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5 days ago
Discipline a heretic and he'll be loyal for a moment, put him to the flame and he'll be loyal the rest of his life.
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28 days ago
Sometimes the heresy purges itself.
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1 mo ago
It's called trash CAN, not trash CANNOT. You got this đź‘Ť
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6 mos ago
If this is your first night at Waffle House, you have to fight.
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10 mos ago
I'll never quit this hell site.
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Paige Kennedy


Paige sat quietly, legs crossed. Her converse sneaker bobbed as she waited patiently. Her figure, clad in one of her favorite white long sleeve shirts over jeans, sat smartly in one of Manami’s posh guest chairs. It was extremely comfortable and she thought she looked rather regal in it with her hair down and her arms relaxed on the rests. They had rearranged the furniture slightly and she had a clear view of the main living space and the corridor that entered from the doorway.

God this chair is comfortable She thought to herself. Maybe it’s not too late to think about a different career. She glanced towards a small ornate mirror on the other side of the room catching an off-angle glimpse of herself. Ugh, no, we’re too ooooooold a whiny voice in the back of her mind chimed. She sighed a little at the thought and briefly examined a few strands of blonde in her fingers. The ends were frayed and uneven and she frowned a little before letting them drop back down to her shoulder. She couldn’t remember the last time she had really got her hair done and it needed it badly. It wont be too much longer. One voice said solemnly. Her eyes lifted up from the sound of a knock at the door. This should be fun at least.

Just like she had figured, it was like shooting fish in a barrel for Tao to get the security camera footage from Saturday night. He had basically scoffed at the request, considering it “beneath” his talents, but she had just as easily convinced him to acquiesce. Within the footage, they were able to identify the individual who’d attempted to force his way into the apartment.

What was a bit of mystery was how he had managed to get a working keycard, granted there were several plausible methods, none of that was going to matter anymore very soon. It was with some surprise that she found Manami willing to take on the much more efficient method of dealing with her overly obsessed fan, but Paige could sense some caged need for independence in the girl despite her nervousness. With some crafty wording, they had managed to convince the man that he had only frightened Manami by showing up unexpectedly and that she was actually grateful to have such a caring and devoted fan. Why not a nice date? Or she could even cook for him. He was like clay in her hand at that point. It was all arranged over text. He could even keep the keycard he had made to let himself in at the appointed time.

The footsteps walked evenly down the corridor into the open foyer where Manami’s kitchen and living space combined. There was no slowness in the movement and Paige knew he had been in there before when Manami wasn’t home. It disgusted her. Everything was familiar. There was no sense of wonderment in his step. He was getting what he felt he deserved, however his victorious grin faded quickly when he turned to find Paige waiting alone.

“Who the hell are you?” He said with more than a modicum of surprised disgust.

“Hello, Jerome.... Oh I’m just a friend of Manami’s. She’s getting ready. It’ll just be a few minutes” Paige said, looking at him with an easy smile. She glanced him up and down briefly. Just as instructed, he arrived in his most formal attire which constituted an aged suit that was noticeably too big for him and so stiff it appeared to have lived in a closet for years. His regularly unkempt hair was slicked down over his skull with a generous amount of styling gel and his slightly overweight face was red from being recently shaved. Overall he looked something like a cross between prom date and used-car salesman. However, Paige’s eyes brightened slightly at what was tucked under his arm. Also, as instructed, he brought with him the most recent copy of the Yellow Pages. The final printing. Crisp and new, still with a glossy sheen on the cover. “Oh, you did good.” She said, standing up and walking over slowly. The man’s apprehension seemed to fade into unease as she approached. Her green eyes had a near paralyzing glance like he’d never seen. She was much different than Manami. Not sweet and cute, but predatory, like some wild animal. With no resistance, she gently slid the phonebook from underneath his arm and let the pages roll under her thumb before glancing back up at his confused face. “She’s going to be very happy with this…”

@Otterpop
Joel Nicolosi


The shop was full at Apex Designs, a little bit like old times, Joel thought as he made his way around lifting his arms and leaning back slightly to negotiate his way around a high spoiler. Unlike the past however, none of the cars inside belonged to customers. In the air, on the lift was his daily driving Celica, in front on the floor parked at an angle was the GTR and pointing nose-out towards the street was the 300. He made his way alongside of it and pushed the winning trophy from the Vineyard Rally out of the way with his foot. It was crowded, but he’d reached a slick deal with Sol City Nissan to display the race-winning 300 in their showroom while he worked out some more space. He handed a bottle of Guiness to Ryan Woods whose Mustang sat halfway nose-in with the hood up.

It felt good to be home doing things in some semblance of how business once operated at Apex Designs. The location had become more of a Southside novelty than a shop, not that he longed for the past, but the simplicity of it was almost comical as he considered how much of a turn his life and career had actually taken in a surprisingly short amount of time. After a few spirited rounds around the block, he had a pretty decent idea of what was causing the trouble. He took a long drink while his freehand traced over the spark plug wires on both cylinder banks. In the back of the shop the stereo belted out tunes the same as always while the smell of steaks on the grill filled the whole shop. The outside curb was just as crowded with Sio’s Corvette and his Jeep parked with two of it’s big tires up on the sidewalk. It was still comfortably warm as the evening sun was setting over the old streets with an explosion of orange in the sky. Off in the distance the regular evening freight train horn sounded. He took another drink and pulled one of the plug boots out of the massive engine.

“Here’s your problem.” He said casually pointing the wire at Ryan for him to see. “Somebody likes to stomp the gas, huh?” He didn’t anticipate the young chef to understand the reference. “It’s just carbon track,” He said with a shrug, “Pretty normal, happens sometimes especially on these older cars, we just need to replace your plugs and wires.” Leaning back over the engine bay, he plugged the boot securely back in it’s socket. “It’ll be safe to drive until we get your parts, just stay away from the drag strip.”

He glanced over towards Siobhan, tending to dinner at the grill, not the least bit concerned their guest was a professional chef. “You should hang around.” He said to Ryan. “We’re expecting a little bit of company later, plenty of food,” He saw her glance up and gave a wink. “We do like’em rare around here though, and nobody critiques the chef other than me.”

Joel’s shop radio


@Infinite Cosmos@Almalthia
Running a little bit behind. Got busy at the end of last week, but i see we got a few more posts in which is great. I should be back in the saddle tomorrow to work on the next skip notice.
Paige Kennedy


“It’s no problem,” Paige said stepping through the doorway. “And you don’t have to worry about a bunch of police.” She continued, glancing around the very sheek apartment, though Manami’s furnishings tended to add a touch of nerdiness that she hadn’t expected and partially reminded her of Siobhan’s eclectic, artsy side. There were a large assortment of books arranged neatly along with a gaming console in plain view among the more opulent decorum. She didn’t expect to find much, but just listened as the girl talked. When Manami mentioned the person had a keycard her gaze lifted from the room and she looked back at Manami, narrowing her eyes quizzically. “He had a card to get in?” Keycards suddenly seemed to be one of the main focal points of her life she thought with some amusement.

The girl’s anxiety was nothing new to Paige. She knew she wasn’t the best at consoling people, but she was good at fixing their problems. The fact that this particular person had enough access to get through the automated security at the front gate, the door, and make a card to enter the apartment seemed to confirm it was likely someone who worked around the complex either as an employee or contractor and watched her enough times to know which unit belonged to Manami. They had likely been observing her for some time before becoming so bold. She wriggled her lips a little and looked back around the apartment considering what she was going to say so as not to freak the girl out any further, but to also imply there would be a simple option and a more time-consuming method of solving their problem. Her phone vibrated with a call in her back pocket and she turned her hip slightly seeing a completely unexpected call from Marlin going to voicemail. She cocked her eyebrow a bit and slid the phone back in her pocket.

Saving the distraction for later, Paige leaned against the armrest of the sofa and ran her fingers over the smooth threading as Manami continued to talk. She brushed a few strands of loose hair back behind her ear. “This works a couple different ways,” She said looking back at Manami. The girl’s youth and exquisite natural beauty made her feel old and tired. Why couldn’t we have picked a job like this? Some internal voice very pointedly vocalized in her mind. “One way is I go through the regular channels and we get this person taken care of by the book.” She said. “Since I’m not just a beat cop, I can probably move things along a little faster for you, but keep in mind this is not… usually what I do in my job, it will still take some time.” Her tone seemed to denote a certain amount of monotony to the process. She drummed her fingers on the sofa considering her next words and glancing at the bookshelf again. “The other way is going to be a lot faster, but you’re gonna have to be a little brave.”

@Otterpop@PrinceAlexus
Fyi,

Just a casual notice that we are working on the next skip. You'll be seeing it later this week so think about concluding your interactions for the current setting.

-P
Joel Nicolosi & Siobhan Murphy


Joel read the text once and then instantly narrowed his glance and brought the screen closer to his eyes to read it again before abruptly laughing out loud with a great guffaw. The sort of laugh one would make when watching people injure themselves haphazardly on skateboards or with shopping carts. The calmness of the setting broken as he smacked his knee and cackled at the words on the screen before reading it again and laughing some more while clutching his side. Sensing Sio’s confused glance as well as the sudden attention of others around the campfire he waved his hand dismissively, though he was having a hard time containing his hysterics. He exhaled and tried to breathe evenly, but the words on the screen were too much. “Oh my fucking God,” He snickered shaking his head and finally turning the screen again so Siobhan could read.

Siobhan read the words on the screen quickly and raised an eyebrow at the laughter. "Poor guy. Why text you when it's too late? That's like getting caught in a bear trap in the middle of nowhere. Might as well lay down and die. Don't be sadistic to the poor boy. That could have easily been you and that blonde bitch." she thought about that for a moment. "If you were stupid, which you aren't."

“Oooh, gettin’ spicy over there.” Joel chuckled. Sio’s disdain for Romus-Olympus brood was a never ending trove of delightfully sordid quips. He glanced away briefly mulling over what to say in reply, but ended up shaking his head still in a bit of wonderment at what remained on the screen in front of him. “What a dumbass.” He said finally. “You know, he struck me as kind of odd back at the festival, but i thought maybe he was just nervous about the attention.” He turned his glance back to Sio. “You would think after a big win like that, he would have all kinds of options…” He paused, still thinking and partially probing for what sort of pithy inspiration she might give him. People didn’t normally come to him for relationship advice and his mind teetered somewhere between pity and sadistic humor- Sio knew him pretty well. “And that chick is like the monkey-branching queen of the city.” He said. “Wasn’t she just with your friend’s boyfriend before she jumped to Ethan?”

Siobhan smirked and decided to give him a story he could relate to Ryan. "I'd say they prefer the term community bicycle. But yes she had her claws in Milo. Paige was a definite upgrade for him. Did I tell you I actually met them before I met you? Milo and the pregnant community bicycle that is. Paige was one of the few decent people at that Winter Ball thing. I digress. Milo was dancing with… that thing and she had the audacity to glare at me like I was going to take him away from her. She also scratched the hell out of Paige's car thinking it was mine because Paige and I stopped by Milo's work. She's a piece of work."

“Yeah, I remember the car-keying thing.” Joel replied, his disdain evident. Taking a shot at someone’s car always grated his nerves, not just because of his profession or lifestyle, but because a car couldn’t defend itself, it was just an exceptionally depraved way to get after someone, almost like hurting an animal. His lip curled slightly as he mentally recalled the story and the image of glossy factory paint curled away to bare metal under the direction of a sharp tool played behind his eyes while the perpetrator trotted away as if it were nothing. He shook his head a little and hit send:

-I’m not tryin to tell ya how to live your life, but you might want to get the fuck out of there and just not look back. That’s the best I can do, take it or leave it.-


Joel thought briefly towards mentioning something about Ethan, but thought better of it. If Ryan questioned more, then he would give his opinion, but he really didn’t like getting into other people’s business. If his advice was asked, he gave it and that was it, otherwise he kept to himself. He sent one more message thinking it might lighten the sentiment somewhat:

-Also, i’ll be around the shop this week if you still want that mustang looked at, come on by.-


@Infinite Cosmos@Almalthia
Paige Kennedy


All remained quiet as Paige walked slowly down the hallway. Nothing was out of place and there was hardly a sound save for her light footsteps and the air whispering quietly through the ventilation. Whoever it was, if anyone, was long gone, which was about what she expected as she neared Manami’s doorway. She glanced back briefly to get a view of the security camera’s field of vision and if it was recording she checked the time on her phone to timestamp herself just in case there was any tampering to be uncovered. There was no doubt that finding out who was responsible was going to be a slam dunk and she had no doubt Tao would be able to pull the security camera footage much quicker than she could go get a warrant and do things by the book. It seemed odd that whoever it was would be so willing to put themselves at such risk, but she had heard of stranger things. The thirst was real for many men and it made them stupid, stupid enough to land them serious hot water and stupid enough to get people hurt.

As she neared Manami’s door number, she could hear the faint sound of a deadbolt turning and another lock being withdrawn. She lifted her hand to knock, but the door cracked open just as she had curled her hand into a fist finding herself being examined by a pair of very worried eyes. She tilted her head slightly, peering back so as not to spook the girl any further. “It’s okay, it’s me.” She said taking a small step back and drawing her jacket back to show her silver Marshal’s star and the gun on her hip. “There’s nobody out here and I didn’t see anyone else out on the floor.” She said. Her southern accent was evident. Strangely, she’d discovered it seemed to have some sort of calming effect on some, like it was somehow what they expected after watching too many old western movies, though she had to admit she liked the correlation. “I’m Paige.”

@Otterpop
Joel Nicolosi & Siobhan Murphy


Joel’s breath turned to vapor above him as he reclined back in his lawn chair watching it dissipate over a sea of unfiltered stars. Spending so much time in the light pollution in and around Sol really did make the raw night sky somewhat of a mesmerizing spectacle. Even in the mountains, at the team’s headquarters miles away there was still some loss from the city’s expansive glow. Seeing a carpet overhead marked with as much light as darkness innately felt good for the soul. Being in the service park on a rally stage was one of the most natural feelings he ever felt; like a combination of racing and camping. He was certainly no outdoorsman and the comfortable amenities of Rebellion’s vehicular entourage were certainly not a tent, but he enjoyed the remoteness of it all, surrounded by acres of vineyards and thick northwestern, mountain woodlands for miles, it was the closest to tranquility he’d been in years.

A fire crackled in front of him while a German beer sat in the cupholder. They chattered away in their coarse dialect, laughing often, while, despite the late hour, music still played lightly. Spirits were high. Joel had put the car in a lead measured in minutes and with only a few reverse stages to be tackled on the final day, all looked promising. He glanced from the corner of his eye over at the service tent where the car sat quietly in darkness, angular shadows from the fire dancing off it’s high spoiler against the hauler. The technicians had long finished their work for the day and headed off to enjoy the sumptuous amenities of the secluded vineyard. To Joel, at a minimum, making it in motorsports meant that he didn’t have to service his own car anymore and it felt great to hand it over to someone else completely dedicated to make it run as fast as possible while he could fully concentrate on just driving.

It took a while for the adrenalin to wear away. The stages were tight and narrow, often only barely wide enough for a small car to pass between stone walls and rigid vine scaffolding requiring the utmost in concentration. Tarmac was Joel’s specialty. He’d proven it on the sunbaked roads of Kingston though the rear-wheel drive 911 required a different sort of finesse than the all-wheel drive Polo. A gentle swiftness on the handbrake and temperance with the throttle were all it needed to pirouette like a dancer around an acute hairpin. It really was a dance in many ways: The movement of the car’s weight in his hands through the wheel and in the seat. There was a flow to it. It was hard to describe, but he knew when he was in the groove. His hands and feet moved without thinking, sensing and anticipating every subtlety of the suspension over the road while his eyes read for corners sometimes hundreds of meters ahead. Joel exhaled again letting the last vestiges of stress drift away. The last stages weren’t until the afternoon and there would be plenty of time to rest.

Sio sat next to him, barely awake. He ran a hand through the loose waves of red that flowed over her shoulder. The track could be an exhausting place and the fanfare that Rebellion brought along seemed to only intensify the feeling. Motorsports had to be experienced on foot and there was always something to do or see when connected with a race team. Ironically, it was the driver that spent the most time seated. With a small grin he tickled lightly under her chin with his fingertips. “You gonna make it?”

Siobhan smirked sleepily, loving that he was playing with her hair. "Of course." She yawned softly. She'd been up early and was up late the night before.

Joel continued to lightly stroke strands of hair through his fingers, letting them fall away smoothly from the roughness of his work-worn hands. The softness seemed to multiply his own feeling of exhaustion and he let out a healthy yawn before feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket with the long hum of a message. Thinking it to likely be a message from the team, he dug it out of his pocket only to find a message from Ryan Woods. His eyes read over the contents while his mind assumed it to be something other than what he read. Since the festival, They had both been too preoccupied catch up and Joel knew Ryan also had a car he wanted looked over, however the message was completely unrelated and he had to read it again.

“You gotta be shittin’ me.” He said, shaking his head. He gave Sio a nudge with his elbow and turned the screen for her to look.

-"Mr. Nicolosi, sorry for the late disturbance. I have a favor to ask. Are you familiar with a Ethan Aster? What is his involvement with one Victoria Olympus, if you are aware of anything?"-


Siobhan blinked out of the comfortable gaze she was in as Joel nudged her. She looked over at the phone he was holding and read it quickly. "Aware? You mean other than Ethan knocked her up? What is he asking for? Please tell me she hasn't twisted it to where she's the victim. I was under the impression that she was delighted to be pregnant with his child. Wouldn't put it past her if it was a 'keep a guy baby'. Guess she's looking for, what I don't know. She's never heard of condoms I'm guessing."

“I like how he says Mr. Nicolosi all the time, you should start doing that.” Joel said with a smirk. It didn’t take much to get her fired up. His fingers began tapping away at a message. “Who knows with that bunch.” He said with some amusement before sending his reply. “I’m sure they’re all very proud though.”

-We’re familiar. Pretty sure she’s carrying his child. If I were you, I’d stay away from both of them-


@Infinite Cosmos@Almalthia
Paige Kennedy


Paige’s expression remained unchanged as she watched the message bubble ripple with a nearly automatic reply and then expanded into another message from Manami. You need to call him. A persistent voice continued to repeat in the back of her mind as she read the message. She’s probably panicking over nothing… She glanced up at her dash mounted blue lights just to make sure they were still installed. It had been ages since she used them and she’d become accustomed to just looking past them without a second thought. Riverside wasn’t far away, particularly with very little traffic and in the middle of the night; with the lights on, it would be a very quick trip. The screen glowed soft white against her gaze as she texted back:

>I’m on my way from Luna Sports, be there in a few. Send me your address.<


Giving the lobby of Luna Sports Facility one last quick glance before flipping the light switch on, it wasn’t long before she was crossing the Costa Bridge with the address in hand. Having the blue lights on meant Florida driving styles were in full effect and turn signals were non-existent while brakes were only used as required. I’ll call him in the morning, let me just take care of this first. She told herself. A pattern of blue blinked across the concrete barriers as she took the ramp towards Riverside.

In a way it was sort of like old times. It had been a while since she’d taken any side work like Manami’s case and she knew she’d be lying to herself if she said she didn’t enjoy it. She liked the power she had over people and she liked even more when they sought her out to take care of similar situations. Each time she passed out her US Marshal card to someone like Marlin or one of her old high school friends back in Delta City, a small part of her hoped they’d call with some scenario that involved an asshole whose day she would get to ruin and having that silver star clipped to her belt made it all legal.

As she typed in the gate code, it was evident that no one living in Manami’s apartment complex was lacking for money. Granted it wasn’t over the top, but as she drove along there wasn’t a single car more than a couple years old while the grounds were well-lit and neatly manicured. She had heard stories about how much money some girls made in internet modelling, though had never actually been among any of those circles to verify the claims, not that she cared to know, however looking around a part of her was legitimately impressed. It was much nicer than anything she could afford on her Marshal’s salary. She shook her head a little.

Using Manami’s code to get into the building, she was narrowing down in her mind the amount of people who would have access to get all the way to her apartment while still glancing around and taking notice of the various security cameras. The front desk was vacant and she took a quick glance over the counter just by chance hoping to find something useful. A few business cards were neatly attached to a small cork board with other announcements for the complex, but for the most part, it was a clean and well kept workspace. She snagged a card that listed a security firm with a highlighted phone number and stuffed it in her pocket. Front desks at places like Manami’s were little more than glorified reception, most of the actual business was handled off-site to keep a streamlined appearance for their target clientele. If she wanted to see the security cameras, then they might want a warrant and that would mean a trip back to the courthouse on Monday to see a judge and a lot of wasted time. Fortunately, she just happened to know a certain young computer technician with several million confirmed reasons to do whatever she asked. Making her way to the elevator, she sent Tao a message:

>Wake your ass up.<


Then she sent another to Manami:

>I’m downstairs, on my way up.<


The doors parted after a short ascent and Paige stood for a moment looking down the empty hallway. A subtle perfume lingered through the air as she stepped out. To no surprise, the interior of the building was as nice as the outside with a soft white and cream color pallet and trimmed archways. Her footsteps were quiet on the soft carpeting as she continued to listen carefully making her way down to Manami’s door.

@Otterpop

Paige Kennedy


As usual, she couldn’t sleep. Not that her sleeping patterns were ever anywhere near consistent. It was the nature of the profession that she had chosen and she was used to it. One had to take it when they could get it, however the catch was always wanting to sleep. Sitting in her car outside the Luna Sports Facility, she felt completely awake while her mind assembled and deconstructed a puzzle that she knew she didn’t have all the pieces, but that the final image was becoming more clear, almost touchable- a prize for which no one, other than herself, was going to attain. She was darkly sure. Crossing her arms as the radio played, she sank down in the reclined driver’s seat peering slightly over the steering wheel at the mostly deserted parking lot. The LSF gym was open 24/7 and she considered going in to burn out whatever physical and mental energy she had left which would be far more productive than continuing to sit still as much she enjoyed the machinations of her time alone. The prospect of taking care of two things at once was hard to resist and the idea of burning away calories whilst running atop a literal pile of untraced cash that she possessed sole control over was amusing in a way that she liked to enjoy.

The thought brought about the same swift counter from the back of her mind that it always had in that she hadn’t spoken to her father in at least a couple of weeks, since before she and Tao had made the discovery. While she had no doubt that Tao would stay quiet, she knew her father would easily sense something was out of the ordinary. It was a trait she inherited from him. Florida was three hours ahead and it was doubtful he would answer, but he would call back and she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what he would have to say. Her thumb flipped through the myriad of contacts on her phone until she found the one that simply read, Daddy and looked solemnly at the two numbers, Home and Work. She sighed and stared at the screen for a moment. It’s the right thing to do. She thought to herself as her thumb hovered over the call button. It’s the right thing, just do it.. A voice repeated in her mind. She exhaled and relaxed back into the headrest staring up at the ceiling of the car glancing over at the front entrance to LSF from the corner of her eye. Okay. She picked her phone up to call when she found a new text staring back at her:

> Hello, My name is Manami Takahashi, I was given your card from a friend of mine who said you could help me. I'm pretty sure that I have a stalker but I don't want to get a bunch of police involved...um, if you could help me in anyway than it would be much appreciated. <


It took her a second to snap back into reality and she had to read the message twice. She had only given her card to a handful of people outside law enforcement since arriving in Sol and the number was local, which meant it had to have been fairly recent. Considering she had only just seen Nikki Giancana face to face, she was fairly certain the message was a genuine request and not a trap. Such an innocent looking ruse didn’t match his style. A quick google search of the name seemed to confirm her assumption, but what she found wasn’t at all what she expected, though it easily fit the nature of the message’s request. Paige hated social media and these girls that sold themselves for the money and attention of strangers made it no surprise this one had trouble with a stalker. Still, she couldn’t ignore it. Someone had thought enough to give the girl her information so she felt bound to keep her end of the bargain. She fired a text back:

> Hello Manami, Yes I can help you. I am downtown right now. Are you somewhere nearby? I can come to you.<


@Otterpop

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