"Abigail, we've gotta warn the others!"
"Calm down, Fangs," I said, grabbing his arms. "What's going on?"
"Shit, we gotta go," Diamond said, leaning over the rail. "It's a raid."
Fangs nodded frantically. "And they're targeting Serpents."
"Serpents, scatter!" I shouted, taking off down the hall. "You two, down those halls. Get everyone out of here," I ordered. I didn't know why we were the targets, but I wasn't about to let my boys get arrested for no reason again. I continued the way I was going, joining the rest of the gang as we pushed towards the back stairs.
Suddenly we were pushed back the way we came. "Pigs on the stairs!" I heard someone shout, the words repeated by others.
"This way," I motioned for everyone to follow. Cops were coming from the other end of the hall now, so I led my small group down a side hall. "The room at the end has a fire escape, we can take that," there's no way it'll be blocked." We were halfway there when we froze. At the end of the hall was a line of police, making their way towards us. We turned again, intending to go down another hall when someone grabbed my arm, pulling me back. I wasn't about to go easily.
I pushed myself back, catching the cop holding me off-guard as my head slammed into his face. He released me as he stumbled backwards, thrown off-balance and I took my chance to run forward, pushing the few remaining free Serpents ahead of me. "Go! Get out of here!" I shouted at them as we struggled to move ahead. The police tried to block us, but we had the advantage. They were in the middle of detaining others and couldn't move far.
"Requesting backup, second floor, left wing."
I glanced behind me as we ran through a clear space, catching sight of more uniforms. "How else can we get out of here?" I asked.
"We can't, unless you wanna jump," Fangs said, appearing beside me along with a few more Serpents.
"Hands up! All of you!" I spun around , the voice right behind me.
"We're surrounded, Babygirl. Do we fight? What do we do?" I heard the serpents asking, talking over one another.
"Stand down," I ordered, glaring at the rows of pigs in front of me. "It'll be worse for us if we resist," I said. I really did want to let them go at it, but that small part of me that was still thought logically when I was angry wouldn't let me. But it wasn't enough for me to make it easy.
The cops stepped forward as we raised our arms. We were pulled apart one by one, each of us pushed roughly against the wall, zip ties tightened around our wrists before we were dragged away. Maybe because I'd been giving the orders, I was escorted by two officers, one holding each arm.
The ride to the station was quiet, and after being patted down and our things zipped into bags we were packed into various cells. "What do we do, Babygirl? Do we go along with whatever they accuse us of?" Brett asked.
"All of you, shut up, I'm trying to listen," I hissed, moving closer to the bars.
Down the hall, Keller was talking with a few of his officers. "How do you wanna do this? Some came along without a fight and we didn't find anything on them. But we've got a long list of those with drug paraphernalia, weapons, and resisting arrest.
"Let's let them sit for a while, except those that were clean. Release them," Keller said. "And pull their files. I want to look them over before we start processing."
I glared at their backs as they walked off. "Anything?" Brett asked, still beside me. At least he'd stayed quiet. I ignored him, pressing against the bars. They'd known what they were doing, lining us up in cells side-by-side so we couldn't see who was where, cutting off any easy communication.
"Find out if there's a bench in here, or anything I can stand on," I ordered. My eyes were level with most of the guys shoulders, which made it hard to see beyond those immediately around me. Word quickly came back, and I began shoving my way towards the back of the cell, the boys shifting as best they could to let me through. It's a good thing I wasn't claustrophobic.
I made it to the back of the cell where the metal bench was resting. I took Diamond's offered hand and climbed up. "Everyone shut up so I can figure out who's in here," I snapped. As I scanned the faces below me I made a mental note of who was missing. "Does anyone know why Serpents were targeted?" I had an idea, but wanted to see if anything had been announced downstairs or elsewhere in the school.
"They had drug sniffing dogs, so I'm guessing that was it," Sweet Pea said coldly from his place against the wall.
"Not surprising they put that on us, when we all know it's the Ghoulies that should have been brought in. But there's good news and bad news. The good news is that some have already been released. The bad news is that because we're still here because they found something on us or resisted. Unfortunately, there's not a lot we can do about it now, other than hope that today combined with any priors we have isn't enough to keep us behind bars." I watched the group in front of me, the various reactions they had. "Does anyone know if any Serpents got away?"
"I saw a few run when the cops pulled up out front of the school," Ash said.
"Any others?" I asked. I sighed as everyone shook their heads.
"Jones got away," Diamond snapped. "His boy Andrews just happened to be there to save him."
"Of course he was," I muttered. "We'll deal with those two when we get out." I overheard Keller say they were going to make us wait. They're trying to get a reaction from us. But we're not going to give it to them. I know we're packed tight in here, but try to stay calm, and show them the Serpents are the monsters they make us out to be."
I climbed down off the bench and made my way to Sweet Pea, his arms wrapping around my waist protectively. "I think I like you being in charge," he said, looking down at me.
"I'll have to keep that in mind," I said, standing on my toes to kiss him.
"Can you guys not?" Fangs whined beside us. "We're already packed in here tight enough as it is. We don't need you two going at it, making things weird."
"Shut it, Fogarty," Sweet Pea said. I laughed, laying my head on his chest, knowing we'd be here a while. "I assume you're here because you resisted?"
"That's what they're calling it," I said. "We ran and I tried to get away, not exactly resisting in my opinion."
"No, but you didn't go easy when they surrounded us," Fangs said.
"I told everyone not to fight, I didn't say anything about becoming a bunch of sheep."
"Northsiders will use anything they can against us," Sweet Pea said. "They make us out to be the bad guys when they're the ones who twist everything to suit their needs."
"Which is why we need to find out why Andrews was there to save Jughead," I said. "And why he went along with it instead of standing with us."
A few hours passed before the cell began to slowly empty out. When it was my turn, I followed the officer to the interrogation room where I was left on my own. Minutes later, Sheriff Keller entered, dropping a folder on the table.
"So we meet again," he said. "You know, after last week's encounter, I was half expecting to see drugs on your list of charges for today, but instead you just have assault and resisting arrest."
"It was self defense," I snapped.
Keller leaned back in his chair. "How do see that? You..." he sat forward, looking over his notes. "...ran from my officers, were clearly heard and seen trying to help Serpents escape, headbutted an officer, and resisted when cuffed. That doesn't sound like self defense to me."
I chose my words carefully, knowing one wrong word could end it all. "I was trying to help my friends. Nobody knew why cops were raiding the school, so we were trying to get out of there." I watched Keller as he wrote quickly, taking notes. "I didn't intentionally headbutt anyone, I was acting on instinct. Someone grabbed me from behind, and I automatically did what was necessary to get myself free and away from my attacker. It's something any young girl my age would do." Being a female really does come with benefits.
"And you were acting on instinct when the officers you were already aware of tried to put cuffs on you?" Keller asked, looking up.
"That's an issue to take up with your deputies, they were the ones arresting us without providing a reason."
Keller finished his notes, leaning back in his seat. "Ms Thompson, I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play, but I warned you I was keeping an eye on you. You've only been in town a few months and this is already the second time you've been brought in. I can't prove it, but I suspect you were at the Five Seasons on a drug deal, and not only are you a member of the local gang, you seem to have authority over them."
"The only drugs you need to worry about in Riverdale is Jingle Jangle, which the Ghoulies deal. Serpents won't touch the stuff. If anything, we handle dime-bags of weed, nothing more. So why don't you let us go and round up the Ghoulies instead?"
"Tell me who deals within the Serpents, and I can write up your report saying you ran in fear and only acted in self-defense. I'll let you off with a second warning, but that means next time I'll have to charge you, and with your history," he said, tapping the folder," you won't be seeing Riverdale for a long time."
"And if I don't take your deal?" I asked.
"Let me check on the others, see how your Serpents are behaving," Keller said, standing. "If they're cooperating, maybe we can work out another deal."
The door shut behind him, leaving me alone with my thoughts. There was no way I was naming names. Hell, if I did that, the Serpents would no longer exist. Which meant the others better being doing as I told them to, or I was done for. I only hoped my voice carried to more than just our cell, or word somehow spread it that weird way it does. If I did get locked up though, maybe I could get Penny to pull some strings for me. I hated the idea, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and I'd have to be desperate to ask the Snake Charmer for help.
I glanced at the door before pulling the folder towards me, briefly wondering if Keller had left it on purpose, considering he'd taken his notes with him. I flipped through the pages, reviewing all the previous times I'd been picked up by the cops. The charges became less severe as I went deeper into the past until I reached the final section, the first time I'd been in the police station. This police station. I wonder if the Coopers even remember that day, or if Betty ever told Jughead and Andrews about it. They must have heard some version of the story. I flipped the folder closed and pushed it back across the table as Keller came back in.
"Made your decision yet?" he asked, taking his seat again.
"That depends," I replied. "How have my boys been?"
"Quite a few of them are going to be gone for a while, but they've been cooperating." I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. Keller sighed. "Here's the best I can do for you. No names, and I book you for the night one night only, but after this, I can't help you any more. Next time, you'll be going to juvie, and with your record, most likely prison when you age out of juvie."
I ran my hand through my hair, debating. "What are the charges if I take this deal?"
"Again, I can make some of it out to be self-defense, but you'll be charged with resisting arrest. It's the best I can do."
I studied the man across from me. "I want to see it in writing before I agree to anything," I demanded.
Keller nodded before leaving the room again. He was back within minutes and slid the paper in front of me. I read it carefully, then again to be sure there were no tricks. "Just sign at the bottom if you're sure this is the way you want to go," Keller said, holding out his pen.
I signed my name quickly before Keller read me my rights and handcuffed me. Real cuffs this time, not more zip ties. Slipping the paper with our deal into my folder, Keller passed me off to an officer waiting outside the room. I let him lead me to another section of the station. We stopped in front of a new cell where he removed the handcuffs and locked me in.
"Abigail?"
"Toni," I greeted, taking a seat beside her on the cot. "What are they keeping you in here for?"
"Resisting," she said, looking at her hands. "When Sheriff Keller and Mayor McCoy burst in, Jughead was there at the other end of the hall. He seemed to know what was happening already, and I was trying to run to get to him but Red pulled him away. Right after that, I was taken in. So here I am, one night in the pen."
"Well, at least now you have company," I said, giving her a small smile. "I made a deal with Keller so I'm only charged with resisting and get to spend the night here. Otherwise, I was going to be charged with resisting arrest and assault, which, combined with everything I've been picked up for in the past, would have sent me off for a long time."
"Damn, girl," Toni laughed. "I thought it was bad when the Sheriff brought in my file."
"Yeah, trying having him bring in a book disguised as a file."
"So, you already said you've been involved in kidnappings, but what else have you been picked up for?"
I leaned back against the wall, purposefully not looking at my friend. "I was never brought in for either of those. But there were other charges. Ones you don't want to know about." I could feel Toni's eyes on me, but I wasn't offering up any more info today.
"Things seem to be going well between you and Sweet Pea," Toni said, breaking the silence after a few minutes.
"They are," I said. "He's different from the guys I've hooked up with in the past. In a good way, that is."
"He's changed since he met you. He's happier, calmer."
"You mean he did worse than planning to blow up a building?" I asked.
"Well, no, but he didn't argue when you said that plan was off, and he's not picking useless fights anymore," Toni explained. "So, have you guys..."
I rolled my eyes, knowing what she was asking. "We haven't actually," I said. "We've made out a lot, but that's as far as we've gone."
"Do you want more? We can all see Sweet Pea does," she said, pushing my hair back to get a look at my neck.
I pushed her hand away, laughing. "We both do, but it's been kind of nice not jumping into bed with him right away."
"Isn't that how relationships are supposed to go?"
"I wouldn't know," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. "I've only hooked up with guys, that's it. It was better that way, for them and me." The hookups weren't always willing, but Toni didn't need to know that.
I felt her studying me again. "Why do you keep sharing small pieces of your past like that?" she asked quietly. "It's starting to sound like a horrible life." I could hear the concern in her voice, but I couldn't open up to her, not completely.
"Because it was," I said, standing up. "You can take the bed, get some sleep. I'm not tired."
"Are you sure?" Toni asked. "We can trade off in the middle of the night if you want."
I shook my head,not looking at her. I walked to the other side of the cell and slid my back down the concrete walls, wrapping my arms around my legs. It was going to be a long night.