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Of Kings and Pawns (IC)

"You need to talk to him. Need to tell him he doesn't need to worry as much." She sniffled, "It's the only way he'll soak it up. I don't think he's very good at... Just... 'Seeing' these things, you know? General emotions, sure, but, I guess he's quite an introvert in a lot of ways. He's just pretty good at hiding it?" She shrugged. "I just... Hate seeing all this happen between us. It's awful. Right now, the only people we're going to have is each other, and it's not going to end well if we start falling out and splitting up. We're running out of people who have their eyes on the bigger picture now, T. Look at Tony. I don't even think his main goal is Al-Asheera anymore. I don't think it ever was." She sniffled and wiped her eyes again, and when Thalia was down there with her, sat with her and doing her best to talk her out of her emotional state, it went without saying that it was very much appreciated.


"I wish I could put into words how much your friendship alone means to me. That's not taking into account everything else you've done." She sniffled. "You've done so much - Over the last few years I ran into a lot of people, a lot of people who were probably like you in a lot of ways, people I could have been friends with. Difference is, though, you came back." She said, and finally, she cracked a tiny smile, albeit a sad one. "You came back for a barely-pulling-through-looking girl and her kid brother, all because there was... Something about us that stuck in your head, that got to you. Whether it was because I was too feisty to forget, or Joseph had too much of a sweet-looking face... Whatever it was. You came back. And that means something." She sniffled. "It's something that I never forgot about you - how you risked your life to come back for us, just to give me thirty dollars and a cheap cell phone." She said, and this time, she finally managed a little laugh. Humor could be found in the strangest of places.


"Your family won't catch you doing anything like that, T. Not anymore. You made promises, remember?" She said. "You promised you'd keep your cool as much as you could, and so far, you've done a pretty good job of that. You don't need to worry." She said, doing her best to assure her things would be different, that things would be okay despite the circumstances. "James has done a pretty solid job of shielding Joseph from all of this - today was the only day when he really saw anything even somewhat related, and even that wasn't too bad. Sure... He heard a lot more than he should have, heard about Al-Asheera, heard about how Tony killed that guy, but..." She sighed. "He's okay. He's stayed protected from it all aside from today - You know that me and James will help keep Charlie away from it all. I mean, without sounding too shitty about it..." She paused and wiped her eyes. ".. Chances are he's already asking a lot of questions. Just like I've said to you before, kids have their own little way of understanding things. I'm sure he's already got some idea that something's not right, but, that's nothing to be afraid of. Kids are... Curious little creatures." She gave off half a smirk. 


When Thalia spoke of Karin's cries being the ones that hurt her most, Karin had to laugh but also give a gentle smile. "God..." She said - Sure, the laugh still had that tinge of sadness to it, but even so, she shook her head. "You're going to end up making me feel bad." She said, and finally, all because she couldn't resist, she reached out and pulled Thalia into a hug. This time more than just an average friendly one. This time, it was a meaningful one, one that Karin felt they both needed. She was glad she had the chance to do this now, because she wasn't sure when she was next going to have the chance to do so without someone raising their eyebrows. 'Someone' being Tony - she was still ticked off over all his threats and accusations, but, it was clear she was more upset by them than angered by now. Would he really have Joseph taken away? Would he even try it? He could always call on an investigation and, providing they did okay, all would come up clear. But what if it didn't?


She doubted Tony would try it after he received a beat-down. Did James really hate him that much? Truthfully, at first, no he didn't. Now it was a bit of a different story - the recklessness could only bring them bad news unless he could do something about it; it was possible that he could fix the situation they had here, but it was going to have to be done quickly, and it involved a whole number of boring jobs such as breaking into the national criminal record database. For now, though, he didn't know that Frank was in the shit. He'd find out soon enough, though.


"I wish things were going smoother, and as much as I wish you could keep tabs on everyone, even if you were gone... I can't agree with it. If we're not all here, something's going to go wrong somewhere, and I wouldn't want you or anyone else here to get hurt - Your family, too? I... I think they'd be happier in a place like this. Especially your brother - two other kids to play with, after all. He wouldn't be swamped by adults. That sorta' scenario can get stressful when you're a kid." She said. "And they'd have a house full of people that know LA. It'll be nice for them, nice for all of us once things settle down, okay?" She said. 


She just wanted Thalia to believe that things would be alright, that things could improve from here on out. If Thalia would start to believe it, then she would, too. 


"We're going to finish this fight exactly the way we started - strong. We're not going to let anyone bring us down. We've got each other's backs, and as long as we have that for the whole time this shit's going on, I think we'll be okay." She said, simply, now a little more confident in her own words. "I trust you, Thalia, but it'd pain me too much to see you go now. One day when this is all over with, yes, us moving on but keeping contact is inevitable, but right now, with how messed up some shit is... I'd be scared knowing you were out of the house for a mere couple of hours, let alone anything more than that." She said. 


"Things are gonna' be fine. You've thanked me a lot, Thalia, but... I have to thank you, too. For everything." She said, the tightness of her hug increasing just a little bit. A strange thought crossed her mind - one that made her smile. "I can't wait to meet your mom." She said, laughing yet again. She wanted to see the motherly figure of the redhead. She wanted to see if the two were cuts from different cloth, or if they were basically a mirror of each other. Meeting her family would definitely be interesting. She sat there quietly for a moment, just hugging her friend close. It meant so much to have someone else there, someone she could turn to that wouldn't be all business.


"You're the best friend I've ever had, Thalia." She whispered to her. "I mean that." 
 
Perhaps some reassuring words would help James ease up about her behavior. As well as maybe a connection through their own paranoid tendencies. Nothing too revealing, but it was a must if he and Thalia were to get through this. "I'll talk to him when we're.... done here, to say the least," she answered. "He needs to hear it from me that I can watch over myself and that he has nothing to worry about. I mean, it may not help all that much, but well enough. But yeah, we're falling apart. Fast. Seems like some people are making it their goal in life to make enemies... and by some, I mean Tony. Why do I feel like his only goal in all of this is to put me in handcuffs? What's up with his obsession over me?" She shrugged. "But if one thing's for sure? If everyone turns their back on you, I won't. You can be 100% sure I won't. I'm always going to be on your side. Making sure you're okay." Because she had four priorities at this point: Karin, her mother, Charlie, and Jenny. Karin, for her own reason, had a special meaning in her heart, simply for that day she came back. It still didn't make sense in her head: why did she risk being turned in or caught, or a victim to a sting operation. She could've been killed in prison if Ra's found out she was caught. But Thalia wanted to take that risk. What was her motivation? Joseph acting as a reflection of her brother? The fire in Karin's eyes when she got up in her face in that feisty manner? The mini crush she had on the edgy waitress in the moment of a live robbery? It could've been any of those. But Karin deeply appreciated it and never forgot it. In all honesty, neither did Thalia. It was a moment that brought them both together, and one that kept them together with the phone number she saved on Karin's flip phone. Without that... they'd never get a chance to unite like this. Become as close of friends as they were, hugging each other for dear life and holding each other close, physically and emotionally.


"Just so you know... it was 130 bucks," Thalia smirked, trying to humor the situation by correcting the number. "And my phone number." She winked at that one. "Weird way to get my number. Even CREEPIER if it were a hook-up. But I can't wait till we tell our kids and brothers how we met, right?" Thalia and Karin needed to be humored in their time of sorrow. It was so warming and perfect for the former, but it would be so much better if they were smiling and laughing about their lives.


Promises... Thalia only realized then and there that she'd kept her promise about keeping her cool. That was a great sign that she'd be a great big sister, and even the talk of how kids think put a smile on her face even more. "I have so much hope in myself mainly because you believed in me, Kar. No one really... well, has before. After being made fun of in school and being under pressure from my mom and dad and all... Nobody really has had this much faith in me. And that's something I can't even explain to you. You give me hope that I'll be a better person, a great big sister to Charlie... maybe even a good person in the world. That's... incredible. Maybe lame to anyone else, but not to me. I love that."


Karin's smile meant so much more to Thalia than she could express. "Dawww, you don't have to feel bad for me. Isn't that what friends are for?" The hug only doubled it all down for her, sealed the deal that they were going to stand by each other through this ordeal. Nothing felt more warming than her touch, her smile, and the fact that the pain was easing, slowly but surely. She didn't even care who would walk in. Wouldn't care if Jenny peeks out of the bathroom or if Tony barges in and sees them in a more-or-less emotionally-charged embrace. The latter would surely come up with his own theories about them, that they could possibly be in bed together for real. Thalia didn't care what rumors he created. She knew what she was to Karin, and she appreciated and respected her bond with Karin too much to throw it away over love. If it ended badly, she knew they'd never come back from it. Their friendship was something beautiful enough as it is, and she enjoyed every stage of it. Especially now. And Jenny? She might think Thalia turned her down for Karin, but again, it didn't matter all that much. Karin was a friend - her best friend - and nothing more. And she loved things as the way they were. When Karin dove in with such a warming energy, Thalia mirrored it with a few gentle rubs across her arms and back.


"I'm not going anywhere, Karin..." She whispered. "I promise you that. I will not leave you. I might've said I would, but... how am I going to leave you? I can't be sure you're safe if I'm sleeping in a hotel. I'll take too long to get here and come to your rescue. And my mom and Charlie? I think they'd be better off in a more comfortable place like this. Maybe you could give us all the grand tour of LA. You are the expert, am I right?" She giggled, poking Karin's face in a playful attempt to cheer her up. "You still have to show me around a bit. We had our girls' day in. What happened to us going out? The opposite... but no extreme shit with the booze. That ended terribly." It was a fun story to look back on, at how stupid they were at the time. Something they'd laugh more about later. "Even if we do... not see each other much? I'd really hate that. Maybe we could see each other frequently? I'd really like that. I don't want to lose you... that's all. I'm afraid of losing my best friend after all of this time. I hope you get that..."


A fear she felt well justified. She'd never been this close to anyone in her life. At least not intimately. As for someone she wasn't sleeping with, Karin was the closest she's ever had. She was never going to leave her. Not for anything. Karin was thanking her, but for what? Thalia only felt like she was doing everything wrong to Karin. She was once a waitress in a calm diner... now running for her life and hiding from the law because she associated with a criminal, even harboring one. She and Joseph didn't deserve this. But the friendship fostered behind it? Both were more than happy with this. Hopefully one day, Karin and Thalia could have that friendship they so desperately craved. All the fun moments they had planned out. Then.... Karin's plan to meet her mom. Thalia exploded in laughter, her head being thrown back at the thought. Eventually, she gave Karin a gentle slap and caught her breath to speak. "Oh god, Kar.... I haven't seen my mom in years, but they say that I'm a mini version of her. Red hair, green eyes, ridiculously pale skin, the whole nine yards. She's just a goodie-two-shoes in comparison to me." She winked to Karin, then threw her arms back around her neck and over her shoulders. "I bet you'll love to see the comparison. You'll get a kick out of the grade school teacher mom and thief daughter. I still don't even know how to explain that..."


The silence between the two was peaceful. The hug never got old and it felt like Thalia didn't want to part from it. Why would she? Karin was cheering up now with that promise to stick around. And Thalia was having a blast with the alone time. The whisper... the best friend she's ever had. Did Karin not have anyone as close to her as the thief who robbed her of a cheap phone and thirty bucks? It was weird... but Thalia felt the same way. No one was ever as close as her in such a way. She wasn't going to leave it unanswered. She left a quick kiss to her cheek, then nuzzled her head side by side with Karin's. "You're the best friend I've ever had too... I mean, not like I had many before. But I wouldn't change a thing about us."


Of course, Jenny overheard the good majority of the conversation. Once she finished tending to her wound, she peeked out the door of the bathroom and just watched the two in their embrace in their little corner of the world. Thalia looked so happy with Karin. Is that why she stood her up? Did she love Karin? She wouldn't jump to the conclusion, but she could tell when Thalia was falling head over heels. Was she?


At least Thalia didn't think so.
 
"30 bucks. 130 bucks. What difference does it make now?" She laughed. "And... I think the best thing I got that day was your phone number. Look how far a simple thing like that got us." She smiled. "Let's not forget the excuse I made to get away from any drama to do with the texts we had. Fucking... What was it I said? Head of Customer Support, or something? Booking you in for some sort of cryptic meeting in my 'office' that actually turned out to be a bar?" She laughed again, then reached up and wiped her eyes. "Sure, we may not have been out on LA yet, but, think of all the fun we've had." She grinned. "Already we've got so many memories. Is there really all that much more we could ask for considering we've only known each other for a few days?" She asked, the smile now much happier and much warmer.


Thalia meant too much to her to just let her down. They all meant a lot to her, bar Tony. Tony would have had the chance of being someone to her, but, the moment he brought in Joseph, though, she'd died to him. Things could have changed if he hadn't behaved in such a careless way, but now, that wasn't the main concern. The main thing here was the bond that the two of them had - Karin and Thalia, of course.


"You know I'm always going to big you up." She nudged her, and smiled of course. "You're gonna' be a great sister. Obviously, things are gonna' be a little... I guess unconventional is a good word, because you guys have never met before. I remember telling you - just take it easy, play it cool, don't try too hard. You guys will get on just fine, I assure you." She said. She didn't really know what it was like to have a nervous feeling about meeting her brother, but, she knew some form of nervousness around her brother, but that was only back when it came to the point where she realized she'd have to take care of him. She was only nervous about that, so, the two of them couldn't directly relate on that front.


One thing they could relate on, though, was how much they cared for their younger brothers. They'd do anything - be it dive in front of a bus or take a bullet. It wasn't hard to see that Karin was very motherly to Joseph, that much was clear from the get-go. Joseph saw it and he appreciated it, too, but, he didn't ever talk about it to her. He didn't feel like it would be appropriate - it was a conversation Karin constantly wished he'd start, but, she was too scared to bring it up, either. Would one of them finally grow the backbone they needed to bring it up to the other? It was hard to say. They could only hope.


"Don't you worry, as soon as it's safe for us to do it, I'll make sure the two of them see the best that LA has to offer. I've got a feeling Charlie will really like it here - there's an endless amount of stuff to do, and seeing as Joseph is pretty similar in age to him, the two of them will definitely hang out. I don't know if Charlie's shy or anything - Heck, neither of us do, but, I can tell you now that Joseph won't hesitate on speaking to him. He's good at making friends, and at this point where we're not really within walking distance of his friends' places, he's probably craving someone to hang out with. You can be sure that within a few days, Charlie would have seen Joseph's favorite video games, played soccer with him, and probably stayed up late one night to watch a movie with him or something." She explained, and the thought of it made her grin - just Joseph and Charlie sitting around eating junk food and watching movies or playing video games late into the night. It sounded fantastic, and overall, it was something she hoped would happen.


"Better yet, me and you, no matter what happens, I'll make sure we see each other as often as possible. Be it for the beach or for a night out on the town - Dinner, wine, and a good time." She said. "That could be taken a little out of context, but, bear with me." She laughed. "I can't wait to see the resemblance between you and your mom. If she's even half as pretty as you, I'm sure she's beautiful." She said. A little compliment never hurt anyone - trying to picture what her mom looked like was an interesting game. Was she literally just like Thalia, but older? Hard to tell. She'd see soon enough, she hoped.


The kiss on the cheek was nice, too - Karin didn't view it as anything more than friendly. Whether or not that was the case, well, she wouldn't know.


After a few moments, she took a deep breath - she was no longer crying her eyes out, which was always nice. "I'll have to check on Joseph soon." She said. "I haven't properly met Jenny yet... She's a piece of your history. If she's anything like you, too, I'm sure she's great fun. I'd like to get to know her more." She said - Obviously, she hadn't seen Jenny looking at them, but hey. The moment was nice, and hopefully their little talk gave them more to look forward to in the near future.
 
James' Mansion | Encino, CA | 11:05 AM

A good day wasn’t a luxury this ragtag team of anti-gang vigilantes were allowed to have. Each day was something different, be it a war between two members, a death in the family, or an innocent life dragged into a mess they never needed. What started as a personal vendetta for Thalia to end her master’s 30 year reign as a nefarious gang leader with all the notoriety in the world turned into an entourage of partnerships, reunions, romances, friendships, rivalries, and realizations about the direction her life would go after it was all over. She quite literally had nothing beyond this team: no home, no way to preserve her own livelihood, and hardly a way to get started. And that was her greatest fear of leaving Ra’s: where would she go? What would she do? And how could she ensure that he wouldn’t come back for her the second he realizes she’s betrayed him? She surely didn’t trust the local police to give her protection, well aware that LAPD was compromised. Odds are, even with The Bullet dead, some pathetic officer was paid off by Al-Asheera to spill the beans about the death of The Medic, which was still a disaster in the making with an angry kingpin on the other side of the debacle. But now with half of The Ten out of the equation, that only meant that they were halfway there from dismantling the criminal organization once and for all with no chance of a vengeful resurrection. It still didn’t make the feelings of guilt any better. Because of her own reckless behavior, Thalia dragged too many people into a mess they didn’t need to be a part of. Karin, Frank, James, Jenny, and even her family. None of them deserved to have another infuriated man to have to look over their shoulders after…

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for that matter. Karin found a man of her dreams in the most unlikely of places, and as a result, can now supply her brother with a better life. James may have an extra burden on his shoulders and a new enemy, but one he could probably rid himself of quickly. After all the years of hate, she and Jenny could finally put the past behind them and try to be friends, even if the latter’s intentions were more intimate from the get-go. Not to mention how Thalia was finally going to meet her brother and see her mother again, after years of wondering where they were and what they were doing with their lives. It’s a shame this reunion came at the price of her father’s life, but it was a moment she’d been craving ever since Karin told her to reevaluate her priorities. Frank? Even with a child in tow and a monstrous first few days as a detective, his future might be brighter as well, be it with this quickly-kindled affair or not.

Which brought thoughts into Thalia’s mind: was Frank still worth it? A full-time detective with a traumatized boy, one who isn’t even blood-related, and a girl in the prime of her youth with enough of it lost already… and now she had no idea whether to extinguish the spark they had simply because of a twist in the tale. It would come off as extremely shallow of her, and would break his heart… unless he was already getting over her and making Jordan his number one priority. Not to mention having Jenny crawling all over her and practically begging for something more between the two, that wasn’t helping the decision. Sure, a relationship with Jenny was that exact physical craving and excitement that she wanted at this age while she was still young, but she had to grow up at some point? How could she literally hook up with her ex THIS quickly? And right after going her separate ways with Frank, which still wasn’t oficial? It’s not like romance was a priority worth looking into anyway. Maybe someday. But not today.

Tony. He still had his suspicions that Thalia and Karin had a side fling, and a hunch that the former might just kill everyone in their sleep. He was taking the potential of her being mentally unstable to a new extreme. He was literally going out of his way and to ungrounded extremes to discredit Thalia, get her sidelined, and make her out to be the bad guy, as if she were still working for Ra’s. But why? Why was he trying so hard to belittle her and throw her into a ditch? And for all that is good and righteous, what brought the idea into his mind that she and Karin were in between the sheets? Just because Thalia has an interest in women? Because he saw Jenny clinging to her for dear life? Or because of the bond the two girls who started it all had when this all started? Back on Karin’s couch, they were each willing to give themselves up so the other would have it easier. Maybe Tony didn’t think of it so lightly, certainly not the same way that they had in mind. Two girls who’ve barely just met… going to such lengths? Maybe he assumed Thalia seduced Karin, or the other way around. Who knows?

Did Thalia love Karin, though? Maybe not the way Tony was running around talking about it. Romantically? Sure, Thalia had a crush on Karin in the beginning. The way she, of all the hostages at the diner, had the audacity to stand up to her, spit in her money, guilt trip her, and even meet her on the sidelines with the risk of cops coming after them. In all honesty, it functioned as a bit of a turn-on, but nothing enough to, as she might’ve mentioned before, yank her aside and make out with her in the alley. Tempting? Maybe. Hot? Most definitely. But that was a line she didn’t want to cross with Karin. They were great friends as is with a bond that was greater than any other Thalia’s had in her life. She’d push Karin out of the way of a speeding bus and take the blow herself if it came down to it, not to mention the fun they’ve had together; the moment they had promising they’d stand by each other. She found herself a protective figure for this innocent woman, as well as a best friend. Was it worth throwing away because of some accident if things were to end badly between the two if they chose to get closer? Not to mention, not only does Karin have a boyfriend, but making a move on her would make her a hypocrite. Why would she say no to Frank just to say yes to Karin, who also had a child to take care of? Joseph and Jordan were very alike as children, in terms of losing their parents and being in need of a stronger parental figure in their lives. So there was no difference. Why take the waitress she bumped heads with from the start over the detective whose partner wants her in jail in that case? Simple attraction? A preference for women? Or something… deeper?

In any case, intimacy wasn’t a priority. Whoever Thalia ends up in bed with at the end of today is up in the air. She could hop in bed with Karin and James for a threesome for all it mattered. But there was a game plan in play over the next 24 hours. Roland. Melissa. And probably more personally and professionally.

Thalia owed James an apology for lashing out at him earlier and making threats. Dashing out of the room so suddenly, blowing up so easily, indeed, she was acting rash. And who knows? Karin claimed that he was only behaving this way and snapping at her because he cares about her. He cared enough to get her family safe passage out of Philadelphia and into LA. Enough to take her offer and go after Al-Asheera with nothing in return, supposedly. He blew up earlier, sure, blaming her for being ‘ungrateful’, even though she did want to thank him one-shot in the end. Were his words earlier directed more towards Tony after all? Or did he really hold some sort of ill will towards her? Was it worth making another enemy, probably the most powerful one of the bunch? Deep down, she feared James. She had a chance to run away a few days ago, one she threw away to remain close to Karin. It could’ve erased the last remnant of her being alive and in the public eye. But it was too late to go back on that now. Now that her mom knows she’s alive and will surely come forward to the media when this is over. Not to mention, if she double crosses him, he might just kill her when he finds her. She’s seen his face. Thanks to his girlfriend, she knows his real name, too. It was all too dangerous. Peace would ensure the life of her and her family. And everyone else she cared about for that matter.

While he was busy at his work cleaning up Tony’s mess, she approached his room, almost sneaking. It was a natural instinct to keep near silent steps. But she didn’t remain that way the whole time, curling her fingers and giving a gentle knock on the railing of his bedroom door. Then a few shy words: “C-Can we talk?”

It wasn’t exactly a question. She knew they had to say what was on her mind whether or not this criminal mastermind wanted to or had the time. Karin’s words meant something: that he wanted the best for her, so if that were the case, why would he turn down the opportunity to make amends? She took a few steps closer, slowly and fondling her between one another in front of her. Why did it feel like she was presenting that she had no weapon at hand? Was she THAT afraid of him? “I’m sorry I walked out like that and came back with such a mess left behind.” Apologies to people she only half trusted felt awkward, very strange in her mind. But to James, it was something she had to suck up. “Maybe if you knew the full story, things wouldn’t have seemed so bad from your perspective.” She sighed and took a seat at a nearby chair, lifting her feet up, crossed beneath her. “Jenny and I were friends in middle school, in one sense or another. It ended badly, without going into the details… And… call it a small world, but when I left the house last night? I ran into her and we exchanged numbers.” Saying it out loud only made it sound more dangerous than it should’ve seemed. She bowed her head in shame from that, “Okay, I know it wasn’t safe. ‘What if she’s a cop?’ I know her well enough to know she’s not exactly tight with local law enforcement or gang affiliation. I trust her. That doesn’t mean YOU have to trust her. I can keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t say or do anything she shouldn’t. But Ra’s made a move on her. He sent a man after her to do horrible things to her in the comfort of her own home. Look at the news. There’s an apartment complex on the news with a reported mass shooting. Everyone’s dead in there. The only survivor? Jenny. And now she’s being considered a missing person. Just turn on the local news, and you’ll find out. Ra’s killed her neighbors – her friends – and had plans to do the same to her when his goon was done cutting her up and fucking her. All just to get to me. If you have half the moral compass you claim to have, you sure as hell wouldn’t leave her to be subject to that.”

Was she even slightly convincing? To James at least. He seemed like a hard rock to crack. And her voice was growing more and more aggressive with each sentence. “It was dumb. But I didn’t want to risk being a second late and finding her dead. That would be my fault…” She contemplated telling James that she had a middle school crush on Jenny a decade ago. Or not. He probably didn’t even care. It would only highlight his point about ‘do you love her’, which was still shaky grounds for Thalia. “If you refuse to house her, I’m going to keep her safe myself elsewhere. I’ll rent out a hotel room and move out of here so I can be out of your hair for good and she’ll have someone to protect her. If you do let her stay, I’ll happily give up my room so she can sleep on a comfortable bed at night and not alter the way you have things running at home. But the way I see things? When Frank and Tony show up with the Clover Boys’ TACTITIAN, you let him in without a single question. Whether or not he’s like me and backstabbing them, it’s not different. You’re letting strangers in need of refuge into your house, potentially dangerous strangers. And when I bring in my middle school friend who was just attacked in her home - an innocent woman just trying to keep her head above water without a shady past, god damn it - you act like a smartass to my face and judge me for it, pretty much made her feel unwelcome. Jenny thought she’d have to leave the house, and right now she’s freaking out over what just happened at her place. I told her to take a nap while I sort things out... but on that note, I didn’t see you put on a show when Frank dragged Jordan in here. Or Tony with McAllister. What’s so different about me?”

Maybe the most solid argument she had in this battle. Her hands rubbed across her face, curing a bit of a sting in her eyes from the constant arguing getting to her. The onset of a headache, but she’d deal with it. There was still Tony’s own recklessness. “Are you seriously going to judge me for Tony being an idiot? I didn’t ask him to kill that guy in the street. I knew how to handle him. He just wanted to play the hero. Shooting a man in the street and not picking up the casing? That’s dumb. I could’ve neutralizing him silently without shooting him with god-knows-how-many witnesses to say there was a gunshot. He’d be found in the bushes paralyzed with a snapped neck a week from now if this were me. THAT is how I would’ve handled this. But now that I made a quick move to save my friend’s life, and some asshole wanted to be my unnecessary savior… you pin this on ME? I thought you were smart.”

Now she seemed more attacking than not. So she tried to correct that. This could always break out into a scuffle, and though the redhead could handle herself in combat – despite how James probably doesn’t believe that – she would swing back if necessary. “Look… You want people to be grateful for your services? No one can be more grateful than me right now. Ra’s is coming after me, killing my family and friends just to get me to react. You…” She stood up from her chair and made her advance, slowly getting closer to the man at his desk. Would that be too creepy? Thalia was undeniably nervous, and it was evident in her shaky voice and jittery hands. “You have no fucking clue how grateful I am that you haven’t kicked us out and left us for dead. And your advice is extremely meaningful. I just need you to trust me as much as I’m trusting you…” She recalled what Karin told her moments ago about them being alike. “You and I aren’t exactly cut from very different cloths, James. We are both… paranoid. To say the least. But we think alike, looking over our shoulders all the time. Planning ahead. Trying not to act dumb… I get how that takes a toll on you personally…” She had to try her best not to imply that Karin spoke to her about his past. With those words in mind, all that was left was to beg. Leaning against the desk to his massive computer setup, she gazed down James’ eyes, took his hand in her own with a tight grip mostly to get his attention and see how serious she was, and made her request in the most meaningful emotional way she knew how. “Much like Karin means the world to you, she does to me as well. I made a promise to protect her at all costs. Now I made one to Jenny. Don’t make me have to pick between them. Let Jenny stay like any of the rest of us, and I’ll keep her in line. And trust me when I say I’m being careful. I’ve been doing this for the good part of my life, and I think you should know that I’m not the one who’s been putting dents in your plans… Please, just trust me on this. We’re so close to ending this. And when it’s over… you don’t have to see me again.”

The rest, of course, was up to James to determine how truthful she was.

--

Ra's' Chambers | Burbank, CA

The bloodied body of the servant that the violent kingpin slaughtered in his own quarters still laid there unattended to. Surely, it wasn’t going to stay forever, but for the moment, all Ra’s wanted to do was marvel at his masterpiece. A measly servant whose throat he slit due to a series of mistakes and fumbles that weren’t entirely his own. A punishment, arguably wrongfully delivered. If anyone had deserved such a fate under this man’s corrupt form of justice, it was his own fiancé. She was the one acting as a thorn in his side for longer than any other nuisance they’ve encountered in LA. Thanks to her, three members of The Ten were dead, another held hostage. On that topic, it still burdened Ra’s that there was no word from his right-hand man, his most loyal contact among them and a companion from the very beginning. Roland even took the poor orphaned boy off the streets and showed him some path of righteousness. A path that Ra’s deviated and made his own and developed his own god complex behind it. Thanks to that, a pair of small time thieves grew into something more, recruiting men by the dozens and bringing Philadelphia into submission. And rightfully so, the man who was there for him from the beginning earned the fitting title of Al-Yed: The Hand. And along with The Head, they were unstoppable for so long.

In other words, without Roland, there would be no Ra’s, and subsequently no Al-Asheera.

Even in his absence, there was business to tend to. Questions that needed answers. And a runaway bride he needed to put in her place. Thalia was to murder her mother and brother in order to official have the heart of her master. And the best way to do it would be to bring them to LA and leave them begging to be killed. Torture, brainwashing, maybe that would be convincing. It’s exactly what he did to Vanessa. And he’d happily do it again. And he had another member of The Ten lurking around in Philly on that job exactly. Though not a technology wizard, Ra’s did have a personal chunky flip phone to contact his underlings, namely The Ten. It’s how he calls Thalia, but he had no reason to speak to her now. He needed to contact the man that originally assassinated Jacob Griffin. There was more to be done on the east coast…


“Yes, Mawlaye?” The voice immediately answered.

“I saw the news. It sounded like a job well done.”

“Indeed, Mawlaye. I wish you could’ve seen the look on Reverend Jacob’s face when he took all of that lead to the chest.”

“I can imagine how beautiful it was… How is the progress with his wife and son?”

“Unknown. They never returned home last night.”

“…” An unsettling silence.

“M-Mawlaye?”

“Al-Jameela is probably protecting them.”

“From LA?”

“She does not want to kill them. So she could have easily warned them to run.”

“She must kill them. And we will offer them to her on a silver platter.”

“Of course we will, Al-Aasifa. But for now… I need you here in Los Angeles. If Al-Jameela is beheading my own men, she is bringing her family here to give them shelter. And we can catch them in the act. Not to mention… A majority of Al-Ashra are missing or dead. Namely Al-Yed. And I need someone I can trust to find them.”

“I’m… honored to have earned such a degree of trust with you, Mawlaye.”

“Al-Aasifa… for your doings, once Los Angeles is in submission, you shall be hailed like a king among men. I can assure you of that.”

“Shokran, Mawlaye.” [Thank you, Your Highness.]

“Now come to me, my underling…”
 
The whole situation was without a doubt messy, but at least they were here now, and at least they were working on bringing things back together, slowly but surely. It was never going to be easy to bring the whole team back from nothing, and some of them may be beyond ever being able to be brought back. A painful thing to realize, but one they'd have to accept. Some of the team were in positions where they were more or less going to have to be forced to get involved from his point on - Frank had Jordan, which had now more or less retired Frank majorly from this, which James could see easily just through the affection he showed the orphaned boy. And Tony? Tony just seemed to be tripping and making more and more mistakes. He'd have to talk to Thalia about that if he got the chance - not that he was expecting her to come and apologize, but, that's what happened.

When there was a knock, he was expecting either Karin or Thalia. He had a feeling Tony was going to avoid him for a while after he gave him a smack around the back of the head and left him with a ringing in his ears. Asserting dominance was one big trick James had up his sleeve. If he made himself look weak, someone was more and more likely to fuck him over at some point. He needed to show he was the alpha male of the situation, the leader, the biggest wolf of the bunch - if he could make the detectives fear what he was capable of, then hopefully they'd think twice before they tried to send any squad cars - or bullets - his way. At the minute, though, there were bigger problems to deal with. A bullet in the evidence locker in the LAPD, one which they needed back. Or one where they could have the evidence stricken from the records before they could even find it.

Not an easy job to achieve.

He stopped working the moment he heard Thalia's voice, though, and turned his chair halfway so he could at least face her somewhat.

"By all means." He said, quietly. He sat there and heard her out, obviously. There was no need to blow up in her face again, not now that there was a chance to talk, and one hell of a lot up in the air that needed dragging back down to the ground. Did he ever intend to throw Jenny out? He couldn't say the thought crossed his mind beyond the immediate moment he saw her. The situation itself had caused a lot of things to be said that he didn't necessarily mean, so, that had caused enough problems alone. That was something he'd have to clear up, but, there was also a lot to take into account for his reactions. There was one person he never wanted exposed to things, and that one person had it all revealed to him right there and then. Joseph.

"She's more than welcome to stay here, don't doubt it." He sighed, "My intentions were never to get her or you to leave. You have to understand that this situation was a lot different to some of the other ones - With Frank and Jordan, the situation was hardly one I could refuse. Let's face it, I have a soft-spot for children. Most people do. Frank's stood at my door with tears running down his face and a clearly-traumatized six-year-old hanging onto him like the last person on earth - In that situation, I had no choice but to keep my nerves calm, my voice low, and my arms open. I couldn't turn him away in a moment where it was clear some bad blood had occurred. With McAllister, you raise a fair point. Why would I want a man like that here and not Jenny? I suppose it drags the rule of 'there's a time and place for everything' into the equation. He came late at night, he was calm, his intentions seemed well." He paused and took a sigh.

"With Jenny, however, it was a bit of a different story." He said. "Sure, the intentions were there, and they were good intentions at that. Much like Jordan, she was vulnerable, probably traumatized to a good degree, and you were the one to more or less rescue her. Where things started going wrong wasn't necessarily in the fact she was there, but, more in the way it was delivered by both you and Tony. Mainly Tony, given his reckless actions, but..." He shrugged. "We were sat there having breakfast, me, Karin, and most importantly... Joseph. Joseph is the one person in this house that I have tried to keep behind closed doors from this whole operation, and in that moment, not only had he heard that Al-Asheera had gone after your friend, but he also got the knowledge that a man was shot dead by Tony's hand. He watched the back-and-forth between you and Tony, too, so now, he sadly knows everything. He knows too much for his own good." He looked down at his desk.

On the desk was Frank's gun, which he quickly slid into a drawer. Well, he didn't know it was Frank's gun just yet. He'd find out soon enough.

"I don't know how upset or worried Joseph is by all of this now. I don't have any control over him, either. He's a smart boy - he's probably already Googled Al-Asheera and found out some of the things that they've done in the past to men, women, children, families - you name it. If he's seen all of that, there's no way any of us can stop him from panicking over it until Al-Asheera are dead and gone. That, Thalia, is why I reacted the way I did. Sure, a lot of the things I said I didn't mean, but ultimately, it was the deliverance that brought that whole situation nose-diving into the dirt. I wish it could be different, but, we can't cry over spilled milk anymore."

"I don't want you and Jenny to have to pack your bags. Stay, by all means." He said. "I appreciate the fact you appreciate my efforts, too." He said, managing a faint grin. "It seems you understand my situation more than you first made clear, which I also respect. One secret I should let you in on is that I am big on playing the position of power. It's been the same for years - be it in work, poker games, or operations like this one. I'm not an asshole all the time because I'm, well, an asshole. I'm an asshole at points because it stops people like Tony and Frank - people with badges - from getting the idea that they can throw a few officers my way and have me locked up at the end of it. I doubt Frank would risk that now, but, Tony? Tony's got everything to gain and nothing to lose - Remember that if you're ever in a room or situation alone with him, Thalia. I don't like to picture what he would have done if you didn't have Jenny with you today when he shot that guy." He sighed.

"Now, because of his fuck-up, I need to find a way to get the evidence from the evidence locker, remove fingerprints from the system, etcetera, fill in the details here." He waved a hand around. Thalia taking his hand, too, was quite the surprise, but one that did emphasize her words came from the heart. It meant something, even if in the moment it didn't look like it meant much to him at all. "At the end of this, I'm more than happy to see you again. I'm more than happy for you and Karin to come over and get as drunk as you like on the weekends, I really am. But now is not the time or place for that. Which I'm sure you understand now that you've walked away from potentially being killed." He said. "It's getting a lot hotter in here, Thalia, and if we don't find a way to ventilate the situation, we're all going to go up in flames. That's not something I want to happen."

"You know, before today, I was counting up the reasons to send Tony on his way, be it in the ocean or six feet under. Now? Now, I'm looking for reasons just to keep him here. It's gone beyond the point of me having the power to cope with the little blunders. He's annoyed enough of us already - Keep this between me and you, but, he's on his last chance. If he makes a mistake again like the one he made today, be it with one of us or someone outside this house, then he's out. Permanently." He said, the last word holding nothing but coldness. "Your apology, accepted. I hope you'll accept one from me for... Saying a lot of things I didn't mean. And Thalia, as much as I doubt you meant it, I don't want to hear another accusation of me potentially holding harm to your family. I may be somewhat of a bad man, but I'm certainly not an evil one, nor am I a liar." He said.

--

“It’s okay to be scared.” Frank said, rubbing Jordan’s back gently while he had him sat on his lap. He resulted to rocking him back and forth ever so slowly. He didn’t want him to keep on crying – but, it was obvious he was scared just as much as he was upset, so, he didn’t want to push his luck with the kid. He didn’t need to pressure him into getting over anything, nor did he want him to feel bad for crying on Frank’s shoulder. Frank would let his shirt collect every single one of Jordan’s tears if he had to, and that went without saying.

“Are we gonna’ be staying here forever?” He asked, taking a moment to run his tearful eyes over the house again.

“Oh… No. No, I’ve got my own place.” He smiled, patting his head. “Why do you ask? Do you not like it here?”

“Not… Not really.” He gulped.

“And why’s that?”

“It’s just… Busy.”

“I guess it is pretty busy, yeah. You still have to meet Joseph. He’s only a little bit older than you – Maybe you guys could play together? Soccer, or something?” He asked, and Jordan nodded a few times. The offer was appealing enough.

“What’s your place like?” Jordan asked, sniffling. A lot of the conversation was to take his mind away from things, but, he was still genuinely curious about where Frank lived and everything. Even Jordan was making assumptions – with no cries to be taken to family that didn’t exist, he was only safe to assume that Frank was going to look after him. Jordan didn’t realize quite how difficult it was in comparison to how he thought, but that’s the blissful ignorance of being a kid. Everything always seems like it’ll go your way if you wish for it enough.

After losing his family, he was quickly beginning to realize that life wasn’t that simple, but there was still that element of it there. He did have the brain of a six-year-old, after all.

“It’s nice.” Frank nodded, “Small, but nice. I promise I’ll show you it soon, alright? We just need to wait around here for a little while longer.”

“Why?” Jordan asked, immediately.

“Just because… There’s some business all us guys need to deal with, alright? After that, I swear, we’ll go back to where I live and stop for some donuts or something on the way. Sound like a fair deal to you?”

“I guess so.” He nodded, a tiny smile tugging at his lips again. He finally set his head down in a more relaxed manner against Frank’s shoulder and just fell quiet, quite happy to be hugged and be given a backrub from his newfound guardian. “Do you have kids?” He asked, eventually. The question took Frank by surprise, but, he knew the boy’s mind must have been wandering somewhere along those lines from the moment he rescued him – he wasn’t going to make assumptions, though. He was just going to guess that Jordan was just trying to get to know him better at this point.

“Nope.” He chuckled. “Just me, myself, and I.” He said. “And my current girlfriend, but, we need to keep that secret, alright?”

“Okay.” He nodded.

“Do you have a girlfriend, J? From school?”

The boy actually managed a tiny laugh before he replied, “No.”

“Well, that surprises me.” Frank ruffled his hair with a smile. He glanced around for a little bit, and, well, he just wanted to think of something he could do with Jordan to keep him entertained. He knew in one of the rooms of the main house, the room with the bar attached, there was a pool table. He figured that was better than nothing.

“How about we go get a drink and play a game of pool together?”

“I’d like that.” Jordan replied, quietly.

“Do you know how to play?”

“Sorta… I played with my daddy sometimes.”

“Alright.” He put a hand on his head, then lifted him from his lap and stood him in front of him. Before they knew it, they were hand in hand walking to the bar room and setting up the pool table for a game. Now that Jordan was getting a little more lively and talkative, Frank felt his own spirits get lifted. He just wanted to keep Jordan as far away from the memories of the trauma as he could manage, but he knew he couldn’t do that forever. It’d catch up to him eventually, but that was simply something he was going to have to deal with.

--

Karin, however, was off seeing to another boy who wasn’t in the best of moods. She went to Joseph’s room and stepped inside after knocking, only to see Joseph curled up on the bed and facing the wall furthest from the door. A lot must have been on his mind all of a sudden – after all, he’d heard more or less everything now. He’d heard the talk of Al-Asheera, heard that Tony had killed a man, and heard that a woman that was now under the same roof as them was attacked by Al-Asheera – to make things even worse, she was a friend of Thalia’s.

“Hey.” Karin said, softly, and wandered over to the side of the bed he was lying on; she sat down by his feet and reached over to his arm, gently running her hand over it. “You alright?”

Joseph shrugged.

“I know this is all pretty scary, Joe… I’m sorry you had to see all that.”

“Are we in danger?” He interrupted.

Karin didn’t really know at this point, but…

“No, of course not.” She even tried to play it off with a tiny laugh as she said it. “Don’t be silly. Of course we’re not in danger. Everyone here wants to look after us, remember? Nothing can hurt us as long as we’ve got each other to watch everyone’s backs.”

Joseph sighed and closed his eyes. It was obvious he wasn’t entirely convinced.

“Even Tony? After he killed someone?” He asked, his voice weakening.

“Look… I know that’s probably on your mind more than anything. But you need to understand that… The guy he killed wasn’t a good man, he was a very bad one, at that.” She said.

“I didn’t think anyone was going to die. Good or bad.” He said, defensively. “I got told that James was helping Thalia because she was in trouble. I didn’t know people were gonna’ die. I thought that would be the last thing anyone would want after what happened in the diner.”

Karin sighed. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but, she didn’t exactly expect competition from Joseph. He was solidly standing his ground, though, which was fair enough. There wasn’t much she could really do about that right now.

“Joseph, sometimes things don’t unfold exactly how we want them to. I need you to do your best to understand why this is happening.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He mumbled. “If he killed him it’s still murder, even if he was a bad man.”

Karin closed her eyes, then reached out and took hold of his hand, but, to her surprise, Joseph was quick to snatch his hand back from her. That in itself left quite the sting behind, but, she was doing her best to keep it together. She couldn’t break down – Joseph needed the support.

At least she thought so.

“Just leave me alone.” Joseph whispered, firmly.

Well.

She could hardly contest that – it had been a long time since she and him had clashed on something, so, in the immediate moment she didn’t exactly know what to do. Eventually, though, she patted Joseph’s leg a couple of times as she rose to her feet, and silently, she left the room and gently closed the door over behind her. Now she wanted some time alone, too – She couldn’t remember a time where she wasn’t able to comfort her brother or talk him down from a bad mood. She guessed this was just a part of him growing up, but, it still left an open wound. She vouched that the best bet for now would be just finding a room where she could sit and relax.

The pool house seemed empty enough, so, sitting there and watching some TV sounded alright. She didn’t know where Frank and Jordan were at first, but, when she walked by the room with the bar and pool table, she saw the two of them getting on well. Chatting away, both of them taking shots at pool balls, Frank helping Jordan line the shots up – It was kind of cute. She had to admire Frank for his kindness. An attractive feature to her, definitely. Even so, she went outside before too long.
 
The tension and hostility from before in the kitchen, the temptation to insult one another, the threats to get lost and never return, by now it was all faded away between Thalia and James. They had no particular long-lasting feud to let their clash drag along beyond a matter of hours. They've argued, sure, but came to terms with the situation and made peace. That's exactly their goal now. It was Thalia's from the start, and it appeared James had the same thoughts. He welcomed her openly, much tamer than before when she'd entered under such drastic inappropriate conditions. In her heart, it was a sign of forgiveness, that things would be easier for the two from this point forward. They, alongside McAllister for his end of things, were the actual criminals in all of this. If anyone knew how to handle the situation they were all mixed up in, it was the two of them. They were each essential to the operation, and a hint of bad blood would certainly end badly for the entire group. This extension of an olive branch was to specifically prevent a fallout. Half of Thalia was doing this for the good of the operation; the other half because it meant something to Karin. She wouldn't make it obvious, but coming clean and asking for forgiveness was noble in itself, especially with the emotion she put into it and the sincerity of her intentions regardless of which of the two was the stronger influence.

James went on to explain the difference between her situation with Jenny and that of McAllister and Jordan. It was clear that there were differences, not just in the characters themselves, but the approach: dragging a bloodied and beaten Jenny into the kitchen in front of Joseph to see that she'd been attacked, then the verbal altercation that followed between Thalia and Tony, back to their 'he-said-she-said' game. As much as it disgusted the former that this sort of relationship had to drag on, all the immature detective was doing was provoking her, and to some degree of success. She knew better than to swing at him again, like she did in Karin's living room, but her words meant as much as those actions in the moment. There was certainly a degree of explaining to do with the nature of the delivery. "James... I didn't want to drag Jenny into the kitchen in full view of the kids," she sighed, bowing her head slightly, a sign of shame in her actions. "It wasn't my plan. If it's not obvious, Tony has it out for me. Your butler let us in, and my plan to was to get Jenny looked at in private, then pull you aside quietly and calmly to discuss things. Not waltz into a public gathering with Tony practically with a gun at my head forcing me to face the crowd. I can tell you right now that Jenny wasn't any more comfortable with the situation than I was. I wish it could've gone down differently. You've gotta believe that." Perhaps this criminal mastermind did. He displayed a great degree of trust in Thalia from the beginning and it persisted even after this. After all, Tony was physically assaulted as a punishment for his mistake. Thalia was left alone to alleviate her own situation first. Quite a difference in attitude.

"I'm sorry things rolled out the way they did," she continued, "Joe should've never seen or heard any of that. Nothing about Jenny being attacked, or Tony shooting someone... and God, definitely not about Al-Asheera." It only burdened her now that Joseph was probably freaking out at that name. He seemed like the kind of child that would google just about anything, and if he heard the name of a shady criminal organization, he'd surely have some itching curiosity to know more. He's bound to hear about her. It wouldn't take a genius to put her hand tattoo, the reports of a 'mystery redhead', and her own situation all together with Al-Asheera. She didn't want him to view her as the monster that she was three days ago. And now, because of all of this, he just might. Her hands swiped over her face, hiding in shame. "God, James, I didn't want that to happen. I didn't want Jenny caught up in this, and I didn't want Tony trying to be a hero. Most of all, I didn't want Joseph to get scared. There's no way I can convince him I'm not the horrible person he's going to see on the news reports now..."

Guilt and paranoia flooded her mind, but she refused to let them dominate. She came in strong; she was going to end strong, too. She lifted her head from her palms and kept listening. Thalia and James were now able to see eye to eye and agree on the severity of their situation, as well as him opening up a bit on his unconscious direction of asserting power. "Well... I'll say, you've made that clear from the beginning. I'm not exactly unfamiliar with being dominated or bossed around like that, but I can also add that I'm not a fan of it. When you spend eight years with Ra's as your master, I bet you can understand why. I'm a rebel by nature, so if I'm undermining your authority... I apologize. But I think after this, we can balance that out, right? No hard feelings, I hope." He brought up how he knew he had to show Tony and Frank who the man in charge was. It reminded her of herself in some ways. "I can't knock you for trying to put the detectives in their place. Before you showed up, that was me. Bossing them around..." She smiled a bit in response to his own at this point, remembering her sneaky move from the very beginning. "Remember when you snuck up on me and Karin beating that laptop you fried to death in the backyard, and the detectives were there? When we were passing them off as 'Derek and Liam'? I bet you anything, Tony was going to reveal himself as a cop... but literally seconds before you showed up... I swiped his badge and gun so he couldn't act wise." She cracked up with a slight chuckle from her lips. "Did the same thing to Frank when I took him in my arms and kissed him. It was me not wanting to risk it, and trying to show who was the boss. Yeah, it's not exactly me going straight after robbing people, but I mean... I gave them back later. Does that count?"

Maybe not. But James was a criminal like her, so he should understand when something is 'necessary'. Tony's blunders came up as yet another hot topic. So they needed to be addressed. "I mean... If our relationship is anything to go by, I'm not exactly Tony's biggest fan right now. He's not of me either, clearly. He's literally looking for any reason he can to cut me loose. Did you hear the rumor that he's running his mouth about, me and Karin sleeping together?" Coming to think about it, that might not sound too far-fetched to James. "I mean, it's a lie, of course, but it's just to show how desperate he's become. All in all? Do what you have to do to him. Things are cool between us, all forgiven. And if you need help..." Was she about to offer her hand to him? "I mean, now and beyond, you can always ask me. I may not be the best at housework, but I think I'm a valuable asset at... less than legal matters." She winked to him in a more confident way that she'd acted before. "Sure, I'm not robbing a bunch of banks for a million bucks in a matter of days, but I mean, I could be useful. But thank you. For everything."

Finally was the matter of her family. She stood up properly from her leaning stance before and titled her head. Did she really mean her doubts about this whole thing? "I'm sorry about that. I was angry. I figured you didn't trust me, so in my head, all I could say was... 'how can I trust you?' I was worried you had my family hostage, yeah, but in the end, I know you wouldn't hurt an innocent eight year old boy. After what I've seen from you and Joe? You could never do that. That is something I believe from you.... In all honesty? If things work out between you and Karin, I bet you'd make a great father. I mean that."

--

The ringing in Tony's ears had died down at long last. He might've taken a nasty cut as well, but whatever it was, it was probably soothed by now. Clearly, James was taking Thalia's side of the argument, once again, and Tony's own credibility was tanking. All of the rumors and attempts to make this girl seem like the bad guy... were they at all worth it? Slowly but surely, would he be the one cut from the team at some point? From James' team, for sure. He just had to hope that being axed didn't mean death. If that were the case, he could always go back to the LAPD and burn the man. He knew his place of residence as well as a facial description. With proper timing and a source of protection, he could bring James down in a heartbeat. Thalia as well, but he had much deeper plans for the mystery redhead...

All starting with Roland, and he'd finally get his way.

Rather than continue to get under the skin of everyone else in the house that already knows he's an asshole, he figured he could try to make peace with probably the only rational adult in the house at this point: Jenny. He originally assumed she'd be resting in Thalia's room, but that was immediately countered when he saw the edgy-looking young woman in the kitchen. With a scratch through the back of his hair, he just watched her from behind as she, still dressed as she was in her house earlier, but with a thin black sweater, open from the front, over her shoulders, was getting herself a glass of lemonade from the pitcher in the fridge. Spying and stakeouts were something Tony enjoyed, but watching girls from behind like that was particularly different. He still remembered lurking over Thalia and Karin earlier. Now it was Jenny's turn. He had pieced together by now that there was something serious between Jenny and Thalia. Romance in middle school? Cute, pathetic as well in his eyes. But he could definitely see what Thalia sees in Jenny. Then again, Tony was poking his nose around at women quite frequently with the rocky relationship he'd been enduring with Melissa. He still had plans to get down Thalia's pants, but if he could also pull it off with Jenny? Maybe even Karin? He'd be the happiest guy on the planet. It was a rather primitive desire, but one he couldn't help but entertain.

His creepy stare from around the corner didn't last forever, though. He eventually emerged from his corner of the world and made his presence known to the girl, now with a glass of lemonade in her hands, leaning on the kitchen counter, and just looking around... confused. This was an overwhelming situation, one Jenny wasn't completely accustomed to just yet. She knew one thing though: Thalia was going to keep her safe. As strange as it was, she believed that. But then came the man that saved their lives, who she only knew as Tony. She also came to understand he was a jerk, but she kept it to herself and acted mature around him, just looking at him neutrally as he allowed himself entry.

"So I take it your name is Jenny," He began, pointing a single finger in her direction.

Jenny nodded. "Yeah... and I know your name is Tony."

"That's Detective Walsh to you." His tone became more stern than before, which made Jenny nervous.

"O....kay? Detective Walsh..."

Odd. It didn't even seem like Jenny was aware of Tony's actions. He shrugged, spreading his arms out, only to slap them back to his sides again. "Well? Aren't you going to thank me?"

A bold entrance, as well as cocky. This girl already wasn't a fan. "Thank you? For what? Shooting a man in the street?" For a girl who'd just witnessed death, Jenny also knew how to maintain her composure. On the inside, she wanted to just lay down and punch her troubles away into a pillow, but she refused to show that in front of this multitude of strangers in the house.

Tony shook his head with a snicker. "Perhaps you don't get it. I saved your life."

She shook her head. "It sounded like you got us in trouble..." Jenny could still vividly remember the traumatized boy who immediately exited the kitchen when she was forced to face the crowd in her beaten horrified state. How afraid he was... it stuck with her more than any of the dead bodies in front of her. "That kid. Did you like it when he ran away from seeing me with blood all over my face?"

"I'm sure he's seen worse in his video games."

"Bullshit. Don't give me that." Now, Jenny was beginning to feel the tension. She stood up properly, the glass in her hand, and marched closer to Tony. "T's right. You're an asshole. And I've already come to see that in like... thirty seconds with you. I can't imagine how anyone puts up with you for longer."

Tony took that as a direct insult to Melissa, which he wouldn't stand for under any circumstances. The arrogant smile on his face was immediately erased as he took a few firm steps closer. "Hey. I'll have you know I've been in a relationship for over a decade, and I care about this woman more than you can imagine. So don't tell me that no one can tolerate me."

She scoffed. Someone actually put up with him for so long? It wasn't her business anyway. With that in mind, she prepared an argument back in her head. "She must have problems. It's people like you that justify why I don't date men anymore. Cuz you have a tendency to be jerks."

No surprise she pulled that card on Tony. It wasn't the first time he'd been told that, honestly. As he saw the girl marching off, obviously sick of him, he made one last remark. Seeing she pulled the lesbian card on him, he figured he could stir up some drama by using something Karin said against her. "Just so you know..." he placed his larger hand over her shoulder, stopping her from just brushing by, "That white-haired chick at the table this morning? She's homophobic, so you may not find yourself very comfortable around her. If I remember what she said correctly... 'Do I look like a fucking lesbian to you?' Yeah... That doesn't sound very friendly, does it?"

The argument had obvious signs of weakness, but by now Jenny had established that preparing a solid defense wasn't something Tony was very good at. Thank god he wasn't a lawyer. "You're not serious... do you take me as one of those girls who only sees other girls for sex?"

"Well... I wouldn't put it past you. Isn't that 'T' also does?"

The insult to herself and to Thalia caused her to release the grip of her right hand from the glass and throw a slap at Tony's face. "Fuck you. Don't talk about something you don't understand."

Now fed up with Tony, she continued and made her way outside of the kitchen out back to the poolside. She need to clear her head and at least get away from the jerks in this house. It seemed like the only person who was actually nice to her was Thalia. Were they actually going to leave? She couldn't wait at this point. It was a beautiful place, for sure, but if it was going to be infested with people like Tony and James, she wanted no part of it. Then there was Karin, who Tony claimed to be homophobic. Not that Jenny was getting any ideas, not at all. But if she could at least be friends with someone else? She remembered what she'd seen between Karin and Thalia. They were close, maybe even close enough to suspect that that's where Thalia's heart lied this whole time. It wouldn't hurt to become her friend. And the opportunity was closer than ever when she saw a distressed Karin marching to the poolhouse. Slowly as to not startle her, she followed her there as carefully as she could, and when she was close enough, she called for her...

"Karin... right?" she began, evidently nervous from the sound of her voice. "You're Thalia's friend. I mean... we've met and all, but not exactly under very ideal circumstances. I... wish we could've talked a bit more after I finished cleaning up, but I just needed a bit of time to cool down..." Her glance lowered slightly to her drink. "Oh, and something nice and cold, too." She gave the white-haired girl a smile as she took a sip of her drink. "Well... I guess we could get to know each other a bit better, right?"

Maybe she could get started. One thing she remembered about the boy who ran away from her horrid appearance in the beginning: his eyes. Also Karin's eyes. But she was far too young to be the mother. "I take it that kid was your brother?" She brought up. "Maybe a cousin? You... your eyes... is all..." She quickly tried to distract her eyes for a moment to avoid getting a mean death glare for being too nosy. Karin might've already picked up by now that Jenny was into girls, and if Tony's accusations were correct, she might just shut her out immediately. "I'm... sorry he had to see me like this. Believe me, T didn't want it like this. She wanted to come forward differently without scaring anyone... without anyone having to die. You believe that, right?"
 
"None of us wanted it to happen, but it did. No use losing sleep over it now." He said. "Someone's already been held accountable, and it needs to stay right where it is. For now, at least. I hope I'm not going to have to dish out anymore punishments today, but, we'll soon see, won't we?" He laughed a little. "I don't know how this situation could get any worse, if I'm honest with you. I'd like to get Karin and Joe out of here eventually, just send them somewhere for a while until all this blows over, but that's not a possibility anymore. They'd be at too much risk - I should have gotten them both out of there as soon as I saw Joseph for the first time. It was a bad idea, me trying to get them in on all of this without exposing Joseph to any of it. It worked for, what, two days?" He chuckled. "Somedays you eat the mountain lion, and other days you get covered in shit. That's how it goes, I guess."

"Joseph will come around from it, I'm sure." He said. "He may be scared, and yes, if he makes any connections between you and Al-Asheera, chances are his view of you's going to change a fair bit, but that simply means you'll have to put more effort into letting him see you in a different light. You've done a pretty good job of that so far - once all of this is over, I think things will be absolutely fine, but there's too much tension here right now for all of us to try and get comfy. Sure, I can manage it with Joe, and Joe can manage it himself. He can sign up to all his sports clubs with no problem and still attend them. A ten-year-old boy's no danger to anyone in a criminal situation. He's simply a bystander at this point - I can still take him for lunch and for drives around town, but, there's only so much I can do. We can't hit the road forever, obviously." He said.

"Personally, though, I think we sold a pretty solid act down there in the kitchen." A smile hit his face. "Think about it, now everyone who was there is going to think that me and you are at each other's throats, continuously trying to push each other over the edge. If they think that, if they think there's all that tension between the two of us, then that might narrow out anyone that thinks they can fuck us over. If they think we're so caught up in ourselves that they start to get cocky? We'll be in the money. And anyone who tries to jeopardize the situation we have will be picked out straight away. It's almost like a... Schrodinger's Cat situation here. We are both enemies and friends until someone can observe us for the true case." He nodded a couple of times. "Maybe this little bump we hit isn't such a bad thing after all. I'm sure we'll see." He said.

"So far you've proven to be very efficient in what you do, which is half the reason I'm happy to have you on the team over someone else. Believe me, half of my contacts, other than Jon? Chances are they would have screwed something up by now. Jon's the one man I trust the most out of all of them. Hence why I sent him to get your family - It was pure coincidence that he happened to live near them, but, I'm quite glad that's the case. Fate, it seems. What more could you ask for?" He asked. "I'm just glad he's got them. You can be sure they'll be safe with him - Most people would think they're safe the moment they get on a plane, but, chances are they're not. Jon's no idiot. He's been doing things like this for years - He won't land directly in LA. He'll make sure they get a flight to somewhere a bit of a distance away so that there's no risk of them practically walking into Ra's arms. Chances are Ra's knows about your family being missing by now." He shrugged. "The only thing Ra's doesn't know, though, is that your family is in the hands of someone extremely professional. And extremely dangerous, too. Dangerous in a way that benefits your family, though, don't worry about that." He chuckled.

He was thanked - that was nice to hear, but, something else that caught him was Thalia's comment about him being a good father one day, if things settled down and everything. He smiled a little, shrugged, and turned back to the PC monitor he was initially looking at when she first walked in.

"Your words are kind, but untrue." He said. "I'm a dead man, Thalia. In theory, I don't even exist anymore. With everything I do, I doubt being a father is a skill I could develop - I'd love to, and don't get me wrong, for the time that Joseph's a kid you can be sure I've got his back as much as I have Karin's, but... Being a father myself seems unlikely. I better not speak too soon, though. You never know what might happen, right?" He shrugged. "You'll be a good mother one day, too, as soon as you've built a new life. You've got a knack for it, I reckon." He winked at her.

--

Karin was chilling, quite simply. She wasn't expecting any company, but she ended up getting some that seemed very unlikely at first. Jenny. After Karin's own boyfriend had jumped down their throats, and after a big emotional scene between her and Thalia, she imagined that she was the last person Jenny was going to want to speak to, but, it turned out she was wrong. As soon as she heard her voice she looked up, and even though Karin did look sad deep down, she did her best to put on a smile, just to appear friendly and welcoming. She didn't know much about the thing Tony had said about her apparently being homophobic, but... Would Jenny tell her otherwise? Had Jenny already learned that everything Tony says should be taken with a pinch of salt?

Then Joseph was mentioned, too, and she could only sigh. Jenny was more or less spot on with her guess, too.

"Yeah, he's my brother." She said, leaning back in her seat and shaking her head. "And if I didn't believe that Thalia wasn't a murderer, I probably wouldn't even know who she was. The whole reason we really met was because... She came back. She came back and I had faith that she was a cut from a different cloth - You're going to get people like Tony say she's no different to the other animals she used to rock around with, but, you know her from school - You must understand that she's not like that. I know I do." She said. "As for Joseph seeing you... Don't worry. You couldn't help it. She shouldn't even be here - Usually on a day like this he'd be out kicking a soccer ball around in the street with his friends, or visiting a friend's house and playing in their pool, or something. Not this. It's not something he's used to, obvious. He only turned ten not too long ago, so, coming to terms with a lot of this is going to be difficult for him." She explained. "I have faith, though." She added.

"Forgive me if I seem a little... Off. I went out of the frying pan and into the fire. After I spoke to Thalia I tried to talk to my brother about it all... It's the first time in years that he's turned around and basically told me to go away." She let out a sad laugh. "I wasn't expecting it, what can I say? I guess it shook me a little. Usually I'm pretty tough, but given everything that's going on, my strengths are a little more shaky than usual, you know what I mean?" She said, simply. "It sucks, but, I'm in that position where I have to respect what he wants, too. I can't baby him forever, and now I'm just going to have to suck up the fact that he doesn't want to talk to me about something that's bothering him." She sighed and closed her eyes, bowing her head towards the floor.

"I'm not sure how much Thalia told you about me, but, we lost our parents when I was eighteen, so Joseph was only five, basically. Not long after that, he got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and since then I've been his full-time carer. I guess I'm more of a mom now, and he's more of a son to me than a brother, but that's just a secret of mine I can't really reveal to him." She explained. "Sorry... Enough about me." She said, eventually. "How are you holding up? The cut on your head looked like it needed stitches at first, but, it seems like you're doing okay. Also, I'm sorry for James being quite... Forward. He has his reasons. He didn't mean it as much as you might think - You might have overheard that conversation between me and Thalia." She said.
 
Just the mention of 'punishments' left a bitter taste in Thalia's mouth, simply due to the nature of her disciplining before. Then again, the justice system according to a truly mentally unstable man is bound to be unreliable. However, seeing James' definition of justice for all that Tony has brought upon them was satisfying. A strong blow to the head. Though she didn't want her own uncontrollable side to be unleashed upon Tony, she didn't mind if someone else's did. After all he'd done to her, he deserved that. Other problems were presented though: Karin and Joseph. Leaving them alone was a bad idea, and Thalia knew this. "I think you know this too, but I don't think we should leave Karin and Joe on their own. No matter where we send them. As crazy as it may sound, I think it's best they stay behind these walls. It's an awesome place, lots to do, lots of tech for Joe to enjoy... plenty of alcohol for Karin to go nuts with." It made Thalia smile to remember her little adventure a day ago. Ill-timed but still memorable. Maybe they could do that again, but under better circumstances. "But fun aside: they're no threat. They're innocent people who got caught up in a situation they shouldn't have. Arguably, it's my fault, but that doesn't mean I can't make it right, hm?"

Deep down at the core of the issue? If Thalia hadn't approached Karin or tried to butt heads with her, she'd probably be in the clear. In the unemployment line, but not caught up in a mess she had little to do with. "I... well, I still have one other little activity Joseph wants to have fun with. French lessons? I offered, and I really hate bailing on him like that. We're both sort of helping him out in that regard. You're taking him out to places like soccer and stuff.... and when he comes home, he'll learn a bit of la langue de l'amour." Was this the first time James heard her speak her second tongue? It might've been, but did it matter? He might've caught her speaking Arabic to Roland as well. She knew three languages, and she already knew James spoke quite a few as well. A life of crime brings people close to diverse types of contacts. Then again, Thalia learned French from her mother, so that didn't exactly count. Arabic was from Ra's, however. "I dunno... I want to bond with him. Be close somehow. And he did say in the car that one time that he wanted to learn a romantic language, right?" She shrugged, a cute smile growing across her face. Finally, a skill she could use that didn't involve hurting people.

"An act?" That was a new way to view their little performance. But James brought up a genuine point about it: make it look like they were on edge with each other so nobody gets suspicious. The last thing Thalia needed was Tony assuming she was also sleeping with him. Quite a weird complex he had. It seemed like he assumed she was a sex addict of sorts: getting in whoever's pants she could, when in all honesty, she's only slept with Frank under this roof. She replied optimistically, "Sure. In that sense, maybe it could work. It's like you said, we're both pretty good at what we do. I'm sure we could sell a lie or two to avoid any wandering eyes. This fight we had, it might just make us stronger as a criminal duo... if that's not too creepy..."

Damn it, T, if Tony's eavesdropping, he's gonna interpret that sexually.

Fortunately, he was not. And thank fuck, too. That's the last thing they needed.

Another thing Thalia and James shared: doubt in themselves that they had the capacity to be normal productive members of society. Maybe some motivating words could lift his spirits? "You can't be a father... Like I can be a good big sister?" she smirked, lowering her head to let her bangs cover her left eye. A grin appeared on her face as she got closer to James. "You see... you and I can stay off the radar all we want, get caught up in whatever shady deals and walk away at the end of the day... but in the end, we still have a lot to learn. Maybe being normal will be an obstacle for us both, but I bet one day, Charlie will come to love his big sister, and maybe your son or daughter will come to love you. Perhaps we do have a hope of being normal. Maybe not in the next few days, but eventually, yes. We will."

Motherhood.... that reminded her of her complication with Frank. Was James worth confiding in with something this personal? "James... I don't take you as a romance expert, but I hope you don't mind giving me some advice?" She crossed her arms and kept their friendly conversation going, "You know how Frank has Jordan to take care of now. No doubt he's serious about becoming something more than a temporary fix. I mean, you've seen how they are with each other. And Frank's got too big a heart to just leave him as an orphan..." The breaking-up nature of her voice told that she didn't want to admit to something, but knew she had to come to terms with it. "He wants to be Jordan's father. But I can't be his mother. Not now, not with my life like this. But I really don't want to end things with him. It's been bothering me for so long... and I hate to say that it's best if I just back off of him for the time being. At least until I'm ready to be a mother. In time. I lost enough of my youth to Al-Asheera, and I'm not getting any younger. Not to mention I literally just cooked my first meal a few hours ago. I... can't do it, James. How do I break it to him? Slowly? Or just... rip it off, like a bandage? As a guy who knows how to think outside of emotion, what would you do?"

--

A personal conversation may not have been something that some members of this mansion approved of, but if Jenny and Karin had a mutual friend, it was only appropriate that they get to know each other a bit better. No better way to do that than hang out in a pool house and talk about their lives, their past experiences, how they know Thalia, and the likes. It would also serve as Jenny testing Tony's word. If Karin really was homophobic, she'd push Jenny away the second she admits to the details of her relationship with Thalia in the sixth grade. That was a topic she'd definitely get to later on. But one step at a time.

Thalia came back? The girl in darker make-up did know that her middle school friend was a thief. Was this a heist she was speaking of? Maybe they could sit down and discuss this. And that's exactly what Jenny to the first step in doing, seating herself on one of the couches in the pool house. "She came back... I knew Thalia always had a good side to her. Kind of a geek too, but in the cute way. Quite literally the teacher's daughter, and her dad was a pastor or something. So I would never imagine her as a killer. It was hard to think of her as a member of Al-Asheera, to be honest. I lived in Philly for a good part of their 'reign' there. What are the odds they'd come to LA four years after I got away from it all?" She shrugged. "At least Thalia came with them. She and I have a bit of a.... rough past. Dunno if she told you... we were good friends up in grade school, best friends actually, until the sixth grade. Then... she and I joined a group of friends at a sleepover for spin the bottle. And, well..." This was the home run hitter, tapping her fingers against her glass, formulating her words properly. "We kissed. And in all honesty? We both loved it. The problem was, Thalia was very open about it, how she liked girls. I.... wasn't." She lowered her eyes in a bit of shame. "I denied it and began to make fun of her. I was mean to her about it through middle school. I kinda destroyed our friendship for the sake of popularity. And in hindsight, I really felt bad. It got worse after eight grade graduation when she.... ran away." She took a breath to try to calm herself down. This was a touchy topic, indeed. "I mean, I knew she was cutting herself in the seventh grade, might've even tried to kill herself judging by how defensive her mom got with us classmates, but... god..."

It wasn't a pleasant topic for Jenny. Half of her blamed herself all of these years for Thalia running away. Maybe if she still had her best friend, she could've coped better. She wouldn't be alone, at least. And the details she spoke of regarding Thalia being suicidal as a preteen were ones that Karin didn't know about and might've caught her eye. But Jenny recovered and kept talking, "I always thought, maybe she wouldn't have run away if I was honest with her. Or at least was a bit nicer to her. It's something that's haunted me this whole time. Would we still be in love if I'd just told her how I felt? I don't know. But maybe she wouldn't have joined Al-Asheera and ruined her life. And all I've ever wanted was to find her and make it right. So before I moved to LA in my senior year of high school, I got in front of one of Mrs. Griffin's camera crews and gave a statement... Yeah, T's mom went nuts finding her. Brought news crews and reporters everywhere she went to find her daughter. And I even got a bit of time in front of a camera to talk about our friendship. Even apologize on camera. I don't know if she's ever seen it, but judging how we met on the bus yesterday, she probably didn't. But at least she understands that what's done is done. And maybe we can start over like good old times." She sniffled a bit, but didn't get too invested in her emotions. "I mean... She's lucky she has a friend like you. You two seem very close, right? From what I heard in the bathroom at least."

Too dangerous to bring up as a topic? Maybe not. But at least she was testing whether or not Karin really was homophobic.

Joseph. It was clear as day his dilemma left Karin a bit off her game. He was going through a tough moment, and it was maybe something Jenny could help understand. After taking another gulp of her drink, she smiled to Karin and gave her input, "Well... I'm no mother, but I did work as a babysitter for a while here in LA. So I get that when kids grow up, they want some space. I mean... I was a wreck earlier. He didn't need to see that. And he's probably just processing that. Even at ten, they get all defensive and want their space. Don't tell me you weren't like that with your folk when you were ten, right?" It came out so light-heartedly, even if Karin might've been hurt by her brother pushing her away, but at least the words themselves were friendly. She reached forward and tried to lift Karin's lowered gaze up. Would the contact itself make her uncomfortable? Again, she was testing Tony to see if he were lying. "Hey. It's all a part of growing up. I'm sure he'll come to his senses eventually. That's how kids are. At least the ones I've taken care of. Then again, babysitting isn't like a brother/sister bond, so I might be wrong. I was an only child, so who am I to judge?"

A discussion of their pasts even came up. Karin spoke of her parents' deaths, her brother's sickness, and how she took up the role as Joseph's carer. It left a bit of a sting to Jenny's heart to just imagine what those two went through at the time. "Oh.... god, I'm sorry, Karin. I-I didn't mean to bring that up if you weren't comfortable talking about it. But I have to say, putting your life aside to support your brother? I can't think of anything more selfless, honestly. I kind of... did something different at 18. I mean, sure, I was alright at school back in Philly, happy and all, maybe a bit on edge with my folks, but I knew I had to break free at some point. That's why I came here. Got myself an apartment, parallel jobs, getting an online degree, living my life, partying, dating, friends, the whole nine yards. I wasn't expecting being kidnap but, well..." She sighed, trying to forget that part of the morning. "Y'know, forget it. I'm just a small-time girl with a dream. And I'm happy here."

When the topic of her cut was brought up, she almost forgot about it. How did she hardly feel it? She'd never been hit that hard before. She lifted her right hand up to trace the lining of the bandaged area and smiled faintly. "I mean, yeah... How the hell does this not hurt? I'm feeling better, though. It was rough back at my place, but I'm all good. And don't worry about that James guy. Thalia told me he was... a bit hard to get along with. But I guess it'll settle later. She said she'll negotiate if we stay. Which I won't mind. It's a nice place here."

Stressful topics aside, Jenny placed her glass of lemonade on the coffee table, lifted a leg underneath her other thigh, turned her body to face Karin, and leaned her elbow against the back of the couch with her hand running through her hair. She was all eyes on this new girl she was going to be friends with. "Sooo.... I told you how I met T. Your turn. I take it she was holding you up or something? Hell do I know. Thief stuff."
 
"No, of course not. Not now." He agreed with her. "Sending them on their own would be bad news for both of them - not only is it more risky, but that's not even the main concern. They're both too invested. Karin and Joseph are both very close to me now, and Karin's close to you, too. All they'd do is sit up at night wondering if the following morning they'd get a call saying one of us had been killed, or something, and now that Joseph knows the severity of things, he's going to be worrying about that enough as it is. He's better off here where he can at least do a body-count of everyone he cares about. It won't mean much now, but it'll be better than him having to stay somewhere else and praying that everything turns out okay. As long as we're here, we can be sure no bad shit will go their way." He said.

"I suppose the people I feel worst for are them, and you - Me, I have enough dirt on the two detectives now that if they tried to bring me down, they'd get at least 15 years themselves. They have no real evidence of anything I've actually done, whereas I've got video evidence of both of them doing just about everything. Fighting, torturing, getting weapons from the bunker. I have all of that, sadly, but that's just a backup if one of them decides it'd be in their interest to try and double-cross me. If I vanished once from people who were much more powerful and much more scary than these two, doing it again wouldn't be difficult. I've spent five years with everyone I knew from before thinking I was dead. They still believe it, too, and even if they bumped into me, I have all the documentation of who I am now - James. Bank accounts, fake birth certificates, social security, you name it." He said.

"I give you my word at the end of this, as running isn't going to be quite as simple for you, that you'll get a new identity. Around us and your family, perhaps you can still be known as Thalia, but in general?" He shrugged. "You can be someone completely different, and there's nothing anyone would be able to do to convince anyone otherwise. Once again, Schrodinger's cat. You both are and are not Thalia Griffin until someone can observe the true case. "As for you bonding with Joseph, though..." He ran a hand through his hair. "If you're going to do it, do it. I know a lot has been popping up for us, but, trying today is better than doing tomorrow. That's a life lesson right there. Saying you'll do it is completely different to trying to do it - even if it's ten minutes, it'd show him you're serious and not just building his hopes on empty promises." He said. "I don't know how much the whole deal on learning a language means to him - From what I saw he was quite passionate about picking one up, so, if you get the chance, please do." He nodded to her.

There was more talk of change - Was there the potential for James to be a good father one day? He didn't know. He had a feeling it would be very back and forth at points - how would he know if he was ever doing it right? It was too hard to tell if it was something he'd be good at. Still, he had to move on and stop thinking about it. If it happened, it happened. Plus, if it ever did come to that, surely Karin would have a good idea of what he'd have to do, right? Then again, with Joseph, even though James himself hadn't noticed, he was doing a good job at the whole fatherly wrap. He was combining the right elements of care and encouragement for him, and it was already having great impacts. Still, Thalia had yet another question for him, this time about Frank.

And oh dear, it was quite the deep one.

He sat there for a moment in silence once she was done talking and just had a think about what she'd said, and he was doing his best to process it. It was quite the situation she was in, but, unlike Karin, he was going to be a little more honest. Even though Karin was honest with her, she did sugar-coat it in some ways. James didn't believe in sugar-coating things, unless it was for Joseph, but that sugar coating he'd put over the business they all had had been melted away pretty damn quick this morning. Even so, the main focus was the advice he was going to give her. Was there really a way to word it that didn't sound bad?

"Well." He paused and took a deep breath, "Basically, the way this looks like it's going to unfold is very... One-way. You want one thing, Frank wants another. I do see what you mean - he's very affectionate of Jordan, and he's not going to just pan him off to social services, not with all the risk behind it all." He said. "The way I see things is... Jordan has a shot at a better life than what he'd have if he was out there on his own. I can't define parent-material, but, I think Frank would do a good enough job. Now, the harder part of all of this which may not be what you want to hear is... The 'not yet' concept isn't really something you can run by." He shook his head a little bit. "You're not ready yet, you might be in the future. Yet and might are two key words in that, and at the end of the day, Frank's not getting any younger, either. From what I know he's a few years older than you." He said. "In a few years time chances are you'll be sitting comfy, ready to settle down. The thing about Frank is, he's at an age where he wants to settle down... Now."

He sighed again. "I wouldn't just rip the band aid off in this situation. As painful as this situation may be, I highly doubt you want to be bitter with each other should things draw down to that. The best thing I'd suggest you do is wait for him to put Jordan to bed tonight, because he inevitably will, and then have a talk with him. Break the news to him in a calm way, just let him know how things are, let him know it's not a personal thing against him. The thing about all of this is... There's risk-taking involved. You can either chance it and see how it goes, but, honestly, if you feel like right now it's not going to work out? Chances are the idea of it actually going well on your end is too good to be true - You need to ask yourself, would you want to settle it tonight, or six months down the line where it hurts all parties involved even more? If you don't feel ready to take on that responsibility, it's not necessarily something to be ashamed of. It's good that you recognize that."

He paused again, "All I'm going to say is, if things do come to a close tonight, tomorrow, whenever... Don't start hoping that things will suddenly boot back up a year down the line once everyone's got everything else in order. I sometimes wish it worked that way, too, but with how life unfolds, things aren't black and white like that. Life is something that happens while you're trying to plan it, after all."

--

"Thalia did tell me about you, yeah." She said. "Quite the story. I have to say it's nice to actually meet you, put a face to the name. I never thought I'd get the chance." She laughed a little. What did come as a big surprise, though, was the talk of Thalia's self-harming and potentially being suicidal. She hadn't taken Thalia for that sort of girl at all, but then again, mental illness can come in many forms. She never would have thought Thalia would have fallen that far down, though. It made her sad in many ways - Thalia never actually told her about it, either, so, she was going to have to keep quiet about it. Play dumb and act like she already knew all about that, so, simply, she kept on nodding along to what was said, simply acknowledging all of it and hopefully making Jenny believe that she hadn't just spilled the beans on something serious.

"What happened to Thalia isn't your fault." She said, eventually. "We do stupid things as kids, we do things to other people that we think nothing of, but actually hurt quite a lot. We say things we don't mean and crack under pressure that to adults seems extremely minor. To us, though, the idea of someone not liking us because we kissed a girl or whatever is terrifying. At least when we're kids it's terrifying, I mean. The idea of being kicked out of the clique is enough to make anyone do anything. One of the biggest fears in kids between... I think the ages of 6 and up, is social rejection from peers. Right next to that, they're terrified of throwing up in school." She laughed a little. "I wouldn't worry about what happened - and even if things did pan out differently between you and her, things may have ended up being a lot worse than they are now, you never know. Sure, things are pretty shitty at the minute, but Thalia knows what she wants to do with her life now, and we're close to bringing down one of the most feared organizations in the country." She smiled and shrugged.

"If you ask me, even if middle school was a bit rough, things don't seem so bad now. You're here, she's here, I'm here. We're all in one big mansion with a pool and god knows what else. When you look back on it, has life really been that shit?" She chuckled once. "Sure, I lost my parents - I'm not uncomfortable talking about it, don't worry - but when I look back on it, imagine if they had my brother in the car with them that day?" She asked, "Or even more so, imagine if I was in that car. I never would have been able to watch Joseph grow up, never would have been able to tell him I loved him again, and I would have doomed him to being tossed around the foster system, family to family. Would I ever want that? God no. Things aren'ty perfect and money's hard to come by, but, we've got each other, and that's what matters. Even if I never get to drive a sports car up the coast of California, at least I'll still have him. I'll still have something that matters to me." She said.

"Joseph is growing up, though, just like you said - We always get a little snappy with our parents and all that as we start to get older. I respect he needs space, but..." She sighed. "It's the first time in a long time that he's so directly pushed me away like that. I haven't had anything like that since one of his tantrums when he was younger." She laughed. "Ah, well. I'll speak to him later on and see how he's doing. He won't want to stay in his room forever, that's for sure. Just like you said once again, he needs to come to terms with what happened this morning, and he's probably trying to process that now. A lot must be going through his head. I just need to keep an eye on him, that's all." She said.

"How I met Thalia is interesting. Picture it - Just on my way back from Joseph's diabetic clinic appointment, I stop in at the place I work to get him some lunch. Literally five minutes after we sit down, Thalia and a couple of brutes kick through the door and wave guns around, demanding possessions go on the table, and the cash registers get emptied." She smiled. "Thalia comes face to face with me and Joseph - I refused to get down on the floor with him like everyone else did. I sat there on the chair and just held him to my side - We squared off, she demanded my money, my phone. I spat on the money, scrunched it up, and pushed that and the phone onto the floor in front of her." She paused for a moment and grinned. "In the end, well, a guy ended up getting shot, but she looked right at me and said sorry before she left. I knew she was different at that point - While I'm sat there getting questioned by the detectives only fifteen minutes later, I notice a redhead girl standing across the street looking in through the window at me. I knew it was her, you see, so I got up, went and spoke to her, and at that point we had a mini heart-to-heart and realized that we were very similar to each other." She said.

"Later on, we met up, had a drink or two, and we got to know each other a little more and made this big plan of what Thalia would do if she got away from the bastards she was rolling with before. It was... Pretty great, honestly, and after we got back to my place and found two detectives waiting on the couch? It all went on from there. Those two detectives are the ones we have in there right now - Frank's the nice one, though. If you get a chance to meet him, you should say hi. He's not a dick like his partner." She huffed. "Fun journey, though, right?" She grinned.

Hopefully Jenny believed that Tony's word was bullshit by now. Karin hadn't pushed her away, after all.
 
Disappearing came so naturally to James mainly because he did it so efficiently. Thalia disappeared in a more old-fashioned manner: jumped out of her bedroom window and made a run for it on a dark night down alleyways where there were no street cameras or light poles as to not get caught. No erasing ID's or faking her death, even though there was a conspiracy theory floating around that the body of an unidentified teenager killed in a fire was her, but was later debunked. Even if that did fake her death, Thalia didn't plan that. She didn't plan anything. All she knew at the time was that she wanted to escape her miserable life before it got the better of her: a healthier outlet than self-harm. If she'd kept cutting herself, she feared she might've cut too deep one day, leave a scar, and even end her life. Fortunately, the cuts were cleaned due to her own regrets and the marks don't show up on her arms anymore. She didn't tell Karin because she feared she'd look down on her for it. She was afraid of anyone knowing, honestly. Fortunately, nobody would ever know unless she personally mentioned it. But that was a long time ago. She got over that phase with Al-Asheera, which gave her that self-fulfilling feeling. All in all, though, James might be a whole new person, but Thalia is still, deep down, the same girl who ran away from home in Philly eight years ago. The fake ID promise would do the trick for her, though. "Thanks, James. If I can pick? ... Well, Karin faked my name to be Taylor in front of the detectives to protect me in the beginning. If that could be my new name outside of our little circle.... you know, just as a homage to that moment. Is it possible?" It probably was, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"I don't plan on breaking the promise to Joe today," she continued, "I've broken it yesterday, and now his hopes might be crushed even more. I'm gonna test the water with him. If he likes it, I guess I can keep teaching him some phrases... You were teasing him about learning a romantic language to pick up girls, right?" She smirked. It's not like she didn't use her French to get laid, in all honesty. "Maybe I'll teach him some fancy stuff. See how it fares. He could show off, too. Not exactly valuable qualities, but it's nice to learn languages, n'est-ce pas?" [Isn't it?] Perhaps she was having too much fun, poking a phrase or two here and there when James was unfamiliar with this side of her. She giggled to herself and justified herself. "Sorry, I might be getting carried away with that... If you've got it, flaunt it, right?"

Now the deeper topic: Frank. How would she approach it? She did take Karin's word seriously, but why not get a second opinion? Moreover, James would give her the brutally honest truth. And that was a perspective she wanted.

"I have faith that Frank can give Jordan the life he deserves... something better than now," she sighed, leaning on the desk again. This was a rougher topic for her, so she wanted to lean on something for it. "Kind of like what I wanted. A better life. With him. But I guess.... I don't want it to sound like it's me or the boy. I just don't think I'm ready. He'll understand that, probably, but he will either be heartbroken... or I'm just worried he'll hate me. Yes, you make a point that there's plenty of uncertainties to this, but can you really blame me? I can barely take care of myself. You say I'd be a great mother? Huh... Not now. I don't know when. I just want to be able to keep my own head above water before I can take care of a boy like Jordan. I'm..." she sighed. "I feel like a child more often than not. Nobody would ever trust me with their kids. Why would they? I'm just.... ugh...."

Thalia wasn't putting herself down for no reason. Her own words against herself felt in place. She literally feared dropping Jordan if it went down to helping him reach something. "It already hurts from now and I haven't even broken it off yet. Today in the kitchen? When I threw myself into his arms and kissed him? It's because I felt so bad for sidelining him, and I wanted him to know that I care. And I do, but I don't know if I can commit to being his girlfriend... while we have a kid to take care of on day two or three. It's too much for me. But I don't want it to hurt more than this... so I guess, tonight? It's the better option? I.... I hope."

Lastly, he brought up the idea about things not getting better magically overnight. They might never. And it was a harsh reality she didn't want to face. "Yeah.... I get it, James." It came out so neutral, even though it felt like a stab to her heart to hear that. Not a single stab, but many to imagine it. The color in her face faded, despite how she tried her best to keep her cool. She wasn't, not in the slightest. She was afraid of it all, ashamed that she had to call things off so quickly all because of one bump in the road. Maybe things will never work out with Frank. Even if there were plenty of fish in the sea... none were like Frank. And that ached and ate her alive on the inside. "T-Thanks, James. I appreciate the bluntness."

Part of her did. Part of her wished she and Frank were still in bed a few nights ago having the time of their lives.

--

Jenny didn't notice that she'd mentioned a sensitive issue about Thalia's past that she hadn't opened up to about with Karin. She just went on the assumption that Karin knew everything. For the most part, she did. Except for the self-harm issue. How could she know if the scars faded away? Nobody would know. Jenny only knew because she exploited it as a reason to continue making fun of Thalia. But was this slip up about to provoke a one-on-one conversation between Karin and Thalia about the past? Maybe some horrible memories she didn't need to be reminded of?

"Well, the past is the past, isn't it?" She added on, "Thalia knows I didn't mean to hurt her. We talked for a while yesterday on the bus, how what we went through in middle school was dumb and should've never happened. Whether or not we'd be together today or not, or if we'd have dated then had a worse falling out... that's besides the point. But she would've never fallen into her depression. She would've been happier outside of her family. She could've been happier. All because we kissed and well... ruined everything." She sighed. "Then I was too ashamed to admit I had a crush on her, too. So it's all about the social food chain in school. And instead of keeping her close, I shunned her for the vanity behind being a cool girl. So it... sucks. I wish I could've been a better best friend to Thalia. But I mean... you two seemed close, right?"

She was obviously referring to them hugging on the ground of Thalia's room, sharing their own concern for each other and promising not to abandon the other. It was that scene that reminded Jenny of what Tony mentioned about Karin. She suspected that, after that display with one another and even seeing Thalia kiss Karin ever so innocently, that maybe her childhood friend was in love with Karin. But who was she to judge? She approved of it, 100%. But if Karin was homophobic, that would break Thalia's heart. She'll get hurt, and if there's anything Jenny could still do, it's protect her friend from getting hurt. So she had to inquire directly whether Tony's words had any merit to them. If Karin actually said what she said. Later...

"I mean, hell yeah," she said with a smile. "This place? It's incredible. As much as I liked the humbler lifestyle, it's still a hell of a lot of fun to hang around a place like this. Seems like there's a lot to do. Adventures. Games. A fucking private pool? Damn, I can't wait to have fun around here. Maybe the three of us girls can chill some day, am I right?" She poked fun at the idea, nudging Karin's shoulder playfully. "I mean, sure, today's sucked. Some parts of all three of our lives have sucked. But as much as it sucks, there's gotta be a silver lining in it all. Um... we have each other? We are living in this awesome place?" She laughed. "Sure, it's all thanks to that James guy. It's his place. I should thank him for keeping me around, that is if Thalia and I are staying... I hope we are, though. You seem like a lot of fun. T seems to like you, too..."

A perfect transition to her next topic. And it helped to hear the story about how the two met. It seemed.... cute, in it's own way, and it made Jenny smile, adored by their encounter, how feisty it seemed and then became very heart-filled. She could just imagine it vividly in her artistic mind just playing out in front of her. "God, get out of here, you! That sounds exactly like something the Thalia from middle school would do. Making a friend in the weirdest place then chilling on the sidelines. Karin, you struck gold with her, I must say. Thalia is the best friend you could ever ask for. I never appreciated it, and she is a bit of an introvert. Maybe even aggressive at times? A compulsive liar apparently... Aw, fuck it. She's great. No doubt." After the slew of one-up comments in Thalia's direction, she moved forward on her more concerning topic: Tony. "That 'other detective'. Tony, right? The older looking one that came for us and shot the guy...." She scratched her arm beneath the bicep briefly, showing her discomfort in the idea of Tony. "He's a dick. I mean.... in all honesty?" Was she really about to expose this right now? "He approached me before I came to you, getting up in my face begging for a thank you for saving my life, even though I don't think T needed his saving. But then...."

She gulped. Was there really a nice way to bring this touchier part of the conversation up? "I'm kind of nervous to ask you, Karin. I saw how close you and Thalia were when I was leaving the bathroom. She's very... sensitive, and doesn't take heartbreak easily, so I have to ask. Tony approached me saying you were homophobic. And I think you know by now that Thalia's sexual preference is rather... open. I mean, I know she crushed on me, and I'm sure she's liked plenty of other girls in her time... But are you.... repelled by her for that? At all? Even enough discomfort to call yourself homophobic? I mean... Tony said you talked kinda negatively about lesbians the other day, before I showed up? 'Do I look like a fucking lesbian' or something, were his words? I-I don't take offense to it. I've met people who've said worse things, but I don't think Thalia knows, and like I said, she's more sensitive about who she gets attached to and how it ends. If that kind of comment reaches her, and it was true...." She sighed almost in disappointment, "Karin, she'll be devastated. And I see the way she acts around you, how she treats you, how she talks to you. She hasn't been that attached to someone since me..." Did that give a false impression of Thalia having a crush on Karin, which Jenny was only assuming herself? "It would REALLY crush her if you play with her emotions just to smash them to the ground just like that. I just want to know... what Tony told me about what you said: does it have any merit?"

Could it at all?
 
He had faith that Thalia would deliver on her word to keep her promise to Joseph today. There had already been a few opportunities that had come up and gone by without a second thought, and he could only imagine that it was starting to impact the boy in one way or another. He needed to make sure that he was okay, too - He had no idea that the talk Karin tried to have with him had been unsucessful, but it was something he was bound to find out at some point in the day, wasn't it? He couldn't say he could personally picture Joseph speaking French, but then again, the idea of Joseph speaking any language other than English felt rather strange for now.

He knew where the boy's mind was wandering, though. He wanted to explore. Wanted to learn. Not only that, but he was beginning to take interest in girls, it seemed. Even if it was nothing more than a little elementary school crush, it was still something that was worth paying attention to. Paying attention to it now would definitely help him in later life, that was for sure. Once he reached high school, James was sure he'd be flying. If he had the right level of confidence, he had a feeling he was going to be able to get anywhere. James would gladly help push him all the way, too. He was already doing that by getting him reintroduced to sport and everything. Slowly but surely, James was convinced Joseph would eventually climb his way to the top. Success doesn't come without effort, after all.

"Taylor?" He asked, then smiled. "Heh, of course that's possible. Consider it done just as soon as Ra's is nothing more than a patch of dirt." He said, simply. He was going to keep to that promise. "I'll make sure I give you a real nice name to go with it, as a surname, I mean. I'll find something suitable." He nodded.

Back to the talk of Frank, James could see it was eating away at her. As much as he wanted to tell her what she wanted to hear, he knew that would just be even more unfair. If he got her signed up for something she couldn't even bargain for, then that would be the cruelest thing, and it would without a doubt hurt her and everyone else involved a lot more in that circumstance.

"I can't blame you, no. These doubts are normal for someone in your position." He said. "Look at all those that are in your shoes, in the prime of their life and they have choices to make. Aside from the ones that get pregnant and have a baby and everything, how many of them do you really think would jump at the opportunity to do something like this? The answer is, hardly any. Twenty-one. College age. The age people start partying heavily and travelling the world - all of those things. There's not many 21-year-olds out there that are prepared to suddenly take on a child when they're more or less only away from the age where they're considered children themselves. Sure, some people may compare you to me - Look at how James took on Karin and Joseph, and so on. Difference between you and me is I've grown up in the real world, and... At least not to your extent, I wasn't a prisoner to a group you had no control over. Even more so, I have life skills, money, a house of my own, cars, connections - If one thing went wrong tomorrow I could immediately rebuild it, whereas, no offense, if a similar thing were to happen to you? It might take months, maybe years, to recover from a huge blow. So no, I don't blame you for thinking it might be best to pull out while you have the chance to do so. It's a reasonable thought to have for someone in your shoes." He said.

He sighed, "You feel like a child because you've not had the chance to show that you're worth anything more than than until a few days ago." He said. "People wouldn't trust you with their kids? What about Karin?" She asked. "She's trusting you with Joseph, trusted you enough to let you stay under the same roof as him, trusted you enough to let you offer him French lessons. You don't give yourself enough credit." He said. "I think, at the end of the day, Thalia, you need to make the decision on what you want to do." He said. "I don't know much about children, but, I am a former child." He laughed. "My parents? Well, sure, they weren't the most orthodox, but, I turned out alright. But you need to ask yourself this - In a life with Jordan and Frank, can you get what you want, can Frank get what he wants, and can Jordan get what he needs?" He asked. "If you can answer all three of those questions honestly, then you'll have your answer to all of this. "Like I said, just talk to him. Frank's not going to whip out a gun and put a bullet in you for bringing up a concern."

--

"The social food chain in schools is something every kid worries about, even from a young age. God knows Joseph worried about it a lot." She said. "He doesn't worry about it so much anymore. He's got his friends, he's got all the people he gets on really well with, but before? Before he was scared that the people he was close friends with were just going to up and leave him because he liked something different to them, you know? I'm not talking sexuality, by the way. I just mean in general. As far as I can tell, Joseph's going to be a real gentleman, really in it for the ladies. Hopefully not too 'in it' that he makes a bunch of heavy mistakes, but, we'll see how things go. I've raised him to be responsible, kind, focused... I hope he keeps those traits as he gets older. He's done a pretty good job so far."

"There's definitely a silver lining in all of this. Thalia has a rebel heart, for sure, but from that we got a good friendship. She's a rebel, I'm a rebel - What more need I say?" She grinned. The friendship she had with Thalia felt almost untouchable, and even Jenny had a lot to say about her, a lot of good things, despite having not seen her for years on end now. It just went to show that Thalia was a good friendship choice, no doubt, so Karin was happy enough where she was. She didn't think anything could go wrong, but...

Then she heard what Tony said.

"Oh, that son of a bitch." She snarled, quickly. The low-blow with bringing up Joseph was damaging enough, but now, he was slandering her to a girl that had only just arrived? "Listen, no no no." She quickly waved her hands and cut her off. "You don't listen to Tony. Don't ever listen to him. Take everything he says with a pinch of salt, and no matter what it is, always question it no matter how believable it is." She said. "I'm not homophobic, god know. The story behind that is Tony came up to me in the midst of an argument and accused me of being a lesbian and having a thing going on on the side with Thalia - He said all of this in front of James. You know why? It's because I put him in his place when he picked a fight with Thalia, started touching her hair and her face - It was the night she walked off and met you, believe it or not. He did all of that shit and I told him to shove it up his ass, and he didn't like the fact that I was siding with her and throwing shit at him. He then accused me of secretly fucking Thalia, basically." She said. "I won't deny that I said that, but, that's because he picked a fight with me and I had to make it clear I didn't swing that way. I love Thalia to pieces, but she knows well enough that I'm not someone who's into women, or both men and women. Don't worry." She sighed.

"God, what an asshole. You know what else he did? He threatened to call the CPS to get Joseph taken away from me in that very same argument. He was going to tell them I couldn't afford his medical treatment so that they rushed in and swiped him from me. Yeah, that's the sort of guy that's tried to feed you bullshit just now. Believe me, I am the most understanding and most accepting person you will ever meet - I always have been very open about things, I've never been judgy. I'm setting the best impression I can for Joseph, after all - But Tony? Believe me, Jenny, the guy is an asshole, and if you're not careful, he'll give the same maltreatment to you that he's been giving to Thalia. Don't let yourself get cornered alone in a room with him. The guy's a fucking Boogeyman." She said.

She leaned back, and she took a deep breath.

"I'm okay. Sorry. I ranted a bit there, but, trust me, the guy's just trying to outline both me and Thalia. He's been against Thalia since day one, and as soon as he realized I was on her side and sleeping with the guy that's basically got Tony by the balls? He thought he could play it smart to try and make me quiet, but, instead, he's probably shitting himself considering he just took a beating, and I'm in bed with the guy who dished that beating out. He doesn't want to fuck with me directly, so he's doing it behind my back. You might not believe me, and I wouldn't blame you - If you're not sure of what I'm saying, just go ask Thalia. She knows that Tony's been spreading rumors about me and her. I get the feeling he's trying to break this whole team down so it falls to pieces. You and I both need to keep an eye on each other, and on Thalia, because I don't like to think about what Tony's intentions are. Imagine how things could have turned out if it was just Thalia there with that guy Tony killed? I'm willing to bet he would have let the guy shoot her and then shoot him after. But that's just a chaos theory, really." She sighed.

She was quiet for a moment more.

"God, that's really pissed me off." She murmured.
 
No doubt Thalia would hold up her end of the deal. She had plans to meet up with him by surprise and say a few things in French, see if it'd catch his eye, test the waters to see if it were a hobby he'd enjoy. But right now, James probably wanted some alone time with the boy to calm him down, and surely she was the last person he wanted to sit down with, and she accepted that. So she left the situation as it was. The conversation about Frank, though, is what was occupying her mind beyond all else. How to break it to him? Where? Surely it'd be later in the day, but how would he react? It was all so scary to imagine, especially losing the first man she'd really fallen in love with in a very long time. She was honestly terrified of the resulting heartache. After all the cheap teasing, the promises to do all sorts of activities together, even imagining their first proper date, it was all about to be thrown away because Frank's heart extended towards a child in need, and there was no way he was going to throw him to social services, much like James suggested. Like it or not, it really was Jordan or Thalia. And she refused to make him pick and would give up her playful romance so that Jordan could be raised by one of the greatest men she'd known.

"Unlike the others..." she sighed, "They had a proper childhood. I.... sorta didn't. I was raised by two loving parents, sure, but it's a bit more complicated than that. Middle school was tough, especially when your best friend betrays you goes from having your back to making fun of you for who you are..." At this point, there was no use masking who this 'best friend' was. "It was Jenny, James. She was my Karin in childhood back in Philly, up until she started spreading rumors about me, making fun of me to my face, all so she could get popular..." She left out the details about her depression, however. That was too sensitive to bring up to someone like James, who would be too blunt for her liking and less than compassionate. "God damn... It's in the past, and she and I are okay now, but still. It didn't help to know I had no one and that was a reason to throw away my life..." She pressed her hands, palm-and-palm together and lifted them so her fingertips would reach her nose. "Sure, most 21-year-old girls are out living their lives, and here I am risking mine because I screwed up eight years ago. And in the end? I won't get any credit if we bring Al-Asheera down. Because I can't show my face again. I'll be unaccomplished, except a life of crime that I had to destroy. I bet it's easy for you to say, because you can be proud of what you do to a degree. I can't. That's the thing. I have no clue if I'll be like any other girl my age and fun the way I do. I'll always be looking over my shoulder wondering if anyone pulls me aside and asks if I'm Thalia Griffin, the girl who ran away from home in Philly eight years ago. Thanks to all the media attention my disappearance got, it'll just follow me. Know what I mean? It's like you said: you could pull yourself from whatever mess you end up in. I could take the rest of my life to recover."

Did Karin trust Thalia with Joseph as much as James it it out to seem? Even after the little shitshow in the kitchen, she still had that sort of trust? It brightened her mood to think of that and even forced a smile on her face. Maybe he was right but. But teaching Joseph a language was one thing. Raising a child like her own was very different. And it all fell back to what James was asking: can all three of them get the life they wanted or needed? Was it at all possible? "I guess.... the best thing to do would be talk to him. See what he wants exactly. Tell him what I want. I know we'll be going our separate ways, but... can you blame me if I say I'll miss him? Even if it was all fun and games and purely powered by lust, can you blame me for still having feelings for him? I mean, sure, I'll still try to be his friend, but if I know anything about relationships, it's never that easy. I'm just worried it'll be the end of us from here on out. Sure, he's more reasonable than Tony, but how reasonable can a heartbroken man really be, James? I've been around guys who've blown up when they realized I only slept with them for a one-night stand. Violent men. I would barely get out alive, and they all seemed like sweethearts in the beginning. Frank will be upset and heartbroken when I tell him that I'm basically leaving him because of Jordan. I'm... just worried. But I'll end it tonight."

Enough about her problems. She went on to a more serious and pressing matter. "Is... there anything you need from me? I wanna hang out with Karin for a bit before we have to pick up Roland. And I'm sure you want to check on Joe, so.... I won't keep you any longer."

--

Though she didn't expect it at first, Jenny was really starting to bond with Karin, and not because she was forced to with Thalia in the middle, but because she genuinely found her enjoyable to be around. Fun to talk to, open to discuss certain topics, a lot of common ground as well, and a general comfort zone around her. Perhaps by this conversation alone, Tony was proven wrong and Karin was equally pleased by their conversation. But she still asked straightforward about what she'd said before, if Tony could be trusted. Maybe her assumptions were wrong. But they did bond well in this moment: talking about rebellion and kids together as well as how they met their mutual friend. Even with the details about children, it still felt comfortable.

Even with the 'in it' jokes with Joseph, which made Jenny laugh, despite how it was rather nasty to imagine.

"My god, Karin, that's a ten year old boy we're talking about," a friendly slap hit Karin's shoulder in the midst of Jenny's laughter. "Do NOT put images of a kid like that being 'in it' in my head. I swear, do it to whoever else you want, just not a little boy. THAT is weird." Honestly, she didn't mind sexual humor. On the contrary, she loved it, and it was all part of the joke. But the idea of sex was about to resurface with Tony and his accusations. Karin instantly jumped to the defensive, justifying why she said what she said and giving details about her distaste for Tony. And it all seemed right in its place. Jenny had to give her point of view on the whole thing, too. It was very enlightening to know these things about 'Detective Walsh', and taught her where to leave her trusts in.

"Okay.... I've got a lot to say..." She cleared her throat, "First of all, what's his problem if someone's gay? I think we've moved passed the point as a species where it's THAT weird and worth shunning someone for... hypocritical of me to say, who did exactly that eight years ago, but I was a stupid kid in denial that she, herself, was gay, so go figure." She shrugged. "Second, I wouldn't... blame him for thinking Thalia is attractive? I mean, come on, straight or gay, you have to admit she's hot. Don't tell me YOU didn't notice that when you met her. So of course, top that off with her being bi, and boom. Tony thinks she's some sort of sexual beast who will sleep with anything with a hole. He called me out for the same reason too, just before I came in here with you. Huh.... I think he just really needs to get laid, don't you think?" A poke of humor in the midst of a stressful situation. "I mean, I bet he's one of those schmucks who thinks he'll get lucky one day and be surrounded by beautiful women willing to pleasure him to the best of their abilities. Wanna be that he's fantasizing that all three of us will take turns on his dick one night out of the blue?" A nasty image to put in both of their heads, but Jenny had honestly envisioned worse. Including Joseph being a womanizer, which still took the crown.

Karin also admitted to being straight, no interest in women, as well as being in a relationship with James, which Jenny didn't mind in the slightest. She was primarily worried about Thalia, who might be unaware. Sure, Thalia thought that Karin was a boundary she just couldn't cross, but after what she'd seen, Jenny couldn't help but assume that her middle school friend had a glint of hope in a romance between the two, and she didn't want her to get hurt from it. Of course, Karin wouldn't mean the harm, and Jenny might be making a bit of a jump with her assumptions, but she felt she'd have to bring them up eventually.

"Third... Why? Why is Tony doing this? Why is he risking it all to make an enemy out of Thalia? He doesn't trust her? Or is it the whole desperation to get laid thing? I mean, if he was touching her and all, I'm sure he wants in her pants. No fucking doubt about it. But he's gone after YOU too? And your brother? He's fucking low. I've met some bitches in my time, but Tony takes the cake. No doubt about that. I promise, I won't let him get the better of me. And I most definitely won't let him get near Thalia either. And to top it off? Consider me on your side as well. If Tony attacks you, he attacks me. He won't boss us around. I ... Ugh, he was just so annoying when he confronted me. Trying to make himself seem all high-and-mighty, making me call him 'Detective Walsh' like he's some big deal or something. Pfft. Pathetic.

Talking about this seemed to make Karin so tense. Jenny reached forward, her hand taking Karin's and pulling it forward so they'd meet halfway. "Hey. Calm down. I believe you. And I've got your back. And I'm sure after what happened to Tony in the kitchen, he's not gonna try anything wise for a little while. He's probably learned not to fuck with your boyfriend. He might try to fuck with us though. We're not gonna let that asshole corner us, right?"
 
"I respect things were different for you. I looked into your background just as much as I could and there's several news clippings that give theories of what may have been happening leading up to your disappearance. It's always been no more than a mystery - What happened, I mean. Once Al-Asheera are most certainly dead and gone, at least the leaders of them, then the rest will fall apart. Rookies stay rookies without someone to guide them - without someone to guide them they get cocky, and they either screw it up and get thrown in prison, or mess it up so badly that they end up dead. If you did as much as get in front of a camera and tell everyone you were safe, then that'd destroy the potential publicity a news agency could get when they spot you in the street. Anything left of Al-Asheera will just fizzle away, or, they'll realize they were being nothing but brainwashed, and finally, they'll have their freedom, too." He said.

"You want out of Al-Asheera for many reasons. I doubt you're the only one, either. Given, others may want to leave for reasons completely different to you, but, that doesn't mean they don't want to leave. You'll be bowed upon by some of these people for giving them the chance to escape. How many kids want better shoes and a new basketball? That's how easy it is to convince people to throw their lives away. I hate to say it, but, picture Joseph - Six years down the line, who's to say he wouldn't take up an offer like that one? An offer to get an excess amount of money, help him pay off debts for school, help him get better medical care, new soccer gear - It's scary, but from my experience, it's how gangs work. You promise your lemmings greatness and riches, and you make them pledge allegiance to that." He shrugged.

"At least you and I are dead set on stopping that, and McAllister is deadset on stopping Bradan. We'll leave him to do what he needs to do, and we can work on taking down these bastards." He said. "Believe me, Thalia, a year or so of publicity is much better than trying to live in hiding. I've been there. I've lived in hiding more or less on my own for five years now, and it does things to you. You watch everyone else's lives go by while you're sat there worrying if tomorrow is the day that everything slips. It's not a good place to be in. I promise, I'm going to help you get a normal life back, even if I have to bring down all the network agencies piece by piece, giving it in bold - 'Leave Thalia Griffin Alone'. I know it's a big promise to make, but, if you ever want something like that done, you know I'm more than capable." He said.

He could see the talk of Frank was still eating at her, breaking her down, so he just shook his head and rose to his feet, placing a hand down on her shoulder. "Honestly, I think Frank will understand .Sure, you're both going to walk away from it being heartbroken, but, Frank is a smart man, and you're a smart girl. He won't hold this against you. When there's a kid in the equation, having any feeling of hatred is very hard to do. Even with me knowing Joseph for a couple of days, I've noticed my calmness has stayed at a much lower level, other than this morning. Unless you do something directly against Jordan, I don't think Frank's going to despise you for this choice, okay?" He offered her a little smile. "Talk to him, get a common ground, come to an understanding, and just have his back for the next however long. You'll only stop being friends if you both let it happen."

He felt he'd said as much as he needed to there.

"I'll leave you to your own thing, Thalia. Like you said, I need to go and talk to Joseph." He patted her shoulder, and before he left the room, he grabbed the gun from the drawer. He didn't want that out of his sight - he had no idea if someone was going to go rooting through his stuff, and a hot gun was the last thing he wanted anyone to find. With Jordan wandering about, too, he didn't want to take the risk, although Jordan probably knew the danger of guns. He had a SWAT Commander for a father, after all, one of the men in the PD that more or less lived and breathed weaponry. Even so, he went off, and left Thalia to her own means.

--

"It's a ten-year-old boy for now, correction." She laughed. "Come on, you were a kid once. A lot of the women I've spoken to when I was waiting for Joseph outside his school tell me all the stories. You can tell exactly what kind of person your boy's gonna' be, even from a young age. When Joe was in first grade, I had the moms of other kids telling me about how their sons were going to grow up to be quiet, loud, romantic, funny, overly-thoughful - They're not wrong. I knew Joseph would be an outgoing kid from his first week in preschool, for god's sake." She laughed. "Now look at him, now he's on about impressing girls by learning French, he's doing very masculine sports, cares about how he looks and how he presents himself - He acts like he's not that vain, but, he really is. It's brilliant." She laughed. "All I'm saying is I hope when he's older he doesn't bring home too many girls - there's a limit on how many people you should bring home over the course of say, a few years, and with Joseph, if it's anything above three, I'm going to start getting worried." She slapped her knee and let out a laugh. It was all fun and games, really. The thing that tickled her most was trying to build an accurate profile of Joseph when he was older. It was all up in the air right now.

Either way, back to the more serious talk.

"Tony has an issue with people being gay because he's traditional and probably extremely insecure." He said. "I first wondered if Tony was gay himself, had a crush on his partner, Frank, but he's too much of an asshole with him around for that to be true. He's not trying to impress shit with Frank." She laughed. "He given you the whole 'I've been in a happy relationship for ten years' wrap yet? Because if that's the case, the girl's either sleeping with someone else on the side, or she's finding... Other ways to satisfy her needs." She cracked up a little at that point and chortled out some laughter. "Like you said, he needs to get laid. He's in more dire need of sex than any man I've ever met, and that's really saying something. I've met some interesting guys. I was one of those girls that had friends from all different groups in school - Jocks, geeks, introverts, extroverts. I was chill with everyone, and believe me, there were a lot of thirsty people in those crowds, male and female, but Tony tops my damn list, that's for sure."

"I'm willing to bet he lies there at night thinking about me and Thalia doing something unspeakable to him, as if we're both going to walk into his room with a glass of warm milk while wearing nurses outfits, or some shit. They're thoughts that every guy fantasizes about, obviously, but I get the impression Tony gets it a little more often than he should. As for why he does all of this, and why he threatens me with empty words that just piss me off - I don't know. He treats Thalia like shit for no good reason - I mean, there's speculation that she was involved in an incident where his previous partner before Frank got injured. There's no concrete evidence that she was the one who injured him, but, she's getting the blame for it, and now, I think that hate's turned into something more than just 'revenge'." She shrugged.

When Jenny attempted to calm Karin's nerves, it definitely got a smile out of her.

"Yep. We're in this together. Right now... I think it's four against one. Me, you, Thalia, James.... Against Tony. Frank? I'm not sure. Frank's become very docile since the kid came here. Just as some backstory, the little boy he's got hanging around him isn't his son. He's the son of a SWAT Commander that was killed by The Clover Boys. Family massacre. Poor thing lost his dad, mom, and his older sister. Frank found him curled up under his bed when they checked the place out. Because of everything that happened, the little boy - Jordan - doesn't like being around people so much. He does great with Frank, as you may have seen, but, you'll notice he gets very on-edge if someone else walks into the room - Just a word of warning. He needs time to get used to everyone, I noticed." She explained. She figured giving fair warning for the incident that occurred would be the best thing, just so Jenny had that heads up.

--

Joseph's Room

Knock knock, and then entered James.

He looked over at Joseph and took a sigh - curled up on the bed still, just sort of staring into nothingness. James walked up to the beside, of course, and much like Karin had previously done, he sat down beside him.

"Hey." James said.

"Hey." Joseph mumbled back, taking a deep breath.

"You want to talk, Joe?"

Joseph was silent for a few moments, "Did Karin make you come in here?"

"No, I came in here myself."

Joseph slowly sat up and shuffled over to James' side, setting his head down against him. He got a comforting arm put around his shoulders - He didn't have a hatred for Karin, but, he didn't want her to try and deal with this. He knew she was hardly even involved in everything that had been going on, not like Thalia and James were. James was his best bet for honesty at this point, he figured. He didn't want people to butter him up about everything. He wanted the truth - no more white lies that didn't mean anything.

"Why is all this happening?" Joseph asked, quietly. "When's it going to stop? I just want things to be normal with everyone again, like they were before."

"Sometimes when we plan things, they don't go as well as we expect." James rubbed his shoulder, "Like today, what happened with Tony and that man, and Jenny. That wasn't something we planned to happen, not at all. I didn't even know it happened until they got back and told me, so, there you go. It's a mystery why some things happen, buddy, but, we need to do what we can to push through them. There's no use giving up now." He explained. "We just need to stick together, and we'll be alright. Strength in numbers."

Joseph nodded, and after a minute of silence, he asked something else. "I asked Karin the same thing, but, I don't know if she was being honest or not." He said. "Are we in danger?"

James sighed, "You and Karin, most definitely not. Me, I'm in as much danger as I want to be, so, I'm okay. Thalia, Frank, Tony... For them it's a little different, and if they didn't have me helping them, chances are they'd all be in quite a lot of danger. But the thing is, that's not the case, and we're a team here, doing our best to work things out, alright? For now, everyone's safe. Especially you and Karin. I won't let anything happen to you guys - none of us would."

"Thanks." He whispered back, closing his eyes.

James put a hand on his head instead. "I wouldn't worry too much, Joey. Things'll be okay." He nodded, "In fact, tomorrow, me and you could easily go out and get some ice cream or something, just to get you away from the house. Maybe a haircut, too." He chuckled, "But, stay strong, alright? Your sister... I know she tells you what you want to hear a little too much, but, you just gotta' remember she's trying to look out for you."

He sighed, "I know."

"Alright. I'll leave you to it for a little while if you want, but, cheer up, okay?" He winked, then gave him a little hug. "All's fine." He said, standing up and giving him one last pat on the head before he left the room - more drama was right around the corner, though.

--

Frank's Room

Jordan had complained of a stomach ache not long after they'd finished their game of pool, so, the most reasonable thing Frank felt to do was take him back to a room and wait for him to go to the bathroom and everything, but, the choice of room caused a lot of drama almost immediately. While he was leaning against the wall outside the bathroom door, he glanced around at some of his stuff and noticed one thing over everything else. His holster was empty. That certainly wasn't normal - He didn't know who to suspect, either. Why would Tony take a gun when he had his own? Was it James? Had James stopped trusting him, or something? Either way, he needed to get to the bottom of it, and he needed to do it while he had a window of time. He'd quite literally caught Jordan with his pants down now, so, he could easily slip away and ask questions while he was occupied - Not without letting him know, though.

He knocked on the bathroom door, "J, I just need to step out and talk to someone for five minutes. You okay here on your own for a few?"

"Yep." A voice squeaked from behind the door.

"Alright." He replied, and with that he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him - He imagined Jordan wanted some better privacy, anyway. It was a bit of a complicated spot - He only felt comfortable having Frank nearby him most the time, but in times like that? Sometimes it was just better to be alone, Frank imagined. Either way, he went straight through to the ktichen, and, he found just the man he was looking for. James.

"James." Frank said, sternly.

"Hm?"

"My gun. My gun is missing. Someone took it. Would you happen to know anything about that?"

James knew it was an accusation more than a question, but, it's pretty obvious what immediately came to mind for James.

"What gun is it?"

"M1911, steel slide, wooden grip. It's a police-issue weapon."

"Would this happen to be it?" He asked, pulling the gun from his jacket. There was a lot of rage building up, but, he was doing a damn good job at hiding it. It was all confirmed when Frank's eyes narrowed and immediately snatched it from his hand.

"Why do you have this?"

"You're asking the wrong person, pal." He whispered, then wandered a little until he had Tony in his sights. "It's not me you should be asking." He said, then glanced between Tony and Frank. Yep. James was intending to light the fuse and run - he was done with diplomacy. He'd given Tony a chance, and Tony hadn't even been honest and told him it was Frank's weapon? Then again, Tony probably didn't want to risk getting a bullet in him.

"What do you mean?" Frank asked, immediately. James stayed silent, and continued looking slowly between Frank and Tony. Lighting the fuse. "James, I'm not fucking around. What the fuck's going on?" He asked, his gun clutched tightly in his right hand.

"It's not me who needs to explain." James said, quietly. He was just about ready to get out the popcorn. This was going to be a day to remember, but, he wanted to see shit get sprayed over Tony. He was sure whatever Frank had to say was the least of Tony's worries by now, but, he wasn't going to doubt what might happen here.
 
Reassurance from others might not have meant as much to some parties, but Thalia certainly enjoyed it from James, the thoughts he had about her future and the endgame results of her organization's demise. Thalia knew for sure that there were many Al-Asheera members who were just as unfortunate as she was: caught up in a bad situation because they had no choice, or Ra's flapped his gums to convince them that they were on a righteous path. Without The Head to guide them on this path, it would give them the reality check they so desperately needed. Maybe they would praise her for being a deciding force in the downfall. Maybe she'd be forgotten and forever on the run from vengeful men who were too far gone with the brainwashing and hypnotism that Al-Asheera promoted. But what mattered most was that Ra's would receive due punishment. Even if she had to lose it in front of everyone and brutally stab him to death to make sure he never gets back up, she knew that she'd do it. Just so he would never walk the earth again and do what he'd done to her to someone else.

A new life was nigh, but she couldn't rest just yet. There was still plenty to go on; another five members of The Ten to hunt down, Melissa to save, Roland to trade, and a large lumpsum of money to be used at their disposal. Whether it'd be handed to Ra's or used to fund an operation was still unknown, but it was a resource they now had, and one Thalia planned to put to good use. Today's agenda was all planned out, and her hopes were regenerated. Whatever the future would hold was still a mystery, whether she'd abandon everyone she cares about and be someone else to avoid any unnecessary connections or get in front of a bunch of cameras in her mother's arms, the lost Philly girl finally found... whichever outcome it was, she'd brace herself for it. Her eye was now on the ball and focusing less on Frank. She couldn't dwell over her aching heart now. Maybe at the end of the day, but not when there were still things to be done.

Her mother might be coming today. And Charlie. She couldn't even believe how that slipped her mind. It was such a good day from the beginning. A text from Jenny to hang out, the heartfilled moment between her and Karin with the gift-giving, and the knowledge of being reunited with her family. That joy couldn't be killed now. Now with James going his separate ways, the redhead thought she'd check on Karin by now. If her guess was any bit accurate, she'd be poolside like usual. Karin said she loved the pool after all, and Thalia was starting to see why. She wasn't expecting Jenny to be with her. Honestly, even if she left Jenny asleep earlier, she wouldn't have expected the two to get along this quickly at all. How wrong she was...

Meanwhile, the conversation between Jenny and Karin was only getting better, laughs, jokes, warnings, but overall enjoyable regardless. They spoke about her brother growing up. About bringing girls home, too, which appealed to Jenny in a sense of her sex life back in high school. She felt a need to pitch in.

"Coming from MY high school years as an experience judge? I bet you he's gonna hide a lot from you if he's going full womanizer. Believe me, if I told my parents how many people I've slept with in high school? ... Well, let's say Thalia's priest father and mine were very, very good friends. So that should speak a number for their religious stance. Took them a while to accept I was gay, which they still are very iffy about, but if they knew how many girls I'd slept with from 9 through 12? They'd never let me back in the house again," She burst into laughter. "Hey, advice: be open about your brother and his choices. At least tell him to use protection if he's going to go nuts. Show some support. He'll get bored eventually. Well... I hope. I really don't speak with the kids I babysit after they outgrow the age they need a sitter. So I wouldn't know what they're up to. So who am I to give advice like that?"

Tony was still a hot topic, and one she wanted to continue making fun of. "Insecure is an understatement. He just really, really wants to stick it in something and stop using his hand for a night. He did mention having a girlfriend for like, 10+ years, and how he claims to 'care about her'?" She curled her index and middle fingers in each hand as if to put what he said in quotes. "Bullshit. I have a hunch one of them sleeps on the couch and refuses any sort of affection. That's what happens to guys when you deprive them of that piece of intimacy. They go nuts and crave it elsewhere..." A bit hard to believe that a lesbian would know this much about what men like and don't like, but she justified it, "What? I've done a few men," she smirked. "I told you I kissed T over spin the bottle, right? I can't even begin to tell you how many things I've done to people in that. And truth or dare."

Very suggestive, but there were no children in the room, fortunately, so they were free to talk about their fantasies as they please. Then came the idea of Melissa finding other ways to pleasure herself. Jenny laughed hysterically, then nudged Karin's shoulder. "Get. The fuck. Out of here, you naughty little... I bet you she gets more pleasure by herself than with Tony any day of the week. Now he's just dreaming of you, Thalia, or me just walking into his room to fulfill his fantasies. But in all seriousness, if this is over a grudge that he can't confirm, he's really acting like a baby over this whole thing. He's sending off three messages with his actions: he's insecure about his sexual desires and his relationship at home, he desperately wants to fuck Thalia no matter what she did to him or his partner, and he's a shitty arguer. Like seriously, how did he become a detective if he's not remotely convincing?" She groaned. "I think I'd be a better detective than him. And I'm an artist more than anything. Geez..."

As she nodded to confirm not to get too pushy around Jordan, the door to the pool house cracked open, and their mutual friend emerged from the other side to see the two laughing, poking fun quite literally, and bonding. It made Thalia's heart glow to see them getting along so well. She didn't expect it given how negatively she painted Jenny to Karin. But no.. They were having a blast. And she definitely had to jump in, approaching the back of the couch and leaping over the back in the middle of them both. Jenny noticed her old friend's entry and gave her a smile as she hopped in to join the party.

"There's my two best friends," she greeted, giving each of them a smile before curling her legs beneath her in her place. She felt like a bit of a third, wheel, cutting them off, but she figured she could pitch in to the conversation as best as she can. "What have you been up to?"

Jenny immediately mentioned. "Tony's dark fantasies."

An odd topic, but one that made Thalia throw her head back in laughter. "Oh god, don't fucking remind me. Dick. I don't know if you've been told, Jen, but don't trust Tony. He's an asshole, and all he knows how to do is lie. Anything he may tell you is probably false."

She nodded. "Yeah... I figured. Tried to pass Karin off as homophobic and turn me against her."

As if he couldn't get any lower, he was trying to start up an army or stir up a rebellion based off of lies. She turned to Karin, an eyebrow arched. "He seriously went that far about you? Either he's really a sociopath of some sort... or he just desperately wants in our pants cuz his girlfriend doesn't sleep with him anymore."

"Oh, definitely not it." Jenny shook her head instantly.

"Not it, either," Thalia followed up, now both girls gazing over at Karin, waiting for her to follow up.

--

It felt unusual at first, but for the most part, Tony was proud of his actions earlier that day, shooting the Al-Asheera clansman in the street to save Thalia and Jenny, even if it attracted attention. He did something good for once in his eyes, because without Thalia, the operation to take down Al-Asheera instantly self-destructs. He kept her alive after running off on her own so carelessly. But at the same time, he failed to recognize his own carelessness. A loud gunshot in the street. A body left in the open. A bullet casing left behind for forensics to examine. And worst of all: using his partner's gun to potentially frame him. Sure, that wasn't his goal when he swiped Frank's gun. It was just closer. But at least if forensics does get a match, Tony would be in the clear. Not something he was proud of, but in his mind, his partner deserved it for siding with Thalia for so long. They were probably in the sheets together for at least one night, well, in his mind, before she got bored of him and hopped into bed with Karin in whatever universe he sees that happening in. But the consequences were going to catch up with him. Fast.

Faster than he thought when James dragged Frank in his direction, his partner asking questions about why the gun was taken and now in James' possession. In that time, Tony had made himself a grilled cheese sandwich and was eating away at it in the kitchen. His fuming partner asking a multitude of questions made the food feel uneasy in his stomach, his heart sinking and piercing his flesh. This wasn't going to end well. He swallowed the bite of food in his mouth slowly, got up from leaning on the counter and approached Frank ever so slowly.

"Frank... calm down," He warned in as low and tame a voice as possible. On the inside, though, he was panicking. And James was making him tell the story. It's like he wanted to stir up some chaos for once. What would Frank do when he puts two and two together and realize that Tony basically framed him? "I can explain.... You know what happened on the street, right? Word gets around quick. Thalia got a phone call and dashed out of the house. She wanted to save some friend of hers. That emo-looking chick, Jenny? Was that her name?" The stalling was probably pissing James off, so he hastened things. "I knew Thalia was making a mistake... so I chased after her. But no way in hell was I going unarmed...."

The bombshell was on the way. And it was so hard for Tony to utter those words. "My room was too far. Yours was closer. So I took your gun and tailed Thalia. Then she and her buddy got cornered...." Maybe he could appeal to Frank's liking for the runaway. "I had to save them. You should be thanking me, Frank. Considering how tight you are with Thalia. Would you have preferred I bring her dead body home, or her and her buddy at the expense of an Al-Asheera clansman dying instead? Hm? Pick a side, pal! We can't have it any which way we want. I made a split decision, and Thalia wouldn't have survived if I weren't there. No Thalia, no Al-Asheera takedown. No Al-Asheera takedown? And we'll never get Melissa back. You have to understand that using your gun wasn't personal. I couldn't waste time. One more second, and she'd be dead...."

He was leaving out the details that he left the scene in a mess after the gunshot and didn't clean up any incriminating evidence. He was doing his best to sugarcoat the situation and soothe his partner's rage. But James probably wouldn't stand for it and feed the fire. Tony could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up from the fear of his partner charging at him like a bull. This could not end well.
 
"Ah, don't scare me like that." She shook her head at the further talk of Joseph going on to hide all these things from her. "He hides enough of his private life from me as it is. If it gets any worse, there's nothing I'm going to be able to do." She laughed, "And in a house like this, there's so many different rooms that he could bring someone back each night and hide in a different room each time for about a week and a half. That's what terrifies me the most. Mine and James' room is the only upstairs bedroom in the house. The master one, of course. The rest are all downstairs. At least he's still innocent for now, so hopefully all of this isn't on his mind right now. You never know, though. Kids can be crazy from a young age, I know I was. If I was, and if Joseph's his father's son, then he'll have that crazy streak somewhere in him, too." She chuckled.

"Plus, it's okay for me, at least a lot more than what it was a few days ago. I have James now - He's a guy, an adult male figure in Joseph's life. He can have the whole talk with him about flirting with women and using protection and all that - That's something I'm steering clear of. I mean, Christ, Joe gets a little defensive if I see him with so much as a shirt off nowadays. I mean, obviously it's nothing serious, but you can tell he's a little conscious about it all the same. Most people are, really." She shrugged. "Ah, well, I'm sure the future will be just fine. He's a good boy at the minute, and I just hope he stays that way. I'm not ready for him to become a father at sixteen, really." She grinned and shook her head.

"Either way, I agree with you about Tony - and I'm not doubting that you may have done something with guys in the past. Each to their own." She chuckled. "And you can't even begin to blame me for thinking that about Tony's other half. As much as I think Melissa is probably a very nice woman, it's a thought that has to cross your mind. You only need to spend five minutes with Tony to realize he's a royal asswipe, and not one I'd ever want to be in bed with, either. We'd both be better detectives than Tony. I hosted a party once, for Joseph's seventh birthday - I seriously met kids that were six, seven, eight... That had a lot more brainpower, reason, and accountability than Dick Features in there." She nodded off towards the house.

Soon enough Thalia joined them, and Karin greeted her with a smile as well. She always seemed to lift her mood whenever she saw her, which was always nice.

Then there was the sudden talk of someone sleeping with him - Thalia wasn't it. Jenny wasn't it. That left Karin.

"Oh, fuck." She swung her head around and looked off to the side. "I know the general rule of the 'not it' shit is the last person to say it has to do it, but, I'd sooner fuck a porcupine than sleep with Tony. And I mean that." She said. "So, not it. Someone else can seduce him. If it comes to it, we'll buy him a hooker or something, give him a cheap bottle of wine and some week-old blue cheese and some crackers, slap them to him and let him have a good one. If it'll take his eyes away from our asses then I say we do it." She laughed. "But yep, Thalia, Jenny's spoken to Tony for no more than a minute and already thinks he's an asshole, so that sort of shows us that we're not just being unreasonable." She said.

--

Frank was sat there waiting for an explanation to why his gun went missing, but, he certainly wasn't expecting it to be his own partner that stole it from under his nose. He didn't even hear the full story and he was already angry - more upset than anything, as it happened, but, still, he had to keep listening. To find out that Tony had shot a man with his gun was horrifying. That was never what he wanted, and immediately, he put two and two together. Tony's attempts at calming him didn't work - Frank knew there was tension between him and Thalia, for real, too, but now? Now he had the trick up his sleeve. Thalia and him had hardly talked the last couple of days - they were going to start acting cold with each other, that was the deal. At least when Tony was around. This was where he could bring that up and use it against him.

"Calm down?" He repeated, "Fucking calm down?!" He yelled, "You took my gun and shot a man, and you want me to be calm? Are you out of your fucking mind?!" He cried out. "That's what this is all about, isn't it?" He asked, his voice finally breaking just a little bit. "All this time it's been about me and Thalia. Even though there was never anything going on, you were convinced there was, and if me and Thalia ever met eyes you assumed I was about to jump on her - Is that what this is? Take my gun and set me up to take a fall, get me out of the way so I can't do anything stupid, is that what this is? This whole time you haven't even trusted me enough to take my word?"

"And me and Thalia? Me and Thalia aren't close, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Tell me something, how many times have you seen us two even look at each other over the last couple of days? After she killed that guy, things went sour. We don't even fucking talk anymore, but that still didn't convince you? Jesus Christ." He sighed, looking away.

James butted in.

"Seeing as it's more than clear that Tony's not going to be completely honest with you, I will." He said. "He shot the guy and left the shell casing behind."

The penny dropped, but it left one hell of a ripple effect. Frank's face went from red with anger to pale.

He slowly looked back to Tony, the clutch he had on the gun getting all that more tighter.

"You son of a bitch." He whispered, shakily. "You disloyal user." He snarled, and surprisingly, he lifted the gun up and pointed it directly at Tony, immediately taking a few steps back. "I thought I could fucking trust you!" He yelled at him. "But now? Now?! Now you've really fucked me!" He screamed. "You know what the sentence is for murder, Tony?! Twenty-five-to-life! What the fuck am I meant to do with that? Bow down and kiss your fucking ass for getting me put away for a quarter-century, possibly more? Are you... I just..." He choked on his own words and blinked away a couple of tears, and this time, he flicked the safety off the gun. Was he really going to do it?

"I never should have trusted you." He choked. "If you think I'm going to go to prison, you've got another thing coming. You're either coming with me, or you're not walking away. Because I'll be fucking damned if I ever let a scandalous prick like you be responsible for what happens to Jordan." He gulped. "I never got a chance to shoot a man with this gun before. May as well be you. Not like it'll make much of a difference now, anyway." He said.

James stayed quiet for a minute. "And that is exactly why Tony's going to put his neck on the line and get that evidence back." He said, quietly. "Isn't that right, Tony?"
 
The trio of girls simply hanging out and talking about the situation around them... it couldn't be more enjoyable, in all honesty. Jenny was enjoying herself after her traumatic experience. So was Thalia, a unity of her past and present, and not in a conflicting way. For so long, she was so afraid of the clash of past alliances coming back to haunt her, particularly Jenny after all the drama they'd endured, and also her mother in fear of getting scolded. But now that the two words have collided, she couldn't imagine it any other way, laughing and poking fun together. Maybe Jenny and Karin would get along nicely after all. Good to know she'd have two voices permanently on her side in this house. With Tony lurking around and causing trouble, she would need all the help she could get. But for now? A smile stretched over her face, though a bit shy with this mini-crowd around her, but it was a good, fuzzy feeling on the inside. One Jenny recognized and loved. Thalia's happiness meant her own, even if it's barely been a day since they've been brought back into each other's lives. It was... strange. It's as if their childhood bond was brought back at full force. And she liked it.

"I'd totally fuck the porcupine too," Thalia pitched in. "Way better than Tony."

Shaking her head, Jenny had to respond now. "That porcupine better be hot. Because I'm putting my ass on the line with it, too." She laughed along, throwing her head back into the back of the couch. So much fun, indeed as she covered her mouth from how hard she was laughing.

"Be careful, though... Tony might watch us and like it."

Jenny laid a quick slap to Thalia's shoulder. "Oh, shut up! Tony will get off to anything. We could just walk by, all three of us barely holding hands, and it'd give him a boner. What do you think of that?"

"As far fetched as that is, I wouldn't put it passed him."

"Oh, boy..." Jenny calmed herself down and positioned herself to face Karin and Thalia properly. "Or... we could triple date or something... or fake something. How about it: we all pretend to date men in their late 50's or something - literally grandpas - and just watch Tony get jealous."

Thalia smirked. "Jesus, Jen, why would we ever do that?" She covered her eyes in disgust, but also very humorously. "God damn..."

"Fine, fine," she sighed. "How about we bang his girlfriend? Anything to make him jealous. I mean, she seems bored of him. Maybe we can... pleasure her in other ways?" She leaned a bit closer to Thalia, gripping her shoulders and shaking her slightly. An element of temptation that left Thalia blushing.

"God.... I had that exact same idea. But he'd be so pissed if we do that."

"So? He's pissing us off."

"We're not fucking his girlfriend, after all."

Jenny scoffed. "Fine. We'll play nice. For now. But he better not get close to us and try to hurt you. Okay?"

Thalia nodded. "Yeah...." She glared up at Karin, who might've been a stranger to the conversation as Jenny continued to rub her shoulders playfully and jolt her back and forth. She didn't try to stop her, just let it happen. But she did make a suggestion. "Well.... you two are more familiar with LA than me. Me and Karin have already made plans to chill and show me the ropes. Maybe we could make it a triple?"

"Oh, I'm down for that," Jenny nodded enthusiastically and also looked to Karin. "What'd you have in mind?"

Karin might've been a bit estranged by their mannerisms and jokes with each other, but they weren't trying to single her out. Thalia's look to her was one very warming. Like she wanted the three of them to have fun together, and for her to join in on the fun as well. It was a dream come true to Thalia.

--

Of course, telling Frank to calm down wasn't going to help. He was furious. Tony basically ruined his life with one foul mistake. One that he never intended. He felt himself sweating beneath the collar of his shirt and practically ready to shit himself from the pressure. Especially when Frank raised the gun up to head level and looked like he was going to pull the trigger. He wouldn't put it passed a furious ex-partner whose life has been ruined. And the force wouldn't be forgiving to a newly-instated detective who now went rogue. Shooting a man in the head and leaving him on the street without calling it in? Shady. It would also open up a world suspicion surrounding Pigman's suicide, which was also done by Frank's gun. Things were over for this man, and all he had left was to ensure Jordan's future. Was he really going to take Tony with him, to hell or prison? Tony would deserve it at this point... And even though it would most likely be futile, he took careful steps away, holding his arms forward in defense, and tried to explain himself and his motives to Frank.

"Frank, please, hear me out," he pleaded. "I didn't go with the intent to kill someone. I didn't expect a brute to be there cornering Thalia, but I wasn't going to go unarmed. You have to understand the dire circumstances that I was under. I was protecting our own. I saved Thalia and Jenny. That has to count for something, right? Even if you two are bitter with each other, you have to admit that you're glad she's not dead, right? I don't think anyone would've lived with her coming back dead. I HAD to kill him, believe me. If I didn't, he'd kill our own. I was doing the right thing. And I was sure that when we got home, James would fix things up for us and get us both out of the shitter! That's why I didn't clean up after myself back there! I'd just make it worse if I tried! So why is James being so butthurt about it? I reported it shortly after, that there's a dead man on the street shot by a police firearm that needed to be cleaned up. FOR FUCKS SAKE, you are making a big deal out of this for nothing! Please! You won't go to prison for a good part of your life, Frank... James can fix it. Please don't do this...."

He shut up... then found an argument to weaken him. "What would Thalia think of you if YOU killed someone? Huh? And Jordan. He'd never look at you the same way ever again."

Then..... James brought up a new idea. That TONY would be the one cleaning up after all. He knew how to clean up his mess, but there's no way he could do it without getting caught. His heart sank, and his head tilted passed the barrel of the 1911 at the criminal mastermind of the bunch. His idea was insane and extremely unsafe. And he had to explain.

"Back the fuck up, hacker!" he barked at James at the manner in which he was forced into a new mess. "I thought YOU were going to cover getting the shell casing back! You have the resources and contacts! I'm too respected in the LAPD to put my neck on the line that far. You are crossing a line that I can't possibly do. Do you know what'll happen when a detective with the prestige as my own is caught tampering with evidence? I'll get locked up. And I have a girlfriend - soon to be WIFE - to go home to at the end of the day. You can't expect me to throw that sort of commitment away over something you can do from the comfort of your master computer in your goddamn boxers!" Tony was furious. There was no way he'd betray his fellow officers of the law and deliberately break the law, steal evidence, risk getting caught... and all of this being a thank-you for saving Thalia. "And all of this because I did something useful? Helping Thalia in hopes to earn her trust... now you want to paint me as the bad guy and cost me my job after all my years of service with the LAPD. You can't be fucking serious. This could be so much easier with no punishment needed, you know that, right James? Why are you wasting your time on me?!"
 
"You guys are crazy - I love it." Karin laughed. She needed to be around people like them a bit more because they were too much fun, but not only that, they were her sort of people. What more could she ask for now? She had a boyfriend, and a better place to bring Joseph up, and to seal the deal she already had two great friends that seemed to be quite similar to her in personality and humor. Apparently, dark humor can be unhealthy, but, even if it was, it felt so good to be part of it. Dark humor was the best humor, in Karin's mind - Sarcasm was good, too, but only if it came in at appropriate times. More times than not, the cheap shitty jokes could be pretty hilarious as well, but, she wasn't going to push it on that. They were having fun as it was.

The suggestions, even if they were jokes, weren't something Karin would be on board with. Even though she did laugh, the idea of even pretending to date a guy in his fifties wasn't something she'd ever be able to get into, and... Tony's girlfriend? After everything Karin herself had been through with Tony, she could never look at Melissa in a romantic way. Not even lustfully without cringing in the thought that Tony had been in bed with her. She was sure Melissa deserved someone a lot better than Tony - The guy was a dick. Was he like this with her on the daily? If he was, why were they still together?

Back on a more joyful topic, they were talking about spending time in LA and showing Thalia around, and now that Karin even had someone who was local to LA and could be her partner in crime while they familiarized the newbie with the area. That would be some good fun. One of the first places she'd have to show her was one of the big shopping malls, one with a food court and everything. A girl's day out - maybe James and Joseph could have a guy's day in on the same day? Or out. It was up to them, really.

"I was thinking we go to one of the bigger shopping malls in the city in the morning, show Thalia around the area there so she knows the main townlife a little more. After that, we could go grab lunch on the beachfront, or something. Spend the day and evening out and about. I've got a car that can get the job done, too, so we can see a bit of everything." She said. "Obviously we need money... But that shouldn't be a problem, I can't imagine. Would you both be up for that?" She asked.

--

"I don't give a shit what Thalia would think of me. I made that clear to you already." He snarled back, "I told you, things changed. Things went sour, things became distant just as soon as that guy got killed, and now look where we are. I'd rather someone else be dead than me be set up to take a fall and serve a stretch of twenty-five, and that's the god-honest truth. I don't know how Jordan will look at me, but, I guess I'll find out." He whispered. "It would have taken you five seconds to pick up the bullet casing, so don't try saving your own skin by dragging James' involvement into this. Five seconds is nothing after you've shot a man." He gulped.

"And better yet, you said it yourself - You saved Thalia to gain her trust. You didn't save her to save her." He shook his head, "You want her trust? After the way you've acted from day one I'm surprised. It's always been me that's had to try and talk you down, to try and turn you away from trying to lock her and Karin up. Is that what you want? Me off the scene so you could do what you always wanted to do? Throw them both in prison without me to stop you? And you know that I was so occupied with Jordan that I would have never noticed you going into my room. You took advantage of me, and what for?" He asked, blinking away yet more tears.

James sighed - there was more confrontation, of course, but he had his own retort to that, and even a deal for him, should he choose to accept it. James shook his head at Tony, and eventually went back to making eye contact.

"No. I said I'd fix your mess before I knew it was Frank's gun. You hid that from me. The most critical part. And what sickens me the most is you knew I was going to fix things and save your skin, but not a single thought went out for Frank. You didn't tell me it was his gun, his fingerprints, his life on the line. You let me walk away and you left me chasing a false-positive for no good reason, let me put my head out there once more when there was no need to go anywhere near you when it came to changing things." He said, simply. "Had you not lied and hidden things from me, and had you had some sort of regard for someone who's meant to be your partner, then things would have gone ahead as I'd said. You broke a big rule though, Tony." He said.

There was all the talk of him being loyal to the LAPD, and Frank had something to say about all of that.

"You don't deserve that badge." He whispered, "You're nothing but a fraud. Nothing but someone who's willing to drop another officer on their head just to better himself - It's people like you that Redgrave always spotted in the academy and sent them with their bags packed. I wish he was still here just to tell you how much of an asshole you are." He said, gulping, and then slowly lowered the gun. "But I'm not going to shoot you. You don't deserve the fucking star they'd give you on the wall."

James butted in once again, "The way I see it, Tony... As this definitely adds a twist to things, you can either go into your precious department and get that evidence, or... I'll fix this little problem, but, in return, you'll have to accept a punishment from me. And I give you my word, this punishment will be a lot worse than the last one." He said. "What's it going to be? The choice is yours. Clock's ticking."
 
Crazy, indeed they were. Thalia and Jenny were a sort of crazy in their childhood as well when they were best friends. They'd often create bold, almost impossible plans on the spot, much like Jenny did in that moment by fake-dating older men and even seducing Melissa, those were the sorts of insanity they'd plot but never follow through with. It was a series of wicked fantasies that they'd imagine themselves doing and toy with the thought, like most friends would do. Perhaps the humor was a bit too crude for Karin's liking, but she hadn't mentioned anything about disapproving of the conversation. After all, she was the one who suggested fucking a porcupine over Tony, so she contributed to the fun, more or less. She even admitted to liking the element of crazy. In response, Thalia rolled a single fist and gently pressed it to Karin's shoulder.

"You go, Kar," she chuckled. "Better get used to it. Jenny always used to have rather..." Her eyes traveled over her shoulder to the girl still gripping her shoulders and shaking her about gently. "...Devious. Remember the dare to streak through your neighbor's lawn?"

"Hey, I suggested it," Jenny replied, "But you actually did it. So it was all you."

"Thank god we didn't get caught. We would have been D-E-A-fucking-D if Mr. Hobbes so much as went outside for his morning coffee."

"Ahhh... diaries of a fifth grader. Tsk tsk... As much as I called you a goodie-two-shoes, Thal, you never were."

"You bet your ass I wasn't...." It'd only occurred to Thalia that Karin didn't know about the streaking incident. Or any of their playful bets. "Oh, yeah. Back in Philly, we did some pretty... naughty things at the ages of like 10, 11... before it all fell apart, you know?"

"Pffft..." Jenny sighed, letting go of Thalia's shoulders and toying with her red locks behind her head. "Let's not dwell about that. You know I'd take it all back if I could... right?"

Exhaling happily, she nodded. "Yes. Yes I do." The gestures behind her reminded her of the good old days when they were pre-teens, messing with each others' hair and stealing their moms' makeup stash and going nuts. A better time of her life that she'd just remembered now. Amidst all the activities, Thalia enjoyed Jenny's company and all the bold rebellious ideas she had. Perhaps that would rub off on their third friend. It was all working out so nicely, and maybe Karin could play along when they make plans. In fact, she'd already suggested her game plan for someday.

"Girl's day out? Shopping? Sightseeing? I'm in," Jenny immediately answered.

"Heh... like I told James yesterday, I'm in a sort of wardrobe crisis right now," Thalia giggled.

"You alone? I just left my shit at home, girl. You better count me in."

Thalia realized that with Karin's lifestyle, she probably hadn't taken a personal day to go shopping for herself in ages. Now as the perfect time for her. Winking to the girl in front of her, she continued, "Well, let's just say that all three of us need a good shopping day. Just to stock up. And food? A bit of exploration? I'm in, too. Think James will... make the donation?"

Jenny scoffed. "Fuck the donation. Even if we're broke without any financial help, I'm showing you around LA. I don't even care how."

With a smile, Thalia nodded to Karin. "Settled. We're both down... and you..." The last part of her words were focused to Jenny, turning around to stop her from toying with her hair, grabbing her hands playfully as the two swung them around to avoid grabbing each other. "You need a goddamn leash, because you're wilder than you were back in the day."

Giggling, she eventually broke free of Thalia's grip and poked at her cheek. "Well, at least it's a positive change, right?"

Thalia nodded, falling back into the rear of the couch, just looking back and forth at the two girls she was in between. Karin and Jenny, the closest things she's ever had to best friends. And it was all going so well for the three of them. They couldn't be better around each other. No drama or hatred. The two were quick to bond, and therefore made the three instantly click. And since Karin and Jenny knew LA better than her, Thalia was in for one hell of a ride. "So, when should we have our fun?"

--

Frank's anger was only fed as James defended his case. Tony was cornered. He quite literally had no one on his side anymore. James was a bitter skeptic from the beginning. He picked a fight with Thalia from the minute he heard of the mystery redhead. Any alliance with Karin was soiled the second she started backing Thalia, which caused him to act up. And now Frank had forsaken him, and for a good reason. Tony had proven he was anything but a loyal officer of the law, throwing Frank under the bus, fooling James, literally creating a wall between anyone he was around. He assumed Frank would understand his definition of 'necessary' - it's what he assumed the day he picked Frank as a partner - but now it seemed like he was wrong. He wasn't. And now he was staring down the barrel of Frank's gun at risk of being shot. He spoke of many things. How he didn't care what others would think of him anymore, making this about revenge with nothing to lose. He brought up Redgrave, and how Tony didn't deserve the position he had. More importantly, the sorrow and fury in his voice and the tears in Frank's face. He felt betrayed. All because of one bullet killing an obviously guilty man - a killer, thief, and rapist, one who's death was now about to cost him his partnership.

"I'm..... I'm sorry, Frank," Tony stuttered. What else could he say when cornered? His hands were shivering in fear and his eyes darting between both men who had him by the balls. He let out a deep exhale and continued, "This wasn't the intent. It was a split decision. Not like I chose to kill someone. I was doing what was right. And I'm sorry. What more can I do?"

Besides clean up, which was the point of James' ultimatum. Either clean up the mess himself, or James would do it in return for a more brutal punishment than before. Tick tock; time was dwindling away. And with an operation like this one, he knew he had to act fast. He also figured that his own plans to meet with Roland would never happen. Like hell James would let him get close to the man who'd be traded for Melissa. Tony had a habit of making things go amiss anyway. It was a thorn in his side, but one he could manage. He knew how to follow through with his plans, but the risk was also there. The risk of getting caught, because what he had in mind had horrible consequences, ones he was prepared to face and watch unfold.... well, they'd be horrible for Thalia, but satisfying for himself. And no matter what bumps he'd hit right now, he was going to continue his own plans. A plan from so long ago that he now knew how to execute.

"I don't even want to know what you'll do to me, James," Tony gulped. "But I already got word to the station that I'd be taking a personal day. If I show up with all the chaos around my name; a man killing himself in front of me and Frank in the bathroom? Do I need to tell you the level of scrutiny that'll raise? I'll be looked into and all of your precious plans will be compromised. Can you afford that, big boy? Huh. Didn't think so. So stop acting all high and mighty with me. You know that I could get apprehended at the police department... and I swear...."

Definitely not a threat he was in any position to make, but he knew that he'd stepped out of line far too much for there to be any boundaries at this point. He stepped passed his partner with an aggressive shove to the shoulder - not like they were best buddies anymore - and approached James head on, even though that would risk him getting hit. "...If I'm caught, I will rat on you. Everything. I'll tell him where you live, give them a sketch of your face, even tell them everything I've seen. The infamous Fritzy, finally revealed. I'm sure that's a nicer headline than putting me away. So you can forge whatever you want about me or pin whatever crimes you want on me... but I'm holding a few cards of my own. And I will pull them if need be. So tell me: do you want me to risk going back to the station with a high probability of getting caught, in which I'll sing like a dirty canary? Or would you rather play it safe at home in your precious little chair, jerking off to your precious Karin with a nice little cum rag under your belly? I bet she and Joseph won't be too happy if you get dragged away in cuffs."

Tony knew that was out of line, but at this rate, he had nothing to lose.
 
"I wouldn't doubt you guys did crazy shit when you were eleven. A lot of us did. At ten and eleven you're just at that age where you know just about what's considered normal, and at the same time, you don't have a fucking clue. You go no-filter all you want when you're a kid. I know I did a few crazy things in my time - I can't help but wonder what sort of stuff James got up to when he was a kid, and when he was in college. I bet he was great fun. I mean, look at this place. A guy doesn't choose a house with two built-in bars unless he's got some sort of crazy element to him. I need to dig deeper and find out just how wild James is willing to get, because I'm going to place a bet that he knows how to have fun in more ways than one." She grinned. The thought of that was nothing short of exciting. She wanted crazy while she had the chance. She knew there'd be plenty of chances, even more so if it came to her not working and just chilling with James all day while Joe was at school, but... Even so.

"Don't worry about donations, either. I promise you we'll get one. Look around, ladies. I'm not saying I want to use James for his money, but, it's clear the guy has a lot to give. I love him dearly, and how he is with Joseph has won my heart well and truly, but... God, this is a life I only dreamed of the whole time I was growing up, and now I've finally got it." She said. "We can all have a piece of that. He won't mind us having some money so we can have a good time. He's a real sweetheart, after all, so let's not doubt him. I'll be sure to ask when it comes closer to us actually having that day out. Morning in town, afternoon at the beach, dinner in the evening, and maybe even a party or something at night, depending on how things go." She said.

"As for when all of this happens, I say as soon as the drama's over with, we go and do it. I won't have to worry about Joe going back to school for a little while, we'll be home-free to do whatever we please before we start getting obligations pile up. The sooner the better, if you ask me." She said. "Like I said before, I can leave Joseph with James, because I know he'd take good care of him, and we can go off and have some fun, just act like teenagers again. Go around all the beauty and clothes stores and buy a load of stuff we'll use once and never look at again. That's what a girl's day out is all about, y'know?" She smirked.

"Damn, we're like a new rock band, aren't we?" She asked. "That is something I could dig. I mean, obviously it's not something we can actually do, but we can always give ourselves a little band name. Even if we ripped off someone else." She grinned. "The Twisted Sisters, or something." She laughed and slapped her knee. "Jeeze, whenever this day out happens, I can tell that it's going to be so much fun if you two are there."

--

James stared him out, not moving an inch as he was approached. Everything Tony said, realistically, should have been making him back down, but instead, it bumped him up a mile higher, and that was evident in his eyes. He knew exactly what he was going to retort with - All this time, and they'd think that James wouldn't do background research? Frank didn't doubt that James already knew everything about his life, and he was okay with that. He wasn't on bad terms with him. Tony, however, was a bit of a different story, but he was still there throwing threats and even minor insults his way to try and scare him away from taking the high ground, but, in fact, it clearly just fueled the fire a little more.

So much that James gave a single laugh, right in his face.

"My, oh my." He shook his head, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Frank, but I believe I just heard the almighty Tony Walsh threaten me, did I not?" He asked, then looked back to Tony and shook his head a little. "No." He said, his amused tone turning blunt instantly. "You seem to be a bit confused, Tony. You seem to have this whole thing mixed up - A minute ago, you just had your partner's gun in your face, and you still argue that taking his gun was the right thing to do? Maybe it could have been. But you got sloppy. The one thing someone of your caliber shouldn't have done - You can pretend like you could have me processed down at the station, but what you don't understand is that with a push of a button I could have every single hard drive, camera, phone - you name it - under this roof lost beyond repair before you could even pucker up to your commander's ass, which I imagine is something you know how to do quite quickly. What you seem to be forgetting is that if you compare the dirt you have on me with the dirt I have on you... You're the only suspect in this room, technically." He shrugged.

"Not only that... Can you imagine the headlines?" He held his hands out in front of him, moving them apart dramatically as he spoke, "Colorblind Cop Bags Infamous Fritzy". That'd be quite the thing to hear, wouldn't it?" He chuckled. "Oh, yeah, just so you're aware - I do know about your dirty little secret. You think I'd work with you for this long and not dig deep into your past? Jesus fuck, Tony, I could read out your father's very first bank statement if I really fucking wanted to - And you think you're in the position to try and threaten me? Believe me, I've seen the gaps and the anomalies in your profile, and the little perfect match-ups and the things that don't seem to add up. I've seen it all." He put a finger on his own chin for a second and pretended to be thinking - It was all very obvious sarcasm.

"Wait... Wasn't it your precious girlfriend that assessed you?" He asked. "Yes, that's right, I remember that now. Funny, isn't it, how a colorblind cop somehow passed his medical exams to get through to the academy?" He asked. "Now just picture what would happen if news like that got made public. Last I remember, the charge for forgery is up to four years in prison along with a fine of ten thousand dollars. Your girlfriend would lose her medical license, too, and every single case you worked on and got commended for? Guess what, fruitcake - all of those would be reopened in a heartbeat, and you'd be locked up in a slammer having to rely on getting fucked in the shower to fill your desires." He said. "No badge, no money, not even any dignity. Your whole big lie would ruin your whole life, and it'd ruin your girlfriend's, too. A pretty thing like her in a woman's prison? I can only imagine how she'd do in a place like that..." He shook his head.

"So, before you open your big fucking mouth again, you just remember what's on the line here for you. You know damn well I could leave in ten minutes with Karin and Joseph and be sipping a Martini on top of a snowy mountain by tomorrow night if I wanted to. You, however? You've got a clouded view on things - Remember who wears the pants around here, remember who's willing to send your girlfriend to a place where she's fully safe, remember who's already given you a million-and-one second chances." He snapped.

Frank felt the need to step in there, too.

He immediately tossed his badge over to Tony, surprisingly.

"All you've done today is prove in my mind that you're not trustworthy. So fuck you." He said, shakily. "Take my badge, tell the guys down at the station that I'm done. Because I am. I'm not spending another minute as someone in the LAPD. I'll take down these bastards myself without a badge to hide behind - it makes it all that much better for the camera that way, too. God only knows they'd find a way to lock me up if they found my involvement in the operation was while I was behind a badge. They can't hold me being a cop against me anymore, and neither can you." He said, and, with that, he tucked the gun away.

James looked at Tony again. "In the light of everything that I've just said, Tony, I assume you'll make the right choice here. I'm willing to mop up the piss that missed the toilet here, but it won't go unpaid. You either go and deal with the problem yourself, or you take a punishment and you let the big boy deal with the fuck-up. If you don't make a decision for yourself, then I will. But keep in mind, if I make a decision, it may not be you that pays for your mistake."

Was that a backhanded threat at Melissa? It seemed likely.

What a dramatic morning this had turned out to be - and all of it could have been avoided if he'd never picked up Frank's gun. It clearly had a very severe butterfly effect, didn't it?
 
"Whoa, who said anything about us being normal?" It'd been a while since Jenny had heard herself regarded as normal. Sure, she was closer to Thalia in that sense, given she had her life together, but she always knew she was still far, far away from any sort of social norm. Her own deviant appearance told that for sure. She even liked it when Karin referred to her as 'crazy'. It fueled the energy inside her. In truth, it did to Thalia all the same. It's why they clicked so well in grade school, and it was reflecting now. But with Karin's remark about learning what's normal and what's not, Jenny had the urge to poke back, quite literally. She leaned over Thalia's lap just to poke Karin's forehead and ask her, "You, my friend, don't know the half of my normal. Don't tell me you weren't REMOTELY crazy as a kid."

Yet, Thalia had already seen Karin lose it, just the previous day. "Oh, god, you weren't here yesterday, Jen. See all those drinks and cabinets behind us?"

"Mhm?" She peeked over the back of the couch to the bar.

"Yeah. We raided that yesterday, all out, got a taste of everything I guess. HUGE mistake, probably won't mix that shit again, but I have to say, it beats being deprived of alcohol for the most part with Al-Asheera."

"Back up, no alcohol?!" she quickly tilted her head back in Thalia's direction, her eyes shot out at the confession, then a hand falling on her shoulder as if for some form of sarcastic comfort. "Girl.... how did you survive?"

"Well not NO alcohol..." she smiled, rolling her eyes and covering her stomach with her crossed arms. "Maybe I was given a glass or two. I just don't remember what I drank or anything from that night. That REALLY got me fucked up, don't ask how." She admitted, blushing a bit at how embarrassing her words probably sounded to Jenny.

"You fucking lightweight!" she laughed, jolting her friend to the side, pushing her into Karin slightly. "Did you know this, Karin? Huh. We need to fix her."

"Oh, fix me? She's already gotten started." She glared back at Karin. "You and your concoction yesterday. THAT was messed up, and left me even more messed up. Something tells me even you know how to lose it when you want to."

Money wasn't going to be an issue. Call it a 'connection', but Karin's relationship with James would surely get them their riches. But would he allow them to go nuts again? After last time, he wasn't too impressed with the sight he came home to. But would he trust the three of them, three young women, to go out and come back without problems? It didn't seem like anything could happen these next few days without a new problem arising from it. Well, the beginning of the day couldn't be more innocent: shopping, food, sightseeing; the only issue would be if they go partying at the end of the day. They couldn't risk another blunder. They had enough of those as is. But as Karin said: when this cools down, they might be able to pull that off.

"Use once and never again..." Thalia smirked. "I've never had that luxury. Clothing is.... well, let's just say I hardly go shopping. And you've seen my skills with make-up, Kar."

"Heh, you'll catch on," Jenny flicked a bit of hair from Thalia's shoulder into her face as a simple joke. "You'll be a frilly girl in no time. Trust me."

"Hey, that's not way I said," she answered back - seeing Jenny was in a playful mood, she'd play along. "And you really need a time-out, or you need to get over your obsession with my hair."

"Aww," she pouted, "But I like it. Don't tell me you don't."

Her reaction to Jenny doing this was far different than Tony. It was all about the intent, after all. "Pssh. You don't know what like."

A look at Thalia's face made her gasp. "Awww, you're blushing! You like it! Right, Karin?"

"You know what?" Thalia cut her out in an attempt to distract from the topic of her actually liking the touchy mannerisms of her friend. Instead, she lifted both of her arms around both of the girls to her left and right and bring them closer in a group hug. "We're all gonna have a blast. Twisted sisters it is."

Caught off guard, but Jenny played along. "Indeed, ladies... indeed."

What a beautiful friendship this would be.

--

Was Tony surprised that James background checked him? Not at all. But he didn't expect him to find out about the colorblindness, then deduce from that how Melissa forged his medical records so he could get into the academy. She claimed nobody would ever find out. But the problem is, someone did. And it was going to hurt him more than any other threat. Because at this point, Tony wasn't afraid of prison. He could survive a fight or two or fend off a creep trying to violate him in the showers. But Melissa couldn't. Blowing James' secret would be costly for them both. Melissa would never forgive him. Not like their relationship was any bit pleasant as is. And it would get far worse if she hears that her soon to be fiance is lusting after not one, not two, but three younger women, and hoping something comes out of catching the three in the act, if there ever was going to be an act. Was it all worth losing Melissa? Odds are, he'd lose her eventually due to them drifting apart. She doesn't even sleep in the same bed anymore, taking the couch as her replacement. And god only knows if SHE was cheating on him. Not like it'd surprise him. He was literally prepared to cheat on her, after all. But for now, the most he could dream about is Thalia, Karin, and Jenny, all much younger than him, entering his room one night and taking him on a magic carpet ride to heaven and back.

As if.

But now wasn't the time to fantasize. No one was on Tony's side anymore, and James was prepared to let quite literally everyone off the hook except him. And now Frank was officially quitting, discarding of his badge, which Tony caught in mid air and just looked down at. Did HE deserve to have a badge of his own? For all the horrible things he'd done? For the lives he'd ruin? Maybe this whole time, he did want Frank sidelined so he could arrest Thalia for involvement in Al-Asheera and Karin as a co-conspirator. All a sick plan in his mind. But the mischievous shady behavior could no longer continue with the hot water he was in now.

Though, he could still prove his use by going back to the station and clean up his mess. But he'd surely rat if he gets caught. "Fine. I'll go to the station. I'll TRY, repeat, TRY, to get the bullet casing back from the evidence locker. But there's no guarantees that it won't be surrounded. This is an Al-Asheera body left behind, and it's the first time LA or Philly PD ever get their hands on a body that wasn't eventually burned to a crisp by some 'strange accident'. And they're going to want to do everything they can to protect any evidence and the body. That's just how they think." He sighed, but the nervousness in his voice continued. "But I'll try. But for the love of all that is good, DON'T come near Melissa. Because if I go to jail and I hear Mel was arrested on grounds of forgery...." He stepped even closer, breathing distance away from James and his huffs felt on his skin. "I will get out of whatever hole I'm in. I'll find you, wherever you go. And I'll put a bullet in Karin's head, just to pay you back for ruining the life of the woman I love. I'm a determined son of a bitch, and I will NOT stop until you see justice... but only if you touch my precious. Leave mine alone, and I won't touch yours. But I'll clean up my mess. You don't have to worry about it unless I say so."

Tony could only wonder what the 'punishment' was judging by his last words. Was he going to set Melissa up? Would he if he claimed to be such a good person? Like hell he'd know. But for now, he turned his back on James and faced Frank one more time. What was left to say between the partners? "You probably won't accept an apology. But just know that it seems like you couldn't handle being a detective. Making choices like this is necessary. And you better know that for the rest of your shit life. So have fun fucking the mystery redhead, who will eventually get you arrested, not to mention your kidnapping charge if someone were to report you for taking unlawful custody of Jordan Redgrave. You know there's an amber alert out for him, right? How shady do you think it'll look if you come forward with it? In bed with a criminal, and kidnapping..." He snarled in Frank's face one more time before brushing shoulders, "This'll come crashing down. And I'll be on the right side of this. So have fun in prison at the end of this whole thing, Frank, because I will be the one putting you in cuffs. To put everyone here in cuffs. You better believe that."

With nothing more to say, he marched away for the front door. He was going to the station to get that casing at long last. He wouldn't be surprised if Frank chases him and barks in his face, though. But oh well. He said what he needed to say. He and Frank weren't partners anymore.
 
"Oh, don't worry, I've established that Thalia gets drunk from the mere smell of alcohol, but I'm sure we can fix that." She winked at Jenny. "But yes, I'm working on making her more immune. Like Thalia said, the concoction I made probably isn't legal, but we did it anyway. And we got in deep shit with James when he came home and found us more or less passed out in the cinema room, but, there's nothing we can really do about that, is there?" She laughed. "As for me being crazy, don't even doubt me. I was a wild kid back when I was younger, I assure you. I'm not judging anyone. I've been crazy since first grade. Every kid does the whole... 'You show me yours and I'll show you mine' business, and of course, that happened a few times over my elementary years. Of course it did. It happens to everyone, doesn't it?" She laughed. "But there were crazier things. I did some royally stupid shit that I'd probably get arrested for if I did it now, but hey, that's life." She said.

"Thankfully I've not had any calls from Joseph's school telling me he's been running around with his shirt off or anything like that, so, I'm not having to worry about him being too crazy just yet. I still have plenty of time to keep being crazy before I need to take some real responsibility. I'm free to do whatever, ladies, and when we go out, no matter what we do, we'll figure it out. We'll shop, eat, drink if we have to. Either way, Thalia, you're going to be learning how to do some real dapper makeup tricks within the next couple of weeks, so you don't need to panic yourself about that." She said. "Plenty of time. All the time in the world, I'm sure."

This was going to be fun - just as soon as they got the chance, she was sure.

--

"Fuck the Al-Asheera body." James shook his head, "You're a cop, for god's sake. Even more so, they know you're big up on the Al-Asheera case, surely. It won't be anything out of the ordinary if one of their crowned detectives whose main focus is Al-Asheera is around the evidence. I literally need you to do one of two things: Either get the bullet and bring it back, or wipe all the prints off the casing and put it back. If there's any of the film that has the fingerprints extracted, then dispose of them somehow. I wouldn't worry, Tony. At least by doing this you're proving to me that you're not completely willing to fuck Frank over. It doesn't change the fact that it may already be too late, but at least the intentions are still there. You can be sure that if it goes wrong and they lock you up, they'll be getting a visit from 'FBI Agent James Keane' demanding your release, or a personal transfer to the FBI's holding cell. You worry too much - Try and let the dice roll. You'll probably live longer." He shrugged.

A threat, or just a general word of advice? It was hard to tell. "If all goes well and you don't do anything this stupid again, you girlfriend will remain unharmed and out of prison. You do anything else to harm myself, Frank, or anyone else under this roof, then that might change. But until then, you don't even need to think about threatening me again. In some cases I'll owe you a favor if this goes well. That favor will be me sending your loved one to a sunny Greek island where she's out of harm's way. If I'm willing to get Thalia's family flown across the country, I'm sure I can have your girlfriend flown out of it." He shrugged.

Frank, however, wasn't having anything of what Tony was saying.

"Don't give me that old shit." He quickly walked up and snatched the badge back from him. "You think I can't handle it? You think I can't make the right decisions? I didn't realize that being a detective involved making a choice that could put your partner inside for twenty-five years. Is that where your loyalties lie? You're so obsessed with taking down these sons of bitches that you're gonna' let me get thrown away for the rest of my life? I'm sorry, but me not making a choice like that isn't me not being a detective, that's me being a good person. A true detective would have taken Jordan straight back to the station and panned him off - but I didn't. The difference between you and me, Tony, is I did what was right." He snapped, and he tucked his badge away again.

"You wait. If you think you're going to be the high and mighty king of the LA-fucking-PD, think you'll be the one to slap cuffs on me, we'll see." He said. "I don't need you to tell them I'm quitting. I'll tell them myself just as soon as I prove to you that you can do this shit without having to make stupid choices - Before ten minutes ago, I was willing to take a fucking bullet for you - I'd push you out the way of a speeding train if I had to, but now? Now you've shown me you wouldn't do the same in return. But if you think I'm going to just curl up in a ball and give up and let you walk away from this without me proving a point? You're dead wrong. I'll help take down Al-Asheera, and I'll take down The Clover Boys by myself if I have to, and when I get given the fucking medal for making the right choice, just remember one thing."

He reached out and poke him firmly in the chest as he spoke.

"It was you that decided to pull the trigger and run away, leaving me to soak up the drama. At the end of all this, all of us are walking. All of us. Jordan will be right there by my side - I'm close enough to know something bad is going on, but by all means, if you want that boy dead, rat me out, tell them he's here. See how long he lasts when you make the 'right call'." He shook his head, "When I met you I thought you had the brain to know that being a cop in this city takes more than just following the book. I thought you were smarter than that - When Redgrave trained me in the academy, the one thing he told me was that it isn't all black and white, isn't all prisoner and jail cell. Sometimes there's a lot more to it than that. So, I'll keep my badge until this shit closes, and for the rest of my 'shit life', I'll be able to look back and know I made the right choices. Whereas you? You'll look back on this day and you'll regret the moment you nearly trashed the chances of a little boy getting a life he deserved, when you nearly put an innocent yet troubled man behind bars, even more so one that called you 'partner' at one point." He sighed.

"And for the last fucking time, I'm not in bed with Thalia. Get over yourself. The evidence is all there - the most you ever saw from her was when she kissed me to sell an act. Look back on it - How much of it was real, and how much of it was you just being paranoid and throwing accusations around?" He asked, then turned away and looked at the floor. "I better leave you to it. Me saying this won't make a difference now - one thing I know is that once your mind's set on something, it doesn't change. So, good luck getting that casing back." He said, and much like Tony had done initially, Frank stormed away back into the kitchen and slid down one of the counters, resting his head in his hand. James looked down at him and shook his head. How could he fix all of these problems if there was a new one every day?

As if by magic Jordan appeared, too - He didn't know much about the arguing. He'd heard some shouting, but, he'd gathered the nerve to come out and check on Frank now that the shouting had ended, and it was safe to say he was worried when he saw Frank there on the floor with tears in his eyes and the colors flushed from his face. Frank couldn't help but feel like they were all losers here - Tony may have been on the law's side, but, were any of them really lawful anymore? The cops had turned vigilante, working with a grey-hat that had caused multiple millions in damage through his actions, and to top it off, they were working closely with a member of Al-Asheera.

The thought that James could easily just abandon them at any point and get them all locked up was scary. If Thalia, Karin, Joseph, James, Jenny... If they all ran, that'd leave the detectives to either be killed off by either Al-Asheera or The Clover Boys, or they'd be locked up. He didn't like the thought of that, but, it was one he couldn't help but fear.

Jordan approached Frank, though, and after looking down at him for a minute, he shuffled in beside him and put his arms around his sides, his head against his chest.

"Hey, kid." Frank whispered, hugging him back. "I'm alright, don't you worry about me." He sniffled.

What a fucking day.

--

Later In The Evening - Indianapolis, Indiana.

8:48PM

Jon, Nicole, and Charlie.

Time had gone by - in the morning, back in Ohio, Jon had stuck to his promise of making sure he and Charlie were the first ones ready, and while Nicole and Eric were getting ready after, he took Charlie to get some breakfast. Pancakes, waffles - whatever he wanted, basically, and not long after that, they hit the road. The road was yet another long one, too. They were going from the east side of Ohio to the center of Indiana to get on a plane. A long journey indeed, but, it was one that came to a close eventually. Once they reached the airport, Eric wished them all well. He shook Jon and Charlie's hand and wished Nicole the best, too, and he took the car and started going back the way they came. Jon explained to the two people he was escorting that Eric was parting with them now to get the car back to Philly. Quite the distance the guy had to make, but, he could handle himself. From here on out, it was the three of them on their own, but that wasn't going to be difficult to accomplish.

In the airport, getting through security was simple enough. Jon obviously had to ditch the gun he had with Eric (he made sure he didn't let Charlie see that, though), and he knew how to handle himself just fine with his hands if things went sour. There was nothing stopping him from getting some of his Californian contacts to sort him out once he arrived, though, so there was no big deal there. Even so, they got the chance to whack out the falsified passports - Once more, Jon had played along with the whole spy game with Charlie, and in the airport they did have to get back into character. Husband, wife, and son. That was no big issue, though - it was all for the benefit of the operation, right?

Just like Jon had said, though, Charlie (or Michael) got to hand over his passport and watch as it was stamped and passed off successfully. Quite the exciting moment. Seeing it all happen still gave Jon a thrill, too.

After they were all clear and had their tickets (they were flying to a city outside of LA, most definitely), it was dinner time. There were plenty of places to eat in the airport, and hunger was the one thing that could end up holding them back. With a couple of hours to kill, Jon bought them all a meal and a bottle of wine for himself and Nicole to have during dinner. At least they had the chance to relax before they got thrown into it all again.

Over dinner, though, there were a couple of texts that went out.

'J, what's the water like in California?'

'Hot. Had a fella' burn himself and now the pool's closed. Best to play it safe and steer clear for a little.'

'Damn. Fair enough.'

That was all the confirmation he needed - things were heating up in LA, so, treading with caution was needed. There was no need to panic either Nicole nor Charlie. He could easily get Charlie playing along in their spy game when it came down to all of that, anyway.

Post-dinner, before their flight, there was a chance to do whatever - Use the bathroom, by some duty-free stuff for the journey, you name it. But there did come the time that they had to get on the plane, and because their flight was fairly late and fairly unusual, too, there weren't going to be many people on it, meaning all three of them were going to get a seat together. Jon was hoping it'd be that way - he didn't want them all to be split up and sat next to strangers, honestly. Not that that would be any danger, but, he wanted both Charlie and Nicole nearby so he could keep an eye on them. Especially Charlie, after everything he'd been through, Jon doubted he'd do too well if he was sat next to someone he didn't know for a five hour flight. Thankfully, there was nothing to worry about, because they were boarded and seated together, and, to top it all off, Jon gave Charlie the window seat and took the middle one himself - Nicole and Charlie had the most leg and arm room, but, Jon didn't mind. He could cope for five hours. He'd been in more uncomfortable situations than this one.

Finally, seatbelts on, and relax. One of his arms dropped around Charlie's shoulders, and that was that - Out of instinct he turned and smiled at Nicole. They'd basically made it now. This was the easy part. He gave her arm a gentle pat, too. She'd held up well so far. Now they could all lower their guard a little bit. In the duty-free stores, Jon made sure they picked up something to keep Charlie entertained in case he didn't sleep. You know the usual drill - comics, dot-to-dot drawing books, the usual stuff.

"Well, here we are." Jon said, looking down at the young boy beside him. "Think, our journey's halfway done, more or less. In about five hours or so, we'll be in California. Exciting, huh?" He chuckled, tiredly. "As soon as we take off and everything, I'll buy you a drink and a snack or whatever from the cart if you want one. I could use a stiff drink myself right now - Nicole, something for you as well, I'm sure?" He asked with a wink. "But, well done, son. I know the journey's been long, but you're doing great so far." He said, squeezing his shoulder. "Now, we can finally kick back and chill for a while." He yawned, setting his head back against his seat. He knew Charlie had flown before, but, that by no means meant that he was good with flying. Some people never get comfortable with it, no matter how many times they fly. Another reason he was happy to be sat with the two of them. At least if either of them were nervous flyers, they had him there, a man who was more or less immune to the fears of air travel. God knows he'd done it enough.
 
James' Mansion, Poolside | Encino, CA | 5:50 PM Local Time

Thalia and Jordan

Without a shadow of doubt, the laughs and joy Thalia shared with Karin and Jenny were some of the best she's had in all of her adult life. Friendships were few and far to come by in Al-Asheera due to its male-dominant nature. Literally every man in the organization wanted in bed with a girl who was blatantly given the name The Beautiful One. Ra's wasn't subtle about hypersexualizing Thalia, which was greatly unappreciated. Women were a rarity, and most were as old as the Head himself, probably as brainwashed as him, too. It wasn't until Vanessa that she found someone potentially amicable to interact with. Romance wasn't on the agenda for the two, but it soon became something more fun. Not only that, but post-Jenny, Thalia actually learned to genuinely trust someone. And after her execution, she figured confiding in someone in the future would only lead in their death. It's one of the reasons why she is so over-protective of Karin. After all they've talked about and told each other, if Ra's were to ever find about about their friendship, he'd exploit it to every extreme and use this once-innocent waitress against her. She couldn't imagine having to stare into the deceased eyes of another person she cared about that her cruel master took from her. Under the circumstances, Jenny also regained her place on Thalia's list of people she cares about. And the three of them clicked so seamlessly; it felt like a dream come true...

If only Vanessa were alive to share the dream. They'd spoken greatly of abandoning Al-Asheera and starting over. But it was too late for that.

The day progressed on, filled with jokes and laughs between the girls just talking about whatever really came to mind. Their pasts, romances, fun pastimes, shopping, and the likes. Of course, they had their share of fun in James' lounge and in the kitchen. Thalia helped where she could with making sandwiches for lunch, only the second meal she really prepared. Fortunately, Jenny was equally accepting to the fact her friend's life had been ruined to the point that she wasn't familiar with basic household utilities, and actively helped her learned the ropes. So she cooked her first breakfast and lunch, even if they were under the heavy guidance of her friends. It counted in her heart that she was learning. She also planned on helping out with the laundry later on. They'd been living in the house for a good two days now, nearly three, so there was certainly clothing that needed a wash. Maybe even getting the blood off that tank top she soiled after stabbing the once-clansman to death. The thoughts of his death had faded away due to the happier thoughts of the day. Likewise, Jenny was moving past her tragedy as well. Being around each other, all such lively personalities, certainly aided in forgetting the bad and accepting the good. Things were going to get better, slowly but surely.

One thing didn't seem like it was all smooth sailing: Frank. Not only were Jenny's occasional teases in front of Thalia tempting to give in to, but how could she possibly cheat on her boyfriend and quickly move on to someone else? She simply wasn't ready to hop off one man to rekindle something else, even if it were something she'd craved for years. The least she could do, much like James advised her, was to break it off towards the end of the day. And as the late afternoon dawned upon them, the redhead couldn't help herself but check on the younger detective. She was worried that he'd be chilling with Tony, a man who'd left the house a while ago and never returned. She didn't even see Frank passed their argument. If anything, chilling with her two favorite girls was far too distracting. Chicks before dicks, as she put it with Karin last night. Or she just needed to think of something besides Frank, and the best way to do that were two people she knew she would never turn her back on. But now, she needed to find her man and have a serious conversation. Deep down, as much as she knew she had to break up with him.... she missed him. She missed the intimacy, the passion, the conversations, the in-bed date the other night... the separation killed her, and knowing Frank's priorities shifted was only making the pain worse. But what hurt beyond it all was the desire for closeness again. If she could just get one more taste, it might just soothe her aching heart for the time being, then she'd be able to move on.

While Karin wandered off to do her own thing and Jenny went to take a shower, Thalia took this moment of solitude to hunt for her boyfriend. He couldn't be too hard to find, probably talking to Jordan and trying to distract him from whatever horrible thoughts were running in his head. Poor little boy. What are the odds: a grown woman and a young boy both lost their fathers on the same grim day in the midst of a chaotic situation that neither deserved to live in. No person deserved to have their father killed like that, and Thalia's heart extended to Jordan in that way. It was a common ground in the most unfortunate of circumstances. Thalia's father was shot dead in his church, as well as his faithful followers. Jordan's whole family was murdered in their home in the most brutal of manners. She was lucky she didn't have to see it, but judging by how scarred Frank looked, she didn't want to. She'd seen enough horrors in her time in Al-Asheera.

But Jordan was found alone at the poolside without his guardian. How would a criminal like Thalia approach a child? Was she that scary? An eerie tattoo on her right hand, another on the left side of her neck, not to mention her cigarette burns on the right side of her neck. The black concaved cross pendant gave off a creepier vibe as well. If she'd presented herself as she did at the diner with her rough, dark make-up, she's definitely freak him out. She didn't have any other noticeable scarring or anything like that, but apart from that, she was a pretty face after all. But would some innocent redheaded girl really creep the boy out that much, even if she wanted to approach him in the sweetest of manners? And that's what she did: a few steps forward and sat down in front of him, putting a smile on her face and speaking out to get his attention. A bit shaky, her heart racing from fear of scaring the boy away, but she spoke:

"Hey, Jordan," she began, a bit nervous. Would he freak out and run away? He was probably still toying with thoughts of his parents and sister being gone and didn't want someone he didn't trust to show up in his face and throw herself at him. Noticing a lack of reaction, she continued, "M-My name is Thalia... it's an annoying name to say, I know. I was never a fan. Thal... T... either work, if you really want. Or you can just call me the creepy redhead that approached you out of the blue. It's up to you." She chuckled a bit, rubbing her hands together in her lap, trying to form a conversation as best as possible with a child. She considered it practice for when she and Charlie meet in a way. "I see... you've taken a liking for Frank? I mean... I don't blame you. I thought he was very... charming, when I met him. Very fun to be around, and he has the biggest heart I've seen on any guy in, well, forever. And you? You..." She smiled, noticing a shine in his eyes from the setting sun. Nothing more adorable than this distraught blind boy trying to make sense of a heartless world around him. it's how Thalia's felt for so long. "You are a handsome boy, too. Quite a keeper, you know?" If Tony overheard this, she'd certainly be portrayed as a pedophile, and he'd go around spreading rumors like that. But fortunately, he was nowhere to be seen, now off and about to the station to get the bullet back. Or at least cover his tracks. So it was just Thalia and Jordan for now, unless Frank was lurking about.

"You know... I lost my daddy, too," she admitted, scooting closer to him. "He was... um..." It'd been a while since she'd imagined her father's demise, but she felt braver than before now. She wanted to be a stronger figure for someone who was so defenseless, even if it would make her closer and closer to Frank, which she didn't need. "A man who really didn't like him walked up, and just..." She lifted a pair of fingers in the shape of a gun and created a clicking noise with her tongue. "Boom. He just.... killed him." She sighed, her glossy green eyes becoming a bit watery. "And I can't even go see him. I couldn't even say good-bye to him, Jordan. So believe me when I say, I understand your pain. But I'm not here to remind you of it... I just..." She sighed and swiped her hands across her face, trying to reformulate her words more properly. "You're not alone, Jordan. You never are. For so long, I thought I was alone, but over the past... three or four days, I've made some of the greatest friends I've ever had in my life. One of which is Frank. And I think you saw earlier... we're a bit more than friends." She giggled, realizing she'd made out with Frank in front of this boy fearlessly. He probably got hints about her, his guardian's girlfriend. She could use that to make him more comfortable around him. "I love Frank. He's one of the greatest things that've ever happened to me. I get why you'd be so close to him, because I am, too. And saving you? It was the most noble thing he's ever done, in all honesty. He's.... He's a hero. My hero. Your hero. And for so many others. He's a new detective, you know? It's his job to save people like you and me. He's a hero to us all. He may not wear a cape and tights like the ones in comics and movies... no, he's a special kind of hero. The one in the real world that stops the bad guys and makes sure they pay for their mistakes. And he's going to find the people who took your family... and the people who took my daddy, too. You know that, right?"

At this point, all the motivational pep-talking was probably doing nothing but boring the child, so she changed it to one closer to him. "You mind... showing me what you're up to, Jordan? Maybe I can play along?" Thalia realized she'd been talking too much and wasn't giving Jordan any breathing room. She could do this with Karin or Jenny, or even Frank, no problems. But a child was different. She needed to crouch to his level, especially in a time where he's in need of it.

--

For Charlie, sleep had become significantly easier after Jon spoke to him after the nightmare, scaring off the thoughts of the wolf-beast that'd appeared in his dreams. Instead of the nightmares of his father's demise, he began to dream more pleasant thoughts... ones of his sister. True, he doesn't know how Thalia looks now, at 21. He'd only seen the last known pictures of her when she was 13 before she ran away from home. Her 8th grade graduation picture, a Christmas card, and a few others in that last year with her family. So it was that rendition of Thalia that he dreamed of, but it still counted as him dreaming of meeting that mysterious sister he'd been told so much about. At last, he was about to meet her in person. Not only would it come as a surprise for him, but for Nicole as well, who didn't know what to expect from her daughter now that she knew the truth about her past, how she joined Al-Asheera shortly after she left home. It broke her heart and left her so empty on the inside just imagining where she'd gone wrong in raising a little girl for her to do this. Ultimately, Nicole was only part of the blame. So many factors lead up to the buildup of Thalia not coping with herself anymore and running away. It still felt like yesterday that she and her husband woke up and called Thalia for breakfast, only to get no answer. And when they looked at her room? She was nowhere to be found. Every mother's worst nightmare, especially one that was pregnant with her second child, Charlie, who grew to never know his sister. Until now. But she didn't want to tell her son of his sister's career outside the family. He's been through enough as is.

As if the adventure yesterday of playing the role of a spy wasn't enough to keep Charlie full of energy and his spirits up, rather than depressed and asking himself questions he couldn't piece together answers for, he was ecstatic when all of Jon's promises were fulfilled, starting with breakfast. Pancakes and waffles for breakfast. It's not like his parents deprived him of a delicious breakfast on weekends, but it seemed so much more heart-filled coming from Jon. And the smile from ear-to-ear on his face told the whole story, one that made his mother's heart glow at the sight of. Maybe having him around for the longrun would do wonders for Charlie. A fatherly figure in his life, at such a young age, is one he needed direly. But only time would tell, but Jon did promise to stay. Nicole took his word for it.

Once again, the three were playing the role of the happy family together, and it was a part that no one seemed to mind very much. Charlie saw Jon very much like a son sees a father anyone. He just had to get used to calling him 'daddy' around people in public, and not slip up. But he'd done a brilliant job at keeping his cover, even covering up his mother's tracks when she was almost identified back in Ohio. A smart kid indeed, or one that had high hopes of becoming a spy someday. And this was practically living the dream in the boy's eyes. Every step of the way, from the drive in a fancy car, to handing off a falsified passport and getting it stamped and allowed beyond the security barricades, all felt exciting to the little boy. Maybe a bit too excited his own good and might attract suspicion, but still, he was an eight year old boy. Anyone who saw his smile would just assume he was excited to travel.

After a quick bite - a quick drink for Nicole and some soda for Charlie upon his own request - the happy family boarded the plane, again, with no issues. Nicole was worried each step of the way that Jon's supposed foolproof plan would collapse over their head and someone would stop them. Or someone would recognize her and blow her identity. Sure, she dyed her hair, but if someone recognized her beyond it, that was going to be a problem. But that wasn't the case till now, a huge relief. But it wasn't just exposure that she feared: Charlie had been on a plane ride to Paris earlier this summer, and he felt sick on the ride as she recalled. She'd addressed this to Jon earlier, but she felt the need to bring it up once again.

"Um... honey," she whispered as they walked the aisles of the aircraft. Honey was such a strange wording from the school teacher. She didn't even call her husband that. But anything to seem out of character, after all. "Just a reminder of Mike's motion sickness... you remember our vacation earlier this summer, right? He wasn't feeling so good, so if you could... just keep an eye on him? Maybe he'll be distracted enough on the window and won't think of it? Just be careful, alright? Better to be safe than sorry."

Charlie didn't hear his mother's concerned words, but instead was too excited to even think of it as he hopped into his window seat, buckled up almost immediately and just watched outside, getting ready for lift-off. Aside throwing up, his past experiences on a plane earlier this summer were mostly enjoyable. He found it an adventure, and that's what encouraged him not to get sick. To be a man, in some ways. Also to impress Jon. But that wasn't going to be a problem with all the praise he'd received so far. To Jon's standards, the boy was doing a brilliant job. But now? They could relax.

"I'll have a snack, sure," Charlie nodded.

Nicole waved a hand to him and replied, "I think I'll pass on another drink... or maybe I'll be tempted by you. I'm not... accustomed to drinking very much. But seeing this is an occasion of sorts...."

Things were changing for the Griffins. And likewise, their personalities had to seem unlike their normal ones. Especially in public. But some things never change: how overprotective a mother Nicole was by nature, as well as Charlie's natural sense of enthusiasm for discovery. And no better way to discover more than to travel and see a new place like he'd been doing all this past day. LA, his new home very soon.

"I can't wait till we meet my sister, Daddy!" he cheered. "I just know she's going to be great." Nicole leaned her head back in the chair and just grinned at her son's excitement... up until his next question, which made her heart sink. "So, Daddy.... Mommy's told me all sorts of things about my sister before she moved out. Do you know anything about her after she moved?"

What a question. Nicole had no clue how Jon would answer that. But it's clearly why he asked Jon: because every time she was asked, Nicole would answer that she didn't know... what would this new character in the tale say? He surely couldn't tell him the ugly truth about her past. No way.
 
Not long after Tony had gone off, Frank knew there was one call of business he had to take care of. Jordan couldn't walk around in the same shirt and underwear all week. He needed to do something, and that something didn't involve forcing Jordan to sit naked under a blanket somewhere while Frank washed his clothes. That would just be cruel. He knew he was going to have to take a cut from his bank check just to make sure Jordan was clothed. He already had a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and everything else at their disposal, but the one thing the house lacked was the clothes and PJ's of a six-year-old. That was something that needed to be fixed, and in the process of fixing it, Frank was going to get one shocking thing revealed to him by a somewhat unfamiliar face. Not something he'd ever be able to predict, but, hey, that was just the way things were.

At one point, Jordan was actually willing to leave his side at the offer to play soccer with Joseph. Finally, another kid to play with. It could get dull being surrounded by adults, and particularly stressful, too. Even though they were just going to be kicking a ball around or watching YouTube videos together, it was better than having nothing else to do. Jordan's silence stayed strong, but, Joseph was both persistent and understanding. He wasn't going to force him to talk, but, he wasn't going to give up on him, either. Having someone to play soccer with was always nice, even if they were mute around him. Usually it'd be James practicing with him, but, James was busy today, it seemed. After all the arguing and drama, Joseph figured it'd be best to leave the soccer game with James for another day.

So, while Jordan was occupied, Frank asked Karin and whoever else just to keep an eye on him - He did let Jordan know he was going, too. At first he was reluctant to let the man leave his sight, but, when he found out that it was for his benefit, he let the nerves simmer down a little bit more. Being away from Frank for an hour couldn't hurt, right? He sorta' knew how to look after himself. Sort of. Joseph did a pretty solid job, though - as soon as Jordan started to look too hot, he said they'd stop and have a drink. As soon as he started to look uncomfortable and twitchy, he asked if he needed to stop to use the bathroom. Kid's intuition, really. Joseph seemed to get on well with younger children.

But, Frank was off to town and off to a simple store that sold more or less everything - Everything from furniture to clothes, basically, and it didn't take long to dig through the Boys' (6-10) section to find something suitable. He'd checked the labels on Jordan's shirt and pants before he left - Size 6. Fair enough. It usually worked on a scale of age, anyway. While he was in the store, he got a couple of everything. A couple of sets of underwear, socks, a few t-shirts, a few pairs of pants, a couple of pairs of PJ's. All the usual stuff - the PJ's were fun, too. One was space-themed, and the other had a dinosaur playing guitar on the front of the shirt - above that was the text 'T-Rox'. Pretty smart. Frank hadn't really seen any kids clothes since he was really a child himself - at least not from a shopper's perspective. This was a new and particularly warming experience for him.

At the checkout was where something else interesting happen. He was queued up and waiting to get served, when a voice from his side rang out.

"Hale?"

His heart dropped - he turned and saw a young man, one a couple of years younger than him, and one he knew. He was a member of the LAPD, just someone who worked the beat, but a cop all the same, and probably one that knew Redgrave. Redgrave was part of the teaching staff in the academy until the day he died. It was very likely this man was trained by him, too - Shit, the whole department knew of his demise by now.

"Oh, hey." Frank said, playing off his nerves with a smile. "Fancy seeing you here... Remind me of your name?"

"Jimmy Seavac." He smiled.

"Oh, Seavac. Right." He nodded. "Sorry... Long day."

"Yeah, I heard about you and Tony taking time off. Can't blame you after everything that's happened." He said, looking down at the clothes in Frank's arms. "You've got kids?"

"Oh... No, no. These are for my neighbor's son." He said. "He's a... Big five-year-old, hence these being size six, but, he's been really sick over the past week, so he's had quite a few accidents. A lot of the clothes he had... Aren't really worth washing, I'm sure you understand." He chuckled a little. "She's busy looking after him while her other half's at work, so, I said it was no problem me going out and picking some stuff up." He said.

"Nice of you." Jimmy nodded.

"What about you? What brings you here?"

Jimmy held up an aerosol can of deodorant. "Literally just stopping by." He chuckled. "Hate stinking the car up on duty. The summer's not nice to anyone who has to sit in a car all day."

"Too right."

There was some silence - the queue progressed.

"So, what happened to Redgrave was... Quite the shocker." He said.

Frank nodded slowly. "It was." He glanced down at the clothes that would soon belong to Redgrave's only son. A wave of sadness washed over him.

"To think his little boy is out there somewhere, I... God. I just hope Bradan doesn't have him."

"Redgrave was a good friend of mine, Jimmy... I'd rather not talk about what happened." He gulped. "We'll get the bastards responsible, I'm sure. As for his boy... I just hope he's safe out there somewhere."

"I was thinking. It's unlikely Bradan has him - we'd know by now, right? Someone else must have found him before they did."

"I... Wouldn't know, Jimmy. I hope so." He said, and now, it was his turn in the queue. He kept his eyes at the floor as the clerk ran it through, and as soon as it was bagged up, Frank paid on his debit card. "It was good seeing you, Jimmy. Hope all goes well." He nodded to him as he pulled the bag from the counter.

"Say hi to Tony for me."

Frank nodded, and he made a quick retreat from the store. Did the police really think that someone else may have had Jordan? They had no way of knowing unless Bradan's rat somehow hinted that there was no way Bradan had him. If people were beginning to get suspicious, then Frank was going to get more worried. He wasn't going to be able to take Jordan out of there any time soon, not until the drama was cleared up. It was going to take time, but Frank was willing to walk the walk, no matter how much it damaged himself.

--

Later On - 5:50PM Local Time

Jordan was sat there rather happy with what looked like an iPad in hand. Earlier on, Frank had asked James for something just to help keep him busy. Both Joseph and Jordan got tired of soccer and YouTube videos eventually, so now while Joseph was off relaxing and doing whatever it was he usually did, Jordan was out by the pool playing a game on an iPad that James had very kindly lent him. Obviously he didn't verbally thank him, but, the thought was there.

Where was Frank right now, though? No one had really noticed him slip away for five minutes, but, it was quiet enough out in the early evening for Jordan to sit on his own. He knew Frank would be back soon, anyway, so there was no big deal there. He was happy enough trying to entertain himself - and the iPad was doing a pretty good job of that. He didn't really notice Thalia approaching - he was quite engulfed, after all, and the game he was playing had his focus more or less completely. It only really drifted when Thalia was pretty much in front of him - when he saw her there, there was the sudden flinch - unexpected arrival, but, even though he was tense for just a second, he soon relaxed. A familiar face. Not one he was necessarily friends with, but, one he knew from earlier on, one that had kissed Frank, too.

Even so, when he got used to her present, he flicked the iPad off and just looked up at her, his eyes occasionally moving elsewhere. Eye contact was hard with someone he didn't really know all that well, but, he did his best. Before he knew it, he was getting showered with compliments by her, too. That was always nice. With trauma came a bit of a beaten self-esteem, even in a six-year-old. The comments she gave him made his cheeks blush just ever so slightly. A pretty woman telling him he was handsome? That was enough to make anyone blush just a little. Even though what he wanted to say wasn't expressed in words, it was reflected in how he nodded to the things she said. Anything she said about Frank was big nods in agreement, enthusiastic ones, and other things? Other things it was just small nods, ones that acknowledged or agreed. He and Frank had already formed quite the bond.

Even though it was a topic he didn't want to talk about, having someone else talk about it still helped him come to terms with things in his own little way. He lowered his head at the talk of the fathers and loss, his eyes on the ground instead of on Thalia. Then again, Thalia probably wasn't expecting Jordan to be smiling about the most horrific incident he'd experienced in his life. Even though it was a thing that left a stinging in his heart, he nodded to each of the things that she said. He nodded slowly to what she said about her own father and how he died, too - The words were there waiting to leave his mouth, but the saddest thing was he didn't even have the power nor the confidence to speak, but on the upside, he wasn't tensed up like he had been with everyone else. He was at the very least relaxed and willing to listen to her.

Once again, more big nods to the comments about Frank being a hero. He definitely agreed with that, but, he was also going to show Thalia something that'd be just as cute as it would heartbreaking. When she asked to see what he was up to, he flicked the iPad back on. James had removed the passcode so he only had to swipe to unlock it - surprisingly enough, though, he went to an app that let you paint things. Maybe he had a new idea for a thing with Thalia? Sort of, but not quite the one she probably imagining. He started to slowly write words with his index finger, and obviously erased them if he needed more space. He didn't have the power to talk, but he certainly had the power to write.

Eventually, his words formed a sentence - it may have been one written by a little boy, so, no one could expect it to be perfect, but on the upside, it made enough sense to be able to read it somewhat clearly.

'frank is a hearo, like in a movie. but this is real and in real life hearos cant save every one' (Frank is a hero, like in a movie. But this is real, and in real life, heroes can't save everyone).

A sad truth, but one he dreadfully understood. It was probably clear there and then that Jordan already knew he was never going to get his family back. Both a good and a bad thing. But the main thing Thalia could have understood from that was this: Frank was his hero.

After that, he switched back to the game he was playing and unpaused it, this time leaning over just a little bit so Thalia could see. It was a simple one - you make a character dive from a cliff and land in water, obviously aiming to form a perfect dive. The character he currently had? Santa. Santa diving from cliffs into water. Always good fun. Either way, he had a few turns, jumping the character off the cliff, making him flip and everything, collecting coins on the way down, before finally landing in the water - head or feet first. The game ended as soon as you missed the landing zone, backflopped, or bellyflopped.

Eventually, though, he turned to Thalia and handed her the iPad, instead. Sure, he wasn't talking, but the communication and intent was there, and he was letting her take a turn or two on the game. Always a good start.

Frank spent a few minutes watching them from the kitchen window - he knew Jordan wasn't saying a word, but, it was nice to see him at least settling in with one person in the house. That was certainly better than nothing, and right now, he figured it'd be better if Thalia was one of the people he settled with. He'd rather that than Tony, and even James. James was a man in a bad situation, one that Frank didn't want Jordan accidentally dragged into. After a few minutes of letting them have some time to themselves, though, he had to go out there and see them. He approached, and as soon as Jordan noticed him, his face lit up with a smile and he hopped up from his seat, immediately running to throw his arms around Frank's leg.

"Hey, buddy." Frank laughed, softly. "You been playing a game with Thalia?"

"Yeah." He said, softly, alongside a little nod.

"That's great..." He ruffled his head, "Your bath's ready. Why don't you go hop in? Once you're clean and wearing something a little more comfy, I'll make you some food, okay?" He smiled.

"Okay." He nodded. Before he left, though, he went back to Thalia and got the iPad from her, for one, and handed that to Frank. Following that, though, he did something Frank wasn't really expecting. He reached out and patted Thalia on the shoulder twice - they'd connected, even if it was only in the smallest of ways. Would this make the whole settling of the relationship that little bit more peaceful?

In all honesty - probably.

"I'll come see you in a minute, kiddo. Just want to talk to Thalia for a minute." He ruffled Jordan's hair, then watched him wander off inside the house. Slowly he was regaining his confidence, but, the house was familiar ground by now. Frank liked to think he was doing a pretty good job with taking care of him, though. He turned to Thalia and smiled once Jordan had vanished inside, and he himself? He dropped down onto the seat Jordan was once on and lied back, closing his eyes. "God. Tiring." He laughed a little. "A long fucking day. That's all I'll say." He said.

"Also, thanks for keeping J company for me. From what I could see, he didn't speak. Don't think it's a personal thing. He hasn't spoken to anyone but me yet, not even Joseph." He said. "He means well, though. I hope he'll start talking to other people soon enough." He said.

And just like that, they were boiling down to their moment of truth.
 
Thalia wasn't expecting Jordan to throw himself into her arms and suddenly consider her a friend, but she also wasn't expecting him to cringe the way he did in the beginning. The way he flinched and showed an element of fear made her heart sink. Was it her in particular, her appearance or words, that caused a degree of discomfort? It wouldn't be the first time she sees a child cower in fear from her. Except this time, she didn't have a pair of automatic weapons in her hands, no dark, scary make-up on her face, and no harsh words for him to obey her. Those were the qualities that probably caused Joseph to freak out. But they were non-existent in this situation. Just a few kind words from a seemingly nice lady, though lady was a distant term for Thalia. But eventually, Jordan's focus directed to her. Sort of; his eyes tended to wander about, but it was also unsurprising. She remembered when she was young, maybe a bit older than Jordan, but she could hardly keep eye contact with her elders out of fear of them, only to get scolded by her mother. It's a shame this boy doesn't have his mother anymore, neither for the discipline nor for the healing hand.

Apart from the looks, Jordan would occasionally nod in response to her words, if she'd ever said anything about Frank, or something indisputably true about his condition. She only lost his direct focus when she brought up his father. Not like she didn't expect it; why would anyone want to talk about their father being gone forever? It was hard for Thalia to come to terms with, too. But she was a grown woman. Jordan was a child. They had vastly different ways of coping and acclimating to the situation. But Thalia accepted his introverted manner of processing things, but tried to reach forward, a helping hand to try and pull him from the void much like Frank did. Maybe it would brighten her own perspective about the fate of her relationship. But then she brought up the topic of heroism and linking it to his caretaker. Frank literally pulled Jordan from under his bed to save his life and brought him to safety. If that didn't make him a hero, nothing would. He clearly wasn't as tensed as he would be around anyone else - after all, if he were tense around Karin of all people, something was very wrong - and that was something she really took to heart. Then he retrieved the tablet and began writing. Thalia couldn't even remember at what age kids are supposed to begin writing, so she just sat back and waited for him to piece his words together, scribbling away and erasing when he messed up. She couldn't deny: watching a child grow up like that? It was adorable. But what came in the writings was equally heart-breaking. Even with the spelling mistakes, she could make out what he was trying to write.

Heroes can't save everyone....

It reminded Thalia of the diner incident. She never wanted anyone to die. That poor man that her pitbull of a recruit gunned down senselessly. It went beyond the code of Al-Asheera to know he didn't deserve to die. And in full view of innocent people, even a child. But Thalia is the farthest thing from a hero herself, so why would she blame herself? On that note, if heroism meant saving everyone, Frank and Tony also failed the rest of the Redgrave family. But it went deeper than that, and with a sigh, she returned the tablet to Jordan and spoke. She was never one to give heart-filled advice before, mainly because she rarely had anyone to advise, but she tried her best with a warm tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach... for the first time in her life, she felt like she could be a mother in some ways. But in other ways she knew that wasn't possible. But she spoke her mind reagrdless,

"Jordan... y-you're right. Heroes can't save everyone. But they can do their best. They can come close. You want an example of how heroes can't save everyone? Look at me for a second..." She lifted her right hand to show her tattoo to the boy. He might be a bit frightened by its shape and general vibe, but it was worth explaining. "I got taken by a really mean person eight years ago, and he... ruined my life." It seemed vague enough yet telling enough for the boy to understand. It's not like she'd tell Jordan that she'd been abused and raped by a psychopath through her adolescence. "I've been through a very rough time, all without a hero to save me, up until it was too late. It wasn't until now that I had my time..." She gulped. "You remember that girl, about my age, white hair, blue eyes? Karin? She was my hero... If it weren't for her, I'd probably still be stuck in the dark place I was in before. She might've come very late in my life, but she was there. She could've saved me eight years ago before my life was ruined. But she might've come late, sure, but she came in time. And that's what matters, right? There's a chance to save everyone. It may come immediately, late, or never at all... but, I mean..." She stumbled at a loss for words. What could she say at this point? "We can try, Jordan. We just have to have faith..."

A glance dropped down to her pendant, a recollection of her days as a faithful Christian. As much as she'd become the farthest thing from it, it was still a part of her that lingered around. Ra's was right about one thing: remembering who you are. And even thought she didn't necessarily believe in her religion by the book, she did understand enough about it to get the message. Before she could continue, Jordan switched the device back to the game he was playing. It was cute in its own way, a simple game to get his mind off of the bad memories. And she took a moment to play. It was moments like that that made a supposedly mature 21 year old woman seem like a kid again. If only she could redo her childhood for the better with none of the drama she'd endured or dragged anyone into. She'd lift her head from time to time to give Jordan a reassuring smile to know she enjoyed his company, up until Frank had returned, when he took the tablet back and left for a bath. He could sure use one after a stressful day, and she didn't stop him... but one motion did catch her eye. The few taps to her shoulder. It was very slight, and it spoke more words than any sort of conversation would for Thalia. A smile cracked across her face in return. She almost wanted to hug Jordan in return, but she sided against it. She'd run at his own pace of comfort, and the fact he even made physical contact with her was strange to everyone in the house.

Oddly enough, Frank didn't really show any sort of feeling towards her. She wasn't expecting a kiss or a hug or anything like that. Even a handshake might've been too much. Apart from a thank you, she didn't get anything else. Hell, Jordan showed her more affection than Frank. Was this part of selling the act of being bitter with each other, like they spoke of yesterday? Or was he truly distant from her after she killed that man? Did he make a run for it after knowing she might have a mental disorder? Was he that low? She took a peek around, left, right, behind her, over Frank's shoulder... no one. She was only really worried about Tony being around, but when she passed by the front earlier, she noticed his car was nowhere to be found. There was no need for him to hide anything. So, was he really pushed away? As much as she hated feeling it, Thalia was becoming jealous of Karin, but not in a way she'd want to tear her to pieces. She had the privilege of being as open about her relationship as she wanted. Hugs and kisses with James out in the open, sleeping together at night, and all the romantic gestures in between. Oh, and sex, which, though not important, caught Thalia's eye regardless. She couldn't do any of that with Frank because of Tony, which hurt deep down. And the fact that she sees Karin and James' flourishing romance right in front of her regularly, it kills her to know that her own envy was eating her alive. She could never tell her friend, though. Maybe Karin would understand the feeling, but she might also be pushed away, too.

"Y-Yeah..." Thalia muttered, trying to force a smile on her face around Frank to make it seem like things were okay but not too serious. But again, she knew Tony wasn't around, so half of her quite literally wanted to crawl over him on the chair and make out. But there was the more serious half of her that told her not to; that told her to suck it up and break up with him. This was no way for a relationship to drag along. But how to approach it was the question. They were alone, and she already stuttered, making it clear something was wrong. She dropped her feet to the ground, a further sign of her discomfort as she began to come forward with the truth.

"Frank..." she began, "I need to know something." It already hurt to begin the very conversation she knew she had to have. "You and I haven't exactly been close lately. And I get why. We can't be a normal couple with Tony breathing down our necks. But things just got... awkward now? I don't even know where to begin." She sighed and ran her hands through her hair from the start of her hairline. "Jordan. I am not blaming you for what you're doing for him. It's amazing, and I admire you for it. But how is that going to affect... us?" She gulped. "I'm barely an adult and can hardly cook for myself, let alone... feed a kid? I'd probably feed him something wrong from the start. It's just that... I don't feel ready for raising a child.... just..."

By now, the detective has probably already been turned off of the conversation. And odds are, he wasn't even thinking of her anymore, not of their potential to be together anymore. Having a kid changes a man. "Frank, I can't do this. I'm being honest with you. I can't raise a child and be a proper mother to him. I'm not even sure I can hold my own. And I don't want to drag you down... So I want to know: what is your plan for Jordan? What are you going to do with him after all this is over?" It was much better than saying 'I'm breaking up'. She at least took his word into consideration.

--

LAPD HQ

After the confrontation with James and Frank, friendships were broken, and bitterness was set in stone. Tony had royally fucked up and lost the trust of everyone under that roof. Shooting a man in the street with his partner's gun. He couldn't have dropped lower, and that wasn't even including the abusive series of events of his relationship with Thalia. Any bit of friendship he might've retained in that house was now flushed down the crapper. And there was very little hope in getting it back. He promised James he'd recover the evidence against Frank, and thought it would help their case, it wouldn't put him completely in the clear. Not a chance. He was still wondering how he could just walk out of the station with the evidence in hand and expect to not get caught. When it's missing, they'd go into security footage and catch him in the act. And that's not including the possibility that someone catches him digging through evidence and looking for the bullet. It was extremely risky, but he dug this hole for himself. It was time to climb out. It was much, much better than what James had in mind to get Melissa locked up.

Now suited up as he normally would be to work, he entered the station as if it were yet another day at the office. Pretty late in the day, too, not exactly the time he usually shows up, but Tony had a habit of coming to the office late anyway. But as an esteemed detective who was known to do things differently and achieve results, nobody really batted an eye. Unfortunately, James didn't agree on that front. And now he had to show his use once and for all by going on clean up duty. Fortunately, nobody asked any questions as the renowned detective entered at such a late hour. There were officers passing in and out as well, but nothing too suspicious. No strange glares or anything like that. It all seemed.... normal. Thank fuck.

It was normal until Tony arrived right by the door to his office when he heard a voice call his name. "Walsh... what the hell are you doing here?"

It sounded more playful than demanding. Sergeant Reeves, the one from earlier that told Tony to get a secretary. The one he told that he and Frank were taking a few days off. This was a form of being 'busted', which made Tony panic for a moment, practically grabbing his heart, wondering what to do. He wasn't like James or Thalia, trained criminals to know how to lie their way passed authority like that. Tony could lie. But not that well. And not to the sergeant. He slowly turned around to face his superior and smiled almost naturally to cover his tracks. He couldn't get caught now and force James to save his ass. That would be the icing on the failure cake that was his reputation. There was far too much to lose.

"Sergeant Reeves..."

"I thought you said you'd be taking a few days off. You and Detective Hale."

Tony nodded confirming the case. "We were, and Frank's at home blowing off some steam. I was spending the day with Mel, but..." He gulped. Melissa. She was a reason not to give up and fall apart at this stage. So he had to lie for HER. "But we heard about a shooting in Encino? Something regarding Al-Asheera. And I wasn't going to sit on the sidelines for that."

Reeves nodded, as if he believed the detective. Why wouldn't he? Tony's never lied a day in his life, and he was one of the head members of the newly-assembled anti-Al-Asheera task force. Of course he'd want in on the investigation. His hand on his hips in a bit of skepticism for Tony's mental state, he questioned, "Are you sure you're up for this, Walsh? Nobody would blame you for sitting this one out. Not after what happened to Sullivan the other day."

"I'm not sitting this out, Sarg," he confirmed, a dead serious look in his eyes, one of his dedication, determination for the case and its resolution. "I want to know what happened in Encino. Now."

Lies. Tony knew what happened, but he wanted to see what the LAPD knew. "Look, Tony, there's protocol in the mix, and considering you're off duty, I shouldn't even be having this discussion with you.... BUT..." The but would probably save Tony, and prevented him from panicking any further. "Since I trust your gut, I will allow you to know how we're doing so far."

If Tony could, he'd take a deep sigh of relief. He was in successfully. "What do you have?" he asked, marching by Reeves' side as he walked along with him to wherever the sergeant had in mind.

"The victim was identified as Victor Niles, from Chicago, but he's held a job as a surgeon in Philadelphia for the past fifteen years, up until he got a new job offer here in LA, supposedly better than his old one..."

"Sounds like a familiar story, right?"

"Al-Asheera. He's got the tattoos as well. The hand one, and something on his neck.... a syringe? Strange. They all have different ones. They claim the mystery redhead has a cross on her neck. It's not consistent or uniform with that one, not like the hand. Got any theories, Tony?"

Tony knew the reason, but he simply shook his head in denial. "Not sure yet, but seeing we have this body, it will help us look more into them. Seeing he's dead, interrogation isn't an option, but do we have his belongings in evidence?"

Reeves nodded. "I figured you'd want to take a look."

Grinning, Tony smirked, "You know me too well."

Except Reeves was walking Tony right where he wanted to be. That trust he once had was now exploited for James' uses. The older detective hated doing it; he hated that he'd become James' bitch, but it was all too necessary now. It's the least he could do for Frank.

At last: the evidence lockers. A neatly ordered line of them each lined up case by case in a designated room. It was a home away from home for Tony, just looking over every inch of evidence left behind: victim's belongings, murder weapons, bloodied objects - he loved it all. Despite the rancid odor the room left from being left without a window and closed for the most part, it was a love only second to his supposed love for his soon-to-be fiance. A love that might've been drowned away by his lustful feelings for the women around him. Disgusting... it really didn't make Tony any better than Ra's, but he tried to avoid thinking like that. Off of the nastier thoughts, the detective and sergeant eventually stood face to face with a locker entitled NILES, V.

"This is it, Tony," Reeves spoke, reaching forward with a small silver key, sliding it into the slot and turning to prop it open. "Tell me what you find inside."

Quite literally, Reeves had opened what Tony would expect to be Pandora's box. Tony should be able to find a bagged bullet casing left behind on the scene, hopefully one that remained unidentified. It was too soon for any testing anyway. He knew the protocol, and hasn't even been that long since the crime. But in the meantime, as he dug through the personal belongings and clothing, Tony asked more questions:

"So, how did you know about him?"

"Gunshot alerted the neighbors. One of them looked out their window, saw a guy face down in the street with a puddle of blood underneath him. She was too afraid to show up, so, we brought a squad car in, and that's when we figured out he was Al-Asheera. You know the story from there on."

Tony nodded. "I've seen it too many times."

So nobody saw him, Thalia, or Jenny running from the scene. Perfect; they were in the clear for now. But Frank wasn't if he couldn't find the evidence. Where was it? They had bags with his janitor jumpsuit, his wallet, his suppressed weapon... but there was no bag containing the bullet like there normally would've been. Externally, he arched an eyebrow in confusion. Internally, his heart felt like it could stop any minute from fear. Something wasn't right. Did they rush the investigation after hearing it's Al-Asheera related, and in the absence of Tony, they'd figured it was crunch time? Or was someone suspicious already? His hands were shaking, a bit of sweat dripping down his forehead as well as a mix of the heat and stress. But he still felt like he could lie around this.

"Um... Sarg? Didn't you say he was shot? ... Wouldn't you have been able to recover a bullet on scene?" Asking wouldn't hurt.

Except it did.

"Tell me something, Walsh," a more stern tone of voice from Reeves asked in a more interrogating manner than friendly. "Care to tell me why the bullet we recovered is a match to Detective Hale's police-issued weapon?"

Fuck.... we're too late. I got played; no way Reeves would've just let me in like that if it weren't a setup. "Um...."

Tony's head peeked passed the locker to face the sergeant in person. He still hadn't pulled his weapon, meaning he knew Tony wouldn't be a threat. And all seriousness, he wouldn't be. He just couldn't speak beyond his stutter. Reeves wouldn't let him. "Where is Detective Hale, Walsh?"

"I-I don't..."

"Would you also like to explain what happened in the bathroom with Bernard Sullivan? Where Hale's gun was used to kill yet another man?"

"T-That was a suicide, and you even told me that..."

"Two instances where a single detective's gun is implicated in two different deaths in two days. Sounds a bit shady, am I right, Tony? Look, I know you appointed him as your replacement for Richie, but if Frank's rogue, you need to tell me where he is, right now, or else we are holding you for conspiracy."

Things weren't looking good for Frank. Pigman's suicide now had questions surrounding it. And on top of it all, there was the new body that had appeared. Tony was officially nervous now and had no idea how to talk his way out of this apart from simply denying the fact. "Jordan, I promise you," he said in almost a whimper. "Frank's not a killer. Sullivan was a suicide... and Frank was with me all day..."

"Oh really?" Reeves' voice raised in pitch, extremely doubtful in tone, his hand reaching for his belt holster. "Because I thought you told me a few minutes ago that Frank was at home and you were with Melissa."

"We.... we spent it together?" Tony was caught in a contradiction. He sure as hell couldn't lie to save his teeth, and Reeves caught him.

With a sigh, the sergeant continued, his grip fastening on the weapon in its place. "Tony... I don't want to put you in cuffs, but I'm afraid you'll have to come with me."

At this point, Tony didn't need an assault charge on his hands. He was already being held for conspiracy. So instead, he decided to try to reason, "Sarg... what did I do? I promise you, whatever's going on, I'm not a part of it. I honestly came here to continue work on the Al-Asheera case..."

"Bullshit, Walsh. You've been acting shady for the past few days, rarely at the office, and when you are, you get caught up in the death of the new guy, and better yet, despite how you always explain your actions, you have yet to come clean about what exactly is going on with you and Detective Hale recently. So I have a strong feeling something is wrong. And you're going to tell me exactly what's going on. You can do it here or in an interrogation room."

"You want it?" Tony almost instinctively barked, almost getting up in Reeves' face. He was indeed pushing it there. "What if I told you I can get you the mystery redhead on a silver platter tonight? THAT is the lead I've been pursuing!"

Shit... he was going to rat Thalia out. Now that he was cornered, he was going to pussy out and expose everything. Just the words of the mystery redhead caught the sergeant's ears. Arching an eyebrow, he demanded answers. "Prove it."

"I have a real name for her, and so much more..." he snickered, almost a sinister one. "If you'd given me more time, I could've gotten you more, enough to incriminate her. But I know what I have."

"So all of this madness is because you've been hiding the mystery redhead, a known criminal?"

"I'm not hiding her!" he snapped, but clearly there was a bit of diplomacy to the discussion. But Tony's tone wasn't helping calm Reeves down with his hand still on his weapon. "Someone of higher criminal power is protecting her, and now, I can get you to both this criminal superpower, AND our girl. I just wanted to get more info on her. I've done so well so far."

"We're not abiding by your books anymore, Walsh. Hand over the mystery redhead, and tell us everything you know about her. Now."

Tony could only say what he was certain of. And there was only thing he needed to say to make the sergeant understand it all. He just wanted reassurance of the future. "I want immunity for myself and Detective Hale. Then we can explain everything when we come to the station."

"That depends how accurate your intel is, Tony. So spit it out, or you're under arrest for trying to extort me. And trust me, you know you won't survive in prison. So it's best you come clean. Now."

Reeves was growing impatient. This couldn't wait any longer. "Thalia Griffin. That girl that went missing in Philly eight years ago? She's the mystery redhead.... and I can take you to her location... right now."

The sergeant knew the name... but he wasn't going to take Tony's word for it immediately. With the ambiguous stories and lies that'd spread these past few days, he was going to confirm the facts before showing up at someone's doorstep and arresting people. Instead, he reached forward, gripped Tony's forearm, and dragged him away from the evidence lockers and out of the darker, confined room. There was a new plan in motion, lead by the LAPD, but one Tony expected and supported, no duress. "We're going to confirm this with the stories of the mystery redhead's crimes and Thalia Griffin's disappearance. And if they line up... then you'll take us to her and we can talk about immunity. Until then, you're going into the interrogation room to tell us more about this criminal superpower in question. And we're sending men to Detective Hale's house to pick him up. And I swear, Tony, if you're lying, I will personally make sure you rot in the worst of LA's prisons. I've covered your ass for years, all for you to screw up like this? Forget it. So you better pray your story checks out."

Tony didn't warn Reeves that they wouldn't find Frank there... instead, he let himself get dragged along. He was going to protect Frank, even at Thalia's expense, even with the threats booming in his ear. He knew this would work out because his intel was accurate. But how long would it be until James figures out that Tony was arrested and talking? Surely, chatter of him being apprehended would go around on police radio frequencies... and James would soon figure that out. His absence would be prolonged, and he'd get suspicious. It wasn't going to end well for him. A man could only hope.
 
Frank sort of knew that things were turning a bit sour from the get-go. He hadn't been deliberately distant, and even though Tony wasn't there, after the big falling out they had, he didn't want him even possibly catching them being intimate together. There was no need for them to caught, and there was no need to spark even more drama with Tony. Frank was playing it cool, but there was definitely something in the air, definitely something that was wrong. What was it, exactly? It was clear as day almost straight after Thalia started to speak - something had changed. And whatever that something was seemed like it was going to negatively impact their relationship.

The more Thalia spoke, the faster Frank's smile faded, and the wider his eyes opened up. It seemed there was no time for relaxing anymore - Even though they had been slightly awkward with each other recently, Frank didn't want to turn this into an argument. In his eyes, it wasn't him making this awkward, but, he wasn't going to bring that up. He didn't want this to be a back and forth game of trying to shift blame onto each other, that just wouldn't be fair. At the end of it, though, it all boiled down to one ultimatum - Jordan.

What sort of effect would it have on their relationship?

What were Frank's plans with the young boy that had attached to him so quickly?

He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh, before finally sitting up straight. He turned to face her and nodded, "My plans... I..." He took a glance around and over his shoulder. He didn't want anyone listening in, not even Jordan. Especially not him. "Jordan doesn't have any family out there." He said. "There's no one else who's coming looking for him, no one begging for his safe return. He's all that's left of the Redgrave bloodline, and it pains me to say that." He said. There was a long silence - it was the moment of truth; it wasn't hard to tell that at the end of the day, it was literally going to be Jordan or Thalia, and as heartbreaking as it was to make a decision - even if it wasn't that obvious, his mind was set.

"I'm taking him in, Thalia." He whispered, closing his eyes again and looking down at the floor. It felt like he'd taken a shot to the heart, but, this was sadly one of those situations where sharing his heart out didn't seem like it was possible. "I can't let him go, Thalia. I hope you understand that. He doesn't talk to anyone, hardly trusts anyone, hardly has the power to sleep on his own at night, and can't even go into the back yard without looking over his shoulder constantly. If I was to give him up, put him into the foster system... There's very few people out there that'd be able to connect with him, that much I can see already." He gulped.

"I hate to big myself up, but, I may be the only chance that kid has of having a normal life again. And he may be... May be some way to come to terms with my own problems, with my own past. At the end of the day, I need to do what's right. If I handed him over now, he'd die. Bradan, the man who ordered the execution of his family... He put a $750,000 bounty on Jordan's head. The first man to deliver him to him gets the money, and Jordan? Jordan becomes some sort of fucked up ornament they hang up opposite the LAPD. Not only that, some..." He took another deep breath.

"The man that was shot today. Tony used my gun." He said. "He used my gun and left the bullet casing behind, meaning the LAPD are probably already on the hunt for me. It wasn't me that pulled the trigger, but now because of Tony, I'm a criminal, too, and I need to work to prove my innocence. All I'm doing is dragging you and anyone else who gets too close down the rabbit hole with me, and I won't allow that to happen, alright?" He said.

It hurt to talk about, but, he had to get it out of the air.

He glanced off across the pool and closed his eyes again, "I understand." He nodded, "I understand that being part of this life I have going on right now may not be what you want, and I won't hold that against you. I won't turn on you like Tony turned on me, I won't throw you under the bus just to get revenge. I understand, and I'm not angry." He said. "In a matter of two days you and I have gone from being people very similar to people that are... very different to each other, and that's just fate, I suppose. The most painful and saddest words that any man or woman can ever speak are 'it could have been', and that's one of those situations. I'm not going to act like I'm not upset, because I am, and I imagine you are, too, but... I appreciate your honesty." He nodded a few times.

"I won't try and talk you into it, I won't lie to you and act like all of this would be easy to handle. I know it'll be difficult, Thalia, but... You deserve a chance to live your life more before you have to give up that chance to help someone else live theirs. I'm... Happy with what I've achieved, I have everything I need. And I'm willing to take Jordan in as my own once this is all over. I just... Hope you understand this isn't personal. And if this really is what it's coming down to, I don't want to walk away with us being on bad terms." He gulped. A painful talk, but, one that was necessary.

--

Oh, James knew that things were going sour. It's not like the LAPD didn't have their own CCTV, and anyone can get a signal jumper. He was on the LAPD frequency up in his office the whole time that Tony was on this little mission. All seemed to be going well, but, it came down to the point where things came crashing down on his head, and in the evidence locker itself, another officer got the jump on him, practically, and had him in cuffs before he could even say anything. There was talk on certain frequencies about the detective's arrest, too, so it was all confirmed, really.

"Rest in peace, you dumb fuck." James mumbled to himself. He wasn't going to let this happen, though. It was a stupid idea, because he was worried Tony would rat them out if he left them sitting there for too long. He had to make a move - Did Tony think he was kidding about getting a visit from an FBI Agent? There was already the backup story, and, just because James wanted to spite him if things did indeed go wrong, he went ahead and deleted Frank from the fingerprint database, too. They may have found a bullet that matched his weapon, but other than that, there'd be no real grounds to prove it was him. It wasn't going to stop Frank from being wanted at this point, but, it would at least buy them some time.

He had a picture of the arresting officer's face, and it took one glance through his files on the LAPD to find the match. Sergeant Jordan Reeves. Alright.

Next - document forgery. Child's play.

Second - a fake badge. After all these years, he had multiple. That was the easiest part. The document took some time, but, he had a feeling if he sold the act well enough, then things were going to go quite well in their favor. If they could get the LAPD half off their backs in terms of investigations into Al-Asheera and The Clover Boys, then there was a high chance he'd be able to bail out both Frank and Tony in the process of doing so. In addition to that, it wasn't like finding a signature for the High Courts and The FBI Director was a hard thing to do. They were posted all over the internet. All he needed was a believable date, references to court laws, and good reasoning. Easy enough done.

Now came the scary part - Showing most his face to clear someone else's mistakes. At the end of this it didn't matter. They'd never find him, and even if they wanted to, he would have been part of an operation that got rid of both of LA's biggest gangs. The police would be kissing his shoes for giving them a city that was actually safer to raise the kids in, and anyone involved in the case in one way or another was likely to get a promotion or raise of some kind. He'd be hailed a mystery hero - that's only if the lie got figured out eventually, which he doubted would happen.

Either way - he let a few people know he was going, and after getting into a nice black suit and a black tie, he made his way out of the house and hopped into his Range Rover. That looked FBI-like enough, didn't it? He hoped so. He just had to play it cool. If he looked nervous, then chances were he'd give it away. The sunglasses went on, and that would be all he needed to cover his identity. The picture on the nice little fake ID badge he had was nearly ten years old now, so, James looked one hell of a lot different. It'd still pass, but even so.

It didn't take long to get to the LAPD, either. And he knew that once he was inside, it wouldn't be hard to play things off. It wasn't like the FBI wasn't always listening to radio chatter, anyway, and if Tony had already been processed, it would already be on a system somewhere. FBI jurisdiction. He could walk in, slander the LAPD, and push forward a valid argument to why they had to kiss his ass if people didn't want to lose jobs. James of all people knew how to play power, even if he realistically had none whatsoever. He was quite looking forward to the little section of roleplaying he was going to be doing, as it happened.

Inside the LAPD, he went straight to the front desk and whipped out the badge.

"I need to see Sergeant Reeves immediately."

The receptionist looked at him, "He's busy."

James nodded once, "Did you not hear me? I said immediately. Tell him it's urgent. A federal matter - am I going to have you cooperate or am I going to have to go to a more competent commanding officer?"

There was a long, displeased sigh from the man at the desk before he rose to his seat. "Wait here." He said, and off he wandered down the hallway to interrogation room one. He knocked a few times, then stepped inside. He didn't want to interrupt, and after sending Tony a particularly dirty look, he looked over to Sergeant Reeves and motioned a thumb back over his shoulder.

"Sarge, there's some fella' from the FBI that wants to talk to you. Guy named James Keane, or something." He shook his head. "Looks serious, telling me it's a federal matter he needs to talk to you about." He said.

If Tony could recall correctly - James mentioned them getting a visit from a certain agent, should shit hit the fan. If Tony actually initially believed him is a different story, but, was James really going to deliver on what could have easily been a bluff? Even more so, why would he even want to? Why not just let Tony rot?

It proved one thing - James was a man of his word, even if it was painful to admit that. It was one shitty situation both Frank and Tony were now stuck in, so, getting them out of it wasn't going to be easy, but just like how it is with quicksand, it is possible to get yourself out of the seemingly impossible if you do things right. Now, it was matter of seeing how things were going to go.

Was Tony going to get in shit with the LAPD, James, or both? At this point, neither side of the fence was looking particularly fantastic.
 
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