Realistic or Modern Family Ties: 1980s Gangs - IC (Ended)

[Misty Gray]

Starry Nights Bar
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~

Benjamin Reznik​

As was usually the case when the anniversary of his mother's death came along at the start of May, Benjamin had spent a couple of days feeling low. The evening of the day itself had been the hardest. With Aidan out on the diamond-exchange-gone-wrong job, Benjamin ended up having to distract himself. In the end, he'd abandoned his small apartment and crashed at Aidan's place until the man returned from his job in the middle of the night. Benjamin hung out with his guardian for the next couple of evenings before feeling up to returning to his own apartment. The apartment itself had done nothing wrong to Benjamin, it was simply the fact it could at times feel as hollow and confined as the one he'd lived in with his mother until her death. Despite that, Benjamin still couldn't accept Aidan's invitations for him to move back into the man's house with him. Benjamin valued his independence and he felt like the man had done more than enough to care for him, without being compensated for it.

One thing Benjamin finally did cave in to was Aidan's repeated offer to buy him a car. With the young man's birthday coming up in less than a month, he agreed to being given a car for his birthday. Even so, Benjamin promised to pay Aidan back when he could afford to, even if it took years. Despite refusing for so long, Benjamin was now feeling excited about getting his own car, especially as it would make it easier for him to travel around the country to photographic locations and campsites he hadn't had opportunity to see yet.

As this evening was dry and mild, Benjamin decided to walk to the bar rather than getting a taxi. Though he enjoyed walking and getting fresh air, he knew he'd appreciate having a car for getting to his dates and just being able to offer to drive Lorelei home once in a while. For now, he was just able to focus on getting himself to the fancy bar he'd picked out for them. He arrived a little early but went inside to check in with the hostess so she could prepare the table he'd reserved in advance. Knowing how popular the place was, he wanted to make sure Lorelei wouldn't have to stand crammed in with the crowd all night. Unless she didn't mind it, in which case, they at least had the option of choosing.

Benjamin was waiting in the lobby area when he saw Lorelei enter the club. His broad smile naturally reflected Lorelei's back at her and he waved in return. He remained on the spot as she signalled for him to wait there. That gave him a few extra seconds to process how amazing she looked. They'd been on a few dates recently, but he was still in awe each time they met. Whilst he had a lot of confidence in his appearance, he still had to question how lucky he was to have someone like Lorelei be interested in him when there were so many successful men in the city. Those brief thoughts were quickly pushed aside when the redhead reached him. "Hey there," he said, kissing her cheek in return. "You look stunning. I've said that on our date before, but it's true," he told her. Having seen her dressed more casually before, he knew she didn't need to make a special effort to dress up for him to be attracted to her. Still, he wanted her to know how good she looked tonight too.

Benjamin nodded in agreement when she pointed out how crowded the place was. "It's a great atmosphere, right?" he agreed with her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and leaned towards her so she could hear him over the background noise. "I reserved us a table near the front of the club. We don't have to stay sitting there, but at least we have the choice," he told her. No sooner had he spoken did the hostess approach them and lead then to the round table in the seating area of the bar. Benjamin chose to sit in the chair next to Lorelei, making it easier for them to have a conversation without having to raise their voices to hear.

"I've been good," Benjamin said, nodding his head. Despite being down at the start of the month, he'd picked himself back up and was now feeling upbeat again. "Aidan is good. He's getting me a car for my birthday... I finally gave in to him!" He then frowned slightly as he thought about his guardian and how he'd been working on something for Conor for the last week. "He's out on some big job tonight. I keep telling him it's time to retire but I don't think he'd know what to do with himself if he did." Whilst Aidan's job was typically driving and surveillance, Benjamin got the impression the man had been taking on more dangerous tasks over the last couple of years. Presumably it was since Benjamin had become more independent and wasn't reliant on him.

Benjamin lightly shook his head when Lorelei apologised for not calling. "That's okay, I understand. Just make sure you don't overdo it and keep taking a break," he reassured her. "How are the renovations going? I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks finished."

After a moment, he couldn't help but ask his next question. "How are your parents?" he asked. Although Conor, Aidan, and even Gwen, had been understanding the night he'd got them locked up after he hit another diner, he still hoped Lorelei's parents hadn't been harsh on her. "Have you heard from your uncle? I had this weird dream the other night, that he approached me during prison visiting with my Dad and warned me to stay away from you. Me being a bad influence and all that," he sheepishly admitted. He then shook his head and after a brief moment, he took hold of her hand. "There'll be no more drama from me. We're going to have fun tonight, Lorelei," he told her. "Speaking of which. What are you drinking?" he asked, realising he still needed to order their drinks at the bar.

Bellz (Lorelei)

 

[Misty Gray]

Alex's Home
~ Bethnal Green, London ~

Spencer King​

Spencer hadn't reacted to Alex's tetchy attitude when he'd first walked into the house. Clearly, his younger brother was realising how much hard work it was looking after a kid. Although Alex's grumpiness was amusing, Spencer was frustrated Callum would be leaving before Alex had enough time to get into a routine and get used to looking after the kid. He was sure it would take much longer for him to grow accustomed to it only having the boy for a couple of weeks at a time.

Spencer took a long drink of beer, not feeling bad about helping himself. After all he'd done for his siblings and spent or acquired for them when they were still kids, he felt he was owed a free beer or two once in a while. Of course, Bruce had done a lot for all four of them, but before that, even when both parents were in the picture, Spencer had been the one who had to look out for his siblings. Their father had walked out on them and Spencer had to help their drugged-up mother to look after her kids - including a baby Harper. When their mother died, Spencer was still only thirteen but had seen and done more than even many grown men would ever have to. Whilst he loved his mother and didn't actually blame her for her addiction, he did had some resentment for the fact she didn't try harder to get clean for her kids. Bruce had thankfully stepped in after their mother passed away. Regardless of that, Spencer was not going to apologise for helping himself to Alex's beers tonight.

He lightly shrugged when Alex asked if he was saying Damian was a loon. "Well, not one of those nutters that are climbing the walls and throwing their own shit around. More... sociopath or psychopath... Very calculated. You know me, I just say it as it is and don't fuck about with manipulative Machiavellian shit. Morettis are on a different level, mate. But maybe that's what we need to beat the Sullivans on this. I trust Bruce's decision to work with them."

Spencer grinned when Alex pointed out how energetic Callum was. "He's always been that way," he confirmed. "Always tends to peak in the afternoon and conveniently as bedtime approaches," he confirmed, with a low chuckle. "Though sweets and chocolate don't help. You've not been giving him loads of sugar, have you?" he curiously asked. When his brother expressed his annoyance about Callum having to go back to Dublin when Alex had only just got settled with him, Spencer nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm pissed off he's gotta go too."

He sat back and rubbed his chin as Alex acknowledged he may have been a shitty dad. Then when he compared himself to their own father, Spencer quickly shook his head. "Listen, you have been a bit shit, I'm not going to sugarcoat that. You've been selfish and not putting Callum first," he told him. "But you are not Dad. I've seen you just now, listening out, conscious Callum might have woken up. I don't think our dad would have given it second thought. If Mum had threatened to take us to live in another country, away from him, I think he'd have encouraged her to do it! The only time he paid any attention to me was when he was cracking me around the head for giving him lip," he pointed out. "The fact you don't want to be him is enough to assure us you're not him. You actually want Callum, so that's a start. I think you've just gotta get used to putting him first. Making sacrifices and all that."

Spencer shook his head. "I'm not saying it's easy or that I'm an expert. I might find it easy babysitting Callum, but that's only babysitting - he's ultimately the responsibility of you and Sav. My kid ain't born yet and I'm shitting myself knowing how much they and Shona are going to be relying on me."

Melanin-Gxdess (Alex)

 

[BloodLightning27]

~Chapter 7: Second Chances~

Thursday 16th May 1985
...15 days later...
New York City: Evening - Dry, Warm, Clear Skies​

~Moretti Guardians: Harmony Ryu & Quadir Taylor~New York City, New York| Wycliff Household

For Val's thirty-seventh birthday, Harmony had spent her day at a funfair with the Wycliff Family as their Bodyguard, remembering her conversation with Val two weeks prior. However, it did make her sad seeing that Val wasn't in the best mood and the Rainbow-haired Bodyguard was too afraid to ask what was wrong, though she could guess that it had something to do with Gabriel, having overheard some of Val's Conversations with Teddy in the past. Sometimes she wondered how it was possible for her to be working with the Moretti Family, given that she didn't have a single drop of Sicilian or even Italian blood in her veins. No, she was full-on Asian-American. While Don Moretti was judgmental and very old-school, which meant he was a bit sexist, she has mostly found comfort in knowing that the much older man was not racist, even if he judged her for her Rainbow hair. Hmmm, was he aware that his Daughter-in-Law, Ava, was now her go-to Tattoo Artist?

Nonetheless, as the Evening settled in, Harmony briefly returned to her Apartment to get a change of clothes and freshen up, redo her make-up. SInce it was a little warm, Harmony opted for a more relaxed look so that she doesn't sweat to death. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she frowned as she began thinking about her own family once more. Before leaving the apartment, Harmony decided to call her Mother for the first time in over a year. Unfortunately, it went straight to voicemail, which left her in a down mood. Sighing, she quietly left the apartment.

She would soon make her way back to the Wycliff's Family home, where she has spent a reasonable majority of her time if the Wycliffs were not going out, or if she wasn't accompanying Teddy and/or Valentina out on business, or if either of the two wanted out of the house. So far she's also gotten along fairly well with the Wycliff Children, mainly Cristina, as they had bonded over colored hair, though she was hesitant to talk whenever the young lady asked about her tattoos, not wanting to get on Don Moretti's bad side over it. Besides, she was too young to even be considering tattoos or piercings, but colored hair was fine. Having made it early, she spent a little bit of time keeping little Rocco, the Family Dog, company while the family got ready for the party that was being thrown tonight. When the door opened, the puppy ran off, moments before Teddy walked by and she joined him to go greet whoever was at the door.

While Quadir had enjoyed the day he spent with the Moretti Matriarchs, he was now settling in to the role of the main driver for Mrs. Moretti, or at least the go-to. Whether it was shopping trips, hair appointments or simply helping Mrs. Moretti with Gardening, Quardir would take it all over the cocaine business, which he had been a part of for so long. His Brother, Jarrick, was currently out on Business. The younger Taylor Brother seemed bummed in knowing that Damien was in London and he was too far down the chain to be given such tasks. Still, Jarrick needed to keep the Cocaine moving and making sure that neither the Columbians nor the Mexican Cartels would be able to set up shop in New York City, granted chances of it were pretty slim as New York City was very far out of the reach of both the Columbians and the Mexican Cartels. Though tonight, Jarrick had heard about a new drug that has hit the streets and decided to go investigate, saying that he would go get that squared away before coming to Valentina's party.

Tonight, Quadir was both invited to Valentina's Party and on shift to be the Driver for Don Moretti and Mrs. Moretti. This was a nice change of pace considering how work has been over the last two weeks, during which he never really got to slow down and pace himself a little. Twice a week now, Quadir was now attending a Karate Class, with Harmony going in with him once a week so that he wouldn't have to be nervous about being in a place where he didn't know anyone. Healthwise, Quadir felt a whole lot better. Now he just needed to fix his diet and go to the gym a bit more. The drive to the Wycliff home was mostly quiet, though Quadir had mostly focused on the road and wanting to give the Morettis privacy. Upon arriving at the lovely home, the Morettis and their bodyguard were greeted a hyper little puppy, before Teddy and Harmony showed up to greet them. "Oh hey little fella, what's your name?" He asked once the pup started staring at him after having his barking fit before greeting Teddy. "Oh, good evening Mr. Wycliff. Handsome little pup you got there."

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Moretti. Lovely to see you tonight." She greeted them as well, being in a more mild mood compared to when she was at home.

Soon, Teddy ushered the older couple as well as Quadir into the home. "Hey Harmony, how you doin'?" He asked.

"I'm alright, Q. Seems like the Morettis have taken a liking to you." she commented, seeing that he has become their semi-regular driver.

"Yeah, I guess so, but I don't know if Boss-man here would agree yet. I've only been in this spot for a few weeks now. Let's not be jinxing nothin'." He chuckled.

Interactions: Teddy Wycliff, Elvian Moretti Melanin-Gxdess | Gabriel Moretti, Valentina Wycliff, Cristina Wycliff Misty Gray

 

[Misty Gray]

Savannah Callahan's House
~ Dollymount, Dublin ~

Savannah Callahan​

From her spot in the kitchen, Savannah noticed a car park up the bottom of her garden path. She hadn't really met her neighbours yet, but she hoped they weren't the kind to be parking in her designated spaces. The last thing she wanted was to have to have those kinds of disputes. However, she soon saw Roxie walking up her front garden path and though it was a relief there wasn't going to be a parking war, she was also caught off-guard. When she heard the doorbell, it briefly crossed her mind to ignore it, but seeing as the lights were on in her house, she figured it would be pretty difficult to pretend she wasn't home now. Besides, she knew she couldn't ignore her friend when she was standing at her front door.

Smoothing out her non-styled hair, she approached the door. Thankfully, the hallway mirror was still somewhere behind the stacks of boxes that were still lining the hallway floor alongside the staircase, so she didn't have opportunity to fret over whether she looked tired or not. When she opened the door, she smiled back at Roxie. "Hey, Roxie. What are you doing here?" she softly asked her. Regardless of her question, she took the wine bottles from her friend and stepped aside to let her step into the house. "Yeah, I've been really busy," she told her. After bolting the door shut from the inside, she placed the wine glasses down on the first empty space she could find in the lounge. "I have some glasses..." she told her before opening one of the boxes which she'd been dipping in and out of for kitchenware when needed. Pulling out two wine glasses, she went into the kitchen to give them a rinse.

"We can watch rom-coms," she said, quickly nodding her head. She led Roxie back into the lounge and placed the empty glasses with the bottles, forgetting she needed to actually fill them. The television set was already standing on the unit but Savannah soon found herself fumbling behind the set to plug it in to the wall socket. She started to feel a little flustered upon realising the video player wasn't set up yet either. She once again continued to fumble behind the television stand as she rushed to connect everything together. "Stupid thing..." she grumbled as her long nails proved to be a minor hinderance.

Once finished, she stepped back into view and looked to Roxie. "I was lying," she suddenly admitted, slumping down on the sofa, briefly acknowledging that the television screen was flashing to say there was no signal detected. "I've had two weeks to unpack and I've barely done anything. The stupid cable I need is in one of these stupid boxes. All of my plates are still in some other box because I've not eaten a normal meal for ages. Upstairs is just as messy and I don't have time to do it now. Callum is due back tomorrow and this place is a mess. All I've done is walk around the house being worried and upset and now he is coming home he's going to think this house is rubbish. He'll have spent two weeks having fun with his fun family and he's going to come back hating me," Savannah offloaded. She took a deep breath before looking desperately to Roxie. "There isn't enough time to sort this mess out now."

Bellz (Roxie)

 

[Pyroclast]

Chase Zegarra​

Ever since his son had started diving into Catholicism, it had been harder for Chase to maintain secrecy around what his jobs entailed. He had never given the boy much of an explanation, preferring to shelter him from the darkness and keep him from worrying about things he wasn't mature enough to handle. Of course, he couldn't keep everything from him. Matthew Moore was a beloved teacher at Michael's school and when he was shot in a gang-related incident, there was no way he could undo the damage the news had had on his son. Now, every time he went out on a 'job' - which is as much as detail as he ever gave - Michael would begin to ask questions and remind him of the mortal sins, ignoring Chase's advice not to concern himself with his business. Though he refused to let his son's new source of moral guidance affect his own decisions, he couldn't help but think of him as he sat in the backseat of the Jeep waiting to ambush a woodland cabin.

Not only was Matthew Moore's murder hanging over them, had also been another recent shooting believed to be an attempted attack on Emery Callahan, though it had been Adam who had taken the hit. Despite the debate he and Michael had had a few weeks before, Chase maintained that those responsible for all the shootings needed to be dealt with. Though Michael may not understand, it was largely in part for his children's safety that Chase was so keen to drive out their assailants. It had taken some time, but the mob had identified Adam's gunman as being Ross Grant, an associate of Phelan Sweeney of the Sweeney gang. Those two were their main targets for the night, with Adam leading the small but well-equipped team into the woods, where the gang had been sighted hiding out at a log cabin.

Rolling to a stop just outside the more densely wooded area, the Jeep and all its passengers fell silent, listening to the distant murmur of their targets to gauge how far a voice could carry. Adam then gave the crew one last briefing. It was a simple enough plan, far less complicated than some Chase had previously been a part of. He had never been one to feel particularly nervous about a job, but the fact that this one was taking place in a remote woodland area instead of the city made it even easier to relax. He reciprocated Adam's nod, knowing there was a fair chance of having to kill the men they were about to approach. While his son might be able to stir up some inner conflict in him about the act of murder, Chase felt nothing when it actually came to doing it. Considering he hadn't been raised in the violent side of the gang business, he was remarkably blazé about putting people down or inflicting torture when it was demanded of him.

Chase shook his head and chuckled at Aidan's comment about cremating their targets on their own bonfire. Familiar with their sense of humour, he hadn't expected anyone to take the idea further, and frowned slightly when Katsya began explaining the logistics of body disposal. At first he was amused, but refrained from commenting when she explained that she had brought treated sheets. Maybe Aidan's humour had gone over her head, but he couldn't deny it was good to have someone extra prepared on the team. He wondered if she had any more tricks up her sleeve.

Making minimal noise, Chase followed Adam in jumping out of the Jeep to retrieve his equipment from the boot. He let Katsya go first. Every time he thought she was done gearing up, she would reach for yet another weapon. He couldn't help but stare, throwing glances to the others to see if they were watching, too. When she was finally done, he reached in for his more minimal arsenal, which comprised a Spectre M4, a brand new Ruger and his old reliable M15. He already had a couple of knives hidden on him, too, ready for a quick and subtle withdrawal.

With a brief scan of the group to make sure everyone had their gear ready, Chase then looked to Adam and sent him a nod. "Lead the way, jefe."

Interactions
Misty Gray Adam, Aidan
Mitheral Katsya
BloodLightning27 Stella

 

[Misty Gray]

Woodlands/Farmland Area
~ The Baskins, Dublin ~​

Spoiler: Scene Head Count

Sullivan Gang:
Main Team: Adam, Aidan, Chase, Katsya, Stella.
NPCs/Distant Surveillance: Doyle, Lloyd
Sweeney Gang:
Phelan Sweeney, Ross
NPC Gang members: 7 Doug, Eoin, Jay, John, Niall, Scott, Shane

Adam Harper and Aidan Byrne​

Whilst the others armed themselves, Adam secured the straps of his bulletproof vest. He then did a final check and count of the knives he had strapped to the sides of his boots. Holstered at his waist were two M1911s and his favourite fixed-blade hunters knife. Regardless of how many guns and bullets he could carry on him, he intended on using the bladed weapons and his own hands to drag the truth out of the Sweeneys. He would use the guns to assist his team with crowd control, but once he had Phelan and Ross, he intended to adopt a more hands on approach to deal with them. He was sure Katsya had her preferred methods of making people talk too. Once his team had equipped themselves with the guns they may well put to use, Adam retrieved his M15 and held it up, resting the barrel on his shoulder.

Adam smirked at Katsya and nodded his head. "A soldier who cleans up after herself. I like it," he remarked. Whilst the amount of weapons the woman was carrying may be perceived as overkill, Adam had learned many years ago that it was better to come overprepared. "The focus is getting information out of Ross, Phelan, and anyone else we find to have been involved in the shooting. A bloodbath isn't the primary objective, but if they don't keep in line, then on their heads be it."

Adam had a final check-in with Lloyd before switching the sound off of his walkie-talkie and waiting for Chase to do the same with his, not wanting the devices to sound and give them away when stealth was required. Slotting the device into his back pocket, he then signalled for his teammates to follow him. It wasn't difficult to make their way through the woods as the Sweeneys had kindly lit a bonfire to light up their target location for them. Quietly, they reached the rear of the farmhouse. Adam motioned left for Chase, Stella and Aidan to round the building in that direction, whilst he and Katsya would go from the right side. However, everyone was stopped in their tracks as they heard Phelan's voice shouting out. "Doug! The toilet don't work. Ross has been shitting in the woods!"

Adam held his arm out to signal for everyone to stand quiet and still. Standing close to the corner of the building, Adam listened closely to the sound of footsteps approaching as Doug made his way towards the back of the farmhouse. The footsteps got closer and Adam swiftly grabbed Doug, wrapping his arm tightly around the man's neck and placing a firm hand over his mouth to silence him. The more the man struggled, the tighter Adam's hold around his neck neck got and restricted his airways. "Stay quiet or die," he quietly threatened the man. Adam then led the man towards Chase. "You three have yourselves a bargaining chip," he whispered. Holding the butt of his gun to Doug's forehead, he signalled for the man to remain silent whilst he let go of him for Chase to grab hold of.

Once it was safe to move forward, Adam and Katsya made their way down the right side of the building. Meanwhile, Aidan allowed Stella to lead the way down the left side, as he kept alert and ready to cover her or Chase. The voices and laughter of the remaining eight men around the campfire got louder as the Sullivans moved closer. The five of them stepped into view of the Sweeneys, with Adam aiming his gun at the group cuing the rest of his teammates to do the same. "Alright, listen up everyone!" Adam shouted out to make their presence known. The advantage of the remote location meant he didn't need to worry about upsetting the locals and civilians. "You lads can all get back to your party soon and Doug here can go take a shit in peace," he began, pointing to the man his teammate was restraining. "But first, the two of us," he said, pointing to himself and Katsya, "we need to speak with Phelan and Ross."

Adam stepped into the doorway of the farmhouse cabin, taking a look inside the open plan lounge and kitchen area to check nobody was inside. He kept his gun raised as he turned back around to face the campfire. Shaking his head, he took a few steps closer to the group of men. They all looked stunned, presumably trying to catch-up with what was going on after being rudely disturbed in the middle of drinks. Ross looked like a deer caught in headlights as he stood in stunned silence. Having been hiding out in the farmhouse since the evening he'd fled the scene of the shooting, he'd started to believe he was safe. The man began to speak up, but Adam quickly shook his head. "Not here. We're going to talk inside and away from your weird campfire bonding session you've got going on." Ross reluctantly took a few steps forward, still attempting to protest he didn't know what was going on. Adam grabbed the man by his messy long hair, using it to drag him towards the cabin and quicken up his pace. With his other hand pressing the gun to the side of his head, Adam led Ross into the cabin before pushing him forward, causing the man to stumble past the dining table before falling into the grotty wall. "Let's just wait for Phelan to join the meeting," Adam gruffly told him as he waited for Katsya to bring the man in question.

Phelan felt the eyes of his friends on him along with various gun barrels aimed at him. Begrudgingly, he stepped forward. "Leave Doug out of it, would ya?" he asked Chase. Recognising Katsya from a few weeks earlier, Phelan groaned as he set eyes on the woman. Stopping a few feet from her, he raised a curious eyebrow. "Come on, now. All this because I used the car park a few times? Don't you have something better to be doing?" he asked her.


Meanwhile, Doug grew restless in his position and attempted to struggle out of Chase's grasp. "I haven't done anything," he protested. "I don't get messed up in any dodgy stuff."

Though most of the group weren't dumb enough to shoot back whilst guns were on them, one of the men standing by the fire, Eoin, discreetly reached for his pistol before quickly bringing it up and firing two shots towards Stella. The sound of gunfire caused the other men to disperse slightly in shock, not wanting to be close to Eoin if there was return fire...


(I've split us into two scenes for now)
Group 1: Mitheral (Katsya), Misty Gray (Adam) + Ross, Phelan
Group 2: BloodLightning27 (Stella) Pyroclast (Chase), Misty Gray (Aidan) + Doug, Eoin, Jay, John, Niall, Scott, Shane

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Erik's Apartment
~Hackney, London~
Erik Snowden & Ava Moretti​

Erik was going to take his time when it came to showering. He had so many things on his mind that he wanted to talk to Billy about. Getting them all in place was proving to be a lot more difficult than he thought. Where would he start? His drug problem? The feelings he accidentally admitted to him? Would he even be able to talk about something like that? Standing under his showerhead he hoped the hot water pouring over his body would help him come up with some sort of plan for it. The more he thought about the impending conversation the more nervous he got. Everything leading up to now was playing in his mind on repeat, his brain making sure he covered all his bases. From the taxi to the meeting between the Kings and Moretti to everything that happened in the park. He didn't want to miss an explanation for anything. But as he thought about how he was going to explain things, the realization that he would have to start from the real beginning hit him. His father and the things he went through growing up. Erik wasn't sure he was ready for such a thing.

Being vulnerable and emotional around people was one of his biggest weaknesses. Billy would be the second - Ava being the first - person to ever see him in this light. 'I must realllllly like Billy then. He thought to himself, otherwise why would he even be bothering?

Ava let out a slight chuckle when Billy gave his observation of her cousin. "That's my Erik. Knows more about other folks than they know 'bout him. Sneaky, ain't he?" Ava twirled the cord of her phone around her finger, sitting on the arm of her couch. Looking at the clock she figured she would have a bit of time before she had to be at the Wycliff house. "But don't take it personally. He's been through a coupla' things growin' up so..." She was hoping he would be picking up exactly what she was saying without having to say it. Talking about her cousin's past was a rough topic seeing as some of the times she blamed herself. She was sure that if she were strong enough for the both of them Erik wouldn't be the way he was. He could have enjoyed his childhood and not be acting as crazy as he does now.

Learning Billy's name made her laugh again, nodding her head. "Ah, the infamous Billy King. He talks about you, ya know?" She paused for a moment. Was she allowed to say anything? About Erik having feelings for him? The last time she and Erik spoke he had informed her about the taxi situation but that was it. She didn't know how it went after or even if they were dating. Did Erik confess after they spoke to one another? Not wanting to risk screwing something up she decided not to say anything. "Considers you his best friend, which is an honor these days. Not a lot of people can grab his attention so long." She quickly added, not wanting it to sound like Erik was just always gushing over the man... Even though that was exactly what he was doing. "Oh, no, no, no. There's no need for that. I have to go here in a little- actually, since you two are so close maybe you can tell me. How is he doing? The last time I talked to him he sounded like he was on the verge of a meltdown. Usually, that means he's about to go off the deep end into drugs. My father-in-law just saw him when he was visiting, but I don't think Gabriel would know if anything was wrong."

Billy ( Pyroclast )​

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Alex's Home
~Bethnal Green, London~
Alexander King​

Alex settled into his seat listening to his brother speak about Damian. Since he himself hadn't had a real conversation with the man it was hard to tell if Spencer had a point or not. Usually, he wasn't wrong about someone's character. Plus with Damian being a Moretti man he was sure Spencer hit the nail on the head. The whole lot of them were crazy, manipulative, and wild as a whole. Birds of a feather and all that nonsense. "Considering the Sullivan's are a violent bunch, having Moretti's bunch of psychos may just work in our favor." Moretti had run the Sullivan's out of New York with his out-of-the-box thinking, attacking the man's family without a sign of mercy. While the only tie Alex himself had with the Sullivan's was his son, Alex couldn't say that he would miss any of them too greatly. "Anyway, if Bruce thinks it's right then it must be. What the hell do we know?" He shrugged and crossed his arms, his leg bouncing.

Spencer confirmed Callum had always been energetic which caused Alex to groan. Obviously, he had gotten it from Savannah seeing as the man would rather spend his days in bed asleep. "Jesus fucking christ. This has been the most active I've been in months and he's only been here two weeks." He let out a sigh and rubbed his hand across his face before turning to Spencer. He asked if he had been giving him junk and Alex nodded. "Well, yeah. Sometimes it was the only way to get the kid to shut up until he threw it all up last week. That's when I realized maybe it wasn't a good idea, but you're telling me that it gives him energy too?! What breed of kid is this?" Alex was shocked. Growing up, he never really had the opportunity to eat as much junk as he wanted, therefore he had never experienced the side effects.

Alex needed Spencer to tell him he was doing good. Or at least, he was getting there. The past two weeks and their current conversation had shown him he knew nothing. Nothing about how to raise a kid nor anything about his own kid. Knowing that he had and was screwing up made him want to run away as per usual. He had even booked himself a trip to the Caribbean, only to look at Callum and cancel it immediately. Running away was easy, he knew that, but staying and pushing through was a challenge. He didn't like challenges. Hearing his brother reassure him he was nothing like their father helped settled his mind a bit. The last thing he wanted to be was like him. At the mention of sacrifices, Alex chuckled and rubbed his hands together nervously. "Sacrifice my ever-revolving door of women and partying for nights in, cleaning up chocolate from the couch?" He said as if weighing his options. He shook his head and leaned forward. "My heart just broke saying it aloud, mate."

"I know and, really, I am trying it's just... It's fucking difficult. I don't want to screw him up like me. I don't want Callum to grow up thinking I was some shit father or, or grow up to be disappointed in how his life went, ya know?" At the mention of his future child, Alex playfully slapped his brother on the back. "Good luck! It's only been two weeks with Callum here alone and I'm already finding grey hairs!"

Spencer ( Misty Gray )​

 

[Misty Gray]

Wycliffe Family Home
~ Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn ~

Valentina Wycliff and Gabriel Moretti​

When Teddy came to the door and sent the puppy to one side, Gabriel grinned at Elvian's comments. "Yes, yes, the dog's adorably cute," he flippantly agreed with her description of Rocco. "With the right amount of discipline and training, I suspect he would make a fine guard dog. Though I'm not sure discipline is a thing here, is it, Theodore?" he teased. Despite getting the feeling Teddy wasn't particularly happy with him, Gabriel had no intention of treading on eggshells around his son-in-law. Still as Teddy invited them inside, Gabriel looked around the house and smiled. "The place looks spotless. Suspiciously so... Did you send Paolo to boarding school?" he joked, surprised the kid wasn't running around trying to cause mayhem yet. He looked to Teddy and shrugged when asked how the drive over was. "We got here in one piece, so I guess the drive was a success," he drily remarked. Regardless of who he was talking to, he didn't react well to small talk, so tended to respond sarcastically, if at all.

Gabriel turned his attention to Harmony and sent her a smile. "Good evening. Has my daughter got you working over-time?" he remarked. Remembering he was being on his best behaviour for Valentina's birthday, he smiled at the young woman to show he wasn't being serious. From what he understand, the Wycliff's had taken a shine to the female bodyguard and as such she was likely at the party on social terms rather than working. In the back of his mind, he hoped the familiarity wasn't going to cloud Harmony's focus and ability to do her job right.

Valentina soon stepped into the lounge and greeted everyone with a brief hug each. "Happy Birthday, Valentina," Gabriel pleasantly told her. "Your mother has your birthday card, but you're going to have to wait for your present," he informed her. The man's tone and expression were unusually light, which made Valentina think he did have some kind of surprise gift lined up.

"Well... I look forward to it," Valentina slowly replied, looking to Elvian suspiciously to see if her mother was giving anything away. Cristina soon entered the room, looking pretty happy with herself as she sported the pink layers of hair extensions Valentina had carefully blended into her real hair. The girl greeted Harmony with a bright smile, proudly looking up to the woman who's colourful hair was her own inspiration. Cristina then gave Elvian a hug before turning to Gabriel to accept her grandfather's cuddle. The man was clearly studying his granddaughter's hair, which caused Valentina to roll her eyes. As much as she wanted to let him stew, she didn't want to give him opportunity to put a downer on how happy Cristina was with her hairstyle. "Relax, Papa. They're clip-in extensions."

"Of course," Gabriel flatly responded before turning to Teddy. "Theodore. We need a word in private," he told him, pointing out into the back yard away from inquisitive ears. "It's just a brief bit of business before we can relax," he assured Valentina as she frowned at him for not adhering to the spirit of the party.

Gabriel hadn't given Teddy a choice in refusing, so once both men were out of the lounge, Valentina shook her head before gently squeezing Cristina's shoulder. "Don't worry, princess. Grandpa was born when the dinosaurs were around and he still doesn't understand fashion. Now, why don't you go see what your brothers are up to in the games room? I'll call you monsters in here when it's time to eat," she suggested.

Once the girl had gone, Valentina focused on Elvian, Quadir and Harmony. "Okay, you three. What is everyone having to drink?" she enthusiastically asked. "I invited Ricky and Julia over, but they might be running a little late due to business meetings. Meanwhile, neither my brother nor my sister can make it tonight, on account of one being stuck in Sicily and the other in dreary London. Enjoy your twenties, Harmony. The parties only go downhill after that," she complained. She set about pouring the drinks at the minibar she'd set up in the lounge. "What's your brother up to tonight?" she curiously asked Quadir.



Once they were outside, Gabriel offered Teddy a cigar before lighting one up for himself. Leaning against the wall of the house, he took in a long drag of the cigar, then slowly blew the smoke out of his mouth. "I would like to hear what's on your mind," he looked to his son-in-law and outstretched his arms to invite the man to speak. "I suspect you're not overjoyed with the plan for James Porter?"

BloodLightning27 (Harmony, Quadir)
Melanin-Gxdess (Elvian, Teddy)

 

[Pyroclast]

Billy King​

Somewhat thrown by the surprise phone call, Billy’s reactions were a little ahead of his thoughts and he gave a premature chuckle when Ava called Erik ‘sneaky’ for knowing more about other people than they knew about him. However, it wasn’t really something Billy had thought about before. Because of the way they bantered with each other and the physical barriers they had broken down over the course of their friendship, Billy thought he knew the man well. Yet, recently, he had learned so much about the man - significant things, like his cocaine habit and the fact that he was gay - that he got the feeling their friendship might be heavily unbalanced. Not that he was weighed down by much baggage, but Billy had never felt much of a need to either talk extensively about himself nor a need to shroud himself in mystery. Mostly he just wanted to have a good time - he wanted someone to relate to, someone to do things with - and if the conversation ever did draw something slightly personal from him, then it was okay, because it was only Erik. Erik who had saved his life, who had seen him shed a tear, who had hauled his drunk ass into bed and taken his shoes off for him. At this point, he didn’t really have a reason to hide much from him. It was becoming clear to him, however, that Erik didn’t feel quite the same way.

As if reading his mind, Ava assured him not to take it personally. She suggested that he had had a hard childhood, but didn’t exactly dive into details, as though expecting Billy to know what she meant. “Right, yeah,” he said, trying to sound sure of himself while he racked his brain for memories of Erik ever mentioning what he had been through growing up. As much as it piqued his interest, it didn’t exactly feel appropriate to ask Ava for further explanation. “Well, you know...I’m sure he’d open up to me if he wanted to. He knows I’m here.”

Hearing her laugh when he told her his name confused him, and when she told him that Erik talked about him to her, Billy couldn’t stop a coy smile forming on his lips. “Yeah? Nothing incriminating, I hope?” Though his tone was playful, he wasn’t exactly joking. A lot of what he and Erik got up to, be it the jobs they went out on together or their lives outside of work, was the kind of thing Billy preferred to keep between themselves. He trusted his family completely and there wasn’t much he would keep from them, but there was something special about sharing certain things with Erik alone. Plus, some of it really was incriminating - Erik’s drug use, for instance, and the whole alleged taxi scenario that Billy couldn’t stop wondering about. Those were the kinds of things that he might even go so far as to lie to his family about if the topic were ever to come up. Thinking about the taxi scenario, Billy suddenly felt his face flush at the idea that Erik might have talked about it to Ava. Was he out to her? What did she actually know?

Before he had time to panic, Ava revealed that Erik considered him to be his best friend and his heart calmed down as they appeared to move on from a potentially uncomfortable subject. “He said that?” Billy said, unable to stop himself from blushing. “Well, he’s a good mate, Ava - the best, really. A guy couldn’t ask for more in a friend.”

At his offer to go and get Erik for her, Ava declined, stating that she was on her way out somewhere. Before she left, however, she asked Billy how Erik was doing. It became clear that his drug use wasn’t just a one-off thing, but something he had done before, something Ava was well familiar with. Lost for words, Billy adjusted the receiver in his hand as if it might help him figure out an answer. What was he supposed to say? He had promised Erik that he wouldn’t tell Ava a thing, and to break that promise would surely damage their already fragile relationship - not to mention send Erik further off the deep end. At the same time, however, Billy really didn’t know what he was doing. If Ava could help in any way, drawing from her own past experiences with Erik, it would seem foolish to lie to her and deny Erik the help he needed. It would be on Billy, then, if his friend were to only get worse.

With a quick glance towards the bathroom door to make sure he could still hear the shower running, Billy lowered his voice when he replied. “You, um...you say ‘usually’ like that’s something that happens a lot. Am I meant to be watchin’ out for something, Ava? What makes you think he’s on the edge of a meltdown?” His eyes settled on the bathroom door again, picturing the man behind it. He was beginning to see him less of a man of mystery and more of one vulnerable and burdened with pain. This version of Erik he had been seeing more of lately brought a deep ache to his chest, and he felt it now as he gazed at the door. “I mean, I’ll keep an eye on him for ya’, but...if I do notice something....what should I do?”

Interactions
Melanin-Gxdess Ava, Erik

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Shona King​

Shona had to try not to sigh too much while the nurse was giving her the empty update she hadn’t asked for. It was always the same: no news, the twins were overdue but they weren’t going to induce the birth without Shirley’s consent, everyone was hoping she would wake up soon, and so on...In other words, nothing she didn’t already know. It frustrated her to no end that they never had anything new to tell her - she had a feeling that they would think of something if Shona were family by blood, rather than just her emergency contact. If nobody knew when she was going to wake up, then eventually they would have to consider inducing the birth without her consent or...well, she didn’t actually know what would happen if they didn’t. But she imagined it would cause damage either to the babies or to Shirley, none of whom deserved further trauma. Shona directed a polite yet forced smile at the nurse, giving her a quiet ‘thanks’ as she left the room and shut the door.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reminding herself that there was little she could do besides be there. When she opened her eyes, she almost jumped out of her skin; Shirley’s eyes had opened, too, and the woman let out a small groan before looking up at Shona. She sounded understandably terrified to be waking up in the condition she was in. At first Shona just stared at her in shock, mouth agape and tears hanging in her eyes. After a moment, however, she managed to exhale a sharp breath and smile warmly at her friend. “You were in a car accident, love,” she told her, barely above a whisper for the lump that had formed in her throat. “But the babies are completely unharmed, thank God...and you’re gonna be okay.”

It took some effort not to break down in tears there and then, but she wanted to hold herself together for Shirley’s sake. With a small sniff, she let her hand be guided onto Shirley’s belly. Despite her own condition, she could hardly imagine the discomfort that her friend must be in being so far overdue. The feel of a little kick brought a smile to her face before Shirley asked her, for a second time, how long she had been in the coma for. Turning her attention back to Shirley, Shona idly stroked her friend’s belly as she offered her a sympathetic smile. “A little over two weeks, now,” she told her. “I’ve missed you.”

After quickly wiping the tears from her eyes, she reached forward and poured Shirley a fresh glass of water from the jug before offering to help her drink it. “Careful, you’ve got some injuries there,” she lightly warned, before sitting back with a sigh. “I’m not sure if you remember...it was some arsehole speeding at an intersection, didn’t stop when he should have. You got some burns there but nurses say they’re healing well, and then you’ve got a broken wrist and two broken legs…” Once the woman was done drinking, Shona placed the glass back on the table and took Shirley’s hand in hers again, giving it a squeeze. “God, you’ve been through the wars, you have,” she lightly commented through a tearful smile. “But it’s not all bleak, there is some good news. ‘Cause you’re overdue, the docs are wanting to induce labour as soon as you give them permission. I know you’re not in the ideal condition to give birth - they might even have to c-section it what with your legs and all - but still. Soon as you say the word go...you can welcome your sweet little miracles into the world.”

Interactions
BloodLightning27 Shirley

 

[Mitheral]

Woodlands/Farmland Area
~ The Baskins, Dublin ~
Katsya Grey​

Katsya ended up leaving the riot gun once she saw the hardware used by the rest. Not a single one was using less than lethal. If shooting started this was going to turn into a bloodbath fast. As to radios, she had left hers in her bag. She had been carrying two ever since she started working with Stella. Only she used earpieces like Secret Service. Again, here it seemed to be overtrained. And she was beginning to understand why her Dad didn’t want her getting involved in gang business.

The ease with which they took the Sweeney group by surprise put Katsya even more on edge. It felt like a trap. But she reminded herself that none of these guys likely had any sort of formal training. She was pleased that none of the Sullivan group seemed to be klutzes and managed to move with something resembling stealth. She wasn’t surprised that Stella could manage to be quiet, but the men she hadn’t been sure. Then again, they did have real experience on her.

She didn’t expect Phelan to be surprised again, nor willing to just stand there and let her grab him like she had before. Katsya kept out of arm’s reach with her MAC-10’s the red dot of her laser sight on Phelan’s privates. Her face was completely neutral as was her voice when she spoke. “Hello again Snubnose. Let’s give Mr Harper a moment to get things ready. Mouth shut until Mr Harper has questions for you. Hands laced behind your head. Don’t be stupid - unless you want me to count to ten again.”

The sounds of gunfire behind her took every bit of her willpower not to respond to. She had to trust Stella to have things covered. She kept her eyes locked on Phelan. “Give me an excuse. We will never have parking problems ever again.” She allowed a few more moments. “Okay … walk.”

Once inside she took a quick survey. “Phelan, wall. Assume the position.” Give me a moment Mr Harper. Going to make sure he has no surprises.”

Misty Gray (Adam, Phelan, Ross)

 

[BloodLightning27]

~Stella Kwon~Dublin, Ireland | Irish Wilderness

Once everyone was done gearing up and had their weapons ready, Stella briefly allowed her AK dangle from its sling so that she could have a quick moment to tie her hair into a ponytail. Afterwards, she was full-on ready. Adam proceeded to tell them that a bloodbath wasn't the objective, but if the enemy didn't comply, then do what must be done. At least from Stella's perspective, that's how she viewed her Capo's words. Soon, it was time to make their move. It started with the team following Adam. Thankfully Stella had Boots on as navigating through the woods with regular shoes would have been a pain due to the undergrowth. Nonetheless, reaching their destination was relatively easy thanks to the Sweeney Brothers lighting up a bonfire...and being obnoxious altogether. Soon, they captured one of the men and he was left at the mercy of Chase. Up next, Stella ended up taking the lead as she, along with her team and their new captive, made their way down the left side of the house, with Katsya and Adam taking the right.

As the rest of the Sweeney crew was distracted and mostly having fun, Stella kept her gun at the ready, ready to shoot the men if need be. Just as Adam shouted, Stella proceeded to come out of hiding with her gun at the ready, but keeping her finger on the trigger, being ready to fire at a moment's notice. These guys were all only armed with pistols at best. Sure the Sullivans were outnumbered, but they definitely had more firepower and their people were significantly more skilled. Adam then requested to talk to Ross and Phelan inside the cabin, leaving Stella, Chase and Aiden to watch the rest of them, to which she did not mind. If they were to so much as twitch, they would earn a night with a bullet wound, or a few if she decided to do a burst-fire. Having spent much time keeping her skills sharp, Stella doubted that she'd miss. Briefly, she looked back at Doug and Chase, as the former began struggling to break free.

During this moment of distraction, one of the other men drew a gun and fired two shots at her. Thankfully, she was prepared for that, having turned to look at him just as the first shot was fired. Though the first bullet flew passed her and into a tree, the second grazed her cheek. Falling into an adrenaline rush, Stella quickly took aim at Eion, the man that opened fire at her. Just as the others took a few steps back, Stella fired back at Eion, firing three different shots, with two bullets going to his torso and one going for his head. Two to the chest, one to the head, just like how Chase and Syd had taught her. After she opened fire, she turned her gun on the men who had dispersed towards the left. "ANYONE ELSE!?" She asked, anger lacing her loud voice as she gritted her teeth, her finger still on the trigger. "그 똥을 다시하세요! I fucking dare you!" She shouted, aiming once more at Eion.

Interactions: Aiden Byrne Misty Gray | Chase Zegarra Pyroclast
Enemies: Doug, Eoin (Dead?), Jay, John, Niall, Scott, Shane
Translation: "Geu ttong-eul dasihaseyo!" - "Do that shit again!"​

 

[Bellz]

Blake McCarthy
The Sullivan's Pub
- Dublin City Center, Dublin -​

It felt strange to be going to the Pub without Adam going as well, ever since they had established what their long-term intentions were, Blake and him had been spending a lot of time together. But tonight, Adam was on a job and despite the anxieties she had about that, Blake had lived long enough in this lifestyle to understand that worrying about it all night wasn't going to change the outcome of it in the end. So, she took Ali up on her invite to join her and Conor at the pub.

After arriving at the pub, Blake scanned the area before finding Conor and Ali, in her hands she had a gift for her best friend. Squealing excited, Blake bounced on her toes before rushing to give Ali a huge hug. "Happy Birthday, love!" Blake said, holding up the gift bag to give it to her before they made their way towards their usual table. She knew Ali was stressed by the idea of getting older but Blake knew full well that every year you survived this lifestyle was something to celebrate. Seeing her best friend fuss about her gray hair, Blake waved her hand and scoffed, "I can hardly see it, babe." Blake told her honestly before Conor returned to the table with their drinks. Smiling widely at him, Blake thanked him softly before listening to Conor tell Ali that she didn't look a day over 30. "It's true! And when you are ready you can open the gift I got you." Blake chimed in before looking towards where the gift had been sat down. Inside it, Ali would find a brochure to France, a destination Blake had been thinking about for a girls' trip. Once she opened it, Ali would see a note that stated that the trip was on Blake.

"Oh god, I sure hope that doesn't happen any time soon." Blake said, thinking about Natasha's relationship with Leo. Watching Ali knock back her drink, Blake smiled at her kindly before Conor grabbed her attention and asked about Adam. Despite her being a full-fledged adult, Blake felt almost like she was going to get lectured on her relationship with Adam. Like she used to get lectured by her own parents when she was a teen. Conor's tone was teasing, but Blake had known him long enough to see that he was nothing but serious. Nodding along with his description of Adam, it was Blake's turn to take a drink before clearing her throat to answer. Luckily, Ali spoke first, giving Blake a little more time to prepare what she was going to say. Ali insisted that a woman never kiss and tell but she stated that she wanted to know everything later. "I'll be sure to give you the rundown later, but I think Conor deserves to know that Adam and I have discusses the nature of our relationship...and we've decided to pursue this further. Neither of us wants to mess this up, so we are both taking it very seriously." Blake informed him, making sure to keep her tone confident and sure.
with: Ali Melanin-Gxdess Conor Misty Gray

 

[Bellz]

Thomas Porter
His Apartment
- Dublin lol - ​

It made Thomas happy to see that Elena was a dog person, some people weren't and unfortunately due to his PTSD Thomas Lucky was more than just a dog. She was his safety when he felt like he couldn't handle the weight of the world or his trauma. As a service dog, she normally knew better than to jump on people but she seemed to like Elena so much that Thomas didn't push to reprimand her any more than telling her to get down. When she asked if she was late, Thomas shook his head to quell any worries she may have had. "Ah don't worry, I wasn't waiting too long, I got lost in tidying up the house." Thomas said with a smile. Hearing she got the wrong house twice, Thomas let out a small laugh, "I hope the people who answered the door were nice to you, most people seem to be nice in this building." He stated. When she asked to come in, Thomas was about to let her inside when she started walking in without hesitation. He once again found himself laughing as he opened the door wide for her to walk through and once she was inside, Thomas looked out into the hall for a long moment before shutting the door and locking it out of habit. It was safer to lock the doors in the house even if one was home, that was a lesson he'd learned from his family's many years of being in constant danger.

Noticing her shoes were by the door, Thomas smirked softly, his mother would be ecstatic about Elena's manners if she was in the know. He thought about his mother not knowing what he was up to very briefly before he focused his attention back on Elena. Watching her turn around in the center of the living room, Thomas couldn't help but be amused at the childlike wonder in her eyes. When she asked if it was all his, Thomas cleared his throat and nodded his head softly. "Ah yea, Lucky, of course, lives with me but she doesn't pay rent so it's mine." He said teasingly. She walked over to the coffee table and asked if it was his table, "Yep!" Thomas said chuckling and as she walked over to the chair, she asked if that was his as well. "All mine." He confirmed and he moved to go towards the kitchen.

"I, uh, didn't start dinner yet as I had been so focused on cleaning, but I can get that started now." He murmured as he moved to grab the ingredients he needed for dinner and also reached inside to grab a bottle of Champagne. When she asked if he liked living in his own apartment better, Thomas nodded his head, moving to twist the corkscrew into the bottle before starting to try and open it. "Uh yeah, I mean...I love my brother, sister, and mom but I felt like if we stayed under the same roof any longer things would start to get tense. Plus my nieces and nephew come over to his place on the weekends so it was starting to get too crowded." Elena then went on to speak about what she would do if she had her own place. That she would do whatever she wanted and eat whatever she wanted for dinner. Then she stated that she would walk around her house without clothes on, Thomas yanked the cork out of the champagne bottle with a loud pop as his cheeks turned bright red at the thought of Elena naked. Some of the champagne bubbled out of the bottle onto his tiled floor, but Thomas didn't seem to care at that moment as his eyes met Elena's.

There was some sort of electricity between them and Elena got closer to him as he placed the bottle on the counter beside him. He froze in place as she continued to come towards him. They were so close that Thomas was at a loss of what to do. He figured he looked like a deer in headlights compared to how smooth and sophisticated Elena was at that moment. She then asked what it was that he wanted now and Thomas opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. The moment was so sexually charged that Thomas felt that if he spoke he would say something so stupid it would ruin the moment. He heard the faint pitter-patter of Lucky coming into the kitchen followed by her lapping up something. Thomas's head snapped to look towards the puddle of champagne and saw Lucky eagerly licking it. "Lucky!! You can't have alcohol!" Thomas said sternly, silently thanking his dogs' misbehavior for breaking the intensity of the moment. "Get away from there, silly girl!" Thomas said before shaking his head and moving to grab a hand towel to soak it up.

Without looking at Elena, Thomas bent down to wipe it all up before moving to throw the hand towel in the sink. After turning back to Elena, Thomas scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry about that...I think the last thing either of us needs is to deal with a drunk dog all night." Thomas said before releasing a deep breath. "Let me get you a glass." After retrieving a champagne glass, Thomas poured Elena some before sliding it in front of her. "I think Lucky is jealous of you and is acting out to get my attention, she's never seen me have a girl over before. Plus, who wouldn't be jealous...you look amazing." Thomas realized what he said and his cheeks turned bright red for what seemed like the millionth time in their few minutes together. Clearing his throat, Thomas moved away from her to grab some cutting boards and a knife. "So uh, I'm going to make mostaccioli. It's an Italian dish...I hope that's okay."
with: Elena Pyroclast

 

[BloodLightning27]

~Pregnancy Tracker~

Pregnancy Progression: 39/42 Weeks

Countdown to Labor & Delivery: 274/294 Days

Weight Gain: 70/71 Kg

~Shirley Kwon~London, England | London Royal Hospital, Intensive Care Unit

Shirley only frowned when Shona had told her that she had been in a Car Accident. Then she remembered the impact that had turned her Taxi upside-down. Although it gave her a migraine to relive that crash, the expectant mother was very much relieved when her friend told her that her babies were completely unharmed. If anything, Shirley thought it was because she was on the side that was not hit. After all, since the impact was hard, she didn't want to think about what would have happened to her babies. Taking another deep breath, she continued to seek comfort in Shona's company, despite the older woman being heavily pregnant herself. At this point, she really did wonder who would be giving birth first between the two. Because with how far along Shirley was, she doubted that they'd go into labor on the same day, let alone at the same time.

The babies continued to kick as Shona stroked the belly, which Shirley found to be soothing. Upon being told that she had been a coma for two weeks, she was once more surprised concerning the health of her twins since they were still healthy and strong all things considered. Next, with Shona's help, Shirley was able to get in her first full glass of water in two weeks, her friend lending a helping hand since her dominant hand was in a cast due to the broken wrist. Shona then proceeded to explain what had happened in that car accident, about how someone had been speeding and didn't stop when they should have. Now remembering the intersection itself, that driver ran a red light! If he was still alive, she would definitely have to ask for help in filing a lawsuit. Shona would then proceed to talk about her injuries, starting with the burns. That would explain why she felt bandages on her upper back. And while the broken wrist was apparent, her heart sank at the mention of the broken legs. Both of them were broken!? That would sadly mean an extended hospital stay...or being in a wheelchair for a while. Either way, it would difficult to take care of her babies when they're born. Speaking of, Shona then informed her that Doctors were willing to induce labor with her consent because she was overdue. At the mention of a C-Section, Shirley's blood ran cold. The idea of a scalpel making an incision to deliver her children sent chills down her spine. "I really hope to avoid that unless absolutely necessary." She said, taking her chance to speak. "Honestly, I hope I can keep my plan of keeping it all natural. No induction...no C-Section..." She sighed.

She proceeded to squeeze Shona's hand, worried and terrified. Before she had a chance to say anything more, Nurse Xiulan returned, opening the door, a clipboard in her arm.

Interactions: Shona King ( Pyroclast )

 

[Misty Gray]

The Sullivans Pub
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~

Conor Sullivan​

Conor flashed a weak smile when Aliana brushed off his compliment and expressed the insecurities she was having about ageing. He knew getting older was proving more difficult for her than it had been for him. Whilst he still loved and was very much attracted to his wife, he knew all too well how difficult it was to convince the woman of that. He was sure she didn't want to feel the way she did either, but overcoming such ways of thinking was difficult to do. Conor knew first hand how hard it was to change unhealthy thought processes and he'd had to have outside help - or interference - from one Maddox Parker.

If he knew about the thoughts Aliana had, he couldn't even act offended or surprised if she did imagine him looking to a younger woman. In his younger years, he had been known to get more than his fair share of beautiful women. He'd always been an especially handsome and charming man, so women practically gravitated towards him. Even now, he was handsome, but added to that, he had significant wealth and power, which seemed to make his own age insignificant in a younger woman's eyes. Of course, he didn't talk about it, but he still had beautiful young women flirting with him now. Temptation was frequently shoved in his face, but the years had matured Conor and brought an abundance of self-control with it. He'd been with many attractive women in his younger life, but had stopped playing around when he realised he'd found the perfect one for him. Whether she chose to believe it or not, Aliana had been the perfect one back then and she remained so now. Alex Romano might have been the mother of his firstborn, but he'd long since realised his relationship with her had been an immature one and it had been more the danger of sleeping with the enemy's daughter that had created the 'spark' he thought had existed with Alex.

"Perhaps later, I will help you come to terms with it," Conor flirtatiously told Aliana. He shrugged his shoulders when she mentioned losing it if Leo made her a grandmother. "Hey, now. Michelle made me a granddad ten years ago and I'm still hot. Maybe I'll develop a kink for grannies," he teased her.

Conor folded his arms when Aliana told him off for grilling Blake on her relationship with Adam. He was glad that the blonde answered him regardless of his wife telling her she didn't have to.
Blake explained that she and Adam had decided to pursue a relationship and were taking it seriously. He knew she was a grown adult and more than capable of making her own informed decisions, but he still didn't feel overly comfortable about the situation. Blake was a close friend and the widow of his late best friend, Jackson. He was in no way trying to stop Blake from moving on as he believed she deserved to be happy and Jackson would have wanted that too. Under normal circumstances, Conor was sure he'd be happy and enthusiastic about Blake finding happiness with another man. It was the man she had chosen that was the problem. Again, Adam was a friend and one of the employees Conor trusted most. That was the problem. Adam was one of the most capable employees of the Sullivan business. That meant he frequently sent the man out on risky and dangerous jobs. Conor had approved the mission 13 years ago that had proved to be a trap in which Jackson was killed. Not only did Conor lose his best friend that night, but he had felt the extra weight of guilt through watching Blake and Natasha grieve. He wasn't sure if he could take that guilt again if Blake grew close to Adam only to lose him too.

"I guess it just surprises me," Conor said, pausing to take a long drink from his pint so he could at least try to reconsider his next words. He placed the pint glass down then shrugged his shoulders. "I just can't picture ladies' man Adam settling down with one woman. Not to mention, the bloke loves the job too much and will gladly take a bullet for someone else. He's fearless and that's why he's one of my top men... Doesn't that worry you, Blake?" he seriously asked her.

Melanin-Gxdess (Aliana)
Bellz (Blake)

 

[Misty Gray]

Rikers Island Prison
~ Rikers Island, New York City ~

James Porter​

It had been 15 days since James had been thrown into solitary confinement; less than a month since he'd last been let out of the very same cell. The small cell was pitch black, still only comprising of a bed-sized concrete platform to sleep on, along with a basic sink and toilet. The first two nights had consisted of some COs beating him enough to make an impact but not enough to kill him or have him sent off to the infirmary. Their orders were very specific; to make Porter suffer but to keep him alive. James had tried to push them into going too far, but the officers knew what they were doing. After the second beating, the COs ceased, putting to rest any plans James had of getting them to finish him off for good the next time. For the remaining 13 days, the officers seemed to adopt more subtle torture tactics. Not a single word was spoken to him in that time, nor did he set eyes on another person. The COs made a point of delivering extremely limited food rations to him at random times of the day. Altogether, they'd moved from physical torture to psychological. The only point the COs had failed to consider was the fact that in the deafening silence of the hole, James could focus on the distant sounds of the prison bells. He'd spent enough time in the prison and in the hole to recognise the patterns throughout each day, so he was able to estimate he'd been in the cell for at least twelve days so far, the fact one of his initial beatings had left him unconscious having made those first couple of days a blur.

The first few days, James' thoughts had taken him back to the lowest points of his life. History had a funny way of repeating itself. It had been four decades ago, but the early months of his first stint in prison hadn't gone too differently. He'd crossed Vinnie Romano and found himself being tortured by prisoners loyal to the Mafia Boss. That was when James had developed the level of focus and self-control he'd carried with him for most of his life. It had taken a lot of practice, though beatings and torture, but James had learned to block out the pain and fight to survive. He'd experienced a great deal of physical, emotional and psychological torture since, but his survival instincts had always kicked in. This time, however, was the first time that state of mind wasn't present. He was never getting out of jail, and now he'd put an end to his agreement with Gabriel, he knew the rest of his life would be spent completely alone with the potential exceptions of being the COs' punchbag.

For the last week or so, James had been in complete solitude. This allowed him to redirect his thinking. If he was going to be left alone with his thoughts then he wanted to think of the positive parts of his life. The first time he and Lucy kissed. The walks along the beach where they would spend hours alone together. The day their adopted children first came to their new home. The fatherly time he spent with Syd, training in the gym and working on cars the garage. Meeting his own mother after a lifetime of never knowing her. The day Thomas was born and the years he'd had with his youngest son before being sent to Rikers. He'd rather die thinking of his family than of the darkness.

James had oddly began to accept the thought of dying in the cell, but that breakthrough had seemingly been put to waste this afternoon when the cell door was finally opened and the blinding light from the corridor burst into the small room. Shielding his eyes with his hand, James shook his head with frustration. It seemed like someone had a change of heart as he was informed by the COs that he was being released from the hole. After a freezing cold shower, he was made to sit alone in the prison canteen to eat some reheated food that had been left over from lunchtime. James was then escorted to an interview room where he found himself sitting across from his lawyer and a police detective. Only, the lawyer wasn't Mitch or Roxie, nor had he seen the snooty-looking, spectacle-wearing lawyer before. With nothing left to lose, James decided to humour the lawyer and detective, hearing out the reason for their visit.

James had left the interview room with a lot of questions that nobody was answering. Despite him being convicted in court for the murder of the cop who had been shot dead in 1971, the case was now being reopened. Although he was guilty of the crime, James had never admitted to it and continued to hold back any confession. Now, he'd just had to repeat the same statements he'd given in court six years ago and had maintained ever since. Guilty he may be, but he would never admit to it. Not only out of pride, but to protect those who had lied and hidden evidence for him. Now, it seemed, more evidence had come to light and the fact James was already serving a sentence for the murder made him think he wasn't the one being investigated this time. His new lawyer, who he had never met before, had spoken with James privately once the detective had left. It seemed that all James had to do for now was continue to hold up his same story and not change any of the details. It seemed positive, but James wasn't about to get ahead of himself. Until those investigating the case gave away more details, all he could do was play along.

Although he had been let out of solitary confinement, James hadn't reclaimed his phone and visiting privileges yet, so he was unable to call Conor or Lucy to find out what the hell was going on. For now, he was left in yet another form of limbo. At least this one wasn't the one where he was waiting for his own inevitable death.

The bell for the evening meal soon sounded and James was one of the first into the canteen, having been taken directly there from the interview room. Having been near enough starved for the last two weeks, James had the server pile a double-serving of food onto his tray. He then sat down at the table he and his allies usually occupied. The COs had kindly informed him that Finch the snitch had been killed by another prisoner the previous week. It was no skin off James' nose and he was taking it as a personal victory that he hadn't been the one to do it on Moretti's command. He'd also become aware that Ramsey had now taken over directing the drugs trade within the prison. Again, another victory for James as he wasn't prepared to lift another finger for Gabriel. At least Ramsey enjoyed sucking up to the Italian boss.

The only thing James wanted to know, he was certain none of the COs or prisoners could tell him. Until he was permitted a phone call to his family, he was sure he would remain in dark, yet again.

 

[Bellz]

Lorelei Costello
Starry Nights Bar
- Dublin City Center, Dublin - ​

Lorelei was thrilled to hear that Benjie had reserved a table for them and when they were seated, she leaned on the table with interest as he talked about how he and Aidan were doing. "A car?! That's great! You're going to love it, if you feel like going on a midnight run to a drive-thru you will have nothing stopping you now." Lorelei said playfully before Benjamin's expression turned a bit serious, which caused her smile to fade as she tilted her head with concern. He stated that Aidan was on a big job tonight, he expressed that he had told Aidan that it was time to retire but Benjie insisted that Aidan wouldn't know what to do with himself if he did. "It's hard to keep the adults from doing what they want to do, I know it took my Aunt Lucy decades to convince my Uncle James to retire. " Lorelei commented softly as she reached her hand out to take his comfortingly. "It'll be okay." She murmured softly. When she had gone on to state that she was sorry for not calling, Lorelei was relieved that Benjie easily forgave her. He warned her to not overwork herself and to take breaks to which Lorelei waved her hand, "Breaks? I've never heard of such a thing. What the hell is a break?" She said with a teasing smile. "They are going pretty good but it's been slow. There was some water damage that needed to be resolved so that has set things back a bit...but it's getting there."

There was a brief pause in their conversation before Benjie asked the question that she was sure had been on his mind since they last saw one another. When he asked how her parents were, Lorelei pulled a nervous smile as she shook her head. "Ah, mom's great. Dad and I haven't been able to see eye to eye since our jailhouse rock so it's been hard to go over and visit lately." Lorelei admitted before sighing. He then asked if she'd heard from her Uncle to which she shook her head, she held her answer as he went on to say that he had this weird dream the other night about visiting his dad and Uncle James had told Benjie to stay away from her. This caused Lorelei to laugh lightly, "Oh he'd be a hypocrite for saying such a thing to you." The redhead said before her face turned a bit serious. "Last I heard anything about him, my mom was talking to my Aunt Lucy on the phone trying to reassure her that he'd call. He normally calls my Aunt every week to talk but it's been radio silent lately...not sure what that means." Lorelei said before clearing her throat and managing a smile as Benjie took her hand.

He stated that there would be no more drama from him and that they were going to have fun. "I like the sound of that!" Lorelei said happily. He asked her what she wanted to drink and Lorelei pursed her lips in thought. "I think I'll take a rum and coke to start." Lorelei said before adding on. "And if you are worried about overwhelming me with drama...don't worry, my family is very theatric. Just a fair warning there. My mother and father are the two biggest drama queens you will ever have the pleasure and displeasure of knowing. At least when you eventually come over for dinner you will get a free meal and a free show." She said with a laugh, "But really, they aren't too terrible. I may be overdramatic myself mind you." She added. "What about you, what's your drink of choice to start this night off right?"
with: Benjie Misty Gray

Roxie Carriveau
Savannah Callahan's House
- Dollymount, Dublin -​

Roxie had been expecting Savvy's house to be put together at this point in the move so when she stepped inside, she was surprised to find almost everything still in boxes minus the main pieces of furniture. She had been hesitant to believe that Savvy was just busy and that's why she hadn't called but looking around, Roxie didn't have to have a degree in psychology to know that Savannah was clearly troubled and upset.

Roxie let Savvy do what she thought she needed to set up the TV, quietly letting her friend vent if/when she needed to. Roxie hadn't been in the best mind space to listen to other people's problems. As harsh as it sounded to other people, Roxie was in a headspace where other people's problems seems so trivial that it was irritating. After losing someone, all the other problems in the world seemed to fade away and any complaint someone had Roxie tended to compare their situation to hers. While it wasn't the best thing to do, it was saving her from having a complete mental breakdown trying to fix other people's problems rather than her own like she had been doing for 13+ years. But with Savvy, she was willing to put all of her own feelings and problems aside to be there for her best friend, as she had done so many times for Roxie in the past.

Watching her get flustered with the TV, Roxie was about to step in and help when she finally managed to get the thing on. Roxie moved to grab the wine glasses and bottles before sitting on the sofa just as Savvy did. Reaching into her purse, Roxie grabbed a wine bottle opener from it. She was sure Savvy wouldn't judge her for keeping one on hand but lately, Roxie had been finding more often than not she needed one when she was out...

"I can read you like a book, Sav." Roxie said when her friend admitted she was lying but let Savvy continue to explain how she was feeling as Roxie made an effort to open one of the bottles of wine. Listening as she stated that she had two weeks to unpack, Roxie took a quick look around her before looking back to Savvy as she finally got the bottle open. Pouring two hefty glasses, she passed one to Savvy before taking one for herself and curling her feet onto the couch to get comfortable. Hearing the long list of things Savvy needed to do but had failed to get done only reminded Roxie of what she still needed to do but she pushed those thoughts aside as she continued to listen. Savvy offloaded everything stating that Callum was going to come back from having a good time with his fun family hating her. Shaking her head, Roxie moved to place a hand on Savvy's as she looked her friend in the eyes. "I know it's easy to give in to that thought that he's going to come home hating you, Savvy, but Callum loves you!"


"Alex may have gotten his way this time but Callum is going to grow up and realize that he needs more than just a fun parent in his life. The treats, toys, and trips will get old very very quickly when he realizes he needs a steady father figure to teach him things that you can't necessarily teach him." Roxie reassured her friend, "You know how many times a month Jeanie says she hates me? Do you know how many times a month she swears that when she gets old enough that she's going to leave and never come back? Does it hurt? Fuck yeah it does, I don't ever hear her say those things about Syd but that's because...unfortunately...I have to be the one to set the rules, to make sure they get their homework done, do their chores...I have to be with them every week. And while Syd is a pretty stand-up dad compared to your low-life ex...he's still the fun weekend dad." Roxie shrugged before sighing, "And the house..." Roxie said looking around her, "You don't need to get it done in time for Callum, he's a kid...as long as his toys are somewhere around here...he'll be as happy as a clam. But...I can help you get as much done tonight as I possibly can, I actually arranged for the kids to stay with Lucy at Syd's place...I'm kinda in the middle of house hunting right now and I want to go look at places without having the Three Stooges make a muck of things. " Roxie said smiling slightly before shaking her head and sighing. "I know I'm not a model parent by any means...but you are doing great Sav. I always knew you were going to make a kick-ass mother given the line of women in your family who raised you, Callum is lucky to have you and Alex...he's lucky you are allowing him to be anywhere near that boy. Your heart is in the right place by letting Callum go see his father but soon your son is gonna be old enough to make that decision on his own and if Alex continues to be a dickhead, Callum's not going to want to be around a man who hurts his mamma. Your family is full of mamma's boys and for once that's a great thing." The brunette murmured before moving to take a long sip of her wine.
with: Savvy Misty Gray

 

[Misty Gray]

Woodlands/Farmland Area
~ The Baskins, Dublin ~​

Spoiler: Scene Head Count

Sullivan Gang:
Main Team: Adam, Aidan, Chase, Katsya, Stella.
NPCs/Distant Surveillance: Doyle, Lloyd
Sweeney Gang:
Phelan Sweeney, Ross
NPC Gang members: 7 Doug, Eoin, Jay, John, Niall, Scott, Shane

Adam Harper​

With Ross' back to the wall, Adam stood facing him whilst aiming one of his M1911s at the man's forehead. "Easy now. You've already seen how fast my reactions are," he warned him as Ross removed his jacket as ordered. Adam pointed to his own feet and the other man tossed his leather jacket onto the floor by his feet. Still aiming his gun, Adam crouched down to check the pockets for any weapons, tossing the jacket aside when satisfied nothing was concealed. "Turn around and place the palms of your hands against the wall, above your head." Once Ross complied, Adam frisk searched the man, confiscating his pistol and placing it into his own back pocket. "Alright. You're all clear for our interview," Adam, said, clapping his hands together.

Meanwhile, Phelan raised a curious eyebrow when Katsya mentioned Adam had questions for him. He already knew the reason for the uninvited guests was nothing to do with the parking altercations, but he wasn't about to admit what he knew of Ross' business in case it turned out it really was about parking. "Hey, I'm just out here having a drink," he protested his innocence. Despite his words, he laced his hands behind his head as instructed, not wanting to make matters worse for his friends. As he was walked towards the cabin, the gunshots cause Phelan to flinch, quickly looking over his shoulder to see Eoin had been the source. He tightened his jaw, hoping the others would stay calm and not make matters even worse.

When Phelan and Katsya entered the cabin, Ross was stood in silence with his back to the wall. Adam, meanwhile, was leaning against the grotty old dining table where he could see both Ross and the others entering the cabin. He nodded to Katsya as the woman commanded Phelan to assume the position whilst she searched him. "I've got a gun and a knife. I'd have handed them over if you just asked," Phelan grumbled at Katsya. It turned out the man was being honest and those were the only weapons she'd find on him. "Look, Harper. I won't park at your gym again, alright?" Phelan protested as he was searched.

"This isn't about the fucking parking, Phelan. Jesus. Though now I'm here, feel free to call me a prick to my face. See where that gets you," Adam goaded him, having heard from Olivia all about Phelan's comments about him, including saying it was a shame Adam hadn't been shot in the head the night of the drive-by. Adam pushed himself away from the table and took a few steps closer so he could face the two men who were now standing with their backs to the wall. "This is about the night I was shot by this man here," he said, casually pointing Ross' own gun at him to indicate the subject. As soon as Ross began to protest his innocence, Adam brought his finger to his own mouth and loudly shushed the man. "Save it. We have witnesses who identified you and you've been tied to the car that smashed into the skip that night. Nothing you say will convince me you're innocent. I'm not here for your confession," Adam assured him. "I want to know who was driving the car and I want to know who instructed you to carry out the attack. I don't for a second believe either of you idiots would have the balls to risk it without some kind of order or incentive."

Ross glanced to Phelan before looking back to Adam. Though he tried to keep a cold, strong glare on his face, the man's clammy forehead and obvious trembling sold him out. "If you're so sure I shot you, then you're just going to kill me anyway. That's how it goes, right?" Ross anxiously spoke up. "I ain't got anything to gain by telling you shit."

Adam let out a low chuckle and slowly shook his head. "Whether you live or die is of no importance to anyone. You're insignificant, mate. Look at me. I'm still alive, ain't I? No real harm done, right?" Adam flashed a smile before lightly shaking his head. "Alright. Let's address the elephant in the room and then we can move forward. You shot me in the arm and I guess I should repay you in kind." Without warning, Adam squeezed the trigger of the gun he'd confiscated from Ross, the bullet lodging itself in the Sweeney man's left shoulder. "There. Now we are even, we can start making progress. Skinny little fucker like you might need treating faster than I did, but I'm sure you'll be fine. The sooner you tell me what I want to know, the sooner you can get that wound fixed up."

Ross screamed out in pain and clutched at his left shoulder where the bullet had ripped through the flesh. The man doubled over, but soon forced himself to stand up straight again. With the man clearly needing a moment to snap out of his stunned state, Adam looked to Katsya. "How about you see if you can encourage Phelan to answer our questions," he prompted her.

"Hey, listen. I had nothing to do with that shooting. I'm not dumb enough to cross the Mob. Ross is a friend who just needed a place to lay low, so I helped him," Phelan quickly assured Katsya.

Group 1: Mitheral (Katsya), Misty Gray (Adam) + Ross, Phelan

 

[Mitheral]

Woodlands/Farmland Area
~ The Baskins, Dublin ~
Katsya Grey​

Katsya couldn’t believe just how stupid Phelan was. She rapped hard on his head with her left hand, hard enough to be painful. “You must have been absent the day God handed out brains. I said don’t speak until Mr Harper asks you to. I guess you want to do this the hard way. I’ve been trying to be patient, respecting the fact that you were a Sweeney. I know Mr Harper doesn’t agree with me on that. Toothpick over there doesn’t share your surname. The whole parking thing? That’s a given.”

She made a thorough search of Phelan pointing out the advantage of having a woman’s help when it came to frisking. “Women don’t mind touching a man’s privates - especially if when he gets obnoxious she can make the process painful.” Only she didn’t take Phelan’s word for his armaments. She placed her Mac-10’s safety on and switched to her K-bar. Then she leaned way down and started at the bottom of his pants leg and sliced up through the material like it was tissue paper. Then she did the other leg, grabbed the waist and pulled the pants away in one simple tug.

“Honesty. That’s a good start. See that Mr Harper. He CAN tell the truth. Now comes the hard part. You know, this isn’t a proper interrogation. Clumsy and ineffective. But I didn’t bring the right tools to be doing this myself. And here I thought I came prepared. I probably have a lot more training in this field. My preferred technique is water torture. But that takes longer than I think Mr Harper has patience for. Maybe he would be willing to leave you alone with me for a few days. You’d be begging to tell me anything I wanted to know. A week and you would believe what I could do. But that isn’t my job.

“Mr Harper just wants to know who put you up to the attack. You may as well tell him. If you don’t we WILL find out anyways. It might take a little longer. But we will. And I won’t use the crude methods of the mob. OR … Mr Harper here may just ask me to put three bullets in you.”

Usually it was the fear of pain or death that induced the truth from a man. But in Phelan’s case, Katsya had a feeling that he was too stupid to tell the truth - or didn’t know it.

“Tell us something useful, Phelan,” Katsya told him. “Pain or pleasure. Your choice. Yes, you actually have a choice. Don’t get cute.”

Misty Gray (Adam) + Ross, Phelan

 

[Pyroclast]

Chase Zegarra​

While Adam had his gun held to Doug’s head, Chase took a moment to briefly pat their hostage down to ensure he had no way of defending himself. He managed to retrieve a Swiss army knife, but that was all. Once it was safely stored, Chase grabbed the man and yanked him close. “Arms out in front,” he calmly instructed, as if he were simply a doctor checking a patient. He took a secure hold on the man, and the blade of his own Buck knife pressed against his neck made sure Doug understood his position. “You walk with me, I don’t slit your throat. Got it?”

Knowing better than to nod in his restricted position, Doug simply sighed and said, “Right.”

Chase let the man’s attitude slide; he already had him where he wanted him, and until they had reached the campfire where the remaining eight men were seated, it was better to keep anything from escalating. With Aidan covering him, he followed Stella around the side of the farmhouse and eventually got close enough to draw attention from the campers. Their laughter died down and all fell into a stunned silence, giving Adam the opportunity to address them.

He didn’t waste time in picking out Ross and Phelan, both of whom were hesitant to follow him at first. However, between the strength of Adam’s glare and the threatening red dot from Katya’s M10 shining on Phelan’s crotch, the two of them eventually complied. It wasn’t long before Chase, Stella and Aidan were left to guard the seven men still sat around their campfire. For a moment everyone remained silent as the two groups observed one another, some of them perhaps still in the dark as to what was going on, and all that could be heard was the crackle of flames and the wind in the trees.

Chase was the first one of them to break eye contact, when he felt Doug attempt to worm his way out of his grip. The man insisted that he was innocent and wasn’t involved in anything criminal, apparently distinguishing him from the rest of his friends. Chase opened his mouth to shut him down, but was cut off by a sudden burst of gunfire; two shots ripped through the air, and just as Chase looked up to see who had fired, the gunman was blown backwards by a barrage of bullets and his body collapsed onto the forest floor.

The first thing Chase noticed was that he could now feel Doug’s rapid pulse; the man had stiffened in shock and backed up against him, breathing heavily. The sudden gunshot had made him jump, causing Chase to accidentally slice the surface of his neck. Chase loosened his grip then - as little as he cared for Doug’s life, he preferred to keep things under control. Accidentally killing him was only going to create unnecessary mess. Sensing the man’s fear, he used his knife-wielding arm to hitch him closer. “You shit yourself now, you’re dead,” he growled into his ear.

He then turned to look at Stella, who had her gun still trained on the group of men. They all stood at her mercy - some staring at her, some staring at Eoin’s dead body. Only one man had dropped to his knees at Eoin’s side. While the shock had seemed to sober up most of the men, this one appeared a bit too intoxicated to have had the same effect. Still clutching a bottle of something in his hand, he bent himself over Eoin’s body and began muttering incoherently as he examined the state of him. Chase thought he could hear him crying, but it was hard to tell over the harsh ringing in his ears.

When Stella dared someone else to try their luck shooting at her, nobody moved. Still maintaining a firm grip on Doug, he briefly observed Stella, noticing a fresh burn on her neck where one of Eoin’s bullets had grazed her. He wasn’t going to ask her if she was okay while she was in the middle of asserting control over the group of men - he could see that she was fine for the time being, even if the adrenaline was playing a big part in that. On their way home, however, he would make sure to check her over and establish any wounds that needed treating.

“What the fuck!” one of the men shouted, keeping his hands where Stella could see them to prove he wasn’t about to try anything.

“John, easy,” another piped up.

“Nah,” John shook his head. “You show up out of nowhere, you take Phelan and Ross, take Doug hostage, shoot Eoin dead - I ain’t takin’ that fuckin’ easy. It’s time one of youse explained what the fuck it is you’re doin’ here!”

Before anyone could answer, another gunshot rang from inside the farmhouse. Chase had been anticipating it, so he didn’t move from the spot. Instead, he and Doug simply watched as all the men snapped their heads towards the source.

“We’re only here for Ross and Phelan,” Chase informed the group. “The rest of you stay still and quiet. Once we get what we want from them, we’ll leave you in peace and you can go back to singing campfire songs, or whatever the hell it is you’re up to out here. We see anyone reach for a weapon, you end up like Eoin. As does your friend here. So I suggest you sit down, shut up and wait for this to be over.”

Interactions
BloodLightning27 Stella
Misty Gray Aidan
Outside: John, Jay, Shane, Niall, Scott, Doug, Eoin's corpse (rip)

 

[BloodLightning27]

~Moretti Guardians: Harmony Ryu & Quadir Taylor~New York City, New York | Wycliff Household

At first, Harmony wasn't sure of how to respond when Don Moretti asked her if Valentina had her working overtime. She wasn't sure if that was possible. Bodyguards do spend a lot of time with whoever they're supposed to be protecting, right? Then again, it wasn't like Valentina needed an entire security team. Well, not yet anyway. Either way, Harmony worked fine on her own, but wouldn't mind if she had to lead a team if it meant maximizing the safety and well-being of the Wycliff Family. "Yes sir. Her safety as well as her family's is my top priority." She replied, not wanting to get too explicit as there was now a child in the room.

Given how Valentina greeted Gabriel, she could only wonder about their Father-Daughter relationship, though it probably wasn't the best given what she has been told and overheard in the past since she was assigned to protect the Wycliff Family. For the most part, Harmony didn't really ask or go out of her way to eavesdrop, as it was an invasion of privacy and the Morettis very likely don't take kindly to nosiness. Not that the Rainbow-Haired Guardian wanted to find out. Nonetheless, she looked over once Cristina had entered the room with her new Hair Extensions that she had helped Valentina pick out earlier in the week. She simply smiled back at the younger woman, happy to know that she was inspired by the rainbow hair...at least until the Don took a closer look at the hair extensions. Her heart stopped when she came to the realization that Gabriel would likely be looking at her as she was the only one in the organization thus far that she knew of to have the rainbow hair, or even colored hair. If any of the other women (or even men) had colored hair, she didn't really work with them enough to memorize or anything. She was then put as ease once Valentina clarified that they were clip-ins. Still, hopefully Gabriel wouldn't scold or reprimand her for this later.

Afterwards, the Don proceeded to pull Teddy aside to have a private conversation out in the backyard. Once the two men had left, Quadir adjusted his jacket. Valentina then proceeded to send Cristina away before asking what Harmony, Quadir and Elvian would have for a drink before informing them that Ricky and Julia were invited. Quadir was unsure of how to react, though Harmony smiled as she was thrilled to see Julia once again. Quadir on the other hand, heard much about Ricky from Jarrick, so he was at least hoping for a reasonable first impression. Harmony proceeded to blush a little when Valentina had told her to enjoy her twenties as the parties would only go downhill from there. She scratched the back of her head before following Valentina to the Mini-Bar. She then remembered that she couldn't drink too heavily, as she couldn't protect Valentina if she was drunk. "Just a Corona for me. Reminds me very much of home. Thank you." She said.

"Just Whiskey for me tonight. Thank you ma'am." Quadir said, watching as Val started pouring some of the drinks and making a mental note to only have ONE drink.

Overall, Quadir just wanted to ensure that he was responsible. Being the driver for both the Patriarch and Matriarch of the Moretti Family, he wanted ensure that he was responsible about drinking. For as long as he can remember, Quadir did not in any way condone drunk driving and often talked to his Brother about his drinking habits, knowing that Jarrick had the tendency to overdrink, which often had him concerned for the younger Taylor's health. Soon, Valentina asked about Jarrick, which had him a little surprised. "He's in Harlem on business, ma'am." He answered.

---

Interactions: Elvian Moretti Melanin-Gxdess | Gabriel Moretti, Valentina Wycliff, Cristina Wycliff Misty Gray​

​

 

[Misty Gray]

Woodlands/Farmland Area
~ The Baskins, Dublin ~​

Spoiler: Scene Head Count

Sullivan Gang:
Main Team: Adam, Aidan, Chase, Katsya, Stella.
NPCs/Distant Surveillance: Doyle, Lloyd
Sweeney Gang:
Phelan Sweeney, Ross
NPC Gang members: 6 Doug, Eoin, Jay, John, Niall, Scott, Shane

Adam Harper​

Katsya confirmed Phelan had been telling the truth about the weapons he had on him. Whilst Adam's opinion of the youngest Sweeney brother wasn't a great one, he did have some respect for Phelan's older brothers. Though they liked to test the waters, they had enough common sense to know their place and not overstep their mark. It was why Conor had opted to leave them out of matters, on this occasion. It was well-known that Phelan was a troublemaker who often brought problems to his own family's doorstep. If Phelan did make it out of the night alive, Adam wasn't sure Conor would continue to show patience towards the Sweeneys and their inability to control Phelan. The Sullivan Boss was becoming less patient and generous as time went by, which had been evident in how he'd had Spencer dealt with. "If Phelan's got an ounce of the intelligence his brothers have, then he'll continue to be honest with us," Adam responded.

Hearing the way Katsya vocally belittled the operation in front of the targets caused Adam to raise a curious eyebrow. For a brief moment, he thought she was going somewhere productive with her comments, but then it amounted to simple criticism for not only the job the were carrying out, but also for their boss who had commanded it. Adam shot the woman a glare but stopped short of vocalising his disapproval and being unprofessional in return. "Unfortunately, there's no water supply to this place," Adam pointed out after briefly considering Katsya's idea of water torture. "That's why Ross has been shitting in the woods," he quoted the words they'd earlier overheard Phelan speak.

With the attention on him whilst Ross was temporarily distracted by the bleeding hole on his shoulder, Phelan scratched the back of his head. Katsya was asking him for something useful and he wasn't sure what he could give them. "Usually when a lass offers me pain or pleasure I'm kinda turned--" he awkwardly began. Realising nobody in the room was impressed with his uncomfortable joke, he cleared his throat. "Listen, I don't have much to tell you." Given that it was already established Ross was the gunman who had shot Adam, Phelan knew he wasn't landing his friend in it by revealing that information. "Ross asked me for somewhere to hide out and I helped him. When a mate comes to you for help, you gotta step up. I wasn't going to rat him out, not to you guys, nor the cops."

"What else?" Adam coldly asked, though kept his attention on Ross as he watched the man squirming in pain. "Maybe I'll take the lady here up on her offer and let her keep you for a week. But you might as well save everyone's time and just talk now."

"I swear, I don't know who paid Ross to do it," Phelan assured them, in the process revealing that someone had put Ross up to it. "And I don't know who was driving. Ross didn't tell me and I didn't ask. If it wasn't one of my guys then I didn't wanna know."

Adam looked to Ross with a crooked smile on his face. "Alright, you skinny little fuck. Who paid you?" Adam asked. When Ross said he didn't know, Adam marched towards him and dug the knuckle of his clenched fist into the man's bleeding wound as he pinned him against the wall. Ross screamed out in pain before telling Adam to stop so he could speak. Adam pulled his fist away and took a couple of steps back, inviting the man to speak.

"I don't know who paid me," Ross spat out, taking heavy breathes to try overcome the pain he was experiencing in his shoulder. "I never saw who asked me to do it. He called me and told me to kill Emery Callahan. A few hours after agreeing, I had an envelope of cash posted to me with promise of more after the job."

"And did you receive more?" Adam asked, buying some time as he studied the sweating man for any signs he was lying.

"Seeing as the gobby ginger bitch is still stomping around Dublin, no, I didn't get paid the rest," he bitterly remarked. Judging by Ross' tone, he wasn't exactly a fan of Emery's. Without warning, his head was jolted to the side by the heavy back-handed smack Adam dealt him. Ross instinctively brought his hand to his face as he massaged his throbbing eye-socket. "Jesus..." he spat out, apparently surprised to have been struck for his disrespectful comments.

"You don't talk about a lady that way," Adam hissed at Ross. "Now. Tell us about the driver?" he calmly persisted.

"Lenny Jones... He scarpered as soon as the job went wrong. All I know is he's got friends in Galway, so my guess is he got well away from here."

Adam took a few steps back from Ross as looked to Katsya. "What do you reckon? Is Ross here being honest with us or do he and Phelan need more persuasion?"

Group 1: Mitheral (Katsya), Misty Gray (Adam) + Ross, Phelan

 

[Misty Gray]

Starry Nights Bar
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~

Benjamin Reznik​

Benjamin accepted Lorelei's comforting hand as she reassured him things with Aidan would be okay. Hearing it had taken decades for James to retire made him wonder about his own father. Had he not been arrested all of those years ago, would Kurt still be working for the mob now? As difficult as it would be, at least he'd have seen more of his father than he did with him being in jail.

"Hey now, breaks are good for you. Even if you're still doing something productive, it's nice to have a change of scenery and activity. For me, a break can be rock climbing or something else as active," he told her. "Oh man, I hope things can get back on track now," he told her, hearing there had been delays caused by water damage.

Benjamin caught her nervous smile when he asked about her parents. It wasn't a surprise to hear him and Lorelei getting locked up had caused some problems with her parents. Still, he had been holding some hope that it wasn't the case, clutching onto the idea of her relations in the mob somehow making their brush with the law seem easy to brush aside. "I'm really sorry about that. I never wanted to cause you any problems with your dad. Should I, like, speak with him and try explain? Reassure him I don't make a habit of causing trouble and that I'm totally boyfriend material?" Though he delivered his words in a playful way, he was serious about it. He hadn't had experience of dealing with angry or overprotective parents before, but he liked to think he'd do well in the situation. He certainly didn't consider himself a bad influence or a tough guy, and he believed the altercation at the restaurant wasn't reflective of who he really was.

Benjamin grinned when Lorelei pointed out that her uncle would be a hypocrite if he did tell him to stay away from her. "I suppose you do have a point. Is your dad as tough-looking as him? I may need to retract that offer to talk with him, if that's the case," he teased. He seriously nodded along as she explained James hadn't been in touch recently. Briefly falling silent, he thought about what that could mean and if he could reassure her on it. "From experience of my dad not calling or me being refused entry when I went to visit him, it's most likely nothing to worry about. Sometimes a whole prison wing can lose their privileges if a few guys cause trouble. Or maybe even your uncle broke some rules. What I am sure about is if something serious happened to him then the prison would have contacted your aunt," he reassured her.

He laughed along as Lorelei spoke of her parents being drama queens. "I do like meals and shows, so I'm sure I can manage to battle through it for a full stomach and the entertainment," he reasoned. However, he allowed his smile to rapidly drop in a comical fashion when Lorelei said she was overdramatic herself. "Damn, really? Is it too late for me to back out on this?" he teased her. "I guess I'll just have to make sure I can keep up with you, Drama Princess."

With talks of getting their drinks, he placed his arm around her and leaned in to listen over a sudden loud part of a song. He gently stroked her shoulder as she asked him what he was drinking to start off with. "Hmmm. I quite fancy an Old Fashioned," he told her. He then pulled his arm away and stood up. "I'll be right back," he told her before making his way to the bar.

After battling through the crowd and waiting a time to be served, Benjamin eventually returned to the table. He placed their drinks down before sitting next to Lorelei again. "Sorry, it took a while to get served, and I wasn't about to call out a group of big guys for jumping the queue. I'm not that far into my workouts yet," he joked.

Bellz (Lorelei)

 

[Misty Gray]

Alex's Home
~ Bethnal Green, London ~

Spencer King​

Spencer couldn't help but laugh at how surprised Alex was about Callum being energetic. "You'd do well to stay active, and I don't just mean for the kid. Business is getting busier and more complicated, so we need you on board," he informed his brother. "But yeah, you can't bribe Callum with sugar. You'll be creating a rod for your own back and he'll be climbing the walls all night. I think most kids are like that," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yup. I'm afraid you're going to have to calm it with the women and the parties." Sitting back in his seat, Spencer looked around the room before his eyes landed back on Alex. "You need to find one woman and try taking a relationship seriously. It is possible, but you just haven't got with the right kind of woman yet. Sav is the settling down type, but she ain't your type. It was a dick move cheating on her, but you two wouldn't have lasted together anyway. Find a lass without a stick up her arse and try actually dating before sleeping with her. Otherwise, you'll end up alone, like Av-a-go Arthur," he said, referring to an old man who was a regular at their pub. The man had a reputation of being a creep who often tried to flirt with younger women only to humorously be knocked back every time.

"At the end of the day, Callum is four years old. Now is the perfect time to change your game and make sure Callum only has the best impression of you as a father. You've got the opportunity to make sure he grows up happy with his childhood. I'm not about to start singing Sav's praises after the shit she pulled, but she has given you a head start. She could have badmouthed you to the kid but she's been decent on that front, so just be the good dad she's let him believe you are."

Spencer laughed when Alex playfully slapped his back and wished me luck with his own soon to be born child. "Well, if this business don't give me grey hairs, I'm sure the baby will," he agreed. "It's going to be tough juggling home life and the business, but I'm used to sacrifices," he pointed out. He then let out a sigh, clearly having some apprehension about it. Soon enough, he vocalised what was on his mind. "I'm concerned about Shona. I mean, not with our baby, because she'll be a great mother and no doubt better at looking after a baby than I am. But that friend of hers, Shirley. She got into an accident and is now holed up in the hospital. Pretty messed up state, from what Shona tells me. And Shirley's expecting twins. In her injured state, how's she going to look after them? I'm worried Shona's going to end up agreeing to help, but we can't take on even more stress." He grabbed his beer and took a long drink from the bottle.

Melanin-Gxdess (Alex)