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Of Kings and Pawns (IC)

While discussions of the bigger picture happened on the outside of the bathroom, on the inside, once Jenny was allowed in for a talk, she and Thalia took a seat side by side on the bathroom floor, both leaning against the locked door, and simply... talked. Not about the danger on the outside of the door, or about whatever they had to overcome to actually be friends again, but about the recent events of Thalia's love life. A comforting shoulder to quite literally lean on, which is what she did with Jenny. It was a time to vent, because she wouldn't get it again. Leaving the mansion was not an option without another lecture or complication, so whatever needed to be resolved, it had to happen here and now. Karin was right in saying that she needed someone to talk to rather immediately. It's not like it would be a permanent patch for the wounds, but it should be enough to keep her head above water, and knowing Thalia's past, Jenny knew she needed that badly.

And so, after the hugs, mild tears, and agreement to take a seat were in order, Jenny sighed and began, "I know this is probably hard for you..."

Sniffling, Thalia replied, "Hard? It feels like my heart just got stabbed."

"I understand." Her hand gently grazed over Thalia's face, her eyes now leaking with a few tears again. A soft touch, but also one for her to relax, because the way she was weeping didn't seem like she was doing a great job at it alone. "It's not easy to get over someone you love. I think you know that we know that better than anyone."

Thalia nodded. "I think our case was a bit different. You pushed me away back then. I pushed myself away this time."

That very wording prompted Jenny to ask a rather skeptic question, but also one for her own information. "Hmm... why, though? Why push yourself away if you love him?"

She caught her breath and continued, "That kid. Jordan. Do I look like I can raise him properly? Do I look like mother material?"

In an attempt not to further put her down, Jenny tried to sugarcoat the situation, "Well... not now, but maybe with time, you could be."

"Exactly. Not now. I can barely make myself breakfast or do my own laundry, and you expect me to feed a kid?"

Jenny didn't respond at first, thinking over those words. For a girl who didn't learn about such responsibilities at a crucial stage of life, she surely wouldn't be a suitable mother at the moment. But would she ever be? "I mean, what did you have planned for if you and Frank ever had kids? It would be the same thing, really."

Thalia lifted her head from Jenny's shoulder and continued, "I'd be more ready? I'd start from the ground up with kids. Not a traumatized kid pissing the bed and waking up and screaming at 2 AM."

"For the record..." Finally, something Jenny could speak from experience from babysitting. "Most babies... do that. They wet the bed at young ages, wake up screaming from nightmares... it's just who they are. Maybe not up till they're six, but again, I think Jordan's an exception. He just lost his family. Cut him some slack. Maybe when he's out of the woods with this tragedy, things will be easier."

The direction of the conversation was becoming one Thalia wasn't fond of. "Jenny, if you're here to get me back together with Frank, then get out."

Hostility was growing in her tone, which needed to be soothed once again. "That's not why I'm here. I just don't want you losing hope in possibly getting back together with him. Who knows? Maybe a family member will resurface in time and Frank will... well, he might be kinda downed, but at least you two can be together without the bump in the road."

Thalia shook her head. "Jordan has no next of kin. And I don't think he's going to leave Frank, and Frank won't let him go."

"Well..." Jenny's hand reached downward into Thalia's, interlocking their fingers together. "At least stay a bit hopeful that maybe, when you're on the road to recovery, maybe you can be that mother figure for him? Be that life partner for Frank?"

Again, Thalia's reaction was just a jolt of her head side to side, her voice continuing to break up. "Stop getting my hopes up. I was selfish for wanting Frank like that. So if he needs to be Jordan's father figure from here on out, then so be it. It's not like this is the first time my heart was broken. Or the second."

Jenny might've assumed the first time was between the two of them. But the second? She raised an eyebrow and asked. "Second? This... I mean, you've been with someone else? In Al-Asheera? I mean, besides Ra's?"

It then occurred to Thalia that Jenny didn't know about her affair with the Bride of the Hand. She nodded, calming down slightly. "Her name was Vanessa."

"Was?"

Telling the story multiple times made it slightly easier for Thalia to deal with. She just tried not to recall the gruesome details of the aftermath - watching her beheaded live and in front of her, then the head hanging like a trophypiece in her room later. "Ra's killed her when he found out we were a thing."

"I'm... I'm sorry, T. What was she like?"

"Honestly?" Her head leaned back against the door once again, remembering a better part of her time as a clanswoman. "A lot like me. Taken when she had nowhere else to go. Really pretty. Kinda goth... maybe more than you."

Jenny scoffed. "I'm not goth. I prefer just... deviant. Artistic. Unique."

It was only then that Thalia cracked a smile over her face and gently nudge her friend's shoulder. "Whatever, Jen... but really, she and I were very alike. Placed to marry the two highest members of Al-Asheera. Me to Ra's, and Vanessa to this other guy we're picking up, Roland. Al-Yed. Either name come up?"

"Roland... yeah."

"Hm. Once we got caught, it was really a choice: me or Vanessa. And... somedays I wish it were me."

Jenny shook her head. "Don't say that. I mean, Vanessa didn't deserve to die either, but don't wish you were dead either..." A reoccurring thought of Thalia's suicidal tendencies in middle school then came to light once again. "Don't tell me you feel like..."

She didn't have to finish the sentence for Thalia to guess her next words. "I might've, Jen. I'm in pain. What were you expecting from me?"

"It's not the end, you know that right?" What else could she tell someone whose mild was as volatile as Thalia's? "Look... you may not work out with Frank or anything, but there's plenty of fish in the sea. I felt the same way when I had my first heartbreak... I mean, not with you. But with some other guy in high school. Complete douchebag. Caught the bastard kissing one of my friends, just using me to get to her. It KILLED. But I got over it with time..."

"I thought you preferred girls." Only curiosity prompted that question from Thalia, only from their conversation on the bus.

Jenny shrugged. "Doesn't mean I haven't been with men. It sucked, but hey, it's all about experimenting."

Cracks of a smile came back across Thalia's face. Undeniably, she found Jenny attractive, and just imagining her in that sense was entertaining for herself. "Is this you inviting me to stop seeing men?"

She lifted a hand to clear Thalia's red bangs from covering her face entirely, giving her a rather teasing smile. "You can interpret that however you want to."

Thalia sighed again, just by hearing about Jenny's life being more productive. That she was emotionally stronger and more secure with her emotions and well-being. The physical contact was pleasant, but it left her mixed on the inside... what was Jenny after here? Was this more than just simple comfort? "It's just... Everything I love... just falls apart and pushes me away."

"...Not everything."

W...What? That was all too intriguing, and forced Thalia into sitting up to face Jenny again. "What do you mean?"

Jenny's hand now drifted over Thalia's cheek, taking its sweet time and moving ever so slowly upon her skin, leaving the redhead's heart to skip a beat. Maybe Thalia was secretly craving some form of intimacy, but from her middle school lover? What are the odds? She simply kept a deep gaze down this semi-goth's eyes, her head almost instinctively moving inward. "You know... I always had a crush on you in middle school, right? Even if I'd bullied you all the time."

Thalia nodded.

"Seeing you on that bus the other day reminded me of what we could've been if I weren't so selfish."

"Is that... why you kissed me?"

Jenny nodded, she herself taking her head into an advance. "I wanted to start over, Thalia. But when you said you had a boyfriend, I figured we couldn't. I'm not trying to sound like the rebound here, but I just don't want you to be alone and sad."

"I just... Um..." Thalia was a loss for words, unsure of how to think. She could still remember how desperate she was for that sort of spark with Frank a few nights ago. Maybe she had that same desire for intimacy with Jenny. It certainly was better than some guy she'd meet at a club. At least it would be with someone she could trust. "Jenny..."

Things were moving so quickly. But Jenny's intentions were sincere. She wanted to be something with Thalia, but also wanted her to get other her other thoughts distracting her. Primarily those of Frank. Maybe they could be something more when this is over, get Thalia's life in order. Let things roll naturally. It could work if her childhood friend just accepts. "Do you still.... like me?"

With the rate that Thalia's head had leaned in, the two had their heads rather, hands interlocked, Jenny's other one feeling over her cheek and down to her neck. Thalia lifted their hands in one another up to Jenny's neck, slowly getting closer. Was this simple desperation to get over Frank? Surely, intimacy was far better than pain. She wasn't thinking clearly at the moment, but she certainly wouldn't regret finally kindling the fire she once craved with Jenny. Her eyelids dropping nearly shut, the two met lips and kissed, rather softly, for roughly five seconds, before Thalia separated herself and whispered, "Can we..."

"...Not tell Karin?"

"I was gonna say not tell Frank or Tony. I don't mind if Karin knows."

"Mmm..." Jenny was certainly pleased that now her friend was happy. Not only that, but it seemed like they had a shot at being what they couldn't be so long ago. "That can work..." She quickly pecked Thalia's lips once more, and in whispers, continued, "I promise you, no curveballs like a kid until you're ready. We'll do this at your pace."

Thalia nodded, then leaning her face in closer to continue their kiss. This moment... was it a one-time thing? Or was Jenny serious about them being what they've both wanted for so long? She was promising things similarly to Frank. What was to guarantee that she wouldn't go down the same dangerous route again? What was important? She needed this, or she would probably never get over her immediate sorrows. A dangerous remedy, but one that she was accepting with open arms. Here goes nothing...
 
There was enough drama left in the day for there not to be room for anything else, so it was something they were going to have to face whether they liked it or not, and the next call of business was something simple - Roland. They needed to go and grab Roland and get ready for the exchange, providing that didn't completely go to shit. James loaded up his now-fucked up Range Rover with everything they were going to need. Guns, a good chance of a distraction, and everything they needed to make sure Roland didn't try and get away. It wasn't like he was going to be able to, though. He'd never be able to walk again without the help of a walking stick, and with the two broken arms? It's not like he'd be much of a fight. Still, it was worth taking risks.

In addition to that, Frank was no idiot. He had things more or less figured out - not between Jenny and Thalia, but, just in general. It wasn't pure coincidence that it was almost like he no longer existed. Frank never asked for hostility of a childish manner of 'let's go outside and hang out for no particular reason', and it was getting more to the point of saying 'fuck them all' rather than 'keep it friendly' - He didn't want this big bad bump in the road being taken out on him, and if he even caught wind that that was an accusation being thrown around, he'd be quick to step in and say otherwise. Same for Jordan. Frank hadn't necessarily been blamed for it all, but... Jordan? Well, that was a slightly different story.

With the stress of it all, it was more and more tempting to drink down a bottle of whiskey and tell everyone to kiss his ass. But the drinking would come later on. Plus, there was no need to incite some sort of riot among everyone. How long he managed to maintain his peace and prosperity, however, was becoming a different story. Marcus was the first relatively normal adult interaction Frank had really had in the past couple of days. Caring for a kid doesn't hurt anyone, but, when it comes to the point where it seems as though people steer around you, that's when it starts to grind at you a little bit. The mere thought of it all depressed him, but, he couldn't give up.

When one door closes, another one supposedly opens. He was just yet to find the one that had opened; at the minute, every door he could see was closed. Keep on fighting, though. Keep on fighting. It was a big mix-up of emotions and confusion. It was in Karin's best interest to keep the peace between everyone, but even she felt like it was gradually turning to being her being the only one who wanted that. Even James was somewhat more defensive and even a tiny bit hostile towards some people (not directly, obviously) - She could only hope things settled. It was going to take its toll on everyone. Especially the kids.

No one wanted that, right?

Before James set off, though, Frank did hand him a couple of twenty dollar bills and asked him to stop by some sort of toy store or something on his way back - grab Jordan a teddy bear, or something. Frank thought maybe that'd help the boy sleep a little easier at night, but, only time would tell. James had no problem doing that, once the main call of business was out of the way, of course. He'd given Tony his time to get ready, so, when the time was right he went and fetched him, and whether Tony liked it or not, they had to take Thalia if they wanted Roland's full cooperation. Even if she had no direct involvement in the exchange, they needed her as a scare tactic at the very least.

As promised, though, James put the exchange in Tony's hands - if he wanted to organize it, then he was the one with liaibility. If he got Melissa killed, he couldn't turn around and blame James nor Thalia for trying to take the reigns. A scary thought, but, if she died, it'd quite literally be all on him.

James had a plan, too - as soon as the exchange was done, rogue sniper. Open fire, kill Roland before Ra's could get him to safety, kill as many of Ra's accomplices as he could, and with a bit of luck he'd be able to kill more of The Ten on that very day. He'd have to bounce back and forth between shooting around Tony and Melissa, but, he could pull it off, he was sure. Enough suppressing fire would prevent Ra's and his goons from giving Tony and Melissa too much trouble, and they'd get away no problem. Piss Ra's off enough, get him to send out his best men to take down Tony and Melissa - by which time Melissa would be on a plane halfway across the world, Tony would be safe at home, and they'd have the main men in Al-Asheera walking right into their crosshairs.

That was providing everything went to plan, obviously.

They arrived at the doctor's estate before too long and their car was let in through the front gate. Time to go to the door.

They were let in.

"We're here to take Roland off your hands." James said.

"Mm." He grumbled, then looked around, "Follow me. Don't touch anything. No phones out while you're in here, either, and James. Tuck away those spy glasses of yours."

"You got it." He sighed, and flipped the glasses in his jacket pocket over so the lens attached to the frame was concealed and unable to record anything. After that, they were lead in and through the house, past a kitchen, and to a room that was just beside it. That was the room where Roland was - a bandaged up leg with a knee repaired to the best of the doctor's ability, his arms in casts, and generally? Probably looking a lot better than he did while he was receiving all the torture, but given the extent of his injuries, he probably still looked pretty deathly.

"Hey there, old friend." James said, sarcastically. "Doctor said you were finally allowed visitors. We couldn't resist." He shrugged. "You ready to get back to work? It's probably been a while since you tasted fresh air here." He said, then glanced over at his companions. What a day they had ahead of them.

Back at the mansion, though, with most the people off the scene and Jordan off playing a game with Joseph, Frank decided it was time for one thing - A stiff drink. He was getting too worked up. Looking at a pack of cigarettes reminded him of how he and Thalia had told each other they'd quit smoking alongside each other. He didn't feel like laying another finger on a cig now, but, it was most tempting. It's a good stress-reliever. At least they hadn't discussed giving up drinking together, otherwise he'd be well and truly miserable by now.

Drinking before noon, though. Not exactly the most healthy of things, but hey.
 
From an unpleasant breakup the previous day to a bit of morning fun with her first love, things took an unexpected turn for Thalia. Did she ever have plans to be something more with Jenny when they met on that bus two nights ago? Obviously not, as she was still under the impression that Jordan's stay was temporary. But once she'd realized that things were changed forever with the man she fell so hard for, it made her fall apart, and would literally cling to whatever would stick. And that first thing to stick just so happened to be Jenny, who, deep down, actually wanted this. For so many years, she'd wanted to make amends with Thalia, at least to say that she was sorry. She didn't imagine that romance would be a part of the agenda, and maybe the moment they'd had on the bathroom floor was a short-lived one-off thing. She'd have to see later on. It was clear that whatever feelings they had in the sixth grade never really left either of them, even with the divide created in youth. A genuinely passionate reunion that sparked something new, and something Thalia needed to lift her spirits.

But alas, it couldn't continue for long, as she was dragged back into action to get ready for a road trip: the doctor. With all the pleasure after a night of unpleasant heartache, it did motivate Thalia to not sit around and cry for the rest of the day. It kept her going, at least for now. Would she regret this brief hookup in the near future? She hoped not. She knew she had to get over Frank sooner or later, even if that mean blindsiding him. The consequences weren't on her mind, and definitely weren't on Jenny's either. Any concern she might've had for Frank was washed away in that moment. In reality, was there any glue holding anyone together? Or did Thalia's detachment from Frank and bitterness to Jordan trigger a bitter reaction between everyone that would have consequences for later? For one, the clanswoman had no idea how to treat a child, so censoring the horrors around them wasn't something she would consider before acting. So whatever backlash a few words to Frank might leave in front of his child-in-tow, any slip-ups in front of Joseph, or even Charlie, they'd have a greater reaction for later. But not much mattered to her right now. Beyond her family, Karin, and Jenny, no one else living under that roof mattered anymore. Her feelings to Tony were clearly illustrated yesterday, and she and Frank had nothing left to go back upon. James would remain a cryptic, closed shell, she hardly knew McAllister to make any judgment, and Jordan was too distant for her to even relate to; just his behavior around her the other day scared her away from motherhood - fortunately not much of a fear if she were sleeping with Jenny now. Joseph might've been an exception, only because he lightened up to her with the French lessons, and the mere fact her sister was a close friend. But the rest mean precious little to her. She couldn't wait for that Ra's would be no more and she could move on.

Meanwhile, while Tony still felt sore after his beat-down from a girl significantly shorter and younger than him, but one that was definitely stronger. He didn't expect a figure as emotionally fragile as Thalia to pack quite a punch. He was surprised she didn't shatter his skull with those constant bangs against the concrete wall. Even Tony was frightened by the thought, enough so not to directly mess with this girl again. Well... directly. Because Tony knew that someone like that couldn't simply be given a free pass. She needed mental hospitalization. Maybe even prison. Once a crook, always a crook. And god only knows if she plans on inheriting Al-Asheera and becoming the next Head. His doubts still existed, but one truth about the mystery redhead still existed: that Roland feared her, and she could make him talk just by her presence. Otherwise, it was back to the 'fuck yourself' treatment, which the older doctor probably received over the past few days. But Tony still had his demands and plans for how this operation would go down. Devious ideas, but ones he knew he could get away with it. At least with Roland as a playing card.

Then there was the bald dickless wonder himself, two broken arms, a shattered kneecap, and a gouged eye. How he was still breathing was beyond him, but clearly, this doctor knew how to keep him alive. More importantly, his life had value to this elite group of cops and crooks. Although, if his prediction of their plans in his mind was correct, it would go to very little use. A trade? No. Ra's would shoot him in the head immediately simply for being caught. But Roland knew better than to squeal. He'd hardly said anything, only agreed to be a part of whatever they were scheming. That should count for his persisting loyalties to his leader and long-term friend. It wouldn't spare his life, but at least, in the eyes of Ra's, he would go down in history as a god.

Visiting hours, James called him. Bullshit. He'd only given the unusual doctor the same two words throughout his stay, and James would receive them again all the same: "Fuck yourself."

As if she were a demon rising from the fires of hell, the next person to enter the room was the very girl who'd sliced his man sword off a year ago. Thalia had been... strangely happy throughout the car ride to the doctor's place, and overly confident, too. A radical change in behavior that Tony didn't understand and James might find too random, but the secret to it all would be one for Thalia's eyes and ears only. Maybe Karin, if she really felt like telling. Roland didn't need to know either. But an unarmed but cocky Thalia swayed her body in the direction of the injured hostage, getting closer and closer, with his eyes widening farther and farther open. "Actually... have fun fucking anything without your dick, Al-Yed."

Roland had no clue how to react to Thalia. It was like a nightmare come true. He'd already lost his penis and his eye to her. What was next to lose? He didn't even want to imagine, begging, "Get that psychotic bitch out of here, or I won't do anything you want."

Thalia shook her head, batting her green eyes in an almost flirtatious manner, and leaning forward to the immobilized juggernaut. "Actually, you're going to do exactly as I say... and not ask a single question or object to it. Non-negotiable."

"Fuck yourself."

"Ra's has a hostage in his custody. And we're going to throw you back into the wild so he can trade you back. And we are going to use you to lure the big guy out."

"I would never do that. Fuck yourself, Al-Jameela."

Tisking beneath her breath, Thalia shook her head and went on, "We're going to set up a phone call with you and Ra's, right after Tony has a quick word with you. After we set up the meet... you are going to stay completely silent for the remainder of the operation... or I'm gonna cut your tongue out to ensure your silence. What do you say?"

"I say fuck yourself. When Ra's gets a hold of your mother, I'm going to see to it that she gets FUCKED IN THE ASS SO HARD --"

While it was tempting for Thalia to lift her hand and smack Roland... she refrained and only gripped him by his neck in a form of restraint. Keep him controlled and tame. A sinister look in her eyes, one that Tony didn't like, only told that she had the capacity to do horrible things. Things Roland would fear. Cut out his tongue? She already took his dick and an eye. It didn't seem like a stretch. "When I said you're going to stay silent... I mean it." Her head rotated in James' direction. "I bet you have a few last minute questions about the conditions of a trade. Or at least some parting words for our dickless wonder. Knock yourself out."

Even if James had probably released everything he needed to say back in the desert, this was also an option for him to get out what was on his chest, even if it was a guilt trip or tirade that his actions with Al-Asheera were all for nothing. For a man in over his head with confidence, James certainly didn't want Roland gone without a parting shot. Which Thalia opened the door for just now. Tony could only watch on the sidelines at the back and forth threats, just waiting for himself to get his destined alone time and finally get his share of justice upon Thalia. He could almost smell it so close.
 
"The simple thing is, Roland..." James stepped up to the bed. "Ra's isn't going to get hold of her mother. Her family is not going to be touched by you or any of your pedophile friends. You can be sure that that's the case - If you don't believe me, I'm sure Ra's will inform you of the situation with them when it comes to it. I'm pretty sure you've lost a couple of close friends in the time that you've been in here - I'll let you get that news, though." He said. "Regardless, if you don't do everything us and Thalia tell you to do, then I find your boy and I make him look just like dear old dad, for better or worse." He shrugged, "First thing I'll make sure I do is slice out one of his eyes. You keep denying to do what we do, I take to a knee of his and end his sporting career before he even gets a chance to make one. Is that clear?" He asked.

"I'm sure you know by now that I'm not bluffing. And when you realize just how much your little secretive world's been turned upside down while you've been laid up pissing and shitting in a pan because you can't walk to the bathroom anymore, you'll realize that this one chance you have to get back a shred of the life you had before? You'll realize that this is literally a fucking blessing, Roland. No bullshit. You do what we need you to do, and you can go back to licking your boss' balls all you like." He said. Even looking at Roland made James realize how grateful he was that Jon had managed to kill off the hitman that was sent after Nicole and Charlie. If a man even slightly similar to Roland got his hands on an eight-year-old boy?

James didn't like to imagine how things would end up.

At least now he'd made his demands clear - James wasn't a father to anyone, but he already felt this level of protectiveness for Joseph. The idea of anyone harming him or even upsetting him made his blood boil just a little bit. Roland was a full-time dad to a boy the same age as Joseph. Surely the feelings he had for his son were amplified compared to James', right? Then again, James didn't want to put anything past him. Usually the idea of any child suffering, let alone their own, was enough to make people crack. He didn't know if members of Al-Asheera would be that sensitive. It was too hard to tell - they were all cuts of very different people across the rank. Some were accountants, others teachers, and others bank-robbers.

"I don't have much to say, but all you need to know if you're going to play along like a good boy. Not like you're going to have much choice - I mean, you can try and run, but..." He firmly slapped down on Roland's treated but injured knee, no doubt causing pain to shoot through his body. "It's not like you're going to get very far." He said, then winked at him. "Hey, Doc! Grab us a wheelchair and some duct tape, will you?"

"Mm." The doctor nodded, and he wandered out of the room. It didn't take long for him to return, though, a wheelchair being pushed in front of him with a roll of duct tape in the center of the seat itself. James picked up the duct tape and handed it off to Tony. "We need him to talk to Ra's so the guy knows we're not bluffing about him being alive, so save that for later." He said. "If you guys want to get him ready and quite literally rolling, I'm going to be checking in with some friends of ours to ensure everything's still going smoothly." He said, simply. At that point it should have been obvious to the very least Thalia that he was talking about her mother and brother. It had been some time since he'd heard from them; he knew about the airport attack, but, he kept that hidden from Thalia for now. He didn't want her mind being brought down by constant worry of her mother and brother's safety.

Jon was going to get them there, safe and sound. As far as James knew, anyway. Hopefully there'd be no more bumps in the road from now on.

--

Back at the mansion, things were sailing along about as much as a sinking ship. Frank was still sat in the kitchen, this time not really having any regard for anything else around him. He knew Jordan was still occupied, playing a game with Joseph - occasionally he heard the young boys laughing together, which was uplifting in the slightest. He overheard some parts of what was going on, and he knew that Joseph had a good sense of humor just from the little snippets he caught. Whether or not he was putting on a show just to make Jordan laugh was a different story, but that wasn't the point. It was nice to hear that as a change to crying.

That didn't stop the drinks from flowing though. Frank was thinking about everything - The simple fact was, two could play at the game that seemed to be being played. If people wanted to act cold with him, too, then he was going to make them freeze. After all, Frank's an excellent grudge-holder. A sad truth and poor perk about a man who'd been through so much - had his childhood been different, would this whole situation have been approached entirely different? Would he even be a police officer? Or would he be a strong-minded person working in a corporate office or running his own business? It was hard to say, really.

But still, he drank. Whiskey was always an odd during to have before the afternoon had even set in, but, this was just one of the many stages he had of dealing with things. If only things had been different, the bitterness of it all could have been completely avoided. What if they'd been patient? What if they'd waited to see how things would play out? For all they knew Jordan would be someone who shone a light on their lives - Frank didn't see himself as the one who gave up on everything anymore. He believed that Thalia was the only one that tossed it all away, and even though he'd convinced himself he wasn't bitter about it, the truth was he was. He didn't ever think he'd be alone in the situation he was in, but now there he was, drinking alone at the breakfast table.

Karin walked through after some time, though, on her way out to the pool. But she stopped when she saw him.

"Frank, are you alright?"

Frank was quiet for a moment, "Karin..."

"Hm?"

".. Leave me alone." He whispered, but, firm enough to get the message across.

"Ooookay..." She nodded slowly and stepped out into the back yard. Now she was getting concerned. Had Frank clicked onto all of this faster than she hoped he ever would?
 
Such treats being made to Roland's face didn't even make him shiver. That honor went to the woman who ridded him of his prized possession downstairs. Only Thalia could make his innards feel like they were going to collapse from his asshole and literally drop dead in his place. Even with her standing not far away, James' words alone? Pathetic. No matter what he brought up: the loss of several Al-Asheera higher-ups, the threats to his son, the feeling of failure, it all left him unfazed. In fact, it only prompted his usual catchphrase, which he used a great deal more than his companions. It was what resulted in Logan's quick demise: the fact he wasn't entirely loyal to the code of Ra's in case he were ever apprehended. Roland never stood down from such code, being one of the original members of Al-Asheera who designed it. A method to avoid the leakage of information that most of The Ten were accustomed to using. Of course, such methods were not used by Thalia, especially when she was put in cuffs in Karin's living room. On the contrary, she snapped rather quickly, mainly due to a change of heart. Not Roland. Even after the agonizing pain he'd been through, he'd never cooperate with these people. With no energy to spit at James, he simply uttered:

"Fuck yourself."

Thalia responded with a scoff and a smile from ear to ear. That inner joy within her hadn't faded one bit. And she was truly having fun with herself taking control again. A change from her depressed evasive mood earlier. But still, she remembered what Karin told her outside that diner nearly a week ago: actions have a butterfly effect. What was that effect on her resulting bitterness towards Frank? That was something that her blissful moment with Jenny sort of overshadowed. She didn't have to think of that, as she was told. He was a thing of the past, even if it was by her own hand letting herself drift away. That was her choice, something she couldn't put up with. Nobody could judge her for it. Except maybe Frank himself. But would Karin? That scared her.

"You're going to behave yourself for as long as you last, Al-Yed," she reiterated. "We all know Ra's is going to shoot you in the head after you say your final prayers to him, like he's some false god letting you go to some form of paradise because you kept your mouth shut. So quit with the mind games and 'fuck yourself' treatment, that is, if you don't want your son to suffer when you're gone...." That darker look in Thalia's eyes had returned, that very look she had when she gouged Roland's eye, when she stabbed the penis of and subsequently butchered Nicholas, and when she came close to ending Tony. She craved a sense of chaos and violence. Bloodshed. Maybe she was more of Al-Jameela than she wanted to be. "You know... the guy with me..." her head nudged in James' direction, not revealing his alias or any sort of name. "...he may not cross the same lines I do, but how do you think your son would feel if I removed his little baby man-stick so early, and told him it's Daddy's fault?"

"Fuck yourself."

A nod bounced from the redhead. "So I thought. Be a good boy, and I won't fuck you back. Deal?"

"Mmm... Fuck yourself."

Though still utterly disgusted with Tony, Thalia knew that he was a necessary evil at this point. Everyone wanted Melissa home and safe, and if Tony was supposed to take the reigns for that to happen, then so be it. Turning away from Roland and brushing her shoulder past Tony's, she made her way for the exit and muttered, "Get him ready."

But Roland wasn't through with her. With his one good eye, he could still see Thalia had a noticeable arm injury. She wasn't exactly hiding any injuries or skin with a tank top and shorts. Part of the dickless man found it eye candy. The other half? A way to exploit her. "So you're injured, aren't you, Al-Jameela?"

She froze in her place, almost tempted to turn around. But she didn't speak.

"You know... with an ass as attractive as yours, did you know that Ra's and I had a night full of arguing over which of us would marry you when you turned 21? I wanted you for myself... and you and I could've been something great. If we were on better terms that is. But no. I was given the leftovers of whatever was not pleasant to our lord and savior."

Thalia had never deified Ra's, no matter how many times he'd promised her becoming a goddess among women when she married him. This was just his excuse, as well as Roland's to excuse themselves for being pedophiles. Who knows? Ra's might've just found another teenage girl off the street years later, have Thalia killed, and move on like nothing ever happened. She gave no attention to Roland's words and pressed forward. Maybe to get some fresh air. Passing through the doctor's home revealed a few cigarette packets. Was her promise to Frank still in place? Smoking wasn't an elegant habit in the slightest, and she had her burn wound on her neck, still there as a red dot but no bandage on it anymore, to remind her of what Ra's had done to her. A nasty habit, but one she partially wanted now for the sake of stress relief. She wasn't quitting anymore for Frank, but for her own health.

"James?" she asked aloud when they were alone and out of the room from being with Tony. She had a bit of a confession, her voice trembling as well as she tried to muster the words in a proper way, her hands fiddling with each other in front of her body. Last night was still fresh in everyone's minds, after all. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about last night... with Tony. I know, if Jenny weren't in the room, I would've probably swung at you and killed him while he was defenseless. I'm just glad he's... still functional, but I did rough him up quite a bit." She sighed, leaning towards the wall of the hallway. "I was really upset. With Frank and all, that stuff. I'm... feeling better about that now, thankfully. I'm glad I have a few good friends under that roof. Karin, and Jenny. What would I do without them?" An honest truth. It was better than saying she'd screwed Jenny shortly before they left the house.

There was a deeper discussion to have though. One she'd entertained shortly before, but she needed to know: "There's something wrong with me... isn't there? First Roland, then Nicholas, and just last night, Tony. It's not the first or second time I've blown up on someone like that. Or came close to ending someone's life... well, in one case, I actually DID end someone's life. How have you not taken Tony's advice and locked me up in some insane asylum yet? Maybe I'm just as bad as Ra's in that right. You know the bastard killed his parents, right? Then killed his foster parents..." She took a pause, looking upward to avoid the tears again. "I'd never hurt the people I love. But I was so close to killing Tony... what if one day, it ends up being someone else I care about that I hurt? You... you have to promise me, James. Even if you have to break a bone, if I'm close to hurting my family, or Karin, you stop me. I don't think I'd ever get over killing someone I love."

So the room cleared. It was just Tony and Roland, with Tony hauling Roland into the wheelchair came those dreaded words he wanted to tell the once-paragon of fitness. In whispers, once Roland was seated into the wheelchair, he stretched out the duct tape from the roll and explained, "So you don't like Thalia, don't you?"

"Fuck yourself," Roland growled.

"You wanted her, but Ra's took her from you. And if you're so loyal to Ra's... how about you get rid of his bride-to-be?"

A bit surprising that Tony was even considering turning on one of his own, but it didn't prompt a different response: "Fuck yourself."

Tony snickered as his next words came through: "How would you like a chance to take out good ol' James and Thalia? Just a message to pass on to Ra's before he sends you to hell."

"Fuck yourself."

"How about a location to the whereabouts of Al-Jameela and her family, where they will be? Does that appeal to you? Maybe you can finally be revered as a god side by side with Ra's. Maybe you'll live to see your little boy. I bet that's something you want, right?"

THAT promised Roland's weary head to tilt to Tony, and a new set of words were added to his vocabulary: "Do tell."

--

While Frank indulged in a new habit of drinking, Karin wasn't the only one watching over in a bit of dismay. This house might be big, but everyone always seemed to find a way to bump into each other regardless. And that's what happened with Jenny. Just looking at the ex of her now-girlfriend was not something she wanted to give in to. She wasn't naturally jealous, but she didn't want to test it with a cop for a lover. However, their own avoidance did provoke a change of behavior. A cop, drinking on the job with a kid under his supervision? He was pissed. At heartbreak, or something else? Jenny was one to enjoy partying, but she'd always drink in a sort of moderation. Never pushing it. And certainly not before noon. She caught Frank's bitter snap towards Karin, the only peacemaker in this entire house, and knew something was wrong. And while Karin probably didn't want to butt heads with anyone in order to stay on good terms with everyone, Jenny had nothing to lose. With her own look of disapproval, she approached Frank and began her own tirade, whether she wanted it or not.

"So this is the Frank Hale that my childhood friend was so madly in love with?" she sarcastically scoffed. "You've gotta be fucking with me. I didn't know she was into the drunk type. Or at least... the kind that reacts so pathetically when a girl wants nothing to do with him." She shrugged. "She wanted to take a step away, and she's trying her best to ignore you just to keep herself safe... and here you are drinking yourself stupid at like... 11am? Huh. Pathetic." She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes to the intoxicated Frank before her. She knew that Frank would reply by saying that it's Thalia's fault for not giving Jordan a chance in her life, but she was going to vouch for her friend all the same. "Maybe you don't understand that Thalia just isn't ready for the responsibility of a child right now, and she got herself out of it before she made a mistake she'd regret. And it seems like you can't stomach that, so you're stomaching whiskey instead. She didn't want a kid in the picture, and she really felt like you were putting her on the spot. Like she had to accept this kid around and give up whatever's left of her youth just so you can play the hero for a kid." Jenny might be growing more aggressive in tone, but she felt it necessary at this point. Even if she was acting irrational in regards to Jordan's fate. Thalia was her priority above all else. "If you really cared about her, you wouldn't have put her in this position. Not force her to break her own heart like that."

Deep. Maybe not entirely true and rash to say, but she felt the only way to make an idiot think is provoke him.

"And the way you just snapped at Karin right now? Pssh. And people ask why I think so lowly of men. Because half of them are douchebags like you. I was gonna give you a chance because of Thalia. Not anymore. So if you even try to hurt her more than you already have, or get hostile with Karin, you and I are gonna have a problem."

Jenny wasn't a fighter; if Frank were to get physical, she'd be on her own. But maybe she wanted to prove he wasn't a good enough fit for Thalia when she comes back.
 
So, while Tony was off trying to break another deal, this time with the enemy, James was outside and texting Jon more than anything. They hadn't left San Francisco yet, but, everything was well. Nicole and Charlie were with him and things were going smoothly - James honestly couldn't wait to have a like-minded person around. Even though Thalia and James had their similarities, they didn't operate on the same level. Jon and James did, however, and James was counting down the minutes it was going to take for some order to finally come here. He knew that Jon had gotten close to the family, but, he had no idea of his intentions to hang around even after this was all over.

That was going to be an interesting thing to hear, that was for sure, but it'd make him happy. An old friend hanging around - What could be better? He had no problem trusting Jon to get the family here safe. He could handle the best of the best, evidently, so there were no concerns there. From what James could remember, no one knew where they were now. Now that the hitman was dead, there was no one following them, meaning they could be anywhere in a city that big. Needle in a haystack. He intended for the only other person to know where they were to be Thalia.

He would tell Karin himself, but, he'd leave that down to Thalia if she wanted to tell her.

She had a concern or two of her own, though, which was understandable. She also had an apology to give, it seemed.

"Don't mention it. It was mostly warranted. Death was extreme, but, the beating he got was entirely necessary." He said, "For a second, though, I thought I was going to have to shoot you." He said, and for a moment he looked dead serious, but then broke into a grin and shook his head. "I'm kidding." He said. It seemed Karin's sense of humor was already rubbing off on him, too. "Seriously, though, if I even think you might hurt someone you or I care for, I'll be sure to stop it before anything major can happen. I suggest you take me up on my offer, though - Let me pay for you to get some sort of counseling after this shit's done with. The amount you've been through doesn't come without taking its toll. No average human can live a normal life after everything you've experienced, at least not without hope." He said.

"The bottom line - I'm not here to blow smoke up your ass, and the sad truth is you're not the only one who's getting upset about the breakup with Frank. And I'm not about to tolerate some sort of childhood drama in my house - let that be clear. Karin's worrying about it. I'm worrying about it. Everyone but Tony's probably concerned to some degree." He said. "Mainly, though, I won't deny you could do with some sort of professional help after this is done with - Not rehab, though, fuck no. It's not that extreme right now." He explained.

"Your family, though, is still in San Francisco. They're safe, unscathed, and under good protection. Not sure if I ever said before, but I think you and Jon will get on quite well. I get the impression the two of you will click in one way or another." He explained. "As for this exchange... After the shit's Tony's already pulled, I hope you can understand I'm not going to be breaking my back to try and get him out of there if things go pear-shaped. If he fucks up and gets shot, that's it."

--

Meanwhile, Frank couldn't believe his ears.

"What is this, fuckin' 'Pick on Frank Day?'" He asked. "Jesus shit, I told Karin I wanted to be alone. I didn't snap at her, for god's sake." He said. "You can stand there and call me a douche and a prick all you damn want, but it doesn't mean shit to me. If you know what's good for you, you should keep your nose out of other people's business, especially when you don't know anything of what you're talking about. I get that you and Thalia may have been sobriety sisters of whatever the hell you were, but for you to stand there and comment on all of this after you were dragged in by the skin on your teeth the other day? You've got some fucking nerve, Jenny - Ballsy, but stupid." He said.

"You think I'm the one who put her on the spot? That's real rich, it really is. I didn't 'force her' to break her own heart. She did that herself. But she forced me to break mine, but you're here jumping up my ass without knowing both sides of the story. Truth be told, I felt something with Thalia that I hadn't felt with anyone else before. She had me at hello, and that's the god hones truth. Not that it means shit anymore, right?" He asked, sipping at his drink for a brief moment. "Hang on, I'm not done talking." He held up his hand.

"I made her promises. I told her I'd help her get her life together - Even the moment she broke up with me I told her my promises to help her still stood, clear as day. I didn't force her to break her own heart at all - she did that willingly. She didn't need to, but she did. But please, once you've sat there and listened to her getting beaten and raped by some sick fuck in Al-Asheera, and not being able to do anything about it, then you can come here and tell me how much of an asshole I am. In however many years you've been off the scene, she's been through more than you can even begin to understand. Me and her went through so much of shit in the short time we were head over heels for each other."

"Yet you're stood there like Mister-Fucking-Soprano telling me how I'm the bad guy in all of this? Where in the hell is your backbone?" He asked. "In the past couple of days I've lost my career, I've lost a close friend, I've lost someone I was in love with, and I've gained a boy that refuses to speak to anyone but me, who wakes up at night screaming because he thinks someone's going to hurt him. But you? You'd never know how it feels to be in that spot, to have everything ripped away from you and to be forced into a spot like the one I'm in. And I'm not usually one to hold grudges, but this time it's warranted, at least with how you've just came up to me and crawled down my throat without a good reason - I wish that one day you know how it feels to be in my shoes, and then... Well, I'll wait for my written apology to arrive through my door."

"You think Thalia's the only one that lost out on this big occurrence? You think my dreams haven't been crushed, too?" He asked. "They have, but I'm manning up and I'm doing what's right - Now for the shit you didn't know. Jordan currently has a three-quarter-mil bounty on his head, set by the man that killed his family. He'd be dead meat if I let him out of my sight. Thalia? Well, before you magicked yourself onto the scene, I was the one standing there and trying to keep Tony at bay while he was there trying to beat her around. Karin's not the only one who watches her ass - I still do now, even though, at least in the way you put it, I have no reason to do so anymore." He said.

"When we broke up, she was the one that made me make a choice. She was sat there trying to convince herself and me that someone would pop up and take Jordan off the scene, when she knew that wasn't ever going to be the case. I had to sit there and tell her my mind was made up - she came to me and wanted it ended, before I could even say I was willing to give her the chance to try things out and settle in. I was willing to wait, goddammit, but that ship has sailed now." He shook his head. "At least I'm going to be able to sleep easy at night knowing I did the right thing." He whispered, sipping his drink again.

"And here you are, taking all this out on Jordan and how it's his fault because he needs someone there for him. Just like you said - Pathetic. Absolutely fucking pathetic. And you can ask anyone, Jenny - Go ask Karin, James, Joseph. Did I make the right choice by cutting the rope with Thalia so I could look after a vulnerable boy? Because by now, you're one of the only people who would say no. I didn't want it to come to this, I really didn't, but life is change, Jenny. And it starts.... When we decide." He sighed. "So you can be sure, on the nights when I told her how beautiful she was and still wanted to be part of her life after she got raped and beaten around by Ra's? You can be sure I care about her a damn sight more than you do. Remember, she was the one who chose to walk away, she was the one who chose some preschool shit of blanking me, like you and Karin have been more or less doing since it happened - I wasn't the one who made that decision, so, on that note..." He lifted his glass and finished his drink.

"You, in the words of Al-Asheera, can go and do one thing - Fuck yourself."

He'd said what he'd needed, revealed all he needed to about what he'd been through with Thalia and the things he forced himself to deal with. He wasn't going to sit there and be made to look like the bad guy - What he did to Jenny? In his eyes, that was snapping at someone. Snapping at someone with nothing but facts.

Karin... Maybe his tone was a little too heavy, but, she didn't really seem to care all that much.
 
Though at first totally against the idea of getting professional help, Thalia could actually entertain the idea and realize it was for her own good. As James said, no person should ever be expected to deal with this sort of trauma alone or have it go without treatment. And if she had reacted this way three times already, she was pretty convinced that it could happen again. Something was very wrong in her subconscious, and after spending her teens being abused and violated by a man in his 40's, it was confirmed that these outbursts were a result of her desire to release the stress inside her. It might've also been why she severed Roland's crotch in two, but maybe an earlier manifestation. Now, she quite literally took someone's life. That changes everything. And when James brought up the idea of professional help again, she nodded.

"Thank you, James," she sighed rather blissfully. This was a relief, knowing that she'd get help someday when this is over, to be a normal daughter to her mother, a normal sister to Charlie. "I don't have anything to give back to you, unfortunately. I don't even have a high school degree to get a degree and earn it back for you honestly, but I promise, I'll make it up somehow, someway." It was only natural that she'd feel as if she were in debt to James, even though repayment wasn't entirely necessary for a man who seemingly had it all. But it was back to a sort of phase where James seemed to be doing all the heavy lifting and all Thalia was in the end was a scarecrow for Roland, a source of intelligence against Al-Asheera, and a pretty face for the rest. Maybe if she were more useful in life, she'd be more worthy of Frank, more worthy of being a full-time carer. But not only was she not capable, she simply wasn't ready. Eight years gone... just to have hope for them back in five days to be swiped away from her again? She didn't want that. It was foolish of her, but half of her was still a child after all. One still taking favors and wishing to never grow up.

Thalia didn't fear James. Even with the joke about shooting her. She knew he wouldn't do that like that to her if she had no control of herself.

Then came a more serious topic: Frank.

"It's hard to break up with someone, then have to keep seeing them ALONG WITH the reason you broke up, James," she continued. "Like it or not, I can't take care of Jordan even if Frank got on his knees and begged and bribed me to. I'd kill the boy without even meaning a thing. I'm not ready to be a mom." She gulped in an attempt to calm herself. "And don't give me the whole 'Karin did it, so can you' bullshit. I'm not Karin. I could barely make myself breakfast yesterday without her holding my hand the whole time. And you expect me to change the bed after he wets it? I can't. And Frank wanted to press me into something I don't want. I'm... I'm just avoiding him because I don't like the fact I have to relive that heartbreak at every corner. Because everywhere I go, I see either Frank or Jordan, or something connected to them. The best way for me to cope? Just... put them aside. Try to treat them like they're not there. It's not nice or mature, I know, but it's the only way I know how to deal with this. Especially with the fact that we're all under one roof. And you won't let me move out so I don't have to face him. What other choice are you giving me?"

Hanging a few locks of her hair down her face, Thalia looked back down, concentrating more on the next part of James' words. Her family, the exchange. Finally, more of a reason to be relieved. She even gave the man a smile after the depressing words just before.

"My family's here... so close... when, James? When are they coming? I... I really wanna talk to my mom, and Charlie. It's been so long since I've had an actual family to lean on. I bet you understand that, right? They're coming today after all, right?"

Tony's potential demise didn't even attract Thalia's attention in the slightest. Odds are, he was a dead man, and it wouldn't even matter to her in the slightest. He could die mid-exchange, and she wouldn't bat an eye. He already destroyed her life as she'd known it. There was no hope of Thalia being a free woman ever again because of his slip-up.

--

Was this going to be a fully-brewed war between Jenny and Frank over who cared for Thalia more than the other? Seeing how she'd already been given an equally bitter tirade from some drunk with a whisky at hand who ultimately told her to fuck herself, Jenny didn't take that lightly. Especially how he claimed to know what was best for Thalia after only a matter of days. She had to draw a line, even if it was risky.

"Not my business?" she scoffed. "Wrong. This is about Thalia, so it's my business ENTIRELY. She's my friend, and she's in pain because of what happened between you and her. So that makes this my business if she was madly in love with you one moment, then crying her eyes out in the bathroom the next because she can't even look at you without remembering what you two had - without remembering what you could've been. All because you wanted to approach the future differently. She didn't want a kid, but here you are treating Jordan like your own. What's gonna happen when a family member comes forward, huh? Don't give me the 'parents are only children and grandparents are dead' bullshit. I've babysitted before, so I know the textbook excuses like that. I have half a mind to think you don't WANT to hand Jordan over if a family member turns up."

Bold, but she had a rather fierce side to her. She slowly stepped closer and closer to Frank as her wording intensified. She was unhappy, and clearly, so was this drunk. "You can tell me you and Thalia were sweethearts all you want. It means nothing if you just went and ended it all like this. If you really cared about her, you'd make it work in a way SHE could be happy. You may be happy doing what you do - to each his own; I wouldn't mind it myself - but Thalia wouldn't be happy. Did that ever cross your mind? Did it ever get through your drunk, thick skull that she is too young to be a full-time mother? You said it yourself: she has an abusive past. So why put her through the agony of piecing some other kid's life together when hers is still shattered on the floor? Don't make me fucking laugh. Because clearly, Thalia's not laughing. She took ages to finally cheer up and get off the bathroom floor. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have even stood up from the floor and got up to get your buddy Roland. And you're going to blame her for not wanting a part of a life she can't handle? You'd rather keep her, but have her miserable? Now look who's being selfish. PATHETIC."

"Oh, and don't think I haven't lost anything either..." Jenny was now able to lean forward up in Frank's face, her brows crossing. "I almost died to the same maniacs that hurt Thalia. I've EXPERIENCED what these people do. They killed everyone in my apartment complex JUST so nobody hears me screaming, then had me kept as some sort of fucking pet. You aren't the only one who's had everything taken from you. Get off your high horse and stop playing the damn victim card. Your heartbroken? So is Thalia. Don't you forget that. Getting her out of her rut was hard, but it's good to know who her real friends are. And it doesn't seem like you're one of them, Frankie."

Blaming Jordan? That was quite a stretch. "I love kids. And I'm not blaming Jordan for needing someone to care for him, or protect him from some bounty. But you shouldn't have forced yourself upon one damaged individual when you already had one clinging to you as well. Because honestly? Your little father/son charade is pushing her away and churning her insides. Maybe getting out of the house helped. So don't think she's being evasive for no reason. She doesn't want to face you because she's ashamed and guilty that she's not good enough. Most importantly, she's sad and doesn't know how to express herself. She's traumatized and insecure, what did you expect?"

Insulting to Thalia? Probably, but who would ever know?

"You, you pathetic scum..." Jenny's next move would've taken anyone by surprise: extending an arm over to the remaining bottle of whisky, gripping, and launching it off the table and against a nearby wall, shattering to crystalline pieces on impact. "YOU can fuck yourself. Because you've hurt Thalia and clearly don't get why she's acting so weird to you. Because she doesn't know any better. She loved you, and she feels betrayed. Maybe if you drank less and thought more, you'd get that."

And with that, Jenny walked away, particularly outside to the poolside, now tired of hearing this detective's attempts to defend himself and his actions. That bottle hitting the wall would definitely be heard by many in the house. Not wise with kids around, but she needed to knock her own sort of sense into Frank. Maybe futile, but she said what was on her mind. But one thing stuck with her: everyone would side with Frank and Jordan. Karin, James, Marcus... all of them. Maybe even Tony as well. Was it really her and Thalia against the world after all?
 
"I'm not trying to force any sort of ideas onto you, not at all. Don't twist what I'm saying." He held up a hand to her, but, he wasn't too sharp as he spoke his words. "All I'm saying is, even though this situation is very... Unorthodox... We don't know Frank as well as we'd all like to think. Not many of us know any of us as well as we'd like to think - You probably know more about Karin than I do, and Karin probably knows a lot more about me than you do. I think that's about as far as it goes. Frank, Tony, even Joseph and Jordan... We don't know them as much as we like to think we do. We don't know just how far things may go with a drama on our hands." He sighed, then shook his head.

"Frank nearly shot Tony after he found out Tony had used his gun to kill that guy. He had a gun to his head right there in the kitchen, and luckily he was spoken down, but Frank? All of what's going on... Let's face one fact. He's a new detective, been on the force for four years - he's been doing things by the book, and after his sister was killed when he was younger, some sort of stability isn't really something he has. And without sounding too offensive - that's something you two have in common. Neither of you have lived particularly stable lives. I don't think many people under that roof have, but, my point is..." He rubbed his forehead, "I'm trying to think of a way to word this without sounding too dire, but... With the betrayal from Tony, combined with the death of a close friend, combined with having Jordan hanging off his arm, and as the icing on the cake, the two of you going your separate ways?" He said, but then paused. "That sounded like an accusation - I assure you it wasn't - My point, though, is for someone like Frank... Young, by-the-book, genuine, one-way. Those sorts of things do damage, and I'm just saying..."

"That maybe it might be a good idea just to do your best to put this big drama behind you and try and get on clear water before we have a tidal wave crash down on us. If Frank's going to pull a gun on Tony and say 'fuck it' after losing his career to him, I don't like to think of what he'd do with access to my whiskey cabinet and his gun. I'm not saying he's going to walk into the street and pop himself, nor am I saying he's going to go through the house in the middle of the night and slaughter us all, but I worry the desire for revenge with the emotional breakdown of everything that's happened might prompt him to do something without really thinking it through." He shook his head.

"I know you two aren't a thing anymore, and I'm not going to make an effort to try and change that, Thalia. Like I said, I'm not going to blow smoke up your ass, either. The best thing about me is you're sure you'll get the cold hard truth for anything you ask. But all the 'taking the long way around the house' just to avoid each other and all of that business? That needs to stop, and things need to be settled once and for all before we get a situation that's well and truly out of our hands - and as your family are going to be arriving this evening, I highly doubt it'll be pleasant for them to have drama flooding the house around them. Especially not your brother. Kids don't react well to things like that - Joseph's been a lot more distant over the past day or two, surely you've noticed that. Either way, from what I've heard about everything, Frank's not trying to press anyone into anything. He's been pretty calm about it. At least for now." He shook his head again then sighed.

"I don't know." He said. "I get that reliving the heartbreak isn't easy, but you're going to keep on reliving it if you keep trying to run. It's the same for everyone. They're so scared of reliving it that they don't let the body toughen itself from the pain of it all. Somewhere along the line they spiral back down because of that - You're a lot stronger than you think, Thalia. I don't think you'd have any problem facing your fears. You just need to believe in yourself a little more. You're smart, capable, and considerate. For the most part." He winked and chuckled once - another joke, of course. "You don't have to leap back onto the guy's dick to avoid the heartbreak. Sometimes, saying as little as 'good morning' can make all the difference, believe me." He leaned back against the wall. "But what would I know? All I know is that if we get back and the house is burnt down, I'm going to be pissed." He smirked a little more once again.

"What the fuck's taking Tony so long, too?" He asked. He didn't want to start second-guessing Tony again, but it was hard to trust him fully. Did it really take this long to get a guy in a wheelchair that was right beside the bed?

--

"Oh, she's the one that feels betrayed? Give me a fucking break!" He yelled back - The bottle against the wall did make a few ears prick up, though, Jordan and Joseph's in particular. The glass on the floor alone was going to cause enough drama in itself, let alone the shit going down between Jenny and Frank. She was watching from outside, though, but she didn't feel the need to intervene until the bottle was launched. She could only think one thing:

What is she DOING?

She didn't know the full story, but, just from the way Frank had spoken to her on her way out showed he was in no mood to be social, so, when the angered faces began to show at the start of their conversation, Karin was ready to pounce on it as quickly as she could.

"Oh, hang on, we're not fucking done here." Frank jumped up from his seat, glass in hand, and he quickly launched it out the door right after her. It missed her by a couple of feet but did hit the ground beside her all the same, and typically it shattered, too, sending a swarm of glass across the patio. Luckily none went in the pool, but, it was at that moment that Karin was straight out of her chair before things got violent. Frank was storming forward, and he looked like he was about to explode. Frank may not have been a master in Jiu Jitsu or anything like that, but, a guy of his size, build, and training would lay Jenny out no problem - and Karin knew he'd come to regret doing something so stupid if he laid a hand on her, so before he could get close to her, she was straight between the middle of them both, a hand clutching both their shoulders.

"Both of you, fucking stop this bullshit." Karin snapped, immediately. "There are bottles and glasses being smashed and there's shouting and screaming - all while there's kids in the house. Have some damn decency, will you? Haven't the two of them been through enough during all this shit?" She asked. "Can someone please tell me what the fuck's going on?"

"Oh, gladly. I better get in there before that fucking rotten apple jumps in and twists everything I say." Frank snapped, quickly. "I'm sat there having my drink and she comes up with the whole 'can't believe Thalia fell in love with a drunk' act - For no fucking reason, might I add. Yes, maybe I was a bit aggressive with you, Karin, and I'm sorry, but I wanted to be left alone. When I want to be left alone, I don't expect people to put their head down my throat immediately after."

"Jesus, Frank, it's no hard feelings. Fuck me." Karin shook her head, "That doesn't explain the bottle. The glass. The aggressiveness."

"She comes up to me saying how I'm the one who fucked all this up between me and Thalia, how it's all my fault that she's heartbroken and all that bullshit. But no one spared me a fucking thought when Thalia threw herself at me, after Jordan was on the scene, on the very same fucking day she planned to break up with me. You've gotta' remember that, you little fucking psycho. She cut the rope." He snarled, "Now I'm getting all these accusations that I wouldn't hand Jordan back if any family came forward - Jordan's getting the fucking blame for all of this and I don't appreciate it. The first thing I did was look extensively to find someone in his family who could care for him. But I didn't find diddly. Grandparents, all dead. No uncles. No aunts. Nothing!" He said. "So I've apparently got this big bad father-son dynamic going on with Jordan, and apparently I like that so much to the point that I'm willing to drop Thalia in the spot where I force her to choose. Bullshit." He waved his hand aggressively and shook his head.

"She made me choose. She wanted to end it if I needed to care for Jordan, and I told her I was okay with that. I told her that I wouldn't just forget she existed. I said my promises would be kept, even if we were just friends - Get it in your thick fucking head, Jenny, that I didn't have a fucking choice."

"Frank..." Karin said, "Just calm down a little bit. Let's not make this any worse than it already is."

"Right, right." He waved a hand again and rubbed his face. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt her, okay?" He said, his voice finally giving away just that tiny bit. "I never wanted to have to make that choice - I wanted her to be happy, which is why I didn't get all aggressive and pissy with her when she told me she didn't feel cut out for it. I didn't try and make her feel guilty - I tried to comfort her and assure her, for fuck's sake. Now everyone's making me out to be the bad guy here."

"No one's doing anything like that, Frank..."

"Well, maybe not you, but Miss Bitch over here certainly is."

"Enough with the name-calling," Karin said. She hated having to pull an almost-parent act out of her ass, but, she couldn't let two more people fall apart. The group was breaking enough as it was. "I think you two just ran into each other at a bad time."

"I don't fucking know." Frank whispered, shaking his head. "I need people to understand that I didn't like making the decision I did - I didn't ever intend to hurt anyone by doing that. But you need to get it in your head that it hurt me, too. I didn't walk away from it unscathed, and now I've got nothing left. I haven't even got a fucking job I can pretend to be happy in anymore."

A little bit of a secret slipping out right there - this whole time, was Frank's real dream nothing to do with being a cop?

"Guys... Look." Karin took a deep breath. "Both of you just take a deep breath for me, okay? Let's just put this into context here." She said. "Look at each other - Do you really think Thalia would feel any better if she saw one of her best friends and her ex-boyfriend at war with each other? Do you really think that's going to help anyone get over any sort of heartbreak?" She asked, quickly glancing between the two of them. "If she was here right now, what do you think she'd say? Frank?"

"She'd be pissed at us for digging up the hatchet, I know that much. She'd probably feel pretty shitty about how we just dived into an argument about a relationship we're trying to forget." He gulped, looking down at the floor.

"Sounds about right." Karin nodded, "So, before you both start smashing shit around again, before you start trying to tear out each other's throats and start saying shit to each other you don't mean... Just think, is this really going to help anyone? Would Thalia really be happy knowing that you two just put on a show about all of that for everyone and the neighbors to hear? Fuck me, guys, as her close friends and her ex, we should be working together on this shit to try and make things better for everyone. For her. For you. For us. For everyone under that roof. You both know as well as I do that it'd break her heart if she saw all this happening - And she'd feel guilty about it, too. So..." She slowly moved her hands off their shoulders. "How about we come to some sort of resolution here, hm? This isn't high school. We're all grown adults here, for god's sake. And better yet, we're all in one big shitstorm together, too, and you know people like Tony will prey on anything like this. He's already shown he's willing to do things like that, and I'm sure none of us want that happening again, right?"

Much to Frank's and possibly Jenny's surprise, Karin hadn't picked a side in the whole fight. She was trying to be diplomatic - When Frank looked back on it all, he felt it was needless. A pointless argument that could have been approached in a much more civilized manner. Or an argument that could have been avoided altogether. Even though his mind was in a bit of a frenzy, he was doing his best to imagine how things would have turned out if they'd simply sat down and talked about everything that had happened. It wasn't necessarily too late for that, but, Karin had done a perfect job of pulling out the guilt card, much like she'd done when she first met Thalia.

At that moment, though, Joseph hopped out into the back yard. Literally, hopped. On one foot. A small line of blood was dripping from the one held up.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Karin called out to him, frowning.

"No... I, uhm... Stood on some glass in the kitchen." He said, glancing over the three of them. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." But she quickly brushed that off. "Is the cut bad?"

"Not really. There's no glass stuck there, it was just a little stab." He said. "It hurts, though. There was some kinda' alcohol there so it made it sting way more." He said.

"Right." She sighed, "Go sit down on one of the deck chairs and I'll grab something to help you out, okay?"

He nodded and immediately hopped over to one of the chairs by the pool and sat himself down.

Karin looked between them both, "And here I was thinking a bottle of whiskey could make people happy. Clearly not." She whispered, nodding over towards Joseph, but then giving a little smile. "Can we end this now, guys?"

Frank thought maybe it was his time to be the bigger man here - Maybe he could at least prove he wasn't as much of a dick as Jenny thought he was. The thought of upsetting Thalia further was enough to scare him away from the idea of another fight.

"Karin... Sorry for being snappy with you."

"It's fine." She nodded, gently patting his shoulder. "You're having a bad day, I get it. Lay off the drink, though, alright?"

He nodded, sheepishly. "And Jenny... Shit, anything I said that was questionable I was just trying to get at you. I know you care about Thalia, and I... Don't wish you find yourself in a position like mine. Ever. I wouldn't wish that on anyone." He said, sighing. "I never wanted to go to war with anyone here, so, if we could... I don't know. Forget this ever happened... I'd appreciate it. I don't want things to be any worse than they already are, y'know?" He shrugged. "Usually, if you came up to me and started something like that... I wouldn't have reacted in that way. I've just not had a great few days, either. I hope you can understand that." He gulped. "Sorry for nearly twatting you with the glass, too." He nodded down to the shattered glass on the patio. "I'll clean that up. Obviously."

Karin looked at Jenny - Frank's apology seemed genuine enough. At heart, he wasn't a bad guy, just a troubled one. Karin could only hope that Jenny would help defuse the situation rather than spark it again. Karin was thinking mainly about everyone's wellbeing in all of this, and obviously how Thalia would feel about this happening if she was here. She was hoping that'd be enough leverage for them to shut up and settle things. Plus, she brought up a valid point - If Tony knew things were sour between everyone, he'd exploit it without a doubt.

Little did they know, he was already working on fucking Thalia over.

Again.
 
He didn't have to say it, but it was clear that James wanted the avoidance to stop. He wanted some sort of peace under his roof: something that they have yet to properly see with everyone moving in. It would usually be Tony provoking the problems, but now, things have changed. Without a doubt, heartbreak was a problem starter, too. The problem was that Thalia wasn't good at dealing with heartbreak. And she was very tempted to open up about her bumpy love life to James. He probably knew about Vanessa's death and the abusive relationship with Ra's, but how much did he REALLY know about her friendship with Jenny? How deep it actually was, and why it fell apart. There was no way that Thalia and Jenny were all sunshine and rainbows if the former had run away so long ago. There was more to the story, which she intended to let out, and would show why she acted with Frank the way she did. She stood up properly from her leaning position against the wall, uncrossing her arms, and extending her left one forward in an outward manner, her fist rolled into a ball and pointed downward. Upon a first glance, there was nothing significant to look at. But then, the redhead reached out with her right hand, taking James', and gently dragging his fingertips over her skin. A very thin crease could be felt, as if the minor remains of a scar that had faded from a childhood accident. It could've easily been mistaken for an accident with Al-Asheera, but she knew it was deeper. Much deeper.

"You feel that?" she now spoke in a more mellow tone, maybe even worrisome, rather than attacking or trying to shift blame. "I did that to myself with a razor when I was 11 or 12. I..." she gulped. "I was bullied as a kid in school. Part of that was because of the whole 'teacher's daughter' complex kids have. The other half... was because of Jenny. She lead this sort of revolution of mockery against me...." her voice was even beginning to crack by telling the story, taking a break in her words to compose herself. "I became depressed. Started slacking in school, became more secluded... until one day, I got my hands on something sharp enough and... wanted to feel something. My mom caught me, James. I'll never forget her reaction. How scared she was that she'd lose me... and two years later, she really did." After he'd felt her arm up and down to the entire length of the cut she'd made so long ago, she took her hands off of him and stepped back. "How is this relevant? Because I wasn't just Jenny's best friend in grade school. I... I fell in love with her." She smirked. "And why? Cuz we were playing spin the bottle with friends at a sleepover. One thing lead to another... and we kissed. I liked it... and I guess she didn't. And everything ended in a downward spiral. My first heartbreak."

That clarification told a number for Thalia's story and made more sense as to why she ran away. It went beyond her discontent with her parents. She had no one by her side. "The only way I could cope with my problems was to stay away from everything that made me sad, and that included Jenny. But I'd still see her every day in middle school, or at church, bible study, sporting events, even on the streets normally. It didn't help that our parents were really tight as well. So I did everything in my power to steer clear of Jenny, and it... helped. I still got made fun of as that creepy girl who likes kissing girls whose mom was a teacher in our school, but... ugh. It was a pain to deal with. What's worse? Breaking up with Frank made me almost wanna cut again. Because it was so abrupt, so painful, my heart couldn't take it. Then I see him and Jordan at every corner while I use the only survival mechanism I've ever known? It doesn't help. If I hadn't been cut off by Jenny, you might've walked into my bathroom to some sort of bloody massacre. Not even exaggerating." She sighed. "I'm... opening up too much I'm sorry..."

Maybe it was time to redirect the topic to something more serious, pressing. "Frank and I are alike," she nodded. "It's why I was so attached to him and why it hurt so much to lose him. I just feel like the bad guy for throwing in the towel because of this, but do people really get that I simply can't do it? I don't know. I bet I'm in for a long ass lecture from Karin to keep trying when I get home, but it's not like it'll change much. If I try, I'll screw up. I'll probably do something wrong to Jordan, then Frank'll never forgive me for it. I just thought the best thing for me was to stay away until... maybe I'm more ready? Settled down? Even then, I'm not sure. Maybe it's just not meant to be."

Was she really one to judge that so soon? It didn't matter. James wanted her to stop avoiding Frank, and she sighed in response. "Fine. I'll try not to blindside him anymore. But even hi, James. It hurts to even try to get near him and think, what could've happened if this was more than a hi? Especially with you and Karin, I'm sorry, but like I said last night, I'm a bit jealous. Still... what could've been? If I were a better, more prepared mom now. I'm only 21. I know I'll sound like my mom saying this, but I'm way too young to have a kid of my own right now. Especially one this broken when I can't even pull myself together. I'll be more talkative to Frank, sure, but I just don't want to be too involved. It hurts too much, and makes me really sick to my stomach... depressed. I don't want to be stuck in that rut, and I don't know how else to cope.... does it really get easier?"

As James asked about the hold-up with Tony, the aging detective himself finally cracked the door open with the duct-taped Roland in his new set of wheels. What happened inside? Tony struck a deal with the devil, with Ra's as Satan himself. What he'd told Roland would come at a dire cost to Thalia, but it's not like either would tell of their secrets. Especially not in front of the girl herself.

"Let's roll, people," Tony announced enthusiastically.

For starters, Thalia took a step closer to Roland, telling him his instructions. "So... you know you should behave yourself, right, Rolly?"

"Fuck yourself," the bald juggernaut muttered in his usual artificial tone and catchphrase.

Thalia nodded, pleased with the blunt reply. "Good boy... So, what's next, James?"

--

In the beginning, Jenny didn't fear for her life in the slightest when she swiped the whiskey and smashed it to a wall. She figured she'd walk away and leave Frank in a drunkened state behind. But no: he struck back with what appeared to be a more violent approach. It went to say never to piss of a depressed drunk like that, and Jenny was quite literally kicking the hornets nest - on purpose even, just to make him seem like a bad person for Thalia - up until Frank couldn't take it anymore, throwing his glass as well, causing the younger girl to scrunch her shoulders upward and turn around, afraid of what this detective would do next. Was he really going to swing at her, hurt her? She was tempted to back away and reach for whatever object she could to defend herself. But this was on the brink of becoming something very bloody and violent. Jenny, for the first time in this feud, was afraid of being beaten again. She'd been through enough yesterday.

But Karin came as if in the nick of time, literally in the middle of the two. She told them to knock it off, obviously, mainly due to the presence of children here. So adult conversation and fighting wasn't an option, really. So Jenny calmed down, only for her jaw to drop again when Frank began pinning this entirely on her, saying she'd twist the facts, and was making it all out to be her fault, even though in her mind, Frank shared a good part of the blame as well. But it's not like she could do anything while Frank was pointing the finger at her and not giving her a chance to speak. She was forced into silence, which annoying her further and almost made her want to simply turn her back and walk away from a simply unfair negotiation. But she had to cut him off when he called her a psycho.

"Hey, watch the mouth, cop!" she barked back, but kept her distance though lunging forward slightly. "You don't know how much she loves you, all for this to come down to a kid she wasn't ready for. And she barely slept last night, and when she did, it was tossing and turning with nightmares that she wished she could stop. All because she's afraid of being alone and helpless. I don't give a shit what you promised, because surely, you didn't promise her the stress of a traumatized child in your happily ever after. And she got scared and backed out, now she doesn't know how to feel. And you're going to blame her for ending things? For trying to cope in the only way she knows how? THAT is low. You don't know her as well as you think if you thought that her ignoring you is something she's consciously doing."

She probably shouldn't have even spoken, but it's not like she'd get a chance to talk beyond that. It went back to a dialogue between Karin and Frank, with him calling her more names that she simply ignored. Then came the bombshell: Frank pretending to be happy in his work that he supposedly loved? What were Frank's true intentions as a detective then? It made no sense, but she didn't bring it up. Another question: what would Thalia think if she'd come home to them throwing things at each other and fighting? Clearly not lightly. She'd blame herself, which, Jenny knew she would and do something terrible to herself for it. That's not what she needed; she already stopped her friend from relapsing not long ago. Then came the worse part: Joseph saw the aftermath and even stepped in the glass by mistake. That was the last thing either of them probably needed right now: unwanted attention from the children. Jenny already knew that Joseph was more aware of his surroundings than he should be. This was only an insult to injury. She bowed her head in shame, keeping her gaze lowered for the moment, up until Frank began apologizing, when her gaze lifted once again to answer. This time, more peacefully.

"Let's put aside whether you hurt Thalia or she hurt herself and focus on the part that's true in either case: she's hurt," she began, "And so are you in a way. But take it from me: she doesn't know any better apart from avoiding you. She does that. Maybe you didn't know that about her, but I've known her for a while. Do you know... she was close to cutting herself when she walked away from the kitchen earlier?" Thalia wouldn't appreciate that getting out there, but Frank deserved to know if he was aching from this, if he really loved her. Even if this meant she'd lose that window of opportunity with Thalia, she'd let it happen. Because she figured that with Jordan, she wouldn't last. But she might as well make peace. "The least we can do is fake a smile if it has to be that way, just so our mutual friend doesn't have to go through that sort of stress of her being the center of a problem. She won't take that well. So let's just forget that we were even up in each other's faces, okay? I was just looking out for my friend. I figured you should know how miserable she was this morning. That she didn't walk away to give you the cold shoulder because that's what she wanted. She'd doing it because she's trying to forget, and she knows she can't have you while you have Jordan. She needs the breathing room to live her life. Just... let her have it. Live and let live. Maybe she'll talk to you again when she's ready. Maybe you'll get a chance to let her open up. Who knows? All I know is that she's in pain, just like you, because she knows she's not good enough for you. So.... do with that what you must. I'm gonna just... take a walk around. If you wanna clean up this mess, help yourself. Just... don't drink this early. I don't think that's flattering to anyone. Not to kids, not to women... so you know."

Could Jenny and Frank be better friends than they were now? Possibly, but it's not like Jenny was optimistic. A bit of bitterness lingered in her heart, but she tolerated it and let peace take over for the moment. There was no need to keep at each other's throats. Things were bad enough under this roof as is. At least she enlightened Frank slightly about his ex's condition, her mental state. Was there ever hope for the two to be a couple again? Would someone possibly come forward for Jordan, ever? Or would he be Frank's forever? Moreover, would Thalia consider being the carer for this boy? When they took from the bathroom floor to the bed, they shared quite a bit. Thalia had dreams to be something. Would she shatter them just to be a mom?
 
Having Thalia open up to him wasn't something James was expecting to happen in the slightest, but he figured he'd roll with it. It's not like it was a big problem, or anything like that, and as Tony was taking so long, they obviously had the time. James didn't even suspect for a moment that Tony was doing something questionable after the beatdown he received, but this time he was dead wrong. He was convinced now that Tony had lost his ties to the police, he wouldn't try anything stupid. He never once believed that Tony would be willing to stoop as low as sleeping with the enemy, though. Was he wrong to believe that Tony still had potential to be an effective member of the team?

Time would tell that yes, he was indeed a lost cause. A bad bet. A last-place horse racer. A painful realization, but, in the end, it was probably one a lot of people were expecting. More importantly, though, as mentioned before, Thalia had opened herself up to James and even went as far as showing her physical and in some ways mental scars of her troubled past. A sad story indeed, but, one that didn't come as much surprise, without wanting to sound too dark, in James' eyes, Thalia just seemed to be someone who attracted far more trouble than she deserved. Had it been endless ever since she was basically Joseph's age? It was certainly starting to look and sound that way.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that at such a young age." He said. "There's no such thing as 'opening up too much', don't worry. Thank you for sharing." He said.

"I told you already, no one under that roof is angry at you for stepping away from that situation." He said. "You need to get it out of your head that we're all rooting for you to force yourself to try it all over again. I'm just saying, it'd be best to try and be friendly and neutral with him again before he up and leaves. As far as I know he's still planning on renting a place... Somewhere. He hasn't said much about it all, but I can't blame him. The house is getting extremely cramped, even more so later tonight. He can only leave as soon as he's in the clear, though, for his safety, obviously." He said with a gentle sigh. "It's all a bit messed up, I know, but I'd appreciate it if you made the effort just to keep the peace. Last thing we want is him or anyone else getting the wrong idea."

"The fate of the situation wasn't something you could control, because neither of you expected Frank to step up to the challenge of caring for the boy. But you need to ask yourself when you think of it - Did he really enjoy making the choice he did? He could have pressured you into staying with him, forced you to live a miserable life by making you do something you weren't comfortable with - but he didn't. It's best to think of it that way, believe me. At least that way you can reasonably believe that his choices were in the best interest of everybody's wellbeing. The only thing you owe to Frank is the recognition that he made a tough choice. You both did. You don't need to get involved - you don't need to start mopping up piss or wiping asses. You just need to give him something as simple as a hello to let him know that there's no bad blood. He'll appreciate it. And deep down, I think you'll be conquering one of your biggest fears, too."

Before anything else could be said, though, Tony appeared. A deal with the devil was made - at least James and Thalia would be well away from where the deal was taking place and ready to cap enough of the members of Al-Asheera that showed up. In the right moment, of course. James had a job for Thalia, too - they didn't have Karin on board here, so, Thalia would make a good makeshift surveillance. It was critical they knew everything that was going on down there - even if Thalia could only point out all the people worth shooting in the moment, that would be the most optimum outcome.

But how in-the-shit would Thalia be once Tony whacked out his evil plan?

"Now, we organize the exchange." He said. "Get on the line to the deluded son of a bitch and organize a good meeting place, and we'll work from there. In the meantime, get Roland loaded up in the car. Preferably the trunk." He said.

The moment of truth was all too close.

--

There was some shocking news that Thalia had basically become nearly suicidal after the breakup - Frank almost said 'she's not the only one', but, he figured that would stir up too much drama and concern among everyone else. A heavy drinker, armed, and suicidal? Not another issue they wanted on their hands, really, and it was just one other thing not really worth talking about right now, especially as Karin was on the edge of the envelope waiting to rush off and tend to Joseph.

"I understand now, don't worry." Frank nodded a couple of times. "You know how it is in any breakup. Anything can feel personal, even if it's not." He sighed, shaking his head. "It was a bad situation to be in. In any other case, we'd both get into a car and drive home, or whatever. But we can't do that now. We're stuck in this fucking place, swarmed by nearly a dozen people and being in close proximity of each other. It's hardly ideal." He explained. Honestly, though, with everything Jenny had said, trying to rekindle some sort of relationship almost felt like a bad idea - She may have been opening his eyes to the truth, but sometimes the truth is ugly, and if things didn't work out for a second time round, Frank didn't want Thalia to undergo any harm that was out of his control.

As much as it hurt his heart, he thought maybe the best thing to do was just... Forget. A painful thing to say to himself in his head, but, maybe it was for the better for both of them? Neither of them would have to risk any more stress or heartbreak, nothing like that.

"I won't drink anymore today, don't worry." He said. "With all of this, I... Never intended to pressure Thalia into taking my hand in all of this. As soon as I realized there was no one out there for Jordan - at least not clearly - I understood it might affect things, and I wasn't about to try and force her into being part of a life she didn't want to be part of. She had her dreams, and I had mine. I even said - I'd lived my young and crazy life and done all the things she should be doing now. She hadn't." He sighed, sadly, his eyes meeting the floor. "In the moment we shared so many dreams and promised each other the little and the big things, but... When it boiled down to it, we were so similar but also incredibly different. Very bittersweet." He said.

"I don't want her to be part of something she's not happy with. I'd never want that. I just hope she knows that if she is trying to move on... I'm not holding that against her. I keep meaning to approach her and tell her it's no hard feelings, and I'm not angry or upset with her for making the choice she did, but... I just don't know how to do it." He said, "Maybe it'd be best if I just... Stayed quiet. I don't know." He said.

Karin spoke out, "Can I leave you guys to be civil while I go make sure my brother hasn't got glass stuck in his foot?" She asked - the last part was said with a tad bit of bitterness, understandably. The bottle and glass-smashing was extremely unnecessary, and now Joseph had been needlessly injured by it.

"Sure." Frank said. And even though Frank wasn't the one who threw the bottle... "Karin."

"Hm?" She looked back at him.

"Sorry." He whispered.

She nodded once and vanished off into the kitchen where she got the first aid kid; she went back to Joseph, too, and his immediate concern: Would he still be able to go to the soccer try-outs?

As long as he kept the cut clean and didn't pick at it or open it up, he'd be fine. At least that's what Karin told him.

Meanwhile, Frank had ducked down and was gradually picking up the pieces of glass by hand. They were all in fairly big chunks, so, there was no point getting something to brush it up.

"I don't know about you... But I feel really fucking stupid about the glass and the bottle." He sighed, then glanced back over at Joseph. "Hope he's not too hurt. There's a fair bit of blood there." He gulped. He'd seen Joseph playing soccer in the yard with Jordan - he was good, too. He could only hope it wouldn't impact that too much. "You should hope Elvis doesn't step on the glass in the kitchen - I'm sure you've met him by now." He smiled a little, slowly picking up the glass on the ground. "You should hope he hasn't stepped on it, because if he has, you owe me one hell of a vet bill." He said, but then let out a tiny chuckle. Just a joke, clearly, but, Frank was genuinely concerned that someone or something would step on the glass again.
 
Calling Ra's to set up a meet would happen under the more controlled circumstances of James' mansion. Probably a more secure location than this hideaway to a seemingly renegade doctor. Roland would return to his destined driving seat - the trunk - while the other three took to the car, obviously, Tony asserting himself to sit up in the front seat, forcing Thalia to the back, who didn't mind all that much. She knew she wouldn't be much help in the front anyway. Just memorizing the roads of the city. That road map she'd created in her mind of Philly helped her survive eight years practically alone on the streets. LA? Anyone's game. She wanted an edge, so this was her best way of approaching it. An issue to be discussed later. But she knew her general usage would come later: identifying who shows up at the trade. The crew knows how Ra's looks now, but not the rest of The Ten. With four remaining members - one being Tony's cousin - only one person could correctly identify them before they could cut off the head.

The mansion disaster itself was also slowly calming down and easing over. Jenny isolated herself from the situation once Karin got in between them and after she said what she needed. Perhaps mentioning that Thalia was close to putting a blade to her wrists was not a good idea, especially not in front of Karin and Frank, but if it helped him understand, she deemed it necessary. Maybe Thalia would receive a one-on-one lecture from Karin soon enough about her suicidal tendencies, as a concerned friend. It would definitely make for an enlightening conversation later. A half of her life she'd never shared with people before. But for now, Jenny took herself out of the equation, out of Frank's face, and went to the bathroom to wash up a bit. Not that she smelled like she'd just recently had sex with Thalia, but because she was simply dissatisfied with her sleepy, morning look. It wasn't even noon yet, after all.

Which leaves the crew in San Francisco to find their way in what would be a memorable, eventful day later on. Getting rest in a high-rise hotel under more comfortable conditions without the worry of a hitman on their tails served for a better, easier night's sleep for both Nicole and Charlie. It wasn't just the relief that eased their minds, but the anticipation for the coming day. Thalia, that longlost child of the Griffin family, finally coming forward and revealing herself. Perhaps she'd revealed herself too much, given the negative press around her name and the fact literally every newspaper in California and Pennsylvania was talking about the news now. Had Nicole still been in Philly, she'd be swallowed whole by the press. At this point, her residence was surrounded, a group of reporters kindly waiting outside for her to make a statement. They'd be disappointed to know she was long gone. Killed by the same man that killed Reverend Jacob? And the boy, Charlie? It was any reporter and journalist's wet dream with the highly-publicized Griffin family now all going missing. Or dead. It only made Nicole want to get in front of a camera and defend her daughter. Claim she wasn't a criminal. What grounds did they even have to associate Thalia to Al-Asheera? Was it even admissible, or is this just a stunt by some bloodthirsty reporter willing to blow anyone for an opportunity? But apart from the negative publicity also came a light at the end of the tunnel. Nicole had prayed for so many years for some miracle that Thalia hadn't been killed and dumped into the Atlantic. Her prayers were heard and her daughter was brought back to her. And though Charlie didn't know his sister, he really wanted to, mainly influenced by the enthusiasm of his mother. And today would be that big day for the Griffin family reunion. Once more, if only Jacob were alive to see this fall into place...

Dreams were much easier for Charlie this evening under the protection of his guardian Jon. That nightmare of the wolf-like entity from the previous night was a thing of the past and did not reappear in his imagination this time around. He hardly remembered the dream he had last night. It was... normal. He was becoming much stronger a boy with this experience. Losing a father is never something easy, but Charlie expressed a similar strength to his sister in his ability to overcome his hardships. And it was doing him a lot of favors.

The morning was slowly coming to a close as the undercover happy family were about to head out for lunch. Charlie all dressed up and ready to go while his mother was getting herself fixed up to look at least slightly presentable. It was taking her a while to get used to herself as a brunette, and maybe even Thalia would see it as a surprise. But that wasn't much of an issue, as she just tried to make it work. Whereas Charlie was dressed up in his pair of cargo shorts and a white t-shirt, patiently awaiting the coming trip. He wasn't sure where, but he knew that they wouldn't be going to Encino till later. So why not ask his protecting figure, Jon?

"Jon," he began in his usual enthusiastic tone, ready to start up a new day, wide awake and ready to press forward. "Where are we going now? You said we'd go see Thalia today.... right? How far is she from us right now?"
 
While there was other drama kicking off elsewhere in California, things were quite the lot more convenient for the happy family charade that was going on in San Francisco. If things kept up this way, Jon was sure their journey to Encino would be quite pleasant. Charlie had been nothing but good for him so far, and he seemed to be in high spirits. Then again, a lot had gone on to take his mind away from the father he lost so brutally. Would those horrible thoughts of his death ever come back to plague the boy's innocent mind? He certainly hoped not, but they couldn't be so sure right now. Once things fully settled was when things would more than likely get more difficult, but, it was something Jon would be around and determined to help deal with.

The young boy seemed happy and enthusiastic enough for now, though. That was always good, and of course, he had a question about where their next destination was, and a question about if they'd be seeing Thalia. Even down to how far away she was. Jon thought it was cute, really, just because the enthusiasm and tinge of excitement behind his eyes showed him that he wasn't going to let anything get him down today. An attitude Jon knew the boy would need to continue on; the longest part of the journey may have been done, but, it was far from over.

And with the hardships Tony was inevitably going to be causing for everyone... The worst was yet to come, it seemed.

"Hey, fella'." He grinned at the young boy and dropped an arm around his shoulders again, sitting him beside him. "Well, before we go anywhere, we're gonna' go get some lunch somewhere. Somewhere nice." He nodded. "After that we can go to that donut place I told you about, which should be good fun. Get one of those giant thirty-dollar donuts, yeah?" He laughed. "As for seeing Thalia, we definitely will be seeing her today. In the evening, really, like I told you last night. Only because we'll be on the highways and everything, and I don't want us to be stuck in the car for hours in the boiling heat. That'll end up making us sick and the traffic will be hell, anyway." He smiled. "Right now, Thalia's in Encino with James, in his house. Along with everyone else who you'll meet later." He said.

"She's about five hours away by road, buddy. So sadly we've got a long drive ahead of us." He said - but then suddenly, idea. "In fact, when we go out for lunch, we'll stop by a tech store and I'll buy you something that'll keep you entertained on the road, okay?" He said. "At least for a while. You're going to have a lot of great sights to see out there on the journey, so make sure you keep your eye open. California's a beautiful place, as you've already seen from your bedroom window." He laughed.

"Actually, there is something I need to talk to you about. I was texting my friend James earlier on." He said, then gently squeezed Charlie's shoulder. "It's about those other kids I told you about. He was telling me a little more about them - You'll still meet them and I'm sure you'll be great friends, but, there's a couple of things James said I should tell you about. Mainly about the younger one." He cleared his throat. "The youngest one there, his name's Jordan. I just found out that a few days ago... He lost his whole family, buddy." He said with a sigh. "Lost his mom, dad, and his older sister, too. He had a family, very much like yours." He explained. "Since he lost them, a police officer, a detective, has been looking after him - they've been staying at James' place, too. I'm telling you this because he doesn't talk very much to anyone but the man looking after him. So if you meet him and he doesn't speak, remember it's not a personal thing. He probably still wants to be friends, but, he's just someone you're gonna' have to be a bit patient with, alright?"

"The older boy, Joseph, he's apparently real nice and James thinks you two will be great friends. Believe it or not, he lost his mom and dad when he was just five years old, so now it's just his sister, Karin, who looks after him. Kinda' James, too. Main point, though, when it comes to meeting them... Make sure you're extra nice to Jordan for me, yeah?" He gently ruffled Charlie's hair and gave him a smile. He had no doubts about him - he was sure he'd be good to the younger kid of the group. "Given the fact we'll be getting there quite late, I imagine you guys can get pizza together, or something. Get to know each other and all that." He shrugged.
 
The excitement and enthusiasm in Charlie was a bright way for any of them to start their day. It surely was a perfect way for Nicole to wake up to her son. Watching him wake up, wheezing and panicking from a nightmare the previous night, was far too tragic for her heart to handle. It was a relief he calmed down and went back to sleep as quickly as he did. There was plenty of strength within such a young boy that even he didn't know of. It was just a mystery: where did such strength come from in the Griffin family? That endurance in Charlie, and in Thalia as well. It really didn't reflect either of their parents in the slightest. It's not like either family had any fighting blood in them. Maybe another reason why the siblings would probably get along so well. After all, Charlie wanted to solve the mystery of his sister, and Thalia wanted to meet her brother in person, all the more reason for the two to want to foster some sibling relationship from the beginning.

As the time to finally meet his sister was getting closer, obviously, the boy had his questions. Today was the day, but when? Clearly the drive was going to be long, five hours according to Jon. But he would be occupied on the ride. Jon seemed to know how to treat a boy like Charlie and keep his eyes on the prize and focused. There'd be lunch and an entertainment device in the equation as well, enough to keep him busy on the long drive. But that wasn't all. Charlie was made aware before that there would be other kids in that house close to his age, but didn't know all too much about them, not even their names. Until now that Jon pulled him close with his usual fatherly mannerisms and explained who his companions would be under that roof. One was a traumatized child who'd lost so much in such a short time, the other an older boy who's also lost a lot but, like Charlie, knew how to keep his head up. Great kids overall. Just the crowd for another child who'd been through a tragedy. He could related to Jordan's loss in one way or another, even if his own wasn't as horrible. And Joseph? Seemingly a good friend all the same.

With a nod, Charlie replied to everything seemingly in bulk, "Gotcha. I'll be nice to Jordan and Joseph. At least there'll be people there my age. I just hope Thalia won't be asleep when we get there. We'll get there late if it needs five hours, probably."

As if right on time to continue the conversation, the boy's mother came from the bathroom, getting herself readied for what would be a long day of travels. Sure, they were going for lunch before anything else, but she had to get herself changed. She'd been in the same clothing for two days and figured a shower and a change were in order for herself. Even a middle-aged woman like herself needed to feel good about herself after a long, grueling two days. She'd changed into a black blazer with a plain white button-up shirt underneath, dark blue slacks, and a thin dark green scarf tied elegantly around her neck with her hair tied back neatly into a ponytail. She always had to look presentable, after all, as a prestigious teacher and wife of a pastor. Well, widow of a pastor now. She looked down at her exuberant little boy who gave her an equally vibrant look into her eyes as she spoke:

"Sounds like someone is excited, mon fils."

Charlie nodded, stepping closer to his mother, reaching forward, and extending his shorter arms as far as they could go for a hug. "Today we get to see Thalia. Jon just told me. I can't wait!"

Nicole nodded along, hugging the boy all the same. Seeing him in this sort of shape instead of crying was brilliant. She would've never pulled him back from the void this quickly, at least not while she was equally devastated. But the finding of her daughter was a silver lining. "I can't wait either, Charlie..." Her eyes peeked forward towards Jon, a friendly, warm gaze from a stone cold teacher who was used to stern looks and colder impressions. Did Jon manage to thaw the heart she'd frozen for her job? The smile on her face told that story clearly. "In that case, Jon, I'm ready. Did you pack your things, Charlie?"

He nodded with his head buried in her abdomen.

"In that case... we're ready to go. How does lunch sound?"

--

The return to the mansion was casual, as expected. But as much as Thalia wanted to relax and just lay down in bed with Jenny talking about their pasts after their revived moment of intimacy earlier, there was business to be given attention, and surely, Jenny understood that. But once it was over? They'd be in for a fun time, one on one. Thalia also wanted to hang out with Karin for as long as time permitted. Where did the time go? She hardly saw her new best friend this morning, and when she did, she quickly ran away. They needed to talk, even if what Karin had to say was probably a more depressing topic, depending on how curious she was about Thalia's cryptic past. Questions she'd answer honestly. After opening up about her depression to James, it made it easier to talk about. Probably easier with strangers, too. She'd show Karin the lining of the scar on her left arm all the same, talk about the horrible events leading up to it. She just trusted her female friends that much.

But once again: business before pleasure. Privately and in James' room came time to discuss plan. Roland was unconscious and still in the trunk of the Range Rover, but Tony, Thalia, and James took to the bedroom. No need for anyone else to be involved in any part of this plan apart from babysitting the kids and, in case Jon, Nicole, and Charlie get here early, opening the door. Tony was the ringmaster of this plan, so he was going to introduce the plans as HE saw fit, surely in for revisions by the two actual criminals of the bunch.

"Alright..." Tony began, seating himself on James' bed, even if it was inappropriate of him to do so. Who knows if it was. Thalia crouched to a bent-kneed sitting position against the wall across from Tony, just glaring at him waiting for him to say something that she didn't like. Maybe an excuse to hit him, less severely though. "So the trade it simple: Roland for Melissa. James, you will be stationed at a sniper post from wherever you see fit, but you don't fire until I make sure Melissa is far, far away from the chaos. Or if it looks like Ra's is going to shoot me. He just might the second he sees me. I'm supposed to be in jail, anyway."

Thalia shook her head right off the bat from the naivity that Tony had expressed before this even began. "Maybe you didn't hear this clearly, Tony," she sighed. "Ra's and Roland may be fuck buddies, but he's going to kill Roland the second he says his final prayers. Quite literally. It's ritualistic for self-sacrifice among Al-Asheera. If you've been caught, you suicide, but if you return to the Head to offer your blood up for his own taking... Ra's promises you some sort of eternal life. Sounds like BS, right?"

"So who's to stop Ra's from shooting me AND Roland from the beginning?"

"You ask to see Melissa first, and only then do we bring Roland out. And Roland has to be up close to give his final prayers. So all YOU need to do is make sure he doesn't shoot you... or on second thought, I don't give a fuck. If he shoots you, I'll probably sleep a little better tonight."

Ignoring the death wishes, Tony continued, "Anyway... If I DO die, kill everyone. That should be obvious. Even Ra's. Don't let my death be in vain."

"Again... we've agreed already Ra's is for last. We kill him with his inner circle still intact, and someone will succeed him." Thalia had become agitated with Tony's desires to just eliminate Ra's without considering the consequences. Ones she was fully aware of and he was neglecting. "Let the remaining member of The Ten be ME, and I will disband Al-Asheera, if it makes you so happy."

Getting up and getting closer to Thalia seated on the floor, Tony's tone became more and more aggressive. "Noooo. You want that honor so you can take control of your boyfriend's organization. Revenge, I suppose. What's next after that? Steal James' girlfriend?"

Tony's advance and comments about Karin were enough to piss the redhead off, forcing her to stand up and prepare to lay her hands on him again, maybe clutch his neck and try to choke him. Would James even stand for that?
 
Was it out of line for Jon to feel such a high sense of pride when he listened to Charlie talk? When he saw his smile and saw his kindness first hand? In some ways, Jon didn't feel like he had the right to feel that way about the boy, but when he thought about it more, Charlie wasn't threatened nor creeped out by him. In fact, he seemed to be very fond of him. That was something Jon was very grateful for - it had shone a light on his life, a light he'd thought had long since died. But no, here he was with an arm around the boy he was quickly becoming a father figure for, and a boy who was quickly falling into the shoes of being treated like one of Jon's own.

They may have lost a lot - all of them had, either over the years or over the last few days, but the thing was that they were happy. Nicole's smile as she left the bathroom was like witnessing magic. It wasn't like it was unlikely for her to smile, or anything like that, but Jon couldn't help but feel that Nicole's smiles had become more meaningful and warmer since they'd met. It was nice. Some would argue that Jon was a fool - stepping away from his high and mighty life just to be part of the lives of a shattered family - a boy who lost his father, and a once happily married woman who had been viciously turned into that of a widow.

But Jon would always argue that he'd actually made the right choice, not the wrong one. He loved the two of them dearly, and he meant that. That wasn't something he'd be able to put into words just yet, but he hoped his actions showed that that's how he felt, at least to Charlie. It made Jon sad to think that he'd never actually fully raised a kid before, but... Maybe this could be where he started? Already three days in he felt like he'd been more of a dad to Charlie than he had to any of his own kids. It was a bittersweet feeling, but in some ways, Charlie and Nicole had saved him from certain doom. If he didn't die in some high-speed crash, would he die by his own hand once the solitude became too much?

Too dark of a topic to be thinking about.

He watched the little mother-son interaction between the two and smiled at the both of them, as well. He knew he didn't have to doubt Charlie, either - He didn't think Charlie had one bad streak in him. He was safe to assume that Charlie would get on great with the other kids, and hopefully, he'd make some proper friends out of the two of them. Sometimes people just don't fall into any cliques, for whatever reason that might be, but then sometimes you meet someone and it just happens. Part of Jon wanted that for him. He knew it would do him some good.

"Lunch sounds absolutely great." Jon rose up to his feet and put a hand down on Charlie's head. "Grab all your stuff, pal. I'll grab your suitcase for you - you just get whatever you want to take for the journey." He said. "I'm thinking we should get something nice while we're here. There's a great Italian place just into the city a little, so, I think we've got a pretty safe bet if we go there. You guys will like it, I'm sure." He said. "We'll get some drinks and sit out on their roof and eat there. It's a nice day, after all." He shrugged.

It was strange - there was so much going on, but yet, they were so happy to be doing normal things. Things a normal family would do - they'd been brought together by something so tragic, yet here they were about to go to lunch.

Jon wasn't complaining.

--

So, they had a not-so-master plan. Letting Tony plan this was probably their worst idea, and they should have anticipated that things were going to go horribly for them if they let him have any form of control, because already he was getting cocky and barking orders around. James could easily just nod along to what he was saying, though - Was Tony really under the impression that James gave a shit if his death was in vain or not? James certainly wasn't going to lose any sleep tonight if Tony ended up getting shot down, but, you know. It was going to take a while to get this whole exchange done with, anyway, and once they had Melissa, they were going to have to get her somewhere where she'd be safe, too, and that somewhere couldn't be the mansion. Surely not. There wasn't even going to be enough room for her now.

Plus, if Melissa knew anything about what had been going on - if she knew the news of Redgrave's son going missing and everything, then she'd be a risk not worth taking. What if she saw the young boy sitting there in Frank's arms and immediately called the police, or worse, took Jordan while no one was looking and got him to the police herself? What if she was just generally angry with everything Tony was involved in and just decided to rat them all out immediately? James was asking himself a lot of questions, but, if Melissa was even anything like Tony, it was worth taking extra precaution. That wasn't the main concern right now, though, because there were other things going on.

Thalia and Tony had yet more things to disagree on, and that was something that needed to stop before this operation could go ahead. If they were going to be at each other's throats, this was going to be as good as over.

"I'll shoot whoever I think needs shooting. If all goes to plan, the rogue sniper act works just fine." He said. "You get shot at, but for fuck's sake, try not to run towards my fire. If you do that, chances are you're going to lose an eyeball or have your leg blown in half. I'm packing heavy heat for this one - I'm not doing some little pussy bitch silenced sniper. Today, I'm doing the real deal. One shot, one kill. If you get in the way, don't expect me to go to a load of effort to move away from you. You jump in front of my scope at the wrong time, and you're getting a bullet from a friendly. I hate to say it, but, crazier things have happened out there in the field." He explained.

But Tony was one to start making personal attacks again, so, James put a hand between them both.

"That's enough." He said, firmly, then looked at Tony and reached up, gently slapping him on the side of the face a few times. "Tony, listen, big boy." He said between each of the slaps. "We're all in this together now, and the fact that you're being all cocky again makes me wonder if it's really worth trusting you, or if you've got some little trick up your sleeve. Just like you tried to pull on us at the police station. I tell you, any funny business tonight, and I will shoot you. You might be able to dodge a few punches, and you might have escaped death for now, but I can assure you - you don't know how to dodge bullets." He shook his head. "So, on that note. Enough with the little comments." He said, then pulled away. "Thalia, no conflict from you, either. Let's not incite a riot with each other." He said.

"We've got our plan, and like it or not, Thalia knows more about this than you do. If you want out of there alive with Melissa's head still on her shoulders, then you best go along with things and trust what she's saying to you. If you want to run in there with your dick in your hand, be my guest, but if you get shot by being stupid, I'm not wasting my bullets on taking them down. If there's nothing else to go over, I suggest we make the call - And Tony, you do it in here, with us. We stay quiet, but you're making the call right where we are so we know what the plan is, capiche?" He asked.
 
War was already at the gates for Thalia and Tony once again, but to what? A minor disagreement in leadership? No, this was far deeper, even beyond Richard's demise. Tony hated Thalia for more reasons than he could list, some more reasonable than others. And that distaste had become mutual after the constant personal attacks and the smear campaign the media was having a frenzy with over the fate of the missing Christian girl from Philly. Pile it all together, and Thalia getting up to probably attack this cop again was probably well in place. That stand-off last night was a fair way to teach him a lesson, as well as avenge every time that Tony has brought her into submission, starting with Karin's living room when she tried to stab him. She came close to driving a crowbar into Tony's skull, but retreated the second a sensitive nerve was poked. And it was one that Tony was going to play on once again. He was fortunate to hear those details of what Jenny had told her, and was now going to toy with Thalia's emotions.

"You know why psycho bitch here didn't kill me yesterday, James?" he snarled. "Because she has a crush on your girlfriend, and was afraid of how she'd see her. Maybe Karin would never love her if she'd killed someone." It was as if James' warning calls and the slap or two mean nothing to Tony. He was still stubborn as ever.

With a dropped jaw, Thalia was about ready to slap him for even drawing that conclusion, but then again, it wasn't the first time he'd pulled that card. "Leave your wet dreams out of this, Tony. I never said ANYTHING like that!"

Taking a step closer, right up in her face passed James' arm, Tony refuted, "That's not what you told Jenny when you were in tears, all 'She means so much to me!'" He said the last part in an obviously bad impression of Thalia's voice, also in a way that sounded fakely upset, his fingers scrunched beneath his eyes to fake the leaking of tears. "Give me a fucking break. And don't give me the 'best friend' bullshit. It wouldn't be the first time you fell for your best friend, if I recall correctly."

That was enough to merit a hard slap to the face from Thalia across Tony's cheek. Was James even buying any of this? She hoped not. Tony's credibility was down the shitter anyway, so why would he? "You don't understand what I've been through. Before I ran away, or after. So I ask you nicely: STOP. I didn't do anything to you before last night, and all you've ever done to me is insult me, make me feel like shit, and beat me."

Damn... didn't you learn not to underestimate her, Tone? How did he forget the brutal beating the previous night where she almost killed him? "Let me ask..." he muttered, rubbing his cheek from where he'd been slapped, not long after James had done the same. "If you could do that to me, why didn't you do it to Ra's? After all he's done to you, why didn't you kill him already? You clearly have the capacity to take a life. You could've been through with this a long time ago."

Groaning, she answered the question he'd already asked too many times, "It's not that simple, for the last time.. If I were to kill Ra's while I was still in Al-Asheera, Roland would've taken his place, and he'd abuse me. And I can't just take on the rest of The Ten and expect to live. I'm not..." Not suicidal? Or was she? She was close to it earlier, and James knew this. And she stopped herself before lying, squinting, and waving her hands forward in a stopping manner. "Never mind. Forget it, Tony. We need to make the call to Ra's. We're already passed the deadline you were given to resign from the LAPD, but hopefully you being supposedly arrested will spare her life. As much as you don't believe it, I don't want Melissa to die. Al-Asheera have killed too many loved ones. Vanessa... my father... I don't want you to go through that. As much as I hate you, you don't deserve to get her head in a box tomorrow morning in front of your house. Unlike Ra's, I have a heart."

Tony scoffed. "Bullshit. You probably want Mel back so you can seduce her and take her from me, too. Are you some sort of girl-seducing whore or something?"

Just the usage of the word, 'whore', brought the terrible memories of Ra's back into Thalia's mind, as if it were taking a stab at her heart and how devastated she was at the stakeout in Pasadena. She was barely able to move back there, not just from her physical condition, but the emotional agony, too. But negotiating with Tony was an impossible task, so, Thalia acted as the bigger person, stepped away from Tony despite his personal attacks about her intentions, sexual orientation, and past. She just looked over to James with narrowed eyes, evidently pissed at the older man's behavior equivalent to that of a child. There's no way that their criminal mastermind approved of this either, especially after his rant to calm down and not act cocky, even a threat that his life wasn't necessarily a priority. But ignoring all else, Thalia ticked away at her burner phone, a longer number sequence that was too long to be a normal American phone number. No, Ra's had some sort of encryption - one designed by her late girlfriend before she was executed - in order to keep his name off the grid. Being close to Vanessa, Thalia also managed to memorize the number. Ra's won't see their number in that case. And once it was dialed, Thalia placed it on the bed, and on speakerphone. She would keep quiet, obviously. She could assume James would do the same. Then came the Arabic savage voice himself.

"Takellom." [Speak.]

Thalia could guess that Ra's wasn't alone. He could barely answer phone calls on a mobile device, so a servant had to be there. Or another member of The Ten. Who knows? But this was Tony's cue. "So you must be Ra's...."

A pause came from the voice on the other side of the line. A long, damning one. Thalia raised an eyebrow and looked to the phone. She didn't like this. But the voice came back eventually. "Anthony Walsh. From my knowledge, I recall that you were in jail. Arrested for murdering a friend of mine, you and Frank Hale. Karma was your whore yesterday, was it not?"

Ra's' terrible phrasing in English, even the way he pronounced the 'th' in Anthony as a single 't', confirmed the identity to Thalia. She gave them both a slight nod to signify that the man they were speaking to was, indeed, The Head. Tony nodded back and continued talking to the burner. "So you thought. But there's a lot you don't know about me. Or my family."

That was a hint at his cousin being high up in the Al-Asheera hierarchy. Maybe Ra's knows about this, maybe he doesn't. Thalia and James don't for sure. Well, James doesn't. Thalia could've pieced it together if she'd given it more thought. "So you are aware of Al-Masrafi. Or as you know him, Samuel Walsh. How did you find this information?"

Thalia's eyes shot out at the sound of that name. It hit her: Samuel Walsh. Tony Walsh. One of Tony's family members was in The Ten. Her heart skipped a beat while her mind tripped out. How did she not recognize this? Tony did, though. "I bet you've had Sam brainwashed for so long. And I know a member of the Walsh family would never stoop that low."

"Is that so? ... Al-Masrafi... takellom maa ibn aamoka."

Cousins. That was the connection. Thalia first assumed they were brothers. Apparently not. She mouthed to Tony in soft whispers inaudible to the call, "Cousins? You didn't think to tell me one of those names is your cousin?!" The whispers got a bit louder, but they were soon cut off by another voice. An American.

"What's up, cuz?"

"Sam..." Tony's eyebrows crossed as he looked down at the phone, bewildered, hoping his ears were deceiving him, or Ra's was using this as a mind game. But Thalia's list from a few days ago. His being in Philly for so long as a banker, explaining his clan name. "Sam, please tell me this is a lie. That Ra's has you under duress or something."

"Hm... Maybe you can fuck yourself instead, Tony."

That was a sign enough to Tony, Thalia, and James, that there was no way Sam was under duress or anything. He was genuinely an Al-Asheera goon with corrupt intentions down to the fuck yourself treatment. Clenching his fists at hand, he barked back, "What the hell are you doing with yourself, Sam? That's not living! You have a good career on your hands! Why soil it with a bastard like Ra's? Don't tell me you're in on their whole pedophile business!"

Thalia knew he was. Much like how Ra's had her, Roland had Vanessa... Sam had someone, too. The redhead gulped and decided not to tell him. For Tony's sake and loving memory of his cousin. But Tony got the picture loud in clear. "Fuck yourself. Best you listen to our lord and savior, Al-Ra's, Tony. By the way... I've been banging Mel. Quite tasty. She needs a stronger man like me, not a flimsy man like yourself."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Tony barked back, but Sam was gone. Back to Ra's:

"Glad you have come to realize the fate of your cousin. You see... In Al-Asheera, we achieve greatness, a place among the gods. Your cousin has seen the light. Perhaps you can, too?"

Fuming red and huffing from anger, he snarled, "Never. I want my fiance back."

"I am afraid that is not possible..."

"What if I promised you your best friend? Roland Simmons? Al-Yed, as you call him?"

Ra's paused. Yet another silence. Once again, this worried Thalia. Ra's is careful with his words, but this careful? He had a plan, and hearing the return of Roland piqued his interest. "Are you saying you want a trade, Anthony Walsh? Your whore for my Hand?"

Tony nodded. "Yes. But before we negotiate, I want proof Melissa is still alive."

"And you can fuck yourself, because you're not getting it."

"God damn it," he snatched the phone from the bed, barking more angry words to him, "If you want to be even slightly negotiable, you better show some good faith, Ra's!"

"First of all, you address me as Your Highness. Or Mawlaye. Anything else, I deem unacceptable."

"I will not bow to you."

"Then I hope that Al-Masrafi has a splendid time with your whore. You will show up to me at a location of MY choosing and kiss the ground I walk upon, delivering my Hand back to me, or else I will happily execute Melissa Kane and hang her head outside our cafe in Burbank. The one that you and Frank Hale were at last week?"

The last hit Thalia made with Al-Asheera. Did Bernard Sullivan leak THAT much information before he took his life? Tony could only assume that it was the leakage from Pigman that caused this. He ignored the personal information and went on with the focal point of this conversation. "So you want me to go to a meet set up by you... No proof that Mel's alive, and you with no proof that Roland's alive... You want me to show up and kiss your feet, swear in your name to get the woman I love back, and you get your fuck buddy back? And expect to walk away alive?"

"Of course... that is not all. You must forever swear to me that you will not come near Al-Asheera ever again. Neither you, nor your partner Frank Hale. You will resign from the Los Angeles Police Department, and leave the city. It will be taken by Al-Asheera in a matter of two weeks. And best you not be here when we throw shit at the fan."

Growling under his breath, Tony found himself in a corner. Ra's was no easy to negotiate with at all. He glanced over to Thalia, who just gave him a death glare. Even she was unsure of what to make of this. "Deal... You have a deal, Ra's."

"Good. You come alone, only yourself and Al-Yed. Port of Los Angeles, between the shipping containers, sundown, tonight. You will be allowed entry by our man on the inside once you identify yourself. If there is anything I do not like conspiring, and I hear of it, and I will slice the head of your beloved off of her body in front of you. And then I shall execute you before my followers and send your head in a box to your precious department."

The port... it should be relatively secluded at the time. But still... Ra's was picking this for a reason. Tony couldn't piece it together... but he knew something was fishy. So he tried to counter it. "That location may not work, Ra's. What if I can't make it to the port in time?"

"Then Melissa dies, or becomes the sex slave of Al-Masrafi. You do not negotiate with me, Anthony Walsh. Do NOT attempt to play me for a fool. If you do not show up, I will consider that Al-Yed is dead and that gives me permission to do whatever I want to Melissa Kane. Good-bye, Anthony Walsh."

"Wait, you don't hang up on me, you bastard!"

But it was too late. All that remained was the dialtone. Ra's hung up the line on him. A blazing livid Tony turned his attention to the clanswoman to his side, wagging an aggressive finger in her face. He had questions that only one girl could possibly answer.

"What's at the port, psycho bitch?"

Thalia shook her head, slightly worried for what Tony might do to her. "I swear, Tony, I didn't know Ra's had contacts at the port."

"LIAR!" he yelled, reaching forward at Thalia's neck and walking her against the wall. "What's at the port?! You didn't tell me my cousin was in on this, why?!"

Panicked an in a corner, Thalia was hoping that James would come to her rescue. She was doing everything in her power to avoid getting physical and keeping her cool. But the more Tony pressured her verbally and physically, the harder it became. "I swear, Tony, I've been away from Al-Asheera for nearly a week! Ra's might've raided the port in that time! He's expanding, fast! And if I knew about your cousin, the connection? I'd tell you! Please, don't hurt me! I didn't know!"

As likely as the possibility was, Tony clenched his other fist and prepared to get physical. Thalia was getting on his last nerve, and now more than ever did Tony's temper begin to get the better of him. Reason just wasn't going in there anymore. But Port of LA. Sundown. They had a meet. Not a pleasant one, but a meet all the same.
 
"Enough with the fighting, for the love of fucking god. I'm being driven to the edge here, and the next punishment isn't going to be a slap on the wrist. One more thing, and whoever kicks off is seriously going to wish they didn't. I feel like, Tony, at this point your underestimating my patience. I'm this close to throwing you to the wolves while this deal's ongoing. Believe me, it would't be a struggle - I'll basically be the one playing God while this goes on. All it takes is one untimed shot from me and everyone you're meeting with will lose their shit, and both you and Melissa will hit the ground before you can say 'James fucked me hard'." He said.

Sometimes finding the line between empty threats and serious claims is important - this time, his threat was far away from empty, and he meant that well and truly. They had to make a deal with the devil himself and they had to get Melissa back. If they could take out several members of The Ten without issue here, too, then they'd be able to cripple Al-Asheera beyond quick repair. Meaning they could move in for the kill instantly, more or less. The sooner these guys were off the streets, the sooner Thalia and all her family would be safe from harm. James had faith in Jon, but, even Jon had to sleep, and Jon had his own life to get in order while looking after the family.

James didn't want it to get to the point where if Jon let his guard down for even a moment, they'd all be dead and gone. If things went smoothly, that would be the furthest away possibility.

The call was a made, and that was where the biggest revelations occurred - Not only was Tony's own cousin in on the ranks of Al-Asheera, but his own cousin was the one responsible for Melissa's current suffering. It was fucked up, but, at the same time it angered James - Tony had seen the list of The Ten. Why didn't he say something? Even if it wasn't confirmed, why didn't he ever bring it up? If it was brought up they could look into it and find a way around it, or find a way to act quicker. But now it was far too late for that. Now, everything had happened, and Melissa had paid the price. It seemed Tony was going to be paying the price, too.

He had a very unique meeting place, too. The port. Interesting enough, but something James and Thalia could work together with, especially at sundown. There were a lot of hiding places and a lot of vantage points, and as far as Ra's knew, Tony didn't have anyone but the LAPD on his side. He didn't have any elite mercenaries, or even a member of their own ranks. Hopefully things could go to plan.

"Settle down." James gave Tony a gentle push back away from Thalia. "We'll figure this out. The port will offer myself and Thalia a lot of vantage points, and as they're probably expecting you not to arrive with friends, that works out fine. I'll set you up with a hidden microphone so that we can hear the deal - that'll give me an idea of when I'll need to start pulling the trigger, too." He said. "We'll get through this just as long as you don't try playing the hero. Do as they ask, and if anything goes sour, you can be sure that the rogue sniper will spring into action. Don't even doubt it." He said, then looked at Thalia. He pushed Tony further away.

"The most likely thing is the port's the best place for an ambush." He said. "So you need to be on your guard. While there's a lot of places for me and Thalia to set up shop, there's a lot of places for more men to hide, as well. So don't fuck around." He said. "Another thing, Tony... You've seen the list of The Ten. Why didn't you tell me there was even a possibility that that was your cousin's name on there? Why did you keep it quiet? Because if you ask me, I'm getting more and more suspicious that you're hiding something."
 
Surely, this wouldn't be the final face-off between the cop and criminal, but it was going to be revisited at some point in the future. Perhaps when the aftermath of Tony's deal with Roland unfolds. But for now, James was putting himself in the middle and ordering them both to stand down. Thalia was ready to do exactly that, but if Tony was going to keep his hand around her neck like that and threaten to lay a finger on her, she'd fight back accordingly, in self defense. Probably not to kill him, but to at least bring him close to it again. One thing's for certain: this rivalry was far from cured. Even with the threat of certain doom... well, Thalia feared James as much as she respected him. She worried that he'd do something horrible to her if she ever disobeyed him from day one. It's one of the reasons she was close to walking towards the beginning of this journey, simply to not deal with it. But now she was far too deep to just walk away, and she lived with a sort of anxiety, a fear, that if she were to screw up, he'd end her. But clearly, killing a man didn't lose that trust. Or was James treating her like a handicapped individual, assuming she's mentally unstable? Whichever it was, she wasn't dead or on the street yet, or even on thin ice. The most she's done so far was going out on her own and bringing an injured friend home. Tony, though, had quite a history with James, one that made everyone question why he was still breathing... then again, no one has seen James actually kill someone yet. Perhaps that's what made Tony seem so invincible. In fact, he feared death by Thalia's hand more than James, only because she actually maimed him. James had quite a patience, but even the most patient have a breaking point. Was Tony approaching his?

James put space between the two once again, Tony releasing Thalia's neck form his grip and unclenching his fist. Not now, apparently. Huffing, he spoke, "We won't have a problem... so long as Thalia is upfront with us about this deal. Any tricks in play?"

Now free from the holds of a larger, maybe even stronger, man, Thalia couldn't help but feel over her neck where she'd been grabbed. It did have a bit of a stinging, burning sensation where she'd been grabbed. Naturally, as a girl, being manhandled wasn't pleasant for her, especially after years of her neck being grabbed at, and just recently burned. With a choke, she shook her head and answered, "No tricks, Tony, I swear. Ra's is just playing this smart: somewhere he has control over, and somewhere he knows he'll be alone. He used shipping and industrial areas like that to create rendezvous points back in Philly, too, so this isn't all that surprising. Then again, he had ALL of Philly under his command. But if he's already claimed the port of LA? He's moving fast, and is not wasting time to take over the city. He's not just some duplex in Burbank anymore. I bet by now, he's recruiting by the dozens and expanding his territory. Purchasing assets, probably."

"Mmm..." Tony hated being wrong, but hated Thalia being right even more. He had to refute this, somehow. "Quit getting off-topic. Ra's wants me to worship him. What the hell should I do? Just bow before him and pray to whatever fucking god he believes in?"

"He doesn't believe in a god, Tony," Thalia shook her head. "HE'S his own god. And he wants you to show him some sort of respect. Just... fake it." It came out with a sigh as her hands left her neck and to her sides. Worshiping Ra's was a disgusting idea for even her to toy with. And she hated having to tell someone to do exactly that. "If he asks you to do something too extreme, James will strike, or at least... I hope we can. If Ra's has the port, we need a really sneaky location that he won't look for. I could help, being someone who know how he tactically functions. But... just do what he says, Tony. It's not pretty, but if he asks you to do anything, just do it within reason."

"Do what he says?" the detective scoffed, displeased with such an order. "If he asks me to rape a 13 year old, do I do that? Or lick his asshole? Do I 'do what he says'?"

"I said within reason. If he makes you do anything like that, we'll kill whoever we can. Just know your place..." Her tone became more aggressive with Tony's doubts. Her eyebrows crossed, her body tensing up, but she kept her distance. "...And don't fuck this up. It's my ass on the line, too. Ra's is probably wondering how you got a hold of his number. If he assumes it's from Roland, we're in the clear. If not... we may have a problem with MY cover. So you keep that in the dark, please?"

Tony shook his head. "I know my place, psycho bitch. I won't blow your cover. I've already done a great job blowing it myself. Ra's has probably heard reports on the news that you were cooperating with me. So it's probably too late for you anyway. So much for that dumb engagement pendant you have on."

Thalia was amazed that she'd kept the black-painted metal cross around her neck for as long as she did. It sickened her to know it was a gift of a marital promise from a man she didn't love, but it was also a way of remembering her past. Not to mention aesthetically cool. When Tony brought it up and gestured his hand in its direction, Thalia looked down at it. It wasn't all that hidden anyway, seeing she was in a tank top. She didn't even want to hide it. Why would she? Jenny admitted she liked it, and even if it came from a bad memory of her past, Thalia chose to keep it around her neck. She discarded of the ring, however. If she were to promise marriage with anyone, it certainly wasn't with her abuser. Still, it may be too late to go back to Ra's anyway, if he's watching the news. Rumors floating around about her conspiracy with Tony, who's been arrested according to the public eye, were already floating around. She was blown, but she'd already delivered a fair punishment to Tony. All she did was ignore his remarks about her choice of accessories and step back against the wall to leave Tony and James to discuss another issue: Sam. She even had to pitch in:

"He's right, Tony," she nodded. "You should've caught this. I didn't know your last name when I wrote up that list, or at least I didn't remember it. How did you overlook that one of them had the same last name as you?"

Busted... or was he? Could Tony still play on the story? Why did he keep his cousin's involvement under the books, anyway? To not get any sympathy about it? Or was there more to it? He gulped, a bit of sweat dripping from his now-unkept hair, and answered in his usually aggressive tone, "You tell me this: why didn't YOU recognize it later when you knew MY last name, psycho bitch?"

Groaning and taking a seat on the floor, back against the wall, Thalia shut her eyes and asked him as politely as she still had the energy to, "Please stop calling me that. I'm not crazy."

"Not crazy? Bull-fucking-shit," he said with a bit of a laugh. "You murdered a man two nights ago, you gouged Roland's eye out three nights ago, and you almost killed me last night. You expect us to believe you don't have something wrong with your head?"

Now fed up, Thalia, after having just sat down, stood right back up, a death glare directed at Tony, and once again, acted as the bigger person. "You know what? I don't need this. If you need me, I'm gonna find Karin or Jenny and actually talk to someone I enjoy being around. I've got my mom and brother coming tonight, so I don't wanna be stressed. Call me when we're gonna leave."

As she made her way out of James' room, Tony called out one last remark, "Tell me, are you planning on murdering one of them tonight?"

Thalia's heart sank as she stopped herself halfway out the door. No... never... Consciously, at least, the answer would be that. But what if that deranged feeling took over on one of them? Or on someone else in full view of her mother? What would happen in that case? As much as she denied being crazy, she secretly feared she might be. Sighing, she continued on her way out, feeling no need to explain herself further.

That left Tony and James alone in the room, a duo that were once a sort of companions, but now at complete odds. Now came time for Tony to justify himself for not coming clean earlier. "I didn't come forward because I didn't want to give Thalia a reason to kill him," he admitted with a sigh. "I knew she was dangerous when I figured out she might've killed Richie. After reading over the file of the mystery redhead. I couldn't take a chance and have her want to kill Sam out of spite just because he's family. But also..." An emotional play on the situation. One that was actually genuine for once. "...I thought he could be helped, that he wasn't like those thieves and pedophiles in Al-Asheera. But maybe... maybe I was wrong. But I would never give up on a fellow Walsh. He's family, and no matter how brainwashed he is by Ra's, I want to help him get out of that tough spot. If Thalia is as innocent as you claim she is... so is Sam. I wanted to help, but if I came forward, no one would believe me. I'm just surprised Thalia didn't notice this sooner... or you, James. How come YOU didn't notice this before?"

Just mentioning that Tony might have something to hide made his bones shiver slightly. Would James figure out his master plan to completely screw over Thalia before it even took flight? Stay focused, Tony.... Can't back down now.
 
"Okay, big boy. I'm going to make it clear to you, the difference between Thalia and Sam." He said, then cleared his throat. "Thalia didn't rape your girlfriend." He said. "So if you're going to stand in front of me and say to me that even though your own flesh and blood has had the audacity to bend your girlfriend over and give her a seeing to, and yet you still don't want the guy dead for that, then I'm going to call you a liar." He said. "I'll either call you that, or a fake man. That's all I'll say. And I don't want you to take that as a personal attack - It's just the god-honest truth." He sighed, "I understand, he's your cousin, but cousin or not..."

"I don't know a single man out there that would allow his own cousin to rape his girlfriend and then say that he can be 'helped' - Every man I know wouldn't stop until his cousin was behind bars or dead. One of the two." He explained. "That's why you need to realize the difference between friends and enemies. Thalia may not be your friend, but she's not your enemy, either. By now she could have ordered to have Melissa killed, to have her head dropped in the street in front of your house, but she hasn't done that. She didn't kill you - Sure, someone talked her down, but if she hated you enough, she'd have just convinced herself to sneak into your room while you were more or less in a coma."

"You were weak, frail, half-dead. Holding a pillow over your face and claiming you died from your injuries wouldn't be hard thing to pull off. But she didn't do that - You need to ask yourself, if your cousin is there, will he be loyal to his cousin, or will he be loyal to the man he sees as a god?" He asked. "Religion does crazy things - and this is a cult. Cults are the worst kind. It's a cult where one man has claimed himself to be the savior. Remember what happened in Jonestown all those years ago? One man claimed to be the savior, and before you knew it, 900 people had killed themselves because this man had claimed it's what they were destined for."

"You've got people running around left, right, and center robbing people, killing people, torturing people, raping young teenage girls and young women, all for pleasure and for the satisfaction of this man they refer to as a god among men. A prophet. If your cousin has fallen into that trap, Tony, the trap where he thinks it's right to fuck his cousin's girlfriend while she's locked up and suffering, all because some 'god' said it was okay to do so, do you really think I'm going to hold back on shooting him if he tries anything?"

"Like it or not, your cousin is a member of The Ten. All of them need to die, or they need to be locked away in isolation, because if they're not, then LA will eventually fall and be left to be fucked up until they decide to set up shop somewhere else. As much as I hate to say it, your cousin isn't an exception. Just remember who's behind the scary gun tonight, and remember that the same guy's willing to put one in your rapist cousin's skull if he does as much as scratch his balls too quickly." He said. Once again, another threat that didn't sound like an empty one. He had no reason to doubt it - James would be up in a concealed location firing shots off into a crowd of people. It wouldn't be something he struggled with, and putting a bullet in Sam the moment Thalia identified him wasn't going to be difficult, either. The Ten were going to fall.

"We've got rapists and murderers, and then we've got Thalia. Thalia may be a killer, Tony, but she's not gone around molesting underaged kids. She's not slit all our throats in our sleep despite all our arguments, and she doesn't believe that this fruitcake Ra's is a god, either. You can see that just in the way she talks about him. The fact that someone who grew up around those animals is willing to help bring them down is nothing short of a miracle. Because if she weren't here, I would have dropped you and Frank on your asses a long time ago after all your little shenanigans and screw-ups, and I'd be halfway across the country by now. Tonight, she's going to be the one helping me cover your ass. If you still don't believe she's loyal, tonight she'll prove it. She'll prove it by protecting the man who's abused her endlessly since the day they met. By selling out the man she was almost going to be forced into marriage with."

"I can understand why you didn't tell Thalia about Tony. But what about me?" He asked. "My terms at the start of this were I know anything and everything - yet this is something you kept quiet." He reached up and gently started to scratch his chin. "You know if you worked with me, something might have been able to be done for Sam, but now, we're not even far away from coming face to face with these bastards, and for some reason now felt like the best time to bring it up? I'm sorry, Tony, but I don't buy it. Why didn't you tell me about it sooner if you were so concerned? I'd have thought that that would have been one of the most important things to bring up before anything else." He said.

He was going to question it, because honestly, he found it fishy, and Tony had already proven to be slippery. If James found out that Tony had some sort of secret plan for Sam... Things were going to go down in flames. They were meant to be together on this - whenever James found out the full story, though, that was going to be a time to remember.

"Just to clarify, I didn't notice this before because I'd been too busy cleaning up everyone else's fuck-ups. Your family. Your responsibility to tell me."
 
The truth was: Tony didn't approve of his cousin abusing his girlfriend. This entire time, he was hoping for a distant miracle that either Thalia had made a mistake with the list, bit it an accident or to intentionally piss him off, or that Sam wasn't entirely brainwashed by the corrupt ideals of Al-Asheera. But after hearing the turned family member on the line embracing the rituals and mentality of the criminal syndicate, Tony didn't need James to inform him that Sam was a forever hopeless case. But the mastermind's words did spark a question in his mind: if Al-Asheera corrupts with no hope of coming back, how could any of them explain Thalia? Eight years being the one-day Bride of the Head should've made her rock solid and unbreakable. But she was very quick to give in to confessing everything in the beginning. Maybe too quick. Maybe she wasn't corrupted by Ra's entirely, and all this time, she was waiting for an opportunity to reveal it all, an opportunity that wouldn't get her killed or locked up. And that so happened to be the moment she was in handcuffs on Karin's couch.

On point, though, as this debate with James was far from over. "No. Now that Sam has shown his true colors, there's no way I'd allow him to breathe another breath as a free man. He's a son of a bitch with no heart or conscience, brainwashed by the reign of Ra's. Like you said: a cult, and they've established their savior. And this is just going to get bigger and bigger. Seeing Sam is a part of The Ten, who knows? If we spare him, he might take up the highest position of Al-Asheera and just keep this dark cloud over our heads. And with how far gone he is..." Tony gulped. James might've expected the next words to be death, but the detective's morals went beyond that. "I'm gonna make sure he sees a maximum sentence with no crawling out of his hole. James, Sam has to see justice. That what he's done and what he believes is wrong. Killing him won't teach him ANYTHING. But if he sees proper justice, like I wanted Thalia to see..."

Would Thalia still see that? With the deal they'd cut and with James backing her? Would the mystery redhead see the inside of a prison cell in this lifetime? Frank may not back her as hard as he did when their feelings were more intimate. But Karin, James' girlfriend? She had the greatest influence of them all to keep her friend out of prison. And at this rate, Tony's dreams of binding the woman he blamed for his partner's downfall in cuffs and locking her up for the maximum sentence were out of the question. When this was over, odds are, Thalia would have a new identity, probably not in LA or Philly or anywhere she'd previously lived, and a new life to make the best of. And the police wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"...if he sees proper justice, he might consider. But there's no way I'll let that bastard walk a free man after what he did to Mel. I don't WANT to have Sam killed, so if he shows up at that meet, I ask you nicely: immobilize him. Only kill him if you must. I at least want my final words with him. Let him know how he's hurt us. You can't possibly deny me that, James. If this were your family, wouldn't you want that privilege?"

Family might've been a sensitive topic to James, unbeknownst to Tony, but it was unlikely he'd react. Not like Tony was expecting him to blow up for mentioning the uncertain family of this individual. "When this is over," Tony continued, "I want nothing to do with any of this. Mel and I will go our separate ways, and I want nothing to do with you or Thalia or any of this. I'd add Frank, but I can tell HE doesn't want any part of my life anymore. He may not understand why I did what I did with the gun, but maybe with time, he will. But I feel at this point, Frank wants jack shit to do with me... or has he spoken to you?" Tony was genuinely wondering where their partnership would go beyond this. This wasn't the first time Tony had breached his limits with his partner... and now he crossed the line even further by framing Frank. Was there any coming back? As a cop, no way. But as friends? Was that ever a deal?

Apologies were in order for hiding this. James was right: the deal was he knows everything, and Tony withheld information. "You want a flimsy apology, 'big boy'?" he imitated the nickname he'd been given this past while lifting his fingers in a quoting manner. "You have it. I'm sorry. But I hope you get why I didn't tell you about Sam. I wanted proof. This proof, that he couldn't be helped. The second he told me to fuck myself just like any other member of Al-Asheera, I knew he was gone. Too far gone. I just... maybe he can learn. Maybe. And that's why I ask: don't kill him, and don't let Thalia go full rampaging maniac on him. Please."

--

Instinctively, Thalia wanted the comfort of one of her closest female friends under this roof. She hadn't a clue where Karin was, and just a peek at the pool, her usual hotspot, revealed nothing. She was still unaware of the encounter between Jenny and Frank, including the exchange of insults and glass being thrown back and forth. It did come to a somewhat peaceful resolution, but it also made for Frank to be the last person she wanted to intentionally square up with. He was probably a bit dazed by the drinks, and not to mention that her discomfort around Jordan still lingered. But like she promised James, she'd try not to go entirely silent around him. At least a hi. It was painful for her, but if she didn't at least try to make an effort, who would? So instead, she entered that very bedroom she'd slept in for the first few nights to come face to face with none other than the other half of that debacle: Jenny, who was laying down in the comfort of the bed for the moment. Once she saw her childhood friend enter the room, she gave her a warming smile and rolled on her side to sit upright. This needed a welcoming gesture, so she stood up and got closer to Thalia, who, likewise, was happy to see her friend again. A friendly, non-hostile face that she could be open around. It only became more pleasant when Jenny motioned her arms in the form of an embrace, in which Thalia replied likewise. Finally, someone who made her feel good about herself in the midst of her depression. Once they separated, Jenny kept her arms around Thalia's neck, face in close proximity, and spoke,

"How's saving the city going, Beautiful One?"

Strange... Jenny knew her clan name? Since when? Raising an eyebrow but keeping the smile on her face, she asked, "That's a peculiar choice of name. Where'd you hear that from?"

"That guy who attacked me," she answered. "He kept talking about someone named... Al-Jameela? I googled a translation, and took a guess that it was what you were called. But still... you are pretty."

As her face grew slightly red, Thalia bowed her head to let her hair fall over her face, grinning awkwardly and uttering, "No, I'm not pretty. Not even close."

Jenny took a gentle grip over Thalia's neck and used it to lift her head back up. "You are... you were since we were kids, and I guess.... I always saw that in you?"

In a light scoff, the redhead answered, "Well, you proved actions speak louder than words in middle school."

"Not anymore. I'm not gonna lie to myself anymore. I like you, and it's clear you like me."

Jenny was keeping the topic as far away from Frank as possible, even far away from the argument they'd been involved in earlier. Thalia didn't mind. Frank was the last person she wanted to think of or discuss anyway. Still blushing, she gave a gentle nod. "You were my first love... You have a really special place in my heart."

"You were my first love too..." Both girls could feel the sort of spark between them in that moment, even after their moment on the bathroom floor. Maybe together, they were meant to be something more. What if they were something more from middle school? Regrets filled both of their minds in that moment. They didn't want to regret any more. As Jenny leaned a bit closer to kiss Thalia, she was stopped... the latter had something to say.

"Jen... I promise you, when this is over, we will be far, far away from any of this. We won't be chased or followed. W-We can move out of LA, wherever you want, but I need to finish what I started to stop the man that..."

"Shhh...." With that, Thalia was stopped, Jenny cutting off her words with a quick kiss to her lips, then whispered, "Still talkative as ever... you go save the world, or whatever it is you're doing, and I'll be here waiting for you when it's all over. I promise. Now... shut up and kiss me."

That sold the deal for Thalia, succumbing to the primal desire she had to throw herself at Jenny, quite literally doing so, clinging to the back of her top as if for dear life and furthering her kiss into something more intense. As a result, her partner swung her around, back facing the bed instead, and pushed her into the bed on her back. She let herself be tossed into the comfortable surface, missing that place where she'd slept so well so long ago. She then noticed Jenny follow her in, right on top of her, cupping her face with her hands, bodies up against each other. And all Thalia could do is let it happen. She didn't want anything more than that. She'd been through far too much for one lifetime. All she wanted was someone who'd understand her and help her. For a while, she thought that'd be Frank. But maybe this whole time, he was passed that phase. Jenny wasn't. She was young, like Thalia, and wanted that sort of spark all the same. This similarity in desires lead them to be more compatible than they'd thought. Though Thalia did feel guilty for literally moving in on Jenny the day after she'd broken things off with Frank, she couldn't deny what her heart wanted. It wanted to feel something, and though she wanted that 'something' to be pain, she eventually came to terms to want to be loved instead. Because she was in love, now, with someone who she'd felt something for for so long.
 
"My family are a very different case to yours, Tony, believe me. If most of them were in this position I'd shoot them in a heartbeat." He sighed, simply. A dark hint about James' past to Tony - Tony didn't know the whole story of abandonment and James' own quirkiness which caused his family's hatred to spiral out of control. Would he really put them to death if they did something similar to what Tony's cousin had done? It was a topic up for debate, but given the harsh history he had, unless something changed, James' family were dead to him a long time ago.

"Don't worry, though, Sam will be spared, even if it has to be for a minute or two. You can be sure that if shit hits the fan he won't be one to die immediately. I'll give him enough to put him down but you'll definitely have a few minutes to talk to him before he slips away. Best case scenario, we subdue him to the point where he can be captured, pressed for more information, and once we get a confession out of him we can record it and send him into a cell." He nodded. If James had proved anything, he'd proved he was a man of his word. It wasn't often that the things he said didn't happen - He said he'd help Thalia's family, and hey presto, he'd already sent someone who saved their life on a couple of occasions - Occasion one: Getting them out of Philly. Occasion two: San Francisco Internation Airport.

"Thalia won't be allowed to go crazy on him." He nodded, surely. A big promise to uphold, but it wasn't just for Tony's benefit - it was for Thalia's, too. She couldn't keep doing the violent things she'd been exposed to over the last few days, because eventually it would break her more than it already had. Thalia cracking and having a mental breakdown wasn't something anyone wanted to deal with, so, discreetly, James was going to keep her on a tighter leash. Interrogation was fine, but he wasn't going to let anything too extreme occur.

The bottom line? Sam would get what he deserved, in this life or the next.

"If you don't want anything more to do with me, I will help you make sure you never see me again. As counterproductive as that sounds." He shrugged. "As for Frank... He's continuing his pursuit with The Clover Boys. Alone. Not a wise move, but, I think if you went to him now, he's mentally broken enough to be civil. It's no secret he was drinking this morning, but, he hasn't admitted that." He said. "He's already told me he wants out of here as soon as possible. Him and Jordan. He says Jordan's stressed here, even if he doesn't voice it. Being around so many people takes its toll, obviously." He explained.

"He asked me to help him get a new ID as soon as possible, just so he can go and rent his own place without someone tracking him. He'd rent a place out on his own, claim it's for 'him and his son'. That would be all she wrote - If you want to make things right with him, do it soon, and do it while he's not completely insane. He's been through a lot over the past few days, and even though I'm not exactly contributing to his cause, at least not yet, I can tell he feels very... Alone in all of this. Even though he's surrounded by people, he's subconsciously isolating himself. No one's worked overly hard to help him out since Jordan's gotten here. The only person who did something major was McAllister who gave Jordan's room a scrub-down after he woke up after a night terror. Quite messy." He shrugged.

"The bottom line is, Bradan is still out there. If you want to help Frank, with or without a badge, now would be the time to try and make things right." He said. "Because even if you guys aren't friends... Those bastards under Bradan's command are scanning this city high and low for Jordan. McAllister himself said so."

--

Now, over to Frank - He figured it was high time he went and found Thalia and sorted things out, set things straight. He didn't know if the future was going to be a possibility, but, after what he was going to accidentally walk in on, the possibility wouldn't be something he'd be interested in any further. Either way, no need to get ahead of things before they actually happened. As per, Jordan was entertaining himself by spending time with Joseph, who was, as usual, being pretty good and patient with him. It was what he needed, really - people who understood that he didn't want to speak. Or couldn't, rather. It was why he was worried about meeting this new boy that would apparently be arriving in the evening at some point.

That was something he wanted to talk to Frank about - What if this new kid didn't like him, or what if Joseph liked the new kid more than him and didn't spend any time with him anymore? Fear of social rejection. A crippling fear most people have from a very young age - now was Jordan's time for that to peak. With no family left and a single carer who he could speak to, the idea of losing his only friend in the world right now made his stomach roll over inside him.

He'd come to realize all would be fine - In fact, everything would be better once they had yet another boy of the same age group in with them. A lot more fun, no doubt.

Until then, though, Frank had his own issues to worry about. Thalia. He was going to keep it nice and simple - 'Thalia, no hard feelings, hopefully we can stay on good grounds and just help each other out here and there' - Something along those lines. Keep things simple and easy to go by, with no forced dedications or anything like that.

He'd seen her go into her room, and he could only assume she was in there alone. In a burst of nervousness and worry over a possible second heartbreak, he went to the door and after one quick knock he stepped inside. But, what he saw wasn't something he was expecting - Jenny and Thalia on the bed together, one on top of the other. And it didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on between them.

His face went from 'ready for action' to 'I wanna' fuckin' die' in an instant, and his hand hovered back over the doorknob as he walked backwards out the doorway.

"Sorry, I wanted to--.. I thought you were alone. Sorry." He whispered, quickly, and he stepped out and quickly closed the door over behind him. As soon as he was in the clear, he sucked in a deep breath as if he hadn't tasted oxygen in hours, and with his head low he quickly paced back to the kitchen.

Immediately, he was asking more questions - Jenny. Would he still be friendly with her?

Thalia - Did she break up with him just because she was in love with Jenny this whole time? Was it really anything to do with Jordan in the first place?

More importantly, how had she moved on that quick?

Well, two could play at that game, he was sure. He was one for grudges of all types, and if it meant going out and trying to get into bed with the most beautiful woman he could find, he'd flash her around and make it known that him and her were a thing. He knew that wanting to get revenge or spark jealousy was a bad thing, but after what he'd just seen, he was still alive but barely breathing.
 
The euphoric feeling and consumption in her moment with Jenny was very short-lived for Thalia. Shortly after she'd been laid down on the bed and dominated by her now-girlfriend, taken over by that desire for intimacy, the cracks of the door to the bedroom startled them both. Clearly, a shut door would signify to at least knock before entry. Frank did, but he assumed Thalia would be alone. How could he predict she'd already be, quite literally, in bed with someone else? It certainly didn't look good on her part, not in the slightest. Her goal wasn't to make Frank jealous. Not at all. Whatever she'd succumbed to was purely instinctive with hardly any thought for her actions or their consequences. Simply getting caught had a heavy weight to it. And when Frank found himself interrupting their little moment, Jenny quickly fell from her position over Thalia to her side, now facing Frank and equally shocked. After just making peace with him, this wasn't exactly a sign of good faith. It felt much more like 'I'm stealing your heartbroken girlfriend' than 'we have a mutual friend to watch over.' Then again, it wasn't Jenny's intention to 'steal' Thalia. She wanted her old friend to get past her sorrows, and if that sparked something more, then so be it. After all, Karin didn't want her leaving the house. This was the next best option. And it proved to be dangerous, too, very early on. But Thalia was the most caught off guard... Frank's reaction, his face... her reaction was equally put down. This wasn't what she wanted. A light whimper escaped her lips as she thought over potential explanations for this. And before she could even tell him anything as small as an apology, he quickly ran away. He'd seen enough anyway.

"W-Wait... Frank?" She called, leaning forward in her seat, in a futile attempt to get Frank to listen to her. It would go unheard, unfortunately. Was it too late for them to be friends now? "Frank... this is not what it looks like..." Her lean forward felt more like she was reaching out for one last call to Frank, who clearly wasn't in the mood for talking anymore. And she couldn't blame him. After his girlfriend broke up with him, then he quite literally catches her in bed with someone else the next day? It sure didn't look good for either of the girls.

But Jenny wasn't going to let the hard feelings get the better of her, placing an arm on Thalia's shoulder to get her attention, "T... He's... Um... I'm sorry. We shouldn't have done that when anyone could walk in."

All Thalia gave as a response was a gentle shake of her head, just staring at the door where she'd last seen Frank, and not even a glance back at Jenny. "He's gone, isn't he? Like, there was hope before that someone would take that kid off his hands, and now that he's seen this, there's no way he'll ever love me again."

Thalia's distaste for the entire situation was evident, to the degree that she didn't even want to call Jordan by his name anymore. Her feelings for Frank were some mixture of love and hate, but a halfway point that made her want him in some deep core of her heart. Jenny, being the voice of reason, had to interrupt. "Thalia, he was already gone when you realized you couldn't live the life he wanted. It was over back then."

"Yeah, and what about my dreams?" she sniffled, clenching her fists in her lap. "What about my feelings? Do you think this whole thing doesn't hurt me, too? Especially now that he saw us together?"

"I get it... I do, and so far, I don't think anyone has appealed to what you wanted as well as me..." It might've been rather arrogant to say, but until now, who has made Thalia truly smile since the breakup? Not even Karin. "But it might just not be meant to be with Frank, and you have to come to terms with that, as unfortunate as it is. I'm so sorry that it came to an end like this..."

Her words were cut short with the increasing loudness of Thalia's sniffles, slowly turning into tears, and her head swinging down into her palms, tearing up once again. All Jenny could do to remedy the situation was sit upright and engulf Thalia in her arms from behind. She could hear her friend whimpering in the tears, "It's not fair... why does my heart keep getting broken like this... why? I loved him... but now I... I don't know anymore..."

The hard work put into piecing her friend's self esteem back together was broken just by that simple interruption. And now, all Jenny knew how to supply was a caring smile and hug. Kissing her again might make her even more on edge. By now, she probably felt extra guilty for their affair and probably didn't want to do anything of the sort any longer. The situation now became much more complicated in the blink of an eye. And surely the rest of the house would soon hear about what just happened. Frank would tell, no doubt. Thalia might slut-shame herself as a result, might make another attempt at her life. She could only hope not. But again, there was very little to do with someone this stubborn and, in some ways, unstable. Patience was clearly a virtue here.

--

A promise was made to preserve Sam for as long as possible, just so Tony could pass on his final words to his partner. But there was a far more pressing matter at hand: Frank, a matter that many people in the house seemed to look past now that he was a distance away from the action and more focused on a simpler, calmer lifestyle. And the last person even remotely concerned with him had broken up with him and added heartbreak to the mess of emotions in his heart. But could those emotions be put to better use by the helping hand of a friend? Was Tony even a friend anymore? Could that be changed by any distant chance? It seemed like James was tempting him to. And deep down, Tony didn't want to lose another partner like this. And if Frank wanted to take on the Clover Boys alone? He'd never survive that. It only felt right for this veteran detective to fulfill his duties as an officer of the law and a friend to his partner and join him on what might become a lone crusade soon enough. Tony never had kids of his own and probably wouldn't be able to properly handle Jordan, but at the very least, he could be a friend to Frank for once. Was there room for forgiveness after ruining Frank's life? Tony could only hope so.

But there would be no room in Thalia's heart for forgiveness with the aftermath of his actions.

James' words prompted Tony to instantly turn away and make for the exit from the bedroom. But not without a few final words, "Frank needs a man who he can relate to in all of this, James. A fellow cop. His partner. A man he can depend on and prevent from him getting shot. He may want to be alone and isolate himself from everything, but I know deep down... Frank wants to have someone on his side. Maybe I can extend an olive branch for him now. Show him some good will. I never meant to frame him. My mistake was a split second thing. And maybe he won't understand that now, but I want him to know that, even if he feels like he's alone, he's not. He's always gonna have me there for him... Now if you'll excuse me."

Whatever James had told him was motivating enough for Tony to leg it out of the room and make his way to the hallways of the expansive mansion. His goal? Frank. He needed to catch him alone - preferably without anyone, adult or otherwise, in the room - just so he could apologize and make things right. But when he finally found his partner, he was in for a surprise: a depressed, upset look had shown. Tony raised an eyebrow in confusion. What'd happened? Who hurt his partner? Anyone at all? Or was this just a disappointing moment with Jordan? He didn't know, but he really did. Taking a few nervous steps closer, Tony uttered his words of introduction in hopes of getting a reaction, even just a few words in reply from Frank would've made his day.

"Frank..." he sighed, piecing his words together carefully, "You can't imagine how sorry I am about yesterday. You know that whatever I did yesterday with your gun was impulsive and not intentional to frame you at all..." Tony was unaware of how much Frank new about other details: him ratting out James and Thalia, the beat-down he'd received as a result, even the plans to exchange Roland for Melissa, was he in the loop about that? It mattered not, anyway. "Listen... you don't have to forgive me just yet, Frank, but I figured you need to know... you're not alone in this uphill struggle, pal. I'm there, and I've got your back. Because that's the sort of partner I am. I'm loyal to my own even in the worst of times. And times are tough between us both. Maybe it can get better after we iron out the creases, but even if that'll take time, I'll happily go the distance just so you and I can try to go back to the unstoppable duo we were on day one. Al-Asheera? The Clover Boys? Our war against them? It's still on. It's OUR war. Don't you forget that."

It didn't seem like Frank was entirely focused. He was... out of it. Very out of it. Something was wrong. Tony's look became more confused, even concerned. Whether Frank believed it was genuine or not wasn't important. Tony knew it was truly how he felt. Stepping a bit closer, he asked, "Frank... what's going on? You don't look alright. Is it Jordan? Is he okay?"

Half of Tony's mind told him to blame Thalia. But that wouldn't be necessary anymore. Not after his sinister plans for her in the future.
 
Whatever mood Frank was in was in some ways considerably better than the one he'd been in over the last couple of days. It was clear just in his demeanor that having Jordan around for just a short time had changed him, as could be expected. Having a young boy such as him was bound to make some changes to the man who was providing care for him. Now, Frank didn't want any more enemies. He was sick of being alone, and even if Thalia was never intending to hurt him, she had. He was broken in more ways than he originally was, and seeing the girl who'd spoken so much about 'helping a mutual friend' in bed with the person Frank was still quite heavily in love with was another kick in the teeth. She'd lectured him so much about Thalia being so hurt and broken, but from that, he couldn't see it. All he could see in her now was someone who could shed a few tears and make a few empty promises.

Maybe a bad approach to have, but, it was the most logical path to take now. Now, his mind had changed, and he wasn't so sure if he wanted Thalia in his nor Jordan's life. Even 'still friends' was a bit of a push now. How could they ever be on good terms after that? Frank knew it wasn't going to be him making the effort to set things straight any more. If Thalia wanted things clear with him, as far as he saw it, she was going to have to buck up and talk to him herself - and give an explanation. He didn't want Jenny, Karin, James, Joseph, or Tony to explain anything to him. He wanted her to come forward and tell him why things unfolded that way, and only then would he consider some form of reconciliation.

But even after that, he knew that things wouldn't ever be at the same level they were before. To him, nothing could truly justify what he'd saw. Especially under the roof where they both knew Frank could easily see them both together. All in good time, though. His mind was a mess about everything - the validity of the relationship between himself and Thalia, the friendship he'd had betrayed by Tony, how much he meant to everyone in the household, and now, how much he was really capable of supporting Jordan. He'd never cared for a kid long-term in his life. And now here he was having a breakdown about a failed relationship. Was that normal? Should he have been acting like that? Or was he too weak to support anyone? Let alone a boy who had lost his whole family?

It was all extremely heartbreaking.

But before he knew it, one man stepped forward to him - Tony.

He decided to hear him out - he felt too depressed and sad to be aggressive or rejecting.

"Please... Sit down." He whispered, motioning across to the seat in front of him. He'd since sat down at the breakfast table once he'd gotten into the kitchen. There was a big apology, yet one that wasn't expected to be accepted - Tony heard some surprising words, though, that was for sure. "Tony, I forgive you. I forgave you almost immediately, for god's sake." He whimpered, covering his eyes with his hand and resting his elbow on the table. "I know it wasn't intentional to try and throw me under the bus - Even if it was, who gives a shit anymore?" He asked. "We're both fucked anyway, no matter how you look at it. We've got no career, no police to back us, and a dysfunctional team trying to take on two of the biggest gangs LA - and even the entire country - have ever seen. I just... I can't spend my last days alone. Not anymore. I went from having everyone having my back to no one, and you know something? The only person who doesn't look at me like I'm a fucking asshole anymore is Jordan." He sniffled. "By some fucking miracle he still looks at me like I'm the greatest man alive, and I don't understand why." He shook his head.

"What's wrong with me? I..." He had to pause. He didn't want to throw Thalia directly under the bus, but, he had to be somewhat truthful, otherwise he was going to be miserable. He could hold his own grudges - but he didn't want Tony holding one for him. He had to make that clear. "You were right, okay?" He sniffled. "You were right. I never should have gotten involved. I never should have even stepped close, but now it's too late and it's all came crashing down on my head and I've got the world against me. I won't deny - you were right." He quickly wiped his eyes. "It's not anything to do with Jordan. Jordan's been playing a game with Joseph for a good couple of hours now... He's been laughing, it's... Really nice to hear it." He nodded, surely. At least he was in a peaceful state when he spoke about Jordan. Could anyone really blame him? Outside of all the trauma, Jordan was a cute kid. A nice one, too.

"I'm just sick, Tony." He whispered. "I'm sick of everything, and with everything that's been going on, I've been looking for reasons to not continue." He said. "It sounds pathetic, but, that's how I feel. I just wish something would come along and give me the chance to give it all up. The truth is, I don't enjoy police work. Sure, I enjoy putting assholes behind bars and solving these big mysteries without any clues, and I take pleasure in taking out these gangs and all that, but the police in general? Fuck me, I never liked it, okay?" He said, his voice finally cracking. "And I'm ashamed because I've been lying to myself this whole time, ever since I lost my sister, and I've been looking for reasons to continue. I thought becoming a detective would help me, but it just made the empty space in me even wider. Now that I'm not a detective, I surprisingly feel... Better?" He sniffled, but his voice was filled with confusion. "I lost a good friend, and I'm now caring for his son, but having Jordan to look after? Having someone... Vulnerable, someone who needs me there? It's... Helping in its own little way. And I feel so disgusting for feeling that way." He shook his head.

"I don't even feel capable anymore. I've done a good job so far, but... Things have happened and everything feels so fake. I don't even want to... Be here anymore, and that's not a lie." He shook his head. "I don't even feel like I have purpose. I was drinking at eleven in the morning, for god's sake. How can I look after Jordan when I can't even look after myself?" He asked. "I made a choice, and that choice was to sacrifice what I had and look after Jordan instead - and now everyone hates me for it." He said. "And that hurts, Tony. I thought I made the right choice..." He paused for a minute. "Did I?" He asked.

Tony probably didn't know exclusively what Frank was talking about, but there was a chance he could at least somewhat figure it out.

"Whatever happens, Tony, as much as you thought I might have hated you... I don't want you dead." He said. "I know what happened, and what you did with the LAPD is a shitty thing but we have to move past it." He gulped, "Please, just keep James as your friend. If Thalia doesn't kill you, you know he'll find a way to do it no matter how far you run. You need to get Mel back and settle down for a good life, have a few kids, raise them, retire happy when you get older. You deserve that." He nodded. "Please, just tell me you're not going to try and make enemies out of these guys again. I don't want you to receive a beating you don't wake up from, okay?" He said. "I probably look fucking crazy for opening up to you like this, but, now you know the truth. I'm not happy, and I don't believe in myself anymore." He said.

Frank's mind was all over the place, evidently. Was there anything Tony could say that would give him some reassurance? He could figure out that Thalia had something to do with this quite easily, too - Would he calm down on everything now that Frank had given him his words, or would he only fuel the fire? Frank hoped things in this conversation would stay between them at the very least.
 
Tony wasn't expecting any sort of welcoming party from Frank, not even a smile of acknowledgement of the apology. If anything, he expected Frank to shut him out and ask to leave, in which case, Tony would've happily respected his partner's wishes and left him alone. But instead.... he offers him to take a seat? James did say he was very down and out of the weather today. Was he too tired to hate at this point? Depression surely was a deciding factor, but was it also a call to arms to have a friend? Frank probably didn't want to be alone anymore, because that's all he'd felt for the past two days since they came home from the Redgrave home disaster. As Tony took a seat directly opposite to Frank on the table, he listened in to what his partner had to vent about, and it was quite a mouthful, one that he didn't expect. He was lonely, depressed, demotivated, and may truths came out at the same time. At this point, all Frank had was a child in tow that he could look to for comfort. Where was everyone else? McAllister? Focused on work, though helped last night. Tony himself was already at odds. James seemed far too consumed helping Thalia...

But what about Thalia herself? His theory about the two being an item was still in his mind. That was up until Frank uttered those words: 'you were right'. He refused to admit that he and Thalia were in a relationship, but it was clear as day long before, from the beginning when she was sitting in his lap to fake an act for James, up until now when it was clear things were over. And now he had a confession from the source. He didn't want to confront Thalia again, not after she'd deliberately walked away from him. But Tony was sure of it now: they were together, and Frank regretted it. He was right all along that it would end badly. But he didn't want to interrupt Frank's moment of venting. He felt unimportant as is. Sick, in his words. Lacked confidence, and want it all to end. So what could Tony do?

"I get you, Frank," he sighed, beginning his feedback for his partner's words. He laid his hand out onto the table in a folded manner and went on, "It's... all about experience. You're young, and the events of the past while? This was a new ballpark for us all. The difference? I've had ten years as a detective to back me to know right from wrong. You only started that day I found you in the canteen. So understandably, this was probably a lot for you. It's not your everyday police case, especially with what we're now involved with. No amount of training in the academy could've prepared you for what we're up against. Not even my ten years of experience could do that. So all we have now, pal, is to play this out how it goes. But don't think for one moment that saving Jordan was a bad idea. Had you overlooked him, or had he not been hiding under his bed, odds are, he wouldn't be here. He'd be dead, or with the police, which would equally be a bad idea if it's been infiltrated. You are a hero in your own right, Frank, whether you like being a cop or not."

Quite a realization to reach that the place Frank was in now as for a career, one Tony almost didn't believe. This partner was talented and had quite an eye for justice. So innocent, but with so much potential. Was this not what he wanted all this time? Or was it the regrets upon having a child on his shoulders now? "What you do with your life isn't much of my concern, Frank, but as your friend, I can't help but feel like... I have to be by your side, whatever you decide. Whether we get our badges back with the LAPD, or we end up side by side living in a cardboard box in the slums of LA, I'm gonna have your back. Even with Jordan, right now. If the kid needs anything from me, I'll give you a hand. Because truth be told? When this is over, you don't need to tell me to slow down. I think I've seen enough action for one lifetime..." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. Was he really giving up his dream now, after the perils of this week? "I'm going to propose to Mel. And I want you to be my best man when we get married. That honor would've gone to Sam, but I don't think I want some pedophile and thief to be the man who stands by me when I take the hand of the woman I love. I want that to be my partner, Frank. The one that's been with me through one of the toughest moments of my life."

Now wasn't the time to discuss weddings, though. "It's not a big deal now. I just figured you should know that despite our disagreements, Frank, I care. You're a great partner and even greater friend, a second half for me when I didn't know better and lost control of myself due to my vendetta with Al-Asheera. Without you, I might've just killed Thalia and been done with it all. Especially after what she'd done to me last night... which I assume you heard about. But as much as I hate her, she will be my only enemy in this. Particularly now that I know she's hurt you." Tony refrained from saying it himself, but he knew for sure that Thalia had broken his heart. He didn't know how, though. Did she finally sleep with Karin or something? It was a close guess, but not quite. "I also heard you want to get lost? Well, you can count me in on that action. We can't stay miserable like this forever. Especially not you. You're young, and now you have a huge responsibility on your belt. Count me in on that action, alright? Things can get better, happier. Once James organizes things for you to leave, you can count me in as well... because at this point, our safety matters more than any other clan war we've been in. A true startover to find what you really want to be. And I will find myself in this cruel city as well.

Whatever fire was set, Tony planned to put out. There was no need for the rivalries anymore. No more hostility with his own. He was loyal to Frank, forever will be. And it was shown in an extension of his right hand like a handshake, and the shreds of a smile. Frank wasn't alone anymore. "We may not be a power duo or partners against the world... but we can be friends. Right?"
 
Thankfully, Tony welcomed what he had to say with open arms - this time it seemed like a rejuvenated friendship was more than possible. The first time it was hard to forgive him, but the second time for some odd reason it was much easier. It might have had something to do with the fact that Tony had practically done Frank a favor. Sure, getting him on the wanted list wasn't ideal, but getting him kicked from the force was the next best thing he could have done. Frank didn't care about his career, no matter how good at it he was. He was going to back away from it and live a quiet life as an author of the books that talked about bringing down Al-Asheera and The Clover Boys. Maybe go into television if he had the chance to do so - after a book deal, that was more than possible. He just wanted to get away from this life and live happily.

The only way he could do that was by proving his and Tony's innocence, and that way, Jordan could get off the hook as well. Sort of. They had to deal with The Clover Boys for that to be possible, but for some reason, Frank felt like once they took out the hitsquad responsible for Redgrave's death, luring out the higher-ups wasn't going to be hard. Not many people had the balls to fuck with Bradan, not many people other than Redgrave, and look where that got him. If someone else was to walk up and basically shit on his dinner plate, he'd be lured out of his hole and sending men all over the place to try and take down the people responsible for taking out his trusted men.

One issue was that one of those men was his best and most trusted assassin. Not someone Frank necessarily wanted to tangle with, but, that could be dealt with all in good time, right?

But overall, Tony had his back, and that was a great feeling to have, oddly enough. He had someone who was going to back him up. And finally, there was someone who stated straight-up that saving Jordan was a good idea. Thank god. Those were the words Frank was waiting for - he may not have been expecting them to be from Tony, but that wasn't the point anymore. Finally, someone said it, and his efforts didn't feel as futile as they did before. Jordan was safe, and at the minute he was happy blocking out all the bad thoughts he had of what happened a couple of days ago.

Another big thing came forward, though. The best man at Tony's wedding? That was quite an offer to someone he'd known only for a few days, but, Frank would bite. "Tony... Thank you for your support. Just generally, you've helped. Being your best man? I'd really like that." He gave a tiny smile and nodded. "As soon as this is all over I'm gonna' put myself out there a little more. Not only write that book but just get back on the real romance scene, y'know?" He chuckled. "It'll be a hard job to make myself look like this amazing young man if I've got Jordan with me, but, I'll make it work. Jordan has room in my life. A lot of it." He sighed and looked at the table. "Which is more than a lot of people have said so far." He whispered, then shook his head.

"When I finally blow this joint, Tony, just... Just so you're safe, you're welcome to come and stay with me for a while until things straighten out, okay? I've not been looking at anything other than a two-bedroom place at the minute, but... You know there's room on the couch if you need it. I'm sure someones' already mentioned that I'm planning to leave first chance I get, I just... Jordan gets on okay here. Sometimes. When he's with me and there aren't a lot of people around, or when he's playing with Joseph and having a good time... Yeah, he's great then, but, outside of all of that? Being here stresses him out. You can see it. He hates being in a house with so many people around in, especially when a lot of them try too hard to be friendly - he needs a place where he has room to sort of... Have space, basically. Space he feels comfortable in. It's the only way he'll ever get better, I think." He explained. "But you know, the offer's always there if you need to hide up somewhere for a while."

"Until then, though..." He finally lifted his head and slapped his hand into Tony's, grasping it tightly and giving it a few firm shakes. "We're friends. You should propose to Mel, most definitely, get that out of the way and then just retire and take the peaceful life - co-write with me. You've done the city enough favors. Start doing some for yourself now." He gave a small smile. "And I know Thalia probably always will be your enemy in this, but... Please, don't do anything ridiculous again. I'll have your back, but, there's only so much I can do to stop things from going sour. Play it by ear, Tone, and get all this shit over and done with." He said.

"McAllister gave me full details on all of the hitsquad, by the way. I'm not usually one for revenge, but there's one guy who might be the key to finding out everything else about the other ones." He said. "Owns a bakery on - of all places - fucking Baker Street." He shook his head. "Chinatown district, you know the one. Either way... Like I said, I'm not always one to take revenge, but I was planning on paying this bastard a little visit - once he hits the floor, all we need is his cellphone and whatever else evidence James can help us look at, and we'll get closer to striking The Clover Boys at the core. I was planning on making it a one-man job, but, I came to my senses and realized it was dangerous." He gulped.

"We could do that, maybe... Tomorrow, if you're in?" He asked.

At least they were back to being friends, and now, back to making plans. Frank had already noticeably perked up, which was always nice.
 
A life as anything but a detective was never anything Tony had in mind. Ever since he was a child, he wanted to enter a field of work that involved solving crimes or fighting it in general. Not in a vigilante sense, but by the law, in line with it. Not that he'd been abiding by the law ever since they'd come across Thalia and Karin, but that was quite literally an exceptional case after ten years of getting things done within the bounds of the law. Keeping things off the books, however, was necessary in this case, otherwise all four of this original crew might've been dead by now. While his concerns didn't reach out to the women very much anymore, Frank was still a priority in Tony's books. A loyalty to his partner, now simply friend. Police work would now be behind them both, and offers were being exchanged in a more casual sense. One being the other's best man, helping out in more arts-related endeavors... it reminded Tony of when the two were staking out Karin's house waiting for James to leave. Their personal conversation about their pasts and love lives. Maybe more of those conversations could come up. After finding out his cousin was a corrupt banker, Tony didn't know who to trust anymore. But Frank? He's changed a great bit since the beginning, sure, but if anything, what hadn't changed about this partner is his capacity to be a friend. And that's what both ex-detectives needed more than ever.

"Jordan has room in your life, and hopefully, I do too," Tony went on. "You're gonna write a book about our final takedown? You can count me in for testimonies... or part of the writing process, maybe even book cover art. I'm not really an artist, never really was." He let a chuckle escape. "I wondered for years why I was laughed at for my coloring in school, only to find out later I was colorblind. Quite a tale. But hey, my point being: count me in on your future in the arts. Maybe I could dig that. I'll figure out what I'll do more seriously later, but I guess it's high time I settle down. Mel always wanted me to stop dodging bullets, especially after I got shot in the ass...." It then brought Tony to a realization, one that Frank didn't know this story. "Wait... I never told you about the time I got shot in the ass, did I?" His smile extended further. "God damn it, I need to tell you sometime, cuz it's a long story. How did I forget to mention that? It's a trademark element of my past in the department you have to hear about..."

Finally, some light-hearted humor to boost the mood slightly. At least he and Frank were on good terms once again. "Tonight? I have one last game changing venture: getting Mel back. We organized an exchange with Ra's for his dickless bestie. He's going to deliver Melissa if we give him Roland back. Thalia says he'll just execute Roland on the spot, so we have to be careful. But I'm going to take his word for it. This is our best shot at getting her back. But beyond that, things are going to calm down for me. I can only hope so. Then we can leg it and hang out wherever we want, get drinks at times, even balance out some of our duties with Jordan. Because from here on out, we've got each other, Frankie. Keep that in mind."

Most of what Tony said was very truthful and sincere.

Except that he was through with the risks. It was a lie. Tony had one more risky roll of the dice left up his sleeve. A sinister one. It's one he might come to regret later on.

--

Port of LA | 7:44 PM

In short, it was crunch time for Tony: the moment where he'd finally recover his long-term girlfriend who'd been abducted for what seemed like an eternity. It was Al-Asheera's way of forcing a detective deeply involved in the manhunt against them resign and never get near them again. Though, there were three definite forces up against Al-Asheera from the time of the brothel explosion: Walsh, Hale, Redgrave. Tony was an easy hit: a defenseless doctor who would never see it coming and would submit quickly. Frank was a different story, with family in Maryland, which The Clan had no contacts in. And bringing someone who lingered around like Al-Aasifa down from Philly to Maryland would be a pain, wasting resources that Ra's didn't want to gamble with. That left SWAT Commander Redgrave, who also had a family. The only issue: the day they planned to hit him, he wasn't around. That moment when he was at the resort in Pasadena, and he so nearly dodged death or misery with his wife and children used as bargaining chips. He'd later have a man showing up at his doorstep to offer him a deal to become the new Al-Asheera informant after the death of Pigman, but alas, the Clover Boys beat them to it and had his family butchered. One down, one difficult: that left Tony, who they thought was right in their little finger.... until now.

James' resourcefulness came in handy with getting their hands on a black disposable van to be used for the exchange. Something that didn't draw much attention, but something with enough breathing room to stash their crippled Roland and be able to extract him quickly. Scrambling for him from the trunk of a normal vehicle would be too difficult, and the team didn't want to test Ra's' patience with hold-ups. They were abiding by his terms to the letter. Port of LA, right when the sun was just about to sink into the horizon. Tony showed up at the front gates, as if he were another delivery van making a pick up or drop off, or another working showing up for the night shift. Then again, average workers at that hour didn't wear suits like Tony did, but then again, the person who was going to let him in was a rat from Ra's himself, so it wouldn't matter. As he waited before the red and white-striped pole blocking his entry, he soon saw an older, thin-haired man who could've passed off as any average Californian show up by his side. A wag of his finger cued Tony to lower the window. An ID check? He wasn't made aware of anything of that sort. He obeyed though, secretly nervous as he gulped. He got a better look at this man at the entrance. He'd been marked by a dragon inked to his right hand, and some sort of oddly-shaped X over his left side of the neck. No doubt he was Al-Asheera. So he knows how Tony looks, meaning normal ID wouldn't be necessary, prompting him to keep his hand from his suit jacket pocket. The less suspicious moves, the better.

The older gentleman got a good look at Tony, up and down at as much as he could view from the van's window. He then proceeded with the obvious questions: "Anthony Walsh?"

The once-detective nodded slightly, standing his ground, but gripping the steering wheel slightly tighter. He was understandably nervous.

"Were you followed?"

"No. I listened to Ra's' demands. No need to worry."

The portkeeper shook his head. Ra's. To most members of Al-Asheera, that was a sign of disrespect. "You are to address him as Mawlaye."

Tony scoffed. "And you can kiss my ass."

"Say that in front of His Greatness, and he will behead your pretty lady right in front of you."

"You don't have to worry what I will do in front of 'His Greatness'." Calling Ra's by any sort of respectable title made Tony's blood boil, and he even echoed the title in a sarcastic manner. Even with the wire and micro-camera planted on a pin on his jacket, Thalia could hear everything, and was also unconvinced of the title and how brainwashed this portkeeper had become.

"You're alone?"

Tony shook his head. "Just me and your dickless wonder in the back. Wanna check him out? He's in pretty bad shape. I wouldn't look at him if I were you."

He hummed under his breath, then gestured his hand in the direction of the entrance. "Odkhol." [Enter.]

Tony didn't understand the usage of Arabic, but as he saw the striped pole rise, he could take a guess what it meant. He was in. Without even a further glance in the direction of the portkeeper, Tony stepped back on the gas and made the turn passed the barriers and through the aisles of containers. Showtime, sooner or later. He had no way of directly communicating with James and Thalia, but they could see and hear everything on their end. He had to trust that they were going to come to his rescue if things went to shit, and when James plays the role of the 'rogue sniper', he won't miss.
 
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