The Bait (Tessa)

Whatever "okay" was, Tessa was clearly not it. Looking at her face, Jackson moved closer to the witch, instinctively putting an arm around her even as he spoke to the men in the room.

"What do you say, Chief?"

"We have enough to justify cause," the man replied, looking over the transcript of the call. "He's clearly no fan of Mrs. Greene's, but he hasn't admitted to anything yet. We need him to say what he id at this meeting at Dawners."

"Dawner's, the sports bar downtown?" This time, it was Jim who spoke up.

"No, its code. We always used to joke about getting away from nagging girlfriends and wives, we would name any random bar but we'd always meet up near Salem. I can apperate there if you think I'm ready."

"There's no access point nearby," Alex Quinn was more of a listener than a talker, but he was usually right when he spoke.

"Well, lets just say Senator Blake can circumvent an access point just this once," Broady suggested. "After all, its only local travel and its for a good cause." The Greene's donated generously to both the LAPD and the LAFF, Jackson wasn't surprised he was getting exempted from the rules.

With a few flicks of the wand, the large viewing screen in the room came to life, giving everyone a perfect view from Jackson's angle, picking up everything he could see. "Surveillance at the ready."

"Give me a minute Chief," Jackson called before turning to Tessa and squeezing her close to him. "T, before I leave, I need you understand that non of what he said was true, okay? You are not allowed to feel bad about any of it. He's an awful person who has no idea what he's given up. You, Dominique.... you two were the best things in his life, the rest of him is that scrawny coward you heard on the phone okay?"

Those words cut deep and hurt her. But Jackson could tell that she wasn’t ok and put his arm around her. But she heard that they just had enough to justify it. They were going to need more. But Jackson was meeting Damien but wasn’t sure what it was. Until Jackson said that it was code. Jackson seems confident that he was going to get what he needed. Tessa just hoped that he really could. She wanted to put this all behind her. She wished that she would have never heard what Damien said about her. How she was ready to make him eat his own words.

Jackson then turned to Tessa and told him nothing Damien said was true. Deep down she knew that but it had still hurt her. “ I know that I am more than what he said and I am going to make him eat his words.” Oh, how revenge was going to be had.

The men in the room who had been giving him privacy while he had a moment with Tessa were now back in, ensuring his surveillance devices were aptly hidden on his person and sufficiently undetectable. When they were sure, they bade Jackson farewell.

With a last look at Tessa, the man apperated, making the "be right back" gesture.

The cold air of the mountains surrounding Greenwitch it him hard despite it being July. Jackson had forgotten how the magic leaking from Salem always kept this area on the cool side. Right now, the display in Greene Mansion would show the landscape as he saw it. the shadowy trees, the fog rolling on ahead, a wand pointed threateningly his way...

"Come on Dam, you didn't call me all this way to hex me into the underworld," Jackson called out, forcing himself to remain calm. "Though death would be better than the hell I just escaped. A bunch of rich women wanting all of this."

His joke was met with silence, but only a short one before Damien's harsh laugh broke the peace. "Tell me about it, those broads can get handsy." A few feet away, an invisibility cloak was shed to reveal the form of Damien Greene.

Over in LA, Chief Broady nodded for everyone to stay down. they almost had their man now that he was in sight.

Tessa gave a small smile when Jackson said that he would be right back. Which she knew that she could watch everything that was happening. And was going to do her best not to take what they say to heart. Because up until all of this she thought that Damien was a good person. He would never do anything that would hurt her. Which that was no longer true when he ran off with his mistress. And he was stealing from her company. But she was going to let everything play out.

She knew soon she would be face to face with Damien. Then she would make him pay for everything. For now she was going to give him some more rope. Because she knew that he would hang himself soon. And that was what she was counting on. How how this was almost over. Meaning that she was going to start the next chapter of her life.

Damien looked... unhealthy in person. Not the man who brazenly schemed again this wife and pretended to know who was fucking whom. Up close, Jackson could see his cheeks were sunken, his hair thinning and a slouch to his faith that hand't been present before.

Presently, the man withdrew a cigarette from his coat, offering a stick to Jackson after ligating one for himself. The politician refused. "Nah man, still keeping clean,"

"I thought you were an alkie, not a pussy."

"You wanna come nearer and say that to my face?"Both men laughed. It really was like old times, except now Jackson knew that this harmless fun was in fact causing someone he cared about real harm. After a few exhales, Damien began to speak.

"S'pose I owe you an apology. If it makes you feel better, anyone could have done. You just came to see her at the right time and were conveniently photographed."

"Done for what?" Jackson asked, pretending his best to act thick. They needed Damien to admit it. In his own words.

Damien however was not complying. "It's been hard you now, living in a shithole with Ramona. She's sweet though, very accommodating. Gives amazing blow jays." Even in this situation, the man couldn't help showing off. "Dumb as a rock too, never questions anything. The ideal woman."

"I'll be sure to tell Sasha that."

"Eh, you got yourself a decent one, good that you started her young. By now she's probably on all fours on command right."

Jackson grinned, hoping the self satisfied expression would speak for itself. Damien was taking his time getting to the point but Jackson could wait.

And so could everyone listening and watching this conversation back in LA.

Tessa was watching everything that was happening. Looking at it she can’t believe that she married Damien. Her blood was boiling as Damien said what a women should be. Tessa was actually feeling sorry for his mistress. Even if she was the one who helped break up her marriage. Now she wondered why she was married so long with him. But she knew that she was never going to make the same mistake twice. Tessa was glad that Dominique was in New York and wouldn’t be seeing this. Because she knew that it would kill her. As she knew that the divorce was hard on the young girl.

She was trying not to take what was being said to heart. Damien was an asshole and she couldn’t wait to get revenge. Which she already did as she now owned Fox Network. Well she was running it which didn’t suprise her. And she was doing most of the work when she and Damien was married.

Tessa just sat there and watched everything. And was waiting for him to spill his guts.

"Come on man, let's talk business," Jackson tried to steer the conversation where they needed it to go now that the "pleasantries" were over with. "What's it gonna take to keep me out of this whole shit show? You need dirt on your wife? A substitute fucker, you got it."

Damien seemed to consider the offer before he shook his head slightly, indicating a negative. "Nah, I can photograph her with any prick and spin the same story I was spinning with you. As I'm sure you know, she gets around, that whore."

Jackson in fact knew no such thing. Tessa had never even looked at a man (aside from himself) in the weeks he'd been with her. But Damien had clearly done a good job of lying to himself to feed his inferiority complex. The politician remained quiet though, letting the former Fox heir speak.

"No buddy, you are going to do something more important for me. I'm going to need you to one day slip into Fox, more specifically into my father's office. You see, the man has a safe enchanted in one of his windows. Only his blood can access the safe."

"Jesus Dam, I'm not murdering your father. Not even for you."

"Good, because that's not what I'm asking," the shorter man clarified, his hooded eyes piercing through the darkness. "Tessa was added to the "blood" line up when we got married. At present only four people can access the safe. Me, Tessa, Pops... and Dominique, though she doesn't know it yet."

This was a whole new angle, and Jackson hoped to whatever higher power that existed that Chief Broady's equipment was picking all this up. Because now Damien was talking of a child. His own child at that.

Every time Damien would talk, Tessa would hate him more. If that was even possible at this time. She had never even slept with another man. And here Damien was calling her a whore. Which his mistress was one. But that was something that Tessa wasn’t. Oh how she wanted to strangle him right now. But she did know that her parents would get Dominique and she could rock an orange jumpsuit. That was something not to say outloud as the police was in her house. Tessa actually forgot about the safe that he was talking about.

But there was something inside that Damien wanted. Oh how she was ready that this would be over soon. Because she wanted to get on with her life. And that would be a life without Damien. She also wanted to drag his name in the mud and make him feel like she was. Right now she was so hurt that she didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t believe that she was married to that man for so long.

Tessa was ready to kill Damien. She couldn’t believe what he was asking Jackson to do. And he wanted Dominique involved in this. Which Tessa was doing her best to keep her out of it. Damien must think that Tessa was so stupid. How she hated him even more. And she had forgot about her father in law will. But she knew that she and Dominique was in it. Which was only making Tessa question what his motive was. She muttered under her breath “ I hope that this is enough.” Because she had heard enough. How she was ready to apparate to where Damien was and lay it to him.

Damien already pissed her off and she was like a momma cat protecting her kitten. She couldn’t believe what he wanted Jackson to do with Dominique. How low could the man actually go? At this point she knew that Damien will stink to an all time low.