facethewolves: (thinking about murder)
Alex Udinov ([personal profile] facethewolves) wrote in [community profile] undergrounds2016-05-28 01:30 pm

IT'S GOING DOWN I'M YELLING TIMBER (aka the one where Millicent dies)


i. Let's Make A Night You Won't Remember [closed to Jean-Claude]
a bar, earlier this week

Alex doesn't know who she's supposed to be meeting, just that somebody wants to meet her. She arrives twenty minutes early, makes notes of the exits, and orders herself a dry martini to blend in. It doesn't hurt to take a few extra precautions when apparently half the city knows that you're planning to murder a high-ranking official, which is why she also has her silver knife hidden in her pocket.

She doesn't touch the drink, just sits and glowers at the bar's main entrance, waiting for the person she's supposed to be meeting to show.



ii. I'll Be The One You Won't Forget [open to all]
Westminister, May 26

Millicent is leaving the Night Council building, and Alex plans to follow her. She's not going through with the hit for a couple more days, but she needs a better grasp of the vampire's schedule. So she's lurking about half a block away from the building, waiting.

To the untrained observer, she looks like a bored girl leaning against a wall eating a muffin. Someone paying closer attention, though, might notice how often she looks down the street, and the fact that she's been very slowly eating the same muffin for the past forty-five minutes.



iii. The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall [closed to Evie]
Islington, May 28, nighttime, before Millicent dies

For the past week, Alex has been sharpening her stakes, going over all the info she has on Millicent's usual habits and schedule, planning the hit. She's decided on a close-quarters kill. For once thing, she's not sure that a wood-tipped bullet, even if it hits right between her eyes, would actually kill Millicent. For another thing, and more importantly, she wants it to feel personal. She wants Millicent to know who's killing her and why.

She knows it'll be risky, but risk never stopped her doing anything before. On the night she's picked to do it, she makes her way stealthily into Islington territory, towards the place she expects Millicent to be. A few blocks away, she pauses in a doorway to double-check her weapons - three stakes and a gun with wood-tipped bullets - and to go over the plan, such as it is, one more time in her head.

Maybe she's just jumpy, but she thinks she sees something move out of the corner of her eye. She whirls around, but nothing's there. Frowning, she goes back to checking her gun.



iv. I'm Slicker Than An Oil Spill [open to first response]
Islington, May 28, nighttime, after Millicent is dead

One of the vampires saw her. Which is bad, really bad. She ditches her jacket on a bench as she hurries past it, hoping that changing up her look slightly will shake off any pursuit. If they're looking for a girl in a black jacket and they spot her... It's not much. It's barely anything, really. If they spot her they'll know who she is. She should have kept the jacket, it was a stupid idea to lose it.

If she does get stopped, she needs to not be carrying suspicious things like stakes and guns with wood-tipped bullets. So she finds a sewer grate under a broken streetlight and pulls out three stakes and her gun. It's not that she has any sentimental attachment to her weapons, but it's not always easy to get replacements. She drops two of the stakes down through the grate without hesitation, but decides to keep the third. She'll need to defend herself if she does get caught.

She catches a shadow moving out of the corner of her eye and turns towards it, keeping the third stake and the gun out of sight.

"Somebody there?"



v. End of the Night, It's Going Down [closed to Natasha]
Ealing, May 28, late night

Alex can't go home. One of the vampires saw her face. It won't take them long to figure out who she is and where she lives. She's ditched most of her gear and her jacket, but that won't throw them off the scent for long. She needs somewhere to lay low for a while. Maybe a long while.

She can't go to any of her known acquaintances, either. The vampires will look for her there, and she doesn't want to put anyone else in danger. She needs someone that nobody knows she knows, someone nobody would expect her to hide out with.

It takes her longer than she'd like to admit to think of Natasha. She'd cautioned Alex against killing Millicent, so it's entirely probable that she'll want nothing to do with the fallout, but it's worth a try. Alex makes her way to the Redbright Institute and sneaks around until she finds a familiar smell. Carefully, just in case this goes south fast, she pulls her stake out and keeps it down by her side as she quietly follows Natasha's scent.



vi. One More Shot, Another Round [closed to Kyle]
Kyle's secret new apartment, May 31, morning

For the past few days, Alex has been in hiding. She can't risk anyone finding out where she is, so she's been very careful about contacting people she knows. When she gets a note from Kyle telling her to meet him at an address she's never heard of, she briefly wonders whether it's really from him or a trap set by someone trying to catch her.

She decides to risk it. She puts on a pair of shades and, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, takes an extremely circuitous route to the address, hoping to shake anyone tailing her. Finally, she makes it. Instead of going through the front door, she climbs the fire escape and knocks on the window of what she hopes is the right apartment.




[If anyone wants their own prompt, hit me up at [plurk.com profile] notverywool!]
akillersmile: (what is it what is it)

[personal profile] akillersmile 2016-05-29 07:22 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle took a sip of his beer before setting it aside, opening the pack of steaks and getting them ready to go in the skillet. He stabbed a few slits in the potatoes and then set them in the oven, closing the door. With things settled for a few seconds, he picked up his beer again and turned to lean back on the counter.

"The civilians." Another sip of his drink. "What you did is amazing. You did the unthinkable and it's a good start. But it's just a start. What if the thing that takes her place is worse? The civilians don't stand a chance. They have no idea what's going on."

He paused for dramatic effect. "They need someone to look out for them."
outstandingbalance: (pic#8953269)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-05-29 07:34 am (UTC)(link)
Arms crossed and chin dipped slightly, Natasha listens to Alex's answer. It's not exactly what she wants to hear, but it's not far off what she expected either.

"So what you're telling me is that you went into this without an exit strategy." Natasha wonders if the girl even expected to survive her attempted. Obviously she wanted to live through it, but wanting something and thinking you're going to get it are two different things entirely. The answer to that curiosity wouldn't do either of them any good, though, and it doesn't accomplish anything to make Alex feel even more lectured.

"You can stay here for today, at least. Until we can figure out something better—you know it would be best for you if you could leave town, right? Spend the next year or two somewhere outside of the nest's reach. I don't suppose you have family you can visit in Australia."
akillersmile: (im adorable)

[personal profile] akillersmile 2016-05-29 08:11 am (UTC)(link)
"A squad. Trained and prepared to.. well, serve and protect. Regular police don't know about the supernatural world and the guardians care more about upholding the laws and making the monsters happy than protecting people." His brow furrowed at the thought, angry with how unfair all the ignorant civilians had it, including back in South Africa. People in Pretoria slaughtered, an entire tiny village decimated by a rogue nest of newborns.

"I don't know how to be a cop, but I know how to be a soldier. And I want to help, I have to." He shrugged, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and took another sip of his beer. "I've been asking around, to see if people will help me."
baisant: (8)

[personal profile] baisant 2016-05-29 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Jean-Claude huffs out the breath of a laugh. Of course this is too public for a fight, and thus the perfect meeting place. He has not lived this long by foolhardily agreeing to meet strangers in dark alleys or any other such terrible choices others may have made.

"Is that so?" he responds. "Well, then I shall wish you the best of luck in such an endeavor, but I have never been one for interior decoration. There is another matter however you may find my particular situation a bit more to your benefit."

He pauses a beat, accepting his drink from the bartender with a nod and toying with the glass before turning to her again, tilting his head at her to regard her carefully. "I suppose I should start by establishing that nothing will turn you off of such an idea, now will it?" he asks, directly.
freelife: (tumblr_inline_o3i8o4Re7e1tizwua_100)

iii

[personal profile] freelife 2016-05-29 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
No, Alex isn't jumpy. She's right on target, as it were. A few blocks away from Millicent, and Evie's found her. It wasn't hard, honestly, if you knew what you were looking for. And Evie certainly knew what she was looking for.

She hadn't been assassinating people for over a hundred years, or anything.

She sees the wood-tipped bullets, from her spot, the stakes. Smart girl, she knew what she was doing. But then again, anyone with the internet or access to public culture knew what vampires were, what killed them. Humans were meant to think of vampires as fictional creatures, and Evie wanted to keep it that way.

She waited until the right moment before Alex crossed in front of her alley hiding spot. Without hesitation, she reached around the corner and grabbed Alex, pulling her into the shadows and holding her against the walls with her body weight, an arm over her chest, and another hand over Alex's mouth. "Do not scream- I mean you no harm, unless you give me a good reason. And if I decide to harm you, you won't have time to retaliate." Her accent is cool, old, formal.

"What is your business here tonight?" She lifts her hand to allow Alex to speak.
outstandingbalance: (pic#7589147)

[personal profile] outstandingbalance 2016-05-30 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
"There could be a fight," Natasha agrees. There's almost certainly going to be a fight. "There's going to be politics too. You've just made one hell of a power vacuum."

And Natasha could speculate what that could mean, but there was no way to say where things would actually go. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as Natasha feared—but the kind of vampire who was likely to come out ahead in this wasn't likely to be merciful. They'd have to establish quickly that they didn't have anything to do with the murder, and the best way to do that would be seeking justice for the deceased.

"If we're lucky, it won't be open war." She sucks in a thoughtful breath. "If you're not leaving, you'll need to lay low until the heat blows over—whether or not it turns into a fight."
freelife: (tumblr_inline_o3i8p7eukp1tizwua_100)

[personal profile] freelife 2016-05-30 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
The girl is feisty, but she's no match for a master Assassin. While she gets in a lucky shot with her knee, Evie is quick. She grabs on to Alex' arm, twisting up and out.

"It is my business, when you're in my territory, carrying a bag filled with lethal weapons." She places more pressure on the arm, enough to show she could break it if she wanted. "I meant what I said- I won't harm you if you answer my questions."

She let her fangs come out, and she leans in towards Alex's neck. Just to prove a point.
akillersmile: (im adorable)

[personal profile] akillersmile 2016-05-30 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
"No." He shook his head. Kyle set his drink aside and set the steaks into the pan, the quiet interrupted by the sharp sizzling as the raw meat hit the hot oil. He raised his voice accordingly, digging through what he'd bought for some seasoning, serious without any hint of anger. "You can stow that shit right now. You have enough to deal with. I'll find people who feel the same way I do and we'll forge our own little team."

Content with the seasoning and the progress of the steaks, he turned to glance over his shoulder at Alex and offer a quick smile. "Besides, it's a pretty exclusive squad. I don't know if you'll make the cut."
freelife: (tumblr_inline_o3i8txJ9Xn1tizwua_100)

[personal profile] freelife 2016-05-30 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
"Because," and as a show of good faith, she loosens her grasp on Alex, still holding her tight enough to let her know that she was there. That she could get to any weapon faster.

"Because I believe we both want the same thing. Why else stalk so close, with your bag of tricks?" She kicks the bag with the toe of her boot. Yes, she knows.
akillersmile: (table manners)

[personal profile] akillersmile 2016-05-30 04:46 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle had to forcibly suppress his automatic response to her count, that he was inferior and would never be able to protect her as a human. It was something they hadn't spoken about, something he hoped never to have to, but there was the occasional reminder that he would never match her in physical ability and there might come a time where he wasn't enough. He'd averaged a little over one hundred during his training in basic and did less than half that in the day-to-day.

"Only two hundred?" He teased, to intentionally undermine his own insecurities. "But since you asked so nicely, I'll put in a good word for you."
freelife: (tumblr_inline_o3i8tjEW6L1tizwua_100)

[personal profile] freelife 2016-05-30 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
She's not going to say it forthwith. That was stupid. No, instead, her eyes flick towards Alex's.

"To see the people of London free to walk the streets without fear." And they both knew how to get it.

"If you barge in there, they'll kill you before you pull the trigger."
emotioneater: (Gaelic)

[personal profile] emotioneater 2016-05-30 05:12 am (UTC)(link)
She's got guts, he'll give her that much. She's already killed one vampire tonight and Cooper isn't looking to become the second. He watches that gun carefully, his muscles ready to move with unnatural speed if she should fire at him.

"Why'd you do it?" Her answer might be the thing that decides whether Cooper will spare her life or try to leave her bleeding out in the gutter. He knew that Millicent wasn't a popular leader, and as of late, he'd even disagreed with her on many of her policies. That didn't mean she deserved to die. Such a move would have repercussions, as they always did. Cooper could only hope that one of them wouldn't be plunging the nest into chaos.
akillersmile: (hold up gimme room to think)

[personal profile] akillersmile 2016-05-30 05:22 am (UTC)(link)
Kyle glanced over his shoulder to see what it was, then returned to watching the steaks, flipping them over and then back again, not wanting to burn them. Content he had a few seconds, he walked over to accept the phone from her, staring at it with skepticism.

"Seriously?" He frowned at it, then her. Kyle pocketed the phone and returned to the stove, flipping the steaks for real this time. He popped open the oven to check on the potatoes and realized they wouldn't be done until probably awhile after the steaks finished. Oh well. "I'm not a spy, Alex."

He understood the concept of it, why people did it, but he couldn't shake the criminal association that the media and the military had drilled into his head. It felt dishonest and conniving in a way that Kyle generally wasn't. Not to mention that it meant carrying around two phones instead of one, when he barely liked having the one.

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