NOVEMBER 9TH, 2019. on the front porch of rowan and andy thane’s home.
trigger warning: arrest, murder mention.Â
Inevitable, is all he can think. They all knew this was coming, and after Lettie’s arrest the night prior, he’d been living on borrowed time. The bags were packed, the money was stowed away in the car, and they were ready to leave once the moment arose — Just to hear a knock on the front door after bath time, red and blue lights filling their windows. It sent him back to years before, when Rowan’s father had shown up on their front door step with a warrant for his arrest. Only now, it’s not a shock. He didn’t naively believe he was invincible, didn’t think he would come out of this unscathed. Andy knew far too well how this went, and now in a cruelly poetic manner — Eight years later, only a couple of weeks prior to the anniversary of his last arrest, he was going to be arrested on the same charges. Only this time, he was a suspect, an accessory. There’s no comfort in it, though. It should be him behind bars. He knows who the prime suspect is, who they’re looking to convict — Lettie. She was the one without a mask, the one who pulled the trigger. She had saved his life and now she’d have to pay for it.Â
The guilt is going to eat him alive, Andy knows it. He feels it as the ATF agent stands on their front porch with a warrant in one hand and handcuffs in the other. They don’t bother with introductions, simply opening with Are you Andrew Thane? followed by I have a warrant for your arrest. Before he knows it, he’s being pulled out of the doorway and onto the porch. He knows where this is going to lead, and it leaves him numb. Whether it comes from putting Rowan and their son through this all over again, having lost their chance to make a run for it, or for Lettie being the one to go down for a job he had brought her on. Maybe it’d be a mixture, something new and just as terrifying as he expected it to be. No matter how this plays out, it’s going to come back to one thing: He chose to go on this job, he was the one who had Lettie be his driver. He was the one who was convinced to take the money and risk everything. Andy was the one to create this mess, and regardless of how it played out, someone would suffer for his actions. Whether it was Rowan having to see him in an orange jumpsuit behind a glass window, or Lettie being the one behind bars.Â
Andy can hear Rowan’s voice in his ears, Benny’s soft cries coming with it — It’s all muffled now, though. He’s unsure of what she’s actually saying, but he has a feeling it’s somewhere along the lines of What the fuck do you think you’re doing? He’s underwater now — Everything happening on the surface is muffled and cloudy as he walks across their porch barefoot in his pajamas, hands raised. He can’t move very quickly, still trying to keep the weight of his body from being on his bad leg. He could almost laugh at the ridiculousness of this all — That this would be how his life fell apart again. Not with a bang, but a gunshot to the leg and Lettie by his side. The agent in question wastes no time in cuffing him, with the other cops around her standing at guard in case he tries something. There’s a passing though that comes with it — He’s still a felon, even if he’s remarried his wife and adopted a son. By all means, they should have their guns drawn, terrified he’s going to try something. Only the Grim Reaper they’re so worried about is struggling to not hobble and fall while all this goes on. It’s almost laughable.Â
He’s read his Miranda Rights as they move, pulling him back to his feet forcefully each time he stumbles, biting his tongue as the dull pain follows. He doesn’t say anything as they escort him to the squad car. Andy’s been through this plenty of times — He doesn’t need to watch this scene unfold around him. Instead, he keeps his eyes on Rowan and Benny, knots forming in his stomach as she cooed their terrified son. I’m sorry, he mouths to her before she’s out of view, knowing speaking out loud would only provoke the agent and cops. I love you. I’m sorry.