by Red WolfWith Samuel safely, if not entirely legally, out of harm's way, Wolf and Inspector Craddock had a deadline of 9.00am the following morning to have a working plan of action.
For every plan they came up with, there was always a reason to discard it; too complicated, too many people involved, too little chance of success, too much risk to Samuel. The list seemed never-ending.
It was almost midnight when Wolf rang Declán with an update. As usual her brother cut to the heart of the matter and asked why they didn't just do the blindingly obvious of standing in the middle of the mall and seeing who took the bait.
Wolf couldn't argue with the logic of the plan and Craddock was quick to get the ball rolling with his people. With something solid finally in place, it was an easy matter to get all the necessary personnel briefed and ready for deployment.
A WPC was assigned to be Samuel's shadow for the duration, which was the one thing that managed to throw a spanner in the works. As soon as she entered the abandoned warehouse where the boy was sleeping, Declán took the opportunity to slip out the back.
He'd barely had time to walk around the front of the building, when Declán heard Samuel kicking up a ruckus inside. He ran inside and found the WPC trying to keep the kicking and screaming boy at arm's length. From the rapid-fire mix of French, English and the boy's local West African dialect, Declán managed to figure out that Samuel blamed the WPC for scaring off his dog.
Declán couldn't suppress a chuckle and the sound of his muffled laughter distracted the boy from his tirade. Samuel ran to Declán and attached himself to one of the man's legs, glaring mistrustfully back at the bemused female police officer.
It was strange that Samuel would take such an immediate liking to him when he'd never seen Declán walking on two legs before, but his was not to reason on the thought processes of small boys.
A quick introduction and exchange of credentials later and Declán found himself back on babysitting duty as Samuel's personal guardian, which meant breakfast was the order of day until word came through that Mzizana and Ngema were on the move.
It didn't take long for Declán to discover that Samuel appeared to be a bottomless pit when it came to new and interesting food, as the boy insisted on trying everything he saw. It was the first time he actually had a chance to talk to the boy and all of their suspicions were confirmed; Samuel had been taken from his family and shipped as cargo to London where he was hidden in Mrs Mzizana's house. Declán just hoped that events would get underway before digestive havoc destroyed their carefully laid plans.
A quick phone call gave them the signal to get into position by the statue in the centre of the plaza.
Samuel was his usual talkative self until Mrs Mzizana loomed into view. The boy clung to Declán, hiding his face until the woman was arrested and taken away. As scared as he'd been, he was still determined to wait for Mr Ngema. That arrest was also handled swiftly and smoothly.
Wolf saw the second police car off and joined Declán and Samuel, she crouched in front of the boy.
"Hey, kid." Wolf offered the boy a bag of jelly frogs she'd pinched from Craddock's office, Declán was surprised the boy still had room for anything. "You know you won't be going back to Mrs Mzizana's house?" Samuel nodded. "Until we can find your family, you'll have to stay with people who can look after you."
"Can I stay with Declán?" Samuel looked up at the man.
Wolf shook her head. "No, mate. There's a foster family who'd like to meet you and they live near Dec, so you'll be able to visit him whenever you like."
Samuel nodded, sniffing back tears.
"Come on, Samuel. Let's go check this family out." Declán held his hand out to Samuel and let the boy lead him over to the waiting police car.
Wolf sighed. It was going to be a rough few months for Samuel, with court cases and interviews with the police to find out more about his family. She didn't think it would be much better for Declán, with any luck they'd help each other get through it.
15 Minute Ficlets — word #99: gourmet
Moonbeam's challenge — declán and a child
Published Babble Horde — 29.03.2005
Published FictionPress — 04.04.2005
declán | fiction | original fiction | samuel | wolf
so cool, that samuel recognised declan unconsciously, when he was in his human form. nice ending to the story, it was a great little fic. am developing a real fondness for the wolf&declan verse. must... have... sequels! oh, and lol on the last minific too, woe to anyone that agrees to shop with buffy! — via LiveJournal
— posted by Pheral at 04.04.2005 16:05 AEST | 
look what i just found: http://www.frozencpu.com/neu-03.html
very very cool ipod alternative. and check out the rest of the site — i'm spending all my money modding my pc i think. has to be done — via LiveJournal — posted by Pheral at 04.04.2005 16:06 AEST |
very very cool ipod alternative. and check out the rest of the site — i'm spending all my money modding my pc i think. has to be done — via LiveJournal — posted by Pheral at 04.04.2005 16:06 AEST |
Really, funny to hear the ipods are cheaper. Over here i think they're the most expensive of all of them, might be wrong about that though. But i definitely prefer the colours of that one i linked to, black and orange is rather perfect!
Roger on the uk pc stuff, its just funner to look at american sites because there aren't as many english sites with such good catalogs — via LiveJournal — posted by Pheral at 04.04.2005 16:07 AEST |
Roger on the uk pc stuff, its just funner to look at american sites because there aren't as many english sites with such good catalogs — via LiveJournal — posted by Pheral at 04.04.2005 16:07 AEST |
It seemed silly not to have Samuel recognise Declán. Don't worry, there's always more Wolf&Declán stories — via LiveJournal
— posted by Red Wolf at 04.04.2005 16:08 AEST |
Epilogue, yeah? There will be an epilogue, right? ::looks hopeful::
Love how Dec nips all the convoluted planning in the butt with some straight forward common sense — that's my boy! Ya think Samuel recognized Dec in human form because of his laugh? A muffled chuckle probably sounds very much like a wolf's wuffling to a stressed little boy. It'd be reassurance enough for me!
(Of course, of all the sounds Declán could make, I prefer his rumbling growls. To be pressed right up against that cest, head curled against his throat, with a soft comforting growl vibrating through me? Mmmm... ::shivers in delight::) — via LiveJournal — posted by Moonbeam at 04.04.2005 16:09 AEST |
Love how Dec nips all the convoluted planning in the butt with some straight forward common sense — that's my boy! Ya think Samuel recognized Dec in human form because of his laugh? A muffled chuckle probably sounds very much like a wolf's wuffling to a stressed little boy. It'd be reassurance enough for me!
(Of course, of all the sounds Declán could make, I prefer his rumbling growls. To be pressed right up against that cest, head curled against his throat, with a soft comforting growl vibrating through me? Mmmm... ::shivers in delight::) — via LiveJournal — posted by Moonbeam at 04.04.2005 16:09 AEST |
::points below::
That goes for you too, tsita!
Haven't you guys ever heard the phrase, don't mess up a good theory with facts? Because when it comes to my obsession with Declán, it's totally in effect! ;P — via LiveJournal — posted by Moonbeam at 04.04.2005 16:10 AEST |
That goes for you too, tsita!
Haven't you guys ever heard the phrase, don't mess up a good theory with facts? Because when it comes to my obsession with Declán, it's totally in effect! ;P — via LiveJournal — posted by Moonbeam at 04.04.2005 16:10 AEST |
There is an epilogue planned. Still a few loose ends to tie up.
I was thinking maybe Samuel recognised a smell. But maybe he was just leery of strange women.
You really need a dog. It all sounds like a good idea until you discover that snuggly chest dog means pointy elbows poking squishy internal organs. And much dog spit. Dogs aren't offended by your morning breath — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 04.04.2005 16:11 AEST |
I was thinking maybe Samuel recognised a smell. But maybe he was just leery of strange women.
You really need a dog. It all sounds like a good idea until you discover that snuggly chest dog means pointy elbows poking squishy internal organs. And much dog spit. Dogs aren't offended by your morning breath — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 04.04.2005 16:11 AEST |
Please don't burst my happy little fantasy bubble with facts or logic. There's no place for them here (unless they suit me, heh). I'm in love with a fictional character — I can have all the damn fictional fantasies I want. So there! ::blows raspberry:: — via LiveJournal
— posted by Moonbeam at 04.04.2005 16:11 AEST |
::gives Samuel a big hug and some Tums::
I am slightly confused as to what the plans of action are meant to do — how does standing around in public with Samuel give enough evidence to arrest people? — but I really liked the way Samuel and Declan bond and Wolf's appreciation of that. She may not be much of a people person, but she comes through here. :-) — via LiveJournal — posted by Elizabeth Culmer at 04.04.2005 16:13 AEST |
I am slightly confused as to what the plans of action are meant to do — how does standing around in public with Samuel give enough evidence to arrest people? — but I really liked the way Samuel and Declan bond and Wolf's appreciation of that. She may not be much of a people person, but she comes through here. :-) — via LiveJournal — posted by Elizabeth Culmer at 04.04.2005 16:13 AEST |
The WPC was the last link in the chain. She was supposed to confirm that Samuel had been kidnapped, but Declán ended up getting that information instead. The couple have been brought in for questioning with regard to finding whoever's further up the food chain.
There was at this point, enough circumstantial evidence, backed up by Samuel, that they were not the lawful custodians of the child. The police needed the couple to identify Samuel and to want to get him back As well, there were several interested parties from Customs and Excise interested in how involved they are with both the smuggling of illegal imports and people — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 04.04.2005 16:13 AEST |
There was at this point, enough circumstantial evidence, backed up by Samuel, that they were not the lawful custodians of the child. The police needed the couple to identify Samuel and to want to get him back As well, there were several interested parties from Customs and Excise interested in how involved they are with both the smuggling of illegal imports and people — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 04.04.2005 16:13 AEST |
Ah. As I haven't the foggiest idea what a WPC is, that went right over my head. Also, I seem to have missed the point where they officially decided to accuse Samuel's guardians of kidnapping. But it makes sense now — via LiveJournal
— posted by Elizabeth Culmer at 04.04.2005 16:14 AEST |
A WPC is a woman police constable. For some reason the UK has stuck with differentiating PCs and WPCs. Go figure.
It is a little rushed, but suspicion of kidnapping gives the cops a chance to ask about why Samuel was in their custody and all that they may lead to — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 04.04.2005 16:14 AEST |
It is a little rushed, but suspicion of kidnapping gives the cops a chance to ask about why Samuel was in their custody and all that they may lead to — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 04.04.2005 16:14 AEST |
Aww, I really like the way you write Declán's relationship and interactions with Samuel. It's very heartwarming and it shows another side of Declán. Can't wait to see what happens next — via LiveJournal
— posted by Chessie at 04.04.2005 16:27 AEST |
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As for PC mods, cruise the site for shiny things, but try buying locally. The shipping alone will kill you. I found cold cathode lights cheaper at the PC shop than through the electronics store. I would have expected the opposite — via LiveJournal — posted by Red Wolf at 04.04.2005 16:06 AEST |