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 Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:09 pm
Above all things, Malodore understood the importance of family. It - as it preferred to be addressed; it cut an impeccable and precisely androgyne figure, clad in a tailored suit that could cover male or female - had served family all its life, ever since graduating from medical school with highest honors.
It had then proceeded to 'graduate' from other places of learning with equal honors, most of them tied up with its uncommon skill in the arts of healing, combined with its uncommon discretion. If it had a few personal quirks, such as its personal pronouns and dress... well, the way its thin, nimble fingers could stitch up any wound and perform nearly any surgery excused them all. Who needed its abilities more than this dear, dear familia, with their most lamentable propensity for getting in fights, gaining injuries that would be so hard to explain in a common hospital? No, best to go to someone else, someone who wouldn't ask questions.
Malodore smiled a great deal, a knowing sort of smile, but it never asked any questions... not of the kind that would make anyone uncomfortable, at least. (Whether the smiles made anyone uncomfortable... well, that was a different story.)
It waited, quietly, rolling a scalpel between its long, thin fingers as Harrison - the Boss - spoke. Dumb bastards, was it? It smiled that disquieting smile again. "I can offer you certain... services, signore," it said, not raising its voice - it never did, preferring precision to volume. "You know me to be a creature of great... discretion. And you also know my skill in medicine. Those whom you send out will be damaged..." It tilted its head to one side and smiled, charmingly. "They will need repairs, si? Who better to provide such services than I?"
Implicit in that statement was, of course, the assumption that it would not be among those sent out.
"Given the state of things, I may even offer to go without my usual fee... for now," it added, smoothly. "Constancy and discretion, signore. You understand, of course."
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:13 pm
When Jerry lit the fire Sammy looked away, something about it unsettled her, it was a good way to clean things up, there was no doubt about it, but fire was hungry, greedy, it would make Rep look humble if you gave it even half of what he had and would take everything by the end of it all. Fire wasn't something she liked to play with in the literal sense at all.
"I think I do my job well and I enjoy it very much." She looked to the snack in her hands taking a bite pondering her next statement before tossing the wrapped away once she was done.
"Yes. And no. You, Rep, are a different message. You're how close to the Boss compared to most of us? It's like signing a name on a contract. If you come kicking down someones door, anyone left is going to know it was Harrison and you. Even if no one walks out if anyone knows it was you, they know who would have given you the word to do it and the word would spread."
She moved towards Tracey collecting her knife back wiping the blade down on the table cloth before slipping it back into her sleeve, again making eye contact with Rep. "You don't do quiet Rep, you're loud, big, vicious in your own way. Where you go Harrison is likely not far behind, and when things have reached that point? Well I hope we don't have to see that happen during this."
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:23 pm
Rep gave Sammy a raise of his brow as she told him his job and dared to use the boss's name. Repeatedly. "He's boss to you." he snarled, pointing the twinkie at her as if it was a weapon. "And if you want to get anywhere in this mob, you'd do well not to go telling me what I do and don't ******** do. Or I'll show you how ******** quiet and unexpected I can be."
He took a few bites of the twinkie with malice, polishing it off but feeling no less irate. Massacre picked up on the change in mood and got to his feet with a snarl. Tracey sighed and spoke up.
"Samantha." she said, giving the woman a sharp look "It is not wise to go hollering about relationships founded on rumour. You could do yourself a disservice. The Boss might not approve of you making assumptions about who dictates his whims."
She put an arm around Rep's shoulders and he flinched angrily but did not lash out. "Let us get you a drink William." she said gently, guiding him smoothly but firmly in the direction of the bar.
As she led him away, it was probably evident he had the beginning of shadowy talons, which faded the further he went from the source of his anger.
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:29 pm
Jerry had her at 'light'. God. Damn. It. He was going to light something. Candace tensed up and just stared, waiting for the inevitable. Oh. The drinks. Ah! No! The drinks! She quickly snatched up the bourbon and put her hands over both glasses, watching nervously as Jerry lit the steel wool right there in his hands. Oh god oh god oh god he was--going..to make pretty lights? Ehhhh...
She was still clearly nervous despite the tiny smile on her face. Fire, as pretty as that light show was, was a bad idea near alcohol. Seriously now. "That's..that's great, Jerry." Miracle. Miracle. Miracle. Please. Please. Please. Could that tiger come over here and give her an out? Maybe? Yes? Candace released the bourbon and pushed it Jerry's way. "Is it really a good idea to be doing that indoors?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:35 pm
Sammy didn't flinch or move away at the threat, instead she simply watched as Rep finished his snack with a level of anger that Sammy was unaware one could reach when eating a Twinkie.
The whole time her focused had been on Rep, that was until Tracey said her name, her full name and quiet sharp as well. She turned to face her crossing her arms slowly with a look that suggest, 'yes?' before listening to her response. Silence was all Tracey got, but the look almost suggested she didn't buy a word about 'rumors' and 'relationships' people had favorites, it was that simple. What it meant beyond that wasn't the point.
He really was as bad as the rumors said, still she could use a drink and...
Tracey had taken Rep to the bar, Jerry, was playing with fire. By the ******** grabbed another glass of wine instead to make due.
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:38 pm
"They're just harmless little sparks," He smiled weakly, setting the charred, melted remains of the little wire fire hazard on a caster so it could cool off.
He quickly took a deep drink from his glass. His expression hardened for a moment as the alcohol and thoughts sorted themselves out in his head in some semblance of order, and his mouth pushed forward before his brain could catch up, "I thought it's pretty. Like you."
It sounded a lot better in the mirror.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:41 pm
Serafina waved the bartender over, a charming smile lighting her face from ear to ear as she requested a, "Long Island Iced Tea, please. And could you put a lime over it? I do love lime." When the bartender nodded, she winked and offered a, "Thank you very much," nearly purred out as the bartender scurried off to take care of what she asked.
There were certain benefits to being rather alluring, she found, and they only seemed to increase with the more famous she became. To many people in the room, it was probably hard to mistake her status. She even looked important, dressed almost too formally in comparison to others, a blazer on with a blouse underneath, a rather stately pin on her blazer, and a pencil skirt that kept her shapely legs rather close together. Absent-mindedly, she ran a finger up and down one of the scars next to her mouth, humming under her breath.
When the bartender returned, she rather happily took the cup from him. "Thank you very much, sir!" Ever polite with her titling, she fished into her pocket, took a dollar out, and pushed it towards the bartender.
What could she say? She didn't like to keep tabs.
As she took the cup to her lips, she found she saw a spark out of the side of her eye. And then another. And another. What exactly did that rather sloppy-looking man think he was doing? Serafina shook her head in displeasure, swatting at the fire he was creating. As much as he thought he was likely being cute, they couldn't afford to have this place go up in flames. What, exactly, did he think this was? A public attraction that they should bring the news reporters down to? Fire in party alerts locals to existence of mafia including Senator Arai. She couldn't have such a thing blemishing her reputation, not when she had managed to gather so many friends and countrymen.
Still, she didn't want to start a ruckus. Those there were those most important to The Boss, and there wasn't a way in hell she was going to cause trouble and lessen her own position for it. Let this man burn his own pages. She would simply move a bit further away from him and take another sip of her tea.
Ah...
She loved the way it burned.
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:16 pm
"I suppose." Candace still looked uneasy. She didn't like fire, there was no controlling it. It was dangerous and not even in a fun or exciting way. He took a drink and she took that as her chance to find a way out, one without completely offending the man. And then he even told her she was pretty.
Yup. She's done. She couldn't control Jerry anymore.
Candace sipped her martini. "Thank you, Jerry." She smiled, spotting a movement in her peripheral at the bar beside her. Jackpot. "And you're--eh?" Candace blinked and turned her head to 'notice' who was just a few seats down. "Senator! Oh, I've been meaning to speak with you! Ah, Jerry.." She turned to the man with an apologetic smile, reaching out to brush her fingers along the underside of his jawline. "I'm sorry about this, but I've been looking for a chance to speak with Miss Serafina for weeks. I can't pass this up. We'll talk later, right? Thank you for the drink and the lovely trick! Impressive as always, Jerry." Candace turned and slid off her stool, giving Jerry a brighter smile and a little wave before she wandered down the bar to tap the Senator on the back of her shoulder.
"Pardon me, ma'am. I need you to do me a favor and act like what I'm telling you is very interesting." She whispered, inviting herself to sit beside the other woman and offering her hand to shake. "Candace Pennington, it's a pleasure."
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:24 pm
"N-not a.. a problem..." Jerry murmured as suddenly she was gone.
That had gone... well, it could have gone WORSE, right? He glanced desperately over toward where he had left Roar, but the boxer had gotten distracted by one of the game machines nearby.
He shifted. Did she like him? Had he made a good impression? His fingers nervously drummed on the countertop., and he trid not to be obvious as he looked over to where Candace had gotten t with a shy smile and polite wave at the Senator.
And then the images from the election news clicked into place- He promptly shrank on his stool.
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:30 pm
Serafina had just closed her eyes and let herself enjoy some peace--now plenty away from the threatening fire, especially as it had now seemed to have died down--when she was poked in the shoulder and pulled from her own little happy place. It was hard to hold back the sigh that threatened to leave her lips, but it remained unheard as it should, and she turned her attention to the woman that approached her, genial smile on her face as always.
Even if the lack of covering today made even the most genial smile look a tad creepy.
Why exactly would she need her to do that? Serafina's eyes flicked around the local area, attempting to catch why she would have a request to do such a thing, stopping rather quickly when they caught the now alone sloppy-looking, dejected man. Aha. She could completely understand why she would need to fulfill such a request. With a small, murmured, "No problem," she straightened her back out and moved to keep her eyes locked on this new woman entirely, attempt rapt and unmovable from the woman in front of her.
At least for the moment, anyway. There wasn't a doubt that a curious woman like Serafina couldn't keep her eyes on her forever.
"Candace Pennington, is it?" She repeated, to make sure she was pronouncing the name correctly, as well as to commit it to memory, admittedly. She met so many day in and day out... "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Pennington." She took the hand offered and gave a firm shake, not so tight it was choking, but certainly strong enough to show that she was a strong woman who was in charge. And, as a Senator, she was, in some ways, even if she wasn't really in charge here.
Was that awkward man seriously waving at her?
Forever polite, she did wave back, though she made no move to beckon him to come over. Instead, she shifted her attention back to Candace in front of her, murmuring, "So what was it you would wish to discuss with me? For my constituents, I am all ears." She threw a wink, fully expecting that whatever would next come from Candace's lips could be completely irrelevant nonsense. Twas all part of the ruse, wasn't it?
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 12:04 am
Rep's anger seemed to subside as soon as he reached the bar, some things - some people rather, just weren't getting upset over. He did cast a glance back over his shoulder at Harrison though before he climbed onto a bar stool, he was still busy with the rabble.
"Give me a ******** whiskey." he barked at the barman before as if on queue Massacre leapt up onto the bartop alongside him, because despite being an enormous cat, he was still a cat. "And a ******** bowl of milk for him." The man gave Rep a despairing look before going to address these demands, returning with both - someone had actually had the forethought to stock the fridge with some milk, he was grateful. Mass lapped it up making a mess immediately and Rep swigged his glass before slamming it down on the table. "And another one!"
Tracey left Rep to it for the time being and went to get herself a glass of water, she couldn't really afford to get properly tipsy with Rep to watch over, especially tonight when all the volatile elements of the organisation were trapped in a single room getting on one another's nerves, she sat a few bar stools down from the redhead.
It was going to be a long night.
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 12:15 am
Delightful! She would play along! That cheered her up so much after dealing with Jerry. She gave a nod at the confirmation of her name. "The pleasure is all mine. Thank you for this out." Candace made herself comfortable on the stool, finishing her martini and setting it aside. She toyed with her necklace, looking away only to make sure Po was still nearby. A silly thought but every now and then she did think perhaps the woman would wander off to find something to entertain herself with that wasn't watching her every mood. Po needed to lighten up.
She was impressed by the handshake, giving Serafina a genuinely warm smile. Not many people received it, it was something usually reserved for Po and Harrison. "I suppose I could start by asking your views on fire safety and control." She asked with a chuckle, shaking her head and glancing in the direction Serafina had been looking and waving in. Ah, it was Jerry. She was about to wave until he ducked away as if trying to hide, giving a slight shrug and turning back to Serafina.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 12:27 am
Serafina seemed genuinely pleased with the smile that she received, but then, she might have just been well-practiced at looking friendly and polite. Still, Serafina was plenty willing to go along with what Candace requested. It took no extra effort out of her and saved a fellow woman from the rather ... unfortunate advances of someone who didn't seem to quite understand what it meant to flirt. Terrifying. Perhaps she should consider making a law that all men had to take mandatory flirting classes. Women, too. If she had to hear any more moronic lines, she might try to outlaw them.
When Candace proposed her question, Serafina could not help lifting her hand and hiding a very quiet chuckle underneath it. In a moment, her hand was lowered, and she offered a slow, pondering nod in response to her question. "It is my personal belief that we must be careful about fire. Fire destroys lives needlessly when not kept under control, no matter how important it may have been to our starts as people, and to our lives even today, despite the rise of technology to produce artificial heat instead of the way it was made in old. People will never understand just how dangerous fire is unless we educate them properly about the dangers of fire, holding seminars and sending representatives to schools to tell them of the important issue of fire safety."
She shook her head sadly.
"But once a fire has started, it is hard to stop, especially as it grows in size. We must educate on the ground level how to deal with localized fires, but beyond that, we must make sure we have a strong and healthy fire force, spread all over the kingdom so they may be dispatched to fires and eliminate such fires quickly." She brought her hands back together, bowing her head to show that her statements were finished, before lifting her eyes to look back in Candace's.
"Are there any further questions?"
The whole time, there was a rather amused edge of a smirk on her lips, though otherwise it was hard to tell that she was playing a game.
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:42 am
Money was the motivating force behind everything in the world. Jordan had learned this fact early in life. If you had enough money, any obstacle that was thrown in your way could be removed. On the other hand, if you didn't - well, you were screwed, and it didn't really matter how hard you worked for a honest living, you weren't going anywhere, and nobody cared.
Honest work didn't pay anywhere near enough to support a family, and it sucked your soul out, had left Jordan's aunt looking more like 60 than 50, barely put food on the table for three kids and a nephew who hadn't had anywhere else to go after the fire. She must have known that the money he started bringing home wasn't really from a job after school, but she hadn't asked.
Money made life comfortable; the challenge and the risk of getting it made life interesting. Jordan found various ways to make a living: theft, fencing, drugs, dirty jobs and clean ones, but always carefully planned, run efficiently and with the cold precision that would build his reputation. Having a contact in the police department made life easier, and, after a while, much more enjoyable.
When Harrison had moved on to bigger and better things, so had Jordan. It was an easy step, expanding his network of influence and letting him keep an eye on all the endeavors he had his fingers in. Money and power kept him comfortable and busy, and let him keep his family safe, no longer scraping by in the worst neighborhoods in town but housed discreetly in a comfortable suburban duplex, kept out of the way with as few connections to him and his activities as he could manage. He wasn't ashamed of what he did, but caring openly about anything was a weak point that could be exploited by an intelligent opponent.
Careful planning and hard work had gotten him where he was today. He was in this too deep to ever get out, even had he wanted to. He waited for others to step up to the stage and offer their allegiance, watching the eager and the discreet, the smooth and the straightforward with equal interest. The pieces he didn't know were given attention just as close as the ones he knew personally. Rep and his tiger got a flicker of a smile from Jordan, fond, amused, and knowing.
When there was a brief lull in the line of pieces offering themselves up to the new King, Jordan got up from his chair. His personal bodyguard followed him, a tall, broad shadow, dressed as he was in an impeccably tailored suit. Jordan stepped up onto the stage, smoothly cutting in front of the line; Ferros stared down the person he'd cut in front of, said in a deep rumble of a voice, "Scuse us. He'll just be a minute."
Jordan stopped in front of Harrison's chair and grinned at him. Faced away from the crowd, he let some actual emotion show; pride, pleasure, ambition, loyalty. "You know I'm yours," he said. "Everything I can do, I will do for the family and for you." He dropped briefly to one knee and bowed his head in a dramatic, teasing display of fealty. "I am entirely at your disposal, my King."
Then he got up, smiling, and stepped down from the stage. Ferros nodded at the next person in line and moved to follow. His loyalty belonged firmly to Jordan, after Jordan had bought him out of what promised to be a short, violent life in illegal ring-fights. He didn't have to settle disputes with his fists often. His imposing frame and presence were often enough to soothe potential quarrels.
Whatever role Harrison chose for them, they would accept it without complaint and perform it to the best of their abilities.
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Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 9:12 am
Tracey's attention was pulled away from Rep's grumbling as Jordan stepped up to the stage but her attention wasn't for the blonde man but for the looming bodyguard that trailed him. It didn't take long though for this to backfire, as looking away from Rep too long was never advisable. In the space of the time it took to glance over to the stage, Rep had thrown the shotglass away saying the bartender was taking too long.
She apologised to him and gave Rep a stern look, why did he have to be so..excitable tonight?
Rep though felt he was entirely justified. He was having a terrible night, every night was terrible when Harrison was busy but this more than others. He wouldn't admit it but he was nervous, there would be no living it down if it came to the decisions and he was left out, forced to remain on the sidelines. Everyone would know irrefutably then that he was kept around for other more demeaning reasons than his capabilities. Taking it out on the bartender had made sense.
He sipped his new glass huffily as Tracey helped tidy up the glass with the barman.
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