S.P.Y.

Prologue: S.P.Y.

It was a moonless night the day that the women entered the Youngblood office. Mr. Sylis Penn Youngblood was still working and was one of the few people in the building. He glanced up at the woman for only a second, his hand ready to move if need be. His hand went back to his side and he continued to type one-handed on his computer.

"Um... are you Mr. Youngblood?" asked the woman. From the split-second glance he got of her, she appeared to be unarmed and to be wearing a jacket and matching dress or skirt. Sylis didn't see her feet either because of the length of the skirt or because his wooden oak desk blocked them from his view.

"Yes," he responded and closed the laptop quietly. "I am he." Sylis looked at the lady. She was sitting on one of the two sofas that were placed in his office. Her legs were crossed and her hands were together. She had long black hair that went down to her bosom. Her eyes were auburn-brown like the bark of cherry blossoms.

"Mama..." came a small voice. It was silent like a zephyr that Sylis almost didn't catch it. A child was with the woman. Mr. Youngblood averted his eyes to the child in question. The girl was blonde just like Sylis, only that her hair was tinted with color making it strawberry blonde. The girl had the same eyes as the woman sitting next to her.

The girl was tugging on her mother's skirt. The woman didn't bend down to listen to the child nor did the child even open her mouth nor speak another word, yet the woman seemed to understand what the girl was trying to say. The woman bent down and said, "This is Mr. Youngblood; he will help us. Okay?" The child nodded her head with a slight grin on her face.

The woman sat straight and looked at Sylis. "My name is Lilin Cozbi and this is my daughter Piper Cozbi." She pointed to the girl. "Your company said that you helped with domestic violence." It was true that Sylis' company worked with domestic violence cases, but personally, he didn't go into the family setting.

"No." The word was curt. "If you are asking for my help, then my answer is no," he said after the woman's grin melted into a concerned frown. Mr. Youngblood looked out the wall window. The city lights sparkled below them. Their colors mixed in the darkness. He looked up; he couldn't tell if the ground light populated the night sky and that was the reason why he couldn't see any stars or there simply were none that night.

Mr. Youngblood stood up and the mother did as well. "Please." She grabbed onto Sylis' hand. He looked back at the woman. "You're the only one who can help me." She looked down at her daughter and then back at Sylis. "Help us, please?" She grabbed onto Sylis' hand with both of her hands now. The grasp was tight and desperate, combined with her pleading...

"I'll think about it, Miss Cozbi," Mr. Youngblood said and the woman let go of his hand.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" she cried falling to the floor.

Sylis packed up his laptop into his briefcase and walked toward the door. The lady was still on the floor as he walked out. He opened the door and turned around to say, "Don't forget to shut the door on your way out." He closed the door behind him and waited a few seconds. Miss Cozbi's crocodile tears stopped.

"Let's go, Piper."

Sylis Penn Youngblood made sure to not let the single-parent family hear or see him as he made his way to his modern home.