-insert name here-'s Place and Everywhere Else ~ Geezerville

[Flame Knightmaer]

-tired, mentally and physically drained, dirty and somewhat beaten, he literally drags himself into his office, working overtime to not just collapse on the floor in front of him. Barely making it to his sofa/bed, his legs give and he collides face first into the leather seats, knowing he had nothing left, not even an iota to let the bed out. Before he could even form a coherent thought as to his sleeping arrangements, he was out like a light.

.......two days later........

Stirring, he goes to turn over and finds himself on the floor, confused and in pain. Recognition and memory setting in, he groans loudly and rubs the back of his head, stretching and wincing. Sleeping in the awkward position he'd been in for the past couple days left him in knots and kinks. After a while of loosening his muscles enough for him to move without constantly jumping in pain, he stands slowly and pads to his bathroom for a long hot shower. Standing under the steady spray, he rubs a hand across his face, feeling the roughness of his beard and the scrapes and cuts he'd acquired during he and the boys last hunt. Sighing, he starts to soap up a towel as he goes over the hunt for the nth time. Though they were able to retrieve the package, there was no way that the hunt was a surprise to the family. They knew him and his men were coming and there was no doubt about that. There was absolutely no room for error, and yet they made it out by the skin of their teeth. That boss looked as if he knew his face and that disturbs him to no end. He's made it this far without having anyone recognize him or his men and it looks as though that has just changed.

Rinsing off, he re-lathers and sighs, remembering that he has precautionary steps for situations such as that, but still. Grabbing his razor, he shaves, trims and shapes up, rinsing off and turning the water off. Wrapping a towel around him, he gets out the shower and stands in front of the sink. He looks at himself in the mirror for a long time, trying to picture another face other than the one looking back at him as his own. Shaking his head, he brushes his teeth and walks out the bathroom, getting dressed. In the middle of dressing, he looked around more closely, noting how clean the place was and how neatly papers and files were stacked. Brows furrowed, he knows he and the boys left the place in a bit of a mess when they left almost a month ago. Walking around, he spies something under his desk and bends down to pick it up. Confusion etched in his face, he holds the marred and chewed up Barbie Doll in his hands, lightly fingering the black noose around its neck. Soon it hits him and his eyes go wide with surprise and excitement. That was Lo's favorite toy, which could only mean that Liv had been by.

Looking on his desk, he finds a note and picks it up, seeing it was from Icy. That let him know that they'd already found each other. But when he read it, he lifted a brow, not understanding it. Shrugging, he figured Liv and Lo would be with Icy and they'd all be at the MW. Pocketing both the doll and the note, he heads into the main office. The first thing he needed to do was to find food, Liv and Icy. He was so damn hungry that his stomach was actually kicking him in the back and he really wanted to see them both. Secondly he needed to find dame. He'd missed her so much the past few weeks that it hurt. Not to mention the fact that he'd broken yet another phone during the hunt that he hadn't been able to keep in touch. All he could hope for was that she wasn't too pissed and he would be able to diffuse that in no time. Chuckling, he grabbed his keys and locked up his office, jumping into his car and heading for the MW-  

[Lil Brat]

In the meantime...

He sits in his office, waiting for his men to return. He'd warned them to not overdo the torture, he wanted her alive. He'd seen torture taken too far...

His mind wanders back on his childhood, to his father. A raging man, never satisfied with anything. The oldest of four children, it had been Ivan who was earmarked to take over the business after his father's demise. The child Ivan was given unrealistic goals and frequently failed to deliver. Then he'd been punished for not meeting expectations. When he'd cried, begged for mercy, the punishment had gotten more severe. Crying was a sign of weakness. On rare occasions when he'd met the demands, he'd been beaten for taking pleasure in the success. Pride was also a sign of weakness.

While his siblings were sent off to school, Ivan had been schooled another way. He'd been taken along to learn the business. Had seen how to capture an unwitting mark, how to torture the mark, how to dispose of the body. If he'd shown any emotion as to what was happening to the poor soul, he'd been beaten for that. Emotions were for the weak. As the years had gone on, he'd stopped being eager to please, then he'd stopped showing fear. That left rage and hatred. He'd plotted how to kill the old man and while he never voiced it, his father saw the rage and hate. More torture, rage was the ultimate weakness. His body was a scarred mass from the abuse, whippings, cuttings, burns. His mind sees himself, in a room full of mirrors, where they'd left him to look at himself at the end of each beating. As he neared his late teens, he learned his father's rage had been his weakness. Late one evening, he'd watched as his father's anger had escalated when the mark wouldn't cooperate. They'd needed the information and his father had gone into a blinding rage and killed the man. Ivan's face had been a cold mask as he watched his father make another mistake. It was not the first time this had occurred and they both knew dead men don't talk.

He lets his mind go to his last meeting with his father, not too long after that event. He'd been sent on an errand and retrieved a package. He'd entered the study, stood waiting, eyes expressionless. The old man had asked if he'd brought the package, looked at his son. Saw something there that froze him in terror. The boy-man was no longer afraid, no longer angry. A cold front of nothing hit the old man and he saw the monster he'd created. Ivan held a package in his hands, staring. As the man had opened his mouth, the paper slid away and the gun inside went off, a clear mark between the eyes. As his father slumps in the chair, Ivan turns, ready. His father's bodyguards come running in, eyes wide, guns drawn, only to find the young man waiting for them, machine gun drawn from the inside of his coat and aimed at them.

Sworn to protect, the men responsible for carrying out his childhood torture must now be his bodyguards. They know it, and understand he will be a far more formidable boss than his father was. They make the arrangements for the body, dump it where it will be found and look like a hit and wait for the lawyers who will read the will.

His siblings grumble, the spoiled, educated brothers never touched and he makes it clear if they want to continue to college, they won't cross him. He holds the purse now. He keeps them under surveillance and when they begin to plot against him, they are neatly eliminated in one unfortunate accident.

His sister understands quickly, but not enough. When he learns of an affair with one of his enemies, he understands the plot immediately. Another hit and he is alone. Power, always power. L intrigues him. She has the power, but she cannot control her rages. A female version of his father, delighting in the pain of others. She'll learn, soon enough.  

[Harvest Moon Child]

Harv spends the next morning in court, waiting for a response to the many motions and subpoenas he's filed. A review of the bail hearing is conducted and the new judge revises the terms. The prosecutor agrees to dismiss charges of dame's flight from law enforcement, hoping to prevent an appeal at trial for the questionable nature of the bail terms and knowing he won't be able prove that dame was a willing partner in evading the officers.

He agrees to the subpoena of both the security video at MW and the taped interview of dame at Police Headquarters. When he sees the subpoena for the Prosecutor's records on the case, he nearly explodes. The records are required to be shared and Harv should never have to subpoena them. He looks at the prosecutor, asking if the man wants to see this case go to trial. It sure appears that he wants to lose if he's not going to follow the basics. He orders them to turn over all records within the next day. At the end of the session, Harv returns to his office.  

[Harvest Moon Child]

As he walks in, he overhears two of the firms lawyers discussing him, the one angrily questioning how the divorce attorney has been assigned a criminal case, a case that should be one of theirs. He backs away, nearly in to one of the senior partners. His eyes widen and he shakes his head, retreating back to the door, opening it, then slamming it shut before heading back up the hall. The two men look up, see him, then see the partner standing near them. The exchange guilty glances as Harv walks past them and in to his office. Before either man can say anything, the senior partner says, Everything. The men wince. Both are up for partner this year, and the last thing either needs is to upset the man standing in front of them. He'd heard everything. He gives both a look and walks towards his own office. The men walk quietly towards the break room, glancing at Harv's closed door, not realizing that he'd also overheard everything.

Harv tosses his jacket on a chair, loosens his tie and sits down at his desk, running his fingers through his hair. He'd worked criminal cases before. Had ended up hating every minute of it. The dirty clients he'd gotten off, or at least gotten charges reduced. Those had been the cases he got. The clients who really needed a good attorney, they'd gotten someone else. Someone who didn't bother to really look at their cases but almost always arranged a plea bargain, or worse, an Alford Plea, preventing them from ever appealing. Eventually, he'd started taking the appeals of those who hadn't pled out. Took them on the side, pro-bono which had pissed off his superiors. Not enough to fire him, though. The top public defender enjoyed his winning, making the District Attorney look like an idiot. Some unsettled score from a feud that had started who knew when between the two, and carried on still.

Frustrated, he'd left, joined this new firm and started handling divorces. At least he could sleep with himself now. No more coming home and standing in a too hot shower that didn't wash away the feelings of filth. He sighs, hoping he'll get what he needs to move this case along. Hoping his client isn't going to turn out to be another under-world figure who really deserves to be serving time and he's going to try to get set free. He closes his eyes. Star seems to think she's a sweet person, then again, in light of her current situation, that may not be saying much.  

[damecharlie]

dame's hospital bed is empty and made up nicely. Her clothes and shoes are missing along with the card Harv had given her. The only thing left is a note on the bed saying, "Thank you.

Dec, Bonnie. I'll see you later. -d"  

[Lil Brat]

((Continued retroposts))

Ivan sits back in his chair as the men fill him in on the first two days with their guest. After a lengthy discussion and a few arguments, he holds up his hand for silence. He instructs them to give her a shot that will knock her out completely, then tells them they will care for her wounds while she is knocked out. They will move her from the cold basement to the mirrored room, she will be dressed and cuffed and left in there. She will have no furniture and only a dressing gown, no ties. And no shoes. Not that there is anything she could hang herself with the laces from, and not that he believes she'd take her own life, but he's not taking any chances. He tells them he wants the room temperature comfortable. They can watch her from the other side of the non-breakable glass.  

[Lil Brat]

The men follow his instructions to the letter, knocking her out with a non-fatal dose then letting the doctor stitch her wounds. They strip her of all clothing before putting on a thigh length gown, no bra, not panties. They secure her and place her unconscious body in the mirrored room, reflecting back multiple images of her body wherever she could look. The door closes behind them, and it's mirror seals the room so she can't tell which panel is which.

The crew is stationed at every panel to observe her reactions.  

[Psyzapp]

(( Ivan is much more frightening than Big Paulie ever was! gonk ))  

[Lil Brat]

((Lol ~ Ivan has no feelings, he was stripped of emotion at a very early age.))  

[Psyzapp]

(( So I read! *Makes mental note not to tangle with Ivan EVER.*))  

[Lil Brat]

((Someone has to combat L's superhuman get out of any jam and take out even the strongest and most formidable opponent Goddess of win.))  

[Psyzapp]

(( *Bows to Brat and her awesomeness.* wink heart ))  

[Lil Brat]

((And yet, somehow, I get the feeling even Ivan won't be able to break her ~ I don't care what anyone says, she's not human. ninja ))  

[damecharlie]

(( rofl Know what's kinda funny about all this? stare L didn't even have anything to do with Big Paulie being taken out! rofl She's being held for something she is completely innocent of! xd ))  

[Psyzapp]

(( Yeah…well Karma is a b***h! evil ))