The Benefits of Organized Crime (open)

[Alexei Nabokov]

OOC NOTE: This is open for pretty much anything. Don’t feel you have to limit it solely to organized crime. Feel free to be the good guy who gives him the warning they know what he'd up to. Or the bad guy who wants to join up. Or the beautiful woman to have by his side. :crack Shameless, I know. The point is, this is pretty much open or wherever your creative little (er...not so little?) mind takes ya.

Now...on to the story:

He wasn’t old enough to fully understand, but he was old enough to remember. From that night on the images would be ingrained in his mind as a tattoo is to flesh. His family was gathered around the table for the feast in celebration of the new year. He sat between his two favorite uncles, Vanya and Mitya. Ivan, affectionately known as Vanya, was the youngest of the seven brothers and found great amusement in teaching Alexei little tricks of the trade that his father had forbidden. And Dmitri, Uncle Mitya, had given Alexei his first blaster. It had been a very adult weapon for him at the time, but Mitya had dedicated himself to teaching Alexei to master it. Across from him sat his siblings - three brothers and three sisters. His mother sat obediently to the left of his father, who sat at the head of the table. His grandfather sat to his father’s right.

His father had just raised his goblet of wine, a rich red color to toast the family and the joyous reunion when the attack came. It was a horrible surprise as the room was suddenly filled with authorities, military and jedi alike. His mother had screamed, and his uncles had pushed him to the floor towards safety. A few moments later and his mother was dragging he and his siblings down towards the cellars where the secret rooms would provide safety. Foolishly he pulled away from his mother and ran back up the stairs in time to witness the death of his grandfather. He had never really felt any kindness towards the crotchety old man, but certainly, he never would have wished death upon him.

His father was the last man left standing in the room, his brothers subdued by those who had caught them by surprise. Alexei wanted to call out to his father, but the words stuck in his mouth like a ball of dry cotton.

“Run!” He father commanded him. The tone of his father’s voice was sharp and immediately Alexei turned on his heels to return to the cellars. But he wasn’t fast enough. One of the men grabbed him and restrained him. He struggled, but he was but a child of twelve years, and he was no match for a full grown adult.
He could see the anger in his father’s eyes from his position across the room. His father wasn’t angry at him, but it was something he wouldn’t learn until years later when he was old enough to understand.

“Release my son. He is a child.” Viktor, Alexei’s father threatened. The tone of his voice was cold.

“We will release him if you will come quietly. You are under arrest for racketeering and the murder of Vladimir Tremskaya.” Their leader bargained. Viktor looked from his son, to his fallen brothers and his father, and back to Alexei. He had four sons, Vanya, the eldest, Alexander, the next, Alexei and then Sergei. His other sons were good kids, but none of them, save Alexei, had shown the potential for being the kind of heir Viktor wanted. Alexei, though young, was a spirited kid with a firey temper. He was the younger version of his father.

“You are violating the laws of war.” Viktor stated. “He is a child.” He repeated.

“And you are a wanted criminal.” The most senior of them responded. “With little room to bargain. It is you against the group of us. If you come quietly, we will release your son.”

If looks could kill, Viktor’s surely would have. It was all he could do to not make one last attempt for freedom, even knowing that the others would quickly finish him off if he did so. After a long moment, he looked to Alexei.

“You take care of your mother and your brothers and sisters.” He told the young boy.

“I’ll be home soon.” He added, swallowing back the sadness he felt at leaving his family behind. He knew that he was facing a possible death sentence, or life in a detention cell, but he had to be strong for his son.

And then they were gone, leaving behind the twelve-year-old to take care of the family and bury his grandfather. He walked down the stone stairs to the cellar. The candles flickered eerily in the darkness. He sat down on one of the steps, not even feeling the coolness of the stone beneath him. And that was when he realized that his father was gone. He sat on the stairs and wept silent tears. He vaguely noticed his mother’s arms around him, trying to comfort him. The familiar scent of her soft perfume gave him a tiny bit of solace. But as he walked to his bedroom that night, with each stair that he climbed, he took a way a year of his life. Overnight, he turned from a boy to a man as the family responsibilities were set upon him.

Decades later, this man could be found in various establishments throughout the galaxy, frequenting the seedy, rough, smoke filled establishments as often as the high class, tumbler of fine liquor, cigar in hand high rolling locales. He had regrets. He had more than enough of them. But regrets took a backseat to the reality of life. Sometimes you just had to do the things you had to do.

This, he had learned early. His experience at twelve had shaped him – rather, branded him as the man he was today. He could, at times, be downright cruel and without remorse. This was the most likely state of mind. From time to time, he could be forgiving. But the forgiveness was brief, and those who found themselves the recipients of it were wise to remove themselves from his sight before he changed his mind.

Much like his father before him, Alexei was a prominent figure in an organized crime group and interested in expanding the strategic alliances to the extent that their potential threat to public safety would be alarming. Though he had in the past, most often made alliances on a temporary basis for mutual convenience, he was perhaps looking for something a bit more permanent.

His exploits ranged from narcotics to the creation of smuggling routes for natural resources, diamonds, illegal aliens and prostitutes, as well as weapons, both conventional and specialized. The most recent development was the ability to obtain such weapons, and he was open to new relationships between his organization and potential terrorist groups. In fact, there were few potential exploits that he would rule out.
This evening, as he sat at a table at the ‘Golden Crescent’, the gangster seemed disturbingly relaxed. Perhaps things were going exactly as he had hoped they would.

[Rage]

Rage had been walking along the streets, fresh from finishing a 'job' not too long ago. She realized she needed a drink, something to quench her thirst and to celebrate an assination well done. Well, perfect where Rage was concerned.

She stopped before a building and looked up, the sign reading 'Golden Crescent'. She shrugged, thinking to herself it was a place as any to grab a drink and maybe check out a few of the locals. Her ship was docked not too far away and she checked her comm link on her wrist to see if either Taz or Kat had tried to reach her. She smiled...good, they hadn't. They both know that Rage was not to be disturbed right after a hit. She wanted to savor the rush it gave her.

Rage stepped through the door of the building, her eyes adjusting the light. One hand went to her hip while the other tightened its hold on her 'goodie bag' that carried all she needed for her line of work.

Searching the interior, she spotted a few interesting characters and took another step in before stopping, her eyes roaming appreciatively over a man sitting by himself at a table. She smiled to herself, then walked in, heading straight for the bar to order that much wanted drink.

[Cheese_Messiah]

OOC: Hope you don't mind if I join in.

Bastalek realized how late it had become the street lights clicked on as he pulled slowly out of a vacant alley. It had been a long day of grifting and swindling, or at least his bones and muscles ached like it had been. Bastalek let out a tired sigh, and looked to the time peice on the handle bars of his swoop. His jaw dropped a slight bit in frustration as he realized how long it had been since he left the apartment. You gotta be kiding me, I only left two hours ago?! Ugh, people just can't admit they got played with any dignity anymore can they...
Bastalek grunted through his clenched teeth as he set his hand upon the upper left portion of his chest. Umph, guy must've put on some knuckles or somethin, 'cus he cracked my ribs up real nice. Reaching into his coat pocket he chuckled lightly and said aloud, "Jokes on him, got his wallet. Should be enough to buy the liquor to sooth this pain."
Bastalek's swoop slowed to a crawl as he came to front of the Golden Cresent. Parking his ride around the side of the bar Bastalek vaulted off his red swoop, stumbled a few feet and stopped abruptly. His right hand slowly rose and began examing his stuble covered face and uncut hair. "Screw it.." Bastalek pulled out some cigarettes with a lighter in the package out of his sleeve, concealed in a rolled up sleeve under his jacket. "I doubt me looking like hell is gonna matter once they find out I've got money" Bastalek said, planting one of the butts on the end of lips he flickered the lighter with his right thumb as his left hand blocked the flame from the gentle breeze.
Taking a large puff Bastalek held the cigarette between the fingers of his right hand and let the smoke ooz from his barely open mouth. Witht that done, he continued around the corner to the front door of the bar. The bar doors were the same as any. Dim yellow light seemed to flow like water out of the porthole windows, and engulfed him as he opened the door and created a large shadow on the sidewalk outside.
On the inside of the building music and the smell of beer and bar nuts perforated throughout the entire room. Pacing slowly into the room Bastalek peered around, glancing at the many shady characters that resided within the bar. Taking another breath through his cigarrete he trudged calmly to a vacant booth on the left side of the room, and took a seat.

[Alexei Nabokov]

OOC: Dont mind at all. Welcome.

He had the perfect seat. Back to the wall, the entranceway and the rest of the room before him. It was the seat of one who was not paranoid, but rather wise about knowing that in his profession, it was wise to watch his back. And even better was the view that it afforded. With her long black hair falling in her face, her red lips and lethal pout, Alexei cast more than one casual glance in Rage’s direction as she entered the Golden Crescent.

The change in his expression was nearly imperceptible, for the most part remaining stoic and businesslike as their eyes caught only briefly as she crossed the room to the bar. And then, as if disinterested, not embarrassed at being caught looking, he moved his gaze away, casting a glance at the chrono he wore. A moment latr, he nodded to the waitress that stopped by his table, saying that yes, he would like another drink.

In addition, he wanted the woman standing at the bar to have a drink on him as well. Though, she wasn’t to tell the woman from whom it came.

In the background, music played, and as the waitress approached Rage, explaining to her that a fellow patron had offered to buy her a drink, the words of the current song seemed perhaps a bit louder in a random dim of conversations throughout the establishment.

I’m dirty, Im so mean
Like no other, you’ve ever seen
I’ll take you down the other side
A place where you can meet and hide

I’ll take you down the darker way
To a game – a game I play

And what you see is what you get
A wicked man with no regrets
I get whatever I want
You wont forget.

He was tapping his glass in this moment to get the ice to settle. And then he raised the tumbler to his lips, downing the last warming drops of liquid. He watched the interaction with the waitress and Rage from the corner of his eye, but this was the extent of it.

His attention, rather, seemed more focused on the one who had now just entered and was trudging toward a booth, smoke billowing behind him as he exhaled.

[Rage]

Rage's eyebrow raised in reaction to the waitress placing the drink down on the bar infront of her. Watching her walk away, Rage ever so slowly looked over the crowd, her gaze stopping once at the scraggly looking newcomer and then continued on. She knew who had sent the drink and he was the last one her eyes set upon.

A smirk played on her lips as she watched him for a moment as his gaze was elsewhere. She took the drink he offered, quickly downing it, then signaled for the same waitress from before, telling her she would like to reciprocate the gesture.

"Be sure to tell the gentleman I would like to thank him in person for the drink....if he wishes it." Rage said, reaching for a few credits to place on her tray.

As the waitress hurried off, Rage turned her back to the crowd, watching the people through the huge mirrored wall behind the bartender. Her eyes kept straying to the newcomer, looking bedraggled and needy. She wondered if he had enough credits to pay for a meal and then sighed. She may be a cold hearted assasin by trade, but she was a softie when it came to helping other's out. Another waitress walked by her and Rage quickly side tracked her, whispering in her ear to take the man anything he wanted to eat, that it was taken care of and placed some more credits on the tray.

"If he doesn't want the food, find someone else who would appreciate it, will ya?" Rage added as the waitress smiled and nodded her head.

Rage ordered another drink and leaned against the bar. Tonight had proven interesting so far...she wondered if it was going to get even more interesting.

[Alexei Nabokov]

One could never be too careful. Death wore many disguises. Anywhere from the beauty at the bar to that of a man who’d had a rough night. Or perhaps two or three. At the same time, those who ran in organized crime rings weren’t exactly the type who let death intimidate them all that much. It kind of came with the job description.

As the waitress set his drink down, she explained that the woman wished to thank him in person. For a moment, he studied the serving girl. He was a handsome man, but his eyes were cold and calculating. This drew some women to him. Others shrunk away. This waitress was one who shrunk away, perhaps not liking what it was she saw within those crystal depths.

Finally, he nodded.

“How could I deny a beautiful woman the things she wants?” He asked of the waitress.

“You all get what you want eventually, anyway, don’t you?” This comment was rhetorical, as he reached for the drink she had set down before him.

“It seems Im losing an uphill battle….” She began to come around a bit then, the waitress, drawn to him, knowing somehow that he was dangerous, but like a moth to a flame, attracted to the inaccessible.

He offered a small smile, though there was nothing warm about it.

“Yes, tell her I would…wish it….”

He did not look to the woman at the bar during or after this conversation. Rather, his gaze turned back to the disheveled man who had taken a seat at a booth on the left hand side of the room. It remained there for a moment as a waitress stopped by the table. And then he leaned back in his seat.

A hand reached into the coat he wore, verifying that his blaster was there and waiting for him, but revealing, when it emerged, a cigar that he set on the table before him.

[Cheese_Messiah]

OOC: If it wouldn't be to much trouble, could someone tell me what planet this is taking place on? Just curious.

IC: Bastalek let his right arm drop over the edge of the padded bench in which he sat. Putting his feet up on the other side of the booth, thoughts began to rush in and out of his mind. The ceiling seemed to behind the settled smoke like the sky did behind clouds. Bastalek let out a low, dull sigh as he let an ounce of smoke leave his mouth. Problems had always seemed so much more trivial behind the smoke of a good cigarette. As his right hand swung down along the end of the bench the left ran it's fingers through the shaggy brown hair. Bastalek's let his eyes slowly close as he became more relaxed, until a sound peirced the tired silence.

"Sir? Sir? Can I help you with anything?

Bastalek's slowly opened to reveal a moderately attractive women, wearing a dress made of gold fabric with a small black apron rapped around her waist. A grin crept across his stuble infected face as he began to speak.

"As a matter of fact you can. I'll have a ruby bleals if it isn't too much trouble. Oh and sweetheart, bring it with a cold class of ice will ya?" Bastalek took a stack of credits from his pocket and began setting them on the table one by one counting them, until the waitresses hand interrupted and she spoke.

"No payment necessary sir, the young lady over younder told me to give you whatever you want." Bastalek glanced around the waitress to see a young women sitting at the bar, seemingly alone. Leaning back into his former position he replied, "I don't take charity. Tell her thanks, and if she wants a drink or company I'd be happy to give both, but I can't accept her money. Oh, and for you..." Bastalek's hand swiftly slid around the waitresses wrist and he gently set some credits in her palm. "For the drink, and a little extra for the effort."

[Rage]

Rage leaned over to hear the waitress whisper that her 'thank you' would be welcomed in person and she turned around to walk to the gentleman's table with her drink in hand. The lights from the bar glinted off the blasters holstered at her thighs as she walked slowly towards him. Her bag thumped heavily against her side, as a reminder that it was there.

Rage's eyes strayed over to the other man she noticed and smiled to herself as he talked with the waitress. She caught his eyes and she knew he had turned down her offer. The waitress nodded at him and went to help another less fortunate soul.

'He's proud. Good for him.' She thought to herself.

Coming to stand at his side, she looked at him, crossing her arm over her waist as she held her glass with her other hand by her cheek.

"My name's Rage Simone. May I join you?" She asked, a smile playing on her mouth. The waitress he had been talking to walked quickly over to her and relayed his message. Rage looked over at him, raising her glass as to salute him and then turned her attention back to the good looking man sitting at the table.

"I would like to thank you for the drink, if I may."

[Alexei Nabokov]

Elbows on the table, one hand folded over the other. His chin rested in the crook between his thumb and the knuckles on his index finger, hiding the small change in his expression. As Rage drew closer, he leaned back in his seat the slightest bit, one hand dropping to the table in front of him, the other reaching for his drink.

Rage Simone

He nodded in answer to her greeting, not offering his name just yet. Well trained eyes took in the blaster holstered on each thigh as she spoke with the waitress that approahced. He was willing to bet the bank those werent her only weapons.

She finshed her brief conversation with the waitress and turned back to him.

I would like to thank you for the drink, if I may.

He allowed a full smile at this, giving a quick glance off to the side before he looked back to her and motioned to the empty seat across from him at his table.

"And how is it that you're sure that I am the one to thanks?" He inquired, his basic fluent, though a hint of an accent was present.

[Rage]

Rage could not help the smile that spread across her ruby colored lips as she took her vinyl jacket off to reveal bare arms with throwing knives strapped around her biceps. She dropped the jacket over the back of the chair and then sat down herself. Taking a slow, deliberate sip from her glass, she finally set it down and then turned her eyes to his.

"Let's just say I know." She replied finally, resting her elbows on the table and leaning in a bit. "And I also 'just know' that you have a blaster of your own hidden underneath that coat of your's."

Rage emptied her glass and set it on the table with a soft 'thump' and looked at Mr. No Name.

"In my line of work, I have to 'know' these things or it is my life." Rage supplied to his probably unspoken question. She leaned back in her chair, her arms moving to rest on the back of it. She watched him for a few minutes, taking in his good looks and she mulled over his accent.

Rage's eyes quickly went over to the other man across the room, something drawing her to make sure he was still there, then turned her full attention back to the hottie sitting across from her.

"So tell me, are you here on business or pleasure...or a little bit of both?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

Fingers tapped his glass silently as she spoke to him. Knives had never looked so tempting as they did strappd to those well toned biceps of hers. His hunch had been right. She was every bit as dangerous as the sway of her hips when she'd entered the room indicated. She walked with confidence that wasnt just an act. Rather, it was something that seemed to hover around her, like the heady scent of a tantalizing perfume. Only more permanent.

He gave no indication of being disturbed that she knew of the blaster in his coat. In truth, it bothered him not at all. He liked the boldness of her proclamation. And with it came the faintest offering of amusement, shown only in the way his gaze remained steadily on her, then glanced away again. It wasnt that he was watching his back at this moment, rather it was easier to retain an even expression if he looked away to collect his thoughts.

In her line of work...he wondered, exactly, what her line of work was. But he was content to wait to find out. There was a time and a place for everything, he knew. And knew it well.

So tell me, are you here on business or pleasure...or a little bit of both?

He cleared his throat and raised his glass to take a drink before answering.

"Im one of the fortunate few who actually enjoys what I do. Every trip, in such a case is a pleasure. Particulalry if it affords me the opportunity for..new acquantances."

He motioned to the waitress for another round of drinks.

"Your name is unusual." He commented, "Am I a fool to assume it was given because it suits you?"

[Cheese_Messiah]

Bastalek's eyes seemed to linger down further as he glanced at the women who had offered him a free meal. Chances for free food are pretty far apart adn in between around here. Wonder if she mistook me for somebody she knows. Hmph. doesn't matter, looks like she's got some company now. Glancing away the apporaching waitress who carried his drinks was now the focus of Bastalek's attention. "Your drink sir."
Bastalek's expression changed from cheery to inquisitive as his drink was set on the table. "Hey, before you go, maybe you can help me out. who's the guy in the corner table over there?" The waitress turned the minimum amount in order to see the direction that Bastalek's eyes had indicated. Her neck swinging gently back into place, the waitress said, "Oh him? That's Mr. Nabokov, he owns this place.(OOC: Correct me if I'm wrong)" Bastalek clenched his eyes shut as the strong liquor slithered down his throat. "Hm. That a fact? Well, that's all I needed, that'll be it for now."
The night seemed to be trudging along at a delightfully slow pace now that the pain from his bruises and fractures had been soothed to a point. The pistols under his jacket began to stir nervously as he watched the young women reveal a small assortment of knives on her bicepts. Hmm, throwing knives. That aint a good sign, those aren't even common among bounty hunters, must be.... an assassin? Couldn't be, why would any assassin offer me a free meal? Damn, this night is gettin weirder by second.

[Rage]

Rage smiled, leaning onto the table again with her elbows. Her fingers played with the rim of her glass as she carefully thought about her next response.

"You are not the only one who is lucky enough to enjoy what they do." She said with a secretive smile on her face. "I happen to get a rush out of my job."

Rage nodded at the waitress as she brought them another set of drinks and then focused her attention back to him.

"My parents named me something else at birth, but quickly realized I had a temper and a half. A friend of the family commented one day that anything would send me into a 'rage' and it just stuck as a nickname. After my parents died, I adopted Rage as my first name and Simone is the last name of my mentor who died a few years ago. She was like a mother to me and I wanted to honor her in some way."

Rage looked down at her bicep, moving a hand to adjust one of the knives and then slowly turned her brown eyes back to him.

"So, now that you know all that, am I to be told your name or shall I go around calling you 'Hottie', hm?" Rage asked, one eyebrow lifting and the corner of her mouth coming up in a playful smile.

[Alexei Nabokov]

OOC: Sorry – forgot to reply to this before. No particular planet in mind for this one. If you’ve got one in mind, go for it. And yeah, you’re right on him owning the place. He owns a few as the cover for what he’s really up to. All are on different planets though. Some of his others are the Dynamite Jet Saloon on Tatooine and Anam Kara on Corellia and another one on Adarlon but haven’t come up with the name just yet.

IC:

Every word of her story he tucked away. Any later inconsistencies, if there were such a thing, he would notice. A mind that took in such details was essential to success in the world of organized crime. Inconsistencies helped to weed out the trustworthy from the….not so trustworthy at times. Though even this was not a fool proof method.

He did not detect anything, at the moment, that felt to him to be a made up story. And he fully believed her when she said her job gave her a rush. It also explained, perhaps, a bit more about her. Those who described something as a rush were often adventurous, ruthless, and dangerous. Something to love or hate, depending on which end of the barrel of her blaster you ended up on in one of her rages.

He released a short chuckle at her question.

“I’d perhaps prefer such a nickname to my own…” He replied. It wasn’t all that often that he released the good humored side of himself. But on occasion, it slipped, as had the chuckle and the smile that lingered for a moment after. It softened the intense features of his face in that small moment in time.

“Alexei.” He finally answered, “Is my given name.”

He shifted only slightly in his seat, his hands still in plain view and not presenting any sort of threat.

“The names my father used to call me aren’t exactly suitable for use in public.” He added. He was teasing her, perhaps, just a bit about her nickname by adding this comment, though it was difficult to tell, for the expression on his face seemed so serious. Perhaps he was telling the truth.

They were interrupted by a waitress, the one who had recently spoken to the disheveled newcomer. She bent down to speak in low tones to Alexei, letting him know that a particular patron had inquired about him.

After she left, he cast a subtle glance in the man’s direction, then turned back to the company at hand.

“I cant help but admire your...knives.” He commented, his gaze flickering to her arms.

“Heavy artillery for a night out at a bar…although, I haven’t been here in a bit. Perhaps I’ve misjudged the crowd….” Though, even as he spoke these words, it was entirely clear he had not misjudged the crowd at all. He knew exactly what type of people came to the Golden Crescent. And he was entirely comfortable running with them. And something about him suggested this.

No, rather, his comment was more spoken to draw her out and learn a bit more about her.

[Rage]

Rage smiled, watching as the waitress relayed a message to Alexei and then once she had his attention again, spoke.

"Alexei...very nice name. Not heard of around here, though." She said. She looked at him for a moment and then reached into the jacket hanging on the back of the chair to produce a hologramed business card and handed it to him.

"Fatal Beauty, Inc. That's who I work for." She said, pausing for a moment. "I am a professional assasin. That's why I have this...weaponary...on me. One can never be too careful in this line of work, don't you think?"

Rage reached for her glass, looking at it carefully, as if examining its contents, then took a drink. She watched as Alexei's eyes darted to the other man that she was also keeping a close eye on as well.

"That man...he has my curiousity as well." Rage said, speaking carefully. Her own eyes snuck over to him as he sat there drinking quietly and then turned back to Alexei. "If I am not mistaken, he is quite interested in you."

[Katya Sabutai]

A soft clacking noise was coming from her high heeled shoes as she walked through the door and into the bar. Stopping just enough to take her chrome rimmed glasses off and place them on her forehead, and look around. She was supposed to meet with her partner about this recent "job". Last job she did, she didnt even show at the meet spot and that aggitated Kat a bit. Rage loved to relax and have a cold one after an assignment was completed and Kat noticed this place was not the nearest, but the most classiest joint near the rendezvous and decided to check here first. She adjusted the collar to her red vinyl jacket and ran her hands over her thighs to smooth the matching vinyl pants she wore.

Her "little friend" rode in a shoulder holster tucked away in her jacket and her chrome colored purse hung on a chain over her shoulder. Her blue eyes scanned the room casually as she made her way to the bar. She passed a table with a lone patron, she nodded to Bastalek with a faint arching of her well sculpted eyebrow and smirked at his reaction. She continued to the stools and gracefully slid onto one of them and placed her slim chrome purse on top of the bar which also made a soft "clack" giving the notion that it was probably made of a plastic or metal. She smiled at the bartender and ordered a glass of Rum and asked him a question. The man smiled and pointed in the direction of Alexi's table. Kat turned to see Rage sitting there with a nice looking gentlemen, and shook her head slightly. Rage and these men, maybe Kat was assigning her too much "jobs".

"Hmmm, maybe you got something there Rage my girl, all work and no play make's for a dull Kat."

[Alexei Nabokov]

As she commented on his name, he reached for the cigar he had laid earlier on the table. He tapped it idly on the sleek surface.

“I’m not originally from here.” He had replied. And there was no doubt his eyes, and perhaps the eyes of a few others in the Golden Crescent, followed her as she reached into her jacket for her…business card.

He accepted it, studying it for a moment before he looked back to her. Perfectly fitting. Yes, she was a Fatal Beauty. And more, he had heard this name mentioned. In the circles that he ran, it was not surprising.

“You’re quite observant.” His gaze was on her as he reached into his coat to let the card slip into an inner pocket. He did so deliberately, and watched as her eyes followed his movements. She knew he carried a blaster – she’d made that clear earlier. But he made no move for it. Rather his jacket fell back into place and his hand now reached for his drink.

“And wise to be careful.”

He gave a look out of the corner of his eyes to the man of interest, noting a woman nod to him in a subtle greeting as she entered the room, and then his gaze settled firmly back on Rage.

“I don’t think you’re mistaken in your beliefs. I find I draw an intriguing assortment of interested parties from time to time.” These words were somehow not arrogant as they came from him. Perhaps it was the subtly accented basic that took this away. Perhaps it was simply that he wasn’t an arrogant sort of man.

“What makes you think he’s found such an interest?” He asked. He had several hired guns working for him, but he was never adverse to potentially claiming another. And whether he or she knew it, to some degree, this casual conversation was an interview of sorts. Though, his interest in her ran beyond employing her.

She was beautiful and intelligent and confident. There was very little not to find interest in.

[Cheese_Messiah]

As Bastalek calmly smoked his cigarette a women paced in and nodded to him. Brandishing a confused smile, he nodded back in acceptance, thinking to himself, For a bar that sits on this side of the tracks, it sure has a curtious bunch that hangs around in it. Repeatedly tapping the end of his cigarette he let the ashes fall slowly into the tray on the table before taking another puff from it. Bastalek's right had sithered his left jacket pocket and pulled out a small, paper thin box.

His right thumb quickly flicked the top open, while the rest of the hand nimbly revealed the contents to be a deck of rather ornate cards. "May as well sharpen my skills while I've got the time." Bastalek mumbled to himself as he set the box on the table and began to shuffle with his right hand. The cards at this point the cards, as well as his hand were moving so fast that their movements could barely be diserned by the human eye. After a moment, his left hand flicked the cigarette into the air as the right pitched the deck. Without missing a beat Bastalek's left hand caught the deck and continued the shuffle, as the right plucked the cigarette out of the air. This pattern carried on for the next few minutes until his right hand set the deck down on the table as the left put out his cigarette. "It's gettin too easy Bast. Hell, at this rate you wont need hands in a year."

[Rage]

Rage could not keep her eyes off of Alexei as he talked. She could listen to his voice all night and usually she is not one to sit patiently like that. She smelled a familiar perfume permeating the air and her eyes went to the bar and she suddenly smiled...Kat, she should have known. She winked and wiggled her eyebrows at her partner and best friend, then turned her attention back to Alexei.

Rage could hear her commlink going off and knew Taz, an employee of Fatal Beauty, Inc. and adopted little brother of herself and Kat, was trying to get ahold of her. She quickly turned the commlink off at her wrist, reminding herself to give Taz quite the lashing for disturbing her after a hit.

“What makes you think he’s found such an interest?” Alexei asked.

"I have watched him since he made his way into this place and noticed that he cannot keep his eyes off of you." She replied with a smirk.

Rage watched as he placed her business card in his pocket and eyed his blaster appreciatively. Just as gorgeous as it's owner. Rage suddenly laughed, her thoughts starting to stray and she grinned cheekily at Alexei.

"So, tell me Alexei..." Rage purred, leaning towards him over the table as her hair fell over her shoulders, framing her face in a black curtain. "What is it that you do?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

He’d noticed her look over at the bar. And more, he noticed the smile that lit up that beautiful face of hers. Perhaps she hadnt thought he would notice – but he had. He certainly had.
But this was different. He hadnt noticed this time simply because he was always on the alert for trouble. No, he had noticed for yet another reason.

He was generally very discreet in his intimate relationships. And more often than not, he was not 100% into them. He was married to his work, and had occasional bouts of infidelity with women. But he’d be damned if a part of him didn’t wonder what it would take to get Rage to smile at him the way her face had lit up only moments ago.

“Your friend is welcome to join us….” He offered, with a small nod in the direction of the bar to indicate who he meant. She seemed to consider this for a moment, but did not make a move to include her friend just yet.

So, tell me Alexei…What is it that you do?

He, in turn, allowed a small expression of amusement at this question.

“What do I look like I would do?” He asked in return – not to avoid the question – he could answer that rather comfortably – but perhaps because he was…flirting with her. His green eyes stared into her depths of brown in a hint of a challenge. There was something undeniably ruthless and calculating in his eyes, despite the fact that at the moment, he had no ill intentions. It was simply something that would likely never leave him. Those eyes had seen to much at too early of an age to ever learn to soften. At least, not without the right influence.

Over at Bast's table, a waitress stopped by to exchange the used ashtray for a clean one.

[Rage]

“Your friend is welcome to join us….”

Rage glanced back at Kat sitting at the bar. For a moment she thought about it, then turned attention to Alexei.

"She knows not to bother me after an assignment is completed." Rage said. She caught Katya's eye and winked again, watching as her friend shook her head and Rage grinned at the subtle smirk on her face.

“What do I look like I would do?” Alexei asked. Rage tilted her head, realizing he was now flirting with her. She took her time in replying, letting her eyes roam over him ever so slowly. Rage finally met his gaze again, staring boldly into his eyes.

"Let's leave that answer for now." Rage said, her voice coming out in a husky whisper. Her glass empty, Rage signaled the waitress for another round and threw a few credits on her tray before she walked away.

[Alexei Nabokov]

He smirked at her answer and stared for moment into the amber colored drink before him. He picked the tumbler up from the table and shook it the slightest bit for the ice to fall into place. And then he took a drink. He didn’t toss it back as others might have, but rather enjoyed the whiskey in a practiced manner. It was rare for anyone to find him intoxicated – he never let it go that far. Alcohol made for loose lips – and simple slips could destroy the empire he had spent his lifetime creating.

“You…” He began to make a comment to Rage, but was interrupted by a man in a dark suit coat and tie who bent to speak with Alexei in low tones before he handed a folded piece of paper to the gangster. Alexei nodded, taking the paper and giving it a brief once over before the man faded back into the crowd from which he had appeared.

“I apologize for the interruptions.” He offered, every bit the gentleman as he turned his attention back to Rage. He gave a quick glance to the waitress who delivered the drink Rage had requested, the faintest offering of a smile. He had to give her credit, she had the most difficult table assignment of the evening – waiting on her boss.

“Now, tell me, why is it your…friend is not to bother you after the completion of an assignment?”

The paper remained refolded in the palm of his hand that now came to rest on the table once again. Whatever it was, Alexei seemed interested in, but not highly concerned over. In short, it was not his top priority at the moment.

[Katya Sabutai]

It had been a little while since her showing up and decided enough was enough on this waiting around. Katya tossed a few credits to the 'tender and stood up. Grabbing her purse from the bartop and smoothly slinging the chain over her shoulder, she gave Rage a "one glance" look, and headed for the door. She knew where to go when she was ready to complete the business end of thir "job". She also knew to expect a nice little verbal sparring with her partner. One thing Rage knew about Kat was, she was all business.....

"Kat.......one returning."

She spoke into her wristcomm, Taz didnt reply in his usual smartalec way, as her tone spoke volumes on her mood. Only response from him was..."Understood"

Pushing the doors open she took her immediate left and headed back to the spaceport and the waiting ship.

[Cheese_Messiah]

OOC: Sorry about the gap in my posts without any notice, that whole power outage had my phone lines on the fritz. At any rate, I'm here now for what it's worth.

IC: Bastalek lent back and and grinned as the smoke shot from the small opening in his lips. In the corner of his eye he could make out the man clad in a dark suit coat. Hmph, not exactly the attire you'd expect to see in this joint. At the very least, I know he isn't the mail man. The grin from his face slowly faded, leaving a poker face of absolutly no expression. Slowly raising his glass to his now stiff face, Bastalek took a swig of hi drink as a thought lingered about his mind. If that's..... If that's what I think it is, it could get a whole hellava lot sportier in this place. Alright alright, stay cool, just stay cool. That note could say any number of irrelevent crap.
Taking another puff of his cigarette, he glanced over to Alexei's table, the dull light glinting off of Bastalek's deep hazel eyes. Alright, it doesn't matter now. If he knows about the 90k on your head he knows, and there aint much you can do about it. Regardless, your on the clock now, and if you can stay cool and do what you've been doing you can't loose.

[Rage]

Rage watched as Alexei played with the paper in his hands and then decided to answer his question.

"Katya and I....we have an agreement." Rage smiled. "They let me...enjoy my successful hit...to bask in it." She explained, moving back to lean towards him on the table, her eyes sparkling from excitement. "And before walking into this bar tonight, I had an extremely successful hit. Katya puts up with my errant ways because I love my job so and we're good friends, but she's all business. I love her to death, but she needs to loosen up just a tad."

Rage laughed softly, thinking of Katya. She looked around the bar again, her eyes landing on their 'friend' and noticed his eyes glued to someone else. An eyebrow raised as she followed his gaze to the man in the dark coat.

"Looks like our friend has discovered someone else, Alexei." Rage whispered, pointing with a slim finger in the direction of the bar.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Looks like our friend has discovered someone else, Alexei.

He followed where she pointed, and a small smile upturned the corners of his mouth.

“So it does…” He replied, finally moving to pocket the note that had been given to him. It was there that the man in dark suit passed, moving with practiced subtlety in the direction of the booth where the disheveled man sat.

Yes, Alexei knew very well the price on the man’s head. But it wasn’t assassination he had in mind for this one. No, it was something altogether more risky, but possibly rather lucrative for them both. If the man was willing to take the chance. But Alexei figured he would be – it was better than running around with a bounty following in his wake.

And for now, he wished to distract the young woman with whom he sat. He didn’t need her putting two and two together later on if or when the deal came together. Too much information was…risky to him. And this was one woman he had no desire to have to eliminate because of what she knew. On the contrary, in fact. But it was early, yet.

“Now, what can I do to make this glory basking moment of yours all that you planned for it to be?”

His eyes narrowed the slightest bit, a hint at the devil within.

“Afterall, you’ve no prior agreement with me to leave you to yourself to bask in your success…”

[Rage]

Rage was no idiot, she knew when someone was trying to distract her for a reason and Alexei was doing just that. She let it slide, though, as she enjoyed his company so far that evening and was curious as to how the rest of the evening would go. She leaned forward, smiling coyly at him.

"If I really wanted to be by myself right now, Alexei, I would not have approached you." Rage purred. She looked into his eyes for a moment, liking the trouble she could see in them. Trouble she would not mind getting into. "I'm enjoying my success just the way I want to."

An eyebrow rose and she turned to take a slow look around the club again, her eyes noting everyone's position and their weapon if they had one...a fault of one's when you fall into the line of work she was in. Get all the info you can in case you have to get out in a hurry.

"So tell me, Alexei..." Rage said, her voice dropping lower. "Can you tell me of a way to, how did you put it...'bask in my success' with you?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

The man in the dark suit slid into the booth with the disheveled man. He was all business as he did, not a smile or anything indicating amusement on his features.

“Bit warm in here, isn’t it?” Commented the man in the dark suit, a statement perhaps made to intimidate. It was warm in there if you had a bounty on your head.

Back at Alexei’s table, he allowed a low chuckle at Rage’s words.

“I have plenty of suggestions.” He replied easily, a cocky expression firmly in place, “Some of which are appropriate, and some of which….are not.”

He offered her the slightest arch of an eyebrow that indicated his proposal of danger before a broad smile broke, if only briefly.

“And as this is your evening, and you think me, at the moment, a gentleman, I’ll give you the opportunity to choose between the two.”

He was serious, yet at the same time, the tone of his voice hinted at an indication that he was, to some degree, evidencing a sense of humor. He was enjoying every moment with her. To the degree that for now, he was allowing one of his henchmen to conduct business that he normally would have handled himself.

Rather, he preferred to be exactly where he was – in the presence of a woman named Rage. And as opportunities such as this one were rare, that he would meet a woman who intrigued him as much as Rage did, he was going to take full advantage of it. He was a businessman, and while the last thing he had on his mind was business, he was intelligent enough to recognize a good thing when he found it. He didnt think her an idiot. In fact, quite the opposite.

[Cheese_Messiah]

Bastalek's head slowly turned as the man who had been at Alexei's table took a seat across from him. Judging from the size of his coat it was almost certain that he was strapped. Both of Bastalek's hands sat comfortably on the table, with palms down and did so without the slightest bit of movement. His eyes moved between the cards and the man clad in a suit"

"Bit warm in here, isn't it?"

Bastalek grinned and shook his head as he started talking, "Yeah. Yeah it is pretty warm in here, but..... something tells me that things are gonna get whole lot hotter in a second." Once done talking his right hand gently lifted and slid four cards from the top of the deck that sat lifelessly between the men. Once done, Bastalek slowly flipped each card independantly from left to right.

*Ace*

*Ace*

*Eight*

*Eight*

With a slight chuckle his eyes lifted as his grin widened. "Ohhh, that's good luck."

[Rage]

Rage could not keep the seductive smile from playing on her lips as she watched Alexei.

'You bad boy, you.' She thought playfully to herself with a raised eyebrow.

"What if I choose...inappropriate, Alexei?" Rage countered, laying the cards on the table, so to speak. "Do I look the type to keep company with a gentleman? I like a man who is just as dangerous as myself...or almost as dangerous."

The last statement had her cheeks dimpling from uncontrolled laughter as she played with her glass in her hands. She noticed the empty chair next to Alexei and looked back at him, keeping his gaze as she placed her hands on the table and slowly moved to over, daring him to argue.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Ohhh, that's good luck.

The man in the suit smirked.

“My good fortune, certainly.” He replied.

“You’d be unwise to make any foolish moves…not to mention unlucky. You see, Im not the only one with my eye on you.” A quick glance around by Bast might have revealed several men who blended into the scene, but whose gazes were very clearly trained upon him. As well as the blaster beneath their coats.

“My boss has a little proposition for you….should you choose.” He stated as he set his own deck of cards upon the table. He then reached for one of the aces set upon the table by Bast and slipped it into his deck, replacing Bast’s ace with an ace of his own.

“You want a chance at settling that 90k on your head, you find your way to the home of this Ace (the back of the card had a picture of exploding dynamite with the words Jet Saloon beneath it, it was one of Alexei’s other establishments on Tatooine). Hand it to the bartender with your identification and someone will contact you there.”

Before another question could be asked, the man stood and slipped off into the crowd.

Back at Alexei’s table, he had been wise enough not to comment on what type of company he thought she might keep. Rather, he watched with interest as she slid into the seat next to him.

It would be a complete and utter lie to say he didn’t have his doubts. He would not have been surprised if, at the end of the evening, she put a knife in his gut and twisted it for satisfaction. But something, call it a sixth sense, or perhaps a fairly good understanding of women, told him those were not her intentions. Something told him that if there was ever a woman that he could perhaps trust, this might be that one in a million.

He did not argue against her being this much closer to him.

And it was then that he finally chose to reply.

"I believe there’s a saying that actions speak louder than words….?” He countered to her question of what he would do if she chose inappropriate as her response.

[Cheese_Messiah]

With lowered eyes Bastalek peered into the the suit that sat before him. It was far from the first time he had seen this exact situation before, and handling it had almost become second nature to him. As the man set down an ace and voiced his offer Bastalek chuckled, "Hmph, that's cute. You think you could muscle me into doing your dirty laundry pal? Lemmie just ask you one quick thing hondo: If I've 90k on my head, and the gangs and bounty hunters still can't bring me in, whaddya think that suggests?"

Bastalek slowly lowered his cigarette over the suit's ace, and tapped the ashes over it. "Now look, before I go off on some damned goose walk for a group of chums like yourselves I gotta know two things. First, exactly how much is this job worth to your boss, and how exactly do you plan to settle my bounty?"

[Rage]

Rage lifted an eyebrow at him, smiling at his unfinished reply.

'Well now, my kinda man.' She thought to herself.

Rage's eyes caught the activity going on at the other table and she paused for a moment, her eyes watching everything closely. Something was going on and she guessed her handsome companion was in on it, whether he would admit it or not. Shrugging a shoulder, she turned her attention back to Alexei, placing her arm on the back of his chair. She leaned in, her mouth just a breath away from his ear.

"Most definately inappropriate." She purred, pulling away slowly, her eyes smokey as she stared intently at him.

[Alexei Nabokov]

The man in the suit looked nonplussed, despite the fact that he would have loved to shove the entire cigarette and the deck of cards as well into the filthy mouth that had called him a chum and further insulted the intelligence of his boss.

But he wasn’t paid to give his own opinions. He was paid to do as his boss had wished.

“What the job is worth to my boss is none of your concern. The bounty off your head, I should think would be sufficient. But if theres a fault to find with him, its that he can be overly generous, even for filth that doesn’t deserve it. How your bounty is settled is a matter of connections. Of which my boss has plenty.”

He gave a sneer as he stood.

“And what you not being brought in yet suggests…..” He tossed a joker onto the table.

“Have a nice evening, Ace.” This name was used sarcastically as he made a move to leave the presence of one he found so vile.

Meanwhile, across the bar…..

He had tried to hold it back, that sly grin that was slowly forming on his face. Eventually, it won over, and he chuckled. Her influence over him was, at the moment, more than he would have liked to admit. For once, business wasn’t the first thing on his mind. Something else, entirely, was.

As the door to the club opened once again, three suited men entered. Alexei cast a glance to them, a deep scowl settling over his features.

“I suggest we take this conversation somewhere a bit quieter…” He suggested, turning back to her.

“I think things are about to get a little noisy in here…..” This was added not with an air of fear, but rather a knowing tone that echoed the expression on his face.

He stood and offered his hand to her as there was a flurry of activity about their table. Their view from the doorway was blocked by several waitresses, and well placed ‘patrons’. No one but one with a very practiced eye for subtle acts of diversion would have noticed. It seemed to anyone else, natural activity within the bar itself.

[Rage]

Rage watched the grin appear on his face and she could not help her own matching one. She slid her hand into Alexei’s and stood, grabbing her beloved jacket just as the commotion began. Standing next to him, Rage pulled her hand out of his grasp to let it slide over one of her blasters holstered at her thigh and then thought better of it. What was going on was not the way she wanted to spend her off time. Well, correction...if she had not been talking to Alexei, she would have been in the middle of it.

Rage noticed with a sly look that Alexei was being 'protected' now and her interest in him just piqued even more. With a quick glance to her companion, Rage grabbed his hand again and grinned,

“I think you are right, Alexei." Rage said. "Lead the way, Handsome."

[Alexei Nabokov]

He really didn’t want to see her in the middle of this. Not that he didn’t think she was perfectly capable of protecting herself – but it really wasn’t a mess she needed to get involved with. And as she reached for her blaster, he would have reached to tease her hand back into his – but reaching for the hand of a woman like her reaching for a blaster was not a wise move. And she’d apparently decided there were other things she preferred to be doing as well as she turned to him and placed her hand back in his.

He didn’t doubt that there were several men waiting outside the club. And it wasn’t that any of them were displeased with him – it was rather that Alexei wasn’t in the mood to discuss business, and these men could wait until he was. He knew what he had to offer to them was important enough to them that they would wait for it.

And Rage was the sort of woman who could make it possible to
put business aside for a while.

“I’m rarely ever wrong….” He commented to her as they passed through a door marked ‘personnel only’ that led to a back hallway.

“Although,” He mused as he paused at a keypad on a wall and entered a code, “If someone had predicted Id be spending my evening in the company Im keeping, I probably would have scoffed at them….”

His hand he held to the pad now, and the doorway slid open to reveal a staircase that led down. Down beneath the club. Yes, he knew that taking her there was a danger. A danger because it put him alone with her. A danger because it put her alone with him.

“You did say inappropriate was how you hoped to planned to make use of your time, correct…?” This was asked with a cocky grin and a dangerous twinkle in his eyes.

“Because these stairs don’t lead anywhere but a place from which few can return…..”

[Rage]

“Because these stairs don’t lead anywhere but a place from which few can return…..”

Rage raised an eyebrow at him, a seductive smirk playing on her lips. She watched as it got darker and darker the deeper they went and when Alexei spoke, she lifted her brown eyes to look deeply into his.

“You must say that to all the ladies.” She laughed, her voice coming out in a husky breath.

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and her fingers tightened momentarily in Alexei’s. She smiled to herself, realizing their fingers were still entwined. She silently swore to herself, suddenly wondering what she was getting herself into. She had never trusted anyone of the opposite gender as quickly as she had with Alexei. He was someone she would be willing to quit Fatal Beauty for...in the future, of course and with the right motivation.

‘Something about him….Oh, Katya would be falling off her chair in laughter now….the Great Rage has fallen.’ She thought to herself as she watched the back of his head with a self-mocking grin. ‘What did I do to deserve this and why now?’

Rage stopped on the stairs, pulling on Alexei’s hand as she did so. She brought him up next to her and looked at him for a moment. Her eyes searched his and then she whispered,

"What's really going on, Alexei?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

(OOC: Changing the ending on me…. :( *grins* Guess Ill have to reply sooner next time… ;) )

IC:

You must say that to all the ladies.

He had smiled faintly at this, but what he was thinking was, I don’t take the ladies down here… No, there were very few who had ever been down those stairs. Even fewer who had been allowed to leave alive. To know these stairs was to know on of Alexei’s tricks. And he didn’t like anyone knowing much about him.

As her fingers tightened around his, he had turned to her, gauging her. He wasn’t sure what had motivated him to bring her with him – well – he did. There were many things about her. It just floored him that somehow she had managed to completely disarm him. To make him act so out of character for him.

Not that he wasn’t a risk taker. He had taken significant risks in the past. But those risks had not involved such exposure as this one had. But it was too late to go back now and so he had continued down the stairs with her. Theyd been almost to the next level when she’d tugged on him, stopping him instantly in his tracks.


Her eyes seemed to search his before she’d whispered her question to him.

]What's really going on, Alexei?

He’d looked at her, the expression on his face as reserved and pensive as always. Something about her told him that one day, perhaps, he would tell her what was really going on.

But an hour into knowing her….

“It’s better right now that you don’t know.” He replied. The words right now were not words he would normally have used. They seemed to indicate that he was considering more with her than this moment. And he could see that she was about to protest and before the words could leave her lips, he had raised his hand to her face, his index finger settling upon them in a familiar gesture to hush.

“Trust me on this one.” He added, as his lips lowered to cover the place where only a moment ago, his finger had been.

[Rage]

*O.O.C. sowwy about that! :lol*

*I.C.*

Rage pulled back, her free hand coming up to touch her fingers to her lips as she stared at Alexei. A slow, wicked grin appeared on her lips as she took her hand away from her mouth to curl her fingers around the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer to her, kissing him once more.

The chemistry between the two of them so evident in the club was even stronger now. Rage pulled back, the same smile playing on her lips as her smokey eyes took their time roaming over him. When they got back to his own eyes, she grinned, leaning in to whisper,

"Lead the way."

Giving proof that she indeed trusted him and would not question his reasoning for not telling her. She would find out in time.

[Alexei Nabokov]

O.O.C. Hey, Im really sorry. Ive been in the middle of hockey pre-season and tryouts and have been really busy. I’ll be better about replying once I get back in the swing of things.

IC:

Ah, yes. Chemistry. Whatever elements it took for spontaneous combustion, Rage and Alexei possessed, for there was something much more than simple lust between the two. No, it was something more. It was the combination of elements that produced more than a simple explosion – they instead reacted, and then combined to form something altogether new. A compound.

He liked the way she wasn’t afraid to take charge, her fingers curling possessively, demandingly around the collar of his shirt and pulling him closer to her to take what it was that she wanted from him.

And when she pulled away from him, he wanted more. There was no denying that he wanted more.

She looked at him then with a dangerous smile that played over her lips. Her eyes seemed to devour him as they roamed over him. When they did final return to meet his gaze, her whisper made it impossible to resist a last kiss before pulling away and her hand grasped firmly in his, leading her down to the bottom of the flight of stairs.

His com device chose to ring at that particular moment and he scowled a bit. This was not an expression commonly known to him, for he did find it rather unseemly. He much preferred an even, steady gaze. But really, this call was poorly timed. The one time he chose pleasure over business and everything seemed to be erupting at once.

He gave her a look that clearly had apology written all over it as he reached into the inner pocket of his coat. His com was kept very close to another very important possession – one Rage had admired earlier that evening. She had indicated her trust to him, but still, he opened his jacket as he reached for the device, just to show her that he wasn’t in fact reaching for his blaster. This gesture perhaps revealed that he was packing more than the heat of one blaster. Although he was well protected, it never hurt to be prepared.

He answered it with a crisp ‘what?’ and listened for a few moments. The voice on the other end of the line was speaking in a low voice, but beyond him, other voices could be heard. One of which was raised and speaking in a language all too familiar to Alexei.

He was silent for a moment and then gave a restrained sigh.

“Tell him to meet me behind the hen house in twenty.” He replied, hen house being code for a particular location that was not, in fact a hen house.

There was much chattering on the other end.

“Tell him if he doubts me, he should find another source.” This was said without any lack of concern or remorse. He didn’t deal with those who were nervous. The nervous ones cracked under the wrong pressure.

He nodded in response to something said on the other end.

“Yep.” As he listened, he turned to Rage and gave a slight roll of his eyes. And then he began to walk with her, leading her through the second of five entryways to different corridors.

“Good. You know the drill.” And then he cut off the transmission and stuffed the device back in his pocket.

“Im sorry about that….” He said, not apologizing for his business, but for having to do it when she was present.

“I keep odd hours.” He admitted, stopping for a moment and looking to her, pulling her into his arms as he looked down the few inches or so into her eyes.

“Do you think you can put up with that…at least for this evening?” He hand had reached to brush her hair back from her face and rested now on her neck, his thumb tracing her jawline as a small smile won its way onto his face. His gaze sought to penetrate hers, to perhaps challenge and see if this was the sort of woman who would openly accept it. Because if she was, he’d need her assistance in say….oh….twenty mintues.

[Rage]

O.O.C. HOCKEY??? :D ok, you are forgiven! ;)

I.C.

Walking down the final steps behind him, Rage wiped the corners of her mouth with her finger tips, her mind on him and her curiosity of the coming evening.

When he comm went off, she had to smile, for she knew all too well the annoyance of being interrupted when you least want it. Her eyes went to his blaster again and she grinned as he reached for the annoying comm. She turned her head, busying herself with taking in the design of the walls, keeping herself from listening in. Taking a look at her own comm to make sure it was off, she gave a nod of acceptance and then turned back to look at Alexei as he finished his conversation.

The two fo them made their way down and when he pulled her into his arms, she went willingly, her hands sliding underneath his jacket, roaming over his blaster and then splaying themselves on his back.

“Do you think you can put up with that…at least for this evening?”

Rage looked into his eyes as he brought a hand up to her face and she tilted her head into his hand and her eyes stared boldly back into his. She suddenly smiled a deadly smile at him, reaching up to kiss him once more, biting his bottom lip as she pulled away, answering his silent challenge.

"Don't be long, I may have to come looking for you." She whispered into his ear.

[Alexei Nabokov]

OOC: *chuckles* I wish I’d be forgiven for everything else bad that I do by using hockey as an excuse… ;)

IC:

Don't be long, I may have to come looking for you…

He chuckled and tugged her playfully back into his arms.

“In that case….” He began, his tone of voice teasing, “I might just have to draw this meeting out for a bit longer than I’d planned….”

He did actually smile then as a part of him reminded himself that he was with a killer. A woman who made her living assassinating people. And rather boldly, he had come down here alone with her, let her within his inner realms, and perhaps even more stupidly, let her coax him into being much more familiar with her than he probably should have dared.

He was either very stupid this evening, or he had just stumbled onto a gold mine. Only time would tell on this one. He had played his hunches wrong before, but this one….he had a very good feeling about.

“When I suggested inappropriate, I had no intention of leaving you behind ….” He teased as his head bent and his lips found her neck, kissing and caressing.

“And I still don’t.” He added, his gaze coming back to look at this woman. He could feel her hands upon him and it was more than enough to make the notion of conducting business seem more risky than usual. His head was not entirely in it. Rather, his head was in a peculiar place for Alexei – the clouds of interest in the opposite gender. Women were wily that way. They were able to distract men to the point that they did something stupid. And in his line of work, a stupid move could mean the final nail in the coffin.

But from the moment he’d learned of her line of work, from the moment they had begun to converse…he had known she would be perfect for the job he had in mind. And the more they had spoken, the more he had in mind for her than just this job. But that was for later. Right now….he had to get his head in gear. He had a meeting in twenty minutes. And if she agreed, he had only that amount of time to debrief her on who it was they were to be meeting with.

“I’ve actually got a bit of a …..proposition for you.”

[Rage]

Rage had to clear her mind and remember she was someplace she knew nothing about as Alexei carressed her. She shivered a little, the pulled away from him, her mind switching into over drive when he spoke of a proposition.

She looked at him, cocking her head to the side as she watched him. She smiled, her eyes lighting up as she realized he might be talking about a job. Rage let her hands rest on his waist, pulling him back closer to her.

"Please tell me you are talking of a job?" She purred into his ear. "I would love to show you my...abilities."

Rage laughed softly against his skin, nipping at it softly and then pulled away, her professional demeanor taking over.

"So, fill me in, Alexei." She said, her throwing knives on her arms glinting from the light in the room. "Is it something I'm going to like?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

I would love to show you my...abilities.

He smiled.

“If theyre anything like what you’ve shown me this past hour, I think you’ll pull this off splendidly…” He replied with a look that could only be deemed cunning.

She had laughed then and nipped him before pulling away. Now she was all business.

So, fill me in, Alexei. Is it something I'm going to like?

A slight nod and an appraising glance later, he began to give her to basics.

“I believe you’ll find it quite to your liking. If you don’t…” He paused and gave her a somewhat cocky smirk.

“I’ll be sure you’re well compensated for taking time out of your post job celebration to accommodate me. Fair enough…?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

And then, when she had assented, he continued.

“The man we’re about to meet with is the right hand man to the leader of a major terrorist organization with several medium sized bases located throughout the region. He’s been screwing his boss out of profits. He makes the deals, as his boss requires, but negotiates them in a way in which he’s able to skim a bit off the top. And while Im not out there to police the galaxy, I do want my customers to be happy with our business. I think the boss man would be a bit happier if he wasn’t losing several million credits a transaction.”

He paused for a moment.

He had given her enough information this far without actually revealing what, exactly, was being bought, traded, or sold.

“And I want your help exposing him.”

He would expand on this in a minute - but he first wanted to gauge her interest or her concern.

[Rage]

Rage listened carefully, her hand gliding over the chrome blaster at her hip. She chewed her bottom lip with her teeth as he explained things and she nodded, taking everything in.

Moving away from him, she paced for a bit thinking this over. Her finger tip tapping away lightly on her chin. She stopped and turned around to look at him.

"Do not worry about compensating me, this is for free." She smiled, walking to his side and bringing her arms up to wrap around his neck. "You want to expose this guy...how?"

[Alexei Nabokov]

He could see her thinking about it, considering. He watched as her hand moved to glide over the chrome of the blaster at her hip. He wished it were him that she touched with such affection.

And by the end of the night, if he got his way, she would. Maybe not with quite as much affection – for he cold tell that she truly did love that blaster of hers, but he would see what he could do about having a friendly rivalry with that companion of hers.

He was even more please when she seemed to read his mind.

Do not worry about compensating me, this is for free.

He chuckled.

“Remind me to repeat whatever prayers I said before I went to sleep last night…” He commented with a grin, “Because it appears they’ve worked rather well….”

She’d wrapped her arms around his neck, then, her seductive voice seeming but a purr in his ears.

You want to expose this guy...how?

Alexei allowed his arms to wrap around her. It just seemed to come naturally with this woman, to have her this close to him.

“The man we’re going to be meeting with always requests, as part of doing business with him, that we supply him with an...escort for the evening. If you’re willing, I’d need you to play the part….”

He lowered his lips to hers for a moment, brushing his along hers.

“And no, I am not suggesting that that’s what I took you for, earlier. What Im suggesting is that you’re beautiful and intelligent enough to pull this off….”

[Rage]

An eyebrow raised at what he was asking her to do and she tossed her head back in genuine laughter. The idea of being someone's 'escort' under these kind of circumstances were rather tempting. She had played this role once or twice in her career and found it rather fulfilling to see the looks on her mark's faces when they realized their 'play toy' for the night was sent to kill them.

She snuggled closer to Alexei, placing a nipping kiss on his ear.

“And no, I am not suggesting that that’s what I took you for, earlier. What Im suggesting is that you’re beautiful and intelligent enough to pull this off….”

"Believe me, if I thought that was what you thought about me, I would have left the table...and if I must say so myself, yes, your prayers were answered, Alexei." She murmured against his ear.

Rage pulled away, looking down at her attire and then her personal arsenal. She pulled a face at him and then asked rather forelornly,

"Guess I would have to ditch the weapons then, huh?"

Rage pouted then moved to snuggle against him again.

"I'll do it." She answered. "This should prove to be rather fun!"

[Alexei Nabokov]

Guess I would have to ditch the weapons then, huh?

He had chuckled softly at this. Yes, he supposed, she would have to. And he’d be more than happy to help her take them off….

It was then that Rage had pouted so prettily. The last time he’d seen a woman pouting at him it had not been for the same purpose. It had been because she’d sincerely been upset. And he really hadnt cared. She and her sister had been the most spoiled women he’d ever had the misfortune to meet.

No, he hadnt seen a pout quite this pretty ever in his life. And he was more than content with it. He reached for her then, wanting to forget business altogether. And he would have, had things not come together so perfectly.

I'll do it. She’d conceded as she’d snuggled against him once again, This should prove to be rather fun!

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head in amusement.

“If this is your idea of fun, perhaps I should have concerns about my plans for later this evening…” He commented.

He couldn’t wait for this to be over – all he needed was for Rage to play the part of the escort, miked, of course, and elicit a few incriminating sentences.

Alexei was about to close a major deal with this guy’s boss, and Alexei proving his honest methods of dealing in an otherwise dirty business would be the clincher. For some time now, he and Martin, the boss, had ha a business relationship for other areas. This would be the first time Martin moved out of illicit substances to the smuggling of weapons. With an impending war in one of the territories, arms would be lucrative business.

Alexei had realized, through conversations with Martin, that he was not reaping the profits from drug smuggling that he should have been. And with a bit of research, it had not been difficult to figure out what was going on. Martin’s right hand man Dempsy had been making a profit of his own on the side.

Alexei had mentioned this to Martin – at least, that he should have been making a profit. And he had let him know that he would prove it to him. He hadnt explained how – but he had let him know that soon, he would be able to show him real figures.

Tonight, he would. Tonight a deal was to go down with Dempsy. And after, he would go, as he always did, to the casino with an escort. Rage had only to get him talking – to explain what he’d done and how he’d made his millions. And then the next drink he was served would put him into a very peaceful slumber – and Rage would never be put at risk.

The only problem was that in all honesty, he didn’t want to let her go. He really had no interest in hearing her being intimate with another man, and he didn’t want her out of his arms. He was having a bit too much fun having her all to himself.


“Im not sure I’ll be able to keep you properly entertained…” He added, though the tone in which he said it made it one hundred percent clear that he did not have any doubts he could keep her well entertained.

[Rage]

“Im not sure I’ll be able to keep you properly entertained…”

Rage changed the pout to a million watt smile as she looked up at him. She knew what was about to happen tonight was extremely important to Alexei and she would not fail him.

"Something tells me you would not have any trouble at all." She murmured against his cheek. "And you'll have the chance to prove it later." She added with a promise.

Rage relunctantly pulled away from him and slid her jacket off. Handing it to him, she remorsefully undid the holster at her waist and thigh, handing that to Alexei as well, an act of pure trust on her part, for no one besides Katya had ever touched her blaster.

She felt naked already not having her baby strapped to her and she looked at her arms, sighing as she untied the knives strapped to her biceps. Before handing those over as well, she stopped, looked at them and then took a few out, bringing her knee up to slide a few of them into her boot cuff, hidden away. Rage looked up to see Alexei smiling. She laughed softly,

"What? I'm not going in there totally unarmed."

Rage grinned, reaching up to slide the zipper on the front of her vinyl catsuit even lower than it was and she ran her hands through her hair.

"Since I don't have the proper 'escort attire'..." Rage laughed. "This is will have to do."

[Alexei Nabokov]

When she pulled away from him, he wanted to reach out and tug her back. Something about her filled his senses – made him feel as if he were alive again. For so long he had been a machine – working to build an empire of sorts among the world of organized crime. He had forsaken relationships, putting his personal desires on a back burner to get where he was.

And as he watched her slide her jacket off, he knew he could not go through with it. He could not let her act as he’d asked of her – not because it was dangerous – for he knew she’d be able to handle herself, not because she couldn’t do it – he knew she could. But because he didn’t want to let her out of his arms. Not for a single moment.

Particularly not as she unstrapped the holster from her waist. She was there before him, bare and without what he inherently knew was her prized possession.

Somewhat numbly, he accepted the knives strapped to her biceps. He had smiled as she’d unstrapped these. Not because he found it humorous that she was planning to protect herself by sliding a few of them into her boot cuff, but because he realized he had never taken a woman to bed before who’d had so much to take off – weapons wise, that is.

What? I'm not going in there totally unarmed.

He had chuckled then. She was a prize. She awakened everything in him, the way the warm winds of spring awaken the senses. The way a walk in the rain could bring about a feeling of renewal. The way a storm on the deserts of Tatooine could shake the sands, shifting them into new shapes.

His hand closed over hers as it slid the zipper on the front of her vinyl catsuit even lower than it had been and he stepped up to her now, his breath catching at her beauty.

Since I don't have the proper 'escort attire'... This is will have to do.

He shook his head.

“You wont need escort attire….” He replied, his voice husky with his desire for her.

“I cant let you do this…” He added, though he didn’t add why just yet – didn’t add that he couldn’t let her do it because he was canceling the mission. Tonight was her night to celebrate – not to work. And it was his night to celebrate as well – celebrate the breath of fresh air that had been given to him tonight – for around this woman, he truly felt that each breath was a new one – a new one full of a life he had forgotten existed.

[Rage]

“I cant let you do this…”

Rage turned her eyes back to Alexei when be spoke, an eyebrow raising in question. She searched his face for a moment, his own eyes reflecting the desire she was feeling, but also showing her something else. Something she could not quite put her finger on.

"What is it, Alexei? What is wrong?" She asked, walking back to him to cup his cheek with her hand. "I can do it, you know I can."
Rage whispered, leaning in to kiss him.

Rage knew, after only knowing this man for only a few hours, that she would do anything for him. There was something between them that could not be denied, something that she knew could be long lasting. The sudden decision for him to not want her to do this seemed rather unusual.

She broke the kiss to look back into his eyes and she smiled seductively at him. She brought her hand up to let her fingers caress his jawline and then into his hair to run themselves through it, her fingers clenching briefly at the nape of his neck with a handful of hair.

"Why the change of heart, Gorgeous?" She asked, her soft words caressing over his cheek.

[Alexei Nabokov]

His eyes had closed as her soft words caressed his cheek. He could feel it stirring within him, a feeling he was not at all familiar with, yet knew, somehow knew that it was natural to feel it.

“I know you can do it, Beautiful,” Alexei replied as he slipped from her arms and slid his hand into hers, leading her down the corridor. Her jacket, holster and knives remained tossed over his other arm.

“I don’t doubt at all that you could….” He gave her a sidelong glance then, still somewhat reserved, for it had been….an eternity since he had been like this around a woman – so….open and relaxed. He was not able, just yet, to completely shake off the reserved, businessman side. It was like a thick layer of skin that would shed over time – or with enough coaxing.

“Its more that theres something else entirely that I’d prefer to be doing.” A mischievious grin licked over his lips.

“And I always get my way.” He added, devilish eyes alight with confidence and desire.

Down the hallway, they slipped behind a door, and pressing a button, the wall panel slid aside to reveal a turbolift.

“After you….” The gentleman offered, his hand slipping from hers to hover protectively at her waist, guiding her. And then he stepped into the lift with her and pressed a button.

“Let me just…cancel our other plans…” He explained as he picked up the comm that was built into the control panel. He pressed a quick dial, and moments later began a concersation.

“Just make the deal and record it.” He began, his tone of voice businesslike – as business like as he could manage, that is, while thinking about the woman in his arms.

“It wont be as dramatic as what we had planned, but it will work.” He added after the voice on the other end of the comm had seemingly asked a question. The question was not ‘why the change of plans’ – no one would ever dare question Alexei on such a thing. Rather, it was simply regarding what instructions were to be followed, and what, from a business directive, needed to be done.

He offered a few more words, and then he turned the comm off and the lift stopped, the doors opening to an expansive foyer of a very expensively and tastefully decorated suite.

“If you’ll join me….” He requested, offering his hand as he led the way from the lift.

[Rage]

Once again, Rage could not help the grin that over came her and she followed Alexei, allowing him to take her further into his chambers. She watched her weapons swaying over his shoulder and laughed quietly to herself. Never has a man touched her weapons without being on the receiving end of one of them.

“And I always get my way.” He had said.

"Oh, I just bet you do." Rage replied with a husky whisper.

She remained quiet as Alexei conducted his business. She would not disturb him. She was equally anxious to be rid of any business now and just enjoy the rest of the evening. Rage smiled at him, getting the feeling tonight would go beyond her expectations.

'Frell, who am I kidding...it already has.' She thought to herself, glancing quickly at Alexei's backside.

Rage admired his sense of business, the way he conducted himself. He knew what he wanted and was not afraid to go after it. His words echoed in her mind and she suddenly laughed as he held his hand out to her to lead her into the suite.

"You know, Alexei, I always get what I want as well." She purred as she trailed behind him. She tried to not look impressed as they walked in, but she could not help it. What ever it was that Alexei did for a living definately had its rewards.

Rage made up the distance seperating them and her hands traveled up his arms to slide under his coat. She let them brush over the soft fabric of his shirt before slipping under the coat to slowly slide it off of him, letting it fall to the floor, her weapons included. Her eyes went to his blaster and she raised an eyebrow in silent approval of the model, then turned her eyes back up into his.

"So, do I get the grand tour?" Rage grinned.

[Alexei Nabokov]

You know, Alexei, I always get what I want as well.

Her voice was even more seductive than the purr of a finely oiled machine. He had no doubts that a woman like Rage was capable of providing far more of an adrenaline rush than any fast speeder or speeder bike could produce. And the same way he liked to test the limits of the ships he flew, he wanted to test and know her limits as well. He wanted to know her the way he knew the contours of the blaster he carried. And he knew those well….

“Then perhaps we should pray that we both want the same thing….” He quipped before she’d closed the small distance separating them.

Few hands ever slid under his coat, free to take the liberties he afforded to Rage. It was a jacket worth as many credits as a year of rent for some people that dropped to the spotless floor. But the businessman didn’t mind – in fact, he didn’t even notice. What he noticed instead was the feel of her hands as they settled on his chest. Through the soft fabric of his shirt, he could feel her touch. And the thin layer of clothing seemed too much of a barrier.

His arms wrapped around her, one hand settling in the small of her back. He wished she hadnt been wearing the catsuit – for as good as it looked on her, he was sure it would look better lying in a heap on the floor beside his jacket.

The other hand ran gently through her hair, thoughtfully and delicately teasing the easiest of snarls into submission before he reached instead to cup her neck, his thumb tracing the edge of her jawline where it met the smooth skin of her neck.

Her gaze, he noticed, had gone to his blaster, her eyebrow raising in what he knew to be approval. It was a fine piece of chrome – only the newest technology. It only served that the man who dealt in such things – in the smuggling of weapons – should carry such. His eyes flickered to it as well, a cocky sort of grin preceding the low chuckle that then escaped.

He reached for it, pulling it from the holster strapped across his chest, and set it on the table by where they still stood in the foyer. And then the doors to the suite closed, sealing the two of them in.

So, do I get the grand tour?

His lips found hers then, searching with confidence as first….teasing her into wanting more. His hand left her jawline, tracing down her neck and across her collarbone, brushing her breast as it then came to rest just beneath the pit of her arm, his fingers splayed across her back only enough to pull her a bit closer to him.

“And where would you like the tour to begin?” He asked as their kiss broke.

[Rage]

Eyebrows rose at such a bold move on Alexei's part and she let her lips part in a smile as his words made their way through the cloudy haze in her mind.

“And where would you like the tour to begin?”

Rage stretched in his arms, a playful smile on her lips as her eyes twinkled in merriment. She pulled her gaze away from his and looked around.

"Why don't you make that decision, Gorgeous." She stated softly, letting her finger tips stroke the soft skin behind his ears. Rage pulled back to look at him, her eyes suggestive as they stared at each other silently.

Rage suddenly broke away from him, turning to walk into his suite, taking everything in, her senses alive and aware that he was watching her every move. She moved into one of the doorways and looked back over her shoulder at him with a 'come hither' smile on her lips. She'd be damned, but she just could not get enough of Alexei as it was right now...how bad would it be later?

[Alexei Nabokov]

And she thought him bold?

He watched as she stepped into the suite. He split time between this home and the others located within or nearby the other establishments he owned. One day, he did plan to just build a big old sprawling home in the suburbs – but that would be a while yet. It wouldn’t be until he was ready to let go of what he had created – let it fall into the hands of someone younger, someone capable.

A son perhaps. Though, if he could have it the way he wanted, if he ever had children, they would not have anything to do with the sort of business he ran. He would much prefer to hand it off to someone else entirely – and get out of it.

He didn’t hate it – he just….well, it wasn’t the sort of career you dreamed of your children having. Not that Alexei was exactly dreaming of children. Not yet, anyway. No, he was quite content with being a bachelor. It had its advantages.

He wasn’t opposed to the idea of marriage. But it certainly wasn’t anything that had been on his mind recently. It would take a very unique woman, for sure. What with the danger, and the inherent sort of worry and concern that came with working in the underworld. Not to mention, his rather selective tastes when it came to the opposite sex.

Interesting choice, she had made. He stood there for a moment, watching as she stood in the door of his bedroom, a 'come hither' smile nearly dancing on her soft lips. Lips that he wanted very badly to taste again and again.

“A fine choice….” He stated as he took a step toward where she now waited for him. As he approached, he held a hand out to her, a hand that when she took it, tugged her into his arms, where he lifted her and carried her across the threshold. His lips found hers, requesting rather than demanding or crushing.
And once inside, he crossed the plushly carpeted floor and set her down upon the edge of his bed.

“Would you like some champagne with your tour…?” He asked, ever the gentleman.

Alexei had no reason to rush into anything he did. He had not gotten where he was in life rushing through anything. No, he was a patient and deliberate man. Not that he couldn’t be spontaneous – this night being a very good indication of it – but more it was that he was confident – and he had no concerns that the night would not turn out as he wanted it to. He had no reason to rush into it as a school boy, over eager and foolish.

He wanted Rage – and he would have her. By the end of the night, he would. But when he did – he would be sure that she would want exactly what he did – for it was the only way two people who always got what they wanted could possibly both be satisfied.

[Rage]

*O.O.C. :D Nice avie!*



She watched him like an animal watching it's prey as he stood there looking down at her. In a heartbeat, she knew that if he had asked her to leave Fatal Beauty and work for him, she would without a second thought. No one had ever had that affect on her before and it shook her up a bit. She grinned, leaning back on her elbows on the bed, tilting her head to the side.

"Champagne would be nice." Rage murmured, her eyes never leaving Alexei. "On second thought...."

Rage reached up, grabbing his shirt collar and hauled him onto the bed next to her. She turned on her side, raising an eyebrow.

"Champagne would only take away from the moment, don't you think?" She whispered teasingly against his lips . She smiled and pulled back for a moment, looking into his eyes before kissing him.

[Alexei Nabokov]

OOC: *laughs* Thanks. I’ve been a bit lazy about getting around to it….

IC:

Easily, he let her tug him down to where she now lay. He hadn’t ever thought that having his shirt collar tugged could be so…enticing.

Champagne would only take away from the moment, don’t you think?

He was content, for the moment, with thinking whatever she thought. Yes, he agreed, it most likely would take away from this moment, for he was drunk enough simply looking at her upon his bed.

He hadn’t needed to reply, her lips meeting his and stripping away any sense of sanity. He reached for her, pulling her into his arms. He lay on his back, Rage perhaps still on her side, but fitting snugly to his body. He could feel her hand resting on his chest – reminded of only moments ago, in the hallway, when the shirt between them had felt like too much. One arm was around her, his hand resting in the small of her back. The other was free, and might have traced its way up her body, eventually, as the kiss lingered on, reaching for the zipper to the catsuit she wore.

The lights in the room had come on, upon them walking in. But they were naturally dim, as Alexei was not one who preferred the stark brightness of lights in his bedroom. It was perfect, as he saw it. Rage would have looked magnificent in any light cast upon her, of that, he was sure.

His blond hair, perhaps the slightest bit longer than some might have worn it, but completely fashionable, and a look that made it easy for him to seem polished one evening, or if he did not shave, rough and street wise, fell away from his face as the kiss ended and he now opened his eyes and gazed upon the Fatal Beauty.

“Have you see enough, or should I continue the tour?” He asked, the tone of his voice perhaps midway between a bit of a challenge and absolutely teasing her.

[Rage]

o.o.c. *still staring at avie* oh...sorry! ;)


i.c.

Rage looked down at the fingers undoing her zipper and she looked back up at Alexei, her eyes flashing hotly. She moved to straddle his waist, reaching back to slip off her boots, forgetting about the couple of knives she had tucked in there. They fell to the floor with a 'thump thump'.

Rage's eyes danced with merriment and she tried not to laugh, but failed and moved to lay on top of him, her hands folded on his chest, her chin resting on top of them. She moved one hand to trail her finger tips along his jaw line, over his lips and then down his neck. Rage smiled softly at him, taking a few moments to take in everything about him.

“Have you see enough, or should I continue the tour?”

Keeping her fingers on his neck, caressing the soft skin at the hollow of his neck, she took her time in answering, letting her lips part as she slowly stuck the tip of her tongue out to moisten them. Drawing her tongue back in, she let her nails drag along his skin down to first button of his shirt with enough force to rip it from it's fabric. It slid down the side of his chest and onto the bed and Rage lifted an eyebrow at him as she slowly made her way down to the second button. She knew the shirt was expensive just by looking at it, but she had a feeling Alexei really didn't care about that right now.

"I think we can skip the rest of the tour....for now." Rage replied in whisper.

[Alexei Nabokov]

OOC: *shakes head and grins* Its Sergei Fedorov if you’re looking for more to…ahem…stare at. ;)


IC:

******SEVERAL HOURS LATER**********

As a general principle of safety, Alexei Nabokov did not have women stay the night. Never before had one of them been down into the lower levels where he had taken Rage. No, typically, if he’d taken any time at all off of work to carouse with women, it had been to a hotel that he had taken them. The finest, of course, for he did feel that he had earned every right to indulge in only the best – but never, ever, did he allow himself to remain the night with them.

To fall asleep was to put himself in the most vulnerable of positions. And truly, Alexei could never trust that a woman wasn’t being paid to take his life in the middle of the night as he slept.

He supposed if there was any good way to ever go, it would be that sort of way – in his sleep. But still, he wasn’t ready for it. There was much left to accomplish, and plenty of breath left in those lungs of his.

But Rage…..well, not only had he brought her into his domain – into the sanctuary he used to escape from everyone and everything – but he had let her stay the night. Her knives still lay on the floor beside the bed, discarded with her boots and the rest of her clothing. His clothing, buttons now missing from a rather expensive shirt (one among many that hung in his closet), lay beside hers.

And in his bed, she lay in his arms. It took a moment, when he awoke with somewhat of a start around 3:30 A.M. to figure out where exactly he was and who, exactly was in his arms.

But it came back quickly. Instantly, in fact.

And as he lay there in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling in thought, he realized what he had done. What he had allowed.

It was somewhat out of character – to have been so careless. To have brought a self proclaimed assassin into not only his home, but his arms – as he slept – one hundred percent vulnerable.

His hands, on reflex, traced over the soft skin of her body as he recalled his evening with Rage Simone. And in the darkness, Alexei Nabokov, crime lord in his own right, allowed a smile. This woman was different. He had known it the moment he had set eyes upon her. And in only a matter of hours, she had managed to venture to a place where none had been before – not only to physically venture – but emotionally. Somehow, Rage had managed to grasp hold of the strings of his heart and tug on them.

It wasn’t a full hold – no, he was not one to let his heart go so easily. Love was something that took time – but certainly, she had found the key that could open that door.
Slowly, he lifted his head on the pillow enough to kiss tenderly the top of her head. And he reached, instinctively, to brush stray locks of hair from her face, where it rested, so perfectly so comfortably on his chest.

He sighed softly, a sigh of contentment as his head came back to rest upon the pillow. He shifted only slightly, trying not to disturb her sleep.

[Rage]

o.o.c. ;) I know all about Feds! You're talking to a hockey nut here!


I.C.

Rage bolted awake, her eyes wide as she looked around her surroundings. The last few hours came back to her instantly and a smile suddenly broke out on her face. She turned to look at the sleeping Alexei, her eyes traveling over his bare chest and then back up to his face. She reached out and softly touched his lips with her finger tips before leaning over to place a kiss on them.

She knew she would never be able to get back to sleep. When she was awake...she was awake. Sliding quietly out of the bed, Rage reached for her catsuit, then changed her mind and grabbed his discarded shirt and slipped it on, laughing softly as the first few buttons were missing.

Standing, she turned to look back at Alexei, torn between waking him and sharing the early hours of the morning together or to let him sleep. She decided to let him sleep and padded quietly out of the bedroom back into the main room. She stretched lazily, wondering if there was any coffee or anything close enough in this place.

Rage let out a sigh, deciding not to disturb anything without Alexei's approval. She did not want to risk ruining anything right now. With a shrug, she turned back to head into the bedroom and preceeded to directly climb onto the bed and straddle his lap again. Leaning over, she promptly licked his cheek and whispered,

"Wakey, wakey, Mr. Nabakov."

He stirred for a moment and she grinned, moving swiftly off the bed and discarding his shirt at the same time, walking naked to the bathroom.

[Alexei Nabokov]

OOC: *chuckles* Then I suppose you know his team tromped all over my Bruins the other night 9-0…

I.C.

He’d opened those green eyes of his just in time to witness the naked backside of one Miss Rage Simone walking to the bathroom.

And he hadnt been able to hold back the low chuckle of amusement. She was one bold woman, he had to give her that. His gaze lingered on the spot where he had last seen her before she’d slipped beyond his view. The sight he’d seen wasn’t one that was going to be leaving his mind anytime soon, of that, Rage could rest assured.

As he heard the water for the shower begin, he finally reached for the sheets that seemed to be tangled around him and pulled them aside. He sat upright, on the edge of the bed for a moment. On the floor before him he could see, glistening in the light coming from the bathroom, Rage’s knives, his shirt and the rest of his suit. Her boots, his shoes…socks…clothing was everywhere.

For a man so typically neat and organized, it was amusing. He reached for the clothes then and tossed them onto the unmade bed as he made his way towards the bathroom.

Steam filled the room and it began to awaken his senses. But nothing was a match for the vision in the shower. That brought him fully to attention.

OOC: Ahem. ;)

IC:

Stepping from the shower a bit later, Alexei reached for a towel and wrapped it around Rage as she stepped out as well. And then he reached for one for himself, wrapping it absently about his waist. In the warmth of the room, he reached for her, pulling her into his arms.

She was a vision, this soaking wet woman before him, and he bent to kiss the droplets of water from her forehead.

“I think I could get used to getting up this early if this was what I’d wake up to…” He commented. It was a comment intended to be somewhat of a joke – teasing, certainly, for it was still rather early in the morning. But there was no denying the truth to it. Getting up this early had never been this easy – or this….delightful.

[Rage]

o.o.c. ouch... 9-0.... ;)

I.C.

Rage grinned as Alexei wrapped the towel around her. She lifted her forehead up in time to recieve his kiss on her forehead and she reached for another towel to begin drying her hair with as they walked out of the bathroom.

“I think I could get used to getting up this early if this was what I’d wake up to…”

Rage looked back at him and winked as she went searching for her satchel. Inside she found a change of clothing and promtply stripped herself of her towel infront of him. Donning her low riding vinyl pants and a halter top, she began to strap her knives back on her arms in total habit. She looked up to see Alexei watching her and she realized what she had been doing.

"Habit." She laughed, dropping the knives back onto the bed. She walked back to Alexei , placing her arms around his waist. "So, are you kicking me out this morning or....."

Rage did not bother finishing her question as she pulled away from Alexei to go sit on the bed to pull her boots on. She lowered her lashes and looked discreetly at him.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Had he, for one brief moment questioned what might be in that satchel of hers? Yes, in all honesty, he had. It just seemed to good to be true – that he had found this one woman out of a million of them. And not even that he’d found her – that she’d walked right through the door of his own bar and into his life.

He chided himself silently as it was clothing that she pulled out.
He should have known that a woman like Rage would come prepared. Always prepared, he mused as she began to strap her knives back on her arms. He had perhaps raised an eyebrow.
Certainly, he didn’t plan on her needing those. Not….not with him, at least.

Habit.

She had laughed and he, too, had laughed with her. With his hair wet, without anything to keep it so properly in place, a lock of unruly hair fell into his face, just long enough to be near his eyes, but not long enough to be in them.

So, are you kicking me out this morning or.....

Impatiently he brushed it back as he moved to sit on the bed beside her. She had pulled away from him as she’d asked this, and seemed to be busying herself with the task of putting her boots on.

He was still in a towel.

His hand reached for hers as it went to pull her boot on. Gently, he took it from her and set it back on the floor.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t be in any hurry to leave….” He stated, his accent softly filtering in to his basic as he spoke to her. It was early yet, and while he was not ashamed of his accent, he did try to disguise it as best he could, simply to make him less distinguishable in his business encounters.

But here, with her, there was no reason.

“Are you?”

This was asked as a hand reached to cup her chin, carefully requesting that she turn to look at him. Requesting that she set those brown eyes of hers upon his of jade.

[Rage]

As he placed his fingers on her chin to force him to look at her, she let the smile break free on her lips. She noted his accent a little heavier and she just about went weak in the knees from it. It was bad enough he was sitting there looking totally opposite of what he had been the night before. His ruffled hair did her in, she felt the her heart constrict in a way she had never felt before.

'Katya would be in hysterics.' She thought, amused.

"You are a smooth one, aren't you?" She laughed softly, reaching up with her fingers to ruffle his hair back to how it looked before. "Looks better that way."

Rage smiled, her eyes looking into his. She shifted on the bed a little, making her satchel fall to the floor, spilling it's contents. She looked down and laughed, seeing her other 'toys of the trade' spread out on his immaculate carpet. Looking back at Alexei, she grinned sheepishly at him.

"In a hurry to leave?" She repeated his question. "Actually no, I am not, Alexei." She let her eyes wander over him and then stared deep into his eyes. "I am no where near being done with you." She added with a raised eyebrow.

[Alexei Nabokov]

You are a smooth one, aren't you?

Smooth. Yes, he liked to think so. But here, with Rage, it wasn’t smooth that he intended to be Suddenly, smooth didn’t seem to be quite enough. Smooth was something she could see right through.

His gaze lifted slightly, his eyes peering upward to his forehead where she had now made his hair fall.

Looks better that way.

He shook his head only slightly, one side of his mouth lifting in the smallest of smirks.

“As you wish it…” Alexei replied, blinking as a droplet of water fell from his hair into his eyes. And then their gazes had locked, disturbed only as both looked to the floor where her satchel had fallen.

He had looked to her then, raising an eyebrow at the elaborate spread of 'toys of the trade' as if to say, ‘and I dared to let you bring those things in here?’

Her sheepish grin amused him.

In a hurry to leave? Actually no, I am not, Alexei. I am no where near being done with you.

Ahhhh, he liked this answer. He liked it entirely too much. Here, in his bedroom, draped in nothing more than a towel, staring into the eyes of a Fatal Beauty, Alexei was revealed as himself.

The business man about him, smooth and polished was still there, certainly, but something very different had taken more of the forefront. It was the more playful side of him. The side that so rarely had a chance to show itself.

He stood up then, straightening his broad shoulders and seeming not at all concerned by his lack of clothing. He walked to the dresser, and hand on one of the drawers, turned back to her.

“Good….” He replied, a devilish grin spreading over his face as he pulled the drawer open and grabbed a pair of boxers, “Because I haven’t given you the complete tour….”

He opened another drawer and grabbed a pair of pants before he moved back to her, winking at her as he approached, and then tossing the clothing on the bed beside where she still sat.

He bent then, down to her level, and his lips found hers, beckoning her to give in to his request. A moment later, as their kiss broke, he dropped the towel and stepped into his clothing.

Buckling his belt, he then held out a hand to her.

“Maybe I could interest you in breakfast….?” He offered, idly wondering how it was that someone could have put such a spell over him. For truly that was how it felt, as if he were walking in some sort of drug induced haze. As if this could not possibly be real.

[Rage]

Rage lifted laughing eyes to Alexei's as she moved to clean up the mess her satchel made on his floor.

"Breakfast? You can cook?" She gasped jokingly, a bright smile coming over her face.

Rage felt relaxed for the first time in a long time and she had Alexei to thank for that. To show him how much she trusted him even this morning, she walked over, grabbed her knives and her blaster and tossed them into the satchel as well as her discarded clothing from the night before and zipped it closed. She was about to stand up when she saw her commlink on his nightstand. She grabbed it quickly, making sure it was shut off and stuffed it into the side pocket.

Rage turned to walk out when she caught him watching her again.

"I am not being disturbed today." She laughed, walking past him. She stopped suddenly, turning around to wrap her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly, letting her fingers trail themselves through his hair. Breaking the kiss, she pulled back a little and looked into his eyes. "Now, um, about breakfast?"

Rage quickly nipped his bottom lip with her teeth, something she just could not stop doing. She could bite his full lips all day all night if she could! She let out a soft sigh, then realized he probably heard that and she whirled around, slightly embarrassed and padded barefoot into the next room. She could not believe what kind of an affect Alexei was having on her.

'Oh, he's dangerous.' Her mind screamed at her, while her heart came back with, 'But you need him.'

Rage turned to look at Alexei with soulful eyes, knowing for certain her heart had won the argument.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Now, um, about breakfast?

Yes….about breakfast. If she didn’t stop nipping his bottom lip with every kiss, she was going to find herself getting served breakfast in bed. Which, the more he thought about it, really wasn’t all that bad of an idea.

He watched as she passed into the next room. Her bare feet left the softest of impressions in the cushy rug, and he couldn’t help thinking that he’d never before had a woman down in this suite of his. And even if he had, he would not have noticed these subtle things about her. Not the way he noticed these things about Rage.

Her hips swayed so wickedly as she crossed the floor and he had been content – too content just standing there watching her. Until she’d turned back to look at him with those soulful eyes of hers. And then, it seemed, the distance between them was an enormous crater. He crossed it, scooping her up in his arms and laughing along with her giggles as he carried her into the living room.

“Coffee….?” He asked as he set her down on the couch, able to lean back against the softness of the pillows. Pillows to a couch that was hardly ever used. Really, the entire suite had little reason to exist – he never used more than the bedroom, bathroom and occasionally the kitchen when he was there alone.

He watched as her head rest back against the pillows, her hair splaying over them. They were underground – and he wished for a moment that they were on vacation somewhere tropical – for he would very much have liked to be sitting outside with her, a war sun shining down upon her – catching the highlights in her hair and the spark in her eyes.

Even so, here in the lighting of the room, installed to give the feeling of daylight, she was beautiful. He moved to a panel on the wall, then, pressing a button, and soft music filtered through speakers in the walls.

“My interior decorator didn’t mention that the living room would be made more complete by an attractive woman on my couch….”

He suggested this as he moved back to where Rage sat, leaning to trace a kiss or two upon her cheek bone, lingering for a moment, and leaving another upon the sensitive skin of her jawline before he stood and moved with ease and confidence towards the kitchen area.

“I’ll have to tell her its an addition Im rather partial to….” He added, his green eyed gaze lingering upon her for a moment. He did not say these things to lead her on or play games. Though, perhaps, inherently, there was always a game present when two people were getting to know one another.

“Now…how would you like your coffee….?”

[Rage]

"Yes, you must tell your decorate she has exquisite taste." Rage agreed, looking around the room.

“Now…how would you like your coffee….?”

"Black, just like my vinyl!" Rage laughed, winking at him. She was feeling carefree at the moment, not wanting it to end. It had truly been a long time since she had thought of work and it felt good. Kat and Taz would understand, she had been the ideal employee and then some since she began there and they could afford her some well deserved time off.

Rage moved off the couch, watching Alexei closely as he busied himself in the kitchen. A man in the kitchen was a rare thing to see these days and Rage's cheeks dimpled from harnessed laughter. Stopping infront of the counter, she looked at it for a moment and then hopped ontop of it, reaching over to drag Alexei infront of her for the briefest of distraction. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him, then pulled away for a moment and wickedly licked his cheek before letting him go.

"So, what are your plans for the day, Alexei?" She asked, her eyes glowing with laughter at his disheveled look.

[Alexei Nabokov]

It was a good thing she liked her coffee black – he really didn’t keep a whole lot of food around in the place. Milk or cream…well…that wasn’t something he kept around. He drank his coffee black as well.

The coffeemaker did everything for him – he’d only needed to tell it how many cups and it set about to grinding the beans and filtering the water through itself. When he’d had the place constructed, he’d been sure to go with all of the luxuries – afterall, he’d worked hard enough for them.

She’d come into the kitchen then, as he was reaching for a mug. He wasn’t going to cook breakfast – that had been ordered already from the kitchen upstairs. Another convenience he’d been sure to have.

She’d looked at him then, and he could see in her dimpled cheeks a sense of amusement. Or perhaps it was a challenge as she hopped up on to the counter and reached out to tug him over to her. He could get used to this, he thought, he could definitely get used to it.

So, what are your plans for the day, Alexei?

He lifted a hand to run it over the scruff on his chin and cheeks.

“Shave…” He replied somewhat teasingly. As if, there were nothing more important on his schedule.

And when his comm rang then, from the jacket that still lay on the floor in the foyer, he ignored it.

“Ignore all efforts for anyone to contact me….” He added, turning his gaze away from the foyer where it had gone, as a natural reaction to his comm ringing and back to Rage.

He looked at her then, from beneath slightly disheveled hair. It was a different look that he had today, with his hair falling so naturally, and a day old scruff. He didn’t look quite so buttoned up as he had last night in a suit and tie – but there was something about him that suggested he was comfortable in casual or more formal attire. And this was true – the other bars he owed were not all so high class as the Golden Crescent. Others were downright seedy – and with his hair as it was and a day old scruff, he could certainly have thrown on a leather jacket and dark glasses and fit right in. But that wasn’t where he planned to be. Not today. No...he had an entirely different plan in mind.

“And maybe see if I can convince you to come out on the yacht with me.” He added, his expression entirely serious as he looked to her where she sat, so smugly, up on his counter top.

[Rage]

Rage did her best to put on a playful 'pout' at Alexei's mention of shaving. She did not know if it worked or not due to the fact that his commlink had chosen that exact moment to go off. She was happy that he did not run to grab it, something she was expecting him to do. He was definately keeping her on her toes...something no one ever did.

“And maybe see if I can convince you to come out on the yacht with me.”

Rage nearly fell off the counter after he mentioned the yacht, but she kept herself planted firmly on the counter and any shock kept to a minimum.

"Yacht?" Rage repeated, thinking it over. The only other time she had been on one of those was for a job and she never really got to enjoy it. "We leave our comm's off and here, you've got a deal."

She looked around the kitchen a bit more from her perch on the counter, realizing things seemed like they haven't really been touched all that often. Rage looked at Alexei, understanding dawning over her as she felt suddenly 'special' for probably being only a handful of people who have been brought here.

'But how many of those were female?' She laughingly thought to herself, gnawing on her bottom lip with her teeth.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Yacht? We leave our comm's off and here, you've got a deal.

She drove a hard bargain. Leave his commlink there? He’d never gone anywhere without it. To not have answered it only moments ago was still a shock to his system. And spoke volumes about the affect Rage was having over him.

He felt a tad irresponsible for having let it ring as it had – he knew that if someone was calling him, they were calling because it was important. His employees knew that disturbing him for anything less would be….a mistake. Their last mistake.

He had looked at her and then looked back towards the foyer where he could see his jacket laying in a crumpled heap. Well…that was difficult as well, seeing as how he was such a typically very neat sort of guy, as evidenced by the way everything in his suite was perfectly in order.

Oh…he didn’t clean it himself. Someone did that for him – but truly he rarely left much of a mess. Mostly just dry cleaning – but even that he typically left folded and then placed in the laundry basket.

Out of habit, his hand had gone to his chin, rubbing it in thought for a moment as he considered her deal.

And then he looked back to her.

“You do realize this will be entirely out of character for me to leave my work behind….?” He teased as he moved away from her to our coffee into each of the mugs.

There came a knock on the door just then. He’d been expecting it, and so it did not surprise him. He handed her cup of coffee to her and walked into the foyer. He picked up his jacket on the way and slung it over his shoulder as he answered the door.

A cart was rolled in moments later, smelling of a freshly cooked breakfast. A young man set the table and laid out the platters, and then slipped back through the door where his boss stood.

Alexei remained at the door for a few moments longer – along with breakfast had come several of his henchmen – concerned that he had taken off the night before with a woman, and was now not answering his comm. It was entirely unlike their boss. And they were perhaps on the alert.

He spoke with them in low voices, perhaps giving detailed instructions for all that he would not be able to take care of that day. And then with a nod, they left him in peace.

And he turned back to Rage, pulling his commlink out of his jacket and placing it on the counter beside her where she still sat. And then he draped his jacket over the back of a chair at the breakfast bar before he moved to pick up his mug of coffee.

“Now….about that deal of yours….” He began, offering his hand to her to help her down.

“I’ll agree to your terms if you….can agree to mine. This was added as he led her into a room that was decorated as a sun room – the lights made it feel as if they were sitting outside, the sun pouring down upon them. It was there that breakfast had been laid out for them.

“You contact your…associates and let them know you’re safe. And then you tell them you need a few days off….”

It was bold, his suggestion to her. But if he was going to take a break from work, he was truly going to take a break. And he had a good feeling that she could use that break as well.

[Rage]

She raised an eyebrow at him and spoke softly.

"How come I get the feeling that the both of us are 'out of character' since last night?"

She watched him answer the door, peering around the corner a little more to see who he was talking with. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned back around and sipped the hot liquid in the mug, letting out a soft sigh at the welcomed warmth it gave her.

Rage had to laugh a little as the cart was wheeled in. He had ordered breakfast...cute. Her eyes widened at the food, feeling her mouth water at the delicious aromas permeating the air. She was getting spoiled and it was all Alexei's fault.

She knew she was asking a lot of Alexei to leave his comm as they went out. She was about to tell him that she was only kidding when he came up to her, took her hand to lead her into a gorgeous room and offered his own requirement.

“You contact your…associates and let them know you’re safe. And then you tell them you need a few days off….”

Rage settled into a chair and looked up at him, tilting her head to right a bit with a hint of a mischevious smile on her lips.

"Now look who's planning a kidnapping." She teased. "Alexei, you've got a deal."

Rage had already planned on contacting Katya after they ate to let her know things were fine with her. She had no jobs lined up any time soon, so she could take as much time off as she desired.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Now look who's planning a kidnapping. Alexei, you've got a deal.

Kidnapping….that was, perhaps one bit of business he had not quite gotten into. Unless the prostitution rings were considered kidnapping – but really, he didn’t deal in those so much as he provided opportunities for the ladies to work in various establishments across the galaxy. He’d never said it was a nice business that he worked in.

But mostly it was with drugs or weapons. At least, that was where most of the money was to be made.

He studied her for a moment as she sat across from him. She seemed completely at ease – and more, she looked exactly as if she belonged there. He was used to eating alone out in this room. He’d never brought anyone here – with the exception of breakfast meetings with a henchman or two from time to time – his right hand man and those just below him.

He also looked entirely at ease as he sat there. Despite the fact that his companion was not the daily newspaper, but a beautiful woman.

He reached for the cloth napkin and out of habit, placed it in his lap. He had been raised as a gentleman, and would continue to act like one – despite the sometimes seedy nature of his business. A business that truth be told, he would be glad to leave one day.

He reached for bottle of champagne and poured a flute for her. And then he poured one for himself.

“If you’ll allow it…” He began with a small smile, “I’d like to propose a toast to…beginnings.”

He gave a look towards the vegetation growing throughout the sun room, and then back to her, perhaps looking somewhat more humble than his typical manner might have suggested.

“I wasn’t going to admit it, but you’ve caught me a bit off guard….” He admitted, his green eyes coming back to rest upon her.

[Rage]

"To new beginnings....definately." Rage whispered softly, touching her flute with his.

She sipped on the flavorful champagne with delight, remembering a time when she would watch her parents sit at the table over a candlelight dinner, sipping champagne and laughingly softly. A sadness came over her for a brief moment at the rememberance of her dead parents and she shook her head slightly to banish those thoughts.

Rage looked back at Alexei, the smile returning on her face as she found him looking around the room. She was quite fond of this room already. So beautiful, so lush. She could spend hours in here just relaxing if she could. She thought of her own dreary house and it's cold interior. She never found the interest to decorate it since she was hardly there. It was not a place she wanted to spend time alone at. She had more than enough money to do what she wanted with, heck, she could probably give Alexei a run for his money in that department she thought with silent laugh. Little did he know she was quite wealthy in her own right...and not from her jobs, either.

Rage suddenly smiled, knowing she was going to keep Alexei's state of 'undress' just like it was now the next couple of days while they were together. Although she found him to die for dressed up and looking sharp, this Alexei sitting across from her was what weakened her knees.

“I wasn’t going to admit it, but you’ve caught me a bit off guard….”

Rage's eyes widened and she set the flute down gently on the table, leaning forward to place her elbows on her knees. She lifted an eyebrow in curiousity.

"Now why have I caught you off guard?" She asked softly, then added her own admission, "If you tell me, I will tell you why you've caught me off guard as well."

[Alexei Nabokov]

He watched as Rage's eyes widened and she set the flute down ever so quietly on the table. She leaned forward then, and her voice as it spoke to him seemed quieter, softer than before.

He did not place his flute on the table just yet, but instead took a drink from it. Perhaps a longer drink than he might normally have taken.

Now why have I caught you off guard?

Clearly his expression must have expressed his reluctance, for she had pressed him with an admission of her own.

you tell me, I will tell you why you've caught me off guard as well.

He finally set his flute on the table now. It was set there with the softest of clinks on the surface and for a moment, he watched the bubbles rise. And then he leaned back in his seat, a hand coming up to his neck and rubbing it, perhaps the slightest bit of shyness expressed in this gesture. And then his hand settled back on the table, tapping gently on the stem of the flute.

This was entirely unlike him. To have such an open and honest conversation with a woman like this. He had never had someone that he’d felt he could trust – anyone that would be strong enough to trust with the truth of what he did, of the life he lived.

“I wasn’t expecting, last night, that I’d be taking anyone home with me. I’d been planning on closing a business deal, coming home and getting up first thing this morning to work on another.”

The words, even as they came out, did not quite express what it was he wanted to say. He wished, suddenly, that he was dressed in a suit – that he was behind the safe wall of conducting business. It was so much easier.

He took another drink of the champagne and released a quiet sigh.

“You’ve got me tongue tied. And thats a hell of a surprise. That was probably the least smooth thing Ive ever said….” He stated, managing a smile and a quiet chuckle to break the tension of the moment that he’d begun to feel.

She thought him smooth – and perhaps he had been. Until she’d caused him to come all undone. And when and where this had happened, he wasn’t entirely sure. Only that it had somehow occurred in the past twelve hours or so.

“The way I might better have said it, is that you’ve made me remember something about life that I think I had long forgotten. Something that I welcome having the opportunity to feel again.”

He didnt state specifically what that was - they would have plenty of opportunities over the next few days as they embarked upon their trip. For there was much that they did not know about one another - much they they could learn. And he looked forward to learning everything that there was to know about her.

[Rage]

Rage sat quietly in her seat listening to Alexei. She could not help but smile. He was feeling the same way she was and having just as hard as a time explaining it.

Without saying a word, she got up from her chair and crossed the distance between them to sit on his lap. She crossed her legs and wrapped an arm around his neck. Letting her fingers trail over his roughened jaw, she tipped his head up a bit and lightly kissed him, smiling against his lips.

"You and I have more in common than you can ever imagine, Alexei." She whispered, her brown eyes looking into his green ones. "I walked into the club last night expecting just to have a drink and some casual chit chat...not to go home with anyone...that is...until I came to thank you for that drink."

Rage winked at him and kissed him again.

"If I can be so bold with you...there's something there between you and I and I'll be damned if I am just going to ignore it." Her eyes sought his again, trapping him with her gaze. "We'd be fools to just throw it aside, don't you think?"

She kissed him again, then reached to the table with one hand to a plate of ripe juicy strawberries and dipped it into a bowl of cream. She brought it to his lips, smiling herself as her eyes went down to his full lips as she traced the strawberry lightly over them.

"I think you tend to agree with me on this, don't you...Alexei?" She asked, her breath catching on his name.

[Alexei Nabokov]

His eyes, perhaps, said more in this moment than words ever could have. As they gazed up at her, where she sat, so boldly and confidently upon his lap, they looked at her from beneath somewhat unruly locks. He tossed his head the slightest bit, almost imperceptibly, to clear the strands from where they fell in his eyes, blocking his view of her. And what was written in them was a mixture of desire and intensity.

Yes, he very much agreed.

As the strawberry was given to his lips, he took the offered bite. Somehow, it wasn’t the strawberry he tasted, but her lips, for they were so much sweeter than any berry ever could be. And certainly, he wanted them much more than he wanted a strawberry.

His arms had wrapped around her as she sat on his lap. One rested on her thigh – low enough to not be lewd, but high enough that a father, certainly, would raise a disapproving eyebrow. The other was resting on the small of her back. Her shirt, as she had taken a seat, had lifted the slightest bit in the back, revealing bare skin that his fingers caressed.

Once he had swallowed the bite of strawberry, he reached, with Rage still on his lap, for his flute of champagne. And downed the last of it.

“I’d much prefer that you never felt the need to tame your boldness around me….” He commented lightly, referring to her statement only moments ago, about whether or not she could be so bold as to say that she felt something between the two of them – something that would be foolish to throw away.

“Perhaps you’d be so bold as to suggest what I might do with you once I’ve successfully kidnapped you and hidden you away on the yacht…” He teased.

[Rage]

She felt chills run up and down her spine as his fingers caressed the the skin that her tattoo rested upon. Something about his fingers there was driving her crazy and she think he knew it. Her eyes darkened a bit and her lips curled up in one corner as she watched him take a bit of the strawberry.

'By the Dark Lord, this man should be illegal.' Rage thought to herself as Alexei took a drink of his champagne.

"Well, in that case," Rage said. "I'll never question being bold again. And as for what to do with me on the yacht? Hmm...certain ideas come to mind and they have to do with various forms of undress, Alexei. Think you can handle that?" She laughed, moving her head to his to slowly lick away the remnants of whip cream at the corner of his mouth. She kissed her way to his ear and nibbled along his earlobe as she slowly got off his lap.

"I need to make that call, then we can finish breakfast and head out of here if you would like?" Rage said over her shoulder as she went back into his room to grab her commlink.

She grimaced a little, knowing Katya would want specifics and so would the over protective Taz. She smiled to herself, turning the comm on to find no messages waiting for her.

'Good.' Rage thought to herself and she moved to lay on the bed on her stomach as she called up Katya at the office. It was Taz that answered.

"Yo babe, what's up? Get lucky last night?" Taz asked in his usual greeting.

"Jealous?" Rage answered back with a smile in her voice. "Is Katya around?"

"Nope, out getting some supplies. Said to tell you that if you called in, there aren't any jobs, no need to come in until tomorrow."

"Well, that's fine, but tell Katya I won't be in for a few days." Rage rolled over onto her back and sat up, her eyes going to the empty door way. "Something's....come up unexpectedly that I need to handle...personally. Tell her it has to do with last night and she will know what I mean."

"Oh yeah? So you did get - -"

"Goodbye, Taz." Rage grinned, cutting the transmission. She let out a sigh and looked down at her clothing. She would definately need some other clothes for this little 'kidnapping'. She would do that after breakfast.

Rage got off the bed and walked back into the sun room to find Alexei eating. She winked at him and sat back in her own seat, filling her plate with the delicious smelling food. Grabbing her napking she opened it, placed it on her lap and before she began to eat, looked up at Alexei.

"My end is covered. I'm free as a bird for the next few days."

[Alexei Nabokov]

...certain ideas come to mind and they have to do with various forms of undress, Alexei. Think you can handle that?

If this was what breakfast was going to be like with this woman, he wasn’t altogether sure he could handle it. It was difficult enough as it was to restrain himself from picking her up then and there and carrying her back to his bedroom. But when she licked at his lips that way, trailing kisses to his ear and nibbling his earlobe…he’d inhaled somewhat sharply, releasing a low chuckle as the only way to try to relieve the desire that was building within him.

As she so teasingly removed herself from his lap, talking to him so casually over her shoulder, as if what she’d been doing shouldn’t have had any sort of effect over him, he couldn’t help but let his eyes follow her.

Oh, she was wicked, that woman. Entirely, completely, wicked. And he loved it. Admired it, in fact. He was playing with fire, he was entirely sure. And there was nothing that Alexei could have liked more.

I need to make that call, then we can finish breakfast and head out of here if you would like?

He shook his head and smiled as she left the room.

“What I’d like is to take you back to bed….” He commented under his breath as he reached for the bottle of champagne and refilled his glass. In the moments she was gone, he thought about one thing…and one thing only.

When she returned, she took the seat across from him. He set his fork down for a moment as she arrived, looking to her perhaps somewhat questioningly, as if to ask how her conversation had gone.

My end is covered. I'm free as a bird for the next few days

He nodded then, smiling.

“Good….” He replied, his accent evident in even this simple word, “Although, perhaps you should have asked for longer….Im not sure I plan on returning you….” He added. These words were hardly said in a mushy, lovely sort of way – he wasn’t really that sort of guy. Rather, they were said with a bit of a confident smirk, and a devilish twinkle in his eyes.

He raised the glass to his lips, his gaze holding hers as he took another drink. And then he set it back on the table, tapping the crystal of the flute with his fingers.

“I thought we might leave from here to head down to the docks….is there anything you need taken care of before we leave?”

He may not have spent much time with the women he’d dated – but he had grown up in a large family of siblings – several of them girls. He was, at the very least, aware that they were not all so capable of simply leaving without….things.

(ooc: havent got time at the moment, but tomorrow Ill start the next thread and PM ya with the link. And no hurry on finishing this one...just thought Id work on getting the other started ;) )

[Rage]

(O.O.C. No prob ;) )

Rage could read the look on Alexei's face plain as day and she was fighting back her own lust sitting across the table from him. Her eyes cast down at the table and an eyebrow lifted as she looked from the table to him and then back to the table, but banished that thought...for the moment. If things kept going the way they were almost about to, the two of them would never get out of there!

Rage cleared her throat, a slight blush tinting her cheeks and she began to eat her breakfast. A constant smirk was on her lips and she was laughing at herself for not being able to keep it off.

“Good…. Although, perhaps you should have asked for longer….Im not sure I plan on returning you….”

"Well, who says I will want to go back?" Rage countered with her own wicked smile.

“I thought we might leave from here to head down to the docks….is there anything you need taken care of before we leave?”

"Clothes...I need to pick up some clothes." Rage answered. "Unless you want me to just walk around the boat in a thong and my knives?"

That idea had possiblities for her and she grinned impishly at him and then took a sip of her champagne.

"Well, my place is on the other side of town, I thought perhaps I would just blow some money and buy some new things." 'And one of those things will be a very tiny bikini.' She added silently with just a hint of a smile.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Clothes...I need to pick up some clothes. Unless you want me to just walk around the boat in a thong and my knives?

He reached for a strip of bacon, fixing her with an amused gaze.

“Are you giving me that option?” He asked, knowing full well that she would probably do it – well, rather that she would definitely dare to do it, and maybe even probably do it, but there was something to be said for having clothes to remove sometimes….

He watched as she simply grinned at him and then took a sip of her champagne.

Well, my place is on the other side of town, I thought perhaps I would just blow some money and buy some new things.

He nodded, taking a bite of the strip of bacon and chewing with an impish expression on his face of his own. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually had the opportunity to treat a woman lavishly. Or…rather, he’d had the opportunities – they just hadnt been the right women.

“Your wallet remains here with your comm.” He stated, not intending to have her argue with him.

“This is my kidnapping, and I could hardly show my face in public again if my victim were to be paying her own way. What kind of kidnapper would I be, in such a case?” He inquired with a wink.

“But you shall have your clothes…Im not so cruel as to deny you such luxuries…”

He took a drink of his champagne now, his gaze challenging hers, perhaps.

“Im not sure theres anything I could deny to such a Fatal Beauty…”

[Rage]

"My, my, my." Rage said, leaning forward in her seat just a bit. "Now what did I do to deserve this treatment?"

Rage laughed, grinning from ear to ear. She tilted her head to the side and placed her napkin on the table. She finished her glass of champagne and set it down, content to watch Alexei quietly as he finished his breakfast.

"Leaving my money here, huh?" Rage sighed. "I don't know..." Her cheeks dimpled, a give away that she was having fun. "Now what if I want to spoil you in some way that costs money? You are not going to let me do that?"

Rage got up and walked behind Alexei's chair, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. She softly squeezed them, massaging the muscles around his neck as she lowered her head to place a kiss on the back of his neck.

"You know...what if your victim wants to 'thank' her kidnapper in a special way, will he let her do that?" Rage asked, her mouth trailing little nips and kisses along his neck and finally up to his earlobe. Her hands slipped underneath his shirt to rake her nails across his smooth skin.

[Alexei Nabokov]

Now what if I want to spoil you in some way that costs money? You are not going to let me do that?

He leaned back in his seat, the faintest trace of a smile on his lips.

“I think there are probably more creative ways you could think of to spoil me…” He commented lightly, though, certainly, it was a challenge. A challenge she seemed more than content to meet as she stood from her seat and walked behind his chair, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. He closed his eyes, relaxing into the massaging of the muscles around his neck.

You know...what if your victim wants to 'thank' her kidnapper in a special way, will he let her do that?

He chuckled. It was a low, husky sound. And he turned his head just a bit, canting it towards her as her lethal lips trailed nips and kisses along his neck and finally up to his earlobe. He lifted a hand then, one with a rather expensive chrono on the wrist that caught the glare of the lights and rested it over her hands that were currently raking over his chest. Not that he had complaints.

“I think I’d let my victim do anything she wanted with me…” He returned as he rose to his feet then, and led her back to his bedroom.

OOC: Im cool with leaving it at that, I ya want… ;)