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| Ace in the hole | Started by: Layla on Mar 06, '14 09:35 |
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Ivy Part one - Ace in the hole The evening air was chilly and Ivy walked down the street, purse held close, The green dress she wore matched her eyes, and was barely hanging to her knees, the neckline was low and she cursed herself for not wearing a scarf or jacket, it was cold, and the three inch stiletto heels were a bad idea... She stumbled and barely caught herself, cursing, and clutching her small purse against her breast, wary of pickpockets, Where was the car?? They said they'd be outside the bar on 26th and J street right? The clouds threatened rain and Ivy glared up at them, Daring it to rain, but afraid it would just to spite her. This was a well planned hit, she had everything down to the right times, and the gems and jewelry in her bag would be condemning, whether the cops found her or the Blue Hound Gang. "Ivy Gal, Over here!" Ivy looked up in time to see her ride, Johnny and Brian coming to a stop at the corner, Johnny stepped out and his smile flickered to a look of confusion, his lips forming the words, "Oh... crap..." He falls over. Ivy can see the smoking gun in Brian's hand, and a cold smile on his face... She stops in her tracks and stares in horror, then turns down the sidewalk and hurries into the bar... Oh god... Brian's gone nuts... Johnny's dead... Oh god, am I next? She made her way through the building quickly stopping at the bar and sliding a twenty to the bartender. "Another one of those if noone finds me, that ones for your silence if asked about me." He nodded pretending not to see her, she slid into the conjoined bathroom and locked the door. She leaned back against the solid wood and closed her eyes. Then, pulling her world together, stepped over to the mirror, quickly changing, letting her hair down from the bun, flipping the green dress inside out, revealing the red silk underside, the green trim looked nothing like the nearly modest green party dress she'd been wearing. Quickly she smeared red eye shadow over the green, pulled the matching gloves off, and looking in the mirror the only person who'd connect her to the gal who walked in here was the bar man when she slid him his tip... She gulped, glad that it'd been Brian that turned not her old friend Johnny, He'd be missed, but Brian wouldn't know her from the dame he'd seen out on the streets. She wiped a tear from her eye quickly and fluttered her eyes at the reflected image... Time to return to the bar and get a stiff drink. Ivy walked back to the bartender and, slipping the second twenty to the tender, she asked for a dry martini. The bar was shadowy, and glancing around, She looked at the door in time to see Brian walk in. Ivy stares down at her drink hoping he doesn't notice her, pleading with her neglected god that he looks past the changed dress and hair. Brian takes a few steps in the opposite direction and looks directly at Ivy. No luck for the wicked. He steps up behind her and raises his gun to her temple. "It's time to go Ivy," he says as he places his finger on the trigger and Ivy closes her eyes, waiting. A loud bang rings out, though Ivy feels nothing. Am I dead? She turns to see Brian slowly fall to the floor. She looks up to see a complete stranger with a smoking gun standing over the body, eyes cold over a locked, enraged jaw. Ivy looks down at Brian, laying lifeless with blood draining from his head. Moments drag by then, breaking the silence, the stranger looks her in the eyes, warmth filling their depths, "You alright ma'am?" He asks. She looks up at him and tries to fake a smile. "Yes, I'm fine..."She says, then to herself: "I think." Running a shaking hand over the back of her head, touching the spot the gun had been pressed, she didn't know what to say to the man who saved her life. He holsters his gun and sits next to Ivy, ordering a drink. Ivy takes a deep shaky breath then turns back to her drink on the bar, and tosses it back and pulling out the last large bill on her, "Make it a stiff one my friend, I need something to wash this away, heh, I almost wish I'd stayed home today after this." She stared into the glass as the barkeep watched her toss back several other martinis, until the smile on her face wasn't as forced, and she was barely able to stand, she turned to her savior and smiled weakly. "Would you like to dance?" She says it quietly, letting a slur into her voice but also smiling slightly letting him know there was more to it then a simple dance, he stood and joined her on the dance floor as a load slow song came on, she leaned into his shoulder so she could talk in a quiet voice. "Hope you don't mind, that bartender is well known to be mafia. He'll take care of the body, but if I let him catch wind of my full name, He'd sell me to the next highest bidder. Thanks for saving my ass back there." "A man should never raise a gun to a lady." He replied, without hesitating. "Names Ivy Rose." she muttered, still keeping quiet. "And he was my ride, Him and my old partner, I don't know why he pulled the gun" Might have something to do with the 10k in gold and gems in my purse. She said to herself, but not out loud. "I work as a private eye, was hired to follow an old mans Dame for a few days to see if she was sleeping behind his back." Nice line Ivy now he thinks your a snoop. Ivy shivered, somewhat from the cold, but more so from the shock. "Sounds like a dangerous job. My names Ace." Ivy smiled into his shoulder, amused at the turn out. "So after all that, I had an wild ace in the corner, lucky me." Ivy glanced up at the clock and pulled away, reluctantly, "I must go, I have to get back to my office before the building locks the front doors." It was another lie, but close enough to the truth, she pulled away only to feel his hand grab hers. "Can I... Will you come here again?" His eyes pleaded and Ivy bit her lip, and pulled out a card, her business card and handed it to him. "Call me, I don't know if I can come back here." She said and slipped out the door, sad and a little lonely, but she knew she had to get out of there before the gems were found to be missing. A pair of coppers stood over the body of Johnny, and yellow tape formed a web to protect the body from contamination, Ivy walked by after a quiet look at his lifeless body, the gentle rain had cleaned off the blood and Brian's car was gone, he'd probably parked near by, explaining what took him so long to hunt her down. She pulled out the spare key's she'd picked out of his pocket before leaving his house, glad she'd followed her mothers advice, "If you don't trust them, trust their car, and make sure to have a set of keys in case something goes bad." Course her mum had been talking about dating, but she'd learned long ago that this work called for more than simple trust, you needed a back up plan for everything. She found the car three blocks down, in an alley. It was unlocked, and the other set of keys where in the ignition, so, he expected to need a fast getaway... she gulped and wondered what she'd gotten into, shaking her head she turned the key and listened to the engine purr to life. God, she wished she'd brought a jacket. Glancing around, she saw a jacket in the back seat... Johnny's, she smiled and wrapped it around herself and pulled out onto the road, driving carefully she headed to the docks where her boss waited, Hoping he hadn't turned on her as well. A pair of cars stood quietly at the docks with lights off, but as Ivy drove up the lights flared into the darkness. She grabbed her purse and tucked it into the jacket and stepped out, Her boss, Tony and 2 of his bodyguards met her in the glare of the three cars headlights. "Ivy Gal, Where are the boys? Johnny called us half an hour ago to say they'd just heard from you." He spoke in a quiet but strong voice, taking her arm in a gentle worried grip he led her to one of the two cars and sat her down. "Dead sir, Brian shot Johnny, I ran into a bar hoping to get away, he followed and one of the bouncers shot him when he pulled his gun on me. Long story short, I hung around the bar with my savior for a few minutes and skipped off to find Brian's car." Ivy shivered and pulled the blankets closer. The guys around her muttered angrily, but a raised hand from Tony quieted them. "Were you hurt? At all?" He looked her in the eyes, a father and his favorite daughter, and when she shook her head he smiled with relief. "Good, your mother would never forgive me if I sent you into a situation that got you hurt. Tell me you got the gems and I'll feel so much better about this whole mess." Ivy pulled out the handbag and the twenty some odd gems, each the size of her thumb nail, each worth at least one thousand, the biggest worth over twenty-five thousand. A quiet gasps escaped from the small group, and they watched in awe as Ivy arranged them on her hand from biggest to smallest and selected one of the smaller ones. "You don't mind if I keep this one boss correct?" She asked, thinking of the ring her mother had left her, with a quartz gem in its clasp. this one would fit nicely, and would make her mother grin. If she was still alive. "Keep it, you deserve it after this run, you can tell the others it was a bonus added into your promotion." She looked up in time to see her bosses smile, as she handed him all but the one. "Promotion?... you mean-" Ivy was cut off by the driver. "He means there's a party waiting for us back at the bar and that you should stop bumbling and get in so I can get the guest of honor to her Wise Guy shindig." Ivy grinned and glanced up at her boss who nodded as she tucked her feet into the car, still bundled in Johnny's jacket and the blanket she sat back, forgetting Ace and Brian for the rest of the night. It was two weeks later, Ivy was still using Johnny's jacket, and she hadn't heard a word from her savior, no surprise, probably a drunk who had forgotten about her the second she left the bar. She forced herself to forget him, and moved on. Her boss brought her into the deeper fold of the crew, took her on bank robberies, and jail busts and through it all she wore the diamond ring and Johnny's jacket. It was a Saturday night and she was at home curled up, phone was on the hook and the tv was on, but she was too busy reading to watch, it was on for the noise. Ivy finished a chapter, stretched and turned off the TV, and began changing for bed, and the blasted phone started ringing. She stared at it... Trying to decide if it was worth answering... Ring It was ten o'clock for gods sake! Ring! Three rings Another prank call? Ring! Four rings? Shit, had to be important, She picked it up and a panicked voice was started talking fast. "Ivy, it's Rod, Tony's right hand, we need you down at the docks and fast, bring your gun, Tony's been shot, he's alive, but we gotta get him to the boats and there are allot of hit man around, Please say you're in town!" "I'll be right there, keep the boss safe." The phone hit the stand and Ivy was pulling on Johnny's jacket and slipping her gun into its holster the leather jacket was heavy and felt good, like a protective arm over her shoulders, she smiled, time again to join the battle. The air was cold, and tasted of rain, the clouds were dark and foreboding, and Ivy slipped into the boat house quietly, whistling a quiet melody known only to her crew, and approaching the small boat. Checking the boat for holes or leaks she jumped in and and began pushing her way out of the boathouse, A sudden thump and the small boat rippled, Ivy spun and almost fell over, finding herself looking down the barrel of a familiar gun. she stared at it's owner somewhat stunned. "Ace" His eyes went wide and he put the gun away, "What are.. You.. You're one of his men?" He stammered as he reached out a hand to steady her. The boat had drifted out of the boathouse at this point and was drifting away from the shore, there was only a few who knew the way to the bosses dock, via water. Ivy started the on board engine and stopped drifting. She sighed and turned to face him, a sad smile on her face. "So, we're at an in-pass, Do I pull my gun and let the sharks clean you up, or will you do the same..." At this Ace leaned in and kissed her. Ivy started to pull away but stopped fighting after a few seconds and fell into the kiss. As they pulled apart and Ace smiled. "I wanted to do that the other day, before you ran out, but couldn't get the guts. I'd rather not shoot such a lovely lady, and I'd rather not die, so, What do we do?" His arm had slipped under the jacket and Ivy turned away, settling down onto the boats captain's chair, "I could always claim that I ran into trouble and the sharks got the body, but the boat's engine was running low on gas, and you can claim I tried throwing you over board and you had to kill me. No names needed, I can even dump you in the water near a dock and you can claim you had to swim back to shore." "A smart gal, Sounds like a plan." Ivy nodded and began pulling the boat around, and Ace stepped in to stop her, placing a hand on hers, "We don't have to go anywhere yet... Can we at least talk?" Ivy closed her eyes and let go of the controls. "We are but Romeo and Juliet, destined to have loved and lost, if we touch too deep, we can never move on, if we brush to close, we're both damned to die. The longer we are together the harder it will be to deny. That we, a pair of Mafia hitters can never fall in love." Ace shuddered and pulled her to him, lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes, "Do you really feel that way?" His voice was husky and his eyes searching. "I... I feel that at this point in time we shouldn't be doing this, Maybe.. Maybe if we both live through this night, we'll come together again, but even then it'll be hard." She whispered, turning away and looking out to sea, though not breaking free of his arms as he held her to his chest, his cheek resting on shoulder. "I wish I could give up this life. Every day I find myself killing and killing again, even when I saved you I had to kill, though that was one of the few times I didn't regret, but I can't leave, not with my mother and brother staying in town. Not without dying myself. So I stay, and kill, and kill and now I find that I can't even fall in love without the mafia ruining it." Ivy was silent, though she managed to find his hand and squeezed, letting him know she understood. "I was 18 when my mother was killed, she was a barkeep, owned the bar and ran a drug run over the counter to pay my way thru college, A mob man didn't like her prices and shot her over a small dispute. Never knew my father." Ivy talked in a low voice, letting her feelings hide behind old mental dams "After my mothers funeral I swore I'd find and kill the man who killed my mother, I did, and in doing so I was forced to hide behind my bosses coat tails, he took me in that day and trained me in the ways of the Mafia. I've been with him since." "I was 15, dad was a raging drunk and we couldn't keep enough cash in the house to buy enough food for all of us, one day he came home with a friend, pulled me aside and told me that was my new boss and that I was to do as he told. Heh, the old bastard sold me for a bottle of scotch." Ace pulled away, watching the eastern sky anger still readable on his face. "After my dad died, I tried to step out of the mafia, two days into my 'break' a man mugs my little brother and a notes left that if I'm no longer in the mafia my families fair game, I've been working with the bastards since." A quiet few moments passed but Ivy spun as Ace pulled her into a quiet embrace, his chest pressed against her back he pointed up to the horizon where the moon rose and Ivy sighed, "I used to sit out and watch the moon rise with with my mom." Sirens screamed off in the distance and Ivy swallowed, "It's time we be off. They'll be looking for you." "And, for you." his voice was quiet, and he stole another kiss. They neared the shore and Ivy pulled the boat to a stop near the end of the pier, and smiled at him, "Thank you." she whispers as he drops into the water, coming up in time to see her laying her jacket and his gun on the pier, he pulls himself up, and slips his gun into it's holster. "Your jacket?" "Keep it, Johnny won't miss..." Ivy smiles fades as she backs the boat up, and Ace spins, a pair of gunmen stand behind him, a gun in each hand leveled at Ivy's head and his chest. Bang. Ivy watched one of the guns jerk, and Ace fell to the pier, blood dripping through a hole in his back, then the other, Bang! And she felt the world turn and fade away into the darkness. She could still hear, but it was fading quickly "Ivy..." That'd be Ace, He sounded so scared... "To think, Him with Her? I'd never have thought the best two hitters in this town would..." Bang! "Holy cow, he lived through that! Man you alive?" Bang! Ivy smiled, Her Ace in the hole, she relaxed, and let herself fade into the darkness, thinking pleasant thoughts about her mother... |
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| ((Oc: I guess next time I'll just copy paste, didn't realize this would post way back. XD )) | |
| Reply by: Layla at Apr 14, '14 01:33 | |
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