Recovery when a timeline is moved up unexpectedly for health reasons = yikes. But I have a chapter for you all, which makes me feel fantastic! Fair warning: I'm likely going to continue being inconsistent, or mayyyybe consistently every other week. We shall see! Thank you so much for being so incredibly encouraging and supportive. :)
Copy-Nin's Daughter, welcome! Thank you so much for the kind review, and the amazing compliments and feedback on the story. I have been nervous about OCs as well, since there are probably cardinal rules of fanfiction somewhere(?) that say not to have as many (certainly not as centrally!) as I have collected over time. I just get too attached... :) And yes, the breed is so cute! I hope you enjoy as things continue to heat up in this chapter... :)
Living Lucid Dream, I'm so glad you're enjoying Banjo and the Canadian Serpents! I find them a refreshingly different angle on the Serpents, since they've got their issues but those are different from the ones that arise in Riverdale. Clark will hopefully come out of this okay, too; he's doing his best, and thinking on his feet fairly well all told (mostly :). Betty's definitely got a role here; I am not sure how big it will end up being, but that is definitely brewing! Also, Rose wanted to get Jug a puppy back when Trigger first disappeared; I think he never quite forgot about that, and he seems to like his associates 'reflecting well' on him in random ways. But still - it was unexpected for sure! FP is about to become very central to things, too, and I'm looking forward to that! Thank you so much for the good wishes on my health. I really, really appreciate it! :)
Skyrider45, I loved how you cheered everyone on with the Max/Clark/Banjo/Donn interactions and fallout. I think Clark and Max are sweet together too, as they try to figure each other out. :) I'm curious about where Max will wind up, because it would be neat for him and Clark to remain connected. I guess we'll see! FP as concerned dad is amazing, I totally agree. :-D He's getting to shine a bit more as we go, too! Also, fantastic analysis of the gift, Brand, and what might have been 'lost in transport.' I have maintained a light touch with Max's arc because it's so dark (even for me, yikes), so not everything is 100% settled for his back story, but what you caught was definitely the version that Jughead caught from those cryptic comments. Rose seems to view most things (and people) as somewhat interchangeable. Thank you so much for the encouragement, too! I really love being predictable and on a schedule, perhaps to a fault (oops), and as I'm learning to be more flexible it is really encouraging to hear that everyone's so patient. :) I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter!
Enjoy!
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"Do you need something, Jones?" A man whom Jughead did not recognize stepped into the unoccupied bedroom behind him, and the teen startled badly. "I can give you directions, or I could help you get something."
"Uh, no." Jughead quickly fell into his best impression of someone who felt entitled to walk into other people's bedrooms without permission or supervision. This was one of the few times when Rose and Brand having much-deserved reputations for being idiosyncratic, volatile, and highly unpredictable was working for him. He gestured down to the leashed puppy dancing around his ankles. "Thank you, but I'm just letting her sniff out the place as thoroughly as possible. As a foundation for her training. Why? Is there some sort of a 'west wing' that I should be staying out of? Rose didn't mention-,"
"No. No, not at all. Nothing is off limits, from what I was told. It's fine." The man looked both puzzled by Jughead's explanation and nervous that he was about to get into trouble for engaging him in conversation. "I'm just happy to help if you are looking for anything."
"Great. I'm not." Jughead looked at him expectantly until he retreated from the room.
Jughead breathed deeply and found himself wishing that he and Brand had taught his dad a few more codes - or at least how to recognize when one of them was making up a code, so that FP could tell Brand and give his godfather the phone for five minutes.
Because it was pretty obvious that Brand had no idea what Jughead was up to. There would have been some degree of mocking, probably a lecture, and then advice on how to pull off his maneuver more safely - and effectively.
But as it stood, Jughead was stuck with what he'd been able to come up with on his own.
There was very little that Jughead felt he could or should do while in Rose's house, but his freedom to roam had been basically absolute. Much like the man who had surprised him in this room, people were around Rose's property, but they tended to get out of his way. It was obvious that Rose had put the fear of God into everyone on the premises.
And so, increasingly tense (and, honestly, slightly bored), Jughead had leashed up the puppy, led her through the house as a distracting cover for the true purpose of his wanderings, and begun taking crazy risks just to make himself feel useful and like he was slightly less of a pawn.
He'd been inspired when he noticed a few boxes of blanks in various forms tucked away with some live ammunition in a closet near the kitchen where he'd been treated to cooking lessons earlier in the day. He had realized that he could use those to replace live rounds in any guns he could turn up, and that would help the FBI - and having the blanks meant that it would not be a dead giveaway the moment someone picked up a gun.
Any criminals would need to actually shoot before it was painfully obvious that a saboteur had invaded the household.
And so Jughead had spent the last several hours entering rooms and locating firearms. Ammunition. And disarming everything he found, secreting the ammunition in a pillowcase and then dumping it all through one grate in his room.
That meant searching room after room, though, and shaking out one after another suspiciously heavy pillowcase over an air vent and watching dozens - hundreds - literally pounds - of bullets disappear down through the floor with muted metal tinging sounds.
It was almost tempting to drop a lit match down there to see what happened.
Jughead would wait for Brand to light that match, though.
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Fred looked at Archie's overly innocent expression and knew that he had to talk with him. It just figured he'd somehow divine where his father had been and what he'd been doing.
"So it's pretty cool, huh?" Archie had been explaining the concert in Toronto while Mary looked on approvingly and interjected with details here and there.
"It is, Archie. It's very impressive, and I'm excited for you." Fred hesitated. "Why do you want to be in Toronto for so long, though?"
Archie shrugged. "As long as we're there and have the time, we might as well make it fun. And educational."
"Ahh, educational," Fred echoed with a smile. "Nothing to do with Jughead, then?"
Archie looked up eagerly. "He is there? Did you see him? Is he okay?"
Mary looked disconcerted, so Fred gave her a reassuring look and a wry smile. "I suppose it's somehow our fault that he's so sharp."
Smiling at that comment, Mary turned to Archie. "Now, Archie, I thought you were really interested in opening for this band. It's simply not professional to-,"
"Oh, we are interested, Mom," Archie hastened to reassure her. "It's just a... bonus if we can see Jug too."
"We?" Fred echoed. "You've talked to the others about this?" Things had been so odd in Toronto that he really was not at all sure that any of this was a good idea.
"No. 'We' are excited about the concert. And 'we' would see Jughead. But I'm the only one who figured out that's where you were." Archie's innocent expression had returned in full force.
Fred and Mary exchanged glances, and Fred could tell when Mary realized there was more going on here that Fred knew about that she would need to be let in on - and not where Archie could overhear.
"Let me talk to your father about this, Arch," Mary said. "Then the three of us can talk more over dinner."
Fred nodded gratefully, and Archie looked from one to the other suspiciously, but with resignation. "All right."
He could use that time to call Veronica and let her know not to let on about their plan to locate and visit with Jughead in Toronto.
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Jughead had another load of ammunition to dispose of, so he was right over the vent when he heard voices through it - coming from right outside of his room.
"I'd lay money on it being Donn. That guy has snapped, and he'd make up anything at this point."
"Rose thought so. He all but laughed in Tom's face. But there were a few things that didn't add up, and Tom's not an idiot."
"He found proof?"
"He found something. Rose is doing a one-eighty on the kid, and I'm not sure Brand is going to survive this."
"Brand I get. Bringing FP Jones and the Serpents in on anything is liable to get Rose shooting first and asking questions later. And I get that the kid might go down with Brand, since they've been joined at the hip for a while now. But why on earth would the kid go down without Brand?"
"He's FP's son."
There was a long silence.
"Huh. Rose… might be right about retiring." One of the men had lowered his voice to make the comment, but Jughead could still make out his words. "How did he think this was going to end?"
"The same way FP and Brand think it's going to end, if Tom is right. It sounds like everyone is digging in to see who will blink if the kid's locked into the middle of everything."
"What does FP get out of this if he does blow things up with Rose?"
"You said it yourself. Everyone will want Rose out. Retired, sure, but maybe ousted if it turns out that he's gotten us into something with the Serpents. They've got a real presence in Montreal too, you know, and the American Serpents are-,"
"Yeah. I've heard." The man's tone was dark. "So what exactly does Rose want us to do?"
"He's taking a few deep breaths. Having some tea. We're supposed to stay here until he has further instructions."
"How long is-,"
"I wouldn't guess more than a few minutes. Rose likes to think things through, but he's usually quick about it."
Jughead backed away from the grate slowly and silently. His eyes went to his bedroom door, which was now apparently being guarded from the outside. Until 'further instructions' came.
He groped for his cell phone with one hand, and used his other hand to steer the puppy into her kennel. If she was in there, chances were nobody would hurt her by mistake, or in a fit of anger.
Jughead slipped into the en suite bathroom and locked himself in there before he hit the button to dial Brand's phone.
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Betty had sat with the article edits for ages, and they still did not make sense. In fact, something must have changed, since the new feedback contradicted some of the original directions that Betty had been given.
SAC Wilson definitely had an agenda - and had delayed the release of the write-up yet again, for unknown reasons - but none of it was clear even after Betty tried thinking it through from multiple perspectives.
The only theory that might fit was that Wilson might be trying to obscure Jughead's emergency and need for medical attention. That would make some of the changes make sense. Not that anything about Jughead's health was included in the write-up, but Wilson's edits had made the story so toothless and unremarkable, in spite of its very compelling content, that Betty got the sense that she was trying to keep from having attention drawn to the story.
The story needed to go out, since whatever arrangement the FBI had with the other writer who wanted to cover the events demanded it, but at this point Betty wondered if anyone not paying close attention would even realize that it was Jughead and Brand - the 'Jonas' and Brand Davies - when the story did go live with the footage.
It was such an abrupt turnaround.
However, Betty ultimately had to admit that the changes could not hurt Jughead or Brand. They really only protected their privacy and identity to an extent, downplaying their roles and the entire incident. Mr. Jones and Clark had become much more central, and Betty had been surprised but proud when Wilson gave her some effusive quotes to add about Clark's promise and ability.
Betty was pretty sure that Clark was still embarrassed about the whole thing, so that was really nice - however slanted a perspective on his role and actions those quotes represented.
It was also kind of nice that the edits ended up being relatively simple, even though they were pervasive. Betty would have them all done before she went with the Andrews family and the band to Toronto, a place she'd been curious about for some time now.
Betty leaned back in her chair and sent another brief update text to Jughead. She understood that he was not likely feeling up to responding, but she liked the idea of the messages being there for him whenever he did feel better.
It still felt amazing to be able to close with 'I love you,' too. Betty smiled as she clicked send on her phone, and her smile persisted as she clicked send on the latest draft of the press release - and while she began packing for the trip.
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"Brand, they know. Someone found out that Dad's in town, and they know." In the scant seconds it had taken Jughead to secure his puppy and move into the bathroom, panic had begun welling up in him. He wasn't sure what to do next, and the idea of just waiting for someone to come for him was terrifying.
"Kid, that's not good." Brand sounded like he was trying to hide how worried he was. Another bad sign.
"You think?" Jughead leaned his head backward against the door to his bathroom. "I'm in the room Rose gave me, in the bathroom. Maybe I'm already locked in, or maybe they're coming to get me. What do I do?"
"Is there a window?"
"Nope."
"How close are you to one, or to any exit from the house?"
"I'm basically in a cell, Brand. I can't get out without going past people who work for Rose. Do I bluff and try to make a run for it?" Jughead thought of the puppy. He would hardly be slowed at all if he took her with him, but he made the snap decision not to mention that idea to Brand. "Or should I just stay put and barricade? How far away are you?"
"Far enough. They'd get through a barricade, and I'm not sure we can bank on them taking it easy on you after that." Brand's voice sounded bleak when he dropped any pretense of being calm. "Listen to me, Jones. I think you might need to play dumb, cooperate, and give them any information they ask for. Try to delay any details about the bust itself, but if you have to, start giving up information about the FBI. This development means that the bust has to happen right now."
Jughead nodded into the phone, reassured but still shaky enough that he wasn't thinking clearly. Brand continued talking when he did not immediately hear a response.
"Delaying is helpful, don't get me wrong, and it buys us some time and gives us more options - but there is very limited utility in your getting hurt to protect a plan that's officially in process. Remember the basics: your dad is here on vacation with you, he knows nothing about your ties to Rose, and I'm the one who told you not to mention FP to Rose. Keep it simple, keep it close to the truth, and just get your head down and keep it down."
"Okay." Jughead nodded again. "Okay; I can do that. You'll be here soon?"
"Kid, I'm already moving."
Jughead heard the door to his room open.
"Someone just came in without knocking," Jughead lowered his voice to a whisper and turned on the water in the shower. "I'm going to get in the shower. That should buy me another few minutes."
"That's smart thinking. Remember, keep yourself in one piece. Do whatever you have to. This is one time when it's okay to give up information, because we're coming for you. Right now."
"Uh-huh." Jughead was already shucking off his shirt and slipping his feet out of his sneakers, but he continued to whisper into the phone. "I love you, Brand. Tell Dad and Betty and everyone that I love them too."
"I love you too, kid, and so does your dad and everyone else. We're coming right this second to tell you in person. Do me a favor and stay alive for us."
"Yeah. We're almost home free." Jughead's whisper had a catch in it as he considered how close to - and how far away from - freedom they finally were.
"You bet." Brand's voice was back to being firm and reassuring. "Go now; don't let anyone catch you on the phone. I'm on my way."
Jughead ended the call and slid his phone into his pants pocket and dropped the khakis to the floor before he hopped into the shower. Hopefully that would be less conspicuous and nobody would realize that he'd gotten a call out to Brand.
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Brand's hands were not cooperating. It took him a long, disconcerting moment to realize that was because they were shaking - hard.
FP had just walked into his room and was staring at him, waiting for any information about the call they'd just received, and it suddenly felt like Brand should be able to stop everything - call a time out - and somehow keep FP ignorant of the fact that everything was actively coming apart. For all of them.
But there was no time.
"You need to get Trigger. We need to get that dog right now, because Rose has Jones trapped somewhere in that mausoleum of a house and we need the ability to find him. Now."
FP's eyes went wide. Brand braced himself, because this was only the beginning.
"You have to stay with the FBI. You need to work with them and you need to come in with them, FP." Brand took a steadying breath. "You're going to hear from Rose. That's coming any minute, and it's going to be the most terrifying threat you can possibly imagine - and I need you to ignore it. You have to let me work, and you have to let the FBI work, or we're never going to get Jones out of Rose's grip. That will be it for him, because we'll never get another shot. You hear me?"
FP was nodding, but Brand was pretty sure that when Rose contacted FP and offered to murder his son slowly and painfully while he was on the line, this exchange was going to mean very little.
Unfortunately, there was nothing for it.
"All right. You're getting Trigger, and you're getting to the FBI. Stay with them. It won't be in time, and I'm sorry about that, but you should give your phone to Agent Quinn as soon as you can. Ignore whatever Rose tells you. He'll put Jones on the phone-,"
Brand saw that idea hit FP like a cinder block, and he hoped against hope that he was preparing the man for the horrors to come and not weakening his resolve.
"-and your son is going to beg you to cooperate. It's going to be bad. You have to give me a chance to get in there without you cutting any deals, though, or we're going to lose him. You buy me time now, and then I'm going to buy time for the FBI to get in there."
Brand felt his breath coming a little shorter as he kept talking while he began gathering a few items that might prove useful. "If I can't get him out myself, that means the FBI has to get us both out. That's where Trigger's going to come in handy, because we won't want to waste any time. But you and I know that the kid will have a better chance of staying in one piece if there's two of us, and we both know that Jones is the bargaining chip. Rose will prefer to take a run at me if he's given a choice of targets."
This time FP's nod was jerky.
"If it helps, remember that he knew this was a possibility. Jones believed that it was worth facing down the danger. You have to believe that he made the right decision, and that it's still the right one for him." Brand had to go, but this conversation might mean the difference between FP getting it together - or him pulling the pin and exploding everything while Brand was in the middle of the extraction - or distraction, whatever his role ended up being.
"No. He knew nothing about what could happen." FP shook his head, and suddenly he seemed to have shaken off his shock. He was alive with fury and determination. "Go, Brandon. Run. Jughead had no clue about the possibilities if this went sideways. Let's keep it that way."
Well then.
Brand wasn't going to get better assurances of FP's cooperation than that. He took off running.
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The good news: even if I wanted to, how could I keep from writing the next chapter? :) I'm super eager to find out what happens next! As I am able, I'll be working on that and on bringing everyone to Toronto... The kitchen sink is going to be installed more slowly than anticipated, but it's in the works! :-D I'll greatly enjoy any and all reviews, and I so appreciate your continuing to read along!
I hope you're having a lovely weekend!
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