Bad Blood ~Rewrite~

Sixteen

A dark gloom loomed over the city as the sun hid behind the dark winter clouds. Caitlyn stood on the back porch of the house, biting the insides of her cheeks nervously as she stared at the dark grey waves. Her heart beat loudly in her chest as she hugged her coat tightly around herself. The door clicked softly as it opened behind her, but she stayed frozen in place.

"It's freezing out here," Thomas said, shivering as he moved to stand beside her. "What are you doing?" He pulled his coat tightly around himself as he looked out over the violent waves.

"Thinking," she muttered simply, not offering further explanation.

"About going back to work?" He asked, turning to lean again the railing of the patio so he could look at her. Caitlyn let out a pitiful scoff and turned to look at him finally, nodding silently in response. "It's going to be alright," he muttered softly. "I promise. None of us are going to let anything happen to you..." Caitlyn shook her head and looked down at the ground, trying to find the words to say.

"I'm not really worried about that," she muttered with a soft shrug. "I guess I'm just worried about being so close to Nick again... and about everything he and Depp have against us." She looked up at Thomas and bit her lip, trying to find the words to say. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" He asked, shifting to move closer to her as the wind picked up. Caitlyn let out a pitiful laugh and shook her head.

"I don't know... stay sane? Keep pushing on?" Thomas ran a hand through his hair and slowly reached into his pocket, pulling a picture out of his wallet and handing it to her. Caitlyn looked down at the old worn out polaroid of Thomas and a younger girl who looked just like him.

"I don't know about sane," he muttered softly. "But I do everything for her..."

"Ava?" Caitlyn asked, looking back up at him. Thomas nodded softly as she handed the picture back to him.

"As long as I keep pushing on, she stays safe," he shrugged. "And I guess part of me hopes that there will be something we can do to end it all someday," he whispered. "Maybe someday we can take Nick and Depp down..."

"We can," Caitlyn said, grabbing Thomas by the hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I just wish I knew what..." Thomas nodded and let out a soft breath.

"For now we can start by going to work... and we can leave now in the warm car, because it's bloody freezing out here." Caitlyn laughed lightly as he pulled her towards the door before releasing her hand gently.

"Just think," Caitlyn said, following him through the house to the garage. "We work for the biggest newspaper in New York... imagine if we found a way to leak Depp's secrets through his own paper." Thomas stopped for a moment and turned to look at the younger girl, biting his lip in thought.

"Maybe we could..." Thomas muttered as they got into the car. "We would need someone on the inside upstairs though. It'd take a while for them to gain Nick and Depp's trust. They recently let go of their publication manager... so the spot is open." Thomas tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel in thought for a moment before beginning to drive towards the city.

"How would we get someone on the inside?" Caitlyn asked. "There's only eight of us..." Thomas glanced at her and nodded softly, taking in a deep breath.

"There are others," he said quietly. "Some are in hiding out in the world... hiding from Depp after our last attempt failed. Others walked away... some defected." Thomas took in a deep breath and shook his head. "It'd be hard, but I think we can convince some of the others to come back... the ones who were loyal before and walked away. We just have to be careful. It's hard to know who we can trust..." Caitlyn stared out the window as they crossed over the bridge into the city. Her mind was racing as she thought everything through, allowing silence to fill the space between them as they continued their way to work. Thomas pulled into the parking lot of the building, pulling Caitlyn's attention to the tall building suddenly. She felt a breath of relief escape her lips as she saw her older brother anxiously waiting for them.