#softstcps

"Be honest, was it the sympathy vote that finally turned no into a yes?" He's smirking ear-to-ear, his mask doing little to conceal the man underneath. Not when Maddox is in prime form; charismatic, flirtatious, and running from reality with a good time. A bit 'over-the-top' to bring two dates to a masked ball, but like any great lawyer, he argued his point. It was, as he told Ruya at the office, a way to keep things 'easy' and 'casual.' Never to be mistaken for a cruel man, Maddox leans in closer. "Or was it the fact that there's less pressure now that it's a group thing?" he hopes it's the latter. Something about being seen only for the tragedy of his family? It's something Maddox has barely gotten out from under.

"What can I say, I was top gun in my years." Harvey can't help but boast, admiring his perfect marksmanship. Ten in a row, at one precise spot, burning a hole into the paper target. He lifts the noise mufflers off his ears, glancing over the barrier to glance at Stella. "Think you can follow that up?" He teases Stella, good old fashioned ribbing common for their years together.

"Well done." Harvey whistles, playful admiration as he nurses his gin and tonic at the bar. Having known her for most of his life, not even a mask and a pretty frock can keep him from noticing her from a distance. "And here I half-expected you to spend tonight at the range, instead of listening to my explicit instructions." Not that Stella is ever one to turn down a good time. Simply put, she simply enjoyed the peace of a range more. "And a date, too." He whistles, glancing behind her. "Something to prove, love? Everyone already know you're hot shit." Or at the very least, Harvey does, wise enough over the years to be thoroughly impressed by her.

it had taken minimal effort to figure out the precise location of safiye's place of residence. his assistant ( or someone she'd paid ) had figured it out within a matter of a few hours. and while the ease had made his task much simpler, ambrose couldn't help but harbor a certain distaste for how his ex fiancee's personal information was so readily available for someone with the tenacity to find it. it made him nauseous — likely prompted by the retrospective violence that still painted the back of his eyelids, but he made note of it nonetheless and thought of potentially slipping into conversation that the girl should reconsider the level of protection she kept. especially now that she was becoming a more notable figure in law enforcement. surely safiye had and would continue making enemies.

despite his unannounced arrival, she had still greeted him with basic decency, reluctantly inviting him inside and even offering something to drink. ambrose had instinctively wanted to deny any warmth she'd extended to him, as simple and meaningless as it was, but the glass of water in his hand had proven to be the only thing tethering him to this version of reality — where he was allowed inside her home — where only a month prior, they'd kissed in the back of some seedy club.

few days would go by without the memory of her mouth seeping into his brain again, like a sports game replay where he could really analyze the exact moment he'd given in to her once more. so he could study it and make sure it never happened again. or that it did — ambrose hadn't yet decided his course of action. even now in her company, he was deliberating.

" so, " he cleared his throat, " did you find what you were looking for ? " there's a certain nonchalance to his tone, a disingenuousness. he may as well have been a store clerk asking a customer if they were finding everything okay. cue a pause just brief enough for him to observe her visage, to parse her expression for some underlying clue about how the raid had gone so incredibly haywire. " you know, you should've at least told me it was going to happen. i had a lot of people i care about in that room. "

"Miss Yao, isn't it so lovely to see you," Mei Lin cooed, smiling beatifically as she tilted her head and held out her hands for the woman to grasp. "Thank you for meeting me, I swear this won't all be work related. Why, it doesn't need to be work related at all if it doesn't need to be." Sharon didn't have any criminal leanings as far as Mei Lin knew, but that didn't meant she couldn't be softened up with the right degree of warmth or pressure. "Please, go ahead and order, it's my treat for taking up your time." She offered generously, hoping to set the tone of her being the kind older lady and Sharon being the one in her debt.