[Technically the answer is no, because this isn't a real arrest, but she's playing the part in front of the witches that they need to get rid of.]
We can make a call for you once you get upstairs, but unless Jaqueline is your attorney, she's going to have to continue the rest of the way through security and wait elsewhere.
[Jaqueline's eyes look murderous and she tries one more time, her grip tightening on Audrey's arm. "I really would prefer that you didn't take him anywhere."
Audrey meets her eyes again, before shrugging her off.]
As I said, you're going to have to move through security. Now, if you'll excuse us.
[And with that she will steer Luke out of line, leaving Jaqueline fuming in line.]
( Luke can't believe what's happening, or, how, or who in their right mind would grab an FBI agent like that in a federal building. He's known Jacqueline was bad news, he's had his fair share of bad influences, but he didn't know how deep her mean streak ran. He wouldn't be surprised what she'd do past taking him hostage.
Sierra takes off her sunglasses, pulling a stray earbud out of her ear by its' cord. Her deception roll is a hearty (3), because he's as dismayed and thrown as Jacqueline is - but she's at least trying to not get herself arrested. )
Oh I - what is going on here. Honey. ( She lightly touches Jaq's arm, trying to bring it down. ) I'm so sorry, my girlfriend just has this deep-seated distrust in authority figures and would you believe it, abandonment issues. But, I will explain to her, that just because her friend is being detained, it doesn't mean he's being arrested, right? I'm sure this is all one big misunderstanding?
[Unlike Danny, Audrey sees right through Sierra's bluster (15). She gestures to the front desk:]
They'll show you to the waiting area once you're checked in.
[And with that she will take Luke off, leaving Liv and company free to intercept the other witches. But once she and Luke are out of earshot of the other two women, she relaxes some from FBI agent mode.]
You're not actually in trouble, by the way. Your sister sent me.
( Sierra's hand travels downward, past her wrist before entwining Jaq's fingers with hers, giving a saccharine sweet smile to match her previous blunder. She speaks low enough for only Jaqueline to hear her. )
This isn't over.
( Luke, dumbfounded, and still under a compliance spell, feels like he's moving through a muddy swamp but with every step and with Audrey in proximity, he regains his faculties.
"Behold the expanded Mystic Falls network," he quips, not daring look behind them. "They're not going to let this stand. Is she here?")
Let's hear him out. Maybe he actually has something to say.
( They don't have the choice. They're past a metal detector in a government building. This wasn't their most thought-out approach.
If asked, Sierra always painted in shades of grey, always walking her morally reprehensible tightrope, but her family - everyone's families - gave them no choice. If this could save Jacqueline, if this led somewhere, then it would all be worth it. That she found a fork in a road to work with old and new allies, well, it's where the chips fell. Stiles was incentive. Luke, a bargaining chip. And now? This guy. In a suit.
Luke quickens his walking pace, hoping his sister is the light at the end of this tunnel. )
["Come with me. Your group is waiting for you upstairs."
Jaqueline nods as she follows Sweets lead, but her hackles are up, and she doesn't intend to go quietly. While she can't start an outright witch war in the middle of the FBI, she will wait until the three of them are in the elevator, alone, before she reaches out and grabs Sweet's arm (2 vs. 4). She's not trying very hard to get in, but unlike Audrey, she can tell that he's fighting back against her, rather than letting it run off him the way the FBI agent did.]
Who the hell was that downstairs?
[Sweets is able to push her out, but he still responds: "Not my story to tell."]
We're giving you the time of day, so for your sake, I hope there is a story at the end of this rabbit hole. Sir.
( Her charm gone, she turns to intimidation (13), not that she's ever able to drop her poised, inviting facade. She plastered it on since she turned 13. There are only three people she's ever dropped it for, and one of them is in this elevator. )
[Sweets doesn't comment, because before he can, the doors open and Liv Parker stands waiting for them, arms crossed in front of her chest as she eyes them both.]
You ladies prefer to spend your time antagonizing innocent psychologists?
( Olivia Parker. Representative of the armory and all-around living legend with her brother and their family's legacy. Sierra won't underestimate her or her involvement. Sierra and Jacqueline escalated everything, first with Stiles - and then with Luke. She can't blame a girl's ruffled feathers.
Being Colony, Sierra is intimately familiar with the Parkers and their family's curse.
[Liv turns and leads the way to a pair of conference rooms on either side of a narrow hallway. Liv opens one of the doors, indicating the room inside, and gestures for them to head in.
Sitting at the head of the conference table is Stiles. At least to the naked eye. Liv figures they'd have to have something of a lure in order to get them inside the trap. But Jaqueline is off her game given what happened downstairs, and she's not sure she trusts just following Liv's lead (8).
She eyes Liv like she doesn't trust her and Liv shrugs in return.]
You're waiting for this Russia situation to resolve, right? So we all stay here, in semi-public, where no one can stab each other in the back without repercussions.
( Sierra isn't much better, but mostly because she's stuck on 'intimidation,' and she's more squirrelly when it comes to her own machinations.
Stiles sits back, legs up on the desk. )
And nobody's getting sucked through ceilings or floors like Artax in the swamp. We're all staying on our feet in plain site. Nobody is being kidnapped, threatened, or coerced.
[Jaqueline decides to just air on the spirit of the deal, even if she doesn't like it, and tentatively steps over the threshold into the room, while waiting for the other shoe to drop.
When nothing happens, she glances back to Sierra.]
( Outside the conference room, in the opposite hallway, Luke finally catches his breath, but he needs reassurance. )
She has a plan, right? A real plan?
( ...Inside the conference room, Sierra takes a seat, removes her sunglasses and sits back. The chair she's on swivels slightly as she eyes Stiles.
"You went to an awful lot of trouble to come back to us."
Stiles turns his head, one eyebrow raised.
"If by 'come back to you,' you mean 'meet on neutral territory while nobody is in any immediate danger,' then yes. I 'came back to you.'" He shakes his head. "You did this all wrong and all because, why, you needed my best friend's help? Serious advice here. Take it, leave it, I'd take it. But. Maybe - ask - and wait for an answer before you pull the trigger on going after her friend. I get it. You want all these assurances. But, you catch more flies with honey."
She has a plan. I don't know enough about what's going on to tell you how real it is. I'm just the ringer to make sure that you weren't in the line of fire.
[And she's only doing it because Stiles is involved and he asked her to.
Jaqueline, on the other hand, looks annoyed. "So what now? We just sit here and stare at each other?"
"No," Liv replies from where she's still standing in the doorway. "You two stay in here until we get the all clear from someone we trust more than you."
Liv snaps her fingers, and the astral projected version of Stiles disappears. Then she steps back, engaging the trap on the conference room door, and shuts the door behind her.]
( It was his hubris that made him think he could help, and now he's benched with the B-team.
The conference door slams with a deafening echo, Sierra knowing full well they've been spelled inside.
"Astral projection. Clever trick," Sierra says, getting up immediately. "I have another." But her disadvantage inside the spell (4) lights the ground under her but does nothing. Her eyes narrow. "Big mistake, Olivia.")
[And she flips them both the bird through the glass. But, to hold up her end of the bargain she gestures to the conference room across the way where they can still see Stiles, but they can't touch or affect him in any way.
Liv goes back to join them and after she gives the all clear, Sweets texts Audrey to let her know that Luke is free to come up to the rest of the group. She glances down when she receives the text, before giving him a smile.
"Looks like you're all clear to go see your sister if you want."]
( Stiles waves, drops his feet from the table and stretches his legs. The narration assumes Cora is also nearby and he'll share a look with her.
Luke waits as she reads her text message, letting his eyes fall shut because he can actually breathe. He'd say thank you, but he's -- well, neither twin is polite, but he was not raised with manners and he starts to take off but stops and turns. )
I don't know where she is. And you know where she is. So, please tell me where my sister is.
( He's shaken, but he's good. He deliberately doesn't look out the glass, knowing full well across the way two witches are plotting their next moves. )
Everything going according to plan?
( It feels like it is, but he missed out. He was the other plan. )
Pretty much. They'll be stuck in there until we let them out and Cora said she sent Lydia a message on Whatsapp to let them know when everything was done.
[Has she made two enemies this day? Probably. But she got her brother back and it feels good to have the upper hand. She then turns to Audrey.]
Thank you for you help. I know we kind of sprung this on you.
[Audrey shrugs. "Don't even worry about it. My job was easy compared to whatever you guys were doing."]
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[Technically the answer is no, because this isn't a real arrest, but she's playing the part in front of the witches that they need to get rid of.]
We can make a call for you once you get upstairs, but unless Jaqueline is your attorney, she's going to have to continue the rest of the way through security and wait elsewhere.
[Jaqueline's eyes look murderous and she tries one more time, her grip tightening on Audrey's arm. "I really would prefer that you didn't take him anywhere."
Audrey meets her eyes again, before shrugging her off.]
As I said, you're going to have to move through security. Now, if you'll excuse us.
[And with that she will steer Luke out of line, leaving Jaqueline fuming in line.]
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Sierra takes off her sunglasses, pulling a stray earbud out of her ear by its' cord. Her deception roll is a hearty (3), because he's as dismayed and thrown as Jacqueline is - but she's at least trying to not get herself arrested. )
Oh I - what is going on here. Honey. ( She lightly touches Jaq's arm, trying to bring it down. ) I'm so sorry, my girlfriend just has this deep-seated distrust in authority figures and would you believe it, abandonment issues. But, I will explain to her, that just because her friend is being detained, it doesn't mean he's being arrested, right? I'm sure this is all one big misunderstanding?
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[Unlike Danny, Audrey sees right through Sierra's bluster (15). She gestures to the front desk:]
They'll show you to the waiting area once you're checked in.
[And with that she will take Luke off, leaving Liv and company free to intercept the other witches. But once she and Luke are out of earshot of the other two women, she relaxes some from FBI agent mode.]
You're not actually in trouble, by the way. Your sister sent me.
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This isn't over.
( Luke, dumbfounded, and still under a compliance spell, feels like he's moving through a muddy swamp but with every step and with Audrey in proximity, he regains his faculties.
"Behold the expanded Mystic Falls network," he quips, not daring look behind them. "They're not going to let this stand. Is she here?" )
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Jaqueline watches as Audrey retreats, and tries to shake off the feeling that she just encountered something that doesn't belong.]
There's something off about her.
But as they pass their way through security, Sweets appears at the door, and gives them a small wave. "Jaqueline Malroux."
Jaqueline nods.]
Let me guess. You're another roadblock to our deal?
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( They don't have the choice. They're past a metal detector in a government building. This wasn't their most thought-out approach.
If asked, Sierra always painted in shades of grey, always walking her morally reprehensible tightrope, but her family - everyone's families - gave them no choice. If this could save Jacqueline, if this led somewhere, then it would all be worth it. That she found a fork in a road to work with old and new allies, well, it's where the chips fell. Stiles was incentive. Luke, a bargaining chip. And now? This guy. In a suit.
Luke quickens his walking pace, hoping his sister is the light at the end of this tunnel. )
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Jaqueline nods as she follows Sweets lead, but her hackles are up, and she doesn't intend to go quietly. While she can't start an outright witch war in the middle of the FBI, she will wait until the three of them are in the elevator, alone, before she reaches out and grabs Sweet's arm (2 vs. 4). She's not trying very hard to get in, but unlike Audrey, she can tell that he's fighting back against her, rather than letting it run off him the way the FBI agent did.]
Who the hell was that downstairs?
[Sweets is able to push her out, but he still responds: "Not my story to tell."]
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( Her charm gone, she turns to intimidation (13), not that she's ever able to drop her poised, inviting facade. She plastered it on since she turned 13. There are only three people she's ever dropped it for, and one of them is in this elevator. )
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"Look, I'm just the messenger. I'm here to get you from the door to the people you want to meet. That's all."
And they can draw their own conclusions from there. Jaqueline scowls before leaning in closer.]
You should tell your friends that we are having a very unfortunate day, and they really don't want to piss us off.
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( She's growing tired. Get them to the stalemate already so they can renegotiate their terms. )
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You ladies prefer to spend your time antagonizing innocent psychologists?
[She glances to Sweets.]
They probably need lots of therapy.
["No comment."]
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( Olivia Parker. Representative of the armory and all-around living legend with her brother and their family's legacy. Sierra won't underestimate her or her involvement. Sierra and Jacqueline escalated everything, first with Stiles - and then with Luke. She can't blame a girl's ruffled feathers.
Being Colony, Sierra is intimately familiar with the Parkers and their family's curse.
Sorry, Olivia. She's getting testy. )
Merge happens.
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[Liv ... is not the people person. And they kidnapped her brother - no one said she had to be nice. She glances over to Sweets.]
Luke?
["Agent Parker is taking him to interrogation."
Liv nods, before gesturing to the two women with one hand.]
You wanted to see Stiles, right? A deal's a deal.
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By all means, lead the way.
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Sitting at the head of the conference table is Stiles. At least to the naked eye. Liv figures they'd have to have something of a lure in order to get them inside the trap. But Jaqueline is off her game given what happened downstairs, and she's not sure she trusts just following Liv's lead (8).
She eyes Liv like she doesn't trust her and Liv shrugs in return.]
You're waiting for this Russia situation to resolve, right? So we all stay here, in semi-public, where no one can stab each other in the back without repercussions.
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Stiles sits back, legs up on the desk. )
And nobody's getting sucked through ceilings or floors like Artax in the swamp. We're all staying on our feet in plain site. Nobody is being kidnapped, threatened, or coerced.
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When nothing happens, she glances back to Sierra.]
I wouldn't count out coercion just yet.
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She has a plan, right? A real plan?
( ...Inside the conference room, Sierra takes a seat, removes her sunglasses and sits back. The chair she's on swivels slightly as she eyes Stiles.
"You went to an awful lot of trouble to come back to us."
Stiles turns his head, one eyebrow raised.
"If by 'come back to you,' you mean 'meet on neutral territory while nobody is in any immediate danger,' then yes. I 'came back to you.'" He shakes his head. "You did this all wrong and all because, why, you needed my best friend's help? Serious advice here. Take it, leave it, I'd take it. But. Maybe - ask - and wait for an answer before you pull the trigger on going after her friend. I get it. You want all these assurances. But, you catch more flies with honey."
Just a tip from Stiles to you. )
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[And she's only doing it because Stiles is involved and he asked her to.
Jaqueline, on the other hand, looks annoyed. "So what now? We just sit here and stare at each other?"
"No," Liv replies from where she's still standing in the doorway. "You two stay in here until we get the all clear from someone we trust more than you."
Liv snaps her fingers, and the astral projected version of Stiles disappears. Then she steps back, engaging the trap on the conference room door, and shuts the door behind her.]
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( It was his hubris that made him think he could help, and now he's benched with the B-team.
The conference door slams with a deafening echo, Sierra knowing full well they've been spelled inside.
"Astral projection. Clever trick," Sierra says, getting up immediately. "I have another." But her disadvantage inside the spell (4) lights the ground under her but does nothing. Her eyes narrow. "Big mistake, Olivia." )
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[And she flips them both the bird through the glass. But, to hold up her end of the bargain she gestures to the conference room across the way where they can still see Stiles, but they can't touch or affect him in any way.
Liv goes back to join them and after she gives the all clear, Sweets texts Audrey to let her know that Luke is free to come up to the rest of the group. She glances down when she receives the text, before giving him a smile.
"Looks like you're all clear to go see your sister if you want."]
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Luke waits as she reads her text message, letting his eyes fall shut because he can actually breathe. He'd say thank you, but he's -- well, neither twin is polite, but he was not raised with manners and he starts to take off but stops and turns. )
I don't know where she is. And you know where she is. So, please tell me where my sister is.
( And then let's go! )
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Audrey nods with a small smile as she gestures for him to follow her. "I will take you to your sister. Don't worry."
They head upstairs to the room in question, and the second they enter, Liv beelines across the room, relief on her face.]
You okay?
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( He's shaken, but he's good. He deliberately doesn't look out the glass, knowing full well across the way two witches are plotting their next moves. )
Everything going according to plan?
( It feels like it is, but he missed out. He was the other plan. )
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[Has she made two enemies this day? Probably. But she got her brother back and it feels good to have the upper hand. She then turns to Audrey.]
Thank you for you help. I know we kind of sprung this on you.
[Audrey shrugs. "Don't even worry about it. My job was easy compared to whatever you guys were doing."]
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