For Mel, on her 22nd birthday! Happy birthday, Mel! ::HUGS:: I would have liked to make this better and longer, but, well . . . life. Y’know. ;) Anyway, here’s to Dragon sightings. ;-D

JB

DISCLAIMER: Kaylee should own Draco, and she sort of does, but she doesn’t get paid so don’t sue her. I’m borrowing him, but just for one night, and I promise to give him back. Kate is mine, as is Danny. Other Draco stories can be found on Dracoverse. Mel owns Mrs. Beldacci. :)

An overweight woman with a dog had wanted her car fixed. No problem. That was what he did.

He took three steps forward, checking the weight line before dropping off the side of the roof and into the huddle of almost-men below.

Her dog had peed on his leg.

Washable pants. It was okay.

The three almost-men scattered, leaving behind drug paraphernalia with fingerprints on them. That was what he needed.

A dog down the street, smelling the other dog’s pee, had torn into his calf with a vengeance. That was okay, too. After all, his shots were up-to-date. You didn’t crimefight with out of date shots.

He picked up the paraphernalia carefully and tucked it away in a pocket.

It still hurt like hell. And it was going to hinder him tonight. He couldn’t really afford to be hindered.

***

I got a Superman action figure from Jake, and a kite from Molly. There’s a T-shirt from Nick, and some weird book from Andy, and a dragon thing from Kate. Crazy Kate always gives dragon things. She lives across the hall, and she’s a loon. She believes in dragons. Yeah, right. You’d think she’d know better--I mean, she’s a year older than me.

I wasn’t going to invite her to my birthday-slumber party, but my mom said I had to. We only moved in a few months ago, and Mom says it’s not nice to exclude people. But all Crazy Kate cares about is her cat and her dragons.

I have a dog. It’s way cooler. Except that we have to lock it in the bedroom for my party, because otherwise it bites people. But that’s okay. It keeps bad guys from coming in. He’s so much more useful than a dragon.

***

He rolled a stiff shoulder, grimacing at the dull throb, and shifted his weight slightly on the balls of his feet. His calf twinged where the dog had bitten him, and he shifted his weight back.

Cold was setting in early this year.

The city crouched below him, washed in green from his night visor. A woman hustled homeward, hopefully. Her heavy jacket was tucked up around her chin, a grocery bag swinging in one hand. If she wasn’t headed home, she was stupid.

His calf ached, reminding him.

A stray dog had seen the other dog biting his leg, and had come racing over to fight. It was large, and nearly knocked him over.

Five robberies in ten nights. Every other night. Every third building on every fourth block. Someone in the Department, possibly, because the police hadn’t caught on yet. Which meant he was probably changing evidence. Either that, or someone wasn’t watching the numbers closely enough.

The last thing Draco needed was a wannabe super-villain in the Corner. And, really, what would he be? “I am the SuperVillain . . . AddingOneMoreNumberToMyLastNumberCrimeMan!” It just wouldn’t work.

His pants would need to be washed soon. They smelled bad. Damn dog pee.

Draco shifted subtly, and listened to laughter float out a window.

***

After we played Blind Man’s Bluff, Mom said ‘no more.’ She’s just mad because we put a hole in the wall on accident.

Jake brought out the cake, and we all got a piece. My mom made it--from a mix--and it says “Happy Birthday, Danny!” on the top. It wasn’t very clear, and it was kinda hard to read, but she tried. She hasn’t been able to use her right arm since the accident, so the writing was really pretty good.

It tasted even BETTER. It was chocolate, with white frosting and blue letters. And it had M&Ms in it. My friends loved it.

But after that, things sort of fell apart. Jake told Crazy Kate she was the same color as the cake. Crazy Kate stuck her tongue out at him and told him he was the same color as the frosting, and she’d rather be the cake itself anyway. Jake told her that was okay because he was smarter then any old black person. And then Crazy Kate hit Jake, and someone else hit Crazy Kate, but then my mom stepped in and yelled at everyone, and they stopped hitting each other--though they were still fighting. It was WEIRD. I guess Crazy Kate and Jake don’t get along at school, either.

My mom called Jake’s mom and he had to go home. My dog--Rex--went nuts in the back room. He started barking and howling and everything else. It was wild.

***

He watched as the burglar dropped from the roof of the apartment, a line hooked somewhere above. He was headed for the corner room, where all the lights were out. And, of course, it was the right number.

He wondered vacantly if dog pee came out with soap and water. Otherwise he was screwed.

Carefully, Draco took pictures and tucked the camera back into his pocket.

At least there was no blood on his pants. The dog hadn’t been able to get that deep before the stray attacked it, and in the ensuing fight Draco had left.

The dog in the apartment below continued barking madly. The lights were all on there, but the people above didn’t stir.

The burglar, dressed in solid black, hit the fire escape and started trying to get in the window. Draco moved, gliding soundlessly above on a line he’d already stretched from one roof to the other. The man didn’t notice him; there was no moon, and no shadow. Draco hit the roof with only the slightest tick, and ducked out of sight before the burglar could see him.

Almost done.

***

Rex won’t be quiet. Jake’s mom is at the door, and she’s mad because she doesn’t think Jake should have to leave. They’re all nasty and ‘ooh-black-people-are-bad’ like. Kate looks pretty miserable. In fact, none of my friends are quite sure what to do. We’re all just sitting in the family room, our sleeping bags unrolled, listening to Rex bark.

He sure is loud.

***

Draco waited, silently, listening to the burglar do nothing. A car had driven up, and the man had gone silent.

The dog was still barking annoyingly. The laughing kids had quieted down. The rest of Mason Circle was reasonably dark.

Maybe Mrs. Beldacci would know a secret to getting dog pee out of clothing. Maybe he should just throw the pants away.

The car started back up and drove off, and there was a scratching as if the burglar had gone back to work.

Draco sat back and waited.

The man was good. It didn’t take him long to get in the window. Draco peered carefully over the side, moving slowly so he didn’t attract attention. The man had crawled into the dark apartment.

Slowly, carefully, not wanting to get shot if guns were involved, Draco slipped over the side and dropped down onto the fire escape. He eased in through the now-open window, and stopped.

There was a woman asleep in a bed nearby. A tiny noise came from the living room, and Draco ducked for the wall, where he would be hidden from view. He needed hard proof that this man was burglaring houses. If the guy was part of the Department, he’d be able to squirm out of all sorts of things.

Silently, Draco edged around the door.

Then the burglar was racing past him, a yappy little dog hot on his heels. In a matter of moments the woman was awake and screaming, and Draco was leaping for the window after the burglar.

Damn that dog.

***

“What is up with Rex tonight?” I ask, looking toward the bedroom. He won’t be quiet, and Jake and his mom already left. Everyone else is almost silent.

“He probably smells someone bad,” Kate says, and she says it so nonchalantly it’s weird.

“You think there’s a burglar or something?” I ask, and I try to make it sound not worried, too, but I know it doesn’t quite come out that way.

Kate smiles at me. “It’s okay. I’m protected by Draco, and while I'm here nothing will happen.”

Uh huh. “Draco?”

She just grins and winks.

Rex is still going nuts. He’s getting louder. Much more frantic. Mom went outside to walk Jake and his mom out, and she’s not back yet.

I wish she would come back.

***

He cursed roundly, though silently, as he dove out the window, catching the fire escape and following the path the burglar had taken. Below, he saw the man hit the ground and take off running. Above, the woman was still screaming and the dog was still yapping.

There was still time to catch the man.

Draco hit the next fire escape down, almost jumping as the dog within that apartment raced to the open window, hitting the screen and snarling.

Draco ignored it, looking for a safer way down. The burglar had had a line. He hadn’t left it up.

Draco cursed, furious with himself for not planning better. This shouldn’t have been so hard. He’d gotten cocky.

Something ripped. Draco twisted, looking back over his shoulder even as he saw the dog--some sort of mixed breed--trying to come through a hole in the screen. And the hole was getting bigger. Rapidly. And this wasn’t a little yappy dog.

Draco started to swear again.

***

Rex snarled, went quiet for a moment, then started barking even worse. It was followed by a yelp, then more snarlish barking.

I ran for the bedroom. I couldn’t help it--something was wrong with Rex.

Crazy Kate was hot on my heels as I threw open the door. Rex didn’t even blink at her. He was standing out on the fire escape, doing that scary snarl-bark, all the fur on his back standing straight up so high it was almost backward. I ran out, squeezing through the hole in the screen Rex had made, and looked around.

Rex looked okay. I couldn’t see anyone else.

Crazy Kate came and stuck her head through the hole, searching the sky. Rex snarled at her and she backed away quick, and we both left the room. Rex kept barking.

“It’s okay,” Crazy Kate said solemnly. “I saw Draco a few rooftops over. He probably scared the bad guy off.”

I thought it was my dog that scared the bad guy off, but I didn’t say that. “Draco?”

Crazy Kate did that same grin and wink thing, and walked back to tell the others that everything was fine.

Riiiiiiight. Maybe her guardian angel or something. Who knows? No wonder they call her Crazy Kate.

***

Jason Todd ripped off his mask and threw it violently into the closet. Then he picked it back up and put it where it belonged. Sighing, he pulled off his glove and glared at the indents in his hand. Thankfully, the glove itself had kept that monster dog from breaking through the skin, and there was no blood.

The burglar had gotten away, though.

If that yappy dog hadn’t come out . . . or that monster dog hadn’t attacked . . .

Jason cursed some more, and stalked to the bedroom to change. Some days, he really hated dogs.

*********************************

Back to the Batcave
Back to the living room