[color=lightgray][right][sub]Between 12 AM & 2 AM Sunday early morning (2 days from the gym scene)[/sub][/right]
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[sup]A[@LovelyComplex], [@BrutalBx], and [@metanoia] Collab[/sup]

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[indent][color=63773B]“Thank you, babe.”[/color]

Hyde smiled at the young dark haired girl as she placed his plate before him. Her face was flush and red, she was obviously intrigued by the blue eyed monster. If there was one thing that he had the ability to do, it was read the room. In spite of all of his flaws, Hyde was perceptive and good at picking up people's vibes…at least he was if he could calm the raging fire in his brain that was the one constant he had ever had in his life.

She turned to leave, throwing a glance back at the blonde haired man over her shoulder before she did. There was no doubt in his mind that this was probably the most interesting thing that had happened to this girl all day. It was early in the morning and these three ransoms entered the bar like a wave of chaos to fuck up or fun up her night. Were he not with his siblings and if he were listening to that voice in his head, then Hyde would likely grab this little thot by her throat, drag her into an alley and give her what she deserves. Alas, he was being a good boy and he really wanted to make this family work.

The diner was dead save for the waitress, the chef and the Death Triangle. The world outside was quiet, almost silent. Inside, playing softly on the distant speaker in the kitchen was Gallows “Love the Hard Way Around”. It was an ethereal sort of track, it created a great but melancholy type of ambience in the room. 

[color=63773B]“I always liked this place. My Mom worked here once.”[/color]

[color=56877b]“It’s good place. My favorite. Mama came here at end of shift.”[/color] The Basilisk turned in her stool to observe her surroundings. The waitress had given Anya her token food which was a large pancake with a face of their choice made of fruit usually, occasionally bacon or sausage depending if they wanted the face to have hair or eyebrows, and a milkshake to drink. When it came to milkshakes, the Russian agent didn’t care what they gave her in terms of flavor. That was one of the only things she was open minded with. Flavor of milkshake. Change what she gets for breakfast though? She’d be angry. Happy pancakes are what she looked forward to whenever she could come here. Take that away from her then what was the point of life? Obviously not happy pancakes! Regardless, the waitress chose strawberry milkshake, so strawberry milkshake it would be. 

Reaching for her shake, she grabbed it and took a sip of it before pulling the straw away and asking her older brother, [color=56877b]“How is the change for you?”[/color] She knew her half twin was trying to do right by his family and change for the better. Did Anya think he would be successful in this endeavor? Look at her. She had no right to judge her brother when she had blood on her hands too. Circumstances gave them no choice and now they make the best of it. They had no choice.

[color=63773B]“You mean, how is the change from breaking the jaws of every single little fuck that gets under my skin to just smiling and nodding at them? It sucks.”[/color] Hyde took a drink from his black coffee before responding further to his sister. [color=63773B]“Still, I’m trying to do better. I don’t want to break this family up again.”[/color] His eyes fell upon the waitress once again, she smiled at him and he began to drum his fingers rhymically against the mug of black nectar. He reached toward the fork that sat by his free hand and stuck it into the eggs on his plate. 

[color=63773B]“Mika, I need you to do me a favour. This letter business we were talking about earlier. You gotta fix that shit,”[/color] Hyde took a bite out of his breakfast. He allowed his words to hang in there like a guillotine for a few moments. Regardless of his time away or the relatively short amount of time that the children of Ivan Zima acknowledged each other as siblings, he was the older brother, the authority and his words carried that. [color=63773B]“Anya and I get close to that, the wrong type of people might come snooping and get involved. Which you really don’t want. Your little girlfriend and all your friends, those fucking Gonzalez’s….”[/color] He had to pause as the venom in his veins began to poison him. He balled up a fist under the table, digging his nails into his own palm. [color=63773B]“…they don’t need none of that. Figure out who's behind it and fix it.”[/color] His eyes wandered to his younger sister and then back to his brother. There was always, even in the most pleasant of conversations, something ugly eating away inside the mind of Cameron Hyde. [color=63773B]“We’ll help where we can but this one yours, understand?”[/color]

Mika had kept mostly quiet to himself. When the waitress took their orders, he smiled, made small conversation (when his brother wasn’t fixated on her, that was). And when his plate of the works: fried eggs, two sausage links, a couple of slices of toast and bacon, and a side of hashbrowns, he thanked her again. After the godawful breakfast, if you could actually call what Hyde made for them breakfast, Mika wasted no time evening out the bad with the always amazing breakfast. When he was [i]truly[/i] starving, dignity and manners went out the window as he scarfed down the sausage and bacon first.

He was listening to his older siblings talk. What was the most interesting part (well maybe not so much interesting, but ironic, hypocritical, and hilarious), was his brother speak about not breaking up the family. He tried to not let it show, which was also why he was mostly stuffing his face and keeping his eyes down on his plate, occasionally coming up for air to wash it down with the tall glass of milk he ordered with it. He didn’t want to incur the wrath of his brother for potentially disagreeing with his view of ‘family’.

And when Hyde started to talk about the letters, who it might attract, and the tone that his brother carried through it all, it wasn’t a queue for an open dialogue. It was an order. Fear and anger often came hand-in-hand for the youngest Zima son when it came to Hyde, but he had to swallow the latter. [color=635687]“I’ll see what I can do, but it’s not going to be easy. Almost six months now they have been sending letter after letter and still nobody knows who the person is.”[/color] Mika didn’t care [i]that[/i] much, but as much as he hated to admit it, Hyde was right. While some people deserved whatever truths might come out from this, there were people who didn’t. People like Cece. People like Boa and Ley. They didn’t deserve that.

[color=63773B]“They,”[/color] Hyde scoffed. [color=63773B]“You’re talking about the EPD which is quite possibly the most corrupt police force in the country. They ain’t trying very hard, trust me.”[/color] The dark passenger loaded his mouth with another load of food before washing it all down with some more coffee. [color=63773B]“Poppy James. Mordechai Boaz. Jade Taylor. These were that kid, what was his name, Chuck or whatever the fuck, these were his friends. Start there or wherever you want I don’t really care but…”[/color] getting to his feet, he gestured towards the washroom and took a step towards it before stopping. He put a hand on the back of his brother's neck and leaned down to his ear. [color=63773B]“Get it done, your way. Or we’re gonna end up doing it mine”[/color] He kissed the back of his little brother's head before entering the nearby bathroom.

As Hyde walked away, Anya rolled her eyes and finished chewing some of her pancake before unapologetically cursing, [color=56877b]“Zho-pa.”[/color] Turning to her other brother, the less unhinged one, the Basilisk reached for his arm and gave a comforting squeeze, [color=56877b]“Those people, they your friends, right?”[/color]

Mika cursed under an aggressive chomp of a slice of bacon, watching his brother disappear from view towards the bathroom. As he swallowed it, he glanced towards Anya, looking visibly angry.  [color=635687]“Yeah, they are. And it’s not right, Anya,”[/color] Mika admitted. He always felt he could be honest with her. Not about everything, but certain things he could be.  [color=635687]“These letters, the memories they come with -- it’s not just about secrets or who or what it may attract. They were close to Charlie. Me not so much, but those three were. I understand where Cameron is coming from. Maybe not all of it, but I understand enough. I [i]get[/i] it, but I can’t do it the way he wants me to, or at least not as quickly as he pretty much implied.”[/color]

In truth, Anya didn’t understand the bonds of most people and what she had with her brothers was her imitating what she saw in the movies and television screen. She hoped what she had with Mika and Cam were genuine, but deep down she knew it was forced upon because Hyde deemed it so. Was all her relations forced? Would she cry if her brothers died tomorrow? 

Sighing to herself, she went back to her food, cutting her pancake into smaller pieces, [color=56877b]“But if you could, at all cost, would you protect them? You know big brother will not take no for answer.”[/color] she warned, before offering her services, [color=56877b]“I can help.”[/color] Hyde wasn’t wrong about the fact that if she got close to the wrong people she’d bring far too much attention. However, she was the Basilisk and one thing she was good at was sticking to the shadows and finding out any necessary information. [color=56877b]“If he get mad, I’ll protect you.”[/color] 

Mika didn’t have to think about it for any longer than a few short moments.  [color=635687]“With my life.”[/color] Of course, he knew that Anya was right. Their brother was a man of his word in every possible way. As much as he hated it, he’d have to find out what his friends knew. He would, however, have to remind himself that it was for the right reasons. The people he cared about, to protect them, Mika would have to find a way to get some more detailed answers about the letters. 

He glanced at Anya, smiling at his sister.There was something he wanted to say and without Hyde hovering over, maybe now was the best time to do it  [color=635687]“You know I know our father isn’t the best person, but I’m..glad we found each other. Our brother goes on about family and maybe that’s the one thing he and I might be able to agree about. Just as much as I’m sure he doesn’t want to, I don’t want it to be broken apart either.”[/color] Mika spoke and was silent for a few seconds.  [color=635687]“I just wanted you to know that.”[/color]

Slowly chewing a piece of pancake, Anya carefully observed Mika as he disclosed his feelings about their family. Circumstances prevented them from sharing the same mother, from sharing the same upbringing, and from sharing the same values, but at least they had each other. She could tell Mika’s emotions were innocent and pure. Cameron, she wasn’t sure. He was broken beyond repair. At least for now, he cared or tried to believe he did. He’s the reason they all found each other and for that she should be grateful. 

Still, she wondered how far she would go. Deeply staring at her brother, she tried to imagine her father, the one that they did not share, coming in to take everything away from him. The thought of that, the thought of Mika sleeping with the fishes, that caused her to grow angry. That alone showed she cared. Her mind might not understand her heart but she knew if given the chance, she’d die for him. [color=56877b]“This family is all I have.”[/color] A half smile appeared on her face. Her gaze was both in the moment and far away, as if she was programmed differently than most people - where she was unable to be empathetic, no matter how hard she tried. As if the moment anything authentic came into her life, she saw the end of it all. Good things don’t last. Not for someone like her. [color=56877b]“Thank you, Mika. Now eat before it get cold.”[/color]

In the bathroom, Hyde was glaring at himself in the obligatory cracked diner mirror. Fractured like his mind and his soul or some deep Edenridge shit. He gripped the rim of the sink with both hands, waiting for the hot flash of rage to pass. He was trying to get better at controlling it. He was using all of the techniques that had been shown to him but they were a needle thread and some glue, a patch up job because what he had couldn’t be cured. It didn’t help that he was already bored. He needed some excitement. A goal. Something to work towards.

Lucky then for him that he had something in mind. A man he had met in prison gave him a job. Protection. It was quite the opposite of Hyde’s specialty of glorious destruction. It wasn’t a paying job either, it was a request from someone who had helped him out and Cameron Hyde always repaid his debts…in a round about way. There was somebody living in the Southside that his guy wanted looked after. Now Hyde was no babysitter but if this bitch got herself in some sort of trouble, which in Eden resides around every dimly lit corner, then he would be there to fix that shit, just like he had told his little brother to do.

Fixing was something that he had been doing for years or at least that’s what it felt like in his own head. With dear daddy gone and mother dearest an absolute disgrace of a woman, there was always a problem to deal with, a mess to clean. It wasn’t right that he always had to take it upon himself. Hyde could hear his mothers words dancing around in his head. God will forgive you. Fuck God. If he was here Hyde would beat the shit of him and then push his mother down the stairs again, only this time he’d make sure her neck was broken. They ruined him.

He emerged from the wash room and took his seat back with his siblings. He polished off his coffee before saying anything. [color=63773B]“What’re you two talking about so hush hush?”[/color]


[color=56877b]“I was giving brother more help. Told him to see new reporter. He making moves. I saw this morning he was at cafe with mayor’s daughter and Clay Costigan. He know something or trying to know something if he talk to a Grimm and a cop.”[/color] Anya was quick to cover for Mika by using a truth to hide her lie. She wasn’t easy to read, especially when it came to intel, and no one was able to call her out because her words always held merit. 

So sure, she hadn’t made this suggestion until now to her little brother, just so they didn’t have to disclose they were talking about Hyde, but she could kill two birds with one stone by bringing it up. Protect her little brother and make a useful suggestion. Anya and Hyde looked at each other, her gaze was filled with ice while his were a burning inferno. She nodded to him to show there was nothing to worry about before going back to her food. Shortly after, her attention was brought to the waitress who began asking Hyde if he wanted more coffee. 

[color=63773B]“Costigan? I went to school with that guy. He’s a fucking moron,”[/color] Hyde laughed a little before the waitress addressed him. [color=63773B]“I’m all good, sweetheart. Maybe if you want, slip your number on the back of the bill.”[/color] He winked at her as she hurried off back towards the counter. [color=63773B]“Let’s keep tabs on this reporter guy though, I don’t trust media.”[/color] Turning towards his quiet little brother, the devil himself scanned him with those damn blue eyes. There was something off about Mika, there had been since his arrival. He wasn’t sure what it was. Did his being out make Mika uncomfortable? Probably considering he lived with the family that want Hyde dead…well one of the many families anyway. [color=63773B]“Wherever your head's at, little brother, get it out of there and back in this with us. We need you. Also you're paying. I’m sure ReyRey gave you some pocket money.”[/color]

Mika hated how observant his brother was. He had to be better at hiding when he had a lot on his mind, but being around Cameron just did that to him. He was tense almost all of the time. Anya being here helped, but it wasn’t enough since Hyde clearly noticed.  [color=635687]“My bad. Been a long day,”[/color] Mika admitted. He wasn’t lying. Between getting Boa from rock bottom to family dinner, and then here, Mika was exhausted. He just needed to sleep off…well everything. And he still had to run by his mom’s place to pick up Boa, which probably meant a good night of sleep wasn’t in his immediate future.

He pulled his wallet out, grabbed a couple of twenties. The meal itself was around thirty and Mika grabbed an additional ten, giving the waitress a sizable tip. It was the least he could do for having to put up with his brother making moves on her.  [color=635687]“Thanks for the food, “[/color] Mika said to the waitress.  [color=635687]“Keep the change.”[/color]

He got up from his seat, looking to his sister, then brother.  [color=635687]“I’ll talk to that reporter. See what, if anything, he knows.”[/color] That’s all he said. He had to figure out a way to follow through, but at the very least, maybe Hyde wouldn’t think he wasn’t with him.

Hyde nodded his head as he watched his brother lay down the money. His suspicion was right, Mika had cash which meant he was earning. The Gonzalez’ were still taking care of him and his brother hadn’t left them after what they did to Hyde. It was borderline infuriating but he understood why. In the climate of Edenridge, one had to have Money to survive and sadly the Serpents were the biggest game in town. [color=63773B]“Get out of here, we’ll catch up soon.”[/color]

He moved his gaze to his little sister and he crossed his arms. [color=63773B]“Listen to me, I’m only saying this once. Your big brother is back now and we’re gonna be together. Properly this time. I’m gonna figure out a way to get you out of that situation you're in. You hear me? You’re gonna be free real soon.”[/color] He got up to his feet and playfully popped Anya on the nose before heading towards the door. He looked at the waitress and smiled that goddamn rattlesnake smile. [color=63773B]“Be seeing you,”[/color] He hissed before he left.

And there Anya was, left alone to think about her moment with her brothers and the words Hyde had said. He would free her? Tough chance. Standing up, doing a big ol’ stretch, the Basilisk warned the waitress before leaving, [color=56877b]“Be careful with that one. He the Devil in disguise.”[/color] Once she said what she needed to, she too left her favourite place in Edenridge. [/indent]
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