Open For Business

Downtown MadCross. It was late, or at least, she thought it was late. The sky was always dark in this dimension, only faintly lit by the glowing blue bulb in the sky and thousands - perhaps hundreds of thousands - of twinkling stars. It was beautiful, of course, but time began to become distorted when it was dark all the time, and deep deep down, in the depths of MadCross, the effect was only intensified. The Downtown district was quiet, at least, most had retreated home for the night... but there were always a few about. MadCross never truly slept, it paid to keep one eye open in this place.

There was a bar, on the outskirts of the district, with the windows all covered and a sign hanging from the wooden door reading: ''CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS". It was nothing much from the outside, pallid and without much appeal, the paint was peeling and the woodwork failing. The inside was nothing more, precisely what you would expect from a business purported to be undergoing renovation, labourers tools strewn across the vastly empty room, paint tins stacked in one corner oozing their contents from their unfastened lids and various other implements scattered here and there. Admittedly, to any observer the construction and revitalisation of the building was coming along quite nicely and would likely be completed in a matter of weeks, or perhaps months, depending on the availability of tradespeople and the sometimes uncertain nature of MadCross. Still, the ground level was not what was of interest - at least, not to the people present now, anyway. Behind the framework of the bar, concealed beneath the wooden trimmed lining, was a button. Once pressed, a little trapdoor opened up beneath where the barman might stand, revealing further still a set of metallic stairs leading down into a basement. It opened out into a network of rooms, rivalling an average house in size, some containing small amounts of furniture but most completely bare. The decor was similar to that of the upstairs, prior to renovation, and works were being undertaken - albeit at a much slower rate - to modernise this portion of the building, too. It had apparently once been the hideout of a gang, a small operation mainly focused on kidnapping and extortion, before it, like so many others of it's kind, died out. Now there were just two gangs remaining... at least, for now anyway.

The first room after the stairs contained the most furniture out of any so far, and at present, the most people. Sitting on the bottom step was a muscular man, a rifle resting on the step beside him, his bald head shining in the golden hued glow of the swinging lightbulb in the centre of the room. He was sitting with his back to the wall, eyes switching between the other guests and the now closed entrance to the top of the stairway. It wasn't so much that they were worried anyone would find them now, just getting into the swing of things for how this sort of operation would flow in the future, should all things go well. The second member of the assembled guests was a young girl, no more than sixteen years old, named Bunny. Or at least, that was the name she went by. She was wearing a school uniform - as she always did - and holding a long, sleek blade in her hand, standing rather close to the first man. Third and fourth were two more similar to the first muscular man, each baring arms and leaning on the wall, simply staring into space. They weren't so smart, but it didn't matter. Quite simply, they weren't picked for their ability to hold a conversation. Fifth was the man seated at the table, he was wearing a raggedy old suit and looking incredibly nervous, understandably, considering who he was seated across from, and what he had just done - or, failed to do.

"So, let me get this straight," Yukina spoke, her mask placed on the table beside her hands, her hair a platinum shade of blonde and her eyes an eerie, glowing amber. "You claim to be the best of the best for gathering information around these parts," she said, her voice disguising the bitter rage she felt, "in fact, you come to me telling me this. Begging me to give you a chance. 'The Motherhood will just kill me, Samdie is the wrong fit!' you tell me, I'm your last option. And then I give you what should be, by all accounts, a simple task. Find the fucking illusionist. I've seen him myself twice, and I've been here what, a week? And you, the 'top investigator in all of Abaddon', come back with... nothing." She took a sip from the wineglass at her fingertips, placing it down again with the utmost delicacy.

"Bunny." She said, the teen immediately standing alert and poised. "What did I ask you to do for me?"

"You asked for a list of all Consuls, past and present, as well as overviews of each sector, including laws and regulations."

"And what else?"

"To kill a member from each of MadCross' two gangs."

"And did you do these things for me?"

The young girl glanced into the next room, a dead operative for the Motherhood lay across one table, and one from Samdie the other. Their possessions had been searched through, littered throughout the room. Bunny nodded, returning to her position by the stairs.

"Bunny proved her worth. These other men will prove their worth, in time. What have you proved to me?" The man was growing more and more uncomfortable by the second, he was visibling receding into himself and panicking. He glanced from each member of the room, yearning for their help, but none returned his gaze. Finally, his eyes locked with Yukina's.

"I-..." he spluttered, before managing to compose himself long enough to form a sentence. "Give me one more chance!"

Yukina held his gaze for a moment, before looking down at the wooden table at which they were seated. There was a hammer and a few nails, which she grabbed, offering him the nail.

"All this construction, this labour, has put me in the mood to try it myself. It looks awfully fun, don't you think?" She asked, to which the response was merely a gulp. "I think I might start by learning to hammer a nail, would you hold the nail up for me?" Her voice was sickly sweet, as if it were dripping with honey. The man eventually obliged, holding the nail up with two fingers for her. She lifted the hammer with her right hand, preparing herself for the task at hand. She tapped it once, then again, the man shook with each blow.

"I might've liked you," she said, preparing the hammer to strike again, "if you weren't so fucking stupid." She slammed the hammer down again, this time straight into his waiting hand. There was a satisfying crunch as bone was shattered, the scream that escaped his lips silenced by the hammer, as it was smashed into his skull. He collapsed in a heap out of his chair, blood pooling and oozing from his wounds. She placed the hammer down, gently, gracefully, before turning to the two standing men.

"Could you clean this up?" She asked, her tone as innocent as a child's, "And send the body off for incineration? That would be just lovely." She stood, pushing out her chair and picking up her mask, pulling it down over her eyes. The warrior moved to the next room, returning with weapons strapped all around her body.

"Bunny. Max." She said, addressing the two by the stairs, "Today we've learnt a valuable lesson, that sometimes things should just be left to the professionals. Us. Come, pets, we have an illusionist to unmask." She walked through the network of rooms, coming to the last one and opening a built-in wardrobe, revealing a small ladder - the back exit. It opened out on to the an alley, requiring a password to gain access the other way, and Yukina waited until her minions were present before continuing on to the main street.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Jake stood outside, staring up and admiring the light reflecting on the waves. He never took moments to pause anymore. There was no more breathing, just killing. He had eternity to wait-- what was the rush for power? Silently, he watched the gentle push and pull of the waves, thoughts drifting more and more away from his goal until he snapped himself back. What was doing lately besides thinking about things? Not much had actually gotten done. No deceit, no deception.... well, deception. Deception on a huge scale. He was leaning back against the wall, hands in his pockets while a few men searched an alley behind him for evidence of the woman he'd met. More than anything, she was bothering him. He lifted his pinky finger to his face briefly, frowning at the missing tip. She was clever, scaring him like this. At most, he could only generate clothes over it. The clothes could be removed though, so his disguises were still... imperfect. A perfect challenge: a fellow illusionist, and a clever person at that. Everything hear had become so boring, but now his plans accelerated even if he did nothing. Altostratus was to be driven to chaos, if events unfolded as he suspected the did in the Kwaon tropical Jungle.

"Did you two find anything yet?" From the ally behind him two men emerged, armed with large-caliber rifles. The stood straight and were adorned with black armor. They were with Samdie PMC-- Jake's favorite. They were fairly experienced operatives good at search and destroy tasks. Or at least, they were supposed to be. As of now Jake was trying to keep them occupied, using their presence as an excuse to be here.

"No sir. Nothing." He nodded expectantly. Jake had been very tired recently, and he wasn't sure why. Perhaps he was just stressed? Excited?

"Clear the building then, there shouldn't be anyone inside. We condemned it because of problems." There could be more excitement right now, but he wasn't complaining. Intervals were good, he'd learned. Pause. Breathe. Think. Continue. Four little steps to a better life, and he'd yet to master them. Patience was not his strongest suit, but he was good at that too. As the men entered the building Jake turned his head to the main-street, staring across and a little over. There were shadows approaching moving about within the alley he gazed at-- what was coming out?

Max lead the trio out of the alley, followed by Yukina and Bunny, side by side. It wasn't necessarily an agreed upon formation, just something that naturally happened as they fell into place. As the young man rounded out back on to the street, he suddenly stopped, before back stepping and almost knocking the two girl's over. Bunny's eyes widened, while Yukina just frowned.

"What is it?" She asked, trying her best not to scold him. So far, Max had done a perfectly fine job of being a bodyguard. He was strong, surprisingly agile, and an excellent marksman - she didn't want to ruin whatever professional relationship they were building by chastising him unnecessarily.

"Some men are outside the bar, about to go in." He whispered, edging closer to the corner to take a look. Yukina frowned again, what could they possibly want? The only people who knew this was what is was were the people who had just been there, she hadn't recruited or told anyone else of her plans just yet. So what were these men doing, snooping around. She turned to Bunny.

"Take a look. Tell me if you recognise any of them." For her age, Bunny knew a lot. She knew things about people, about the social climate, she was incredibly tuned in and observant. She peeked her head around the corner, gasping as she turned back to the other two.

"That's the Consul!" She said, in a worried whisper, before shooting Max a glare. He had been a resident of MadCross for longer than her, he should've known that himself. Yukina's hands instinctively raced to her temples, what the fuck does the Consul want with my bar. She paced back and forth, before returning her gaze to her two subordinates.

"Bunny. Go back the way we came - you know the code? - good. Go back and get the others, and come back around this way. Don't come in unless you can hear something going down inside, got it?" The youth nodded, before scurrying back down the alleyway and hurriedly punching the combination into the locked door. Yukina turned back to Max, "Take my arm, try to act normal. We don't want to give anything away, not just yet."

And so, the pair walked out into the street, arm in arm, the image of a happy couple - albeit, armed to the teeth. But that was nothing new, just a day in the life of a MadCross resident. Yukina pressed her forehead into Max's chest, her smile fading to a look of stern worry as they approached the entrance to the bar... she was quite the actress.

"Is this it?" She asked Max, to which he responded with a nod. She then turned her attention back to the men, the would-be intruders. "Consul?" She asked, innocence and curiosity rife within her tone. "What's going on? James here just insisted that I see his new business tonight, but.... is something the matter?" She asked, feigning the controlling girlfriend. She had experience in that field, after all.

That was when the commotion began. The familiar sound of a portal, the same sound Etzolix's had made, and then it appeared. A bloody, naked man was thrown out, through the door and into the bar, and after him a masked, concealed man. She heard the masked man say something but couldn't quite make it out, before shooting a quick glance to Max. Her hand reached for her dagger, whatever this was, she didn't like it. This was supposed to be a secret gang hideout, after all. She wouldn't attack, not yet. She would wait to see what this other man, the Consul, would do before acting. Perhaps an opportunity was presenting itself, in the midst of this apparent disaster.

"New business?" He turned his head back to the building, and looked at it in disbelief. This junk pile was a business? Who was he to judge? He might come drink here once it was finished. "I have some men inside looking for Motherhood Manikan-types. It'll just be a few minutes and then you can go back to your normal lives." He had spoke this through the commotion, not paying much mind to the naked man being thrown out a portal next to him or the stranger that emerged afterwards. "Well, interesting trick," he sighed. "I need to learn to do that." He mostly spoke this to himself, but did hollar a command to the person who was responsible for the body. "Clean that up would you? The Collectors won't be here for bodies until tomorrow." He then turned to the 'couple' in front of him. Perhaps the woman didn't realize that he remembered her voice, and considering his past encounter with her this was probably a bullshit facade. Probably. He kept in mind that this unlikely scenario was also a possibility, though slim. "So, what's the name of your business?" He was trying to make conversation. "Make sure to talk to the Samdie. They'll keep it in a state of repair, and their protection fees are pretty fair. Its a great idea for the newer businesses. Definitely keeps the riff-raff out."

"No Motherhood in here, they're not really our style, are they James?" She said, playfully punching his chest, to which he responded with a slight smile and nod. The other man, the one from the portal, simply took the body and walked away to dispose of the thing... but something about him seemed familiar. No... it couldn't be, could it? She managed to drag her eyes away as he rounded the corner, looking to Max to answer the following questions... it was supposed to be his business after all.

"The Blue Lagoon." He said, doing his best to remain natural and calm. "Of course, we don't want any trouble... or at least, as little as possible." He said, with a slight grin. Yukina shot a quick glance as the suited man came back into vision... it must've been him. But what was he doing here? Had he tracked her down after their brief encounter in the Labyrinth? A slight sense of worry was beginning to set in, but as of yet he hadn't said anything, hadn't done anything that might've given the game away, and for that, she was thankful.

"We were going to look around inside, you could join us, if you like?" She said, inviting them in so that at the very least, she could monitor them as they inspected the place. She was confident they wouldn't find the hidden basement, but still, it was best to err on the side of caution in these circumstances. Without really waiting for a response, Max pushed through the door, holding it open for his faux-girlfriend and anyone else who might like to enter.


Meanwhile, below their very feet, Bunny scrambled towards the remaining two thugs, catching them as they poured through the dead man's pockets for any scraps of change. He hurriedly told them of the situation upstairs, before practically dragging them back through the exit, into the alleyway to await their cue.

Jake shrugged. "Sure, why not. I could use a drink or three." he wasn't trying to be funny-- he enjoyed being an alcoholic. It had become hard for him to get drunk in recent centuries, and that was a bother. "I'll just call my guys back while I'm at it. They've been working all day; I'll get them some drinks on me." He walked inside, yawning. He was very tired-- maybe when he'd got home he'd watch some television. He hadn't done that in a few months. Get drunk, go home, watch television. Maybe sleep too. He didn't sleep very often anymore. Maybe drop some acid. He was just going with it right now. He raised his hand and extended his pinky, brushing his hair back as he walked past the woman. He let his hand fall into his pocket. "Do you guys have any whiskey? I'm feeling some whiskey right now."

"Of course, mind the mess - we're still under construction. Whiskey all around?" Max approached the bar, but Yukina quickly intercepted him. She had seen the finger, this man, the Consul... it was him. Or it was just a mighty big coincidence. Either way, she would get to the truth.

"Let me get that for you, honey. You sit down you've had a big day." She knew that he knew it was her. And he must've intentionally have shown her the finger, he wouldn't have been that reckless. And she also knew it was Etzolix who had come in behind everyone. So, basically, they all knew each other but none refused to acknowledge it. No matter, she could work with that. Slipping behind the bar, Yukina reached for a few glasses along the back wall, lining all four up, before crouching down to find the alcohol bottle beneath the bar. She reached in, grabbing the bottle and something else, a small pill, which she dropped with the utmost subtlety into the first glass as she began to pour. The pill dissolved almost instantaneously, and as soon as she had finished pouring the first glass, she held it up, smiling at the illusionist.

"Consul! Would you do us the honour of taking the first drink?" She asked, pushing the glass towards him. She would wait for him to drink - he wouldn't notice the taste - before she began pouring the rest.

"Don't mind if I do," he said somewhat excitedly. Man, the woman sure wasn't wasting anytime. Could she have known? Nah, he was fine. He took the drink up that he was offered and inhaled, the smell of whiskey filling up his nostril's. "Mmm," he said afterwards. "Its been aged. Goodie, goodie." He lifted the glass to his mouth, and sipped it. That how you treat whiskey. You sip that shit like a gentleman. He placed it down gently, keeping his fingers around the rim of the glass. "Its fine whiskey," he lied. In actuality, it tasted of date rape. He'd drunk worse several time before-- if you can drink ram's piss, you can drink anything. "Can I have your names, guys? It would be more convenient to call you by name instead of something stupid like 'bar wench'," he said these words in a lighthearted tone, following up with a soft laugh.

Yukina sipped her drink as well, and then Max. She glanced at Etzolix, he hadn't taken the drink. What was he doing? Didn't he realise how out of place he looked? Following them into the unopened bar, lurking in the shadowy corner? She would ignore him for now, as she glanced back to the Consul.

"This is James," she said, gesturing towards Max, "and my name is Alice." She lied, preferring not to reveal her true identity for whatever reason. It was just a game to her, one she wanted to win. She leaned down on the bar, propping her head up with one arm and resting the other across the bench, she gazed at the illusionist, the 'consul', almost longingly.

"Me and James are somewhat new to this place," she said, referring to MadCross itself, [color=lightseagreen]"is there anything you think we ought to know?" she asked, genuinely curious. She had the gist of the place down, but the inner workings, the subtle quirks... they remained a mystery. Perhaps she could use this imposter to her advantage, weed out some much needed information.




((sorry this is short/bad, still sick etc etc))

"Don't mind him," Jake said regarding the man. "He's quiet like that until you ask him the right question." He took another drink of his whiskey, swearing to himself that something was off. He took another, larger sip-- perhaps more flavor would expose the truth. However, though the alarms were firing off in his mind he didn't understand what was tripping them. It could have been any number of things. However, he thought what disturbed him most was that she was lying, and he knew she was lying. In fact, Inarius had confirmed for him her name just earlier. "Well Alice, I guess the biggest thing you need to know is to not let anyone push you around. Should any body come in here harassing you, feel free to kill them. If that's not your style, go talk to the Samdie. They're more than willing to provide protection usually, and they have a fair price that even small, impoverished businesses can afford." Another sip of the drink. He was swearing up and down there was something wrong with it. Watching her movements when she poured the drinks, she could have placed something in the glass. She did come across as clever, after all. Then again, that was nothing really to worry about. It took more than just one date rape pill to knock him out. No, no, it would several. He gently stirred the drink inside by rocking the glass in a circular motion. "Also," he added. "Do not associate with the motherhood. They'll burn this place to the ground unless you surrender huge profit margins to them. Its not easy to run a cult." Once more, he took a sip and placed it down on the counter. "I wonder where those two guys are," he wondered aloud. "It shouldn't be taking them so long to explore this area." With a final sip, he finished his whiskey. "I could use another," he said politely. He glanced to his compatriot. "How about you Inarius?"

Yukina nodded as he spoke, finishing her own glass and watching as Max downed his. He was warning her about the different gangs, protection, all of that. She had to stifle a laugh, if only he knew what was happening - or, what would be happening - just below his feet.

"Of course, we are quite capable but extra protection would not go astray." She smiled, before taking his now empty glass and dragging it across the bar towards her. "Of course, perhaps something a little stronger this time around." She crouched down again, grabbing a new bottle and a new pill, before resurfacing and repeating her actions of before. No matter how long it took she would take control, she would see him hit the floor and she would have her way with him.

"You're friend has quite the mouth," she said, before taking a sip of her drink, Etzolix's attempts to disarm the situation swept away by a passing comment. He was calling himself Inarius, not a name she was familiar with, but it told her one thing. Etzolix was playing a character, too. Nothing was what it seemed, but at the same time, she knew who each and every one of them was. Baffling, mind boggling, she took another drink.

"Thanks," Jake stated blankly. To be honest, he didn't any more of this... awkward tasting liquor but who knew? This time it might actually taste better. "And yes," Jake said while stifling a small laugh. "Why yes he does." This was too perfect-- with any luck, these two would piss each each other off and he could have his lover's quarrel to watch; it had been a long time since two people who 'loved' each other had mauled one another in front of his eyes. Though, he did wonder about something there were bottles of liquor easily accessible for her to turn around and grab on the back shelf. They weren't to cheap; weren't too expensive, and required less effort to grab then the one she just went for. And this woman was the clever sort. She calculated even her small moves to some extent, he would imagine. So why waste the energy? This action was irrelevant to the facade, he believed. No, there was something else happening, but he couldn't identify what though he was fraught with suspicion.

The half-empty glass rocketed from her hand, barrelling through the air towards Etzolix. It wouldn't hit him, she expected him to move, but the effect was undeniable.

"Must you ruin all my fun?" she teased, dropping any attempts at trying to mask her voice. She emerged from behind the bar, glaring at her 'guest' as she approached the front door. She opened it, slowly, peering outside before waving someone inside. Three people entered, a young girl in a school uniform and two men. They were all armed, all ready for combat at any moment. Yukina stepped away from the door, into the centre of the establishment, before turning her head back to her accomplices. "Lock the door."

One of the men did so, bolts shifting into place behind her with a satisfying click. They wouldn't be interrupted now, not by anyone. The windows were still covered for the renovations, from the outside the place would appear empty and no light would escape it's walls. Her eyes flicked back to the illusionist, eyeing him up and down.

"Is he right? Is there a reason you're here beyond a foolish attempt at toying with me? Because, if there is, spit it out. I don't do well with liars." She smiled, the irony was intentional.

The man raised his eyebrow, taking another drink while he himself chuckled slightly at the irony of her statement "I felt like getting wasted?" He shrugged. "I'll assume that they're the reason my men haven't come back yet." With a sigh he shot a slight look of practically no concern at Inarius. Interesting ploy, boy. He turned back around, a smirk across his face. "Excuse me, but is there a bathroom? I need to tinkle and I assume pissing on the stool isn't a very pleasant way for this conversation to continue." His eyes darted back and forth between Inarius and Yukina. "Besides, I'm sure the two of you have some things to discuss. For instance: do you know who it is that summoned him here, lover-girl?"