#deception abc

a\n: i do not own any of the charecters from the main cast, this is a fanfic that i'm writing for mysekf and anyone else who needs to know what happened after the first season ended in such a cliffhanger. since these are going to mimic full episodes i'm gonna post them in smaller parts so it wont be a block of 4351863912469 words.

Sometimes, the biggest deceptions in life are the ones coming from our loved ones.

Cameron laid down on the cold floor of the visitation room. His head was spinning, and he looked around confused.

Those are the worst ones. It hurts when you realize that everything they did or said was a lie.

He reached the chair to use to support him as he got up.

It can be a girlfriend stealing something from you. A father hiding a life of crime as he’s touring with his sons and their magic show.

His head was pounding. He sat up, taking in the surroundings. “Johnny?” he asked, realizing his brother is nowhere to be found. His hand reached for his head to feel for a bruise, and when a white sleeve entered his field of vision instead of the black one he was wearing when he came into this room, he scanned his clothes.

It can be your twin brother knocking you out and swapping your clothes, taking your favorite suit and leaving you in his prison uniforms. Inside that prison.

-----

Cameron sat on the bed in the prison doctor’s office. “so, Mr Black, what brings you in here this time? Who did you upset?” the Doctor asked him. “my brother, apparently” he sighs, and adds “made him so upset he punched me, and then he proceeded to steal my very very nice suit that was tailored for me – so I guess, for him too – and left me in his prison clothes”.

The doctor stars at him, “Mr Black, this must be one heck of a head injury” the doctor said and reached for Cameron’s arm, “let me check your vitals”. The patient moved away from the doctor’s hand and insisted; “no, seriously, I need to get the hell out of here before my brother-“

“so what you’re saying is that you are Cameron-“ “yes! Thank you-“ “-and Johnathan broke out of prison when he’s pretending to be you?” the doctor asked. “yes! See, now that you get it, can we just get me a suit-“ he started, and when the doctor gave him a dirty look he changed his request, “-or, you know, just a T shirt and some Jeans-“ he continued, but the doctor still looked at him with pity. “Mr Black, I have to say, this is the most creative attempt to escape prison that I have ever witnessed” the doctor said, “I mean, you do understand this is impossible? If someone got punched in one of the visitation rooms, the guard outside will notice” his tone was cocky and pitiful at the same time.

“not if the guard is working for her!” Cameron didn’t give up, even at the doctor’s confused eyes, “for her, for the mystery woman, the one who set Johnny up-” Cameron realized how crazy he sounds, but isn’t it so crazy that there’s no way he can make that up?

“look, Mr Black, I think you need to get some rest” the doctor said with a soft smile. “no, I don’t. what I need is to get out of here and-“ he started, but the doctor cut him off by calling the guards. “Look, Mr Black, you and your brother worked at lying to your audience. I’m sorry, but I don’t buy into your crazy scheme” the doctor apologized.

“take him to solitude, maybe it’ll give him some time to think” he ordered the guards, and the two man held onto Cameron’s arms and walked him. “no, look-“ Cameron called out, but the doctor didn’t really listen. “just call Agents Daniels, Kay Daniels!” Cameron asked, but the guards closed the door behind him and his voice faded into the hallway.

“uhm, sir, shouldn’t we inform the prison governor? In case he’s saying the truth” a young, brown-haired women said. She was wearing a light button up and a simple pair of dress-pants. “if you feel like you must” the doctor replied to his assistant, “but we both know he’s lying”. She shook her head, “I don’t know, sir, he seemed… I don’t know, truly shaken up, and he looked in your eyes the whole time, no fidgeting, no micro-expressions suggesting that he’s lying-“ she said, but the doctor dismissed her. “look, do whatever you want, but remember that he’s a professional liar. Spare me the embarrassment, leave my name out of this” he said, and with that went back to his paperwork.

-----

Kay sat at her desk, staring at the files scattered on her desk. So much to do, yet she couldn’t focus, not for a second. She really thought that they were friends, Cameron and her. She liked him, and she thought he liked her, but maybe she was wrong. She sighed and started piling up the papers and sort through them when her phone rang.

“hey, I’m sorry, am I talking with agent Daniels?” the feminine voice at the other line said. “yes, speaking” Kay answered, sharp and suspicious. “my name is Ally Graham, I’m a doctor’s assistant at state prison, Mr Black asked me to call you” the voice said. “you mean Johnathan?” Kay asked, confused. She thought the guy hated her, and especially now when Cameron seems to be mad at her she didn’t think any  of the Black twins would want to talk to her.

“see, that’s the thing, I’m not so sure it’s Johnathan, I think that Johnathan is, well, Cameron” Ally said. “what do you mean?” Kay asked, even more confused, “I just talked to him an hour ago”. “can you come up here? I really can’t do this on the phone, I don’t-“ Ally answered, but some background voices seem to scare her, “I have to go now, but come see me, I’m leaving at 11pm” she finished and hung up.

----

Ally left the prison, and a black car was waiting for her. A women she assumed was agent Daniels leaned her back on the car. She looked serious and calculated, but nervous at the same time.

“Are you Ally? Ally Graham?” the women asked her, and Ally nodded. “you must be agent Daniels, i-“ she started, but Kay cut her off. “you can call me Kay, and uh, you sounded scared when we talked on the phone earlier, do you want to get in the car?” Kay asked her. Ally nodded, “yeah, I would love that, yes, thank you” she said and followed Kay into the car. The agent started the car, and they started driving.

“So, tell me everything, from the beginning” Kay said. “well, Johnathan came to see the doctor today, he got hit in the head, and he insisted that he’s not…. He’s not Johnathan, he said that he’s Cameron and that when he visited Johnathan, his brother punched him and swapped their clothes” Ally said, “and then-“ “-then left  the prison, pretending to be Cameron” Kay finished the sentence for her.

“Usually I’d think for sure that he planned a creative escape, but he didn’t say hello or goodbye to me, and Johnathan always does, by name” Ally said, “so it seemed odd, and at first I thought he must be dizzy. It sounded crazy, I mean, no way the guard won’t hear a punch like that, you know? But then he said that the guard must be working for the mystery woman-“

“-mystery woman, of course, she’s obsessed with Johnathan-” Kay’s words overlapped with Ally’s. “- and i heard some whispers, about this woman who some of the wardens work for, and I… I don’t know, I thought that maybe he’s saying the truth” Ally continued her story, “the final nail in the coffin was the security footage”.

“If there’s security footage, why is he still there?” Kay asked, and Ally sighed. “well, I guess I should have been more specific. The final nail in the coffin wasn’t the security footage, it was the lack of”.

“what do you mean ‘lack of’?” Kay asked, “camera’s were out, covered…?” she turned the wheel and took the turn left. “deleted” Ally answered, “I wasn’t even supposed to check, but Cameron seemed so hurt and confused and I wanted to help, I love him- his specials, I mean – so I… well, never mind how I looked for the footage, I couldn’t find it cause there wasn’t a file from that camera, today, during visiting hours” she explained, avoiding telling Kay that she illegally got inside the computer all the footage was saved onto.

This one stalled out because I had a plan, and there were notes, but who knows where I put them. I suspect in a chat with someone on Tumblr that I was friends with, but I can't find who it was. Anyway. The original plot line is finished and posted. It was just supposed to be a fic that got Jonathan out of prison and working with the rest of the gang, but also I remember how excited I was about that episode when it aired, and IMAGINATION WOULD NOT BE CONTAINED. And then after the series was canceled (still weeping) I thought I would write an alternate ending. Except then I didn't. And here we are. So the document just collects random bits and bobs where I got frustrated with the character of the Mystery Woman because I thought her motivation was underdeveloped and fandom wasn't a huge fan of me calling her a twat because you're not supposed to say bad things about fictional women even if they are the bad guy but whatever.

Anyway, it remains shelved.

Snippets (which I think I already shared with you but who knows):

“You think Sebastian loved Cameron more than me?” Jonathan laughed out loud. “He never loved anyone half as much as he loved himself. You think he kept Cameron in the spotlight to reward him? He did it to control him. You’re mad at Sebastian because he didn’t think you were good enough? News flash, lady - nobody was!”

He stepped closer to MW, the gun raised. “You keep telling me that Cameron ruined my life, and I keep telling you, you don’t understand. And you don’t because you’re just like Sebastian. You don’t love anyone or anything as much as you love yourself - except maybe money. When I was with Cameron, I wasn’t the one behind bars, he was. He was trapped in a prison that our father had him convinced he loved too much to leave. Cameron Black, without magic? What good would he be then? Where else could he go? What other friends did he have? Nothing, nowhere, and no one. I could’ve walked away at any time, and he would’ve let me. It would’ve killed him, but he would’ve let me. And here’s the part that you could never understand - if you love someone, really love someone - you do whatever you can to make them happy. Cameron was willing to let me go. And I was willing to stay. Was it perfect? No. But that’s not what love is. My brother is the only one who ever cared what I wanted. And he is the only one who loved me just the way I was, and never once asked me to change. Just like I never asked him. Conditional love isn’t love at all, it’s ownership. Cameron didn’t frame me for murder and put me in prison. Cameron didn’t blackmail me into helping him commit crime for personal gain. Cameron didn’t try to kill me.”

Jonathan racked the slide back on the gun so fast that Kay hardly registered the movement.

“You, on the other hand. You ruined my life. You ruined his life. And worse, you tried to tell me it was his fault - just…” he took a step closer, other hand coming up to steady the gun, “like…” He placed the gun against MW’s forehead. “Dad.”

“Jonathan,” Kay warned, yanking at the cuffs. “Murder is still murder, Jonathan - you’ll be right back to prison - maximum security, Rikers!”

While yes, Jonathan has been convicted of a crime, it was for INVOUNTARY manslaughter. It was something that happened, and that something was very serious and needs to be punished. But the average sentence for involuntary manslaughter is 10-16 MONTHS! This is because the jury understands that it was not premeditated. That it wasn’t even a crime of passion where someone could get so upset that they lose complete control of themselves and can become a danger to those around them. It was making a dumb choice, like drinking alcohol in this case, where another person loses their life. Honestly, by the time the show started, Jonathan should have already been out or close to it at this point. And yet Jonathan was convicted for 10 YEARS! This is not justice, this is retribution. The sentence doesn’t fit the crime. The most likely reason is because he ran, but still, that is an insane amount of time just for panicked running from the scene. I’m sure the prosecutor made Jonathan out to be a horrible person because he hid from the world for 30 years. That he was hiding because it gave him time to torture animals or something equally ridiculous. But Jonathan was not the only one hiding. Cameron, Dina, Gunter, and Jordan were all complicit in that. They just hadn’t broken any laws and therefore no one could punish them. No one wonders if they’re trustworthy because of the lying that they did. Cameron was a part of the secret for as long as Jonathan was.

Once Cameron started working with the FBI, so did Jonathan. Cam often went and asked for Jonathan’s help on making deceptions work. He helps to put away bad guys who are actual criminals who are purposefully going out and murdering multiple people and selling drugs and just doing truly awful things. The FBI even gave Jonathan special privileges to work in one of the visitor’s rooms to solve Bishop’s codes. And when Cameron went missing, the FBI gave a special allowance for Jonathan to get out and help. All of this clued the other prisoners into the fact that Jonathan worked for the Feds. It’s why they hung a rat in his cell and someone tried to shank him. And the guards don't even care. They're against him because he's a criminal. The criminals are against him because he's helping the Feds. He literally has no one on his side in a very dangerous situation. I have heard that there are special areas in prisons where they put high target prisoners, like ex-cops or criminal informants who are more likely to be targets because they fall a bit on both sides of the law. Yet Jonathan isn't given any kind of extra security. Gunter isn't wrong when he talks about how the entire team, including Jonathan, have done so much to help the FBI and yet they haven't gotten anything in return. During the short time he was out after Cam was kidnapped, they act like he is some master level criminal on par with MW. Like he is just waiting for any opportunity to escape so he can go on some kind of crime spree.

Even if Jonathan was guilty of the crime he was convicted, then it’s still not the worst kind of murder out there. I’m sure there could have been a plea for compassion and safety granted to allow Jonathan to be put on house arrest where no one would actively be trying to kill him for his help. And that for every actual criminal that he helps put away that he gets something like a month off his sentence. But no one ever offers him anything. He just keeps putting his life on the line and gets absolutely nothing in return. I’m sure this is why he snaps at the end of the season. Maybe there’s some underlying resentment against Cameron, but I have a feeling most of it came from the FBI doing nothing and Cameron being the face that always had to convince Jonathan to keep hanging in there. To not escape and go find the evidence for his innocence. Now the FBI has left Jonathan out to dry despite everything he has done and all the horrible things that have been done while in prison. Jonathan just took it out on the only person who represented the people who screwed him over, even though it wasn’t Cameron’s fault.

And something to add is that at the end of the season after MW gets arrested she reveals information regarding Danic, the foreign diplomat. The team comes up with a deception and manages to save Danic and his wife. MW just reveals that Danic was in trouble and then yes she does meet with the bad guy (can’t remember his name) while surrounded by armed FBI agents. She didn’t contribute THAT much. Jonathan did a bunch to help with this particular deception and was treated with a lot of trust, especially after how he was treated last time. (I’m sure because there’s someone even more untrustworthy there and that person is MW!) And yet she managed to make herself useful enough to get into Witness Protection and not even get charged with anything because she proved her usefulness exactly 1 time! While the team still doesn’t have the proof of Johnny’s innocence, Cameron is a witness to multiple counts of illegal activities that far outweigh Jonathan’s INVOLUNTARY manslaughter conviction. Cameron has been held at gunpoint by this woman multiple times. She attempted to steal a $7 million diamond. Cameron was abducted by her. He watched her purposefully kill a man. Any single one of these is far far worse than Jonathan’s entire conviction because she did them all on purpose. And yet she just gets to walk. They still don’t even know her name or what else she actually knows beyond this one tip and yet they just decided to drop all her charges and give her a cushy life for free.

While the team was doing the deception, MW was obviously setting things up for herself. And because she was a prisoner, she had to have an agent reach out to the DA. It could have even been Deakins who did it. Deakins was the one who had to explain to the team why MW was just leaving with absolutely no consequences. Because MW could help put people who were much worse away. Which is what Jonathan has been doing but no one ever offered him a get out of jail free card. Or offered him anything at ALL!

I understand that the Doylist answer is because it kept Cameron and Jonathan sperate so that they weren’t having to constantly have Jack do a split screen. And so that at the end of the season they could have Jonathan off with MW. Also, if Jonathan had been released or was about to be release, then there wouldn’t be this drive for Cameron and the FBI to put everything into finding MW. Of course they would want to clear Jonathan’s name, but if he was free or on house arrest then it wouldn’t be something that was so urgent. When Cameron was kidnapped, yes he would want to get the evidence to free Jonathan, but he wouldn’t feel so desperate to break the law if Jonathan was on house arrest and at least had a modicum of freedom and had already taken a year off his sentence by working with the FBI. But Jonathan still got the short end of the stick.

"but you're scary all the time"

"this was different"