A/N: Merci to villianbabe, Kushelkitten and Barbayat for your great
reviews!
A/N #2: A twist in this chapter, readers. Let me know what you think of it when you review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.
XVI
Crown's Version
Dylan
The office was plunged into silence for a few minutes before Ryder cried, "Caty, what are you doing here?"
"You guys are making a huge mistake," Crown said, ignoring her fiancee.
"What are you talking about?" Alex asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
"I know that you think I was in on the robbery," Crown snapped.
"Ms. Crown," Charlie then said. "Why don't you have a seat and tell us your side of the story."
Crown walked into the office and sat down in the armchair that Ryder had been sitting in earlier. She looked at each of us as Natalie, Alex and I sat down on the couch. Then she said, "I know that you think I let Norris take the paintings for Black Ice, but you've got it all wrong."
"So you did let Norris take the paintings?" I asked her.
"Yes, b-but I had to," Crown said. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she placed her face in her hands.
Ryder, looking shocked, pulled out a handkerchief from his suit pocket. He walked over to Crown and handed it to her.
"Thanks," Crown whispered to him. When she got her tears under control, she continued talking. "What you need to understand about Norris is that he was blackmailing me."
"Why?" Natalie asked gently.
"I-it was something that happened about five years ago in Hawaii," Crown said.
That news hit me like a ton of bricks. Then it all came together in my mind. Hawaii, Norris, Crown. I looked into the woman's eyes.
They were a familiar green.
"Oh my god," I murmured.
Everyone looked over at me in surprise, I kept my eyes on Crown.
"Dylan?" I heard Anthony ask next to me.
"Y-you're Edward Norris' daughter?" I whispered hoarsely.
Crown's eyes widened in surprise and then she nodded. "Yes. And Jacob is my brother," she said.
"Half brother?" I asked, surprised to find that my voice was trembling.
"No, my full brother," Crown answered, looking confused. "Our mom and dad were the same people. Why do you ask?"
"Oh shit," I said. Then I got up from the couch and ran out the office door. I stumbled out onto the little grassy area behind the Agency. I walked over to the stone bench that was under a small willow tree and sat down.
A few minutes later, I heard the door that I had come out of open. I didn't bother to look up; I know who it was.
"I'm sorry you had to find that out n-now," Anthony said as he sat down next to me.
"It's not your fault," I said. Then I said. "This is getting to be an awful habit. I'm afraid that next Ryder will be telling me he's my uncle or something like that."
"Will you tell her?" Anthony asked.
I thought about that seriously for a few moments before answering. "I'll wait until she finishes her story," I said.
Anthony nodded and stood up. Then he took my hands and helped me get off the bench. Before we turned to go back into the Agency, he kissed me softly on the lips.
I walked into the office first. As soon as I did, Natalie, Alex, Bosley and Charlie bombarded me with the same question.
"Are you okay Dylan?"
"Are you feelin' okay girl?"
" Are you all right Dylan?"
"I hope everything is okay Dylan."
"I'm fine you guys," I said in a reassuring tone. "Ms. Crown, you can continue with your story."
Crown took a few minutes to think before she spoke. "As I said Norris has been blackmailing me for five years now," she said. "He found out that I had had an affair with my boss at the company I worked at in Hawaii. And... that I had stolen money from the company to buy a house."
"And your father found this out and started blackmailing you?" Alex asked.
"Norris is an opportunist," Crown answered bitterly. "At first he demanded money from me."
"Where did you get it from?" Natalie asked.
"Because of my affair, I received a promotion at work after Norris started blackmailing me," Crown said. "The pay that I got went to him to keep the affair and the theft secret. About two years after that, I quit my job and moved with Norris and Jacob from Hawaii to here.
I became the head of the Board of Directors at the Getty a month after we got here. Then I met Adam at a party soon after and I moved out of the mansion Norris had bought."
"Did you still have to pay your father?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, but I did it in secret," Crown answered. "And I didn't keep in touch with Norris or Jacob after I left the mansion except for sending the money. Then, three weeks ago, Norris came to my office at the museum. He said he wanted a different kind of payment from me."
"The paintings," I said.
Crown looked at me and nodded. "At first, I said no of course. But he insisted, saying that if i didn't help Jacob with the robbery, he'd tell Adam what I had done in Hawaii," she then said. "So I gave into him and I came back here with Jacob the night of the robbery. And I helped him steal the paintings."
"But Paige Newman said that you were at her house that night," Natalie said.
"I asked her to lie for me," Crown said.
"What has Norris done with the paintings?" Ryder asked quietly.
"I don't know," Crown answered. "I haven't seen or talked to Norris or Jacob since the robbery."
"Why the Black Ice on the walls?" Alex asked.
"To throw the police off," Crown said. "Jacob thought they would concentrate on the stuff on the walls and look at the better known Black Ice dealers here in LA."
"How did you guys get into building two?" Natalie asked.
"I shut off the alarm in that building and in building three," Crown explained. "We also moved the skylight to trick the police."
Everyone fell silent for a few moments before I stood up.
"Charlie," I said. "Is it alright if I speak to Ms. Crown outside?"
"Go ahead Dylan," Charlie answered warmly.
Confusion on her face, Crown got up from the armchair and followed me out to the grassy area behind the building. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"I need to tell you something," I said. I cleared my throat nervously. "Did Norris ever tell you about the daughter he had with a woman named Lily Zaas?"
"Yes, he has told me about that," Crown answered.
"Well, Lily Zaas was my mother and Norris is my father. I'm that daughter in the story. Catherine, I'm your half sister," I said.
A/N #2: A twist in this chapter, readers. Let me know what you think of it when you review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie's Angels or its characters.
XVI
Crown's Version
Dylan
The office was plunged into silence for a few minutes before Ryder cried, "Caty, what are you doing here?"
"You guys are making a huge mistake," Crown said, ignoring her fiancee.
"What are you talking about?" Alex asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
"I know that you think I was in on the robbery," Crown snapped.
"Ms. Crown," Charlie then said. "Why don't you have a seat and tell us your side of the story."
Crown walked into the office and sat down in the armchair that Ryder had been sitting in earlier. She looked at each of us as Natalie, Alex and I sat down on the couch. Then she said, "I know that you think I let Norris take the paintings for Black Ice, but you've got it all wrong."
"So you did let Norris take the paintings?" I asked her.
"Yes, b-but I had to," Crown said. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she placed her face in her hands.
Ryder, looking shocked, pulled out a handkerchief from his suit pocket. He walked over to Crown and handed it to her.
"Thanks," Crown whispered to him. When she got her tears under control, she continued talking. "What you need to understand about Norris is that he was blackmailing me."
"Why?" Natalie asked gently.
"I-it was something that happened about five years ago in Hawaii," Crown said.
That news hit me like a ton of bricks. Then it all came together in my mind. Hawaii, Norris, Crown. I looked into the woman's eyes.
They were a familiar green.
"Oh my god," I murmured.
Everyone looked over at me in surprise, I kept my eyes on Crown.
"Dylan?" I heard Anthony ask next to me.
"Y-you're Edward Norris' daughter?" I whispered hoarsely.
Crown's eyes widened in surprise and then she nodded. "Yes. And Jacob is my brother," she said.
"Half brother?" I asked, surprised to find that my voice was trembling.
"No, my full brother," Crown answered, looking confused. "Our mom and dad were the same people. Why do you ask?"
"Oh shit," I said. Then I got up from the couch and ran out the office door. I stumbled out onto the little grassy area behind the Agency. I walked over to the stone bench that was under a small willow tree and sat down.
A few minutes later, I heard the door that I had come out of open. I didn't bother to look up; I know who it was.
"I'm sorry you had to find that out n-now," Anthony said as he sat down next to me.
"It's not your fault," I said. Then I said. "This is getting to be an awful habit. I'm afraid that next Ryder will be telling me he's my uncle or something like that."
"Will you tell her?" Anthony asked.
I thought about that seriously for a few moments before answering. "I'll wait until she finishes her story," I said.
Anthony nodded and stood up. Then he took my hands and helped me get off the bench. Before we turned to go back into the Agency, he kissed me softly on the lips.
I walked into the office first. As soon as I did, Natalie, Alex, Bosley and Charlie bombarded me with the same question.
"Are you okay Dylan?"
"Are you feelin' okay girl?"
" Are you all right Dylan?"
"I hope everything is okay Dylan."
"I'm fine you guys," I said in a reassuring tone. "Ms. Crown, you can continue with your story."
Crown took a few minutes to think before she spoke. "As I said Norris has been blackmailing me for five years now," she said. "He found out that I had had an affair with my boss at the company I worked at in Hawaii. And... that I had stolen money from the company to buy a house."
"And your father found this out and started blackmailing you?" Alex asked.
"Norris is an opportunist," Crown answered bitterly. "At first he demanded money from me."
"Where did you get it from?" Natalie asked.
"Because of my affair, I received a promotion at work after Norris started blackmailing me," Crown said. "The pay that I got went to him to keep the affair and the theft secret. About two years after that, I quit my job and moved with Norris and Jacob from Hawaii to here.
I became the head of the Board of Directors at the Getty a month after we got here. Then I met Adam at a party soon after and I moved out of the mansion Norris had bought."
"Did you still have to pay your father?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, but I did it in secret," Crown answered. "And I didn't keep in touch with Norris or Jacob after I left the mansion except for sending the money. Then, three weeks ago, Norris came to my office at the museum. He said he wanted a different kind of payment from me."
"The paintings," I said.
Crown looked at me and nodded. "At first, I said no of course. But he insisted, saying that if i didn't help Jacob with the robbery, he'd tell Adam what I had done in Hawaii," she then said. "So I gave into him and I came back here with Jacob the night of the robbery. And I helped him steal the paintings."
"But Paige Newman said that you were at her house that night," Natalie said.
"I asked her to lie for me," Crown said.
"What has Norris done with the paintings?" Ryder asked quietly.
"I don't know," Crown answered. "I haven't seen or talked to Norris or Jacob since the robbery."
"Why the Black Ice on the walls?" Alex asked.
"To throw the police off," Crown said. "Jacob thought they would concentrate on the stuff on the walls and look at the better known Black Ice dealers here in LA."
"How did you guys get into building two?" Natalie asked.
"I shut off the alarm in that building and in building three," Crown explained. "We also moved the skylight to trick the police."
Everyone fell silent for a few moments before I stood up.
"Charlie," I said. "Is it alright if I speak to Ms. Crown outside?"
"Go ahead Dylan," Charlie answered warmly.
Confusion on her face, Crown got up from the armchair and followed me out to the grassy area behind the building. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"I need to tell you something," I said. I cleared my throat nervously. "Did Norris ever tell you about the daughter he had with a woman named Lily Zaas?"
"Yes, he has told me about that," Crown answered.
"Well, Lily Zaas was my mother and Norris is my father. I'm that daughter in the story. Catherine, I'm your half sister," I said.