I didn't mean to.

It really, truly wasn't my fault. I wasn't prepared for this, nor did anyone provide the proper training that would have guided me. I tried my best to stay completely neutral. I did everything I could to observe without interfering. That was my mission. It was the goal had in mind when I arrived. All I needed to do was learn what I could about Theseus Innit and get out. It was simply unfortunate that I met Tommy. The little worm now owned a place rent-free in my heart.

When I first arrived, our relationship was based on mutual respect and trust. Tommy was in the position where he couldn't afford to make waves, and I had some level of respect who rescued me from potential sexual harassment (though I could have handled it myself, it was the thought that mattered). It helped that we were coworkers, and I needed to keep a civil relationship with Tommy. That was supposed to be it. No escalation.

And then he smiled and laughed like a small child. He appealed to my maternal instincts even when he didn't know it.

It went like this. Two days after I arrived, Tommy had worked a near 20 hour shift. Fed up with his work addiction, Jack immediately sent him home. I agreed with Jack when the two started arguing in the lobby. Tommy begrudgingly went home. Jack sighed and told me that Tommy was a 'good kid' before heading downstairs to finish up the laundry Tommy had left going since it didn't expect to be sent packing.

Fifteen minutes later, Tommy had come back, saying he forgot something downstairs. I followed to make sure he wasn't lying and was actually here to work. When we opened the door, we were met with a room covered in white suds and a soapy Jack yelling at the washing machine to 'cut it out' and 'get a hold of yourself!'. The machine, in response, merely made a grunt-like noise as it spat out another wave of water and soap.

Tommy's laugh rang out, loud and pure and unbothered with life. His grin split his face, his eyes shutting on reflex and skin wrinkling. His body folded over as he gripped his stomach in painful merriment. It was infectious because I was giggling at his side a few seconds later, gasping for breaths in between each laugh as my face turned red. Jack huffed and puffed at them before he was repressing a smile that threatened him. Jack eventually gave in, his face lighting up beneath the white suds, red from embarrassment and happiness.

We spent the next hour cleaning up the room while joking and playing with each other. I didn't mean to get attached, but here they were, Jack and Tommy, two people that I would now swear were my brothers if asked. Tommy was bubbly, social, perceptive, and extremely caring. He could be annoying and dramatic, but I like to think I have the patience of a saint. Jack was more subdued, but he had that same passion that drove him into action. I could tell somehow that Jack was burning on the inside, a fire threatening to take him over. Similarly, Tommy could be so distant at times and with certain subjects, a complete isolating shut-off. I wanted to help them. I wanted to make them laugh like they did before every day that I was allowed to stay.

I decided that I would stay. At least until Phil called me back in for a new mission. I was sure that neither Tommy nor Jack were spies. Tommy wasn't a spy because he spent so much time working here that it wasn't a cover. I ruled out Jack when I found he wasn't flaunting or hiding his power. He wore his glasses thick with suppressing capabilities. Jack wasn't going to tell anyone about his powers, but if they knew, they knew. The two of them couldn't have been teammates considering how little they knew about each other, but they still had the instinct to argue like cats and dogs. I equated them with brothers, almost long-lost brothers.

So, you understand that this was all pure accident.

—

"Tommy! I brought cookies! Fresh out of the oven!" Niki yelled as she opened the door. She was met with silence. Niki looked around to see an empty room. Jack wasn't at the counter, and the sign on the door said that the hotel wasn't accepting check-ins at the moment. Niki shivered as she wondered what had happened while she had been gone. Tommy and Jack never left their posts unless it was for an important reason. Their breaks never overlapped, either, for fear of Drunkard finding out they took breaks.

"Niki?" Someone said coming from the back room. It was Jack, with his signature glasses on, the suppression charms somehow thicker than before. When Jack was a few feet from her, she could see his tear stained cheeks. His powers were itching to activate- whatever they were- and it was no doubt because of the strong emotions he was clearly feeling.

"Jack, what happened? Where's Tommy? Where's the boss?" Niki asked as she grabbed Jack's arms, the box of cookies shuffling against his skin. Jack didn't even flinch. "Why are you crying?"

"I- Niki- something- well..." Jack trailed off after stumbling over his words. "You know how there's that rule about no pets, under any circumstance? Even service animals because Boss doesn't understand the legal system?"

"Yeah..." Niki said slowly, not liking where this was going. She was aware that Tommy had hid an animal from Drunkard. Niki knew who that pet was. She wasn't close friends with him, but Niki knew Sam well enough to have met Fran before.

"Remember how that guy with green hair, Sam something-or-another, brought his dog? And Tommy snuck the dog in when the boss wasn't looking?" Jack was breathing heavily. He was getting worked up, and she could see that his eyes were misting over again.

"A foolish but morally acceptable decision," Niki agreed with a nod. Niki didn't like how Sam and Fran were treated, and was absolutely pissed when the boss badmouthed Fran and by extension, Sam. Niki had affectionately scolded Tommy when she discovered what had happened.

"Boss found out. He took the dog to the roof. I followed him up there, and he told me to call Tommy. I did. The two started arguing, and eventually, Boss threw the dog off the roof," Jack fumbled for a while before he was done.

"He did what?!" Niki screeched through clenched teeth. If she had anger problems with Drunkard before, Niki was facing a whole new monster dealing with the truth of what he was truly capable of. The worst part was that Drunkard wasn't a villain or a hero, meaning Niki couldn't do anything about him until he messed with the Syndicate's business.

"Tommy jumped off the roof to save the dog." Jack seemed hesitant to speak the words. His eyes had faded from the rage before to something despondent.

"He did what?" Niki whispered, anger drained away as she said the same sentence very differently than before. In any other situation, it might have been hilarious how the two sentences were said in such different tones and ways. One was an angry half-scream while the other was a somber whisper of realization and delusion.

"The dog owner, Sam, was walking by 'cause the kitchen is his to fix. He told me that he was taking Tommy to the hospital and taking his dog," Jack continued. "There was so much blood. And he was pale like I've never seen him before. I- I think I blacked out. I don't know."

"Hey, hey, calm down. It will all be fine, alright?" Niki swore as she pulled Jack into a hug. If only she could believe the lies she told... "Have you called the police yet?"

"Don't worry about that, I've already called." He had the audacity to show his face in front of Niki. She was two seconds away from pummeling her boss into the ground. She refrained because it would have been Tommy's job to clean it up.

"Why would you call the police? You threw the dog off the roof," Jack said quietly in confusion and pure fear. Niki's eyes widened as she came to the same conclusion. She didn't like that smile the boss wore as he took a sip of the beer bottle.

"Don't worry about that. The fuzz will tell ya when they get here," The boss slurred with barely contained laughter. Niki held onto Jack's arms with a death grip, pushing him behind her. If push came to shove, Niki had years of martial arts training while Jack seemed to be suppressing his powers.

After agonizing seconds, the hotel doors were pushed open by the men in blue. Niki smiled at them, but her grin dropped when they roughly grabbed Jack instead of the boss. Niki reached for Jack, but she froze when one of the men said, "Jack Manifold, you are under arrest for the attempt murder of Tommy Innit."

"Wait. What? He's innocent!" Niki reached for Jack, but she was shoved away by an officer. Jack was being dragged away to the cop car while the boss had disappeared to some back alleyway to escape Niki's wrath. She was now fighting against several officers who didn't know when to stay down to get to Jack.

Niki shoved them all to the ground as she ran outside the hotel. She tried chasing after the cop car with Jack inside it, but it sped away from her, making any attempt pointless. Niki stopped on the road. Niki's eyes began to burn, and her nose twitched funnily. It started raining on Niki.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

You guys last chapters: Drunkard has reached a new level of low
Me: H A! Bold of you to assume I can't make Drunkard worse