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Date Posted: 22:36:05 11/04/03 Tue
Author: Yarvarni
Subject: 3
In reply to: Yarvarni 's message, "Witchblade/The Pretender Crossover" on 22:29:45 11/04/03 Tue

It was a neighborhood Sara knew little about, mainly hispanic, that they knew Ian was obvious from the shouts and waves from vendors and people milling about the brownstone steps. Jarod and Sara followed him as he made his way ot a basketball court that adjoined the small park, "I'll be right back."

"Lookie, Lookie, E has decided to slum with us," a young hispanic about 16 or 17 tossed a ball to Ian who easily caught it.

"Raul, school has not let out yet? Why are you here?"

"Teachers meeting. Where you been at?"

"I had to take a trip." Ian sat down on a park bench and motioned the boy over, "listen I really need you and Alonzo to watch out for the little ones, ok. There may be a predator in the area. Keep them close to you, especially the ones that don't have families."

"Predator huh? Not the usual suspects?"

"No, have any of them been around in my abscense?"

"Naw, E you gott'em spooked. They ain't been back. Gotta a script of this guy?"

"No, not yet, just be on alert. Call me if you are suspicious of anyone. And if either of those people, " he pointed to Sara and Jarod, "come here without me and ask questions, you cooperate."

"She a cop? She's hot. I'll cooperate all damn day with that."

"Yes, she's a cop."

"You banging that E?"

Ian shot a perfect 3 pointer and turned to walk away.

"Not gonna answer that last one huh?"

"Not your business, just keep your eyes open and if I catch you skipping school again, I'll embarass you on the court in front of EVERYONE! Got that."

"Got it!"

Sara turned to Jarod, "what is this all about?"

"I don't know, Ian certainly does seem to know a lot of people here."

"And he's comfortable. The man I knew would have stuck the the shadows."

"He's changed a lot since Irons finally died, for the better. He's freer than I've ever seen him." Jarod was proud of Ian.


"What was he like as a little boy?" All curly hair and eyes Sara imagined.

"Quiet, hard to get to know. There was a ten year age difference between us, he was eleven when he came to The Centre. I was supposed to show him around, not nescessarily make friends, but make him feel at ease, he totally rebuffed all my efforts. Escorted me very politely from his room and closed the door. He was the same with our instructor. Ian would do whatever was asked of him but never allowed anyone to get close."

Serious, then."

Jarod began laughing, "ironically not, when he showed up there was a sudden rash of practical jokes played on the staff, no one was safe and no one was ever fingered. It had to be Ian, no one else could have pulled them off and gotten away with it. He viewed us all with an air of arrogance and amusement, like we were there for him not the other way around."

Ian strode up to them, "there is a hotdog vender around the corner in the park, want to grab something there and find a place in the park?"

"Sure, what was that all that about?"

"I play ball with the kids around here, Raul skipped school I called him on it. Told him to watch out for the younger kids. He knows everything that goes on around here so if you ever need to know, go to him."

"Everyone in the neighborhood seems to know you."

"I play ball, the kids like me, word travels." Ian shrugged and headed towards the vendor.

The older man handed Ian a plate, "Good to see you back. The kids missed you."

"They been ok, no interference?"

"Couple of times Diaz's goons drove through checked things out but nothing ever happened. You are about to get attacked by Alonzo."

"Hey boyo, lets walk and talk." Ian intercepted the young man and walked away.

Jarod and Sara shared a look and placed their orders. "You two with E?"

"Yes, he seems close to the kids around here."

"He is they worship him, he rid the neighborhood of the dealers that preyed upon them. He watches out for them when he can. Plays ball and helps them with homework. All he asks is that they stay in school and watch out for one another. Alonzo and Raul were on a bad path last last year and E straightened them out. Outsiders usually only care when they want something for themselves he wants only for those kids to have a chance."
The trio for the most part ate in silence, Sara and Jarod both sat Indian style and Ian lay on his back staring up at the sky. After a while Ian finally spoke, "I discovered a pattern and whoever did the profile is way off."
"I did the profile," Jarod said flatly. He realized he was missing something big but it still irked him that Ian found it so quickly.
"You did the profile? Man, you're slipping," Ian raised up for a minute to look at the other Pretender.
Jarod gave him a long suffering look, "just enlighten us o wise one, beginning with the pattern I missed, then you can pick apart my profile." They had not been rivals but Ian had been used to pick apart Jarod's simulations. Ian could easily look at things dispassionately, divorce himself from the black and white and see the shades of grey, therefore finding the best possible solution, something Jarod was unable to do.
"All are located within a 50 mile radius of a naval base."
"That's what I thought at first but."
"Colvin and Sardis threw you off?"
"Neither are bases."
"Not listed ones. They are not in the registry's and are only used in wartime for special ops units. We trained at Sardis, which was reopened specially for us and shipped out from Colvin before Desert Storm."
"I checked every database imaginable."
"They are not listed." Ian's voice rose slightly.
"Someone has to have a record somewhere."
"As far as the military is concerned these places don't exist, that's what I am trying to tell you." Ian sat up frustrated that Jarod didn't believe him. "They are so secret that they are not even classified."
"But," Jarod began.
"I will drive your stubborn ass to one or both of them to prove it to you but you will put the investigation even further behind. This is why I hated working with you at The Centre, you can accept being wrong but can not handle being corrected."
Sara had watched the oral tennis match with marked amusement but was decidedly uncomfortable with the staring match. "Uh, guys, we aren't going to solve a thing if you don't work together. " Neither man showed any sign that they had heard her. They were locked in a staring and glaring contest, two alpha males, neither willing to give the other ground. One knowing he was right and the other knew it but refused to voice it just yet. "Ok, I can see these pissing contests back at the station, so if you want me to work on this case when I count to three both of you look at me. One, two, three." They held the gaze for a beat after she said three but turned to her.
"I apologize, Sara" and "Sorry, Detective" were spoken simultaneously and she was assaulted by two pair of lethal puppy dog eyes, one golden and one chocolate. "Ok, just don't let it happen again."
Both men nodded and Jarod reluctantly looked at Ian, "what's your profile?"
"White male, he's older than the original profile of 30 to 45, we are looking more for a 50 to 70 year old, possibly even a little older. What do they call it when there are generations in the same branch..." Ian snapped his fingers in frustration, "legacy, he's career Navy but was forced into retirement, honorable discharge, etc. His son, also Navy just like Dad, was killed. He is trying to recreate the son he lost but none of these boys ever measure up."

"Why retired?"

"Because if he were active he would never have the time to find the perfect prey, observe it, and be able to take the prey without notice. All or most of the boys were in foster homes or in orphanages, they wouldn't be missed right away."

"But why still move around from base to base?"

"That's the whole point, he can't let go. He's probably teaching some short course on the down low so a buddy can have some time off. Bring in an old timer, let the recruits see what a real Navy man was like. Officers love to bring in guys like that, they give recruits hell."

"So, do we go thru all the Naval officers who have retired in the last few years?"

"No, we find when the first murder took place, then look for..."

"The son, his death would have precipitated the first murder."

"Exactly."
Sara shook her head for two guys who were figuratively at each others throats minutes ago, they were on the same page now. "So, backlogs of Johnny Doe's hoimicides of boys ages?"
"Six to seven, he'd want a child old enough to be self reliant yet young enough to mold into the image he wanted."

"We better head back, get on those computers and phones."

"Hey, maybe we should call my Dad, since he has a military background."

Ian cringed slightly, "The Major is probably still pretty pissed at me for getting Gemini expelled from school."

"You got Gem expelled?"

Ian shrugged, "yeah, he did a project on Japan and took the katana I got for him last time I was there. But the school had a zero tolerance rule. He tried to talk his way out of it by saying it was purely for decoration, but they didn't buy it. Then there was a huge misunderstanding about some radio telescopes out in California...The Major's been kinda put out with me since then."

"I swear the two of you can get in more trouble...."

"Who's Gemini?"

"My little brother. Honestly Ian what did you expect a 15 year old boy to do with a sword? You're lucky he didn't cut his hand off."

"He wasn't the problem, the school was."

"Riiiight," Sara patted him on the back sympathetically.

"And the radio telescope?"

"We go into a little debate about frequencies, fractals, and wave triangulations and used some of Seti's research as an example. He didn't believe me because it wasn't really given to explanation over the phone so I told him he needed to figure it out and call me back. I went to bed thinking he'd sim it in a day or so, four hours later Major Charles called screaming at me because Gem had been arrested. Luckily he talked his way out of it but your Pops was pretty pissed."
"You got into a discussion with a fifteen year old about fractals and wave triangulations?"" Sara looked at Ian in disbelief.

"He's extremely bright," Ian stated like it was no big deal.

"Runs in the family," Jarod added with a smirk. "I wonder why Gemini never told me about this, or Dad for that matter?"

"Guess your Dad is still to mad. Gem is probably scared this will mean you agree with your Dad that I'm a bad influence and he shouldn't go on that rock climbing trip with me and I figured if I told you, you'd tell Parker, and she'd kill me because I got her sweet little boy in trouble."

"I think that pretty much takes you out of the running for babysitter."

"So, how is Mama doing?"

"Great considering she's carrying her first child at 36."

"Wow, brave woman," Sara remarked

Jarod and Ian both laughed, "you have no idea."

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  • 4 -- Yarvarni, 22:38:19 11/04/03 Tue
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