St. Joseph's School for Boys
Fandom – 21 Jump Street
Pairings – none, gen.
Warnings - ?
Rating – pg-13
Disclaimer – I do not own the characters of 21 JS. I am not making any money off this fiction. I'm merely playing in someone else's sandbox.
Summary – The McQuaid brothers are back; this time they're stuck in a home for run away boys do to the abusive situation at home. Meanwhile, they investigate the mystery of several boys at the home going missing. The rest of the gang helps out.
A/N – Out of all the episodes (except two where JD's character is in the spot light) I love the ones with the McQuaid brothers. I always wanted more fic with this cover. It's just so much fun to write Tom and Doug being total dicks. So, here is classic 21 Jump Street fic. And not for the last time am I glad I was born in the 80's even though I remember more of the 90's instead. ;)
Chapter 1 – The McQuaids
Tom popped his gum; aggravated. "No."
"Oh come on! it'll be fun!" Doug practically begged.
"You don't have a choice, this cover is the best one for the case," Captain Adam Fuller glared at Tom who sighed and nodded. It is no secret to the gang that Tom hated this particular cover. Doug, however, loved it. Though, it was never the same with Booker. He just didn't do younger brother as well as Tom did.
"Okay, so St. Joseph's School for Boys is a halfway home for runaways," Fuller continued, "some run away just because, but most of the boys have an abusive past. Our victims especially; at least five who've spent some time at the school have a background of being abused by a parental figure. Four of the boys have been found dead no more than five miles away from the school,"
"Are we looking at Serial Killer?" Ioke asked.
"I don't know, they all died in different ways, you and Judy will be investigating from that angle while Tom and Doug go inside the school. Now, remember, you're background is that your father has abused you and you ran away. The social services people found you and put you in the home while your father is being investigated," Fuller directed that last bit at Tom and Doug.
"How much abuse?" Doug asked.
"The usual sort, you two figure it out," Fuller grunted.
Tom gave Doug a sideways glance but said nothing.
"Do we have any suspects?" Judy asked, bringing the topic back to something that didn't traumatize everyone so much.
"Only the director of the school, John Marsh. He has a past like the boys in the school," Fuller tapped the file on the table before everyone who sat around the conference table. "As far as we know he's clean, but I want us to make sure. We'll make contact once a week guys. I'll be your step father,"
"First or second?" Tom asked.
"What?"
"Well, our biological father ran out on us when we were little," Doug started.
"And then our Mom got with some dude," Tom put in.
"So did she leave him and marry you? Do we have other siblings? Do you hit us?" Doug asked.
"I kick your tails when you're bad," Fuller semi-glared. "Saturday's is when parents and relatives get to visit, so be ready with your report when I show up…" and with that he stalked off to his office.
Tom and Doug beat it to their desks to finish whatever paperwork they needed to turn in before starting their Op the next day. Judy and Ioke took the files from the conference table to their desks.
"Let's see if there's more of a link between these boys," Judy said.
"Shouldn't the FBI be involved?" Ioke asked.
"We can't be sure if it's a Serial Killer or if all of these are un-connected," Judy shrugged.
"Well, if it does turn out to be a Serial Killer we're going to have a territory dispute with the FBI when they do show up," Ioke poured him and Judy both a cup of coffee. He put a teaspoon of sugar in hers. Judy took the cup he offered her.
"Yeah, but let's hope we don't have one of those," Judy said and she couldn't help but be slightly worried. This was a bit different from what they normally did. Today, she wouldn't mind going after a juicy collar instead of doing all this research.
Tom and Doug, meanwhile, wee having their own problems.
"How long do we have to keep this cover?" Tom asked. He'd pulled out the long, torn, white cloth he used as a do-rag for Tommy McQuaid. Doug was currently messing up his hair and going through his desk to find various accessories he used for Doug McQuaid.
"I don't know, it could be weeks," Doug shrugged.
"Damn," Tom muttered to himself.
"Well, look at it this way. When the program is eventually shut down, because it will be, all of this will be great practice if we decide to go into another undercover program, like the FBI or the DEA or something," Doug shot Tom a grin.
"Would you really go for that?" Tom asked.
"Well, it'd be more of a Federal level right? We won't have to be teenagers for life," Doug chuckled.
"I was in hell during high school," Tom frowned, "and now I find that my hell repeats on itself,"
"Well, the McQuaids bring some fun to things," Doug replied, "even if you don't like them,"
"I don't like them because I was picked on by people like them," Tom sniffed.
"Yeah, but so have they, I mean, I'm the older brother. My mom cheated on my Dad with your old man, then mine walked out on us. Her and I that is; so then I'm an older brother to you and then they split up and now we have Fuller as our step dad," Doug explained seriously. "This is how they act out,"
"I know," Tom nodded.
"So have some sympathy for them," Doug said and then he took off up stairs where their lockers were located. Tom sighed. Doug did have a point. But he didn't have to like it.
0000
St. Joseph's School for Boys is a big, red brick building. It has twenty windows on the front side with flower boxes where plants wilt because it's been more sunny than rainy this past spring. The yard is basically a parking lot, but to the left side is a small expanse of brown grass where children play. There's a swing set, a merry go round and a pole with a long rope where a flat ball bangs dejectedly.
The McQuaid brother's sit in the back of a black sedan; both boys grumpy and dirty. Tommy sports a black eye while Doug's hands are abraded with bruises from trying to get their step Dad to back off beating up on Tommy. The Social worker, who didn't know them but somehow got assigned to their case, stands a few yards off talking to Mr. John Marsh. He's a tall man and wears jeans with a white button down shirt with a black blazer over that. His salt and pepper hair is slicked back and his nose has a large bump in it where it'd obviously been broken in a fight. He has small, watery blue eyes that don't miss a single detail.
"Tommy, we can't forget ourselves. Whatever we do we talk in code, all right," Doug muttered so that his lips barely moved.
"Sure," Tommy agreed.
They had no more time to discuss their situation before Mr. Marsh had marched over to the car, opened the door of Tommy's side, and ordered them out.
"Get your stuff and come with me," he said gruffly. Tommy did as he was told, as did Doug. They were supposed to have been on the lamb for a few days now. They'd spent two days in Juvenile Hall just to cement their cover with Marsh and his cronies. Apparently, Fuller thought it was pretty important to make them put up wit Doug's phobia of small rooms.
The Social Worker popped the trunk open. He and Tommy grabbed two, beat up duffel bags they'd bought from a thrift shop and spray painted their names and on among other stuff. Solemnly they followed Mr. Marsh into the brick building. It was just as depressing inside as it was out. Tommy glanced back at Doug who shook his head at his younger brother who looked down to the floor and then forwards again as they came to the Admission's and office space of the building.
There were offices for all the teachers, a secretary took up the single desk in the middle of the room and the offices were arranged behind her in a semi circle. To one side stood a bench. Two boys sat there, glaring angrily at anyone and everyone.
"Stacey, the McQuaids are here, you have their paperwork right?" Mr. Marsh asked. He smiled gently at her and she returned the smile. They were close. Doug could tell from the offset.
"Yes sir, here you are," Stacey said and handed over two files.
"We got these in last night, it is an interesting read I had last night," Mr. Marsh said as he flipped through the files. "Tommy, you were arrested for second degree manslaughter, and it say's here Doug that you tend to fight and deal drugs," he gave both boys a hard look.
"I killed that man on self-defense, mister," Tommy felt his right eye begin to twitch. He really hated it when people made assumptions just by looking at his record.
"I aint no two timing drug dealer," Doug glowered, "I'm sophisticated,"
"Do you even know what that means?" Mr. Marsh asked.
"We got straight A's in math at our last school," Tommy informed the man, "I betcha five dollars that you didn't even look at those transcripts," he challenged.
"You're English needs some work, we run a tight ship here, so don't put a toe out of line or you'll find out what Solitary really does to a boy," Mr. Marsh smirked at them.
He snapped his fingers and one of the boys from the bench stood and ran over before he got yelled at. Tommy knew this man could yell if pushed far enough. Tommy wasn't ready to push. Doug cottoned on to his younger brother's mood and subsided himself. Usually they were all for pushing the stupid adults who thought they knew shit. But today was different. Today they were getting a feel for the territory before they tried to take over. They needed to know who the big fish in the pond were and if they could take them on or not.
The boy was smaller than Tommy and wore clothing that looked dirty but smelled of laundry detergent when he got close. He had long blond hair he drew back into a pony-tail at the nape of his neck.
"This is Matt, he'll show you the ropes," Mr. Marsh said. "Dinner is at six, don't be late, and lights off is at nine during school nights and ten-thirty on Saturday's only, Sunday everyone goes to bed at Nine," and that was that. Mr. Marsh took himself, and his pleased expression to have new blood in his school, off to his office.
"Come on, hurry before he comes back out…" Matt muttered out of the side of his mouth. The McQuaids followed curiously. To the right of the door that led into Admission's is a long, winding staircase to the boys Dormitories. There are three, each divided into ages. Tommy and Doug are close enough in age that they aren't split up. Matt takes them past the staircase though.
"So down here is the cafeteria/study hall. We eat and do all of our homework here," Matt said as they entered said hall. It's bland with white walls and sky blue tile that's seen better days. There are three long tables with benches. At the far end opposite the door way is a stage with another long table. "That's where the teacher's eat," Matt explained.
Then he took them down the hall and showed them the classrooms, then the kitchen, the first floor bathroom/shower room. The sky blue tiles persisted in every part of the floor along with dingy white walls. There was nothing on the walls. Everything was either dingy or ruined by someone.
Up stairs is the same story. The dorms are also a long, big hall of sorts. There are rows of bunk beds or single beds. Tommy is glad it's so roomy, at lest Doug wouldn't freak out on him like he'd done so many times before with his panic attacks. Tommy hated to watch Doug go through one of those. It was their step Dad's fault with that one. If he hadn't locked Doug up in the closet he wouldn't be so traumatized by small spaces.
"I picked these two for you guys," Matt said as he brought them to the far side of the room farthest from the door. Two bed were lined up with the head boards against the windows, there were two small lockers standing between the beds and acted like bedside tables. "I figured that you'd want to be close, what with everything you've been through.
"What do you know about us?" Doug asked. Tommy dumped his duffel bag on the bed by the wall. That put Doug between everyone else and Tommy. It was how the always did things.
"What do I need to know?" Matt shrugged, "everyone who comes here have gone through some sort of abuse or another, we're all the same here."
"Do you like it here," Tommy asked. He sat on his bed looking bored all ready.
"No one likes it here, but we get by," Matt sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair. "It's not just Marsh you have to worry about. Harold King has been here the lonest and he's got everyone under his thumbs. If you don't want to be beaten up by him, I suggest you do what he tells you," Matt was about to say more when their little pow-wow was interrupted by none other than Harold King. He blew through the doors of the dorm room like a hurricane coming to land on the coast.
He wore a bright red, leather jacket – the same that Michael Jackson wore in some of his videos – he is tall, and black, and he's got a rough exterior. Tommy and Doug size him up like they always did when it came to their piers. Tommy popped his gum and Doug shifted to stand in front of his younger brother a bit, like always when it came down to it. Doug always protected his younger brother. That didn't mean Tommy couldn't take care of himself though. It just meant that they were close.
"What do we have here?" Harold smirked at the group.
"New blood," Matt replied.
Doug raised an eyebrow. "Thank you Captain Obvious."
"What doe Marsh see in you idiots?" Harold laughed. Now other kids in the dorms, who'd been too shy before to approach, felt it was time to gather around. Tommy and Doug were boxed in. Tommy eyed the group of kids. No one looked angry. No one had their hands in fists. They were curious and not intent on fighting.
Doug noted all of this the same as Tommy, but he also took in Harold. He was bigger than most of the kids here. Not as big as him though.
"What do you want?" he demanded.
"Just to welcome you home," Harold laughed. He took a few steps towards them. Tommy was right at Doug's back as his older brother and Harold stood practically nose-to nose.
"Listen up good, meatball, I'm in charge around here. I say who goes and does what and when. If I give you an order you do it," he sneered.
Doug glanced back at Tommy, who frowned and Doug could tell Tommy was ready to kick this guy's ass. "Did you hear what he just said?" Doug asked.
"He thinks we McQuaids are pushovers," Tommy muttered back.
Doug turned back to Harold; "We know how to handle assholes like that," he grinned and cracked his knuckles.
The group of kids stepped back as the McQuaid brothers and Harold went toe to toe. Doug took on Harold fully as his younger brother got jumped by a few of Harold's cronies. Thankfully Tommy knew how to fight and strategize at the same time. He knocked one out fully before punching another in the guts and then kneeing him in the balls. Doug held Harold in a chokehold as he watched Tommy fight, and win.
The fight ended as quick as it'd begun. Tommy stood in the middle of a four-man battlefield; the bodies of his opponents prone around his feet. He swiped his hands together before reaching into his pocket for another stick of bubble gum; "Anyone else?" he asked nonchalantly.
A smattering of applause was his only reply.
He grinned at Doug; "I guess we showed our hand a little early, Bro."
"Well, it's not like they gave us a choice now did they…?" Doug shot back. Tommy popped his gum in response. Doug pushed Harold away from him, yet he kept a firm grip on the kids t-shirt. Harold had anger and murder painted all over his face.
"Now listen here buddy," he growled, "We didn't come here to fight, you started it and we finished it. Now, if you know what's good for ya, you'll leave us alone.." and with that Doug pushed Harold away. The kid backed up and puffed up the collar of his jacket. He sneered at them and pointed a finger at Tommy and Doug.
"I'll get you back for this," he promised lamely and then he shot out of the dorm room faster than Tommy and Doug could yell their catch phrase. The kids Tommy had taken out mopped themselves up and ran after their leader.
"Well," Tommy hummed, "that was fun,"
"It's gonna get better," Doug cracked his knuckles.
