Post by Mikaela Holden on May 28, 2016 6:32:05 GMT
Location: Private residence, Thursday May 26
Characters: Mikaela Holden, Tomas Esteban
paradise and sin [11:22 P.M.]: The afternoon sun was a brilliant thing, and hotter than can be the closer one got to the equator, and here in Marathon they were very nearly at the southern most point of the United States. The heat didn't bother Mikaela Holden. She wasn't sure if it ever had, in fact. Born in that heat. Raised in it. More than like, would die in it. Tuesdays weren't all too busy during the day at the Dive, and with that amazing new bartender she'd hired proving herself to be a godsend, Kae had found it safe to escape
a while. Take a few moments at least to clear her head. She'd done so with a paddle board; seated atop the thing and using a single oar to keep her momentum going. The Gulf side of the islands was always calmer than the Atlantic, and it seemed awfully convenient that the beach access she used closest to her home was on that side as well. The water was clear enough to see through to the sandy bottom, and she'd watched some as fish and other sea creatures did what sea creature and fish were wont to do -- and even watched as a small sized bull shark ignored her from the edge of a coral reef. A few moments alone had turned into a few hours when it was all said and done and she was back to where she'd started -- sliding into the pristine water where it was still deep enough, and tugging the paddle board in with a swim. When her feet touched sand, she walked the rest of the way in; emerging from the turquoise drink in an indigo colored bikini; it's top a scooped neck thing with a mess of fringe that reached just past the swell of small boobs, and it's bottom cheeky. The stretch of beach she walked towards was half way between her house and Tomas', btw, and fairly close to the Dive. The oar to the board was atop it, and the safety string that one might generally wear around their ankle was in hand, so she could tow the thing in. -d-
in walks death [11:33 P.M.]: The last few days have been beyond hectic. He had yet to even get a chance to go and scold Sam in person -- a thing he was kind of looking forward to, but was starting to think he wouldn't get to really enjoy. How could anyone enjoy anything right now? Between missing shipments and missing employees and other such suspicions, Tomas was swamped. Tomas's little Gulf-side beach bungalow was locked up tight when he left, because shit was going down, left and right, and he didn't need anybody getting into his shit and seeing things no man, woman, or child should see, and after that, he was out through the door, locking it twice. He was just going to walk down to the Dive, he decided, let someone think he was home by leaving the truck there at his house and set off walking. Ooh, the days of flip flops and easy-going beach gear seemed to be at an end, as of late, which found the Latino in clothes far more akin to summers in Brooklyn than late spring in Florida. Shannon knows, it's possible to wear jeans and shirts in Florida, she does it all the time; as was Tomas. He couldn't be dressed more different than Mikaela in dark washed denim, a black sleeveless shirt, and the only thing that gave him any reprieve from the heat, a linen over shirt. It tossed easily in the evening winds as the breezes changed, exposing the rigging for the Glock that was tucked under his left arm. He didn't even give a shit at this point who saw the gun, he was just going to the bar. He still wore chuck taylors, though, which almost seemed out of place when you considered the irritated downward pull of his mouth and the flatness of dark brows. He spotted Kae perhaps before she saw him and angled himself towards her beachy self. "Just the woman I wanted to see," He tried for levity in his voice, it didn't sound all that genuine. Hands came to rest on his hips, not unlike some drug-dealing superhero, waiting for her to Bond girl her way out of the sea before he'd start the barrage of questions, pitch colored hair tossing freely in the sea-salt breezes.
paradise and sin [11:46 P.M.]: No, she missed him -- attention pulled in the opposite direction of where he was coming from; watching as a father played with his small daughter several yards away, a hand raising up to shield her eyes from the late afternoon sun. Something panged low in her belly, though she couldn't quite place what it was. Jealousy? Guilt? Hunger? Brooklyn coated and gravelly, Tomas' voice broke into her thoughts and her head turned his way. Expressionless, she watched him in his pose a moment. From the tension that revealed itself in his brow, to the cut of his shoulders. He could be an unassuming man, truthfully. He wasn't overly muscled. Sometimes his face seemed downright approachable. But she knew better. Knew the iron fist he ruled his crew with, knew the penchant for violence he harbored just as much as Adam Byrne did. When her toes touched the shore, she came to a stop; dragging the paddle board out of the water to hoist it beneath her arm in a move she'd done a thousand and one times. It wasn't heavy, just .. long. Nothing was said, not until she was only a few feet away. Water shone in the sun where it clung to golden skin, the same rays picking up the brighter strands in her hair despite the way the water darkened it where she'd plaited it together in a messy braid that currently lay over her shoulder to let it's tail drip down her arm from it's placement against her chest. "Were you on your way to the Dive?" Pretty dumb question, if he'd been looking for her, that's where she was usually found. -d-
in walks death [11:56 P.M.]: Now was definitely not one of his more 'approachable' days. Black eyes followed Kae's from where they had come from, and when he spotted the little family unit playing some yards away, he removed himself from his at rest position, his hands coming up to loop a couple of buttons to hide the iron he was carrying. Of course, when people looked at wild-haired, dark skinned Tomas standing next to the younger, taller, broader, inked skinned Adam, one might assume that the smaller man would have a kinder heart. That was not exactly the case at all, because he'd just as soon beat someone to death as Byrne was capable of. People were just more surprised when he did it. Tomas tried not to let his eyes linger on the blonde when he brought that shark-like gaze back to her. He looked at her face, no different than he might anyone else he needed to talk with, despite the way the sun lit up the water droplets across her lofty frame. "Yeah," He answered, his arms moving to cross over his chest, glancing back in the direction he had come before his dark gaze was cutting back to Mikaela. "Figured I'd get to you before Byrne does." He huffed a moment, shook his head. "First off, I got the information you wanted, but before that; you seen Max anywhere? Mother fucker's been MIA for days now, and now another shipment's gone missing." It was suspect and damning. Valentine would be lucky if he didn't walk out of this with three less fingers.
paradise and sin [12:04 A.M.]: There was no mistaking the way he was suddenly concealing the weapon -- though she hadn't quite been tracking that it was because he looked over and saw the family. For a moment she wondered if it was for her benefit. The gun didn't bother her. Didn't make her feel scared, or even put her at ease. If he was going to kill her, he'd be just as efficient with his own two hands, and if it came down to a situation where he needed to protect them, his hands would be just as deadly there. No, the gun didn't even click on her radar -- well used to the firearm in this line of business. But what did lift her brow? "Adam's looking for me?" What the hell did she do? Her brain started to search for that answer, nearly missing that he'd kept on speaking, but now she blinked at him a little, and slowly shook her head side to side. "I haven't. Not since the night you came over. He said he was going to be gone a few days, but didn't say where, and I didn't ask. Another is gone? .. These .. these shipments .. I wonder if they're set to go to the Inn, not to me. Everything I'm supposed to get, I've been getting." Looser strands dried more quickly, and the breeze picked them up to dance them like streamers; and force Kae to tuck them back behind the shell of her ear. "Can we stop by my place on our way?" -d-
in walks death [12:11 A.M.]: "Not specifically," He said, quick, to ease whatever unintentional trepidation he may have caused to rise up in her. "You're one step off from Max, so if one avenue is closed, he might end up going to the second." Seeing as how the taller Valentine had made it abundantly clear that he and Mikaela were a thing to anyone who would hear or see, she was an obvious person to inquire with. A hand came up to rake through the mess of thick black hair, glancing behind his back like he was paranoid -- he had those tendencies sometimes, watching too much, checking too quickly. It usually paid off for him, in the end. His head snapped back to her, black brows lifting a hair. "It's been like a week," Or thereabouts. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Max since then, either, but he's been busy, playing baby sitter and other miscellaneous things. The Puerto Rican's tongue wet his mouth, listening to Mikaela, though he was glancing out at the water. "Yeah," Was his absent answer to her question before his dark eyes came up to meet her lighter ones. "I'm not sure where they're supposed to be going. If you don't know yet, that would be the next logical assumption." Her inquiry about stopping at her place was met with a tip of his chin in a nod, and he waved in that direction for her to start ahead of him, though her gait was easy to match. "Arch is in Miami, by the way," He said after a moment of silence, glancing to look at her. "He's shy three fingers, but he's not dead."
paradise and sin [12:20 A.M.]: Oh. Well, when you put two and two together like Tomas was for her, it made far more sense as to why Adam would seek her out .. but it still crinkled her nose right up, though she refrained from opening her mouth to point out something petty like Adam would be barking up the wrong tree if he thinks he's coming to Max's girlfriend to find the man. He might have been making it abundantly clear they were a thing, but she'd made it abundantly clear to Max from the beginning that she wouldn't be that -- and hoped she'd made it clear the last time they'd seen each other that he was even further away from being a thing than he'd ever been close to it. This whole thing with Arch, even though yes she'd been the one to even bring it to Max .. it sat like sour grapes on her tongue. "I wish I could help," she settled for once she did open those pretty lips; setting them into motion with his gesture for them to set out to the path that would take them where they were going. It was something to think about, maybe. Where the stolen drugs were supposed to be going -- that might lead to who was taking them. The Inn was far less frequented by the Network than the Dive, there might be looser lips there, not as tight an operation. Who knew. They were already walking; her board between them like a barrier beneath her arm, when he brought up her father. It loosened her grip slightly, caused the board to bump the ground when Kae slowed to nearly a stop, doe eyes flying to him. "Miami? Not dead? What's he doing in Miami?" Hefting the board back into place, she started again -- leggy stride picking back up to a normal pace. The faster she was talking about her fingerless not dead dad while not in a bikini, the better. "Which fingers?" The question was out without thought, and then a grunt. ".. I don't know why I asked that. It doesn't matter. Fingers are fingers. Who took them?" -d-
in walks death [12:34 A.M.]: Tomas was on better terms with both parties involved -- on the Mikaela/Adam side, not necessarily Valentine's side -- so he could text Adam later and let the man know that he checked with the blonde, and she was a deadend when it came to Max's whereabouts. He moved like an expert through the sugar sand, even in sneakers, he had learned, quickly, how best to walk through the mostly unfirm terrain that Florida had to offer. Sisqo dancing on the beach to the Thong Song, he learned quickly, was a fucking champion, because running on the beach was NOT easy. "Just keep doing what you're doing," He told her, matter of fact, glancing her way, shaking his head a little. "Status quo, keep it that way. Everybody's gonna have eyes on them, I feel like. No need to rock a boat that's not tipping over yet." Because anybody doing anything outside of the norm was going to be suspect. Max's disappearance could literally be mundane and genuine -- a busted phone and busy working, they were all doubling down efforts lately -- but it just seemed unusual, and, thus, people were looking to him, and his absence was noted, and with that, red flags started popping up. Kae didn't need to join the ranks of the accused. His absently offered information though caused her eyes to snap to him and she stopped. Tomas's feet were still propelling him forward, so he had to consciously stop himself to look back at her. "I think they just wanted him out of the area. Not worth killing him, I guess." Given a couple of bucks and told to get the fuck out of Dodge, as it were, or so he was told. He waited there for her to start walking again, turning to move with her. " Lot of good that did, though," since the new bags of coke were still popping up and shipments were still popping up MIA. The question about which fingers garnered the man to look at her, his brows lifted in an incredulous I'm not telling you that kind of expression, because he didn't actually know. He was glad the question was struck and she moved on. "Adam." He answered without a beat. "Bet my left nut Valentine didn't have the balls to do it."
paradise and sin [12:44 A.M.]: Hey! He did say he would tell her everything and not sugar coat it! But, if he didn't know, he didn't know. Couldn't fault him for that. She could, however, issue him a wry smirk at the matter of fact way he told her to keep doing her thing. "I've barely missed a step yet. Not even a lil' trip." No, she was careful. Knew full well she worked for dangerous men, and that her position in the Network -- however trustworthy she'd proven herself thus far, was expendable. She'd more or less meant she'd wished she could help them find Max, but it was a moot point, because she couldn't. And Tomas' advice was sound. Mikaela fell quiet, just listening to him speak about her father, and the sound their feet made once they hit the path that lead towards the Dive, and her place -- a path mostly lined with fallen palm fronds and sand. Her heart was racing, and she wasn't sure why. Tears stinging hot at the back of her eyes. Was this relief? Was she still just hungry? "That's good," she spoke softly, having to clear her throat to cover up the way her voice suddenly broke at the tail end of the two simple words. They reached the path that would veer them to her trailer when he spoke about a lack of sac, and a watery laugh bubbled free. "I don't know. I'm beginning to think I don't know a thing about him anymore. Do you want a beer?" The board would bump him, when she turned to head to her lil' slice of this dark paradise. -d-
in walks death [12:54 A.M.]: That is true. He didn't inquire about which digits were removed -- that would just be a weird question, and he had already been overly prying, which was not Tomas's typical way. He usually just let people do whatever they did, nodded, and went along with whatever needed to be. "Good. Keep it up." He said, glancing at her, nodding his approval. Even finding Max, to some degree, would be out of the norm, suddenly she's running around using a dog whistle to make him 'come.' No Tomas's recommendation was just to keep her head down and push forward as she was doing. His steps seemed to shift, to change when the ground beneath their feet moved into something more firm, less hard, long stries, and more of his regular gait -- he couldn't help that he wasn't six feet and some tall, Puerto Rican's weren't built for height. He was just fine with being average. As much as Mikaela tried to hide the break in her voice, Tomas heard it, lifting black eyes to look at her while he walked along beside her. "It is. Wait for the heat to die down, we can find him after that." She seemed gladdened by the fact that Arch was alive -- and who could blame her? As much as a fuckup as the man was, he was still her father, and Tomas would not begrudge her that. He was glad, though it didn't really show, for the laugh that escaped her from his words, and he shrugged. "Maybe none of us did," He suggested warily, glancing in the direction of the Dive itself before the paddle board was whacking him in the thigh. Did he want a beer? "Sure. Quick one." Because Lord knows there were a thousand things to do, but he wasn't going to give up a drink for that, right now. He followed after her, pulling his one phone from his pocket to check, then the other before they were both pocketed. "He didn't say where he was going? Just that he'd be gone?" Asking about Max, again, clearly.
paradise and sin [1:05 A.M.]: No, Mikaela had no plans on making Max come. At all. Wait for it to die down, then they could find him. "He wasn't always bad, you know," she spoke softly, scraping her teeth along her bottom lip some. "Before my mom left." It was left at that, and that might have just been because she really didn't know how to continue. Tomas only knew Arch as the drunken fool, begging for a couple bucks whenever he saw someone he knew, talking trash about his ungrateful daughter, and smelling strongly of unwashed body and the inside of a whiskey bottle. Clearing her throat a little more, her gaze adverted from his to watch where she was going; nodding some at his words. "Well. It wouldnt' be the first time someone said they were someone they weren't, and it won't be the last," she commented drolly, and nodded again when he agreed to a quick beer. She had some icy Landsharks in the fridge, she thought. Maybe a Red Stripe or two. They were at the trailer by the time his next questions came, and Kae propped the board against the back end of the thing; ensuring it didn't cover any windows, and stepped around to pull open the door she hadn't bothered to lock, despite hearing about the robberies that had been happening in the vicinity. Either she was cocky, or naive, but she figured nobody really knew she was back here -- and you can't steal from a place you don't even know existed. Cold air blasted her sun-dried skin, lifting it with goose bumps along her arms and the bare plane of her belly, where she stood holding the door for him. "No, just that he was going to be gone. Admittedly, I was pissed, so I told him I didn't need a play by play of what the fuck he was doing, that I wasn't keeping tabs." Once he was in, she stepped up too; shutting the door behind her. -d-
in walks death [1:14 A.M.]: "Nobody starts out bad," He commented softly. Sometimes Tomas had a wisdom to him -- it's hard to tell where it comes from, but it was likely from some of the books he read, a pretty extensive cook shelf in his little home said he read some pretty in depth things. He wasn't a dumb man, by any means, probably really couldn't have made a decent living if his life hadn't taken a turn and he ended up a dealer instead of a professor somewhere. He, himself, didn't come out of the womb cracking knee caps, and no doubt, Arch did not come out with whiskey in hand and a chip on his shoulder. Kae's comment regarding people hiding their true selves drew a little snort out of Tomas. "Wouldn't be the first, likely wouldn't be the last," Echoing and agreeing with her comment, dry and expectant, almost. He had his suspicions, all around. But like he told Sam in text the other day, don't accuse someone until you have proof. Sneakers drew to a stop near the little table whereby they had shared a smoke together the other night, waiting on her to put her board up. When Kae opened the door -- without having to unlock it -- Tomas's black gaze narrowed on her. "Lock your God damn door, Mikaela." It wasn't a suggestion. What if Max was doing the stealing!? He obviously knew where her place was. Be that as it may, he took the couple of steps up into the silver trailer and swept his hand back through his hair, looking back as she followed him in. "Well, he sure took that to heart, then," Surely there's a chair or one of those folding bench seats somewhere; whatever it was, Tomas plopped his ass down in it, tired of standing.
paradise and sin [1:23 A.M.]: There was in fact, plenty of seating. Including, a desk with a folding chair, and a bench like couch area that could also double as a very small bed with a big cushy bottom and several floor pillows. Not to mention, her own bed that was often set up more like a couch when she actually made it -- the material matching the other seating, and the whole of the queen sized bed fitting in one end of the long Airstream trailer beside the door when you first walked in. There's pictures, on Kae's site, if you're feeling curious. "Don't swear at me," came her own retort when he did. "I was barely gone," she fudged the time on that one, nor did she mention that she rarely locked it unless she was inside it. But she locked it now, and pointedly so -- waiting until he looked at her, so that he could see she did it. Brat. The palms on the ground had swept away damn near all the sand on her bare feet, and she was careful to brush off any remaining on the small rug just inside the door to keep from trailing it along the faux hard wood floors on her way past him to the bathroom opposite of her bed in the other end of the trailer. "Beer's in the fridge. And I guess he did. If I'd known he was going to come up missing, I might feel bad about that." Not bothering to pull the privacy curtain on the bathroom ( either she didn't care, or she forgot -- so used to being alone 'round here ), she began to peel at the top of her suit to remove it. "Do you think he's behind the missing product?" -d-
in walks death [1:31 A.M.]: "Prettttyyy sure I can swear at whoever the fuck I want." His normally warm, humid voice dry as a desert then. You can't tell him what to do, Mikaela, much as you'd like to. He did, however, glance back at her. "Barely gone is more than enough time to have your shit ripped into," Paranoid fuck. He watched her make a point out of engaging the lock on the airstream, and he rolled his eyes. "Cute." Stealing a word out of her book, because usually that sarcastic retort was aimed at him. So, for the sake of my post, too, he didn't sit yet. Tomas stepped aside while she wandered back to the bathroom, indicated the fridge and he moved to help himself, the fridge opened and inspected. "I don't think he's missing, just AWOL or something. You want LandShark or Red Stripe?" Pulling whatever her pick was and a Landshark for himself, he straightened and shut the door. Mikaela's inquiry regarding whether he thought Valentine was behind the shipments drew his eyes, only to see her silhouette, for the most part, slipping out of her suit -- nothing he ain't seen before, but that's neither here nor there. A strategic choice was made to put his back to her, stepping to place the bottles on the counter and dig about in a drawer for a bottle opener. "I don't know," Was his honest answer. "He'd be a fucking moron if he was; but he's been at the game for a minute." Bottle caps removed he tossed them in the bin. "Never know when someone gets antsy, y'know." The LandShark scooped and brought right to his lips for a swig.
paradise and sin [1:41 A.M.]: His sarcasm earned him a dry laugh -- it was rather amusing to have that word thrown back at her by the dark man, who despite not having a great height or brawn, seemed to fill up her small trailer with much more than that. "Fine," she consented. "I'll keep it locked." Lashes narrowed in scrutiny at him just a little. "Landshark is fine." He might have turned his back on her, but her back was to him as well. Wet suits were always a bitch and a half if they didn't have any kind of easy string to pull, but this was nothing new to her. Removing it, and untangling the thing so that it would dry properly, his answer cast her gaze over behind her shoulder to him -- ala this gif which just sorta fits right now: data.whicdn.com/images/139792823/large.gif -- and a frown tipped at the corners of her mouth. She watched him swig, making a sort of sound that said she was listening, and she agreed, before slipping out of the bottoms and reaching for the sundress she'd been wearing earlier that hung from a hook within reach. Pulled on over her head, and with the entirety of her suit hung from one of the knobs on the shower to drip dry their way down the drain, Kae came back out into the full open. The beer he'd opened was reached for, brought to her mouth for a cooling sip, and one of her hips found a rest at the counter, facing where he still stood. "In .. your opinion, do you think he's fucking moron enough?" -d-
in walks death [1:50 A.M.]: "I know, it's like pulling teeth and all, but I'd appreciate it all the same." Which was as close to a 'thank you,' as Mikaela was going to get out of him. One less damn thing to worry about. He was fond of Mikaela -- let's be honest, he wasn't particularly friendly with anybody, her included -- but he was closer to a normal relationship with certain people, she was one of them. She understood his quiet and severe nature, recognized it for what it was and had acquired just the right amount of sass behind the level of fearful respect a man like him garnered. He didn't look back at her again except that one time, though he was mildly tempted, he kept himself busy. The bottle was held to his lips for a solid couple of swigs, lowering it when he heard her feet padding softly on the faux wood back towards him, the back of the same hand that held the bottle moving to swipe across his lips. His attention was on her, now, pushing the other opened bottle to her to take. Tomas found himself a lean against her kitchen counter, considering her question for a moment. Another sip was drawn from the bottle while he studied a cabinet in thoughtful revelry before he glanced back at her. "No." Was what he decided on, at length. Black eyes fell back upon her pale ones, almost even with his own gaze and he shook his head again. "I think he's being a little ignorant to the situation, but I don't think he's dumb enough --" He stopped himself, then, and pointed at her to correct his words. "I don't think he's smart enough to pull this shit off. And he'd need a whole second crew, and Lord knows that ain't happening."
paradise and sin [2:00 A.M.]: Like pulling teeth. The phrase had her quietly wondering if he'd ever done that before. Pulled someone's teeth straight from their face. The thoughts had her watching his hand by the time she came back. The way he gripped the bottle. The way he smoothed the ridges of his knuckles across his mouth. In her observation, her features softened from the tension they often held -- especially with conversations such as the one they were embarked on, things to do with the Network, things to do with Arch. All things earning that tension, but for the moment, it wasn't there. Her gaze was though, right there when he met her level stare with little difference in their heights save the half inch he had on her. Maintaining it, she lifted her beer for another swing as he began to answer her question. A brow perked as he pointed at her, and lashes narrowed some as she gave his words some thought; half turning so that her back was to the counter, and a hand dropped to curl over the edge of it. It was her turn to study the cabinets across the small galley kitchen space in the middle of the trailer. Her own thoughts were bringing back the furrow of her brows, visibly deepening the breaths that she took, and had her chewing a bit on her frown. "He's dead, if he's involved. Dead already, even if he's out there somewhere now, living. Dead already, if he stole from them." A minute turn of her crown, so that she could regard Puerto Rican features again, ticking her gaze this way and that slowly over Tomas' features. "I don't want to talk about him anymore." -d-
in walks death [11:12 P.M.]: He probably hasn't, that's a very particular kind of task to pull off, pulling out someone's teeth as a form of torture. Which is different than breaking someone's teeth... slightly different animal, there. The man stood there and watched her while Mikaela's gaze softened some before wandering out to look at the same nothing he had been looking at in consideration, as well. The man bottle, held loose in his more-than proficient fingertips was brought back to his mouth for a small drink. He's dead, Mikaela opined, and Tomas said nothing while she worked out that if Valentine was, in fact, involved in the missing shipments and all that was going on, whether his heart was still thumping in his chest, he was a dead-man walking. He didn't need to confirm that for her, either, any more than he had to tell her the sky was blue. She's been around, been involved with this operation longer than he actually had been. She knew as well, if not, better than he did. "Well, with any luck, he's not an idiot." He commented softly when she looked at him, trying to ease the blow? Nah, just wishful thinking. Mikaela's gaze was met with a sidelong one from those heavy-lidded black eyes. She doesn't want to talk about him anymore? That was fine by him, an infinitesimal nod tipped his chin down. He was more than capable of not talking about such things. He had his own theories, obviously, about Max Valentine and a lot of the people involved in the Network that I can't really get into, but that's neither here nor there. The bottle came back to his mouth for another quick swig, and Tomas shrugged his shoulders at her without a word, shaking his head as his eyes lingered out towards the cabinets. It was a mess, that was for fucking sure.
paradise and sin [11:25 P.M.]: It was a thing to leave her curious. The sidelong glances, and more attention paid to the cabinets. Was there something over there? Mikaela's own golden brown sight shifted to study what he was looking at, but all she saw was the dark wood grain that was always there. The subject was in dire need of shifting, but she wanted to say one more thing about this all first. Easing vision back to examine his profile, she took a swig of the beer, and then replaced the bottle to the counter top they leaned against. "Thank you, Tomas." The coolness of her fingers, damp from the bottle pulled from the fridge, met the top of his hand and around his knuckles. A squeeze, hoping to illicit his attention back to her rather than the pantry where she kept way too many fruit snacks for a single adult woman. When, if, he looked her way, "For finding out about Arch. I really appreciate that. And your friendship." Or whatever semblance of a thing this was. Other than the soft way she whispered that thanks, the trailer was a quiet thing -- only interrupted every few minutes by the hushed whirr of the air conditioner in the wall above the desk, but now it was off. Leaving only silence -- not even the birds outside got through the metal tube. Doe eyes stayed their course on his distinct features, and a scrape of crooked incisor captured a portion of her bottom lip; revealing that imperfection left to indent the plumpness of her mouth. -d-
in walks death [11:43 P.M.]: He'd made it somewhat of a point to kind of avoid... this. These kind of clandestine meetings with Mikaela. To be honest, the tenuous little tryst between she and Max had made that a whole lot easier to avoid after those couple of late-night, too-many-tequila filled romps, but he did what he could to keep work separate from, y'know, all that. Thus, his gaze strayed often, but he didn't really make a whole lotta eye contact with people he wasn't trying to intimidate in the first place. It was less Kae's hand on his that brought his eyes back to her than it was the use of his name. Black eyes watched her, then, her soft, girlie features had no business in this hovel their worlds existed in. She ought'a be on a beach somewhere, making use of that wide smile of hers that he'd only ever seen once or twice in the span of his four years working for the same boss. Stoic features gave nothing away while they looked at her, while she thanked him -- that, definitely did not happen often. He gave a small shake of his head. "Don't worry about it. You deserved to know." His friendship, however, was not commented on, because however cordial and familiar he might be with some people in the Network, he tried to keep it at enough of a distance so that if he had to crack someone across the face with a bat, he could do so without guilt or regret. Black eyes lingered on, though, and for the briefest moment, the man's brows drew together, buckled just fraction, into an expression Mikaela had probably never seen him wear before. "You should consider getting the fuck out of here, Kae, before this shit comes to a head." Though, that wouldn't be any more suspect than Max's disappearance, honestly.
paradise and sin [11:56 P.M.]: Ahh, there it was. The swing of black gaze to meet the lightness of her own, and she watched him with nearly the same stoicism as he watched her. The shake of his head was like a trigger, and the chill of her fingers lifted off his hand; to find the Landshark once more and bring it up for toward her mouth. His words came at the same, and her mouth winged into a close lipped half smile, before she covered it with the pull she took on the lip of the bottle. Excess beer licked from her bottom lip as the bottle met the counter again, and lo and behold, she was still watching when his features split for just that quick break into something real, and something almost human. But his words? That earned him a humorless laugh, one she even covered up with the lift of her hand to caress her fingertips along her lips some; head shaking. "I think you know how impossible that is, as well as I do. This is my home. My life. This is all I know. Don't tell me that now, four years in, you're suddenly worried about my well being." Another one of those laughs, and she turned some to face him more; dropping her vision to where his shirt didn't lay quiet flat against his side; the looseness of the linen disrupted by the cold hard steel of his gun. She reached. Drew the white fabric aside, so she could flutter a touch against the butt of the weapon, and rose doe stare back to meet the bleakness of his own. "Because I can take care of myself. No matter what bullshit is going on around us. No matter if this whole empire burns to the ground. I don't mind mucking through the ash." Confident, or naive, all over again. -d-
in walks death [12:10 A.M.]: It was only but a flicker of humanity in a man who was otherwise a monster in the eyes of the people he worked around -- or should be, anyway. She should savor that look, because it was already gone by the time his bottle was coming up this mouth for a drink. He's not surprised by the laugh, not even put off by it, because what he suggested, realistically, was preposterous. He did know, as well as she did, how ridiculous the notion of 'getting out' was, how impossible such a task was. "Yah, I know," He answered, not unlike a child trying to avoid a lecture. Another quick drink was given, and Tomas gave his mouth the same attention as he had before, a quick swipe of his knuckles across his lips before the bottle was abandoned on the counter in lieu of turning to face her as she did to him. "In the four years I've been here it's been smooth-fucking-sailing, no competition like this. Three weeks ago Arch had ten fingers, Max was delivering shipments like usual, and I wasn't offing my dealers, but here we are." His brows lifting a little with the emphasized words. Three weeks ago he was sitting in a hammock drinking a smoothie from a place he liked, filling out his ledger and enjoying Florida lifestyle, now was a completely different day. Tomas settled his somewhat hard stare upon her when she drew close enough to touch the Glock tucked under his arm -- which was saying something, because before three weeks ago, he didn't often carry, because his hands were more than capable enough to do the job. He listened to her little empowered speech, and for a brief moment, a brow quirked just a hair. "... you don't even lock your front door..." which was just about as close to him calling her out on not taking care of herself, but it was almost a joke. Almost.
paradise and sin [12:23 A.M.]: Just had to point all that out, didn't he? Ticking off the dirty laundry list of things that were different than they'd been in weeks past just had her gaze narrowing and the beer that still lingered on her taste buds turning sour. The fact that he'd had to let go of one of his dealers ( and yes, she knew exactly what he'd meant by offing ) was news to her. Things were suddenly bad, all around. She was going to have to ask Ben to keep an ear out on things. See what he'd already picked up. Because bartenders? They heard everything, whether they wanted to, or not. Both of her brows popped way up in surprise when he gave that almost-joke-joke, and her hand lifted away from the butt of his gun to give a sharp swat with the back of her fingers to the cut of his chest. The glare she gave him did not at all reflect in her eyes -- only a glint of ``how dare you, butthead`` picking up in the metallic reflection of pale browns. Her lips parted for a quick retort, but nothing came out at first. After that moment's pause passed .. " .. Sure is locked now." Exactly when she didn't need it to be, exactly when anyone who might be stupid enough to come bursting through that door would find themselves met with a surprise bang instead. So much for staying away from clandestine situations like these with a certain leggy blonde, Tomas. You're doing a great job! -d-
in walks death [12:36 A.M.]: That's all he would need, Valentine to show up now to make amends with Mikaela and she be locked up tight in her little airstream with Tomas. That'll go over like lead balloons. If Mikaela was expecting someone to sugar coat the situation that they all found themselves in, the very severe and dangerous, precarious nature of the Network as a whole, she was looking at the wrong fucking person for that, because he didn't know how not to be blunt and direct with a person. He'd have told the same thing to a five year old, if need be, right after telling the kid that Santa and the Easter Bunny weren't real and breaking their giant lollipop on the concrete. The little smack he got caused a stressed snort of a laugh to escape him, his eyes wandering over where their bottles were sitting, shaking his head a little bit with some semblance of a rusty smirk. Took balls to smack a man like him, but Kae was probably the only one who could get away with it -- he might let Adam's sister get away with it, mostly because that bubbly little thing had little to fear from him. He wouldn't touch her. Eyes as black as a shark, but hooded and heavy lifted back to Mikaela's when she commented about the state of her locked door, now, and he rolled them skyward, briefly. "You locked it sarcastically, it doesn't count." Because with one Tomas Esteban within the confines of the little metal tube, they could open every window and door it had, and nobody would be stupid enough (.. except maybe Max) to wander inside with any kind of ill intent.
paradise and sin [12:49 A.M.]: But Max wasn't about to come through that door, and Mikaela never respected a man who would sugar coat a paper cut, much less something as important as the danger they were all finding themselves so close to being in. She'd given him such a small swat, but a man like this was unpredictable. He could have just as easily smashed her face into the counter top as he had just found it amusing that she'd had the balls to do it in the first place. Beer lifted for another swig, and she smirked back at him with his skewed reasoning. "Bullshit. Locked it locked, no matter how it's done. And that door is well and good locked." A tilt of her head, so she could even peer around him toward it then, as if encouraging him to do the same and see for himself that she'd really twisted that bolt into place to secure the door. Another swig, side glance to the man who took up her miniscule kitchen. "Totally counts." He wasn't going to convince her otherwise. But suddenly a thought came to her, and she wasn't sure why it hadn't come before this. "Tomas .. if whoever is taking the shipments obviously knows where to find them to take them before we can even get there .. do you think they know where they're headed all together?" MIkaela gave him her profile all together, looking though the open blinds of the window just next to them to the line of trees. There, just inside those trees, hidden in the brush between the Dive and her trailer, was the man-made underground storage where the drugs were kept between the pickup and the warehouse. -d-
in walks death [1:31 A.M.]: Mikaela was strategic, as was Adam, he kept them both on his good side, because if a situation should arise and he need somebody to have his back, they were both good people to have, even though they, both, didn't particularly care for one another. Business was business, after all, which may have encouraged him to continue keeping that bit of distance from Mikaela, a distance that was suddenly not present in her little home. That being said, he wasn't going to smack her face on the counter or smoosh her face like he did Sam. He joked a little with Kae in public, even, so it was common knowledge, at least to that degree. Tomas tched a laugh, glancing back at the door and quirking a brow back in her direction. "Only counts if you continue locking it after the fact," He commented dryly, sliding that onyx gaze back to her all pomp and circumstance lifting his chin. Otherwise, he would consider it a not-counting. The peppering of amusement on his otherwise stoic expression washed away when the conversation turned, and the bottle that Tomas had picked back up to bring to his mouth was halted, black eyebrows going flat, as they tended to do when he was in thought. The bottle thumped back against the counter top, and Tomas leaned over with Mikaela, spreading his fingers open some to open the blinds a little wider to accommodate his sometimes shitty vision -- nobody really can tell, but the man often wears contacts. He was silent for a moment, his front teeth tucking against his bottom lip before he turned his head a fraction to look at the blonde. "... I don't know," He admitted slowly. "But if that's the case, why not just take the shipments from the source?
paradise and sin [1:43 A.M.]: "Fiiine, jeez, okay, Dad. I'll lock it for now on. Cross my heart." And she did, tracing an x over the flatness of her sternum. She didn't roll her eyes like he'd done her a few minutes before all this, but it was implied in the stress on the way she called him ``Dad.`` Together, they leaned to look out the window, though all that could really be seen was the trees and above them to top of the tiki roof and the white fence that went around the rooftop of the office and one of the apartments, where the pool table was kept. Mikaela looked over when he did, a frown pulling at her features. "Maybe .. I don't know, I don't know. It just hit me, if they know where the shipments are, they're bound to know about the Dive. Bound to know other places. What if they hit us in waves? First cut off the incoming supply. Next, come for me and the Inn, cut off the small amount we keep. All that leaves is ... you. The warehouses. Take everything we've got." The worry was back, and it showed in the way she began to chew on her lip -- always so fidgety with her mouth, and she rarely noticed it. The possibility in this hypothetical that she spoke of, that Max could have been part of the new product gone missing in an entirely different way -- not involved in taking it, but killed for it -- flickered through her mind, but the sad fact of the matter was they all went into this business knowing that that was always a risk. Death, incarceration. Something was bound to end your criminal career and more than likely it wasn't going to be a protective relocation for murderers and traffickers like these. -d-
in walks death [1:58 A.M.]: "Gracias, Abuela," He said back at her sarcastic retort. Call him dad, he'll call you grandma. Who's going to win that battle? The answer: Tomas. He used the same kind of dry, very not correctly pronounced Spanish as he had the other day in the dive, though a smirk didn't accompany it, in lieu of their brimming conversation. Tomas listened to Kae's take on the situation, letting his lip slip from his teeth, a hard, worried look turning his face to stone, unreadable beyond the hard line of his brow. His black gaze ticked to Mikaela at the word 'you', and he stared at her soft features and the worry that painted them for a moment. "Fuuuuuck," The word skimmed from his lips, deep and exaggerated, and he straightened and delved a hand back through his black hair. " Somebody needs to find Max," Because if that was the case, if Valentine was in on it, he knew every god damn detail of the operation. The robberies, too... "It's like they're playing mine sweeper," He said, absently, cutting black eyes from where they had fallen on the counter to Mikaela, even though he technically doesn't have the robbery suspect in his presence yet, he can still come to this early conclusion. "... keep checking different spots, eventually they'll pinpoint where we have our stuff stashed -- mother fucker," The curse coming out in a sharp growl. He stood there another moment, shook his head and then flickered black eyes up to Mikaela. "I gotta make some phone calls," Because now his mind was racing with a whole new line of worries. His hand came up to jab an index finger in her direction, telling her, in no uncertain terms. "Lock your fucking doors." And he was turning to undo the latch so he could drop out of the airstream. Thanks for the beer, fam.
Characters: Mikaela Holden, Tomas Esteban
paradise and sin [11:22 P.M.]: The afternoon sun was a brilliant thing, and hotter than can be the closer one got to the equator, and here in Marathon they were very nearly at the southern most point of the United States. The heat didn't bother Mikaela Holden. She wasn't sure if it ever had, in fact. Born in that heat. Raised in it. More than like, would die in it. Tuesdays weren't all too busy during the day at the Dive, and with that amazing new bartender she'd hired proving herself to be a godsend, Kae had found it safe to escape
a while. Take a few moments at least to clear her head. She'd done so with a paddle board; seated atop the thing and using a single oar to keep her momentum going. The Gulf side of the islands was always calmer than the Atlantic, and it seemed awfully convenient that the beach access she used closest to her home was on that side as well. The water was clear enough to see through to the sandy bottom, and she'd watched some as fish and other sea creatures did what sea creature and fish were wont to do -- and even watched as a small sized bull shark ignored her from the edge of a coral reef. A few moments alone had turned into a few hours when it was all said and done and she was back to where she'd started -- sliding into the pristine water where it was still deep enough, and tugging the paddle board in with a swim. When her feet touched sand, she walked the rest of the way in; emerging from the turquoise drink in an indigo colored bikini; it's top a scooped neck thing with a mess of fringe that reached just past the swell of small boobs, and it's bottom cheeky. The stretch of beach she walked towards was half way between her house and Tomas', btw, and fairly close to the Dive. The oar to the board was atop it, and the safety string that one might generally wear around their ankle was in hand, so she could tow the thing in. -d-
in walks death [11:33 P.M.]: The last few days have been beyond hectic. He had yet to even get a chance to go and scold Sam in person -- a thing he was kind of looking forward to, but was starting to think he wouldn't get to really enjoy. How could anyone enjoy anything right now? Between missing shipments and missing employees and other such suspicions, Tomas was swamped. Tomas's little Gulf-side beach bungalow was locked up tight when he left, because shit was going down, left and right, and he didn't need anybody getting into his shit and seeing things no man, woman, or child should see, and after that, he was out through the door, locking it twice. He was just going to walk down to the Dive, he decided, let someone think he was home by leaving the truck there at his house and set off walking. Ooh, the days of flip flops and easy-going beach gear seemed to be at an end, as of late, which found the Latino in clothes far more akin to summers in Brooklyn than late spring in Florida. Shannon knows, it's possible to wear jeans and shirts in Florida, she does it all the time; as was Tomas. He couldn't be dressed more different than Mikaela in dark washed denim, a black sleeveless shirt, and the only thing that gave him any reprieve from the heat, a linen over shirt. It tossed easily in the evening winds as the breezes changed, exposing the rigging for the Glock that was tucked under his left arm. He didn't even give a shit at this point who saw the gun, he was just going to the bar. He still wore chuck taylors, though, which almost seemed out of place when you considered the irritated downward pull of his mouth and the flatness of dark brows. He spotted Kae perhaps before she saw him and angled himself towards her beachy self. "Just the woman I wanted to see," He tried for levity in his voice, it didn't sound all that genuine. Hands came to rest on his hips, not unlike some drug-dealing superhero, waiting for her to Bond girl her way out of the sea before he'd start the barrage of questions, pitch colored hair tossing freely in the sea-salt breezes.
paradise and sin [11:46 P.M.]: No, she missed him -- attention pulled in the opposite direction of where he was coming from; watching as a father played with his small daughter several yards away, a hand raising up to shield her eyes from the late afternoon sun. Something panged low in her belly, though she couldn't quite place what it was. Jealousy? Guilt? Hunger? Brooklyn coated and gravelly, Tomas' voice broke into her thoughts and her head turned his way. Expressionless, she watched him in his pose a moment. From the tension that revealed itself in his brow, to the cut of his shoulders. He could be an unassuming man, truthfully. He wasn't overly muscled. Sometimes his face seemed downright approachable. But she knew better. Knew the iron fist he ruled his crew with, knew the penchant for violence he harbored just as much as Adam Byrne did. When her toes touched the shore, she came to a stop; dragging the paddle board out of the water to hoist it beneath her arm in a move she'd done a thousand and one times. It wasn't heavy, just .. long. Nothing was said, not until she was only a few feet away. Water shone in the sun where it clung to golden skin, the same rays picking up the brighter strands in her hair despite the way the water darkened it where she'd plaited it together in a messy braid that currently lay over her shoulder to let it's tail drip down her arm from it's placement against her chest. "Were you on your way to the Dive?" Pretty dumb question, if he'd been looking for her, that's where she was usually found. -d-
in walks death [11:56 P.M.]: Now was definitely not one of his more 'approachable' days. Black eyes followed Kae's from where they had come from, and when he spotted the little family unit playing some yards away, he removed himself from his at rest position, his hands coming up to loop a couple of buttons to hide the iron he was carrying. Of course, when people looked at wild-haired, dark skinned Tomas standing next to the younger, taller, broader, inked skinned Adam, one might assume that the smaller man would have a kinder heart. That was not exactly the case at all, because he'd just as soon beat someone to death as Byrne was capable of. People were just more surprised when he did it. Tomas tried not to let his eyes linger on the blonde when he brought that shark-like gaze back to her. He looked at her face, no different than he might anyone else he needed to talk with, despite the way the sun lit up the water droplets across her lofty frame. "Yeah," He answered, his arms moving to cross over his chest, glancing back in the direction he had come before his dark gaze was cutting back to Mikaela. "Figured I'd get to you before Byrne does." He huffed a moment, shook his head. "First off, I got the information you wanted, but before that; you seen Max anywhere? Mother fucker's been MIA for days now, and now another shipment's gone missing." It was suspect and damning. Valentine would be lucky if he didn't walk out of this with three less fingers.
paradise and sin [12:04 A.M.]: There was no mistaking the way he was suddenly concealing the weapon -- though she hadn't quite been tracking that it was because he looked over and saw the family. For a moment she wondered if it was for her benefit. The gun didn't bother her. Didn't make her feel scared, or even put her at ease. If he was going to kill her, he'd be just as efficient with his own two hands, and if it came down to a situation where he needed to protect them, his hands would be just as deadly there. No, the gun didn't even click on her radar -- well used to the firearm in this line of business. But what did lift her brow? "Adam's looking for me?" What the hell did she do? Her brain started to search for that answer, nearly missing that he'd kept on speaking, but now she blinked at him a little, and slowly shook her head side to side. "I haven't. Not since the night you came over. He said he was going to be gone a few days, but didn't say where, and I didn't ask. Another is gone? .. These .. these shipments .. I wonder if they're set to go to the Inn, not to me. Everything I'm supposed to get, I've been getting." Looser strands dried more quickly, and the breeze picked them up to dance them like streamers; and force Kae to tuck them back behind the shell of her ear. "Can we stop by my place on our way?" -d-
in walks death [12:11 A.M.]: "Not specifically," He said, quick, to ease whatever unintentional trepidation he may have caused to rise up in her. "You're one step off from Max, so if one avenue is closed, he might end up going to the second." Seeing as how the taller Valentine had made it abundantly clear that he and Mikaela were a thing to anyone who would hear or see, she was an obvious person to inquire with. A hand came up to rake through the mess of thick black hair, glancing behind his back like he was paranoid -- he had those tendencies sometimes, watching too much, checking too quickly. It usually paid off for him, in the end. His head snapped back to her, black brows lifting a hair. "It's been like a week," Or thereabouts. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Max since then, either, but he's been busy, playing baby sitter and other miscellaneous things. The Puerto Rican's tongue wet his mouth, listening to Mikaela, though he was glancing out at the water. "Yeah," Was his absent answer to her question before his dark eyes came up to meet her lighter ones. "I'm not sure where they're supposed to be going. If you don't know yet, that would be the next logical assumption." Her inquiry about stopping at her place was met with a tip of his chin in a nod, and he waved in that direction for her to start ahead of him, though her gait was easy to match. "Arch is in Miami, by the way," He said after a moment of silence, glancing to look at her. "He's shy three fingers, but he's not dead."
paradise and sin [12:20 A.M.]: Oh. Well, when you put two and two together like Tomas was for her, it made far more sense as to why Adam would seek her out .. but it still crinkled her nose right up, though she refrained from opening her mouth to point out something petty like Adam would be barking up the wrong tree if he thinks he's coming to Max's girlfriend to find the man. He might have been making it abundantly clear they were a thing, but she'd made it abundantly clear to Max from the beginning that she wouldn't be that -- and hoped she'd made it clear the last time they'd seen each other that he was even further away from being a thing than he'd ever been close to it. This whole thing with Arch, even though yes she'd been the one to even bring it to Max .. it sat like sour grapes on her tongue. "I wish I could help," she settled for once she did open those pretty lips; setting them into motion with his gesture for them to set out to the path that would take them where they were going. It was something to think about, maybe. Where the stolen drugs were supposed to be going -- that might lead to who was taking them. The Inn was far less frequented by the Network than the Dive, there might be looser lips there, not as tight an operation. Who knew. They were already walking; her board between them like a barrier beneath her arm, when he brought up her father. It loosened her grip slightly, caused the board to bump the ground when Kae slowed to nearly a stop, doe eyes flying to him. "Miami? Not dead? What's he doing in Miami?" Hefting the board back into place, she started again -- leggy stride picking back up to a normal pace. The faster she was talking about her fingerless not dead dad while not in a bikini, the better. "Which fingers?" The question was out without thought, and then a grunt. ".. I don't know why I asked that. It doesn't matter. Fingers are fingers. Who took them?" -d-
in walks death [12:34 A.M.]: Tomas was on better terms with both parties involved -- on the Mikaela/Adam side, not necessarily Valentine's side -- so he could text Adam later and let the man know that he checked with the blonde, and she was a deadend when it came to Max's whereabouts. He moved like an expert through the sugar sand, even in sneakers, he had learned, quickly, how best to walk through the mostly unfirm terrain that Florida had to offer. Sisqo dancing on the beach to the Thong Song, he learned quickly, was a fucking champion, because running on the beach was NOT easy. "Just keep doing what you're doing," He told her, matter of fact, glancing her way, shaking his head a little. "Status quo, keep it that way. Everybody's gonna have eyes on them, I feel like. No need to rock a boat that's not tipping over yet." Because anybody doing anything outside of the norm was going to be suspect. Max's disappearance could literally be mundane and genuine -- a busted phone and busy working, they were all doubling down efforts lately -- but it just seemed unusual, and, thus, people were looking to him, and his absence was noted, and with that, red flags started popping up. Kae didn't need to join the ranks of the accused. His absently offered information though caused her eyes to snap to him and she stopped. Tomas's feet were still propelling him forward, so he had to consciously stop himself to look back at her. "I think they just wanted him out of the area. Not worth killing him, I guess." Given a couple of bucks and told to get the fuck out of Dodge, as it were, or so he was told. He waited there for her to start walking again, turning to move with her. " Lot of good that did, though," since the new bags of coke were still popping up and shipments were still popping up MIA. The question about which fingers garnered the man to look at her, his brows lifted in an incredulous I'm not telling you that kind of expression, because he didn't actually know. He was glad the question was struck and she moved on. "Adam." He answered without a beat. "Bet my left nut Valentine didn't have the balls to do it."
paradise and sin [12:44 A.M.]: Hey! He did say he would tell her everything and not sugar coat it! But, if he didn't know, he didn't know. Couldn't fault him for that. She could, however, issue him a wry smirk at the matter of fact way he told her to keep doing her thing. "I've barely missed a step yet. Not even a lil' trip." No, she was careful. Knew full well she worked for dangerous men, and that her position in the Network -- however trustworthy she'd proven herself thus far, was expendable. She'd more or less meant she'd wished she could help them find Max, but it was a moot point, because she couldn't. And Tomas' advice was sound. Mikaela fell quiet, just listening to him speak about her father, and the sound their feet made once they hit the path that lead towards the Dive, and her place -- a path mostly lined with fallen palm fronds and sand. Her heart was racing, and she wasn't sure why. Tears stinging hot at the back of her eyes. Was this relief? Was she still just hungry? "That's good," she spoke softly, having to clear her throat to cover up the way her voice suddenly broke at the tail end of the two simple words. They reached the path that would veer them to her trailer when he spoke about a lack of sac, and a watery laugh bubbled free. "I don't know. I'm beginning to think I don't know a thing about him anymore. Do you want a beer?" The board would bump him, when she turned to head to her lil' slice of this dark paradise. -d-
in walks death [12:54 A.M.]: That is true. He didn't inquire about which digits were removed -- that would just be a weird question, and he had already been overly prying, which was not Tomas's typical way. He usually just let people do whatever they did, nodded, and went along with whatever needed to be. "Good. Keep it up." He said, glancing at her, nodding his approval. Even finding Max, to some degree, would be out of the norm, suddenly she's running around using a dog whistle to make him 'come.' No Tomas's recommendation was just to keep her head down and push forward as she was doing. His steps seemed to shift, to change when the ground beneath their feet moved into something more firm, less hard, long stries, and more of his regular gait -- he couldn't help that he wasn't six feet and some tall, Puerto Rican's weren't built for height. He was just fine with being average. As much as Mikaela tried to hide the break in her voice, Tomas heard it, lifting black eyes to look at her while he walked along beside her. "It is. Wait for the heat to die down, we can find him after that." She seemed gladdened by the fact that Arch was alive -- and who could blame her? As much as a fuckup as the man was, he was still her father, and Tomas would not begrudge her that. He was glad, though it didn't really show, for the laugh that escaped her from his words, and he shrugged. "Maybe none of us did," He suggested warily, glancing in the direction of the Dive itself before the paddle board was whacking him in the thigh. Did he want a beer? "Sure. Quick one." Because Lord knows there were a thousand things to do, but he wasn't going to give up a drink for that, right now. He followed after her, pulling his one phone from his pocket to check, then the other before they were both pocketed. "He didn't say where he was going? Just that he'd be gone?" Asking about Max, again, clearly.
paradise and sin [1:05 A.M.]: No, Mikaela had no plans on making Max come. At all. Wait for it to die down, then they could find him. "He wasn't always bad, you know," she spoke softly, scraping her teeth along her bottom lip some. "Before my mom left." It was left at that, and that might have just been because she really didn't know how to continue. Tomas only knew Arch as the drunken fool, begging for a couple bucks whenever he saw someone he knew, talking trash about his ungrateful daughter, and smelling strongly of unwashed body and the inside of a whiskey bottle. Clearing her throat a little more, her gaze adverted from his to watch where she was going; nodding some at his words. "Well. It wouldnt' be the first time someone said they were someone they weren't, and it won't be the last," she commented drolly, and nodded again when he agreed to a quick beer. She had some icy Landsharks in the fridge, she thought. Maybe a Red Stripe or two. They were at the trailer by the time his next questions came, and Kae propped the board against the back end of the thing; ensuring it didn't cover any windows, and stepped around to pull open the door she hadn't bothered to lock, despite hearing about the robberies that had been happening in the vicinity. Either she was cocky, or naive, but she figured nobody really knew she was back here -- and you can't steal from a place you don't even know existed. Cold air blasted her sun-dried skin, lifting it with goose bumps along her arms and the bare plane of her belly, where she stood holding the door for him. "No, just that he was going to be gone. Admittedly, I was pissed, so I told him I didn't need a play by play of what the fuck he was doing, that I wasn't keeping tabs." Once he was in, she stepped up too; shutting the door behind her. -d-
in walks death [1:14 A.M.]: "Nobody starts out bad," He commented softly. Sometimes Tomas had a wisdom to him -- it's hard to tell where it comes from, but it was likely from some of the books he read, a pretty extensive cook shelf in his little home said he read some pretty in depth things. He wasn't a dumb man, by any means, probably really couldn't have made a decent living if his life hadn't taken a turn and he ended up a dealer instead of a professor somewhere. He, himself, didn't come out of the womb cracking knee caps, and no doubt, Arch did not come out with whiskey in hand and a chip on his shoulder. Kae's comment regarding people hiding their true selves drew a little snort out of Tomas. "Wouldn't be the first, likely wouldn't be the last," Echoing and agreeing with her comment, dry and expectant, almost. He had his suspicions, all around. But like he told Sam in text the other day, don't accuse someone until you have proof. Sneakers drew to a stop near the little table whereby they had shared a smoke together the other night, waiting on her to put her board up. When Kae opened the door -- without having to unlock it -- Tomas's black gaze narrowed on her. "Lock your God damn door, Mikaela." It wasn't a suggestion. What if Max was doing the stealing!? He obviously knew where her place was. Be that as it may, he took the couple of steps up into the silver trailer and swept his hand back through his hair, looking back as she followed him in. "Well, he sure took that to heart, then," Surely there's a chair or one of those folding bench seats somewhere; whatever it was, Tomas plopped his ass down in it, tired of standing.
paradise and sin [1:23 A.M.]: There was in fact, plenty of seating. Including, a desk with a folding chair, and a bench like couch area that could also double as a very small bed with a big cushy bottom and several floor pillows. Not to mention, her own bed that was often set up more like a couch when she actually made it -- the material matching the other seating, and the whole of the queen sized bed fitting in one end of the long Airstream trailer beside the door when you first walked in. There's pictures, on Kae's site, if you're feeling curious. "Don't swear at me," came her own retort when he did. "I was barely gone," she fudged the time on that one, nor did she mention that she rarely locked it unless she was inside it. But she locked it now, and pointedly so -- waiting until he looked at her, so that he could see she did it. Brat. The palms on the ground had swept away damn near all the sand on her bare feet, and she was careful to brush off any remaining on the small rug just inside the door to keep from trailing it along the faux hard wood floors on her way past him to the bathroom opposite of her bed in the other end of the trailer. "Beer's in the fridge. And I guess he did. If I'd known he was going to come up missing, I might feel bad about that." Not bothering to pull the privacy curtain on the bathroom ( either she didn't care, or she forgot -- so used to being alone 'round here ), she began to peel at the top of her suit to remove it. "Do you think he's behind the missing product?" -d-
in walks death [1:31 A.M.]: "Prettttyyy sure I can swear at whoever the fuck I want." His normally warm, humid voice dry as a desert then. You can't tell him what to do, Mikaela, much as you'd like to. He did, however, glance back at her. "Barely gone is more than enough time to have your shit ripped into," Paranoid fuck. He watched her make a point out of engaging the lock on the airstream, and he rolled his eyes. "Cute." Stealing a word out of her book, because usually that sarcastic retort was aimed at him. So, for the sake of my post, too, he didn't sit yet. Tomas stepped aside while she wandered back to the bathroom, indicated the fridge and he moved to help himself, the fridge opened and inspected. "I don't think he's missing, just AWOL or something. You want LandShark or Red Stripe?" Pulling whatever her pick was and a Landshark for himself, he straightened and shut the door. Mikaela's inquiry regarding whether he thought Valentine was behind the shipments drew his eyes, only to see her silhouette, for the most part, slipping out of her suit -- nothing he ain't seen before, but that's neither here nor there. A strategic choice was made to put his back to her, stepping to place the bottles on the counter and dig about in a drawer for a bottle opener. "I don't know," Was his honest answer. "He'd be a fucking moron if he was; but he's been at the game for a minute." Bottle caps removed he tossed them in the bin. "Never know when someone gets antsy, y'know." The LandShark scooped and brought right to his lips for a swig.
paradise and sin [1:41 A.M.]: His sarcasm earned him a dry laugh -- it was rather amusing to have that word thrown back at her by the dark man, who despite not having a great height or brawn, seemed to fill up her small trailer with much more than that. "Fine," she consented. "I'll keep it locked." Lashes narrowed in scrutiny at him just a little. "Landshark is fine." He might have turned his back on her, but her back was to him as well. Wet suits were always a bitch and a half if they didn't have any kind of easy string to pull, but this was nothing new to her. Removing it, and untangling the thing so that it would dry properly, his answer cast her gaze over behind her shoulder to him -- ala this gif which just sorta fits right now: data.whicdn.com/images/139792823/large.gif -- and a frown tipped at the corners of her mouth. She watched him swig, making a sort of sound that said she was listening, and she agreed, before slipping out of the bottoms and reaching for the sundress she'd been wearing earlier that hung from a hook within reach. Pulled on over her head, and with the entirety of her suit hung from one of the knobs on the shower to drip dry their way down the drain, Kae came back out into the full open. The beer he'd opened was reached for, brought to her mouth for a cooling sip, and one of her hips found a rest at the counter, facing where he still stood. "In .. your opinion, do you think he's fucking moron enough?" -d-
in walks death [1:50 A.M.]: "I know, it's like pulling teeth and all, but I'd appreciate it all the same." Which was as close to a 'thank you,' as Mikaela was going to get out of him. One less damn thing to worry about. He was fond of Mikaela -- let's be honest, he wasn't particularly friendly with anybody, her included -- but he was closer to a normal relationship with certain people, she was one of them. She understood his quiet and severe nature, recognized it for what it was and had acquired just the right amount of sass behind the level of fearful respect a man like him garnered. He didn't look back at her again except that one time, though he was mildly tempted, he kept himself busy. The bottle was held to his lips for a solid couple of swigs, lowering it when he heard her feet padding softly on the faux wood back towards him, the back of the same hand that held the bottle moving to swipe across his lips. His attention was on her, now, pushing the other opened bottle to her to take. Tomas found himself a lean against her kitchen counter, considering her question for a moment. Another sip was drawn from the bottle while he studied a cabinet in thoughtful revelry before he glanced back at her. "No." Was what he decided on, at length. Black eyes fell back upon her pale ones, almost even with his own gaze and he shook his head again. "I think he's being a little ignorant to the situation, but I don't think he's dumb enough --" He stopped himself, then, and pointed at her to correct his words. "I don't think he's smart enough to pull this shit off. And he'd need a whole second crew, and Lord knows that ain't happening."
paradise and sin [2:00 A.M.]: Like pulling teeth. The phrase had her quietly wondering if he'd ever done that before. Pulled someone's teeth straight from their face. The thoughts had her watching his hand by the time she came back. The way he gripped the bottle. The way he smoothed the ridges of his knuckles across his mouth. In her observation, her features softened from the tension they often held -- especially with conversations such as the one they were embarked on, things to do with the Network, things to do with Arch. All things earning that tension, but for the moment, it wasn't there. Her gaze was though, right there when he met her level stare with little difference in their heights save the half inch he had on her. Maintaining it, she lifted her beer for another swing as he began to answer her question. A brow perked as he pointed at her, and lashes narrowed some as she gave his words some thought; half turning so that her back was to the counter, and a hand dropped to curl over the edge of it. It was her turn to study the cabinets across the small galley kitchen space in the middle of the trailer. Her own thoughts were bringing back the furrow of her brows, visibly deepening the breaths that she took, and had her chewing a bit on her frown. "He's dead, if he's involved. Dead already, even if he's out there somewhere now, living. Dead already, if he stole from them." A minute turn of her crown, so that she could regard Puerto Rican features again, ticking her gaze this way and that slowly over Tomas' features. "I don't want to talk about him anymore." -d-
in walks death [11:12 P.M.]: He probably hasn't, that's a very particular kind of task to pull off, pulling out someone's teeth as a form of torture. Which is different than breaking someone's teeth... slightly different animal, there. The man stood there and watched her while Mikaela's gaze softened some before wandering out to look at the same nothing he had been looking at in consideration, as well. The man bottle, held loose in his more-than proficient fingertips was brought back to his mouth for a small drink. He's dead, Mikaela opined, and Tomas said nothing while she worked out that if Valentine was, in fact, involved in the missing shipments and all that was going on, whether his heart was still thumping in his chest, he was a dead-man walking. He didn't need to confirm that for her, either, any more than he had to tell her the sky was blue. She's been around, been involved with this operation longer than he actually had been. She knew as well, if not, better than he did. "Well, with any luck, he's not an idiot." He commented softly when she looked at him, trying to ease the blow? Nah, just wishful thinking. Mikaela's gaze was met with a sidelong one from those heavy-lidded black eyes. She doesn't want to talk about him anymore? That was fine by him, an infinitesimal nod tipped his chin down. He was more than capable of not talking about such things. He had his own theories, obviously, about Max Valentine and a lot of the people involved in the Network that I can't really get into, but that's neither here nor there. The bottle came back to his mouth for another quick swig, and Tomas shrugged his shoulders at her without a word, shaking his head as his eyes lingered out towards the cabinets. It was a mess, that was for fucking sure.
paradise and sin [11:25 P.M.]: It was a thing to leave her curious. The sidelong glances, and more attention paid to the cabinets. Was there something over there? Mikaela's own golden brown sight shifted to study what he was looking at, but all she saw was the dark wood grain that was always there. The subject was in dire need of shifting, but she wanted to say one more thing about this all first. Easing vision back to examine his profile, she took a swig of the beer, and then replaced the bottle to the counter top they leaned against. "Thank you, Tomas." The coolness of her fingers, damp from the bottle pulled from the fridge, met the top of his hand and around his knuckles. A squeeze, hoping to illicit his attention back to her rather than the pantry where she kept way too many fruit snacks for a single adult woman. When, if, he looked her way, "For finding out about Arch. I really appreciate that. And your friendship." Or whatever semblance of a thing this was. Other than the soft way she whispered that thanks, the trailer was a quiet thing -- only interrupted every few minutes by the hushed whirr of the air conditioner in the wall above the desk, but now it was off. Leaving only silence -- not even the birds outside got through the metal tube. Doe eyes stayed their course on his distinct features, and a scrape of crooked incisor captured a portion of her bottom lip; revealing that imperfection left to indent the plumpness of her mouth. -d-
in walks death [11:43 P.M.]: He'd made it somewhat of a point to kind of avoid... this. These kind of clandestine meetings with Mikaela. To be honest, the tenuous little tryst between she and Max had made that a whole lot easier to avoid after those couple of late-night, too-many-tequila filled romps, but he did what he could to keep work separate from, y'know, all that. Thus, his gaze strayed often, but he didn't really make a whole lotta eye contact with people he wasn't trying to intimidate in the first place. It was less Kae's hand on his that brought his eyes back to her than it was the use of his name. Black eyes watched her, then, her soft, girlie features had no business in this hovel their worlds existed in. She ought'a be on a beach somewhere, making use of that wide smile of hers that he'd only ever seen once or twice in the span of his four years working for the same boss. Stoic features gave nothing away while they looked at her, while she thanked him -- that, definitely did not happen often. He gave a small shake of his head. "Don't worry about it. You deserved to know." His friendship, however, was not commented on, because however cordial and familiar he might be with some people in the Network, he tried to keep it at enough of a distance so that if he had to crack someone across the face with a bat, he could do so without guilt or regret. Black eyes lingered on, though, and for the briefest moment, the man's brows drew together, buckled just fraction, into an expression Mikaela had probably never seen him wear before. "You should consider getting the fuck out of here, Kae, before this shit comes to a head." Though, that wouldn't be any more suspect than Max's disappearance, honestly.
paradise and sin [11:56 P.M.]: Ahh, there it was. The swing of black gaze to meet the lightness of her own, and she watched him with nearly the same stoicism as he watched her. The shake of his head was like a trigger, and the chill of her fingers lifted off his hand; to find the Landshark once more and bring it up for toward her mouth. His words came at the same, and her mouth winged into a close lipped half smile, before she covered it with the pull she took on the lip of the bottle. Excess beer licked from her bottom lip as the bottle met the counter again, and lo and behold, she was still watching when his features split for just that quick break into something real, and something almost human. But his words? That earned him a humorless laugh, one she even covered up with the lift of her hand to caress her fingertips along her lips some; head shaking. "I think you know how impossible that is, as well as I do. This is my home. My life. This is all I know. Don't tell me that now, four years in, you're suddenly worried about my well being." Another one of those laughs, and she turned some to face him more; dropping her vision to where his shirt didn't lay quiet flat against his side; the looseness of the linen disrupted by the cold hard steel of his gun. She reached. Drew the white fabric aside, so she could flutter a touch against the butt of the weapon, and rose doe stare back to meet the bleakness of his own. "Because I can take care of myself. No matter what bullshit is going on around us. No matter if this whole empire burns to the ground. I don't mind mucking through the ash." Confident, or naive, all over again. -d-
in walks death [12:10 A.M.]: It was only but a flicker of humanity in a man who was otherwise a monster in the eyes of the people he worked around -- or should be, anyway. She should savor that look, because it was already gone by the time his bottle was coming up this mouth for a drink. He's not surprised by the laugh, not even put off by it, because what he suggested, realistically, was preposterous. He did know, as well as she did, how ridiculous the notion of 'getting out' was, how impossible such a task was. "Yah, I know," He answered, not unlike a child trying to avoid a lecture. Another quick drink was given, and Tomas gave his mouth the same attention as he had before, a quick swipe of his knuckles across his lips before the bottle was abandoned on the counter in lieu of turning to face her as she did to him. "In the four years I've been here it's been smooth-fucking-sailing, no competition like this. Three weeks ago Arch had ten fingers, Max was delivering shipments like usual, and I wasn't offing my dealers, but here we are." His brows lifting a little with the emphasized words. Three weeks ago he was sitting in a hammock drinking a smoothie from a place he liked, filling out his ledger and enjoying Florida lifestyle, now was a completely different day. Tomas settled his somewhat hard stare upon her when she drew close enough to touch the Glock tucked under his arm -- which was saying something, because before three weeks ago, he didn't often carry, because his hands were more than capable enough to do the job. He listened to her little empowered speech, and for a brief moment, a brow quirked just a hair. "... you don't even lock your front door..." which was just about as close to him calling her out on not taking care of herself, but it was almost a joke. Almost.
paradise and sin [12:23 A.M.]: Just had to point all that out, didn't he? Ticking off the dirty laundry list of things that were different than they'd been in weeks past just had her gaze narrowing and the beer that still lingered on her taste buds turning sour. The fact that he'd had to let go of one of his dealers ( and yes, she knew exactly what he'd meant by offing ) was news to her. Things were suddenly bad, all around. She was going to have to ask Ben to keep an ear out on things. See what he'd already picked up. Because bartenders? They heard everything, whether they wanted to, or not. Both of her brows popped way up in surprise when he gave that almost-joke-joke, and her hand lifted away from the butt of his gun to give a sharp swat with the back of her fingers to the cut of his chest. The glare she gave him did not at all reflect in her eyes -- only a glint of ``how dare you, butthead`` picking up in the metallic reflection of pale browns. Her lips parted for a quick retort, but nothing came out at first. After that moment's pause passed .. " .. Sure is locked now." Exactly when she didn't need it to be, exactly when anyone who might be stupid enough to come bursting through that door would find themselves met with a surprise bang instead. So much for staying away from clandestine situations like these with a certain leggy blonde, Tomas. You're doing a great job! -d-
in walks death [12:36 A.M.]: That's all he would need, Valentine to show up now to make amends with Mikaela and she be locked up tight in her little airstream with Tomas. That'll go over like lead balloons. If Mikaela was expecting someone to sugar coat the situation that they all found themselves in, the very severe and dangerous, precarious nature of the Network as a whole, she was looking at the wrong fucking person for that, because he didn't know how not to be blunt and direct with a person. He'd have told the same thing to a five year old, if need be, right after telling the kid that Santa and the Easter Bunny weren't real and breaking their giant lollipop on the concrete. The little smack he got caused a stressed snort of a laugh to escape him, his eyes wandering over where their bottles were sitting, shaking his head a little bit with some semblance of a rusty smirk. Took balls to smack a man like him, but Kae was probably the only one who could get away with it -- he might let Adam's sister get away with it, mostly because that bubbly little thing had little to fear from him. He wouldn't touch her. Eyes as black as a shark, but hooded and heavy lifted back to Mikaela's when she commented about the state of her locked door, now, and he rolled them skyward, briefly. "You locked it sarcastically, it doesn't count." Because with one Tomas Esteban within the confines of the little metal tube, they could open every window and door it had, and nobody would be stupid enough (.. except maybe Max) to wander inside with any kind of ill intent.
paradise and sin [12:49 A.M.]: But Max wasn't about to come through that door, and Mikaela never respected a man who would sugar coat a paper cut, much less something as important as the danger they were all finding themselves so close to being in. She'd given him such a small swat, but a man like this was unpredictable. He could have just as easily smashed her face into the counter top as he had just found it amusing that she'd had the balls to do it in the first place. Beer lifted for another swig, and she smirked back at him with his skewed reasoning. "Bullshit. Locked it locked, no matter how it's done. And that door is well and good locked." A tilt of her head, so she could even peer around him toward it then, as if encouraging him to do the same and see for himself that she'd really twisted that bolt into place to secure the door. Another swig, side glance to the man who took up her miniscule kitchen. "Totally counts." He wasn't going to convince her otherwise. But suddenly a thought came to her, and she wasn't sure why it hadn't come before this. "Tomas .. if whoever is taking the shipments obviously knows where to find them to take them before we can even get there .. do you think they know where they're headed all together?" MIkaela gave him her profile all together, looking though the open blinds of the window just next to them to the line of trees. There, just inside those trees, hidden in the brush between the Dive and her trailer, was the man-made underground storage where the drugs were kept between the pickup and the warehouse. -d-
in walks death [1:31 A.M.]: Mikaela was strategic, as was Adam, he kept them both on his good side, because if a situation should arise and he need somebody to have his back, they were both good people to have, even though they, both, didn't particularly care for one another. Business was business, after all, which may have encouraged him to continue keeping that bit of distance from Mikaela, a distance that was suddenly not present in her little home. That being said, he wasn't going to smack her face on the counter or smoosh her face like he did Sam. He joked a little with Kae in public, even, so it was common knowledge, at least to that degree. Tomas tched a laugh, glancing back at the door and quirking a brow back in her direction. "Only counts if you continue locking it after the fact," He commented dryly, sliding that onyx gaze back to her all pomp and circumstance lifting his chin. Otherwise, he would consider it a not-counting. The peppering of amusement on his otherwise stoic expression washed away when the conversation turned, and the bottle that Tomas had picked back up to bring to his mouth was halted, black eyebrows going flat, as they tended to do when he was in thought. The bottle thumped back against the counter top, and Tomas leaned over with Mikaela, spreading his fingers open some to open the blinds a little wider to accommodate his sometimes shitty vision -- nobody really can tell, but the man often wears contacts. He was silent for a moment, his front teeth tucking against his bottom lip before he turned his head a fraction to look at the blonde. "... I don't know," He admitted slowly. "But if that's the case, why not just take the shipments from the source?
paradise and sin [1:43 A.M.]: "Fiiine, jeez, okay, Dad. I'll lock it for now on. Cross my heart." And she did, tracing an x over the flatness of her sternum. She didn't roll her eyes like he'd done her a few minutes before all this, but it was implied in the stress on the way she called him ``Dad.`` Together, they leaned to look out the window, though all that could really be seen was the trees and above them to top of the tiki roof and the white fence that went around the rooftop of the office and one of the apartments, where the pool table was kept. Mikaela looked over when he did, a frown pulling at her features. "Maybe .. I don't know, I don't know. It just hit me, if they know where the shipments are, they're bound to know about the Dive. Bound to know other places. What if they hit us in waves? First cut off the incoming supply. Next, come for me and the Inn, cut off the small amount we keep. All that leaves is ... you. The warehouses. Take everything we've got." The worry was back, and it showed in the way she began to chew on her lip -- always so fidgety with her mouth, and she rarely noticed it. The possibility in this hypothetical that she spoke of, that Max could have been part of the new product gone missing in an entirely different way -- not involved in taking it, but killed for it -- flickered through her mind, but the sad fact of the matter was they all went into this business knowing that that was always a risk. Death, incarceration. Something was bound to end your criminal career and more than likely it wasn't going to be a protective relocation for murderers and traffickers like these. -d-
in walks death [1:58 A.M.]: "Gracias, Abuela," He said back at her sarcastic retort. Call him dad, he'll call you grandma. Who's going to win that battle? The answer: Tomas. He used the same kind of dry, very not correctly pronounced Spanish as he had the other day in the dive, though a smirk didn't accompany it, in lieu of their brimming conversation. Tomas listened to Kae's take on the situation, letting his lip slip from his teeth, a hard, worried look turning his face to stone, unreadable beyond the hard line of his brow. His black gaze ticked to Mikaela at the word 'you', and he stared at her soft features and the worry that painted them for a moment. "Fuuuuuck," The word skimmed from his lips, deep and exaggerated, and he straightened and delved a hand back through his black hair. " Somebody needs to find Max," Because if that was the case, if Valentine was in on it, he knew every god damn detail of the operation. The robberies, too... "It's like they're playing mine sweeper," He said, absently, cutting black eyes from where they had fallen on the counter to Mikaela, even though he technically doesn't have the robbery suspect in his presence yet, he can still come to this early conclusion. "... keep checking different spots, eventually they'll pinpoint where we have our stuff stashed -- mother fucker," The curse coming out in a sharp growl. He stood there another moment, shook his head and then flickered black eyes up to Mikaela. "I gotta make some phone calls," Because now his mind was racing with a whole new line of worries. His hand came up to jab an index finger in her direction, telling her, in no uncertain terms. "Lock your fucking doors." And he was turning to undo the latch so he could drop out of the airstream. Thanks for the beer, fam.
