V FOR VENDETTA.

With one swift kick of leg, Veronica busted the front door open and stormed into the apartment. Perhaps she should’ve been more subtle, everything considering, but Veronica couldn’t help herself for once. The son of a bitch had crossed a line, taking a shot at Elias Morgan. In front of her. With the power outage and everything, one hell of a chaos broke out and he disappeared but Veronica knew where to find him. Or wait for him, at least. The caporegime fixed herself a drink-- she needed one to calm her nerves and afterwards took a seat in the dark. Before she could make herself comfortable, he arrived as well, goddamn him, and V didn’t breathe. It seemed Lucas was injured but he still sensed someone was there. Veronica let him find her. Once she realized he was near she cocked her gun and lifted it up to point it at him. “Seeing you in pain gives me some sort of perverse pleasure, Luke. Who would’ve thought you had it in you.” A flicker of amusement flashed through her darkened orbs. “One reason, give me one fucking reason why I shouldn’t end you right here, right now.”

Having accounted for each and every one of her people, Veronica headed in long strides right to the belly of the beast. To the Wilkes territory. The Morgan caporegime couldn’t care less about the Wilkes soldiers buzzing around, some panicking, other bloodthirsty-- nothing Veronica hadn’t recognized in her own soldiers or wasn’t able to deal with. Her eyes kept looking for the woman in charge, however. Her figure she could spot from a mile away so eventually she did approach her from behind, greeting her by pressing a cold barrel of her gun to her side. “Hush, my love, don’t move,” she whispered into her ear. “Unless you want us to paint the rest of your shirt red, hm.” V’s gun traveled south, to her fresh wound. “Walk with me. Ease my mind, let’s figure this out together.” It wasn’t a request, though. Sugar coated or not, her words still were laced with poison. Veronica prompted Theo to walk and didn’t speak until she felt shadows falling on both of them. “What the fuck happened out there? Is there a civil war within your organization you didn’t tell me about? How incredibly rude of you, Theo.”

The Morgan leadership agreed to meet at the docks, the western part-- secluded but strategically positioned to overlook the port. Veronica approached Elias, looking killer in her outfit as always. And truly, the woman was ready for yet another win. Dark orbs were glued to the port, hoping to detect movement. Her fingers ready to draw a weapon if anything should go wrong. “Good evening, my darling. Hope you haven’t been waiting long,” the woman chirped, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek-- if nothing to make up for being fashionably late. “My team is in position, both are. Team A will throw the Wilkes’ soldiers a warm welcome. On our mark, team B will seize the merchandise. The transport is ready as well-- I’ve just got off the phone with the truckers, they tell me the air is clear. Team B is instructed not to leave a trace behind,” a corner of her lips lifted into a smirk. The last part was a code only Elias could decipher. “Why not give Theo something to think about. After all I haven’t given her a Christmas present, yet.” 

time: whenever location: wherever​

“I don’t fucking care whose side you’re on, this is a civilian-- an innocent human being and you will help me take them to safety.” Some nights, at galas and other fancy events, Veronica enjoyed playing a sophisticated lady and exchanging polite remarks with a brilliant smile plastered across her painted lips. Other nights there was just no time to be polite. Instead, she roared at the nearest person in her most demanding tone, supporting the weight of an injured man. Some poor soul who happened to stumble into the frenzied bloodbath. 

Power outages and shootings didn’t make for a good combination as it turned out. Fucking hell, Veronica murmured. In reality what somewhat frightened the fearless caporegime, or better say irritated her was the way people reacted. Most of them-- trained soldiers-- were unable to keep it together. Which made the situation all the more difficult. Some people Veronica had to knock out of her way-- the Wilkes soldiers. While ensuring her fellow mafia members weren’t hurt, she had to slap some sense into some of them to make them listen to her instructions. Ayla, she recognized by her lovely mane-like hair, and the second her gaze landed on her, a frown creased V’s brow. The goddamn girl wasn’t supposed to be around, or witness this particular kind of hell, she was too young. “Ayla,” she appeared before the other, her hands finding the other’s shoulders to either steady her balance or soothe her, whatever she needed. “Darling, are you alright? What have you seen? What can you tell me?” Veronica held her gaze-- waiting for an answer, the caporegime searched her face for non-verbal answers too. 

The two seemed to be in the clear. She kept her guard up more than normal though. However, they were in public, if anyone wanted to cause a scene it would be while they’re alone. Still… the risk was there. As much as she piped up at the thought of a drink, she needed her skills sharp and alcohol was not in the cards. “I think that might be the safest place for us or the riskiest… where do you want to go? Lux?" 

Admittedly Veronica took a risk guiding the two of them to one of the most vibrant streets of Crystal City. The capo counted the enemy soldiers weren’t stupid enough to make a scene in public, in the middle of the day. “Here is fine,” she gestured to the nearest terrace-- as she still thought it would be smart to keep an eye on anyone who left or entered the building complex at the end of the street they had just come from. “So Mazie, how’ve you been? How was New Year’s?” Veronica began with a casual smirk as she took a seat at one of the tables.

Casey knew she was teaching her grandmother how to suck eggs right now as she slowly walked Veronica through the situation, almost metaphorically holding her hand in the process, but that wasn’t because she was disregarding the other woman’s experience but more than she needed to maintain as much control as possible to stop herself dissolving into stressed panic. She had been sat on this information for the entirety of Christmas and new year, so imparting it to someone else finally after all that time was a tentative relief. “Everyone here might know that, but we can both hope that I have given you a heads up on the situation early enough that anyone who might be watching doesn’t know that. So it’s probably safer you laugh.” She smiled brightly, chest unclenching a little when she did what she’d just said she normally wouldn’t and a laugh reached the lawyers ears. “Indeed, almost as unbelievable as it is amusing if you ask me.” The brunette replied with her own laugh, taking a sip of coffee before sitting back in the booth under the guise of relaxation. Something she was very far from, being relaxed that was. It was a valid question, why was she telling Veronica about the situation rather than the man she had at home with her everyday who headed up the very enterprise she was apparently trying to protect. The answer was simple though. “Elias is my fiancee, I don’t discuss it often at work obviously because I’ve not gotten this far without a good head on my shoulders, but it’s still known and therefore if their infiltration is uncovered by the Morgan clan out of seemingly nowhere I’m going to be the first place they look. You and I though?” She gestured between them with one finger, shrugging her shoulders. “You’re an attractive and prominent woman in my fiancée’s life, I’ve allowed the assumption to be made that I don’t care for your wellbeing. If not the opposite. Which isn’t true obviously or I wouldn’t be here talking to you, however my first priority is always going to be my family.” She paused, lifting her coffee cup but not taking a drink just yet. “Not to mention Elias would respond with his emotions thanks to the news coming from me. If it comes from you, he will respond with his head, which is a less volatile situation.” No one could accuse Casey of not knowing the way her future husband worked that was for sure. “I do. I think you should be taking a close look at everyone who is around you, anyone who’s appeared in the last two or three weeks, if not a month. They’ll have slipped in seamlessly no doubt. It’s what they are trained for.”

Casey presented the first phase of her plan, her conspiratorial words muffled by the high-pitched sound of metal clicking against the porcelain as the sugar in Veronica’s coffee dissolved. Some would perhaps be offended at Casey’s brutal honesty but Veronica was relieved. The older woman had no illusions of being close to Casey in any way. Had the other brunette declared her undying loyalty to Veronica or anything similar, Veronica would've immediately lost her patience and call her out. “You don’t have to worry about your esteemed colleagues believing you, they do for sure. I’m not the most popular person around the town,” at least as far as Downtown went. Mystic point was another story but the high society didn’t adore the owner of Rosie’s-- probably were able to sense her own contempt for them. Fortunately for her, Veronica wasn’t burdened with the need to be liked. Her position came with an army of enemies and left little to no room for friends. It was interesting, Casey’s reasoning. It wasn’t necessarily what Veronica would’ve done but she, however, wasn’t about to dissect or analyze Casey and Elias’ relationship-- what mattered was the fact Casey had through this through. “And if he asks where I heard the twins story? Do you have any preferences or should I let my imagination go wild? Should I say I read all about it on social media!” The last sentence left her lips as the song died. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, the two women were still discussing the twins and their shenanigans. Veronica stood up, smoothing out the material of her pantsuit, a smile gracing her lips. Only those who knew her would recognize it as wicked. “Don’t you worry, I’ll see to it personally.” Again, some might think she was referring to the jukebox but Veronica already began listing mafia members in her head and coming up with various ways of how to extract information. A minute later, she returned as another song began playing. “And you? How are you dealing with all this? --Twins growing up, I mean. It’s complicated, no? Hard, I imagine too.”

Elias: As long as your keeping up with your witchcraft darling, that's all I can ask.

Elias: As resident former hoe, I couldn't be prouder.

Elias: You're something else, V.

Elias: Its work, I broke someone's bones, had a few shirts ruined, the usual.

Elias: Have some things to discuss when you're back though.

Elias: so sweet, the twins say hi!

Veronica: Ah yes, you've left a trail of broken hearts. Crystal City will never been the same. Some of your former lovers have come to cry to me too. The audacity!

Veronica: I am, aren't I. ;)

Veronica: As long as you had someone to clean up your mess, it's all good. Shame about the shirts, though. Was it silk?

Veronica: Sure. I'll stop by as soon as we get back.

Casey watched Veronica closely for signs of body language that would indicate if she was telling the truth or not. Additionally it would give away if she had any uncertainty about their exclusion from prying ears that may be listening in to the conversation. Once she was satisfied by the promise of discretion she had been given the lawyer took a breath, glad Elias’ closely trusted confidant hadn’t gone on some long winded answer about her Christmas and new year because frankly the lawyer didn’t ask because she was genuinely wanting an answer. She had been buying herself time to get her ducks in a row, and now she was reassured that this conversation was going no further than this table she started to speak. “Don’t react to this information because I honestly don’t know who is watching us, they need to believe I’m here to pick up a pie and have a cup of coffee. I know I’m explaining things to you that you already know but bare with me.” It’s not like she was used to being the one doing the lying regarding criminal activity, she was normally the person who was meant to be extracting the truth. “There has been a plan set up in the DA’s office to infiltrate Elias, yourself, and the other alliances you all hold. Someone posing as a member you can all trust, but they’re not, they are a junior in the attorney office who has a history of covert operations with MI5 in London. At this point I don’t have much more information as they are keeping me rather deliberately out of the loop, you can understand why. Those who know my wedding plans aren’t willing to risk their chance at the big time if I ruin their chances to pull in a big case. It could be a huge coo for the city.” The whole time the brunette had been speaking she had punctuated it with small movements, a sip of her coffee here and a gesture there, making it (she hoped) impossible to determine the topic of conversation from anywhere outside of earshot of the two women. The whole while her heart was hammering in her chest worse than it had in court in years. She would rather face down an entire row of convicted criminals than be having this conversation with Veronica Leon, but needs must and for the sake of her family and her children she had to stick her neck out like this to share the information. “Now laugh, because I just told you a funny story about the twins.” She instructed with a sweet smile.

With a calm smile plastered across her lips, Veronica tried to make the situation easier for Casey by letting her go on and on, even treat V as if this had been her first day on the job. In reality the other didn’t have to worry because pretending came easy to Veronica, after years in the business, she had perfected her poker face; and didn’t have to remind herself to smile or act casually. Quite frankly, Casey’s attitude, had she not been completely clueless, would’ve been insulting. This way, Veronica couldn’t hold her caution against her. If anything, it showed Elias had chosen himself a clever partner. So the older woman allowed Casey to get those instructions she felt obligated to give out, get it all off her chest, for her own sake. Her proximity to the brunette allowed her to sense her unease she was struggling to hide but alas, was fairly successful in doing so. The issue she presented hadn’t been so shocking to Veronica, to Casey it must’ve been but spies and other undercover wanna-bes were a pesky, frequent occurrence the mafia leaders were on a constant lookout for. They could cause a lot of damage nonetheless so any intel was welcome surely, if nothing to avert a disaster. “Except everyone here knows such a story would never elicit a laugh from me.” Veronica never was big on kids-- an information Casey needed to know if she didn’t want to be suspicious. A laugh bubbled out of her nonetheless. “Truly, an entertaining anecdote,” A moment later, she leaned back against the red and soft leather, releasing a light sigh. “And Casey, if I may ask, how come you’re telling me stories about your kids and not their father?” V let a sugar cube plop into her coffee before taking a spoon and stirring her coffee, the sound of metal swirling around in porcelain making it impossible for anyone other than Casey to hear. “Do you think the plan has already been set in motion?”

it was a pretty slow day at spine that record. shane preferred it that way; less people to irritate her. but it also made the day go by much slower, the hours seemed to drag on. she found herself checking her phone far too often to check the time, only to see ten minutes had passed. stocking was already done, she dusted random shelves that didn’t get much action, now she was sitting behind counter. she didn’t mind working at the shop, it was pretty easy and her music loving side enjoyed the customers who stopped to talk to her. at least it was better than some fast food gig or working in a strip mall folding clothes all day. the bell of the door chimed, signaling a customer walking in; shane perked up behind the counter, leaning on her elbows. “hey, let me know if you need help finding anything. we just got some new stuff in if you want to check it out,” she called out in her customer service voice with a half forced smile. 

@crystalcitystarters​

Entering the record store, an overly sweet tone of voice reached her and Veronica knew she arrived to the right place. The girl’s tone awfully reminded her of Kat’s, apparently all Spin The Record employees were equally miserable. V understood though, the caporegime herself had done her fair share of faux smiles, obligated to converse with all sorts of sleezy mafia associates. “Hello, darling,” a casual smirk climbed on her red-painted lips as she slipped off her leather gloves. “No thank you, wouldn’t want to bother you. Besides, Kat already showed me, I love the Sinatra remastered box set.” The day the new CDs, records and merch arrived, the two women sneaked in the back room, inspected and discussed it all over a glass of whiskey. Perks of having your best friend work in such a store and not give a damn about whether they’d get caught or not. “Speaking of, have you seen the saucy little minx?”

The last time Celine and Veronica spoke, it dealt with the topic of her estranged brother. One that the doctor did not confirm nor deny about. Although she ended up lying completely to her face about not knowing who the man really was in the photograph, it didn’t mean that she didn’t think any less of V. The other woman had her reasons as to why she had that photograph, just as Cel had her reasons for not disclosing that individual’s identity. The truth was a two way street and if both women weren’t going to be upfront about it, then they might as well be on the same level of the playing field. 

“Yes ma’am.” replied Celine with a nod. “I get that time is money and rather valuable, especially now more than ever.” It was the New Year after all and in a place like Rosie’s Diner, there was no excuse for it to be not prepared. “Aww V, that’s so sweet of you to bless me with that title, but honestly incentive or not—I simply want to support you and the business. You’re literally running this place like a one woman show and so you need all the help you can get.” She paused as a sheepish smile crept onto her lips, “Although in the spirit of the holidays and since you insisted…I will circle back on that offer later. Right now, let’s zhuzh up the place with new year decor.” 

Pressing her lips together, Celine thought about the suggestion and nodded, “That’s actually a good idea. I’ll keep that in mind for the children.” She then curled them into a playful smile and added, “No one should mess with you Veronica, period…that’s like a Crystal City social rule.” Cel’s gaze eventually softened after learning about the other’s holiday and so she nodded in understanding before taking the time to provide a response of her own. “I’m glad you had a lovely break V, you deserve it. Um…I worked and then when I did have a day off I spent it at my grandparents…Other than that, it was just me, myself and I.” She then emitted a nonchalant laugh and tried to lessen the blow, “No big deal though, I will say I did have some get togethers with co-workers and friends, so that was a nice addition to my so called holiday break as well.”

Veronica’s gaze was fixed upwards as she was arranging the decorations, moving them a bit to the left-- and then right, up and down-- until it was pleasing to her eye. Celine’s words were sweet, those were the kind of compliments V appreciated-- anyone could look good or be a sweet-talker, she preferred when her hard work was recognized as such. “Thank you, for everything-- is what I’m trying to say, I suppose.” The other brunette mentioned getting back to her offer and Veronica looked down at her, wiggling her eyebrows. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. You have to try our new desserts.”  The other seemed to accept her idea and V nodded in response, mind wandering off to a different time but... The same place, actually. “I remember one time I broke my leg falling from a high fence, chasing after Kevin of all people. I had to spend the night in the hospital, and I couldn’t fall asleep. All night I kept staring at the lights in the hallway, hoping to see mama or papa coming and get me. Or even Bear coming to break me free,” Veronica reminisced in a wistful tone before smacking her lips, her tone turning more decisive. “Right, if you manage to convince him, let me know how it goes.”

No one should mess with you, Veronica. Was what triggered her train of thought about Celine’s brother. After finally identifying the man in the photographs taken by one of  their associates, Veronica wasn’t in the rush to contact Celine. Partially due to the complex nature of the situation but mainly because the man turned out to be her brother which meant Celine wasn’t in any immediate danger. Hopefully. In a way, Veronica was relieved. On the other hand, why couldn't Celine simply tell her who he was on the spot? Did the doctor have something to hide after all? Could be, after all both Veronica and Kevin had let their lives go south, getting involved with the mafia. No one should mess with you, Veronica. “I wholeheartedly agree,” she said with a humorless smirk, hopping down, lifting one of the boxes and leaning in closer to the other brunette. “I suggest taking your own advice, Celine.” V told the other in a low tone, giving her a meaningful look before calling out in a louder voice. “The Winter Wonderland is ready, come on, let’s put these boxes away, grab one.” Veronica declared to the rest of the world while in reality it was a ploy to get Celine alone and face her with the lies she had told her.