." She thought, "I'm gonna die."

Though she reconciled herself with this fact she still struggled against him. She heard another voice asking, "Man what the fuck you doing? Get her in the fucking car!"

"Don't you see I'm trying to get her to calm the fuck down?"

Finally she felt a fist smash her in the face. It was the last thing she remembered before she came to. When she did, her face hurt like hell. She was laying across a soft king sized bed. The room was dark but it smelled familiar. Suddenly a light flicked on, and she began to remember this room she was in. Leather, fur, and glass furniture filled the tacky bedroom that was still the same way she remembered it last.

"Morning sunshine."

She looked up and saw him standing in his wifebeater and low slung jeans. It was Teto. His tight and toned walnut brown arms were the first thing she noticed because of the new tattoos that ran up and down the length of them. She knew there was one on his torso with his name on it, but she couldn't see it unless he took off his shirt. She didn't want to see it.

"Shit," she groaned as she held her face. There was dried blood caked to it and she didn't really want to touch it so much but she couldn't help it. With the rush of fresh pain was fresh realization of how she got there. She just didn't know why, why he would do this to her.

"You're a tough girl to catch up with," He said. He started unbuckling his pants and she screamed, "Why Teto? Why you send them for me?"

He stopped, "I've been looking for you darling. A long time."

"You know where the hell I've been," It was hard for her to speak clearly, her mouth was swollen, "you know I got locked up."

"Yeah. And every time I tried to come see you, you refused me."

"So what?" She spat at him, "I was there 'cause of you. Not like you didn't replace me with some other mule."

"Nobody can replace you," he said sneering as he kneeled on the bed and then crawled toward her. She scampered away until she was against the wall, "what is your problem?" Her voice cracked and she could no longer hold back her tears.

He grabbed her legs and pulled her down the length of the bed until she was underneath him. He hovered over her staring into her eyes. "You were the best mule I had. You still look about sixteen years old even after you been in. Suspected you less than the other young bitches you know? You were good at what you did."

His hazel eyes glittered as he sneered at her. She tried looking away but he grabbed her face and made her lock eyes with him.

She groaned in pain before she whined, "If I were so good, I wouldn't have gone in now would I?"

"That was a fluke. But now you're back. You know the drill though. You should've checked in with me first instead of running all around the town."

"I don't wanna do it no more Teto."

"It's the only thing I could get you to do. You couldn't strip, you couldn't trick. You act like a baby on the streets. All the other girls said you were slow, but you were smart weren't you? You only did what you wanted to do."

"I never wanted to do it." her voice squeaked. Tears ran down her face.

"Yes you did. You liked it. You like when I put it up there, inside you right?" She felt his hand press between her thighs. She tried shutting them tightly but it only trapped his hand between the warm snug place.

"You wanted it, the little bags.you liked when I did it personally. I never did that for no one else.I put my fingers up in there.it felt good didn't it?"

"You're sick." She whispered, yet memories of what he spoke of made her shudder.

"No one knew I liked you the most. They'd never think it. Baby faced and scared acting.never dressed like the rest of them. They didn't even know what your body looked like underneath that baggy shit.but I did." he started to massage between her thighs, her mound was fat, straining against the crotch of her jeans, so it was easy to palm and squeeze it. Her breath began quickening. She was disgusted. Disgusted with him and the way she was starting to feel. "Not again." is all she could think.

"They even thought you were a dyke.but I knew you wasn't. I knew you liked dick. A lot." he chuckled, "Remember that time we tried to sell you out to that bull dyke what worked in the Mayor's office? Coming all to the 'hood for some snatch. She liked you and we thought you'd like that since you'd act crazy if a dick ever came near you.but you acted crazy with her too. And everyone thought you was crazy. No brain in your head. Only good for being a mule. But they didn't know how much you liked it did they."

His hand slid up her shirt as she shuddered. Soon, he freed a tit from a cup of her bra and began to pinch and roll the nipple between his fingers. She moaned unintentionally.

"See?" He said, "Look at that face." He snickered. "They don't know about that face. I don't want them to know about it. It's our secret."

"Get off of me."

"You know how I like to fight you. I know you like it rough." his voice was low and heavy with his Dominican accent. She slapped him in the face, "Get the fuck off of me!"

He smiled, "It's been a long time mama. Long time since you had some. Hey, in that jail.you didn't turn dyke did you?"

She began to struggle but he was bigger and stronger. He pinned her arms to the bed as he leaned down and began to suck on her exposed nipple roughly. She squirmed and grunted in protest, but her body was acquiescing. She began to get wet, her clit stiffening.

"Stop," she cried hating the way he was making her feel. She felt so dirty but she didn't want him to stop.

He held only one of her wrists this time so that he could get to her other breast. She slapped and hit him to try to deter him, but it only made him more determined. This time his sucking and licking was softer, more teasing. Her eyes fluttered shut as she arched her back. It had been so long since anyone had touched her that she got lost in the feeling, almost completely motionless now, stunned by pleasure. He sat up and pulled off his shirt. She could see every tattoo across his rippled torso and chest. She tried to look away knowing what would come next. She felt her jeans being pulled from her body and her legs and she tried to pull them back on, to keep them up as she begged of him, "Please, just don't do this, I'll do anything else you want." she bargained. "I'll work for you again."

He only smiled as he ripped the jeans away from her. She closed her eyes knowing that if she wanted to fight harder then she could, but the sad part is that she didn't. She covered her face crying as she felt his fingers play with her stiff clit.

"Look at that!" He laughed, "I knew it! Hard and wet for me."

He rubbed her clit as he sucked on her nipples. She groaned through her crying, her hips rising to meet his fingers. He knew what to do to make her react this way. She knew that he didn't do it to make her feel good but just because he could. None of this was for her. It was all a sick game.

He rubbed hard and fast on her clit and in loose circles, the pressure deep against her pelvic bone. Before she knew it, it was too much and she couldn't help but to scream out as a coil somewhere deep in her tightened up and sprang loose over and over again. She gripped at the sheets, her eyes still closed, moaning and grunting through frustrated tears.

Then, she felt him spread apart her thighs as she sniffled, "Stop.don't.I don't wanna."

"Yes you do." He said as she felt his long hardness slid into her. She was so tight and wet and it had been so long since anyone penetrated her. She didn't want to admit it, not even to herself but he felt so good inside of her. She gasped as he slid himself in. All of his weight was upon her now as he hovered over her, his dick inside of her. "Look at me." he said, "Mira a me."

Her eyes popped open and she could see his hazel eyes boring into hers. He kept his gaze locked with hers as he began pumping and thrusting inside of her. She hated that it felt so good. He was going faster, and harder and deeper while staring into her eyes.beads of sweat forming on his brow. His countenance was intense and unchanging as she whimpered beneath him. She knew that it was good to him, and that he couldn't wait for this moment to show her who was in charge, and who the good little girl was. She hated it.

Suddenly he stopped and slid out. It couldn't have been over that quickly. She knew what he wanted.

"Go on, flip over.you know you want it to."

She flipped over onto her stomach and kneeled pulling a pillow underneath her. She was grateful for the position because at least he couldn't see her face. She felt him palming her ass. He whistled and said, "Damn, still got that ass huh?" Spreading her nether lips, he slipped one and then two fingers inside of her pussy. "Hmmm.dripping. Just the way I like it."

She felt his hard dick slide inside of her again. As he prodded and poked her tight innards with his manhood she gripped the bed sheets and bit down on the pillow. Soon, he began to fuck her hard and deep. She heard the gushy sounds they made together, it was nasty but it sounded so good. He went faster and deeper, his hand on her clit rubbing all the while. Before she knew it her muscles were hugging against him and milking him. She shivered and moaned and he grunted as he came inside of her.

When he was done he slid out of her and collapsed beside her on the bed. "Whooo." he exclaimed, "I didn't know it was like that."

She just lay on her stomach, not wanting to move, humiliated.

"Listen you can't sleep in here the whole night. The girls come in and see you in here it's gonna fuck shit up for me in a big way."

"I'm sure it will." she muttered. Part of the fantasy for him was for others to believe that he didn't even want her.

"So go on outside after you clean up." There was a bathroom with a shower in the bedroom he kept for himself; she knew it all too well.

"You're not going home to the real house tonight?" She asked her voice devoid of emotion.

"Wifey acting up," he said putting his hands behind his head. "Fuck it."

"I'm not gonna work for you Teto," she said turning over and sitting up on the side of the bed so that her back was to him. "You can tell your little hooligans that I stole from you so that they chase me down and bring me back kicking and screaming here everyday but I still ain't doing it. You might as well kill me before I do it again."

He laughed, "Let's not talk about killing now. Besides, you'll be back all on your own mamacita. I just gotta wait."

She looked over her shoulder at him with menace in her eyes.

"No matter what you do, or where you go, you ain't got nobody in these streets but Teto. You understand? You belong to me.just like all these other bitches up in here. They wanna belong to me. They wanna do whatever for me. Don't think that just because you're a little picky with what you'll do that you're any different than those ho's. I must admit though.I like being the only one.that's rare these days."

"What makes you think you're the only one?" She said bile building in her mouth.

He just smiled at her, "Tell me I'm not? Unless you let some dyke put a cucumber in your pussy or something." he laughed, so amused with himself. "Even if you had the chance at another dick you wouldn't take it. You're too used to this one. You'll be back."

She left Teto's spot forty-five minutes later. It was around four a.m. She was freshly showered and she stole a denim jacket left in one of the rooms by one of Teto's "girls". She headed to her original destination: Nino's apartment.

He lived on the fifteenth floor. The elevators smelled of piss and she tried to hold her breath all the way up but it didn't work. She got to his apartment and knocked on his door softly, hoping not to be too loud, but loud enough for him to hear her. "Nino." she hissed, "It's me.Leese."

She kept tapping on the door steadily yet softly until she heard a lock undo. The door opened and then she saw him groggy with sleep. A smile spread across his face, but it was soon replaced with pain and confusion "Leese?"

Her smile left when his did and she realized that she must look really bad. Her face was still swollen, her eye bruised and her lip split.

"Nino, I need a place to stay. Can I please just crash on your couch for a couple of hours.I know your girl ain't having' it.I just." "Oh my God," he said, "What the fuck happened?"

"Your boss found me is what."

His face hardened, "Fucking Teto." he paused introspectively and then motioned for her to come in.

She entered the dark apartment and found the couch all on her own. Exhausted, she collapsed and fell asleep instantly.

Hours later she awoke to yelling and arguing.

"Shit," she said sitting up. His girl must've saw her on the couch and made a stink about it. She sat there listening to them argue when a little toddler girl walked into the living room, her hair corn rowed and braided, weighted down with the prettiest yet loudest beads clicking and clacking about. She smiled at the girl realizing that she must look like a monster to her, but the girl didn't seem afraid. The girl stared at her for a moment; she looked so much like Nino, right down to his fair yellowish complexion. After a few moments of staring she turned on the television as if Leese weren't really there. She sat down in front of the TV and images of Sponge Bob Squarepants appeared. Leese tried to watch the show and listen to the argument at the same time.

"You just can't bring whoever up in my house Nino!"

"That's my sister! Shamika, come on now."

"It ain't your sister it was your dyke ass mother's girlfriend's daughter."

"Shut the fuck up Mika!"

"You shut the fuck up!" "She staying aight? So get it out your mind right now that she ain't."

There was quiet and a few minutes later a petite brown skinned pregnant girl waddled out into the living room with a scowl on her face. She was pretty and had slanted eyes like the little girl who sat in front of her watching TV.

"Hi." Leese gave a little wave. The girl rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen but during that encounter she could see a small look of shock on her face. Leese wondered how much more her face had bruised and swelled overnight. Nino came out seeming embarrassed, "Morning Leese." He handed her a bottle of Tylenol.

"Thanks."

"I'll get you some water."

He went into the kitchen and Leese heard more mumbling but it was soft, low and sweet. Nino was talking his way out of a bad situation. He was good at that. She heard some light smooching sounds and she smiled knowing he had won.

Shamika poked her head out of the kitchen to reluctantly ask, "You want some bacon and eggs?"

Leese salivated at the thought of food, "If you don't mind."

Shamika went back into the kitchen and Nino came out with a tall glass of cold water. She thanked him again and downed four pills. She, Nino, and the little girl watched cartoons together until Shamika announced that the food was done and that she wasn't fixing any plates. Leese didn't even mind but still hesitated to get up and make herself familiar with the girl's kitchen, not wanting to appear rude. It didn't matter because Shamika brought food out to them anyway, "Pour your own juice," she muttered. She turned to the girl sitting on the floor and said, "Get up Shay-Shay, come eat with mommy so we can take you to school okay?"

The girl got up and did as she was told, following her mother into the kitchen.

When they were alone Nino said, "Shit it's been a long time girl."

"I know," she said, "Listen, I don't mean to put you out."

He shushed her, "Don't worry. Everything's cool."

"The minute I'm a bother I'm gone."

"You cool Leese, don't even sweat it."

Minutes later Shamika took her daughter and left the apartment not even looking at Leese the whole time or saying goodbye.

Nino wasted no time in asking, "So what happened?"

She shrugged, "He wanted me to check in with him when I got out. Mad 'cause I wouldn't even see him when he came to visit me in the penitentiary."

"About that.I wish I could've come to."

She waved him off, "No worries man. You've been busy with Shayleese being born in the last few years, and now with Mika's pregnancy. I understand."

"Well," he said shaking his head, "I wonder why he's so hooked on harassing you."

"I'm the best Burro he ever had, he says." She sipped at her juice grateful for the sugary wet substance. She was so hungry she could eat and drink her weight in this food she was served.

"He could get one from anywhere.already got twelve, thirteen year olds getting on Greyhound busses stuffed to the tee.what he want with you?"

She shrugged but they both knew what Teto wanted with her even though they didn't say it.

Leese's mom used to be one of Teto's "Girls". She started working for him even though he was three years younger than her. At seventeen, Teto had the makings of a real operation. She brought five year old Leese to the safe house to live so that she could strip and turn tricks in exchange for shelter, protection and very little money. The safe house (or HQ as it was otherwise known) was the place Leese's mom met Nino's mom. Lots of the girls had kids but Teto didn't mind. It was just one more thing he had over them in case they acted up. He threatened to throw them and their children out onto the street at any provocation. But Leese's mom Tiffany and Nino's mom Gina saved up enough of their own money so that they moved into their own apartment across town. Leese and Nino were happy to leave. Leese hated being around drug dealers and prostitutes. Everyone was mean and angry, ready to belittle her. She was so shy they made fun of her all of the time. None of the other kids liked her except Nino. He stuck up for her often and they became friends.

When Tiffany and Gina ended their relationship, Tiffany took Leese back to Teto's place. They had both tried to strip on their own to pay the bills and rent but things became complicated with all their arguing and bickering.

Leese was thirteen when her mother died. Teto—who was only twenty-five at the time—did alright for himself with his little niche in the neighborhood. He was running drugs and whores out of his place and making big profits. He was the one to come to Leese and tell her that her mom overdosed. "You stay here like the other girls and work. You know what that means right?"

She was in so much shock that all she could do was nod her head yes.

"I got girls not much older than you doing the same shit your mom was doing and even better.and if you anything like your moms then I'd be glad to have you here as an employee."

She remembered feeling so sick to her stomach because she knew what her mother and all the girls did, and she never pictured herself like that. Never.

"Your moms came back 'cause she couldn't cut it on her own baby.All she had was me. And Uncle Teto, what does he do? He opens his heart and his home and lets her back. So you know this, that if you don't stay with me, they gonna send you far away with people you don't even know who won't give a shit about you. Stay with me and I'll let you keep going to school, seeing your little friends. That would be good right? See right now no one even cares your mom is dead. I'm all you got. Its time to grow up and make a grown up decision doll.what you wanna do?"

Leese chose to stay out of the fear of being completely alone and away from everything she knew whether it was bad for her or not. She was scared, but told herself that if her own mother and girls who weren't even that much older than her could do these things that she could too. She was wrong.

Teto put her out on every type of thing, but she was frigid, scared and stubborn. She had panic attacks when they put her alone with a John. Teto could beat her, threaten her, burn her with cigarettes but nothing would work. She wouldn't turn tricks or loosen up enough to take off her clothes. So he made her run errands for her keep. She started by transporting packages. Pretty soon, she was making trips out of town and delivering to places. She was good at it. People perceived her as innocent or didn't pay attention to her at all. She was a good standby. She was a mule, a burro.it was the one thing she could do.

Other girls wondered why he let her stay there. After all they had to do it all because they had to do whatever Teto demanded of them. What made her so special? They thought something was wrong with her mentally. She was way too quiet and they heard about how she would freak out whenever he tried to make her do something. They thought she was stupid because she didn't know how to trick or strip. They thought she was weird because she didn't dress in tight or short clothes or straighten her tight curly ringlets. They thought she was ugly and young acting. She didn't know how to cook or clean or rock a baby. All she did was sit in front of the TV and watch cartoons with the other kids. She was the proof Teto had a heart. She was the motherless child and he kept her working there just trafficking. Little did they know that with the amount of work she did and the risks she took that she was indeed worth more than many of them combined.

Nino came to work for Teto when he was sixteen. Back then he began selling drugs, becoming a dopeboy. Leese was happy to see him again even if under those circumstances, and they picked up like old times. Nino and Teto were the only ones Leese really talked to and the only ones who knew everything that she did for Teto, and everything Teto did to her.

When she told Nino about what happened he looked sullen and even a little angry but he tried to hide it.

"He's a perv you know. He likes them young."

"He kept 'liking' me even when I got older.I don't think anyone knows the stuff he did to me." she said.

"Those chicks thought they were hot shit man. They didn't think Teto would even want you."

"It's not like it's a big deal. Like you said he's had them all at all ages."

"It's a big deal." Nino said, "It's wrong. But it's all wrong isn't it?"

She looked up at him as he said, "One day, it's gonna be me in jail or me dead out in these streets."

"Don't say that."

"If you can get locked up I know my time is coming. And when it does Teto won't give one shit about me or my family."

"I wouldn't want him near my family if I were you."

"Exactly. I don't want Mika telling me she had to 'work' for shit."

"Maybe you can find a way to get out Nino.I'm trying myself.well I tried anyway." She told him about her attempt to get Greene to sign the letter.

"Damn," Nino said shaking his head, "He sounds like a straight asshole. Even if he wasn't your dad you went all the way out there for nothing? Big shot like that can't even put his name on a note?"

"I am his kid. I just know I am." She said of her strong intuition when it came to Greene. "But none of it matters anyhow. I just wanted him to sign the letter so I'd have a chance." "Well," Nino said scratching his head. "What are you gonna do?"

"I need money," She said resting her elbows on her knees. "I said I would go straight but."

"You can't after what he did to you? I mean everything he's done. If I had the heart I'd shoot his ass myself."

"Nino," she said putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know you can't get to him."

"I don't want you to think I don't care." Nino said. "Cause I know you feel like nobody cares. And yeah, if he were doing to my daughter what he did to you then I'd kill him no matter what."

"I don't expect you to defend my honor Nino. It's pretty much gone. Besides.I don't even think I deserve that honor."

"What you mean Leese?"

"Honestly.can I tell you a secret?"

He gave her a look as if she were crazy, "Of course."

"This is gonna sound so disgusting but." She had wanted to tell him the confession she thought he knew in his heart for all these years now. They were both grown and there was no use in stepping around it anymore. She had to tell someone. It might as well be her best friend.

"I think I liked it."

Nino just nodded not saying anything.

"I mean, all these years, I didn't exactly hate what he did to me. At first yeah, but after awhile.I couldn't control my body."

"Whoa." Nino said standing up all of a sudden, "I think I'm a little thirsty. Are you a little thirsty?"

"I'm sorry I'm just trying to keep it real."

Nino shook his head, "Listen, this cat is a rapist plain and simple. He may not have had to force you every time but that's only 'cause he got to your mind when you was young. It's just like he does to all the young girls." She shuddered, "I ain't never been with nobody else." She squeezed her wrists between her thighs, "I don't think I want to be with anybody else. It's strange.I don't feel anything unless he's making me, or acting like he's making me. And after it's over I don't feel anything but sick." Tears formed in her eyes, "I hate him. You know I hate him right? I hate myself. I don't know if I can't be normal because of him or just because I ain't normal." Normal to her meant being a regular adult, with adult aspirations even if it was just to have children or a boyfriend. It was to know how to cook and clean and wash her clothes right. To not give in to her impulses and feel so crowded by her fears that she can't even do the right thing. There was no confidence, no swagger, no know it all attitude present in Leese that most girls in her neighborhood developed by age twelve. She felt like a helpless five year old sometimes. And she hated how helpless she felt when it came to Teto. She wanted to grow up but she felt as if something was keeping her small.

Nino said, "Look at me Leese."

She did.

"If you think I'm gonna change my mind about you just 'cause of what you told me, then you're wrong. I know what he does to the others, I know his style. I know the way he gets into girls' minds. I know how it was back in the day, you don't have to confess nothing to me. Happened to other chicks too. It's not your fault that it happened to you to, you know what I'm saying? "

She nodded.

"To me, I think you're a thousand times better than he could ever be in his whole entire life. It's just a shame that he's all you know because that's the only reason you feel the way you do. And it's not your fault."



Jeffrey walked down a long carpeted corridor to reach a door that said, "Helen Franzle". He knocked gently and heard someone tell him to come in.

Helen Franzle sat behind a cluttered desk. There were manila folders and papers everywhere. Hers was a typical social worker workspace, he had seen it time and time again. She was head of her department but her office was still small. She had lots of work and couldn't be bothered with minor cases. Leese must've really gotten her attention in order for her to try to help her get into Mil-Ar-Tel. Jeffrey nodded politely as she offered him a seat.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Greene," she smiled, her round face was bright and cheerful though only moments before it was fraught with worry and tiredness. "I finally get to meet you and not read about you in the papers."

"The pleasure is mine, believe me," he said. "Thank you for seeing me today. I know it can get hectic."

"Always is but I figured that there's always time to discuss Leese."

He nodded. He tracked down Leese's information. Her full name was Mildred Elise Harmond. Naturally she had shed the "Mildred" in her everyday life. (He didn't blame her.) He did some leg work and found the social service agency that dealt with her, subsequently finding Helen.

"Ms. Franzle."

"Helen please," she insisted.

"Okay then Helen, well I'm just here to get this letter to Elise," he held up the envelope, "but I haven't been able to find her."

Helen scoffed, "That makes both of us. She was supposed to check in with me but she hasn't. I checked the address she said she'd be but it was bogus. She's not staying there. She could be anywhere Mr. Greene."

His stomach tightened, "What do you mean 'anywhere'?"

She sighed, "I trusted her. She told me she was going to be okay. She said she had housing and that you knew she was coming to ask for that recommendation." By this point Jeffrey had told Helen all about Leese's visit to his home and exactly what she told him.

"I didn't even know who she was until two weeks ago." He admitted.

"I figured you didn't know much about her existence, but I didn't think she'd be making a completely cold call to your home." she flushed, "I'm so embarrassed! Understand that I would've never recommended that. She insisted on doing everything on her own.and that she could handle it." She shook her head, "She's a stubborn one. Wants to do it all on her own even if it's all wrong."

He held up a hand to gesture that it was fine, "It's fine Helen, but I'm curious: how do you know about Mil-Ar-Tel?"

"My brother is a military man just like you. He's still in the military. He told me about the program when I informed him of Elise's situation."

"What exactly is her 'situation'? I don't mean to sound stupid here."

"No," she shook her head, "Not at all. Well, here it is. Elise was in jail for drug trafficking. She got out on parole and she basically has to have a stable residence and income in order to stay on probation. So I figure if I can give her something that will keep her focused and on task.give her some structure then it would really help. Elise is very independent thinking but she needs structure or she'll flounder."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes well, I assume you don't know anything about her life at all do you?"

He scratched his head, "Well, sad to say. Not a damned thing Helen."

"Her mother was a drug user. She was also a prostitute and an exotic dancer for many years."

"I used to know her mother. I think I did at least."

"Well, I'm sure you would've had to." Helen flushed, "Anyway, when her mother died of an overdose Elise was around twelve or thirteen. She began to work for the same guy who was pimping her mother out. I'm sure you've heard of Idin "Teto" Morales?"

He narrowed his eyes and nodded, "I know that little punk." he started to feel a slow anger rise inside of him. No matter what charges Teto was brought up on he beat them. He always sacrificed his peons before himself. He pimped out young girls and used them to traffic drugs. Suddenly Jeffrey had felt sick deep in his stomach.

"He did that to Elise too?"

"Well," she said, "According to Elise he tried to pimp her but then he just made her do the trafficking."

"What do you mean 'tried'?"

"She wouldn't take to it. Not stripping or prostitution. Nothing. She refused to do it. It's downright historical that Teto didn't kick her out or kill her right there. He hates insubordination. But for some reason they came to a sort of compromise. All she did was trafficking, that's all she had to do."

He snickered, "There's gotta be some reason he 'compromised' with her."

"I don't exactly know but." Helen looked a little embarrassed, "I don't know how much I should be telling you Mr. Greene but."

"Please, it's Jeffrey."

"Jeffrey," she smiled, "I don't know how much I should divulge but I know this is a special case. And the fact that you came down here after you told me about her surprise visit and your family's reservations makes me want to trust you."

He nodded, his stomach turning flips as he waited.

"You know how pimps are. You know how they manipulate the minds and bodies of young girls."

"I'm aware."

"Leese told me that he'd forged some type of special 'relationship' with her when she was young that no one suspected. They played this 'game'."

"What kind of game?" His face showed alarm and disgust all at once.

"I'll just be candid with you. Elise. I don't know how she came off to you when you met her but she has a very unsure, insecure, socially awkward demeanor that's not always detectable. She has low confidence in many things that others take for granted. Because of this she feels inferior. This demeanor can come off as very coquettish, and most likely very childlike and innocent. To be quite frank Teto seemed to like that about her most of all. When she refused to do certain things many believed it was because she had a young mind and that she was not mature enough to handle it."

"What thirteen year old is?"

"That's true, but what set her apart from the rest is that other thirteen year olds could be coaxed to. She never could. The kind of girls that fall into clutches the likes of Teto are already so abused and demoralized that they don't offer much resistance. Though Leese came from the same stock as other girls she reacted differently you see. To him, she was just different. That made her alluring to him."

By now Jeffrey's fists were clenched and he was almost talking through his teeth, "So you're telling me that this sick freak only kept her around to molest and rape her?"

Helen nodded. "Well yes, I suppose based on the nature of her age when it started, you could call it rape. I don't believe it was always forced sex between them, to be quite honest. It's kind of a sketchy gray area when it comes to using the term rape," she squinted and moved her hand in a "so-so" motion.

"Hmm." Jeffrey put his hand over his mouth and breathed deeply trying to gather his thoughts, but Helen continued, "And I'm afraid because I don't know where she could be. If she wants to get into this program she has to go through intensive medical and mental check ups and prove that she has stability, like oh say a real home address."

Thoughts raced in his head and before he could stop them the words came tumbling out, "Listen Helen, if I find her is there anyway you can.hold her spot so to speak?"

"Well there's not really any guarantee that she'd get in anyway but if you could find her she still has a chance."

"I can do that."

The Duck goes "quack".

Leese sat on the carpeted floor with Shay-Shay, pulling the string of the See-N-Say toy.

"Quack." Shay-Shay said matter of factly.

"Very good!" Leese encouraged, but the little girl seemed unmoved by compliments. It was as if she'd been there and done that before.

Outside of the bedroom she heard faint but still audible voices. What she made out was, "Nah, she don't live here, I don't know who told you what."

Leese's heart skipped. She just knew it was someone who was looking for her. She stood up slowly and put a finger over her lips saying "shhhh" to Shay-Shay who just looked at her unimpressed and went about her business.

Leese crept out of the bedroom and inched along the corridor that opened into the living room. The front door was in the kitchen and she felt a blast of cool air because it was open and Nino was talking to somebody.

"Well I'm trying to find her," the other voice said. "here's my card."

Leese knew the voice sounded familiar, but it was confirmed when Nino said, "Greene? Detective Lieutenant, Jeffrey Greene?" Her heart nearly stopped this time. She never expected to see him again.

"Yeah, that's me." Leese heard him sigh as she walked into the kitchen, "Well if you see her—" He stopped cold when he finally saw her for himself.

"I got this Nino," She said touching her friend's shoulder.

He nodded and then said in a low voice to her, "Thought he was straight up five oh." he walked away from them and to the back of the apartment. Leese asked Jeffrey, "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?"

Wide eyed and silent she stepped back and motioned him into the kitchen. He closed the door behind him.

"I uhhh, just came here to let you know that I signed your letter."

Her eyebrows rose slightly in surprise, "What? For real? Why?"

He shrugged, "I met with your social worker, Ms. Franzle."

She made another face, more and more confused by the minute.

"She told me that you'd still have a chance if I found you. How come you didn't tell her that you didn't know me at all?"

This time it was Leese's turn to shrug. "She makes things complicated. I just thought I could do it on my own."

"Well you scared the shit out of me," he smiled, "my wife won't stop giving me shit about it."

"Well what'd she say when she found out you signed the letter for me?"

"She doesn't know yet exactly.but I'm sure she'd approve."

"Oh yeah?" Leese asked suspiciously, "Guess she figured it be easier to give me what I want huh?"

He nodded somewhat sheepishly. It was the first time she saw him look anything but confident and stoic.

"I told you people I don't want anything from you and I mean it. I'm just trying to live. I don't want anything else."

He looked around the kitchen, "This is where you stay?"

"For now."

"How come you gave Helen a phony address?"

"I didn't want to stay in the shelter."

"So where were you gonna stay? Here?"

"I don't know, I didn't even think about it."

"How's anyone supposed to take you seriously if you don't think about anything?"

She shrugged again, "I was just so focused on getting you to sign the letter that I thought that was the most important thing. That everything would fall into place."

"And it didn't now did it?" He shook his head still looking around, "How long you gonna be here?"

"Maybe a few more days."

"That's it?"

"This is my friend's girlfriend's apartment. He's not even supposed to be here, his name ain't on the lease," she said knowing Shamika was ready to kick her out at the slightest provocation. She did not like the idea of another female on her turf. She knew it wouldn't be long before Shamika would find a way or reason to kick her out. Nino couldn't hold out forever.

"I'm only asking 'cause Helen said you needed a real permanent, or at least semi-permanent address through the beginning process for Mil-Ar-Tel." She half smiled, "I still have a chance?"

"According to her, yeah." He shoved his hands in his pockets, "She has the letter. She's ready to put it through. She just didn't know where to find you."

"Well I." She put her hand to her mouth thinking, "I guess I can use this address."

"'Use'? You need to actually live where you list your address. They check on that kind of thing. Guess you really don't expect to live here for long huh?"

"I uhhh.I'll figure something out. Don't worry about it. Thanks." She cleared her throat. He paused for a minute wondering if he should go or not when he asked, "Well what are you gonna do?" "I'll figure something out," she repeated. "And I'll call Helen."

"You don't have much time. And besides you can't just say you'll figure it out and then not have a real plan."

She looked up at him, "What's it to you anyways?"

He bit his bottom lip wondering the same thing, "Uhhh.well it's just."

He seemed flustered, she was almost embarrassed for him. "You've done your part. Thank you Mr. Greene. Tell your wife I said thank you too." Leese said nodding respectfully.

He nodded himself and then turned toward the door. Before his hand could touch the handle he asked, "Well what if you don't get in to Mil-Ar-Tel? What are you going to do?"

His back was facing her as he asked this and she said, "Does it matter? I mean at least I tried. Besides they've gotta weed out for the Second Chance program. I know there's a chance I may not make it."

"Helen's brother's got an in. You've got that letter from me.I mean I'm not trying to sound cocky or anything, but you're in as long as you can show up and do the right thing. You're already leaps and bounds ahead of the other candidates. You have to be."

"So you're saying as long as I make it through the preliminaries I'm basically in?"

"Yeah, but you gotta get there first. So what are you going to do?"

"To be honest with you, I don't have any money. I don't have any real place to go. But this was meant to be, I know it. So I'm not really worried. I'll find a way Mr. Greene. After all I didn't think I'd ever see you again and here you are, telling me that this was meant for me right? I never had nobody tell me I had a real chance to do something big, so I know its gonna work out. Has to."

He breathed a deep sigh, "Well.why not go to the shelters?"

"You know what that's like don't you? I'd rather be homeless."

He nodded.

She held out her hand, "Thanks Mr. Greene. Take care of yourself."

He reached out and grabbed her hand. She took him by surprise when she shook it firmly. When they locked eyes he saw something familiar in her face but he couldn't place it. His gut spoke to him but he couldn't decipher what it said. His conscious spoke to him saying, "What if she were Izzy or Chrissy?"

She was nobody to him. He didn't know her. He'd seen girls like her everyday. Most of them didn't make it straight out of jail. They went back in or got themselves killed or on drugs. Helen said she was different, it's why Teto wanted her. It's why she was a good trafficker. It's why she never stripped or tricked. But how different was she that she could beat the statistics? And what kind of life would she have if she survived past the age of thirty?

"What about Teto? Would she go back to Teto?" he thought.

He could walk away right now but he had the feeling that he might not ever see her again. For some reason, it was a scary immobilizing feeling. He snapped out of his reverie when she said, "You gonna let go of my hand now?" She looked confused and even a little scared. He let her small fingers fall away from his hand when he said, "Get your stuff."

"What?"

"You're coming with me."