In The Beginning

Jo Reagan hated that she couldn’t finish her schooling. She hated it even more that she couldn’t become a cop because of who her stepfather was.

Dmitri Arcadi.

Jo wanted to be a worker in the museum because she loved the arts and culture. She would spend hours at museums and art galleries.

When her stepfather found out she was majoring in Art History and Antiquities for her University courses, he was angry and told Jo it would be best for her mother she ‘Not Become Something Of Use To Him.’

And Jo didn’t want just any job.

She didn’t want to be flipping burgers or slinging fries.

With the training she had, Jo went to the police academy in Los Angeles.

But her application was denied once the enrollment officer realized who she was.

"No daughters of mob bosses, even if you are a stepdaughter, will not be a police officer here," the officer said as he ripped up her application right in front of her.

"You can't do that. And you're going to regret this," Jo stated as she turned and walked out of the academy.

Jo was upset with how the enrollment officer automatically assumed that she planned to be a spy for her stepfather and his boss.

But she was also angry and realized what she said to him and knew it was a bad idea to go back in without having an explanation to why she said what she did.

Jo was a little hungry, so she headed out to get something to eat.

She went to G&B Coffee shop and sat down at one of the outside tables.

She was finishing her meal when something incredible happened right in front of her.

An enormous man that could be mistaken for a tank was taken down by another man not much smaller than the tank.

The tank easily threw the man aside and tried to get up, but Jo did something the man didn’t expect.

She reached out and made some pressure move, and the larger man dropped to the ground again.

"Thanks," the smaller man said.

"It wasn’t much. Just something I learned to do when I was little. I got trained to defend myself. And I guess most of it stuck," Jo said.

"The name is Driscoll. Bounty Hunter," Driscoll said, introducing himself.

“Jo Reagan, career undecided because of who my stepfather is,” Jo retorted.

"Well if your stepfather influences what you do, maybe you should become a Hunter," Driscoll stated as he bent over to put handcuffs on the man sided tank.

"Thanks for the suggestion, Driscoll," Jo said starting to smile.

"No sweat, Commander. See you around sometime," Driscoll said as he pulled the man off the ground and walked away to a waiting vehicle. But not before stopping to give Jo a card to contact him.

"Commander Jo Reagan. I like that," Jo thought to herself as she thought about what her next move should be now that she had a plan in motion.

As she left the coffee shop, Jo saw Skye, Jade, and Inara heading in her direction.

"Hey, guys. Guess what? I know what I'm going to do for a career," Jo stated as they caught up to one another.

"What could you possibly become without being OF USE to your stepfather? I mean other than working in fast food which your father has no interest in, there is no other venue," Jade stated bluntly.

"Really? How does Bounty Hunter sound to you?" Jo asked.

"Sounds like something that could be OF USE to Dmitri. But then again. He may leave it to you to decide. I mean even cops hire Hunters if the Bounty is terrible enough," Inara said, trying to be optimistic for Jo.

"Is this something all of us can do? I mean we all have the same type of training. We could all work together," Skye stated hoping everyone agreed with her.

The four of them stood there looking at each other.

"Thank God you came up with that Skye because the boss that just hired me is a pig. I swear if he smacked me on the ass one more time, you would have needed to become a Hunter only to find me," Jade retorted.

"So how do we get started? I mean I don’t think they would give a bunch of girls a license to hunt bad guys. We haven't even done anything that would make people feel we know what we're doing," Inara stated.

Jo pulled out the card Driscoll handed to her before and said, "I think we'd be safe enough to ask this guy. After all, he is the one that suggested I become a Hunter."

Jade and Inara looked at each other. They knew what at Jo was like sometimes and would find different interests and not stick to them.

They also knew that their sister Blair would call Jo on it too.

"I don't know Jo. I mean you change your mind so many times on what you want to do, that some would think you are only doing this because of Janessa calling you a pampered princess when she found out where you lived," Inara said cautiously.

"Why would you think I would worry about what that bitch has to say about me? I don't care what Janessa says about me. You four know me better than that.," Jo stated.

"Fair enough. But you have to let us do the job too, Jo. Don't do everything yourself and expect us to not get into your face when you pull that in-dependency crap on us," Jade said flatly.

"And don't do everything because you think we can't handle it. We are just as capable as you at being Bounty Hunters too," Skye stated.

"Is there anything else I should know before we go ahead with becoming Hunters?" Jo asked the girls.

Jade, Inara, and Skye looked at each other, thinking if there is anything else.

"When we get this started, are we going to be hiring people? I know a few people that could benefit," Jade stated.

"Really? Like who?" Jo asked.

"Doc. I'm sure he would like to get out of being a doctor for the mob. And I do know a couple of other people that would want to be in law enforcement," Inara stated.

"How about we see what Driscoll has to say about us forming a bounty hunting business. He could have been just asking for me to join his Hunters," Jo said as she turned around and pulled out her phone to call Driscoll.

Jo was on the phone with Driscoll for a long time. The four girls sat at a table at the coffee shop as Jo and Driscoll talked about what they needed to become Hunters.

Jo had finally hung up the phone with Driscoll and turned to the girls who were sitting at her old table in the coffee shop.

"So? Would we have what it takes to be Hunters?" Skye asked.

"We do. But because of who my stepfather is, it might be a challenge to get the application approved. We have training in martial arts, but Driscoll suggested that we gain some experience first. He's willing to take us on as paid apprentices until he's sure we could make a go of it ourselves," Jo stated.

"What else? It sounds like there is something your not telling us about," Inara said.

Jo sighed and said, "Sorry, Skye. But there is an age restriction which may involve having to involve your parents for permission. Plus, there are a couple of courses we need to take for certification. So it means having to go back to school for these courses. Plus getting bonded and accreditation to work outside of California is required."

"Oh. Is that all?" Skye stated as she sat back in her chair pouting.

"The Government said that being a Bounty Hunter is dangerous enough to put an age restriction. So you'll have to wait until you turn eighteen," Jo told her.

"I'm at the top of my class and was school valedictorian for my graduation, and am just as fast and strong as you girls. I am determined to become the youngest Hunter in history," Skye stated smugly.

Skye remembered something and added, "Plus. Someone else could benefit from us creating a bounty hunting firm too. I'm sure Eric gets bored sitting in your basement."

"That's true enough. But there are two other people I need to run this career path. I mean, mom was excited when I got accepted into University. And a lot angry when Dmitri said I had to quit because of what I took," Jo said as she stood up to leave.

"You're not the only one. We have to talk to Blair first, then the parents. Too bad you couldn't ask your real dad about University. I'm sure he would prefer you getting into Art History and Antiques than becoming a Hunter," Jade stated as she and Inara walked to her car.

Skye stayed with Jo because of what Jade had said.

Skye hated it when Jade tried to make Jo fight with her about stuff she knew would piss Jo off.

It wasn't Jo's fault that her birth father wasn't around. She knew he lived in New York and was a good man, at least that's what her mother told her.

Even though he didn't have to, Jo's father spent the entire week with her mother. They had had sex the last four nights of her visit and didn't use a condom at all.

Jo was never curious about who her father was. But her friends were and berated Jo into finding out.

She looked him up herself once and found out that he was in law enforcement in New York. And even with her getting named after her father, she still had problems getting out of the shadow of Dmitri Arcadi.

"You know Jade. She's just trying to start a fight. She knows it bugs you when someone brings up your father," Skye said.

" I know. But it shouldn't be a sore subject. I know about my father, and that's enough for me. I know that I'd be better off out in New York. But my mom and family and friends are here. I feel like a pariah in some ways because I have a stepfather. At least that's how Jade makes me think," Jo said as she and Skye walked to her car.

They climbed in as Jo thought about going to New York again to find her father and let him know about her. Jo didn't know how to go about finding him once she was there.

Jo knew the Reagan family in New York were a small family, but she didn't want to go and find out that her father was a creep and used her mom.

And Jo didn't know if her father even knew about her. In some ways, she was curious to know if her Uncle and great grandfather told him yet.

Jo also knew that she wasn't named after her father as her mother said. She didn't tell her mother that she had met her namesake and he turned out to be her Uncle. And that her father got married and had kids of his own. She only found out when they were in New York for the operation on her eyes to get her sight back.

She heard over the PA that a Reagan needed to be at the maternity ward and Jo wanted to see if it could have been her father.

Jo still couldn't see properly because of the operation. Doc had forgotten a piece of equipment he needed back in LA, so she would have to wait to see correctly. But for that time, she had to deal with looking at everything like a Picasso painting.

Everything was pixelated like she saw lots of, but it looked like blocks, not proper shapes.

So when she met her Uncle, she didn't know what he looked like without the pixelation.

Jo dropped Skye off at her place before heading home herself. Jo knew Skye could be a lot stubborn and will talk her parents into letting her become a Hunter.

But for now, Jo was worried about the reaction of her mother and stepfather.

She didn't know if a Bounty Hunter would be something 'Of Use.' to him. But she was about to find out.

After parking her car in the garage, Jo made her way into the house. Of course, 'house' isn't the word Jo used to describe her home. Mansion was more like it. Or even a Hotel.

There were so many rooms in the house that Jo has said that all of her friends could move in, and there would still be room for more people.

Dmitri always wanted to make sure people would be comfortable when they visited his home, especially when they would have to stay the night.

Jo looked in the first sitting room to see if her mother was there, but she wasn't.

Jo finally had to yell out to find Caroline faster.

Even though Caroline had taken Dmitri's last name, Jo still insisted on calling her by her maiden name; Turner.

It's not that she hated Dmitri. She hated the other people in the Arcadi family, especially her step-siblings.

Because of Jo, the family never celebrated family gatherings at Dmitri's home again. They had other types of celebrations, and that was OK with Jo. The girls, Janessa and Annabelle, Dmitri’s daughters, stayed away from her when Jo got in one of her 'moods.'

At least, that's what the family insisted on happening.

"Mom? Where are you?" Jo called out.

Jo's mom appeared at the top of the stairs that lead to the master suite.

"So did you find something you will like for a career, Jo?" Caroline asked.

"I did. I'm not sure if it would be good enough for Dmitri. You know how he is when it comes to me and jobs. 'Don't be anything of use to me, Jo.' Of course I can't mock him properly because I can't sound Italian and Russian at the same time," Jo said as she walked to he mother.

"Well. Dmitri should be home soon enough. But I think you should run it past me too, after all. I am your mother and should have a say about your career," Caroline stated flatly.

"I'm planning on, mom. How would you feel about me becoming a Bounty Hunter? I know it's a dangerous line of work, but you do realize I could take care of myself. I mean, after all, you remember who trained me to fight," Jo said slyly.

Caroline looked away and rolled her eyes and couldn't help but smile.

"I have no problem with it, Jo. In some ways, Bounty Hunting is law enforcement. And that was what you wanted after you had to drop the path you originally wanted. Honestly, I would prefer you to go back to University and finish your Art History and Antiquities course," Caroline stated as she walked into her room.

Jo followed as Caroline screamed.

Jo was taken aback as she stopped walking when she got to the doorway of her mothers and Dmitri's room.

Jo hated seeing her mother so frustrated with the restrictions Dmitri seemed to put on Jo.

Caroline hoped that keeping Jo's birth name would help with some of the problems that Caroline faced. But because of the newspapers and paparazzi continually taking pictures of Jo doing her own thing, knew who her stepfather was.

And would state Jo as Dmitri's stepdaughter.

No matter how hard Jo worked on her own, she could not get out of Dmitri's shadow.

"I suppose you already talked with your friends about what you want to do?" Caroline asked.

"I did. Only because the girls were the first people, I ran into after I figured it out. I guess the profession chose me more or less," Jo told her.

"And I'm guessing those girls plan to follow your lead and become Hunters too," Caroline stated.

Jo thought out carefully about what she was going to say next. She knew her mother well enough that once Jo told her anything that Caroline would talk to the other mothers. And Caroline talking to her friend mothers never boded well for Jo.

"Mom. My friends are old enough to make decisions for themselves. And each of us trying to find a great career path has been hard because of who our parents are. Jade managed to find a job only to end up with a pig for a boss. If us becoming Hunters is what it takes to get us to where we need to be, then so be it, mother," Jo stressed as she hoped her mother finally understood.

"Alright. I understand, Jo. I know its difficult for you girls to get things without the influence of the names they bare. But Skye is not the same age as you, Jade, Blair, and Inara. Are you ready to stand up to Ray and Julie when Skye wants to be on your side?" Caroline asked lightly.

"Believe it or not, Skye is just as capable of being a Hunter as dad does. And you said I was more like him than you.  I'll worry about Skye when the time comes," Jo said as she turned to leave the bedroom.

Jo left the second floor and headed to Dmitri's office to see if he had finally made it home.

Dmitri was finally in his office when Jo peaked in. And it seemed like he was in a good mood. So Jo knocked on the door to let him know she was there.

"Come in," Dmitri answered without looking up.

Jo walked to the desk and stood there waiting for Dmitri to acknowledge that she was there.

"I hope you have some good news, Jo. Do you know what you want to do with your life?" Dmitri asked bluntly.

"I found something that you might like. But now as I stand here, I think it could be something of use to you, but at the same time, not really," Jo stated.

Dmitri looked at Jo, intrigued by what she said.

"Well. Let's hear all about your new career path," Dmitri said as he gestured for Jo to sit down.

But she remained standing.

"I had something happen in front of me today. A Bounty Hunter brought down a large man in front of me, and I gave him a hand keeping the bad guy down. He gave me his card suggesting I should be a Hunter," Jo said slowly.

Dmitri looked at Jo for a moment and asked with a slight upset look on his face, "What happened to you wanting to become a Police Officer?"

Jo looked down at the floor and shook her head.

"They wouldn't take my application because of you. The Sargent said no daughter of a mob boss would work here, not if I have anything to do about it. And then he tore up my application, and I told him he was going to regret that and walked out," Jo told him.

"I am very sorry, Jo. Maybe it would have been best to have left you out of the picture as your mother requested. More doors would have been open to you if we had," Dmitri said as he walked around the desk to Jo's side.

Jo shook her head and said, "No, Dmitri. That wouldn't have been fair to you. Or, you know, the rest of your family. I have no regrets about anything, and neither should you. I don't have to be a cop. But if I could be a Hunter, I would still be in law enforcement, especially if I could start up a firm of my own," Jo said.

Dmitri looked at her with one of surprise.

Then Dmitri gave a slight smile and said, "You have given much thought to this. Haven't you, Jo?"

"Yes, I have. And Driscoll, the Hunter I told you about made everything sound easy enough. He's even willing to let me apprentice with him to gain experience. And I've looked into the courses I'd need to take to qualify for here in Cali and the rest of the country when and if we expand farther than here," Jo told him.

"And I even found out that if I could get a Governor or a Senator to back us, we could become a cited Law Enforcement agency that could be allowed to expand to other States or even Countries," Jo added.

Dmitri didn't want to let her down by telling her not to become a Bounty Hunter. He knew that his Boss used Hunters to find people that they couldn't.

And the fact that Jo put so much effort into finding out what she needed made him wonder if she should work for him.

Jo wondered what Dmitri thought about her choice in a career because it took him so long to talk.

Then he finally spoke.

"Have you spoken to your mother about your career choice?" Dmitri asked as he walked back to his seat at the desk.

"Well. Mom thinks I'm overqualified for the job, as I am for a lot of other ones. But she seemed to be OK with the choice. Mind you being a Bosses stepdaughter can be just as dangerous. Mom doesn't know how because you haven't told her what happened. Otherwise, mom would have been all over you about me having to drop out of University," Jo stated.

Dmitri looked at Jo for a moment. Then he remembered why he was adamant about Jo not working for him. Or his friends.

"You are right about being overqualified. And as for your mother not knowing how dangerous you are, it is best to keep it between us," Dmitri stated as he turned away from her to look out the large picture window in his office.

"Jo. You must know that I did not want your training to go that far. I wanted you to be able to defend yourself in the event of another kidnapping attempt. If you need help when you start up your Hunting firm, please let me know. It's the least I could do for my part in your troubled life," Dmitri said as he turned back to look at Jo.

Jo was taken aback at what he said and wondered if he was sorry.

"Thank you, Dmitri. I appreciate that" Jo said.

After she spoke, Jo took that as her cue to leave Dmitri's office.

She knew he had no reason not to trust her, but when Jo made up a lot of what she said, Dmitri seemed to believe her and allowed for her to become a Bounty Hunter.

After all. Jo knew that it was only a matter of time before she would have to start working for Dmitri or even his Boss, Capetta.

And Jo knew that they used Hunters to find the men or women they couldn't get on their own.

She hoped that when he did find out about her lying, she would be miles from California.

Jo went to her room and decided to wait to hear from the other girls. She knew that Skye might not get a hold of her until the next day.

But Jade, Blair, and Inara may call before she thought about going to bed.

And she was right.

Jade called not long before she wanted to climb into bed.

When the call was over, Jade and Jo had decided that the five of them would meet in the morning.

 

Jo was the first one up the following morning.

But it was six a.m., and she wanted to get the meeting started.

But she knew that none of the other girls would be awake yet. Skye might be though, but she wouldn't be sure until Skye either showed up at her place or called to let Jo she was awake.

Jo recognized Skye's knock at her bedroom door a couple of minutes after she got dressed.

"Come in," Jo answered.

Skye opened the door and walked into the room.

She closed the door behind her when she walked into the room.

"I spoke to my parents. They seem to be OK with me becoming a Hunter for now. But they may change their minds when they realize how dangerous it can be being a Hunter," Skye said as she walked over to the bed and sat down.

Jo turned to her and said, "Well. Let's get moving on this plan then. We are all meeting this morning to plan our next move."

Jo noticed that Skye looked distraught.

"Are you OK, Skye?" Jo asked.

"I don't know. I just found out that my parents don't care about what I do," Skye said sadly.

"What?" Jo growled.

"I don't understand. How could your parents be like that? Parents are supposed to protect their children," Jo snarled, wanting to give Paul and Janice each a punch to the head.

"Jo. They aren't my parents. I found out they took Eric and me in when our birth mother died. They said we were just supposed to stay until our father realized he should be our parent, not them," Skye told Jo.

"Really? Who is your father?" Jo said not thinking that she could look like anyone else, other than Janice.

"Believe it or not, it's Manix Tanner. Did you know that he and Janice are brother and sister? I mean, I never thought that Manix had a family other than Jaxon, his twin brother," Skye rambled out.

Jo wondered why Manix kept this from the girls. And possibly what else he could be keeping from her.

Jo thought about it for a minute.

She thought about all the times Manix did show up to visit and spent most of his time with Eric and Skye.

"That does make sense. I mean, you picked up on a lot of the training better than the others. Manix being your father could be to your advantage," Jo stated.

"How? Jade still thinks of me as a little girl. It's not my fault that I'm the youngest of us," Skye stated as she sat down on Jo's bed.

"Don't worry about Jade, Skye. She's jealous because you have learned faster than she did. Plus, I'm the only one that knows about what you just told me," Jo said.

"I prefer it that way. I know you won't tell anyone. But I wonder what Jade will say once she finds out.  I mean, she's already mean enough to me about being the youngest of the group. It's not my fault that I wasn't born in the same years as the four of you. And like you said, I've proven myself enough to hang out with you," Skye said.

"Plus you're missing a crucial point, Skye," Jo stated.

"And what's that?" Skye asked.

Jo looked at Skye wondering how she could forget that she was Jo's first friend of the mob kids.

"I can't believe you forgot. You were my first friend from the mob kids. You came up to me and asked me about my accident when I lost my sight. And you've been hanging around me since then," Jo told her.

"Jo! I could barely talk. How did you get me asking about your accident out of whatever I babbled?" Skye asked, looking at Jo like she was crazy.

 Jo gave a little giggle.

"Skye. You have always been a girl of very few words. Plus I felt one of your hands touch my eyes, and you said, 'owie.' Since then you always wanted me around. Janice said you would ask for me by name and would be upset when you couldn't see me," Jo told her as she remembered the feel of the gauze patches on her eyes.

Then Jo added, "I think everyone still wonders why you wanted to be around me so much. It's not like I could protect you yet or anything. Dmitri even thinks you excelled in school because you wanted to be near me."

Skye gave a little chuckle and rolled her eyes.

"I guess the point I'm getting at, Skye, is you complete our group dynamics. And even Jade would have to admit that if you weren't around, she would miss you," Jo stated.

An alarm went off on Jo's cell phone.

Jo looked at the screen to see what the notification said.

It was a message from Inara letting Jo know that the three girls were finally awake and ready to go.

"It's Inara letting me know they're awake. We should head out to get there before we end up being late according to Jades' clock," Jo said as she walked to her closet and grabbed a light sweater.

Jo walked past Skye, and she turned around to follow Jo out the door to her room.

"I hate Jades' clock. I wish Jade would go by yours instead. I'd prefer it that way," Skye said as she followed Jo to her car.

"How come you won't drive anymore Skye?"Jo asked as they climbed into her Camero.

"Well. Since I'm not officially Janice and Paul's daughter, they decided I need to work to get things for myself. So they gave me Manix's old clunky car that needs work since he left it here ten years ago. And because no one's driven it since then, it requires a lot of repairs to get it road worthy again," Skye told Jo.

"Damn it. That's not right, Skye. I wonder what Manix will do when he finds out you know about him being your father and what he will do to Janice and Paul for pretty much tossing you on our ass," Jo said as she headed downtown.

"They haven't kicked me out yet, Jo. I don't think they will though. And if I'm wrong, we need to find out how to get a hold of my dad," Skye said.

"I'll see if Dmitri has a way to contact him at all. I'll also as if you can stay with us. I don't want you to leave if that's what will happen. I mean, what if Manix sends you to live with your Uncle Jaxon since your aunt does not want to take responsibility for you anymore. I don't want you to move to Miami. I'd never see you again unless I flew there on my own," Jo said sadly.

"Thanks, Jo. You've been an awesome friend," Skye said with a smile.

"Friend? We're not friends," Jo stated.

"What? But I thought" Skye trailed off with a look of betrayal across her face.

"We're sisters. We may not be blood. But you're the closest thing I have to a sister than any of you girls. I mean Jade, Blair, and Inara are great friends to have. But none of them can come any closer than being a sister than you," Jo said as she pulled her car up in front of the coffee shop.

"Do I need to remind you it took a couple of years before Blair started hanging out with me. I still remember her saying that she would enjoy having a not blind friend," Jo added with a giggle.

"And a couple more for Jade and Inara. I think they were jealous of all the time you were spending with Blair. I mean, after all. She is their sister," Skye added before Jo could continue.

They both started giggling as they climbed out of the car, and walked into the coffee shop.

Jade, Blair, and Inara weren't there yet. So Jo and Skye ordered something while they waited.

Jo and Skye just sat down at the girls' usual table when Jade, Blair, and Inara walked into the shop.

They went and ordered their food before joining Jo and Skye.

"So what did your mom say, Jo? Is there going to be an issue for us becoming Hunters?" Jade asked as she took her seat across from Jo.

"Not at all. I expected to have an issue with Dmitri, but then he remembered stuff and said to go ahead with our plans. I want this to run smoothly, so make sure that everything is in order before we get too far," Jo said as she reached for her drink.

"How about you, Skye? Will we have any issues with your parents? We should make sure about the age requirements for her to be part of this," Inara said before Jade could say anything to Skye.

"I can be a secretary. I don't have to go out on calls. I could take the calls for the Bounties and get the required info needed," Skye said, wanting to make sure they didn't know what happened.

Jo looked at how Jade

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Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 07.10.2020
ISBN: 978-3-7487-5991-1

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