Chapter Twenty Nine: Conspiracy Theories

"When you kill a king, you don't stab him in the dark. You kill him where the entire court can watch him die."

– Amsterdam Vallon, Gangs of New York

Before they had a chance to overthink their decision, Bo and Lauren made it a point to pick up Bryce from his grandfather's early the next day before they took off back to the compound. Since Lauren's brother and sister were coming in for Maddie's birthday party at the compound that weekend, they used that as an excuse. Bryce didn't even argue when he found out they were going home early because of Maddie. Honestly, her family wasn't supposed to be there until tomorrow, but Lauren felt like it was the most logical excuse they could use that could be confirmed. They just mentioned they wanted Bryce's help with finding Maddie's birthday present. Don Ganglieri and Avery didn't need to know they already had something; they would just go shopping later to keep up appearances and Maddie would just get two presents this year.

Lauren realized that her joining forces with Bo meant that Bryce was going to be her stepson, which was unfortunate news for the young boy's plans to wed her niece. She and Bo would have to sit down and have that conversation with him later. They weren't even positive he understood exactly why Dr. Lauren was around so much and they stayed at her house all of the time. It was a conversation they desperately needed to have, especially since Lauren had made her own declaration to Bo last night.

Actually, they needed to have a lot of conversations as a family. If Bo was going to be don, did they need to move into the compound? What about their places now? Lauren had actually grown a bit fond of the secluded house here and understood why her father had it built, but was it safe enough for them? Was it big enough for them? Were they going to have more kids? What would happen if they needed to put up Kenzi or Hale when they were fighting or too drunk to leave? There were only two bedrooms here, so that wouldn't exactly work too well. One thing Lauren was always adamant about was having a separate bedroom from her brother and sister. Her parents had moved them to a bigger place when Karen was born, just so she wouldn't have to share a room with her little sister. Her father once mentioned that children needed room to grow on their own and required privacy and a place to escape sometimes. If he had known that her privacy included sneaking Bo into her room late at night for some very private escapism when they were teenagers, Lauren wondered if her father would have changed his mind about that.

Right now, Bryce was in the house playing with Bo and Kenzi, so Lauren took the opportunity to take a long run with Hale, though it was more designed for show than an actual run. The trails around the compound would afford them more privacy to discuss things with less risk of being bugged. At least, the plan was to go "running," but once Lauren's muscles started to warm up, she decided a run was exactly what she'd been craving so she'd just gone for it. Luckily, Hale was in shape enough to keep up, even if he wasn't too happy about the actual exercise. He had been up late the night before doing surveillance on Dr. Everett, so he was obviously not rested enough for Lauren's energetic speed.

After a few miles, and when they reached closer to home and the end of the run, Lauren decided it was time to get down to business, so she started to slow her pacing and warm down.

"Shit, Doc! Have you and Bo not been exerting enough energy lately? Where'd that come from? Last thing I expected this morning." His shirt was soaked with sweat, so she looked down to find her own shirt was not faring much better. She didn't realize just how much she wanted a glass of water and hoped she and Bo didn't go through all of the sports drinks last night. She really needed the electrolytes right now.

"Sorry, Hale. I just got into the zone. I didn't realize how much I needed that." Lauren leaned over, contracting her muscles as she placed her hands on her knees. "Actually, my mind is so much clearer. We need to start doing this more often again."

"You're crazy." He raised his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face before glaring at her.

"Funny." Lauren rolled her neck to stretch and relax. The house was within viewing distance, so this was a good place to stop and talk. They could see and hear everything surrounding them. To outsiders, they would just look like two friends who were cooling down from a good long run before taking the final walk back home. "Actually, I don't trust anyone more to run with me like this, and Bo doesn't like it when I run out here alone. Not since those pictures were taken of us back here."

"Ever find out who took them?" Hale's heart rate was starting to slow, Lauren could tell. She could visibly see the veins throughout his muscles and felt slightly guilty for not taking his exhaustion into consideration before just taking off.

"Does it matter at this point?" It was true. Whoever took those pictures got what they wanted: Bo and Lauren outed to Trick. What else could they do at this point? They were declared as a couple within the family, so there was no reason to follow them like that anymore. Whatever moves were going to made against them now were going to be out in the open, and Lauren much preferred it that way. "We'll eventually figure everything out."

"About Dr. Everett." He cleared his throat and furrowed his brow, almost like he didn't want to tell her what he had found out.

"And there goes the stress relief." She knew she had to hear whatever it was, though, no matter how much she didn't want it to be true.

"I'm not running again after this." He chuckled, but it didn't help break the tension. She smiled politely because he was her friend. If it had been anybody else, she probably would have given them an icy stare until they got to the point.

"I know, Hale. Just tell me what you have." She suddenly felt the need to sit down, not sure she was ready to hear the news about her mentor's involvement. It was still a hard bite to swallow; knowing that the people she expected the least were plotting against them somehow. Elder O'Leary made some sense as the leak, since he was always talking about going to battle. He was one of the Elders whose go to tactic was always "kill or be killed," but Lauren never thought anything of it too much because he was such a nice man.

"That's just it. You're right, Lauren. There is something much bigger going on, and you're not going to like what Dyson and I found." Hale cleared his throat again, and it was starting to annoy Lauren that he thought she needed this sugar coated.

"Just be straight with me. Tell me, so we can start figuring out what to do next." Lauren just wanted answers; she wanted to be able to explain how she could've been fooled her entire life by these people. She now understand why her father never made friends within the family besides Trick, other than Dr. Everett. It still didn't make sense. Could her father have been wrong about the woman? Lauren trusted his instincts, especially about this business. Could he have gotten it wrong, too?

"Well, Doc, Elder O'Leary is definitely the leak, but it goes deeper. He's not the only one." Hale stood up straight; just like the soldiers used to in Afghanistan when a superior officer was addressing them. Lauren was slightly surprised, but she internally smirked a bit that even her oldest, closest friend paid her this respect. "Dyson caught him talking to someone on the phone last night, and I think it's someone even closer."

"Dr. Everett?" Lauren knew that's not what he was saying to her, but she wanted to know about her mentor more than worry about the deeper conspiracy. It was logical that someone else was running this show. O'Leary was the leak, but he wasn't smart or crafty enough to pull off the ruse by himself.

"That's the weird thing. I didn't catch anything on her other than she was scared." Hale smiled at her again and went along with her transition. He knew her well enough and knew how close she was with the woman, which was why he was the one she put on her watch last night instead of Dyson. Maybe, deep down, she wanted it sugar coated a little when she found out. "I don't think she's the bad guy here, so you can breathe easy at least on that."

"It still doesn't make sense why she didn't save Donna. Why stitch her up after she was dead?" That's the part Lauren desperately wanted to know. It made no sense to suture a dead body unless she needed the practice, and Dr. Everett was a pro. She even had her own signature sutures; that's exactly how Lauren knew it was her. The first thing she requested from Stella last night was Dr. Everett's file; she had to know if she had trained anyone else. When she found out that she had not, Lauren felt relief that she had it narrowed down but more stress because it meant she was potentially trained to become consigliere by an eventual enemy. What did that mean about her?

"Maybe she knew you would see it? Maybe she's trying to reach out?" Hale said exactly what she needed to hear because Lauren had been so far into her episode of "to catch a predator" that she hadn't considered that Dr. Everett could be good. Lauren had learned to trust her instincts long ago, but this business was slowly eating at her trust of what was good and bad.

"It makes sense." The fact that she didn't consider her friend, her mentor, her father's friend and potential lover, was immediately innocent spoke volumes to how much she had changed. This life had made her cynical. How would she survive only ever trusting Bo for the rest of her life? What kind of life was this?

"She's a good egg; I think someone is pulling her strings here, and you're not going to like what else I saw." Hale looked around him, looking to ensure they were still alone. The subtle cues that he was doing this wouldn't be obvious to anyone else; it was part of the training Lauren had implemented for all soldiers when she first started. They needed to learn more stealth, and she was happy that Hale at least had taken that lesson. She needed him at his top performance.

"What?"

"Chad came to her house." He talked slower than usual, though she wasn't sure why. She let that settle for a bit because her brain wasn't ready to hear her brother was involved in this somehow. That seemed like a bigger betrayal than Dr. Everett, considering they were actual family. The whole "keep it in the family" mantra they'd heard their entire life was probably their father's legacy. So, how could Chad possibly be involved? He didn't even live in this city.

"Chad's not here until tomorrow. What was he doing here last night?" She was talking more to herself; processing out loud more than looking for answers. Hale knew this was how she operated, so he stayed silent as she paced the dirt trail. "You're sure it was Chad? Maddie's birthday isn't for another few days."

"It was him. Hard to miss his smug grin, and Dr. Everett did not seem pleased to see him." Hale never was Chad's biggest fan, often pointing out how her younger brother would constantly try to undermine Lauren or act like he was better than her. He did not like Chad at all and would stand up to him whenever he tried to bully anybody in school. Lauren never thought too much about it; just figured it was the middle child thing. She wasn't that close to either of her siblings, so whenever Chad did say something cruel to her, she brushed it aside because it didn't really bother her. She was in her own little "Bo-centered" world or focusing on her studies most of the time anyways.

"Chad's in on this somehow? That doesn't make sense." Instead of letting this new information overwhelm her before she had concrete answers, Lauren decided to start walking to the house. It was the one thing she did have control over right now. Plus, her body desperately needed those electrolytes and she needed to make sure Hale didn't pass out in the woods.

"Has any of this made sense so far?" He chuckled, but this time, Lauren genuinely smiled with him. She needed him around more often, running or no. It was hard to believe he was getting married soon, and she wanted the war to be over much sooner so she could help make that happen. If she couldn't have her dream life, she could at least make sure her best friend did.

"Good point." When they broke the woods and the house was only a few kilometers away, Lauren felt exhausted, too. If there was no rest for the wicked, that meant that the good guys could never sleep, either. She was starting to understand those graphic novels she used to read where superheroes were so focused and never rested. Even if they were still technically the bad guys, Lauren liked to think of them as the better end of the bad guys; more like the good guys in disguise. Anything to help her sleep better at night, she supposed, considering the things she had to do on the daily. "Keep your ears to the ground. I'll tell Dyson the same. We need to figure this out yesterday. If there's a bigger conspiracy here, if my brother or Dr. Everett are involved, we need to know how, why, and just how deep this goes."

"On it, Doc." Hale got the last word before they entered the house and saw Bo and Kenzi making what Lauren guessed was supposed to be breakfast. It was mostly burned eggs and toast on plates and a mess around the stove. Bryce was in the living room doing puzzles on the floor. It was a strange time to realize it, but Lauren had never felt more like she was finally coming home.

After Kenzi and Hale left, Bo wanted Bryce to take a nap, even though she suspected he would fight her. He always did anymore, and she wasn't sure she had the energy to fight him today. For some reason, Bo felt overly exhausted. She wanted to say it was because Lauren had fucked her stupid the night before, but Bo knew her exhaustion was more than physical exertion. No, she was drained. It's why she dreaded fighting with Bryce today, though she knew there was no way around it.

The strangest thing happened instead: Lauren asked if he would go take a nap, and Bryce just nodded and went to bed. Bo was sure she was hallucinating; that her exhaustion had finally won the battle with her sanity.

Lauren just smirked when Bryce disappeared down the hall to his room. Bo figured he was up to something, since he was so agreeable, so she waited ten minutes while Lauren helped her do the dishes from their disaster breakfast this morning, then she walked to Bryce's room and peeked inside. She was sure her sanity was lost when she noticed that he had actually tucked himself into bed. She made her way back into the kitchen, now knowing she had lost her mind.

"How did you do that?" Bo knew Lauren had finally declared she wanted to be a parent to Bryce, but she honestly expected more fight from both parties. What had happened overnight that made Bryce just do what Lauren asked?

"Do what?" Lauren looked up from putting the pans away under the stove. She was such a domestic goddess and it was sexy as hell. The memory of Lauren's fingers expertly sliding in and out of her last night made Bo's stomach churn. Now was not the time for this; she knew Lauren had something to tell her. They needed to talk; Bo needed to focus. It was just so damn hard when Lauren bent over in her tight running pants. Her tight running pants that showed her toned legs perfectly.

"Get him to just go to bed?" Bo huffed, attempting to keep her sexual responses down. She was doing better at controlling them; if this had happened when they were in high school, people would have known about them for sure because Bo would not have been able to stop herself. She had aged and learned control; not that she wasn't tempted to let the sexual beast inside of her just come out anyways. "Dammit, why do you always have to look so good?"

"Bo." Lauren just smirked. She seemed an odd mixture of troubled and relieved, probably the results from whatever she had learned out on her run. They were out there longer than intended, and both Lauren and Hale had come in soaked in sweat, so Bo knew her girlfriend had just ran. While she wasn't a fan of her running alone in those woods, at least they were guarded heavily right now and Hale was with her. "You're being silly, and all I did was ask him to take a nap."

"Yeah, but he just listened. He usually fights; you know that." Bo moved over to fiddle with the tea towel that was laying on the stove. She could've helped put the dishes away, but she kind of liked not worrying about it for a moment. If Lauren wasn't going to ask her to help, then Bo wasn't going to give her the idea.

"Bryce is a smart kid, and he's growing up. He knows when he's tired." Lauren grabbed the mugs and hung them on the mug rack before turning around and grabbing the tea towel from Bo so that she could dry her hands.

"You weren't here when he was two. If he didn't take a nap, he would fight you, and nobody would get any rest." Bo smirked as she watched Lauren refold the towel, most likely her needing to dry her hands was more of an impulse to fold the towel that Bo had messed up more than her hands being wet.

"That's what kids do, hon. They test to see what they can get away with. Sometimes, you don't even know they're doing anything bad until it's too late." Lauren didn't smile back at her, though, which meant that there would be no witty banter or filler conversation this morning before they had to tackle the big stuff. Sometimes, Bo wished the biggest thing she had to worry about was Lauren refolding a tea towel.

"Hey, Lauren. What's wrong?" Bo let out a long sigh, cueing Lauren to say what was on her mind.

"Dr. Everett is in all of this somehow, and I just want to know how. If I was bred to be the next consigliere, then that means she had a role in it. If she's the leak, what does that say about me?" Lauren leaned against the counter and folded her arms in front of her, her brow scrunched. She wasn't looking at Bo; instead, she was staring out the window wall, and it looked like she wanted to be back out there running instead of having this conversation.

"You're not bad, Lauren." Bo ran her hand down Lauren's arm, willing her to open back up and not shut down. "I know you. And I love you. There's nothing bad about you. Especially when you wear those running tights, which, may I add, are super tight in all the right places, doctor."

"Bo." Lauren's tone indicated she was not amused, but the tiny sparkle in her eyes and the corners of her mouth gave her away.

"I know. I know. Serious grown up time; not Bo needs another go around time." Bo waved her hand in the air and leaned against the counter next to Lauren instead of facing her. She let out a deep sigh again. She never realized how much she sighed until now.

"You need another go around?" Lauren's eyebrows lifted, as though she were honestly surprised at this declaration.

"Tell me you don't." Of course Bo needed another go around; didn't she usually?

"Bo, I…of course. I mean, I enjoy…" Lauren's cheeks reddened, which made Bo smile again, even though she knew it wouldn't be for long. They really did need to have this conversation.

"Are you flustered?"

"Are you laughing at me?"

"Of course not. It's just that I haven't seen you flustered and speechless like this in a long time. It's oddly comforting right now." Bo remembered how she used to live for making Lauren blush and become flustered. It used to be one of her favorite things to do in high school. She probably studied that more than she did for any of her actual subjects.

"Thanks."

"Okay, serious grown up time. What's the situation?" Bo let out another sigh and schooled her face to actually be serious. It wasn't that easy when she noticed Lauren's cheeks were still tinted pink.

"Dr. Everett was talking on the phone to someone last night, and Hale said she sounded scared." Lauren turned around at the counter and folded the tea towel again. It was already perfect, but Bo knew better than to comment.

"Could be an act. I mean, she surely knows you're watching her by now. She's a smart woman; why else would she put her signature move on a dead body? She knows you would've seen it eventually." Bo pulled the towel away from Lauren when she noticed her going for it again. It was Lauren's turn to let out a deep sigh as she turned around again.

"I can't believe she's bad, Bo, because that means I was trained to be bad, too." Lauren moved to start pacing, but Bo was not about to let that happen. Pacing Lauren was never a good thing.

"And I repeat: not a bad thing about you." She walked over and placed a hand on Lauren's arm again, pulling her hand to lead her to sit down in the living room. Once they were settled, Bo couldn't miss how Lauren's leg twitched like she needed that pacing. "Lauren, I get it. It's hard to realize your mentor could possibly be the bad guy. Hell, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around O'Leary. I mean, he used to give me candy and read me stories when Trick was too busy for me."

"I know. Whatever this is, it's big. I'm not sure I want to know what it is." Both of Lauren's legs were twitching now.

"You don't want to know something?" Bo placed her hands on Lauren's knees to still her legs and smirked when Lauren relaxed.

"I mean, of course I want to know, Bo. I just…"

"I get it."

"I know you do."

"So, this is really happening."

"What is?"

"Everything. The war. The conspiracy." Bo understood why Lauren needed to pace, but she felt comfortable for some odd reason just sitting here with Lauren. "The us."

"If we're going to solidify our life together controlling this family, then I want to make sure we do it together." Lauren turned her body and wrapped one of her arms around the back of the couch. She seemed to have switched from nervous identity crisis to confident businesswoman like it was an everyday thing. Knowing Lauren, Bo knew that it was, and she loved her more for it. She would start to worry when Lauren stopped showing brief moments of panic. "I'm not running anymore. I'm in this with you."

"Lauren, I…" Bo wanted to say something overly romantic. She wanted to say something profound and awe-inspiring. She wanted to make some big romantic gesture and just sweep Lauren off of her feet completely, even if Lauren wasn't the overly emotional type.

Instead of deciding the best words for the moment, instead of randomly proposing to her girlfriend or dragging her to elope right then, Bo felt her phone buzz in her pocket. They weren't ready for the grand gestures or proposals just yet; they had too many other things to worry about first. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and saw Dyson's name on the screen. She knew she couldn't ignore him, despite her body telling her to throw the phone away and just devour her girlfriend again.

"Hey, Dyson." Bo nodded to Lauren, making sure she heard her.

"Bo, do me a favor? Sit down." His voice sounded gruffer than usual.

"Okay…I'm sitting." Bo leaned forward on the couch.

"Is Lauren there with you?"

"Yeah, she's right here." Bo looked over at her girlfriend. Lauren just nodded that she was following along.

"Good. What I have to say, you need to tell her."

"What is it, Dyson?"

"Remember how I never trusted Avery?" Of course he never trusted Avery. Dyson had once declared his love for Bo, and she wanted to just be free instead. That freedom included Avery.

"I remember you not liking that I slept with anyone who wasn't you." When she became pregnant, that's when Dyson became even more intense about not liking him. Then again, that could've been because Avery was part of her father's, the enemy's, army.

"That's not what I mean, Bo. This is serious. Avery is not a good guy."

"We all know that, Dyson, but what am I supposed to do? He's Bryce's father." Bo wanted Bryce to know his father so much because she had never known hers growing up. The thought had crossed her mind that Bryce was better off not knowing him, but Avery honestly seemed good with him so she allowed it. He wanted to be a part of his son's life, and Bo did not want to be the person who kept that from her son.

"He may be his father, but he doesn't spend time with him like you think he does."

"What's that supposed to mean?" If that was true, then what about all of those pictures of them together and the stories that Bryce would tell about spending time with his father.

"When he takes him for father-son bonding, he's not the only one there. He takes him to your father's, Bo."

"Bryce would say something to me if that were true." Though it made complete sense. Avery was Don Gangliere's soldier, and the Don was Bryce's grandfather. Why wouldn't he spend time at the compound? Bo didn't like the idea, sure, but it did make sense.

"Would he really know the difference? He's four, Bo."

"I think my son can tell the difference between his father and grandfather, Dyson." Bo didn't like anyone saying her son wasn't sharp. He knew the difference between people, and he was smart enough to tell Bo about his adventure. Don Ganglieri was a busy man, so even if they were hanging out at the compound, Bryce probably barely saw him, just like she did with Trick growing up. It would be a quick hello here and there, just enough to solidify love and fondness for his grandfather, but not enough to be a really substantial mention.

"He's with them both, Bo."

"That's not surprising. Avery works for my dad; it's reasonable to think he would take Bryce to the compound."

"Avery was just a soldier; expendable, Bo. He had no real future in that family. We all know that, so why did we never acknowledge that he jumped ranks so fast?" Dyson had made that point several times. Bo just didn't want to listen to him back then because, honestly, she wanted Avery to be something more than a soldier. She wanted him to be more protected for Bryce's sake, so he wouldn't know what it was like losing a father because of some stupid turf war or stupid mission.

"Dyson, it's my father. He's the one who did that. You're not telling me anything I didn't know. I'm not stupid. You think I don't think about these things constantly? I hate that I have to send my little boy into enemy territory without knowing that he'll actually be returned to me. I hate every second he's away from me because that's time that someone can hurt him; that I can't protect him." Bo hadn't realized when she had stood up and started pacing. She looked over at Lauren, who was still sitting on the couch and just watching and following along.

"Your father has been playing you this whole time, Bo." Of course he had.

"I know that, Dyson!" She didn't mean to yell. Briefly, she worried that she might've woken Bryce from his nap, but she didn't hear any stirrings.

"Bo, calm down, sweetie. He's just doing his job." Lauren walked over and placed a hand on Bo's shoulder. It surprisingly calmed her, though it wasn't enough.

"Sorry, I just…" Bo wasn't sure if she was apologizing to Dyson or herself.

"I get it, Bo. This isn't easy for any of us, especially not for you and Lauren. I just wanted to let you know I have it confirmed now that Avery is part of the conspiracy, and so is your father." Dyson was good at his job, and Bo trusted him. That was saying something because she wasn't sure who to trust in this family. Dyson had been with her through a lot, though, and she just somehow…knew. He was going to go far in this family once she was completely in charge. He had earned it.

"I'm not entirely sure he's not responsible for this entire thing." It was a difficult thing to admit out loud. She had wanted a father for so long that she ignored every bad thing her actual father had done to her family over the years. How many friends and lovers had she lost because of him? "Thanks, Dyson. Good job. Keep on watch and keep us updated."

"Of course." Dyson was probably doing that stoic nodding thing he did, which oddly was comforting to imagine. Bo just hung up because she knew they didn't need to say goodbye. Instead, she ended the call, and just stood there looking out the windows, much like Lauren was earlier. It always seemed so calm in the woods behind the compound and this house. It could almost fool anyone into thinking they weren't about to be in a full blown gang war.

"You know, why don't you go take a nap?" Lauren looked at her with so much love and compassion that Bo finally understood why Bryce had just gone to bed when Lauren had asked him the same thing earlier.