And What Remains ((RP with 12yrs_life))

[control_issues]

((OOC: Takes place after this thread!

It always struck Dani as fucked up that out to the two of them, Charlie was the one who’d been to prison, when she was the partner who had committed actual felonies. But she’d had Karen on her side, she’d had her father’s reputation on her side, and those things were enough to keep her name out of papers and off the case reports.

Charlie hadn’t had anyone protecting him. Not anyone. But he did now. He had Dani, Ted, Stark, Tidwell. Even Karen had shown up for Charlie’s bail hearing, along with some of the other people in the office whose names Dani sometimes pretended to forget. He had a lot of people on his side.

But when visiting hours were over, he’d still been in that cell, alone. Dani didn’t know what that meant, or what that was going to mean.

He got bail. He got bail, and that was the important thing. And when the thing was called and people went off to the bar to celebrate, for some reason it was just Charlie and Dani left in the courtroom. She walked up to him with her arms crossed, not sure what to say.

“Crews?”

Comments

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

"What do you want?" he asked, focusing on the food instead on why Reese might be bringing that up.

He was trying to get away from prison, not go back. It was easier in the rolling hills near his home, but it was always with him.

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

"I don't care," Dani replied, reaching back and tightening her ponytail. Then, after a moment: "Chinese."

More because it was the first thing that popped into her head, than want of any particular craving. It didn't occur to her to question that she was staying for dinner that night.

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

"We've got... three Chinese take out menus. You can pick who delivers."

He didn't question Reese staying for dinner either. They'd shared take out and meals together, usually across their desks but it still counted. This was just at his house, where he was just pulling into the driveway.

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

Frankly, Dani was amazed that anyone delivered as far out as Charlie lived.

She got out of the car. Her own vehicle was sitting in Crews’ driveway, where it had been since seven in the morning. It hadn’t been a big couple of days for sleep.

“Tell that me you have coffee.”

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

"We have coffee and tea."

He unfolded himself from the car and strolled towards the door, which he still left unlocked even though he'd been shot. He couldn't lock himself in.

"But you'll want coffee and not tea."

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

“I’ll want coffee,” Dani confirmed, trailing Charlie into the house.

She didn’t say anything about the lock. The worst that could happen to Charlie had already happened – what else was someone going to do? Steal his TV? Dani wasn’t even sure that he had one.

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

He had a lot more furniture now. Rachel just kept pointing out things they needed and he kept buying them for her. It was still mostly empty though.

"The take out menus are there." He pointed to a drawer as he went to the coffee maker.

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

Dani looked over the menus for about two seconds, picking the restaurant closest by and settling on whatever special was listed at the top.

“This is fine.”

She stood at the kitchen’s island, arms perched uneasily on the countertop. They had coffee, they’d have food. The important question, the one she wasn’t entirely looking forward to, was:

“What’s next?”

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

He knew she didn't look, but he never really looked either. He picked up the menu, ordered a lot of food and then offered extra for delivery.

Then he hauled himself up onto the counter and watched her. "Next, we find out who made it so I'd get arrested again."

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

“Yeah.” She leaned forward on the counter, resting her chin on her hand and thinking.

“Not anyone working for Roman. They were as glad to be rid of him as we were.”

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

He nodded and began to roll up his sleeves.

"It's not Roman. It's Rayborn. Someone else in the six."

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

"Probably not my father." Dani didn't show any kind of emotion, in relation to Jack Reese. She was still sorting through whether or not she had any feelings about him. "He's either dead or hiding, but either way, I think he's out of it."

She looked up at Crews. "I thought Rayborn helped you find me? You still think he's got something to do with this?"

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

Charlie finished with his sleeves, then dropped his hands and drummed his fingers against the counter. Now home, all his nervous energy was leaking out.

"Rayborn didn't help. Not really. I used Roman's... businesses to find him and then find you. Rayborn helped me understand how deep the rabbit hole went."

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

Dani’d never really asked the details behind Crews getting her back from Roman. She didn’t see the point. She was alive, Roman was dead, the thing was over. Except now it wasn’t.

“So what do Rayborn and his friends get by throwing you back in prison?”

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

He went still, absolutely stone still.

"I get killed."

Either someone inside got him or he'd take care of himself. He wasn't going back inside.

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

Dani, very consciously, did not go still in return. She leaned up, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at Charlie intently.

“That doesn’t happen.” If there was a time crunch, they’d get Charlie out of the country.

“Plus, you got bail. If they’d wanted this to go down, couldn’t they keep you from getting bail?”

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

If he went in, it happened.

"They don't have to make sure I stay in right now if they rig the trial again. Letting me out makes it look legitimate."

Or maybe he was paranoid, but that's what his gut told him and he was usually right about these things.

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

Dani didn’t think of herself as a particularly paranoid person. A realist, yes. But not paranoid. And she still thought that everything Crews was saying sounded accurate.

“They want you dead because you know things. Is that the only reason?”

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

"They want me dead because they think once I know everything, I'm going to go public, ruin reputations and destroy careers." He shrugged. "The usual concerns."

He hadn't ruined Rayborn though. It didn't seem to make a difference.

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

As far as Dani could see it, that left them with two options.

"So we either find out as much as we can before the trial, and expose everything before they can get to you." Considering how long it had taken Charlie to get to Rayborn alone, that would be a challenge. "Or we go to Rayborn, and we offer to stop the investigation permanently if they leave you alone."

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

Stop? He had tried stopping and all it had done was land him in this situation. Stopping wasn't enough.

He shook his head, "Stopping won't stop them."

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

“Okay. Jack has – Jack had a study. My mother and I weren’t really allowed in it. And he kept his desk and safe locked. I can go around later tonight, and see if there are any files there worth taking a look at.”

The desk lock would be easy enough to pick – she’d done it a few times in high school. The safe was a different matter. Dani didn’t have the combination, but her mother might.

“I’ll check that out, and you can go and...”

Do what? Where was it safe in this city, for Crews? Where could he go that he wouldn’t be recognized?

“You can go.” Dani surprised herself even as she said it, but that didn’t mean she meant it any less. She looked at Crews. Really looked at him. “I mean – you can go, right now. You can take whatever money you’ve got locked away here, and you can go live on a beach somewhere. No one who knows you would blame you.”

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

"Reese..."

He was really... touched she'd get involved in this for him. It could easily turn around on her, make her the target instead of him. She didn't have to do this.

"I still don't tan."

She would just be uncomfortable if he thanked her or let her know exactly what it meant that she would risk things to help him.

[notsopowerless.livejournal.com]

For a moment, Dani was concerned that Crews was going to say something that would make things complicated. It was easier for her to get involved in this if she didn't acknowledge that it was a risk, and her reasons for taking it. Some things were better left alone.

Which is why, when Crews said what he did, it actually got a smile out of Dani. Small, but there.

"And anywhere else is too cold to live in, after L.A. So I guess we'll go ahead and solve this thing."

[12yrs-life.livejournal.com]

He caught the small smile, took it as the sign it was from Reese and left it at that. If he did anything more, the little smile would go away.

"Maybe after solving it, we'll go to the beach." He sighed. "A celebration."