Fic: Criminology 101 (1/?)
Fandom: Community
Title: Criminology 101
Character/Pairing(s): Ensemble, one sided Annie/Troy, past Jeff/Britta, and eventual Jeff/Annie.
Rating: PG
Summary: Mafia AU. Annie gets her introduction into Greendale's crime world, in the hopes that she can finally bag Troy Barnes. Meanwhile, Jeff tries to keep things running smoothly while Pierce is busy, and he has no time for silly schoolgirls and their tight sweaters.
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Community.
Warnings: some violence, and mentions of drugs.
A/N - I started another multi-chapter fic because I hate myself.
Criminology 101
Chang whistled a tune to himself as he wiped down the bar-top. It was a Tuesday so the bar had been pretty empty. Chang had closed early for the night, hoping he'd make it home in time to catch Glee. He hated to admit it, but he rather liked that show. Simple pleasures for a simple man.
Through the dirty windows of the bar Chang could faintly see the streetlights shining down. The streets were dark and quiet. A dangerous combination around L Street, considering the people that hung around here, but Chang wasn't afraid of them.
Some said he was all talk, but it took a lot to scare Ben Chang.
The proble as a lot had just walked through the door.
"Bar's closed," Chang called out, before looking up and seeing who it was. Nadir and Barnes, Winger's top two guys.
Chang almost felt the urge to laugh. Winger thought just because he acquiesced Hawthorne, that he knew how to run an operation like this. He was fooling himself. Honestly, he held no power over Chang, and Chang wasn't going to pay him.
Nadir cocked his head curiously at Chang, while Barnes squinted in that Forrest Whitaker way of his.
"Closed a bit early, don't you think?" Abed asked, conversationally. Chang was used to dealng with the lower lackeys in Winger's operation. People like Whitman and Fat Neil. He'd heard stories about Nadir though.
They said he was emotionless to the point that even Winger was unsettled by him sometimes. He didn't look emotionless now, but then again, they also said he was a big fan of roleplay. He looked like he was going for a Harrison Ford theme tonight.
"Well, it's Tuesday. We're not very busy on -" Chang began.
"Oh, so you do know what day it is," Nadir said, taking a step forward and effortlessly pointing a gun between Chang's eyes. "Then you must know why we're here," He said. He'd dropped the Harisson Ford thing completely now, and stared at him blankly. It was unsettling. His voice held no form of emotion, and his eyes were dead, but also full of life. They scanned over Chang like a computer, taking in every emotion that flitted across his face.
Barnes' eyes bugged out even more, and behind them Chang heard the door open, although he couldn't see who it was behind them.
"I -" Chang began, but Barnes interrupted him. He stepped behind the bar and crushed Chang's back against the wall of bottles.
Everyone who knew anything about the crime underworld, knew who Barnes was. It was rather often that a cop car got pulled down to the neighbourood because of something Barnes did. He'd done time twice, and by the looks of it, it had taught him nothing.
"Mr Winger was happy to let you continue on, pretending you were still relevant, as long as you gave him the cut he asked for. But you haven't payed your cut yet, have you? Mr Winger is very unhappy about that," Barnes said, his voice barely a tone above a threatening whisper.
Over Barnes' shoulder, Chang could see who it was that had come in after them. It was a woman. Dark haired and petit. She was looking at the booths that lined the walls, with a bored expression. Chang had no idea who she was, but by the way she was reacting, she definitely wasn't a lost customer.
Chang wasn't afraid of Barnes or Nadir. Sure enough they were both pointing guns at him from different angles, but he knew that Winger needed him. He wouldn't cut him out just because of some money issues. This was just a scare tactic. And a weak one at that.
Chang spat back in Barnes' face. "I'm not afraid of him. He's not even here. Instead he sent you goons to do his dirty work for him."
The woman - no, girl. She looked too young to count as a woman. She was barely the same age as Barnes. She stepped up next to Nadir, her large blue eyes shinning with ... something. The corners of her lips curled up ever so slightly.
"You're gonna wish he was here by the time I'm done with you," She told him confidently.
Barnes lowered his weapon and stepped back, so that now the three of them were walled around Chang, preventing any escape tactics.
"Chang, this is our colleague, Annie Edison." He leaned forward, like he was telling Chang a secret. "But most people know her by her street name."
Chang's eyes windened. He knew who she was. Everyone knew who she was, though there were few still alive who could say they'd actually met her. Most of those people fled before they had the chance to have another run-in.
There were some who spoke about her in her early days, but those guys were usually even more terified than anybody else.
"Psycho," Chang whispered.
The woman - Psycho - grinned at the recognition.
"Here's the deal," Nadir began. He was Wingers concigliere. He ran most of the business parts of things, which made sense. He was a lot less merciful than Winger apparently. The only reason he wasn't in charge was because nobody knew how to handle people the way Winger did. That was the main reason he managed to take over the operation in the first place.
"For every thousand you haven't given us, Miss Edison here will cut off one of yor clammy, little fingers," He said, his voice flat and monotone.
"No! Please! I can give it to you, just give me more time!" Chang was kind of ashamed of how quickly he went from fearless to pleading for his life, but this Psycho. He'd heard the stories. And that look in her eyes, Chang wouldn't wish that look directed on his worst enemy.
Abed laughed. A Harisson Ford laugh. He knew exactly when to switch to make him seem twice as frightening, that was for sure.
"When Mr Winger says Tuesday, he means Tuesday," Nadir said. "You're lucky it's just your fingers he's after this time around."
"No, please! I can pay! I can pay!"
"Oh, we don't doubt you can pay. We're just not interested in your money anymore," Barnes said calmly.
"Annie, finish him off," Nadir instructed.
He and Barnes put their guns back in their holsters, and walked out of the bar without a second glance.
Chang wondered what his chances would be of escape; How much pain he would have to suffer through if he even tried it.
Edison beamed at him, giddy with the joy of getting to torture some one. She took out a knife - she was known for that knife - and took a step closer to Chang, getting right up in his personal space.
"You know why they call me Psycho?" She whispered threateningly.
They called her Psycho because she was the most ruthless killer in Winger's gang; Because she had no mercy; Because she had her first kill when she was eighteen years old, and it wasn't one of those accidental kind of things either.
"It's because I had a nervous breakdown in high school," She continued. She pulled Chang's hand up right between their faces, and pressed the knife just under his fingers. The coldness of the blade sent a shiver down his spine.
Chang gulped. Psycho's grin widened.
"I'll start with the pinky. I always thought it was kind of pointless anyway," She said. Her tone light and casual.
And then she sliced his finger off in one swift motion.
XXX
One Year Earlier
Annie hated her job. She was proud of herself for actually getting a job, considering she hadn't even graduated high school, but it wasn't much of a win since the job was at the Dildopolis under her apartment.
She thought of maybe getting into the drug business again, but after last time, it would probably be a bad idea.
She was a very successful drug dealer for some time in high school. People usually paid when she asked, and her father was a doctor so she knew how to get the good stuff. But then the stress of it along with her SATs took a toll on her, and she started taking some of her own product.
Long story short, she had a breakdown, became Little Annie Adderall, got expelled, and kicked out by he parents. She kicked her drug problem in rehab, and managed to scrape up enough leftover cash to rent the apartment upstairs, but that was it.
This was her life now.
She sighed, and rearranged the DVDs. She liked to change them around whenever she was bored. This time it was by director, but sometimes it was alphabetical, or by genre. (The fact that porn had so many genres still baffled her sometimes).
"All I'm saying is, I'd like to do a little more of the heavy stuff. Jeff gets to do nearly all of it," A familiar voice said, as the bell above the door rang. Annie loved that bell. The way it made some guilty men flinch, always made her giggle a little.
She turned to see none other than Troy Barnes standing in the store. He was grinning at a pair of fluffy handcuffs, while talking on the phone to somebody.
"Hey, do you know when Britta's birthday is?" He asked the person on the other end.
He waited for a reply, then said, "I think I just found the perfect present for her." He snickered mischievously, taking the handcuffs from the rack, and turning towards the DVDs.
Annie had the urge to duck, but he'd already spotted her, and his eyes widened with recognition.
The last time Annie had seen Troy Barnes, she had been high and screaming about robots. Troy, like everyone else was laughing hysterically at the scene before him.
She'd always had a crush on him. She knew it was ridiculously schoolgirl of her to dream that one day he'd see her for the smart girl she was, and drop his popularity to be with her. She'd gotten expelled before any of that could happen, of course, but now, standing in front of him wearing a Dildopolis polo shirt, she felt herself fluster in that same way she did in high school.
She didn't look the same as back then. Part of getting better at rehab was getting herself healthier too. She lost weight, and got her braces removed, and cut her hair. She was normal now, and Troy was looking at her like he recognized her; Like she was Little Annie Adderall again, and she just couldn't have that.
"May I help you?" She asked, hoping that maybe she could trick him into thinking she was some one else. She may have been in love with him, (she may still be a little), but she couldn't deny that Troy was gullible.
"Abed, I gotta go," Troy said into the phone, and hung up, not once tearing his eyes away from Annie.
"I know you," He said, taking a step closer.
"I'm sorry, I think you have me mistaken for some one else. Do you need any help?" She asked.
Troy squinted at her suspiciously, but nodded and stepped up to the DVDs. "My boss asked me to pick some movies up for him."
"Your boss?" Annie asked skeptically. She'd heard plenty of embarrassed excuses before, but boss was a new one. Troy seemed serious too.
"Yeah, he's creepy like that," Troy said.
"Is there anything in particular he's looking for?" Annie asked.
Troy shrugged. "Boobs."
Annie nodded and started pulling a few DVDs she thought he might like. It pained her sometimes that she knew which DVDs had the most bust.
"You're Annie Edison," He said.
Annie's breath stopped. He said Annie Edison, not Annie Adderall. Maybe it was okay. Maybe he had noticed her after all.
"I know you are. You sat behind me in English," He said, smiling now, at the recognition. "I can't believe it's you."
Annie felt her heart flutter. This had to be a dream. Troy Barnes didn't just show up at marital aide stores and say things like that to her. This was like a fantasy she'd been having.
"I always wondered what happened to you after you got expelled. Everyone said you went to an insane asylum, but you always seemed too smart to be crazy," He told her.
Annie blushed. "I didn't know you knew who I was," She said. That's not true. Everybody knew who she was. It was hard to forget the girl that ran through the plate glass doors.
"Are you kidding? You ran a master drug-ring, right under the school's nose for a year. My friends bought from you all the time, they were always really impressed."
Annie didn't think he knew about that. He was never a part of her customer base. She felt kind of ashamed, but he did seem generally impressed with her.
"I know people who run drug-rings in colleges all over Greendale and none of them have as good a customer rep as you did in Riverside," He said. "You must be really smart, or something."
Annie giggled a little. This was the weirdest thing that had ever happened to her. No one had ever complimented her before, especially not over a drug business she ran when she was seventeen years old. And the fact that it was the love of her life, Troy Barnes, was even more insane.
Troy looked around the dingy, old store, then eyed Annie curiously.
"You still in the drug business?" He asked.
That caught her off guard. Did he want to buy some? Was Troy some giant junkie now? "No, I work here now."
Troy nodded, mulling the information over in his head. "Do you like working here?"
"Not particularly," Annie said slowly. What was he getting at?
"Good, cause I think I have an opportunity for you," He said, grinning at her again. With that smile, how on earth could Annie say no?
XXX
Jeff didn't have time for this. There was plenty of business he'd rather be taking care of than dealing with a rat, but Pierce wanted him to set an example so this sort of crap didn't happen again. It was already grating on his last nerve that it was happening at all.
He'd much rather deal with some of the drug mules, at least they were fun. Most of them were all talk, but sometimes they actually stood up to him, like they had a chance of living, it usually made Jeff's night more interesting.
Instead, he was stuck here, dealing with no good snitches who barely deserved a second of his time. They were always the same. Frightened and weak.
He opened the wooden door of the holding cell and looked at the lowly cop. He was kneeling on the dirty floor, doubled over, no doubt from the kicks Troy had served him earlier. He'd already given up, so Jeff knew this would be easy. He loved it when they were easy; He was a busy man, after all.
"Todd," Jeff said clearly.
Todd jerked up. The fear shone brightly in his eyes, and he wrapped his arms around himself to hide the fact that he was shaking.
"I- I-" He stuttered.
"Be quiet, Todd. I'll be doing all the talking from now on."
Todd gulped, and nodded in understanding.
Jeff sighed, that fake disappointed sigh he used whenever he wanted to show some one just how unhappy he was with their behaviour. He shook his head at Todd.
"We could have helped you, y'know. Mr Hawthorne is a reasonable man. If you'd just come to him, and told him about your money problems, he gladly would have helped. All he would have asked in return would be a favour," Jeff said.
He took a step closer, and Todd backed even further into the wall behind him.
"But you didn't do that, did you, Todd?" Jeff asked firmly.
Todd shook his head.
"Instead, you went to Laybourne. You told him things about our operation; Things we didn't want Laybourne to know."
Todd gripped himself tighter, and Jeff went as close as he could go. He leaned over so he and Todd were face to face.
"Like I said, Mr Hawthorne would have done it for a favour, but Mr Hawthorne isn't willing to help you anymore. I am, but I'm afraid my price isn't quite as low as his."
He straightened up, sticking his hands in his pockets and tilted his head at Todd.
"You have two options, Todd. One: I send your wife and child some money. If she's smart, she won't have to worry about finances for a very long time. And in return, I take your life. Or two: You leave town, and never come back, and your wife stays in the exact same situation she's always been in."
"I- I'll g-go," Todd stuttered.
Jeff frowned. He didn't understand Todd. Willing to sell Pierce out to feed his family, and then willing to cross them just as easily. Jeff had met a few men like Todd before. He always hated those men.
"My father was just like you, Todd. He made mistakes, just like you. He had choices, just like you."
Jeff pulled his gun from his holster, and flicked the safety off, like he was so used to doing these days. "Just like you, my father made the wrong choice," Jeff said, like they were talking about the weather.
"Wait! I-" Todd began, but Jeff grabbed a handful of his greasy curls, and yanked him so they were both standing up straight.
Jeff shot him in the stomach. The blood pooled over Todd's police uniform, and the man howled in pain.
"What kind of father ditches his poor family?" Jeff said calmly, through his gritted teeth.
He took another shot, basking in the way Todd's whole body jerked in response. "What kind of father leaves a kid and a wife alone, just to save his own skin?"
Todd tried to say something, but ended up coughing a mouthful of blood onto Jeff's shirt. Now Jeff was really pissed. It was new, and it cost more than Todd's house, not mention it was very hard to find this shade of blue.
"What's that? Got something in your throat?" Jeff asked conversationally. "Here, let me help you get it out," He said. And then he took one final shot right over Todd's Adam's apple. His neck blew apart, sending blood splatters in every direction. That was okay. This room was cleaned regularly anyway.
Jeff dropped the lifeless body to the floor. The blood pooled around his shoes. And great, Jeff thought. Let's all just bleed over his expensive clothes then. It's not like he got them in Italy or anything.
Ugh. He really hated dealing with rats.
XXX
Troy told her to meet him after work. He scribbled his address on the ripped off corner of a dirty magazine, bought the handcuffs and the DVDs, then left with a smile.
Annie had no idea what had happened. On a scale of one to never, this whole ordeal was on the never side of expectedness.
Still.
It was Troy Barnes, and he said he had an offer. A job offer. What he was doing offering jobs, was a mystery to Annie. She was pretty sure he got a football scholarship somewhere. But whatever it was couldn't be any worse than her Dildopolis gig. And also ... Troy. Barnes.
She only got off work at 10, but Troy said come around any time, and Annie was too excited about whatever this was to wait. She wondered if he was gonna think she was lame for showing up so soon, but she didn't care. She'd have tons of time to win him over if she got the job, and she really wanted the job, whatever it was.
The address lead to a mansion. The mansion had iron gates, with a large H on them. They opened automatically as she drove up to them, letting her go all the way through to the front of the mansion.
Our on the porch, a woman with blonde, curly hair, stood with a sour look on her face as she smoked a cigarette. She eyed Annie suspiciously as Annie got out of the car.
"I'm looking for Troy Barnes?" Annie said politely. She wondered if this was his girlfriend. She hadn't asked earlier, but he bought those handcuffs for somebody, so maybe there was some one in his life.
"He's inside," The woman said, eyeing Annie curiously. She stubbed out her half-finished cigarette and nodded to the giant wooden door. "Come on, I'll bring you in for him."
Annie followed her into a large foyer with marble floor. There was a painting hanging on one side, of a handsome man with glasses smiling like a politician.
The woman led Annie through to a living room. Troy was on the couch playing Mario Kart against another tanned guy. They were both fixed on the game completely, although while Troy frowned and yelled at the screen, his opponent kept a blank expression the whole time.
"Troy!" The woman exclaimed. "There's some girl here to see you." She eyed Annie again. "I think she's selling girl scout cookies."
Annie made an insulted noise as Troy paused the game and grinned at her. "Annie!" He exclaimed, grinning. All the insult she felt instantly went away, at the way he looked at her.
"I'm so glad you showed up." He stood up, jumping over a couple of wires for the various games consoles they seemed to have, and put one arm over her shoulder, pulling her to the couch. She squeezed between Troy and his friend, while the woman continued to look at Annie with a slight frown.
"You are not going to regret this," He assured Annie.
"Troy who is she?" The woman asked.
Troy ignored her and pointed to his friend. "That's Abed, and the buzzkill is Britta." Troy said. "Guys, this is Annie Edison. The one I was telling you about, from my high school."
Britta and Abed both raised their eyebrows with intrigue. Annie blushed at the fact that Troy had mentioned her before. She always assumed she was invisible to him in high school.
"I brought her here for the Greendale job," Troy continued.
"The one Jeff's been freaking out about? Fat chance. Greendale is his baby. It's the first one Pierce is letting him run solo, there's no way he'll stick some little girl he doesn't even know into it," Britta said. Annie was starting to understand why she was the buzzkill.
"In all fairness, Jeff would be more likely to trust a sweet-looking stranger than one of us for something like this. Besides, she seems dependable," Abed said.
"Thank you?" Annie replied.
"You're welcome."
"I don't know. She looks too innocent. Have you ever done something like this before?" Britta asked.
"Done what?" Annie asked back.
Britta laughed. "Troy she doesn't even know what she's supposed to do."
"She has," Troy insisted. Annie felt her heart flutter. Troy was defending her! "She did it at Riverside, and she was great."
"That was high school, Troy. Greendale is a college."
"A community college," Troy shot at her.
"And what about Starburns. You think she can handle some one like him."
Troy turned to face Annie. "You work at Dildopolis."
Annie nodded.
"You must have faced more than a few creeps."
"Well, yeah. But I keep pepper-spray in my purse at all times."
"Pepper-spray?" Britta scoffed. "Wow, Troy, you found the most PG drug-dealer in the whole Greendale area."
"Wait, drug-dealer?" Annie asked.
Before any of them could explain further, a tall, grumpy-looking man walked trough the door. He wore a perfectly tailored suit, that looked more expensive than Annie's entire closet. His shirt and tie were both stained red, and he was wiping his face with something covered in red too.
"Jeff! I need to talk to you!" Troy exclaimed, springing up from the couch to stand in the mans way.
Jeff glared at Troy. "Can it wait? My shoes are gonna get ruined"
"He brought you a present, Jeff. You should hear him out," Britta said, with a smirk. She was obviously enjoying watching him suffer.
Jeff sighed impatiently, and gave Troy an expectant look.
"I found you a dealer for Greendale Community College," Troy said, pointing at Annie.
Jeff glanced at Annie, then frowned back at Troy. "Is this a joke?"
Troy shook his head.
"Troy, she's like twelve years old," Jeff said in annoyance.
Annie wasn't sure why, but something made her stand up and interject. "Hi, sorry. It's just, in high school I ran a very successful drug business under the table for almost a year and a half. I sold to students from every clique, managed to make a few thousand dollars, not to mention I never had any trouble getting clients to pay up. I was very respected despite being a loser." She said.
"The only reason it failed was because I started doing Adderall, but I'm clean now, and I really think I'd be good for this job."
Annie wasn't sure when she'd decided to take the job. It wasn't a good idea. Her life had crashed and burned so spectacularly the last time she involved herself in any of this, and it would be dangerous for her to go near drugs, in case of a relapse. Dildopolis wasn't satisfying her though, and Troy was here.
Jeff frowned at her. "What's you name again?"
"Annie."
He smiled politely. "Annie. Well, Annie, with all due respect, running a high school drug business is a lot easier than what I have in mind. I need a professional who can stand up for themselves against some very ambitious competition, and who can keep their college clientele in check. And you are a schoolgirl who's only here because she thinks she still has a shot at being the quarterback's girlfriend. And don't worry, he's dumb enough not to know what the hell I'm taking about," Jeff said quietly, leaning in to Annie's personal space.
He shot another glare at Troy, "don't you have work to do?" And then he marched out into the foyer and up some stairs.
Annie gaped. No one had ever talked to her that harshly before. Even her horrid mother, had the decency to hide her insults behind a veil of fake motherly love. Annie felt the burn of tears in her eyes, and a lump in her throat, but she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Troy.
Britta rolled her eyes, and walked back out of the room to finish her smoke, while Abed continued to stare blankly at Annie like he was trying to read her.
"I guess we caught him at a bad time," Troy said apologetically. "Don't worry, I'll make him come around."
"Troy, you don't have to," Annie said, willing herself not to cry.
Troy shrugged. "Annie, your work is some of the best I've seen. We may not have known each other that well in high school, but the truth is I always admired you."
"You did?" Annie asked, cursing herself at the hopeful sound in her voice.
"Yeah, you were brilliant," Troy said earnestly.
Annie beamed at him. "Thanks," She said, feeling herself flush.
Abed cocked his head at her, and smiled ever so slightly, like he'd found something he wanted in her eyes.
"It was great meeting you, Annie," He said before walking out of the room.
Troy watched him go with as much confusion as Annie, then turned to her and smiled. "You wanna play Mario Kart?"
XXX
"You should hire Annie," Abed said as he entered Jeff's office. Other than Pierce, Abed was the only one with the privilege of entering unannounced without getting shot for it. Mostly, it was because Jeff trusted Abed more than anyone else.
Abed sat himself in a chair in front of Jeff, and stared him down, waiting for him to reply.
Abed was smarter than he led on. He knew how to work things in his favour, which was why Jeff recruited him in the first place.
Abed had been working at a falafel stand before his job working for Pierce. As a kid, he'd watched the Godfather many times, and there was a reason those movies weren't for kids. He became obsessed with the mafia. He knew how it worked from the inside out, and he wanted to be a part of it.
He'd studied up on Greendale's gangs as he got older, and had recognized Jeff from the moment he stepped up to order his falafel. After some impressive demonstrations at how good he was a reading people, Jeff recommended him to Pierce.
Pierce may have been racist and daft, but even he couldn't deny that Abed was gifted, and not in that way that kids who eat paste are gifted. Abed was a once in a lifetime essential for this kind of business. And Jeff was the genius that had discovered him.
From that day on, Abed had been Jeff's right-hand man. Which didn't actually mean much, since all Jeff was was Pierce's right-hand man. But if Jeff had his way, it wouldn't be like this for long.
"Why is that?" Jeff asked.
"She has potential. She could be great," Abed said.
"The cookie-cutter in the tight sweater? Somehow, I don't really see her fitting in," Jeff said sarcastically.
"She's lived through some things, Jeff. I can tell. I think if we tap into the ruthless side of her, we could bring some one really valuable to the team," Abed said. "I'm not usually wrong about this."
"You were wrong about Todd," Jeff said bitterly, because he was still pissed off that Pierce sent him to deal with it rather than just doing it himself.
"I may have misjudged on that one, but you can trust me on this. Annie's gonna bring something new to this team."
Jeff leaned forward on his desk. "Abed, this isn't one of those things where you get me to hire some one because you think they can give the group dynamic what it's missing, is it?"
Abed was silent.
"For the last time, we're not TV characters! And I'm not hiring her. She's too inexperienced. Starburns would eat her alive, and not to mention the turf war we have going on with Laybourne is already escalating pretty fast."
Abed frowned. "How fast?"
Jeff tended to keep Abed on a need to know basis, but Pierce was being a jackass and worrying about re-election, so that left Jeff to handle everything on the business side of things. On the outside it looked like he was getting a chance to run things, but he still had to answer to Pierce, and follow all of Pierce's rules.
It was stressing him out, and he hadn't gotten a chance to vent to anyone about it in months, since he and Britta had stopped sleeping together.
Jeff sighed. "They took out Pavel."
Abed nodded in understanding. He and Pavel were pretty close, but then again, it wasn't like Abed showed much emotion anyway. If he was upset, Jeff wouldn't know it.
"Pierce wants to go after Slater, and Britta's all for it too, but I don't think we should."
"Why? I thought you ended things with her months ago."
"I did," Jeff insisted. "Slater's too easy. If we go for her, we'll just work our way up the chain of command until we're all getting shot at. It's gonna drag out, and I don't want that."
"So what do you suppose we do?"
"We send them a message. We take Rich."
"We're sending them a message that you hate Rich?"
Jeff clenched his jaw. "No. We're sending them a message that they're not safe. You know, because Rich is their doctor?"
Abed nodded. "That's pretty good."
"Except Pierce doesn't want to try it," Jeff sighed. "He's old-fashioned, and we're gonna fail if he keeps this up. Knowing Laybourne, if we sit on this, he'll think he has more power and attack again."
"So what are you gonna do?" Abed asked finally.
Jeff sighed. He had no idea what he was gonna do. He had a plan of course, but with Pierce being his usual, stubborn self that plan was useless.
He decided to focus on the one thing Pierce wasn't in charge of, the Greendale Community College operation.
"I'm going to consider Annie."
Abed punched the air with success.
"I'm gonna have to test her first," Jeff said. "I can't have Little Miss Morality ruining this for me."
Abed nodded in agreement. "You made the right choice, Jeff." He stood up and headed for the door. "And I think you'll make the right choice about this turf war too."
Title: Criminology 101
Character/Pairing(s): Ensemble, one sided Annie/Troy, past Jeff/Britta, and eventual Jeff/Annie.
Rating: PG
Summary: Mafia AU. Annie gets her introduction into Greendale's crime world, in the hopes that she can finally bag Troy Barnes. Meanwhile, Jeff tries to keep things running smoothly while Pierce is busy, and he has no time for silly schoolgirls and their tight sweaters.
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Community.
Warnings: some violence, and mentions of drugs.
A/N - I started another multi-chapter fic because I hate myself.
Criminology 101
Chang whistled a tune to himself as he wiped down the bar-top. It was a Tuesday so the bar had been pretty empty. Chang had closed early for the night, hoping he'd make it home in time to catch Glee. He hated to admit it, but he rather liked that show. Simple pleasures for a simple man.
Through the dirty windows of the bar Chang could faintly see the streetlights shining down. The streets were dark and quiet. A dangerous combination around L Street, considering the people that hung around here, but Chang wasn't afraid of them.
Some said he was all talk, but it took a lot to scare Ben Chang.
The proble as a lot had just walked through the door.
"Bar's closed," Chang called out, before looking up and seeing who it was. Nadir and Barnes, Winger's top two guys.
Chang almost felt the urge to laugh. Winger thought just because he acquiesced Hawthorne, that he knew how to run an operation like this. He was fooling himself. Honestly, he held no power over Chang, and Chang wasn't going to pay him.
Nadir cocked his head curiously at Chang, while Barnes squinted in that Forrest Whitaker way of his.
"Closed a bit early, don't you think?" Abed asked, conversationally. Chang was used to dealng with the lower lackeys in Winger's operation. People like Whitman and Fat Neil. He'd heard stories about Nadir though.
They said he was emotionless to the point that even Winger was unsettled by him sometimes. He didn't look emotionless now, but then again, they also said he was a big fan of roleplay. He looked like he was going for a Harrison Ford theme tonight.
"Well, it's Tuesday. We're not very busy on -" Chang began.
"Oh, so you do know what day it is," Nadir said, taking a step forward and effortlessly pointing a gun between Chang's eyes. "Then you must know why we're here," He said. He'd dropped the Harisson Ford thing completely now, and stared at him blankly. It was unsettling. His voice held no form of emotion, and his eyes were dead, but also full of life. They scanned over Chang like a computer, taking in every emotion that flitted across his face.
Barnes' eyes bugged out even more, and behind them Chang heard the door open, although he couldn't see who it was behind them.
"I -" Chang began, but Barnes interrupted him. He stepped behind the bar and crushed Chang's back against the wall of bottles.
Everyone who knew anything about the crime underworld, knew who Barnes was. It was rather often that a cop car got pulled down to the neighbourood because of something Barnes did. He'd done time twice, and by the looks of it, it had taught him nothing.
"Mr Winger was happy to let you continue on, pretending you were still relevant, as long as you gave him the cut he asked for. But you haven't payed your cut yet, have you? Mr Winger is very unhappy about that," Barnes said, his voice barely a tone above a threatening whisper.
Over Barnes' shoulder, Chang could see who it was that had come in after them. It was a woman. Dark haired and petit. She was looking at the booths that lined the walls, with a bored expression. Chang had no idea who she was, but by the way she was reacting, she definitely wasn't a lost customer.
Chang wasn't afraid of Barnes or Nadir. Sure enough they were both pointing guns at him from different angles, but he knew that Winger needed him. He wouldn't cut him out just because of some money issues. This was just a scare tactic. And a weak one at that.
Chang spat back in Barnes' face. "I'm not afraid of him. He's not even here. Instead he sent you goons to do his dirty work for him."
The woman - no, girl. She looked too young to count as a woman. She was barely the same age as Barnes. She stepped up next to Nadir, her large blue eyes shinning with ... something. The corners of her lips curled up ever so slightly.
"You're gonna wish he was here by the time I'm done with you," She told him confidently.
Barnes lowered his weapon and stepped back, so that now the three of them were walled around Chang, preventing any escape tactics.
"Chang, this is our colleague, Annie Edison." He leaned forward, like he was telling Chang a secret. "But most people know her by her street name."
Chang's eyes windened. He knew who she was. Everyone knew who she was, though there were few still alive who could say they'd actually met her. Most of those people fled before they had the chance to have another run-in.
There were some who spoke about her in her early days, but those guys were usually even more terified than anybody else.
"Psycho," Chang whispered.
The woman - Psycho - grinned at the recognition.
"Here's the deal," Nadir began. He was Wingers concigliere. He ran most of the business parts of things, which made sense. He was a lot less merciful than Winger apparently. The only reason he wasn't in charge was because nobody knew how to handle people the way Winger did. That was the main reason he managed to take over the operation in the first place.
"For every thousand you haven't given us, Miss Edison here will cut off one of yor clammy, little fingers," He said, his voice flat and monotone.
"No! Please! I can give it to you, just give me more time!" Chang was kind of ashamed of how quickly he went from fearless to pleading for his life, but this Psycho. He'd heard the stories. And that look in her eyes, Chang wouldn't wish that look directed on his worst enemy.
Abed laughed. A Harisson Ford laugh. He knew exactly when to switch to make him seem twice as frightening, that was for sure.
"When Mr Winger says Tuesday, he means Tuesday," Nadir said. "You're lucky it's just your fingers he's after this time around."
"No, please! I can pay! I can pay!"
"Oh, we don't doubt you can pay. We're just not interested in your money anymore," Barnes said calmly.
"Annie, finish him off," Nadir instructed.
He and Barnes put their guns back in their holsters, and walked out of the bar without a second glance.
Chang wondered what his chances would be of escape; How much pain he would have to suffer through if he even tried it.
Edison beamed at him, giddy with the joy of getting to torture some one. She took out a knife - she was known for that knife - and took a step closer to Chang, getting right up in his personal space.
"You know why they call me Psycho?" She whispered threateningly.
They called her Psycho because she was the most ruthless killer in Winger's gang; Because she had no mercy; Because she had her first kill when she was eighteen years old, and it wasn't one of those accidental kind of things either.
"It's because I had a nervous breakdown in high school," She continued. She pulled Chang's hand up right between their faces, and pressed the knife just under his fingers. The coldness of the blade sent a shiver down his spine.
Chang gulped. Psycho's grin widened.
"I'll start with the pinky. I always thought it was kind of pointless anyway," She said. Her tone light and casual.
And then she sliced his finger off in one swift motion.
XXX
One Year Earlier
Annie hated her job. She was proud of herself for actually getting a job, considering she hadn't even graduated high school, but it wasn't much of a win since the job was at the Dildopolis under her apartment.
She thought of maybe getting into the drug business again, but after last time, it would probably be a bad idea.
She was a very successful drug dealer for some time in high school. People usually paid when she asked, and her father was a doctor so she knew how to get the good stuff. But then the stress of it along with her SATs took a toll on her, and she started taking some of her own product.
Long story short, she had a breakdown, became Little Annie Adderall, got expelled, and kicked out by he parents. She kicked her drug problem in rehab, and managed to scrape up enough leftover cash to rent the apartment upstairs, but that was it.
This was her life now.
She sighed, and rearranged the DVDs. She liked to change them around whenever she was bored. This time it was by director, but sometimes it was alphabetical, or by genre. (The fact that porn had so many genres still baffled her sometimes).
"All I'm saying is, I'd like to do a little more of the heavy stuff. Jeff gets to do nearly all of it," A familiar voice said, as the bell above the door rang. Annie loved that bell. The way it made some guilty men flinch, always made her giggle a little.
She turned to see none other than Troy Barnes standing in the store. He was grinning at a pair of fluffy handcuffs, while talking on the phone to somebody.
"Hey, do you know when Britta's birthday is?" He asked the person on the other end.
He waited for a reply, then said, "I think I just found the perfect present for her." He snickered mischievously, taking the handcuffs from the rack, and turning towards the DVDs.
Annie had the urge to duck, but he'd already spotted her, and his eyes widened with recognition.
The last time Annie had seen Troy Barnes, she had been high and screaming about robots. Troy, like everyone else was laughing hysterically at the scene before him.
She'd always had a crush on him. She knew it was ridiculously schoolgirl of her to dream that one day he'd see her for the smart girl she was, and drop his popularity to be with her. She'd gotten expelled before any of that could happen, of course, but now, standing in front of him wearing a Dildopolis polo shirt, she felt herself fluster in that same way she did in high school.
She didn't look the same as back then. Part of getting better at rehab was getting herself healthier too. She lost weight, and got her braces removed, and cut her hair. She was normal now, and Troy was looking at her like he recognized her; Like she was Little Annie Adderall again, and she just couldn't have that.
"May I help you?" She asked, hoping that maybe she could trick him into thinking she was some one else. She may have been in love with him, (she may still be a little), but she couldn't deny that Troy was gullible.
"Abed, I gotta go," Troy said into the phone, and hung up, not once tearing his eyes away from Annie.
"I know you," He said, taking a step closer.
"I'm sorry, I think you have me mistaken for some one else. Do you need any help?" She asked.
Troy squinted at her suspiciously, but nodded and stepped up to the DVDs. "My boss asked me to pick some movies up for him."
"Your boss?" Annie asked skeptically. She'd heard plenty of embarrassed excuses before, but boss was a new one. Troy seemed serious too.
"Yeah, he's creepy like that," Troy said.
"Is there anything in particular he's looking for?" Annie asked.
Troy shrugged. "Boobs."
Annie nodded and started pulling a few DVDs she thought he might like. It pained her sometimes that she knew which DVDs had the most bust.
"You're Annie Edison," He said.
Annie's breath stopped. He said Annie Edison, not Annie Adderall. Maybe it was okay. Maybe he had noticed her after all.
"I know you are. You sat behind me in English," He said, smiling now, at the recognition. "I can't believe it's you."
Annie felt her heart flutter. This had to be a dream. Troy Barnes didn't just show up at marital aide stores and say things like that to her. This was like a fantasy she'd been having.
"I always wondered what happened to you after you got expelled. Everyone said you went to an insane asylum, but you always seemed too smart to be crazy," He told her.
Annie blushed. "I didn't know you knew who I was," She said. That's not true. Everybody knew who she was. It was hard to forget the girl that ran through the plate glass doors.
"Are you kidding? You ran a master drug-ring, right under the school's nose for a year. My friends bought from you all the time, they were always really impressed."
Annie didn't think he knew about that. He was never a part of her customer base. She felt kind of ashamed, but he did seem generally impressed with her.
"I know people who run drug-rings in colleges all over Greendale and none of them have as good a customer rep as you did in Riverside," He said. "You must be really smart, or something."
Annie giggled a little. This was the weirdest thing that had ever happened to her. No one had ever complimented her before, especially not over a drug business she ran when she was seventeen years old. And the fact that it was the love of her life, Troy Barnes, was even more insane.
Troy looked around the dingy, old store, then eyed Annie curiously.
"You still in the drug business?" He asked.
That caught her off guard. Did he want to buy some? Was Troy some giant junkie now? "No, I work here now."
Troy nodded, mulling the information over in his head. "Do you like working here?"
"Not particularly," Annie said slowly. What was he getting at?
"Good, cause I think I have an opportunity for you," He said, grinning at her again. With that smile, how on earth could Annie say no?
XXX
Jeff didn't have time for this. There was plenty of business he'd rather be taking care of than dealing with a rat, but Pierce wanted him to set an example so this sort of crap didn't happen again. It was already grating on his last nerve that it was happening at all.
He'd much rather deal with some of the drug mules, at least they were fun. Most of them were all talk, but sometimes they actually stood up to him, like they had a chance of living, it usually made Jeff's night more interesting.
Instead, he was stuck here, dealing with no good snitches who barely deserved a second of his time. They were always the same. Frightened and weak.
He opened the wooden door of the holding cell and looked at the lowly cop. He was kneeling on the dirty floor, doubled over, no doubt from the kicks Troy had served him earlier. He'd already given up, so Jeff knew this would be easy. He loved it when they were easy; He was a busy man, after all.
"Todd," Jeff said clearly.
Todd jerked up. The fear shone brightly in his eyes, and he wrapped his arms around himself to hide the fact that he was shaking.
"I- I-" He stuttered.
"Be quiet, Todd. I'll be doing all the talking from now on."
Todd gulped, and nodded in understanding.
Jeff sighed, that fake disappointed sigh he used whenever he wanted to show some one just how unhappy he was with their behaviour. He shook his head at Todd.
"We could have helped you, y'know. Mr Hawthorne is a reasonable man. If you'd just come to him, and told him about your money problems, he gladly would have helped. All he would have asked in return would be a favour," Jeff said.
He took a step closer, and Todd backed even further into the wall behind him.
"But you didn't do that, did you, Todd?" Jeff asked firmly.
Todd shook his head.
"Instead, you went to Laybourne. You told him things about our operation; Things we didn't want Laybourne to know."
Todd gripped himself tighter, and Jeff went as close as he could go. He leaned over so he and Todd were face to face.
"Like I said, Mr Hawthorne would have done it for a favour, but Mr Hawthorne isn't willing to help you anymore. I am, but I'm afraid my price isn't quite as low as his."
He straightened up, sticking his hands in his pockets and tilted his head at Todd.
"You have two options, Todd. One: I send your wife and child some money. If she's smart, she won't have to worry about finances for a very long time. And in return, I take your life. Or two: You leave town, and never come back, and your wife stays in the exact same situation she's always been in."
"I- I'll g-go," Todd stuttered.
Jeff frowned. He didn't understand Todd. Willing to sell Pierce out to feed his family, and then willing to cross them just as easily. Jeff had met a few men like Todd before. He always hated those men.
"My father was just like you, Todd. He made mistakes, just like you. He had choices, just like you."
Jeff pulled his gun from his holster, and flicked the safety off, like he was so used to doing these days. "Just like you, my father made the wrong choice," Jeff said, like they were talking about the weather.
"Wait! I-" Todd began, but Jeff grabbed a handful of his greasy curls, and yanked him so they were both standing up straight.
Jeff shot him in the stomach. The blood pooled over Todd's police uniform, and the man howled in pain.
"What kind of father ditches his poor family?" Jeff said calmly, through his gritted teeth.
He took another shot, basking in the way Todd's whole body jerked in response. "What kind of father leaves a kid and a wife alone, just to save his own skin?"
Todd tried to say something, but ended up coughing a mouthful of blood onto Jeff's shirt. Now Jeff was really pissed. It was new, and it cost more than Todd's house, not mention it was very hard to find this shade of blue.
"What's that? Got something in your throat?" Jeff asked conversationally. "Here, let me help you get it out," He said. And then he took one final shot right over Todd's Adam's apple. His neck blew apart, sending blood splatters in every direction. That was okay. This room was cleaned regularly anyway.
Jeff dropped the lifeless body to the floor. The blood pooled around his shoes. And great, Jeff thought. Let's all just bleed over his expensive clothes then. It's not like he got them in Italy or anything.
Ugh. He really hated dealing with rats.
XXX
Troy told her to meet him after work. He scribbled his address on the ripped off corner of a dirty magazine, bought the handcuffs and the DVDs, then left with a smile.
Annie had no idea what had happened. On a scale of one to never, this whole ordeal was on the never side of expectedness.
Still.
It was Troy Barnes, and he said he had an offer. A job offer. What he was doing offering jobs, was a mystery to Annie. She was pretty sure he got a football scholarship somewhere. But whatever it was couldn't be any worse than her Dildopolis gig. And also ... Troy. Barnes.
She only got off work at 10, but Troy said come around any time, and Annie was too excited about whatever this was to wait. She wondered if he was gonna think she was lame for showing up so soon, but she didn't care. She'd have tons of time to win him over if she got the job, and she really wanted the job, whatever it was.
The address lead to a mansion. The mansion had iron gates, with a large H on them. They opened automatically as she drove up to them, letting her go all the way through to the front of the mansion.
Our on the porch, a woman with blonde, curly hair, stood with a sour look on her face as she smoked a cigarette. She eyed Annie suspiciously as Annie got out of the car.
"I'm looking for Troy Barnes?" Annie said politely. She wondered if this was his girlfriend. She hadn't asked earlier, but he bought those handcuffs for somebody, so maybe there was some one in his life.
"He's inside," The woman said, eyeing Annie curiously. She stubbed out her half-finished cigarette and nodded to the giant wooden door. "Come on, I'll bring you in for him."
Annie followed her into a large foyer with marble floor. There was a painting hanging on one side, of a handsome man with glasses smiling like a politician.
The woman led Annie through to a living room. Troy was on the couch playing Mario Kart against another tanned guy. They were both fixed on the game completely, although while Troy frowned and yelled at the screen, his opponent kept a blank expression the whole time.
"Troy!" The woman exclaimed. "There's some girl here to see you." She eyed Annie again. "I think she's selling girl scout cookies."
Annie made an insulted noise as Troy paused the game and grinned at her. "Annie!" He exclaimed, grinning. All the insult she felt instantly went away, at the way he looked at her.
"I'm so glad you showed up." He stood up, jumping over a couple of wires for the various games consoles they seemed to have, and put one arm over her shoulder, pulling her to the couch. She squeezed between Troy and his friend, while the woman continued to look at Annie with a slight frown.
"You are not going to regret this," He assured Annie.
"Troy who is she?" The woman asked.
Troy ignored her and pointed to his friend. "That's Abed, and the buzzkill is Britta." Troy said. "Guys, this is Annie Edison. The one I was telling you about, from my high school."
Britta and Abed both raised their eyebrows with intrigue. Annie blushed at the fact that Troy had mentioned her before. She always assumed she was invisible to him in high school.
"I brought her here for the Greendale job," Troy continued.
"The one Jeff's been freaking out about? Fat chance. Greendale is his baby. It's the first one Pierce is letting him run solo, there's no way he'll stick some little girl he doesn't even know into it," Britta said. Annie was starting to understand why she was the buzzkill.
"In all fairness, Jeff would be more likely to trust a sweet-looking stranger than one of us for something like this. Besides, she seems dependable," Abed said.
"Thank you?" Annie replied.
"You're welcome."
"I don't know. She looks too innocent. Have you ever done something like this before?" Britta asked.
"Done what?" Annie asked back.
Britta laughed. "Troy she doesn't even know what she's supposed to do."
"She has," Troy insisted. Annie felt her heart flutter. Troy was defending her! "She did it at Riverside, and she was great."
"That was high school, Troy. Greendale is a college."
"A community college," Troy shot at her.
"And what about Starburns. You think she can handle some one like him."
Troy turned to face Annie. "You work at Dildopolis."
Annie nodded.
"You must have faced more than a few creeps."
"Well, yeah. But I keep pepper-spray in my purse at all times."
"Pepper-spray?" Britta scoffed. "Wow, Troy, you found the most PG drug-dealer in the whole Greendale area."
"Wait, drug-dealer?" Annie asked.
Before any of them could explain further, a tall, grumpy-looking man walked trough the door. He wore a perfectly tailored suit, that looked more expensive than Annie's entire closet. His shirt and tie were both stained red, and he was wiping his face with something covered in red too.
"Jeff! I need to talk to you!" Troy exclaimed, springing up from the couch to stand in the mans way.
Jeff glared at Troy. "Can it wait? My shoes are gonna get ruined"
"He brought you a present, Jeff. You should hear him out," Britta said, with a smirk. She was obviously enjoying watching him suffer.
Jeff sighed impatiently, and gave Troy an expectant look.
"I found you a dealer for Greendale Community College," Troy said, pointing at Annie.
Jeff glanced at Annie, then frowned back at Troy. "Is this a joke?"
Troy shook his head.
"Troy, she's like twelve years old," Jeff said in annoyance.
Annie wasn't sure why, but something made her stand up and interject. "Hi, sorry. It's just, in high school I ran a very successful drug business under the table for almost a year and a half. I sold to students from every clique, managed to make a few thousand dollars, not to mention I never had any trouble getting clients to pay up. I was very respected despite being a loser." She said.
"The only reason it failed was because I started doing Adderall, but I'm clean now, and I really think I'd be good for this job."
Annie wasn't sure when she'd decided to take the job. It wasn't a good idea. Her life had crashed and burned so spectacularly the last time she involved herself in any of this, and it would be dangerous for her to go near drugs, in case of a relapse. Dildopolis wasn't satisfying her though, and Troy was here.
Jeff frowned at her. "What's you name again?"
"Annie."
He smiled politely. "Annie. Well, Annie, with all due respect, running a high school drug business is a lot easier than what I have in mind. I need a professional who can stand up for themselves against some very ambitious competition, and who can keep their college clientele in check. And you are a schoolgirl who's only here because she thinks she still has a shot at being the quarterback's girlfriend. And don't worry, he's dumb enough not to know what the hell I'm taking about," Jeff said quietly, leaning in to Annie's personal space.
He shot another glare at Troy, "don't you have work to do?" And then he marched out into the foyer and up some stairs.
Annie gaped. No one had ever talked to her that harshly before. Even her horrid mother, had the decency to hide her insults behind a veil of fake motherly love. Annie felt the burn of tears in her eyes, and a lump in her throat, but she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Troy.
Britta rolled her eyes, and walked back out of the room to finish her smoke, while Abed continued to stare blankly at Annie like he was trying to read her.
"I guess we caught him at a bad time," Troy said apologetically. "Don't worry, I'll make him come around."
"Troy, you don't have to," Annie said, willing herself not to cry.
Troy shrugged. "Annie, your work is some of the best I've seen. We may not have known each other that well in high school, but the truth is I always admired you."
"You did?" Annie asked, cursing herself at the hopeful sound in her voice.
"Yeah, you were brilliant," Troy said earnestly.
Annie beamed at him. "Thanks," She said, feeling herself flush.
Abed cocked his head at her, and smiled ever so slightly, like he'd found something he wanted in her eyes.
"It was great meeting you, Annie," He said before walking out of the room.
Troy watched him go with as much confusion as Annie, then turned to her and smiled. "You wanna play Mario Kart?"
XXX
"You should hire Annie," Abed said as he entered Jeff's office. Other than Pierce, Abed was the only one with the privilege of entering unannounced without getting shot for it. Mostly, it was because Jeff trusted Abed more than anyone else.
Abed sat himself in a chair in front of Jeff, and stared him down, waiting for him to reply.
Abed was smarter than he led on. He knew how to work things in his favour, which was why Jeff recruited him in the first place.
Abed had been working at a falafel stand before his job working for Pierce. As a kid, he'd watched the Godfather many times, and there was a reason those movies weren't for kids. He became obsessed with the mafia. He knew how it worked from the inside out, and he wanted to be a part of it.
He'd studied up on Greendale's gangs as he got older, and had recognized Jeff from the moment he stepped up to order his falafel. After some impressive demonstrations at how good he was a reading people, Jeff recommended him to Pierce.
Pierce may have been racist and daft, but even he couldn't deny that Abed was gifted, and not in that way that kids who eat paste are gifted. Abed was a once in a lifetime essential for this kind of business. And Jeff was the genius that had discovered him.
From that day on, Abed had been Jeff's right-hand man. Which didn't actually mean much, since all Jeff was was Pierce's right-hand man. But if Jeff had his way, it wouldn't be like this for long.
"Why is that?" Jeff asked.
"She has potential. She could be great," Abed said.
"The cookie-cutter in the tight sweater? Somehow, I don't really see her fitting in," Jeff said sarcastically.
"She's lived through some things, Jeff. I can tell. I think if we tap into the ruthless side of her, we could bring some one really valuable to the team," Abed said. "I'm not usually wrong about this."
"You were wrong about Todd," Jeff said bitterly, because he was still pissed off that Pierce sent him to deal with it rather than just doing it himself.
"I may have misjudged on that one, but you can trust me on this. Annie's gonna bring something new to this team."
Jeff leaned forward on his desk. "Abed, this isn't one of those things where you get me to hire some one because you think they can give the group dynamic what it's missing, is it?"
Abed was silent.
"For the last time, we're not TV characters! And I'm not hiring her. She's too inexperienced. Starburns would eat her alive, and not to mention the turf war we have going on with Laybourne is already escalating pretty fast."
Abed frowned. "How fast?"
Jeff tended to keep Abed on a need to know basis, but Pierce was being a jackass and worrying about re-election, so that left Jeff to handle everything on the business side of things. On the outside it looked like he was getting a chance to run things, but he still had to answer to Pierce, and follow all of Pierce's rules.
It was stressing him out, and he hadn't gotten a chance to vent to anyone about it in months, since he and Britta had stopped sleeping together.
Jeff sighed. "They took out Pavel."
Abed nodded in understanding. He and Pavel were pretty close, but then again, it wasn't like Abed showed much emotion anyway. If he was upset, Jeff wouldn't know it.
"Pierce wants to go after Slater, and Britta's all for it too, but I don't think we should."
"Why? I thought you ended things with her months ago."
"I did," Jeff insisted. "Slater's too easy. If we go for her, we'll just work our way up the chain of command until we're all getting shot at. It's gonna drag out, and I don't want that."
"So what do you suppose we do?"
"We send them a message. We take Rich."
"We're sending them a message that you hate Rich?"
Jeff clenched his jaw. "No. We're sending them a message that they're not safe. You know, because Rich is their doctor?"
Abed nodded. "That's pretty good."
"Except Pierce doesn't want to try it," Jeff sighed. "He's old-fashioned, and we're gonna fail if he keeps this up. Knowing Laybourne, if we sit on this, he'll think he has more power and attack again."
"So what are you gonna do?" Abed asked finally.
Jeff sighed. He had no idea what he was gonna do. He had a plan of course, but with Pierce being his usual, stubborn self that plan was useless.
He decided to focus on the one thing Pierce wasn't in charge of, the Greendale Community College operation.
"I'm going to consider Annie."
Abed punched the air with success.
"I'm gonna have to test her first," Jeff said. "I can't have Little Miss Morality ruining this for me."
Abed nodded in agreement. "You made the right choice, Jeff." He stood up and headed for the door. "And I think you'll make the right choice about this turf war too."