A church basement in Jonestown, Baltimore, Tuesday afternoon

[betterthanaplan]

So the incense good mood from that morning had worn off, and Duke had started to get anxious. The idea of Octavia hanging out in Baltimore attending community outreach meditation courses had stopped making sense again. Unless maybe she hit her head and was looking for something familiar? He headed to the mainland a little bit earlier than was strictly necessary to attend the tai chi class Jim had said Octavia would be coming to this evening, hoping to get some answers.

Jim was seated on the floor when he arrived, surrounded by thin, hungry looking older women, who all turned beatific smiles on Duke when he walked in.

"Duke!" Jim greeted. "Come in, come in! We were just finishing up a group chakra cleansing!"

Warning bells were (a bit belatedly) going off in Duke's head. "Chakra cleansing. Right. Cool."

That was not a thing. What the hell had he gotten himself into, here?

[NFB. For the one expected, and more cult-fighting hijinks. . . .]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

Duke coughed into his sleeve again, looking from Danny's little arresting party and the door. "That's nice, can we maybe do the smug posturing part outside now?"

Weirdly enough, he was unwilling to leave his new cop frenemy alone with two bad guys and a growing cloud of poisonous gas. He was just that kind of a guy.

[hatesparadise]

"Go," Danny said, pointing a gun at the two of them. "If you think about running, just know that I am pissed enough to not bother with a warning shot."

Steve was a terrible influence on him.

He followed after them, giving details of the situation to the dispatcher unfortunate enough to pick up the call.

[betterthanaplan]

The acolytes were all gathered in a cluster on the sidewalk, looking alternately spooked or stoned. Duke's mom stood at the front, clutching the mop. Duke scowled to himself as he got outside, then went over to go check on him.

She backed up, staring at him like he'd grown an extra head. He sighed. "Yeah. That figures." He dug for his wallet, figuring he could at least offer her a couple bucks, and discovered that it, like his knife, was missing. "Goddammit." He turned back to Danny. "Either of those dicks have my wallet?"

[hatesparadise]

"Answer the man," Danny said, resting the phone against his neck for a moment. "Knife, wallet. Whatever else you guys took. My badge."

Was this the sort of thing Duke had expected from his new frenemy?

"Any of the locals ask, you're my CI. Got it?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shuddered. "That's just insulting." He shrugged. "But if it keeps me out of jail. . . ."

Jim and Mike didn't look much like they wanted to cooperate. Duke rolled his eyes and went to go check their pockets.

"Wallet." He shoved that into his own pocket. "Badge." Held up to show Danny. "Seriously? Still with the Hawaii?" He looked at Jim. "What were you even going to do with a random Hawaii police badge?"

[hatesparadise]

"Shut up and hand it over." He might cry if he gave that badge up. Legit cry. Once the call was over, he offered the phone back over to Duke in exchange for it.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke made the trade. Then quietly emptied the rest of Jim and Mike's pockets, keeping any cash he found for himself. He considered pocketing the eighth he found on Mike, but held it up instead.

"In case they can't make the cult thing stick?"

[hatesparadise]

"Cult thing is pretty nebulous. Assault of a police officer, false imprisonment, and attempted murder? Those are gonna be easier." And Danny would viciously help with that report. "Put it back. You're not actually a CI, Duke."

Though he may want to check on the status of his mother instead, in case she pulled a runner on them.

[betterthanaplan]

"God forbid." Duke made a show of putting it back. (And resisted the urge to palm it instead. They'd only notice it missing later, and he didn't need a reason for Danny to look any closer at him than he already was.)

"Right." He turned to the acolytes -- including his mom -- and looked them over. "You ladies alright? Got somewhere to stay tonight?"

This was how he'd ended up with a very confused young woman living on his boat with him, Danny. This right here. Only, you know, in an aquarium after hours because he'd broken in. . . .

[hatesparadise]

If he assaulted another guard for that...

Danny dug around in his pockets for zip-ties that had been either missed or disregarded as worthless when they'd searched him in order to secure their ring-leaders.

He sighed, watching Duke do his thing as he tugged the tie a little too snug on Jim there. "You sure you're not a social worker?"

[betterthanaplan]

He had not!

. . . Octavia had.

"Just a concerned citizen, Detective." He shook his head, dropping his voice into a mutter. "Keeping a roof over my head was basically the only thing my mom ever did for me, it's the least I can do for her."

Duke's mom had melted into the back of the pack, and was absolutely about to pull a runner.

[hatesparadise]

Because that's what happens with family in sad, sad canons. That and probably murder.

Danny sighed, securing the other guy before holstering his gun again. "I'm not saying you shouldn't do that."

[betterthanaplan]

There was definitely murder involved, yes!

"Then what are you saying?" Duke asked. "These women are victims of these guys. They're scared and confused and --" He glanced back. "-- Aaaaaaaaand Mom's gone again."

[hatesparadise]

"That you're not equipped to deal with it on your own," Danny said dryly. "You need a moment?"

Maybe a tissue?

[betterthanaplan]

"I'm fine." He was basically numb at this point. But he was going to get very drunk this evening! "Was just -- trying to help."

[hatesparadise]

Danny gave him A Look as sirens finally sounded in the distance. "Right."

[betterthanaplan]

"You're the guy they were just threatening to shoot," Duke pointed out. "You doing okay?"

He'd noticed that whole He-Man, busting out of the ropes bit, Danny.

[hatesparadise]

Well, it was that or a panic attack and he felt he chose correctly. "Me? I'm drugged and pissed off. It's been an absolutely terrible day, so I am the opposite of okay, honestly."

[betterthanaplan]

Duke raised his eyebrows at that. ". . . Respect." That was almost ridiculously emotionally healthy by Duke's standards, Danny! "You know, if you weren't a cop, we might actually get along."

Nahhhhhhhhh.

[hatesparadise]

It was because he was too used to being around Steve who lacked emotional awareness. Leading by example, if you will.

Danny rolled his eyes, huffing out a laugh before something hit him. "Phone. Phone now."

He was off that goddamn island. He could call his daughter.

[betterthanaplan]

Well, it wasn't like he was going to give it back to his mom. Duke tossed him the phone back.

"Who you going to call? You already got the local cops coming in."

If that CI line didn't hold up, Duke was going to be very unhappy. He'd managed to avoid the Baltimore cops really well so far.

[hatesparadise]

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," Danny muttered to himself as the phone rang and rang and... actually picked up.

"Hi, Danno," came the phone over the other end.

"Hi, monkey," Danny said and it was like a switch at been completely flipped in his behavior because he was hearing his daughter's voice again. Did he sound a little choked up? Maybe. It was a bad couple weeks, okay? Sue him.

Welcome to the feelings zone, Duke.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke's mouth formed a little O as he saw that switch.

He backed off a bit, tugging the two zip-tied cultists with him, to give Danny some space.

[hatesparadise]

Which was the nicest thing he could have done for Danny at that very moment.

He paced back and forth, listening to Grace tell him about what she'd done in Las Vegas with her mother and Step-Stan almost word for word the very same thing she'd said to him before he'd left New Jersey. At least he had some confirmation that time wasn't passing outside like it was on the island.

"I know, it's on my calendar," he promised her, clutching at this like a goddamn lifeline. "Cheer competition. Bold letters. Yeah. Yeah. Danno loves you, okay? I--okay. Okay, be good for your mom until I get there tomorrow."

Once the call disconnected on her end, he wordlessly passed the phone back over to Duke.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke took the phone, studying Danny's expression.

"You can't call from the island, can you," he said. "How long has it been since you last talked to your people?"