Trouble Doubles

[Kami-Gaz]

Annika let slip a sly smile as she heard how Charlie had deduced the picture still holding some meaning to her mother. It was an impressive connection of dots to get a sound logic out of a person she knew quite intimately. And with Miguel agreeing to do anything within his power to cut Edwin out of Charlie’s life that was the start of this grand plan.

“Not a bad deduction Chaz, just like your bio-dad, you would make a good detective.” She quipped, letting her smile warm her tone into something caring and kind. She was still drawing out her diagram of her rudimentary plan. As she drew and wrote notes it got more and more complex as new elements were introduced. Ideas of how to get the mother and father to interact, be cordial and to reignite the spark as Annika found dirt on Edwin to show how much scum he was.

“Okay… I think I am done.” She spoke before stepping away and nodding with pride in her work, this was something the trio could reference and grow into something spectacular as time went on. Something to bond the father with his daughter and bring a true family together. There were few things that she would be solely responsible for.

“Tonight, I will kick off my part. I am going to give the chief some tickets to the Opera and a note will say there is a money payment coming with some info when he attends.” She explained, looking proud of the idea. “When he goes I’ll break into his office and find dirt, on both him and Edwin… Use it to expose them for the scum they are.” Annika explained, her cold harsh air returning when it came to people of that ilk and how they were ruining the world around the.

[Bobbie]

As the compliment came from Annika, Charlie’s face lit up and she smiled proudly - both because she had done a good job and because there was a visible connection to her birth father, a man she had always longed to discover and get to know. It made her happy to know that she resembled him, whether for better or for worse. It made her feel like she belonged, brought into this world from somewhere by someone… not Edwin.

Miguel, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and let out a scoff that made Charlie giggle. “Don’t be jealous if I’m doing a better job than you on my first day.” Her quip caused the man’s jaw to drop as he stared at her incredulously.

“Seriously? You didn’t get that mouth from me, I’m sure.” He retorted, although anybody who knew Miguel would be able to deny his claim in less than a second.

Then, as Annika exclaimed she was finished, they both redirected their attention to her work. Immediately, Miguel raised an eyebrow at the mention of the Opera. “Chief Baltimore?” He laughed, “You better have those for the VIP section, that stuck up worm wouldn’t settle for anything less. I know money isn’t an issue, but they might be sold out… unless you could somehow weasel your way into an ‘accidental’ double booking.” It wasn’t preposterous, it was something that he was well aware the Stratonovskis could make that work for the right reasons… and this felt like the right reason.

However, there was something else on Miguel’s mind, but as a subtle glance in the girl’s direction indicated, he didn’t feel comfortable bringing it up in front of Charlie.

“Annika, wait…” he started, sighing as he rubbed his right eyebrow, levelled into a slight frown while his eyes closed in thought. “Can we talk about this for a moment?”

As Charlie looked at him, he felt pangs of guilt shoot through him, her gaze piercing through him. “Alone…” he gestured to the door for them to leave so that Charlie could remain comfortable. Much to his surprise, the girl rolled her eyes with no protest and simply went back to sitting on his desk, perhaps out of spite as he had already made it clear that he didn't want her doing that - but if there was ever a time for a free pass, perhaps this was it.

“I get it, adult-talk, right? Go ahead, I’ll be waiting right here.” With a shrug, she put on a show of not caring as she began to swing her feet over the opening where the chair would usually be. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Miguel wanted to talk about that he didn’t want her to hear, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to be a part of that conversation anyway, even if she had the chance to be. To keep up the charade, she picked up a rubber band from his desk and began fiddling with it, stretching it and testing its breaking point while Miguel moved to the door and waited for Annika.

---

Charlie: #f3404e
Miguel Murphy: #ffdfb2

[Kami-Gaz]

“I already have people that owe me favours at the theatre. Don’t worry about that. If push comes to shove and someone needs to be moved, I can call one in.” Annika replied to Miguel as he considered the chiefs acquired taste for luxuries on his dirty money. It was a good thing to keep in mind, but Annika had already figured out that hurdle already. Then Miguel called for her, breaking her out of her contemplation at the small diagram that had been made.

“Hm?” She hummed softly, looking up to see Miguel frowning in thought over something. She nodded and moved over understanding the implications of not involving Charlie. The Vigilante looked back over to the girl as she made her show of not being affected by this call to adult talk… she was a bad actor.

“Sure, What’s up?” She asked as she made her way to the door and out. Not stopping her walk as the pair headed down the corridor some more, just in case Charlie got any ideas about eavesdropping by standing by the door. Annika had gotten good at that herself at a young age and knew the best tricks to avoid it happening to herself.

“Before you say it… Yes I know it’s a long shot, I know it’s got risks and I know this is a lot for you to just be hit with suddenly and your head isn’t exactly in the right mind to start a crazy plot to make a young girls life better.” Annika started, a rare bout of actual emotion coming into her voice as she looked at the man in the eye, her own steadfast and determined but passionate. “Hearing what happened to you and Charlie… what Edwin and the chief have done… I started doing what I do now to punish people like that… To show the world that being evil and corrupt for benefit isn’t going to stand anymore. If you don’t want Charlie involved then I’ll change it up, do something else.”

[Bobbie]

Once they were outside and out of earshot of Charlie, Miguel sighed quietly to himself, mulling his thoughts a little longer while Annika spoke. His iconic frown was once again on his face, yet it was not accompanied by any snarky remarks.

“It’s not that…” he muttered, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. “Besides, just look at her. Do you really think somebody like that girl in there is going to accept being taken off a case like this? I swear if you told me you two were sisters I might believe it.” His grumble finally came, but it wasn’t quite the cause for his frown.

“For your plan to work… we’re running with the assumption that Cami and I still have something to build together. Don’t tell me that photo is proof, because I could have a dozen photos of sports stars on my walls, doesn’t mean I’m going to be marrying any of them any time soon. Her reaction is going to be unpredictable - she hasn’t seen me in a long time. I haven’t seen her in a long time either.” A hint of genuine insecurity crept into his voice, which he then aimed to correct with another sigh. Upon realising his shoulders were slouched, he straightened up.

“I’m just saying that there are a lot of hypotheticals in this plan that we can’t control.” It wasn’t a lie…but the more specific truth was one very specific possibility that Miguel feared. What if Cami despised him for not doing something earlier? What if he should have found out sooner? What if she blamed him for everything?

Then there was another matter that had to be addressed, the telltale sign of worry plaguing the man’s mind appearing as he stroked an eyebrow.

“You’re right, this is a lot… I want to help, but I’m not father material. Even you know me well enough to admit that. Like I said, I want to help, but I don’t know what comes next.”

He smoothed his eyebrow down once more, looking away from Annika and staring at the wall behind her across the corridor where they had just come from. There were many things that would send Miguel flying into a rage, but very few would cause him to spiral into panic. It seemed recent events had pushed just the right buttons to reveal one on that list of few.

Meanwhile, as she waited, Charlie walked over to the drawing board, having another look at Annika's plan. She too had her own uncertainties, and was still not convinced that coming here was the right move, but it was a move... in any direction. Surely that had to be better than standing still and doing nothing. However, regardless of her own feelings, she was confident that this plan would work.

---

Charlie: #f3404e
Miguel Murphy: #ffdfb2

[Kami-Gaz]

Annika watched her friend spiral into worry and doubt, it was not a good look for him. The frown he usually wore was a sign of age and the look of a man who doesn’t get paid enough for the crap he has to deal with. This look? It was pathetic. Something that Annika already grew to despise. Her flat expression shifted into a disdainful frown, her eyes like icy daggers as she pushed forward to the taller man and put a hand to his chest before pushing him backwards. She forced his back to the wall and stared up into his eyes.

“I know exactly the kind of father you’re going to be. I’ve watched you handle Simon for months now. You’re the stern jokester, a little mean but always meaning well.” She started, with a strange tone… it was harsh but there wasn’t any coldness or venom to her words. “If you can keep Simon and his accident prone self-alive then you can handle a mini girl you.” She said factually, keeping her inhumanly strong palm to his chest,

“Sure you have pictures of athletes on your walls and posters of famous people. You aren’t famous, you’re some above average joe that managed to capture a young woman’s heart all those years ago. It takes something special to do that, you have it and the fact she still has a photo like that hidden in a place only she will see means something. All you have to do is rekindle that feeling in her.” The young woman spoke, relaying that energy she was exuding into her words. The intense harsh care that needed to be given, a strange form of tough love.

The young vigilante removed her hand from Miguel’s chest and stood back and flicked her hair away. “Doubt doesn’t make you look cute. Be confident… bitches love confidence.” Annika spoke, cracking an awkward smile with her joke to try and crack him out of his downward spiral.

[Bobbie]

Miguel was taken by surprise when Annika put a hand on his chest, but he didn’t have much time to wonder what was going on as he was immediately pushed backward until he hit a wall. Looking down at her with a raised eyebrow, he said nothing and just listened.

It was unusual for Annika to speak like this. Not only was she saying kind things to him, but she also didn’t look like she wanted to pass her tongue through a cheese grater for such blasphemy. Of course, his greatest concern was one that he believed she couldn’t possibly understand - neither could he until he suddenly found himself flung into this situation, but she did offer a different perspective that he hadn't considered. The way he ‘handled’ Simon, as she put it… he certainly was a handful. The man caused him grief even while he wasn’t even present!

Once she removed her hand from his body, the man let out a sigh. “Yeah?” He chuckled in response to her joke, “So what bitches are you aiming to attract?” With a shake of his head, he arranged his jacket and looked away. He hated to admit it, but she actually made him feel better; however, he wasn’t sure who of the two of them that would be more embarrassing for. This was a side of Annika that she didn't reveal often, just as it was a side of Miguel that he didn't reveal easily either.

“Fine, but if it doesn’t work, you adopt her. You’re eighteen, right?” Of course he wasn’t serious, but gave little chance to address his proposal. “Thanks… I think we can both agree that Simon doesn’t need to know about whatever this was. He might not survive the shock.” With that, he gestured toward the door of the room they left Charlie in, "We'd better get back in there to make sure she hasn't stumbled upon the wrong files or something."

---

Charlie: #f3404e
Miguel Murphy: #ffdfb2

[Kami-Gaz]

The young woman’s awkward smile flashed into a grin for just a moment as a quick-witted response came to mind. Being a hero to the people and local icon in the fashion world had Given Annika another power beyond that of her devil fruit. It gave her the power of a feisty light-hearted quip. Those icy eyes of hers focussed in a new way on his own before she turned and began heading to the office.

“Tall, Handsome, and just the right amount of cute.” She spoke softly to herself, imagining her perfect man, before he carried on thanking her. She had really opened up to the man and Simon seeing this would have a field day in teasing the both of them… which wouldn’t bother her much as Simon was just a delight to be around and his teasing was always light hearted and appreciated. “Agreed, Simon would die of joy… And yes, if all else failed I would.” She said before getting to the door to the office and pushing it open.

She strode into the office and put a smile on her face as she watched Charlie and nodded. “The plan is a go!” She announced, raising a hand to create a hook in her palm and fired it at Simon’s chair, snagging it and bringing it closer to herself with ease. The hook dematerialised and the chair stopped against her raised foot, in a heartbeat she spun about and sat back with confidence.

“Charlie, you and I are officially close friends and I formally invite you to go shopping with me. Me and my bodyguard, Fonzie, will pick you up in the morning from your house. If you want tomorrow, we can have a sleep over here.” Annika spoke, spinning in the chair, firing hooks here and there to move it around without making her feet touch the floor. She stopped at Simon’s desk and finally focused on what Charlie had been doing in here on her own. “This is going to take a while but I call it operation Candle!”

[Bobbie]

“Well, I never asked you to describe me…” Miguel uttered in a little mumble as he followed her to the door - saying it too loudly would be a risk, but he couldn’t let a joke like that go unsaid.

As they entered the room, Charlie spun around to face them, her hair whipping around her and her hands behind her back with a guilty look. She made no effort to hide that she had been snooping, however. They couldn’t possibly expect her to simply sit around and not touch anything while they were out there for an age.

“Is it? Great!” she nodded, watching as Annika pulled a chair over and proceeded to spin around on it. She seemed to enjoy doing that a lot, and Charlie made sure to stay out of her way while she did.

Meanwhile, Miguel was a little less patient as he made his way to his own desk, frowning and sighing in a frustrated manner when a hook shot out across the room in front of him that blocked his path. Once that dematerialised, he grabbed his own chair and sat down with the expression of a tired old man who’d spent too much time on his feet.

While the pair were busy, Charlie watched them silently, curious about what they had been talking about. Despite having no shame in snooping around the office, she respected Miguel’s request for a private conversation and did not eavesdrop.

“Okay, cool,” was the girl’s immediate response, but then she mirrored Miguel’s frown and shook her head in confusion, rather than frustration. “Wait, shopping?” Pausing, she looked down at her sportswear and then back at Annika again. “What’s wrong with-” her question trailed off when she saw Miguel who was silently gesturing for Charlie not to ask such a daring question to the fashion queen seating in the room with them by waving his hand in cutting motion across his own throat, mouthing ‘DON'T’.

“Oh, okay. Yeah, cool.” She repeated, nervously. “What if my mum and dad see your bodyguard?” A part of her wanted Miguel to join them on their shopping trip, but knew they couldn’t risk him being seen. She was also not about to make such a suggestion. Having some time to bond with Annika and build a real friendship will be nice without his grumpy aura anyway.

“Operation Candle, sounds like a birthday reference.” Miguel chimed in, followed by the continuation spoken by both father and daughter.

“I like it.”

“I like it!”

---

Charlie: #f3404e
Miguel Murphy: #ffdfb2

[Kami-Gaz]

With the Father Daughter pair liking the name of the operation Annika flashed a cool grin before standing up tall. She had heard the question getting cut off and knew it would have something to do with Miguel being a good enough friend to cut it off at the pass. There was a legitimate answer to be said though.

“We go shopping because that is what stereotypical teen girls do when they are out and about with their friends. It’s public and everyone can see us together so rumours can spread of how cool you are.” She explained, walking over to the other desk and to the chair that young Charlie was sitting. “That and I want you to be my sportswear advisor. I’ve no one else to ask and I like your style.” She explained with a nod. “And in return I can get you something sorted to come with me to the Next Pipsi-man Release.”

She then stood tall and stretched out her back before pondering the Fonzie issue. “Fonzie is a teddie bear, he wouldn’t hurt a fly with no reason. Your mum should be fine around him, and he would be a big enough deterrent for your dad that he might get someone to watch us from a distance.” A twisted wicked smirk appeared on the usually cold faced Annika. “That plays into the plan too! The most they could report back is that we’re good friends and nothing is wrong, divert his attention from other things.”

The plan was amazing, genius. There were no downfalls that she could see that would be catastrophic to said plan. All they had to do was follow it through and all of Annika’s time reading heist novels, romance novels and drama novels will pay off.

[Bobbie]

Charlie watched Annika as she walked across the room to her chair, listening to her explanation and nodding along. When the blue-haired legend explained that she needed an advisor and would pick Charlie to be that person because she liked her style, her cheeked gained more colour.

“Mine? You want me to be your advisor on sports fashion?” she asked, shocked by the notion and incredibly flattered. Even Miguel was surprised as he raised his brow. This was certainly not what he expected, given the harsh criticism he received for his style from the fashionista - that said, Charlie’s style was different… but the man’s fashion sense was not finetuned enough to even identify what made hers better than his.

In any case, he was glad that the two got along.

At the mention of Fonzie, his demeanour changed and he stayed out of that conversation entirely. Charlie, having no idea who this Fonzie person actually was, was puzzled by the shift in her biological father’s behaviour, but she didn’t let this interrupt the flow of their conversation.

“Alright, so Edwin will know who he is then?” she asked, having enough general knowledge of the Stratonovskis to know that they were generally not liked by authorities. If Folonzo would deter the man from openly interfering and prompt him to send somebody to watch them, then her bodyguard’s name must be one that he’d know.

Again, Charlie nodded. She quite liked the idea of wasting his time and resources, preventing him from spending them on anything else. That also included making her mother miserable. Quite frankly, the more time he spent out of the house, the better for everyone, from her perspective.

“Sounds like a good plan!” She said before rising to her feet, her white trainers touching the ground without a sound. “I’ll wait for you to swing by in the morning then.”

Then she turned to Miguel. This was an awkward goodbye.

---

Charlie: #f3404e
Miguel Murphy: #ffdfb2

[Kami-Gaz]

Realising the awkwardness of the good bye that was unfolding the fashionista shook her head with a smile and hopped from her chair and let out a soft sigh, heading to the door. “I’ll show you to the front gates at least.” Annika spoke as the door squeaked awkwardly with the bare minimum force she was putting into it.

“Or would you like to take your girl that far? Have some daddy daughter time?” She asked teasing, her cold eyes shifting to Miguel and locking onto him. It was a piercing gaze that demanded attention and called that she wouldn’t tolerate being told no. It reframed the question she had just posed and changed the meaning, implied that Miguel should be the one that took the girl out and away to the gates, or at least the front door so the wider public wouldn’t see the two together just yet.

“I have to go and take a shower, I stink. I have to take a nap and grab dinner and then I’m going out on evening patrol. I might pop around to Simon’s place and see how his day was.” She explained, now leaving the room and making her way down the hall way to the main Stratonovski Residence, a hand waving over her shoulder as if dismissing Miguel to do just as her cold gazed had ordered him to. Her words were not as cold, however, they seemed laced with a sweet honey.

The plan was set, and Annika knew when a dad and daughter should bond… these two had plenty of genuine catching up to do and she was going to let it happen. When this plan is complete they can figure out the rest and not need to do this in secret.

[Bobbie]

“Oh, I think you’ve got-” Miguel started speaking before he looked at Annika, but he was completely frozen when his eyes met hers. The corner of his mouth twitched, as did his eye and he laughed nervously.

“Uh, sure.” He corrected his previous answer, reaching up to smooth his right eyebrow before he stood up and didn’t dare say no to Annika after the icy stare he was given.

Charlie couldn’t help smiling a little. It was easy to catch that his first response would have been a no, but she thought the dynamic between Miguel and Annika was really quite cute; her only regret was that she didn’t get to meet Simon as well. Somehow, she had actually taken quite a liking to Miguel with all his bitterness and grumpy attitude. Watching him as the man forced himself out of his seat like his joints needed a bit more oil despite him not even reaching his forties yet, Charlie raised a sceptical eyebrow.

“Bye Annika. It was really nice meeting you and getting to know you behind the mask.” The girl offered with a content smile, then turned to Miguel once more.

Feeling her gaze, Miguel felt pressured to hurry up and walked over to the fifteen-year-old. “Alright, go on then. I doubt he’ll be out by tonight though.” He uttered, most of his attention on Charlie as he gestured for her to walk ahead of him once their goodbyes were said to the blue-haired fashionista.

Her awkwardness was clearly shared and Miguel came close to putting a hand on her back to urge her forward, but promptly withdrew and put his hands in his pockets instead. With that, the pair left toward the gates, walking in silence for the most part. It wasn't until they had actually reached the gates that Charlie mentioned a basketball tournament among the locals that their conversation really took a more active turn.

Returning a full twenty minutes later, Miguel let out a sigh and looked at his watch as he wondered how things were going with Simon at the clinic. It was good that Annika would be heading out on evening patrol, as he’d be in peace and quiet and would have the liberty of letting his guard down. More importantly, he would be able to leave the estate and rush to the clinic without any questions if Simon called him on his Den Den.

---

Charlie: #f3404e
Miguel Murphy: #ffdfb2