Cassie left the meeting with Locke – ‘meeting’ here being a word for ‘lambasting’ and ‘humiliation for amusement and pathetic ego kicks’ – hurriedly and with her head down. She mumbled a vague apology when some monolithic mountain that she presumed was a man (but couldn’t be quite sure) bumped her shoulder and sent her other shoulder into the wall of the hallway but paid no other mind and kept on. She hated Locke. She hated the city which, for all intents and purposes, was Locke’s. She hated that she worked for Locke. But far above all of those emotions of disdain and loathing, a pillar standing tall and burning bright…she hated that she [i]needed[/i] Locke. She [i]needed [/i] his money, [i]needed [/i] the home he gave her. [i]Needed [/i] him so she could look after Jo. And it was with that thought that she decided what to do with the rest of her day. 

Jo was at school when Cassie arrived at her apartment - her actual institute of education being separate to the Kilbride College Academy where the shooting had taken place. The apartment was empty, Jo’s part-time ‘carer’ (maid and bodyguard) having no reason to stay during the days Jo went to school, and Cassie let herself in with the spare key Locke had given her at the start of all this mess. It was still before noon, and Jo wouldn’t return until gone four, but Cassie could wait. Patience was a virtue she held in great quantities. She amused herself by flicking through Jo’s books, and her record collection, eventually growing bored with both and, exhausted from the lack of sleep she’d suffered since the shooting, fell asleep on the sofa a little after one.

She was woken up by the soft shaking from a hand on her shoulder, the arm of which extended into the blurry form of Cassie’s sister. Jo shifted into focus as Cassie sniffed and rubbed her eyes, shedding sleep dust and blinking a couple times while she pushed herself up into a seated position, leaning against the back cushioning of the plush leather sofa. She smiled lazily and pulled Jo into a one-armed half-hug. "Afternoon, sis." Jo said, and Cassie chuckled.

"How was school, Jo?" She asked, standing up and stretching as Jo walked away from the lounge are into the attached kitchen and flipped the switch for the kettle. She replied as it started bubbling.
"Boring. People knew I was at Kilbride CA. It was a lot of fawning or a lot of avoiding." The kettle clicked again and Jo turned, pulling two mugs from an under-unit cupboard. She quickly brewed two coffees, handing one to Cassie. "The teachers were being careful too. I just wanted to study and leave, not be hounded for details or petted with sympathy. Policeman came in, though."

Cassie looked up at Jo over the rim of her mug. She was taller than her younger sister, but not by much, and at times like these, Jo being so stoic and straight-forward, she felt like the dynamic between them had been reversed. "Really? What about?" She asked, continuing the conversation with minimal involvement. She could control herself expertly, but around her sister, it was always harder to hide. And Jo invariably knew regardless.

Jo sipped from her mug, savouring the flavour and the scent. "An explanation. Dumbed down, obviously. I guess a warning, too? Our 'legal guardians' have been permitted to pull us out for a while without it affecting our attendance records, and the work will be sent home so we can keep up with the syllabus. I have elected to stay at school." Jo cleared her throat.

Cassie smiled sympathetically, and they stood in silence for a few minutes as they finished their drinks, placing their mugs in the sink. Jo sighed, and took a long look at Cassie. She looked tired, and Cassie knew it. Her occupation was taking its toll on her, emotionally and physically. There was a lot more weighing Cassie down than simple sleep deprivation. Cassie coughed, the silence feeling awkward, and knowing that Jo was inspecting her. She was uncomfortable talking about the KCA shooting, for obvious reasons, but Jo didn't know about what she did, and she wanted to keep it that way. 
"I have to get going...there's work I need to do for the doctor." Cassie said, making an excuse to leave Jo's scrutinization. She turned to take her scarf off the hook by the front door of the apartment and stood with her back to Jo, wrapping it around her neck carefully, when her sister spoke and made her freeze. 

"I went to...to Tom's, before I came here." Cassie noticed her voice. Wavy. Forced bravery. A tone she'd heard plenty after the death of their parents. "My...my date. T-to the dance." Cassie hung her head. Tom was dead, Locke had told her that. And now Jo knew, and maybe Tom was the first real chance Jo had had for a normal life, and now he was dead, and Locke had taken him from her, and anger built up in Cassie as she heard a small sob escape from Jo. She suppressed it and whirled around, moving quickly across the room to take Jo into her arms and hug her tightly. In response, Jo gave up her pretense and began crying in earnest, clinging tightly to her older sister for some kind of comfort, something solid to hold on to. Cassie wept too, silently, shedding tears for the life Jo would never get to have now, for the things that had happened to them, for the things that Locke had done to them...she heard Jo choking out some words, a muffled murmur from the face buried into her scarf and shoulder. She leant back, letting Jo be heard.

"His whole f-family. In a car collison..." She bit back tears but failed to stop them and they wormed down her face, dripping off the end of her nose. "They told me not to use my powers but I did and now he's dead and his mom and dad are dead and it's just like our parents, just like them, it's me, it's my fa-" her words tumbled out and Cassie didn't let her finish the sentence, squeezing Jo's shoulder and whispering a soothing hush.
"No, no Jo, it's not, it's not your fault, and neither were mom and dad, nothing was your fault..." She stroked the back of Jo's hair as she clung to Cassie's back, and slowly, slowly Jo calmed down. "It was an accident, just like mom and dad. It was not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong. There was nothing you could have done. It's no one's fault." Cassie wavered at the end, sounding unconvincing even to herself. "Tom's death was nobody's fault."

Jo separated. Her weeping had stopped but her cheeks were stained and her mascara ran. "It is." She said, sniffing and wiping her eyes. "You know it's not mine, but it is someone's fault." Cassie said nothing, but she sighed, and Jo saw a mournful exhaustion in her eyes. She relented. "You don't have to tell me. But...thank you." She hugged Cassie again. They looked at each other, both sniffing from crying and makeup ruined, and chuckled a bit. "Dad always did that." Jo said. "He always knew you weren't saying something, and he let you not say it." Cassie smiled. She'd forgotten, but Jo was right. Their father always knew, and always knew not to pry.

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about their parents. Jo's carer arrived and quickly left again after he realised Cassie was there, giving the sisters space. The reminisced long into the evening, and eventually moved topics, talking about Jo's schooling, her future, Cassie's activities, Jo spinning wild theories about their 'mysterious' benefactor (Cassie pulling pained and sympathetic smiles, Jo smirking knowingly but saying nothing). Cassie caught up on all she'd missed, and felt like Jo's big sister again, not just a girl with a rifle looking out for her from the other end of a scope. Eventually, inthe early hours of the morning, they both fell asleep, collapsed on the sofa, laughs and tears shared in equal measures.

Cassie woke with the sun, the light streaming through the large eastern-facing windows of Jo's apartment. She rose quietly from the sofa, leaving Jo asleep. There was a faint smile on her face, and Cassie smiled herself. She left a note, and then left the apartment. It was time to find her targets.