Realistic or Modern Empire City: The Irish Mob - Bonus Scenes (Closed)

[Misty Gray]

Liam Sullivan and Adam Harper
~ Tuesday 11th August 1964 ~
~ Casa Sierra Hotel - Havana, Cuba ~​

It had been a seemingly long journey from New York City to Havana, with the final leg being on a private boat departing from Key West. Liam and Adam, along with a group of Sullivan soldiers, had arrived at their destination late into the night. Liam had arranged to spend a few days in Havana in order to check in with various business contacts face-to-face. His first meeting was with Anton Zegarra and his son, Chase. Anton had been securing the importation of illegal cigars for the Irish Mob for a number of years. There was the possibility of their business partnership moving into the more lucrative drugs trade. For now, Liam was working towards plans to get the Cubans to exclude the Miami branch of the Moretti Family from any deals. With New York having the eldest Moretti sibling, Francesco trying to make imprints, Liam was not prepared let any of the Italians share the benefits the Cubans had to offer.

Upon checking into the Sullivan-owned hotel, Liam wasted no time in retreating to his penthouse suite that overlooked the ocean from the top floor. With a more modest room directly across from Liam's suite, Adam hadn't felt compelled to end his night right away, so after offloading his case, he returned to the cocktail bar on the ground floor with the intention of a few drinks. Never one to waste his time sleeping during his business trips to Havana, Adam had retreated to his room a little before sunrise and had brought with him an attractive young woman to share his bed with.

Liam had woken early the following morning but had spent time looking through his paperwork and making a number of business calls to his Cuban contacts. As noon approached, he knew it was time to head down to the hotel lobby to meet with Anton and Chase so they could grab lunch at the private booth he'd reserved at the hotel's beach-side restaurant. By the time Liam knocked on Adam's room door, his employee's female guest had already left. Adam wasn't one of Liam's higher-ranked employees and not one who often accompanied him on business, but the man's familiarity with Cuba and his ability to speak Spanish meant he was the logical choice to accompany him on the business trip. They'd had a number of personal conversations on the journey, even briefly discussing Arlene's pregnancy and how she'd unexpectedly wished to step down from her role in the mob. All-in-all, Liam quite liked Adam's company. The man was thick-skinned, committed and shared a similar dark humour.

As they reached the hotel lobby, the conversation was interrupted when the bikini-clad woman Adam had spent the night with intercepted them. A short conversation between the pair played out in Spanish, before Adam got her to leave him and Liam alone. The boss didn't need to speak Spanish to get a basic idea of what the conversation was about. "I take it she's the woman you got to know last night?" he knowingly remarked. Nothing got past Liam, especially not considering the guards he had stationed around the hotel - eyes and ears all over.

"Well. I learned she's called Isabella and works in the bar. I wouldn't be much of a gentlemen if I told you the rest of what I'd learned about her," he remarked. The two men watched as the woman in question returned to the seating area to rejoin a handful of her female friends.

"Does she speak much English?" Liam curiously asked, to which Adam informed him she spoke "enough" English. The boss thought for a second before nodding in his head. "Tell Isabella and her friends they're invited to a private party with us, in my suite, tonight." After barely any hesitation, Adam went along with it and headed towards the group of women to invite them, to which they were keen to accept.

After leaving the hotel, the two men made their way to the outdoor seating area of the restaurant. Before heading towards the private booth, Anton and Chase were spotted. With their bodyguards keeping plenty of distance so as not to crowd them, Liam made a beeline for the two men they were meeting with. The boss walked with a confidence about him - not quite arrogance, but certainly a walk that reflected he was sure of himself and carried a lot of power on his shoulders. "Anton. Chase," Liam greeted them, each with a firm handshake. "How do you two get any work done here? This hot weather and the beautiful women," he said, nudging Adam as he chuckled.

"Buenas tardes, caballeros. ¿Cómo están ambos?" Adam greeted the two men, shaking their hands after Liam had done. "It's all about time management. Not to mention, a willingness to sacrifice some sleep to be with such beautiful women," Adam joked, drawing a dry laugh from Liam.

"Shall we all head to our table?" Liam suggested, holding his arm out to motion to the seats in question. "Has everything been running smoothly at this end?" the Irishman asked, wanting to discuss business before they could socialise and take advantage of their surroundings.

 

[Pyroclast]

Tuesday 11th August 1964
~ Casa Sierra Hotel - Havana, Cuba ~​

Anton and Chase Zegarra

“Guau, vas hecho un señor!” Chase exclaimed, raising his eyebrows at his father as he arrived on the deck of the beach-side restaurant. Being farmers and then factory workers, it was rare that the two had reason to dress up smart. Neither of them held top positions in the cigar factory, but their fluency in English and Chase’s dual-nationality had given them key roles in the underground cigar trade and so had taken responsibility for securing and maintaining partnerships with criminal organisations in the United States.

“In English, my son,” Anton reminded him. “I know we met them many times before but when you make a good impression, you still have to keep it up. Make effort. And don’t look so nervous!”

“I’m not nervous.”

“Clearly.” A small smile flickered across his face as he looked his son over. “You made your shirt wrong.” After throwing a quick glance down the beach to make sure Liam and Adam hadn’t arrived already, Anton leaned towards him and started undoing the buttons on Chase’s shirt.

“Ay, coño…” he muttered, batting his father’s hands away before taking over the job with haste.

“In English!”

“Shit!” The two broke into laughter, which eased Chase’s nerves just in time for their two guests to appear on the deck. Their laughter faded to warm smiles and they parted, each smoothing down their suit jackets in unison. Though he had become used to the criminal activity that he was now involved in, Chase still couldn't help but feel intimidated by the Sullivan boss. It was one thing to deliver the illegal cargo, but another entirely to sit down and make himself known to the boss of one of the most powerful crime families in the world. At least Adam was accompanying him on the trip. His playful, down-to-earth character always helped to take the edge off.

At mention of the women in Havana being a distraction, Chase was grateful when his father chose to respond so that he wouldn't have to. “Welcome, gentlemen, welcome! Ay, you let them distract you already, have you?” Anton chuckled warmly, taking Liam’s hand into a firm grip. “And I was thinking that you are a serious man!” Chase glanced at Adam and raised his eyebrows, suppressing a smile at his father’s bold humour. He returned their handshakes as they came around and smiled at Adam’s remark. “That’s why you have a siesta in the daytime,” he played along, though he was sure he wasn’t kept up at night by women nearly as often as Adam was.

“Yes, come, come,” Anton encouraged, drawing the group over towards their private booth. “We must take drinks together. A proper welcome.” Liam didn’t hesitate to move the conversation onto business, and Chase silently willed his charismatic father to let the man take the lead and not wave him off. For a man as hard-working as Anton, he had an extremely relaxed demeanour and much preferred to talk about other things. Thankfully, on this occasion, he didn’t argue. “Business, okay,” he cheerfully replied as they all took their seats. “I say we have fallen into a good routine here. Growth in business - your business in particular - has created more jobs in the factories. That means the extra production of cigars that go to Yuma goes unseen, so we have attracted no trouble until now. And of course, we have our hard-working pilot here. I must thank you for accommodating him safely into your territory.” With a smile, Anton squeezed his son’s shoulder and Chase looked down modestly.

“He means, uh…” he spoke up, feeling his cheeks tingle when the eyes all turned to him. “We haven’t attracted any trouble so far. Everything’s been working smoothly and the risk of getting caught seems very low, thanks to you.”

Still smiling proudly, Anton patted Chase on the back and straightened up in his seat. “Every time you come for a report, Mr. Sullivan, it is better. So what do you think? Did you come with something to report to us? A request, a complaint, or an update?”

 

[Misty Gray]

Liam Sullivan and Adam Harper
~ Tuesday 11th August 1964 ~
~ Casa Sierra Hotel - Havana, Cuba ~​

All the talk of attractive women had Liam briefly think about the private party he'd had Adam arrange for that evening. Such thoughts then threatened to spiral downward to those of a more long-term nature. Arlene's voice teasing him about needing to settle down, as though her sudden pregnancy had been something she'd set her sights on long ago. Something they'd always had in common was their lack of desire to settle down and have kids of their own, yet now his adopted sister was pregnant, it naturally had the cogs turning in Liam's own mind. Thankfully for him, he didn't feel he needed to burden himself with such thoughts for a while. At nearly 40, he was enjoying being a free agent far too much to settle down yet and he had no doubts he'd attract a pretty younger woman when the time came for him to start a family.

Along with Chase, Liam and Adam walked with Anton as he led them to the table. Liam grinned when the mention of having drinks together came up. He didn't doubt he would be taking the Cuban up on the offer once the serious talks were out of the way. In their seats at the private booth, business discussions were able to begin. Anton was a cheerful man, but Liam knew there were times that called for everyone to be more serious and to not lose sight at the matter at hand. Hearing how the business was growing was music to Liam's ears. He'd arrived in Cuba expecting to hear things were running smoothly and continuing as required, but to hear there were significant improvements was most impressive. Still, looking at Liam's neutral expression, it would be difficult to tell how pleased he was. Liam did, however, crack a smile when the attention was directed to Chase and the younger man's skills as a pilot. "Absolutely. A pilot - stroke of genius. And Chase will always be welcomed any time he comes to New York."

Adam remained silent as he listened on to the conversation. All four of them spoke English, so he didn't need to translate much during the meeting. There was nothing he needed to offer to the conversation up to that point, but it related to him, nonetheless. For all of the friendliness and sharing drinks with Liam, the man was still his boss and so he was mostly ready should he be given new orders.

"You are correct," Liam began, allowing a smile to show on his face. "You gents never fail to impress me. As long as you're confident everything is running smoothly - and I'm confident in your confidence - then I have no concerns on your capabilities."

When asked if he had something to report on, Liam reached into his pocket and retrieved a box of cigarettes. He took one out for himself before leaving the pack in the centre of the table for the other three men to help themselves. As Liam lit up, Adam took the opportunity to get one for himself and enjoy a smoke seeing as it had been offered out. Liam took a long drag and calmly blew out a cloud of smoke before balancing the cigarette on the edge of the ashtray. "I have a request. I suppose quite a serious one," he began, slowly nodding his head. "In New York, I've been controlling some pests, their leader being one Francesco Morettii. Ugly fat cu---" Liam looked to Adam and raised an eyebrow. "Is there a word in Spanish for that?"

Adam smirked before looking to Anton and Chase. "Francesco Moretti es un coño gordo y feo," Adam said, followed by a chuckle.

"Yeah, that!" Liam said, briefly pointing to Adam. "Francesco isn't really a problem. He's easy to keep in his place. However, his brother, Gabriel, is running Miami and I don't want him getting too big for his boots. I already received word he's tried broadening horizons in Colombia. My request..." Liam paused and took another quick drag of his cigarette. "I want you to deal primarily with me and my business partners. Any deals with the Italians in particular should be put to the bottom of your priorities, if not eventually scrapped altogether. Is that going to be a problem?" he seriously questioned.

 

[Pyroclast]

Tuesday 11th August 1964
~ Casa Sierra Hotel - Havana, Cuba ~​

Anton and Chase Zegarra

It didn’t occur to Chase that he may have been taking the meeting to be more formal and serious than the others were. He was the only one not to take a cigarette; despite Liam’s earlier compliment, he was too conscious of the impression he had been told Liam was still making of him to get comfortable. His father, on the other hand, judged it more polite to share what the mob boss had offered and passed one to him nonetheless.

The table became clouded with smoke as the four of them puffed away. All attention was drawn back to Liam when he announced that he had a serious request. Of course they had heard of Francesco Moretti - brother to Gabriel, who was a powerful kingpin in Miami - but the man had never sought to do business with them. Aware of the tension between the two families, Chase and Anton allowed themselves to show amusement at Liam’s rude description of Francesco. They had both agreed that they preferred doing business with the Irish Mob, in case there ever came a point where they had to choose a side. It seemed that that time had come.

The table fell silent for a moment before Anton cleared his throat. “No, no a problem,” he said, cracking a somewhat uneasy smile. “That is a fair request. But I will have to say to you, Mr. Sullivan, we do have business already with Mr. Moretti. Gabriel Moretti, that is. His location has made him a convenient target to form an association. At that time, we had not yet a business with you and we were not interested in choosing a side, you understand?” Anton drew from his cigarette, and Chase wondered if his confidence was just a facade, if beneath his smile part of him was nervous about how Liam might react. “But I am glad that you came to us first, to make this request.”

Chase looked between Adam and Liam, not able to hide his nerves quite as well. “Mr. Sullivan, we’ve been in business with you long enough now to know that we’d rather invest in your business than any rivals you have,” he confessed. He glanced to his father for reassurance before he continued. “We feel supported by you, like our partnership is growing stronger, and there’s a lot of, um...communication and...working together? Com...comraderie?” Liam’s presence seemed to be sending Chase’s English out of the window and he cringed at himself, looking towards Adam as if the man might be able to read his mind and explain what he meant more coherently. Instead, he struggled on. “And we’re optimistic about where things are going. But Gabriel Moretti seems…um...” The way he hesitated suggested that he was once again struggling to find the English words, but the truth was he wasn’t sure whether it was his place, or even wise to express his opinion of the man to one of his rivals. Not only that, but what he really felt was that there was something deeply unsettling about Gabriel, and that was quite a personal thing to admit. Liam intimidated him, but mostly because he was powerful. With Gabriel, it was different. Worse. “Impredictable.”

Anton was looking at him with an almost tense expression as if willing his son to stop talking, and when Chase caught sight of him he was reminded of the cigarette that had been burning away between his fingers. He took a quick drag and then dared himself to keep going. “Can I ask what are your ideas about the man? Since we’re in business with him and we want to answer your request. Are we in any danger with him? Is there anything we should know, that you can tell us?”

 

[Misty Gray]

Liam Sullivan and Adam Harper
~ Tuesday 11th August 1964 ~
~ Casa Sierra Hotel - Havana, Cuba ~​

Liam was pleased to hear Anton say his request was a fair one, although it was soon followed with confirmation from the Cuban that he already had business with Gabriel Moretti. Liam was a reasonable man when he wanted to be and it only made sense they'd been approached by the Italian, given the closer proximity Miami and Havana shared. "I understand," he simply replied, with a single nod.

Liam's attention was drawn to Chase even before the younger Cuban spoke. It was clear he had reservations or wasn't entirely comfortable with the subject. "You gentlemen won't get a better deal than the one you have with me," he pointed out. "I'm glad you feel supported and please know this partnership is one I take most seriously. I like working with you guys," Liam assured him, allowing a smile to accompany his words.

"Gabriel is unpredictable and I can assure you your business with him won't be as smooth as the one I have with you. He might be running things in Miami, but what's Miami in the grand scheme of things? You can scour the East Coast of America, but you won't find any business nor family as powerful as mine, in New York."

When asked what he thought of Gabriel, Liam sat back in his seat and shrugged his shoulders. "I think he's a man full of ambition and he has a firm business in Miami, with plenty of soldiers willing to fight for his cause. But when it's all stripped down, he's stuck in Miami while his brother and father try to make a name for themselves in New York. I can assure you they've done nothing to disturb or unsettle my empire, so I don't believe little brother Gabriel will get very far." Liam took another drag from his cigarette before stubbing it out in the ashtray. "But I understand your concern. Which is why I'm not suggesting you suddenly cease trade with Moretti, but at least slow it down and make him a low priority. I can bring more of my own men to Havana, if you wish for additional security," he offered.

 

[Pyroclast]

Tuesday 11th August 1964
~ Casa Sierra Hotel - Havana, Cuba ~​

Anton and Chase Zegarra

Neither Anton nor Chase were entirely convinced of the deal that Liam was proposing. Reducing trade down to one sole partnership was a risky move that would leave all of their current clients free to be taken over by other suppliers. Not only that, but if anything were ever to go wrong between them and the Sullivans, they would lose everything.

“Trade deals were never personal before,” Anton told them, drawing from his cigarette. “It was always about money, never about politics or friendship. We represented only ourselves, nobody else. But since the revolution, when we formed ties with the big families like yours and the Morettis, we are doing better than ever. It was like hitting the jackpot, you see?

“But as we progress, relationships start to develop. Now with you, as Chase has said, it grows stronger. There is more trust, it is more personal. You boys are friends, now.” Anton tapped his son on the shoulder and gestured over to Adam, at which Chase couldn’t help but smile. “With Moretti, it is not the same. There is no effort from his side to form a bond. It never mattered before, but with these big families I now see that it is the most important part of the business. Personal connection reduces risk. That is why Gabriel is unpredictable to us - with his reputation, we feel a risk there, like a...a threat.”

Anton stubbed out his cigarette and brought his hands together on the table. “So I think it is sensible we accept your generous offer for security,” he continued, glancing at Chase who gave him a quick nod. “But as a businessman, I want to propose to you a deal of my own. We work on reducing trade with your rivals until we can safely end it altogether, and in return you continue to make up for our loss in profits.”

 

[Misty Gray]

Liam Sullivan and Adam Harper
~ Tuesday 11th August 1964 ~
~ Casa Sierra Hotel - Havana, Cuba ~​

Liam sat up straight when Anton pointed out the trade deals weren't personal before. Unfortunately, the Irishman was fully aware of how personal business could get in his own line of work. Back in last forties, his relatives in Chicago had been involved in a war that was very personal. The Italians in question back then had been the Romanos and were responsible for the death of his Uncle Emmet. Liam was not prepared to let the Morettis gain enough power to have a fighting chance and part of doing that was to cut off their supplies, to weaken them before they could gain momentum.

"I understand. It's a complicated request for me to make, but as long as Francesco Moretti is in my city, all Moretti business goes against my objectives. Any upper-hand Gabriel gains would be transferred back to his brother. Besides, when I remove the Italians from my city, you won't feel any loss - if anything, my business with you would increase."

Liam smiled when Anton pointed out how their business arrangement had grown more personal and trustworthy. "Ah, these two lads should go out and have some fun while we're here," he said, chuckling at Adam in a teasing manner. He turned serious again with mention of Moretti making no effort for friendship. "He would cut you loose at any opportunity. My advice is to beat him to it before he screws you over."

"Te traiciona," Adam interjected.

When Anton said he would accept his offer, Liam nodded along, though expecting a clause. When the condition came, the Irishman remained silent for a moment, briefly looking out towards the beach before focusing back on the Cuban. "That can be arranged. You can keep trading with others, but anything relating to the Morettis, you need to put to the bottom of your list and then shutdown altogether. When I'm done, they'll be out of business anyway and more trade will show up between you and I." Liam outstretched his arm to firmly shake Anton's hand and confirm the deal.

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Aliana Cartwright
Ali's Apartment
Wednesday June 1, 1960

​

It had been four since since Leonard McGrath was killed in her restaurant. It had been four days since her life, which was finally getting back on track, had come to yet another screeching halt. Four days since those asshole from the IWU had murdered her beloved brother. Everyone wanted to see her, everyone wanted to check on her but she didn't want to see a single soul. Her mother had come back to take care of her, force her to take showers otherwise she'd just sleep in a shirt of Conor's she had stolen. She wasn't eating, which was adding on to her desire to sleep but water was being forced on her. The amount of whiskey she was consuming wasn't healthy in the slightest and if Seana couldn't get her to eat or stop drinking alcohol, she would at least get her to drink water. Aliana surprisingly had a lot of whiskey and various other alcohols stashed around her apartment. It's suspected that Ali hid them all before her mother had a chance to throw it all out. She detested her daughter drinking so much that when she had come to visit she'd pour it out. Well, Ali decided, I need to numb the pain with something and this is the closest thing. There was never a time the black out drapes and curtains she had worked better. It kept her room dark and therefore concealed the mess of a woman she had become. A healthy looking Aliana Cartwright was replaced by a sad, desolate woman who was now basically a drunk; everyone was turned away and she snapped at people who just wanted to help. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she wasn't there for people who needed her and she didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore, now that her brother was gone.

Today's day was particularly bad. She was starting to go into a sort of rage-cry. She would rant to her mother, about the failures she endured being an older sister and protector then start crying. None of it made sense to Seana whatsoever. In fact, she wasn't even going to try and comprehend anything as she knew she was drunk and basically delusional. Seana had to go out and do a ton of things; laundry, grocery shopping, packing up Leo's room, and preparing Leo's funeral. Seana had mourned as well, but she compartmentalized and accepted death better than her daughter. It wasn't something she ever really thought to teach her own daughter, but now wished she had. She didn't want to leave her daughter alone and needed someone to sit with her. Conor was the first to come to mind of course, but unfortunately James had him taking care of business. While Seana knew when things like this happened gang life just couldn't stop, it still didn't sit well with her that Conor wasn't here for her more for the second time. Alas, the mother bit her tongue and kept her thoughts to herself... For now. It came as a slight surprise to her when she saw Syd Porter on her way out the door. "Look at that. I must be lucky." She filled him in on Ali's condition as she reopened the front door to let him in.

Seana filled Syd on everything she had been taking care of the past week. A justifiably sad, angry, drunk depressing woman who was locked in her room. "I have to go run some errands, re-up on important things and I can't leave her by herself. Will you watch her for me?" She asked, gathering her things up to head out. Once he had agreed, she thanked him and began to walk out of the door but not before telling him what to expect. "It's rough, dearheart. Her heart is completely shattered and so soon after Tommy. I've never seen my daughter this way, not even when her father went to prison. I'm afraid she'll never be the same, but we can only hope for the best, right?" She gave him a slight smile before leaving for her errands. Aliana had heard faint voices, but she assumed her mother was saving whoever had come from the mess that she had become. When she heard the door close, she was relieved and had gotten out of bed. The room spun, but once she gained her balance she managed to open her door and walk out of her room. Her hair was down and messy, the shirt she was wearing dropping past her knees. When she saw Syd near the door, she stared at him for a moment before walking into the kitchen for water and a glass of one. A tall one. "The warden finally left, huh? Let me guess; you're my babysitter?" Her voice was tired, raspy, clearly dehydrated. "I'm not going to do anything dramatic so you can go."


​

Syd ( Pyroclast )

 

[Pyroclast]

Syd Porter

It would be an understatement to say that Leo’s murder had shaken the family deeply. Syd hadn’t seen Aliana at all since it had happened, but instead occupied himself with looking after his sister Delilah, whose heart was broken beyond repair. Ever territorial, Syd had been hard on Leo since finding out that the two were dating, wanting to make sure that he knew he wouldn’t get away with breaking her heart. But in the end, it wasn’t Leo responsible for her heartbreak, but the IWU. Her first love had been taken from her too soon and although she had risen from her childhood trauma into a tough young woman, Syd knew more than most how her mental health problems could pull her into a downward spiral. However bold she might be in the face of their enemies, he knew that in this case she needed someone to be there for her at all times.

Despite not being biologically related, and the fact they had only known each other for 10 years, Syd felt like he understood his sister inside and out. Aliana, on the other hand, seemed a bit out of his reach. She was a trusted family friend, but their closeness was separated somewhat by differences in maturity and the fact that he looked up to her as a role model. Their dynamic didn’t put him in the easiest position to be a source of comfort for her.

However, it wasn’t just Leo that she had lost. Tommy had also recently been taken from her, and after he died Syd had slipped into a depressive state himself and had ended up leaving it to the others to help Aliana get back on her feet. This time, he wanted to show up for her, to let her know that he cared.

Syd met Seana out in the corridor of her apartment block, already having locked the door behind her. She stalled for a few minutes to let him inside and give him a quick briefing on how Aliana was doing. It sounded rough, and he would have thought it best to come back at another time if it weren’t for the box in his hands that contained a homemade cake. Still, when Seana asked him to stay and ‘watch her’, he felt like he may have made a mistake in coming over. “Oh, uh...sure,” he obliged, stepping out of the way as she got ready to leave again. Everything she told him about Aliana’s state he took as a warning, but he remained determined to be there for her. “Right. Don’t worry, Mrs. Cartwright, I’ll make sure she’s not alone.”

The door closed and the house soon fell into silence. Syd listened to it for a moment, wondering whether Aliana might be asleep. If the idea of entering her bedroom to find her didn’t make him feel uncomfortable enough, the only worse thing would be if he accidentally woke her up. Fortunately, he didn’t have to - or perhaps he already had. The door to her bedroom opened and out she came, looking worse than he had ever seen her before. He did his best not to react to her appearance or her unwelcoming stare, and when she wandered into the kitchen he followed behind her. “I didn’t come to babysit you,” he softly assured her. “I just thought maybe we could hang out a bit today, you know...do whatever you want. We’ve, uh...we've not stopped thinking about you.” He chewed on his lip for a second before stepping further into the room and placing the box down on the island counter. “Mam made you a cake. She wanted to make sure you were eating. I can’t remember what kind it is so you’ll have to taste it to find out, but it smells good, so...” His nervous rambling trailed off, and as he watched her move about the kitchen it became harder to hide his concern. He knew what he was doing when it came to comforting Delilah, but with Aliana he wasn’t sure what she needed, or what might cheer her up. The way she had snapped at him told him it wouldn’t be any easy task trying to work it out. Considering her apparent mood, he wasn’t sure she would take pity well, so he went for a report instead. “We’re gonna get the guys responsible, Ali. We always do. Dad’s already working out how to handle it, and you can count on him to give them what they deserve.”

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Aliana Cartwright
Ali's Apartment
Wednesday June 1, 1960

It was coincidental, she thought to herself, that he showed up when her mother left. Which led to the part of her not believing him and raising her eyebrows with an incredulous look on her face. It was followed by a scoff and a lazy smirk, "Okay." She muttered, "Then if you're not here for babysitting, why are you here? To share your condolences?" She added a little mocking tone in her voice as she stumbled her way to the kitchen. Reaching up in the cabinet, she grabbed the nearest cup and filled it up with water before heading for the bar area she had set up. Her head was throbbing, no doubt from the lack of substance being put into her body. But, that wasn't her concern right now. Getting this alcohol and back to her hovel was.

Syd giving her an answer shouldn't have shocked her, but it did. If she were, to be honest, she thought her callous response and negative demeanor towards him was going to make him leave right away. No one wanted to deal with the basket case, that much was for sure. He went into how sorry they were, she was still being thought about. It was like a broken record hearing people say it to her. "Sorry for your loss", "We offer you our condolences", "You'll get through this". They were all empty words to her, something to say when you didn't have anything to say and when you didn't know what to say. In any other circumstance, it would be different, but Leo had died in her restaurant, a casualty in a war he wasn't even supposed to be apart of. The reason she and her mother had taken him in, to begin with, was because they wanted to take care of him and protect him. Now? It was all over. When she talked to people she wouldn't say she has a little brother but had a little brother. These thoughts were coursing through her mind as she absentmindedly poured whiskey into a small glass. It was about halfway when she stopped pouring.

"Maybe you could eat it on your way out, hm?" She was angry, adamant about getting Syd out of her apartment and she couldn't place the reason why. Was it the shame of him seeing her this way, considering whenever she was around was when she was put together. The only instance she could think about him seeing her distressed was Tommy's death, but even then she hadn't become this much of a recluse. The relationship being different had a lot to do with that of course, she understood that much. If there was anyone who didn't deserve death it was him and if she could switch places with him she would but she couldn't. It would be her biggest failure yet, letting her brother die. "Get what they deserve..." She said to herself, twisting the top back on the bottle and laughing at herself for a few seconds. "Ohhh that's rich. James Porter? He- He's going to take care of this? He was supposed to do a lot of things, like not employ my brother to work for him, to begin with. It's his fault Leo almost died the first time and he was supposed to prevent anything else from happening." Her voice cracked, tears threatening to come from her eyes. "My brother died because of your father so I refuse to believe that he'll be able to do anything."

Syd ( Pyroclast )

 

[Pyroclast]

Wednesday 1st June 1960
~ Aliana's Apartment ~​

Syd Porter

It was obvious that Syd had caught Aliana in a sour mood. Having not seen her since before Leo was killed, however, he had no way of knowing how much her mood really differed from that, so there didn’t seem much point in coming back another time. “No, just...I don’t know. I just wanted to see you.” Syd watched, slightly abashed, as she poured herself a glass of something from the bar. The clinking of the decanter against her glass suggested trembling hands, perhaps from a lack of sleep. Or maybe she was already drunk. Syd was afraid to get a closer look.

Part of him was telling him to obey her; she was adamant that she didn’t want him there, so what good would staying do? But another part of him couldn’t bring himself to leave her in such a state. It wasn’t just that he had promised Seana that he would be there for her, but also because he wanted to show her what she meant to him. To her, he may have been just a kid, but at 18 years old Syd was discovering more about what it meant to be mature and he figured this was something that mature people did. To show up for them in their time of need.

Listening to Aliana insult his father was the real test. James was his biggest hero and he couldn’t see the man for any of his flaws, so when Aliana put the blame on him Syd struggled not to jump to his defence. He had to remind himself that she looking for someone to take her anger out on, that she might be saying things she didn’t really mean. Still, it rendered him silent and for several seconds he couldn’t make eye contact with her.

“He’ll probably let you punch him if that’d make you feel better,” he mumbled after a while, finally daring to look at her. “But Ali, look...We’re family, we're on the same side. We’re the only ones who can take down the guys who killed Leo. I know you're angry, but if you're gonna use that anger against someone shouldn't it be the enemy? We need to stick together, fight together...Not tear each other apart.” Syd approached her as sadness and desperation began to break through his attempt at confidence and stoicism. He placed a tentative hand on her arm, his pleading eyes willing her to understand his words. In the mood she was in, she could snap at him at any moment, scream or hit him or push him away. But he cared about her enough to take that risk. So, with great caution, Syd gently drew her into an embrace.

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Aliana Cartwright
Ali's Apartment
Wednesday June 1, 1960

There was a really big part of her that was hoping he would leave, but for some reason, he hadn't. That was probably the more annoying part if she were, to be honest. "You came, you saw, now you can report back to the family that Ali is 'not doing so hot'," she said using her fingers as quotation marks. Her behavior, for the most part, was weird considering she hadn't been completely this way towards Conor. He had come around a few times, whenever he wasn't on a job but she just ignored him. Syd and everyone else? She had been a complete nightmare to. It might have been the fact that Conor had seen her at her lowest points and for anyone else to see her that way was unacceptable. Or the fact that things were about to get worse.

Ali had grabbed the entire bottle when it became evident that Syd wasn't going to leave her alone any time soon. It was slightly annoying that he was sticking it through. The sane portion of her could see that he really did care about her and he wasn't going to give up. It would truly bring the relationship to a different level than with anyone else. That is, if she could get through this current situation and come out smiling on the other side. This was one of those make you or break you scenarios and it was a defining moment. Whether or not she accepted Syd's help and condolences was all up to her ability to forgive and place the blame on the proper people. But when Syd started to explain to her James would probably let her blame him she stopped in her tracks.

She was halfway to her room when he explained that to her. The look on her face was one of contempt and annoyance, but no words came out of her opened mouth. She was too distracted by him talking about them being family. Ever since her father ran away from home and began to work with the Sullivan's, she was apart of this family. She knew and understood the things Syd was saying held merit and truth. But, she wasn't in the mood to hear any of it. Putting her hand up, she was about to cut him off and dismiss him but felt something warm around her body. It took a while for her brain to process, liquor and the lack of sleep causing this, but Syd was hugging her. For some reason, her brain was understanding it but she didn't know what to do. Fight him? Hug him back? Her body had other ideas as she started to burst into tears.

It started off small; little warm droplets on her face before it turned into something more hysterical. Like a dam bursting, the water wouldn't stop pouring from her eyes and it was frustrating to deal with. Her body didn't feel right, but it wasn't because of the lack of water and real food it felt weird. Her mouth was wet but that could just be because of the crying, right? Wrong. Just as the tears had hit her, this sudden wave of nausea had as well. She quickly pushed Syd back and broke out of his grip to run to the bathroom. It hurt her chest to vomit the dark brown liquid into her toilet bowl. It was the first time she had thrown up in a while and it still sucked. Once round one of puking was over, she sat completely on the ground and continued crying with her arm draped over the toilet seat. "Wh-Wh-Why him?"

 

[Pyroclast]

Wednesday 1st June 1960
~ Aliana's Apartment ~​

Syd Porter

The first sign was the feeling of her shaking against him as he held her. The sound of sobbing followed shortly after. There weren’t many people he had done this for - one or two school friends, his mother, his sisters - but with Aliana, it was a first. She never cried, not in front of him, anyway. Syd tightened his hold on her when her cries grew louder, but he stood strong, keeping his chin up. It was hard to listen to her crying so uncontrollably. He wasn’t sure he had ever heard such profound pain, and it was having more of an effect on him than he could have expected. As he held her firmly against his chest, Syd felt a lump form in his throat and had to concentrate to hold his own tears back.

The strong stance he had maintained faltered when Aliana suddenly launched herself away from him, causing him to stumble back a step. Seconds later, he heard the sound of vomiting and his eyes fell on the bottle she had been drinking from. It was hard to tell how much she had already had to drink that day - or if she had been drinking for several days straight - for she was so out of sorts that her vomiting could have equally been an effect of the grief. Syd took the bottle and moved it back among the others so that it wasn’t drawing attention to itself. Then, not wanting to be locked out, he followed Aliana into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He knelt down beside her and gently scraped her damp hair from her face, ready to hold back if she started throwing up again. “I don’t know,” he sighed. There was a slight strain in his voice, quiet and deep to hide his own wavering emotions. “Don’t ask yourself that, Aliana. Even if there is an answer, it won’t change anything. We know who’s to blame for this and we are gonna make them pay, all of them.” As he spoke, he reached up to run a flannel under the cold tap. Once he had wrung it out sufficiently, he held it against Aliana’s forehead for a moment before lying it flat across the back of her neck beneath her hair. There was a glass by the sink, so he filled it up with fresh water and placed it beside her for whenever she wanted it.

He had always found puke easier to handle than tears, especially a grief as agonising as this, and so even though at first he had felt way out of his depth with Aliana, he was now beginning to settle into the caretaker role. Still, it made his heart ache to watch her fall apart. “I can’t imagine how you feel, Ali, but...don’t think for a second that you’re alone, okay? We all wanna support you. You can ask us for anything, call on us any time, day or night and we’ll come. ‘Cause that’s what families do, yeah? We show up for each other.” An uncomfortable heat pricked at the back of his eyes and he had to swallow to fight the burning lump in his throat. “I know things are dark right now,” he continued, picking up the glass of water and handing it to her. “But I swear, I swear on my life, you’re gonna get through this. You’re a warrior, Ali. More than that - you’re a mobster. The toughest out there. I look up to you for it. I do. I’m out there, tryin’ to act tough to impress girls and shit, but behind all of that, it’s you I’m trying to model myself on. To see you go through what you go through...a-and come out the other side of it…” The corners of his mouth twitched when Tommy’s death came to mind and his eyes brimmed with tears. “I know...I just know you can do it again.” He took her hand and squeezed it tight. “Is there anything I can do for you now?” he asked, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “I can do some chores while you get some sleep, or, or...I can order some food from your favourite place. When did you last eat something good?”

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Aliana Cartwright
Ali's Apartment
Wednesday June 1, 1960

Her chest was burning from the puking, having immediately done so again after speaking to Syd. The contents of her stomach, which wasn't much to begin with were now in the toilet as she flushed it down. She managed to get some tissue off the roll to wipe her mouth clean. Her stomach wasn't feeling much better after throwing up but to make matters worse she was developing a massive headache. It spread from the left temple to the right, throbbing and making her head feel heavy. She heard Syd talking, trying to tell her not to ask such questions as this wasn't her fault. Even though they were said in kind, she couldn't believe him. The voice in her head telling her she should have never asked James for more hands-on responsibilities. Having asked him for them created a consequence she would feel for the rest of her life. The next thing she heard was watering running, unaware of where it was coming from then she felt it. Syd had placed a cold towel on the back of her neck, making her calm down a bit. The cold water was very calming, enough so that she could stop crying. There was a slight pause, nothing but the sound of her sniffles and her failed attempts to get them under control.

Listening to Syd's words, she understood that he was trying to help her realize that this truly wasn't her fault. He was being a good friend, which was more than she could ever ask for. Once he handed her the glass of water, she drank from it then sat it down. Wiping her face with her arm, she leaned against the bathtub and took a deep sigh. His words were resonating within her as she became more and more grateful that he was there with her. Even though the only reason she hadn't truly cussed at him until he left was that she had thrown up, she was glad he was there. People had been telling her the same things as Syd, but coming from the younger male was different. Maybe it was because of how emotional he himself was getting, seeing her like this. It showed her he was trying to be strong for her, which meant he cared about either herself or Leo altogether. Whatever the reasoning, she was glad that he was trying his best. She was starting to feel better. Until he mentioned her doing this again.

When Tommy had died, she didn't mourn him properly. She had felt so guilty about the kiss she shared with Conor, it was eating her alive. At least, she thought, now she didn't have to hurt him with that news. It hurt to think of the last time she shared something special with Tommy before died was Christmas. It went from a happy memory to one of regret as nearly an hour later she kissed Conor. The night he died, she had decided she wanted to spend more time with him, that he was the man she should be with. She was going to tell him about the kiss and even though he would for sure be pissed with her, he would be happy that she had chosen him. Thinking about it all broke her heart again as she started in again, her hand raised to her chest. "Again? Go through this heartache again? I didn't even do it the first time..." She started crying again, which seemed to have activated her need to throw up again as she found her head in the toilet. Once she was done she repeated her process of wiping her mouth, using the remaining water to rinse and sat against the tub again. The cries had turned into a soft sob before coming to an end as she looked at Syd. She sent him a slight smile as she slowly moved to stand up. It was time to stop fighting people coming to help her; she needed them. Maybe it took Syd and his words but how long could she really keep this up? She was finding it hard to look Syd in the eyes after what took place. He had officially seen just how bad she could get and really, he was the only one she wanted to see this. "Uhm... Food, maybe?" She said, her voice hoarse and sore from the acid coming up. "Syd I..." She didn't even know where to start as she made her way to bed. "Thanks..."

 

[Pyroclast]

Sunday 1st August 1971

Porter Manhattan Apartment​

Syd Porter

After everything that had happened, Syd didn’t want to be on his own. He felt like the apartment was under surveillance, and not the protective kind. Although he was tired and craved peace and quiet, the thought of being alone scared him and so he stayed up with the rest of the family until they all went to bed. But no matter how exhausted he felt, he couldn’t get comfortable. The large, fresh wound on his chest made it hard to move and, still suffering the effects of withdrawal from his medication that his counsellor had recently reduced, lying on his back only made him feel nauseous.

When morning came, Syd awoke slumped beside the toilet, the light from the window shining onto his face. It was the second night in a row that he had spent being sick, but having eaten nothing at all the previous day, he had brought up nothing but stomach acid, leaving his throat raw and his body weak and aching. He wondered how many days it would be before he would adjust to the lower dosage, or if the shock of yesterday’s kidnapping was just making the symptoms worse.

It was only when he stood before the mirror to brush his teeth that he noticed he had at some point removed his fleece, leaving him shirtless with his wound on full show. Syd stared at its reflection, finally inspecting it up close. Grotesque, hideous, deep and undoubtedly permanent. Syd traced a finger along its edges and felt an urge to cry. He had been branded by the enemy, whoever they were, and would be forever reminded of his weakness, his inability to protect his mother and aunt. The rest of him looked dreadful, too. Wanting to get away from the mirror as soon as possible, Syd leaned over the sink to give himself a gentle sponge bath and then turned away and leaned against the wall to ease the dizziness.

A knock on the door caused him to stiffen up and his heart began to pound in his chest. If the apartment was being watched like he feared, it could be the kidnappers returning to torment them further. He dared to open the door a crack to see his father peering through the peephole. “Dad -” Syd cried out, but James opened the door to reveal Aliana. Still clinging to the edge of the bathroom door, Syd stared at his aunt until the terror passed and he accepted that they weren’t in any danger. Slowly, Syd stepped out of the bathroom to reveal himself and stood with his back against the wall. His eyes were locked on Aliana, feeling safer by the second, and several seconds passed before he realised that his wound was on full display. He turned his back to them quickly and ducked into his bedroom to find a t-shirt. It was hard to put on and anything touching the wound was deeply uncomfortable but he would rather protect the others from having to see it. Eventually, and rather sheepishly, Syd emerged from his room and looked once again to Aliana as he hovered by the door. The urge to cry returned to him, but he fought it back, not wanting to show further weakness after the previous day. “Hi,” he croaked, in a barely audible voice. "H-how are you?"

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Aliana Cartwright-Sullivan

The moment Ali left the apartment, she felt nothing but agony. The thoughts that were going through her head were like a compilation of tragedy. Tommy, Leo, Syd. Tommy, Leo, Syd. It was on an endless loop that didn't seem to end, making her toss and turn in bed. To make matters worse, she and Conor didn't exactly leave on a good note. Another threat of taking their son away, wanting to take him somewhere safe away from all the danger. She knew it was hurting him, understand that using their child against him was toxic but her thoughts were all over the place. The thought process she was currently going through was not positive and not helpful. But this recent attack was enough to make things worse. It was enough to send the woman on a further downward spiral.

When she arrived at her own home, she was on autopilot. She kicked her shoes off at the door and basically left it opened. The guard that was posted had to close it for her as she slowly made her way inside. Leo was in bed by this point and so was her mother and even though she was moving seamlessly through her home, she was still concious of being quiet for their sakes. Her clothes were caked with dried up blood and the sight was horrifying, to say the least. Letting Leo see her like that, again, was not something she wanted to do. She was already gunning for mother of the year with the drinking and previous attacks she was involved in. If she were being quite honest with herself, she was making a lot of different terrible decisions that she wished she could take back. As she sat in her shower, water running and the noise masking her cries she thought about this.

The water wasn't too hot on her skin and even if it were, she probably wouldn't even feel it. Her clothes were sopping wet and the crusted blood was going down the drain. Ali didn't even know why she was crying or rather, couldn't pinpoint one specific reason. The day's events had definitely set her off but could it have just been the cherry on top? She hadn't mourned Tommy properly nor Leo so could it be she was doing it all at once now? Syd was alive, Lucy was alive, Sinead was alive and she should be grateful about that, right? Maybe it was the dangers of this life that was finally getting to her. Whatever the reason, she would remain there crying for the next 30 minutes, then sitting in silence for the next 40.

Eventually Aliana had found herself with James at the apartment. She had wanted to go over and check on her nephew, talk to him and things of that nature. It had seemed they scared him, the look of terror then realization appearing on his face when he saw he was safe. The scarring on his chest was something she couldn't help but look at and she felt a hot boiling in her veins. The people that did this to him? They were going to pay for it ten fold and then some. She began to calm down when he hurriedly rushed to his room and closed the door. It shocked her to see him move that fast, but she understood the circumstance. While he looked for a shirt, Ali decided to make tea; the staple comfort drink of any awkward situation. When her nephew finally emerged, she gave him a soft smile though she could hear the sadness in his voice. "Ah, better than most days... How... Are you holding up?"

​

 

[Pyroclast]

Sunday 1st August 1971
Porter Manhattan Apartment ​

Syd Porter

Perhaps it was because he hadn’t slept well, but the hours that separated him from the traumatic event of the previous day hadn’t done much to allay his distress. His head was so clouded he couldn’t remember anything from before the kidnapping and so was left with no choice but to believe his aunt when she told him she was doing well. Holding himself stiffly, Syd began to shift from foot to foot. When she asked him how he was, he mustered a quiet “Good,” - but his rugged appearance and weak voice betrayed him. Her question drew little else from him until, after a few more seconds, he slowly shook his head and changed his answer: “I don’t know.” His arms coiled around his stomach and he bit down on his lip as it began to tremble.

The fidgeting soon developed into slow, aimless pacing, helpless as to what to do with himself. He moved according to the pain that restricted him, making him look as lost in his own apartment as he felt in his head. “Ali…”

Suddenly, without the strength to hold it back, Syd raised a hand to his face and burst into tears. An expanding ache pushed against his skull, clearing his head of all thoughts and memories. All he knew in that moment was that something terrible had happened, or was about to happen. The unstoppable sense of dread had him shaking but he stayed where he was, too overwhelmed to move. “Ali, I don’t know what h-happened,” he whimpered between uncontrollable sobs. Lost to the shock of the traumatic event, his body gradually collapsed in on itself and he sank down to the floor in defeat.

Loud, pained sobs tore from his body, which only got worse when the memory of the kidnapping began to unfold in his mind. He felt violated and ashamed and responsible for things having turned out the way they did. It wasn’t just him being hard on himself, either, because Alistair had pointed out his weaknesses as though he had taken them right from the walls of his insecure mind. Then he remembered that his parents had suspended him from work, and he felt even less certain of his position in the family. “I’m not good at this, I’m no good to anyone like this,” he cried, digging the heels of his palms into his red raw eyes as a waterfall of tears cascaded down his pallid face. “Can’t even f-fight back, stand up for my mam...a-and now they want me to step down from the business. They don’t want me.” Blood pounded heavily through his head as he continued to break down, hardly able to breathe through the sobs that tore from his body. “I’m no good to anyone. I don’t know wh-where I’m going anymore. Ali, I’m slipping, I can feel it - I’m just g-gonna end up back where I was...”

The anguish, the withdrawal symptoms and the fresh wound all combined together to fill him with an unbearable pain, seeming to attack him from all directions. Syd doubled over, and when his shirt got caught on his stitches he pulled it over his head and threw it to one side. When he sat up to reveal the deep laceration that coursed from his shoulder to chest, Syd’s tearful eyes latched onto Aliana, practically begging her to look at it. It was his burden, a permanent mark of disgrace, shame and violation. His cries simmered down, by now drained of any remaining strength, and could now only be heard on the hitching of his shuddering breaths. The silent tears continued to fall down his face, however, as he stared into his aunt’s eyes. For a moment he just sat still and focused on her to prevent the memories from working their way back to the front of his mind. Still, even without concentrating, the words fell from his lips as a whisper: “I deserve this.”

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Aliana Cartwright-Sullivan

Ali knew better than to even ask the question, it was clear as day he was a wreck. But, she couldn't help herself. Learning how to have those kinds of conversations, to address it differently wasn't something she was an expert on. In fact she had never learned how but she did learn how to spot a liar and Syd was lying. Maybe it was because he wanted to be better, he wanted to be okay for her sake. It was unnecessary for him to do it now; she was his aunt and he didn't owe her anything especially now. Before she could tell him that, he had burst into tears and took her off guard to be honest. She expected tears and knew they would be present; this had just happened faster than she wanted it to.

"Sy-," she started as he fell to the floor. Ali quickly dropped to the floor and raised a hand to his cheek, the look of concern plastered all over her face. She gently held his head as she hugged his head to her chest, the safest way she knew how to hug him with his injuries. "Syd, you're safe now. It's okay." He then went on a tangent about his life and how he wasn't good enough, he couldn't protect his mother. She felt him slipping and even though she only came here to spend time with him and check his condition, she was now responsible for the tears streaming down his face. Before she said anything or attempted to comfort him, he needed to get it all out there and she was willing to let him do that. A part of her knew she was only here for her own selfish reasons. Tommy and Leo were both taken from her, even after their lives had been endangered once. She had gotten them back and then just months later she lost them again. But Syd, she was not going to lose him.

Feeling him move around, she pulled back and was shocked at his next few movements. He was taking his shirt off, clearly upset and annoyed with it. The scarring on his chest was visible again and it was like he wanted her to see it, he wanted her to look at it and believe this is what he deserved. The words even came out of his mouth and she frowned. "No, you don't and didn't. None of this is your fault." She firmly said before she stood up. Momentarily she disappeared to the bathroom, rumaging around for the first aid kit she saw Finn leave behind. When she secured it, she stood up and caught her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing her hair up in a bun, strands escaping from the scrunchy keeping it all in place. She stared for a moment, wondering how she had even gotten here before leaving the bathroom and returning to her nephew.

Helping him sit up, she set about opening the kit and cleaning his wounds while shaking her head. "They don't want you dead, Syd. They love you, we all do and you're no good to any of us dead. We, more importantly your parents, would rather you not participate in things that could get you killed. We appreciate that all you want to do is be there and do your part but you don't need to." She went from cleaning to ointment, making sure his wounds didn't get infected. "You're not a burden, waste of space or any of that."

​

 

[Pyroclast]

Syd Porter

The intensity of his breakdown had shaken him up so strongly that when he finally slowed down, he felt the sickness return to him and beads of sweat began to prick at his forehead. Aliana’s firm gaze was the only thing keeping him steady; when she suddenly stood up and left the room Syd dropped forward as though he were tied to her by a string. Her words had come from the heart, but he didn’t have enough love for himself to believe that she could have meant them, or that anyone could really love him at all.

The faint clattering sound coming from the bathroom was just background noise to Syd, and he didn’t even try to work out what it was. He was too busy forcing out deep, heavy breaths in an attempt to control the nausea that twisted through his body. Bent over his knees where Aliana had left him, his forehead almost touched the ground. Sweat now poured into his eyes, making them sting even more, and just as he began to think that the cool touch of the wooden floorboards might bring him some relief, the room whirled past him and he found himself upright once again and staring back at a blurry silhouette of his aunt.

It was the sting of disinfectant that shocked him back into the room. At first he hissed - but in a way, it came as a relief, a distraction from the sickness that had so suddenly taken over him. Aliana came into focus again and his dizziness eased just enough for him to focus on her words. “But I do need to, Ali,” he whispered, more tears rolling over the dark rings beneath his eyes. “Or who am I? If I’m not doing my job...if I’m not giving back, then all I’m doing is taking, draining everyone’s energy that they need to be focusing on other things. Like keeping our enemies away. I’m just a distraction, a worthless distraction.” Syd’s face tensed into a pained grimace, squeezing his eyes shut as his voice cracked into a sob. All the cruel observations that Alistair had made about him had come back to haunt him. He didn’t even know the man, yet somehow, to Syd, everything he said had been true.

“I’m not well enough to work and I just don’t get how it happened. I just wanna be like everyone else. I want to be needed, I want to do my part but I can’t. I’m weak! Why can’t I be like my dad? I’m tired of this, I’m sick of being the one everyone has to keep an eye on. I’m the boss’ son, I’m supposed to be strong and I’m just fucking falling apart again.” Pressing his hands into Aliana’s legs to hold himself upright, Syd shook his head, causing heavy tears to drip onto her hands as she washed his wound. “I don’t know how this ends...I don’t want to take the whole family down with me when I go.”

Everything he had been feeling over the past few days, the loss of hope and strength he had experienced while tied to the chair, it all suddenly collided, presenting itself in the form of hideous suicidal thoughts. Forceful and dominant, it seemed to manifest in Syd’s mind like a roaring beast, the embodiment of his temptation to end his life. “H-he told me to kill myself,” he sobbed, barely comprehensible. “And that it’d be e-easy because I’ve h-had so much practice.” His shaking hands convulsed into stiff claws that dug deep into Aliana’s legs, by now so numbed by his anguish that he was barely aware of what she was doing. “I thought I’d moved away from that, I-I really tr-tried to change my reputation,” he went on. “How did he know? Why did he look so far into my past?” Syd’s swollen eyes widened and he looked desperately to Aliana, as though expecting her to have all the answers to his questions. “Is that all people think of when they hear my name? The mental case who tried to kill himself three times?”

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Aliana Cartwright-Sullivan

As Aliana took care in cleaning his wounds, she felt sick in her stomach. Not because of her nephew or the wounds he had been cursed with; not because of the weakened state he was in. She felt sick because she didn't know what to do. Her words, though coming from the deepest part of her heart, weren't going to do much at the moment and she knew that. Alas, she had to try, right? The older woman always knew that Syd was a little broken, that he would always need extra love and care and if he asked her for it, she would give it to him. At the moment she was proving that to be true. He truly believed he didn't have a life outside of the criminal activities their family participated in. Listening to him express his feelings about the entire thing made her heart break into a thousand pieces. "Oh Syd..." She whispered to herself before standing up to get a cold towel. Her nephew had been heating up and he needed to cool down, to calm down so he could listen to reason. Instead of finding a towel, she found a cold compress in the freezer and opted for that instead. She made sure to move fast so he wasn't sitting alone for too long. Gently pressing it against his neck, she finished placing a new bandage on his wounds and sighed.

"Who's energy is being drained by taking care of you? You're not a distraction. You are NEVER a distraction. James and Pete and Conor, they're all out to get the people that did this to you, Lucy and Sin. They're not distracted because of what happened, they're motivated." Moving the materials she used to clean his wounds to the side, she focused on bringing down his temperature. She made a clicking noise as she raised her hand to his forehead, wiping away any sweat she saw gathering. "You need water." Before she could stand up, Syd went into another tyraid, this time about who he was. It seemed to her that he was having a moment with who he was as a person. It never occurred to her that maybe some of her family members growing up in this family would believe that this was all they were. That the only thing they had going for them was the family business. "Kid, you're your own person. You don't need to be like your dad, you need to be you."

Things took a darker, and slightly painful, turn as Syd's internal turmoil escalated. Hearing the awful things that were said to her nephew pissed her off, which was taking her mind off the fact that Syd was currently digging his nails into her leg. She let him, of course, wanting to be whatever outlet he needed to help him through this difficult period. But hearing the pain in his voice, it was enough to make a tear escape her own eyes. She was supposed to be helping him stop crying, not starting to do the same thing herself. But, she couldn't help it at the moment. "Hey, listen to me, okay?" Her voice cracked as she tried to be reassuring to him. "He did it to hurt you. He did it to hurt the family. Syd, the three of you are some of the most important people in the family. You keep the family together and they knew if they hurt you, it would hurt the rest of us. You're not a weakness, you're one of our greatest strengths. No one sees you as the mental case; we see you as Syd Porter, nephew, son, cousin. We don't see you as anything less."

​

 

[Pyroclast]

Syd Porter

Even recounting just a small part of what the previous day had entailed stirred up an unbearable amount of anxiety in him. He felt utterly possessed by Alistair’s haunting words. The sound of terror could be heard on each rapid breath, his whimpers escalating until the force of his pounding heart stole the breath from his lungs and silenced him. With eyes squeezed shut, Syd gripped onto Aliana’s legs as the panic cast over him a strong sense of impending death.

Although it was nothing new to him, it never felt any less real. Syd couldn’t bear the feeling of losing his grip. He always managed to convince himself in such moments that he had reached his end, that death had finally come to claim him. It was as though all control of his body and mind had been seized by some incorporeal force that meant to drag him into the darkness, away from any chance of recovery.

But what his feverish mind failed to realise was that Aliana was holding him steady; she was the counterpoise to all the fear and dread he felt so deeply threatened by. She spoke to him in a gentle yet confident tone of voice and held a cold compress to his neck to alleviate his fever. The relief it brought eased some of the tension in his body and helped him to breathe enough to properly release his cries in a more controlled manner. When she told him to listen to her, Syd managed to summon enough control to quieten down and raise his eyes to meet hers. Instantly he could see that she was crying, too. It took every ounce of his strength to follow her words, and even after she was done he had to let them swirl around in his head for a while before they could fully sink in.

“I’m a strength?” he eventually repeated, in a voice weak and distant. By now he was white as a sheet and shaking all over, but still he took hold on the compress and attempted to move it across his body. “They took me ‘cause I’m…’cause I...have a bad history,” he slowly drew out, taking his time to find the words. “But also because I’m important?” His streaming, bloodshot eyes drifted to his aunt, looking to her for reassurance that he was understanding correctly. “Like mam...and Aunt Sinead. We need them. And everyone else. And you, we need you, Ali…” His eyes glazed over with fresh tears then, suddenly moved by how much support and kindness Aliana had shown him and the very fact that she was there on the floor with him during his episode. “And...and you need me too?”

The cold compress was gradually losing its effect but Syd continued to dab it across his body nonetheless. The heat radiating through his skin was still enough to make him dizzy and he wasn’t entirely convinced that he wouldn’t throw up again soon, though he knew there was nothing left in him to expel. With trembling movements, Syd cautiously lowered himself down onto one side, finally allowing his heavy head to rest on the cool floorboards. All the while, however, he tried to keep a gentle hold on Aliana. Her touch was comforting and though he wasn’t able to articulate the thought in his head, her presence was, in that moment, vital to his well-being.

“Ali,” he mumbled. The searing wound on his chest compelled him to roll onto his back and within seconds he could feel himself sweating against the floor. “Do you ever get scared...about Leo?” His question came as a mere whisper, as if it were the dead of night and not the morning. “I wanna have kids someday, I’ve always wanted...to have kids. But I don’t want this...” As he gave her hand a weak squeeze, another tear rolled down his face. “How do you protect a kid from this life, Ali?”

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Aliana Cartwright-Sullivan

The pain of her nephew digging into her leg wasn't going to hit her until later as the emotions and her focus were both on her nephew. He was spiraling and that much was evident, but she wasn't going to give up on him; she wasn't going to stop until he calmed down and he heard and understood everything she was saying to him. Ali wasn't going to give up on Syd when he needed someone at that moment, someone to keep him grounded. So if he needed someone to lean on, if he needed someone to get him through it and it took all day, she was going to help him. That's what her purpose was right? Being there for people when they needed help and when they needed someone to lean on. As long as she didn't break, she didn't see an issue with giving her all.

Hearing him talk to her she knew she was getting somewhere. His words were coherent and were beginning to be full of understanding and that made her take a deep breath. Nodding her head she gave him a sad smile. "Yes, you're a strength and those bastards knew that. They want to attack the family and destroy you, make you question yourself and your worth when there's no need for you to. You're important to us, we love you, and you're not some charity case." She wanted to get up and replenish the cold compress she had given him but knew she couldn't move. They were going to have to stay here on the floor for a little while longer and she was okay with that. Leo was out with his cousins and wasn't expecting her back home until the evening, the restaurant was running itself today with her assistant manager on the scene. However long she needed to be here was how long she was going to stay. Right now, her family needed her and she was going to be there.

"No one would have come for you if we didn't care. If we thought you were worthless, we would have left you in Dublin but we didn't." Ali started stroking his hair, in an attempt to both calm him down and see if his fever was going to start breaking but it didn't seem to. Sucking in air through her teeth at her ideas running out, the next best option was to let it run it's course as she talked to him, as she calmed him down. She helped him lay on his back carefully, her hand still stroking his head in comfort. When he asked about Leo and how she was keeping him safe, she shook her head and sighed. "Leo growing up in this life has always scared me... That's why I tell him about everything that goes on because I need him to understand the world, the life that he lives in. The only way to protect the kids from this life is to tell them about it and hope and pray this isn't something they want to keep doing. And if it is, that they do it right. Syd, you'd be a great father."
​

 

[Pyroclast]

Syd Porter

Seeing Aliana nod out of the corner of his eye, Syd managed to look up to her and focus on her explanation as to why they were kidnapped. Everything she said was repeated in his mind so as not to forget: no need to question worth - important - not a charity case. Another tear rolled down his temple as he gazed upwards from the floor. Leaving Dublin had been hard for him, especially as it was Skye’s resting place, but ultimately he was glad to have come with the family to New York. Not only for their company and for his role in the business but also because he loved the city and was proud of the success he had found in his nightclub. “I couldn’t live without you, Ali,” he murmured through chattering teeth. “I need you and this family more than you could ever need me. I’d rather be dead than alone.”

Syd closed his eyes again when Aliana began to stroke his hair. He let out a deep, shaky exhale at her soothing touch and reached over to grasp onto her leg again, wanting to be as close to her as was physically possible. He leaned into her even further when she told him that he’d make a great father. “Leo’s lucky to have you as his mam,” he replied. “You get it...how to protect and support him. He’s lucky. But you tell him the good things too, right?” Syd glanced up at her, grinding his teeth together to ease the trembling. “No kid should be afraid of getting lifted off the street when they go outside...or be scared that their parents won’t come home. I want - I just want the kids to be happy and safe.”

The fever was still rising, elevated by the stress and trauma he had faced, and his skin was coated in a sheen of sweat that made him feel cold. He kneaded his stomach with the heel of his palm, unable to ignore the severe ache he had been left with after not eating for almost two days. It felt like it had been scraped raw, still fiercely unsettled despite purging the last of its contents long ago. The room started to rock and sway again and with no support beneath his head, Syd felt like he was being tipped backwards and upside down. With deep, rapid breaths, he grabbed onto Aliana’s leg and forced himself upright. He couldn’t stave off the nausea any longer. “I gotta get to bed,” he uttered in a single breath, urgently trying to scramble to his feet. What he really meant was the bathroom, but his vision was already going spotty and he knew the room’s bright light would make him feel worse.

By the time he had entered his bedroom, he was so hot and dizzy that he could barely see in front of him. The aggressive shivering made it even harder to walk and before he could reach the bed, the vertigo peaked, forcing him to give up and sink to the floor. Holding himself up on his forearm, Syd tried to speak Aliana's name - but all that came out was a hard retch. The pain made his other hand instantly clutch at his convulsing stomach and for a moment he could do nothing but choke up the acid that was forcing its way out of his system. It seemed to take a lot of effort for what it was worth. “Ali?” he croaked, spitting onto the floor beneath him. “I don’t feel well.” His eyes were streaming from the exertion and as soon as his hand found Aliana, he lifted his heavy head from up off the floor and buried it in her lap.

By now he was well past the point of self-consciousness and of worrying about being a burden. Syd could handle himself when he was ill, he was used to it from the many other times he had altered his medication - but what he couldn't get used to was the anxiety, the flashbacks, paranoia, panic attacks, nightmares and night terrors. They never got less frightening, never seemed any less real and always came with that same sense of overwhelming dread. This time, both terror and sickness coursed through him in equal measure and so the thought of being alone for even a moment seemed a thousand times worse to him than requesting his aunt’s attention and time. Still, he wasn't completely insensitive to what she was witnessing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get sick - are you gonna leave?” he asked in a muffled voice, wrapping his uninjured arm around her waist in hopes that she would stay. The sickness, fear and immense pain in his shoulder and chest was causing a sensory overload and his thoughts grew scattered as each problem fought for his attention. “It’s not safe out there, you know, they’re - they're still out there,” he desperately reminded her, gripping tightly onto her clothes. “Mam and dad said I can’t work ‘til I’m better, so if something bad happens then I won’t be there to help. I can’t live with that - with that guilt. I need to be ready for anything, not here on the floor.” That was what really worried Syd about going downhill - not just the loss of control over his mind and his actions, but the fact that he wouldn’t be able to protect his family. “Don’t go out there, Ali, please,” he begged, forcing himself to swallow back the rancid taste in his mouth. “I don’t want to fall asleep, I don’t want to dream about it. I want to be here with you. Just you.”

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Aliana Cartwright-Sullivan

The fact that his current situation was only further deteriorating was worrisome to her. She knew the things her nephew struggled through were quite serious but she never knew by how much. His words, "I couldn't live without you" sent her back to when he was there for her. It had been after Leo died and she basically told him she wished she had never met any of them. He was able to help calm her down, bring her back to her senses when she thought all was lost. Of course she wanted to be a good aunt, but she also felt like she owed him a debt of gratitude and anything she could do she would. "It's alright, Syd." She said, trying to calm him down. At this point, he just needed to get it all out of his system; feel what he needed.

Syd had gone back to her being a good mom and it made her chuckle. There were days she didn't feel so good about her parenting skills, considering Leo still had bad habits. He was her first born, basically the experiment child and she could only hope by the time he turned 18 she had done a good job with him. Growing up in the environment that he was in was going to be rough, for sure, but being open and honest about this life was going to be helpful. Leo was old enough to understand certain things about their life, mostly that it was dangerous. Ali had the bombings to thank for that one, she guessed. Finding a way to lie to her son would have been harder to explain than just telling him the truth. But with every bad thing, she told him the good things. This was their family and they were always going to protect each other and that much was certain. None of the would ever turn their backs. "The kids, while they see the bad, she more of the good if anything. It's our jobs to make sure they're well prepared for this life but also enjoy their innocence."

Her nephew suddenly getting up from the floor was cause for concern as she watched him make his way to his bedroom. She took this opportunity to quickly run to the bathroom for a trashcan, hearing the gagging noises coming from his throat. Even though he had made it to the bedroom, she found him slumped against the side of the bed. He was apologizing for getting sick, but it wasn't his fault. She was late with the trashcan, but that was okay. Leo had been sick once and threw up in her bed, which she hadn't discovered until the next morning so she was used to this sort of thing. There was a shirt on the bed, which she grabbed to cover up the remains of his stomach. It wasn't much on anything considering he hadn't had anything to eat. She debated on whether or not she was going to try and get him into bed and decided that was the best course of action. I'm not going anywhere. First things first, though, we need to get you into bed so come on." With whatever little strength he had, she would make up for in getting him on his back and in bed. It was a struggle, that much was certain but anything to get him off of the floor. "I'll stay for as long as you need me. Leo has Thomas to play with for now so my sole focus is you, okay?"
​

 

[Pyroclast]

Syd Porter

If at any point Syd managed to snap out of the state he was in, he probably would have been embarrassed by how clingy he was being and demanded to be left alone. In this case, however, there were too many obstacles in his way. Trauma, paranoia, sickness, physical pain - it all mounted up until it dominated his mind and body completely. All he knew was that he was with somebody he trusted, and so was able surrender himself to Aliana’s control without resistance. His vision dissolved into a dizzying black haze as he was hauled to his feet and when he came to he found himself lying on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Almost as soon as he touched the mattress, his body began to sink into sleep. By this point his mind was so overloaded that it had gone blank; his only thought was of Aliana, and making sure she was there. He heard her voice assuring him that Leo was being taken care of and that she had time to stay with him, and Syd responded with a weak grunt, extending his arm carefully until it found her. “Come,” he whispered, trying to pull her into bed. His tears were beginning to dry, leaving his eyes swollen and his head aching. All he wanted now was her arms around him so that he could know she hadn’t left and gone out into the dangerous world. “Please.”

The backfiring of a car out in the street made him jump, the terror returning to his eyes and his breath quickening. “Quick, Ali…” Once she was in bed with him, he gently pulled her arm around him and propped his head up on her shoulder, careful to keep himself lying flat so as not to aggravate the fresh laceration on his chest. Any paranoid ideas of guns being fired outside left his mind as exhaustion gradually slowed his breathing down and, patting Aliana’s hand occasionally to remind himself of her presence, he began to properly relax. By the time his shivering had completely stopped, Syd had fallen fast asleep.

END OF SCENE​