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Chapter Text

Detective Bahmani raised his arms, staring blankly at the wall as he listened to the familiar buzz of the handheld metal detector swing closer and farther away from his ear. After a moment in that position, he nodded to the officer in front of him, who gave him a thumbs up and stepped away. Bahmani reached for his phone and his keys, scooping them out of the beige plastic bowl the X-ray scanner had spit out. He shoved them in his pocket, before taking a breath to collect himself.

The officer next to him shot him a sympathetic glance. Typically Bahmani was more talkative when running through security, but anyone who knew anything about the case he was working on knew better than to strike up a conversation. No, he was here on business, unfortunately. And it wasn’t business he wanted to be conducting.

If he’d wanted to do this as a job, he would’ve become a doctor.

He made his way past the security exit, pushing through the heavy metal door into the building. Past the door, he made his way down a long hallway of concrete and fluorescent lighting. After a minute or two of walking, he slowed at a door, where Detective Malus and Agent Shar Burke were both waiting for him. Malus exchanged a glance with him that could only be described as dread. Maybe it was more clearly painted on Bahmani’s face because Burke cleared his throat and gave him a stern look. It said ‘Careful.’ It was easy for him to say, he wasn’t the one that had to do the talking.

Bahmani tried to shake it off, before reaching for the handle, and carefully opening the door.

Poe Cameron looked exactly the same as she’d looked the first two times Bahmani had interviewed her, albeit much more tired. She still looked far too young to be handcuffed to a table. He didn’t know what he was expecting, a year in jail wasn’t exactly for the weak. While Charlotte County certainly didn’t have the worst conditions in the state, Bahmani was dully aware they weren’t the best either, especially for someone as….well, as like Cameron as Cameron was.

Bahmani swallowed, before walking inside with any of the courage he still had left. Burke and the other officer followed him but lurked near the back of the room. It was Bahmani’s case, so it was Bahmani’s responsibility. The chair screeched as Kit pulled it back, causing him to jump for a second. Why? He wasn’t sure. Maybe it was being in the same room with the woman he’d just put in jail for a year. Maybe it was the conversation that had yet to happen.

“Why am I here?” She spat out before Bahmani had the chance to say anything. Hostile. That was fair. It still threw him, just a little. Cameron had never talked to him like that. Maybe jail had a larger effect on her than he thought. Bahmani took a seat in the chair, holding the edge of the table to ground himself.

“Poe, if you’ll give me a moment to start the record,” Kit muttered, reaching for the recorder that was lying out on the table. He hit the record button, before clearing his throat. It felt like sandpaper.

“Operator, this is Kit Bahmani, Badge Number 13692. I’m speaking with Poe Cameron, P-O-E C-A-M-E-R-O-N. Cameron’s date of birth is 3/24/03. Today’s date is January 5, 2024, and the time is 4:25. I’m here with Agent Shar Burke and Detective Edward Malus, here to speak to Cameron about…about recent updates on the ongoing investigation into a case that Cameron has played a key part in. Cameron, I understand you’ve already been mirandized, so I’ll proceed.”

Cameron stayed dead silent, just watching him.

Upon actually getting closer, Bahmani recognized something was off. Some of the excitement in Cameron, her fidgeting behaviors, it had ebbed away. She looked about 5 years older than the last time Kit had seen her. Older, maybe, or just more mature. She looked just a little tougher, her gaze was more firm. There was a stirring sickness in Bahmani’s chest as he recognized what it was.

She looked just like Memphis, after her first visit to the county jail.

The thought made him feel deeply and violently uncomfortable, enough that Bahmani’s chair screeched back again, just a little, as he turned to make eye contact with Burke, who was glaring back at him. Right. His case, his responsibility. His case, his responsibility. He couldn’t leave now, he had to do his job.

“Poe, we-” He had to pause again. “We’re here to discuss your older sister, Memphis.”

“What about her?” Cameron responded immediately, arms crossed out in front of her. Her eyes darted from Bahmani to the two agents behind him, then back to him. “You already asked about her, I don’t have anything else to say to you.”

“Listen. Poe.” Bahmani tried to start again.

“I’m listening.” Cameron seethed, glaring back at him. Bahmani took a slow breath in.

“Memphis is dead.”

He could see Cameron’s tense, guarded posture go limp. She started at her hands. After a moment he realized she was staring at the handcuffs. There was a long, stiff silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Bahmani could see Burke putting a hand on his gun. He wanted to slap him.

“How do you know?” Cameron's eyes darted back up to Bahmani.

“...We found her body, washed up on the marina. We don’t have a full autopsy done, but we believe someone killed her.” Bahmani started to ramble, but he could see Cameron’s gaze getting unfocused. She was looking straight into space. “It’s hard to say how long it's been, we have no records of Memphis anywhere after the heist. We were hoping you could help us put some of those pieces together.”

He didn’t know what he’d expected from Cameron, but she’d always been so emotional. From what he’d seen from anyone who knew her, she wore her heart on her sleeve. He’d expected something, maybe crying, maybe screaming. Tearing into Bahmani for putting Memphis away the first time, for pulling their family apart, and for causing her sister’s death. Instead, she just looked….empty. Bahmani stopped for a moment, before leaning a little closer with uncertainty.

“Poe…?”

Chapter Text

Memphis had always been the problem child. Well, not always. Memphis had been the pride and joy of the Cameron household for 4 years, a record that she was never able to beat again from the moment her younger sister Poe was born. Suddenly, the attention was on Poe, and the focus was on Poe, and even 5-year-old Memphis had not enjoyed suddenly being pushed aside in favor of a younger child. She remembered distinctly, the temper tantrums she’d had to throw just to get them to pay attention. Of course, it never tended to be great attention, but it was attention nonetheless.

Once Poe had gotten old enough to develop her own personality, Memphis realized that she was basically a free, younger, more gullible friend. She could convince Poe of anything. She'd make Poe do crazy things for fun, like running around the street to get the neighbor's dog to start barking at them or eating something off the sidewalk. At 10, Memphis had tricked Poe into doing all of her chores for a week, with a nickel as payment. Poe had done them all too, without another question asked. She remembered being proud of herself. Her parents had not been.

Of course, Poe didn’t stay gullible forever, at least not in the academic sense. She was smart, smart in a way that came naturally to her and not to Memphis. She shot up through the ranks of her class, with near-perfect testing and fantastic grades.

Memphis was not smart. Every time she looked down at her worksheets, all the numbers tangled together into nonsense. Her parents had forced her into tutoring originally, but it hadn’t gone well. They eventually gave up on perfection for her, as their focus shifted to Poe instead. 'Poe, you're testing just as well as your sister did in the 5th grade!' is what they'd say. 'Poe, your teachers are so impressed with your work this year!' Memphis never got comments like that. She didn’t understand. She’d study for hours on things Poe could do in minutes. It wasn’t fair.

Once she was working on an Algebra 1 worksheet at the kitchen table. She’d been staring at it for 2 hours and still hadn’t gotten to the second page. Her cheeks were so flushed from trying not to cry that she couldn’t concentrate. Poe had approached her late into the night and started pointing out equations to explain them step-by-step. Memphis had just stared back in confusion. She’d grabbed the pencil from Memphis’ hand without asking, and Memphis immediately started screaming at her. She didn’t need help. She didn’t! She could figure it out on her own. She didn’t need anything, especially not from someone 4 years younger than her.

Her parents had some nasty things to say to her after that night. Poe never helped her with an assignment again. Her B’s fell to C’s, and some of her C’s fell to D’s. It was stupid, all of it. School was stupid. She didn’t want to be stuck in some stuffy cubical forever anyway. Of course, in their household, the prospect of not building a future wasn’t a viable option. So she lied when she could, about her grades, about her attendance. It was easier to pretend like she still cared.

Meanwhile, Poe had become the golden child. Her parents would always talk about her going to medical school or engineering, doing something important with her life. They liked to talk about that stuff a lot, it made them feel special for raising her. They were going to raise a genius. Their older daughter could barely do her times tables. She was never going to be a genius. Memphis overheard her dad when he thought she wasn’t listening, asking Poe for advice on what to do with her. She’d snuck out that night, to get away from it all. She started sneaking out a lot and sneaking things back in. It was easier, to build a life outside of the house. Outside she wasn’t some less successful sibling, she was just Memphis.

Of course, it wasn’t Poe’s fault. In fact, despite what felt like desperate attempts to pit them against each other, Poe really seemed to look up to Memphis. She wasn’t sure what it was, but Poe would never leave her alone, and never leave her side if she could help it. Memphis figured it was because Poe struggled with making friends - she’d always been a bit more timid than Memphis, a bit less willing to stray off the beaten path. She would come into Memphis’ room sometimes on nights she snuck out, and just sit on the floor of the bed, waiting for her to come home.

Memphis remembered distinctly being 16 years old, and sneaking out onto the roof in the early hours of the morning so she could smoke a joint in peace without leaving a lingering smell in her bedroom. She wasn’t ready to have that conversation yet.

Poe had poked her head out the open window.

“Memphis…?” She whispered out, squinting up at the roof. Memphis blinked, glancing down at the window.

“What are you doing up? You have school tomorrow.” She chided, smoke wafting from her lips. Poe climbed up onto the windowsill, trying to get a better look at her.

“So do you,” Poe mumbled, with a slight frown. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Memphis lowered the joint to her side, pushing her hand closer behind her back. Poe reached up to the edge of the roof, tentatively putting her foot on one of the tree branches next to Memphis’ window. She hesitated. Memphis rolled her eyes.

“Here…” She scooted closer, before offering her free hand to Poe, who immediately took it. Memphis helped her onto the roof, where a breathless Poe moved as far away from the edge as she could.

“Are you smoking?” Poe blurted out unceremoniously, her brown eyes blown wide with curiosity. Shit. Memphis mentally cursed herself out, before lifting the joint back to her lips to take another drag.

“You can’t tell Mom and Dad. I’m dead serious, I’ll find your iPod and I’ll smash it.” Memphis threatened, leaning back to look at her. Poe nodded adamantly. Memphis just exhaled slowly, looking back up at the moon.

“Can I try?” Poe piped up after a beat of silence.

“Smoking?”

Cameron nodded again, just as enthusiastically. Memphis wrinkled her nose. It probably wasn’t a good idea. But Poe did need to loosen up every once in a while. Besides…she was talking. They were talking. Together.

“Sure. But you can only try once, okay? I’m not dealing with the temper tantrum tomorrow morning if you’re actually high.” Memphis offered up the joint to Poe between two fingers, just for Cameron to pinch it between her thumb and pointer finger tightly.

She certainly attempted to take a hit. It was hard to tell when she immediately sputtered over herself in a fit of coughs. Memphis immediately cupped a hand over her mouth to hold in laughter, grabbing the joint back from Poe.

“Hey–Shit, are you okay?” Memphis whispered out, trying to keep her voice down. Poe nodded again, giving a thumbs up between her meager attempt to stifle coughs. Memphis couldn’t stop herself from snorting, pursing her lips together as she quickly put a hand on Poe’s back to balance herself. Poe took in a few hoarse breaths.

Poe’s eyes shot up to her as she tried to stop her own laughter, biting her lip to hold it in. Memphis attempted a serious face back. Her shoulders quivered. Before she knew it, they were both laughing.

It was nice. It was really nice.

Once they’d both finally gotten themselves to quiet down, Memphis just remembered wrapping an arm around Poe and pulling her closer. If she reeked of weed, Poe didn’t complain. She put out the joint absentmindedly on the shingles, as Poe shifted to lean on her shoulder. That was fine. She gently traced shapes into Poe’s back until she felt the familiar hum of contentment Cameron got when she was happy. She just sat, holding Poe there until she started to drift off. She had loved nights like those.

Memphis didn’t know how good she had it until they were gone.

Chapter Text

Memphis’ parents told her she was spending time with the wrong groups of people. Memphis snapped back that there were no wrong groups of people, just people. At least the people she spent time with didn’t drag her grades. At least the people she hung around didn’t tell her that every little thing she did was wrong. There was a close-knit group, among the loners, and the stoners, and other such types. When Memphis hung out with them, she didn’t feel small or undervalued. If anything, she was a leader. She had a fierce and dominant personality, and would stand her ground the second she heard anyone whispering behind her back. Anyone that bothered her could deal with a fist to the face.

She’d hit the gym after school both for the buzz of adrenaline and to protect herself from the world. Having thick skin was a term she took literally. People were a lot less likely to give their unwarranted opinions if Memphis made it clear she was strong enough to take them down without a second thought. Her eyes nearly begged them to give her a reason to do it. No one at her school dared to confront her, not about anything. It made her feel powerful. She was powerful.

Memphis’ grades got worse. When she was 17, she’d slipped past the point of no return and flunked out of high school going into her senior year. It was hard to care anymore. If she couldn’t do it, why bother with it at all? She had more important things to worry about.

Her parents had torn into her for weeks after getting the letter from her school. She had been confined to her room nearly indefinitely, while they tried to figure out what to do. She could hear them arguing downstairs nearly every night, with words she tried to drown out by blasting music from her headphones. It was all so useless. She didn’t understand why they were still trying so hard for something that was never going to happen. They already had Poe. Poe would do whatever they wanted from a daughter.

She found herself spending more and more nights away from the house. She’d spend the night at a party, or crashing at a friend’s place, or on worse nights a stranger’s. She and her friends would go out looking for fun and would get into trouble in return. At some point, though she wasn’t sure when, it became looking for trouble to get fun.

Looking back it was mostly a blur, her memories were all smeared away. Weeks would bleed into months, and hours into days. When she did come home, which was frequently without warning and in the early hours of the morning, she was usually high. Or drunk. Or both.

Sometimes, if Poe was still awake, she’d try to help her get in without waking up their mom and dad. Memphis would do anything within her power to avoid her parents, or to soften the blow of their arguments. They always blew out of proportion, ending in fire, flames, and Memphis yelling at the top of her lungs to make them listen. They never listened. She was so sick and tired of trying to make them listen.

Memphis could only recall a handful of those nights.

She remembered one, though.

Memphis was pretty sure she’d been at a house party, a college house party. It was hard to keep track of where she’d been any given night. Her mind was already sluggish, but she’d still fumbled for her house key to get inside. After nearly 5 minutes of trying to get the key into the hole, she’d finally gotten it open. The door swung open, hinges squeaking as it revealed a pitch-dark room, with only the moonlight shining through the slits in the blinds. Great. No parents.

Memphis stumbled inside, before closing the door behind her. That was progress, really. She vividly remembered an argument from 2 months before about leaving the door open all night. It wasn't as if she remembered doing it. She exhaled softly, before reaching up to check her watch. Even though her vision was swimming, she could vaguely make out that it was 2:30. Great. It wasn’t even that late. Her head shot up at the sound of footsteps, down the stairs.

No. Not again.

“I don’t wanna talk about-” She slurred out.

“-It’s Poe,” came the whispered reply. Memphis paused, then squinted at the stairwell. The shape of Poe was standing a few steps away from the bottom now. Before her brain caught up, Poe had already quickly made her way down the stairs, reaching for Memphis’ bag, which she was only half aware she was still holding. She dropped it into Poe’s hand without a second thought.

“Are you okay?” Poe whisper-spoke, but Memphis could recognize the panic in her voice. “Are you safe? Memphis?” Something about the way she spoke tugged at her heart. She forced herself to nod before her hand slipped from the wall. Within a second she lost her balance. Poe immediately dropped the bag and wrapped an arm around her to steady her.

“I’m fine.” Memphis mumbled out. She didn’t feel fine, really, but the last thing she needed right now was for Poe to worry. Poe got a weird sort of look to her that was confusing - like her face was scrunched up.

“You’ve been gone for three days.” Her voice came out strained. “Memphis, I was worried you were-- I don't even know.” Poe was staring at Memphis with such desperation, such fear, that even in her intoxicated state, Memphis couldn’t help but frown.

“I said I'm fine,” Memphis nodded again, just to make it clear. She glanced down at Cameron’s hand through her blurred vision. It was wrapped so tightly around her that it could’ve bruised. Shit. Her voice immediately softened. “Hey….hey. It’s okay. 'M okay.”

Cameron pulled her into a hug that was so tight that Memphis struggled to breathe. She tangled a hand in Poe’s hair for a moment, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Memphis closed her eyes, swaying into her younger sister's grasp. It reminded her of home. Poe was home. She still had to bite back her nausea as Poe pulled back again.

“Let’s get you upstairs.” She replied weakly, before wrapping a hand back around her. It was a process, admittedly. They went step by step, Poe nearly carrying Memphis up the steps as Memphis did everything within her power to not lose her balance and fall. It was a lot easier sober, but Memphis wasn’t frequently sober when she was actually in the house. She leaned heavily on Cameron as they made their way up to her room, where the door was still hanging open from the last time she left.

Poe sat her down on the bed, before carefully closing the door as quietly as possible. She rushed into the bathroom, where Memphis could hear the water turning on.

She knew it was bad. Relying on Poe like this, it was bad. But no one else cared about her like Poe did. No one else would help her if she needed it like this. Poe had told her, she was pretty sure, that she wanted to be a nurse. She’d be a good nurse, Memphis concluded foggily, picking at her old comforter. Poe had returned with a wet washcloth, which she used to dab over Memphis’ face. It felt nice. Everything was burning hot right now. Memphis closed her eyes, letting her shoulders relax.

“I’ve got the same teacher you did for Biology,” Cameron spoke up shakily. Ah. School had started back up again. Poe was in high school now. She knew that. “She says, uh, she always tells me about how funny you were. Sounds like I’ve got a lot to live up to.”

It was just like Cameron, to blaze past the elephant in the room and focus on something far away from it. Memphis might have been confrontational, but Cameron had learned from her mistakes.

“You’ll be fine.” She chuckled absentmindedly. “You’re always fine.” Poe paused at that, though Memphis wasn’t sure why.

“Classes are hard.” Poe continued, ducking out of the room again. She returned with a glass of water, but she was fighting to keep her hand steady. “It’s not as easy as it used to be. Mom says that I’m not studying hard enough. I–um. Yeah. It’s fine, though. It’s good, classes are good.” Memphis just nodded along, taking a few sips from the glass as Cameron lifted it to her lips. She was struggling to stay awake. “I’ve been thinking of trying for the volleyball team.”

“I was on the volleyball team,” Memphis noted.

“I know.” Poe fidgeted with the washcloth in her hand, taking a small step back. “You were really good. I just thought…I don’t know. I mean, if you think it’s stupid–”

“It’s not stupid.” She blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes to focus. Another thing for Poe to beat her at. Memphis forced that thought away. “You would be great.”

Poe gave her a hopeful smile. It was worth it.

“My birthday is coming up.” It was. Memphis had forgotten. How had she forgotten? Poe sat down on the bed a few feet away. Memphis fell back onto the mattress, and Cameron followed, rolling over to look at her. “We’re gonna have a birthday dinner, with Mom and Dad.”

Memphis’ expression must have soured, because Cameron scooted closer to hold her attention.

“They’re gonna make the chicken with the cornflakes? Y’know, from when we were kids?” Cameron’s eyes were pleading. Poe had never been the biggest fan of that meal, but she knew it was Memphis' favorite. She used to sneak some of hers under the table when their parents weren't looking. Thinking about it now made Memphis feel sick.

“I’ll be there.” She promised anyway, gazing back through half-lidded eyes. “I’ll be there, I promise. Not like this. Like me.”

They sat like that for a moment, before Memphis lifted an arm, and Cameron immediately curled up beside her in bed. Memphis pulled her in, wrapping her arms around her little sister as she let out a heavy sigh. She saw the way Cameron twitched at the smell of alcohol on her breath. Poe’s heart was racing under her fingertips, Memphis could feel her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Memphis gently combed her fingers through Poe's curls, trying to calm her down before she passed out. It felt bad. It all felt bad. Memphis laid there with her until sleep took her out.

When she woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, Poe was gone. Her shoes had been taken off, and her hair had been pulled back with a satin scrunchie that she was certain was not hers. Memphis let out a groan, rolling over to look at the clock. It was past noon. Memphis rubbed her eyes, before forcing herself to sit up. There was a bottle of Tylenol, another glass of water, and a set of clean clothes on the nightstand.

Memphis didn’t deserve her.

She’d been scouting out a gift for Cameron for the next several days when she found something perfect. There was an old jacket from an antique store they used to go to when they were kids. It was a vintage varsity jacket from the college she knew Poe wanted to go to more than anything. It had pins on it and letters, and she knew Poe enjoyed well-loved things, things she could re-use or re-invent. The only problem was it was hundreds of dollars, and Memphis had…absolutely nothing. She didn’t have a job and any money she did have tended to go to…illegal activities. The jacket had been in there for weeks, she doubted anyone would notice it was gone. Besides, the owner of the store was an asshole.

Memphis had waited for him to take his lunch break. He was the only one working, so after he left, Memphis saw him lock the door. Once he was well out of eyesight, Memphis approached. The door handle was jiggly like it hadn’t properly been installed. It was an older part of the neighborhood, the doors were wood and most of them were rotting. She glanced behind her, before ramming her foot into the door. The wood splintered with a crack, as the knob tilted forward on an axis, dislodging the lock.

Memphis slowly glanced behind her again, before jiggling the lock and forcing the door open. She quickly closed it behind her, eyes darting around for the jacket. She tried to look as casual as possible, on the off chance someone saw her through the window and assumed she was a customer. It took her longer than she wanted to in order to find it, it had been set aside behind the counter. It was too late to worry about that right now. Memphis pulled it down, before quickly tossing it over her shoulder and moving toward the exit. As she reached for the door, she saw blue and red lights start to flash outside.

Shit. There was no way. She'd barely been in there for five minutes.

Memphis swung open the door, before breaking into a sprint down the sidewalk. Behind her, she could hear a man yelling.

“Hey! Get back here, now!”

Memphis kept running, but she could hear footsteps pursuing her. She ran faster, as fast as she could, weaving through pedestrians. Her adrenaline forced her to go, to run like her life depended on it because It might as well have. She nearly crashed directly into a food cart on the corner, one that she vaguely remembered going to with Poe on late summer nights. The guy working yelled some string of obscenities as Memphis swung to the side, ducking past. She tried to dodge and sneak into an alleyway, but it was a dead end.

Shit.

Memphis glanced back behind her, skidding to a stop as she recognized a young cop chasing after her. She panted for air, just staring at him with wide eyes.

“Put your hands up, now!” He spoke up sharply, before fishing his gun out of his pocket and pointing at her.

Memphis dropped the jacket, before squeezing her eyes shut and raising her hands over her head. The cop took a moment to catch his breath too, glancing around with uncertainty before grabbing the handcuffs on his belt.

“You’re under arrest!”

Shit.

Chapter Text

Memphis had been slouched over against the concrete wall for what felt like a lifetime. Every time she heard the door open, she’d barely lift her head, just in case it was someone coming to let her out. She’d been sitting in that tiny room for what she was sure was over a day, but it was hard to say without any windows.

The police officer who had arrested her, who’d introduced himself as Kit Bahmani, would occasionally come by to check in. Memphis would bare her teeth and lash out at any attempt to start a conversation. He couldn’t pretend like he gave two shits about her after this. He brought in food at some point, and Memphis heard whispers from the other officers about finding her an actual, more permanent cell. Memphis didn’t eat. She couldn’t eat. She just wanted to go home, get high, and forget this ever happened.

The longer she spent in there, the closer and more pressing symptoms of withdrawal felt. She felt horrible, all the time. She had a pounding headache and her skin felt too tight and the world felt too sharp. All of her sensory feelings were put into overdrive. She had a better grasp on what had happened in the past few days, but she didn’t want to. They kept bringing her food. She kept not eating it.

It took four days for her parents to show up and post bail. She knew it was intentional. It didn’t matter if she was out on benders, they had to have gotten a call from the department. They wanted her to rot in a cell so she could learn her lesson. When they finally showed up, and the officer unlocked the door, Memphis refused to even speak to them. Her fury was bubbling just under the surface, the type of fury that made her want to hit something until it broke.

The car ride home was dead silent. She could see her mother’s pursed lips, the way that both of them pretended she wasn’t in the car at all. She’d be lucky if she made it out of the house alive tonight. Memphis drew her knees up close to her chest as she watched the streetlights flash through the window.

By the time they’d pulled into the driveway of the Cameron household, Memphis was acutely aware that something was wrong. Call it her newfound sobriety, or just plain intuition, but her parents were being too quiet, more quiet than usual. As soon as they parked, Memphis jumped out of the car. She needed to get out of the stiff air, the tight spaces. She needed a hit of something. She opened the door from the garage, before slamming it as hard as she could as she walked inside, making the house rattle. She could hear some movement upstairs at the noise.

Poe.

Memphis slid a hand down the side of her face, before continuing up the stairs. If she was lucky, she’d be able to get something in her system before the inevitable screaming match happened. As she turned the corner off the stairs, she saw Poe standing in the hallway, right outside her door. She looked as pale as a ghost, her arms wound tightly around herself for protection. Memphis immediately broke eye contact with her. Yeah, sobriety in this household was not a good idea. She moved past her into her room.

Well, it had been her room.

It had been completely stripped down to its parts. The comforter had been taken off the bed, and all of her posters from her favorite bands and ticket stubs were all gone. Sitting on top of the bed were two suitcases. Memphis just stared, blankly.

“Memphis?” She could hear her dad calling from downstairs. “Memphis, come down here. Now. We need to talk.” Her heart rate picked up as she stared at the suitcases. No, no, no. Not now. Not right before Poe’s birthday.

“I’m not talking to you!” She growled out, whipping her head back around to look at the doorway. Her mom was standing a few steps away. She looked exhausted, even a little sad. The heartbeat in Memphis’ ears pumped louder.

“Memphis-”

“You’re kicking me out?!” She snapped, taking a step closer. Her mom took another step back like she was a little nervous. She better be, Memphis thought. “You left me in there for four days, and now you’re kicking me out?!”

“We have rules, in this household.” Her mother spoke up, keeping her voice firm. “We’ve discussed this with you before. Over, and over again. You’re not being fair, Memphis.”

“Fair?!” Memphis had to throw something. She stormed around the room, pacing to do something to keep the anger from overflowing out of her. “I don’t have anywhere to go! I’m 18! You’re unbelievable! This isn’t even my fault!” Her dad had come to join them at this point, putting a hand on her mother’s shoulder, before stepping into the room in front of her.

“You have disrespected our house. You have torn our family apart. You refuse to get help, you refuse to listen. We will not sit and watch you destroy yourself, and we won’t let you take your younger sister down with you.” He replied sternly, as if he’d rehearsed it before. As he walked closer to Memphis, she shrank back, sitting back on the edge of the bed.

“If you want to live a life of crime, that’s fine. But you are not a Cameron anymore. Don’t talk to us. Don’t associate with us.” Memphis just stared in disbelief, lip quivering. She ripped a pillow from off the bed and threw it on the floor, before standing up again and surging forward.

“I hate you! This is your fault!” She screamed out, before pointing an accusatory finger forward. “You made me like this! You’re the parents, you do something! You fix me!” Her father’s jaw tightened.

“We can’t fix you, Memphis.” He muttered.

“You hate me!” She sputtered out, wiping her eyes with her arm. “You’ve always hated me, you’ve always wished Poe was an only child. You have to admit it. Admit it!” Her mom flinched at the screaming.

“Get out.” Her father pointed to the door, eyes narrow.

“Dad-” Memphis hiccupped, “Please don’t make me go. Please. I don’t have anywhere to go, I’m your daughter, please-”

“Now.” He cut her off, sucking in a sharp breath. Memphis took a step back. She looked back at the luggage, then back to him. He had turned back to take her mother’s hand and squeeze it. Memphis wiped her nose, blinking back tears. She wordlessly grabbed both of the bags, before pushing past them into the hallway.

As she was walking toward the stairs, she caught a glimpse of Poe from her room, sitting on the edge of her bed with her hands clasped tightly over her ears, waiting for it to be over. It was over.

Memphis wouldn’t come back again. She promised herself, she wouldn’t come back ever again.

Chapter Text

Being homeless was an experience that taught you how the world really worked, quickly. There was no dipping your toe in the water, no preparation someone could take to be dumped on the street without a second glance. There was also no mercy. Memphis learned pretty quickly that if she couldn’t get what she needed, she’d have to take it herself, by force.

Memphis found a place to crash for the time being, at a friend’s house who was probably too old to be her friend. They threw ragers every weekend, and when they weren’t partying, they were doing some shady activities. Illegal activities. Memphis knew she couldn’t get involved, but it wasn’t like she had anything to do. No one would hire her. Not only did she flunk out of high school, but she now had a recent arrest on her record. Anyone willing to hire someone like that required a drug test, which Memphis knew she wouldn’t be able to pass.

Instead, she went to the gym, and let out her anger on punching bags until adrenaline kicked in and her thoughts seeped out of her brain. She’d always been an intimidating presence, but spending so much time there had certainly strengthened her figure. She stopped trying to be anything other than what people thought of her. Better to be confident about it than to pretend it wasn’t happening. When she walked down the street, she would sometimes see parents pull their children closer to their side. It was hard not to scoff.

The guy she was staying with pointed out that she’d be good muscle for a job they were doing. He said it paid big, and god knows Memphis needed the money. No one was out there to judge her except herself anyway. She was all she had left.

So she went. Then she went again. And again. The paydays kept her afloat, and the adrenaline kept her mind sharp. She already had a criminal record anyhow, it didn’t make a difference anymore.

That was until they got caught. Well, some of them anyway. They’d broken into a jewelry store, and the cops came faster than expected. The vault took longer to crack than expected. Memphis tore through the street fast enough that she’d barely managed to escape. It was raining outside, and the darkness made it easy for her to dodge out of the way. Her partners hadn’t been so lucky. She could still hear the faint sound of sirens as she turned another corner, several blocks away at that point.

Memphis took a moment to catch her breath, trying to think. She couldn’t go back to the apartment, the police would have searched the whole place. She didn’t have her own apartment. She fumbled through her phone contacts, wiping the dots of rain off her screen as she tried to think of something. Think. Think. Her thumb slowed on one, as she hesitated for a moment.

You promised, she reminded herself. You promised you’d stay out of her life.

Memphis clicked on her contact. Dozens upon dozens of unread messages flooded the screen. Memphis scanned them until her eyes landed on an address. She clicked off her phone, shoving it back into the pocket of her sweatpants.

She didn’t have a choice.

Memphis took a taxi to the apartment, to try and maintain some sense of normalcy. She let the opening conversation play out in her head a hundred times, as she tried to think of what she would say. It had been well over a year since she last talked to her younger sister. Her parents had told her she was dragging Poe down, and she knew it was true. While being on her own was scary, the idea of pulling Cameron into her shit was scarier. What could she even tell her, that would make up for it? Poe had tried to reach out, over and over again. Memphis always ignored it.

The taxi driver dropped her off at a small apartment complex, that looked a little worn down and dusty. It certainly wasn’t as nice as their parents' house, but Memphis knew better than to ask why Poe had left to begin with. She had nothing on her, no bag, no possessions, nothing but the things in her pockets. Before she thought better of it, Memphis approached the door of the building and knocked, still struggling to catch her breath. It was early February, it wasn’t like it was warm outside. After a long pause, the door swung open.

Poe was standing in the doorway, looking like she’d seen a ghost.

“Memphis?” Poe forced out, staring up at her. She looked a lot older than Memphis remembered, but it had been getting more difficult for Memphis to recognize her growing the past few years. It took everything in her power to not immediately scoop her up into the tightest hug known to man.

“Hey.” Her voice came out more fragile than she wanted it to. She cleared her throat, then tried again. “Can I crash here for a bit..?”

Cameron immediately opened the door wider and stepped out of the way, still staring with those big brown eyes. She looked like a deer in headlights. Memphis ducked her head a little as she made her way inside, shaking off the rainwater from her hair. She was soaked, and miserable, and had no idea how to even begin explaining herself. Then again….Poe hadn’t asked her to explain herself.

“I’ll get the shower running,” Poe spoke up quickly, before darting into the bathroom. Maybe some things never changed. Poe still liked to keep busy when things went sideways. Sideways was probably an understatement at this point. Memphis looked around the rickety apartment. It wasn’t in great shape, but it was clean. Her eyes scanned the counters. Food is good. She was eating. She was taking care of herself.

Memphis tugged the black sweatshirt she was wearing over her head as Poe walked back out to the living room, and made an audible noise. Memphis draped the wet sweatshirt over her shoulder, before raising a brow at Cameron.

“What?” She blinked in confusion.

“You look….different,” Poe explained awkwardly, taking a few steps forward to examine her. Her eyes were caught on one of Memphis’ tattoos, high up on her shoulder. Right. She hadn’t had tattoos the last time they’d seen each other. Cameron swallowed.

“I mean, Jesus. You’re ripped.”

Memphis let out an audible snort. Some of the tension in the room dissipated, as Cameron cracked a smile back at her.

“Yeah, okay. Thanks, Cam.” She replied sarcastically. Memphis considered ruffling her hair like she did when they were kids, then decided against it. It had been too long to pretend like things were normal. “Shower first. Then I promise I’ll explain.” Poe nodded, twisting up her fingers in the bottom of her shirt. She was stressed. Memphis knew it, even if she was trying to play it off.

“Do whatever you need to. I’ll just– I’ll be here.” Poe responded lightly with a shrug, tugging tighter at her shirt.

Memphis headed toward the shower, which was already fogging up the bathroom. Warm water was a luxury that typically Memphis could not afford. She certainly couldn’t afford all of Cameron’s goops and potions that lined the edge of the shower. By the time she’d gotten out, it felt like a spa day. She’d never felt so clean in her life. Memphis haphazardly draped the towel around herself, before walking back outside to the hallway. Directly to her right was the kitchen, where she could see Cameron frantically pulling out pots and pans. Memphis paused, before slowly approaching.

“What are you doing?” She spoke up, folding an arm over her chest to keep the towel in place. Poe jumped at the sound of her voice, sputtering to a stop with a pan in one hand, and a fork in the other.

“Oh, I was just making some food.” She shrugged nonchalantly, before quickly setting the pan down and reaching for the butter.

“Food for what? It’s nine, you haven’t eaten?”

“I have,” Poe replied without skipping a beat, turning around to grab the cutting board lying out on the table. Memphis caught her hand before she spun herself out of control.

“You don’t need to make food, Poe. I’m fine.” Memphis responded firmly. Did Poe think that she’d been living on the actual streets? Did she think Memphis wasn’t capable of feeding herself?

“Oh, it’s really no-”

“I’m fine.” Memphis pressed, with more of an edge to her voice this time. She saw Poe’s lip tremble and immediately regretted it.

“Right. Sorry.” Poe set down the box she was holding, before grabbing onto the table with both hands. Memphis could see her brain working itself into overdrive. “Sorry. I just- I’ve planned this out in my head a hundred times. How this would go, I mean. I just want it to…I don’t know. I’m sorry.” She chuckled awkwardly, leaning into her hands.

Fucking idiot. Memphis would have kicked herself if she’d thought Poe wouldn’t notice.

“I mean, you know me better than anyone. I could always go for something to eat.” Memphis replied instead, keeping a careful eye on Cameron. Her shoulders seemed to sag with relief. Right answer this time. “You’ve always been so good at cooking.” Overkill? Probably. Memphis didn’t care right now.

“I set off the fire alarm so often that Mom had to get a new one,” Cameron replied bitterly.

“Some people just don’t appreciate a crispy egg.” Memphis nodded solemnly. Poe cracked a smile, before elbowing her, hard. Memphis stumbled back with a laugh.

“God, Memphis! It hurts to even touch you!” Cameron complained loudly, rubbing her elbow. “Are you chugging iron?!”

“Maybe.” Memphis grabbed her by the waist and Poe let out a scream as Memphis hoisted her up into the air. “Sit still, I’m wearing a towel! I can’t-” She laughed, trying to keep a squirming Cameron down.

“Let me down! Now!” Poe blurted out, scrambling to be back on the floor. Memphis set her back down, before keeling over herself with laughter. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so hard. As she caught her breath, she glanced back up to see Cameron staring at her, with a little wistful smile. It was the smile of an older sister. Memphis wasn’t sure when they’d swapped places.

She readjusted her towel as Poe took a second to put some chicken down on the stove. Memphis couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten something that hadn’t come from a bag.

“There’s some extra clothes in the spare room. A phone charger, toothbrush…you know. Some of it might not fit anymore, but I didn’t know what to get.” Poe spoke up after a moment, her back turned to Memphis.

“It’s a nice place, really. But a second bedroom is pricy.” Memphis raised a brow. “Are you, y’know, having someone over?”

“I’m 16, Memphis. I’m not having anyone over.” Poe chuckled, before shaking her head. Shit, Poe was still 16? How the hell had she gotten an apartment? Cameron must have sensed her confusion because Memphis could feel her happiness ebbing away. “I had someone else sign the lease. Extra room is just in case she needs to crash here, for a day or two. Or if anyone needs to crash here, ever, really.” She put a strong emphasis on those last few words. Memphis felt a pang of guilt. That’s probably what the text messages had been about.

Memphis wandered into the second room, looking around. It was all pretty nice and clean. If someone had stayed here, it would have been a long time ago. Memphis opened up the closet. There were a few T-shirts and some sweatpants. Score. Clean, new clothes. Memphis grabbed a pair to change into, before pausing as her eyes landed on a few cardboard boxes, with ‘MEMPHIS’ scrawled on them in messy sharpie. She dragged one out, before lifting the top to look inside. The box was full of stuff. Her stuff. Her old volleyball trophies, her retainer, her books that she was supposed to be annotating in high school. Memphis sat on the floor and stared.

She’d kept it?

She heard Poe’s footsteps approaching, and quickly shoved the box back into the closet, before getting up to dust herself off.

“I’m changing!” She yelled out, hearing the footsteps stop.

“Okay!” Poe called back, muffled through the door. Memphis waited for her footsteps to retreat, before pulling on the sweatpants and the shirt. She dug her pen out from the pocket of her old clothes, taking a quick hit before tucking it away again.

She took a moment in there to compose herself, before walking back outside. Every time she so much as moved, Poe’s eyes followed her with an abundance of caution. That was fair. She’d broken a lot of shit in their household. That didn’t mean it felt good. She was willing to bet a good amount of money that Poe had a lockbox, too, to make sure nothing of value or of prescription was something she could grab. She’d seen it once when she was still living at the house.

“...I’m going to do better,” Memphis spoke up, out of nowhere. Poe stopped what she was doing and turned to face her. There was a bitterness in her eyes that Memphis couldn’t quite place. “I promise you, I’m going to do better.” Poe put down her spoon, before exhaling slowly.

“Okay, Memphis.” She replied softly. Not an agreement, just an acknowledgment. She heard her. She understood.

She wasn’t lying.

But Memphis was.

Chapter Text

Memphis never ended up explaining herself that night. Poe had made her food, turned on a movie, and they’d spent the night watching a movie on opposite sides of the couch. Poe looked like she wanted to get closer, to curl up underneath her shoulder like they did when they were kids.

Memphis could see her out of her peripheral vision, glancing over every few minutes. Her eyes kept tracing Memphis’ shoulders, her tattoos, her calloused hands. It was like she was trying to re-memorize what Memphis looked like now, re-learn her rough edges. She wanted to come closer, but she didn’t. Poe was cautious. Memphis wouldn’t let her follow the same path she did before, not unless she chose it herself. So they sat and watched the movie, miles apart until Memphis excused herself to go to bed.

She did try to be better. She really did. But it was so hard. The best she could do sometimes was keep it all out of Poe’s sight. She’d only smoke when Poe was at school, and she’d only vape when she’d locked herself in the bathroom. She’d avoid talking about anything related to money, and avoid slamming doors when she was upset. It was hard not to get upset, sometimes, over things that were so small. She wouldn’t realize they were small until it was too late, and Poe was upset, and Memphis was yelling.

Her being there took a lot out of Poe, even though she pretended it didn’t. Sometimes Memphis would catch her passed out on the couch early in the morning instead of in her bed. She’d noticed that Cameron’s key hanger by the door was never used anymore. She took all of her keys with her, all the time. The door was locked twice, every night. So were all the windows. Poe would check in on her all the time, especially late at night.

Sometimes she’d knock on the door in the early hours of the morning because she’d wound herself into a panic about some memory of Memphis passing out on the sidewalk outside of their house, or not responding when Poe begged her to say something. It was a sobering experience, the fact that Memphis never knew what she was talking about. There were so many stories that weighed so heavily on Poe, and they were stories that Memphis had no memory of.

It made her wonder what else she was missing.

But they’d always been physical with each other, especially in raw moments like that. It was hard, to not take her and hold her until everything was okay. Memphis had always struggled with words. She never knew what to say to fix things. At some point, she just gave up on trying to keep her distance. In return, Poe gave up on pretending like she didn’t want to stay the night in Memphis’ bed because they might have been 16 and 20, but they were both fucked up.

Poe would make them dinner every night, and ramble on and on about school, about work, about sports. She got so excited about having someone to listen that Memphis never interrupted her. She’d just lean back, and listen to Cameron get excited about life. Just living. It was fascinating. Memphis just wished she could capture a fraction of it, and put it away forever.

“I have something for you,” Poe spoke up, drawing Memphis out of the stupor she was in. The stupor Poe was not aware she was in, because she was supposed to be sober.

“Hm?” Memphis sat up, trying to play it off as just being tired. Cameron sat down on the couch next to her, holding a package in one of her hands.

“Yeah. Just came in the mail.” Cameron pulled something out of the bubble wrap. “You know, I’m about to go into my senior year next year. So I got an order form, from our high school.”

“Okay?” Memphis mumbled, still half confused about where this was going. Poe unraveled a small black box, before opening it. Inside there were two golden rings. Poe took one out, before holding it up to her. It was a decent-sized ring, the type that would leave a welt if she were to deck someone. It had an engraving on it with ‘SI’, their school’s initials. Memphis grabbed it from her to study it.

“I know you didn’t graduate, so I understand if you don’t want it.” Poe continued sheepishly. “I just thought it would be nice if we matched, you know? Besides, I know you would’ve graduated if you really wanted to.” She scooped her own ring out of the box, before setting the package aside. Memphis turned over the ring in her hand, before glancing up at Poe.

“No, it’s perfect. Thank you.” She replied softly. Cameron smiled in relief, before leaning back on her shoulder. Memphis slid the ring onto her finger, before reaching for the remote.

She was pretty sure that she really could live like this forever, Memphis concluded as the TV started to drone out white noise. Someone would have to give her a job eventually. She could support Poe, and make sure she was safe, and protected. Neither of them would have to talk to their parents again if they didn’t want to. If she really wanted to, she could probably cut back on the drugs. Cameron would like that, at least. What she had going right now? It was the first good thing she’d been able to handle without breaking it.

Of course, all good things in Memphis’ life were doomed to a horrific end.

Poe had fallen asleep on her shoulder, and Memphis herself was already drifting off when there was a sharp knock at the door that made her jump. Poe stirred immediately, mumbling out something unintelligible in confusion. Memphis carefully got up, before walking over to answer the door. The second she saw the flash of a badge, she slammed it shut again.

If Cameron hadn’t been awake, she was now.

“Who is it?” She blinked the sleep out of her eyes.

“Don’t worry about it,” Memphis replied immediately, holding the knob with both hands. There was another knock on the door, this time more insistent.

“I’m worrying about it.” Poe frowned, before getting up from the couch.

“Sit down.” Memphis spat out, harsher than she intended. Cameron took a small step back, raising a hand in defense.

“Memphis, open the door! The more cooperative you are, the easier this will be!” A voice yelled out from the other side, muffled by the wall. Memphis let out a string of curses under her breath, glancing around the room for an escape.

“God, you just have to keep everything locked, don’t you?!” Memphis snapped at Poe, squeezing her eyes shut. There was no way she could get out in time. Not at this point. “You never trust me with anything!” Poe was just staring at her in horror.

“...What?”

The doorknob rattled again, followed by another knock.

“I’m serious, Memphis! Don’t make us break down the door. We know you’re in there. Open up, now!” The voice spoke again. Memphis glanced back at Poe and immediately wished she hadn’t.

“Open the door. Now.” Cameron spoke harshly, with an authority Memphis didn’t know she had in her. Her eyes looked bloodshot. Memphis swung open the door wordlessly.

Bahmani immediately entered, with his gun out and two other officers behind him. Poe immediately dropped to her knees and put her arms above her head, while one of the officers had to force Memphis to the ground. Bahmani surveyed the scene, before glancing over to Poe with a hint of confusion.

“She’s my sister, asshole!” Memphis spat. “You’re not seeing double!” One of the officers held her down, jamming their elbow into her back.

“We only IDed one suspect-” Bahmani mumbled to himself, before glancing back out to the car. Cameron looked like the blood had completely drained from her face. She had to draw the attention away from Poe, immediately.

“She had nothing to do with this!” Memphis struggled to get up, but the hold the officer had on her was tight. “She’s got no record, no nothing! I did it! Alright?! Leave her the fuck alone!” She choked out a cough as she struggled harder. It was hard to breathe when the officer was holding her down.

“Stop! You’re going to hurt-!” Poe started in horror, then immediately skidded back when Bahmani pointed his gun at her.

“-Just calm down!” Bahmani tried to speak carefully, holding up his other hand in front of him. He glanced back to the officer behind him, the one that was holding Memphis down. “Clara, get the handcuffs on then get off her, now.” She rolled her eyes and reached for her cuffs. Kit lowered his gun, before flipping it back into its holster. He turned back to Cameron for a moment.

“I’m–” He shook his head, before exhaling sharply. “Your sister is going away for this, for a long time. We’ve been trying to track her down for weeks, after an aggravated safe cracking. If she didn’t have the decency to tell you, I’m sorry. If she did tell you, and you were harboring her, then you’re in bad luck. Either way, we’re gonna need a statement.”

Cameron opened her mouth before Bahmani cut her off with a hand. He started reading her Miranda Rights as the officer secured handcuffs on Memphis, who badly wanted to bite her arm off. Memphis’ vision was swimming. They were grabbing her, forcing her out of the house.

“Poe!” Memphis screamed out, still fighting to get back to her. She couldn’t leave her there, not with that awful officer, not when she promised. “Let me go! Poe!”

The last thing Memphis remembered seeing before the door slammed shut was the fear in Poe’s eyes and the apology she couldn’t force out of her lips.

Chapter Text

Prison was shit.

Memphis was thrilled to find out that her 4-day stint in a cell back in 2017 was going to be extended for a year and a half at the Midlands Correctional Facility. Of course, that was after she’d already spent 6 months there waiting for her court date. There were a lot of crazy things that happened there, and Memphis was determined to stay as far away from it all as possible.

When she’d first arrived, she hadn’t talked to anyone. All she could think about was Poe, her parents, and the fact that she was suddenly sober for the first time in years. She’d spent a decent amount of those first few weeks laying in bed trembling or throwing up the contents of whatever mediocre food they gave her. There was sobriety as in getting off the hard stuff, and then there was sobriety like getting off of everything, all at once.

Memphis thought she was strong, but her addiction ravaged her more than she could have possibly imagined. There was a point near the beginning when she had to be moved to a different wing to be monitored by doctors. She’d have to check in daily, to make sure her body could handle what was going on. The doctors told her it was common, in prison, for things like this to happen. That didn’t make it feel any better.

After a few weeks, her mind finally started to re-form itself. Memphis could think clearer than she had in a long time, and with that came an impending withdrawal from everyone around her, and a permanent skepticism in her eyes. She was moved back to a definitive cell, where her scrubs were swapped out for an orange jumpsuit. She didn’t know why she’d thought that orange jumpsuits were only in the movies. It felt ludicrous.

Lucky for her, no one tried to talk to her either. A benefit of her intimidating presence and the fact she knew how to fight meant no one bothered trying to pick one with her. That was good. They’d lose. If anyone tried to start anything with her, she’d openly threaten them. If they even tried to throw a punch, she’d deck them so hard that they’d have to get taken away on a stretcher.

The downside of that was Memphis was back to not speaking with anyone, really. She’d only talk when she had to, and often went out of her way to avoid interacting with any of the other prisoners. Instead, she focused on weightlifting. It was really the only activity offered there that reminded her of her normal life. She knew there was also a women’s volleyball league, but every time she considered signing up, all she could think of was her little sister.

Instead, she enjoyed the monotony of certain tasks she was assigned, the repetition itching her brain in a way that felt right. She’d been peeling potatoes in the kitchen when she heard a voice behind her.

“You know, I’m not going to do all of the dishes myself. You have to help too.”

Memphis glanced behind her. There was a girl standing behind her, tapping her foot impatiently. Memphis paused, before setting down the peeler.

The girl didn’t look like she belonged in prison. She looked like the type of girl who would’ve made snide comments about Memphis in high school behind her back. The type of girl with the tiny gold jewelry and fancy lip glosses that she’d apply during class. She was small, with bright blue eyes and blonde hair that was pulled up into a tight ponytail.

“Excuse me?” Memphis raised a brow in disbelief. The girl just rolled her eyes.

“If you think you’re going to intimidate me into doing 5 hours of dishes, it’s not going to work.” She replied sternly, folding her arms. “We have to split the work.”

“Do you want someone to beat the shit out of you? Because I can make that happen, if you keep talking,” Memphis shrugged. She set the potato on the counter, advancing closer. The girl stood her ground, staring up at Memphis with a definitive glare. She had fire in her eyes.

“Then why don’t you do it?” She replied flippantly, tossing her ponytail back. “Anything’s better than this hellhole. Besides, you’ll be stuck doing all of the dishes yourself.”

Memphis cracked a smile. She had an attitude. There was something about that she found admirable. The girl’s lips upturned into a smirk.

“Memphis Raynes.” She reached forward, extending a hand.

“Kim Coppola.” The girl shook her hand firmly. Memphis rested an elbow on the wall beside them, shoving her other hand into her pocket.

“Kim.” Memphis echoed as if trying the word out. "Listen, Kim. I don’t want to do all of this work on my own. I’m also gonna guess you don’t want someone to drag your pretty face across the pavement. So let's call it a draw. You do the first three hours, I’ll do the last two.” Memphis made it abundantly clear in her tone that was her final offer.

Kim paused for a moment, considering this as she sized Memphis up.

“Okay!” She chirped, before turning back around and walking over to the sink like nothing had happened. Memphis stared after her.

That was new.

Kim had a lot of tasks with Memphis, she found. They were frequently put on the same meal prep jobs and were often forced to spend hours in a room together at a time. At some point, they’d just started talking. Maybe it was to make the time go by faster, maybe it was something else, she wasn’t sure. Kim was like a firecracker. She burned bright, and loud and had more energy than Memphis knew what to do with sometimes.

As she understood it, Kim was in prison because of some serious shit, way more serious than what Memphis was in for. Art forgery, selling stolen property, stealing, the works. The FBI had put her in, that’s how big of a deal she was. For some horrible reason, Memphis found that intriguing. She’d ask about it, sometimes, and that was when she found out that Kim was a liar. She was a good liar, really. Sometimes when they would talk, Kim would trip Memphis up over her own words, and leave her sputtering to explain herself as Coppola would laugh at her. She had a good laugh, so Memphis would let it slide.

The first time Kim approached her outside of work was in the gym. Memphis was finishing her reps for the day on the pull-up bar, her jumpsuit tied around her waist. Her blood was pumping, her heart was racing, and she was focused. There was no one else there, just her and the bar. The second she saw Kim walk through the door, Memphis slowed to a stop. She dropped off the bar, quickly wiping the sweat off her forehead.

“Memphis! I was hoping you were here,” Kim walked closer before playfully swatting her, “I say that like you don’t practically live here.” Memphis couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious at that. Did she think going to the gym was a bad thing? It helped her focus.

“Can I help you?” Memphis asked in confusion. She reached for her towel, using it to wipe the rest of her face.

“Hm?” Kim was staring at her. She snapped back into it after a few seconds. “Uh, yes! Actually, I was hoping you could show me how to–” She mimicked throwing a punch with her hand.

Memphis blinked at her.

“You know. Fighting.” Kim threw another punch toward Memphis, with horrible form. Memphis caught it pretty effortlessly, before lowering her hand.

“You want me to teach you how to fight?” Memphis repeated, to make sure she understood.

“Don’t think of it as fighting! Think of it as boxing. I just want to get some of the basics down, it’s for a client.” Kim was bouncing from foot to foot. Memphis had to whip her head around to make sure no one was listening. “C’mon, Jazz. Toughen me up. We can pretend like it’s Rocky!”

It was hard not to smile when Kim was around.

“Well, you have to plant yourself, if you’re gonna throw a punch.” Memphis started slowly. Kim spread her stance, assuming a position that Memphis could only guess she’d learned from 80s video games. She bit her lip, holding back a laugh. “Like this.” Memphis grabbed her waist, before moving her limbs around until they resembled an actual stance. “You want your center of gravity to be strong, that’s what’s gonna give you momentum and force.”

Kim nodded before Memphis took her arm and ran it through the motion of a straight punch.

“This is called a jab. Probably the most useful for you to know. It’s a pretty straight forward punch, but it takes a while to get it right.” Memphis explained as Coppola attempted to throw her arm the same way Memphis had. Memphis winced, making Kim deflate a little. “It’s alright. We’ll work on it.”

And they did. In the gym, in the yard, for the next several weeks. Memphis taught Kim how to fight, step by step. They had to be careful, of course, guards didn’t like it when it looked like someone was getting hurt. But Kim knew how to bribe them to turn a blind eye, somehow, even from prison. She had connections, Memphis vaguely realized. Even in jail, she had connections. They were practicing a match against each other when Kim finally name-dropped him.

“Who’s this client you keep talking about? And why do they care so much about MMA? ” Memphis panted, before swinging at her. Kim ducked, before weaving to Memphis’ side and throwing a leg kick, which nearly made her stumble.

“Oh, you’d know him if I said his name.” She chuckled breathlessly. “He’s pretty popular around here. Real celebrity of Santa Ivo.” Memphis finally landed a hit, but she took it like a champ, before darting out of her grasp again. Memphis considered this for a moment, before pausing.

“Only celebrity I know in Santa Ivo is De La Porta.” Memphis ducked as she tried to land another blow, circling around her as she tried to catch her breath. Kim just smirked at her.

“Yeah?”

“You’re not working for De La Porta,” Memphis replied decisively, throwing a kick.

“Then who’s gonna tell him that?” She spit on the concrete, before swinging at Memphis again. She made contact, sending her stumbling back a little. Memphis stared back at her in disbelief.

“How the hell did you get that gig?” She blinked, as Kim hit her with another leg-to-leg kick. Memphis lost her balance and Kim immediately jumped at the opportunity to tackle her into a takedown. Memphis tapped out and they both laid there, Kim on top of Memphis, as they caught their breath. After a few short pants, Kim spoke up.

“I have friends in high places.” She explained between breaths, before flashing Memphis a grin. “I can get you friends in high places too, if you’re interested. I know Mr. MSIG himself is looking for a few loyal people. Y’know, once your 18 months are up.” She flopped on top of Memphis, who responded with a soft grunt.

“I don’t do that kind of thing anymore.” Memphis tilted her head up to the sky. Coppola just chuckled, like they were sharing in some kind of inside joke.

“He could get you out early.” She shrugged. That immediately caught Memphis’ attention.

“What?”

“He knows people. He’s got connections like you’d never guess.” Kim rested her chin on Memphis’ chest, tucking her hands in as well. “And he’s got serious money. I promise you, De La Porta’s already paid off a dozen of these guards in the past 5 years. The only reason he can’t get me out is ‘cause the FBI got to me first.” Her voice got bitter near the end. Memphis tucked one of Kim’s stray hairs behind her ear as she considered it. It wasn't like she had anything else to lose at this point.

“...Okay. Get me in.”

Chapter Text

Memphis was released in March of 2022, after serving around 80% of her sentence. At least, that’s what she’d been told. It was hard to keep track of the days when there was nothing to look forward to. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She’d be able to see Kim again, who’d been released early on ‘good behavior.’ Memphis had no idea what ‘good behavior’ entailed, but she was certain that it couldn’t account for 6 years in jail. But Kim was Kim, she probably had her reasoning.

It didn’t mean Memphis didn’t think about her, constantly.

Without the felon there to distract her with witty jokes and banter, Memphis started getting in connection with the other people there that Kim had mentioned worked for De La Porta. Memphis was admittedly the youngest among them, by a lot. But she was determined to prove herself, and staying in the loop on something was keeping her sane. De La Porta was planning something, something big, and Memphis had gotten caught up in the middle of it all.

It was only a week after she’d first heard about the plan that a guard had miraculously told her that she was up for evaluation for early release. Memphis knew damn well that it was not her time for an evaluation. She didn’t say anything though, she just let it play out. She wrote her shitty statement, went up in front of the judge, and tried to have a semblance of empathy.

Apparently, it had worked. She was set to be released within the next few days. What was initial relief at the news quickly twisted itself into dread. She had nowhere to go. She had an apartment she’d managed to get through the prison system’s infrastructure, but she knew it would be a matter of time before she was kicked out. What after that? It was another 6 months until this supposed job that she wasn’t even sure was real. Memphis barely scrounged up enough money to pay for the Uber back to civilization.

She had been shocked when one of the officers had told her someone was there to pick her up.

Memphis remembered being guided to a beat-up car, with nothing but the clothes she’d come in with (at least the black was more palatable than the bright orange) and a bag of her belongings. The sun was so bright that it was burning her eyes. The window rolled down as the officer began speaking to the woman in the driver’s seat. The woman Memphis vaguely recognized as her sister.

Jesus, Poe had grown up. Again. She’d cut off her long hair, it now hung in little ringlets just above her shoulders. Cameron was wearing a button-down and slacks, instead of the graphic t-shirts and jeans Memphis had grown accustomed to. She looked like an adult. Responsible, in a way Memphis never was. How old was she now? It must have been around 19.

Memphis gripped her bag tighter as the officer stepped away and gestured to the door. She cautiously opened it, then got inside, staring straight ahead. The officer took a few steps away, and Cameron put the car in drive. It was only after the jail was just out of Memphis’ sight that her head whipped around to look at Poe.

“Why did you come?” No, that wasn’t right. “I mean–I’m glad you’re okay.” That wasn’t right either. Memphis swallowed, hard. “I’m so happy to see you.”

Poe’s jaw tightened as she kept driving in silence.

“You look so much older. Mom would be thrilled with your business casual get-up.” Memphis joked, before letting out an awkward chuckle to fill the silence.

Poe didn’t say anything.

Memphis paused, before slowly turning back to stare at the road ahead. The hole in her gut was getting bigger by the second. Then she remembered Kim.

“Poe, I promised I’d meet up with someone at the diner halfway to your apartment. Could you please, please drop me off there? This is really important to me. She’s-” Memphis weakly cleared her throat, before fully turning to face her. “-She’s really important to me. I can’t afford a cab.” It was humiliating, begging to her like this. Even Poe seemed to sense it, Memphis could see her gaze soften just a little.

“...What’s the address?” She murmured out, eyes still on the road.

At least then, Memphis knew she still had a chance.

Poe pulled up to the diner at near the time Memphis had told her to meet. There was a part of her, a part bigger than she was willing to admit, that was scared Kim wouldn’t show at all. There was no incentive, really. They weren’t stuck together anymore. That didn’t stop Memphis from jumping out of the car the near second Cameron put it into park, just to turn around and check her reflection in the car door window. She looked like shit. But then again, when did she, not these days? Memphis paused, before taking down her ponytail and running her hands through her hair.

Poe was watching her like she’d grown a second head.

Memphis cursed under her breath, before pulling her hair back up again. She could laugh all she wanted, Memphis couldn’t care less about her opinion.

“Fuck off.” She snapped bitterly, eliciting an immediate frown from Poe. Whatever. She shouldered her bag, before walking into the diner with Poe a few steps behind. Memphis spotted her immediately.

Kim cleaned up nicely. She was wearing a blazer, earrings, and makeup, along with a pair of heels that intimidated the hell out of Memphis. She looked like a lawyer. The second the bell on the door rang, Coppola caught her eye and immediately motioned for her to come over. It took just about everything in Memphis’ power not to run.

She slid into the booth, with Poe cautiously following suit. Poe’s eyes kept darting from her to Coppola in confusion, like she’d genuinely not been expecting this to be the company Memphis kept. The thought alone made Memphis’ eyes spark with anger. What the hell did Poe know about her and who she hung out with? Kim seemed to sense the tension between the two of them and carefully threaded her fingers together.

“Is this Poe?” She spoke up softly. Fucking Kim. Memphis crossed her arms sullenly, as Poe blinked in surprise.

“...She’s talked about me?” Cameron turned to look at Memphis, who was still glaring straight ahead.

“Oh, honey.” Kim chuckled with sympathy. “She talks about you all the time. Never shuts up about you, honestly. She didn’t tell me how similar you looked, though.”

“Yeah, we get that a lot,” Poe replied bitterly. Memphis wanted to reach over and smack her for that comment alone. Instead, she forced the anger out of her chest, like her psych in jail had suggested doing. She exhaled heavily, before speaking up.

“I’ve been looking for a job, with my career counselor. She’s been struggling to find me something that I can do long-term. I’ve been trying to follow up on some leads from…” Memphis trailed off, making direct eye contact with her. Kim looked like she understood immediately. “In fact, I’ve got a job you might be interested in,” Memphis teased, raising a brow. She raised a finger gun and imitated a shot going off.

“No need.” Kim chuckled in response, raising her hands in fake surrender. “I’m happy with what I’ve got going on right now.”

Poe stood up with a harsh screech, immediately cutting the both of them off.

“Poe, what the fuck?!” Memphis snapped at her, gripping the table tightly. Poe just glared at her, before storming out of the diner. Memphis swiveled to look at Kim, then back to Poe, who was already leaving.

Kim wordlessly slid her a bag with a few vape mods, which Memphis grabbed and shoved into her pocket. She nodded to the door, before mouthing ‘go.’ Memphis didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay here, with Kim. They’d just gotten there.

Memphis let out a growl of frustration, before storming after Poe. She shoved the door of the diner back open and walked into the parking lot, just to see Cameron slamming the car door shut and starting the car. Memphis jogged over, getting inside as Poe jerked the car into reverse.

“What is your problem?!” She snapped, as Cameron sharply turned out of the parking lot and hit the gas.

“My problem?!” Poe blurted out, before laughing in disbelief. “What’s your problem?! An hour out of jail, and you’re already planning on how to get back in for good! What the hell is wrong with you?! It’s like you want to fail!”

“You don’t know anything about me-” Memphis started.

“Yes, I do! I absolutely do!” Poe’s knuckles were white on the wheel. “You’re a wreck! It’s like every time you have a chance to do something good, you have to make it worse!”

“At least I’m doing something with my life!” Memphis shot back, turning to face her. “At least I’m not a coward!”

“Excuse me?”

“I said at least I’m not a coward!” Memphis yelled out, louder this time. “A coward, that’s never done anything real in life, because she’s too fucking scared, all the time! At least I’m not going to rot in a tiny apartment, making ramen noodles every night as I slowly put myself in more and more debt forever!” She slammed her hand on the dash, causing Poe to swerve the car. She pulled over onto the side of the road, as the car lurched into park.

“You’re not being fair,” Poe muttered. She was hurt. Good. If she was hurt, she’d listen. Memphis kept going.

“Life isn’t fair, Poe! God, don’t you get that?! You’re never going to graduate college, you don’t have the money! We will never have the money!” Memphis leaned closer to her, getting in her face. She needed to get through to her. “You don’t have the balls to do anything about it! And you’re criticizing me for wanting more?!”

“I can be tough when I need to be tough.” Cameron’s jaw quivered.

“I don’t believe you for a second.” Memphis scoffed. “You’ve always let people walk all over you. If you don’t change something, you’re gonna live like that forever.”

Poe just sat there, for a long while. Memphis could see her struggling not to cry. She wouldn’t survive a day in jail. Memphis had not been toughening her up, not nearly as much as she should have. If Cameron was soft, it was her fault. She got too soft around her. But Poe would never get anywhere if she didn’t get stronger, and Memphis would be the bad guy if she had to be the bad guy. If that’s what it took for Cameron to see the world as it really was, the way Memphis finally saw it.

At least, that’s how she felt at the moment.

Big, burning flashes of emotion. Memphis had always expressed herself in big, overwhelming bursts of hate, and love, and loathing. It was only a matter of time before Poe got stuck under her gaze for a moment too long.

Cameron shifted the car back into drive and floored the gas without another word. She dropped Memphis off at her shitty new apartment, and left without another word. No texts, no calls, nothing to respond to if she wanted to. Hell, it was nearly 6 months later before Memphis even heard from her again. When she did, it had started with a single text.

'Hey. That big job you mentioned. Anyway I could still get in on that? I could use the money.'

Chapter Text

De La Porta was planning something, and it was something big. A multi-million dollar heist, a plan to steal dozens of priceless paintings and artifacts, and a payout that was big enough for Memphis to coast on for a good long time while she figured out her next move. It was high risk, high reward, and Memphis had always been an addictive personality. The stakes were a challenge, and she liked to bet.

She’d been upgraded, by De La Porta, to a swanky apartment at Ivy Lane. It was the type of apartment complex that Memphis would normally be kicked out of just for setting foot inside because she ‘didn’t seem like the type to live there.’ It had a great view of the city, great amenities, and air conditioning. She could nearly picture herself living there forever if she ignored the fact De La Porta had strictly instructed it to be scrubbed clean by the end of it all.

De La Porta was an interesting man. He was the type of guy who wanted to stay out of the planning process as much as possible and had enough money that he was afforded that luxury. It was hard to put a pin on his personality, really. He seemed to have a persona for the public and a persona in private, and it was difficult to tell which was which at any given point. Memphis respected someone who could hold their cards close to their chest.

The man rarely called to weigh in on the situation. Usually, the two other guys recruited for the heist - who had clearly been involved with the billionaire for far longer than Memphis had - spoke on his behalf. When he did call, he spoke with the kind of casual authority that sent shivers down her spine. There was something sinister about it all, about how he spoke about the heist. De La Porta knew he could destroy any of them, any of their family's income or reputation, within an instant. Every sentence he spoke reflected that. His jokes only half landed, but the thinly veiled threats underneath them sure did.

Of course, Memphis came to expect that, with someone so high up on the social ladder. You didn’t get that rich off of making an honest wage, and you didn’t get that kind of status by being honest and fair.

What Memphis didn’t expect was a text from her honest and fair sister, asking to get in on the job.

Honestly, she initially thought it was a joke. When her phone had first buzzed with the message, Memphis had been high. Yes, high. Some old habits died hard, and in the past few months, Memphis had very quickly fallen back into her old routine of smoking every day. She found that it made her personality more tolerable for the people around her. It also made her personality more tolerable for herself, when she was left alone for too long. She hadn’t quite slipped back into anything more dangerous than weed or nicotine though. This job was big, it was important that she didn’t fuck it up or there would be hell to pay. Regardless, Memphis was high when she got the message, and she’d assumed Poe was joking. Reaching out for the first time in months? Hell, it might’ve been accidental.

‘You sure you want in on something like this? It’s pretty big,’ Memphis texted back, kicking up her feet onto the fancy coffee table. Less than 2 minutes later, her phone buzzed again.

‘I’m sure.’

Fucking weird, to use full punctuation on texts. Memphis could match that energy though. What she was more concerned about was the fact that Poe wanted anything to do with what she did in her free time. Poe must have sensed her apprehension though, because two minutes later, her phone buzzed with another reply.

‘Getting a 9-5 hasn’t worked out. I’d rather get in on your big paydays.’

Maybe that chat she’d had with Poe had affected her more than she thought. If Memphis wasn’t so damn stubborn, she would have called and apologized for being too harsh. But every time she picked up the phone to call, she bullied herself out of it. Memphis flipped her phone onto its face, before taking a long drag from her joint as she considered it.

Who was she, to yell at Poe about being unable to take control of her own life, and then force her out of a chance to do it? If Cameron wanted in on this and she said no, what was to stop her from going to someone else? Someone who wouldn’t be keeping an eye on her in the same way Memphis would. Who was to stop Poe from reporting them to the cops if Memphis didn’t let her in? She sat for a long time, before grabbing her phone again.

‘I’ll check with the boss. If I do this though, there is no backing out.’

The second Memphis sent it, it was read. Memphis stared at those little dots that appeared next to Poe’s messages for what felt like a lifetime.

‘I’m sure. Won’t let you down.’

Won’t let you down. Memphis’ eyes scanned over the last sentence again. Oh, God. She exhaled softly, before closing her eyes.

She was going to regret this.

They all met up at Ivy Lane the next day, including De La Porta. Memphis had only talked with the guy maybe twice beforehand, and it was over the phone. She couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated when he walked in. This was someone she’d seen on TV more than a dozen times, someone who she’d always pictured in her mind with cameras flashing around him. Being in the same room with him felt a little unreal.

When he walked in, the other two men immediately stood up, like he was some kind of drill sergeant. Memphis stumbled to her feet as well. De La Porta nodded to them casually, before resting his briefcase on the kitchen island.

“Rory. Casey. It’s good to see you again.” De La Porta spoke casually as if they were talking about brunch and not a massive-scale robbery. His eyes flitted over to Memphis as he opened his briefcase, and she did her best to not appear intimidated at all. “Memphis, is it?”

“Yes.” She had to physically stop herself from saying ‘sir.’ Memphis couldn’t let him get the upper hand on her that quickly. De La Porta’s lips quirked up into a smile anyway. He took a few papers out of the briefcase and then closed it again.

“I have copies of the vault specifications for you. I have a copy of the security plan for the night. I have copies of the invitations.” He raised them up in the air, before holding them out. Rory grabbed them, sifting through the papers quietly. “I-”

He was cut off by the door buzzing. He paused. De La Porta glanced behind him before Poe opened the door. She stepped inside and quickly closed it behind her, arms wrapping around herself. He raised a brow at her.

“I believe I said 6?” He glanced back at the other two men, who just nodded their heads in confirmation. Poe shifted her weight awkwardly, gripping the key FOB she’d used to get in with one hand.

“Sorry. I was helping the receptionist. She had some, uh, decorations. Halloween decorations.” Cameron mumbled out.

“Sure.” De La Porta rested an elbow on the island. “Well, I do appreciate punctuality. I’ve always said, how do you expect to run anything if you can’t show up to a meeting on time?” He chuckled to himself. For some reason, he was the only one that laughed. Memphis closed her eyes with a silent groan. She had told Poe not to be late.

“Regardless.” He clasped his hands together, looking around at the four of them. “I’ve done my part. You have the materials you need. I don’t care to know what you’re planning. I trust Rory can handle the lot of you and your positioning. He knows what tech you have at your disposal, along with how I like things to be done.” De La Porta closed his briefcase. He flipped each latch shut, before continuing.

“Really, the only reason I came here in person was to make it abundantly clear that if something goes wrong, I will not be taking the fall for it. That means you need to keep things clean, and keep things fast. I don’t want to see any blood, or any evidence left behind.” He was making direct eye contact with Memphis now, who did her best not to squirm under his gaze. “It’ll be your funeral, not mine.” He shrugged, before checking his watch. Apparently, he was a busy man. He reached for the doorknob, before pausing again to look back at Memphis and Poe.

“Oh, and just to be clear.” De La Porta turned back around to face them. “I’ll be monitoring you carefully. If you tell anyone I was involved in this, at all, I will personally guarantee you will never see your loved ones again. Do you understand?”

Memphis swallowed, before quickly nodding. Out of her peripheral, she could see Poe doing the same thing. De La Porta flashed them an award-winning smile.

“Great! We understand each other.” He swung open the door, before leaving without another word.

The room let out an audible breath of relief the second he was gone. Rory slouched back against the wall to check his phone, while Casey took out a vape. God knows Memphis could use a hit.

“Hey, are you sharing?” Memphis asked lazily. She held up her arm, making a grabbing motion with her hands. He just rolled his eyes, before tossing it to her. Memphis could feel Cameron’s eyes on her as she took a hit. It was hard not to feel a little guilty. But what the hell? It wasn’t like Cameron really expected her to stay clean. She leaned back with a sigh, reclining on the couch.

Poe sat down next to her, before grabbing the vape from her outstretched fingers and taking a hit herself. She made it look like it was second nature. Memphis frowned.

“Are you going to introduce us?” Rory asked Memphis, setting the papers down on the coffee table.

“Right.” Memphis sat up, blinking herself awake. “Rory, Casey, this is Poe. She’s my younger sister.” Poe nodded to the two of them. Casey snorted.

“Yeah, why is she here, though? To do our taxes?” He joked. It put Memphis on edge. No one was allowed to make fun of Poe but her. “I mean, no offense. She just doesn’t really look like the type to actually do this kind of shit.”

“Oh fuck off, Casey,” Memphis grumbled out.

“I’m just asking!” He chuckled. “De La Porta’s really got the pick of the liter, why the hell would he settle for the runt?”

“Casey,” Memphis warned. Poe sat up.

“No, he’s right.” She spoke up. Memphis silently pleaded for her to shut up. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m the only one of you without an aggravated criminal record. Or maybe it’s because I’m the only one of you assholes that actually passed the 12th grade.” Cameron sat back again with a shrug. Memphis could clearly see Casey’s fist tighten.

“Big talk for someone who’s never been in a fight.” He muttered.

“And I’m sure you’d be happy to change that,” Poe replied calmly. “But before you do, I want you to think about how hard it’s gonna be to get that blood out of the carpet when the detective comes around, searches the place, and finds it. And I want you to think of how easily they’ll trace the DNA back to you when they do.”

The room was dead silent.

Memphis turned to look at her in shock. Poe was still sitting back, staring down Casey from the couch. She took another hit, before tossing the vape back to him. He scrambled to catch it.

What the fuck?

Memphis barely had time to process what had happened before Rory started going over the documents in front of them. Right. Heist. But even as he was talking, she couldn’t help but stare at Poe, who was leaning over the documents as she quietly listened. She was picking at the edge of her shirt again, something Memphis knew she did when nerves got to her. Poe caught her eye, before giving her a small, proud smile that very clearly was looking for approval. Memphis just stared back at her, unsure of how to respond. They both looked back to the tac plan.

She was back to looking normal, at least. Not scary, or weird, or whatever that was. Maybe Memphis had just imagined it. She had to lay off a little on the smoking when Poe was around or she’d start hallucinating or something.

But the longer Memphis spent around her, planning for the heist, the more she saw it. Those tiny alarm bells, ringing in her head. Poe had started avoiding her. When they finished a meeting, Memphis would casually mention that they could grab something to eat, or watch a movie. Poe would tell her that she needed to study the floorplan, that she didn’t have the time. When Memphis asked about her life, Poe would become non-responsive. She would ask about classes, ask about college, ask about relationships. Poe just told her college was busy, and she was busy. It would be best to just focus on the plan.

When Poe interacted with the other members of their little crew, she didn’t act like herself. She never apologized to any of them, really. She would stand her ground in a way Memphis had never seen from her before. She’d get louder when they got mad at her. Every time, when she’d finish, Memphis would catch her trying to make eye contact. Trying to get her attention.

Memphis could still see cracks, though. When she thought no one was looking, Poe would get nervous, and sweet, and kind, and….normal. Once Memphis had caught sight of her, right as she was walking into the building, and had ducked out of view. Memphis stuck near the vending machine, making the longest Dr. Pepper purchase of her life.

She could hear Poe rambling away with the woman at the front desk, about Halloween costumes and trick-or-treating. Poe was talking about them trick-or-treating, as kids. Their parents had dressed them up as devil and angel. Some joke the woman told made Poe giggle so hard that she wheezed. It sent a stab of jealousy up Memphis’ spine.

They used to talk like that. Did Poe think they couldn’t talk like that?

She grabbed her Dr. Pepper and stopped at the weights room before going back upstairs. She had to hit something.

Memphis had never been as quick as Poe. It took her beating the shit out of a punching bag in the weights room to finally get blood pumping to her brain.

Poe was trying to act like Memphis.

That was a lot to process. Did Memphis want Poe to act like her? Of course not. She’d spent her life in and out of jail, in and out of serious addiction. She didn’t want that for her little sister.

On the other hand, didn’t she? Poe was finally acting tough, for once in her life. The other two members of the crew got pissed at her sometimes, but they respected her. She was finally getting somewhere with the people around her, instead of standing in the background like she always did. It was proving their parents wrong, and Memphis would jump at the opportunity to shove that in their faces.

But Poe had a bright future. Poe wanted to be a nurse. Memphis didn’t want her to get caught up in something this bad. The more she learned, the worse it got. This wasn’t a small-scale robbery, this was a crime that would make the front page. If things went south, her life would be over. Memphis didn’t want her life to be over. She was so smart. Memphis wished she knew just how smart she was, and how far she could go if she wanted to.

But there was no backing out now. Even if Cameron tried to leave, De La Porta made it clear they were in for the long haul. There were no second chances. They’d both made this choice, and they had to stick with it. Memphis slammed her fist into the punching bag, sending it rocking on its axis.

The only thing she could promise herself was that Poe wouldn’t have to hurt anyone.

Chapter Text

“Poe…?”

Her eyes shot back up to Bahmani, quick enough that he flinched. There was a weight behind her gaze, the type of weight that told him she knew something. There was something she refused to tell him. They looked bloodshot, maybe even panicked. For a moment, he regretted not calling in Dr. Ebi, to sit in on the interview. Surely she would have better insight into how Cameron was acting. The only thing Bahmani could conclude with certainty was that the expression she wore looked unnatural on her. It was desperation. It was stress.

“So she’s dead,” Poe whispered out, voice hoarse. Her eyes darted back to Burke, then narrowed. “That’s not all you have to say. If it was, you wouldn’t have those two with you.”

“You’re smart, Poe.” Bahmani cleared his throat. “I always knew that about you. You don’t want to spend your life behind bars. You could go to college, hell, go to grad school.”

“I’m going to ask you again.” Cameron’s voice was as sharp as a knife, cutting through the tension in the room. She spat out each word individually, slow and steady.

“Why am I here?”

Bahmani shifted in his seat nervously, before looking down at the papers in front of him. He spread them out with his pointer finger and thumb.

“I understand that you’ve gone on the record, saying you weren't at Miller Tower on the 31st. But we have multiple eyewitnesses that have placed you there. If you’ll allow me, Cameron, I would like to go over with you the last time Memphis was seen, according to those witnesses and our footage.” He swallowed. “You don’t have to admit to anything. But a simple ‘yes’ of acknowledgment, that you understand what our cameras and our witnesses saw, it would be appreciated.”

Cameron didn’t say anything.

“We’re on the same side here.” Bahmani forced himself to make eye contact with her. “I know we haven’t always been. I’m sure you have a lot of feelings about that….and I don’t blame you. But we are right now. We need your help to bring Memphis to justice. Can you help us do that?”

Poe just barely nodded, her fingers twisted together so tight that her knuckles were white. She glanced away, blinking back tears. It was going to have to be good enough. Bahmani looked down at the first sheet in front of him.

“The camera footage at Miller Tower showed three people arriving via helicopter onto the roof of the building. One of those people, we’ve identified as Memphis Raynes. Do you understand that?”

“Yes,” Poe replied softly.

“Do you have any reason to dispute it was Memphis?” Bahmani asked.

“...No.”

“Memphis then, or who we presume to be Memphis, breaks down the door with one of the other robbers. Memphis then cuts herself, on the door, as she forces her way inside the building.” Bahmani read his notes carefully, before glancing up at Cameron.

“Yes.”

“She was bleeding.”

“Yes.”

“They enter the building, where they’re accompanied by a third robber. This robber met up with them from inside. This robber, Poe,” Bahmani leaned forward, “Who was wearing a mask exactly like the one we found at Miller Tower. The one that tested conclusively with your DNA.”

For a second, Bahmani thought he saw Cameron roll her eyes.

“Do you understand that?” He pressed.

“Yes,” Poe mumbled.

“These three robbers, they beat the security guard, dragged him to the vault, and used his biometrics to open it. Two of the robbers go to transport the paintings, while one stays in the vault. The one that stays in the vault is the one who was injured.”

“Yes.”

“Memphis.”

“Yes.”

Now they were getting somewhere. Bahmani flipped to the next paper.

“The other two robbers, they make their way back into the vault to see that the security guard and Memphis were fighting.” Bahmani wasn’t looking at his notes anymore. His eyes were locked on Cameron. Security footage or otherwise, he was going to get to the truth. “They’re on the floor, exchanging blows. And it looks bad. It’s hard to see in the vault, it’s so dark. But Memphis is hurt.”

“Yes.” Her voice sounded strained.

“And the other two robbers, they’re probably scared. Blood on the floor, all that. They don’t know if the blood is from Memphis, or the guard, or both. But they do know Memphis could die.”

“Yes.” Poe was fidgeting with her ring finger. She twisted her thumb and index finger around it over and over again.

“So they attack. They’re just trying to make sure Memphis is safe, of course. But that guard, he could kill any one of them. So they keep going, and going until the guard stops moving.”

Poe was silent now. Bahmani reached for his pencil, slowly.

“...Poe, is that a yes?”

“What does this have to do with Memphis?!” Cameron finally snapped, like a rubber band that had been pulled too tight. “This has nothing to do with her death! It has nothing to do with me. I saw what I saw on the news. I heard what I heard from you. I understand what you’re saying, but it’s not relevant. Move on, please!” She emphasized the end, hard.

Back to square one. It took everything in him to not bang his head against the table. Alright, one question too far. Bahmani reshuffled his papers, giving the room a moment to air out.

“Memphis is badly injured. Not just from the door, but from her fight with the guard. She’s struggling to stay conscious. She needs help just to move, to hold herself upright.”

“Yes.” This time, Poe answered definitively. She stared at the corner of the room. Her eyes were unfocused, still wet with tears.

“The other two robbers help carry her to the helicopter, which takes off with her inside. The other two robbers run down the stairs and take off from the bottom of the building.”

“Yes.”

Now was the hard part. The dangerous part, shifting into testimony. He just had to say it as definitively as the footage, to speak it into truth. Bahmani kept going, without skipping a beat.

“Memphis was still in bad condition. The blood from her shoulder left a large stain on her shirt, she needed help to walk.”

“Yes.”

“She was unloaded at an apartment complex nearby, but she was still conscious.”

“Barely,” Poe murmured.

Bahmani stopped.

Poe seemed to catch herself, just a moment too late. Her eyes widened.

“You were there?” Bahmani asked, carefully. Except he didn’t phrase it as a question, he phrased it as a statement. He could feel the other two men behind him, holding their breath. It was dead silent in the room.

“...I had to make sure she was okay,” Poe whispered, barely audible.

Bahmani’s heart dropped in his chest. He couldn’t look at the recorder right now, he couldn’t draw Poe’s attention to it. Any reminder that this was on the record would make her shut down. He had to make this a conversation between friends. Bahmani immediately set down his pencil and pushed the papers aside, before pulling his chair in closer.

“That must have been really scary for you.” He spoke as gently as he could manage. “Seeing your sister like that.”

Poe’s lip quivered before she nodded. She looked like she was seconds away from crying. Her gaze was still far away, in a different place. Bahmani tried to gently pull her back to the conversation at hand.

“Y’know, I’m the youngest of two brothers.” Bahmani was off-script. But he knew what he was doing. “I always looked up to them, they were my rock. I convinced myself they were invincible. One time, my oldest brother, Michael? He got into an accident.”

A tear dripped down her cheek. Bahmani continued.

“It was scary, seeing him in that hospital bed, attached to all those big machines. I’d never seen him look so weak. I can’t imagine what it would be like, not knowing if she was going to make it or not.”

Knowing now that she hadn’t made it.

“I thought-” Cameron gasped out, “-I thought that she couldn’t get hurt. She's the toughest person I know. You don't understand. I thought if I’d gone to school for nursing like I wanted, I could’ve helped her.”

They sat like that, for a moment. Poe's tears were dripping down her cheeks onto the table in front of her. Bahmani glanced back at Rodrigo for a moment, before mouthing ‘tissues’. He immediately darted out of the room to get some, as Bahmani focused his attention back on Poe.

“What did you do when you saw Memphis?” He asked. Poe shook her head, hard.

“I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what happened, just that she was hurt. She’s–” Cameron covered her mouth for a moment, catching her breath. “I put a tracker on her phone. I was scared something was gonna happen to her. I don’t know. She’s got a history of getting herself into trouble, and I needed to make sure she was gonna be okay. The phone said she was at this place, this apartment. I’d never been there. Couldn’t even tell you the name now.” She let out a broken laugh. “I just rushed there. I had this feeling, in my gut, that something was wrong.”

“...And something was wrong.” Bahmani finished for her. The story was nearly making him tear up.

“She looked like she was going to die. I’d never seen her so fragile. She was - I can't even talk about it or I'll get sick. I don't know. I don't know anything. I remembered helping her inside, with this other guy. I didn’t know who he was, or what was happening. I just wanted to make sure she was safe.” Bahmani could feel Burke’s interest suddenly peak behind him, for the first time in the interview. God, not right now. Now was not the time to ask.

“Were you on the phone with anyone?” Burke asked anyway, and Bahmani nearly exploded on him, right then and there. Cameron’s head whipped to him in confusion, as if she’d forgotten he was even there. That was the fucking point!

“What..?” She sniffed.

“You were on the phone with someone.” Burke pressed, taking a step closer to the table. “You were on the phone with De La Porta.”

“I wasn’t–I wasn’t on the phone with anyone.” Cameron shook her head emphatically, her hands still shaking. “I was just trying to take care of my sister.”

“The man with you, then.” He narrowed his eyes at Poe, who looked like she was strung so tight she might snap. If she were a cat, every hair on her back would have been pricked up.

“No one was on the phone with anyone.” Cameron insisted, this time more harshly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Leave me alone! I don’t want to talk about this anymore! I don’t want to talk to you!”

Bahmani caught Burke’s arm before he ran his mouth again, and glared at him with the force of a thousand suns. Burke looked pissed, but he relented. He took a few steps back, before leaning against the wall with his arms folded. Bahmani ran both hands through his hair, trying to gather his train of thought.

“Poe, I’m sorry. We’re sorry.” Bahmani mustered up every ounce of empathy he could possibly try to convey. “If you want to stop, or you need a minute, we completely understand.” Cameron just shook her head, still glaring at Burke.

“I just want to get the over with.” Her hands were clenched into tight fists. “Don’t ask me anything else about what happened that night, or I’m leaving.”

Bahmani had lost his rhythm. He couldn’t recall what they were even talking about, just that Cameron was upset, and hurting, and that he frankly needed to retire or never work with Burke again.

“...Memphis didn’t die that night, though?” He started up again.

Cameron shook her head.

“Did you talk to her again after that?”

Chapter Text

Memphis hit the door of Poe’s shitty apartment with her good arm a few times, before taking a step back to wait.

She didn’t have to wait long. It was as if Poe had been waiting at the door all day for that exact moment. Memphis could hear both locks unclicking before she’d even finished knocking.

The door swung open, and Cameron grabbed her by the shirt, pulling her inside.

“Hey, Hey, watch the arm-!” Memphis interjected as Poe slammed the door behind her. She locked it again with trembling fingers, before staring through the blinds to make sure no one else was coming. After a moment, she pulled them shut, then walked over to the sink to wash her hands.

Memphis took a moment to look around the living room. The apartment looked trashed. There were takeout boxes everywhere, clothes strewn across the floor, mail piling up in the corner. Memphis squinted, before looking again. There were bills piling up in the corner. She picked one up as Poe scrubbed at her hands with soap. It was marked overdue.

“Don’t touch that!” She snapped. “I just–I just sanitized that. Don’t touch it.” Memphis immediately dropped it, raising her hand in surrender. She could see Cameron glance at the other sleeve of her hoodie, to the injury they both knew was underneath.

“I should slap you, after that shit you pulled on me. Ghosting me like that.” Poe hissed out, walking back over to the couch with the rag still clenched in her hands. Memphis stumbled to take a seat. She couldn’t stand any longer without passing out.

“I know you’re upset.” Memphis stared up at her in desperation. Poe had texted her multiple times after Halloween. She'd tried to check in, to visit her. When Memphis had left Ivy Lane, it had been on death's door. She remembered very little of what happened and was too scared to ask. No one from the heist would talk to her about it. But between trying to find someone to treat her injuries, and the mess her mind was left in, the texts had completely slipped her mind.

There were more important matters to talk about. The reason she was here. She tried to remember the words she’d rehearsed to herself again and again on the way there. “But I have a way out of this, for you. I’m going to turn myself in.”

“What?” Cameron replied incredulously.

“I’m going to turn myself in," She repeated. "I’m going to go to Bahmani and tell him what happened. I’ll tell him I forced you into it.” Memphis tried to get closer to Poe, who just shook her head and went back to the sink. She started washing her hands again. “You didn’t- You didn’t have a choice, Poe. You didn’t mean to hurt him. They’ll understand. They’ll let you off.”

“He’s in a coma, Memphis.” Poe muttered. She shook out her hands, splattering water everywhere. “He’s in a coma. The news, they said he was beaten so badly that they couldn’t even ID him at first. They don't know if he's gonna make it through the week.”

“You were trying to protect me. I’ll tell the cops that I made you do it.” Memphis craned her head to look at Poe, who was still scrubbing at her hands. Her eyes were focused on one little spot on her completely clean palm. Memphis frowned. “Poe?”

“What?!” Poe snapped at her with a glare.

“...You already washed your hands. You don’t have to wash them again.” Memphis noted quietly.

Cameron twisted her fingers together, before forcing out a breath. She brushed her hands on her pants a few times for good measure, before walking back over to Memphis. As she got closer, Memphis noticed that the skin on her hands was raw and flaking.

Memphis’ gut turned. Shit. She reached over to grab one of them, but Poe pulled away like she was trying to burn her.

“I’m fine!” Cameron insisted, shaking her head firmly. Her thumb and forefinger twisted around her ring finger, back and forth, over and over again. She wasn't wearing her ring anymore, the one she always wore.

“You don’t have to be fine, Poe,” Memphis murmured, leaning back on the couch. Poe just reached for a box of cigarettes that was lying on the coffee table. Memphis’ eyes followed to an ashtray littered with them. She made herself focus on Poe, who was struggling with the lighter.

“...What are you on?” Memphis squinted at her. She knew her way around illicit substances pretty well at this point, and she knew her way around Poe even better. She wasn’t acting right.

“I’m not on anything,” Poe responded swiftly, pressing the cigarette up to her lips.

“Like hell, you’re not on anything.” Memphis reached for the cigarette, and Poe swatted her hand away. “Where did you get this shit?”

“Casey,” Cameron replied, matter-of-factly. She took a drag, and her hand stopped shaking so badly. Memphis felt a surge of anger. She’d wring out Casey’s neck the next time she saw him, for giving that shit to her little sister.

“Y’know, Mom used to tell me you’d promised to stay sober. That you’d seen what it did to me, and you promised you wouldn’t do it. Ever.” Memphis was grasping for something. She wasn’t sure what. Poe turned to look at her through half-lidded eyes.

“There’s been a change in circumstances.” She replied, simply.

“You don’t even like it. I know you don’t.” Memphis growled. Poe shrugged, before puffing out smoke right into her face. Her anger flared up.

“Stop with that shit!” Memphis grabbed for the cigarette, but Poe easily lifted it out of her reach. Memphis reached again, before crying in pain as she twisted her back too quickly. She immediately slumped back into the seat.

“No, you stop!” Poe got up from the couch, before planting herself right in front of Memphis. “You’re not going to the cops, and you’re sure as hell not admitting to anything. If you do that, De La Porta is gonna kill you. He’s gonna kill us. Our parents.” Poe gestured to the both of them with the hand holding the cigarette. “Or did you forget that?”

“De La Porta can’t-” Memphis started.

“-Oh, I assure you, De La Porta can.” Poe scoffed, drumming her fingers against her thigh. Her fingers twitched erratically. “I’ve had several conversations about it with Rory. De La Porta can, and De La Porta will. We’ll all be dead before morning. You can’t do shit about it, especially not like that.”

Memphis reached to wrap her good arm around herself.

“So we’re going to lie.” Poe crouched down to her level, staring her straight on. “And we’re going to make something up. Which, by the way Memphis, would be easier to do if you weren’t fucking ghosting me!”

“You don’t have to act like that,” Memphis replied. Her mind felt like it was running too quickly. Everything was moving too quickly. They had to stop pretending. “There’s no one else here. It’s just the two of us, Poe, you don’t have to act like that.”

“Act like what?” Cameron furrowed a brow.

“Like me.” She explained, exasperated. Why was she dragging this out so much?

“I’m not acting like you,” Poe replied.

“Poe, you need to just act like normal. Like yourself.” Memphis emphasized harder, trying to get through to her. It was time to drop the act, right now, before something actually went wrong. Poe just looked confused, and even more pissed.

“This is myself.”

“No, it’s not!” Memphis replied angrily, sitting up again. Injuries be damned, someone had to get through to her. “You’ve been acting crazy ever since I got back from jail. It was cute, but now it’s time to stop. You’ve got my attention, and you wanted it.” Her head was too damn foggy to get her words out the way she wanted.

“Like when you let me crash at your apartment, before all this. We would watch Monty Python three nights in a row because you loved it so much. You’d make us pasta every Thursday, and chicken every Friday, because you love routine. That’s Poe Cameron. You’d come to me in the middle of the night to make sure I was safe, that I wasn’t using the crap you’re using right now! That’s Poe Cameon. This shit you’re pulling? I’m sick of it!” It was finally out in the air, at least. Memphis felt like she could breathe easier. Poe blinked at her in disbelief.

“I’m sorry..?” Cameron’s posture was so tense that Memphis would have taken a step back if she could. It read Danger. Get out. “You mean before the police nearly broke down my door? You mean after you lied to me? After you promised me that you would do better?! When I thought you were clean, but you were doing the same damn thing you always do, making my life hell!” She was shaking again now, like she was so full of emotion that it was seeping out of her in tremors.

“I’d give anything! God, I would give anything at all for you to have never shown up at my door!” Poe screamed at her. “I wish you’d never come!”

“So do I!” Memphis finally pushed herself to her feet. “So let me fix this! Let me go to Bahmani, and fix this. I’ll take the fall, I’ll tell him I forced you. You’ll be able to leave!”

“I swear to fucking god, Memphis, if you go to Bahmani I’ll beat you worse than I beat Emory Sands.” Poe spat out.

Every thought in Memphis’ mind shut down, all at once.

The world stopped.

Memphis just stared at Poe, with nothing but genuine horror. She stared back with venom in her eyes.

God.

What had she done to her little sister?

Memphis slowly sat back down in silence. Poe was spinning out of control. She wasn’t thinking straight. She was hurting. Poe's heart was bleeding out on the floor, and she was choking on the blood. She was hurting so badly and Memphis had no idea how to fix it. She couldn't make it better.

She had always made it better.

—

Poe had nearly fallen asleep with her on the roof, curled up tightly against her chest for warmth. She’d been so small back then. Memphis remembered that if she squinted, she could nearly see the sunrise on the horizon. Poe mumbled something into her shirt, and Memphis had to pull away a little to listen.

“Hm?”

“What if I don’t pass my classes?” She asked, staring up at Memphis. Her eyes had been so big, so full of wonder. “Things are getting harder. I don’t know if I can keep up.”

“Then you do the next best thing.” Memphis shrugged, before ruffling her hair. “I’m not worried about it.”

“Why?” Poe wrinkled her nose.

“Because I know you,” Memphis explained, matter-of-factly. “You’re probably gonna win a Nobel Peace Prize or something. You’ll give a big speech about how much of a suck-up you are to Mom and Dad. It’ll be super long and boring.” Memphis drawled out dramatically, imitating a noose. She’d gotten a laugh out of Poe though.

“You’d come, though? To the ceremony?” Poe asked.

“Oh, yeah.” She nodded. “I’d be in the first row. I’d scream so loud they’d have to kick me out.”

Poe let out a giggle, before relaxing again and leaning back into her arms. They stared at the sunrise for another minute or two of silence, before Memphis stretched her arms.

“Alright, back inside.” She yawned, before jumping down from the roof to a nearby branch. She put a foot on the open windowsill. Poe scooted a little closer to the edge, then stopped. Her eyes went from Memphis, to the ledge, then back to Memphis, with a silent plea for help.

Memphis had just rolled her eyes, before reaching up with both hands.

“C’mon. I got you.”

Memphis didn’t know how good she had it.

Memphis would never know more than in this moment, just how good she had it.

–

“You’re going to college,” Memphis spoke up, out of nowhere. The words felt thick and heavy in her mouth. They’d been sitting in silence for longer than Memphis could even remember. At some point, Cameron had moved back to the couch. Just the two of them, side by side.

“I can’t.” Poe closed her eyes, words still coming out choppy. “I can’t do any of it anymore.”

“Poe, listen.” Memphis grabbed her hand, and for once, Poe didn’t pull away. “You’re going to college. You’re gonna do whatever you want to do in life. I promise you. I swear to you, on my life. I will do anything and everything to make that happen.”

Poe was silent. She was staring at Memphis with tears in her eyes.

“...Okay.” She whispered, with a faint determination.

“Okay? Okay.” Memphis repeated, for her own benefit. She didn’t know what okay meant. But okay was good. Okay was better than not okay. There was nothing else she could ask for at this point. She wiped her own eyes, before fanning her face with a laugh. It had been a long time since she cried.

“We gotta smoke a joint or something, for old time's sake.” Memphis joked, trying to break up the tension in the air. Poe was still staring her down, with a weight to her eyes that Memphis was too brain dead at the moment to decipher.

“We’re gonna leave town. Immediately.” Poe pulled away, stringing her fingers together. She looked straight forward. “We’re going to meet up in Canada. A million miles away from here. No one will be able to track us, we can leave everything behind here.” Cameron turned back to look at her. “Meet me at the marina, on the 5th. Get there early, earlier than sunrise. I don’t want to risk anyone seeing us. We meet there, we get a cab to the bus station, and we leave. We never look back.”

Memphis nodded slowly.

She reached forward and pulled Poe into a hug. Poe immediately crumbled into her arms, practically laying on her as they both sat on the couch in silence. It hurt, having any kind of pressure on her wounds, but she couldn't bring herself to care, not when Poe was so close to her for the first time in so long. Cameron was surprisingly calm now, and completely still. At least she'd stopped crying. Memphis could only hope that she’d come to terms with it, in any capacity. They had time, to come to terms with it. At least they’d be doing it together.

A half-hour later, against her better judgment, Memphis Raynes left Poe's apartment.

Not with a goodbye, but with a ‘see you soon.’

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“Did you talk to her again after that?” Bahamni repeated softly. It was hard not to walk on eggshells, just a little. Burke had been one bad question away from making sure Poe would never speak to them again. This was too important to mess up. Someone’s life was on the line. He watched Poe’s back straighten, as she tried to compose herself.

“Yes,” Poe murmured.

“Could you tell me when you talked to her? Do you remember what day it was, what time?” Bahmani asked. She hesitated.

“It was the night before I left for Canada. I don’t remember the exact time….maybe around midnight? I don’t know.” Bahmani quickly reached for his pencil, jotting down notes.

“Where were you?”

“At my apartment.” Poe twisted her fingers around her ring finger. “She had broken in. I gave her a key to my apartment when I was younger. Stupider. Hadn’t had time to change the locks.”

“She broke into your house?” Bahmani asked, glancing up.

“It felt like it. I had told her before, she couldn’t visit. I told her I’d call the cops.”

“Did you call the cops?”

Poe hesitated again, before shaking her head.

“Why not?” Bahmani was listening now, intently. It was the most cooperative Poe had been in a long time.

“She was…” Poe trailed off, before squinting. “She wasn’t acting normal. Memphis never acted normal, so y’know, usually I wouldn’t think anything of it. But she was acting delusional. I didn’t know if she’d hit something, or shot something up. She was acting like she was on something serious. Not connected with reality.” Bahmani frowned, before pausing for a moment.

He knew Raynes had a history of substance abuse. Both times he’d caught her, she’d had something in her system. It had never been something serious though, something severe. Then again, the circumstances Raynes had been in weren’t typical, even for her. It was entirely possible she’d been trying to manage the pain from her injuries, and jumped to the only thing she could get her hands on.

“Did you talk with her?” Bahmani asked instead.

“I tried. She was inconsolable. She kept talking about…about something she did. She said she’d done something really bad. That she couldn’t go back now, and that she couldn’t live with herself.” Poe tugged at the sleeve of her jumpsuit, fidgeting with the seam. “She said that she wasn’t sleeping anymore. That she couldn’t think, because it felt like there was screaming in her head, all the time.”

“What did you do next?” He scribbled down another note.

“I told her whatever it was, it would be better to just go to the police.” Poe glanced away, before wiping her nose with her sleeve. “Look, it’s not my story to tell, it’s hers. Wouldn’t even be talking to you about it if she…” She trailed off.

Poe had been trying to protect Memphis. Of course, she had. Bahmani had suspected it from the first interview, but the second had confirmed it. It still felt good to know that he’d been right. He just wished the circumstances that had finally gotten Poe to talk weren’t so dire.

“I understand.” Bahmani nodded. “Can you think of anything else she told you?”

“She said….she said that she was in too deep. That she had to get out, the only way she knew how.” Cameron’s voice wavered near the end. “I don’t know. She wasn’t acting like herself. I was scared she was going to do something….something bad. I made her leave, I was scared she was going to hurt someone. But I was going to check on her. Call a mental hospital, I don’t know, something.”

Then her eyes shot back up to Bahmani, bloodshot and angry.

“And then you arrested me. And I never heard from her again.”

Bahmani sat back for a moment, shocked by the sudden whiplash of the conversation. It was hard not to feel a pang of guilt. The anger in her eyes, it felt so raw. Cameron was insinuating that…well, Cameron was insinuating a lot. There was a lot to process now.

He didn’t want the blood of this 20-year-old’s only sister on his hands. He already felt like he did. This wasn’t his fault. He was doing his job. Bahmani had to do his job, or someone worse would come along to do it instead. But could he have done more? And if he’d done more, would the outcome have been different? Would Memphis Raynes still be alive?

Burke had to have sensed Bahmani’s inability to remain in control of the conversation, because he stepped forward again, resting a hand on Bahmani’s shoulder to ground him. Bahmani hated to admit it, but it felt reassuring.

He opened his mouth to speak before the door swung open, and a woman walked in.

“There was a situation with Rogers, he told me to bring you-” She stopped.

Poe was staring at her as if she’d seen a ghost.

“...You,” Cameron whispered out.

Bahmani vaguely recognized her as Burke’s intern, or informant, or whatever she did. She was occasionally around the district jail, Burke would send her on errands to talk to inmates sometimes. He didn’t focus on much of the transactions Burke worked on, the man had a mind of his own when it came to getting things done.

He was wishing he knew her more right now though, with the way she was staring at Cameron. Her hand was clenched so tightly on the tissue box that her fingers were leaving individual indents.

“Coppola,” Burke barked out, “Has no one ever told you not to enter a room when an interview is being conducted?!”

Coppola was staring daggers at Poe. Burke snapped his fingers a few times as if that would get her to focus.

“Get out. Now.”

Bahmani was watching both Poe and Coppola with utter confusion. He could have sworn he saw Coppola mouth out a ‘fuck you,’ but maybe he was just imagining things. She dropped the tissue box on the table, and then left without another word. Kit made a mental note to follow up on that. He’d have to ask Burke if she’d be willing to write an affidavit.

Burke shook his head. If he was the apologizing type, Bahmani imagined he would have said something. Instead, he stepped closer to Poe.

“I want to clarify, Cameron. You’re telling us that Raynes had no relationship with Berkley De La Porta?” He asked sternly.

“What? No.” Poe blinked, looking back up at Burke with confusion. “I think I would know if she did. Memphis was…she wouldn’t run in the same circles as De La Porta. Obviously. People like him and people like us live in completely different worlds.”

“And you’re telling us that De La Porta has nothing to do with this?”

“No,” Cameron replied, bluntly.

“That Memphis’ death had nothing to do with him?”

“No.” Poe looked between the two of them. Bahmani quietly let out a breath. They were getting nowhere with that kind of questioning.

“Poe, this is a safe environment. We’re doing what we can to get your sister justice. We can’t do that if you’re not being honest.” Kit replied, trying not to let exhaustion creep into his voice. “If you admit what happened, we can actually do something about it.”

Poe shifted in her seat. She wasn’t making eye contact anymore. He knew she was hiding something, he just did.

“Do you think De La Porta will hurt you if you answer?” Bahmani pressed.

“I just told you, he has nothing to do with this!” Cameron spit, out of nowhere. It was jarring enough that Kit nearly flinched. “Leave him alone! Leave me and my parents alone!”

The one question too far.

“Poe, we’re just-” Bahmani tried to level his voice.

“I don’t care what you’re trying to do! I don’t want to talk to you anymore! Stop making me talk about any of this!”

“We’re trying to help you.” He tried to explain. Poe burst into laughter.

“Oh, like you helped my sister, Officer Bahmani? Detective? Whatever the hell you call yourself these days?!” She leaned forward, as far as her cuffs would allow her. Her voice was shaking now, on the verge of tears again. “You helped her real good. That help worked out real well for her, didn’t it?!”

“Your case is coming up, Poe.” Kit locked his jaw, trying not to let her words get to him. “If you have anything to say, anything that anyone forced you to do-”

“You’re forcing me to stay in this interview.” She cut him off, yanking at her handcuffs. “I’m leaving! Let me out, now!”

Bahmani just watched, helplessly, as Poe got more desperate. She was digging herself into a hole.

“I need to leave!” She yanked at the cuffs again, before her voice broke. She choked out a sob, still weakly pulling at her arms.

“Please. Please, let me out. Please.”

Kit was completely overwhelmed by guilt. Poe couldn’t handle it anymore, and neither could he. It was all too much. He slammed his hand on the stop button with a sharp crack, abruptly ending the recording. Kit buried his head in his hands.

“We’re done here.” He muttered out to Burke. “I’m done.”