They Stir Up Strife [Open]

[Levi DAmico]

Day bled into night with the same squalid fancy, putting him in his routine, temperamental state. He’d stomped into his office at Levitan Logistics’ headquarters – a refurbished office block. The place needed to look reputable after all, not shady. He was going to get his work done, i.e. catch up on what had happened during the day and work on a tactical response, but he was so stressed out that he was finding it difficult to concentrate. Levi woke every night feeling as though the clock was ticking, counting down his life expectancy, which was ironic considering everything he had learned up until this point. Shouldn’t he have felt free? With all that power coursing through his veins, with all the knowledge he had gleaned; shouldn’t he have felt immortal? Instead he felt caged, shackled to two walls which were drifting slowly in opposite directions. It wouldn’t be long before they’d tear him apart. While he recognised that there could be a choice between chasing after one wall or the other, it didn’t feel like it would be as simple as that. It wasn’t like there was a key. Levi was left facing a stark reality; exchange the loss of a limb for the agonising torture of being slowly ripped down the middle. He might have survived the ordeal in the end, but what kind of life would there be after the walls parted?

There was always uncertainty in the world, but the world never seemed like such a big place before. Even Harper Rock, this dead-end little city in the middle of nowhere acting like its very own universe, was both incredibly small and worthless, and absurdly large and significant. Of course Levi knew what these two walls tearing him apart represented: his struggle with the Human world and this Vampiri one. He wasn’t sure about whether he could leave one for the other, but despite his hesitation, he knew an ultimatum was inevitable. He had people on both sides pushing and pulling for an answer and that night when CC had encouraged him to ‘die’ and truly be reborn, he realised how full of fear he was. It was disgusting to him, to care so much about something; especially that one thing he’d convinced himself was nothing but a pain in the arse, an inescapable fact of his upbringing and his life.

Cosa Nostra meant our thing, our concern, it was something you lived with. It became a part of you as much as you became a part of it. You couldn’t leave unless you were dead and if you ever left before that, then you were probably never a part of it to begin with. Levi couldn’t leave it because he couldn’t die – no pretence would ever change how he felt. For all his passion, however, there was a deep-seated mistrust for his own kind because he knew them, because he was just like them. They couldn’t get what he had so they couldn’t find out about him, but at the same time, he realised that he couldn’t hide forever. That wall pulling him to his old, familiar world had a more fathomable consequence and time-frame. Levi knew it wouldn’t be long before Nicoletti’s men would find him. At first it would be a warning, an encouragement – a silent gun behind the back where Levi would be forced into a sit-down. He would have to explain himself, but what could he say? He was stupid not to have given this more thought.

After a few hours of reading reports incorrectly, and typing documents and responses with all the capabilities of a dyslexic crab, Levi had decided that he’d had enough. His mind just wasn’t in the right zone to be dealing with this crap and if one more ******* thing blew up in his face tonight he was sure to shoot someone. Levi pushed his chair back, stabbing the computer’s power button with his thumb. He didn’t care that he hadn’t shut it down correctly. Quite frankly, it was lucky he hadn’t thrown it through the damn window. Levi marched over to the door of his office, ready to punch the light switch off and head out when he heard the sound of footsteps coming up the corridor. Nobody worked at night save the security guards and himself, and since Barzetti and Caro would call ahead rather than stalk the corridors, there was no doubt that he had some uninvited guests on the premises. A quiet calmness washed over Levi and he readied the Beretta. He wasn’t just going to shoot on sight – that would be messy. Instead, Levi backed away from the door and stood near the desk, waiting.

They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life. Psalm 56:6.

[Dhara]

She had managed to tame her riot of waist length pale blue curls, but the breeze played havoc any ways. The strands dragged across her amber eyes, obscuring her vision. The chill made her shiver as she pushed the blue and purple streaks back behind her ears. She dug the paper out of her bag and tried to read the address through the curls in her face once again. Grumbling in frustration, she rushed down the sidewalk, the wind shoving at her back and rushing her steps. She spotted the building, looked at the address once more and stuffed the paper away. This certainly didn't look like the place to renew a passport, but this was Canada, and who knew what crazy things they did here.

She yanked the door open and stumbled inside, blown in by the wind, the door closing with a bang behind her. She took a moment to catch her breath and make a note to remind herself, again, to buy a coat for the winter. She pulled the tie from her hair and shook out the purple streaked blue curls, then gathered them up once more and put them in a messy bun. Blue and purple tendrils hung around her face and down her back. This was as good as it was gonna get. She looked around and frowned slightly. This certainly didn't look like the bureaucratic offices she was used to. With a faint frown, she began to walk down the corridor.

Her footsteps were light, and she clutched the strap of her satchel, suddenly nervous. The lights were dim and the doors were closed. She nibbled on her lip and jerked open the door to the stairs, then gazed up. With a sigh, she gathered up her long black skirt and began the trek up. Her steps were light and barely echoed. As she reached the fourth floor landing, she paused and looked up with a sigh. Taking the crumbled note from her bag, she checked again and grinned. This was her stop. She pulled the door open and slipped in to the corridor and looked around. The hall was lined with closed doors that held obviously dark offices behind them.

With a sigh, she tugged on a loose purple curl and began walking softly, slowly down the hall, her eyes scanning each door to see if there was light creeping beneath. But ever single one was dark. Every one but the one at the very end. Crinkling her nose and nibbling on the inside of her cheek, she made her way to the only door with light coming from beneath it. One small hand curved in to a fist and she knocked lightly. Loud enough to be heard, but quiet enough not to be obnoxious. She felt nervous, her heart racing, and she tried to keep herself from freaking out. This was ten kinds of creepy and she was starting to think she should just cut her losses and run.

[Levi DAmico]

When the knock came, his brow furrowed all the more. Usually that was just a formality to coming in anyway, but Cosa Nostra didn’t always knock. Levi remained where he was, his hand still on the gun ready to raise and fire as much as he was ready to just point the muzzle at someone’s face and threaten. He had to be prepared to shoot as much as he had to hold himself back and make sure he wasn’t blowing the janitor away or something. It was possible he’d hired someone to come at night to clean, or maybe they’d changed their hours and he’d just forgotten it. Given the mood he’d been in lately, it was certainly possible. Nevertheless, he couldn’t get that sinking feeling to lift from the pit of his stomach. He’d been expecting someone from Nicoletti’s crew to turn up by now. For all his arrogance and confidence in the fact that they were all ******* idiots, he didn’t think that he’d had them so fooled into believing his ****-and-bull-story that they wouldn’t bother to check up on him. The fact that he hadn’t heard a damn thing from anyone had put him more on edge than if they’d threatened to blow up his apartment. Still, someone had knocked the door to his office and that same someone was standing outside and wasn’t in any hurry to come in.

Levi growled under his breath and straightened up; his white dress shirt straining a little. He wasn’t about to march to the door and open it just to get shot in the gut; he wasn’t going to give CC what she wanted. He leant an arm on the desk, concealing his weapon in the other behind his back. If it was the janitor, or maybe the cops for that matter, it was probably best not to wave a gun in their face. As a matter of fact, it was probably better not to wave a gun in the faces of Nicoletti’s men either. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a way he could keep his way of life whilst maintaining a sense of bravado. The situation left him with few options: run like a coward or beg like a coward. ****, this was hard on his ego.

“What do ya want?” Levi ground out; rough Italian prickling through a soft-set Boston accent.

It had never occurred to him that he could disappear for a while with his supernatural gifts and avoid this confrontation altogether – although that really was the same as running at the end of the day. As it was, Levi’s mind was stuck in Mafia mode and his predatory Human instincts rarely took his Vampiri capabilities into account. He could have melted into the shadows, vanishing from sight whilst remaining aware of what was going on around him, but at the same time, maybe it was best that he didn’t consider it. Levi hadn’t had the greatest track record with his ‘powers’; things either didn’t work as expected or they created annoying consequences. Perhaps, if he had the time to figure things out, he could work on them, but that all depended on who it was that was knocking on his door…

[Dhara]

She heard the voice and instantly knew she was in the wrong place. She clutched the strap of her satchel even tighter and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. What was she going to do now? Run away and pretend she had never knocked? Open the door and admit she was in the wrong place? Open the door, admit she was wrong and ask for directions? Open the door and apologize, then leave? She huffed out a sigh, causing the purple curl to lift then fall. She blinked it out of her amber eyes, then tucked the strand behind her ear.

One slender hand reached out and grasped the knob. She turned as slowly as she could, not wanting to cause a racket and disturb whom ever was inside any more than she already had. She was nibbling on her lower lip when she poked her head around the door, just as slow and cautious as she had turned the knob and pulled. Her sky blue curls streaked in purple came through first, followed by her blushing face and amber eyes. She gave a small smile, clutching the door.

"Hi..." she said in her blended Australian/German accent, biting her lip again, she stood there and stared before speaking again. "I am really sorry, I am in the wrong place. But maybe you could help? I'm looking for the passport office?" She dug in her bag and pulled out the crumpled paper with an address on it, one number off of where she actually was. She held it out to him, her hand shaking slightly with nerves.

[Levi DAmico]

Levi had expected a few things to come around that door: the cops, the feds, his Family, their hired goons, and maybe even CC – all carrying weapons with his name on it. What he hadn’t expected, however, was some young woman with crazy hair to come tip-toeing in. Barzetti and Caro were going to pay royally for this ****-up – how in the name of all that is holy had they managed to let a deer such as this just stroll on in? It was obvious that she hadn’t meant to bypass them purposefully; she didn’t look like she had the skill or attitude. They both knew immediately that she was in the wrong place, but Levi held back his impatience to take a good look at her. Her non-American accent calmed him, even if her outfit and hairstyle had made his right eye twitch beneath a lowered brow. When she asked if he could help her out, help her find her way to the passport office, Levi smirked to himself and actually considered it.

Artfully concealing his weapon by looking as though he was just fixing his jacket, he approached her and took the piece of paper with as much gentleness as a hulking six foot beast could. He picked apart the paper, checking the address; sure as **** that he had some recognition of a passport office being close by and not considering for a moment that she was bullshitting him. Humming to himself, Levi’s umber eyes met amber and he returned her scrap of paper.

“You weren’t far off,” he said calmly. “Place is next door.”

With a more controlled mind, he’d managed to push back that Boston accent of his, coming across a lot sweeter on the ear. Levi paused long enough to let her slot in a quick show of gratitude, but wasn’t overly concerned if she didn’t bother. Frankly, he was more curious about her need for the passport office. His kind had a lot of work for illegal immigrants; they worked hard, didn’t quibble over pay or hours and were easy enough to threaten. Levi could do with a few more hands on deck, and seeing as how she looked completely and utterly harmless, he was confident that he could use her. With a little training, she’d make a good thief or scout and it was never bad to have an abundance of those.

“You’re lucky,” he began casually. “Was about to shut up shop for the night.”

Levi made a gesture with his hand; a soft cue to back the **** out of his office so he could actually leave. His other hand, meanwhile, pressed against the wall between the doorframe and light switch with an out-stretched arm. He was positive she’d get the message, and in doing so, maybe he could walk her out and they could make small-talk; he’d see from there where he could take things and if she had potential.

“You want me to show you out?” he offered. “Gotta head the same way anyway and at least you won’t have trouble with security.”

[Dhara]

She took a half step back when he got closer. He was incredibly intimidating, but she was trying not to let it show. She craned her head back to look up at him, fixing her gaze on his as he spoke. His accent seemed lighter, gentler than it had at first. She knew that could easily happen, after all, her own got thicker when she was agitated. Taking the paper back, she smiled warmly.

"Thank you. I've always been terrible with directions." She stuffed the paper in her bag and took another half step backwards, almost completely clear of the doorway. "We're you? I'm really sorry. Well lucky, and sorry. Lucky to have caught you, sorry to delay you." Her mouth closed with an audible snap as she realized she was babbling at him. She wasn't good with strangers unless she was performing, but then she had something to hide behind when she was doing that. Her music.

She moved clear of the door and glanced down the hall. It seemed suddenly darker than it had when she'd first come through. Nibbling on the inside of her cheek, she brushed nonexistent lint off the tunic length shirt that was the same color as her pale, sky blue hair. Her gaze jerked up when he spoke again and it took her a moment to review what he had said before she could answer him. She gave him a warm smile and a faint not.

"Yes, please. I mean, if it's not an inconvenience." Her smile shifted to a faint frown. "Security? I didn't know there was security here. I wouldn't have come in if there was. I mean, I didn't see any, you see, and I'm not the type to trespass."

[Levi DAmico]

Levi kept his features steady as she talked at him. That hard-set frown and those umber eyes were difficult to brighten and while he wasn’t looking to intimidate her, there was no disguising that arrogance or that air of supreme authority he had. When the young woman was clear of his office door, Levi flipped the lights off and stepped out too; locking it casually behind him. It wasn’t much in the way of security – that much was obvious – but then again, the Mafia had other means of keeping people out. He glanced at the security camera above them in the corner which faced the corridor and gave a quick glare; a sign that someone was going to pay for this insolence – if they were even watching. Pocketing the keys and turning back to the corridor where the girl was, Levi regarded her briefly and began to walk. He figured that he didn’t have to say anything to let her know he was fine with walking her out because he’d already told her that. Levi wasn’t one to repeat himself and it really, really pissed him off if he had to.

Regarding her comment on security, Levi smirked and said, “Yeah, well, don’t worry about it. Like you said, you were lucky to catch me.”

The long walk down the dimly lit corridor beside the dead space of the open offices was like something out of a horror story. Shadows lurked in every corner like a cognizant fog, held at bay only by the cold, shallow light streaming in from the tinted windows. The ghostly echo of computers whirring and phones ringing was playing silently in the darkness beyond the pounding of their feet on the industrial-grey carpet. Levi kept his gait and composure controlled, leading the girl toward the elevator when a rather loud bang from the floor above made him stop in his tracks. Looking back to the girl, before glancing up, Levi shrugged his shoulders and kept on marching.

“They do that a lot upstairs,” he told her keeping his voice soft. “Now and again we take that big stick over there—” he pointed across to where a long white stick with a hook on the end was leaning “—and knock back.”

The long white stick was supposed to be reserved for opening the windows and was stood up against a wall-sized cabinet between the row of windows. It had probably seen far more service as a rod to annoy the neighbours than what it was originally intended for, but why open a window when you had AC anyway?

Once they reached the elevator doors, Levi pressed the button to take them down. He stood and waited for the ping and slide of the opening doors before he waved her in before himself – a chivalrous thing to do, he thought. It wouldn’t take them long to reach the ground floor, but he could make a light comment or two to ‘break the ice’ as it was.

“So, what brings you to the passport office?” he asked, leaning against the back wall of the elevator. “If you don’t mind my saying, you don’t sound Canadian.”

[Dhara]

She was nearly backed against the wall as the overly large man came out of his office. A lock of mixed purple and blue hair was being twined nervously around one finger. Dang but he was scary. She tried not to show her nerves, nibbling on the inside of her cheek to try and hide it. She listened to his words and couldn't help the way her lips quirked in an almost smile. He was certainly arrogant. But then again, she was invading his space. He had every right to act however he wanted.

When he started off down the hall, it took her a moment to realize he was walking away. She shook herself to reality and hurried after him, her steps silent. She was starting to feel like she was in a B-horror movie and that some creepy twins would appear at the end of the hall. She certainly did not want to play forever and ever and ever. She gave a soft sigh and tried to shove the feeling away when a bang sounded that not only made her jump half out of her skin, but utter a rather undignified squeak of fear and surprise. She only hoped Mr. Intimidating hadn't notice, so she tried to play it cool. She was tough, scrappy, and totally creeped out.

"What are they doing? Moving bodies?" She joked, her eyes moving to the hook he'd mentioned. She itched to grab it and bang on the roof. But then again, she was probably too short to reach, and it wasn't her place to do any thing about it. So she walked along with him, growing increasingly less freaked out as the elevator doors got closer and closer.

As the doors pinged open, it was all she could do not to run inside like a scared rabbit in to it's hiding hole. But she managed a sedate pace and leaned casually against the wall. She toyed with the fringe on her belt as she watched him push the appropriate buttons. His question though, caught her off guard and she gave him a wide grin.

"Oh I'm not Canadian. I'm sort of just passing through. But my passport is filled and close to expiring. I was hoping the Canadian's could renew it or tell me how I can get it renewed. If not, I might be stuck here for a while." The truth was, she wasn't in a hurry to leave any more. She'd met a few very wonderful people, and one in particular, that made her want to stay in this tiny, creepy town.

[Levi DAmico]

When she explained, Levi hummed a tone that suggested he was interested, but in actual fact, he was crossing her off the list in his head. She didn’t seem to be the desperate type after all and that was a little disappointing. She was clearly the globe-trotting kind of girl; something he probably should have guessed from her clothes and hair, despite the deer-in-headlights impression he’d gotten of her. He still couldn’t place that accent though; it was like a weird mix of Australian and European. Having never been anywhere but America, Canada and of course, Italy, Levi wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to narrow it down any more than that. He could have asked her straight up, of course, but he was already too bored to bother. Sure the mystery was bugging him now, but give it an hour and he’d totally forget about her ever being here. While intimidating the girl into a job probably wasn’t wholly out of the question, it begged for the kind of effort that Levi just had no time for. Nevertheless, when she’d mentioned how she was stuck here, he smirked because he found himself agreeing.

It wasn’t just the fact that he was worried about returning to Boston, returning to the Family at the risk of revealing himself as a Vampiro, it was that CC had a ******* leash around his neck too. If he moved, even coughed, she wanted to know about it and it was driving him crazy. The whore was on his back worse than a heroin addiction – he imagined, ignoring that nicotine craving for the meantime. Levi hadn’t changed his mind about killing CC; he still wanted to even if it meant she’d return a week later just to torment him with increasing savagery. He just really wanted to have that semblance of peace no matter how small or fleeting it might end up being.

“So where do you plan on heading next?” he asked her before clarifying. “I mean geographically, when you leave this city.”

It seemed like the appropriate thing to ask and his tone was kept at the same mood that it had been in since they’d left his office. He wasn’t one to be excitable or happy or generally not a dickhead; this girl had no idea how much it was killing him to suppress the cursing. Levi actually had to pretend he was talking to someone important just so he could secure his temperament; pretend like he had an interest and gave two shits about her life. Despite having no real use for her anymore, Levi had to keep up the pretence that he wasn’t someone who wouldn’t think twice about shooting her in the face just so he didn’t have to talk to her. Levi wasn’t the most sociable butterfly in the world, in fact, he was probably closer to a centipede than a butterfly; a hundred feet on the march at all times. Still, they were stuck in an elevator together and Levi eyed the lights above the door praying silently to a deity he wasn’t even sure he believed in, bargaining with it, in fact, that if the elevator would just go down as planned and wouldn’t make an unexpected stop, he’d make sure not to shoot her in the face.

[Dhara]

"Honestly? I have no idea. Where ever my feet take me." She kept the answer short and simple. She might not be able to read minds or any thing, but she could tell that Mr. Intimidating was bored. So instead, she lapsed in to silence and watched the numbers, thankful that they had only been on the fourth floor. Soon enough she'd be out of the elevator and on her way.

She blew a lock of hair from her eyes just as the elevator jerked to a halt with a ping. The doors slid open and she wasted no time in stepping out of the confining metal box. She could see the door to the outside and she made a beeline for it. The sooner she could get away from the creepy guy the better. She was some where between the elevator and the escape when she heard a scuff. Like a shoe against the floor. Her head swiveled in the direction of the sound and she came to a halt.

Her amber eyes went wide and she bit her lip. The color left her face, making the smattering of freckles across her cheeks and nose stand out. Mr. Intimidating version two was glaring at her and holding a gun. Granted it wasn't pointed at her, but it was enough to make her heart race and her mouth go dry. She couldn't think, couldn't speak, and couldn't move, even if she had wanted to. This must have been the invisible security that Mr. Intimidating Sr. had mentioned when she poked her head in to his office. She swallowed thickly, trying to breathe, and trying to stay completely still at the same time. Except for those amber orbs that swung between the two clones, Senor and Junior. Waiting for some one to say something, or do something. Or even better.... the chance to run like hell.