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Of Kings and Pawns (IC)

It's safe to say that both Thalia and Tony were discredited after the onslaught of back-and-forth comments in each and every direction. For Tony? It was inexcusable to keep Frank in the dark about his knowledge of the 'mystery redhead' in the motel shooting. That was his sole purpose for pursuing his vendetta. Every word Frank yelled at his partner, words of the feeling of betrayal. Tony should've been upfront from the beginning. That's why he headed up the investigation for Al-Asheera: for vengeance. And that vengeance was through the girl right in front of him. It also explained why Tony was so dead against any sort of romance between Frank and Thalia. But now, Thalia couldn't be deceived by the idea of a fake death for Richard. Frank spilled the truth about that. A bummer, sure, but he could still guilt-trip the girl into confessing everything. She'd broken down significantly as is. Her misery was so satisfying to Tony. The fact that James now had his weapon at her at times, the idea she may not live this through... it's not proper justice, but if his hunch about her was spot-on, and she was the sole culprit in his partner's demise, he would happily condone the worst of punishments for her.


For Thalia? She felt the guilt overwhelming her once again. She didn't even know if it was her hand that injured Richard. She couldn't remember. It all happened so fast. She only said she did to shut Tony up. Give him a fall guy even though she didn't think she was the one who dropped Richard. Oh, god... was it me? Could it have been me?! Over and over again, Thalia tried replaying that day in her head to try and remember if she saw anything to prove her innocence or guilt. Whichever it was, it would come as a surprise. She shivered in her seat, the entire fit between Frank and Tony freaking her out. When the younger detective kicked the table down, she flinched in her place, backing off in fear. Since when did this feeling of cowardice kick in? And with her sudden movement, the pain in her stomach where Tony kicked her came back. She avoided howling in pain again, and just sat back... listening to their words and trying to recall the events of the shootout. There's no way... there were so many of us and so many of them. I couldn't have done this... No, T. There's no way this was you. You have to believe that... She couldn't have. But she was afraid she did without knowing. But finally, she worked up the courage to speak up, despite how she felt like she was going to tear up.


"For your information, Tony..." she sniffled, struggling to stand up to her feet, but trying her best to assert herself and get in Tony's face. "I wasn't the only one there on that day. There were at least 15 other Al-Asheera clansmen there. Including Ra's himself. And all I can think of is, why me? ANYONE could've done that damage to your friend. I honestly don't know if it was my bullet that put him down... or if it was someone else. And you can't know that for a matter of fact either. But no. You don't care whose bullet it was. You are targeting the one that stands out the most, especially because she's been right under your nose. The mystery redhead. We aren't big on diversity in Al-Asheera, so you figured that the one that is noticeable enough to get a nickname in the local PD should be your punching bag. Not many girls. Not many redheads. So why not bully her, especially when she's in your grasp. You were probably rock hard when you came to Karin's place and saw her come home with me."


"I have your carelessness to thank for that, young lady. You should've been more careful. I wanted to arrest you back then, even if it got you killed."


"You just... don't get it!" Her head fell into her palms, fingers running through her hair from the headache of having to repeat herself to Tony. Having to keep say that she wanted to change. "I don't want this! None of it! I don't want to kill or steal or hurt people! That's not me, and you refuse to believe that!"


"Well truth be told, your actions have consequences. And now you're facing them, whether those actions were murder or something less brutal."


She lifted her head up, an almost innocent look in her eyes. "I just wanted to start over.... Tony, you don't even know if it was my hand that gunned Richard down. Plus... he's still alive. You're just blaming me because you are desperate and running out of options. You want justice for your partner, but THIS is not justice. This is just sadistic torture. You are getting off to the idea of having an enemy and you're having fun with every second I'm in pain or crying. My pain is your pleasure."


"Maybe I am. But you had a hand in this."


"I did. And I hate that I did. I hate myself for every bad decision I've taken for the past eight years. But as much of a criminal as I am, you don't seem to believe that I'm not a killer. I couldn't kill you when I had you pinned down. I'm not that depraved. But clearly you are."


"Tell me the truth then, Thalia. Did you gun Richard down?"


She shook her head, taking a deep breath before trying to speak again. "I really don't know, Tony. I hope I didn't, believe me, I hope he's doing okay and recovering quickly. It all... it all happened so fast that day, but I was shooting randomly and aimlessly, not looking back all that much. I was running for my life. I didn't want to hurt any cops, because I can't see myself taking someone's life. I don't blame you if you don't believe me. I don't blame anyone in this room if they don't believe me. I lied about being there at the motel when they shot it up, but that was when we initially took it over. I never went back because of how horrible I felt about it. Sure, nobody was killed, but there was a dozen injured cops from what I heard. One of them was your partner, Tony. And I felt like I had a hand in it, and I regret it so much."


"Your word means dick to me."


"I wouldn't expect otherwise," she sighed, letting herself fall back into the seat, facepalming again. "I'm not a killer... no. I'm not a killer. I never was... No, I'm not... Not a killer..." She found herself repeating her own words over and over in an attempt to convince herself of her own innocence. She was afraid of what was to come. Shocked by how Tony did this to her. But she kept talking, "I've seen the unthinkable. Forced to do things I didn't want to do for so long. When all I wanted was to be someone I wanted to be. And nobody gets that...." Her eyes lifted for a moment and soon reached Karin. Her friend. If she lost Karin's trust, Thalia would surely get up and run. Never come back. "Karin... I'm sorry I didn't say anything about the motel earlier. I swear to you, I didn't want anyone to die. You saw how I was after that guy at the diner was shot dead... If you don't believe me, just tell me. Tell me so I can get up and leave already."


Not like she could blame anyone. Tony made a valid point about her being untrustworthy. Was that the end of it for her and Karin? Maybe so. It was almost tempting for Thalia to walk out the front door and risk James killing her. Maybe go find some bathroom in a restaurant and cry herself to sleep. What did I do....


"Nobody believes you, Thalia," Tony reassured her, stepping away from the girl and slowly towards James. "You're a smart guy. Can you trust anything she's said so far? Maybe she's covering her ass. Maybe she was trying to get this meet set up with Ra's so he could kill us all. We don't know for certain if she did hurt my partner. But I have a goddamn hunch that she did. What do you say? Blindfold and gag her, then toss her in the desert?"
 
It was all a back and forth ballgame once again.


And most people were beginning to get tired of it. Frank more than anyone, I think, because he still wasn't impressed. He'd confronted Tony about all of that, and he still didn't speak a word to him? Did he not exist anymore? Jesus Christ. He was finding it all too hard to cope with, and he just wanted to slap his badge down and drive off into the sunset, or maybe transfer, go back up to Maryland and work as a detective there, and forget all the bullshit of LA. He didn't want any of this anymore. Over the course of the two days he'd been a detective, it had already became too much, and he didn't want to have to try and stomach it anymore. He'd been lied to by the one person he thought he could trust, and there was so much that had been revealed that he didn't know how to process everything. He glanced around at them all, but then looked back to Tony, even amidst all the bullshit he was sending James' way.


"You don't have the decency to say shit to me?" He asked. "I trusted you, goddammit. I thought you were my friend." He sighed, shakily, "I fucking looked up to you. I thought you were one of the real detectives of the LAPD - I thought that you weren't like the others, the others that are nothing but a bunch of crooks with a badge, but, we're all full of surprises, I guess." He gulped. "You lied to me. You hid everything from me. Everything that had any meaning, you hid away from me so you could gain from it, and now that we're finally face to face and the truth's on the table, you're just... You're acting like I don't even exist." He said. "You're going on about how her actions have consequences, but, what about you, Tony? What about your actions and the consequences they're going to have?" He asked. "This is all going to swing around and bite you on the ass, and when it happens, it'll be too late for me to even help you. I won't be able to do shit, because all this is going to do is drag us all down with you." He said, firmly.


Karin spoke, too.


"I believe you, Thalia, don't worry." She whispered. "I'm just... All of what's going on, this... This is a lot to take in, you know?" She said. "Let me get you that ice." She said, and off she wandered to the kitchen area. She got an ice pack out, once she'd usually put in Joseph's lunchbox for school to keep his food cool during hot days, and walked back. She handed to her. "Get that on there before it bruises too badly." She said, then went and sat down. This was too dramatic, and she was sure that Joseph had heard most of all of this - She wanted mostly everyone out of her house, honestly. Well, she wanted Tony out. Things were fine without him there, oddly enough.


On James' end, though...


"Don't try and coerce me, Walsh." He shook his head, slowly. "I don't need a washed-up pig like you to tell me I'm smart - If you were smart as well, you'd take a seat and shut the fuck up." He said, quietly. "You're in no place to try and make arrangements, to try and talk me into doing whatever it is that fulfills your sick fantasy. If you want her dead, that's your business, but as long as I'm here, that's not going to be happening, Tony." He said. "You have a hunch, and that's all." He said. "You don't have evidence - my choice to believe her is my choice only, and if you think you're going to have any chance of convincing me otherwise, you're dead-wrong." He explained.


"So far, Walsh, you've demonstrated yourself to be the most untrustworthy, violent, volatile, and sadistic son of a bitch out of all of us. You've lied, you've cheated, and you've used - Your own partner, even. Now look." He said. "Now you're losing friends as every seond goes by - Seems like a lot to throw away for a hunch, doesn't it?" He asked. "How do we know you won't turn on us, Tony? How do we know you haven't already made plans to walk us into some trap with the LAPD? How do we know that you're not the traitor of this little operation we're planning?" He asked.


"To me, you seem nothing short of a fraud. A fraud who gets a kick out of abusing women - Now, don't take one step closer." He tightened up his stance and kept his gun locked on Tony's chest. "You're getting dangerously close to being on my blacklist, Walsh, and believe me, you won't like what happens if you get onto there." He said. "From what I can see, everyone else has you on a blacklist already, so, what's your choice here? Are you going to be a good boy or are you going to continue grinding everyone's patience? Because quite frankly... I don't have a reason to trust you anymore."
 
What was there to say to Frank now? Clearly he's hurt, betrayed, swindled by his own partner that came off as such a decent high-standard detective. But after Richard, Tony's obsession for his cases got the better of him in an inexcusable way. He read the reports of the motel shooting, and from that moment on, followed the trail of the mystery redhead, up until she hit up the diner. And he hit the jackpot. It went beyond Thalia's traits of an Al-Asheera thief that resulted in Tony's hatred. No, it was deeper. And he hid that from everyone until just the right moment to break Thalia further. So far, he'd call that a success. Everyone else in the room, though, saw him as a dishonest jerk. Funny, when Thalia is less than upfront, they let it off the hook. When Tony uses a deceptive tool to break her, everyone hates him. Everyone thought he took the physical abuse too far, even though Tony argued he was defending himself. Whichever it was, he enjoyed it in some sick way. Her pain is his entertainment. Is it the reason that James brought up? That he was developing feelings for her and hurting her for it? Fuck no. Gross. He didn't find Thalia all that attractive anyway. But like hell would he let any detective--not even Frank--start a relationship with an infamous crook like her. But clearly, there were words he needed to say to Frank.


"I'm sorry, Frank. Sorry I kept you in the dark. But maybe one day, you'll understand why I did it. When you get more into the flow of being a detective. When a criminal... takes something from you, You can't let them walk. And I assume YOU know that feeling as well. He leaned a bit closer to Frank, as if to whisper his next remark. "Tell me if you found the man who took Natalie... you would treat that piece of shit the same way I treated Thalia." But there was a difference, and Tony knew that. Thalia was still doubtful if it was even her that put Richard down. Now, her mind was a mess, and clearly hurting inside and out. By compromising her trusts, he also compromised his own. Especially with his partner. Out loud, he continued, "You can be mad all you want, but one day, you'll know I was right. Al-Asheera are ruthless. They've taken so much from so many. Thalia's no angel. And I refuse to believe she has the capacity to change. Like they say, the hat's already over the wall. She'll never stop stealing, never stop lying... she might even kill someone. I just hope to god it's not Karin or her brother..."


"Go to hell," the girl snapped back at him, pressing the ice pack she'd been given on her stomach. The cold sensation felt better in comparison to the pain she'd felt all this time. She was caught up in her own thoughts, repeating those words in her head over and over, You're not a killer... you're not a killer... Almost as if she wasn't convinced. After Tony's little act, she doubted everything about herself. Was Karin sincere when she said that she believed her? She couldn't know. She had the gun pointed at her on occasions. And Karin was quiet through a good deal of the bickering. Plus, after Thalia just tried to run away moments ago, did Karin still.... trust her? If not, that was reason enough to leave it all behind once again and run. She wished Karin had sat next to her. She wanted someone to lean on for comfort after all of this.


"You tell me that again after I put you in cuffs for first degree," Tony snarled back at her. "I wish I took you to the station yesterday. At least the haunting thought of your days being numbered would've made you go insane, kind of like you are now...." His words then redirected to Frank. "You'll understand why I did what I did someday, Frankie. Why I lied. Why I kept all of this from you. It was a tactic. But not to exploit you."


Without further ado, Tony finally took a seat, with nothing further to say. He surely did get on everyone's bad sides, especially Thalia's. But there was one thing James mentioned that came to mind. How would he know it's not HIM working for the other side? He immediately remembered the text message offering Melissa for Thalia. The idea of this trade-off was becoming more and more appealing. So.. what, send a hitsquad over their way to get rid of this girl once and for all? It could work, but it was also too risky. He'd have to consider it for later. A deal with the devil. Not like he could side with anyone else. And it would result in Thalia's death, too.


Finally, some peace and quiet. Thalia looked up at Frank standing not far from her. She knew he wasn't feeling okay earlier that day, and now? This probably made him feel worse. Reaching forward with her left hand, she tugged gently but noticeably at the sleeve of his suit jacket, signaling him to turn her way. "Frank... sit down. I think we've been through enough for one day. You need to rest. Here..." Her hand that she reached out with tapped the seat next to her own as she continued to hold the ice towards her abdomen. "Please?" Would he respond after all of this? She was made out to be just as much of a bad guy as his partner. Did that ruin her chances for his friendship, too? It might just have done the trick for Karin.


Tony ignored her display of mild affection, and redirected his sights to James. "Proceed, Mister Mastermind. Because it doesn't seem like I have a say in any of this anymore. I'll play nice now. Just watch out if Miss Griffin stabs you all in the back at some point. Don't say I didn't warn you."


Thalia ignored him and just sighed, hanging her head low. Tony did quite the job at belittling and discrediting her. All for something she doesn't even know is true.
 
There were words he needed to say to him that should have been said long before now. The damage had been done, and no matter what was said, good or bad, it'd just be rubbing salt in the wound. He looked at Tony as he spoke, and shook his head. "Fuck off." He muttered, weakly, then looked back to the floor, but as soon as Natalie was brought up, that was when things took a turn for the worst - Frank didn't trust many people with that information about Natalie, and he didn't expect - or want - her death to be used as some kind of bargaining technique. It was then that he came forward and gave Tony one firm shove.


"No, no, no! You don't get to talk about her. You don't have the fucking right." He said, his hands and just about every part of him shaking in fury. "I told you that with the knowledge that I thought you'd be able to understand the pain I went through to some extent, that you'd be able to grasp how much blame I thought I deserved to take - It was the reason I became a detective, for fuck's sake - You are not allowed to bring Natalie up as some sort of way of talking into me. It was a completely different situation - She was a fucking four-year-old girl, Tony!" He cried out to him, then waved a dismissive hand and turned away, his hands on his hips. He glanced down towards the floor and shook his head, slowly. All of the memories of the past were flooding him yet again, and it was a memory he didn't want to remember.


To think he'd told Tony about this only a couple of hours ago, and he was already using it to try and negotiate with him? That was fucked up, in Frank's mind. Everyone else wasn't so sure what was going on, at least not Karin and James. They both made the nearest assumption that Frank had lost his daughter. They didn't hear what Tony whispered, but, after Frank blew up, it wasn't hard to put the pieces together about what he said to him behind closed doors. 


"She was abducted and murdered, Tony. And god knows what else. God knows what else that they never told me about." He said. "I can't even bring myself to Google her name, look into the incident. I can hardly even look at old photos of me and her - It's been twenty-fucking-years and I still can't." He choked. "And you think you just have the right to... To bring that up? To compare it to this shitshow that we're in now?" He asked, "No." He said, firmly, holding up a hand. "No, you don't get to do that. This situation is not the same. This will never be the same. I'm not looking at a murderer right now." He glanced down at Thalia. "The one thing a liar can't do greatly is shift the eyes to make others believe fake emotions. Anyone with skills in deception analysis can read people like a good - I see nothing other than genuine guilt, genuine concern, genuine worry." He whispered. "You might disagree, but I'm not looking at a murderer. If she'd known she'd almost killed a cop, she wouldn't have confessed to being there, wouldn't have been straight with you - Shit, she probably wouldn't even be here right now." He explained.


"There isn't going to be a time where I get 'more into the flow', Tony, because, after all this is over..." He closed his eyes and took in a shaky deep breath, his fists tightly clenching at his sides.


"I quit." 


And that was that.


Frank did take his seat when Thalia asked, though, and he just sat there on the couch with his head in his hands. Not crying, maybe close to it, but mainly just trying to figure everything out in his head that had gone on. He didn't like the spot he was in anymore. But, he still trusted Thalia, even if there was some harsh truths out there now. He'd live with it, he was sure, or he'd at least try to until things fully figured themselves out.


James sighed, "I'm not sure if you realize this, Mister Walsh..." He leaned over and picked up the mobile phone, the gun, the badge, and the cuffs, and tucked them down by his side on his chair, but he didn't take the aim away from Tony. "But that woman right there..." He finally, at long last, lowered the gun. He tucked his own one down on the opposite side of the other, then picked up Tony's gun and did a few things - He unloaded the magazine and the chambered around, released the slide and removed that from the weapon, and that was about it, really. The gun was now in pieces. Or at least enough pieces to stop it from being functional. He placed the pieces down on the coffee table, once he'd lifted the coffee table back up, of course. The phone and everything else stayed at his side, however. The gun wasn't something he needed, but as long as he knew it couldn't be used against him (which in its current state, it couldn't), he was alright to keep his gun low, too. 


"But the girl you've been beating around and doing your best to prove guilty is your only lead to getting your beloved back." He said. "So, before you place your next words, let's just make sure you keep in mind that the whole reason we're sat here currently, was to discuss how to get her back and to safety. So far, your sales pitch has been god-awful, but..." He shrugged and shook his head from side to side a few times. "Maybe things can change, but that depends on what you want. I'd be surprised if Thalia was even willing to do as much as stand up straight for you anymore, but you never know." He said. "So, I ask, do you want to get your girlfriend back, or would you be happier sitting here discussing our moral code until they finally decide to mail her head in a box to you?" He asked.
 
The partnership fostered by Tony and Frank quickly dissolved into a burning rivalry. Especially with Tony delivering a low blow by using Natalie's story against Frank. A trust betrayed. Far enough that it went to the degree of Frank quitting the LAPD. Unbelievable, Tony's outburst went this far. And amidst the chaos, he was proud of it all. People's true colors were revealed. At least everyone in the room would think twice before trusting Thalia again. Then again, they'd think twice before trusting him either. James sure as hell didn't, tearing his firearm apart right in front of his eyes. He was going to be kept on a much tighter leash now. What role would he have in all of this? Just a getaway driver if anything? And who's to say James won't kill him later for his own infidelity?


Frank defending Thalia the way he did... it meant a lot to the girl. Sure, Karin being on her side meant the world to her, having a friend like that. Like she mentioned before, Karin felt like that big sister that got on with her so well. The kinds who tell each other their secrets and such, but in the form of a best friend. But Frank was a cop, and he was defending a liar, a thief, before his own partner now. Even after all of the exposure and negative comments thrown at her, Frank still sat by her side. The fact he believed that she felt guilty about this entire mess was enough to make her feel a bit better about herself.


Once Frank took a seat next to Thalia, the girl immediately noticed the stress in this man getting the better of him. He was in pain in more ways than one. The redhead didn't know the full story about this girl named Natalie who apparently died at the age of four, but she could understand the fragile nature of children, only because of how vulnerable she was when Ra's found her that cold day in Philly eight years ago. She reached out with her left hand and patted Frank's shoulder in a sign of comfort. Her palm felt cold because of touching the ice pack, but the warmth of her gesture was definitely there. Thalia was worried about Frank, especially now. This went beyond her desire for him from a romantic standpoint; no, she wanted to be his shoulder to cry on. Her hand reached over behind his back, looking at him in shock at what Tony had done. At this rate, he's hurting more people than he's helping, and losing sight of the bigger picture. Before she could continue talking, she leaned over to Frank's ear and whispered, "I'm sorry." Sorry for what? Getting him into all of this? Is any of this your fault? Was it? Thalia didn't even know, but she knew they couldn't keep this up. She felt bad for what Frank had to go through. Maybe he'd open up to her later. She'd find a way to find him, no doubt.


"Tony," she began, facing Frank's partner, "James is right. You took our entire plan and made things personal in order to separate us all. And the more time we waste making enemies out of each other, that's less time Melissa has to live. And they just might start sending pieces in the mail. Believe me when I say, the things that Al-Asheera will do to her, just because she means something to you? You don't want to begin imagining. So, how about we make good to our peace. Stop targeting each other for good now. Work as a team so you won't have to see me ever again."


"I won't be satisfied until Richard's assailant sees justice."


"You don't know it was me. I don't know if it really was me. I told you, I panicked and rapid-fired behind me. The last thing I wanted was to hurt anyone. The deal back at the motel was evacuate and reclaim. We didn't count on police to show up and ruin the fun. So we retreated. But you cops were shooting at us, so we laid out cover fire. It was our best bet at getting out alive. Again, no cops died. There were injuries, but if we didn't injure a few cops, you would've had a bunch of dead bodies on your hands, and a mouthful from your superiors."


"Dead crooks are meaningless. Injured cops are a sin to us in the department."


"Not all of Al-Asheera are cold-blooded, Tony. There are people in there who were stupid kids like me who had nowhere else to go. That wanted to stand for something. And I think our best bet at separating the good from the evil is to get rid of the core: The Ten and Ra's. Al-Asheera will disband, and the remaining recruits and thieves will go their separate ways. Then and only then, you'll know how much of them are like me, and how much are like Ra's. Give them a fair shot. Deal?"


"I just want Melissa back. I don't care about you and your petty thief friends."


"Only fair. But after we find her and get rid of Ra's... I never want to see you again, Tony. You don't come near me or Karin ever again. You move on with your shit life, and I'll move on with mine. Okay?"


That's the closest Thalia and Tony would ever come to a truce at this rate. "Mark my words, Griffin. Even if you are exonerated, once we go our separate ways, I'll look for a loophole to lock you up."


She ignored the threat, as it felt too empty to be true. Nobody would let him do that. Rolling her eyes, she looked back to Frank, her hand rubbing his back gently in a form of comfort. With that headache out of the way, Thalia turned over to James. Finally, to get back on topic. "If... we're going to keep this going further, I have a suggestion for the third location we can lure Ra's into, in case our two secluded locations don't appeal to him. It's a bit more public, but we can get our privacy and keep the operation relatively quiet. I'm sure the last thing anyone in this room wants is bullets flying or anyone dying... well, for the most part." Thalia didn't trust Tony to watch her back. The second she looks away from Tony, she could bet that he would put a bullet in her back or suffocate her. Trust was almost non-existent between the two. Thalia had no ill intent towards him, on the contrary, she felt for him in his current dilemma with Melissa. And when James threatened about delivering her head to him in a box to his doorstep, it reminded Thalia of the haunting head of her lover that was placed on her dresser for a whole week, so that every day she woke up, she'd see the bloodied and beaten head as a souvenir of her affair. She wouldn't wish that upon anyone, not even the man who beat her to the ground the way he did. Her words and desire to move forward were a sign of goodwill. Not like Tony would appreciate it. But if this Melissa were to suffer the same fate as Vanessa, she'd never forgive herself. No matter who this woman loves, she's still innocent, and dragged into all of this against her will.


"This is a deal Ra's can't refuse. It's a chalet in Pasadena, which I probably told Frank and Tony about the other day. It's Al-Asheera property, sure, but it's uninhabited almost all the time, meaning we can set it up and rig it to our desires ahead of time before any of their goons even show up. Odds are, Melissa won't be there, and Ra's sure as hell won't bring her along. But again, it's his own location. He'll trust coming there and he'd believe it if I said I'll be there without backup. He might... well, try to get me undressed and in bed, but I think I can brave the storm. But it won't be all under the sheets. I will make him accept the terms of our agreement, give him proof of the money transfer, put him on call with James, and convince him to keep me alive. That MIGHT end in the scenario in which he wants to screw me, but again, I'll deal with that when and if that time comes..." Sex with Ra's was becoming less and less appealing by the day. Why would she even find him attractive, especially at the age of 14? There was nothing to love about him. Then again, Thalia's paragon for attraction was nothing stable. She's slept with more people than she can count. Who is she to judge? "Ra's will be off his guard for the most part, but it wouldn't kill to be careful. We can set up a sniper to see everything from the balcony off of an adjacent building. We can set up a camera and mic inside so you can have eyes and ears. Plus, escape will be incredibly easy for either of us, out the front door or off the balcony ledge. The place is off the third floor. I've done a bit of parkour, so I can land the jump in a worst case scenario. Ra's, at his age, physique, and health, probably can't without going splat, so his only course of action if he gets jumpy is either suicide, which is unlikely, or out the front door. Most importantly, Ra's wouldn't compromise an outburst to lose his last-ditch effort safehouse. Ergo, he is more likely to come unarmed and with minimal backup, without a tendency to start a shootout. It's optimal, believe me."


'Believe me' my ass, T. Nobody's going to believe you after what Tony just pulled. Maybe there was some truth to her thoughts. Who the hell would believe Thalia after all of this?


"Keep in mind that wherever we agree to rendezvous, we are not going in to kill Ra's, and I've explained why, and the difference between assassination and arrest. We're only trying to keep him happy with me while Frank and Tony deal with The Ten so he has no successors. I mean it. Nobody shoots Ra's unless I say so, even if the situation looks bad. I'm a big girl, and I can handle myself if the going gets tough. Everyone got it?"


Tony grumbled under his breath, a sort of approval. He didn't care anyway. Not like he'd be a part of any of the action. He'd be lucky to hold a gun at this rate.
 
"Let's just agree on one thing." James said, "Whatever happened to Tony's partner previously is something that we don't know about. It's something that'll always be unknown until we dig into it further and find concrete evidence. As someone who's been in their fair share of gunfights, if there's numerous people who are all shooting at each other, even more so if a lot of them have the same guns, then it's almost impossible to pinpoint who shot who - once again, it becomes even more impossible to find out who shot who when there's not a dead body to look at. There's not a single ballistics expert in the world that'd be able to calculate who shot who if they all walked away from it. You need a dead body to figure out all of those details." He shrugged, simply, then took a deep breath. 


"So, I think putting all of this behind us for now is the best bet." James said. "Tony, Frank, I think your small vendetta needs to end for the time-being." He said, simply. "I don't mind if you two part ways at the end of all of this, suck each other's dicks, slit each other's throats - Do whatever you want. But for the duration of this, you're brothers in arms, and if you can't figure things out yourselves, we're going to have to leave it to the miracle of time to deal with things. If we've got a deal that Ra's can't refuse, then that's what we need to work with, simply." He shrugged. "If it's a place he owns but somewhere we can actually have the upper hand, then that's the best thing for us. We should go for that - now that I think about it, suggesting multiple places might be a bad idea. As he's not one of our orthodox criminals, he might suspect something if we make it too good to be true." He explained.


"Pasadena it is." He nodded. "We call him, we tell him that's the meeting place. As it's owned by him, like you said, it's going to make him think that he'll have power over everything. We need to get everything in place, though, before we even think about calling him to arrange something. We need to be a dozen steps ahead of him, because if he shows up while we're setting things up, then things are going to get messy. I have cameras with an audio feed, I have all the equipment we need for this operation, so we don't have too much to worry about. The only thing we need to worry about is Thalia, who'll be in the center of the chaos. We need to make sure we've got her covered, otherwise, this whole thing will go bust, and we'll lose everything that we're trying to reach. We'll lose the takedown of Al-Asheera, and we'll lose Melissa, too." He said.


"Frank, do I have your word you'll take part in this? All hate aside?"


Frank was silent for a good long while, but eventually, he nodded once into his hand. "Sure."


"Good. You'll be one of the men we have on the ground - Tony, you'll be the other. We'll fully discuss roles in a little bit, because some of us may have more than one. As we've discussed, myself will be marksman and communications. Karin will be our tech guy. Behind the screens, making any calls on anything we'll see. Thalia's the main dealbreaker here. Tony... Tony, I'm still thinking for you. For now, you're another foot soldier, just like Frank. If I decide you deserve a gun in the end, then you're not going to even lift that gun unless it's justified." He said. "Same to you, Frank. No trigger-happiness." He said. 


Frank nodded, then looked at Thalia. He didn't know what she was apologizing for, but, he nodded at her. "It's alright." He whispered. That was all. I guess a part of him understood where she was coming from, while another part of him would simply never know.


"I think we should settle on the one location." James said, "If not that, then somewhere in the Mojave as well." He said. "Somewhere outside the city, maybe on the side of a small road out of LA. We can decide that later, but, you know, until then we-"


"What's going on?" A voice from the side called out - Karin's heart sunk, as did Frank's, when they heard Joseph's voice. James turned and looked at the boy, who looked scared, pale, worried - He just smiled, though.


"Ah, Joseph." He said. "Sorry, I would have said hello sooner, but..." He shrugged, "I figured I should leave you to rest." He said. It wasn't hard to tell that Joseph wasn't in the prime of his health, currently. "Come over here, kid." He said, opening an arm up. Joseph slowly wandered over, then sat down on James' knee. He promptly got an arm around his shoulder, of course. "You look worried. Something wrong?"


"I heard shouting - Screaming, even - and I heard stuff getting smashed around." He said, slowly glancing over everyone in the room. He didn't look happy - he looked like he was going to be playing his cards close to his chest for a while. He could see Frank looked upset, Tony looked pissed off, and Karin looked panicked. Thalia? Well, things didn't look so great on her end, either. Why did she have an ice pack on her stomach? What was going on?


"Ah..." He nodded, "Well, simply, we were just discussing something." He said. "You see, I arrived at a little bit of a bad time, and there was just a little bit of a disagreement. Nothing bad happened, I assure you - We were just getting to the bottom of the little problem we had. I promise, things are just fine now, alright?"


Joseph nodded, slowly, but then spoke again. "Why is there a gun on the table?" He asked, a tremble behind his voice.


"Oh." James nodded, "That's inappropriate, I know. Tony said he'd been having some trouble with it recently - I know how to clean a handgun, as it happened, so I just offered to take it apart and brush it all off, you know? Nothing to worry about. It's not in a state that can hurt anyone."


"Alright..."


"Another thing, actually, Joseph... Seeing as I and your sister haven't really had the chance to spend much time togethe... I was wondering, how would you like to come and check my place out?"


"Your place?" Joseph's frown turned to a smile. "Really?"


"Uh-huh."


"Where is it?"


"Secret." He winked. "You'll see, though, so how about you go get changed out your pajamas and put some clothes on, then we'll make a move? I've got a little something for you and your sister waiting there, anyway."


"Oh, awesome." He laughed a little. "Okay, sure." He smiled, then hopped up and made his way out of the room. That was one lie that James told that seemed to work quite well convincing a ten-year-old. It probably wouldn't work on anyone older than that, but, Karin was grateful that he hid the truth from him.


"Right." James said. "The rest of you..." He leaned forward and got the pieces of the gun, and tucked them into one of his pockets. He did the same with the cuffs and the phone, too, but tossed the badge back to Tony. "I keep hold of everything else. Sorry. Precautions." He said. "I own the black Range Rover out front. Unless there's anything you want to cover, you're to go and climb inside." He said. "Detectives, there's two seats in the trunk area. Those ones are for you. Thalia, Karin, you guys are in the regular back seats. To give Joseph a little extra comfort, he'll ride in the front. Walsh, Hale, you two keep your heads down on the journey until I say otherwise, alright?" He said.


"Any questions? Or are we good?" 
 
James' explanation about the mystery of Richard's downfall came as a disappointment to Tony, but an enigma to Thalia. Al-Asheera mainly use the same guns, from what he's studied. At this rate, seeing that Al-Asheera rarely kills, it would be borderline impossible to know who was the culprit. It might've been Thalia, it might not be. The only reason he was really gunning for her was, as she said, she's a distinctive character in the criminal organization. Female with a hair color that stood out from the rest, not to mention a dominant standing and frequent appearances, and iconic features like the eye make-up and neck tattoo that also made her stand out. It was enough to win her the name among the department, the mystery redhead. Not exactly a mystery anymore for Frank and Tony, but until they disclosed that info, it would have to stay that way. Thalia, on the other hand, wanted to leave that question unsolved at this rate. She didn't know if she put Richard down, and she didn't want to know. That guilt would haunt her forever. She wanted to believe in her lack of a capability to kill, enough that even a random bullet of hers wouldn't hurt a fly. Sh kept repeating it in her head over and over again, that it wasn't her. If she kept this up, she'd surely go insane. That wasn't going to do anyone any favors. So in that case, it was best for her to put this behind her. James backing up her potential innocence was a great help. She didn't care if Tony believed it or not. Would Karin and Frank?


Shockingly, Joseph only came in after everything settled down. As if Thalia already felt bad for what she put the boy through yesterday at the diner, it was about to become even more traumatizing now. A dismantled gun in the center of a pissed-off Tony, a worried Karin, an upset Frank, and an injured Thalia. Fortunately, the only disoriented one in the room, James, caught the fumble of everyone else in the room and created an excuse to cover up the entire debacle. Cleaning out Tony's gun, a disagreement. It surely didn't cover everything up, but it seemed to be enough to convince Joseph that everything was okay. Thalia, though her heart sank in the beginning, became relieved when he ran inside to get dressed, unaware of the hell on earth brought upon them all from earlier. He would ask more questions later, for sure, but Thalia, like James, knew how to lie her way out of a sticky situation. Maybe even enough to deal with a child. Joseph was a sort of practice. Earning his trust. If she could do that, she'd feel more at ease come the day she meets her brother.


Go time. James wanted the group to travel to his place. All in one vehicle. Initially, Thalia thought that would be a terrible idea. Placing herself, Karin, Tony, and Frank all in the same vehicle after the unfolding of these past events? All the rivalries that came out of it? It's a disaster waiting to happen. But the shady hacker divided the seating in such a way to optimize the ride and make sure both Joseph would be at ease and nobody would try to kill each other. She was a bit worried for Frank in the back with Tony after their last face-to-face encounter. Tony clearly stooped to a low level by bringing up this Natalie character. Thalia wanted to understand. Sympathize. Maybe at some point. She placed the ice pack to her side and stood up, coping with the mild remnants of pain in her abdomen. "I will call Ra's once we're ready and fully prepared. I'll also go over a few details about the place once we're there. Oh, and... from now on, full disclosure. Nothing's going to be left in the dark on my end." A reassuring remark to make sure there was no more beef between anyone. A swear to honesty. It wouldn't make everything water under the bridge, but it was an extension of an olive branch. "Thanks for the ice, Karin, I think I'll be okay..." She turned to her side, taking both of Frank's hands into her own. Though still a bit chilly, she tried to give him a warming smile to counter the physical coldness. "Frank... come with me."


Frank was in dire need of comfort, someone he could trust. Thalia wanted to be that for him, pulling him to his feet, his hands in her own, and guiding him over to the door. Not only was it an excuse to hold his hand, but it was also a moment for her to sneak another whisper without Tony being around. Once outside, she whispered into his ear, "I don't know what Tony said about you, but I can tell he broke your trust..." Her voice came out very soft... sweet, but not secretly devious. She wanted a serious emotional conversation with him. Wanted him to open up to her. To have someone new to trust. "I know I'm probably no better, but if you ever want to talk... I should text you later today. So we can talk a bit more... I'm sorry about what he did to you. I'd... never do that to my partner. Ever."


Inside, Tony was not surprised by how many conditions were put on his existence in the operation. Odds are, yes, he was getting a gun, but he was also going to be on a tight leash. He'd fight to keep his stance in the operation nonetheless. If for one second, he felt like he'd be double-crossed or tossed to the curb, he'd retaliate. It was painful to know his phone was going to stay with James. His one lifeline to Al-Asheera to rat Thalia out. Clearly, this new ringmaster saw a Judas in his eyes. Was it that obvious? He'd have to win that phone back later and get revenge for all the mistreatment he'd been given. Thalia wasn't getting such a tight leash after being exposed. Hell, James was even defending her. It made Tony want to snap this guy's neck. But later. Or let Al-Asheera do it. He caught his badge in mid-air and rose from his chair, his bitter annoyed facial expression unchanged, even when the boy entered the room.


"You better not be screwing with me... 'James'," he muttered as he marched for the door as well, just missing out on a more personal conversation between Thalia and Frank. He didn't hate Frank at this point. Frank had every right to be angry. Tony literally hid information from him and even used his past against him, to provoke a reaction. With time, Frank would ease up. Realize that Thalia is the enemy in all of this. He will come around. Someday. And when Thalia hurts him far beyond what Tony did, he'd be running back begging to be partners again. An 'I told you so' moment that Tony was eagerly anticipating. Spending a car ride in the back getting the cold shoulder was all they could do now. 
 
So, Joseph was off getting dressed, and thankfully had missed the most part of all the commotion. That was what mattered now - he wasn't part of it anymore. It was all over, and now everyone had found some sort of common ground to stand on. Sure, the common ground may have been very thin ice, but they were sinking together all the same. Whether or not they all made it to shore was a completely different story. That was something to worry about in the long run, though, because for now, they had to get to James' place. Frank was wondering why he wanted them to have their heads down. It was worrying at first, but then it eventually made sense - He didn't want them to know the way to his house. It'd be hard to pinpoint exactly where they were going from the back window, because they'd be facing the opposite direction of travel and their full vision would be slightly skewed. Even so, Frank understood the precaution, and he wasn't going to break anyone's trust. He was going to stay quiet and stay alone with his thoughts, even if he was beside the man that he felt so deeply hurt by.


Frank was dragged out by Thalia, though, which was something that surprised a couple of people. Frank wasn't all that surprised, but then again, he was sort of numb by now. She wanted to talk to him, wanted to have a heart to heart? Strange - but nice. He didn't need text to say what he needed to say, though. Instead, he took her by the shoulder and began walking towards the black Range Rover that James had spoken of. "What Tony said..." He whispered, "Natalie was my younger sister. She was abducted and murdered when she was four. I was only six at the time." He said. "We were at a train station, the underground type, and I left her alone for a couple of minutes against my mother's instructions. I got back, and she was gone. CCTV showed a man came up and took her while a big crowd protected him from being spotted at that exact moment." He explained.


"Frank asked me what I'd do if I ever found the man responsible, but..." He sighed and shook his head. "The man responsible for her death has been suffering for the past twenty years, and he still hasn't figured out how to make that pain go away." He gulped. "I can talk more when we have a moment. Maybe when we're at James' place, maybe at some point after all this is over - I don't know, but all I know is that I trusted Tony never to bring that up, especially never to use it against me - But I suppose it just proves a point of mine. Having people that you care about always seems to end in pain." He sighed and closed his eyes, making his way for the car once more. Once he'd parted from Thalia, he opened the trunk and climbed into the back.


Great. He hated facing the opposite direction from what they were moving. It made him feel sick, but, it looked like he was going to have to deal with it.


James, back inside, smiled at Tony and shrugged. "If I wanted to screw with you, I would, and you wouldn't know about it. For now, you're going to have to remove all negative thoughts about me - You need to stop worrying about the business I have outside of this, you need to stop worrying if my name is actually James, you need to stop worrying about who my friends are - You need to stop worrying about me altogether, Walsh, because you already know one thing: I'm a man of my word, and I've already offered you the chance to go on an all-inclusive safety trip to Corfu for a month with your beloved. Maybe you can spark up the sex life a bit - you'll be happier for it." He winked at him. "Now go get in the car. We haven't got all day." 


All with good timing, too, because, Joseph had soon returned. Simple white t-shirt, blue skinny jeans, white sneakers. 


"Looking cool, kiddo." James smirked.


"Heh, thanks." He said. 


"You got your insulin and everything?"


"Uh-huh, yeah."


"Good man." He went to him and ruffled his hair. "Come on, you're riding in the front seat. Ever been in a real man's car? Like... A 2016 Range Rover?"


"No?" Joseph laughed.


"Well, you're about to be." He patted him on the head and lead him outside. "Maybe one day you'll drive a car like that one, eh?"


"That's your car?"


"You bet."


2d49e60054278d1460ecafaa22a0587f.jpg


 
​


A slick model, one that looked just as suspicious as James did this morning. How did someone who sat behind a computer own something like that? A brand new model? Well, they could fill in any blanks they wanted. They already knew that James knew how to make money, but, even so, there was no point dwelling on it. Karin was in the back seat with Thalia, and, as Joseph came outside, his face had lit up right away. He still looked a little off, a little pale, but he looked a little better, too. 


"Your car's awesome. What's your house like?" Joseph asked as he pulled his seatbelt across his chest and buckled himself in.


"Well, Joe..." He scratched his head. "That's a secret." He winked. "You'll see, don't worry. Got a little bit of a drive ahead of us, but, go ahead and..." He leaned forward and turned the key in the ignition. "Put on some music. There's a little touch-screen thing right there, y'see it? Center console." He said. "It's connected to my iPhone. Put some tunes on for the drive." He said, and while Joseph was happily playing about with all the fancy tech associated with James' car (seeing him enjoying himself always made Karin smile), James went to the back and popped the trunk open, looking at the two detectives.


"Now, I've asked you to keep your heads down for obvious reasons." He whispered. "You don't need to know the exact location of where I live. You're the only people in this car aside from maybe Karin that know how to navigate the city - Keep your heads down until I say so, no glancing around, no trying to pinpoint locations. I need you to trust me." He said. "You do this, you'll earn a place in my good books. We won't take any longer than half an hour to get there, depending on traffic, but I've got my eye on you both. If you break the rule, I get out the blindfolds, alright?" He said.


Frank didn't like the idea, but, the fact that he didn't have the blindfolds out already and was giving them the chance was enough to make Frank think it was valid. If he was driving them to their death, there was no way he'd let them sit there without a bag over their heads. He was going to trust him, for now, so he lowered his head and stared down at his lap, but got his phone out of his pocket, too. It was worth doing something, even if that something was just checking out the news and such. Anything to make time go quicker.


James got back into the driver's seat, and now, music was playing. Nothing other than Diane Young by Vampire Weekend.


"You like these guys, huh?" James grinned.


"Uh-huh." Joseph smiled back. 


He shrugged. "Fair enough." He said, then turned on the engine. Before he took off, though, he reached past Joseph and opened the glove compartment. Out of that, he pulled a folder. He reached over his shoulder and behind his seat, holding it out to Thalia. "As promised, Thalia." He said, simply.


Inside there was everything he could dig up about Charlie - His Third Grade photo, medical records, school reports - Anything he could find. Any clubs he was signed up to, dental records, all that sort of stuff. A nice folder filled with everything she could want to know about her brother. He couldn't find every single detail of his life, but, he certainly found a lot. A nice photo, and enough information so she could get to know her brother a little bit. A good start, if anything, and the fact that he'd delivered on the promise made Karin trust him that little more.


Karin reached out and put a hand down on Thalia's arm, smiling at her. At that moment, off they went, the car was rolling.
 
Frank's story was nothing short of a tragedy; despite how Thalia didn't know all too many details about the event, she could still feel the depth of his words. He lost his little sister to a mistake of leaving her unattended. He was only six, on top of it all. No... oh, god, no... been suffering for the past 20 years? ... He blames himself for it. In that moment, all Thalia wanted to do was take him in his arms and let him release whatever emotions he had within him, much like he was there for her when she told her horror story. But there was no time. Tony and James emerged from the house shortly after and the two had to get into their designated spots in the Range Rover. A fancy vehicle, a pretty big step compared to the older vans that Al-Asheera drive around. Rust buckets that could literally break down at any moment on the roads. The kind that would completely blow a getaway. This was classy, high-tech, also seemingly new. James really knew how to live. Even the inside felt comfortable, a huge upgrade compared to the hard metal in Ra's' vans. Sitting in a car like this promoted Thalia's desire to learn to drive even more, get a car, be it old or new, and go wherever she really felt like. Maybe even drive to Frank's place at some point. He really seemed like he was in need of a friend. And Thalia wanted to be that friend.


James' strictness didn't really apply to the girls in the back. He seemed to trust Karin and Thalia more than the detectives. Maybe because they didn't have an ulterior motive, or any loyalty to law enforcement. On the contrary, the girls were subject to a harsher ruling by the two detectives when they were in control of the operation. James gave them more wiggle room for trust. Even didn't enforce them to keep their heads down or wear blindfolds on the ride. Not even the clanswoman. He must believe that her loyalties to Al-Asheera were good as dead. Good to know he was on her side, especially after their discussion in the bedroom. Trust. Perfect. And that trust was extended when the mysterious hacker made good to his word from earlier: to find information about Thalia's brother. He came through and compiled a series of information into a single file just for her. Once she realized the name Charlie Griffin written on the tab of the file, a grin appeared from ear to ear on the girl's face. She gave James an ecstatic look and expressed her gratitude, "Thank you, James." What was there to see about this boy? How does he look? What's he been doing for the past eight years? What can she know about him to prepare herself and not be all too surprised? Karin's touch of approval only made her happiness skyrocket. She gave her friend the same look before lowering her eyes to the nice folder beneath her.


Here it goes... Charlie Griffin. Eight years old. Born July 6th, 2008. The picture provided was his school yearbook picture from the 3rd grade. When it came to his facial features, his nose shape and general bone structure resembled Thalia greatly, only in a more masculine form. His green eyes matched hers almost perfectly, like looking into a mirror. Unlike her though, Charlie had mild freckles just beneath his eyes and over his cheeks, getting those from his mother. His hair was a darker shade of red from her own and its thicker locks combed into neatly arranged spikes upward. Nothing she didn't expect from her parents. He was everything she could imagine from an adorable little brother. What stood out even more? His smile. Though it was just for the picture, he seemed so happy the way he grinned at the camera with his uneven grown-up teeth newly visible in his mouth. Was he happy? Thalia could only remember how miserable she felt under her parents' wing. She regretted it deeply. Maybe things had a chance to be better in high school had she not run away. If only she could tell Charlie everything would be okay. Maybe someday she could meet the cute little boy in person. She lifted the portrait from the file so that Karin could see him as well. The smile on Thalia's face never left her the entire time of gazing at him, admiring his looks, and memorizing every detail of his face so she could recognize him the day she comes home.


Thalia skipped over the snippets of information about Jacob and Nicole Griffin. She already knew her parents well enough to not read over their connections to Charlie. She also skipped over the technical aspects like social security numbers, dental records, and other details she would never judge him for. She looked into the details of his social life. There were other pictures of him in his yearbook playing with friends on the playground, also so overjoyed with his life in his puffy jacket and beanie in the cold winter recesses, that same irresistible smile on his face in each of them. There were others of him on his basketball team. He's pretty short in comparison to his fellow teammates, but Thalia knew she was genetically shorter than the rest. Wouldn't be surprised if her brother was, too. But his team won the state championships for their grade, and little old Charlie was lifted by his friends away from the court in one picture. Did he give them the win? Is he that good at third grade basketball? And that wasn't all for activities. He also took karate, first year apparently from how the yearbook page listed him, and there were plenty of him on a field trip to Liberty Bell. It brought so much joy into Thalia's heart to see her little brother so happy in these pictures.


Some details she did pay attention to? He broke his arm when he was six years old when he was learning to ride a bike. He's just started alter serving at his father's church. He won his third grade science fair and got a certificate, a ribbon, and spending money. It also mentioned his sporting achievements that she saw from the yearbook. He's top of his class in elementary school, honors list, and might even skip a grade like she did. She was so proud... Maybe she'd be just like him. Maybe she'd be happy just like him? Thalia was almost about to cry tears of joy... You're everything I'd expect from a little bro... I really wish we could've met. Maybe this could've been her, too? Had she stuck around?


She turned over to Karin, showing her all of the pictures. The written documents didn't mean as much, but seeing the little boy was enough to make her gleeful. "Karin... he's... everything I could ask for. My little brother... I..." she tried to express herself, but she was too happy to even be coherent. Maybe Karin could understand where she's coming from. Maybe it was her anxiety taking over... she was overjoyed, simply, biting her lip in excitement to try and suppress it, but to no avail. "He's just like me in so many ways... Thank you, James..."


Without a doubt, James won Thalia's trust. Surely made her day to see that. And there were still other things from her brother in the file. Some medical records, some certificates from school... details. Things she'd look at later.


Tony in the back, however, was not amused on many levels. Not amused by Frank's unwillingness to talk, not amused by Thalia's gleeful cheers in the front, and not amused at the fact he had to keep his gaze lowered. Boy is this unpleasant... god damn it... maybe Frank is willing to talk? Amidst the driving and bumps on the road, Tony kept his head low, peeking to his left at Frank browsing on his cell phone. In whispers, he murmured, "Frank... you know this wasn't personal, right? Admit, if you ever found the sick fuck who took Natalie, you'd do what I did. Just say that, Frankie. Every man wants his vengeance. After what he did to Natalie, I wouldn't blame you. And when Thalia betrays you, I would let you do what I did. You know why? She fucking deserves it. The lying bitch... she lied about being there when Richie was shot up. How do you know that the rest of what she told us wasn't lies?" Maybe he was a bit aggressive, so he found softer words for the moment, "Please, Frankie. Don't let me ruin your career as a detective. Stay on board with me."
 
James was happy that he'd managed to make Thalia happy, basically. He delivered on his promise and dug up everything he could find about her brother. Every single small-town newspaper he made his way onto, every school report card he ever got given, every injury he ever had - He found it, and he sent it right her way. Being able to say you're trustworthy is one thing, but being able to prove that you're trustworthy is a completely separate concept. He looked at her in the rear-view and smiled a little. Her face lighting up like that was a sight he'd pay to see, any day of the week. Joseph seemed to be happy enough, too, playing about with all the cool tech that the car had, being the good kind of nosey and seeing everything there was to see. He was loving it, to say the very least. 


"He reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger, you know." James called out to her. "He seems like a good kid, one that's bound to be successful. Like I was, a world ago." He said. "In Elementary I was similar, skipped a grade, went up to a higher level. Halfway through Middle School my parents took me for some kind of test. Guys there nearly brought me to tears, but figured out my brain works a little differently to a lot of other people. Told me I'd make a good critical analyst one day, said I'd thrive in science. And believe me, I did. Science and Math were my strongest subjects. I went away to this high school. School for... Gifted Kids, or something like that." He shook his head.


"You had everything there. Everything from the most brilliant musicians - Literally, kids that were no older than 14 but could play Beethoven's complete works on the piano. Things like that. I don't lie when I say it. I was never much of a sporty sport kinda' guy. I was one for Jiu Jitsu, though, which is what I and your brother have in common in a small way."


"You did Jiu Jitsu?" Joseph grinned, "How long did you do it for?"


"Since I was six or seven, right up until I went to college at eighteen. Around 12 years, I'd say."


"Now that takes some dedication." 


"It's worth dedicating to."


"What belt did you get to? How many belts are there in Jiu Jitsu?"


"There's six. White, blue, purple, brown, black, and red. I got to black."


"Oh my god... How come you didn't get red? How long does that take?"


"You don't just... get red." He chuckled. "There's 9th grade red, then 10th. Tenth, there's only about 7 of those in the whole world. Ninth... About forty of them, I think. The only way you can become a red belt is by having it presented to you by the Grand Master himself." He explained. "And that's the highest honor you can reach. Never something I could do."


"Why?"


"Wouldn't want it." He said. "Puts my name all around the world - I'm not a man for fame. I'm happy with the black belt I got just before I left for college."


"So... You know some cool moves?"


"Oh, yeah." He reached over suddenly and gently jabbed Joseph's side - It didn't hurt; it tickled more than anything, so, that sent Joseph into laughter, and James chuckled along with him. The two seemed to formulate a friendship very quickly. It was nice to see, especially for Karin. Was it just the lack of an older male figure in Joseph's life that drew him so close to James?


"Anyway..." James said, "Back to what I was saying, Thalia... The whole gifted kids thing, they were the ones that booked us with AP Science, AP Math, AP Everything , basically. I left there with all my power in my brain at its full potential. Jumped straight into college, and bam, that was it. Flew through that, it was like a walk in the park, basically. Graduated... And that's all you'll get from me today." He smirked. "I'll tell you the rest of it some other time. It gets a little long after that." He said. "I had a younger brother, too, y'know, and even though I was the success child academically..." He paused and sighed, "He was the success child in every other sense, so, first chance my parents got, they basically pushed me out and on my way. Not the nicest, I know, but now look at me. I live like a king." He laughed.


Karin found his story interesting - especially since he was actually opening up to them a little bit now. It was nice. She didn't know what to say, though. She had to think for a minute. "I guess it was for the best, then?" She asked.


"Too right." He replied.


Karin turned back to Thalia and grinned, "Thalia, your younger brother is adorable." She said. "He looks so much like you!" She laughed, "Think, when you finally meet him you're going to be one step ahead." She said, "You look so happy, Thalia, and I'm really happy for you." She reached up and squeezed her shoulder. "I really hope you get to meet him soon. He seems really sweet, the kind of kid that anyone could get on with. He just looks so..." She thought for a moment. "Innocent, and bright." She smiled. "Let's hope that this all clears up soon, yeah? I'm sure he'd love to meet you, too. Maybe he even knows about you already, know that I think of it. His parents might have told him about you."


Frank closed his eyes and flicked his phone off when Tony spoke. 


He'd talk, yes.


"It wasn't personal, but you made it personal." He said. "You don't have the right to bring what happened to Natalie into any of this. She still hasn't been laid to rest, not fully, because the man who killed her is still out there." He said. "That's not something you get to talk about, not something you get to use as an example. If I wanted it put in a textbook, then I'd write it out myself. It's not something I want to see on the academy exam, and that's final." He said. "Say what you want - You can assume that if I found that guy, I'd tear him limb from limb. The thing is, though, Tony, I've got far past that point. I've gone past the point of thinking and behaving like a sixteen-year-old boy who just had something bad said about his mother. What's the point?" He asked.


"I could find that guy, I could go to him, I could cut him up and make him beg for mercy - I could do all of that, no problem, but what would I gain? Revenge? The thing every man wants?" He shook his head, "Bullshit." He said. "I don't need revenge. I don't want revenge. If I came face to face with the man who did it, I'd ask him why." He said. "I'd ask him why he did it, why he took Natalie from me and my family, why he made that choice to ruin my life." He gulped. "I wouldn't kill him. Wouldn't beat him around or torture him. I'd just find out why - then I'd wait for him to go to court, and I'd sit there in court and watch his face drop as he's told he'll never see outside a prison cell for the rest of his life."


"Going out and killing him wouldn't bring Natalie back. No matter how long I beat him, how much I make him bleed, or how many bullets I put in his chest... Just doing that makes it too easy for him. And it doesn't bring her back, doesn't give me back the twenty years I've spent blaming myself. But knowing that every day he'd wake up to the sight of steel bars? That might just make me feel a little bit better." He said. "Revenge is sweet, yes, but you need to remember - Revenge doesn't undo the past. Nothing can. And just like anything with a sweet taste, the sweetness wears out eventually."


He paused for a moment and looked down at the floor of the car.


Did he really want him to stay?


"I'll think about what I want at the end of all this, Tony." He said. "After twenty years, nothing's getting easier. Nothing's filling that gap." He sighed, "If anyone's going to ruin my career, it'll be me with one of my bullshit hero acts that's already nearly got me killed." He said. "Trust me when I tell you that Thalia's not someone you need to be enemies with. I say that as a Detective, and if I turn out to be wrong, I'll resign and you never have to see or deal with me again." He said, softly.
 
There was an entire atmosphere of positive vibes in the front and middle seats of the car, all initiated by those files about a boy on the other side of the country. A whole conversation elaborating more about the ambiguous past with James, who also had a bit of a bonding moment with Joseph. They almost acted like a father/son dynamic for a second, and definitely reached even Thalia's heart. In general, hearing such a shady character open up, even ever so slightly, showed that he trusted the girls. In response, Thalia trusted James. No better man to head up an operation as sensitive as their own than a man she could trust. Not Tony, who would only smack her around and beat her until she submits. Though, she would've also accepted Frank to lead, had Tony not been his partner. But not much they could change. James enforced his own superiority, and now Thalia doesn't know what she'd do without it. Now she was in his debt for the information he pulled on Charlie. A boy who was very similar to him. Was Charlie like him, one of those really gifted kids who could really excel at something?


"I remember, back when I was in grade and middle school..." Thalia began, leaning back in her chair and just staring at the pictures of her brother, her head in the clouds from happiness. "My parents were talking about things like that to place me in... AP classes. Advanced shit... I've told this to Karin, but I was also a bit of a 'nerd'... 'smart kid'... whatever you like to call them. And did a bunch of activities that I wasn't all too fond of. Girly stuff like ballet and French club. Guess that potential was squandered the second I ran to the streets, am I right? But who knows. Maybe I can prove myself in some other field. I just know that I'm really proud to call this kid my brother. He's everything I expected him to be... even more. All I want to do is get to know him in person, maybe when this is all over."


Where did all of this... goodwill, almost maternal instinct, come from? She suddenly found herself talking just like her mother, the way she described the boy and expressed how proud she was of him. It was a strange relationship, especially for a boy she hasn't even met yet. Maybe the dynamic between Karin and Joseph was rubbing off on her. She wanted to be that big sister that Charlie could grow to love despite how they've been distant for so long. Despite how they don't know each other, Thalia was willing to go the distance to bridge their gap. She'd also bear in mind the advice that Karin gave her earlier about how to deal with children, how to win her brother over. It was all looking more and more likely. When this was over, she'd go back to Philly, even just to say hi then come back to LA... She just wanted to meet him, tell him who his sister is.


Karin mentioned that her parents might've mentioned her. It might be true. She nodded and answered, "I would expect that from them. I wouldn't be surprised if I went home and saw a bunch of old pictures of me from when I was 13 on the walls... You have no idea how good it feels to put a face to Charlie now. For so long, he was just a name that I never thought I'd ever get to meet. Yesterday, it became a voice, no, three words, more like. Today... I... I know it's kind of lame that I'm so happy about this, but from someone who never knew her brother... this means the world to me, Karin. I'm not letting his picture out of my pocket. Not till I meet him... I've never been so... My god..." Speechless, even a bit red in the face. That's what Thalia was. So much was going well in her life now. First, a best friend, Karin. Then, a step closer to her brother, Charlie. Even more, she could feel herself slowly been pulled closer and closer to Frank. Falling in love. It was strange for her, but it was definitely happening whether she liked it or not. And the way that Frank and Tony weren't going to be partners for much longer, it just gave Thalia more motive to try to get close to this young detective. She'd never take advantage of the man like Tony did, or exploit his secrets or trust. No, the man was in pain, and Thalia just wanted to feel for him. Give him someone to trust.


Her life was coming together. A better life.


Frank's tirade... about revenge. He wouldn't take it if he got a chance. Tony? He clearly took it. More like, took it out on Thalia unreasonably so. He still didn't feel a shred of remorse, even after hearing how happy she was in the front. Calmly and emotionlessly keeping his gaze lowered, not even veering to Frank, he came up with a response. "No, Frank. You think I'm acting like a child about this whole thing? You're not taking this situation as seriously as you should be. You're treating a situation that ruined your life like it never happened and not even trying to get your closure. Be it in court or a battlefield, or Karin's living room. There's a monster out there still walking the streets, probably doing horrendous shit to other girls just like Natalie. Sure, it was low of me to mention her like that, but you need your closure. After beating Thalia.... it felt like a huge load was lifted. If you want the help hunting this SOB down, you've got it from me. So what do you say? Do we do it?"


It didn't stop Frank from blaming himself, though. "Frank... what happened to her isn't your fault. And you need to stop blaming yourself for it, for god's sake. It's that monster's fault. And if it makes anything even slightly better... I will find him. Dead or alive. And I will give you your chance for closure. Not vengeance. Closure. And when you face this guy, you can do whatever it is you have to to make this right with yourself. You can't keep living with that guilt inside you. I blamed myself for Richie on day one, too. Now? I know where I should channel my anger. My blame. And it's the closest connection to Al-Asheera we have. You should come to do the same."


Why is he still defending Thalia? She's done so little to prove her honesty so far, nothing more than a promise that can't be guaranteed. He shook his head to her yelps of glee in the front, continuing in whispers, "You'll see, Frank. Thalia will surprise you. She'll hurt you. And you won't forgive her. I'm just warning you... be careful. Don't get serious with a thief. There really is no honor among them. Believe me, I might've been equally deceptive, but you've seen for yourself. She's lied to you more than me. And my lie was more than justified... And I know deep down, you believe that."


What else could Tony say? He just kept looking down, his fingers fiddling with each other. Could he and Frank salvage their partnership?
 
"You can prove yourself in one way or another, Thalia." James said. "I found my niche, but it took me the whole 27 years of my life to find it." He said. So, that's how old James was? They were finding out more and more about him, it seemed. "Some of us find our niche selling leather notepads. Some of us find it elsewhere." He shrugged, "I know it sounds crazy, but each and every person in this car is good at one thing. They have something they're brilliant at - whether or not they know what that is may vary, but, that's the way it is." He said. "What are you good at, Joseph?" He asked him.


"I don't know. Nothing, really."


"Ah, come on. We're all good at something." He said. 


"Uhm..." He thought for a moment. "I'm good at soccer. And... Well, I'm not really good with computers, but, I like using them."


"You play soccer?"


"No. I stopped playing, because... Well, we couldn't afford to pay the club prices anymore." He said. "I stopped playing when I was like... Six or seven, I think."


"Ah, I see. And how old are you now? Ten, right?"


"Yep, but, like Karin says, I'm a small ten." He laughed.


"Oh, really?"


"Uh-huh, birthday was only two weeks ago."


"Fair enough." He nodded to him. "Always time to pick things up again, though, Joe. We'll see how that goes, yeah?"


"Yeah, of course." He shrugged. "Back to you, though, what are you good at?" He asked him.


"Me?" James chuckled. "You know what I'm good at."


"Aside from computer stuff." 


"Ah, smart man, well, there's always J-"


"Aside from Jiu Jitsu, too."


"Ah, you're not making this easy for me, kid." He chuckled. "Well, let's think... I can play the piano, the guitar... I'm good at..." He thought for a moment. "Driving, for one. And I've lived sort-of alone for a while, so, I'm obviously good at cooking. I'm pretty good at the sciences, math... Uh..." He thought for a moment more, then let out a laugh. "I feel like I'm talking a lot here, Joseph. How come you get off so easy?"


"Dude, I'm younger than you. You've got more experience."


"Good answer." He winked. "Let's see, I'm good at... Swimming." He shrugged. "I'm very active. Running, squash, tennis, swimming, just working out... I know what I'm doing with all of that." He said. 


"That's pretty cool." Joseph nodded. 


Karin smiled at how well the two were getting on. She was grateful for James making an effort with Joseph. He could have given him the cold shoulder and then vanished off the face of the earth - Was he still planning to do that, though? Was he still planning to get things done and then just walk away? Give Joseph and Karin hope and a friend to turn to but then snatch it all away when he's done his job? Karin hoped not. It had been a while since she'd seen Joseph getting on so well with someone, seen him so laid back with a total stranger. Given the fact that he was just in a robbery, too, the fact he was getting on so well with James was almost a miracle. She smiled at the two of them - they'd make quite the little team if James turned out to be a permanent part of their life. She hoped so.


Karin smiled at Thalia, though, "You're gonna' be fine." She said, "You've got his picture, and I can see it in your eyes - There's a little passion that's lit up there, and that's nice to see. The fact that you care so much just shows that one day you'll meet him, and one day, you'll be a great sister, too. Just like I said." She smiled. "As long as you've got that picture with you, you know you'll have something to fight for. I can't wait for the day that you meet him, Thalia, I really can't. And I mean it when I say that you guys will always be welcome in my house. If he ever finds himself in California, I'm sure him and Joseph will get on just great." She looked into the front. "Especially if your bro likes sport." She smiled, her eyes running over Joseph's face. "I'm pretty sure they'd be great friends. Age-gap isn't that huge, either. If your brother's anything close to nine years old, then he's gonna' be pretty close to Joe. Joe's only just turned ten, remember." She smiled. "I'm sure it'll be great, Thalia. Don't let yourself get worked up about it - Just remember what I told you, and you'll be absolutely fine."


She liked the idea of Thalia finally meeting her brother. She could see it meant a lot to her - she just hoped she'd get that chance, and that Tony wouldn't kill her or throw her in prison before she got her chance.


Speaking of Frank and Tony, though, the conversation continued.


"No, you don't know where you should channel your anger." He said. "You're channeling it onto a girl for, who all you know, has done absolutely nothing to you, or Richie, or anyone in the LAPD. Maybe an inconvenience, at best." He said. "I understand what you're saying, Tony, but this is going far beyond revenge, and finding justice, and bringing down Al-Asheera. It's beginning to feel like you don't even want Al-Asheera taken down, Tony, and I don't mean any disrespect with that." He said. "Yesterday, when I got into the Bureau, when I met you, when we worked together and put our heads together. We got further on both Al-Asheera and The Clovers in a few hours than anyone managed to so far." He said. He sighed, too, then shook his head. "It was the time of my life. The highlight of my career." 


"You can do whatever you want with the person that killed Natalie, Tony." He whispered. "You can track him down, you can find whatever slimy hole he's hiding in now. You can find how far his life's come, you can do whatever you like - If you want to help me find him, then be my guest. Find me the guy and I'll send you the medal myself, but, I don't want that done if this is all going to keep up." He said. "If I'm going to have to keep on watching you take cracks at Thalia whenever you feel like it, because you think it's 'justified', then I don't want anything to do with anything." He said. "And that sounds unreasonable, but I mean it. I'm done trying to talk you into playing things calm - If I'd taken your approach, we'd either be dead, or we'd have been walked straight into an ambush." He explained. "But we haven't. I'm being nice for a reason - Not only do I trust what these people say, but if I don't, if I hold them at arm's length, chances are you and I would be sat with a finger up our ass back at the station right now, we wouldn't be on the road to getting Melissa, and that's it. What more can I say?" He asked.


"You don't know what I do and don't believe." He said. "But I'll tell you one thing... I don't think what Thalia will do is anything we need to worry about now. Now, we're in the back seat of a car, threatened with blindfolds if we lift our heads, listening to Vampire Weekend, with the chance of us both being shot as soon as this car stops if we piss anyone off." He explained. "The man in the front of the car, I'm not sure if you heard, but he has a blackbelt in Jiu Jitsu. This guy could have us good and dead, even if we both went at him at once. We don't know what we're dealing with here, but, if we cross a line again, I'm willing to say that all bets are off with him. The deal he's cut us, what he's promised. All of that will go, and this guy will completely trash our lives before we can do anything about it." He sighed, leaning forward into his hands and rubbing his face with both of them.


"I'm not going to force you to trust anyone, Tony, so don't try and force me to hate anyone, either. Just know that if shit escalates again, where it gets to the stupid shit of you and Thalia throwing punches and rolling around on the floor, I'm driving right back downtown and handing in my badge without a second thought. That is not what I signed up for, and as angry as you might be, you and I both know that you're a better man than that. We don't know how long it's going to be before another cop gets gunned down and nearly leaves behind a wife and kids - We need to take down Bradan and Al-Asheera before that happens, don't you agree? You can blame yourself for Richard all you want, but, just like you said about me and Natalie, it's not your fault. You weren't the one that fired that bullet. The one that nearly got him killed wasn't Thalia - it was Pigman, the one who practically walked everyone involved in that situation into one massive fucking trap. But now, that man is dead. That man died a particularly painful death, leading up to the bullet, I mean. You taught him your lesson, took out anger on him, showed him that you're not someone to be fucked with." 


He took a pause.


"I won't quit. Not yet. I'll give this whole thing another chance to work out - if it doesn't, then I'm gone, and it doesn't get much simpler than that." He explained. "But from now, no more lies, no more hiding things, no more fighting, no more... No more this, alright? If things had been done differently, we'd probably be driving our own car to James' place. But now, we have no idea if he's taking us to a house or a meat factory." He gulped. "But, I ask you to trust me on this one. If I turn out to be wrong, so be it, and if I have to, I'll take the bullet for you, but until that moment happens, I want you to give this a chance of working. It's not going to go down any other way. James is going to be a powerful ally to have - He could give us so much intel. Not only that, everyone in this car but Joseph knows that bad shit will happen if they fuck with him." He sighed, then shook his head. 


"Closure, like you said, Tony." He said. "You don't need vengeance, either. You just think you do." He said. "I thought I wanted vengeance for a long time, too, but, eventually, I realized I just wanted to know the truth. I wanted the suffering to end - If you don't find closure, Tony, you're going to keep thinking revenge is the only way. One day, you'll hit too hard, put someone on the ground for good, and then it'll really haunt you, knowing that you've lost your chance of getting to the truth." He said. "If you fight for closure, then I will as well. But from this point on, revenge is a last-resort, okay?" 


"If we can agree on that, I'm sure we can agree that all of this can be water under the bridge. We can forget this ever happened - just don't hide something so heavy from me again."
 
To add onto the adorable sight of an eight year old's life accomplishments, Karin and Thalia sat back and listened in on an amusing conversation between a 10 year old boy and a grown man, a 27 year old lone wolf if anything. They surely were bonding, and James was selling the act that everything was okay. Surely a mechanism for most criminals: acting like everything is okay. Thalia could do the same thing if the situation called for it. Sometimes the lies can come to save everyone, even if it hurts a few people's feelings at first. All necessary. The five of them couldn't plant thoughts into this boy's head that something is amiss, or they'll all be putting their lives on the line. He already got suspicious at the scene when he came into the family room petrified from the noises they'd made. Still mostly Tony's fault for starting the riot, but there was no going back on that. The boy was amused by the man in the front, selling the act of being Karin's boyfriend. Yet Thalia wanted it to be more than just an act. She sincerely wanted Karin and James to hit it off, and even left the man a hint in private. Karin also got a hint when they were chilling and talking about boys. Such conversations, talking about attractive others, was very foreign to Thalia. Sure, she had many crushes throughout her teens and early 20's, but no one to share or gossip about it with. Karin was a first. And since she knew her interest in guys and girls, it would be significantly less awkward to crush on a girl from afar with Karin. She'd understand, at the very least.


What was clear as day? The atmosphere for the four of them up front was a much better one than before Joseph was enjoying himself, she and Karin were looking at pictures of her brother in the back. Thalia kept the portrait for herself, folded it in half, and slipped it into the pocket of her pants from her seat. She certainly wasn't letting that go, ever. This was her motivation to build a new start, and whenever she felt as if running was a better option, she would from now on pull the picture and remind herself of her higher purpose: this kid who deserves to know his sister is. A better version. After seeing how happy he was in the pictures, she needed to meet him in person. Make that smile appear on his face in person when he meets someone who's thought of him for so long, wondering, how's he been?


"Charlie just turned eight a month ago," Thalia began. "Believe me when I say that I appreciate how... close you've helped me come to finding out more about him, Karin. I know this isn't all that much, but I feel like I'm catching up on the eight years I didn't get to see for myself. Getting to know someone who I should've watched grow up like this, but instead I spent it throwing my life away. Not anymore. I'm getting my life together after all of this. And when everything's all good for me, don't think we won't come visit you guys. I don't know if my folks would ever leave Philly. My dad wouldn't leave his parish. My mom wouldn't leave the school she works at either. Charlie? If I win my parents' trust, I might be able to bring him on vacation to LA. He won't be a stranger. I think he'd get on pretty well with Joe. I hope he will."


Shutting the file, Thalia shut her eyes blissfully and held it close to her chest, as if she were to hug it in a somewhat awkward way. It was a close as she'd come to her brother in his whole life. And there was still plenty to read once they stopped and settled down a bit. Such a moment she had with herself, and she could care less if Karin noticed. Once she'd realized that she was in her own world, she turned over to Karin, still a bit red-faced and grinning awkwardly, she placed the folder to her side and leaned a bit closer to her friend, gripping her bicep with different intentions in mind. Leaning up to her ear, she whispered, "Pssst, James is getting on really well with Joe. He's surely selling the boyfriend act. You'd better make a move when we get down. Just to sell the act, but let it grow. Besides.... I think James might be a little interested himself." With a few smiles and interested glares at the driver's direction, Thalia tried to make it seem like they were talking about things besides himself. Maybe girl-to-girl stuff. Maybe secret planning. Maybe he'd assume Thalia is into Karin and uttering sexual banter into her ear. Hard to tell in whispers, but seemingly innocent deception nonetheless. All with a good purpose in mind. "I'm not talking major lip locking, but at least a peck. I'm sure the boy's seen worse on TV. You know you want to."


So much temptation into Karin's ear in the most playful way. James was in for a fun ride when the time was right.


In the back, Frank sure had a mouthful for Tony, pinning him to the wall for everything he's said or done recently. Everything from his sister to the organized crime hunt to Tony's vendetta with Thalia. So much to discuss. But clearly Frank wasn't convinced by his justification.


"Of course I want to take Al-Asheera down. But maybe you don't see it the same way as I do. Not only was Thalia even slightly involved in the motel incident, but she's also Ra's' lover. Think about how erratic and sloppy he'll become knowing that his 'property' is now in police custody. He'll have to off her. He'll go into a downward spiral. I'd avenge Richie's cruel fate and make the Head of the organization suffer. He'll get careless, screw up, that's one step closer to getting to them. Sure, we could also use Thalia, but... as you can see, she has a habit of leaving out crucial details from the equation. Not something to work with at all. Don't deny that she hasn't lied to us on several occasions. She could lead us right into a trap someday, and we wouldn't be the wiser. Why? Because we keep putting the idea in our heads that she's PROBABLY innocent. She's not, Frank. She keeps droning on about how she wants to change. Once a thief, always a thief. Just a piece of advice."


Natalie. Maybe delivering the killer would prove or disprove Tony's point. "Mark my words, Frank. I will find the monster who took your sister. I'll deliver him to you, put you two in a room alone, and we'll see what you do to each other. I just want to see for myself: will you really settle it peacefully? Ask him why he would do it? Or would you get your hands on him and strangle him like I did to Thalia? Every guy wants his vengeance. Even you, with your head cool and such. I bet my ass that you will pin him to the wall and get as aggressive as possible. This was a four year old girl that he took from this world. She hardly got a chance to live. I don't think you'd show him any sympathy. Or mercy. It's just manly nature. You would never keep your cool in a room alone with this guy. No holds fucking barred."


Without a doubt, Tony and Frank were a powerhouse of young and old, and to throw away this opportunity to have a competent partner by his side would be beyond foolish. They needed to meet halfway with no more beef. That could happen with Frank. With Thalia? Probably not. And there's no way he could convince Frank to hate her or do what he did to her in the living room. Then again, Thalia was the one who brought him to the floor. She's no more innocent. "If that girl ever talks again, I'll keep my mouth shut. I hate her guts, but my problems with her? We'll settle them elsewhere. Off the field. Not in front of you all. My beef with Thalia... maybe it'll last. Maybe it won't. But she and I have problems that we'll sort out elsewhere. You keep saying, she isn't responsible for anything except an inconvenience? I beg to differ. But you don't need to worry too much for your girlfriend. I won't kill her."


He overheard some of the conversation in the front. About Thalia's brother. I won't kill her. I'll just make sure she never gets a chance to meet her brother. Make sure he'll never love her.


Devious intentions hidden by his lowered gaze and calm tone. "Closure... Maybe that's all we both need. Maybe we can both get it... Hopefully at some point we can put our problems behind us. Water under the bridge, as you said. And  no more lies and horror shows in living rooms. If I ever lay hands on Thalia again, I'll be sure to have a good reason for it. Not that she just pissed me off. I don't trust her as far as I can throw her... but right now those crooks have the upper hand. And all because I hate her. I really hate her. I hate what she stands for and what she does. But we'll get it over with. Go our separate ways. Maybe you and I can try to rebuild everything we had. Take down the Clovers and Al-Asheera... and move on. And never see James again."


Words were one thing. Keeping them was another. Would Tony keep his?
 
"Do you... Speak any other languages?" Joseph asked, clearly having to think about it for a minute. He just wanted to find as much out about James that he could. He thought he was an interesting guy, and he was fun to be around, too. Having some different company certainly made a nice change, and now here he was, in the car of what he thought was Karin's boyfriend, and on their way to his condo wherever that may have been. After seeing the fancy car and the suit earlier today, as well as the expensive sunglasses, he was certainly expecting the house he lived in to be somewhat fancy, too, but only time would tell. He wasn't exactly fussed. Anywhere would do, as long as they actually got to spend time together. He hadn't seen anything that made Karin and James directly look like a couple, but, he was sure it'd surface eventually. He believed his sister.


A whole world of complications, basically.


"I speak a fair bit of Spanish. A little Russian - You meet a lot of different people when you're working with computers, Joe. I met a load of Russians, so, I slowly picked up the language over the past few years. What about you, any languages you'd like to speak?"


"I'd like maybe... Italian or French.


"Why's that?"


"They just sound nice. And... Well, I hear a lot of stuff, like, how some girls really freak out when a guy can speak one of those, so-"


"Oh, so that's your true motive!"


"No, no, no, I just-"


"You've given it all away now, Joe." He laughed. Joseph had gone cherry-red, too, but he was laughing still. It was all in good humor, so he wasn't exactly getting upset by a little joke. "Look at you, red as a beetroot, too." He chuckled. "In all seriousness, though, French, Italian, Spanish... I'm pretty sure they're all Romance Languages, but, y'know." He shrugged. "You're in the prime of your youth, too. You're at a perfect age to learn a language, you'd pick it up really quickly." He said.


So, while they were having their talk, Karin noticed that once again Joseph had fallen to his own little planet and taken James along with him. She listened to Thalia's words and honestly hoped that something with James could really be a thing. Not only did she actually quite like the guy, but, she could see that he was willing to put time in for Joseph, too. It didn't seem like it was all a bluff - obviously, there was some element of a lie to it, but, he seemed to get on well with Joseph. The two of them seemed to enjoy each other's company. The last thing she wanted to do was break Joseph's heart at the end of all this by telling him that she and James were never together. He'd never trust her again if she did that, and any other guys she brought onto the scene, she had a feeling they just would never cut it with Joseph, not after he'd gotten to know James.


Still, there were other things to talk about.


"Aw, he's only just turned eight? If you haven't figured out already, I love kids." She grinned. "I can't wait to have kids of my own - I know I've got Joseph there, but, you know what I mean?" She asked. "I don't want college anymore. Parts of it, yeah, it's tempting, but being realistic... By the time I got out of college, Joseph would be thirteen, maybe even older. I wouldn't want to waste those years with him on a piece of paper with my name on it. I told him that already - he means more to me than any Law Degree ever could." She explained. "Having a baby would be nice. It'd be someone to keep Joe company, too, and it'd give him some form of responsibility in his life. I know he already has enough of it with the diabetes and everything, but, it's a different kind of responsibility, one that I think he'd fill well. He'd make a good big brother." She paused, "Well, uncle, but you get the idea. He'd be more of a brother to any kids I had, I reckon." She smiled, warmly.


"As for James..." She brought her voice down to a whisper. "Yeah, I think I'll try and make something happen, but it needs to be at the right time." She said. "I can't just fly in there, otherwise it becomes a bit too obvious. There's a lot for us to worry about, and I don't want him to push me away if I make it too sudden. If he does that, then the whole thing gets given away." She explained. "Joe's been on the internet long enough to see some crazy shit, I'm sure." She said. "There'll be times when he'll come away from his room and say he's 'taking a break' from his laptop, red in the face and looking rather shocked. God knows what sort of stuff he sees online, honestly." She laughed. "A little kiss isn't something he'd be shocked by, I'm sure. He'll probably be happy. Like you said, he and James are getting on really well."


Back to Tony and Frank, though. Frank listened to what he said and nodded.


"Fine, get him in a room, with me, alone, for five minutes." He said. "Five minutes is all I ask - If he gets to walk out of that room, then he goes behind bars. If he doesn't walk out of there, then the rest is history." He shrugged. What would he do? He thought about it more and more, and honestly, it was more dependent on how the guy acted, should he ever be faced with him. All in good time, though. For all he knew, this guy had taken off out of Maryland and was hiding somewhere in Arizona, or Colorado, up in the mountains. It wouldn't surprise him if he'd ran as far away from the scene of the crime as he could, changed his name, grew a beard out, changed the way he looked entirely. It wouldn't surprise him in the slightest. He didn't need to think about that man, though, at least not yet. They had more pressing matters at hand now.


"Ra's won't react kindly, no, but we're following this plan through, Tony." He said. "We're working with Thalia, and we're taking these people down. I've got a feeling she won't betray us - You can insist I'm wrong all you like, but, I beg to differ, okay?" He said. "And she's not my girlfriend, so, stop taking this to another level. I told you, I can handle myself just fine." He said. He was starting to think - was Tony really getting jealous in some ways? Did he hate Thalia and possibly himself because this mystery redhead obsession turned into a little crush? It was hard to say, but that wasn't a possibility that Frank was going to bring up himself.


"Things are going to start getting dangerous real quick, Tony." He said. "Al-Asheera. Bradan. It's all going to blow up in our face, and there's more people in the PD that are targets of The Clovers that we're wasting a lot of time arguing. First we get Melissa back, then we go to work on Bradan as soon as we can. We need something that can take him down - McAllister, we can't forget him. We'll have to get him ASAP so that he doesn't get restless." He explained. He was still worried for the investigation - in some ways, he was born to do this job. He couldn't step away from it for too long. He needed to solve things, needed to put people at justice. He just hoped they could do it before any more innocent lives got hurt.


--


Time went on, though, and even though the detectives couldn't see it, they were soon driving through the richer area. Encino, the opposite direction from LA. West of Burbank, and all that. Joseph was amazed by every house they drove by - these houses were just a fantasy to him, something he thought he'd never see outside of TV and the internet, but now they were driving through one of the most wealthy neighborhoods in their area, and good lord, Joseph was excited. He didn't expect James to have anything overly flashy, but, of course, James was full of surprises, and Joseph turned out to be very wrong. James soon brought the car to a slower speed, and they pulled into the driveway and eventually into the garage of a house that Joseph nor Karin were expecting.


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"This? This is your house?" Joseph's face was hit by a big stupid and excited grin as he ran his eyes all over the property. No way was this where James lived. No way.


"Heh, I'm guessing you wouldn't believe me if I told you I borrowed it from a friend." He laughed, ensuring the garage door was remotely shut behind them as they pulled in. Frank didn't get a good look at the property. He didn't even know where they were right now. But judging by Joseph's reaction, he was guessing it was somewhere fancy. "Yes, Joseph, this is my house. Impressive enough for you?"


"Dude." 


"I take that as a yes." He laughed, reaching over and ruffling the boy's hair. "Come on, I'll get you settled in, then in a little while, I'll give you a tour."


"Yeah, James, um, can you show me where your bathroom is first?" 


"Which one? There's twelve of them."


Joseph's eyes widened and he let out a laugh once again, "Just... Whatever one you want, I guess." He grinned.


James winked. Joseph still had that pale look to him, so, he didn't want it to become too urgent - He'd show him where the bathroom was, then he'd take the detectives and the girls off on their business that they needed to deal with. At least Thalia and the detectives. Karin's job would come in later on. "Sure, pal." He put a hand down on his head. "Hop out." He said, and of course, Joseph did. They were in the garage which had three other cars in it, but they were all covered over. Karin just looked at Thalia in amazement - was this really the guy that she was potentially falling in love with? It just got better and better.


"Everyone out!" James called out. "I've got some talking to do, and some things to explain. Move, move, move. Out my car." He said, in a jokey form of aggressiveness.
 
Certainly a spectacle of a house. Something Tony would never afford on his salary--even combined with Melissa's--but a sight Thalia was familiar with. Not only has she broken into a few mansions just like this, but Ra's also owned one in the outskirts of Philly. The idea of entering grounds of such high class was an everyday occurrence for the redhead, but actually residing in one was a different story. Sure, she didn't expect any rags-to-riches miracle in her new life, but entering one of these places on a casual basis--for a friend like James--was still something to enjoy. Not to mention, Joseph was beyond excited to go inside. His joy was an even better addition to the day. No doubt Karin enjoyed his happiness as well. The way she spoke of her brother, she was so connected to him. She'd seriously take a bullet for him. Not many siblings get on that well, but it was almost a mother/son kind of relationship, so that would explain some of the closeness. Maybe Thalia couldn't be that same kind of person for Charlie, but she'd try her best to be his friend. Still, Thalia was rooting for a romance between Karin and James. He was already on really good terms with her brother, so the little boy would definitely approve when the truth comes out. Maybe Thalia could get on Joseph's good terms too? He wanted to learn a romantic language, like French. She was as fluent in French as she was in English, and if she spoke in one of her co-dominant languages, you'd never expect that she spoke the other. It just went to show how fluent she was in both, not a taste of her opposing accent in her voice. She had her mother to thank for that. Hell, anyone in the car would've passed her off as purely American from her accent. The second she'd start speaking French? Surprise, surprise. She'd offer the chance to teach a boy a language later. She'd have to ask Karin first thing.


As for Tony? After Frank's final words to him, he went quiet, only thinking over everything that he'd said. He agreed to meet the man who took Natalie if he was ever found. Tony would sure as hell give it his all to find the monster who did it. People who hurt kids... they make his blood boil. It's one thing that stung in his mind about Thalia and her actions...


...Which brought up an interesting point for Tony. Was he falling in love with Thalia without even knowing? Sure, he was acting like a bully, but was that because he was falling for her unconsciously? Unbelievable. This mystery redhead that he developed an obsession for to the point he wanted to see her beaten and crying in pain on the floor. He had feelings for her? It made him almost want to vomit in his mouth. Physically, he shook his head in dismay. Inside? He thought about it. Thalia was pretty, sure, definitely dating material for him. Who wouldn't? The thing was, not only was she betrothed to the Head, but she also evidently had feelings for his partner. Was that making him jealous? Nonsense! He has a girlfriend, for so long he had Melissa, and he was prepared to propose to her at long last. Why would he start falling in love with his prime suspect? Is that why he was so focused on her, blaming her, giving her attention for attention in return, smacking her around and making her angry? Was he getting off to infuriating her? It was almost sickening to imagine that this was his fate. Thalia... why the hell would I fall for her... she's... okay, she's book smart. she could've gotten into a good college... she's physically competent, attractive, alluring, mesmerizing... STOP IT, TONE. She's your prime suspect! Not your fuck buddy!


And there, the thoughts came to a halt. For now.


Upon arrival, once James ordered everyone out of the car, Tony obeyed without saying a word to Frank, just crawling out of the trunk and looking around the garage. Plenty of fancy vehicles. What a show-off. Rich douchebag, clearly. No surprise from a criminal who would be getting them all a million dollars in the course of a few days. He also couldn't retrace his steps to the location to come back sometime with a SWAT team if he ever so wanted to. He obeyed and kept his head down, not even giving Frank a single ounce of eye contact. He couldn't piss this guy off any more than he already has. He simply stood there, looking around aimlessly waiting for his task-giver to return from guiding some innocent child to the bathroom. He didn't enjoy bringing Joseph along. He's a kid being dragged into criminal activity. Again, he kept his mouth shut. He might advise Karin against this later.


Meanwhile, as Thalia climbed out of the seat, the first thing she did wasn't marvel at the fancy cars covered in the garage, but lean over to Karin's ear again. "You, my friend..." she whispered, "...are the luckiest girl on the planet. James? He's a keeper.... Oh, and if Joe ever wants to learn French... let's just say that my mom taught me a lot and I still remember the language perfectly. If he ever wants, that is." It wouldn't hurt to try. She knew soon enough, she and James would be heading up a preplanning stage for the sting in Pasadena. James had the resources, Thalia had the intel and details. All they needed was their leader/mastermind. Until then, Thalia playfully looped her arm around Karin's by the elbow and kept tempting her with the possibility of romance, "He's got a shitton of expensive cars. How can you NOT fall for this guy? As a girl who's seen this shit before, I don't give a damn. But you? How can you not be impressed?"
 
Karin was most definitely impressed. She looked over all the covered cars and could only grin - She could tell they were fast, expensive cars under there. Maybe one or two of them were muscle cars, hopefully classics.  Imagine that, Karin, imagine getting to hang off his arm while he drives some big fancy car down Main Street, she thought to herself. She quickly shook her head at herself, though. Money was just a bonus - all she was thinking about was how much easier life would be if she did end up with James, if both her and Joseph ended up under his arm. The fact that Joseph was willing to leave everyone else behind and wander through a stranger's house with someone he hardly knew was definitely impressive. It just sort of proved to Karin that James was trustworthy, and even more so to Frank. He may not have liked dealing with kids all that much, but, that didn't mean he didn't understand them. He didn't like dealing with them on a professional level, but informally, he found their company to be uplifting.


When Joseph left with James, James became a little more human to him. He was putting all else aside to make sure Joseph, a kid caught in the mess of all of this, was alright, well looked-after, comfortable. It was a respectable move. He could have just left Joseph to his own company and left him wandering around the house in search of whatever he wanted, but, that didn't turn out to be the case. He left them standing in the garage like a bunch of lemons, instead. Better than nothing, he supposed. He glanced around the garage, too, and also had a look over some of the cars. Well, the covered ones. Definitely a muscle car or two in there. This guy had high taste, from what he could see. A Range Rover, and a collection of sports cars, it looked like. Frank didn't get to see the house from the inside, but, if it had a four-door garage, Frank knew well that this was definitely going to be a nice place once they found themselves inside.


"Alright, Joe..." James said, "I'll show you where the bathroom is, alright? I'll point out the living room to you, too, so while us guys are off having a talk, you and maybe Karin can sit and watch something. I've got a big TV." He chuckled, ruffling the boy's hair once again. He lead him through a door that lead from the garage and into the house, and Frank caught a glimpse of the interior - fancy, modern, new. Yep, they were definitely in the shark's feeding grounds now. Frank didn't even want to touch anything, out of the fear of getting a bill that he wouldn't ever be able to pay off. That didn't stop Karin, though, who quite happily started to poke around as soon as James and Joseph were gone.


"I know, I know." She whispered back to her, grinning. "I'm impressed. I never said I wasn't. I'm very impressed." She laughed. "Come on, let's take a peek at one of these badboys and see what he's got going on." She said, and without further ado, she lifted one of the covers. Frank had to take a peek, too, because curiosity got the better of him.


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"Oh. My god." Karin muttered, looking the vehicle up and down. It was certainly something to be impressed by. "I don't know what this is, but it looks amazing."


"And expensive." Frank butted in. "So I wouldn't risk scratching it. It's a Pontiac Firebird, 1972. A classic." He said. "Looks like James is a fan of his muscle cars." He said. Honestly, Frank couldn't help but feel jealous - James was living the life he dreamed of as a kid. Millionaire with expensive cars that everyone would bat an eye at if you drove it down the street. And the best part was that James didn't even work a full-time job. He just sat around and made his money as if it was nothing. But, he did say he'd been in a lot of shit, right? Frank wasn't sure what he preferred, but surely a gunfight here and there was worth a car like that, right? It made Frank want to lift the covers of the other two, just to see what he had going on there. He was curious. Money didn't fall from the sky, but if the guy could afford to live like this, Frank's interest was sparked. He was no car enthusiast, but he knew a classic when he saw one.


"I can't believe this..." Karin laughed. "Oh, my... If Joseph sees these... He's going to hit the roof. He'll be so impressed." She said, her grin instead turning to a warm smile. She was picturing it already - James taking Joseph out on the road in this. She knew it'd be the happiest that Joseph had been in such a long time.


At that moment, though, guess who came back? The one and only.


"Looking for something, Karin?" James asked, and Karin immediately pulled the cover back over the car and turned to him.


"Nope. Just... Observing."


"Heh." He walked up to them all and nodded. "Found my baby, did you?" He asked. "I suppose I'm a collector in some ways. Ask me to show you the other ones sometime." He said. "You like it?"


"Love it." She said. "Joseph would... Joseph would just die if he got to ride in one of these, James. I'm not one to ask favors, but, he likes going out for ice cream, and like any other boy he likes nice cars, so..." She grinned and winked, and he laughed under his breath and nodded.


"I'll keep it in mind." He said. "In the meantime, though, I don't think he's feeling all that well. Started to look a little off when I was showing him the way to the bathroom. Might be worth sticking with him, maybe watch some TV together like I said. Your involvement in the operation isn't active just yet, so, please, get yourself acquainted." He said, motioning towards the house. "Just to let you all know... There's another man here, an old man by the name of Marco Antonio." He said. "He'll answer to Marco, but I'm just making you aware of him. Mexican man, hardly speaks a word of English, but he gets by. He's old, though, old and frail. If you need anything, talk to him, but don't start thinking you can harass him for any information." He looked at Frank and Tony. "Yes, that comment was mainly directed at you guys." He said. "He's... Not really a butler. More a groundskeeper. A man who owed me a favor or two, let's say. I'll explain later." He said.


"Now, before we part ways with Karin, we need to do some discussing, I believe." He said. "Let's do role assignment. Properly, this time. Tony, you've managed to gain my trust a little more seeing as you did what I asked in the car, so, don't fuck it up." He explained. "As I was saying, Karin, you'll be our tech girl. Girl behind the screens, relaying information, keeping us up to date. I've got a room you can work from right here in the house, so, while Joseph's keeping himself busy, you can do what you need to." He said. "Frank, you're one of our main foot soldiers. A rifleman, maybe. If a gunfight does break out, you'll be the primary shooter alongside myself, as you'll have the most firepower." He said. "Thalia, it's obvious what you are - You're the coordinator, the negotiator. I'm the one on the line to Ra's when it comes to it, and I'm also your marksman, your eyes in the skies. If something happens, it won't happen without me seeing it." 


"Tony, finally, you're also on the ground, and you'll get a gun that'll help for any self-defense. You'll be placed somewhere different to Frank, but, that's probably the best plan we have. You'll both be armored up and ready to go, just in case. In the event that something does break loose, Tony, you'll be the one who helps get us out of there. You'll carry light, so if things go to shit you can get back to the vehicle and drive us out of there. You're an experienced police officer, so, I imagine your driving is quite up there. Maybe almost  as good as mine." He winked. "Any other questions from people? Any objections or requests? If not, we need to move onto what we need to make this work. Thalia, you know this place better than anyone, so, while we're here in the peace and quiet, let's discuss all that - Vantage points, getaway locations, places to hide a vehicle if we need to break for it, all forms of cover, where Ra's is most likely to arrive and stop. You know any of that?" He asked her.
 
As fancy of a place it was, and how amazing of cars these were, Thalia knew there was business to take care of. But boy, was the Firebird a beauty. "Well, it just goes to show, in the words of a thief herself, crime pays. Big time," she scoffed, marveling at the place. Soon would come to preplan. James returned, setting everyone straight and giving Thalia the freedom to speak. He made his demands, what he wanted to know. And she was prepared.


"I can give you all of that, and more," she nodded, crossing her arms and taking center stage. This was her area of expertise. There was a lot to say and a lot to be prepared for. "I'll start with the place itself. It's a sort of resort-hotel type place. Unlike what you may assume, Ra's doesn't have authority over anything there apart from the single chalet on the third floor with a balcony facing the west. It's relatively small with a simple bed and bath, with a TV just in front of the bed. James, unless Ra's takes me to the bathroom, you will be able to see us both in full view from the glass sliding doors to the bathroom from whatever vantage point we place you at. So you'll have eyes on us both almost the whole time, no hiding and full discretion from me." Her eyes fell on Tony briefly, her next words directed to him. "Also proof of my loyalty. That I am not planning anything on the side. I'll be in the full view of everyone. View of our inside camera, and our sniper."


Her eyes lingered off Tony after receiving little to no response from him. There was plenty more to say. "The resort is in Pasadena, but I didn't catch a street name. I was blindfolded when Ra's took me there to have his little fun with me. I do, however, know how I felt on the roads, the turns, the bumps, the smells, the sounds, and I'm sure that if we pass by the resort on the road, I'd be able to recognize the place. I have a copy of Ra's' key, so getting in first to prepare is not a problem. We set up cameras with audio before we even lure him in. Everyone on the ground gets dressed up and sets up their weapons ahead of time, too. Leave me to set up everything in the chalet. I know how to please the Head. James and Karin will also, obviously, be set up for their parts. Speaking of which, James, I know where we can place you: there's a place under construction right across from the resort with a view of the west end, which will give you a view of the pool and my balcony. Minimal security down there, so you can literally walk past the yellow tape and no one will bat an eye. Sounds perfect, right? Trust me, PLENTY of hot girls go to that place. Been there, done that. So you'll have quite a view while waiting. Perfect vantage point from above, right?"


An unintentional way to push Karin to make a move, but an honest truth as well.


"If Ra's doesn't panic or get jumpy, we can literally let him come in after we're set up and let him leave first. His usual mode of transportation is a plateless red and black van driven by one of his underlings, Al-Sa'iq. The Chauffeur. He's not a problem. He's not close to Ra's. His only involvement is the quite literally the getaway driver, nothing more. Probably doesn't even know how to aim a gun. And all he'll do is sit in the driver's seat, never gets out. He usually parks out in the front parking lot, just so we can spot him easily. Best case scenario is that Al-Sa'iq is the only man he brings along. Worse case? He brings along his right hand man, but odds are, if I tell Ra's I want to meet him alone for a little bit of sexy time, his goon will wait in the van, outside the resort, or in the lobby. He wouldn't bring more backup other than that. It's a secure location, one he trusts. His right hand man would only tag along for kicks, if anything. Bottom line: Ra's will definitely not be heavily guarded. Again, the last thing he wants, much like us, is a riot. Draws attention to himself, and plasters his face in the open, which he can't let fly. It should be smooth and straightforward: he enters right through the front door, takes the elevator up, enters the room, does whatever we do inside, and leaves the same way he came without incident. Then comes the option if he gets suspicious and tries to bolt. Again, he'll leave the same way he came. He has no other choice that's not suicide. The balcony jump is one I know he can't land. If things get messy and James can't get a shot off, it's up to Tony or Frank to stop him on his way out the lobby. A worst case scenario which I will do everything in my power to not let happen."


"My escape? Again, we're saying only if it's necessary. I shouldn't have to bolt, but if I do, I have one over Ra's: physical competency. Unlike the big guy, I can survive the jump from the third floor. I can land on my feet properly, or worst case, jump in the pool beneath the balcony to break my fall. It's MY best bet to escape if we must. Going out the front door for me is a huge risk if Ra's gets jumpy, because I'll be seen by his driver. Again, if things do go sour, I'll have James as my lookout from above at the sniper perch. As for the cops? Since Tony will be packing light, I recommend he takes the lobby. Less suspicious and gives him more options to surprise people coming in from the front. If Frank will have access to more powerful firearms, I suggest he watches over the pool as the lookout from below. He can easily hide something a bit bigger, like a higher-caliber rifle, in a beach bag of sorts. The last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves. Frank might also have eyes on us both from below. Might, I really haven't been down there, so I can't say for certain. He'll have to see for himself. Plus, if I have to jump, like I mentioned earlier, Frank will cover my ass and get me out of there if I screw up. Once again, we are hoping that isn't the case, and I'm on the side that this will pass over with no complications."


"Our getaway? Whether it's in a rush, or at our own pace... James, I hope you have a car that can blend in and fit all five of us comfortably. We don't need to be driving this year's model of a Range Rover, or some pimped up muscle car that anyone will recognize and pinpoint. Last thing we need. Something natural. Driver? I'm saying from now: it can't be me. I never learned to drive in my time with Al-Asheera. Seeing Tony will be closest to being out front, I'm assuming he will beat us there and take the driver's seat. Ergo, give him the keys. We park the vehicle a block away so Ra's can't spot it when he walks in and recognize it later. We leave and pick up Karin and James, then we head back to wherever's next. Or we can stay at the chalet. Depends how things go down."


"Lastly, and most importantly, absolutely NOBODY shoots Ra's unless explicitly told to do so by me. He's a violent son of a bitch, a bit of an animal when he's horny, too--which trust me, he gets a hard-on from the thought of me..." Quite a nasty mental image, but it's a repulsive reality Thalia knew existed. "But no matter how aggressive he gets, none of you guys with guns are going to shoot unless I say so. Ra's has a habit of gripping me by the neck, pinning me down to walls and the bed, tossing me around, plenty of manhandling, and enough violating sexual gestures to get him life in prison as a serial molester. I don't care what you see him doing to me, wherever you see him touching me, or if you think I'm comfortable or not. I don't care if he starts undressing me and fucks me in full view of all four of you. Nobody makes a move... If he has to fuck me to get my trust, then so be it. And none of you compromise that. Bullets don't fly unless I say so."


Maybe she came off a bit too demanding. James was the one who was supposed to lay out terms. But Thalia knew how this should work; she the psychology of their psycho. So she was their best bet to lay out terms.


"Just in case someone wants a to-do list? I'll say it out loud. We need a camera we can discreetly hide that can stream audio as well as clear video. We need communication devices, again, something discreet so that me, Tony, and Frank don't get busted in the lobby for looking too shady. If Ra's finds an earpiece on me? It's game over. A getaway vehicle that we can drive away and doesn't stand out. If this does go to shit and we have a flashy car? Game over. Me, Tony, and Frank need something to match the occasion. Swim trunks, tank tops, the kind of shorts that might as well show your ass for me... whatever summer shit blends in. Because I'm sure that going to a resort in suits is not called 'blending in'. Again, someone makes us or calls the cops? Game over. We need weapons. I'll take whatever knife you can give me that I'll hide under the pillow, most probably. Tony gets a handgun, whatever you can find, something he can easily conceal. Frank can get some heavier weaponry, but still something he could hide in a beach bag. If people see a gun and start screaming, Ra's will pull out, and it's game over. James, you seem to be the marksman among us. The sniper rifle you get is yours to pick, obviously. Discreetness isn't necessary for you. Neither are silencers for anyone. Our optimal outcome is no gunfire. But if we do have to, silencers won't do much good if we end up dropping people or they're screaming at the sight of an angry gunman. We'll need burner phones to initiate the call between myself and James, as well as the voice morphing program and a direct line between the two of us. Proof of the money transfer is also a must, just so he knows the million's on its way. Security coverage of inside the place isn't urgent, but if you can do it, James, knock yourself out. More for Karin to keep her eyes on."


"And just so we're clear about 'game over'... Best case scenario? He walks out the door with a nasty threat and calls me a few names, never contacts me again. Worst case scenario? He butchers me and doesn't hold back. In either case, if it is game over, we don't only lose my good relationship with Ra's..." She glared at Tony once more, "We lose Melissa, too. So hopefully I've incentivized this for everyone. As for the talking? Well... leave that to me. I know how to make Ra's tick. He'll do whatever I say, and you'll see. You all just have to trust me.... and I know it's hard. I think I've lost a fair share of my trust in this room. But I hope I can win it back."


With that, Thalia made her way back to the vibrantly colored muscle car and sat her ass on the hood of the covered vehicle, crossing her legs over it and glaring at the crew. Perhaps a rude gesture, but Thalia generally can't help herself but sit in weird places and perch herself up like that. The car was covered too, so no real harm is being done. It was also a way to look cute, the kind of hot girl who sits on the hood of a fancy car to show off to her boyfriend. Maybe a way to get Frank's attention. Her eyes glanced back at the other members of her little team, and asked, "Any questions?" Not much else Thalia could contribute to. She said everything she needed.


Tony remained quiet through her speech. The only thoughts going on in his head were the ones from the car... crushing on her. The thought was there and refused to leave his head. He kept imagining himself with her in an intimate manner, her as his girlfriend and beyond. Was all of this hate he directed towards her transforming into love? STOP IT. THIS IS NOT YOU. YOU HAVE A LONG TERM GIRLFRIEND. But Thalia... she was something else to Tony. A girl he detested ever so much due to her involvement with Al-Asheera... now one he suddenly felt so differently for. But he couldn't help but want to abuse her further to build the tension and fire between them until at some point it would just... explode. Explode in a way he might like. Romance, so strange. Her green eyes screamed evil to him, but an evil he actually felt attracted to. Her red hair made him almost envision her as Medusa, but he wanted to be turned to stone by her for a moment. Her face seemed annoyingly blemish-less, but he loved that. The tattoo on her neck reminded him of a group he hated, but the design was one he loved... And there he was, getting off topic. He covered up his minor trance by shaking his head suddenly and answering,


"I've got none."


Hopefully nobody noticed that. Thalia couldn't help but feel he was distracted. But she didn't think he was thinking of her.
 
A woman who knew how to get things done was always nice, honestly. James had thought their luck had more or less run out in terms of competency - yes, he had the detectives, but once again, they were nothing more than a disposable team that they didn't necessarily need to make this whole thing run smoothly. He didn't want to dispose of them, though - that was unnecessary. He had faith that the two of them could pull through, and with Frank on the front lines and Tony as a good backup man, he was sure that nothing could go wrong here. There was only one problem with their little plan, though, and that was Frank's positioning. If he was going to be nearby, blending in, then having him armored up wasn't much of a possibility. Sure, there was such a thing as lightweight armor, but, even that would stand out in someone wearing beach clothes. If they were going to be by a pool area and everything, he had one tiny problem to bring up that would need to be dealt with. It wasn't anyone else's call, though, only Frank's.


"The plan and everything about it seems rather fantastic." He said, simply. "Before we move on, though, there's two things." He said. "Frank, if you're going to be on the front lines, then you can't be wearing armor. Ideally, anyway." He said. "If we want beach clothes, beach bags, and if we want to blend in, then you need to take a few risks, or withdraw yourself a little further. The call's yours, but if you're going to be close enough to provide immediate backup, blending in won't be possible with a kevlar vest, and if you have too heavy clothing on your upper body, you'll just stand out too much. As hard as it may be to believe, things like this? I've been involved in things like this before, and I've met... Some very professional and dangerous people, to say the least." He cleared his throat. "Not to belittle anything you said, Thalia, not at all - But what I mean is, we can't have everything. We could run in there dressed as fucking bananas if we wanted to, but, that doesn't allow us the strength of staying hidden. It's your call, Frank."


Frank looked over them all for a moment, then took in a deep breath.


"No armor." He shook his head, "The closer I am and more able to respond, the better. As long as we have good communications, and as long as we've got a watchful eye over things - Which I do entrust Karin with, for the record - we should be fine. If we can avoid the gunfire like Thalia said, then we don't have anything to worry about. I'll sit around, catch the sun for a while, be there if I'm needed." 


"Alright, you got it." James said. "We've also got one other thing down for anyone with a gun - No shooting unless Thalia makes the call. Maybe a safeword might be appropriate? If you genuinely think he's going to kill you, from my vantage point, I can immobilize him, take him down non-lethally. That's last-resort, but it'd give you the chance to move in and knock the fucker out, or at least make a break for it before he starts trying to kill you again. Safeword..." He thought for a moment. "Let's call it Pina Colada." He winked. "Not something that'll come up in your average conversation, and if it does get to it, all you need to do is say that with a little bit of emphasis and we'll get the message." He shrugged. "I know, very unnecessary, very 'Mission Impossible', but, a precaution we may as well take." He explained. 


"As for the phones, Thalia, I'm already one step ahead of you on that one." He said. "I have a whole drawer full of phones that can be burnt and destroyed as soon as they're done with, but, that also means one thing - For the duration of this operation, none of you are allowed cellular contact on your current devices. I'll sort out phones shortly, have us all on each other's contact list, but the phones you have now? Unless you need yours to avoid Ra's getting suspicious, Thalia, then all the phones in the room are being handed over right now. Tony - I've got yours, thank you kindly. Frank, Karin..." He held out a hand.


Karin thought there was no use fighting for a shitty flip phone. She slapped hers down in his hand, and... As hesitant as Frank was, he did, too. No one important would be contacting him, and as long as he was given a phone that was a line of contact to everyone else in their little group, he didn't mind losing his one, even though it was expensive enough on a monthly contract. James, after either getting or not getting Thalia's phone as well, he tucked them all into his pocket beside Tony's one.


"Even though silencers are optional, the less noise, the better, even if things do go sour. If they get pissed, we have the potential to take them down before anyone realizes. If they don't start shooting, too, then we can avoid getting boxed in by a swarm of panicked pedestrians, or a wave of angry trigger-happy cops." He said. "I'll be fine where I am. There's hardly any risk associated for me - If there's any builders or whatever up where I go, they'll go out cold for enough time so we can get this done." He explained.


"Next, once again, a small thing, but necessary, just as a last precaution. Codenames. We're working with..." He looked at the car Thalia was leaning on and smiled. "Cars today, boys and girls." He said. "Thalia, you're going to be Firebird. I think it suits you." He said. "Karin, you're Mustang. Frank, Barracuda. Myself - Cobra. Tony... Eagle. Those all work well enough, reduce any risk of detection if someone somehow manages to intercept comms. It's nearly impossible that that will happen, but, better to be safe than sorry." He explained.


"Now. Karin, I believe we should part ways." He said, "You go and see to Joseph, keep him distracted, the rest of you, follow me. We're going to go and pick our gear for this operation." He smiled, and Karin nodded at him, then gave a smile to the rest of them. She went off to find Joseph, of course, and that didn't take long. He was curled up on the couch watching TV in the fancy living room. It was somewhat unfair to bring him out of the house when he was unwell, but, she hoped it'd clear up soon. Hopefully he'd just eaten some bad food and didn't have anything that'd stick with him for anything more than a few hours.


In the meantime, though, James lead them out of the garage and through the house. A brand new world, one that was alien to Frank. He'd never been inside a place like this in his life.


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Frank was surprised to find that they were taken outside. Then again, James had been full of surprises so far. The place they were in seemed nice enough to be in LA, but too quiet to be in the Hollywood Hills. Basically, that meant one thing - they weren't in LA. Everything about the place, in Frank's eyes, was beautiful. He felt a quickly-growing jealousy of how James lived his life. Big house, swimming pool, pool-side house, massive back yard. And he had this all to himself and some groundskeeper? Jesus. Still, James continued to walk them, and first, they went past the pool.


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As they walked by, all the phones that James had collected from them went into the water without a second thought from him - Frank felt his heart beat a little faster. What a bastard.


"Come on, really?" Frank asked.


"They're nothing more than a liability, Frank. I'll buy you a new one for Christmas." He said. 


Frank sighed, "I noticed your... Groundskeeper on the way out. Guy looks like he's about 20 years past the age of retirement."


"That's because he more or less is. He turns eighty in a month."


"And you still have him working for you?"


"I can't get rid of him, Frank, don't use some sort of disgusted tone with me." He chuckled, "Basically, a few years back, I had this Mexican man come crawling to my doorstep, practically. He never did explain how he knew about me, but all he knew was I'd been poking around in some cartel business in those days. He comes blubbering Spanish, crying his eyes out - turns out he's journeyed here because his grandson, who was only a few years older than Joe at the time, got tied in with some cartel business. Wanted to be one of the tough kids, tried to get himself initiated. Kid ends up in a coma, put in witness protection, all of it. It was never enough for him, though. He wanted my help to remove all traces of his grandson ever existing. The cartel wiped his entire family after he went into the WP program. I did what I had to, and Marco said he owed me his life." He shrugged, "Had no way of paying me, so hear he is. After a while I told him he could leave, but, he never did. Still here to this day." 


"How... Nice." Frank murmured, but his face didn't match his words. He thought it was an odd story, one that James had clearly left a lot of detail out of. He couldn't blame him.


"Great guy. He'll make us all a drink later, once this is over with." He said. "Ah, and Thalia, you mentioned a getaway car that's not too flashy?" He asked. "Haven't got one at my disposal directly, but, I know a guy who knows a guy, and this guy owes me a favor. I'll have a car where we need it before anything big happens, I assure you." He said, and, continued walking them through the yard, right to the back of it.


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"Just here." He said, simply, and walked behind the bush. Between the stone wall and the bush, he kicked away some of the dirt and revealed a handle to a hatch that was there. He looked at them all, shrugged, and leaned down to pull it open. "Right. Let's go." He said, simply, and lowered himself down the hole and slowly down the ladder. "Last one down, close the hatch." He called up. Whatever this was, this was beginning to run deep. At the bottom of the ladder they were in a particularly cold room, one that had a metal door in front of them. As soon as James was sure the hatch was closed, he approached the said door and punched in what looked like an 8-digit code into the keypad beside it. The door's magnetic locks released, and in they went. On the other side of the door was probably enough stuff to get James a few life sentences in prison.


The walls, all lined with weapons of almost every variety. There was nothing extreme like rocket launchers, but there was a grenade launcher there. The rest of the sides of the room were tables, all holding boxes that must have contained ammunition to the said guns that were all neatly presented on the walls. It was all sorted depending on weapon type - In one area, you had snipers. Another, assault rifles, another, SMG's, another, pistols, and another, shotguns. There were other boxes that must have contained something other than ammo - maybe grenades, explosives of some kind. Either way, whatever it was James was into, it was clear it went far beyond computing than they could ever initially imagine. There was one other door in there, on the right-hand side, but that one wasn't locked.


"Welcome to my little piece of paradise, guys." He said, simply. "In the room through that door, you've got everything else you can't see here. You've got the phones, which I'll go and sort momentarily, you've got the cameras, earpieces, kevlar - You name it, it's probably in there. Just be careful, for fuck's sake. This whole little bunker alone is worth more than the house, so if you break it, you buy it." He said, quickly holding up a hand. "I'm not sure what you were expecting from me, detectives, but don't worry. I do have a license to carry lying around somewhere." He winked at them both.
 
Thalia sided against surrendering her phone. Not to be privileged or above the others in the pack, but only to appease Ra's. If he tried calling her normal phone and she wasn't answering or it went straight to voicemail, he would get suspicious. "I think I'm keeping it, James. It's only safer that way. We don't need the loose end to bring us down." Tony wasn't happy about losing his phone, unfortunately. Watching it go down in water was a painful sight, losing his chance to stab Thalia in the back. Fortunately, he had half a mind to keep her alive. Maybe he could find use for her... in different ways. Like James mentioned, Thalia knew that the crew couldn't exactly be armed to the teeth. Visible armor and bulky gear out in the open were certainly not an option. Clothing needed to stay casual, and so did their behavior. As if they were spending a day on the beach, quite literally. Hell, maybe Thalia would get a chance to see Frank topless, after so many times imagining how his body looked after hugging him and feeling him out for his badge. Tony? He was thinking... sort of the same, but on Thalia. Strange, indeed, but the crush was suddenly getting the better of him. Kind of hoped she'd sport a bikini or something. And her sassy stance on the car didn't help his stares. Why did James have to put the image in his head. But much like James said, they can't have everything. Concealment over armor, for sure. It's more dangerous, but Thalia didn't expect Ra's to bring an army and go full-guns-blazing on everyone there. It should be quiet. Relatively quiet.


Firebird. Mustang. Barracuda. Cobra. Eagle. Those were the names of the game. The way they'd identify each other. Names locked in Thalia and Tony's heads. Fitting.


The inside of the mansion. The garden. Quite a spectacle for Thalia. The mansion back in Philly wasn't nearly as fancy. She was amazed, even though this may be the only mansion she sees in a long time. Beyond Ra's, she didn't expect wealth any more. Hell, she didn't want riches anymore. A quiet life in a quiet neighborhood. Was that too much to ask for a girl who grew up in Philly and was a daughter to the streets? She never asked for glamour. Just a nice place here in LA, it would work. Would Frank like it? She's dying to know what his hopes and dreams were. He's a detective, so he probably doesn't want anything flashy either. Thalia didn't even finish high school, so her hopes are even lower. Oh well. She wanted some time alone with him. Just to talk... have fun.


Likewise, Tony found the environment around him pleasant. He knew this kind of scenery was possible with Melissa's salary, but he'd hate to milk her dry. What he felt worse for was his developing feelings for a younger, prettier girl. He'd never tell the truth about it, because he still cared about Mel. But his burning pull the girl he once only knew as the mystery redhead from a witness sketch grew into an obsession, then a hatred, then a crush. Maybe he could treat her to a good life like this? Not as a detective alone. Maybe in another way. Who knows. Life seemed to be full of surprises.


Past the beautiful scenery of the garden, the crew made their way to this secret area that James had in the garden. Secret, as in, it had an entrance to his weapons locker. And by locker, I mean his weapons room of a locker. Tony, as the last one down, closed the hatch and followed the crew down. Paradise was an understatement for Tony, knowing most of these weapons and their significance. Arresting James for having enough weapons to start a war would be pointless, so he just let out an actually impressed scoff. Not much could be said for Thalia. She only had a few pistols and an SMG or two, none of which she knew the technical names or specifics for. She just knew to point and shoot. Still, it was quite a beautiful collection. Interesting. Maybe she could learn a thing or two about guns.


"Paradise? More like enough to bring hell on earth," Thalia joked around, hopping onto a table in the lair, and gazing in awe at the weapons laid out in all their glory on the walls. "I can't even name half this shit, and I don't trust Tony around half of it."


"Hey, I know how to use a firearm." Understandably, Thalia didn't trust Tony with a weapon. With physical combat, he brought her to submission with a few low blows. And after all of the name calling, he would expect nothing less than bitterness. "And like I'd shoot you when James could easily shoot me back. Believe me, if it were me, I'd fill you with lead, fraud." Or not. It was just an empty threat at this rate. And the insult was more mild than the other names he'd used before. He wanted to make her angry. It was one thing he loved about her at this rate. He craved her fury.


"Well, if you do kill me, I hope Ra's delivers Melissa back to you..." A darker comment was about to slip from her mouth, a dead serious look on her face, but the intention was lacking, "Piece by fucking piece. Hopefully he keeps the head as a fucking trophy, too. To lay out with all of the other heads he keeps." Which was only true. Ra's had an entire closet full of dismembered heads of his past murders. Among them was Vanessa's. Thalia didn't even get close to it. She didn't think she could handle seeing all of those eyes just staring endlessly and lifelessly at her. Just the thought of her loved one's head made her sick to her stomach. But she got over her bitterness with Tony for a moment and glance down at the table. A slim, jagged, 6 inch blade lay there on the surface. It looked like something made for gardening, unrooting plants or something. Cool-looking though, in her eyes. She took it by its hilt. It had a comfortable feel to it and looked easy to sneak in and out from under a pillow. Wiping her fingertips over the sharp, pointed end, she smiled like a child on Christmas day. She liked this new toy. Looking over to James tapping the side of the blade in her palm, she went on, "I'm a bit more old school. Knives are fun. But you guys, being gun nuts, can have your little bromances. I'm not going to have a gun in this. But weapons aside, we've got a few other things to cover. Comms. I'm sure you've got something set up for that too, James, right? As well as wardrobe, which we could grab at any convenience store. Just for the love of god, don't let me see Tony in a speedo."


The last part was meant as a joke, and a way to refer to him as unattractive. Tony interpreted it as a flirt, however. Maybe she'd WANT to see him shirtless. Who knows. He let out a creepy smile with his back turned to her at the dirty thought in his head, just staring at the assortment of pistols on their side of the wall. "I won't even bother ask about a license, James... But I appreciate the trust to let us all down here."


"Not so much we can say for some of us, Tony," Thalia muttered, keeping her gaze lowered at the blade. Tony just peeked over his shoulder in a sort of disgust at her badmouthing. Disgust on the outside, pleasure on the inside. Half of him wanted her to insult him further. He'd never felt himself a sadist or masochist before, but Thalia sparked some different sensation within him. Strange indeed. Thalia ignored his look and continued with questions for James, "Just so we're clear. I know we have Karin on the sidelines for now, but she doesn't get in any dangerous situations, period. I hope that's clear. She has a brother to go home to that depends on her. I hope that's clear. Also... beyond this meet with Ra's, we have the other eight names of The Ten to worry about... Frank, if you have the list, maybe you could hand it down to James, and he can cross reference the remaining real names?"
 
"Hell on earth, indeed." James said. "A collection that's built up over many years. Now, if somehow, this place gets broken into within the next while, keep in mind that other than me, you're the only people that know the location of this." He said. "If it gets raided somehow, then you're all held accountable." He winked. It was clearly a joke, but, Frank wondered how much of it was serious, too. He knew that if they ever dared steal something from him in here, he'd hunt them down, without a doubt. Frank just glanced around in awe, though, once again, him being someone that could identify most, if not all, of the weapons that they had in here. What did he want? He wanted something that could fit into a beach bag, something compact, preferably something silenced, too. He knew what he was going to go for - Assault rifles were too risky. Pistols, too weak. SMG's? Perfect, he figured that something like that was a good plan. 


So, he walked up and took an MP5-SD from the wall. Compact, powerful, accurate, and quiet. He looked at James and nodded, "This is the one." He said.


"Mhm. Place that down on the table, and then you can sort the ammo in a while." He said. "We need to multitask a bit here, guys. We can't all be in here doing... Well, nothing." He said. "Once I've sorted the phones out, Tony, we're going to leave Frank and Thalia to sort through the rest of the equipment, and me and you are gonna' go back inside and do some pre-operation recon, get a feel for the area, pull up some maps and shit. Find places to put the cameras, plot things out more. Saves time that way." He said, simply. Splitting up the two partners? An interesting idea, but, he was doing it because he had a feeling that Frank and Tony still weren't on the best grounds with each other. He wanted them at the maximum potential, so having them both do different things was the best idea he could come up with for now. 


"Sure." Frank said. Time alone with Thalia was always nice, too.


At the dark comment, though, the one that left Thalia's mouth, James frowned and held up a hand. "Kids, please." He said, "Let's keep things civil while we're down here. Unwritten rule of this bunker is that there's no fighting - With all the stuff we have lying around, you know it can get deadly." He said. "As for weapons, we've got Frank's and Thalia's sorted. Tony..." He thought for a moment. "Chances are you're not going to be doing much shooting. Your weapon will be last-resort only, but, I'll give you this." He went to the pistol rack and grabbed an M9, silenced. He chucked that over to him, and reached into one of the dozens of boxes he had and pulled out a couple of magazines of ammo. He threw those to him, as well. "Don't load the gun until the operation starts. Just keep it hidden for now." He said. 


"I, however, will be using the VSS Vintorez for this operation." He said, grinning as he took a gun from one of the racks and held it up.


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"A smaller sniper rifle, yes, but, compact and easy to hide. Not only that, the rifle's internally silenced, so any shooting I do won't be heard down on the ground." He explained. "That's my weapon of choice." He said. "Now that we're sorted, I'll get to dealing with those phones. You wait right here." He said, and off he went into the next room. Frank decided to poke around for a little bit, checking some of the boxes. He was quick to shut one box, though, because he saw that the box he'd opened contained blocks of C4. Holy shit. This guy was packing military-grade explosives? He didn't like to imagine some of the things that James was involved in, but he was keeping his lips sealed for now, as well as the box. He knew being nosey would end up getting him killed, so he made himself look as natural as he could in a room with Black Market weapons, and started to look over the guns James had here, instead.


It was only a few minutes later that James returned with a series of flip phones. They were all the same models, but, one by one, he handed them out to people until he only had two left. One for himself and Karin.


"Alright, these phones..." He said. "You've got each other's numbers in them. Thalia, you've got one for the sake of us communicating with you, just in case your actual phone ends up getting tapped. We'll communicate any operation business on these cells. Nothing more, nothing less." He explained. "As for Karin, Thalia..." He nodded. "Don't worry about her. I don't plan on putting her in any danger - I'm aware that she means a lot to Joseph, more than any one of us could ever understand. I give you my word that she won't be in any danger. She'll be behind a computer screen for the duration of this. Our eyes in the skies." He smiled at her.


He'd already proven to be a man of his word - they way he spoke of Joseph sounded quite fond, too. Had he developed a little connection with him, too?


"I've got a list, yeah." Frank said, then got it from his pocket and handed it off to James, who looked at it and nodded. 


"I'll gather all the intel I can." He said. "Tony, with me." He said. "We're going back inside and we're going upstairs, doing some plotting. I need some help doing it - I need there to be someone else there who can approve it all, too, and once that's done, we'll present it to everyone else." He said, then made his way for the door. "Thalia, Frank, all the weapons that we've picked out, pack them into bags with their ammo. Gather up all the ammo you think we'll need for what we've got, but try and pack light. The technology like the cameras and such is all in that other room, so, go in there and pick out several things. We need things we can stick to walls, things that can be hidden - get something of everything, and anything you deem suitable. Once you're done, meet us back up top, but for the love of god, kick some dirt back over the hatch, please." He said.


He walked out, presumably with Tony, and left the hatch open, but he took him back into the house and through to another room. An office, it looked like.


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He walked up and closed the curtains, and on the desk was obviously a computer. This wasn't the only tech he had, but for now, it was the only tech that Tony needed to see. It didn't take him long to pull up the maps of the whole operation location, as well as a CCTV feed. CCTV feeds were easy to access. A lot of them were unprotected - you didn't need to hack to be able to get into them. The CCTV they had at the minute gave them a good view of everything, but, that was all. He printed off a birdseye view of the whole area they were going to be working with, and he slapped that down on the desk.


"Camera positions, Tony. We need to worry about that." He said. "We need to know where to set up our own tech. We need to figure that out so everyone's aware of what's going on, on Karin's word, I mean." He said. "Can't say this is ever something I've done before, in all honesty, so I'm relying on you to pick some tactical positions for these. Somewhere hidden, somewhere where we can see plenty of everything." He said.
 
Tony agreed to follow James out of the weapon storage, leaving the hatch open for Thalia and Frank, who were to stick around and pack things up. He holstered his new pistol into where his old one would go before James dismantled it. The clips went into his inner jacket pocket. Another trip through the mansion lead him up the stairs to the hacker's office. Fancy, certainly. This man was fit for a king. And he already pulled the location and CCTV footage of the place in question, even if Thalia didn't give an address. Impressive indeed. Now: preplanning. Something Tony could converse about naturally. Something he could help with.


"Considerably, Thalia took care of most of the tactics, in other words, our positioning. You're going to be somewhere in these construction grounds here on the west side. Whatever floor is your choice. Whatever you can use to get eyes on Thalia, and whatever you can escape from quickly. I know she's pushing for little to no incident, but you know, Murphy's Law. I don't think Ra's will make this easy for us. From what we've been told, he's paranoid, and at this point, his bride-to-be isn't the most trustworthy at the moment. Especially if he wants her dead. For all we know, he could come with the sole purpose of killing her. If it does get messy, we all have to get the fuck out of there, fast. Thalia says she can jump the balcony, and survive? Damn, she must be quite the freerunner if you ask me... then again, judging by her past that I've read up about in the police reports, I wouldn't doubt it. She is pretty agile. Me escaping will be easy, right out the front door. Frank? Hopefully he can make his way out from the pool area and outside quickly..." He took the birdseye picture into his hands to get a better look. It gave a good look at the resort in question, the construction site across from it, and some of the surrounding roads. "It seems like there's a direct link between the pool and an exit to take Frank out front. He should make it out there..." He traced his finger from the front doors down the roads. Not long after, a block or two away, his finger stopped. "Here's our parking spot. I'm guessing we're leaning on you to pick our inconspicuous vehicle, but something to fit us all. We'll park it here. Me, Frank, and Thalia will have to run if it gets loud, walk calmly if it's still quiet, over here. Nobody suspects a damn thing." His finger continued from that road, making a right turn and tracing further towards the construction site. "Then we pick you up here. Best you be ready by the time we arrive, right?" There was no need to question James' competency. When they need to bolt, he most certainly would.


"So that's that for extraction. Our extraction. Thalia says that Ra's won't try any secret entrances. Out the front for his entrance and exit. Simple enough. She also claims he won't be guarded heavily, but me and Frank will keep our eyes peeled. Al-Asheera aren't hard to spot. They make it too easy with their tattoos. Your CCTV coverage should be enough to watch his every move, then our camera inside the chalet will cover when he's inside with Thalia, alongside your own eyes." In that moment, Tony wished he could have eyes on the inside. Maybe just to ogle at the girl inside. When she kept saying Ra's might try to have sex with her, it only piqued his curiosity to get a peek. Either way, not like he'd stop her from getting her just desserts from the beast. "Unfortunately, we don't have eyes INSIDE the particular chalet, but I think we can set up the camera as we go in. Again, Thalia seems to know the layout of the place better than the rest."


"The most critical of the CCTV footage is going to be the ones in the lobby, to the elevator, and across the third floor. Anything else is irrelevant, unless things go to shit and Ra's suddenly wants to take Thalia to the roof. Why the hell would he do that? I don't know, but we need to prepare for a worst case scenario. I don't trust Thalia to give the warning sign to shoot Ra's. That's just how I feel. It's not because of my general distrust in her. She thinks she's so strong, she can handle herself with that flimsy knife she had down there. Even if Ra's pins her down and starts slicing her skin... she needs to drop the tough girl act. She can't handle herself. If she even pulls a hair off her pretty little head--" Whoa, Tony. 'Pretty little head'? Way to give hints to the guy who put these ideas in your head. "--I mean... James, you should be ready to take initiative even if she doesn't say so. He could be cutting her up, for all we know, and she would not even scream or give the cue to shoot. Don't be afraid to shoot. That's what I'm trying to get at here."


"Our set-up locations seem pretty good. Frank at the pool, keeping a good distance and his weapons concealed. Me in the lobby as a lookout. You at the vantage point in a defensive manner. Thalia right in the hornet's nest... as much as I hold malice towards her, she's my only hope to get my girlfriend back. She's a necessary evil at this point... plus you've kind of threatened if I try to hurt her, you'd avenge her... Don't get why, though. I know she's pretty and all... but..."


WOW. You are falling for this bitch. Have you forgotten about Mel?


"N-Never mind, James. We also need to focus on worst case scenarios. From what I know, in this part of town, there aren't many cops around on patrol. So if this DOES get loud, we have a chance to escape without a cop/criminal chase. In the area, do you recognize any sort of danger we might have outside of the LAPD?


--


Alone time with Frank. It made Thalia playfully smile to her friend. Twirling the hilt of the knife in her fingertips in a manner to show off, Thalia couldn't take her eyes off of her detective friend. Not long ago, they've opened up on very dark parts of their lives. Thalia didn't want to necessarily bring up Frank's past again. She just wanted to comfort him. "So.... it's quiet down here," she smirked. "Ra's didn't have anything this advanced. James has enough to start a war. Maybe I'm just... not as experienced. I can't even name half these guns." But Frank still looked distraught. She had an idea... one he may or may not like. Placing her blade on the table, she stood up from sitting on the table, got closer to Frank, and without warning, hugged him. It wasn't a flirt. This was long overdue in her eyes. Ever since he and Tony argued about some girl named Natalie, she could only see Frank getting worse. He was in front of an explosion the previous day, and earlier looked like he was about to break down. He NEEDED this.


"You look like you could use the comfort," she told him, justifying her actions. She took a step back to part ways, her hands falling from his shoulders down to his elbows. Her eyes met his as she attempted to read his emotions. How he felt on the inside. The sting from what Tony brought up about Natalie was still there. Rather than bring it up directly, she targeted it in another way. "I want you to know... A-As a cop, I bet you've made mistakes. Ones that have costed lives. Maybe hurt some other people. And I can tell you feel that guilt inside you... Frank, as a girl who's ruined people's lives and have seen the guilty begging for mercy... I know that we cant save everyone, and that mistakes happen. I came back to the scene yesterday the diner because I couldn't stand the fact that Karin's brother had to see what I did. I may not have killed that man, but what do you think a ten year old is going to remember when he thinks about someone dying in front of him? He won't remember the three generic beach bums that were cursing at everyone. No... he's going to remember the redheaded girl with the dark messy eye makeup who was giving orders that seemed to dominate the place. THAT is what he'll remember every time he sees me. And that's the saddest part of it all. Sure, the boy's cool with me now... but he'll remember at some point what I did. Even if it wasn't entirely me."


She sighed, lowering her grip further into his palms, her thumbs gently running circles over the back of his hands, "My point being, we all regret things. But we can't sit around and blame ourselves for it. I have to live with the fact that I might've been the one who put that Richard guy down. I'll never know if it was me, but all I know is I had a part in it. It kills me to know he almost died and left a family behind, but if I'm going to dwell on it, I'll end up killing myself doing so. I get that moving on isn't simple. Which is why I told you if you ever want to talk... I'm here for you. I know, you and Tony aren't the best of friends anymore. But I just..." Her feelings were getting the better of her. In that moment, she felt too shy to even say anything. Subduing the redness in her face as best as she could, she reached behind her for the table. A pen rested there as well. Clicking it open, she took Frank's left hand and wrote something into his palm: Text me your address on the burner. I'll bring wings and a movie rental. As she wrote, her nervous eyes rose up to Frank's. How would a cop react to this extension of a helping hand? It sure as hell looked like a flirtatious advance. She could cost him his job. "Y-You can do that whenever you feel ready. You deserve someone who understands the pain of actions having consequences. A friend, even when this is all over. It may be obvious, but I don't have many. And how you've been on my side from the beginning? I appreciate it. Again... you don't have to immediately. When you feel ready and comfortable. I wouldn't be surprised if you felt bitter about me like Tony."


Once she finished writing, she returned the pen to its place and walked over to the room James designated had security cameras. They needed something small, easy to conceal so Ra's doesn't catch it, but also could intercept an audio stream. As she did, she kept talking to Frank. "One more thing... You said you'd quit the LAPD? I say this: don't let your feud with Tony ruin your dream. You can still be a cop even if it's without him. You don't forget that. You deserve to live your dream. Some... aren't as fortunate. I lost... I lost a lot of my dreams when I left home in Philly. You've come so far. Don't let a fight with your partner stop you." Relatability really served in Thalia's favor. This went beyond flirting. She didn't even know she was this good at giving advice. Maybe her own experience was a reflection of Frank's in one way or another. It was a shot in the dark to get him to talk. Open up.
 
He listened to what Tony had to say about the operation, and he nodded. It all seemed like logical choices, really. The parking spot, a couple of blocks away. Finding a car would be easy enough - there was only going to be four of them out in the field, whilst Karin was home safe. It made vehicle complications a lot simpler. Now, it was just a matter of discussing the plan and any potential flaws. James did get suspicious at points, though. The language Tony used to describe Thalia was nothing short of questionable. Why was he suddenly using the words he was using? He was nothing but hate an hour ago, now it seemed that he was giving off back-handed compliments in one way or another. James decided not to question it. Questioning it just seemed like a stupid plan, one that he didn't need to bring up and jeopardize everything they had going on right now.


"The building west from there... Most logical point would be halfway up or so. I'll probably decide that when we get there. Consider me in the midpoint of the construction building for now, and if that changes, I'll let you know over comms. As long as I have a decent vantage so I can see both Ra's and Thalia with ease, then there's nothing to worry about. If I can't see them, I'll move, simple as that." He explained. "Having Frank by the pool seems good enough, just as long as he stays in good cover. Send him in with a book or a newspaper, have him sit on one of the sunbeds, and from there he'll have a decent view over just about anything, and quick access to the building if he needs it. One thing I will do is suit you all up with some sunglasses. Not only do they help you blend in, but, I have models that have tiny cameras built into the Frame. They're not uncommon. A hundred bucks on Amazon, I'm pretty sure, but the point is, that'll give Karin something else to look at, so if you miss anything, she won't." He explained. "Gives us a chance to get some screenshots of any potential people of interest, too, including Ra's himself."


"As for you being in the lobby, you need to work exceptionally hard to make sure you stay undercover. No movement unless one of us makes the call. I assure you, my plan is to at least non-lethally take down Ra's if he gets too dangerous towards Thalia, so you don't need to worry there." He said. "We've given Thalia a safe-word, so, I'll let it get pushed to the absolute edge before I take any shots. If it looks like she's about to get hacked up, though, I'll be sure to intervene." He said. "All you need to worry about for this is not getting spotted. You'll blend in with everyone else, and if anyone gets suspicious, do something that'll help you be part of the crowd. Go grab another brochure, talk to the receptionist, start digging through your bag for something. Anything like that, basically." He said.


"The only potential threats we're going to have are, one, the possibility of Ra's bringing more men than we anticipate, or two, the witnesses. Public place, chances are there's going to be a fair few people there. We, or you and Frank, at least, are at risk of getting ID'ed should things go to shit. Because of that, sunglasses stay on. It might make things a little difficult, though, especially if there's anyone who tries to play the hero. I'm not condoning the shooting of civilians, but, if anyone tries to act smart, tries to jump in to 'take down the shooter', then you're free to throw a few punches to get rid of those. That's the only risk I can think of." He said. "I'll have someone make arrangements for the car to be leff somewhere not too far from here. He'll slip us the keys while we walk there, and then it's that simple. Don't worry, the guy I'm having do that is trustworthy. Just don't make it obvious you're a cop - the guy's a little jumpy." He shrugged.


"Other than what we discussed, things will be smooth-running. Other than the CCTV we already have access to, we can place some of our own cameras nearby each of you - If things go to shit, the cameras get fried and there's no trace of where they came from. Any small cameras we have other than the glasses aren't something you'll have, but they'll be useful for Frank, and for me, so that Karin can quite literally watch my back while I'm set up as a sniper." He explained. "Camera feeds, guns, an escape route for everyone, and overall, a solid plan. I can't knock that." He said, then grabbed a pen from his desk and dropped it down in front of Tony. "Draw a line on everyone's escape routes, label them with their name. We all rendevouz at the car at different points, not all together. The only two people who can arrive at the car at once are you and Frank, given the fact you'll have one clear walk. Pick me up after, then we'll loop around and get Thalia from somewhere. Make sure the location you pick for her is well out of view of the operation ground. Last thing we need is Ra's seeing us and blowing a lid on the whole thing."


"If there's nothing else you need to add, I need to talk to a man about a car." He said, pulling out his phone with a smile. Before he did anything else, though, he texted Thalia's burner phone. 


'Don't forget to grab some earpieces for everyone but you (not worth the risk of you wearing one of those around our target, obviously) - Cobra.' 


--


Frank wasn't sure how the time with Thalia was going to end, but the hug was nice, one that he definitely did indeed need. He hugged her back, tightly, and set his head down on her shoulder. He took in a deep breath through his nose and inhaled her scent. Pleasant, was all he could say. There was no way, regardless of what Tony said, that this girl was a stone-cold killer. This wasn't how one of them acted - if she was really a killer, she'd have slipped a knife in his ribs by now, and that would have been the end of it. Did he really look this bad, though? Bad enough to need a hug and everything as some form of comfort? Were his eyes really showing that much pain and tiredness? Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised. It had been too long since he'd had any decent form of sleep. Already, some form of deep conversation was in the works. Mistakes, all the rest of it.


"I've been making mistakes all my life, Thalia." He chuckled once. "Ever since I was little I've made mistakes. You know about my biggest mistake, but of course, there's others." He shrugged, "Times I've tried to play the hero, nearly got killed, nearly got someone else killed, didn't prevent someone from getting killed. The list goes on." He said. "After a while, when you make enough mistakes and get put through the chaos that they result in, you eventually desensitize to it. You get used to dealing with it, and you sort of just accept it as part of your life, somehow." He shrugged. "I don't know how or why it all works like that, but quite simply, it does. You fuck things up enough and you just sort of... Stop feeling the sting, unless you really let it happen. I guess that's what I'm doing now. The past twenty years are finally catching up with me. It goes to show, really, you can hop on a plane and fly across the country, but... Your mistakes find you eventually. Be it ten days or twenty years, they catch up to you, for better or for worse." He explained, then shook his head.


When he had that little line of words written on his palm, though, he smiled, and he looked up at her and nodded. When she got up, though, he quickly reached out and took hold of her hand to stop her from going anywhere. "Wait," He said, alongside that action. "I'm not bitter about you, honestly. I'm not." He shook his head. "Yeah, this thing with Tony may have brought me down, but, at the end of the line, I suppose what I do all depends on how things play out." He said. "I doubt I'll quit, unless it's for a good reason." He said. "We'll have to wait and see, but..." He sighed. "Look, I don't blame you for any of this, alright?" He said. "I believe in your honesty far more than I do in Tony's right now, and as horrible as it probably sounds for me to say that, that's the truth." He said.


Finally, he held up the hand and showed the text that she'd written on his palm, and with a smile, he swallowed down his nerves and asked one thing.


"How about... How about tonight?" He asked. "If all things go well, I mean." 


A bold move was all he saw it as, but it was something he wanted to take a chance on. Having some company this evening would be pleasant - more than that, even, and if it was from Thalia? Dream come true, basically. He didn't want her to withdraw herself. He wanted her to know that he was all up for spending that time with her - sooner than she may have imagined, too.
 
Next order of business was drawing out how everyone would evacuate. Like James said, all three of them leaving together is a massive red flag. It puts them all together like a package deal and blows the operation, especially if someone makes them out. With an experience in these sorts of plans, Tony took the pen in his hand, twirled it a bit in his fingers, and nodded, about to give his two cents about the additional comments.


"Frank and I are cops. I've done plenty of undercover operations. I bet he has as well. We may not be world-class liars like Thalia, but I bet we can hold our own. There's nothing to worry about us. If we get ID'd, I'm sure I can talk my way out of it and keep myself from looking suspicious. Frank should too. It's what they teach us to do. He should know how to keep to himself and look occupied down there. I can manage myself, of course. Witnesses shouldn't be a problem unless the operation goes loud, or someone gets tipped off and they start searching us. Hoping that doesn't have to be the case. As for Ra's bringing more men? Something in my gut tells me Thalia might be underestimating him. Maybe because she still loves him. A creepy case of Stockholm Syndrome, you think?" Atta boy, Tone. Got the heat off of you by insulting her again. "Think about it. What if she's plotting this whole thing out with him and this is what they want? What if they just want us to see them have sex while they bring their men out to get the drop on us? I'll be ready in case they try to, sure. I know how to defend myself... and go a bit overboard, like I did to Thalia. So don't worry about a thing. Al-Asheera are no match against a veteran like myself."


Pretty confident words from Tony. As well as a bit of disrespect to Thalia to sell his act. He came too close to comfort complimenting her earlier. James is going to get suspicious if he doesn't keep this grudge up. Why did it have to come to this? I hated her... I hated her for so long now, and now out of nowhere I love her?! Where did that come from?! Disgusting in his mind. But his emotions spoke louder.


"I'll get to work on the escape routes, James. Feel free to make your calls. Don't mind me."


With that, Tony simply buried his face into the birdseye view of the resort. It sure was a nice place. It'd pain him to have to scribble over it in pen in order to plan out the escape route, but it was necessary. He would set it up, covering his hand as if it were in some form of secrecy, and drew away, lines from the structure to the point where he planned on parking the car. Even arrows from there to other locations to throw people off. He'd explain it to everyone later. In the midst of the brief silence, Tony asked... a more personal question. "Do you really believe in the schoolyard bully trick? As in... you bully someone because you like them. As a guy who reads people and searches their faces, do you buy any of that? I find it a load of crap, personally. But still... shit happens. The bully and bullied end up fucking behind a dumpster. A creepy phenomenon. Is there any truth to it? I've worked so many cases with this kind of theme and could never really understand how it happens. The human mind, James... a tremendous instrument that we'll never fully comprehend. Has to do with a case I was working up before I was put on Al-Asheera. Maybe you could give some... insight."


There you go again. Risking it. But he had to. He needed to know why he felt that way about Thalia all of a sudden.


--


The sudden and uncalled for gesture sparked new horizons for conversations between Thalia and Frank. Not only did they share the common ground of regretting their past mistakes, but there was a bonding trust between the two amidst their actions and circumstance. Even after the constant slanderous remarks Tony would throw at her, and even making her out to be a liar in front of their entire team, Frank still trusted her. And Thalia found his words genuine. Finally, someone she could trust from all of these cops and the voice in her head pushing her against her will. Frank believed in her innocence; he didn't buy in to Tony's words against her and was still going to fight for her to live past this. He didn't think she was a killer. Finally someone who believed that. A relief, most definitely. Letting go of Frank was tough to do, and it seemed tough on him as well seeing he grabbed her before she could wander off. He trusted her. Doesn't blame her for anything. And it meant the world to her. "I hope we can be good friends after this is over, Frank. It's kind of cliche... cop and criminal, I know. But maybe when I'm not your prime suspect, we can sit down, get to know each other better."


A vibration came from the burner phone Thalia had been given. A message from Cobra. James. She quickly sent a text back confirming his request: 'Gotcha'. She was about to head for the next room, until Frank popped the question.


TONIGHT?! Oh. Shit. She was trying her hardest not to squeal aloud, but in her head, her heart was about to explode. Sure, this wasn't exactly a date, but a night with Frank at his place? She couldn't even believe actually wanted to. It was the sort of spur-of-the-moment question that she expected him to forget and wash off his hand the next morning. But no. Frank was serious. He wanted to see her, and as soon as tonight. He wasn't going to give this a second thought? Was HE really falling for her? The way he hugged back certainly made it seem like he enjoyed it and didn't want to part. Secretly? Neither did she. All the sappy thoughts of a stay-at-home date with movies and take-out or something flooded her mind. Maybe she's been watching too many girly movies in her off-time. Maybe it was that teenager on the inside begging to experience that sort of thrill instead of the adrenaline rush of running away from cops. Not to mention her newborn attachment to Frank and shot in the dark for a date. He was basically saying yes. Inside, she was screaming in excitement. She wanted to tell Karin so badly, talking about how the date would go, what she should do to not make a fool out of herself. She already was when he offered tonight. She froze in her spot with a frilly smile on her blushed face. The answer was clearly a yes to her, but the word wasn't coming out. Her hands toyed with each other in front of her frame, trying to piece together the right words. But that came out as a disaster.


"Um... Heheh..." Her giggle was one of pleasure, that was for sure. It didn't take a master detective to deduce that. Focus, T, before he bolts because you're acting like a 16 year old girl. "Tonight? ... I'd..." She tried to subdue her happiness by biting her lip, but it only served to make her look like a fool even more. A fool for love, if anything. "I'd love that, Frank." Once more, she had to continue to make herself seem like a geeky girl drooling over the football captain, reaching for the pen on that table from before and handing it down to Frank, as if to reciprocate what she did to him back to her with his address. "Where.... heh... where do you live?" She'd find him on her own. If there was anything she could do, it was navigate streets of a new environment. She'd find Frank's house with the address alone, even if she was late. Never was she this excited for anything. Dating was a privilege she didn't get being betrothed from her early teens. The last time she dated ended terribly. It was then that Thalia realized that dating Frank would put him more danger than ever. Ra's would not spare him. Not one second. They'd both die.


Order of the day? Proceed with caution. On all fronts. If something horrible happened to Frank because she was falling head over heels, she'd never forgive herself.
 
"I have faith that you and Frank will be just fine." He said, "I know you guys are professional; you can handle yourselves. If things do go sour, then I'll be at a distance to deal with things. I can intervene if things go to shit, and if you do find yourself in a place where they give you trouble, then they won't be able to tell where I'm shooting from. Silenced weapon and all." He said, "If I do intervene, that'll give you a chance to get out of there and act on it before you or Frank can get hurt, you know what I mean?" He said. "The escape routes I'll entrust in you, and we have nothing to worry about, I'm sure." He said. 


He soon turned and got out his phone to make a call. It didn't take too long, and he did indeed put it on speaker so that Tony knew what was going on. He wanted him to trust him, of course. That was the most important thing here - It wasn't hard to tell the guy he got on the line to was pissed off, but, as James said when he was on the phone to him, the guy owed him a favor. Before too long, the guy had confirmed something for him. A few blocks down from where he lived, behind a convenience store - There'd be a four-door car with slightly tinted windows, fake license plates, and enough trunk space to fit a few beach bags.


He said to James that after he did this for him, they were even. The key would be tucked in above the back-right fender. They were told the car would be there within the hour, and not to leave it there too long. Fair enough, really. James got off the phone to him before too long, and that was more or less it. Their car was sorted, and now their escape routes were, too. They more or less had everything planned out, which was always nice. James liked the fact that they were organized, and organized was what was going to make the operation work.


"If Thalia is indeed underestimating Ra's, then we'll know about it, and we'll be equipped to deal with it, too. Frank's got a thin, light build. Some muscle from what I can see, but, not too heavy. I'm sure he can get around quickly and safely without pulling any muscles, and more importantly, without getting any lead in his ass. If things do go pear-shaped, then he'll have no trouble getting out of there. I doubt you will, either. Don't worry, Tony, if things do turn out differently to what we'll predict, we'll have Karin right here behind the cameras, and she'll be able to pinpoint any hostiles we have. We'll set up a camera around every angle of the place, so she'll know if anyone tries to get the jump on us, too." He explained.


As for the more personal question he ended up asking... It did make James a little more suspicious because the timing was indeed very convenient, but at the same time, it made him think about his answer.


"I'd say it's true to some extent, Tony, but it's not as simple as everyone makes it sound." He said. "The schoolyard bully complex isn't a simple thing in itself. Kids knew not to bully me when I was younger, but, I knew plenty of people that were bullied. Bullies don't bully for no reason - They bully people because of a lack of something in their own life, I think. Kids whose parents are going through a divorce will bully other kids to vent their own emotion, or out of jealousy. In terms of the playground-bully-in-love sort of thing... I don't think it's because they like them. I think it's because in their mind, they've subconsciously accepted that the possibility of romance or any form of intimacy between them has become... Extremely unlikely, and as a result, an obsession develops. Part of this obsession is trying to bring themselves closer to their target - and, thus, they try and bully the person into liking them, as all of their other attempts have already failed." He explained.


"That's my theory. I can't say I've read much about it, but, you and I both know, Tony, that if you want someone to fall in love with you, you don't bully them relentlessly." He chuckled. "I wouldn't think too deeply on it." He added. "Now, is there anything else we need to cover, or would you like to walk down to the store with me and do some clothes' shopping while we wait for the car to arrive? Providing you've plotted all the escape routes, of course." He said.


--


He thought it was funny how she was getting all giddy around him, acting all stupid and... Cute. He loved it, in all honesty, and the fact that she seemed so excited to spend time with him was just amazing. This was working out just the way he wanted it to, but, he knew that this kind of behavior was only going to increase his bond with Thalia, and as a result, that was going to make him more protective of her, too. He didn't want Tony to continue beating her around, and now that he was quickly falling further in love with her, the thought of Tony doing as much as laying a hand on her made his blood partially boil.


"Where do I live?" He grinned, "Well, I'll get that written down for you." He said. He reached out and took the back of her hand in his own, then pulled it down and popped the cap off the pen. He quickly scribbled his address down in small writing there, just so she could keep it safe. "Make sure you write that down on some paper and wash it off your hand ASAP." He said. "The pen's not permanent. We'll write it down somewhere when we get back inside. We wouldn't want Tony seeing that - or more importantly, Ra's. Ra's already knows my address, so..." He laughed. "Seeing it on your hand is likely to piss him off, and I don't fancy having to face him, y'know?" He winked.


"I... Look forward to spending some time with you, Thalia. Providing I don't get back too late, I'll cook us something, alright?" He said. "You mentioned wings earlier, so I'll cook something with chicken. You bring the popcorn, I'll provide the quality entertainment and the big TV, and we'll be flying, I'm sure." He said, smiling.


The temptation just to kiss her, just once, was so strong, but he didn't know whether or not it was an appropriate option to hold back for now. He knew that maybe waiting for a while was the best bet, but, the urge was there.


He wasn't worried about Ra's or any of Al-Asheera, for that matter. He was willing to hit it off with Thalia if he got given the chance, and looking into her eyes even further was something that made the urge even stronger. Would it really hurt? Just to express his attraction and fondness of her? Or would it be better to wait?


Wait? Show? Wait? Show? A question that kept ringing through his head.


After locking eyes with her for a moment, and realizing he'd been looking at her and had gone quiet for a minute, his cheeks went the slightest bit pink, and he quickly cleared his throat.


"So." He coughed, "Should we..." He nodded towards the room with all the tech. "Start packing things up, or, um... Yeah." He chuckled. The shyness was washing over him too much. He had to fix himself up - he could feel himself getting hot under the collar, but honestly, it felt so good. 
 
James was confident in the plan, and that gave Tony reason to share his confidence in the success rate of this operation. The car would be prepared as he asked for on the phone. Owing a guy a favor. And he seemed to trust the integrity of the operation even if Ra's brings backup and outnumber the crew. The perks of having a sniper on lookout was this ability to cover the crew in a worst case scenario. Also a way for everyone to evade the chaos: James creating a distraction, Frank and Tony making a run for it. Thalia? Who knows what she'll do. He ... hoped she'd be okay? Or did he hope that Ra's would rape her and kill her? Which was it? Such a conflict within him. Was he falling in love with the mystery redhead...?


Then came the explanation of the schoolyard bully complex. James' words... why did Tony find truth in his words? Let's start from the beginning: troubled past. Tony never met his mother. She passed away when he was born. Was his childhood crappy though? Probably not. Growing up with only his father wasn't all that problematic. They had their fights, but he had no malice against the man, especially in his old age. Or was he venting his frustration in a different way? He wasn't a bully at school; on the contrary, he was quite a womanizer. But he was surely obsessive. He's obsessed over his own bullies in high school, his cases in the past... and most recently, Thalia. He was obsessed with her, without a doubt. Ever since the mystery redhead made her first appearance in LA, Tony was placed to head up the case. But he wasn't focusing on Al-Asheera. He was focusing on Thalia. Her sketch was engraved in his head, just wondering what lied beneath that mask and the rough makeup. Her eyes, green, according to witnesses, stood out above all else. But every night that week, Tony could only ask himself: What would he do to the mystery redhead if she were ever in reach? Would he have done what he did to Pigman in the bathroom? Bloodied her body into oblivion until she was begging to end her own life? Ridiculed her for a reaction? Especially after what she did to Richard, even if it wasn't her bullet. Now he knew a name for her, and the looks under the mask.


And there she was not far away. Thalia Griffin. The beauty through the eyes of a predator. And that predator was Tony. And he was afraid that his obsession was turning into love in the only way he knew how. Was it taking away from his love to his long-term girlfriend? Did she love this woman--a criminal--more than his doctor for a girlfriend? Was it beyond the looks? Was it the double sided aggression that got him off? Was it his joy in her misery? Was Melissa not giving him enough? Was it the desire for that closeness to his enemy? The philosophy to keep friends close and enemies closer? Well, he sure as hell has his enemy as close as ever. But all he wanted to do was harass her, make her angry, build the fire. Because that might be all he knows how to do. That might be the only way he can get her attention, even if it's in another physical altercation. He craved this more than ever in his life. But he sure as hell couldn't tell that to anyone. Not even to Frank, who might be interested in her as well. James was right. He did want sex and attention from a young attractive woman.


Worse: James was catching on, giving him advice not to abuse whoever it was. He's clearly aware that he might be after Thalia simply because he is obsessed with the thought of her. It even haunted him in his dreams with his girlfriend sleeping by his side. Boy, does Tony have problems. "Of course, James. What kind of savage do you take me for? Of course I know that abuse isn't the way to go about this.... But let's not diverge from the plan. I know how we'll evacuate. So... you said we need to do some shopping? I'm in on that. I can get for Frank by judging his size... Thalia? I could guess something nice for her." Though Tony would obviously want to get something sort of revealing for eye candy for himself. But that was all part of his obsession. He had to do his best to contain it.


--


Warmness invaded Thalia's insides, almost dying to jump at Frank and kiss him. It was too tempting to do, especially when he wrote his address on her hand. Her heart skipped a beat with each word he said and inscribed on her palm. She smiled to him, blushing further. That shyness within her... she was acting like a teenager and Frank didn't seem to mind at all. On the contrary, he might be playing along. His excuse for wanting her to record the address elsewhere made her giggle. Tony would be furious if he saw that, might even attack them both. His anger was something she didn't need, and Ra's would certainly kill them both if he saw that. He knows where Frank lives, after all. She wanted to be close to him, so badly. And she'd protect him if that day came. He seemed like he could handle himself physically, but he wasn't trained the same way as Thalia. For her, Ra's wouldn't be such a wild card. And she could handle Tony. She only let her guard down when he kneed her in the gut. She wouldn't let him get the drop on her this time. "Don't worry, Frank... whoever comes after us, I'm... I'm a bit of a fighter. And if anyone wants to hurt you..." Once the detective finished writing on her hand, she lifted her opposite hand up to Frank's respective shoulder, the hand falling down to his chest and her eyes lost in his. "They have to get through me first." A promise she intended to keep. She would never let anything bad happen to him, and she'd fight by his side no matter the cause. Against Ra's? Against Tony? She'd do it. But she wanted more: she wanted the dumb teenage romance that she never got a chance to have, even if it's with a grown-ass man who probably has better things to do. Why did he accept this with her? The important thing was that he did accept. It left her ecstatic.


The stinging fuzzy feeling inside her was getting the better of her, as well as a mild sweating sensation down her neck, and the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. She could tell that Frank wanted to make a move, just by the way he looked back at her. Both were seemingly in a trance with one another in the privacy of the weapons locker. You love him. YOU FUCKING LOVE HIM. Just kiss him already. And that's what she did. Her body leaned a bit closer to Frank's, standing on her toes so her lips could reach her own. Her eyes shut ever so slightly as she laid a good ten second kiss over his lips, her hand with ink writing on it grazing his cheek. She hadn't kissed someone like that in a long time. Not in a way that she meant the affection.


Did she seriously just kiss Frank? Did he like it? After the time passed, her head remained in proximity with his own for a bit more, until the reality of the situation hit her: someone could walk in at any second. She suddenly withdrew, her blissful facial expression now afraid, freaked out. Her hands found themselves over her face, ashamed of being so rash. And in private. It wasn't like she was trying to sell an act. Now? She was falling for this man, and sent the message loud and clear. "Oh, my god... I'm sorry, Frank. That was too fast, I know..." She stepped away from him, talking quickly and trying not to look back at him.  Your impulsive mind did that to you. But SHIIIIIT. That felt so good. I sooo wish he loved it! Eeeek!  That was a question for later. She took a look around the second room. There were a few earpieces laying around on the table, sort of like the bluetooth ones for cell phones. Would those work? She also found a series of small cameras, all seemingly easy to conceal. But hell, Thalia wasn't a tech expert. Frank would be able to help her. but she was far too embarrassed to even look at him. But Thalia focused on work. On the ground lay a few duffel bags, enough to stuff the gear in. She knelt down to open of them and forced the zipper open, her actions more focused, yet shaky. Deep down? She loved the kiss. She just got scared. And she needed to know the truth.


"I'm... I didn't mean to do that, Frank. I mean... I liked it, but... did you? Was that too sudden? I didn't want to force you into something you don't want. I'm sorry... just, maybe... Ugh. I don't even know." Mixed with all the thoughts and words just coming out of her mouth senselessly, Thalia let go of the earpieces into the carry-on and let her hands cover her face in fear. Anxiety. She never made the first move unless she wanted to rob an unsuspecting clubber. But that wasn't Frank. She felt something for Frank. And she felt she pushed him away because she didn't know how to take it slow. Maybe she should've waited until she felt more... mature to do that. In her mind, she still felt like a kid. How could Frank like a kid?
 
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