Alright here's the latest. Thank you so so much Bookworm for your reviewage! :) And lipamo I was really touched by the feedback I received from you. I remember in an interview Mandy Patinkin gave, he said family was a key component of the show. I really felt that in the first and second seasons, I wish that I had more in the third. But anyway, I'm glad I'm reflecting it here and glad that it's holding interest. This chapter starts out on the heavy side but I ended it on a lighter note just because. Hope it's liked. More to come soon! :)
"Hi Anita. It's been a long time.", Quinn said, earning a withering stare as Anita shook her head, went to step around him. Rolling his eyes, Quinn blocked her path.
"If you would kindly step aside!"
"After we talk."
"Talk? I'm not going to waste my breath talking to you!", Anita snapped.
"I am going inside to get my grandson. Get him away from the likes of you!"
"The likes of...", Dumbfounded Quinn shook his head.
"Well what about the likes of the bastard who beat him up, who you two just barely escaped?!"
Stunned, Anita froze, looked at him in disbelief.
"How in the world do you-"
"He was afraid Brody or I were going to hit him after he broke a lemonade pitcher. I saw the goddamn bruises on his arm, Anita. I know what happened."
Bowing her head she crossed her arms, blinked back tears.
"I took him away from him, as soon as I found out!"
"You took him from Philadelphia to D.C. You had to get him out of the goddamn state, not just the the house! Which means the fucker meant business, would try and track him down. Not just drown his sorrows at a fucking bar!"
"Your language, John. Please!", Anita exclaimed, swiping a tear away from her eye.
"He would get worse when he drank."
"But the abuse happened when he was sober too.", Quinn spat, shaking his head as another question entered his head. One he wished he didn't need an answer to.
"Did..did the bastard try and hurt Julia-"
"No. No!", Anita assured.
"He never laid a hand on her, John. You knew my daughter, she would not have let him! And she trusted him with J.J. She and this man were to be married. Nothing started to happen until after her funeral.", she said, looking and sounding pained.
"After...he kept coming around the house, offering to help. He told me he wanted to be there, for J.J. I thought nothing of it at the time. I needed someone there while I met with lawyers, went over the terms of her will. I believed my grandson was safe with him. He was going to be his father!"
"Stepfather.", Quinn said coldly.
"It wasn't until J.J told me he feared being in the house alone with him that I started getting suspicious. And then I saw the marks."
"Did J.J tell you anything that he did?"
"No. But Julia told me with her job, she saw horrible cases involving children. Adults who prey on them and hurt, force themselves on...", Anita trailed off as Quinn's jaw clenched.
"I knew what to look for, and I started seeing indications."
"He was a goddamn predator."
Nodding, she wiped another tear before speaking again.
"If I had not intervened, I do not want to think about what could have happened."
"Why the fuck didn't you call a lawyer? Get him put away?"
"Do you not think that I tried! You do not know this man, John. He comes from wealth, he's respected in the community. His family is on good terms with the best lawyers. They have judges in their back pocket. He is protected back home. If we did make a case, anger him, he would have likely won, then retaliated, maybe even sued for custody! Running was the only solution. But I am doing my best to protect J.J."
"Anita, I know we've had our differences. But I want to help you. You have to let me."
"Why? You have known this boy for one night, now you want to ride to his rescue?"
"What choice do I fucking have if he's..."
"If he is yours?", Anita scoffed.
"What does it matter if he is yours? You waived your rights when you were recruited! When you left the country and you broke mija's heart!", she cried.
"Anita, I did what I had to to protect them. The work I do, it's dangerous. It's risky. Especially the assignments I left the country to complete. If a family had been traced back to me they could've been targeted. You all would've, to break or weaken me. I wasn't about to let that happen!"
"Well your protection led Julia into a depression! And led her to marry a man who targeted my only grandchild!"
"So tell me more about him. Besides him being wealthy, having judges on his goddamn payroll there has to be more. Tell me everything you know about him."
"Why?"
"So that I can find him. Trust me, I'm not about to let a sick bastard like him get within a mile of J.J again, or any kid for that matter."
"And how will you make that happen?", Anita asked before the answer dawned on her. Eyes narrowed she looked at Quinn with a mix of horror and disgust.
"This is your line of work? You kill?"
"Anita..."
"Taking another life is a mortal sin!"
"Julia was a cop, you think she wouldn't have pulled her gun on a perp? You think if she'd been able to she wouldn't have gunned down her murderer?"
"Mija carried, but never fired her weapon. Her partner understood her beliefs. He protected her."
"Until two fucking months ago.", Quinn spat as Anita's eyes iced over.
"You listen to me, John. I have dealt with enough blood and weapons and hurt and hate these past two months. It has been agony for me. I did not come here to seek you out or seek out your help. Especially that kind of help! Regardless of what this monster is or has done, I will not sic you and your guns on him so you can shoot him like a dog. I could not live with that sin on my conscience."
"Anita, this is what I can do for J.J. This is all I can do for him.", Quinn said with a pleading look in his eyes, but Anita was unaffected.
"Then stay away from him then! Stay away like you have done all this time! I will protect him without resorting to taking a life!", she snapped before brushing past him to the front door, calling for J.J, then rushing him over to the car.
Witnessing the whole scene, the defeated expression on Quinn's face, Brody approached him, tapped him on the shoulder.
"What the fuck do you want?"
"I just wanted to see if you wanted to come back in? See Farrah for awhile? She's still awake and if anyone out there could help take your mind off things."
Letting out a heavy sigh Quinn shook his head.
"I appreciate the offer. You're probably right, but I think it's time I get out of here. Get home."
"No, I understand, I do.", Brody said before reaching into his pocket.
"Before you go though, here."
Taking the slip of paper from him, Quinn frowned, squinted at the writing in green ink.
"Who the fuck uses green pen? Jesus."
"Sorry, was the first one I stumbled across. I called Zahira while the kids were watching the movie. Asked her about the conversation she had with Anita? She told me she asked her to keep an eye out for a man named Dominic. Let her know if she ever saw him at the community center."
"Holy shit."
"It's not much, she just had the first name. But at least it's something to go off of."
"Thanks. Really, Brody. She wouldn't have told me his name in a million years."
"Track the fucker down, Quinn. Pull some strings, do whatever you have to. And know I'm more than willing to help."
"I know. Thanks.", Quinn said gruffly.
"Tell Farrah I'm sorry I couldn't stick around. I'll see her soon though, okay."
"Sure. I'll tell her.", Brody assured as Quinn nodded, started walking back towards his car. Once there he leaned up against the side of it, lit up his last cigarette with one hand and reached for his phone with the other, started texting.
"Galvez, meet me at the coffeeshop closest to Langley tomorrow before work. It's fucking urgent."
...
"Ha! Farrah look, the minions are on again.", Brody laughed, pointing to the little yellow creatures on the screen that the character voiced by Steve Carrell was scolding.
"That's what they're called, right? Minions?", he asked, only to realize she'd gone slack against his right arm. Looking down he saw she was softly snoring, out like a light.
Shaking his head, after switching the TV off along with the lamp, he stood up and hoisted Farrah over his shoulder. Carrying her through the hallway and then up the steps to her room. Grateful she was in her pajamas already, still holding her he pulled the comforter and covers back, then set her down against the pillows, tucking her in with Merriweather and Marvin both.
"Night, Farrah.", he smiled, brushing some hair off her face before stepping out, switching on the nightlight before shutting the door.
Quietly he went back downstairs, straightening up and locking up before hitting the remaining lights, going upstairs to Carrie's room. Most of his things were here but he was still living out of his duffle bag in the corner.
He knew eventually he'd have to unpack, get used to his new living arrangements but right now it felt strange disrupting her stuff, moving into her house when she wasn't there to move in with.
Once changing, climbing into bed, he tried not to dwell on everything about Quinn and J.J but it was proving impossible not to. All the heated conversations and revelations were weighing on his mind, to the point that he doubted even praying would bring him peace. What he wanted to do was talk to Carrie but he knew that wasn't going to happen at 10:30 at night.
Closing his eyes he rolled over, shut his eyes. Luckily the smell of her shampoo that permeated the pillow managed to lull him to sleep. No sooner did he drift off though did he hear a noise and a knock. Sitting up in bed he heard, saw the door creak open.
"Nick?"
"Farrah? Hey what...what happened?", he asked as she ran over and hugged him, sniffled against his shoulder.
"Lemme guess. Bad dream?"
"Yes. And I hear noise."
"Noise? What kind of a noise?"
"It loud. Scary. Like monster in dream."
"A monster, huh? Are you sure he wasn't a nice monster? Like one of the minions?"
"No! He mean."
"What was the monster doing, camping out under the bed?"
"No, in closet."
"The closet, huh? Well I think I know how to take care of this."
Scooping her up he carried her over to her room and after setting her on the bed, grabbed a pillow.
"What you doing?", Farrah frowned, picking up Calvin as she watched Brody plop down on the rug, sit in front of the closet.
"You said the monster was in your closet, right?"
"Yes."
"Well, monsters in your closet are gonna want to get out. But so long as I sit here, they can't escape. So they'll get bored and go away. It's a fact."
"How they go away?"
"The monster back door. It's the part in the way back of your closet that you shove stuff into and never clean up.", Brody said matter of factly as Farrah snorted, rolled her eyes.
"You silly."
"Well if I'm so silly then I guess I can't keep the monsters away, can I?", he asked, arching a brow as he went to stand up but Farrah shook her head, eyes wide.
"No! No you stay. You stay there.", she ordered, climbing back into bed as she pulled the sheets back over her.
"Well if you insist. ", Brody smiled, putting the pillow down before stretching out on his side in front of the closet door. Shutting his eyes before he heard something soft land near his head.
"Blanket. So you no get cold."
"Thank you. G'night, brat."
"You brat.", Farrah giggled as he cleared his throat, arched a brow. Prompted her to correct herself.
"Night Nick.", she smiled, switching off the lamp.