The Littlest Mercer
A/N: I decided to write another one which didn't deal with a girl for once, so this my first brother fic. Enjoy! R&R.
Prolouge
"I'm sorry Ms. Arpole however it's not going to work out" Mr. Langhiem apologized, groping a cup of coffee. Mr. Langhiem was a tall, sweet heart and his wife was a pretty little thing. Both of them had wanted a child before they had one of their own. They wanted to give a good kid a good life. And I gave them the best kid. A great canidate who was now sitting in the living room with his things being kicked out. Elliot Stevens. He was what everyone wanted in a kid but somehow he could not keep a home.
"Why not? Is it because he has a weak immune system, or was it something he did" I was pleading. I wanted to give Elliot a good home because, out of the worst cases of children I 'd seen he had the highest drop out rate. Every home he appeared in would soon kick him out or abandon him and, by the looks of Mr. Langhiem it looked like Elliot had held them at knife point. He looked completely shaken up and wasn't meeting my glance.
"No, no. He's a great boy--"
"Then why put him back in the system? Why would do that to a great boy? Please Mr. Langhiem, if there is nothing wrong with Elliot give him a chance." I was trying to reason with him though he shook his dusty brown hair firmly almost dropping his glasses. Anger was starting to become apparant in me which wasn't good. But hell I was mad, and supposedly that wasn't good in the angecy. But someone need to get into these foster parents about just giving up on a child. It did damage. This man and his wife acted like they loved Elliot and now want to get rid of him.
"We can't, we're not ready for a child. We would not want to hold Elliot away from better familes..." Complete BS. This had been the best family for Elliot. Picture perfect. The whole idea of holding him back had me off the wall. So I told Mr. Langheim politely if he change his mind, he knew where to reach me. Then I went to Elliot who was sitting there with a fever. He looked like hell but it's been that way since I had gotten him. Elliot would get better however it would just lead him to get worse. Kneeling beside, I placed my hand to the side of his face. His face was burning up. I hope this wouldn't lead to another late night hospital trip. "We're leaving" He coughed, recoiling to the cold touch of my fingers.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's not your fault Elliot, this is never your fault". The coat he had fit perfectly and I wrapped my own scarf around him tightly. If he got sicker I don't think he would make it this time. He was tinier then most his age but he was not weak. Elliot always could keep up which was his problem. Trying would put him a hospital bed for days and me explaining he couldn't do like the other kids. It broke my heart to see him this way, being moved around. "I'll put his things in the car" Mr. Langheim said, putting a coat over his pjs.
I allowed him that as I picked up Elliot who held onto me as he went into a coughing fit. My hand rubbed his back firmly trying to loosen the phelm in his chest. My car was parked in the driveway as we exited the house so I had to cross a snow bank. Opening the door I slid Elliot into backseat where I started to do his seat belt, "I can do it, look" Elliot voice was raspy as he buckled himself in. He smiled confidently from under his wooly cap and I smiled back with my heart breaking for him. As I went to close the door Mr. Langhiem stopped me holding something out for Elliot.
"I'm very sorry about this Elliot, but I got you something to remember us by". Elliot glanced at Mr. Langhiem gratefully taking the basketball. It was the Elliot's favorite game which attributed to him having mostly anything to do with the sport. It was a nice gift but I still disliked the Langhiem's. I sighed glancing around at the matching dirveways and houses covered in snow when I saw something in the Langhiem's upper window. Mrs. Langhiem. She had hand over her mouth as if she was choking down sorrow. "Thank you, and thank you for letting me eat candy in bed that one time" Elliot said hoarsely. This kid could break your heart even when he was being sweet. Mr. Langhiem simply nodded unable to speak for he was probably feeling real bad.
Not caring if he was hurt I got into the car turning back to face Elliot, "Alright, so what will be listening to today, Master Stevens?" I asked, in a bad British accent. I pulled the car out the driveway hearing Elliot shuffle through his bookbag. "I like this one..." Elliot coughed. The cd graised my arm so I grabbed it manuvering with my left hand. It was a rock mix tape. I eyed this suspiciously feeling like the Langhiem's were more into pop than anything.
"Mr. and Mrs. Langhiem bought you this?" I asked turning at the green. All my favorite songs were on here but for a kid Elliot's age it was a bit much. However, I obliged him slipping it into the car system.
"No, my dad did".
I brought the car to an abrupt halt not caring if I was stopping traffic. Undoing my seat belt I turned in my seat towards Elliot keeping a calm face. "When did you see him Elliot?". That man was trouble if I ever saw it. He had been convicted for murder one when Elliot was born. So his wife had fled leaving Elliot to the state since no one was dumb enough to take a murderer's son. I was assigned Elliot's folder when he was three. See the first couple whoever adopted him disappeared and, suddenly it was bad luck for Elliot ever since.
"He came over for dinner, and bought me alot of things" Elliot coughed, pushing up his hat to peer at me. I froze gripping the steer like it was my life. I would have to call the agency, and then relocate with Elliot.
BAM!
I jumped as some irate driver knocking at the window, "Get a move on lady". With my heart in my throat I put my foot to the gas pedal shakily. If Elliot's father was making house calls then there was alot to be worried about.
The agency had given me the green light to relocate Elliot somewhere I wasn't familiar with. My superiors told me to go Detriot, Michigan. Along with that to change Elliot's last name and files to protect him. He was now in a foster home as I worked late night trying to get someone who would take in a murderer's boy. Supposedly, no one was good enough or underqualified. On the second week of relocating I got a knock at my office door. Since I wasn't getting much sleep at home I slept in the office.
"Come in" I muttered groggily. As the door opened I wiped sleep from my eyes and drool from my lips. The secretary showed in a older woman holding a manilla folder in her hand.
"Thompson wants you to go over White's folder" The secretary instructed. I glanced at the older woman then to the secretary, "White's folder? Is she serious?"
"Take it up with her but, she wants you to review it with Ms. Mercer". I couldn't believe this! This older woman looked no match for a sick kid with a dangerous father lurking in the shadows. But I couldn't say no to my boss so I stood up, "Fine.Ms. Mercer have a seat. I'm Jessica Arpole, Elliot White's social worker. Can I get you anything?"
"No, its fine. So you are Lisa's best, you take all the hard cases" Ms. Mercer said grinning, "So young". I nodded at the secretary to leave and sat down laughing, I was short and athletic leaving me to some pretty funny descriptions. I wasn't that old but me being young was a way for Ms. Mecer trying to butter me up.
"Don't let the overdose of makeup fool you" I joked, and Ms. Mercer laughed. "So Ms. Mercer, your interested in Elliot White's case. I'm sorry if I sound rude, but I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation". I didn't want this lady to get in the way of a dangerous father and his son. Everyone was already on their toes trying to find this man, but it was harder than anything.
"Don't let me fool you Ms. Arpole, I have taken in alot of bad cases in my day. I am the one foster care comes to when the children have no where else to go." She was speaking to me seriously and I believed her, when I first got here I heard alot about Ms. Mercer but she was supposedly not adopting anymore. It was hard to take in so many kids without being effected a bit. A toll had been taken on her soul. She had done what she could for the community, a legend.
"Again I don't mean to sound rude but you've been MIA for a few years Ms. Mercer. Are you sure you can do this again? Elliot isn't bad but he has a weak system, he's liable to get real sick sometimes. Lots of hospital visits, doctor's offices, and medications-" I tried to keep going however she cut me off keeping her cool. A cool lady like her couldn't get ruffled by a social worker trying to do her job.
"Ms. Arpole, I'm not asking you to sign him over to me at once. We will keep inside regulations and, you'll be able to make sure he is safe with me. Just give me a chance with him". I could see she was really keen on having her shot with Elliot. So I obliged her, as long as I remained close to them always to insure safety. Ms. Mercer left my office that day with papers allowing her to see Elliot so they could get aquainted. I drooped my head slightly when there was another knock at my door, "She's going to care real good care of him. Matter of fact, here is a file of the four she actually adopted".
Thompson dropped four manilla folders on my desk, "Go over them and see if they change your mind". Lisa Thompson was giving me an order within an order. She ordered me to give Elliot's file to Ms. Mercer and ordered me to review these files to ease the pain. The manipulation was why she was the boss. She stood taller than me at 5' 11 with a pinned up mahongany tresses and a professional look. All about the work she was, and so was I. I nodded so she'd stop peering down at me with those hard green eyes. As I opened one of the folders she left closing my door behind her.
The first one was Robert Alexander Wilkes now Robert Mercer. The oldest. A thicker folder than the rest.
After taking a shower I was going out for drinks on getting Elliot a home . The phone had rung so I quickly got the phone on my way out. "Hello?" I answered it.
"Hello Jessica, it is me Lisa. I uh, I'm sorry to call you this late..." Her voice sounded heavy.
"No problem, is there something wrong with Elliot's papers?" I asked, knowing I had done them perfect. But I always made errors in some of my filling in.
"No, they were good. But it's Evelyn Mercer," She sounded real cut up now. I suddenly knew what this call was for and I didn't like it. Hanging up rang in my head but I didn't. "She's dead".
"How? Was it Derrick? Did he find her?" I asked rapidly. Elliot's father had struck again, and it was on my hands. This kind elderly woman's blood was on my hands. The phone was shaking against my ear as I waited for Lisa's response.
"No, they say it was a robbery gone wrong" Lisa sniffled. I dropped onto a stool next to the counter outside the kitchen. Pain gripped my heart as I felt bad for I spent the last few days with Evelyn. I felt bad for asking about Elliot at this moment but I needed to tell him his situation.
"What about Elliot?" I whispered, unable to speak. "Since she was legally Elliot's guardian, we can try her family."
I shook my head against the phone. There was too much grief in their hearts to even care about Elliot at this moment. "Yeah, um, I'll see if I can contact any of them tommorow. I'll see you tommorow Lisa". Her goodbye was soft as I hung up the phone and put a hand to my head. Then I slammed my hand onto the tiled counter leaving my bloody mark on the tiles.
I never tried the Mercers since one was to young, two were missing in action, and the last one already had two kids of his own. So I gave Elliot to the next couple who were Mr. and Mrs. Shaltre. Good people. They ended up being Elliot's first bad parents. One night I checked up on Elliot and took him for a review. In bright diner's lights I saw a purple and green bruise on the side of his neck.
"I fell" Elliot responded with his eyes on the food he had before him.
"How did you fall?" I brushed the curls in his face back, his forehead was warm. I wanted him to tell me those bastards had put their hands on them. "Elliot when people hit you it's not a good thing. We can take you away from them."
"I was sick, so I threw up. I tried to clean it, I did. But it made me throw up again, so he grabbed me on my neck." I touched Elliot's face softly turning his head to the left side seeing it was even worst on that side. "It doesn't hurt, honest".
"Where was Mrs. Shaltre honey, where was Nancy?" I asked him hurriedly. She didn't seem like the type to simply let anyone harm a child. But I could be wrong since I was wrong about Mr. Shaltre.
"He hit her. I don't like it there, can we leave again?" He said softly. The way he kept his eyes down while messing with his food broke my heart. "Of course hon, we're going to get you things right now and you can stay with me. Come on".
I got out of the booth and he took my hand as I led him out to the car. He was finally making progress in getting better and he gets hit. I was angry beyond then seeing red. We left the diner immediately going to the Shaltre's home. When we got there people were surrounding the house and there was cops on the lawn. I pulled into the driveway as an officer approached the vehicle.
"Are you miss Ms. Arpole?" The officer asked. I nodded, "Could you step out of the car miss? Your under arrest for the possible murder of Mr. and Mrs. Shaltre."
I was pulled out the car and turned against the hood. "Are you serious!" I yelled. I turned around reaching into my pocket hearing a bunch of guns being pulled out of their holsters. "Stand down, I'm an officer. If you'll let me get my badge".
"Proceed" The officer said, still pointing his gun at me. I went into my overcoat pocket flipping open my badge, "FBI, and Detective Arpole to you punks. Now, if you would like to tell me what happened?" I asked, putting my badge away. The officer who had pushed me down was awestruck and I pulled him away from the car. I turned back to Elliot who had his face against the glass. "Sit down hon, and put your hat back on you'll catch a cold".
"We got a call from the neighbors about some screaming, seems like Mr. Shaltre was beating his wife pretty bad. So she steps out side and bam, falls down dead. Mr. Shaltre runs to her and gets one to his temple. A neat job, no ones knows who did it and no one knows why?" The officer said. I glanced around slowly wondering if the shooter was still in the vicnity. How the hell did he find Elliot so fast was my question.
"I'm calling in my boys, they'll want to question everyone. But now I got to get the boy safe." I went back to the car feeling not so anxious as the first time. Getting into the car I pulled out of the parking spot, "Elliot, I'm going to take you to my house and get you tucked in, okay?"
"We going far away again?" Elliot asked.
"We'll see tommorow, but I'm sure we'll stay right here".
"I say dangle the kid, we can't let this Stevens get any further than he's gotten. And this family could be the perfect thing, it isn't like these four are model citizens either". These guys were my superiors; Davis and Fisure. It was Eric Fisure speaking of the Mercers' and using them to capture Elliot's father. I sat back watching these guys who were not even thinking about the little boy involved. Eric was supposed to be doing intel only, but he had taken a look into the Mercers' background showing everyone we weren't putting anyone special in danger. "They have a record, they're perfect. We just got to keep them dumb about the kid".
"He's right, Jessica. If anything goes down they'll be able to take good care of Elliot." Davis agreed with a little more compassion. I looked at Davis who was a lot more sensible and smarter than Fisure, who just wanted anyone shot and put down. Eric slammed these guys records in front of me with his ugly veined arms pulsating. "Their worms, and what do you care Arpole. All you gotta do is watch the kid".
I glared at Fisure who smirked with his sharp little shark teeth and folded his veiny arms in front of his chest. "Your right which is why I don't think sticking Elliot in a house with possible murderers is going to work" I snapped, standing. Anthony Davis glanced up at me with his clear blue eyes seeing my intent to jump Fisure because he moved between us.
"Jessica, we're dangling Elliot. Stand down, and make sure no one gets too close especially Stevens" Davis ordered me. I hated when he used that 'stand down crap' as if I didn't have an opinion. But I shut my mouth turning towards the door, "Fine, but if I get even a sense Stevens is going to strike. I'm going in backup or not". I walked past several other agents until I got to the door and slammed it behind me. Their whole setup was not far from the Mercer resident where a Robert Mercer still resided. I was due however at the other Mercer household owned by a Jeremiah Mercer to go over Elliot's residence.
The other two were stationary too, Angel Mercer was living in an apartment several miles into the city and Jack Mercer was comatose in St. Mary's Hospital. After losing their mother and almost losing their little brother I didn't want to dangle these guys. I wanted nothing to do with them and just wanted to take Elliot away but I had my orders. We were trying to catch the bad guy, all those lost were just numbers.