NAOMI REID
"Where's Sean?" Naomi asks as Avery hops into the passenger seat of her car.
"He can't make it. Work called," She answers with a sad sigh. "Jensen coming?" She asks in return.
"Yeah, he's bringing his friend too. I also invited Calvin," Naomi says to her as she drives off.
"How is Calvin?" Avery asks.
"He doesn't know how to act around his partner," Naomi responds. "He wants to bring it up but he knows that won't be the best move for him to make. Not yet anyway."
"Does he think Dean is a hunter or just working alongside one?" Avery questions.
"He's still not sure. He said Dean never struck him as a wolf murderer," Naomi answers, using Calvin's exact phrasing.
~
The girls arrive at the park, the Firehouse's annual charity BBQ already in full swing. They find their crew, breaking off to talk to everyone. Naomi goes to her brother as Avery finds herself playfully arguing with some firefighters. "Naomi, hey," Kai greets her as she walks up to him.
"Hey," She greets with a smile noticing the girl standing close to her brother.
"Naomi, this is Callie. Callie, this is my sister Naomi," Kai says introducing the two. Naomi nods in greeting the girl, getting a smile in return. She chats with them a little longer, learning that they met each other recently after her brother rescued her from a fire. The girl seems sweet enough, if not a little shy. After their talk, Naomi leaves them, making her way to other firehouses and chatting with friends and fellow responders.
As she begins to make her way back to Avery, a voice calls out to her. Stopping in her tracks, she turns around to see her biological mother walking towards her - Her husband and their child in tow.
"You've got to be kidding!" Naomi says out loud, scorn on her face.
She stands there, watching in dismay as Mellissa and her family quickly approach her.
"Trish-" Mellissa begins with a smile but Naomi cuts her off before she could finish.
"That's not my name," She says with a glare. "What are you doing here?"
"If I'm not mistaken, this is a public event," Her husband buts in.
"You're right, it is. Goodbye now," Naomi says turning to walk away.
"Wait!" Mellissa calls out, to which Naomi swiftly turns back around to face her. "Leave me alone!" She groans out angrily. Melissa's face morphs into an expression of hurt making Naomi roll her eyes as she continues on her way. She's able to take a total of five steps before a hand on her shoulder stops her. Spinning around, she comes face to face with Melissa's husband. Standing with his back straight, he had a cocky expression about him.
"Excuse you!" Naomi exclaims furiously, slapping the hand off her shoulder. The expression on his face turns into a scowl as he looks down at Naomi.
"Listen," He begins, "I don't appreciate the way you speak to my wife. You are very rude to her. And, quite frankly, you are being extremely selfish!" The man says to her.
"Selfish?" Naomi asks incredulously.
"Yes, selfish. You are only thinking about yourself and you're only looking at this from your obscured point of view. You need to hear Mellissa out. She really wants to get to know you. And you owe her that chance, she is your mother," He says to her.
Stunned, Naomi could only stare at the man wide-eyed. "The audacity of you two!" She exclaims raising her hands in the air in frustration.
"You listen to me!" She says pointing her finger at the man. "You and your wife need to stay the hell away from me. I want absolutely nothing to do with either of you. I owe Mellissa nothing - The two of you need to get that through your heads. And she sure as hell is not my mother!"
With that Naomi goes to move away from the man, only for him to place his hands on her shoulder again, stopping her from walking away.
"Get your hands off me! Who the hell do you think you are?!" Naomi says fuming.
"You're not listening," He begins, his hand still on Naomi. He goes to continue but a deep voice cuts him off.
"Neither are you. She said, remove, your, hand!"
~
JENSEN CARTER
Moving to stand behind Naomi, Jensen watches as the man removes his arm with a visible gulp. The man fidgets nervously, switching his weight between his feet. Trying his best to act unaffected by his presence, but Jensen sees right through his act. He could smell the nervous sweat coming from the man, his heartbeat picking up as well.
"Excuse me, but this is a private conversation!" The man says with an angry huff, his eyes darting from Jensen to Naomi. Standing directly behind Naomi, Jensen glares at the man - Resisting the urge to smile when he steps back instinctively. "Conversation's over," He says to him, his tone leaving no room for argument. He feels Naomi lean into him, her back fully against his chest. Her posture relaxing slightly. The man watches him with his mouth agape for a few seconds before stomping away.
Jensen places a calming hand on Naomi's hip as the two of them watch him storm off. His eyes never leave the man as he makes his way to his wife - Watching him grumble a "Let's go!" to her before pulling her away. The woman glances back longingly as they leave, her eyes only falling on Naomi. Once they were out of sight, he looks down at Naomi who was smiling up at him. "When did you get here?" She asks turning to face him whilst staying in his embrace.
"A couple of minutes. I found Avery first, she said I'd find you over here on this side," Jensen explains. "Saw you talking to that man, then he put his hand on you and well...Couldn't have that." Of course, he'd heard the entire exchange as well but that was not something he could bring up.
Being taller than her, Jensen bends his head slightly, as she smiles up at him. Their faces were close, foreheads almost touching as they stand there. He brings his hand to run it along the side of her face in a gentle caress. For a minute, he thinks about kissing her but she pulls back before he could make up his mind.
Not knowing about his inner turmoil, Naomi grabs his hand, leading the way back to her firehouse. "Not going to let them ruin my day. Come on,"
The two of them walk back to Avery and the others - A series of introductions follow as Jensen introduces her to Dalton and she introduces them to her brother and the rest of the firehouse.
"Oh, look! There's Calvin," Avery says as she waves to a guy, calling him to the group.
"Hey, guys!" He greets them. Although he had a big smile on his face, Jensen could tell he was extremely uneasy.
"Jensen! This is Calvin and Calvin this is Naomi's...special friend," Avery says out loud, introducing the two of them. He couldn't help but chuckle at her phrasing, watching as Naomi playfully smacks her friend's head whilst trying to hide her blush.
"Nice to meet you, man." The man, Calvin says to him.
"Likewise," He responds casually.
"Hey, can we -" He hears Calvin whisper to Naomi and Avery whilst gesturing to a spot away from the group. The girls nod, Naomi turning to face him, "We'll be right back," She says to him with a smile. Nodding at her, he watches as the three of them walk to a relatively empty spot. Using his supernatural hearing, he listens to them while pretending to be preoccupied with the arm wrestling match before him.
"I feel so on edge working with the guy," He hears Calvin say to them. "I can't help but see him in the same light as the people I've questioned - You know, those involved in the explosions. He's one of them."
"Or, he could just be friends with one," Avery says. "I mean look at you two. You guys are friends with Sean and me. That doesn't make you what we are." She continues.
"That's different!" Calvin exclaims softly.
"How?" Avery asks.
"You guys don't go around killing people and bombing places and making poisons!" Calvin argues, his voice rising slightly at the end of his sentence.
"Do you truly think Dean has ever? Will ever?" Naomi asks. "You've got to remember you've known him for a long time before all of his. You guys are good friends. So answer this, do you think your good friend is someone who would blow up buildings and kill people?"
"Hey man, come on and get some food!" A voice says to Jensen loudly, distracting him. A firefighter by the nickname of 'Hose' comes to his side holding a huge plate of food. Jensen smiles at him politely, slightly annoyed he wasn't able to continue eavesdropping on the conversation. As he got himself some food, he wondered what Naomi and her friends could be talking about - Murders and explosions? It seems that Calvin has a problem with trusting someone close to him, but without the details, the story made no sense. Jensen also wonders who Sean was and what he and Avery could be up to for her to use themselves as an example.
~
ARROW BERLIN
"We've talked about the whole situation. He's still dead set on leaving and I'm just realizing exactly how much we've grown apart," Arrow says to Dean as they walk along the park's trail. A group of little children runs past them laughing loudly - Soon followed by two women who were chasing them.
"And...have you thought about if you want to leave with him?" Dean asks her.
Arrow sigh heavily, "I'm a little conflicted about it. But, in reality, there is nothing holding me down here," She answers him. "All I have left is my brother, I can't just let him slip through my fingers like this. I've thought about it, and if I go with him, we could rebuild our relationship - Be close like I thought we were. I could also make a life there for myself. Start over fresh, you know?" She says to Dean.
Dean hums in response with a nod but remains relatively quiet. Arrow looks at him as they walk, him keeping his head facing forwards. "I'm not going to lie, I'll be sad to see you go," He begins to speak turning to face her. "But I understand. If this is what you need to do then I think you should." Arrow gives him a small smile before returning her focus to the trail.
"Enough about me, anything going on with you?" She says to Dean.
"Works been okay. The madness seems to be dying down a bit, but I know that'll all change on the upcoming full moon," Dean begins. "That's always at the back of my mind. A whole lot of new, emotionally unstable Lycans running around the city."
"That's if they change. Some might not," Arrow pipes in.
"Yeah, some might not. But I think the majority will, it's just a gut feeling," Dean responds. "Other than that upcoming mess, the only other thing bugging me is my partner."
"What do you mean?" Arrow asks.
"He's been acting so weird lately," Dean elaborates. "The way he acts, the things he says. His conversations with me feel like he's trying to bait me - To get a specific response out of me. Sometimes I feel like he watching me with these suspicious, judgmental eyes. As if I'm up to something and he knows I'm up to no good."
"Has he always been like this?" Arrow asks as they head to a park bench, taking a seat.
"No," Dean answers. "We've been partners for a long time and he's never been this way. This all started...Probably within the month."
"Well, are you up to no good? Is there anything for him to be suspicious about?" Arrow asks, bumping Dean with her shoulder gently chuckling.
"Not that I know of," Dean answers her with a chuckle as well.
"Maybe you guys are just drifting apart as friends," Arrow suggests.
Dean shrugs in return, Maybe," He says, considering the notion. "I've noticed he seems to be talking to these two girls more and more every day. Two paramedics he befriended recently." Dean sighs, "I don't know what to make of it. Guess I'll just have to wait and see how things unfold."
Arrow's phone begins to ring, halting their conversation. Seeing it was her brother, she answers the call. "Hey,"
"There's is a guy outside your house who wants to speak with you. I've never seen him before. He says his name is Ezra," Andrei informs her.
"I don't know any Ezra. What does he want to speak to me about?" Arrow replies.
"He won't say. I tried but he's adamant," Andrei answers with an annoyed sigh. "He says you're the one he has to talk to - Only you would know what he's talking about."
"Uh, what?!" Arrow says, voicing her confusion. "Okay, is he still there?" She asks.
"Yeah, he's sitting in his car out front, I'm watching him as we speak," Andrei informs her.
"I'll be right there!" With that, Arrow hangs up the call and turns to face Dean
"I've got to go now, there's something at home I have to take care of," She says to him as she gets up from the bench. Dean nods, and the two say their goodbyes, parting ways.
~
Pulling up to the house, she sees an unfamiliar grey car parked in front of her driveway. Exiting her vehicle, she walks to the car, seeing a man in the driver's seat. Upon seeing her approaching he exits his car, walking towards her with a smile. Taller than her, he seemed to be in his late twenties. Wearing dark wash jeans with a black button-up short-sleeve shirt, Arrow notices the black chain necklace around his neck as he approaches.
"Arrow Berlin," He says to her in greeting, holding out his hand to her.
Cautiously, Arrow puts out her hand as well, shaking his. "Ezra Rockwell, nice to meet you...in person that is. I've heard much about you from your father," He says to her.
"Come again?" Arrow says in confusion.
"Yeah. We have a lot to discuss," He says to her, running his hand along the back of his head. "You see, your father was a friend and close colleague to my father. They worked together on many projects until his passing. My condolences, by the way, must have been hard to lose him like that."
"My father has never mentioned you, your father, or any work colleague. He didn't have projects with anyone. And how did you know where I live?" Arrow says to him, slight anger in her tone.
"Well, it's no surprise your father didn't mention me or my dad. He preferred to keep their works under wraps," Vincent answers. "As I said, he was close friends with my father. They talked a lot - He talked about you, your brother, the family dynamics, and everything in between."
Arrows looks at the man doubtfully. "And how did you know where I lived?" She asks again.
"Your father trusted us - Me and my dad. Listen, I understand your apprehension, this is a lot. But what I'm about to ask you is very important. It's the reason for me being here," Ezra says to Arrow.
"Our fathers were working on something very important before yours passed. My dad needs to secure your father's half of the research and equipment ASAP."
"What?!" Arrow responds, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
"He had a safe in his office. Behind a bookcase. The code for it is 07-10-16-07-13-07."
Arrow's breath hitches ever so slightly as she tries to keep her face neutral. To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Her father trusted only her with that code - Not even his son, knew that combination. Arrow didn't know how to feel or react - Her head swarming with thoughts. She did not know this man or his father. Her dad never once even hinted at their existence - Yet, the son of the man he allegedly worked with seemed to know the things he entrusted her with.
"There was a bunch of keys on a ring in the safe. That's what we need," Ezra concludes.
Arrow stares at him, not knowing what to say. Seeing this, he speaks again. "If you've already retrieved it then great. We can work from there. But if you haven't, we'll need to get it before your Uncle Elmaan finds a way into your father's things. He made his stance with Elmaan clear - He wanted to keep his brother far away from all this."
This time, Arrow shows his shock at his statement.
"Well, do you have it? Or do we have to make a trip to headquarters?" He asks, taking two steps closer to her. Arrow did not know how to respond nor did she know if she could truly trust him.
"Arrow," He calls out to her drawing out the 'row' sound in her name. "You don't trust me, I get it. How about this - At least tell me you have it," He says to her gently.
"I have it...It's safe," Arrow answers finally. "I'm not giving you anything until I get some explanations." She says strongly to him.
Ezra flashes her a smile, "I wouldn't expect you to."