Ace shifted his weight to the other foot for the fifth time since only just stepping outside his door. He took a deep breath and began walking before his mind could think twice about it. Halfway down the stairs he realized he had nothing planned to say to Mr. Wilson’s family. He stopped on the last step.

Sorry for your… for your - no. Sorry for your loss, I didn't know him well but I can talk to - no. He didn’t deserve to die like that. 

Ace nodded at the last one. He took another breath and stepped onto the last step, a bit more confident.  

I can do this normal thing. Like other people do. But not everyone loses someone everyday… or do people?

He stops again on the path to the courtyard. 

Ace had grown up an only child of a wealthy family, his father was born into wealth. He always had his mother around him and an army of staff and full time nannies. Although his parents made him tidy up after himself he had never had to do much hard work in life. He was not usually alone either, his Maman would come running to him the second he held out his arms to her, even if he was in a room surrounded by other children he was supposed to make friends with. He didn’t have to work too hard for anything. Things were handed to him. 

Maybe that’s why Papa is always angry with me… he did always say he worked even as a child.

Ace turns around to go back to his apartment.

I’m sorry Mr. Wilson, I’m not the right person for this … job.

“Look Mommy! Look!”.

Despite drowning in self loathing, Ace turned back around recognizing the small voice. Allison was trying to hold up a doll to her mom. Ace could tell where Allie got her straight brunette hair from. He had seen Jensen’s curly hair for a moment. Allie’s mother was busy holding something in her hands, rubbing it gently while she cried softly. It looked like a picture frame.

“Mommy?”Allie held her doll to her chest and reached out, placing a hand on her mother’s leg and rubbing it gently.

“Don’t cry mommy”.

Allie’s mother turned away from her and walked over to the storage truck to place the picture frame in a box. A man walked over to Allie and bent down to hug her gently. He stood up and walked over to Allison’s mother and grabbed her by her arm and said something in a hushed voice before leaving. She started to sob louder.

I never dealt with other kids but Maman always calmed me down. I can do what she did.

Ace walked over to Allie. She jumped up but relaxed when she saw it was only him. Still she held her doll tightly to her chest.

“Hi Ace”, she said softly.

He crouched down to her level. “Hi Allison. Do you… remember me?”.

She nodded slowly.

“Don’t be scared. Your grandfather wouldn’t want you to be scared”.

She nodded again, a smile breaking through.

“Grandma told me Grandpa is in a better place. So I don’t have to worry about him. He’s looking over me to protect me”, she hugged her doll tighter to her chest, “I wish he was still here. I miss him.”

Ace blinked slowly remembering how he first learned life is not always kind.

                             ********************

Flashback 12 years ago 

He was shivering sitting on the grand staircase facing the front doors. A nanny was trying to coax him to his room with chocolate. She was kneeling in front of him unwrapping the chocolate.

“It’s from your father’s company, just like you like it”.

He looked at her with unshed tears in his eyes. He rubbed his eyes roughly and looked down at the ground.

“When Maman comes back I’ll have some with her”, he lightly pushed the old woman’s hand away. 

The nanny exchanged a look with Marks and the other servants gathered. Marks stepped forward.

“Young Sir, if your father reaches home and you are not in bed he will be very upset”.

“But Papa won’t answer me when I ask him where Maman is and why those men took her. It’s been … forever!”, he looked up at all the adults gathered, “where is she!?”.

One of the front doors opened up. Ace jumped up and ran past the servants and nanny. 

“Maman! Maman!”, he held his arms up and then stopped.

His Papa looked down at him and then up at the others. His father took off his rain coat and handed it to Marks who had walked over and held out his hands with a quiet, “Good evening, Sir”.

Ace watched his father give the nanny a look. He stepped back.

“Why is he not in bed?”.

“I’m sorry Sir”, Ace turned back to her feeling guilty, “he was waiting for … for-”.

“Where is Maman?”Ace said what she couldn’t.

Ace flinched as his father’s eyes landed on him. He stared up despite taking a few steps back again.

“It’s been a -”.

“Your mother is not coming back William”.

His eyes filled with tears.

“Why did those men take her!? Papa please!”, he reached out to grab onto his father’s suit but the man grabbed him up gently and placed him in the nanny’s arms. His father wouldn’t look at him despite his screaming and tears.

"Papa, bitte warten!”. *

His father stopped walking but only briefly.

***

Ace blinked back tears. He had been thinking about that more often now. That was years ago. But now I might have a clue - I have to focus. “Your grandfather didn’t want to leave you. He’s a good man”, he looked down at Allie. 

She frowned.

“Did my daddy hurt my grandpa? No one will tell me anything”, she looked up at him.

Ace forced himself to look away from her and think carefully about his next words. 

“I don’t think I’m-”.

“Allison! Get away from him!”.

Ace looks up to see the man from before barreling at him and he stands up.. Allie jumps up to and steps closer to Ace.

“This is Ace”, she tried to say.

The man doesn’t hear her words, he lifts Ace up by his collar and body slams him onto the pavement.

“Who the fuck are you? Fucking creep talking to little girls!?”. 

Allie’s uncle began to punch him in the face, Ace barely managed to lift up his hands and protect himself. The yelling and Allie’s screams attracted more attention. People opened their doors to look out, people walked into the courtyard. Allie’s mom ran up with a woman and two young men, the two young men pulled the uncle off Ace. 

“Jimmy what are you doing!?”, the woman yelled at him.

Allie ran over to her mother who dropped to her knees and picked her up. Jimmy shrugged the two young men off him and fixed his shirt.

“This fucking guy was talking to Allie! Dad was just killed and come creep wants to talk to Allie - not on my watch!”.

Ace gingerly gets to his feet, swaying slightly.

“I wasn’t-”, his small voice is drowned out by other voices. New voices. 

“Police! What’s going on here!?”.

The group looks over. 

The others relax instantly at the sight of the man but Ace grabs his head, running his hand over his head to check for blood. He can taste copper in his mouth. The uncle walks over to the cop calling him by name. The man has fair skin and short brown hair. He isn’t wearing a standard cop uniform. More like business casual. 

Ace flinches when his hand touches his cheek. He looks at the coo again. Am I going to be in trouble?

A woman’s voice calls out to him and a hand lands on his shoulder. He flinches.

“Hey”, a woman in a suit gently pushes him back, “are you okay? I'm a detective. Detective Barrios. That guy over there is my partner, Dumont.” She has tanned skin and deep brown eyes. Her long hair falls into her face as she looks him over. “I think you need an ambulance”.

“No”, the image of the hooded figure watching him plays in his mind, “i’m fine, it’s not that bad”, his flares in pain the more he talked. 

Ace looked back at Allie, then at her uncle. The man was glaring at him and talking to the other detective. 

“You said to pay attention to anyone that might be lingering around. Jensen was a drug addict and he had lots of friends that steal shit all the time. I’ve never seen this guy around here and he’s talking to my niece!”.

Detective Dumont placed a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder but Jimmy turned to look  at Allie’s mom.

“And you! What were you doing!? You’re out here with her and some fucking creep comes up to talk to her. She could have been taken or killed!”.

Allie’s mom inhaled, pointing a finger in Jimmy’s chest. 

Detective Dumont placed himself in between them trying to de-escalate. “We’re not gonna do this righ-”.

“Don’t fucking say that about my daughter James!”. Allie’s mother spoke over the detective.

The other woman who came up with Allie’s mom spoke up.

“Then keep an eye on her! You’re no better than her drunk and drug addicted father!”.

“He’s your brother! The both of you”, she looks from the woman to the uncle, “he’s your brother for God sake!”.

Jimmy kept going. “And he should’ve died in prison the first time. Dad wasted money and time on  him. He stole from his daughter. He stole from his parents, he stole from us. He has other kids he doesn’t even take care of! Someone should beat the shit out of him and rattle his fucking brain!”.

Allie’s mom fell to her knees sobbing uncontrollably. Allie ran to her and hugged her.

“Enough!”Detective Dumont yells at all three of them, “there is a child here.”

An older woman walked up wringing her hands together. Jimmy and the other woman quieted down at the sight of her and shared guilty looks. 

Detective Dumont smiled at her. “Mrs. Wilson.”

She smiled back at him. “Sorry for all the noise, Detective.”

That’s Mrs. Wilson? Ace studied her closely. She had a calm demeanor despite the chaos around her. She was a short woman with short gray hair and piercing blue eyes. She looked at Jimmy and the woman beside him, her face dropping to a scolding face.

“James. Alina. Cali is the mother of your niece. Be nice to her”.

Ace looked at uncle and the woman next to him. They’re brother and sister? He could see the semblance in their blue eyes, piercing like their mom. 

Mrs. Wilson looked over at the two young men behind Allie’s aunt and at Allie before landing on Ace. He remained still as she studied his face and his bruises. When he looked away his eyes landed on Mr. Wilson standing on the walk path with tears in his eyes. Ace froze for a few moments. His head snapped  toward  the family and then at the man. 

Mr. Wilson noticed him looking. “I’m sorry.”

Sorry? Sorry for what? Ace opened his mouth to ask but the detectives were quicker. 

“Do you have any proof he was doing something inappropriate?”. Detective Dumont kept himself firmly between Ace and Jimmy.

Detective Barrios turned to Ace. “Do you have any ID on you?”.

Ace shook his head and regretted  it when the world spun briefly. “...I left it at home”.

“What’s your name?”.

“Ace- William Ace Jager”.

Barrios tilted her head. “Jager?”. 

Across from them, Detective Dumont smiled at Allie and crouched down in front of her. She was still clinging onto her mother and she leaned in closer to her mother.

“Do you remember me, sweet girl?”.

She nods.

“Do you know this man?”, he pointed over at Ace.

Jimmy stepped forward, “no she doesn’t.”

“Sir”, the detective looked at Jimmy, his smile tense, “please let me do my job.”

Jimmy nodded, crossing his arms. 

The detective looked back at Allie, repeating his question.

Allie looked at her uncle and then back at the detective, she looked down at her doll as she answered. “He was the man who helped me the night my daddy was fighting with grandpa”.

All of the adults held their breath and looked over at Ace.

“He was?” Dumont looked back at Allie.

She nodded and looked at Ace.

“My uncle started hitting him and calling him names. But he’s not a bad guy”.

Jimmy cursed under his breath. 

Dumont stood up. “I have to talk with my partner”.

Barrios guided Ace down onto the sidewalk as Dumont walked to her. The two took a few steps away but Ace can hear them a little.

“He said his name is William Ace Jager. She mentioned an Ace coming to help her when we interviewed her and his last name isn’t common around here. I remember it from the DD5’s Braxton wrote up”.

“So the uncle was just overreacting. Ask Mr. Jager if he wants to press charges”.

Ace looked away from them as Mr. Wilson sat down on the pavement next to him. The old man placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned in to look at his face. “I’m sorry my boy attacked you like that”.

“Mr. Jager?”.

Ace looked up at Detective Barrios standing in front of him. He turned back to Mr. Wilson without thinking. Detective Barrios turned as well. Ace felt his heart skip a beat, panicked at what she might be thinking. “I’m fine. I just- want to tell the family I’m sorry”.

Barrios looked over at her partner with them.

“I don’t think right now is a good idea. The son just attacked you. Do you want to press charges?”.

Ace’s mouth fell open in shock. “..no”.

Her lips tightened, scanning his bruises again.  “Are you sure?”.

He looked down at his hands. “They're going through a lot right now. It’s fine”.

“Thank you Ace”.

He looked up at Mr. Wilson again but noticed Barrios watching him in the corner of his eye, her eyes flickering to what he knew was an empty spot next to him to her.

He stood up slowly. “I just need to sleep. That’s all. Tell them I’m sorry please”.

She helped him up. After she got his information, he was free to go. Then she joined the other detective and went to talk more to the family. Mr. Wilson stayed behind.

Ace washed the blood out his mouth in the sink and then splashed some water onto his face. He reached for the paper towels and rubbed his face gently. He stood still for a moment as the world spun again and placed a hand on the counter to steady himself.

“Thank you again Ace.”

Ace jumped and turned around to face Mr. Wilson.

Ace nodded. “Sure.” He turned the sink off.

Mr. Wilson watched him do it. “Jimmy has always been a bit hotheaded but he means well.” 

Ace sucked in a breath. “You can’t come around like that, sir.” He didn’t look up to see what expression Mr. Wilson had.  “I can see you. I can hear you. That detective was looking at me like I was crazy-“, his heart sped up,” no one can know. No one”.

Silence passed between them. 

“You said your dad would get upset-“.

Ace’s head snaps up. “He can’t know”.

The two men stare at each other. Ace’s eyes wide with fear, Mr. Wilson’s eyes with defeat. Mr. Wilson nods.

“Sure young man”.

Ace feels guilty but the idea of his father finding out- he clenches his fist reflexively.

Later that night after Ace is finished saying his nighttime prayers, his phone rings. Papa flashes across his phone screen. He can feel a sinking feeling in his stomach as he stares at the screen.

Did he find out?

Ace reaches for the phone but stops.

Will he send me back again? I don’t want to go back.

The phone stops ringing. He keeps staring at it. 

Will he send men for me like the men that came and got Maman?

He jumps up and reaches for the phone, his fingers scramble to open it. It begins to flash again. Papa lights up the screen.

“Hallo?”, he answers.

“You were in my office?”.

The world becomes distant. The controlled anger in his father’s tone is not good for him. It never has been.