A T T E N T I O N.

The more she spoke, the more he could feel his irritation bubbling. There was always the option of taking out his gun, finishing it all with one shot… granted a dead Capo wasn’t something he wanted on his doorstep. They weren’t prepared for something like Ivory retaliation, not with the change in their leadership still finding its footing. It seemed the only choice Julian had was to respond with a sour “Careful, that trash has a temper. They might not like hearing that.” 

“Testing the waters.” Julian nodded, a Cheshire cat smile pulling his lips upwards. As much time as he didn’t have, maybe indulging her would get her to leave quicker. It was that thought that made him take another step forward, the distance between Vittori and Ivory closing. “So you’re the kind of woman that likes a thrill, likes to swim with the sharks…”  Onyx eyes looked her up and down before he shrugged. “The thing is when you get into deep water, you’ve got to know all the risk that comes with it- say you let loose a drop of blood near a frenzy, it wouldn’t be long until a great white decided to make you its meal…” Wanting excitement was something that Julian understood, he oftentimes craved mayhem simply because it was fun. The one thing, however, that kept him alive was knowing which chaos to access. To not punch above his weight if he couldn’t win, or if there wasn’t something worthy to gain.  “It’s the same thing with being an Ivory and showing up on Vittori property… make the wrong move and those pretty brown eyes could become someone’s cufflinks.” 

  Vivian grinned, enjoying the back and forth that she and Julian participated in just a little bit too much. It was a shame that he was so handsome, truly — pretty looks wasted on someone who affiliated themselves with the scum under her shoe. Nevertheless, the woman continued, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. “If only, Julian. It would be a pleasure to be hunted by you in another life. Of course, I have standards.” The woman brushed her hair behind her ear and reached into her purse, rummaging around for a long moment before she pulled out a package of mints.

  “You would be lucky to have a pair of eyes like these even look at you twice,” Vivian began, pressing a mint to her tongue before she looked back out at the water beside her. It was vast and cool, timeless, but filled with the blood of her enemies and their lacklustre attempts at cultivating a business in this city. For a moment, the woman considered staying, but realized that her time was most likely up in this particular venue.

  “I suppose I’ll leave you be, Julian. Besides, I’ve been told I look astounding from behind. You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you watch me walk away.” Vivian pushed her sunglasses up on the bridge of her nose and puckered her lips at the man, turning on her heels to leave the forbidden territory.

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.

  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.”

“Yes. I’m hardly boring, Vivian.” It was only a matter of time before Nina bragged to someone. Emilia had yet to learn the full details of Nina’s plan because Nina had not quite gauged how the other girl would take it, and she wouldn’t be able to bear if Emilia became disappointed in her. This also wasn’t something she could shout from the rooftops either, considering she was supposed to be sneaky. Then again, Nina had spent her entire life being sneaky, showing people what she wanted them to see and hiding what they could never find out.

“Emilia and I spent some time in Colombia last summer,” she began quietly, just in case anybody unsavory snuck up on them. “And I met a guy, of course. We hit it off, saw each other a lot, had a great time…and then I came home and figured I’d never see him again.” That wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for a young woman like her - Nina had met and slept with plenty of men she would never see again. That was half the fun. “So imagine my surprise when I see him again at the vineyard.” She paused for a few seconds for dramatic effect, as was her way. “Rodrigo Vargas, the Vargas underboss.”

  Vivian raised her eyebrows. Fair enough, an appropriate answer, she thought. Her interest was peaked and, as Nina spoke, the brunette leaned forward and tilted her sunglasses toward the end of her nose. It was rare for her to be in public without makeup on, as she always chose to look her best no matter the time of day, but today was different — hence the sunglasses to cover up her flaws, though there weren’t many to hide to begin with.

  “The only way this story could get less interesting is if you told me you and Emilia were secretly lovers. Being gay is hardly shocking anymore, Nina, my dear.” Her voice was slightly hoarse, so she sipped her warm coffee, settling into her spot as the woman in front of her continued with her antics. But then, just as the brunette was beginning to clock out, her interest was captured yet again.

  Nina had been together with the Vargas underboss. Oh, it was almost too good to be true. 

  For a moment, Vivian grinned wildly, enjoying being let in on the gossip — similarly, it made her let out a laugh, as she couldn’t help but be surprised that she hadn’t done something like that first. Not that Vivian hadn’t slept with her share of questionable partners, but she hadn’t gone that far up the chain of command with somebody from a different clan.

  “I have many questions, sweetheart. But first I must ask, was it good?”

“One hell of a place to go mind your own business.” This was the thing that bothered him the most about the Ivories. It wasn’t the fact that they wanted to kill him- frankly, they were another name on the list-, or that they wanted his businesses, no, it was their timing. Like stepping in gum or spilling your coffee, they managed to always be irritating at the wrong time. Julian would’ve been willing to indulge a little game if it wasn’t for the fact that a ship was arriving soon. So, despite the attractive woman in front of him, he simply rolled his eyes.

“Here you are.” He muttered, taking a few steps forward until he was promptly in front of Vivian. “So as much as I love some good bullshit, what do you want?” Julian Pistris was a gentleman. And gentleman catered to a lady’s needs, especially if it meant getting her the hell out of his hair. 

  Vivian loved a good cat and mouse game as much as the next person, though she wondered if indulging in such play with a Vittori was a good idea. In the grand scheme of things, likely not, but she was ultimately just bored and needed something (or someone) to play with. Julian Pistris would do for now — there was something intriguing about the danger of being in a place that she didn’t belong in. She knew that despite how scum-adjacent she found the Vittori and the entirety of their clan, she was on their territory and for the best interest of everybody, she would keep her claws to herself.

  For now.

  “By no means is this a compliment Julian, but the views down here are nice,” Vivian began, before eyeing the groups of people situated behind him. “Despite the trash you forgot to pick up.” She allowed a small smirk to rest on her painted lips, looking his face over as he stepped toward her. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m not here on any designated mission. Just testing the waters, seeing how far in I can go before waves are created.”

@vivixnr​ .

 The years from her time in high school had passed almost in a blink of an eye. How many people had she passed on the streets that were in her grade, that Safiye paid no time too. She wasn’t a clique person – no. Safiye knew everyone, the only thing was is most people didn’t know her. The Turkish girl who never had another over, kind of a blend into the crowd vibes… Yet it was her luck, the cafe bustling with people in and out. Rushing to get to some place while the brunette felt like she was a lost child. Standing there with a muffin and tea in hand scanning for a seat. 

   She spotted a vaguely familiar face – hell it could have been just a ‘face’ that was similar to others, yet she still moved forward. “Hi I hope – this isn’t weird but, have we met before?”

  Vivian sat nearest to the window of the small cafe, enjoying the sun against her skin as she sipped on her latte. It had been a quiet morning for her in terms of work and, for a small period of time, the woman decided she would go out and spend some time by herself. At the end of the day, it was something Vivian was used to, being by her lonesome. Not that she wasn’t surrounded by people every hour of the day, but she didn’t feel particularly connected to many of them — in the simplest of ways, Vivian was alone. But she liked it that way. Connection was complication and complication meant distraction.

  And nothing would distract Vivian from furthering herself in her career.

  Except, for now, a woman who had decided it was okay to speak to her. She looked up, thoughts interrupted, and squinted slightly. “Depends on who’s asking.” It was a simple statement, but one that rang true for the brunette. She studied the face of the woman speaking to her — she was beautiful, pretty in the same way that Vivian thought of herself. She did look familiar, though, which wasn’t surprising as the small brunette had her hands in a lot of different cookie jars.

The woman thought nothing of eyes on her body anymore. The sensation of being, for a lack of better words, ogled at took her time to adjust to, when she started stripping. After a while, she realized it was part of the reason why she enjoyed it. Stripping was an art. Her body was her paint brush, her tool. People were looking at her as they would a painting. Brie certainly wasn’t complaining, considering she was being paid to talk - instead of exhausting herself dancing.

“Oh, Viv.” Brie chuckled. The woman appeared to being play hard to get, but that wasn’t her intention. Not picking a capo merely had to do with liking the freedom of working for them all. The woman never saw herself to be valuable enough to pine after, “I see now you’re not going to give up.”

Vivian was an admirable woman. Not only did she hold herself well, she seemed to get the job done. “It’s flattering, but I don’t know why you want me so bad.” She smiled widely.

  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.”

Where: Ray’s Diner When: Early afternoon Who: & @vivixnr​

The diner wasn’t a place that Nina often frequented (why would she when there were so many other more…picturesque places to have a meal), but it was just across the street from Ivory Films. For some reason, she always felt like she was inconveniencing Vivian when in her presence and she did not want to waste any of the older woman’s time. Nina rarely felt that was about anyone and was usually quite inconsiderate of other people’s time, but the capo was somebody whom Nina wanted to impress. It was a strange feeling.

And so she sat across from Vivian in a booth near the back of the diner, mostly obscured from view so that neither of them would be recognized. This was a private conversation, after all. Nina took a sip of the less-than-average coffee and set it back down on the table before pushing her plate forward a bit and leaning in. “Do you want to know a secret?”

  Vivian didn’t particularly enjoy frequenting the diner that was across the street from her place of work, but desperate times called for desperate measures — and right now, she needed coffee. The woman had been up all night after a bender with some of her colleagues and, though she was able to catch some sleep in the early morning, she had to be up and productive for the rest of the day. It was less than professional, but she had done much more on much less sleep in the past, so this was nothing.

  Sitting in the back of the diner where no one could see how haggard she looked, Vivian looked up as Nina spoke. She raised her eyebrows behind her sunglasses, taking a sip of her second cup of coffee, allowing her manicured hands to hold onto the ceramic mug with ease.

  “Depends on the secret. Is it worth my time?” A small, easily concealed smile grew on Vivian’s face as she watched Nina, enjoying the easy banter the two had.

“If you’re looking for the tour offices or the ferry, you’re about two kilometers off, mon cherie.” The Montreal ports- in reality, they were the Pistris ports- were home to some of the world’s best contraband trade. There were the drugs, hidden in crates with home appliances. The guns that were safely sprinkled amidst car parts and oil barrels. At the top of it all sat Julian, the Harbour Master and the commissioner to the Vittori. It’d been his family line that extended through history to run the city’s riverside warehouses… as it was, business led him back to the familiar twists and turns that dotted the coast. Today was a big day for his operation. They were expecting about thirty MSGLs, bless those crazy Bulgarian fucks, to arrive within the next thirty minutes. It was the nature of the trade that made him notice the woman standing not too far off. This was not the time for curious eyes to be prying.

She was well dressed- the clothes far too nice to be out in a dirty shithole like this. In comparison, Julian had on a beat up leather jacket, ripped jeans… what was worse than her outfit, given the conditions, was her confidence. There was only one group in their city that could muster up a shit-eating grin like that… “Listen, I’ve already dealt with two fucking idiots today, I’m not really in the mood to add another to my list, sweetheart. How about you walk your little heels out of here and back to Willow Lane.” 

  Julian Pistris.

  A man of good looks and high status. In another world, he would have been Vivian’s type; hell, given the right circumstances, he still might be. But he was Vittori bound and so, with a heavy heart, Vivian had denoted him to pond scum. It was unfortunately, really, but at the end of the day she could have any man she wanted and one pretty smile from the pits of hell wouldn’t cross her mind a second time. Though, he did call her sweetheart, so who knew?

  “Down, boy. I’m simply minding my own business, enjoying the view.” A sly smile grew on her painted lips as she eyed the man in front of her, the idea of her presence putting a damper in his plans making her fingers tingle. Vivian truly was a glutton for punishment and a sucker for chaos. “Besides, I have standards higher than Willow Lane. Though, here I am, so perhaps that isn’t the case.” Vivian wrinkled her nose to herself and looked at the length of the dock, viewing the patrons it held.

The body that had popped up on the radar of the police earlier that morning was nothing that might have alerted Savannah beyond her current case load. It was Montreal - a day in which a body wasn’t found was a slow one at that. Albeit, not something that the public knew as in depth as others, the crown prosecutor had never been fooled by the lacking media attention of everything that went on in the underbelly of the city and if anything, she encouraged the majority be kept from loose lips. It wasn’t until she’d been notified of where the body was found that the blonde sought to pull the necessary strings to keep it under wraps until they knew more. The Vittori owned port was a notorious hot stop; and the port master himself a target that Savannah had long since sought to keep her eye on. A body found in such a manner was.. sloppy, and no doubt not one of his own yet, interesting enough that it prompted the possibility that she could use the details of how and why such a thing would turn up to her unyielding advantage.  “Actually,” The blonde woman noted, “You’ll find that they’re setting a perimeter and you’ll need to vacate the dock.” With little room to argue, the plain clothed officer who’dd approached gestured in her direction before eyeing Vivian, his demeanor far colder than the one that Savannah offered the Ivory woman. “An interesting place for you to show face, Viv.” Luckily, she wasn’t stupid enough to question it right here and now, neither one to burn barely standing bridges for as long as she could keep them for. Though she had absolutely no problem pissing of the heavy hitters, Savannah had quickly learned where and when such appropriate gestures of pending war against the organisations within their city were called for. “Perhaps the country club next.” Alluding purely to how out of place she was - that they both were, she offered a menial smile before turning face to sight the end of the dock. “I imagine they’ll be about as prepared to welcome you as the Pistris family might be.”

  “You can’t say you’re surprised, though, Savannah. I have an ongoing tendency to stick my nose where I want it to be.” Vivian brushed her hair behind her ear and surveyed the dock in front of her, giving a sly smile to the officer who had approached her in the first place. At the end of the day, the woman was really just enjoying the views from her current standing, albeit controversial to show her face in unfamiliar territory — even more so with everything that was going on.

The club buzzed with clientele on a busier than usual night. Luxure, always, brought in a crowd, but tonight had a couple bachelor parties and few new faces. Between the private dances she performed and the party favors she sold along side, Brie continued to make a pretty penny tonight. The woman was on a rise, being at the club for a while now. The raven haired woman knew how to command the club - with the bat of an eye or a calculated strap falling from her shoulder.

When called to the private room, she imagined a regular had requested her. Brie was ready to make whomever it was spend the big bucks on her. The name, familiar to her ear, clued her in that this was a different kind of business. Pushing the door open, the petite woman stood in her all black lingerie. “Viv.” She chimed, moving into the room. Sliding onto the booth, she laid back into the cushioned seat. “You know you can ask to see me when I’m not on the clock? It’s usually cheaper.” She smiled slyly. “Now, I imagine you aren’t here for a dance.”

  Vivian allowed her eyes to move over the silhouette of the woman in front of her, a grin growing on her painted lips as she did so. Brie was a beautiful woman, there was no denying that, and though Vivian didn’t entertain women in ways other than platonically, she enjoyed making eyes at the familiar face. She enjoyed looking at other good looking people, she always had — this was no exception. She allowed her manicured hand to rest on her own thigh as she began speaking, deciding to choose her words carefully.

  “Cheaper, yes, but not nearly as fun.” The brunette winked at her opposite before she leaned in closer, only enough for the conversation to carry on intimately. “I feel like you know why I’m here, darling; the same reason I always come calling your name.” 

   Vivian wanted Brie to work as one of her made men and, despite her exhausted efforts, her attempts to court the woman into working for her hadn’t worked. It wasn’t that she was desperate for understudies, but she saw something special in Brie, something that reminded her of a younger version of herself — and honestly, she would have liked to have more women working for her.

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: 11PM.

𝐖𝐇𝐎: @brie-hunter​

  There was something about making business deals that made Vivian feel untouchable, vibrant, sexy. She loved the feeling of having power in the palm of her hand, somebody’s livelihood dangling in front of them and with one quick decision, could be gone before their very eyes. Vivian often had the realization that, although some would call her masochistic, she had ventured into the right profession. 

  Though, in this line of work, you had to be at least a little bit crazy, right?

  The heels of her stilettos clicked sharply against the floor of the club as she pushed open the door to one of the many private rooms the business had to offer. They were typically saved for clients who wanted private time with the dancers, though Vivian often used them to speak to the women she employed discreetly. She sat down on the velvet couch with ease, crossing one leg over the other gracefully. The woman she was waiting for had been informed that her presence was requested and, though Vivian would pay the woman for her time, she was here to talk about business.

  And then she entered the room.

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: Sunday morning, 9AM.

𝐖𝐇𝐎: Open starter.

  Vivian wasn’t much the type to cross territories unless it involved business. Not that she was banned from going into places that didn’t belong to the Syndicate, but with her status, it was definitely risky. But the brunette had woken up with a twisting feeling in her gut, one that she had long since attributed to a biological need to cause chaos. The feeling made her fingertips tingle and historically, it had gotten her into trouble, so on this particular day Vivian decided to take it easy. 

  Nowadays, taking up space in the wrong part of town was enough to cause heads to turn.

  And so, that’s what Vivian did. She had just come from The Luxure, checking in on how everything in the establishment had gone the night before and making sure that the women that were also employed at Ivory Films were in the best shape for the following work day. The sun was bright this time of morning and as the brunette walked along the dock of Seaside Ports, a Vittori owned property, she held her vastly overpriced bag close to her body. She stuck out like a sore thumb, dripping in expensive jewelry and one of her favourite white rompers. Everything about her screamed Ivory, not just the colour of the fabric covering her warm skin.

  From a distance, the woman could see a group of people crowded at the end of the dock, and when her presence alerted them like a dog with a bone, one of the locals came moving toward her. She raised her eyebrows and tilted her sunglasses down on the brim of her nose, looking over them at the familiar face.

OPEN STARTER @ THE LUXURE for ANYONE

The former consigliere was surprised to find Montreal just as she’d left it — maybe a little dirtier, bloodier, perhaps. But, still the same. And, while it wasn’t home, it did house something important for the woman: memories, both good and bad. 

When she’d left just a over a year ago, Alex hadn’t quite expected to return so soon. Business had exploded in Texas, the newest location for an Ivory chapter. She was only there to lay foundations, but when it came time, she found herself easily assuming the leadership position, the role of Boss donned like a well-fit glove. However, much like the climate in Montreal, the Ivory Syndicate wasn’t welcomed by the city of Dallas. 

An assassination attempt had led the woman to lay low for a while, arriving back in the city she’d left a year earlier. Surprisingly, her first stop hadn’t been an attempt to seek of Zephyr Jackson. Instead, she found herself at an old, familiar haunt, The Luxure, gin and tonic resting on the bar before her. Suddenly aware of someone assuming the stool beside her, the woman pulled her drink to her lips. “Insane exactly how little can change in a year, isn’t it?” she asked, before taking a long swallow. 

  The vibrant streaks of red and purple lights that dawned the inside of the club flashed across Vivian’s olive skin, the familiar interior allowing the woman to grin to herself. The Luxure, though not her usual hangout, was a place of business for Vivian. As owner of Ivory Films, a lot of the bodies she employed were also double dipping in different careers, such as stripping at one of the Syndicate’s many capitals. She wouldn’t lie and say that she didn’t enjoy watching women dance exotically at her leisure, that was part of the fun of having her hand in the pot of The Luxure — but tonight, that was not her main priority. Instead, she was here to meet a potential body for her business. 

  However, showing up early meant she could get a buzz on before the business began.

  Moving through the maze of the club, Vivian brushed a loose curl behind her ear, a slight chill floating over the exposed skin of her shoulders. She eyed the bar and, for a moment, had to blink to make sure that her eyes were not deceiving her. Not a ghost surely, but the shadow of a woman Vivian hadn’t seen in some time. Though there were many Ivory affiliates and workers, some just seemed to stick in Vivian’s memories — Alex, for some reason, happened to be one of those of people.

  “Maybe all we needed was a blast from the past to shake things up again,” Vivian spoke, giving a nod to the bartender for her usual drink. “How’ve you been, Alex? Seems there’s a lot going on to keep everybody on their toes nowadays.”