Criminal Activity

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While the thought of being strangled by Marcus certainly wasn't appealing, since Nick had little doubt that it was a possibility if he entered the station again, it wasn't just the man's threat that deterred him. One of Nick's coworkers at the delivery service left, leaving him and another guy to pick up the slack; however, Nick got the majority of the delivery work, seeing as he had more free time of the two. The manager was trying to find someone to fill in the extra slot, but for a while had no luck. This prevented him from seeing Tal much, so when time arose that he didn't have to work, he spent it with her rather than hunting down information for the police. It didn't help that Marcus was hounding Nick with rude text messages.

At first, Nick would reply to say he was working on it. Then, annoyance and frustration set in and he ended up ignoring the messages altogether, not even bothering to read them. He knew he couldn't put it off for too long or else he'd wind up in jail for sure; and if that happened, the Prescotts would revoke all visits with Tal. They had been strangely generous with them, perhaps thinking that Nick had turned himself around from the punk they thought he was. Nick took advantage of the days off he got when his boss finally found another delivery boy and chose to spend the first with Tal. Without fail, the next day, he would get back to work on gathering intel, even if he didn't relish the thought of having to see Marcus.

"...and she said that... I was like.." Tal's words mostly went in one ear and out the other whilst talking to Nick. He was interested in her welfare and to hear how she was doing in school, but he wasn't interested in the lengthy babble about her social life - unless there was a boy he needed to intimidate. Tal was hugging his arm as they walked, carrying a couple of bags in her free hand. "I've been trying to talk mom and dad into letting you join us over the holidays, but they keep putting off answering me." She said and looked up at him sympathetically. "Don't push your luck. It's amazing they even let me see you as often as they do." Nick said to which Tal agreed softly and with disappointment. He scrambled to find something to say to her.

"Well - That's a while away yet, anyway. So don't worry about it for now, 'kay?" Nick smiled reassuringly, reestablishing the positive atmosphere between them. Tal dragged him over to a store window to admire the displays, cheerful again.
 
Marcus had the day off for a change, which ment that his apartment got thoroughly cleaned. The people that cleaned his apartment always missed a post, so he liked to go over it himself once in a while. Then he went through the pantry and threw out everything that was expired, organized his bath products and closet, and made a list of things he needed. Everything from lightbulbs to a new moisturizer. He might even get some new shirts, a few war starting to turn a little grey.

Dressed in black and with sunglasses on, he headed out. He walked down the street, taking his time and enjoying not having any appointments to keep. The car was left in the garage, since he had to walk or he would get so restless that he couldn't sleep when night came. It always got like that on the days he didn't work, so he tried to move and do as much as possible, since working out and calling for bedwarmers wasn't always enough.

He had walked a couple blocks when a familiar blond head caught his attention. Nick was standing by a store window, accompanied by a younger sibling or something. Grinning since his day had suddenly got better, Marcus casual walked up to his side. «Aren't you on the wrong side of town?» he asked and looked into the store window. «See anything you like?»
 
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"It's a little... revealing, isn't it?" Nick squinted against the glare of the sun on the store window, looking with unease at the dress on the mannequin on the other side. It was a flower print dress with a sweetheart neck line; simple but cute and perfect for an event at school, so said Tal. "I don't know. I think it'd draw too much attention." He said, feeling most uncomfortable trying to imagine her wearing it. On the mannequin, it appeared to cut too low in the bodice and the skirt wasn't long enough, not for his liking. "Maybe try to find something else and come back to this one?" He suggested, which earned him a glare from the young blonde.

"Nick! You're being ridiculous! If you think this is revealing, you should see some of the dresses girls wore last year." Tal argued, her tone firm and matter-of-fact. "Besides, it's on mom and dad's dime, so why does it matter so much?" Nick had no answer to that, at least not one that she would accept. When he didn't reply, Tal returned her attention to the display, pulling out her phone to take a picture of it. Nick heaved a sigh; he hated clothes shopping. At the sound of Marc's voice, he tensed at once. He turned his head to look back over his shoulder, the man's grin unsettling him.

"I'm free to go wherever the hell it is I want, thank you." Nick growled through a clenched jaw. "And this is a women's clothing store, so there's nothing of interest to me. You might find something you like, perhaps some panties?" He crossed his arms and turned his head away briefly before telling him, "Get lost!" Tal was looking at crossly at Nick when his attention returned to her and he immediately regretted having paid Marcus any mind at all.

"Nick, don't be rude." The small blonde scolded lightly, stepping around him to the dark-haired male. "Hi, I'm Natalia~" She smiled cheerily and offered her hand. "You must be one of Nick's friends, right? I don't often get to meet Nick's friends." Tal assumed Marc was a friend, mostly because of the way Nick spoke to him; but he spoke that way to everyone, the only difference was that Nick apparently knew this man. "Don't be so hasty to introduce yourself to strangers." Nick said flatly, clearly displeased. Tal shot him a glare.

"Introducing yourself is the first step to not being strangers," Tal objected. Nick couldn't say anything against that, as it was true. "We were on our way to lunch. Would you like to join us?" Nick nearly choked on his breath when she asked this and he coughed hard. "I'm sure he's much too busy for that, Tal." He tried to dissuade her without coming off as too hasty.
 
Marcus crossed his arms and grinned while they talked. This day just got better and better. Now he didn't have to visit that horrible place Nick lived in after all, and he got a wonderful chance to annoy him. The perfect payback for being ignored for so long.

«Hi Natalia, it's so nice to meet you. I'm Marcus, and yes, Nick and I are very good friends. Aren't we, Nick?» he asked and grinned at him, chuckling a little at the grumpy face he had. For some reason he got the feeling that Nick didn't want him there. How strange…

«I actually have the whole day off, so I would love joining you for lunch. Tell you what - it's my treat. Where do you want to go?» He didn't especially want to buy Nick any food, but he guessed that would just annoy him even more, which made it all worth it. «We can go wherever you want, Natalia. Are you Nick's sister by the way? Because if you are, I'm so sorry!» He ended with a jokingly tone and nudged Nick slightly with his elbow, making sure that everyone got that he was of course just messing around with his very good friend.
 
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"Friends my ass," Nick muttered with a roll of his eyes. It was obvious that Marc was doing this to bother him; and he was succeeding with flying colors. If he thought he could get away with it, Nick would have punched him, but he also didn't want to do it in front of Tal. There was some part of him that desperately hoped Marc would go on his way, despite he knew that this was not to be the case. It didn't surprise him that he said he had the day off or that he would indeed join them.

"It's nice to meet you, too." Tal smiled, finding Marc to be quite pleasant. "Yes, actually. Half-sister if you want to get technical." She looked towards Nick, her smile dropping from her face upon seeing the look on his face. If looks could kill, Marucs would have been dead. Nick especially disliked the joke, feeling like the man wasn't really joking. He was willing to bet that joke was actually Marc's honest opinion. "N..Nick?" Concern wrote over Tal's face and she reached out to pluck at the sleeve of her brother's jacket. Slowly, Nick's eyes shifted to look down at her; and, for a moment, his expression remained cold. He knew the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice well.

"It's nothing." Nick answered his sister's understood question, patting her shoulder and offering a crooked smile. Tal looked like she didn't believe him, but she didn't say anything about it. "Well, I know a place that you both ought to like." Said the blonde as she turned and started down the sidewalk. Nick followed just short of being right beside her, shooting Marc a glare over his shoulder. The place was around the next block, one that Tal explained she had been to with friends multiple times. Nick opened the door for the other two, letting Tal in first. As Marc passed, he said in a low voice, "Don't tell her anything."
 
Marcus glanced at him as he passed and raised and eyebrow. «We'll see,» he said with a smirk. He followed Tal to her chosen table and sat down, lokking around while he took his blazer off. «This is nice,» he said and smiled at Tal. «I can see why you go her. Are they your friends from school?»

He glanced over the menu, quickly noting that the prices here were lower than what he was used to. Hopefully the price didn't reflect the quality on what they served. «And any recommendations? What do you usually have?» he asked and glanced at Nick, expecting a snarky comment about him being a picky eater. Nick probably ate food he dropped on the ground…
 
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That smirk! Nick glared at Marc on his way into the cafe, wishing he could punch the snide expression off of the other's face. He couldn't recall a time when he wanted to hit someone so badly as he did now. He sauntered along behind the two, taking a seat beside Tal at the table she chose. Actually, Nick was surprised that Marc agreed to join them, even if it was just to bother him; he didn't seem like the type to eat at a place where a soft drink was less than twenty dollars. Did he even make that kind of money as a cop, though?

"It is nice, and it's cost-effective! My friends and I usually come on Fridays, but this was Nick's first weekend off work for a while now." Tal said cheerfully, leaning over the table to look at the menu. "My personal favorite is the House Club sandwich with everything on it and curly fries. It's made with turkey, lettuce, tomato, your choice of cheese and sauce - honey mustard is the best - on wheat bread. You can get it toasted too. It's a big plate though; Nick and I split it. You can get is as a half too, so it's a smaller portion." She pointed it out on the menu before sitting back in her seat. She looked over at Nick, who had yet to say anything, and frowned. He sat with his arms crossed, one leg crossed over the other, wagging his foot impatiently and leering off at nothing in particular across the cafe.

The door of the cafe opened, the bell above it jingling, as a group of teens entered. Tal turned in her chair and waved to them, excusing herself to go and chat with them. Nick watched her leave then leaned over the table towards Marc.

"There's no 'We'll see' about it. It would only upset her. Don't use her to get to me. It'd only prove that you're an asshole." Nick warned, returning to his previous position before his sister returned to the table. "I'm going to go ahead and order, kay?" She said, coming up to hug Nick from behind. He gave a slight smile and a nod and she went up to the counter.
 
Nick's little warning instantly wiped the smile of Marcus's face. He didn't like being taken for a complete idiot. «Calm down, you little drama queen," he said when Tal walked away again. «I'm not gonna say anything, but we need to talk. Remember I still got your prints, and it's getting very tempting to register them.»

Then he turned his gaze back to the menu and frowned. «What the fuck even is curly fries…» he muttered and glanced over the other options before he stood up and followed Tal. He ordered a simple sandwich, no fries, and some sparkling water. That seemed like the safest bet. He had considered getting coffee, but guessing it probably tasted like dog piss here, he skipped it.

«And I'll pay for both of us,» he said when Tal had made her order, and proceeded to pay with his credit card. «How old are you, Tal?» he asked while he pressed in his pin code.
 
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Nick scoffed and rolled his eyes, slumping down in his seat. Of course, the jerk was threatening to report him; but, at least he agreed not to mention anything to his sister. If he did, not even Nick knew exactly what he might be capable of doing to Marc. The blonde only nodded in agreement to talk to him, saying nothing more and not even looking at Marc again for a good while except to follow him with his eyes as he got up to order. Tal smiled at Marc when he approached the counter.

"I really appreciate it," Tal moved over, farther down the counter to wait. "Fifteen; I'll be sixteen in.. er, six months?" She watched the people behind the counter intently, thinking little of the question. There was an eight year age difference between her and Nick; although, she arguably looked younger than that when compared to him perhaps due to their height difference. Also, compared to Nick, there wasn't really any visual likeness between them. While they both had blonde hair, Tal's was gold where Nick's was platinum; and her eyes were pure blue where his were blue-green. There was a slight similarity in the structures of their faces, but Tal's face was still youthfully round so it wasn't very noticeable.
 
He pocketed the card and smiled at her. «You two seems close. Do you see each other often?» he asked while he followed her back to the table. Nick was still looking grumpy as hell, and Marcus wondered if anything was able to ever please him.

Sitting down, he looked at them both. There were some resemblance, but it wasn't hard to see that they didn't have the same set of parents. Marcus had no siblings, and to be honest, he was glad. Mostly because he didn't want anyone else to suffer growing up with his parents, but also because he didn't very much like people in general. There were very few that didn't annoy him, and from what he had heard, siblings were the most annoying kind of people. Although Tal seemed nice, he had to admit.
 
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"We are. Most days Nick walks me to school before he goes to work and we spend a lot of weekends together." Tal explained as she turned and started back towards the table. "We were all each other had.. Nick doesn't like to talk about all that, though." She shrugged her shoulders with finality. Where Tal had little issue talking about hers and Nick's childhood, Nick refused to even think about it; however, she wouldn't talk about it in his presence. It would only make Nick mad. It was quite clear that Tal was the more well-rounded of the two with her cheerful manner. She was like a polished stone; Nick was like a sharp, jagged-edged rock.

The food was delivered shortly after they settled back at the table. Nick and Tal split the rather large sandwich and pile of fries that she ordered, which seemed to lighten Nick's mood if just a little bit. Tal went on about this and that in a typical teenage girl kind of way, not really talking to either or both of them in particular. Nick humored her desire for conversation by putting in little bits here and there, mostly just nodding his head to let her know he was listening. As they prepared to leave, Tal went to speak to her friends one more time.

"I'm going to take her home, then we can talk. Just text me where and I'll be there." Nick said to Marc on his way to the door. His sister bounced along after him a moment later and told Marc that it was nice to meet him again before the two left. While Nick wasn't enthused about this conversation that he and Marc apparently needed to have, he did show up to talk, of course making his displeasure known.

"So, what's so important?"
 
Marc had Nick come to a pub, even thought it felt like a cliche and the place wasn't especially fancy. But he felt like having a good beer, and this place had the best selection in the city. Another plus was that he didn't know anyone that used to go there, and the regulars were mostly old drunks who was too busy drinking to be listening in on other customer's conversation.

When Nick finally showed up, Marcus was enjoying a dark ale that the bar man had recommended. «Took you long enough,» he sighed and put down the glass before he turned to him. «And you should know very well what's so important. We made a deal, and I kept my end of it. It's time you start keeping yours, unless you want to get a visit from Tal in prison...»
 
Nick scanned the pub as he entered, catching sight of Marc sitting at the bar. He sat on the stool next to him, rolling his eyes at the other's attitudinal greeting. He ordered a bourbon, taking down half the glass in one swig. His eyes traveled about the place, the neon signs everywhere and the worn faux leather upholstery. He was aware of the stares and conversations of the other bar-goers, but paid them no mind. Nick swallowed the other half of his drink and got a refill.

"Really? You just wanted to meet so you could bitch at me?" The blonde finally said, heaving a sigh. "I do have a job, you know - a paying job. One of our guys quit so I had to take on extra work. I haven't had time for much else." He picked up his glass as the bartender slid it across the stained wood counter, swirling the liquid about a moment before taking a sip. He decidedly said nothing of Marc's threat. "I'll get back on it tomorrow, so chill." Nick finished the second glass just as quickly as the first and sat staring at it, contemplating whether or not to get a third.
 
«I don't care if you have a hundred jobs, you still have to stick to our deal - which should be considered better paying than any other stupid job you might have. Because you like staying out of jail, right?» Marcus said and glanced at the bartender, wondering how much he was paying attention now. Hopefully he was tired of listening to all his customers bullshit and didn't think much of what they were talking about.

«And maybe you should do something with that attitude of yours if you want to keep staying out of it,» Marcus added and then took a sip of his glass. He wondered if any of his colleagues had informants that were as annoying as this Nick-kid. «What even is your job? I'm sure it has nothing to do with were I met you the first time? Any other things that need stealing?»
 
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"You of all people should understand the responsibilities to one's employer. Then again, maybe not." Nick retorted with an annoyed roll of his eyes. Marc was really starting to push his buttons with his demanding attitude. The only thing Nick could compare him to was a bitchy girlfriend, constantly nagging about what should be important versus what was actually important. The blonde caught the look on the bartender's face and shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, "I know, right?"

"My attitude? That's the pot calling the kettle black! How about you fix your own pissy attitude first?" Nick growled, nearly slamming his glass down on the counter. "Delivery; anything and everything, fast and friendly, perfectly anonymous with no questions asked." He slid the glass across the bar and stood from his seat. "And yeah, you're right; it has absolutely nothing to do with stealing." Nick fished his wallet out of his pocket, placed a few dollar bills on the bar near his glass, and started for the door. "First thing tomorrow." He called over his shoulder before exiting the bar and heading home.

First thing the next morning, Nick was back to hunting for information. He went to see Mel again to get the name of the motel she went to with the man she described to him. She couldn't remember the exact location, though, and there were multiple locations for that particular business. Nick ended up running this way and that to each one, asking about the guy. It was the last place he checked that the manager recalled a customer by that description, especially when Nick asked if the guy ever came in with a blonde girl. The manager remembered Mel for a particular reason that Nick didn't like to hear. When asked about the last time the guy visited the motel, the manager answered that it was about a week prior and figured he was due back soon. The guy apparently never stayed over night, but would rent a room - the number of which the manager would not disclose - for several hours to do business. He often slipped the manager extra cash to keep his mouth shut.

Of course, that was where the manager would say no more and couldn't be bribed to give up anything else. Nick thanked him and started to leave, waiting only for the man to go back into his office so he could go behind the desk and look in the computer. He left before the manager returned, feeling quite smug. He planned to keep an eye on the place and knew someone who could give him the means to do so.
 
Marcus left the bar right after Nick, to annoyed to even finish his drink. Instead he went home, to meet another Nick. This one was far less annoying, and he barely talked. Which was perfect, because that was after all not why he asked him to come over.

The next day it was back to work, and Marcus was as annoyed as ever. He kept checkin his phone, expecting the a text from Nick to come in. No one did though, but -probably to Nick's surprise- Marcus managed to not send him any nagging texts. Instead he focused in work, which that day consisted of driving around and dealing with petty stuff.

Couples arguing, teens getting caught stealing beer, drunk guys peeing at dogs... It was an endless parade of stupid people that Marcus felt the need to slap around. Luckily he knew what self-control was. At least on the job.

He was happy that he and Lucas had been put on a better route though. Things actually happened now, instead of endless hours of just driving around and stopping only for coffee breaks. Making the arrest on Nick had apparently proved for his colleagues that he was after all capable of doing something, even though the arrest hadn't led anywhere. He suspected Lucas had something to do with it also, since he had been extra friendly lately. Someone was probably worried of being reported for leaving their partner alone in a store were a possible dangerous person had been hiding…
 
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"C'mon, Ethan! Just for a few days. Your camera will be perfectly safe." Nick pleaded with his friend, watching him pace around the small space that was his bedroom. He'd been at this for almost twenty minutes, trying to talk the stubborn jerk into giving him his video camera so he could stake out the motel. While Nick could get video on his phone, the quality wouldn't be nearly as great as it would with a camera, an item of which Nick didn't own. Stealing one wasn't an option.

"You want to borrow my camera, but you won't tell me what you want to borrow it for? How can I possibly give it to you if you won't tell me why you need it?" The young man named Ethan said, leaning back on the edge of his desk and polishing the object in question. Ethan was Nick's age and had been his friend since they were kids. He was a rougher article than Nick in many respects with his often edgy disposition and his grungy style. He narrowed his brown eyes at the blonde, running his tongue over the piercing in his lip.

"What's in it for me if I do let you borrow it?" A grin snaked across the brunette's face and he stood, placing the camera on the desktop, to step towards Nick. "Okay, maybe not borrow. Think of it more like I'm renting it. How much do you want?" Nick took a step back and reached for his wallet. "Your money's no good here." Ethan shook his head, coming closer. "How about you lend it to me because we're friends? Or do our years of friendship mean nothing to you?" Nick tried and the other shook his head again. "Tch! You are such an asshole!" Nick growled at his friend whose smile only grew. "You want the camera or not?" Ethan was standing directly in front of him. "I'm starting to rethink this whole friendship situation." Nick took off his jacket and tossed it aside...

"Bring it back in one piece." Ethan held the camera out to Nick as he put on his jacket and stepped into his boots. "Gee, thanks." Nick snatched it from Ethan's hand and put it in his jacket pocket, turning towards the door. Ethan went ahead of his friend to get the door for him, pausing momentarily on the threshold. "I've missed our little get-togethers." He said with a smirk. "I haven't." Shooting a glare over his shoulder, Nick stomped away.

He returned to the motel, or rather he went to the building across the street from it, to set up the camera. It was an old building recently put up for rent, thus it was empty. Nick climbed the fire escape and mounted the camera to the railing where it would have a good view of the front of the motel. All there was left to do was hit record. If the guy showed up, he was sure to be caught on video. Nick pulled out his phone to text Marc the news. It had sent several garbled messages while he was with Ethan.

"Ignore those. Phone glitched." Nick lied.
 
Marcus took up the phone the second the first message ticked in, only to let out an annoyed groan when he saw that it was just gibberish.

«Trouble in paradise?»
Marcus glanced at Lucas, confused. «What?» he scoffed and put his phone back into his jacket pocket.
«They way you're staring at your phone all the time,» Lucas said and glanced back. «I'm guessing it's your boyfriend.»
«Oh god…» Marcus groaned, the thought alone horrifying him. Then he smirked. «Why, are you jealous?»
«No!» Lucas quickly said and gave him an annoyed look. «Don't be stupid.»
«Because there really is no need to be,» Marcus said with a sweet smile, almost purring as he talked. «I'm sure he won't mind me doubling up.»
Lucas let out a groan that suggested the idea disgusted him. «Shut up!»
«You don't know what you're missing, dude,» Marcus said and looked at his phone when another text arrived. It was just more gibberish. «What the fuck?!»

He reread the messages several times, trying to make some sense out of them. Was it maybe a secret code? Thief language? A stupid password? Or was Nick being strangled and was desperately trying to get help? Nah, that last thing didn't make any sense. Why would Marcus come to his rescue? More likely he would help with the strangling, and Nick knew that.

«You are at work, you know,» Lucas muttered.
«Oh, give it a rest!» Marcus snapped before leaning back and looking out the window. «I'm sure we'll find some criminal you can steal stuff off of soon, so don't worry.»
Lucas eyes widened slightly and his face actually turned a little paler. «Shut. Up,» he said in a way that was clearly ment as a warning.
«Stop being such a drama queen then,» Marcus sighed. «And keep your nose out of my business.»
«Business like were a thief is let loose for no reason, and the next day he comes waltzing in to the station like nothing ever happened?»
Marcus's jaw went tight. «I told you, he is suing me.»
«Really? Weird no one else on the station have heard anything about it then…»
«Are you asking around about me?» Marcus asked and scowled at him. «Do you want me to do the same with you?»
«Listen. You stay out of my business, and I'll stay out of yours,» he said.
Marcus rolled his eyes and looked at the phone when once again a text came on. Phone glitch? Really?! He sighed and put the phone away before looking at Lucas. «Don't worry, idiot. I have no interest in getting in your business, no way at all.»
 
Some days passed that Nick didn't contact Marc after he obtained the camera from Ethan. Even Ethan hadn't heard from him, which rose the question of what Nick was doing with the camera. It was longer than Nick initially said it would be before he returned to his friend's home to give the camera back. Ethan was pissed and demanded to know what the other was doing with it, but Nick told him to "Shove it" and left it at that. The master plan that the thief concocted to get information caused a great deal more trouble than he felt it was worth. Nick initially left the camera on the fire escape; however, when he went back the next day to see if it got any good footage, he discovered that the camera battery had died. Thus, Nick ended up having to stay on the fire escape to make sure the camera didn't run out of power. Doing the stake out himself, he turned off his phone to keep from being found out.

Rather than take the camera or memory card to the station himself, Nick put the card in an envelope and delivered it to Marc's mailbox. The method was a little round-about but nonetheless effective and didn't risk any strangling. Only then did Nick text Marc, saying "You've got mail. Literally." There was a message with the memory card that said to skip ahead to a certain time stamp on the video, the time at which the man named Bryant showed up to the motel. Nick didn't divulge how he came about the knowledge of where Marc lived, only that he was better at getting information than Marc credited him for, not that he guessed it was a secret from anyone except perhaps him. That was where he started sending physical evidence if not to the station under the guise of a delivery.
 
Marcus wasn't sure about what to do with the video he had received from Nick. Now he knew what the guy looked like, but that wasn't enough to bring to the station, he felt. Plus, how was he supposed to explain getting this evidence? So he let it lie for some time, and he didn't bother Nick with it either. It had gotten boring nagging on him all the time.

Instead he focused on his job and kept himself entertained on his free time, just like before. It was evening and he had the night off, so he sent a text to one of his special friends, short and sweet as always. 'Get your ass over here, now!' Then he went into the shower and prepared for a long night.
 
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