He shouldn't be this angry. Being upset was understandable given the circumstances but even though he was keeping it together Jay knew he didn't need to be as angry as he was. And it wasn't directed at Clark, not entirely anyway, he trusted Tess's threat assessment but he was sure she was also wondering if this was some kind of set-up, like how Selim had been. And if it was he was going to follow through on his promise and show the middle man exactly what he was willing to do for her. It didn't help that he kept getting flashes of the last time he'd seen the man and even though he knew that encounter had been an accident, their involvement anyway the more he thought of her aunt, the woman he'd considered a second mother… The more Jay realized it wasn't anger inside him. It was rage. Rage for the people who had taken Lydia from him, from Tess, from the fucking world because it had been better with her in it. Brighter. And rage for the people who were trying to take Tess from him now. For whoever it was that was trying to break her down before they tried to take her out because he might be doing his best to keep her centred but he believed her when she said that was what she thought was happening. What had been happening ever since her information had been leaked and Lydia had been killed. And he wasn't able to stop them trying.

But he was sure as shit going to put them down if they came near her.

When Cas let him know she'd arrived he shared a quick look with Voight, darkly satisfied when he saw his Sergeant knew what he was thinking and agreed, his earlier comment still running through his mind. Jay had always known there were times when the lines needed to be crossed, he just hadn't always agreed with his boss on when that was, or more specifically how he chose to do it. It felt nice to be on the same page for once.

"Well at least there's no smoke coming out of your mouth."

Tess might've smiled at Clark as she made her way up the stairs but it was sharp and he felt another shiver of dark satisfaction that he was getting to see her in her element. "You want to explain what you're doing here?"

"This is where you work now isn't it?" He answered with a raised brow but the way he faced her made it clear he knew not to piss her off. "I figured going to the Haven would be inappropriate."

More like he wanted to scope this place out.

Scope them out.

He didn't know what the man made of them, they probably didn't seem like threats but he'd be happy to prove him wrong.

"What I think is inappropriate is Arlo sending you instead of coming on his own. Especially when he's sitting in a car five blocks away." She replied evenly and from the corner of his eye he could see his Sergeant and teammates were all wearing the same cool expression, unphased but ready for action.

He just didn't know whether to hope it came or that it didn't.

Whatever hurt her less.

"I'm a middle man. If I don't go in the middle I go obsolete. I think I've made myself useful enough you wouldn't want that." Clark said with a mocking smile but it got tighter when she shrugged; a man who didn't like answering to others. And one who knew that in this case he had no choice. Did that make him want to find one?

"Then tell me what Arlo wants."

"He's got a shipment that's supposed to come through later this week but since you've staked your claim on the city he's willing to have you intercept it."

"What kind of shipment?" Voight asked and distantly he wondered what his boss made of that claim but he focused on how Clark looked to Tess, his lip curling slightly when she just raised her brows before reluctantly answering the older man.

"Automatic weapons, a few explosives, the usual."

"Long way from smuggling art."

"I got pushed out of that field." He told him with a sneer but Jay saw his throat bob, a line he was careful not to cross. "You spend long enough around a blaze the only people willing to associate with you are the ones who aren't afraid to get burned. Or burn back. Heard you dealt with that not long ago."

Tess just smiled and shrugged again, the brand on her arm covered but still perfectly vivid in his mind. "It's going to make a hell of a tattoo in a year."

"Is Arlo someone who'll try to burn back?" He asked, doing his best to convey that while he understood right now the other man's concern was for what Tess would do to him he also needed to worry about him too.

And he did.

"No." Clark answered quietly, and he was pretty sure truthfully but his slight pause as he turned back to Tess had the rage inside him flaring hot and hard. And dark, a feeling he wasn't used to enjoying. "But I don't know what kind of favour he wants."

"Tell him to come ask me." She said with another smile, motioning for him to sit before she did the same and only after he pulled out his phone did she finally meet his stare.

Jay didn't want to do anything Clark might notice but when her shoulders dipped he knew she could see his love and trust, just like he knew seeing it in the others was what had her rolling them back. She still didn't want to need their support but she appreciated it.

And if necessary she would use it.


He didn't get to talk to Tess before Arlo arrived because when he'd flicked his eyes to the hall she'd subtly shaken her head. Whether that was because she didn't want Clark to think they were bothered or because she didn't want to let her guard down, probably both, so he'd just sent her another text telling her he loved her and that they had this under control. And he was sure they did.

True to her word she'd showed him how Cas worked, which had been even more impressive than he'd expected. And while she'd been right that there really wasn't much else they could do Jay had still wanted to be involved so he'd spent the last few months going over everything. And he did mean everything. Starting with those three and hundred and twenty five active threats. Arlo Jones had not been on that list, his threat level was orange but on the edge of red, something he wouldn't have guessed with how warmly he greeted Tess.

"Resa!" The man exclaimed with a big smile, a real one which startled him, almost as much as the nickname, not one he'd heard before but then the man was coming to a stop in the middle of the bullpen and his attention went right to his smirk as he looked him over. "Gotta say, I was rooting for the merc."

Dean.

The British mercenary she'd been involved with, the one who'd left her in a dingy in the middle of the South China Sea the last time they'd seen each other.

The story had made it easy to consider himself the better man, as did his occupation though Jay knew Tess wouldn't be with someone who didn't have integrity. And though he tried Clark's smirk told him he hadn't managed to hide how much the barb stung.

"I didn't know you were so invested in my love life." Tess replied smoothly and it was only her easy smile that had him relaxing, especially as the arms dealer looked her over, the kind of perusal he, and she normally would've laid someone out for.

"Well a woman like you doesn't come around often."

"Oh Arlo. The 'you're not like other girls' line died years ago."

The man let out a bark of laughter and he couldn't help looking at his team, needing to confirm that they too felt it was genuine, which their surprise told him they did.

"You aren't like other women Resa." He said with a grin and Jay hated that he wanted to like him, especially because he could see that while Tess didn't like having him here she did seem to like him as a person.

At least he seemed easy to work with.

"I have a shipment coming in two days from now, from Canada. Guns, bombs, all kinds of bad things I'm sure these fine officers don't want on their streets." Arlo said with grins at his team, the rage in his gut rising again when he saw how he looked Hailey over, though of course she just gave him an unimpressed look. And then him when she saw him watching. "I'm willing to give it all to you, including who sold them to me, without even asking for a refund."

"How noble." He said quietly, holding the arms dealers surprised stare with a cool one of his own. "What are you asking her for?"

"I've never known you to let a man speak for you." He said to her, the dismissal another sting but one that faded quickly this time.

"He's not." Tess said simply but the rise of her chin sent a wave of love rushing through him. "He's asking a question. So answer him."

It was a testament to their skill that Clark and Arlo just blinked their surprise but they were a lot more thorough when they looked him over again. Obviously they'd heard of him, and had deemed him not worth their consideration but they knew Tess well enough to know that if she respected someone it was because they deserved it. And even though they knew he hadn't always deserved it he did have her respect. And because they thought so highly of her they gave him theirs.

And that was the weirdest fucking feeling, a strange mix of pride and remorse that had him sitting taller.

"I want… information." Arlo answered slowly, to him though his eyes flicked her way, nervously which had the rage inside him surging again.

"What kind?"

Again he hesitated and this time everyone straightened. "I want to know the number."

No.

There were a lot he could be talking about but Jay didn't want her to give any of them. And neither did she.

"Everything you could ask me for, and you want that?" Tess asked lowly and though he could feel his team looking at him Jay didn't take his eyes off her, just barely holding back from leaping across his desk and throttling the arms dealer when he smiled at her.

"I know better than to ask you for the kinds of favours I'd want. Besides, what's more powerful than the truth? And the truth behind a legend?" That was fucking madness in his eyes, he had to be to ask this of her and he was about to say the hell with holding back when movement caught his eye; Clark, shaking his head.

At him.

Telling him stand down and he wasn't sure why but he listened.

"That's priceless."

It wasn't.

The cost was killing her but after a moment Tess just lifted her head higher, her voice so soft, so even it broke his heart. "Forty-two."

Well it wasn't her kill count. It was too small to be but that just meant what it was… He leveled Arlo with a fierce glare, pleased to see the man's shoulders curl in before he gave her a slow nod and made to leave. Not that she was paying attention, her face was that operatives mask, perfectly composed, so much it surprised him when she spoke again.

"Who asked you to ask me that?"

"No one." Arlo said quickly, immediately which made him inclined to believe him but when he hesitated Jay's stomach dropped. "I was with some people recently and it… came up."

It's never direct. It's whispers and shadows that never lead to anything concrete.

"Include their information. And find out if anyone else has been talking about me." Tess said coldly and with tight faces he and Clark nodded, leaving without any of the swagger they'd come in with but he only got a moment to breathe, to share a sad but steady look with Voight before Tess brought his attention back to her, that quiet evenness in her voice making his heart break. "To be clear, that's not the number of people I have killed. That's the number of people I killed after my aunt was murdered."