Fic: Criminology 101 (3/?)
Fandom: Community
Title: Criminology 101
Character/Pairing(s): 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 - This is sort of a filler, but I have the next part half finished and it should be up sometime this weekend if I don't procrastinate too much. Also, I love how you're all feeling weirded out by how much you're enjoying the group's evulz.
Part 1 // Part 2a/2b
Laybourne didn't waste any time getting them back for Slater and Starburns. He hit them right where it hurt this time around, taking out three of Pierce's contacts in the bank, and one of Pierce's judges. It was still business, but Jeff had a sinking feeling that things were gonna start to get real personal, real soon.
Laybourne was trying to get a rise out of them. He wanted to scare them enough that they wouldn't fight back. Chang had come up with some info, saying Laybourne was bitter about losing Starburns, and was planning on taking back the drug business around the college campuses.
On the bright side, Annie was rocking the Greendale operation, like she was born to do it. Without Starburns in her way, everything was going successfully. Jeff felt a sense of pride, knowing his first solo project was going so well. He sort of wanted to boast about it in front of Pierce, but the old man probably wouldn't give a crap.
Annie was learning quickly too. Their lessons weren't very frequent, or even scheduled. Usually they had one whenever Jeff thought of something he wanted her to know. He taught her a few tricks about spreading the word. Gave her ways to stay hidden from cops or campus security.
He wanted to take her out to their supplier soon. It was barely any different than what she was doing, except for a little more dangerous at times. Their supplier, Vaughn, was sort of unpredictable. He sold good stuff; Jeff wasn't sure where he got it, but he knew he was shipped in most of the time.
Annie wasn't quite ready to meet Vaughn yet, but she was well on her way. Jeff was sort of excited about it.
Overall, his workload seemed to be lowering. Things were finally starting to go his way, and Jeff found himself finally having enough free time to go to the casino every now and again, for a round of roulette. He hadn't been able to do that in a very long time, and it was nice having somewhere to go where he didn't have to hear Troy and Abed playing Kickpuncher, or Britta acting like … well, Britta.
And then Laybourne made his next move, and everything went to hell.
XXX
Annie and Jeff were sitting together in the living room discussing marketing tactics. Jeff was trying to teach her how to get word to areas outside the college. Apparently, Annie was good enough to take her drugs to the actual streets now. He still wanted to keep her on the Greendale campus, but he didn't want her to limit herself anymore. She was still only selling the light stuff, but she had a feeling he was gonna move her up to some more hardcore drugs soon.
She wondered is she should feel bad about that, but it seemed the more time she spent in the Hawthorne mansion, the more her morals thawed away.
Jeff was explaining to that she should expand slowly, only taking the neighbourhood where GCC was situated at first. He had a map in front of him, and he was in the middle of circling the areas he wanted her to cover, when Britta burst in.
Her hair was askew, and there was blood on her hands.
"They went after Shirley!" She announced to the room.
Troy and Abed shared a look, from the couch where they were playing some crazy card game, and jumped up, following Britta out. Jeff went after her too, completely forgetting about their lesson.
Annie followed slowly behind, not sure if she was in the group enough to be a part of this.
Shirley was lying in the foyer covered in bruises from her to toe. Her uniform had bloodstains all over it. She looked like she had fallen off a mountain.
"What the hell happened?" Troy exclaimed.
Britta stood by Jeff's side, still panic-stricken.
"Was it Laybourne?" Abed asked Shirley.
"Of course it was Laybourne!" Britta shouted. "Who else would it be?"
"Everybody calm down," Jeff said. "Britta, go get Nurse Jackie. Troy, Abed, move Shirley upstairs to whatever bedroom's nearest."
Britta ran off without another word, and Troy and Abed nodded, getting to work right away.
Jeff turned to face Annie. He gave her a surprised look, almost like he'd forgotten she was there. "Go home, Annie," He said firmly, before grabbing his keys and walking towards the door. Annie followed quickly behind, trying to keep up with his large strides.
"What are you gonna do?" She asked.
"I need to have a talk with Pierce," Jeff said through gritted teeth.
Annie didn't know much about the mafia hierarchy. She knew Pierce was in charge and Jeff was right under him, but she didn't know if that meant Jeff could yell at Pierce. From the determined look on Jeff's face, it didn't matter.
"Why are you going after Pierce? I thought it was Laybourne."
Jeff reached his car, jamming the keys in furiously. "There's a certain politics to this sort of thing, and right now, Pierce is as much to blame as Laybourne," Jeff spat. "Go home, Annie," He repeated, more angrily this time, then drove away without another word.
XXX
"Pierce!" Jeff practically shouted as he entered Pierce's office in City Hall. Pierce hardly ever used it, preferring to run things in his mansion, but every once in a while he needed to act like he was the mayor and not a crime-lord, and that involved a visit to City Hall.
"Jeffrey, what brings you here?"
"Guess who was right about Laybourne?" Jeff asked, pulling the newspaper from Pierce's hand and throwing it to the other side of the room.
"What, did they get another judge?"
"No, Pierce! They tried to get Shirley!" Jeff exclaimed. "He's making it personal now, and you know it."
"Jeff, that's hardly-"
"He thinks he can screw with you, and this is his way of showing it!" Jeff shouted. "Do not tell me we're just going to let this sit and then go after another one of his irrelevant goons. We need to fight back!"
"And how do you suppose we do that, Jeffrey?" Pierce said, a look of annoyance on his face.
"We show him that if he keeps going after our people we'll take something he loves."
"And what would that be?"
Jeff smirked. "The factory." His plan was great. He'd been considering it since Slater, and if anything, the attack on Shirley made him more sure than ever. He didn't care about going after Rich, anymore. That wouldn't make a difference to Jeff. Now he wanted to take down Laybourne if it was the last thing he did.
Laybourne and his men had a factory. They passed it off as a cracker factory, but everyone knew that was where he handled most of his drugs, and stolen goods. It was all the merchandise he had. If they got rid of it, Laybourne would have nothing. His business would take an nosedive until he managed to get new supplies for his men to sell.
The cops may never be able to get a warrant for the factory, but Jeff could think of other ways of getting rid of it. Britta probably had a few tricks up her sleeve, and it had been an outrageously long time since they'd used her skill-set. She was practically unemployed.
"No," Pierce said firmly.
"What do you mean no? It's a great idea."
"It'll start a war."
"We're already in a war! And losing!"
"The answer is no Jeffrey. We will retaliate the way we always have. Go after the guys they keep at the dock or something. Don't make this personal."
Jeff sighed, but nodded. "It is personal, though," He said quietly. "Shirley's your friend, and Laybourne knows it. You know it won't be long before he starts going after Troy, or Abed. Or me."
And with that Jeff left City Hall.
He had no intention of doing what Pierce had said. Pierce was busy with all this re-election nonsense, anyway. He wouldn't noticed if Jeff bent the rules a little bit. And Jeff had been basically running the operation for the last couple of months. He didn't need Pierce's permission. He was more of a boss than Pierce ever was, and all of Pierce's men were Jeff's men first. They liked him better, they trusted his judgment. They would help.
If Laybourne wanted a war, Jeff was gonna give him exactly that, and he was going to win it.
XXX
The attack on Shirley drove everyone on the edge. Annie came to visit every day, but everyone was too busy to talk to her.
Abed was always out running errands and collecting information on Laybourne. The entire week, Annie only saw him twice. She had a feeling she was in the house more than he was.
Troy and Jeff were attached at the hip. Every few hours they'd leave the mansion together, and come back with Troy's knuckles a little redder and Jeff's clothes stained with some one else's blood.
Britta, it seemed, did in fact have a purpose. She spent nearly all day sitting at the kitchen island building a device, that Annie wanted to think wasn't a bomb, but knew deep down that it was an obvious fact.
The mansion had maps scattered all over the place. Jeff had set up a bulletin board in the living room, and covered it in pictures of random men who worked for Laybourne and of the cracker factory. Every day he'd take a picture of one of the men down, with a vindictive smile on his face.
All of them were so busy that they hardly spoke to Annie. Her business didn't seem quite as big and bad when she was watching them actually work on something that mattered.
She spent all her time talking to Shirley instead. Shirley stayed in Britta's bed for the next couple of days. Jeff brought her kids over to the mansion, and let them stay as long as they didn't come downstairs and disrupt anyone's work.
Shirley, Annie learned, had been a friend of Pierce and Jeff's since she was first starting out as a cop. When she began, she wanted to catch Pierce, not willing to let her integrity go for some extra cash. Through the years she learned that Pierce had a lot of cops in the Greendale PD, and even if she tried to catch him, she'd never be able to make it stick. It annoyed her at first, but then Jeff started moving up in Pierce's business, and since he was the Hawthorne lawyer, they ran into each other a lot.
Somehow, Jeff and Shirley became friends, sharing gossip about Shirley's fellow cops, who Jeff seemed to know by name. He charmed her out of information, never giving anything in return, until eventually Shirley started charging on all these tidbits. They ended up with a deal, and after her husband left, Jeff gave her more to do. Now Shirley was working for them entirely, and Jeff was sending her money to help with her house and kids.
"I'll tell you, that Jeffrey may seem threatening, but deep down he's a softy. Once you're on his team, he'll do anything for you," Shirley said with a smile.
Annie was beginning to see that.
Jeff had never worked as ferociously as he was now that he was getting revenge on Shirley's behalf. On the outside, it may have looked like he was just trying to retaliate, but every time Jeff passed by Shirley's room he went in with a smile and encouragement that he was gonna make it up to her.
He even played with her kids for a little while, when Troy and Abed were out, and Shirley was sleeping.
This wasn't just business for him. He cared, and he was going to make sure Laybourne knew just how much.
When Friday came around, Jeff had a smile on his face again. He told Troy and Abed to stay in the mansion and play with Shirley's boys. They both seemed disappointed, but Jeff barely noticed. He, and Britta, told Shirley to come with them, because they had something to show her.
"Annie, you're coming too," He said, as they all stood, putting on their jackets.
"What? Why?" Annie and Britta asked at the same time. Britta frowned at Annie suspiciously afterward.
"I want you to see how we take care of our own," He'd said simply, with a smile on his face.
They drove out to a little cafe on main street, that didn't seem very important. The barista seemed to know Jeff, and sat them in the front, right at a window.
"Britta, how long do we have?" Jeff asked.
Britta checked her watch, and smiled. "About a minute," She said, pressing a button.
Jeff grinned at her, with a look in his eye. It was like nothing Annie had ever seen before. She'd seen many sides of Jeff in the short time that she'd known him, but this look was something else. This look was almost … evil. She shuddered, and sipped her hot chocolate, as Jeff told Shirley to just look out the window.
"In case you're ever in doubt, this is how much you mean to us," He said to her. "And you too," He added to Annie. Britta sent them a curious look, but Annie just avoided meeting her eyes.
Annie wasn't sure what exactly he was talking about, but then from the distance, there as a loud bang. Everyone on the street stopped and looked in the direction of the noise. A few streets over, a cloud of flames rose up into the sky, followed by ash. An explosion. A bomb.
Britta smiled smugly at the mushroom cloud rising up into the sky. Jeff looked a little proud too. Shirley's expression was unreadable. She looked mostly surprised, like this was the last thing she'd ever expect.
"You blew up the factory for me?" She asked quietly.
Jeff nodded.
"Oh, Jeffrey." She took his hand and squeezed it gratefully, then hugged Britta tightly.
The bruises and cuts were mostly healed now, only leaving tiny shadows on her cheeks.
"Just remember you can always count on us, Shirley," Britta said. Shirley seemed giddy at all the affection Jeff and Britta were showing, in their weird Jeff and Britta way.
There was a sparkle in both their eyes. Unique and mysterious. Annie found herself wishing she could understand it. She didn't know when this feeling had started. It could have been just as the bomb blew up, it could have been there from the first moment she met Jeff and saw that designer shirt with mixtures of blue and red, that he was wearing.
All she knew was that she wanted to understand that look. She wanted to watch an explosion and feel the utter glee that they felt. She wanted to be a part of the team. The good stuff, and the bad stuff. The simple drugs, and the elaborate revenge plans.
Annie wanted it all, and more.
XXX
After the cafe, they all went for a walk. Shirley wanted to go see the wreckage. Britta wanted to see if the FBI were there yet. They would probably know it was her work, some of her best if Jeff was being honest, but they could never prove it, and he just knew Britta wanted to gloat about that for a while.
Pierce always said she was humble, but Jeff knew that was the most far-off deduction of Britta known to man.
Jeff was just happy he finally got to get Laybourne back. Of course, this meant his workload was gonna get worse. This was just the beginning. Everything was going to be serious business from now on, but he reveled in the short victory. This was a good day, and all his work had finally paid off.
Annie walked alongside him, as Shirley and Britta went on ahead. She stared at her feet, shyly, as they walked. Jeff worried briefly that he might have shown her too much to soon, but Annie was stronger than she looked. She may wear sweaters and short skirts, but Abed had been right. She had the potential to be one of the best, and Jeff wanted to tap into that potential, now more than ever.
"What are you thinking?" He asked her, slowing down his pace so that Shirley and Britta would be too far to hear.
Annie looked up at him with her giant eyes. "This is so much bigger than just a drug thing isn't it?" She asked quietly.
Jeff nodded.
"And you've killed people. People I know." It was meant to be a question, but it came out as more of a statement.
"Starburns," Jeff admitted.
Annie nodded. She looked up at him again, with a determined look in her eye. "I want you to teach me."
Jeff frowned. "Teach you what?"
"Everything. How to shoot a gun, how to defend myself if some one ever tries to come after me, like Shirley. How to kill."
Jeff tried not to laugh, because it would probably insult her. "Annie, why do you want to know how to kill?" He asked.
"I don't know," She said honestly. "But what happened to Shirley, I couldn't help. Britta has this amazing skill, and Troy and Abed are strong, and smart. And you're amazing at everything," She said. "I want to be able to help."
"You're doing fine," Jeff insisted.
"I'm selling drugs to college kids. I'm nothing," She said in annoyance. "I want a bigger part in the business, Jeff."
Up ahead, Shirley and Britta had already reached the wreckage. Shirley was beaming like a child on Christmas morning, while Britta was shooting smug looks at all the firemen, who all looked like they'd punch her if she wasn't a woman.
Jeff stopped walking and turned to Annie.
"We'll start small. I have a business meeting that you can tag along for. No talking though, and you don't handle a firearm until I say you can. Deal?"
Annie smiled. "Deal," She said, holding out her hand for Jeff to shake. The more serious she was about this, the funnier Jeff found it. Annie would be great, he knew that, but she was still a naïve, little girl on the inside. Jeff needed to get rid of that before he showed her anything too taxing.
There was a part of him, a very small part, that said this was a bad idea. It was the same part that told him to eat an extra slice of cake for dessert, and nagged him to just scam Pierce out of his position as boss. It was the part that always wanted to be around Annie, always begging to step closer, and watch her pretty face a little longer.
Sometimes, it even begged Jeff to kiss her, though he never would. Still, that tiny part grew louder every day, and right now that tiny part was telling him that this wasn't going to go as planned, and Jeff should stop kidding himself.
As always, he ignored it. Annie moving up in the crime world was a good thing, and Jeff liked teaching her, so this was good. It was all good.
XXX
When Jeff had first told everyone about the plan to blow up the factory, they'd all asked if Pierce was okay with it. Jeff had said yes even though Britta claimed it didn't sound like Pierce. Abed had sat silently and watched Jeff suspiciously, through the entire thing, but as usual, hadn't said anything.
Annie realized when Abed did that, it was because he knew something he shouldn't. In that example, he knew Jeff was lying.
Pierce it turned out, was very against the idea.
Annie had never met Pierce, despite spending all her free time in his mansion. She'd seen pictures of him before, in the papers and in portraits around the house, but she'd never actually met him face to face. From all the stories about him, he seemed kind of intimidating. A man so ruthless would probably frighten her to bits.
Britta refused to admit it, but Pierce scared her sometimes. Annie could see it in her eyes, whenever Jeff told her Pierce wanted to see her.
After the explosion, Annie finally had the pleasure of meeting Pierce Hawthorne.
She wasn't even at the mansion to hang out or anything. She was only stopping by to drop Jeff's cut for the Greendale project, and then leave and get some sleep.
When she went inside, she could hear shouting coming from the kitchen. Troy and Britta were standing in the hall, peeping through the doorway, too afraid to go inside.
"What's going on?" Annie whispered.
"Jeff went against Pierce for the plan to blow up the factory," Troy said. "They've been going at it for about an hour."
"Wait, Pierce is here?" Annie asked. As far as she knew, Pierce didn't spend any time outside his office, or City Hall.
"Oh yeah," Britta said. "And he is so mad." She looked like she wasn't sure if she was enjoying Jeff getting into trouble, or afraid that Pierce might catch her and Troy spying.
"Where's Abed?" Annie asked.
"Caught in the crossfire, poor guy," Troy said. Annie peeped inside, over his shoulder.
Abed was indeed caught in the crossfire. He was sitting at the kitchen table, eyes moving back and forth between Jeff and Pierce like he was watching a game of ping pong. Jeff was at the sink holding a glass of scotch, looking really bored, while Pierce shouted scorn at him. Pierce was by the fridge. His arms were flailing and his face was red.
Annie didn't know him very well, but even she could tell that wasn't a look she would want thrown in her direction.
"It was the right thing to do!" Jeff insisted.
"You specifically went against my orders, Jeffrey," Pierce shot back, not listening to Jeff.
"And now Laybourne knows we're an actual threat!"
"I don't care! Laybourne is not the problem here, you are!"
"Poor Abed," Annie said quietly.
"I swear, one day his loyalty to Jeff is gonna come back to bite him in the ass," Britta noted.
"I can't believe you would disobey me like that."
"I can't believe you thought I wouldn't disobey you like that. You were acting like an idiot."
"One day, Jeffrey, this attitude of yours is going to get you in a lot of trouble," Pierce warned, he turned to head for the door, and Troy and Britta fled instantly. Annie wasn't quite as prepared, and ended up standing around awkwardly when Pierce walked out.
He scowled down at her. "Who are you?"
Annie wanted to tell him, but her throat closed up. She opened her mouth, then closed it again when she realized noting was coming out.
"She's my dealer," Jeff called out.
Pierce scoffed. "Her?" He said turning back to face Jeff. "She's just a kid."
"She's the best," Jeff said firmly. Annie had never heard him say that about her before. She knew she was good, but she doubted she was the best. Jeff was probably only doing it to be argumentative, but it still made her stomach flutter.
Pierce turned back to Annie, eyeing her up suspiciously.
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen," Annie said.
Pierce laughed. "Wow, Jeffrey. Your best drug-dealer is an eighteen year old girl?"
Jeff was unimpressed by Pierce's insults. "If anything, I think that says something about the guys you hire, considering they're all in their thirties and nowhere near as skilled as her," He shot at Pierce, then took a victory sip of his scotch.
Pierce glared at him, and walked away without another word. "This isn't over, Jeffrey," He called back as he walked up the stairs.
Jeff waited a good few seconds for him to get out of earshot, then turned to Abed.
"You're collecting from northern nieghbourhoods, right?"
Abed nodded.
"Tell them we've gone up by ten percent. If anyone fails to pay, I want you to give them a scare, but don't kill them. I don't want to have to deal with more dead bodies," Jeff said, like he wasn't aware that Annie was standing right there.
He never talked business in front of her. In fact, he never talked business in front of anyone.
"And who do I bring the extra ten to?"
"Me," Jeff said. "Pierce stays out of the loop for this little project." He poured himself another glass and took a seat across from Abed. "And don't tell Troy anything. This stays between you and me for the time being."
The corners of Abed's lips curled up with understanding. He nodded, and walked out of the kitchen, with an excited expression.
Annie wasn't sure if she should go in, or come back later, but Jeff beat her to it. "You gonna stand there all night?"
She walked over to him hesitantly, and dropped the envelope with Jeff's usual thirty percent. "I have your cut," She said simply.
Jeff picked it up, and flicked through the cash carelessly. "Good job," He said simply, though he didn't sound like he meant it. He looked tired, and stressed. More so than usual. There was something stony in his face. Something new. It was like his determined look, but also much different, like the cogs in his head were all turning at top speed.
"That business meeting of mine is tomorrow. I want you here no later than midday, understand?"
"Yes." Annie nodded.
"Good," Jeff said. "You can go now."
Annie gave him a final nod, and left like he'd asked.
Title: Criminology 101
Character/Pairing(s): 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 - This is sort of a filler, but I have the next part half finished and it should be up sometime this weekend if I don't procrastinate too much. Also, I love how you're all feeling weirded out by how much you're enjoying the group's evulz.
Part 1 // Part 2a/2b
Laybourne didn't waste any time getting them back for Slater and Starburns. He hit them right where it hurt this time around, taking out three of Pierce's contacts in the bank, and one of Pierce's judges. It was still business, but Jeff had a sinking feeling that things were gonna start to get real personal, real soon.
Laybourne was trying to get a rise out of them. He wanted to scare them enough that they wouldn't fight back. Chang had come up with some info, saying Laybourne was bitter about losing Starburns, and was planning on taking back the drug business around the college campuses.
On the bright side, Annie was rocking the Greendale operation, like she was born to do it. Without Starburns in her way, everything was going successfully. Jeff felt a sense of pride, knowing his first solo project was going so well. He sort of wanted to boast about it in front of Pierce, but the old man probably wouldn't give a crap.
Annie was learning quickly too. Their lessons weren't very frequent, or even scheduled. Usually they had one whenever Jeff thought of something he wanted her to know. He taught her a few tricks about spreading the word. Gave her ways to stay hidden from cops or campus security.
He wanted to take her out to their supplier soon. It was barely any different than what she was doing, except for a little more dangerous at times. Their supplier, Vaughn, was sort of unpredictable. He sold good stuff; Jeff wasn't sure where he got it, but he knew he was shipped in most of the time.
Annie wasn't quite ready to meet Vaughn yet, but she was well on her way. Jeff was sort of excited about it.
Overall, his workload seemed to be lowering. Things were finally starting to go his way, and Jeff found himself finally having enough free time to go to the casino every now and again, for a round of roulette. He hadn't been able to do that in a very long time, and it was nice having somewhere to go where he didn't have to hear Troy and Abed playing Kickpuncher, or Britta acting like … well, Britta.
And then Laybourne made his next move, and everything went to hell.
XXX
Annie and Jeff were sitting together in the living room discussing marketing tactics. Jeff was trying to teach her how to get word to areas outside the college. Apparently, Annie was good enough to take her drugs to the actual streets now. He still wanted to keep her on the Greendale campus, but he didn't want her to limit herself anymore. She was still only selling the light stuff, but she had a feeling he was gonna move her up to some more hardcore drugs soon.
She wondered is she should feel bad about that, but it seemed the more time she spent in the Hawthorne mansion, the more her morals thawed away.
Jeff was explaining to that she should expand slowly, only taking the neighbourhood where GCC was situated at first. He had a map in front of him, and he was in the middle of circling the areas he wanted her to cover, when Britta burst in.
Her hair was askew, and there was blood on her hands.
"They went after Shirley!" She announced to the room.
Troy and Abed shared a look, from the couch where they were playing some crazy card game, and jumped up, following Britta out. Jeff went after her too, completely forgetting about their lesson.
Annie followed slowly behind, not sure if she was in the group enough to be a part of this.
Shirley was lying in the foyer covered in bruises from her to toe. Her uniform had bloodstains all over it. She looked like she had fallen off a mountain.
"What the hell happened?" Troy exclaimed.
Britta stood by Jeff's side, still panic-stricken.
"Was it Laybourne?" Abed asked Shirley.
"Of course it was Laybourne!" Britta shouted. "Who else would it be?"
"Everybody calm down," Jeff said. "Britta, go get Nurse Jackie. Troy, Abed, move Shirley upstairs to whatever bedroom's nearest."
Britta ran off without another word, and Troy and Abed nodded, getting to work right away.
Jeff turned to face Annie. He gave her a surprised look, almost like he'd forgotten she was there. "Go home, Annie," He said firmly, before grabbing his keys and walking towards the door. Annie followed quickly behind, trying to keep up with his large strides.
"What are you gonna do?" She asked.
"I need to have a talk with Pierce," Jeff said through gritted teeth.
Annie didn't know much about the mafia hierarchy. She knew Pierce was in charge and Jeff was right under him, but she didn't know if that meant Jeff could yell at Pierce. From the determined look on Jeff's face, it didn't matter.
"Why are you going after Pierce? I thought it was Laybourne."
Jeff reached his car, jamming the keys in furiously. "There's a certain politics to this sort of thing, and right now, Pierce is as much to blame as Laybourne," Jeff spat. "Go home, Annie," He repeated, more angrily this time, then drove away without another word.
XXX
"Pierce!" Jeff practically shouted as he entered Pierce's office in City Hall. Pierce hardly ever used it, preferring to run things in his mansion, but every once in a while he needed to act like he was the mayor and not a crime-lord, and that involved a visit to City Hall.
"Jeffrey, what brings you here?"
"Guess who was right about Laybourne?" Jeff asked, pulling the newspaper from Pierce's hand and throwing it to the other side of the room.
"What, did they get another judge?"
"No, Pierce! They tried to get Shirley!" Jeff exclaimed. "He's making it personal now, and you know it."
"Jeff, that's hardly-"
"He thinks he can screw with you, and this is his way of showing it!" Jeff shouted. "Do not tell me we're just going to let this sit and then go after another one of his irrelevant goons. We need to fight back!"
"And how do you suppose we do that, Jeffrey?" Pierce said, a look of annoyance on his face.
"We show him that if he keeps going after our people we'll take something he loves."
"And what would that be?"
Jeff smirked. "The factory." His plan was great. He'd been considering it since Slater, and if anything, the attack on Shirley made him more sure than ever. He didn't care about going after Rich, anymore. That wouldn't make a difference to Jeff. Now he wanted to take down Laybourne if it was the last thing he did.
Laybourne and his men had a factory. They passed it off as a cracker factory, but everyone knew that was where he handled most of his drugs, and stolen goods. It was all the merchandise he had. If they got rid of it, Laybourne would have nothing. His business would take an nosedive until he managed to get new supplies for his men to sell.
The cops may never be able to get a warrant for the factory, but Jeff could think of other ways of getting rid of it. Britta probably had a few tricks up her sleeve, and it had been an outrageously long time since they'd used her skill-set. She was practically unemployed.
"No," Pierce said firmly.
"What do you mean no? It's a great idea."
"It'll start a war."
"We're already in a war! And losing!"
"The answer is no Jeffrey. We will retaliate the way we always have. Go after the guys they keep at the dock or something. Don't make this personal."
Jeff sighed, but nodded. "It is personal, though," He said quietly. "Shirley's your friend, and Laybourne knows it. You know it won't be long before he starts going after Troy, or Abed. Or me."
And with that Jeff left City Hall.
He had no intention of doing what Pierce had said. Pierce was busy with all this re-election nonsense, anyway. He wouldn't noticed if Jeff bent the rules a little bit. And Jeff had been basically running the operation for the last couple of months. He didn't need Pierce's permission. He was more of a boss than Pierce ever was, and all of Pierce's men were Jeff's men first. They liked him better, they trusted his judgment. They would help.
If Laybourne wanted a war, Jeff was gonna give him exactly that, and he was going to win it.
XXX
The attack on Shirley drove everyone on the edge. Annie came to visit every day, but everyone was too busy to talk to her.
Abed was always out running errands and collecting information on Laybourne. The entire week, Annie only saw him twice. She had a feeling she was in the house more than he was.
Troy and Jeff were attached at the hip. Every few hours they'd leave the mansion together, and come back with Troy's knuckles a little redder and Jeff's clothes stained with some one else's blood.
Britta, it seemed, did in fact have a purpose. She spent nearly all day sitting at the kitchen island building a device, that Annie wanted to think wasn't a bomb, but knew deep down that it was an obvious fact.
The mansion had maps scattered all over the place. Jeff had set up a bulletin board in the living room, and covered it in pictures of random men who worked for Laybourne and of the cracker factory. Every day he'd take a picture of one of the men down, with a vindictive smile on his face.
All of them were so busy that they hardly spoke to Annie. Her business didn't seem quite as big and bad when she was watching them actually work on something that mattered.
She spent all her time talking to Shirley instead. Shirley stayed in Britta's bed for the next couple of days. Jeff brought her kids over to the mansion, and let them stay as long as they didn't come downstairs and disrupt anyone's work.
Shirley, Annie learned, had been a friend of Pierce and Jeff's since she was first starting out as a cop. When she began, she wanted to catch Pierce, not willing to let her integrity go for some extra cash. Through the years she learned that Pierce had a lot of cops in the Greendale PD, and even if she tried to catch him, she'd never be able to make it stick. It annoyed her at first, but then Jeff started moving up in Pierce's business, and since he was the Hawthorne lawyer, they ran into each other a lot.
Somehow, Jeff and Shirley became friends, sharing gossip about Shirley's fellow cops, who Jeff seemed to know by name. He charmed her out of information, never giving anything in return, until eventually Shirley started charging on all these tidbits. They ended up with a deal, and after her husband left, Jeff gave her more to do. Now Shirley was working for them entirely, and Jeff was sending her money to help with her house and kids.
"I'll tell you, that Jeffrey may seem threatening, but deep down he's a softy. Once you're on his team, he'll do anything for you," Shirley said with a smile.
Annie was beginning to see that.
Jeff had never worked as ferociously as he was now that he was getting revenge on Shirley's behalf. On the outside, it may have looked like he was just trying to retaliate, but every time Jeff passed by Shirley's room he went in with a smile and encouragement that he was gonna make it up to her.
He even played with her kids for a little while, when Troy and Abed were out, and Shirley was sleeping.
This wasn't just business for him. He cared, and he was going to make sure Laybourne knew just how much.
When Friday came around, Jeff had a smile on his face again. He told Troy and Abed to stay in the mansion and play with Shirley's boys. They both seemed disappointed, but Jeff barely noticed. He, and Britta, told Shirley to come with them, because they had something to show her.
"Annie, you're coming too," He said, as they all stood, putting on their jackets.
"What? Why?" Annie and Britta asked at the same time. Britta frowned at Annie suspiciously afterward.
"I want you to see how we take care of our own," He'd said simply, with a smile on his face.
They drove out to a little cafe on main street, that didn't seem very important. The barista seemed to know Jeff, and sat them in the front, right at a window.
"Britta, how long do we have?" Jeff asked.
Britta checked her watch, and smiled. "About a minute," She said, pressing a button.
Jeff grinned at her, with a look in his eye. It was like nothing Annie had ever seen before. She'd seen many sides of Jeff in the short time that she'd known him, but this look was something else. This look was almost … evil. She shuddered, and sipped her hot chocolate, as Jeff told Shirley to just look out the window.
"In case you're ever in doubt, this is how much you mean to us," He said to her. "And you too," He added to Annie. Britta sent them a curious look, but Annie just avoided meeting her eyes.
Annie wasn't sure what exactly he was talking about, but then from the distance, there as a loud bang. Everyone on the street stopped and looked in the direction of the noise. A few streets over, a cloud of flames rose up into the sky, followed by ash. An explosion. A bomb.
Britta smiled smugly at the mushroom cloud rising up into the sky. Jeff looked a little proud too. Shirley's expression was unreadable. She looked mostly surprised, like this was the last thing she'd ever expect.
"You blew up the factory for me?" She asked quietly.
Jeff nodded.
"Oh, Jeffrey." She took his hand and squeezed it gratefully, then hugged Britta tightly.
The bruises and cuts were mostly healed now, only leaving tiny shadows on her cheeks.
"Just remember you can always count on us, Shirley," Britta said. Shirley seemed giddy at all the affection Jeff and Britta were showing, in their weird Jeff and Britta way.
There was a sparkle in both their eyes. Unique and mysterious. Annie found herself wishing she could understand it. She didn't know when this feeling had started. It could have been just as the bomb blew up, it could have been there from the first moment she met Jeff and saw that designer shirt with mixtures of blue and red, that he was wearing.
All she knew was that she wanted to understand that look. She wanted to watch an explosion and feel the utter glee that they felt. She wanted to be a part of the team. The good stuff, and the bad stuff. The simple drugs, and the elaborate revenge plans.
Annie wanted it all, and more.
XXX
After the cafe, they all went for a walk. Shirley wanted to go see the wreckage. Britta wanted to see if the FBI were there yet. They would probably know it was her work, some of her best if Jeff was being honest, but they could never prove it, and he just knew Britta wanted to gloat about that for a while.
Pierce always said she was humble, but Jeff knew that was the most far-off deduction of Britta known to man.
Jeff was just happy he finally got to get Laybourne back. Of course, this meant his workload was gonna get worse. This was just the beginning. Everything was going to be serious business from now on, but he reveled in the short victory. This was a good day, and all his work had finally paid off.
Annie walked alongside him, as Shirley and Britta went on ahead. She stared at her feet, shyly, as they walked. Jeff worried briefly that he might have shown her too much to soon, but Annie was stronger than she looked. She may wear sweaters and short skirts, but Abed had been right. She had the potential to be one of the best, and Jeff wanted to tap into that potential, now more than ever.
"What are you thinking?" He asked her, slowing down his pace so that Shirley and Britta would be too far to hear.
Annie looked up at him with her giant eyes. "This is so much bigger than just a drug thing isn't it?" She asked quietly.
Jeff nodded.
"And you've killed people. People I know." It was meant to be a question, but it came out as more of a statement.
"Starburns," Jeff admitted.
Annie nodded. She looked up at him again, with a determined look in her eye. "I want you to teach me."
Jeff frowned. "Teach you what?"
"Everything. How to shoot a gun, how to defend myself if some one ever tries to come after me, like Shirley. How to kill."
Jeff tried not to laugh, because it would probably insult her. "Annie, why do you want to know how to kill?" He asked.
"I don't know," She said honestly. "But what happened to Shirley, I couldn't help. Britta has this amazing skill, and Troy and Abed are strong, and smart. And you're amazing at everything," She said. "I want to be able to help."
"You're doing fine," Jeff insisted.
"I'm selling drugs to college kids. I'm nothing," She said in annoyance. "I want a bigger part in the business, Jeff."
Up ahead, Shirley and Britta had already reached the wreckage. Shirley was beaming like a child on Christmas morning, while Britta was shooting smug looks at all the firemen, who all looked like they'd punch her if she wasn't a woman.
Jeff stopped walking and turned to Annie.
"We'll start small. I have a business meeting that you can tag along for. No talking though, and you don't handle a firearm until I say you can. Deal?"
Annie smiled. "Deal," She said, holding out her hand for Jeff to shake. The more serious she was about this, the funnier Jeff found it. Annie would be great, he knew that, but she was still a naïve, little girl on the inside. Jeff needed to get rid of that before he showed her anything too taxing.
There was a part of him, a very small part, that said this was a bad idea. It was the same part that told him to eat an extra slice of cake for dessert, and nagged him to just scam Pierce out of his position as boss. It was the part that always wanted to be around Annie, always begging to step closer, and watch her pretty face a little longer.
Sometimes, it even begged Jeff to kiss her, though he never would. Still, that tiny part grew louder every day, and right now that tiny part was telling him that this wasn't going to go as planned, and Jeff should stop kidding himself.
As always, he ignored it. Annie moving up in the crime world was a good thing, and Jeff liked teaching her, so this was good. It was all good.
XXX
When Jeff had first told everyone about the plan to blow up the factory, they'd all asked if Pierce was okay with it. Jeff had said yes even though Britta claimed it didn't sound like Pierce. Abed had sat silently and watched Jeff suspiciously, through the entire thing, but as usual, hadn't said anything.
Annie realized when Abed did that, it was because he knew something he shouldn't. In that example, he knew Jeff was lying.
Pierce it turned out, was very against the idea.
Annie had never met Pierce, despite spending all her free time in his mansion. She'd seen pictures of him before, in the papers and in portraits around the house, but she'd never actually met him face to face. From all the stories about him, he seemed kind of intimidating. A man so ruthless would probably frighten her to bits.
Britta refused to admit it, but Pierce scared her sometimes. Annie could see it in her eyes, whenever Jeff told her Pierce wanted to see her.
After the explosion, Annie finally had the pleasure of meeting Pierce Hawthorne.
She wasn't even at the mansion to hang out or anything. She was only stopping by to drop Jeff's cut for the Greendale project, and then leave and get some sleep.
When she went inside, she could hear shouting coming from the kitchen. Troy and Britta were standing in the hall, peeping through the doorway, too afraid to go inside.
"What's going on?" Annie whispered.
"Jeff went against Pierce for the plan to blow up the factory," Troy said. "They've been going at it for about an hour."
"Wait, Pierce is here?" Annie asked. As far as she knew, Pierce didn't spend any time outside his office, or City Hall.
"Oh yeah," Britta said. "And he is so mad." She looked like she wasn't sure if she was enjoying Jeff getting into trouble, or afraid that Pierce might catch her and Troy spying.
"Where's Abed?" Annie asked.
"Caught in the crossfire, poor guy," Troy said. Annie peeped inside, over his shoulder.
Abed was indeed caught in the crossfire. He was sitting at the kitchen table, eyes moving back and forth between Jeff and Pierce like he was watching a game of ping pong. Jeff was at the sink holding a glass of scotch, looking really bored, while Pierce shouted scorn at him. Pierce was by the fridge. His arms were flailing and his face was red.
Annie didn't know him very well, but even she could tell that wasn't a look she would want thrown in her direction.
"It was the right thing to do!" Jeff insisted.
"You specifically went against my orders, Jeffrey," Pierce shot back, not listening to Jeff.
"And now Laybourne knows we're an actual threat!"
"I don't care! Laybourne is not the problem here, you are!"
"Poor Abed," Annie said quietly.
"I swear, one day his loyalty to Jeff is gonna come back to bite him in the ass," Britta noted.
"I can't believe you would disobey me like that."
"I can't believe you thought I wouldn't disobey you like that. You were acting like an idiot."
"One day, Jeffrey, this attitude of yours is going to get you in a lot of trouble," Pierce warned, he turned to head for the door, and Troy and Britta fled instantly. Annie wasn't quite as prepared, and ended up standing around awkwardly when Pierce walked out.
He scowled down at her. "Who are you?"
Annie wanted to tell him, but her throat closed up. She opened her mouth, then closed it again when she realized noting was coming out.
"She's my dealer," Jeff called out.
Pierce scoffed. "Her?" He said turning back to face Jeff. "She's just a kid."
"She's the best," Jeff said firmly. Annie had never heard him say that about her before. She knew she was good, but she doubted she was the best. Jeff was probably only doing it to be argumentative, but it still made her stomach flutter.
Pierce turned back to Annie, eyeing her up suspiciously.
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen," Annie said.
Pierce laughed. "Wow, Jeffrey. Your best drug-dealer is an eighteen year old girl?"
Jeff was unimpressed by Pierce's insults. "If anything, I think that says something about the guys you hire, considering they're all in their thirties and nowhere near as skilled as her," He shot at Pierce, then took a victory sip of his scotch.
Pierce glared at him, and walked away without another word. "This isn't over, Jeffrey," He called back as he walked up the stairs.
Jeff waited a good few seconds for him to get out of earshot, then turned to Abed.
"You're collecting from northern nieghbourhoods, right?"
Abed nodded.
"Tell them we've gone up by ten percent. If anyone fails to pay, I want you to give them a scare, but don't kill them. I don't want to have to deal with more dead bodies," Jeff said, like he wasn't aware that Annie was standing right there.
He never talked business in front of her. In fact, he never talked business in front of anyone.
"And who do I bring the extra ten to?"
"Me," Jeff said. "Pierce stays out of the loop for this little project." He poured himself another glass and took a seat across from Abed. "And don't tell Troy anything. This stays between you and me for the time being."
The corners of Abed's lips curled up with understanding. He nodded, and walked out of the kitchen, with an excited expression.
Annie wasn't sure if she should go in, or come back later, but Jeff beat her to it. "You gonna stand there all night?"
She walked over to him hesitantly, and dropped the envelope with Jeff's usual thirty percent. "I have your cut," She said simply.
Jeff picked it up, and flicked through the cash carelessly. "Good job," He said simply, though he didn't sound like he meant it. He looked tired, and stressed. More so than usual. There was something stony in his face. Something new. It was like his determined look, but also much different, like the cogs in his head were all turning at top speed.
"That business meeting of mine is tomorrow. I want you here no later than midday, understand?"
"Yes." Annie nodded.
"Good," Jeff said. "You can go now."
Annie gave him a final nod, and left like he'd asked.