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"What took so long?" Bellamy looks down at Frenchie as he exits the restaurant he met Cherie in for gas to knock out the runaway girl.

"Oh, you know." He rubs his wrist. "Women."

Bellamy snorts. "Tell me about it."

Frenchie chuckles. "I'm surprised Cassius hasn't killed one of us already."

Bellamy raises his brows in agreement. But having them live in their own tortuous guilt was a punishment worse than death.

Til death do us part.

And maybe even in death will Cassius Mallory haunt Bellamy Butcher...

For all eternity.

In this lifetime, and maybe even the next.

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Cassius and M.M. wait in the van in tensed silence. Butcher's taking a call, Hughie is on his date with Starlight, and tweedle fucking dee and dumber were out for a moment, leaving just the two.

The last two to join.

"If you have something to say, just say it." Cass rolls her head from the side to look forward, pointedly at M.M.

He raises both hands up off his legs. "Mhmm, no ma'am. No smoke here."

Cass angels her gaze down. "Come onnn." She eggs on. "You're allowed to speak freely." She shrugs, throwing her hands up.

M.M. rears his head back before cracking up. "And have your ass break my nose?"

Cass chuckles, smiling proudly to herself. She wishes she would've broke it.

"Alright." M.M. sighs, sitting up. "Why'd you come back, Cassius? You were out."

"Ah." She lets out, picking at her nails. There it is. "Well, why'd you come back then?" She glances up at him. "Hmm? Go ahead." Her eyes move back down.

He clears his throat. "Butcher said this time would be different."

She lets out a cold laugh. "And you believed him?" She clicks her tongue. "Oh, M.M., you're even more naive than I thought."

"Hey, we're making progress." M.M. tells her. "We can make a real different this time."

"Right." She smirks, leaning forward. "And that's what he told you. Told you I wouldn't be here either, yes?"

M.M.'s gaze shifts down.

"He's a liar." Cass says. "They both are." She inhales sharply through her nose, making a loud effort to exhale. "It runs in their blood. They know nothing else."

M.M. lets out a scoff. "Yeah, well if that's what you believe then why'd you even come back? Hmm? Cause I know the motherfucker ain't offer you no money." He leans forward, disappointment evident on his face. "You were out, free."

"Free?" She echo's the word. "What gave that illusion?"

No. The only true freedom is death.

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Butcher, Cass, Bellamy, M.M., and Frenchie arrive at a nail salon where the girl they let loose murdered a woman in the back.

"Ohh, look at this." Butcher emphasizes as he opens the door. Two officers by the door turn to look at them. Bellamy and M.M.'s eyes move straight access to the floor as Cass scans the room.

"You got here fast." One of the officers steps over.

"Yeah, it was on the squawker." Butcher tells him.

"What's with the accent?" The officer asks.

Bellamy immediately looks the officer up and down, his arms across his chest.

"What's with yours?" Butcher fires back.

Cass pops her neck side to side as she moves over to one of the nail techs, M.M. taking the other one. She begins speaking in Tagalog to communicate with the woman, effortlessly exercising one of the many languages she can speak.

M.M. also being familiar with the Tagalog language, interviews the other worker. Once Cass is informed that they saw the girl that murdered the lady about a year prior, she makes her way to the back to examine the body.

"It's a gang hit." One of the officers appears behind Butcher, holding out a coffee for him.

"A gang hit?" Butcher rises to his feet. "And who told you that, eh?"

She pumps the breaks when she sees A-Train pacing in the back room, and veers off to the left. Damn it! She squeezes her fists together, reframing from kicking the wall.

"I'm not arguing with him." The officer tells Butcher, pointing behind him to A-Train.

Butcher turns to find the Supe talking to a female officer as she's taking notes.

"I'm looking into it." A-Train nods to the officer. M.M. raises his head up in horror at the voice. He quickly puts his sunglasses on and heads out the door.

"You find it?" Bellamy asks, standing behind Frenchie, looking at the long wall of polish before he notices Cass circling around to leave out of the corner of his eye.

"Cheers, mate." Butcher tells the officer, tapping Frenchie's shoulder as he walks by and nods towards the door just as Bellamy looks over at him.

Bellamy reaches over Frenchie's shoulder to the missing space in the row of blue and Frenchie takes the polish out of his pocket and returns it to the shelf, squinting in thought.

Sunglasses on, Bellamy and Frenchie breeze across the street to the van.

"A-Train saw me a fucking week ago." M.M. stresses to Butcher as they rejoin them.

"You two didn't get caught?" Cass crosses her arms. "Shame." She raises a brow, opening the van door.

Bellamy's jaw ticks as he goes around to the passenger side as Frenchie slides in.

"What if he made me?" M.M. points.

"He didn't see you." Butcher says firmly.

M.M. leans his arm against the door and takes off his glasses. "Listen, that's easy for you to say, Butcher, but I got people."

Cass leans forward over the console after Frenchie scoots across to the passenger seat closer to them.

"Oh? And I don't?" Butcher fires back. M.M. stares at him.

No, Bellamy thinks to himself, you don't.

Butcher glances at Bellamy over his shoulder as he waits behind him.

"Look, Vought don't send a Supe to do a gang hit, all right?" Butcher argues. "He was after the female."

Bellamy glances at Frenchie.

"Hey, who was the woman?" Frenchie asks, looking between Cassius and M.M.

M.M. allows her a moment to answer before gathering she's staying silent. "Roberta Cho, mother of four, loved Mexican food, and smuggled in a ton of immigrants from all over the Pacific." He lists off.

"Like our girl." Butcher concludes.

Bellamy raises his brows, that explains things... before his attention turns to the salon, as does Butcher's.

"A-Train, can I get a selfie?" A woman hollers. Several girls chatter excitedly as he exits the building before zooming off.

"That wanker can cover all of Manhattan in 30 minutes." Butcher says annoyedly. "He's gonna find her before we do."

"Will he?" Bellamy smirks as Frenchie shakes his head.

"No, he won't. I know where she's going." Frenchie declares proudly.

Cassius stretches her neck over his shoulder to see him holding out a piece of paper.

"Ah." She reaches over and plucks it from him, reading the small words. "Penn Station." She reads.

"Oui." Frenchie nods. "She's working her way backwards. She's trying to get home." He tells them.

Bellamy nods in his direction and Frenchie quickly slides back over to the driver's seat while everyone else gets in.

Cass stares down at the paper.

The 'female' thinks she's free now.

But no one ever is...

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0вυттєявιѕ¢υιт7 ѕρєαкѕ!

Hey, heyyy !! Welcome backkk ;)

I was so excited to write the scene between Cassius & M.M. when the conversation popped into my head & ahh!! I love ittt!! He's like the only one she doesn't truly hate his guts rn lmao, I'm excited for them as a duo!!

That conversation will DEFFF be revisited manyyy timesss. Also, the enddd>>> whewww, can't waittt for Cass & Kimiko to meet too, omggg!!

Anywaysss, hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!! Got a little deep with Cass this chappp & they're heading to Kimiko!! Also her alias being 'The Female' like legit from the comics & everything sends me lmao.

Don't forget to comment y'all's thoughts, questions, & reactionsss!! Until next time, mwauh!! <333