***Y'ALL THINGS ARE GONNA GO DOWN REAL SOON-***

***(Nya's POV)***

Jay and I leave the diner around five in the evening. I'm not even sure which meal we just had – I skipped lunch, and it seems too early for dinner. In any case, it's getting late in the day, and it's time Jay drops me off at the coffee shop to get my car. He'll be meeting his parents at the church soon to visit haunted houses, anyway.

He babbles all the way back to the café about how if we play our cards right, I shouldn't have to spend any more than a year in prison. It's a nice prospect, but I'm still a little wary.

"Jay, has it occurred to you that we have no proof I was on DM during the armed robbery?" I finally interrupt him. He's in the middle of promising to come visit me every day in prison if I'm not acquitted.

He pauses slightly in his rambling. "Well...yeah. But we'll find proof, Nya." His voice loses the confident edge it had before.

"How?" I ask. "It's not like Cole still has any Dark Matter on him, and he's not just going to tell the courts that he purposefully gave me the drug without telling me its effects. He'd be in prison for years if he confessed that."

"We could talk to his dealer?" Jay suggests.

I lift an eyebrow in skepticism. "Jay, we don't know who his dealer is."

"We could find out. Ignacia isn't that big of a place." He taps his fingers along the steering wheel. "The Ninjago City police force has given me access to certain cases. I mean, I don't have confidential information or anything, but I can look through their database. I'm pretty sure Ninjago City helped Ignacia take down a drug cartel about a year back. We could always look into that and see if we can make connections with Cole's dealer."

"Maybe. What are the chances they'll remember Cole coming to them two years ago, though?" I sigh.

"Selling Dark Matter is probably something they'd remember," Jay shrugs. "Whatever the case, we'll find the proof we need, Nya. I promised you I would protect you, and I'm a man of my word." He says the words resolutely.

I shake my head, unable to resist the smallest of smiles. "You are something else."

"Why?" he asks. "What'd I do?"

"People don't swear to protect people they've just met, Jay." I stare out the window.

"I do for you."

I smile slightly, staring out my window. Yes, Jay's crazy for lying to his parents about our relationship and our future kids. I don't have any romantic interest in him. But he's kind of sweet, in a weird way. Despite his faults, he wears his heart on his sleeve. And he's giving up a lot to help me. He's...well, as I said, he's sweet.

Something flashing in the distance catches my eye, and I blink to clear my vision.

Sure enough, I see a flashing blue light up ahead. And...it looks like it's in the parking lot of my apartment. We're passing by the place on the way to the coffee shop.

Wait. Police...at my apartment?!

I grab Jay's arm. "What's that?"

"What's what?"

I grip his elbow tighter as the apartment parking lot comes into view. "Jay, police are swarming my apartment complex!"

Jay jerks the steering wheel to the left to avoid running off the road. "Oh my gosh!" he exclaims. "But...there's no way...how could they...do you think they're there because of you?"

"I'm not taking my chances," I whisper, swallowing hard.

He chews his bottom lip. "How did they find you?"

"I don't know." I release a long breath. "But if they're on my trail, my face will be plastered all over the news soon."

"Oh my gosh." He rubs his temple, then swears and clutches the steering wheel harder. "My mom! She can't see you on the news because the police are hunting for you, or she'll freak! What am I supposed to do?!" He spares a glance at me, as though I know the answer to all his problems.

I try to think for a moment. "It won't be long before they find me, and then there'll be no protecting your mom from the truth."

"No," he says pleadingly. The word is small, vulnerable.

I grasp at straws. "I guess...right now, I would tell your dad the truth. Tell him to keep your mom away from the news as long as possible." I bang my head against the back of the seat. "Geewhiz, Jay! What if they figure out I've been hanging around you, and they end up questioning you? Or...your parents?"

He releases a strangled noise. "Oh my gosh. Please, no." He shakes his head. "I can't lose my mom, Nya."

I think quickly, desperately. "My car's at the coffee shop. You left work early today. I'm sure there are witnesses who saw us leave together and spend time around town. There's no way they won't know you're somehow involved with me."

"Then we have to prove to the police that you're not a criminal mastermind," he swallows hard. "Tell me how we prove that, Nya. I don't want you going to jail until your trial because the police just assume you're guilty. That's not right!" His features are tense.

I take a deep breath. "I can take jail, Jay. I'll be okay. I'm more worried about the police figuring out you've associated with me. Mark my words, the Ignacian police chief will look up your search history, find out you looked at my missing persons file, and use it as evidence of collusion. You and I will both go to prison."

"We didn't do anything wrong!" I exclaim.

"This guy doesn't care, Jay. He's ruthless." I shake my head, a plan forming in my mind. "You're really good at lying."

"That's not a compliment!" he practically shouts, driving us right past the coffee shop. I don't see any police in the parking lot yet.

"It is, in this case." I debate for a moment. "Okay, I have kind of a crazy plan."

"Which is?!" he asks.

"You can pretend to be my hostage."

He swerves, quickly attempting to right himself in our lane. As soon as we're righted, he shrieks, "What?"

"You can pretend that I kidnapped you," I quickly explain. "And then – "

"Are you nuts?!" he yells. "Nya, you don't need any more charges against you!"

"You don't need to be in prison for collusion!" I argue. "How are you ever supposed to enter law enforcement with a record?"

"I don't care!" he cries. "Nya, the only reason I entered criminal justice in the first place is that I wanted to help lost people like me find home! And that's what I'm doing with you – helping you find home! I don't care if I never get a job as a cop – I'm bad at intimidating people, I don't like to give people speeding tickets because I speed, and I don't want to wear a nametag to work that says 'J. Walker'! I couldn't care less if I don't become a cop, Nya, because at least I'll be helping you this way! You're lost, and you need help!" He sighs. "You matter a lot more to me than any old job."

I shake my head, looking down at my lap. How nuts is it that this guy is willing to give up so much for me the day I get to know him? What's wrong with him? Does he have some sick need to help others so much that it causes harm to himself?

"We'll get my parents from the church," he says suddenly. "We can't go back to my work. I'm sure the police have already talked with your landlord and put out a BOLO for your license plate."

"It won't be long before they find me," I swallow. "We can't take your parents with us, Jay."

"They're already involved. We have to tell them everything, Nya. If my mom figures out and she isn't prepared, she'll have a heart attack for sure. I want to explain things to her myself." He runs a hand through his curly locks. "We'll get my parents to stay here, but we're going to Ignacia, Nya. We have to find the police chief in person and confront him about his wrongdoings. We'll get an audio recording of what he says or something, then we'll show it to the courts. We'll get reasonable proof that that guy should be in jail. Maybe we can get you out on bail or something while we're waiting for your court hearing."

I shake my head. "Jay, you could get in serious trouble for this. I don't want you – "

He grabs my hand. "None of that matters to me. Yeah, I'm a crazy guy who says he fell in love with you at first sight, okay? Think what you want about me, but you mean a lot to me, and I'm going to make sure you're taken care of." He squeezes my fingers reassuringly.

I take a deep breath. "I...am going to walk out on a limb here and trust you. What's the plan?"

"Our plan is simple," he says matter-of-factly. "We'll drive to the church, get my parents, and hide my car somewhere not far off. We'll take their car to Ignacia, since they're not directly linked to you. They drive a gray sedan – we'll be discreet enough. The drive to Ignacia is about three hours long. Once we get there, we'll figure out where the police chief is and confront him. Tonight, Nya, I promise I'll help you fix all the corruption in the Ignacian PD."

***For those of you wondering, "BOLO" just stands for "be on the lookout".***