A Bloody Kind of Rescue

Who: Becky, Jesse, and Felix (NPC)
Where: Becky's Apartment
When: Afternoon

Monday had been entirely too busy for Felix to confront her, but with the Founder's Day celebration going on in the city (was it really already February?), work had been cut to a half day and thus the perfect time for Felix to have a 'talk' with her.

Becky had no idea how he found out she'd gone to the Drake over the weekend and it freaked her out. Did he have someone following her? She knew he had a few private investigators on retainer -- he was a lawyer after all -- but the idea that he might have one following her around creeped her out. Again, Becky wondered how she'd ended up in this position, the mistress of a manipulative older man who, some days, Becky thought might finally snap and kill her.

"I hadn't seen my friend in awhile and so I just went to see if she was working that day. To make sure she was alright," Becky was saying as her and Kowalski stood in the middle of the expensive living room of her apartment. The sounds of festivities in the park were audible, adding a strange soundtrack to the 'discussion'. "That's all, I promise."

"What friend?," Felix spat, eyes glittering with a fury that went undisguised and wasn't at all pleasant to witness. His hand clutched his glass tightly as he fixed Becky with an unrelenting glare, demanding that bit of information. "What fucking friend could you have at the Drake?" Oh yes, Felix kept tabs on things, especially what was his. And this bitch? Who worked for him and lived in the fucking apartment that he paid for? Was very much his. And was very much traipsing about in the fucking Drake, apparently. He swirled the scotch in his glass, ice clinking, before throwing back the rest of it, eyes never leaving Becky for a second. "And how does checking up on 'her' involve eating lunch with the manager?"

"An old friend of mine from school who works there. I was sitting there and the manager just happened by and was asking me about her, because she wasn't there. It wasn't some date or whatever you're thinking, Felix. Please calm down." She was on dangerous ground here. He was in a temper and any false move would spell badness for Becky, but Becky still had that fight in her. She wouldn't let him take everything out of her. "I promise that's all it was."

He caught the whole non-answer there, the roundabout manner in which she responded. And that? Was not going to fucking fly from some stupid, low-class harlot who lived on his dollar. "Are you trying to play a game with me?" He asked, voice dangerous at that suggestion. "Do you think I'm fucking stupid? Did I fucking ask where you knew her from? Or if she was or wasn't there? No," he spat again, the drained glass hitting hard against the coffee table. "I asked who was your friend," he sneered, as if very idea of a Becky with a friend was ridiculous, "What's her fucking name, since I have to spell it out for you? And get me another fucking scotch -- the glass is empty, since you're too dumb to notice," He leaned back in his chair, leaving the glass on the coffee table, both hands curled upon the armrest. His gaze was ever on her, fixed there, not even bothering to help by handing the glass over, waiting for her to walk over and pick it up.

Becky swallowed tightly, but kept her posture relaxed and non-threatening. She was standing, but she was standing far enough away that she wasn't looking. He didn't like the looming. She'd learned that the hard way. "Her name's Amelia and she's a waitress." Oh god, she was going to pay for it if he went ahead and looked into exactly who Amelia was. She should have never gone to look for Evie. Never gone to check on her best friend. "You've had a couple now. Perhaps a glass of water instead?" she suggested carefully. He was hard enough to deal with when he wasn't drinking. Scotch always made him mean, not just angry.

And Felix was up in an instant, his average frame quick as a flash to close the distance between them, fingers digging into her arm. "You little bitch," he started, voice low, growling before her face. "You're standing in my apartment, wearing the clothes I've paid for, living off my dollar, and sleeping in my goddamned bed and have the nerve to offer me a fucking water? If I wanted water, I would have asked for water, you goddamned bitch." With each emphasis on the I's and my's and the 'bitch's a little bit of spittle hit her face as he spat them out. His fingers dug in deeper, pulling her in closer, as his mouth pressed against her ear, that furious growl going lower and colder as he continued,

"So get me that goddamned scotch, or maybe your mother can get it for me," he paused, a cruel smile brushing against her lobe, letting the words hang there for effect; the voice got lower, a whisper, as the mouth started to press against her hair. "Because I know she's been living on my dollar too," he murmured lightly, cruel smile still playing there, pulling away after a pause just so he could see how that bit of news sunk in. That Felix Andros Kowalski always knew where his money went, and to whom. Then he pushed her roughly toward the direction of the coffee table, letting go as he headed back to his chair. "My fucking scotch. Now."

Becky was wearing heels still and his shove wasn't light by any means. Becky tried to catch herself but she went falling into the coffee table, hitting her ribs against the side. The air went out of her lungs and she coughed, trying to catch her breath.

He knew. How? She'd been so careful... ever since moving into the apartment, starting things up with Kowalski, Becky had been hiding things away. Stuff she could pawn, spare change, anything she could get her hands on that he wouldn't notice as missing. And she thought she'd been covert about getting money for her mother. Even if her mother tended to spend it on alcohol and make-up. At least it meant that the rent would be paid and her mother could still do what she wanted. "Alright," she coughed. "I'll get the scotch." Her knees burned from the rug. Nice. Gotta love the rugburn. Her arm hurt too and she wiped the spittle off her face, wondering again how she became one of 'those' girls.

Felix didn't bat an eyelash when she hit the coffee table -- wasn't his damn problem that the bitch was so clumsy. He did glare at her though as she started to get up. "You better not of have scuffed that," he growled, "It's worth a hell of a lot more than you have in your name." Which was undoubtedly why he had hired her, and that other damned bitch, in the first place. Girls who didn't have money to their names. Girls who were desperate. Girls who were eager to 'get out' of their situations. They were all so fucking... easy, and powerless. But he helped them, gave them money, got them out... it was only his goddamned right that he get something in return. "Get me a damned cigar while your at it -- and your clumsy ass better not trip and spill my scotch." He shot her a dirty look at that suggestion, one that spoke of Unpleasant Things were in store if she did. "Then we can talk about this... lunch date of yours," he sneered.

Jesse had tracked Becky down, though it hadn't been as easy as normal. It wasn't like she was in the phone book or anything. But Jesse did have connections, and those connections could find just about anyone. So, he had the address, and he was going to check upon her. He'd actually thought about going by the office today to have a little chat with her boss, but the holiday had thrown things off. A lot of things were closed, and his offices definitely were. But that didn't mean he couldn't go and see Becky. He walked up and had been about to knock, but there were voices inside, and they didn't sound like happy, cheerful ones. Frowning, he knocked...with the side of his fist and it was a little more like a pounding than a nice little polite gesture. He didn't want it to get missed over whatever was going on in there, after all. He hoped it wasn't anything Becky couldn't handle, but didn't have much hope for that, what with Evie having been taken for even a little ride by the boss. He could always hope it wasn't him, too, of course, since he didn't know what kind of company Becky kept these days. Still--he always got set on edge when he heard men and women in any kind of heated discussion or argument. Always.

Becky's side hurt as she got up and as she headed down the little hallway to the kitchen, that's when she heard the knock. It wasn't the usual knock of the delivery boy from the store or someone come to check if things were alright. It was pounding and an unfamiliar pound at that. Becky looked over her shoulder to see if Felix had noticed but he couldn't have. He was too far away and he wasn't yelling about it. That was good.

Going over to the door, Becky peeped through the peephole and felt all the blood drain from her face. There was Jesse James standing on the other side of her door. "Shit," she muttered, her heart already pounding too fast for her liking. He could not be here. He so could not be here. How could he anyway? He didn't know where she lived. And then her thoughts went to Evie and how she wasn't at the Drake the other day and then she started getting worried too. But if Becky knew Jesse James, she knew that if he had a reason to be there, he wasn't going to leave until someone answered the door. The arguing certainly hadn't been quiet, and who knew how long he'd been standing there.

So it was with slightly shaking hands that Becky undid the locks on the door and opened it just a bit to poke her head out. Her hair was a bit disheveled from the knock she took but overall, she looked to be okay... besides the look of panic in her eyes. "This is really not a good time, Jesse," she hissed. For years, Becky had settled on calling Jesse 'Jim'. She'd found it confusing with him and his daughter sharing the same name and 'Jesse James' made it hard to keep a straight face when she was younger, and calling him by his last name made him sound like a butler, so she'd just shortened it. It was a habit she had. Evie was E after all (instead of mispronouncing Evie like everyone else tended to do). So by calling him by his proper name, it was obvious that it really wasn't a good time.

Yeah, there it was, something being a whole lot of wrong. Which was technically why he was there in the first place, because he wanted to be sure she was okay--and hey look she wasn't. Like, right now she wasn't. He didn't even need the name thing to tell him that. He'd seen girls look like that before. Hell, not even that long ago. He leaned his shoulder against the doorframe, and set his foot down so if she tried to shut the door it was going to bounce off of his boot. He crossed his arms and looked at her. "I can tell." he told her. "How about you come out here, and I go in there and see what can't be worked out?" he suggested. And by 'worked out' he meant 'violently evict whoever was putting that look in her eyes'.

Becky had been around the James household to know what that tone meant and what Jesse had in mind. That protective older brother that he pulled with his sisters. There were two reactions to it. One was wounded pride and a bit of anger. She wasn't his sister and she wasn't a little girl. She could handle the problem. The other was 'Oh thank god, someone can take care of this'. Becky was someone who prided herself on being able to take care of herself, but she wasn't stupid (not entirely anyway). She knew that she was reaching the end of the line sooner or later, but that didn't mean the end of the line had come now.

She looked down at the foot blocking her from closing the door and back up at him. "I'm handling it," she said, forcing a smile on her face. "Really, I am. Nothing needing special back-up. Adult here. Perfectly capable. How about you come by later and we can talk, if you really wanna?" This was her, trying to handle it.

Felix may not have noticed the pounding at the door, but he sure as hell noticed that his scotch and smoke weren't here yet. And, really, they should've been. Did she seriously have the nerve to dilly dally? After every fucking thing he'd done for her? The bitch had no goddamned excuses, that was for sure. With that alcoholic for a mother, she should have learned to pour a fucking scotch at the age of three. Which was a sentiment that Felix thought fit to express, and leaned back in his chair a bit to get a glimpse of Becky to call that bit out at her and... what the fuck? She wasn't where she was supposed to be, and Felix's eyes hardened as he took that fact in. What was more, now that he was paying attention he could make out quiet voices coming from the doorway. And his eyes turned cooler, even if he couldn't hear what was being said or make out who was at the door. And the fact that he couldn't? That the tones were quiet enough to not reach his ears? Told him it certainly wasn't the goddamned delivery boy. He made his way toward the door, being remarkably quiet for an nonathletic man, until he was standing just a couple feet behind Becky, taking in the lowbrow trash littering the entrance way.

"Can I help you?" Felix asked, voice a bit uncertain, everything about him lacking any malice. Somewhere along the way from his chair to the door, his undisguised sentiments had morphed into something wholly unassuming, if understandably perplexed. It was a look he wore in public often, that often disarmed whatever unflattering whispers occasionally sneaked up.

Becky didn't look back at Felix when he came up behind her. She still looked at Jesse and there went the blood from her face again. Her eyes got bigger and her lips pressed firmly together. Her hand holding the door tightened and her entire body language went from nervous to absolutely tense and terrified. There was no doubt that she was scared because this situation was going to get bad and fast. She didn't answer because she wasn't the one being spoken too and for the life of her, she couldn't open her mouth. She looked at Jesse, wishing she could speak, but could only beg him with her eyes to go so he didn't have to see this. This was her shame. This was her problem, not his. No matter how much that part inside of her was yelling at her to let Jesse help her, she wasn't going to let it overtake her. She was an adult, she had to do this.

Jesse's eyes had ticked to the guy for just a heartbeat, just a fraction of a second before they were back on Becky, and he saw her react to the man's presense. Which really, for him was again--something he'd seen before--and completely negated the man's demeanor. He'd seen that too. A lot of guys could play the 'look, I'm a nice guy, really!' card when they wanted to. As he'd told Evie, if they were all obvious as hell, it wouldn't work so fucking often. But it did. People were good actors, and that was just one of the follies of the world.

He kept his eyes on Becky for a long moment, just remembering her as a scrawny little kid. How she'd always be at their house, running around with Evie, and sometimes he'd take the time to play with them, or just sit with them for a while while the parents were out. There was a hell of a lot of history there, was the point. She wasn't his sister, but in the grand scheme, that didn't matter in the slightest. It was why he was there to check on her in the first place. And little Becky here was not okay. "Nope, pretty sure you can't." he said, speaking to Felix but his eyes were still on Becky. He reached out, offered her a hand. All she had to do was take it. Right now, he'd take her out of there if she let him. He'd go back for Felix after that. Sure, he really wanted to take a swing at the guy right now, but first and formost? He was there to help her. He was there for her. So her safety took precedence. His eyes spoke for him just as much as Becky's had hers. He'd get her out of there. All she had to do was go with him. He was there, just to get her out, however that happened. Whatever that took.

There was the slightest crack, a hardening of his gaze, as Felix watched the exchange. He wasn't enamored with how Jesse's focused remained on Becky. Really, Felix wasn't fond of the focus being on anywhere but him -- unless he deflected that focus intentionally. And, of course, there was the irritating matter of how this trash was trespassing on his territory. Or the fact that he was here at all, darkening Felix's doorstep, wasting his fucking time... oh, he'd have a talk with Becky, alright. One where the point of who she was or was not allowed to invite into his place had no chance of being missed. But the hardened gaze was replaced with a cheerful -- if purposefully wary -- twinkle in his eye, and Felix took a step forward, one hand resting casually on Becky's shoulder. He didn't look at her -- he'd deal with her later, definitely -- but kept his gaze focused politely onto Jesse; his attention wholly on getting the trash out of his doorstep.

"I'm afraid Miss Adair and I have plans for the day," Felix replied, pleasantly, only just now breaking eye contact with Jesse to smile just as pleasantly at Becky; his expression very much a pleasant 'right, Miss Adair?' that full expected her affirmation. But before she actually answered, his attention returned to Jesse. "But maybe you can stop by some other time, Mister...?" Not that Jesse was at all worth the formality.

Becky swallowed and never got the opportunity to even attempt to return Felix's happy facade. She was still staring at the hand that Jesse was extending to her like a lifeline. She wanted to take that hand and let him take her from this but then Felix's hand was on her shoulder, gripping just enough to remind her of everything at stake. Her mom. Evie. And she wished she could somehow convey it to Jesse that there was more on the line her than just herself. Becky didn't care about what happened to her. She never did.

She mouthed the word 'mom', to at least let him know that taking his hand wasn't going to be that simple. She knew if she tried 'Evelyn'... it would be a lost cause in trying to spare Jesse this fight that he didn't need to get into but she could see it in him, in the way his boot was blocking the door, the way his shoulders were set, how he was looking at her. He was trying to save her. Noble Jesse James.

"You know, I just don't remember asking you. About plans or anything else." Jesse said, aware that the guy had gotten just a bit too close to Becky for his liking. Plus there was the hand there on her shoulder. Which he distinctly didn't like and he could tell Becky didn't either. Again, his focus was on Becky, but he was speaking to Felix. "In fact I don't remember coming here to talk to you at all, so how about you mind your own business, and only come into conversations you've been invited to?" he suggested, still watching Becky. He got the word she mouthed. He just didn't find the term 'acceptable casualties' a viable one. He'd work something out. Plus, he was aware just what kind of slimeball this guy was. It was possible he deliberately treated Felix the way that he imagined he talked to Becky. In a 'the grown ups are talking' manner. But frankly he didn't give a shit. He still didn't know if this guy was the boss or not, but whoever he was, he was a dick and he wasn't leaving Becky there with him. His eyes were on Becky, but he was waiting for the guy to make one move he could interpret as overtly threatening. He imagined it wouldn't be towards him. If he so much as saw a second of a flinch on Becky's face, the guy was going to be shitting teeth for a week.

The pleasant smile never wavered, even if it didn't reach his eyes quite the way it had just before. Felix Kowalski hadn't gotten to where he was by turning to a shrinking violet at the nearest obstacle. But inside? An icy fury coursed through his veins, and his gaze -- though it had always been aimed there -- truly honed in on Jesse. On his clothing (if one could call it that), his demeanor, the manner which he spoke -- which Felix determined would be paid for. Talking to him like that didn't come without a price. And if Jesse himself wouldn't pay for it? Becky sure as hell would. In fact, Felix determined the downstairs staff would pay for it as well. Because letting trash like this slip into here? On his floor? Was unacceptable. And lessons needed to be learned all around, and Felix saw bigger pictures than only taking it out on the transgressor. Really, lessons were best learned when others close by were made an example. Which he would do here, and wouldn't lose sleep over it, because phrases such as 'off limits' or 'going too far'? Were for the worthless idiots placed below his heel, who never got past the bottom wrung.

"Young man, what happens in my doorway is my business. Particularly when you seem to be bothering my friend here." His voice was civil and his eyes shone at his believable interpretation of the scene between them: riffraff in the doorway, inside a luxury apartment building, with the young female tenant looking rather nervous before said ruffian. And of course there was Felix, the harmless looking older gentleman trying to urge the younger troublesome-looking one away, in a manner far more civil than the likes of Jesse deserved. Physically? Felix wouldn't stand a chance and he knew it. But if a scene was caused that roused the neighbors? Well, there were certain prejudices in a place like this about people like Jesse that would work in the lawyer's favor.

Every second that ticked by while Jesse spoke, every second that ticked by between, in the tight uncomfortable silence. Every second that Felix spoke in that smooth, suave manner of his and Becky felt all the blood offically leaving her head. She felt sick and dizzy and nope. No way in hell were her eyes burning. She did not cry over any of this. She was absolutely never going to give Felix Kowalski the pleasure of seeing her cry and beg for mercy. Because with every word that Jesse spoke, she knew she what Felix would say, and she knew... she knew what the bastard was going to do, but worse.

Her mom was dead. He was going to kill her mother. Or beat her mother and then beat her. Or something. He was going to do terrible things and Becky's mouth opened because she wasn't going to be able to get out of the canyon she was already in. But all Becky could find she was able to say was, "Okay." And she looked straight into Jesse's eyes when she said it. She wasn't physically going to take his hand, but verbally she did and she prayed that he got that. And all Becky could think about was that Jesse had a daughter who was at school right now or at the festival whose dad was going to get in trouble because of her and she felt guilty. But Becky didn't want her mom to get hurt.... and she didn't want to get hurt.

That was all that Jesse needed. His attention switched immediately, from Becky to the guy, and he shouldered the door open farther, reaching out to take Becky's hand on his own, to draw her out into the hallway. And if there was resistance on the guy's part, well, there was that whole teeth-eating thing. Jesse was more than happy to do that. though the more he looked at the situation the more he was convinced this was the guy who he owed a beating to in the first place. Still, Becky first. She could wait in the hall. Out of the way of any harm.

For a clear, undisguised second, the shock of Becky's answer wiped the facade clear from his face. And all that ugly, white-eyed wrath was on full display, morphing the face from a concerned gentleman's to something more monstrous. What the..?! Fucking. Bitch. She was going to pay. This impudent asshole was going to pay. Felix was going to make sure every fucking thing and one they cared about was going to pay, and he would make certain that these two knew it. But then he got control, his wild-eyed fury tucking back behind the mask. This time the mask wasn't quite so serene and controlled as previously, but Felix quickly adapted to it. There were cracks, but they would work to his advantage -- this criminal-looking type (whether Jesse was or wasn't, Felix could certainly put that notion in the right people's heads) was trespassing onto his property and harassing him -- therefore it was perfectly understandable that Felix appear harassed.

But before Jesse could properly pull Becky into the hallway, Felix's hand tightened onto the girl's shoulder. "Miss Adair, I beg you to reconsider," he stated very deliberately, "going off with this sort could be dangerous." With ever the slightest stress on 'dangerous'. His gaze was fixated onto Becky, though his observant nature took note of Jesse from the corner of his eye. Between them, there was an undoubtable message there, spoken in a tone tightened by that reigned-in wrath. But he had also made certain that his voice carried, clearly articulating the situation for any who might be home and present to catch wind of a situation.

Becky didn't miss what he was saying and she didn't miss the tone but Felix seemed to have forgotten that it was the middle of the day and there was a festival going on outside. She knew her neighbors. The police officer -- Hollis -- had left that morning when she had. The couple down the hall were too absorbed in their own affairs to take notice of anyone else and wouldn't do anything to help if they'd been home to hear anything. And they weren't.

She gripped Jesse's hand tightly but Felix was gripping her shoulder, adding to the bruises already accumalting on her body. She was essentially trapped. The door was opened more and with her grip, she gently tugged Jesse's hand closer. "I'm not going off with him," she said clearly, although there was a rough edge to her voice from the tears that she had been holding back. "He's coming inside. It's rude to leave guests standing in the hallway."

Jesse stepped closer, eyes down on Felix' hand on Becky's shoulder. "Let her go." he said. it was toned lightly enough. And sure, Becky was getting him in the door, but he knew she was probably in a bad position right now, and he so wasn't leaving her here with this guy. Not by any stretch of the imagination. He kept hold of Becky's hand, but his other balled up into a fist, very subtly, like he shifted his weight just a little. He was good at preparing for a fight without looking like he was.

For a moment Felix stared Jesse down, tempted not to move his hand. Tempted to goad the man into making the first move, the one that Felix would be able to throw right back at him in the eyes of the law and society. But he was also highly aware that there was no other movement or noise coming from the hallway. And there was no point setting himself up to take some abuse if no witnesses were around for him to use later. So he dropped his hand, smiling again, though it was thinner than when he first saw Jesse in the doorway.

"Well, Miss Adair, does this guest have a name?" And, even if Jesse didn't look to be preparing for a fight, Felix knew to cover his bases. The lower class had a propensity for violence, it seemed, and this fool was apparently aiming for the role of The Hero. That fact was obvious, and one of which that Felix took advantage. He casually shifted himself without seeming to have any intent in it, except that once he was done Becky was very much placed between them. Because, generally, the Hero types preferred to avoid taking casualties -- especially when it was the equally idiotic Damsel In Distress.

His hand was off her shoulder now, but he was still looming up behind her, which made things awkward. But he was still holding her hand and she glanced down at it and then back at him. He could pull her away and go for Felix (there was no avoiding a physical confrontation at this point, what with that fist she saw casually at his side). They were still in the hallway and the only place to go was stumbling back into the room.

A small part of Becky considered using Jesse's real name. It was just one of those names you couldn't believe someone had, but Jesse had a record. She was pretty sure he did. And if Felix had one of his men ask around if she said his name was 'Jim', that could be traced to him too. "Johnny," she said finally. "Johnny Riggins. I went to high school with him." Her first boyfriend. A safe name because Johnny Riggins had gone off to war and had died a few years ago.

Once Felix let go of Becky, he drew her closer, out of Felix's range, and hopefully out from between them. Because yes, he was going to not go for anything violent if she was in the way. Which wasn't going to stay said violence, but he had priorities. He didn't say anything about her story. It was a little ridiculous since Jesse was ten years Becky's senior, but he appreciated that she didn't drop his real name. That would have sucked. He kept his gaze on the guy, giving a smile that wasn't friendly.

"From high school? Oh really?" and he didn't keep the sneer from his voice at that obvious bullshit of a cover story. Not unless 'Johnny' had been held back even longer than the typical inner city dunce. The bitch was an idiot -- which was, well, no surprise there on his part -- and she seemed to think him one was well. Which she would really, truly regret. Because one thing Felix wasn't? Was an idiot. Not like Becky, and not like the dumb neanderthal she was clinging to. Whose real name Felix was certain he could get -- play the right people and he could get pretty much anything, after all. And once he had that he could take care of him too, to the point that he'd never think of smiling like that at Felix ever again.

Unfortunately, for all the conniving and creative ways that were already turning through his head on how to truly shatter Becky and Mr. Hero into sad excuses for a shell? Felix's sharp mind was acutely aware of his disadvantage. Getting into a fight with Jesse? Wasn't going to end well. And the silence of the neighbors was loud and clear in Felix's ears. He would take care of things -- oh, he would take care of things -- but it wasn't going to work so well if his face got bashed in before doing it.

So Felix moved, grabbing his coat and hat from behind him. "Well, I guess I should make my exit then -- who am I to stand in the way of old friends?" He reflected Jesse's smile back at him, momentarily dropping the pretense, "It was nice to meet you, Johnny--" because Felix wasn't going to waste proper titles and 'Mr. So-and-So' on someone like this "--I shan't forget it. And, Miss Adair, I'll guess I'll see you tomorrow at the office." And there was a definite something in his tone, something threatening; that explicitly stated that her not showing? was Unacceptable. Extremely so.

It wasn't like Becky had expected him to buy the high school story. It was simply the fact that it was a name that had no victim who could be caught in the crossfire. Becky hated to admit that she felt stronger standing behind Jesse, with him between her and Kowalski. But she did and there was no use thinking about her own personal shortcomings at that moment. The threat was clear to her and she wondered if Jesse had picked up on it. It was a tone she'd heard before and it made her blood run cold. "I'm not going to be coming in tomorrow," she said, her voice not loud like his, but it was firm. She would not be going in to work tomorrow. She wasn't stupid. This was her chance and she was going to take it.

So the guy was a coward, that much was certain. Jesse could definitely see that with him deciding now was a good time to leave, before he got his ass kicked. When Becky said she wouldn't be coming in, he gave her hand a little reassuring squeeze, definitely backing that up. "And you know, she and I have plans today, so you should probably just stay away." Jesse said, tossing back that 'we've got plans!' thing Felix had initially told him. He hadn't missed the threat, but if Becky was actually standing up on her own on something, he wouldn't do anything unless he had to. He didn't want her to feel like she was helpless. Not that he didn't think this situation was going to require more out of him that anything else, but he could always do it another time. And he had time to spare to keep tabs on the guy. Now, all he had to do was walk away, and he and Becky could get some of her things and he'd take her back home. Or, that was the plan at the moment.

Becky's declaration froze the smile on his face, and Felix's eyes narrowed dangerously at her. For a moment, it looked like he might take a step forward -- and in the heat of that moment, the temptation to backhand that mouth shut up was almost too much to ignore. But Jesse's smart-ass comment immediately jerked Felix's attention onto him. And the look he threw the man was absolutely poisonous. And, despite the obvious disparity in physical strength, Felix thought he'd relish taking a fist to his mouth as well. But he held back, and that frozen smile now widened, something cruel and dark and downright gleeful cutting across his face as his eyes glittered back onto Becky. Becky, who was suddenly so 'strong' her with Mr. Hero beside her, who had forgotten that she was his, that he knew her. He knew all about her -- her friends, her weaknesses, her mother. And there was an absolutely sinister joy on his face as he took the time to remind her of all that.

"Well, that certainly is a shame, Miss Adair," he started, eyes flashing bright as he continued, deliberately drawing the words out, relishing each and every one of them. "You must pass on my well-wishes to your -- mother -- for me," he paused dangerously for a moment, letting that specific word drive home before driving the trump nail in, "and that friend of yours. Miss James... Evelyn, right?" Not that there was ever any doubt there, Felix had practically known the stupid girl's life story before Becky and him started this 'arrangement' that she was backing out of. "Well, you let Miss James know that the office misses her." And with that the smile morphed again, a chilling-if-shallow reflection on just where his mind went there.

The plan changed. Immediately. And without any sort of warning whatsoever, Jesse swung. Felix's attention was on Becky anyways, and he just didn't even give a damn that it was a cheap shot while the other guy wasn't looking. He'd just made not so veiled threats. Which was more than enough to set Jesse off, since he'd been on edge to start with, and just itching for an excuse. That was sufficient, especially with the name drop of his sister. So, he'd had quite enough of this guy's stupidity. And if anyone was going to be handing out lessons today, it was going to be Jesse. The first one being 'shut the fuck up'. That was best demonstrated with the hardest punch he could throw to the guy's jaw, stepping into it while he was at it. It meant he let go of Becky's hand, but he figured she'd go into the apartment further to get away and she wasn't in harm's way right now either way. But mostly? He was going for breaking Felix's jaw.

Becky didn't exactly scream when Jesse went at Felix, but she certainly yelped at the ferocity in the punch. She'd been expecting it as soon as the words 'Miss James' left his mouth and she'd given Jesse's hand a quick squeeze for luck because she knew that as soon as that guy was done talking, Jesse was going to launch himself. She was actually surprised that Jesse had allowed the man to finish and she went scrambling back behind the breakfast bar for cover at least a safe distance away.

Felix's attention had been fully focused onto Becky, and he was completely unaware of any connection of Jesse's to Evelyn, so the contact of Jesse's fist to his face had been completely unexpected. He wasn't even aware of it until he felt his head snap back, and his balance was suddenly off-kilter, whatever awareness he had of Becky and Jesse momentarily gone, and he found himself having to stumble to regain some form of balance before he was at all able to start piecing the events together. He blinked rapidly a couple of times, eyes shifting onto Jesse and -- realizing what happened -- took on a rabid look that nearly had him foaming at the mouth. "What the fuck--?!" was all he could spit out before he registered the bitter metallic taste of his own blood tainting his mouth.

Jesse had a dark look in his eyes as he advanced on Felix, not letting him get far before he knocked another punch in his direction. He wasn't much up for answering stupid questions at the moment. And if he could still talk, he wasn't hit hard enough. So he went into that, going for heavy, fully weighted punches, and he shoved him, too, to knock him stumbling off balance enough to knock him into a table, or whatever furniture was near enough to knock into.

Felix scrambled, initially trying every which direction he could manage to get away. But all that served to do was to land the punches in various places, none of which were at all equipped to take blows. And when the shove came he went down easily, cheek smacking against the coffee table, scuffing it with smears of his own blood, a bright red shining against the carved wood. His hand came up, trying to use the table to push himself up, but through the pain he couldn't even manage it halfway. He was dizzy, and breathing was difficult, a sharp excruciating pain pierced at his lungs. And then there was that metallic taste, seeming to overspill in his mouth, and he coughed. Hard. Which elicited a gutteral cry and a sharp jerk of his body in response; because suddenly he noticed his jaw was all pins and needles, and the cough had made it move a way it shouldn't have been able to.

Jesse was aware of something. Generally, he didn't overdo a job when he was doing something like this. He only did enough that he figured they'd learned. Only in this case? This guy had been at this for years. he wasn't some punk kid who just needed to be taught he wasn't the only one in the world who could throw a punch. No, this guy was someone who'd been at this for a long time, perfected shit. And he'd made threats to family and friends. Now, Jesse didn't know if he'd follow through on that? But he also couldn't take the chance. So while normally he might have walked away then, grabbed Becky and gone, he didn't. He was putting this guy down for a long time, if he had any say in it, and he did. This was long term hospital stay land they were heading into. Possible paralyzation. It was damn hard to knock people around from a wheelchair.

So things went on. Not long, it was short if brutal. But once he had him down, it was pretty easy to land what he wanted to, and he was going for a whole lot of damage. Shit that was going to take a long time to heal, that was going to keep him laid up for a long enough time to ponder the error of his ways. When he finally did stand, looking down at Felix in a heap on the floor, he spoke. "If I so much as see you on the same street as her, I'm coming for you again. If anything happens to anyone she cares about? I'll find you. Whatever it is you think you can dish out? You're going to get it back. Tenfold." he promised, tone low. Then he grabbed him by the front of the shirt and went for a punch designed to knock the lights right out.

And out the lights went indeed, and as soon as his now bloodied shirt was released Felix body fell unceremoniously to the floor. Only a faint guttural 'umph!' and a twitch of his fingers registering that contact. And then there was no more movement, save for the slightest and pained rise and fall of the chest as evidence he was still alive..

Becky had to look away once Felix started gurgling blood so while the fight went on in the other room, Becky wrapped ice up in a bag and got a wet dishtowel. She moved slow, flinching with each grunt that came from the other room. It was... a little horrifying but Becky was used to violence and she knew that what was happening to Felix very well could've been happening to her but with a blunt object.

When she came back into the room, Felix was motionless on the floor but there was that gurgling sound and Jesse standing over his body amid the destroyed living room. "Jesse?" she asked softly, coming up slowly behind him to stand next to him, not wanting to startle him. "Here." She handed him the wet dish towel to wipe up as if he'd just gotten his hands dirty working on a car or something. She'd offer to do it for him but that would've been odd and awkward. And Becky had no idea what to say. 'Thank you' seemed too trivial and ridiculous. It couldn't encompass what Jesse just did for her. So instead she settled on, "Are your hands okay?" He'd hit hard. The sound of fists hitting flesh had felt thunderous and Becky wasn't sure if he'd broken his hand.

He'd heard her coming, and she didn't startle him. It wasn't like he was in some haze, where everything had been done on impulse. No, that had been deliberate. He looked to her, and looked down at his hands, noting the blood dripping down off of his knuckles. Right. Well, that definitely needed taking care of, and he took the towel from her to start on that. There was a twinge in his left hand, and he wasn't actually sure he hadn't given himself hairline fractures but he didn't say anything about it. "Yeah, they're fine, Becky." he told her, tone light. Gentle, even. He gave her the briefest of smiles. "Why don't you go pack a bag?" he suggested. "You can stay with me for now, we'll figure out a next move after you're far away from here, okay?"

Becky wanted to protest and say that no, she didn't need to stay with him, she could go back home and stay with her mother... but now with this... was her mother safe? She held out the icepack she made for him too, not impatient for him to take it or anything, just holding it out for him for when he was done. They could talk at his place, she supposed. The faster they got out, the better. "Okay," she said again, again taking the proverbial hand that was being extended. It was then she realized, watching the ice pack shake, that her hands were shaking. Becky took a deep, calming breath, trying to focus on the task at hand. It was okay. Felix was out. Jesse was getting her out of here. That certainly opened a whole door of problems that she felt but first: bag packing. "I'll be right back." She reached over and put the ice pack in his jacket pocket since it was easy and started heading out of the room. "Oh, um, there's a bathroom through that door over there, if you want to make sure you've, uh, got it all." She gestured to his face, where there was a little blood spatter.

Jesse watched her shaking, and almost reached out to her, to try to be reassuring, but he still had some blood on him so he imagined in the grand scheme of reassuring things, that didn't rate. He did take the ice out of his pocket though and put it to the back of his hand, tying it there with the towel. Then he went to the bathroom to get the lingering blood. There was some on his clothes he couldn't do much about, but his coat was black and therefore wasn't going to be showing anything. So he just zipped it up. Then he walked back out to see that Felix was still breathing, which he was. He could call the hospital himself later and try to talk with a broken jaw. He wasn't lifting a finger to help him. Then he walked back towards where she'd disappeared. "Need any help?" he called, not wanting to intrude on her bedroom or anything, but not wanting to leave her all alone either.

"I'm fine!" she called back as she backed out from under the bed with a little box in hand that she'd taped up in the box springs. "I'm just about done. You can, uh, come in if you want." He wasn't far outside the door and it wasn't like the room was a mess besides the drawers being left open. She'd changed out of her expensive office clothes and had on an old navy blue dress that fit better in with what Jesse was wearing (besides being more comfortable). Less questions asked, that's what Becky was thinking. "How did you sneak in, anyway?" Because she knew that he shouldn't have been able to just walk in and stop by. "Did you use the service doors?"

"I have my ways." he told her as he appeared in the doorframe. "Don't worry about it." he added. Walking over to where her suitcase was, he picked that up, wanting to be out of there five minutes ago. Still, he was watching Becky, a lot of questions going through his mind. But they could wait. They could definitely wait.

Of course. He always had ways. So she just nodded in acceptance of that and looked around the bedroom, the little box clutched in her hand before shoving it into her purse. "Okay. We're good." Her hands were shaking again and she scowled a little at them. "What should we do about..." she jerked her head towards the hallway.

"He'll live. He can call the hospital when he wakes up." Jesse said. He definitely hadn't done anything life threatening. Just long term inconvenient. It was going to make him really preoccupied with healing for a long time. "Let's get out of here." he encouraged, heading for the door, but he waited for her, deliberately putting himself between her and Felix even if there was a better chance of being stuck by lightning at the moment than that guy doing anything but lying there bleeding.

"Should we take the back door?" she asked, not hesitating very much in following him. Becky wanted to take her suitcase back from him. She could carry it herself, but Jesse didn't seem concerned about it so she just busied herself with opening the door and peeking around to see if anyone had come home. It was just another thing he was doing for her. "It's just, the doorman is a buddy of his and..." She just wanted to delay the inevitable retaliation for as long as possible.

"Yeah, back door." Jesse agreed. "Just to avoid questions and everything else." he said. He gave her a light, reassuring smile. "It's going to be okay, Becky." he promised, and he sounded like he believed himself. "Don't worry." Then he started out into the hall, since no one was there, and started to lead to the back entrance which was the one he'd used in the first place.

Becky followed him, having only given him a nod in return and kept quiet as they made their way out, the only sound the echoes of their footsteps in the back employee stairwell. There was a definite surreal quality to the whole thing that had Becky wondering if this was a dream. It couldn't actually be real, could it? Jesse showed up, beaten the life out of Felix, and she was now heading down a back stairwell with him and going to his place. Only one person saw them -- one of the regular maids who opened her mouth to say something at them, but then saw the suitcase and shut it, going on her way. And that had Becky wondering how often that woman had seen something like this, either in this building or just the general situation. Becky felt weak and stupid all of a sudden and she they hit the exit, she put a hand on his arm. "I can carry my suitcase. It's not a problem." She nodded to the ice pack he still had against his other hand.

"I got it." He told her, getting the door for her too, as he glanced around at the parking lot in the back. He led the way to a car that the doors were open on, and opened it up, dropping the suitcase in the back of it, and then he pulled the wires from beneath the steering collumn, so he could hotwire it. He hadn't done it in a while, but that didn't mean he had forgotton how. It was like riding a bike, you never quite forgot.

"I could get us a taxi, you know," Becky pointed out mildly from her side of the car as he went to work getting the car to start. She hadn't expected him to start doing that. Sure, the idea that Jesse had a car with him was a bit far fetched and she didn't recognize this particular one, so she figured he'd borrowed it from a friend. And then there was wire tampering. Wire tampering on top of what had gone on already didn't seem like much of a big deal though. And she told herself it wasn't a big deal as she got into the car, but left the passenger door open, one leg out of the car just in case there needed to be a quick escape.

"It's Founder's Day." he pointed out. "A taxi today is going to be impossible to get, darlin. Don't even try." he said. It was nuts downtown. There wasn't going to be any public transportation that was going to get anyone anywhere. It was this or walking, and he didn't want to encourage anyone seeing them. He wanted out of here ten minutes go, so he was doing it his way. The car sputtered then started, and he looked over at her so she'd shut the door.

Right. Founder's Day. Becky shut the door and settled in, wondering where the hell he was going to drop the car off when they got to his place. But, she reminded herself, Jesse had done stuff like this before. She looked back down at her hands as Jesse pulled out of the little private parking lot, merging into the traffic around the park and the detours that had been set up. Her hands were still shaking even if her heart wasn't pounding any more. Was she really out. "Have you seen E lately?" she suddenly asked, even if the question had the obvious answer. If he was showing up on the doorstep to beat the tar out of her boss, then the only person who could've told him was his sister.

"Yeah, saw her the other day." Jesse said. "She's not been having such a great time lately." he said. "I'm sure she'd be happy to see you. She mentioned what kind of a guy your boss is. Only I think he's worse than she knew." he said, glancing in her direction. "I'm asking this once. Do we need to stop at the hospital? Are you hurt in any way that needs looking at?"

Becky frowned and resisted feeling her side, but she moved a bit and held back the wince as her side protested. Besides the other usual aches and pains that came with being around him, she didn't think it was too bad. "I'm good," she confirmed. Her shoulder hurt but not much to be other than an annoyance that would eventually go away. "If it's still bugging me tomorrow, then I'll go. Promise." She meant that. She would go and get it checked out but for now, it didn't seem to be any sort of issue.

The issue at hand was that Evie had talked to Jesse. Finally, crossed her mind, knowing that the secrecy had started taking a toll on her best friend, just like it was taking a toll on her. "How much did she tell you?" Becky asked carefully. Just because Jesse had been told about her situation (and it made her red with shame) didn't mean that Evie had spilled the whole story. Becky wasn't going to assume that.

"If what's still bugging you?" he asked, since he didn't know where she was hurt to start with. He wove in and out of traffic easily, wanting to get her to his place as soon as possible. "And I don't know. Enough?" he suggested. "She told me what a manipulative fuck he was. And how he made it seem like it was all her fault. And she told me you still worked for him." he said. Nope. Jesse hadn't actually had to go on much. He was an overprotective bastard at heart, and that dictated his actions on a massive level. He didn't need to have a whole horror story tossed his way. Just a little sold him on taking action.

Becky winced, not hiding it fast enough this time, as Jesse asked that question. "Just my ribs. It's fine for now. Seriously," she tried to assure that but now she suspected that he might just drive her to the hospital anyway. "If I thought they were broken or something, I'd tell you. Not going to try hide that. Which is why I'm going to wait to see if I really need to go to a doctor. You don't have to worry about me." Becky figured they were just a little bruised up, nothing no doctor could do except maybe wrap them and if she wanted that, she could just do it herself. "Did she tell you..." How to say it without actually saying it, although the telling about the boss seemed to imply that Jesse knew Evie no longer worked there. Felix had said she was 'missed', so that would be confirmation for him.

"You have to be careful with rib injuries." Jesse told her, tone gentle. He knew, he'd cracked enough of them in his time. "We'll get ice for you back at my place." he promised, totally ignoring the not worrying about her part. She knew better than that. It didn't even dignify an answer. "You'll need to give me a little more than that, B." he told her, quirking a faint half smile. "Did she tell me what? Obviously you're dancing around things, but it'd be a lot easier if you just said what you mean. I'm not very good at mind reading, regardless of how many women think I should be." he said, making a light joke at the end of it. Women and their tendency to think he should just 'know' things...

"Hey, you're the one whose surrounded by women all the time," she shot back, quirking her own smile back at him. "You wouldn't have survived as long as you did in that house without picking up on it." Becky loved the James family, and she liked being able to view it from her outside view, even if she wished she was a part of it. And from that vantage point, she was able to see those family dynamics, how hard it must've been on him to be the only boy in a family of sisters. Not only that, but now he was raising JJ, who was heading to sixteen. "I just... Well, I promised Evie I wouldn't spill the beans on her about her leaving and so do you know? About her situation?" She wasn't going to betray confidences. She didn't work like that. And this whole situation was kind of because of Evie, but Becky was the one who'd made the choices in the end.

"I know she went to work at the Drake, and that was a rather explosive discussion." Jesse said. "But it's getting taken care of." he added. Because Evie wasn't going to be there long. He didn't think. Unless she was still keeping secrets, and he hoped to hell not. "So if that's what you're talking about, yes I know."

That made Becky breathe a lot easier and she lay her head back against the headrest and looked at the ceiling of the car so she wouldn't have to look at him. "I know it's the Drake, Jim, but she got out and that's all I cared about. So I wasn't going to go running to someone about it. She's a big girl, can make her own choices, but she couldn't have stayed there." She felt a little bitter about it, and she knew that Evie had tried to find a job with two openings and sure, there was the abandoned feeling, but Evie got out. Evie had big dreams and a bright mind. She wasn't going to let a manipulative fucker like Kowalski destroy that.

"Well, you can't stay there either." Jesse told her, like he had a say in the matter. "You can stay with Baby J and I for however long you need to. We were going to look for a bigger apartment soon anyways, so there'll be room eventually. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you too." he said, since JJ had known Becky while growing up too. Just the other end of it than himself and Becky. He didn't go into a discussion about whether or not her getting out to the Drake meant she got out at all because he didn't see it like that. It was just as bad a situation, it just hadn't exploded yet.

"I need to put my mom up somewhere first," she said. "She can't stay at her place and I can't go there." She bit her lip, trying to think of where she could get her mother to go. Maybe stay with one of the women from the club... she just didn't want her mother coming home from work to some creep waiting for her. Not that Becky didn't already worry about that, what with her mother's behavior, but now it was a more definite and concrete worry. "I didn't sleep with the guy because I wanted to," Becky said suddenly. "I'm not... I'm not that kind of person and I think E thinks I might be, but I'm not. He was fucking around with her and she was just taking it and I wasn't going to let it happen. And then he said he was gonna hurt her and I wasn't gonna let it happen, so I did it. Then... she left. Got the job at the Drake and I tried to get out but then he said he was gonna hurt mom and I couldn't let that happen either so..."

She shrugged her shoulders after saying all that, feeling better than she had in a long time about the situation simply because she was able to say it. She didn't have to pretend she'd done it on her own volition like she had with Evie or her mother. "I don't want E to know. She doesn't need to know the reasons. She'd just go blame herself and I don't want her to do that 'cause I'd do it all over again for her. Or maybe I'd just shoot the guy in the face, I dunno." Becky rubbed her face with her hands and looked out the window at the traffic and the people walking around. She never saw herself in this situation. She knew better, but yet here she was.

Listening, Jesse had to keep his own anger held back. Just hearing it all made him want to go back there and give the guy even more to think about, but he couldn't do that, and he knew it. "Don't ever do that shit again." he said, tone light. "But thank you. You're a good friend." he told her, because with that story? She was queen of best friends. That was going above and beyond, and even if she didn't want Evie to know she'd done it, he could definitely tell her thank you. She could get the credit she deserved even if he didn't want her doing it ever again. "I don't care what kind of situation you or she ever find yourselves in? You call me first. Okay? None of this shit ever had to go down how it did. You didn't have to do what you did, she didn't have to do what she did--it was all unnecessary. You've got people out there who give a damn about you. Remember that." he told her. "Because this? Doesn't just hurt you." Which he always found to be the blind spot for women in situations like that. It never just hurt them, no matter what they thought.

"You don't have to thank me," she said softly, glancing over at him and at his hurt hand and the bits of blood she could make out on his jacket. "You don't have to stick out your neck for me. I know you did it for Evie and I just happened to be involved but seriously. Don't worry about me." She almost added 'I can handle it on my own' and realized that this was a really glaring example of when she couldn't handle it. But this was a rare situation. Out of the blue. "I appreciate it though. But Evie, well, you know how she is. She gets it in her head that she needs to do it on her own when she really knows that she can't because she's going to do great things someday. And someone needs to make sure that she doesn't go overworking herself or doing her whole self-guilt thing and I've been dropping the ball on it." Had Evie finally cracked and gone to Jesse? Her best friend had the occasional 'Ice Queen' tendency and things must've gotten pretty bad if she'd finally gone to Jesse.

"Oh knock that the fuck off right now." Jesse snapped. "You may not be my little sister but you practically grew up at our fucking house and you're just as important to me as one, so don't even start." he told her. "If it was just about Evie, then I wouldn't have shown up at your place now would I?" he pointed out the logic flaw she had there. "If it was just about her I could have tracked him down someplace else and left his ass bleeding in the streets, but that wasn't the goddamn case." He was offended by the implication, and that was very clear. "When have I ever not cared? I used to scare the hell out of your boyfriends as much as Evie's." Since they would go out together a lot, he would definitely give both boys the 'if you lay a hand out of line, you're going to be shitting teeth' speech.

There was an instinctive flinch when he snapped and she grimaced when she realized that she did it. She wasn't scared of Jesse and she hoped he didn't think it if he'd noticed. She was a mess. She could remember those times, how one of her boyfriends had stopped seeing her the next day he'd gotten so scared (which, in retrospect, had worked out because the guy had later turned out to be a jerk) and she'd ranted to Evie about it. "Let's just say that the last few months have been pretty isolating," she tried to amend. "I think my head's been a little screwed up. It's been easier to think that no one cared. Sorry." Because it was pretty obvious that Jesse was hurt by what she said and she didn't mean for that to happen.

"Well, people do." Jesse said. "Including me. I went there for you." he reiterated, just so she didn't miss the point. "Time to get your head back on straight." Not that he figured it would happen over night. It never did. In fact, he knew a lot of women who'd been knocked around by their men and they never were right again. He just hoped this wasn't going to be a case like that. "Don't worry about your mom." he went on, moving forward. "Just tell me where she is and I'll move her, okay? It'll be fine. She'll be safe."

If he hadn't been driving, Becky possibly might've leaned over and hugged him but he was and Becky would feel a bit nervous about doing something like that. "Do you have a secret service at your disposal that I don't know about, Mr James?" she asked lightly, a smile working it's way out at the idea of Jesse pulling connections and 'moving' people. It was either joke around or burst into tears and Becky wasn't going to cry in front of him. "She's at the Kitten tonight, I'm pretty sure. If not, then she's drinking at the club. She'd ring her from the payphone, because, if she recalled correctly, Jesse didn't have a phone at his place.

Jesse smirked. "Maybe." he told her. "I have enough going on to tell you not to worry about it and mean it." he told her, which was very true. "And the Kitten, check. I'll find her. Or someone I know will, and she'll get moved someplace and under a different name. It's kind of a bitch to find people when they're registered under names that aren't theirs." he told her, glancing over and flashing a brief grin. Though he'd found her. He had different kinds of connections than the fucker he'd left bleeding on the floor back there.

"Mom'll go anywhere if you promise free drinks," she advised, and returned that brief grin. "Hell, if she's not at the Kitten then look for booths offering drinks." It wasn't that her mother got hammered on a regular basis, but the woman usually liked to walk around with the buzz that had been so damn frustrating in the past. "And whatever it is, I'll pay for it. She's my mom. I've got some money." Even though Jesse said he'd do it and get it taken care of, that she herself was important to him, it was her mother and Jesse had other responsibilities. "I don't want more stuff being traced back to you. You've got the little princess to look out for." It was clear that that was one of Becky's big worries. It wasn't just Jesse. It was Jesse and his fifteen year old daughter. "Which I know you know, but I know it too and I don't want you to feel that you need to take care of everything."

"I've got friends who owe me favors." Jesse said. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. This isn't actually even the first time I've done something like this." he said, being honest. "So I've been around it enough to know how to play it. You just worry about healing up, and thinking good thoughts about how you're not there anymore. I'll take care of the rest." he said, sounding confident in that. He also pulled into the lot next to his building. "I'm going to go get rid of this car." he told her, digging his wallet out of his pocket and he opened it to take out his key. "Here's the key to my apartment--you remember where it is, right? Upstairs? Go ahead and yet yourself in. I'll be back shortly." he said. "Take a bath, relax, I'll bring home something to eat. Make yourself at home."

Becky took it with a nod. She remembered where it was, having been there a couple times in the past. "You..." she started to say and bit her lip, looking at the key. "You're really something else, Jesse James," she settled on. It was clear that it wasn't meant in a bad way and she looked at him gratefully. "I owe you. Don't say I don't because I do. You ever need something, you let me know. Don't care what it is." It was important to pay off debts, even if actions were done out of kindness. Jesse had seriously done something for her here that, if hadn't been done? Things would've ended badly. Becky reached over the beck of the seat and grabbed the suitcase. "Baby J home or she's at school?"

"I don't know, could be either, with the holiday." Jesse said. "If she is home, try not to mention the stolen car." he said, giving a sheepish grin. "But other than that, tell her I'll bring back her favorite. I'll see you soon." he promised, figuring he'd take care of her mother while he was out too. Best to get everything done as fast as possible so they were already moved out of range before Dickhead even woke the hell back up.

"Our secret," she confirmed with a wink and got out with just a little wince as her side twinged and slammed the car door shut. You could still hear the music from the festivities going on even though there was some distance between the building and the park. She patted the car roof to let him know he was good to go and, key and suitcase in hand, headed up to the apartment.