Of Kings and Pawns (IC)

[DrTrollinski]

"I don't take you for any sort of monster. Not yet." He winked at him, then gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go out and get that shit dealt with." He said. "For the clothes, we're going to beach clothes. Shorts for Thalia, tank top. Frank... T-shirt, shorts, some light sneakers. Same sort of thing for you. For me? I'll be wearing something plain, make sure I sort of blend in with the construction stuff a little bit, so I can't be spotted from a distance." He explained. "Come on, let's make a move." He said, and with that, he turned off the computer and lead Tony out of the office. It was time to get out there and buy what they needed, and get the car, of course. James had something he wanted to do before they left, though, and that was check on Joseph to make sure he was alright. Why did he care so much? He wasn't so sure. He just did. He cared about him, and Karin. He had a sense of concern for the boy that was already clearly quite fond of him. He lead Tony through to the living room first, and there, they found Karin and Joseph cuddled up on the couch, watching TV.


"Hey, buddy." James went up to the couch and looked down at Joseph. Pale-faced, but looking happy enough.


"Hey." He smiled.


"I'm just walking to the store, just wanted to check if you were okay." He said.


"Uh-huh, I'm alright, just not feeling too well. Upset stomach and stuff." He shrugged.


"Ah, alright." He said, "I'll buy you some medicine to help sort that out while I'm out, okay?" He smiled.


"Thanks. Will you be long?"


"Nah, of course not. It's just a couple of blocks down. Twenty minutes or so, I reckon." He said.


"Alright." He smiled, then looked at Karin. Karin knew that she and James couldn't just get away with it now - they had to do something. James was way ahead of her, though - Tony was probably going to be a bit surprised, but, he was going to do it, regardless of what he thought. 


"See you soon." He winked at her, and without hesitation, leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips. Karin went red right away, but she smiled and let out a breathless sigh.


"Yeah." She managed to say - Joseph looked happy enough to see a little kiss between them, too. It was nice for him to see that, to have it proven that the two of them were indeed 'dating' - James was probably in for a few questions, surely, but he didn't mind. After ruffling Joseph's hair, he stood back up straight, and off he went, leading Tony out of the house and onto the street. Finally, Tony got a good look at what his house looked like. It was hard to tell from the inside that it looked like this, but now he knew.


"Come on, follow me." James said, and, with that, he began walking. Getting to the store wasn't too much of a problem. It was a hot day, sure, but before they knew it, they arrived at the little convenience store. It was going to be some time before their car arrived, but that was no issue. They had plenty of time to do some shopping and everything. "Alright, you know what's best for Frank in terms of size." He said. "You go and get your clothes, and something for him, too. I've got what I'm wearing back at home, so I'll go pick something out for Thalia. Her size isn't hard to estimate." He said. "While you're here, grab anything else you think might be useful. Hats, a few newspapers, anything that'll help us stay hidden." He said to him, quietly. The neighborhood was quiet, too, which was always nice. 


--


"My word means the same as yours." He said, "I've got your back, as well. If anyone tries to hurt you, I'll be there to watch out for you, don't worry." He said. "I know how to handle myself. I won't throw you to the hounds." He explained to her, and he thought that that was going to be it, but it wasn't. It wasn't the end of what they had to say, because Thalia picked up on what he wanted like it was nothing. Was it really that obvious? Either way, he certainly didn't pull away when she stood up and kissed him. He played right along, combining his own lips in the equation and going for it for the whole ten seconds they were there. The ten seconds went far too quick, honestly, and he just wanted it to keep going. When she pulled away, he just looked at her and smiled, his cheeks red and his eyes looking just as happy as he himself did.


His gaze was soft, but he frowned a little when she apologized. She didn't need to say sorry for that, there was no need. He'd enjoyed himself - He felt so much happier than he'd been in months now, and he was wildly in love. It was crazy how he'd fallen for Thalia in such a short space of time, but the two of them had that chemistry. He wasn't obsessed with her, but he respected her, he found her beautiful - stunning, in fact - and he thought that she was something he'd love to spend more time with, even on an intimate level. He was a little lost for words at first, unsure of what he could actually say to her, but he knew what he was going to say and do eventually, so he just followed her into the room.


"It's... Okay." He smiled. 


When she covered her face, though, he knew that this was the right time. Had he enjoyed it? Of course he had - Was it not obvious? There was only one way for him to prove it, too, so he went up to her, and he lifted both hands and slowly pulled hers away from her face, off to the side. He looked into her eyes, then scanned over her face a few times, a smile still present.


Did he enjoy it?


Well, now he knew the feeling was mutual...


He went forward once again, and this time, it really came from the heart. A proper kiss, one hand going up behind her neck to hold her head, and the other resting on her waist. Maybe a bit crazy, but, as he stepped forward, the chance was they were going to find themselve back against one of the desks in the room. She wanted to know if he enjoyed it? The fact that he was going for it like this already screamed one thing - he didn't just enjoy it. He loved it. He loved every second of it, and the longer she was away from him, the more he found himself craving the same moment to replay.


His heart beat out of his chest, but he finally did what he wanted. A real kiss, one he'd wanted to deliver to her for a while now. It was crazy, but, they did it all the same. Now they were alone in the confines of the bunker - nothing could stop them, not yet. He knew Tony and James were hard at work, and he knew it was wrong to mix business with pleasure, but...


It felt so good. 

 

[KasperXIII]

Once again, a romance that seemed to blossom from this extreme circumstance was taking flight right in front of Tony's eyes. They say that relationships start in extreme circumstance. Looks like that applied here. First Frank and Thalia, now James and Karin. Still unaware of the fact that the latter are using the relationship as a cover story to not scare Joseph, he genuinely believed that they were starting to kindle some sort of spark. Tony hadn't experienced something like that in a long, long time. Not since he first hit it off with Melissa. But after so many years without making any sort of permanent commitment really killed the intimacy between the two. They saw each other less and less due to their jobs, but he still cared about her. Was this gap between them the reason Tony's obsession with Thalia was transforming into something more? Maybe he just wanted to feel something again, just like he did in the beginning. But the only way he could to someone who he considered prey was to become aggressive. Make an enemy out of her. So far, he was doing a fantastic job at that. Thalia hated him, evident in her outburst back at Karin's house when she toppled him to the ground and screamed in his face. But she hesitated. Even Tony's hatred couldn't look past that. Maybe she wasn't a killer. Or maybe she might feel the spark too? Perhaps.


What Tony did know from the display in front of him was that James seemed to have a unique connection to Joseph, even if it was just playing nice with him. He seemed like such a sweetheart around kids. Age does that to people, maybe. He didn't catch James' age from the back of the car when he told, but he wouldn't say he's more than 30 judging by his looks. He wasn't going to knock the relationship either way. Karin seemed to enjoy the kiss. Romance was romance. But still... it boiled Tony's blood to know that his partner was dating a thief. The same thief he was starting to fall for. Now more than ever he cursed the name of the mystery redhead who mesmerized him with this feeling of intimacy. Or at least the desire for it. Love is in the air, Tone. And your girl is suffering in some monkey cage with Ra's. Don't lose sight of the big picture.


The trust between Tony and James was slowly regenerating, seeing that he finally got a chance to see the grand establishment he called his home from the outside. Seeing it from the back of the car with his head down left him with very little to marvel at. Certainly this man knows how to live. Maybe he could settle down in one of these later off of Melissa's salary? Kind of exploiting, but he didn't like to think of it as such. The walk to the convenience store didn't even take that long. It was a simple place that seemed to have enough to stock up on their coming venture. Tony glanced around the place to know exactly where to go, and just before the two split off to men's and women's clothing sections, Tony had the overwhelming curiosity to ask:


"So... how EXACTLY did you meet Karin? Was it the Deep Web? Or did you find her elsewhere? Because there's no way a girl like her would hit it off so soon, you know? I just find it weird, is all." A question of curiosity as he reached for a rack with magazines and today's newspapers. He took a look around the rack, picking what he or Frank could sell off as acting natural. He stuck around there until he got an answer from James, then wandered off to the men's section of the place. If he got lucky, he'd also find some beach gear. Towels, beach bags, that kind of stuff. Anything to pass off as a few tourists on vacation or something. All they had to do was hope that Ra's himself doesn't see their faces. If he knows their addresses, he obviously knows how they look as well. But that's what the sunglasses were for.


--


As her hands cleared from her face, Thalia's eyes met with Frank's once more as he took her close once more, a smile coming from both parties. When one of his hands landed over her hips, the other over her neck, as well as his words that everything was okay, Thalia's racing heart flew from its place, knowing what he was going to do well enough. She'd been with enough men to know the obvious signs when someone is falling for her. But Frank felt deeper. More than just a physical attraction. Whether it was the spark from an extreme circumstance or literally love at first sight, they had a connection. And to know he wanted to continue kissing her was the best sign she could receive in that moment. Her focus drifted away from her orders to prepare, once again, putting her own pleasure before business, and met his lips, this time, for longer. Her hands lifted, one of them over Frank's on her neck, the other over his shoulder. She really didn't know how to play this out romantically. Usually she's only kissed guys to get them undressed and steal their wallets. This was different. She didn't want his money or belongings; she simply wanted HIM.


Is this.... EEEEEEEP! Indeed, as surprised as she was, it was happening. Whatever sort of bond the two had, it was mutual. Her eyes shut slightly from the state of bliss, meeting his kiss as equally as he landed it on her lips, but letting him lead the way. She'd lead way too many one night stands in the past. She wanted to be at someone's pace for once, to be someone's equal rather than dominate them. And being with Frank immediately killed her tough girl act and her desire for dominance. She felt a slight weakness in the knees, almost like she could be swept off her feet from how head over heels she'd fallen. She hadn't felt this way since Vanessa, except this time, she wouldn't let Ra's take this partner from her. Feeling like she could literally fall into Frank's arms from how nervous she'd become, Thalia took a step back, pulling Frank with her in his advance, and sat on the table behind her. She pulled him closer and continued the kiss. The brief parting was enough to make her miss that feeling of intimacy that permeated her body. She didn't want it to fade away, her arms crawling over his shoulders and gripping his suit jacket while her lips followed the pattern that Frank's were tracing out over hers. Her legs, though still a bit shaky, looped around his lower body to keep him close to her and prevent him from pulling back. This time, she sure as hell wouldn't. It didn't seem like he did either.


Say something? Thalia didn't know what to say. This was okay to the detective. And their actions really spoke louder than words. She'd been thinking of this for a while, and it was all a dream come true. Her heart felt like it was racing at a hundred miles and hour, and she could feel the tension in her body manifesting in a warm feeling within her. But none of that was stopping her. The voice in her head was still screaming like a schoolgirl, and she was still afraid of screwing up. But Frank hasn't pulled away yet. Maybe he likes the cute foolish girl act. She'd grow up someday, that's for sure. But this? This would never get old.


What if someone walked in? Karin would be impressed. Tony would butcher them both. James? Who knows what he'd do. Joseph? He's probably seen worse on the internet. That worker James had? Probably wouldn't care. It was that thrill... the fear that someone could walk in and expose them that made this even more exciting. It would get them a bunch of stern, nasty words, but it's not like it would stop either of them. With time, Thalia's confidence grew, finally mustering a few words, her head parting from his lips briefly and to his ear, whispering, "I think I'm falling for you..." Once she got those words out, she resumed the kiss. Happily so, too.


Yes. This is happening. FINALLY you make a move. Or... he did. But oh fucking well. You are so lucky. And so dead, too. Thief and cop? Classic. But it'll cost you.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"It's a long story how I and Karin and Thalia met." He said. "They turned to me for help, and yes, sadly that way of looking for help was rocking up on The Deep Web with no proxies, no protection, and their webcam uncovered. Some of the fuckheads on that site would have a field day with two girls like them. It's lucky they found me - not to brag." He said. "You've probably had some horror stories, being a cop. The guys you find on there aren't people to play around with, and if you need their help, you don't go on there without doing your research first. If Karin had chosen to contact anyone other than me, she risked a lot of things. She could have had all of her personal information stolen, she could have had some criminal show up at her house and do a whole number of things - Blackmail, too, that's a common one. Blackmail for money she doesn't have." He said.


"To put it in simpler forms, she clicked a suspicious-looking hyperlink which initiated a download, which happened to be an auto-running e-x-e file. I had enough on there to bypass most modern Internet Security programs, but, the software's outdated, in dire need of an update. Either way, all I got was a little popup telling me some sap had been stupid - and brave - enough to click the only thing on that page." He explained. "I get there, and almost immediately I've got a trace on her. Got an address, from an address, I got a name - a name unlocked everything, practically. Then I had the webcam hijack without issue." He shook his head, "I don't know what it was that made me give so much mercy. Usually, anyone like that I'd leave for the FBI to question, but..." 


He paused.


"I bounced her IP. Sent it off to Melbourne, Australia. I gave them both a chance - I guess the thing that made me most sympathetic was when I looked more into Karin's past. As for Thalia... Couldn't find anything on her." He said. "A lot of tech you didn't see is, like, almost NSA-level facial recognition. When that can't find a hit on a mystery girl? I knew I was in for a treat with that alone. With Karin I went back years in moments, though. Car crash, both parents, and she was only eighteen when all of that happened. They left behind two kids - Her and Joseph. Digging deeper, I got medical records, bills, all sorts." He rubbed his forehead. "I suppose the fact that she had spent all this time caring for the only person she had left warmed my cold, cold heart." He chuckled. "I wasn't going to put a kid through that, the drama of the FBI kicking down the door and dragging his sister away, throwing him into protective custody... Nah." He said.


"I may be a bit of a monster, Tony, but I'm still human." He said, then gave him a small pat on the shoulder before he took off to look for everything he needed. Clothes for... Well, Thalia. He needed something that helped her blend in, and something that would give enough for Ra's to look at, enough to make her look flirty, but not too obvious. Tank top, a light green (he thought that'd go well with her hair and her eyes), and some blue shorts. Sandals? No. Low-top sneakers, laces, a very faint grey. Something that looked all-round okay. Anything else? He figured some hairbands and a cap, too. He didn't know if she'd want them, but it was a better bet than nothing.


Next up, just a few other things. He had more or less everything he needed at home, but the one thing he didn't have was something to help Joseph. James was healthy, took vitamins with his main meals, got what he needed. He wasn't prone to sickness. Joseph was diabetic, young, and... Well, being young is enough to make you fall ill frequently. It couldn't have been doing many favors for his blood sugar levels, either.


It looked a little weird, honestly, buying a load of women's clothes, alongside some anti-diarrhea and anti-fever medicine, but, he was going to live with it. The most intriguing thing of all of it was how James quite happily whipped out a bank card. It wasn't really out long enough for Tony to see the name on the front of it, but, how was this guy getting away with that? A big criminal who had an active bank account? Odd enough, wasn't it?


After all the stuff was bought, it was time to rendezvous outside. Around the back of the shop was the car they'd been waiting for; it had clearly been pulled up while they were inside. 

Kia Optima, 2013. Something that blended in nicely enough with half of the population of California. It fit in well enough, and, it had lightly tinted windows. It wasn't suspicious, and they'd be driving quick enough to avoid anyone seeing their faces and identifying them. License plates and all, ones that were fake, but once more, not too obvious. James just nodded, then walked around to the back right wheel and reached up on top of it, his hand feeling around on the hubcap. As promised, he found the key on a key ring waiting there. After unlocking the trunk and dropping his bags in there, he tossed the key over to Tony.


"You can drive us back, get a feel for the car." He said. "If anyone asks, it's your girlfriend's car that you had to borrow." He said.


--


It was really happening. With every passing moment, he felt his heart rate increasing, he felt his brow sweating, his knees trembling and his hands shaking. Why was he shaking so much? He wasn't sure. He'd been in plenty of relationships over the years, so he didn't understand why this was so different. Perhaps it was just because Thalia meant so much more to him than the other women, in such a short period of time, too. They just shared some sort of energy between them, something that triggered a reaction. Everything about her was perfect - her eyes, her hair, her skin, her face, her body, her clothes, her smell. It all combined into a perfect image in his eyes, one that made his stomach roll over every time she said a word to him. It was a feeling he hadn't really felt before. It was incredible.


He knew that this couldn't go on forever. At least not now. He knew that soon enough they'd have to stop and get back to working on what they were doing - If someone walked in now, then they were done for. Well, James and Karin would most likely be fine with it, but Tony? He knew if he did that, Tony would ring his fucking neck. He didn't understand why Tony was so obsessed about how he dealt with his life, who he associated himself with. If he wasn't good at that, would he really have been brought into the detective's bureau? Not a chance. For now, he was happy enough just living in the moment, but as it is with all magic, it has to run out.


She thought she was falling for him?


Heh, the feeling was mutual.


Frank wasn't too worried about anyone else walking in - James' groundskeeper probably didn't even know this place existed, and even if he did, he was much too frail to be trying to climb down ladders. He looked well enough for someone who was nearly eighty, but he was slow, taking tiny steps as he walked, being careful with every movement. Was his loyalty to James really out of appreciation, or was it something much deeper and darker than that? He highly doubted James had him as a slave. The man was dressed in whatever he felt like wearing - A designer shirt and pants, with $800.00 shoes at the very least. He seemed to be living just fine, and if he did have a room here in the house, then he definitely had a decent life.


"I think I'm falling for you, too." He said, and let out a sudden laugh, his mouth hanging open as he took several breaths. They went back to kissing, though, but once more, it couldn't go on forever. He just hoped their behavior around each other now wouldn't give it away - He knew Tony was probably reluctant to leave the two of them alone. Even so, after a small while, Frank slowly moved himself back and kept looking into her eyes for just a few moments. After a while of silence, he smiled. "I'm looking forward to tonight." He said.


"Come on... We better get back to what we were doing, before anyone gets..." He thought for a moment. "Suspicious." He grinned.

 

[KasperXIII]

For Tony, the story of how Karin and Thalia came across James in the first place sounded like something straight out of a youtube horror story about the Deep Web. Except in this case, the two girls came across a lucky catch. One that wouldn't exploit their desperate intentions and poor security measures to cause them a world of trouble. Tony was all too aware of the dangers of traversing the Deep Web. He'd watched a few men in the bureau explore it for honeypotting purposes, but apart from that, he knew of the hazards it presented to the unprepared individual. They could've been kidnapped, murdered, blackmailed, and a world of other possibilities he didn't want to envision. James sure was trying his best to give the impression that he was a good guy. Sparing the girls and securing them before they were busted by the FBI. And on top of it all, working for them for, as far as he knew, absolutely nothing in return. It couldn't be the fact that Al-Asheera was a common enemy. Wouldn't a man like this want at least some financial benefit in the end? The detective was sure that this wasn't some charity act. No, James, or whatever his name was, had to have some ulterior motive. But he ignored it for now with a hum of approval before splitting to go their separate ways.


Shopping. Tony didn't do that much without Melissa due to his colorblindness. He didn't know if one day, he'd be wearing a shirt and completely butcher the name of the color. Now, he was alone and doing his own picking. He roughly guessed that Frank was his similar build, so picking out a few beach-ready bright colored t-shirts, a few pairs of swim trunks, dark grey and red respectively, some thin comfortable beige pants for himself (he wasn't fond of shorts himself), a pair of white sneakers for himself, sandals for Frank, and a green Hawaiian shirt for his partner. The issue... he saw the green as red. He also picked up a few straw hats for whoever wanted, a few brightly color beach bags to bring along, probably strong enough to hold Frank's weapon of choice, and finally collected a few magazines and newspapers from near the register. Preferably the magazines with women in bikinis on the cover. Maybe it was his way of getting Frank's mind off Thalia. Maybe a few girls with their tits hanging out on the paper or in person would change his mind. Thalia surely wasn't as attractive as a few cover girls to the next worst thing to a playboy magazine. Tony himself took a copy of the LA times, something less suspicious and something he could look natural with.


Upon reaching the register, Tony and James paid together... which brought up a red flag for Tony. A crook like James, in which James is probably not even his real name, using a bank account? That's strange. What the hell was this guy involved in? How deep was he? How well was he able to protect his identity. He didn't get a glimpse of the name on the card, and quite frankly, he didn't want to compromise the fact the two were on good terms by seeing something he shouldn't. So, he ignored and let the hacker pay for their gear.


A new car, a few years old in model, a common enough car with four seats. Perfect. Even better, Tony was giving it a spin. He took the keys into his hand, unloaded their gear into the back seat, and took off once James took his place. Through the walk to the car, Tony couldn't help but think back at Frank and Thalia. They were left alone. In a dark underground location. Again, he kept emphasizing: alone. Would they even try something like that? Hit it off? He hoped not. Thalia was still on his mind, too. And he was a bit turned off and bummed out when he couldn't pick something for her. But he'd still get a chance to distract Frank from his own advance. Was this going to be a battle between detectives, partners more or less, over the one they should consider their prime suspect? How far was Tony's obsession going? But no matter. He had to keep his head straight.


"Girlfriend's car... gotcha......." The two of them alone in the car. Tony could retrace his steps back to the house, even if the area was still sort of new to him. He was good at navigating after all. It was his job as a cop. To pass the time, he asked another question. One burning in his mind. "So, James... what are you after in all of this? Honestly, man to man. I won't knock you or arrest you for it. You have to have an endgame plan. What will you do when Ra's is gone and Al-Asheera is no more? What do you want from Thalia and Karin? Or me and Frank? What are you going for in all of this? Because I've extended an olive branch and behaved myself. Maybe you could do so as well, a sign of goodwill..." An idea came to mind, a bit of a stretch but a possibility. "Is it Joseph? Do you care about the boy perhaps? Do you plan on stealing the million back when Thalia is done with it? Or is there something... deeper?"


Always worth a shot asking. And he did so ever so nicely and politely.


--


It pained Thalia to know she couldn't keep doing this forever. In just those few minutes in close proximity with Frank in her arms, she'd already become addicted. His body felt so comforting as it fit into her own so close, his warmth was cozy against her own and infecting her nerves with euphoric bliss, his smell felt welcoming and tempted her to hang on just a few seconds longer, and his words stuck in her mind when he said he was falling for her as well. They felt the same for each other, unbelievably. Frank felt like a match made in heaven for her. He was everything she could ask for from a partner, and now he meant everything to her, more than Ra's ever did with his forceful romantic attempts, even enough to be engaged to the bastard for eight years. How did this happen in just a matter of two days? How did she forget the thief she was before and fall in love with a cop like this? How did he fall for her? Maybe the best things in life were best to remain a mystery. Some sort of magic took over Thalia and Frank drawing them closer and closer, her hands running up and down his body just to get a sense of how he felt beneath the suit. Her hands slid over the front of his torso under the jacket, feeling out the toned cleaves of his muscles. He was no supermodel, but he was close enough for her to like. Not that she'd go any further than that down here, but she couldn't help herself in the moment. She wasn't thinking straight, just going for whatever her impulsive mind wanted, and in this case, it was intimacy with this man. She didn't want to let go. She could've spent longer in his arms, feeling his touch, just continuing the kiss to whatever degree it lead. But unfortunately, out of fear of being caught in the act, they had to part ways.


The fun had to stop eventually, even though they were making out for quite a while compared to what a couple who just hooked up would normally do. Business before pleasure, a philosophy the two seemed to have forgotten. Her legs let him go from behind, her grip on his jacket releasing. Noooo... why did we have to stop? He's so fucking cute! Whyyyyy? She wanted to continue, so badly. Her hands fell to her lap, keeping her hands to herself. Her body felt so warm, heated. It wasn't that hot underground. It was a combination of her own body heat with Frank's. But it was a warmth she missed as it breezed off. Her eyes didn't leave Frank's, almost pouty in a way begging him to kiss her again. But now wasn't the time act needy. Her heart wanted this, but there was a better place and time for this: tonight, at the address written on her hand. The pout quickly turned into a smile as she dismounted from the table, a bit closer to the man she could call the one she was falling in love with. Her head lifted slightly to meet Frank's gaze down at her. "I hope you can fake that everything's all the same between us," she told him in a teasing manner, her right index finger lifting over the detective's lips. "Shhh. What happens in secret stays in secret."


Her teasing side came back with her finger brushing over his lips and her green eyes toying with his emotions. A slight tilt of her head with her hair falling in the same direction slightly over her face gave a sense of sass to her behavior. She'd kiss him again, but she's already gotten enough of that for the moment. They had a date tonight, where they could be as wild and free as they wanted. Best they not get too freaky here in James' weapon locker. If Tony came back down here, with all of this firepower, he might just shoot them both. But enough goofing off. Thalia retracted her finger and turned back to the table, scooping up a few of the boxes of what she could only assume were security cameras and letting them fall into the duffel bag with the earpieces. "These cams look easy to hide in places. Like, we should be able to hide them, and Ra's wont see them?" Just a question of her own curiosity. "I... um, I'm not sure if these guns can just get tossed into the bag, or we have to pack them separately? I'm sorry, I'm not a gun nut." She giggled a bit at her own ignorance, but she couldn't help it. All she knew was point-aim-shoot. "Plus... if you have anything interest you want? Pack it up. I've got a knife. That weird garden one I found on the table. It's all I need."


Even though work was the order of the moment, Thalia couldn't help but think about play. That kiss was all that was running in her mind. She was just doing her best to hide it by acting naturally around Frank like it never happened. Never did acting take so much out of her. This was a first. Something in her wanted Frank to lift her off her feet and walk her out of the weapons locker. Almost a bit creepy. But maybe after tonight, Thalia will have a definite boundary of what's too creepy for Frank and what's not. There was going to be food, movies, lots of talking... maybe even something more? Just the thought of intimacy with Frank was giving her goosebumps. At least she was keeping her cool. Sort of.

 

[DrTrollinski]

They left, and even though it was a small drive out of there, Tony knew what he was doing, clearly. A smooth enough driver for James' liking, and that was all he needed. He didn't want Frank or himself to have to serve as a getaway driver, too, because that would just be chaotic. Chances were they'd be too out of breath or too shaken up to actually drive, providing things didn't go to plan. He didn't want to run the risk of them crashing. On the drive back, however, Tony had yet another question for James, one that he didn't mind answering. The only issue was, he didn't quite know how to answer it. Why was he doing this? Why was he putting his neck on the line and doing this for them and not asking for any payment? He had to think about it for a minute, honestly, and his answer was given with well-placed words.


"Well..." He thought. "It's still something I'm trying to figure out for myself." He said. "I didn't ask for payment for whatever reason. The question is, Tony... What do you give to a man that already has everything?" He asked. "I'm sitting on a property that's slowly climbing higher and higher into the millions. I have assets all over the place, not just here. Across LA, across the country, across the world, even. Some of them generate money for me, others, they're just there for me. I know how to get away with a lot of things that your average person is forced to deal with. Taxes, all that shit." He said. "I've..." He thought and leaned back. "Got more money than I know how to spend. I've got a nice house, nice car, I've been told I'm an attractive guy, so I've got what I need on that front, too. I've got more or less everything. I could pack my bags and be settling into a manor in the Bahamas by tomorrow noon if I wanted to." He explained. 


Was it Joseph that made him suddenly change his heart? Was it anything like that? Did he plan on pulling a selfish move and stealing the money back? Blackmailing Karin and Thalia until he had what he wanted? He didn't feel like evil was something he wanted. He wanted a lot of things, but ruining lives wasn't something he was going to do.


"When Al-Asheera is dead and gone I'll consider it a job well done - I've been promised my online alias will get a shoutout. For the time being, the alias I speak of will stay unmentioned." He said. "But, that means I go down as a legend rather than a myth, a random person behind a screen that's a lot more than someone who just likes to fuck with people. I get to live easy knowing that the city I live in is in less danger. I suppose I'm like you and Frank in some ways, just more... Vigilante-like, and I'm not bound by rules. There's no rules in the business I belong to." He said. "The truth is, I'm not the greatest man there is. I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of, a lot of things most people would consider pure evil. I don't have those guns in the basement for show, as you can imagine." He said.


"I don't know what I'll do, but Al-Asheera isn't one of the only things I'm out to get." He said. "I've been betrayed, lied to, and as soon as the person responsible for that is six feet in the ground, just like the last times, then I'll consider it, once more, a job well done." He explained. "As for what made me stick around to help out, I don't know what it is. I don't plan on fucking Thalia and Karin over - I suppose in some ways I'm tired of being a one-man army. In my life there was never room for friends, not even acquaintances. Now... I'm twenty-seven, and I'm tired of being just that guy. I guess that's what I want. Company. Fun. The chance to be someone normal - the sad truth is, I'm not normal. Chances are a brain scan comparison of you and me would be a completely different result. Upstairs, there's always been something different about me. The book says it all - school for gifted kids, excellent dedication in all chosen fields, the highest in my year during my degree, all the rest of it." He shook his head. "If you're as smart as me, you might even be able to find a newspaper I was in when I was ten years old. But believe me. That won't be easy." He laughed.


"Joseph is..." He thought, then let out a long sigh through his nose. "A good kid, an innocent one. Another kid that reminds me of myself in some ways. Passionate. Taking things in his stride, still having the power to get out of the bed in the morning in spite of everything." He said. "I knew that if I didn't help out, his life would either be ruined, or it'd end before too long. Either that, or he'd end up an orphan. Not something I was going to allow. My only rules when it comes to what I do - no cops, no civilians, and no kids." He said. "That might give you some idea as to what I get up to with my time, but, those are my terms. If you even try and trick me into breaking my own rules, then you get hell rain down on you." He shrugged. "These... Animals, Al-Asheera. I know they're ruthless. Joseph would be fair game to them, and nothing pisses me off more than people that have no trouble hurting children. That's all I can say." He explained.


"Speaking of which..." He took a deep breath, "Storytime, while Frank's not here. Who's the girl you two were arguing about?" He asked. "The four-year-old. I've forgotten her name, but all I saw was that Frank was very... Hurt, when that was brought up. I get a feeling there's some history behind that." He said. "Obviously. But, what exactly is there?" He asked.


--


"I'm sure I'll have no problem faking things, don't you worry." He winked. "Fake it 'til you make it, as they say. Not that... Not that all of what happened between us was fake. Let's just consider anything outside this bunker, and my house, fake, alright?" He laughed and fondly reached out and stroked her shoulder with his thumb. He smiled at her and let out a sigh - a happy sigh, of course. It was a shame things had to end, but now he had something to look forward to later tonight. The first call of duty, though, was making sure she wrote down his address as soon as they got inside, and wiped the ink off her hand. No one else needed to see that - She could even note it down on her phone, probably. It was a burner phone, so no one else was going to see it. James had taken care of all of that, apparently, so if she felt like doing that there and then, the option was there. Frank wanted to make sure she did that sooner rather than later, to be honest.


Head in the game, Frank. Head in the game.


The cameras.


"The cameras will be fine, yeah." He said. "They can be planted about all over the place, by the looks of them, and putting them in the right places will stop any of the goons from seeing them. As long as they're hidden in plain sight, they'll be fine. You'd be surprised how much you can get away with, with that sort of thing. Had friends that did stuff like that all the time - set up little cameras and shit to take mugshots of you while you're just minding your own business. It's easy enough to do, and I'm sure that me, James, and Tony combined... We won't have a problem placing them about in appropriate positions." He said, then took a little glance around. Was there anything else that he needed out of this room? He didn't think so. He wanted to get out of here - being around so many guns and knives and all sorts of weapons made him feel nervous. He trusted Thalia, but, all of this stuff? It was almost unreal. 


"I don't need anything else. Pack my gun and James' gun in individual bags, and..." He reached over to some of the boxes and dug through them until he found some magazines with appropriate ammunition. He didn't take too many, just enough to cover them. He loaded the guns, for one, and then flicked the safety on. If they needed to act quick, chances were they wouldn't have time to load any guns. They had to be able to jump right into it. "We'll leave them loaded, safety on, so that way they can be used quickly. James will be fine, but it's mainly for my convenience down on the ground if things go sour." 


He looked at her again, and once more, he was locked in one of those trances where he just sort of looked into her eyes. The time they'd had together wasn't enough, but, the bunker was hardly a romantic location. The risk of getting caught was also too high.


Later, he was sure. Later they could relive it, and then some.


"You good to go?" He asked.

 

[KasperXIII]

At least James was completely upfront in his reply to Tony's question. It truly was a sign of goodwill and trust to the detective. He was putting his trusts in this man, who seemed to have good intentions and the best outcome in mind. It gave him more hope that he could walk away from this. But he could certainly understand this hacker's feeling of loneliness. He seemed like the sort of man who had everything he could ever ask for, except someone by his side. Maybe that was his endgame for the girls. Good company. He didn't blame James for that. Tony could remember the first few days without Richard by his side. They were most certainly lonely, cruising about and going over cases all in his lonesome. It was a relief when he came across Frank. A new blood to the team, someone to take under his wing. A perfect opportunity. He couldn't knock James for his decision to gather himself some partners. Friends, even. And the ladies were certainly good company in a way. Even if Karin was stubborn and Thalia was a wildcard, it was still exciting in its own way, even Tony could admit that the mere presence of them in their lives certainly shook things up. Especially the young thief to an older detective. Obsession. Romance. Creepy. No. You DON'T love her. Now stop thinking about her!


"I get you, James. We can't live alone. None of us. You could have all the money and beach houses in the world and still feel like something's amiss. You know what that is? Being social. Now... I don't exactly think Karin and Thalia are the best of folks. You could do so much better. But I mean... they were lost. Confused, wandering the Deep Web ever so aimlessly only because they wanted to do something for the greater good. Even to save Thalia's ass in a way. You could've easily fucked them both over. But you didn't. And I'm... impressed. Most crooks online behind a screen would've screwed those girls to the ends of the earth and back, blackmailing them and hurting them. Or reporting them to the FBI and orphaning Joseph... maybe the criminal scheme isn't as black and white as the academy makes it out to be. You're not like the rest, James. Really."


Tony could accept James' theory. But could he ever accept Thalia's good intentions?


James spoke of vengeance, a similar concept to Tony's towards Thalia. "If you ever found that person who wronged you.... I'm just curious, what would you do to them? As you can see, Thalia has.... well, she's wronged me. And you saw what I did to her... would you do something like that?" There was also his attack on Pigman at the station, but he left that outburst of violence out for now. He wasn't exactly proud of it. Then there was the fact that LT Thorn never called back. Never asked for Frank or Tony to give further details. They must've been prime suspects by now. That was a violent way for Pigman to go down, and they would soon find out that he doesn't have a history of mental dysfunction. It would come back to bite them in the ass soon enough. But Tony was dying to know if James' concept of revenge was like his own. "As strange as you are, James, you have a heart. If you could feel that way for Joseph, to have mercy on a poor kid who's done nothing wrong? And you spared him? Let him keep his sister instead of harass her into doing something terrible? You're not like the rest. Not at all."


It was good to bond with James. Try to meet each other halfway in their dilemma of revenge. Then came the story about Natalie. James wanted answers. Since things were still bitter with Frank, and transparency was a must, Tony spoke the truth, "That four year old girl, Natalie... that was Frank's sister. When he was six, they were at a train station or something. He was watching over her... let her out of his sights for just a few minutes... and the poor kid was taken by some scumbag. He killed her later, and the poor guy doesn't even know what she's been through. Frank's... well, blamed himself for it. Understandably. But it's all, you know... it's a painful thing for him to go through. I kind of landed him a low blow by bringing that up. I bet that deep down, much like you and I... we want revenge on those who've wrong us. We all do. People hurt people... It's human nature, I guess. I have to admire you... and Thalia to a degree. You two don't touch children, from what I know. What monster would."


--


Thalia laughed at Frank's foolish fumble in words about faking it. She understood where he was coming from and turned to his direction. She couldn't resist but to get lost in his eyes. Hell, she was lost in him entirely. The coming night would certainly be a blast. They'd get their alone time to do as they pleased without worrying about interruptions. And now knowing that Frank wanted this too? That definitely made her day better. It was only getting better and better. Looping the duffel bag of cameras and communication devices in her arm, she spun around on her heels in Frank's direction, took a few steps closer, close enough to feel his very breaths with the bag in her arms, and just gazed upward at him, a giddy smile on her face, swaying her hips back and forth, licking her lips in a seductive playful way, dropping the bag in his arms. "How about... you be a nice, big, strong man and carry my technical stuff, while I pack up your big boy toys. Hm? I'll be gentle with the guns, don't worry." Quite an element of sass mixed with cute in her voice and actions, along with the gleaming stare she gave him. She stuck her tongue out to Frank briefly while poking his chin with her right index finger, certainly in a flirtatious manner. No holds barred anymore. "Sound good, Frankie?"


Frankie. A nickname, one he should like. It wasn't too painful. She turned away from him, turning away from Frank towards the table with James' and Frank's guns laid out. There were a few more bags to load the heavy weaponry inside them. As she held the hacker's sniper rifle in her hands, holding it seemingly properly and flipping the safety off, then on again, simply because she found it fun to do. Making sure there was a clip inside, she peeked over her shoulder and winked to James. "What? I'm not a gun nut but I know how to use them." A girl who can handle a gun. Definitely attractive. In order to add to the show, Thalia examined the details of the gun, side to side, on top, from the scope, all of that, as she hummed the melody to a hardcore punk song she could barely remember. It was something she was playing at Ra's' den on her phone from internet radio, but she wasn't good at names of songs or bands. She had a harsher taste in music, sure, but could never really define it. She could sure as hell hum, though. Enhancing the appeal of Frank keeping his eyes on her. Once she was sure of James' sniper, she placed it in the first bag, then moved to Frank's smaller weapon. Quite smaller in comparison, and something she might've carried around under Ra's' control. "Nifty choice, Frankie... reminds me of myself in a way." She was tempted to twirl it around and mess around, but she would rather not risk dropping it. She wasn't a klutz by nature, but anything could go wrong. Instead, after giving it a similar admiration and check-up for the safety and ammo, she placed it in the second bag. After giving each bag its appropriate ammo, Thalia sealed them both by their zippers and looped one bag over each shoulder of hers. The thief wasn't particularly strong, but she could manage.


"Don't worry, you won't be my packmule for too long," she giggled a bit more, stepping close to Frank once more in her usual flirtatious manner, tilting her neck side to side, getting on her toes really quick to peck a quick kiss at Frank's lips. "Only because once we crawl up that ladder, we can't do that until tonight." Her right hand lifted up to his cheek, brushing over his skin before beating him over to the exit. "Come on... I thought you cops were the active ones. You have years in the academy, I have years on the streets. Keep up the pace, slow poke!" Of course, she meant all of this with the best intentions in mind as she held her own on the way up the ladder. She planned to go back inside and write the address on her hand on somewhere more permanent. If Tony saw that, he'd flip. If Ra's saw it, he'd kill her. She didn't need that.


You'd better not flirt with him in front of the rest of the gang. Freak. But my god... his skin's so soft for a cop. His eyes... why do I keep staring at him? HIS KISS, MY GOD.... AND HIS COLOGNE IS SEXY. WHY AM I FLIPPING OUT LIKE THIS, FUCK ME. The squealing certainly didn't ease over. She HAD to tell Karin about what just happened. Where did she go? After Frank got out and the two sealed off the hatch with a bit of dirt, they returned through the vast garden and over to the house... maybe to run in to her white-haired friend? SO much happened that she had to gossip about.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"It took a long time to realize that living alone took its toll. Even in the times I thought I was most happy, it turned out I was just existing." He said. "And I thought to myself a lot - is this really all I'll ever end up being? Just some guy that left his mark on the world by causing other people trouble and organizing a few things that most people would be terrified of?" He asked, the shook his head. It was all rhetorical questioning, and things. "You know, a long time ago, way back when I first found myself doing what I do, I was taking anything, and part of me had gotten in too deep. My training to deal with this sort of thing had come from various backgrounds, so, of course, I wasn't worried. I guess it was where I saw where I stood on things, too. I was contacted by this family - they didn't have much money left, but the dad was on a lot. Some CTO of some big company, and it was getting to the point where he'd taken a few bad bets, got into some bad business. Talked to the wrong people online, and his debts and dues began to multiply with every passing day." He explained.


"It was out in the forest, actually. Some big home out there. They moved there after one of their older sons had a bit of a breakdown." He explained, "They had a couple of younger kids, too. Twin boy and girl, they were only five or so. It was getting to the point where they were getting blackmailed and threatened. Had people coming to their house and night, standing outside, throwing rocks at the door - you name it." He sighed. "I didn't know what I was getting into. Some lowlives out there that thought they ran shit. The man of the family asked me - just teach them a lesson, make sure they don't come back, tell them to leave us alone. The usual rap." He said. "It was around that time that I realized that maybe there was more to life than that, and I was brand new to it, but because of every single bit of training I'd had...?" He said.


"There was just nothing else I knew. Back then I couldn't hold my own with people, at least not for long. I'm still bad a little at it - mentally and socially, I mean. I'm a charismatic guy, sure, but there's other things. Other quirks, half of them got me kicked out my family home when I was younger, for Christ's sake." He laughed. "Even so, after I'd done some digging, broke a couple of legs and took a hammer to a few fingers, believe it or not, the family were left alone, I got my money, and we never saw each other again. But what was I to their kids?" He asked. "The guy who occasionally came for coffee, played checkers with the younger ones, and then suddenly vanished - As soon as I vanished, all of their problems did, too." He said, then went quiet and looked out the window.


"And that's all it is out there now." He said. "If someone doesn't want something broken into, then someone wants someone killed. Someone wants something rigged, someone wants something or someone to vanish and come back different." He shrugged. "I'm glad it's not normal for me to get tired of that - some aspects I enjoy, but, it's very black and white in some aspects. The criminals you're used to are all petty robbers, sloppy serial killers that know how to hide, and rapists that eventually turn themselves in, or something like that." He said. "Not the likes of me. I'm what's known as a grey hat. Shit I do may be illegal, but I'm not someone who sells themself out to go out and gun down a group of innocent people. There are people like that on The Deep Web. Fuck me, Tony, I know one of them." He sighed.


"Assassin, operates out of Arkansas. $30,000, and he'll kill whoever you want. $35,000, and he'll kill anyone that's considered a high-value target. Within reason, of course." He nodded. "People like that?" He shook his head, "Nah, not me. I know it's probably the impression I give off, but, I'm not one of those. As for your question, the person who wronged me - The simple answer is, I know who it is, I know where I can find them, but sometimes it's not as easy as charging in and finishing the job. Sometimes you need to do more than that, or you just play yourself." He explained. "I have concrete evidence that it was him that double-crossed me, and... Honestly, to answer your question, because I know it was him behind it?" He shook his head. "Turn a blind eye, Tony, but he'll be dead before the end of next week." He said. "I'm no monster, but no one gets to shit on me and then act like god right after. If you're going to play the game, you follow the rules. You break the rules, you get disqualified."


Then there was the talk of Frank's sister, something that made James' blood boil in an odd way. The story of it angered him for many reasons - partially because Tony actually had the audacity to bring something that heavy up in front of everyone, but, mostly because of the background.


"Frank's a good man." He said. "People like you and me go out and look for revenge, Tony, because revenge is the best way we know to deal with things. People like Frank, I'm not so sure." He said. "You and I might happily go out and shoot someone in the back and sleep easy the next night, but, I think people like Frank don't get anything from that. Some people get revenge, and they feel worse - They got revenge, but what for? The glory of it's over the moment you pull the trigger or the moment you slip a knife through someone's ribs. And all you have to remember is that they spent their last minutes dying by your hand, all because you felt it was necessary." He said. "I don't think anyone out there is one who can decide who lives and who dies - but we are people who can say 'fuck it' and throw that off-balance." He closed his eyes. "I've had more revenge than most people could remember, Tony, and the only difference is they're dead, and I'm not. There's nothing else to it. They die, you go home, and you think about it. Me going and killing that guy won't bring back the rules he broke, won't revive the lives he caused to be lost - but I'll at least know that he paid for it." He said, then let out a single, bitter laugh.


"Sounds awful when I say it like that, doesn't it?" He asked. "Basically, 'I'm taking away everything they could ever have, everything they have, and everything that ever meant anything to them - but at least I'll still get into bed tonight'." He took a deep breath. "There's no guts and glory in revenge. Just people like me running around and telling people it was wrong to fuck with me. Not like they'll ever have enough time to think about that, if all I do is put a shell between their eyes." He said. He continued thinking for a moment. "Did they ever find the man that killed Frank's sister?" He asked, his tone a little rougher and quieter. "You said Frank never knew what happened to her - In cases like that, a lot of people end up getting away with it. Kids... They're lighter, easily lead away, and easily hidden, too." He explained. "Sad truth. Did they ever catch the bastard that did it? Does Frank at least have peace of mind in that sense?" He asked.


Tony spoke about finding the guy...


Who was to say James wouldn't be able to help?


--


"Of course. Carthorse is a job I'm good at." He chuckled. He didn't mind helping out by carrying the bags - anything for her, really. Already he felt himself getting tied in when he was around her. He already wanted to do anything and everything. He didn't want to make her carry a single thing, to be honest, but, a team effort was important here. Soon enough the operation was going to be taking place, and honestly, he wasn't sure if he was looking forward to it so much now. He knew that she was going to try and seduce Ra's, but that didn't make dealing with that fact any easier. In fact, it made him feel worse, the fact that he was going to have to sit idly by while knowing that she was going to be possibly brutalized by this guy. He could smell that he was going to do something stupid already, if that happened, like running in guns blazing just to try and save her from whatever awful things she was going through. He just hoped today would be the last day they'd ever have to deal with it. At least for her.


"I'm not saying anything." He said, on her comment about not being a gun nut, or anything like that, but sent her a wink and a grin. They didn't need her to be a firearms expert here - He didn't need her to be that. They had her for what they needed. Even though her role was one of the most gruesome, it was something they were going to have to deal with, otherwise this would never work. Thalia would be tied down to Al-Asheera for the rest of her life, and if they didn't kill her, she'd have to stay in hiding for a ridiculous amount of time. Even more so, everyone involved would somehow end up dead if word got out.


None of it scared Frank away. He was still in love. Still wanted something with the girl that was once known as nothing more than the 'mystery redhead'.


Still, inside was the place they went, the whole time Frank was grinning like an idiot. When they were approaching the back door, though, the person they first saw was Karin. She was stood in the kitchen, just sipping on a glass of water while also taking a look around at all the stuff. James kept a lovely home. Had he ever had a girlfriend or anything living here with him before? She didn't doubt that he'd at least had some hook-ups here and there, but the design in here? It was perfect, too good for a man of James' age. A bit stereotypical of Karin, yes, but that was what she thought. How in the world did James manage to do all of this himself? It just wasn't something that made much sense.


Karin turned to them both and smiled when they got in, but, she clocked something in both their eyes. Especially Frank's - Had something happened? It must have. The amount of stuff they had wasn't proportionate to the amount of time they took. What else did they get up to down there? That's what she wanted to know. 


"Hey, guys." She said, quietly. "Joseph's fallen asleep on the couch, so, try and keep things down a little. He's not feeling so great." She said. "He'll be alright, I'm sure. James was apparently gonna' look for some medicine at the store, so, let's not worry too much." She explained.


Frank looked at Thalia, "Hey, I'll take these bags and dump 'em by the front door, alright?" He smiled, and whatever Thalia had, he took, and off he went. "Back in a minute." He whispered, and without further ado, made his way through the house so he could drop things down by the door - and step out front to have a quick smoke. There was a lot on his mind, and he was happy, but he still had a lot to think about.

 

[KasperXIII]

A rather troublesome past by James, getting involved in a little taste of everything, including this family he spoke of. Tony could only guess it was nothing but trouble. He couldn't blame the guy for being a thrill-seeker. In a way, the detective was, too, taking on cases as dangerous as Al-Asheera. But clearly, all James was after was keeping his head above water. Poked his nose where it shouldn't have been, and evolved. He kept mentioning that he isn't a monster like the rest. If he were, he, Frank, Thalia, and Karin would all be dead and tossed into the desert by now. He has a heart, one that appealed to the sight of a child like Joseph. He wasn't an assassin, at least not directly. "Grey hat, you say. It's people like you that the PD finds the most shady. Mercenaries in a way. Respond to the highest bidder. But clearly you're not like the rest. You've accepted a job with nothing in return for a few dumb girls who clicked the link that lead to you, who you probably knew couldn't pay you. Karin's barely able to pay for her brother's medical care. Thalia is a ghost, but a slave to Al-Asheera. Guess that all appealed to you, right?"


There was something else, too. "Al-Asheera. You know about them. What they do, the lives they've ruined, both in Philly and in LA. They're savages. Especially Ra's, the man how started it all. Worse, nobody's gotten as far as the five of us in hunting these bastards down, all thanks to Thalia. Guess we got lucky with her turning on them. But that puts her in danger. Kinda bold move if you ask me. But she's incredibly naive. Good thing professionals like ourselves are involved. Veterans to the field of crime. I think you heard the name Al-Asheera and knew you wanted them six feet under as much as the next guy. Nobody likes them. Not law enforcement, most definitely, and other criminal organizations have bounties for whoever can deliver Ra's' head on a silver platter. Unfortunately, nobody knows how he looks. Hell, of us five, only Thalia will be able to recognize him. After today, the circle will expand. He will be exposed, and hopefully this guy can serve justice for his past 30 years of wretched reign over this criminal syndicate. As much as you hate to admit it, you're going after these guys for the greater good. After a life of things that might've been wrong or illegal, you want to do something right. Hell, if anyone finds out what me and Frank are up to, we're going to lose our badges for sure. Guess we had to go around the law this time. It's the only way to cut of the head. Just keep in mind: whatever happened with this family or with any of your assassin buddies, you have a chance to do the right thing. You always do. And this is a start."


Revenge was the meaningful topic of the hour for Tony and James. As Tony pulled up in the driveway of the house, he spoke again, "It may sound a bit sadistic, sure, but revenge can be bittersweet. They pay for what they've done, but what do we get? Just a brief satisfaction that they've paid? In my opinion, death is too easy. I don't kill for revenge, James. You saw what I did to Thalia. I wouldn't kill her for what she did. I'd just make her life miserable. Bring hell on earth for her. Maybe throw her to the wolves for Ra's to do as he pleases. As much as she says it, I doubt he'll kill her. If he did, he would've done so a long time ago. Beside, how could some middle-aged perv get over someone as attractive as Thalia? I mean, she's everything a man could want in a wife, so why would he just end her so quickly? He's not going to find a gem like her again..." Stop one-upping her, you moron. "Eh... My point being, she would be miserable. Her misery is my revenge. Simple as that."


Frank's story. There were questions to be answered there. "Frank... I don't think he knows every detail of what happened to Natalie's body. What the monster did to her. I don't think he wants to know. Twenty years later, and he's just leaving this whole thing as it is. I feel like he doesn't WANT answers. Not even the perv's name. But I'm sure if I just made a few calls, I could figure it out with ease... I want to do that for him, James. He deserves to know the truth. To get a chance to face the son of a bitch who kidnapped her. I think it would help him more than he can imagine. You agree?"


Little did Tony know that James might be of more help than the police.


--


Of course, Frank played the role of the gentleman and took the weight of the gun sacks off of Thalia's shoulders. The weapons weren't all that heavy on the girl. She's carried worse on her back upon Ra's' orders, honestly. On the contrary, it felt good to be useful, even though she felt more useful than ever giving information. And she still had plenty to tell before this operation hits the ground running. Frank was clearly still in a bit of shock from all of the flirtatious comments, kisses, gestures, and more. Did Karin get a clue? Thalia could only hope so. The girls have been gossiping about their love lives quite a bit before the detectives returned. Lots of talk about how she could impress her crush, and now? It seemed like it was all coming together and he felt all the same. Much like how Frank expressed his feelings in the awkward grinning and the starstruck look in his eyes, Thalia was unusually jumpy, hyper, excited to tell Karin about her romance developments. Not to mention the two took quite a long time just to pack up a few weapons and other pieces of gear. Might've been because they partially took the time to make out with each other. Or they were just slow. Frank's last look to Thalia was just as blissful as any other, licking her lips in some frilly form of satisfaction. She didn't verbally respond to him, but her eyes remained on him until he was out of her sights. Another obvious clue, unfortunately, but she had nothing to hide from Karin. Once Frank was clear out of the scene, the redhead looked back and forth to ensure nobody was coming, then got close to her best friend, unable to even hold still or contain herself.


"Karin... you're not going to fucking believe this," she whispered once close enough. She raised her left hand, palm outward, to expose Frank's address written on it. Her hand was shaky on its own, hype obvious in her eyes, and a smile from ear to ear. "That's Frank's address. He wants me to come over, TONIGHT! And it gets better..." She leaned a bit closer, making sure Frank couldn't hear. Thalia never really had a chance to talk about love like this with anyone. It was good she found Karin. Things really do happen for a reason. Fate, as Karin called it when they first talked in private. "I... sort of kissed him. Then I got scared and pulled away. Then get this: HE PULLED ME BACK! He wanted to kiss me, and we did... for like, fuck it, I lost count. But SHIT, it felt good. He's such a good kisser, and he was really into it. I mean... I was out of my own mind. My heart was gonna explode. I wouldn't expect him to even do that, or fall for me like he is, BUT HE DID."


A bit of a dirty thought in her mind, but she had to share it with Karin, "I'm sure if we kept making out, we'd have gone a bit further, but I guess a weapons locker isn't quite a romantic hotspot. Plus with the risk of Tony walking in.... Eck. Cockblock." Laughter followed her words. She wasn't even sure how to describe how she felt anymore. All she could say, she's in love.


"I'm falling for him, Karin. Big time. And he's falling for me, enough to invite me to his place tonight. Something casual, but still, what if I screw up? How do you not screw up a home movie date? I've never... well, been on much of a date with someone who wasn't three doors away. One night stands aside, you know? Please tell me you've got some shirt I could borrow for tonight, because..." she glanced down at her current shirt, lifting the collar by her fingers to sniff it. "This reeks..... FUCK, Karin, I'm so excited!" Thalia was literally hopping joy next to Karin, gripping her biceps, her face beyond red from embarrassment her eyes deeply lost and unfocused from what just happened down there.


"He kissed me... I know it was wrong to do with everything going on, but why did it feel so right? ... I want to get to know Frank... soooo badly! And kiss him again, GOD, that was fun!"

 

[DrTrollinski]

"I suppose you could say their whole situation appealed to me, yeah." He said. "They needed the help, and they looked like the sort of people that didn't deserve to be trapped in a spot like that. It was that simple. A bit of background digging got what I needed to know, proved that they were innocent enough. Well, at least for Karin. I took a gamble, obviously, because finding Thalia wasn't an easy job. In fact, I didn't find her, as I'd already mentioned." He explained. "So, yes, in that sense, it was a risk. They could have been undercover agents trying to bring me down. The two agents playing dumb - Once again, at least that could have been the case with Thalia. When I saw more of Karin, though, saw she was nothing more than a waitress with a stack of medical bills for her brother, I knew there was no way either of them would be trying anything on. Karin wouldn't put everything at risk like that - I can see she's a girl with a strong brain and a lot of burning passion, but, other than that?" He shook his head. "Nah, she didn't have enough on the table to prove she was going to risk anything." 


"The girls will be fine, and so will Joseph." He said, "You know where I stand on things. The kid's life isn't normal as it is. Last thing I'm going to let happen is let him get dragged into this mess." He said. "Having to inject himself three, four times a day. Not being able to do the things that other kids do, being so held back just because of some... Fucking disease, basically." He shook his head. "Don't say a word to anyone, but I've already got my money on the table. You ever played poker before, Tony?" He asked. "The point I'm making is, this is all a big game of Texas Hold 'Em. I've got the pocket aces and I'm lined up for a four-of-a-kind thanks to The Flop, and to top it all off, there's a pair of Kings thanks to The Turn and The River." He sighed, "Everyone else around the table, all the shit we're going against - Be it Al-Asheera, The Clover Boys, the corrupt side of the LAPD - they've gone All In on nothing more than High Cards and Pairs." He smirked. "Now, the pot I'm going to take home?" He shook his head.


"Let's just say it's not going to be something to keep to myself - The biggest con any man could ever pull off is making everyone else think that he's the one who has the scissors above their string. I'm by no means a man who gets to decide the fate of everyone, but fate? Fate isn't always a bad thing." He said. "Joseph's probably suffered for long enough. He needs the chance to be a kid his age, not anything older than that right now. The money I have locked away? I can't take that shit with me if I get killed tomorrow, next week, or next year. The money will go to good causes, and he and Karin are one of them. The thing about Karin is she knows how to be honest - sometimes too honest, honest to the point where if enough pressure's applied, she'll crack. Same thing happened when they first contacted me - when I almost walked out. You saw her, she was almost on her knees and begging, spilling the truth." He explained.


"She wouldn't take the money and run. First thing she'd do is pay off medical expenses and pay for Joseph's treatment to improve. Who's to say I can't help with that, hm?" He asked.


"As for Ra's... The guy's not a man anyone should respect." He said. "Thalia may be the dream woman for some of us, but for him? All she is is a body. For all we know, from the age Thalia joined up and all... For all we know he's a pedophile, getting sick of Thalia because she's now drifting away from the age that she could be considered a kid or a teenager anymore. This could be some sort of elaborate ruse just because he's getting tired of not having someone in the appropriate age range. With this sick piece of filth, we just don't know what his plans are." He said.


"I agree finding the man would help him. It'd give him peace." He said. "When we lack someone else to blame, we blame ourselves - Human nature." He said. "As soon as he sees this man see justice, twenty years down the line?" He smiled. "He'll be happy. He'll move on with his life and do what he's always wanted to do. Keep in mind, though, that thing might not be within the LAPD." He explained. "We don't know what hobbies he had as a kid, hobbies that died out as soon as the crippling fear and depression from his sister's death kicked in. Things like that, when they happen, they change kids. A six-year-old boy wouldn't cope - there was probably a long time where Frank wouldn't have even wanted to get up to go to the bathroom alone at night. That's just what things like that can do." He said. "The last nail in the coffin was finding out she died, and where she went - When the realization hits you, that the person you love is never coming back? Yeah, it crushes you, shatters you into pieces and flushes every single piece away. You wander endlessly looking for those pieces." He said. "I think Frank... Frank's found most of them. He's just missing the odd few, because the fucker who killed his sister is still out there holding onto them." He said.


"So, how about we find him?" He asked, suddenly. "How about I help you find the guy responsible for it? Have it organized that he's sat in a room in front of Frank one day?" He offered.


--


When she lifted her hand and Karin saw Frank's address on there - or, well, an address. She didn't know it was Frank's, but, it quickly became obvious. It was obvious from the get-go, really. The look they both had, the way Frank smiled at her, and the way he just vanished off so suddenly. He split himself off from the two of them, and Karin heard the front door close, too. He was outside cooling off, was he? Interesting. What Thalia first said to her, though, pretty much gave it all away. She may have said that Karin wouldn't believe it, but, Karin didn't even fully know what had happened, but she already did believe it. That was the thing. She knew that whatever it was was serious, and that was immediately obviously as the two walked in, 15 minutes later than anyone expected them to be. She was wondering where James and Tony had gotten to, but, she wasn't worried. Tony and James knew how to handle themselves just fine, if anything did happen.


Let's be real, though, what exactly could happen to them on a small walk to the store?


"Oh my god." She laughed in amazement, "I had a suspicion something was going on in there, Thalia. You guys took waaaaaaay too long." She grinned.


It was amazing listening to Thalia talk about all this. Her excitement and enthusiasm made Karin sad as much as it did happy. It was clear that a proper functional relationship was never something she got to experience, but now it was happening. Karin just hoped it'd work out - Frank seemed to be experienced in the whole field, that was for sure. If Thalia ever found herself in a place where she didn't know what to do, then at least she'd have Frank who would be able to direct things. Plus, he knew LA well, too. He knew all the best places to have dinner, and all the best romantic spots in the city. Thalia was in for a treat, it seemed.


"So, things are going well, to say the least! Not only a great kisser, but it showed there was the intent from both of you to... Carry on, I suppose you could say." She laughed. "I'm glad it didn't carry on, though. Not only is... Wherever you were a terrible place to do all that, but, like you said, if Tony walked in... He'd hit the fucking roof." She laughed and slapped her hand down on the counter. "In fact, hold on, before they get back..." She scanned around for a moment before she clocked a small notepad that was sat on top of the microwave. She walked to it, and it had a pen attached to the binder. Convenient. It looked like a notepad that James wrote a shopping list on, but, she took a page from it and grabbed the pen, too, quickly delivering them over to Thalia.


"You might want to write that down and wash it off, otherwise Tony'll have your head, and chances are he'll staple Frank's balls to a streetlight, or something." She joked, then reached over and gently nudged Thalia's shoulder. "You can borrow whatever you want from my wardrobe, don't worry." She smiled. "You'll get to know him, you'll have a great time, I'm sure. Frank sure seems keen on you, so, I wouldn't worry. Just go with the flow." She said. "What's your plan of action, though? You guys got a plan? Having any food? Or are you just meeting up?" She asked.

 

[KasperXIII]

"A risk, indeed, but it's one you took regardless." Seeing things from James' perspective when he contacted the girls was a new way to view the entire ordeal for Tony. Desperation. Honesty--though it didn't exactly apply to Thalia in some cases. Goodwill. THOSE virtues certainly applied to the two, no matter what they had to do to protect their own. The end justifies their means. Surprisingly as well, even James couldn't find much about Thalia from facial recognition. Al-Asheera sure are ghosts. It's almost scary to imagine what other skeletons they have lying around. But another thing that caught Tony's ear in the conversation: a donation to Karin in the end of this whole thing. His eye shot out as he turned to his passenger briefly. "Well... I must say, I'm surprised to hear that... I have to say, James. You've really changed the way I look at you. When I saw you, I just assumed you were another one of those shady Deep Web hackers, just looking for a good laugh out of Karin and Thalia, just to stab them in the back. But if you're willing to help Karin pay for her brother's medical expenses, improve his treatment? That changes.... well, everything. You may have done wrong, but like those girls, you have the best intentions at heart, even if you refuse to believe it at times. Everyone cares, somewhere, deep down in some weird way... I support your choice to help her out."


Even Tony cared for Thalia, as much as he despised her and oftentimes wanted to strangle her. It was that complicated love complex in his mind. The one he's been trying so desperately to shake off. But the conversation about Ra's brought him right back to her.


"Pedophiles... I mean, I've busted my fair share of them. Sick people. What do they see attractive about little kids? What's so fucked up in their minds to envision kids doing shit like that? Take Thalia for example. She had to be like 13 or 14 when she joined Al-Asheera. And what? Just so Ra's could develop some crazy obsession over her? Do the unimaginable to her? And god only knows how many girls came before him in the past two decades. Just to kill them like he threatens to do to Thalia? It seems like a strategy. He falls in love with a kid, takes them through their trials until they become of age, which in his case is 21, it seems--Thalia's age--and when he finds them useless, he tosses them to the curb. Kills them. Leaves them out in the ocean or something. Ugh... that's just sickening. I bet even a guy like you, who's been around some creeps in the past, would find that despicable. Disgusting." Well then again, so was the way Tony treated her. But he didn't want Thalia dead. Just to suffer. To him, there was a difference.


Frank's dilemma of closure came back into the picture. As Tony brought the vehicle to a full stop in front of the garage, he shifted the gear in park and turned over to James once more to finish their conversation. Tony could see Frank wandering outside the house all by himself. Were he and Thalia finished in the little weapons dungeon? And what in God's name did those two do all in their lonesome? Tony was suspicious, but he wanted to conclude the conversation with the hacker by his side first.


"James, Frank needs to stop blaming himself for what happened to Natalie. I think the only way he can is if he faces the man who started it all. I'm sure that you and I could dig into the case.  Losing someone like your four year old sister... God, that must've broken him. The way kids deal with trauma is very different than adults. They're.... so much more fragile. I don't blame people like you who don't harm children. They never asked for chaos or damage. It's monsters like Ra's or Natalie's killer that don't care. THOSE are the scum of the earth that I can't stand... It's part of the reason I was out to make an enemy out of Thalia, after the diner incident yesterday--I'm sure you saw the news. That was Thalia's doing, and she scared Joseph shitless back there. The moment I saw that scared boy, I knew she was turning into a female version of Ra's. No regard for what's around her. Even if it's a kid she's scarring for life... Beats me. All I know? I will help Frank recover the last few pieces he needs to be at peace with Natalie. And if you want to help... Be my guest. Now come on. There's Frank over there. We keep this a surprise until we know for sure we've got him, right?"


With nothing further to say, Tony turned the keys from the ignition of the vehicle and exited in the direction of his partner, outside and alone. Thalia and Karin were probably inside. As he got closer, he called for the man, clearly distraught but Tony couldn't exactly tell why. "Hey, Frank... feeling alright? Got everything we need for the operation in Pasadena?" Like everything was normal. Tony was completely ignoring their little altercation from back at Karin's place. Trying to bridge the gap now between them. He knew bringing up Natalie was a low blow. And he felt bad for it.


--


The excitement in Thalia's tone and actions didn't fade. Hell, she didn't want it too. She had a date with the guy she spent a good deal of last night thinking about. The shine of her wide-open daydreaming eyes, her gleeful voice never sounded so happy in her life. And it felt even better to have company from someone like Karin to tell all of this to. Someone who cared about her. Still extremely jumpy, and though she wanted to keep the handwritten address on her hand, she knew she couldn't. Not with the risk that someone like Tony sees it. Karin beat her to the job by handing her down a paper and pen to record the location somewhere more permanent. She leaned over to the counter in the kitchen, looking down at her left palm, and wrote the street number and town on the notepad paper. "Oh boy, Tony's not touching Frank's balls. Those are mine now," she joked around, insinuating the potential intimacy the two would have at night. Surely after that kiss in the weapon's locker, Thalia could only guess that Frank wanted more than that, but unfortunately, they weren't in the right place or the right time. It would wait. But surely that night would be full of surprises. Once she recorded the address, she folded the piece of paper and snuck it into her pocket. She then took a few steps to the side, facing the sink. A quick twist of the glossy knob let water pour down from the faucet, where she placed both of her hands beneath, scrubbing a bit at the pen-inked palm of hers. Hopefully it would wash off before anyone comes in.


"My god, Karin... it was a dream come true. Surely not the most romantic of locations, though. It was a secret weapons locker in James' garden. Underground or something. He took me, Frank, and Tony down there, then took Tony off to plan other things. Frank and I... we stuck around. Gathered a few things... and well..." Once she figured the ink was washed away, she discontinued the water flow from the sink and grabbed a nearby kitchen towel to dry her hands off. "...Let's just say one thing let do another... Next thing you know..." After, she leaned her back against the counter behind her, head up, smiling in that same giddy manner as before, recalling her one happy memory of these past few days. "I'm in his arms. He's standing in front of me, begging for me to kiss him back... I'm falling into his arms, barely able to stand without just trembling... I had him in my reach, just... It was... magical? Fuck, I'm bad with romance, you have to forgive me."


Thalia couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled and laughed this much. Surely, Karin was godsent to her. All her life she wanted a friend like this, to tell all of her deep dark secrets to and simply have fun around. The time had come at long last. Once she snapped out of her daydream and focused more on reality, she turned back to Karin and continued with the details. "It's at Frank's place. It's not even anything all that big. Just a few rental movies, popcorn, chicken or something, he said he was gonna cook, but I'm not sure if he has any other surprises for someone like me... Maybe I should get him something else as a warming gift. Drinks? What kind of alcohol do you think Frank would like? I mean, not that I wanna get him drunk or roofie him or anything, but you know, something classy so I actually seem my age?" Thalia was surely thinking about the romantic movies she'd oftentimes hear about. She was certainly not good at any sort of love games. All she knew is she felt an attachment for Frank. Covering her face from the blushing and embarrassment from that question, she sarcastically whined, with a mixture of laughter. "Oh, god Karin, how do you go to someone's place for a move night... date... thing? Please tell me you've done that before?" She cleared her hands from her face, still smiling a bit, clearly not seriously whining. "At least you'll let me borrow something for tonight... I promise, when I get some new clothes or get my old ones from Ra's back, I'll let you pick some of my stuff. Alright?"


Only then did Thalia realize she was going on so much about herself that she forgot about Karin. "My god, I'm so selfish... what about you Karin? How do you like James' place? I bet Joseph's having a blast. I swear, he's a fucking keeper. Please tell me you made a move on him when he came back in here."

 

[DrTrollinski]

He shrugged. He didn't need to comment on how good of a man anyone thought he was - He just let his actions do the talking. It was one thing saying that he was going to do something, but actually doing it was something completely different. Yes, medical bills and better treatment for Joseph. An insulin pump was something that Joseph seemed to think he could only dream of - not for long. As soon as James got a good chance, as soon as things settled down for them even in the slightest, he'd sit Joseph down and place an order for him. The model he wanted, the one he thought would be most convenient for his life - Joseph wanted to get back into soccer? Well, Karin could consider it done. It'd happen, just as soon as James got a minute to bask in the joy of it. He didn't want to do it while they were all stressed with what was going on. There was a time and a place for everything. Now didn't feel right. Soon, though, hopefully soon.


"We'll bring Ra's to justice. We'll bring Natalia's killer to justice, too, and if you ask me, there's quite a valid argument out there - Murderers, their only legal punishment can be five minutes alone with the victim's family." He said, "I think that'll be all Frank needs. Whatever he decides to do is up to him." He explained, simply. "I don't know what Frank might do. This guy shattered his childhood and most of his adult life, too. Frank seems cool enough, but, how he'll act when it comes down to it? It's not an easy thing to judge, you know what I mean?" He asked, simply, then shook his head. "We'll see."


Speak of the devil, though, Frank was right there out front of the house. Risky? No. No one was going to be around here that would recognize him - James wasn't fussed, so he got out of the car and he walked with Tony over to the other detective. Frank seemed okay, if not a little bit... Lost in his own world. Nothing out of the ordinary, though. He was just there having a smoke - what else was he going to do other than drift off into space?


When the two approached him, though, he looked at them and smiled.


"Well, fancy seeing you here." He said, then let out a chuckle. "Yeah, everything's just fine here. We've got what we need - We've got small cameras that can be hidden all over the place, basically, and not only that, we've got all the weapons packed." He explained. "And I'm doing just fine. Thanks for asking." He nodded. "Just thought I'd take a minute away from everything and indulge myself in my..." He waved his cigarette about a little bit, "Unhealthy habit." He chuckled once. "How was the shopping trip? Came back with a new car and all."


"It was fine. We got what we needed - Tony bought you some clothes, I got some for Thalia." He said. "Alongside that, some medicine to helpfully make Joseph feel a little better." He said. 


"Ah, that's nice of you." He nodded. 


"We've also got hats and magazines for the sake of blending in and all that." He shrugged.


"Good." Frank nodded, "Shall we go inside? Thalia and Karin are in the kitchen. Joseph's fallen asleep, though, so try and keep the noise down." He said. "Isn't doing him good to be out of the house. He should be at home in bed." He said.


"It's alright." He said. "I'll make sure he stays tucked up here." James nodded, "He needs some recovery time, without a doubt. I've got enough room in my house to give him a bed to rest up in if he feels he needs it once he's had some of the medicine I bought. Only over-the-counter stuff, but, hopefully enough to ease him up a little bit. You never know." 


"We'll see. Come on, we better get inside. All of this kicks into action soon." He said. "Are comms set up?"


"Soon enough. Need to tap any earpieces into the right channel and we'll be fine. I assume you got those, too?"


"Everything you asked for, we got." Frank said.


--


"You're not bad with romance at all, it's fine." She laughed. "You seem to be doing well as it is, so honestly, try not to overthink it." She said. "Frank seems to like you, you like Frank, you're going over there later, and if he really offered to cook for you, you know it's official." She laughed. "If you want to take something for him as a gift, something nice to drink, then take a bottle of whiskey or scotch or something. He seems like that kinda' guy. I reckon you'd like whiskey, or at least whiskey cola." She said. "It's got a strong taste to it at first, but, if you mix it with soda..." She smiled. "It's more of a sweet one, if you ask me. If you're going to take anything, take a half-bottle of that. Nothing fancy, but, something that tells him you're on that level - where alcohol is a valid gift for each other, basically." He laughed. "Chocolates or flowers or whatever aren't really a good bet. At least not now. I mean... Chocolates are more of a Valentine's day thing." She shrugged, "Flowers? Eh... Some guys appreciate it, but Frank... He's a cop. I don't think he'd dig that." She said.


"And what do you mean 'how do you go there'?" She laughed. "It's simple. You just treat it like the two of you are going to watch a movie, and seeing as you guys have sort of hit it off, greet him with a little kiss, have the food and everything, and when you settle down to watch the movie or whatever..." She shrugged. "After a while, you can either make the move, or Frank will. It goes either way. The fact that he's spending time with you is enough to know that he's interested, so, don't overthink it. Just go with the flow, and let the dice roll." She smiled. "You'll be fine, Thalia, don't worry."


Ah, of course. The thing that happened with James.


"Oh, shit, I never told you." She said, "You'd be amazed." She grinned, "Basically, I was sat with Joseph, just watching some TV, and Frank and Tony came in to tell us they were heading to the store. James asks Joseph how he is and everything, says he'd buy him some medicine. Right before he leaves, he just leans down and kisses me." She said, biting her bottom lip.


"It was just like that. No big build up - he just did it like it was nothing out of the ordinary. Whether this makes things official is a different story, but, the fact is, Thalia, it actually happened, and I'm going to guess Joseph's convinced, too. He looked pretty happy about it, so I can't really complain." She smiled. "James' place, though? I love it, and Joseph does, too." She smiled. "It's beautiful here. Quiet, not as... Cramped. Lots of room to move about, and do whatever you want. He's got a Grand Piano down here, too, just... Wow." She smiled. "The Master Bedroom upstairs, too? God, if you get a chance, you need to go and look at that. It's absolutely amazing. There's this giant window above the bed, tinted, and it lets you look out at the sky while you're laying on it. You've got a shutter control, too, so you can close that at any time. Honestly... This place is just..." She looked around and shook her head.


"It's like something you'd see in a movie, you know? I never thought I'd be inside one like it." She said.

 

[KasperXIII]

A teasing shake of Thalia's head came from the mention of extravagant alcohol. It wasn't like the other night in the bar was the first time she's drank. A bit more storytelling from her troublesome times in Al-Asheera. "I've tasted some crazy shit with Ra's. He's got a huge casing of alcohols from god knows fucking where. Huh... got my first taste when I was 14. First time Ra's called me to his quarters... Geez, as far as I know? I went nuts and puked that night." Her head tilted downward, laughing at her first drunkened tale in her life, which happened very early on in her life. "Bet that makes for good small talk, eh? I'll find something to get him. I'm 21, so I shouldn't have a problem going to a liquor store or something... and don't worry. I won't steal it." Even though Thalia could damn well steal it if she ever wanted to. Not like she hasn't before. Oh, the things she's stolen in her eight years as a thief. "God, that was hinting, wasn't it? THAT's not going to serve as good small talk. That's the kinda thing that will give him motive to arrest me, right?"


It only sunk in then and there that this was a romance between a cop and a thief. Frank was used to putting people like Thalia behind bars, which made it even more strange why he suddenly felt the same spark. But she'd play along. That kiss? She couldn't stop thinking about it. And maybe Karin was right. She was overthinking this whole thing. But she loved the thoughts. The possibilities for the night. All she wanted was not to screw it all up. She figured Karin had experience with movie night dates, so that's why she thought she should ask. A bit more confident in herself, she stood by her friend, looping her right arm around Karin's shoulders. "You are the best. Maybe one of these days we should double date. Lots of fun. I'll bring Frank if you bring James, hm?"


Then came the story of the kiss. Thalia's jaw dropped in shock, followed by a gasp that seemed overjoyed. Staring at Karin in absolute awe, she returned to her comments to cheer her on to further their little romance. "Oh, shiiiiiit! He kissed you?! Like, out of nowhere?!" Karin was clearly becoming shy about her little experience, maybe even trying to mask her girlish feelings in a way. Thalia was certainly no good at that. That's why she was so jumpy about Frank. "God, Karin, you better pay the guy back for that. If it's not official now, you've gotta make your move. See this place?" The hand not around Karin's shoulder gestured outward as if Thalia were revealing the house in its entirety at some auction. "James knows how to live. And as much as you've really taken up the role of a caretaker, you need to live your life, too, you know. And he clearly cares about Joseph. Haven't you seen the way those two connect? He's got a nice place, he likes your brother, and he KISSED YOU! Please don't tell me you don't want this, otherwise I will literally whisper things into James' ear. Your winggirl. How does that sound? I'll one-up you to fucking hell and back just so he can make a move beyond faking it to Joseph. I swear, if you tell me you didn't like that..."


"Who didn't like what?"


The booming voice of Thalia's least favorite detective cut off her excited voice, quickly pulling her arm away from Karin and and looking in the direction of the hallway in which the voice came from. In came Tony, followed by his partner and James. Thalia frantically tried to cover up her words. Their boy trouble was none of Tony's business unfortunately. Well, soon, it would be if she hits it off with Frank. "Um... The house. I was asking Karin if it was brilliant. I mean, look at the damn place. It looks like something straight out of a movie. Am I right?"


"Mm..." As usual, Tony was not convinced. He shook his head in dismay, but didn't raise a finger at her. Hitting her would squander the trust he'd been building with James. Trust he needed if he intended to further this operation and not leave the four of them as loose cannons. As usual, Tony's attitude towards her made her blood boil, almost made her want to attack him again. He was just so nosy, as if he didn't want to give the girl space to live her life, prove that she had the capacity to change. Hell, Tony probably still views her as the mystery redhead who shot his partner to near death. That was an image Thalia wanted to eradicate from everyone's head. It would take time, but she was slowly gaining people's trusts, even with her habits of lying. Maybe not from Tony, but she didn't care. "Tell us, Thalia. Is there anything else we should know before James takes control of the operation and gives his next instructions? Anything about Ra's we should know? Or the location? Because he and I worked out escape routes for all four of us. Karin stays here in the house to work up comms."


A relief. Karin was far away from the action, as promised. A sigh breezed in Thalia's head, but aloud, she nodded and spoke out, "Hm... What haven't I mentioned before.... If there's anything I could mention before this whole thing goes down, it's that Ra's is not fluent in English. He might make a grammar mistake or two, or just full out start speaking in Arabic. I don't take it anyone in this room understands Arabic aside me?"


"Wait..." Tony cut her off, stepping forward, but cautiously, close enough to get in Thalia's face. "You know Arabic and you didn't tell us?"


Groaning, Thalia answered, "Yeah. I know enough to understand him and maybe answer him back in Arabic. But that's it. And I'm also co-dominant in French. Any problem with that, 'Detective Walsh' ?" She made an unnecessary emphasis on Tony's name to make fun of his detective skills in particular. He was looking farther into her background than he should've. "What does my linguistic ability have anything to do with you getting in my face?"


Sighing in his own failure, Tony stepped back. She called his bluff and made a fool out of him with just a few simple words. He turned his back on Thalia and grumbled, "Carry on."


In response to to Tony's growls, Thalia scoffed, and in her own French accent, "Crétin." The closest word in her head to refer to Tony as a jackass, but close enough. Shaking her head, she carried on as if the detective's outburst never happened. "Ra's might speak to me in full Arabic if he feels more comfortable. After it all ends, I give you my word I'll translate the conversation in its entirety later. I will, however, try to get him to speak in English as much as possible. He sucks. And his accent's weird. But I can understand him."


Jumping onto the counter behind her to sit on it, like her habit kept making her do, sit places she shouldn't, she gazed at the ceiling, thinking what else she could mention. "A few words that you should recognize in our conversation: I refer to him as Mawlaye, which means "Your Highness" in Arabic. Yeah. The guy likes to be treated like some Ottoman sultan. Kinda dresses like one too, so he'll stick out like a sore thumb on security, Karin. Kinda makes you wonder how he hasn't been caught yet. He's good. Scary good... Another word HE might use to call me is sharmoota, Arabic for "whore". Yeah. He calls me that. Says a lot about our relationship, right? But generally he'll call me Al-Jameela, which most of you in this room know is my clan name, which means 'The Beautiful One.' A bit of a vocabulary lesson on a few words he'll surely say when he goes in there."


"Just going to reiterate some conditions. I'm happy that Karin's away from the action. James, Ra's will never need to meet you because I will convince him otherwise. I will keep your relationship solely remote, and I will refer to you by the alias of your choice. Again, you won't be tattooed or anything either. This is all just a sting.... Tony, watch the trigger finger in the lobby, and keep an eye out for a white guy in a ponytail and unibrow in the lobby. Probably will be in a suit. That's Ra's' right hand man, who may or may not be there during this op."


"May or may not? That's not very reassuring."


Go fuck yourself, Tony. "Well, I'm just warning you, okay? Don't be such a baby about it, and suck it up. Keep your eyes peeled...." Thalia turned over to Frank. Shit, shit.... what do I do? It took a lot out of Thalia to keep a straight face in front of Frank, but she tried her best, biting her lower lip discreetly, but getting out a few words of advice. "If things get hot, Frank, pull out. Don't... Don't wait for me. I can jump the balcony and survive. I'll be okay."


A thief was once again leading things. Tony didn't like this. He spoke up once again, challenging her authority and questioning her honesty. "Is there any other fucking detail you're leaving out? Miss Griffin?"


With one last scoff, turning away from Frank, and a few steps closer to Tony, Thalia leaned a bit closer to the rude detective's face. He's been pissing her off a fair bit today, and even had the audacity to brutally assault her in Karin's living room. a glance to the ground prepared Thalia for her next words. She knew what these words, but she just let out a cocky smile and a dramatic pause before telling Tony, "Va te faire foutre." All of this while squinting her eyes at him and licking her lips in confidence. She didn't fear Tony, and even felt bold enough to continue the insults. "Pathétique." Why the sudden urge to use her second language? Just to tease Tony because he called her out? It was satisfying though. Thalia always hated the French language, but it came to her advantage as of late.


Tony, unaware of what the phrase meant, could only assume it was an insult. Though Thalia expected more of a confused reaction from the grumpy man before her. But the second word didn't take a genius to deduce. Pathetic, she called him. Instead, he extended both of his palms over her shoulders, now slightly infuriated at her and about to get up in her face again. As the redhead was knocked back, the older man, who had a gun in his holster from the weapons locker, angrily stomped in her direction. He wasn't going to hurt her. Just threaten her in a way to build tension. The one thing he could do to feel the good fire within him and build a spark with her he so desperately wanted. "You're going to tell me what you told me at first. RIGHT NOW!" It sure was bothering Tony to know what she just told him at first.


Thalia remained quiet, once catching her balance, only squaring herself face to face with him. Bold, maybe even stupid of her. She got seriously hurt last time she faced Tony like this. But surely someone would defend her in this room. He wouldn't get away with this under James' roof. The hacker who was now on her side would surely not stand for another brawl.


"You have till the count of three." Silence. "One........... Two........."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"I will pay him back, don't underestimate me." She grinned, winked, and playfully pushed her friend back a little bit. "Yes, I love this place, like I said - Joseph loves it, too, and the two of them seemed to have really clicked." She explained, "You know, there's something I've been meaning to say to you about Joseph. As confident and funny and happy as he is, there's still a lot about him that some people don't see." She said. "I mean, I've said it to you before - As a boy, and me as a girl, even more so his sister... He always sort of struggled to talk to me about things." She said. "Not all things, but... Boy things, if that makes sense?" She laughed a little bit. "There's been times where he's hidden stuff from me just because I'm not really the person he wanted to talk to about it. I get it, though. If I was in his shoes, I wouldn't say a word to me about some things. Even since he was little, he's been quite... Insistent on privacy, and everything. A lot of kids are, but with me, it's very... A lot more than normal, basically." 


She thought for a moment, "I hope that things with James work out. Not just for me, but for Joseph, too." She said, "Now that he's growing up, he needs someone like James there. James is a good man, I think. Talented, clearly done very well in the past, especially if he's living here. Joseph needs someone other than some waitress to look up to." She chuckled. "It'd be nice, though. Me and him were talking about it while we were watching TV. He said he really likes James, thinks he's real nice. Said he was really happy that me and him were 'dating'." She grinned. "It's nice, really, I can't complain. And yes, of course I-"


In walked Tony.


Great.


They were all here, but first, James went to Karin. He put one of the bags down in her hands, and smiled, one of his hands freely drifting to her arm and resting there for a minute. "Some medicine. For Joseph, I mean." He smiled. "How is he?"


"Asleep." She smiled, taking the bag and placing it down on the counter. "Thank you. He'll probably want some of this when he wakes up."


"You sure he's alright?" He asked. "If he's really not feeling hot, there's a good doctor nearby I can book him in to see later."


"No, no, it's alright. I hope you don't mind but I've been..." She looked around the kitchen. "Browsing your... Spices, and... Things." She laughed. "You've got some stuff in the cupboard, the salts for replenishing bodily fluids. You use those?"


"Not actively." He smirked. "Working out in the sweltering California heat can make you vomit if you're not careful. Same for anywhere, really - Those are just for situations like that. Not that I have those moments often, of course. But, feel free to use those if Joseph needs them." He said. "You know, I wouldn't want to force him to get back in the car and back to your house and everything. Why don't you and him stay here tonight? There's enough rooms for him to have his own one, obviously, and I can easily run you back so you can grab the both of you some clean clothes."


"That's really nice, James. I might take you up on that." She smiled. "I'm sure Joseph would be nothing short of thrilled, too."


"I've already said, I've got a present for the two of you. I'll wait until later, though. Wouldn't want Joseph to have it while he's feeling sick. If he perks up later on, I'll get them out." 


"Thank you." She smiled.


Anyway, the conversation between them all quickly took place - Arabic, that's all they needed to keep in mind for now. It wasn't like it would be an issue - they'd have it all recorded, anyway, so James would probably be able to find someone who could verify the translation, but he trusted Thalia enough with that. It was the mistrust between her and Tony that worried him - was this all going to come between them, or, were things going to eventually work out okay? He just hoped that everything didn't boil down to something violent among the group they had.


"My Alias... We'll give him something believable." He said. "I don't want anything that could even possibly link to me. In fact, let's trick him, shall we?" He asked. "Why even let him think that I'm a man? Let's have my alias be... The Miracle." He smiled. "That leaves me as an ambiguous person behind a voice changer. He won't know if I'm male, female, fifteen, or fifty-five. It'll be a gamble, but as soon as I prove that what we've promised to give him is real?" He grinned. "We'll be in the money. He'll have no choice but to trust me - if he ever wants to see the million dollars again." He explained. "He'll know what's at stake. It may not mean much to him, but, having another million dollars to toss around as pocket change wouldn't hurt him; I'm sure he'll be even happier when he finds out it's clean money, too." 


Frank looked at her, though, when she spoke, and he nodded at her, slowly. "It'll be a tough job to just leave you in the dark, but, if you insist you'll be alright, and I can't do anything to help you out..." He nodded another couple of times. "Don't worry about me, either. If you're certain you can get out of a sticky situation, I'll do as you ask, no problem." He said. Would he? He wasn't sure. His face remained straight - he was a better liar than a lot of people, and he had a good poker face. Karin, however, had the words play over in her head. If it gets too hot, pull out.


She had to stop herself from laughing, so she quickly sipped on the water she had on the counter. Of course, though, the more she thought about it, the funnier it was. She laughed and spat the water back into the glass.


"Sorry, sorry. I'm being immature. Pull out? Uhm, perfect opportunity for a 'that's what she said' joke." She chuckled. "Sorry, inappropriate right now. My bad." She said.


Not necessarily something that gave things away - just showed she had a weak taste in some humor, I suppose.


Why did James have a feeling that they wouldn't get away without violence?


It was a bad move to pull that in his house, that was for sure.


As soon as he had her by the shoulders, James stepped up behind him and wrapped his own arms up under Tony's; his hands went over Tony's shoulders, and then connected at the back of his head, his palms pressed into his hair. Now, from that position, Tony's arms were locked in one place, and even though he could bend his arms and reach back, by the time he could have done that, James already had the upper hand. All he had to do was pull back a little bit, and Tony's arms would have bent at the shoulders in a way they weren't meant to. They bent backwards a little bit, but James didn't do it to the point where it was agonizing - he happily would, though, if Tony tried to resist or fight back.


"Not in God's house, Tony." He snarled. "We were just beginning to get to a point where we trusted each other. I'd hate for you to fuck that up now." He said. "In the other room there's a ten-year-old boy that doesn't need to witness you getting violent with a defenseless woman. What was it you said to me in the car? About mental scarring and such?" He asked, simply. Clearly a hint, a hint that in some ways made Tony look like a bit of a hypocrite. "I don't want any of this to turn to anything violent. I'd like for things to remain... Civil. We have quite the motley crew here, too. I'd hate for something to come between us all - like someone having both their shoulders dislocated, hm?" He asked - a back-handed threat, in some ways.


As for Frank... Well, surprisingly, he hadn't pulled out a gun on James yet. At the minute, he was scanning over Thalia and making sure she was alright. It was clear he still didn't condone the violence, and for a moment, it looked like he held his breath.


Honestly, it was quite evident he was more... Scared that he was going to hurt her, not angry like he usually was.

 

[KasperXIII]

As Karin went on about her budding romance with James and how she and her brother were more than happy at his place, the two were greeted by the return of the three men from earlier. And the friendly approach by James furthered the thoughts of him going for some form of closeness. A peek from the corner of her eye winking was a signal from Thalia to her friend to keep this going. Plus, things only seemed to get better when James mentioned that Karin and Joseph could stick around at his place for the time being, even go back and get a few of their things from their place. Even someone like Thalia, who wasn’t all that invested in romance, could feel her heart glowing for her best friend in such a position. How could she say no? On top of it all, a gift? Boy, was this guy surprising her. Seems like both of them have hit the jackpot in the love lottery in the past day or two. Oh, Karin… you’d better say yes to him. Or I’ll say yes for you. Seeing she was sharing the roof with Karin at the time, Thalia was almost tempted to include herself in the deal--the house was indeed impressive, and she would love to stay the night as well--but seeing this was between her friend and James--their moment, not hers, she didn’t get involved and would manage herself. Worst case, she’d move in with Frank if all goes well. Hell, if all really does go well, she might just stay the night. Her own excitement for the coming night was still burning within her, and every time she glanced at Frank, it was a constant reminder of their kiss in the underground weapons locker. Surely no place built for the job, but certainly thrilling. God, if they did anything further down there, they’d both probably be goners. It didn’t help when Karin brought up the ‘pulling out’ joke. It never came to Thalia’s mind, until now. Shit… WHY, KARIN, WHY?! More thoughts of a steamy moment with Frank in the bedroom came to her mind, all thanks to her best friend. Blushing, she tried not to look at anyone until the moment died down. So embarrassing. But she laughed along all the same. Surely an entertaining thought either way. Not like Thalia’s never made such immature jokes before. She was probably worse than Karin.


Then there was Tony’s aggravated attack after Thalia threw a few insults at him that he didn’t understand. The assault was halted when James intervened, grabbing Tony in a way to incapacitate him and stop him from making his advance. The last thing the team needed now was a rerun of the events that went down at Karin’s house. Once he was separated, Thalia took a step or two back, listening to James’ words of caution for Tony to be careful and watch himself. He was dangerously close to attacking the young girl again. A few extra seconds, and she’d probably be pinned to the floor again. “Calm down, Tony. All I said was to go fuck yourself. And to be honest? With all the shit you’re giving me, you deserved that.”


Once again, Tony was veering back onto people’s bad sides through his outburst. He was microseconds away from uttering the next number and toppling Thalia, up until the man sitting in the passenger seat earlier had him locked by the shoulders. He was familiar with the tactic, and knew that James was one move away from crippling him. In that moment, Tony was reminded of everything the two discussed in the car. Thalia was defenseless, and surely, a scream from either her or Tony would wake and frighten Joseph in the next room. The boy was already mentally scarred enough after the past day. Gulping, Tony sighed and shook his head. “Sorry. I just don’t like to be deceived.”


“Deceived?” Thalia scoffed. “When I’m not straight with you, you hurt me. When I put all my cards on the table, you hurt me. What the hell is wrong with you, Tony? Just tell me what the hell you want from me. A high school paper about my life story? Every detail of my life in Al-Asheera? A fucking blowjob? What will make you stop treating me like this? Just spit it out.” A question to settle her misery with him once and for all. Because this back and forth game was becoming repetitive and annoying to her. She wouldn't blow him--no, she didn't find him THAT attractive, and especially not with Frank nearby--but she was literally throwing ideas around.


Tony didn’t answer as he let himself free of James’ grip once the two were sure he wouldn’t charge at the girl. He shook his head at her and just stepped away. Clearly, he was obsessed. That much, Thalia could deduce. But little did she know that his obsession was something further. A look to her side showed a concerned Frank. He was worried about her, especially after seeing her being manhandled in a way she didn’t ask for or deserved. After their moment together, it seemed like their sort of closeness and protective nature of each other was at an all-time high. If anyone tried to hurt Frank, Thalia would surely take the bullet for him. Seemed like he’d do the same. But what if Tony becomes hostile again? And in a case that neither Frank nor James are there to protect her? Clearly, the older detective wasn’t afraid to hit below the belt, a practice Thalia doesn’t partake in. She’s a fair fighter, a quality she developed when Ra’s taught her to fight, even though the kingpin himself isn’t one to take his own advice. Strange, taking advice from a hypocrite, but low blows were something she found distasteful. Once she was sure Tony was a safe distance away, and after a few pleasing looks in Frank’s direction, followed by a faint smile and discreet wave beneath her crossed arms, she turned back to James.


“So, James. What’s next? We have a plan in motion, and I think we can act on it today if we so wanted to. Do we have anything else to take care of up here? You said you have spare clothing, a vehicle… Frank and I stocked up on the firepower. One of the bags that Frank took off has the communication devices and cams. I think I’ll leave that technical set-up for you, connecting it all together so Karin can see us all from here. Apart from that, I think we can put this plan in motion. Set up at the chalet, then I can call Ra’s.”

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Before I say anything about anything, let's just all calm down for a minute." James said, "We've got everything we could want on the table now - even as far as the language that Ra's mainly speaks. That's all we need." He said. "We all know the weight and severity of the situation here. We all know that bad things happen if we don't do things the way we've said we would, and more importantly, we all know that you're all standing in the house of the man who's behind a lot of this operation alone. That sounds bigoted in some ways, I know, but, if we're going to go back to playground-style fights because someone muttered a few words, then there's nothing stopping me from taking the technology back, and the guns, and shoving them all away nice and safe, you know what I mean?" He smiled. "Luckily, I'm too nice to do that, and I'm just starting to like and trust all of you." He said.


"Next, I need to rig up the communications so we can actually talk to each other." He said. "Thalia, you won't be going in with an earpiece, for obvious reasons. You can go in and plant a camera in the room, but, we don't want Ra's noticing anything. If he does, you're as good as dead - and if you're as good as dead, then so is he." He shrugged. "We don't want anyone to die. Not yet. We need to keep things stable so that we can come down on The Ten - If they crawl into some sort of hole, it'll make them nearly impossible to find. Frank's given me the list, but, a digital footprint can only find so much." He explained. "I don't want it to come down to the point where we're having to kick around in the gutter looking for who we need. So, this operations stays to plan - Thalia needs to have some sort of signal to give us if things do get sour - In fact, she can take in some sort of earpiece and just leave it with the camera, at least that way we'll be able to hear anything she calls out."


"Unless there's something you prefer, Thalia, then I think that's what we should go with." He said. "Until then, though, I'm going to go off and get the communications set up." He said, simply. "Karin, you better come with me so you can take a look at the room you'll be working in." He said, and Karin nodded - With that, Thalia was left with the detectives. Frank was going to take care of Thalia, though - no, there wouldn't be any attacks going down with him on the scene. Still, James had to go and get things set up, as he said. It was just a matter of connecting the earpieces to a dedicated communication channel; the servers and signal points were not only at James' house, but also across the city. Not his own ones, of course, but ones that he'd tapped into to boost signal for his own means. 


It was looking like they were going well, and Karin helped him test them out to make sure they all worked. Karin was also taken to a room upstairs, one where one wall was basically stocked full of computers and monitors. One wall was more or less covered by them, which was... Amazing, really. Some of them had dust on them, showing they hadn't been used in a long time. She wasn't going to be using all of them, though, so James turned on the seven or eight that took up the center, and after briefly explaining to her how it was going to work, she was happy enough to continue. She had a good eye for detail, but, she did want one thing before any of this happened - She wanted James to wake Joseph up, give him some medicine, and make sure he got into a bed somewhere so he could get some proper rest. 


James was just fine with that.


After syncing the camera feeds to the computers, too, so that Karin could actually view all of that when it came to getting them set up.


James, in the meantime, returned to the others and nodded to all of them, just as soon as all his previous tasks were done. He hadn't had the chance to wake Joseph yet, but that would only take five minutes to do.


"Alright." He said. "We're good to go. Karin wants me to wake Joseph, make sure he gets some medicine and goes to bed for a while... Other than that, we're set." He said. "Communications are all rigged up..." He handed out an earpiece to each of then, even Thalia if she wanted one. "They can be muted if needed, little button on the side. You can see they're discreet, fit nicely into the ear, clear plastic. Anyone walking by is unlikely to notice them on you, but, best to place them in a specific ear depending on the angle you're at. Try and angle yourself so that side of your body's out of view, you get me?" He said. "Camera feeds are all hooked up, and Karin's ready to up and roll. She's got the comms working, too, so as soon as she gets a proper feed when we're set up, she'll let us know." He explained.


"Now, unless there's anything else to cover..." He thought for a moment. "I think we're good to go, wouldn't you say? If that's the case, go and load the car up." He said.

 

[KasperXIII]

Al-Asheera Secondary Headquarters | Pasadena, CA | 4:15 PM


Though Thalia didn't remember the exact address of the location or the name of the resort, James was fortunate enough to locate it. Fancy resort, pool, not far from a construction site, Pasadena. It was enough clues for a satellite image to be pulled--the one Tony planned the escape route from. From the outside, the place looked pretty old, maybe due to age, wiht paint from the walls chipping and several cracks surfacing to the point it was almost embarrassing for the joint. The place looked like it'd been open for a while and been through quite a bit. Odd, because when Thalia was there once before, the place seemed very lively. Lots of people cheering from below at the pool, kids laughing and having fun. When in reality, despite the less than appeal exterior, the life of the party was certainly there. People ready to have a good time. Fun and games. Plenty of kids there on summer break with their parents soaking up some sun. Plenty of college students wandering around getting drunk and going crazy--an experience that Karin and Thalia never got a chance to really enjoy due to the death of Karin's parents and Thalia's plan to run away at 13. For Thalia, it was a pleasure in one way to be able to at least see what kids her age should be doing. She's 21 for god's sake, and was good at school. She could've breezed through college if she wanted to. She was capable, but at such a young age, made one stupid mistake, followed one stranger who made her feel special, and now she felt the regrets overwhelming her. Especially while walking through the sparsely decorated hallway and seeing what seemed to be a flock of young adults her ages in bathing suits coming back from the pool, laughing, holding beers in hand, one dude holding what seemed to be his girlfriend in his arms... all having a good time. Thalia resisted the urge to ogle at the body of this girl being carried off of the ground--simply because she found her attractive--and kept moving forward. Not that she thought Frank would be jealous if she let her eyes linger. No, plus Frank already knows about her being bisexual. It was moreso the fact that Tony wasn't too far away. And she refused to show any point of weakness in front of him. Wish I could've lead a life like that, she muttered in her mind. Quite a shame she threw her entire life away based off of one decision. I wish I could've had that life. Guess it's kinda late for me to be regretting, right? Maybe one day, she and Frank could come here on their own terms. What a great place to go on a date. Simple, yet lots of room for fun.


But alas, now wasn't the time to break out that bikini she's had in her drawer for so long in Philly. Thalia had the most dangerous job of the five of them. A job she had to fulfill.


Deep down, this girl was scared that things would go horribly wrong. That Ra's would see her coming and be prepared. Bring backup, more than she'd anticipate. And if Ra's doesn't kill her, Tony will on grounds of deception. Which was she scared of more? Quite frankly, they were both threats. Both she'd fight against to the death. "This is the lobby, Tony, this is where you'll be hanging out. Grab a seat on one of the chairs in the corner and... well, chill I guess."


Vacation time was something Tony and Melissa really didn't get time for with their respective jobs. The best vacation the two have had was a walk on the beaches of Santa Monica. Romantic, most certainly, but it wasn't really a getaway. Perhaps after Tony gets his beloved back and proposes, the two can get away, out of town. The department would surely let him take some time off after so many years of loyal service. Maybe it would help him get over Thalia as well. This obsession for a girl, a criminal, significantly younger than him. It certainly wasn't as bad as Ra's' obsession, but it still felt sickening to the mind he was this attached to a younger lady. It almost made him gag. Seeing the pack of young adults, presumably college students, coming in, it made Tony wish that he were 14 years younger. Or Thalia 14 years older. But then it hit him: THOSE ARE KIDS. Thalia's a kid in his eyes. How the hell does Frank fall for a kid? Thalia may be 21, but I consider her brain that of a 14 year old girl. Disgusting... how could you fall in love with a teenager like that? So perverted... but god, she's hot. Seeing the youngsters also made Tony envision the redhead in swimwear of sorts. This entire time, he'd seen her in gloves, a long sleeved shirt, and skinny jeans. Sure, it was to cover her identity in Al-Asheera, but he sort of wanted to see more skin on her. Just a primitive temptation. Stop, Tone! That's absolutely nasty! Even for Frank to crush on her, that's just as bad! You have a girlfriend: Melissa. And guess whose organization got her kidnapped? Thalia's. But he tried not to think of it that way. What was on Tony's mind: how to get Frank to snap out of his little trance for this girl. He couldn't keep lusting after a girl like that. If anything, Tony knew that Melissa has a few cousins around Frank's age. A hook-up within her family would be strange, but better than chasing a ghost. No matter how stunning she looked. Even if that same stunning ghost had taken him under her spell, too. At least Tony was resisting. He could see Frank's desire for her increase throughout the ride through brief stares at her from side to side, laughing at all of her jokes. Was this jealousy? Or actually caring for his partner? It was hard to tell anymore. All Tony knew was that the four had a job to accomplish. Now wasn't the time to argue about this personal dilemma.


"Gotcha..." Tony nodded, taking a glimpse of the lobby. Barely illuminated by the rays of the sun from the entrance and a cheap chandelier above. A few leather couches rested around the place. This would be his lookout spot after he gets changed.


"Good... come with me. I know the room number." Thalia completely ignored the front desk, coming as if she'd been here before--which she sort of has, but with a blindfold on--and marched to the elevator. She took the crew up to the third floor, then marched with them down the hall. White walls, pretty cheap paint there too, cracking and falling from the walls. Boy, was Ra's cheaping out. But he only wanted this place as a fuckhut anyway. Not like it mattered how the halls were. The carpet was also a really old-fashioned design that looked like it was from ancient China or something. Not exactly appealing to the eye. Some five-star treatment for a guy who dresses and acts like a king or sultan of sorts, according to what Thalia said at least. On the bright side, he'll stick out in a place like this.


305 was the room number. From Thalia's pocket came a key card, rather small, too. She inserted it into the metal slot to open the door. A clicking noise signaled the unlock mechanism, and she let the crew inside. Each of them was holding a series of bags needed for the operation, whether it was pool supplies, their change of clothing, weapons, cameras, or otherwise. "Drop the shit on the bed, and let's talk strategy," Thalia ordered.


"Who died and made you queen of the fucking operation?" Tony groaned, dropping his bag with the clothing on the bed.


As a bit of revenge, Thalia replied, letting her bag with the cameras fall next to it, "The same one who died and made you king of les incompétent." More vengeful smack talk in French, but Thalia stopped him before he could continue. "But you can beat me up about your new codename later. For now, take a good look around you..."


The place was certainly the highlight of the entire resort so far. The centerpiece of the room was the bed, most definitely, a king sized mattress with royal red sheets across it with stitch designs across it in the shape of diamonds. Freshly painted walls, a fresh tone of white unlike the worn out color outside. There was a 60 inch flat screen TV across from the TV, probably bought by Ra's money, one with a webcam on top for conferencing, which Ra's had to do last time he was here. There were two bedside tables on each side of the sleeping cushion, each with a lamp on it and a drawer to put belongings as a part of it. To the left of the entrance was a door to the bathroom with a shower cabinet, a sink, and a toilet; rather simple, all painted a traditional white and the shower lined by the shiny steel around the translucent glass. There was a dark red carpet beneath, rather dark for such a place, but it was also an adaptation done by Al-Asheera as per the Head's desires. The lights in the room gave of a very dim aura to resemble that of candlelight. However, that was compensated by the wide balcony to the right side of the bed. A double door to the balcony to gaze down at the pool below and even to see the construction sight not far away. James can surely view the area in its entirety from up there. And with the curtains to match the carpet pulled back to unveil the sun, the room felt sufficiently illuminated. Thalia just had to make sure Ra's doesn't shut the curtains when he proceeds to screw her. A few shelves with old-fashioned knick-knacks were also placed on occasional parts of the walls--perfect to hide a camera or two. A two-person couch also sat by the TV, and just above it? A picture no other than Ra's himself hung for all to see. The perverted motherfucker in all of his greatness. Depending on how you view greatness. To any sane person, Ra's' deranged facial expression, his frizzy thinning, greying hair puffed up and uncombed, his beard spread out and probably unshaved and unkept for years, and the purple robe obvious on his shoulders, only gave the image of a madman. Someone whose brain has been mutated beyond the point it can be revived to mingle with normal people. How would Ra's fair in jail? Probably in a state of kill or be killed, if anything. Maybe solitary was his best bet. Who knows. For now, that's not the team's priority. Now, they just wanted to keep him from panicking.


After taking a good look at this place and getting over her bad memories of the last time she had sex here, Thalia looked back into the eyes of the man who changed her life. So long ago, she praised the man like a god and expressed her undivided loyalty to him. Now? She was about to spit in his face and stab him in the back. Fate was, indeed, cruel. "So.... as you can see on that wall, you finally have a face to the name. That's Ra's. The man who... made me what I am now..." Fuck yourself, Ra's. I'm moving on... There was no point in being loyal to that man anymore. He wasn't exactly loyal to her if he wanted her dead. She sighed and looked back to the detectives and hacker. "Looking around, there are a few shelves hanging on the walls to hide cameras on. Same for the couch... maybe we can swap out the TV webcam for one of our own? Easy access. It's a pretty shitty place, sure. But it's the fact it's shitty that nobody would expect to find Al-Asheera here..."


"So a quick recap... Tony's in the lobby..." Thalia glanced over to the glass doors to the balcony. "James is at the construction sight a few blocks away. Frank is down at the pool. Once I get dressed, I'll hang out on the balcony and act natural. Anything you have to add... Anything that wasn't exactly as I told you?"


Her last words were targeted at Tony, who remained silent. Thalia had had enough of his accusations of her being a liar, so she had to call him out for it. Tony released an unhappy breath from his nose and reached over for his bag with the clothing inside. He scooped them up in clumps and dropped them to the bed, explaining who gets what. "Thalia, the shorts and red tank top are yours... Frank, the red Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts? Yours too. I brought a few t-shirts as well that anyone can use. The pants are mine. I hate shorts.... James, pick whatever you want from it. I'll start and head to the lobby."


Only then did Tony realize that those shirts he called 'red' were probably green. It was a gamble, after all. He grabbed a white polo shirt and his grey pants from the stack and turned around to the bathroom. He was going to get changed first, and certainly not in front of everyone.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Before they left, James had one thing to do, and that was wake Joseph up. He took the medicine through to the living room alongside a little spoon (one of the plastic 10ml ones that came with the medicine bottles), and he sat down beside him and gently shook his shoulder. It didn't take much for Joseph to wake up, either. He was in a light sleep, just one that his body needed for a bit of a recovery time.


"Hey, Joe, wake up." James whispered.


Joseph did eventually open his eyes; he glanced up at him and squinted a little, then eventually, his facial expression softened to a smile.


"Hey, James..."


"How you doing, buddy?"


"Alright... Just feel a little rough still."


"Okay, well..." He got the two medicine bottles out and opened up the first one. "I'm gonna' give you some medicine and take you to one of the bedrooms, alright? You can rest up a little bit more. Karin's upstairs going through some job applications. I'm helping her hunt for something more suited to her. I'm going out in a minute, though, just to do a bit of shopping and everything. She asked me to come and take care of you before I go." He explained. "This stuff will help settle your stomach a bit, alright? Sit up, and I'll give you some of it." He said, and Joseph wasn't going to turn down that offer. He sat up, and soon enough, he was given two spoonfuls of the first bottle of medicine. Right after that, he got another two spoonfuls from the other one. That one was to control the fever and everything.


Immediately after that, James gave him a hand to help him up from the couch, then lead him through the house to another room. Many of the bedrooms were downstairs, but that was no big deal. The room he lead him to was nice and simple, with enough room and a TV as well. It was bigger than Joseph's current room, so that put a smile on his face.

 
​

"Here we go, buddy." He put a hand on his head. "Look, you've got a bathroom just there for you, just to point out. Curtains are all closed - I'll put the TV on and you can chill for a while. Hopefully you'll be feeling a bit better by the time I get back, yeah?" He said, and Joseph just nodded and climbed into bed. 


"James?"


"Yeah?" James said, just as he was about to walk out the room, and he turned back to face him.


"When you get back... Can I ask you something?"


James scanned him up and down for a moment, but then quickly nodded. "Sure you can, pal. Get some sleep in the meantime, take it easy. If you need anything, Karin's got my phone number." He explained. "Take it easy, Joseph, I'll be back before you know it."


"Alright, bye." He gave him a little smile, and he rolled over onto his side. The TV clearly wasn't something that meant much to him at the minute, so, he was quickly drifting off to sleep almost immediately after James left. James, however, was straight out of there and in the car with everyone. It was time to throw this thing into action. Karin was waiting in the computer room for the camera feed, and she also had something that told her if the communications were still running properly. On the journey there, all things seemed fine, and that was that. James had been on enough jobs like this to last him a lifetime, but this time, it felt different. It felt like there was much more at stake than the other ones he'd taken part in. It wasn't just the money - it felt like there was so much more at risk. The whole journey there, James was thinking about what Joseph wanted to talk about. What was there that he could ask? What did he have on his head that he needed to talk to James about?


James didn't know - he just hoped there was nothing serious, and that Joseph didn't suspect anything. He certainly wouldn't be surprised if Joseph had sort of put the pieces together, but he hoped not.


When they got there, though, it was simple enough. The place was joyful more than anything. Kids and their parents running around, kids and their brothers and sisters having fun. All of that, basically. It was a nice place to be, and seeing all the kids and their happy families made James want to cover things even more. If things did go bad, there was no way he was letting any of them get hurt. Obviously, his main priority would be his team, but, if he could protect the innocent people from any shit that occurred, then he'd do it, without a doubt. He was quick to follow Thalia, though, and when they got to the room number where the whole meeting would take place, it was safe to say he was surprised more than anything else. This guy Ra's was full of himself, it seemed, and there was nothing else he could say. This guy had some sort of complex going on, and it was one they were going to have to take into consideration when they were fighting him. It wasn't easy, but, it was something they'd have to keep in mind. This guy was a nutcase, no doubt, but now they were in far too deep to back out. They had to push forward and carry on.


"We've got things covered, I think." James said. "Karin, you reading us all okay?"


'Loud and clear.'


"Good. We've got that just fine, then." He said. "As soon as we leave this room, codenames only. Frank, you go and set up any cameras around the poolside. Tony, you in the lobby. Thalia, the best bet is definitely the webcam replacement you suggested. I highly doubt he'll notice that." He said. "I'll set up some cameras around where I'm based out so Karin can keep an eye on me, and from there, we'll get to work." He explained. Tony then went on to talk about the clothes - Frank and James didn't say anything, but... Thalia's tank top was green, not red. Well, that was strange. They didn't comment, though. "I've got my own clothes." James said, "I'm wearing them right now. Grey shirt, grey pants. It'll help me blend in a little more in the construction yard." He said. "If we're all good, I'll see you on the flipside." He smiled. "Remember, nothing between us. We do this, and when Thalia gets Ra's in her grip, she calls me - My alias is Miracle." He said.


With that, James left, and with as little as ten minutes later, he found himself up high enough in the construction yard and hidden away enough to place himself nicely. He had cameras set up around where he was, just to make sure, and of course, Frank went off and started to set his own cameras up, too.


"In position." James whispered into the microphone. They were good to go. Sniper cover was confirmed. "I have view of Firebird. For now. Let's get this show on the road." He said.

 

[KasperXIII]

Seeing there were no cameras set up in the room yet, and Thalia wasn't carrying an active communication device in her ear, once Tony left the bathroom and made his way downstairs, it left the two lovebirds in their lonesome. You can't possibly lay him down now, T. Hell, you can hardly do shit with that communicator in his ear and James at the vantage point soon. As dirty minded as she was, she wasn't a complete idiot, but the young lady had a new teasing way to get Frank's attention. Not like he could keep his eyes off her anyway; she noticed his looks at her. But she had to do what she had in mind quickly before James gets in position and has eyes on the two of them. This wasn't something she'd do out in the open or in view of a spectator, obviously. Now in private, Thalia looked back and forth in the room, making sure there was no method of surveillance active already, mechanical or otherwise, leaned forward to Frank's ear without a communication device, while her opposite hand reached for his second ear to mute the earpiece within it. Nobody needed to hear what she was saying. Or about to do. "Psst... I don't think I need to... change rooms get into my outfit, hm? How about I give you a little show, just for kicks. Think you'd like that... Barracuda?" It almost felt sexy in its own right to whisper something like that in his ear, using his codename, too. Some sort of thrill she could get off to, maybe Frank, too. Even a quick peck to his lips followed up before she stepped away from hm, an alluring smile cracked across her face, her eyes looking into Frank's eyes. She lifted her right hand, her index finger dragging over her lips, her hips swaying back and forth, even a bit of redness appearing on her cheeks, before she did what she did next.


And if someone sees you doing this shit? BUSTED, you little perv.


Fuck it, any guy would've wanted to see this. No need to even wait for his anser. After just standing their for a good few seconds in her attempt to look like a sexy/cute hybrid, her hands dropped down to the ends of her top in front of her stomach, her forearms forming a cross shape as her fingers gripped the fabric. Her legs were taking small steps in their place, just to keep her body moving as she slowly lifted the top up from her body, first exposing her abdomen, which thankfully didn't suffer any noticeable bruising from Tony's assault earlier that same day. Thalia's tongue spread over her lips in an attempt to be seductive from every inch of her body. Her hands slowly stretched farther up her body, exposing more and more of her body to Frank in their small window of privacy, up until she took a step to her side, showing Frank the right side of her body in a manner to see her silhouette from a different angle. Her shirt traveled up her upper body until she pulled it over her head and off of her body completely, leaving her in her bra in front of him. She briefly toyed with her shirt in front of him, even went as far as to step closer to him and loop the top around his neck and pull him a bit closer, almost about to leave another kiss to his lips, up until she parted her head and released the grip on the shirt, her finger flying in front of his lips, regardless if he attempted to kiss her as well. "Uh-uh-uh... not here." Teasing once again, and boy was she having a blast doing so. Once she pulled her right hand back from Frank's head, it arched just beneath her breasts to her opposing hand, her fingertips grazing the hand down to the back of the hand. Her eyes remained locked upon Frank's, keeping his attention no matter where he was looking. Once her right hand reached the end of her left arm, her two slim hands dropped down to her sides, eventually crossing over her belly briefly. Despite how her diet in Al-Asheera was anything but reasonable, she was able to maintain her naturally well-kept body shape, one to get the attention of any man in the room. She was no model in terms of slimness, but if she went on a road-to-size-zero diet, she might just be. No, her weight was moderate, and her body was stunning, especially how she kept herself toned through her workouts with the organization. Daily runs also helped. Eventually, her hands reached over for the front of her pants, tracing over the belt lining down to the center. Slowly but surely, as she continued to keep her body swaying in its usually eye-catching manner, her nimble fingers began undoing the buttons of her jeans, up until the last one, in which she reached over for the sides and slowly dropped the skinny legwear off of her hips. It took a bit of time due to the tight nature of the jeans, but they eventually dropped down her legs and to her ankles. Kicking off her shoes with her feet alone, she eventually got herself out of her clothing and stepped out of her pants to get closer to Frank once again, now standing in front of a girl in nothing more than her lingerie. Once she was within breathing distance of her detective for a ‘boyfriend’, she took a gentle yank at his tie, dropping his neck to bob downward to her own only for her to lick his lips and pull back a safe distance before he could get a chance to kiss her. She was certainly a tease, one that probably got the better of her and was beyond risky. Maybe James already got to the vantage point and was watching the little performance live in action. Well, hopefully he’s enjoying it. Closing the curtains at the balcony would’ve been a smart idea, but it would give the impression of something shady. And full discretion was a must here. Simply to restore the order of things, Thalia reached forward at his earpiece and unmuted it. Nothing really to hide anymore. “Well… I think I got a bit carried away,” she giggled, letting go of the tie and taking a few steps back. Perhaps that was enough teasing for now. She didn’t really have much to hide. Plus, she craved a bit of intimate fun with Frank. This was certainly a start, one Frank could appreciate.


But then she reached the pile of clothing spread out on the bed. Tony said she had a red tank top and shorts. The shorts? She found with ease. There’s no way those were for Frank. Then came the hard-hitter. There was a tank top that looked like it was for a girl, but it was green. An eyebrow arched upward in a state of confusion, peeking back at the door. Tony was long gone. Maybe he made a mistake? Was there another red one somewhere? Nope. This single green one had to be hers. He made a mistake? It didn’t hurt to ask Frank, his partner.


"Um... Frank? Is Tony a moron? T-There's no red tank top here." Then it hit her. It was green. Tony called it red. Her eyes shot open a bit more than they already were as she glanced back to the man watching her. "Wait... is Tony colorblind? He literally mixed up green and red right in front of our eyes... holy shit... If that’s the case, how the hell did he get into the police academy? Don’t they boot you guys if you’re colorblind?"


Looks like it wasn’t Thalia getting busted after all. As she began to pull the top over her body, she attentively listened to Frank, seeing if he had any further insight. Fortunately, the top was a perfect fit. Probably not picked by Tony. She followed up with the shorts, though getting dressed ever so slowly to give Frank a few last looks at her body. Maybe a bit distracting, but oh well. She never got to really sport a summer look before. This was a good change. Fortunately, she managed to get dressed and place her own communicator in her ear, simply for the time being before she goes deaf from a comms standpoint.


James was in position. Right on time. Probably missed the show, but oh well. It was for Frank’s eyes only anyway. "I'll call Ra's once everyone's ready."


--


The lobby at the moment was relatively quiet for Tony, now dressed in something more casual than a detective’s suit. Once again, vacation time was something he rarely got, but something he’d happily take with Melissa once this was all over. Clearly, it’d be too risky to set up cameras in the lobby. There probably already were, in which Karin already had access to with James’ help. All he had to do was stand guard. All quiet for now, but the operation hadn’t even begun yet. Once Ra’s comes in? God knows what could conspire.


Again, he regretted leaving Thalia and Frank in their lonesome upstairs. Too risky that they try to have more fun than they should. He certainly was oblivious to everything going on upstairs and unaware of the tease his partner had been given. Even unaware that now, his colorblindness secret might be blown. But it’s all too late for that now. Letting himself fall into a singular leather seat in the lobby with a beach bag in hand, he decided to tick away at his phone, browsing a photo gallery of himself with Melissa throughout the years. They’ve been through a lot. Was it all about to end by this mysterious girl who appeared in their lives? He could only hope not.

 

[DrTrollinski]

When they were alone in the room, Frank certainly didn't expect anything like what happened to, well, happen.


Thalia started to give him that little show, and even though he knew it was a big risk, it was something he wanted to chance. Sitting through it was torture in the best of ways, purely because the temptation to act upon her flirtatious advancements was so strong, but they both knew that they couldn't do that without getting caught. They were fighting fire with fire here, and if Tony was to walk back in, he was going to find Frank with his jaw dropped, and more importantly, Thalia with her clothes off. Not something that anyone needed to walk in on right now, honestly, but... Fuck it, Frank thought. Life was too short to give a shit - but the operation was important - but Thalia's far better - A lot of thoughts went through his head, and he found himself in a little trance, all because a stunning woman had taken her shirt off right in front of him. It was clear that it had been a long time since Frank had had the pleasure of seeing anything like this, but... God, it felt so wasted and so good at the same time, all because he couldn't act on it.


The whole package was there - the teasing, the 'you could kiss me but I won't let you' - How much better could it get? Her smooth and slender figure was all Frank needed to see to keep the rest of his day warm. He knew they were both in danger as soon as things kicked off in the operation, but, seeing all of this, as objectifying as Frank thought it was of him, just made him want to protect her even more. If things got too hot, god knew that Frank had played the hero far too many times than was safe for him. Who was to say he wasn't going to play it again? He knew how to shoot, knew how to run, knew how to dive in and out of cover with ease. None of this had to be a problem for him, so he thought that if it came to it, throwing himself in the way of danger wasn't going to be a risk.


Something else crossed his mind.


No, Frank, don't do it. Don't fucking do it, you idiot.


"Maybe I should return the favor." He said, quietly.


Shiiiiiiiiiit.


So, while she was covering herself with her operational clothes, Frank was doing the opposite and taking off the fancy suit and everything. Piece by piece, but as quickly as he could, of course. He made sure his comms were muted before he did anything else. But, once he knew he was in the clear, the clothes came off, and finally Thalia had a visual to put to the feel of the body that she had earlier on. Chiseled, he was, with some decent muscle definition. He was no body-builder, but, he was certainly a man in optimum shape for his age. Surprising for someone who drinks and smokes, but, it was clear that Frank's lifestyle was otherwise healthy. He wasn't even sure if smoking was something he wanted to do anymore. He knew one day it was just going to fuck his lungs up - he could run for at least 8km without getting too exhausted. How long would that last if he carried on smoking? He thought about it every time he lit a cigarette. Maybe his healthy days were numbered.


Even so, he couldn't put on too much of a show - he was just showing off more than anything, showing off with a smile. Before they even knew it, he was in his Hawaiin shirt and his shorts and sneakers. Alongside a hat, too. Just a sun cap.


"I wish I was as good as you at giving the little dance and all, but, sadly, I'm not." He said. "Maybe we can... 'See each other' again sometime." He winked, rising to his feet.


A good point was brought up, though...


"Colorblind?" He questioned, "It never crossed my mind, but..." He shook his head. "Shit, it's more than possible. I mean, with what his girlfriend does, health screening results could have easily been forged. Shit, if that turns out to be the case, and they both get found out somehow, then... Both he and his girlfriend could be prosecuted. His girlfriend more than anyone - forgery of records, loss of any medical licenses... Jesus Christ." He said, simply. He could only hope that it wasn't the case, but, a part of him thought that it may have been. How does someone confuse a light green with red? It just doesn't happen.


"I better get going." Frank whispered, and with that, he unmuted his communications. He shoved his suit into his beach bag, making sure it was under the gun, then made his way out. All in good time, too, because James was in position and had an eye over everything. Frank went out to the poolside, and just where he could manage, he slipped a camera. Mainly it was within potted plants and such, where they could easily be hidden. Karin had a full angle on everything around the poolside, and she had an eye on everyone there, too.


"Camera status?" Frank asked.


'All clear.'


Frank sighed in relief, then made his way for one of the sunbeds over by the pool. It was only then that he saw someone he knew, out of coincidence and nothing more. He just hoped the guy didn't see him. He was there with his two kids, it seemed, and the last thing Frank needed was for him to blow his cover. He played it cool, though, and he whacked out a car magazine and opened that up. Some light reading to help him disguise himself in all of this.


"I have a view on Cobra." James said. "Looking at the lobby... We're all clear there, too. I see everyone. For now." He said.


James pulled out his phone and texted Thalia's burner one.


'Make the call.'

 

[KasperXIII]

Though Thalia acted as she did expecting nothing in return, Frank obviously had the nerve to give a little something back. She could tell when people stare at her, and clearly, Frank couldn't take his eyes off of her body. Sure, this was all sensational, not exactly a heart-felt moment filled with mushy feelings and promises to be together forever, but in all honesty, that wasn't their relationship at the moment. They definitely felt protective of each other, and odds are, it would develop from there into something deeper, which Thalia wanted, but the spark of their relationship was solely from that kiss in the bunker. In its own right, it was romantic, and Thalia certainly loved every second of it to the point she almost wanted to kiss Frank again then and there. But teasing... that was double the fun of actually acting on seduction. The fact that his face made it clear he wanted to kiss her but she wouldn't let him was a thrill she loved. Maybe a tactic for tonight. Boy, she couldn't wait for that. But out of nowhere, as she began to get dressed, Frank began to do the exact opposite. Inside her head, she was screaming in joy in hopes of getting a similar show. Not something she was expecting or asking for in return, but certainly not something she'd turn down either.


Fuck.... he's just like I imagined. EEEK, WHY DO I WANNA DO SOMETHING REALLY NAUGHTY TO HIM?! Simple. This wasn't the time nor the place, and she was getting off to the sense of doing what she shouldn't be up to. With James getting into position at any time now, and the risk of Tony barging in at the worst of times, the scene looked bad enough with both of them less than completely dressed. Hell, staring at Frank taking his shirt off halted her in her place, still not in her shorts yet. She kept her jaw in its place, but a frilly smile was a consequence she couldn't mask efficiently. Drooling? She wasn't the type--not literally at least--but in her mind, she could only imagine herself fantasizing and lusting over his complexions in private. Why wait in private? She could already envision herself crawling over his body and pleasuring him in every way she knew how to. Very, very dirty ideas that were beyond inappropriate in a serious encounter, even moreso knowing that he's a cop. But watching him take the pieces of his suit off felt like watching someone open her Christmas gift for her. She so desperately wanted to be the one undressing Frank, feeling him out while making out and so much more. But she knew that if she did initiate any sort of sexual advance beyond this, it would be no holds barred. They'd go all out till the next morning on her watch and never get anything done. If anything, they'd raise a million red flags for Tony, which they didn't need. Instead, she scrunched her bare legs against each other, sitting on the bed, her right hand over her crotch while her left one was at mouth level, the tips of her middle and index fingers between her lips in a giddy smile which released a giggle or two at the sight of Frank undressed to his boxers. She wanted him, so badly. Focus. FOCUS. But fuck, I want him so badly right now!


But she resisted like a good girl, only watching. Because she didn't let him do any further.


"Maybe we can do more of this tonight?" A seducing tone of voice from Thalia, one that she knew the answer to, but so desperately wanted to say. "Maybe we can... show each other a bit more than now?" She began to blush as a result, understandably. She now had a concrete image of Frank's well-chiseled figure stuck in her head, down to his underwear. Yet her dirty mind still wanted to see him fully undressed. Odds are, he did too. But for now, they could only imagine. "Maybe you can redeem yourself tonight. But you did great.... I liked that, a lot." At this rate, Thalia wasn't thinking straight, speaking without thinking of the magnitude of what she was saying, melting in every little detail about Frank. A blissful hypnosis she didn't want to escape, but one she'd return to tonight. She was more desperate for this detective than ever before. Hell, the overprotective nature only increased after their five minutes of fun. Surely Frank wasn't going to leave her for dead. Thalia felt the same way in reverse. Quite a bond they had. Love was stranger than ever between these two. Very, very strange. 


The potential of Tony being colorblind was indeed dangerous for him. As much as she hated him, Thalia wouldn't throw him to the wolves. This had to remain quiet. Even ask Tony before jumping to conclusions. "Yikes... fuck, we could ruin his career and his girlfriend's. We'll... have to get to it later. For now, take to your position. We need actually get to work before we get caught."


Work. Yes, after all of that, they could still get to work. She'd miss Frank, and the thrill and magic of the two in private, but they had a date for that. After replacing the TV webcam with one of theirs, hiding another one in one of the old vases on the walls to get a view from the north and south side, and hiding the remaining bags and clothing in the closet cabinet, Thalia checked her burner phone. Showtime. James was ready. A quick look to the balcony, and she walked outside, both the phones in hand. No doubt James had his eyes on her by now. She chose to keep her earpiece with her at the moment, just so everyone in the area could hear her conversation live and in action. Fully open, as things were supposed to be. She'd need to hide it and the burner phone when Ra's shows up, but no matter now. At the moment, she took her personal phone and opened the recent contacts. A random unsaved number, the one that messaged her last night. Here we go... Shutting her eyes, she dialed the number and the phone to her opposite ear of the comm device. The wait for an answer was agonizing. She already told Ra's she was coming. How would he react now that she took too long, and now phoning him out of the blue? Her eyes cracked open and glance down at the pool. She saw Frank down there, seemingly relaxed at the moment. Clearly keeping his cool well after what they'd done with each other. A light grin came across her face to ease the pain of the wait. But that grin faded when the sound of an older, Middle Eastern voice answered.


"Takellom," it ordered, indifferent to whoever was there. [Speak.]


"Mawlaye..." she muttered, trying her best to hide her anxiety of calling her master on such short notice.


"Al-Jameela... ayna anti?" [Al-Jameela, where are you?]


"That... that's what I wanted to call about..." Thalia didn't want to continue the conversation in Arabic, simply so it's less to translate. Frank was nearby, too, and could hear her words clear enough from below.


"What is wrong? Are you in public to not speak to me in my tongue?"


"Y-Yes... sort of. I'm at the resort you took me to, in Pasadena?"


"Why? My servant told me you were coming to us."


Ra's sounded way too calm to be pissed at her. Maybe he didn't suspect her? That would be a relief. She sighed and went on, "I changed my mind, Mawlaye... I need to see you in private, not with the others around. I... I missed you."


"You never came home last night. Where were you?"


A worrisome question. He noticed she wasn't around for supper, and didn't come back to her room. Yikes, he noticed. "I was chasing after the compensation. And I've found you a new recruit to replace the one you executed. A more... useful ally who is helping me gather your money."


"Is he, now? ... I demand to greet this man in person. You were right, Al-Jameela. We are accepting men on a very random basis. I must examine him before he does anything further."


"Understandably, Mawlaye. Come to the resort, and I will arrange it for you."


"I am coming...." A relief to hear his words of approval. He took the bait. "But, Al-Jameela... if I come, and there is police waiting to arrest me... It will be my dying wish to tear your head from your body."


It would've gone as an empty threat if Thalia didn't know for a fact he'd do it. Only reminded her of Vanessa's cruel fate. It also brought up the fact that it was dangerous to get involved with Frank. He might be next. "I would never betray you, Mawlaye... I am your bride-to-be..." Her next words came out softer, almost a whisper, with her head turned away from the bright balcony view, "I love you... I am yours forever."


A stern growl came from the other side of the line before it responded, "We shall see about that." And that was the conclusion of the conversation. Ra's hung up.


Thalia's eyes clenched shut, removing the phone from her ears. It felt disgusting, sickening to her stomach, to have to tell that monster that she loved him. She almost wanted to throw up, but she kept her head up and breaths heavy to resist the gross sensation. It felt even worse that Frank heard her promise her fidelity to him. Sure, it was meaningless; she didn't mean it. But it was still not pleasant for him to hear, especially with Tony's skepticism. Because she really sold the act when she told it to him. Which got worse to imagine: Tony heard that, too. What would he think? Would he believe it if she said she was faking it? Once she was more relaxed, she pocketed her normal phone and retrieved the burner to find a hiding place. She spoke into her device once she finally felt comfortable speaking and less disturbed by her words to the barbarian coming to see her. "Guys... Ra's took the bait. He's on his way."


She was expecting some signs of approval from the rest of the crew. However, when Thalia returned inside, the first thing she heard on comm was Tony's voice asking, 'So, 'Barracuda', what did you and Firebird do to take that long upstairs before she made the call?' The redhead's heart sank. Tony noticed?! Shit, I shouldn't have done that. How is Frank going to answer? If Thalia jumps on the defensive, it implicates herself, so she remained silent. Only listening.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Frank liked the idea of seeing more of Thalia tonight, because, well, why wouldn't he? He also had some sort of fascination over her, and that was one he wanted to act on. Soon, though, because there were more important matters at mind. Frank was sat out front cooling off after his hot moment with Thalia, and as said previously, he noticed that there was someone else here that he knew. He wanted them to vanish - at the minute, he was in the pool playing 'volleyball' with his son and daughter, but, that didn't mean he'd be there forever. If he noticed Frank and gave everything away, then he knew it'd be the end of the road, or at least the risk of that being the case. He could only hope that things were okay. He could only hope he was blended in enough to be considered hidden, but still, that was a push.


But there was another issue - Tony was getting suspicious.


The way he sounded so... Accusing, though, just pissed Frank off. Even if it was true. Frank had a wildcard to play now, though - He had the only Ace card on the table, and he was going to use that against Tony right here. Tony may have had the suspicion, but, for the thing Frank had on him, he had pure evidence and witnesses. He took a deep breath, carefully planning his words. If he got too defensive, he knew it'd make things obvious - but he was going to say something that'd hopefully make Tony back away from it all.


Not the best idea, but still one Frank felt that he was owed - Tony had pulled a fucking evil low blow on him earlier, but now, it was Frank's turn to hit him back, even if it was only slightly.


"Relax." He said. "We both had to get changed, remember? I had a suit on, and there's only one bathroom in there. We weren't just going to whip our clothes off in front of each other, were we?" He asked. "I got changed into my shirt and shorts, and Thalia went into the bathroom after me and got changed into that nice GREEN tank top you picked up for her. That's why it took so long." He said.


He figured the hint of the fact that Tony severely fucked up by slipping up on the colors was enough to shut him up, at least for now.


"Gentleman, I kindly request for you both to shut the fuck up." James' voice said calmly into their headsets. "You can both swing your dicks around later on. For now, we've got something much more important to do. Keep communications minimal and necessary - Firebird's had contact with the asset, and we'll have an ETA soon, I'm sure. Status poolside, Barracuda?"


He sighed, "There's someone here we know. Someone from the LAPD." He said.


"This complicates things. Has he seen you?"


"He's here with his kids, and he's busy entertaining them. So for now, no."


"Keep an eye out. Don't let him notice you if you can avoid it." He said. "How are things looking in the lobby, Eagle? And Firebird, what's your estimate on the asset's ETA?" He asked.


Frank found the terminology that James was using to be rather... Advanced. Police-like, even. It only made more questions rise about his past - Surely after leaving college he hadn't been doing nothing all these years. There must have been something more to it than just sitting behind a computer. Hopefully time would tell.

 

[KasperXIII]

Tony couldn't help but feel like he was caught in the act then and there. Green tank top. The very one he called RED. Did his colorblindness finally bite him the ass? Worse, did he fumbled in front of Thalia, Frank, AND James, giving all three leverage over him now? The veteran detective knew the consequences of an exposure of his magnitude. Every case he's closed would be under scrutiny. He'd lose his badge. Not only that, but Melissa would be under even more serious fire for forging documents for the LAPD. Her career would be just as over as his own, if not worse. Tony might get off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Mel would most probably face prison time on grounds of forgery. It worried him, but he didn't let it manifest in any physical form. Fortunately, before Frank could try to challenge him, or he tried to call his bluff and defend himself, maybe even poke fun at him and Thalia again, James silenced the bickering partners. Things were certainly not getting better for Frank and Tony. Would they ever? Maybe they had the potential to when he and James deliver Natalie's killer. But for now, the bitterness lingered between the two, and might even take a toll on their police work, long overdue. They never reported back after submitting their statements about Pigman's suicide. Was that a red flag on its own? No use in calling back now. No phones to communicate. And what were the odds that this entire meeting would free Melissa? Slim, indeed. And staring at pictures of her wasn't helping how much he missed her. This operation was covering Thalia's ass more than his own. Even gave her and Frank an excuse to potentially undress in front of each other. Sure, Frank denied it, but Tony always had a hunch. A gut feeling that he was lied to.


Frank then came forward with a suspicion that someone from the station was lingering around at the pool. Tony's eyes shot out, leaning forward in his seat, but keeping his physical cover of messing around with his phone. If this guy in the LAPD recognizes either of them, the operation is blown. Especially if he calls them 'detective' in front of Ra's. He will bolt at best, murder Thalia at worst. Now more than ever the gang had to proceed with caution. But this was more of Frank's problem than Tony's. Unless the man passes through the lobby, in which case he'd keep his head low. He reached into his beach bag and pulled out a visor. Not something too flashy, but enough to kind of mask him from being immediately recognized. Fit like a glove on his head. What's important? Nobody gets spotted. Thalia was relatively safe. Himself and Frank were in the hot zone. Anything could go wrong. "Keep your eyes peeled, Barracuda. Here's to hoping he's not somebody hostile or armed. Preferably not someone high up in the ranks either."


Thalia was relatively distant from the trouble, hidden away in the safety of the chalet. Now in her lonesome, she decided to kick back and lay down, rest her head for a bit. Not to sleep. Just to relax. She had that luxury after all. She carelessly threw herself into the bed, laying down sideways facing the right beside table. One of her hands, the one under her body, stretched in the direction of the table. Her legs curled forward with her other arm gripping her knees. It was also a way to contemplate everything going on around her. The fact she'd be facing Ra's again, probably abused too. The fact Tony was still so bitter towards her and was hellbent on making her life hell. But the highlight: Frank. She was beyond in love with him now. And though she felt like a complete idiot for stripteasing for him, she couldn't help but have fun with it. She wasn't a whore, never was, probably never will be. She's only had one-night-stands for the purpose of robbing people, and has only seriously loved on person before. Frank? He was a change from the status quo, and someone she felt comfortable with. Comfortable enough to get undressed for his pure amusement? Sure. But she needed a release. Someone who cares. And the care was indeed mutual. Thalia channeled out all of the nightmares of today in return for the hopes and dreams she had for her date with Frank. How she was thinking of doing her hair, what to wear, what could Karin have for her... ...You're thinking like a girl for once in your life. And not a thief. That's a first. It's not who you are, but hell. You're desperate. And dumb. Well, maybe she was. A fool for love. She wouldn't go crazy and do nothing but strip dance for him in his house. Maybe she just wanted a dumb teenage romance that she never got a chance to have. Something normal. A movie, some food, alcohol, talking about their respective shit lives. That's what kids do, right? At least that what she thinks. It's what she'd go for tonight. Sure, she wouldn't mind if it ended in the bedroom, but she wanted to get to know Frank better than just that. No matter how fun it was going to be.


Minutes of boredom passed, until she got bored of laying down and daydreaming. Would Frank mind if she smokes in the house? She wouldn't know as she reached forward for the drawer, pulling out a box of cigarettes and lighter from the bedside. A similar stash to her quarters at the duplex. As she retrieved a stick from the carton and put it into her mouth, she glanced upward at the webcam on the flat screen. Karin was most probably watching her. She held the girl to a very high standard. What would she think if she knew Thalia was an active smoker? Pretty lowly, for sure. It was none of her business business anyway. This was her health she was destroying in a nasty habit, no one else's, but it was a way to get over her personal troubles. And it was only plain cigarettes, nothing too extreme for freaky. But now? Her smokes, her fantasies of a night she's been dying for, and pleasant memories of Frank's body.


A dream come true.


As she lit her cigarette up and inhaled the fumes, she realized she was being asked a question. "Um... ETA? Not sure. Ra's never gives and ETA. Should be soon, though. If he cares about me as much as he claims. He shouldn't really take long." She kept herself contained, crossing her legs in the bed enjoying her smokes while she could. Ra's could show at any minute. She should be ready, at the very least.


If anything, Tony had grown bored of Thalia's ambiguity, standing up from his place and replying into the communicator, "And once again, the mystery redhead gives us a vague answer to question we need to know ASAP. Way to go, Firebird. Way to fucking go."


"Hey, unless you wanted me to provoke the beast, you better be happy with my progress, or I'll tell him to cut your precious girlfriend's head off. He'll do it if I ask. Don't test me."


"Didn't you just hear? No badmouthing or swinging dicks around. Oh whoops, you don't have one!"


"Fuck yourself."


Provoking people, once again, proved to be Tony's strong spot. Now confident that Thalia had to bad-mouth him to retaliate, he pompously stood in his place with a cocky smile, oblivious to his surroundings in the moment. But it also served as a distraction to an interruption coming his way. One that would come to bite him in the ass as a tan bald man in a suit approached, walking at a faster than normal pace, and seemingly accidentally ran into the undercover detective while he was standing up. Worse, this man seemed to have a plastic cup with coffee in it, which spilled all over Tony's shirt. A quick scream in pain and a jump backwards was Tony's reaction to the run-in. Backing up and spreading his arms, he looked up the man in question. "Fuck, you stupid idiot! Watch where you're walking, will ya?!"


The bald man spoke back a bit panicked himself that he just did this and probably caused this gentleman an inconvenience. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, sir! Let me get you to the bathroom!"


He tried to extend his arms in a helping manner, but Tony swatted them away. "No, you've done enough..." He glanced down at the large coffee stain on his white polo, groaning at how noticeable it was. Not something he could cover up. Plus, the hot coffee burned, badly. "I can handle myself..." he grumbled as he marched off into the bathroom not far from the lobby, not even bothering to say anything to his team. What a bad day this was. First, teaming up with crooks. Now? Teaming up with crooks got him into a sticky situation which now probably landed him a nasty burn on his chest. Now in the bathroom and, upon first glances, alone, Tony stood before the massive mirror behind the sinks and yanked the stained shirt off of his muscular body. His chest looked fine, no burning or anything freaky, but it stung a bit. Thank god it wasn't anything serious. The idiot who ran into him, though. Of all people, of all places, of all times. That was... peculiar. But he didn't give it much attention. Just an accident.


Fuck Frank... Fuck James... Fuck Thalia... Fuck them all. This is not what I signed up for, and they put me in the lobby with a fucking klutz. This could've ended up far worse... fuck them. Fuck them all. He rambled in his head all of the obscenities he would want to say in front of them, but couldn't because James would most likely kill him first. This was all because of the mystery redhead. And worse: it was her fault he began to feel so intimately about her. It wasn't that he thought Frank and Thalia were wasting time playing a game of 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours'. It's that Frank was probably getting it and not him. Good old jealousy. His thoughts continued as he turned on the sink at full cold capacity and began to splash the freezing water against his chest. It surely felt better than the other burning sensation from the coffee. It also gave Tony a moment contemplate at his shirtless figure in the mirror. He sure as hell felt like a suitable partner for Thalia, despite the 14 year age gap in comparison to the five year one with Frank. Why wouldn't she fall for him? Most girls get off to the guy who makes an enemy out of her.... Obsession. And Thalia was interpreting it wrong. But she will break. Someday, at least that's what he thought.


Yet Tony's privacy was interrupted as he felt a hand yank his communication device out of his ear. There's no way it would go unnoticed, and it didn't. He turned over to his left to see himself staring down the barrel of a magnum. Pretty fancy and shiny, too, held by the very same bald man who ran into him. It was right down the middle of his eyes. One wrong move, and he was a dead man. "Oh, shit..." Tony grumbled under his breath.


The bald man, holding the gun in his left hand, tossed the communication device into the running sink that Tony left behind, drowning it in the water. "Detective Anthony Walsh... I thought Al-Asheera taught you a lesson this morning."


Then it hit Tony: that man's right hand as he tossed the device into the sink: the tattoo. The mark of Al-Asheera. They were played. Something wasn't right. One of their members was here WAY too fast to react. Not good for Tony, and if he lived? It wouldn't be good for Thalia either. "I wanted to negotiate terms to deliver Thalia Griffin. But I was side-tracked."


"Hmmm... At a resort? Dressed out of uniform, and with a communication device in your ear? Don't try to fuck with me, Walsh. You've got some explaining to do... Against the wall. Now."

 

[DrTrollinski]

He knew he'd caught him off guard a bit, because it shut him up, which was all Frank was trying to achieve. He was just sitting patiently and hoping all things would be smooth from here on out, but of course, the bickering was what would ultimately end their game. At least someone's. Frank was lingering around by the pool, just keeping his eyes on the one person he knew - Redgrave. What the fuck was he doing here? He was in no direct danger from Al-Asheera, because he wasn't someone who was actively trying to break their shit down. His identity was quite well-protected, too, but... He was out in a public place, and one thing that Frank knew was that The Clover Boys had eyes and ears everywhere. If they knew him and his whole family were here, they'd be here before too long.


He didn't want that to happen, so if anything suspicious started going down, then he knew it'd be time to back out of there and do what he could to help Redgrave. He wasn't necessarily close friends with him, but, the guy had a place somewhere in his heart. He didn't know why. Perhaps it was the fact that the three of them all got fucked over at the gas station, with the one text message of 'Checkmate' being sent to the three of their phones. They all got a little fucked up that night, and maybe that was what brought Frank that little bit closer to Redgrave.


His son, no older than five or six like Frank had told Tony some time ago, was more or less a spitting image of his dad. Dirty blonde-borderline-redhead, short hair, same cheekbones, same eyes, same nose. Everything about him had his dad written all over him. His daughter looked nothing like him, but, it wasn't hard to tell that they were related. She was only fourteen or so. The three of them seemed close among themselves, which he thought was nice. He couldn't let himself get carried away, though, because things only seemed to be getting worse. When he heard Tony shouting, he knew that shit was going down, but he stayed put, not willing to blow his cover.


Tony could handle himself, and he was talking - Someone had bumped into him. Had Tony and Thalia's bickering just fucked the whole thing? He listened closely, and James was quick to move his scope over to Tony, too, his eyes squinting as he saw the two men there.


"Everyone report in." He said.


"Mustang here." Karin said.


"Copy." Frank replied.


He looked at Tony for a moment longer, but, by the time he realized he had a tail following him to the restroom, it was all too late. Hadn't Thalia said something about a man in a suit before all of this started? Who was he? Was he someone relevant? The fact that he followed Tony said one thing - danger. 


"Your bickering's potentially fucked this whole thing." James said. "We've got nothing from Eagle. Mustang, get me a signal on his earpiece."


"I've got nothing. It's gone dead."


"Fuck." James snarled. "Firebird, listen up - We've potentially been compromised. Tan man, suit, bald. Is he Al-Asheera or not?" He asked, simply. "He's followed Eagle into the bathroom. We lost his signal right after. I want to make it clear we are BLIND right now." 


"I'll go in." Frank whispered.


"Negative. Hold your ground." He said.


"What?"


"Stand your ground. Don't. Move. If we're compromised, we recover all cameras and destroy those and the phones, but for now, we wait it out. Nothing violent's going to happen down there, public place, too much risk of someone walking in." He said. "Even with a silenced weapon, it's impossible without raising an alarm of some sort." He whispered. "Stand ground, Barracuda. I need information on this guy, Firebird, because we've got nothing to go on right now." 

 

[KasperXIII]

The status report came in such a rush, too. Clearly something was amiss downstairs that Thalia couldn't see or anticipate. "Firebird, I'm here," she addressed in the status report. But Tony had gone dark mysteriously, and she couldn't tell what was up or go down as backup. Ra's could show up at any given moment, and if she's not waiting for him like a good girl, that will surely burn all five of them and squander whatever credibility Thalia may have left. James began to ask questions about a tan bald man in a suit. She held the cigarette between her left middle and ring fingers, rubbing her palms over her face, trying to remember a man by that description. A lot of them tend to look the same. There were plenty of bald tan men in Al-Asheera, and anyone could wear a suit. She sighed and spoke up, "God... that's kinda tough. Mustang, did he have the tattoos? The dragon on the right hand, maybe some sort of symbol on the left of his neck? Same scheme as mine? I..." An idea did come to mind, though. "Wait. Eagle and Barracuda are marked. Meaning Ra's probably has a bounty on their heads. If an Al-Asheera member makes them, regardless of his rank.... Shit, we've got a problem."


Before that could even be any sort of priority, a sharp noise of a door knob shaking caught Thalia's attention. She instantly turned to her left towards the door. Ra's was here. Did Karin not catch him or recognize him to give her a warning? It didn't matter, because the kingpin was here regardless. She quickly ripped the device from her ear and tossed it away into the corner of the room, where Ra's would never pay attention to. A quick move, but necessary. He couldn't get a hint that she was being bugged. The crackling noise of the chalet door alerted Thalia almost instantly to look somewhat presentable, waiting for that agonizing moment when he would barge in. Her head turned in the direction of the door as she saw her master force himself inside without even asking if she’s decent for his eyes. He didn’t need permission. He was the one with all the cards in his hand. And Thalia was just a means to an end. Nonetheless, he came to see why she summoned him to this location. He was greeted to the sight of his bride-to-be in a tank top and shorts with a cigarette in her hand. He glared at her as if she were committing some sort of mortal sin. She didn't look like she was exactly whoring herself out for other men--or women, as he wouldn't put it passed her after her last romance--but it was what the old-fashioned Arab interpreted her actions as, even though all she'd done is sit there indulging in her habit, just wearing less clothing than she used to in Philly. It unnerved Ra's, especially seeing her smoke, clenching his fists almost completely covered by the sleeves of his purple gown. His darker skin tone highlighted the wrinkles on his face produced by his angry expression at the sight of her. Despicable.


“Mawlaye?” Thalia asked innocently.


But Ra's' words were anything but innocent: “SHARMOOTA!” he instantaneously snapped at her, stomping closer and closer, catching her off-guard and pinning her down on the cushions of the comforter. He toppled her in a similar way that she toppled Tony earlier, his weight crushing against Thalia’s arms to pin her down, her legs flailing behind her to try to kick him, but to no avail when his feet pressing against her thighs, completely subduing her. He looked down at her right hand, twitching from the pain of his body weight close to breaking her arms. Instantly, he snatched the stick from her fingers with the utmost of ease, then just stared at her eyes, clearly begging for mercy, but her voice not letting out any yelps of pain just yet. For now, until he took the burning end of the cigarette and planting it on the right side of Thalia’s neck. A burn like that with the amount of pressure Ra’s was applying would most definitely leave a nasty mark. Not only that, but she finally screamed, loud and at the top of her lungs. Over the screams, Ra's yelled back at her, "Say it woman! I AM SHARMOOTA!"


The screaming and almost crying from Thalia was too incoherent to even muster any sort of word. Her eyes clenched shut as her voice cracked from how loud she was howling in pain. Ra's had done a number of things to her, but never something like this. But the psycho didn't appreciate the lack of a confession, pressing the burning end into another spot on her neck, just to get her to feel the pain in two spots.


"I SAID ADMIT THAT YOU ARE SHARMOOTA!!"


She finally caved, only to make him stop. The pain was becoming unbearable. "Aaaaaaahhhhh, okay, okay! I am sharmoota! I'm sorry, Mawlaye, please stop!"


With that, Ra's finally removed the cigarette from Thalia's neck, watching the girl beneath him whimpering and begging for mercy. Now that she was fragile and easily manipulated, he removed his large frame from her smaller one, and lifted her up to her knees, him on his own as well, the two facing eye to eye with Ra's fingers under Thalia's chin. "So... what are you?"


Through the tears in her eyes and shaky nature of her voice, along with the streams of blood dripping from her neck, she repeated what Ra's told her to convince herself of. "I am...." She sniffled in a panicked manner, afraid of what was to come. "I am sharmoota... I am sharmoota." She just kept repeating herself in a miserable, monotone manner, trying to convince herself of it. Maybe Ra's had a point. She was a whore. Especially after what she did with Frank. It wasn't for the same reason Ra's accused her, but deep down, Thalia knew it held a hint of truth.


As if out of nowhere in this man's schizophrenic mind, he extended his lips forward and laid a kiss on Thalia's lips. "There... that wasn't so bad. Wasn't it? It's good that you know what you are..."


Thalia nodded, shivering with every action she made, her hands shaking by her sides, too afraid to even feel the wound in her flesh. "I'm sorry that I am sharmoota... mawlaye..." Never had Thalia submitted to anyone like this, even Ra's. She felt so weak, so defenseless. He must be serious about making her feel pain this time. Fear had never felt this agonizing before. "I'm... I'm sorry..." It was worse to know that this entire display was for Karin and James to view in all of its glory. But she wasn't going to throw in the towel. She'd brave it out despite the trauma, muttering the same phrases over and over again like before.


"Al-Jameela... did you betray me?" His voice now came off much calmer. Sympathetic. Strange, as Thalia thought.


“W-What?” She sniffled again.


“You have betrayed Al-Asheera. You have endangered our operations by isolating yourself for so long. What do you think... do you not believe you must be punished?”


“I-I haven’t done anything, Mawlaye... I was just following your orders, getting the compensation.” Her words were beginning to mix with tears, an aftermath of her immense pain from the cigarette jammed into her skin. Stuttering, too. "I... I've been nothing but loyal... but I am sharmoota... so...."


“Why was the brothel attacked by police? Were you talking to a cop?”


“N-No... Why would I ever do that? I know the procedure if I’m ever caught.”


“Kizzabe!” he shouted in her face in Arabic, using the term to call her a liar, now screaming in her face and jolting her by her shoulder with one hand, jabbing the cigarette into her neck again with the other, resulting in her screaming again. Her throat began to ache from the vocal strain, cracking up at every yelp she released. Ra's? His entire attitude changed from a calm, understanding one, to an infuriated, vengeful one, doing whatever he could to make Thalia suffer again. He wanted her to beg him to keep her alive.


“I’m not lying! I swear, Mawlaye!" she pleaded for mercy. "I’ve been nothing but loyal to you! After all you’ve done for me, even enough to make me your wife, and you think it’s my fault that we’re off to a shaky start?"


Ra's sighed, taking the cigarette from her skin, now burnt out, and tossed it aside. "What if I do not believe in your loyalty?"


Her weak and whimpering voice continued, "You're all I know how to be loyal to, Mawlaye... How can I turn my back on the man who gave my my fresh start? The man I've.... always loved above all else? My future... husband? I beg of you, Mawlaye, don't do this to me... please..."


He lifted his palms to cup her face into his hands, staring her in her mesmerizing green eyes. Husband. Wife... Commitment. Not something he was fond of, but for his beautiful lady? Maybe he could make an exception. From the day he met her at the age of 13, he always found her pretty. That's why he gave her that clan name. Leaning his head forward, he continued speaking, "I might believe you... I might not. It depends..." He created a pause in his words to plant another kiss on Thalia's lips, this time for a bit longer. Thalia lifted her hands up hesitantly to Ra's', following his lead as best as she could in submission. Once they parted, the madman continued, "...on where my money is. Care to explain how you are settling your debts? Who this person you claim is your decision of recruit?"


Petrified, Thalia followed the kiss against her will and spoke, according to the plans of the team ahead of time, specifically to James' demands, "Um... I... I haven't met them. Not in person. All I know.... their name is Miracle. They refused to come in person, but they do wish to have a few reassuring words... for the recruitment process. Proof of the existence of the money, and their loyalty to our cause... Don't ask how I found them... it's complicated, but I promise they're the real deal... and we'll have the money soon. Very soon. I.... I promise."


Ra's hummed under his breath, caressing her face and whisking her bangs falling over her face. He found her so beautiful. She was, indeed his. "Al-Jameela... I cannot accept them blindly. I would like to communicate with them... now."


With her body still shaky and seemingly unstable, she reached for her burner phone, glancing down from Ra's devious stare, and ticking away at the mobile. He didn't make any remarks about the fact it was different from her personal one, fortunately. Ra's didn't understand tech anyway. She reached a point where she highlighted the contact for James... "Please... Just don't kill me or them, Mawlaye... we just need to survive this cruel world. I... I need you. I miss you. Don't do this to me...." She continued to break down in tears as she dialed the contact and set it to speakerphone. Thalia had to quickly compose herself, even if Ra's planned to do all of the talking himself. She wiped the tears from her eyes with her free hand and tried to stop herself from coughing and gagging. That was the worst part of it all. So miserable. So embarrassed.


Once the dialtone ended, Ra's began speaking, "I do not know who you are, but you have the respect of Al-Jameela. That means you have my respect. She claims that you have my money coming... And that you pledge allegiance to Al-Asheera.... Explain. Everything. And I will decide if you are worthy of breathing another day. Or if I should hunt you down."


Thalia's body was filled with pain, physical and emotional. Her free hand slightly touched the marks from the cigarette burn. They were bleeding, and they stung to touch even slightly. Fuck... ouch... what did I get myself into? Her tears? They were genuine. She originally wanted to escape this pain, not face it all over again. Now? It felt worse than ever, especially with how Ra's was putting her down and screaming in her face. Pain, it's all she ever really knew how to feel. And it was in full view of Karin and James. What were they thinking after they saw what happened to her? And she knew that this was only the beginning, and Ra's would do much more to her. Misery seemed to love her company. Her? She just got used to it. But after she met Karin, she figured she could evade it once and for all. It appears not. As she waited for James' morphed voice to come through, Thalia bowed her head in shame of herself, her hair hanging over her face. She just wanted it all to end...

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Whatever's going on we can deal with." James said. "Mustang, you see anyone else on the cameras?" He asked.


"No, there's no one else right now. From what I can see, there's no more of them. I still can't see Tony, though. All looks clear out by the pool." 


"Mhm." James murmured, his scope locked on the bathroom door. "If I see the man, I'm taking the shot."


"What?" Frank replied in shock.


"If he leaves the bathroom and Tony doesn't, I'm taking the shot." He said. "There'd be no reason for Ra's to believe that Thalia had anything to do with it."


"That's a sloppy move." Frank said.


"We'll see." 


Then there was the static and crackling as Thalia's earpiece was throwing across the room, and that came as a shock. James immediately moved the scope up to the window and peered inside - Ra's? He frowned in anger, then let a huff down the headset.


"Mustang... For fuck's sake. The asset is with Firebird."


"Oh, shit!" She said, "The guy in the suit, it was a big distraction. Fuck. What can we do?"


"Nothing. We've got him right where we want him. Keep an eye on the bathroom door, tell me if anything changes. Right now, Mustang, the poolside and lobby are your priorities, nothing more. I'll keep an eye on the asset." He ordered, and Karin didn't need to hear it twice. She was keeping things to a minimal, but when she could hear the distant screams and cries of pain of Thalia, she just had to look at the other cameras. Even if it was only briefly - She didn't like what she was seeing, though, to say the very least. It brought her to tears, and it had Frank almost doubled over on the sunbed. Christ al-fucking-mighty. He wanted to go up there and tear this guy a new asshole, but he knew he couldn't. He was told to wait. Thalia told him to stay right where he was, even if things got hot. She could handle herself. He was going to trust her - he was worried about both her and Tony. Tony even more so, because for all he knew, he was dead now, or coming very close to it.


Tony could handle himself, though. Ten years as a detective allowed him to do the business of hand-to-hand just fine.


Thalia was having a whole world of things done to her, though, and she was being forced into admitting everything, even if it wasn't true. He forced her to admit to being a whore, and then he even tried to make it sound like she was betraying him. It was a lot to take in - for everyone, really, and the fact that James had his cross-hair painted right on Ra's' back really did kick him in the teeth. It wouldn't take much just to end it right there. Shoot him, and the only one that would hear it would be Thalia - Not only was it risky with how he was on top of her, though, as the bullet could easily go through, but she even said... Even if it looked like he was about to kill her, don't do anything.


His finger was gently brushing the trigger, but, he didn't do it. He didn't shoot.


He let out a deep, angered sigh, "Lobby status, Mustang." 


"All clear for now." She said, weakly. It was obvious hearing the fate her friend was suffering had gotten to her. She was cracking up.


"I need you strong, Mustang. Hang in there, focus the bathroom doors. Remember, everyone, as soon as I say 'abort', we up and leave, no questions asked. I don't want it to come to that, but there may be a point where we have no choice. I can provide cover while Eagle, Barracuda, and Firebird all get out of there. We still need Eagle's status, though. Are his comms back yet?"


"No. They're still dead."


"Roger that."


James was soon given the chance to talk to the man himself, though, and seeing as he had a clear view on him, he knew he could be sure it was definitely Ra's he was talking to. This is where it could get interesting - He knew that if he doubled over and sucked up to him, Ra's would make impossible demands, but if he stood his ground and played the table instead of the cards, he knew he could turn it around, and he'd be able to direct the discussion, no problem. He didn't fear Ra's - He was one of the people at the least risk here, right besides Karin. He could walk away and never be seen again, and with it, went his money. He was willing to take a gamble here - If Ra's was even considering meeting him, if Ra's even took him seriously in the slightest, then that was why he was on the phone with him. If he didn't believe what Thalia said was possible, then he would have killed her there and then, and that would have been it.


"I think you'll find, sir, that the situation is quite the contrary." He started, the voice changer clearly in affect. "My name is Miracle, and we're going to leave it at that for now. We're leaving it at that, because the way I'm seeing things is that that's exactly what I am to you. A miracle sent straight from the skies themselves. The situation is contrary for the reason that if you decide you're going to hunt me, I have the money, the knowledge, and the skills to disappear, and alongside me, your million dollars will vanish, too. You'll never see me, or more importantly, the money you want, ever again." He started.


"You already have my name, so let's talk more about what it is I do. I'm an expert in my field, an expert that most criminals in this city would pay... Many, many millions to hire. There's nothing I can't access. If you want a First Grader's medical, school, and dental records, then I can get that in as little as a minute. If you want the LAPD's database on every single person they have record of, then that can be with you in less than an hour. Now that we've got that cleared up, I'll say no more, and I'll instead explain the money situation." He cleared his throat. "Your money is currently being cycled around Europe from various points. Four banks, $250,000 in unmarked dollar bills from each one. I've had it confirmed that all four loads have met at one location, and within the next two days, the FedEx parcel will be arriving at an address somewhere near LA."


"This address, as per my terms, remains purely anonymous. You get confirmation right here and now that the order does indeed exist. The order number is 056128D. I'll have that shown to you soon enough, and the tracking will show that it's currently in transit and being prepped for shipping. Your million dollars is as clean as a whistle. No bugs, no ink, no ties. All siphoned from several dozen banks, and thousands of bank accounts. Now, from some of my research I can see that your organization lacks anyone of any proper technical skill - I know you're no idiot. Not like the rest of the 'organized crime' groups here in LA. You and I working together as a team gets us both what we want - Money, power, and respect." 


He paused.


"Hold that thought. I'm sending you something." He said, and five seconds later, an image was sent through. It was indeed the picture of a box, and inside it was money - a lot of it, and the tape wrapped around each wad of bills said '$10,000'. There were easily enough there to make up a million, especially if the box was completely full. The label on the box matched the order number he'd given - 056128D. FedEx. The only thing that was blacked out was the actual address. California was on there, though, and there was appropriate dating to prove that none of it was a bluff, too. He had other things to prove if, it he wanted it, but that was all for now.


"That should be all the proof you need that I'm more than serious about all of this. I would not have put my trust into Al-Jameela if I didn't believe I could trust you." 


And that was that. All recorded - There was something they could work with right there, actually. At least somewhat. It could work as evidence eventually, he was sure. 


Frank's heart was beating out of his chest, as was Karin's. It all came down to this. Frank felt a little dizzy - was he about to have Thalia's death on his hands? Fucking hell. It was too heavy. If he even thought for a moment he was going to try and kill her, he was going in there and doing everything it took to kill Ra's and whoever else he had with him. From what Karin had seen, there was no one else. It was hard to say, though, they could have had eyes and ears everywhere.