Freedom

Part 30: "Hi, Harvey!"

Harvey Bullock entered his small apartment in the middle of the day, 2:00 in the afternoon, popping in for a bite to eat. He was dressed in a white collared shirt, a tie, khaki pants-just got in from his shift from his favorite bar that he was working for. He recently left the GCPD, whether he left on his own recognizance or he was fired, Danica didn't know-but all she knew was that he was home. When he closed and locked the door, Harvey paused for a second.

"Oh crap."

Danica beamed at him from his couch, legs pulled up comfortably under her bottom, an elbow draped over the arm of the couch.

"Hi, Harvey.".

Harvey Bullock strode toward the middle of the room, acting nonchalant. Though his face was honest that he didn't expect any guests, especially someone like her. He didn't bother reaching for his phone, nor his gun. He sat down in the chair in front of her, poured him a drink, and sighed.

"Hi, Danica."

"Happy to see me?" she invited sweetly.

"If I say yes, does that raise the odds for me to live?" Harvey muttered, taking a long swig from his glass.

Danica laughed.

Harvey gazed at her for a second, not as unnerved as she expected him to be, but he was finely rattled. He gestured toward her scars on her face,

"Is that from your buddy, Jerome?"

"Boyfriend, and yes," she answered affectionately.

"Fuck." Harvey breathed. "He roped you into his sick fantasies, didn't he?"

Danica made a sickly smile. "You've always been a man for jokes, considering there was a good amount of rope involved."

Danica rose to her feet. Harvey tensed.

"I liked you better as a cop," Danica added. "Bartender, huh?"

"Yeah. Sober. Thirty-two days. You?"

"Haven't drawn a sober breath. Going back on the wagon, now?" Danica sighed.

"Yep. Did Jerome do all that to you? Scars, the marks on your arms, the... creepy way...you're looking at me right now?"

"No need to poke fun, baby." Danica lulled, stepping forward.

Harvey watched her carefully, though he honestly didn't know what she was about to do, nor her intentions of arriving in his apartment in the middle of the fucking day.

"I was sent here," she explained after a very long pause of intense eye contact. "My orders were to rattle your cage and send you three messages."

"Consider cage rattled. Writing a letter would have sufficed," Harvey said. "Didn't have to come all the way down here to visit little old me."

"Mmm, and then you'd have a return address and find out where I'm staying; and I just can't give up my employer, can I?"

She stooped beside him, setting a hand on his leg. Harvey's neck twitched.

"Well," he said, his mouth suddenly dry. "What's the first message?"

"That I'm alive and well." Danica answered.

"Great, I see that. The second?"

"That the Maniax aren't working just as a group. We're working individually as well. You know the headline from the newspaper, Darling? I thought that it was pretty catchy myself. Clever. Ingenious."

"Insane." Harvey added into the list with a look.

Danica's face twitched this time.

"Why are you insinuating that we're all insane?"

"Your band name is called the 'Maniax'." Harvey insisted, unable to help himself. "Kind of screams that, don't you think?"

"Good point."

"Yeah, what's the third message?"

Danica's mouth twisted into a wide, satisfied smile. Her fingers tightened on his leg. He made a reserved expression, knowing.

"I guess this is the part where your employer said make it up as you go, huh?"

"Yep!" Danica cheered, and she stood up and kissed Harvey roughly on the mouth. He dropped his drink, letting the alcohol spill onto the carpet; he raised his hands to her face to stop her; she took his wrists and pushed them to the side. In the middle of their kiss, Danica impassioned-

Harvey jumped up, pushing Danica away from him. He stared at her, wiping away at his mouth as if he'd catch crazy.

"What are you doing!?" He yelled incredulously. "You're eighteen!"

"Well, I was hoping you would go along with it," Danica breathed, pushing the right side of her back, windswept. "But I guess we're going to go for plan B. How's your pain threshold, Harvey?"

Harvey sighed irritably as Danica withdrew a blade from the inside of fur coat.

"Are we really going to do this?" Harvey asked, holding up fists, ready to brawl.

"No different than when you helped me fight off Daddy, huh?" Danica reminded him with an appreciative smile. "Tell me if I fight better than him, yeah?"

Then she flung toward him, knife poised.