"Chloe!" Max rushed into the room where Chloe was sat, slumped over the table. Behind her, Victoria and Kate waited courteously outside, while Officer Daniels stood in the background, shuffling his feet on the floor.

From the moment his superior officer entered the room, Ben Daniels knew that Chloe was in for a hard time. Just how hard, he had no idea, but it was an open secret at the station house that Gray's loyalties lay not with the police force, but with a certain powerful family living in Arcadia. Oddly enough, even though he'd heard the rumours (and who hadn't?), nobody had ever approached him with an offer, something he was very, very thankful for.

…

"Good morning, uh, Miss, um, Price," said Daniels, opening his notebook as he sat down in front of the sullen teenager. She was dressed quite provocatively, ripped jeans, a baggy white t-shirt with a clear view of her black bra underneath. However, the most striking feature was her electric-blue hair, almost neon in its shade. It looked like it had only recently been dyed (or re-dyed) and it was difficult for the policeman to keep his eyes off it. He blinked twice and tried to concentrate on his notebook.

"'Sup?" she said, her voice as sullen and insolent as she looked. She wouldn't look him in the eyes, instead preferring to look down at her hands.

"My name is Officer Daniels," he said, extending his hand. It was ignored. He sighed and continued. "Look, let's dispense with the formal shit, shall we? I'm Ben. May I call you Chloe?"

"Aren't there supposed to be two of you? There's usually two of you."

Ben looked surprised, and smiled. "Usually, yes, but I arranged for just you and I to talk this time."

"What, you want to fuck me or something? Is that it? I suck your cock and you'll let me go? Well, fuck you, pig!"

"Whoa, there, Miss Price," said Ben, holding his hands up and in front of him, "where did that come from?" He continued, his voice soft and low. "Look, I'm not here for anything like that. I… I just want to talk to you, if that's okay with you. If not, that's fine, I'll invite my partner in here and we'll turn this into a formal interview. Your choice." He stopped talking and waited. After a moment's silence, the girl spoke again.

"You don't want me to suck your cock?" she said. Ben looked at her, aghast, but saw the smallest trace of a smirk appearing on her face.

"Um, no, thank you," he said. "But it was a kind offer."

"You don't know what you're missing," said the girl, grinning more openly now. She shrugged. "Fair enough. Your loss."

"May I call you Chloe? Please?"

"If you must," said Chloe, shuffling a little in her seat. "I don't know you, nor do I want to particularly, but you seem… different to the others. So just say what you gotta say and get me the fuck outta here, okay?"

"Actually, Chloe, I wanted you to talk to me, rather than the other way around," said Ben. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Vodka and orange?"

"Sorry, a bit too early for that," said Ben, smiling and checking his watch. "Actually, about four years too early, I think." He grinned. "But nice try."

"You don't ask…"

"… you don't get. Yeah, I've heard that one around," he said. "Tea? Squash?"

"Got any coffee?" she said.

"I'm sure we can rustle something up," he said, getting up and leaving the room. A minute later, he was back with two cups of coffee. "Here you go," he said, sliding one across to her. She looked at him for a moment, then motioned to the other cup.

"I'll have that one," she said. "Don't trust you."

"Fair enough," he said. "You've no reason to trust me, and I've no reason to expect that from you." He swapped the cups and took a sip from his coffee. "It's not brilliant," he said, apologising, "but it'll do until you get back to the Two Whales."

"The Two…" Chloe narrowed her eyes and looked at Daniels. "Have you been following me?" her tone was accusatory, and the policeman looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"Look, I'll level with you," he continued, sighing. "I've seen you in here a few times recently. Possession, mostly, like today, but a couple of B and E's and some criminal damage." He brought a manilla folder up onto the table. "That's your file, Chloe. It details everything you've done that's brought you to our attention." He tapped it. "It's far bigger than it should be for someone your age, isn't it? I requested your case, because I'm afraid your behaviour will start to escalate, and… look, I'll be honest with you, I'd hate to see you ruin your life."

"Yeah? Well, that's not your decision, is it?" shouted Chloe, standing up. "If I want to ruin my life, then that's my choice!"

"Yes, it is," said Daniels, not rising to the bait. "It is completely your choice, and I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I think that would be exactly the wrong direction for me to take with you. I just, look, I've taken a look into your case, you're a reasonably intelligent young woman, and I'd hate to see you fail to reach your potential. Nothing more than that. Whatever my colleagues have done or said to you in the past hasn't made any difference, so I thought perhaps I'd take a shot."

"I don't need you to be my friend," said Chloe.

"No, you don't. And to be honest, I'd probably get in trouble if my superiors thought you were my friend," said Ben, smiling.

"Really?" Chloe perked up at this suggestion of rule-breaking.

"Yeah. So can we agree to not be friends?"

Chloe looked at him suspiciously. "I guess," she said, slowly. "But what exactly does not being friends with you entail?"

"Talking to me, basically," he said. "Letting me try to see if I can find something to motivate you to, well, curb your behaviour a little."

"Sure it doesn't involve me, you, and your cock?" To his credit, Daniels actually laughed.

"Reading your last, uh, episode, I don't think that's really your thing, is it?" He grinned. "No, it doesn't involve anything like that." He paused, creasing his brow as a thought struck him. "Hasn't anyone been, well, anyone treated you properly?"

"My mom does," said Chloe. "My best friend does." She thought. "Step-douche is just a dick." She shrugged. "That's about it, really."

"So, no one in authority outside your own family?"

"I guess. I mean, that douche who arrested me spoke to me like I was scum, just because I had a bit of weed on me."

"Possession is illegal, Chloe."

"Yeah, but I wasn't dealing it, was I? I mean, it was just for me, help me get through the day. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a massive deal."

Ben looked around furtively, making sure Chloe knew what he was doing. "No, it isn't," he whispered, half-conspiratorially, "but it's still illegal, and I've seen too many kids think it's no big deal, until they progress on to the harder stuff. Look, you want another coffee?"

…

"Chloe!" Max threw her arms around her girlfriend, an embrace which was gratefully reciprocated by a sobbing Chloe and they stayed like that for some time until Chloe's tears finally ceased. "Chloe, what happened?" She began crying as well, and the two held each other for some time until Daniels politely coughed.

"Um, Max, could you wait outside please?" he asked, then nodded to Kate. "If you could take Max back to the other room, I need some time alone with Chloe, okay?" Kate nodded and took Max's hand. The brunette allowed herself to be led out of the room, still sniffling, and then Daniels closed the door and sat down opposite Chloe. He pushed a coffee across to her, but she shook her head. "Uh, Chloe, I need you to drink it," he said. "I may have put something else in there, and I can't have anyone else finding out."

Chloe looked up at the policeman, her eyebrows raised. "It's not coffee?"

"Well, it is coffee, just with a tot of whiskey in it. To warm you up." He smiled. "Go on, I won't tell anyone." Chloe smiled and drank the coffee gratefully, the warm buzz of the drink burning its way down her throat. "Besides, you look like you've been put through the wringer." She nodded sadly and Daniels smiled. "Tell me about it?"

…

"I knew it was taking too long, I knew something was up. Didn't I say?" Max was pacing around the small room. Kate had brought yet another coffee, but it was not having any sort of a placating effect on her friend.

"Max, please, sit down," said Victoria, sighing heavily. "You'll wear out the floor." This earned a giggle from Kate, but she quickly stopped when Max glared at Victoria.

"You think this is funny, huh?" There was ice in her voice, an ice that Victoria recognised only too well from herself.

"No, I was just… trying to lighten the tension in here," she said. "Max… please." She paused. "You're making me… uncomfortable."

"And you'd know, huh?" hissed Max. "Chloe's in there with that… fucking bosh'tet of a cop and she's… she's… what is it, Kate?" Kate was giggling horribly, her hand over her mouth and her face a picture of strangled embarrassment as she fought to contain her laughter. Eventually, however, she could hold it in no more and she burst into laughter, Victoria joining her.

"You said… bosh'tet!" cried Kate, tears in her eyes as she laughed. Victoria banged the table as her shoulders heaved, trying desperately and failing to stop her mirth overwhelming her. At first, Max's face was a picture of thunder, but she also was soon unable to stop herself from giggling and bursting into fits of laughter. When they finally calmed down, Max was smiling.

"Did I say… no, I didn't!" she insisted, but Kate was still pointing at her and laughing.

"I'm afraid you did, Max," said Victoria, but then pursed her lips. "Although… I'm curious as to how Kate even knows what a bosh'tet is…" Kate grinned but said nothing, her face burning up as she blushed. "I knew it!" said Victoria, "I knew you were a closet geek! Spill!"

"I… may have played Mass Effect at… some point," she confessed, her face still bright red. "It was… it was awesome."

"Which one?"

"The… second one," said Kate. "I was too young when the first one came out, and I didn't want to play the third one, after everything I read about it, but a friend of mine had an Xbox so I was able to play the second one. I… it was fun."

"You've never played the first or the… Max, we need to rectify this immediately. Kate, they are all awesome. Sure, the third one has an odd ending, but it's not as bad as everyone made out, and the game itself is brilliant! I have them all on my Xbox in my room. Come over and we'll play it together," said Victoria, then rather shyly, "it would be… nice to play it with a friend." Kate nodded, and Victoria turned back to Max, suddenly serious. "Look, Max, I know Chloe's had a shit time today, and I know you'll be there for her. But right now she's with the decent guy. Daniels isn't a bosh'tet, is he?"

"No," conceded Max, "but I… dammit Tori, I want to be there for her."

"And you will. And Chloe knows you will. And I have a sneaking suspicion that Daniels knows that too. You'll get your chance. So just calm down, take a seat and you can be there for her once Daniels talks to her. If I'm right, and I'm rarely wrong, he's trying to repair some of the damage that Gray did. He's the bosh'tet, not Daniels. Right?"

…

"Shit, he's gone further than I expected," said Daniels, shaking his head. "Look, I'm not gonna ask you if you're okay, because you're obviously not."

"No shit," snapped Chloe.

"Yeah, I know, I know," said Daniels. "I'm a policeman, I get it. I'm the enemy. In fact, I'm so much of an enemy that I'm in here now, trying to talk to you and calm you down a little before I go and get your girlfriend to support you the rest of the way. I'm so much of the enemy that I'm here, making sure you vent your anger out on me instead of Max. I guess that makes me a really horrible person." He smiled, and Chloe looked a little sheepish. "I'm not expecting anything from you, Chloe. We've been not friends with each other a year or so now, right? What have I ever asked you for? I'm not asking you for anything now. You're hurting. I get it." He paused, as if thinking, then suddenly stood and knelt on the floor next to her. "Listen to me very carefully, Chloe, okay? If anyone ever asks me what I'm about to tell you, I'll deny I ever said it, and please don't repeat this to anyone you don't absolutely trust."

Chloe went suddenly quiet. "Go on," she whispered.

"Lieutenant Gray has one job at the station house, and one job only," said Daniels. He was talking very quietly and very quickly. "His job is to ensure that the Prescott's interests are upheld. He will do his job as a police officer, and, though I hate to say it, he does his job reasonably competently. But all that goes out the window once Sean Prescott calls. And Sean Prescott has called. Gray will do everything in his power to…"

"… ruin me?"

"No. He couldn't care less about you, Chloe. His orders are to ensure Nathan gets off scott-free. Any collateral damage is… unfortunate but tolerated. And one way to get Nathan off is to discredit you." Daniels took a quick breath. "And, let's face it, he's chosen you to discredit because, well, the other choices are a Christian girl who can do no wrong, the Head of Security at Blackwell, and a member of the Chase family. I'm sorry, Chloe, but you're an easy target."

"So what do I do? Is there anything I can do?"

"You're in the right here, okay? You and I both know what happened, and I believe you. So stick with your story and don't change it. Don't let him get to you, okay? Remember, it's not only you, it's Max, Victoria, Kate and David Madsen." He sighed heavily. "Dammit, I'm sorry, Chloe, I wish I'd taken less time with you. He had no right to keep you locked in here." He sighed again. "You know ,you didn't have to speak to him, you could have just refused to say anything, or asked for a lawyer."

"Yeah, I know," said Chloe, slapping the side of her head with her hand. "But in there, all sense of reason goes out the window. I just knew the door was locked and I was a prisoner. I… couldn't think straight. I'm sorry, Ben."

"It's okay, Chloe," he said. "I know how it can get in there. Look, I've got your statement here, and the others. I'll make copies now to ensure it doesn't get 'lost', and I'll give them to David, okay? He'll be able to keep them safe." He stood up. "I'll take you back to Max now. I think she's best placed to take it from here, yeah?" Chloe nodded and stood, taking Ben's offered hand.

"Thanks dude," she said. "For… for everything."

"I've got your back, Chloe," he said, "you know that, right? As long as you keep on the straight and narrow, I'll have your back."