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

[Pyroclast]

Tatiana Moretti
~ Miguel Martinez ~

Drugs were an interesting market to control, because they held a power of their own. Bricks of cocaine, each laced with temptation resistant only to those who were capable of handling them professionally. It was an easy way to tell the loyal from the disloyal - especially when there was a rat among them to point the blame. In this case, the rat was Luis Martinez, who had secretly brought his cousin's crimes to Gabriel's attention.

It was a simple enough operation: pay an unexpected visit to carry out a stock count and then, when they fail to add up, they kill the fools regardless of whether or not they decide to confess to their theft. Despite being unfamiliar with the men in question, Tatiana wasn't apprehensive about going in. She was confident in her abilities and even if things started to go south, she had faith that Tony and her father wouldn't let it get out of hand.

"Too bad we weren't playing for cash," Miguel smirked, sweeping up his losing hand. "You play like that at King's, you'll come away with more than just a fat load of cigars. I'm talkin' big digits, mano. Those guys don't fuck around. You wanna be rich, you quit playin' family and start rubbin' shoulders with the self-proclaimed Gods of blackjack." Miguel leaned back in his chair and eyed his younger brother as he shuffled the cards, a crooked smile forming around the cigar held between his teeth. Ever since they had started stealing from Moretti's drug supply to rake in some independent money, Miguel was thinking more and more of where to put it next. The chance of getting into debt was less of a concern now that they had a handsome income, and that opened up a world of possibilities.

Luis' arrival didn't interrupt Miguel's flow as he went about laying the cards down on the table. It was only when their cousin announced that Mr. Moretti had come to check their inventory that his attention switched. "We'll come back to this later, mano," he uttered to his brother as he got up from his seat. "I want to see your best."

With a sigh, the man turned to face the office door. "Mr. Moretti, what a pleasure," he acknowledged, his tone hardly friendly. He only glanced to the pair at his side, not caring for introductions. Of course the man had brought back-up, although the young woman carried no obvious threat. "If you'd care to come with me..."

Out of arrogance and optimism, Miguel hadn't discussed much of a plan with Carlos about what would happen were they to be found out. As he lead the group down a narrow set of stairs into the basement, he only hoped now that his brother wouldn't somehow drop them in it. "I'm afraid you've arrived a little late, my good man," he announced, taking a lengthy drag on his cigar as he allowed the others to pass him into the basement. "We've just distributed our first load already. From Upper East Side down to The Copa - just where you want it. Trust me, amigo, we know where to find the fat cats of New York City. Don't we, Carlos?" Miguel kept his eyes trained on Gabriel, a sleazy smile painted on his face. He wasn't easily shaken, but he was still counting on his ability to maintain a hard and confident exterior. Something told him that this wasn't just a random visit. "Please, be my guest," he offered, gesturing to the shelves on which the packages of cocaine were kept. While this would buy them some time, Miguel was beginning to regret not getting his story straight with Carlos.

Tatiana gave Tony a knowing look; there was a brief silence before she strode over to the rows of metal shelving units that extended to the back wall. She knew exactly what to look for. "Why do you distribute before you bring it all to the warehouse?" she asked, glancing to Carlos through a gap in the shelves. "You want to be in charge? Inventory manager?"

Misty Gray Gabriel, Luis
RayPurchase Tony
Enzyme Carlos, NPCs, bodyguards


Syd Porter

Syd's eyes lit up when he saw Roxie enter the room. The staff never told him who was coming, perhaps to prevent him from getting worked up, but it meant that he never felt quite prepared when the visit did finally begin. He missed when it was normal to be around her - now it had to be an event, all highly controlled with restrictions set in place to keep her "safe" from him. How he wished for the day that there didn't have to be a table between them or eyes watching them from a close distance. He missed kissing her, holding her, talking to her in the confines of their bedroom.

"Roxie," he exhaled, his cheeks tingling with nervous energy as a smile spread across his face. "You came back." The words slipped out before he could think, exposing his pessimistic idea that she would be too put off by their last encounter to ever set foot in the hospital again - especially given that she was pregnant. Like last time, the first thing she did after sitting down was reach into her bag. Syd sat patiently, his cold hands clasped together between his thighs. "What's that?" he asked, though he knew exactly who had drawn it. Thomas had drawings pinned up all over Syd's kitchen walls, practically turning the room into an art gallery. "Is that me?"

The smile on his face broadened as he thought of Thomas drawing it for him. Roxie remarked that he had drawn Syd's hair perfectly, and he brought a hand up to pick up the picture for a closer look. "Can't remember the last time I looked that well-groomed," he joked. The picture showed him looking as bedraggled as if he had just woken up, his hair sticking up in a mound of stiff waves. Besides the big curved smile that he was sure Thomas hadn't seen on him for some time, it couldn't have been more accurate.

Syd raked a hand through his hair. It hadn't been cut or even combed for several weeks now, and without a mirror in his cell he hadn't much of an idea of what he looked like anymore. His eyes remained glued to the drawing, not even aware that Roxie had brought out more things from her purse. He missed Thomas so much, and the fact that he hadn't managed to contact him since before his suicide attempt made him feel like the worst brother in the world. An uncomfortable ache began to develop in his chest and he pushed the drawing away. That's when he saw the tiny knitted boots and the blurry black-and-white photograph. He recognised it as an ultrasound scan from when his mother was pregnant with Thomas all those years ago.

"This little circle?" he asked, pointing to one of the lighter splotches in the centre of the image. Without even realising, Syd had already picked up the booties in one hand and was squeezing them tight. Syd slid the picture around on the table so that he could see it from every angle before deciding that the splotch did indeed look like a bird. He gazed down at it, unable to look Roxie in the eye, and brought the soft knitted boots to his mouth. They were so small he could have swallowed them whole. A lump formed in his throat as he thought of everything Roxie was going through in his absence, how his mother was finally showing an interest in her grandchild and speaking to Roxie of her own will. It was a combination of regret that he couldn't be there, and gratitude that Roxie was doing all she could to keep him involved - even taking the risk to come back to see him - that took away his ability to speak. Syd looked down and shielded his eyes, holding the unbearably tiny boots against his face.

Still fighting to keep his tears from her view, he reached out blindly to cup Roxie's face in his hand and began to caress her skin. He missed being close with her - everything in the hospital was so void of comfort and intimacy and he was beginning to feel out of touch with affection. After a minute or so had passed, Syd collected himself, discreetly pinched the tears from his eyes and exhaled. "She's good, isn't she?" he commented, taking a proper look at what his mother had made. His voice came out thick and unsteady and he sniffed, reaching up to wipe his nose on his sleeve. "Thanks for bringing these. Put those pictures up in the kitchen, yeah? And please thank mam and Thomas for me. Tell him I'll be out soon, and I'll take him out for as much ice cream as he wants."

Syd fixed a soft gaze onto Roxie, smiling sweetly as he took in her appearance. "You look gorgeous, Roxie," he told her. He couldn't remember what her hair had looked like last time she was here, but he was sure that it looked different somehow. "Are you looking after yourself okay? You still staying at your parents'?"

Interactions
Bellz Roxie

 

[Misty Gray]

Conor Sullivan and Maddox Parker​

Maddox had stumbled onto the floor, the top of his arm scraping across the corner of the coffee table which in turn tore through the sleeve of his shirt as well as his skin. The counsellor was aware of the sharp, painful, stinging sensation but the adrenaline kicked in enough that he easily blocked it out. He took a moment to catch his breath back but the sound of the door opening caused his head to snap up to see who was at the door. The last thing either of them needed was a witness. Contrary to what he'd been ordered to do by Moretti, Maddox didn't want Conor to get into trouble, even if the man had just practically choked him and caused his arm to now bleed. Maddox wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried when he saw the family's lawyer standing at the doorway. The relief would come from the hope Mitch would help keep Conor calm, but the worry was the fact that the more people who knew the truth the more difficult things would become.

Seeing Mitch at the door caused Conor to anxiously pace the spot as the possible consequences of his actions sank in. Even in his pitiful state as he struggled back up to his feet, Maddox held too much power over Conor's fragile freedom. All it would take was a call to the police and a damning report to get him locked back in jail again. It didn't matter how much power the mob had in the city; it would be the word of a well-respected doctor against that of a criminal - a known gangster. "Damn it!" Conor hissed as he looked to Maddox. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Sit down" he commanded Maddox, pointing to the armchair the counsellor usually occupied during the sessions. "Mitch, you're going to want to sit down to hear this fucking bullshit... and close the door." Conor sat on the couch, positioning himself directly opposite Maddox whilst expecting Mitch to sit next to him.

"Put yourself in my shoes, Conor. I mean, you've been through the same. If someone killed members of your family, can you honestly tell me you wouldn't seek revenge?" Maddox asked. The man glanced to his arm, seeing the blood soaking into the white material of his shirt. "You know how I feel, Conor. You've had people unfairly taken from you..."

Conor shot up from his seat, causing Maddox to tense up as he expected another violent reaction. Instead, Conor walked across the room and retrieved a hand towel from on the counsellor's desk. He returned to the seating area and threw the towel at Maddox so the man could use it to stem the bleeding on his arm. Conor turned to Mitch whilst pointing at Maddox. "This guy right here, Mitch.. He's a slippery bastard, if ever there was one. You know what he just told me? He told me he's been working for the Morettis for the last few years. He's been helping those pricks to get to my family. Everything me and Syd told him, he was using against us. You know what's even sicker? He was the one who pushed Syd over the edge - he tried to make my nephew kill himself. What kind of..." Conor paused as he stared back at Maddox. "You're right, I know what it feels like to lose loved ones and to want revenge. But what you did. For years! That's a whole new level of fucked up. You tried to make Syd kill himself, damn it!"

"You're right, Conor. It's messed up and I realise that. I wish I could make you believe how much it eats away at my soul.... But all I want to do now is put things right for you and Syd. If you just hear me out and listen to reason, I can try to undo this. It's not too late for Syd..."

"How can I believe anything you say?" Conor asked, quickly shaking his head. "I knew you shrinks were all a bunch of pricks, but I thought you were different. I actually trusted you. Do you know how hard it was for me to open up to you?" Conor had always struggled to respect authority figures. Cops, counsellors... lawyers. Suddenly, Conor's head snapped to face Mitch and he stared the man down in that moment. "Same with bloody lawyers... Jesus Christ! It's interesting that you show up the moment Parker decides to tell me the truth." Conor stood from his seat and backed away, now looking between Mitch and Maddox. "Are you in on this too, Mitch?! I should have known better than to trust a dirty lawyer. Let me guess. The cops will be the next to show up - right on cue to take me in!"

"Conor, he has nothing to do with this," Maddox spoke up, quickly shaking his head. "We all need to work together else Moretti's going to--"

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you're not working with this prick," Conor calmly ordered Mitch, whilst speaking over Maddox.

RayPurchase (Mitch)

 

[Pyroclast]

Jason Costello

Before the guard could give his verdict, Jason noticed a young red-haired girl enter the hallway and look towards the door. She smiled and called him by his name, which he knew would help make him seem like less of a stranger to the house. "Hey, Rory," he smiled back. "I am. Is she in?" It was sweet to hear her call him a friend and fortunately it did the trick, because the guard didn't hesitate to let him in on her word.

Jason allowed her to take his hand and guide him up the stairs. He had spent long enough imagining the worst and so wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but Lorelei's cheerful demeanour helped to take the edge off. When they reached her door, he stepped behind her and peered through the growing gap in the door as the young girl pushed it open.

It took a conscious effort not to react. There were tears pouring down her hollowed face - she looked sicker than he had ever seen her. Naturally, he felt like he was intruding and might have turned away if he didn't expect her to be the same tomorrow. But he had come to find out how she was, and her upsetting appearance alone wasn't enough to draw conclusions.

"I don't mean to upset ye'," he began, taking a step further into the room. Before he could continue, Gwen quickly sent Lorelei back downstairs to play with her cousins. He waited until the girl had shut the door behind him before turning back to her. "Gwen..."

She was in such a state, it actually rendered him speechless. Nothing about her resembled the Gwen he had met in Dublin eleven years previous. What had once been a vibrant, adventurous, soulful young woman was now an unkempt, haggard, skeletal creature. But it was still her, still his Gwen. He noticed how she didn't meet his eye when she spoke to him. Despite her appearance, however, he couldn't tear his eyes away.

"I can't," he told her, his voice falling. "I can't stand it." Then he smiled anyway, and took a deep breath as his gaze spontaneously shifted to the large window in her room. The curtains were drawn, but he imagined that the view would be beautiful if only she could stand the natural light. The room was rather pleasant itself - or it would have been, if it wasn't so untidy. All in all, this wasn't how he imagined seeing her bedroom for the first time would go.

After briefly pacing her room, Jason decided he had stalled long enough. Not wanting to get in her personal space in case she freaked out, he instead chose an armchair closer to her window, having to remove a pile of dirty laundry before sitting down. "So, what's new, Gwen?" he asked, disguising his emotions with a casual tone of voice. "Feel like we haven't caught up in a while. Life gets infinitely less interesting when you're not here, you know."

Interactions
Bellz Gwen

 

[Misty Gray]

Savannah Callahan​

Savannah smiled as Peter put his arm around her shoulders and led her out into the garden. "Is your leg pain starting to ease off yet? Honestly, you and Mum are such trouble-makers," she lightly teased. Once they stopped, her father turned to look at her. She bit her lip and quickly nodded her head when he praised her for seeking he;p in defending herself. The attacks she'd endured still felt fresh in her mind, so there was a brief awkwardness as the memories came to the surface again. "I just don't want to feel weak and useless again, y'know? That man who abducted me was able to walk all over me, twice, and I made it so easy for him. Then last week, I didn't help Mum and instead I just hid under the desk until it was safe to come out. I don't want to keep hiding. Everyone in this family is so strong and I don't want to be the only weak one. Even Emmy's tougher than I am."

As the lesson began, Savannah was fully attentive to Peter as he spoke to her about the proper fighting stance and the ideal position to be in when aiming a gun at someone. She watched him closely as he demonstrated how to aim to gun - using a tree as the target. When Peter lowered the gun, Savannah expected him to hand it to her, but he instead told her to use her hand as a mock gun. As demonstrated, she stood with her feet a shoulders width apart and straightened out her back. Being a model and dancer, her posture was practically perfect as she mimicked the position Peter had just been standing in. "Now I feel like Thomas with his pretend gun," she said, giggling as she used her index finger and thumb to imitate a gun. She soon cleared her throat and regained a serious expression as she remained in the correct position and pretended to take aim at the tree.

"Hey, Dad..." she began, holding the position until instructed otherwise. "On a scale of one-to-Dublin. How worried should I be about this new war our family is having?" she delicately asked. She remembered all too well the struggles the family endured over a decade ago. She remembered being told the news of Tommy's death and not long after of Ali's brother, Leo's death. Injuries and death aside, she also remembered how the family was often on lock-down and not allowed to leave home without a bodyguard. It wasn't just concern the the health of her loved ones, but she was worried it would get in the way of her career. She couldn't afford to be kept away from her work and she certainly couldn't have it jeopardised by another attack like the one at the theatre.


Bellz (Peter)

 

[Bellz]

Roxie Carriveau​

Roxie was relieved to see Syd smiling, the last time they were together had worried her so much that she was starting to believe that he wouldn't be the same anymore. Nodding her head as he pointed to the circle on the picture, Roxie watched his face for a reaction. He wasn't looking her in the eye, but she could tell that the items she'd brought for him meant a lot. "Syd?" Roxie voiced, concerned as he shielded his face from her view. Suddenly, he reached out and cupped her cheek gently. A small smile formed on her lips as he caressed her skin and a familiar burning in her eyes caused her to blink a few times.

She was able to hold herself together, making sure that she was calm for him as it was important to not do anything that would send him over the edge. Clearing her throat as he also composed himself, he finally met her eyes. "That's what I told her, she did a great job." She murmured to him. Taking his hand in hers, she gave it a squeeze and smiled wider as Syd told her to tell his mom and Thomas thank you. "Oh they will both be on the fridge waiting for you when you come home. And don't worry, I'll tell them both."

His soft gaze was tantalizing and she couldn't look away from it. Roxie's heart skipped a beat as he stated that she looked gorgeous, which she was honestly not feeling that way. "Thank you." She whispered softly as her cheeks grew pink with embarrassment. Looking down at their hands together, she nodded her head at his questions. "Hey now, I was doing just fine on my own before, being pregnant doesn't change that." She teased lightly before her expression grew a bit more serious.

Letting out a heavy sigh, her eyebrows knitted together as she thought about the situation with her parents. "My father and I got into it a few nights ago and I left after dinner. He's threatening to take my job away from me which would be a disaster because then I wouldn't be able to pay for school." Her voice broke and so she cleared her throat once more, "He also told me something that I hadn't known about myself before...that I was apparently a mistake that he wishes he could take back." Roxie's eyes began to burn again and this time she was the one to look away.

"It's ironic and I was thinking about this the whole car ride over here. Sure, I might have been a mistake to my father and let me tell you, the whole God thing has never mattered to me before...but I think I was brought here for a reason." Taking a second to pause, she looked back up at Syd and offered him a smile, "You're the reason i'm here. And this baby, even though the situation was not ideal, is definitely not a mistake."

Letting out a shaky breath, Roxie squeezed Syd's hand, "That's why I'm so happy, so incredibly happy that you're alive. If you weren't here, then I would have no purpose, Syd."
with: Syd Pyroclast

 

[Bellz]

Gwen Bryant ​

Gwen felt like she had to shield what she had become from Jason. She had always been so strong around him and now she was just pitiful. It wounded her pride and all she wanted to do was disappear. His answer to her question made a lump form in her throat, but then he smiled and it left her confused. She painfully watched as he made his way to the arm chair that had about a weeks worth of dirty clothes on it. She found herself suddenly trying to get out of bed to move it, but she barely had the energy and she was stiff, so she struggled to even get the covers off of her.

She placed herself in a seated position on her bed, legs over the side and feet touching the ground, her back turned to Jason. Her shirt was thin enough to see each vertebrae on her spine, revealing just how much weight she had lost within a span of a week. "You could do so much better than me." Gwen told Jason as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. Feeling okay on her feet, she started to walk towards the dresser where her satin robe was but when she was about 2 steps away, her legs buckled and she fell forward roughly. "Shit." Gwen hissed before pulling her feet forward to stand in front of the dresser. Opening the drawer, she grabbed her robe before undoing it and placing it on. After tying it, she turned around slowly to look at Jason in her chair. He asked what was new and the redhead rolled her eyes at his casual tone.

She knew what this was doing to him, what it was doing to her whole family. "Interesting? As in almost getting shot by thugs interesting? Trust me, you don't want to stick around me." She told him, a bit of attitude in her voice. She struggled to move back to her bed but managed to sit down on the edge of it near Jason. Letting out a heavy breath as she sat down, the woman looked to him with a serious look in her eyes.

"I put you and my family in danger and I will never fucking forgive myself. My brother is pissed with me and I can't even pay Sinead back right now. My own daughter is disappointed with me and I don't think she will ever forgive me for the mistakes I've made. Fuck, she's seven and I swear she knows I'm a fucking failure." Gwen knew that unloading this on him probably wasn't what he wanted to hear but it was like word vomit, just pouring out of her without control.
with: Jason Pyroclast

 

[Bellz]

Peter Callahan ​

Peter chuckled as Savannah said she felt like Thomas with his pretend gun, smiling he said, "Nice looking base, kid!" When she spoke up, Peter turned his attention to look up at her face instead of her feet. Her question caught him of guard and his smile faded from his face as it grew serious. Reaching behind him to scratch the back of his neck, he cleared his throat, immediately changing his expression to try to reassure his daughter. "I really wouldn't worry much, love. You know James has everything under control." For now... Even though he wouldn't admit it to Savannah, he was quite worried about the pressures that were being place upon his brother-in-law. The man was no spring chicken, sure he could handle himself but everyone had a breaking point. James Porter is a family man and the enemy knew it well.

"You and the rest of the kids are going to be okay, but I won't lie to you, we need to be careful. Especially given the fact that we aren't as young as we use to be. Believe it or not, your old man was still the bomb back then. Is that the new word for cool now? I heard your brother using it the other day...anyway." Peter paused and noticed that Savvy was still holding her position. "Okay, relax. Maybe you are ready to feel the gun in your hands, hmm?" Reaching into his back pocket again, he grabbed his handgun before stepping closer to her. "Before I hand it to you, we should go over the basics of the gun. This is a AMT Automag V." He showed her the gun before reaching down to grab the magazine that he had left on the ground. "This is the magazine that carries the bullets."

"Now before we put that magazine in, I want you to hold the gun how we just talked about so you can get use to the weight in your hands, then we will place the magazine in so you can feel the weight of the gun with the bullets. Then we will see if you are ready to use it."

Peter offered Savvy the gun and waited until she was in the right position before stepping close and gently adjusting her arms. "Don't lock your arms, you'll find yourself wanting to do so to keep your aim steady but really it will just throw you off." Looking towards the tree and then back at her, Peter nodded with approval. "Feet out just a bit wider."
with: Savvy Misty Gray

 

[RayPurchase]

Tony Harrison

Tony shifted uncomfortably in the car. The pain in his cheek had been short lived, the dull ache in his shoulder still persisted, luckily the bullet had miraculously avoided any arteries, and the muscle damage had been relatively limited but the force had popped his shoulder out. Doctor’s orders were a sling for a week, no heavy lifting for 3, and to absolutely avoid all heavy contact for at least 6. Tony had decided to humour the request, wearing the sling for now, but that time frame wasn’t going to work for him, not in his line of work. There was a greater level of pain and discomfort that he was suffering from however, deeper than the physical flesh deep kind emanating from his shoulder. The Port raid had been a win, the shipment they had laid their hands on was not to be sniffed at, and would certainly be missed by the Porters. But they’d sustained losses of their own, more men dead and resources used up. Whilst the Florida business could keep supplying them, the resources weren’t indefinite, and the Irish had sunk their claws in deep. This wasn’t going to be a quick war, it was getting dirtier by the day. This hadn’t bothered Tony before, always one to get his hands dirty, a war was a war after all. It was the dreams that were bothering him, more and more he had been resulting in the bottle to drift off in a dreamless slumber, or the old Columbian Marching Powder to avoid it. Of course the doctor had forbidden him from imbibing during the first few weeks of his recovery period. As a result his dreams had been a mess of familiar faces, death and flames. Teddy had been round a few times, ostensibly to brighten him up from his funk, and Tony had put a smile on, cracks over the surface. Sitting down and recovering was no good, all it did was allow things to catch up with him. It’s why he’d told the Boss in no uncertain terms that he was fit and able for today, a nice easy beat down. His and Teddy’s idea of an ordinary Friday back in Miami, it just so happened that these arseholes thought they would be able to skim some of the profits. Turned out there were idiots wherever you went. He smirked at Gabriel as he turned to face him and Tatiana.

“Don’t worry about it Boss, seemed to be slow taking off anyway,”

He shrugged his shoulder, the left one remaining immobile and useless. God it was fucking infuriating. Teddy had been ribbing him the last couple of days, that he’d lost a step ending up in hospital twice in nearly as many weeks. Maybe he had, and this was becoming a younger man’s game, or woman, what with the boss’ daughter sat next to him. Out of the 3 kids she was the one who had been a part of the business the most. It would be interesting to see how she did today. Miguel and Carlos weren’t going to be walking out of here in one piece, and Luis’ fate was hardly set in stone either at this point. He couldn’t forsee much in the way of going wrong, these guys were bit part players who had been caught with their hand in the biscuit barrel. It wasn’t going to be shoot out, but it wasn’t going to be pretty.

Tony glanced about the shop. Perfect front a barber’s shop, plenty of footfall and a combination of new and old faces. Far less cliched than a bar or restaurant as well. His back was up from the moment they stepped in there. He could smell the bullshit radiating off them. The righteous self confidence of a man who thinks he holds all of the cards, who knows what he’s doing. If only he knew. Tony was silent. Happy to some extent to allow Tatiana and the boss to do the talking. The scars and injury just added to his looming presence as he descended into the basement. He ran his hand along the rows of packaged good, his fingers drumming along them.

“Sounds like someone’s gunning for a promotion with foresight like that.” He turned to look at Miguel, going behind him and squeezing his shoulder, with his vice of a right hand. “Definitely got the brains of the operation here with you two. Bet if we jimmied your heads open all sorts of bright ideas would come tumblin’ out wouldn’t they?”

(Interaction: Pyroclast Tatiana, Miguel, Misty Gray Gabriel, Luis, Enzyme Carlos, NPCS, Bodyguards)

 

[RayPurchase]

Mitchell van Gerwen

Mitch slammed the door shut behind him, he hardly needed telling twice, adding witnesses to worry about would send his current levels of anxiety skyrocketing to yet unseen heights. This was bad, this was really bad, a Grade A steaming pile of shit. If he had walked in to find the pair of them running an illegal cock fighting ring he would have been far happier. Mitch looked at the chair, but made no move towards it. Right now his brain was moving at a mile a minute. Walking in to find your client trying to murder his court appointed therapist, what sort of easy way out was there.

“Just tell me what the fuck is going on right now, I’ll put my feet up when I’m not dealing with a legal clusterfuck,”

Mitch ran his hands through his hair, he only realised the Beretta was still clasped tightly in his grip as the barrel scraped against his head. He holstered the gun and instead paced the length of the office. Steadily growing paler, the blood draining from his face as the full facts were laid on him by Conor. His eyes bored into Maddox’s, sadness, anger and betrayal all melded into one. He’d always considered to be on something of a level to Maddox, professional, upstanding men caught up in the seedy underbelly of New York, swept into a world of crime, betrayal and violence. But one in which they still held their heads high, their chins above the layers of sewage. Boy had that come crashing down. Maddox was one of them. He’d trusted the man, intrinsically, especially with the case of Conor. But then to find out that he had been behind Syd’s downfall as well? It was only a few metres below them where Syd had threatened his life, had Maddox instigated that in some way, the damage he had caused by his machinations went further than just the two individuals he had targeted. The ripples went far further. He turned his gaze on the bloodied and cowed counsellor as Conor finished.

“And all of this is true, I want to hear it from you, a straight answer,”

He already knew the answer though. He could see it in his eyes. And it hurt, this most heinous betrayal. But not as much as the one that followed it as Conor’s wrath turned onto him. Even when they’d first met and he had yet to gain Conor’s trust there hadn’t been that level of hostility. Not the kind that was now flowing off of him as he turned on the lawyer. Mitch actually took a step back, the accusations were like a blow to his chest. But something snapped, a fire of his own brimming inside of him. He jabbed a finger in Maddox's direction as he began to defend Mitch.

"First of all you shut your mouth Dr Parker. You've said quite enough already"

He then turned his attention on Conor, the fire in his eyes matching Conor's own. He should have been cowering beneath the gaze, it was what he'd been doing the last few months as things had begun to kick off, avoiding conflict and tribulations, seeking sanctuary in his work. Now it had come to a halt.

"The fact you have the balls to question my loyalty. Do you know how many favours I called in, palms I greased and hours I pulled just for you? If I wanted you dead or out of the picture I could have just left you in that shit stain of a penitentiary. Filed an incorrect petition or probation statement, would have saved me a hell of a lot of hours I'll tell you that much. The only reason I'm here is to clean up this whole mess otherwise I would have stayed in my office and let you keep on digging your own grave here. Rachel called me, and given the fact that I'm the best lawyer you will ever have the pleasure of meeting, and the fact for some reason I care about you far more than my average client I made like hell to get here. Now if you’ve done looking for someone else to blame, sit your arse down while I work out how exactly I’m going to fix this and stop you from going to prison for the rest of your life and end up getting stabbed in the lung with a sharpened toothbrush,”

Mitch’s face has brightened to a ruddy red, his raw and emotional outburst sweeping aside any form of candour or the near emotionless mask he kept reserved for clients. He turned back to Maddox, Conor may have blown things up by coming to the office, but Maddox was the one who had lit the fuse long ago.

“Now you… give me the standard line, you know the ‘i’ve learnt the errors of my ways, I won’t flag a report getting Mr Sullivan re-incarcerated and I’ll cut all ties from the Morettis and go live in a cave back in Ireland’. It’s all going to be bullshit but whilst you’re speaking it’ll give me time to work out what to do,”

(Interaction: Misty Gray Conor, Maddox)

 

[Misty Gray]

Conor Sullivan and Maddox Parker​

When Mitch snapped and told him to be quiet, Maddox slowly nodded his head in compliance. Whilst the two other men were standing, Maddox decided to remain seated to reduce any confrontational body language on his own part. The two men were understandably shocked and the counsellor decided the best approach for the moment was to let them let off some steam before they could hopefully calm down enough to try see reason. As he listened to the exchange of words, he went about dabbing his bleeding arm with the towel. Having knowledge of first aid and minor medical treatments, he knew it wasn't serious but would still need some treatment once he was able to properly tend to it.

Conor glanced to Maddox, concluding the man's injury was certainly a complication to his parole, but brushed it aside in favour of listening to the lawyer's response to his questioning. Conor folded his arms tightly at his chest, partly to keep his hands restricted should they somehow ball themselves up into a fist and put the final nail in the coffin of his freedom. Mitch pointed out how he could have left him in the prison if he wanted him dead. "But if you were working with him." he said, nodding towards Maddox, "what better way to gain my trust than to help get me out of jail?" he quietly asked. It was clear Mitch had more to say, so Conor forced himself to shut his mouth and listen to everything before arguing back. He said Rachel had called him, which made sense as Conor knew he'd left the pub in something of a bad mood that would more than likely have concerned the barmaid. He looked Mitch in the eyes as the man told him he cared about him more than his average client. It wasn't even because James had checked out and employed the lawyer that Conor believed Mitch, but he simply felt the man was being genuine with him. He knew Maddox's revelation had put some paranoia in his head in the moment, which he figured wasn't too dissimilar from the seemingly paranoid behaviour Syd had been showing in the hospital.

Conor slumped down on the sofa and anxiously ran his hand through his hair before quickly nodding his head. "Sorry, Mitch. I believe you and I should have... It's just, after he..." he began, pointing at Maddox. "I guess that's what happens when some bloke has been fucking with your head for so long! Kinda makes it hard to trust anyone..."

The attention was now back on Maddox, with Mitch addressing him directly. "I will give you some things to consider, Mr. Van Gerwen," the counsellor began. His voice was calm and controlled, neither wishing to show fear nor any agitation that could cause tempers to flare again. "Yes, I have seen the errors of my ways, hence why I've told Conor the truth." Maddox glanced to Conor, noticing the way his client was managing to keep calm. It wasn't appropriate to start patting himself on the back for his work, but the fact he was sitting with only a cut arm facing a now calm Conor was a breakthrough. It wasn't long ago that he was sure he wouldn't have been so lucky as Conor would not have been so reasonable. Maddox had already known weeks ago that he didn't want to take that control away from Conor again. "The fact is, I don't want to submit any reports that would get Conor put back in jail. If we can all just sit and talk about this, there's no reason my accident should affect your client's parole," he told Mitch.

"Well, that's bloody gracious of you, isn't it?" Conor asked. He wanted to say more but it was clear the counsellor hadn't finished and considering the man had apparently taken honesty pills that day, he was inclined to listen.

"Indeed, Gabriel Moretti has every intention of Conor ending up dead in some prison cell. Not only that, but he wants an unfortunate death to befall Syd in the hospital." Maddox bit his lip as he became more than aware of how terrible a position he was now in. At this rate, he'd have both sides fighting over who would get the pleasure of killing him. He wasn't an idiot and he had insurance against Conor and the Porters that he hoped he wouldn't need to even consider using. If he could help it, Maddox didn't want to resort back down to such levels to save his own skin. Despite the man's aggression, Conor seemed like the best hope; certainly easier to reason with than Gabriel was. Conor had more compassion that Moretti ever showed. "It won't take away any guilt, but I want to get Syd out of that hospital and if you both work with me I can do it. The second Moretti finds out I've told you all of this, he will take matters into his own hands and you shouldn't underestimate his capabilities. However, the longer he thinks I'm working on getting Conor back in jail and Syd killed, the more time we really have to help Syd out of that place." Maddox sat forward and looked the two men in the eyes. "I know I've done terrible things and you're within your right not to trust me, but I can help you." He looked directly to Mitchell. "Is any of the bullshit I just said helping you decide what to do?"

RayPurchase (Mitch)

 

[Pyroclast]

Alistair Sawyer

Alistair was grateful to Ethan for echoing his views on Ani and Maddox. It was old news by now and had been wearing Alistair down for longer than he felt it was worth. He was ready to take action. Ethan's comment of the two of them both being crazy drew an exasperated chuckle from Alistair as he gently spun his chair left and right. It stopped spinning, however, when Ethan explained that Ammon was still disappearing. The man was becoming increasingly problematic, the value of his skills now overshadowed by the trouble that he caused. The fact that his sister was now distracted from cleaning up after him only made matters all the more concerning.

"No," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "We've been tough with him. We've shown him mercy. Ethan, we have given that fool enough warnings and he has dared to disobey them every time. Ammon is not wired to take threats seriously, nor learn from punishment. His skills are worthless to me if he uses them for other purposes. Let's face it, Ethan - the kid's retarded. He's never going to get the message...which leaves us with only one option."

There was only time for a brief silence to fall before the door opened and Alistair's eyes moved from Ethan over to the twins. They stood hand in hand like a couple of scared children, Ani with a smile on her face. He observed the pair for a moment while he took a deep drag from his cigar. "I'd have liked you to knock before entering my office, Ani," he remarked, not attempting to disguise his disgusted tone of voice. "Shut the door".

Looking away, Alistair closed the cigar box and placed it back in his drawer as he gestured for the twins to step further into the room. Then, with a low grunt, he stood from his office chair and approached them. "I don't remember this being part of your job description, Ani," he began. "Escorting your twin brother to my office every time we need to talk." His cold eyes shifted to Ammon. Even the man's face frustrated him, knowing that nothing he could do or say would compute inside his thick, empty head. "The idea was that you two would be my clean-up crew. My clean-up crew. Instead, your brother here is off doing whatever he wants with complete disregard to the consequences and no doubt has you covering his tracks. Am I wrong?"

Alistair turned away with a sigh, already fed up with the sight of them, and moved to stand on the other side of his desk. "I can tell you love him, Ani. But I can also tell that he is a waste of your time - time that you were hired to devote to me. Not Ammon...Not your precious Maddox...Me." With a quick yet obvious glance to the clock on the wall, Alistair sent a knowing look to Ethan to signal that he was ready to make a move.

"Well, then," he continued. "Since there's not much more to be said than has already been said countless times, I think it may be time we move on. Come, Ani, there's something I'd like you to see." Alistair nodded to Ethan so he would know to bring up the rear, ensuring that Ammon also followed. Then he opened the door, and, without looking back, began to lead the way towards the basement.

The room was empty but for a single chair, metal clamps still attached to its arms. Arlene Sullivan's boyfriend, Patrick, had been the last to die in it, and his blood still stained the wood. Alistair sighed wistfully at the chair before turning back to the twins, more focused on his cigar than on making eye contact. "Take a seat, Ammon."

Interactions
Misty Gray Ethan
Bellz Ani, Ammon

 

[Misty Gray]

Gabriel Moretti
~ Luis and Carlos Martinez ~​

Carlos was enjoying playing the card game. He was always in his element when gambling and whilst he would say it was skill, he genuinely believed he was just one of those lucky kind of guys. The time with his brother was interrupted when their cousin decided to open the office door. "You can't have swept up that fast," he grunted in Luis' direction. The guy was a great stylist but terrible at cleaning up after himself. His eyebrows raised when hearing Mr. Moretti had shown up at the salon. "You will see my best later," Carlos confirmed to Miguel. He stood up and looked over to the Italian boss, waiting for Miguel to greet the visitor before doing so himself. "Good afternoon. It's always good to check on that old inventory," he said, nodding his head. He was sure it would be fine. Moretti had better things to be doing with his time that so he expected a quick once over.

Gabriel nodded his head to the two brothers, keeping his face neutral. Miguel's tone didn't sound friendly whilst Carlos seemed more welcoming. In all honesty, Gabriel didn't like either. One greeting he considered disrespectful and the other two-faced. However they addressed him, it wouldn't alter the fact he loathed them. He painted on a brief smile as he was directed down towards the basement. Given the two armed guards were looming nearby, Gabriel decided he didn't need to watch his own back on this occasion, though Luis shuffling behind him was somewhat irritating. Once in the basement, Luis remained standing near to the bottom of the steps, hoping he'd done his part and wouldn't be dragged further into the situation.

Gabriel set about casually pacing and looking around the basement as he listened to Miguel speak. He kept the subtle smile on his face as he nodded along to the Puerto Rican's words. He didn't like being told he was too late, but he let it go over his head considering there were more pressing issues. It was surprising to hear that the first load had been delivered already, but he expected that it wouldn't change the outcome of his visit. There were still plenty more boxes to be checked... again. Gabriel looked to Tatiana as she spoke to the men, questioning why they had distributed some of the drugs already. He couldn't help but appreciate the way his daughter carried herself and showed confidence in her role. She was going to do him proud, he was sure.

"We like to keep everyone happy. The less time the boxes stick around down here, the more secure all round. The guys at the other end don't have to worry about running out of supply and all that..." Carlos trailed off in answer to Tatiana's question. He then looked to the big bloke, Tony, knowing not to mess with that guy, sling or not. Still, when the man made his comment to Miguel about wanting a promotion, Carlos grinned. "Ah, you don't have to smash our heads in for the ideas."

Gabriel saw the weighing scales sitting on top of one of the shelves but then directed his focus to the sealed cardboard boxes close to where Tatiana was standing. He approached the relevant shelf and studied the box that, from the print on the outside, had originally contained bottles of detergent. There was an apparently random pen marking on the bottom corner of the box. It wasn't random, as Moretti had marked it himself the previous night when he'd stood and watched his own men pack it with the bricks of cocaine. Even the cut-off point of the brown tape hadn't escaped his attention as he'd made a point of remembering exactly how far down the box the tape had reached. The box had been loaded straight into the van before being delivered to the barbers with the rest. Half a dozen boxes had been carefully and precisely packed under Gabriel's watchful eye. It was an evening of his life he wasn't getting back and he knew full well that was at the fault of the Martinez brothers. He could tell the boxes in question had been tampered with and already the evidence seemed to back up the information Luis had fed him. "These six boxes are pre-sorted and you just store them until it's time to deliver them on to the guys down in Little Italy, correct?"

"That's right. We don't touch those boxes. We're just a place of storage for them ones," Carlos calmly assured him. He wasn't sure if he should have made something up, perhaps mentioning they were damaged in transit, but he couldn't think of a lie quick enough. Surely Moretti had better things to do with his time than actually open up the boxes and start weighing everything. "Six boxes destined for Little Italy, all brought to us last night."

"Tatiana, would you be so kind as to bring those scales to the table?" Gabriel asked his daughter. "And get the paperwork I gave your earlier. We might as well do this inventory check properly. Lord knows, I have nothing better to do with my life." He then pointed to the first box he would check and beckoned Luis over. "Take this box to the table and open it up. There should be twelve bricks."

As Luis complied with Gabriel, Carlos sent Miguel a glance. He wasn't sure how they were going to explain it if the Italian really was going through with weighing out each of the packs of cocaine. "As I said, we don't touch them. If the boxes aren't packed right, then it's the guys before us who need training properly."

"Don't tell me how to manage my employees," Gabriel firmly told Carlos. By now, it was confirmed the brothers weren't going to own up, not if Carlos' continual lying was anything to go by. "And we have twelve!" Gabriel cheerfully announced as Luis finished counting them. "This is going well... Tatiana, can you weigh each of them for me and write the weight down alongside the figures I went out of my way to record last night?" he asked his daughter. From the corners of his eyes, he looked to Miguel and Carlos, seeing if the penny had dropped yet. It certainly had with Carlos, who had all of a sudden lost any colour from his face.

With or without protest, Gabriel made sure Tatiana weighed every single brick and recorded the weights on the same paperwork he'd used the previous night. There was a significant reduction in the combined weight and if this was happening with every box, the Martinez's were making a nice little profit. They'd made his job too easy, being cocky enough as to not even at least cut the drugs to fill the packages out a little. Clearly, they'd been onto a winner. "Perhaps I should get my eyes tested... Tatiana and Tony, do my eyes deceive me or are those figures different to last night's?" He held his arms out, inviting anyone present in the room to give him a reasonable explanation for the discrepancy. "Any idea how that could happen? Tony? Tatiana?"

"Sounds like the guys who delivered those boxes to us have some explaining to do..." Carlos confidently butted in.

Present: Misty Gray (Gabriel, Luis, Carlos), RayPurchase (Tony), Pyroclast (Tatiana, Miguel)
NPCs x2 Bodyguards

 

[Misty Gray]

Ethan Turner​

Ethan turned in his seat when he heard the door open. Ani and Ammon entered the room, both holding hands as they did. The sight caused the man to display a miffed expression at the display before recovering to a neutral face once again. He was quite surprised to see Ani smiling, but given the conversation he'd only just been having with Alistair, she wouldn't be smiling for much longer. As the leader berated the siblings for not knocking, Ethan shook his head in an exasperated manner be turning back to face forward again, in the direction of Alistair. The East Harlem leader soon stood up, prompting Ethan to do the same. Ethan positioned himself in such a way that he could see all three others in the office.

Alistair spoke to Ani, pointing out that her duty was as part of his clean-up crew and not the role of cleaning up after Ammon's many messes. The mention of Maddox also taking up Ani's times drew a brief scoff from Ethan as he looked down on the woman. Before he gave in to the urge to belittle Ani's romance, he caught Alistair's cue and knew it was time for the main event. He stepped aside as Alistair led the way with Ani along with Ammon following behind the two. Ethan walked close to Ammon, giving the guy some direction if his strange mind led him to attempt to wander elsewhere.

When they arrived down in the basement, Ethan's eyes briefly lingered on the chair in the middle of the room. There'd been plenty of suffering in that chair, much to Ethan's satisfaction. Compliant or not, Ethan used some level of physical force to ensure Ammon sat in the seat. The guy was unhinged and Ethan suspected he wasn't sane enough to even feel fear for what was to happen. Regardless, Ammon was unpredictable, so Ethan took the liberty of using the clamps to restrain the man's hands against the chair arms.

With Ammon suitably in place, Ethan turned to address Ani. "Between this empty-headed lump you call a brother and that weak excuse for a man you're fucking, the men you let into your life do you a disservice." He stepped closer to Ani, his height towering hers as he prepared to hold her back if she attempted to get to her brother.

Bellz (Ani, Ammon) Pyroclast (Alistair)

 

[Enzyme]

Jackson McCarthy​

Jackson clambered into the van shortly after Keegan, slamming the sliding door shut and closing them off from the outside world - just as the shock was settling and the screams were beginning to erupt. He holstered the revolver in his vest as Teddy informed them that they were mistaking their stupidity for bravery, who was missing the irony of his situation. "Funny you say that," Jackson retorted with a sneer. He then shot his gloved knuckles against Teddy's well-trimmed cheek, causing the informant to smash the back of his head violently against the side of the van and muddle his shaped hair.

Jackson moved for the burlap sack on the bench beside Teddy. "Why don't you keep your mouth shut," Jackson ordered, roughly forcing the bag over the bleeding informant's head. "Don't worry. There'll be plenty of time for singing." Jackson slapped Teddy's face lightly in a condescending manner. He then stood back up, gripping onto the side handle of the van. He hoped Keegan would do the same because shortly after that, the driver abruptly shifted to the back streets to lose any attention. Unfortunately for Teddy, it was an unkempt road filled with potholes, forcing him to bounce blindly on the small sliver of metal the van had to offer.

The alleyway connected to the back of the butcher shop, which was shrouded by rafters and a line of similarly white minivans. The vehicle pulled up beside the line of vans, instantly vanishing in the sea of white machinery. Jackson stepped out of the car, grabbing onto one of Teddy's arms as Keegan supported the other. The two men forcefully dragged Teddy from the vehicle to the back door of the shop, utterly inconspicuous to the customers at the front of the store.

Once inside, Teddy's limited senses would only allow him to feel the cold sensation of the meat locker, as he was pushed through the clear, plastic curtain. Jackson made sure Teddy's bagged head hit as many hanging pig carcasses as he could on the way to the chair. "Take a seat," Jackson snarled, throwing Teddy onto the frozen metal chair.

Jackson stepped aside as the two thugs in the freezer forced Teddy up into his seat. He looked to Keegan, nodding to the man lightly that their portion of the job was complete.

Melanin-Gxdess (Teddy) Bugsy (Keegan) Misty Gray (James)

 

[Pyroclast]

Syd Porter

No matter where Syd went in the hospital, he was always surrounded by white walls, making the whole place seem cold and unfeeling. Yet, when Roxie was there with him, if only for a few minutes, he began to feel warm again. His cold hand wrapped around hers, selfishly relishing in the warmth that she offered. Syd gave her a quizzical smile when she tried to assure him that being pregnant didn't affect her ability to look after herself. He supposed that the baby at least wouldn't add much weight at this early stage, but he knew how sick it had been making her.

Before he could ask her more on the subject, Roxie's expression fell and soon revealed to him that she had fallen out with her father. "Hey, I can pay for your school," he told her. "And if you need a job, I'm sure I can find you one. Promise I wouldn't make you do anything criminal." Syd offered her a smile but she was already visibly upset, and he placed his other hand over hers as he listened.

When she looked away, Syd frowned. "A mistake? What do you mean? What kind of..." But his expression softened when it eventually dawned on him what she meant. Before his thoughts could start to run, Roxie went on. He scoffed at the mention of God, never having wanted anything to do with religion himself - but then Roxie smiled at him, and he grew serious again.

At first he didn't know what to say. He felt his cheeks begin to redden, partly from embarrassment for nearly ending his life - something he would again have to deal with people knowing about and referencing - and partly because he hadn't expected to receive such a weighty compliment. "I'm sure that's not true," he murmured, looking down to their hands and giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. "You're a whole person without me. You have purpose, depth, interests that go beyond me and the baby. I don't complete you, Roxie - you are already complete."

Syd raised his head to look her in the eyes, only now fully seeing the emotion that they carried. It cast his mind back to what her father had told her. "That man you call your father doesn't deserve you. The only mistake he made was choosing to be a shit dad."

His words rang familiar as they fell from his tongue and he got a sudden flashback of a fight he had had with his parents. He had called James something similar, blamed him for his own mental deterioration, shouted terrible things at him that weren't even true. He had even thrown something heavy in his direction - had it hit him? Thinking back to it for the first time since it had happened, Syd could see how ill he must have been at that point to have come to such conclusions about his loving family. "I'm not going to be a shit dad, though. My own dad has shown me the best kind of father to be. And you'll be an amazing mother, Roxie. I can't wait to see it."

As he gazed into her deep blue eyes, Syd forgot that he was even in the visitation room of a psychiatric hospital; in that moment, he was right at home. Placing a hand on her cheek, Syd pushed his chair back and leaned across the table to kiss her. The bustle around them fell to nothing more than a light murmur as he let himself fall deeper into the kiss, growing steadily less conscious of his surroundings.

Soon, one of the older nurses barked his name and ordered him to break away from her. While he felt he could have gone on kissing her for hours, Syd had been under the hospital's authority long enough to know what they could do to him if he disobeyed, so he immediately sat back in his seat. With his hands now in his lap and his eyes fixed to the floor, he looked like an abashed child - except, when he was a child, no amount of abuse from his authority figures would have brought out his obedient side. Here in his present state, however, he just didn't think he could take any more on top of what he was already going through.

Once he was sure that no nurses or security guards were on their way over, Syd looked back over to Roxie and sent her a somewhat nervous smile. "Sorry," he uttered. "I miss being with you, that's all." He cleared his throat and subtly rested his leg against hers beneath the table. "If I make it out of here before -" Immediately he knew he said the wrong thing - after last week's visit, he had been trying not to mention any of his dark thoughts lest the nurses overhear him again - but the idea that Maddox could be arranging his murder was almost constantly on his mind. "When," he corrected himself. "When I get out of here, Roxie, we'll have a second chance. At living together, raising our kid together, and at...you know...me and you." Syd blushed at the thought of perhaps getting to date Roxie properly and he reached out to touch her hand again, gently toying with her fingers. "God, I wish I was home."

Interactions
Bellz Roxie
Misty Gray James (mentioned)

 

[Bellz]

Ani Sarraf​

When Ani was greeted with hostility, her smile disappeared. Letting go of Ammon's hand, she turned and shut the door before walking ahead of her brother, when slightly in front of Ammon she stopped. Watching Alistair, Ani's heart began to race wondering where he was going to go with this. Clearly, she was not doing what he wanted and Ammon was to blame. When he question if he was wrong, Ani said nothing, instead looking down at the floor. Her head snapped up as her boss stated that Ammon was a waste of her time. Wide eyed, a chill was sent down her spine as he specified that her time was devoted to him.

Alistair looked to the clock and Ani's brows scrunched together with concern on her face. "We...We know what our jobs enta-" She was interrupted and immediately she clamped her mouth shut. Her expression turned to express the panic she was beginning to feel as she had no choice but to follow Alistair. Looking behind her to look at Ammon, she caught Ethan moving to walk beside him and Ani was beginning to realize that they were about to be severely punished for their lack of devotion to Alistair.

They made their way to the basement and Ani was praying that whatever the boss had in store for them would be quick, but she knew it wouldn't be so. The room she was so familiar took on a whole new feeling. They weren't the ones in control of the situation this time, they were no longer the clean up crew. Ani's stomach tightened as she thought about who would be cleaning them up once Alistair and Ethan were through with them. She wished she could see Maddox one last time, wished she had taken the night off to spend it with him. Her heart clenched as she thought about what he would go through, losing another person who was near and dear to his heart.

But as she expected herself to be called to sit in the chair, Alistair told her brother to sit down. Ani felt paralyzed as she watched her brother being pushed into the chair. "You...you can't!!" She suddenly shouted and she made a move to reach for Ammon but Ethan stepped in her path. "Please! Let him go!" She begged before turning around to face Alistair. "I have devoted my time to you, more than enough time! When I'm not at the hospital, I am here doing your bidding!" With all the strength she had, she shoved Ethan aside and leaped in front of her brother. "You want to punish Maddox and I! He told me what you three were concerned about! If you want to punish me, then put me in that fucking chair! But leave Ammon out of this!"
with: Alistair Pyroclast ; Ethan Misty Gray

 

[Bellz]

Roxie Carriveau​

Roxie watched as Syd's expression grew serious and she wondered if she had said the wrong thing. He told her that he believed that what she said was not true and she looked down at their hands as he squeezed them. She listened as he said that she was a whole person without him and Roxie wasn't so sure she believed it to be true. She was pretty lost before she met him and that was something that her pride wouldn't let her admit, she was unhappy and she was at an age where she wondered if her life would truly start. Having been in school for a long time, Roxie was beginning to feel discouraged about her decisions and with her only work experience being working for her family, she wondered if she could get a job on her own. Her parents were unbearable and until the other night she had thought that at least they loved her somewhere deep down.

The truth was, she was afraid of having no one and Syd gave her accident or not, the chance to believe that she would have a family that would love her. Nodding her head as he called her father a "shit dad" , her breath hitched in her chest and she looked up, her eyes wet with tears. Syd gazed into her eyes and then he placed a hand on her cheek before leaning in to kiss her. Roxie's uneven breathing slowed and in that moment the pain she was feeling mentally was starting to diminish. Roxie reached out her hand to hold his cheek, kissing him deeper looking for more relief from her heartache.

Suddenly, a nurse shouted Syd's name, ordering to break away from her and Syd pulled away quickly. Looking at Syd for a moment, Roxie noticed how obedient he was which definitely wasn't like him. Before she could stop herself, Roxie turned to the nurse and narrowed her eyes. She waited for him to make eye contact with her before saying, "Mind your own fucking business!" Not waiting for a response, she turned back to Syd who still had his eyes fixed on the floor. "Hey." Roxie murmured and he looked up and smiled nervously at her. He said he missed being with her and Roxie's cheeks turned pink. She caught the way he started his words but Roxie's smile remained on her face. Allowing him to correct himself, she wondered if she had to be concerned about the slip up.

He told her that they would have a second chance, which somewhat soothed her wondering thoughts but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had. "That sounds wonderful." She murmured and squeezed his hand when he reached out to take it. "You'll be home soon enough, I promise." Looking around at the nurses, she dipped her head and leaned in closer. "Syd,..." She started, pausing as she gazed at the nurses again. "Do you truly think this place is helping? I mean...what is your treatment? I don't like the looks of this place. I mean I was pat down at the front, like we are in some sort of prison." Roxie's eyes gazed into Syd's and she tilted her head lightly. "You'd tell me if they are hurting you, right? Because you still have rights, you've never lost them." A nurse walked slowly past them and Roxie changed the subject before he could hear them. "I was looking for the information on the donations received from this last month and noticed that we received a lot less than we usually do. But the amount of events and crowdfunding we've done should have made a good profit...when I asked my father he simply chalked it up to people weren't charitable.." Roxie scoffed. Looking to see if the nurse was gone, she sighed and turned back to look at Syd. "Something doesn't seem right about that, his answer...Maybe its just a feeling..."
with: Syd Pyroclast

 

[Misty Gray]

Savannah Callahan​

Savannah sighed when Peter told her James had everything under control. Considering all of the things that had happened to her and her family lately, she wasn't sure if she could believe it. As much as she trusted her father's reassuring words, there would always be something niggling in the back of her mind. That recurring image of Steve's twisted smile. She nodded in agreement when Peter went on to admit they needed to be careful. She managed a weary smile at her father's attempt to use the lingo young people were using lately. "The bomb, huh? That sounds about right..." she said, grinning to her father. "I bet it sounded cooler coming from Brady, though. I think you have to be under 40 to pull off using 'the bomb'," she playfully teased her father.

Savannah relaxed when Peter told her to and her eyes fixed on the handgun as he brought it into view. After listening to his explanations, she took the gun from Peter and stood back in the position she'd previously adopted, with her feet almost a shoulders width apart. She held the gun steady in her hands and pointed it towards the tree, quickly unlocking her arms when corrected and separating her feet a little wider when told to. The gun wasn't loaded, so Savannah still felt relatively relaxed with the gun in her hand.

"So, I'm aiming at the tree, but how can you move from doing this to aiming at people?" she curiously asked. "Those monsters at the theatre, I understand they didn't hesitate to shoot at other people. But it's not only monsters who kill others, is it? That man in Mum's office last week... I know what James did to him after we left the room. I know our family is different to those who have hurt us, but how come? Is it easy to separate the part of yourself who's doing your job from who you really are?" she asked. "Have you killed people, Dad?" Her tone was one of curiosity and interest, not judgement or possible disgust. She understood by now why her family did what they had to do and that it didn't mean they weren't still good people. She just wondered what it was that separated them from the terrible people who had attacked her or those who hurt her loved ones back in Dublin.

Bellz (Peter)

 

[Bellz]

Peter Callahan ​

Peter smiled at his daughter's question about switching from aiming at the tree to people. It was a good question, but Peter didn't know exactly how to explain what came so naturally to him now. His smile faded as she talked about the theatre and then question how their family was different from the monsters they were against. Then she asked if he'd killed anyone and Peter reached behind him to scratch his neck nervously. "Ah well..." He started, but had to take a moment to really think about how he could explain this to her. In reality, when it came to the police, there wasn't a difference between the gangs...all of them were criminals including the Porters. "Our family has been in the business for a really long time, Savvy. And believe it or not, our control over the territories is not as demanding or dictating as other gangs." Did he really believe what he was saying? Were they the better lot compared to other gangs? Maybe that's what the other gangs were thinking too, that things could be much worse or were worse with the Porter's in control.

"Most importantly, we care deeply about our family and when our family is put in harms way, we fight for them. Which is not typical compared to what those monsters do." It was the best explanation he could give her but there was a lot of evidence to prove that they were just as bad as those monsters. "We take care of our own. You know that." He paused before telling Savannah to relax again.

"Unfortunately, we don't have live targets to practice on so the trees will just have to do. It will at least give you practice on your aim but the real practice comes with the experience in a dire situation. Which I hope doesn't happen to you again." He told her, pausing once more and looking at the gun in her hands. He had killed quite a few people in his day, but he wasn't sure if that was something he wanted to admit to his eldest daughter...

He didn't want her to look at him differently, like those so called monsters. His mind remembered his recent kill, the man who abducted Savannah at the theater. "I've killed before, yes. But never for the sake of just killing, there has always been a reason, always been a threat. Each kill was to protect my family."
with: Savvy Misty Gray

 

[Misty Gray]

James Porter
~ Adam Harper ~​

James was comfortable waiting in the the small back office of the butchers shop. He held the black mask in his hand as he leaned against the desk listening to Adam speak. "Yago's not one to mess with. He'll blow a fuse if the Italian's get their grubby hands of his gear. Fucking hell, when I first arrived in Cuba and was greeted by that massive, miserable bastard, I have to admit I felt pretty intimidated. He looked like he'd rip my head off - after skinning me alive - if I said anything remotely wrong. Hell, that look of his face, he'd have probably done it just for kicks." Adam shook his head as he thought back to his first assignment in Cuba all of those years ago. "Eventually, I'd done enough to prove myself to the big guy and he stopped looking like he wanted to kill me. Aye, we became friends after a while and we had each others' backs. That said, if we can keep things sweet with the Cubans, it would be good all round - for your business and for my future vacations to Cuba. Staying at Yago's place is like a 5-star hotel and I'd rather he didn't have a bone to pick with me."

James nodded his head as he listened to Adam speak. For now, he wasn't worried about the Cubans. The issue at hand what the matter of the drugs that had been sent by the Colombians only to be intercepted by the Morettis and East Harlem lot. "I'd like you to keep in frequent contact with Yago. He's high up in that organisation and it's good to keep a guy like him comfortably on side." The sound of a vehicle pulling up had caught the attention of the two men. James peered out of the small office window to confirm the van parking up was the one Jackson and Keegan were occupying. "Alright, mate. You head off. We're good here," he suggested to Adam, who proceeded to slipping off out through back door, sending an acknowledging nod to his masked allies, Jackson and Keegan.

As Jackson and Keegan had done themselves, James put the ski mask over his head, making sure to keep his face covered for as long as was necessary. As the two men dragged Teddy through the carcasses to the freezer room, James momentarily watched on. He wondered if, like the pigs when they were alive, Teddy too would be a squealer. He wondered how cocky the guy would be compared to the day he and Moretti confronted him in Noah Harris' old garage. James followed on behind the others, giving Jackson chance to get Teddy comfortably seated on the metal chair.

James met Jackson's and Keegan's eyes through the holes in their masks. "Did this one give you any trouble?" he asked them. Regardless, he slowly walked around the chair and stopped when he was facing Teddy. He stood for a time as he studied the man, whose head was still covered with the bag. James reached for both his knife and handgun, then turned to Keegan, handing the weapons to the man to keep for the time-being. He then focused back on Teddy and dragged the bag off from over the man's head, revealing Teddy's familiar face, albeit now with a bleeding cheek. "There he is! One of Gabriel Moretti's most faithful. It would be a shame if he had to lose you, don't you think?" James asked. Looking down at Teddy, James allowed a silence to fill the room before deciding to continue. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he said. He grabbed Teddy's chin and tilted the man's head upright as he acknowledged the cut on his cheek. "That probably won't scar and you could find yourself out of here in one piece if you cooperate." He turned to Jackson and Keegan. "The easy way. Right, lads?" he asked.

More than anything, James wanted answers to his questions. That didn't mean there wasn't a part of him that was ready release some of the built up frustration he'd been feeling. Teddy might prove to be a suitable outlet for it. James set about pacing the floor in front of Teddy before finally speaking up again. "Last week, your friends showed up at the docks uninvited and intercepted an expensive shipment belonging to the Porters. We know the cocaine was stolen for your boss, Mr. Moretti and we have it on good authority that there's not much that goes on in his business that you're not kept well informed about. So, do this the easy way and tell us where the drugs are being stored." He placed his hand on Teddy's shoulder, giving the man a forceful squeeze before loosening his grip and lightly patting him on the back. "You start spilling before I start making a mess..."


Melanin-Gxdess (Teddy) Enzyme (Jackson) Bugsy (Keegan)

 

[Pyroclast]

Alistair Sawyer

While his trust in Ammon had been damaged beyond repair, Alistair had complete and utter faith in Ethan's ability to ensure that the man complied with his order to sit in the chair. Ani's reaction was as expected, filling the room with her distressed pleas, but of course it would do nothing to change Alistair's mind. He didn't even grant her a look, his eyes instead drifting upwards as he blew a heavy cloud of smoke into the air around him.

As she bargained for her brother's life by explaining that she and Maddox were more deserving of his punishment, Alistair walked over to the left side of the chair to which Ammon was now bound. Facing away from the others, he moved his hand down to the C-clamp that was keeping the man's hand in place and slowly began to turn its handle. The thick metal screw wound itself into his skin, which was still healing from the burn Alistair had inflicted upon him several weeks ago.

"Don't be a martre, Ani," he said, keeping his eyes glued to the wall ahead. "You'll get what you deserve soon enough." The bones in Ammon's hand then gave an audible crunch, prompting Alistair to finally release his grip on the handle. He puffed gently on his cigar as he rounded the back of the chair and soon began the same process with the clamp on his other hand.

"I'm not doing this out of boredom," he explained to her. His voice was calm and low, his movements as smooth as if he had been through every step a thousand times before. This time, as he twisted the screw deeper into Ammon's hand, Alistair looked directly into Ani's eyes. "I gave you warnings. I gave you time to win my trust back. At times, I wondered if I was being too generous..." The same chilling crack filled the gap in his sentence. Keeping his gaze fixed on Ani, he let go of the handle and slowly wandered towards her. He retrieved a pair of black leather gloves from his pocket, taking care not to drop his cigar as he put them on. "See, leaders like me don't get to where they are by being lenient. Compassion doesn't fix problems, it only allows more time for them to be fixed. But as time goes on, the risks that those problems pose increase and before you know it, business is dead. Anyway, I suppose it's too late for you to appreciate the patience I've shown you. Now you'll see what happens when I run out of it."

His icy blue eyes lingered on Ani's for a moment longer before he turned and made his way over to the store cupboard in the corner of the room. When he returned, he carried a red jerrycan in his hand, its contents sloshing with every step he took. Alistair didn't care what either of the twins had else to say at this point. Once he had made a decision, he wasn't one for second thoughts. The pale liquid was thrown over Ammon with as much regard as he would give to a common household chore. His fate required no emotion from Alistair at all; it was simply something to tick off his to-do list.

Once the jerrycan was empty, Alistair left it behind the chair so as not to leave a trail. Ignoring Ani's entire presence, Alistair tuned out his surroundings by whistling the melody of Liszt's Liebestraum, which had been in his head since he had listened to it that morning. He had left his cigar balanced across a small ledge by the door of the storage cupboard and, after removing his gloves, picked it up and lit it again. He took a deep drag as he wandered over to stand beside Ethan, and then another as he took in the sight of the soaking wet mess sitting in the chair before him.

Knowing that there was nothing worth saying to Ammon at this stage that the man would understand, Alistair simply fixed an intense gaze on him and sent him a nod of acknowledgement. Then, with nothing left to wait for, he flicked the remainder of his lit cigar at the foot of the chair. The flames caught in an instant and soon the man became nothing more than a dark silhouette among the bright, merciless flames that enveloped him.

"Make sure she watches," he quietly instructed Ethan. Not once did he tear his own eyes away from the blaze. He wanted it to bore into his memory - a reminder to never again give second chances to those who let him down. So he stood still and watched, with the faintest of smiles on his face and the reflection of death in his eyes.

Interactions
Bellz Ani, Ammon
Misty Gray Ethan

 

[RayPurchase]

Mitchell van Gerwen

​

Mitch gave a firm nod of his head as Conor slumped down. The man looked near enough broken. He hadn’t intended for it to turn into quite the tirade. Maddox’s betrayal had affected more than just his clients. Right here in the eye of the storm they were surounded by a whirlwind of lies and subterfuge. He placed a hand on Conor’s shoulder.

“Nothing to apologise for. To say this all took me by surprise was an understatement, and I’m the one who should be predicting surprises as part of my job description. You unfortunately didn’t stand a chance seeing this thing,”

Maddox’s period of reflective silence soon came to an end. Not that it was particularly surprising, both lawyers and therapists did tend to love the sound of their own voices. He was every inch the therapist right now, the measured tone and inclination, every syllable carefully picked and extracted in order to avoid offence or to antagonise. He had to respect the man’s wordplay, even as he wondered if there was a way out of this besides putting a bullet in him. The Moretti plan made sense as Maddox went through it. Maddox had the power to remove both men from the protection of the family, at which point it would be easy to do away with Syd and make it look like an accident or a suicide. As for Conor all it would take was one letter deeming him to still be a risk and he’d be straight back in his cell, didn’t even need to make his death look like an accident, Mitch was sure there were more than enough Moretti men, or those looking to curry favour with the boss to have a queue of assassins outside of Conor’s door.

He allowed Maddox to say his piece, no sense in rushing him or jumping to conclusions, right now they had all the time in the world, no more appointments, no witnesses who could bumble in and complicate things even more. The man spoke sense. Much to Mitch’s chagrin. For better or for worse Maddox had jumped ship. He didn’t actually believe it was down to any sort of morale duty or change of heart on his part. Perhaps the Morettis were only using him as long as he provided a service and they were going to cut him loose as soon as Conor and Syd were out of the picture. The problem was that it wasn’t as if Maddox was at their mercy, he still controlled both Conor and Syd’s fate. Despite the reactionary part of Mitch’s mind suggesting they simply do away with the Maddox problem (he had not been aware of this part until this very afternoon) that was a no go, too many people would have seen Conor and himself enter, and it wouldn’t take long to put two and two together, and they’d both end up serving time and meet their demise at the hands of a Moretti goon. His eyes flicked towards Conor, he hadn’t said anything yet, and if anyone was going to go down the revenge route, it was going to be him. Mitch decided to jump in first.

“Saying we do go along with that plan of yours, and I’m promising anything right now James is going to have to sign off on this before we go doing anything binding. We’re going to need more than just your word, call me naturally suspicious, but as it turns out your word hasn’t meant much over the previous months. We’re going to need some sort of security. I want Conor’s all clear for the probation board, signed, stamped and all above board. That way we’ve got him out in case you try and turn on us, and you don’t get bumped off as we still need you to get Syd out. Keeps both parties happy,”

(Interaction: Misty Gray Conor, Maddox)

 

[Misty Gray]

Conor Sullivan and Maddox Parker​

Throughout Maddox's speech, Conor had remained quiet in his seat. As he wove his fingers together, he glared at the counsellor, practically staring daggers through the man's skull. He was in no rush to speak, wanting his words to have a serious impact rather than being purely the product of the anger he was feeling. Due to his silence, it was easy for Mitchell to be the first to respond to Maddox. It was true that James would have to approve any kind of plan that involved working with the deceitful counsellor. Though it had to be on James' say, Conor felt like he owed it to everyone to take the lead on dealing with their Maddox Parker problem. He felt stupid for trusting the man, but even worse, he felt a sense of shame at the realisation he might have inadvertently helped the Morettis to kill and hurt those he cared about. If he looked too much into it, he would find he'd unwillingly help his family's enemies to attack the theatre; torture Lucy, Sinead and Syd; and contribute to Syd's breakdown.

Maddox tried not to show his ongoing distaste upon hearing's James' name. No matter what he felt guilty for, he still resented Porter for what he'd done back in Dublin. However, it was no longer the time to fixate of his unresolved hatred as what now mattered was doing the right thing for Syd and Conor. "Conor still has a full three months left of his parole. Whilst I have the power to have Conor sent back to prison, I don't have the power to reduce the length of his probation. I can continue to write good reports, which the pair of you can read over before submitting it, but no amount of recommendation from me will get Conor's parole shortened."

"You will write today's glowing report about me while we're all in this room together. Still... it sounds to me like you've got plenty to hold over us and no security to offer us in return," Conor finally spoke up. He paused as he considered what he did know about the counsellor. "Richard Duncan's son, huh?" he asked, scoffing as he tried to remain casual. "I remember he had a daughter too. I assume she didn't come to New York with you on your revenge mission? My family's still got a lot of control and contacts back in Dublin. How long do you think it would take for us to track the rest of your family down? Faster than you can do anything about it, I reckon." A part of Conor didn't like the thought of threatening potentially innocent people caught up in the mess, but considering how close it had come to Syd killing himself, he felt it was beyond justified. That wasn't all he had up his sleeve.

"You're better than that, Conor..." Maddox began.

"But you're not, so don't start that patronising psychology bullshit now," he shot back. "I've known of Syd's accusations about you for nearly a week and I promised to look into you. I've had eyes on you and I've asked around. You know what dirt I found out about you before this afternoon? Sweet fuck all. An excellent counsellor and an all-round decent bloke was the impression I took from my observations." The key source of that evaluation had come from Finn himself, who respected Maddox and had worked alongside him in the past. Not to mention, praising the man's loving relationship with a beautiful female surgeon. "Does Dr. Sarraf know about the double-life you lead? I don't normally resort to threatening innocent women, but fuck you, Maddox. Everything is fair game after what you did to Syd and after you betrayed my trust. You nearly killed Syd, for fuck sake!" Conor quickly nodded his head as he decided he meant what he was saying. "If Syd doesn't get out of that hospital and if I end up back in jail, or even if any of us get the slightest scent you're going to screw us over... Your precious girlfriend and any family you've got will pay the price." Conor turned to Mitch and shrugged his shoulders. "Let's not form written contracts on this, yeah?"

Even Maddox struggled to hide the shock from his face when Ani and his sister were threatened. It didn't sound like the Conor he knew, but that didn't mean he didn't believe him. Conor had always been determined to do his family proud and have a more serious role in the business. That, and it was clear how almost losing Syd had affected Conor. Whilst it was a different side to Conor, Maddox didn't doubt the man meant his words. It was upsetting to hear Ani now being threatened by the Porters, as though it wasn't enough that Gabriel was using her against him too. He loved Ani too much to see her hurt, but he was trapped and left hoping the Porters were his and her only chance at surviving. "I have no intention of betraying you again. I hope you will give me chance to prove that and you won't be so hasty in harming those who have no part in my mess."

"Don't fuck us over and they'll all remain safe." Conor looked to Mitchell. "You're the more reasonable one out of the two of us. Got any better ideas than playing as dirty as Dr. Parker and that Pizza-loving-wanker, Moretti? Dr. Parker here has been careful enough not to leave much of a trail, right?"

RayPurchase (Mitch)

 

[Misty Gray]

Ethan Turner​

Ethan stood in Ani's path, but allowed his eyes to remain fixed on Ammon as the unhinged younger man sat in the seat he'd been forced into. The man listened as Ani pleaded with Alistair to let her brother go. A subtle smirk took over Ethan's lips when she pushed him aside so she could rush over to Ammon. He stalled, giving her the briefest of moments with her brother; moments he didn't doubt would be her last with Ammon breathing. Despite her begging to take her brother's place, Ethan stepped forward and wrapped both of his arms around her waist from behind. He then dragged the woman a few feet backwards, giving Alistair the space to set about tightening the clamps on Ammon's hands.

Hearing the crunching sound caused by Ammon's hand being crushed, Ethan anticipated Ani could begin to panic. He kept one arm tightly around her waist but moved the other up higher to rest his forearm securely across her collarbone, ensuring she wouldn't get far if she attempted to struggle out of his hold. As Alistair retrieved the jerrycan, Ethan tightened his hold over Ani, not wanting her to try get in the way of what was to come.

Ammon was doused in the liquid before Alistair stood next to Ethan and Ani. Ethan sent his boss an acknowledging glance shortly before the man proceeded to flick the lit cigar towards Ammon, causing burst of flames which soon enough began to consume the poor man who was restrained on the chair. Catching Alistair's instruction to ensure Ani watched, Ethan nodded his head once. He moved his arm up from across Ani's collarbone and instead forcefully grabbed a clump of the woman's hair at the top of her head, forcing her to keep looking forward in Ammon's direction. His arm around her waist tightened, pulling her in close against his front. "A small mercy for an animal like him," he darkly spoke into her ear. As he stared at the flames and the unrecognisable silhouette of his former apprentice, Ethan nodded in agreement with Alistair's actions. "It would be a shame for you to be next," he reminded Ani.


Bellz (Ani, Ammon) Pyroclast (Alistair)

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Teddy Wycliff

Teddy felt the sharp pain of the punch against his cheek, grunting and wincing against the pain. This had happened to him plenty of times, he was used to it, but the fact he hadn't been in a fight in years made him forget just how painful it was. Well, now he remembered everything. His head hit the wall of the van causing a pain throughout his whole head that made Teddy squeeze his eyes shut, as his kidnappers placed a bag over his head. Part of him was screaming as now he had this suspicious bag over his head, not knowing where it had been or where it had come from. He wanted to wait for the pain to subside a little before he responded with a sarcastic answer but the pain was taking more time than normal. It didn't help that now he was bumping around the van, re-hitting his head and other parts of his body. These guys truly hated him or his boss; which ever one of those were on their minds the heaviest. He wasn't sure whether or not he was going to make it out of this alive just yet or if he were going to be made an example. Either way, he was scared yet prepared for everything. This wasn't his first kidnapping and surely wasn't going to be his last.

When he felt the van stop, he was grateful. The poor man was starting to feel a little sick and perhaps a few more bumps and he would have hurled in his sack. His kidnappers roughly took him out of the van, walking him through what felt like some sort of freezer. His body was bumping against something unfamiliar, while his body reacted to the cold in a shiver. Once he was pushed into a chair, he was relieved. Finally, a short and small break from the bumping around. There was a different voice speaking, one that sounded familiar but with the pain coursing through the man's skull, he couldn't quite place it. It wasn't until the sack was taken off of his head that he placed the two together and gave a wry chuckle. "Ah, James Porter. Would you believe me if I said I expected this sooner or later?" With a small shake of his head, "How cliché, Mr. Porter." Hearing his comment about Gabriel losing him made him tilt his head side to side. "Well if we're being honest, I think the Mrs. likes me more and she would be upset if something happened to me and he doesn't like when the Mrs. is upset." He couldn't help being a smartass; if he were to go out this way he would rather go out being himself.

'Easy way or the hard way.' He had been given a suggestion and he contemplated this suggest while listening to him speak. Granted, Teddy damn sure wasn't about to tell him anything and even if he was, he would make it incredibly difficult. "So, let me get this straight; you want me to snitch on my boss, Gabriel Moretti as if I were some henchman?" With a slight shake of his head, he smiled. "I don't know what you're talking about. Piss off."

​