filled with poison ;

“If I told you, I would have to kill you, and I don’t know about you but I think we have seen enough of Lady Death’s work to last until Christmas.” If anyone knew about what she did for the Dixie gang, it owuld be hell to pay, that’s why no one knew, not even her own twin brother, whom she loved more than anyone. He lived his life with no complications and no knowledge of what she did to keep him safe, that was all that mattered.

What a thing to say to someone involved with the police department. Any other cop might’ve found offense, arrested the other to prove themselves, toxic masculinity and all that bullshit, but Kaden couldn’t care less. It wasn’t known to strangers, unless they frequented the department, were involved in every crime scene, to know she worked for them. “Well now you’re just teasing me, how can you expect me not to be goddamn curious now?” She wasn’t, but dry humor was her forte. “And with the Lady Death tidbit, I highly doubt that. She’s got a hard-on for her job and the holidays are the perfect time for her to strike.”

“I am convinced this town is cursed honestly.” Callie said shaking her head. People dying left and right, the storm coming to try and wash them all away, no one was safe and that was the scary part. Looking at the woman Callie raised her glass and tipped it towards her. “Thanks, haven’t I seen you around before?” She asked. The woman looked familiar…she had seen her down at the station while visiting Mateo a few times. 

“Wait, you’re one of the forensic techs aren’t you?” Callie asked holding her hand out. “I’m Callie, i’ve seen you down at the station a few times.” 

“Probably is, just need one big ol sage stick for this place.” But with death and violence case money, at least from the Mob, who’d hired Kaden to be one of their people within the police department, someone to tamper with evidence and leave no trace that they’d been involved. Also helped that she was their drug mule too, able to push drugs and run them when given the opportunity, thanks to all the connections of criminals the department conveniently had accessible. Records were a godsend. A smirk then when Callie recognized her, her cover was airtight, her involvement with the Mob, anyway. “Callie...Mateo’s boo thing, right? Or whatever it is you guys are doing? Don’t take offense, I’m not involved in other people’s business, especially Mateo’s, but I definitely recognize you.”

“You ever just think that your life needs a major overhaul? Or that you need to just run away from everything?” Callie said. She was mainly talking to the bartender in front of her, but she honestly didn’t care who heard her. The news had just dropped of who died in the flood and she knew that it was murder for at least one of them. The girl didn’t know what was worse, the fact that she knew who died or the fact that she probably knew who killed them. Taking the last swig from her drink, she looked over at the bartender and shook the glass. “I think I need another.” 

Part of her job was tampering with evidence, to aide in the Mob getting away scot free and framing someone was her neurotic way of being O.C.D. and in control. So when she didn’t have an answer of who done it with the Bianchi child, Kaden was a little pissed off. Evidence technician was her skill, and she too was working hard and actually committing to her job with the police department if only to have an answer for the Mob. 

It seemed routine for her to meet her dealer at the bar, pose as two individuals having drinks, nothing to stir suspicion. She was waiting when she overheard someone talking to the bartender, mildly wondering why the other had such a dramatic proclamation to woefully sing out. But they were somewhat kindred spirits being here at the bar and drowning emotions. “Same here. Hers is on mine.” 

“Well, that sound like fun to me,” Lorelei said with a small smile on her lips. Not even her twin could understand her love for all dark things or most things that would creep out anyone, but not his big and strange sister. “I can provide something stronger than coffee but I’m affraid it’s not a legal use, unless you’re dead.” 

“You must be the masses the media caters to then,” Kaden’s tone was dry, but the sarcasm was there, indicated with her own small smirk in the corner of her lips. Brows lifted in intrigue with the brunette’s words, refraining from snorting at the words legal use given her own knack for not necessarily dabbling in anything legal either despite working with the police department. “Now you’re just teasing me here--I gotta know what it is you’re talkin’ about.”

The escape from the hotel had been dire, sleepless andexhausted. Emergency personnel delivered them to safer grounds, and while thethought of running home, changing—her cellphone already ringing for her to goin and work—she stopped, turning her brisk pace up a side street and headingfor the Diner nearest her. Food, sustenance, and then she would change, Gwyndecided. Opening the door, the innards of the restaurant a ghost town as sheapproached the counter, gripping the menu as it was handed to her. Sipping hercoffee, as the soft chime of the door bell sounded, signaling someone elseentering the shop, while she read the papers, now bustling with news of the blackout. She checked her phone–picking it up to try calling her brother once more.

Rain, flood, Kaden was honestly surprised no one had jumped at the chance to create Noah’s Ark. Despite scalding showers, baths--her bones still felt chilled, aiding as an additional body to navigate traffic, give directions to panicked citizens, anything she could fill a spot in. And Kaden would’ve rather been waiting it out and doing anything else but. She knew her place, poised as an evidence technician for the Mob, a corrupted cop if exposed, but a member from the start. 

Spotting a familiar flow of amber waves, Kaden approached the table, plopping herself into the seat across the Bianchi girl. “Hey blondie, what’s got you so down?” Aside from the obvious, missing people, bodies washing up, etc.

“‘Scuse me,” repeated the five-year-old, a smile prevailing despite her father’s vacant grin sitting on his face. Roman wasn’t one for pleasantries. He knew he hadn’t been paying attention— he was to blame— but he had a quick temper. Keeping it down for his little girl wasn’t hard, but it was all too tempting. Her attention went to her dad, almost as if asking him permission beforehand. He raised her well.

“As long as she gets to pick it out,” he insisted, placing the tiny one onto the ground and watching as she hurried over to the display case in a flurry of blonde locks. “Stai vicino, principessa.”

It would’ve been natural instinct to allow her blunt attitude to barge forward and simply stalk past the taller male into the shop, but oddly enough around a child it didn’t quite feel right. “Hey, she’s snarky,” Kaden let out a chuckle, not one that usually found herself amused by children, but here she was complimenting her. There wasn’t a maternal bone in her body, not since her parents had dumped that responsibility the second her brother had been born. Her sister following. “Fair’s fair. Only if it’s a good one, though.” The last tidbit directed toward the girl as hands went up in a surrendering gesture to the male before turning on a heel to follow the bounce of blonde locks. “Any of them catching your eye?” She already knew what she wanted. 

“If you knew her, you’d get that joke. I’ll stick to the puns,” he averred, hinting another smile as he met her hand with his own. “Teddy. Pleasure, Kaden. I appreciate you not tossing your drink in my face.”

“Probably for the best, but you gotta come up with better ones, man. You’ve got a reputation to uphold with first impressions and all that.” She was joking, easily read in the tilt of her smile. “Teddy. Most likely calling you Roosevelt from now on to remember it.” A look of intrigue and amusement with the next words. “Night’s still young, I prefer drinking mine instead of wasting them. Is that something that happens to you often?”

“Fuck if I know,” he concurred, never been much of a scholar himself— well, not really caring, anyway. “Me? Jealous?” He feigned hurt, touching his hand to his chest. “Because I’d love nothing more than to fall in love and fuck one person for the rest of my life— okay. You caught me.”

“Sure, Jan.” Kaden taunted, quoting the infamous Brady Brunch even if she’d never actually seen an episode. “What got you on a tear about love, anyway? Not that I disagree with you, cause you’ve got the right idea there, but what set you off?”

“C’mere,” he chuckled, pulling his daughter up into his arms, her happy squealing simply music to his ears. “Sei la mia piccola principessa di zucchero?” Nuzzling into her neck, she laughed heartily, nodding. 

“Si, papà!” She responded, a large grin pulling at both their features. Rosie had been the lone light in his life. He put up with the boy and often thought of handing him off to Nolan to call it square, but plans were usually interrupted by their innate nature to hate one another and never wanting to be in the same room. He usually left the boy in the care of the nanny, spending most if not all of his time with his daughter. He held her in his arm as they walked, listening as she spoke broken Italian to him, coming to a shortstop as he found himself bumping into another body. The nanny not accompanying him had been the most inconvenient at that very moment. Rosie glanced down as her father had.

“Think the word you’re lookin’ for is ‘excuse me’, sugar.”

Feeling that she deserved a chocolate eclair as the warehouse incident was coming to a close, Kaden was all too focused on the desserts in the glass display case when her body collided into another’s.

At first, a retort on her tongue, bit back at the sight of an innocent Cherub face and piercing emeralds of a male. “S’pose I should set a good example and say excuse me--little lady.” Kaden said directly to the girl in the male’s arms, offering a sincerely sweet smile. Somehow, she reminded her of her own late sister, short as her life had been, she hoped the best for this one. “Can I buy you a cupcake?”

“I tried but she won’t let me,” he added with an unfailing smile. “Think that says a lot about either her incessant need to keep a distance or my jokes are really that bad.”

“I’m gonna guess the latter, given that I don’t know your mom personally.” Kaden reached over the table to extend her hand. “I’m Kaden. You’re weird. I like that.”

“The romantic trope is kinda tired, isn’t it?” He noted with laboured breaths as he hopped off the treadmill. “I mean— what’s so wrong with sleeping with someone and losing their number? This generation is so obsessed with finding their ‘one true love’ or some bullshit they don’t appreciate a good hookup when it presents itself,” Mateo rolled his eyes. “It’s pathetic.”

Working out was the worst but she understood the need. Drug runs required her to be in tip-top shape, or at least not getting winded after a light jog. Evidence tech’s didn’t see much action on the field. “Methinks you doth protest--or whatever that line is, I butcher Shakespeare. Sounds like you’re more envious than sincere there, Mateo.” 

“Hey there, killer.” That wry wit left her tongue and she prompted Logan with a challenging smirk. “You owe me several drinks. What a mess you left behind and made me clean and scrub up.” 

@logan-legend

“You hear about the world tongue-twister champion getting arrested?” Teddy promptly interrupted, his hand all but nearly cracking the table in half ( or it, admittedly, might’ve been the other way around ) as he slapped the surface. “I hear they’re gonna give him a really tough sentence.”

“Jesus Christ,” Kaden groaned audibly, head thunking down on the back of her hands folded on the table surface. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?” She appreciated the joke, but she wouldn’t admit to it. Kaden sensed he could do better.