|1| Whatever It Takes || Code 8: Connor Reed

14. Adjustments

"Are they always like this?" Pav asked as she was silently holding out Victoria's phone and her earbuds back to her, which Victoria took with a small smile on her face.

"That kind of just depends on who you are asking about it." Victoria replied as Connor and Garrett continued to bicker in the front seats of the car. "But, yeah. Usually. Except sometimes, it can become a lot more violent than this." Victoria explained.

"So, I'm confused. You and Garrett are related, but you look nothing alike and you are on the completely opposite sides of this fight of ours." Pav pointed out and Victoria glanced at her with a sigh, before she nodded.

"It's complicated. It is a very complicated story, and to make it slightly shorter... We share the same father. I got my Class 5 Hydrokinetic powers and the status from my mother, while Garrett is a currently unclassed TK from our dad's abilities." Pav nodded in understanding.

"But whereas I chose to get out of the life that has ripped so many families apart and thereby, trying to help others to do the same like Connor for one clear example... Garrett, well, he decided to throw himself into the life of being a Pyske runner and, this is who he is now." Victoria finished.

"Could I come and live with your group then? Once this stuff is all over and just entirely done with?" Pav asked and Victoria smiled, looking down at her and she was nodding.

"Yeah Pav, absolutely. If that is really what you want, then you can absolutely come and live with me and my... Well, they started out as a team, but they are so much more like a family to me now." Victoria said and then Pav was surprising Victoria, by giving her a tight hug.

Victoria chuckled softly, before she was returning the gesture and Pav continued to hug her.

Garrett's phone rang out and Victoria was lifting her eyebrows and Garrett picked up the phone. "Who is this?" He asked.

"It's Jordan." Connor glanced over his shoulder at Victoria, who looked just as surprised as he felt, that Jordan had Garrett's number. "It doesn't really look like King's home yet, but there is still a car in the driveway. Maybe his family is home?" Jordan guessed.

"That actually makes getting into the house, a lot easier for us. Can you do your cell phone and communications trick, to buy us more time once you have seen King pulling up?" Garrett asked.

"Yep, will do." Jordan said before she was hanging up the phone and Victoria shook her head slightly.

"Garrett, why the fucking hell does Jordan Carter of all of my people have your phone number?" Victoria asked.

"I have had to pull her out of some police-related dicey situations before, when she was going through an episode but my question is... Why does it bother you so much?" Garrett asked and Victoria clenched her fist at her side, before she said nothing and she was looking at the floor.

"Look, we get in, we get the dog, we get out..." Connor was saying.

"But nobody gets hurt, right?" Garrett interrupted him and Connor turned to look at him. "Heard that before." He said coldly.

"If I remember what happened correctly Garrett, your greed was the cause of every person getting hurt. Including Griff Jones, who lost his older brother." Victoria stated coldly and Garrett went silent, but Victoria could see that he was absolutely seething and then, she could actually sense it too.

Once his heart rate sped up considerably and his blood was pumping at a faster rate, she could tell that he was getting angrier.

"Careful, Garrett. We really wouldn't want you to have a heart attack while driving or anything like that, right?" Victoria asked and the threat in her voice, it was anything but subtle and Garrett was parking the car.

Victoria caught onto Connor's arm, before he got out of the car and he glanced back at her. "Remember that this is Garrett. Don't trust him to keep his cool." Victoria said and Connor was nodding quickly, before she let him go and then, Connor was getting out of the car and he walked across the road to the doorway.

"You really like him a lot, don't you?" Pav wondered and then, Victoria looked back and over her shoulder at her as she was getting into the driver's seat.

"Apparently, Jordan has been lying to me again about just how obvious I have been making it." Victoria muttered and Pav laughed, before she shook her head. "Just between you and me, am I actually, really that obvious?" Victoria asked.

"Nope. But it would be rather nice for everybody, if both of you could just stop dancing around whatever subject is so damn awkward for you guys and just make up already." Pav said and Victoria was looking at her, before she sighed again at the words.

"I don't think that it's really a subject that will do either of us any good to talk about, it might very well just make everything worse." Victoria admitted.

"Well... What if you talked to me about it?" Pav hesitantly asked and Victoria was looking at her in the rearview mirror. "I mean maybe if you talk it out with me, you would eventually find it easier to talk it out with Connor?" Pav pointed out hesitantly, absolutely afraid that Victoria was going to snap.

"Has anybody ever in your life, ever told you just how damn smart you are?" Victoria wondered.

"My older brother Tarak... And then, now, you just did as well." Pav admitted and she was reaching forward, grabbing Victoria's hand in her smaller one.

"Get down." Victoria said and Pav ducked underneath the seat, while Victoria put her headphones in and she was facing away from the house and then, Kingston pulled up to the house.

Victoria glanced across the road to see Jordan, whose hand was glowing green and in a few minutes, every single method of communication went dark.

"All right, Plan House, Phase One of Two, that is complete." Victoria said and then she was looking at Pav, who was suddenly looking a whole lot more nervous than before about her part of the plan.

"Hey Pav... Do you want me to come in there with you?" Victoria asked and then, Pav was looking at her, before she nodded slowly at the words. "Okay then." Victoria said softly and they were both getting out of the car.