Chapter 13: To Kill a Patriarch
Misty Gray
Pessimisty
Chapter 13: To Kill a Patriarch
Friday 5th November 1971
...2 weeks later...
Early Evening/Sunset - Cold, Breezy, Overcast
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Porter Family Apartment
~ Upper East Side, Manhattan ~
Warren TaylorFriday 5th November 1971
...2 weeks later...
Early Evening/Sunset - Cold, Breezy, Overcast
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Porter Family Apartment
~ Upper East Side, Manhattan ~
Despite Keegan's murder and approaching funeral, Warren had managed to get himself some freedom over the last couple of weeks. Granted, it had come with much argument and him having to admit to his older brother that he was seeing someone. Whilst he was free to date who he wanted, the fact Simone was already tied up to the mob and lived in the same building James' apartment was located in was considered complicated. Still, at least her place was considered safe enough for Warren to be in.
Warren had spent the night with Simone and the pair hadn't got out of bed until the afternoon. After both had a quick shower, Warren proceeded to get dressed, using those few minutes to consider how he was going to approach the next conversation. "So, I've got to head across to James' place now. I'm already late and there's a lot going on tonight," he began. With the plans to rescue Roxie and deal with Maddox, James had requested Warren's presence and assistance in maintaining communications. "Tomorrow we could go out for dinner..." he trailed off as he fastened the buttons of his shirt.
"Could doesn't sound very committal. I'm going to need something more definite than that, else I might just find myself a better offer." She tightened the towel around her body before turning to him and placing her hands on his shoulders. She leaned in towards him, as if about to kiss his lips, but quickly pulled back as soon as he took the bait. "Should I book us a table for tomorrow?" she suggestively asked, keeping him at arms length.
"Of course. You're the boss!" Warren agreed, flashing her a playful smirk. As Simone relaxed her arms, he moved in to passionately kiss her.
*****
James Porter and Warren Taylor
James had been busy and up late the previous night. It had been busy in his home's office as he ran through the plans for the two main jobs his family were to be carrying out. Jackson and Syd were leading Roxie's rescue mission. Meanwhile, Conor and Peter were to deal with Maddox. If the counsellor had crossed the family again, the orders were for him to be brought in so James could deal with him. He was aware of how delicate a situation it was, for if anything happened to Maddox, it was highly likely Conor would pay the price and be thrown back into jail. As much as James wanted to slaughter Maddox, he preferred the second possibility, the one where Maddox had been honest with them and Roxie would be found. If that was the case, then the orders were for Maddox to be put under protection for the remainder of Conor's parole. After that, James had no interest in the counsellor's safety. The Morettis could do whatever they wanted to him once he'd served his purpose to the Porters.
James had been slightly annoyed with Warren for not getting to the apartment on time that day, but he soon let it go as he became aware he'd hardly given his brother much room to breathe lately. James had spent most of the day out on business, but for the rest of the day he needed to stay reach of the telephone as he awaited updates on various different missions that were going on that evening. "You planning on telling Mum about your new girlfriend, then?" James asked Warren. Though he was teasing and there was a smile with his words, it was clear James was forcing out the light-hearted conversation to mask his deep stress.
"Ah, come on. It's not official or anything like that, yet. Just two people having a bit of fun..." Warren assured him. He sat down on the leather sofa and turned his head sideways to look to his older brother. "So, did you say Lucy was heading over soon? You both doing alright?" he curiously asked.
"Yeah, I'm expecting Luce shortly... We're both good, but all of this shit going on is becoming exhausting... for both of us," James admitted. He tapped his fingers against the empty coffee mug whilst massaging his forehead with his free hand. "How about you make yourself useful and make us both another coffee?" he asked, forcing a smirk.
Warren sat back and put his feet up on the coffee table. "Nah, mate. It's your turn. I made the last two! You're not the boss of me," he teased.
"Wow. I'm telling Mum!" James joked, despite struggling to shift his concern about Syd and Jackson.
Mentions: Bellz (Lucy) Fletchawk (Owen)
Porter Family Home
~ Bayside, Queens ~
Sinead had had a spring in her step when Peter agreed to try for another baby with her. Although her husband hadn't been on the same wavelength until recently, it was something she had been wanting for quite some time. She just hoped their recent efforts would be quick to reward them. Her own excitement was held back upon finding out that Roxie had been kidnapped. Peter was already looking set to become more protective were she to become pregnant, but he'd stepped it up a gear after hearing about what was happening to Syd's pregnant girlfriend. The thought of something happening to Roxie and the baby concerned Sinead greatly. She prayed that they would make it out safe and well. The thought of the unborn child being harmed was deeply upsetting to Sinead and it was slowly opening up old wounds, ones she'd never been able to fully overcome.
With their husbands all out of various jobs, Sinead, Aliana and Blake were all together at the Porters' house, along with all of the children. Gwen was home too, but Sinead had hardly seen much of the fellow redhead, but it wasn't uncommon. Sinead sat on the sofa with Olivia standing in front of her as she plaited the blonde girl's hair. "Sweetie, I'm convinced you think I'm your personal hair stylist, because every time I'm over here, you make me do your hair," she lightly teased the child. "Not that I'm complaining. It's a long time since Savvy let me plait her hair and Emmy was never a willing model to begin with," he remarked. Once the plait was finished, Sinead tied the end with a small hair elastic and light;y tapped the girl's shoulder. "Okay, you're good to go. Make sure those boys aren't making a mess in the garden."
Once Olivia and any other children had left, Sinead sat back and looked to the two other women. She didn't want to overthink and start worrying about their husbands who were out on dangerous jobs. Instead, she thought about the one prospect that was keeping her positive throughout their families troubles. "Oh, how I miss having little ones of my own," she mused aloud, though the uncontrollable smile on her face made it clear something was keeping her happy. "Children are just the best! Do you ladies think you'll each have more children? Little brothers or sisters for Leo and Natasha?" she curiously asked.
Melanin-Gxdess (Aliana) Bellz (Blake)
Moretti's Office/Apartment
~ Murray Hill, Manhattan ~
As expected, Maddox had taken the bait Stefano had laid out for him. Gabriel was a cold, ruthless businessman and his primary goal was to rip the city from under the Porters' feet. Even so, it was disappointing to have it confirmed that Maddox had betrayed him. The men had worked together for years, with the Italian growing to respect and even care about the counsellor. They'd both lost loved ones at the hands of the Porters and it was on that basis that had helped Gabriel form a supposedly mutual alliance with Maddox. That's what made the man's double-crossing harder to accept and it was why he would enjoy personally delivering a slow, painful death to the filthy little rat.
Seated on the couch across from Alistair, Gabriel lit up a cigar and offered one to his close associate. The Italian then sat back as he placed the cigar in his mouth. He glanced to the soldiers guarding the door in the distance, before looking back to the East Harlem boss. He removed the stick from his mouth, holding it between this thumb, index and middle finger. "What a disappointment he turned out to be," Gabriel spoke upon, subtly shaking his head. "I'd grown quite fond of Dr. Parker over the years. Grew to consider him a decent man and even sympathised with his cause. That's what makes his betrayal difficult to accept. That's why he will suffer for crossing us." Gabriel took another drag from the cigar before leaning forward and balancing it on the edge of the crystal ashtray. "He will suffer a slow and painful death. I had hoped Ani would be found in time so she could get to witness what she caused. I suspect it was that whorish witch's influence that caused Parker to turn weak and pathetic. If only we'd let her burn with her loony brother."
It had only been that morning that Gabriel had received official confirmation of Maddox's betrayal. His office telephone had been bugged and a call the counsellor had with Conor Sullivan had been tapped into. Though cleverly vague, it had been more than enough to know the Porters were planning on rescuing Roxie and that Maddox had been the one to divulge her location. Since then, Gabriel had ordered his men to deliver Maddox to his office - and still breathing. Gabriel wanted to personally make sure the counsellor suffered for crossing him.
It wasn't all bad that day, as Gabriel was anticipating confirmation of James Porter's assassination. As fulfilling as it would have been to watch his biggest enemy die in front of him, Gabriel was by now content to be rid of the mob boss no matter the method. With James gone, it would be easy to take advantage of the chaos and upset. The city was practically in his and his allies' hands. One by one, they would pluck the other key members out from the Porter ranks until there was nothing left but whimpering children and their weak-minded mothers. The empire was about to crumble and those left standing would be knocked down, ready to be trampled over.
Pyroclast (Alistair)
The Emerald Pub
~ Midtown, Manhattan ~
The last couple of weeks had been stressful for Rachel. Her brother, Noah, had been hospitalised in the prison infirmary after being severely injured when a group of inmates beat him up. Though the prison reports concluded it had been an equal fight which Noah had lost, Rachel had dragged the truth out of the brother. He wasn't the only Sullivan-affiliated prisoner who had been hurt in recent weeks. Rachel knew it was the Morettis flexing their power and sending a message to the Porters - in particular, to Conor. It was only a matter of time before they managed to kill her brother and Rachel felt like she was living each day expecting the call from the prison. Given Noah's impulsive and controversial nature, Rachel knew she couldn't blame anyone but him for his current predicament. It made it difficult to resent the Porters for what was happening, but still, she hated that her brother was practically a sitting duck and being used to send a message to the mob about Moretti's growing power.
Rachel had decided the take the night off from running the pub and had invited Mitch to spend some time out together that evening. Before heading out to dinner, they'd arranged to meet at the Emerald as Rachel had moved into the apartment above the pub couple of weeks ago. With her cousin moving away, Rachel had no need for the larger apartment they'd been occupying and considering she was becoming part of the furniture at the pub, it seemed easier to move in.
Rachel sat by the bar as she sipped from her glass of wine. She was expecting Mitch at any moment, but in the meantime, she was occupied enough observing the game of darts two of the regulars were playing.
RayPurchase (Mitch)
Teddy's Apartment
~ Manhattan, NYC ~
Valentina had been fully aware of the situation with Teddy. She'd been horrified to see what the Porters had done to him when they got hold of him all of those weeks ago. Despite appreciating her father's business and hating anything that benefited the Irish thugs who had killed her family years earlier, she held no ill will towards Teddy. Along with her mother and Tony especially, she'd been fighting the man's corner and defending him to her father at every opportunity. Teddy was family and beneath Gabriel's cold treatment, Valentina knew her father still had some kindness for him. If he didn't, then Teddy would surely have been killed before now.
The youngest Moretti child felt she had something in common with Teddy at the moment and that was a need to prove herself to Gabriel. She had so many ideas for the business and had been out doing her own research for ways to help the Morettis take their rightful place in New York. The tricky part was trying to get her father to spare some time to listen to her. In fact, she'd had to arrange an official meeting with Gabriel the following day to discuss her plan. Whilst she knew he was testing her and seeing how hard she would fight to impress him, Valentina found her father's ways too formal at times.
Standing outside Teddy's door, Valentina knocked heavily to gain the man's attention. In her free hand, she clutched at a folder containing some paperwork she'd compiled to present to Gabriel the following day. She was happy with her research, but she wanted Teddy's input. Perhaps they could both work together and impress Mr. Moretti at the same time. "Get your lazy ass to the door, Teddy!" Valentina called out.
Melanin-Gxdess (Teddy)
RayPurchase (Marcus) [Let me know if you don't have capacity to play Marcus this chapter]