To put one’s child in danger was the last thing he wanted. Always had been, and always will be.
Yet promises weren’t held with the utmost sanctity when on Wickway soil.
Markus sat up that much straighter as an unspoken tension deepened the frown upon his lips. “I’ll personally do everything in my power to make sure she’s safe,” he said slowly, hoping – praying – that nothing horrendous would befall Jace and his daughter. That they’d be spared the same fate he’d been dealt all those years ago.
-
Wasn’t it just months ago he had sworn that there was nothing that could bring him back to this life? And now here he was, seemingly ready to risk everything again. But the invitation from the Santoro’s showed him he had no choice.
To protect his daughter best, he had to be involved. He had to at least anticipate blows that might come.
Nodding, Jace’s lips pressed into a tight line as he looked at the man in front of him. After a moment, he let out a breath. “That’s better than those Santoro bastards would have said. Do you have a plan now, or am I waiting in the wings?”
“Look, I’m not going waste your time by saying a bunch of horseshit. It’s a yes, no, or give me more time answer. If it’s a yes, then there’s more to talk about. Details, plans, the full nine.” A dismissive wave was given before he could trap himself in the technicalities prematurely.
“If the answer’s no, nothing bad’s going to happen to you. No one’s going to hold a gun to your head and make you join the front lines. Kinda hard to believe, I know. I don’t have the.. most civil approach to things, but it’s not a one man march anymore.” Though tired ( so incredibly tired ), a genuine smile quirked upwards on his lips. “Besides, there’s other stuff that don’t require so much.. risk– like keeping an eye out for others, helping them…”
Idle fingers tap against the side of his mug as he let out a quiet sigh. “And if you pick the last option– I’m coming back in three day’s time. That’s all we can really afford.”
Jace knew this was coming the minute Dominic’s body was put on display. And in that time, his answer wavered every time he considered his options. He had finally pulled his life together, somehow making detective while raising Clara on his own. And none of that was thanks to anyone but himself. Could he really risk that? Could he risk his daughter’s life?
And in that moment, he realized his daughter’s life had been at risk since the Santoro’s had reared their ugly head, and he had said no. For her sake, there was really only one answer he could give the man in front of him.
“I can’t do anything that directly puts my daughter in danger. If you can promise me she’ll be safe, I’m your man.”
【 oliver jackson-cohen, cismale, thirty one 】this just in - JASON ‘JACE’ WELLS has been in wickway for TWENTY years. apparently HE is a DETECTIVE and GUARD for the EX-CONS, or so HIS passport says. so far it’s known that HE favors THE LOOKOUT, and resides at EAST SIDE. HE is also said to be CHARISMATIC & JOVIAL, but also SECRETIVE & CALCULATING. at the end of the day, HE can be described as CIGARETTE SMOKE, ROLLED SLEEVED BUTTON UPS & TAKEAWAY COFFEE CUPS.
tw death, drug use
Despite being born in a far colder climate, Jason Wells grew up learning all about the island of Wickway. It was his mother who had grown up on the island, and left for New York City the minute she had graduated from high school. Though she loved the island, her career aspirations brought her north, where she would meet the love of her life and have a son.
During his formative years, Jace loved growing up in the city; the freedom to jump on a train anywhere he liked fed his sense of freedom. His love of the city was snuffed out at age ten, however, the day his grandfather came and told him his parents had been shot and killed. Bystanders at a bank robbery, he later learned. He returned to Wickway with the older man, willingly at first.
The first few years on the island were fine. Jace had always been good at making friends and he loved living closer to the water. The transition was still harder than the boy would care to admit, and around age seventeen, something finally snapped in him. Falling in with the wrong crowd, partying and experimenting with drugs, anything to make him forget. It was one of his new friends that introduced the boy to the Santoros.
Still managing to graduate high school, Jace became involved in day to day activities, working his way up as he could. He enjoyed the life, the thrill that it brought. But that was when it was only himself he had to worry about.
That all came to a screeching halt six months into a relationship when he was twenty four. The excited look on his then-girlfriend’s face as she showed him the test made his stomach clench. Keeping her away from the Santoro’s was hard enough, and nine months later, he also had their little Clara to worry about.
The blow up of the gang had been his saving grace, his way to keep the two he loved out of harm’s way. Unfortunately, his ex did not see it that way. Freaking out, she packed up and left without a word, leaving him to look after their daughter.
In the years that followed, Jace got his life back on track for Clara’s sake. He joined the police academy, and worked his way up to detective, his way of ensuring his daughter’s safety.
