Realistic or Modern Just a Petty Criminal

[Vudukudu]

Leon sat idly for some time, tapping his knuckles on the desk. He had risen so far in the underworld that he barely deigned to involve himself in it anymore. He merely raked in the spoils, piled them up, and occasionally sent out a message. He had lieutenants for the actual management of day to day affairs, and they each had their own subordinates, and so on so forth. It was a vast pyramid of illegal activity, and his throne sat on the top.


But he was content with setting the agenda. It was simple, easy, and put him in no danger. Being in harm's way was what his employees were for, and they were paid well enough to make it a fair trade. Keep the masses content, and they shall not rise against you.

 

[ROUX]

He paid for his caramel frappe, raising an eyebrow when he heard he hysterical laughter emanating from the bandana clad man in the back. What, was he high or something? He remembered Davin used to have the weirdest mood swings when he was high-


He stopped himself from finishing the thought, clenching his teeth as he did so. The topic was still sore, and he managed to block out the memories most of the time. Couldn't afford loosing it and killing some poor soul at Starbucks now could he?


Liam picked a table against the window, throwing himself down in a hair and drawing his phone from his pocket. He had seen a sign for a rare art collection being featured at the museum this week, and he presumed to text the details to a girl he had met a while back, deciding that he needed something to do during the day when he wasn't listening to the whispers of the underworld.

 

[WrittenHollowness]

"Come in, Lee!" Davin yelled out, throwing on pj bottoms. He wiped the white residue from his nose, while smoke cascaded from his lips. He sat down and started shoveling different food on his plate before attacking it.

 

[Wishfully]

Lee was counting. She had only gotten to ten before she heard Davin's voice telling her to come in. That was a good sign. Lee opened the door and felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She considered checking the message, but then she noticed Davin sitting at the table with some guy she didn't know. She examined the stranger warily before even approaching the table. "Who's this?" she asked bluntly.

 

[WrittenHollowness]

"Our protege, my lady." Davin mock bowed before snickering. "He's the back up incase one of us dies. Now, sit down. I made that tart you said was untouchable. We are celebrating the start of Leon's fall-- and our rise." He smiled and got up to get the white wine he liked.

 

[Wishfully]

"Well I don't plan on dying anytime soon..." Lee muttered. "And if I did, the world wouldn't miss me anyway." Lee pulled the chair out and sat in front of the tart. She continued to glance between Davin and Alexander, mostly observing the latter. Cute, she decided with slightly unfriendly smirk. But 'cute' concerned her, and she didn't know if she wanted to trust him. People called her cute, but they had no idea what she did. However, the tart kept calling her name, so she stopped glaring and she gave in. She did have a weakness for sweets, and Davin was definitely the best cook Lee had ever met. For whatever reason, Davin looked completely unruffled by this boy. From what she knew, Dav was a pretty good judge of character, so maybe the guy wasn't so bad. "What made you wanna do this?" she asked.

 

[WrittenHollowness]

"She's analyzibg you by the way." Davin smiled, sitting back down. He began cutting his chicken delicately. "Be nice to Lee, she can destroy your entire future with a keystroke." He bragged, taking a bite with a sip of Moscoto.

 

[Hiddencard]

Alexander watched as the girl entered, a little surprised how innocent she looked, but didn’t say anything. Not everyone on the street needed scars and tattoos he supposed. He was still sitting at the table and lifted a hand in greeting, along with a short smile as she entered the room. He looked over at Davin, ‘if some of you die, huh?' and reached a hand over toward her in greeting. “Alexander ‘back-up plan’ Dale,” he presented simply. “With a keystroke, huh?” he looked over at the girl. “You’re a hacker?” he asked curiously.

 

[Lokipi]

When class had eventually finished, adding at least three more deadlines to Harry’s list, the girl had left, hugging a newly found third text book to her chest. Much to her dismay, the new leather bag she had invested in was not large enough for sudden rush of literature.


“Look how big this thing is!” Harry gawked, as she held the hard-backed book out, it’s weight making her bones feel like they were gonna snap at any moment. “I swear to god, you could kill someone with this!” she added, before setting it down with a heavy thump onto a chessboard decorated table.


“You can kill someone with anything.” Came the sullen reply of her friend, as he lifted his mocha to his lips, studying his company over the rim of his large mug. “If you try hard enough.”


Mark had never been much of a talker when it came to Harry. To everyone else he seemed like a fun guy. Always the life of the party. Yet as the two became friends, Harry quickly discovered that it was all a façade, not that it bothered her that much though. If anything, she thought it was cool and kinda touching that the guy felt comfortable enough to let down his goofy shield and reveal his dark, borderline-boring attitude.


“Anyone ever tell you that you are one creepy dude?” Harry retorted, as she sat back into a plush seat which belong in Starbucks, folding her arms across her chest.


The odd pair were sat near the front of the shop, their belongings propped up against the window, as they traded short sentences.


“No.Never.” The boy smiled, setting his cup back down and reaching for his bag. “I better be off. Catch you tomorrow Harry?” He asked, nodding to the clock which was set above the counter.


Harry chewed the inside of her cheek for a brief moment before bobbing her head in agreement. The idea of skipping tomorrow to try and get a head start on her rounds as well as catch up on a few hours kip almost making her say no.


“Don’t let me find you in the library again. You snore like pig by the way.”


“Thanks?”


“No problem.”


Mark replied with a wriggle his eye brows, the happy mask coming back out as a cute waitress looked their way with a blushing glance. Ever since they had been served, Mark had managed to flit back and forth between his happy persona and the real him, making sure to catch the eye of the blonde each time.


“Flirt.”


“Sue me.”


Then with that the guy moved off, leaving Harry alone as he waved over his shoulder and exited the café.


Up until this point, Harry had been successfully ignoring the guy who had burst into the shop a little while ago, fidgeting in his seat like a five year old as he exploded into a hysteric laugher. The rest of the shop however couldn’t seem to help themselves. Nervous glances flashed towards the lad before whispered words were shared, the occasional shake of a head showing people’s displeasure and yet on viewing this, Harry couldn’t help but laugh with the lunatic. With Mark, her last distraction, gone she needed entertainment and this guy was more than enough.


Picking up her own mocha, she hid her smile behind her cup, cradling the mug in a basket of interwoven fingers as she sat back and observed a gossiping couple on the next table along. They seemed like well to do people, their clothes smart and their hair elegantly styled.


“Gotta be lost.” Harry mumbled as she took a swig of her drink. After all, if you were local, you learned to phase out the weirdoes. They were a daily occurrence after all.


Besides she had seen people who were worse. It was an occupational annoyance really but then again Harry had never really dealt with them. She customers were more on the mellow side of life, so despite the guy being amazing for a giggle, Harry noted to give him quite a lot of breathing space.


Downing the last dregs of coffee, the girl then stood, pulled on her coat and heaved on her bag, checking that everyone was there, after all she didn’t want to lose track of today’s pay. The green roll of notes however, remained untouched in her bag. Smirking down at it, the dark side of her a little proud of her achievement, harry then closed her bag and grabbed her text book, following Mark’s suit.


She had stuff to do and number one on her list was to get home. There was no way she was going missing today.

 

[Wishfully]

Lee glanced over at Davin when he said she was analyzing the poor guy. She shrugged. He was right- that's what she did. Most of the time she preferred to observe the way people acted and spoke without being prompted by questions, since she didn't like sharing much about herself either. Lee never expected people to tell her about their personal lives, but she did want to know why this guy seemed so eager to get involved in criminal activity and the underworld. If she was strong enough, she wouldn't be here right now- she'd be off in college, living on her own somewhere. But as many times as Lee tried to quit, she always found herself back here. The thrill of danger was sort of an addiction for her, and the need for cash was too great- she couldn't get out of this city if she tried.


Lee shook Alexander's hand and then waved both of hers in protest. "Don't be ridiculous," she replied to his hacker comment. "I can't do anything like that. I have this special ability, you see. I can play a powerful instrument called the Piano of Death...it curses people or even kills them if I get the notes right." Lee said- being sarcastic, but responding quite seriously. She probably should've been concerned at how quickly she thought up lies or witty remarks, but it was more like second nature. "Besides, I prefer to think of myself as an artist. So how about you- any special abilities or talents? What makes you think you can do this line of work?" she continued.

 

[Vudukudu]

"You say, you say that Mr. Johnson will not pay his protection fee?" Leon asked, quirking one eyebrow. He was, of course, used to people disagreeing with him, but he had taken this particular fool to be gutless.


"Uh.. Yes, sir. He refused to hand over the cash when we approached him."


"And..?"


"And what, sir?"


"Did you get the money?"


"N-no, sir. He.. wouldn't hand it over."


"Get out of here. You're pathetic." Leon barked, rolling his eyes. Without even waiting for the man to leave the room, he picked up his phone and made a call. The name Samuel appeared on the screen for maybe two seconds before the call was answered.


"I need a mall destroyed. Property damage, fire, shoot the place up. Break the glass, steal some shit. Just remind Mr. Johnson that he needs me to protect him from hoodlums."


He hung up, not bothering for the other man to respond. He was, in short, a professional. Between him and a few of Leon's own men, they would have the mall in ruins within two hours, a smoldering heap of burnt merchandise and insurance paperwork. It wouldn't be long before a stolen semi-truck would crash through the glass wall of the mall and release seven very, very dangerous men into the interior. By the time the police had arrived, his men had lit a few department stores on fire and shot nine people, killing seven of them. It was, by Leon's count, a success.

 

[Hiddencard]

Alexander looked at her without a word, until her words sunk in and he smirked. He leaned his head on his fist, pretending to be intrigued by her ability. “Ah, is that so,” he said when she told him of her ‘piano of death’. “I can’t brag with such an ability, I just play the normal boring one.” Although Davin hadn’t given him a job-interview it seems like this girl was making up for it with her own private one. He doubted that she would be counting his creative side for anything worth street-cred though.


He flickered two fingers up against his hat, so it lifted a little. “I am an excellent salesman, I am not easily scared and I'm loyal,” he told her with a nod of his head. “I think that is three good ones.” And the fact that he had absolutely nothing to lose of course, but he didn’t mention that one out loud. He turned back to his chicken and took another bite.

 

[xxDragonEater95xx]

Mars had just finished her shift at the casino and was feeling rather good about the money she had hustled from the patrons, and the best news was that were 0 complaints about her card handling. She was a master of sleight of hand, and the casino floor was like an enormous money-making playground to her. She clocked out, dressed back up in a black tank top and rather short worn jean-shorts....she liked showing off her collection of tattoos.


She went out the back door of the casino, pulled a joint and lighter from her pockets, and fired up. She knew the rules against smoking on the premises but it wasn't like Leon was watching her or one of his lackies was bothering her, she wondered if he even knew who she was. She had easily integrated into the system after the murder of her parents and had been laying low in the organization, no reason to make waves when you're living alright. She knew better than to bite the hand that fed her, especially if she didn't possess the the bite strength to finish the job.


Even knowing the rules, she had pick-pocketed about a dozen patrons on her shift, and as she smoked she also counted her spoils. She had pocketed roughly $15,000 and taken a Rolex off of a man she flirted with for about a minute. She put the cash in her back pocket and placed the Rolex on her left wrist before she headed off back to her apartment.

 

[WrittenHollowness]

Davin smiled at the young one. "Well that's good. I wouldn't want to blow your brains out all over the dinner table." He chuckled, a manic edge laced into the sound. "So, how fit are you, both physically and mentally? And, do you know anyone who hasn't been nabbed by Leon yet?" He turned to Lee, the stern business expression still in play. "I need you to diverge my funds into paying out for the rest of the buildings. I need the place vacated and shadowed." He took another swallow of his wine, thinking about his next statement. "I also need you to hire William. We will need wet work done, and I can't say I loved the man if I wasn't sure he could kill anyone..."


'Including me.' Davin thought, taking another bite of the chicken.

 

[Wishfully]

Lee smirked at Alexander's response. "An excellent salesman, huh?" She took another moment to observe the male. ''Excellent salesman, not easily scared, loyal." Hm. Salesman meaning a swindler, a quick thinker who could spin a story- in other words, little better than a liar. The kid does have a good poker face, I'll give him that. Body language is relaxed, no nervous habits or unusual behavior. Obviously not afraid much at all if he came here looking for Davin to get work. Charming, has a sense of humor. But loyal...well, I guess we'll have to see about that one- too early to tell. Overall, promising.


Lee tilted her head slightly after she had done a lot of thinking. She gave a small smile. "I think I like you, Alexander," she said. "Still not sure if I trust you, but I think we're off to a good start. If you can put up with both of us for this long, maybe you've got some promise." Lee leaned back, a little more at ease now. "I'm Lee, though I'm sure you figured that out. Sorry if I asked too many questions. I don't care much about peoples' personal lives- that's their business, but I do like to know who I'm working with from a more professional standpoint."


Lee took a moment to check her phone while Davin was talking to Alexander. She figured she had interrogated the guy enough and was now content to just listen to the conversation unless spoken to. Lee smiled slightly when she read the text message. "Sounds interesting. I get off tomorrow at 2pm. Wanna meet at the gallery?" she texted back to Liam.


Lee raised her head and stuck her phone back in her pocket when she heard Davin talking to her. "Yeah, sure." Transferring funds wouldn't be hard- she could do that as soon as she got home, but she hesitated when he mentioned William. Although she had been hanging around Davin for awhile now, she never really knew much about his personal history or relationships, only a few things here and there. All she knew was that William was his ex and they had been really close, but last she heard, he had left town. Who knows, maybe he wasn't even using the same name. That's probably what she would have done if she ever got out- change names and start over. "Um...okay. I'll uh...I'll do a search and see where he is," Lee said, agreeing but also trying to dodge the subject.

 

[Hiddencard]

Alexander laughed with a lifted eyebrow by Davin’s dark jokes. Not getting his head blown off, ah yeah that would be great. “I would appreciate that,” he told him. Then he pondered for a moment over his condition. “Um, well, I go to the gym sometimes,” he said with a shrug. His body was fit, but not overly muscular like some of the tough guy’s around this area. “Mentally, um, fine I would say,” he said with a grin. “I have seen my fair share of… stuff, but I wouldn’t say I’m in bad shape,” he clarified. He used pot, but in this area that would be seen as practically clean.


Then he thought of some people. “Maybe I know a few people,” he said with a smile. He would have to check if they would be up for it though, it was not everyone who was as reckless as him and would jump head-first into a ‘war’ like this.


“Who is William?” he asked and continued eating his food. He was almost done with it, having been incredibly hungry from the start.

 

[ROUX]

Liam hummed along to some random Eminem song he had playing on his iPhone, readjusting one of his earphones. One of his trustworthy informants had alerted him to another of Leon's massacres, and his nose twitched in irritation. Drug dealers, he could care less about, but murdering innocent people just to get a point across...it was downright despicable. Just another reason that Liam would serve justice - or the man's head- on a platter. However, it needed to be soon, because he didn't want to stay in this city a moment longer than he had to. It takes a lot to just dissapear when your family was one of the most recognized in the entire country.


Pondering this, Liam finished his drink and got up to toss it in the trash, then returned to his seat to grab his backpack. His phone buzzed, and he checked the message with his head down while he strode towards the door. Before he could reply however, he walked straight into someone else, knocking both his phone and the person's bag to the ground.


"Shit, sorry," he said quickly, scrambling to pick up the fallen items, when his eyes landed on the thick roll of cash on the floor.

 

[WrittenHollowness]

"No time for that, I have rounds to make." Davin answered, getting up and putting a muscle shirt on. "Lee, don't leave until I get back. Start him off with handling arms." He picked up the backpack, holding his trade. It was almost routine at this hour, making an effort to be as effective as possible. He pulled a 9mm from under the couch and reached the door in his flip flops. "And keep an eye on street cams. If you see me disappear, run." He added before slipping out of the door.

 

[Hiddencard]

Alexander looked at him with a questioning gaze, but didn’t argue further. “Alright..” he said. He would have to make Lee clarify for him later. Handling arms? Hm, guess he was getting a gun at hand then. He looked down at his phone. Davin had mentioned people he thought could join. One person had come to mind, which was Harry, one of his good friends that he had met at a party once and they had become pretty good friends. He wondered if she was still on the streets.


‘Hey Harry. How’s it going? Are you still doing business?’ he wrote and send the message. If she was, then this person who was killing off dealers was her problem as well, and it would probably be a good idea to get together. When he had written the message he looked back over at Lee to see what she would be ‘teaching’ him.

 

[Wishfully]

'Why did he leave me to do this crap? I'm not a weapons specialist or a teacher, I'm a graphic designer for goodness sake!' Lee sighed slightly. "Well...you ever used this stuff before?" she asked Alexander. Hopefully he had- most people on the streets had at least picked one up before, right? It'd be hard to "go to war" without knowing this. Lee couldn't brag about being a perfect shot or anything, but she could at least hit a target more often than not- thanks to Davin. "I don't know what he's gonna set you up with, but I'd assume a Glock or something pretty mobile. Obviously, we won't be shooting inside his apartment, but we can go over the basics. Know how to carry a weapon, aim, and reload?" Lee questioned before casting a quick glance at the monitors to make sure Davin was still in sight.

 

[Hiddencard]

Alexander corrected his hat a bit and then shook his head. “Nah, I mean, one of my friends has shown me a gun before and I have held one, but I have never tried to shoot it,” he admitted. He went to a bunch of parties all the time, he was around drugs and sometimes unpleasant types, but never someone he had been on bad enough terms with that he had to carry a gun. He had never been in a gang war like this. He looked over at the monitor she was looking at, then back at her.


“So, how did you end up here? Did you come around and just knocked on the door as well?” he asked and send her a smile. He was actually genuinely interested.

 

[Lokipi]

“Erm… oops?” Harry mumbled, putting on a believable fake laugh as her heart bucked. It had only taken a few short seconds for this to happen. Just a few to set her perpetual bad luck into motion, as her new company bent down to retrieve her stuff and stop. The roll of notes had wiggled free of her bag on collision and now lay in plain sight for any interested party to see, including her current company, who now watched the the roll like a cat watching a small, defenseless bird.


Thinking quickly, Harry sucked in a large breath, steadying her heart before giving a casual shrug of her shoulders. The gesture made her hair bod slightly, sending a few renegade strands to sweep across her face. Here, she took the opportunity to shyly tuck the whisps away, before blushing. If she were an actress, she would have been in the running for an Oscar.


“No problem.” She stammered as she scooped down and gathered a few scattered belongings shoving them unceremoniously back into her bag before setting her sights onto the clump of cash which lay at the gentleman's feet. “Probably my fault, such a klutz after all.” She said giving a light sigh as she leaned forward to grab the roll with a slow, lazy motion.


“And don’t wanna loose this!” She added, blushing more now, as she slipped the wad back into the soft leather interior of her bag. “Drug money is a precious thing in this neighborhood. Right?”


She chortled here. A sweet smile smearing her lips as she passed the comment off as a joke. Harry always did this. Hiding behind the truth with grin as she made her bitter reality a shield.


Sure it was risky, but if you did it right, there was nothing to worry about and Harry was doing it right.


The expression creased the side of her eyes as they swept across a couple of bystanders, lips curling at the corners as she struggled with the rest of her stuff, every now and then dropping little items to make it seem like she was flustered.


When she caught the gaze of a few on lookers, she gave an inward sigh of relief when they offered small chuckle and nod towards her, affirming that they had fallen for her ploy.


“Didn’t hurt you or anything did I?” Harry pressed on returning her attention back to the man who had caused this sudden hiccup in her evening. The act had to be believable after all and as long as the guy wasn’t gay, Harry knew she would be in the clear. Here, she then let her hands furl around the man’s phone, giving it a once over before handing it back with a worried frown.


”Nothing’s scratched I hope?”


It was then, as if for once, good luck was on her side, that her phone chimed.


Scrambling for it, she apologised to the guy with a lopsided grin before hitting the lock button and studying the message. Alex’s name flashed up on the display, the light illumining the puzzlement on Harry’s face before the briefest of moments. Quickly examining the text, the girl then nodded, and slotted the phone back into her pocket before standing. Sending a silent prayer to Alex.


Saved by the bell. Literally.


“Listen, I have to go, but hope there are no hard feelings!” She beamed this last bit, before giving a pathetic, enthusiastic wave and turning to exit.

 

[xxDragonEater95xx]

Mars put in her headphones and switched her pandora station to Lil Jon, she loved ending her day with some hype music. It helped her get in the mood to get other things done. She had heard through the grape vine that Leon was senselessly killing again, which didn't surprise her at all, and only really reminded her that doing anything outside of what made him happy was liable to get you killed. Or he might just do it, like in some cases, to prove a point.


Mars had heard through some others that there were people looking to come up from the reign of Leon, which made her laugh but also intrigued, she wasn't sure if she could remember his name but she was sure she had the location down. She had been a pusher for the guy who had gotten scooped off the street and was Leon's latest victim, and had gotten some info on other guys from him.


She headed over to the building, waited for a few people to exit, and then slipped inside. She made it to the elevator and hit the 12, and rode the elevator in silence.


She was pretty sure she wouldn't be welcomed with open arms, but then again, no guts no glory. She wasn't a marksmen so she didn't carry a gun on her at all times, but she figured in close quarters she she could hold her own, but she prayed that things didn't go like that. She just wanted to do a little something extra on the side, and by some miracle it also brought about the end of Leon...then she had to at least attempt to avenge her father.


She found the door and stood aside it, and knocked three times. She knew that showing up unannounced wasn't the best course of action, but since she didn't have his number or know anyone who knew who he was she had no other choice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Vudukudu]

Leon watched the news with a small smile plastered across his lips. He had just gotten off the phone with his re-convinced client, and all was settled in that regard. He would take a sizable portion of the profits, as well as get a link to all future security footage of the place. He practically owned it now, and that was what he wanted.


He wondered how much longer it would take before someone tried to get rid of him. The idea was amusing, given the strength and size of his organization, but it nagged at him almost constantly. Eventually some fool would rise up and give him a run for his money. And ain't that something you just can't wait to see? Some maverick with a giant clanking pair walking on in here, giving some big ol' speech about oppression and injustice before you put a bullet between his teeth.

 

[Wishfully]

Lee smiled a little. "No shame in not knowing," she said. "To be honest, I was the same way- no weapons 'till I met Dav." Lee dug through her wallet and pulled out a stack of nearly a dozen fake IDs, fanning them out like a deck of cards. "Only one of these is the real me," she said. "But this is what I do. I made one for Davin awhile back but didn't think anything of it. Heck, maybe I've made one for you before- I don't even remember half the people who hire me out. But Davin remembered me and asked me for couple different things since then. To be honest, he was probably testing the waters to see what I was capable of. Before I knew it, I was working for him and he was teaching me about the underworld, and well...here I am still. Not sure if I should really be thanking the guy for that, but he's a good friend, or at least the closest thing I've got to one."


"Anyways, enough about me. So, weapons. Always carry a pocketknife," Lee said. "They're always handy and not heavy. Even if not for defense, they're useful little tools that can help you in a bind. Also carry at least one extra magazine- hopefully you won't need to shoot that much, but if you're out of rounds when you need them and the other guy still has bullets...well...things don't end well for you." Lee stopped abruptly when she heard a knock on the door. She glanced back at the monitors and saw Davin still onscreen. She narrowed her eyes at the door and gave Alexander a questioning glance before going to see who it was.