Yours again | Leah & Rhea

YOURS AGAIN

Leah & Rhea

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Spending time in New Orleans was way harder than Leah could have ever imagined. Not that she hated that place, but she couldn’t handle the fact that she was so far away from home, on a unfamiliar place with people she didn’t know. She knew very well why she was here, sleeping in an atrocious motel room with her two colleagues, not having any privacy. She hated it. Every part of this mission. She hated the fact that she had to do it in a first place, the fact that she trusted Iris with every part of her soul. She trusted her to be her next lieutenant, her woman of trust, everything. At night, when the boys are sleeping, she still thinks about it. She sees her face, her eyes and how she saw herself in every word she said. She couldn’t say why, she wasn’t quite sure at first. If she focuses hard enough, she could still see Caleb’s doubts about it. The way he asked her to be cautious. “We don’t know her, for all we know she could be a spy”. And Leah did not listen. This was her first mistake, after years of building trust in her gang she broke it into pieces for a girl she didn’t even know that well. Iridescence Jones could have been the end of everything, the very thought of that made her sick.

After two weeks of deep searches around the city, the three of them didn’t have anything new other than the fact that Iris talked to Laszlo Kovacs about her car. Great. That wasn’t enough, not even a little bit and being in New Orleans for nothing was out of the question. Leah didn’t want to call her. Not after so many years, asking for her help, admitting she couldn’t do it by herself. That very thought hurts her ego and watching at her friends, she knew she had to. Her leadership couldn’t last forever with this kind of mistake, she had to make it right. Get revenge, get her gang out a jail. Find Iris. At last, she said yes. She couldn’t remember the last time she asked for help in her entire life, this was so out of character for her. Leah was really proud of the fact that she made herself by herself, growing up without anyone, building her life the way she wanted it. To her point of view, needing anyone else was weakness and no one, not even herself could call her weak. Too bad she was out of options here; Rhea Riverwood was New Orleans’ last option.

“Look at that. Isn’t it a quite nice change of scene?”

And she smiled. What could she say, Rhea Riverwood always had been a nice girl to work with. Last time she was her was obviously different from today, quite less legal. This was a different time. A different place. And Leah wasn’t with two big boys who could easily break Rhea’s back without a sweeat.

“Come on Rhea, aren’t you thrilled to see me ?”

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YOURS AGAIN

Leah & Rhea

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« I wasn’t expecting to ever see you again, to tell you the truth. It seems like a lifetime ago »

Seing Rhea as a detective was, indeed, quite different from what they used to be, to say the least. At that time, Leah was nothing but a young gang member, always trying to prove herself, to get more responsibilities and, obviously, always getting in trouble. She was a reckless piece of shit, the kind of woman you don't want to cross in a street and definitely not the kind of woman you want to be friend with. However, this status suited her perfectly fine. And she was a little girl, she was always considered as trouble. She couldn't handle autority or even staying in a classroom. The thought of getting in line, get a job in an office, have a house, children and three dogs made her sick. At least in her gang she was recognized as trouble but this was nothing but a compliment, she was an effective recruit. It was an exhilarating feeling, to be appreciated for what she has always done the best and she met Rhea at that time. When she wasn't a leader yet but knew perfectly who she wanted to be and what she was doing. They made a team worth a time of your day, Rhea's skills as a tool Leah loved to use.

Rhea Riverwood was the perfect exemple of why Leah enjoys women's company the most, even now. She was far from the pretty thing others thought she was, a perfect mix of beauty and efficiency. She was deeply underrated, just as any other women in this world, letting them all the place to lie and scam every man who saw them as plants. The women's status was the only fight worth taking to Leah and this was one of the reason she liked Rhea that much. Even today, seeing her name on her door made Leah proud. She was a detective, they were farest from eachothers than they ever were but she was an accomplished young woman. Honestly, it made Leah's day. She hated the fact that some on the women she knew in her life were depending on a man. It always reminds her of her mother, unable to make any actions without the approval of her husband, crying her eyes out every night he wasn't at her side. She cleaned the house, cooked him dinner so that he could go cheat on her and still she loved her. Unacceptable. Eventhough she haven't talked to her mother for a while, she was damn sure this lady was still crying for her old man.

« To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? »

For a minute, Leah forgot the real reason of her visit, enjoying the view of her old...colleague. Let's call them that. For a minute, she held her breath, aware of what she was going to say. She hated that word with every piece of her body but for some reason, she trusted Rhea. She had no reason to and the last time she trusted someone, it didn't end well. This thought made her grin a little, the words of Darren echoing in her mind.

« I need your help »

Ugh. This hurt so bad. She didn't really have a choice though, the whold team was depending on the issue of her mission. Iris's fate was depending on her, quite literaly and she couldn't let her run unpunished. As much as she trusted Rhea, this was something she couldn't really tell her about, she was a detective after all. She was on the side of the law now and what Leah was doing in her everyday life was far from the law.

« I trusted the wrong person and it didn't end well. Now I need to find this person and I won't be able to do it without you. »

No doubt Rhea would be surprised, this was the first time in a while Leah asked for someone's help and the first time in their history. She had always been proud of the fast that she made her life alone, without anyone's help. Not needing anyone was the thing she was the most proud of, asking for it now felt so wrong. Rhea knew that. Her old colleague never hid it and in a way the Seattle native hoped that it proved how important this was.

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