Long Rough Road

[Isabeau Valachi]

It was hard to say what it was that made her decide to up and leave, just that one night, while she was out hunting, out killing, out doing what it was she did best (especially given her new status as the undead). Bo found herself and the southern boarder of the town, looking at the sign that said 'now leaving Harper Rock'. She had head rumors that the undead couldn't leave, she had also heard that it wasn't so much that they couldn't leave, but that they shouldn't, that if something were to happen, what ever that was, that would send their spirit from this shell of an existence, it would be permanent. That's it, 'do not pass go, do not collect $200'. There would be no coming back from the darkness of the shadow realm (whatever that was), it was just nothing, no more.

Bo stood there, and stood there, just looking at that sign, and with a deep (though unneeded) breath, she stepped past the boarder, left the town that to her knowledge she had never left. That was untrue of course, she had been born in Italy and whisked away as a babe to this city in the literal middle of nowhere Canada to 'protect' her. Or so her father said when he recently set her on the path that I am sure was what sent her to her first grave and caused her to rise as this with a 'new father' of sorts. She stopped, found herself looking back at the sprawling metropolis that was Harper Rock wondering if Mord would even notice her absence. She doubted it though. Why would he miss her? The thorn in his side that he had never meant to create. Her eyes hardened, iced over like a piece of glacial rock and then her gaze turned south bound once again.

Thankfully some of his training, however little there was (mostly her fault for not listening) that she knew and stayed out of any big trouble. Only traveled about at night, because, as far as she knew, the same power that kept her from truly dying, was the same power that would cause her to grow in power. So, she did what any smart (traveling) vampire would do. She read up on the myths, like it or not Mord, there were books out there, tons, created throughout history, that spoke of the myths. Which where true and which weren't she didn't really know. However, she figured that if it repeated enough, it had to be something that was fact.

While she was on the beginning of this journey, she began to think about her father, about his life, about the reason that she had been banished to Canada. Perhaps it was her time to get into dear old dad's line of work. After all, who better to break into the world of a gangster than the daughter of one. However, she knew one thing for sure. This was too close to well established mobs, the east coast was too close. It was then that she started to make her way westward until one day she found herself looking at a new sign. This one was bright green with decorative font and the smell of smog almost made her sick. Could she get sick? It was a thought, one she would deal with on a later date.

Welcome to Los Angeles.

While she wasn't stupid enough to think that the west coast was without it's mob and gang influence, it was the kind of influence that she knew would keep her safe. After all, most of the mobs and gangs here were of Mexican decent than Italian. Yes, this would be a good stepping stone. Once she was bigger, stronger, she would make her way home. And wouldn't that just be the butter on her father's toast. Poisoned butter probably, but butter none the less. It was a rough start too, after all, she was in a whole new hood, had to follow a whole new set of rules and most importantly, she had to keep to the dark. Something that was a whole hell of a lot harder in sunny Los Angeles than it was in cold Canada.

It started small. She started small. Working small crimes, a theft here, a car jack there... she noticed that her influence, it was getting stronger, she could not only hold larger territory, but more of them. There were just things that made growing in the world of a mobster so much easier. Is this why her father did it? The easy money? The easy power? The way it felt knowing that people would obey your every word. And aside from some of the missions, she did it all without her powers. After all, she didn't know just what powers she had, she had left before Mord could get into any real depth of training in that area. She used some, but for the most part, she lived her life as she had before she had died. A quarter mile at a time. Like a mortal... most of the time.

When she started getting higher in the ranks, she began to work on more of the area she had settled down in. A rather 'rich' place within the San Fernando Valley. It was actually a big valley, Harper Rock could fit into just the valley alone 5 times over. And soon, she found herself wondering once again about the city that she had left behind, though now she was beginning to wonder. Could she take over the city? Oh that was an amusing and rather interesting idea. One she would find herself look back on more and more with the coming 'battles' she would find herself in while she battle with others to not only keep the places that she had already claimed for herself but for the places she soon would set her icy gaze on.

However, perhaps she had over exerted herself as a fledgling vampire and an even newer gangster. However, she did notice one thing, her healing was still about the same, as before she had left Harper Rock, so that was a good thing, and the fact that what little powers she had learned to use before she left the city she was growing. And then there was the fact that she had begun to realize the difference between the thug she had basically come up to be, and the gangsters she aspired to be be... like her father. Only, maybe a little smarter... or at least, she could hope.

About the time that she became an enforcer, she made up her mind. She was going home. However, she was going to go home as strong as possible, because as far as she remembered, there was quite a few big mobsters already in the works of growing in Harper Rock. One of them had been a target of hers at one time, now, she still found herself thinking back on the handsome Italian that her father had set her sights on. He was one that she would have to find a work around on. Still, she had a main goal in mind. Now it was all about setting smarter goals. And the first goal that she was going to need to accomplish? Getting her way out of the San Fernando Valley without drawing too much attention to her end plan. However, she still also needed to make sure that when she left, she not only had to leave with her crew, but with the money she was making and with the power that was surrounding her. And not just the power that came from being a part of the supernatural world.

[Isabeau Valachi]

It's a slow and ultimately rough road working one's way through a valley as large as this one. Yet the real feat, she knew, was still to come and each time she thought she got over one, she had to get over another. The first big one was making sure that the turfs she planned to leave behind would still stay under her control, despite her absence from the valley. And, it seemed, for now anyways that how she had set up things was working. The area she had chosen was the kind that not a lot of people would be looking at, even if she drew a red flag or two. The gambling dens she had set up for local and not so local street racers and race watchers were not just well hidden in what seemed like normal apartment buildings, but also well protected, look outs were set in the right places, and then look outs for the look outs. Then there were her own enforcers and her gang of racers and collectors. There was even a dedicated bag man. He was well trusted (or rather scared out of his mind) and he knew that if he broke that trust, she would break him. He would wish for death long before she gave it to him.

Also in this little area there were a few well placed warehouses and they as well as the docks that they moved product through, were guarded as well, in ways that only she had full awareness of. Cameras, bars, even a hidden nest for shooters. And that was on top of the well paid and threatened rent-a-cops she had hired. And yet, even as she was setting up her growing circles, she knew that she herself was still just an underling, making her way up the ranks of the mafia war that raged not just throughout the US, but the world. Once she was a senior enforcer, she began her move south west. Yeah, she could have gone a fast route, but she was learning that fast was usually sloppy. And sloppy, that was no good for her. Especially given that she was for the most part a human with a love of blood, a few sharpened senses and one or two usable powers.

However, it seemed that she was suffering from a bit of 'home' sickness, as she often found herself stretching out and then returning, it ended up making her leaving of the California town just a bit harder and harder. Eventually though, she did find herself sitting at LAX, looking up at the departure list. Her destination? Canada. Toronto Pearson International Airport which for some very odd reason had got the classification code of YYZ. Almost as if they had run out of letters to use when they made the airport in the heart of Toronto, Ontario Canada. The lights of the airport made it seem as if it were daylight, both inside and out. She was pretty sure you could spot LAX from space with the amount of light they used. Finally she heard her flight being called and she stood and made her way over to where she was to stand with all those that were in her section. This was going to be an interesting flight, thankfully the time of the flight meant that she wasn't going to be in a full airplane but the fact that she would be trapped with a bunch of meals would be a test of her endurance and self control.

On her way out of Canada she had pretty much hoofed it, granted she could run extremely fast so it didn't take her long to reach civilization once she had left. And not long after that she had reached the boarder. She had realized then though just how cut off the city of Harper Rock was, and understood why it had been chosen by the founders. It really was a safe haven for the supernatural... that or it was just one really weird place that nature had decided to evolve a magical spot to keep vampires alive not matter how many times they were killed. As she thought of this, she found herself handing her ticket over to the gate guard and couldn't help but notice just how good she smelled. Her eyes shifted momentarily towards the woman's neck but she knew better. Talk about a breach in the masq. She was sure that would get Mord on her *** no matter where she was in the world.

Boy was she in for a surprise when she landed. For now though, she just had to make it through the flight without leaving a massacre in her wake and perhaps causing the plane to crash. Hmmm, that could actually work in my favor... well at least until she went up in flames. She shook her head clear of her thoughts, put her earbuds in her ears and blasted Metallica as she took her seat and kicked back, willing herself not to even breathe while at least appearing that she was. After all, she didn't want to scare the passengers to make them think she was dead. Granted, she was, but still. About an album in, she pulled out her tablet and began looking through emails and messages from her lookouts, spies, members of her gang. Most of the messages were pointless, but she noticed one or two messages that stuck out. However, she would wait till she was on the ground to really deal with the problem. For now. Nothing Else Matters.

[Isabeau Valachi]

Even with her earbuds in and her music blasting, she heard and felt the moment that rubber met tarmac. Her eyes lifted to gaze out at the land before her covered in white even in the night she could tell that it had snowed. She sighed and remembered that she was back, or rather, close to being back. She knew that if she was going to work at getting control over the city, she first had to grow her assets a bit closer and with those in this neighborhood. Plus there was one other good thing about being back. She could get off this plane as quickly as 'humanly' possible and once she was out of the brightness of the airport, she would find someone to feed on.

And she had to find a good place to dispose of the body as well, but that too was far easier now that she was in a land that still had a wild side to it. Los Angeles had its pros and its cons, but feeding was a tad more difficult, as was hiding the bodies and the fact that she had been feeding on them. She was thinking about this as she grabbed her stuff and deplaned, her eyes traveling from neck to neck, vein to vein. Yeah, she really needed to grab someone to eat before she slaughtered the whole airport.

It was only when her face was met with a cool blast of air that she allowed herself to really breathe, to take in the other scents besides blood, sweat, and a few other less savory smells. Now she was hit with the woodsy smell even though they were deep within the city and the woods weren't that nearby. It was just the way Canada itself smelled. Like every person with their distinct scents, places were the same. Here air was crisp, fresh, some musk and earthiness. Los Angeles had been mostly smog, lots and lots of smog. Lots of grit, lots of tar. There were some good smells though, people had more interesting aromas and then there was the beach. While it was not the same as in Italy, it was close enough to remind her of it, even if she had only really been there a few times in her life and only once that she could remember. She sighed as she remembered the plan that was still in the works, and the fact that her father would likely want her dead for the fact that she had failed him, not just once, but multiple times.

Well, she'd like to see him try to kill her now. And if she could get back into the city before he did, well that would work out for her all the more because if there was one thing she knew. She would not truly die in those boarders. She would come back, meaner, and boy would she come back with some Italian fish to fry.

Walking down the dark streets that she knew wouldn't be dark much longer, she started to look for two things: A meal and a place to hunker down away from the sunlight. A male walked by, his eyes lingered on her, followed her even as she walked by him, seemingly without a single glance in his direction. He turned, with a friendly smile on his face and began to talk to her. She arched her brow and then pulled her earbud from her ear. "Hey Sweetie, where are you heading?" Her eyes rolled.

"North east, I think." She replied and then started to put her earbud back in. However, he stopped her, placing his warm hand on her arm. Thankfully, it was covered with her leather jacket, but still, the touch was enough to trigger her. She glanced at him with a look that could kill. Placing her hand over his, she held onto him and lead him down a dark alleyway between two towering warehouses. Her luck in this regard. She pinned him to the wall and held her hand over his mouth and nose as she struck, quick, like a viper. His muffled scream melted into the night but because the streets had been pretty dead, she wasn't too afraid of being seen.

Once she was done with her meal, she used her claws to tear into the body a bit more, to make it look more wild, more animal in nature. She was getting good at animal attacks. Wiping what was left of her meal off her face, she started back down the alley but was stopped by newspaper that was scattered all over the ground. The article caught her attention and she found herself leaning down to pick it up. She continued to read it as she headed back down the street. This was going to be an interesting return for her. Though, she still had some distance to go. Especially since she still had some growing and working and setting ground work to work on. It wasn't like she didn't have time now. And as she read the article, she started to think she might even need to take a bit longer, she'd have to get some other things in order before she went anywhere near Harper Rock.

[Isabeau Valachi]

The beginning of her Canadian take over started pretty much the way that it had in LA, first she scouted the area. She was actually pretty shocked to learn that quite a few gangsters and mobsters were growing in Toronto, so she knew that if she was going to make her way through Canada, she would have to go about it in a smart and rather stealth manner. After Bo had found a good spot to start, she did as she did before. After all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Gathering gangsters to her cause was actually pretty easy now, people would do a lot for money. Especially a lot of money. And those that didn't do for money, they often easily did for family. Or rather, to protect that family.

With her first little piece quickly on its way, she began to look towards what she had always considered home, considering she was pretty much raised there. Once the gangsters and their secret tags on walls were in stone, she worked on the other things, finding a warehouse, she was going to start moving the product she had in LA into Canada and the goods she could get from Canada back into LA. Granted, the fact that what would come out of Canada was now legal or rather was working on its way to being legal and thus wouldn't need to be sold by pushers on the streets, but that didn't mean that businesses didn't want to find a way to save a dime or two.

The Gambling dens were what would really bring in the dough for her, but they would also call upon the greatest attention, she she was pretty careful about moving the den's further and further away from the city until she started to get to areas that were pretty much vacant of all life. However, when gambling was in play, people still came. No matter how far they would have to drive. That was the one good thing about compulsive gambler's they always kept the house in business. She smirked as she looked over some of the things she was reading on her tablet. The closer she got to Harper Rock, the more the articles drew her attention. It seemed secrecy was a thing of the past. Still, she was of the mind that Mord had the right idea to hide some of those aspects. If people found out, the **** would hit the fan, she knew it.

She was getting closer, she had started to make her way towards the National park that hid the city, but in truth, it was a really large park and Bo was once again hit by just how cut off from a lot of things the city was. Just how protected it was by nature itself. Another thing she started to notice was that the closer she got, the more she felt in tune with her powers again. It was almost as if she could feel her power crackling over her skin like static electricity. Feeding got a bit harder though, the further away she was. As she had moved through Canada she had claimed the 'Capo' title of the cities. And like with her vampire powers, those powers too were hard to give up. She held onto lands that she didn't quite need just because they were bringing in a lot of money. And money, in this world, it equaled power. And she had to admit, she really loved power.

Really isolated, Harper Rock was really isolated. And in the middle of winter, it was one hell of a hard trek, even for a vampire who could run as fast as she could. And then there it was, in front of her, lights glittering in the darkness like jewels. It almost looked majestic. She could almost say it looked lovely. Bo was home. Now it was time to claim this home as her castle.