Realistic or Modern Don't Go Poking Around

[Tiny]

Winona Fletcher had been sitting in Drive Brew sipping on a latte that tasted like mud for so long that the coffee had grown lukewarm. Decaf, of course, since jittery hands just wouldn’t do for a day like today. She glanced down at the book she’d grabbed to make herself seem inconspicuous. It was an anthology of Shakespeare’s tragedies that she occasionally highlighted purple or yellow intermittently.

The goal was to make her seem like any other college student in this town just trying to get some time to catch up on work. The cover also allowed her to glance out the large storefront window without suspicion. People would just think she was trying to distract herself from the schoolwork she ought to be focusing on.

Her outfit was low maintenance to match the illusion. A plain purple pullover that cropped at the stomach (covered by a black tank top underneath), some fitted dark grey sweats, and well-used black sneakers. She chewed on the yellow highlighter cap as her target finally came into view. He was flanked by two other men whom she neither knew nor cared about. After a brief moment she put her book and highlighter into her backpack, threw out the mostly full shitty cup of coffee, and was out the front door after her mark.

Win kept a fair amount of following distance so that she might not be spotted but also wouldn’t lose sight of her target. Her fingers found the pocketknife within her sweatpants that she fingered idly but didn’t draw. Her chase ended at an alley (of course) where the men looked briefly around before entering. Win walked by the alley quickly at first to see if there was anyone else down there. Nope. Just the same three.

Luke 'Baby Face' Stallman eagerly spoke to the other men with his back turned away from the entrance of the alley. Now was Win’s chance and she wouldn’t let it pass her by. With a black-gloved hand she drew her pocketknife and flipped out the blade. Movements as quiet as she could make them had her gliding forward poised to make her attack. This might be one of the easiest ones she’d get on the list. Baby Face was a low-level thug who probably never expected to have any sort of bounty on his head. He never thought to always make sure that he had a view on all entrances and exits. Never thought to avoid putting himself in a secluded area. Oh well, his loss was her win.

 

[walteryosmite]

Demitri Destrov, also known as "De De" by the idiots who can't pronounce his name, had always been hanging out around the worst of people. Thugs, pick pockets, thieves, murderers.. pretty much anyone mom told you to stay away from, he stuck around. It wasn't as though he only wanted to be a bad boy, he just found these people interesting and fun to be around. He got to learn all kinds of tricks from his 'friends' all throughout his time. He knows how to pick a lock, pick people's pockets without being caught most of the time, how to fight, how to steal... and best of all, how to do back alley first aid! However, as time kept going on, he was growing bored of the people he was stuck around. There seemed to be an abundance of meat heads in the branch of the mafia he had been hanging out with.. and he was becoming increasingly bored with all of them.

Today he was, once again, stuck with Luke and his fellow goon, Marcus. For the last week he had been forced to hang around him, acting as a go-for for the damned baby face. With each 'request' Demitri was becoming increasingly annoyed. Rather than feeling just boredom, it was now turning into anger... The butterfly knife he was typically seen holding had been out all day. Mindlessly fidgeting with it as they walked along the sidewalk. Where the hell were they going? Probably some back alley again.... Oh for-

He would walk along into the alley, watching as Luke stopped before marcus and he had. Both would look back to luke as he started talking and talking.. and talking... and talking. Oh for the love of god shut up! Demitri was on his last leg of patience. One last flick of the butterfly knife, one last mention of Luke's escapades with some 'fine' woman he found near a dumpster. Demitri hadn't even seen the woman behind Luke, in fact he wouldn't have cared. The swift kick of his steel toe timbs directly down center field was still coming. One hard kick to the family jewels was all it took to relieve most of Demitri's annoyance. Flicking his knife closed he would stuff his hands into his large grey jacket, the annoyance plastered on his face as he leaned back against the wall of the alley way... Marcus didn't even seem that surprised at this point, just taking a step back as he saw the silhouette of someone looming over Luke's hunched over form. Demitri caught a glimpse of her, was that a knife? That's kinda hot. "Wonder what she's doing." He thought nonchalantly as she poised to stab the man.

 

[Tiny]

Win had no time to wonder why one of Baby Face’s own goonlings would bother with attacking him. Baby Face needed to be dead, not incapacitated. Swiftly she swung her knife directly into the jugular of the man before removing it and moving back a few feet. Her timing was so fine that she didn’t even get a droplet of the spurting blood on her.

Baby Face pawed at his neck desperately, but Win had faith the stab wound would be deadly. One of the other men stared at her with surprise that melted into anger. Either a genuine or obligatory sense of loyalty must have overcome him because he pulled out his own knife making a move towards her. Win was close enough that she could have made a quick getaway out the mouth of the alleyway. But Win could never turn down a fight.

She crouched as he lumbered towards her and swept a foot out successfully toppling the man. The breath knocked out of him he made to get up, but she kicked him sharply in the side. “Fucking bitch!” he hissed curling around his injured side. She bopped backwards so that he couldn’t grab at her. Once he rose, she sliced at him to force him back. He was getting frustrated and moved forward to offer a slice of his own. Win dodged it neatly by ducking down. As she rose up, she chopped at his throat twice. Choking, the man released his knife which Win kicked away.

“Just business boys, promise.” Win said pithily. Her eyes caught the other goon in the alley, but it didn’t seem like he was itching for a fight, so she made her getaway after snapping a picture of Baby Face slumped on the ground in a puddle of his own blood on her burner phone.

She sheathed the knife in her sweatpants pocket and headed down the block. Target one down, now onto the next. Soon she’d be done with these terrible tasks. Winona was good at was she did. People underestimated her and let down their guard when she was near. Probably because she was only 5’2 and not very built. But Win was clever, a good fighter, a deadly killer. Their underestimations often meant their doom.

There was a time when she thrived on this kind of work. Taking bad guys off the street. Showing up people who thought she was less than the scum on bottom of their shitty boots. But then her twin brother had found out about it. Had seen the money she was bringing home and thought she might be stripping. Thought that he might follow her one night to work to confirm his suspicions. Thought he might talk her out of it.

He’d seen his twin sister garrote a man twice her body weight with a piano wire. The horror in his eyes as she’d looked over and seen him. She hadn’t walked over to him until after the deed was done and he hadn’t talked to her for a few days afterword’s. When he finally had he’d only said “I don’t care what you’ve done. I don’t want to know. All I want is for you to promise me you’ll never do it again.”

“I promise.” She’d whispered, surprised that he’d even spoken to her. She’d worried that her twin would never speak to her again. It was for his sake that she’d stopped and gone more legitimate with a job at the local 24/7 Gym. It was for his sake that she’d started again and taken on a dangerous hit list.

 

[walteryosmite]

"Yup... definitely a knife." he'd mutter as he adjusted his stance against the wall so he could have a perfect view of the woman in front of him. Oh the way his body shuddered when he saw the knife plunge skillfully into Baby face's neck. The movement was like someone who had done it dozens, if not hundreds, if not thousands of times. The strong twinges in his chest as he saw her take Marcus on... No better person to try to defend baby face than his Yes-man. What a boring bastard, knowing no ambition besides possibly riding someone else's success.

What was Demitri feeling just now? Oh how his heart soared as he watched her dispatch two lives. The way she looked at him too, after marcus was taken care of. That almost mischievous grin on his face as he couldn't help but be excited... was she going to attack him too? Was he supposed to be this excited? Was it showing? He'd frown slightly as she turned away to leave the alley, glancing down at his lap and motioning with his hands out of confusion "Why now?" He'd question the slight shortening of his jeans before he'd begin to give chase. He'd take this chance, as he passed the two dying men, to spit on their faces. He had plans to kill baby face later that day, no way he would have gotten away with kicking his kids away like that...

However, now he had something else to pursue. She seemed to so dangerous, so mysterious. She was so pretty to the eyes, yet under the surface was something far more dark than that gorgeous skin tone. He would have likely approached her on the street had he seen her prior to this.. but now he had to talk to her if it was the last thing he'd do.. Part of him wanted her to attack him, perhaps a form of masochistic want... Or maybe it was the thrill of nearly dying to someone so eyecatching. "Hey, hey, hey!" he'd say as he approached her from behind. "You just gonna get rid of those chumps and leave without so much as a goodbye?" He'd try to get beside her as he continued talking. "Let me take you to dinner, what do you say. On Baby face.~" He'd say, holding up a wallet with Luke's liscence inside of it. "I nicked it before we ever even got into the alley." He'd add, that white smile plastered on his pale face. The equally pale hair that somewhat got in his face... was that naturally that color? A blonde so bright it was nearly white? The only thing on his head that wasn't utterly pale were his eyes.. Both a brilliant hazel, each eyelid having a line like slash over each of them. As he spoke, perhaps she would catch a glimpse of that sparkle no his tongue, the piercing from his years in highschool. Another trait he kept from back then were those black nails... What a wannabe, most would think.. oh little did they know.

 

[Tiny]

Win heard someone pursuing her and spared a glance to see it was the other thug from the alley. Did he want a fight after all? Was he ballsy enough to try to pull something in the middle of the street like this? To keep a low profile if she fought him at all it would have to be simple self-defense moves that could be learned at any SD class at the local university. Yet he started to speak, and Win became even more perplexed.

Dinner? With the person who just killed his boss? Sure, he had knocked Baby Face around a bit before Win had ended his life. Maybe he had his own agenda with Baby Face. This could be his weird way of saying thank you for taking care of something he’d been planning on doing as well.

“I’ll pass on the dinner. Got places to be and all that.” She said as politely as she could without slowing down in the slightest. Her bus would be here soon, and everything was on a timetable. She couldn’t be late for it. At the sight of the pilfered wallet in his hand she released an involuntary chuckle before quickly schooling her expression into something more taciturn.

Her phone—the real one, not the burner—started to vibrate in her pocket. She removed it to see her twin’s smiling face as the screen revealed: BABY BRUV MOBILE CALLING. Quickly she sent it to voicemail and put it away, hoping that the other man didn’t see it. She’d managed to catch a glimpse at the time and grimaced. The bus would be arriving in two minutes. She increased her pace.

 

[walteryosmite]

He'd take note of the almost confused expression that attempted to creep onto her face as he first approached with his question. Denied.... Damn. "Oh come on, killer. You can't be that busy.~ I can't imagine you want to be jumping into another take down already." He'd question her reasons for saying no, wanting to push the offer. "You going after more of those goons?" He'd ask her blatantly, that cheeky grin ever present as though he wanted to hear all about it. "I know plenty about the family.~" He'd lean into the last of the phrasing, keeping pace with her as he wondered if this would grab her attention.

However, just as he leaned in to edge his pestering on he would catch glimpse of a almost familiar looking face. "Huh... He's just as pretty as you are.." He'd comment aloud, cocking his brow before looking her in the face... That almost embarrassed expression, was that not something he was meant to see? "Your brother?" He'd ask, not having enough time to read the contact name.

He really didn't want to leave this woman just yet. This killer seemed to have something on her mind, perhaps it was something he could join in on.

 

[Tiny]

Win’s eyes narrowed and her mood changed. He’d gone from a nuisance to a potential enemy. “If you don’t want to meet the same fate as your two friends back there, you’d better shut up and get lost. My plans are my business. My family is my business. And I’m not talking to you about either.” She hissed out before picking up speed and jogging up ahead.

She was just in time to catch the bus, flash the driver her bus pass and duck on. She quickly made her way to the back where she pulled out her phone to return her brother’s call.

“Hey, baby bro. Sorry I missed you, I was hauling ass to catch the bus.” She said feeling pleased that she’d for once not had to lie to him about what she’d been up to.

“Still don’t get how I can be your twin and baby brother but fine, dork. I was just checking to see if you’d make it before the surgery.” His weak voice came out on the other line.

“Yes, of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I should be there in 20…25 tops. Hold them off til then, k?” Win said finally letting in a bit of vulnerability come out in her voice. It was hard having to be the strong one through this whole thing. The one who he could depend on. The one who would be able to get them both through this. The one who would do the things that had to be done.

“I’ll do my be-” he broke off to hack loudly in the background. After a few moments he spoke again. “See ya soon Winnie.”

“See ya soon, baby bruv.” She said softly in return. With that she hung up the phone and anxiously looked at his goofy contact photo. Smiling slightly, she thought about what that guy had said earlier. He’s just as pretty as you are. Her brother wises he was as cute as Winona. But he was hers and all she’d had since their parents died over a decade ago. They’d had to fend for themselves for so long that it was impossible to rely on outside forces. Maybe that thug had been genuine in his efforts to help her. Maybe he’d be useful. Maybe it would be nice to have someone else to share at least some of the burden.

Not the brother part of course, that part was hers and hers alone to bear. She would never let this dark side of her life taint him. Not ever again.

 

[walteryosmite]

He'd keep just as close as he was before, even as she spoke of backing off. The threat of joining the last two shouldn't have given him that sort of a reaction, he knew that for a fact... But his pants were now as short as they were ever going to get. Blinking, he saw her start off in a jog. Was she trying to run away from him? Did she really think she could outrun him with their height difference... He had to have been half a foot taller than her at the very least.. Longer legs would help to keep him just behind her as he too started to increase his pace. He finally understood what she was running after. He was right behind her when she entered the bus, stepping on board he would duck slightly as to not clock himself on one of the rails. "Hey, tony." He said to the driver as though he had said it a thousand times. "Hey D.D." the driver would reply in that tired, slow tone of his. "Where are the other two?" The man known as 'tony' would ask. Demitri would turn around and blatantly said aloud, "Oh, they're dead." A grin on his face as he spoke. The driver didn't seem to react any more to this than the hey from before, "Shame... Two more patrons gone.... Go sit down." Was this man part of the family? No, not even close... Though he no longer cared about anyone else in life, tired of feeling sick to his stomach upon hearing DD speaking.. he must have grown quite a tolerance.

Sooner or later DD would find his spot in the back leaning against the window, having snuck past her when she was on her phone.. he wondered if she even realized he was there. He would listen to what was going on... Family... Her brother it seemed... He heard the faint word 'surgery' from the other side of the phone. "Oh...." He'd say softly as he was starting to understand a little more. He would look to her again, eyeing her smile as she stared at that picture. Oh god... now his own memories were coming back. Fuck that...

His sister used to call him every day, checking up on him.. Always checking in on him to make sure he was still alive and not in jail. Occassionally she'd tell him about her time with her family.. The husband that was slowly turning into someone else... Last time he had seen his sister and his niece he wound up spending time in jail the same night... no longer allowed to see either of them and not having received a call from them for months. "I wish I still had family that still cared..." He said as he turned forward and leaned against the window.

 

[Tiny]

The minutes dragged on endlessly and just as she was two stops away she got a text from her brother.
THEY TOOK ME IN EARLY, COULDN’T WAIT. I’LL CALL YOU AFTER. Followed by three heart emojis.

“Fuck!” Win said kicking the chair in front of her and startling the patrons around her. She shot back a quick text wishing him luck and promising to see him later. The bus stopped at the hospital. She stayed on board.

The stake out had taken longer than she’d wanted it to. It had been hard to pinpoint when Baby Face would come by where she needed him to. Everything had been delayed and now she would miss out on seeing her brother. She had another hit planned for this afternoon and she’d have to act fast if she wanted to make in time to see her brother post-surgery.

Honestly it felt like let down after let down at this point. No matter how well she tried to plan for everything it all fell through because her information on these wannabe Bratva thugs was spotty at best. She couldn’t act fast enough with such poor info.

She decided to get off at the following stop and as she rose she managed to catch a pale-haired boy sitting not too far from where she had been. Her eyes narrowed. Was he following her? Quickly she exited the bus hoping that he wouldn’t follow her out.

 

[walteryosmite]

He had honestly forgotten why he got on the bus in the first place after a few minutes of staring out of the window... "The hospital?" he'd mutter to himself before glanced back to hear the seat in front of them getting a right denting. "Oh.. yeah." he'd muse before cocking his head, had she been that angry when she threatened to kill him? I wouldn't say so... This was surprising to see after her apparent calmness from before.. Was she not leaving? He couldn't quite figure out what was happening. She seemed lost in thought before finally getting up... He'd glancing calmly back towards the window as she started to leave.. Welp... She saw him. He'd take another long look at the hospital and sighed, slowly standing up himself to walk off of the bus. Whether she noticed him or not.. he would stand a few feet away from the curb, staring up at the all too familiar building.

Born here, surgeries here, family members died here, hospitalized so many times he grew familiar with the ER nurses. "Sis..." He'd mutter under his breath as he wondered if his sister still worked here... Would she call security on him if he went and found her? his eyes would close slightly and his head would lift further to stare into the sky. "Wonder what that chocolate beauty is doing here." He'd speak aloud, asking the clouds such a stupid question... "Maybe I should see if I can topple the family myself." He'd also speak aloud as he thought about it... a slight grin forming at the thought of taking on a kind of people knew were dangerous. Perhaps this could also be a kick he needed..... He would slowly blink back into reality, looking around to see if the woman he had been following was still around....

 

[Tiny]

Winona’s next targets were a tossup. She knew that the lower level thugs would be easier to handle, though they would give her less money. The higher-level thugs would be more challenging, more time consuming, but they’d have the biggest pay out. Though the more bratva wannabes she took her care of regardless of rank, the greater the change of bigger fish coming to investigate.

Her intel was the biggest gap. All she had was a long list of possible names and a 1-5 ranking of where they stood within the Family. There were a few she’d heard enough of to reasonably ascertain their threat level and usual haunts. That was what she’d planned on using as a jumping off point, but maybe she could try for a little subterfuge. There was a club nearby that she might be able to sneak into and gain some more information.

Clubs were dangerous places to go alone on average. If it was a trip for pleasure, she’d never go without at least one of her girlfriends but as it was that wasn’t an option tonight. She’d had to have her guard up and be in full on honeypot mode. Luckily, she lived not too far from here.

The pale blond thug from earlier seemed to depart the bus after her but seemed to zone out staring at the hospital. Win could relate. Hospitals stirred up a lot of bad memories for her as well. She used his distraction to make her escape down the block and around the corner. In case he was still tracking her, she made the longest most roundabout trip home. It was long but proved that she wouldn’t be stalked home.

Once she got home, she got dressed in her signature LBD. It was a shorter dress than she might usually wear but she was hoping to encourage some loose lips this evening. She grabbed her fake id and strapped a small knife to her thigh. Coupled with some high stilettos and fierce make up she deemed herself ready. She headed out to the club hoping that she wouldn’t regret it.

 

[walteryosmite]

His day dreaming wouldn't cease after she left... Several minutes passed before he finally snapped out of it, just as a car was blowing past him. "Huh?" He'd look around and frowned. "How long have I been standing here?" He wondered, it had to have been long enough for someone to sneak home the long way.... He'd shrug, before blinking as he came realize something. "Damn... that hottie actually managed to slip past me. I really thought I could watch her kill some more people." He'd huff to himself before shrugging. "I guess I'll just go pester luke's dad." He would talk about the man as though he was all too familiar with him, secretly... or not so secretly, he knew every major person in teh crime family.. It does wonders to be like him in their world.

He would have made it to the club before she had even finished getting dressed, soon coming across a man who looked like an older, fatter version of babyface. DeDe had already tracked the man down to his favorite place to relax, a loud and annoying building. "Oi... Pyscho." The familiar voice of Mister Stallman would break through the hectic sounds of the club. "Hey there, Mister!" DeDe would reply with a cheerful smile. "Don't give me that creepy smile, kid." The older man would say, waving him off as he looked around. "Where's the boy?" the older man would say.. to which DeDe frowned. "I'm not sure, Sir. He sorta chased me off after I kicked him in the nuts." DeDe told a slight lie. "You did what?" The father said with widening eyes. "I kicked him in the balls, Sir. Gave him a good taste of the steeltoe. Hope you weren't wanting grandkids.~" DeDe said as he started leaning over the table, towards the older man... In one moment DeDe had pulled out his knife and stabbed the end of the blade into the table, directly next to one of Stallman's thug's wandering hands. "Don't reach for the gun, mister." The man flinched as DeDe didn't even look towards him until after he finished his sentence. Leaning uncomfortably close to the man and staring him directly in the eyes. "I'd kill you before you flipped the safety off." He'd say sharply before plucking the chipped tip of the blade from the table and cocked his head to the side as he heard thunderous laughter from Mister Stallman. "Look at this kid!" The man said between bellowing laughs. "Not even officially part of the family and he makes you guys look like chumps!" The large man was slapping his leg as he seemed to be getting a real kick out of Demitri. "I like you, kid. I see why my boy keeps you around. He deserves a good kicking from time to time." The older man said before nudging one of his thugs to move. "Let the kid sit." the man ordered, to which his guards would move out of Demitri's way.

Slipping the butterfly knife back into his pocket he would pick a bottle from the mountain in the center of the table, sitting down next to the Stallman before kicking his feet up onto the table. His large, heavy boots knocking some things around, kicking some of the angeldust up into the air. "Ew.... you fuckers do the cheap stuff?" Demitri would chime in as the only reason it would puff up like that would be from baby powder. "You guys are weak." He'd say again, wrapping his lips around the champagne bottle he stole from the center. Stallman, in response, was still laughing.