Forearmed
By Beck

Part 1

As dawn broke and the first rays of light spilled over the endless waves of the Atlantic Ocean, painting the sky with myriad hues, several people were thinking about Sara Pezzini.

Kenneth Irons stood in front of his fireplace, staring at the flames, wondering why she had not contacted him yet. Was she not the true wielder? A pretender? Had there been a mistake? Why had Ian not reported in to him? Had the Witchblade claimed his life?

Joe Siri thought of Sara. As he sipped coffee at his kitchen table, his wife still asleep in their bed, he wondered if telling her she was adopted had been the right thing to do. Maybe he�d try to call her today.

Tommy Gallo looked over to the whore in his bed. He fingered the gun in his pocket. Damn shame it wasn�t that Pezzini bitch. He lifted out the pistol pointing it at the sleeping prostitute. It would be so easy to shoot her, she was just like her father, always putting her nose where it didn�t belong. He shoved the gun back into his pocket. No use wasting a good screw.

"I swear to you I know her, Sly." Gabriel Bowman thrust the paper in front of his friend, pointing to a picture of Sara. "Right there. I know her."

Sly looked at Gabe dubiously. "You know her? She�s a cop. Maybe she was one of the ones that busted up that last party we had?" He returned to drawing on the sketch pad in his hands.

"No way man, she�s a homicide cop. She wouldn�t be doing that sort of thing." Gabriel withdrew his hand, pulling the newspaper back in front of his own face and stared at the picture. Homicide Detective Sara Pezzini in shoot out at Mid-town Museum. Where the hell did he know that face from? Something niggled at his brain. It seemed important. He vowed silently to find out just what.

Jake McCartey looked at his computer screen blankly, his thoughts on his new partner. Was she involved with the White Bulls? He stood and put on his jacket. Maybe a search of her apartment would yield some information.

A man in shabby clothing stood on the beach looking up past the dunes to a small yellow bungalow. As he looked back in front of him, the seemingly endless stretch of unmarked sand being washed clean with each crashing wave, he said aloud to no one, "Untrodden ground."

Ian Nottingham awoke with a start. Feeling a warm, soft presence at his side, he looked down at Sara�s sleeping form. So beautiful. He reached out with his hand, the backs of his fingers caressing her cheek. Her eyes opened and she smiled at him. He smiled in return, "Good Morning, Mrs. Nottingham."

The apparition of Danny Woo faded out of existence before he could be noticed by the couple just waking, a smile curling his lips.

Sara sat up in the bed, looking at Ian with a pleading look on her face, "Do we really have to go back today?"

Ian sighed. "We should. If we do not, I must call Mr. Irons at the very least."

Sara nodded. "I need to call Joe and Jake too. We�ll spend today and tonight and head back in the morning," she paused, "if that�s ok with you, of course."

Ian smiled at Sara, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. "I live solely to please you, my fair Sara." With that he lifted the sheet over them, descending upon his love, his wielder, his soul-mate, his bride.

Part 2

Part 3

Kenneth Irons sat staring at his phone. Ian Nottingham�s loyalties had shifted. He was in love with the wielder, that much was obvious. Now the only question that remained was how to use this in order to control her. Irons sat for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, and then picked up his phone.

"Grayson Company, how may I help you?"

"Yes, this is Kenneth Irons. I�d like to speak to Ronald Nelson, he has done work on my property previously and I�d like to hire him for some renovations to my guest home." Kenneth Irons smiled to himself while he waited for the contractor to come to the phone.

Jake McCartey accidentally pushed a mountain of files off the edge of the desk. He cursed as he bent down to retrieve them. He bumped his head painfully on the edge of the desk as he straightened back up. He cursed again. "I should go home and go to bed and start this day all over." His phone rang and he glared at it moment before picking it up, wondering what else was going to go wrong with his day.

The voice on the other end of the line was cheery, "Hey Jake!"

"Hey Pez! Coming home soon I hope?" Jake looked at the huge piles of paperwork forlornly.

"Getting buried in paper?" Sara laughed.

"How�d you guess?"

"Just a wild hunch. Listen Jake, I�ve got something I want to tell you, but you have to promise to keep it a secret in the department. The only other person that knows is Joe."

"Yeah sure, Pez. What�s up?" Jake put down the folders he was holding and leaned forward with interest. Was Sara going to say something about the White Bulls? She was being awfully secretive. His hopes rose at the possibility of gaining info.

"Um . . . Jake, it seems I�ve gone and gotten myself married."

Jake leapt up out of the chair, knocking over two more piles of papers. "You what?!"

"Shhhh�.Jake, I asked you to keep it quiet!"

"I�m . . . I�m stunned, that�s all." Jake sat back down a look of dejection crawling across his features. In a softer tone, "Who is the guy? Do I know him?"

"I don�t think so, Jake. You might have seen him around, I don�t know."

"Well congrats, Pez. I�m happy for you, really happy for you."

"Thanks Jake. See ya tomorrow partner."

"Yeah, be careful . . . partner." Jake hung up the phone and sat in stunned silence for a few moments before standing and leaving the office.

Joe walked in to ask Jake something a few moments later. Papers and folders were everywhere. All over the desk, the floor. Sara must have called him. Poor kid. He was pretty sure Jake had a crush on her. He hoped Sara had let him down easy, but from the looks of it she hadn�t. Joe sighed and began picking up papers, stacking them neatly on the desk.

"Hey Sly . . .look at this a minute would ya?" Gabriel pointed to his computer screen. Sly ambled over to stand behind him, munching a slice of pizza.

"It�s that cop. Pagini or something."

"Pezzini."

"Yeah, that�s it. You still hung up on her?"

Gabriel zoomed in on the picture. "Now look on her right wrist."

"It�s a bracelet. A ruby or something."

"No way man. If that is what I think it is, it�s much more than a bracelet."

"Well what do you �think� it is?"

"It�s an ancient weapon. The Witchblade. Can only be worn by women. Gives them invincibility. It used to belong to Joan of Arc."

Sly shook his head. "You are totally losing it, man."

"I�m serious. This thing is like . . . I mean can you imagine how much it would be worth?"

Sly chuckled, "Now you sound like the Gabe I know.�

Tommy Gallo was infuriated. He should have heard something by now. The man he�d sent out to hit Pezzini had obviously failed. There had been no word for days. That bitch was costing him all of his best men. Looks like he�d have to do the job himself. He slammed his glass down on the bar of the recently converted Rialto Theater. At least the Rialto was shaping up nicely. Should be open for business in a few days. This was going to be the hottest night spot on this side of town, hell maybe in all the town.