"Face it, Doll," Weasel said. "You've got no leverage,"
"Immunity from the law isn't worth anything now?" I questioned, leaning back against the wall. "Damn, wish I'd known that earlier, I wouldn't have let Cooper get away with those comments of hers so easily the other day."
Weasel shook his head. "I'm talking about immunity for all of us. Since that king of yours canceled that deputy program of his, only existing Serpents get that privilege."
"For someone so well informed, you are lacking some important knowledge there," I laughed. "FP hasn't been the Serpent king for almost a year now, he passed the mantle onto his son. Even if he hadn't, there's no way the Serpents would allow the king to be sheriff at the same time, unlike the Ghoulies and the Gargoyles, we actually show due respect to those not in the gang. And give it a few months, let all this blow over and he'll start that program up again."
"And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Weasel asked. "Sit back and twiddle our thumbs in the dark?"
"No, you lot go out and act like normal teens for once. Tag your turf, throw parties that get the neighbors to call the cops on you because of the noise. Hell, go back to selling weed if you really want," I said. "A few months of that and I'll go to FP, tell him the kids need something to do to keep them out of trouble. He'll start the program up again, open it up to old members and new. He only shut it down to punish his kid anyway."
"Not a bad plan," Weasel replied thoughtfully. "But what makes you think it's actually gonna work?"
I leaned forward, glancing around and lowering my voice. "Well, Jughead Jones may be king right now, but he's not exactly a favorite among the Serpents. He's been too focused on other things lately to really do anything for them. Let's just say he may not be king for much longer."
"And who's gonna take his place, you?"
I sighed, looking to the side at the eavesdropper. "Very smooth, Jeremiah. Way to pretend you weren't just listening in on our conversation there."
"That's not an answer," Weasel and Jeremiah growled together.
"I'd be the obvious choice," I said lightly. "Don't you remember? FP's my uncle, so it'd still be in the family line. And with everything I've done for the Serpents recently, they'll be begging me to take Jughead's place."
The two exchanged looks I couldn't decipher. "Well, I think that gives you both something to think about. Or should I say, give everyone something to think about?" I said, scanning the nearby Gargoyles who were pretending not to have been listening in as well. When no one said a word, I pushed myself off the wall, angling for the door.
"You ever try Fizzle Rocks?" Weasel asked softly behind me. "It's different from the Jingle Jangle we used to do back in the day."
I pulled the red packet from my pocket, holding it up for him to see. "Benji gave me some, but as you can see, I haven't opened them. I'm clean now, I'm not going back again."
"Don't deny it, Doll. This is who you are, who you've always been," Weasel laughed, gesturing to the rest of the room. "You know the ins and outs of the drug trade. Cooking, selling, using. Give up on the Serpents already and join the Gargoyles. There are enough former Ghoulies and Serpents to make you comfortable."
I shook my head, shoving the Fizzle Rocks back in my pocket. "With Kurtz already on his way out of town and Gladys not far behind, it's gonna be like the Ghoulies losing Penny and Malachai all over again. But this time, the only gang left standing will be the Serpents who won't be so welcoming. So here are your choices: stick with me and have a place to go when the Gargoyle Gang falls apart, or repeat history. It's your choice."
When he didn't answer immediately, I crossed the room, heading for the door. I felt eyes on me the entire time, and I wondered how many had already made their decision. Everyone here was under my employ, or had been, depending on which way they decided to go. But before I could reach the door, several masked Gargoyles stepped in front of me, forming a wall.
"Weasel may be willing to let you walk out of here, but we're not," the Gargoyle in the center said, his voice muffled by the mask, making it hard to identify him.
"Come on, don't do this," I sighed. "Let me go and anyone who doesn't want to join the Serpents can cut ties with me no problem. Besides, what good would it do you to keep me here? Everyone knows the Gargoyles aren't outright murderers."
"You're right," the Gargoyle nodded. "We'll keep you around until we need our next sacrifice. I think the Gargoyle King will be very pleased to–"
The door behind the Gargoyle was pushed open roughly, knocking the Gargoyle forward. I moved back quickly into the chaos erupting behind me. "It's a raid!" someone shouted as everyone began running to a door at the back of the room. I followed the swarm as the few who had blocked me from leaving just a few minutes earlier struggled to keep the door shut.
I watched as Gargoyles leapt from windows or streamed towards the back door which became my destination. The crowd carried me along, nearly to the exit when someone took hold of my arm, pulling me back roughly. Despite fighting to break free, I ended up handcuffed and standing in the front room again, the Gargoyles and I lining the walls.
"You set us up!" Scrub, a former Serpent accused. "You had us all meet here so we'd be taken in."
"Yes, this was my master plan all along," I said sarcastically. "I just magically knew so many of you were going to be here and let myself get cuffed right beside you."
"Quiet down over there!" an officer demanded, glancing over at us.
"I hope you realize none of us are on your side after this," Scrub said quietly. "You'll be lucky if we don't hand you over to Gladys or the Gargoyle King ourselves."
"So they're two different people?" I questioned, changing the subject. "I thought they were one and the same."
Scrub shook his head, glancing at the group of officers across the room beginning to take the Gargoyles out. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Gladys is the drug queenpin, but the Gargoyle King is the one who gives us our quests, pays us to do other jobs."
"So who is the Gargoyle King? You've gotta know," I said quickly. Scrub straightened as the cops headed our way. "Damn it, Scrub, answer me!"
He didn't answer as he was taken away. I was pulled away from the wall and pushed into a waiting cop car with two other Gargoyles, all of us remaining silent on the drive to the police station.
I wasn't surprised when we were led into the booking room to have our pockets emptied and prints taken, though maybe I should have been. I'd already forgotten about the Fizzle Rocks I'd shoved back into my pocket before all hell had broken loose.
I don't know how long I waited in my solitary cell, alternatively pacing the small space and sitting on the bench. My side ached from where someone had elbowed me in the rush to get away and I felt exhausted from acting so much more confident than I'd felt earlier but I knew relief from either of those problems wasn't likely anytime soon.
I felt like my old self again for the first time in a long while though. Had my refusal to give in been the key to it all? Last night I'd gone back inside ready to flush the Fizzle Rocks down the toilet so no one would be able to take them but I couldn't do it. It had felt like a test, like this was a way to prove to myself and everyone else that I could resist.
After what felt like hours, an officer I didn't recognize came for me, glancing at the untouched tray of food someone had brought earlier. Briefly I tried to remember when I'd last eaten. Or had a decent night's sleep for that matter. I didn't bother struggling as I was handcuffed and led to one of the interrogation rooms where I was left to wait on my own.
The silence of the room was almost deafening, even the sounds from people passing in the hall were muffled. I had to hand it to Mr Andrews and his crews, they'd definitely done a good job rebuilding the place.
When FP came in, I didn't say a word, watching as he turned off the camera in the corner before dropping into the seat across from me. We stayed like that for a moment or two before he sighed heavily, running a hand down his face.
"You better have a damn good explanation for this, girl," FP said finally.
"I was just checking in on some old friends," I replied with a shrug. It wasn't a total lie, since at one point everyone there would have ranked somewhere between the range of friend and friendly acquaintance.
I met FP's gaze as he studied me. "Have you started using again, Fizzle Rocks this time? Is that where you've been disappearing to recently? When you know damn well that I've been trying to shut down this whole Fizzle Rocks operation?"
"Did Jughead tell you that?" I snapped, my temper rising.
"Is it true?"
"Yes, I'm going to sit right here across the table from the Sheriff and tell him I've been running around town getting high before going back to sleep in his basement," I said sarcastically, not realizing how strange that sentence sounded until I said it out loud. "You really think I'd go back to that again after everything? I'm not on anything, FP. Just the pain meds and the antidepressants that aren't even doing their damn job. I haven't touched anything since Riot Night. Fucking test me if you don't believe me."
"Then why the hell were you just arrested this morning with a bunch of Gargoyles, and with Fizzle Rocks in your pocket?" FP demanded. "And don't give me some bullshit excuse about someone slipping them in without you knowing."
I sank down in my chair, thinking fast as my anger slowly dissipated. "All those reports you had me write up on the Gargoyles hideouts and hotspots were a waste of time. You never looked at them. So, I took them from your office one morning and Jughead broke up the Serpents into groups to have them shut the places down."
FP nodded. "Yeah, that's what led to me shutting down the deputy program."
Yes, the program that I'd based so much on and was the reason I'd called the meeting this morning leading to our arrests. "I was sick of being left on the sidelines and decided to try and get some intel on Kurtz and where else the Gargoyles were cooking their drugs so I reached out to some of the old Ghoulies and Serpents to try and get in with them. Unfortunately, I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time today." Once again, not a complete lie.
"That still doesn't explain why you had Fizzle Rocks on you," FP said.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Really, FP? You're asking why I of all people have drugs in my pocket after hanging out with known dealers."
"Damn it, Babygirl, you're better than this," FP sighed. "Life hasn't been a walk in the park for either of us, but look where we are now. Things are finally looking up for the Serpents, and a lot of that is thanks to you. Don't throw it all away so easily. This is your second chance at doing things right. Now, you swear you're not on anything?"
"I already told you no. Go ahead and test me since you obviously don't believe it, but I promise you that I'll pass with flying colors."
FP shook his head, standing. "No, I believe you. Just go back to the house, okay? Spend some time with JB or something. And, uh, give me a few minutes to make sure Jug is in my office before you leave. He came back with me after our visit to the Maple Club, thinks we can get more information out of the guy I collared at Pop's. I'm not gonna tell him you were brought in, I don't need you two going at it again."
"Can you at least take these off before you go?" I asked, nodding over my shoulder to where my hands were still cuffed behind me.
Within minutes my things were brought in, minus the Fizzle Rocks, and I was on my way home.