Assignment

who: Danny and Maya
Where: A suite at the Drake Hotel
When: Late morning

He'd been painting the spare room when the phone rang. Janey had asked months ago to paint over the pale blue they'd painted it when they thought they were having a baby. No baby had come and the room had stayed that color for years. When she'd asked him to do it, he'd avoided it, but now with the day off due to the incident with the serial killer and a good load of guilt that Jackson had heaped on him for the affair, Danny was finally getting around to painting. He figured it would be a nice surprise for his wife when she got home from volunteering at the church all day.

Danny answered the phone nonchalantly, assuming it was Jackson calling to apologize for being an ass or Janey calling to ask what he wanted for dinner, but instead it was all business on the other end. The caller told him where to be and when, which gave him just enough time to shower and change before heading to the Drake. By no means was he dressed up, but he was dressed nice for Danny. At least these clothes didn't have paint on them.

When he asked about his meeting at the hotel front desk, the manager himself escorted to Danny to the appropriate suite door. A suite wasn't what he'd been expecting, but then again when had anything he'd done for the family been predictable. He knocked on the door and waited to be let in.

The door was answered by an overly large man in a suit, who wordlessly stood back to let Danny in, and then headed out of the suite to stand just outside the door. Across the large sitting room area, Maya Walker sat, looking relaxed yet poised, in a deep red wing chair, angled against a full high picture window revealing the city scape outside - it would have been an even better picture if the sun had been shining, but it so rarely did in Eidolon City. Instead, she was backed by a bank of grey clouds.

The white haired doll she had found yesterday sat upright on the coffee table, next to a spread of freshly brewed filter coffee and little cakes, as though Maya were hosting some of her more particular society friends, rather than a cop for whom she had work that had nothing to do with his official job. It was typically incongruous for the meeting, but that was Maya all over - she liked to throw people slightly off balance. And anyway, she did so love those little cakes.

She didn't get up as she watched him to see what he would do.

The large oaf answering the door didn't surprise Danny. A similar guy, or perhaps the same guy, had been with the trio that came to tell Danny about his debt and he'd grown to assumed everyone who worked for the Family had one of these apes at their disposal. He'd side stepped the man, entering the room with mock confidence and watched over his shoulder as the door close behind him. Once it clicked into place he unclenched his fists and focused his attention back on the other person in the room.

She wasn't what he'd been expecting. Perhaps he was being a bit chuvanistic, but Danny had assumed the mob kept their women under wraps. A quick glance around the room assured him that it was Maya who'd called the meeting, not someone else. Unsure of what to do he took a few extra steps towards her chair. "You needed to see me?" He didn't sit because he wasn't sure if he should without being asked. Plus the place was set up for a tea party, not a meeting with a dirty cop so he assumed she was expecting someone else after him and this was meant to be a short visit.

Maya gestured for Danny to sit on the couch that was off to one side of her chair, at the other side of the coffee table. "I wanted to see you, Officer McKinnon," she amended, that very slight, feminine emphasis on the word. "Coffee?" she asked him, sliding herself forward a little without getting up, so she could pour him a cup.

Danny did as she intended, sitting across for her. Taking orders so lightly wasn't usually his style, but he wanted out of this debt and he didn't want more trouble than he already had. He'd found it was best to just go along with things. "Coffee's fine," he responded. "What can I do for you then?" Danny wasn't exactly skilled with standard social graces.

Maya poured the rich, brown liquid smoothly into a perfect china cup, decorated with small, handpainted flowers and edged with gold. "Cream?" she asked him, politely, not rising to his question. She would set the timetable for this meeting, not him. After all, he would be the one taking orders. She was just trying to be nice about it. And, of course, get the measure of this cop she'd never actually met. She would be trusting him with something very close to her heart, after all.

"Just black is fine." Danny told her, reaching for the dainty cup which looked out of place against the callouses on his hand. She hadn't answered his question, which was a common stalling technique used by both the interrogator and the interrogated. He opted not to question her again, but instead waited, watching, surveying her the same way any cop would.

Maya took her time, adding cream and a little sugar to her coffee and stirring it twice, before tapping the spoon gently on the side of the cup and laying it in the saucer. She picked up the plate and offered it to him. "Cake?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't look particularly at home, which was only to be expected, but he was holding his own well enough, and not pushing things.

Danny sipped his coffee slowly, careful not to crush the small cup. It was hard not to appreciate the expensive flavor, far better than anything he could get at the station or afford to have at home. "No, thanks," he responded in regard to the cake. The petty small talk seemed pointless and he was growing impatient that they weren't getting to the heart of the matter. Still, he let her run the show as he assumed that was what she wanted.

"Pity," Maya said, offhand, as she set the plate back down and chose one for herself, putting it onto a small plate by the side of her cup which matched the rest of the service. She picked her coffee up and took a sip, relaxing back a little more into her chair as she surveyed the room. Her gaze landed on the doll, then swept to Danny. "tell me, Officer McKinnon - or, may I call you Danny?" She asked, breaking off from her original question to add that in, then getting right back on track. "Tell me - do you like dolls?" she asked, glancing back at the white haired doll which sat there. The white haired doll that she knew bore a striking resemblance to Cheyenne.

"Danny is fine," he said, looking at the dolls as her eyes did. He'd noticed it when he came in but took it in more as just part of the decor of the room. Closer survey though spark a memory of a young girl in the rain sharing her umbrella. "No interest in dolls m'am," Danny told her, holding his gaze on the doll before looking back at Maya. "Why do you ask?"

"Striking, isn't she?" Maya asked looking at Danny looking at the doll. "You see, Danny. I found that doll down at the docks yesterday, after a very interesting encounter. And I have reason to believe that someone may be sending me a message." Of course, there was also the fact that someone had sent her a message, but she was keeping that to herself. The fact was though that she'd had a message which mentioned her children, and then at the docks, she'd found a doll that looked like Cheyenne. It went without saying that she was concerned, enough to put precautions in place. And Jackson had suggested the involvement of the police, so that was what she was doing - in her own way.

"Could just be a doll," Danny offered, his eyes ticking back to it again. It looked so much like Cheyenne though, which very well would be disconcerting. The girl had mentioned a stalker, yet she'd been reluctant to let the police help with the situation.

Maya set her cup down, clicking it softly but definitely against the saucer. "Or it could not just be," she said, an edge to her tone. "I'm not willing to take that chance, especially not with the lives of my family. I want you to watch her," she told him, finally getting to the point, the edge disappearing as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a serene smile.

His attention snapped back to her when he caught the edge in her tone. These were not people Danny should piss off, but his own personality was getting in the way. "Watch her?" he asked slightly confused. "You want me to keep an eye on Cheyenne?" It wasn't a bad gig, but there had to be some sort of catch.

"Exactly," Maya confirmed, nodding slightly. "Of course, how you do that is up to you, but i want to know where she goes, who she sees - and especially if there is anything, well, unusual. I leave it up to your professional judgment what that might be," she said, her smile changing to one which somehow managed to convey that whilst she had absolute confidence in his abilities, that also meant that she would hold him absolutely responsible for any failures. It wasn't the nicest smile in the world, and it didn't reach her eyes. "And, of course, she can't know that you're reporting back to me," she added.

Danny was nodding along, thinking that bringing him in as a bodyguard was a waste when she had goons like the one at the door that would gladly follow in Cheyenne's every step. He especially didn't like reporting back to Maya about Cheyenne, but at least she trusted him to only share what was necessary. The last part was the catch he'd been waiting on, but it still caught him off guard. "You're not going to tell her why I'm suddenly in her life all the time?"

Maya gave him a look. "Now, cupcake - why on earth would I do that?" she asked him, sweet as you like. She held the look for a moment and then relented. "Cheyenne needs her space, an idea that she's an independent woman who can do what she likes with her life. She's at that age - it's a stage," she explained with a wave of her hand, like it was something akin to puberty, or milk teeth, something that would just pass. "If I tell her that i'm having her watched... Even if it's for her own good, it'll cripple the effectiveness. Which is why i want you to do it and not one of them," she added, indicating the door, and the big burly men on the other side. "You can tell her what you like, but I trust to your discretion to come up with a... reasonable explanation. Of course, if you can't then... I'll have to handle it myself." If she had to explain the situation to Cheyenne, she would, she would simply prefer to not have to do that.

The whole idea sounded like a bad one, but he wasn't in a position to challenge her was he? What did it matter to him that Cheyenne would feel betrayed if she found out that Maya had provided her with a false sense of independence? Not much, and this was far easier than turning a blind eye to crime. Hell, he'd already considered keeping an eye on her, especially if she wouldn't file an official report about her stalker. "Do you have any idea who might be so interested in her?"

"Not at this time, no," Maya admitted. If she did, she would definitely been taking a very different approach. Somewhat more direct, possibly more bloody. She took threats to her family incredibly seriously, especially to her children.

That worried Danny. It wasn't that he couldn't handle it, but it was unnerving that someone as connected as Maya may not have the answers. "I assume you will keep me posted if you learn something more on that front though." It wasn't a question. If he was going to report back on Cheyenne's business, then Maya could keep him in the loop on what she found out about whomever might be after her.

"Of course - it's in my interests to ensure that you're as informed as possible," she reminded him. She was using the man, but at the same time, he was doing her a favour. It worked both ways - she wasn't going to keep him in the dark just because she could, that would only limit his usefulness. "So, I take it that I can rely on you then?" she asked - as though he actually had a choice in the matter.

Danny's look reflected what Maya was thinking. "I don't believe I'm in a position to say no, am I?" He took another sip of his coffee, keeping his eyes on her. "Luckily I understand the situation enough though, and although I'm not sold on the methods, I realize she needs someone to watch out for her. So yes, I"ll do it." He'd been well behaved for most of the meeting, but he couldn't walk out without expressing his distate for her plan. Sure he'd be fine with just being a bodyguard, but sneaking around felt wrong.

"No, you're really not," Maya agreed, nicely, but acknowledging the truth behind the arrangement. "And honestly, sweetie - you don't have to like it, or be sold on it. You just have to do it," she added, satisfied by the fact he'd be going along with the plan. "And, if you'd like - you can take the doll," she offered, wondering what his response to that would be.

He set down his cup and stood, taking the agreement as his cue to leave. When she asked about the doll he started slightly, eyeing both the doll and the current owner. "I'd rather not." It was a simple answer, but it was spoken heavier than the words would express. It was a beautiful doll, but it looked just like her. That was just a little too weird for him.

Maya seemed to take his answer easily. She'd just wondered what he'd do - whether he'd take the doll, the reminder. Whether he'd be able to explain it away at home. She wasn't entirely surprised he didn't want it. And she could have other plans for it, given time. "Of course. Well..." She stood, finally, and offered her hand to him. "Good luck, officer," she suggested, though she knew that 'luck' had nothing to do with it. She wouldn't have given him the task if she hadn't been informed he was up to it.

Danny took her hand, shaking it firmly, but not enough to hurt her. Wishing him luck made him wonder what exactly he was getting himself into, but he opted not to question it. Cheyenne was just a young girl who needed someone to watch out for the bad guys, how difficult could this be? "Thanks," he told her and moved away, headed for the door.