CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
conning the police

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WHEN SHE WOKE UP, there were only two days before the end of the world. Two days before Armageddon would sweep over her, consuming her in a million ways. Two days before Nadine Vidal and everything she loved was lost, and humanity's imprint was swept away. Two days before the world turned into a desolate wasteland, barren of any life, a shell of a planet with the ghosts of what could've been.

It wasn't a very pleasant thought to open her eyes to, but as Nadine woke up with a crick in her neck and her jacket tucked neatly over her shoulders, a sense of purpose imbedded into her regardless. Time was running out—indeed, in two days, if she didn't do anything, the world would be consumed. But she had a chance. She had to try, even if she failed. She wouldn't just sit by and let the apocalypse rage on without lifting a finger.

She blinked, coming fully to consciousness and realizing that she was no longer on the rainy highway. Instead, she was in the heart of a leafy green forest, a quiet road with nature spread around it. The car wasn't moving, either; instead, it was pulled in front of a quaint little cottage with Jenkins scrawled across the mailbox. As Nadine rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stretched out her neck, Allison, who'd been flipping through the Jenkins police file, turned to her, her lips spreading into a tired smile. "You're awake," she said. There were heavy bags weighing down her eyes.

Nadine looked to the cottage, and at the sunlight that streamed through the trees. It was daytime. "Did you drive all night?" she asked Allison after a minute, guilt flooding through her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep, I—"

"Don't worry about it, Nadine," Allison responded quickly, cutting her off. "You needed your rest. And besides, I slept, too. I didn't want to, but I had to pull over for a few hours." A yawn spilled past her lips, and Nadine got the sneaking suspicion that however long Allison had slept for, it hadn't been enough. "But, anyway, we're here. This is the address on the Jenkins file."

Nadine exhaled. This was it.

"A cabin in the woods," she noted, unbuckling her seatbelt. "In the middle of nowhere. Fantastic."

"I know," said Allison. "But we have to do this. We have to find Vanya and Harold."

Nadine nodded. Her hands tightened into fists.

Her mouth tasted horrible, so she took a few minutes to rinse it with a bottle of water she'd brought along for the ride. Then she stretched out the kinks in her limbs and stepped out of the car, her heart thudding with anticipation.

Immediately upon stepping outside, she was accosted by all sorts of nature sounds she couldn't find in the city—the chirping of birds, the drum of a woodpecker, the croaking of frogs from the nearby lake. She had to admit the sounds were a refreshing change, along with the cool breeze that swept gently across her cheeks, but this was exactly what she'd been afraid of. Harold's grandmother may have lived in this place for solitude, to get away from the world, but she doubted Harold himself had such innocent motivations. She looked around, finding nothing but green anywhere she looked. The closest neighbours must've been miles away.

Too far to hear any screams.

The thought made her heart beat harder. "Let's go," she told Allison, who was idling by apprehensively, staring up at the cottage with trepidation. "Let's get Vanya away from this motherfucker."

Nadine really, really hoped Vanya was here. Not that she was looking for a confrontation with Harold (though, to be honest, if she did come across him, she knew she would make him beg for mercy) but because she wanted to get her friend home safely. Vanya's impact on Nadine wasn't something she could explain—she'd only known her for a week—but, like the other Hargreeves, she'd latched onto Nadine's heart and hadn't let go.

Nadine didn't want her to let go.

Allison and Nadine didn't end up going through the front of the cottage—instead, they went to the side. The Jenkins cottage was built on a slant, so Nadine and Allison found themselves under the cottage's deck, a rustic place packed full of piles of logs and an intricately crafted miniature model of the cabin above. Nadine's height proved to be a hindrance here, as she had to stoop down the entire time, and by the time she turned the corner and could straighten up again, there was an ache blooming in her back.

They walked up to the side of the cottage, which had a wall lined with windows. Allison grabbed onto the sill of one, looking through the gauzy curtain into the interior of the house, her body tense as if she expected Harold to jump out of the shadows. Nadine was just moving to another window when a bird flew right by her face. She stumbled back, her heart skyrocketing in her chest, and put a hand over her heart. "Shit," she hissed. Her nerves were definitely on edge today.

Allison seemed similarly shaken, but she recovered her bearings quickly, turning to Nadine. "Vanya's violin case is in there," she said. "She must've been here. Maybe she still is."

But a thorough search of all the windows in the cabin proved that wherever Vanya was, it wasn't here. Frustration built up in Nadine's chest, and as she stared through the first window to see Vanya's violin case resting idly on a table, the feeling exploded through her. Harold Jenkins always seemed one step ahead of them, and she couldn't help but wonder if this would stay a wild goose chase, constantly following Vanya's trail but never actually finding her.

With a cry of irritation, Nadine struck out, her fist colliding with the cottage. Pain burst through her hand (which happened to be the one she'd injured all those days ago, when Five had first made an appearance), and as the wood splintered slightly, Nadine stepped back, sinking down to the ground and cradling her hand.

Allison stepped towards her. "Nadine? You okay?"

"I just—Harold could be doing anything to Vanya, and we have no idea where she is. She could be in real danger, and we're always one step behind."

"I know," said Allison, extending a hand to help Nadine to her feet. Nadine took it, albeit a little reluctantly, and let her friend heave her back up. "I'm worried, too. But we don't have any more leads. I... I think we should go back to the Academy and regroup with everyone there. Klaus, Luther... maybe we'd work better as a team."

Nadine looked back to the cabin. "Shouldn't we wait for Vanya to get back?"

"What are we even going to do if she does? We came running here without a plan, and if we're going to confront the guy who literally ends the world, we're going to need one. Listen, I don't want to leave Vanya either, I really don't, but we need the others."

Allison's point was valid, but the urge to stay behind and wait for Vanya's return still filled Nadine's chest. She was thinking it was possible for her to do this on her own—she'd approach them before they got to the front door, show Vanya the file and explain what she'd learned about Harold, and then take down the world-ender—but that was her old self talking. She'd always been one to rush through things alone, to push other people away. But she couldn't do that this time. The world was ending, and if she died now, the chances of saving it were even lower.

"Okay," she said eventually, dusting off her clothes. "Let's go back."

Hang in there, she told Vanya, following Allison back to the car. We're going to find you.

"HEY, THIS IS Vanya Hargreeves, leave a message."

"Vanya, it's Nadine. I don't know where you are and if you're safe or not, but please, please, if you get this message, call me back. There's something big going on and I'm worried about you."

"Hey, this is Vanya Hargreeves, leave a message."

"I know you told me you don't bring your phone with you everywhere, but I'm hoping you'll pick it up just this once. There's something I need to tell you... about Leonard. And I promise it's not unwarranted, it's just... I can't explain it to you here. Please just call me back."

"Hey, this is Vanya Hargreeves, leave a message."

"Hi. Nadine again. I was about to apologize for sending you so many messages, but then I remembered the rule we made, so... no apologies. I'm just... I'm terrified, Vanya, and listening to your voice—even if it is prerecorded—and talking to you... I don't know. It makes you seem like you're not so far away."

"Hey, this is Vanya Hargreeves, leave a message."

"Okay. Last one. Maybe. I've been in the car for like two hours, and my chest is so fucking tight. I'm not used to... all of this, like, opening my heart or whatever. I used to cut people off all the time, but... I don't know. Maybe I'm realizing that's not a very helpful... euh, what's the phrase... coping mechanism. But now... well, I don't want to tell you over a message what's going on. I mean, if you actually end up listening to these, if you're still—you know, here—I don't want to overwhelm you. Just call me back, please."

"Hey, this is Vanya Hargreeves, leave a message."

"We're stuck in traffic right now, heading back to the Academy. I'm with Allison, and we've been looking for you since yesterday. I don't know where you are and if you're okay. I don't know if you'll ever listen to these. And I know we haven't known each other that long, but I miss you, okay? Your siblings do, too. I know they haven't treated you the best, but they do love you. And they want you to come home."

IT HAD BEEN AN hour, and the car had barely moved from its spot in the middle of a line of traffic. The honking of car horns overlapped with the harmony of nature, and although most people caught in the jam had gotten out of their vehicles to stretch their legs and investigate the cause, Nadine, who had her feet propped up on the dash as she flipped through a magazine, and Allison, whose white-knuckled hands still clutched the steering wheel, hadn't. Nadine had given up on calling Vanya—it was obvious she wasn't going to respond—and was trying to distract herself with gossip on celebrities she'd barely heard of. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. Her gaze kept moving from the pages to the window, and she had to reach each sentence of the magazine at least five times for it to go through. It didn't help that her stomach was still twisted up in knots, and that she'd run out of water an hour ago.

As they inched their way through the line at a snail's pace, Nadine's eye suddenly caught on a police car, which was parked at a restaurant at the corner. Its lights were flashing red and blue, and at the sight of it, Nadine exchanged a meaningful look with Allison. Both of them knew that it was a longshot that whatever had gone down here had any connection to Vanya, but it didn't matter. Vanya had been around this area, and that was enough.

She didn't even need to vocalize her thoughts to Allison—she was already unbuckling her seatbelt. Nadine followed, finally sliding out of the car. Her legs were a little wobbly from disuse, and she had to stretch them out a little before heading up to the scene, chewing on her nails in anticipation.

Yellow police tape sectioned off a café and a restaurant, stretching over an area where the crime must have taken place. Nadine followed Allison to a sign advertising pancakes, and was in for a surprise when she arrived—because looped around the light attached to the display was a white and blue scarf. As Allison pulled it off, examining the fabric, Nadine realized she recognized it. Her eyes slid to Allison's again.

"Vanya," the two of them said in sync, recalling her wearing it the morning she was going for breakfast with Leonard—Harold. Nadine's hands curled into fists, and she looked back to the police tape. She had to figure out what was going on here.

Allison began ducking under the fluorescent line, but just as Nadine did the same, an unfamiliar voice rang out. "Hey. Pardon me, ladies. Hey, I gotta ask you to stay behind the lines, there. We had an accident here last night."

A police officer, his badge gleaming on his chest, came striding up to them, and Nadine clenched her jaw. He had a big mustache, close-cropped sandy hair, and was shorter than both Nadine and Allison. Nadine figured she could probably bench-press him with one arm.

She looked past him, observing the parking lot, which was full of other police officers and detectives examining the scene—the scene Vanya had been present at. The truth of what had happened was mere feet away, and this fucking police officer thought he could stand between her. She began to flex her fingers, conjuring up an image to scare him away, but Allison interrupted her train of thought by speaking.

"A—what kind of accident?"

"Ma'am. The line, please."

Allison held up a hand. "Okay. Yes. Sorry." She urged Nadine to follow her, and the two of them ducked back beneath the line of tape, standing up in front of the thin protection to face the officer again.

The officer waved his hand in a gesture to the crime scene. "Got a lot of stuff on the ground, okay? To be wary of."

"What happened?" Nadine asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, we're still trying to figure that all out. As soon as we do, you'll be able to read it in the newspaper along with everybody else, okay? So, have a nice day."

He waved his hand again, a clear dismissal, and Nadine bristled, rigid with anger. She was just opening her mouth to tell him to shove his hostility right up his ass when Allison took off her sunglasses. "Look, officer, if there is any way—"

"Holy shit!" The officer threw his hands up in surprise when he saw Allison's face, the professionalism melting from his own. "You're Allison Hargreeves, right? I saw you on TV like two nights ago in that Sandra Bullock movie about the underpaid teachers that rob a bank."

"Yeah, that's me," said Allison, chuckling slightly. The officer's eyes widened, looking completely starstruck.

"Oh, wow. Hey. If I'm being honest, my wife and I, we prefer you in the romantic comedies. The Love on Loan trilogy. We can't get enough."

Nadine cleared her throat, taking the officer's attention off of Allison. He looked to her as if he'd forgotten she was even there, and she curled her hands into fists, a snarl beginning to form at her lips.

Allison must've noticed the look, as she set a comforting hand on Nadine's shoulder. The police officer just blinked, seeming to sense the hostility in the air, and then asked, "Uh... who's your friend?"

"Nadine Vidal. Nice to meet you." With a tight smile, Nadine stuck out her hand for the officer to shake, although she really would've rather done anything else. She wasn't exactly the police's biggest fan.

The officer stared at it for a minute, and he was finally lifting his hand to reluctantly take it when the radio at his shoulder sparked to life.

"Copy, Cheddar?"

He grabbed it gratefully. "Yeah, what do you got, Fred?"

"Hospital called. Perp from last night just regained consciousness."

"Copy that," said Cheddar. "I'll be right over." He turned off his radio and chuckled to himself, his face turning starstruck again. "Allison freakin' Hargreeves. Wow. Ah, my wife's not gonna believe it." He paused for a moment, staring at Allison in awe, and then he seemed to remember that he did, in fact, have a job to do. "Anyway, I-I-I... I gotta go. Um... Work Stuff. Yeah."

"Yeah, of course," said Allison. "Sorry." But as Cheddar crawled under the tape to head to his police car, she followed. "Actually, that's... why we're here. I'm—I'm researching a role. A law enforcement role." She gestured to Nadine. "And this is... my assistant, Nadine."

Nadine nodded, grateful for the excuse. "That's me."

Cheddar had latched onto another thing Allison had said, though. "You're researching in Jackpine Cove? We haven't had a murder here in years."

Allison gestured with her sunglasses as she fabricated her story. "Oh, uh... it's about, um... a small-town cop who takes down a drug cartel. In fact," she continued, with just the right bit of reluctance, "maybe we could tag along while you conduct some official police business? I promise... we won't get in the way. I just... I think you could really, um... help me develop my character, if I could live a day in the life, you know."

Nadine looked to Allison, impressed. Allison had fabricated the story from nothing, but even Nadine, who knew the real reason they'd come here, almost believed it. No wonder Allison was an actress. Rumoring or no Rumoring, she was pretty damn good at it.

"Day in the life, huh?" Cheddar repeated after a moment, nodding. "Eh... come on. Follow me."

Bingo. Nadine shot a grin to Allison, who smiled modestly back. But she'd done it. She'd gotten them a ticket to finding out what happened last night, at the accident Vanya had been a part of. It seemed like Nadine was collecting pieces of a puzzle every time she discovered a clue about her friend's whereabouts, and she hoped she could put them all together in time.

There were two days before the world ended. Nadine hadn't expected to spend one of them conning a police officer. But this week seemed bent on surprising her.

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HAVEN: friendly reminder that all of my ocs are anti-police 😊 i've had people try to defend cops in the comment section of my fics before, and i just have to let you know that it won't be tolerated. black lives matter, all cops are bastards, and that's that :)

thanks for reading <333