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"Brooke I didn't recognize you then," Richard said as Victoria and Brooke walked into the lounge after returning from their shopping trip. "That's certainly different to how you usually have your hair."

"I wanted a change," Brooke said as she ran her hand over her hair. It was now chin length and black. "And it looks more businessy than my hair did before."

"Just think of all the time you'll save doing your hair in the morning," Victoria said as she smiled. "I think it makes you look older."

"It does," Richard agreed. "I take it that you had that done ready for when you come to work with us?"

"Yes," Brooke replied. "I want to look the part."

"And you certainly do," Richard assured her. He then asked. "How would you feel about coming to a business dinner with me and your mother this evening? It'll be a good opportunity for you to see how we soften up the potential investors and clients."

"Sure, that would be great," Brooke replied. "I can wear one of the new dresses that I got today."

"You should wear the red one Brooke," Victoria told her. "That looked stunning on you."

"I take it that it's not too over the top for where we're going?" Brooke asked.

"No it isn't," Richard told her. "We're going to dinner and then we're going to watch a performance by an orchestra who will be playing music by some classical composers."

"Really?" Brooke asked. She couldn't picture herself enjoying the night.

"Yes," Victoria confirmed. "It's an exclusive performance so it's not open to just anyone. You had to have invitations to go."

"And you have enough invitations to take me?" Brooke asked. She secretly hoped that the answer would be no.

"Yes we do," Richard replied. "We have our own private box. Which means we can have a party of four."

"Great," Brooke responded with a fake smile. "What time do we leave?"

"We have to be at the restaurant for five," Richard told her as he looked at his watch. "So you have about an hour to get ready."

"I better get busy then," Brooke said as she headed towards the lounge door. "At least I don't have to do anything to my hair."

"Likewise," Victoria said as she followed. "It'll probably take me most of the time to get my make up right."

"Same here." Brooke agreed as she headed towards her bedroom door.

"I'll give you a shout about fifteen minutes before we're ready to leave." Victoria said.

"Okay mom." Brooke said as she headed into her bedroom and closed the door.

~X~

"Sorry I'm late Richard. I had car trouble and then my taxi was late."

"Don't worry about it," Richard replied as his potential business associate sat in the seat across from him. "This is my wife Victoria. Victoria this is Andy Hargrove."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Victoria." Andy replied as he smiled.

"The pleasure is all mine," Victoria told him as she returned the smile. "Our daughter will be joining us shortly. She just had to visit the ladies room."

"You don't mind waiting until she comes back before we order do you?" Richard asked.

"Not at all," Andy replied. "It'll give me time to study the menu to see what I want. How old is your daughter?"

"She turns seventeen in May," Victoria told him. "This is her first taste of a business dinner."

"Really?" Andy asked in surprise.

"Yes," Richard replied in a fond tone. "She's decided that she wants to start learning the ins and outs of the business, so that when it's time for her to begin working full time she'll have the knowledge and experience."

"It sounds like she has a good business head on her already." Andy told him.

"Here she is," Richard said as he saw Brooke heading back to the table from behind Andy. "Andy this is our daughter Brooke, Brooke meet Andy Hargrove."

Brooke almost did a double take at the name that her father had said. However, she tried to keep her expression neutral as she sat back in her seat, which just happened to be right beside Andy's. She hoped that Andy wouldn't say anything to her parents about already knowing her. She saw the recognition in his eyes and was glad that he decided to act like he didn't know her.

"It's a pleasure meeting you Brooke." Andy said as he found his voice once again.

"Ditto," Brooke replied hoping she didn't sound too shocked. She then turned to her parents and asked. "Are we ordering yet?"

"We will once Andy has had a chance to look at the menu," Richard told her. "What would you like to drink Andy?"

"A large brandy would be great." Andy replied.

He then glanced at Brooke as Richard signaled the waiter to give him their drinks order. She quickly avoided his gaze and pretended to look in her purse for something. She kept her eyes down as she felt his gaze on her. She silently cursed Carrie and Alex in her head for introducing her to Andy. As she continued to rummage in her purse, she had a feeling that it was going to be a long night.

~X~

"I take it that you're not really into that type of music?" Andy asked Brooke as he walked out onto the balcony she was stood on. She turned around to face him at the sound of his voice.

"Not really." Brooke replied in a hesitant tone.

"Why did you lie to me?" he asked as he frowned. "Why did you pretend to be twenty one?"

"I don't know," Brooke replied as she sighed. "I let Carrie and Alex talk me into going to that party. I didn't really want to go. Alex made me a fake ID so I could get in and get served at the bar."

"Alex knew your real age?" Andy asked in disbelief.

"Yes she did." Brooke replied.

"This is unbelievable," Andy said as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "We've done things that could send me to jail. I'm really glad that we didn't go all the way that night. Because if we had I would be in even deeper trouble than I already am."

"I'm not going to tell anyone about what we did Andy," Brooke assured him. "So you won't be going to jail."

"How can you be sure Brooke?" he asked. "Carrie or Alex might let something slip."

"Well if they do they'll be dropping Cooper and Nick in it as well." Brooke replied.

"Why would they?" he asked as he gave her an intense look.

"Because Carrie and Alex are the same age as me." Brooke replied in a soft tone.

"You're kidding?" Andy asked as his eyes widened in surprise at what he heard. Brooke shook her head in reply. "So you're telling me that I'm not the only one who has broken the law?"

"You didn't break the law Andy." Brooke told him.

"We did things that we shouldn't have considering that you're only sixteen," Andy told her in a low tone. "I'm just glad that we didn't have sex that night on the boat."

"Yeah so you said," Brooke replied. "You can't go to jail because what we did do was legal. I'm over the age of consent in this state and I said yes. I didn't tell you to stop."

"Do you know how disgusted I feel about myself?" Andy asked sounding more pissed off by the moment. "When I think of the two of us doing the things that we did, it makes me feel ill now. I feel like some kind of sick weirdo because of it."

"Andy you shouldn't," Brooke replied. "You've done nothing wrong."

"Then why do I feel like I have?" he asked as he looked at her through narrowed eyes. "And I'm pretty sure that Cooper and Nick will feel exactly the same when they find out that their girlfriends are in high school."

"I'm sorry okay?" Brooke asked as she looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I made a bad decision. I thought that if I dated you it would help me get over Lucas."

"Who is Lucas?" Andy asked.

"He's my best friends brother," Brooke replied. She took a deep breath before she continued. "I've been in love with him for what feels like forever. We were supposed to get married earlier this year, but he changed his mind on the day."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Andy replied in a sincere tone. "I can understand how hard that must have been for you. But is it really the right thing to do to begin something with another guy so you can get over your ex?"

"There's more," Brooke replied. She turned away from him before she spoke again. "He's technically not my ex."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Andy asked in a confused tone.

"Lucas is in Iraq right now," Brooke began. "I told him to put the engagement ring back on my finger when he returned."

"So technically you're cheating on him?" Andy asked in a disgusted tone.

"Yes," Brooke replied as she wiped at her eyes. "I thought it would make me feel better over him dumping me at the altar, but it only made me feel worse. I know I'm a horrible person for doing it and if I could go back and change what I did. I'm so sorry for using you the way I did."

"I don't believe this," Andy said as he let out a frustrated sigh. "I can't do business with your parents Brooke. Not with this hanging over me. I'm going to leave now because if I don't, I think I could possibly do something that I promised myself I would never do."

"Andy don't leave," Brooke told him. "My dad really wants to do business with you. Don't ruin a good deal just because I was so damn stupid. This isn't their fault."

"I can't Brooke. I just can't," Andy replied as he turned to leave. "I'll leave it up to you to find a reason why I left to tell your parents. You seem pretty good at making things up. Have you ever thought of becoming an actress?"

"Andy don't do this." Brooke pleaded.

"I'm leaving. And I'd prefer not to see you again Brooke." Andy replied as he headed back into the bar. Brooke leaned against the balcony as he left. Tears slipped down her face as she tried to come up with a feasible excuse to tell her parents.

~X~

"I thought I told you that I didn't want to see you again?" Andy asked as he opened his front door a few hours later. Brooke was stood on his doorstep wearing a pair of sweats and a tank top.

"Can I come in?" she asked in a sad tone.

"Give me a good reason why I should?" he asked as he folded his arms in front of him.

"Because I want to apologize for what I did," Brooke replied. "And I want you to see just how good it will be for you if you go into business with my father."

"You have ten minutes." Andy told her as he stood aside to let her in. She quickly walked through the front door and headed to the lounge. Andy closed the door and followed her.

"Andy I am truly sorry for what I did," Brooke began. "I'm sorry for lying to you about who I was and how old I was. I'm sorry for putting you in the position I did. I was stupid and I gave your feelings no consideration by what I did. It was the most stupidest thing that I've ever done."

"You pretty much said things along those lines on the balcony," Andy replied. "So why did you come here when you should be in bed? It is a school night after all."

"I wanted you to know how sorry I am for what I did," Brooke told him. "And I wanted to ask you if you would reconsider going into business with my father. It's clear to see that the deal will benefit the both of you. Please don't let my stupid mistake stop you from doing that. I promise you that I will never do anything as stupid as that again."

"You expect me to believe that?" Andy asked. "All that has left your mouth since I met you is a pack of lies. How do I know that you're not just saying all this just so that I do business with your father?"

"Because I'm not that type of person," Brooke told him. "I know I did wrong by lying to you and I'm sorry for that. Don't judge my parents on my actions. They work damn hard and you'll be missing out and a lot more money if you refuse to work with them just because of me. You won't even have to see me or deal with me. It'll be with my parents. Please just give them a chance."

"You think highly of your parents don't you?" Andy asked after a few moments of silence.

"Of course I do," Brooke replied. "They're my parents and I love them. I don't want anything that I've done to ruin things for them."

"I'll think about it okay?" Andy told her. "If I change my mind I'll call your dad tomorrow to tell him. But before I think about it I want you to do something for me."

"What?" Brooke asked in a slightly hesitant tone.

"I want you to promise me that you won't do anything as stupid as that again," Andy told her. "Just think what could have happened to you if it had been somebody less understanding with you on the boat. It could have turned out really bad for you Brooke."

"I promise I'll never do anything as stupid as that again Andy." Brooke told him.

"There's something else as well," he replied in a thoughtful tone. Brooke gave him a quizzical look as she waited for him to continue. "You can help me tell Cooper and Nick about Carrie and Alex's real ages. I don't want them getting into trouble with anybody over their lies."

"When do you want me to help?" Brooke asked.

"Tomorrow," Andy told her. "Remember we were all supposed to go out to dinner."

"I completely forgot about that," Brooke admitted. "I take it you have a plan?"

"I do actually," Andy replied. "We'll tell Nick and Cooper before we go to dinner. I'll invite them here. Then we'll make Alex and Carrie think that everything is normal before they get a taste of their own medicine."

"What do you mean by that?" Brooke asked.

"I have a friend in the police force," Andy replied. "I was thinking of getting him to do a check of ID's or something where we're going to."

"But if they do that that will mean I'll get caught to." Brooke told him.

"Not if you have your real ID with you and don't drink any alcohol," Andy told her. "We're going to be at a restaurant remember, so you're quite entitled to eat there no matter how old you are."

"I like this idea," Brooke said. "Alex deserves it after what she did."

"What did she do?" Andy asked. His anger had now seemed to be gone.

"She almost made me forget my best friend's birthday," Brooke told him. "And she deleted a picture of me and Lucas from my phone."

"This Lucas guy really hurt you didn't he?" Andy asked as he saw the look in her eyes.

"He did," Brooke confirmed as she took a deep breath. "I haven't spoken to him since the day he left Tree Hill to head back to his base. I've written him letters but I've not sent any of them to him. I keep them in a box in my closet."

"Has he written to you?" Andy asked.

"No," Brooke replied. "But then again I'm not sure if he has my new address."

"Well maybe you should send these letters to him," Andy told her. "He could be over there thinking that you hate him. That won't be good for either of you because he's probably not worried about getting hurt if he does think that."

"Oh my God I never thought of that," Brooke said as he eyes filled with tears. "I need to go home so I can get the letters sorted so I can send them first thing in the morning."

"You're not leaving yet," Andy said as he stopped her. "Not in that state. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you on the drive back."

"I need to go and do this." Brooke insisted.

"Like you said you'll be sending them in the morning," Andy told her. "That's when the post office will be open. So you can stay here until you've calmed down and are in a fit state to drive."

"Thank you for being so kind Andy," Brooke said in almost a whisper. "I don't deserve it after what I've done to you."

"You've apologized for that," Andy replied. "Now why don't you take a seat and I'll go and make you a coffee. You're not leaving until you've calmed down. Like I said I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you on your drive home."

~X~

"You're kidding me?" Cooper asked Andy the next afternoon. Andy had just filled him and Nick in about the real ages of Alex and Carrie.

"I wish I was but I'm not," Andy replied as he looked over at Brooke. "Brooke told me everything last night."

"This is unbelievable," Nick said as he shook his head. "What school do they go to?"

"Ryburn Academy," Brooke replied. "It was where I went until I decided I wanted to do home schooling."

"Ryburn Academy?" Cooper asked. Brooke nodded. "I have to go there to do a lecture in one of the computer classes next week."

"That'll be the class that Alex and Carrie are in." Brooke told him.

"That should be an interesting experience," Cooper replied. "But I think the best part will be seeing their expressions when they find out that it's me who will be doing the lecture."

"I can't wait to see their faces when Andy's plan gets put into action at dinner." Nick said.

"You're sure that I won't get into trouble when that happens right?" Brooke asked in an uneasy tone.

"I'm sure you won't," Andy replied. "I spoke to my friend and it'll just be Alex and Carrie who will be getting punished. I told him that you were my informant."

"I see," Brooke replied. "What exactly did you say?"

"I told him that you had told me about what Carrie and Alex were doing when we were at the business dinner last night," Andy explained. "It's only a slight lie compared to what happened. And it's convenient seeing as though me and your father will be doing business together after all."

"Thanks for rethinking on that," Brooke said in a grateful tone. "I hardly got any sleep last night because of it."

"Did you get those letters sent off this morning?" Andy asked.

"I sent one of them," Brooke replied as she looked at Nick and Cooper who were now talking quietly between themselves. "I chickened out of sending all of them in case he doesn't feel the same."

"I see," Andy replied in a soft tone. He then changed the subject. "Are you still getting ready for dinner here?"

"Yeah. My parents think that I'm over at Alex's and Carrie's," Brooke explained. "I hate lying to them, but I guess that it's okay in this situation right?"

"Right," Andy replied. "I put your things in my room seeing as though Nick and Cooper are using the other two. Plus mine has an en-suite. I'll make sure to knock before I go in."

"Thanks," Brooke replied as she smiled. "You're being so kind to me after what I did. I don't deserve it."

"Look we've all done things that we're not proud of," Andy told her. "And I believe that you've learnt from this experience. So I'm hoping that we can at least be friends."

"Of course we can," Brooke said as she hugged him. "If everybody had friends like you and Haley then the world would be a much better place."

"Thanks." Andy replied sounding embarrassed.

"Right I'm going to go and have my soak in the tub now," Brooke told him. "Have fun playing poker."

"Oh I will," Andy assured her as he grinned. "I always beat these two."

"I'll leave you three to it then." Brooke said before she headed out of the room.

~X~

"I'm surprised to see you here," Alex said to Brooke as they sat at the table after dessert was finished. They were sat in a private function room at an exclusive restaurant. It had a private bar and dance floor. Brooke thought that it was perfect for what Andy had set up. "I thought you said that Andy was too old for you?"

"A girl can change her mind right?" Brooke asked in response. They were talking in quiet tones so that nobody around them could hear them.

"Brooke would you like to dance?" Andy asked.

"Sure I'd love to," Brooke said as she took his outstretched hand. They then headed to the dance floor where they began to dance to the slow classical music that was playing. "I take it your friend is on his way?"

"He sure is," Andy replied. "He sent me a text message. Cooper and Nick are going to keep Alex and Carrie supplied with their cocktails so they'll get caught red handed."

"I kind of feel bad that Carrie is going to get in trouble," Brooke told him. "She's only been nice to me. It's Alex who has been a bitch. And she's the one that said that I had to watch my back."

"Well she's getting what she deserves then," Andy told her as the door to the private room opened and several police officers walked in. "It's too late to back out now anyway."

"I can't wait to see the look on Alex's face when she gets busted for drinking." Brooke said as she looked over at the table.

"It'll teach her not to mess with Brooke Davis am I right?" Andy asked softly.

"Especially when it almost caused me to lose my best friend," Brooke replied. "She deserves everything she gets."

~X~

Lucas looked towards the UN building. He was eyeing his destination which was an illegally parked car not too far away from the main entrance. As he studied the car, he heard the sound of gunfire and flames appeared on the car.

"Shit!" Owen said as he, Nathan and Lucas ducked behind a wall with their equipment.

"It's coming from over here! On the balcony!" Nathan said into the radio as he looked through his binoculars. He heard back up fire come from where Julian and Clay were. Owen then handed Lucas a fire extinguisher.

"Have I got top cover?" Lucas asked.

"That's a negative." Owen replied.

"Nate you stay with me. Owen take top cover." Lucas said.

"Shit!" Owen muttered to himself as he set off running. Lucas came out from behind the wall and made his way to the car. He then began to tackle the car fire with the fire extinguisher. Nathan watched Lucas as he also kept a look out.

"I'm in position." Owen said through the radio as he reached the roof.

After Lucas had managed to put the fire out, he looked into the car. He tried to open the trunk while Owen and Nathan kept watch on the perimeter. He managed to open the trunk with a crow bar that Nathan threw to him and gasped at what he saw. The entire trunk was filled with explosives.

"Oh God!" Lucas mumbled as he dropped the crowbar. He stared at the bombs for a few moments before he started to take the top part of the bomb suit off.

"What's he doing?" Owen asked in disbelief.

"I don't know," Nathan replied in the same tone as Lucas took his helmet off and walked over to Nathan. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"There's enough bang in there to send us all to Jesus. If I'm gonna die I wanna die comfortable," Lucas replied. Nathan swallowed at Lucas's reply. "I need my kit and my cans, yeah?"

"What's going on down there James?" Owen asked.

"I'm getting his kit and his cans. Cover me," Nathan said. He then jumped up and ran to get the equipment Lucas needed while Lucas took the rest of the bomb suit off. Nathan returned with the equipment and handed it to him. "You know if you survive this, you're going to be in so much shit for taking that off."

"It'll give me something to look forward to." Lucas said as he put his headphones on and headed back to the car. He studied the bombs for a moment and noticed that there was an unnecessary amount of wires. He then set about clipping the wires as he spoke into his radio. "Got a lot of det cord, electrical. Right I'm gonna look for the initiating system."

Lucas moved from the trunk to one of the back passenger doors. He opened it and it fell off its hinges. He peered inside and felt around with his hand. He couldn't see or feel anything.

"Well, it's not in the back seat. I don't think," he said into the radio. He then climbed into the car and ripped open the seat covers with his knife. He sighed when his search was unsuccessful. "It's not in the backseat."

"I got a young man on the roof at nine o'clock. Keep an eye on him." Owen said into the radio.

"Roger that." Nathan said as he aimed his gun where Owen had told him. He saw the man Owen was on about and quickly moved his attention back to Lucas and saw that he was now in the front of the car.

"It's not in the front seat. It's not in the door. Not in the floors," Lucas said into the radio. He then opened the glove box and sighed when he saw that it was empty. "Not in the glove box."

"If you haven't found it yet it's probably under the car." Owen suggested.

"Yeah, no wire leads under the car, it's all in here somewhere." Lucas replied. Nathan moved his gun to look around the area saw that another man had a video camera and was filming Lucas.

"Hey Morello." He said into the radio.

"Yeah?"

"You got eyes on some guy with a video camera?" Nathan asked him.

"No, where?" Owen asked in an urgent tone.

"He's right at my twelve o'clock, see him? He's pointing the fucking thing right at me." Nathan said as the man moved the camera to Nathan. He began to get an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He moved his attention back to Lucas and saw that he was still in the front but was now looking into the back.

"Shit. Negative. I don't see him." Owen said.

"He's right at my twelve o'clock. Look twelve o'clock." Nathan repeated.

"Roger that I got him." Owen said as he finally saw the man. Lucas continued to work on the car.

"Getting ready to put me on YouTube. Little shady." Nathan said in an agitated tone.

"Yeah, he looks shady. Keep an eye on him." Owen agreed.

"Got more wire that leads fucking nowhere!" Lucas said into the radio as he followed yet another trail. "Fuck!"

"Hey Scott, how you doing?" Owen asked.

"I'm wonderful. How are you?" Lucas replied sarcastically.

"You know, we been here a while. We need to get outta here soon." Owen told him.

"Uh-huh." Lucas replied in a distracted tone.

"We got a lot of eyes on us Luke, we need to get outta here." Owen told him.

"Roger that. I'm gonna figure this out." Lucas said as he began to work on the car radio.

"Luke we need to get outta here. Luke do you copy?" Owen insisted.

"I get it, I get it!" Lucas said in a frustrated tone. He then took his headphones off and dropped them on floor outside car. "Fuck me!"

"Luke the evac is complete. We can leave. Let the engineers handle this mess." Owen said.

"We moving?" Nathan asked.

"That's affirmative." Owen replied. In the car, Lucas pulled the car radio out of its holder very slowly. The windshield wipers suddenly sprang into action and caused Lucas to jump.

"Interesting." Lucas murmured to himself.

"What's up with Luke? He's not answering me." Owen asked Nathan.

"Yeah I think he removed his headset." Nathan replied.

"Will you tell him to put his radio back on please?" Owen asked in an annoyed tone. Nathan peeked back over the wall to look at Lucas.

"Hey Luke! Sergeant Morello is asking if you'll please put your headset back on," Nathan yelled. Lucas gave him the finger in response. Nathan chuckled to himself as he sank back behind the wall. He then went on the radio and said. "Uh, that's a negative. Yeah it's not gonna happen."

"Shit!" Owen muttered as he spotted three men in a tower of a building. He waved but they never waved back. "I got eyes on three guys at the minaret at six o clock."

Lucas chose that moment to get out of the car and he moved to the hood of the car. He opened it and then began to check under it.

"What the hell is he doing?" Owen asked Nathan. Nathan looked back over the wall.

"I don't know what the fuck he's doing. Looks like he's checking the oil." Nathan replied.

Lucas cut the wire that controlled the wipers and then followed another one. He closed the hood and went back to the driver's side of the car. Owen spotted one of the guys on the minaret waving at the cameraman that was on a roof.

"They're communicating with your cameraman." Owen informed Nathan.

"This is real bad man." Nathan replied.

"Get down James!" Owen told him.

"But I won't be able to see Luke." Nathan replied.

"Get down now!" Owen ordered. He then began to make his way down from the roof.

"We can go!" Nathan shouted over at Lucas. Lucas grinned as he found what he was looking for.

"Bastard," Lucas said as he found a box and quickly disabled it. He threw it behind him as he climbed out of the car. "We're done. Let's get out of here."

"Hey Scott." Owen said as he approached Lucas.

"Yeah?" Lucas replied. Owen never said anything. He just slapped Lucas's face.

"Never turn your headset off again." Owen told him before he turned and stomped away. Nathan chuckled as he and Lucas followed him.