She found she couldnâ€™t really sleep. The murmur and noises from the diner were enough to keep her awake, especially since they were gossiping about Christine and Koda. Then she heard Koda say,<span style="color: #8000BF">â€œThey are all staring.â€</span><br/><br/>Nope, she wasnâ€™t going to sleep. She sighed and opened her eyes. She stared unblinkingly at the carâ€™s roof for a minute before pulling out a map of Idaho. They had to get on Route 95 then hop on I-90 before they reached Coeur dâ€™Alene, where the court house was. She folded the map and looked up to find Christine and Koda. She found them eating at a table, Koda was glancing around and Christine was babbling about nothing in particular.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #00FF00">Probably trying to get Kodaâ€™s mind off of going to court.</span></span>She saw Koda glance at her with an unreadable expression before looking away.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #00FF00">Iâ€™d best go in... I want coffee.</span></span><br/><br/>She got out of the car and stretched. She could feel the eyes on her: jealousy, lust, envy. The usual. She locked the car and walked into the diner to the register.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF00BF">â€œHow can I help you?â€</span>A bottle blonde woman in the diner uniform asked.<br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œCoffee. Black.â€ </span>She was blunt and to the point. She didnâ€™t want to small talk with the lady.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF00BF">â€œHold on a second.â€</span>The lady turned and walked over to the coffee station.<span style="font-style: italic">Beep, beep.</span>Serenity turned her eyes from her and down at her phone that she fished out of her pocket.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><div style="text-align: center;">One unread message<br/>Pitt<br/>Click â€œOKâ€ to read.</div></span><br/><br/>She opened the message:<span style="color: royalblue"><span style="font-style: italic">â€œYou arenâ€™t gonna believe the mother load I found on the boys family. Do your anger management exercises before I see you and before court. -Pâ€</span></span>She scowled.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #00FF00">Great.</span></span><br/><br/><span style="color: #FF00BF">â€œHere you go, sugar.â€</span>The lady was back with her coffee. Serenity took it.<span style="color: #FF00BF">â€œThatâ€™ll be $2.50.â€</span>She forked over the money and went and sat beside Christine, who smiled at her.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">â€œHey, I thought you were gonna sleep?â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œToo much noise.â€</span>She sipped her coffee.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF8000">â€œAnd you wanted your caffeine dose.â€</span>Christine giggled.<br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œI find your hilarity at the situation disturbing for this time of the day. Cease and desist, smiling and giggling until an appropriate hour.â€ </span>She took another sip while Christine proceeded to laugh uproariously at her.<span style="color: #00FF00"><span style="font-style: italic">Crazy descendants. Itâ€™s too early for such optimism.</span></span><br/><br/>Christine one arm hugged her.<span style="color: #FF8000">â€œYou love me anyway!â€</span>She proceeded to laugh in Serenityâ€™s shoulder.<br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œDid the cook slip laughing pills in your food? Or did some poison interact incorrectly with your DNA to cause such a reaction?â€</span>Serenity was slightly perturbed with Christineâ€™s behavior.<span style="color: #00FF00"><span style="font-style: italic">She must be on drugs.</span></span><br/><br/>Christine tried to hold in her laughter, but her shoulders were shaking with such frequency and force, she might as well been laughing out loud. Though she didnâ€™t try to reply for she would only burst out into more laughter.<br/><br/>Serenity turned to Koda.<span style="color: #00FF00">â€œShe doing drugs I didnâ€™t know about, so thy swear.â€</span><br/><br/>She turned her attention back to Christine who was coming down from whatever high she got on. Christine wiped the tears from her eyes,<span style="color: #FF8000">â€œOh my... I donâ€™t know what got into me.â€</span>She giggled.<br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œOf course you donâ€™t. Ye are going to be blood tested for drugs on the morrow.â€</span>Serenity took another sip of coffee and Christine started giggling again.<br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œAre you two done eating?â€</span>Serenity questioned them.<span style="color: #00FF00">â€œIf you are, I will pay and we can head on. To-go drinks can be done.â€</span>For the last sentence, she looked at Koda specifically as if to tell him he can get another hot chocolate for the road. Which to her, he could.<br/><br/>When all was payed for and to-go drinks were bought, for Serenity that meant another cup of coffee. They loaded up in the car and continued on. Christine had called ahead about all the paperwork, lawyers, and housing ahead of time. So the only thing they had to do was get there. The stopped again for lunch, but had gotten to Coeur dâ€™Alene before suppertime. All the while, Serenity and Christine had reassured Koda several times that he would be under their custody by the end of the court session.<br/><br/>--------------------------<br/><br/>Serenity had sent them off to dinner and went to a cafe to meet Pitt. She sat down and ordered coffee, again. She was in a back corner and could see all entrances and exits with her back to the corner of two walls. Pitt walked in and ordered a coffee before walking over and sitting in front of her.<br/><br/><span style="color: royalblue">â€œLeech.â€</span>He greeted her.<br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œRat.â€</span>She said back.<br/><br/>They each took a sip of their coffee.<span style="color: royalblue">â€œHereâ€™s a file I found,â€</span>He passed her a vanilla envelope,<span style="color: royalblue">â€œI have three whole boxes of more incriminating evidence in my ride outside.â€</span>He paused and let Serenity read what she had in her hand.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"><div style="text-align: center;">St. Brutusâ€™s Institute ---------------- $3,000.00<br/>Catholics Almighty ---------------- $4,568.00<br/>St. Catchpoleâ€™s Academy -------------- $2,960.00</div></span><br/><br/>The list continued on.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #00FF00">Bank statements.</span></span>She looked up at him.<span style="color: royalblue">â€œI looked them up. They are all places you can go to to<span style="font-style: italic"> fix</span> your child or anyone really. And some of them are psych doctors and paranormal specialists.â€</span>He paused. She flipped through the pages and saw what he was talking about.<br/><br/><span style="color: royalblue">â€œAnd thatâ€™s just the bills. Iâ€™ve got over fifty tapes in my ride that are conversations between the kidâ€™s parents and between the kid and his parents. I picked out five of the worst for you to take. But most of them are just audio, not visual. There is only on true vid and it is slightly damaged, which means it was in the process of being destroyed. You can tell that when you see it... It ainâ€™t good.â€ </span><br/><br/>They took a sip of their respective coffees.<span style="color: #00FF00">â€œThere is more, isnâ€™t there?â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: royalblue">â€œA lot more. Be glad I could get those few pages of bills because all of their other bills just have amounts and not to whomâ€™s. Also, I took pics of every room in the house. I can bet which is the kidâ€™s.â€</span>He handed her the packet of pictures. Old school. Negatives can be priceless at times. Pristine rooms and then the lone room that didnâ€™t fit the picture.<span style="color: #00FF00">â€œIâ€™ll ask him for clarification.â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: royalblue">â€œGood. I also have phone records that correspond with the time of the bills to make that more solid. And turns out the kidâ€™s granâ€™ma was on his side.â€</span>She looked at him sharply.<span style="color: royalblue">â€œYeah, thatâ€™s what I thought too. Turns out she was his rescue team until she died. All hospital records for his true well-being are in her name. She also has all of the x-rays and reports from the doctors to back everything up on physical abuse.â€</span><br/><br/>Serenity sighed.<span style="color: #00FF00"><span style="font-style: italic">Complications everywhere... but Iâ€™m glad he had at least one true loved one until Christine.</span> â€œAnything else?â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: royalblue">â€œThe kid has no school records, so he doesnâ€™t have an education. Any that your side gave him will give you an up in that department.â€ </span><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œYes, he was home-schooled through mine. There are records of it, even if it is to a fake child.â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: royalblue">â€œThatâ€™s good. Iâ€™ve also found newspaper ads and some old letters that the granny kept hidden. I also managed to photocop the <span style="font-style: italic">motherâ€™s</span> diary for about five dates. They arenâ€™t significant except how they express her loathing for your kid.â€</span>She nodded.<span style="color: royalblue">â€œPlus, I managed to get on tape two estranged relatives saying how your kid went to them for help. But when they tried, they were exiled from the family and couldnâ€™t help him anymore. Though only the two tried. After that show of power, no one else tried to help or even listened to your kid.â€</span><br/><br/>Serenity was angry, no thatâ€™s an understatement. She was furious to the point of almost blood rage. She sipped her coffee and tried to calm down.<span style="color: royalblue">â€œYou didnâ€™t do your exercises, did yaâ€™?â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œNo, Rat. Those <span style="font-style: italic">filthy wretches</span> will pay for what they have done. I <span style="font-style: italic">will</span> see to it.â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: royalblue">â€œDonâ€™t break too many laws.â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œUn... give me everything I can use. Itâ€™s getting late and they should be back by now. Iâ€™ll walk it off.â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: royalblue">â€œSure thing leech.â€</span>They got up and got refills before leaving to his car. Pitt opened the trunk and stuck the two packets he had in the cafe into a box before handing it to her.<span style="color: royalblue">â€œThis is everything I talked about. Organized and labeled.â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œThank you. Payment will come after the trial.â€</span>She stepped away from his car so he could shut the trunk.<br/><br/><span style="color: royalblue">â€œYou got it. Later, leech.â€</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #00FF00">â€œLater, Rat.â€</span><br/><br/>----------------------<br/><br/>She walked into the flat that Christine owned and sure enough, they were back. She took off her shoes and walked into the living room, where they were at. She placed down the box on the coffee table and sat in an empty chair.<br/><br/>Christine looked at her,<span style="color: #FF8000">â€œYou okay? Whatâ€™s in the box?"</span>