A/N Hey guys! Some familial bonding for you, and then we'll step back into the big boy criminal shoes! Thanks for comments!
"No, you know what? Just for that, I donate my share to the kid," he said with a smirk. "Take that."
"Ugh, fine, it's not like I'm the alcoholic I used to be anyway," Lorna snorted, and Ratree looked like she could relate. She wondered if there was a story there. "There's worse things to have to give up."
"Name three, you attempted-scotch-hoarder," Keira smirked.
"Sex, food, and murder," Sebastian retorted. "But goddamn am I going to miss scotch." He poured himself a glass of water, instead, for something to sip on, and sighed. "Fucking cancer," he muttered again, before looking up at Ratree. "So. How much of a prick was Holmes?"
Ratree made a thoughtful sound, leaning back in her chair. "He was... Polite on the outside, but also very condescending. Told me nothing useful, mostly. Just said I was needed, to help you."
"And you... Just... What, agreed?" he asked, raising a slow eyebrow. "Did he pay you?"
"No. I don't need money, anyways. Or anything else Mycroft could offer me. Except you. He promised that I would get close enough to have a chance at something like this." Ratree gave a small, sad, lonely smile. "I'm sure the two of you know what it's like to reach the top of your field and find there's no one else there with you." Lorna made a noise of agreement into her scotch. "So he offered what I could not get on my own. A chance at company."
Sebastian made an affirmative hm noise, and sipped at his water, wishing desperately it were higher proof. He shoved the scotch bottle toward Keira with a look that said one of us may as well.
"Do you have any other family?"
Keira beamed and poured themself a new serving. Ratree shook her head. "Not anymore. When I went into escorting I lost what little I had left. This was all some time ago now, of course."
He nodded. "Suppose that makes sense. People can be assholes that way." He smirked. "You've handled my chosen occupation a good deal better than most."
She shrugged lightly. "When you lay in bed with politicians or other rich men looking for a thrill, you see all sorts of scary things. I've caught glimpses of happenings similar to these before."
He nodded, his expression something shadowing approval. "You know, I feel like it shouldn't surprise me that Riordan slept with call girls, but it does a little."
Lorna snorted into her scotch, somewhat bitterly. It didn't surprise her at all. Keira winced a little, obviously having remembered what exactly Riordan had been capable of, and stuffed a bite of steak swiftly into their mouth. Ratree looked like she wanted to ask, but was unsure if she should. "...Riordan did what he wanted, damn the consequences for a normal man," was all Ratree said for the moment, though the questioning look hadn't quite faded away.
"Oh, he did," Seb agreed. "Probably where I got that particular trait, though I'm seeing it a bit in you, too." He stood up. "I want coffee." He headed for the kitchen. "Anyone else?" He ignored her questioning look for the moment, debating how much to go into, and how much Lorna would want him going into during 'family dinner'.
"Me. Actually- I'll help get it," Keira said quickly and a little awkwardly, following Sebastian as the women met eyes and said nothing about coffee. Lorna inhaled through her nose and looked Ratree square in the eyes. Family dinner, yes. Their family dinner, also yes. Fuck it. She was going to find out at some point.
"Riordan locked me in a factory office's basement for three months, maybe slightly longer, and tortured me in... various ways." Lorna cleared her throat, looking away, down at her dwindling glass of scotch. "Sexual included. Funny, and very inappropriate, but we've actually slept with the same man. If you can call it that," she added, though she lifted her glass in a grim cheer.
"Jesus Christ," Ratree breathed, sitting back and finishing her drink in one go, closing her eyes. "You did ask if I wanted to know everything. I do. I just..." She shook her head and opened her eyes. "Sometimes it makes me wonder why I escaped. The more I learn about him, the more surprised I am that he only took Sebastian."
Lorna shrugged a little, downing what was left of her own drink. "I say this in the best possible way, Ratree, but.. Maybe he didn't want you. You have a mind of your own, but you'd never done anything to him. Stealing your son wasn't to hurt you, I'd bet. It was just for his own personal gain. I'd hospitalized him, prior to this... Treatment I received. What he gave me was revenge. Maybe I earned it, I don't know," she shook her head slightly, then lifted a hand to push a strand of dark hair back into place. It lingered on her cheek, a finger resting in the small divot left behind from the scar Riordan had put on her face. "You got away with minimal damage. Some emotional, I'm sure, but... Well, maybe count yourself lucky, hm?" She chuckled dryly.
"I do," she said quickly, sitting back just a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't intend to imply... I.." She trailed off, but Sebastian's voice cut into the awkward silence she fell into.
"Don't let her harass you too much. She still brags about killing him. Best fun she's had in years." The jab was playful, almost tactful if you were drunk and squinted properly.
"If you'd killed him half-starved with his own belt, you'd brag about it too," Lorna shot back, stuffing down the memory of a desperate struggle. She fought back the chill that tried to run down her spine.
Keira whistled. "That's how it went down? Christ, Harrison, you're tougher than you look." They sat at the table with their coffee.
"Thanks," Lorna said sarcastically. "Seb, are you going to complain if I effusively tell your mother about our wedding for a few minutes or should I save that for another time?"
"Oh, good, we do have one non-murder thing to talk about. Are you sure you want to blow it now, or should you save it for christmas dinner?" he asked with a touch of sarcasm, sipping his coffee slowly.
"Already promised I wouldn't make Keira do Christmas, so now is fine," Lorna smirked, winking at Keira. Keira gave her a hesitant thumbs up, like they weren't sure if Lorna could be believed but knew better than to poke the bear of Christmas dinner. Lorna turned in her seat to face Ratree, a genuine smile coming onto her face. "Okay, so, you'll never believe where it was..."
An hour later, they were all sprawled around the living room, sipping on scotch or coffee. "I'm just saying that everyone should know how to fire a weapon," Sebastian was muttering.
"I don't like guns," Ratree retorted. "I can handle myself just fine with a knife."
"Okay, compromise," Lorna suggested, half in Sebastian's lap, another scotch held loosely in her hand, "If you don't know how to throw knives, at least let me teach you that. Guns are mostly useful for the range, darling. Otherwise I'd never have bothered to learn the ghastly things myself."
Keira raised their eyebrows. "I thought you liked guns?"
"I like what guns do. They're also loud as hell. I value my hearing the way it is."
"Don't let her fool you," Sebastian snorted. "She loves the guns. Just not the noise."
"I would gladly learn how to throw them," Ratree agreed, amused.
Lorna elbowed Sebastian with medium force, shooting him a dirty look, and then grinned over at Ratree. "Good! I'll find some evenin' I'm free and we'll inconvenience everyone in the sparring room. I'll steal a target from the gun range. It'll be fun!" She raised her scotch a little and did a fairly-tipsy little wiggle in Sebastian's lap to show her enthusiasm. She pointed a finger at Seb. "You - don't let me forget to put it in my calendar tomorrow. No way I'm typin' anythin' on my phone tonight."
"You could just throw at the gun range," Moran pointed out. Keira got up to pour themself another glass of something, but Seb glared at them and they sat again, looking vaguely sullen."I could, but then I'm not giving Ratree the status of bein' involved with us. Me, in this instance, but still. No one but the medical team knows who she is. I don't want anyone to harass her, thinkin' she's some new recruit. Me, clearing out the trainin' room? That'll let the building know no one should fuck with her," Lorna shrugged, downing her scotch and setting it down by her leg on the couch before shifting to burrow into Sebastian more.
Ratree raised her eyebrows. "No one's given me trouble so far."
"And they won't," Sebastian said with a shrug. "They've been given a memo. But if you want to show her off, Lorna, then by all means."
"Who else am I gonna show off, Magpie?" Lorna chuckled tipsily, shrugging lightly, her head resting in the crook of Seb's shoulder and neck.
"Where is shinyfuck, anyway?" he grumbled, looking around. "Hiding? I would have thought she'd been on top of Keira the instant they came through the door."
"I locked her in the other room so she wouldn't steal leftover steak off the table, but if Keira wants to watch her, they're welcome to," Lorna mumbled into Sebastian's neck, waving her hand in the direction of the office, where she'd shut in Magpie.
Ratree took a sip of her coffee, then asked, "How did the two of you end up with a cat, anyway?"
"Murder," Sebastian sighed as Keira stood up amd headed over to the office. "How else? Jim had given us a mark as a present... I don't remember what for, but we'd done something right, and just as we were getting somewhere interesting the little shit showed up and ruined the evening." There was almost a hint of fondness in the tone, but not much.
Ratree laughed softly, and smiled as Keira came back into the room holding the black cat. "She is awfully cute, isn't she. I've never had a pet before, but I'm starting to see the appeal."
"You can babysit sometime if you want," Lorna hummed, sitting up off Sebastian a little as the cat was brought closer and making her usual "seeing-the-cat-" baby noises. "Hi baby! Keira- bring her to me, I must kiss 'er little head."
"Am I cat transportation service now?" Keira asked, walking over to present the not-so-kitten-anymore for inspection.
"I'm technically the boss of everyone in here, so you better be careful wha' you joke about before I make it true," Lorna snickered, though she had a big grin on her face for Magpie, who looked relatively content to being held by Keira, who had long since been deemed an acceptable cat companion. Lorna kissed Magpie thrice on her little kitty face and then let Keira go back to their seat with the cat.
Ratree raised her hand slightly. "Even me?"
"Yes, technically even you," Sebastian said with a slight nod. "Commander Scotch here is in charge of everyone in the network. As a guest of the network currently living on our property, that does- to an extent- include you, though with less restriction."
"Don't worry, I'm much nicer than Sebastian was," Lorna said in a stage-whisper, curling back up with her husband anyways. "Don't tell any of my underlings that, though. I'll have to start a campaign of fear."
Sebastian's mother smiled a little, amused. Keira started playing with Magpie on the floor, with a piece of string they'd found.
"Don't worry, I'll just continue mine for you," he rumbled comfortably. "I have to reestablish my reputation anyway. People will think I've gone soft."
"I do so enjoy yours, anyway," she chuckled back, a dreamy quality to her words. "Johnson was a favorite, I have to say."
"What's up with that bloke, anyway? Seems to have a reasonable standing in the organization, but he sees me and becomes one hell of a pushover," Keira snorted, shaking their head. Lorna gave an evil little snicker.
"He probably thinks you look like your dad, who very creatively maimed him while putting him in his place vis a vis who gets to claim they'd be a better partner for me than this one," she said, patting Sebastian on the chest twice.
"I cut his cock off with a shard of metal in the middle of Hits," Seb clarified.
"Jesus," Keira hissed. Ratree also flinched. Keira shook their head. "No fucking wonder I get a wide berth."
Lorna laughed. "As the person who was being hit on incessantly while half-starved and strung out, it was cathartic to watch. But yes, I'm not surprised."
"Ugh," Ratree muttered. "There is nothing worse than a man who will not take a hint, and thinks he's god's gift to women."
"He no longer operates under that illusion," Seb said with a small smirk.
Lorna gave another chuckle, obviously in agreement, though apparently didn't feel the need to add anything, just watching Keira play with Magpie on the other side of the room. There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Then Ratree said, "What about you, Lorna? Any family?"
She sighed, lifting a hand to rub carefully at one of her eyes, trying to avoid smearing her makeup. "I killed my brother because he tried to kill Sebastian, actually. The network took out my mother. Everyone else was already gone. Oh, except my absentee dad - Seb killed him. No loss, really, there."
Keira gave Lorna a look like they were evaluating what the fuck she had just said, but Ratree was evidently becoming inured. "Not a fan of him, I take it?"
Lorna shrugged. "He was never around. I've killed people, or watched people be killed who actually meant something to me. This asshole walked out on me and then walked back in and told me how to live my life. Unbelievable. Worst thing about his death was the inconvenience of getting the carpet replaced."
"Right over there," Moran said, nodding back toward what was now their dining room. "Stain the size of a kiddie pool."
Keira whistled. "I don't think my younger self knew how close of a call it was, asking for help from you two."
"You absolutely did not," Moran snorted. "I'm still not exactly sure how you managed to survive us and Jim."
"I know," Lorna scoffed, poking Sebastian's chest. "You decided you were keeping them and that was it. They toed the line the rest of the way so they didn't get killed by Jim. What was I gonna do, kill 'em after you decided to try the 'father' thing out? Pfft."
Keira laughed, until they got a glare from Moran and stifled it. "You bought me a motorcycle," they said defensively.
"Yes yes, you're very precious," he said, voice dripping sarcasm.
"Don't be a poor sport, darling," Lorna hummed, leaning up a little to plant a kiss on his jaw, looking up at him mischievously for a moment before relaxing again, resting her head on his chest again. Keira gagged in the corner, though obviously it was mostly for show, judging by the slight chuckle at the end of it.
"Far be it from me to be a poor sport," he snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Did you ever play sports?" Ratree asked casually.
"Me?" Sebastian asked with an incredulous noise. "No. No, I was too busy getting into trouble."
"He was too busy being in gangs," Lorna grinned.
"Riordan let you get away with that?" Ratree asked, a little surprised. "I suppose I assumed he'd have more of an iron fist than that."
He smirked just slightly. "He didn't have much of a choice," he said, shrugging. "I had enough blackmail on him by that point that letting me be in a gang was preferable to me tanking his political career."
His mother snorted softly. "Well, it's nice to hear not everything went how he planned it," she said with a slight shake of her head. She looked back at them again. "What about your sister's mother? Do you know anything about her? My own sick curiosity wants to know if she was anything like me, I suppose."
He shook his head a little. "Not much. From what I can tell she was fairly normal. They didn't know about me, I never met them as a kid, never met her at all. Just my sister." Without his really noticing, he started absently tracing the words along one arm.
Lorna was in a good position to see his hands, considering she was curled up into his side, and she poked him softly in the side to call his attention to it before any blood was drawn. "What a piece of work she ended up being regardless," she said derisively, some venom to her words. That was the woman who had turned her over to Riordan and had committed Sebastian to three months in a tiny root cellar. "We were lucky either of us recovered from what that woman did to us, directly or indirectly."
Ratree nodded a little, tapping a finger soundlessly on the edge of her coffee mug. "It's hard to predict who someone will end up being on upbringing alone."
"Do you think so?" Sebastian asked with genuine interest, forcing his hand to still despite the burning desire to finish the phrase, at least. "I look at my sister and I and think that we're very predictable."
"You said you think her upbringing was normal? How did it lead her to run into you, then?" Ratree asked curiously, tilting her head to the side a little. "If she was raised in a normal manner, shouldn't she have gone off to do normal people things?"
"She was raised by Riordan," Sebastian said with a slight shake of his head. "I very much doubt that that was completely normal. Either way, she wanted to go into politics. Lorna and I were liabilities."
Ratree made a conceding movement with her head. "Maybe you're right. But I had a normal upbringing. Stifling, maybe, but normal. I still became a call girl, and I still transitioned into, hm, shady dealings with money anyway. It's hard to say what causes someone to be a deviant from the norm. Maybe it's in our blood."
Lorna snorted a little in agreement. "My family certainly tracks with it being in our blood, though I suppose our upbringings weren't normal either."
"Mine was normal, until my mom and my stepdad died," Keira chimed in, thoughtful, "I just happened to be good enough with a gun to warrant a network talent agent picking me up."
"Another count for 'in the blood,' there," Sebastian pointed out with a smirk. "If you couldn't shoot I might not have kept you."
Keira rolled their eyes. "And yet here we are, with you retired."
"Yeah, and I hope you'll keep on top of getting checked for the same reason he's retired," Lorna replied with a snort, followed by a yawn. She lifted a hand to check her watch. "Alright, I have to actually work tomorrow. Does the family have any other burning questions about our exploits they need to get off their chest before the night is over?"
"Plenty of questions, but none that can't wait until the next time we all get drunk," Ratree said with a smile, standing. "I imagine certain things will be a long story. If it weren't all a security risk, I'd say you two should write a book."
Lorna chuckled, and nodded. "It'd make for something of a story, wouldn't it? I'd show you out, but I'm.. quite tipsy," she added, and Keira gave Magpie one last pet and stood too.
"I think we can handle it," they said dryly.
Ratree laughed. "Come on," she agreed, heading toward the door. "Thank you both for dinner. This was a good night. But now I feel like going for a walk. It's only ten. Keira, any good ice cream places around here?"
"There's a good one a few blocks away," they said, waving to Sebastian and Lorna before opening the door and heading out into the hall. "But I'm not sure they're open-"
Ratree followed, and their conversation was cut off by the door swinging shut. Sebastian rolled his eyes, then rubbed Lorna's shoulder. "Bed, you."
She groaned, eyeing the doorway to the bedroom. "It's so far, though."
He rolled his eyes and stood, considering her for just a moment before stooping to pick her up. It wasn't nearly so effortless a thing as it once was, but he managed it without too much trouble, and headed for the bedroom.
"Thanks, Tiger," she mumbled, already deciding she was probably going to sleep in her makeup. "Love you."
"I love you, too," he said, voice low. "Now stop being sentimental and go to sleep." Tiger bounced around his head slowly, warmly, something he'd been missing settling into place.
She passed out a few seconds after he put her in bed, still in her dress and makeup, full of warmth - both liquor and love.
Four more months passed in their new normal. Lorna went on jobs when needed, but mostly supervised Grifting and learned to step better into her new role as overall chief of staff. Sebastian continued to consult on security measures, and gave Keira guidance when they needed it in Hits. Jim built up their defenses, trying to protect from an attack from Euros, or Holmes, should the wind change in that direction. He watched for Armetti. He knew that whatever had happened to Armetti was important - it was part of Euros' plan. He just didn't know how.
So when Armetti was spotted in England, he started preparing to mobilize. That was when the message came in.
I want to speak to her. - V.A.
Attached was an address to an old army base in Surrey. The address was familiar, and he wasn't sure why for a second, until he recognized it as the base where Moran had been trained.
Jim stared at the message for all of a minute before pressing the button on his intercom. "Harrison, Moran, my office."
Sebastian looked up as a member of security stepped into the range, waiting for his attention. He lowered his gun, stepped back, pulled off his headphones. "Yes?"
"The boss has sent for you and Harrison, sir."
He didn't respond, just holstered his gun, setting the headphones aside and walking for the exit to the range.
By the time he reached the door to Jim's office a few minutes later, Lorna was already waiting. "Any idea what this is about?"
"Considering it's probably not a booty call and I haven't seen anything on Holmes cross my desk, could be anything. But I'm betting Euros related, as much as I hate the idea," Lorna sighed, straightening her shirt absently. She looked at him and raised her eyebrows slightly. "Ready?"
"Never am," he said with a smirk, and pushed the door open.
Someone was waiting for them immediately beyond the door. Moran's gun was out and leveled before he processed that it was Jim, standing just inside the door, evidently waiting impatiently for them to decide to come through. Seb sighed and lowered the gun, though he didn't put it away. "Jim..."
"If I had time for you two to be clucking like hens I'd have come and retrieved you myself," Jim scoffed, turning smoothly on his heel and heading for his desk. "Armetti was spotted. In England. In fact, he's sent us an address and a letter," he reached his desk, and leaned against the front of it, pointing at Lorna, "mentioning you. He wants to talk. I'm inclined to admit our best bet is sending you."
Lorna took a breath, following after him and standing behind one of the chairs, her hand on the back of it. "I don't think we have a choice at this point, do we?"
Moran made an incredulous noise. "You decided that off of five seconds of pseudo-information? The boss is that fast, you aren't. You going to meet with Armetti is never a good idea. Jim-" he said, turning to the smaller man. "He's volatile. He killed his whole network. This isn't tea and biscuits."
Lorna shot Moran a look, but Jim was opening his mouth to speak, so she said nothing. "She'll have backup," Jim said, as if that should have been obvious. "And so far, he's cultivated such an enormous weak point for her that I doubt she'll come to harm. But we need to know what he's been up to, and I highly doubt he's going to just offer us up that information at this point. If he knows what Euros is up to - which I suspect he does - he's even more valuable. What else do you propose, Moran? This is her job."
Lorna cleared her throat, an irritated noise. "He's right, it is. I'm not saying I don't want backup - I do. But Sebastian..." she shook her head. "We're going to have to take some risk."
"I understand risk," he growled. "But walking, invited, into enemy territory? And who's going to be your backup? Because unless it's me- and I..." He trailed off, then shook his head, voice a touch quieter as he continued. "I can't- reliably- right now. Not yet. If it's not me, I don't trust them."
Jim crossed his arms over his chest. "Not yet? Possibly not ever, Tiger, if we're being realistic," he said calmly, dark eyes locked on his former bodyguard. "But this can't wait forever. I need to know where he's been and what's been going through his head. Is she perfectly safe in this scenario? Of course not. But it's him, and, more importantly, it's her. We'll sweep with thermal before we send her in, make sure there isn't an ambush of twenty men inside. But Armetti is, at this point, nearly a cripple - by your own hand. I think she can put him in the ground. Don't you?" He raised his eyebrows, and Lorna, surprised at this show of confidence from Jim but perfectly willing to capitalize on it, also gave Sebastian the raised eyebrows.
He hated that, the look they both gave him. Because they weren't looking for his permission, for his approval. His word didn't matter. They had decided, and he could do nothing to change that or keep Lorna safer. He was retired. Done.
He felt something in him- whatever the beast of fury that had kept him going for so long was, it hit a wall it knew it couldn't move. A wall he had no right or reason to move. It was oddly excruciating.
"I'm sure she can, boss," he said, his voice full of tension, like a bowstring about to snap.
"It's not like I'm raring to go see the asshole," Lorna sighed, dropping the look. Tension was rolling off him in waves, now. "But I don't think we have a choice. I don't love casting myself into the line of fire, but," she shrugged, "If it's what we have to do..."
"Then do it," Moran said, waving her off. "Jim agrees. What's the plan? Where does Armetti want to meet?"
Lorna sighed inaudibly at his cold shoulder, but looked to Jim, who looked annoyed. "It's at the old base where you were trained. It's shut down now, but that makes it perfect for whatever his point is, I'm sure. We'll send in a team to scope it out from afar, check to make sure no one's hiding any numbers in there, and send her in armed. I'm happy to hear any suggestions you have for the security team we send. I don't know what message he's trying to send with the base - warning you to stay away, maybe?" Jim sighed, tapping his finger on his arm.
He frowned, interested again, and shook his head. "No... I know that base like the back of my hand. If anything it's an invitation. A... An attempt at good faith, maybe."
Lorna made a doubtful noise. "I don't know," she hedged, less out of the desire to protect Sebastian and more out of knowing Vincent, "Asking for me but 'inviting' Seb? It sounds to me like he's prepared for a fight if you show up," she said, directing the last bit at her husband. "Vincent doesn't do good faith this late in the game, for anybody. Especially the man who 'stole' his woman and ruined his leg."
"I'm not saying the good faith is for me," he said, shaking his head. "It's for you. Acknowledgment that he's asking you to take a risk. Putting himself in familiar territory for the sake of what he knows will be your biggest nay-sayer."
She looked uncertain still, tapping a finger against the chair where her hand rested. "How much can we reasonably say Armetti knows about what's been happening here? Does he know that Sebastian is unlikely to come, considering the cancer? Does he know about the cancer at all?"
"I'd say it was unlikely," Jim said with a sigh, "but if he's working with Euros, then it's more than likely. I'm inclined to agree with you, Tiger. He knows you can't go, so he's trying to reassure Harrison while rubbing it in your face."
"Thank you, sir," he said dryly.
"It makes me dislike this even more, honestly," she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Mission not accomplished, Vince." She sighed again. "When are we going?" When was she going, she meant.
"I've already sent people to scope out the area. I'd like to move within the hour," Jim said matter-of-factly.
Moran grimaced, but said nothing.
Lorna grimaced at the same time, but nodded. "Alright. I'll grab a couple of my trustiest knives. Maybe even a gun." She looked towards Sebastian briefly, more of a desire to look at him while she could than anything else. Things could go wrong, as much as she liked to pretend otherwise. There was always the chance that this one would be it. The last job she ever did. She would do everything in her power to make it otherwise, but...
"At least one gun," Sebastian agreed. "And a flak jacket. Come on. We'll get you suited up."
She nodded, glancing at Jim for confirmation that he had said everything he needed to say, and he nodded, waving a hand slightly. "Dismissed."
What did you say?
I don't get
What you're trying to play
You're looking okay
Give me a plan
And we'll be on the way
"Remember my face"
That's what she said
That's what she said
I'll never forget
The data is gone
Conversation is dead
- Digitalism - No Data -
A/n Let us know what you think! Any guesses as to what's going to happen? If you wanna chat my tumblr is on my profile!