Lincoln Loud paced back and forth in his room, running the plan he had laid out earlier in his mind. He knew that Lucy and Luna's jobs were perfect fits but he still wondered about Jordan. Did he really need her to be hanging around with him all the time? Lincoln himself had mostly worked alone for most of his life and when he didn't, the only person he worked with was Clyde who was now out of the game. His thoughts went back to Lucy's words earlier that day at Gus Fring's Games n Grub. "Seems like you two are still in love." He chuckled slightly and rolled his eyes. His relationship with Jordan had never been a real one at least not in his opinion. He had only agreed to be her boyfriend so he could try to get his hands on some of her money only to soon discover that Jordan's parents didn't allow her much and that they themselves seemed to horde it all like goblins. Jordan had told him in the past that her parents didn't care about what she did or where she was and that the only time they ever showed any interest in her was when they could show her off to some other rich and powerful family like a prettied-up doll. It seemed to Lincoln that nearly everyone he knew had parents that had fucked the lives of their kids up, turning this once normal city into a cesspool of shit. With a sigh, he got to his feet and headed for the door, believing now was the time to make Lisa reach a decision.

He knocked on the bedroom door of Lisa and Lily's, tapping his foot while he waited for his sister to open. "Ah... Lincoln. Come in, brother." Lisa said as she opened the door, moving aside to let him in. "So... Lis, you know why I'm here. I really need you to come to a decision on the whole... you know." Lisa looked down at her feet as she began to speak. "I've... thought about it and I have indeed come to a conclusion. I have decided that... Y-Yes, I will do it. I believe my bunker would be a perfect place for this kind of work." Lincoln grinned and put his hand on his sister's shoulder, looking her in the eyes. "I know how nervous you must be Lis and if you ever want to back out just come talk to me, okay? I'm never going to force you to keep doing this. Thank you, Lisa." Lisa gave half a smile at her brother's words and broke eye contact with him, her nerves still running wild. "I'll start moving my things in there tomorrow morning but right now I think I need to get some sleep." Lincoln gave an understanding nod and turned back towards the door. "Goodnight, Lisa."

"Goodnight, Lincoln."

Lincoln shut the door behind him and began to head toward his own bedroom again when he heard a knock on the front door. Normally, this wouldn't bother him but someone knocking at this time of night? and all the recent events fresh in his mind weren't helping his paranoia. He looked over at Luan who had opened her bedroom door to answer it but Lincoln held his hand up, telling her to stop. "I'll handle it." He began to tiptoe down the stairs, sweat beginning to roll down his forehead as he crept closer and the knocking continued. He walked up to the door and took a breath before speaking. "Who is it?"

"It's me you doofus. Let me in, it's freezing outside!" Lincoln quickly opened the door, a look of surprise and curiosity on his face. "Jordan? what're you doing here at this time of night?" The girl moved past him, breathing into her hands as she stepped into the house. "Well, since you said earlier that you wanted us to be partners during this shit show I thought that we should be living closer together so that we don't have to talk plans over the phone or computer. Plus it saves us both a walk when we need to discuss things so! here I am." Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "So, let me get this straight. You've decided that living closer would be better and that lead to you bursting into my house and squatting here?"

"Pretty much," Jordan said with a smirk as she sat on the couch, crossing her feet at the ankles. "I mean, you can't tell me that it doesn't make sense. It saves us talking over the phone which could possibly be b.u.g.g-"

"Yeah, I get it! Keep your voice down." Lincoln let out a sigh, shutting his eyes and thinking about his next move. The possibility of his house being bugged was starting to become a real problem, one that needed fixing. "Fine, you can stay here. But only on the condition that you make yourself useful around this house and not spend your time here doing nothing but... this." Jordan rolled her eyes but agreed with a sigh. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go talk to Lucy about perhaps giving Lynn's old bed to you." Lincoln walked back up the stairs, quickly finding out that Lucy heard everything due to her standing at the top of the stairs waiting for him. "No."

"Lucy, just-"

"No, Lincoln. I don't want her in my room. I was starting to enjoy the peace and quiet." Lincoln let out a groan. "Don't worry she's nothing like Lynn. If she was I'd have put her in a coma long ago. At least see how it goes for me? you two might end up getting along better than either of you expect." Lucy let out a "Sigh." and nodded her head. "If it doesn't work, I'm kicking her to the curb."

"Thanks for the hospitality, Lucy." A sarcastic voice from behind Lincoln said. "I'll not get in the way. I'm only staying here because-"

"I heard the excuse from up here. I get that the two of you have some awkward relationship going on but please keep me the fuck out of it." With that, Lucy turned on her heel and went back into her room, leaving Jordan and Lincoln alone. "...Okay then. Well, I'm going to go back to my room and I'll see you in the morning." Lincoln said awkwardly before slowly turning around and shuffling off to his own room. "...Right. Yeah." Jordan shook her head before heading into Lucy's room for the night.

To Be Continued

Special thanks to my anonymous Special Council!