[COLOR=20B2AA][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]J O H N S M I T H [/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][sup][color=silver]Monday, April 10, 2017 - 21:30 | [i]13th Crescent Avenue, Pointe Bordeaux[/i][/color][/sup][/INDENT] John flicked his cigarette and put it back in his mouth, inhaling deeply. He was clad in underwear and stood reeling out his bedroom window, overlooking the busy but rather filthy street known as Crescent Avenue. Westwards, street prostitutes did their best to market their goods to passers-by. Eastwards, not much of particular note was visible, though John imagined crap drugs where switching hands right at this moment. Pointe Bordeaux was a cesspool, and it hadn't fared better during the recent blackouts, nor the torrential rain. The fact that this place was as miserable as it was was, naturally, the very reason that John had decided to set up his base of operations here to begin with. He didn't exactly have to [i]look [/i]for degenerates - they were all around him. He wondered what the police response might have been if he had left a note at [i]all [/i]the murders he comitted over the past few months. A proper manhunt, despite all the ongoings, he imagined. This was of course the very reason John had decided to only make the more high profile victims targets of the Tribunal. Eleven "victims" had been claimed by the Tribunal so far, seven of which during the last month. The CCPD had recently assembled a task force, but had they known John's victims numbered in the twenties already, they'd surely responded faster and more decisive. He heard a noise behind him, and felt Alejandra ambling out from the dark and settling in at his hip, still naked. [color=FFB6C1][b]"What are you thinking of?"[/b][/color] Slowly, John turned his head towards her. She was hardly beautiful, but the soft light from the street down below managed to capture her glittering grey-blue eyes in a decidedly attractive way. Most of his friends didn't understand why John settled for the 40+ years old Alejandra when he [i]"could surely bag any stripper in these parts"[/i] - not to mention that he [i]"was out of her league"[/i], but it was something about those clear and bright eyes contrasting her rather dark latina skin and black hair John had found profoundly intriguing. He still did. And the way she carried herself with pride despite being an underpaid, aging stripper. How he'd later noticed the loving way she handled her kids no matter how exhausted she was. She had a courage and determination John thought sorely lacking in society in general. Yet every time he looked upon her, he felt something stinging his sides. She was his weakness, and the more he poked the belly of the underworld, the more at risk she and her kids would be put at. He'd have to distance himself from her sooner rather than later, but how? He shook his head. A short time ago, he would've laughed at the notion of caring about another human being, and now he felt as he might be falling in love with a junkie, unattractive stripper. What a farce. Staring into her eyes long enough for her to break eye contact in what seemed like embarrassment, John answered; [COLOR=20B2AA][b]"I'm thinking about you."[/b][/COLOR] She smiled at that. [COLOR=FFB6C1][b]"How sweet."[/b][/COLOR] [COLOR=20B2AA][b]"Just don't tell anyone, lest they think I've emotions other than anger and bitterness."[/b][/COLOR] he responded, giving her a wink. [COLOR=FFB6C1][b]"Oh, we don't wanna do that!"[/b][/COLOR] she said while grazing him with that laugh that made the hairs on his neck stand. It made him tense up. He had to stay focused. [COLOR=20B2AA][b]"Your shift starts soon, yeah?"[/b][/COLOR] he said. Her smile faded with that. [COLOR=FFB6C1][b]"In forty minutes, we still have some time."[/b][/COLOR] Letting himself down, John ran his hand through Alejandra's hair and kissed her. He cursed himself for it, as always. [COLOR=20B2AA][b]"I think I'm gonna head to the casino."[/b][/COLOR] he said as their lips parted. [COLOR=20B2AA][b]"Don't hold back on my account."[/b][/COLOR] He made a quick mock stripper's dance with his upper body and laughed it off, his hand spoiling any notion of it being casual conversation as it softly caressed Alejandra's shoulder before disconnecting. He quickly got dressed and they said their goodbye's as John hurried out of the apartment. [COLOR=20B2AA][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]T H E T R I B U N A L: [COLOR=DARKORANGE][i]T H I S I S W A R[/i][/COLOR] [/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][sup][color=silver]Monday, April 10, 2017 - 22:43 | [i]Circus Maximus Casino, Pointe Bordeaux[/i][/color][/sup][/INDENT] While the pavement held plenty of people, there was a decidedly diminished amount of traffic on the streets ever since the blackouts started. People were urged to stay off the roads after dark as the city lights might go out at any point, and most seemed to heed the call. John wasn't one of them. He cruised the streets of Crescent City with a breeze entirely unusual of the usually crowded city, and thoroughly enjoyed it. he was debating whether he was going to get hammered tonight or not. On one hand, he felt it might dull his burgeoning and unwanted feelings, yet on the other it might simply make matters worse. It was a confusing thought, and John felt an urgent need to perish it. He had an objective. He was the Tribunal, and he had plans he needed to set in motion. Yet he couldn't rid his head of those grey-blue eyes. [i]You're a fucking fool[/i], he thought. Still buried in his thoughts, John suddenly heard very loud gunfire. He snapped back into reality and saw a figure he recognized as Salvatore Raymundo dropping to the ground, gunned down by five assailaints John couldn't make out, as their backs where turned. Swiftly, John pulled over to the sidewalk and watched as one of the figures bent down over Raymundo and took something from him. The gang quickly dispersed with three of them jumping into a car parked in front of John, on the other side of the crossing in front of him, while the other two ran into an alley, presumably to another getaway vehicle on the other side of the alley. This was a curious development. Who would dare gun down a known underboss of De Vitis on an open street? Had the Fierro's launched an offensive? John felt utterly uninformed. This was unanticipated. He brought his grey Subaru WRX sedan into gear and tailed the car in front of him. [COLOR=20B2AA][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]T H E T R I B U N A L: [COLOR=DARKORANGE][i]T H I S I S W A R[/i][/COLOR] [/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][sup][color=silver]Monday, April 10, 2017 - 23:12 | [i]La Petite Mort - Lonely Hearts Club, Point Bordeaux[/i][/color][/sup][/INDENT] The car he'd followed had parked right in the middle of the street, and the three youngsters - as it was now plain to see they were - had gotten out and started looking around as if waiting for something. Soon after another car had joined them, with the person John presumed to be the leader of the posse. That young man had barked orders John couldn't hear from his car, and the others had dispersed around the area. Clearly, they were waiting for someone to exit La Petite Mort. John had parked his car some 100 yards further back in the street. He exited and looked around. He saw no sign of any other involvement, but was far from sure. Opening his trunk, John grabbed a duffel bag and threw it across his shoulder before closing the trunk again. The bag contained a loaded handgun with loaded spare magazines, a bulletproof vest and a couple of flashbangs, while the rest of the stuff in the bag served little purpose currently. Not much in the way of armaments, in other words. John had no intentions of getting involved in whatever was happening, but he also had no idea what actually was going on. He went into the closest alley and climbed the fire escape, eventually making it to the roof of the four story building. Settling in on the roof, John opened his bag and put on the vest as well as a holster before arming himself and picking up the binoculars. He proceeded to patiently wait as he scanned La Petite Mort with his binoculars, noting the various positions taken up by the five armed men. This was dissimilar to the scene John had witnessed back at the Circus Maximus. There, the criminals had been gunning down Raymundo from close range, implying they where acquaintances. Here, they hid. John continued to spectate with his binoculars as people came and left La Petit Mort. He was struggling to keep up with the traffic, but then he recognized the obvious target. Veronica De Vitis stepped out of the club, with a bodyguard in front of her. Looking closer, John realized he recognized the bodyguard. He didn't know his identity yet, but based on John's previous reconnaissance of the De Vitis operations he was sure that this man had been present in several De Vitis meetings. An underboss? Either way, the man and Veronica made their way to a car. They were opening their respective doors when John noticed one of the previously hidden gangsters running up behind the bodyguard and hitting him in the back of his head with the but of his gun, while the others quickly moved in on Veronica. John watched the scene unfold intently, unsure whether he should intervene on the girl's behalf or stay back. After all, what was the odds that she wasn't just as much of a part of the shit going down in Crescent City as her father?