For All Our Sins (O/F)

[f a l l i n 4 d a n c e]

████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████The Mob Princess
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As much as Rosabella needed the interaction, needed to be supported, Damien's tender touch caused her to stiffen her shoulders. She couldn't see him but she was aware of the borders, boundaries, and rules she had placed, and very aware of them crumbling. But just as much as she was aware of what she should be doing, she was aware of the warmth that radiated from the toymaker's hands, the support he kneaded into her tight shoulder muscles, how fragile her own emotions were. Her posture didn't loosen, but she didn't tell him to snap either.

Her head hung as he admitted exactly the same conclusion she had come to. A trade. It was the only card left on the table. The slut might not be good for anything, but she knew from what her men had told her, that she was particularly useful to Antonio Moretti.

Antonio Moretti. She cursed the name. Had he never been born none of this would have happened. What a naive thought. Of course it would have. The Moretti's always had another heir, ready, waiting. It was the DeLuca family that lacked the right to hand down the power. Rosabella could still remember when her power had been fragile. When she had needed to hold every pristine bit of her in rigid control, simply to assert her own power. Back when she had been the first woman to take over the crime boss. Maybe her doubters had been right, maybe, after everything she had sacrificed, everything she would have to sacrifice, maybe they had been right to say she couldn't do the job. Aless would never have let Rosa go missing, would never have overestimated her sister's strength. But these thoughts were useless, they could do no good. Thinking of what ifs and could have beens, questioning her whole life, it was silly. It accomplished nothing.

Without realizing it she had relaxed into Damien's hands, had they been in his place, where they usually met, she might have turned and captured one to kiss. Might have allowed the tender moment to occur and build into something more. But she had to remember where she was, who she was, what was happening around her. Rosabella reminded herself of her fury, of her hatred, but it only seemed to make her want to shrink in on herself. Then Damien spoke again. The words brushed lightly against her ear in a small breath, his face close beside her, she might have missed them if the room weren't so quiet. They drew to mind a poem she had once seen spray painted on a road outside of Florence. Words to a lover. The only lover. Ti amo. Those were the words you were only suppose to say to one person. And he hadn't said them in his language. Nor in the language they shared - English. Instead he had crossed that line for her.

Rosabella swallowed. She wanted to say it back, but there were too many things fighting against her. Too many practical reasons. Not to mention he had hinted at something near exclusivity before this whole thing had started - and she had panicked. She didn't want to go back to fighting with him, she didn't want to lose him, but he had to know that while she might feel more inclined toward him than any other man she might have met, she just couldn't form the words.

Not more than a few breathes had quickly crossed Rosabella's own lips when there was a knock on her door, cutting through the moment, making Rosa stiffen under Damien's hands and a brief look of panic to cross her face. She didn't want to look at Damien, didn't want to show him that she couldn't have said it back, but she wanted him to understand. His feelings didn't go unreturned. She had forgiven him. Hadn't breaking the rules and composure her office forced on her, shown him that. He moved away, back to being the perfect solider he always was for her. But not before Rosabella grabbed his hand and lightly squeezed it, looking up into his eyes so he could clearly see the turmoil in her eyes. Damn the rules!

With a deep breath, the crime boss composed herself. Her face returned to its unreadable state as she crossed one trousered leg over the other and leaned slightly back as if everything were alright when clearly it was not. "Come in." She commanded, her lips pursing with slight displeasure when the hacker stepped through the door. Timid, shy, useless Mary Jane. Rosabella's eyes bore into the girl. With Aless gone, she felt no kinder toward her sister's charity case. Clearly the girl before her could not do her job. "Yes?" Her voice was annoyed, her eyebrows rising skeptically. What could the meek little thing possibly have done that would allow her to lose her normal sensibilities and venture to Rosabella's office?

[deathangelle]

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M.J heard Rosabella through the door and she took a deep breathe and opened the door. Seeing Damian she mentally groaned to herself but maybe he won't let her shoot her. She walked in and debated on closing the door. Figuring the subject she was going to bring up she could leave it open a crack so she could run away if need be. Closing it behind her she faced Rosabella but didn't bother walking deeper into the room since she would be loud enough so she wouldn't have to get close. Watching Rosabella she could tell right of way she wasn't not someone she wanted to see. Chewing on her bottom lip she heard her yes and cleared her throat to tell her what she found out.

"I found the guns," she brought her fingers together and held them in front of her. "I have the address they are at, pictures of the men who took them and I hacked a bit of info of who's home it is." She looked at Damian since he was just standing there and she noticed who large he was she then debated on leaving just then. "Um she's Toni's weapon specialist," pulling a usb out of her back pocket she quickly walked over and laid it on the desk in front of Rosabella so she could look at the information herself if she wanted. She quickly backed stepped away from the desk and cleared her throat. "That's all I wanted to tell you so," she then turned and grabbed the door knob. "I'll be going now to get some equipment up in case you want to raid them. Possibly set the place on fire," she then gave a small smirk trying to calm herself by saying a tiny joke. Realizing what she did she turned to make a quick escape before something happened to her.

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[TDA_Romeo]

I have found comfort in someone
Now I’m bound, empty and hollow
I took the pills, I’ve been consumed
I drank the water, I had to choose

DAMIEN CARTHAGE
✄ DeLuca Toymaker

Location: Rosabella's office
Company: Rosabella DeLuca, Mary Jane

Frustration swelled inside. Frustration and annoyance. After everything the two had been through, after the pair had learned more about each other than they could have imagined when they first met, neither of them could come to an even balance on how they felt toward each other. Maybe she hadn't changed as much as Damien thought. Was he simply chasing a fool's dream that this woman was right for him? For a second before the knock on the door, Damien could have sworn that he had felt Rosa relax and begin to let him in, but she only tensed right back up and figuratively pushed him back. He couldn't hold his tender and affectionate appearance for long after the rasp on the door. When she didn't respond to his words, The Toymaker slowly went to an erected posture, and took an exaggerated breath. Estúpido. Fodendo. Regras. The voice in his head screamed, his mouth coming close to echoing the sentiment. As he began to move back to his position away from Rosa's desk, he was slightly thrown off guard by the woman. He felt the woman squeeze one of his hands. He looked down at her and noticed the struggle in her eyes. Damien noticed that she was conflicted, sure. She was human, for god's sake. She had to have feelings. The only thing that he wondered was which emotions did she feel for him? Thousands of questions ran through his head at a million miles an hour. Was she simply using him as a way to suppress a more emotional attachment to other men? Was Damien just a passing fancy for her? Could they even be together with their positions in this organization? Was she so worried about what her family thought of him that she needed to only keep him as a guilty pleasure? As far as he could see most Italian families didn't like anyone who didn't come from vineyards; and Damien never remembered there being any wineries in Brazil.

The questions all screamed in Damien's head. After a moment of looking into Rosa's eyes, he gained the composure to nod his head, a neutral- if not displeased- expression painted on his face. Yes. He understood who she was and that she had to keep a neutral appearance for those inside the organization. She had to appear almost robotic and cruel to keep this band of killers and thieves in line. All that aside- it didn't mean that Damien had to like it.

Standing off to the side of the room, Damien faced the door as it opened, his arms crossed over his chest and appearing as though he was there to simply stomp anyone who gave Rosa bad news. As their local Hacker entered the room, the gunsmith noticed the sudden annoyed aura that came from the Italian Mob Princess. The poor girl. She was one of Aless' best friends. Damien had an idea of how she was feeling. Her best friend was missing, and she was helpless to do anything. The only difference between her situation and ones he had experienced was that he knew that he would never see his missing friends unless he payed a visit to the cemetery. From her entrance, Damien could tell the girl was nervous. She remained near the door as if she was debating on whether or not she was going to close it. His eyes followed the Techy as she came to a conclusion to close the door behind her. After a moment she had gained her composure and spat out what she was there to discuss. "I found the guns." She announced, clearly looking uncomfortable in front of the boss, from the state of her hands. As she explained where she had located the weapons and who had them, Damien walked to the front of Rosa's desk, picking up the thumb drive and inspecting it. "Nice work M.J." He said, his voice remaining neutral as he flipped the USB device between his thumb and index finger. As he listened to the door close upon Mary's departure, his eyes went to that of his boss, his back to the entrance of the office. Boss... He couldn't call her his lover. Not right now. Not after what had happened before the timid hacker had entered the room. "I could lead a recovery team and get back our hardware." Damien suggested, his voice remaining low so only the two of them could hear.

While his lips and body language was talking business, his eyes demanded answers. Damien was never one to play games when it came to issues of the heart. He wanted to show the woman that he was serious. Both in what he had told her, and in that he wanted to know if she was the same way. After staring at the woman for a few moments, Damien placed the USB back on her desk and backed away. He then turned towards the door. "I suppose I should let Ms. DeCarte out of her time out and get ready for my next job." He commented as he walked towards the door, reaching for the door knob, his hand stopping a few inches from the brass knob. He was keeping himself from leaving, hoping that Rosa had something else to say to him.

When you’re high who ya flying for
When you ride who ya riding for
When you toast who ya drinking for
When you play, gotta deal with the devil

[f a l l i n 4 d a n c e]

████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████The Mob Princess
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Had found the guns? Rosabella's skepticism was quickly masked. Finally. It had taken the girl a whole week to find the weapons they had lost, a week in which Rosabella had needed MJ to find her supposed best friend. She bit back her frustration. She couldn't let the situation on hand distract her from what she she had needed previously. But then again, hadn't she told MJ to finish this the night everything had gone wrong? Pushing her frustration away, Rosabella listened to what the girl was saying, focusing on each word.

Toni's weapon specialist? Rosabella's lips pursed. Of course. It made perfect sense, but why hadn't MJ have found that sooner? And when had she started to call Antonio Moretti 'Toni'? Rosabella wondered as the girl handed over a drive with the information. How could Aless stand the girl's trembling? Damien started from his location, crossing over and looking at the device that had been left in front of Rosabella. Nice work, MJ. Who did Damien think he was? She gave him a stern look, one that went unnoticed. And to think, she had only mentions before wanted to bend the rules for him? And here he was undermining her!

Calm down. She had to calm down. He was simply trying to quell the girl's trembling. Send her a message. Do what Aless would do. Not alienate yet another member of her upper levels. Imperceptibly, Rosabella swallowed. "Thank you, Mary-Jane. Next time why don't you bring me information on my sister? You know, the girl who protected you from every shadow? Did you forget her already?" She lower her cold gaze as the girl backed out of the room. A sharp tone slipped into her voice. Rosa needed to play nice, Aless had seen something in MJ, even if Rosabella couldn't, she still respected her sister's judgement - even if it seemed a bit odd at time. Her words though... MJ wasn't calling the shots. Nor was she taking Aless's place. But even Rosabella could see she was trying to predict Rosabella's next move. When had Rosa become so stable. The woman schooled her features until the door closed. Her face fell gradually. Too little too late. If it weren't for Aless's endorsement of the girl, Rosabella would be tempted to send her men after the quivering girl.

She remembered Damien only moments before she would have buried her head in her hands. Another raid? Something started to click in her mind. Set the place on fire. The words echoed in her mind. Not that that plan had gone particularly well last time. But... they could get the weapons back. And Aless. When Moretti was concentrating his forces on getting his little slut back, she could get her weapons back. Adding the trade to further distract his forces would only create another level of distraction.

Damien's quiet words caught Rosa's attention. Away from her swirling thoughts. Damien lead the team? He was capable. She had always known that. He was the only one she felt she could rely on, Rosabella's brown eyes lifted to meet his own. She swallowed. He was too valuable, and not entirely for reasons she could approve of. They seemed to stem from her churning stomach and pictures of Damien's lifeless body. His eyes were angry, questioning, still looking for what she would have said before. Conflict clouded her own eyes as she returned his look. Oh how she wished she could screw it all, stand up, twine around him. Instead she remained still across the desk from her. She couldn't even find the words. But she shook her head. Her quiet voice caught in her throat. "No. I'll -" She paused, about to say she'd send someone else. But who else did she trust? She knew Damien would get the job done. She couldn't let her personal life cloud her judgement. She dropped her gaze back down to the usb sitting on her desk. She knew what had to be done, just as much as he had when had volunteered. Her shoulders sagged. "arrange a meeting with Moretti in twenty-four hours. Will that be enough time to prepare?" She hoped she had made the right call. She couldn't loss both Aless and Damien in one week. As strong as she was, she knew that she couldn't do it. Not after seeing what Aless's disappearance had done to her this past week.

He was walking away. Back to business. Rosabella should have taken satisfaction out of that, but she didn't. She nodded as he dismissed himself, but her eyes caught on his hand, lingering by the doorknob. He had to know, she couldn't say it. Not here. An unreasonable fear tugged at her stomach. Rosabella kept her face business-like, if she was going to send him out she couldn't just let him go. No. She'd let him go. A clean break. Back to normal. She'd explain later.

"Will you be at home this evening? I expect you have something new to show me."The words, the phrases, it had been how it had all begun. Their code. Their comments. What she had said in the past year when she needed to be with him. Away from here. Away from all of this. One last night. Normally she delivered the comments in a voice that carried, but the force was gone, for once she was questioning if he would forgive her for what she hadn't been able to say, to do. She stared at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand, even as he faced the door.

[f a l l i n 4 d a n c e]

The past week had been the longest that Toni could remember. Worse even, than when his brother had been killed. At least then the doubt hadn't lingered. There had been nothing more he could do other than revenge. Unlike now. Now, when he had tried everything, when there was still doubt and things to be tried and he couldn't get her back. Lex had trusted him to keep her safe. He had trusted himself. Not that he had liked the situation. But that was beside the point. He couldn't even let himself think of what he would do when he got her back in his arms. His sole focus was on regaining his best friend, and the woman he was starting to call his own. But it didn't matter who he sent, or what he did, nothing seemed to get her back.

Yesterday the last attempt to reclaim her had failed, yet again. Everywhere he went DeLuca was one step ahead of him. Hanging up the phone, Toni had thrown it with all his might, mangling the contraption to beyond bits and pieces. It had taken one of his men half the morning to obtain another model for him. Toni could hardly remember the man's name, something he normally would have taken note of.

Frustration had begun to build in Antonio, now it was almost palpable. He paced his office like a caged lion, ignoring the biting of healing skin threatening to tear with his movements. He was a crime boss, and yet he felt powerless. If he could he would barge into the DeLuca holdings and single handedly save Alexandra himself. But he couldn't. Even Toni knew the limits of his power. After the first day he had known them all too well. Toni threw himself down in his chair, jarring his shoulder and ignoring the stabbing pain. Was he losing sight of the whole operation by trying to get Lex back? But she was one of his and he didn't leave his own behind. Like his brother. But he hadn't been home when that had happened. And now he had Rosabella's little sister in his grasp. Revenge was written so clearly on the wall when it came to that girl, but she could still be used. She had information. And, more importantly, she could be used as a bargaining chip. Although from what Antonio had heard of the heartless DeLuca mistress, she couldn't care less who she lost as long as she gained more power.

With a frustrated sigh Toni pulled himself back to his seat. No matter how many times he talked himself through the courses of action he seemed to go in circles. He knew enough to know when he needed a second voice of opinion. Toni stalked across his office and opened the door. The hallway was quiet, everyone was out and about doing their tasks. Night was the busy time. But for the leaders, often it was a time to catch their breathes. Besides, this corridor had often been deserted since Lex's disappearance. Through the house Toni ran into no one until he found Jacob in the empty den of the house. His cousin was a welcome sight and just the man that Toni had set out to find. He flopped down in a chair, likely his mother would complain at how undignified he was presenting himself, but it was Jacob and no one else around and quite frankly Toni didn't give a damn anymore.

"So. Realistically. What's our next plan of action?" Antonio asked as if he were discussing any day's normal activities, as if Alexandra DeCarte wasn't as close to the two of them as Antonio knew she was. "I can't think of anything other than ransoming the girl." Or killing her. But the second option was out of the question, he knew Alessandra DeLuca was more valuable alive than dead.

[deathangelle]

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M.J would have been happy to leave the room with no harm but, "That b***h, she felt tears in her eyes and the feeling to go into the room and curse her out by telling her that she had tried. She had a battle with the Hacker for the past few days which weren't working on both ends. She stood in front of the door indecisive of how to respond to the questioning of her loyalty to her best friend.

Thinking about Rosabelle she realized that she looked fine. What has she been doing to get her sister back. Sit behind her desk doing nothing Damien is the one talking to the girl. She began to feel a fury building up and she had no clue what to do with it since she never got this angry. She crossed her arms over her chest trying to figure out what to do. Here she was working night and day risking her health in trying to find out where Less was and what had Rosabelle do. She began fidget and moved down the hall since she was going to move away. She only moved a few steps away since she still wanted to go in there and scream at her.

She then glared thinking about the GPS that she had put in Less since she wasn't the only phone that had it. She shook her head No M.J calm down you don't need to play dirty. Just wait as a safe gaurd, she then went back to thinking about Less and how she would be here to hear her ranting and calm her down by calling her crazy. She finally broke she didn't have anyone to talk to, she wasn't even safe in this home unless Less was around. She crumbled on the spot in a squat she had her hands covering her face while she silently cried. She felt so lost at the moment and her one other friend wasn't even talking to her when she needed him the most.

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[Xothe_jer_bearXo]

Wearing

The pain she felt while her torturer was digging around in her arm was nothing she ever felt before. When she had been twelve and fell out of one of the Moretti's trees and broke her arm she thought that was pain but looking back on it now, it didn't compare to what she was feeling right now. Even the pain from the cuts and bruises that were starting to form on her face was pushed back into her mind. It took the man no time at all to pull the bullet out of her arm, her thrashing around didn't seem to help either not even with the grunts holding her down. When he opened up the pouch and poured the powder inside, she screamed, her head falling forward. If she ever got back to Toni she would apologize and agree to whatever job he had for her to do that would keep her out of the crosshairs even if it meant staying in the kitchen with Mama all day.

Alex had thought herself to be invincible, but only because she had been safe. She knew no matter where she went Toni always had men with her or following her. Despite her pride being hurt it meant that he did care for her safety. Even if he was too stubborn to admit his feelings for her, she knew he had to care for her because who else did things like that for the people they loved. Seconds, minutes, hours all blurred together and Lex had lost track of time. Every day the man with the horrid mask would come in and ask her the same questions over and over; her answers were always the same. She kept her mouth shut and wouldn't even look at him and each time the man left she was in fear for her life. Some of the things he did to her she didn't even know existed and some she had heard only the military used. She just wished it would stop and she was beginning to lose hope about leaving. Surely Toni would've found her by now right?

Hope had flickered for a while as the man had unbound her chains and started leading her out of the room but instead he had shoved her into a tiny box, one so small she didn't have any room to move around in, it was pitch black and already her claustrophobia was already screaming at her. Then came the music some of the stuff she had been familiar with but then it turned darker, heavier as screams filled the space. The redhead tried covering her ears but it did nothing to muffle the sound. She was officially in hell, if Toni didn't come soon she knew she would never be free.

[deathangelle]

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Jacob was losing his mind with Less stuck in this place. He couldn't go to her like he wanted to since she was constantly guarded and it would be odd if Jacob went there constantly. He did make sure that her wounds didn't get infected and that she didn't faint from blood loss. He told everyone it was to make sure that they didn't loose there chip over something stupid. He would have looked like a mess but he had to keep appearances.

For a week he had been trying to stay away from drink but today he couldn't keep away from it much longer he was at the den with a four finger shot of Jameson when Toni came in and flopped himself down. Looking at his cousin he knew he had to be feeling the same way it looked like only Jacob couldn't show it. He then poured Toni a drink and walked over and handed it to him then plopped himself down across from him. Of course Toni's mother could come in at any moment and lecture them but at the moment he didn't really care.

Listening to Toni he drank half of his drink and took a deep breathe when hearing what they should do. Let my girlfriend go home, then hearing his next statement he felt like Toni had almost read his mind. He blinked a few times making sure he heard right then put the drink down. "I think that's a good idea. I can't think of any other reason of why they would give us Lex." He then stood up and began to pace since he was excited that Less would be leaving hopefully soon. "We can make contact with her sister to make the deal. I had found the girls phone on her after interrogating her." He then walked back to his drink and finished the rest he then looked at Toni to see what he wanted to do.

Jacob just wanted to get it all over with so he could go to her afterward when it was safe and just hold her for the rest of the night. He didn't know how much he loved her till this moment. He wanted to hold her and make sure that no other a*****e had touched her again. He knew his men wouldn't have touched her without his or Toni's permission but the thought that something could have happened. He then sat back down and waited so he wouldn't show to much of a reaction about Less.

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[TDA_Romeo]

I have found comfort in someone
Now I’m bound, empty and hollow
I took the pills, I’ve been consumed
I drank the water, I had to choose

DAMIEN CARTHAGE
✄ DeLuca Toymaker

Location: Rosabella's office
Company: Rosabella DeLuca

As Rosa struggled finding a way to delegate the weapons recovery task, Damien turned slightly to bring Rosa into his view. He saw the struggle in her eyes. How she was trying to find someone who was capable enough to complete the task. Damien knew that there were few people that were capable of carrying out a delicate operation such as this. Mobs typically weren't subtle with jobs such as these. Damien was sure that he could get the job done without drawing much attention. When she asked if 24 hours was sufficient enough time to set up the operation, Damien nodded his head. "It's do-able." He answered back, his tone still straight business. "I know a couple of independent contractors who can help." He added, hoping that his word would bring some merit to the table and give Rosa the confidence in him to allow Damien to do the job his way.

Regardless of the whether or not he was going to be able to get the people that he wanted, Damien knew that it was going to be his show to run. Rosa would get the people that he needed. As Damien started to turn the handle, he heard Rosa's question. "Will you be at home this evening? I expect you have something new to show me." Damien couldn't help but let out a small humorous chuckle. Almost a year now and she still insisted that they use codes to set up dates and times for them to actually be alone. Damien stared at the floor as he thought about how much secrecy she planted into their time together. "Are you-" He started. He wanted to ask if she was ashamed of dating someone who wasn't approved by the family La Cosa Nostra. He didn't use this much secrecy when he was in the military. Before Damien even started the sentence though, he realized that Rosa didn't see everything in Black and White as he did. She had to see all the shades. As much as Damien wanted to get an answer from her on whether or not they really needed to use secret decoder rings to spend time together, he knew that to question her again would set her off. He swallowed his desire to ask the question and nodded his head- his tone changing to one of sincerity and heartfelt words. A tone that he only saved for when he spoke to her. "Yeah. I'll be home immediately after I take our guest out of time-out. I'll have to do some medical checks, but they should be quick. I'll be at the Toyshop around eleven or twelve." He explained.

When Damien looked up from the floor he saw Rosa's eyes. Those brown orbs that reached out to him. Pleading. His eyes softened as they made contact. Yet again, while he may not have liked what Rosa was asking, he did understand it. "Estou ansiosa para ver você mais tarde esta noite." With one last gaze, Damien walked out of Rosa's office. Almost tripping over Mary-Jane as she silently cried outside Rosa's office. When he noticed the girl, he felt sorry for her. He felt sorry for the psychological beating that she had endured in Rosa's office. While Damien was sure he was due for a couple of real hits from Rosa later on for undermining her, he wanted to do the best he could to let MJ know that her hard work was appreciated at the time. As he saw her squatting on the floor, balled up like a scolded child, he confirmed his suspicion that Rosa's words had done more damage than he was comfortable with.

He walked over to the girl and knelt down to be face to face with her. "You're doing good work, M.J." He reassured her. "Everyone's high-strung right now. But we can't give up. Not while there's still a chance that we can get Aless back." It was all he could manage to tell her. As much as he wanted to tell the Techy that Rosa was wrong for yelling at her, he understood why Rosa said what she did. For Harper to lose sight of what her primary goal should be wouldn't help the family at all. Placing his hand on M.J.'s shoulder, Damien closed his eyes for a split second before standing up and turning his focus to the task at hand: to get the Morretti Girl ready for the trade off.

When you’re high who ya flying for
When you ride who ya riding for
When you toast who ya drinking for
When you play, gotta deal with the devil

[XEl-ahrairahX]

He checked his phone as the plane drew closer to the airport. He saw that it was in the afternoon and he wasn't too shocked to see that it had snowed more here than back in Napoli. Having been overseas on official family business in their homeland of Italia he was eager to get home where everyone spoke English. He was fine at speaking Italian but, when you're born in a different country you tend to want to speak the language you're most used to. It doesn't help that he translates everything from Italian to English in his head first, then he must translate his English to Italian to respond. It's a funny process that takes more work than he likes and over there they can tell when there's even the slightest delay in his responses. He put his phone away for now. He planned to use it quite a lot in the next few minutes. The private plane of their family was now preparing to land. The captain radioed back for everyone to buckle up. He poured himself one more drink from the mini bar and went to his first-class seat, buckling in, he took a sip and patiently waited for the plane to land.

The plane landed without incident and he was up getting everything in order. A private limo was being shuttled over to the plane to take him to one of his homes. As he got his things situated he pulled out his phone again and sent a text to all the major players he deemed worthy to know that he had arrived back in the country.

Text to: Rosabella DeLuca, I'm back in town. Sold 1 bathtub. Our reletives in Italy say, "Hi."
Text to: Alessandra DeLuca, Back in town. Our relatives in Italy say, "Hi."
Text to: M.J. Harper, Back in town. Drink later?
Text to: Damien Carthage, Back in town. Broke one of my toys. Can I drop it off for replacement?

He naturally avoided saying, I killed the target and usually replaced killed with, "Sold" and then he'd make up something related to the person he killed like, "Bathtub." In this instance he was saying, "Killed 1 target by drowning." He avoided saying, gun, knife, or weapon and replaced it usually, with "Toy." It kept anyone tapped into their phones from getting any dirt on him and the others. With the announcement that he was back in town over he went down out of the plane and got into the private limo. All his bags had been loaded into the trunk except for 1 which was at his side. The driver was already informed of where to go and they were off. He kicked back in the seat and watched the sights of the city begin to roll past. "Ah, it's great to be home." He dug into his bag and took off his coat. Putting on his custom holster he loaded up 2 of his guns into it and then put his coat back on. Feeling better with his guns back in place. He closed the bag back up and waited to see if there was any work he needed to do in response to his texts that he had sent out upon arrival. He had made sure to rest on the plane just in case.

[deathangelle]

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Not even hearing Damien behind her she dropped her hands when hearing him talk to her. Surprised when he was in front of her but had heard what he had said about her doing a good job. It helped a little not a whole lot but it was noted since it was usually Less or Frankie that told her something. She then nodded her head when hearing that she shouldn't give up looking down she was slightly ashamed of actually doing so. When hearing that there was still hope she looked up at him but he was already walking away. Standing up she was about follow him to ask what he was talking about but her phone vibrated "Thank you," she called after him before he complete disappeared.

Pulling out her phone to see if her computer was alerting her about some kind of updated. Pulling it out of her pocket she opened it to see that Frankie had text her. She read it over and figured that he didn't know what was going down since he seemed so relaxed. She knew he would probably get an ear full from Rosabella about not being around to get Less back. She then sent a reply to him and went to her computer room to figure out her next move.

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To Frankie
From M.J
Sure In or out?

[f a l l i n 4 d a n c e]

Toni gratefully accepted the drink from his cousin as he reviewed the facts. They had had the upper hand, if he were calculating he'd say that they had nothing on him by stealing his top thief. He knew Lex wouldn't speak. But it was Lex. Perhaps his judgement had clouded with her around. His priorities weren't straight. But even the rule that had been ground into him during his childhood kept sneaking into his mind: you never left your own behind. Or not avenged. Not that Toni was particularly good at revenge. But he was still working on his master plan to strike the DeLucas where it would hurt as they had to him. If it weren't for Lex's own situation he might have been tempted to seen Alessandra DeLuca home in pieces.

With an angry sigh Toni placed his glass down with little gentleness before roughly running a hand through his short hair. "We were suppose to be on top." He growled, leaving the question unasked. Why weren't they? "And I doubt they'll settle for that weapon's load. I've already had that parceled. It ships out tomorrow." He shook his head as his arms stretched out over the sides of the chair, his shoulder throbbed although from his posture no one would have noticed the new weakness.

The girl's phone. Contact DeLuca. Toni tried to find some other path, some other way. He had been for a week now. There really was no other way. Although Rosabella DeLuca was in a worse position than him. She didn't realize, or perhaps he had after thwarting his men several times, of the importance her hostage held with Antonio. Surely she knew it was her only way. "You're right. We don't have another choice, do we?" The question hung in the air between them as Toni looked to his cousin in hope he would have some way out of the situation. "Surely DeLuca's realized this as well." He murmured as he thought it through. Did they wait for Rosabella to act first, or admit defeat and start negotiations. Who would have the upper hand in that case? "Get ready to send the word to DeLuca. Someone we can trust. Set up the meeting. And check on the girl, make sure she's in alright shape. See if anyone has gotten her to tell us anything interesting. Form what everyone's been saying she's as stubborn as an old man." Antonio stood up, running a hand down his face in a sigh of exhaustion. He walked toward the door, suddenly weary now that he had decided on a path. He turned, "And Jacob," Toni paused in the doorway. "Just make sure you get Lex back home."

Toni hadn't stayed long but he had solved his problem. He hadn't eaten or slept in days, perhaps now was as good a time as any. He started down the hallways, slowly, careful not to tug at any of his stitches. If only there had been another way.

[Xothe_jer_bearXo]

The past week at the Moretti house had been nothing but chaos. Everyone was given a job in trying to find Alexandra DeCarte, she never thought someone could have been so valuable. In fact, she knew her father would've just let her to rot, saying if they had gotten themselves caught they deserved to die. She had to say that she preferred the way Antonio Moretti ran his business. He actually cared about his people despite the fact that he was in love with Alex, which may have been why he was being so withdrawn and antsy. When she wasn't on the phone trying to run interference with her father, who was back in Boston and trying to get the guns moved, she was out looking for any information on getting Alex back. She liked the girl and was trying her best but so far she hadn't found anything useful, much like everyone else.

They were all trying their best but it seemed like doing their best wasn't enough. They needed to keep the DeLuca girl but she knew that the only way of getting Alex back was for a trade and she had a feeling that Toni and Jacob knew that and it was only a matter of time before they all realized that. Her black suv pulled into the driveway of the Moretti's, she killed the engine, as she listened to her brother Neal talk about their father. He did nothing but call her everyday to complain about their father and how he needed to go ahead and step down and let Liam take over. She felt bad for Neal, since she had moved here four years ago, she hadn't been there to act like a buffer between her brother and father. Out of all three of them, for some reason, Neal and their father had never gotten along. Then again Neal had no real desire to stay in the family business and their father had made sure to keep a tight grip on his son.

"Neal, look, I understand how you feel but you can't being saying things like this. You know how Da is, he's not going to step down until he dies or he thinks Liam is ready to take over. I'm sorry I'm not there to help out. Now I have things I need to do on my end. Yeah, tell Ma I send my love. All right, love ya too." Cynthia hung the phone up with a sigh and then entered the Moretti household, planning to talk to SJ to see if he had learned anything new. She headed towards the kitchen to get something to drink when she saw Toni. She gave him a smile, "How are you doing, Toni?"

[TDA_Romeo]

I have found comfort in someone
Now I’m bound, empty and hollow
I took the pills, I’ve been consumed
I drank the water, I had to choose

DAMIEN CARTHAGE
✄ DeLuca Toymaker

Location: Warehouse (Makeshift Interrogation Room)
Company: Alexandra DeCarte

Just as Damien reached the front door of the mansion, he felt his jacket pocket vibrate, pulling out his cellphone and seeing that their long lost hit-man had just texted him. Franklin Valerio was one of Damien's frequent customers from the family. When he received the text explaining that he had broken one of his "toys" it was hardly a surprise. He knew the man's addiction to all things that were bad for him. Shaking his head, Damien sent his reply.

To: Valerio
Meet me at the warehouse as soon as you get a chance. I should be able to help you out.

Before he knew it, Damien had arrived at the warehouse, his mind going on auto-pilot as his Dyna ripped through the streets of Chicago. He killed the rumbling engine of his motorcycle and kicked out the kickstand, letting the bike lean as he dismounted from his motorcycle. As he began to make his way through the warehouse to where Ms. DeCarte was being held, Damien removed his interrogation uniform, hiding his face and putting on his gloves, making sure he had nothing showing that would identify himself. Once he was comfortable with his disguise, Damien opened the door to the interrogation room, heavy metal music blaring as clear as if he was standing next to a set of giant speakers. The inside of the room was almost empty with the exception of the large wooden box that sat in the middle of the room, a set of speakers mounted to the sides of the container that were linked to an iPod that Damien had set up next to the box, a single table that sat a few feet from the door. A pair of DeLuca soldiers guarded the box, making sure that the Moretti girl didn't try to break out from her wooden jail cell. As he listened to the music, he went and grabbed the medical bag he had brought in a few nights ago, zipping it open and laying it out in front of the table near the door, ready to use for when he pulled the unlucky girl from her casket.

Once the medical bag was layed out on the floor, Damien walked over to a pair of folding chairs that leaned next to the wall along with a black backpack that he had left in the room, taking the items and setting them up at the table, the bag going on the floor next to the medic bag. When the table was set, Damien turned to one of the Deluca soldiers, calling over to the man. When the man didn't respond to him, he noticed that both the mafiosos were wearing ear plugs, blocking out the loud music. Damien smirked as he thought of the fact that some might not enjoy the same music as he enjoyed. He then walked over to one of the men and tapped him on the shoulder, getting his attention. "Get me a couple bottles of water." He ordered. As the man walked away to grab the bottles of water, Damien walked over to the box.

Inside the box, the speakers suddenly went silent with the exception of the soft, dull thuds of footsteps outside the box. From inside the box, the distinct sounds of muffled voices could be heard. Outside the box, Damien pocketed his iPod and took out a key, unlocking the padlock that kept the cover on the box. As the Toymaker prepared to remove the Moretti girl from the box, he heard a voice come from the corner. "Thank god, I thought I was the one being tortured with that music." Damien then looked over to the remaining smart-alleck. "Hit the lights!" He ordered, his voice forceful and demanding. As he readied himself for the lights to turn on, Damien pulled his sidearm from his concealed holster, cracking the slide back on the weapon and stripping a round from the top of the magazine and feeding it into the chamber. With his weapon ready, light suddenly flooded into the empty warehouse-the floor was spotted with dark purple spots where puddles of blood had sat from the week prior. Several plastic bags had their interiors stained pink; two of the bags still moist inside.

When Damien noticed the objects, the flashbacks came into his mind like a series of devastating wave. Images of the girl having her face covered with a towel, her interrogator running a steady steam of water running through the fabric and causing a simulated drowning experience. The image of the woman's face being distorted by the clear plastic as Damien denied the woman of oxygen. Every horrible thing Damien did to the woman rushed back into Damien's mind. After a few seconds, Damien shook the images out of his mind, calling the guard over, flashing the man hand signals to help him by watching the box. When the DeLuca grunt was standing over the wooden box, he removed his pistol from his holster and joined Damien, both guns trained on the box. With the box now efficiently covered by the two guns, Damien knelt down and took the padlock off the the hinge, throwing it to the side. As he began to open the lid, he tucked his weapon to his chest, keeping it away from the woman so she couldn't reach for it as he raised the lid. Once it was at its apex, Damien let go of the lid and grabbed DeCarte by the arm, dragging her over to one of the chairs by the table, seating her; the other guard following the pair as they moved, his pistol never leaving the woman.


As Damien moved to the opposite side of the table, the other man walked in, a bottle of water in either hand. When he reached the table, Damien motioned him to set the two bottles of water on the table with a head nod before turning his attention to the prisoner in front of him. As he looked at the woman, he dug into his pockets and took out a pack of cigarettes and added them to the table's surface. "Cigarette?" He asked as he broke away from looking at the girl and moved down to the black backpack and drawing out a large brown retort pouch, the label reading "Meal, Ready to Eat, Individual." in black lettering. As he waited for the woman to answer, he pealed the bag open at the seam and sat the pouch on the table, removing the contents of the pouch and placing them in front of him as though he was getting ready for an inspection. "Well, Your time with us is running short, Ms. DeCarte." He began as he placed each piece on the table. "You'll be departing from us." When he finished laying out all the individually packaged items on the table, he opened the cigarette box and took out a single cigarette, placing it in front of her. When Damien withdrew his hand, he continued his assessment of the woman's face, piecing together what all he was going to have to do in order make the woman look presentable for the trade off.

When you’re high who ya flying for
When you ride who ya riding for
When you toast who ya drinking for
When you play, gotta deal with the devil

[deathangelle]

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Jacob waited for Toni to say something about the deal. All he needed was the go ahead and he could get Less out of her and hopefully have Lex back in good condition as well. He set his drink down so it would shake in his head. He was nervous about all of this since what if the her sister didn't want to do the deal. Hearing that they were going to do the deal Jacob let out the breathe he was holding and nodded his head. He could ask Less how to talk to her sister about meeting up. When hearing that he should talk to her he almost let out a sigh since it was perfect he could see her without having to sneak about it. "Alright I'll get on it right of way," he then grabbed his drink and finished it with one gulp standing up he fixed his leather jacket. Hearing Toni he gave a firm nod finally understand that his cousin was going through the same thing even worse than himself since he didn't even know what was happening to Lex. "I swear I will," he knew if this was some other family he would have done anything to get Lex back already. Disgusted with himself he left the room and went to Less's room that she was being held in.

Dismissing the guards he entered the room with a angry look but once he heard the guards gone he dropped his look and relaxed a bit. He quickly went over to Less and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Your leaving," he smiled at her, "and it's Toni's idea we are going to trade you for Lex." He combed his fingers through his hair briefly. "How should I handle this? I have to talk to your sister."

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