Queen of Spades (House of Car...

"Ms. Spade, I am greatly disappointed in you." the Social Services Agent stated, standing up. She was trying to be intimidating but all it did was highlight how much physically more imposing Alice was comapred to her. "Running away again and now these ridiculous claims of assault and abuse?"

"They were not ridiculous! I had to take this poor child to the emergency room myself!" Salali objected, and Alice was astonished to note that there was no sign of last night's grief on the large Native woman's face.

"I'm sure Officer Bradely would love to take the details of how you've been aiding and abetting a run away." The Agent retorted, too arrogant to realize the fool she was making of herself. Alice realized that the nasty attitude wasn't necessarily because she hated Alice, but because the tiny woman was offended that someone would question her judgement.

"I'm sorry, I never did catch your name Miss...." Alice asked, smiling at the Social Services Agent like htey were on good terms.

"You can call me Ms. Chau." Chau stood rigidly, posture perfect but stiff.

"Well Ms. Chau, I sincerely hope that you do not have any other foster children under your perview." Alice stated, voice calm but her body was tense with anger and the need to lash out at something.

"Excuse me? How dare..." Chau started.

"Oh shut up." Alice interrupted, making the Asian woman gape at her. "I've looked into the SSA procedures and you are a terrible Agent. At the first report of rape and violence, you were obligated to move me into a temporary new home and investigate. But you didn't. Even if I was doing all this to myself, obviously the current foster family was either negligent to my well being, or actively participating, which required you to move me to a new family. But you didn't. And now, I have filed a police f***ing report with PROOF I was raped and beaten BY MY FOSTER BROTHER AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO COME HERE AND TRY TO TALK DOWN TO ME?" Alice demanded, her voice loosing its cool and becoming angry.

"Ms. Spade, I think you should take a moment to collect yourself." Officer Bradley spoke up, subtlely warning Alice to back off a little.

"Actually, Officer Bradely. I think it would be best that Agent Chau here left. Clearly Alice is not a runaway, and you have my records on file. I do not appreciate her implications that I tried to kidnap Alice nor aid in her runaway attempt when she was simply trying to escape torture." Salali spoke up from the kitchen.

"As the only one with authority here, it is my duty to assign Ms. Spade to a foster family that is registered So if I leave, she is coming with me." Agent Chau warned.

"For the love of god and all things holy...." Alice muttered. "What is it that you want?" she demanded of the Agent. "Will you only believe me if I video tape it when he beats me senseless, rips off my close and forces himself on me? Because if you take me back to them, that's exactly what will happen. Maybe not right away, no. He'll be cautious while you guys are around investigating. But once you relax your vigilance, I'll start making trips to the hospital again." the anger rushed out of Alice and she felt tired and bone achingly sad. "Or you'll just find me in the morgue." Agent Chau actually looked like she was listening. "I turn eighteen in three months.  Not even three whole months, in.." she did the math in her head "76 days. And as soon as I can, I am leaving the foster care system. You will no longer have to worry about me and I won't burden the system anymore." she shrugged. "Until then can you not just please let me stay with Salali as my guardian? I'm going to school, I have community service commitments, I even work once in a while. You move me to another foster family else where and I'll have to start all over, and I'll be a pain in the ass the entire time." Alice tried to convince the stubborn woman. "I'm finally finding something that works. I can build a life out of this. Please don't take that away from me."

Officer Bradley stood up. "Agent Chau, I find no evidence that Ms. Spade is a run away, and no corroboration to claims that she and her new guardian attacked the Walter family." the cop turned to nod at Salali and walked over to shake Alice's hand. Ace felt something press into her palm and she cupped it, hiding it from view as the officer walked out of hte apartment.

Agent Chau suddenly looked very small, and a lot less certain of herself. "You haven't been lying?" she asked, as if it only just occured to her that Alice was a victim. Alice shook her head. "The system has failed you." she stated a little more firmly.

"Agent, the Walter's requested a new SS rep every seven months just so no one would care. All of them fell for the same crap you did because it's what you've come to expect. But how many girls and boys have you dismissed that are just like me? I know most of the blame goes to the Walter's and the system, but don't think for a minute you're guilt free. Now please, have a nice day." Alice held the door open.

Chau frowned but left without another word. Alice closed the door and turned to look at Salali. The large Natice woman had a sympathetic look on her face, but now that the others weren't around, she allowed the tiredness and grief to show again. Alice felt her hands start to tremble and swallowed the emotions down, using her mediation to push it away for now.

"Sorry you have to deal with that right now Sal. Why don't you run yourself a buble bath and I'll get you some hot chocolate ready?" Alice suggested. Thankfully Salali nodded, understandably too consumed with her own grief still to realize Alice wasn't alright.

The large woman left to the bathroom and Alice started to get the hot water ready. The shaking in her hands was getting worse and traveled up her body, spreading until eventually her entire body trembled. She could feel the blood drain out of her face and the tears well up, her throat nearly closing over the pressure in her chest. She set the mug down on the counter so she wouldn't drop it and leaned against the counter as her body started to shake harder with sobs. She managed to stay quiet so Salali wouldn't hear, and the hot tears burned tracks down her cold skin. She had a pain in her chest and her legs crumpled so she ended up crouched over her knees, hands still clinging to the countertop, body wracked with sobs. She was just so tired of everyone kicking her while she was down. Just as things started to go a little bit right in her life, something would come along and knock it over like a house of cards. That's right, you're the queen of spades in a deck of jokers, Alice thought cruelly to herself. She started to suck in breaths to try and calm down, and after a while felt the tremors stop. She felt weak and fuzzy, a headache pounding in her skull and her stomach was tight with stress. Alice hauled herself up, startled to find that hot water had cooled while she had her little breakdown and started to boil it again. As she reached for a second mug she realized that Malcolm was standing inside the doorway.

He was staring at her, face blank, arms crossed over his chest. Her face was still tearstained, and she had no energy left to pretend she hadn't just been crying like a baby. "Why are you here?" she asked, voice rough.

"I came to check on Salali." he replied, hesitating for a second. "Shawna called me and told me you two had met up and talked." he stepped closer into the room, slowly moving around the couch. "She kept going on about how great you were, how well you listened, how friendly and smart you seemed." Alice looked down at the mug she was cluching like a life line.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked, confusion not making her feel any better.

Malcolm stood in the kitchen, far enough away that Alice didn't feel cornered. "Because I already knew it." he stated. "I already know that you're beautiful, and funny." he stepped a little closer. "That you're smart and painfully honest." another step closer. "And that any man would be lucky to have you in their life." he stopped right in front of her and lifted her chin up with his hand. "And I'm sorry that I ever acted like I doubted it. You deserve better than that. I know I haven't been a very good friend to you. I've dumped my anger and frustration out on you, and been moody as hell. You were right yesterday, I was angry because you were making me face the fact that I haven't been honest to myself in a long while. I wanted to thank you for demanding that I be the man I'm capable of, and not the one I think is easier. And I wanted to apologize for every tear I may have caused." he dropped his hand from her chin. "Can we be friends?" he asked.

Alice looked down, not sure herself if she could be friends with him. Even pissed off and hurt she still wanted him in her life, but as just friends? That was the part she wasn't sure of. "If we're gonig to be friends then there's something I have to say first." she confessed.

"Alright. Lay it on me, I can take it." Malcolm smiled, spreading his arms. He was trying to make it a little lighter in here, break some of the tension up. His eyes were still uncertain and guarded, as if he expected her to lay into him.

She opened her mouth to tell him that she had a crush on him but bailed at the last minute. "You know what? Never mind. It's not important right now." she deflected.

"Oh come one, you can't leave me hanging like that." Mal joked, looking a little relieved.

Alice smiled, willing it to reach her eyes. "You're just going to have to suffer Mally." she mocked.

Malcolm groaned. "Oh god. Not you too."

Alice was too tired and emotionally wrung out to grin. "Consider it payback Mally." she warned.

"Ace, you are a cruel, dangerous woman to know." Malcolm stated.

"I know. I've got a long night ahead of me so I think I'l going to go pass out now." Alice stated, feeling her eyes burn from exhaustion and crying.

"What about the hot chocolate?" Mal asked, not knowing that she hadn't gone to sleep yet.

"F***." Alice stated bluntly.

Mal laughed. "You know, you've got a wicked mouth." he chuckled.

"Do you know how wrong that sentence sounded?" Alice asked, feeling a smile dance at the corners of her lips.

"Maybe I meant it that way." he suggested with a playful wink. Alice patted him on the arm.

"I'm too tired to play. You can have my mug, I'll bring Salali hers." Alice finally poured the now lukewarm water and brough the mug to Salali. Alice coughed as she opened the door, steam and pipe smoke assailing her lungs.

"Alice? Sorry. It helps me calm down." Salali sounded drowsy as she smiled at Alice.

Ace took shallow breaths and tucked her shirt over her nose. "It's all good Sal. I just wasn't expecting it." she set the mug down and quickly backed out, bothered by the smoke more than she wanted to admit. It didn't help her headache any and made her feel woozy to boot. She shuffled back out to the living room on complete autopilot, and flopped down onto the couch, out cold as soon as she landed.

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Someone was shaking her shoulder and she swatted at the hand in annoyance. The shaking withdrew and she started to settle into a deeper sleep when she felt a finger lightly trace down her jaw, to her neck. She was waking up more as the finger followed a straight line down her arm and she jerked awake as figners suddenly dug into her side, tickling.

"Idon'twanttoplay!" she exclaimed as she scooted and ended up falling off the couch onto the floor.

Malcolm peered over the couch down at her and burst out laughing at her disgruntled expression. Alice narrowed her eyes at him, still a little out of it from sleep. "Not the best way to get on my good side Mally." she warned. He tried to look serious but humour still danced in his eyes. "God you're mercurial." she huffed, worn out by trying to follow his mood swings.

"You're the one that wanted to play with my beast." he retorted. Alice tried not to immediately think wildly inappropriate thoughts but the first thing that jumped to mind with that comment was NOT pg-13.

"How long was I asleep for?" Alice asked, shifting the conversation to safer topics.

"About 6 hours. It's now about 4 pm." Mal answered and offered her a hand up. With a swift tug he had her back on her feet and they were chest to chest. "Looked like you could use the rest." he said softly, running a thumb under one of her eyes to wipe the sleep away.

The breath hitched in Alice's chest for a second, but she forced herself to start again. "Yeah, hadn't actually gotten to sleep yet. Was a little distracted." she replied, not realizing her voice was soft too. He hadn't taken his hand away from her face and neither one had stepped back, making this moment feel more intimate than Alice thought it should.

"I really am sorry." Malcolm apologized, eyes serious and honest.

"I know." Alice replied, resisting the urge to lean into his touch.

"I wish I could do last night over." he admitted softly. "There's one thing I wouldn't change though."

"What's that?" Alice asked, though the way he was looking at her lips part of her knew he was talking about the kiss. It kind of seemed like he was about to kiss her again, but then Salali's keys jingled as she tried to unlock the door and both Alice and Mal stepped away at hte same time.

"Food's here!" Salali called out, rough voice cheerful. Alice frowned, not understanding how these people swung from one emotion to the next so quickly. But closer inspection showed that Salali was still gray under her dark skin, and her eyes were puffy and red. Ah, so not all is as it seems. They were all more subdued while eating than was normal, but it wasn't painfully somber. Salali ate too quickly and ended up with hiccups. And when they wouldn't stop, she started to curse everytime she hiccuped, and Mal would tell her what language she had to curse in next. Alice was astonished to learn that Salali spoke three different Native languages, English, French, Spanish and Deutch. So of course they spent the next few hours picking at the food and having Sal teach Alice how to curse multi-lingually.

Eventually Alice had to leave and go to her DJ gig for the night, though Mal offered to drive her because he wanted to see this DJ Mask personna she had. If she could have gotten out of it, she would because she still felt dead on her feet. So instead she pushed her shoulders back, stretched her neck from side to side toy crack it and grabbed her costume from the storage locker she hadn't told anyone about. DJ Mask's costume was reminiscent of the Predator from sci fi. There were beaded dreads covering the back of her head and neck, and and her female figure was disguised under a layer of strange looking armour. Strangely enough she never found it uncomfortable, instead when she pulled hte costume on she felt less constrained. Of course, as DJ Mask she was also a lot more rude, crude and out to party than Alice tended to be herself.

"You must always get a seat on the bus when you wear that thing." Mal joked, a little awed by the detail of her costume. She gave him the thumbs up, the mp3 player with her finalized set list in her gloved hand.

It was gonig to be a long night, but now that she felt the familiar personality of Mask settle over her, she was determined to give them hell tonight and make it a night no one would forget.

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A/N: Not terribly happy with this chapter. I re wrote the scene between Mal and Ace a LOT. And then I felt like hte rest was jumping through time, but I wanted to show that things between Alice and Mal are not settled, but they are both pretending everything is ok.

I will aim for one more chapter this weekend, but no guarantees. It's my birthday on Sunday and I have heard rumblings in the wind that I may just be kidnapped by liquor fairies this weekend.