Hunting the Fairy Tale

Chapter 131 - The Day Tansy Died

TW:- This chapter contains references to child abuse. Reader discretion is advised.

Job

I've seen Tech Stuff in this state many times before.

When the doors slide open, letting me into the colourful prismed-light interior, staff are running around, yelling at each other in a language of their own. The long table in the break room is covered in snacks and beverages, and the debris of hours of drinking coffee while speed-eating.

As always, in the midst of the chaos of nearly frantic activity is Ryan Drake, as cool as a cucumber, a calm island, walking towards me with a warm smile on his face as if I had come across him during an afternoon stroll in a peaceful park.

I could say nothing ever phases the man, but I would be lying. I saw him this weekend after the attack on Tanner, and I've been dealing with him since the whole laptop debacle started. The stress was eating away at him; when I saw him the morning after Tanner's attack, he looked like the man I met shortly after his wife's death. Deadlines and client demands are nothing to this guy; he looks almost happy today.

The boy is alive and on the mend, after all.

Sometimes, I want to keep Tanner Trent on a leash to keep him safe. The boy has a disturbing talent for unearthing the worst scumbags on the planet. Even in a peaceful, virtually no-crime district like Fairweather, he manages to uncover the worst humans hiding in it.

He told me once that it's because he is scum himself. He draws them to him, and they draw him to them, birds of a feather and all that.

That nearly made me cry.

I told him that the only bird he has feathers in common with is Galen Mc Kenna. They are soulmates forged in the same strange corner of heaven. Neither of them are scum. They are unwise, impulsive, immature, brazen, cheeky and damn near impossible, but never scum.

We can work with unwise and impulsive. If they could stop being stubborn for five minutes, it can be remedied with some guidance. Immaturity will sort itself out when their brain development is completed at about 25. Only idiots expect full-on maturity from people under 25. Tanner isn't even 18 yet.

Their cheekiness... Nah, I actually like how cheeky they are. I can use the laughs it provides. If their brazenness is tempered with some wisdom, they will be strong, bold and brave men. In many ways, they already are.

I love those boys like they're my own.

I've seen them taking on bullies and defending the weak, including my own son, on more occasions than I can count. Scum?! My butt cheeks! They are good boys. A bit lost at times, but good.

Galen came into our lives almost five years ago, and I've known Tanner since he was just a little boy. He came to Briar Cove after being dragged through a portion of hell no little kid should ever get dragged through.

He was doing okay while his grandparents lived. They doted on him and his cousins and gave them a loving home. When they passed away shortly after each other, the boy's heartache and fear turned into anger, and he became difficult to deal with and had a tendency to get himself into trouble. Augusta, who was already out of her depth, had her hands full with him.

He was on the highway to self-destruction.

Galen's coming to town saved him in some ways. The two of them became friends during their ordeal when they were dragged into the fringes of a rather sordid and far-reaching child trafficking and pornography ring, preying on troubled children.

Mentally, they were severely damaged by what they'd encountered, and yet, they'd come off lightly in comparison to some of the other victims in other parts of the country. Even Galen, who physically suffered more than Tanner. Their involvement caused the Thunder Ridge branch of the organisation to blow up, which caused chain reactions right up to Grey Mount and beyond. The heads of many celebrities and trusted elites rolled.