Salem makes it to his car just fine, no issues or trouble whatsoever. Once he reaches his Camaro, he sits in his drivers seat and stares at Atlas' knife for a while. He's still shaking, and he doesn't know what to do with it. Should he keep it? He wants to. He wants to have this little piece of Atlas, it feels special because it's something that was given to him since they broke up.

Salem hates it when Atlas gives him hope.

Salem puts the knife in his center console, choosing to forget about it, and drives home. He spends the rest of the weekend alone and miserable, though he does go back to taking his medicine.

It's Tuesday night, right after work, when Salem sees his father for the first time in nearly a week. Salem thinks they'd both been avoiding each other, for whatever reason. Well, Salem had a reason, but there's no way Jack knows Salem was eavesdropping, right? Salem thought he was pretty quiet when he left. He waited for Jack to leave again, presumably to look for him, and snuck out. He didn't think he was seen.

Anyway, Salem jumps in shock at seeing his father seated at the breakfast bar. He has a few files in front of him, but it's nowhere near as cluttered as the time Salem caught him at the kitchen table in the middle of the night. It doesn't appear as though he's looking at any cases this time, either.

"Salem, I need to talk to you for a minute."

Salem pauses in the entranceway to the kitchen, and he still has his work clothes on. His work clothes aren't uncomfortable, it's just a t-shirt and jeans, but he still wants to change. He begrudgingly decides not to, and walks over to the other side of the breakfast bar, across the counter.

He sets his wallet and keys on the counter, but still holds on to them, and stares at Jack in expectation. He can feel tension in the air, but he doesn't know why. Perhaps it's one sided.

Jack clears his throat and fully looks up from all the paperwork. He gets right to the point.

"We have reached a dead end in the Di Angelo investigation, and I've given my officers the ok to have you help out. I'm sure you're wondering why they want you specifically, and—"

"Atlas Di Angelo." Salem states simply, and his father frowns a bit. Salem decides to just come clean about everything, since it would probably be easier. He doesn't like lying to Jack anyway. "I heard your conversation with Catrine."

Jack purses his lips, and he doesn't look upset or surprised or anything, but Salem can tell this information does not please him. He probably already knew, and there were multiple parts of that conversation that Salem was just not meant to hear. Probably ever.

"Well then you probably already know everything I was about to say." Jack doesn't have any discernible emotions on his face, and Salem just nods. He doesn't think his father is upset or disappointed about his eavesdropping, but he can't really tell.

"I know they need help and Atlas is my ex so they think I could give them information or something." Salem says, and he thinks that about sums it up. Jack nods slowly, then looks back down at his papers. He starts to organize them into folders.

"That's right." Jack says, "the question is if you can handle it."

Salem frowns, because there are several ways he could take that. He decides not to guess. "What do you mean?"

Jack sighs, and it's clear he doesn't want to explain this. He stacks the folders up and hands them to Salem, who reluctantly takes them. Hang on, is he gonna have to study for this?

"I mean, do you trust yourself to investigate Atlas? This is going to involve researching his family and talking about your relationship. Do you think you're stable enough to handle that?"

"Yes," Salem says with absolutely no hesitation. He doesn't even think about whether or not he actually should, or if it would be healthy. This is because he knows the answer to both of those questions is a solid no.

"Okay, then stop by the department sometime this week. I have Jordan and Catrine's numbers in there as well, if you want to sort out a time." Jack doesn't look like he quite believes Salem, but he doesn't appear to have any intentions to do anything about it.

-

Salem texts Catrine, because texting Jordan was making him overthink for some reason. She tells him to come in as soon as he possibly can, and he doesn't even have time to look over the files Jack gave him. He decides it's probably not a super big deal, and when he arrives at the police station the next day and Catrine is waiting outside for him, he is pretty confident that they won't mind.

She leads him up to a room with a lot of computers and people walking around, appearing in a hurry. She takes him to a quieter corner of the room, and Jordan is busy typing out something on what looks like a database of some sort. The computers look kind of dated, but they appear to operate decently well.

She puts him next to Jordan, at a portion of the desk without a computer. He didn't bring any of the paperwork Jack gave him, which he's starting to regret. Still, Catrine has files in her hands, and she sets them down in front of him.

"I have an errand to run, but I'll be right back. Jordan can give you the run down for now."

Then she's gone, and Salem turns to look at Jordan, who hasn't taken his eyes off the computer screen. Salem leans back in his chair and just watches the officer input data, and it doesn't take long for him to grow bored.

"Is anyone else working on the Di Angelo case?" Salem asks, because he would think that there would be more people helping out on this. He'd rather work with them, since it would be less boring than this.

"Just give me a second, I'm finishing something," Jordan says, and Salem rolls his eyes. How did this guy even know what he was alluding to? "And not really. Almost every department is investigating something Di Angelo-involved, but very few are trusted with the sensitive information. That family has a lot of connections."

Salem nods absentmindedly, because he supposes that makes sense. Especially the fact that informants are getting their covers blown, they could have some insiders in the department. Internal affairs should probably focus more on that, to be honest.

"Okay, well what do you want me to do?" Salem asks, and Jordan appears to be almost done with whatever he's doing, if the fact that he's nearing the bottom of the page is anything to go by.

"Just sit there. Be patient."

Salem frowns, drilling his gaze into the side of Jordan's face. He does not appreciate feeling useless, or like his time is being wasted. He's also a pretty impatient person, subjectively. That's probably because he saves his patience for his friend's shenanigans and customers.

Jordan has a few freckles on his nose, but it's nothing compared to the unreasonable amount that Salem has on most of his body. He has light colored eyes and blond hair, with a serious expression on his face. He is actually somewhat attractive, in a good-boy sort of way. Honestly, Jordan's entire aesthetic is justice. Salem finds it interesting.

"This is stupid," Salem finally says, "give me something to do or I'm leaving."

"No you're not."

Salem raises his eyebrows, and is about ready to prove this stupid fucking guy wrong. He's seconds from standing up and walking out of the station, texting Catrine to schedule a later date for this. However, he's stopped when Jordan finishes what he's doing almost immediately after the words leave his mouth.

"So, Catrine wants to question you. You need to tell the truth, or a lot of things from your end could be compromised. That's about all she has planned for today. " He notifies Salem.

"What's she questioning me about?" Salem asks. He already plans on telling the truth, but it would be easier to plan if he knew the exact topic. He and Atlas' relationship? His family? What?

Jordan just shrugs, even though he's got to know the answer to that. This guy needs to pick a mood and stick with it. Sometimes he's happy, sometimes he's just professional, and sometimes he's impatient and annoying.

"I can't believe you didn't know you were dating a Di Angelo," Jordan says after a few minutes of silence, after he'd gone back to his computer. Salem's eyebrows pinch together. He wonders what brought that up, because it seems kind of out of left field.

"Why?" Salem asks, feeling defensive for some reason. "You should how good they are at hiding things."

Jordan glances over at him, and he doesn't seem very fond of Salem's response. Salem doesn't care, though, since it isn't this guy's business to begin with. Well, okay, it kind of is. Still, Salem finds it annoying.

"Is that why you were going through his office?"

Before Salem can answer, or (more realistically) avoid the question, Catrine comes out of nowhere. She sits next to Salem, on the adjacent side of the table, and she looks excited. She has a cup of iced coffee now. She cuts right to the chase.

"Alright, first thing's first: why did you two break up?"

Wow, she did not waste any time. Salem can't help his slight wince at the question, which seemingly came out of nowhere. That is not a fond memory for him, and he's starting to realize his father's concerns may have been... warranted.

"Um." He says eloquently, trying to think this through. "He just thought we weren't right for each other, basically. And I agreed. It was very mutual, no hard feelings."

Okay, Salem is leaving a lot of stuff out. Whatever, the details aren't their business.

"You're on good terms, then?"

Salem pauses, because he wouldn't necessarily say that. If they were on good terms then Atlas wouldn't treat him the way he does. If they were on good terms Salem wouldn't have all this pent up frustration. If they were on good terms Salem wouldn't be doing this in the first place.

"I mean... not really." Salem admits.

Catrine frowns, and it seems like she didn't expect that for whatever reason. Salem doesn't know why it's such a shock, though. Having a good relationship with your ex is not a common thing.

"Okay. Do you still harbor any feelings for him? Or him for you, to your knowledge?"

Salem blinks. He wants to ask why, but he thinks he may already know the answer. She wants to know if he will compromise the mission. "No, we are completely over each other."

"Alright, good." She says, and Salem realizes that she's been writing this down on a clipboard. "Do you see him regularly, and if not how often do you see him?"

Salem frowns, because it's not like there is any sort of routine to he and Atlas' interactions. Usually they just talk to each other when there's something that needs to be talked about, and if there is a general curiosity about the other's life. Or, in Atlas' case, if he's concerned for Salem's safety.

"I don't see him regularly. I don't really know how often we talk."

"Well when was the last time you spoke to him?"

Salem pauses, wondering if he should tell her about the whole incident on Saturday. Salem is kind of embarrassed about it, if he's being honest. He hates it when he lets his emotions get the best of him like that, and it sucks that it's usually Atlas that bears the brunt of it. "He called me a few weeks ago."

Salem isn't even sure why he lied, but something about it just felt right. These people don't need to know all his business. Also, Salem has no idea what these questions have to do with the investigation. They're about his personal life, and he just doesn't think that's important. He thought they would mainly be investigating Atlas' family.

"Alright, last one. Have you ever been to his house or had any contact with a another member of his family?"

Yeah, those are the kinds of questions that Salem thought he would be asked. Nothing about their relationship, or how things are now.

"No."

Salem notices that Jordan isn't paying attention to their conversation anymore, instead back to doing something else in his computer. Salem narrows his eyes at the officer, feeling irritated about this for whatever reason.

"Okay. That's all I have for you today." Catrine starts, and Salem turns to look back at her. "Don't hesitate to contact me or Jordan if you think of anything else. I will be in touch."

Salem nods, and he feels like there's something off here. He can't put his finger on what exactly is wrong, but this is not how he expected this conversation to go. He can't tell if he thought they'd talk longer, or maybe if they'd get into more detail about the investigation, or what. Even as Salem exits the station, he just can't shake the sensation that he's missing something.

It isn't until he's arrived home that it hits him, and he's sitting in his car when the realization dawns on him.

That feeling he had, that paranoia, back when everyone was keeping secrets from him...

It still hasn't gone away.

-

Cam slams his tray of food down on the library table, eyes wide in excitement and a grin on his face. Salem had previously been studying for exams with Zona, and food isn't even allowed in the library. Milo trails behind him.

Their lunch period is really the only time that the two can study together this week, due to their work schedules. Therefore, they'd each been skipping lunch. Salem doesn't care that much, since he has snacks in his bag that he can just eat during his classes, though he usually ends up sharing half of it. He needs Zona's help with English, so these are risks he's willing to take.

Cam seems to not give a shit about both the library rules or the fact that they're busy, though. "Salem, I need you to film again."

Salem raises an eyebrow, already skeptical about this. "Film what?"

Cam and Milo take seats in the other two chairs at the table, and Cam leans forward when he answers. Like this is important. To him, it is. "Okay, alright, the truck-car-jump did really well, so we are going to stack two cars this time and do the exact same thing. You did a good job filming last time so I want you to do it again."

Salem already knows his answer to this is no. After last time? After how disappointed Jack was, and not to mention his injuries? His giant cut is already scarring, and it doesn't look like it'll fade any time soon. "No way."

Cam seems like he expected that, since he immediately begins persuading. "Come on, Salem! You're basically the reason it got so popular. What if I pay you? Or give you a percent of the revenue? Or—"

Cam continues, and Salem tunes him out when a thought occurs to him. Last time, Salem got really injured, and Atlas called him. So maybe if Salem does it again, Atlas will contact him again. That seems likely, honestly Salem doesn't think he'd even have to get injured. Just the fact that Salem is doing dangerous shit again could be enough. Though it's a small chance, it's a chance nonetheless. Despite the fact that both the reasoning behind the decision and the decision itself are deeply unwise, he changes his mind. "Okay. I'll do it."

Cam raises his eyebrows, and it doesn't seem like he actually expected Salem to end up giving in. Zona is immediately protesting, but Salem doesn't pay attention to a word she's saying.

"Really?!"