who's next?

Brie experienced sticky situations when dealing before, but never like this. It was a drop everything and get out of there type of situation, which meant leaving behind product. The domino effect of fuck ups lead her here, pacing in her tiny apartment with Jackie standing near by. Brie didn’t fuck up like this. Her mind rattled for some sort of explanation as to how the cops knew they were there. She racked her mind for a count of how much product they must of lost. This would dip into things in a way that didn’t sit well in her stomach. “Fuck.” She let out finally. 

“How do we make up what we lost? I had other clients I was suppose to meet with tonight.” She shook her head, searching through her phone what people had ordered. 

IN TRUTH, The Luxure had been a fundamental element of Ross’ life for as long as he can recall. He’d pretty much started there, nothing more than a mere affiliate. Now, look at him, underboss of the entire regime. Though one thing was for sure, he would never forget his roots nor where he came from. He’d climbed the ranks only to sit on top. It was this precise factor that enabled the male to continue his employment at the club, keeping an eye on the premises and its clientele. After all, he owed his life to the Ivory, the least he could do was protect a Syndicate owned establishment.

STOOD OUTSIDE, back firmly pressed against the brick wall, the cool night breeze crisp against his stubbled jawline, Ross’ attention piqued as Brie emerged. Umber eyes drifted toward the female, a small chuckle parting his lips. “ Nothing I can’t handle, ” he quipped, slipping large hands into the pockets of his black jacket. “ Brie, ” he tsked, light teasing lacing his tone in a fond manner. “ Always an advocate of violence, mm? ” Arching a dark eyebrow at the brunette, an amused expression captured the angular features upon his countenance. “ Rest assured, if I need back-up, you’ll be the first to know. ” The edge of his mouth quirked into a subtle smirk then. “ How’re things on your end? Anybody giving you hassle inside? ”

Trust wasn’t something Brie handed out easily or much at all. Her past casted a dark shadow on how she viewed men.  She felt better distancing herself from them as she got to know them, before really allowing herself to give up anything to them. Besides, she kept most of herself close to her heart, regardless. Even with people she called her friends, Brie kept secrets. Maybe not secrets per say, but she never really shared much about herself.

Putting out the cigarette on the wall behind her, she flicked it out onto the side walk. The petite woman wrapped her arms around herself, turning to face him. “Sometimes people need to learn a lesson the hard way. You think guys who try to touch me in there don’t try again the next time they are at a club just because they were throw out? But, if I kick them in the balls and make them cry, they think twice.” She joked, but not really. A small smile pulled across her lips. Ross seemed to care, beyond just doing his job. She appreciated it. “Not tonight, Bancroft, but thanks for checking in. I just danced my ass off. You missed a real show.” 

  Vivian nodded, leaning back against the velvet exterior of the sofa smoothly. Her movements were fluid, precise, rehearsed — truthfully, that was just the way the brunette woman was. She had always prided herself in being of exemplary status and with such a title came certain responsibilities. To Vivian, and to a lot of the Syndicate, that meant having a particular way that they presented themselves. Vivian’s father had had an influence on the way the woman carried herself, that much was true, but a lot of it came from not being taken seriously. She was a petite woman, one who looked like she could be scared easily, jumpy — but Vivian was the complete opposite. 

  “Yes, potential. You’ve done more than a few jobs for other Ivory members and I like to keep my eye on new recruits to see if they are worth keeping around.” Brushing her hair behind her ear, the brunette watched her opposite with careful eyes. “That’s correct. If you agree to work with me, I can offer you certain advantages that you may not receive with the other members of the Syndicate.”

Something about it felt odd, but not necessarily in a bad way. Brie wasn’t use to the attention. Of course she was used to attention, considering her job was dancing on stage, but this felt different. This was about way more than that. Vivian pursued Brie. Everything else in her life seemed like a fight for what she wanted, but this time someone was placing an opportunity in her lap. Perhaps hard work paid off?

“I’m interested.” She said softly as her brain began to run it all through. “What advantages can you offer?” Brie asked out of curiosity. The other woman, if not good at everything, was certainty good at pitching. Having a capo, creating a relationship deeper than this with Viv all felt like advantages in her mind.

He had no doubt she could handle herself. Brie was one of those people that he’d probably think twice about messing with. “Trust me, I know,” He chuckled. “I’ll hook you up with someone,” He offered as he rubbed his nose, making sure the contents weren’t lingering outside of his nostrils. “How’s the dealing going?” Drugs were like serotonin for him. Even talking about them made him all giddy inside. 

Brie began to tap her fingers lightly on her thigh beating to the faded music spilling in from the main room. She could revel in this feeling for a little while, but soon she would have to move. Her eyes jutted to his as he spoke. Rolling her hues, she let out a small laugh. “Thanks for the offer, but who are you going to set me up with that we both don’t already know?” Her head shook even after the statement fully left her mouth. Sometimes Derek seemed so innocent or naive - slow maybe? He meant well always. “Dealings going super smoothly. I have regulars here that like to buy when we’re in a private session which makes my life so easy. Killing two birds with one stone.” Her shoulders shrugged as she jumped off the counter. Turning to the mirror she began to study her face.

“Some guy from the club tried to get me to deliver to his apartment, which he never had before. He thought he was also going to pay me to sleep with him - but I put a stop to that.”

  Vivian was more than willing to pay Brie for her time and conversation. It certainly was not her first time doing so, and besides, perhaps she envisioned the woman wanting a break from desired by men who would never be good enough for her. The brunette herself had never involved herself in such a career, never put her body on display unless it was in a dimly lit bedroom on her terms. However, she encouraged the women at The Luxure to enhance their craft, to become better at what they did because it was good for business. And hell, Vivian dealt with some of the same women at Ivory Films. Though, if you asked the woman if she would have seen herself working and owning a business that was inherently sexual in nature, she would have hesitated.

  But directing people the way she did made her feel powerful, important, like an artist creating something meaningful. It gave her almost the same high that being a capo did. 

  Almost.

  “I’m not one to quit once I put my mind to something, sweetheart. I’m a woman who gets what she wants and doesn’t stop at anything until she does.” Her eyebrows raised for a moment and she tilted her head in an interested way, grinning toward her opposite. “I want you because I see potential in you. I think you could excel under my wing and, truthfully, I could use more women in my pocket. Don’t get me wrong, the men who work for me get their jobs done when I snap my fingers, but they can be so elementary sometimes.”

If Brie was being honest, excelling wasn’t something she had much focus on. Sure, the woman worked hard. Sure, the woman did her multiple jobs well. There had never been a desire to go beyond that though. Her only passion really lied in dancing, which was something that came natural to her. Excelling sounded out of her pay grade.

As Viv spoke though, Brie felt intrigued, almost inclined to agree. Having a woman lead her was tempting in many ways. Her entire being existed because of the strong woman she learned from. Adding another strong woman leader to her list felt right. “Potential?” She repeated the word, finding it somewhat humorous.

“What happens if I say yes? I just report to you now?” She asked genuinely curious.

a smile etched her features as she ran her nails down the woman’s thigh. There was definitely a connection she felt for her. Whether romantic or platonic, she wasn’t sure. It just felt nice to be needed. She didn’t have much female attention given the fact that it was either compromised at work or she strung along too many of her female friends. It was easy to juggle friends with benefits and breaking hearts rather than to actually approach a friendship.    ❛     Thank you, really.     ❜   Kat sighed.   ❛     Damn, it still smells like reefer here.     ❜

“Fuck.” The word rolled from her lips, as she stood quickly. Brie felt shitty for even offering, but smoking in front of the woman too. She should have known better. Dealing was one thing - deep down she knew she fucked up people’s lives with that, but she tried her hardest not to enable people. Especially not her friends. Cracking her window in her room, she turned on a small fan trying to rid the smell. “I shouldn’t of smoked. I’m shit. Sorry.” She apologized, leaning on her night stand slightly.

“It’s a love-hate thing.” Steaming food arrived almost on cue, the smell reminding her that Ray’s was one of a kind. They didn’t have fast food like this in Turkey- sure the McDonalds were alright, but homegrown heart attacks? Few and far in between… Emilia’s smile grew at the other woman’s reply, voice ringing out.  “Me too, I’ve got your back with anything and everything.” This was a loyalty that money couldn’t buy, created through mutual trust and respect. Just like she had with Nina and the other Ivory women, they’d always do what they could to support each other. “It’s surprisingly good to be back.” 

With the truth shedding a light on the King’s empire, Emilia found herself having a strange conversation with so many people she thought she knew. Though Brie had been a staple for years, there was one thing that evaded his knowledge about the woman.“Can I ask you something?” She started, dipping a fry into some ketchup before she hushed her voice. “How did you get in with… this whole thing?” 

Emilia was really the only person in her life she really kept this all from. Everyone else seemed to be apart of it to know her truth. The woman had always been off limits in a way. Brie didn’t make a habit of thinking about it too much, but now that Em knew things felt easier in a way. Lying never sat well with the braided haired woman.

“You know it’s funny, Nina just asked me that same question to other night.” Up until then she hadn’t really thought about it. Putting down the french fry in her hand, she crossed her arms, leaning both elbows on the table in front of her. “Started with a job at Luxure. I say how those girls moved, needed to feel comfortable within my own skin again, and so I applied. Bought drugs off of a co-worker, they asked if I would be interested in selling. From there it grew. Now I’m in it.” She shrugged. “Why do you ask?”

It was possible that Nina had just spoken ore to Brie at once in the past two minutes than she had since she met the other woman. She was rather confident when speaking about superficial things, but getting nervous or serious sent her babbling. Nina didn’t like feeling exposed, but if she had just admitted insecurities of her own free will, that meant things really were bothering her. “Sorry I just rambled on like that,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I don’t feel like I can talk to Em about this yet, you know?” Besides, she needed an unbiased opinion.

“Yes.” All Nina wanted, in every facet of her life, was more power. She was the queen of the preschool playground, the middle school lacrosse team, the high school hallways, all of Manhattan’s social events where young women were present. She didn’t feel that as a part of the Syndicate and for some reason, she was willing to work for it. “That’s a good point,” Nina conceded, taking Brie’s words into consideration. Useful was different than purposeful. “That makes sense. That’s simple.” She cracked a smile then, amused by her own seriousness. “You ever think of becoming a shrink?”

Brie despised how often she watched women apologize for mundane everyday blips of life. She rarely watched men apologize, even for massive fuck ups. If something a woman did, didn’t quite fit into the image they were either handed or carefully curated themselves, there was an apology. Why couldn’t a woman be dimensional? “Don’t apologize, like ever, even if you should.” Brie shook her head.

Laughing, she let her eyes close lazily. A shrink? Brie certainly didn’t have enough together in her own mind to start getting paid to figure out other’s people’s mind. The woman was just good at talking - it came with her job really. Making people feel understood, feel easy, that was kind of what her job was about. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with you wanting a stake in this game, love. I just want you to be careful, because it’s messy. I think you could handle it just fine, but regardless.”

Stripping seemed tough, it was definitely something that he wouldn’t be able to do ever. He gave Brie kudos for doing it, “Has anyone been giving you a hard time out there?” Cause he’d go out and shut their asses up for her, he didn’t want anyone treating her poorly. “Shut up,” He said playfully, although he couldn’t help but smile when she brought up Jackie no matter how much he held it back. Speaking of fucking, Derek was pretty curious, “Who are you sleeping with these days, anyway?” 

It was sweet. Ever since Scotty left, Brie felt unsure of how the work place environment would be handled, considering the man usually had it under wraps. The woman learned how to deescalate a situation on her own, finding having to rely on someone else for safety felt a little damsel in distress. “Not lately, besides I can handle most of that on my own now.” She let her head rest against the mirror behind her letting her eyes close as she revealed in the way the speed took a hold of her. “Who am I sleeping with?” She giggled at the sentiment. Lifting her head, her eyes rolled. “My vibrator. You see, for about a month or so now, I’ve been working my ass off, between here and dealing, and you know carrying out orders. Don’t have time to find prospects.”

Voicemail of Kat:  [beep] Hey babe. I locked myself out of my apartment and the landlord isn’t picking up his phone. Not surprised, but - Ugh, I don’t even know how I did this. I think I might of left my key at Luxure, but that’s so unlike me. Anyway, I’m rambling, because I’m high, so anyway, I was wondering if I could sleep over. I totally understand if the squirt is there and it’s too late for that. I can call Derek or something maybe. For now, I’ll be in the hall. Okay, bye.

Her shifts had all changed to prime hours, which mostly meant long nights and more customers to grab at her. It also meant more tips, so she wasn’t complaining. After her time slot on stage, the woman headed outside for her break. Brie stood outside Luxure, hugging her leather jacket around her body - underneath only the lingerie she wore on stage moments ago. Bringing the cigarette to her lips, she inhaled softly as she watched a couple men move past Ross into the bar. Once the crowd died down, leaving the two alone, she spoke.

“Any trouble tonight?” She chimed, standing a small distance away. Brie liked to keep tabs on the gentlemen who came to cause trouble.  A huge puff of smoke passed through her plump lips, as she blew it in the opposite direction of the man. “Do I need to beat anyone up for you?” She teased lightly.

❛     you’re right.     ❜    Somehow, Brie always managed to be right. They were so close in age and yet the girl surpassed her by years. Sure, she was a little locked up, but who wasn’t? Kat related to her stoic nature, wishing she had a shred of decency to feel the same. They were just different sides of the same coin. It was nice, however, to make at least once friend since she moved to Montreal.     ❛     Eh, you don’t have kids. It’s hard to get it, I know. I didn’t think I’d be the type of person to have kids early. I wasn’t even supposed to go through the entire pregnancy with Jonah. Things change. I wouldn’t necessarily limit yourself on that. I won’t let anyone fucking touch you either, man. We’re in this – thick and thin.     ❜

Brie bit her lip slightly, listening to the other speak of her story. There was truth in it all - Brie wouldn’t know how she would handle Kat’s situation. She probably wouldn’t know until she ended up there, if she ended up there. Her own mother struggled, but she watched her find her own two feet. Brie knew Kat could do the same, make Jonah proud. “I’m here for you both. I’m def not the best babysitter, but you know I will if you ever need it. Or like if he wants to watch Spiderman I’m in.” She giggled at her own joke. Her hand tucked her friend’s hair behind her ear. “It’ll get easier.”

“They’re all custom? Damn, you’re living it up, huh?” He wasn’t sure if that was actually true or not, considering her job. He looked down at his injured hand as she inquired about it, “An asshole that just was accusing us of shit,” And by us, he hoped she knew who he was talking about. “And y’know brought a knife to a fist fight cause my guess is he couldn’t actually hold his own,” Maybe it would’ve been fair if Kane didn’t bring that knife out. He was sort of jealous that she was rolling in the dough, “I really gotta get a job again,” He said before snorting a line himself. “But I don’t have the patience for anyone telling me what to do anymore.” 

“I mean it’s the closest thing a stripper can have to a uniform, I guess.” She shrugged playing with the silky tie on her robe. The woman sniffed a coupled times as she let her body feel the beginning effects of the substance. Her eyes watched as he leaned over to repeat the same actions she had. “Sounds like a pussy.” She muttered as her eyes traced his hand. Who stabs someone in the hand? Brie pushed herself up onto the makeup counter. “I doubt that is true, big boy. I’m sure you let Jackie tell you what to do in bed.” She teased lightly with a small laugh.

❛     i’ve been shaky with the last few hits. I…I just don’t know if I can get used to it. I’ve never felt squeamish with blood, but this just isolates it for me. I can’t scrub myself clean. It’s worse than feeling the bugs on my skin during cravings. I can’t help but think there’s a reason I’m good at it. It’s…disturbing, especially when I have to switch modes so quickly to talk to my kid. I can’t space out. I can’t dwell. I don’t have time.     ❜    Kat shrugged, her fingers itching to do something other than pluck at her side. She pressed a shaky hand against her cigarette case, plucking one out just to feel the comfort of the white stick against her palm.    ❛     I just want to do good. I want to feel safe. Is there any point you do? I feel like I lost my shit lately.     ❜

Everything came rather easy to Brie when it came to implementing the horrific acts into her life. It probably had to do with her immaculate talent for repressing things, but either way she wasn’t often plagued with guilt after. “If it’s not you, it will be someone else. The life you take is already gone before you take it.” Brie began to explain. There was no advice she could give on how to deal with this in regards to her son. The raven haired woman kept people far from her heart, appeared open, but was a closed book. Reaching for the other woman’s hand, she held it gently. “I wish I had something reassuring to say, but being in this is safer than being on the outside of it. I’m not gonna let shit happen to you, okay?”