Bad Blood ~Rewrite~

Twenty-Seven

Snow fluttered down from the sky, sending the city into a total white out. Caitlyn stood at the dust covered old window and stared out at the weather, her mind racing wildly as a million thoughts ran through her head.

"Patrol duty?" A sudden voice called out behind her. She jumped lightly and turned to see a tall man that she hadn't been properly introduced to yet. He held in his hands a cup of steaming hot tea. He had salt and pepper hair and worry lines tracing his otherwise young face. Caitlyn couldn't make a proper guess to his age. Could he be thirty? Forty? Fifty? Maybe even older. Then another thought occurred to her that she didn't even know how old Thomas was. "Are you alright?" The man asked in a deep British accent. Caitlyn shook herself from her thoughts and gave him a forced smile.

"Sorry," she muttered softly. "Just kind of off in my own thoughts. There's not much to watch for from this floor today," she admitted, looking back into the blizzard.

"Thought I'd come up and keep you company," he said, offering her the mug of tea. "Besides, we haven't been formally introduced, and I, for one, think we should all be at least semi acquainted if we're all going to be on the same team. I'm Benedict. Just call me Ben." Caitlyn graciously accepted the cup of tea and gave him a thankful smile.

"I'm Caitlyn," she responded softly.

"I've heard a lot about you," Ben said quietly, settling his gaze on the weather outside. "Your story is quite remarkable."

"It is?" She asked, leaning against an old discarded desk near the window.

"I've known Johnny and his nephew for a very long time," he responded softly. "In fact, I watched him raise the boy into what he is today, and never in my life would I have ever thought that I would live to see Nick disobey him..." Caitlyn felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she looked down at the floor.

"I don't know that he's disobeyed Depp at all-"

"The boy is a trained assassin. He was told to kill you, yet you're still alive... and Johnny allowed it even. Again, never in my life have I watched Johnny change his mind about an order... when he puts a mark on someone, that's the end for them. At least... it used to be."

"What are you saying?" Caitlyn asked, running her finger over the edge of the mug as she nervously bit the insides of her cheeks.

"I don't know. I just find you remarkable. What is it about you that makes the both of them weak? They both in their own strange ways care about you."

"I never asked them to," she muttered softly. "At least... not Depp."

"I'm sorry for everything you've lost. I can't imagine the pain of your transition into the company... learning that the person that you thought you loved most in the world isn't at all who you thought they were is... world shattering. You're handling it better than most."

"Sometimes I wish I had never met Nick," she whispered softly. "Sometimes I wish I hadn't been dragged into this at all."

"Only sometimes?" Caitlyn let out a soft breath and shook her head, turning to look at the older man.

"Yes. Only sometimes... because if I hadn't met him, I would have never found my brother. I never would have met Thomas... and I never would have known the injustices happening right under my nose."

"Sometimes, even the worst things to happen to us in life can lead to the best things."

"I just wish the group trusted me more." Ben let out a short laugh at the girls words and shook his head.

"I'm sorry... I'm not laughing at you. I just understand how you feel." Caitlyn let out a soft scoff and looked back at the ground.

"What? They don't trust you because you nearly married the enemy? Small world." Ben let out a chuckle and leaned next to Caitlyn on the desk.