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Hardly anything alarming occurred as Riley and Cecily walked back from the odd little store. Upon returning, Cecily groaned, seeing all of the people and the media... It looked impossible to make it back to the block. Grimacing a bit, Cecily wished that she was the size of a toothpick as she attempted to squeeze past without irritating anyone. Everyone was talking over each other, with random conversations coming through.

"--so, think anyone will commit suicide tonight--?"

Cecily turned her head in alarm, tempted to scold the reporter on her treatment. Cecily worked with death all day -- and one of the first lessons she learned was to never speak ill of the dead. Unless they were Hitler. In that case, it was okay. But the girl that had died -- Peyton, she thought her name was? -- was hardly a racist dictator.

Frowning a bit, Cecily followed Riley through the crowd. Riley dropped the fireworks off, and Cecily stashed the blueberry alcohol with a bunch of vodka she saw lying on the table. Turning around to rejoin Riley, Cecily saw her wandering through the crowd, having the time of her life.

I could go read... Cecily thought, looking up wistfully towards her apartment. Parties always made her feel incredibly uncertain. She usually didn't go to them -- and if she did, it was because she had been assigned to process a crime scene. A motorcycle on a patio caught her eye, and she chuckled a bit, wondering how on earth it had gotten there. She walked over towards the small crowd that had gathered around the smoker, each person eccentric characters in their own right.

A few of them looked familiar. She recognized some of the security specialists, and rolled her eyes lightly, realizing that the motorcycle belonged to the detective. He was fairly new, but given that she worked on crime scenes all day, she had seen his face around a few times.

Standing a few feet away from the main crowd, she overhead what seemed like a fight over the motorcycle... She couldn't help but agree with the Marine Girl -- it was a bit ridiculous to park a motorcycle on a patio. However, her attention was distracted as she overheard Detective Gregory, cursing and getting a drink.

"Is everyone from work here, then?" Cecily chuckled softly to herself. "If something does happen, we're all set..."

In an instant, a blonde blur jumped out at her, and Cecily screamed, her eyes practically bugging back, and she jumped backwards. Realizing that it was just Riley, Cecily laughed a bit, catching her breath.

"Hey Cee Cee! You enjoying the party?" Riley asked, grinning as she took a swig of her beer. Offering the bottle to Cecily, she took it gladly, and took a sip. It burned her throat and tasted awful, but she didn't mind. She was more of a Jolly Rancher flavored alcohol type of person.

"You scared me to death!" Cecily laughed. "But yeah, the party isn't too awful. Tons of people, though."

Jeremy hated parties where he didn't know anybody. He hated parties where he didn't quite feel like he fit in. Hell, Jeremy really just hated parties, the music, the drinks, the conversation, the people, the setting, all of it, it was all just so... Normal. Jeremy well and truly hated how dull the past few months had been since he got out of prison, no gunfights, no scaling cliff-faces or spelunking ancient temples and archaeological gold-mines for loot, none of that. Instead, he got this. A block party, at a place he'd only moved into a week or two ago, he still had barely anything in his apartment, a TV, computers, and boxes of files and parchments with the occasional trinket. A block party where he was standing alone, in a cheap pair of nicer trousers and shoes, a buttoned blue shirt and a black sweater, sipping a beer.

Normal.

The thought bit at Jeremy's ears like an eager lover looking for attention, prompting the man to take a long drink of the beer in his hand, and turn over the coin in his hand. It was a Spanish Doubloon, 18th Century, a good luck charm he'd picked up on one of his first expeditions in Mexico. He carried it with him everywhere, counted it as explanation for his immense luck, and if it wasn't good for that, it was at the very least good as a conversation starter. However that evening it was certainly seeming to be good for a whole lot of nothing. No conversation had been started, no luck had been needed, and all Jeremy had done up to that point was stand there, drink, shift the coin between his fingers and watch everyone that was there. He was only there because he figured it would seem odd if he was not, and because he knew who would be there, the woman he'd discovered was the partner of the deceased Peyton.

He set his eyes on her, JD Mason, he'd done a little research, knew she worked for Channel four and lived in one of the apartments next door, and that she had been Peyton's partner... That was about it. He was really rushing through this whole thing, but he didn't particularly want to miss out like he had a few years ago in Mexico City. He was about to move over when a figure passed right in front of him and picked up a drink, murmuring something about 'Parasites'. It didn't take Jeremy too long to piece things together, this was the detective who'd been speaking to the journalists and reporters, he'd looked into him as well, though didn't know a great deal in relation to him, either.

Deciding to put off approaching Mason, Jeremy moved after the detective and quickly finished his beer, replacing it one from the table that the detective had grabbed his own drink from, popping the cap off and glancing over to him with as charming of a smirk as he could produce. "Not a fan of the press, Detective?" He played off his comment in the most lax manner that he was able, simply trying to start a conversation for now, if he was going to get any information out of the Detective, he was going to have to butter him up first, after all. He just hoped something would happen that would let him do something other than mingle, other than getting information. It was the right setting, the right time, something had to happen.

Anything but normality.

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Alicia snorted as she covered her mouth the back of her hand as she witnessed her roommates reaction to her fathers little culinary concoction. She wasn't surprised that the heat of the dish hadn't bothered Lorna, the woman had to be used to Alicia's cooking by now; if not then she hid it well. Granted they did keep heartburn medication on standby but that was like keeping dinner mints in anyone elses home. They popped them like candy. Dropping her hand she smirked towards Lorna. "Calm yo titties Cookies, next time try not shoving the whole thing in your mouth like you were trying to down a country sausage link," she laughed before darting off with her father and Tank; motioning for them to follow her. She as not going to be in the path at any chucked at her for that comment. She didn't even look back to see the expression on Lawson's face, she didn't need to. She could picture it clearly enough in her own mind and it made her cackle. Round one to Taco Queen.

"Sure thing Papi, person one. Lawson, the country meat Cookie is wanting to take a bit out of. Person two, Tank here," she said motioning over towards the man who was parking his bike on her patio. At her fathers question she shrugged lightly. "Just trying to be friendly, don't worry, he does anything you know I can handle it," she said reassuring her father as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder and gave him a slight squeeze. Her father was protective, she knew that, but she also knew he knew that she could take care of herself. He had trained her well but even with that knowledge she doubted that helped with Papi's concern. He was a dad after all, it just came with the territory she suspected.

Looking over towards Tank she nodded. "Sure, I got some more food inside, wouldn't mind if you came in and helped get it out here for the crew while Papi and I finish off the last pan to go into the oven. Would be helpful," she said as she stepped into her apartment and looked around; smirking as she watched the landlord shampooing her couch.

"I added one more thing on the list you gave him to do," she said looking over to her father before pointing over to the trays of food on the kitchen counter. "Those can go outside, the taquitos are in the fridge Papi, just toss them in the oven," she added as she looked over at the now open space in front of her couch where her table used to be. Letting out a short huff she placed her hands on her hips and looked back over to her father, the man owed her one coffee table.

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Grabbing a beer the detective popped the cap off of it and flicked it between his thumb and index finger; sending it flying into the back of the head of one of the reporters. "Damn green blooded hobgoblins. I am a fucking detective, not some reality show star," he muttered between his clenched teeth when he was asked by Jeremy if he liked the press or not. Taking a long pull from his drink and smirking as the reporter he hit spun around rubbing the back of his head. He shrugged his shoulders innocently enough before looking back over to the man that was addressing him.

"All they want is a story. Isn't enough that last time we had a suicide, they just want to see how much more pain they can inflict on these people for their ratings. People like them and that god damn ginger burn out Regina Eilheart cause more trouble because of their stories than any mugger ever did on the streets," he grumbled before shaking his head.

Taking a closer look at the man, he didn't recognize him. He wasn't living here when Peyton was murdered, Roy would have remembered that, he interviewed everyone right after it happened. "And you are?"

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The overall feel of the outside was a general building of emotion. Some good - the anticipation of a big event, meeting and partying with friends, meeting of new neighbors. Also, some bad - memory of past tragedy, the uncertainty that night in this city brings, fear of what might be drawn to the revelry and frivolities of the evening. This was a great city in which to expand his business, but perhaps the decision to take his hiatus here was the result of flawed logic.

Another possibility: Perhaps, much like Kwai Chang Caine of the immortal 1970's television series, just perhaps, the universe placed him exactly where he needed to be.

Caesar strode into his daughter's apartment with the same manner of observant confidence as he went about everything else in his life. He passed the neighbor guy's bike on the way in, noting its make, model, and plate number. Just a bit of information for later, if required. He flashed an obviously forced smile at the bike's owner, grunting an affirmation. Alicia was being nice to him. Open(ish). Neighborly, even. Considering their histories, that seemed a calculated risk. What starts out as a friendly gathering of colleagues and acquaintances, in his experience, often turns into a firefight. Maybe if Caesar knew more people here, he would relax his attitude. Until he did, however, there was a strange guy in M'hija's residence.

Trying his damnedest to not scowl, Caesar dropped a layer of shredded cheese on the last portions of the blessed application of meat and corn tortillas, the enigmatic yet comprehensible Taquitos. He punched a couple of settings on the oven, tossed them in, and turned his attention to the landlord, still occupying the room. To his credit, he was taking care of the problem with proficiency and expedience. Whether this was because of professional pride in is work or fear of partial evisceration was up for debate; nevertheless the creepy fellow went about his job.

As he waited for the cheese to melt, Caesar spoke to the landlord in his best Federale Commandant voice. "You have been here a long time, haven't you? I hear rumors about the woman who died." He leaned over the kitchen counter, peering into the living area at the man. "What do you know about it?"

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Lana wrinkled her nose at the sight of hot rod playing with his toothpick and raised an eyebrow at the look on his face. She hated when guys looked at her like she was a precious little doll and she had to stop herself from beating the look off of his face. She scoffed at his words, rolled her eyes and wandered past him, her shoulder hitting into his side a little as she walked back over to her table of drinks. She saw the crate of beers on the table with the food and looked around for the security chicks that had brought them out.

She spotted the one that wasn’t dealing with hot rod heading back to the smoker where she looked like she was just as ready to hit the guy in the face as she was and she smirked. She whistled over to her and waved when Lorna looked up. Lana pointed at the beers and then pointed to her table and gave a thumbs up with a questioning look at Lorna. Lorna nodded and gave a small thumb up as she realised what this strange little creature was meaning by her motions.

Taking the agreement, Lana grabbed the crate and brought it over to her table where all the drinks seemed to have accumulated. That worked fine by her as she loved being able to see who had been drinking most so that she could slip some things out of pockets when they weren’t expecting it. Although she didn’t plan to do that tonight due to it being her neighbours, but it was always nice to know everyone’s habits that lived around her. She noticed a new guy, one she didn’t recognise and was very attractive, standing nearby with a drink but she didn’t know if he was a crasher or a tenant so she kept quiet for now.

Lana sat around with a cup of pure vodka in her left hand and sipped at it as she watched a rather angry fella wander over to her table. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as he downed a shot without a second thought and she couldn’t help but smiling appreciatively. She heard him muttering and then looked over to the media circus that he’d just escaped from. “Bothersome lot, aren’t they?” She nodded her head in the direction that he had come from and filled his shot cup with vodka again.

Lana’s head shot up and over to one of the young women standing by the food tables and smoker as she screamed at something. Lana wondered if shit had hit the fan already and awaited the response from the media circus before she realised that it was just one neighbour scaring another and she laughed, rolling her eyes. “At least that was a harmless scream…” She saw the handsome man talking to the angry man. Had he just called him detective? Seemed she was filling up a cop’s cup, oh well. So long as she kept herself clean she’d be fine.

She noticed one of the women from the yellow building looking over to the detective and the hot guy and she smiled and waved over to her. “Fancy a drink? We’ve got beer, vodka and more vodka. Come have a cup, I’ve got mixers!” Lana began to organise the cups and set the mixer bottles against rows of cups with pre-poured vodka and listened in to the conversation that the two men were now having until something else took her attention away.

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Staring out the weird little bike man, Lorna kept a deadpan look on her face. She couldn’t stop herself from snorting with laughter at the guy’s comment of how he could ‘fuck shit up’ and she could hardly breathe from the sheer comedy behind it. “Was I fuckin’ talkin’ to you? No, so keep your fuckin’ BS to yourself, shitbird.” Her voice was hard but her face showed no emotion. Like a little twerp like him could fuck anything up. He was a blowhard in her eyes now and she just turned away from him as he clearly wasn’t worth her time anymore. Alicia could deal with his shit; she didn’t have time for idiots.

Going back to the smoker, Lorna took her plate back and thanked Lawson for keeping it warm for her in her absence. She then saw the married couple that had moved in a while back that were friendly with Lawson and she gave a smile and wave to them as they came over. They acted cute and it made Lorna sick to her stomach. She definitely wasn’t into the whole lovebird scene and thought it was best kept behind closed doors but she would never say anything to them about it. That would just be plain rude.

Lorna heard the comment from Alicia and she gripped her beer bottle and spun around so fast that it would have made anyone looking at her dizzy. She tossed the bottle directly at their patio and heard it shattering on the wall above the window where the glass and beer splashed down and dropped on top of Tank’s motorcycle and she grinned. Well it may not have hit Alicia because the woman was too used to her methods but she had hoped that it might have hit Tank but oh well, dirtying up his bike was good enough in her eyes. "Sorry about Leash, Lawson. She's just out to get hit today it seems." She rolled her eyes and tried to hide the blush on her cheeks.

Turning back to her other neighbours, Lorna nodded appreciatively at Mrs. White when she mentioned that Mr. White, Cam, was a former Marine as well. Three Marines in two buildings in close proximity was a rare thing when they were no longer on duty. It was a nice change of pace from being surrounded by civvies all the time. “Yeah, if you ever wanna grab a beer and care to exchange stories that you’re willin’ to share, I’m open for it.” She grabbed another bottle of beer and opened it on the top of the table before taking a swig and holding it in her free hand.

Eating the concoction created by El Jefe had definitely fucked her brain up with the cold and she widened her eyes at the suggestion from Mrs. White and tried it out. Her brain hurt significantly less and she had such a look of relief on her face that she couldn’t help but give a genuine and warm smile to the woman. “Thank you kindly, ma’am. That definitely helped. Need to remember that trick in future.” She then realised she hadn’t properly introduced herself to them. Holding her hand out to both of them in turn, she shook their hand firmly and smiled. “The name is Lorna, by the by. Pleasure to meet you both properly.”

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Lyle must've been one of the only people not really mingling so easily. He glanced to and from, poking his glasses up his nose as he leaned against the wall, sipping on a glass of vodka he had. He still found it odd. He was expected to not show any suspicion or nervous tendencies, as was everyone else, he was under the impression everyone was content with just leaning back and enjoying the day. He used to attend every party, he never really went there out of pure joy at first, he went cos he supposed he was expected. So here he was, coming here to show face. He liked the atmosphere, a smile was on his face, observing everything. He shrugged as he looked through the crowd. To him, it felt like not mingling was a bad idea, so it would be a good idea to start with one of the new block mates.

Sighing, he refilled his glass and glanced to Lana as she passed him. "Yes yes, don't rush me, I'm not That anti-social you know" With that he made his way through the crowd, idly glancing around to see who was present. He recognised a lot of people, but he wasn't sure if he was recognise din turn, which was exactly how he liked it. Lyle was hardly one for the whole ordeal of attention, especially with those whole media hoo ha going on currently, cameras in his face was something that simply did not appeal to him. Now, messing with the police and getting a chance to talk to the new very appealing guy. That was an opprunity he couldn't pass up.

He approached Jeremy and the Detective with a small smile, his eyes kinda glancing over Jeremy, like a scanner and idly eyeing up the detective like an afterthought. "Evening gents, wonderful fiasco of a party we have going here don't we? So glad we have the trusted and loyal protection of the PD on our side" He smirked at the detective and then to Jeremy. He'd heard of him, treasure hunter or something? Sounded kinda like some kind of lie, but Lyle had some sort of unbelievable past also, so this guy being a treasure hunter was very much a posibility. "Jeremy, right? Didn't think i'd see you at this...gathering"

Jeremy's eyes followed the cap as it flew off Roy's bottle toward the back of a reporter's head. A semi-impressed smirk split his lips as he took another drink, likely looking just as guilty as the detective beside him when the reporter looked in their direction. "Must be a slow night for the news, six months and all they can do is still gawk over it." He commented in response to the detective, gaze shifting back over to him, and then along to the woman he'd spotted behind him, looking in their direction and commenting about the reporters. Unable to help himself, probably because of the beer, he shot a wink in her direction before looking back to the detective. "Regina Eilheart?" He questioned rather naively before the detective asked his last question.

"Oh, heh, names Jeremy, Jeremy Bennet, I uh, only moved in a couple weeks ago, was out of the country for a while." He left it at that, figuring that the whole prison aspect of being out of the country was better left unsaid to the detective. Glancing around, Jeremy took in the general atmosphere of the party, took in the faces he knew - which wasn't many. He had begun to feel somewhat unprepared, it had seemed as though most of the partygoers had established the newcomer was someone worth talking to, and while he certainly wasn't upset by that, he felt like perhaps he should've done some more research into everyone at the heights, rather than a select few.

Jeremy's eyes settled on JD once more as he began to see her approach, called over by the woman on the other side of the table which seemed to be the new center of attention. He'd been about to shift around close to the two, when a new figure caught his eye, approaching himself and the detective. Glancing back over, he offered something of a half-smile to the man who approached and greeted them. "It's certainly something, more of a turnout than I was expecting." Jeremy fought the urge to make some quip about how the 'loyal protection of the PD' might have been useful the last time there had been a party such as this, but, in the effort of keeping some semblance of taste, decided against such an action.

Raising an eyebrow, Jeremy seemed legitimately surprised as Lyle brought up his own name, while he had done his own research on a few of the inhabitants, and by 'few' he meant JD and no one else, he hadn't quite anticipated the fact that some of the tenants might have done some research into him, and so it had caught him off guard a bit. "Yeah, yeah that's me. Figured it might be a good chance to meet some of the neighbours, y'know... Haven't really spoken to anyone since I got here." He chuckled with a shrug, glancing back around out of habit more than anything, before looking back toward Lyle. "Sorry, i'm bad with names but uh, you are..?"

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"Aww Miss, I don't mean nothin' by it. I just like to see my buds lady smile is all. Happy wife, happy life? That what's he say. So more ya smile, I figures the less you have a problem when he and I be getting a little too tipsy in front of the TV," he chuckled as he spoke with Lyndsey before Cam stole her away to dance for a bit.

Lawson looked over towards Lorna and then chuckled to himself as he watched Alicia darting off, sticking her tongue out at her room mate as she did. "No apologies needed ma'am. Seems to me she just acting like any good sister would. You two remind me of the neighbor girls back home. They always be pullin' each others pigtails but I tell you this. Screw with one of them, you had a swift kick to the groin comin' from the other. Looks like that's what you two have. Ain't nothin' wrong with that. When she stops fuckin' with ya' then I'd be worried," he said with his thick southern drawl, letting it slip out more now that he knew he was around a fellow southerner, and a Marine to boot. Damn, he struck gold. Should have pulled out the smoker sooner.

"That be soundin' like a fine idea," Lawson interjected about the three of them getting together and swapping war stories. Granted there was not much he could actually talk about. He had been captured by insurgents and was held captive for four years before a special ops team had managed to break him out when they were taking out a target. Most of that in his record was blacked out for various reasons. But he did have stories of his three tours before that he could gab about. Speaking to civilians was all fine and good but no one really understood if they hadn't actually been there; so talkin' to another Marine always made it easier.

"Sure thing Cam, I make sure no one be puttin' their paws on your woman," Lawson chuckled as he made up a plate for his buddies wife and handed it over to her with a smile.

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Alicia looked over to her father as he put the food into the oven. He really didn't seem too happy, granted he never did but she could tell that something was irking him. Then she looked over towards Tank and the light bulb went off in her mind. That was why he looked the way he did. Oh well, that was Papi for you. Always on the look out for the next man to threaten if he got too close to his daughter. Not that Alicia couldn't take care of herself, she probably could better than most but that didn't stop a dad for watching out for their baby girl.

Peeking out a bit as she looked towards the door she couldn't help but chuckle over the fact that Lorna had tried to peg her with a beer bottle. She knew it was coming and that was why she had ducked into their shared apartment quickly. If you didn't know better one might think that the two hated each other but in truth there wasn't a person on the earth that she didn't trust more than Lorna, well other than Caesar. She was like the sister she never had. Sure they fucked with each other, ALOT, but in the end if anyone screwed with either of them you had both of them to deal with. They ran off the mentality of "Yeah, I can pick on my sister but if you do I'll gut you" philosophy.

Looking back over to Tank she perked a brow and clapped her hands loud in front of her. "Hey, spacebrains. Gonna grab that food and take it out to the party or did you just use that as an excuse to get inside my place?" she said with a bit of a smirk on her lips.

Looking over at her dad again, as he spoke with the Landlord. The man not looking happy about being asked about the murder. "I don't know shit," he said before grabbing his tools and booking out of there like someone had just set his asshairs on fire.

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"Very bothersome, like a goddamn plague of locusts," Roy quipped before taking another swig of his beer. He really hated the press, more than most did; especially now. They had been a problem before when the suicide happened and for them to be back to just see if they could stir up even more was really grating on his already frayed nerves.

Taking the drink that Lana had poured he downed it and then chased it with the beer. It was a good thing he was off duty. As the scream happened he turned around quickly, his hand falling to his hip as if he was about to draw his pistol but when he saw what was going on he just rolled his eyes. Okay, wasn't anything to worry about and he removed his hand and straightened up his coat.

"I ain't on the job tonight," Roy quipped towards the new comer as he said they had the PD on their side. Holding up his drink before downing it. "I'm just planning on taking the free booze," he said with a smirk. Looking over at Jeremy he was a little shocked the man didn't know about the Ginger bitch but he did say he was new to the area.

"Media queen cunt, she owns like half of the stations and the newspaper. She is always getting them to stick their noses in where it doesn't belong," he said rolling his eyes a bit. As JD came over he lowered his beer from his lips. This one he knew. He had kept tabs on the place the first few months after Peyton was hauled out in a body bag. He didn't say anything else, just stood there looking around.

After a short trip up the stairs and some fiddling with her keys, Mali was back in her apartment. It was exactly as she left it, messy and in need of more unpacking/organization. Despite having left in the morning, she felt like it had been much longer since she had last been in here. Perhaps it was just some leftover rattles from the fight she had earlier. She walked through the carefully created open path through the moving boxes (read: she shoved the boxes out of the way after the first week) to get to the goods in her room: a clean bath towel and fresh underwear. Other clothes would be decided after she finished cleaning off all the sweat and grime. Before doing any of that, she took out the business card the kid gave her and set it down on top of the dresser. Wouldn't want to lose that in the wash.

Her clothes were one of the few things to be completely unpacked, due to how relatively easy it was to do so (only 4 or 5 relatively boxes) and the urgent need of having to access one's full wardrobe as soon as possible. Mali made her way over to the 3 drawer dresser by her bed and opened up the bottom drawer. In contrast to the rest of the apartment, the contents of the drawer were immaculately organized, panties and other bottom wear all arranged in a row at the front; bras stacked all together neatly at the back. From left to right the undergarments were sorted by the relative formality/fanciness in least to greatest. From the masses she picked out a set of underwear: a pastel yellow bandeau bra and charcoal grey boyshorts, comfortable and easy to wear, but still looks nice enough on a naked body.

A fluffy red towel was retrieved from a closet full of many similarly textured and vivid towels before Mali made her way to the bathroom. By now the music and roar of the party was loud enough to be heard clearly deep in the apartment on the second floor. Oh how it must suck to be someone living nearby the block trying to get some sleep tonight. Perhaps they've grown accustomed to drowning out block parties when trying to get an eyeful. Mali pondered this as she adjusted the water, starting off with turning the knob about 200 degrees counterclockwise. After it had a minute to warm up she would decide any temperature adjustments from there. The towel was thrown over the curtain rod, about 60% of it hanging in toward the shower, the other 40% protected from any possible splashing and acting as a counterbalance.

Layers of sweat soaked clothes were peeled off until Mali stood nude, alone in her shower amidst a pile of damp clothes. It was almost as if her whole body took in a breath of fresh air after being stuck in a dank cave for hours. Well since she had the time, Mali looked over her body in the mirror from multiple perspectives, noting good spots and areas that she needed to work on, like the external obliques, or the fact that her thighs were a bit fattier than she would like them to be. A part of her felt like this was a bit self-indulgent, but another part retorted that this was part of the job. After all, if she didn't know what needed work, how could she improve?

Once the mirror started to fog up, Mali stepped into the shower proper. When she stepped past the curtain it came to light that she had turned the knob slightly too far to the left, setting the temperature to the surface of the Sun, a mistake that was quickly fixed with a hand that could out shoot Billy the Kid in a duel. Once the water was at a temperature that could be withstood by carbon-based lifeforms, let alone humans, Mali relaxed her muscles and let the water run over her. Or rather she would if the block party wasn't so loud as to remind her of it even over the noise of the running water. Well she could relax later. Might as well clean up quickly and get back down to the party.

One quick scrub later, Mali was out of the shower, still slightly damp and half naked, but mostly dried off. Before getting dressed in something more suitable for a party, Mali made a pit stop at the kitchen. It would be much easier to avoid ruining her diet if she wasn't hungry when she got down there. From the fridge Mali retrieved a "shake" of things that were good for her but felt like vomit in the mouth and tasted absolutely awful when combined together in a liquid form. Luckily, the skill of chugging was more easily mastered than one might believe if practiced every day. Nowadays she barely had to deal with the aftertaste, something easily dealt with with the use of an altoid or cup of water.

Mint still in mouth, Mali walked over to her window and looked down at the party below. Did she really want to join in? No not really. But what else would she do with all the noise? Unpack more boxes? Pfff. She returned back to her bedroom and opened up the closet. She'd been thinking of what to wear most of the day, and honestly she didn't have too many different outfits that fit her (astounding how getting big makes it difficult to find good looking clothes). So she just went with a thin black top and a pair of dark blue jeans. A pair of socks and boots later, Mali felt ready to go to the party. Her hair was pretty straight, so it was fine to wear down after a quick brushing and makeup wasn't really her thing. It wasn't until she had left her apartment and walked back into the party that she realized she had no idea what to do. She'd never been to a party where she had known nobody. Well fuck it. Time to just dive in. Whatever happens happens.

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Riley looked towards Cecily and giggled at her reaction. "Just keeping you on your toes." Riley said with a playful wink as she took the beer from Cecily's hand and took a swig of it and sighed softly to herself as she looked around at her neighbors. She quickly went over towards the table and grabbed herself a plate of food and went back over towards Cecily. "So when do you think we should set off the fireworks that we had bought earlier?" Riley asked as she took a bite out of the food she had grabbed and looked towards a group of her neighbors in Boston Heights and looked over at Cecily for a moment. "Lets go and say hi to some of our neighbors." Riley said as she headed over towards, JD, Lyle, Jeremy & Lana, Riley did really enjoy meeting new people and trying to get to know others and making new friends with others with the people who lived close by to her and always tried to get along with them as much as possible.

As Riley walked over she was smiled at the group for a moment and waved. "Hey everyone, hows everything this evening with you guys?" Riley asked and then looked over towards JD and smiled at her, she remembered seeing the girl dancing around naked in just her underwear in the window that morning. "By the way loved the show earlier this morning." Riley said with a playful smile and looked towards Lana and gave her a smile and wave. "By the way i'm Riley and this is my roommate Cecily, we live in C3 of the Classic Building." Riley introduced herself as she took another sip of her beer and looked over her shoulder at Cecily smiling at her once more.

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Interacting with: Alicia @Lady Amalthea, Caesar @Sigil, Cecily @Morose

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"Sure, I got some more food inside, wouldn't mind if you came in and helped get it out here for the crew while Papi and I finish off the last pan to go into the oven. Would be helpful," Alicia told him. He nodded matter of factly. "Cool," before he slid up to his feet. He was then lightly shouldered by the petite one and called a shitbird by the butch one. All they'd need to do was tell him he'd never amount to anything, and they'd become his mother.

As he followed Alicia, he caught sight of a girl he'd seen before. Cecily he believed her name was. He'd only been down to the precinct a bit since he moved here. They'd given him a fair amount of off days for him to get situated in this city for a few weeks. But he'd seen her around. He gave her a quick wink as he passed by. Nothing suggestive, but just an acknowledgement that she was cool in his book. Smart too, from what he could tell. They made their way past the patio, and he turned just in time to see Alicia's dad's smile. That was probably the most forced thing he'd seen in so very long. He forced a smile back, though it became a natural one when he realized just how odd this situation was. The landlord was in here too it seemed, he noted from a glance.

He heard glass breaking and a woman's cry from outside and he spun. It was all he could do to not whip out his gun, but luckily he didn't. Even as he moved, his mind informed him that it was a very bad idea probably, and this was just a party. No need to be so quick on judgements. You've got a good looking girl asking for you to help out and a father who'd strangle you if you stepped wrong. See? Normal day. Except, women didn't often mess with his fucking ride...

"Hey, spacebrains. Gonna grab that food and take it out to the party or did you just use that as an excuse to get inside my place?" she asked, and he turned to see her smirking. He shrugged gave a sly look himself. "See, I'm from back east. Alone time with a girl usually doesn't have this many people." he replied, looking around before his brown eyes fell upon the food. He picked up what he was told to, being his helpful self. "You wouldn't happen to have any water I can pour on my bike would you? Or some tear gas for the girl who threw it." he joked. He glanced around the apartment as he said it.

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The world watches as events unfold, the earth ever rotating and movement seems to never cease. Yet there are times, very few ones in which things seem to slow down and even stop. Every action and reaction frozen in time as others are incapable but do to anything but stop and stare as the scene unfolds around them. Then like a bow string pulled back, time is released once again to lunge forward and shot you into the chaos. Does your heart race in that moment? Do the blood in your veins seem to turn to ice? The weight of the world pressing against your chest making it impossible to breath? We each have our own reactions to these moments in life. They are the catalyst to the human condition known as fight or flight.

But what starts these moments? For each person it is different. Much of the time it is a simple domino effect; one piece knocking into the next and unless the chain is broken there is nothing to do but wait for the end. These times are when Lady Luck come into play. She has been here since the beginning. She was there playing her game of chance from day one. Each time you stepped out of the safety of your apartment, each step you took down the streets; to eat, to shop, to run. Even standing by a simple smoker gabbing and drinking she has been watching over and rolling for each of your lives. Eerie isn't it? To think that already each one of you could be a victim in this random chance, but you knew that was the case when the game began.

And below, Lady Luck rears her ugly head for the first time to make a point; No one is safe. Not you, not I. Death comes for us all at one point and no matter what you do you cannot escape it. She has claimed her first; mark this day for this is just the beginning.

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The run started off easily enough, a simple beat with highs and lows. It was a good beginning as the music pumped into her ear drums. Song after song switched out for a new one. Each one driving her harder than the one before; each one the BPM went up a few. And We Run, 129 beats per minute, was a steady point in the run as she went to her last location before heading back towards home. One last obstacle to conquer before she took a breather. Down the alleyway, up onto the dumpster, grab the fire escape ladder, pull it down, up she went. And we run. Each step she took, each twist and turn as she climbed higher, each leap of faith she took was to the beat of the music; each word sung motivated her. She was in her zone. This is what she loved and lived for. And we run. Each bead of sweat was a badge of honor, each second pushing through the pain was another moment alive.

Work thru the pain. Through the strips of hanging plastic in an open window, dipping and flipping through the scaffolding between the floors that had been torn down. No time for tears. Keep moving, keep pushing; each day on the streets was longer than the one before it. Her chest burned with each breath she drew; her heart thumping to the beat of the music. Working her way higher and higher, up each floor as she covered the grounds. Yeah, we outta here! she heard as she pushed through the upper door and out onto the rooftop.

Looking over the city, the sun setting off in the distance; even though the city was filled with all sorts of debauchery, up at this vantage point all seemed peaceful. The black skyline of the city below her was rather breathtaking as the wind kicked around her; cooling her sweat drenched skin. Placing her hands on her hips she walked around slowly; just observing the sky line and the flickering neon lights from the buildings below. This was close to the top of the mountain that she could get within the city and with a view like that it would do.

Pulling the buds out of her ears she tucked each one under a strap of her sports bra; the sound of the block party below carrying up to the rooftop above. She stood there listening to the heavy base and pacing around a bit as she wiped away the sweat from her brow. She needed to get back to her apartment, take a quick shower, and at least make an appearance at the block party. Those type of gatherings were not exactly her thing but she wouldn't avoid it completely. It was a good way to at least get to know the names and faces of the neighbors. Some she had met, a couple she had become friends with, but there were a good many of them she hadn't really gotten to know; a quick wave hello or goodbye as she passed them. Even living in such close quarters did not ensure you knew who was in the same building as you.

Danica was ready to head out of the building now that she caught her breath a bit, she would take it slow going down so she could cool off and catch her breath fully. "You really need to keep your nose out of things," a voice said from long shadows behind cast over the building thanks to the setting sun. Danica slowly glanced over her shoulder, her hands dropping from her hips as she continued to turn until she was facing the direction of the voice. She couldn't see who was there, all she could see was the soft cherry glow of the tip of a cigarette and a trail of smoke bleeding out into the air above it.

"Excuse me?" she asked as a single brow arched. The ember glowed a little brighter as the person in the shadows took another puff. The ember seeming to float off to the side as the end was flicked and ashes fell to the concrete roof top below. Danica stood there, her eyes following the light as she awaited an answer that was coming a little too slowly for her liking.

"Just had to pry into things that have nothing to do with you didn't you?" the person asked as they stepped forward some. Danica's lipped thinned a bit to the question and as the person stepped out of the shadows and flicked the cigarette towards her; it landing at her feet and rolling slowly to a stop as it still smoldered. Danica could feel her heart rate climb as she recognized the face.

"It has everything to do with me." The woman just shook her head a bit as she looked towards Danica. Dani's eyes narrowed as the woman stepped closer, Dani taking a reflexive step back but there wasn't really anywhere to go. The door was on the other side of the roof as was the fire escape; to her back was the block party five stories below.

"No where to go and no where to hide. You really should have stayed on that mountain," the woman said as her arm raised; gripped in her hand the cold steel of a hand gun. Danica's fight or flight response kicked into high gear and it began. The music from the block party below easily drowning out each punch that landed, each yelp, each grunt, each thud as bodies hit the roof top floor.

Wake up (wake up). Blood splattered on to the dirty tarred surface as knuckles connected with jaws; ribs cracked as knees were driven mercilessly into the side. Each exchanged blows, each missed, each connected but this was beyond the usual fight. Hide the scars to fade away the shake-up. This wasn't a fight on the mat with someone of equal experience. This wasn't a mountain to be conquered. This was a fight for the final breath, deserve to diiiieeee!

What choice was there left? Danica felt the gloved hand wrap around her throat and the cold steel of the barrel placed to her temple as she pushed against the bricks; the rough stone breaking through the skin of bare lower back. Danica struggled as she gasped for breath, her hands coming up and trying to wrestle the gun away from her assailant. "No one will ever even make the connection."

Danica's eyes widened at the words. They wouldn't, not like this. Trust in my self-righteous suicide. But she could make sure they did.

"They will now." The woman looked confused for the split heartbeat between Danica's words and her own realization to their meaning but it was too late. Danica's hand came up to the gun, her fingers wrapping around the grip as she kicked the woman back. The woman stumbled as all she could do was watch Danica as the trigger was pulled in the chaos and the bullet broke free from its chamber.

"No!" the woman bellowed but it was drowned out as the bass thumping of the block party below. There was nothing she could do as Danica's lifeless body went limp and fell back over the edge of the roof top. The first sign from above that could be visible from those down the streets as she began to come out of the heavens. Slowly she seemed to fall, descending to the ground below. I cry when angels deserve to die.

Her body crashed into one of the tables on the sidewalk, flattening the thing with the force of impact. The wood splintered and the contents that had once resided on its surface flung out from the scene. Pieces of wood metal, glass and more flew out from her as the gun remained grasped in her quickly chilling fingers. Several metal pieces that once held the table together ejecting from the scene and hitting Riley. The music went silent as Danica lay there, blood streaming from the self-inflicted wound, the burn of the muzzle evident around the hole. Her open eyes stared out into the nothingness that was now her home; darker than black.

The sound seemed to vanish as Riley dragged her over to socialize with people. Almost like her mind was taking snapshots, she saw Tank wink at her, and heard Riley introduce the two of them to the rest of her neighbors. She blinked, watching as a dark shape fell out of the corner of her eye. The music playing at the party sounded almost like grotesque circus music, but she couldn't have been certain.

With a thud, she watched as a table was flattened by a falling body. Metal implements flew into the crowd, one hitting Riley right beside her. Her heart beat hammering, Cecily knew that she ought to check to see if Riley was okay. But all she could think about was the mantra that had been drilled into her as a forensic technician.

The first step is to secure and isolate the crime scene. Per Locard's Exchange Principle, every contact leaves a trace. Act quickly, and these traces will be preserved.

Blinking again, time suddenly seemed to speed up again, as Cecily rushed towards the falling body.

"No one touch it! No one touch anything!" Cecily shouted, her voice hoarse and foreign to her ears. Hoping that Roy and Tank had already gone up to the roof to investigate, Cecily pulled out her phone, her fingers fumbling as she dialed the number for the precinct. Leaving a message with whomever was in charge, she asked for back-up and a forensics team to be sent to Boston Heights.

Pulling her hair back up into a ponytail and wishing that she carried a pair of latex gloves on her, her eyes were attracted to the blossoming hole in the girl's face. Danica, I think... Cecily pondered, refusing to let herself touch it. She remembered seeing photographs of dozens of suicides, all of them similar to this.

But the rule of probability had been drilled into her--it was too strange for a suicide to happen at the Block Party, right after the Glencross girl had done the same. Two deaths, both suicides by guns.

Of course, it wasn't up to her to determine cause of death. That would be the Medical Examiner's job. Taking a deep breath, Cecily glanced around at the dozens of people. All of them were witnesses. All of them would need to be interviewed and processed. Statements would be taken, fingerprints entered into AFIS and the gun in Danica's hand would be analyzed. Already, she could see the paperwork piling up, the court cases, the struggle to find some sort of meaning...

She knew very well that most cases never went to trial. She knew that her job was often for nothing, that it was futile. But she did it anyways.

"Could everyone please take a step back, please? And, erm...If you got any blood on you or anything, try not to touch it..." Cecily asked awkwardly.

It wasn't every day that she was at the scene of the crime when it was committed. They never really trained her for this.

Jeremy had seen bodies, plenty of different kinds, too. From ancient skeletons to fellow explorers killed by traps, or, more likely, each other, but just because he'd seen a fair few in his time didn't quite mean he was okay with it. He spotted the falling shape out of the corner of his eye, and it didn't take him too long to piece together what it was. The music, the sounds of conversation, everything at that point seemed to blur out as he fixed his gaze on the falling figure for a moment, only keeping his eyes there for a moment before moving them up toward the roof, where the body had come from in the first place.

Thud.

A scream came from elsewhere in the party as the body crashed down on the table and shattered it. That scream, along with the piece of metal striking one of the women beside him, snapped him out of his little trance as he looked back to the body finally. Eyes wide and lifeless, blood pooling beneath her, bullet hole in the side of her head, he hadn't known her personally, but Jeremy did know who it was - Danica, that was her name, he was pretty sure. There was one thing that stood out though, bruises on her face and knuckles, the sight of them triggered a series of thoughts which brought Jeremy's gaze back up to the roof, an expression of realization crossing his face as he stood there.

That same realization pushed him into action finally, the world finally seeming to be back to normal around him as he rushed to the door of that same building Danica had fallen from. He tried the handle, locked. He could have gone around, found a different way up, a back door maybe, but by then if someone was up on the roof they could've been gone, slipped right under his nose in the interim, no, he was going this way. Taking a step back, he drove the heel of his left foot into the ground, bringing his right up and leaning forward as he kicked near the lock of the door. Luckily, the door still appeared to be older than the renovations, as it broke open with relative ease following Jeremy's kick.

Moving inside, Jeremy took a quick look around to take in the surroundings, no stairs, of course, but a room to his right had a hollowed out roof, along with some scaffolding and a few still-hanging shelves on the walls, it'd do. Picking up the pace, Jeremy got a running start and jumped up, hand taking a firm grip of one of the metal supports holding up the scaffolding. Reaching up with his free hand, he grabbed onto another and hauled himself upward, climbing ontop of the first bit of scaffolding, farthest from the door out. A quick glance around the room put him on to his next move, taking a running jump along the wall, he reached up and took hold of one of the shelves still hanging on the wall, praying that it would hold his weight.

Luck was on Jeremy's side this time, and he was able to get a stable grip on it to jump for the doorway, grabbing onto the ledge at its base and pulling himself up into the hallway on the second floor, just three more to go. Luckily this floor had at least part of the stairway still intact, and with a little effort, he was on the third floor. Jeremy just hoped the last few floors would be as easy a climb.

They weren't.

On the third floor, another hollowed out room, no floor or roof, scaffolding about, and an open window to the fire escape. Another run and jump got him onto the scaffolding, but he was still quite a ways from the window. Eyes shifting around the room, they settled on another shelf hanging on the wall between himself and the window. "Well, worked out last time..." He muttered to himself, leaping outward and grabbing onto the shelf.

This one didn't support his weight. "Crap!" As one end of the shelf broke off the wall, Jeremy struggled to maintain a grip as he was swung down and along, reacting out of instinct more than anything, he thrust his body forward and let go, reaching out his hands and just barely taking hold of the window sill as he took a moment to look down. "Okay, let's not try that again." Hauling himself up and through onto the window, Jeremy began to climb up the fire escape to bypass the last few floors to the fifth. Climbing in through another window, he made his way to the stairs leading up to the roof, pushing the door open and moving outside carefully, eyes shifting around.

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Interacting with: Alicia @Lady Amalthea, Caesar @Sigil, Cecily @Morose, Jeremy @Pundii

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The thud and shattering, though muffled, brought Tank whipping around. "What in the hell..." Tank set the food down unevenly on the counter without a second thought. He vaulted over Alicia's couch and made his way outside. The Detective sprinted out of the patio, pointing at his bike right before he made it to the block party, whispering. "I'll deal with you later" as he ran. He reached into the back of his jeans and pulled out his pistol, safety on. "Police!" he cried out, shoving past people and even sliding over one empty table before he made it to Danica's corpse.

He almost skidded into the crime scene beside Cecily, gun visible. His eyes didn't leave the corpse as he reached into his pocket and produced his Detective ID badge. "Could everyone please take a step back, please? And, erm...If you got any blood on you or anything, try not to touch it..."
"Step BACK. EVERYBODY BACK." he ordered with a wave of his hand, giving her some truly needed help in crowd control. He knelt down beside Cecily and let his mind sink in on who this was. He'd seen Danica around, he remembered. She'd definitely looked better. There was a bullet hole in in the side of her head, that was as plain as day. He'd seen enough of them. Looked small caliber, but he couldn't be sure. He looked up toward the roof, glad as hell he'd done his homework on these apartments. "You're doing great." he told Cecily. "Stay here. Call 911."

He stood up, brown eyes steeled. "Everyone stay back!" he said, showing them his badge. "Remain calm and keep a safe distance. Back-up will be here soon and we need everyone's cooperation. Just stick around and...try not to stare, it's rude." He turned to Cecily. "Listen to her." he advised them, pointing to the young woman. "I'll check the roof."

He waded past the crowd and was glad people now gave him a wide berth. He sprinted into the renovated building. He let out a sigh as he climbed, and realized getting to the top was a lot more complicated than he thought. Trouble always follows me, he told himself. As if on cue, he could hear banging and footsteps coming from around the building. Only it wasn't going down, but upwards toward the roof if he had to guess. He didn't know of anymore law enforcement residents here other than Greg...

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Alicia looked over towards Tank, her fingers wrapping around a bottle of hot sauce on the counter and was about to chuck the damn thing at him for his comment about Lorna when the shit hit the proverbial fan. Screams echoed in from outside and there was the sound of a crash. Had some fucker decided to jump the blockade with his car she had to wonder to herself. Hand came from the hot sauce as she headed for the door, her hand reaching under the side table and pulling her gun before she follow Tank over the couch and out the door. Climbing the short flight of stairs from her under street apartment front door and to the street she stopped in her tracks as she held her gun low.

Her head tilted to the side a bit as she saw Danica laying there like a broken rag doll. She didn't know the woman well but had spoken to her a few times in person, enough to know she did articles on travel for the local paper. They had ended up running together a few times; happening to walk out the door at the same time in the morning and figuring it was better to run in silence next to someone they at least knew a bit than be hit on by the various guys they would run across. Taking her pistol she slapped the safety on and tucked it under the back of her shirt before walking over towards Lorna and Lawson.

"What the fuck just happened?" she asked the two. wondering if they had seen anything that wasn't pretty evident before them. Letting out a short breath she looked back over to the body and furrowed her brows. The bullet wound at her temple and the bruises. Had she gotten then on her run? She had seen Danica come home banged up several times before, girl had a knack for taking chances. Maybe she finally took one too many?

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Roy ducked his head down a bit when he heard the crash before it whipped around and he saw the body of Danica splayed out on the crushed table. The man took a deep breath and rolled his eyes a bit. "God fucking damn it, it's supposed to be my night off! But no, just has to be raining bodies doesn't it?" he grumbled as he put his beer down and looked as Jeremy headed towards the building across the street. Stepping over towards Cecily he knelt down and took a look at the body for a quick moment as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a set of latex gloves; holding them out for her. He kept some with him at all times, habit from being on the job for so long.

"If that guy is doing what I think he is doing I gotta go stop dipfuck from touching anything on the roof. Secure the scene until the coroner arrives," he said as he stood back up after she took the gloves. Walking over to the door that the archeologist has kicked in he narrowed his eyes. Already destroying evidence it seemed. Roy walked in and looked up. "I'm a detective, not a mountain climber," he said from behind his clenched teeth. This night was just getting better and better.

And so the climb began and he did not have near the luck that Danica had had, well she didn't have luck but you know, and things went much rougher for him than they had Jeremy. By the time he actually made it up to the roof he was covered in dust, splinters, and had some cuts on his knuckles from what could be seen. What couldn't was the bruised set of ribs from landing on a scaffolding railing when he lost his grip. Taking a few heaved breaths he looked over to the man that had rushed off and up there. "Touch one thing and your body is going to land right on top of hers," he warned as he pulled out another set of gloves and started looking around.

What had gone on up there? There were signs of a struggle, not much but there was more than one set of footprints in the grim and muck of the roof top. Blood was splattered in light drops here and there. He stopped as he knelt down and picked up the butt of a cigarette in his gloved hands, placing it close to his nose as he inhaled. It hadn't been out long. Folding it up in a spare glove he kept looking around.

"Tell me if you see the shell casing," he said as he pulled out a flash light from his pocket and shown it about. Where the hell was that casing?

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Cecily had put the call in to Station 54 about the dead girl on the sidewalk at the the Block Party for Boston Heights. It wasn't exactly the type of call they were expecting that evening but then again in Justice anything could and would happen at anytime. Over at the scene the press was now scrambling to get passed the blockade and over to the body. They didn't care that there were people afraid there, that they were pushing over tables of food and nearly trampling on some, that they could be destroying evidence. They wanted to be the first one to air live the image of Danica Graves fave on the now breaking news that was broadcasting across the city.

"Amy Adams for Channel 6 News. We are here at Boston Heights were tragedy has struck yet again. Not six months ago a young woman took her life during the small communities block party. This is the first one to be held sine that night and now another apparent suicide has occurred. Is the food here really that bad? No details yet of who this young woman is or why she has done this but will will keep you posted and informed as the stories breaks. Live from the scene, I am Amy Adams for Channel 6 News." Her camera man zoomed in on the face of Danica and froze as the news cast broke live across the city.

Downtown Christopher Wallace, the county coroner had been notified by the local precinct of what had gone down and he was getting his team together to head over. In his pocket his phone rang and he quickly took the call without looking at who the caller was. "Kind of busy here," he said as he pinched the phone between his cheek and his shoulder to hold it in place. That was until a voice piped in from the other side of the line and he stopped what he was doing. "No, I understand. Don't worry, I have it under control," he said in response into the phone before he hung up and quickened his pace.

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Lyndsay smiled as Cam seemed to not immediately brush off the idea of hanging out with Lawson and Lorna, talking about their service days. She did worry about him, he was still very open with her in all other things, but he always got quiet and changed the subject when it came to anything to do with his war days, which she understood, she never pressed him too much. She snuggled herself into his side as he spoke with Lorna, happy and content just to spend the time with him and converse with the few other neighbours she knew.

She let out a bright laugh when she was thanked for the tip on brainfreeze, giving the girl a warm smile, which reached right to her eyes. "You're welcome, honey. When you live in the south, you tend to gobble up anything cold to cool you down as quick as possible, you soon learn about the terrors of brain freeze!" She looked at Cam as she laughed, noting the slight sheen of sweat that had appeared on his forehead, and the way he swallowed more than usual. She gave his waist a quick squeeze and looked up at him with a re-assuring smile.

When he excused himself and pressed a kiss to her lips, she watched him go over her shoulder, her eyebrows furrowed a little in worry, but she vowed to go and check on him in 10 minutes and carried on her conversation. "Lyndsay, a pleasure to meet you." She took Lorna's hand and squeeze it lightly. "That there was Cam, he's just taking a minute." She probably didn't need to say anymore, Lorna would know better than even Lyndsay could the way you had to adapt back into civilian life. She took the plate from Lawson with a warm smile, and a slight roll of her eyes.

Her lips opened to speak some sort of witty response, but she was interrupted by a loud crash behind her. Before she had a chance to turn to see what it was, she felt herself being pulled back and in the opposite direction of the chaos, protected by large wall of muscle between her and the crash that had occured accross the street. She recognised the shape of Lawson protecting her instinctively, blocking her from any harm, and took a step back, brushing herself off a little. "What on earth was..."

As she peered around Lawson's shoulder and let out a scream at the sight of the dead girl in a pile of debris. Her hand clamped over her mouth as tears began to fall over her cheeks. She took another step back from Lawson before she turned without warning and pushed past Lorna, making her way in a half-run towards the Rose building. Her mind was on Cam, and the trauma that the loud noise may have caused him. The main front door slammed behind her, and she began racing up the stairs, before she heard a slight groan, and mutter from the ground floor. She looked over the stair bannister and let out a gasp. Cam was lay half propped up against a wall, muttering something to himself.

"Oh my lord." She ran back down the stairs two at a time, jolting her knees in the process of making it down on the floor with him. "Cam? Cameron? What happened? There...there's a girl, she shot herself, and...and fell out of a window near the block party. Just like that other girl, from our apartment." She was crying more now, a little hysterical, reaching to pull her shirt off, she pressed it against the cut on his head, suddenly pulling him into a hug. He was still muttering something that she couldn't make out.