CoR A Likely Suspect (Xandre & Aimee)

[Jas]

Location

Aimeé's Apartment, Luksonios

Flash back two weeks.

After a day or two to recover from the final battle against Rowan, Xandre found himself in an uncomfortable situation. He never came to this part of town. Never. He felt conspicuous; he was surprised the whelp had the stones to live out here. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be caught dead here.

But orders are orders, and Xandre had worked his ass off to earn the Sergeant's trust. They hadn't met under the most favorable conditions, and it had taken years. Not gonna let a little social anxiety tear all that down.

Sergeant? Make that First. Proud of that old fuck.

The enforcer pulled his bike over and parked it on the far side of the street, then cut the engine and lights. Looking across at the apartments, the squat man started counting, trying to estimate where the girl's apartment would be. Depending on how the rooms were numbered, he narrowed it down to two windows. Both had curtains drawn. Damn. Couldn't have been that easy, hm?

A hume passed nearby, spewing business jargon loudly into his phone, drawing him out of his thoughts. He was suddenly reminded of exactly where he was, and he felt uncomfortable; exposed. He dismounted, pulled his duster closer around him, and then he crossed the street.

I guess I'll go pay the bitch a house call.

Xandre opened the door and turned sideways so he could sidle in through it. He was short and broad, and was called a dwarf more than once--some reference to books about rings and magic, he discovered--and he quite literally didn't quite fit anywhere. He climbed a staircase and made his way to Jacques' pup's door, and gave it a knock. She'd certainly open the door, if for no other reason than he was too short to be viewed through the spy hole.

 

[Faithy]

Aimée was passed out on the couch while multiple empty bottles of booze littered the floor nearby. A very fluffy red blanket was draped haphazardly across her lithe frame, half of it over her head to keep out the light. She had stayed up far too late drinking down her sorrows after having spent some time making more money. Grunting at the sound of someone knocking on the door, she pressed fingers against her forehead.

"Ugh... fuck off." Her head was pounding and she debated on ignoring the knock before finally getting to her feet. Dropping the blanket down over the discarded bottles, Aimée slowly stumbled to the door and peeked through the peep-hole.

"The fuck...?" She didn't see anyone and nearly went back to the couch but wondered of maybe it was a package. She sometimes bought things when drunk. Opening the door, she blinked and rubbed her eyes and tried to figure out who at her doorstep.

"What?"

 

[Jas]

If that girl doesn't open this door soon I'm gonna break it down.

Xander was just about to knock again when he heard footsteps. After a moment (Can't see me!) the door opened, and the pup stood before him. He offered his cheesiest smile, wrinkles forming in the corner of his eye as he did so. Presumably, the same was happening on the other side, but the patch of leather which covered his eye socket also would have covered those. He took advantage of her half-sleeping stupor to push through the door and into the apartment, without asking.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead! It's like six in the evening." He looked around as he talked, his eyes coming to rest on the slew of bottle shapes under the blanket. "Jesus Christ, girl. Looks like drank the whole fucking Den. No wonder you were still passed the fuck out."

 

[Faithy]

Snorting at the look plastered across his face the gaze irritating the sloshed female more than normal. Why the hell was he here? Generally, the only pack member that came to her abode was her father and even that was rare. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, pack or not. Hell, he wasn't even anyone she talked to before. Just saw him in passing and stayed out of his way.

"Fucking help yourself..." Aimée grumbled as he pushed into her apartment. She wasn't thrilled that he was there and that he was so loud. Loud and obnoxious.

"What do you want, Xandre?" With a sigh, she wandered back to the couch, flopping back down even as he spotted her covered bottles. Scowling as he chastised her, Aimée merely shrugged with one shoulder.

"I barely drank anything, it just looks like that. And... so what if it's 6pm. I do my best work late at night."

 

[Jas]

"Working late, huh? Now that yer pop's dead and the Den's gone, what, yer nightwalking now?" The cheesy grin was rapidly declining back to his characteristic sneer. He reached up a meaty paw and scratched at his graying mutton chops as he looked at her. "S'pose yeh've got the looks for it. May as well use 'em while they last. Just make sure yeh're not getting in bed with the enemy. Yeh've got a family history, after all."

The sneer deepened. He did get some enjoyment out of it, sure, but she was already snippy and he was trying to push her buttons. Growing up in a bar, Xandre supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised that the little girl he knew before he headed off with Draaven on Baron's orders turned into this lush. But she was clearly hung over, maybe even a little drunk still, and drunk people were stupid. Maybe she'd slip up and say something stupid.

 

[Faithy]

Having let her body relax against the couch, Aimée's eyes were almost closed when his comments caught her off-guard. Snapping her head up toward Xandre, she growled and narrowed her eyes. The fucker! He had better watch his mouth! She slid up into a seated position and glared at his sneering face.

"You better watch your fucking mouth, Alexandre." Her words were filled with malice and she could feel anger rising. She always lost her cool when overly drunk.

"I'm no prostitute, you fucking dwarf." Sure, she did less than savory things, but the pup would never do that. Clenching her left hand into a tight fist, she wasn't stupid enough to try and attack him. He would easily stomp her small frame.

"Don't talk about my father either!!" She reached beneath a throw pillow nearby and snagged her gun. Flipping off the safety, she took aim at him.

"I'm not like him anyways!!! What the FUCK do you want?!" Was she going to shoot him? Maybe. She definitely wasn't thinking clearly.

 

[Jas]

If Xandre was afraid of a pup with a pistol, he didn't show it. Instead, he laughed. His sneer and unsmiling eyes above it greeted the threat. He continued, pacing slowly.

"Y'know, dearie. I liked Jacques. E'ryone did. None thought he'd do what he done." He paused for effect, spun on his heel, and started pacing the other way. "People like yeh too. Not me, not right this moment. But people do. 'N just how would it look if we had a turncoat in our midst and did nothing to root out other likely suspects?"

Out of space again. Pivot, pace.

"Yeh did good though. Yeh've got some brass ones to pull a piece on me, girlie. And y'know? I believe yeh. Yeh're nothing like 'im."

He stopped pacing and turned to face her. "As to yer question, pup: I'm here 'cause the First told me to be here. And yeh're gonna see more of me than either of us'd like, I reckon. I'm here until we can make sure yeh're actually a Bloodstone. And let me tell yeh, shooting an enforcer is not a great way to prove that." His smile was gone now, and his eyes were cold. He held his hands out to his sides to present a target. "So go ahead, girl. Show yer fucking colors."

 

[Faithy]

The hairs on the back of her neck rose at his laugh. There was just something unsettling about it. Reminded her of a distant memory, but at that moment it was nothing more than a blur. Remaining sitting down, knowing she'd sway too much if she stood, Aimée kept the gun up, her hand moving in unison as he paced. Ugh, the movement of Xandre was making her nauseous though. Hadn't they already determined there wasn't any other traitors or had Ragenard found out something else.

"Hnn..." She almost spouted off that a traitor wouldn't have tried to defend the Den or take on the Scions, but her father had saved her and was already a turn coat. Nope, that wouldn't help. Instead she glared at him, hair no longer covering her scarred face so that she could aim where she needed. Snorting at the reason he was annoying her, Aimée rolled her eyes.

"For fuck's sake. I don't need a baby sitter and I've already proven to Ragenard that I'm a Bloodstone. Go away before I shoot you in the dick for being one." As he spread his arms to let her shoot if she was going to, the pup mused a moment before finally slipping on the safety.

"I'm no traitor." Putting down the gun, she reached over to the end table and grabbed the half-empty bottle of rum to drink on.

 

[Jas]

A smile, warmer than before, crept onto his face as Aimee safetied the gun. "Good choice, girl. This is my favorite coat." He popped the collar and smoothed it out as it draped over his body. As he continued, he started walking slowly for the apartment door. "Yeh've satisfied me for the evening. I'll get outta yer hair, but know this: I'll be watchin' yeh. If there's anything yer hidin', I'll find out. However! I'm nothin' if not a gentleman. Unless it shows that yeh're gonna betray the pack, anything I find out stays with me."

Xandre reached the door and pulled it open, tipped an imaginary hat in the girl's direction, and headed out into the night. As he crossed the street back to his bike, the dwarf muttered to himself. "That bitch is nuts."

Those eyes, there was bloodlust in them. I'm pretty sure if I had said one more word she'd have done it.

The dwarf mounted his bike, and let out a heavy sigh. "I like her." He laughed as he started the engine.

Let's see if she's honest, though. It's been a while since I staked someone out.

He drove his bike up the road far enough that he was pretty sure she couldn't hear the motor anymore, then parked it and began the hike back. He'd wait for Aimee to leave, and then follow her. He took up residence in the shadow of a stoop on the other side of the road. Having been inside the building, he now knew which window to watch.

 

[Faithy]

Even as he praised her, the urge to shoot him was still there. He was almost insufferable. Still narrowed eyes tracked him as he moved back to her door, holding the bottle, but not drinking it. No, she needed to make sure he was actually vacating the area before she did anything. Plus, it was almost time for her job. The last thing she needed was to have him poking his nose in where it didn't belong. The mere fact that he said he'd be watching her was enough to irritate her.

"Fucking prick." The words were uttered only after he left and she flipped off the door for good measure.

"I should've shot his face." Aimée stood up and made her way into the bedroom to grab her bag that had her stripper outfit. She would just change there, it was easier that way. Forgoing a jacket, she stepped out of the apartment, locking up behind her. Her phone was tucked into the almost too small pocket of her jeans and the blood red shirt was surprisingly warm enough despite it being short sleeved. She was overly toasty and would remain that way for a while.

"Mmm..." Still in need of a vehicle, Aimée was forced to hail a cab to take her to The Candy Shop.

 

[Jas]

Xandre sighed. Of course she was gonna take a cab, dipshit. You know she doesn't have a car.

He watched the car leave, taking note of the direction it went while he could still see it. "Next time I'll park my bike down atta way and follow when I see 'er," he grumbled to himself. Not one to waste an opportunity, he hopped down from the stoop and crossed the street, picking a wedgie out of his ass as he went: back through the door, down the hall he'd traversed twice today, and to the familiar door.

The dwarf reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a beat-up leather roll. He checked the lock and pulled out a key, tried it in the lock, and then swapped it for a second. Satisfied, he took the meaty palm of his hand and jammed it against the key, turned it, and cursed when it didn't open. A couple of raps later and he was in. He replaced his bump keys in his kit and entered the apartment.

He took out his phone and took some pictures of the place, making sure to get total coverage. Main room, the pup's bedroom, all the roommates'. Reckoning she'd be more likely to keep secret things in her bedroom, he started there. Under the bed, under the mattress, through the drawers of her dresser and nightstand. Nothing that you wouldn't expect to find in a young woman's bedroom, though there a work schedule for "The Candy Shop" which showed her working several nights this week.

He stepped into the closet and looked around. "Fuck, gals dress a lot differently now than they did when I was 'er age," he muttered as he pulled a particularly skimpy outfit out of the lot. He stuffed it back where he found it, looked on the rack above the clothes, and saw several shoe boxes. He checked through all of them; most contained shoes, surprisingly, but one was considerably lighter. He pulled it out of the closet and dropped it on the bed, where he opened it.

Cash nearly burst from the container, mostly small bills. "Who the fuck just keeps a box fulla cash in this day and age? And what sort of psychopath just shoves them crumpled up into a box instead of stacking them? Lil' pup must be hard up." He closed the box and returned it where he found it. As he reached up to pull the chain from the light, he caught some golden sparkles on his hand. "What the fuck? Glitter?" He took the box down and opened it again under the light and sure enough, the bills were riddled with it. "Great. I'll never get that shit off." Suddenly, the picture was becoming clear. He took out his phone, opened a search engine, and typed in "the candy shop strip club" and sure enough, there was such an establishment nearby. "Yeah, I don't want to be the one to tell that to the old man." He snapped a picture of the schedule for his own reference and put the schedule back where he found it.

As he was leaving the closet, his foot, by chance, managed to lever up a floorboard. "Oh my, lil' pup. What's this?" The dwarf stooped and lifted the board, revealing a small space with some paperwork inside. He tried reaching in, but his hammy mitts wouldn't quite fit. Instead, he took his phone, turned the flashlight on, and pointed it in. "Maps? Fuck, now I need to get it. Stashed maps ain't never good." He took a shirt off a wire hanger, bent it into a hook, and used that to fish out the contents of the hole.

"Oh, pup. You know Rage and Baron would hate to see this." Travel plans, locations marked off, and a notepad to illustrate the thought process. The bitch was planning to run. "Not a lotta cash for a getaway, though. Either she's just fantasizing or she's saving. Rage will need to know about this."

The wolf carefully took pictures of all of the documents with his phone, then returned them to the hole and replaced the loose board. Satisfied with the bedroom, he turned off all the lights and returned to the main area. It wasn't a mess, per se, but it was clear that little Aimee wasn't in the mood for cleaning. He did, however, take a picture of the slew of bottles he'd seen earlier.

"Lessee who yeh're shacking up with, pup." He went into the roommates' rooms. The first room was a interesting. Under the mattress, he found several plastic zipper bags, full of pills. One or two and they could be a druggie. This was dozens, clearly a distributor. He took a closer look and saw the imprint of an animal, some hybrid between an anteater and an armadillo. "What the shit is that?" Reverse-image search on his phone came up with a few things, given the cartoony nature of the imprint, but a picture of a pangolin was the closest thing that he could find. "Well, at least it ain't Scion. Maybe the First will know who made this." He took a baggie and stuffed it inside of his jacket, got to his feet, then got down and took a second one. "For research," he chuckled to himself.

The second room didn't have any drugs beyond weed, unfortunately. "You won't be needing this anymore," he said as he took the baggie. However, this bag was stamped with the same animal as the other pills, which he took note of. Checking through the closet, nothing stood out, though the notebooks in the desk detailed a distribution chain and some hand-scrawled notes about the Scions' business model and ideas to pitch to link into it. "Oh, whoever these armadillo folks are, looks like they was thinkin' about gettin' in bed with the Scions. Gotta choose your company better, pup." Snap. Snap. More photos for Rage.

After putting the apartment back together to his satisfaction, Xandre went to lock the door on the way out, and realized he didn't have the key. He shrugged, took out the bump key, and used it to re-lock the door. "Better she doesn't know I was here." He exited the apartment building and began the hike back to his motorcycle.