Crazier than Crazy

"Mr. Valenti?" The man asked, and when Cloud confirmed it, he took blue papers out of his pocket. "You've been served." He told Cloud, walking away.

Aeris had heard the exchange, and she pulled Cloud's shirt on. He was tall enough that it covered everything.
"What the hell did you do?" She asked him, surprised. He had been so well behaved the last five years.

The papers were from a woman named Evelyn, requesting child support pending a DNA test for a baby girl. Cloud was to show up at the hospital the following day for a complete blood work-up.

Cloud raised an eyebrow, taking the papers. He read through them, completely sobering up by the end of it.
"What the fuck...." he mumbled. "This woman is requesting child support. I don't...I don't even remember being with anyone named Evelyn..."

Aeris took the papers from him when he was finished, glancing over it. She had thought that Cloud had been mourning Julia all of this time, had assumed he might come to her first when he had healed. She was apparently wrong.
"I'll call Newton." She said quietly. He was her lawyer, and a good one at that. He had gotten her both her emaciation and custody of Yuffie. "If she's yours then we'll go from there." She told him softly. She turned and headed up the stairs, suddenly feeling very dirty, which was very new. Cloud made her feel a lot of things, but never used.

She flopped onto her bed and reached for her phone, texting Shaun.
Cloud might have another kid running around. I got that information on Marcus, too. Meet me at Simmons in 20? She asked. Simmons was a popular park in lower Manhattan.

Cloud looked up at Aeris when she spoke and he frowned. He couldn't remember this woman, unsure if he met her at a gathering or something. He was still friendly with a few people from the gang, but he wasn't sure if it was one of their parties or anything.

Shaun was driving when he got the text.
Well that's...shocking. I'll see you soon. He hit send and turned the car around heading for the park. When he got there he got himself a coffee from one of the stands, heading towards the bench.

Aeris showered and dressed, saying goodbye to Cloud before she went to the park.

"So, he's a creature of habit." She told him quietly, sitting down next to him. "He goes to the same building everyday, same bistro for lunch, same theater on Wednesdays, and same home every night at eight. I bugged his gps and his laptop when I hacked them, so you'll be able to see him on route." She told him, handing him the disc with the data on it. "Shaun, this guy is a nasty piece of work. I think you should let me help you. Every con that's he's dealt with in the last five years was back out on the street before nightfall, but the police that made the arrests are all dead, including their families. Including children." She whispered, clearly worried about it. "I can't find evidence that he does the work directly, but still. But when I hacked into the laptop I did find..." She sighed, handing him a tape recorder. "This. There's video of it too, but I won't show you that."

The tape started with a few men laughing, and then the sound of blows landing hard.
"You had enough, honey?" Marcus's voice asked. "Just say the word."
A voice that was clearly Rosetta's rang out, although from the tone you could tell her jaw was broken, or that something had impaired her speech.
"I'm not going to fucking beg."

"There's hours of footage of her. Sick bastard just has it all saved in logs, I think he replays them often." She whispered. "There's another thing, that second male voice, it belong to an Officer Marvin Gates. He's apparently one of Marcus's top men, but he isn't guarded like Marcus. It would make quite a big splash if you took him out first, but then that also might spook the big guy. Your call."

Shaun listened to Aeris as she explained what she found. He pocketed the disc and he frowned as she went on about her findings. At the tape recorder he raised an eyebrow, pressing play. He heard the man, and then Rosetta, but then he stopped it, not wanting to hear more. He was thankful Aeris didn't have the video. It would have made him too impulsive. He needed to be smart.

"I want them both alive in my container..." He mumbled, but then he stopped himself. Aeris didn't know about that part of his life. He was just a regular hitman. He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. "We'll go after Gates first. I don't want him dead...but I don't want him comfortable either. When Marcus is spooked...he'll slip up somewhere. That's when we move."

Aeris heard the container comment, and she raised her eyebrows, but she let it go. Not her circus, not her monkeys. She was very good at minding her own business.
"We could subdue Gates and then torture him into luring Marcus out, actually." She whispered, thinking. "As long as Gates was somewhat convincing, I think Marcus would fall for it. Or yeah, whatever you decide." She nodded. "I'll work on getting the codes to Gates's security system, I should have them by tonight. When it gets rocky, I think we should have Rose stay with Cloud and the girls for a while. Marcus'll be out full hunting mode I'm sure, but she has no link to Cloud or I and we have no affiliation with any of Marcus's contacts. She'd be safe." She promised him. "Also I know this is little girl stuff compared to what you're dealing with, but I can't believe Cloud possibly has another kid running around." She sighed. "It took him a goddamn year to let me sleepover, but apparently he raws everyone he meets, I mean what the fuck? Men."

Shaun thought that wasn't a bad idea, and he nodded. He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about Rosetta. He couldn't mess this up. Not now when so much was on the line. When she changed the subject, he glanced over to her and he chuckled, shaking his head.
"Maybe it was Rocky's party last year. Dude was fucking wasted." he mumbled. "But uhm...Rose is actually pregnant...so it might be a good idea for her to stay with you while I do this..."

Aeris raised her eyebrows, before she smiled big.
"No shit? Congratulations!" She told him, genuinely happy for him. She hugged him before she pulled back and nodded. "Of course. We'll protect her. If Cloud's a dick about it I'll handle it. It's in all of our best interests if we take Marcus out of the picture. He runs some nasty rings around the city." She sighed. "Maybe, the papers didn't say what age the kid is, just her gender." She explained. "Bring Rose to the house tomorrow morning, I'll meet you across the street from Gates's place. I'll bring the scope in case anything goes wrong."

Shaun smirked slightly, and then he nodded.
"Tomorrow morning I'll bring her, tomorrow night we'll work...but, if you don't want to Aeris, you don't have to. I can handle this."

"Cloud's not the only one I'd ride or die for, Shaun. Friends are just as important as fuckbuddies, you know. Just promise me you'll make me the best man instead of Cloud at the wedding and we're even." She smirked. "Hey, tell Rose. Don't hide stuff from her, okay? She'll freak if she finds out later. I'll see you tomorrow. And congrats again, pops." She smiled, saying goodbye to him before she went to pick up the girls.

"Hey you guys." She told them when she pulled up to the curb. "How was class?" She asked.
Yuffie shrugged, looking out the window at Hyun. He needed to ask her out already.
"It was okay, class."

Shaun smirked, and he shook his head. He'd tell Rosetta, after he got Marcus and Gates in the container. Then he could be in trouble later. He said his goodbyes before making his way back to the house. When he got there he made his way inside, and straight into his study, popping the disc into his computer.

Hyun smiled at Yuffie, waving as she got into Aeris car.

"We released the butterflies!" Emma said excitedly. "One of them flew to my hand!"

Rosetta heard Shaun come home, and she peeked into the study from across the hall. She had been lying down.
"Hey." She smiled, still sleepy. "Everything okay?"

Aeris made a surprised face, smiling.
"You did? That's great!" She told Emma. "You know I saw some caterpillars around the trees outback, maybe we could do a catch and release at home too." She offered, pulling away from the curb. She called for pizza like she told Cloud she would, before heading home. "Ems you wanna set the table with Yuffie?" She asked Emma, handing Yuffie the pizza box as they walked inside.

"Cloud? I brought pizza home." She told him, peeking her head in his room. "Want a piece before you knock out?"

Shaun jumped slightly when he heard Rosetta. He turned around and he rubbed the back of his neck before waving her over.
"I want to show you this." he whispered. "Aeris has been helping me."

Cloud was in bed, and he looked up at Aeris. He shook his head, grumbling softly.
"I'm good, blue eyes." he whispered.

Rosetta got out of bed, walking over to him with the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. At first she didn't understand, but then she realized she was looking at the blueprint of her childhood home. Marcus's house was more of a mansion, with servants to boot. He hosted endless dinner parties for his men, with her robot of a mother wearing a plastered on smile. She remembered being very young and looking through a crack in the door at all of the people in fancy clothes. She shrank back from the screen, shaking her head at him. It wasn't the first time she let the mask fall in front of him, but it was the first time she looked openly terrified.
"You can't." She whispered.

There was so much blood. Was it all hers? She put her hand to her forehead, feeling the gaping wound. But her fingers were dry, her blood had dried. She put her fingertips on the floor to stand, slipping but managing to catch herself.

Rosetta moved more quickly to the revolving door, even though her ankle was unnaturally turned.

"Stephen." She called, but there was no sign of him. Only more blood. Wet.

The last time she had seen him, his eyes were empty and glassy, staring at the ceiling. His throat had been slit from ear to ear, like a cruel smile. But now instead of seeing Stephen, she was seeing Shaun.

"You can't." She whispered. "Promise me you won't."

Aeris nodded, then frowned. She had offered the lawyer, but she hadn't said much else to his papers.
"Alright. Goodnight." She told him. She had pizza with the girls, but before she went to her room for the night she put two Aspirin and a glass of water on Cloud's nightstand.

Shaun saw the look on her face and he got up and cupped her face.
"I have to Rose." he whispered. "You know I have to, now more than ever. If Blip is going to grow up happy, and carefree, I need to do this. I'm bringing you to Aeris and Cloud's place tomorrow. You'll be safe there. He doesn't know about them, he wouldn't think to look there."

Cloud stirred slightly when he heard movement. He took Aeris hand as it passed over the nightstand. He looked up at her sleepily and smiled.
"Lay with me for a bit?" he grumbled.

"It won't work, you're going to get yourself killed." She whispered. She had never begged for anything in her life, but she was so close to doing it now. "I don't care about me being safe if you're dead!" She shouted, not feeling like he was listening to her.

Aeris jumped when she felt his hand, but she squeezed his fingers. She nodding, closing his door before sliding under the covers. He was so handsome. She always found him attractive, but when he really smiled with those blue eyes, he was soft and adorable.
"How drunk are you right now?" She whispered, smiling. "Sleepy or alcohol wise."

Shaun smoothed back her hair and he nodded.
"Okay, okay I won't do it, Rose." he whispered. "But I have to do something, Rose. I can't just sit here. I can't let you be afraid for the rest of our lives together."

Cloud chuckled and he shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm not sure anymore." he chuckled. "The girls are asleep and all that?"

"You don't understand." She whispered, closing her eyes. It was worth it. Being afraid for the rest of her life, or until Marcus died of natural causes, it was worth it if it kept Shaun and Maggie alive and safe.

"Yeah, they brushed their teeth and I read Emma The Swan Princess." She smiled. Cloud having a second kid wouldn't be so bad. He was a good parent, and they worked well together. Her mother was alive, so it wasn't like the other child would be around twenty-four seven. Aeris could put her personal feelings about the matter aside if it made Cloud happy. She had done it before. "Are you not sleeping well because of the papers?" She asked him.

Shaun just hugged Rosetta, and he rocked her slowly.
"Help me understand, Rose." he whispered.

Cloud nodded, stretching as he got comfortable.
"Yeah...the paper doesn't say anything besides the fact it's a girl...trying to build a map..." he mumbled. "But nothing is coming through..."

Rosetta buried her face in his neck. Was he telling her he wouldn't go after Marcus just to subdue her? Was he going to do it anyway? She had never doubted Shaun, and she wasn't doubting him now, but she did know that he would do anything for her.
"We tried. As kids, Stephen and I tried." She whispered, her fingers unfurling on his back. "And I've tried so many times over the years. It never works."

Aeris ran her fingers over his stomach before resting them on his side.
"That's a big map." She whispered, then she laughed. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow. I'm sure Newton will have gotten all of the details before we even get to the clinic."

Shaun frowned as she spoke, and he looked into her eyes. He lead her back to the bedroom and sat her down on the bed.
"You've got me." he whispered. "You've got Aeris, and I'm pretty sure if I asked, Valenti would help too."

Cloud chuckled and he nodded.
"Yeah, very big..." he mumbled. "Wish it didn't happen today though...Must make me seem like a slut..."

"Yeah, and if all of you die doing this, how am I supposed to live with myself?" She whispered. "What am I going to tell Blip?" She asked him tearfully. "I sent Daddy to his death on the off chance he'd kill my father?" She scoffed.

Aeris sighed, then smiled.
"I mean, I always knew you were a slut." She offered, trying to be flip about it. It did sting, though. She had always thought that after he got over Julia, maybe, just maybe, he'd see her as more than a fuckbuddy. But she was thinking that was never going to happen. She was a lot younger, and they had such a turbulent past, maybe there was just no getting past that. "It's not a big deal." She whispered. "We've fucked each other before, it's not like this time was special."

Shaun frowned and he looked away from her.
"Fine." he whispered. "I guess I'll brush up on my Japanese and German..."

Cloud chuckled, but then he frowned. He caressed her face tenderly, looking into her eyes.
"I wanted it to be." he whispered. "I...I was serious about dating you."

Rosetta felt numb. Now he was always going to wonder, what if. What if she had let him, and he had killed Marcus. Even if they moved to Japan, or Germany, he'd always wonder. Her eyes filled with tears, before she pulled away from him.
"Do it then." She whispered. "But if you die..." She shook her head. If he died, she wasn't going to be far behind. What would be the point?

Aeris looked into his eyes as he spoke, her lips parting. Now she felt like an asshole.
"Well...we can still go on a date." She told him. He was wasted, he probably wouldn't even remember. "You didn't ruin anything, okay? "She whispered, running her fingers over his cheek.