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Post by Amel Allen on Aug 2, 2009 21:30:21 GMT -5
Date: March 7, 1960 Time: 18:32
Attention. All those present in the house must report to the second floor meeting room immediately. I repeat; all those present in the house must report to the second floor meeting room immediately.
The announcement was made only three and a half minutes after Amel had heard the news over the police scanner. A boy matching Panas’ description had been spotted being accosted at a nearby movie theater just before shots rang out inside of it. Witnesses were claiming that a very ‘frightening’ looking Asian man wearing a long black trench coat who may or may not have been armed had been seen grabbing him, and then seen again several minutes later throwing him into the back of a car. The same witnesses could not ID the car’s license plates or the driver, but Amel knew exactly what had happened.
For weeks he had heard news of something big, but there was never any definitive information besides rumor and hearsay. And even what limited talk he got, none of it panned out of went anywhere. But it was horribly clear now just what all of that talk had been about. The Liberatores had been busy.
Amel knew that he should be dealing with this alone, but at the same time he was inexperienced. He needed feedback from the others on this, especially if they would need to hand out assignments right away. They still hadn’t received a call for ransom, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t prepare ahead of time.
For now, Amel sat at the foot of the table, a cup of coffee in his hands as his feet nervously tapped the ground. In front of him was a phone with a direct line to Watari who could connect them with L if need be. Amel had already called ahead and gotten a hold of the elderly man, giving him the gist of the information. Watari had told him to keep him apprised of any further developments, but it seemed that their employer was currently out of reach. Taking a sip of his coffee, he glanced at the door, waiting for everyone to arrive.
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Post by Bella Uccella on Aug 2, 2009 23:38:32 GMT -5
I wonder if this has anything to do with why I was called back… Ines frowned as she hurriedly walked down the hall, her footfall silent as her bare feet padded on the floors. Her expression became a bit darker, or perhaps it’s an unfortunate coincidence trouble would begin at the home front.
After her little indulgence with Opa, Ines had come home, slipped off her fancy dregs and became the normal woman she intended to be while she was at Wammy’s. Dressed in jeans and an oversized sweatshirt, she looked like a different person; a woman who could stand on a street corner and not be looked at twice, a woman not defined by her body. She had not met Amel again to inquire if her orders were from him or somewhere even higher.
She smiled wanly at him when she walked in, he looked so stressed, and it confirmed her suspicion this had something to do with the Liberatores.
“Good evening Amel, it’s not good is it?” she asked softly, taking a chair near him.
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Post by Amel Allen on Aug 2, 2009 23:50:35 GMT -5
Amel glanced up as he heard someone enter, his fingers still nervously drumming against his coffee cup. When he saw the girl who entered, however, his fingers stopped moving, his shoulders relaxed, and he sat up straighter in his chair. “Ines, hello,” he said happily. A very small grin appeared on his face, and despite his anxiety for the briefest of moments he felt almost serene seeing her again.
The memory of the night that they had shared together three months ago was still vivid in his mind, and looking at the woman in her every day clothing, sitting before him rather than standing on stage or riding atop him, she was even more gorgeous than he remembered. Focus, Amel. You have a job to do. That might have been a night off, but right now you are very much on the clock.
“No, not good at all, I’m afraid,” he answered, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. “I’ll explain in further detail once everyone arrives.”
He paused and gave the woman another shy smile. “It’s…it’s very good to see you again. I mean, alive and well. Ah, rather, I’m just…glad that you’re here.”
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Post by Adrienne Ayers on Aug 2, 2009 23:55:19 GMT -5
“Ha! The lady killer at work,” Adrienne muttered as she walked into the room, taking a seat across from a woman that she didn’t recognize. Her hair was wet from a shower and pulled back into a loose bun, and she was wearing a similar outfit of jeans and a dark long sleeved shirt. The Belgian girl had been planning on spending the evening working in the darkroom when the announcement had sounded over the PA system. She was happy to give up play in lieu of work, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t give Amel a hard time about it.
Giving the girl across from her a once over, she smirked. “I can see why you’re so tongue tied, Amel. Nice to meet you, I’m Adrienne.” The girl held out a hand across the table, ignoring whatever the capo had to say on the matter. Work could wait until she had introduced herself at least.
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Post by Bella Uccella on Aug 3, 2009 9:55:06 GMT -5
How darling, he's still so shy. If only all men could be so bashful around whores you took their virginity, it spoke of his deep blue, his humility and his civility. He saw her as just a woman, and there was nothing more flattering for Ines.
"I am very good Amel, I have been well," she lied through her teeth, but that discrepancy was her problem was it not? She see the family doctor now, and have him inspect the swirl of green in her belly. Amel didn't have to know, and why should he know about something that may be nothing? Nothing was not worth worrying about.
The red haired woman was new, and Ines happily put her hand in the taller woman's. Such frivolity seemed out of place a sit down, but not everyone was here yet. Still it seemed like it was disrespectful to the capo so after giving her name she demurely looked away, as if too shy to continue on. A tactic that worked well to goad on dominant men but made most women politely refrain from more conversation or from indignation. Ines didn't want to offend Adrienne, but already her loyalty to Amel was deep.
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Samir Sorge
Associate
PR rep for the Innocenzo Family
Posts: 24
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Post by Samir Sorge on Aug 3, 2009 10:02:43 GMT -5
"This had better not be about Finn, I refuse to fetch that immature child if he has defected again except to kill him," Samir growled from the doorway, that's what he assumed this meeting was likely about. He was dressed as usual, in an impeccable outfit of designer shoes and suit, with the usual scowl.
He sat down near the capo, ignoring Adrienne, and turning his gaze intensely on his captain. Samir would argue for an execution this time, such behavior simply could not be tolerated and he refused to let the family be made fools of. He even slit that moody ass' throat himself if need be.
He glanced at the new woman but besides slightly nodding at her ignored her as well. There were more important things then introductions now.
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Post by Amel Allen on Aug 3, 2009 12:10:57 GMT -5
Amel was about to reply that he was glad she was doing well, and maybe even inquire if she’d like to get together after this meeting for tea or a game of chess when Adrienne decided that to steal his thunder. He blushed and looked down at the table, ignoring her comments about Ines. As far as Amel knew, his old rival didn’t like girls in that way, so she must have just been saying it to get on his nerves. He cleared his throat and tried to look professional, lacing his fingers together in front of him on the table while the two exchanged introductions.
Samir’s loud voice was appreciated, for once. Amel glanced up at the taller man and shook his head. “No, this has nothing to do with Finn. As far as I know he’s secured in his room. I put Shen on him for the day to keep an eye on him to prevent further problems.” He scoffed to himself, knowing what a waste of man hours it really was, but he wasn’t going to explain his personal issues to the family. It simply wasn’t important.
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Post by Adrienne Ayers on Aug 3, 2009 12:17:12 GMT -5
She’s so polite. How nice. Adrienne gave the woman a sweet smile before releasing her hand and leaning back in her chair, flashing Samir that same expression as he walked in and blatantly ignored everyone around him. Ines hadn’t taken any bait though, and the red haired girl had to wonder if she was simply being polite for the sake of the atmosphere or strictly for Amel. He said ‘nice to see you again’, but in his line he had to meet with a lot of people that the rest of the family would never get to meet with. This didn’t mean anything, but that light blush on his face told her a different story. This deserved to be looked into later.
“Samir, sorry to take you away from your beauty rest,” she said with a laugh, leaning across the table towards him playfully. But if this wasn’t about Finn, what could it possibly be about? Several members still hadn’t arrived. Was there a reason for that? She looked back up at the serious look on the blonde man’s face and frowned, her expression suddenly serious. Maybe this really was dire. She leaned back in her chair and gave the capo her full attention.
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Post by Opa Ophilius on Aug 5, 2009 0:03:24 GMT -5
Opa clunked in, feeling slightly better, having finally having changed out of her stuffy, formal suit into a comfortable, pastel-blue dress with all the lace and bows a little girl could want.
"Be quiet, don't we have work to do--?"
She stopped dead in her tracks upon spotting the girl had met earlier in the restaurant. So, this proved it. She was one of them. The entire afternoon that she could've spent in a soothing, warm bath, wasted. Her semi-content mood went plummenting, and she spared a dirty glare for her fellow Innocenzo before taking the nearest seat.
"What was that announcement about?" She asked abruptly, pretending she had done nothing out of the ordinary.
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Post by Amel Allen on Aug 5, 2009 0:22:25 GMT -5
As soon as Opa walked in, A couldn’t help but sigh softly. It seemed that his fears hadn’t been unfounded. The rest of the house that he’d expected to show up had with the exception of the young man that he had suspected of being kidnapped. He swallowed and stood up, his chair scraping the floor as he straightened his back and looked out over his family sitting around the table.
“I suppose there’s no use in waiting for anyone else to arrive,” he said in a very serious tone. “As you may have noticed we’re missing a very familiar face from our table this evening. Panas was sent out earlier for groceries and has not been seen since he left the house. This evening there was a call over the police scanner about a boy matching his description being kidnapped in broad daylight by an Asian man. It was a long shot at the time, but given the evidence it's safe to say that I can only come to one conclusion. The Liberatores have struck.”
He paused a moment, not breaking eye contact as he surveyed each member of the house. “I’m sure I don’t need to explain just how detrimental this is to us all. It brings to mind several iniquitous questions, the most important being how they found him and why they took him. I can wager several guesses as to the latter, but as for the former…” He let the implication that there might be a snitch in their midst hang in the air a moment.
“Your thoughts?”
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Post by Adrienne Ayers on Aug 5, 2009 0:44:33 GMT -5
“Shit,” Adrienne muttered as she leaned back in her chair with a soft sigh, the first to speak and offer an opinion like always. “Fucking Panas. Figures that those cowards would kidnap the weakest link in the chain.” She covered her face with her hands and groaned. This wasn’t good. Someone must have talked. Word didn’t leak out so easily, and the inhabitants of the Wammy’s House were the most closely guarded of all of the members of the family. I’ve put too much trust in these people, I haven’t had my guard up nearly enough. But…no, being paranoid won’t solve anything.
Leaning forward, she put her hands on the table and glanced up at Samir, looking frightened for once.
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Samir Sorge
Associate
PR rep for the Innocenzo Family
Posts: 24
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Post by Samir Sorge on Aug 5, 2009 8:26:27 GMT -5
Samir narrowed his eyes at the announcement. Well that was unexpected and frightening, it was doubtful the Liberatores had captured the boy just to show off. Even if it sounded like they had used the assassin with a penchant from gruesome murder scenes.
I could argue to just let them have Panas...Allen wouldn't stand for it though. As much as Adrienne is right Allen believes all the links are necessary. He glanced at the woman and to see the frightened look in her eyes was discontenting. he nervously loosened his tie. He licked his lips as in calculation before he turned back to Allen.
"Before we all start looking to tear one anothers throats out, let us recall there are more ways than espionage to spy." He looked around the table before his gaze settled back on the capo.
"Wire taps, and a contact snitching. Panas was an errand boy, someone only associated with the family could have squealed and a Liberatore could have been tracking him as he moved through Winchester for a long length of time. A Liberatore plant could have also concluded that he was a member simply by stalking him for a long length of time. Yes we need to be more careful, but I think it is reasonable to assume all those gathered here and trustworthy." Yes he did truly believe this, given everyone else here watched everyone else. There was too much inbred paranoia that something like this could be missed.
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Post by Bella Uccella on Aug 5, 2009 8:49:26 GMT -5
Still so offended dear? the woman thought mirthfully at Opa’s reaction to seeing her. She hid her smile behind her hand, this one liked to play hard to get. All her good humor was swept away however when Amel informed them what the meeting was about, Her hand lowered to reveal a frown as guilt swept over her.
Ines had been stationed in the Liberatore heart land and she hadn’t even heard the inkling of something like this being planned. It must have taken at least months of preparation. Had she not listened when she should, scout the wrong customers? Not gone to the right cafes and clubs? The operation sounded like it had been at the highest family levels, it was likely only two people were involved in the actual capture. One of them she thought she had heard of before.
“An Asian man in a black coat? Have you ever heard of Beyond Birthday Amel?” she asked with an obvious look of disgust. “He’s a Japanese assassin employed by the family and especially cherished because he never leaves any evidence behind after a gruesome crime scene, they’re his two calling cards. He’s fairly highly ranked, whoever was with him was probably either their capo or the consigulerie, this is not an ordinary kidnapping.”
If it was an affair arranged that high in the family the there would have been no stirring of whispers. Still the idea did not assuage her feeling of incompetence as she knew the players yet had not become close enough to the family to gain truly relevant information.
“They must have gone to so much trouble and only used their most loyal soldiers…they’re going to use him.”
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Post by Amel Allen on Aug 5, 2009 10:17:25 GMT -5
Amel didn’t comment on each individual comment from his family, simply listening and nodding, taking all of their information to heart. Their body language didn’t cry out to him of treason or bad intention; on the contrary they all looked genuinely concerned and shocked by this information. But he was glad that every one of them at least understood the gravity of the situation without him having to say anything.
Samir had a good point, Panas was the one on the move most often, and that naturally made him an easy target for following and watching. In that case he was the easiest person to apprehend, albeit a rather weak bargaining chip. But to learn of his identity and then send out someone out to get him, Amel was surprised that no one knew of any specifics. These things didn’t stay hidden.
But as Ines explained the identity of their kidnapped, all of a sudden it made sense. While the name was familiar, Amel had never heard of anything related to the man other than his keen ability to create a crime scene and leave nothing behind. But until now, he hadn’t actually been seen. This was new. This was a clue, but it also brought up too many new questions. Why come out into public now? Territory. It’s always about territory with them. We haven’t executed any members of their family lately that would warrant this sudden threat. Who had planned the mission? Their prestigious capo, no doubt, if he called out the highest ranked assassin that he had, especially if Ines thinks that he was also there. Had it gone poorly because of some outside source that forced this Beyond Birthday to make himself known?
Amel closed his eyes and tried to picture the scene he had heard on the police scanner. Panas wouldn’t have resisted, he wasn’t the type to fight for his life, but he did carry a weapon. He must have brandished it at some point, that would explain the shots that were heard after he was taken into the theater. Panas didn’t hold a lot of classified information, so he wasn’t taken for that purpose. No, they wanted to barter with him, and they knew that the Innocenzos were not going to be so quick as to throw him under the bus or dismiss him as a casualty of war; they were all too prideful for that type of ploy. Shit. We need to get him back.
“This is all good information,” he muttered, mostly to himself as he opened his eyes back up. “I think we have all of our answers. We should be expecting a call soon, for ransom or bargaining; whatever it is that they are truly after. They will want to meet to discuss the terms, as per usual. Samir, you will accompany me.”
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Post by Adrienne Ayers on Aug 5, 2009 10:33:33 GMT -5
Adrienne visibly relaxed as the rest of the family weighed in on the situation. Samir of course was diplomatic, but he at least put her mind at ease that there was no reason to suspect any of them unnecessarily. If there was one thing that scared the young assassin, it was being killed or ratted out by a member of her own family. It was hard enough trusting them as it was, when it should have been done without question. But the rebellious girl’s mentality simply didn’t allow for that kind of comfort.
She took a side glance at Ines’ information; it seemed that the girl across from her really was more than just a pretty face. She had heard of Beyond Birthday as well; the killer with the clean crime scenes. Until now, she wasn’t sure anyone had heard of him, but the very idea that she could come in contact with him was thrilling in a way. While she didn’t put a lot of thought and meticulous cleaning into her own hits, she was fascinated by a killer who killed just to see the blood run. You’ve let yourself out, Birthday? I look forward to killing you.
While Adrienne’s mind went instantly to revenge, wanting to suggest that they retaliate lest the other family think that they were just pussies, Amel was right. They needed to get him back without casualties; this is why he was capo and she fell behind. Her personality didn’t allow for such meticulous thought. She was surprised however when he offered to go speak to the Libertores in person. He rarely even left the house! Aside from 2 or 3 necessary missions to Italy and France last year, the skittish young capo tended to do all of his negotiating and work from his study.
“Amel…ah, sir, I would suggest that I go with you as well,” she said. “You and Samir can’t defend yourselves, and even if the negotiations are supposed to be peaceful, you can’t possibly have the foresight to think that they will remain that way."
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