The Aristocracy

[Ric]

Ray filed in just behind Maddox, taking a seat with a glass of whiskey in hand. Depending on what was said, he was pretty confident that he'd stay quiet through most of this meeting. This was a very sensitive time, and the simplest of phrases can put you under the spotlight. Not exactly one of the best places to be in. Especially now with the recent murder. "Loyalty" at the moment seemed to be the keyword in this present situation. And as Maddox emphasized, you better know yo who exactly those loyalties belong to.

[Ulti]

"Kill us or recruit us? I doubt you know the Progeny's motives, unless this is a small confession.."

Nicia, her interest in Desmond still burning, did not notice Maddox enter the room until it was too late. She looked down to see a paper lily on her cleavage. When she looked up, she was answered with a flick on her little nose. That cur! What was the meaning of this?! She was about to throw the origami lily back at his face when she picked up a faint scent. Ink. She lifted one petal of the lily, but then closed it quickly. Nicia placed the flower in her lap and folded her hands over it.

A message. Clever of Maddox, she had to admit. Obviously he didn't want the others to know. But what could Maddox say to her but not to...the others..Oh damn. He knew. That bastard knew about her midnight runs! Now she was forced to play errand girl. Between a rock and what seemed like a hard place. Maddox really did need to keep watch on his weasel.

"Now I am sure who I should trust now! Thanks for clearing this up. Not a bit suspicious like always."

[Obliviongirl13]

She moved over to her bathroom sink and took a cloth and ran it under cold water. She touched it to her skin and sighed at the relief of the cold cloth. Amaia was a little shaken at the fact that she put herself out there almost defenseless near someone she thought she could trust. Amaia wasn't sure she could trust anyone anyways. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she realized that she needed to be somewhere. She didn't know what to expect, so Amaia went to her special drawer. She opened the deep red stained oak drawer and exposed knives, guns, and other specialty items. She picked up one of her favorite knives that had a small silver dragon on it and was dipped in a numbing poison. Amaia lifted her dress up and wrapped a knife holder on the inside of her leg. She then placed the knife in it, and left the room.

She hurried out towards the next meeting place. As she approached the doors, she gently opened them, appearing calm and collected. She looked at all of the people that had appeared in the room and she found a leather seat near one of the tall windows and as a small sliver beacon, she sat down, illuminating in the room just at her mere presence. She didn't glance at Maddox, but she just kept her eyes on Harper.

[Blackest Night]

"My tardiness not withstanding, it's rude to begin meetings when all attendees are not present, Harper."

My voice, my natural accent hardly overshadowing my playful mockery of Harper, carried into the meeting room. I strolled into the room, casually as ever. The absence of Celia and Lede must have been surprising to all, with perhaps the exception of Harper and Maddox. They were off attending to separate matters, upon my request. I paid no attention to the presence of anyone aside from Harper and Maddy, with the exception of whoever it was who had made that ridiculous comment about fighting fire with fire. I did not bother looking at the speaker, for I was fairly certain that he posed no threat to me. Few people did.

"It has been my experience that we do is not fight fire with fire. We do not attack using that with which we are being attacked. We strike with something bigger, better, faster, and capable of neutralizing the threat as quickly as possible, be it Aristocracy or Progeny. "

I cannot say that I worried about angering anyone. Doesn't much matter anyway. At the first sight of hostile actions by any one of these idiots, I would slide the small revolver in my sleeve from it's wrist holster into my palm and proceed to place a bullet in their brain. That's the wonderful thing about the sleeves of dress shirts: they can hide so many things.

I took my place along a wall near Harper, folding my hands ever so neatly in front of me. Of course, I couldn't help myself from taking a look at the pickings. There were some women, unfortunately. They were pretty, to be sure, but the thought. Eww. The men weren't bad, though. I would have to look into that.

"I imagine there must be some reason it was so important I come tonight, Harper. As much as I enjoy sitting and talking, I've business to attend to."

[Rainfire]

"Indeed."

That was all he said as he took in everything each one of them had said -- whether it was some sort of useless joke or something useful. He slowly stroked his goatee, neatly combed and trim, like the rest of him. It was hard to consider that he was a killer, and a good one at that. Of course, he wasn't trained purely for that art -- no, that was Amaia's job. However, he did know odds -- and his own odds quite well. He was in capability to take out practically anyone in the room with him. That of course, wasn't counting in the injuries he was bound to suffer -- no one was invulnerable. In fact, it became a momentary game -- how many of them could he take out before they reacted? At least three.

He shook his head slightly, bringing himself out of those thoughts. No, they're not my enemies, not at the moment anyway, he thought to himself. He then really sunk his thoughts into what Maddox was saying, and his body language -- he was sinking into his art, his craft -- that of social engineering. It was something that most people took at face value for those who would call themselves "hackers". They would get a password or something, but he took it to a whole new level. He could get the codes for nuclear weapons from the president himself if he felt it was necessary.

He then nodded and stood up, easily picking the knife from the table in front of him. He looked down at it for a second before he slowly looked back up at all of them, one-by-one. He turned away, pushing the chair gently aside, and staring into the fire, as if weighing the options. He knew no one was around, and that there was no way of getting to this room properly without passing his room, and he could tell when someone passed his room -- a very odd low-brow noise that emitted from passing the door, no matter how silent you were. Something about an air draft...

He clenched the knife though, thinking of what it meant now. It was finally time to put things into action. His eyes almost literally glazed over with hatred -- hatred of the Ten as he turned back around to face him.

It was like looking into the face of a different person. No longer was there an empty slate, but a face full of, no, embodying hatred. His pupils were large with anger, almost reducing the color of his eyes to nothing but black. His hair seemed to bristle all on its own. His teeth weren't bared, but they just as well could have been. He continued to clench the knife in his right hand, blood dripping down upon the table as he pressed his thumb against one side of the blade. Suddenly, it snapped under the immense amount of pressure, not really "breaking" but snapping out of the small hilt, falling to only land in the small pool of blood that now was on the table.

"... No more damn games. We are not here to 'find the murderer'. This has gone on long enough. We kill them. The Nine. I think it's time that everything... comes to terms, with everyone here. I want them dead... and I want proof of their agony. It won't be easy, not in getting to them, and not in their deaths. However..."

His gaze slowly let up, as he dropped the handle to the floor. He once again regained that composure that he normally had, obviously not caring that his hand was dripping blood all over the place as he sat back down.

"This is not my area. Maddox... if you please."

[Ric]

"Hell yes..."

As soon as those word slipped from his mouth, a new wave of energy and electricity jolted through his body. He grinned. No, he smiled. A huge smile. My god. He knew it. He knew it from the beginning. "It's about damn time." he said, shifting himself in his seat trying to play off this energy. "Does anyone have a cig?"

The 10, before the murder happened, were the whole reason his gang was disbanded. Or at least that's what he suspected. They had ties to the Americans whole they were dealing with, and when the gang began to suspect something, they decided to pull the plug on them. But no, it's not revenge he wants. Revenge seemed so trivial at this point. Instead, he wanted to show them appreciation. Because without them doing what they did, he wouldn't be where he is today. And the only way he can think of properly thanking them is with a bullet between the eyes.

[Morpheaus]

A brief and uncomfortable pause filled the room following Harper’s speech. Maddox lazed in his seat, eyes on the broken weapon immersed in his accomplice’s blood. Not for the first time, it occurred to Maddox that with the exception of the great talents and skills, both Harper and Edward had exhibited sociopathic tendencies, and had been seen to employ truly disturbing methods in the past. Displays such as this often raised serious questions about the stability of the Progeny.

Too late to worry about that, I suppose. We’re in it for the duration...


What he didn’t remind himself of was the need for men like Harper, men who were more than willing to dirty their hands for a cause. Certain things couldn’t be avoided: murder being one of those things. Maddox, however, was more than willing to let someone else attend to those more unsavory aspects of this conspiracy.

Before the tension became too much, Maddox rose from his chair and circled the table to stand near Harper, sparing a glance for Robert and Amaia in turn. Somehow, he doubted his role within the Progeny would come as a genuine surprise to anyone; on the other hand, Edward’s participation would be a major shock. No one would, not in a million years, question the man’s loyalty to the cause. And that was what made him such a valuable ally.

“I’ll make this as succinct as possible for those of you who find themselves ready to draw weapons and let the fur fly.”

He smiled his playful smile then, assuring everyone that they were still dealing with Maddox, the cocksure and carefree outcast that always managed to stay ten-steps ahead of everyone else.

“Edward, Harper, and myself have formed a holy trinity of sorts. The three of us, like you, each have various grievances with the Ten. Unlike you, the three of us made the decision to address our issues,” as he spoke bitterness began to the normal jovial light in his eyes. “You all know what the three of us have done. We killed Ferrin Jualioz. We did what no one before us has done before: we reached out and touched the Ten. And we’re going to do it again. But first, we’re going to tear their lives apart and make the Aristocracy into an organization with which we can all find satisfaction.”

Reaching into his coat pocket, he withdrew a handful of small tarnished silver pins and scattered them across the table top. Each pin was hand crafted to resemble a small knotted grapevine, the old insignia of the former West Coast Elite. A long dead American branch of the Aristocracy, it was a failed experiment of Maddox’s grandfather. Maddox hoped more success with his own enterprises

“While each of you make feign skepticism, shock, or outrage, I know you and I know you will join our cause,” he looked each of them in the eye as he spoke the words. “It’s no coincidence the most explosive, infamous, and abused personalities in the Aristocracy were brought together. The Ten believe they brought together a team of men and women that will succeed but can never function together, but they’re not nearly as intelligent as I am. I laid the groundwork that brought you all to us because I knew that each of you would find within yourselves a reason to become a part of this. Each of you wants to believe that the Aristocracy can change, that we can be free of the dictators and their greed. Take the pins, wear them, and don’t forget for an instant what we’re here to do.
Harper will break us up into teams with a mission; ostensibly, we’ll be tracking the Progeny. In reality, however, each team will be dispatched to neutralize one of the Nine.”

“You see, we’re in luck,” he spoke, his voice dropping into a hushed growl. “Each of the Nine has their own agenda. There’s an open seat and someone has to fill it. After tonight there will be a mad scramble by each member to return to their own individual seat of power and select a proper candidate for that seat. Harper, Edward, and I have coordinated a series of strikes designed to take the five most vulnerable. So, be ready and be sharp, tomorrow, the fireworks begin.

[Obliviongirl13]

Amaia wasn't expecting this. Her curiosity was aroused but none the less she was shocked to find that these three, purely capable men were actually doing this. There was seemingly no reasoning behind this, on the exception that they all mutually hated the Nine. So when one Chinese Dynasty failed, it was heavens wish that another take over. And it seemed that this Nine Dynasty was coming to a close, but it wouldn't be a clean and pretty one.

Suddenly, She rose. Exhaling quietly she approached the table.

"I always knew my true color was purple."

No smile appeared, no warming gesture, just a simple flick of the wrist and one of the badges was gone from the table. She eyed the blood that now dripped on the floor and noticed Harpers seemingly uncontrollable temper on this matter. None the less she didn't give Edward or Maddox a glance, and she gently glided out of the room, just as quickly as she came.

Her movements down the hallway were silent, like a ghost floating about the hallways. She once again reached her room and closed and locked the door. Amaia checked to make sure all the windows were locked as well as every, door. She entered the bathroom to take off her makeup and brush her hair. Though the hairspray was making it rather difficult so she just took a shower. Returning once again to her wardrobe, thankfully clean and hairspray free, she picked out a pair of black silk pants and a silk brassier. After she changed, she made her way over to her liqueur table and poured herself a small scotch.

"...This might be more fun than I thought," taking a sip from the crystal glass she looked around her room and realized how simple it looked. Aside from the original décor she noticed that she really enjoyed simple things. Most of the things in the room weren't hers and she just continued sipping her scotch. "Though I don't know if people are going to be killed," she said softly "but It sure as hell better not be me."

She meandered over to her bed and placed what was left of the scotch on the side table. Moving the sheets, she crawled into bed and looked out the window. The moon was shining brightly, and Amaia knew that the moon was hiding their secrets of the night, it was day she wasn't too fond of, especially tomorrow.

[Ulti]

Holy Hades and all of the Underworld. What a way to drop a load of ox shit onto the group. But it was not that much of a surprise. Harper was always a suspect. As for Maddox, the guy could be apart of the Ten and she would not flinch. And Edward, well, what could she say? She had no bloody idea who Edward was. Just a shadow in the distance. At least now she should know who else to watch. Harper, Maddox, Edward. This was getting very interesting very quickly.

Taking down a member of the Nine. Now that was a task Nicia would gladly participate in. Fooling around with her new pin, Nicia decided on her next plan. And answer. If she declined, she would be followed by the underlings of the trio. It was going too far, but a cold dagger might accompany her one night. If she joined...well the options were a lot better.

"I should probably bring up Greek lore to parallel this situation, but I can't really think of one at the moment. I guess I'll set my alarm for an early wake up call. Pleasant dreams to you all."

Nicia gave three small bows, each to Harper, Edward, and then Maddox. At Maddox's bow, she gave a quick nod, so quick that only Maddox would be able notice. A signal she was off to gather the items. Releasing a fake yawn, Nicia retreated back into her room. But sleep was last on her mind. Getting back into her "work" clothes, Nicia gathered empty poison bottles and the like. She also, though relunctantly, pocketed the origami lily. Nicia easily left her room by window as it was close enough to the ground. Like a shadow at the corner of the eye, Nicia escaped sight quickly.

Bounding over walls and across fields, Nicia headed towards town. There, hidden in shadows, she planned to meet many shopkeepers. With Maddox's list added to her own, she did not expect to have a short visit. And in the underworld, the smaller the trip, the safer.

[Rainfire]

Harper looked around for a moment before he brought himself to stand. Amaia and Nicia had already left, and he hadn't even given any team assignments. Before anyone else left, he decided that he would.

"Desmond and Ray, you two are on a team. You will track Edmund Byrokia. Maddox and and Amaia will go after Selene Wallis. Edward and his associates and Jack will go after two -- Rachel Doranis and Amuro Hitetsu. I and Nicia shall go after Emilio Vespacci. You have until tomorrow at midnight to kill them. Your excuse is that we are starting the investigation, of course -- and we will start by investigating them. After all, who has better reason to knock off one of the Ten other than the Ten? They'd have the perfect chance to insert another 'member' into the Ten that would be more... open to their opinion. That is all. Goodnight to every one of you."

He stood up and left the room without another word. He would clean up the meeting room at some other point, but for now it was of no concern to him. He stopped at his room to quickly bandage up his hand before he decided to pursue Nicia. At this late at night, he knew exactly where she would be heading -- after all, information was his business. He cleaned off his suit and then headed away from his room and through a secret corridor to catch up with her, hopefully.

He ended up outside the castle and not far behind her. He could see her making her way into town and proceeded to follow suit. Harper was a master of "blending in" as some would call it. He simply just referred to it as "getting some social time". His walk became similar to the steps that the people of this village took. They weren't hard off, so there was no need for a slight limp of any sort to indicate hard labor. It wasn't much of a change from his normal pace, but there was a slight difference. He even cleared his throat and matched the accent of these people.

He saw Nicia before she could sneak off to anywhere harder to locate. He calmly walked up, and around the place, to abruptly appear before her, as if he had been here before her. It paid to know your way around a town. He stopped her by raising his hand and then nodded.

"You left before I could give any instructions. We are to be a team and take down Emilio. We will accomplish this by tomorrow night, understand? In the meantime though... I figure you're here on your usual business of picking up... particular materials?" He finished as he gazed nonchalantly down at the white frilly cuff of his left sleeve. He looked back up at her afterwards, his face breaking into a slight smile.

[Nebula Zero]

"Understand that my terms of 'fight fire with fire' goes beyond your comprehension of it. You see it in a more physical form, in that respect, meaning that you have to outdo them in every aspect. I however, meant it in the sense of what I previously said before. Killing intent. Can you really out-weigh such a thing against another person? When it goes down to it, when both sides want to kill each other, there is no such thing as 'wanting to kill someone more than another'. When people like us are to trying to kill each other, that intent is on even grounds. When I say fight fire with fire, it means to kill upon knowing that you are going to be killed. Not everything is about supremacy..Edward."

Desmond somewhat sneered the comment towards him. The way he just dismissed him was rather irritating. But, the assignment rang in his ears, and boy did it ring true, and did not care about Edward no longer. How surprised was he! This was more than a simple job. One of the greatest things to take in this life, is that of another's life. The very thought of it drove Desmond to excitement. He took the pin and placed it near his cufflings, and wore it with pride, almost. But when hearing about his partner, a smile emerged on his face.

"I remember you. We met in Italy, trying to vouch for the same item. Nearly ripped me in two, you did. I'm glad we're on the same side this time." he said, giving the big guy a nice pat on the shoulder. He handed Ray a somewhat thin, small black square slightly bigger than your average thumbnail, with a wire and a headphone. He noticed that Nicia had left. An urge to follow her came to mind, but he decided to respect her reasons and leave her be..for now.

"That device is tuned into my blackberry. This will be our form of communication. It will also let me know your location, as well. I'll let you know of what we're gonna do around..6 am in the morning? Until then."

Upon entering his room, he took out his blackberry once more. DEN came online.

"Looks like it's time to do some recon tomorrow, DEN. Time to get some information on this Edmund Byrokia."

More headaches, sir? Oh, joy.

A grin. Nothing more.

[Blackest Night]

Surprise has always been one of my favorite expressions to examine, and there was no shortage of such faces that night. As Maddox's words left his lips, the mouths of most of the recruits opened more and more. I bore my usual smile, naturally. I only half listened to Maddox's speech, already knowing a great deal of it from our own many secret conversations. I ignored part of it not out of rudeness, but out of distraction. Celia was speaking in my ear.

Not literally of course, or else even I would have been startled. Within my right ear, the one furthest away from any attendee of the meeting, rested a translucent earpiece. The two had already taken to keeping a close eye on the first target, Rachel Doranis, the one I so affectionately refer to as Right-Between-the-Breasts. By the end of the night, they would report to me with essentially a play-by-play. I would know er nightly routine, the layout of her quarters, and a great many other things, most of which were helpful, some of which I just wanted to know for the hell of it. Lede was performing the same task with Amuro Hitetsu.

I picked up three of the pins, one for me and two for my associates, yet I did not put them on. I believed myself to be within the sight of the Nine far too often to risk wearing a pin. If they were to notice that their loyal follower Edward had taken part in a trend of wearing pins they had neither assigned nor become aware of, it would raise unwanted questions. Until our mission was underway, I would not wear them.

People had already begun to file out, and chatter had resumed. The one who went by Desmond, apparently the "fire with fire" fellow, took it upon himself to respond to my statement. I heard the first four words before I lost interest and replaced his voice with that of a dolphin in my head. It was much more entertaining.

Upon the cessation of the dolphin chirping, I looked at the one called Jack. My smile enver faded, and I spoke very bluntly.

"You'll be up by 6. Don't set an alarm. We'll take care of it."

I moved my attention to Harper and Maddox. I offered them a polite nod.

"If you'll excuse me, Celia and Lede have a few things to tell me."

With that, I left. I had information to gather.

[Wallflower]

"Thank you, but I can wake myself at that time. However, if you do feel it necessary to wake me, feel free to do so."

Jack had nodded at Edward, and very deftly, pinned the small identification item on his lapel. At any other point in time, Or even under a different set of circumstances, Jack would have made some joke, that would have made the others stare at him like he was a blithe fool. However, it was no time for jokes. This was all serious. He was supposed to kill one of the Ten, along with Edward and his two friends, Celia and Lede. Jack had barely ever met them, so he couldn't pass judgment on them, but they seemed like a straightforward bunch. Rigid, in a way.

Jack switched his focus to the task at hand. Rachel Doranis and Amuro Hitetsu. Jack sighed in regret; he had met Amuro on a number of occasions, and he didn't seem like a bad person. However, he was one of the ten, and they were all corrupt. Every one of them, even if they didn't show it. So, like the others, they had to go down. Undoubtedly, Edward would have Celia and Lede doing reconnaissance, so he figured that he would have to be the one to pull the trigger. He did wonder about a great number of things, though- would it be a snipe job? Would he rush out, guns blazing, turning his target to Swiss cheese? And, foremost, would he have to kill both of them, or just one? He sorta hoped that Edward would take one and Jack would take the other, but if it fell to Jack to eliminate them both, he had no qualms about it.

Stepping toward the door, Jack slowly let it creak as he opened it, and stepped out of the room. The meeting was done, and he knew it. The only thing happening in that room was backtalk and off-color banter. As Jack slowly made his way to his place of residence, he began formulating his plan. The way things stood, it was Midnight. He would wake at six. That gave him about an hour to plan, and another five to get a good nights sleep- by Jack's standards, that is. Once he woke at six o'clock sharp, the countdown would begin, and they would have eighteen hours to finish off their two targets. Eighteen hours to set up, track them down, and finish them off.

It seemed very doable.

[lionheart06]

As the Progeny revealed themselves to be Maddox, Harper and Edward, Robert took a very slight look of surprise. He had figured that either Maddox or Harper knew more about the Progeny than most had perceived, and Edward, well he didn't know Edward all that well. However, he didn't quite expect all three to be in on it, it is exciting though. Now Robert however, did have to think about this, after all, if the Ten hadn't recruited him; he would probably still be boosting cars and trying to create a legitimate business from the revenue received. However, he was never fond of them either, they had a tendency to be rather "snooty" to be put politely. That and it's really just time for a change; corruption tends to set in when left in a position of power for too long.

He listened as Harper and Maddox gave their speech, as well as assignments. It seems as though Robert was left out of th equation. Strange, but an adjustment can be made, he'll just simply have to find Harper. Robert picked up the pin given to him by Maddox and made his way out to find Harper. Upon exiting he could see him in the distance. Of course a car should make short work of that. Luckily his Ferrari was parked near by, after getting in, he headed down the road to find Harper which wasn't too difficult as his current attire was something that one would see in a Prince video. Ironically enough Robert was "When Doves Cry" was playing at the moment. Finally catching up to Harper, as well as Nicia who had left a tad early, he pulled alongside the German and rolled down his passenger window.

"You do realize you forgot about me right?

[Morpheaus]

Selene Willis...Selene, I knew we’d cross each other’s path again before I could wash my hands of the Aristocracy. Harper doesn’t know about our shared history, no one does. But it stills chills me to the bone the way coincidences seem to be weaving themselves together.

Maddox departed the briefing without so-much as a word or glance at anyone, merely accepting his target with calm detachment. A part of him yearned to collapse onto his bed and sleep through the entire filthy business; regrettably, he didn’t have that luxury. While Amaia may oblige his hang ups about killing and take matters into her own hands, he knew she would require and expect his expertise if she would have any chance of getting to Selene.

In the quiet of his room, Maddox stripped to his underwear, and changed into a light pair of silk sleeping shorts, leaving the rich fibers of his Italian suit in cabinet for soiled clothing. He didn’t give much thought to a shower; he was tired and would be taking a shower in the morning before venturing to the library an interlude with Amaia—or perhaps it would be a tryst. The thought made him grin as he climbed into bed and tucked an arm beneath his head.

A ball of fur suddenly leapt from some unrevealed nook near the bed, landing on the bed with soft grace. Maddox smiled again, reaching down to scratch Arthur, his six year old Maine Coon, behind the ears as the oversized lavender cat behind the ears. Arthur responded by enthusiastically rubbing his head against the proffered hand before curling up on Maddox stomach for the night. The cat was Maddox best kept secret; being well trained and eerily insightful meant that Arthur often took an active role in hiding his own existence, something Maddox found very endearing.

Seven hours later:

Maddox, with a copy of T.H. White’s the Once and Future King in hand, sat patiently waiting for Amaia. He was dressed in a snow white suit, with a set of canary yellow sunglasses perched on his nose. It was fairly early, but he suspected that many of the teams had already left to attend to their missions. He’d made arrangements for a plane to take them to Paris, Selene’s base of operations, and hoped that Amaia would be punctual. Not that he had any genuine doubts; however, there was much to be discussed between the two of them.