Toronto, Thursday Evening, Fandom Time

[myownface]

Sparkle had been arrested. Of course Sparkle had been arrested. And he'd been a little shit about it, too, going so far as to put up a fight before the cops tackled him to the ground and got him properly cuffed. Good. Good. The more time he spent like this, the more he owned this, the less likely it was that anybody would suspect he even had a friend with him to help him burn the place to the ground.

And considering Lewis' confession at city hall, and the fact that he had a history of this sort of crap already, nobody who knew what role he played would doubt he had all the motive in the world for wanting to get his revenge on Lew, either.

He'd been questioned, printed, given the full nine yards. Hell, he'd even confessed to doing it, alone, with a sneer and a few colourful words and a 'and you can't even blame me for it after all that shit' attitude. It wasn't anything new, really, except that this time he was up for trial as an adult. That part... that was new.

And a little terrifying, yeah. He wasn't going to pretend it wasn't. Especially with the stack of charges they had against him. And the legwork they were probably doing to try to add more to the list. Maybe even connect him to those break-and-enters he'd committed before.

But he had a contingency plan. Sort of. It kind of boiled down to 'deal with it,' with a side order of 'ask the right people for help,' and if the first right person couldn't pull through for him (or wouldn't, because he had to admit that a stupid teen committing arson was something a psychiatrist of Dr. Lecter's calibre might not want to get so immediately involved in), there was always option number two, who would likely tear him a new one before busting him out. Because Atton was the best Jedi ever, that's why. Option three would have involved sucking up to Parker and her crew again, but they were kind of already doing him a huge favour as it was...

And that was why, with his first phone call, Sparkle was calling Dr. Lecter. Because if anyone could get him out of here without having to bust through walls to do so, it was probably him.

[OOC: For that guy!]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

Arson wasn't Hannibal's usual area of expertise, it was true; he was better at helping teenagers hide bodies. But after Sparkle's future self had spoken to him, he'd taken the time to get a very good criminal lawyer in Sparkle's Toronto. The man very likely had mob connections and would do Sparkle's reputation wonders, but he was very good at what he did.

So when he saw the call come in from the Toronto police station, he took it in his office, composing e-mail at the same time as they spoke.

"Hello?"

[myownface]

"Uh, hi, Doctor Lecter..." Okay, now that Sparkle had actually called Hannibal, he was starting to kind of feel that held-breath lurch in his guts that came from a whole world of uncertainty kind of laid out in front of him. "How are you?"

... Probably better than you were, Sparkle, all things considered.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal shook his head, since Sparkle couldn't see. He appreciated the niceties, but there was a time for them. "I'm well, thank you. How are you?"

[myownface]

"... I've been better," Sparkle admitted, after a moment. "I'm kind of, um. In some trouble."

Which, again, Hannibal probably could have gathered from the whole 'calling from the police station' thing.

"I've been arrested." He swallowed. "The main charge right now is arson, but they're working on padding the list, I think."

[sharp_as_knives]

"I will be there shortly, and your lawyer will be there sooner," Hannibal assured him. "What do you think they will pad it with?" He added the possible charges to his e-mail, looking up Portalocity availability in another window. "Are they treating you as well as can be expected?"

[myownface]

"Um... yeah, I think so," Sparkle replied, if only because he was pretty much on a first name basis with half the precinct, and he had stopped being a belligerent ass a while ago. "I've done this dance before. They're seeing if they can connect me to some break-and-enters a while back, and resisting arrest, and... depends who they end up talking to about me. It'll be a bit before they roll out the whole list, I think."

He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment.

"I have a lawyer?"

That was fast.

[sharp_as_knives]

Being on a first-name basis with law enforcement was a very good start.

Hannibal chuckled. "You do. A very well-connected one, I suspect, but he is very good at what he does. You will be coming home with me tonight." Not that he couldn't be persuaded otherwise, but unless Sparkle had sensible objections and another place to stay, he would be staying in the guest room.

He sent off the e-mail to the lawyer and started getting his things together. "Is there anybody else I should inform? Will we need to pick up your things?"

[myownface]

Sparkle only got one phone call. And there was a limited amount of time he had for it. He swallowed. He could list off names all night. Put it on the radio, tell the island. Sparkle fucked up.

"Atton," he said, because he had always been his second option, and more than anybody else, he figured it would matter to him. "Anyone here who still matters knows I'm not coming to hang out tonight. Raine's got my stuff, I... don't have much. Some clothes. Prom king crown. That kind of thing."

His minifridge had sort of still been in the house when they torched it.

Uh. Oops.

"Thanks," he said, a little more quietly, trying not to sound... too something. Vulnerable? Young? Scared? He shouldn't be scared. He knew what he was getting himself into when he handed Raine that match and then told her to take off without him. But here he was. "I... yeah. A lot. Thanks a lot."

[sharp_as_knives]

"You're quite welcome," Hannibal answered. "I will call Atton. Does Raine have your phone?"

Just because he'd known what he was getting into didn't mean he was ready for it.

The nice suit had best be among those clothes, though, Sparkle, or they were going to have stern words about the treatment of presents.

An hour and change after the phone call...

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal strode into the police station, impeccably dressed as always in a blue suit with cream plaid tie and pocket square, looking every bit the rich doctor he was and the responsible adult he...could be if he felt like it.

He smiled at the sergeant on duty and started talking.

A few minutes later, he was being shown back to see Sparkle.

Re: An hour and change after the phone call...

[myownface]

Sparkle, who was making faces at the ceiling of the holding cell in the back of the station, passing the time mostly by counting to sixty in his head over and over until it felt like an hour had passed. He'd already had a chat with the lawyer that Hannibal had sent, and was feeling... better than he'd felt earlier... but the less thinking he did right now, probably the better.

He did glance over when he heard footsteps coming down the hall, though. He was pretty sure he'd counted to sixty... an amount of times. He'd only been counting to sixty. He hadn't actually been keeping track of the number of times he'd done so.

Re: An hour and change after the phone call...

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded his thanks to the sergeant, who let him in and then left them alone. He looked Sparkle over carefully, then nodded and sat nearby. "Atton says hello," he said. "Although in much more colorful terms."

Re: An hour and change after the phone call...

[myownface]

"If the phrase 'e chu ta' wasn't said at least once, I clearly wasn't trying hard enough," Sparkle shared, pulling in a breath and sitting up and... mostly just fidgeting. A lot. "Pretty sure I lost any leg I had to stand on when telling him he's being an idiot for the next... forever?"

Forever.

"... You didn't have to come," he said, a little more quietly and a little more seriously. "Thanks."

Re: An hour and change after the phone call...

[sharp_as_knives]

"Of course not," Hannibal said. "But you asked me to. I said that I would, and I keep my promises." He put a hand on Sparkle's shoulder. "I only hope that your friend appreciates what you're doing."

Re: An hour and change after the phone call...

[myownface]

"I hope so too," Sparkle admitted, and it took some serious restraint to keep from listing a little in Hannibal's direction. It had been a long day, long night. He hadn't really slept properly since before he'd met up with Raine. "This hasn't been a great time or anything."

He could have left it at that, but chewed on his lip before adding, "You knew something like this was going to happen."

How quickly Hannibal had been able to get a lawyer in the first place was a good first clue.

Re: An hour and change after the phone call...

[sharp_as_knives]

The fact that he knew why Sparkle had done it should have been another, but Sparkle was clearly exhausted.

Hannibal set his hand on Sparkle's back instead, encouraging him to lean in if he needed to. "Not precisely what it was, but yes."

Re: An hour and change after the phone call...

[myownface]

He certainly didn't remember saying anything about Raine being involved on the phone, no. Especially since he was trying to keep her out of trouble for this. But that was something that Sparkle would think back on later and go 'heeey' about, once he had slept for about a week or something.

"... Fandom?"

You better believe he was leaning. Partly because he was tired, and partly because he just really needed the support, right then.

[sharp_as_knives]

There was a slight wait for the portal, so Hannibal walked at an easy pace on the way to Portalocity. It gave him time to make a promised phone call.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton was hanging around his apartment, feeling better - physically at least - for once. It was a school day and he was finally making good on his decision to quit the drunk-and-pathetic act.

Which was of course when his Earth phone went off. He snagged it, his tired brain nearly demanding to know what Mical wanted before he realized which comm it was. Instead he stumbled into a, "Yeah?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"Mr. Rand?" Well, it sounded more or less like him, anyway. "This is Doctor Lecter. Did I wake you?"

[suitably_heroic]

Oh, hey, look. It was his most favorite person on this planet. Atton sighed. "No, I'm awake," he said. "Hey, L-- Doctor Lecter. What's up?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"Sparkle asked that I phone you," Hannibal said. "He has been arrested. I've already dispatched a lawyer and am on my way to meet him," he headed things off. "Although if you would be willing to meet his friend Raine and gather his things, it would be a help."

[suitably_heroic]

There was a long silence on the other end of the line, then: "E chu ta, the--"

A few words of Twi'leki profanity followed.

Then: "Yeah, I can do that. What's he done?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"He's to be charged with arson, he said, and possibly resisting arrest and some breaking and entering." Which wasn't necessarily what he'd done, but that was for Sparkle to say.

[suitably_heroic]

Please disregard the muffled thumping in the background. It was probably Atton putting his shoes on, not knocking his forehead repeatedly into the coffee table.

Probably.

"How good's your lawyer? Have they locked him up yet?"