SirensCall

Still Worth Fighting For

LAZERUS "LAZ"

AGE UNKNOWN|DRAGON-WARLOCK HYBRID|RESTLESS SOUL|THE GAMECHANGER

Lazerus, more known as Laz, is a very unique creature in his own right and he is often sought out because of his talents. He's strong, he's smart, but more importantly, he's technically undead without many visible effects... in his human form at least. His undead status shows in his dragon form, and it is often shocking to others who would have otherwise not known. Lazerus, being both a dragon and a warlock, has never had trouble keeping unwanted entities away from him, but an incident ages ago killed him... Or so those hunting him thought. Lazerus had managed to be able to bring himself back to a state of living through his magic and has since stopped practicing.

Lazerus is versed in necrotic arts, having shown himself to be a necromancer at a young age, but no longer practices magic, though he still has vast knowledge over it. He tends to be leary of others, knowing that being found out for what he is exactly could bring the wrong types of attention to him. However, it never stopped him from sticking up for what he thought was right, and through that, it brought him to meet one of his closest friends, someone he would even consider family. Mark Martin. They had gotten so close that when Mark's daughter, Miranda, was born he was named godfather. Even if that sounds sacrilegious.

He has stayed out of the eyes of many for a long time, but he has gotten stir crazy and has decided to get back in the public scene.

Just Give Me A Sign

Atticus was sort of glad for the quiet morning, though, seeing how Lia and Kat just acted towards each other made him wonder just how much he and Mitch didn't actually see. They seemed a lot closer in moments like this, and it was sweet but puzzling all the same. Lia hadn't always been the easiest person to be around, and neither had Kat. Though, he knew he hadn't had half the trouble with Kat that Mitch did with Lia. Still, once Kat sat beside him, he smiled.

She had expressed that she would love to hear the rest of his story and he nodded. "Alright, we could always go for a walk and I could tell you the story. I'll even start from the beginning. To be honest, I might have went on a little bit after you fell asleep and don't know what all you remember of it."

He was inwardly relieved that she said she would bundle up if they went outside. Granted, yes, he was aware that she had lived in the North for... Well, he whole life, but he also knew that getting sick was a very real thing for her. He got up after a moment and he started making some tea.

The thought hadn't even fully crossed his mind that Mitch would still be asleep. In the entire time he had known Mitch, though he knew he was probably the furthest thing from a morning person, he knew he was always up early because of the schedule that had to keep. This was why he highly doubted that Mitch was still asleep, especially with as hypervigilant as he had been the night before. Then again, that very easily could have been what had worn him out.

"Oh, Kat." Lia's voice came. "The seamstresses will probably be by this evening with the sun coming out today. So, kind of be thinking about what you'll want, okay?"

Atticus had already almost entirely forgotten about the ball, but he sat there and he thought for a moment. Well, he already knew that he had two days where Kat wouldn't be getting lessons, maybe... Maybe he could do something for her with her birthday being tomorrow. He had an idea come through his mind, and he felt himself smile a little. He'd tell her in a bit, when they could get away from Lia. However, his thoughts were interrupted as he made his tea and he heard Edgar coming over, seeing Kat feed him.

"Seriously, so weirded out if she does." he whispered back to Kat as he heard shuffling across the floor as Mitch made his way to his seat. It was weird to see him still not awake because, even when they met up in the morning to come to the cottage, he was at least functioning. This was basic low-level functioning. He couldn't help the small chuckle that he let out at Mitch's reaction to Kat's greeting. "Morning man." he said, taking a sip of his tea. Mitch's next statement almost made his tea come out of his nose when he laughed. That was very typical Mitch, and he even heard a soft chuckle come from Lia who was taking the last batch of muffins from the oven.

"Mitch and his cookies." he whispered to Kat as he reached over to the muffins Lia had just pulled out and buttered.

"I wouldn't, At, they're still very hot." she said, not even turning to look at him when she said it. He had to admit, as he picked one up and quickly placed it in front of Kat, that she was NOT wrong. They were very hot, but that was when they were best. Then he quickly grabbed one for himself and sat down, breaking it apart and waiting a minute before he tried to start eating it.

"So is there anything on the agenda for today with no lessons?" Atticus asked, and Lia shook her head.

"Other than later on today when the seamstresses come, no, but that's after sundown, so it's a free day." she said, getting her mixing bowls ready and another few ingredients.

--

Lia sighed a bit, her mind being a bit hazy. The lack of sleep, the cold having settled in finally, everything was just making her a bit hazy. Lessons would be useless today if she had attempted them, but she was kind of glad that she was giving them a couple day break, even if Kat didn't know about lessons being canceled the next day. Speaking of, she really hoped that Kat would go off with Atticus later on because she would need to let Mitch know Atticus's little plan. She shook her head a bit, sipping her coffee, kind of spacing out as she did. She barely told Kat about the seamstresses before she spaced out entirely.

The snow was thick on the ground, and all Lia could do was look out of the dark windows as the snow started up again. Mitch would be here soon, and she sighed, looking back towards the clock. Four in the morning. Her eyes looked down towards her hands, and she shook her head and went back to what she as doing, yawning a bit. She had a batch of muffins in the oven, and she had just finished making the dough for some cookies and had it in the fridge as she began on her next bit of dough for cookies. Christmas time used to be so special for her,
but now it was just sad. Still, she couldn't help but to bake.

She sighed, softly, and she looked towards the clock and sighed. She knew the timer for the muffins would go off in a few minutes, so, she waited and when it finally did and she got them out, she set them aside before she lit a couple of candles on the table. She looked to the door, Mitch wouldn't be here for a little bit still, so that was a plus, but she just... She couldn't do it anymore, she needed to talk to someone. She closed her eyes and chanted, quietly before she stopped. When she did, she looked beside her and saw the figure of her father sitting there beside her and he reached out to touch her. It didn't work though, and he looked at her.

"It's been a very long time, dear. What troubles you?" he asked her, and he watched as she looked at the ground. "It's Christmas time, isn't it? Why didn't you call for Bianca like you usually do?"

"Because, I wanted to see you, father." she said, and she reached over and placed her hand on his, and he was surprised to see that she didn't phase through him. "I promise, father, I'm not practicing anymore. It's just a trick I picked up a long time ago."

He gave her a gentle nod and he spoke. "So, I see you made it to the North. Bianca said that you've met Checkov. How is he? Cassandra used to speak so highly of him." he said, trying to make small talk with her and she gave a gentle smile.

"He is... He kind of reminds me of you. Just, you know, a vampire and more sadistic. Maybe even a little bit more possessive. He likes to call me 'his witch.' It blows over so well if you can't tell." she said, and her father chuckled.

"That sounds about right. Cassandra may have spoke highly of him, but that doesn't mean she wasn't honest." She saw his head turn.
"You better let me go dear. Someone is coming."

Lia gave a gentle nod and she felt her father kiss her cheek. "I love you, Papa." she whispered and he smiled.

"I love you too." he said before he disappeared. Lia blew out the candles and got up, heading over to the fridge and taking out the cookie dough she had made and pulled out the grape jam as well. The door opened not long after and she poured Mitch's coffee, setting the cup where he usually sat after she did. She went back to her cookie dough and held the the grape jam up to him. "You said you liked grape,
right?"

Lia's thoughts were drawn back when she heard the soft quacks from Edgar. She patted the little duckling's head and watched as he waddled to sit on her foot and she lifted him up and placed him in the large pocket of her robe and watched him poke his head out. It wasn't long after she saw Mitch come into the kitchen. She couldn't help but to watch him a moment, seeing how he reacted to Kat before he looked around the kitchen. Lia couldn't help the soft chuckle. "I haven't yet, I have to get out the step stool to get more flour down." she told him. "Be glad I sent At to the kitchen earlier, otherwise I might not have had enough peanut butter to make any." she said. She felt a small pause for a few minutes before she heard Atticus ask.

"So, what exactly is s'mores pie?" he asked.

Lia turned and looked at him a minute before she sighed. "Well, it's got a graham cracker crust with chocolate pie filling, a layer of marshmallow fluff, another layer of pie filling and then whipped cream with graham crackers on top. Something someone taught me a long time ago." she said.

Atticus nodded. "Oh, okay." he said, "So, what's with all the baking?" he asked, and Lia shrugged.

"I felt like it. I find it very relaxing." She said before hearing Edgar quack. "I'll be back." she said. She headed on the front porch for a few minutes, drawing her robe closer around her as she set Edgar on the ground. She watched him waddle around for a few minutes before she cast a small heating spell on the patch of grass he was walking around on. She just watched him for a few minutes, bringing her robe closer around her as she did. "Come on, Edgar. It's cold out here."

Whispers in the Dark

Katherine sat in Fenris's office and when she confronted him about Laura's medication, she gave him a look at his answer. She nodded. "Okay, hopefully it will help, or perhaps an ease into the new one." she suggested before she took up some of the paperwork she knew she needed to do from his desk. "I have a few things to fix in these files. I'll bring them back when they're done." she said, and she left the office. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she walked down the hallway. That was bullshit. Katherine might not have much cared for the politics in this place, as she just loved to be around the chaos they brought, but even she knew that Fenris was feeding her bullshit. Laura's medications hadn't been working for her well for as long as she knew, and she flipped through the files and smirked. Good, she had managed to grab the pile that he had set Laura's file on. She would have to be very careful looking through it on her medication history.

With a satisfied smirk, she walked back to her office, and when she got there, she sat down and she pulled out Olivia's file. The girl's episode was beautiful, but even Katherine had known that the girl's admission here was bogus. Though, yes, the girl did show OCD, it wasn't what actually got her admitted here. It was the obviously underlying anger issues. The ones that had reared their head today. It was a thing of beauty, really, to see her finally show the problem. Her control made it hard to try and pry at it, but this gave Katherine plenty of fuel to poke at it. She would ask Fenris later if she could do Liv's evaluation. Most of the time he would comply, but she wasn't so sure about it this time.

She sighed a moment, and placed her glasses on her desk and she noticed Absolum heading back towards his office. She would need to talk to him later too. He had been here even longer than she had, and somehow she had a feeling he had been here longer than Fenris even. She had a feeling he knew what was wrong with Laura, and she would need his help.

--

Alice was surprised when Winter came into the main room. She seemed a bit different than normal, and hearing her speak to Chris made her confused. Chris gave a chuckle. "Been too long beautiful." he said, "I'm not feeling boring."

Alice was very confused by their interaction, but she took Winter-er Spring's hand and shook it when it was offered to her. "Yes. I'm Alice. It's very nice to meet you." she said. Apparently the girl suffered from kind of dual personality like Chris, but hers were different. She still seemed okay, whereas Chris was almost as scary as his sister was in isolation. "Thanks for the welcome. Does it always feel this stuffy in here after group?"

Chris cackled and it made ALice jump a little. "Sweetheart, that was eventful. Usually group is sooooooooo dull." he said, and Alice nodded slowly.

"Well, it was quite eventful. I didn't expect... ANY of what happened really." she admitted, and she saw Chris get up and start heading off. "Where are you going?"

Chris just gave a wicked grin and headed off. Alice shook her head and looked around. Now it was just her and Spring in the main room, but that was alright with her. With Ryan and Evan both in isolation and Chess and Daniel in the infirmary... Liv might have been nice to have right now, but Laura kind of made her sad too. The girl was clearly ill. She looked to Spring and she asked, "So, what else is there to do around here? I wasn't really given any formal run down of... well, anything. Except not to eat the meatloaf."

It was a small lie. Winter had told her earlier, but with the obvious difference in personalities, she wanted to hear what this one had to say. Maybe she would know more. Maybe her opinion would be... Well, she doubted it would be better, but it could be different.

--

Liv was relieved to hear Ryan's voice answer her, but before she could answer him, she could hear someone go and take him. She frowned a little. She hated when the main doctor wanted to see him. He always came out different, and it deeply concerned her. One of these days, Liv was going to find a way to find out what went on in her brother's sessions with the doctor. Even if she wasn't sure she would handle what she found out well. The hall fell quiet again before she heard Evan screeching again.

"Give it a rest, Ev!" She shouted. "No one else is in the hall!"

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! YOU WEREN'T THE ONE WHO WAS VIOLATED!" she heard in return and it made Liv roll her eyes. Isolation definitely sucked. She walked over and laid on the ground near the back of the room and stared at the ceiling. Hopefully the time would go by quickly.

--

Absolum sighed heavily as he approached the isolation room that Evan was in, and he let himself in and sat down on the ground against the door, his keys in his breast pocket, and his eyes forward. He studied the girl who was still screeching, even to the point she didn't seem to notice him as she had screeched obscenities at Liv. He had seen Ryan leaving his room in isolation with a nurse, and he knew that he was going to Fenris.

"Evan." he spoke, and the girl quieted and looked at him with wide eyes.

"When did you get in here?" she snarled, and he looked at her with a blank look.

"A few minutes ago." he answered. "Now, Evan, you are aware that what happened was an accident, right?"

"He groped me!" she exclaimed, and Absolum made a motion with his hand and she stared him down. "He fucking groped me! How was I supposed to react?!"

"Not as harshly as you had." Absolum told her, matter-o-factly. He then spoke again, "You are aware it was an accident right?"

She looked to the ground and that gave him his answer. "I might have realized it after the fact, but yes, I know that now." she said, "But there were people egging him on!"

Absolum adjusted his glasses on his face and shook his head. "They weren't egging him on, they were teasing him."

"Whatever." she huffed and she watched him go to leave.

"I'll be back in an hour to give you your meds, calm down and I won't have to sedate you." he said, and he headed out of her room, unlocking it and relocking it as he exited and he looked to the left and he saw Chris at the end of the hall. Chris stopped and he looked at him as Absolum headed his way. "Keep your sister in her room tonight, she needs to cool off."

"Got it sir, she wasn't who I was after." he smirked, and Absolum sighed a bit and headed off towards his office.

--

Chris finally got up and left the main room, heading back to his room first, but unfortunately for him now, his calmer half was taking over. Still, even with the calm half of him taking over, he was fully aware of what had happened and he would still break Liv out. Maybe they wouldn't have all the fun he would have liked, but he'd still get her out. She didn't necessarily even belong in isolation, she stopped herself and let them take her willingly. Plus, he actions were justified. Evan overdid it again, and Ryan was... Well, Ryan he was sure had his own personal room in isolation like Evan did.

Chris headed out of his room after he tucked his lockpick in his pocket and headed towards the isolation ward. He was caught... Absolum was coming out of his sister's room, but other than telling him that he needed to keep Evan in there tonight, there was no other conversation. Chris was pleased with this and he began looking in the rooms, quietly, and he finally found the one with Liv in it and he began working on the lock.

"Who's there?" her voice came, quietly, and Chris smirked as he worked on the door a little more and opened it.

"Just me." he said, and he watched as she sat up and walked over to him. "Come on, the orderlies will be by soon." he said, taking her hand and leading her out of the ward and towards the outside. It had been raining a lot, so no one would really be on the outside porch, and he motioned for her to take a seat under the poorly kept awning and he took the seat beside her. "They shouldn't have thrown you in there."

"I attacked Chess, I deserved it." she said, and she looked at him. He shrugged and she gave him a look. "What?"

"You were protecting Laura, even if no one else noticed it." he said, and Liv shrugged a bit that time. "It was kind of awesome, though, I think Chess might be pissed off about it."

"He's lucky I got stopped." she said, "You could ask Ryan, I almost put our father in the hospital once. Actually have put Ryan in the hospital before."

Chris nodded a bit and he looked out to the rain and then back to Liv who got up and stood right by the walkway that led out. "We'll get sick if we walk in it." he said.

Liv shrugged a bit. "I want to go to the greenhouse though. I know Absolum keeps it unlocked." she said. Chris smirked and took her hand again. They headed out towards the greenhouse and Liv looked to Chris and smiled. "Thanks."

Siren's Call (Ignore Post Count)

Bumper cars!

I have a few ideas of my own that I'm feeling up to dusting off, PM for details.

Siren's Call (Ignore Post Count)

Hip bump~

Current craving:

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES OR THE WALKING DEAD.

Still Worth Fighting For

It was so hard for Dahl not to worry anymore, especially since there was so much going on now. There were hunters and now a new group of supernaturals, a group of witches at that... It was a lot to worry about, but still, she gave a soft smile to Zach and nodded. "That's true. I know no one would. Plus, you know, he can effectively get away with being a mute with Ryan gone for the moment. I just hate seeing him so uncomfortable. I hate seeing anyone so uncomfortable." she said, and soon she sat down with Zach for dinner.

His response to her next statement though had made her chuckle a little. Sometimes she forgot that it was kind of hard to make anything too rare for him. She took a few bites of her food before she looked to him when he spoke to her. She gave him a look when he handed her the box and she smiled a bit when she opened it, and she leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I love them babe, thank you."

She took the box and placed it on the table as she finished her dinner. It wasn't long after their dinner was done that she noticed Zach head into the living room and put on a movie as she moved the dishes into the sink. He had stopped her before she could actually do the dishes though, and promised her he would do them in the morning. She let him lead her to the couch and once they were sitting down, she cuddled up to him, laying her head on his shoulder as they watched the movie.

--

Aless nodded to Kat when she spoke about their little plan. It was true, both Izzy and Cass had a lot of experience planning huge parties and weddings, and after their mom's freak out session last night... It had become more obvious they would need more help. "That is true, I didn't expect mom to freak out so much either. And she has been getting up earlier. Roland told me the other morning she was up at 4 when he went back to his room." she said. It hadn't gotten too bad, obviously, but she was almost certain that it was because she and Mitch were sharing a room and he made sure that she was in bed every night.

Aless smiled, "It will be so good to see them! And mom really will be. It should be just what she needs." she said, and she gave a softer smile to Kat when she said she just had to tell Atty she wasn't going to be staying in his room. After Kat handed her some pjs and headed to Atty's room, she changed and when there was a knock on the door she looked at it funny before telling the person it was okay to come in. Of course it was Kat, and she smiled to her.

"Thanks, sis. Again." she said, crawling into bed with Kat. "I do kinda want to cuddle under one blanket, it always makes me feel better." she said and she giggled when Kat kicked her frog's legs in front of her and she gently took the stuffed animal from her and hugged it. "Philburt really does make everything better." She got situated in the bed not long after that and drifted to sleep not long after that.

--

Rhi was glad to get away from the table, but what she didn't know was that Chester was inwardly cursing her absence suddenly. Once Eli grabbed him and forced him onto the table, he looked at him as best he could. "What the fuck man?!" he cursed at him, but it seemed that this one had been made very aware of the agreement that he had made with Sergio. That was a pain in the ass... But then again, it wasn't like the old Russian hot head was around anyway, so he thought it would be okay. Obviously not. Obviously every last one of the guys that she came in with knew about it. Even the techie who she had come with last time... He had gone into the bathroom, techie followed him and made sure he knew that there was cold metal on him if he touched her.

"Fuck. Okay. Just let me up." he whimpered slightly, feeling his shoulder trying to pop out of socket. It wasn't moments after that, he felt a slap on his cheek and she rubbed his shoulder and shot him a look. "Yeah, thanks man." he said, unenthusiastically. When Rhi came back and handed Eli his drink, Rhi gave a small smile back, but it quickly disappeared as she sat back down. Chester was still rubbing his shoulder, and while Eli was distracted, he whispered to Rhi, hoping Eli wouldn't hear. "Do you always have to bring violent company?"

Rhi gave Chester a look before she let her eyes shift towards Eli and then back to Chester. "Well, obviously, you did something he didn't like if he felt the need to." she said, mumbling into her glass. "I mean, not like he shoved a gun down your throat."

She felt Chester give her a weird look before she set down her drink and looked back at him, "What was that?"

"Nothing. What else did you want to talk about? I have other things that need attended to, and would really appreciate wrapping this up." she said, and he just gave her a look and got up.

"I... I guess nothing else." he said and he walked away from the table before turning and saying something else. "So, are you going to answer me the next time I call or will I be dealing with Kyp?"

"Kyp. You really thought you had my phone number... None of my contacts have it." she said, and he sighed and headed off. When he was gone, she brought her head into her hands before she ran them over her face and sighed. "Sorry about him, Eli. He's becoming more of a pain in the ass than he's actually worth. If I didn't get information out of him cheap, I probably would have quit using him ages ago."

Her finger came up and traced the mouth of her glass before she took another sip and felt her phone vibrate before she answered it. "Hello?"

"You okay, Da?" Of course it was Serg. "Heard about Gio's group. I sorry. You call Lucien?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I haven't called him yet. I don't even know how to tell him, honestly. Usually when I call Lu it's all good and dandy or I just have a question for him. Last time I gave him bad news, he didn't take it well. This I have a feeling he'll take even worse." She said.

"You want me stay tonight? You no be alone then?" he asked and she felt herself smile a little.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate it, Serg." she said, and his next words made an involuntary chuckle come from her.

"How is Chester?"

"Scared shitless. He might like Eli even less than he likes you. I got up for two minutes and came back and he didn't even really want to make eye contact with me." she said, and she could hear Serg's laugh. "You want me to wait up for you?"

"No. If you home when I come in, I let you know. No be out late." Serg said.

"Alright. See you when I get home." she said, and she hung up and she looked to Eli. "I'm guessing you heard about the group they found? It's sad... I'm really going to hate calling Lu about that."

She took another drink and looked down at the table before she looked at Eli. "I am really sorry tonight has been such a bad night." she said, looking back to her glass and finishing up the contents. She wasn't going to let herself drink another glass, if she did, she wouldn't be able to drive and she really didn't want to have to call Wes with him having just got back from the south. She thought a moment before remembering something she saw in the files. "Ever heard of a wedding thrown by creatures?" she asked a bit lowly. She never had, but she supposed that some creatures did. She knew vampires had been known for it at a point in time, but recently she had never even thought the idea possible.

--

Kyp just chuckled at her response and nodded. "Thanks. You can take me up on that offer whenever you want. I have fun doing what I do." he said, and after he told her that he was a hacker, he couldn't help the smile that came over his face when she said she had never met one. "Well, you probably have, but not many hackers are good enough to take pride in their work. I have to be doing something right to do all of what I do." he said. He decided to leave out the fact he was on quite a few federal watchlists, one being the FBI, who he had just gotten off of his ass not that long ago.

When she tried to match his look, he held in a laugh, but he gave a nod. "I guess that's true." he said. "Serg is kind of intimidating if you don't know him, but then again, he has a soft spot for girls."

After the call came and Serg came over, they both knew that they would have to deal with it. There was no point in pulling Rhi away to deal with it, especially since she would have to make the call to Lucien. Kyp had entertained calling Jax to tell him, but something told him not to. Rhi would handle it. He knew she would. Kyp watched as Serg interacted with Tara and gave a smile.

"Da. I in number 4. I thought you sound familiar." He said, "But am glad to hear you okay. I know it get to some people. Had three recruits get sick seeing some of bodies." Serg shook his head and sighed. "Was not fun dealing with them."

Kyp looked to Tara when she asked if they needed help before she headed home and Serg exchanged looks with Kyp. "The help would be appreciated, but I'm not sure there will be too much to do there."

"You come with. Cathedral not far from our building. We make sure you get home after too." Serg said, and he looked at his phone. "I be back, I call Rhi. She no answer."

It clicked with Kyp and he checked his own phone seeing some pictures and he sighed. "Yeah, let's get ready to go. I have a long night ahead of me. I have some information I need to look at that Rhi got. Make sure it's nothing none of us already had." he said, and he looked to Tara. "We'll meet you out front in about five minutes, I've got to collect all the information I need and get it in my wagon." he said with a small laugh before he headed off.

Once he was away from Tara and Serg came back over to him, Kyp looked at him. "You okay with the fact Rhi went back without you?" he asked and Serg nodded, seeming a bit more relaxed after talking to her.

"Chester no like Eli more than me." he seemed amused. "Is funny. Just glad Rhi okay, I no like not being there."

Kyp nodded. "I know. So, are you even going home tonight, buddy, or you staying with Rhi?"

"I stay with Rhi tonight. I no want her be alone." he said, and Kyp nodded as they headed out to his station wagon after they got all of the files he needed. "You go home tonight?"

Kyp shook his head. "Nah, I might stay over too, she won't care. Plus, then if I have questions on her notations, I can ask them."

Serg nodded and he saw Tara not far off when they headed outside. "You need follow us? Or you know where is?" he asked her.

This Fire Burns, Always

The game of darts was definitely in full swing as the door opened again. Nichole's eyes flicked to the door once she saw it opened and she noted the figure at the bar. She watched a moment as Victor set down a drink on the nearby table, and when she caught his wink she just smiled a bit. She walked over and picked up the shot and walked back over towards James who was looking between her and Victor. "What?" she asked, taking the shot and setting the glass down.

"What was that?" he asked, lazily picking up another dart.

"What was what?" she responded and he gave her a knowing look that time.

"Is that guy... Is he your boyfriend?" he asked, and he saw her just look at him. A moment later she began laughing, quite loudly at that, and his look became that of confusion and shock. He had definitely not expected that reaction. Her face was a little pink, and her eyes had shut she was laughing so hard, and she shook her head, taking a breath. She stopped laughing and then spoke.

"No." she said, flatly. "He is not my boyfriend, he's been my contact in my last bit of business. Remember, I have been horded for the last few months."

James held his hands up and gave a chuckle. "Hey, just saying. He did buy you a drink and wink at you, was I so wrong to assume?"

"I guess not, but how long have you known me, Jimmy boy?" she spoke and he looked to her. "And how often do I have boyfriends? Maybe a boy toy here or there, but I don't think I've had a legit boyfriend since I was in high school."

James chuckled. He forgot that Nichole had similar attachment issues. She couldn't hold a steady boyfriend because they asked too many questions and didn't want her to do anything but hang on their arm and look pretty, but she wasn't like that. She was very independent and kind of a loner from what he understood, and she had to be some kind of crazy to have willingly made deals with the Russians before. The door opened again, and James noted the person walking through as Daniel O'Riley. He'd helped him get into a gang before, and often times Daniel threw him references for hits. It had been nice, but he offered a nod to him.

Nichole threw her next dart before she had felt eyes on her. She saw the man who had just walked in walk over to a table with a few shots and she saw the redhead walk over to him when her eyesight caught him. That definitely caused question to come over her. What the hell would a cop be doing with someone who screamed gang? She didn't bother with the question though as James threw his last dart and Nichole gave a smirk. "Once again, I kicked your ass."

"Yeah, yeah." James chuckled. "Lets play pool and I could at least stand a chance."

Nichole rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Why not invite your friend to come over and play with us then? Shake things up. I sincerely doubt we're getting any clients tonight." she said, but she felt her phone vibrate against her leg and she took it from the strap. The name that appeared on the screen caused her to quirk a brow. "Sasha?"

James seemed to stiffen at the name and he watched as she answered her phone. "What the fuck? I thought you didn't deal with the Russians anymore?"

Nichole held a hand up. "Hey, what's up?"

"Where are you? We need to talk." The thick Russian accent came from the other end of the phone.

"I'm at the usual place. What's wrong?" she asked, walking up towards the bar and away from James.

"Tonight is night. Everything in place. Need to discuss details."

"Tonight? Oh, okay. Just find me when you get here, we'll go some place private and chat." she said, motioning to the bartender.

"Da. Will do." He hung up after that and when the bartender brought her another drink. She looked at him with a smile and handed him a few bigger bills and he gave her a look.

"You have a client coming? Who?" he asked her.

"Mr. Kozlov." she said, and he gave her a look. "We just need to finalize a few details, he'll be in and out. I promise. He knows after last time that he shouldn't stay too long."

The bartender gave her a curt nod. "If it wasn't for the fact everyone paid me to do business out of here, I wouldn't allow them in here after what Gregor did."

Nichole motioned over to him and he leaned across the bar as she whispered something in his ear. He nodded to her and she gave a gentle smile. "Oh, and get Victor's next round on me." she said. He gave her a nod and she took her drink.

"I'll send him your way when he gets here." He said, and Nichole noted James was over talking to his friend and the redhead.

"Ah! Here she is." James said, motioning her over. "Nichole, this is Daniel O'Riley and Cassidy O'Brian. Dan, Cassidy, this is my friend Nichole Yakavetta."

Nichole extended a hand out to Cassidy first and shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you." she said, and she held her hand out Daniel next. "Want to join us in a game of pool? Kicking Jimmy boy's ass in darts gets tiring."

It caused the redhead to chuckle and James shook his head. "I let you win."

"That's not how it looked." Cassidy said, and Nichole gave her a nod. "Nichole seemed to have it won and she wasn't even really into it."

Nichole gave a smile and a nod. "I've got years of experience. He knows." James just gave a look, and Nichole looked to Cassidy. "Come on, let's go get the table set up. Play a game if they don't want to."

Cassidy gave a nod and she watched as Nichole's eyes roamed over Daniel once as they headed towards the pool table. Nichole knew that James probably had business to discuss with Daniel, and if he was the one she was thinking of, she would need to ask James a favor later. She saw Cass looking her over in an odd manner and she rose a brow. "Something wrong?"

"You're Italian? And you openly talk to the Irish? Isn't that like, rocky ground." she said, and Nichole gave a look. "It's not often I see that without bloodshed."

"This is neutral territory for one thing, only blood that's ever been shed here is gangs trying to make it theirs. Second thing, yes, I am Italian, but my ties to that family are loose. I'm more of a free agent, so to speak." she said, and then she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and whispered against her ear. "We also don't talk about that aloud, the bartender will not have any bad blood here considering everyone operates out of here, and if you jeopardize any of that, you will never be allowed back in."

Nichole moved away from Cassidy as she started setting up the table for the first round. "You can break." Nichole told Cassidy, and she nodded. Once it was set up, Cassidy took up her cue and broke, not sinking anything. Nichole could feel eyes on her as she made her shot, sinking in two solid balls. The door opening caused Nichole to look up, hearing it slam against the wall. A tall man in a dark coat came in, and once he took his coat off, he revealed a head of dark hair and stunning blue eyes. He walked over to the bar, Nichole watched, and he ordered a drink before walking up to them. "Jimmy boy!"

James looked to her and once he saw the man he gave her a look. "Come take my place!" she called out to him, and he nodded as he began heading over.

The Russian man walked over and smiled to her, "Nichole." he spoke, and she greeted him with a kiss to each cheek. "Wonderful to see you. Who is friend?"

He shot a wink to Cassidy and she turned a bright shade of red and Nichole gave him a look. "Her name is Cassidy. But, come on, you know how the big man gets." she said, her eyes motioning over to the bartender as they headed off to a corner table, Nichole pulling the curtain hung by it shut and she sat at the table. "So, what do you need?"

"I have all in place. Just need to make the hit, dump, and then be done with it. Everything go to plan so far. Now just have to finish, Da? What you need?" he asked.

"We need a place that's quiet, no one in your leagues knows of. It can't be in Amato or O'Connell territory, otherwise all of your new underbosses will want to go after whose ever territory it happened on. I have a place we could go, but it is severely uptown, past your territory even." she said, quietly, and Sasha gave her a nod.

"We go there. I have all night, but I want drink. You call when ready, Da?" he said and she nodded.

"And don't forget, the funeral will have to be planned to. If you don't give him a proper send off, it will fuck this whole operation up and you and I will be in deep shit. Understood?" she said, and he nodded. He got up and opened the curtain, offering a hand to help her up. "Pick me up here after I call."

He gave a curt nod and he headed over to the bar, as did Nichole. She made sure that James nor the two he was currently entertaining had seen her as she slid into a seat beside Victor and she looked to him. "Hey," she said, "The redhead is kinda cute. Probably not much your taste, but might be a good time if you can talk to her." She slid her phone in front of him so he could read what she wrote before he moved to get up.

Even if she screams cop. But figured I'd let you know after the day Ricky made you have today.

"Take it or leave it." she said, and she went back to the pool table and saw James looking almost irritated.

"This ain't right!" he said.

--

The dart game was one-sided, and though she wasn't fully paying attention to their conversation, she had seen the man that had left the pretty brunette a drink. That was Victor Moretti. He was the Amato's family right hand man. What he was doing in the dive bar, she had no clue, but she soon found herself lost in her own thoughts. If this was hitman territory and the girl was Italian, which from her looks she wouldn't doubt, then she was possibly a fill in hitman for them. It would explain why he had bought her the drink and why she was back here if she was a hitman. Her thoughts interrupted when she caught sight of Daniel and she smiled, walking over to him.

"Hey." she said, and she turned her head back towards the game and she shook her head. "That guy has been getting his ass kicked. It's been kind of funny." she said, and not long after the man came over as the woman walked to the bar.

"Hey, Dan." he said, shaking Daniel's hand and Cassidy just gave him a look. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm James Sandridge."

"Cassidy O'Brian." she said, shaking his hand when he offered it to her. "Are you just bad at darts?"

James just chuckled. "Not so much that I'm bad as she's just very good."

It wasn't too long after that, the woman joined them and after a small introduction, Cass had followed her towards the pool tables. The woman was slightly intimidating, even to walk with. She had such a cool and calm demeanor and she looked so innocent... She could probably get away with murder just by batting her eyelashes a certain way. She was dangerous, and from the way she spoke, she knew it too.

"You're Italian? And you openly talk to the Irish? Isn't that like, rocky ground." she said, and Nichole gave a look. "It's not often I see that without bloodshed."

"This is neutral territory for one thing, only blood that's ever been shed here is gangs trying to make it theirs. Second thing, yes, I am Italian, but my ties to that family are loose. I'm more of a free agent, so to speak." Nichole said, and then she placed a hand on Cassidy's shoulder and whispered against her ear. "We also don't talk about that aloud, the bartender will not have any bad blood here considering everyone operates out of here, and if you jeopardize any of that, you will never be allowed back in."

Cass stood there a moment, watching as she set up the pool table. She was definitely going to be one to watch out for, and soon she broke and their game started. The girl had apparently been very good at pool too, but she didn't have much time to think on it as a tall Russian man approached them. Sasha Kozlov. He was Don Gregor's right hand man, and she couldn't help but want to glare at him. Gregor had been a hand in what killed her father, so anyone who could operate so closely under him put her on edge. However, he was a lot more attractive in person than his file picture, and when he winked at her she couldn't help but turning bright red.

She barely heard as Nichole called over James to take her place for a bit, and she watched as the two of them headed towards a back table with a curtain that could be closed near it. She saw it close and then James motioned to the table. "Go ahead." he said, and Cass shook her head.

"It was still her go. You're solids." she said, and she watched as he took a shot and barely missed. She smirked a little. Now, Cassidy might not have been good on a break, damn near ever, but she was quite good at pool. She made her first shot. Sunk a striped. Next shot, sunk two more. Her third shot, she was a little blocked in, so she broke up what she could and James looked at her and then towards Daniel.

"Why didn't you tell me your sister was a shark too? Glad I'm not betting anymore." he joked, and he took another shot, sinking a ball before he scratched. "I'm fucked."

Cassidy just smiled a bit and took her ball and set it, and ran the table after that. She gave a smile and James just looked at her.

"This ain't right!" he exclaimed, and soon Nichole came back. "She's my partner. Screw you, Nic."

Cassidy just chuckled at the look he got. "Well, screw you too, James. I don't even know what happened." she said.

"You set me up. You women always set me up." James said, and he felt a smack upside his head.

"James, the only set up I do, is alone." she said, and he rolled his eyes before he noticed Cassidy watching Sasha who was at the bar.

"Don't mind Sasha, he'll be gone soon. He's not allowed to be in here for extended periods of time." he said. "Set up the table, Nic."

Cassidy watched as Nichole set up the table again and she looked at Daniel. "Having fun yet?"

This Fire Burns, Always

GIORGIO AMATO

63|The Amato Family|The Don|The Ruthless

--

RICHARD AMATO

33|The Amato Family|The Don's Son|The Next in Line

--

SASHA KOZLOV

36|The Russians|The New Don|

Please Stay

Ryan, Charlie, and Ayden all listened to Katie's retelling of events with pure joy. Ayden giggled and smiled the entire time he was twisted through the motions, though he did ask about Weller when Katie spoke of it. Ryan was glad that Katie had managed to catch herself when she spoke of Marcus, even if she had a few choice words for him herself. Once the retelling was over, however, Charlie took up Ayden and got together his things as they headed into the bathroom to wash up.

Ryan looked to Katie when she started talking about Marcus. "Doesn't surprise me if Pucey went on and told him, but still, Pucey might be alright, but I don't get how he is still friends with Flint. I have a few choice words for the git myself. Charlie told me about that day in the Cauldron. I'd've hexed Merlin's ghost out of him had I been there." she said, taking up her cup of tea and taking a sip.

Charlie and Ayden came back in the room a moment later and Ayden climbed into his mother's laugh. "So, ladies, celebration time?" he asked, "Why not go out for the night?"

Ryan gave a chuckle, "Ayden and I really should get home though. Can't keep him up all night."

Charlie looked to Katie and then at Ryan. Ryan rose a brow, somehow feeling as though she missed something when a knock came to the door. Charlie answered it and when Ryan saw her father she seemed surprised.

"PawPaw!" Ayden smiled as he ran to the door, his bag on his back. "Where's MeeMee?"

"At home, you ready to stay with us tonight?" he asked, and Ryan looked to Charlie who gave an innocent look and she shook her head a bit. "Go give your mum and Aunt Katie goodbye kisses."

Ayden nodded quickly and hugged Katie and gave her a kiss on the cheek before he hugged Ryan. She placed a kiss on the top of his head. "You behave for your grandparents, alright? I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes mum." he said, and he kissed her before running over to her father and once they were gone Charlie looked at her.

"Guys, it has been a really long day..." she began.

Charlie shook his head a bit and looked to Katie. They were not about to gang up on her on this.. They were not about to gang up on her about it...

They were ganging up on her...

Save Me|Save Yourself|Save Us All

Kingsley: *smiles* Thank you. *looks around and shifts* *crawls out of his clothes and starts drinking milk*

Alex: *ruffles nose* You have a weird obsession with pinching cheeks too.

Randa: *whispers loudly* He's just jealous that you get away with it, Love.