Conspiracy

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 15 (Controlling the Situation)

She joined the girls in talking to David, mostly she wanted to see how this conversation would happen. Holly was astonishingly okay with this, but Jade felt certain that Jason would keep control of the situation. He was there to explain to David why it was necessary that Trina leave now.

When she told Beck that she'd be at the home during this, he was terrified for her. Even now, he was sending a flurry of texts just to make sure she was alright-and nothing happened yet.

"Your uncle didn't tell you much?" Jade looked at the car parked in front of hers. Jason was standing beside the driver's side door. "About Trina's situation?"

"Is there supposed to be something more than my explaining why she needs to leave for the camp counselor job?" She hesitated and slowly swept her hair over her shoulder. Of course Sikowitz wasn't going to tell Jason everything, for the same reason she couldn't tell Beck much. Whatever Trina told him would be different, most likely, and up to her.

She shrugged and started for the door. Jason followed close behind. She glanced over her shoulder to glimpse at the man. He was walking with a strong and long stride, his back was erect and his head held high. His arms swayed gently at his sides, and his hands were balled up.

This was also the first time she was seeing the man not in some sort of uniform. His white t-shirt was tucked into blue denim jeans, with a black leather belt around the waist. The tightness of his shirt accentuated his firm chest and powerful arms. The jeans were loose enough, but she could still see some curvature in the upper legs.

Jason caught her glance and raised an eyebrow at her. "Need something?" She pulled her gaze away, aware of the slight distraction.

"I was just wondering. You work out, obviously. A gym?"

"I need to keep in shape, yeah." It was a curious thing, he and Trina both were athletic and tough. They'd almost make a great pair, but there was hardly any time to concern herself with that. "I'm a martial artist, you think I wouldn't work out?"

"No, I just-I have to admit it's a surprise seeing you out of that uniform." The uniform had been large enough that it concealed some of his size. She would almost be attracted to him if she wasn't already with Beck. Then, she was attracted to him-there was no question that he was an attractive man-she hoped Beck wasn't beside himself with worry and that he trusted her.

"Now I understand how Beck feels when I worry about him being around other women." She struck the doorbell and turned towards Jason. "So how will you train Trina? You said she might have to be trained more than the others?"

"She will. The other counselors are all black-belts, she's not there yet." He crossed his arms and focused on the door. "Like them, she will have to wake up early in the morning, and she will have to spend most of her day practicing formations, moves, sparring, and so on."

"I don't think she's very good at letting other people tell her what to do." Jason's eyes darted onto her and his eyebrows slid inwards. "Fair warning." He smirked and shrugged.

The door slid open and Jade turned to see Trina in the doorway. The girl had her hair up in a ponytail and was wearing a similar wardrobe as Jason, only with a purple tank and darker blue jeans. Her eyes fell onto him and her lips slid open a centimeter.

"Jason, Jade, we thought you were coming a little later." She ran her hand over the front of her neck, wiping away the shimmering sweat that laced her collarbone. Stray strands of hair remained attached to her damp skin, hugging tightly so as not to be pulled away. "Come in."

Jason's eyes pulled on Trina's. He uncrossed his arms and raised his eyebrows at the girl. "You've been practicing since we last talked?" Jade looked from him to Trina. The girl stared at the man for some time before frowning and furrowing her brow.

"Of course. I want to equal you, maybe even do better." She pulled her ponytail from her neck and closed her eyes. The right corner of Jason's mouth pulled upwards.

"That would take some time."

Trina's eyes shot open and her nostrils spread open briefly. "You can work me as hard as you like." She held his gaze and matched his smirk with a confident smirk of her own. "I'm eager to learn."

"Good." Jade's heartbeat quickened as she studied the two. There seemed to be a blaze that connected their stares, and an unseen force that held them in place. Jade wanted to remind them to go inside, but she was near terrified to say anything for fear of interrupting whatever was happening here.

She watched Trina's eyes drop, sliding along Jason's body. The girl's features around her eyes and her lips relaxed, and her hand slid down the door frame. Jason cleared his throat and Trina's eyes darted back to his.

"Right." She turned around and waved them inside. "Let's go, I think it's time to talk to the man."

Jade let them go inside first, then followed them. She looked into the living room and saw Tori seated on the couch with her phone in her hand. The television was on, but paused. She could see a martial arts trainer on the screen, indicating that this was some training video.

Holly was standing in the kitchen, watching her daughters like a hawk. Her muscles were tense, but her lips were slanted into a broad smile.

Jade scanned the area further, then saw him: David was making his way down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom step, then gripped the round post tightly with his hand. The man's eyes fell onto Jason, and in an instant, David began to tense.

"Who is this?" He stepped off the final step and started to approach the center of the room. His eyes never left Jason, they seemed to be analyzing the man's every feature. Tori looked over her shoulder while Holly's mouth fell into a smirk.

"His name is Jason Tyler," Trina answered with a flair for nonchalance. She made her way to the couch, but remained standing in front of it. Now, all that was between her and this monster of a man was the sofa. "He, well I don't want to say he's my 'boss', but he's in charge at the camp I'm going to."

Jade could see Jason watching her, studying her. She followed his gaze to Trina, wondering what it was he was seeing, since he appeared concerned. Trina was greatly tense standing before David, seemingly different now. No more was her body relaxed nor was she standing confidently.

She could spot a very slight tremor, and even heard a weakened tone in her voice. "She's scared of him. She tries to be strong, but she's terrified…"

Jason took a step forward and brushed the bridge of his nose with his finger. "I thought it might be a good idea for me to explain a few things." Trina twisted partially, looking to him with slightly larger eyes. David closed his hands and locked his jaw. "She's going to be one of the camp counselors, which means she needs some training. She's to leave in a week for this training."

"She has to? Is this necessary?"

"I'm afraid so." Jason walked up beside Trina and crossed his arms. Jade felt a lump growing in her throat, so she swallowed it down before it choked her. Trina's tense muscles seemed to subside, though only partially. "If she doesn't leave early enough to train, she won't be ready. This is a very rigorous experience, Mr. Vega."

"I know this is required by the school-I just didn't know she had to leave so soon."

"We chose her out of the other students in her class to represent her class by becoming the camp counselor in charge of that section." Trina gasped softly and turned her head to the man. "We chose from the best, of course. That decision has been finalized as well, I'm afraid."

"So." David sulked and turned his eyes onto Trina. Trina flinched and swayed her upper body slightly towards Jason. She turned partially, pointing her feet and body at the stronger man. "Trina will have to leave earlier than intended. Does this benefit her education?"

"It will help her tremendously towards college, scholarships, and even potential networking for jobs in the future."

Trina brought her hand up and set it on Jason's shoulder. Her body relaxed a bit further and her eyes slid into David's. "I imagine he's not going to be letting me get much sleep during that training, Dad, but it'll be worth it." David turned up a vague smile and looked over to Holly.

"Has this already been decided, Holly?" Holly nodded once and leaned over the kitchen counter, sliding her palms outwards. Jade was impressed and pleased with this turn of events. Perhaps it was due to Jason's seemingly commanding presence he had that David did not become hostile, she couldn't be sure, but this man clearly knew better than to try and do anything with Jason here.

"Then there isn't much point in arguing the matter." David sucked in a heavy breath and shook his head. "I wasn't expecting it." He started to step forward, but stopped as Jason tensed up himself. Jade's eyebrows rose and she watched the men closely. Jason's eyes slanted and David was frozen.

The air held a sudden chill that seemed to permeate the skin and reach into the bone. Jade brought her hand up to her lips, wondering for the moment what was about to happen. Did David wish to challenge this decision, and if he did, what would Jason do?

"In fact," Jason began slowly and with a firm, but commanding tone in his voice. "I would like to train her some before we leave. I feel there are some tips that I can teach her now." David furrowed his brow and his mouth fell open.

"I-I don't know. What does this entail?"

"Just some intense training on her focus. She needs to be able to concentrate, and I'd like to devote some of my time to a few crucial areas now while my time is not too greatly divided."

David sucked in a heavy breath and growled slightly. "Is there much choice in the matter?"

"I'm afraid not. I need to focus my attention on these crucial areas that she needs training in. It is for her benefit. You understand, certainly?"

"Let her speak for herself." David glanced to Trina and straightened himself. He crossed his arms and motioned his head to Jason. "Is this what you want, Trina?" Trina's hand slid down from Jason's shoulder, her fingertips glided along his upper arm and glinted off his elbow.

"Yes." Jason turned his head to Trina. Jade brightened and smiled with hope as Trina nodded firmly. "I need this training and this education. It's important." There was more David wanted to say. Jade could see it in his eyes. The man was holding back, whether by fear or because he knew it was an improper time to show the demon that lay within him.

Jason somehow understood the situation without knowing how bad David was, and that gave him the edge. Whatever it was, he managed to steal control and leave David grasping for straws.

"No one else from her class fits?" David glanced back to Jason and furrowed his brow. "It has to be her?" Jason smiled briskly and nodded once.

"That is correct, sir. She was chosen because she displays the most promise and the most ability. I am neither in a position to change that, nor will I. There is little time to, anyhow."

"I'll agree to it then," David sighed and ran his hand along his neck. "I don't like it, but if it's absolutely necessary, and helps education." The man looked to the door and raised his shoulders. "I was called down to the station for something, so I should be going."

The man left fairly quickly, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Jade put her hand up to her chest and shook her head slowly. "There's definitely something off about that man," Jason remarked. She held back her opinion on the matter and looked to Trina, hoping the girl was okay. Jason turned his head and nudged Trina's arm with his elbow. "You okay?"

Trina was standing still, seemingly lost as she stared at the door. Her mouth was open in surprise and her eyebrows had dipped inwards. She pulled her head back some and cleared her throat. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She ran her hand over her forehead and dropped it down while looking towards the ceiling. "Thanks for that."

"No problem." Jason crossed his arms and rolled his head to the side. "He'll be back. I can tell, someone like that…he's not done yet."

"You don't have to leave yet, do you?"

"Well, I do have some work to finish."

Trina dropped her shoulders and set her hand on his forearm. The gesture drew his eyes to her. "Don't go." The words came out with a single, quick breath, as though these words would never come out if she didn't force them. "I wouldn't mind starting now on whatever lessons you have."

He turned to her and shrugged. "Good idea. You need to be prepared anyway. After all, when you get to the campsite, you'll have to wake up with all the other counselors at five in the morning." Trina's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"So early?"

"Yes. Regular campers will wake up around seven, so things need to be set up before then." He leaned to the right and smirked as Trina bowed her head. "That won't be a problem, I hope?" She grumbled for a minute, and Jade swore the girl was glaring at her through the bangs that concealed her gaze.

"No."

"Good. You should thank your friend for getting you this position."

Jade chuckled nervously and scratched her upper arm as Trina jerked her head upright. "I'm seriously questioning the 'friend' part," Trina growled, "Backyard. We'll work in the backyard. I don't think mom wants us to spar in the house."

"Oh I wouldn't mind," Holly replied. "It isn't like I value anything in this man's house." Trina raised an eyebrow and Jade stifled a laugh.

"We'll get to the sparring eventually." Trina frowned at Jason and started for the door while asking why they didn't start off now. "I do want to see where you're at right now. So a few exercises first."

Trina stopped before the glass door and set her hand on top of the handle. She twisted partially and looked at Jason as he approached the door. "You don't want to spar because of the other day? Do you still think I'm not ready, or something like that?"

She dropped her hand from the handle and furrowed her brow. "You've got a few things to learn." He stepped beside her and pulled the door open, then motioned his hand to the yard, gesturing for her to go on ahead. "You'll do fine though, you just need practice and focus."

Once they left, Holly collapsed on the couch beside Tori and looked up to Jade. "I don't want my daughters here when David comes back," she said, "That boy's right. David just wants to wait until Jason's gone, but he has already said it's okay for Trina to leave."

Tori peered over her shoulder, the skin around her nose crinkled and her fingertips dug into her pants as she pushed her hands forward. "She'll be okay, won't she? Safe. If she goes to that camp."

"She'll be fine. She's worried about you, I think a little more than you realize. Both of you have to go off, it's for the best."

"What about you, mom?" Holly bent her arm up on the armrest and buried her hand into her hair. Her eyes fell onto Tori and her lips pulled up into a faint smile as her daughter studied her carefully. "Trina and I might be leaving, but you're not. You'll be okay?"

"I'll be just fine, sweetheart. I'd rather the two of you be somewhere safe."

Sensing the urgency of the situation, Jade tried to think of some way she could intervene. If David came home later, when Jason wasn't here, what were the chances that he might hurt the girls?

For them, the wait until they went on their trips would be painstakingly long. "You know. You and Trina could come to my place tonight." The words all but fell from her lips. She never thought to invite people to her home, especially not someone that wasn't deemed a close enough friend, but Tori and her sister needed this.

She held her breath as Tori's suspicious gaze fell on her. "Jade?" Tori stood slowly and took a step forward. "I can't help but think; I know I told you to stay out of all this. That you don't understand what's going on, that you don't get it, but…" She braced herself while trying to read the girl in front of her.

Tori seemed to be incredibly still. Her eyelids had fallen halfway and her lips had tightened and were stretched thinly across her face. "You had a hand in doing this, though. Getting Trina somewhere she would be safe, getting her away from-from that man. I don't even know why you're doing all this, or why you care so much."

She didn't know herself. The thought that she might fail still terrified her, and of course she didn't feel safe here without someone like Jason or Beck to keep David at bay. On one hand, she was just doing her job, but on the other hand she had to question if she really cared about helping this family.

"I want to do the right thing," she stammered. "I'm working with a private investigator your real dad hired." Tori's eyebrows rose and she shot a look at Holly. The mother closed her eyes and nodded, a sign to the girl that she already knew. "Your dad, the investigator, and even I…we want to do everything we can to get you out. Still, you and Trina were in danger and I wanted to get you to safety…the more we investigate, the more dangerous the situation becomes, and the two of you at least need to be somewhere safe."

"I…see." Tori chuckled dryly and swept her hand through her hair. "Um. What's there to do at your home?"

"Play poker? I have books too."

"Okay. I'll talk to Trina." Tori turned away and started for the door, then stopped halfway. She turned to look over her shoulder and gave Jade a slight, appreciative smile. "Thank you. For getting involved, I guess…you'll all keep mom safe while Trina and I are gone?" Her stomach tightened due to her fears of failure. It was hard to be confident when this was only her first attempt at investigation and criminal proceedings.

Then, what if she couldn't do it? What if Holly was killed because of this? Every move she made, every step she took, one misstep could lead to tragedy and a family destroyed.

This was why police couldn't make promises, because certainty was difficult to come by.

She looked away from Tori momentarily and bit the inner skin of her lip with the tips of her front teeth. "We'll do the best we can." Her collar grew hot to the touch as Tori's studious, unfaltering gaze remained locked on her.

"And if the best isn't enough?"

Her heart dropped into the bile filled pits of her stomach, and her throat collapsed onto her lungs as the shadow of her fear surrounded her. "Then I'll never be an investigator." Sikowitz told her once that she shouldn't expect to be able to save everybody, there would be some investigations in her career that turned up fruitless.

"This time can't be one of those. It can't." Her fingers trembled and her eyes moved into Tori's. Jade's lips parted as she peered beyond the girl and through the glass doors.

Outside, Trina was performing bicycle crunches, sweeping her legs slowly in the air while turning her torso towards the inside knee. Jason stood beside her, watching closely and speaking-likely directing her on her form, as she was shifting her leg positions every so often.

This was the start of something for these girls, and maybe the first time they really felt like a good change could happen, and she was the cause of it.

Now, all that Tori wanted to know was that her mother was going to be safe too.

Trina was the same way, her eagerness to protect her mother was what earned her a very stern reply from Holly when she insisted that Trina take this trip.

"If…" She cleared the stutter in her throat and closed her eyes. "If my best isn't enough, then you will never forgive me." Tori's lips pressed together and tiny lines stretched out from them.'

"No. I wouldn't."

"But I can only promise my best."

"I can't even remember my real dad, though I know who he is and have seen him-I can't remember anything about him." Tori closed her hands and narrowed her tearful eyes. "Trina remembers a little bit, and it's apparently a much happier life-one that I've never known. We've been stuck here for a decade or so. Don't think I'm searching for any sort of promise, any sort of hope, or any specific answer…because there is absolutely nothing that you can do or say that will be enough."

"I know.

Tori inhaled slowly, then made her way outside. The tension in the air remained, if only to suffocate Jade as she thought on the girl's final words. When she looked to Holly, the woman shook her head and rose to her feet.

"Just do what you have to do," Holly said bluntly. "My girls will be safe, and they come first. I trust Sikowitz knows that. I still think hiring a teenager was reckless, but I guess I see the genius behind the decision…David would know he's an investigator."

"Yeah. At least this way, it isn't the police that David can control."

"If only David were the one in control." Jade raised an eyebrow and watched Holly move to the kitchen. "Lanie and Rebecca. Focus on them. David's their fucking pet."

"Do you have any inclination of why they would do this?"

"Not really." She spread her hands out and sighed in frustration. "To give the bastard a family because he couldn't find one himself? That's the thing I've thought for the past ten years. Hell, Lanie was married and she wanted Robbie to be considered Tom's husband, and Rebecca's also married. Gary? Yeah, we had a perfect marriage, two beautiful baby girls-and David wouldn't stop those stupid feelings he had, add that to the jealousy he had of my husband, and Lanie's apparent hatred of me…and here we are…tell Sikowitz to fix it, because I don't know how much longer I can take it."

"I will. We're going to figure it out, Mrs. Ve-" She stopped herself and winced as Holly's glare scorched her. "Richardson."

"That's better."

The girls are likely to be safe now, and Jason did a good job. I figure he'd speak up when it would appear that Trina's not going to be able to really say accurately the right things. What you see here in her when is perhaps some confidence when he does take charge, normally she prefers to be in control but she's giving him the control when dealing with David. Jade did well in this, and I wanted to show some of the inner doubts that she would be having, the fear of failing-for her first real investigation, it's a very difficult one, and it's true that if she's not careful tragedy will occur. What are your thoughts throughout this chapter? Any observations? It should be understood, I think, or I was hoping to get across that Tori-nor Holly and Trina really feel confident in Jade and even Sikowitz, and this is because of what they've been dealing with for so long. They do not know what to make of this change that appears to be happening ni their lives.

That said, I will be doing two different oneshots that will be attached to this story. They will be respective in Trina's light and Tori's, but oneshots because they don't fit in the scenes of this story. (I cannot simply switch from this story and go to Tori and Trina elsewhere)