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Post by Turpentine Kisses on Oct 23, 2006 19:43:42 GMT -5
Feet drawn up, head rested on his knees and attention focused on the bustling outside world. Content. Zeke asleep and happy. Extremely content. Kiah was an easy man to please. Sorta.
A sigh escaped his lips. He did have to go to work today. Hadn't opened up the bar for over two days now and he couldn't afford to stay closed much more lest the number employees begin to lessen. Ah well.
He scrawled a note explaining his absence and left it on the counter with instructions to come see him when she was up... Which could be some time seeing as how she's been up for the past thirty-six hours.
But, her little episodes had declined in frequency since she first came to live with him. Which was nice. This was the first big one in a good three months. Which was more beyond nice.
Slipping out the door, he locked it and traveled the two blocks to the small cafe-esque structure. The bar-tender and several waitresses stood outside at the ready. He gave them each a small smile in greeting before proceeding to open the building and set up for the night. Didn't take terribly long since there was help. Which was nice.
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Mokokos
Junior Member
Eating life right up.
Posts: 64
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Post by Mokokos on Oct 23, 2006 21:53:58 GMT -5
Renato stood on the roof of his apartment, overlooking the city. As far as he could see were lights, lights, lights. Red, blue, green, yellow... All with the intent of drawing people in to view the wares of some crumby antique store or pawn shop. Of course, many of them were probably for clubs and bars, neither of which he was a fan of; Drinking impaired his senses. And in a city like this, you needed all your wits about you to stay alive.
Looking down at the street below, he noticed a group of people standing outside what looked like a closed bar. All were dressed in uniform, and were obviously waiting for someone. Oh, the futile lives of the average people, he mused to himself.
He re-entered the building through the stubby door and walked down the steep stairs to his apartment. He threw his jacket on a chair and went to the kitchen to grab a drink of water and maybe an apple. Mid-sip, the phone rang. He looked at the caller ID on the wall phone: Daniel Inglaisis. Interesting, he thought to himself, the government must be desperate again. He picked up the reciever.
"This is Renato," He said.
"Renato, I'm glad you're home. How you doin' today?" The man said.
"Cut the formalities, Inglaisis. What do you want?" Renato said curtly.
"Ah. Right. Well... I've got a little job for you. Not exactly what you're used to, but I'm sure it will be no problem with your expertise," Daniel said.
Renato rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna fall for that crap, Daniel."
"Oh... right," He said. It was clear that he was caught off guard by this. Perfect. " Well, here's the deal. We need you to do basically the same thing as you usually do, except that the thing we need you to carry is... Well, it's a person. We need you to pick them up, and bring them to the usual location."
"I don't suppose they are going to come without a fuss," Renato said.
"Uhh..."
"So, basically, you want me to kidnap someone for the government," Renato said, sighing.
"Kidnapping is such a harsh word, Renato. Besides, it's for the common good." Daniel said.
He's getting more confident, Renato thought to himself. Not good. "Give me the plans, and I'll give it some thought." He said.
"Sure, I'll fax them to you now. But keep in mind, you aren't the only person in this city looking for a little extra cash." He said. Then he hung up.
Renato smiled to himself. What a fool. The idiot has given me too much information, yet again. The phone rang again. He picked it up, and heard the beep signifying that the call was a fax. he pushed the button, hung up the phone, and finished off his glass of water and an apple while he waited.
A few minutes later, he sat in his comfy chair reading the report. Of course, he wasn't at all interested in taking the job, but the more info he had about what was happening, the safer he felt. Apparently the objective was a girl, barely out of her teens, by the name of Zeke. As he continued to read the paper, the location caught his eye. Not because it was in a dangerous part of town, but because it was right near his apartment. He scrunched the paper into a ball and threw it at the waste bin. Miss. Damn, he had to work on his accuracy.
I'm not gonna get involved in this, Renato thought to himself. He threw his coat on and headed out the door. He felt like people-watching tonight.
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Post by Turpentine Kisses on Oct 23, 2006 23:06:14 GMT -5
Kiah was busy serving up the drinks. Large crowd tonight. They were well-liked for the most part which was just dandy with him.
Zeke appeared at the threshold - clad in her usual getup of the loose-fitting clothes - her pale eyes scanning for Kiah. She was clearly still in a stage of sleep judging by the way her frame was held which was currently slouched over. "You seen Kiah?" she inquired of the nearest waiter. He seemed to think for a moment before nodding with a warm smile. Typical bastards. "Mhmm. He's got the bar tonight." Well, that was a lot of help seeing as how the bar took up the whole back wall and then some. Nevertheless, she thought nothing of it and nodded her thanks with a small smile.
She made her way back to the long strip of wood, searching for the older male. Of course, it was just like him to pop up behind her with a brilliant grin. "What's up?" She jumped about five miles in the air. "You, uhm... told me to come...?" "Mhmm. Just wanted to know you're up. And you can help out, yeah?" She nodded, eager. "Sure." And with that, she hopped over the counter, orders being thrusted her way which she swiftly satisfied... As long as they were polite about it, of course. Anything less than, she'd timidly "forget".
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Mokokos
Junior Member
Eating life right up.
Posts: 64
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Post by Mokokos on Oct 24, 2006 0:26:29 GMT -5
The door of the bar swung closed behind Renato. A couple of people looked up from their drinks at this entry, but most were too busy dancing or socializing to take any notice of one more person entering the scene. He walked up to the bar and asked the bartender for a glass of water and a bowl of peanuts. Though the bartender gave him a strange look, Renato took the food and tipped him. Friends were always good, even in a place like this.
He sat down at his table and immediately picked out a man and a woman engaged in deep conversation. They were far too obvious. By their facial expressions, he could tell that they were arguing about something unimportant, but it was getting heated. They weren't meant to be together; She kept showing contempt, he was acting all high and mighty. Boring. He moved on to a man sitting in the corner, playing cards with himself. Renato chuckled to himself. Too obvious of a ploy, old man. He was looking for someone, probably waiting.
As Renato's eyes meandered around the room, the young female bartender caught his eye. He immediately recognized her as the girl from the kidnapping job. He averted his eyes so as not to draw too much attention, but could not help looking at her with a feeling of pity. Such a shame, he thought to himself, and she's not half bad looking, either. He resumed scanning the room for interesting faces.
A woman came and sat down at his table. At first glance, she was obviously not living the high life. Her cheeks were stained by dirt, though cleverly disguised by copious amounts of makeup. Her apparel screamed flirt, with far too much cleavage and leg showing. Without a word, he offered her a peanut. Somewhat taken aback, she took the peanut, looked at it, and stared at Renato. He turned his head and resumed his intake of the scenery. He heard the crack of a peanut shell behind him. And with that, she had given herself away.
See, a normal prostitute would have ignored the peanut. After all, money was their only goal. The peanut was getting in the way. But this women had taken the peanut, which meant one of two things: 1, She was a junior at the game, and this was one of her first runs, or 2, She actually had something to live for, possibly a family at home. Both were equally as dangerous to a prostitute, but good for someone like himself. People who have something to live for tend to be easier to manipulate. She finished off the peanut and tossed the shell in the ashtray.
"You come here mu-," She started to say.
"I know what you're looking for, and you won't find it here." Renato said, cutting her off. Normally, that would have been enough to get rid of anyone. But not this one. Definitely had something to live for.
"Oh, now, don't be like that sweety," She said seductively.
This was almost sad. Her seductive look was betrayed by her eyebrows. They screamed desperation. "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. But it looks like there are plenty of young, hot-headed males who would love your company. In fact, theres one right over there," He pointed to a young man with an eager look on his face and a mug in his hand sitting at the bar. There was no one with him.
She looked at him for a second, then back at the man at the counter. Without a word, she left. Damn. He still wasn't sure if she was an amateur or if she had something to live for. Maybe it was both. Oh well, He fell short sometimes, it happened to the best of people. He continued to scan the room.
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Post by Turpentine Kisses on Oct 24, 2006 18:02:39 GMT -5
Zeke's eyes grazed over the newcomer as he entered, giving him not a second thought, either. If he paid well, that was.
Kiah was busy taking care of a spill that one of his waiters had managed while Zeke continued her work. All of the staff were under specific instructions to take unnecessary measures in order to ensure her happiness. Of course, if you left her alone, she was pretty much more than happy.... However, there were certain individuals who insisted on doing just the opposite... Which was how she'd ended up in the lap of a rather drunk customer who was harassing her to the point where she's let out a small yelp and caught the attention of Kiah who'd know that voice anywhere.
He dropped the refill - creating yet another spill - and found that she'd been brought to a high level of uncomfort; even higher by her standards. Eyes wide, he ripped Zeke from the burly man's groping embrace and gestured to two waiters to show him out... But, not until /after/ he'd landed a more-than-decent blow to the face... Or five. Zeke clung to him all the meanwhile as if he were the last essence of life, feeling horrible for creating the scene. Not to mention the whole scene onto itself didn't make her feel incredibly peachy.
Sighing, he led the shivering adolescent to the small office behind the bar, sitting her down while kneeling in front of her... had you not known any better, it looked as if he were about to propose. Obviously, this was the last thing on his mind while he ran a hand through her hair and muffled sobs were breaking the silence of the dim room. "You okay?" he asked gently. It took a minute, but she nodded. "Yeah..." "Do you wanna go home? I mean, I have to stay here, but... " She shook her head firmly. She didn't want to be too far from him at the moment. "Okay. You wanna stay in here-" Her head shook again. "I'll go work some more." He was impressed. There'd been some progress over the last couple of years. "Alright. Stay behind the bar, then, okay?" She nodded and allowed herself to be helped up, Kiah smiling. Appearently, he was pleased with the help still.
She returned to her post making drinks while he requested another refill.
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Mokokos
Junior Member
Eating life right up.
Posts: 64
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Post by Mokokos on Oct 24, 2006 19:08:41 GMT -5
The exchange took less than a minute. Guy touches girl, angry boyfriend attacks guy for touching his girl, guy walks away miserable, but alive. He'd seen it a thousand times before. Almost a cliché, except for the fact that the girl was not your average girl. He turned back to his recently filled glass of water; No sense making a fuss over it. After a minute or two, the girl was back behind the counter serving drinks. No worries. He took a sip of water.
Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the hairs on the back of his neck became rigid. Instantly, he was tense, ready to pounce. He always trusted his gut instint when information was no readily available, and this was one of those times. What had set him off? For some reason, his eyes were naturally attracted to the door. Suddenly it swung open, before he even saw the men, he was on his feet.
There were 3 of them. Individually, they didn't look very intimidating. But together, they looked to be a force to be reckoned with. One was slight, one broad, and one just in the middle. They were all dressed fairly well, so they defintely weren't here for the dancing. And they all had a dangerous gleam in their eyes. Something was about to go down. Damnit, Renato thought to himself, why didn't I bring my pistol?
He averted his eyes so has not to draw attention, and sat back down, his mind in a flurry. It doesn't matter WHY they're here, Renato thought to himself, but they are, and I'm going to have to deal with it. He had already scoped out all of the emergency exits, and alternate exits should the need arise. His biggest problem was the shear amount of people blocking his way. But then escape was only one option. He could fight. But against three men like that, most likely armed as well, he didn't stand a chance. And, even if he did have a gun, it wouldn't make a difference; There was hardly any cover, and these men would not hesitate to make their own cover with human bodies. Looks like he would have to do what he did best: Think on his feet. He took a sip of water from the glass.
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Post by Turpentine Kisses on Oct 24, 2006 20:22:08 GMT -5
Kiah watched as the trio arrived and another offered to serve them. They didn't look what he would call trustworthy, but when did they ever? He'd just be careful to watch Zeke... Who was loving life at the moment behind a slab of wood. She was completely unaware that anything was afoot. Just like her.
As always, he'd play the common sense for the both of them.
She began to make her way out from behind the counter as if she'd forgotten that he'd told her, "Hey, Zeke?" But, she's not stupid. She looked up. "Yeah?" He caught her around the stomach and pushed her back gently. "Stay behind here, 'kay?" "But - " she was getting ready to protest, but thought better of it. There was normally a good reason... she supposed. Sighing, she took a step back in defeat. "Thanks." Hell no, he wasn't about to tell her why. Only put her on edge. A small smile played on his face. Hopefully she'd follow the direction this time... Lord, he was already on edge. Well, the one customer who had so suddenly tensed didn't help...
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Mokokos
Junior Member
Eating life right up.
Posts: 64
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Post by Mokokos on Oct 25, 2006 0:43:20 GMT -5
"...You aren't the only person in this city looking for a little extra cash."
Renato ran the message through his head over and over. How had he not been able to put it together? Looking at the two sides now, it was all too obvious. As he threw some of his clothes into a bag, he ran the scene through his head over and over, trying to figure out where he had lost his head. And why.
The three men at the door didn't even pause to take in their surroundings, which was probably their biggest mistake. They overestimated their abilities, one of the most dangerous things you could do in this business. They just waltzed up to the counter like there was no one else in the room. The large man's hairy arm reached over the counter and grabbed Zeke by the collar. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her boyfriend wind-up like an elastic. I moved into action. I don't know why I did it; I guess it just felt like the right thing to do.
As I slithered toward them, I took in everything: None of them had weapons in their hands - yet - and they all wore smug, arrogant grins. In hindsight, it was entirely possible that they had been drunk. The large man was still pulling the young girl over the counter with the help of the middle man. I reached the skinny man before any of them had even turned around. My arm went up and around his neck, cutting off his air flow; little trick I had picked up in the inner city. He didn't even make a sound as I pulled away, and neither of the other men noticed.
By now the club was in bedlam. A woman had seen the scene and screamed at the top of her lungs, driving the whole place nuts. As I dragged the man back with me, I was continually pushed and bumped by people, to a point where I eventually just stopped because I couldn't move. I had also lost sight of the scene entirely, and the noise was too loud to hear the sounds of a struggle. Apparently, no one noticed the dying man in my arms because they were too busy trying to get to the exit. I let the man go as he breathed his last, and shoved my way back to the girl.
I burst out of the crowd, fierce as a tiger, ready to take on both men at the same time. My emotions had gotten the better of me. But I arrived at a scene of relative calm, compared to the mayhem behind me. The boyfriend was holding the young girl in an embrace in his arms, and one of the large guys was next to him, apparently unconscious. Where had the other man gone? Renato quickly scanned the room, and saw him fleeing out the back door. And this is where Renato made his biggest mistake in a very long time: He gave pursuit. He ran out the back door to find the man jumping into an unmarked car. But before they drove off, Renato knew the man had memorized his face. It was one of the first things you learned in the business. Shit. Now the government was going to think he was protecting Zeke, which made him an enemy.
He finished packing his stuff, and grabbed his pistol as he made his way for the door. Zeke and her boyfriend (Kiah, as he had found out) were there waiting for him.
"Well, we'd better get moving." Renato said to the two. And without a word, they headed down the stairs.
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Post by Lily of the Night on Oct 25, 2006 15:12:57 GMT -5
ooc; NO FAIR!! OKIES, YOU KNOW WHAT!?? I'D LOVE TO RP THIS, BUT YOU DEFINITLY NEED TO EXCERSIZE CONTROL HERE. If it'll just be the three of us, and you two are on the same time zone, then I'll basically just die trying to keep up. So slow it down a bit, please?
xD Oh, and Nice to meet you. I'm sure i"ve made a wonderful frist impression, but oh well xD
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Post by Turpentine Kisses on Oct 25, 2006 18:04:32 GMT -5
ooc;; =P Like you got on even when we /were/ in the same time-zone. If we slow it down anymore from when I lived there, we'll be doing .12 posts a day. ;P
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Mokokos
Junior Member
Eating life right up.
Posts: 64
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Post by Mokokos on Oct 25, 2006 19:08:16 GMT -5
ooc: Lol, nice to meet you too
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Post by Lily of the Night on Oct 27, 2006 15:27:26 GMT -5
ooc; Whoa, okay, I love your writing style, but I would like to ask how much you guys have pre-planned out. I mean, if there was none (how should I know? xD) then that was a bold move you just pulled. If not, then I would prefer to let you know before I jump in that I am over protective of my characters and God-moding normally makes me lose it.
Buuuut, like I said, how should I know, so that was just a random little Katie Fact. Oh, and, I AM COMPLETELY SERIOUS WHEN I SAY I LOVE YOUR WRITING STYLE!!! xDD
Liiiiivie-Love, I think we've founda nother permanent member for the site. High Five. =3
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Mokokos
Junior Member
Eating life right up.
Posts: 64
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Post by Mokokos on Oct 27, 2006 18:50:26 GMT -5
ooc: Ya, I had already asked her in advance if it was alright, and we had already planned out the rough sketch together. I think the next step was going to be the exact same scene from her character's perspective, though I don't know if Olivia wants to be lazy or not ;D I promise not to godmode your characters on purpose. There. It's done. Feel free to yell at me if I even touch the line. Oh, and thanks I always liked narrative writing, and I hate how we do hardly any of it in school (2 weeks this year). I'm glad I've finally found a place to let my ideas flow /high five
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Post by Turpentine Kisses on Oct 27, 2006 20:26:46 GMT -5
ooc;; Naw - not lazy. Just trying to get the hell outta my little slump. Thankfully, I think I'm there... At least, my writing's a lot more stable. And hopefully it'll be back up to par reeeeally soon. x3 Anyway, I'll type up my reply in a minute or six.
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Post by Turpentine Kisses on Oct 27, 2006 20:49:59 GMT -5
Shitshitshiiiit. They'd been caught. Dammit. And he'd been going through the painful process of extra precautions just for her, too. Urgh. Damn. It. All.
No matter; no time to dwell on that or the fact that he totally didn't pick up on the fact that instinct was trying to alert him as she struggled to free herself with floundering sucess. Within moments, he'd liberated Zeke, broken a jaw and killed his knuckles. Kiah wasn't an incredibly built man, but Lord was he agile... Even with a shivering Zeke wrapped around his mid-section. Cute girl, but, really... he needed to be able to move.
Annoyed that he'd lost the business, he gathered Zeke into his arms. Wasn't like he'd be able to stay here, anyway... Resting his chin on her head, he sighed. Well, this sucked. And he had a couple questions for this odd fighter. And though he'd never admit it, he was rather thankful for it. But, still. He liked to know who was protecting Zeke... That's what he was doing after all, no? Or at least, the two were under the impression of such. Ah well, inquiries would have to wait.
When he'd arrived at the door with instructions, Zeke buried herself in Kiah's shirt. She was suspicious of this man. First off, he comes in, swinging to protect her and now they were to be led off. Though traumatized ((shut up, I know I killed that word. =P )), Zeke's intellect was nothing to be questioned. But, she'd let Kiah deal with this - he'd know what to do. Always did.
ooc;; P.S. Kiah's not Zeke's boyfriend. ;P Just to letcha know.
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