'Welcome home!'
'What did we miss since the last time we spoke? Abraxas got himself killed yet?'
'No.'
'That's a fucking shame.'
'Has there been anything else important?'
'Not that I've heard about.'
'Yeah, it's been pretty quiet since... y'know. The finger.'
'God, I'm still not fucking over that. I guess the dumb cunt's still in hospital, then. Makes sense all's been quiet in that case. Won't want to lose another extremity.'
'I still can't quite believe that. Not exactly the news I was expecting.'
'Well, fuck, who would? I know the stupid fucking asshole and I still didn't expect it!'
'Fucking asshole!'
'...Bollocks.'
'Umm... Language aside, have the girls been good?'
'Mostly! Some bad behaviour here and there, but nothing I'm unaccustomed to.'
'Did you miss us?'
'No.'
'Nice, thanks.'
'In that case, perhaps we'll just go back for another two weeks.'
'What kind of stuff did you get up to? Beyond sunbathing, of course.'
'Oh God, all sorts. Exploring, swam in the ocean a bit, tried to avoid getting burnt, the works.'
'It's such a lovely place. Perhaps next time, we could all go.'
'That would be nice. Take little Rumen to splash about in the sea, perhaps.'
*KNOCK KNOCK*
'Hello bollocks!'
'Oh, fucking hell.'
'And hello to you too, Aura.'
'You don't change, do you?'
'Been back five Goddamn minutes and already I've got 'em both swearing up a storm.'
'Ah, so we arrived just in time.'
'Yup. Not even bothered unpacking yet.'
'There's no rush. You've been on the go all day, I imagine.'
'Yeah, pretty much. We had to get up at an obscene fu- Goddamn time. In a couple of hours' time, I'm probably going to be basically a zombie.'
'You say that like you aren't already.'
'Oh, piss off.'
'That's the downside to travelling somewhere nice: returning home. Did you enjoy yourselves?'
'Yes, I had a lovely time.'
'Yeah, it was great. Definitely enhanced by the news about Abraxas, can't lie.'
'That's a point, I don't suppose you've heard the latest, have you?'
'No, what latest?'
'Annalise has taken the kids and left.'
'Holy fucking shit, she actually did it?!'
'That's right. Just in time too, I think.'
'Mmm. The finger incident was the final push.'
'Not surprised. Is there anything else in the works with Tate and Abraxas?'
'....'
'It's fine, I've already pointed out how fucking important it is to say nothing, Quinn'll keep quiet. Won't you?'
'Of course. Although if there are any kinds of plans, I would feel awkward knowing about them, if it involved something violent.'
'Fortunately not. A lot of the violence has already taken place while you two were away. Actually, Ellis got Tate to agree to a truce.'
'...You're joking. How?'
'By teaming up with Hazel to beat the absolute shi- uhh, snot out of Austin.'
'Who the hell is Austin?'
'Gang member. They're in bed with Tate, metaphorically speaking.'
'Honestly, a lot has happened. Tate sent this gang member after Charon - unsuccessfully, I'm glad to say - and Ellis decided enough was enough and took matters into his own hands.'
'Jesus Christ. Well, there was something I've got in mind that I'll need your help with, that I've been mulling over for the past couple days. But it's not violent.'
'Good.'
'Yeah, I figured it was best to leave the violence to the psychos. Unless it's aimed at Abraxas.'
'What were you thinking?'
'Start working on changing the circle's opinion of Tate. Bring his reputation down a notch or two. I mean, the election's next fucking year, imagine if by then, everyone knew him for what he was.'
'Oh God.'
'I know, I know, I'll have to be really fucking careful.'
'Absolutely. That is a huge risk.'
'Trust me, I definitely get that. But we want him to lose, right? Maybe Richard could be talked out of backing him again. I dunno, give the excuse that he's backing out of politics now or something. Persuade people not to vote for the fucker.'
'...And then deal with the fallout. But we won't be able to avoid violence forever. This truce is only going to last as long as Tate can be bothered keeping to himself...'
'It worries me.'
'For what it's worth, I think your idea is doable. But I must admit that the idea of backlash frightens me as well.'
'As it should, and I'm certainly not unbothered by it, too, but I do see Indigo's point. If he gets re-elected, then we'll have to deal with the current situation for even longer. Something's going to have to change eventually, and when it does, no matter how prepared we are, it's going to be ugly.'
'Exactly! So, we might as well prepare in advance. And, fuck, I'm not thinking of marching over to the likes of Ophelia and going "hey, did you know the mayor used to do wetwork?", but starting out really small. Establish him as a liar. Point out how bullshit the whole "sperm donor" story is, to someone who'll listen. Which is where Quinn comes in, because I don't know who's gonna be most likely to hear me out.'
'Jameson, Cecil, his sister Lainey... They're the most likely. I would say perhaps Rochelle Farbridge, but her husband is a very big supporter of Tate.'
'No accounting for taste. I guess Jameson and Cecil go without saying, since they were receptive to me talking about Abraxas. But I guess as far as Rochelle goes, I could act like I was gossiping. Just talking shit about his relationships.'
'And you wouldn't have much trouble befriending her. She already likes you a fair bit.'
'Yeah. Throw in a bit of shit talking about Ophelia and we'll get on like a house on fire.'
'I presume this Ophelia is someone you don't get along with.'
'She accused me of fucking my tattoo artist to get my ink paid for, so yeah, we're not exactly besties.'
'...Ah.'
'...Why?'
'She thinks that only degenerates have tattoos.'
'She sounds like an absolute delight.'
'She's a fucking peach.'
