Devlin

He couldn’t quite find the words to explain his actions, what it was that had compelled him to spy on his own wife. But lately there had been all these clues. Signs if you like that kept leading back to her. She had known about so many of the intricate details that somehow seemed to find their way into enemy ears. And Devlin could no longer take the suspense, the wondering, the constant churning inside his own mind, and so he had decided to trail her. Simply get it over with and see if there was anything to his suspicions. He kept telling himself though that he had to be absolutely loosing it. That this was his worst own deepest insecurities playing a trick on him and he was out of his mind even entertaining the idea. Though while he watched her from the shadows, around the corner in the dark shades of the alley, which cloaked him almost entirely, he felt ice cold. Chilly to the bone, such a sensation being utterly unfamiliar and disorienting. Because there she was, talking to his enemies, smiling and hugging them and talking as if the entire affair was the most normal one in this fucking world. His stare was hard, his stomach churning, as he listened intently to every word they were saying. The cover of darkness were the only reason he had been able to get this close without being detected. They all seemed blissfully unaware. For a small moment, he wished for that blissful ignorance back. For the strong and secure belief he had held for the woman he loved. For those feelings not to be overshadowed and tainted with a new one now. The fresh feeling of betrayal. 

As she waved goodbye, and her dear friends departed, Devlin stepped out of the shadows, hands digging deep into his hoodie front pocket to hide that they were clenched into angry fists, dark blue eyes seeking hers as he stepped right out in her path. “Been quite busy today haven’t you? Now color me a fool, or wait, bet you have for what, years now? I’m rather intrigued.. how do you explain all of this? Being chummy pals with the Royals and married to me.. I’m sure its a riveting story.” Some words more sarcastic than others, unable to mask the hurt underneath though giving it a fair shot. The underlying message however was the same. Either she came clean here and now, or.. well what? Could he really treat her like he would a regular spy caught in his ranks? Lock her in a room and use all those pesky interrogation skills the military had all but drilled into him.. Dev didn’t know. And he would rather not be pushed to find out. 

Sophia: oh shoot D: well I hope she gets better soon!

Sophia: Journalists can be nasty and they just go for whatever gets them a good article, I don't think it would be anything against you or your company. Don't let them get to you :)

Sophia: It was dislocated.. but no it's not my writing hand, thank god! haha

Devlin: Me too Soph. Me too.

Devlin: Normally I wouldn't care, but my investors and partners seems to. The media can paint a powerful image when they like.. otherwise they'd have less power. I'm doing my best, on both fronts.

What the man said made Lady Huntington chuckled and looked up from her book to see Devlin Taylor standing not far from where she was. She didn’t know him personally, but she did know of him. What he does, what he’s a part of—the basics. She felt like she just had to know things about her enemies, even the smallest details, if possible. And of course, she would be naive if she didn’t know what he knew of her. But being in public, she thought it’d be best to keep what the two of them know from being talked about. At this moment, she was just Lady Lucia Huntington—a member of the British Parliament and Minister of State and Devil Taylor was just another one of London’s business owners. Was she going to pretend that she didn’t know who he was? Certainly not. “Mr.Taylor. I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure.”   

While she did not seem suspicious, he did well to play his part perfectly. Of course it was always a risk, doing such work yourself. With a known face and a surename most knew. The entire city celebrity thing was bothersome to Devlin, and so he often pretended as if the concept didn’t exist. But he wasn’t stupid enough to pretend otherwise when caught in a situation such as this one. He had no choice but to play along. Unlike him the Lady Huntington came from old money, aristocracy still living and breathing. Her kind tended to look down on him and his family, much like the Royal family did. Somehow they managed to find wealth that was gained by hard work either threatening or unfamiliar enough to be repulsive. Either way, Devlin had no problem disliking them right back. Not that he let on unless forced. He liked having a reputation as an overall friendly guy. Giving a relaxed smile, he extended his hand to her. “Lady Huntington. No, I don’t believe we’ve had. It indeed is though, a pleasure.” 

“I, uh,” Jeb stuttered, his thumb pointing to the car behind him, “I need my mum’s car fixed.” He hadn’t thought to put two and two together when he saw both the sign for Taylor Motors and the picture of Devlin Taylor on the various news outlets dotted about his timeline. It was a stupid mistake that was typical of him to make, but he couldn’t really back out now without making it look suspicious. So, Jeb moved aside to show the man the car, which had smoke pouring out of the bonnet. It was undoubtedly due to him pushing the old, tiny engine too hard, but he wasn’t prepared to tell his mum that. “How long will it take for you to fix it?” he asked nervously, both thinking of who he was facing at that moment and also thinking of who he’d have to face when he got back home.

It was all Devlin could do not to loose his patience and yell at the damned youngster in front of him. Rationally he knew the kid had nothing to do with his frustrations, weren’t responsible for his current situation, his worries or the weight he carried. Which was why he forcibly drew a deep breath. Glancing towards the car in question, he figured that he owed the stranger to at least look at it in person after his rudeness. There were about seven other people in the garage to the right who could, but he made an exception this time around. “I’m sorry, its been a stressful week. Of course.” He was about to ask what the problem with the car was when he saw the smoke. Nodding a bit, Devlin pulled off his jacket and pushed up the sleeves of his shirt, popping the hood up, not surprised that the amount of smoke doubled when he did. “Considering you’ve got a hole in your pressure regulator and its an old model, five days give or take. We’ll have to order and install a new regulator.” Turning back to the male, he suspected this was not the news he wanted. “Are you dependent on a car? Because if so we do rent out a few models for our customers during the time that their car is in the shop.” 

The clock was ticking, nearing midnight when he locked his office door behind him. Since the break-in Devlin had been extra cautious, even more so since his belief that there was a mole in his gang had grown from a suspicion to a fact. He could not afford any more breeches. He could not stomach being betrayed to the Royals a second time. Walking down the hall, heading towards the gym as it was the closest room to the exit, and he tended to check on it, make sure every part of the equipment was put back properly. Though as he got closer, the sounds of someone either working out or still training. Frowning some he picked up the pace, glancing inside to spot a blond head moving about. “Claire? Why are you still training?” He asked, stepping inside, eying the girl curiously. 

Sophia: I'm glad they're okay! I'm so sorry about Reagan though, is she okay? Was she hurt badly?

Sophia: Only because it happened at at the company event.. I can't fix it with one paper but the damage isn't too bad. I'll turn it around.

Sophia: I'm okay, my shoulder was hurt but it's nothing major. :)

Devlin: Yeah, me too. She got a pretty bad gash on the back of her head. But she woke up and got stitches, I believe it will all be alright.

Devlin: Yes well, I'm sure there are quite a few people in the newsletter buisness and public who wouldn't mind seeing my company or me personally tanked. Apparently the amount on your bank account counts, even if you hardly use whats there.. I appreciate that. :)

catemckenna:

It was with a mixture of determination and apprehension that Cate had stepped into HQ that day. It wasn’t taking action that she was reticent toward; after everything that had happened with Seraphina, with Bailey, with Tyree, and with this very real and very personal attack on their gang and their business, the brunette was more motivated than ever to strike back. She’d never considered herself to be a vengeful person, but even she recognised that things had escalated to a point where they either fought fire with fire, or they lost by default.

Life is a battle, and you either enter it armed, or you surrender immediately.

No, the uncomfortable feeling settling in the pit of her stomach had less to do with being against revenge for the bomb, and more to do with her own involvement in said bomb. Or rather, her own interference. “Mostly from the evening in question?” she asked upon taking a seat, eyes drifting to the monitor as if she hadn’t literally sat next to Bellamy when he worked on the footage, and didn’t already know the answer to the question. “Because I’ve been thinking, and it might be worth looking into the days, or even weeks, leading up to it. After all, we don’t know how long they’ve been planning the attack. The venue could have been cased as far back as when the event was announced.” Of course, there was a part of Cate that didn’t want them to look any further into it at all, but not suggesting as much would have been horribly out of character for her. The brunette could only do so much to derail the investigation before it became obvious that she was doing a deliberately bad job.

@grimreapertaylor​

Nik had been spending the last few days trying to organize the chaos that had become his life. He wasn’t ignorant enough to believe that his job was easy. Running a club had been, though entirely tedious and sometimes annoying, it was his role in strategy that really pushed the youngest Taylor. At first he had been forced into the role by his father, but it had taken only a matter of weeks to become a passion, and years later, here he still was. Though since the explosion, his mind had been heavy with the constant barrage of thoughts and extrapolations. Not a when or why line of questioning, he was beyond that reasoning by now. He wanted to know how, and more particularly who. Who had hurt his family and few friends within the Strix he enjoyed the company of. The Royals were in control, pulling the trigger so to speak, but he was happy to find the people that sent the message. And then more than happy to send a message of his own.

With a coffee from his favorite cafe, Nik made his way into the room his brother had told him to meet in. Along with Cate, they would rifle through more of the footage the two Taylor brother’s hadn’t seen yet and hopefully the three of them together could find something, anything to move forward with. Finding a seat next to his brother and his fellow strategist in front of the footage, he sighed and took a sip of his caffeinated beverage. “We’ve been through some of that already.” In all honesty, Nik didn’t want to spend another second watching nothing happen on the screen. If their hackers had pulled up some new footage that was apparently worth a look according to them, then he was all for starting there. “What sequences did they point out in particular?”

@devlinxtaylor

Spending a considerable amount of time within the military as part of teams ranging wide in their differences, Devlin knew how it was like, being under siege. As a leader he was expected to keep his anger in check, to stay calm and be the guiding force. But as the situation was, he did not know how much longer he could curb his anger. How much longer he could tell himself that he had to hold back. It had come to such a point where he woke up at night with fists clenched, rage burning his skin, violent dreams floating around in his mind. he had a feeling that the second he knew who was responsible, he would not be able to hold himself back any longer. 

Glancing at his brother, Devlin nodded some, yet he was determined to go fourth as planned. “I’m aware Nik, but Cate hasn’t and she needs to be brought up to full speed. Six eyes are better than four.” Turning towards Cate he shook his head once. “Actually this is from the break in here at TM.” Devlin explained as the footage started rolling across the screen, and the blonde appeared. “Do you recognize her? Our hackers are running software recognition trough all the major softwares, but she’s one in a million in a city like this one.” He took ahold of his wedding ring with his thumb and forefinger, twisting the band around and around, eyes flitting from the screen to Cate. “I’ll have our contacts send over footage for the past month and our hackers go trough it with someone from reckon.” It wasn’t a poor assumption. Only the Royals knew how long they had been planning this attack. Though considering just how many innocents they had taken down with them, Devlin did wonder if this plan of theirs hadn’t been a rather rushed one. It seemed so tactless. As if they suddenly didn’t care wether or not the public would turn even more on the gangs now after such a tragedy. 

“Well, maybe not to most but a bartender knows when someone needs another drink.” She paused, dimples deepening as her smile grew. “That and the fact that asking always tends to make me more money in the long run.” Grabbing a glass from under the counter, she started to fill it up with Devlin’s golden brown beverage of choice. “Don’t think too hard, ok? You’ll get wrinkles. And remember, if you ever need to talk about something, people tend to tip their bartenders better if they can vent to them, so point your words in my direction.” Blue eyes stayed on Devlin for a while as she went to fill another’s drink. Natalia didn’t mind the gang leader hanging out at the bar, hell half the cutthroats and scalawags in London drank at her bar, but him especially, she had to expend effort not to get too close to. With the extroverted and exuberant personality she had, that was sometimes harder than it sounded, but getting to know a gang leader when she had just escaped one, her own father, was a hard no.

“I guess thats part of the job. Spotting thirsty customers.” He said with a small wink, unable not to. Devlin rarely flirted with anyone but his wife, but he was known for a charming attitude when in the right mood. “I can imagine if you ask enough times, then you will sell more.” he shrugged a bit, thinking that most individuals residing in bars weren’t there just for one drink or two. And if they did indeed have those two drinks they would be tempted to continue. “I’m trying not to hon. Thats why I come here, to not think so much.” He took a swig of the beer she put in front of him. “Would that I could. Half of my venting would require me to enlist you, the other half would require a vow of secrecy, can’t say if you’re up for either?” The question was open for her to answer, but also for her to laugh away or ignore. She might know his true role just as he knew hers, but he couldn’t imagine she was stupid or reckless enough to walk around with a big mouth. If that were the case she would not be very good at her job. “So do you have anything new coming in? I have to admit those vintages of yours are worth their price.” He was fishing a little. Cass wanted to redo the living room and he was loath to buy anything from a gallery with a price tag thrice its amount. Though her tastes were simple, and neither of them really cared that much about grandeur, Cassandra did know how to decorate accordingly, lest her mother-in-law would come over an make her remarks. 

The brunette patiently waited for the intern to finish her explanation, her weight shifting as she rocked onto the tip of her feet from her heels. She was more than thankful that she had never been like the nervous intern Devlin was speaking to, from the get go Petal had just got on with things and did her job. She knew how dealing drugs worked, she’d seen it all her life and she was hardly one to act nervous or anxious around somebody. “I was saving you, I could sense that you were in pain.” she teased lightly, her eye catching the back of the intern’s head as she rounded a nearby corner. “But, actually something has just sprung to mind so while I’ve got your attention I’m gonna go for it. I know that you guys are all super busy, but I just wanted to let you know that I’m here if… You ever need me to do anything other than dealing and interning.” she raised her eyebrows lightly at the word interning, as technically that was her job at Taylor Motors, but it was more of a cover up to explain why she spent so much time there. And besides, Petal kind of wanted to prove her worth a little more now that she felt a stronger sense of unity within the gang.

Sometimes, Devlin couldn’t help but feel like a fraud, in his suit, with his hair combed neatly back and his neatly trimmed beard, showing up at work, being the CEO of a large and fast growing company. He felt.. out of touch with himself, out of touch with who he had used to be and who he had worked so hard to be. In many ways, stepping up to become all his parents had dreamed of him being, accepting the family legacy, had been like reclining his own freedom. Freedom of expression, freedom to be who he truly was, freedom to do as he pleased.. Staring back at Petal, he was reminded why he sometimes envied the young girl. She might have an ungrateful job, not many would praise or boost drug dealers, but she was free to make the world her own. Free to pass by unnoticed. “Then you have a good eye.” he half heartedly teased back. “Okay?” He said, nodding a bit while she was speaking, confirming that they were indeed very busy, here, downstairs, everywhere there was business to attend, fires to either feed or extinguish. If he needed her to do anything more. That was in truth a welcome offer. “Actually there is something I’ve been thinking of.” He said, but halted a bit. Here in this open space, was not the place. “Why don’t we step into my office Miss Jones?” He casually suggested, giving her a small smile, stepping over to his office door, holding it open for her. Once they were safely inside, away from prying ears, Devlin reached for a folder on his desk, taking out a photo and handing it to Petal. “That guy there’s name is Jeb Abrams. We suspect he is a Royal member and a part of setting off the bomb that night. I need someone to get close to him.” 

Sophia: Hey Dev! How are you? Are you okay? Is Cass and everyone else okay?

Sophia: Please tell me you haven't read the paper after the event. My boss needed an article then and there and with everything going on I wasn't able to get it done in time so he let someone else do it.. I'm fixing it though, I promise you.

Devlin: Hey Soph! I'm doing okay, considering everything. Cass and Nik are alright, but my little sister Reagan was injured. Its been pretty hectic lately.

Devlin: Ahm, you want me to lie to you? I did read it in between some doctors visits.. guess we're going to be under scrutiny for a while. Not that I blame you hon. But thank you, I know you are.

The Strix HQ had been considerably quiet over the past few weeks, everyone seemed to have their heads down and working hard with no problems - even Petal. She rarely saw Devlin or Nik around anymore, they were always held up in their offices trying to make sense of their next move as a gang. But when she saw an intern pestering Devlin with something, Petal couldn’t help but want to step in and save him from another near explosion - only this time it would be caused by himself. “Hey boss man,” Petal called from across the room before moving to close the distance between them, “could I grab you for a sec? I really need to speak with you.” that was evidently a lie, but it was her only strategy she could think of quickly.

Interns.. could be really helpful. They could also be a damned pain in the ass, and Devlin usually managed to direct them towards his assistant if they were being overly difficult, but today she was nowhere to be seen. Why he was even up here among the TM offices and paperwork when the gang was in such a crisis was a mystery. He could usually fend off business work for a few days, prioritizing the gang without a second thought, but because of their newest launch into the European Market, and the shit storm that the bombing had created, he was forced to be up here and deal with it like any other serious business man would. It was not the first time he missed just being a mechanic out in the garage, ignored by most and left to his own devices.. instead of peppered with questions. “Its uhm I really do not understand who to contact for this Mr Taylor I’m... I’m really sorry.” the Intern stuttered away, clearly intuitive enough to pick up on his thinly veiled patience. Hearing the familiar nickname, he turned his attention towards the voice, eying Petal, not without a glint of gratitude in those blue orbs. “Of course. Please speak with Jackline, she will sort you out..” he said to the intern, hurrying over to where Petal was, counting to ten internally as he did so. “Were you saving me or did you really have something to talk to me about?” He asked her, voice quiet as not to be heard by too many, running a hand trough his hair, a habit of stress he could not seem to break lately.