Collateral Damage ▻ Riverdale [1]

3.3

THE SECOND TIME AROUND
CHAPTER THREE

  That night, if you could even call it that, Queenie ended up not getting any sleep. Her and Sweet Pea didn't end up getting home until three in the morning and Queenie seemed to be acting severely touchy-feely with Sweet Pea, which the Tall Serpent didn't seem to mind at all, but his mind was still stuck on Queenie saying 'I love you' then forgetting she even said it.

  By ten o'clock that same day, Queenie and Jughead stood in the room with their father and his crappy lawyer.

  "You look like crap," Jughead whispered to his sister as they stood to towards the side of the room, "Did you get any sleep last night?"

  Queenie sighed, shaking her head in response. She barely got any sleep after getting home at three. She was wide awake and literally ate almost a whole jar of pickles after eating her whole plate of food at Pop's. Calling her hungry was an understatement.

  FP sat across from his lawyer in the dark room, his fist pressed against each other as he spoke, "Just talk about the damn deal." FP demanded sternly, clearly trying to keep his cool.

"First, let's review the charges you're facing: Arson, destruction of evidence, making a false confession, obstructing justice, not to mention this nasty mess of dumping a dead kid in the river." Thel lawyer explained and Queenie watched as her brother paced around the room.

  "I know what I did!" FP argued, "What's the deal? What are they offering?"

  The lawyer stared at him for a moment before sliding the notebook over to FP, "You're going to want to take it," He suggested, "I'm telling you, I've been doing this for a long time, it's a strong deal."

  Queenie glared at the man as she walked over and stood beside her father, "How. Many. Fucking. Years?" She asked him in low and threatening tone.

______

  "I went to see this lady called Snake Charmer, her name's Penny Peabody," Jughead informed her sister, which caused Queenie to look up shocked.

  They were both standing in their father's trailer. Queenie had stopped by there to pick up a pair of shoes she had forgotten there, "W-What did you just say?" She asked him with her eyes widened as she glared at him.

  Jughead became confused when she saw his sister's face, "I saw Penny Peabody. Tall Boy suggested I did to help Dad so I did." He explained contently.

   Queenie had gotten so frustrated that she grabbed her brother by the collar of his jacket and pushed him against the wall, "Please, Jughead, please tell me you didn't get involved with Snake Charmer!" She pleaded and Jughead could see the fear in her eyes.

  "I did, what's the big deal? She said we're friends, that because she helped me out, I would have to help her out one day." Jughead told her as if it were nothing.

   "Jughead, it's a really big deal! You don't want to get in bed with a snake charmer! Trust me, I would know! God, you're so stupid sometimes, Jughead." She sighed in frustration as she picked up her jacket from the couch and put it on before she opened the door.

  "Where are you going?" He asked confused.

  "To fix your damn mess." She answered before she left, heading in the direction of the tattoo parlor.

_____

Queenie entered the Tattoo Parlor on the Southside of town. She sent the tattoo artist, who was working on a client's arm, a smile before she headed toward the back of the building.

  She walked into Penny's dimly lit office to see the snake charmer sitting at her desk. She was looking down at the pile of forms in front of her until she felt a presence in front of her. Penny looked up to see the teenage Serpent standing before her, a cold look on her face.

  "Queenie Jones. Something told me I would be expecting you soon enough, what with your younger brother coming by earlier today," Penny greeted her with a smile, "He's nothing like you and your dad, that's for sure. He led right into the snake trap. And I expect you're here to take his place?"

   Queenie kept staring her coldly as she leaned on the doorframe, "You might have been able to get me roped into your deals awhile back, but no way am I letting you rope in my brother. He's my family and no way am I going to let him be manipulated by you, not when you did that same exact thing to me when I needed help," She explained before walking over to Penny's desk.

  Queenie leaned forward a bit as she roughly slammed her hands down on the wooden desk, "We're going to make a deal, Penny. And when we make this deal, you're going to leave my brother out of it. Understand?"

  Penny gave Queenie an amused smile as she stared up at her, "Okay. Fine by me. What's this deal?"

  Queenie walked backward a bit, away from the desk, "I'll do Jughead's favor and any more you'd like me to do to keep him out of it." She demanded.

  "I'm sensing a but?" Penny asked and Queenie nodded her head.

  "There is," She replied and Penny raised a brow at her, "I want my fair share of pay unlike last time, I'm due to have my kids in about three months, I still have a lot to buy. I might even need to rent a trailer for myself and I don't have money right now when I only work at Pop's twice a week. And I will not do anything that involves the Ghoulies. And I mean nothing, not Jingle Jangle and nothing that involves Malachi of any sort." Her voice became quieter when she mentioned the name of the Ghoulie leader.

  "Ah, heard about what went down. Does anyone other than your buddies know about that? Does your dad know?" She questioned the Jones girl curiously and Queenie gave her a glare.

  "Is the deal on or not?" Queenie asked, changing the subject immediately after Penny mentioned an event in her life that she tried her hardest to forget all about.

   "The deal's on, Queenie," Penny smiled, "And I will give you...forty-five percent of the money earned of the deals. Sound good?"

Queenie nodded her head in agreement before she turned around and headed out the door.