[PREVIEW] Great Sage Above Brockton 24

Danny Hebert knew he had a temper. A sad inheritance from his bastard of a father, he’d done his best to reign it in once Annette helped him

Danny Hebert knew he had a temper. A sad inheritance from his bastard of a father, he’d done his best to reign it in once Annette helped him truly start his life. That restraint had proven itself when he became the Dockworker’s Union representative for one of the roughest cities on the East Coast. When your union’s main source of income was on the verge of dying, you needed a frankly unhealthy amount of patience to deal with the vultures who tried to snatch what little your friends had left. 

On the flip side, there were times he was glad to have it. The more cutthroat businessmen and criminal elements of Brockton Bay rarely took ‘no’ for an answer, and when they came knocking with veiled threats and knives in their pockets, he wasn’t ashamed to say his rage had left them scurrying away.

“I’m telling you, I don’t care if they’re in a meeting!” he slammed his hands on the desk and leaned into the secretary’s face, who did her best to pull back while clawing at her desk. “I’ve cooperated and helped however I could, but this has gone far enough! I won’t be jerked around like this anymore!”

The secretary swallowed and adjusted her collar. “Mr. Hebert, we understand your frustration, and the PRT’s using every resource at their disposal-”

“‘Every resource at their disposal’? Don’t make me laugh!” he almost snarled. “If these are the results all those resources can produce, I’m surprised the gangs haven’t taken over the city years ago!” His nails dug into the polished wood and he felt the blood rush up and down his neck. “I’ll give you one chance to open that door, or I’ll kick it down myself.”

She paled and he tried hard to ignore the flush of shame in his cheeks. He knew she was just doing her job and equally helpless before the powers above her. She didn’t have the same feel as the greasy reps who tried to drag the DWU down; she looked like any old office secretary but with an extra dollar attached to her suit.

But he couldn’t help it. His daughter’s well-being was on the line, and this was dragging on for too long.

Thankfully for both of them, the intercom crackled to life. 

“Would you kindly step away from Ms. Waller’s desk, Mr. Hebert? We were just about to ask for you.”

Danny’s shoulders slumped in relief as the doors clicked open. Pulling away from the desk, he muttered a quick apology to the secretary and entered the room. Waiting for him were a set of faces he’d become uncomfortably familiar with during his stay under PRT custody, and he was torn between begging and tearing into their utterly neutral facades.

“Care to take a seat?” Director Piggot said, gesturing to the empty chair. Part of him wanted to say ‘no’ out of spite, but he relented and slowly sat himself down. 

But he wouldn’t let them lead. Not this time.

“Three weeks. Three whole weeks since my daughter dropped off the face of the earth,” he began, every word hitting him in the gut. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me. I’ve told you everything about her. Every place she might go to, anyone she might know.” Both of those, to his dismay, weren’t extensive lists, and the few items he did know were half-formed at best. “So I have to ask…what the hell have you been doing?”