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

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Wycliff Family Vacation Home
~Long Island, NY~


Theodore ‘Teddy’ Wycliff

​

"I'm serious," Teddy stated with a hint of playfulness in his voice. "The city is so loud and dangerous, whereas out here the only danger is sand-crabs," he joked. Despite their family not living directly in the city, Teddy still didn't like how close they were to it. It could have been because of the recent attack on their family that got him thinking like this but he wanted to move his wife and children far away from the place. Too many things could happen and too many people had easy access to them. Here, along the beach and hidden by trees there were only a handful of ways anyone could get to them. And even then it would be difficult given his recent boost in security. Everything Teddy thought about and wanted had to do with his family and their safety in mind. After Valentina's attack, he vowed nothing bad would ever happen to her or any of his family members ever again, only to have Conor Sullivan test and prove him wrong. No, Teddy was going to make sure it didn't happen and that the other man understood the consequences of his actions; that all of his enemies understood their actions had consequences and that he was better at playing this game than they were.

Teddy let out a slight chuckle hearing Val call Gabe their boss. He was, in a sense, but Teddy had moved past his desire to not upset his father-in-law when it came to his family. Teddy understood Gabe's own need and want to protect his daughter and grandchildren, but at the end of the day, he concluded, it was Teddy's family. "Gabe's going to have something to say about anything we do. What's the point in worrying about it now?" He smiled down at her and returned her kiss before loosening his hold on her. She was looking up at him and he could see the curiosity lingering behind them. Especially when she made her segway into business talk. Teddy was always amused at her ability to do so so subtly and even chuckled when she did so. "You really don't know how to relax, do you?" He meant his comment to be playful, though it came across as hidden annoyance.

He took a seat where she had just removed the plastic and laced his fingers together, looking at her. She mentioned how much time he had been spending with Gabe and Teddy looked down at his hands. The days had passed him by during the time he spent planning, so he hadn't even really noticed. Teddy was always doing something with Gabe so it didn't come across as anything until she mentioned it. "Of course. This can't be some simple slap on the wrist. It was to be a message they - and others - will never forget." He gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders before looking up at her, propping his elbow on the table next to him. She asked him what they settled on and for a moment, Teddy looked worried. He had never lied to his wife much less keep anything from her, but he felt like she wouldn't understand. Valentina had never seen the darker side of Teddy - the side that was willing to kill anyone for so much as looking at her sideways - and he wanted to keep it that way. He scratched his head and gave her a smile. "Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about," he said, tapping his finger on the table before glancing at his watch. "Why don't we all go take a walk on the beach?" He said, trying to change the subject.

Valentina ( Misty Gray )

 

[BasDorcha]

Harper's House
Jeremy Gray
​

As Jeremy made his way to setting the table, be thought about what she had said before he went and grabbed the food. “Ah but all of us Kings got that attitude, it just tends to look better on me.” That was definitely true. He couldn’t argue that she was the best looking of the King siblings, but maybe that was just because she was the only female. “Smells like a campfire… Reminds me of the few times I went camping with my brothers… built a huge bonfire, it was taller than I was at the time.” That was the kind of reaction a good liquor could promote. It would bring about memories long forgotten and send your brain to a place of nostalgia.

He could still feel her hand against his, the warmth and softness, and he found himself thinking about what it would be like to caress her face, brush away those long golden locks of hair, to finish what they had started that night at his party. Where would they be now if Billy hadn’t interrupted them? The look on her face when she did swallow the liquor after following his instructions made something power light in his chest. It was a feeling of pride at her listening to him, following his instructions so carefully, and his quick exit from the table had saved him from having to bite the words good girl off the end of his tongue. It had been part of the over reaction the poor delivery boy had gotten, because in that moment, he had been fighting a tidal wave of emotions that screamed MINE!

A torn mind told him to reward her for listening, and for being so endearing, so he relented on his hard wall of emotions. Her cheeks were already pink as the whiskey settled in her stomach, she needed to eat before drinking anymore. He sat their food out on the table and opened it up for easy access, grabbed two glasses of water and return to his seat.

“You’re welcome, Harper. I don’t mind at all.” He gave her a genuine smile this time when she thanked him. Her next statement earned her a smart aleck, “I told you so,” as he grinned and portioned out food. “If you want to go defend my honor, you’re welcome too, but I think the guy got the hint. The only guy whose getting my attention – ever – will be Billy. Had to break the poor delivery boys’ heart.” He winked playfully, trying to ease her mind with a joke. Instead of sitting across from Harper this time, he sat next to her, although his mind could find no reason to offer her if she asked why the change from across the table to next to her. He simply wanted to be near her.

Stabbing a bite of food on his fork, he lifted it – not to his lips, but to hers. “You’ve started to drink classy, now try this. Take a bite, but with your eyes closed. Part of food is seeing, but when you don’t see, your other senses can heighten flavors and textures.” The food was not something super fancy, but he wanted to see that look on her face again, the one that was surprised by what she experienced. Then he wanted to kiss it away and give her a new look all together. His knees brushed hers, sending sparks up his legs. Her scent surrounded him, and at this distance, it would be nothing to scoop her up and kiss her senseless. He swallowed that thought quietly, and prayed he had enough strength to refrain from it.
Mentions
Harper King - Bellz
Billy King - Pyroclast

 

[Misty Gray]

The Royal Taphouse
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~

Spencer King and Christian Brooks​

In the opposite corner of the pub to where Spencer and Jocelyn were conversing, Christian was seated alone at a small round table. Seated by the window, he had a broad view of both inside and outside of the pub. Whilst he spared many a glance to his surroundings, he was presently reading through the local newspaper. Part of his duties for the Kings was to provide intelligence and up-to-date information that was useful to the Boss, so keeping in the know of the news was a vital aspect of that. He quite enjoyed reading the papers; finding patterns and links between stories or cases that often everyone else seemed oblivious to.

Not all stories were fun to read, but by now he was beyond being shocked by much at all. It was years ago that he'd learned to distance himself from his emotions when required. For all of the death and cruelty he'd had to study in depth for his former career and since resigning from the Police, he wasn't sure anything had got to him the same way as having to investigate the murder of someone he'd once cared for. That afternoon in 1977, he'd entered the hotel room full of his usual confidence and motivation at the prospect of solving another murder case. However, the corpse of the naked, beaten, and strangled woman had been harder to stomach when it had been someone he knew. A woman he'd been in love with years earlier and had remained something of a friend with, even if estranged by that point. No matter what he'd seen and done since, nothing had got to him the way Jodie's murder had. What had made it even harder to take was that his own colleagues worked hard to cover up the case, taking Christian off of the investigation and protecting the corrupt Irish politician in the process.

The killer, the Irish politician, had been untouchable. That was, until a few weeks down the line, Christian leaked information about the politician's seedy private life to the press who had a field day in exposing the man's adultery and visits to the London-based brothel. It turned out, Christian had unintentionally crossed the Irish Mob in the process, which was how he found himself tied up in working for the Kings, with them threatening to reveal his identity to the Sullivans if he didn't work for them. Given that he'd cost the Sullivans political weight and financial loss, he was fully aware the Irish would be out for his blood if they learned the truth.

Six years had passed now. There was no longer the threat of the Sullivans hanging over his head nor were the Kings holding it over him, but Christian continued to work exclusively for the London gang through choice. His parents had been been disappointed when he decided to be a detective instead of a lawyer. They were even more disappointed when they learned he'd resigned from his position with the Metropolitan Police. After that, he'd stopped telling them much about his life, but he knew they were unimpressed when they learned he was now supposedly a freelance private investigator. He wasn't sure they'd be able to handle the full truth, about his employment with the Kings.

As he finished reading the article about the ongoing investigation into the murder of a young woman, he lightly shook his head. Thankfully, Jodie's killer was now dead, having committed suicide months after his seedy private life was made public. Christian wasn't convinced it was a suicide. Whether the Kings had arranged as revenge for him killing the young escort they were friends with or if it was the Sullivans who killed him to tie up any loose ends, Christian was just glad the man was dead. That was years ago and even longer ago was his blind optimism that being a detective would somehow be heroic - that the police were the good guys. Over the years since that realisation, Christian had done many things he wasn't proud of, but he still retained enough justification and moral reasoning to sleep soundly at night. By now, he didn't believe there were any good guys, it wasn't that simple, but he believed in the Kings more than he believed in the Met Police. It also helped that he liked them. From Bruce to Harper, there was something he liked in all of the family members.

*****​

Spencer observed Jocelyn as she anxiously watched the man being served at the bar. He could hear the man's distinct Irish accent. Despite the troubles with the Sullivans, he didn't automatically assume every Irish person was linked to that family. Still, something was getting Jocelyn riled up in that moment. He waited for her to write something down and then read the note once she let him see. Something in the man's tone and accent was familiar to her, perhaps a brother of the men who had attacks her. The fact he'd just heard the man telling the barmaid he'd been in the pub a few days ago and had left before his brothers did nothing to contradict Jocelyn's suspicion.

When Jocelyn offered him a cigarette, Spencer declined, his mind already thinking ten steps ahead in that moment. "You have a smoke while I check something out. Laura's close by," he reassured her. Spencer walked up behind the bar, scooting passed Laura as she served the customer Jocelyn had been distracted by. "Afternoon, mate. Lovely weather, am I right?" he friendly and cheerfully, albeit sarcastically, asked the man, aware it was raining outside. He then reached for a packet of peanuts before returning to the table Jocelyn was occupying. He hadn't really wanted a snack, but he'd used it as an excuse to get a closer look at the man they were suspicious of. Spencer retrieved the three sketches, holding them so nobody else could see the pictures. "I won't be long," he told her.

Spencer had arranged for Christian to be at the pub should Jocelyn give any clues about her attackers. With the sketches of the men in hand, Spencer approached the former detective's table and slid the three pictures in front of the newspaper page the man was reading. "Did you know the Hawthorne Mansion got broken into again on Tuesday? Without a shadow of a doubt, it's an inside job," Christian informed Spencer. Though it couldn't have happened to a better person," he joked.

"Yeah, i don't give a fuck, mate," Spencer replied, flashing a smile. "If Hawthorne can pay staff to make his dinner and wipe his arse for him, then he can afford to have them rob from him too. The toffee-nosed prick." Spencer tapped the three sketches. "I need you to take a good look at those three pictures and memorise the faces. I can't let you keep the drawings with you."

"I can do that," Christian assured him, flashing a confident smile at the Englishman as he studied the three sketches. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?"

"No. The fewer people who know, the better. I just need you to find out who they are for me. There's a bloke at the bar right now who I think is related to them, so I need you to keep tabs on him and see where he leads you. Got it?" he asked the Scotsman.

"Understood. I'm already working on the case as we speak," he knowingly told Spencer, handing the three sketches back to him. "Are you going to be in here to watch the footy tomorrow?" he casually asked.

"Chris.... Is the Pope Catholic? Course I bloody am," Spencer said, standing up and playfully slapping the man's back. "Keep me posted on your findings."

Spencer returned to Jocelyn and sat back in his seat, slotting the three sketches securely into one of his document files. "We'll find those arseholes for you," he assured her. When she tapped her cup and looked quizzically to him, he knew she was waiting for his answer on the gin. He warmly smiled at her before nodding his head. "I'll put an order in for all of the usual clubs. A 12-month deal, for now. We'll do the main clubs and a small order to this place. I'm not convinced the blokes in here will go for it, but we'll keep some in stock just in case."

BasDorcha (Jocelyn)

 

[Misty Gray]

Wycliff Family Vacation Home
~ Long Island, NYC ~

Valentina Wycliff
~ Cristina and Paolo ~​

Valentina couldn't deny it was tempting to leave the city and live by the beach. Granted, she would get bored if she didn't have any work to do, but there were plenty of opportunities for hotels on Long Island. As Teddy put it, Gabriel would complain about anything they did, so why not give him something to really complain about? After having to move for her father's business, wasn't it about time she decided when and where she went next?

When Teddy commented about her not knowing when to relax, she smirked and shook her head in an exaggerated manner. When her husband took a seat, Valentina did the same, pulling a chair next to his and resting her head on his shoulder. She looked out towards the ocean as she waited for him to answer her serious questions. She listened as he told her the Sullivans had to be punished with more than a slap on the wrist. "Yeah, I figured that..." she trailed off, knowing a lasting message needed to be sent to the Irish. She lifted her head from his shoulder and turned to look at him as he shrugged his shoulders. She was willing him to continue explaining it to her. Then he scratched his head, causing a slight frustration to simmer in the back of Valentina's mind.

With a smile, Teddy told her she didn't need to worry her "pretty little head". His comment was not met with a smile and when he suggested they all went for a walk on the beach, she quickly shook her head. "Are you seriously going to do that?!" she asked, now turning in her seat to face him head on. Her tone had turned harsh and more assertive. "Our daughter was kidnapped and I'm asking you what is being done about it. Don't brush me off like that, Teddy. I think you've been spending too much time around Papa," she snapped. "I've had half of my life dictated to me for this business. I was beaten and raped because of this business. My daughter was kidnapped because of this business. The least I deserve is to be given a straight answer when I ask a straightforward question!" she ranted at him. "What the fuck, Teddy? Don't treat me like a child, else you'll be going back to my father in the city whilst the kids and I worry about the sand-crabs."

Melanin-Gxdess (Teddy, Francis)

 

[Bellz]

Peter Callahan
Saint Saviour's Church
~ Beaumont, Dublin ~​

"Again Grandpa! Again!" Hattie demanded as Peter had just set her down on the floor after lifting her up and carrying her around the house as if she was flying. Peter wasn't someone who could easily say no to his grandchildren and although his back was killing him at this point, Peter smiled and nodded his head. "Alright Hattie, one more time around the house, and then Grandpa needs a rest." Peter kept up on his promise and carried her around once more. This time Braden was waiting in the family room when they returned to it. "Having fun, are we?" He asked lightly as Hattie practically leaped out of Peter's arms to run to her father. "Daddi!" She exclaimed and Braden laughed softly as he picked up his daughter and held her tightly, "Having fun with Grandpa?" He asked sweetly to which the little girl nodded her head happily. "He let me fly around the house like a superhero!" Hattie stated and Peter nodded, "That's because you are a superhero, little one." He was just about to sit down on the couch to rest when the phone rang.

Braden offered to get it but Peter waved his hand and shook his head, "Now now, I'm not that old, I can get the phone Brady...I'll be right back." Walking into the next room, he answered the phone rather cheerfully but that cheeriness had soon diminished as a young woman by the name of Patience explained to him that Sinead had been stabbed in an attack and someone had tried to take his youngest child. He reached out to grip the table that phone was sitting on before telling the woman he would be there in the next 5 to 10 minutes. Peter rushed to get on his shoes before explaining to his eldest son what had happened and soon he was out the door.

Speeding was something that his wife didn't approve of every...but Peter knew, in this case, she wouldn't mind. After getting about two blocks away from the church, an ambulance turned out in front of him and Peter followed dangerously close behind it. Both vehicles were parked and Peter rushed out of his car without turning it off and ran towards his wife who he saw laying on the ground bleeding with Liam, Silas, and Patience all standing around her. "Liam! Sinead!"Peter called out just as he made it to them, immediately kneeling down to examine his wife. "Sinead, my love! Who did this to you?!" Peter asked, his voice heavy with emotion as it threatened to close on him. Tears welled in his eyes and fell down his face as he turned to Liam and opened his arms to him. Peter then looked to Silas for answers, "Did you see who did this? Any facial features? The car they were driving?" He asked, his hands shaking as he reached out to his wife to take her hand.

The paramedics just arrived and asked everyone to move away from her but Peter held his ground as he squeezed her hand tightly. The paramedics asked him to move and he shook his head, "You can work around me! Focus on her and not what I'm doing, damn it!" Peter shouted at them. He wasn't in the way and he didn't want to be away from her in case anything happened. Tears flowed uncontrollably, as he looked to his wife with a pained smile. "You're going to be okay, love. You've survived far worse than this...just let them take care of you. I'm not leaving your side."
with: Sinead + Liam + Patience Misty Gray ; Silas Pyroclast

 

[Pyroclast]

Bruce King
Billy King​

Despite the suspicion Darcey had planted in his mind about May, the sight of Erik trying to conceal his amusement at her teasing remark about Alex's promiscuity drew a laugh from Billy, and even Bruce couldn't hold back a twitch of a smile. However, his attention was soon back on the subject when Darcey confirmed that May was indeed a blood relative of the Sullivans, and that the young woman had always known. Placing his teacup back on the table, Billy folded his arms and leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. Darcey left no room for interruption as she went on to explain how it was unlikely that the young woman had any affiliation to the Irish mob given her distant relation, but hearing that she had a brother over there didn't sit well with him. Though earlier on in the meeting he had felt a little odd discussing May behind her back, he was now glad that she wasn't there as he needed some time to process the news and to figure out how he felt about it. That is, until Darcey announced that May was about to join them. Billy sat up in his seat and looked over at Darcey, holding up his hands to try and slow her down. "Hang on a minute, can we just -"

But the door opened before his words could come to mean anything, and the woman in question stepped inside. Darcey started by introducing her to the meeting but Alex jumped up before she could finish and got up in May's face, questioning in an aggressive tone what secrets she had been spilling to Conor Sullivan.

The sigh that came from Bruce went unheard as May went beyond Alex's level of aggression, slapping the man before shouting back in his face. Alarmed by the scene, Billy leaned forward to sip on his tea as he watched it unfold, believing that to interrupt would likely only make things worse. Erik had told him about the impressive way in which she had recently handled the two drunk troublemakers at the nightclub, but he hadn't expected her temper to be quite so short. Even though Alex's aggressive confrontation had been rather thoughtless, Billy found the fury that May unleashed upon his brother to be unexpectedly extreme.

The single accusatory question that Alex had fired at her seemed to have hit a nerve as May stomped her foot and ranted about losing respect for their family, how her Sullivan relatives had done nothing but hurt her and how she had been abandoned by both of her parents. Billy's jaw hung agape as he watched her emotional outburst with astonishment. Across the table, he sent Erik a look that said, you told me she was fiesty, but not batshit…

"That's enough!" Bruce asserted, raising his voice. "Alex, sit your arse down and control yourself. And for god's sake, girl, pull yourself together - no one's askin' ya' to leave just yet. Now, let's all just calm down and talk like Darcey called us here to do, yeah? Think we can do without all the dramatics, thank you very much." Bruce locked eyes with May and gestured towards a spare chair away from Alex that she could take.

With the tension still hanging in the air, Billy stood up somewhat awkwardly and drew himself towards the tray of drinks. "D'ya want a tea or coffee?" he lightly asked her, afraid to tempt out the beast within her. It crossed his mind that he would be arming her with a scalding hot drink, but he just wanted to help her calm down.

"God, maybe the hiring process should include a course in anger management," Bruce tutted with a shake of the head. He peered over his spectacles at May, his gaze now softening slightly. "Let me be clear: I don't appreciate any employee of ours hitting my nephews, even if they deserve it. If anything’s gonna get you fired, May, it’ll be that bloody temper of yours. And Alex, if you're trying to prove yourself a responsible member of this firm, you'll have to do a lot better than that. I want no more provocative comments coming from you, or from anyone at this table." Taking a moment to sip on his coffee, Bruce then linked his hands together atop the large oval table and let out a steady exhale. He waited until Billy had finished sorting out any drinks and had reclaimed his seat before sending Darcey a nod of acknowledgement.

“Alright,” Bruce began. “So, let me see if I’ve got this right; May Thatcher, you are, by blood, a relative of the Sullivan family. Now look, I could sanction you for neglecting to tell me this when you first came under our employment, as I take that sort of thing extremely seriously...but for now I’ll leave that to be dealt with another time. I can also acknowledge that back then there was a lot less tension between us and the mob, but even so.” He took another sip of his coffee, brows furrowing lightly as he reflected on everything he had heard, before setting his quizzical eyes on May. “I believe your personal ties to the Sullivans have always been fairly non-existent, as you say. What concerns me most right now is this brother of yours. Darcey here says he is rumoured to be workin’ for the family in some way. Are you in touch with him, May? What can you tell us about his involvement with the Irish?”

Interactions
Melanin-Gxdess Darcey, Alex, Erik
BasDorcha May

 

[BloodLightning27]

~Shinoa Bradford~Dublin, Ireland | Sutton Park

For the most part, Shinoa was embarrassed when her stomach growled at the mention of dinner. If she was still pregnant, she'd definitely start crying because that would be much more embarrassing. Well, if she were to have another baby (which probably won't be any time soon), maybe then she'd have to deal with that. Still, it was way too early to be thinking about something like that, especially since Lillian was almost a month old and it hadn't felt all that long since she was in that delivery room, screaming and crying in pain while squeezing Lucy's hand. Either way, the baby blues weren't hitting her too hard this evening and she was happy to be back in Tom's company. For dinner, she ended up choosing a Chicken Salad as she wanted to eat a little light.

It was not long until they had made it to the beach, where he helped her set up the picnic blanket while she made sure that Lillian was alright. The little infant was such a heavy sleeper, sometimes she worried that something was wrong because of how quiet it got on some days. Even when she was awake, she didn't cry a whole lot. Only times she would is if there was a soiled diaper or a growling stomach. Before she sat down with Tom, she detached the carrier from the stroller so that the little one can be closer to them.

“So, tell me a little bit about you. Where are you from? How did you end up here? How did you meet Mrs. Lucy?”

Shinoa was a little surprised by how he got up to three questions in rapid succession, but didn't mind and just ended up answering them in order after he told her a little bit about himself.

“Sorry, I forget to slow down sometimes. Let me tell you a little bit about me. My name is Tom, short for Thomas Thatcher. I’m from here in Dublin, I have a sister, a brother and me mum. I just got out of the military not to long ago, right before I started on at the shop, and I left home early to join – sixteen actually.”

"I'm originally from the United States, but ended up here because of my deadbeat Mom who...disowned me. And I haven't been able to get ahold of my Dad, so...I've been here ever since. And no siblings. Had a few cousins, but I haven't really been able to contact them either. And how I ended up here, is because of my Mom. Gave me a plane ticket to my Dad's. I didn't check it and next thing I know, I was on a one-way trip to Dublin. And no way back. Very little money. Spent most of my pregnancy trying to keep a roof over my head. I met Lucy when I was thirty nine and a half weeks pregnant. Someone tried to kill her Niece and Nephew and I saw what happened and that person threatened me and an unborn Lillian. That same night, her Niece called her and she helped me with making better living arrangements and she helped me through labor and she was in the delivery room with me." She said as she straightened out her hair, while looking over at Lillian who yawned in her sleep. "And now I'm just trying to adjust to life as a new Mom, and hoping that things iron soon. I heard her Husband's back in town. I haven't met him yet, but I hope he's okay with the idea of being a Grandpa, like how Lucy is a Grandma."

Shinoa would then join Tom once he finished sorting out the food. Quietly she munched on her salad. "So what was it like in the Military? I can't imagine was easy. And now that you're out, do you have any hobbies? Things that you can now enjoy?"

---

Interactions: Thomas Thatcher BasDorcha
Mentions: Emery Callahan, James Porter (Indirect), Adam Harper Misty Gray | Lucy Porter Bellz

 

[BloodLightning27]

~Harmony Ryu~Long Island, New York | Wycliff Vacation Home

Although Teddy was ice-cold during their tough conversation, Harmony didn't allow it to get to her and kept a straight face even if the venom in his voice was enough to freeze her blood. Like many of her co-workers, even Harmony was afraid of the consequences if failure to protect the members of the Moretti Family ever came around. Even if what happened with Cristina was not her fault, it sure as hell haunted her nightmares, given the small friendship she had established with the young girl, starting on her first week being assigned to the Wycliff Family. It was odd to think that they had bonded over the color of her hair. In addition, helping Valentina look after the three Wycliff Children did boost Harmony's own confidence when it came to taking care of them, even if Paolo was a handful at times. In some ways, Harmony did envy Valentina for the family that she had, but kept it to herself as Val and Teddy had started this family before her working for Gabriel was a thought to even cross the Patriarch's mind.

Soon, five other men, dressed in Hawaiian shirts and jeans, approached. Soon, they were introduced to Harmony as her 'Bodybags'. While they didn't really have an issue with a woman being in charge, as Moretti's Daughters were well-weaved into the family business, what they did have a partial gripe with was the simple fact that Harmony was not even of Italian Descent. Although Celso, the heavier of the five men, wanted to speak out, even he knew that Teddy was not looking to argue about it, especially after what happened last week. The men looked at each other and only nodded. Once their instructions were given, they agreed without further question. Ignazio, the youngest of them, flinched when Teddy shouted for them to keep their walkie talkies on them at all times. As soon as Teddy was out of view, the five men found themselves at Harmony's mercy. "So, what are your names? So that I know who's who."

"Celso."

"Rino."

"Romeo."

"Luca."

"Ignazio."

"Pleasure to meet the five of you. So, you guys heard our Boss. Now, before I send you all off to your posts...which one of you is the better marksman. And I hope you guys packed a Rifle." Harmony replied, arms folded.

The five men looked at each other. "I am." Ignazio raised his hand.

She looked over at the other four, having some doubt as Ignazio looked younger then even her. "And the four of you vouch for him?"

Celso, who was the oldest, looking to be in his mid-forties, nodded. "Yes ma'am. He never misses. At least as far as we have seen. Why, do you need one of us to be a Sniper?"

"No, he'll be patrolling with me. The rest of you will go to your posts that Mr. Wycliff has specified. If that is going to be a problem, then I hope you're good in a fist fight." She responded as Ignazio moved over to the trunk of one of the cars to grab a Rifle. "Anyway, I suggest the rest of you grab other guns too. If anyone comes here, I want us all to be ready. Return fire only. If you see anyone who shouldn't be here, let me know and I'll talk to Mr. Wycliff about what we should do with them. But if they're also armed, shoot first and ask questions later. If anyone...gets close to that house...Don't expect me to be happy about it. Now are we clear, gentleman?"

"Yes Ma'am." Romeo nodded.

Soon the team dispersed to their posts, with Rino and Celso staying by the front gate, while Romeo and Luca went around the back to stay by the Beach. This left Ignazio partnered up with Harmony as they began their patrol, wanting to give Teddy and Val the privacy they deserved and the peace they very much needed to spend quality time with their children. Harmony checked her Handgun to ensure that the safety was off as well as adjusting a pair of Sais and keeping them concealed in her jacket. "You have any extras? Surely Don Moretti keeps you guys armed to the teeth after what the Irish pulled last week."

"Yes Ma'am, what can I get for you?" Ignazio asked.

"I'll take this." She said, grabbing the Sub-Machine Gun.

After she turned the safety off and chambered a round, Harmony and Ignazio began their patrol around the property.

---

Interactions: Theodore Wycliff Melanin-Gxdess | Harmony's Posse: Ignazio
Nearby: Valentina Wycliff Misty Gray | Harmony's Posse: Celso, Rino, Romeo, Luca

 

[Pyroclast]

Syd Porter​

Around the time of Jackson’s passing, Syd had been in the midst of an intense course of ECT treatment after making an attempt on his life. Between the side effects of receiving induced seizures and the manifestations of his psychosis and depression, there was a lot about that year that he couldn’t remember, or of which he only had hazy, muddled memories. But there were a few events that would stick in his mind forever, and one of those was being there for his Godfather’s death. Those agonising few minutes from when the three bullets entered his chest, saving Syd’s life in the process, up until he took his very last breath...Syd remembered it all. Every second of it. The details didn’t haunt his mind so much these days, but hearing Blake remind him that Jackson had considered him a son and that he would be proud of him for looking out for Blake, it was like hearing the man’s final words all over again. It had been Jackson’s dying wish that Syd looked after Natasha and Blake on his behalf, so of course he had wanted to live up to that. He had just never heard Blake acknowledge it in such an emotional way before. With a wistful smile, he bowed his head, unsure how obvious it was that his eyes were beginning to redden at the edges.

Regardless, Blake gave him no choice but to meet her gaze when she guided him by the shoulder and willed him to look her in the eyes. He kept the same wistful smile on his face as he listened to her encourage him to go out and find love. In a way he supposed he did feel too old for it, but only really because he hadn’t made any progress in the romance department since losing Roxie, nor did he feel in a good place to be dating anyone. When it wasn’t the business, it was some sort of family commitment, or the thought of how his kids would handle him dating someone, or his general health that put him off the idea. But he also supposed that Blake hadn’t expected to find love again either, and yet she had managed. How exactly that had happened in the first place Syd wasn’t sure, so he couldn’t imagine how it could happen for him, but she had still proved that the unexpected was possible.

Syd leaned in to return her hug, still saying nothing for the slight lump that was forming in his throat. He had to try not to sigh when Blake suggested that he still had a chance with Roxie - as much as he still cared about her and wanted her in his life, his guilt had forced him to let go of the idea that she would ever want to get back together with him. Now more than ever, given her recent bereavement. It seemed so unlikely that the mere suggestion felt a little cruel to him. Still, she made a good point about Conor and Aliana, still together despite their tumultuous relationship. Even when they really hurt each other, they somehow always found it in themselves to forgive. She mentioned Peter and Sinead, too, who had also stuck together through thick and thin. His relationship with Roxie at the time they were together hadn't been strong enough to endure the trials they had faced, but maybe he could ask his uncles and aunts for some advice. Blake finished by asking him to promise not to give up on looking for love, prompting a thoughtful, somewhat dismissive sigh from him.

"It's a nice idea," he half-heartedly agreed, showing her a weak smile. "I'll remain open to it. It's not that I want to be alone…I'm not sure I know how to let anyone in at this point. She’d have to have a thing for drama, trouble, chaos and broken middle aged men with emotional problems. It’s not like I can make someone fall madly, unconditionally in love with me before I put her through all my shit - not unless she can fall in love within an afternoon.” He gave a self-deprecating chuckle before taking a deep breath. “Besides, somebody that foolish probably isn’t the kind of person I’d want around my kids, you know?” Realising he had let his mind veer towards his own issues rather than focus on Blake’s newfound happiness, he pushed himself back from the breakfast bar to reset his mind, and that’s when he caught a glimpse of his watch.

“Anyway, um…I-I need to...I have a meeting with Conor at his place, so I should get going,” he mumbled. When he smiled at her, he realised he had to force it a little. “I’m sorry, I should have picked a better time to see you. We need to get together more.” Getting to his feet, he hesitated slightly, slowed down by everything that was now on his mind, before moving in to warmly embrace her. “I’m happy for you, Blake,” he softly uttered. “I’m looking forward to seeing you two together. I think you’ll make a sweet pair, and it’ll be good to see you smiling and to know you’re being looked after. Adam’s a great guy.”

As he parted from her and started to make his way to the exit, he wondered if his relationship with Adam might change. Syd had been 19 or so when his Godfather and Blake had got together, so he had come to see her as more of an aunt than a mother, but now that he was in his 40s, he wasn’t sure if that had changed over the years, into a comfortable adult friendship. She would always be family to him, though, and so would Adam, but not quite in the same way as Blake. “Just don’t let him get all Uncle-y with me, yeah?” he joked, turning to face her with a quick smirk. It quickly faded, however, when he had to stop himself from making a comment comparing him to Jackson.

“Okay...take care, Blake, and thanks for talking to me,” he said, moving in to kiss her cheek before backing out of the front door. “Love you.”

* * * * *​

It wasn’t far to get to Conor’s house from Blake’s so Syd had opted to not bring his car and instead walk the distance. Only a few metres down the road however did he begin to regret his decision. Those extra few minutes spent inside his head was all it would take to bring him down. His mind had sunk into thoughts of seeing Blake with somebody new - which he loved the idea of, but had mixed feelings about...and thinking of Jackson and how he would feel about it all: Blake finally moving on, and Syd still not managing to. Everything had changed so much since Jackson was around and it still brought a deep ache to his chest to think of everything the man was missing.

Several times on his walk, the weight of his thoughts had slowed him almost to a halt before he remembered where he was going. By the time he eventually made it to Conor’s house, he was really quite late and not feeling all that stable. He stood at the bottom of his uncle’s driveway for a quick smoke and practiced some of the techniques his therapists had taught him over the years to help calm himself down.

A few minutes later, he unlocked Conor’s front door with the key he had and locked it again from the inside before making his way towards the man’s office. He knocked but opened the door anyway, having already been invited. “Hello,” he greeted them with a forced lack of emotion, before closing the door behind him. “Sorry I’m late, I was just…” He ran a hand through his hair as he sat in a chair beside Roxie. “Visiting Blake. Must have lost track of time.” He looked at his uncle and then at Roxie, noticing the heavy atmosphere around them and the grave expressions on their faces. “Everything okay?” Fidgeting to get comfortable in his seat, he looked to his uncle again with a somewhat anxious expression. “What was it you wanted to discuss, Uncle Conor?”

Interactions
Bellz Blake, Roxie
Misty Gray Conor

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Golden Galleria Car Garage
~Corringham, UK~

Darcey Hargraves, Alex King, & Erik Snowden​

Erik watched on in shock and amusement while Alex took May by the arms and shook her. Having seen her in action, he knew she wasn't about to let him get in her face without some sort of consequence. That consequence came in the form of a slap, which only pissed Alex off more and made him clench his jaw. His eyebrow twitched as she used his full name then threatened to spread lies about him. Erik suppressed a laugh and covered his mouth to hide the grin of amusement from showing to the rest of the room. Darcey remained quiet for the time being, watching as May stood up for herself. She hadn't expected the girl to go and slap him, but what could she say about that right at this moment? Instead, she let her get whatever it was she needed off her chest.

Alex stared down at May as if disgusted to even be in her presence. He didn't care what Darcey said about her bloodline nor about her not ever being around the Sullivans. The fact was she had Sullivan blood running through her veins. These were the same people who were being assholes and sticking their noses in places they didn't belong. "Disrespectful dog," Alex repeated under his breath, letting out an unamused chuckle before letting her go, albeit roughly. "Watch yourself," he told her before taking a step back. Despite watching his father growing up, Alex would never hit a woman. Sure, he would be verbally abusive from time to time or even get rough with one but he would never hit them. He was determined to be better than Trevor, which is why he forced himself to let May go and back up.

Glancing over to Billy, Erik caught the look he was given and gave him a subtle head nod - 'Oh, but I told you she was something!' - his eyes responded, eyebrows shooting up. He was glad he hadn't opted out of this meeting, seeing as it was much more fun than the ones he had been in in the past! Sure, he was supposed to be paying attention for Moretti but he was too entertained at the moment. Darcey was also aware of how short a temper May had and it was one of the many reasons she wanted to take her under her wing. In Darcey's experience, being level-headed was much more effective than flying off the handle at fickle things such as someone calling you names. She pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, letting out a deep and heavy sigh. "Thank you, Bruce." She said, glaring at Alex. The younger man shook his head at her, looking off to the side and bouncing his leg. Now he was all riled up and he couldn't even leave the room. He was stuck in here with her.

Bruce made a remark about his hiring process as Billy moved to get May a drink, to which Darcey gave a nod in agreement. "You'd think we'd be the ones with anger issues, considering our upbringing," she stated, referring to WW2, "Yet here we are." She finally took her seat again next to May to give her some comfort. The last thing she wanted the younger woman to feel was attacked and it didn't help that Alex had gone on a tangent. It was understandable - his brother had been attacked, his son basically held hostage, all by the Sullivans - but it didn't make him right. The moment Bruce addressed him, Alex sat up in his seat. He was clear that if he were to be proving himself then he wasn't allowed to make any more snarky comments. Alex pursed his lips then opened his mouth to speak, but when he caught the look Darcey had thrown him he closed it. "Fine," he said, glaring at May. "I'll play nice." He crossed his arms and slumped back into his seat before tearing his eyes away and giving Bruce his full attention.

Darcey's eyes remained on Bruce until the moment he stopped talking. She was trying to gauge how he really felt about all this considering his demeanor was still so calm. It wasn't a surprise to her how calm he was, but she still wanted to know what he thought. It was always a struggle trying to read the man and it had always been that way. With each passing year, she hoped he would slip up, that something would give her a sign but he hadn't changed in that aspect. Instead, she was sat staring between him and May left guessing how he felt about the woman across from him. At the mention of May's brother, Darcey leaned forward to search the piles of pictures on the table before she found one of Tom at Syd's garage. She slid it over to her and tapped his face with her index finger. "That is him, isn't it?" She was 95% sure the man in the picture was her brother, but she wanted May to confirm it for the room. She knew Alex wouldn't like to hear it, but she needed it to be said. The point of Darcey calling this meeting wasn't to put May on the spot - well, not entirely - but to show them May wasn't a threat.

Call it woman's intuition, she thought, but something told her they had nothing to worry about. Still, Darcey knew all of this needed to be done, especially with the new business ventures Bruce had gone and obtained with Gabriel Moretti. She still didn't know how she felt about him and had done her own digging into him too, but she couldn't focus on that right now. Right now, she was watching May and beckoned her to speak and explain her intentions to the room.







Bruce, Billy ( Pyroclast ) May ( BasDorcha )

 

[Melanin-Gxdess]

Wycliff Family Vacation Home
~Long Island, NY~


Theodore ‘Teddy’ Wycliff

​

The smarter side of Teddy knew that the moment those words left his mouth he was going to regret them. She turned her chair to face him while Teddy remained in his position, unphased by her reaction. He knew, he had to have known how she was going to react. He knew he was brushing her off and knew she wouldn't take kindly to it, yet he still did it. Maybe he thought this would be a one-time thing where she really did just drop it - it wasn't. Instead of reacting immediately, Teddy took a deep breath and prepared himself for the lashing he was about to get for basically insulting his wife. It was clear that whatever plan he had set in motion wasn't just a reflection of him, but also one of her. Christina was her child also so why shouldn't she have some sort of say as to what happens to the Irish for it? She was right to be upset, but Teddy wasn't going to address that at the moment. Instead, he let out a low scoff, shaking his head when she said he'd been spending too much time with Gabriel. "Don't fucking compare me to your father," he told her, looking out to the ocean. "I'm not brushing you off, either. I just don't think you need to be worrying about it right now because of everything that's happened." He then listened intently as she ranted about her upbringing in the mafia life.

Teddy was fully aware of the things his wife had gone through - hell, he had been around for one of them. His head whipped to her when she mentioned, suddenly concerned about her mental health. Any time she mentioned the past he was worried that she would begin spiraling again, which isn't something he wanted to happen. While she talked he absentmindedly patted his pocket, feeling for the spare pill bottle he carried around in case she forgot her pills. Feeling them he relaxed and let her continue going off on him. "Fuck, Tin," he said, letting out a dry chuckle. "We're meant to be relaxing, right? I don't want you worrying about what's going on over there. Let Damian and Tatiana do their jobs and-," he paused midsentence, realizing that he had screwed up. Teddy wasn't stupid. He knew Valentina knew about Damian's creepy profession and that Tatiana had been doing a lot more... Bloodier jobs as of late. It wouldn't be too long before She put them all together, so he may as well come out with it.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed and turned to her. "I would do anything for you and the kids, you know that, right? I mean, I've quite literally killed for you and I would do the same for our children if anyone laid a finger on them and, well, someone has." Teddy's voice grew low, not wanting any of his children to overhear the conversation he was having with their mother. "You want to know so badly?" He asked, searching her eyes for any sign that she actually didn't want to know. Finding none, he gave his shoulders another nonchalant shrug before turning towards the ocean again. For some reason, he was finding it hard to remain eye contact with her knowing what he was about to say. "A decade ago, Tony and I were out and I just wanted to find out how I could really get to Sullivan. Back then he was on probation and I was trying my damndest to get him thrown back in prison but, well, our lovely Maddox fucked that plan up." At the mention of the psychiatrist turned traitor, Teddy rubbed his hand across his face before continuing. "Up until a week ago, I thought it was just his wife, but his kids mean a lot to 'im too," he let out a dark chuckle and rubbed his eyebrow with his index finger. "Everyone says family makes you stronger and it's a lie, Tin, it's our greatest weakness."

Teddy paused to look at her, gauging if she were following along before he continued. "I'm above hurting innocent children, but his son isn't a child anymore. And his wife, well. Unfortunately, Conor Sullivan has committed a sin he can't pay for, so his wife will have to for him." Had Teddy not been listening to the sounds around him he would have missed how cold his voice had gotten. How dark it was compared to the light, warmth he had just moments earlier. The side Teddy had worked for a decade to keep from her had shown itself and while he knew he couldn't go back, he worried just how much of his life - how much of his marriage - would change.

Valentina ( Misty Gray )

 

[Bellz]

Lucy Porter
Thomas Porter
Porter Residence
- Sutton, Dublin - ​

Lucy had been seriously expecting things to be much tenser than they were, so much so that she was shocked into silence as conversation carried on without her assistance. The blonde woman stared rather openly at her son as he brought up a memory to ease into the conversation. A small smile formed on Lucy's lips at the reminder of all the times her rolls had been used to hit someone in the face. Lucy rolled her eyes as Olivia said her face was red as a tomato when the incident occurred, "I don't think it was that red." She tried to save face but Thomas shook his head lightly. "Oh no I think Liv is remembering that correctly, you were absolutely furious." He clarified before falling silently as his father grumbled about the whiskey being expensive and his mother had been very proud of the meal.

Lucy looked to James as he rubbed her back lightly, silently trying to make sure that everything was okay in that quick glance before they both turned back towards their children. His face was serious as he picked up his utensils to dig into dinner but stopped himself short as he surprised both Lucy and Thomas by chuckling. Lucy looked at Thomas with a small smile as the young man looked to his father with raised brows. The man pointed at Liv and him both saying that they were shitting themselves about the whole thing.

"Well I wouldn't say we were shitting ourselves, pops." Thomas tried to defend himself and his sister before Olivia went on to do so as well. Thomas let out a small laugh as she said that he and Leo were always a riot. "Hell, still can be at this point...no one's face is safe from the dinner rolls this year." Thomas teased as Lucy scoffed. James spoke up stating that Syd's face was the more frequent target when it came to Thomas and Leo's antics with the dinner rolls and Thomas nodded his head to confirm.

"Ah yes, something about my brother's face that is just begging to be hit with a dinner roll...can't quite put my finger on it but Leo always agreed." Thomas stated, "It's a shame he isn't here tonight...I think he's gotten a little too comfortable not having food thrown at him over the past couple of years..." He stated teasingly before Lucy scoffed once more. "Thomas, love, you are 25 years old...aren't you a little old to throw food at the table?" The man laughed and shook his head for a moment but then shrugged his shoulders, "Someone's gotta teach the other kids in the family...figured I could take up that role." It was of course all a joke, something he didn't find himself doing very often nowadays. But with his father home...and with Elena living with him, things were starting to change quicker than he realized. But they were changes that he knew he had wanted for a long time...so he was more open to the idea of being interactive and social.

There was a moment of silence as everyone at the table started to dig into dinner, "Dinner's great as always, mom." Thomas commented before looking to his father for a long moment. "How are you adjusting then? I know how hard it can be to adjust to normalcy after being locked up for so long...you doing alright?"
with: James + Olivia Misty Gray
mentions: Syd's face Pyroclast

 

[Pyroclast]

Elena Velazco​

As her emotions took over, Elena wasn't sure how she would go back and face what she had left behind. Everything had been fine with Adam not knowing the truth - she could be around her father, enjoy his company and learn from him. Now that he did know, that would surely all change. He was already dismissing the idea of being her father, suggesting that she deserved someone better. But the only other role model she had was her mother, a controlling, manipulative liar, and her husband Joaquín, a two-faced abuser who was nothing but cruel to Elena and Benito despite doting on Isabella and his other two children. She had dreamed of escaping but had never had the means, until she had managed to get to Ireland and find a job in the Sullivan pub. But if Adam didn't want her, she would need to leave him be and find somewhere else to start afresh. Away from her father, away from the mob...away from Thomas.

Curled up against the sink with her knees drawn up to her chest, Elena tucked her head into her arms and cried her heart out. She didn't even bother looking up when the door opened and somebody walked in. It wasn't like she could pretend like nothing was wrong, and if she was going to have to quit her job anyway then it didn't matter what the customers thought of her.

However, when she could sense the person walking around her instead of heading into a toilet cubicle, she lifted her head up and, through a thick veil of years, saw that it was Adam. Her cries quietened but she held herself tightly, guardedly, as he came to sit on the floor close beside her. Somehow she managed a small giggle when Adam lightly mentioned that they needed to stop meeting on bathroom floors. While seconds ago she had been unable to be in the same room as him, part of her now found comfort in his presence. She had no idea how to proceed but now that he was here, she was glad that he had decided to come and find her.

Elena felt his eyes on her when he began to broach the delicate subject, but she kept her tearful gaze settled on the floor ahead, her face half-buried in her arms. His words were tactful but his avoiding using the word 'daughter' didn't go amiss. Determined to catch every word, Elena fought to quieten her sobs and gain control of her breathing. He told her that even though the news had come as a shock, he was happy that she was his daughter and that it made him all the more proud of her for doing everything she could to help him when he had been shot. She finally tilted her head to look at him when he called her tough for finding her way to him all on her own, and hearing him say that he wouldn't change her for anything, she felt an urge to hug him. Instead, she just held herself tighter while fresh sobs escaped her.

Listening to his explanation did help to soothe her as she could focus on his voice, the voice she had spent her whole life waiting to hear. From his words she was able to gather a vague idea of the kind of man he used to be, how he had met her mother all those years ago and why he had never been in the picture. But it didn’t spoil the way she felt about him. Turning down her mother may have been the reason why he had never been around to help raise her, but in her eyes it didn’t feel like abandonment if he had never known in the first place.

After he had finished, a moment of silence passed between them before Elena finally straightened up and hooked her arms loosely around her ankles. “My first word is mamá,” she informed him, her voice barely above a whisper. “And I don’t think it is your fault. I always want to know you, but my mama say you are a bad man who don’t want me in your life, and she tells me you will break my heart, like all men. But she say the same to mi hermano, Benito, and his father come to find him a long time later and he is a very good and kind man. So now I don’t...no confía en ella.” She took a pause to wipe away the tears from her cheeks. “That is why I come to find you. Y no, she...she does not know where I am. She will never let me go if I ask...”

For a second she thought she was done, but then she turned to face him and looked into his eyes. “You say I deserve a better father, but who is that? There is no one else for me. Only my mama, y mi padrastro Joaquín, and he is a very bad man. If you don’t want to be my father, then I go. But please don’t send me to them. I don’t want to go to Cuba again…” The thought of having to return to her mother and step-father and leave Thomas behind put fresh tears in her eyes and she turned to face forward again, her tearful gaze drifting back to the floor.

Interactions
Misty Gray Adam

Bellz Thomas (mentioned)

 

[Misty Gray]

The Sullivans Pub
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~

Adam Harper​

Adam was usually good at sitting through silences, sometimes using them as a tactic to intimidate those he was interrogating. However, he found the silence in the current situation surprisingly uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the weight of things and the shock of Elena's revelation that made him eager for the young woman to speak up and break the silence. When she spoke to tell him what her first word was, he smiled to himself. "I suppose I could have guessed that one, but it's good to have you confirm it," he told her, lightly nodding his head. He turned to look at Elena whilst she told him she didn't blame him for not being in her life. He wasn't surprised to hear Isabella had told Elena that he was a bad man. Adam wasn't in denial about the fact he had done many bad things throughout his life and that he was often the bad guy as far as the enemy was concerned. However, in the context of being a parent, godparent and friend, he didn't believe he was a bad person. To those he cared about, he only wanted to look out for them and be a good man in their eyes. Whilst he could understand Isabella would have a negative opinion of him after he avoided her, he didn't like the idea that she'd tried to convince Elena that her father was a terrible person and one who didn't want to her in his life.

"I've done a lot of bad things in my life whilst working for the mob and some of those things I paid for in jail. But I would never have done anything bad to you," he assured her. "Had I known about you, I would have stuck around." It made him said to hear that Isabella had told Elena he would break her heart, like all men. "This is all so new to me and it's a lot to process," he began, tapping his forehead with his index finger, "but I don't want to break your heart. I'll do what I need to do to avoid that." He sighed when Elena told her Isabella wouldn't have let her visit him if she'd told her mother where he was going. Adam was annoyed with Isabella for keeping things secret from Elena and trying to paint him as a much worse man than he was. Whilst he wasn't entitled to the woman's respect, he believed she should at least have been more supportive and open with Elena.

When Elena turned and looked him in the eyes, Adam's features softened so as to make her feel comfortable opening up to him about what was on her mind. When she questioned who was the better father she deserved, he opened his mouth ready to speak but no words came out. It was sad to hear that she didn't think she had anyone else. Hearing that her stepfather was a bad man seemed trigger something in him; his protective side. "Why is Joaquin a bad man? What did he do?" he asked her. Here he was still trying to process he had a daughter yet he felt an innate protective desire to do something if her stepfather had hurt her at all.

Adam took in a deep breath when Elena said she would go if he didn't want to be her father. He looked straight ahead as he willed himself to get his head straight and process how he was feeling, as well as what he was going to do about it all. "I won't send you away. Not to Cuba or anywhere else. You can stay here, in Dublin." He turned in time to see her tearful eyes as she lowered her head. "Elena... I do want to be your dad, okay? I'm just in shock and I'm sad that it's taken me twenty years to learn I have a daughter. I can't imagine anyone else I'd want to be my kid, and honestly, why would I want to imagine you were anyone else?" Adam paused for a moment before slowly moving his arm around her shoulder, seeing if she accepted the gesture before he gently rubbed the top of her arm. He left it open for her to decide if she wanted to accept the comforting gesture or if she wanted him to pull his arm away.

"Where do we go from here, Elena?" he asked her. If she was a child, he figured it would be easier. He would look after her, take her on trips to the park, buy her toys, and be an active father figure in her life. He wasn't sure how to approach it with her being 20 years old. Did she want him to be around a lot or did she want space and independence? "I want to learn more about you and support you. Make sure you're happy and able to get by in Dublin. But I don't want to overstep my mark or butt into your independence, you know? You were staying in that dodgy hotel when you first came here and now you're staying with Thomas. Are you happy with that or do you need me to help? I'd say that fits into my dad duties for sure," he said, flashing her a smile. He lightly shrugged his shoulders. "I want to be there for you and learn everything about you, but I don't want to stick my nose in. You tell me what you need from me," he asked her. He was torn, wanting to genuinely throw his all into his newfound role; to prove he was the father she deserved and that he wanted to be there for her. However, he didn't want to come on too protective or overstep his mark on the independence she clearly had.

Pyroclast (Elena)

The Sullivan Residence
~ Sutton, Dublin ~

Conor Sullivan​

Conor understood Roxie wasn't one to rush into things, such as getting revenge on Ricky. Then she pointed out that Syd wasn't likely to be as patient with the matter as she was. It hadn't escaped Conor that his nephew had always taken issue with Ricky, even when the man's worst attribute was merely his inappropriate humour, which admittedly, Conor had at times found amusing. Conor sighed and shook his head at the suggestion both he and Roxie couldn't do anything to stop Syd. "Thing is, I'm the one in charge and Ricky is your cousin. So, Syd is going to have to try find some patience on this one. It's not his decision to make, nor his place to go off and act without our approval."

Soon enough, the door opened and Conor looked up to see his nephew step into the offer. "Glad you could join us," he greeted him with a broad smile. He then motioned for Syd to sit next to Roxie, though it seemed like that was the younger man's intention anyway. Hearing Syd say he'd been visiting Blake prompted Conor to raise a curious eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Did she have anything interesting to talk to you about?" he knowingly asked. Having already been made aware of the woman's relationship with Adam, Conor figured Blake would be telling Syd at some point. However, he stopped short of saying it outright, in case she hadn't had chance to approach the subject yet.

Syd asked what the purpose of the meeting was. Despite sensing the anxiousness within his nephew, Conor intended to get straight to the point. "I ain't going to beat around the bush on this one. I've just told Roxie this information and now I'm telling you. And I want you to keep your head screwed on and hear us out." Conor sat forward and looked Syd in the eyes. "After Matthew was killed, I had my people out investigating who was behind it. After a few weeks, I got my answer. Hell, you're probably not even going to be surprised on this one... It was Ricky. The little baby arranged it. He hired his men to have Roxie killed because she was left in charge of the business and he wasn't. Of course, it didn't go as planned and Matthew was killed..."

Bellz (Roxie) Pyroclast (Syd)

 

[BasDorcha]

The Royal Taphouse
Jocelyn Justice​

Jocelyn had started to relax as the alcohol kicked in. A good, warm buzz was spreading from her chest to her head, toes, and fingers. Sitting back, she watched as Spencer went about his business, curious what he was doing, Swirling her drink slowly, she thought about Tatiana. The thought of the woman brought a smile to her face, and a blush to her cheeks. For a moment, she remembered the night she woke up snuggled against her, those strong but gentle arms lightly touching her. Jocelyn had never dated a woman, and she wasn’t quite sure if she was interested in them, but she was definitely interested in Tati. Be it because she picked her up and took care of her in such a terrible situation, or just her personality in general, Joce found herself drawn to it.

Across the room, Spencer spoke to the man briefly, causing Jocelyn to choke on her drink. She cleared her throat and watched, as he acted like he knew nothing and moved back towards her. Relief flooded her when he didn’t try and continue the conversation or bring her into it. When he came back and grabbed the pictures, then left again, her curiosity was piqued again. Where was he going? She stared into the dark corner where someone else was sitting behind a newspaper.

Jocelyn perked a eyebrow at Spencer upon his return as if to say And who was that? When he responded with “We’ll find those arseholes for you,” She smiled, feeling relieved to know someone as capable as Spencer King was helping her out. She sat back and relaxed her head back, letting the buzz carry away the anxiety and fear she was feeling. Upon hearing the good news, she sat up, weaving a little, and clapped. Quickly, with a more messy hand, she wrote out, Do we need to look at increasing the stock on Whiskey? She had already increased back stock at the distillery just in case.

When they finished speaking about the business, she just sat back and enjoyed the music with Spencer for a few minutes. It was the first time out of the house – well Tati’s house – since the incident, and she was finally starting to feel more normal. With her head tipped back on the booth, her foot tapped to the beat and she finished the rest of her drink. Somewhere in the hazy buzz of the alcohol and the comfortability she felt in Spencer’s presences knowing no one could bother her, she got to day dreaming about Tati again. For a second she forgot where she was and got lost in the day dream, and she thought about thanking the woman when she got back. A soft hum crossed her lips, her eyes closed, as she traced doodled with her finger.

“Thank you.” She mumbled. When she heard the actual noise tumble out of her lips instead of just being mouthed wordlessly to her daydream, she sat up straight, eyes wide at Spencer. So the silence wasn’t permanent. But what was different? Quickly she thought about everything. One, she was drunk, meaning her natural barriers were gone. Two, Spencer made her feel safe – not in a weird way, she just knew the man well enough to know that none of those guys could mess with her here. Three, she’d been thinking about the angel of a woman who had saved her a week ago. A flush teased at her cheeks as she smiled at Spencer and mouthed, Progress.

Mentions:
Tatiana - Pyroclast
Spencer - Misty Gray

 

[Bellz]

Natasha McCarthy
Abandoned Woodland Area
~ Outside of Dublin, Ireland ~​

Things had turned sour pretty quickly despite Natasha's best efforts to keep the extremely awkward and tense meeting light. Ali turned to Leo to ask when he would be home, expressing that she needed to talk with him, and in true Leo fashion instead of just ignoring her which most likely would have saved Ali's feelings, he answered her with attitude. Before Natasha could tell him to go easy on her, he let go of her hand suddenly. He looked extremely irritated, the way he normally looked before he went off on someone. "Leo!" Natasha gasped, surprised he would be so cruel to his mother despite the fact she knew he was upset with her. He angrily walked away from the group and Natasha knew she couldn't go running after him, for this wasn't her battle to fight. She could get into the middle of his and Thomas's arguments but she would not step in the way of an issue with his parents.

"It's okay, Aunt Al...go work it out, we will be okay here." Natasha reassured the woman before watching her run after him. There was a long silence between Natasha and Stella before the blonde smiled somewhat awkwardly at her. "So how much shopping do you have left do?" Natasha asked. The blonde turned her head slightly, trying her best not to stare at Ali and Leo as they argued but with their voices gradually getting louder and louder, Natasha was beginning to wonder if she should step in.

It left her conflicted because Ali and Conor had done so much for her, her brother, and her mother that she didn't want to dare say that they were in the wrong for things but at the same time, as Leo's girlfriend, Natasha understood the anger he had towards Ali and wanted to defend him as any good girlfriend would. "Maybe we should go check on them..." Natasha stated to Stella, waving her hand lightly for the woman to follow as she started to walk towards the alleyway she had seen them go further into. Something had stopped her though and before she could tell Stella that she felt something was off the tires of a van squealed noticeably as it peeled out of the parking lot in a haste. Once it was halfway down the street, Natasha realized she couldn't hear Ali and Leo arguing anymore and she quickly moved into a sprint towards the alleyway.

"Ali?! Leo?!" She gasped out, hoping when she rounded the corner she would see them silently embracing each other and making up for the argument. Her fears were quickly confirmed when she didn't see them in the alleyway at all. She stepped further into the alley and her foot stepped on something, immediately causing her to look down. She recognized it instantly as Leo's wallet. "That van! They are in that van!" Natasha stated firmly to Stella, who was no doubt behind her by now.

"We need to follow them!" Natasha insisted before reaching into her bag to grab Leo's car keys. "Come on!" She grabbed Stella's hand to pull her in the direction of the car, only letting go when she got into the driver's side seat after unlocking it. Once Stella was in with or without a seatbelt on, Natasha started the engine and threw it into drive. She was a little rusty with a manual transmission but Leo had taught her a long time ago despite her having an automatic transmission in her car. She was so thankful he had taken the time to do so but winced slightly as the gears ground together at first as she was slow to remember. Once she got the hang of it she had no issues and was immediately on the road.

She had recklessly run through the first red light but knew there wasn't any time to worry about it as long as she didn't get herself or Stella hurt. Natasha had thought she had lost them and was sure she had until she spotted the van heading out of the city at least 6 cars in front of her. "There it is!" Natasha hissed out, "No license plate." She told Stella, "I noticed that as it sped out of the parking lot. Quick! Check to see if Leo's phone is in the glove box. I left mine at home." Natasha ordered her as she bit her lip to keep tears at bay. She had no idea what she was doing and she was sure that she needed to call Conor first but she didn't want to be the reason the two people she loved dearly were dead. If she waited for Conor to bring back up and they were killed before he even had the chance to find them...Natasha wouldn't have been able to live with herself.

Her hands shook as she gripped the steering wheel as the city turned into the countryside. Even if Stella was able to find Leo's phone the service was going to be non-existent or at the very least extremely spotty. The cars in between theirs and the van had turned off the road one by one and Natasha strayed farther and farther away, not wanting to look suspicious in the slightest. A huge semi-truck hauling cattle had turned out in front of her, blinding her from seeing the van any further just as they were about to go over a bridge and she growled out in frustration. But it soon turned onto a side road just as soon as they went over the bridge and Natasha immediately noticed that the van wasn't ahead in the distance. She slowly brought the car to a stop and looked towards the very open side streets, seeing if she could spot the van heading down any of those. Not seeing any, she turned in her driver's seat to look back towards the bridge. "They couldn't have gone too far...let's track them down on foot." Natasha said, before driving the car as far to the side of the road as she could. Natasha got out of the car before reaching into her bag to grab the small pistol her mother had given her a while back. She had never ever used it and had been trained a long time ago to handle it in case of emergencies. Looking to Stella, Natasha was sure the woman was armed, "If we find them, we can't go in there guns blazing...we are sorely outnumbered. We need to confirm where they are and then make sure Conor knows how to find us."
with: Stella BloodLightning27
mentions: Ali + Leo Melanin-Gxdess
being jerks: Tati Pyroclast ; Damian Misty Gray

 

[Bellz]

Harper King
Harper's Apartment
- London - ​

Harper couldn't put her finger on why seeing a genuine smile on Jeremy's face made her so happy but it did. She found her smiling back as she narrowed her eyes when he said I told you so. She raised a curious brow as he said that the delivery guy had got the hint before laughing out loud as Jeremy stated the only guy who had his attention was Billy. "Ah you'd two make a fine couple, too bad he's already smitten with Erik." Harper mused. Jeremy decided to sit next to her now rather than sit across from her at the table and he was so close that she could feel the heat radiating off his skin.

Harper's cheeks warmed as she watched him stab a piece of food with his fork before moving it towards her. "You have an interesting way of eating, sir." Harper teased but inched her face towards the fork, staring at him the whole time before finally closing her eyes and taking a bite. Once again, he was right, the flavors of the chicken she had always ordered were overpowering in the best kind of way when she closed her eyes. Chewing thoughtfully, her eyes opened and she smirked knowingly. "I don't have to say you are right a second time do I? I don't want to boost your already huge ego." She was completely teasing as she looked to her own plate, grabbing her chopsticks instead of a fork and picking up the same piece of chicken as she turned it in front of her face. "So...what you've shown me is...that food and drinks would be more enjoyable if I were blind? Wonder what else would be more enjoyable without sight." There was the slightest hint of a sexual innuendo within her tone as she spoke, but it was completely innocent in delivery.

"I've always heard that the blind tended to have their other senses work better. Didn't realize it would be as easy as closing my eyes to get a taste of what's that's like." Harper remarked. "So this is what you like to do for fun, hmm? Try things with your eyes closed? Tell me you've never tested this with driving?" She asked before getting quiet for a while as he answered her.

She wasn't sure why the question came to mind but she asked, "So how come you don't have a girlfriend, Jere? Don't tell me no one out there couldn't fall for that confusing brutish and soft personality. I'm sure there are plenty of ladies out there who love that kind of thing." Harper said before smiling, "I mean I knew exactly why Billy went through girlfriends like it was candy, I've got a pretty good sense for that stuff. But I don't sense that with you, despite the jokes."
with: Jeremy BasDorcha

 

[BasDorcha]

Sutton Park
Thomas Thatcher​

Tom was snacking away on his food, enjoying the view of the water crashing in front of them, and listening to Shinoa talking. She had a lovely voice. “Sounds like you had a pretty dramatic life. You’ve been through a lot. I’m sorry about that. Life seems unfairly cruel to people who deserve it the least, as far as I’ve experienced.” He scratched the back of his head, casting a quick glance at her from the side, smiling as she picked at her salad and talked on.”

“Well, now that you are here, maybe I can help you adjust. I know having a baby will make things a little weird for you, but it doesn’t bother me any. I had a little brother growing up, but we were always close in age. Still, there were lots of kids in my neighborhood and my friends had younger siblings. I’m not sure, I’ve always had a soft spot for younger kids then myself. My last big mission for the military was rescuing women and children that were being held hostage.” For a moment a dark, moody look crossed his face, eyes seeming to look off somewhere in the distance before he shook it away and came back to the present.

“Anyway, if you want, you can come see me at the shop some time. I know you and Syd don’t get along and all, but I don’t think it’s really anything to do with you. Syd… he’s just got some personal stuff in his head – I’ve seen it before with some of the men I was in the military with. They go through some big shit and their mind isn’t the same afterwards. I get the same feeling with him. Kind’a like they are scared, and it causes them to act out. Don’t take it to personal if Syd acts weird – it may not be his fault. And don’t let it stop you from coming by and seeing me if you’re ever out and about, we can go to lunch again.” He grinned and reached up, playfully touching the end of her nose.

Talking about the past brought up flash backs of his time in the military, and some of the nastier jobs he had to complete. Unlike most of the people he worked with, it never bothered him at the time to complete missions, he was fearless, but he thought about them from time to time now, remembering the blood on his hands – both literally and metaphorically. It was also strange at the time being so much younger than most of them, and sometimes literally carrying them through it. He had learned to be hard shelled early, some of them needed him to be that way.

“I know your life has been tough, at least it sounds that way, but it sounds like its all worked out for the best now, so you have that to look forward to.” He offered her another smile, albeit tinged with sadness this time from the place he had gone mentally. Maybe that’s why he was drawn to Shinoa. She had a darkness in her past like him but offered a beauty and light now that eased it. Watching her smiling face chased away some of the bad things coming up in his mind.

It was at that moment that it started to sprinkle. Not heavy, but enough that he immediately stared to worry about little Lillian and Shinoa. Standing, he held out his hand for Shinoa, pulling her off the ground. Unintentionally, for a moment they ended up chest to chest, Tom looking down into her eyes with that goofy smile. Forgetting he was supposed to be rushing to pick the blanket up to cover the carrier, he brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face, before stepping back a light blush on his face as he helped her clear the blanket quickly and tossed the blanket over Lillian to protect her from the very light rain drops falling from the sky.

“You settle her, I’ll throw away our dinner.” He picked up everything and tossed it in the trash nearby. The rain was already letting up it seemed to just be a quick rain burst, but he had a feeling Shinoa might want to take little one home after this in case it did rain more. Still, he was going to be sad if she did say she was going to leave.

Mentions:
Shinoa - BloodLightning27
Syd - Pyroclast

 

[BasDorcha]

Golden Galleria Car Garage
~Corringham, UK~
Maeve Thatcher​

May flushed as Alex touched her, shaking her about. Could have been worse, and it did shock her enough to silence her for a moment. The pink started in her cheeks, and spread up and around her eyes to the tips of her hair, and down the rest of her body. She wasn’t quite sure why she was responding that way. “That’s enough!” Bruce’s voice cut through her thoughts, causing her to snap to a straight back and submissive pose, hands clasped in front of her.

Still, she bit her tongue and stepped back when he released her, happily accepting the cup of hot tea. Her hands shook the tiniest bit as she touched Billy’s hand, giving him a look that seemed to say Sorry ‘bout that. She hadn’t exploded that easily since she was a kid fighting with her brothers.

When had she lost control over her well manicured external presence. This damn meeting was not how she wanted to be viewed. Silently she started getting herself back in order, the mask falling back into place with a placated smile and a nod. Stupid Alex, I don’t like being surprised. I especially don’t like being surprised with angry yells and people getting in my face. As Alex had just experienced, it was a fast way to get a snap reaction out of her. It made her feel cornered and defensive as quickly as taking a breath and all that pent up emotion she kept so carefully bottled inside would come out like a broken dam.

There was a reason she had moved away from Dublin, and still her pathetic mother was causing her problems. That woman had been a thorn in her life and the cause of so much pain over the years. A series of quick blinks pushed back the tears that started to form. She’d never be free. When Bruce mentioned sanctioning her for lack of reporting her blood lineage, she cleared her throat and tried to find the right words, careful now. “Sir, I was not aware at first of the connection. I have known I carried Sullivan blood, but I wasn’t aware it was the same Sullivan’s I’ve now come to understand the King’s have a problem with. As you know Sullivan is a common name. It wasn’t until Kerry mentioned Conor Sullivan – recently – at the bar that I put the two and two together. I went straight to Darcey at that point and that’s how all of this began. I asked her to find out for me if it was one and the same.”

When Darcey showed the picture of her brother, and both her and Bruce asked about him, she softened for a moment. “Yes, that’s my Tom. I haven’t seen him since he got back from the military. He’s grown so much I barely recognize him. My mum wrote me he was working at Pitstop Repairs as a mechanic, I’m not sure if that’s the family’s business or not. I’m sure he doesn’t know either, as he had as much interaction with Kathleen’s side of the family as I did. It’s likely he answered an advert in the paper, or some such. We don’t know anyone from Mum’s side well enough they’d offer any of us a job. I reckon most of them don’t even know we exist. I know it sounds like weak excuse, but if he’s working for the Sullivan family, it’s purely coincidence. Mum’s family has always been a bit of a mystery.”

She lovingly thumbed the picture. It had been three years since she seen her brother. She had been planning to show up and surprise him here soon, but now she was uncertain what to do. At least she had dropped a letter to him yesterday, hopefully he would get it and know she was thinking about him. Looking up, she caught the look of disgust on Alex’s face and suddenly felt very small and worthless. What did she care what he thought? Despite her best attempt, the sudden pit that formed in her chest caused two tears to drop down her face that she quickly brushed away. She had worked so hard to build a new life here, and Alex was just a prime reminder that she’d never be able to fully leave the past behind.

That little girl inside her that still yearned to be accepted felt crushed for the moment, and she was glad to have Darcey there, it soothed her nerves some and helped her re-center. She looked up at the older woman with the same apologetic look she had offered Billy, passing the photo back. Darcey had seen May many times around the bar, in control, laughing off improper comments and handling herself fine. She’d also seen May remain in control when cornered by a man who wanted to ring her neck for cheating him out of money. This may well and good be the first time she’d seen May snap and show a different side – though Erik had seen it previously. Her eyes sought him out. He was grinning like a cheeky monkey! Her lips twitched upwards slightly as she made eye contact. At least one person wasn’t looking at her like a ticking time bomb of Sullivan blood and anger.

Mentions:
Pitstop Repairs, Tom - Dublin
Billy, Bruce - Pyroclast
Darcey, Erik, Alex - Melanin-Gxdess

 

[BasDorcha]

Harper's Apartment
Jeremy Gray​

Jeremy laughed, watching her face as the surprised rolled over it again and he fought the urge to reach out and swipe the crumbs from her lip. “No you don’t have to say it, your face said it for you.” He grinned and took a few bites of his own food, still watching her. He couldn’t help it, she had such beautiful features, now that he had let himself relax, he couldn’t look away. This is what happened when he started tearing down walls. He was too intense for most people. Tearing himself away and watching his food, he though about what she said. At the comment of “Wonder what else would be more enjoyable without sight.” a very low, very quiet growl was bitten short. It started an ache somewhere very uncomfortable, so he turned his thoughts back to the question. “Just trying to show you that things are not always what they seem at first glance.” He winked, not realizing how much he meant that towards himself.

“It’s one of the things I do for fun – finding new ways to experience things. To have new experiences anyways. And yes, I’ve driven with my eyes closed – but on a long straight stretch that was easy to keep in the right place. Otherwise, I may have been that car today, trying to smash into some beautiful lady.” He carefully kept from looking at her when he said this, wondering if she would pick up on the compliment. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, catching a blush tainting her cheeks.

“I am kind of intense. Women don’t like that.” He looked up at her, catching her eyes again, he continued, “What’s mine is mine, and I give myself completely. In this day and age, people don’t really seem to like that anymore. They want to possess another, but not be possessed. In my opinion, if you’re going to ask another to give themselves to you completely, you should be willing to do the same.” Blushing slightly, he turned his head down, poking at his food. “You may have been too young to remember, but when we were all younger, I wasn’t always so controlled. It led to a lot of fights, and girls thinking I was a creep, because I cared too much. So now I just avoid it.”

What he didn’t mention was that for a long time, he hadn’t even been interested in anyone – not for lack of trying. Women seemed to love the stoic, asshole attitude he offered to the general public, but none of them had caught his attention. Not until now. Beneath the table, his knee started to bounce as he thought about how he might be opening up to her too much. He was on dangerous grounds with Harper, maybe due to their history, or the fact he had crushed on her for so long due to how different she was from other women, or just her as a whole, in any case, he felt his guard slipping away.

“Besides, not all women are like you – smart, funny, strong, beautiful. They might be one or two, but most of ‘em are ditzy and conceited. Or they’re smart, funny, but meek. Neither of those things particularly do anything for me.” He reached up, unable to resist any longer and touched her cheek like he had done so long ago at the party, brushing his fingers backwards before his thumb swiped away at few straggling crumbs across her lower lip. His mind screamed to quit, but he couldn’t. All he really wanted to do was lean in and kiss her senseless. Some bodyguard he was, he was a pile of mush right now. Although, as his uncle had one told him, “There is nothing more powerful then love, and no one will fight harder to defend something then a loved one in danger.” Maybe that made him a perfect candidate.
Mentions:
Harper - Bellz

 

[Misty Gray]

Porter Residence
~ Sutton, Dublin ~

James Porter and Olivia Sullivan​

James listened on as the conversation about food fights continued, chewing a mouthful of food as he did. He would have liked to have had Syd present for dinner too, but having already seen him since his return to Dublin, he didn't begrudge his absence too much. Swallowing his food, James shook his head as he heard Lucy point our that Thomas was too old to throw food at the table. "As long as you teach the young ones to target your brother. I don't want JJ and the twins chucking food at my head," he spoke of his grandkids.

"I feel like you've just unintentionally offered yourself up for it," Olivia teased. "Grumpy Grandpa is the obvious target, y'know!"

When Thomas spoke up again to ask how he was adjusting being back to normalcy, James shrugged his shoulders. "It's hard," he honestly told his son. "I think the fact I never expected or believed I'd make it back here is why it's hard to settle in now. I spent so long locked up in solitary, sleeping on the cold concrete, that the shitty old mattress in my cell was a luxury. So now I'm back in decent bed, it's surprisingly uncomfortable and difficult to sleep. It's going to take some time to readjust, and for my back to get used to a decent mattress. Also, I lived with my own organised structure before jail, but it was nothing like the routine I had to live by every day in there." James took a sip of his drink before placing the glass down. "All I had to focus on some days was replaying in my head the visits or calls I'd had. From Luce, Olivia, Syd, Gwen..." he trailed off, figuring Thomas would understand where he was going. He'd had no contact from Thomas in those six years.

"But, I'm out now and I don't have to just use my memory to see you all," he quickly added. "Not that I'm overly happy with what I've come back to. Seriously, Luce. What the fuck is your brother playing at?" he asked her. "And how are you doing these days, Thomas? I hear you had a rough time of it while I was away. Do you really think working for Conor is going to be good for you? Syd's already been involved in this since I was running the business. I hoped you two would stay well out of it," he said, looking between Thomas and Olivia.

Bellz (Lucy, Thomas)

 

[Pyroclast]

Father Silas Healy​

The weakness in Sinead’s voice was evident when she thanked him for helping her son. She seemed prepared to accept the possibility of dying and acknowledged that God may have been protecting Liam by calling Patience and him to step in and help him. For now, Silas believed that God had also sent them to save Sinead’s life, too, but he couldn’t be certain that she would survive. All he could do was hope and pray.

Silas nodded calmly when she asked him to keep Liam from going down a dark path. “Your son is a bright and caring boy,” he said. “The good in him will always win in the end, of that I am confident.” Having spent a while now counselling Liam, he was speaking with complete honesty in his observation of him; however, he couldn’t say the same about the rest of her family. Sinead mentioned to him that they all have big hearts, full of love. He respected that she may view them that way, and when he had met her family many of them were perfectly polite and clearly held a lot of love for one another, but he couldn’t call them good people, since they were responsible for such terrible acts of violence and crime. They came to church for Christenings, weddings and funerals, yet none of them ever came to repent. But Sinead, with her sweet, kind heart, believed in them, and Silas could tell that she loved her family deeply despite all the trouble they brought to the city. “Of course, my dear,” he assured her, still applying pressure to her wound.

Before he could saying any more, Liam’s voice sounded from the door and he glanced up to see the tearful boy shaking his head. He took the glass of water from him and set it down beside Sinead for her to drink if she wanted, preferring to keep his own hand for applying pressure to her wound. Liam was in denial that his mother was dying, and if the ambulance didn’t turn up in time, he was afraid that the boy would soon be completely devastated. He was thankful to hear that her husband was on his way, however. He was doing his best to comfort her, but he had a strong feeling that she would prefer to have her husband with her at her side.

“Mrs Callahan, you are a brave woman, but it’s not time to give up just yet,” he instructed her. “You’re doing very well, staying awake and talking to us. Your husband will be here soon, he’ll be a great comfort to you, I’m sure.” Hearing Liam’s uneven breaths, he could feel the boy’s anguish and wished he could comfort the boy. But he knew telling him what he wanted to hear wasn’t sensible - Sinead’s fate was very much up in the air still, and all he could do was his best to make her comfortable.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before two vehicles pulled up on the path up ahead; an ambulance, and the car belonging to Peter Callahan, who immediately jumped out and ran over to his wife. Silas held an impatient gaze on the ambulance while Peter spoke to Sinead and opened his arms up to his son. He turned to look Peter in the eyes, however, when the man asked him for details of Sinead’s assailants. “Well, they...they looked similar,” he answered, his voice softening as he cast his mind back. “They were speaking in Italian, in deep voices - both over six foot, I would say. They wore masks, but their eyes were dark...and they drove a black van of some kind.” Silas looked down to Sinead, by now struggling to hide the concern in his eyes. He wished he could have caught more details about them, but it had all happened so fast and his priority in the moment was protecting Liam.

A small team of paramedics rushed to Sinead’s side then and told them to clear the space. Peter wasn’t going to leave, but Silas allowed them to take his place, and got up with the help of his cane. He moved over to Liam and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Give them some space, my son,” he gently urged the boy. “Your mother is in good hands now, but the paramedics need to work.”

Interactions
Misty Gray Sinead, Patience, Liam
Bellz Peter

 

[Misty Gray]

Wycliff Family Vacation Home
~ Long Island, NYC ~

Valentina Wycliff
~ Cristina and Paolo ~​

Valentina could tell Teddy didn't like being compared to her father, even before he spoke up to tell her not to do it. Despite his tone with her, she chose not to react to it, instead just dropping such a comparison. Given the way Gabriel was, she knew most people would not want to be compared to him, so she understood if Teddy was offended by it. For a time, it seemed like her husband was going to continue dodging her questions, but he eventually relented, making a comment that they were meant to be relaxing rather than worrying about the drama in Dublin. Hearing him mention Damian and Tatiana were involved in the retaliation did nothing to ease her concerns about what was going on. Where Damian was concerned, it made her wonder what terrible punishment awaited whichever Sullivans were going to pay for Cristina's ordeal. Whilst Damian had been nothing but pleasant to her, Valentina knew sinister when she saw it. She saw in his eyes that he was capable of the kinds of depravity the East Harlem Gang had demonstrated years earlier. His only saving grace was that she liked to believe her father had limits to the kinds of evil he permitted his employees to carry out. As for Tatiana, she was more concerned that her sister was on Irish soil where she could be harmed by the Sullivans without the usual security of New York or, to some extent, that of the Kings in London. What Valentina was certain of, was with Tatiana and Damian being sent to Dublin, it had to be serious and likely very messy.

Valentina studied Teddy's face as he reminded her he would do anything for her and the kids. Now Cristina had been harmed, he clearly felt it was his duty to act upon it. She nodded her head when he queried if she really wanted to know what was happening in Dublin. She noticed he couldn't look her in the eyes as he spoke, but she continued to look at him regardless. As he spoke of Conor's wife and kids meaning a lot to him, she felt a lump form in her throat as she feared where his words were heading. She wasn't sure she believed that family made people weaker, not exclusively, at least. She'd learned by now that having family around her was a strength and had helped her to keep fighting. But at the same time, she knew family was also a weakness as they could be used by the enemy.

Valentina was at least glad to hear Teddy was above hurting innocent children, but it still didn't sit well to hear that Conor's son wasn't safe from harm. Valentina hadn't been a child when she was attacked to get at her father, but it didn't make it any less devastating to her, not to mention how unfair it was to be harmed despite having no part in her father's business. She didn't feel any better that Conor's wife was mentioned too. She wasn't sure how involved in the business Aliana was, but it didn't feel right, regardless. What was particularly concerning was Teddy's cold voice. It was a darkness she hadn't seen from her husband before. It was a little unsettling and only reiterated her point about him spending too much time with Gabriel and no doubt some of the more dangerous men associated with the Moretti business. "And you think hurting Conor's son and wife is alright? And who else is going to be hurt in all of this? Are you sure my father hasn't dragged any children into this? He was all for getting 'revenge in kind'" she pointed out.

"Look at me and tell me you believe this is all okay?" she firmly commanded him. "It doesn't sit right with me. I was attacked because I'm my father's daughter and it's not right to do the same to Conor's son. And his wife? I'm your wife, Teddy. Are the Sullivans going to retaliate next by attacking me or my mother because of who we're married to? How are you going to feel about that, huh?" she persisted. "I don't like this, not one bit! After I was attacked, Papa mistakenly took his revenge on the Irish then. That nightclub was burned to the ground and dozens of people died. They died in my name and that still weighs on my conscience. I hope Cristina will never know what was done in her name," she trailed off.

"I blame Conor and James for this. They should be the ones suffering and I wouldn't be taking issue if they were being dealt a painful death as we speak. But no, all our families do is attack the innocent to try send some message to the enemy. The more I think about it, the more I don't even care about getting revenge on Conor and James. They've all fucked off back to Ireland and out of our city. I hate them for involving Cristina, but maybe we should have just drawn a line. Got back on with our family business in New York without having to do business with the Irish, rather than continuing on with the war. What does all this violence solve? I know nothing that happened 13 years ago brought any of my cousins back to life. It just ended in more pain and suffering. Can't you see?!" she desperately asked him.

Melanin-Gxdess (Teddy, Francis)
Nearby: BloodLightning27 (Harmony)

 

[Bellz]

Lucy Porter
Thomas Porter
Porter Residence
- Sutton, Dublin - ​

TW=Mentions of Suicide
Lucy was continuously surprised and relieved with how well the conversation was going at the table. It made her genuinely smile to see everyone getting along and talking about an old memory rather than arguing, but, James seemed to be in a salty mood regardless. "Ah, I don't think Thomas needs to teach them how to throw stuff at their father, poor Syd is already experiencing it. Did I tell you the twins were caught smoking and drinking?" Lucy said, looking to her husband with a shake of her head. "I swear all of this pop culture shit is being used to teach kids to grow up too fast." She murmured.

Lucy smiled as Olivia teased James for unintentionally offering himself up as a target for the grandbabies before things took a sort of tense turn when Thomas asked how his father was doing since he returned home. Thomas wasn't sure what he was expecting from the answer but he wasn't surprised to hear that it was hard for his father...even the strongest men had a hard time with stuff like this. He'd always thought his father could handle absolutely anything because James wasn't a very emotional person, sure he was loving with his children and Lucy but a lot of the trauma he faced was always internalized. Thomas had modeled his own reactions to trauma after his father, which his mother absolutely hated but it was the only way to cope...or at least try to cope.

Hearing him explain that his expectations of never making it home were what was making it hard for him to settle in now was something that Thomas could relate to. His whole existence since returning home from Iran felt like a huge dream or hallucination to him. It was sometimes hard to live in the moment. Even with his father sitting here, he almost felt like he had just conjured it up in his head. He had done that when he was held hostage in a pitch-back cell during the nighttime. His imagination had worked hard to protect him from his actual surroundings so much so that he had to be medicated for the things he would see when he had returned home.

Thomas's eyes looked to his mother who's smile had faded as she listened to what her husband was struggling with. It was the same face of disappointment that she had with Thomas for years. He knew she always blamed herself for not making him feel comfortable enough and he was sure she was feeling the same now. That was part of the reason he stopped talking to her...he felt extremely guilty for making her feel guilty.

His father stated that somedays he would focus on the days when people called or visited him and Thomas looked down at his plate with shame. He didn't exactly know what to say...it was hard for him to imagine his father would understand what he'd been through yet here he was talking about all of the same shit he was experiencing. But he was still somewhat laying on the guilt as if he didn't understand.

Before he had a chance to apologize, his father stated that he wasn't thrilled to what he'd come home to, asking Lucy what Conor was playing at. Lucy opened her mouth to try to defend her brother's actions but came up short...she had been feeling conflicted all week long and with James bringing up the situation so suddenly she wasn't sure what to say. She snapped her mouth shut as he went on to ask how Thomas was doing, stating that he had heard he had a rough time while he was away. The young man's eyes narrowed slightly as he asked if he thought working for his Uncle was good for him. "Well...it hasn't been easy but this is the only job that I can do that I have a skill set in. Otherwise, I'd be working in the back of a kitchen at some restaurant. Things have been rough yea...being kidnapped for a while does that to you. Went through the same things you are going through, pops except nothing has changed for me and it's a perpetual cycle of imposter syndrome and survivor's guilt. Working for Conor gives me something to focus on other than contemplating playing Russian Roulette by myself." There was a slight edge to his voice as he stared at his dad intently. "I mean...I'm just doing what my big brother does...how come I get shit for it?"
with: James + Olivia Misty Gray ; Lucy (me)
mentions: Syd Pyroclast

 

[Pyroclast]

Syd Porter​

Syd caught the knowing tone in Conor’s voice when he asked him if Blake had told him anything interesting, but he didn’t feel inclined to let Roxie know considering that Blake hadn’t gone public with the relationship yet. Syd just looked back at his uncle for a second before answering with a brief, “Yeah.” He wondered what Conor’s opinion on it was, but with Roxie there it wasn’t the appropriate time to have that conversation. He couldn’t even remember if Blake said she had told Conor yet or not, but from the sound of it he had heard the news from someone, at least.

After letting Jackson’s death and a reel of other memories of his Godfather play on his mind all the way from Blake’s house, Syd was still struggling to get his mind clear and as such was feeling restless. His hands were already trembling slightly from the pressure to leave his emotions at the door during a meeting. When Conor told him to keep his head on straight, he knew the news was going to be bad and his heart rate immediately picked up. Eventually Conor told him that Ricky had been the one to kill Matthew. Syd stared back at him, not sure that he had heard him correctly. He almost missed hearing that the fatal gunshot was meant for Roxie, until his mind backtracked.

Syd had never got along with Ricky, nor had he ever trusted the man. Back when he and Roxie were in a relationship, shortly after her father kidnapped and tortured her whilst she was pregnant with the twins, Syd had resorted to spying on her cousin and the rest of her family, paranoid that they were still out to hurt her. When Roxie found out, that was the final nail in the coffin for their relationship and they parted on bad terms, Roxie taking the babies with her. Crippled by guilt, Syd stopped spying on her family and had never done so since for fear of losing custody of the kids if she found out again. Now, of course, he wished he had continued.

Slowly, Syd turned to look at Roxie, just to make sure he had heard right. But her solemn expression and lack of denial told him the worst was true. He set his elbows on his uncle’s desk and buried his face in his hands, his breaths turning heavier, quicker and increasingly unsteady as he started to shake. He was thinking about his kids and their trauma from watching Matthew be murdered right in front of them and all the grief he had watched them go through...but in his mind’s eye, all he could see was Ricky’s face.

Suddenly Syd sprang to his feet and stormed towards the door - but instead of leaving, he turned and began to pace in Conor’s office. His eyes teemed with anger and glistened with tears as he ran his hands repeatedly through his hair. “I always knew he was fucked up, that two-faced piece of shite!” he shouted at Conor, leaning forward and slamming his hands down on the desk. “Three months! For three months my kids have been in fucking pieces and now you tell me it was Roxie’s fucking psycho cousin this whole time?! What if - wh-what if he’d -” His eyes reddened as his gaze snapped towards Roxie. He had started to imagine what would have happened if his kids had lost their mother instead of Matthew that night. “Y-your whole family, Roxie,” he exhaled, exasperated laughter bouncing off his shaky breaths. “This needs to end. I’m gonna end them. I-I’m gonna find Ricky and - and I’m -” Without thinking, Syd withdrew his pistol and started gesturing with it. “He needs to fucking go.”

Interactions
Misty Gray Conor
Bellz Roxie