As it was, after lunch playtime lasted until slightly before five o'clock, when both of us woke up from a sex induced nap. Showering quickly, I started a hearty meal and was about halfway through my preparation when Tabby came in the door.
"Hey bro," she greeted me, setting her briefcase down and giving me a kiss on the cheek. She'd been calling me that a lot frequently.
Her eyes were glittering with happiness, and I had to admit there was a bounce to her step that she hadn't had even the day before.
I went back to chopping vegetables and looked over. “By the way, our Traylor issue is on its way to being solved, and I cleared nearly fifty thousand profit on the market today. I wish I could do that every day, we'd make fifteen million a year easy just on the market. So what made today so special?"
"Nothing much, really. Just normal office stuff. I guess, well, you know."
"I do," I replied, "and there's no reason to be shy about it. Listen, Sophie's in the back taking a quick shower, so I'll keep this short. Yeah, I'm concerned. You know why. But I also trust you, and will be there to support you however it happens. If emotions get involved, I hope they're good ones. If not, we'll both be there for you. And if you need the guy's ass kicked, you know who to call."
Tabby laughed and wrapped her arms around me from behind in a hug, leaning her cheek against my back near my neck. Without her heels on, she is kind of short. "That's why I love you so much, Mark. You're the best big brother I wish I'd had my whole life. Thank you."
Letting me go, she looked down at dinner. "Wow, work up an appetite?"
"I've got a patrol tonight, I need the energy. I studied the pattern of the amateur up in Filmore Heights, and I suspect he's going to be out there," I said, taking my vegetables and pouring them into the large soup pot I had simmering on the stove.
"Why are you so worried about this guy, anyway?" Tabby asked, leaning against the counter. "He's just a guy trying to do what you do."
"What I do is quiet, although a loud sort of quiet. Nobody talks to the cops, and everyone knows that if I come around, to get the hell off the streets and to stop their stuff. But I'm always safe in what I do. Normal patrols, surveillance, even most of the hits I've done, I've never taken the risky route. This guy though.... he's flashy and he's rash, which is great for getting attention, but not the type he's hoping for. He's going to get himself killed at some point. When that happens, the cops are going to be on the streets hard, and they're all going to be looking for me. Not because I killed him, but because I'm another rumored vigilante out there, even if the TV doesn't have reports on me."
Tabby nodded, then crossed her arms over her chest. "You sure it's because you don't actually like this guy? He's out there trying at least, which you have to give him credit for."
I didn't answer, and Tabby chuckled after a minute. "I'm going to change. Patrick's got a community event that he said would take up a chunk of the evening, and if you're going out, I figure I can help Sophie with her load of the housework. Then the two of us are going to sit back and relax, have some girl talk, and think of all the ways we're going to spoil your daughter. After all, I have to spend that two hundred K a year you're paying me on something besides Chinese food for my secretary."
* * *
The early fall air was chilly against my cheek, and I was glad I'd switched to the slightly more thermal compression top I was wearing under my tactical vest. The city, while not one to get tons of snow during the winter, still had more than its fair share of nights that dropped below freezing and I didn't want to have to worry about wearing heavy garments if I didn't need to. The hood hugged my head more too, which helped with my disguise.
Despite his amateur actions, I had to admit the new vigilante was having a positive effect on the neighborhood as I surveyed it using binoculars from the top of St. Patrick's Church. Its slate roof was slippery, but clinging to the steeple just below where the cross was, I could see a lot of Filmore Heights, and what I saw was encouraging.
The gangs were spooked, that was for sure. The Latin Kings, maybe as a side effect of our interrupted eavesdropping earlier, were quiet, while the 88's, despite being out, were sticking to their territory.