Powerless

He had to be joking. Antonia forced herself to laugh, though in truth she felt almost ill with the thought that the group would make an announcement like that. It wasn’t true, of course. They were not going to let the residents out because if that had been their intention, there would not have been any waiting. But the fact that they might lie and cause more conflict made her anxious. “No, Thomas, I don’t. Do you?” The only doubt she did have was where Thomas’s loyalties lay. If he was no longer confident in their ability to regain control, then she was not sure she could trust him as her top ally anymore. She had to check.

Xavier thought he hated his life, but the announcement had reinforced that he REALLY hated his life. The power spiraled into chaos in his bones with each little lie over the announcement. Small from the “I don’t believe” to the “I knew we could count on them” sent the familiar jets of power through him. He knew they were all goddamn liars. The announcement itself however, he wasn’t completely sure what he felt. Before his shift he had popped in the earbuds at the coffee shop, before he did something drastic. Maybe offer his jugular up to the barista for exchange for quiet. He wasn’t a dick - so when he saw the man in front of him start to talk. Xavier popped out one of the earbuds to listen. “I’m the wrong person to ask that, buddy. What do you think?” There’s a tiny pep of aggression in his tone, more from dealing with the crowd noise than the man himself.

What did he think? Should he really say what he was thinking? Sure, what was TRP going to do if they heard him? They were getting ready to let people go after all. “Honestly? I don’t think that this will go as smoothly as they are making it seem. There are too many people… the logistics just don’t seem to be there and then there’s the whole thing of me not trusting them. And it isn’t even because they seem shady, it’s the promises they make. The world is not ready for these types of gifted people to be out there, it’s sad, I know, but it’s the truth.”

“Well I don’t see us doing anything about it, Director, so I don’t see why the hell not.” Fiona was bitter, that was for sure. She had come here to do a job only for the whole system to crash and burn at the hands of a rebellion. Perhaps she ought to have played the sides a bit better. “Are we? Doing anything about it, I mean? Or are we just giving up because they managed to get the upper hand? I don’t know about you, but that’s not the work ethic I choose to go by, or appreciate. If we’re giving up so easily, maybe they do deserve to have the power because we clearly don’t respect it.”

Finally, there was someone that didn’t want to just sit by idlily and wait for The Rising Power to do whatever it was that they had planned, the problem was, could he trust her? Thomas knew that he had to trust someone and maybe Fiona was the person to trust, she seemed sincere and through all of this she had stuck with the government. “Then we do something,” he said firmly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want those with powers to be free, it was just that he didn’t believe the world would be so accepting to them. And there were also a few of those gifted that needed to be kept away from those that didn’t possess powers. “I’m not giving up, I don’t think anyone really is, we are just not thinking as a group and they are.”

The recent news had caught Danika off-guard. She was not ready for that, neither were The Allied Order. She needed to meet with Antonia as soon as they could and discuss a strategy. But the woman hoped she would have something, anything, to help them before that. Failing again was not an option and she did not care how far she had to go for that. She had barely slept in the last 24 hours. January 6th would come soon enough and they needed to be prepared. And there was no certainty that nothing would happen before that date.

Danika was in a daze, lack of sleep and worry getting to her, and she had not notice who was standing close to her, something she regretted now. She hated that they would have that discussion in public because she could only stand by TRP line. “I don’t see why they wouldn’t,” she said, looking Thomas in the eyes, hoping he would understand what she really thought about it. “If you need convincing to understand, we could go for a walk.” The last thing she wanted was to convince him that she believed them. What Danika really wanted was to have Thomas back to her side while they figure this out with Antonia. And that was something they could talk about only if they were alone.

He really needed to pay attention when he was out in public, he thought as he heard the familiar voice reply to him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to Danika, wait, scratch that, that was exactly it, but could anyone really blame him? He had trusted her, and things had gone to hell over it, okay so he really wasn’t being fair because it hadn’t been entirely her fault, he had fallen for her and had allowed his judgment to get clouded. “Because then they would lose their control,” he replied with a shrug. “Oh, are you going to convince me that they’re the good guys?” He asked with a scoff. And while a big part of him was telling him not to go with her, another part, a smaller yet stronger part did want to go.

His name was called, and he walked over to grab his coffee. “I suppose that we can take a walk,” Thomas said as he walked back to where she was at. He motioned for her to go ahead and lead the way and he followed close behind. Once they were outside and not as many people were around, he was able to relax some. His tense shoulders seemed to drop and even the grip on his coffee cup wasn’t as tight. “How have you been?” Thomas asked, yes, after all this time he still cared about her and wanted her to be okay.

The man stood in line at the coffee shop and could hear almost everyone discussing their soon exodus out of Lake Grimstone. “So you actually think that TRP will keep their word?” He asked the person next to him. 

Khianna heard Thomas’ voice before she saw him. She was a few people ahead of him in line for coffee when she listened to the confrontation go down. It wasn’t anything hostile, just a scared civilian trying to pry more information out of the agent. Chuckling a little to herself at his response, the medical examiner turned around to address the two. “Ma’am,” she started, “Why don’t you go ahead of me?” She offered. The older woman quickly forgot about the conversation she was having previously and offered Khianna a quick ‘thank you’ before hustling in front of her. Turning her attention back to Thomas, she offered him a smile. “Long time no see. Also, perks of working behind the scenes and not flashing a badge, no one asks me anything.” 

Thomas was growing irritable and who could blame him? The man couldn’t even go out for coffee without getting hounded for answers. He did get where people were coming from and he did want to give them answers but he just didn’t have them. Luckily for him, there were people that had his back, granted it was someone that was also working the case. “Don’t take this the wrong way but not seeing you means that things are... as good as they can be all things considered.” He said with a shrug and a smile. “It is good to see you, though, and I will keep the badge thing in mind.” He chuckled. “How have you been?” 

Rhea was behind the bar mixing her drinks like any other night before when she had seen the famous Thomas walk in and smirked. She would be lying ot herself if she didn’t admit that she was also quite curious if he had found anything else about the killer but she was not going to be the one asking questions-not yet.

She let her other coworkers get his order and focused on the few she was already in charge of until she heard another customer yet again ask Thomas about the murder. Having heard enough of others pestering the man, the love manipulator made her way over and held the bottle of liquor in her hand as she said, “Babe, just leave the poor man alone already. Can’t you see all he wants to do is drink this bars poison and loosen up a little?” She teased with a smirk while raising an eyebrow and watching the other person sigh and turn to mind their own business. Turning back to look at Thomas with the smirk still on her lips, the woman wiggled the bottle around and asked, “Another?”

Thomas made a mental note to find a way to thank Rhea for her help, it seemed like the woman was always helping him and he was thankful for that. Coming back to Lake Grimstone had not been easy especially since he was in the middle of a serial killer investigation, that was why he liked that he had met someone like Rhea. He always enjoyed talking to her and today was not the exception. 

“You know me so well,” he said as he pushed his empty glass towards her. “Busy night?” He asked as he looked around the bar. Thomas seemed to always be on high alert and whenever someone new walked into the bar it was quite evident that he became tense, almost as if he expected the serial killer to walk in and attack people out in the open. The man turned back to face Rhea and shook his head. “I really need a break from all of this.” 

“You really gonna use that line on me just because we aren’t in a professional setting?” Brian rolled his eyes and pulled his sleeves up his forearms before folding them tightly across his chest.

He took a quick browse of the coffee menu despite knowing already what he would order before turning his attention back to Thomas. “Y’know, maybe you’re right and we shouldn’t talk about work stuff out in the open. Or maybe it’ll be nice to just…not think about it.” He paused. “What you having? I’ll get this one.”

Thomas let out a snort and nodded, he didn’t want to talk about the case when there could be someone around that might know one of the victims. And while he liked Brian’s idea of not thinking about it, he knew that would be impossible. The killer was all that Thomas thought about. He was like that, he would get fixated on a case and wouldn’t drop it until the case was solved. 

“Pumpkin Spiced Latte” he joked, one could tell that it was a joke by the smirk on his lips. “Just black coffee will do, I need to stay awake.” He said to Brian. “So, non-case talk... I really suck at it. I might not be the best company.” He half-joked.

Brianna nodded. One of the worst parts about investigating murders was that sometimes you needed more information and the only way you could get it, though you’d never admit it out loud, was through more bodies. They’d get him, she knew they would. It was just a matter of how long it would take them. And how many people she grew up with would die first. 

“They’ll probably have more questions by time the conference airs.” Bri sighed, running her free hand over her hair. She openly grinned at the mention of Thomas’ son, Nate. Brianna had been fond of the young boy since she first met him, heading through the office to meet his dad. She even kept a drawer full of plastic FBI trainee badges at her desk for the times he wandered through again. “School’s started for him by now, how’s he doing?” Bri took another sip of her coffee, smiling, “We’re tied in checkers right now, 5-5. He’s smart.”

Whenever Thomas and his team were called in you just knew that it was because things had gotten bad. That meant that most people weren’t thrilled to see them and so normal conversations were not something that theu could often have. Conversations, in general, were rarely easy for Thomas, but whenever he was around Bri they seemed to be a bit easier. She was also the only person, other than Nate, that could get him to focus on something other than the serial killer. 

“You can be sure of that. I just... we have to catch them and soon, I don’t know how many more times we can look into the victims' families' eyes and tell them that we have no clues,” he said with a sigh just as his order was called. Thomas grabbed his coffee and thanked the barista. “He’s enjoying it. He misses his old school but says that he is starting to make friends.” Thomas couldn’t help but smile whenever he talked about his son. “You’re doing better than I am, I haven’t been able to beat him in about two months.” He chuckled. “But enough about my inability to beat a kid at checkers, how have you been? Any plans for the weekend?”

The coffee shop was brimming with people. Which made sense to Bri, there was safety in numbers after all, and she wouldn’t be surprised if a pack mentality appeared. “Thank you.” She smiled kindly at the barista, a younger woman she recognized from her youngest sister’s sport events. Bri sighed, it was getting harder for her to remain detached from the victims. These were people she grew up beside. People with powers like her. 

Spotting Thomas across the coffee shop, Brianna began gently pushing her way across the shop, sidling up to him silently and taking a sip of her coffee. “People are getting anxious. They want answers.” She swallowed another gulp, feeling as if she was running on nothing but coffee these days. “Do we have a media liaison coming?”

Thomas wasn’t trying to be short with people, he just honestly didn’t know what more he could tell them. He wished he could say that they had some good leads, but they didn’t. All they had were two gang members that deep down Thomas didn’t think were behind the killings. 

The agent had been lost in his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice that immediately put a smile--if you could consider the small twitch of his lip that--on his face. “And I understand that. I want answers too, unfortunately, we don’t have them,” he said with a sigh. “Yes, there’s going to be a conference soon that will probably end freaking everyone out more. This is why I don’t let Nate watch live TV anymore.” Thomas half-joked. 

“I know that you would like me to give you more information, but I really can’t say more than what has already been said to the media,” Thomas told the person that had been trying to get him to give them details about The Grimstone Executioner case while he waited in line for his coffee. 

Thomas was born and raised in Lake Grimstone and only left so that he could join the FBI. While most kids dreamt of being superheroes, Thomas dreamt of being an FBI agent. He had always been passionate about doing what was right and making sure that those that harmed others pay for it. 

When Thomas was twenty-eight he met the women that he believed he would spend the rest of his life with, unfortunately life had other plans for him. Shortly after getting married they found out that they were expecting their first child and for another few years they lived happily until his wife got sick and passed away. It has been three years since her passing and Thomas was recently relocated to Lake Grimstone to help with the search for the Grimstone Executioner. 

CONNECTIONS:

BRIANNA REID

Thomas has known Brianna for a few years and quite frankly he admires her very much. She is one of the few people that he is able to talk to and not just about work. He enjoys her company and working with her but things are a little more complicated than he would ever admit to. 

WENTWORTH FRANK & ZANE PATEL 

When Thomas was brought in to the case he was given two names and those were the names of rival gang members Wentworth and Zane. He has only briefly interviewed them but he is looking further into them to determine if they really are viable suspects.  

CONNECTION THROUGH HIS SON

Logan shrugged and shook his head, “ To be honest, I don’t really get it either. The way I see things, we don’t have anything to celebrate.” he said, “ Like you said, people were killed, this town is a mess, and to be honest, I really doubt the TRP will just let everyone go free.” he said with a frown, “ I mean, if that was always the goal then why haven’t they let people leave already?” Logan asked, in his mind it was a good question, it had been a few days now since the battle has been won and yet, they were all still locked up in this town. “ The way I see it, this whole bonfire is just a bunch of bullshit, a way to keep people from asking questions by keeping them distracted.”

Logan looked over at Thomas as he poured a drink for the man, he nodded his head in agreement to what he was saying, “ I get that, I’m tired of it too.” he replied, he held out his drink to him to take as he picked up his own cup and took a drink from it. “ Neither can I.” he said, looking around, “ I keep trying to think of something to fix things around here, anything really but I don’t know…it’s not easy, that’s for sure.” he said quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear.

There was nothing to celebrate and Thomas knew that better than anyone else. He had seen his friends get slaughtered and for what? For the empty promise of freedom, he called it an empty promise because that was exactly what it was. They had all been promised freedom and yet here they were still stuck in a town they hated and celebrating that. “That does seem to be the case, people are so busy getting drunk that they can’t see TRP for what they really are.” Thomas was aware that talking bad about those that were now in charge of the town and probably had eyes everywhere was not a good idea but he didn’t care. 

Thomas took a swig of his drink, the alcohol burning as it slid down his throat. He looked up at the guard when he said that he wished there was something that they could do. Thomas brought his cup back to his lips so that if someone was good at reading lips, they wouldn’t be able to tell what he was saying. “It’s not easy, but it’s also not impossible. We just have to think outside the box... no more following protocol, I won’t do what they did but I also won’t just sit back.”