"Are you sure you want to do this?" Clancy asked. "I don't know, Florence...maybe you should talk to your parents about this. I'm not sure this is such a good idea. How about I turn this car around and we get some ice cream? Doesn't that sound like a better idea?"

"I'm sure." I cleared my throat, trying not to sound nervous. Clancy already doubted my plan. "No, I have to do this. It's the right thing, isn't it? I'm doing this for us, Clancy. For the Espresso House and my parents. My parents have no backbone. They're so terrified of Wolfe Sterling, they'd bend over backwards if he asked. I'm not going to let him do this. I can't, Clancy. I have to do this...right? It's the right thing, isn't it?" I asked again, freaking myself out a bit. "Right?"

"Baby, you do what you need to."

"What I need to do? I need to kill Wolfe Sterling. That's what I need to do. What I want to do is different."

"Unfortunately, murder is still illegal in the United States, so that's out of the question. So what exactly do you want to do, Florence?"

"I want help."

"Alright." Clancy said quietly. "If it helps, then I'm all for it. Just make sure you know what you're doing, Florence."

"I do." I sounded a lot more sure than I felt. Truth was, I had no idea if this was a good idea or not. Taking the standpoint from what position I was in, I hoped it would be worth it. What if it wasn't, though? I couldn't help but ask that question. Well, if it didn't work out the way I planned, then I was dead. Literally. I had no doubt that Wolfe would literally murder me in my sleep if he ever found out what I was doing before what I was doing actually fell into action.

What I was doing was the right thing...or so I hoped. Clancy was nice enough to take me. As we drove to the police precinct, my nerves increased in jitteriness. I could barely sit still. Other than for moral support, that was another reason I had asked Clancy to take me. I was too scared to even think straight, let alone operate a motor vehicle. Besides, she was the only one I could trust with this. It's not as if I didn't trust my parents. It was just that they would never agree to me doing something like this. Clancy was hesitant, but didn't argue. She didn't think it was a good idea even if she didn't come right out and say it. I was beginning to think that as well.

I couldn't take any more of Wolfe Sterling's egotistical personality and his friends. After Elliot Josiah joined them at the table, the Crowns spent exactly one hour and 23 minutes disturbing the peace, scaring the kids with sudden noises and exclamations, and smoking despite Clancy asking them not to several times until I finally lost my temper and forcefully confiscated all the cigarettes. Brice had accidentally knocked into a woman, causing her to spill a scorching hot cup of coffee all over herself, and Wolfe was generally being the dickhead that he is by making cracks at my short height and asking for refills when his water glass was clearly filled to the brim. After that terrible afternoon, I wouldn't be surprised if no one ever came back to the Espresso House. Our reputation was well on its way to being completely tarnished.

As if that wasn't enough, my mother and father did absolutely nothing about it. I don't know what Wolfe Sterling told them yesterday, but whatever it was, it had scared my parents enough to keep their mouths shut. They wouldn't tell me either. It "didn't concern me" was what I was told. I didn't have the energy or the courage to ask Wolfe about it but I doubted he'd even tell me.

If my parents weren't going to do anything about them, then I would. 

"Are you still set on doing this?" Clancy asked as she pulled up to the parking lot to the 71th Brooklyn police precinct. The bleary drab brick building matched the angry clouds that had been hovering over New York since yesterday night. There were a few cars on the parking lot and a nice little bench near a cluster of bushes. "Or have you changed your mind? The ice cream offer is still available."

"No, I...I want to do this." I took a deep breath, trying to pull myself together. There was no reason for the police to doubt me, right? I didn't exactly have evidence. But the desire to assist in putting away five high-class criminals was too nice of an idea to refuse. The Crowns destroyed the Lane Diner. I couldn't let them do the same to the Espresso House. Especially since yesterday, when I overheard Jasper and Dan talking about using the tunnels to harbor some packages that were most definitely illegal. "It's the right thing."

"It's the good thing, Florence." Clancy corrected as she stepped out of the car. I followed suite, my heart fluttering. "I'm not saying it's necessarily the right thing. How can you be so sure you're not just doing to make things worse for the business and your parents? Wolfe Sterling has a temper, my love. And it seems as though that temper is usually activated around you. He's already taken a dangerous attraction to you. Don't give him any reason to hurt you, Florence."

"Attraction?" I repeated in both morbid flattery and disgust. My stomach clenched at her words. We walked up to the doors and stepped inside. Following the front hallway, we stepped into the reception office where the commissary was speaking with several police officers dressed in the NYPD navy blue uniforms. To the right were temporary holding cells and to the left was the hallway that led to the locker rooms. Beside the police chief's office was the interrogation room. The station house was small, neat, and completely terrifying.

Posters and notices were pinned all around the room, stacks of paper and pamphlets waiting to be picked up by passersby. My eyes swept around the room, searching for a likeliness of the Crowns. There were several Wanted posters, but nothing that had Wolfe Sterling's gorgeous, infuriating, maddeningly handsome face on it. We stepped in line to the front desk behind a woman and her husband, who was crying.

"You do the talking and I'll stand by you and look pretty." I whispered to Clancy, my nerves finally getting the best of me.

"What?" She gasped, turning to give me a wild 'you're kidding me' look. "No way, Florence! This was your idea."

"Yeah, but I don't want to." I panicked, pulling out a bag of mini Twizzlers from my back pocket. Pulling one out, I began chewing furiously on the candy, trying to gather my composure before it completely slipped away. The woman and her husband were now talking to a female police officer standing behind the desk, who scribbled away on a notepad while the man described his child who was apparently lost and sobbing all at once. They were a mess.

"You don't want to?" Clancy repeated in a hushed voice. "What do you mean, you don't want to? You dragged me all the way out to this precinct, despite your parent's clear warning to stay quiet on the subject, and now you're getting cold feet? Florence, baby, you need to make sense of this before we go up there. And don't crinkle that candy bag, you're attracting attention."

"We should have made an anonymous call or something." I ate the last Twizzler, trying to swallow my nerves with the candy. Crushing the empty bag in my hands, I threw it at the trash can beside the desk...and missed. Embarrassed, I strayed away from Clancy to pick the bag up and throw it away properly while several people watched. Clancy rolled her eyes as I fell back into line. Wringing my hands desperately, I continued. "But I guess it's too late for that now. Um...you're gonna back me up on this, won't you?"

"Of course I will." Clancy said. And then she proceeded to nudge me oh so helpfully towards the desk. The couple had been directed to a different officer, and now the woman was describing what their son looked like since the man appeared to be no help at all.

"Yes?" The woman sitting behind the desk asked in a loud voice. She was sorting a cardboard box of manilla files and didn't look up when I stopped in front of her. Clancy hovered in the back, listening intently. The police officer had short black hair and brown eyes. She looked to be in her 40's, like Clancy, who was now, might I add, pretending to read though a pamphlet that said 'Is Your Spouse Planning To Kill You?'

She wasn't even married. 

Now, I have no shame in admitting that I don't know what to do in serious situations. I had a real knack for turning nice, normal events into very awkward ones. It was a curse, really. And with the arrival of the Crowns, my ability (or in this case, disability) to have proper reactions for certain situations was probably going to get me killed sooner or later. But this...this was one big fuckery that I could not take back.

"Um...I'd like to report a murder." 

As soon as the words felt my mouth, I cringed. Clancy looked up. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her stare at me dumbfounded. 

The police officer stared at me too. I guess not many people walked in to say very calmly that there was a homicide. And then, when she finally regained her composure, the woman cleared her throat and put down the folder. She picked up her notepad and poised her pen over it like I did when I was taking a customer's order. "Okay." She said. "When did this murder come to your attention?"

Flustered, I began to say whatever was in my head. "Uh...well, it came to my attention several days ago. On Sunday, I think. Well...not really. I guess, technically, um- I...yeah, Sunday. I made the decision to speak about it last night, though. Like, before I was going to sleep. I do a lot of thinking before I go to sleep...anyways- Sunday. Or wait, no. Tuesday. Definitely Tuesday. I remember, I was watching America's Got Talent. Do you watch that show? Man, I love that show."

Now, the police officer was starting to get suspicious. She put down the notepad and looked at me, and then to Clancy, and then back to me. Picking up her radio, the woman pressed a button and said into it, "Hartley, I need you at the front desk." Turning back to me, she leaned forward. "Ma'am, what is your name?"

I was sweating. "F-Florence. Remy. Florence Remy."

"Uh-huh." She nodded, writing it down on her notepad. "And whose death are you reporting?"

"Um-" I scratched my elbow nervously. "The death of my....parents career-"

"Okay." Clancy cut in before things had a chance to get any worse. The woman was now scribbling furiously on her notepad. Another police officer walked in and headed right towards me. Clancy grabbed my arm. "I apologize. She's delirious, she doesn't know what she's saying." Clancy whispered to the lady. "Okay, Florence. Come on. Let's go."

She dragged me away before the lady could ask any more questions. The lady and the other police officer named Hartley were whispering to each other, staring at Clancy and I as we stumbled away. Clancy pulled me all the way to the waiting lounge near the front doors. We plopped down on the leather seats.

"Murder?" Clancy whispered furiously. "Florence, what in God's name was that back there?"

"I don't know!" I threw my hands up in frustration. Now that we were away, I could finally analyze the hot mess I was back there. I sounded crazy. All of that careful planning and such a sloppy execution. "I was so nervous I couldn't think."

Clancy breathed out deeply. "Okay. Let's never try that again."

I placed my hand over my chest, feeling the erratic beating of my heart. Clancy glanced around before pulling me up to my feet. The station house doors were right in front of us. As we walked out, I looked back to see the lady and the same officer come out from the office. Before they could notice us, Clancy and I high-tailed it out of there. The cold afternoon air felt amazing on my flushed face.

"That was a mess." I shook my head, embarrassed. "I was so set on coming clean...I made things worse, didn't I? Now, the cops wouldn't believe me even if I did try this again. And Wolfe!" My heart pounded at the thought. "He's going to kill me when he finds out I tried to go to the police. And my parents! Oh my God, I'm going to faint. I'm going to pass out right here. Right here-" I mumbled, bending down to touch the ground. Maybe I was a bit delirious, as Clancy had said. I felt light-headed and it was making my vision swirl. "I'm so dead. I should just die right now so Wolfe won't have the chance to kill me...you're gonna have to report a murder this time..."

"Ice cream!" Clancy had to drag me all the way to her car because I was set on sitting down on the cold pavement and crying my eyes out. "Let's go get some ice cream, Florence-"

"And Twizzlers." I added, finding enough energy to slip into the passenger seat of her car. Closing the door behind me, I put my head down between my knees. I heard Clancy get in and start the engine. A minute later, we were back out on the road. I sat up, my cheeks flustered. "Thank you, Clancy. For coming with me. Even if I did fuck this all up-"

"Language!"

"-Even if I did heck this all up, I appreciate you taking me."

"Oh, Florence." Clancy sighed. "I don't know what to tell you. Sleep this off, okay? Tomorrow's a new day. Look on the bright side."

"What bright side?" I muttered. "There's no bright side to this. It's all dark."

"Y'know, I think that Wolfe is too fond of you to kill you." She offered. 

"Fond of me?" I repeated. The words tasted strange on my tongue. "The only thing Wolfe is fond of is destroying people's lives and fuc- hecking things up. He's not fond of me. Fond of my dead body, maybe. I'm a walking corpse right now. He's going to find out I tried to rat him out and then he's going to stab my sorry little butt- I guess I should probably start saying my goodbyes and writing out my will, shouldn't I? Well, I love you Clancy. Tell my parents I love them, too. And that it was me that ate all the Oreos last week even though I blamed Dad. Bury me with Twizzlers. Buy me a red coffin. Invite the inventor of Twizzlers over to my funeral, too. Maybe get a disco ball, as well-"

"Florence!" Clancy cut off my depressed rant. "Stop. You're not going to die. Wolfe Sterling is not going to find out about this, okay? I promise."

"He knows everything."

"He's not a god, Florence. He's a man."

"A dangerous one."

"He's not going to find out about this." Clancy repeated. We turned onto a residential street, a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn. The bridge was in the distance, getting closer. "The only way he would is if someone tells him. And the only two people who know about this are you and I, okay? I'll keep my mouth shut. I won't even tell your parents about this little adventure. You're not going to die, Florence. Don't think like that. Tomorrow is going to be as normal as it is everyday."

I shrugged. "Well, you know what they say about cliffhangers."