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aswithasunbeam · 3 years

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December 1814

“Hush, darling,” Eliza whispered. “It’s all right.”

Angelica curled up further on the bed beside Eliza with a soft whimper. At least she was resting, finally, after hours of panic about invisible demons reaching out from the walls to take her away. Eliza had had to push the bed away from the walls before she’d been able to convince her daughter to lie down.

Eliza closed her eyes, the press of the day weighing on her already. Servants were bustling through the halls just outside the door, heaving trunks from little Eliza and Phil’s rooms. They were all bound for New York at first light tomorrow to celebrate Johnny’s wedding to his dear Maria. A joyous occasion to be sure, especially as she anticipated having their children together for the first time in years: William was meant to be coming down from West Point, and Alex and Jamie had secured time away from their posts, as well. Joyous, yes, even as it hurt that so much of her family wouldn’t be there, with Angelica and Peggy both gone, her parents, and Philip…. She swallowed around a lump in her throat at the thought of her eldest.

Her younger daughter shrieked suddenly from down the hall. “Give it back! Now!”

“I’m using it!” Phil yelled back.

“It’s mine!”

Eliza sighed, easing herself from Angelica’s bed to go see what all the fuss was about. Phil and little Eliza were engaged in an all out tug of war over a bit of ribbon in the hallway between their rooms. She watched silently for a moment, frowning, her arms crossed, waiting for them to notice her displeasure.

Phil noticed her first and abruptly let go of the ribbon. Little Eliza stumbled backwards, landing hard on her bottom. She yelped, glared up at her brother, and aimed a swift kick at his ankles.

“What are you two doing?” she demanded.

“She started it,” Phil said, jumping hastily out of the line of fire.

“He stole my best ribbon and he was using it to hang toy soldiers out the window.”

“I was going to give it back.”

“It’s got dirt all over it and you got it all wrinkled.” She held the ribbon up to show her mother. “See? I wanted to wear it to Johnny’s wedding.”

Phil stuck his tongue out at his sister. When she noticed, she aimed another kick at his ankles. He jumped back again, shouting, “Stop it!”

“What is all the yelling about?” Alexander asked as he slowly wheeled himself around the corner, to their collective surprise.

Despite the gathering dark outside the hall window, she was shocked to see him home; she’d hardly seen hide nor hair of him in the past days as they prepared to leave for their extended trip home. Both the children went quiet at his unexpected arrival, and little Eliza bounced up to her feet.

“Sorry Papa,” they both mumbled quickly.

“We seem to be having quite the disagreement over a bit of ribbon,” Eliza supplied when they failed to offer further explanation.

Alexander looked at her with a hint of a smile. “Want me to send them to help dig out the new latrine by the camp? That’s what I do with the men who mouth off. Very effective punishment.”

They both paled considerably, sending her matching pleading looks.

She made a show of considering for a long beat before smiling as well. “I think we can give them one more chance before we put them to hard labor.”

“We’ll be good,” Phil promised solemnly.

“I expect so.” Alexander tilted his head to the side to dismiss them. “Off you go. Stop making your mother’s life difficult.”

If only he’d take his own advice, she thought fondly.

They scampered off down the hall, both giving their father an affectionate peck on the cheek as they passed. He shook his head as he watched them go, then looked back at her, the laugh lines in his cheeks creasing. “Imps.”

“Well, we did complain the house was too quiet without them,” Eliza said. Indeed, when Alexander had sent them off to stay with family over the summer for their safety, the house had felt empty without their constant bickering and antics. She paced over to him and leaned down to kiss him, as well. “It’s good to have you home finally. You missed dinner again.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry I haven’t been much help getting ready for our trip. I’ve been in endless meetings. When I at one point raised the concern about the endless meetings, one of Jemmy’s secretaries quite unironically asked if I would like him to schedule a meeting to discuss it.”

She laughed.

He grinned at her, but his eyes turned serious when he glanced towards the door to Angelica’s room. “How’s Geli today?”

Eliza sobered as she, too, glanced back at her daughter’s door. “She’s been having a bad day.”

He sighed. “She’s been having a lot of bad days, lately. I heard her whimpering and muttering when I got home late last night. She was wide awake when I peeked in at her. I doubt she got much rest.”

Eliza hardly needed reminding, having been up much of the night with her. “She’s resting now, finally.”

“That’s something, I suppose.”

His hands fidgeted on the wheels of his chair. She watched him a moment, sensing he had something else to tell her. The expression twisting his face usually signaled some sort of indigestion. When he failed to say anything more, she asked, “What is it?”

“Well,” he started, his hand going up to scratch at his neck uncomfortably.

Anxiety started to build up at his continued reluctance to speak. “If you say you can’t come to New York for your own son’s wedding—”

“No, no, it’s not that.” He sighed, resting his hands on the wheels of his chair once more, as though contemplating an escape even as he spoke. “It’s just, I need to meet with some people before I leave. And the only time they would both be available was tonight. So, I may have suggested they stop by the house before we leave. They’re on their way over now, actually. For tea.”

She felt her own expression twisting to match his, heartburn flaring in her chest as a suspicion about his guest list occurred to her. “Who?”

“Burr,” he said.

“Burr,” she repeated, disbelief in her tone even though that’s exactly the name she’d expected to hear. “You expect me to serve tea to Aaron Burr?”

“Well,” he started again.

“You promised me. You promised, when you suggested him for his position, that I wouldn’t need to be alone with him.”

“I said not just the three of us.” He fidgeted in his chair again, clearly not relishing delivering his next bit of news. “Someone else is coming, too.”

He seemed somehow more reluctant to tell her the next guest. How could it possibly get worse? “Who else?”

He gritted his teeth, hesitating again before saying, “Monroe.”

A wave of cold fury washed over her. “Monroe!”

“Shh,” he hushed, pointing towards Angelica’s room behind them.

Her nostrils flared as she forced a deep breath, jerking her head to indicate he should follow her down the hall before moving around him towards his office. He liked to praise her as an endless fountain of love and patience, she thought, but much as she might try, she simply wasn’t. Her nerves were already frayed from sleepless nights and managing ornery children and overseeing the packing and planning for their journey. Now he wanted her to cap off her night by serving tea to two of the most loathsome men on earth.

He rolled in to the office behind her, and she snapped the door closed.

“No,” she said firmly.

“Eliza—”

“No, Alexander. No. You ask too much, sometimes.”

He smiled softly, highlighting the dimples in his cheeks, and reached out for her hand. “You’d send me into the viper’s nest without my trusty mongoose for protection?”

“You can’t charm your way out of this,” she hissed.

“Betsey,” he sighed, expression turning serious. “It can’t be helped.”

“They’re not welcome here. Not in my home. Neither of them.”

“You know I try to keep them away as much as possible. I know how you feel.”

“Do you? Because sometimes, the way you act, especially around Burr—”

“I understand. I do. But I need to see them before I go. It’s important.”

“What’s so important?”

“Campbell submitted his budget, just before he conveniently resigned to see to his health. He estimated an appropriation of $25 million would be needed, which is far, far beyond the expected tax revenue of $11 million, and all that’s before factoring in the cost of rebuilding the capital.”

She sank into the chair near his desk, sensing a lengthy conversation. “Go on.”

“Then there’s this…this treasonous…convention.” She could hear the quotes around the last word as he spit it out. “Otis has called a meeting of Federalists all across New England to propose a radical change in our national compact. Because what we need in the middle of a war, apparently, is a new constitutional convention intent on gutting the Federal government.”

“Were you invited?”

He snorted. “As if I’d stoop to attending such a farcical proceeding.”

She smiled a little. She knew he’d have gloried in attending, monopolizing the conversation until his voice went hoarse telling them exactly why they were all idiots and cowards, had he been given the opportunity. “So no?”

He shot her a glare, but then smirked, caught red-handed by her knowing look. “I think they knew what my answer would be.”

She threaded her fingers between his. “I know how stressed you are about the war and fate of the country, sweetheart. But I don’t see what a meeting with those two—” she paused, hunting for a word, and, finding none, continued with only the empty space to define them, “—helps accomplish.”

“Monroe is acting Secretary of War, and, with Campbell gone, probably acting Secretary of the Treasury as well at this point. I need him to call on Congress to establish a new national bank, which in turn will help fund additional men. At least 100,000 to start.”

“And I’m sure he’ll take your direction with great enthusiasm.”

“Not with enthusiasm, perhaps, but he’ll take my direction, once I explain the need.”

“And Burr?”

“The Hartford Convention needs to be minimized. We need a shot of patriotism in that part of the country, a call to arms to rally flagging spirits. Since the Northern theater quieted, they’ve been shouldering the financial burden with none of the chance for glory. Meanwhile, the enemy is starting to gather with an eye towards New Orleans. If we can start mustering troops in New England, threaten an invasion of Canada, we might be able to press England into peace and herd New England back into the fold at the same time.”

“And you want Burr to head the effort,” she said, intuiting his plan now. Once Monroe agreed to call upon Congress to fund new troops, Burr would ride north to start mustering a force to take on Canada again.

“Exactly.” His eyes bore into hers. “And it needs to happen now. Immediately. Congress can’t be frightened into cutting back on the army, or we’ll be a British colony again by New Year’s.”

She squeezed his hand.

“So?” he pressed.

She held his gaze. “I suppose I’ll let them in when they knock. I won’t agree to more than that.”

He leaned over in his chair to catch her lips. “That’s all I need from you.”

That she managed to bring in the tea service without pouring the scalding water over either of their two unwanted guests ought to have qualified her sainthood, in her opinion. She didn’t stay in the room with them, didn’t even mutter a greeting. She did stay near the door, however, listening, while Alexander laid out his plan. She couldn’t quite bring herself to abandon him, even when he’d invited the viper’s nest upon himself.

“I wasn’t a particular supporter of your bank the first time around, Mr. Hamilton,” Monroe said. “Why should I call on Congress to re-charter it now?”

“How else are you going to pay for more troops, Mr. Secretary?”

Monroe answered in a measured tone. “We’re mere weeks away from a peace treaty, according to my intelligence in Ghent. Once that’s signed, there won’t be a need for more troops. We can cut back, limit spending to match our more limited revenue stream temporarily, until imports duties return to their pre-war levels.”

“You don’t think the British are also gathering intelligence?” Burr asked. “They’ll be watchfully waiting for our new budget proposals. If we’re seen dismantling the army before the war is over, why would they ever agree to a peace deal? Might as well take us for their own again.”

Monroe scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. They’ve practically already signed. And I think we’ve proven far too troublesome to bother with as a colony again.”

“Too troublesome thirty years ago,” Burr pointed out. “And we were lucrative. If we can’t mount a solid defense, no reason not to give it another try.”

Alexander added, “You need to get the dissent in New England under control. And you need funding. Even without the additional expense of more troops, rebuilding the capital will be an expensive endeavor. You need to do this.”

“I don’t like the bank,” Monroe said sourly.

Alexander laughter bitterly. “It’s me you don’t like, Mr. Secretary. And that’s quite all right. I assure you the feeling is mutual. But you have to do this. Don’t make me go over your head to Jemmy to force you into action. It will only waste time.”

There was a long silence, tension palpable. “Fine. I’ll propose re-chartering the bank and adding funding for more troops. But I can’t promise it will pass.”

“Oh, I think you’ll find the votes, Mr. Secretary,” Alexander insisted. “Necessity is a great motivator.”

Sensing the meeting was coming to a close, Eliza moved to summon the servants to bring the hats and coats. She didn’t want them lingering in the front room any longer than necessary. In the moments she’d stepped away, however, something must have happened, because she suddenly heard raised voices coming from the office. She hurried back, opening the door to the office to find Burr standing in between Monroe and Alexander.

Monroe was all but shouting, “You think just because you’ve blinded Jemmy with nostalgic appeals to a long-dead friendship that you can always have your way, just as you did with Washington. I’ll not be so easily taken in, Mr. Hamilton, I promise you that.”

Burr placed a hand on Monroe’s shoulder, trying to ease him away from Alexander.

Alexander looked blithely unconcerned, all but smirking at Monroe as he said, “I’ll remind you there is no guaranteed succession in this country, Mr. Monroe, however many hats you acquire during this administration. I wouldn’t be so assured of victory in the next election, if I were you.”

Color rose in Monroe’s face as he pushed around Burr, holding a finger out in Alexander’s direction. “Enjoy your influence while you have it. Your days are numbered.”

“That’s quite enough,” Eliza said, voice deadly quiet, fury taking wing in her chest at the implied threat.

Monroe spun around to face her. “Mrs. Hamilton—”

“You have nothing to say to me, Mr. Monroe.”

“I apologize for raising my voice,” he continued, bowing his head slightly.

“No. No. If you mean to offer anything other than a full and sincere apology, not only for the unforgivable words you just uttered, but also for all the slanders and stories you circulated against my husband in the past, I have no interest in hearing it.”

Monroe frowned. “If you mean…the business with the Reynolds papers was hardly my doing. Your husband—”

“What my husband did was a matter we have long since settled between us. But that the rest of the world was involved was very much your doing. He has earned my forgiveness. You’ve never even bothered to ask it.”

“Mrs. Hamilton—”

“And you now have the…the gall to come into my home, drink my refreshments, and then threaten the person I hold dearest in the world. Please leave, Mr. Monroe. Now.”

He stared at her for a long moment. Burr patted at his shoulder, encouraging him forward. Just before Burr himself stepped out, though, he glanced back at her husband. “You’re a real pain in the ass, Ham. You know that?”

“So I’ve been told.” Alexander had the nerve to look fond as he addressed Burr.

“Out,” she insisted.

Burr at least had the decency to avert his eyes as he passed her, collecting their coats and urging Monroe out the front door without another word.

When the door had closed, she looked back at Alexander, still sitting in the middle of the room. He gave her plaintive look. “I’m so sorry, Betsey. I didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand. Or for you to be pulled into the middle of it.”

She pointed in the direction the two men had just disappeared, her hand shaking slightly from rush of rage and fear that coursed through her. “That man is never, ever setting foot in my home again.”

“Of course. Never again.”

Promises, promises—how he could make them. Her heart was still beating in her throat. He rolled forward and took her hand, placing a kiss to the back of her fingers.

She softened as she looked back at him, calming somewhat with his easy agreement and solid feeling of his hand in hers. The reason for his insistence on the meeting in the first place re-occurred to her, and she felt a niggle of concern despite herself. “Do you think he’ll still put forward the proposal to Congress?”

“Yes.” He sounded completely confident. “He doesn’t have a choice. Jemmy will back me if it comes to a contest, and he knows it. I just don’t want to lose time on the argument when every minute counts. We’re too close, balanced on the edge of a precipice. I’ll not let our experiment fail over pigheadedness and pride.”

She considered the exchanged she’d walked in on again, eyes locked on her husband. “You said that to him, didn’t you? You goaded him into shouting at you.”

He gave her a sheepish smile. “I do so enjoy winding him up with impotent rage.”

She wanted to be angry with him, but amusement was quickly outpacing the sensation. Damn him, his charm, and his sweet smile, she thought. She let out a breathy laugh, shaking her head at him. Relief washed over his face.

“I really didn’t mean to drag you into it, though, my dearest.” He kissed her hand again, looking more relaxed. “Though I confess I enjoyed watching you kick him to the curb. My darling mongoose.”

His darling mongoose, indeed, she huffed internally.

#hamilton fanfic #alexander hamilton #eliza hamilton #hamliza #life hereafter

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e350tb · 3 years

Text

The Owl House: A Blight on Gravesfield (Chapter Three)

Three

Everyone has a bit of a talk...

The Connecticut Witch Trials were the first large scale witch hunts to occur in the American Colonies. Eat your heart out, Salem.

Now it’s worth pointing out that they were much less intense than the Salem Witch Trials; more people were executed in Salem in fifteen months then were killed in Connecticut in fifteen years. Nevertheless, they certainly had an effect on the people of the young colony; and indeed, on the town of Gravesfield.

The panic started with the trial and execution of Alse Young in Hartford, in May 1647. The following year, also in Hartford, Mary Johnson confessed to ‘familiarity with the devil’ - because of a pregnancy while imprisoned, she wouldn’t be executed until 1650. The tendrils of suspicion seeped out across the land, and before long, an accusation was made in Gravesfield.

The year was 1651. Philip Wittlesbane was already a source of some contention in Gravesfield; he had written a pamphlet denouncing the execution of King Charles I, claiming it to be a ‘miscarriage of justice by a vengeful, prideful victor.’ He’d actually spent a day in the pillory for it, and probably would have suffered worse if he had not clarified that he certainly wasn’t a Royalist.

The Wittelsbanes had started off, like most people in Connecticut, as fairly staunch, if not particularly active, supporters of Parliament. John remained so throughout the Civil War period, but it seems Philip grew more and more concerned about the Roundheads as time went on. It was not the execution of Charles that really seems to have soured Philip, but the establishment of the ‘Rump Parliament’, which was basically a seizure of power by the supporters of Cromwell’s New Model Army.

That’s a gross oversimplification, but we’re not talking about Cromwell today.

By 1650, Philip had become a big supporter of the rights of men - not women, just men, this was the seventeenth century - and by men, we mean Englishmen. All Englishmen, regardless of wealth, status or faith. Well, as long as that faith was Christian, anyway.

This troubled John and the other city fathers, who had something of a stake in keeping power centered on a wealthy, Puritan elite. And as Philip started to get more and more in trouble with the authorities, John started to worry about his writings about witches coming out; because then, of course, the authorities would find out what John had been writing about them too.

On one hand, Philip was his brother. On the other hand, he might doom them both.

On a summers’ day in 1651, John and Philip went for a ‘private discussion’ out in the woods near Gravesfield. John’s friend, Thomas Goodfaith Masterson - fantastic name - waited at John’s house for them to return; ‘John hath told me most firmly that by sundown, the matter of Philip would be solved.’

John returned alone that afternoon. Philip never returned again.

--------

The tension in the air was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

Luz, Amity and Vee sat on the couch; Luz’ eyes were fixed firmly on the floor as Camila paced in front of them. No-one knew quite how to start this conversation; there was that strange feeling in the air, the feeling when nobody is in trouble, but at the same time everybody is in trouble.

Perhaps it would be more correct to say that nobody was in trouble from Camila, but they were all in a lot of trouble from reality.

Camila inhaled through her nose.

“Okay,” she said. “I want you to start at the beginning. What happened before you got here?”

“Well,” Luz rubbed the back of her head. “It involves Emperor Belos. And, well, I don’t wanna upset Vee…”

Camila turned to Vee.

“Vee, if you need to leave the room at any time…”

“No.” Vee shook her head. “I’ll be okay, I think.”

Luz nodded.

“Okay,” she said, “It all started this morning, at the Owl House…”

-------

“Luz… hey, Luz… Luz. Luz. Hey, Luz.”

Slowly, Luz opened her eyes.

She had been lying face-first on the floor, scribbled notes surrounding her; the Echo Mouse snoozing quietly next to her. King was prodding her gently with a stick, and the rays of the sun were spilling through the window into the lounge room. When she had fallen asleep, she couldn't tell.

“Ugh.” She pushed herself up, turning onto her back. She could see Eda leaning on the door frame, arms crossed, a little smirk on her face.

“Fall asleep on the floor again?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Hey!” replied Luz. “It’s only been… one, two… wow, three nights in a row.”

“Yeah, and I can’t nap on the couch while you’re down there talking in your sleep!” exclaimed King. “What the heck’s a Vee, anyway?”

“It’s, uh, my favourite letter!” replied Luz, sitting up quickly. “Yeah, gotta love that letter V, am I right?!”

Eda and King stared.

“You don’t really think I’m that dumb, do you?” asked King.

“Something’s bugging me about you, Luz,” said Eda, walking over to her. “Is something on your mind?”

“You mean, apart from building the portal home?”

“You’ve been obsessed!” exclaimed Eda. “Normally you’d have been up two hours ago to go to school. I mean, if you wanna play hooky, go right ahead, but…”

“I’m missing school!” exclaimed Luz. “I can’t- I gotta-”

She ran a hand through her hair.

“I… no, I can’t go to Hexside, I’ve gotta focus on this!” she said, turning back to her notes. “I’m almost there, I’m sure of it…”

Eda and King exchanged glances.

“You, uh, you sure everything went okay with that portal?” asked King.

“If there’s a problem, you know you can tell us,” said Eda. “I mean, if you can’t trust family, who can you trust?”

Luz glanced from her notes to Eda and back again, exhaling through her nose.

“I… okay,” she replied. “It… it didn’t go that great.”

Eda sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to her. Luz gave her a small, grateful smile and took her seat.

“Mom… she really kinda freaked out,” she said, her fingers tightening on the edge of the couch. “And she was really upset, and I… I kinda promised when I got home…”

“...you’d stay with her,” said Eda.

Luz looked away, nodding.

“But you don’t want to?” asked King.

“I… I’d give the world to see Mom again!” replied Luz. “But I don’t want to give up you guys, or Amity, or Willow or Gus; heck, I don’t even wanna give up Hooty! I just… I’ve got so much more here in the Boiling Isles than I did in Connecticut.”

“Yeah, Connecticut stinks!” said King.

“You’ve never been,” said Eda.

“Yeah, but you can tell by the name,” replied King, crossing his arms. “It’s spelt Connect-I-Cut, but they drop the T! That doesn’t even make sense!”

Luz chuckled despite herself.

“It’s just… I don’t wanna go back to having no friends,” she said. “And I love mom, but it’s always just been me and her, and…”

“You don’t wanna be lonely.” Eda put a hand on Luz’ shoulder.

“Yeah,” replied Luz. “I don’t.”

“Hey,” Eda smiled. “We’ll sort something out, okay? If you want, I can come with you when you finish the portal, and we’ll talk to her about everything, okay? Maybe when she sees how good the Boiling Isles has been for you, she’ll let us… I dunno, timeshare or something? Is that the word?”

Luz looked up, into Eda’s eyes, and smiled.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Maybe that’ll-”

“SWEET TITAN, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO LULU!”

Hooty’s voice echoed through the house, and Eda shot to her feet.

“Lilith?” she exclaimed.

The three ran to the door, throwing it open.

Lilith was on her knees, about twenty five yards from the Owl House, bound by her arms and legs. Two guards stood on each side of her, pointing spears at her abdomen. Behind them were about a dozen more guards, and three hulking Abomatons - atop the middle of which stood a familiar, short figure.

“Kikimora!” exclaimed Luz.

Luz could just about see her cheeks raise - a sign that the little demon might have been smiling, or perhaps smirking was a better word.

“Sorry to barge in like this,” she said, in a tone that indicated she was not sorry at all, “But I’m afraid the Emperor has an outstanding warrant for Edalyn Clawthorne for disturbing his operations.”

“What?” demanded Eda. “You can’t prove I’ve done anything! ...recently.”

“Oh, really? I think you’ll find we can.”

Kikimora clapped her hands together. A limp sack, like a figure secured in a black spider’s web, hovered out from behind the Abomaton. Suddenly it dropped, as if an invisible string had been cut, and the black tendrils fell away. A limp, bespectacled figure crashed down into the dust, coughing and wheezing.

Eda’s eyes widened, her fists clenched and shaking.

“Raine!”

-------

“Raine?”

Luz shrugged as her mother asked about the name.

“I don’t really know them,” she said. “Eda mentioned them a couple of times, but…”

“Raine Whispers,” interrupted Amity. “Head of the Bard Coven. They disappeared a few weeks ago.”

Her fingers tightened on the edge of the couch.

“If Belos could turn on one of his own coven leaders…”

“I’m sorry, what exactly is a coven?” asked Camila.

“They’re like… I dunno, magic classes,” replied Luz. “Once you pick a coven, you’re stuck in it for life, and you can’t do any other magic. There are nine main covens, and then there’s a bunch of smaller covens under them, and… oh, yeah, and there’s the Emperor’s Coven, who can do any magic they want.”

Camila frowned.

“Pretty convenient that the Emperor’s Coven gets to do everything.”

“I don’t get it,” said Vee. “If Luz was with the Owl Lady, how did Amity get mixed up in all this?”

“I can explain that,” replied Amity. “You see…”

-------

Hexside before classes started was always a den of activity. Students bustled too and fro, rushing to get to their first period (or not rushing, in the case of more than a few students), and the corridors were jam-packed with people.

Unfortunately, not the person Amity was waiting for this morning.

“Hey, Amity!”

Amity finished grabbing her books from her locker and turned - Willow and Gus were approaching, both looking more than a little worried.

“Oh, hey Gus,” said Amity. “Hey Willow. Have you seen Luz?”

“We were kinda hoping you had,” replied Gus. “We haven’t heard anything all weekend.”

“We’re hoping she hasn’t spent the whole weekend studying Philip’s diary and forgotten to sleep again,” said Willow, “But…”

“That’s probably what happened,” said Gus bluntly.

“Well, she did keep sending me pictures of echo mouse projections, so…” said Amity.

“Okay,” said Gus, punching his palm. “We’re gonna need to stage an intervention.”

“Please don’t tell me it’s gonna involve cinnamon and formaldehyde again,” sighed Willow.

“It was one time, Willow! One time!”

Amity rubbed her arm.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Luz has been really… distracted since she went through that proto-portal. I think something happened there…”

“Something bad?” replied Willow.

“I don’t know.” Amity looked down at her feet. “I feel like something bad happened with her and her mom, but…”

“Ahem! Hello there, students!”

Amity turned. Principal Bump was leaning against the next locker, one hand on his hip.

“Uh… hello, Principal Bump,” replied Amity.

“So, how’s that, uh, Grudgby scene going?” asked Bump, trying and failing to act casual, “Down with Glandus, am I right? Huh, am I right?”

There was a long, awkward silence.

“Principal Bump,” said Gus, “you’re making me very uncomfortable.”

Bump cleared his throat.

“Yes, quite,” he said. “Anyway, I just wanted to randomly tell you that, say, if I was privy to any information that the Emperor’s Coven was going to act against the Owl House, I wouldn’t be at liberty to tell you.”

“What?” quizzed Willow.

“I’m saying that, if I had somehow been informed that the Emperor’s Coven may or may not be attacking the Owl House, I couldn’t tell you.”

“The Emperor’s Coven is attack-”

Willow covered Gus’ mouth.

Amity narrowed her eyes.

“And who… wouldn’t you be able to tell us gave you this information?” she asked.

“I absolutely couldn’t tell you if it was the Golden Guard,” replied Bump.

“So it must’ve been someone else!” exclaimed Gus.

Willow and Amity shot him meaningful looks.

“Okay,” nodded Willow, “thank you for… not telling us, Principal Bump.”

“You did hear it from me,” nodded Bump.

He blinked.

“Wait, that should have been you didn’t hear it from… well, anyway, I’ll be in my office.”

He walked very briskly away.

“We’ve gotta warn Luz!” exclaimed Gus.

“Come on!” shouted Willow, “We might be able to get there before them if…”

“Wait, they might already be there!” said Amity. “We have to come up with a…”

She trailed off as Willow and Gus darted off down the hall, headed for the exit.

“Okay, forget the plan,” she shrugged. “Wait up!”

-------

“And then what happened?” asked Vee.

Amity shrugged.

“Willow and Gus got there just a little before I did,” she replied. “But we were too late. The Emperor had gotten there first.”

Luz glanced at Amity, a slight frown on her face, but said nothing.

“And the Emperor hurt you?” she demanded, a dangerous ice underlining her voice.

“I… don’t actually remember.”

Luz rubbed her head.

“I remember Kikimora bringing Lilith and Raine to us,” she said. “Then it gets… blurry? I know the Emperor hurt me, but… not how?”

“Dissociative amnesia, maybe?” suggested Camila.

“Hmm?” Luz tilted her head.

“It’s when we block out memories associated with a traumatic event,” replied Camila. “But it could also be a result of head trauma.”

“What did you see, Amity?” asked Vee.

“I…” Amity gripped the couch harder. “I saw… I mean, I think… I remember…”

Her breathing became heavier and uneven, and she seemed to be sweating just a little bit. Gently, Luz put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said softly. “You don’t have to say anything until you’re ready.”

Amity swallowed.

“I have to…”

“You don’t have to be anything, Amity.”

Camila sighed.

“I think we all need to get some rest,” she said.

“Yeah,” Luz nodded, “Sounds like a plan, Mami.”

“Vee, are you okay to help me set up the airbeds?” asked Camila.

“Oh, I can do it if…” said Luz.

“Not until I know for certain you’re okay, mija,” replied Camila. “You were unconscious a few hours ago! I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

“I can handle it, Luz,” said Vee, smiling.

Before Luz could say anything else, Camila and Vee had headed up the stairs, leaving Luz and Amity alone.

“So, how’s about tommorrow we start working on getting you home, huh?” said Luz, grinning weakly at her girlfriend.

Amity mumbled something in reply.

“Amity?” Luz tilted her head, concerned.

Amity looked up - her eyes were somewhat watery.

“I don’t know if I want to go back.”

#the owl house #luz noceda #amity blight #camila noceda #vee #a blight on gravesfield #writing #king owl house #eda clawthorne #willow park #gus porter #principal bump

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Sunday, March 21, 2021

Happiness Report: World shows resilience in face of COVID-19 (AP) The coronavirus brought a year of fear and anxiety, loneliness and lockdown, and illness and death, but an annual report on happiness around the world released Friday suggests the pandemic has not crushed people’s spirits. The editors of the 2021 World Happiness Report found that while emotions changed as the pandemic set in, longer-term satisfaction with life was less affected. “What we have found is that when people take the long view, they’ve shown a lot of resilience in this past year,” Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs, one of the report’s co-author, said from New York.

The Pandemic Stalls Growth in the Global Middle Class, Pushes Poverty Up Sharply (Pew Research Center) The COVID-19 pandemic is having a deep effect on the global economy. In January 2020, as reports of the novel coronavirus were emerging, the World Bank forecasted that the global economy would expand by 2.5% that year. In January 2021, with the pandemic still holding much of the world in its grip, the World Bank estimated that the global economy contracted by 4.3% in 2020, a turnabout of 6.8 percentage points. The economic downturn is likely to have diminished living standards around the world, pushing millions out of the global middle class and swelling the ranks of the poor. A new Pew Research Center analysis finds that the global middle class encompassed 54 million fewer people in 2020 than the number projected prior to the onset of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the number of poor is estimated to have been 131 million higher because of the recession.

Fallout from riot, virus leaves toxic mood on Capitol Hill (AP) The mood is so bad at the U.S. Capitol that a Democratic congressman recently let an elevator pass him by rather than ride with Republican colleagues who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s election. Republicans say it’s Democrats who just need to get over it—move on from the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, end the COVID-19 restrictions and make an effort to reach across the aisle toward bipartisanship. Not yet 100 days into the new Congress, the legislative branch has become an increasingly toxic and unsettled place, with lawmakers frustrated by the work-from-home limits imposed by the virus and suspicious of each other after the horrific riot over Trump’s presidency. Particularly in the House, which remains partly shuttered by the pandemic and where lawmakers heard gunshots ring out during the siege, trust is low, settled facts about the Jan. 6 riot are apparently up for debate and wary, exhausted lawmakers are unsure how or when the “People’s House” will return to normal.

US schools prepare summer of learning to help kids catch up (AP) After a dreary year spent largely at home in front of the computer, many U.S. children could be looking at summer school—and that’s just what many parents want. Although the last place most kids want to spend summer is in a classroom, experts say that after a year of interrupted study, it’s crucial to do at least some sort of learning over the break, even if it’s not in school and is incorporated into traditional camp offerings. Several governors, including in California, Kansas and Virginia, are pushing for more summer learning. And some states are considering extending their 2021-22 academic year or starting the fall semester early. Many cities, meanwhile, are talking about beefing up their summer school programs, including Los Angeles, Hartford, Connecticut and Atlanta—the latter of which considered making summer school compulsory before settling for strongly recommending that kids who are struggling take part.

Forecast for spring: Nasty drought worsens for much of US (AP) With nearly two-thirds of the United States abnormally dry or worse, the government’s spring forecast offers little hope for relief, especially in the West where a devastating megadrought has taken root and worsened. Weather service and agriculture officials warned of possible water use cutbacks in California and the Southwest, increased wildfires, low levels in key reservoirs such as Lake Mead and Lake Powell and damage to wheat crops. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s official spring outlook Thursday sees an expanding drought with a drier than normal April, May and June for a large swath of the country from Louisiana to Oregon. including some areas hardest hit by the most severe drought. And nearly all of the continental United States is looking at warmer than normal spring, except for tiny parts of the Pacific Northwest and southeast Alaska, which makes drought worse.

‘Tough’ U.S.-China talks signal rocky start to relations under Biden (Reuters) U.S. and Chinese officials concluded on Friday what Washington called “tough and direct” talks in Alaska, which laid bare the depth of tensions between the world’s two largest economies at the outset of the Biden administration. The two days of meetings, the first high-level in-person talks since President Joe Biden took office, wrapped up after a rare and fiery kickoff on Thursday when the two sides publicly skewered each others’ policies in front of TV cameras. The talks appeared to yield no diplomatic breakthroughs—as expected—but the bitter rivalry on display suggested the two countries had little common ground to reset relations that have sunk to the lowest level in decades. The run-up to the discussions in Anchorage, which followed visits by U.S. officials to allies Japan and South Korea, was marked by a flurry of moves by Washington that showed it was taking a firm stance, as well as by blunt talk from Beijing warning the United States to discard illusions that it would compromise.

Volcano Erupts In Southwestern Iceland After Thousands Of Earthquakes (NPR) A volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland erupted Friday evening, producing a river of lava that could be seen from the capital, Reykjavik, 20 miles away. The eruption took place about three miles inland from the coast and poses little threat to residents. They were advised to stay indoors with windows closed against any gases that are released. This is the first eruption in the Reykjanes Peninsula in nearly 800 years, the Associated Press reported. Thousands of earthquakes took place in the weeks leading up to the eruption, the meteorological office reported. Earlier this week, swarms of earthquakes rattled the peninsula, with over 3,000 quakes on Sunday alone. Scientists attributed the earthquakes to magma intrusions, molten rock movement about a kilometer below the earth’s crust.

A New Year in Iran, but the country’s crises remain the same (AP) The Persian New Year, Nowruz, begins on the first day of spring and celebrates all things new. But as families across Iran hurried to greet the fresh start—eating copious crisp herbs, scrubbing their homes and buying new clothes—it was clear just how little the country had changed. A year into the coronavirus pandemic that has devastated Iran, killing over 61,500 people—the highest death toll in the Middle East—the nation is far from out of the woods. And although Iranians had welcomed the election of President Joe Biden with a profound sigh of relief after the Trump administration’s economic pressure campaign, the sanctions that have throttled the country for three years remain in place. “I was counting down the seconds to see the end of this year,” said Hashem Sanjar, a 33-year-old food delivery worker with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. “But I worry about next year.”

2 journalists detained as Myanmar junta clamps down on press (AP) Two more journalists were detained in Myanmar on Friday, part of the junta’s intensifying efforts to choke off information about resistance to last month’s coup. Mizzima News reported that one of its former reporters, Than Htike Aung, and Aung Thura, a journalist from the BBC’s Burmese-language service, were detained by men who appeared to be plainclothes security agents outside a court in the capital of Naypyitaw. The journalists were covering legal proceedings against Win Htein, a detained senior official from the National League for Democracy, the party that ran the country before the takeover. The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule. In the face of persistent strikes and protests against the takeover, the junta has responded with an increasingly violent crackdown and efforts to severely limit the information reaching the outside world. Security forces have fired on crowds, killing hundreds, internet access has been severely restricted, private newspapers have been barred from publishing, and protesters, journalists and politicians have been arrested in large numbers.

Spectators from abroad to be barred from Tokyo Olympics (AP) At last it’s official after countless unsourced news reports and rumors: spectators from abroad will be barred from the postponed Tokyo Olympics when they open in four months. Officials said the risk was too great to admit ticket holders from overseas during a pandemic. The Japanese public has also opposed fans from abroad. Several surveys have shown that up to 80% oppose holding the Olympics, and a similar percentage opposed fans from overseas attending.

‘You can’t escape the smell’: mouse plague grows to biblical proportions across eastern Australia (The Guardian) Drought, fire, the Covid-19 pestilence and an all-consuming plague of mice. Rural New South Wales has faced just about every biblical challenge nature has to offer in the last few years, but now it is praying for another—an almighty flood to drown the mice in their burrows and cleanse the blighted land of the rodents. Or some very heavy rain, at least. It seems everyone in the rural towns of north-west NSW and southern Queensland has their own mouse war story. In posts online, they detail waking up to mouse droppings on their pillows or watching the ground move at night as hundreds of thousands of rodents flee from torchlight beams. After years of drought, rural NSW and parts of Queensland enjoyed a bumper crop due to the recent wet season. But this influx of new produce and grains has led to an explosion in the mouse population. Locals say they started noticing the swarms up north in October and the wave of rodents has been spreading south ever since, growing to biblical proportions.

#headlines #news

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commercialwindowshieldo · 2 months

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CWS Retained by South San Antonio School District for Security Window Film Installation Project

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The South San Antonio Independent School District [SSAISD] has hired Commercial Window Shield for a safety and security window film installation project for all 13 school buildings in their school system.

The project involves the installation of a clear 8-mil film with a wet-glaze attachment system on all ground-floor entrance doors and windows. In total, 45,000 sq. ft. of safety and security window film will be installed on the buildings’ glass.

The work at SSAISD is scheduled to begin this spring and will be on-going throughout the year.

Funding for the project comes from the state of Texas’s School Safety Standards Formula initiative, which allocated $400 million to public schools for enhanced safety. The initiative was sparked by a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in May 2022 during which 19 students and two teachers were killed and 17 students wounded by a lone gunman who entered the school through a building door.

The SSAISD security window film installation project continues a national trend in which school districts are acting to protect their students and employees from potential violent building intruders with the installation of safety and security window film in vulnerable glass entry areas.

Commercial Window Shield has been at the forefront of the school security movement over the past decade. Including this project, the company has protected the glass in more than 360 school buildings in 12 states.

Elsewhere, the company has completed safety and security film projects at Geneva, Minooka and Lake Zurich school districts in suburban Chicago; Calvert, St. Mary’s and Carroll County [Md.] Public Schools; Mechanicsburg and Bath Local Schools, near Lima, Ohio; Bellmore and Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools, N.Y.; Hartford, Glastonbury and Simsbury school districts in Connecticut; Norfolk and Henry County in Virginia; Beaverton, Ore.; Comanche Public Schools, Comanche, Okla., Lansdale, Pa. and Katy and Rockwell schools districts in Texas.

With more than 40 years of experience, Commercial Window Shield is one of the nation’s leading security and solar control window film installers. Among its many projects, the company has protected windows at the U.S. Capitol, FBI headquarters, Pentagon, all House of Representative buildings, O’Hare International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the Willis Tower [former Sears Tower], Denver Mint, Grand Central Terminal and the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.

Source URL:- https://insiderspirit.com/cws-retained-by-south-san-antonio-school-district-for-security-window-film-installation-project/

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cpgchartfordct · 4 years

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CPGC hartford

Check out: https://goo.gl/maps/pCf5JBot7y89VMzN6

Your rain gutters are there to do greater than keep the roof covering from dripping on you when you enter as well as exit your home. They're an indispensable part of your roofing, working together to guard your home from harmful rain. However when leaves, twigs, and various other debris clog your rain gutters.

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Rain gutters are mounted by professionals although some individuals prefer to do it by themselves. However, it is a good idea to work with the solutions of experts because they have knowledge and also understanding that is called for throughout installment. If you do it by yourself, you may end up creating even more harm than good to the roof which will certainly not satisfy that it is planned to do.

Gutter cleaning is a required part of being a property owner. Climbing up ladders, moving and lifting the ladder, making use of a container and scoop to remove the leaves as well as substances in your gutters, is a messy, undesirable task. It is a miserable ways to spend half a day on a weekend break.

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If rain gutters begin ending up being full of particles, they can in fact get blocked and also fail to flow the water far from the house. This is why it is absolutely critical that rain gutters are well preserved and also cleaned on a regular basis. Failure to do so can cause some significant water damages that can be both unsafe and expensive.

It's evident that rain gutters require to be cleared out often. The problems that can arise because of obstructed rain gutters can be significant, and can create a huge dent in your pocketbook.

Gutter serve a very good objective in home maintenance. It routes runoff water from a very large surface area-- the house's roof covering-- to where it can safely recede from your house preventing water damage, shielding exterior sidings, windows, doors, and structures.

Gutter cleaning services are readily available virtually everywhere. All it takes sometimes is just to call them as well as publication a consultation. A well-kept home beginnings with the little points.

A rain gutter's function may appear trivial yet its upkeep will help you safeguard one of your greatest properties ever before. Be a smart homeowner as well as take note of your house's rain gutters. Be a smarter individual by not placing yourself in risky situations which you know you are ill-prepared to manage.

#gutters

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christinealtomare · 5 years

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What were your favorite moments of the trip?

Oh my goshhhhh, so many!!!

Starting with Day 1, the landing. We arrived in the evening and flew over the water for like 10-15 minutes and it was literally ??? The PRETTIEST landing I had ever experienced!! Like the sun was hitting the water and everything was just sparkly and beautiful and I adored it SO much :((

We arrived Thursday night and got to the hotel around 11PM and full disclosure, I booked during the Winter Sale so I got some heavy discounts lol and because of that, I wasn’t expecting more than just like a tiny place to sleep and stuff BUT. We were in the middle of Times Square, less than a minute from the Broadhurst, and on the 37th floor??? And I just had the PRETTIEST sight of the Empire State building all lit up from afar, a ton of other buildings lit up, theatre row below me, and the Gershwin! Definitely one of the top moments of my trip was getting to fall asleep next to the sight of all of the pretty lights and Empire State building every night!!

Same night, we did our first walk through Times Square at around 12AM and my heart. STOPPED as soon as I saw theatre row from like the streets and everything all lit up and above me and beautiful! It was so, SO pretty and all of the lights were so bright it legitimately felt like daylight and just!! We walked around until like 1-3AM every night and I loved it so much.

Day 2, I met up with the actual love of my life, @stardustschild!! The whole day with her was one of my favourite parts of the whole trip

Same day, my family and I went to the shops at Columbus Circle amongst other places and I immediately scoped out the spot for Broadway Under the Stars and scared my mother with said knowledge LMAO. That night we walked around again and I impulsively went to the Anastasia stage door. I wanted to just show my mom Christy from afar, but we ended up behind the barricade and the girl next to me was the sweetest and gave me her extra Playbill so I could stage door an extra night ???? AN ANGEL, LITERALLY (seriously, if anybody knows a Gabby who saw Anastasia on Friday night, PLEASE thank her for me!!

Gail gets her own bullet point because she was the SWEETEST okay so on the stage door on Friday, she had TONS of guests and then she came out with her husband and them and like I recognized her right away because she was the “new” face at the Broadhurst and I was honestly so taken aback by how beautiful she was I had trouble. not staring gfndskal and she saw me and so we waved at each other, she grinned, and asked me if I had liked the show and I just grinned like a kid and nodded and she smiled back and went “yay!”

Delilah and Cody signed my Playbill and they were both so sweet! (Cody asked me how I was and we took a picture! He was trying to have a conversation with everybody at the stage door that night, which was honestly adorable, and even made his way down to the non-barricaded portion!)

Christy finally got to me and Oh god. I froze. We said hi and then I started having a panic attack from how overwhelmed I was because I hadn’t expected to meet her that night and then she was there and beautiful and soooo kind! And I just started tearing up, security gave me confused looks, and so my mom started talking to her and telling her how we came from Canada just for her and that I worked all summer to save up enough to see the show/her and then SHE started crying and hugged me! And so much of it is a blur LMAO but we hugged and cried a lot nfmd,sl I nervously told her I had been following the show since Hartford, she gave me the Christy look and was like “3 years!!!” and then she took my mom’s phone, took so many selfies of us!! and started to record a video without saying anything about how glad she was I made it to the show at last, how she hoped it was everything I had been saving up for, and how grateful she was for me :_____; and we hugged again ;_____;

Day 3 was Anastasia day and the whole show + stage door were my favourite parts!!!

And then next day, at the airport, I was about to board when @chrhorowitz sent me a snippet of Christy’s live that evening where she showed Hubert!!!! I cried ???? in JFK it was FINEEEE

It was honestly. such a dream come true and I am so grateful. NYC is officially my most favourite place on the planet and I just??? Can’t believe I made this happen!!! I wanted this for so long and it was just so surreal and 100% lived up to ALL of the hype! I genuinely can’t wait to go back. Like I didn’t sleep the whole last night because I just stared out my hotel room’s window at all of the lights and the buildings and ya. Guess who’s applying to NY for grad schools officially!!

#answered #nyc trip 2019 #Anonymous

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maealbert · 6 years

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The Liaison // Killer Shot/Crossover

AU Characters: Team x OC (Lucy De Luca) A/N: So after watching the Crossfire episode of FBI, I decided to write a crossover between the two shows! Enjoy! :) Master List The Liaison

tag list: @idkbutspencer @literallyprentissstwin @remember-me-forever-silent-angel @cynbx @tenaciousarcadeexpert @rawritsmolly @dontshootmespence @princesswagger15 @drspencerreider @illegalcerebral @marvelfanlife @rt8815 @punkpenguin2019 @extremeobsessions101

New York, New York

________________

Cars zipped by, horns honked loudly in all different directions. Sidewalks were crowded and busy during everyone’s lunch break. It’s funny how so many people take a lunch break at the same time and not realizing it. People passed each other outside of the Hartford Law offices. People carried coffee, their bags slung over their shoulders, eyes glued to their phone. A few people conversed with each other discussing the boring day of paperwork and angry phone calls from clients. “Honey, we discussed this… Okay well then stop bringing it up.. Look I’m on my way to my car and when I get home, we’ll discuss it more, alright?” Just as he was about to step off the sidewalk to join the crowd of people crossing the street, something whizzes through the air striking the man straight through his forehead. His body falls to the ground sending people surrounding his now dead body scattering into different directions. Screams followed as people tried to hide. The woman closest to the dead man tried to go help when she to received a bullet to the head causing more panic to the people.

“Shot fired! Shots fired!” A security guard shouts as he pushes through the doors of the law office building. “Oh god, there’s so much--” But he too was stunned with a bullet straight to the forehead just like two prior victims just minutes before him.

__________________

“I don’t know how comfortable I am leaving the girls back home.” Lucy says as pulls out her phone. That was the tenth time in an hour that she had checked her phone.

“They will be fine. Anderson is very good with kids and he knows to call us if there’s any emergency.”

Soon they see a black SUV pulled over to the side of the highway, the hazard lights blinking. Spencer sees the government plates on the vehicle and pulls Lucy’s SUV over to the shoulder in front of the car. The doors of the SUV open up behind him and the other team members climb out and walk up to Lucy’s car. Lucy rolls down her window just as Emily walks up. “Everything okay?” Lucy asks.

“Car broke down.” Emily responds. “Do you have room for us.”

“Yeah, hop in.” Lucy says unlocking the doors. “Did you call a tow service?” She asks once everyone was in the car.

“Yeah,” Emily says as she buckles herself in. “I made sure to take everything out of the car so no one gets ahold of any files or anything.”

“Oh! I grab the lights and siren.” Matt says as he passes the electronics up to Lucy. Spencer made sure everyone was buckled in before drove off.

______________

Arriving at the Hartford Law Office building’s plaza, they came to see a crowd of people outside of the police tape. The New York field office’s agents already examining the three bodies. Emily flashed her badges at the officers to let the team through. Or at least the ones that weren’t dropped off at the field office. Omar stood up from his kneeling position to greet the agents, Maggie following behind him. “You must be the BAU.” He says shaking the three agents hands. “I’m Agent Omar Adom and this is my partner, Agent Maggie Bell.”

“Nice to meet you both.” Emily says shaking his hand. “I’m Agent Emily Prentiss and this is a couple of my agents, Agent De Luca and Agent Alvez.”

Both agents give the New Yorkers a kind smile. “Has anyone spoke to the media yet about the shootings?” Lucy asks Omar.

“Not yet. We just got here ourselves right after the ME’s examined the bodies.”

“Mind if I go speak with the media?” She asks again.

“Have fun with it.” Omar says. “Be careful though. New York reporters can be rude.”

Lucy smiles as she nods her head. “I’ve had my fair share of these reporters.” Lucy says making Omar smile. She heads off to the media as Omar shows Emily and Luke over to the bodies.

As Emily and Maggie examine the bodies, Luke follows Omar to the sing of the law office. “See this?” Omar says as he points to the bullet hole. “This comes straight from our first victim.”

“Have the victims been identified yet?”

“ME’s found IDs on all three victims,” Omar says as he moves around to the back of the sign. “Assistant General Attorney, Michael Bradley. A secretary from downtown, Maddie Fields. And the third is the security guard, Chris Hanks, who tried to come out and help Maddie and Michael.”

Luke nods his head as he examines the bullet hole in the sign. Omar follows the trajectory of the bullet strike until he came face to face with concrete plant holder. “The bullet grazed here after hitting the AG Attorney and going through the sign.”

“So let’s see where this hole points to.” Luke says. Omar bends down a little below the hole and peers through with one eye. “I see a balcony.” He says standing up. He points across the street intersection to an apartment building rooftop. “He had to be shooting from up there.” Both men head back over to the two women. “He shot our victims from that rooftop over there.” Omar said pointing back at the apartment building. “I want take Maggie up there with me and see if there’s anything we can find.”

“We’ll stay down here. Maybe we can find any connections.” Emily says.

________________

“Agents, you made it!” Mosier says as she enters the conference. “I’m relieved we get to join forces on this case.”

JJ extends her hand out to Mosier giving her a warm smile. “I’m Agent Jareau and these are Agents Reid, Simmons, Rossi, and Lewis. Garcia just left to join your analyst.”

“With their brain put together, I’m sure we’ll get somewhere.” Mosier says. “I’m surprised you aren’t set up in the bullpen with the rest of the agents.”

“We tend to work in a confined space where we can brainstorm without a lot going on.” Spencer says.

“Well feel free to ask me any questions if need be. Our office is a little different than you last remember it.” Mosier says before leaves the room.

_________________

Joining Emily and Luke back by the victims, Lucy puts her phone away. Noticing they were looking off into the distance, she follows their gaze to find two people standing on the rooftop balcony of an apartment complex. “OA and Bell?” She questions.

Emily nods her head. “Looks like our sniper fired from the top of that building.”

“No one saw him?” Lucy says.

“He wasn’t seen by anybody because he most likely hid inside the room that leads out to the balcony. He has privacy and no eye sight on him. Plus it has a direct line to the plaza.” Maggie explains as she and OA meet up with the three agents back on the ground.

“So why was he targeting these victims?” Emily says as she looks around the plaza.

“AGA is still a high profile target.” Lucy says. “But the two victims weren’t. One was a secretary and one is security guard. What purpose do they serve?”

“Or what purpose do any of them serve to him?” Luke says.

______________

As the five agents were heading back to the field office, Maggie received a phone call. “This is Agent Bell…. Yeah… Alright we can find it.” She says before hanging.

“What was it?” OA asks.

“There’s been another shooting.” She says as she opens her phone to send a message to the other agents.

The SUVs come to a stop outside of an apartment complex. “Deja vu.” Emily says as she shuts her car door.

“How so?” Luke asks.

“Garcia lived an apartment complex similar to this one. Except this one doesn’t have a fountain in the middle of the walkway.” Emily explains as she and the other two walk up to Bell and OA. “How many this time?” She asks.

“Six.” OA responds as he lifts up the white sheets from one of the victims.

“High profile?” Luke asks.

Bell shakes her head. “No.. Just normal civilians.”

“We do have one survivor.” Bell says. “Police informed us that a security guard was on his way back to his apartment when he was clipped by a bullet. He had his gun on him already and shot up to that window,” She says pointing across the street to another building. “Says he shot twice but isn’t sure he hit our suspect.”

“Bell, go talk to him again. See if there’s anything else he might remember.” OA says standing up.

“I’ll go with you.” Luke says as he follows after Bell.

“Lucy..” Emily says turning to Lucy.

“I’m on it.” Lucy says as she walks away and towards the few news reporters across the street.

“Agents.” A tech agent calls from the police tent. Emily and OA head over to the agent. “So I put in a trajectory test on where the bullets are said to come from. Our survivor was right. Shots came from that building.”

“Hey, OA,” Bell says as she and Luke come over to the tent. “Our survivor said he saw a black SUV peel out of here after the shots were fired.”

“Could he see a driver?” Emily asks.

“No,” Luke responded shaking his head. “He said it was too fast for him to get a good look.”

Lucy rushes over to the others as she put her phone away. “JJ just called. Mosier wants us back.”

“Let’s go.” Emily says.

___________________

“So we have two different places that were targeted,” Mosier says as she sits down at her desk. “Why?”

“We thought it was the people at first.” Maggie says.

“Well it can’t be.” Mosier says. “Nobody at the apartment is high profile. Garcia did backgrounds on the tenants and everyone has a normal job, nothing suspicious.”

“So it’s not the people..” Emily says standing up from the couch.

“What if the buildings are connected?” Maggie says.

“As if our unsub had something happen here.” Emily adds.

“Exactly.” Maggie says looking at her. “What if he has ties to each of these?”

“We did speculate that he could be ex-military based on how long he would have had to stay there across from the plaza waiting for his exact targets.” OA says.

“And our survivor. He saw the black SUV.” Mosier says. All three agents nodded their heads. “Let NYPD know to keep an eye out for SUVs matching the very limited description. If it leaks, deny it. Until then, let’s find our sniper.”

____________

“So Garcia and I managed to pull together a list of eighty-eight,” Kristen says as she hands the sheet of paper to Maggie. “Have fun.” A different agent came in with a file. “Looks like your analyst might have found the golden ticket.” She scans through the file. “Cole Cooper. Ex-military and looks like he has ties to each place that was targeted. He was also caught on security feed not too long ago purchasing the gun that was used to kill our nine victims.”

“I’ll gather my team in the bullpen.” Emily says as she leaves the room and goes to meet up with the team.

___________

“I managed to find Cole’s social media pages about a few years back.” Kristen says as she pulls up a video. “He was very active but then it just goes dark. Same with his girlfriend’s.” She starts to play the video.

Cole walks through the park area towards picnic benches. He was dressed in his military uniform and carrying a bouquet of flowers. Lucy could feel herself getting choked up. It only reminded her of her father when he showed up to her birthday dinner on her sixteenth birthday.

“Cole lived his then-girlfriend, Emily in the apartments where he struck second.”

“JJ, I want you to go with Bell and OA and talk to the apartment manager and try to find out what happened between Cole and Emily and see if that ties in with why Cole might have targeted these two places.” Emily says. She notices Lucy’s demeanor and heads over to her. “Are you okay?”

Lucy looks up at her. “Yeah, I’m good.” She says. “Just uh.. Got flashbacks when the video was playing..”

“Your dad..”

Lucy nods her head again. “But I’ll be fine. I’m normally not like this, but being pregnant my hormones are really heightened right now.”

“I get it, I get it.” Emily says. “If you need to take a break, you can.”

“No,” Lucy says shaking her head. “I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, well let’s get back into it.” Emily says as she walks out of the bullpen with Lucy.

__________________

JJ comes back into the conference room. “Bell and OA just got a call to a gas station. An officer saw a black SUV and called it in. He was shot when approaching the vehicle. Garcia’s sending the video over. Bell and OA are watching it there.”

Rossi pulls over the laptop and opens it just as video file pops. As he begins to the play it, they see someone jumping out of the passenger side and going inside the gas station. They hear the officer calling in the SUV before climbing out of the cruiser. As he approached the vehicle, an arm reaches out and a clear shot could be heard as the officer falls to the ground the SUV speeds off. Seconds later the passenger emerges, pausing in their steps to look around for the SUV before taking off in the other direction.

“He has a partner?” Emily says.

“That changes this whole investigation.” Matt says.

“Looks like we have a new unsub to find.” Tara says as she stands up from the table. “I’m gonna call Garcia and see if she can figure out who we’re looking for.”

______________

Sitting in the military truck, Lucy kept her eyes locked on the video feed from the drone flying above the bell tower of the church. A negotiator kept talking to Cole but receiving no answer from him. “I have an idea.” Maggie says.

Reaching the rooftop of the building next to the church, Maggie and Lucy crouched down below the concrete wall. “I’m going to talk to him.” Maggie says as she stands up. “Cole! Cole, can we talk?”

“You can’t stop me!” Cole yells back.

“Cole, you don’t have to do this. I know what you’re going through! I know the pain you’re experiencing. Just put the gun down and we can help you!”

“You can’t help me! No one can help! That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing!”

“We have Kofi is custody!” Maggie says. Lucy looks up at her in surprise that she would bring him up. “We know you took care of him and helped him when he needed it. He looks up to you, Cole!”

“I shouldn’t have brought him into this.” Cole responds.

“With your testimony, you can exonerate him, Cole, he isn’t a legal adult. He won’t go to jail, you can still help him.”

“Just leave me alone!”

Lucy stood up. “Let me talk to him.” She says. Maggie nods her head and goes over to OA to watch him through the drone camera.

“Cole, I’m Agent Lucy De Luca from the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Do you know where we were from?”

“Quantico, by the Marine base.” Cole responds, his eyes still focused on the telescope attached to the top of his gun.

“Exactly. And I know you’re a Marine. I know how tough it can be being in the Military, even living in a Military family. You move a lot, you worry about your family, you gain friends and lose them.”

“How could you possibly know what it’s like?” Cole questions.

“My father used to be a Marine. I moved around a lot when I was younger. It was always just my two older brothers and myself when our father was deployed. He was just like you, Cole. He felt betrayed by his leaders and by his peers. He felt no one could help what he was going through--”

“Did he experience the loss of a loved one?”

“My mother. She didn’t die but she has alzheimer's, so in a way he felt he did. I didn’t grow up with her so I can’t tell you what it felt like to lose someone you were passionate about… But I know what it’s like to lose a loved one. I’ve lost two people, Cole. I know the depression and hurt you feel from losing Emily.”

“Don’t talk about her!”

“Cole, it’s okay to talk about her. Just like it’s okay to talk about the death of my father and my baby.”

It went silent for a few seconds before Cole spoke up again. “You lost a baby?”

“Yes, Cole.” Lucy took in a deep breath before speaking again. “I had a miscarriage and it was really hard. My father was killed while he was deployed overseas. So I can relate to the pain you feel after losing Emily. What do you think Emily would you want to do?” It was silent again. “Cole, she’d want you to be happy and to put the gun down.”

“I can’t.. I have to do this.”

“Why do you have to do this, Cole? Does it make you feel better to know that you inflicting pain on the families of the people you’ve killed? Because they’re feeling exactly what you’re feeling right now? Pain, anger. You took away a loved one just like Emily was taken away from you. Please, Cole. Put the gun down and we can help you.”

“We’ve got a civilian on the street.” The SWAT leader calls from truck down below.

“I thought we cleared the street?” OA says. Maggie peers through the hole in the concrete wall to see the person running between the buildings across the street and crouching below the brush.

Lucy sees Cole adjusting his gun and looking his scope. “Cole, don’t do it.” She says. “Put the gun away.”

“I have to..”

“No you don’t.”

“Mosier, what do we do?” Maggie speaks through her walkie talkie.

“Cole!” Lucy shouts. “We can help you!”

“His finger’s on the trigger, Agent De Luca.” Mosier says. “Maggie, it’s your call.”

“Cole! Put the gun down!” Lucy shouts. “Maggie, don’t call it. Not yet.”

“Lucy, there’s only one way we get him down.”

“Maggie, I’m almost there. Give me more time.”

“We don’t have more time,” Maggie says. “We have a civilian life at stake.”

Lucy turns back to the Cole. As she goes to open her mouth again, she hears a click on one of the guns from the sniper and Cole disappeared from her view. “Suspect is down.” He speaks through his walkie talkie. OA walks over to Lucy, placing his hand on her shoulder. She still looked over at the bell tower hoping to see him stand back up. “He’s gone, Lucy.” He speaks. “You tried.”

Taking in a deep breath, Lucy walks away not uttering a word to either OA or Maggie.

______________

“Everything okay?” JJ asks as she catches up with Lucy outside of the field office. Lucy lifts her head. “You look a little shaken up.”

“Uh yeah, just worried about the girls is all.” Lucy says. “I haven’t heard from Anderson or Julianne.”

“It’s normal to feel worried.” JJ says.

“No, but I texted Julianne two hours ago and I still haven’t heard anything back from her.” Lucy sits down on one of the benches outside of the field office. “I guess when we started this case and the victims started out as high profile jobs, I became a lot more paranoid with leaving them in DC.”

“Anderson wouldn’t let anything bad happen to them.” JJ says. “Maybe she’s just doing homework or watching Vivien. Look we’ll home in a few hours.”

Suddenly Lucy’s phone began to ring. Turning it over she sees Julianne’s naming flashing on the screen. “Jules, hey. How was school?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m still in New York, we’re waiting on the others and then we’ll be on our way. Why? What’s wrong?”

“Some guy is here asking for you. Says he used to go to school with you?”

“What does he look like?”

“Black hair, brown eyes. About Spencer’s height.”

“Did you get a name?” Lucy asks.

“Aaron Williams.”

Lucy’s heart dropped to her stomach. “Did you let him in?”

“No, I kept him in the hallway.”

“Lock the door and keep Vivien in her room.”

“What I do after that?”

“Stall him. Tell him you’re trying to get ahold of me but you’re having some trouble. I’m gonna get the quickest flight out there.” Hanging up she grabs her bags and runs to the street to hail down a taxi.

“Luce, what’s going on?” JJ says as she goes after Lucy.

“I have to get home.”

“Are the girls alright?”

“Tell Spencer to come to the apartment as soon as they get back. I have to go!”

____________

Dropping her bags on the sidewalk, she pulls out her gun and slowly approaches the front porch of her apartment. Seeing no sign of Aaron anywhere, she pulls out her key and unlocks the door. “Jules? I’m home!�� Clearing the kitchen she goes into the living room to find Julianne’s school bag on the floor, her textbooks on the coffee table. “Spencer will be home shortly. He had to finish some things up at work so he’ll be late for dinner. How was school?” Once she cleared the living room, she started making her way to the hall. “I was thinking maybe we could have chinese tonight down at Wu’s and then afterwards we can come here and watch some movies before bed. That is if you have all of your homework finished.” She stepped into her and Spencer’s room and cleared the closet, under the bed, and her bathroom. “Also have you seen a purple button up shirt in the laundry by any chance? Spencer wants me to wash so he has it for work tomorrow.” Leaving her room she goes across the hall to the guest room where the girls were sharing it. Opening the door she peers inside to find the girls laying on their beds. Julianne was on her laptop and Vivien was playing with her dolls. “Oh thank gosh..” She sighs lowering her gun. “Are you two alright?”

“Yeah.. Uh.. I told him I was having trouble getting ahold of you so he said he’d come back some other time when you were home.”

“Luce?” She hears Spencer call. “Why were you bags on the sidewalk?”

Putting her gun away she heads back out to the living room to find Spencer setting their bags down behind the couch. “Sorry..”

“Are you okay?” He asks walking over to her. “JJ said you took off after Julianne called you.”

“Did I ever tell you about Aaron Williams?”

“No..” Spencer says shaking his head. “Who is he?”

Lucy took in a deep breath before opening her mouth.

If you liked this part, then please be sure to leave it some love and some feedback!

Thank you! :)

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hartfordlockinstallation-blog · 5 years

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lockinstallation-blog · 6 years

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You need emergency auto locksmith help immediately if you are in a car lockout situation. To get expert auto lockout services within 30 minutes, call us now!

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Jammed key in vehicle lock

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Trunk Lockout Locksmiths

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Call Us 24/7 for Service At Your Location:

866-696-0323

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