Deeply Reliant

Simon wasn't sure that she would show up, really. Not after the newspapers and the reports and the fact that he would never again be offered a spot on a Quidditch team. Even if he proved himself innocent, would it have mattered? People would still throw up their hands and make a huge scene if they discovered he had been hired, no matter the proof given by law. He wouldn't even be able to complain or blame anyone for it. Except Kosta, perhaps.

He sat outside of a little café, his coffee steaming away its heat as he waited to see if she would show up.

Jack, the letter read.

I don't know if you remember me in a positive or negative light, but I certainly remember you. I don't really know how but you always seemed to be up to some kind of mischief and adventure. I need your help, Jack. I never would've thought I'd say that to you, back in the day, but it's urgent. I know full well what you've heard about me, and what made me leave Utd. But I want to ask for your help in proving that the papers were wrong.

He had given her a timeframe and the location that he would be sitting, and now he could only hope that she would give him the chance. He wasn't at all of the opinion that he deserved it, but he was getting desperate now that he knew Tobias would be back on his trail as soon as possible. And he didn't really have anyone that could help him besides Jack - if he still 'had her' on his side at all.

Jack had received a slew of strange letters in her short life, but this was one of the most curious. She would not be lying if she said she had nearly forgotten the man. He had been a rival of hers, one of the more good-natured, a player she could run into with her team after a match and invite for a drink. The news of his crime had surprised her, but she had no personal ties to him nor the victims. Justice was being served for one crime, and she was more concerned with the crimes that had not been given justice.

She had heard Simon was getting out of prison, but she was distracted by her own cases in the Department of Mysteries to pay much attention. Leave it to Bishop and the others. Somehow, she wasn't worried about Marek.

Nothing seemed strange about the note so she double-checked with Viv about watching the kids and headed off to Diagon.

She arrived at the cafe within minutes and spotted the familiar man. He had the face of a man who had suffered through Azkaban - thinner, more gaunt, a look of perpetual uncertainty. She approached carefully and nodded to the man, reaching out a hand to shake Simon's. "Marek."

Simon stood when he noticed Jack approached, painfully unsure of himself in ways that he wouldn't have done three and a half years ago. It wasn't beyond him to wonder if perhaps karma had finally caught up with him for all of the pranks and sarcasm he had directed at his classmates and teammates over a good decade of his life.

"Jack," he returned, thinking that perhaps it was better to start off seeming more friendly than he had in the past. Sure, they had been able to joke around and be casual almost-friends off the pitch. But there was never a point where the two of them had been in the same place, on purpose, alone. Until now.

He gestured for her to sit down if she wanted to, even as he asked if she wanted anything to drink. "I can get it for you if you want."

But he also wanted to explain how important her arrival was to him, so he added on: "Thank you for coming. I've tried in the past to clear things up, but I don't know if I can manage it on my own." Simon frowned, looking down at the table rather than at her. "Maybe you'll have some better ideas."

She still could find no indication for why he wanted to meet with her, but there was something a bit more apologetic and uncertain in him than she remembered. It didn't seem to be apart of the Azkaban treatment - she had figured out the effects of that prison on people just through her line of work and her own odd adventures. There was something else eating at him.

He asked her to sit and she did, and he offered to get her something to drink. “An iced tea is all.” Typically she wouldn’t mind getting something more alcoholic, but she wanted him to know she was on top of her game – even if alcohol had long ago stopped inhibiting her abilities to fight someone off.

She blinked at his words, absorbing this… frankly vague information. “I hope part of it addresses the elephant on the patio,” she said. “You’ve been away awhile.”

Hint. Hint.

He dropped his gaze at her nudging, but gave a brief nod before disappearing inside the pick up her drink. Hoping it hadn't taken too long, he returned at set it down in front of her, lowering himself into his chair.

"So," he began, clearing his throat slightly and playing with the handle of his coffee cup. "I would wager that it's safe to assume that you're aware of why I left United."

Lifting his gaze to seek out hers, Simon pressed his lips together, flattening them into an uncomfortable line. "The thing is, they couldn't find any proof because it wasn't me. My so-called friend left fake evidence that pointed to me, because... Well, because I said I wouldn't help him. And now they're after me again. Well, the girl's father is. He works for the Ministry." Simon sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair.

"I know that I don't deserve any help, considering I could've probably done something about it and prevented all of this. I'm fully aware. But it isn't just affecting me, anymore. I-... Well, I've started seeing someone and her family already hates me, so I want to get this sorted out as much as I can before she has to deal with it."

He left out the part where he hadn't mentioned it to Livia at all, or that he'd suggested he was problematic but not explained just how much.

"I need to find something on him, Jack, and I don't actually know how."

While he disappeared to fetch the drink for her, Jack closed her eyes and recalled the details of the trial as she remembered them. Jack often pendulated between extremist beliefs in justice (a trial without a shadow of a doubt) and extremist vigilante justice (punish those who deserve punishing). She did not quite know where she was in that regard anymore, and she could not find on the spectrum where she felt Marek lied. Part of her felt there was something suspicious about the circumstances of his arrest. But the other part of her, the part of that was a guardian to two beautiful children… That part was less willing to forgive.

He returned and her eyes pierced the liquid, looking for signs of tampering. It seemed fine, and with the bezoar she kept in her pack at all times, she felt confident enough to take a drink. It was good. Refreshing. A nice balance to this strange circumstance.

He launched into his tale, and she found her mind whirring as it did when she got pulled into these political and potentially dangerous discussions. People had never really attributed intelligence to Jack’s personality, considering her more a brawn over brain type of person, but she had a mind for experimentation, a mind for strategy. And she could pick apart someone’s reasoning pretty well and reveal the weaknesses in them.

She cleared her throat. “So a man thinks you killed his daughter and he is the one you are needing help going after?” she asked. “And where is your friend in this plan? Partying in Costa Rica?”

When she spoke, Simon's eyebrows flew up. "What? No! I don't want anything to do with him if I can help it. The friend is the one that needs going after. I went to school with him," Simon explained, shaking his head and frowning down at his coffee cup. "I mean, actually, he really could be down there, partying."

When he looked up at her again, Simon's face was more grave and serious than disappointed and anxious. Leaning forward across the table, he let his voice drop a bit.

"Look, I know he's involved with the Russian Death Eaters. They're the ones that sent him over here to begin with. He wanted me to help him hurt Tobias's family, and I refused so he did it anyway and then left signs that pointed to me. Now, you can believe that or not, I don't expect too much. But if any part of you thought that I was a good man when you knew me last, you just might take me as an honest person." Simon sat back again, pressing into his chair and shaking his head.

"I know I should have done more to stop him. I thought when I told him no that he would drop it. I didn't realize he was in with them until it was too late. I accept my guilt in this, but I don't accept the whole of it."

The genuine surprise Simon expressed was enough to placate Jack that he had not meant to appear uncaring towards the affected family. If all he said was correct, and from what she had read of the case files it made more sense that Marek being the culprit, then she could be more willing to get herself involved. She was certain she could reach out to Kip and actually figure out the truth with his brains and her willingness to get involved.

Anyway, if it was Marek, best way to bring him to justice was to have him on her side.

Ooh, the Russian Death Eaters. It had been awhile since she had dealt with them. That would mean getting in contact with Aaron Marcheti - who might actually be helping that Russian princess lead her group.

"You can atone for your guilt by bringing this guy to justice," she said, swiftly, expecting no argument. Jack sometimes did get that tone, that tone of 'this is what is right.' It had never made her popular. "So you came to me... for help? For hire? What's the deal?"

Simon wasn't sure if her reaction was one he should have been happy about, or concerned about. Surely it was a good thing that she seemed open to helping. But it did strike him as odd that it took so little convincing. He wondered briefly if she was just desperate for a bit of action and adventure, but it seemed like the smart idea to just not ask. He didn't want to risk Jack changing her mind.

Her questions were entirely fair, he wouldn't deny that. But he wasn't sure he had actually planned that far ahead. He hadn't ever been very good at planning things, actually. Lately, when it came to Liv, he had been a little better, but not enough to ensure that things actually went well.

"I... I don't know." He confessed. "Whichever way you want, really. I just want this to go away. I need to prove that I haven't done anything. Otherwise I don't think any of the good things I have now will last."

It sounded pretty selfish, and maybe it was, but Simon was sick and tired of the frustration, of hiding himself away and refusing to let himself take risks. Now, when he wanted to do so for Liv, it was just coming back to haunt him as he had known it undoubtedly would. It raised the question of whether or not the whole thing with Liv was even worth it, but Simon felt very determinedly that it would be if he could get it right. So he had to figure it.

"I need to set this right, Jack. He's still out there doing whatever is asked of him, probably, and it's all a load of lies, what he's said and how he's framed me. I can't live like this anymore. If you want money, fine. I'll find a way to get it. But this has to get sorted."

There was something uncomfortable in his answers, as though she had unsettled him. Good. If he was innocent, she might feel a little bad with her rough treatment of him, but she was also not going to have more guilt from the association of a criminal. She had a lifetime of it with Vito, she did not need anymore.

She was getting too old for this shit already.

Of course, that was a lie. She could feel her blood racing at the thought of uncovering this puzzle.

She put out a hand. "I need a guarantee that, in the meantime, you don't do anything stupid that makes me look like the asshole that trusted you, okay? And then I'll be in touch."