Realistic or Modern The City: 1990s Gangs - IC Thread [ENDED]

[Bellz]

Chapter 4: We Are Not The Same
Monday, 13th October 1997
...10 Days Later...
London: Early Evening (Twilight) - cold, dry, clear

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Interpol HQ (Late Last Night)
~ Lower Clapton, London ~

Wesley Roberts
Thomas Porter​

"Our team, team 1, Jeremy, myself, and Dermot will enter from the West side…Team 2, Thomas, and Natalie…you both will enter from the East Side of the building. On the East side, we have been monitoring them for a while and have found that they are lacking in security due to constant shift changes at certain times of the day. This is why we are carrying out this job after sundown….this is when they take the longest to change out their guards for the next round of shifts." Wesley looked at the table, at each of the team members sitting around the blueprint map of the warehouse that they would be entering tomorrow.

"Those on the West Side are going to be faced with a little more company. They have guards in windows of the warehouse at point A…and point B." Wesley pointed to the windows on the second and third story of the building. "As well as point C." He then pointed to the middle window on the third story. "Team 2 will need to get inside, and take out those guards so that we can get into the building as well. We only want to worry about what is happenin’ on the ground, not above, you see?" Once again, Wes’s eyes looked up, making sure everyone was listening before moving on.

"Once we’re inside, we only have 10 minutes to get in, confirm the bust, and get out before more company will arrive. Unless you want to arrive back home in a body bag, I suggest you work quickly with the evidence bags as well as the cameras provided. Since we are only a small team, we can only take what is on our persons and the rest will have to be torched. It’s important that when extractin' evidence you wear a glove and place it in the bag. Seal it properly before placing it in your backpack. And make sure everyone on your team is accounted for before we light the place up. Understand?"
with: Jeremy BasDorcha ; Natalie neverbackdown ; Dermot Misty Gray

***


East Side of the Carter Druggie Warehouse
~ Undisclosed Location, London ~


Thomas Porter ​

Being in such an uncertain situation like this would have sent Thomas in a spiral 12 years ago, but right now, he felt so confident in himself and his ability to get the job done. It was just a little alarming, after all he'd been through. Still, he didn’t let that thought stop him considering he had another person to worry about. They tip-toed their way toward the building, crouching behind a lot of different types of cargo. On his person, he had a handgun, a knife, and even a bullet-proof Kevlar vest. As well as a walkie-talkie to communicate with Wesley. In his hands, he held a small semi-automatic rifle with a night-vision scope on it. Nothing fancy. Once they were behind some barrels that were closest to the building, Thomas looked at Natalie, his rifle against his chest in both hands. "You take right, I take left. We’ll meet in the middle. Remember the staircase is to the right, we meet for just a moment and then immediately move to the right." Once he got the okay from Natalie, Thomas grabbed his radio that sat on his chest and pressed the 'talk' button quietly saying, "In position."

Releasing the button, he then looked back towards the warehouse before whispering, "It looks like they are making the change now. Let’s go." He then moved to get up first, slowly creeping up before crouching and running towards the building. The twilight sky was getting darker by the second, and their all-black attire made it easier to blend in. When he made it, he pressed his back to the front of the building on the left side before slowly taking a step forward and shuffling towards the entrance. When no one was seen, he continued inside.

Once Natalie was inside the building as well, he pointed to the staircase to her right and they both hurried up it. "You take out the gunman on the second floor, I’ll take out the two on the third floor and we’ll meet back-" He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before he ran into something soft on the stairs. Or someone rather. "WHO THE FUCK-? Thomas rammed his rifle into the man’s chest before he could finish the sentence. "No guns!" He told Natalie, "Or it will let them all know we are here." Thomas dropped his rifle, pulled out his knife, and stabbed the man in the throat without a second thought. Thinking would have to wait, even as the man’s warm blood pooled around his fingers. He pulled the knife out and grabbed his rifle again, "Come on." He said to Natalie before continuing up the stairs, this time taking care to make sure no one else was coming down it, keeping his knife at hand as he strapped his rifle to his back.

Fortunately, no one came down the stairs after that. "Gunman, second floor. We’ll meet on the third. Use the distress tone on your walkie if you need me." Thomas said to Natalie his voice still hushed, looking at her before nodding his head, "Call in once it’s done!" Then he bounded off.
with: Natalie neverbackdown

***
West Side of the Carter Druggie Warehouse
(in Van parked further down the lot)
~ Undisclosed Location, London ~

Wesley Roberts​

The air after sundown in London had a bite to it that was comparable to death being only mere centimeters away. Wesley, who was normally all play had a serious look on his face as his breath showed in the van, barely lit by the light that twilight left behind. In position. Thomas’s voice sounded off in Wesley’s ear, giving him some relief. Thomas and Natalie were completely exposed at the moment while Wesley, Jeremy, and Dermot were inside a van that had been parked in the lot nearly a week ago. They had been dropped off in the van hours ago and were waiting it out, but Thomas and Natalie had to make their way to the building on their own from the opposite side. It was making him anxious.

Normally, they were able to use some sort of surveillance for this stuff. But to keep things completely safe, they had to cut them all off…even the ones surrounding the building. None of the cameras were working. None of them would work until after they got the fuck out of there. Still, they were able to see out the windows of the vans, that only looked out one way and not in. To the outside world, the windows looked painted white, all except the front windshield which looked tinted black. Wesley was watching the warehouse from a distance. For any signs of extreme movement. "How long do you think it’s going to take them?" He asked out loud, to any one of the two men who were willing to answer. Wes couldn’t help it, he was fucking anxious. If this job went sideways and something happened to either one of them or anyone else in this van… the very first job? Welp, that would be the end of this whole operation now wouldn’t it?

Wesley tried to not look as anxious as he felt, but that was completely ruined when he saw the guards, who had all been busy with their shift change…alerted to something happening inside. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven of them ran inside the building without any other conversation and Wesley stood up from his seated position and looked to Jeremy and Dermot. If it had been one or two guards, maybe he would have let it roll off his shoulders, but seven? "I think we need to intervene," Wesley said, looking at Jeremy and Dermot.

"We can’t wait for them to take out the gunmen up above, what if there is somethin’ goin’ down in that building right now and they need our help?" He asked, "We could take them out ourselves. They just sent seven guys in there, there are only, what, 4 out here now. With the three up top, we can handle that." Wesley’s foot started to tap just a little bit against the van floor, anxious to make a decision but acknowledging he couldn’t just go in there guns blazing without getting consent from the rest of the team he was with. "What do you say?"
with: Jeremy BasDorcha ; Dermot Misty Gray

Train Station Landing
~ Somewhere in London ~

Dawson Rogers ​

Finding himself in London once again was always a treat, especially when he wasn’t with his daughter or Rachel. As much as he loved spending time with his daughter and his best friend, he rarely had time to spend with himself these days what with work tying him down in between. Being a single parent was always a balancing game of either feeling like you are spending too much time with your kid, or not enough time with her and then with Rachel…well, Riley was always upset with him because they always just got into trouble. Rachel was trouble though. Dawson just enjoyed getting into whatever trouble that woman brought around. So on days like today, it was nice to just have time to himself. Rachel was taking care of Rosie who was attached at the hip with Laura. After the experience she had with that older gentleman at the bookstore, Rachel said she was staying away from London for a moment and Dawson didn’t blame her. So, that’s how he found himself waiting for yet another train. It baffled him how late the trains in this place were compared to the ones in New York. Like, the public transportation system here made NYC seem like a beautiful utopian dream, which while he loved his city, was nearly laughable.

2 times, his train had been delayed. Dawson found himself to be a very, very patient man but this was just ridiculous. Here he was, hoping to catch a train to go just a short trip down to visit some historical site and now he was stuck reading the same public service announcement poster over and over again. How many friggin times can they warn you to wash your hands? Who doesn’t wash their hands? Making a face, the man looked down and away from the poster at the watch on his wrist, sighing once more. He was convinced that perhaps the train would just never show up. Maybe he should just get onto a different one? Raising his eyebrows, he suddenly latched onto that idea and realized that he had been foolish that he hadn’t thought about doing that sooner.

Maybe he was just tired, but had he really overlooked that option and just sat here the whole time, wasting his day to himself? Or maybe he was just getting old. Dawson then scrunched up his nose at that thought and shook his head. God, there is no way in hell he was getting old. At least not that old. Sure, he had a kid, sure he was a responsible adult with a job and he didn’t go out to clubs and all that but he could still have fun and do stuff.

Standing from where he was seated, he decided that whatever train was going to stop next. No matter where it was coming or going, he was just going to board it and see where it would take him. Because that was what the young, fun, Dawson used to do. Spontaneity and all. And who was to say he wasn’t still that person? He just needed to do it and see where it took him. As if on cue, ready to take center stage…a random train to god knows where pulled up, and with the utmost confidence in himself and his ability to just go for whatever life was going to throw at him, Dawson walked towards it, ready to board the train without looking back.

Of course, he didn’t factor in people who were getting off.

He hardly felt like bumping into someone with his shoulder like an animal. But when he saw a flash of red hair tip towards the floor, it caught his attention enough. "HOLY SHIT ARE YOU OKAY?!" He asked immediately, turning to see a lovely woman toppled on the ground. "God, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to do that! Here, let me help you up!" He quickly moved to crouch down, holding out his hand for her to grab.

"I’m so sorry, miss, are you hurt?"
with: Emery Misty Gray (OOPS)

 

[Pyroclast]

Chapter 4: We Are Not The Same
Monday 13th October 1997
...10 days later...
London: Early Evening - Cold, Clear, Dry

Along a Quiet London Road...

Syd Porter​

“I can’t exactly complain, you know? I mean, I rely on her a lot, like I relied on my mam…until…” His hands wrung the steering wheel of his brand new ‘97 Lincoln Town Car as he drove through the quieter outskirts of the city, the rings on his fingers leaving imprints on his skin. “I’ve never been good at being alone, and I’ve been lucky to have her by my side through everything. She’s always there beside me when things get ugly. When I get ugly. She’s a fucking saint.”

Tears stung his eyes and he shoved his cigarette between his lips to take a deep drag. “I just feel like…I’m doing this on my own,” he continued, the smoke on his breath catching on the breeze from the open window as he drove along. “And I don’t know how to do that, Penny…I don’t know how to do it without her.” He slowed to a halt at a red light and turned to face his dog, looking her in the eyes for a moment before giving her a scratch behind the ear. “Yeah, I know you’re here for me, too,” he reassured her in a softer tone. “I don’t know where I’d be without you either. But Roxie’s my wife.” He sighed, and brought his hand down to rest on the gear stick. “You don’t understand what it’s like to have a spouse. I’m as close to a partner as you’ll ever get, I guess. But when you have a good one, like I do, it’s like there’s nothing you can’t get through as long as you’re together. When life gets tough, your marriage is what keeps your head up. But when your marriage gets tough?”

The cigarette found its way to his mouth again, tears clouding his vision. He turned away from Penny to check the traffic lights, and just as he did, the driver behind him honked their horn - the light had already turned green. Before he could even fully blink his tears away, Syd was startled into motion and put his foot down. He sped away from the impatient driver behind him, his emotions accelerating at the same rate, tears still blurring his vision as his mind remained stuck on Roxie.

Suddenly another car pulled out from a perpendicular road and cut in front of him, causing him to swerve hard to the right and narrowly avoid crashing into a lamppost. Penny was sliding around in the passenger seat, yelping in distress. By the time Syd slammed the breaks, the car was already halfway across the pavement. He sat there for a few seconds in mild shock, his heart thumping in his chest. After a quick glance into his mirror confirmed that the other driver was still where they had braked, Syd jumped out of his Lincoln, slamming the door behind him as he stormed over to the other vehicle. The driver, seeing Syd approach, began to step out of his car - but Syd was there before the man could even fully stand, and yanked him out of his seat before slamming him against the body of the car.

“Hey, man -” the driver began to say, but Syd ripped the man’s glasses off and tossed them to the ground before punching him square in the head. The rings he was wearing left cuts across his eyebrow, from which blood began to instantly pour.

“ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND?!” Syd roared at him. His tear-stained cheeks no doubt added to the wildness in his expression and the fear in the driver’s eyes. “You careless son of a bitch almost killed me and my dog!”

“You came outta’ nowhere!” the man argued back. “What speed was you goin’ at?” Though it was bold of him, his body language betrayed his attempt to stand up for himself as he pressed himself against his car and away from Syd, trembling from the fear of being struck a second time.

His anticipation of being punched, however, quickly disappeared when he instead felt something lightly pressing into his solar plexus. He looked down to see a switchblade knife pointed diagonally upwards, concealed between their bodies. “I…I’m sorry,” the man slowly drew out, his voice dropping in volume.

“For what?” Syd asked under his breath. “What are you sorry for?”

“I-I’m sorry for…f-for cuttin’ in front of -”

“For cutting in front of me? Not looking where you were going? And what else?”

The man was beginning to panic now, blood still trickling over his tearful eyes. “I don’t know,” he almost wept. Syd pressed the knife against him a touch more firmly, causing the man to sob. “For running you off the road and…and almost killing you?”

“What else?” Syd continued to push him into the car, leaning in close so he couldn’t escape.

“I…I don’t know! I don’t know, I can’t think…”

“Who else is in the car?”

Syd let the man look away from him but never took his eyes off him for a second.

“Your dog?”

“That’s right. My dog. You could’ve killed my fucking dog.” Syd’s eyes had darkened with emotion, bloodshot and still damp with tears. He was breathing heavily, almost struggling to catch his breath.

“I’m sorry,” the man whispered. “I’m sorry I almost killed you and your dog, I’m sorry I didn’t look where I was goin’, that I cut in front of you and ran you off the road.” Tears and blood coalesced in streams down his cheeks as he struggled to stifle his sobs. “Please let me go, I promise I won’t report this, I won’t tell no one, just please let me go…I have kids at home.”

“They all say that,” Syd was quick to retort, though he had no intention of killing or even hurting the man. He took a deep breath and drew the knife away slightly. “I’m gonna let go now. Then I’m gonna get in my car and drive away. And if you change your mind about keeping this to yourself, you will be landing yourself in a very unpleasant situation. Do you understand?”

The man nodded. Syd slowly let him go. He kept eyes on him as he made his way towards the man’s front tyre, then crouched down and slashed it with the switchblade. He stood up, put the knife away and, before making his way back to the Lincoln, pointed a finger at the man. “Stay off the road.”

By the time Syd was back in the drivers seat of his car, he felt much calmer, like he had, at least partly, released a big build up of stress. He gave Penny a hug and a rub between the ears to soothe her after all the commotion, and then sat back and sighed. “Yeah…I should talk to her.”

The Porter Residence
~ Holland Park, London ~​

“DADDYYY!!!”

Syd had to smile. Before he had even put his key in the lock, his son somehow anticipated him, his sweet squealing voice penetrating the oak front door. There was an exchange of dogs as Penny entered the house and Gunner came bustling out. While the two dogs twirled around each other in greeting, Sebastian ran into Syd’s legs and hugged him tight around the waist.

“Hey, trouble,” Syd grinned, just about managing to shuffle into the room and close the door behind him. Sebastian released him and started jumping up and down. In his sticky hand he held a Barbie doll, her dress half hanging off from the adventures she must have been on, moss tangled into her hair.

“You playing with Barbies now?” Syd asked nonchalantly as he hung up his coat.

“She was climbing the tree, but then there were tree monsters -”

“Oh, not those pesky tree monsters!”

“So she had to fly away on the washing line and then she fell into a jungle patch and had to make a house with the animals. With rocks and grass and leafs. And then they gave her a watermelon at the end of the day for all of her trouble.”

Syd looked at the Barbie and noticed gooseberry seeds stuck to her collar. He supposed a gooseberry was roughly the size of a watermelon for a Barbie. “Wow,” he remarked. “Sounds like you both need a rest after that big adventure.”

“NO!” Sebastian giggled, and ran further into the room before diving head first onto the sofa, where Jane was curled up with Bo-Bo, watching some romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant.

Syd followed him. “Sebby, where’s your mam?”

“Mmmmmmm, I don’t know.”

“She’s in the kitchen I think,” Jane chimed in, barely taking her eyes off the screen as she opened up her arms to let the wriggly Sebastian join the cuddle.

Syd came over to drop a kiss on his daughter’s head before making his way to the archway that led to the hall. “Thanks, love.”

As soon as he was back in the corridor, he felt a slight tension return to him as he approached the kitchen. It wasn’t the act of confronting his wife that filled him with dread, but more the idea that had been looming over him that their marriage was in trouble.

When he found her, she was cleaning the kitchen surfaces. “Wow,” he admired. “It looks great in here.” He drew a deep breath and quietly set about putting the kettle on and preparing the cafetiere, minding to keep out of her way. “Do you want a coffee, babe?”

Once the cafetiere was ready and the kettle was boiled, Syd made the coffee and then turned to properly face her, watching as she cleaned. “Rox’...can we talk?”

Interactions
Bellz Roxie

 

[Bellz]

Harper Residence
~ Stoke Newington, London ~

Blake Harper​

Living in London was taking some getting used to. Especially since the sun didn't shine nearly as often as it did in Cuba, and not for nearly as long. But, Blake was making the most of what she had, which was Adam and Collin in one place. From her phone calls with Natasha, it seemed like she wasn't moving from Dublin any time soon, so Blake was trying to make peace with the fact that her family wouldn't be completely together again. She was planning to make her trip out to Dublin at some point, but for now, she was just trying to get settled in London.

They finally had permanent housing, after being in temporary housing since they relocated. Blake had finished getting the last of their belongings unpacked and had busied her mind and restless body at times with window shopping to fill the multiple empty rooms. During those trips, she often spent them either by herself or with Collin, who she found to be insistent in joining her these days wherever she went. Blake didn't want to bother Adam with the mundane tasks of shopping for their new home, given he had a lot more responsibilities to take on now. He would just be surprised when he came home, finding new pieces of furniture here and there, or even sometimes clothing if she was in the shopping mood and found things in his size that she thought he would like.

Tonight, Adam and Collin were busy and Blake had arranged some plans that may be shocking to some. Seeing as their husbands were working together now and that the past had been so very long ago...Blake had been mulling over the idea of inviting Kerry King to her home when the timing felt right. There had once been (and maybe there was still) some bitterness towards Kerry due to her involvement in what happened to Jackson, or what she'd done that led up to Jackson's death. Most of the men closest to her late husband felt nothing but ill will towards the woman and Blake understood the sentiment well enough. While she felt bitterness at one point in her life, age had smoothed things over, and made her feel completely at peace with it all. Given that she was now remarried to Adam. She had properly moved on from her grief in a way that was healthy and Blake felt that it was time to address the elephant in the room with Kerry, to at least let her know that she held no ill will towards her so that the two of them could be there for their husbands and even each other later down the line if needed.

She'd prepared some light appetizers but had dinner going in the oven for them both. Feeling like a meal was more than called for in this situation. What better way to let bygones be bygones than by breaking bread? Any alcohol Kerry wanted, Blake and Adam had in their liquor cabinet. Tonight, Blake was going to try to forget that her daughter and grandchildren were still in Dublin. That right now the only reason they were in London was to deal with some messy business all over again. Maybe after they cleared the air of their past, Kerry and she could have fun, eh? Girl time was needed. Even if it was found in the unlikely company.

Checking her appearance in the long mirror in the entryway, she quickly moved to the kitchen to make sure the several appetizer dishes she'd prepared were taken out of the fridge. After fussing with the arrangement at the island, she heard a knock at the door. Taking in a deep breath, she forced herself to step away from the food and smoothed out her outfit.

Not wanting to keep Kerry waiting, she hurried back towards her front room, before opening the front door. Blake was all smiles, not showing any of the uneasiness she had been feeling as she greeted the woman, "Kerry, hi, so glad you could make it. Please come on in."
with: Kerry Misty Gray

Porter Residence
~ You ask a lot of location Questions, London ~

Roxie Porter ​

In a house full of 6 people and four dogs, the house was rarely ever completely clean. In her younger years before kids, Roxie never used to worry over such trivial things as whether the laundry was folded and put away in an order that made sense for this time of year or if the kitchen was clean and sanitized with hot water to prevent the many, many germs the kids brought home from school from spreading. She used to live the organized mess kind of lifestyle. But...things changed -- so many things. So many, in fact, that as she stood scrubbing at her countertops in the kitchen, she...just for a moment thought they were still in Germany.

The counters were similar to the ones they had in London now, though the ones she was currently looking at had given her trouble with getting out food stains, and didn't shine nearly as nice. The delusion that they were still living in Germany only shattered when Sebastian came running through the kitchen with a Barbie in his hand, causing her to look up and around at the rest of her surroundings once more.

"Sebastian, slow down kiddo, or that poor Barbie's head is gonna pop right off!" He didn't seem to hear her though, clearly on a mission as she just briefly smiled and returned scrubbing at the counters with a sponge. It might have been obsessive at this point, but she was trying to scrub at something that most likely wasn’t there anymore. The stains from any food that had been cleaned up hours before were gone, any crumbs were dusted off. It was spotless. Her knuckles were white as she dug her palm into the counter, trying to fight away any thoughts that were coming to her head. But the thought that had entered her head was too…potent to keep away for long. Like poison. She’d been avoiding talking with Syd. Throwing herself into chores around the house to avoid him, J.J. just pretended like she was fine even on the days she felt at her worst. "I’m fine." She would say to her husband, offering her a barely convincing grin before instantly returning to whatever chore she was doing to distract her mind and body from just throwing everything she was feeling up. God, Lucy was probably up there rolling her eyes. Roxie used the same line as James which she knew Lucy used to hate. But what else was she supposed to say? One could only say so many things to express that they were okay when maybe, in fact, they weren't.

She was fine. This was fine. It would all be just fine.

Roxie’s hand stopped digging into the countertop with the sponge she was using, letting out a sigh as she realized even in her head that didn’t sound the slightest bit convincing. She was tired. Too tired to carry on like this. But none of what she felt would help Syd with any of these big changes. The fact of the matter was, he had a lot on his shoulders and she had to support him. While he would always say that she also needed to look after herself, she knew that certain things could…for lack of a better word, derail him in ways that endangered not just himself, but others. Looking after herself normally took the backseat. Feeling her chest tighten up, Roxie moved a hand to it swallowing harshly as she took a strained deep breath to try to focus back on the present. None of this was good for her condition. When her eyes looked around the kitchen again, she found Olive, her Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen looking at her from the other side of it, "Don’t give me that look, little lady." She said, her voice a little raw before clearing her throat.

When she removed her hand from her chest, she looked to see that it was shaking and she closed her eyes as she set it back down on the counter with another deep breath. From the front entrance area, Roxie heard Sebastian greeting Syd, causing a weird prickly feeling to move up the side of her neck. Moving to the sink, she decided to busy herself again. Wanting to both fight off the urge to drift to another room and fight off the anxiety peaking in her, she picked up a plate that she’d cleaned for the 4th time already. Counterclockwise…1..2..3..4…clockwise…1..2..3…4." She thought in her head as she scrubbed in circles, counting in her head to keep her mind from wandering too far ahead again.

Counterclockwise….1…2..3..4…clockwise….1…2…-" Before she could get to 3 or 4, on the third go of her obsessive scrubbing, Syd’s voice interrupted it all. Her distracted counting, the thoughts threatening to consume her. Still, mindlessly scrubbing, instead of turning to look at him as he said it looked great and thanking him. All she could do was nod silently in gratitude.

Then he asked if she wanted coffee. She wasn’t allowed to drink much of it these days. But that wasn’t something she felt she could say to him. Her eyes burned as she looked down at the pure white plate in her hands, glistening under the warm water. Blinking back the tears, Roxie cleared her throat, "S-sure." She answered though it came out wrong. All wrong. Roxie still couldn’t find it in her to turn around, to face him. Because she knew the minute she did she would fall apart. The heat was already rising in her cheeks, and the tingle in her chest and neck was already a precursor of what was to come. The tingling was starting to become painful but she just continued to scrub as if that was going to save her life if she keeled over from a heart attack right now.

It was silent between them with the kettle on. Neither of them talked to each other in between the usual domestic activities like they used to. The guilt she felt along with everything else was...enough to make her sick. She'd wrestled with the idea that she had gone on for so long just being there for Syd, who had gone through so many unspeakable things that she should just put her feelings aside and continue to just be there. Ultimately that was what she was doing now. Supporting him in the decisions he made for the family. But...she'd been a fool to think that would be easy to do, that it would be sustainable, even.

Even if his foundation wasn't strong, she had been the pillar to stabilize him, to keep their foundation strong. But now it seemed like their foundation, her pillars of mental and emotional strength she had built over the years, were starting to crack. Or maybe show the cracks that had been there all along, and she slapped paint on to avoid him obsessively worrying about anyone else but himself, who she thought he needed to focus on the most. What would happen if she could not provide the stabilization anymore? Roxie’s eyes burned until she could not see the plate in her hands any further. Then Syd finally asked what she'd been anticipating, causing her to stop cleaning. She set the plate on the rack next to her, and she looked up at the ceiling briefly to allow her tears to dry. She then blinked a few times, crossing her arms over her chest.

Finally, the woman turned around, allowing her face to turn down and look at him. Her icy blue eyes met his, and she did not say anything at first, mostly because she had immediately seen something different about him. But also because every time she saw him, a small part of her died inside. And not for the reasons some might think. Roxie had been faced with the death of her loved ones many times in her life. Each loss had been a blow in ways she hadn't expected, and she'd grieved for them differently. And yet, besides entertaining the horrible, devastated feeling of losing her children. Staring at Syd, a small part of her died inside to think about losing him because of how much she was irrevocably in love with him. Small parts of her died because of how many times she's nearly lost him to himself.

She had him right in front of her now, but she'd never felt so alone...And that was a new feeling for her.

"We can talk." She said softly. "You look shaken…everything okay?" It was a dumb question, considering she was here, on the verge of tears. But he did look shaken, like something more happened than just what she was assuming. But she would always make sure Syd was okay first.
with: Syd (WANTED FOR HIT AND RUN) Porter Pyroclast

 

[Misty Gray]

Train Station
~ Queen's Park Station, London ~

Emery Callahan​

As much as she loved her parents, Savannah, and the rest of her family in the Lake District, Emery didn't hesitate to join her extended family in London when the opportunity arose. She'd missed the action and drama that came with being a part of the Irish Mob. She'd grown beyond bored of the peaceful life the Callahans now led in the Lakes. She was loving having so many members of her family, who had been presumed dead, back in her life. Syd was now the boss, but her Uncle Conor had returned and so many other family members were now back in her life. Until she could get her own place, she'd been staying at Liam's apartment in London. She was sure she was annoying her brother, given that they were polar opposites. He enjoyed the peace and quiet, whilst she naturally disrupted his quiet, ordered lifestyle. For now, she didn't mind winding him up and tended to spend a lot of time out and about anyway.

Surprisingly, Emery had found herself on a task today that required her to blend in and avoid drawing attention to herself. She'd been following one Ezekiel's employees since the guy had left Carter Technologies with a messenger bag over his shoulder. She'd followed him on a train to Stonebridge Park, where he left the station, walked to a nearby residential area, and hand delivered a large envelope to a well-dressed man who occupied one of the terraced houses. She noted the address down before finding herself following her mark back to the train station. Another train ride took her to Queen's Park Station where she kept a close eye on the man despite making sure to board in a separate carriage this time around. As the train pulled in to the station, the platform looked busy, no doubt people had been waiting a long while for delayed or cancelled trains. She kept watch on the man as they exited the train from their separate carriages. She wanted to know where he was going - perhaps she'd find out where he lived.

Emery had been keeping a close eye on the man, but this was put to a sudden stop as she was barely off the train when she collided with a man and was knocked onto the floor. Although she held her hands out to break her fall, she still managed to land on her knees. She let out a groan in discomfort before her attention was drawn to the male voice asking if she was okay. She looked up at Dawson as he apologised and offered to help her. "Use your fucking eyes much?!" she snapped at him. Despite her tone, she accepted the hand he was holding out and allowed him to help her up onto her feet. She quickly looked around, realising her mark was nowhere to been seen now, apparently lost in the crowds. Shite! Turning back to Dawson, she glared at him. "Seriously?!" she asked in an irritated tone. Despite her harsh words, after taking a moment to gather herself she took a better look at the man who had knocked her over. He was attractive, in a sweet way that didn't normally catch her attention. Not that she would tell him such a thing! Still, knowing she hadn't exactly been paying attention to the space around her when Dawson had bumped into her, she eased up a little.

""I'm okay..." she said, remembering he'd asked her if she was hurt. However, as she brushed off any dirt from the palms of her hands, a look down to her stinging right knee made her realise she'd cut and grazed the skin, with blood now seen running down the front of her leg. "I chose the wrong day to wear a skirt," she grumbled. "Help me find somewhere to get cleaned up. You owe me!" she told the unlucky stranger.

Bellz (Dawson - another of Roxie's family for Syd to be paranoid about!)

 

[Misty Gray]

Harper Residence
~ Stoke Newington, London ~

Kerry King​

Since most of Alex's family had returned to London, the difference in Callum's behaviour had been noticeable. For the most part, the teenager hadn't been causing problems for Alex and Kerry. If anything, Callum had been uncharacteristically nice to his stepmother. Having his uncles, aunts, and cousins around had affected Callum even better than expected. It had been good for the short time it lasted. Unfortunately, the return of some family members led to Trevor being ordered to stay away. Kerry had grown to like her father-in-law over the years. Callum was a huge fan of his grandfather too, so the teenager was not happy with the news. As such, the moody stepson had quickly returned to Kerry's life.

Kerry was feeling nervous enough today without dealing with Callum's bad mood. Blake had invited her to her house in what seemed like an attempt to finally clear the air after what had happened all of those years ago in New York. With their husbands now working together against the Carters, it was clear they would find themselves crossing paths often enough, so it made sense to try address the elephant in the room. Kerry had already been relieved that Conor had finally cleared the air and no longer held on to his anger towards her. She also understood that Adam - the man who at one point threatened to shoot her in the head for her part in Jackson's death - was willing to put the past behind him. Despite those reassurances, she still wasn't sure how things would go down with Blake. The woman lost her husband and father of her children, so Kerry understood had lost more than Conor or Adam had.

Kerry looked to her watch as she waited for Liam to arrive at the house. With Alex out on business, she'd been weary of leaving Callum to look after Lizzie and Harrison by himself. He was old enough to do it, but Kerry wasn't convinced about leaving him in charge of the house and children, even for just a few hours. So when Liam had offered to hang out with his teenage nephew, Kerry jumped at the chance. As she stood in the lounge doorway, she listened as Callum continued complaining to her about not being allowed to see Trevor anymore.

"This family is weird. Everyone comes back but then suddenly tells us we're not allowed to speak to my Grandad anymore? It's dumb," Callum told Kerry. "Uncle Spencer can piss off back to Scotland if he thinks I'm not seeing Trevor!"

"Oh yeah? I suppose you'll tell Spencer that to his face, eh?" Kerry drily asked. She understood why Callum felt the way he did, she liked having Trevor around too. However, knowing the history Spencer and the others had with the man, she couldn't blame them if they didn't trust him. She thought 12 years away might have allowed Spencer to move on from his disdain for Trevor, but apparently that wasn't the case. Of course, only a handful of people knew the truth about Trevor's undercover work, so even Kerry didn't realise the fight between Spencer and Trevor was a setup, never mind just how much involvement her father-in-law had with the Interpol mission. "You're just going to have to be patient, Callum. Give us all chance to work on Spencer and help him see how much Trevor has changed in all this time. I certainly advise against getting up in your uncle's face," she warned.

Before the discussion could continue, Liam arrived and the tone thankfully changed, with Callum quick to ask if he was up for playing some video games with him. With a reassurance from Liam that he wouldn't leave before she or Alex returned home, Kerry was comfortable in the knowledge she was leaving the children in the hands of a mature adult.

*****​

Kerry climbed out of the taxi outside of the Harper house, having decided against driving in case alcohol was involved this evening. Although she was nervous, she'd had to confront many fears over the years and had to survive some horrifying experiences, so there was little hesitation in approaching the front door of the house. It had been a long time since she'd needed his help, but she was still grateful for to confidence she'd gained from Maddox's counselling sessions. She reached out and knocked on the door, then took a slight step back as she awaited someone answering.

Kerry was relived when Blake answered the door with a smile on her face, which she naturally displayed in return. "Hi, Blake... Thank you for inviting me," she replied to her with a single nod. When invited to, Kerry entered the house, but didn't move too far from the door. "Should I take my shoes off?" she asked, not wanting to be impolite. "Are you settling into the new house?" she asked, taking a moment to look at her surroundings. "Everything looks so coordinated and organised already. I vaguely remember the short time - quite some years ago - that I could say that about mine and Alex's home," she joked.

Bellz (Blake)

 

[Pyroclast]

King Remedial
~ City of London, London ~

Billy King​

Even though he had his family again and was back living in the city he called home, Billy was finding it a challenge to adjust. He had been so concerned with minimising the stress of moving to a new country for Charlie and Hendrik - getting Charlie enrolled in a new school, helping Hendrik find a job, introducing them both to all his family - that he had barely had time to work out how to settle in himself. Maybe he would continue with carpentry, join another theatre, maybe this time in the West End - but part of him wondered if he could return to the world of architecture now that he had his name back and didn't have to hide. He still believed that he had a lot to offer in that field, there was just the problem of keeping a low profile. The King family had been known in the city and so he imagined their deaths had made headlines back in 1985 - reports of coming back from the dead would surely bring unwanted attention, not to mention alert the Carters of their presence.

So he remained unemployed for the time being, just fixing up the house. He had moved somewhere new, not wanting the memories of Erik in his old bedroom, but he enjoyed the task of redesigning the place - which walls to knock through, where to fix shelves, rewiring the plug sockets, general interior design and landscaping. The project kept him grounded throughout all the upheaval, and from worrying about his uncle and who on earth the woman was that he had believed to be Harper.

Aside from all of that, Billy was mindful to stick to the mission that he had agreed to be a part of, and so had taken it upon himself to re-familiarise himself with the business they still had left by going with Spencer to his old office at King Remedial. He himself had dressed in a suit. Having worked as a carpenter for so long, he hadn’t found many opportunities at all to dress up so he kind of missed it. In fact, he had had to buy a new one after putting on so much muscle weight over the past couple of years.

Billy sat in his brother’s office chair, idly swivelling from side to side as he waited for the man to change clothes. He was asked about how things were going with Hendrik, with Spencer pointing out that he was popular in the gym, with the women in particular. Billy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he has that effect everywhere he goes,” he said, a soft smile on his face. “But yeah, I’d say things are goin’ pretty well.” His smile faltered and he was grateful that his brother was busy fixing his hair so he didn’t have to look him in the eyes. Ever since seeing Erik again, seeing his son slowly get to know him, working out at the gym with him...a horrible feeling of uncertainty had settled within Billy. He tried to kid himself that it was just from the upheaval of moving back to London and reuniting with everyone, or the worries he had about Charlie settling in at a new school. But it was always when he was around Hendrik or Erik that the feeling came to him: a gnawing fear that he was on the wrong path. “Yeah, he’s surprising me, actually,” he said, trying to recover himself. “Honestly, I never told Hendrik the truth about my past or my real name ‘til a couple weeks ago, and he’s really taken it in his stride. Nothin’ but understanding.” Guilt swelled in his chest. “He’s really an amazing guy. I’m lucky to have him.”

The knock on the door came as a welcome distraction from his thoughts, allowing Billy to shove them to the back of his mind for now. Spencer asked if wouldn’t mind waiting in the office until his meeting was over, to which he nodded. “Yeah, you go ahead, I’ll just straighten the place up for ya’,” he said, gesturing to the clutter that could hardly constitute a mess. His eyes scanned the room, trying to find anything that was out of place that he could fix. Maybe there was a way to rotate the furniture to better maximise the space…

With the cogs in his brain turning, he didn’t register the familiar voice at the door until he heard his brother address him as Ezekiel. Billy immediately got to his feet and joined his brother at the door. There was Ezekiel and his daughter, who Billy only just recognised - she had grown up a lot since he had last seen her, which would have been at some kind of gala where they would have barely spoken if at all. “Mr. Carter,” he greeted with a mirthless smile, shaking the man’s hand before moving to do the same with his daughter. “Reign, you’re lookin’ well. You may not remember me - I’m Spencer’s brother, Billy.”

A slight anxiety fluttered through his chest as he followed Spencer and the Carters to the meeting room. He had expected to meet them fairly soon, but only at their own arrangement. Ezekiel played it off as a kindness, since the meeting was happening on King territory; to Billy, being caught off guard was enough to counterbalance that so-called comfort.

Once they entered the meeting room, Billy made his way to the bar so that everybody else could take their seats. “Would a drink make you feel more welcome?” he offered drily. “Then we can talk about whatever it is you came here to talk about.”

Interactions
Misty Gray Spencer, Ezekiel
Bellz Reign

 

[BasDorcha]

The Coffee Mug

~Bethnal Green, London~

​

Maeve Brooks

…..10 days earlier…….

May stumbled home moments before Christian with dinner from a diner she stopped in on the way home for the family. Her mind was buzzing much more than she had intended and she definitely needed the food to sober up. She'd also had a cup of coffee while she waited for it, so that had helped some. She called the kids home, set the food out and just sat down when Christian had come in, but her mind was somewhere else.

Ryan's smile had talked her into it, into having the drink at a public bar with a man who was not her husband in a town where her families name was more well known and watched than most. She must be crazy, but she didn't regret it one bit. It was the first time in a long time that she had felt like a real human being and not just some puppet being pulled by some invisible strings. It was nice, feeling like someone was interested in her, even maybe attracted to her. It was like something had been lit inside her, reminding her what she was missing and had given up in her marriage. It both excited her and saddened her deeply later to realize how much something so simple as a real conversation could affect her so positively.

A short walk from where they had their meeting, Ryan held the door to the pub he'd invited her to for a drink. He seemed to know the bartender, and they got a quiet corner of the bar away from the door, falling into a natural rhythm of conversation. They'd talked about all kinds of things, gently testing each other's boundaries while getting to know each other. The time had slid away, as had how many drinks she had. At the end of the second drink when reality finally kicked back in, May had changed in an instant, a slight sadness edging the previous positive energy. With a sense of regret, she explained her adventuring time was up, still smiling as she gathered her things to get ready to leave. When he'd asked her for her phone number, she had cleverly turned it back on him, teasing him to give over his number instead, and maybe she'd call him.

It took the better part of the trip from that pub to the diner to stop the butterflies she'd felt in stomach. While she waited for her order, she sipped coffee and ate crackers, sobering up a bit before heading home in the taxi.

When Christina called out to her about something she barely processed mentally, she answered mechanically whatever the appropriate response would be. The day had shown her that something was badly wrong in her marriage, or her life at least, and she knew once she sobered up she would have a lot to think about. It was a bit of shocking wake up call, along side a very muddled bag off mixed emotions. Thankfully, true to form, Christian barely noticed, accepting her answer that she just had a headache and would be going to bed early. That night, it felt like a wall had been placed between them made of concrete, never before had it felt to impassable.

Never - Ryan
--------------------------------

The Brook's House

~Bethnal Green, London~

​

Maeve Brooks

The time around May had seemed to slip away lately. Between the stress of things in her home, calling off work more and more, and the interesting adventure she had experienced with Ryan, her mind was a blur with different thoughts and feelings. As had become typical in their house, Christian and May pretty much avoided each other, being civil in front of their children, but never quite showing warmth to each other. May had spent a lot of time thinking about what her father had said, about what the event with the man she had so easily taken to meant, and what her next steps were going to be. She wanted to believe if she left Christian, or even considered it, he would fight for her, for their family, but slowly she was giving up hope on even that. Somewhere along the lines, she had started to believe that he'd let her walk away without a word, except maybe to fight for his children which she never doubted for a moment - not that she would ever keep them from their father. No they would have to continue to work together to parent their children, she would not leave them not knowing him anymore than they did at this moment.

Feeling brave one day she called Ryan, enjoying a short chat with him that ended with her saying a playful bye in response to why she couldn't come see him tonight. For day's she thought about it affterwards until May had decided to ask her father if she and the kids could stay with him a bit, though the chance hadn't presented itself yet. After finding a few minutes for herself that afternoon, May delved into her new found past time and used the excuse her nerves needed it to withstand another evening with both her father and her husband.

The tension between the two was almost more than she could handle, and they weren't even in the house together yet. The quiet house was easy to deal with, and soon a nice little buzz had her re-centered on what was to come. Thankfully, by the time Christian arrived from work, her eyes had returned to normal and the smell of weed had dissipated from the backdoor where she had smoked. The compact of white powder (a clever idea if she said so herself) was stashed away in her purse and hidden under the actual make up pad for her powdered and pressed foundation. With no reason to ever actually open it or even look through her make up, it felt like a safe place to keep it.

Shortly after the children got home, Jensen and Chloe had asked to go next door and play with the kids they spent most of their time hanging out with. Knowing how volatile the evening was likely to get, she gladly sent them away and even called their mother, asking her to let them stay a little late, or at least until she came to get them, explaining there was a few things that needed to be taken care of without the children around and she gladly agreed, letting May know she'd happily feed them if they were around for dinner. May thanked the woman and hung up just as Christian came through the door. The silence between them spoke miles, but she pretended like it didn't bother her, going about her business and cleaning, prepping dinner for them, and letting Christian do what he wanted to do.

When Trevor arrived May greeted him at the door. After trying to pry the story out of him about what happened to his face and getting politely shut down for the time being, she lead him to the dining room where Christian had made an appearance to join them. As they all sat down, with May sitting away from her husband and closer to her father, she began to nervously tap her foot and fingers in a random beat. The first words out of his mouth did nothing to relieve that. Her eyes flew to Trevor, then to Christian, knowing exactly what was about to happen. Immediately her shoulder slumped and a sigh escaped her mouth, right at the time Christian decided to lay into her about it as if she had something to do with all of this. Ready to jump into defensive mode, Trevor beat her too it, not giving her time to respond at all before he shut Christian down and explained it didn't have anything to do with her. The tears were already threatening to fill her eyes as the well-known sting caused them to gloss over. How was it her own husband could place so much blame on her like she had any idea what was going on or why Trevor was saying what he was.

Her eyes never lifted to meet Christians, instead ignoring him and looking at her father. May gasped when he made it apparent that Spencer had done the damage to his face. An angry look crossed her face as what she would say to Spencer when she seen him next flashed through her mind. That was quickly pushed away as thing became more heated between the two men in the room. Christian immediately tried again to pin May in the middle, and like a flash flood, anxiety was suffocating her. Gulping it down, she tried to find the words to respond to either of them but struggled to even get air in her lungs. When they both finally fell quiet, the silence in the room stretched while May rushed to put her thoughts together. Taking a deep breath, hands shaking, she sucked the air between her teeth and gritted them, looking first at her husband then her father. "So… We're in danger, of Ezekial, who you work for, because Christian is trying to do the right thing for his job?" The words were said uneasily, as if she hadn't decided how to feel about them. Her hands tapped along the table top again, a new habit she had begun to form with her newest past time.

Finally, she stood and began to pace. "Listen, both of you, I'm going to try and say this the best I can. Christian, I'm not choosing between you and my father, end of story. Dad, while I don't approve of you working for the man who is threatening my children, I trust you to do what is necessary to protect us. Christian, is it worth putting our whole family at risk to blatantly defy this man? There's got to be a better plan, something that keeps you from seeming to openly go after him." She pushed her fingers into her hair, feeling torn between two worlds. May knew with a certainty if she was only handling this situation with her family, she could deal with it because they had their ways of taking care of each other.

She also knew that if she weren't in communication or had never met her family, she would fully take Christian's side to keep doing the right thing. Where did that leave her? Torn between the world off the legal and the illegal, the law and the criminal, main street and back alley. She paced away, quietly, finally releasing the handfuls of hair she had grasped unconsciously. Suddenly, it was like something snapped inside of her. Everything negative she'd been holding back, been feeling, been suffering with broke the dam inside of her and it all came rushing out. Spinning around, she took two steps forward back to the table and grasped the back of her chair, using it for support.

"Christian, I can't do this anymore. I can't choose between you and my family, not when you barely even acknowledge me anymore. I also waited my whole life to have a family, and thankfully they accept me for who I am and I don't have to change who I am to keep them in my life. You've changed, I've changed… And until this nonsense with Ezekial is over, I can't stay here with you, or keep the kids here. Ezekial is the bad guy right? If I know anything, it's that you don't get second warning from guys like him. So they're not safe here until you either stop chasing hm, or he attacks. We can't be here for that.

"Dad, you're not off the hook either. I get that Ezekial has treated you right, but you know damn good and well how badly he's treated everyone we know. The fact you're still working for a man who is openly threatening your daughter and your grandkids is.. I can't even think of the proper word for how bad that is. I've always defended you, but maybe Spencer made the right call. I trust you, but I don't trust Ezekial. Either he's serious and we're in danger and you're still working or him, or you're lying to get at Christian, neither looks good for you." Her hands had turned white from gripping the chair to keep herself going. The sudden release of emotions had tears streaming down her face but she didn't seem to notice as everything grew dizzy around her and her face paled a bit.

Pressing a hand to her chest as the anxiety struck her the hardest yet, she paused for a moment, before shaking her head at both of them silently and heading for the backdoor of the house for a cigarette and a moment of quietness away from the both of them.

Misty Gray - Assholes 1 & 2

 

[neverbackdown]

Chapter 4: We Are Not The Same
Monday 13th October 1997
...10 days later...
London: Early Evening - Cold, Clear, Dry

East Side of the Carter Druggie Warehouse
~ Undisclosed Location, London ~

Natalie Smyth
​

There was something about dangerous and unpredictable missions that made Natalie come alive, while most people seemed to shut down with fear, Natalie was the opposite, fear woke her up. It made her think on her feet, it made her.... excited and so it was no surprise that Natalie agreed to the task at hand without any hesitation. The only hesitation she would feel however, well that was if she felt it, would be that she was working with all new people, her trust in people in general was slim but she knew in this kind of work it was essential to trust your partner with your life literally and figurately. She just wished that Lucius was with her or Albie but they weren't and she had to accept that, they didn't even know she was here on this mission, it was better to keep them in the dark until it was over, no point in having them worry, after all worrying was pointless and just led to distraction and fear, two mindsets that they couldn't afford to have in their lifestyle.

As they tiptoed through the cargo yard stealthily making their way towards the entrance point Natalie shook all thoughts out of her mind, only allowing herself to think of the task at hand. Crouching behind the barrel, Natalie listened to Thomas as he recited the plan taking the time to readjust her gun into a more ready to use position. The upside of the job was definitely the provided weapons, on her person was a semi-automatic rifle, a handgun and two knives, while one was provided to them, Nat had also brought along her own knife that was normally always concealed in her boot. The downside was the restricting and annoying bullet proof vest that they had also been supplied with. She knew having a bullet proof vest was normally a positive for most people, but for her well she didn't like, she wasn't used to wearing one and found it to be hindering, however she put it on to keep everyone happy. "Okay see you inside" Natalie nodded as a smile played on her lips, ready for the action to begin. She watched Thomas move first before slowly following his lead and running towards the right side of the building and entering swiftly, her gun drawn ready to be fired if necessary.

Her eyes moved towards the staircase where Thomas pointed and Natalie gave a nod before turning in her step and running along with him towards the stairs. "Got it ...I " her voice stopped short as Thomas ran directly into someone, her eyes widened slightly as she looked up towards the top of the stairs, gun positioned to take out anyone else who cared to join them but fortunately for them, unfortunately for him, it seemed this man was on his own. As Thomas disposed of the problem, Nat swung the rifle onto her back and took the knife in her hand. It was definitely a messier form of weapon but he was right, guns draw too much attention, attention that they couldn't afford. Once the man was handled, Natalie continued to make her way up the stairs quickly and quietly, keeping an eye on her surroundings incase any more surprises popped up.

"Good luck" Natalie said quietly before disembarking on the second floor. Natalie moved quickly and quietly, keeping close to the walls as her black outfit easily allowed her to be concealed within the shadows. Approaching a corner, Natalie stopped as she pushed her body against the wall and turned her head to get a glimpse at the corridor, a smile taking over her features as she spotted her target. She threw her eyes over him, taking in his weapon, stance and size. The guy was almost a foot taller than her and Nat found her hand subconsciously moving towards the gun in her waistband, it was only as her fingers wrapped around the cold metal that she remembered Thomas' words "no guns". Sighing, Natalie released the gun and swapped the knife into her left hand. Up close and personal it was.

Taking a deep breath, Nat relaxed herself before slipping around the corner, keeping herself as close to the wall as possible as she silently made her way towards her target. She couldn't draw attention to herself as she needed to keep her attack a surprise if she wanted to win this. Once as close as she could be, Nat threw her body into a jump landing on the back of the man as she brought her hand down quickly to swipe his neck, she felt him move and before she had time to react he had slammed her into the wall behind them. A pained groan escaped her lips as she fell to the ground but she didn't allow herself to dwell on it, standing up quickly as he turned to train his gun on her. Natalie lifted her leg and landing a kick directly onto his hand holding the gun, the impact causing him to let go as she swung her leg to kick the gun out of reach of both of them "lets dance" she smirked her hand tightening around the handle of her blade.

His hand came without warning, catching Natalie cleanly on the left side of the face before she felt herself being thrown back into the wall once again. She attempted to push him off but he was stronger than her and all she could focus on was keeping his hand of her throat. She swiped at his chest with the blade in her right hand, catching skin briefly but he quickly grabbed her hand in return, slamming it against the wall until she was forced to release the knife due to the pain. Natalie quickly lifted her knee towards his stomach, her eyes widening slightly as she felt his other hand lock around it catching her knee mid attack. Before she had time to react, Natalie felt herself being lifted into the air, her body hitting the wall on the opposite side of the corridor as she landed crumbled on the floor. Keeping herself in a ball, Natalie reached down and grabbed the second knife out of her boot, the fingers on her right hand tightening around the handle as she slowed her breathing and listened to his heavy footsteps coming towards her.

1...2...3....4..... A hard kick to the ribs was felt as he came within reaching distance. His hand reached down grabbing Natalie by the hair and pulling her to her feet and despite the pain Natalie allowed him too. Once on her feet, Natalie reached forward and stabbed her blade into his lower abdomen putting as much of strength behind that movement as she could. As the man doubled over, Natalie in one swift movement pulled the blade out and swiped across his neck, pushing the body backwards and away from her. "Done .. moving up" she spoke quiet and breathlessly into the walky-talky as she looked at the man. As she walked back down the hall, Nat picked up her knife on the ground placing it back into its hold and made her way towards the stairs and up to the third floor.

Int:-
Bellz (Thomas Porter)

Mentions (Lucius) & Melanin-Gxdess (Albie)

 

[Pyroclast]

The Porter Residence
~ Holland Park, London ~

Syd Porter​

There was a long pause between Syd asking Roxie the question and her turning around to face him. His body tensed as he watched her hesitate, half expecting her to break down crying or finally snap and shout at him. When their eyes finally met, he could see that hers were slightly bloodshot like she was fighting back tears. His heart near broke at the sight of her, knowing that he was to blame. Part of him wanted to rush over to her and sweep her into an embrace, remind her that he loved her and that nothing else mattered…but he stayed where he was.

Finally Roxie spoke to him, and Syd let out a breath he didn’t realise he had been holding. But then she pointed out that he looked shaken and asked if he was okay, and he suddenly remembered where he had been. Glancing down to his right hand, he noticed there was still some blood on his knuckles and his rings. “Oh, yeah,” he said, hiding the hand behind his back. “Almost got in an accident on the way home. But I’m okay, Penny’s okay, and there’s no damage to the car.”

The sound of little footsteps padding across the kitchen tiles interrupted them. Sebastian moved over to Roxie and leaned his head against her. “Mammy, I’m hungry,” he said softly, apparently having calmed down from his burst of hyperactivity.

Syd looked across at his wife. They needed to talk somewhere where they wouldn’t be interrupted. “Sebastian, why don’t you ask Jane to fix you up a snack, okay? Mammy and Daddy need to talk.” He watched the young boy, who still held a Barbie in his hand, and showed him a smile in hopes that he wouldn’t pick up on the tension between his parents. “But hey, no sweets this time! It’s not long ‘til dinner time.”

Once Sebastian was out of the room, Syd heaved a sigh. “Come with me,” he said to her, keeping his tone gentle so as not to put her off the idea. He picked up their cups of coffee and headed upstairs and into their bedroom, where he placed them on the windowsill. His attention was grabbed briefly by the dogs playing in the garden, tongues out and tails wagging, without a worry in the world. Even though Syd had been around dogs for almost all of his life, he still found himself in awe of their innocence - sometimes even envying it.

Turning to face his wife, Syd perched on the windowsill and folded his arms. “We need to get through this,” he told her plainly. “Even Sebastian’s old enough to pick up when things aren’t right between us. We need to start talking to each other again. And the truth is…” He took a deep breath. “The truth is, I’m worried. About us. I can’t stand seeing you like this, Roxie...Your eyes always avoiding mine, you and J.J. not speaking. It scares me.”

Interactions
Bellz the sad silent wife

 

[Misty Gray]

The Brooks' House
~ Bethnal Green, London ~

Trevor Stewart and Christian Brooks​

Trevor nodded in confirmation when May clarified they were in danger because Christian was doing his job. Whilst Ezekiel hadn't threatened May or the children directly, Trevor by now knew that the man had very few limits of what he would do to those who crossed him. "Christian might be doing the right thing by doing his job. But let's not be naïve or ignorant. If Christian knows or suspects a case is linked to the Carters, the only wise option is to back the fuck away from it."

Trevor sat back in his chair and watched as May got to her feet so she could address him and Christian, clearly ready to offload her thoughts and feelings. When she told Christian she wasn't choosing between him and her father, he furrowed his eyebrows at her. She then questioned if his job was worth putting the family at risk. "I've said it time and time again. I will do my job if it means I can help find justice and closure for the innocent people in this city. I don't pick and choose which crime scenes crop up. If the Carters leave a trail behind, then I can't simply turn a blind eye and brush evidence under the carpet. If nobody takes a stand against Ezekiel, then what about the families who will continue to suffer in the crossfire of the man's power trip? He won't go anywhere near you or the kids. I can try to tone it down, but when evidence presents itself and leads towards the Carters. Things just fit into place..."

When May finally snapped, Trevor had to force back any emotion from his face. He was in no way amused by how upset May was, but was glad to finally see the couple confront the glaringly obvious, that their marriage was a mess. When May said she and the kids weren't going to stay at the house, Christian quickly shook his head. "Over my dead body!" he firmly replied, getting up from his seat. He held his tongue as she went on to suggest they weren't safe because he was doing the right thing - his job. Christian glared at May, but any response was held back when she then directed her frustration towards Trevor.

When told he wasn't off the hook either, Trevor sat up straight. She questioned him for continuing to work for the man who was making life difficult for their family and stated it wasn't a good look for him. He knew the things he was about to say would give Christian even more fuel to be smug, but warning his son-in-law away from investigating the Carters wasn't the only purpose of his visit today. "It's like I already said, May. I picked a side. Spencer beat the crap out of me, my other sons want nothing to do with me, and Bruce wouldn't even piss on me if I was on fire. You've found your place in your family with the Kings and you should embrace it, but I won't ever be welcome in that. When I was younger, I wanted to be important and to have wealth, but instead I was nothing but a waste of space. The Kings still believe I am. But since I started working for Ezekiel, I've been able to buy my own house and live comfortably knowing I earned it. The man respects me and I have a high level, legitimate job. That man gave me a chance when nobody else did, so damn right I'm going to pick his side on this. I'll do whatever it takes to protect myself and afford everything I always wanted. I'll never look good to this family anyway. I just came here to warn Christian to back down," he assured her.

When May rushed to the back door, Trevor folded his arms and stared at Christian, silently instructing him to go after her. He wasn't going to back-pedal and soften the blow. He needed to distance himself from his family, but he also believed May and Christian didn't belong together, so as terrible as it may be, he wasn't going to help his son-in-law out on this one. "Once a prick, always a prick, Trevor," Christian hissed at him as he followed May outside.

Despite his frustration, Christian kept a calm and neutral tone as he addressed May. "You don't honestly think I'm going to agree for you to take the kids, do you? Where would you go? They have school in the morning and you know Chloe hates having her routine thrown upside-down. Besides which..." he trailed off, pausing as he contemplated his next words. "What if one of the kids falls ill again? Will you be there for them? I wasn't going to bring it up, because I didn't have the energy for an argument, but seeing as we're here now... Where were you that day Chloe was poorly and we had Trevor babysit? Because you sure as hell weren't at work that afternoon - I called the office to update you on how she was and I was told you had the day off." He paused before reaffirming his words. "The kids are staying here, in their home."

BasDorcha (May)

 

[Bellz]

King Remedial
~ City of London, London ~

Reign Carter ​

Things had certainly took a turn when news about the Kings and Porters re-appearing came around. The story had been that they were buried six feet under, worm food and yet...evidence in the form of them waltzing around very much alive proved otherwise. Reign knew that her father wasn't one to scare easy about such changes, but it did worry her some. The confidence he had took years to develop and while she carried herself well enough, doubts about everything she knew were starting to fill the empty spaces of what she didn't know. It was this worry that made her work harder, stay more focused and dutifully do whatever was asked of her (not that any of this was any different). Thankfully, work kept her just busy enough and while it was surrounded with constant reminders of what she didn't know, it was easy to flip the switch in her brain that told her to fixate on it 'off'.

Today, her father was preparing to pay Spencer King a visit, with her accompanying him. The meeting would be on the Kings' property but given they were catching them by surprise Reign wasn't worried about the situation. She already had enough on her mind as it was. Still, when they had arrived, her eyes scoped the area around them. Just casually yet carefully taking in her surroundings looking for signs of anything that felt off to her. Nothing so far. Good.

She kept up the pace with her father as they walked towards King Remedial, her own strides as confident as she was normally. Reign turned her head to look at her father as he said it was showtime and flashed her a smile, she returned it but said nothing. Reign had been humbled that he asked her to join him for this meeting, and she was eager to not screw it up. She straightened out her suit jacket slightly just as they reached the reception desk, mirroring a smile at the woman behind. It.

After short work with the woman, her father effortlessly convinced her that they were the ones meant to meet with Spencer. He was intimidating yet kind, a skill Reign had yet to master. She was rather icy. It was fun to watch him work a room and people, bending them to do whatever he wanted without actually getting them to see that's what he was doing.

Soon they were standing behind an office door, where the receptionist knocked. When it opened Reign couldn't help but notice that Spencer hadn't changed all that much since the last time she saw him. Aged sure, but it hadn't treated him horribly. He looked shocked to see them, as expected. Reign relaxed her face muscles to wear a neutral expression, not wanting to seem too pleased with the look on his face.

Looking to her father, he explained in a pleasant tone that the meeting with Edgar had been rescheduled for Spencer and that he believed meeting with them was more important. Her eyes then turned back to Spencer, trying to read his expression as he scoffed, then smiled. He said it had been a while to her father before Ezekiel re-introduced them. "Looking well, Spencer, given the circumstances." Reign said, giving his hand a firm shake with a soft close lipped smile before releasing his hand.

Her attention was quickly turned to Billy as Spencer said he could join them in the meeting. He had been standing there for a moment but Reign was busy analyzing Spencer's mannerisms, trying to figure out what would make him tick...if anything. Clearly being caught off guard did. Billy King's smile was lacked in authenticity as he greeted her father, and it irked Reign. While Ezekiel Carter could certainly stand up for himself, Reign never appreciated when others so openly disrespected her father. Still, she remained collected, giving Billy the same smile she gave Spencer as she shook his hand. "Of course I remember you Billy, good to see you." They were then lead to the meeting room, with Spencer saying that her father could have arranged a meeting the normal way.

Her father's response made the edge of her lips tug up slightly. When they entered the meeting room, Billy was quick to head to the bar asking if a drink would make them feel more welcome. Reign clicked her teeth, moving to take a seat casually. "I think it is rather kind to have the luxury to hold a meeting on your own territory. You have the upper hand here, don't you?".

Looking between the Kings she said, "I think I'll need to know your skin care routine boys, dead one day yet looking as alive as ever." Reign commented, any trace of a smile now gone. "Also, hosts choice. I'll take whatever your favorite is Billy."
with: Spencer Misty Gray ; Billy Pyroclast

 

[Bellz]

Train Station
~ Queen's Park Station, London ~
Dawson Rogers ​

The comeback from the woman wasn’t surprising and it drew an uneasy laugh from Dawson, "Actually I hardly use them at all when I’m getting on or off the train.” He admitted, his tone light and teasing as the woman then accepted his hand he held out to her. Heaving her off the floor, he noticed that she looked distracted, like she was looking around for someone or something she’d now lost. If he was nosier he would have asked about it but instead, the redhead turned her eyes on him, glaring. Seriously?! She asked, and Dawson was at a loss for words, not sure what more to say than sorry. Especially as his eyes stared into hers. London was full of beautiful woman but she was... "Uh...?” Was all that escaped him, his thoughts completely blank, most likely making him sound like the dumbest person around.

It didn’t seem to faze her much, because she said that she was okay, snapping him out of his little trance he found himself. Dawson ran a hand through his hair to center himself. He’d been doing a good job of just keeping his eyes on her face, but when she moved to brush the dirt from her legs, Dawson couldn’t help but glance down for only a moment. "Oh Jesus, clearly you’re not.” He said, his tone now apologetic once more. He was about to offer to help her find somewhere to get cleaned up when the woman -- who he was starting to notice was rather bossy -- told him to do so. He owed her apparently. And he wouldn’t argue with that statement.

"Of course, I owe you.” Dawson said quickly, flashing Emery a lopsided grin. "Wouldn’t want you bleeding out at the train station. Maybe the pub instead? At least we could get you a drink or something?” He asked, rambling just a little bit now. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he moved to help her balance if she needed it, offering her a hand and a shoulder to grasp before saying, "The pub is just a little walk from here. I would offer to carry you but, you seem like a pretty capable woman and I am apparently blind so…” Dawson shrugged, letting out a soft laugh before walking forward at a slow pace once she was ready to go.

After a few paces, Dawson looked at her as they continued onward, "Should I bother letting you know my name or is this one of those situations were you would rather not know considering I’ve horribly wounded you?” He asked, "Which again, I am so, so, so, so sorry about. I have eyes, I just wasn’t paying as close attention as I should have been. Call it old age, stupidity or whatever you want to.”
with: Emery Misty Gray

Harper Residence
~ Stoke Newington, London ~


Blake Harper ​

"Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Blake said in response to Kerry thanking her for inviting her over. "Ahh don’t worry about taking your shoes off, I’m not fussy over stuff like that. They are cute by the way.” She said as she glanced down at them. Once the door was closed, Blake watched Kerry look around before asking how she was settling into the new house. A smile formed on her face as the woman said everything looked so coordinated and organized already, and that she vaguely remembered the short time Alex and her’s home looked the same.

"I say enjoy the chaos while it lasts, Kerry. Pretty soon, the kids will be having their own kids and in their own homes. I never thought it would happen as quickly as people used to say but…here we are. Collin is 24 about to be 25, he’s still living with us but I think he’s planning on moving into a flat here soon. Natasha is 32 with 4 kids of her own, in Dublin.” There was a sadness to her tone but she smiled nonetheless. "But thank you, I do enjoy the cleanliness at least, and I think we are settling into this place okay. It’s just too damn cold here.” She laughed.

Motioning towards the kitchen, she said, "Come, I have some refreshments and food for you. Let’s sit.” Once in the kitchen, she gestured to the comfy island chairs and the food before turning grab some drinks. "Anything to drink, love? I got basically all the liquor you could possibly want. Wines too. And of course, water or something non-alcoholic.” Blake waited for Kerry to make her choice and once she did, Blake would drink the same. After pouring the glasses, she placed Kerry’s glass in front of her.

Moving to sit in the barstool next to her, Blake took a sip from her glass. After a long drink, Blake turned to face Kerry and asked, "How are you, Kerry? How are Alex, and your kids? Are you all adjusting to everyone being back? I know this is all just…weird. I guess is the best way to put it, at least for me. Some people are back, others aren’t.” She was sure Kerry would find it odd that she was asking all of these questions. They hadn’t really talked. At least not like this. But Blake figured it was better to start talking about the things they had in common, the stuff that was in the present before Blake addressed what she knew was the elephant in the room. If Kerry wanted to address it quicker than the pace she was taking it at, she wouldn’t take offense to it. She just didn’t want to dive right in.
with: Kerry Misty Gray

 

[Bellz]

The Porter Residence
~ Holland Park, London ~

Roxie Porter​

Syd glancing down at his right hand was all Roxie needed to see, her eyes glancing to it as well briefly. Though hers were blurred with tears, she could still see something on his knuckles, on his rings. If that weren’t enough, her husband then moved his hand behind his back, almost nonchalantly. Roxie’s eyes had returned to look at his face, listening as he said he almost got into an accident. The words caused her heart to skip a beat. He was okay, and so was Penny. No damage to the car…so…what was on his hand? Roxie’s face twitched, but any reaction she had to the news was halted when both of them heard little footsteps on the kitchen tiles.

Blinking back the blur in her eyes, her expression automatically softened when Sebastian leaned his head into her and said he was hungry, apparently his energy now spent. Moving back some hair from his face, she was about to tell him that she would get him something when Syd answered first. There wasn’t getting out of the conversation then. Roxie smiled like her husband did at their youngest, "Your Daddy is right, no sweets. But I'll have dinner going soon, okay?" She was hoping he wouldn’t pick up on the tension before sending their youngest on his way to get Jane to make him something.

Roxie watched Sebastian leave the room, her eyes only looking at Syd once he heaved a sigh, saying to come with him. Roxie was hesitant for a moment but nodded her head once, "Okay," She said, her voice barely was barely above a whisper. She followed, just letting her head watch her feet drag to the stairs and then up them until they were stepping on the familiar hardwood of their bedroom. Once the door was closed, she allowed her husband to move to the windowsill. It was a large window that overlooked the garden, bringing in lots of sunlight when there was actual sunlight to be seen. Roxie's eyes caught sight of Syd's hands as his back was turned to her, in his brief moment looking out the window. She recognized blood when she saw it, and it made her stomach turn nearly every time. Didn't matter if it was her own, her husband's or someone else's...it was all the same. But the turning in her gut was being distracted by the thoughts in her head, Syd clearly was hiding something from her. And so openly...

He then turned to face her, perched on the windowsill as he folded his arms and his hands away. He didn't waste time getting to the point, not skirting around things like they both had been for a while now. The anger she felt about certain things was hard to retain when he was so openly explaining that he was worried about them, about her. When Syd mentioned that she was avoiding his eyes, she made a point to meet his then, as if to stubbornly convince him that she wasn't. But then J.J. was brought up and her eyes darted away. "There is a lot that scares me too, you know?" Roxie admitted, crossing her arms around herself as she stood by their bed awkwardly. Roxie stood there for a moment like that, staring at the floor between them before her eyes looked up at Syd's folded arms. Though she'd seen it, she wanted to believe that maybe he wasn't lying. She had to confirm it. Her eyes glanced to his for a split second before she strode across the room and without a word, she lightly touched his arms at first. Roxie knew well enough that depending on the mood he was in, Syd didn't like to be touched so she approached the situation slowly.

Her fingers lightly grazed his right forearm and wrist, and before he could catch on to what she was doing, she grabbed his hand. It wasn't hard to spot the blood so up close and some of it had even flaked onto her own skin. It didn't matter if he tried to pull away or not at that point...Roxie's jaw set in disappointment, her eyes reflecting the hurt she felt. Stepping away from him, she shook her head, "I don't understand how you think you can lie to me, Syd Porter. Especially about stuff like that." She pointed to his hand, a shake in her voice. "If that's not your blood or Penny's then who's blood is on your fucking hand?!" Her voice raised, an octave below a shout. Before he most likely would have a chance to explain himself she continued.

"If you are about to tell me that you ended up hurting someone again, Syd, save your breath. I can't stand to hear it. If it was because of the accident you almost got into then fine. But when are you going to understand that you can't just throw your weight around like that!?" Roxie turned her back to him, her hands shaking as her chest tightened with the anger she felt, making it hard to breathe."It's this irresponsible behavior that makes me worry about J.J., the lack of self-preservation for yourself that makes me worry that our son is going to do something that will get himself killed before he's even had a chance to live!"The tears fell from her eyes down her cheeks and she sucked in a painful breath before saying, "I can't lose him, just like I can't lose you. I can't lose any of you. But for you two it's now once again, so real...I can't stand to look at either of you knowing I can't do anything to prevent what's inevitable." Roxie turned back around, slowly despite her anger as she was just trying to stand on her own to feet now with the way her chest was starting to feel. The anxiety was heavy, it felt like someone was stepping on her lungs.

"You say you're scared and worried for us? For me? Don't be. Be scared for yourself and maybe just once, I wouldn't have to lie awake thinking about what if you got caught pulling this shit! Or for J.J., because maybe you wouldn't have allowed him to join the gang and once again, I wouldn't be losing sleep over it!"
with: Syd Porter (Your move) Pyroclast

 

[BasDorcha]

Construction Site

~Limehouse, London~​

Abel Stewart

The last few weeks had been busy with Abel having dove into his latest project with all the passion and motivation that he did with every job. Ezekial was… intimidating, and dangerous, he knew, but that didn't change his passion for his job and to do it well, regardless of who it was for. He was never a fan of cutting corners, slackers, or shoddy work. Never the less, he could feel the threat of Ezekial's wrath hanging over him and feared what the man would do to his wife, his mother, or any other of his family if he failed. As he sat at his desk after another ridiculously long day to stay on track, he could feel the stress and strain taking its toll on his body, feeling the tension in his shoulders and back, between his eyes, and in the depths of his chest.

The request to meet with Damian after work was not one he was looking forward to. He'd have liked to have told them all to go to hell, he was exhausted and just wanted to get home but he knew that would be poking the bear for no good reason. Remembering what he had seen the last time Damian had been around left him in a cold sweat and with the slightest of trembles to his hand. He had heard enough about his Uncle's past as well as that of the King's to know that surely, somewhere, inside of him, he had the strength to do what was needed to defend his family but for the moment he feared it would not be enough.

Watching out the window impatiently, a pen tapping against his desk top, he thought about how he use to enjoy a calm, dark evening. Now it just put him on edge, wondering what horrors were lurking in the shadows and just around the corner. With monsters like Damian around, his eyes were now opened to a deeper, uglier truth about the world. It wasn't just stories in a book or on the telly, but very real and much more disgusting than one could ever dream of. Finally the door opened and Damian stepped in, his failed attempt at small talk falling short of sounding friendly or pleasant. The man took a chair across from him as beneath the desk Abel gripped the handle of a fresh new pistol he'd strapped beneath his desk near to his knee. A silent gulp was swallowed down as he tried to remind himself he was only going to pull the trigger if he needed too.

As the man tried to ask about how things were going at the site, Abel found himself nodding automatically to affirm they were in fact on schedule and going alright. Words failed him as he struggled to speak. "Yes, of course. Things are going exactly as expected, perhaps better than." Silence fell between them not that it seemed to bother the threat in the room. The man went on to explain exactly what this meeting was for. Loyalty? What loyalty did he have to Ezekial aside from doing a job and doing it right? Was he expected to not have contact with the family he just found out he hadn't lost? Furling his brows and relaxing his hand just enough to look more natural, the free one coming up to tap again on the wood, he thought carefully about what he was going to say before he said it, ensuring he made no specific promises while also sounding like he agreed with the man.

"Ezekial is my employer and I intend to complete my job as agreed upon. The return of my cousins who I was not particularly close with even before we thought they had died is not going to affect that. I can't see how them returning to London could have any kind of impact on what I'm doing here. Just like every day since we started, and every day that comes from here on until the end, I'll be here ensuring everything is going as scheduled and with the highest degree of craftsmanship me and my company can provide. If Ezekial is concerned I'll become distracted or convinced to do anything other than that, he can rest assured not even my own wife would be able to achieve that. My company, my career, is my passion and regardless of how it came about or who I am working for, I will never let someone else stop me from protecting the name we have strove so hard to create."

In a strange moment of what he could only call instinct, he gripped the hilt of the pistol and fingered the trigger lightly, ready to leap into any necessary action needed to get out of this situation alive.

Misty Gray - Damian

 

[neverbackdown]

Construction Site
~ Limehouse, London ~

Jake Hunter
​

Jake leaned back in the passenger seat with his eyes closed. As Zachary addressed him an amused smirk found its way onto his lips as he turned his head to look out Zach's window at Damian skipping off into the distance. A small chuckle escaped as Jake shook his head clearly amused by it all "All of them" he commented his tone a mix of amusement and seriousness.

"Ah yeah its definitely common in this life but" A thoughtful look played on his expression as he tried to find the best way to put his thoughts on Damien's clear insanity "If it was a competition he'd definitely gets the gold star". The amusement dropped from his expression as a noise came from the boot and Jake's head turned towards it for a moment before he rolled his eyes and leaned back into his seat again. "Could just knock them out" Jake commented with a small shrug his tone suggesting that he was only half joking about that.

He was both curious and uninterested in who their surprise passenger was, a mix between wanting to know but also not wanting to be wrapped up in it all, although he knew himself that even being in the car meant he was very much involved but still it was easy to pretend his innocence when he was left in the dark.

Crossing his arms to bring a bit more heat into himself, Jake simply nodded along "Knowing Damien he's going to take his sweet ass time in there" he commented before turning his head to look at Zach once again and laughed slightly "ah no, still single taking my time I suppose, not looking but if the right girl came along maybe" he added thoughtfully. To be honest, Jake was still heartbroken and weary since Isabella, his cheating fiancé who ripped his heart in two, even 8 years later he still held the anger and pain close to his chest. Biting his lip Jake held in a sigh as he tried to divert the conversation "What about you? anyone you have your eye on" he wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

Misty Gray (Zachary)

 

[Misty Gray]

King Remedial
~ City of London, London ~

Spencer King and Ezekiel Carter​

Ezekiel was enjoying seeing the reactions of Spencer and Billy. Although they managed to remain relatively composed, he didn't doubt that beneath the façade they were caught off-guard by his unexpected appearance. He decided to let Billy's disrespect slide, certain there would be time later to put the two brothers in their place. Considering they'd risen from the dead after twelve years, he supposed his and Reign's surprise meeting was barely anything in comparison. Regardless of remaining unshaken by the Kings and Porters showing up in London, Ezekiel had no intention of letting them feel comfortable. As such, he had chosen to confront the new King Boss head on from the start and get him up to speed on how the city worked now.

Spencer had caught Reign's dig about them looking well given the circumstances. The last twelve years hadn't been his choice and he begrudged having been removed from London where the Carters were left free to take over. Despite this, he was sure his family suddenly looking fit and healthy wasn't exactly comforting for the Carters.

As they walked to the meeting room, Spencer maintained a confident walk, partly hoping his actions would rub off on Billy to boost his brother's own confidence in their current situation. Inside the meeting room, Billy offered everyone drinks whilst Spencer closed the door behind the four of them. Ezekiel didn't wait to be invited to sit, instead placing himself in the end seat at one side of the rectangular boardroom table and Reign taking her place to his left. His back was turned to the Kings as he sent Reign an amused smirk whilst she continued to make her comments towards the brothers and them supposedly having the upper hand.

"We'll all have that same drink," Ezekiel confirmed after Reign requested the host's choice. Perhaps it was his way of smoothing the situation by putting them as equals with their drinks, or maybe it was his way of taking the decision away from Spencer as to what he wished to drink.

"Four of the same," Spencer told Billy, making it clear he wasn't going to challenge Ezekiel's and Reign's decisions on what they'd all be drinking. He wanted to keep things civil for as long as possible. If he allowed tensions to boil over so early on, he figured it would not only leave Ezekiel feeling even more in control than he clearly already did, but it'd also minimise any opportunity to gain useful information from the Carters. However, the comment Reign had made about their skincare routine hadn't been completely pushed out of his mind, nor Ezekiel's, as when the four of them were seated, with Spencer and Billy opposite Ezekiel and Reign respectively, the Carter boss pressed for a reaction.

"Reign made a valid point. You gents have practically risen from the dead. How did you manage that?" he asked, his eyes fixing mostly on Billy in that moment to see if the youngest of the brothers would give anything away.

"Family secret, I'm afraid. Can't have everyone looking as good as us," Spencer was quick to shoot down the subject. "Let's get straight to business and the reason we're all here..."

Ezekiel nodded his head and then smiled at Spencer. He finally drew attention to the file he'd brought with him and flipped it open whilst sliding it towards Spencer and Billy. "There's four months remaining on this contract," he informed them. He knew this wasn't the business the Kings really wished to addressed, but it was business, nonetheless. "It's been renewed every year since as long as Bruce was in charge. I had hoped to catch up with him today, but I'm sure you boys know what you're doing without him," he remarked.

Spencer knew full well the Carters had been supplying them with laboratory equipment and machinery for many years, but he had no intention of that continuing now. Not since the Carters business had evolved in ways which had resulted in his family suffering over the years. "I'm looking to take business in a different direction, so I will give you notice that I will not be renewing this contract." Flicking through the paperwork, he he scanned for the terms he was looking for. "Looks like I emerged from my grave just in time. I'll ensure you receive written notice of my intentions to terminate the deal within the next month," he said, with an assured smile.

Ezekiel nodded his head, having expected such a response. "I shall await it. Along with the remaining two invoice payments your company owes," he commented. "I can assure you that you won't receive a better price for the quality we offer. Trevor gave your company quite a favourable discount. Family discount, some might suspect," he remarked. In reality, Ezekiel had approved the prices Trevor had proposed, but right now he wanted to rub salt in the clearly open wounds. "Considering the state he was in the last time we sat down together, I'd say you were quite ungrateful of it." It was clear he was alluding to the recent beating Spencer had given Trevor.

"You're welcome to him," Spencer assured Ezekiel. "The bloke has no loyalty to his family, but he is motivated by money. So you keep paying him well and you'll have a lapdog for life."

Ezekiel quirked his eyebrow, fully aware by now of the Kings' past with Trevor and the man's past addictions to drugs and gambling. He knew how to keep Trevor in his place and the levels the man had gone to in order to prove his loyalty. Whether it was driven by money or respect, Ezekiel had the old man where he needed him. Still he wanted to hear it from Billy. "Do you share your brother's scathing assessment of your dad?"

Pyroclast (Billy)
Bellz (Reign)

 

[Misty Gray]

Train Station
~ Queen's Park Station, London ~

Emery Callahan​

Emery couldn't help but grin when Dawson said he hardly used his eyes when boarding or exiting trains. As much as she was going to make him squirm for knocking her over, she was still able to appreciate that he had a sense of humour. Some of the people she'd experienced on the city's transport seemed to lack that. Apparently they were so focused in their own world or beaten down by the daily grind that they probably wouldn't have even stopped after banging into someone. Dawson seemed different, but then, his accent told her he wasn't a local. Perhaps he was a tourist and full of excitement to be in on holiday!

She seemed to have caught him off-guard for a time, displayed in his dumb expression when he could only say "uh?" at one point. What a dork! Admittedly, he was an attractive dork.

The attention on her bleeding knee distracted her from teasing him. Throughout her life, she'd been involved in many dangerous situations and picked up injuries along the way. Dawson's concerned and apologetic reaction wasn't something she experienced very often. With her tough and often fearless nature, people rarely showed too much concern for her if she did get physically or emotionally hurt. Not that she blamed them, given that it was a wall she had built up since as far back as she could remember in order to appear as anything but weak. Seeing Dawson concerned made it almost tempting, to play on her injury to garner sympathy, play on the damsel in distress trope to see what it was like to have someone fuss over her. But it was a fleeting temptation as pride would prevent her from demolishing the wall she'd constructed so well over the years. "I mean, it doesn't hurt or nothing. I just don't want to make a bloody mess and be walking around like someone out of a zombie apocalypse movie!" she remarked.

Dawson took responsibility for his actions and suggested going to a pub so he could get her a drink. "Now we're talking!" She put her arm around his shoulder to support herself for a short distance, but soon moved her hand away when she knew she could support herself. She couldn't help but laugh when he said she seemed capable and he was apparently blind. "Yeah, I'd rather not let you lead me into the Thames. I wasn't planning on going for a swim today... nor a fall, for that matter."

As they walked to the pub, Dawson asked if he should bother telling her his name. She didn't immediately respond, making it seem like she was debating how to answer. This gave him time to apologise again and explain he hadn't been paying attention. "It's okay. I've had worse and it appears I'm getting a free beer out of this. And don't be so hard on yourself, you don't look that old..." she trailed off, purposely not correcting him on the stupidity part, but still flashing a teasing smirk.

"As for your name. You'd best tell me, otherwise I'll forever refer to you as the New York Barger!" She stayed silent to hearing his name before offering hers, even if he didn't ask. "I'm Emery," she told him. "You seem like you're further away from home than I am. What brings you to London?" she curiously asked. "I hope you're not one of those who's obsessed with the Queen. I bet you've sent a postcard back home already: 'hey guys, today I went to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen...'[/i]" she joked. Stopping, she turned a little more serious and allowed herself another look at his face. She couldn't deny her attraction to him was why he was getting off lightly for running into her. "Is this the pub?" she asked in a level tone as they approached the building in question.

Bellz (Dawson - another of Roxie's family for Syd to be paranoid about!)

 

[Misty Gray]

Construction Site
~ Limehouse, London ~

Damian Nicolosi​

Damian stayed silent as Abel assured him the building works were on track and that he intended to complete everything as agreed. The younger man went on to explain how he wasn't close to his cousins before they supposedly died, so their return wouldn't impact on his contract with Ezekiel. Abel then went on to emphasise his own integrity and dedication to his construction business. Damian was convinced as far as the building works went, but he still wasn't reassured when it came to the Kings. As intended, Abel continued on to touch on that subject, assuring him he wouldn't be convinced to do anything else, saying even his own wife couldn't twist him, suggesting the Kings wouldn't be able to either.

"Then rest assured I will report back to Ezekiel that everything is still on track as agreed," Damian confirmed to him. For now, he believed Abel wouldn't be turned to doing anything against the Carters that his cousins may ask of him. Whether that would stand the test if put into practice remained to be seen. But there was always a way to remind people of what was in their best interests and he knew Ezekiel had methods at his disposal to do so. "Your wife's name is Alice, isn't it?" he asked, a sudden kind tone to Damian's voice. "A angelic and dainty looking lady, I understand. But I imagine looks can be deceiving, given that she teaches high school students. Even I don't think I could spend all day trying to teach teenagers. Gutsy lady, huh?" he asked. He then reached into his pocket and slowly removed his mobile phone from his pocket, not wanting to rattle Abel or give him cause for any rash actions. After pressing a few keys on the handset and reading a text message, he looked back at Abel. "She made it home on time after work today, but my guys will stay outside your house just to make sure she remains safe and secure until I confirm to them we're both done here," he knowingly told Abel. He expected Abel would read between the lines and understand Alice wasn't safe if he caused him any problems.

"Tell me, Abel," Damian said, his tone turning oddly upbeat as he pointed out of the window to the construction site where the foundations were still in the early stages of being built. "Where would be the best place out there to bury something that you never want to be found? My friends and I might have something we need to offload tonight."

BasDorcha (Abel)

 

[BasDorcha]

West Side of the Carter Druggie Warehouse

~ Undisclosed Location, London ~​

Jeremy Gray

Jeremy was in full focus mode. The already stoic and impassible man was more so, concentrating on the area outside the windows as he watched what was going on before them. It was unusual for him to be the one sitting back and not clearing the area, but this was a special case where he was more needed on the second wave. It was quiet and still, the air fogged with each exhale they took. Jeremy's position in the front seat gave him an ample opportunity to view clearly ahead, studying the movements of the guards carefully. One wrong move and people would end up dead tonight and that couldn't happen, not on their first real mission back in London. Rubbing his hands together, he adjusted himself and settled back into his seat, chewing away at the edge of his thumb in thought.

It was Wesley's question that brought him back to reality and how long they had been sitting there. Jeremy was made for stake outs - they passed in seemingly no time as he would hyperfocus so much that he didn't even feel the seconds ticking by. Grunting softly, he shook his head giving Wesley a look as if to say he should already know what he was about to say. "As long as it takes them, Wesley, you know this." He looked back outside, immediately alert as he saw the number of guards rushing back inside. "Settle it, Wesley. They will call us if there's a problem. We rush in there to early we can put them at even bigger risk. We just need to give them a few more minutes."

Still, the few minutes that passed was anxiety inducing for all of them of that Jeremy was sure. Once it looked clearer at the front, Jeremy tapped Wesley on the arm and nodded. "Now. Let's go." Checking one last time to make sure that he had everything he intended to take with him, including a pistol, two knives, his Kevlar and his walkie, he got ready to exit the van. Once they were ready, he slid out, ready to edge up at the signal. Up ahead he counted four remaining men, waving to Dermot and Wesley.

 

[Pyroclast]

The Porter Residence
~ Holland Park, London ~

Syd Porter​

Syd stood upright when Roxie marched over to him, not sure what she was about to do. Her fingertips brushed his forearm and for a moment he thought that maybe she was going to slide into his arms. He was just about to open them to her when she managed to grab hold of his hand, revealing the bloodied rings on his knuckles that he had been trying to keep out of view. Instinctively, he pulled his hand back, but the damage was done. His wife looked wounded and began to lecture him, and he felt his face flush with guilt and shame.

“I didn’t lie to you,” he argued. “It’s…it was just -” But she stopped him before he could work out what to tell her. He could see the anger steaming off of her, and her breathing became strained with her rising emotions. “I know, I’m sorry -” Syd squeezed his eyes shut as he realised that what he had done to the driver on the road was a dangerous overreaction. He couldn’t even remember why he had been in such a state to begin with.

Then it all came out: Roxie was beside herself with anxiety about J.J. getting himself killed, blamed Syd’s irresponsible behaviour and lack of self preservation for setting a bad example to their eldest son. He could hear the distress rising in her voice and see the tears spill from her eyes. “Rox’...” he spoke up, but she kept going. It was obvious that it had been building up inside her ever since Syd had permitted J.J. to join in the mission, though he knew that already from the way she had been acting around the two of them. And she enlightened him on why that was - that she felt helpless to protect them from what was inevitable.

“Inevitable?” Syd echoed. Before he could think about the people he had lost to the family’s past wars, Roxie continued her tirade against his reckless behaviour and going behind her back to let their son into what she called the gang.

“It’s not a gang!” he insisted, raising his voice. “Nobody said anything about getting our operations running again! J.J. isn’t joining the business, okay, because there’s no business to join. We’re not trying to take over the Carters’ reign, here - I don’t want fuck all to do with London, anyway! But this family works as a strong team, and we agreed to lend our skills, knowledge and manpower to help Interpol take these fucks down in exchange for our freedom to be with each other again. We agreed to that. So that’s what we’re doing.”

He stood back, breathing heavily, and placed his hands on his hips as he tried to gather his thoughts. There was a long, uncomfortable pause before he hung his head. “Have I really messed up?” he asked his wife. His face tingled with the heat that preceded tears. “Did you…” His throat closed up, as if trying to stop him from asking the question. “Did you not want to come here?”

He wound his arms around his stomach, anxiety threading through him in anticipation of her answer. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to hear it.

“Roxie, I can only do this if I have you with me,” he admitted. “You know nothing in the world matters more to me than family, right? You and the kids are my priority, but I don’t wanna live the rest of my life never seeing the others again, never being able to reach them or knowing if they’re okay. That's why I wanted this role, so I could know what everyone's doing and where everyone is, and keep an eye on them. So that we can get this stupid mission out of the way and go back to living our lives without any fake fucking identities or fake stupid jobs, and we get to speak English and have our families around us. I just wanna make sure it’s done the most efficient way possible, with minimal casualties and no losses, because believe it or not, I don’t want my son getting hurt either! Do you think I want that?”

Interactions
Bellz Roxie

 

[BasDorcha]

The Brook's House

~Bethnal Green, London~​

​

Maeve Brooks

The words over my dead body rang in May's ears. If Christian thought for one moment that she was going to let the kids stay there when he was putting all of them on the radar for Ezekial - who he knew was dangerous - he was very wrong. She'd disappear in the night with them if she had too, she'd done it before. Maybe she'd take them back to Dublin, at least she had her brother there. Maybe she could find Tom and stay with him. A shiver went through her. Her mind turned to her mother, and the repairs she'd been trying to make with May. Maybe, just maybe, she could consider staying with her mother to get back on her feet away from Christian. She hated to admit it, but her mother may have made an appearance at just the right time for her to use her to escape. It's the least the woman could do after all the shit she put her through.

Then the words of her father hit her again as she started to process them. He was choosing them over his family, over her, after all the time she spent defending him and saying he wasn't that kind of person. The tears fell freely down her face as she sobbed outside the back door. Why was everything falling apart at once? All she could think about what how she wanted to feel nothing at this moment. Her purse was upstairs in her room, something she couldn't get to without entering the house with the two people she wanted to see least at this time. A sigh broke her lips, she needed a release. For a split second, she wondered what Ryan was doing and if she could escape to see him, pretend her life wasn't a wreck for just a short time as she had the day she met him. Deciding it wasn't the right train of thought for now, she pushed it away, left with her misery.

When the door opened a few minutes later and Christian came out, May instantly stood and walked away, putting distance between them. Some innate fear from past traumas had her feeling like she didn't need to be within reaching distance of someone so angry, even if in the back of her mind she knew he would never hurt her like that. Flashes of Josh hit her mind, sending shivers down her spine. He wasn't Josh, he wasn't going to get angry like that and take it out on her. He wasn't Josh. The words ran on repeat in her head as she tried to listen to what he was saying.

"Anywhere I go is better than in the center of this mess, Christian. Maybe I'll go see my brother in Dublin, let him meet him niece and nephew. Hell, I'll go stay with Alex and Kerry if they'll have me. Maybe, just maybe, I'll even see if my mom will let us stay. It would be a hell of a way for her to make up for all the bullshit she put me through as a kid. The kids are resilient, they will adjust." She crossed her arms and turned away from him, unable to look him in the face because the feeling that her tears would make her seem weak surged up inside her. Wiping her face and turning back around, she gave him his glare right back. When he brought up her missing day, she never let it cause a flinch in her face, those years of practiced masking coming back instantly and without fail. Looking as if it was unimportant and annoying for him to bring up, she let him sit on it before speaking.

"I took a day for myself, Christian. A day to have tea at the café, to walk the city, and to think, because I very much needed it. I needed time away from you, from this marriage, from the failures staring me in the face to decide what I wanted to do. As it stands, I still don't know. I knew Chloe would be safe and secure with Trevor, and seeing as to how we are practically strangers living together for the sake of our children, it's not something I felt I could talk to you about. I can't remember the last time it felt like I had a real husband that cared for me. We can't talk without arguing, when you're home, we are barely even in the same room. You blame me for your family, and mine for that matter. I'm the scapegoat for everything that goes wrong. I can't deal with it anymore. I don't regret our kids, not for a second, but if not for them we'd never have made it this far. I'm not even sure anymore you would have married me. The more time passes, the more I realize you probably only took this leap with me because of some sense of morality and responsibility, but I would have been fine sharing custody and not being married just because I was pregnant. No, I don't think I want to be your prison anymore, Christian."

Moving to move past him, she side steps him to avoid a shoulder barge, headed back for the backdoor. Her whole body started to shake once she was past his eyesight, clenching her fist as she realized just how much she had poured out in one go. She hadn't intended to say it, but everything was bursting down the dam today and everyone was going to hear her unfiltered words. Stopping, she steadied herself, keeping her back to him. "And if you think for one minute that I'm leaving my kids the way my parents left me, it will be over you dead body. Doesn't matter if its Ezekial or not, the way you're going about things, you're pushing a lot of buttons for a lot of people and its putting all of us in danger. I will not leave my children in the mist of that."

Misty Gray - Bane of my Existance.

 

[BasDorcha]

Construction Site

~Limehouse, London~​

Abel Stewart

Just when Abel was sure that things were going to end and be finished, ready to release his hand on the pistol beneath the desk, Damian brought up his wife and the grip was reaffirmed in anger this time. Squeezing it tightly, though his finger never touched the trigger, made him feel more at ease and able to continue on. It would be the death of him to kill Damian, in more ways than one, but it would at least rid the world of a very evil man. Gulping to maintain his calm, he took a deep steadying breath, unable to hide the slight narrowing of his eyes as he picked up on exactly what Damian was trying to say. If there was anyone in this world worth dying for, Alice was the one. Still… if he pulled that trigger, he'd never make it home to her without them getting to her first, so slowly, forcing himself to release the wood and metal in his grip, he let go and put both hands on the desk, gritting his teeth behind a closed mouth.

"Yeah, Alice is gutsy when it comes to the kids. She's got the right kind of heart for it though, they never give her much guff. Thanks for letting me know she made it home safe," It literally twisted his insides into a knot of disgust to thank Damian, but he had to keep appearances up. The sick taste in the back of his throat almost made him gag, but he held it back. The anger seeping through his body was stabilizing him quicker than he anticipated, the nerves replaced by a deep need to protect. "Don't think she needs protection from them though, your guys should be fine to leave her at any time. Doubt any of those ruffians from the school are going to pop by unexpectedly." Abel met Damian's eyes as he returned polite, but definite fire. It was time to talk to his cousins, maybe even get Alice out of the city. He would have to handle that another time and very, very carefully. At least until this mess with Ezekial, the Carters in general, was over.

At Damian's last comment, Abel knew he had to keep this conversation vague so if he were ever questioned about it he'd be left with reasonable doubt even though he understood very clearly what was being asked. Standing, he pulled out a few blue prints and stretched them across the table, looking them over as if considering while trying to collect his thoughts at being asked to even be implicated in this. Finally, he pointed to a section of foundation that was being poured within the next forty-eight hours. "Did you know we're getting ready to start this part of the building next? They'll be pouring the concrete either tomorrow or the next day, depending on the weather and if it holds." He refused to answer the question directly, but he could openly talk about his business without needing to clear his conscious of it. "Within a week, it'll be covered for the world to see under about six foot of concrete that's needed to support such a large building." He had no doubt Damian would understand what he was saying, without Abel having to ask what kind of something they were trying to bury. He knew. His mind flashed to the night at the laundry mat and a sickness threatened him again but he held onto the anger at Alice being in harm's way to keep him steady.

Misty Gray - Devil man

 

[Pyroclast]

King Remedial
~ City of London, London ~

Billy King​

It was 18 months and two weeks now since Billy had last had a drink. It had been a long and difficult road, but cutting Florian out of his life and having Hendrik around instead had made it a lot more bearable. Such a positive change had made a huge impact on his recovery and had given him far fewer reasons to relapse. Though he still carried some lingering trauma from his ex-boyfriend’s abusive tendencies, the rehab and therapy he had undergone, as well as Hendrik’s support and his fitness journey, had pushed his progress forwards in leaps and bounds. At this stage in his recovery he found exposure to be helpful, which was partly why he had volunteered to make the meeting’s drinks.

Reign’s request to have Billy's own favourite drink, however, made him panic for a moment. That was something he really didn’t want to think about. In his low moods, he never bothered making anything classy - it was either whatever beers were on the shelves, or neat, hard alcohol straight from the bottle. At social events and parties, he would drink strong cocktails - negronis, martinis, sazeracs and long islands, whatever would get him over his high threshold in the shortest amount of time. Of course, he couldn’t serve those here.

Ezekiel asked for whatever Reign was having, and Spencer asked him to make four drinks of the same. Billy’s eyes desperately scanned the drinks trolley for inspiration, before finally opting for something clear, a gin and tonic with ice and a slice, so that he could make his own a virgin without it being obvious to the rest of the room. The last thing he wanted was for the enemy to find a weakness in him.

When he turned around, Billy noticed Ezekiel and Reign exchanging knowing looks at each other. They had now both made some sort of comment about how their bringing the meeting onto King territory put Spencer and him at an advantage, but the way they were smirking at each other suggested they still had the upper hand somehow. Billy was serving everyone their gin and tonics when the Carter boss directed the question at him of how they had managed to return after being legally pronounced dead. Billy kept his mouth shut, and Spencer instead managed to prevaricate with a roundabout answer.

They soon moved onto business, and Billy took a seat at the table with his virgin drink in hand. Ezekiel slid a file across to him and his brother, but it was about their contract between Carter Technologies and King Remedial, something which Billy had never been involved in himself. So, rather than get out his reading glasses and dive into the paperwork, he just sat back and let Spencer rescind the partnership. Ezekiel put up no kind of fight, instead bringing the conversation onto Trevor. It was obvious to Billy that he was using them to gauge Trevor’s relationship with the family and where his loyalties truly lay. Billy was aware of the little play Spencer had put on with their father and knew to stick to the plan. So when the Carter boss turned to him and asked if he shared Spencer’s sentiment, he set a steady gaze on the man.

“Trevor ain’t my dad,” he shrugged. “Never was. Respectfully, I don’t give a shit what you do with him, Mr. Carter. I just hope for your sake he’s a changed man.” He looked over at Reign. “What’s your business in all this, then, Reign? Are you and your siblings all getting your hands dirty, now?”

Interactions
Misty Gray Ezekiel, Spencer
Bellz Reign

 

[Misty Gray]

The Brooks' House
~ Bethnal Green, London ~

Trevor Stewart and Christian Brooks​

Christian shook his head. "I'm the centre of this mess? I'm just doing my job - doing what's right for this community. Every mess I've been dragged into is because of you and your family. Whether it's Trevor or Tom, they bring trouble. I'll never forget the night I was attacked in the restaurant... it was easy to piece together the fact your brother was one of the masked men. So don't blame me if you think you're the centre of any mess. This is what follows us. It certainly follows you! Our children are going nowhere near your brother and Dublin!" With the suggestion of Alex and Kerry, Christian lightly shook his head. "You're not taking our kids anywhere, but at least I could trust those two to look after them..." he trailed off. "And your mother? Don't use Jensen and Chloe as leverage to try get your crackhead mother into shape and making up for how much she failed you until now!"

When she told him how she'd taken a day for herself when Chloe was sick, he shook his head in disbelief, but for now he let her keep speaking. She continued to blame him for the problems with their marriage, pointing out how he blamed her for him no longer seeing his family, which he wouldn't deny as he cut ties with his parents for her. In retrospect, he realised they had been right and that May wasn't right for him. When she then said she didn't want to be in his prison anymore, he let out a frustrated groan. "Are you fucking kidding me?! It's always about you, isn't it May? You're standing here playing the victim and making out like I forced you to be with me. If anyone was trapped in this relationship, it was me, right from the start. It wasn't our children that made me stay, but the knowledge I couldn't back out on account of who your family was. I was trapped working for them, which I overcame in time to consider them friends, but then I got too close to you. I love our children and would never regret having them. But to hear you put all the blame on me, like I forced you to stay with me. That's bullshit, May."

When May asserted she wasn't leaving the kids with him, he scoffed at her. "How are you going to look after our children when you seem intent on putting your own needs first?" He paused as he raised his voice for Trevor to hear inside. "Trevor will be over the moon right now. I'm done. I want a divorce. I'll also be filing for legal custody of our children."

BasDorcha (May)

 

[BasDorcha]

The Brook's House

~Bethnal Green, London~​

​

Maeve Brooks

Everything within May crumbled. Every doubt, every fear actualized in seconds. Her skin paled to an unnatural color, her fist so tightly clenched blood was dripping from her palms as she fought against every urge in her body to scream so loud the cops - and not the one in the yard - would be called. Her teeth ached from gritting them as her knees forced her to stay upright even as they wanted to give out on her. Hissing air rushed between them as she tried to breath, tried to expand her lungs but they wouldn't. In her mind she shot him, shot him right where he stood, ending all of it in one go, but the ache in her heart told her she'd never do that, not when she had genuinely loved him despite him never having loved her. Her voice when she spoke this time was barely above a whisper, but icy and cold.

"I never said you forced me to be with you, Christian. Unlike you, I chose you. No one ever once threatened you and made you stay, it was always my choice. None of the King's would have done anything to you if you'd just manned up and told me that you thought it was a mistake and we should live our own separate lives, sharing custody of our child. You put that on yourself. You're so convinced everyone in my family is a bloody devil that you never stopped to consider that I had a choice in the whole damn matter. It's okay though, you've already made your point. You were trapped with me, with them, with this whole life. You want a divorce, you got it, but don't think you're going to get the kids without a fight. I have a job at one of the best employers in town, didn't you know? Who are they going to think would be the best and safest home for a child? A police officer whose on the outs with his own force, or the woman who has a steady, no-risk job with the man who, as you said, runs everything. The fact that you think that one day of putting myself first in twelve years of marriage is enough to ruin me as a mother is why you'll never get the children. I'd rather have an amicable agreement and shared custody, but if you'd rather it be ugly and drawn out that's fine. All I've done since I got pregnant is put you, this family, the children first. I work, I come home, I care for the kids, you're barely ever even here. How are you going to care for our children when you can't even be home for them when they get out of school? You want your freedom? You want to be able to do whatever you want? Then go do it, but you'll not be dragging our children with you."

Without giving him time to say another word, she stormed inside, locking the door behind her before pushing past Trevor to go to the front door, ensuring Christian's keys were on the hook where they belonged. Slamming the front door, she locked it too, already knowing that the windows were locked. A long time ago, when her brother Tom broke into her house because of an unlatched entry way, had taught her to never leave a window unlocked unless she was actively in the room. From the front hall, she steadied herself and picked up the phone, calling the neighbor whose house the children were at. After checking on them and advising she'd be by to get them as soon as possible and getting the all clear from them, Maeve turned around and stormed back through the house, stopping only when she saw Trevor still sitting at the table. She wanted to run over to him and throw herself into his lap and sob, to be comforted the way she always thought a father would comfort a daughter but she knew that wasn't going to happen, not now. The rose colored glasses lay shattered on the metaphorical floor. Everything she had ever hoped to have in life was a lie, and a badly packaged one at that.

"Why are you still here, Trevor? You've made it clear that you've chosen Ezekial's side, so there's no reason for you to be here anymore. You've gotten to witness what is the collapse of my life, my marriage, and what little bit of family I had left, so leave. I can't trust any of you anymore. You're working for the devil himself, Christian intent on destroying whatever is left, and the only family I've even spoken to in years is Alex and Kerry and I honestly don't even think I could turn to them right now, so leave and let me be alone in my misery." Much like she did Christian, she moved away from him, up the stairs to their room where she sat down on the end of the bed and pulled her purse into her lap. Her hands shook as she took the compact out but never opened it. Enough was enough, if she was going to keep her kids she couldn't keep on with this, but her heart cried for a release. The depth of emptiness and pain she felt was like nothing she had ever known, her soul ripped from her body and leaving an empty shell. Her marriage had been a lie. Her children were the product of a father feeling trapped in a marriage he never wanted. Her father was choosing the man putting them all in danger to side with. Harper was gone. Even the rest of the King's hadn't bothered to come and visit since they'd come back. Throwing the compact across the room, it shattered her wall mirror as it hit it, glass showering the hardwood floors.

Maybe she should just disappear, into the nothingness again. Maybe that was the best thing for her children - if she really was the reason everything was like this, she'd just be as bad for them as Kathleen had been for her. The thought of not being with her children because Christian would find some way to win out against her had her sinking to the floor with her head on the bed, fighting between sobs to breath and not hyperventilate.

Misty Gray - Pricks One and Two