Part 4

"So this Justin character, you know about him?"

JC was talking to Marquis on the phone, fixing himself a sandwich.

"Yeah. He's the only white boy on 118. But don't let that fool ya, man. Just cause he's a cracka don't mean he aint rough."

JC cursed silently. "So is he really important to the block?"

That produced a laugh from the man. "Important? He has everyone by their balls, believe that. But he's not the boss. Nah. He's just kinda like, second in charge. Ya know?"

JC nodded and took a bite out of his sandwich. "Could you give me a last name?" He knew he was going out on a limb but he had to try.

The line was silent before a large sigh slipped through. "Look, I can't do this for everyone... promise me you'll stop this shit, alright?"

JC nodded again. "I'll try my best." He grabbed a pen. He looked around for a pad but couldn't find one and settled for his arm.

"Timberlake. Justin Timberlake." The man was silent again. "He lives on Hughners. 234. There's usually a crowd there so just, be careful."

JC grinned. He scribbled next to the address a note to leave Mr. Marquis a huge bonus.

JC knew it was risky to be showing up at Timberlake's home. It was invading space and that this definitely wouldn't earn the trust of the young gang member now.

But he wanted to see what the background was on this guy. All his folder said was that he had left home at 15, been in Chisten since 16. Had 2 speeding tickets and one account for possession of an illegal handgun. It seemed weird.

He stepped up the cracked sidewalk to the messy apartment. He looked to the door, seeing it ravaged and dead on the porch and peeked inside. There had been no crowd outside so he called himself lucky.

He knocked softly three times and that's when the commotion started. Dogs started going crazy and JC looked around himself wildly, making sure he wasn't anywhere near them. Then he heard feet pounding down stairs and held his breath. This could work two ways. He hoped it worked to his benefit.

When the tall brute man showed up in a wife beater and some unbuttoned jeans JC's eyes were wide.

And Justin was seeing red.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing here?" He pushed out his house, shoving JC, snarling when the brunette stumbled back.

Justin glared at JC for a good second, JC on shaky legs suddenly scared out of his boots.

"What do you want?" Justin asked, his voice lethal.

And JC spilled whatever that came to mind first. And that, well wasn't too smooth. "Lunch. I wanna take you to lunch."

Justin glared some more and JC closed his eyes, a nice blush on his cheeks, his body red from embarrassment. Out of all the cool things to say...

"You're a fucking riot." Justin was saying but he wasn't laughing.

JC peeked and Justin suddenly wasn't there. He looked around quickly, wondering where the blonde had went.

Then he appeared, in the doorway now with a shirt and stuffing a wallet in his pocket.

"You better leave me the fuck alone. After this."

They walked down the street, Justin glaring at the sidewalk as they sauntered towards the diner at the end of the block.

"The, um, diner ok?" JC asked and was rewarded with a grunt in reply.

He still had yet to know why the blonde had said yes.

Justin skipped up the steps to the diner, a ways ahead of JC. The brunette quickened his pace, opening the door for himself. Justin was already seated at a back end table. JC tried to calm his beating heart and jittery nerves when he walked over.

He slid into the seat and looked down. Out of all the things to say, he had to go with the weirdest and most hardest one. What was he supposed to talk about now?

"What are you doing here?" Justin asked, crossing his arms, his eyes still cold.

JC looked him in the eye, taking a deep breath. "Um, well... ok." He was just going to come out with it because he couldn't be in deeper shit with this fellow, why not just be honest. "Right so-"

"I know you're with the cops. I know what you're fucking tryna do to us. Make us bow down to them, well fuck that. This is our land and we don't need no white ass-"

"Ok stop right there. This is not a race thing, you hear me? And I refuse to make it a race thing. You got something against cops, go head. But just because they're white doesn't mean shit-"

"But it does! You're just one of ‘em so you wouldn't understand." Justin was panting. He looked pretty revved up.

"I'm not though."

Justin snorted and a woman stepped up to their table a little hesitantly, asking with her eyes if she should be there or not. JC shook his head, and she nodded, giving him a smile as she retreated.

"Look, go back and tell the department they can go fuck themselves cause we aint-"

"Justin whether you realize it or not this isn't about making you leave!" JC ran a hand through his hair. "This is about squashing this feud, not matter who wins or not. Hopefully, and this is what I'm here for, your sides can walk away with an agreement, maybe one of peace. I don't know but I'm not here to make you leave. That's the last thing we're trying to do." JC ended sounded more like a therapist.

Justin's eyes narrowed but his scowl had disappeared. "You wouldn't get it anyway."

JC looked up from the rusting table. "Wouldn't get what?"

"Us." Justin said and suddenly he had all JC's attention. He knew it too, that's why he sighed and turned away.

"I'm not gonna go and like... rag you to the police or anything. I guess... I just wanna know whats going on?"

"Nothings going on. Nothing that involves you."

JC sighed. "See, I know we aren't... the best of friends or whatever but I'm trying to help you-"

"I aint never met no cop who tried to help me, who the fuck says you're different?"

JC's head dropped to the counter. Talk about stubborn.

"I'm not a cop." he mumbled into the linoleum.

"Then what the hell are you?" Justin asked, his voice gruff and skeptical.

"Mediator for the bureau."

Justin snorted again and JC rolled his eyes. He reached into his back pocket, fumbling with the leather wallet. He was in the process of pulling out his business license when Justin reached over and snatched it from him, his eyes skimming over it quickly.

JC watched with wide and anxious eyes.

When Justin raised his eyes JC was surprised to see confusion in them, pure confusion and was just glad it wasn't malice this time.

"Why the hell were you behind the counter at Saff's?"

JC bit his lip. "That's supposed to be my ‘undercover' part." Now that he had told Justin that, he had realized that whoever Justin "worked" for, he could have just ruined it. But, JC looked back at Justin who was looking at him softly, maybe Justin could be that person who helped him.

Then Justin's eyes were hard again and JC sighed. Maybe not.

The blonde stood, sliding JC's wallet across the table. "I want to talk to you." he looked around him. "Privately. I'm going to stop by later. Be home."

JC, who was shocked to say the least reached out for the younger man's hand, catching his fingers, soft fingers might he add. He wanted to know what he meant.

But when the youth turned and looked with soft eyes at him, then to their hands JC let go, more confused as ever.

Justin looked hurt when he had touched him and while watching the blonde leave, he made a mental note to find out more info about this Justin Timberlake.

JC was pacing when the door bell sounded out and he looked at the door, almost as if it was foreign. He took a deep breath and calmed himself as much as he could in the 3 seconds that it took him to get to the door.

He had been more than anticipating this visit. Whatever it was.

Justin stood on the other side, his eyes not hard but welcoming either and JC stepped aside, the young man brushing past him to the couch. JC nodded to himself and cleared his throat.

"What-" His voice cracked anyway and JC cleared his voice again. "What did you want to talk about?" He tried to sound casual like this happened to him all the time. Justin saw through it.

He gave JC a small smile and the brunette was a bit stunned. Besides the shit eating grins he had received from Justin, that had to be one of the first smiles he had gotten. It sent a chill up his spine, and that wasn't too good.

"I know you know about us. And I know that you wanna do something. But." Justin took a deep breath. "I think you should just tell your troops to lay off. This aint that big'a deal-"

"But it is." JC argued. "People have died because of this. How is that not big?"

"Well if they asses didn't get involved in it, then they wouldn't be dead, now would they?"

JC's jaw dropped. "That's a bullshit excuse! So its their fault that they get killed?"

Justin shook his head. "I didn't say that-"

"Tell me you didn't just say that." JC's temper rose and his breathing hitched.

"Yeah, bitch. I didn't say that!" Justin said defensively, his voice raising. "Stop putting words in my mouth. What I meant was, that if they worried for their lives they wouldn't be out messing with us, now would they? They wanna gang bang, let em do it. But make sure they know they gotta pay the price if they fuck up."

JC closed his eyes. "You know you got 12 year olds in your ‘gang'? You know you got fucking children running around, strapped and you still say that?!" JC stood up and reached Justin quickly, bending down to settle in his face. "If so, fuck you. Fuck the hell out of you. Those are kids, innocent kids-"

"Nobody who's in 118 is innocent!" Justin stood up also, bumping chests with JC. "Who the fuck do you think you are?! Rollin up here like you know us, me. Fuck you, bitch. You don't know shit about anything round here!" he yelled back and pushed at JC.

The young man stumbled back before shoving Justin just as hard. The blonde gasped and his eyes narrowed. He drew close and JC flinched slightly, but his pride was his barrier and he wasn't going to back down. He remotely realized Justin was close enough to kiss.

And seems the other man wasn't too far from that thought either because as his panting came closer, the minty breath ghosting over JC's flushed cheeks his eyes softened and his fist lowered.

They were too close and JC's eyes studied the face before him. The pretty blue, that he hadn't noticed earlier and the strong sloped nose, the pouty pink lips... shit, this was not the time.

Justin's eyes moved also and when they landed on his lips, JC gasped softly, as if the blonde had actually touched them.

It was quick and JC wasn't surprised, oddly enough, when their lips brushed against each other's softly, both tense, both timid.

Wet lips molded against JC's and after a minute he sighed into it, getting comfortable. It was better than he had imagined.

Then Justin's head snapped back, his eyes wide... maybe with fear. Well, whatever it was it had him back into "angry anti-cop, anti-JC" mode and he glared at JC. He opened his mouth to say something, but JC wasn't listening. Too stunned.

"Fuck." the other man cursed and jet from the apartment, letting the door fly open as he passed.

JC was left, confused out of his mind.

Justin skipped up the narrow steps of the tattered apartment building. His eyes skimmed the numbers easily, finally landing on 312 and he knocked loudly, looking around him.

Minutes later, a busty black haired woman answered, wearing nothing but a g string and bra. Justin's eyes flitted over her body for a second before he passed her, calling out his friend's name.

"Slim?!" he called, his head ducking in rooms, finally spotting the man in the living room in front of a large TV, a picture of 2 girls sucking each other on screen.

"Justin!" A smile lit up the caramel colored man's face, his green eyes bright. Justin shook his head and sat down roughly, shaking his head again. "I'm not doing this anymore."

Slim looked confused. "What?"

"That white dude. That cop. I'm not running after him no more."

"But we need you too." Slim was frowning and Justin shook his head for a third time.

"Slim, he's a nobody. Just a fuck who's doing his deed of the year, trying to get rid of the polluted streets. He's no one to worry about-"

"But, J. He is. He's on their side. You talk to him today?"

Justin nodded and brought a finger up to his mouth, nibbling on the digit. His leg was bouncing and his friend noticed the fidgeting immediately.

"Whats wrong, J? Something's up. What?"

Justin shook his head. "I just.. I don't wanna be the one shadowing this fucker, alright? I don't... I don't wanna be around him, I... give him to someone else."

"But you're the only other white boy on out-"

"Who cares!" Justin stood up closing his eyes. He was too strung out. Damn kiss. "Look, get Mario too. He's light-"

"No Justin its not that you're light. Its that you're white. White people only trust other white people." Justin gave him a bored look. "Some. You an exception. But believe me. Why you think he tagged you from the beginning?"

Justin sighed and sat down again, running a hand over his zig zagged cornrows. "I don't wanna do this, Slim." he said and looked at the hazel eyed man with puppy dog eyes.

"Tell me whats bothering you about him and I'll make Mario do it."

Justin growled. He couldn't do that. He'd be signing himself up for hell himself. "Ugh!" He got up and shook his head.

"You owe me so much, Slim, it aint even funny." He walked out of the apartment with heavy feet and Slim smiled behind him, glad his team was still in tact.

Part 5
Tricky Index