Quentin addresses the leader of The Glades separatist movement, while Roy struggles to get the hang of parenting.
[18 NOVEMBER – 13:27]
"Why are we entertaining him again?" asked Captain Smith. He and Quentin were about to meet with Darrius Jenkins, one of the main leaders of The Glades' separatist movement.
"He's been pestering me for a meeting for weeks," replied Quentin, "We can't keep ignoring this guy, especially with the traction that the 'Glades Autonomy' movement is now getting."
"Have you seen this guy's speeches? He gives off serious Sebastian Blood vibes, and we all know how that turned out."
"Come on, Matt, give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's hear him out first, then we'll decide how crazy he is."
They didn't have to wait much longer for him to arrive. Darrius Jenkins was born and raised in The Glades, and like many residents of the area, had a troubled upbringing. While he had never partaken in criminal activities himself, he'd seen and been a victim to them on countless occasions. He witnessed first-hand the many terrorist attacks on the city from which The Glades had often suffered the worst. Azrael's recent attack on the city opened many old wounds, causing him and many others to lose faith in the Star City authorities.
"Mr Mayor, thank you for finally agreeing to see me," he said immediately, offering a hand.
"Mr Jenkins," replied Quentin, shaking his hand.
"Captain Smith, am I right?" he asked, turning to Smith. Smith nodded, shaking his hand as well. "I was under the impression that Chief Cormier would be here as well."
"The Chief is a little busy, so he couldn't make it. But I'll fill in for him," replied Smith.
"Please," said Quentin as he gestured for them to move to the board room. "Let's get right down to business. What exactly are you here to discuss, Mr Jenkins?" he asked as they all took a seat.
"Not to discuss, to negotiate," replied Jenkins, "Negotiate a plan for The Glades to be recognised as an autonomous region separate from Star City."
"I appreciate the frankness, but that's simply not-"
Jenkins interrupted Quentin. "Please, hear me out first," he said. Quentin nodded, allowing him to continue, "I'm not going to sugar-coat it, Mr Mayor. The people of The Glades have always been short-changed. We've always suffered the worst and we've been failed time and time again by the administration of this city, most recently when you allowed Cobalt to infiltrate the city and put The Glades back into the ditch which it took years to crawl out of."
"And you think the solution to this is autonomy?" asked Quentin.
"The people no longer want to put their future in the hands of the Star City authorities. They want their own governance, to take control of their own fate."
"I know how bad things are in The Glades, son," interjected Smith, "Trust me, I've seen it with my own eyes. I understand where you're coming from, but nobody could've anticipated the last six months. This movement looks like an awful lot like an overreaction. In time, The Glades will recover."
"Unfortunately, Captain, time is not a commodity that we have," replied Jenkins, "It took decades for someone to finally come along and enact meaningful change, and we're not content with waiting any longer."
"Alright, we understand," said Quentin, "You said you were here to negotiate a plan. Surely you have something in mind?"
"Yes." He pulled out a document from his bag and handed it to Quentin before speaking further. "Other leaders of the movement drew this up with me. It's a detailed plan with terms and conditions that would allow for us to be self-sustaining by the New Year."
Smith cocked his head back. "By the New Year? That's a month and a half away."
"Like I said, we're not waiting any longer. Myself and several others will be on our equivalent of City Council, initially adopting the local legislation of Star City before amending it to our choosing. We'd like for the SCPD to gradually withdraw from The Glades, staying present until our own policing department can stand on their own two feet."
"You're joking, right?" asked Smith, affronted even he though he expected a plan of the sort.
"I'm not asking for us to be completely severed from the rest of the city, we'd still be working very closely with your department and City Council."
"Look, son," said Quentin, dropping the document after only skimming through the first page, "If you came to me with this pitch a year ago, I might've actually considered it. But it's simply not feasible right now."
"Quentin is too nice to say it, but I will," said Smith, "These demands are ridiculous and ludicrous. This has the potential to end horribly and the work that it would take to make The Glades an autonomous region would not be worth the end result."
"I promise you, things will get better. The people of The Glades will regain faith in us and then there won't be a demand for autonomy anymore," said Quentin reassuringly.
Jenkins sighed, exhaling heavily out of frustration. "You better work fast then, Mr Mayor. Tensions are rising and if the people of The Glades don't get what they want soon, they're going to take it."
"Then you better keep them in check," replied Smith.
"I am merely a voice for the people, I do not and cannot control them. The reason I'm here is to prevent this from getting ugly. I'm trying to do this the right way."
"You're trying to do this thing the right way, but have you stopped to think if this is even the right thing to do?" asked Quentin. Without a rebuttal, Jenkins stood up from his seat.
"Thank you for your time, gentlemen," he said, nodding before leaving the boardroom.
"Shush, shush, shush, it's okay, don't cry, don't cry."
Roy pleaded with Liam in vain, who had begun wailing out of the blue.
"Don't cry, Daddy's here, okay? Daddy's here," he said, picking him up from the bassinet. Even though he'd done an extraordinary amount of research on caring for a newborn and had been home for over a week, he still hadn't quite got the hang of carrying an infant yet as he awkwardly held Liam close to him.
With Thea sleeping upstairs, Roy had brought Liam downstairs with him to allow Thea to rest in case he started crying again. Raisa had been staying with them and helping too, but she'd just left to buy groceries, so this was his first time alone with Liam and he had no idea what to do to calm him. Desperate, he pulled out his phone, making a call to Raisa. She didn't answer, so he tried several others.
"Sin, I need your help."
"What's up, Abercrombie? Is that your kid in the background?"
"Yeah, he won't stop crying and Thea is sleeping. How do I get him to stop crying?"
"I don't know! Why are you asking me?"
"I don't know. Sorry, I'm desperate."
"Is he hungry?"
"No, we just fed him."
"His diapers changed?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"I don't know, man. Babies just cry for no reason sometimes."
"Yeah, sure. Okay, thanks for the help."
Roy ended the call, quickly making another one. The person didn't answer, causing it to go to voicemail.
"This is Mia Dearden. Leave a message."
"Mia, you're good with kids, right? You look like you're good with kids. Liam won't stop crying. Just… just tell me how to make him stop crying."
[SEVERAL HOURS LATER]
Oliver opened the door to Thea's loft, carrying two packets of Big Belly Burger with him. He looked to the couches, spotting Roy sitting on one next to the downstairs bassinet.
"Hey, I brought you guys some take-"
"Shh, shh, shh."
Oliver's attention turned to his left. He spotted Raisa seated at the kitchen island, pressing a lip to her finger before pointing back to Roy. Immediately understanding that he was asleep, Oliver tip-toed over towards him, doing his best to make as little noise as he approached.
He couldn't help but grin as he looked at the exhausted, fast asleep Roy before moving to the bassinet. Just like his father, Liam was snoozing. Oliver couldn't help but crack a smile as he looked at the adorable infant.
"I was right… You did turn out pretty cute."