Re: SHOT in the Back

[MrMissMrs Random]

"Oreos!" Max cheered, running over to Carlotta. "Gimme one!"

"Maximus..." Andrea said in a low voice with eyebrow raised.

"...Gimme one PLEEEAASSSE?" The boy said.

[that fang]

"Maximus?" Carlotta said, amused in spite of herself. "Sure, here ya go." She took another cookie to eat and handed Max the roll. "I take it you've had these before?"

[Ra The BlazeWingPhoenix]

I hope he understands, Karl thought with a sigh, as he then went to lean on a wall and watch Max and Carlotta eat the Oreo cookies. He lightly chuckled at the sight.

[Dobi Boshi]

The day was finally starting to come to a close, but it was far from over. The sun was yet to vanish from the sky, but evening was at hand and Marisol was starting to come alive again after the days unexpected events. Thankfully the days events hadn't gotten to far out of hand, the fighting that had taken place between the families had all been low level grunts acting on their own without official orders - both family heads apparently waiting for something or another to happen.

What that something was, Malcolm wasn't entirely sure, but he knew what he an his superior were doing could very well be that something. His gut told him it was wrong, that this could blow up in their faces in so many ways that it wasn't even funny: because even if the Chings didn't come gunning for the de Lucas when this latest development got out, the de Lucas would be out for FCCU. But his Captain, Jeremy Washington, an aging man who appeared to be in his fifties, completely bald but with a few days forth of stubble, and dark, narrow eyes that almost seem like they could stare into peoples souls would not hear anything against the move he was about to make. The man was determined - obsessed might have been a better word, actually.

How he had gotten short straw on this matter he wasn't sure, part of him put it down to being the unlucky one that brought the news to his Captain in the first place. The pair of them sat in Malcolm's tiny little car, Washington had found it rather amusing that such a large man like himself rode around in a tiny car. Though thankfully the captain had shook of his amusement and masked his teasing smile behind his determined expression - and ten minutes later parked in front of the main gates to the de Luca.

"Whaddya want?" The guard had demanded rudely, scowling about something or other. Probably annoyed about being stuck on guard duty given the days events. A few of his friends were most likely running around trying to get in the face of some Chings, and he'd missed out, Malcolm mused.

"We're here to Myrrh Fabloue, so open the gate," Washington stated, pulling open one side of his jacket, so the guard could see the FCCU department Police badge strapped to the waist of his pants; and the gun holster hidden under his arm.

"Mr. Fabloue doesn't have any appointments today,"

"He does now, son," Washington smirked, and Malcolm would not deny he felt uneasy in that moment. This whole situation was going to create a lot of friction without his superior purposefully stirring it up. "He's under arrest."

Eyes widening in panic, the guard quickly pulled out a walkie-talkie, making sure to step back a few paces until he was out of earshot, going straight to boss himself for his orders on what to do about the two FCCU men parked outside the front gate that wanted to arrest one of the de Luca's best men. All the while Washington just sat in the car, a slight pulling at his lips before he turned to look at Malcolm.

"Well, the older man began, out right smirking again now, "I think that went well, don't you?"

---

OoC: DUN DUN DUN! Decided I'd get this sub plot up an running whilst since Beans is taking his sweet time in posting his part for setting up the next part of the RP.

Sorry for blind siding you here, Fang, but it's time for revenge. xD /Jks

[Stabberz]

Ethan scowled his trade mark scowl as he moodily sauntered into his and Lena's main safe house. He quickly navigated his way through the rooms and straight to the kitchen fridge. After taking count of the contents of the appliance he gnashed his teeth and took his last beer from inside it. The bottle cap was quickly popped off and he threw himself down onto a bar stool that was positioned near a table.

He hated everyone, all these people from Damon's past. They're pig headed opinions of his brother and how he had been so bad. Yet they seemed to forget that once the Ching's and De Luca joined forces, Damon had been one of their main assets. And now they all near enough scorned him. He growled and quickly chugged down some beer.

---

A sadistic smirk flashed across well groomed features. There was a twinkle in the eye of the man in the alleyway. Like a tiger hunting a wounded gazelle he eagerly walked further into the darkness in order to see his work. Before him slumped a woman who wore the remains of what had once been an expensive suit and skirt combination.

Now all that remained were bloodstained rags. She looked completely broken, multiple cuts along her body dripping with crimson red liquid. Her hair was a mess and tears were still finding a way to fall from half closed eye lids.

It was a sight that brought him pleasure. Carefully he moved over to her and with a cruel satisfaction he slowly placed a hand round her throat. From beneath his palm he felt the vibration of a whimper and he even noted a shake as she tried to struggle. Not that it would help, he'd fractured part of her spinal cord, rendering her disabled but still able to feel pain.

A smile formed only of cruelty tugged at his lips as he noticed the terrified look in her eyes. She'd thought she was untouchable. Dakota Chaplin, Deputy to the DA. Her arrogance had become so prominent that she had fallen into a routine. Every night she would take a shortcut through this very alleyway, and now he'd found her.

Malicious intent radiated off him as he pulled a bladed item from his belt. It was pretty thick, and razor sharp thanks to his care in molding it.

Dakota's eyes seemed to scream with pleas. It felt like she was trying to implore him on an emphatic level. It wouldn't work. He was the darkest of the dark, and he didn't care who he hurt.

With a vicious burst of strength he stabbed the woman beneath the rib cage before driving it upwards and twisting. Her lung was punctured instantly and fresh blood coursed over his gloved hands.

He stared into her eyes as the light behind them dulled and then he let go of his weapon. With a quick look around the area he took his leave.

All that remained to show he was the spiked weapon that was still buried deep into Dakota Chaplin's corpse, and a message written in blood on the nearby wall.

Guess who's back.

[that fang]

OOC: It's fine, Myrrh's up for a tango. (Meanwhile Dom is getting gray hairs early. )

The sun was not shining, the birds were not singing, and Dominick de Luca was not a happy camper. Because of eavesdropping risks, he did not keep walkie-talkies on his person; however, as a previous tradition established by his father, walkie-talkies were kept all over the campus and on less employees. When his secretary knocked on his door and offered hers with an urgent, slightly fearful look, Dom knew something was up.

"I got two cops out here," said the person on the other end. Dom took a brief moment to scowl as the man neglected to introduce himself but deduced that he was probably a guard. The guard hurried on before Dom could get a word in (an infraction noted for its immense disrespect and could probably warrant the amputation of an ear under Leo de Luca's leadership, if you were unlucky). There was a note of panic in the guard's voice, however, that urged Dom to listen. "They want to go and arrest Mr. Fabloue."

The secretary, who Dom noticed was still standing there, slumped against the door frame, wide-eyed. Sighing, Dom dismissed her, knowing the arrest of Myrrh Fabloue was going to be a hot topic that would spread like wildfire throughout the compound and possibly Marisol. If the Chings got hold of this, and no doubt they would, they might decide to take action against the de Lucas. After all, with Myrrh Fabloue out of the game, the scales could swing over to favor the other clan... On the other hand, to resist an arrest from the police department would destroy the precious strings of a budding reconciliation that had taken four years to painstakingly stitch together. And once again, on the first hand, if Dom allowed Myrrh to walk into police hands, the Fabloue clan would retract their favor.

And that was just the business side of things. "Myrrh, you were supposed to protect me," he murmured almost silently as he ran a hand through his hair. Taking the walkie-talkie, Dom made his way over to his desk, sitting lightly on his chair. After some careful deliberation (the guard did a small dance in his shoes as he waited and sweated through his uniform; this was no light matter), Dom sighed again, more heavily. "Let them in. Send a message to the other checkpoints. I don't want these cops seeing anything. Let them in, but don't see to them. Use minimal cooperation. This is our turf; they are only here because we let them here. Dismissed."

Dom turned the walkie off. He spent a minute looking over his room with unusual resignation. The secretary eventually returned with a guilty expression that told him she'd informed the entire HQ of Myrrh's new plight. Dom didn't fault her in that, instead giving her walkie back and giving her the code for a compound lockdown.

"I want stores shut down, restaurants shut down, power and phone lines shut down; I want children inside at home with their parents with them and an evacuation and lockdown of all important facilities. And I wanted it down yesterday." He rubbed his temples as the receptionist looked at him with worry. De Luca institutions were not limited to the compound; a number of buildings bore a de Luca affiliation but conducted business in neutral territory. Those would have to be closed as well. They weren't family businesses either, but large schools, hospitals, supermarkets, post offices that the entirety of Marisol (even most Chings, sometimes unwillingly) had used at least once in their lives. The entire island would feel this emergency, not just the de Lucas. Dom didn't consider these drastic measures for the situation; for a long time, it had been unofficial policy those protected be de Luca and Ching were off-limits, even to the law.

But those days were over with the truce, Dom lamented once again. Now lured out of his comfort zone, he did not know what was fair game. But he would play for now. "The small hospital near the Moonstone," he added after a pause, referring to an old warehouse near the outskirts of de Luca territory, "leave it open for emergencies."

"Yessir," said the secretary. "And after, would you like me here?"

Dom reclined into his chair. "It might get dangerous. Stay if you like."

The secretary nodded and left to carry out her orders. Dom waited until the door shut behind her and her footsteps receded down the hallway. Then he turned to the phone on his desk and pressed a button near the side... Once. Twice.

...

Three times. A low buzzer sounded thrice throughout Myrrh Fabloue's house. It was not particularly loud, certainly not so much that someone outside the house could overhear, but its tone was intentionally jarring and memorable. There was no question what the alarm meant; something was wrong.

"Lockdown," Myrrh muttered. Carlotta straightened, solemness overtaking her features. Now she was not a seventeen year old girl but a de Luca. Now Myrrh was not a fellow man but a leader. "Carlotta, take the groceries to the basement. Lock the door. Bar the door. You know where the arms are. Stay there until I come for you. You will know when I come; do not answer the door to anyone except me. And Dom," he added as an afterthought. "Andrea, Karl, please take shelter in the basement. Your room will do. I advise you to stay with Max, or at least leave the door between your rooms open. Everything will be okay, but I have to go and see what's up."

Myrrh walked over to the closet and pulled out a white button up. Shamelessly, he changed out of his ratty shirt and pulled on the button-up. Then he slipped into a navy blue sports coat. Carlotta wordlessly padded over and handed him a brush she'd secured from the living room. Myrrh fixed himself up before approaching the front door. There was a strange dignity in the way he moved that he'd lacked before, and Carlotta could now discern the man who her uncle valued so much. He (and her grandfather) always used to say that it was the calm ones you had to watch out for; she could see the truth. Myrrh halted just before reaching the door.

"Carlotta," he said sharply. "I leave it to you."

"Leave what to me?" Carlotta wanted to say, but refrained. It almost seemed as if Myrrh was expecting something horrible...

Everything, Myrrh thought, but instead he just called to Andrea and Karl, "Don't do anything stupid!" And then he departed for the HQ.

[Book the Hero]

"Hey..." Lena said, walking into the kitchen, having heard Ethan come back. She had began to get worried, since he had been gone awhile, but slightly relieved, now that he was back. But mentally sighed when she saw the mood he was in, and that he was drinking. "...I need to talk to you about something."

[Ra The BlazeWingPhoenix]

"Don't do anything stupid...?" Karl asked just when the man had left, he frowned. Wondering what was going on. This was crazy. What else could go wrong? Then again, this was...Yeah, Karl didn't even finish thinking about that sentence as he did as he was told.

[Dobi Boshi]

Malcolm's nerves did not ease up as he drove the car into the center of the compound, drawing up outside the front steps of main de Luca building.

"Looks like we cause quite the stir, huh?" Washington remarked with a chuckled, before clambering out of the tiny car. "Must be a lock-down of some sorts. Maybe they've got something to hide..." even if he was trying he couldn't mask his amusement. "Let's go talk to the boss, shall we?"

Malcolm could only nod before he jogged up the steps towards the entrance to the de Luca building. Meanwhile Washington just knocked on the door casual as you like, smiling to himself.

[that fang]

The de Luca HQ was by no means the largest building in the compound. It was only three floors tall: the first being the main reception desk and where civilians could go to lodge complaints or schedule appointments; the second floor housed the offices of receptionists, engineers, and technicians under de Luca employ; the third floor was composed of a variety of services, such as a gym, a break room, and a library. Dominick's office was in the back of the building on the second floor. The rest of the building had been vacated; as such, when Washington knocked on the door, there was no one to answer it. The doors, however, were not locked, and had he tried to enter, he would not have found any resistance.

[Stabberz]

Ethan frowned and chugged some more beer down, his eyes darting around the room habitually before he settled his gaze on Lena. He was in no good mood for too much more shit today. "What is it?" He question, his eyes centering on her searchingly.

[Dobi Boshi]

Finding the door was open, Washington shot Malcolm an inquisitive look, the large man could only shrug. There was open, so it wouldn't technically be breaking and entering...

At least he hoped so. Because not a moment later Captain Washington strolled through the door without batting an eye. "Lucy, we're home!" Oh good lord... Malcolm thought, with a silent groan, before reluctantly following his superior inside.

[that fang]

They were greeted by a mostly dark room with a nice interior, if a bit lonely; the lights were all out except for one lantern sitting in front of them, atop the receptionist's desk. Said receptionist's chair was vacant, which made sense - the HQ's employees had evidently been dismissed. The lantern told the duo that someone waiting for them, and true to that thought, the sharp sound of heels against the tile floor headed in their direction. Their echoes bounced off the gray walls, until they reached a halt. A woman's pale face peered out at the men from the shadows, dimly illuminated by the lantern. Her face was not so much pallid as devoid of emotion, but her motions were so carefully controlled that you could tell she was thinking about her every action.

"Welcome." To her credit, her voice did not shake, though it lacked usual inflection that portrayed sincerity. Her hands, fingernails painted red, were folded and occasionally, one hand would clench the other. "How may I help you?"

[Dobi Boshi]

"We're here to see Mr. de Luca and his bodyguard, we have some questions we need to ask them concerning the attack on the Trenkler residence this morning," Washington explained, flashing a weary smile, a slight twinkle in his eyes as he pulled up in front of the receptionist. "We believe their answers could be off the utmost importance and help us catch who was really behind this attack."

[Book the Hero]

Lena set down some papers in front of Ethan. "Adam Renner." She said, revealing the papers to be the police records for the homeless boy. "Earlier today, I found him as I was coming back in an alleyway, injured." She began explaining to her partner. "I brought him back here, and patched him up, apparently he's wracked up a debt, so was thinking we could let him hide out here, and rest for awhile."

Lena really hoped that Ethan didn't do anything drastic. The boy was drunk, and in a bad mood, but she had to tell him sometime.

[that fang]

The woman fixed the men with a hard look stare, clenching her hands again. For a long time, it seemed as if she wasn't going to move from her position. Finally, she looked away and turned so that her back was to the policemen. "Follow me," she said evenly. Her heeled footsteps resumed as she led them down the hall. Rather than take an elevator, which would involve a lengthy and awkward wait, she utilized the stairs, keeping herself occupied with at least one action, however involuntary. After walking another hallway, they reached another room with a desk. This one clearly belonged to the lady herself.

Behind the desk was a door. It had no windows, nor a doorknob. There were seventeen cameras set up around the room, all facing the door from different angles. Well. Seventeen visible cameras. There was no real question where the boss room was. The lady stepped up and rapped her knuckles against the door frame. Her knock consisted of no particular rhythm. No intercom turned on to ask who was inquiring at the door; the door merely clicked and opened itself. The lady didn't enter, but turned to inspect the duo again. Her expression now let slip the slightest of disdain, a sliver of distaste.

The door stayed open.

[Dobi Boshi]

Washington didn't really say anything in response to the women's attitude, or thank her for leading her to the bosses room - the closest thing the older man gave to acknowledgment was a curt nod of his head, before he ventured in side to face the de Luca head.

Malcolm, on the other hand, being the gentleman that he was, bound deeply. "Many thanks for your cooperation," he spoke softly, before standing up proper once more. "Please be aware that I personally take no pleasure in being here disrupting your time and am only here out of duty. I hope you can find it possible to forgive my captain and I this transgression." He smiled weakly, nodding gratefully once before following his superior into the room which belonged to Dominick de Luca, wishing he could be anywhere else - but he would see this through.

He noted that Captain Washington now stood before the desk, so he opted to hang back, standing to attention near the door, deciding not to spoke unless spoken to. He was already in further than he'd like to be, he wasn't going to willing dig himself in deeper.

"Mr. de Luca," Washington spoke, smiling, as he sat down in a free chair in front of Dom's desk without being offered. "Sorry to interrupt," he really wasn't, "but I have a few things that I need to ask you and some of your associates."

---

OoC: Assuming Dom's in his office, if he ain't let me know and I'll edit it, Fang.

[that fang]

OOC: He is, but I don't know who this "Dommick de Luca" is.

Dominick looked up from his desk when the other man spoke to survey the pair in his office. It appeared his secretary had chosen to stay; she'd led these men to his door. There were two cops: the one who had spoken (no doubt the one in charge) had taken a seat, and the other took a post by the door. The latter looked a bit uncomfortable with the situation, which Dom took grim delight in noticing.

"Please, call me Dominick," he drawled, his left hand casually brushing (nonexistent) dust particles off of his desk. He smiled, his eyes darkening to show his distaste for frivolities. He knew why they were here; they probably knew he knew why they were here. Their respect, he knew, wasn't genuine; it was just a game the cops played and he played with them. "And I have the honor of addressing Mr...?"

[Dobi Boshi]

"Jeremy Washington, Captain of the Family Connected Crime Unit," Washington replied, interlocking his fingers as he stared Dom down. "When we arrived at you gates a short while ago, we declared our intention was to arrest Mr. Fabloue - that was a lie. We needed to grab your attention and that seemed a like a good way of doing it."

Malcolm's eyes bulged in their sockets. The Captain had failed to tell him that little detail! He felt himself let out a silent sigh of relief he didn't realise he'd been holding, at least the situation no longer looked like the FCCU was gunning for one of the de Luca's big guns, or at least the head now knew that was not the case.

"The canister that was found at the crime scene was put through various test and was indeed determined to have been used in the attack on the Trenkler residence, however it lacked any finger prints. Or rather it lacked any finger prints that we could trace back to someone that wasn't known to have touched the canister. A few of my superiors seem to be rather adamant that the canister was used prior to the attack and planted by your man Fabloue, given it's a well known brand used by the Chings and it would make you look like the victims in all of this and you'd be justified when seeking revenge, that idea doesn't sit right with me. Nor do I honestly believe the Chings are stupid enough to do this and leave such an obvious piece of evidence behind. So I'd like to ask you, Mr. de Luca, can you think of any enemies that you have that might be powerful enough, or stupid enough to try and pull this off?"

[that fang]

Dominick pursed his lips, closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply. Damn. He'd done it again. Overreacted, jumped the gun, panicked... Myrrh would chastise him later for this. Once again, his weakness had been used against him (and certainly not for the last time). He opened his eyes and sized Captain Jeremy Washington up again (his lackey seemed to have missed the memo as well, seeming just as surprised as Dom had been).

"You don't think the Chings were behind it?" he murmured. While he knew his bodyguard thought the Chings were behind it, the notion that Myrrh had planted false evidence was laughable. Myrrh was not the kind to go off without orders to try and convict the Chings on some off-base scheme, especially when Dom had expressly forbidden it. On the other hand, Dom was almost certain the Chings weren't behind the attack, hence his orders to overlook the attack (for now).

He leaned back into his chair. "If it wasn't the Chings, there must have been a separate motive behind the attack. Not only was it an attack on the de Luca compound, it was a subtle attack on the Chings because of the red herring left behind: the canister. Why was this false trail planted? To lead me into thinking the Chings had violated the peace and seek revenge. This would throw the clans..." He paused. "And Marisol into another war." A light bulb went off in the back-most corner of Dom's mind, but the thought was fuzzy and not fully fleshed out. He mulled over the idea for so long that he forgot he had stopped speaking out loud.

[Stabberz]

Ethan's nearly choked on the sip of beer that he was chugging from. His eyes bulged and he forced himself to swallow the alcoholic beverage. After recovering his breath he shot Lena his trademark scowl. He had already met Adam a couple of times during some of his outings. They'd come to blows once or twice but all in all they'd helped each other out now and then. Lena wasn't to know this though.

"You didn't even know him and you let him in!?" He fumed his eyes widening in rage. "How the hell do you know he wasn't deliberately there to find a way into one of our safe-houses and leave us breached and ripe for the taking!?" The wolf eyed teen stuck a cigarette into his mouth and quickly lit it. "The Police, the Chings, some unknown third party. Surely you must of learnt from your Uncle that you can never trust anyone!?"

[MrMissMrs Random]

Andrea scooped Max up into her arms and walked downstairs with Karl into the basement. The little boy squirmed a little bit, wondering what was going on.

"'Lotta, do you know who's in the compound right now?" The woman asked.

[Book the Hero]

Lena had been expecting a reaction like this, and had already prepared a response, but then he said the last line, and she snapped for the second time that day, and she slapped him, second time as well.

"First off, I checked his injuries before bringing him here, a stab wound to the shoulder, bruises all over his body, and minor blow to the head, I'm not stupid enough to take someone here, who wasn't fatally injured. If he had tried something, I could have just slit his throat, as he would have been, and was and still is, too weak to fight back." Lena said, anger in her eyes.

"Second, while my uncle may have done some asshole things, the only thing he ever did to betray my trust, was not letting Will and I know he was still alive right away, but now..." Lena said, her anger rant began to slow, tears forming in her eyes. "Now...he really is gone..."

---

OOC: Lena is just as touchy concerning her uncle, as Ethan is with Damon.

[Ra The BlazeWingPhoenix]

Karl just stayed quiet as he followed behind. He had no idea what was going on anymore, so he just stayed as silent as the grave. How he felt at the moment was confused.
"It'll be alright, kiddo," Karl said to the boy.

[MrMissMrs Random]

"Why are all the lights out?" Max asked as he reached one of his hands out to Karl.

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