𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 soul, deeply effected by the passage of time -- but what keeps her upright is her foundation of confidence. much like all aura's it's breakable, but she will show the world it is anything but. she is no stranger to maddox's hardened shell for she wears one too ( the armor itself was a hint different ). there's something about being a part of a band that manages to allow her the room to feel even somewhat vunerable, even if the capo has made a distinct effort to keep from showing her cards. no one gets to see those. hell, even the jade tribe has never seen some of them.

music is nothing without connection -- a deeply-wound ability to fall into rhythm and perfect time. from the first rehearsal it had been noticeable how the pair were able to speak to each other without even saying a single word. it was a beautiful thing about the relationship between the accompaniment and melody, they were never one without the other: a beautiful friendship.

the nudge causes a small smirk on their face, a roll of dark eyes, knuckles extending to give veronica such a nudge back in the shoulder, a silent fuck you. "i can't help it that i was born with it all," he teases, trying to put some energy back into themselves. to forget. "okay, but if you get esperanza then i at least get to do some brad mehldau," the inclusion of hit the road jack made him humm, thinking it through for a few brief moments. "i feel like we've got to end the set with that, seeing as its a crowd pleaser,"

His feelings toward Opal weren't anything close to warmth. He didn't view her as a friend or little sister. No, he saw her more as an investment. Nurturing her skills was a way to help continue to build the Burning Gods' profile and further his desire to watch the city's upper elite crash and burn. Today's exercise was another way to help build up her portfolio and prove herself in the association.

❝I need you to find the names of the investors, particularly those who are putting money into a supposed "rival casino" in Harlem.❞ He used air quotes when talking about the enemy's business, for he knew nothing could compare to Old World Casino's business. They had beat out rival businesses before--- this was just another soul to crush. ❝Once we learn who is involved, we can bleed them dry.❞ He tilted his head, looking at his mentee and associate. A small smirk appeared on his lips as he asked, ❝Do you have any questions?❞  

were they an expert? not yet, plenty of times opal had experienced far more adept hackers who'd fried her a little. "can do," the blonde confirmed, dark eyes looking up as haneul spoke. "shouldn't be too hard," not arrogance, just new-found confidence. "seems straightforwards...unless you think there's something i should know?"

Still  slightly  slow,  movements  —  a  little  bit  awkward,  and  he  can  only  hope  he’s  now  keeping  them  way  for  too  long.  The  face  he  sees,  though,  is  only  slightly  familiar,  and  so  he  tries  hard  to  catch  every  word  he  hears  –  a  name  is  enough  to  place  tales  he’s  heard  to  this  individual.  “Donnie?  Yeah,  I  know  you.  From  what  I’ve  heard,  you  really  are  kind  of  a  big  deal  –  what  makes  you  think  we  wouldn’t  be  on  the  same  page?”  he  moves  aside  a  little,  a  silent  invitation  to  come  in.  And  the  door  closes  behind  them  as  Yamato  leads  them  both  inside  the  dimly  lit  living  room.  “She’s  not  home.  You  really  knew  when’s  the  best  time  to  come,  hm?  Would  you  like  a  drink?” 

it's dark in here, some may call it atmospheric, eyes trailing round the decor like he hasn't been here before. "dunno. kind of hard to know, isn't it, without ever talking in person," long fingers tap his chin. "yeah, i'll take a cola if you've got that. or like - a beer, if you're offering," there's a grin on his face at the suggestion, knowing that there has to be some of the good stuff in a fridge in a place like this. donovan would bet it even had an ice dispenser. oh, how the other half lived!

pure, searing hot rage was second nature to nazira. the smallest spark would course through like a forest fire, igniting anything that it could until it was untameable and all she could see was red and the only thing that could bring her back down was to hurt people, inflict violence and pain. a child weaned on poison considers harm a comfort. it was what she knew best, what she was raised on. before red eye, she was just another faceless child, forgotten about in an orphanage. there was a small part of her that envied maddox knowing that he had a life before red eye, he had a mother that cared for him even if it was for a little while. an exasperated sigh sounds from her as she places her hands on her hips, blowing the hair out of face. "come on maddie, i know you can do better than that. i would say you hit like a girl, but i'd be insulting myself."

This mission was one of those assignments. The thought of them and Donnie posing as a couple was laughable at best and destined to fail at worst. Anyone with eyes could see the duo looked nothing like a couple, but hopefully, their salesman's so desperate to make a sale that he wouldn't look too closely.

❝This is so fucking stupid. No one's going to believe we're a couple.❞ They mumbled, reluctantly grabbing hold of their partner's hand. They made a face at the action--- not used to holding hands with their dates, let alone a man they had no feelings toward. ❝Why can't we just distract the guy and steal his keys? Seems easier than this.❞

even if he and jade were the most unconvincing couple...potentially ever.

their comment made him roll his eyes. "no fucking shit," donnie responded as jade took hold of his hand, holding onto it just barely. just enough to look convincing to anyone who wasn't looking too hard. "look, i just do what i'm asked. we need to get the subaru and the BMW, and apparently looking like we date is supposed to work like a charm on this guy because i sure as shit don't have a tonne of charisma and neither do you,"

One might be inclined to question why Rosie D'Angelo is loitering by an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the night. It's a good question – but one that, unfortunately, does not have a simple answer. Honestly, it's not uncommon for Rosie to just start walking at the end of her casino shifts – setting off with no clear direction and stopping only when the soles of her feet grow sore. For many, wandering the streets of NEW YORK CITY at night might be a daunting task – but Rosie has lived here her entire life. She knows each street, each alleyway, every nook and cranny, like the back of her hand. If she tried, she could probably traverse this terrain with her eyes close ( this would be silly, though, what if she tripped on a rock or something ? ).

She'd not meant to venture towards the stretch of abandoned warehouses on the outskirts of the city – mostly because they were fucking boring, and a waste of her time to explore. She's about to turn back when she hears the sound of footsteps against concrete – signalling that she isn't alone. Note: running toward strange noises is not generally a good idea, but Rosie isn't known for her forward-thinking, so curiosity quickly overwhelms her, and she peers around the corner, spotting a man with a tank of gasoline and a frown etched into his features when he spots Rosie.

"right. well, yeah, thinking like...going to set them all on fire? so maybe get a taxi or like...i could give you a lift? anywhere specific you wanna be?"

where: ralph's boxing gym after hours

leaning against the wall in the back, frankie stayed still beyond an occasional pull from the vape ( that she hates ) and big, smokey lined green eyes moving around the room as everyone got there. she wasn't the person who took the lead at these things normally. frankie tended to jump in when there was a conflict that needed to be resolved or a problem that needed solving. that's where she saw her strengths residing along with a one on one level. this attack she took a bit more personal than other things and she wanted to start things off.

"alright listen up!" she barked in a hoarse voice. "i don't know which one of you ass splinters dropped the ball on this one and i don't care right now. we have a big problem." frankies hands moved when she spoke, accentuating everything she said. "what if they get my prototypes next time, or our personal arsenal? they'll have the upper hand and i don't know about yous but i am going to go nuclear if other people start making my shit." because she sure as hell didn't spend all that time in the lab for someone to steal her creations and ideas. "so tonight, we're all scientists here. we're going to look at the big picture and get all the data, then narrow it down from there." frankie nodded waiting for responding nods to see that they understood what she was saying. "i don't like shouting over people and i sure as fuck don't want you all talking to me at once, so talk amongst yourselves - work together and come talk to me one or two at a time with what you know, what you've heard, and what you think you can do to help going forward." she pointed to a chair off to the side where she planned to be sitting. "i'll be over there. at the end of tonight i want to have a solid set of feasible plans to get final approval on."

there were papers, pictures from cameras, reems of data regarding where the stock was going, to what channels it was going through and most of it made very little sense to donovan who saw himself as a gun that simply needed to be placed in the correct direction and fired. there was a reason he hadn't made capo yet!

while others talked, he made his move, a confidence that only someone with a sure plan could have - right? "frankie, none of this shit means anything to me," he stated. "gimmie somethin'. an address, a name, let me get out there and make them pay!"