Forging New Paths

"He'll be all right," Evelyn reassured when Garrett had walked out, giving Luca a brief hug to try and soothe him. "Let's make breakfast, Hm? I'm sure you and Watson are both hungry."

It was good that she was used to multitasking, but for once she was glad Luca didn’t try to converse. As she made breakfast for them both she looked up as much as she could on the house and sent Garrett information about what security systems it had, how many people were inside, and whether or not they were armed. She didn’t stop going researching it until her Insight stopped giving her information at all.

By the time Garrett messaged back, she had found out what sort of food Watson ate and had some delivered, as well as litter and a tray for it, which she left in the bathroom for now. Luca was curled up in the couch with Watson, wide awake but quiet, and Evelyn sat nearby with a movie on to try and distract them both.

I'm glad he’s okay, she texted back. Don’t worry about us, we're just sitting at home. Are you all right? She did not share his motivation for working against the Lombardi family. To her, they - or someone like them - would probably always exist, but mainly in the background of her life with little up front influence on it, so long as they didn’t have a way to get Luca back. The investigation itself was not as important as Garrett's life and health.
 
But for Garrett, the lines of pain and fear ran deeply back into his past. He was determined to keep investigating the Lombardis - although even then, his main goal for breaking them up was to stop others from getting hurt. Like Anthony.

But interestingly enough, it hadn't been the Lombardis that had hurt Anthony, from what he could understand. He still wasn't quite sure what had happened. All he knew for sure was that by the time he'd come onto the scene, there was a huge hole in the floor and Anthony had been lying in the basement nearby the hole's entrance.

Anthony was currently resting on the couch in his office, curled up under Garrett's coat.

Garrett nodded and texted Evelyn back from where he sat in his chair. Yes, I'm all right. I don't quite have all the details yet, but - would you and Luca like to do a voice call once Anthony is up for it?
 
Evelyn frowned at her phone, considering the thought of a call for a long few minutes. Luca hadn’t been on any phone calls with her, yet, and she assumed he hadn’t really had the need for them when he was captive. He’d likely used phones before he was taken away from his home, but she didn’t know how he would react to it.

I'm not sure how speaking to us is going to help him? She texted back, with a question mark to denote her uncertainty. But I’ll talk to Luca about it. I'm sure he won’t mind, even if he doesn’t participate much. It would be fine for him to sit nearby while they talked on speaker, as long as nothing went into much detail about why Garrett had been there or what had happened. She hadnt reached a point yet where she was comfortable talking to Luca about the people that had hurt him. She’d wanted to wait for the therapist for that.
 
Well, mostly I was thinking hearing my voice might help reassure Luca that everything is better now, Garrett admitted. But I didn't want to call until Anthony was awake. I won't do a video call though for privacy reasons, of course, but I thought at least with a voice call he could hear the tones in my voice better. Just let me know either way.

A short while later, Anthony finally stirred. He had dark tan skin, curly dark hair, and deep black eyes. He quietly thanked Garrett when the man handed him a cup of water to drink. And when Garret asked whether he'd be up for a short phone call to his friends, he smiled and nodded, curly hair bouncing over his eyes. "I'd like to meet them. Thank you."

Garrett smiled and texted Evelyn again. He's awake and ready to talk on the phone, if you and Luca are open to it. Otherwise I can continue to text you until Anthony's ready to go home.
 
You have a point. I’ll talk to him.

Evelyn spent most of their time waiting explaining quietly to Luca that Garrett was okay, that his friend was hurt but recovering, and that they wanted to talk on the phone. Luca didn’t talk on the phone often, as she suspected, but nodded eagerly along to the idea of speaking to Garrett, after being worried about him being gone. He asked if Watson could make the call with them too, idly playing with the cat's paws, and she didn’t have the heart to point out that Watson couldn’t talk, so she only said yes.

Luca says Yes, if you want to talk. She texted back, and when Garrett responded shortly after by calling only out the phone on speaker. "Say hello, Luca." She urged with a little smile, and held back the urge to laugh when he had to sit up with Watson in his lap first in order to take part.

"Hello," he parroted softly, hands idly petting Watson for lack of better ways to fidget. "Where are you?"
 
Watson enjoyed the extra attention, and he purred and stretched out in Luca's lap to better appreciate all the petting.

Garrett smiled warmly. "Hello, Luca and Evelyn! So glad to hear your voices. My friend Anthony and I are in my public detective office. Luca, thank you so much for helping me take care of Watson. Are you and Evelyn all right? Oh! And this is my friend Anthony."

Anthony beamed. It was a nice change of pace, being referred to as Garrett's friend instead of his assistant. "Hi," he called into the speaker. "It's nice to meet you both. And Watson. I hear he's pretty cute," he added happily.
 
"We're okay," Luca answered before she could, a bit confused by the question because he wasn’t sure why there would be something wrong. They had only stayed home and watched movies - even though he wanted to go for a walk, he didn’t want to leave Watson alone.

"Watson is very cute," Evelyn said when all Luca did was look down at the cat as he pet him, "when he isn’t dragging litter across my floors. It's good to hear you’re doing all right."

She looked at Luca when he tugged on her sleeve, then followed the way he was pointing to look at a bottle of water sitting across the way. "Hm? Oh. Garrett, do you have a cup of water around? Luca is asking." She didn’t want to spell it out for him if he didn’t want to go talking about Luca's abilities in front of others, but was certain enough he would remember the younger man's Sight. Luca wanted to be able to see Garrett himself, and if she was honest she wanted a peek at Anthony herself. Maybe he was someone she would recognize from her wanderings around town.
 
Garrett caught on almost at once, and he smiled and nodded. Luca's sight would be perfect. Then he could meet Anthony without Anthony seeing his or Evelyn's faces. "I sure do. One moment." He pulled a large cup over, making sure it was angled so Anthony's face was visible.

Then Watson let out a meow and batted playfully at Luca's sleeves, swishing his tail.

Anthony practically melted. "Awww, was that Watson? He even sounds cute!" His injured leg wasn't visible, but his features were warm and gentle.

Garrett, too, looked relieved and much more at ease now that Anthony was safe. He chuckled and nodded. "Yes, that's Watson. I'll bring him to the office soon so you can meet him."

"That would be great, Garrett. Thanks." He turned to the phone and smiled. "So, Evelyn and Luca - how d'you know Garrett? Previous clients I'm guessing, right?"
 
Luca wiggled his arm back and forth so Watson could bat at the dangling part of his sleeve, and just watched as Evelyn got up to walk towards the kitchen. "He naps with me."

Evelyn chuckled softly as she walked away with the phone in hand to fill a bowl with water for him. "Strangely enough, I didn’t even know he was a detective, at first." Lies, at times, came to her just as easily as the truth, and she went through meshing them together very calmly even as she ran the sink. "We met in the park awhile ago and he and Luca hit it off pretty quickly - he’s on the autism spectrum, so that doesn’t happen very often. I'm afraid I bullied poor Garrett into sticking around, but now I’m cat-sitting, so jokes on me."

"Watson misses his toys," Luca said with a little frown as she came back, but she only shook her head and shooed the cat gently off his lap and onto a couch cushion so she could set the bowl of water there instead.

"He's fine, Luca. He'll play with your jacket well enough. Come on." She touched her own fingertips very lightly to the surface of the water as he did, but waited for the color of his eyes to change before activating her own Sight. He knew where Garrett's office was, so it was simple enough to find, the faintly lit indicator of their shared gift popping up onto the surface of the glass Garrett had set out after a moment or two. Luca was just happy to see Garrett, but Evelyn turned her attention quickly to their guest, taking in the smile on his face, and the way the sound from the phone was out of sync with his lips in real time, as most phones were.

It took several seconds for her Insight to kick in, and for the phone to fall from her hands into her lap.

The gasp that followed wasn't something she could stop, her hand pulling back from the water as if burned and eyes darting this way and that as she worked frantically to think of what to do. "Shit, sorry - Watson just peed on the carpet, I have to go!" She hung up quickly then, hopping up to her feet to pace anxiously while Luca pulled back from his Sight to look at her in concern. Watson was right next to him, and he knew where his box was now, he didn’t pee on the floor.

Evelyn only shook her head at him, tapping out a message almost frantically when she couldn't find the concentration to use her gifts instead. I'm going to call you. Don’t tell him who it is, and take the call outside the office. Now.

He had to get out immediately, but she didn’t want to spook his 'friend'. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong.
 
Evelyn's insight might have told her that Anthony was a Lombardi, and possibly certain things about him. For one, he was ashamed of the family business and could barely stand to be associated with them. But he was a bit too young to be out on his own at sixteen, so he'd been begrudgingly staying with them and continuing to act as a scout - so he could stay as far away from them as possible.

That's when he'd originally met Garrett, while wandering the streets. And when he'd learned the man was a detective, he promptly offered his services to become an informant. He was already outside most of the day, anyway. Then he'd learned a bit more about Garrett and his plans to research the Lombardis in particular, and he was all too happy to help.

The disappearance of the family members he'd been spying on was disconcerting since they were his immediate family; his father, mother, and two brothers, and none of them were the type to take off without telling him. He'd panicked and rushed into the house to find out what had happened - they were still his family, after all, and Garrett only wanted to arrest guilty members and stop the violent plots, not kill anyone.

But once Anthony had run inside, the floor had broken out from underneath him and sent him crashing into the basement to give him a sprained leg. He was lucky it wasn't more serious.

Meanwhile, Garrett blinked worriedly and stood up. "I'll be right back, Anthony. I've got a call coming in."

Anthony nodded and yawned, curling back up on the couch. "Sure. I'll be here napping if you need me."

"Good lad. Thank you," Garrett replied, and he hurried outside. Then he called Evelyn and bit his lip. "What is it? Is something wrong with Luca? What happened?" He knew full well Watson hadn't actually peed on the carpet.
 
As accurate as Insight could be, it had its pitfalls. Plain knowledge couldn’t always be interpreted correctly, and one could never know if they had all the facts. Still, the fact that Anthony was a Lombardi wasn’t something that could ever have sat well with Evelyn.

Luca watched as she paced back and forth, a hand resting anxiously on Watson's back for some sort of reassurance. What was going on? She was acting strangely and it was making him nervous. Was she okay? Was Garrett? He'd liked it better when they were all together and everything was calm.

"How quickly can you get away from him?" She demanded the second the line clicked over. "He’s one of them, Garrett. It’s not safe to be near him." On top of that, now that this Anthony character was at Garrett's office it wasn’t a safe place to go near anymore. If he had been foolish enough to bring Anthony home, she would have had to tell him they weren’t coming back there anymore either.
 
Garrett blinked a few times in surprise, his jaw dropping open. "What do you mean, he's one of - " he started. Then he realized what Evelyn meant. He paled and staggered backward. "He's a Lombardi? Anthony?" he croaked out. He glanced briefly up at the office building before sighing and pinching his nose tightly. ". . . I have some important notes in the office. And Anthony doesn't know I know yet. I think the safest course of action may be to wait until he goes home, gather the important documents from my office, and then lock the door and leave the office alone."

He shook his head slowly. "No wonder he never wanted to tell me his last name. There's no telling how much false information he's fed me since I met him . . . I'm glad your Insight caught it, Evelyn. Thank you." He cleared his throat and nodded. "If all goes well, I'll be back later tonight. Do you need me to pick up any supplies or groceries on my way to get Watson?"
 
Evelyn was shaking her head as if he could see it, teeth worrying at her lower lip in an uncharacteristic show of anxiety. "I can try to look into it - all it gave me was a name, I don’t know anything else. No, no, don’t stop for anything or worry about us, just keep yourself safe. Take a minute to breathe, okay? It’ll look odd if you go back nervous. Oh - Luca wants to talk to you."

He hadn't asked, but she had come to recognize the body language he usually used when he wanted something but wouldn't ask for it. She was still working on getting him to say out loud the things that he needed or wanted.

When she handed him the phone, Luca was frowning again, expression worried and unhappy. "Garrett? Are you coming back?" Was he not safe? Luca didn’t like to think about him not being safe. It made his stomach hurt.
 
"Right. Right. Good idea," Garrett murmured, and he did indeed pause to take a few long, deep breaths. "Thank you, Evelyn." He gave a small smile when the phone was passed to Luca. Both his and Evelyn's concern was touching. "Hi, Luca. Don't worry, I'm okay now. I'm coming back in a bit to pick up Watson. Everything should be fine."

He was still pacing a bit, but his pace slowed as he managed to get himself to relax. "Are you and Evelyn still coming over in a few days to help with the cat hideout for Watson? I'm very much looking forward to that."

Normally he talked to Watson to calm himself down, but he was quickly realizing that talking to Evelyn and Luca had the same effect. Within minutes he was relaxed again and breathing deeply.
 
Luca relaxed a little at the sound of Garrett's voice, but still wasn’t happy with all the tension around, holding the phone tightly in one hand and still touching Watson with the other in an unconscious attempt to soothe himself. "Okay. . . I want to help make it." Evelyn hadn’t said no, so that meant they were still going, right? He didn’t want to miss it. Garrett had asked him to help and it felt special, somehow.

Gently, Evelyn angled the phone away without taking it from him and switched it to speaker so they could both hear. "Don't worry about Watson either," she said softly. "I'm sure he misses you, but we all know whose lap is his favorite." If it helped him to talk like nothing was wrong, she would do her best.
 
Garrett smiled gently. "I'd love to have your help, Luca," he replied. "I'm glad you're both still coming over." Then he chuckled at Evelyn's response. "Yes. He absolutely adores Luca. He searches for him sometimes, you know - I think he believes you both live at my apartment."

After a few more minutes of quiet chatting, he felt relaxed enough to return to his office. "All right. I've got to go settle things with Anthony. I'll be back in a bit afterwards."

Originally he'd been so upset, he practically could have yelled at the boy. But thankfully, after talking with both Evelyn and Luca and thinking things over, he knew full well that wouldn't be necessary. And even though Anthony was a Lombardi . . . there was a small part of Garrett that wondered if maybe he wasn't like his family. But he couldn't risk Luca and Evelyn's safety.

So he went upstairs, pulled in a deep breath, and sat down. "Anthony," he said softly. "I just learned your last name."

Anthony sat bolt upright and paled. "O - oh? Yeah?"

"Lombardi."

The young man stiffened and shrunk back, holding his hands up. "I - I . . . Listen, I know this looks bad, but - "

"I think I understand why you hid it from me," Garrett said quietly. "But you and I both know what you being a Lombardi could mean for the case I'm working on. I'm sorry, but I'll have to let you go as an informant. And I think if best if we keep some distance for a while, until I can figure things out."

Anthony was surprised at the calm tone with which Garrett delivered the news, all things considered. But somehow that made it hurt worse. He swallowed and dropped his gaze. ". . . Oh."

"I won't make you walk on your injured leg. But is there somewhere I can drop you off that would be safe for me?" Garret asked softly.

"Yeah, um . . . gimme a minute . . ."

An hour or so later, Anthony had been dropped off, and Garrett returned to Evelyn and Luca's house. He walked in through the door and sighed heavily. "I'm back. Everything all right here?"

Watson meowed and ran over, curling around his legs and purring.
 
Evelyn did her best to stay calm and keep Garrett busy so he wouldn’t think too hard, explaining to him the way that Watson would let Luca sit him upright in his lap and hold his paws, like no cat she’d ever seen. She would get a picture of it next time, she promised, and Luca only seemed confused about why. Was it special? Watson always let him touch his paws.

When it was time for Garrett to go, Evelyn let him, and just tried not to worry while he was away.

"Its quiet here," she promised gently when he came back, closing the door behind and smiling at the way Watson hurried over. "Did you get the files you needed?"

Luca had followed after Watson more shyly, waiting a few feet back from the entryway as if making sure it was okay for him to come. ". . . Are you taking Watson home?" He’d liked having the cat here for a while. It would be sad when Garrett and Watson were both gone.
 
Garrett scooped Watson up and buried his face in the cat's fur. "Yes, I am," he said softly. "I know Watson loves staying with you, as do I, but - " He paused. What was the best way to phrase the fact he couldn't just move in with Evelyn and Luca and stay forever, as much as he wouldn't mind that? ". . . I'm sure you and Evelyn could use a few days to rest after all the excitement and stress that happened while I was here."

He looked up at Evelyn and gave her a thin smile. "Yes, I got the files." And possibly lost one of the few friends I've managed to make. Of course, he'd managed to be gentle about it, and phrase it more like a temporary thing. But that could change depending on what he and Evelyn found out about Anthony.

Garrett petted Watson between his ears and smiled gently at both Luca and Evelyn. "Do either of you need anything before the two of us head home?" He was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. He'd do more research tomorrow, when he could mentally handle it,
 
Garrett wasn't okay, and Evelyn wasn’t sure if it was just the close call, the stress, or something else. Somehow, despite the fact that they were beginning to grow closer, she didn’t feel like it was her business to pry into. She could only offer as much support as she could, and let Garrett decide what was best.

"Are you sure you don’t want to stay a little while?" She asked, resting a hand gently on his shoulder. "I won’t stop you from leaving if you’d rather be home, but you are welcome here." She wouldn’t say to drop by with no notice, as that wasn’t her preferred kind of visit, but if he needed the time with them she wouldn’t send him away.

Luca was clearly displeased still, but quiet about it, as was his way. It would take time for him to truly begin protesting against things he didn’t like. "Make . . . Make sure you pet him a lot. . ." It could have been seen as doting on Watson, but Luca knew that petting the cat's soft fur helped him when he felt bad, so maybe it would help Garrett, too.
 
The detective blinked in surprise and glanced up at her. Truth be told, he loved spending time with her and Luca and soaked it up whenever he had the chance. He was always happy to stay with them. But he worried they would both get sick of him at some point if he kept overstaying his welcome. "Well, I'd - I would like to. But only if you're sure you don't mind," he told Evelyn at last.

He couldn't help but smile at Luca's words. And he took them to heart, and petted Watson, and it did make him feel a little bit better. "Thank you, Luca. I will." He pulled in another deep breath and sighed. "I'm sorry, both of you. I didn't mean to cause such a disruption. And I'm still worried about Anthony. I know he's - " He bit his lip. ". . . I know now he's a Lombardi. But part of me wonders if the reason he didn't want to share his last name with me is because he isn't like his family."

He stroked Watson's back lightly. "I have to confirm my case files, but looking back . . . he's always given me solid leads and information in the past. And he's never struck me as having a mean streak. A bit impulsive, maybe, but never mean."