GUILTY AS SIN || HARVEY DENT X OC

01 | l'empoisonneur

i think he did it, but i just can't prove it.

***

The goddamn lighter isn't working.

"Son of a bitch," Mike mutters. He flicks the gear twice, and sparks shoot out each time, but none of them produce a flame. He sighs and gives up on having a smoke until he gets home, dropping the lighter back into his pocket and tucking the cigarette behind his ear for later.

He leans back against the hood of his parked car and looks up at the sky. It's overcast today, gray clouds rolling in over the tallest buildings in the city. Hopefully it doesn't rain before Pipes gets here- Mike doesn't have an umbrella.

He's just about to turn the car back on so he can find a decent radio station to listen to when he hears footsteps.

"Hey, man," Pipes says, sounding slightly out of breath. He rakes a hand through his shaggy brown hair, dragging it back from his face. "Sorry to keep you waiting, I had some shit going on."

"'S alright," Mike replies. "I was just worried I'd have to face your mystery client by myself."

He snorts. "You wouldn't have to. He'd see you all by your lonesome out here and run like hell."

"Yeah, about that, actually." Mike pushes off the car, straightening up. "You sure he's not gonna chicken out and call the cops? You know how I feel about the skittish ones."

"He won't," Pipes says, and sounds damn sure about it. Mike eyes him sideways, but doesn't voice his skepticism.

"Just because he really wants to kill his wife doesn't mean he'll actually go through with it," he says.

"I don't know, man. He had that look in his eyes."

"Oh, well, if he had the look."

Pipes smacks him in the shoulder. "Oh, shut up. It's the way Maroni looks when he's mad. Half blank, half absolutely fucking crazy."

"Jesus," Mike says, shoving his hands in his pockets. "It's always the quiet ones."

In the distance, a running car engine shuts off. A moment later, a man in a brown coat ducks into the alley, movements sharp and jerky with nerves. Pipes straightens up. 

"There he is," he says, almost to himself. Mike shoots him a look, but says nothing. 

The man isn't much taller than Mike, just at Pipes' height. He looks surprisingly well off- that coat sure as shit isn't from Goodwill. His sandy blond hair falls into his eyes for a second before he's brushing it aside, nervous hazel eyes darting from Pipes to Mike and back again. Mike looks for the thing in his face that makes Pipes so sure he's a killer- he isn't sure he's finding it. There's determination, sure, under all the nervousness, but he hardly looks crazy. 

"Jack," Pipes says. His voice is smooth and steady, as though he's luring a skittish stray animal in for food. "You doing alright, man?" 

The man, Jack, blinks, then nods. "Yes- yes, fine." He glances over at Mike. "I wasn't aware we'd have company." 

Mike can't help poking at him a little, a grin on his face. "Somebody's gotta come up with the goods," he drawls. "Let's face it, you ain't gettin' it anywhere else, unless you wanna go for good old rat poison." 

Jack flinches, and Pipes glares at Mike, cutting in to save the situation. 

"Sorry about him," he says soothingly, "He's not meant for polite company." (Mike rolls his eyes.) "Mike, give it to me." 

Mike hands over the small Ziploc bag of white powder and listens as Pipes gives the usual spiel about what it is and how it works. 

"Two pinches of it will do the trick," Pipes explains. "Don't put it in liquids, it'll turn it cloudy. Soup is fine, if it's tomato or something that isn't broth, you know? Solid foods are best, though. Go spicy if you want to be really careful about it." 

"Okay," Jack says, voice quiet. He takes the bag from Pipes and turns it over in his hands, rubbing his thumb over the plastic. "What should I do with whatever's left?" 

"Bring it back to me," Pipes says. "And, Jack, if you want to back out-" 

He shakes his head quickly. "No. No, I- thank you for doing this." 

Thank you for helping me kill my wife? Mike thinks to himself, but he doesn't want to get (more) involved with whatever weird moment Pipes and Mr. Mariticide have going on, so he keeps his mouth shut. 

Finally, Jack hands over a wad of cash, smiles awkwardly at the two of them, and leaves as quickly as he'd come. 

Mike turns to Pipes. "Okay, you wanna tell me what the fuck all that was about?" 

Pipes, who's counting the money, looks up as though this question comes as a surprise to him. "You saw him. He was liable to run off if I didn't take it easy." 

"I know taking it easy," Mike says incredulously, rounding the car to get into the driver's seat. "That wasn't it. You fucking coddled him, man." 

He sighs like he knows something Mike doesn't and gets in too, on the passenger side. "He told me he was nervous-" 

"Told, past tense?" 

"He called me the other night-" 

Mike's eyebrows shoot up. "You gave him your number? Are you outta your mind?" 

"He needed somebody!" Pipes exclaims, his cheeks beginning to flush. "And I was trying to lock down the sale, man, it wasn't anything weird." 

There are two options here- Mike can push it, and risk Pipes shutting up permanently on this subject, or he can let it go, for now. He chooses the latter. 

"Alright, alright," he says, waving it off. "Fine. He better not go to the cops, though." 

Pipes rolls his eyes. "It'll be fine. Listen, there's a Popeyes on the way back, wanna get a sandwich?" 

"Fuck yeah I do." 

***

pipes and mike The bff duo of all time. ik this is a slow start but trust me this plot is important :) our man harvey dent makes an appearance next chapter and it is CRAZY so hang on for that. love yall for giving this a shot, thank you for reading <3