Conall had been working for his new crew for a couple months now, slowly as he earned their trust he got let in on tougher and tougher jobs. Jobs that paid more money and allowed him to take care of his family. Now he got called into Gracie's office again, he was hoping for another job that paid really well. He wanted to get himself some better clothes, his suit was starting to get a little raged. When he arrived at Gracie's office the first thing he noted was the somber expression on her face, something was up, and he hoped it wasn't with him. "What's up boss?" he asked cautiously not wanting to put himself in any worse of a spot if he was in trouble.

Gracie looked up from her paperwork and motioned for Conall to sit. He sat down with apprehension appearing throughout his body language. He'd fucked up for sure, Gracie never makes him sit down in her office. Gracie looked hard at Conall for a few moments before speaking, "Conall, you've done good work for us. Made yourself a real asset, now it's time we bring you into the crew fully. By now you've realized we're a crime family, and naturally with that people who mess with us or mess up disappear." Conall takes a big gulp as shes speaking and mentally crosses his fingers hoping it isn't his time to disappear as she had put it. Gracie continued, "Conall, I need you to make someone disappear for me." Conall almost audibly sighed with relief. He wasn't going to die today, but he also had what would be his toughest test to date to complete. He now had to take another man's life, something he had never done before. Conall nodded his head knowing that there was no way out of this job, Gracie was testing him to make sure he was really a good fit for the family so he accepted the paper she was holding in her hand and looked down at it.

James Kellerman

A single name, that was all that was written on the piece of scrap paper he was holding in his hand. Conall read it again and then flipped it over looking at the other side, hoping he had missed something. "How was he supposed to find this person," he wondered to himself and then looked up at Gracie wondering if she had more information for him. When she simply dismissed him from her office he knew he had to find the information himself. This too was part of his test, and he had no wish to fail least his name appear on a piece of paper given to another associate. 

Conall spent the better part of a day moving from bar to bar cautiously asking questions, trying to find out information on his mark. He was frustrated and just about ready to give up when he thought he'd try one last bar, it was in that bar that his luck finally turned around.

James Kellerman. That was the name of the person she needed to find. She wasn’t sent to kill him, which she appreciated. In the short time that she had been working for The Nihilist she had realized that killing wasn’t one of her talents. Perhaps she had grown up too sheltered or perhaps she just wasn’t as tough as she used to think she was, but the feeling of taking another human life was not one she could stomach easily.

What she was good at, though, was information. She was a people person and that meant she was good at finding people that didn’t always want to be found. And once she found them, she was good at making sure they didn’t just disappear again, at least not until they wanted him to disappear. Earlier today her boss had called her in and given her this man's name. Someone who had screwed the family over in some kind of deal; the details didn't really matter to Maddy. All that was important to her was that they couldn't find him and if they couldn't find him they couldn't hold him accountable. So off she'd gone to try and locate the man.

That's how she found herself in this bar; off the beaten path it wasn't the busiest of places. But she'd been told she could find some information here, that perhaps Mr. Kellerman had even visited the place himself. And if she could find someone that knew him, well, then she could find where he'd gone.

Sitting at the bar, dressed casually in black slacks and a black button down blouse with little white polka-dots, Madeline sipped from her glass and started up a casual conversation with the bartender. She was just about to start trying to get details when the bartender was distracted by a new customer. It didn’t matter......patience was an important part of this job and was a skill Maddy had been practicing these last few weeks. So she would patiently wait for the bartender to return and would continue to dig for information. 

Conall walked into the bar, as he walked up to the bar he stumbled on someones boot and barely caught himself before falling to the floor on the bar stool next to a woman. He shrugged at her somewhat sheepishly and decided to sit down next to her since he was already there anyhow. As he sat down he ordered a double shot of vodka and with a glance at the woman to make sure she was not paying attention, he leaned in towards the bartender and asked, "Have you seen James Kellerman around this bar?"

The man who entered could barely seem to walk right and Madeline couldn’t help but wonder if he was already drunk. Tripping and falling, he ended up taking the seat directly next to her, despite the nearly empty bar. That would make it much more difficult to speak with the bartender however, which annoyed her. Could he not have sat anywhere else?!

Then again, it seemed the man was going to do her job for her. She nearly chocked on her drink when she heard him ask about the exact same man she was looking for. She watched as the bartender raised an eyebrow at his question. Sighing, she realized the man was going to need some help. She took a sip of her glass and when she put it back down she made sure to balance it on the edge, tipping it onto its side in what would seem like an accident.

“Oh!” Madeline squealed, putting on quiet an air as she jumped up from her stool to avoid getting wet.  “Oh how clumsy of me, I can’t believe I did that.” The bartender instantly turned away from @Conall to grab a rag and help wipe up the counter. While his back was turned, Madeline glared at Conall and whispered quickly “Don’t say another word.” She gave him a glare that would make it clear she meant it before turning back on her sweet smile and grabbing some napkins to help wipe the counter. “Oh I’m so sorry. I’ll take another one, please, and if you could bring it over to the table there?” She flashed another charming smile at the bartender before tapping Conall on the shoulder and motioning for him to join her before she turned to sit at a table near the back.

Conall was waiting for the bartender to respond when his lap was splattered with alcohol from the woman sitting next to him. For half a second he wondered if she was a clumsy as him, and if in that case she would be interested in giving him her number. Having caught his attention though, the words she whispered to him suggested quit clearly that the accident was no accident at all. He picked up on her hint and followed her over to the table, taking a few napkins as he went to wipe off his pants. Having wiped his pants off as best he could he sat down across from her at a table near the back of the pub and raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.

Madeline waited until they were settled at the table and the bartender had brought them fresh drinks before she glared at the man sitting across from her. The time had allowed her to gather her thoughts and calm herself down, at least enough to not chew the poor man out. She took a long sip of her drink, setting it back down and folding her hands in front of her.

"You asked the bartender about James Kellerman. Why?"

He didn't have to tell her of course. But her expression would make it pretty clear that she was expecting an answer. He might have already blown whatever chance they had of getting information here, with his less then smooth way of asking. She needed to know what he knew. 

Conall looked the girl over, wondering why she was so pissed. He had just asked an innocent question, or so he thought... Maybe she knew the guy or something? He'd have to be careful how he approached the subject, but if he could maybe get a lead from her somehow it might get him moving towards his goal. He decided to take a sip of his drink before answering to give him a tiny bit more time to think things though. "I heard he was looking for work, I've been trying to find him to offer him a job working for me." he lied, hoping she didn't catch on to it.

Conall and Madeline beat around the bush for a little while before finally realizing they where both after the same thing. Information on where James Kellerman was currently at. The only difference being Madeline was sent to track him, while Conall was sent to give the man his cement shoes. Seeing as Conall had already proven himself pretty inept at the information gathering the two made a bit of an impromptu truce. Madeline would find the man and pass on the information to Conall, he'd take the man out and then report it back to her and to the one who asked him to do the deed. Conall did not bother to tell Madeline who he worked for, and neither had she let on who she worked for. It was mutually agreeable to both of them to just do the deed and get on with the rest of their lives. Everything was going great for Conall, he wasn't going to be a complete failure at all to his boss. Conall left the bar and went home to catch some sleep while he waited on Madeline to do her thing.

Conall awoke the next morning wondering how long it was going to take Madeline to find his mark, he decided to take a stroll down the street and pick up the local paper. Keeping up with the news was never a bad idea, especially with the depression going on. As he flipped through the paper he didn't find anything really thrilling, not until he reached the obituaries. About halfway through those he noticed a name he recognized, it was Madeline's. He cursed under his breath knowing this put him back at square one. He had no clue what happened to the woman, but during the short time they had been together at the bar he had gained a small measure of respect for her and how she worked. Losing her must have been a real burden to whichever crew she belonged to. He made a mental note to visit her funeral service, a token of his appreciation for what she was and what she had been working on for him.

This left him with trying to figure out what he was going to do to find his mark now. Suddenly he remembered his red head friend who ran the psychiatric ward/brothel down town. She seemed to be pretty good at finding what she was looking for, maybe she could help him out with his problem. He hailed a taxi and headed on down town to meet with her, arriving at her place of business he made his way back to the elevator and took it up to the top floor. Once there he asked around for Aoife since she wasn't readily visible upon stepping out of the elevator.

Aoife greets Conall warmly as he is brought to her by Patrice.  She smiles at him, thinking he is there to help her out with clients like she had requested.  After chit-chatting for a few minutes, it becomes clear that @Conall wants something from Aoife.  She takes him into her back office and makes a few pages of notes while he brings her up to date on his efforts. 

"James Kellerman, I can't say I have heard that name.  Obviously, we have a varied clientele here though."

Aoife gestures around the room, and Conall sees that there are men there from all walks of life.  Successful business men, thugs, even the homeless, God only knows where they get the money for this place.  Aoife is always under the assumption that most of them are married.  A little night on the town, looking for something new and strange.  She doesn't make judgments, but she certainly wouldn't want any of them.  She brings her mind back to the matter at hand, forcing herself out of her daydreams.

"So, what is it you think I can do for you?  Exactly what kind of help did you need?"

Conall smiles at Aoife be looking her directly in the eyes, "I'm hoping for a trade in services. You see if your contacts can track down my target, and I'll help you out with some of your clients here while I wait." Signalling the bartender he orders a whiskey on the rocks and then returns his attention waiting to see if Aoife will accept his offer. He doesn't really want to think of himself as a male prostitute but he's willing to help a friend out in return for her help. Mingling with Aoife's customers and potentially earning her some cash seems a good way to get himself out of the pinch he is currently in. Especially if it turns up the location of the person he needs found. As he glances around the room he watches Patrice flowing through the crowd making sure the other girls are doing their jobs while Aoife handles business with him.

He notices the girl definitely has a talent for her job, he could probably learn a few things about how to do what he needs to do here for Aoife better by watching her work the room. However he also knows that by letting his attention wander too much he is being rude to the person he is currently in conversation with, so after a second he returns his attention back to Aoife and waits patiently for her to think his offer over.

Aoife thinks carefully about @Conall's proposition before answering.  When Aoife makes a promise, she will not go back on it.  She smiles at Conall and begins speaking.

"I think you would be very happy helping me out.  All I would really expect is for you to do is make the ladies feel at ease.  A lot of them have never done anything like this before, and I don't want them feeling embarrassed.  You could bring them drinks, make conversation with them, and dance with them.  You really wouldn't be expected to do anything else, only if you wanted to.  Of course, the girls would always be at your service as well.  I see you eyeing up Patrice when you think no one else is watching."

Aoife smiles and winks at him, and then continues.

"I will do what I can to find your mark for you.  I have a lot of connections in the city, and many of the people who frequent this place may also have information.  I can be very discreet.  Let me put out some feelers, and I will let you know the results.  How does that sound?"

Conall nodded as Aoife finished speaking, extending his hand towards her he said "I think we have a deal then." He smiled as Aoife shook his hand and then turned back towards the area her customers where at while saying, "I do believe I have work to do." Grabbing a glass of whiskey from the bar Conall heads out to mingle with Aoife's female clientele. Putting on a flashy smile he hides his nerves at doing something out of his comfort zone and does his best to avoid being clumsy. Although sometimes he noted that being clumsy had a nice way of breaking the ice with some of the ladies around here. Conall continues to show up every evening at the brothel, he cant stay all day since he has a job of his own but he dedicates his evenings to helping the brothel out until Aoife pulls him aside.

Aoife puts the word out to her girls who she is looking for, and after a couple of weeks one of them comes to her after the evening is over.  It is Mickey, and she has a way of getting people to tell her just about anything. 

Meanwhile the last couple of weeks have been booming, and Aoife could not be happier with Conall's help at the Brothel.  He has a way of making those ladies think he is an interested suitor, and not a gigolo.  She has no idea what goes on behind closed doors, but customers are happy and that's all she can ask for.

Aoife sits down with Mickey, and she listens as Mickey tells her the story of James Kellerman.  It seems as if one of the female clients came in crying that night.  She had been attacked on one of the public beaches by an old boyfriend, and when questioned about his identity, she said it was James Kellerman.  Mickey tended to the woman's wounds, and then sat down to comfort her, all the while getting as much information as she could.  It seems that he had been in hiding, from the law and the mob.  Aoife couldn't wait to tell Conall about this.  She took all the information that Mickey had given her, and wrote some notes at the end.  Then she stuffed it in an envelope and handed it to him the next time he came in.

"Maybe our luck is starting to turn on this one, Conall.  Mickey brought me this information.  I think I may know where he is hiding out.  I put all the information with her notes.  He also likes to beat up women, so if you want me to help I would be happy to oblige."

Aoife watches as Conall reads the information.  It's quite detailed.  The only thing that really bothers Aoife is the fact that once this is over, Conall will probably not be around as much.  The girls have grown fond of him, as has Aoife.  He is also a gold mine as far as the business goes.  The ladies just flock to him.  He has a natural charm, and genuinely cares for people.  The kind of thing some people are just born with.

Conall reads over the information, and then reads it again just to make sure he has it all down. When he's done he starts to consider his options and formulate a plan of attack. The information says he lives alone, and that he carries with him at all times. This is going to be easy and not so easy at the same time. The easy bit is that Conall won't have to get into a fire fight with multiple shooters, the not so easy bit is that he could still get shot if he doesn't play this out right. After thinking it over for a bit he decides to take Aoife up on her offer for help, he looks her in the eye and says, "This might get a bit hairy, but I think you can make this hit go smooth for me." He scratches his chin a bit and then starts telling Aoife his plan, if all goes well he'd be giving his mark his cement shoes within a few hours.

Aoife steels herself for what Conall wants her to do.  She has made it very clear to anyone who visits the brothel, that she is not one of the girls for sale.  In order for Conall's plan to work, she will need to participate, at least to some degree. 

James Kellerman happens to stop by the very next day.  Aoife inhales deeply as she approaches him.  She gives him her sexiest smile, and invites him into a private room.  He seems to be playing along, until they are alone, he starts grabbing at her roughly.  She puts up her arm and pushes him back instinctively.   He then hits Aoife in the face pretty hard.  This has the effect of pissing her off more than anything, but she pretends to be afraid and contrite.

"I promise, I will do whatever you ask.  Anything.  The only thing is",  Aoife scrambles for a lie to tell. she needs to get him to unlock the door. "My boss, @Conall will be checking on me, since I am new and he will want to check that you are having a good time."

The mark looks a bit suspicious, but he complies with her request.  She is visibly relieved, but he doesn't quite yet realize why.

Then Aoife unbuttons his shirt seductively, talking in a soothing tone.  All the while, she wants to vomit.  She is going to have to boil water and scrub herself raw if he so much as touches her again.  As she continues to undress him, she manages to lift his gun without him noticing it

Aoife has a way about her that is sweet and gentle.  She often lulls people into a false sense of security.  When things start to speed up a little bit, she hopes that Conall will hurry it up a bit.  She unconciously looks toward the door, getting just a little worried.

Conall watches as Aoife heads into one of the private rooms with a man, his first instinct given the guys nature was to follow her immediately. He knew however that this was the wrong call, he needed to give her some time alone with him in order to get the gun off the man. The question was, how long would it take her? With no cameras in the private rooms he had no idea just what was going on in there, he could be beating her senseless for all Conall knew right now...

Conall waited a few minutes after she had entered before casually crossing to the private room's door all the while keeping his nerves in check. He reached for the door slowly checking to see if it was unlocked. Finding that it was he turned his back towards the public area and slipped his gun out of it's holster and cocked the hammer. As he slid the door open he looked around taking stock of the situation. First thing he noticed was the man's holster was empty, the second thing he noticed was the bruise starting to show on Aoife's face. "You mother fucker" he growled raising his gun and pointing it directly at the man's head, with his other hand he motioned Aoife out of the way. As she rolls quickly away from the man Conall pulls the trigger sending a bullet between the man's eyes. Although this is Conall's first kill he is not in the least bit sorry about it, any man that treats a woman like that doesn't deserve to live on this earth anyhow.

Conall stares at the man as he falls backwards, eyes rolling back into his head. After he hits the ground with a thud Conall runs over to where Aoife is laying on the ground and grabs her chin checking her bruise to see how bad it is. He frowns deeply at her and says, "I'm sorry for this, I should have never asked you to help me." Conall looks away from Aoife ashamed that he brought harm to one of his friends.

As Conall bursts through the door, a visible relief comes over Aoife.  He looked like an old pro at this, and Aoife couldn't even see any emotion on his face.  As he fusses over her and her face, she smiles at him.  She quickly moves out of the line of fire as he motions to her.

"I am fine.  I assure you, this is not the worst thing that has ever happened to me.  I am a very capable woman, I promise.  Now, let's get out of here, if you don't mind.  The sight of him makes me ill."

With that, Aoife pulls herself together, straightening out her clothing and heads toward the door.

Conall opens the door and then follows Aoife out of the room, he parts ways with her for the evening leaving her plenty of cash to deal with the body discretely. The next day he pays a visit to Madeline's grave site. The dirt still freshly packed and only a bit of grass starting to grow on top. He kneels down next to the grave and says, "I got him, just so you know. We didn't know each other that well, but I respect you. Whatever happened to you, I got our mark." Conall places flowers on the gravestone and then turns to leave.

"She's not dead you know." Viviana spoke to the man who was putting flowers on a grave that she'd only recently learned existed. Apparently Madeline had disappeared so quickly that people had thought she was dead and had even had a funeral for her. She couldn't help but chuckle at the thought; she'd need to share with Maddy in their next phone call because she was sure the other woman would find it equally amusing. 

Moving closer to the grave, her brown eyes scanned over the headstone and she couldn't help but shake her head. "Madeline is going to get a kick out of this. A grave site! She left the country for God's sake, she didn't die." Turning towards the man, she smiled softly at him. "Nice of you to visit though. How do you know her?"

Conall turns and looks at the women who spoke, hes not sure who she is or if he should trust her. He decides on a hunch to trust her, walking up to her he gives her a card he says, "Can't talk here, but come see me in PH and we'll talk about my business with Madeline if you wish." The card contains an address to what appears to be a business in ph, an oddly named store called "The Caturday Library." Conall gives the woman a smirk and walks away, wondering if she will show up or not.