[sub][sub][h3][i]Regalia - Lex's Ordeal[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub][hr]
	When no one else made a play to shoot her, Lex crawled out of the windshield. The glass scraped her stomach but it was worth it if she didn't have to crawl next to a dead Snakeskin hanging above her. She got to her feet, still clutching her pistol. The street seemed completely evacuated, which was odd for this part of town, even this late at night. They must have blocked off the roads somewhere. She looked over to The Crest where she knew she'd be safe inside. She  started walking over, her elbow still sore from the impact. It was then that she noticed she couldn't feel her right leg. She looked down and saw a bullet wound on the outside of her thigh. "Goddamn, I guess he did hit me." Her sight went black and she dropped to the pavement. 

	The man across the street watched everything. As Lex lost consciousness and went tumbling to the pavement, his cigarette also fell to the ground lifeless and received a further stomp with wingtip dress shoes. Hand in pocket, the man pushed back his dirty blonde locks with his newly freed other hand and looked both ways before crossing the street. He knew the cops would respond soon considering shots were fired in the open and a huge crash just occurred at an intersection. The few people still out at passed midnight were already beginning to congregate and collectively mumble amongst themselves. "Shit... Better hurry this along," He said to himself. With a brisk walk, he crossed the four lane road and immediately hefted Lex's body and slung her over his shoulder--the man was pretty strong. 

	About an hour later, Lex sat slumped in a wooden chair in a small room. She finally began to come to. 

	She took in what she could of her surroundings before she opened her eyes. She vaguely remembered being picked up after she fell but didn't remember anything about the person who helped her...or kidnapped her? She was seated in a chair, not a bed. The room smelled damp. Definitely not a hospital. She cautiously opened her eyes. They felt slightly grainy as if she had been out for days, but she really had no way of knowing. The room was dark. It looked like it was still night so she had only been asleep a short time...or a full day. Her bullet wound still ached like a bitch but she didn't let it draw attention away from her deduction of her surroundings. "Is anyone there?" She called out.

	"Obviously," The man replied. He flipped a switch and a single light in the center of the ceiling came to life, slightly illuminating the surroundings. The room was about as big as a typical interrogation room and only contained four grimy and discolored walls, an old wooden table, and the chair that currently seated a groggy Lex. The floor was tile, but seemed like it had not been cleaned in years. In fact, the entire room seemed to be old and abandoned and unused for years. Cigarette smoke filled the air as the man puffed on a longish cancer stick--a Marlboro One Hundred to be exact. Under the dim lighting some of his features could be made out a little better. He was an older, middle-aged man with a worn, rough face under dirty blonde hair. Hazel eyes did not help his weary expression and a scar on his top lip only made the impression worse. He wore a gray suit with no tie and an untucked white collared shirt with brown wingtip shoes; at the very least, it seemed like he tried to dress respectably though he stopped caring about halfway through. 

	Leaning in a corner where two walls met, he stared at Lex briefly. "Well. Seems like you had an eventful night, huh?" 

	Lex looked the man up and down. His appearance was disheveled and his voice was gruff but Lex was surprised to realize she didn't feel afraid. It must have been the adrenaline from her wound. She took a breath before responding. "Who are you? Why am I here?" The holster she kept at her back was too light to have her gun in it so her eyes began to scan the room for another weapon. She sighed and wove her fingers together in her lap, waiting for him to reply. 

	"No appreciation for your own handiwork huh? Shame." The man took a puff, exhaled, and sauntered over to the old table. He took an informal seat and used two fingers to grasp his cigarette. "You can call me Jax. Think of me as an... Independent consultant. So, let's start off with this. You wanna tell me what that car chase was all about?" Jax took another puff of cigarette as he waited for a reply.

	Lex cocked her eyebrow, semi amused at the man's casual demeanor. He clearly thought he had the upper hand here. Silly boy. "And why the hell would I tell you anything? You must be new if you think I'll just trust that any information I hand over is information you're entitled to." Her voice slipped slightly at the end, almost betraying a pit of nerves that developed the minute he sat down. Still, she wasn't afraid. She just had to focus on that.

	"Interesting. Let me ask you something," Jax stood and pocketed a hand. He casually strolled towards a wall, but he was not really walking anywhere in particular. He made a slow trip around the room as he spoke. "Why do you think you're not tied right now? You know you were unconscious and you know your gun has been confiscated for the moment. Yet, I leave you unbound. You have to be wondering, right?" He paused and glanced over at Lex before continuing without waiting for a response. "I'm not your enemy, obviously. I took your gun as a safety precaution. Can never be too careful these days, especially with the trigger happy. Now, let's try this again," He made his way back to the table and this time leaned against it. "What was with that spectacle on the highway?" 

	Lex paused for a second. He had an intriguing  point. She had been so caught up trying to figure out a method of escape that she hadn't noticed what she was escaping from - nothing. Still, it wasn't like she could trust the guy. Maybe he was doing this to try to warm her up and make her think she was safe. She didn't see a way around it yet. So, she'd play along. For now. "I guess you're right," she acknowledged. "I think those men were sent by a man who...hurt me in the past." She didn't really think they had anything to do with Dean anymore. He was too stupid to hire someone to do his dirty work. But the story was true enough at one point that she was confident she could sell it, even under torture. "I kicked his ass this morning and I think he was looking for payback. He's a douche." She flipped her hair off her shoulder and looked back at the man.

	Jax chuckled. "Even if you're lying, I guess it's pretty comical. Do you think your situation had nothing to do with... Well, the drugs you and your group have been selling all over the city?" He looked straight into her eyes awaiting some sort of subconscious confirmation of something.

	Lex's eyes opened widely, revealing her surprise. Her mouth went running before she took any time to think. "Drugs we've been selling?! What the hell are you talking about?" She shot up from her chair and got right in Jax's face. "We do not sell drugs and if you believe even a fraction of the information that I assume you've gathered, you'd know that!"

	Jax stared into Lex's angry expression for a moment. In truth, he had indeed gathered plenty of information on the Regalia branch of the Ariella Syndicate beforehand, but he needed to confirm the rumors from one of the actual horses. Being the in-house doctor meant that Lex would have the most information regarding any sort of drug sales if there were any. Jax's orders had been simple. He was to follow Alexandria Mason around and find out if there was any truth to the accusations. Seeing her fierce reaction now, even in the face of a complete stranger, gave Jax all the confirmation he needed. He reached into the small of his back and pulled Lex's gun from his belt. He placed the piece on the table and made sure his own was loaded in tandem before putting that one back into his jacket. 

	"Good. I was hoping the rumors weren't true anyway. Come on then. We have to get to The Crest." Jax turned and made for the door has dropped his burnt out cigarette on the floor. 

	Lex's head spun at the pace that Jax flipped on her. When he brought out her gun, her heart sped up. He was testing her. He knew all along that she hadn't known about the drugs. His prompt for her to follow him to The Crest solidified her contentment with him. He was on her side. She would have to trust that until she could get to Vee. She leaned over, grabbed her gun and followed him out the door. After all, if he was still playing her, he'd pay with a bullet to his brain.

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[sub][sub][h3][i]Regalia - The Crest - Quinn Gyles[/i][/h3][/sub][/sub][hr]
	The last of the goons fell unceremoniously to the ground as Quinn returned to form from a gut punch he had just thrown. He panted a bit and trudged over to the bar counter for support. He stared in awe as Vee finished off the last of her guys. "She won... As per fucking usual... Christ. No wonder I've never beaten her," Quinn muttered to himself half annoyed and half impressed. Erasers were meant to be strong individuals, but most wrote them off because they were not the traditional Enforcer or Security guard. In truth, Erasers had the potential to pack a far more lethal punch than any enforcement simply due to the fact that their job involved making people disappear--cleaning up the messes of others so to speak. Vee had always been one of the better ones and Quinn had even modeled his own style from hers to a degree. It still stung every time she won one of their "contests" though. 

	Finally catching his breath, Quinn stood fully and made his way over to Vee, grabbing his suit jacket at the same time. "We should probably get out of here. It's better to meet the everybody at the safe house. I'll send out a mass text." He tapped out a message and the twosome made their way to Vee's car; it was nice, admittedly. 

	[i]Change of plans! Meet at the safe house. You guys know where. ~ Gyles[/i]