No Rest for the Wicked

Who: Lucas and Max
Where: Lucas’ Parents house
When: Late morning

It had been so long since he’d slept, Lucas wasn’t even sure what it was anymore. He might have napped the day before on the couch in his office,.He was almost sure that was where he’d been when the news came out about his uncle’s house. Since then he’d been going non stop fueled solely on family obligation and strong coffee.

He wasn’t in line for the patriarch, he wasn’t the one who would make the calls on the family’s next move, but he was the one who wound up taking care of all the little things. He was on the site of the crime when the police arrived, catering to his mother, pointing for anyone who needed to to head back towards his parents’ house. He dealt with the police, handing his card over to a detective who seemed less than amused by the prospect.

Once he’d been sure everyone was headed to the house, he turned towards the office, taking over all the press regarding his family’s misfortune. He was lead on all of it, Lucas Spitfire replacing other bylines as he rewrote their copy to see to it that everything was spun his way. He wasn’t making friends this way, but no one would challenge him. They knew his real name and weren’t going to argue. They’d just let him have the articles and find something else to report on another night.

When the paper hit stands not long after dawn he was already back at the house, talking to the few family members who would talk to him, taking roll, sorting out the number dead and making lists. He hoped that he wouldn’t be the one going to talk to their families but he guessed he might have to. He was good at sorting things, but that sort of thing he wasn’t good at. Not that it mattered. If someone else didn’t want to do it the reporter would wind up doing it. By the time late morning had come around he was in his father’s study, surprised to find it abandoned, but guessing that people were finally coming out of shock and starting to fall asleep. There were plenty of important papers for the family in their house and though Lucas wasn’t sure what he was looking for here was looking for anything useful.

Max had already sent out his personally orders to his men to not retaliate and those who chose to do so on their own would be strung up by their intestines. With Max, that was not an empty threat. He’d do it. The young man hadn’t slept at all but he still looked bright eyed and energetic as he left the men’s parlor after the meeting. Arienne’s plans still fresh in mind, he urged caution, to allow him to do some digging. No use going off blindly.

Munching on a bagel provided by the staff, Max headed into his uncle’s study where his cousin was. “Morning,” he said cheerfully.

Lucas wanted little to do with his cousin. His cousin who was as mentally unstable as a malnourished pit bull and who got to be in the meetings Lucas was closed out from. It wasn’t something he wanted per say, he wasn’t keen on that sort of responsibility when he had enough of his own but as he found the insurance papers on his uncle’s house, that no one else would have thought to look for, he wondered just why it was he’d been deemed unworthy. Barely glancing up he sat down at the desk to study the papers. “Where’s your sister?” he asked, tone far less cheerful, which went with his haphazard appearance. His tie was only partially done, his shirt collar unbutton and his sleeves rolled up. Everything he had on looked slept in, which was mostly because it was.

“School. It’s a school day,” Max explained like Lucas didn’t know about such things. He knew his cousin didn’t like him and Max didn’t really care for the other man either but there wasn’t much to be done about it. Tipping back his black fedora, he wandered around the study, peering at the things his uncle had collected. “She’s in math class right now.” He was pretty sure it was math. Looking up at his cousin, he watched him closely. “What do you want with her?”

Lucas felt his shoulders relax a little. At least she was safe. He was trying not to panic when she hadn’t come up in his little roll call, knowing she was living with Max now, but her father’s house had just burned down. He still had held on to some sort of stress until he knew she was safe. “You’ve seen her this morning then I take it?” he asked setting the papers down as watching Max prowl. “She wasn’t around tonight and I know she lives with you but one worries. She’s a target.” They both knew that, or Lucas knew it and he hoped Max realized it.

“Are you questioning my capabilities of acting as a guardian for my sister?” Max asked lightly, fixing Lucas with a piercing look. Lucas was treading on dangerous ground and Max was getting ready to go on the defensive.

Lucas met Max’ piercing look with a curious one of his own. “Hardly, I’m merely worried about her well being and if she’s not dead. That was her home until not long ago. She still has a room there and some things as well.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, not believing Lucas. “She was home and safe in her room then she had school to get on to. There’s no need to expose her to what happened without needing to.” Of course she was completely unconcerned with the night’s events but that was just between the two of them.

“She should see her father at some point. Eventually he’s going to calm down and figure out that he hasn’t seen his daughter.” Lucas rubbed the side of his face a little. “I didn’t doubt you kept her safe. I just would like to make sure. I care about her too.” She had more potential than the rest of his family members and she seemed to like him more than most.

“When he needs to see her, he’ll call for her. No need to worry your head about it. Don’t you have news stories to write or something?” Max asked, unable to resist rubbing it in that Max, despite his familial relationship, was privy to more information than Lucas.

Lucas made a face, looking away from his cousin and back the papers on the table. That wasn’t really necessary was it? He sat up a little straighter, smoothing his tie. “Those things are taken care of already. This morning’s paper is already covered and after I go through these things I’ll start again for tomorrow’s edition. Don’t worry for a moment that I don’t have the paper covered.”

“Worry? You just seem to be concerning yourselves with things that aren’t yours to worry about. Thought you forgot your job around here.” Max smiled winningly and picked up a decorative snow globe and took a look at it then started tossing it from hand to hand. Everything was swirling inside. Maybe he should get Arienne a snow globe. She might like that.

“Forgot my job? What is my job Max? Do you understand what I do for the family?” Lucas asked, leaning back in the chair. “Outside of cleaning up your messes of course.”

This must be a trick question. “You spin the truth to make it fitting for the general consumption of the city. Then you poke around trying to make your presence mean something by comforting the crying women and dealing with law enforcement since you’re already buddy buddy with them and they don’t trust the rest of us.” Max looked up from tossing the globe back and forth. “I don’t particularly care what it is you do, to tell you the truth. You’re just kind of annoying because you act like a puppy dog.” Max didn’t like dogs.

“Annoying,” Lucas sad. Fantastic. He preferred when Feo called him that. “It would figure you find me annoying.” It was a shame that the boy hadn’t been realized to be insane until later. It would have been far better if they had known before then. Maybe Lucas could have taken his place as the next in line. “Well someone has to take care of it right?”

“I’d rather not. Better things to do.” Experimentally he dropped the snow globe to the ground but it didn’t smash, just bounced slightly on the oriental rug and rolled under the desk. “They wanted to know if you needed anything.” And Max was a messenger after all.

“Did they? Or did you just chose a new target to toy with?” Lucas asked, looking up at his cousin with a look of dismay. “Not that it matters, I don’t need anything.” He took the few papers on the desk and stood up, tucking them in a nearby folio and trying to straighten his suit again. “I’ve got work to do. I’ll be the office should anyone dare need me.”

“A little of both,” Max shrugged, wondering if he should stop Lucas from taking the papers but at the end of the day, he didn’t care. “You look terrible by the way. You should try sleeping some time,” he said helpfully, smiling brightly at Lucas. Always a laugh.

“There’s no rest for the wicked. You know that just as well as I do,” Lucas pointed out as he headed towards the door of the study. Max was, after all, the wicked one between the two of them.