"Are you sure you're OK?" Corrie asked.
"I'm fine, really," Genie said with a smile.
It had been a couple of weeks since her confrontation with Uncle Max in the Harbor, and her arm was healing nicely. Etta, having looked at it, had assured her it was a "through and through" as if having a bullet pass completely through her arm was a good thing. It turned out it was, given the alternative of shattering bone or severing an artery. The doctors were confident she would be fine, but her arm still hurt.
"Have they caught Max yet?" Jenny asked.
Jenny had been annoyed that Genie had left her behind, going off to confront Max 'alone' (ignoring the fact that she'd had Etta, Jake and the Evergreen Harbor werewolves with her). Genie 'getting herself shot' only proved to Jenny that she should have been there. It added to the list of reasons the actress was eager to see her ex behind bars.
"No, they're still searching for him," Genie replied. She had no doubt her uncle had made good his escape.
"I saw on the news they've picked up Marco Tennari. He was trying to get out of the country," Orange said. "They've arrested a lot of senior Alto guys now."
"... and, did you see were they're arresting a bunch of guys in the National Police," Corrie added enthusiastically. "I said the Altos owned the cops."
"Yes, you did," Genie replied, inwardly torn between being pleased to see Corrie's confidence grow as she was proved right, and feeling sick at just how deep the corruption among the police, who were supposed to be protecting them all, had turned out to be.
"I read your article," Jenny said. "Pretty amazing, seeing it all down in print like that. You made me sound like some kind of hero."
"Well, you are a hero," Orange said, beaming at her. The undefined something between him and Jenny had really come into focus after the events at Mill Lane. "You all are."
"We all are," Corrie corrected. Turning to Genie she added, "Oh, did I tell you... Jenny got me an audition! It's just a small part but..."
"There are no small parts," Jenny smiled.
"That's great," Genie said. "Have you found a place to stay yet?"
"Well, Jenny says it's OK for me to keep staying here," Corrie said.
"Yeah, well, I've been sleeping over at Orange's..." Jenny smiled, leaning against the big man.
"Oh, do you sleep?" Orange teased.
"Hush you," Jenny purred.
Genie smiled. Things were really working out for her friends.
"Um, Genie... we didn't see anything about your mom in the article," Corrie said. "I don't mean to pry but I thought you said there would be something."
"My editor cut it," Genie sighed. "There's no evidence of her involvement with the Altos."
"But the ledger?" Jenny said, pulling herself away from Orange.
"There were pages missing," Genie said. "I asked Anthony and Gabbie and they agreed. Someone had torn out whole sections of it before we got hold of it."
--------------------
"Well, I could hardly have let Marco have that evidence to hold over my head, could I?" Luna Elderberry said coolly.
"Lucky you managed to remove the pages just before your daughter stole the ledger," Betty Bow smiled acidly.
"Honestly, I had no idea what that foolish girl was planning," Luna said. "It was obvious that Marco was in trouble... and I have no doubt he planned to use the proof of our business arrangements to force me to help him stay in power. The meeting with the Families was my best chance to get to the ledger and remove that leverage."
"Your daughter obviously had the same thought," Representative Friend mused. The idea held a particular fascination for him. "You must be very alike."
"Oh yeah, they are," Rohan Elderberry grinned.
"We are nothing alike," Luna huffed. "Genevieve is full of these foolish idealistic notions. I blame the influence of Miranda Goth. I never should have encouraged Genevieve to pursue a friendship with her. That was obviously my mistake."
"Fortunately, I was able to remove the evidence of my connections, along with the evidence of Axis's ties to the Alto family, in time," she continued. "The organization is protected, even if Genevieve's foolishness has disrupted our plans."
"Removing Marco Tennari and dismantling the Alto Family was always part of the plan," Mr. Friend replied.
"Would have been better to do it after the election of course," Rohan said. "We were really playing up the whole 'crime wave' angle and now that's shot."
"The timing is inconvenient," Mr. Friend agreed.
"What about our associates in the Dark Court?" Luna asked, turning to Lady Bow.
"Complete chaos," Betty smiled. "Most of the major Houses have lost their agents in the National Police, as well the men they were positioning to take control of the Alto Family. Naturally, they're all blaming each other and they, and the lesser Houses, are taking the opportunity to settle scores. They have centuries worth of old grudges, vendettas and petty jealousies to deal with. By the time they notice anything we're doing, it will be too late."
"How are things going with your Mr. Grey?" she added.
"He'll still take a little convincing," Luna replied. "His first loyalty has always been to the Alto Family... but I think he'll come to see that working with us is the best chance to serve them, just in a new form."
"The benefits of bringing order to organized crime seem so clear," Mr. Friend mused.
"Grey will come around," Luna assured him.
"What about the election?" Rohan asked. "Unity is getting the credit for taking down a major criminal organization. After our whole 'crime wave" rhetoric, it's a problem."
"The revelation of corruption within the National Police can be used against them," Mr. Friend replied. "My people will have a speech for you in time for the morning news. We have a whole team of psycholinguistic experts working on it. Our socio-historical projections still show Axis gaining seats in the House, and only a slightly slimmer possibility of winning a majority. Meanwhile, we have been able to accelerate the work of placing our agents in the key positions within the National Police and the Agency.
"Soon, my people will be able to bring order and security to Republic, and your assistance will be rewarded," Mr. Friend smiled.
