Kerry stuck her tongue out.
“Same to you.” Dar finished up her ribs and put them in the silver lined bag they’d come in. “Let’s go home. Screw it.” She got up and shut her laptop down. “I’m out of patience. With any luck they’ve solved everything themselves and I won’t get shanghaied when I walk into the Pentagon tomorrow.”
Kerry was more than ready enough to leave. She wrapped up the remains of her meal and Dar’s and took them downstairs to store them in the refrigerator. She glanced around, nodding in approval at the neatness from the cleaning service, then she went back in the hallway just in time to see Dar trotting down the steps with both their bags.
She took hers, then waited as Dar triggered the exit allowance for the alarm system. She opened the door and they walked quickly out, Dar locking the door behind them as they heard the alarm reset softly inside.
It was a nice night. Kerry drew in a breath of cool air, savoring it since they were on the long downhill slide into summer, and in a month or so, any chance of outdoor comfort while fully dressed would be gone.
So she enjoyed the crispness, and the smell of the leaves in the trees around the building. She waited for Dar to join her and then they walked down the sidewalk together towards the parking lot. “Glad we left the pups home today.” She commented. “Would have made a late night for them.”
“Mm.” Dar agreed. “I think they like it though, being with us.” She beeped open the doors to the truck. “Everyone pays attention to them in the office.”
Kerry opened the passenger side door and put her bag inside, then hoisted herself up after it. “We should have gotten a running board for this thing. I feel like I’m doing a vault.”
Dar chuckled. “I’ll call the dealership tomorrow.” She promised, then paused, looking out over the steering wheel through the front window. “Oh crap.”
Kerry looked up quickly and spotted the group near the trees on the side of their building. “Is that.. oh, yeah. It is.” She recognized their rowdy antagonists, and in the middle, the shorter outline of Scott in his chair. “Well, poots, Dar.”
Dar opened the door and slid out. “He’s one of us now.” She remarked, as she hitched up the sleeves on her shirt and started towards the gang.
“Wouldn’t have stopped you in any case, Crusader Dar.” Kerry reconciled herself to some after hours conflict and got out on her side, shutting the door and trotting quickly after her partner.
The group was clustered around Scott, and it was obvious they were pissed. Kerry caught up to Dar just as they came up next to the group and she got her balance set, and squared her shoulders.
Not that either activity really would come off as imposing. Not nearly as much as Dar’s did when her six foot plus partner stood up straight and glared at the men.
“What the hell’s going on here?”
The men turned abruptly, one of them letting loose of Scott’s chair arms. He looked up in surprise and saw them, and Kerry saw that brief moment of relief that almost put a smile on her face.
So yeah, he’d crossed that line too.
“What the hell is it your business?” The closest man responded, turning and facing them revealing himself to be Joe, the group troublemaker.
“You’re messing with an employee of mine.” Dar responded. “In front of my office. I thought I made it clear to you people I wasn’t going to put up with that.” She stood square on to him, her hands in her pockets.
“You don’t own him, you bitch.” Joe said. “Get out of here.”
“No.” Dar took a step closer to him. “I don’t own anyone. But I value people which is a lot more than you do. You want to get away from me? You leave.” She suggested. “And it’s his choice to leave with you, or stay.”
“I’m not going to take that from you, lady.” Joe hauled back and swung on Dar and in a second they were grappling as she blocked his punch and put an elbow into his chin.
Kerry watched the gang carefully as she looked around for something to use as a weapon, not nearly as confident in her martial skills as her partner was.
Joe backed off and touched his jaw, watching Dar’s tense figure and flexing hands. “You know how to fight.” He sounded surprised.
“I do.” Dar answered shortly. “I don’t want to, and I don’t like to, but if you push me I will.”
Joe studied her for a minute. “I want to, and I like to, but I don’t like fighting with women.” He answered with surprising honesty. “My daddy didn’t raise me to hit girls.”
Dar really had no answer to that, but as it turned out she didn’t need one.
“Wall.” A voice came out of the darkness with more than a hint of amusement in it. “Y’all are out of luck then, boy, cause I didn’t raise her to care about what was in the pants she was kicking.”
Dar relaxed, and smiled. “Hey dad.” She said. “Didn’t know you guys were back.”
Andrew Roberts sauntered into the lamplight, hands in the front pocket of his hoodie but the hood pushed back to reveal his scarred and rugged face. “Hey there, Dardar. We done just tied the boat up at that there marina down there.” He said. “We gave your other place a call and didn’t get no answer so we thought we’d try this here one.”
He observed the men, who were all now watching him with extreme wariness. “What all’s going on here?” He asked, after a moment of silence.
“Hi dad.” Kerry chimed in, moving past Dar to put her arms around her father in law. “Glad to see you. Is mom around?”
He returned the hug. “On her way up here. She done passed one of them little knicky shops on the way and stopped to look.” Andrew allowed. “You boys standing around here for some reason?”
“Scott here works for us.” Kerry indicated the man in the wheelchair. “These other people are some friends of his.”
Andrew observed them closely. “Ain’t that nice.” He said, in a flat tone.
“We’ll be going.” Joe lifted a hand and started walking off. “Night.”
Andrew caught him by the back of his jacket and hauled him backwards. “Now.” He looked him in the eye. “Do not be here hanging around no more bothering my children.” He said, clearly. “You find yourselves some other place to do nothin.”
Joe looked at him. “That some kind of threat?” He asked.
“Yes.” Andrew answered, then he stopped talking, and went very still.
“Okay.” Joe held his hands up. “I got it. We’re leaving.”
Andrew released him, and stared at the rest of them until they all backed off, leaving Scott to sit there quietly in his chair watching them go.
“Peh.” Dar’s father shook his head. “What the hell they teaching these kids these days.”
“Thanks dad.” Dar remarked in a mild tone. “I wasn’t looking forward to soaking a sore hand tonight.” She looked down at Scott. “Sorry if we embarrassed you.”
Scott was sitting there with his hands clasped in his lap, with an expression of mixed amusement and thoughtfulness on his face. “I’m all right.” He said. “They were just being assholes. I’m used to it.” He put his hands on his chair wheel rims. “Maybe they’ll clear out of back behind there. Easier to bunk there than the church.”
“In the bushes, behind the office?” Kerry asked. “I thought there was an opening in there.”
Scott nodded. “Little house back in there, in the other property, but you can’t get at it from that side. Just was a.. “ He shrugged. “Maybe a kid’s place? Has some bunks and stuff.”
“Y’all living in there?” Andrew asked, with interest.
Scott nodded again. “Sometimes.” He clarified. “When the rest of them are someplace else.” He started around them. “Night.”