Fic: Criminology 101 (4/?)
Fandom: Community
Title: Criminology 101
Character/Pairing(s): 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 wasn't gonna post this today, but I figured the fandom needed a bit of a pick-me-up. Keep fighting for our show, you guys. We can beat this NBC monster.#SIXSEASONSANDAMOVIE (also ignore the weirdness of the layout. LJ hates me, etc.)
Part 1 // Part 2a/2b / Part 3
Jeff didn't bother explaining what it was he was going to be showing Annie. She wasn't an idiot though; she knew that when he said business meeting he meant something else entirely. She just didn't know what that something else was yet. She was anxious to find out, though.
Jeff seemed to be in a much better mood when she arrived at the mansion. He'd gotten over his argument with Pierce, and Annie figured it was the sort of thing that happened regularly, people just didn't talk about it. Like those times when Troy left the mansion with a clean baseball bat, and came back with a bloody one. Or those times when Abed treated himself to a new DVD with mysteriously sourced money.
Everyone knew what was going on, but nobody said anything.
"I hope you're ready for this," Jeff said, as they got in his car so he could drive them to wherever it was that they were going.
"What exactly are you gonna do at this business meeting?" Annie asked.
"Well, as you know, most of Greendale pay us a little fee for protection. If they ever need a favour, they come to us, and we help them out, all they have to do is pay us a little cash."
Annie nodded. "Yeah, my father used to always pay. He never got a visit from anyone important, though. Usually, it was that Leonard guy."
Jeff grimaced. "Ugh, Leonard. Your father's lucky. You don't want to get a visit from somebody important, usually that means it's bad news."
"You mean like now?"
Jeff smiled. "Exactly like now. A neighbour of ours, Vicki, has loyally paid us for years. She recently got a new boyfriend who has been less than kind to her, so I'm going to take care of that for her."
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'm gonna make sure he's not a problem anymore," Jeff said, smirking giddily at her.
Either he was enjoying keeping it a secret, or he was enjoying the fact that he was gonna get to beat some one up today. A part of Annie wanted it to be the former, but an ever larger part wanted it to be the latter. She wondered if that said something about the kind of person she was becoming.
They reached a small suburban house. There was a large girl in a yellow coat and hat, Vicki presumably, watering down some flowers with a hose.
Jeff gave her a charming smile as they both climbed out of the car. Vicki looked nervous, but determined. She knew Jeff wasn't gonna go easy on her boyfriend, but she seemed to be okay with it.
As they got closer, Annie noticed that Vicki was sporting a large purple bruise on her left cheek. So that's what the boyfriend had been doing. Annie was glad Jeff was gonna handle him now. Jeff may do a lot of bad things, but he still had a kind streak. At least he wasn't all bad, and if anyone deserved a beating, it was monsters like Vicki's boyfriend.
"He's inside," Vicki told Jeff, coldly.
Jeff nodded. "You might not want to come in for a the next ten minutes or so," He told her honestly, then led Annie inside the house.
The house was nice and clean. It looked rather homey, actually. There was a fireplace, that didn't look very used, and pictures all over the place.
"Mike?" Jeff called out as he walked through the house.
Annie saw through some sliding doors that Mike was out in the garden. He was lifting weights. He was much larger than Jeff, though not taller. His muscles were as big as Annie's head, and he had a greasy, blonde mustache that matched his hair. Overall, Annie thought he was pretty gross looking.
Jeff wasted no time striding through the doors and up to Vicki's large boyfriend.
"Mike, is it?" He asked.
Mike lowered his weights and squinted at Jeff. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Jeff Winger, a friend of Vicki's, and I'm here to tell you to please pack your things and leave."
Mike scoffed. "Winger? I've heard all about you. You work for that old rat, Hawthorne."
Jeff's expression darkened at the mention of Pierce. Maybe he wasn't quite as over it as he was pretending to be.
"Yes, I do actually," He said through gritted teeth. "Vicki is a very loyal customer of our services, and she kindly requests that you pack up your things and leaver her life. Forever."
Mike squared his shoulders and took a step closer to Jeff. "I'm not afraid of you."
Jeff just tilted his head to the side, like Mike was nothing but a puppy trying to act like a wolf. "I don't care, Mike. Vicki is, and she wants you gone. So go."
"You're gonna have to make me," Mike spat.
Jeff smirked. "I am so glad you said that." He took a step closer, and Mike threw a punch at him. Jeff swung himself out of the way, causing Mike to trip forward. Taking the opportunity while Mike was off-guard, Jeff gabbed the back of his neck and pushed him all the was up against the nearest wall, holding his arm behind his back. Half of Mike's face got squashed against the red bricks of the house.
"The problem with men like you, Mike, is that you think you can do whatever you want," Jeff said threateningly into Mike's ear. He said Mike's name like Mike was nothing but a disgusting rodent, which wasn't that far off, the way Annie saw it. He pulled Mike from the wall, smashing his head against it one more time. The impact was rough enough to cause a large gash to appear on Mike's forehead. Jeff let him go and he fell to the ground, groaning in pain.
"You can't do what you want, though. I can do what I want, and I want you to pack your things and leave this town. Never contact Vicki again. And if I ever hear about you doing what you did to her, to any other woman, I will find you, and I will tear you apart from the inside out," Jeff said. His voice was low and dangerous.
He had a look in his eye; The same look he wore while watching the cracker factory explode. He was enjoying himself, that was for sure, but it was more than that. His eyes were bright, and young, and full of intense life. He didn't sound like it was an empty threat either. Jeff would tear Mike apart if he wanted to, and he'd enjoy every second of it.
Annie didn't know if she was frightened or aroused, but they were both things she really shouldn't be feeling towards Jeff right now.
Mike didn't respond, so Jeff bent over, making himself seem even more intimidating. "Do you understand me, Mike? Or am I gonna have to bash it into that empty shell you call a brain?" Jeff sounded like a teacher talking down on a student, which made the fact that he was threatening Mike's life seem even more disturbing.
"I understand," Mike whimpered.
"Then get moving!" Jeff ordered. He gave Mike a swift kick to the side, causing Mike to flinch and cough. He jumped up and scurry inside the house as fast as he could.
Jeff watched him leave, then smiled at Annie. "And I didn't even have to use my gun."
Annie swallowed. "That was ..."
Jeff shrugged modestly. "That was the basics," He explained. "There's still a lot more for you to learn."
"Can't wait," Annie said before she stopped herself. Jeff just smiled at her curiously, stepping closer to her again.
"You are the strangest person, Annie Edison."
Annie just smiled back.
XXX
Jeff didn't take Annie straight back to the mansion. Dealing with Mike, that was just the first of many little things Annie was gonna have to learn about. What Jeff had in mind for now, was a present.
She'd handled the Mike situation better than Jeff would have thought. She may be tiny, but she was also strong. She didn't flinch when Jeff rammed Mike into the wall, and she didn't seem afraid of him afterwards. Well, not entirely afraid.
Even Abed, was a little scared the first time he'd witnessed Jeff trying to scare the crap out of some one, and Abed wasn't afraid of anything.
"Where are we going?" Annie asked, as Jeff drove through the Greendale streets, towards the docks.
"I have a surprise for you," Jeff said with a smirk.
She gave him a suspicious look, but grinned anyway. Deep down, Annie was still an eighteen year old girl. She loved surprises just as much as any teenage girl would.
"You have a soft spot for struggling people don't you?" Annie asked him, as he drove. She watched him expectantly.
"Everybody's struggling, Annie. Some just handle it better than others."
She rolled her eyes. "If you don't want to answer, just say so. Don't bother trying to divert my attention."
Jeff glanced at her curiously. She was too smart. It was either gonna get her into a lot of trouble or get her out of it. Jeff wasn't sure which one yet, but that's usually how it went with smart people in the business.
"What do you mean by soft spot?" He eventually asked.
She turned to look at him, surprised that he was actually letting her talk to him about this. To be honest, Jeff was kind of surprised too. Maybe she was a little more under his skin than he thought.
"Abed said you sent a mole's family money once," Annie told him. "He also said you do things like that a lot. Help people who have tough domestic situations. And the way you were with Shirley and her kids. It just seems like you have a soft spot."
"I don't like it when things are unfair," Jeff admitted after a moment of silence.
"You steal, and you kill, not to mention a whole bunch of other illegal activities you refuse to tell me about," She told him with a pointed look.
"I didn't say it made sense," Jeff said. "I'm a lawyer. My job is to make sure people get what's coming to them when they deserve it. Most of the time, they do."
"You also keep Pierce and everyone else out of trouble, when they probably deserve it just as much as anyone."
Jeff shrugged. "They're family. There are no rules when it comes to family." He caught her eye, and saw her watching him carefully. Her giant, blue eyes looked like they could see right through Jeff, and it made him feel anxious, but in a strangely good way. "Why do you ask, anyway? Do you think it makes me weak or something?"
Annie shook her head earnestly. "You still get how normal civilians think. I don't think anyone else in the group understands what that's like anymore. It makes you great."
"Why, because deep down I'm still partly human?"
"No. It's because you know how to give them what they want and still gain something from them. It's a good skill, Jeff. It doesn't make you weak at all."
Jeff never really thought about it that way. He did have a soft spot, he knew that. He just always ignored it's existence for the sake of saving face, but maybe she was right. He knew how to cater to the people, and it's a lot easier to get people on your side when hey like you.
At the docks, Jeff led her out to his usual meeting placer with Vaughn.
"Remember this place," Jeff told Annie was he led her past yachts that belonged to men richer than both Jeff and Annie put together. Maybe not as rich as Pierce. No one in Greendale really was.
"Why?"
"Because from now on, you'll be collecting from the supplier," He told her with a smirk.
Her eyes brightened at the new responsibilities.
They reached the end of he dock, where Vaughn was waiting as always. He looked high, which wasn't uncommon with him, and he'd lost his shirt somewhere, which made Jeff roll his eyes. Vaughn may be a dirty hippie, but he was the best supplier in town so Jeff had to put up with his weird antics.
"Vaughn, this is Annie, one of our dealers," Jeff said.
"Hello. How are you? Nice to meet you," He said, giving her a mellowed out nod. Annie giggled, girlishly which made Jeff frown. Great, now he was gonna call her something lame like his blueberry and she was gonna fall for it the same way Britta had.
Jeff still had nightmares about Britta's revenge plans against him. In the end, Jeff got Shirley to deal with Vaughn instead of letting Britta blow him up. They couldn't afford to kill him at the time, so he got off lucky. He might not be so fortunate this time around. Jeff already didn't like him, and if he turned Anne into a hippie dealer like he was, Jeff was gonna drown him in bong water like he'd always imagined doing.
Seriously, he was not in the mood for this. Not for Vaughn. Vaughn didn't deserve girlish giggles.
"She'll be meeting you from now on," Jeff said.
Annie shook Vaughn's hand, with a shy smile. Vaughn grinned at her.
"It'll be a pleasure trading with such a beautiful mountain flower," Vaughn said. And there was the lame nickname Jeff had predicted.
He rolled his eyes, as Annie blushed. Why was it that whenever Jeff wanted to shoot some one, it was always some one he couldn't afford to replace? He made a mental note to get Abed to find them some more suppliers.
"Anyway," Jeff said loudly. "The prices stay the same, the amount stays the same. If you try to scam us again, it won't be just your tiny nipples that Shirley will come after," He warned.
Vaughn's face fell, and he looked serious, which was a rare occurrence. "I understand," He said.
Jeff nodded and handed Vaughn his usual amount. Vaughn gave Annie the bag of drugs, with a smile, before giving Jeff a respectable nod.
"Nice doing business one last time, Winger."
"Yeah, yeah," Jeff said, not quite sharing the sentiment.
Vaughn shrugged. "Bye. See you. Lates."
Jeff winced at lates. The three greeting thing he could handle, the made up greetings were another story. Vaughn disappeared among the boats. Jeff knew he lived in one of them, though he never bothered to figure out which one. He always just assumed it would be the dirtiest one around, if he needed to find it.
Annie gave Vaughn a little wave as he walked away.
"What are you doing?" Jeff asked in annoyance.
Annie held her hands, and the drugs, behind her back, self-consciously. "Nothing," She said quickly.
Jeff decided to ignore whatever it was that was happening with her and their dirty supply hippie, and just go back to the mansion.
Whatever. He didn't care if Annie was interested in Vaughn, it was just inconvenient was all. This was business, and the first rule of business was don't mix it with pleasure. Ever. Especially with the Vaughns of the system. It was gross, and inappropriate, and inconvenient. And really that was all there was to it.
Vaughn just wasn't Annie's type. She could do better. Not that Jeff cared.
His mood was considerably darker for the rest of the day, though. He may have taken a sinister pleasure in killing one of their less helpful workers, later that day, but he refused to acknowledge that it had anything to do with Annie, or the fact that he was picturing Vaughn while he did it.
XXX
Jeff continued to take her out on business meetings. They never escalated to more than just beating the poor person up. Jeff didn't kill anyone in front of her, and Annie was afraid to ask, so they continued to stick to the same routine.
He let her run most of the drug parts of things, now. She had a natural talent for it. She bought the drugs from Vaughn, and sold them to clients, and had no trouble except for one kid who liked to be lazy with his cash. She always managed to wrangle the money out of him though. She only ever had to answer to Jeff when giving him his cut of the profits, which wasn't a regular thing, so she could go weeks without paying him up. She didn't think he noticed, much. If he did, he'd probably say something.
He continued to slowly teach her about their operation. He let her go with Abed to collect money and information from the nieghbourhoods up north. He let her hang around Troy as he beat the crap out of guys who tried whistle-blowing. He let her tag along for all his business that didn't involve anyone getting killed.
She wondered if this was his weird way of trying to protect her, but he knew more about this sort of stuff than she did, and if he said she wasn't ready, than she wasn't ready.
A month later, he took her to the shooting range. It was an outside shooting range, and it was December so it was all half covered in snow. Apparently it belonged to Greendale PD, but of course, Pierce had people who let them in whenever they needed it.
Jeff didn't give Annie her own gun. He lent her one of the police ones while they were there, and didn't offer her his own, even though it was obviously much better. Jeff's gun, like his scotch, was one of those things that if anybody else touched it, he would make the earth swallow them whole. And probably laugh while doing it.
"Edison, don't hold the gun like it's a hairbrush. It's a weapon, and you can take some one's eye out like that," Jeff said, pushing her arm so she wasn't aiming at her feet anymore. The safety was on, and it wasn't loaded yet, but she figured it wasn't like they could kid around with this. A gun wasn't a toy, even in the crime world.
"Okay," Jeff said. He was standing beside her with earmuffs at his side, and glasses over his eyes. It made him look kind of funny, considering he was usually so well put together. Today, he'd gone casual, with just a sweaters and slacks under his winter coat.
"This model is pretty basic. It's one of the first ones, I used. Now, Troy said he taught you to load bullets already, so ..."
Annie loaded up the gun with ease. She'd practiced for a while, while Troy played Guitar Hero, because she'd wanted to impress Jeff. He raised an eyebrow at her when she smiled up at him, clearly enjoying this side of her.
"Okay," He said slowly. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Loading the gun's only half the process."
He stepped up closer to her, so that he was right in her personal space. He wrapped his hand around hers and the trigger, and raised her arm up, pointing it at the target.
"You need to find a position that's comfortable for you," He said. "But you also have to be able to aim properly, from whatever position that is," He explained.
His breath was in her ear, and it fogged up between them from the coldness in the air. Annie tried not to let it get to her, but it was making her anxious. She could feel her neck flushing, and her cheeks would be going pink soon, if the cold hadn't already done that for her. She tried not to think about how out of place she was, wearing her puffy blue coat, and her short skirt, here at a shooting range, with one of Greendale's most ruthless murderers.
"You aim, using that little nob thing at the front," He said, flicking the safety off, and lining the aim with his eye-line. He gave her an encouraging smile so she would do the same.
"It looked blurry," Annie said, as she did as she was told, lining the aim with the target's chest.
"That's good," Jeff told her, taking a step back to let her shoot.
She tried not to feel the absence of his warmth, but it was freezing outside, so it was a hard task.
"Whenever you're ready, you can fire," He said, putting the earmuffs on.
"Okay," Annie whispered to herself. "You can do this, Annie. Focus."
She took a breath to calm her nerves, then pressed her finger on the trigger.
The pulse of the shot, made her jerk backward slightly. Jeff put a hand on her back to steady her and smiled.
The shot had been loud, especially in the silence of the snow. Annie hadn't expected it to be so strong, and her hands were shaking a little from the impact. She was embarrassed that she wasn't taking this as well as she wanted to, but Jeff smiled down at her, proudly.
"That was pretty good," He said.
"It was?"
He nodded.
"But my hands are shaking."
Jeff shrugged. "You're just not used to it yet."
Annie beamed. He said yet, which meant she'd have plenty of time to get used to it. Annie was a determined person. When she did something, she did it well, and shooting was going to be no exception.
"Wanna try again?" Jeff asked.
She nodded eagerly.
"Maybe you'll hit something this time," He said, taking the step back again.
"I didn't hit anything?" Annie asked in disappointment.
Jeff laughed. "Not even close. But like I said, you'll get there."
Annie sighed, and leveled the gun up with her eyes again. She was definitely gonna get there. She found there was nothing she wanted more.
Except for maybe Jeff to step in close with her again, but she tried not to think about that.
XXX
Laybourne still hadn't tried to get back at them for the factory. Abed kept reassuring Jeff that that was a good thing. It probably meant Laybourne was scared. Jeff wanted to agree, but something told him it would be letting his guard down. Laybourne was stronger than that. He wouldn't just sit by while thousands of dollars worth of drugs went up in flames.
He was gonna get them back, Jeff knew it. He just didn't know how, and that scared him the most.
If Pierce had any ideas, he wasn't gonna share them.
Since Jeff went against him, Pierce had been a little more secretive. He still gave Jeff orders, and shared more with him than anyone else, but Jeff could see the suspicion in his eye. He didn't want to trust Jeff anymore.
Jeff was okay with that though. He'd started a little side project of his own, and if everything went according to plan, he wouldn't need Pierce anymore by the time elections rolled around.
He had Abed on his side, and that was already Pierce's two best men gone. Troy would go where Abed followed, and Shirley preferred Jeff to Pierce. Britta had an irrational fear of Pierce, but if anything that would probably benefit Jeff. Jeff had all of Pierce's men in his pocket, he knew more about this operation than Pierce did. All he needed was the money to run it, and if Abed kept skimming a little extra from the northern neighbourhoods without getting caught, he'd have that in no time.
Jeff was lucky to have Abed. He was fiercely loyal, and he understood this business the way Jeff did. He knew Jeff could do this better than Pierce, and he had an undying faith in Jeff and his talents. Together, he and Abed would run a master operation, bigger and better than Pierce and Laybourne put together.
All he needed to do was put an end to this silly war that didn't seem to end.
Since Annie was now taking care of most of the drug business, he had a lot less work to do. He could focus on other parts of the operation, like cheap civilians. He started taking a few cases at the firm, for some extra cash. He didn't technically work for the firm, but he needed somewhere to say he practiced, in case Pierce got in trouble, and enough of them owed him favours to let him pretend he was a one of them. Besides, Jeff liked being a lawyer. He was good at it, and the rules were a lot more straight-forward than they were with mobsters. It relaxed him.
These days, it was the only thing that relaxed him. That, and Annie's lessons. It was odd, doing something for somebody without getting anything back. It wasn't something that happened often, in the universe that Jeff lived in. Somehow, the way Annie smiled at him was enough.
He was aware that maybe he was growing a little too fond of her, and not in any way he'd felt before. Jeff had had plenty of lady-friends before. They came and went, always leggy and beautiful at the beginning, and bitter and vicious by the end. None of them were ever serious, and honestly, Jeff couldn't say he'd ever been in love. The way he operated with women was simple. Sleep with whichever one made his skin tingle, until he got bored. It had worked for him, but now Annie was changing everything.
The way Jeff felt about Annie, was unique. He wanted to protect her, but he also wanted to watch her tear the world apart, because he knew she could. He wanted to see every side of her: The crazy, and the innocent. He wanted to kiss her gently, and run his hands through her soft hair, but also ravish her and have wild sex.
He wasn't quite sure how he felt about any of this. Mostly, he just buried it all. But it wasn't gonna stay buried for long, that was for sure. Every time they had another lesson, Jeff found some excuse to just stand close to her, and smell her lavender shampoo. It was stupid, obviously, but it was also becoming a bit of a habit. A habit he didn't know how to break.
Annie was gonna be trouble for him. Feelings were a dangerous thing in the life they lived, especially in Jeff's position. His lifestyle didn't lave room for emotions, and yet, Annie had clawed her way into his mind, and wasn't about to get kicked out any time soon.
Truth be told, he didn't want her out.
Title: Criminology 101
Character/Pairing(s): 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 wasn't gonna post this today, but I figured the fandom needed a bit of a pick-me-up. Keep fighting for our show, you guys. We can beat this NBC monster.#SIXSEASONSANDAMOVIE (also ignore the weirdness of the layout. LJ hates me, etc.)
Part 1 // Part 2a/2b / Part 3
Jeff didn't bother explaining what it was he was going to be showing Annie. She wasn't an idiot though; she knew that when he said business meeting he meant something else entirely. She just didn't know what that something else was yet. She was anxious to find out, though.
Jeff seemed to be in a much better mood when she arrived at the mansion. He'd gotten over his argument with Pierce, and Annie figured it was the sort of thing that happened regularly, people just didn't talk about it. Like those times when Troy left the mansion with a clean baseball bat, and came back with a bloody one. Or those times when Abed treated himself to a new DVD with mysteriously sourced money.
Everyone knew what was going on, but nobody said anything.
"I hope you're ready for this," Jeff said, as they got in his car so he could drive them to wherever it was that they were going.
"What exactly are you gonna do at this business meeting?" Annie asked.
"Well, as you know, most of Greendale pay us a little fee for protection. If they ever need a favour, they come to us, and we help them out, all they have to do is pay us a little cash."
Annie nodded. "Yeah, my father used to always pay. He never got a visit from anyone important, though. Usually, it was that Leonard guy."
Jeff grimaced. "Ugh, Leonard. Your father's lucky. You don't want to get a visit from somebody important, usually that means it's bad news."
"You mean like now?"
Jeff smiled. "Exactly like now. A neighbour of ours, Vicki, has loyally paid us for years. She recently got a new boyfriend who has been less than kind to her, so I'm going to take care of that for her."
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'm gonna make sure he's not a problem anymore," Jeff said, smirking giddily at her.
Either he was enjoying keeping it a secret, or he was enjoying the fact that he was gonna get to beat some one up today. A part of Annie wanted it to be the former, but an ever larger part wanted it to be the latter. She wondered if that said something about the kind of person she was becoming.
They reached a small suburban house. There was a large girl in a yellow coat and hat, Vicki presumably, watering down some flowers with a hose.
Jeff gave her a charming smile as they both climbed out of the car. Vicki looked nervous, but determined. She knew Jeff wasn't gonna go easy on her boyfriend, but she seemed to be okay with it.
As they got closer, Annie noticed that Vicki was sporting a large purple bruise on her left cheek. So that's what the boyfriend had been doing. Annie was glad Jeff was gonna handle him now. Jeff may do a lot of bad things, but he still had a kind streak. At least he wasn't all bad, and if anyone deserved a beating, it was monsters like Vicki's boyfriend.
"He's inside," Vicki told Jeff, coldly.
Jeff nodded. "You might not want to come in for a the next ten minutes or so," He told her honestly, then led Annie inside the house.
The house was nice and clean. It looked rather homey, actually. There was a fireplace, that didn't look very used, and pictures all over the place.
"Mike?" Jeff called out as he walked through the house.
Annie saw through some sliding doors that Mike was out in the garden. He was lifting weights. He was much larger than Jeff, though not taller. His muscles were as big as Annie's head, and he had a greasy, blonde mustache that matched his hair. Overall, Annie thought he was pretty gross looking.
Jeff wasted no time striding through the doors and up to Vicki's large boyfriend.
"Mike, is it?" He asked.
Mike lowered his weights and squinted at Jeff. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Jeff Winger, a friend of Vicki's, and I'm here to tell you to please pack your things and leave."
Mike scoffed. "Winger? I've heard all about you. You work for that old rat, Hawthorne."
Jeff's expression darkened at the mention of Pierce. Maybe he wasn't quite as over it as he was pretending to be.
"Yes, I do actually," He said through gritted teeth. "Vicki is a very loyal customer of our services, and she kindly requests that you pack up your things and leaver her life. Forever."
Mike squared his shoulders and took a step closer to Jeff. "I'm not afraid of you."
Jeff just tilted his head to the side, like Mike was nothing but a puppy trying to act like a wolf. "I don't care, Mike. Vicki is, and she wants you gone. So go."
"You're gonna have to make me," Mike spat.
Jeff smirked. "I am so glad you said that." He took a step closer, and Mike threw a punch at him. Jeff swung himself out of the way, causing Mike to trip forward. Taking the opportunity while Mike was off-guard, Jeff gabbed the back of his neck and pushed him all the was up against the nearest wall, holding his arm behind his back. Half of Mike's face got squashed against the red bricks of the house.
"The problem with men like you, Mike, is that you think you can do whatever you want," Jeff said threateningly into Mike's ear. He said Mike's name like Mike was nothing but a disgusting rodent, which wasn't that far off, the way Annie saw it. He pulled Mike from the wall, smashing his head against it one more time. The impact was rough enough to cause a large gash to appear on Mike's forehead. Jeff let him go and he fell to the ground, groaning in pain.
"You can't do what you want, though. I can do what I want, and I want you to pack your things and leave this town. Never contact Vicki again. And if I ever hear about you doing what you did to her, to any other woman, I will find you, and I will tear you apart from the inside out," Jeff said. His voice was low and dangerous.
He had a look in his eye; The same look he wore while watching the cracker factory explode. He was enjoying himself, that was for sure, but it was more than that. His eyes were bright, and young, and full of intense life. He didn't sound like it was an empty threat either. Jeff would tear Mike apart if he wanted to, and he'd enjoy every second of it.
Annie didn't know if she was frightened or aroused, but they were both things she really shouldn't be feeling towards Jeff right now.
Mike didn't respond, so Jeff bent over, making himself seem even more intimidating. "Do you understand me, Mike? Or am I gonna have to bash it into that empty shell you call a brain?" Jeff sounded like a teacher talking down on a student, which made the fact that he was threatening Mike's life seem even more disturbing.
"I understand," Mike whimpered.
"Then get moving!" Jeff ordered. He gave Mike a swift kick to the side, causing Mike to flinch and cough. He jumped up and scurry inside the house as fast as he could.
Jeff watched him leave, then smiled at Annie. "And I didn't even have to use my gun."
Annie swallowed. "That was ..."
Jeff shrugged modestly. "That was the basics," He explained. "There's still a lot more for you to learn."
"Can't wait," Annie said before she stopped herself. Jeff just smiled at her curiously, stepping closer to her again.
"You are the strangest person, Annie Edison."
Annie just smiled back.
XXX
Jeff didn't take Annie straight back to the mansion. Dealing with Mike, that was just the first of many little things Annie was gonna have to learn about. What Jeff had in mind for now, was a present.
She'd handled the Mike situation better than Jeff would have thought. She may be tiny, but she was also strong. She didn't flinch when Jeff rammed Mike into the wall, and she didn't seem afraid of him afterwards. Well, not entirely afraid.
Even Abed, was a little scared the first time he'd witnessed Jeff trying to scare the crap out of some one, and Abed wasn't afraid of anything.
"Where are we going?" Annie asked, as Jeff drove through the Greendale streets, towards the docks.
"I have a surprise for you," Jeff said with a smirk.
She gave him a suspicious look, but grinned anyway. Deep down, Annie was still an eighteen year old girl. She loved surprises just as much as any teenage girl would.
"You have a soft spot for struggling people don't you?" Annie asked him, as he drove. She watched him expectantly.
"Everybody's struggling, Annie. Some just handle it better than others."
She rolled her eyes. "If you don't want to answer, just say so. Don't bother trying to divert my attention."
Jeff glanced at her curiously. She was too smart. It was either gonna get her into a lot of trouble or get her out of it. Jeff wasn't sure which one yet, but that's usually how it went with smart people in the business.
"What do you mean by soft spot?" He eventually asked.
She turned to look at him, surprised that he was actually letting her talk to him about this. To be honest, Jeff was kind of surprised too. Maybe she was a little more under his skin than he thought.
"Abed said you sent a mole's family money once," Annie told him. "He also said you do things like that a lot. Help people who have tough domestic situations. And the way you were with Shirley and her kids. It just seems like you have a soft spot."
"I don't like it when things are unfair," Jeff admitted after a moment of silence.
"You steal, and you kill, not to mention a whole bunch of other illegal activities you refuse to tell me about," She told him with a pointed look.
"I didn't say it made sense," Jeff said. "I'm a lawyer. My job is to make sure people get what's coming to them when they deserve it. Most of the time, they do."
"You also keep Pierce and everyone else out of trouble, when they probably deserve it just as much as anyone."
Jeff shrugged. "They're family. There are no rules when it comes to family." He caught her eye, and saw her watching him carefully. Her giant, blue eyes looked like they could see right through Jeff, and it made him feel anxious, but in a strangely good way. "Why do you ask, anyway? Do you think it makes me weak or something?"
Annie shook her head earnestly. "You still get how normal civilians think. I don't think anyone else in the group understands what that's like anymore. It makes you great."
"Why, because deep down I'm still partly human?"
"No. It's because you know how to give them what they want and still gain something from them. It's a good skill, Jeff. It doesn't make you weak at all."
Jeff never really thought about it that way. He did have a soft spot, he knew that. He just always ignored it's existence for the sake of saving face, but maybe she was right. He knew how to cater to the people, and it's a lot easier to get people on your side when hey like you.
At the docks, Jeff led her out to his usual meeting placer with Vaughn.
"Remember this place," Jeff told Annie was he led her past yachts that belonged to men richer than both Jeff and Annie put together. Maybe not as rich as Pierce. No one in Greendale really was.
"Why?"
"Because from now on, you'll be collecting from the supplier," He told her with a smirk.
Her eyes brightened at the new responsibilities.
They reached the end of he dock, where Vaughn was waiting as always. He looked high, which wasn't uncommon with him, and he'd lost his shirt somewhere, which made Jeff roll his eyes. Vaughn may be a dirty hippie, but he was the best supplier in town so Jeff had to put up with his weird antics.
"Vaughn, this is Annie, one of our dealers," Jeff said.
"Hello. How are you? Nice to meet you," He said, giving her a mellowed out nod. Annie giggled, girlishly which made Jeff frown. Great, now he was gonna call her something lame like his blueberry and she was gonna fall for it the same way Britta had.
Jeff still had nightmares about Britta's revenge plans against him. In the end, Jeff got Shirley to deal with Vaughn instead of letting Britta blow him up. They couldn't afford to kill him at the time, so he got off lucky. He might not be so fortunate this time around. Jeff already didn't like him, and if he turned Anne into a hippie dealer like he was, Jeff was gonna drown him in bong water like he'd always imagined doing.
Seriously, he was not in the mood for this. Not for Vaughn. Vaughn didn't deserve girlish giggles.
"She'll be meeting you from now on," Jeff said.
Annie shook Vaughn's hand, with a shy smile. Vaughn grinned at her.
"It'll be a pleasure trading with such a beautiful mountain flower," Vaughn said. And there was the lame nickname Jeff had predicted.
He rolled his eyes, as Annie blushed. Why was it that whenever Jeff wanted to shoot some one, it was always some one he couldn't afford to replace? He made a mental note to get Abed to find them some more suppliers.
"Anyway," Jeff said loudly. "The prices stay the same, the amount stays the same. If you try to scam us again, it won't be just your tiny nipples that Shirley will come after," He warned.
Vaughn's face fell, and he looked serious, which was a rare occurrence. "I understand," He said.
Jeff nodded and handed Vaughn his usual amount. Vaughn gave Annie the bag of drugs, with a smile, before giving Jeff a respectable nod.
"Nice doing business one last time, Winger."
"Yeah, yeah," Jeff said, not quite sharing the sentiment.
Vaughn shrugged. "Bye. See you. Lates."
Jeff winced at lates. The three greeting thing he could handle, the made up greetings were another story. Vaughn disappeared among the boats. Jeff knew he lived in one of them, though he never bothered to figure out which one. He always just assumed it would be the dirtiest one around, if he needed to find it.
Annie gave Vaughn a little wave as he walked away.
"What are you doing?" Jeff asked in annoyance.
Annie held her hands, and the drugs, behind her back, self-consciously. "Nothing," She said quickly.
Jeff decided to ignore whatever it was that was happening with her and their dirty supply hippie, and just go back to the mansion.
Whatever. He didn't care if Annie was interested in Vaughn, it was just inconvenient was all. This was business, and the first rule of business was don't mix it with pleasure. Ever. Especially with the Vaughns of the system. It was gross, and inappropriate, and inconvenient. And really that was all there was to it.
Vaughn just wasn't Annie's type. She could do better. Not that Jeff cared.
His mood was considerably darker for the rest of the day, though. He may have taken a sinister pleasure in killing one of their less helpful workers, later that day, but he refused to acknowledge that it had anything to do with Annie, or the fact that he was picturing Vaughn while he did it.
XXX
Jeff continued to take her out on business meetings. They never escalated to more than just beating the poor person up. Jeff didn't kill anyone in front of her, and Annie was afraid to ask, so they continued to stick to the same routine.
He let her run most of the drug parts of things, now. She had a natural talent for it. She bought the drugs from Vaughn, and sold them to clients, and had no trouble except for one kid who liked to be lazy with his cash. She always managed to wrangle the money out of him though. She only ever had to answer to Jeff when giving him his cut of the profits, which wasn't a regular thing, so she could go weeks without paying him up. She didn't think he noticed, much. If he did, he'd probably say something.
He continued to slowly teach her about their operation. He let her go with Abed to collect money and information from the nieghbourhoods up north. He let her hang around Troy as he beat the crap out of guys who tried whistle-blowing. He let her tag along for all his business that didn't involve anyone getting killed.
She wondered if this was his weird way of trying to protect her, but he knew more about this sort of stuff than she did, and if he said she wasn't ready, than she wasn't ready.
A month later, he took her to the shooting range. It was an outside shooting range, and it was December so it was all half covered in snow. Apparently it belonged to Greendale PD, but of course, Pierce had people who let them in whenever they needed it.
Jeff didn't give Annie her own gun. He lent her one of the police ones while they were there, and didn't offer her his own, even though it was obviously much better. Jeff's gun, like his scotch, was one of those things that if anybody else touched it, he would make the earth swallow them whole. And probably laugh while doing it.
"Edison, don't hold the gun like it's a hairbrush. It's a weapon, and you can take some one's eye out like that," Jeff said, pushing her arm so she wasn't aiming at her feet anymore. The safety was on, and it wasn't loaded yet, but she figured it wasn't like they could kid around with this. A gun wasn't a toy, even in the crime world.
"Okay," Jeff said. He was standing beside her with earmuffs at his side, and glasses over his eyes. It made him look kind of funny, considering he was usually so well put together. Today, he'd gone casual, with just a sweaters and slacks under his winter coat.
"This model is pretty basic. It's one of the first ones, I used. Now, Troy said he taught you to load bullets already, so ..."
Annie loaded up the gun with ease. She'd practiced for a while, while Troy played Guitar Hero, because she'd wanted to impress Jeff. He raised an eyebrow at her when she smiled up at him, clearly enjoying this side of her.
"Okay," He said slowly. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Loading the gun's only half the process."
He stepped up closer to her, so that he was right in her personal space. He wrapped his hand around hers and the trigger, and raised her arm up, pointing it at the target.
"You need to find a position that's comfortable for you," He said. "But you also have to be able to aim properly, from whatever position that is," He explained.
His breath was in her ear, and it fogged up between them from the coldness in the air. Annie tried not to let it get to her, but it was making her anxious. She could feel her neck flushing, and her cheeks would be going pink soon, if the cold hadn't already done that for her. She tried not to think about how out of place she was, wearing her puffy blue coat, and her short skirt, here at a shooting range, with one of Greendale's most ruthless murderers.
"You aim, using that little nob thing at the front," He said, flicking the safety off, and lining the aim with his eye-line. He gave her an encouraging smile so she would do the same.
"It looked blurry," Annie said, as she did as she was told, lining the aim with the target's chest.
"That's good," Jeff told her, taking a step back to let her shoot.
She tried not to feel the absence of his warmth, but it was freezing outside, so it was a hard task.
"Whenever you're ready, you can fire," He said, putting the earmuffs on.
"Okay," Annie whispered to herself. "You can do this, Annie. Focus."
She took a breath to calm her nerves, then pressed her finger on the trigger.
The pulse of the shot, made her jerk backward slightly. Jeff put a hand on her back to steady her and smiled.
The shot had been loud, especially in the silence of the snow. Annie hadn't expected it to be so strong, and her hands were shaking a little from the impact. She was embarrassed that she wasn't taking this as well as she wanted to, but Jeff smiled down at her, proudly.
"That was pretty good," He said.
"It was?"
He nodded.
"But my hands are shaking."
Jeff shrugged. "You're just not used to it yet."
Annie beamed. He said yet, which meant she'd have plenty of time to get used to it. Annie was a determined person. When she did something, she did it well, and shooting was going to be no exception.
"Wanna try again?" Jeff asked.
She nodded eagerly.
"Maybe you'll hit something this time," He said, taking the step back again.
"I didn't hit anything?" Annie asked in disappointment.
Jeff laughed. "Not even close. But like I said, you'll get there."
Annie sighed, and leveled the gun up with her eyes again. She was definitely gonna get there. She found there was nothing she wanted more.
Except for maybe Jeff to step in close with her again, but she tried not to think about that.
XXX
Laybourne still hadn't tried to get back at them for the factory. Abed kept reassuring Jeff that that was a good thing. It probably meant Laybourne was scared. Jeff wanted to agree, but something told him it would be letting his guard down. Laybourne was stronger than that. He wouldn't just sit by while thousands of dollars worth of drugs went up in flames.
He was gonna get them back, Jeff knew it. He just didn't know how, and that scared him the most.
If Pierce had any ideas, he wasn't gonna share them.
Since Jeff went against him, Pierce had been a little more secretive. He still gave Jeff orders, and shared more with him than anyone else, but Jeff could see the suspicion in his eye. He didn't want to trust Jeff anymore.
Jeff was okay with that though. He'd started a little side project of his own, and if everything went according to plan, he wouldn't need Pierce anymore by the time elections rolled around.
He had Abed on his side, and that was already Pierce's two best men gone. Troy would go where Abed followed, and Shirley preferred Jeff to Pierce. Britta had an irrational fear of Pierce, but if anything that would probably benefit Jeff. Jeff had all of Pierce's men in his pocket, he knew more about this operation than Pierce did. All he needed was the money to run it, and if Abed kept skimming a little extra from the northern neighbourhoods without getting caught, he'd have that in no time.
Jeff was lucky to have Abed. He was fiercely loyal, and he understood this business the way Jeff did. He knew Jeff could do this better than Pierce, and he had an undying faith in Jeff and his talents. Together, he and Abed would run a master operation, bigger and better than Pierce and Laybourne put together.
All he needed to do was put an end to this silly war that didn't seem to end.
Since Annie was now taking care of most of the drug business, he had a lot less work to do. He could focus on other parts of the operation, like cheap civilians. He started taking a few cases at the firm, for some extra cash. He didn't technically work for the firm, but he needed somewhere to say he practiced, in case Pierce got in trouble, and enough of them owed him favours to let him pretend he was a one of them. Besides, Jeff liked being a lawyer. He was good at it, and the rules were a lot more straight-forward than they were with mobsters. It relaxed him.
These days, it was the only thing that relaxed him. That, and Annie's lessons. It was odd, doing something for somebody without getting anything back. It wasn't something that happened often, in the universe that Jeff lived in. Somehow, the way Annie smiled at him was enough.
He was aware that maybe he was growing a little too fond of her, and not in any way he'd felt before. Jeff had had plenty of lady-friends before. They came and went, always leggy and beautiful at the beginning, and bitter and vicious by the end. None of them were ever serious, and honestly, Jeff couldn't say he'd ever been in love. The way he operated with women was simple. Sleep with whichever one made his skin tingle, until he got bored. It had worked for him, but now Annie was changing everything.
The way Jeff felt about Annie, was unique. He wanted to protect her, but he also wanted to watch her tear the world apart, because he knew she could. He wanted to see every side of her: The crazy, and the innocent. He wanted to kiss her gently, and run his hands through her soft hair, but also ravish her and have wild sex.
He wasn't quite sure how he felt about any of this. Mostly, he just buried it all. But it wasn't gonna stay buried for long, that was for sure. Every time they had another lesson, Jeff found some excuse to just stand close to her, and smell her lavender shampoo. It was stupid, obviously, but it was also becoming a bit of a habit. A habit he didn't know how to break.
Annie was gonna be trouble for him. Feelings were a dangerous thing in the life they lived, especially in Jeff's position. His lifestyle didn't lave room for emotions, and yet, Annie had clawed her way into his mind, and wasn't about to get kicked out any time soon.
Truth be told, he didn't want her out.