Salem has decided that he needs to get to the bottom of this.

He has had to deal with his father and Atlas keeping secrets from him for years. He knows he's not supposed to care anymore, but police work is a job he actually wants to do. He'd love to have some practice, especially if he could be helpful! Now that the secrets are beginning to actually affect his life, he has lost all patience.

He needs to know why Jack is so hellbent on him staying out of it. There's got to be more to it than safety, and that excuse especially doesn't add up because he has helped on cases before. Granted he's never been as involved as he would be in this, but still. Something is amiss, and he's had enough of being out of the loop.

This is why he has decided to come up with a plan, consulting the help of Zona—she's his smartest friend, and he wanted a second opinion, so he figured she'd be the best option.

She's lying on his bedroom floor right now, flat on her back, and staring at his ceiling. He's pretty sure that she's just tired, but she's still more help than Cam and Milo would be, even like this.

Salem is seated at his desk, reclined in his chair with a notebook and pen. He has his feet up on his desk, and has been taking notes throughout the conversation. Well, okay, so they both started talking about it like, a minute ago. So he has no notes, just a few doodles of random objects in his room.

"So, what exactly is he saying no to?" Zona asks, eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Yeah, Salem hasn't really done a fantastic job of explaining this.

"Jordan and Catrine said my relationship with Atlas qualifies me to help with the investigation on him." Salem replies. "His family too, apparently."

"They must be desperate, you never even met his family." Zona replies, and her voice sounds like she's frowning. Once she fully processes everything he just said, she sits up. She has her eyes narrowed on him, and Salem knows where this is going.

"Hold the fucking phone, absolutely not. What's wrong with you? Your dad is right."

Okay, maybe she wasn't the best choice for this. Cam and Milo would love to help him brainstorm plans on figuring out secrets, they thrive on the chaos. Zona is just way too concerned for his mental health. All the time. He's pretty sure it's because of his mom.

Zona was around when Amina Heart was going through all her... problems. Salem takes after her—which basically just means that he inherited her mental illness—so Zona has this impression that Salem is at risk.

Zona thinks Atlas is bad for him, and he's pretty sure she thinks he still hasn't gotten over Atlas at all. Zona is wrong about both of these things.

"But they said I could help! Also apparently they've been investigating his family for years. I didn't even know that. I want to know what they did." Salem reasons, because he really wants Zona's blessing on this.

"Salem." She says, and her voice is a bit softer now. He's refusing to make eye contact, staring at the lines in his notebook. "You need to let him go."

"I have!" Salem looks up, frowning at her. She rolls her eyes and flops back on the floor, head making a thump sound.

"Whatever. What's the real reason you want to do this?"

Salem sighs, leaning back in his chair and stretching, stalling his answer. He doesn't want to tell her, but if he lies she'll know immediately. Reluctantly, he gives in. "He kept so many secrets when we were together. I just... want to know."

Salem can't see Zona's face, but he can imagine what it looks like. Disappointment and impatience, he's almost sure of it. He's known her for a long time. "Fine, but promise me something."

Oh god, and she's getting up. Salem already knows he's not going to like this. He just stares at her, reserved, until she continues.

"Promise me you won't let it—that won't let him, or the investigation, get to you."

Salem's eyebrows furrow together as he wonders what she even means by that. Get to him? Like, upset him? Is she asking him not to catch feelings for Atlas again? It's all kind of vague. Salem is okay with keeping it vague, though, because it makes finding loopholes easier if he ends up not following through. He doesn't care what that says about him.

Zona is holding her pinky out. Salem is pretty sure he can keep this promise, especially since pinky promises specifically are basically sacred to this girl. He interlocks his finger with Zona's, and it seems to ease her.

She sits on his desk, right beside him, and steals the notebook from him. She grabs another pen from his desk and appears to title the paper. Salem can't see what she's writing, though.

"So are you wanting to take the direct approach and ask your father about it? Or are you wanting to help with the case and him not find out? Or—Oh, you said he's keeping a secret? Is there a way you could figure it out without him knowing?"

Okay, she's putting more thought into this than Salem had planned. He appreciates the effort, though. "I already asked him and he just said to keep me safe, but it's not like Atlas is dangerous."

Zona gives him a doubtful look, so Salem specifies. "To me."

"Honestly, if your dad is lying to you, he probably has a good reason." She says, "what do you think he's lying about? What other reasons could he have for not wanting your help on the case?"

Salem leans back, thinking about it. She's right about the fact that he's probably lying for reasons that are in Salem's best interest. Still, just because he thinks he's doing a good thing doesn't mean he actually is. Whatever crimes his family has committed in the past, although Salem doesn't really know what they are, most likely came at the cost of civilian lives and well being. So, if Salem's help could put a stop to that sooner...

Then again, Salem doesn't want Atlas in jail. That's the main problem, though he doesn't care about Atlas' family being behind bars. He never met them, and it seems like they're the ones causing most of the trouble anyway. Atlas would not partake in anything that bad. The robbery was probably a fluke, or may not have even been Atlas to begin with.

It's possible that the reason Jack is so averse to him helping is because he doesn't want him involved with anything Atlas related. Honestly, that's probably it. It would make the most sense.

"Doesn't matter," Salem decides on, because he doesn't need Zona agreeing with his dad on anything else.

Zona squints at him. She begins scribbling in the notebook and Salem has no idea what she could possibly be writing. They haven't figured out any sort of plan.

"I think the first step is finding out more about Atlas' family, because that seems to be the common denominator in all this. It's one thing you know for a fact your father is keeping from you. Can you get into the system and look him up?"

Salem frowns, unsure when he would even be able to get into his dad's computer. He'd probably have to wait for the guy to be in a meeting or something, and even then it's risky. He doesn't want to deal with the questioning he'd have to endure if he was caught. Then, he gets an idea.

Salem grabs his laptop and sets it on Zona's legs. She appears to not appreciate this, but if she doesn't want a laptop on her legs then she shouldn't sit on Salem's desk. As it's booting up, Salem sees her writing something else in the notebook.

Once he's logged in, he goes to chrome and looks up something he should have a long time ago;

Atlas Marino.

Unfortunately, Salem knows this won't work from the first link. The only results are maps of various places, and he tries not to feel frustrated. "It's all maps."

"Look up the Astren criminal record database or something."

Salem does so, typing those exact words into the search bar. He presses enter, and is surprised when he actually gets a result. He clicks the link and decides that the website seems somewhat credible. He types Atlas' name in the blanks and searches.

No results.

Salem gives up. He sighs, closing his laptop and setting it off to the side. Zona has a questioning look on her face, probably wondering why Salem is upset all of a sudden. He was hoping he could just research on the Internet, but it appears he actually will need to go through his father's computer specifically.

"I'll just have to go on my father's computer," Salem sighs, crossing his arms. He really doesn't want to sneak around like that, but it appears that if he can get into his fathers computer and look Atlas up then he would get a lot of answers to his questions.

Zona frowns, "how? Are you sure you can get in?"

That's a valid concern, there's probably passwords and security on the confidential information. Salem could not begin to guess his father's passwords on anything, to be honest. Jack is not a predictable man at all.

"No." Salem sighs, and he's growing irritated at all the obstacles in this. All he wants is for people to stop lying to him! That's it! Why is it so much to ask? At this point Zona is the only fucking person he can trust.

Salem's best bet is probably getting his father to log into his computer on his own. Yeah, he's probably just gonna have to wait for Jack to ask him to bring food or something, and wait for him to leave his office at some point. That plan has a lot more risk than trying to get in when he's in a meeting or something, though.

"I think you need to find out more about Atlas and his family, generally, if you really want to get to the bottom of this." Zona states, and Salem feels slightly surprised at the fact that she appears to not have any problems with Salem getting involved in Atlas' business.

"That's true," Salem replies, perking up. "I could probably talk to him—"

"That is not what I mean." Zona is clearly frustrated, and Salem deflates. She has a point, though. He probably shouldn't ask Atlas about his criminal history again, much less his family. It didn't go well last time, so there's no way it would be different if he did it again. "You told me you wouldn't talk to him anymore."

"Okay, I won't." Salem grumbles, and Zona rolls her eyes. "I don't understand why you care so much."

"Because I care about you. Try to get into your dad's computer, and if that doesn't work then we will figure something else out." Zona appears done with conversation, and it's made even more apparent when she stands up.

"I need to get to my sister's basketball game. Let me know when you're doing it."

Salem gives her a reluctant nod, and walks her out. He watches her get into her truck, waving at him as she pulls out of the driveway. Salem goes back inside, lost in thought. He doesn't understand when his life got so full of secrets. He's about to put an end to it, if it's the last thing he does. Finally getting some information on Atlas' family is something that's long overdue, to be honest, and he's so ready.

The amount of bullshit he dealt with from that guy when they were together damn near drove him insane. It's time that he finally gets some answers, at least for some peace of mind. Zona probably knows this, and that's why she's reluctantly supportive.

Salem's sick of being lied to, and he's going to put a stop to it if it's the last thing he does.