CHAPTER 6

"Paul! How you doin stranger? It's been too long." Simone greeted Briggs like he was a cousin you only see during the holidays. They commemorate their history with a warm embrace. Despite the bad, there were still some good memories. And sometimes thinking about the lengths Briggs would go to protect Simone gave her comfort. But those warm feelings faded quickly. She still needed something from him…

"It has. It's good to see you, kid. You look good." Briggs was happy to see Simone, but there was still an uneasiness lingering between them. Briggs cared about Simone but her resemblance to Lisa unraveled a bit of darkness inside of Briggs that he learned to hide away over time. "What are you doing here?" Briggs looks to Paige more than Simone for an answer.

Paige froze for a second. Either she hasn't thought out the details of this plan or the tequila was doing what it does best. Simone stepped into save her, "We saw each other at Hector's the other day. Said it's been too long and I reminded Paige that she owes me a beer from that night at The Drop when I saved her from that super creepy hippie dude that was all over her. Thankfully, he was just my type."

Briggs's eye caught a blank, yet relaxed expression on Mike's face and nodded his way, "And you actually got this guy to kick back and unwind for the first time since he's been here. You always knew how to have a good time."

"Two hot chicks and a bottle of tequila; they obviously weren't going to have a good time without me." Who doesn't love cocky Mike?

Paige is clearly distracted by the smug look on Mike's face. What is his deal, really? She thought. The list of things they've been through together is long. Really long. But Paige always held on to the hope that because they have been through so much together, they would always make it through it all together. And then her girls came into the picture and her heart didn't have room for anyone else, including Mike. He saw that and stepped aside for what he thought would be a moment that Paige needed and deserved… Paige and Mike's eyes catch each other for a second with a knowing look that a lot is going in both of their minds (even if the tequila is doing its best to stop their brains from doing anything at all). The conversation going on between Briggs and Simone catches their attention.

"So you staying out of trouble?"

"Yep. Not that hard to do when someone isn't pushing you into it." Simone's response confirms to Briggs that things will never be the same between them since the FBI forced her to look into him. "Ya know… it's getting late. I'm gonna call a cab and head home. This was fun though. Hopefully I'll see you again soon."

"I'll walk you out." The girls clean up and walk back into the house, leaving Briggs and Mike to put out the fire. Briggs gives Mikes a stern look of judgment and walks back into the house, hoping that Mike isn't up to something. One day Briggs trusts Mike with his life and the next he sees him as an enemy.

Paige waits with Simone while the cab pulls up. "Just let me know what you need from me. I'm in." Paige can see the hurt and determination in Simone's eyes as she agrees to the plan. It's on. Paige hugs Simone goodbye and heads back into the house.

Briggs waits for Paige in the kitchen, while Mike calls it a night and heads up to his room. "So was catching up with an old friend like Simone as fun as you thought it would be? Didn't think to mention all of this to me earlier? I had to find out from a frantic, love sick Johnny – which is not something I'm interested in dealing with by the way."

"It was nice to see her. We were just catching up. That being said, you really need to know that it's in all of our best interests if you get Sid sooner rather than later." Paige cut to the chase. Her words weren't meant to threaten Briggs, but she was done with the passive aggressive ways of the house. The message had to be clear without being combative.

"You have no idea, Paige."

Paige takes in Briggs' words and makes her way up to her room. She sees the light on in Mike's room but walks past the door. Part of her wanted to see what his thoughts were on the night and Simone. Part of her wanted to see if he his sass was still there to entertain her. Tonight she caught a glimpse of the fun her and Mike used to have. How there was a certain, unexplainable level of openness and trust between them that made it so easy for them to communicate with each other without saying anything at all. And how as hard as she fought it, he could still put a smirk on her face.

Shit.

And with that, Paige knocked on Mike's door.